“No,” he spat.

“What did you say to me, boy?”

“No.” he snarled, jumping to his feet. “I will not give up my hard-earned spirit stones just to satisfy your twisted sense of power!”

The supervisor seethed. “That... that was your last traitorous word.”

She ran a hand down the length of the whip, and a pressing force emanated from her, weighing down on his limbs like sacks of grain. Her aura.

Kiro prepared himself, heart pounding. This could be the end of everything he held dear, yet he didn’t at all regret his decision.

Unlike the rest of the Suns, he was an alchemist. Whatever injuries Hong Ba Shou would inflict upon him, he could heal, so long as he had an inch of life left within him. More than that, though, her reign would finally be over. Permanently injuring a source of labor was considered an imprisonable offense.

This was it. The supervisor cracked her conjured weapon, and he met her with a vicious glare. He would not let her terrorize him any longer. He readied himself for the strike, defiance coursing through his veins, and a sense of cold acceptance settled over him.

Whatever happened, he was ready.

Supervisor Ba stared at him, and her aura seemed to get even heavier, as if even her spirit had grown cautious of him.

Then… she fell to her knees, pressing her head to the ground. “This humble Torch greets the Brave.”

What?

A cloaked woman appeared in front of him, and the rest of the Suns bowed in reverence. Her robes were torn, and dirt seemed to cake every inch of her bruised skin, but as she lifted a hand to pull down her tattered hood, there was no question as to her noble status.

On it rested the bonfire, symbol of the legendary Brave.

She glanced at him, and he looked back, grinning. Long strands of red stained her head of matted black hair, cascading down to reveal a pair of brilliant ruby eyes. He would have recognized those eyes anywhere, that vibrant scarlet gaze that could cut through crowds like a lamp in the dark.

After all, they were the same as his own.

He had countless reasons to believe that the supervisor wouldn’t kill him, but none of them were concrete enough to stake his life on.

None but one.

No matter how furious, no matter how delusional, no matter how much of a dishonorable worm Supervisor Ba might have been, no true member of the Hong Clan would dare kill a Brave’s brother.

In the end, all other motivations paled in comparison to pure, unadulterated fear for your life.

His sister cloaked herself in a shroud of fire, looking down onto the trembling supervisor. “It seems as if you were attempting to strike down my brother, Torch. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Slowly, deliberately, she walked forwards, looking every bit the caricature of a battle-worn Saint. And for once, Supervisor Ba didn’t utter a word. The old woman simply pushed herself even deeper into the ground, whimpering like a kicked dog.

“I will be reporting this to your superiors, Ba. I, Hong Tang Seira, heir to the esteemed Tang Family and Brave of the Hong Clan, have witnessed all that I must.”

A moment of silence passed, and Seira snuffed out her flames, revealing that not an inch of her robes had been burnt. Then, as if nothing had happened, she turned to Kiro, her deathly glare melting away into a carefree grin.

“I’ll meet you at your house, K?”

He smiled.