XCEL

“Harigane. Back at school, two days ago. What the hell happened?”

Dentaku Bango wanted answers, and he wanted them now. That was why he was here, standing in this courtyard, wherever this was. Hideyori Hakana had promised him a chance to get those answers. To the man’s credit, whilst he couldn’t possibly look any less trustworthy, at least he’d followed through on his word. Here was Rinkaku Harigane, right in front of him, just as he had been on that fateful day at school. Bango hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him for the past few days, or indeed most of his life. His chance was now.

“You’re still hung up on that?” Rin couldn’t believe it. “Is that seriously why you’re here?”

“Answer me!”

Rin looked from Bango to Hideyori, exasperated. “Listen, I’d love to stay and chat, really,” he lied, “but I need to be somewhere right now. You sure we can’t reschedule my playdate with Bing Bong for later? Kinda busy at the moment.”

Hideyori raised an eyebrow, amused.

“Cut it out!” Bango yelled. “You know why I’m here! You’re going to tell me what on earth is going on, with all of this!”

Rin folded his arms. “Or what, Ball Boy? Come on.” He sighed, holding his arms wide. “You’ve got me here now. I’m all ears. What, are you going to quote statistics at me? Solve an equation lightning fast?”

Bango growled.

“No?” Rin looked around, waiting for anyone else to chime in with any other bright ideas. “Come on, throw me a bone here, Bengal. I actually do have somewhere to be, you know. I didn’t come to this freaky factory for fun.”

Rin started walking, casual and slouched as ever. “I don’t know what you’re doing here and, to an extent, I don’t really care. You’re in over your head. Have you been following me this entire time? God, you’re sad. Anyway, have fun doing whatever, I guess—”

Bango put out a hand to his side. “I’ve been ordered to stop you here, Harigane. I can’t let you pass.”

Rin’s eyes widened. Bango’s third eye was open and staring back.

“You’re not serious. What the hell?” Rin took a step back and shot a glare up at Hideyori. “Turning my classmates against me? Fuck you.”

Hideyori smirked.

“JPRO offered me a deal, an opportunity,” Bango said. “They offered to help me unlock the potential I needed to finally show you who’s superior.”

Rin squinted at the other boy. “So, let me get this straight, you willingly joined a shadow organisation and submitted yourself to a ritual you had no idea about just to settle that childish grudge of yours? What the hell is wrong with you?”

“What did it take for you to excel?” Bango didn’t seem to be listening. “You and I, we’re the same.” Psychic energy on a magnitude Rin hadn’t ever seen before crackled around him. The taller boy was surrounded in a dark aura that chilled him to the bone. “You never wanted to accept that, but I have. You’re convinced you’re better than everyone else. You always have been. You said so yourself, that you’re going to stand at the top one day. Don’t you see? There’s so much that we can accomplish now that we’re both like this. JPRO, they’ve opened my eyes, Harigane.”

“Opened your eyes? They’ve made you fucking blind!” Rin shouted, gesturing around at where they stood. “Look at this place! JPRO is kidnapping and experimenting on swathes of people, children! and this is what you’re concerned about?”

Bango’s fists tightened.

“Do you think I have the time to waste fighting you?” Rin shook his head. “I’ve got people who’re depending on me. I don’t have time to waste demonstrating what I’ve already proven time and time again.” Rin grit his teeth. Hearing those words come out of Bango’s mouth made his ears ring. A wave of prickles washed over his skin. What had they done to him? Rin looked away. He couldn’t stay.

He started to walk. Looking for a moment over his shoulder, Rin sighed and shook his head. “Just… grow up, Bango.”

Bango was quiet. He stood there shaking, seething. “How dare you.” Blood began to trickle down his chin from where he’d bit his lip. “Every single time, you mock me; you belittle my talents, my accomplishments. Do I really pose that much of a threat to you?”

Rin froze, an abrupt pressure on his knees. Bango’s psychic presence skyrocketed. Rin. A trickle of sweat, of fear, oozed down the side of his face.

“Even now,” Bango continued, “when I’ve gone to such lengths just to fight you on equal footing, you throw me aside, acting all high and mighty with your ‘newfound purpose.’ How dare you!”

A spectral red symbol appeared behind him.

“I’ll make you understand. I’ll show you just how much of a threat I truly am.”

