Still in midair, Itzel and Rosália were within Hitomi's range. The woman was preparing to launch her flames again at the two, this time gathering fire in both hands.
"ITZEL, WE'RE IN THE AIR! SHE'S GOING TO ATTACK! WE'RE GOING TO DIE!" Rosália shouted, clinging to him, staring at the woman using fire Potentia and bracing for imminent death.
Itzel did not respond to Rosália's panic and concern, he was focused on escaping. As they approached the waterfall, a portal opened within the water, and that was where he was leading them.
As soon as the two entered the bright light, the portal closed at the same speed it had opened. It vanished completely, leaving the landscape just as it had been before.
"What was that?" Nami asked.
"What kind of speed was that?" Hitomi said, impressed.
The two looked at each other, confused. The silence was enough to understand they were thinking the same thing.
"Are you okay, Hitomi?" Nami asked.
"I am," Hitomi confirmed. "That was strange. He didn't attack me, he just created a barrier…"
"He didn't attack me either," Nami said.
With nothing else to resolve, the two women returned to the inn, where they rested due to exhaustion.
Finalia
The light that had closed on Earth now opened in Finalia. From within it, Itzel and Rosália emerged, arriving directly at Ayami's base. Soaked from the waterfall, breathing heavily from the run, both showed signs of what had just happened.
"Rose, are you okay?" Itzel asked, having recovered faster.
He was beside her, one knee on the ground. One of his hands rested on her, trying to calm her. Rosália, on the other hand, had both hands on the ground, her breathing rapid, her gaze unfocused, her heartbeat above normal. Her eyes had no direction, her thoughts disordered.
When she composed herself enough, she turned to Itzel and looked at him. Her eyebrows raised, her teeth clenched, until she finally spoke.
"WHAT WAS THAT, ITZEL?" she demanded, her voice filled with anger.
She stood up and moved away from him, her hands moving as she expressed her indignation. Her rigid body made movement harder, but showed her discomfort.
"YOU STOPPED ME! YOU STOPPED MY ATTACK! WHAT IS GOING ON?" Rosália questioned, more directly than before.
"Rose, please, trust me—"
"NO!" Rosália cut him off, drawing her shoulders in. "I DON'T RECOGNIZE YOU ANYMORE, ITZEL. YOU'VE CHANGED A LOT."
"Rose… I'm still me…"
"DON'T CALL ME THAT ANYMORE! YOU'RE BECOMING JUST LIKE THE PEOPLE FROM THAT PLANET!" as she spoke, tears she could no longer hold back escaped her eyes. "YOUR CLOTHES, THE WAY YOU SPEAK, THE WAY YOU ACT, I DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING."
"But is it bad? I don't understand," Itzel said, becoming more confused with each word.
"IT'S NOT BAD, BUT IT'S STRANGE." Rosália paused briefly. "ARE YOU IN LOVE WITH SOME EARTH GIRL?"
"OF COURSE NOT! WHERE DID YOU GET THAT FROM?"
Rosália's comment was so absurd to Itzel that he raised his voice. His face, which had shown sadness and concern, now showed confusion and indignation. She refused to look at him, keeping her eyes closed, turning her face away.
"EVEN THE WAY YOU TOUCH ME! I'M SURE YOU'RE LEARNING THAT FROM SOME WOMAN THERE."
"OF COURSE NOT, ROSE! I MISS YOU, I WANTED TO SPEND MORE TIME WITH YOU!"
"NO 'ROSE', ITZEL!" she lifted her face and looked at him. "NOW YOU'RE EVEN WEARING A DIFFERENT EARRING! YOU MUST LIKE HER A LOT!"
Itzel could not believe what he was hearing and for a moment fell silent. Rosália's suspicion was something he had never imagined, and soon his shock turned into anger.
"AIDEN GAVE IT TO ME!" he said, upset.
"GO AWAY! WE ARE NOTHING ANYMORE!" Those were Rosália's final words, as she turned her back on him and walked away without looking back.
He raised his hand as if to reach her, but knew it was too late. For Itzel, that night, all that remained was to watch the one he loved leave him behind.
Sayuri's house, Sunday, May 9th, afternoon
The pleasant breeze of that day contrasted with Nami's feelings, who was still confused about the fight from the early morning. The outing between her and Hitomi had stopped being a moment just for the two of them. Now it was already Sunday afternoon and she needed to go pick up Hana.
Welcomed by the smiling and serene Sayuri, Nami entered the house and soon saw her daughter Hana playing around the house with Matsui.
