……………

At Aoi’s signal, Ayane shot forward—her movements swift, rhythmic. A faint smirk curled on Yura’s lips as she deflected Ayane’s jab, grabbing her forearm and spinning her off balance with a fluid hip toss. Ayane landed hard, but rolled to absorb the impact.

“Now, Setsuna!” Aoi called. From behind, Setsuna dashed at full speed, using a burst of agility to vault over one of the obstacles. She aimed a high spinning kick at Yura’s back, but Yura dropped low—ducking like a ripple sinking underwater—and swept Setsuna off her feet in one swift motion.

Aoi sprinted in. This was the real move. With Yura still crouched from her last sweep, Aoi drove forward with a low sliding kick. Yura blocked with her knee, pushing Aoi back slightly—but not before Aoi managed to toss the smoke pellet at the ground. A burst of mist clouded the area.

“Go wide!” Aoi shouted through the smoke. She darted left while Ayane and Setsuna veered right, splitting Yura’s attention for the first time.

Through the thinning smoke, Yura emerged, landing a sharp elbow against Ayane’s shoulder, spinning to avoid Setsuna’s return punch—but she paused for just a fraction of a second… Because Aoi had closed the distance. A spring from the wall. A mid-air somersault. Her heel came down toward the ground— Crack! Yura caught it with both hands, sliding back several feet, her stance slightly broken. They'd managed to push her back for the first time.

03:19.

The girls regrouped behind a wide stone pillar. All three of them were panting—faces marked with sweat, limbs bruised from near hits and collisions.

“She’s too calm,” Setsuna said. “Like no matter what we do, she’s already seen it.”

“That’s because we’re moving like three individuals,” Aoi said, lowering her voice. “Not a unit. We’re still trying to win our fights instead of the fight.”

She looked between them, eyes firm. “We’re not going to beat her by overpowering her. We need to outsmart her—move like one. Think like one.”

Ayane frowned. “And how do we do that?”

“By being unpredictable,” Aoi replied, her voice now steady. “Ayane—you feint high, then drop low. Setsuna, follow three seconds behind and fake a strike to her left. When she counters…”

“…you’ll already be there,” Setsuna finished, eyes lighting up.

Aoi nodded once. “We go together. If one of us falls behind, the rest don’t stop.”

Ayane’s lips tugged into a grin. “Now that sounds like a plan.”

02:58.

They charged. Ayane struck high—a palm spinning toward Yura’s jaw. Yura raised her elbow to block, but Ayane ducked low and swept her leg around. Yura jumped.

Setsuna came in next, right-on cue—her fist aiming for Yura’s exposed flank. Yura twisted, deflecting the blow with her shoulder. Then Aoi appeared—from above—having launched herself from one of the nearby wooden walls. Yura raised her arms. But it was a feint. Aoi twisted in mid-air, her body curving like a blade and spun past Yura, grabbing the blue flag behind her before tucking into a roll and sliding across the ground to safety.

The room went silent. A loud buzz echoed again. Time: 02:00 remaining.

Yura turned, blinking slowly. Her lips curled ever so slightly. “…Well played.”

Aoi stood, breathing heavily, flag in hand. Misora from the viewing deck, across the arena, leaned forward with interest as she watched the screen from where she stood. “Now that’s a proper display of leadership.”

Jin smirked. “Looks like the rookie made some waves.”

Back in the arena, Yura suddenly jumped away, leaving the place as Aoi turned to her teammates—Ayane and Setsuna meeting her halfway, grinning.

“You did it,” Setsuna said.

“No,” Aoi corrected, offering a faint smirk as she held the flag. “We did it.”

“Not bad, right? We make a killer team!” Ayane beamed, throwing her arms around Aoi and Setsuna in an impromptu hug.

Aoi stiffened, her face turning pink. “H-Hey! I could use some personal space here!” she sputtered, wriggling in the embrace.

The other two giggled, holding on for a moment longer before letting go. Aoi huffed, brushing down her uniform and shooting them a mock glare. Then, her expression shifted. Firm. Focused.

“Let’s move.”

“Right!” Ayane and Setsuna echoed in unison as the trio stepped out of the passage together.