Bango appeared beside him faster than Rin could even turn around, travelling the distance between them in an instant.

Powerstrike

加叩 Kakō

Bango slammed a fist into Rin’s side, driving him into the nearby wall.

The blow hit him like a tank shell. Rin barely had time to pick himself out of the dent in the wall before Bango flew at him again. He dived forwards, only just pancaking under the fist that landed where his head had been moments ago. Bango’s punch took a chunk out of the wall.

Rin backed away. “What the hell kind of strength is that?” He sounded more worried than awed.

“You finally recognise it.” Bango grinned. “Took you long enough.” He clenched his fist and psychic energy crackled around it like a gauntlet. “Number Theory. That’s the name of my Specialty. You were always so obsessed with the geometry side of things, weren’t you? You always underestimated the power of fundamental arithmetic.”

Rin narrowed his eyes, and readied himself for another assault. His side, aching from where Bango had punched him, made it feel as though he’d simply blasted right through his psychic reinforcement. The ripples of shock echoed through his back. Muscles started to cramp, and Rin winced. He couldn’t afford to withstand another blow like that.

The psychic pressure he felt radiate from Bango was immense, but surely the power behind that hit couldn’t have just come from psychic energy alone, could it? He had never been able to replicate that amount of power with his strikes. Was Bango just that much more powerful than him? There had to be some other mechanism at work.

“Not going to attack?” Bango goaded, walking towards him with arms outstretched.

“No.” Rin lowered his arms, and turned away from Bango. “As I said, Specialty or no, I don’t have time to be fighting you. Come find me when you’ve come back to your senses.” Both legs flashed with psychic energy, and he took off at a run. A momentary glint caught his eye, as something reflective and small was thrown his way.

“Not so fast.” A hand clenched around his throat. Hideyori Hakana appeared out of nowhere and lifted Rin off his feet. He stared him down with one blue eye, lip curled. “The kid came all this way just for you. Would be rude not to give him what he came for, don’t you think?”

Rin growled, struggled, coughed and spluttered but Hideyori wouldn’t let go. His grin was sharklike. Out of the corner of his eye, Rin noticed the orb he held in his other hand. Throwing Rin away and to the floor, Hideyori held out the orb, his third eye glowing.

Mindscape: Glass Eye Observatory

虚廟:玻目玉神室 Koyashiro: Hamedama Kamuro

The orb glowed bright. The orb expanded, the smooth glassy exterior swallowig him whole. Rin shielded his eyes, braced for an impact that never came. A cool, liquid sensation flowed over his skin. For a moment, everything went dark. Rin felt himself fall, but not for long. He hit something hard, and rolled to a halt. The courtyard around them had disappeared. He and Bango now stood opposite one another in the middle of a gigantic stone arena underneath a dark, starry sky. Where the moon should be, however, a gigantic blue eye gazed down at them both, unceasing. Rows of empty tiered seating surrounded them on all sides, enclosing them in the withered columns of an ancient coliseum.

Rin took stock of his new surroundings. “Architect, what the hell just happened?”

The spirit manifested to Rin’s side. “Mindscape. It’s an advanced technique. It projects the further plane into the real world, enclosing your opponent in a barrier of psychic energy.”

Rin groaned. “They really don’t want me leaving, do they.”

“Seems not.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this existed before?”

The Architect grinned. “I had no idea psychics of today were so capable.”

“Am I in danger?”

“From the barrier? No.” The Architect folded his arms. “Mindscapes normally have the user’s specialty woven into the barrier, as it’s constructed from their psychic energy. It’s a sure-fire way to ensure that one’s techniques hit their mark, often lethal. I don’t sense any harmful technique imbued into this barrier, however. The only danger to you now, boy, is right in front of you.”

Dentaku Bango bode his time. “There’s no way out, so don’t bother trying.”

“You really want me this badly?” Rin gestured widely with both arms. “Fine. Here I am; come and get me.”

* * *

That had been a very easy way to settle things. Hideyori Hakana gazed into the orb. Within, the two began to duke it out at high speed, no doubt putting their childish feud to rest. He pocketed the orb and took out another, watching yet another scene take place. This one had been from earlier in the day.

