Voltae's chest tightened. Hoshi. They shared the same last name. "Why do you have my last name?" The young boy paused to think. Akko rolled his eyes and let him reach his own conclusion. "Does that mean we're brot--" 

"Relax, kid," Akko cut him off, catching Voltae off guard. "We're not brothers. Not by blood, at least." Akko shrugged. "I'd describe it more as... by design. Yosei gave us all the same name. 'Hoshi.' Star. Said it was legacy. Or maybe just ego." His voice grew bitter. "He picked up strays like us, fed them scraps of love, raised them in his big golden mansion, then cut them loose when they didn't measure up. Most of his pupils died on their own. Some survived. I was one of those who did."

The boy's stomach twisted. His master, a father in all but blood — could he truly have abandoned children so coldly? Was everything he believed a lie? "You're a liar," Voltae spat, more desperate than sure. "Why should I believe you?"

Akko's laugh cracked across the snow. "Because the truth hurts, kid. Look at your sword." He pointed to the faintly pulsing emerald light coming from Voltae's nodachi. "That's the Blitz Gem. You didn't even know its name, did you? Pathetic? He told you even less than he told me."

Voltae's world shifted. Yosei's words, Yosei's silences, his deliberate avoidance of certain truths — all of it pressed down on him, crushing him in the winter snow.

But Akko's wasn't finished. "You think you're special, huh? You're not. Now that you're a Star, this is reality. We Stars are nothing but weapons to the world. Glorified tools for people like Yosei." His bokken lowered, his voice turned deadly. "But don't worry. You won't live long enough to figure out the rest."

The gray gems at his hilts pulsed. The storm shifted as Akko dashed at his "target".

Voltae raised his blade instinctively. The Blitz Gem flashed, emerald veins running along the steel and spreading into his palm, causing Akko to halt. Pain shot through him like needles and flame. He cried out in agony, his scream echoing across the ruined yard as he dropped the nodachi. The veins burned deeper, carving into his flesh. A dragon coiled into being across his left hand, carved in living green. Voltae collapsed to one knee as his chest heaved and his vision wavered. And then—release. Breath rushed back into him, his wounds healing shut, as strength flooded his muscles and bones. His nodachi reformed in his grip, now heavier and alive with power.

The pain was gone. Only the dragon remained. Akko raised an eyebrow. "Oh shit," Yosei really died before he taught him anything. He smirked, his tone mocking but edged with surprise. "You hadn't even had the first fuckin' ritual? Intense pain, super-bright lights, and shit like that. Better be lucky you only had one of these shits, big dawg. I have two gems, so two very painful rituals." He raised his twin bokken, preparing himself for battle. "Now, let's see what you can do with it."

Voltae moved first this time. His body blurred, emerald sparks trailing as he dashed, blade cutting a streak through the storm. His speed surprised even himself, as he could feel power flowing through his veins. He experienced a mix of instinct and Yosei's training merging with the Blitz Gem's power, pushing him to clash blades with Akko.

Akko had already disappeared. His image rippled in the air like water disturbed, echoes of him shimmering left and right. "Fast, huh?" His voice boomed from everywhere, impossible to pin down. A bokken slammed into Voltae's ribs from the side, sending him sprawling. "But sound's faster."

Voltae rolled, just in time to avoid the follow-up attack. The impact split the earth and snow, the shockwave scattering the last remnants of the training ground. The backyard -- Yosei's yard -- was gone, erased in an instant.

Voltae staggered to his feet inside the mansion's ballroom, glass and gold shattering around him. The gaudy walls Yosei had built to house him now rattled with each clash. Akko stepped through the wreckage, inhaling deeply. "Damn. Smells the same." His grin widened. "What you got to eat in this place?"

"You talk too much." Voltae raised his blade, teeth gritted.

Akko chuckled. "Maybe. But you won't be hearing me for much longer."

Their weapons clashed, and the sound reverberated around them, causing the walls nearby to shudder. The distortion spread outward in waves. Voltae's resolve grew stronger. He was the last student of Yosei Wakamoto, inheritor of a truth he hadn't yet grasped. But whatever Yosei had been—father, liar, teacher, monster—he would not abandon the man's name.

He forced himself to go faster. His blade crackled with emerald sparks, the dragon's fire leaping along its edge. He vanished, reappearing behind Akko in a single blink, his strike cleaving down with all the fury of storm and grief.

But the strike hit nothing. The floor split instead, wood and gold exploding in shards. A voice whispered in his ear: "Nice try."

A storm of bokken slashes struck him from every direction at once, echoes reverberating off walls and windows. Voltae's cry was swallowed in the cacophony.

The last words he heard before darkness swallowed him were quiet, almost gentle.

"Bye, kid."