After a long night, dawn had broken once again, but the team had yet to shake off their exhaustion. The sun was hitting the temple courtyard. The morning chill had dissipated, replaced by a heavy stillness. As the hours approached noon, the air was neither hot nor cold; however, the silence in the hall made time feel more oppressive than it actually was.
The table was set. It was time to talk about the events of yesterday.
The Master sat alone at the head of the table. Daichi was in the right corner, and Ryuji was in the left. Neither seemed inclined to speak; they knew they were not the focus of this meeting.
Sitting at the front of the table, directly across from the Master, were Ayoi and Sakura.
The distance between them was intentional.
Ayoi was silent. Her gaze wandered over the Master's face, trying to understand what remained unsaid. Sakura, as usual, sat upright; despite the pain in her waist, she did not compromise her posture.
Master:
"Yes, I am listening," he began. "What happened to you?"
The moment Ayoi opened her mouth, Sakura quickly cut in and interrupted her.
Sakura:
"Immediately after the training sessions, Ayoi and I went for a walk in the forest. When the smell of smoke rose again, we began to investigate."
She spoke nonchalantly—she wasn't lying, but she was choosing to tell an incomplete story. But the Master, of course, realized that what was being told was only half the truth.
Master:
"And you mistook my map for a handkerchief and put it in your pocket, I assume?"
Sakura was taken aback for a moment but recovered quickly. She frowned and averted her gaze.
Master:
"You took my map without permission, and you broke my prohibition."
Ayoi bowed her head, glancing at Sakura out of the corner of her eye. Daichi finally decided to join the conversation and slowly straightened up.
Daichi:
"I do not believe Ayoi intended to be disobedient to you, Master."
At these words, Sakura furrowed her brows, her gaze quickly finding Daichi. Ryuji shifted slightly, watching the events with a curious but relaxed demeanor.
Master:
"I know this plan did not originate with Ayoi, but she was part of it one way or another. Therefore, she will not be exempt from the punishment given to Sakura."
This time, Sakura lunged from her seat in a rage. Her anger was reflected in her eyes.
Sakura:
"Punishment? Thanks to my plan, we finally faced our enemy, and instead of thanking me, you're going to punish me?!"
The Master also rose from his seat. He knew how rebellious Sakura was, but this arrogant, unrepentant attitude disturbed him.
Master:
"You disobeyed me; you put both yourself and your friends in danger. You're right, I do owe you a thank you. Thank you, Sakura, for reminding me of what I should not tolerate."
Sakura took a deep breath, but her voice still came out uncontrollably.
Sakura:
"I didn't disobey you! I did you a favor! If I hadn't shown courage and gone into the forest, we would still be dreaming of defeating our enemy by meditating here!"
The Master's gaze hardened even more. He furrowed his brows and fixed his eyes on Sakura as if pinning her to the spot.
Master:
"I suggest you be much more careful with your words and actions from now on, Sakura. I have always appreciated your rebellious spirit, but that does not mean I will allow you to cross the line."
Ayoi noticed the anger in the Master's eyes. She pulled Sakura by the arm, forced her to sit, and signaled her to be quiet.
Ayoi:
"I respect your decision, Master." She gave him an understanding but clearly unhappy look. "I accept my punishment; it is as it should be..."
The Master nodded appreciatively and then sat back down. He wasn't finished with his questions yet.
Master:
"How did you encounter the man?"
Ayoi:
"He lured us into a trap... we fought him, but our strength wasn't enough. As we tried to escape, the man blocked our path again, and at that moment..." she paused, trying to recall the moment. "...a sharp metallic scent spread, and our consciousness began to blur. When we came to, we were in that cave."
The Master raised his head thoughtfully; what she described sounded familiar to him.
Master:
"He must have used sleeping powder..."
Ryuji raised an eyebrow and looked at the Master inquisitively, his hands clasped on the table.
Ryuji:
"Sleeping powder? What is that?"
Without looking at Ryuji, the Master tried to explain while thinking.
Master:
"A type of spell. If a person inhales the powder, it causes unconsciousness within a few seconds."
Ayoi and Sakura looked at each other for a moment. The Master slowly stood up; the meeting was over. He told Sakura and Ayoi to stand up and follow him. Their punishment was set: they would clean the temple from top to bottom for two days, and when they weren't cleaning, they would try to restrain their impulses by meditating.
Although Sakura didn't like the idea at all, she ultimately had to comply with the Master's demand.