"Thank you so much for taking care of Hana for us!" she said with a smile.
"It was a pleasure! The two of them get along very well, they played a lot!" the hostess replied.
"Sayu… there was an attack in the mountains…" Nami said, without hesitation. "It was a woman with purple hair and a man with cyan hair."
"Cyan hair? Could it be Itzel?" Sayuri's smile turned into a surprised expression.
"It matched the description you gave. He didn't attack us, he just ran away and took the woman with him."
Sayuri became thoughtful, looking off to the side without focusing on anything specific. She brought her hand to her chin, thinking. Part of her felt tense, another part relieved.
"Could it be… maybe he is… trustworthy?"
Sayuri and Nami talked a bit longer while the two girls played. Monday was approaching and even though the girls had no classes, the adults still had their responsibilities.
The week was a bit chaotic for the parents of younger children, who had to adjust to the days without school. The teenagers, on the other hand, enjoyed the short break.
Market, Saturday, May 15th, morning
Hikaru was at the newsstand in front of the market, checking headlines and magazines for sale, when something caught his attention:
"CLASSES AT M SCHOOL RESUMED THIS WEDNESDAY" was printed on the front page of the city's main newspaper. In addition to reporting it, they had dedicated the weekend special section to the school.
A feeling of discomfort came over him as he read it. He chose not to even pick up the paper, he knew the news would be far from the truth, but maybe it was better that way.
Classes resumed on Wednesday and people are already complaining they want more time off… and they don't even know what really happened. Ignorance is a blessing, he thought, heading toward the market.
Saturday mornings were crowded, everyone wanted to shop and enjoy the weekend. The commotion made people blend together, no one standing out in the rush.
Like every rule has an exception, as he approached the entrance, someone caught Hikaru's attention. A tall young man, wearing dark denim and leather clothes and a cap, stood out. He walked with his head down, trying to stay unnoticed, but his presence was striking.
"Hey, excuse me!" Hikaru said, turning quickly toward him.
"Yes?" The young man turned his face toward Hikaru, greeting him with a subtle smile.
"You're the drummer from Ayu's show, right!?" Hikaru asked, excited to meet the musician.
"Yes! That's me!" the young man confirmed.
Hikaru reached out his hand to greet him, and the other used his right hand, which held a shopping bag, to greet him.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Hikaru!"
"Yuuki! So, Hikaru, you like pop?"
"Ah, more or less. Do I look like I like pop?"
"Haha, I just got shut down by a girl, so I'd rather not make assumptions," Yuuki said with a small laugh.
"Do you live around here?"
"No! I came to play with my band!" Yuuki replied, continuing to walk. "Want to walk with me?"
"Seriously? Which band?" Hikaru asked, surprised, following him. "Yeah!"
"It's Black Dragon."
Hikaru was surprised, almost stumbling when he heard the name.
"Wait! You guys are famous! You're always on the radio!"
"Ha! We're getting known! But yeah, we do play!" Yuuki said, his words grounded, but his bright expression showed how happy he was. "Oh, wait!"
Yuuki took his wallet from his pocket and opened it, looking for some papers. He found them and handed them to Hikaru.
"You seem like a good guy," he said. "I got some tickets, but I don't know anyone here. You don't have to go, but it'd be nice if you did and brought some friends."
"But… are you sure? These are all VIP!" Hikaru said, impressed.
"Yeah! What matters is filling the place!" Yuuki said, winking and giving a thumbs up.
They talked while walking until they reached the entrance of the hotel where Yuuki was staying with the band. They said goodbye there, the musician went to his room to rest and prepare, while Hikaru returned to the market, finished his shopping and went home.
Sayuri's house
Hikaru arrived home in a hurry, excited. He dropped the bags on the kitchen table and ran to Akiko, who was in her room.
"Akiko! Akiko!" he called. "You know the drummer from Ayu's show? He's in town and playing today! I got VIP tickets, wanna go? See who else wants to come!"
Akiko turned to him, excited, already thinking about who to invite.
"Wow!" a name quickly came to her mind. "I think Yukino will want to go!"
She immediately associated Ayu with her friend. She also considered inviting the other girls, but Yukino would be her priority.
"Nice! I'll call Adonis!" Hikaru said, mentioning the first name that came to mind. They hadn't talked much since classes resumed, and this would be a good chance to hang out.
Hikaru and Akiko went together to the room with the phone and started by calling Adonis.