Jay tossed the sage's crystal into the air, tracing its arc before it eventually dropped back into his palm. In the three days since his botched assassination attempt, he'd probably thrown and caught the crystal thousands of times. It was far less infuriating than sitting inside it and sifting through the sage's words for any morsel of information he'd missed before.

Although he'd fought well, Jay wasn't sure whether suddenness was the direction he needed to take to advance his Harmony.

It felt… incomplete.

Jay somewhat knew this would happen. Suddenness was the basis for just one aspect of the sage's Harmony, but Jay still thought that he could gain something more from modelling his fighting after his mentor's advice. He'd improved his suddenness against Caldus, Tara, and Yandiel, but was that advancement actually meaningful? If suddenness came with the downfall of other aspects of his style, was it really worth striving for it?

But what else can I try?

Another aspect of electricity? Which one? Do I just keep stabbing into the dark, hoping I find what I need?

Doesn't seem particularly efficient…

While Jay's overarching doubts seemed unanswerable, the specifics had eluded him too. Even after he'd pored over the fight dozens of times, he couldn't pinpoint how he'd managed to fuse electricity with the liquid metal in his punches.

For someone who prided himself on being a cerebral fighter, it annoyed Jay how consistently he managed to do something during a fight without truly knowing how or why.

Jay let his doubts linger. There was no use dwelling on them, but if he kept them churning in the back of his mind perhaps he'd stumble onto something closer to a conclusion later.

Boing!

The same bouncy wooden ball that had plagued Jay's wait atop the rooftop now disturbed his meditation deep within Hisoka's forest. If Jay had to choose who to be trapped in the middle of nowhere with, Marko probably wouldn't have been his first choice, especially if he had that damn ball.

Reality had proven kinder than Jay's imagination, however. Instead of annoying or distracting Jay, Marko's restlessness provided a much needed diversion from his spiralling thoughts whenever he wallowed too hard about the failed assassination or even the battle at whole.

Unfortunately for Marko, all the lakes surrounding them were too high-profile for Jay's liking. They hadn't skimmed stones once since being deserted by Jack and Corinne, so Marko had to resort to other physical activities.

Boing!

Although he hadn't expected to, Jay had quite enjoyed his temporary exile from Limitless Ascent. The time spent away from rigidity, orders, and protocol left Jay calmer than he'd been before and although he was beginning to miss actually doing something, he got the strange feeling he'd cherish these quiet days in the woods as soon as they were over.

Boing!

He wouldn't miss that though.

Boing!

Boing!

Boing!

Thud.

Jay shot to his feet, scanning the forest for the footsteps' source.

Marko joined him a second later, letting his ball roll away from him as he raised both daggers.

"What is it?" he asked.

Jay paused. He closed his eyes, separating himself from the world and flaring Eye of the storm as he clutched onto Ping.

"Footsteps. Five sets of them. Coming from the south."

Jay heard Marko shuffle as he prepared for a fight. Jay kept listening.

"Wait."

He kept listening.

The steps drew closer.

"I recognise them. It's Corinne, Jack, and three others."

Jay opened his eyes before turning in the direction of the footsteps and surveying the distant forest. Corinne had a unique gait borne from her years in the frontier. Jay felt confident it couldn't be imitated, but still kept on guard.

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The footsteps grew louder.

One set fell silent.

Jay pivoted on his lead foot, shifting his head sideways as a gust of air whistled past his eyes. Whirling eddies rippled in the attack's wake, tossing up Jay's hair. But he couldn't focus on the opening strike for long. He flared Eye of the storm as a compact figure in a hooded grey moko jumped onto a tree trunk. Its hands pierced through the bark, cutting a handhold for itself.

Behind the newcomer, Jay spotted Corinne running through the trees. He couldn't watch her for long.

With a quickness evident even through Eye of the storm, the hooded figure leapt off the tree and shot at Jay once more. He watched a blackened hand with claws on each fingertip reach beneath its hood. The hand pulled out several strands of hair, each of them stiffening into a needle-like point within the fighter's grasp.

Jack now trailed Corinne, and Jay saw Yagao and one other walking by his side.

His eyes flicked back to the mysterious figure, who was now running towards him with its stiletto-thin hairs in hand.

Is this supposed to be my teammate?

Regardless, Jay raised his hands and prepared to scrap.

"Stop."

Yagao's command sent tremors through the dirt. Jay hadn't heard the man speak since he'd chastised Vega before her final fight, but his voice felt deeper, more commanding than before. Jay's fists stayed raised, but he couldn't bring himself to move even an inch.

Authority…

Jay's attacker stumbled but managed to keep running, almost unfazed by Yagao's command while Jay remained locked in place.

The aggressive figure didn't make it much further, however. The ground beneath it sank into a ditch before instantly refilling once its knees were underground.

