But being recognized for my skills made me a little happy, too. I had been training my ability for six years by myself so, having such powerful ability users compliment me gave me a little more confidence. 

With their help, I might really be able to find Violet and Eon…

Just as I thought that, Ettie suddenly flinched and her eyes started glowing again.

“I… I think I heard something…!” Ettie turned around, trying to find the source of what she heard. 

Blaze narrowed her eyes. “...What do you mean?”

“I-I don't know! It was a strong thought! Strong enough to activate my ability unwillingly…!”

“An ability hunter?” Blaze immediately readied her stance.

“No, 'cuz I couldn't read this person's thoughts… I just felt their strong emotions. It was almost like they knew how to block off their mind to prevent their thoughts from being read! I couldn't read anything!”

“Was it an ability user then…?” Blaze asked.

“I think so. But I don't know how they knew how to block their mind from me… Did they know about my ability? There's no way, right?” 

Ettie put her finger to her chin, appearing to be in deep thought, while Blaze cautiously looked around with her eyes.

“...!?”

Now that Ettie had mentioned it, I felt a pair of eyes on me and it was different from Regret's. 

“W-Who's there…?!” I quickly turned around to face the tree, and shot a blast of water at an upper tree branch where I felt the gaze coming from.

…Which probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but I wanted answers.

“Hey, Luna!?” Blaze scolded. “We don't know who we're dealing with. Leave this sort of thing to me.”

“I-I'm sorry, I felt a strong gaze on me, and I…”

“So, you could actually sense me? Interesting!”

The five of us quickly turned in the direction of the mysterious voice, but there was no one there. Blaze stood in front of me, acting as a shield.

“W-Who said that…?” I asked.

“I don't know…” Blaze answered before turning her attention to the voice. “Whoever you are, show yourself!” She shouted.

A figure in a red cloak, who had been hiding in the leaves of the tree, slowly rose and stood on one of the branches. Their face was hidden by their cloak, but it was clear they were watching us.

“A Crime cloak…?!” Blaze gasped.

“No way…” I mumbled, taking a step closer.

“Wait, Luna!? What do you think you're doing?!” Blaze tried to pull me back, but I brushed her hand away. 

“Are you really a Crime member…?!”

I took another step closer, gazing up at the tree and refusing to look away from the cloaked figure. 

The cloaked figure stared me down from head to toe. “....Are you Luna Ione?”

I was a little miffed that they answered my question with another question, but that feeling quickly got overtaken by the shock of a Crime member knowing my name.

“Huh…? Y-You know who I am…?”

“So, you are Luna Ione…” Their lips curved into a grin with a gleefully creepy laugh. “AHA… AhahaHAHAHAA!”

I flinched, starting to feel a little scared by the way they were laughing. 

W… What's with this person…?!

But I firmly kept my stance on the grass and gazed at them seriously, ignoring my internal pleas to break eye contact.

“H-How do you know my name…?!”

“That doesn't matter. What matters is that I've finally found you, Luna Ione!”

Just as the cloaked figure looked like they were about to jump forward, the branch they were standing on began to crack.

“Ah…?” The branch broke and they immediately began to fall from the tree. “Uwahhh!?”

They let out a startled shriek, darting their eyes around to find a safe spot to land.

“Hey, watch ouuuttt!?”

“Huhhh!?”

The cloaked figure was quickly landing in my direction. Before I had the time to step out of the way, they crashed right into me.

“Luna!?"

I had shut my eyes to brace myself for impact, but I was hearing the other members calling for me. I slowly opened my eyes to take a look and was immediately startled by the cloaked figure pinning me down on the grass.

“...!?”

The cloaked figure's face was completely visible now that their hood had fallen off. Their eyes, which were widened with shock, were a clear white. And their short hair was a ginger color. Their face also looked… shadowy? 

…Wait a minute.

Then, it hit me. Their appearance was exactly as Blaze had described Crime's leader. 

Is this person actually Thorn Shadows?!

Before I could say anything, I realized there was something soft pressing against my lips. I looked down and realized Thorn Shadows(?)’s lips were currently on mine. He pulled his lips away from mine and stared from on top of me.

“.....”

Thorn didn't say anything, but the shock in his eyes was obvious. His face also looked flushed as he stared at me.

…Looking at him from up close, he was actually sort of handsome. His sinister aura was a little unsettling at first, but it made him more mysterious. And his shadowy face was actually kind of cool…

…Wait, wait, waittt! What the hell am I thinking?! This isn't some scene in a romantic novel! Just what is this situation?! And is this really the leader of Crime?!

My thoughts were swirling while he continued to intently stare at me. 

Why isn't he saying anything?! This is so awkward! But if he really is the leader of Crime, then, I need to say something! I have to ask about my siblings!

I could feel my own face start to burn up with how much he was staring, but I tried to calm my racing thoughts. 

“U-Um…!” I tried to speak.

He opened his mouth at last like he was about to say something. “....Pretty…” He mumbled.

“...Huh?” 

That caught me so off guard, I forgot what I was about to ask.

“You're so...” 

“So…?” I asked confusedly.

He was starting to trail off and his cheeks were gradually becoming an even brighter shade of red. He was so close to me, I could hear his heartbeat… It was pounding at an alarmingly fast rate.

“A-Are you alright…? Did you hurt yourself when you fell…?” I looked at him with concern.

His eyes widened even more at that, as if he couldn't believe what I had just asked.

“I….” His eyes were void, but they seemed to be a little brighter now. “N-No…! I'm… I'm okay….!”

His voice sounded a little higher than it did while he was up in the tree. He gasped once he realized the position we were in.

“S-Sorry!” He quickly apologized and got off of me. “I-I should be asking you the same question! I don't know what came over me… Are you okay—?” 

“Get away from her!!”

Thorn offered his hand to help me up, but before I could take it, Blaze threw a fireball in his direction. He swiftly dodged before it could reach him, but in that split second, he seemed utterly shocked by Blaze's actions and his eyes looked incredibly pained…

Blaze quickly stepped in front of me and helped me up. “Luna, are you okay?!” She held me protectively.

“I-I'm fine, but…”

“Did you just… try to blast me with fire…? Ahahaha!” Thorn laughed bitterly, a crooked smile on his face. “You really haven't changed a bit, have you!? Blaze!”

His eyes were void again as he exclaimed her name with such anger. It was drastically different from how he was acting towards me.

“I wish I could say the same of you… Thorn.”

The two glared at each other with such hatred that you could cut through the tension with a knife...