, the world had flattened out into sand and wind, gray sky pressing down on us. The ocean beyond crashed rhythmically, almost like it was warning us, like it knew what was coming.
Kuruhona stood at the edge of the water, her robes dark as night, hair straight and unbroken against the wind. She wasn't moving much, but the air itself around her seemed heavier. I could feel it pressing into my lungs, a subtle suffocation that made my chest ache. She had a presence like someone who didn't need to move to dominate everything in a room.
Beside her, the portal loomed. Jagged, unnatural, glowing faintly red at the edges. That was our goal. Destroy it. Survive.
And then Kagetsu stepped forward.
His purple Shinobi-gi clung to his frame, sleek and functional, layered with armor for speed and protection. His hood was low, casting his upper face in shadow. Only the bottom half of his expression was visible — calm, expressionless. The rest? Hidden. Golden eyes glinted just enough to remind me he wasn't just a kid in a costume. He was something else entirely.
"Remember," Kuruhona's voice cut across the wind, low and even, "if you destroy the portal, you live. Fail… and I will kill every one of you."
I swallowed. My sword felt heavier than it should.
Camron stepped forward, staff in hand. Lightning curled faintly along the edges, trembling at his fingertips, hesitant, like it knew he didn't fully trust himself yet.
"I… I got this," he muttered.
Yeah. Right.
Kagetsu didn't move yet, but when he did… it was instant.
Camron swung first, trying to put some distance between himself and the kid. A streak of lightning licked from his staff toward Kagetsu.
Nothing.
Kagetsu wasn't there. Not in the place Camron expected. Not behind him. Not anywhere.
A tap. A shift. And Camron stumbled, arms shaking, almost losing the staff. Lightning fizzled and died on contact with the air.
Jordan lunged next, kunai spinning between her fingers. She threw the first one at a place Kagetsu should have been. The blade spun uselessly through air.
He was behind her guard in a heartbeat, striking her wrist. Her fingers cramped immediately, her grip lost, the kunai clattering into the sand.
She went down, hair spilling across the grains, long black strands dark against pale sand.
I swung at him next, sword up, trying to find an opening.
And he was already in front of me.
The sand kicked up in tiny whirlwinds around him, every movement precise, deliberate. His purple armor reflected the dull gray light, almost alive under the stress of motion. Hood shadowed the top of his face, golden eyes barely visible, calm.
Impact. My sword hit something that shouldn't have been there — solid, unmoving, absorbing. He moved the tiniest fraction and my sword slid past, useless.
A kick. My legs buckle. I fall forward. Sand scratches my cheek.
Before I can push back up, he's got the sole of his armored sandal pressing into the back of my head. Sand grinds into my hair. My face presses into the grains, and suddenly it's all I can feel.
"I'll kill you," he says. Voice low, casual. Like he's bored.
I try to move. Can't. Can't even lift my arms.
Behind him, Camron tries again, sending a stronger bolt of lightning at Kagetsu.
He moves faster than the crackle forms. Another tap. Camron jerks back, chest stinging from the backlash.
Jordan tries to roll, throwing another kunai. Another miss. Another strike from Kagetsu, pushing her into the sand again. I hear the snap of her wrist armor cracking. Her breath comes in short bursts.
Maya stands off to the side, daggers drawn, but she can't fight. Her shoulder is bruised, bandaged. She bites her lip, staring. I can see her hands shaking, wanting to help, but she can't.
I glance at her. "Hang on. Just… stay low." My voice is rough. My jaw aches from holding tension.
Kagetsu shifts again. I try to swing, but he sidesteps before I even commit. My sword scrapes uselessly along his armor.
He leans forward, pressing his sandal into the back of my head harder. Sand scratches my neck. My vision blurs.
"I said I'll kill you."
I grunt, trying to breathe through the panic, through the sand, through the pressure in my chest.
Camron tries to blast again, lightning surging violently this time, arcs lancing out like desperate fingers. Kagetsu moves with terrifying precision, avoiding every strike, deflecting some with the edge of his armor, sidestepping others.
Jordan scrambles. Another kunai. Another strike. She cries out, rolling onto her stomach to protect herself.
We don't land a single hit.
I can feel it. Every muscle, every heartbeat, every ounce of tension we carry — Kagetsu is reading it all. He doesn't even need to see our faces.
I mutter under my breath, bitter: Well… that's embarrassing.
But mostly? I can't move.
He leans forward. Presses the sandal harder into my head. My stomach curls. My vision tunnels.
"I'll kill you," he repeats. The calm in his voice makes it worse. Like he enjoys testing us, seeing exactly how far we'll push before breaking.
The world tilts. Sand scratches into my cheek. Camron's staff drops sparks that fizzle before they even form. Jordan tries to push herself up, only to get forced back down by a swift strike to her ribs.
Maya can only watch.
And I… I try to push words past my lips, but all I get is a groan, some half-formed curse in my mind, and the taste of sand.
Everything hurts.
Everything.
And through it all, Kuruhona doesn't move. She doesn't need to. She only stands there, silent, watching, letting us flail.
The portal pulses faintly behind her. That's the goal. That's our only way out.
And I know… if we don't move past this… it's over.