10 - Luck Issue

“Why do we need suits?” Sakuto asked, confused and stunned in place.

“The place we’re going to isn’t just any party or meeting, it’s more like a formal show.” Kouta replied. “The Elemental-funded Grand Hoshino Complex, designed mostly for special shows or weddings. Soulfuls often attend whatever is there, and this next ceremony is likely a propaganda fest.”

“I see...” Sakuto sighed. He looked over to one of the shelves, picking up a neat black suit. “Hwang will be there, right?”

“Yeah.” Kouta replied, heading to the changing room. “And don’t be too picky, just get anything that works.”

“He was my very first soulful opponent.” Sakuto thought, walking around the shop. ”I couldn’t do much back then, but maybe now I have a chance to fight him properly.”

“So, what do you think?” Kouta asked, after he and his comrade each put a fresh and clean suit on. The only thing missing was the tie. Kouta was holding it awkwardly in his hands, and Sakuto laid it on his shoulders. They looked into the body-size mirror attached to the wall and seemed pleasantly surprised with their appearances.

“Looks pretty decent.” Sakuto said. “Nice colors, it fits well too. I think I can fight in these.”

“Back then we used to cherry pick clothes like madmen. Every tournament was more like a fashion event.” Kouta chuckled.

“You tell me!” Sakuto laughed it off, before his voice slowly faded away. “Kouta...you uh...you’re not gonna wear a tie?”

“I...am...” Kouta hesitantly replied. He fondled the silky red tie in his hands a little and bore an awkward stare.

“So then tie it.” Sakuto said. He seemed a little confused, but Kouta was absolutely horrified.

“Yeah, just uhh...give me a second, alright? I haven’t done this in a while.” Kouta said, wrapping the tie around his neck as if it were a scarf. He tried to wrap a few lines of cloth around each other but almost strangled himself in the process.

“Dude, you don’t know how to tie a tie?” Sakuto asked, while trying to untangle the mess he made around his neck. Deep inside, however, he was scared too.

“No, I...” Kouta said. He quickly changed his mind after he almost snapped his own neck. “Yeah. I don’t. I was a bit embarrassed to ask you to tie mine. So uhh...can you help me out?”

“Yeah, I’ll...uhh...” Sakuto answered, panicking himself.

“You wore a uniform to school, right? Surely you know how to.” Kouta smiled, handing the cloth over to him.

“How do I say this...”

“I wore a fake tie to school.” Sakuto smiled, giving his friend a thumbs up.

“A fake?!” Kouta exclaimed. “What kind of person wears a fake tie? Are you kidding me?!”

“One who can’t be bothered to tie it every time they wake up?” Sakuto replied just as loud, before calming down. “Efficency matters most, I can’t be bothered doing that stuff when I’m sleep deprived at six in the morning!”

“Whatever.” Kouta sighed. “I guess we’ll have to ask the storekeeper...”

After having their attires fixed up, with their faces smeared with embarrassment, the two looked at themselves in the mirror again. The suits fit them elegantly, not only creating a rather formal and pleasing appearance, but also highlighting their own physiques in a subtle manner.

“This looks...good.” Sakuto commented. “God damn, this looks clean.”

"It's not bad at all." Kouta said.

“We’ll just leave like this.” Sakuto said. “It’s a bit hot in this whole thing, but I guess the event is a bit later right?”

“Yeah, it’ll take us some time to get to the complex regardless.” Kouta replied. “You know how to suppress your soul presence right?”

“Huh?”

“Listen.” Kouta sighed. “The place is mostly littered with soulless people, but if there’s a few soulfuls, especially Hwang, you’ll get sniffed out easily. Keep your head clear from unwanted thoughts, focus on everything but your soul prowess, you should be good.”

“Unwanted thoughts? Does he mean-”

“Have you decided on taking those?” The cashier said from across the room. Kouta nodded in response.

“Never thought that wearing a suit would be for an occasion like this.” Sakuto sighed. “A mission to kill someone.”

“Sorry, that’s your life now.” Kouta said. “You became a soulful at the worst possible time. Had it been a while earlier, I would’ve taught you all you need to know and you’d be much stronger.”

“Yeah, it’s...it’s fine, I guess. I’m starting to adapt to this type of life.” Sakuto responded, as Kouta paid for their new clothes. “You’re still doing a great job of teaching me, so thanks.”

“He’s like family to me now.”

“Family...”

“Sakuto!” Kouta exclaimed, tapping him on the shoulder. “Oi, remember what I said. Try controlling your soul presence.” He continued, leading him out of the store. The cashier seemed confused.

