“The hell do you mean our lesson begins now?”

"C'mon Tenshi, haven’t you watched enough anime to know. This is the part where we go through a killer training arc and become absolute units."

“…Umm. What’s he talking about?” Rin asked. It’s not as if she hadn’t watched anime before, rather it was uncommon to hear someone identify real life with it like he just did.

“Not sure. He’s been this way since he was a kid.”

***

“Alright. Using your Hoshi, you two will keep a constant body temperature and survive out here until midnight.”

The word "midnight" echoed through Akuma’s mind like an empty room.

(There's no way I heard that right. Until midnight? Yeah, no way. I'm hearing things.)

"I'll come check up on you after midnight."

(Alrighty. I was NOT hearing things. She plans on killing us.)

"I want you to know, woman... If we die out here, that’s on you." Tenshi said.

“Hmm…” She took a moment to think before finishing, “…I don’t think I care.” Then she slammed the door shut.

"So, what do we do now? ...Do we just die here?"

"Fu-fu. Play it cool man. I have a plan." Akuma reassured, briming with confidence.

"And that plan is...?"

“...”

“…”

"PLEASE LET ME IN. I DON'T WANNA DIE OUT HERE, PLEASE. ALICE IS OUT THERE WAITING FOR ME! YOU CAN’T DO THIS!!” He pleaded and banged on that door like there was no tomorrow. But there was no answer. “JUST KILL THIS DAMN BALDIE AND SAVE ME! PLEAASSEE!!"

“The hell?! What did I do!”

Obviously, his pleas didn’t get through to her. Should’ve realized this woman didn’t have a heart, much less any mercy. To make matters worse, a thick layer of gelatin-like substance trapped the hideout and emitted a small shockwave that blew the two away from the door and off their feet. The hideout continued discharging bursts of waves, as if it were telling them they couldn’t get any closer.

“Damn. That hurt like hell. Why’d it push me too? I wasn’t even the one begging.”

“This... This is your fault.” Akuma said, his glare intensely beamed at his brother.

“Huh?! Clearly our common enemy is the woman who left us out here.”

“You’re wrong. I can see right through this!”

“What are you even talking about?!”

“I know a twelve-episode romance plotline when I see one. Clearly Rin’s a tsundere and she’s got the hots for you. And this is her pathetic attempt at making you fall in love!”

“Huh?”

“JUST CONFESS YOUR LOVE TO HER ALREADY YOU DAMN LOSER M.C.!!” As he shouted those words, he charged the bastard with a fist that had his full name written on it. By this time, Tenshi had given up on asking questions and accepted his duel with a punch of his own.

***

“I sure hope they don't die. Maybe I should have been a little more specific… Nah, they’ll be alright.”

(Might as well take a short nap while I wait. Just a short one though.)

Her eyes flickered as she slowly lost herself in comfort. Before she realized it, she was fast asleep and dreaming about the past. Or maybe it would be better to say having nightmares.

It was about a decade ago, so she must’ve been about ten years of age.

At first, she was running in a field of beautiful, freshly bloomed flowers. The scent was like a sunrise. She felt nothing but happiness as she danced in the flower’s arms. From a distance her mother approached her and joined in with her dancing. She was beautiful, wearing the same sky-blue hair as Rin. They had a wonderful time, laughing and playing in the field.

Until it all ended abruptly.

The field of flowers -originally a beautiful white and green- were now covered with a deep red. The smell of iron was all around her. And next to her feet was her mother’s lifeless corpse. When she looked up, she saw her father crying his eyes out, as he clenched a bloody knife in hand. His pure white hair danced, as he dropped to his knees, the insanity of having killed hi own wife eating away at him. Laughing as they watched this all unravel, was the figure of an angel, a monster that Rin would come to despise with every fiber of her being.

She didn’t even jolt awake, at this point she’d grown used to that same old dream. However, she did have a cold sweat coming down from my forehead. I guess she wasn’t quite used to it yet.

***

The two laid flat on their backs as they desperately begged the air for oxygen. Their bodies furrowed the snow beneath and with each inhale they felt the freezing atmosphere trail down their respiratory system.

“Have you… had enough yet?” Came the younger of the two, far more exhausted than the other.

“Huh? Clearly, I won that.”