A boy with pink hair dashed through a set of winding corridors, riding atop a dark shape that flitted in and out vision. His features were obscured by the cloak he wore, but that mattered little. The prediction had been correct. They usually were, after all.

Hideyori Hakana wasn’t the head of the Glass Eyes because he was the strongest psyche user, not at all. If you ranked the operatives in terms of brute strength, he wouldn’t even come close. However, he was undoubtedly the most dangerous. His danger factor didn’t come from how hard he could hit a wall, no. His came in a form factor people seldom expected. Means.

Hideyori Hakana had means, and means were all he needed.

A fight needed containing? Hideyori Hakana had means.

Government and corporate espionage? Hideyori Hakana had means.

How about stopping an infiltration plot by a rebel group of psychics armed with the intent of destroying the company? If he so wished, Hideyori Hakana had means.

Of course, no one was perfect. If they were, Hideyori Hakana and his means would be all he’d ever need. Sadly, it just so happened that the one thing Hideyori Hakana needed to do, and had done for some time, was just the thing that his means alone couldn’t accomplish.

That was why when Kinuka Amibari caught his arm with her whip and yanked it sideways—orb flying out of his grasp and smashing on the concrete—Hideyori Hakana didn’t shoot her dead, right then and there. “Oh. You again.”

The girl crouched on a nearby wall, glaring with searing contempt.

“Looks like you survived. Good.” Hideyori’s arm was still stretched out towards her, wire wrapped around his wrist. He didn’t seem particularly bothered by her arrival. The ambivalent greeting was like one would give to a coworker on their return to the office.

Kinuka Amibari narrowed her eyes. She was crouched, sat back on her haunches, having just finished reassembling herself. Nearing Rin’s psychic signature, a wall had stood in her way. She had the idea of unravelling herself completely and worming her way through a ventilation shaft. Her pride took a hit when she realised she was a moment too late. She watched as Rin and one more were swallowed into a gigantic glass orb, which then shrunk down to the one now sitting in Hideyori’s pocket.

“What did you do to Rin?”

“Oh, just a little bit of damage control. Can’t have him and little Bango destroying company property, now can we?”

“Bango?” Kinuka couldn’t believe it. “Dentaku Bango?”

“The very same!” Hideyori looked delighted. “I don’t suppose you know him? Oh, that’s right, you all went to the same school together, how sweet.”

Kinuka grit her teeth. “Answer my question.”

“Come now, no need for hostilities, Amibari.” Hideyori waved away her concerns, gesturing that she join him down where he stood. “Mind untying my wrist? Arm’s getting a little uncomfortable. Surely we can talk about this like adults.”

Kinuka’s suspicion only mounted. There it was again. The way he grinned at her, it felt far too familiar, like she was smiling into a warped mirror. The man’s hair, too, why was it so light? Was unusual, especially for someone who so obviously wasn’t foreign. She’d only seen one person with such long, ashen hair before.

“I don’t trust you.” Despite that, the cord around Hideyori’s wrist released, and Kinuka’s forearm reassembled itself.

“And why should you?” Hideyori replied. “We barely know one another.”

“Wonder why that is.”

Hideyori chuckled. “You’ve got some moxie, kid. I like that. Reminds me of someone I used to know.”

“I bet that list never ends with you, does it?”

Hideyori raised an eyebrow.

Kinuka, tentative and still tempted to ask why he hadn’t shot her yet, abseiled down from her vantage point. She now stood five metres away.

“There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Hideyori grinned.

His eyepatch still gave Kinuka the creeps. “American mobster meets pirate” wasn’t exactly a fashion style she would’ve thought suited anyone.

“Why haven’t you attacked me yet?”

Hideyori put his hands in his pockets and tilted his head slightly. “Now, why on earth would I do that?”

“We’re trespassing; we’re actively trying to destroy the organisation you work for. Oh, and we have something you’re trying to get your hands on.” Kinuka listed the items off on her fingers.

“Doesn’t mean I have to kill you,” Hideyori said. He fished a packet of cigarettes from out of his pocket and put one between his lips. Still with open packet in hand, he motioned in her direction, an eyebrow raised.

“No thanks. I don’t.”

The man shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

He procured a golden flick lighter from goodness knows where. Kinuka blinked, and thought she’d missed it. He either had one hidden up his sleeve at all times, or there was something else at work. She kept her guard up. The man lit the cigarette and took a drag, a cloud of grey soon rising to stain the magenta sky.