…………..

Back in the training area, three teams stood, bruised and battered, panting heavily from exhaustion. They’d barely scraped through their rounds. In stark contrast, Raito and his teammates—Mitsuru and Rikuya—looked untouched, as if they’d just returned from a light jog rather than a full-on combat trial.

The timer on the screen ticked down: 00:40. Aoi, Ayane, and Setsuna stepped in.

“Ahh~ We made it!” Ayane exhaled, lifting her arms in a big stretch, satisfaction clear in her voice.

Setsuna scanned the room. “Looks like three teams passed… With us, that makes four.”

Aoi nodded with a soft hum, glancing upward. Perched on the platform above, Asuka watched the countdown, her baby-blue eyes unmoving from the screen.

“…She’s probably waiting for it to hit zero before saying anything,” Aoi murmured, her voice calm but curious.

“Seems like it,” Ayane replied with a shrug, clearly just as clueless.

The timer ticked on. 00:18… 00:17…

Asuka leaned slightly forward, humming quietly. 00:10… 00:09…

Aoi sighed again, glancing to Ayane, who just threw up her hands in a beats me gesture.

00:05… 00:04…

“AHHHH!” A trio of voices screamed from one of the passageways as every head turned toward the entrance. Two girls and a boy burst into the room—then promptly tripped over each other, tumbling to the ground in a heap.

00:00.

The soft blare of the horn echoed through the space as the countdown ended.

“We… made it…” the boy wheezed, flat on his back with his brown hair sticking to his sweaty forehead, one hand barely holding up the yellow flag like a trophy.

Asuka raised an eyebrow, then broke into a grin. “Well, look who just slid in at the buzzer.”

The girl in the middle popped to her feet, hands on her hips, glaring at her teammates still sprawled on the floor.

“What was THAT?!” she barked. “You two were absolutely useless! A second later and we’d have failed because of your incompetence!”

The two on the ground blinked in disbelief. “Hold on—our incompetence?” the boy snapped, pushing himself up. “You’re the one who ignored everything we suggested and charged in like you were in some action movie!”

Nakano huffed and turned slightly, arms folded, refusing to meet his gaze.

“You never even gave us a chance!” he continued, clearly fuming. “We followed your plan, and look where it got us!”

“Ken, maybe just—” the girl beside him began, gently resting a hand on his arm.

He pulled back with a shake of his head. “Forget it. Arguing with someone like her? Total waste of breath.”

Nakano’s eye twitched. “Yeah?! Well good! You two couldn’t keep up with me even if you tried! I wouldn’t team up with you again even if you were the last people left on earth!”

From a distance, Rikuya gave a low whistle. “Drama queen alert.”

“Bet Raito’s thanking the stars he didn’t team with her,” Mitsuru added, arms crossed.

Raito’s voice came cool and detached, his hands tucked in his pockets. “Like I’d ever bother. I’d team up with a feral boar before choosing her.” Though far apart, the words landed squarely in Nakano’s ears. Her face flushed crimson with a mix of rage and embarrassment.

Ayane snorted behind a hand. “Classic Nakano. All bark, no teamwork.” Setsuna giggled softly. Aoi said nothing, her expression unreadable.

Suddenly —CLAP! CLAP!

The sound echoed, slicing through the chatter. All eyes turned to the platform above.

“That’s enough,” Asuka called, her voice sharp and clear. “Five teams have made it through Stage Two.” Murmurs of anticipation spread among the exhausted students.

“Now,” she continued, her voice turning sly, “we begin the final stage.”

The ground beneath their feet began to rumble.

“W-Wait… what now?” Ayane stammered, glancing around. A loud mechanical whir echoed as massive doors slid open—revealing towering mechanized puppets stomping into the arena, their metal limbs glinting under the lights.

Asuka’s grin widened. “Welcome to the Combat Survival Trial! And from the looks of it—your opponents are thrilled to meet you!”

The students collectively froze in horror.

“She didn’t even give us a break!” Ayane wailed, taking a step back.

Aoi’s jaw clenched. Her fists balled at her sides as she stared up at the looming machines. 

“Bring it on,” she muttered under her breath.