“Sorry, I’m trying my best.” He replied, tired. “Some of these thoughts are really getting to me.”

“I understand.” Kouta said softly. “It’s fine. Just don’t blow our cover, alright?”

“Yeah, I won’t. I promise I won’t be a burden.” Sakuto said, with a more determined look now. Kouta smiled as he heard those words, but his thoughts were somewhere else.

“A burden...?”

“Having someone like you next to me is something I was looking forward to all this time. You’re a savior, not a burden, Sakuto...”

“By the way, Oskar succeeded.” Kouta said, with a hint of joy on his face. Sakuto shared his celebrations.

“It means we’re still in a conflict, right?” Sakuto asked, calming down.

“Yeah.” Kouta said. “But at least now, it’s a conflict that we can win.”

The meeting came to an end. Since its primary goal was to reach a compromise regarding the responsibility of hunting down Hayk Nakama, Luca’s lust for revenge and Oskar’s well-timed question caused the best-case scenario to play out.

Oskar rushed out of the meeting room as soon as the meeting was declared over. Kaito’s surprisingly calm expression followed him, despite him figuring out foul play, he had no intention of taking action against the boy. Diego ecstatically jumped up from his seat and followed Oskar, trying to catch up to him. He sprinted towards him and grabbed him from behind, playfully lifting him up and laughing.

“What kinda show did you just put on there?” He said, putting him back down. “You don’t even have to apply anymore. You’re in the group. Hell, I’ll make you my second right hand.”

“I just wanted to honor what you truly wanted!” Oskar said, trying to keep himself together. “Sorry, but I have to go now. There’s some emergency matters I-”

“You’re not going anywhere!” Diego continued. “I’ll get you some more booze. And I’ll make sure you spend this night on cloud nine.” He said, dragging Oskar with him. “What kind of woman is your type? Could be anything, I’ll find them for you. I’ll get as many as you want too, and don't worry about paying or any living soul knowing about what you do to each other. Trust me, I have some connections.”

“I kinda...want that...”

“What the hell is wrong with you, Oskar? Get your shit together!”

“Look, I really gotta go right now, okay?” Oskar insisted, trying to break free. Diego had already dragged him close to the exit, where a security gate was placed. He whipped his ID out and swiped it across the card reader, as a sharp bell sound came out of the silver machinery after he quickly typed his PIN code. The security guard nearby nodded and saluted the fierce elemental.

“Hah, I thought you didn’t need IDs. I thought just... ”

“Oh yeah, you need to register your exit now too. I don’t know why they made that change, but hey, it’s just a minor inconvenience.”

“Nevermind...I just...” Oskar stuttered a little. His expertise in playing along was prevalent enough to have Hayk entrust him with espionage missions, however, in a situation like this, his own overthinking nature began to assume control.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on NovelBin. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Sir, what’s the problem?” The guard asked, taking a step forward. Oskar reluctantly took his ID card out and swiped it, and was faced with his greatest foe yet - a numerical pad.

“I just can’t remember my PIN, y’know?” Oskar said. He reached into his pockets, but realized that even his wallet where he had written down his PIN was missing too.

“No...”

“How did I mess up so badly...?!”

“Ah! I uh...I have it saved on my phone, alright?” Oskar hastily said. Sweat was dripping down his neck, and Diego took notice of it.

Under Diego’s confused gaze, and the piercing eyes of a security guard who would soon destroy his perfect plan, Oskar took his phone out with his shaky hands. He quickly unlocked it, and was about to open his notes application. Due to sheer misfortune, though, his fingers slipped while navigating the phone’s menu. Instead of opening his notes, he opened his notifications and clicked on an old voice message that he hadn’t checked. Coincidentally, his phone’s volume was set to the maximum.

“Oskar, it’s me, Hayk. Listen, get to the usual spot later tonight. There’s a few more details I wanna-”

Oskar quickly lowered his phone’s volume, but the key word was already heard by the men surrounding him. The guard was startled, and quickly approached him. There was only one Hayk that could be associated with a soulful...

“Sir, I’m gonna need to detain you for a bit.” The guard quickly reacted, stepping towards Oskar. He reached to grab him...

“Ah, fuck it...”

Oskar quickly rammed his fist into the guard’s stomach, ripping through and burning a hole in his dark blue military outfit. The man growled in pain and tried reaching for his handgun. Oskar dashed back after kicking him away with enough force to knock him out. It took Diego a moment to absorb all the information, but as soon as he did, his terrifying glare enchanted Oskar with fear.