---
After a few hours, the first area they cleaned was the temple courtyard and its surroundings. Dried leaves that had accumulated on the stone floor were swept away, and withered weeds that left a dirty appearance were pulled. The sun was still high; shadows had shortened, hitting the temple walls.
Ayoi left the broom she was holding at the edge of the courtyard. Her palms were worn and itchy, but her face remained expressionless. A few steps away, Sakura tossed the last bunch of dried weeds she had pulled to the side. Although the pain in her waist reminded her of its presence, she stood tall.
The sliding doors of the temple slowly opened. When they stepped inside, the light from outside remained behind them. The scent of resin and old wood from the wooden floor mingled with the air. Ayoi took some wet cloths and slowly knelt down to begin cleaning the floor.
As the cloth moved slowly across the wooden floor, the only sound filling the temple was the soft friction of the cloth. Sakura also took wet cloths and set to work cleaning the sliding doors.
Ayoi:
"Sakura..." she whispered.
Sakura slowly turned her head to Ayoi, raising an eyebrow as a sign for her to continue.
Ayoi:
"There are things that don't add up."
Sakura stopped and turned to Ayoi.
Sakura:
"There are many things that don't add up. Which one are you talking about?"
Ayoi:
"The sleeping spell."
Sakura rolled her eyes and continued wiping the doors.
Sakura:
"I don't think there's anything incomprehensible about that."
Ayoi looked at Sakura out of the corner of her eye, wetting and wringing out her cloth again.
Ayoi:
"I mean... the Master said this spell was a powder, but the man had nothing in his hands at that moment."
Sakura thought for a moment, frowned slightly, and turned back to Ayoi.
Sakura:
"What do you mean?"
Ayoi:
"What I mean is very clear. For us to inhale the powder, it needs to be scattered around, but the man had nothing in his hands while he was chasing us."
Sakura:
"You probably didn't notice because of fear."
Ayoi shook her head; she was quite sure of this. The person who scattered the powder was not the man chasing them. But she wasn't going to waste time arguing with Sakura. She set the thought aside for later. She would ask the Master once their punishment was over.
Sakura:
"The thing that doesn't add up to me is how the man disappeared into the flames..."
Ayoi spoke without turning her head.
Ayoi:
"There might be many things we don't yet know about the jewels... Maybe this is a power offered by the jewel?"
Sakura shook her head vigorously.
Sakura:
"I don't think so. From what the Master has told us, the jewels only give the power to control the element they belong to."
Ayoi stopped for a moment to think and slowly stood up.
Ayoi:
"I'm not sure, Sakura... for now, we should just focus on our work. We'll talk about these things later anyway."
Sakura rolled her eyes again, turned around, and headed for the window frames. She began slowly wiping the sills. The cleaning inside the temple finally came to an end. The cloths were wrung out, the doors were closed. The wooden floor looked as if no one had just been kneeling there.
---
In the courtyard, there was a light breeze. The Master sat on his knees on the stone floor, slowly turning the pages of an old spellbook placed in front of him. The symbols scattered between the lines pointed to more than just a normal magic text. The Master frowned, tracing his finger over the lines.
He slowly straightened up at the sound coming from behind him.
Ryuji:
"Master."
Without turning his head, without taking his eyes off the book, he answered.
Master:
"Hello, Ryuji. How can I help you?"
The Master did not like being disturbed unless it was a serious matter. Although Ryuji's sudden appearance behind him made him a little uneasy, he did not show it.
Ryuji:
"Oh, no. I don't need help. Just..." he paused for a short time, taking a deep breath. "...I was wondering about you."
The Master didn't take his eyes off the lines until he finished the page he was reading. When the page was finally finished, he slowly closed the book and invited Ryuji to sit with a hand gesture.
Ryuji sat cross-legged on the cushion the Master had pointed to. He placed his hands on his knees.
Master:
"The reason you came here is not me; something is making you uneasy."
Ryuji bowed his head and remained silent. He thought for a while and took a deep breath.
Ryuji:
"Yes... honestly, I'm a little nervous."
The Master stood up and, while listening to Ryuji, poured some hot tea from the boiling teapot into two cups.
Ryuji:
"From the very beginning, I imagined the moment we would fight our enemy, but after yesterday... seeing Sakura and Ayoi like that, I started to feel a bit anxious."
The Master returned, placed one of the cups in front of Ryuji, and sat on his own cushion.
