Ryuko and Ren stepped up first.

  “Bring out those stupid dolls again.”

  Masaki smirked—then cpped his hands.

  The floor of the Ichimōnban training hall began to shift. Four sections slid open with mechanical precision.

  And from them—

  Figures began to rise.

  Wooden, humanoid constructs. Their bodies were carved with glowing grooves—etched with faint trails of blue and gold Tamashkii lines.

  Reishiki.

  Masaki crossed his arms. “Last time, you couldn’t muster the strength to break even one. Let’s see if you’ve truly improved.”

  Ryuko narrowed his gaze, pcing a hand on his Reibaku.

  “Ichimōnban Style.”

  He moved.

  Swift. Minimal.

  No wasted movement.

  His bde struck cleanly across the Reishiki’s torso.

  Boom.

  The air around the dummy rippled—the Tamashkii flow destabilized for just a moment.

  Masaki smirked, but Ryuko wasn’t done.

  “Sakura Style.”

  He didn’t move from his spot.

  But his bde did.

  It danced in unpredictable patterns, each strike nding from a new angle—graceful, flowing, relentless.

  Then—his stance changed.

  He leapt into the air, bde raised high.

  “Kōsetsu Style.”

  Everyone expected it.

  That devastating descent, the type of strike that could crush through stone—

  But when Ryuko’s bde came down—

  There was no ripple.

  No shockwave.

  Just—

  Thud.

  He nded hard, teeth gritted.

  “Tch.”

  Ren stepped forward, pcing a hand on his shoulder.

  “You’ve definitely improved. But you still aren’t flowing your Tamashkii properly when you switch styles.”

  Ryuko clenched his fists.

  Ren continued. “It’s not that you can’t do Kōsetsu. It’s that when you move into it… your flow breaks. You’re not transitioning right.”

  A slow cp echoed across the hall.

  “Yes, that’s correct, Ren.”

  Masaki’s voice cut through the tension.

  “If you’re good with a bde, then learning the styles is simple. But mastering the flow of Tamashkii behind them… that’s the real trial.”

  Watari looked at the others, frowning.

  “Are you guys understanding any of this?”

  Akira chuckled. “Yeah, more or less.”

  Yumi crossed her arms. “It’s one of those sounds-more-complicated-than-it-is type things.”

  Kaito, meanwhile, scratched his head. “Nope. Brother, I’m just as lost as you.”

  Watari gave him a side-eye. “Wait. You’ve been here longer than any of us. What have you even been doing this whole time?”

  Kaito looked everywhere but at them—the sky, the Reishiki, the floor, even the walls—before finally sighing.

  “Alright… I didn’t think my sins would come out like this, but so be it.”

  He stood up straight, voice proud but sheepish.

  “When I first got here, I learned everything I could from our captain. But I could tell there was something he was hiding. So I told him—until he was ready to tell me, I wasn’t going to keep going on missions.”

  A beat.

  “Then a little after that, those two joined the Ninth… and took over most of my work for me.”

  Yumi scratched her head. “…Unbelievable.”

  Akira sighed. “Oh no.”

  Ren and Ryuko’s eyes slowly began to glow.

  “…Wait,” Watari blinked. “You’re saying for two—maybe three years—you’ve done NOTHING?!”

  “Whoa whoa! Not nothing!” Kaito threw up his hands. “I made sure our two new recruits had the best senpai in the world! Ain’t that right?!”

  He put his arms around Ren and Ryuko.

  Big mistake.

  They twitched.

  Yumi took a step back. “Oh no.”

  Boom—! Ryuko flipped Kaito onto the ground in a single motion.

  “If I remember right, you said the Kyūmōnban bathrooms were our job. Said that’s what all new recruits do…”

  He leaned down.

  “But now I’m hearing you’ve been putting your work on us?”

  Kaito gulped.

  “I was also told that new recruits had to do the cooking…” Ren said, eyes glowing brighter. “That wasn’t a lie too, was it?”

  Kaito began scooting backward. “Okay, okay! I can admit I maaay have gone overboard. But hurting your own is actually forbidden in the Ninth! It’s in the code!”

  Ryuko and Ren gnced at each other.

  Then at Masaki.

  Masaki waved dismissively as he walked toward the doors.

  “Yeah yeah. I’ll be back to check on you all in a week’s time. Please… try not to die before then.”

  The doors closed behind him.

  Kaito’s voice echoed through the hall.

  “WAIT—CAPTAIN HIROTO?! WATARI?! HELP! ANYONE—HELP—!”

  And then—

  CUT TO BLACK.