“Can you answer my first question?”

“Sure.” Hideyori took the cigarette out of his mouth and coughed into a closed fist, tapping away the ash. “I trapped them in this orb.” He fished around in his other pocket and withdrew the offending item. “Want to see?”

Kinuka put a hand out automatically, but stifled her approach. The grin on Hakana’s face was a trap she did not want to trigger.

“Oh, come on.” Hideyori rolled his one eye, and tossed it her way. “I may have pointed a gun at you once, but I don’t bite.”

Kinuka caught the orb in both hands, and stared down into it. The sight within was so picturesque, she had to suppress a gasp of awe.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Hideyori asked between intermittent puffs on his cigarette.

Kinuka nodded, watching the scene unfold from above at speed. “It’s incredible.” She looked back up at him. “Why is Bango here?”

Hideyori shrugged. “Everyone’s got a hidden motive somewhere deep in there,” he said, pointing to his own heart. “He approached us, presented himself as a worthy candidate. We’re always happy to take on new agents, especially those with potential.” There it was again, that deadly grin.

Kinuka shivered. That wasn’t like the Bango she knew. Then again, how well did she know him? The answer was uncomfortably little. She’d always been intimidated by him, and he had been too busy staring daggers at Rin to notice that anyone else existed.

“Can you do a favour?”

Hideyori looked interested, so she continued.

“Let them out, and don’t bother us anymore.”

“Is that really a demand you’re going to make of your enemy?” Hideyori asked, and held out his hand. The orb in Kinuka’s palm quivered a moment, then leapt from her grasp and right back to its owner.

“If you’re my enemy, then you should have at least tried to kill me by now.” Kinuka’s brow furrowed. What was his deal?

“Who says I’m not going to? Could just be biding my time, and wasting yours. You do have people to be saving, don’t you?” Hideyori laughed, and Kinuka took up a sudden stance. “Relax, kid. Just kidding. Would be cruel of me to take you out at this stage, anyway. I mean, you get credit for getting one over on Yoshine. That’s no small feat.”

Kinuka couldn’t believe it. Here she was, listening to her enemy congratulate her on a victory against one of his comrades. He was clapping, even. Be it sarcastic clapping or otherwise, she just didn’t know. This man was shrouded in so many layers of mystery, that she didn’t think a month working away at the fabric with her Threadwork would reveal even a scrap of truth. She just didn’t understand.

“I’m interested as to why you left him alive,” Hideyori continued. “You never know. It may come back to bite you someday.”

Kinuka took a deep breath. “If I had killed him, I’d be no better. The number of murderers in the world would be the same.”

“Oh, to be young and naiive. I’ve heard that farce more times than I care to recall.” The man took another long drag. “If you’re looking at things from a number’s perspective, what would happen if you killed two murderers? Does that make it justified?”

“What’s your point?”

“What really matters is context.” Hideyori grinned, crushing his cigarette between his fingers. “Murder is sometimes justified. Mine certainly would be.” He paused, before a thought came to mind. “Do you want to kill me, Kinuka Amibari? After all, you can assume I’ve done no end of wrong. I’ve taken many lives, and ruined many more. Taking my life would make the world an objectively much better place, wouldn’t it?”

Kinuka stared, perturbed.

“To take a life isn’t a question of morality. It’s a question of resolve.” The man’s piercing blue eye made her shiver. “If you stay involved, your resolve will be tested one way or another.” A ponderous laugh resounded from his chest. “When that time comes? It’ll be… interesting.”

“What are you saying?”

“Oh, nothing really. Just passing the time.” He looked down into the orb. Just at a glance, he figured things would be over soon. Just in time, too. The main act would soon be approaching.

* * *

Powerstrike

加叩 Kakō

Another monstrous blow shattered the stone beneath Rin’s feet. He avoided just in time, leaping back to regain ground. That was about all he had done for the past while. Bango stopped and glared at Rin, hands by his sides.

“How long are you going to just run away, Harigane? Don’t tell me you’ve given up already!”

He charged once more, but Rin swerved to the side. Bango’s punch missed by inches, and the boy wheeled around, nostrils flaring.