“Like hell you did... I kicked your ass so hard you fell into the snow.”

“You’re in the snow too, idiot.”

“You totally fell first, though.”

In a way, that statement wasn’t far off. Tenshi had struck him with a blow to the gut that caused him to collapse. But just as he did, he flicked his balls, so that he’d go down with him.

“So, what do we do now?” Tenshi asked.

“Great question.”

As they both got up, Akuma tossed the question in the air:

“So, what do we do now?”

“I literally just asked that question. You even replied.”

“Oh yeah… Y'know if this was some anime, we would sit on those hills and meditate or something. Clearing our minds from all thoughts or something cliche like that.”

That’s when they had a revelation. They both looked at each other and without even sharing words, knew exactly what the other was trying to communicate.

***

The sensation of a desert in the back of her throat. The thought of getting a glass of water crossed her mind when suddenly, she had a different thought. That being what happened to the two she left outside. She rushed to the door to check on Tenshi and Akuma, and there she saw a rather interesting sight. It’s hard to say if she was more surprised, or worried.

Meditating on a hill of snow to the left, Akuma -who should have been reduced to a frozen corpse- had successfully wrapped himself in a thin layer of starlites and was shielded from the elements.

(Oh wow. I’m amazed he did it so quickly.) She thought in astonishment. Truth be told, sh didn’t have a shred of faith in the two. (And my instructions were so vague too.)

On a hill to the right, however, was someone who didn’t seem to share such prodigious traits. Though meditating, he seemed to have skipped the hoshi and instead trapped himself in a block of ice. She palmed her face in the sight of him. I doubt she even noticed the feint giggle that escaped her lips.

Before helping Tenshi, she felt that she needed to test Akuma's defenses. A way to see how sturdy his wall was, without disturbing his state of mind. He was supposed to have blocked out the cold, but she could feel far more power emanating, giving her the assumption he’d made a wall for much more than that.

She aimed her right hand towards Akuma and a collection of glimmering stars bounced around my palm and formed a weapon. It took the shape of a pistol, but with a silencer attached to its beak. And with one pull of the trigger, she shot right at Akuma’s shoulder. Just in case it penetrated.

The bullet traveled through the snow and was headed right for the boy. It was meant to rip right through his shoulder and zoom into the distance, but to her surprise it was crushed. Completely pancaked by his defenses. And even through all of this, he remained focused. For a moment she questioned how he managed that. To enhance one’s defenses went beyond ordinary starlite control.

To get his attention, Rin let out a roar that could be heard across the entire arctic. “WAKE UP!!!” She growled out. He jumped from my sudden shout. With his mind disrupted, the layer of energy that surrounded him faded away. “It’s about time for you to come back in.” She continued. He stood up and looked over to Tenshi’s hill. He seemed a bit speechless, but he didn't look too surprised. As he walked over to Rin, she asked “What about him?” while pointing at Tenshi.

“The hell am I supposed to do? Aren’t you the wizard?” He retorted.

(Keep your cool Rin. Keep your cool. You are an adult woman, and he’s just a kid. Keep your cool.)

Spoiler alert. She did NOT keep her cool.

The moment he stepped into her range, she sent him flying with a right kick to the gut. “Oh, I'll show you a 'wizard' alright." She said, conjuring another weapon. Except this time, it wasn't any pistol, shotgun or anything of that nature. An entirely different beast. A bazooka. Smoke released from one end, and at the other end came destruction. It completely decimated the hill of ice and snow, and erupting from the impact was a grand hellfire. The ice that trapped Tenshi melted and exposed him to the flames. The two howled out in pain but all for not. The only person in sight had zero thought of helping them. Not yet anyways.

The flames calmed and then vanquished. It revealed a spot of charcoaled earth and two crisp bodies. “Hmph. Serves you right...” She went pouting. “Now. Tamashi Empower: Vitality.” Without moving a step from her spot, she conjured another pistol and quickly shot two bullets. As the bullets contacted the bodies, they regained their lost muscles, and skin. Everything burnt was regenerated to a state twice as better than it started. Even better than new.

They gasped as they jolted up. The expressions they wore were of someone who had somehow escaped certain death. “I survived?!” Akuma yelled out, while Tenshi was more confused than anything.

“Now get in, there is much to discuss.”