Yagao walked forward, his feet almost gliding across the ground. He pulled the figure's hood off, revealing a head of black hair slicked back into a ponytail and a young woman's face that scowled at the gladiator. Concentric black markings adorned the pale skin around both the lady's charcoal eyes, although they seemed more like horned ridges than tattoos.

Yagao flicked his finger upwards and the woman rose into the air, a mass of rock clamping her ankles together.

"Carla, I believe Samira specifically ordered you not to fight Mr. Leonard," said Yagao. The gladiator looked just as irritated as the last time Jay had seen him. His silky black hair still flowed to his waist, unblemished by dirt as if it simply refused to stick, and he held his rubbery moko neatly folded in his hand instead of wearing it, favouring the layered black and green robes that Jay had seen him wear previously.

"I also believe that I gave you the same instructions too, followed by captain Jack, and then Corinne advised you against it as well."

If Carla felt any regret about her attack, she didn't show it. Instead, the gladiator stared back at Yagao with a defiance that bordered on aggression.

Jack cleared his throat, dragging everyone's attention away from the almost-altercation.

"Well that's one way to introduce yourself to your new teammate. It's good to see you safe, Jay. You too, Marko."

He stepped aside before gesturing at Yagao and Carla, as well as a stout man man stood beside him with utilitarian cropped hair and a stern face to match. "Let me introduce you to Yagao, Carla, and Felix—also known as team Scorpion."

—

"How come you guys get the name Scorpion while we're stuck with Kestrel?" complained Marko. Although Jay had quite enjoyed their three days of isolation, Marko had begun to act increasingly antsy as the wait grew longer. Jay wasn't a bad partner, but he lacked the social battery to keep up with Marko.

Thus, even after meeting someone as delightful as Carla, Marko still wanted to talk.

"Because we're an attack squad, Marko. Not a bunch of scouts,"

After a frankly awful first impression, the gladiator hadn't redeemed herself with a graceful second or third. She seemed somewhat friendly with Marko, although many of her remarks crossed the thin line between banter and mockery. Her jabs lacked the kindness that shone through both Corinne's and Jack's; with each comment, all Jay heard was insecurity.

Jay was happy to see the other half of Kestrel again, and spoke to Jack about his debriefing with Samira after returning the the Full Moon Sanctuary. Jay's captain claimed responsibility for the plan's near-failure, but congratulated Jay and Marko for still getting the job done. Jay kept quiet about the selfish reasons the plan had unravelled.

The two squads retraced the path Kestrel had covered three days ago. It seemed Jay would get another taste of battle, even after the fiasco in Navaras.

Jay couldn't help but feel wary about the new squad they'd paired with. Aside from Carla's obvious aggression, Jay couldn't get a read on Scorpion's third member, Felix. The quiet gladiator had barely spoken other than a brief greeting, and perceived the world with a pensive focus that appeared unwavering.

And that wasn't even considering their captain.

Yagao was marginally more talkative than Felix, although it felt as if every word he uttered came reluctantly. He walked straight-backed through the Hisoka forest regarding the swaying rubber trees with a strange disdain, as if he felt the place was wrong or tarnished.

As Jay looked at the gladiator, he couldn't help but remember the last time he'd seen him fight—in the pits before he'd even known of Limitless Ascent's existence.

The loss that kicked off Vega's final spiral.

Jay had only known Lyra's twin for two weeks, one of which she'd barely been around for, but he still felt a twang of pain as he looked at Yagao's imperious face. He didn't know what he'd expected out of the Limitless Ascent gladiator. An apology was unnecessary, but Jay would've liked an acknowledgement, at least.

Perhaps it was just selfishness, perhaps the spar meant nothing to Yagao and he'd forgotten it already.

But even though Jay knew not to expect anything out of the gladiator, the callousness still surprised him. Without Vega's death, there was a good chance Jay would still be in E grade, fighting weekly just to extend his visa while his friends all advanced.

Was that not even worth commenting on?

Jay remembered Yagao's rudeness towards Vega, but he thought the gladiator would be friendlier to his allies.

Why am I even thinking about this?

Jay chided himself and pushed back his unnecessary thoughts. He was worse than a schoolgirl, latching onto passing comments and offhand glances to figure out if he fit in.

Who cares what Yagao thinks…no, fuck that, who cares what anyone in this alliance thinks.

Marko turned back to Jay and raised an eyebrow.

Jay hadn't even realised, but his face had slowly locked itself into a scowl. He forced it loose, releasing some of the tension in his mind as his thoughts drifted to less important matters.

However, beneath Hisoka's whipping branches and whistling winds, Jay's thoughts whispered a steady mantra that cut through the noise.

Remember my real goal.

Not theirs, not ours. Mine.

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