“You don’t have to do this,” Rin said. “JPRO’s using you. Don’t you get it?”

“So what?” Bango spat. “You think I haven’t worked that out yet? How stupid do you think I am? Of course they’re using me. They’re using me to get to you, and it’s working. I don’t have to do this. I want to!”

“Why are you so determined to fight me?” Rin took a low stance, ready to pounce.

“Ever since they offered me the chance to prove myself for good, I’ve had an urge I just can’t ignore.” Bango clenched his fist. “Nothing’s ever given me a challenge, nothing. I’ve dedicated my entire life to my studies, my image. Everything I’ve set my mind to, I’ve been able to achieve one way or another.” He raised a finger. “Everything bar one. Why?!” Bango roared. “Why do you deny me the one thing I deserve?”

Rin sighed and shook his head. “You just don’t understand, do you?”

“Tell me!” Bango shouted. “Tell me what I don’t understand, or I’ll beat it out of you!”

That red plus sign appeared behind him once more, and Bango charged. Rin was ready this time.

Framework

枠組 Wakugumi

Bango’s Powerstrike shattered the shield Rin had constructed around his arm. The recoil forced both combatants back. They stumbled, only to face one another. This was tiring for them both.

“You’re finally using your Specialty.”

“You really are an amateur, aren’t you?” Rin sneered. “You made a mistake not disclosing your ability outright. I’ve finally figured out what you do. It allows you to add to things. You’ve been adding to your own speed and the power of your strikes. That’s why you’ve been moving so fast, and hitting so hard.”

Bango grinned. “That’s it, is it?”

“We’re about to find out!” Rin took off running, not towards Bango, but around him. He made a cube frame and took a chunk of stone out of the floor as he ran. He shrunk it down in his hands. “Think fast!” Rin hurled the concrete at Bango much like he’d done the reject, resizing the block with a snap of his fingers.

“That’s your strategy? You’re a joke.” Bango didn’t even bother to move out of the way.

Number Theory: Fundamental Arithmetic

数学理論:基本算術 Sūgaku Riron: Kihon Sanjutsu

A new spectral symbol appeared behind him. This one was yellow, an obelus. Bango struck the projectile, fast approaching, with a precise knife-hand. The unthinkable happened. The block of stone split cleanly down the middle, as though divided in half.

“It’s not just addition, Harigane. You’re naive, underestimating me all this time. I’ll show you exactly how.”

Rin prepared a frame to block the inevitable strike, but Bango appeared next to him before he could even blink. “Like this.”

A blue subtraction symbol appeared behind him.

Exhaust

减叩 Genkou

Bango struck Rin in the side, and the boy could only gasp. Psychic energy drained from his body at the point of contact, and Rin crumpled to the floor. Bango stood over him, arms folded.

“My Number Theory allows me to act on the world with the four operations of fundamental arithmetic. Hakana exposed me to Number Theory already, Harigane. I worked out what you can do. You were doomed from the start.”

With another red Powerstrike, Bango kicked Rin hard in the chest, sending him flying across the arena. He smashed into the few rows of the stone tiered seating, and struggled for breath.

Bango took his time to approach, as Rin lifted his head with difficulty. That subtraction had taken its toll on his psychic energy, but it could’ve been worse. Rin was grateful he’d already managed to figure out the full extent of Bango’s specialty beforehand. The stone toss had just been to confirm his suspicions. Still, what he said had been right. Rin had underestimated him, severely, and he was at a disadvantage. Of course JPRO knew what he could do already. That gave Bango an automatic resistance against his attacks. Rin knew couldn’t afford to pull his punches if he wanted to escape this arena alive.

He got to his feet, as reluctant as it may be, and snapped his palm open. He’d managed to commit the frame-making to memory through practice. Now, a cube jumped to life and rotated idly above his palm. Rin brought his hands together, cube in tow, and took them apart. If Bango could change the number of things, why couldn’t he? Rin stretched the cube out between his hands and snapped his fingers. The shape proceeded to divide itself up smaller and smaller, until one shape had become hundreds of smaller cubes. Rin wanted to see how much his self-proclaimed rival could withstand.

“You’re finally going to fight back?”

