As the light of the purple sky continued to shine, the most obvious question of the moment surfaced in Tamashi’s mind.

“Hey, Rai, how are we gonna get out of here? Can you leave the Void without being pulled out by Jiji-sensei?”

“Usually, I can leave the Void. I can also normally pull my host in and send him or her back out. But, right now…”

At the flip of a switch, Rai’s facial expression converted from an emotionless demeanor to a stupefied scowl. He shrugged his shoulders.

“… I can’t do jack shit. Sorry, Tamayo.”

Tamashi responded with a look of confusion.

“Huh? I know you had issues with your powers after the fight, but I figured they would be back by now. What’s taking so long?”

“Beats me. This hasn’t happened to me before.”

As Tamashi walked around in circles while processing the thought that he could be stuck in the Void long-term, Rai divulged himself into his own thoughts.

‘This idiot… he doesn’t realize his true potential. Like the power of that kick, or when time started slowing down, or when… he somehow saved that girl…’

Rai turned his head to the sky, causing the violet-tinted haze to reflect off of his eyes, turning the deep blue sea into a lively gradient.

‘Things are gonna get interesting again, all because of that stupid promise.’

——

Savior: Original Story by OneSevenEight

Episode: Framed Perspective - Part 28

——

The quiet peace of the rose garden was disturbed by the abrupt appearance of a large cloud of wind.

The wind dissipated almost as soon as it formed, revealing Bri and Kaze.

“Good job, Bri! Your form looked even better today than it did yesterday! You’re so amazing!”

Bri placed her hand on her hip as she gazed at Kaze with a look of friendliness.

“You know, Kaze, that would be a bit more believable if you didn’t say the exact same line after every training session. But thanks!”

“But it’s true, Bri! It’s true! You really are amazing! It’s great thet an amazing person has risen to the top of Kita!”

“Wow, I sometimes forgot how much of a nice Seishin you could be, Kaze.”

“I love being nice! It’s so fun to be nice! But since we’re back now, there’s been something on my mind…”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“I… I want… I NEED… SOME OF YOUR DELICIOUS SNACKS, BRI!”

Instead of responding with words, Bri responded with laughter.

“Bri? Why are you laughing so much? Is it- Wait, is that Rai?”

Bri abandoned her laughter as Kaze entered a state of shock.

“Hey? Kaze? What’s up? What’s going on with Rai?”

Slowly, Kaze began to lift herself out of her shock.

“Rai. He’s… He’s formed a contract! Rai is contracted with a human being! That can only mean-“

“Yeah, that’s exactly what happened.”

Bri looked up to the guy and grinned.

‘Kita is one stop closer to the destruction of Minami.’

Bri slowly parted her lips, revealing her pearl-white teeth.

‘Tamashi is one stop closer to becoming an assassin.’

——

‘It seems that the battle is over now. It seems that Tamashi managed to succeed. Well done.’

Sensei reached out his arms to a seemingly random point in the room.

‘Now, it’s time for you two to return.’

Just beyond Sensei’s outstretched arms, a ball of lightning appeared. The ball then abruptly disappeared, revealing Tamashi and Rai.

“Welcome back, both of you. Congratulations on your victory, Tamashi.”

Tamashi’s eyes began to frantically dart around the room.

“Woah, wait, I thought we were gonna be stuck in the void for a while? How did we get back here?”

Sensei ignored Tamashi’s questions and proceeded to ask his own.

“I believe you two completed a contracted. Am I correct, Rai?”

Rai slowly opened his mouth to speak.

“Yeah, Tamashi won by a hair, so I had to honor the deal.”

“Lost by a hair? You mean, I kicked your face in?”

“You made that happen within the last second you had, Tamayo. Don’t start getting cocky just because you landed one hit on me.”

“That was still a hit landed on someone who’s supposed to be way stronger than me.”

Tamashi and Rai’s argument was cut short by the sound of a cigarette being lit.

“Sow now that the contract has been made, Tamashi may now begin training to use the elements. I can only hope you two are ready, because this training is going to move at an extreme pace. Tamashi, get some rest. Training will begin tomorrow.”

Tamashi couldn’t resist cracking a smile.

‘It all starts right here, right now. I’m going to fix everything.’

Rai flashed a glance of concern towards Sensei.

“What’s with the pacing, old man? Can’t we take our time?”

Sensei released a ring of smoke hidden within his mouth.

“It’s just in case. I have a feeling about something.”

——

As he made his way to wait on a table, Max kept a watchful eye on the front door.

“Hey, Jake, you know you can move faster, right? People don’t want to wait around!”

“Sorry, boss, I’ll move faster.”

“You better!”

As he repeatedly waited on tables, Max continued to observe the door.

‘Any moment now… It’s going to happen…’

After collecting the order of an older couple, the opening of the front door caught Max’s attention. As he swung around to observe who was coming in, Max couldn’t help but crack a smile.

‘Finally, this mission can proceed. I’m over this job already.’

As Charlie, Anna, and Tsuru made their way to a booth, Max began an upbeat stroll towards the group.