Track 14. 闇の雨 (Yami no Ame)

N.T.: (Rain of Darkness)

In that dry, earthy lot, Naoko lay hurt at the bottom of the hole Koa had opened in the ground. He stood over her, expression firm, eyes unwavering.

“I already know there are others. Call them to fight.”

Feeling a little less dizzy, Naoko shifted and met his stare. Even with the pain, she could still move. She quickly raised her hand and hurled a thick mass of water straight into his face.

Koa took the hit—he hadn’t been expecting a counterattack—but it didn’t shake him emotionally. Still, after wiping the water away, he looked toward the pit where the girl should’ve been… and found it filled with water. That startled him a little.

She turned into water?

A few seconds later, Naoko appeared behind him and whipped a kick toward his head. Koa reacted fast, blocking with his right forearm.

She dropped low immediately, slipping back into a fighting stance. In that moment, Koa threw a punch for her face—she brought her arm up to defend and redirect his strike. He chained into a right hook right after, and she stopped it with some difficulty.

With both arms holding his, she went for another kick—this time into the side of Koa’s abdomen. He clearly had combat experience; instead of blocking, he grabbed her leg, lifted it up level with his face, and threw his weight over her, forcing her off balance. She slammed hard into the ground, pain shooting through her back.

“Enough with the kicks. That communication device—do you have it?” Koa asked. His body was over hers, his hands pinning her wrists so she couldn’t bolt.

The city’s weather was unstable, and a downpour started suddenly, heavy and fast.

She’s Water Potentia… she’ll be able to use this rain to expand her reach, he calculated quickly, already building a strategy in his head.

Rain… I can… lucky, Naoko’s mind raced too, searching for a way out.

Then her thoughts broke apart.

A strange pressure seized her whole body, as if every nerve ending, every muscle, were being tortured.

Pain ran through Naoko like she was being cut. A scream ripped out of her. Koa only stared at her, without remorse. The agony continued, her body twisting involuntarily. Thoughts still flickered, and she tried to understand what was happening.

This pain… absurd… He isn’t even squeezing me, he’s just holding my arms. Every part of my body hurts too much… Is this… Mental Potentia? Naoko felt like she’d reached a conclusion.

“If you tell me where the other Potentia are, I can lessen your pain.”

“I…”

A massive wall of water formed right behind Koa. He heard the movement, turned, and startled at the sheer volume. It surged forward and wrapped around him completely.

This time, Koa was the one with no way out—unable to breathe, unable to break free. The water was so thick his vision blurred, and he couldn’t see anything outside it.

Not long after, the water shell broke apart and Koa could breathe again. When he came back to himself, the first thing he noticed was that the girl he’d been fighting was no longer there.

The Water Potentia he’d had under control was now on the run. There were no signs of which way she’d escaped. Not knowing where to search, he sat there under the storm, desolate.

She used the rain. Tried to drown me. I ran out of air for a moment. I let her escape… She did all of that in that state… Her willpower is above average.

Sayuri’s house, evening

Night was settling in. The younger girls were already home, Megumi had gone out, and Naoko still hadn’t returned—or sent any word. Sayuri paced, impatient, until Akiko showed up.

“Akiko… it’s already so late. Have you heard anything from Naoko?”

“She went to check gincana stuff with the girls from her class!”

“Akiko… show some concern. She told me, yes, but even so, I didn’t think she’d take this long.”

A moment later, the front door opened so fast and aggressively that it could be heard from the kitchen.

“I think Guang got home.”

Sayuri headed to the living room and ran into the unexpected scene.

“SAYURI! I NEED HELP! I FOUND NAOKO LIKE THIS!”

Guang rushed into the room carrying Naoko. Dirty with mud and drenched from head to toe with rainwater, her legs were trembling. The only thing keeping her standing was her spirit—her body was about to pass out.

Sayuri, who knew the girl’s strength and abilities, was shocked by what she saw.

“NAOKO?! WHAT HAPPENED?! PUT HER HERE ON THE COUCH!”

Sayuri had Guang settle her while she ran to get the first-aid kit.

Naoko was left sitting on the couch to rest. She was exhausted, clearly holding herself together just to stay awake.

Guang offered her a glass of water. Naoko thanked him and took a few sips. Sayuri sat beside her with the kit and pressed a hand to Naoko’s forehead to check for fever.

“…What happened? How did you end up like this?” Sayuri asked.

“Sayu… There was… another enemy. Different.”

Another one? Sayuri thought, in disbelief.

She helped take care of Naoko. When Naoko felt a little better, she took a shower and then went to bed to sleep.

