“You should be careful with what you say outside, little girl. Someone could hear you," said the woman who lowered her round sunglasses, revealing her emerald green eyes. "Especially if that someone is whom you are discussing. "

Akane got off the bench slowly, carefully putting her bag on and standing tall.

"What the hell do you want?"

"Akane, what are you-?" Umi whispered.

"My, aren't you a rude one. Could it be you that destroyed our sweet Fragment?" the woman scorned. "An uncivilized little boy like you with the power of the worthy? Unbelievable."

"Worthy?" repeated Akane, her hands rolling into fists.

The woman shook her head. "I was thinking I could use you, but your meaningless lives can serve a better purpose when you're dead."

"Run!" Umi shouted, seconds before grabbing Akane's arm tightly and pulling her back to the streets.

"Wha-"

"Don't try to fight her! That woman is a member of the Sea of Crows. They use supernatural powers, don't underestimate them!"

As Umi let go of the tomboy’s arm, Akane noted that the little girl was surprisingly fast on her feet. The pair ran through side streets to get away. 

"Ooh, running away? Smart choice, but it makes no difference," the woman scoffed, her hand covering her sinister lips.

"After them," she demanded, as black figures appeared before her and gave chase.

After a few minutes, hiding behind an incave between the wall where a vending machine once stood, the two children took a breather.

"Let's hide here," Akane said, peeking around the corner for anything suspicious.

"We can't stay for long…" reminded Umi. "But before we go I need to tell you something,"

The girl took out a thin white box from her bag; it was around the size of her palm. The box appeared like a certain cosmetic compact as the girl opened it and revealed it was in fact so. However, she took out the fake powder top as light reflected off the girl’s face and took the object out from underneath.

“Huh, reminds me of an anime,” Akane thought to herself.

“Here, this is what we call a Jigsaw Crystal,” Umi explained as she held what appeared to be a large, clear piece of a jigsaw puzzle. 

It was cut in a way that indicated it was a corner piece with two flat sides, one gap and another edge that stuck out. It shined brilliantly with a tint of blue as if it was some sort of jewellery accessory. But other than that, the crystal did not appear to have any magical powers emitting from it as Akane had hoped; in fact, it seemed completely normal. 

“Even by themselves, they radiate a strong CHAOS power,” stated Umi.

Oh. This is one of those things...I can’t see it, can I.

“I can explain more later, but you should know that it would be bad if the Sea of Crows got their hands on this. It’d be best to get out the area quickly,” Umi warned as she carefully placed the piece back into her bag.

"Don't you have any sort of ability to protect yourself?" asked Akane crouching low beside Umi. "How did you survive up 'til now? 

"Unfortunately, my abilities are limited to sensing CHAOS powers within users. Sort of like a radar for energy spikes. So, usually I don't get involved in fighting at all," the girl explained.

"It's also not everyday when a Fragment pops up in your classroom and a certain someone can manage to destroy it, therefore allowing the enemy to track our general location," Umi sarcastically added as she stared at the certain someone.

"Oops..." Akane laughed awkwardly.

"Just kidding, who knows what would have happened if you weren't there.”

"But, it's strange they would start targeting people during the day...they must have changed their tactics," the girl skepticized. "Anyway, let's keep walking this way. I might know where to get help."

"They'll find us eventually...can't we just fight them?" Akane asked impatiently as they carefully walked through the empty streets.

"Only those with the power of CHAOS can defeat CHAOS," informed Umi.

"But, I had that flame thing, right? Wasn't that something?"

"While that moment was indeed CHAOS, you didn't fully awaken to your powers-"

"Wait! So I do have superpowers!? That's so cool!" exclaimed Akane, unnaturally excited. Though realising how childish she seemed at the moment, Akane abruptly reverted back to her serious self. "So. Tell me how to awaken...or whatever."

"Well," Umi pondered, before answering. "Every situation seems to be different, but using CHAOS powers require a strong mental capacity and focus. What you have now is simply potential. Learning to hone that power is another thing."

"Uhh...so in other words, I'm on my own?"

"Yep."