Diego’s hands both got covered in an all-devouring flame, and he charged towards the newly discovered traitor. Oskar knew that blocking wasn’t an option against such an offensive, so he dodged to the side. Fragments of the flame still got attached to his clothes and burnt his skin.

“Really?” Diego asked, almost in disbelief. “You were a rat?!”

He summoned his own soul-bound weapon, a rapier engulfed in flames that shone its bright silver colors at Oskar. Diego’s soul presence alerted everyone at the meeting, including Kaito, who was all the way in his own office and rather uninterested in the developments.

Just as Diego was about to swing, a portal-like hole opened under Oskar, quickly taking him inside. Diego stopped for a second, confused. Two other guards tried to follow him and jump into the hole but it got sealed as soon as the two were about to jump in.

“Hey, you good?” Dima said, as Oskar popped up out of another elliptical portal next to him. He found himself on a rather large and well-decorated balcony.

“Where are we?” Oskar asked, getting up and catching his breath.

“Building right next to the main thing.” Dima replied, resetting his portals. “Good job there.” The hole in the between the railings was likely the tunnel he used to make the portal shot possible. “Kouta and the new guy are on their way to kill Hwang.”

“Ah, that’s good.” Oskar responded, a bit saddened. “Sorry, I messed up.”

“Let’s just get outta-”

The floor close to them erupted in flames, breaking apart with ease and revealing Diego’s bloodthirsty eyes. Dima jumped back, shielding Oskar. Diego hopped onto the same level and stared them down. The rapier in his hands was exerting bright flames, illuminating the hallway. The white plating around them was slowly burning away into a black mess.

“Shit, run!” Dima yelled, quickly shooting down a pair of portals with right hand - one at Diego's feet, and another right above Diego. He fell down into the portal, getting trapped in an endless loop of portal travel. Dima quickly tapped on Oskar’s back, signaling to him that they both need to escape fast.

Amidst the endless travels, Diego finally pulled himself out of the trap by sticking his rapier into the floor surrounding the portal. He lifted himself up, and clasped his hands at the direction of the two teens.

“Is that so, huh?!”

“I thought you were cool, you’re just one of Hayk’s lackeys!”

An arrow of flame quickly followed the two, landing between them. Dima was knocked away, but managed to get back on his feet by shooting a pair of portals on the floor to hop through. He shot one next to him, and the second one across the hallway. The two entered it, but as they came out of the other side, an arrow of fire quickly greeted them with its might. Dima and Oskar both were knocked out of the building. Dima quickly placed a portal beneath them, and shot another one at the wall of an opposing building.

“Hang tight!” He yelled, grabbing onto Oskar’s clothes. The two funneled through the portal, and appeared headed right towards Diego, who leapt towards the two. In the air, the two sides briefly exchanged strikes. While landing, Dima shot a portal at Diego’s landing spot. Oskar was dragged back a little by him, as he then shot another portal, on the GSC building’s wall. Diego fell right through it.

“Oskar, now!”

“Dima’s soul expression is really good.” Oskar thought.

“You can synergize like crazy with it and pull off all sorts of stunts.”

“But just iron isn’t enough, is it?”

“I’ll need to use the other side of my own expression. The true power...of control over electromagnetism.”

Oskar aimed his clasped hands at Diego, who seemed disoriented for a moment. His eyes were focused, but calm.

A sudden bolt of lightning reached for Diego’s arm and severed it clean! Oskar’s eyes opened wide from his accomplishment, but at the same time, he felt disappointed.

“Really? It missed his head?”

Diego was startled by such a development of events. Dima had already shot a portal beneath him, but Diego repelled himself from a close by wall and avoided it. He quickly dashed in, closing the distance faster than Dima could react. His burning rapier slashed him, leaving behind a trail of blood and charred skin. Dima fought back with his fists, and Oskar rushed over to help - wielding his own weapon. It was a katana with a straight blade with a gray and black handle.

Dima shot a portal beneath Diego, which Diego managed to react to appropriately and dodge away. What he didn’t anticipate though, was Dima using the second portal to bring Oskar close. Oskar hopped out and slashed Diego’s torso with his sword and kicked him away.

“Quick, while he’s using regeneration!” Dima yelled out. “We can get the kill here!”

Oskar dashed in, swinging his sword. To his surprise, Diego remained completely still. With a graceful movement of his rapier, he swirled it around and pointed it at the ground. Immediately, a spectacle of flames launched the two teens back, leaving them scarred. As the flame went out, Diego stared at his victims with nothing but disappointment and desire to kill.