Planet Finalia, that same night

“I’m here, ma’am. What do you need?” Koa asked, called urgently to the main room of Ayami’s base.

“LADY AYAMI FOR YOU, BOY. START EXPLAINING RIGHT NOW!” Ayami snapped, furious.

“Lady Ayami… the others were idle with their missions. Even though I was called only for support, I realized that—” Even intimidated, Koa kept his tone firm and serious.

“REALIZED WHAT?! THAT YOU COULD DRAW EVEN MORE ATTENTION TO THEM?! THEY’LL BE EVEN MORE ALERT TO OUR MOVES. GET OUT OF HERE! BE GRATEFUL I’M NOT PUNISHING YOU TODAY.” Ayami cut him off and threw him out of her room.

Everyone knew how authoritarian Ayami was with her subordinates, and Koa was no exception. Seeing there was no choice—and that he wouldn’t be heard no matter how much he explained—he left the room and slammed the door in anger. All he could do was hold his emotions down.

Out in the corridor, he started walking when someone approached from behind.

“Well, well…” a female voice taunted. “Looks like someone got chewed out by the boss.”

The mocking voice belonged to Yesenia, wearing an ironic smile. Koa looked at her and saw the wounds from the last battle were still very visible.

“…How are your injuries?”

Yesenia stepped closer and rested one hand on his shoulder while the other touched his chest.

“I’m better. Healed nicely. But I needed to check if the sensitivity came back to normal. Help me?” she asked, seductive.

Koa grabbed her hand and pushed it away from his chest. She glared at him with disgust, clearly displeased. Koa didn’t care and commented, calm and blunt.

“Ever thought about stopping treating people like objects? Maybe they’ll stop treating you like one.”

“You’re going to lecture me, when you’re treated like an object too? You know she doesn’t love you. Why play dumb?”

Koa stayed serious, but silent after Yesenia’s statement. He wasn’t going to continue that discussion, so he left, letting Yesenia talk to herself.

School, March 25

It was morning, in classroom 202, second year of high school. The teacher hadn’t arrived yet, so the students used the time to talk.

Everyone was lively, forming little groups with the people they liked most. Even Adonis already had his group, gathered around his desk, talking about classes and everyday stuff.

“Adonis! People wanna know and I’m gonna say it straight. You into short nerd girls?” one friend asked out of nowhere.

“I dunno, never thought about it!”

“So nothing going on between you and that first-year girl?”

“What girl, man? What are you talking about?”

Adonis rested his elbow on the desk, turned his face to the side, and raised an eyebrow, showing he didn’t like the question.

“Come on… the rumors are going around! You know what they say—the voice of the people is the voice of God!”

Rumors?! Adonis felt like maybe he should worry about that.

School, March 26

The next morning the school was still loud and hyped, but today the topic was different.

Miyu walked through the courtyard during recess and noticed people looking at her and whispering. At first she wouldn’t have thought it was about her, but after not just three—ten different groups doing the same thing, there was no way to think otherwise.

Something really strange is going on, she thought, uneasy.

Right behind her, Aino came up, clearly annoyed, and called out, startling Miyu.

“MIYU! WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME ANYTHING?”

“WHAT?! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?”

“BLAH, BLAH BLAH, BLAH BLAH BLAH, BLAH BLAH…”

Aino explained all the gossip circulating around school.

“What?! Nothing is happening! Where did these people even get that? The only thing we had together was problems! Because he broke the lab and I got dragged into the blame too!”

Now Miyu was angry, stuck in trouble again—and it involved Adonis.

On the other side of the courtyard, Adonis, who was also a target of whispers, crossed the crowded school and headed toward the covered court, a quiet place with no students at that time.

He vented his irritation by throwing the ball against the wall, hard, over and over, thinking:

DON’T THESE PEOPLE HAVE THEIR OWN LIVES? IF THEY HAVE SO MUCH TIME TO THINK ABOUT STUPID THINGS… WHY DON’T THEY STUDY?

Indignant, Adonis put his hands on his face, breathed, and dragged them back through his hair, pulling it out of his eyes. In doing that, he looked toward the door and saw Miyu entering.

Their eyes met, and both felt embarrassed. Miyu turned her back and quickly left, returning to the courtyard.

Damn… she must’ve heard the rumors too… Adonis thought.

That morning continued in an unpleasant way. Adonis and Miyu couldn’t sit through class calmly because of all the whispering. The only relief was that the morning would end soon, and then the weekend would come. School rumors didn’t usually last that long.