The wave of fear finally washed off Zenatori, and his tremors met a quiet end. A drop of sweat went down the small creases of his forehead, leaving a still but eerie feeling as it traveled down his face. The blurriness of the adrenaline calmed, allowing him to finally make out the figure. 

Akito Koumiko. She had fit all the descriptions Kuzaki depicted. What was thought to be exaggerations were underexplanations. Her skin glistened, leaving a holy presence on the moment, like an archangel exorcising the demons of the world. 

Her brown, straight hair rocked back in the wind, leaving a trail of nature's blessings in the form of a sweet, aromatic scent. She took a step toward Zenatori, reaching out her arm.

"Are you alright?" She said with a light, satisfying murmur.

Zenatori nearly felt his essence crumble from the recent encounter, not even realizing that he had fallen to the ground. He looked around the area, but no one was to be seen. He had never seen the city emptied like this in years. 

Nonetheless, he grabbed her hand, accepting her help. Upon clasping her palm, he had felt an aura not felt from any other. He could feel her overwhelming might, knowing that if she barely grabbed any harder, his hand would be completely crushed. 

As he finally stood, he noticed that Koumiko was still holding his hand. He noticed her pause and attempted to release her grip, but her unintentional strength made that impossible.

She was simply superhuman. 

"Well, isn't this interesting?" She said.

Zenatori stood still, looking into her eyes. A small smirk formed over her face, but he could sense there was no ill intent from her. 
"Do you realize you have isotonic force?" She said.

Zenatori felt his mind go blank.
"What?" He blurted out due to the sheer shock.

"I know this might come as a shock, but I have the ability to see the level of isotonic force in a person's body. You're exceptionally rare."

"Do you want to be a syneji artist?"

As those words left her mouth, he had felt something he had never felt before. 

Ascension. 

He felt a purpose reignite in him. Although syneji artistry never interested him, he had never thought he would have an opportunity to do it himself. But, how would this all come to be? 

"How do I do that?" Zenatori responded.

"You'll give me your phone number, and I'll text you the details. But, because of how rare syneji artists are, there's only one school in the entire country," She then swallowed air and sighed. "You'll have to leave everything here and come to Tokyo."

Zenatori felt his chest tighten as a mixture of emotions entered his body.

"What..?"

The doors of the convenience store thrashed open, and Zenatori felt the rage of thousands from miles away. 
"What were you thinking!" Kurosawa yelled. "You nearly died, and you didn't even attempt to run. Do you have no survival instinct? You let the syneji artists deal with this stuff. Who even is this woman?"

"Can you calm down?" Zenatori said.

"You know, Sakatoro, it's starting to feel like I care more about you than you do about yourself."

Zenatori could only listen to Kurosawa because he knew she was in the right.
"Listen," He muttered. "I think I'm going to Tokyo. I know this sounds sudden, but listen."

Zenatori froze, expecting a rehash from her, but unexpectedly, she was all ears. 

"I have isotonic force."

Koumiko felt a cold shiver run down her spine. Unable to form a proper response, but there was an attempt.

"Is she a syneji artist?" She deducted.

"Yeah," He said.

"I guess that's okay," She said softly.

"Wait, what?" Zenatori said in confusion about the ease of her acceptance.

"I always wanted you to be someone strong. As long as you want to do it, it's okay with me." 

Zenatori felt slightly uneasy at her response, but felt a deep trust in her. 
"Well," Koumiko said, interjecting. "I'm glad this got resolved. I'll need your phone number."

Zenatori pulled out a dinky flip phone from his pocket. It was cheap and unable to receive phone calls, but it could still text and get the job done. He told her the number, and Koumiko nodded. 
"I'll make sure to remember it," She said. "I'll see you later.. Uh"

"Sakatoro Zenatori," He responded. 

"Sakatoro Zenatori, huh?" 

Suddenly, in a flash of dust, the pavement shifted as Koumiko zoomed away.

"Was that right there, pure speed? I couldn't even blink," Zenatori thought.

After some time, the two continued to walk down the clean streets, while the spring air filled the humid atmosphere. It left a natural, but calm feeling in the air, and made Zenatori feel a type of reassurance. The afternoon skies began to finally fade into the evening, and Zenatori was able to see the beautiful sunset of Kyoto one last time.

Throughout the neighborhood, they finally reached a small one-story house that had very minimal features to note. Zenatori walked in front of Kurosawa, pulling a house key from his pocket. As he walked up the porch, he momentarily stopped. 
"You mind waiting here for a moment?" He said. "I'll have to tell my mom the news."

"Yeah, I can wait."

The key jiggled in the lock for a moment, and Zenatori finally entered the house. After some moments passed, Kurosawa awkwardly stood outside, waiting for anything. With a sudden creak, the door shoots open, and a woman comes out.

"Come in, Kurosawa!" the woman said happily.

She had Zenatori's black hair and shared some of his facial features, but had much longer hair and a bright, jubilant aura. She was Zenatori's mom.