“This feeling...”

“One mint a day doesn’t cut it anymore.”

“So what now?” Dima asked, catching his breath. “The hell are we supposed to do?”

“We run while he’s zoned out. Come on, fast-”

“It’s fine.” Dima coldly responded, before taking a stance. “We’re gonna fight him.”

“Are you for real?” Oskar asked.

“If you hit him in the head with your electricity, it’ll mess him up.” Dima said.

Suddenly, a chain of explosions erupted on the ground, followed up by an enormous smokescreen. Dima, not quite understanding the development but taking advantage of it anyways, quickly held onto Oskar and escaped through a sequence of portals.

“A smokescreen? Is this...?”

Diego looked around, trying to find the source of the smoke curtains. He quickly ignited his weapon, using it to navigate around the maze and be prepared for combat at any second. However, beneath the layers of smoke laid a much more dangerous trick...

“What’s this smell...?!”

An unexpected explosion launched him back, catching him off guard heavily and knocking him back. He landed back on his feet with a grin on his face. He found himself impaled by a white spear.

“The smokescreen wasn’t just for escape, was it? It was to mask the gas that’s here. He baited me into igniting the gas!!!”

He pulled the spear and healed his wound, a few moments later, he started healing his severed arm as well. Sensing a new presence approaching him from behind, he quickly turned around - blocking a pair of white spears with black outlines with his blade. Diego withdrew all his flames, now relying purely on soul prowess to carry him in combat. He swung his rapier, sending a flying slash of similar energy towards the direction. With no feedback, Diego turned to secure his flank - finally seeing his new opponent charge in with no fear in his eyes.

Tsunehiro, Hayk’s ‘second-in-command’, was a brilliant tactician. He never hesitated to play dirty, and he did so in the name of courage and responsibility. He dashed in, shattering the distance and striking Diego with a similarly-colored knife. As Diego fought back, Tsunehiro started gaining the upper hand - he created more and more weapons in his hands, diversifying his attacks and catching his enemy off guard.

“I see...creation of weapons using raw soul prowess. That’s the guy’s expression, isn’t it?” Diego thought to himself, before jumping up with all his might. Mid air, above the smoke belt, he fired an arrow of flame to the ground beneath him. “Sadly for you, I doubt there’s any gas left.”

The arrow’s impact created a spectacle, setting the ground aflame and dispersing the clouds of smoke. The fading gray curtains revealed Tsunehiro’s determined eyes, and a collection of knives and swords around him that were aimed at Diego. Diego blocked against them, using his own rapier to throw slashing attacks. The two clashed in a long-distance melee battle.

“The gas trick only wore him down a little, I didn’t think he’d survive it so well. Now he can use his flames again...”

A few security guards and some soulfuls ran out of the building, eager to find out what the explosions were all about. Seeing Diego fight encouraged them, but at the same time, it terrified them completely. Diego had zero care for collateral damage when he was in a fighting mood, and when combined with his highly destructive soul expression of control over flames, the carelessness would only cause mass devastation. No one dared intervene in the fight - to be frank, most were big fans of Diego and just wanted to see their idol put on a show.

“It’s an annoying ability at range and especially annoying up close since he’s skilled with it.” Diego whispered to himself. He struck the ground, blasting fire from beneath and hitting Tsunehiro. The latter replied with more ranged attacks, and finally revealed his own soul-bound weapon - a military grade bayonet which shone proudly in his hand. Swinging it around in the air, he launched a series of slashes towards Diego, who dodged them with ease.

“But he doesn’t seem too eager to get close.”

“I know one way I can overpower him with ease... I’ll finally take this ability off the shelf. I’ll take his up-close advantage away.”

“Soul Interpretation:"

"Blue Flame.”

A soul interpretation is a more niche and focused ability of the soul - it was named that way because it was a more unique and specific interpretation of a soulful’s base expression. They were more difficult to execute and required better control over soul prowess. Diego, one of the strongest fighters not only in the Elemental Group but also the GSC as a whole, had mastered his toolkit completely.

The vibrant flames surrounding Diego were compressed into a thin layer of blue fire. The heat around them disappeared, all concentrating into the newly formed aura surrounding the elemental.

“The heat of flame reaches 1200 degrees Celsius.” Diego said, arrogantly approaching Tsunehiro. “But the blue fire can reach up to 3000 degrees. What do you think will happen if you can’t keep me at a distance?”