Master:
"We have an enemy with no limits. The fact that we don't know him yet will make our job quite difficult. That's why, when their punishment is over, I will talk to Sakura and Ayoi in detail and try to learn everything they observed."
Ryuji took a sip of the hot tea and closed his eyes as if pleased with the taste. The sky was beginning to cloud over; the breeze that had been pleasant at first slowly increased in intensity.
Ryuji:
"He must be someone experienced. I'm not sure how much of a chance we have against someone who has both a jewel and is this powerful..."
The Master raised an eyebrow; these words were foreign to Ryuji. He had always been carefree and confident, but now the person sitting across from him was showing for the first time that he was apprehensive.
Master:
"This is exactly why I am also training you mentally, Ryuji. At the point where physical strength is not enough, logic comes into play. You will need intelligence to defeat him."
Ryuji raised his eyebrows and nodded as if he understood. He took another sip of his tea, inhaled the steam rising from the cup, and placed the glass back in the corner.
Ryuji:
"What if he doesn't just have the fire jewel? What if he has the other jewels too?"
Master:
"Of course, that is very possible. But let's hope for the opposite nonetheless."
Ryuji nodded understandingly. However, secretly, he hoped that all the jewels were with this man, so they could get them all back at once.
As he stood up to ask for permission to leave, it had started to drizzle. The Master also stood up with him and began to pack his equipment. Silence reigned once again, except for the sound of the tree leaves getting wet and rustling in the wind.
---
The rain was piercing the earth like nails. As the thick drops hit the soil, mud splashed, and the dull sounds echoing in the depths of the forest tore the silence into pieces. As the wind blew, the wet leaves of the trees rustled.
There wasn't even a single sound of an animal around; the forest was completely silent.
A man, who had recently reached his middle years and could still be considered young, was looking out from a small hollow deep in the forest that resembled a cave. His shoulders were slumped, his breathing erratic. His brows were furrowed; his thoughts seemed etched onto his face.
A woman, slightly younger than him, approached with silent steps. She placed her hand on the man's shoulder. Her touch was not gentle but firm. She spoke in a cold tone.
Woman:
"Come inside. You'll catch a cold. You're exhausted enough as it is."
The man looked at the woman over his shoulder. His reddish-brown eyes focused for a moment, then drifted back into the darkness.
Man:
"The fresh air feels good..."
The woman shook her head disapprovingly. She raised an eyebrow and gracefully swept her long platinum-blonde hair back.
Woman:
"You can't escape talking like this. Come inside."
The man gave a weary breath. His knees trembled slightly; trying not to show it, he pulled himself together and followed the woman's footsteps.
They had turned the hollow into a shelter. There were several cushions on the floor for sitting. In front of them lay a few old books and an open map. The man slumped onto a cushion and sat cross-legged, but he struggled to keep his back straight.
The circles under his eyes had darkened, and his complexion had paled. The light in his eyes seemed to have washed away with the rain. Something was going wrong.
Woman:
"I warned you." She crossed her arms over her chest. "You shouldn't have pushed your power. It was obvious this wouldn't be without a cost."
The man looked up and glared at the woman.
Man:
"If I hadn't pushed my power, they would have taken the jewel from me."
The woman also frowned, her voice hardening.
Woman:
"Then you shouldn't have drawn attention. Those girls..." She paused for a moment. "...they weren't your target."
The man straightened up in a rage. He stumbled for a moment while standing to regain his balance.
Man:
"Since you think so, then why did you blow the sleeping powder into the air?!"
The woman closed the distance in one step.
Woman:
"Because if we had let them go, they would have returned in greater numbers!" Her voice was harsh but there was no panic. "I did it so you could be rid of them. Not so you could open up a bigger trouble for us."
As the man was about to open his mouth, the woman silenced him with her hand.
Woman:
"Enough." She took a deep breath, then grabbed the man by the arm and sat him back down on the cushion. "Don't waste your energy arguing. From now on, every action will have a cost." Her gaze sharpened. "Especially if you push the power of the fire gem."
As she spoke, she picked up the old, worn spellbook lying on the floor. She ran her fingers over the leather cover. The book opened slightly, as if recognizing her touch.
Woman:
"We will disappear for a while. I will find a way to treat you." Then she raised her head and locked her gaze onto the man's face. "Until I find a solution, you will not get into trouble, Raizen."
Then she closed the book again and blew out the burning torch.