The sun was beginning to set as the orange light above shone down on the neighboring houses, casting a shadow on the two children who were sneaking through narrow streets. Meanwhile, flashes of black figures could be spotted on the rooftops, as they investigated and searched for their victims. Leading the way, the smaller girl in front suddenly stopped, causing the taller girl to bump into her in surprise.

"They're right there," Umi whispered, her back against the wall. 

Akane took a gander over the girl to see three individuals. One of them was the woman, directing orders to the other two grunts who were dressed in full black robes. As if it was a uniform, they wore matching short cloaks and their faces were covered with a mask. Strapped to their waists were what seemed to be a sai or short spear with two prongs protruding from the handle. Additionally, they wore the same strange metal visors. 

Looking back to the woman, Akane noticed she was rather tall and thin, believing that the adult might not actually be fit for fighting. With her gaudy fashion sense, the woman appeared like a fashion model or diva; she reeked with pretentiousness. On closer inspection, the woman also had many accessories including ring earrings, a gold necklace, a hair stick in her fashionably tied up brown hair and lastly, her pink-framed sunglasses. Furthermore, she did not appear to have any weapons visible, unlike the grunts. Although the woman was said to have some sort of superpower, Akane wondered if these powers were actually useful as she had not seen anything so far that reminded her of the typical superpowers she found in fiction.

As Akane carefully spied on them, she noticed the grunts suddenly disappear, leaving the woman by herself. The child fell back quietly.

"I'm going to fight them," declared Akane in all seriousness.

"What? Don't!" cried Umi.

"She's alone. I can take her before she notices. In the meantime, you should get out of here.”

“No! Seriously, you can’t fight them as you are now! You’re just going off to your death!”

The small child desperately grabbed the arm of the tomboy, preventing her from leaving. Akane did not look at her, knowing her resolve would waver. Instead, she got angry.

“Don’t be so naive.” 

Akane vigorously pulled her arm back as Umi was forced to let go. 

“You think I care if I die? Sorry, I’m not that kind of person. Fighting is just what I do and this time it’s no different. Take that crystal and get outta here.” 

Akane then took off her bag, placing it next to the wall. Umi did not respond. 

“You’re damn useless anyway.”

Akane bolted out of their hiding spot and lunged towards the woman who’s back had turned to face them. Preparing a brutal punch with her right hand, she struck and hit flesh and bone. However, it was not of the woman’s, but rather one of the grunts that had flashed before Akane’s eyes and protected their commander. As the individual collapsed, jaw broken, Akane landed back on the grassy field, but was too late to act again as the woman noticed and called for the others. Several more grunts appeared, surrounding Akane. 

Rolling up her sleeves, the angry child prepared a fighting stance with her two fists raised and legs bent. She took a deep breath, her anger hidden but boiling inside. A grunt ran up to the tomboy and attempted to grab her. Akane swiftly side-stepped to the left and crouched down, elbowing the attacker in between the ribs. The individual stumbled to the ground as the others began to attack. Quickly snatching the pointed weapon of the fallen grunt, the tomboy was now armed.

“Self-defense,” the child reasoned with herself.

While dodging the grunts’ assault, she opened up the enemy and was able to stab one of them with the sai she had procured. As Akane pulled out the weapon from the individual’s body, she realised the fluid that came out was not the red blood she was used to, but something like a black bile. In that moment, the tomboy realised that the grunts were not human and that they must be like the other Fragment she encountered.

“Perfect,” thought Akane as she grinned menacingly.

Akane began to stab the grunts with the sai as black fluid sprayed the grass, turning it black. As she continued to stab away, Akane soon realised that the black figures were not staying down. The tomboy then remembered what the little girl had told her.

Only those with the power of CHAOS can defeat CHAOS.

She growled in annoyance, but decided to change tactics and find a momentary escape; she would target their leader instead. However, in the midst of looking for the woman, Akane heard a high-pitched scream behind her. Startled, Akane swiveled around, but collapsed as the tomboy was suddenly punched in the back of her head, the same spot she had been hit beforehand. Losing the upper hand and her weapon, Akane was pummeled.