“Prepare yourself, asshole.” Rin grit his teeth and raised both arms above his head. The cubes all arranged themselves in the air, and he threw his hands forward. Hundreds of cubes shot at Bango in a sequential rain of bullets. The mathematician didn’t look remotely fazed. A green multiplication cross appeared behind him, and Bango tapped both arms with the opposite hand. He raised his arms, and two sets of green spectral copies separated themselves. Bango roared and started to punch the cubes out of his way, all four sets of arms moving independently in a blinding rush.

“You’ll have to do better than that.” he spectral arms faded from sight. He looked where Rin had once been, only to see the crater in the stone.

Severance Planar

断面 Danmen

Rin descending from the sky, frame held high and cleaving through the heavens. Bango jumped back, but not soon enough. The front edge of Rin’s slash tore a shallow gash in his suit, leaving a bloodied mark on his chest. Bango swore and clutched at the wound, stepping back.

Rin wasn’t finished.

He landed on the balls of his feet, psychic energy radiating out over the floor. The frame from before disappeared. Rin drew out several rectangular frames and merged them into a single construct. The result was a blunt, rectangular sword, as long as his forearm. The design was basic, but had everything a sword should. He lunged at Bango with an overhead slash. Bango countered with a backhand strike infused with psychic energy. The feedback sent both reeling.

“You’re not going to cut anything with that blunt blade.” Bango winced at his earlier wound.

“Still hits hard, doesn’t it?” Rin replied, grinning.

Bango took another step back.

“Scared, Dingo?”

Bango growled. Rin jumped him once more, a manic grin flashing across his face.

They exchanged blows in quick succession. Bango’s fist made a resounding crack with every impact, as he took hit after hit from his rival’s blunt blade. Rin became worryingly faster with each subsequent strike, until Bango could only just afford parry before the blunt sword came around again. Even when he multiplied his arms, he could still only get a few hits edgewise.

He wasn’t winning.

What was worse was the sheer force behind Rin’s strikes. Bango couldn’t understand it. Rin was channelling his psychic energy through his constructs. His subtraction should have wiped out his stamina, yet he was still moving as fast as ever, and hitting even harder. Abruptly discarding his sword, Rin created another and lunged, slashing an upwards arc.

Severance Planar

断面 Danmen

Bango avoided fatal damage by the slimmest margin. The blade sliced through his eyebrow, carving a bleeding groove up his forehead. The wound stung like hell, leaking blood into his eye. Prioritising evasion, Bango strafed clockwise around Rin and scoured the blood from his face with a swipe. He’d lost enough ground now. Feinted in one direction, he anticipated Rin’s next strike. Bango doubled forwards, ducking underneath the slash. The red plus appeared behind him once more, and he drove another Powerstrike into the boy’s gut. Eyes wide, the boy coughed a spray of blood. His diaphragm spasmed from the impact, shock coursing through his body. Launched a way back from the force, Rin landed hard on his back.

“You can’t beat me, Harigane.” Bango approached, psychic energy crackling in arcs all over. “You’ve stagnated. I’m disappointed.”

Rin got to his feet, still doubled over from the pain. “Isn’t this what you wanted?” He coughed, a spattering of red painting the ground.

“What?”

“You wanted a chance to fight me.” Rin stood proper now, keeping his distance still. “Aren’t you satisfied?”

“No! Not yet!” Bango yelled. His muscles screamed from exertion. He felt weary from expending so much psychic energy. The wound on his chest and head still bled down his suit and onto the floor. The pain was enough to make his eyes water. “I won’t be satisfied until you acknowledge that I’m better than you! That I always have been! I’ll beat you into a bloody pulp if I have to!”

“To what end?” Rin grimaced, pitying. “What if I don’t surrender, even then?”

“What the hell are you—”

“Do you have the resolve to kill me, Dentaku Bango?” Rin stared the boy down with a steely gaze. “That’d prove your point, wouldn’t it?”

The crackling of his psychic energy stopped. Dentaku Bango hesitated, stunned. The question—Rin’s accusatory tone—reverberated around his head.

In the momentary lapse, Rin took his chance. Using stone from the surrounding area as his material, he made another frame. This one was different. He remembered what the Architect had done in the further plane, how he had created a whole structure from nothing, and constructed it right before his eyes. Rin would do the same. His construct wouldn’t be nearly as impressive, but if he was going to be the greatest architect the world had ever seen, that had to start now!

Stone Tower Penitence Cell

石塔懺悔監房 Sekitō Zangekanbō

Rin expanded the frame, and cast it into place. The ground underneath them shook, as a tall stone tower burst into being. Bango was imprisoned between four stone walls, locking his arms out by his sides.

“Harigane, you bastard!”

It was already too late. Rin had constructed a sledge hammer. The frames by themselves weighed virtually nothing, but when charged with psychic energy became a vector for impact. Rin stepped up to Bango, his entire body almost glowing with the reinforcement, slamming the hammer into the boy’s chest. The torrent of force shattered the back of the stone tower, and sent him flying. Bango hit the ground and didn’t move.

Rin dissipated the hammer, and approached his motionless opponent. Bending down, he pressed two fingers to the side of Bango’s throat. A wave of relief accompanied the draining of adrenaline. Rin blinked as he stumbled back, his eyes vignetting as his blood pressure abruptly dropped. Rin looked up at the eye staring down at them from the centre of the Mindscape’s inky black firmament. He gave it the middle finger.

The fight was over.

* * *

“Right on time.”

Just as the conversation in the courtyard came to its natural end, Hideyori was amused to see—looking into the orb—the gesture aimed up at him by the victor.

Kinuka’s brow furrowed. She couldn’t see what the man was looking at, but prepared herself for the worst.

“It’s over. What a shame.” Hideyori’s lip curled slightly. Disappointment and boredom in equal measure painted pale features, or what little of them remained visible—the portion covered by eyepatch, long hair and hat notwithstanding. He held out the orb in front of him and snapped his fingers. A flash of light, and two people fell to the floor. One landed on his feet; one lay unconscious.

“Still standing, asshole,” Rin spat in Hideyori’s direction. He looked around to confirm where he was, seeming satisfied. “Nice trick you pulled back there, imprisoning me in that arena; didn’t do much to slow me down, though. Maybe try and kill me properly next time.”

He swayed a little, and looked much the worse for wear. His modified school blazer was torn in places, and he sported some hefty bruises. The grin he wore was about as triumphant as could be.

“Rin!” Kinuka rushed to his side. She supported him by the shoulder. “Are you alright? What happened?”

“When’d you get here?” He brushed her hand away.

“Only just now. I was coming to help, but arrived too late.”

Rin looked confused. “Just now? I’ve been fighting Bango for ages.”

Kinuka narrowed her eyes, then looked at Hideyori. The man stared contemptuously down at Bango. “I hoped what I had seen was wrong,” he mumbled, holding his chin in one hand.

“Bango! He’s hurt!” Kinuka cried. Before Rin could stop her, she rushed to kneel by his side. Hideyori, surprised as Rin was, watched as she unravelled the front of his suit, where his chest had been slashed open by Rin’s Severance Planar, and began to repair the wound.

Rin looked tense. “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like?” She said through gritted teeth, yanking on threads as she wove the boy’s chest back into place. “Bango, why are you here?”

“It’s as I said.” Hideyori had since retreated to sit on a metal crate. Kinuka’s mouth opened in shock. “Dentaku Bango has been made the newest member of the Glass Eyes.”

“Is that why—” She looked at Rin.

Rin avoided eye contact, but nodded.

“How could you?!” She screamed at Hideyori, but the man took no notice. He walked up to her and moved her aside with his leg. He bent down and placed a hand on Bango’s chest. The next moment, the boy was gone.

“Bango!” Kinuka reached to where he’d once been.

“Forget it.” Rin put a hand on her shoulder. His tone was solemn, quiet. “He’s… not right. They got to him.”

Hideyori tossed the orb in his hand up into the air and into a large pocket on his coat, before he turned away and began to walk towards a dark undercover entrance on the other side of the courtyard.

“I was never here,” he announced to the pair. “The three of us, we never met. You did well, Harigane.” He laughed, short and mocking; his next remark was much the same. “Keep it up.”

In a similar vanishing act as before, Hideyori Hakana, too, soon disappeared. Only Rin and Kinuka were left in the courtyard. Rin helped the girl to her feet, but neither said a word. The only possible reaction to that display was sheer and utter confusion. Only the reality of the situation remained.

The danger, at least for now, was gone.

Tegata was still counting on them.

They had to keep moving.