[KATXU'S POV]
It's the second day of our recovery. The examiners gave us three days to prepare before the third exam, and honestly, I've never been more grateful for a break.
Ren's doing better now. He's still a bit sluggish, but Danryu and Kelly have been helping him recover. Their mana and stamina are back to normal, which is more than I can say for myself. I still feel a little off, but I chalk it up to exhaustion. Poco, on the other hand, has been running around outside, gathering intel on the next exam. That guy never stops planning.
After two consecutive matches back-to-back, our bodies were wrecked. It wasn't just the wounds—it was the complete drain of stamina and mana. The sealing magic from the previous fight still lingers like an annoying itch under my skin. My body isn't reacting as quickly as it should, and my thoughts feel slower, like they're wading through mud.
***
And just when I thought I'd get some peace, Poco and Danryu decide to confront me.
I'm leaning against the window, chewing on a piece of dried meat, when Danryu suddenly slams his hands on the table.
"Alright, talk."
I blink at him, feigning confusion. "Huh? About what? My secret recipe for glowing cheeks?"
"Don't be an idiot," Poco sighs, adjusting his glasses. "You know what we're talking about."
Kelly nods from the couch, holding a warm cup of tea. "Katxu… how did you wield Poco's AE?"
I hesitate. I expected this conversation, but not this soon. "Uh… well, funny story—"
Danryu immediately cuts me off. "Don't give me that! That was NOT normal! No one, and I mean NO ONE, can wield another person's AE. That's the golden rule."
Poco narrows his eyes. "Except you."
I rub the back of my head. "Okay, but, like… it's just a rock pillar, right? Maybe it's a common weapon?"
Poco glares. "Katxu. My AE is literally a part of me. It's an extension of my soul. You shouldn't even be able to touch it, let alone swing it like it was yours."
He pauses, then mutters, "...Though now that I think about it... I swear I saw you do it once before."
Danryu snaps, crossing his arms. "What?! And you're only bringing that up now?!"
I whip my head toward him. "Wait, what?"
Poco sighs and leans back, rubbing his temples. "Yeah. But it was during a fight. Everything was chaotic—I honestly thought I imagined it or it was some weird fluke."
I cross my arms. "So what? Maybe I'm just special."
Danryu snorts. "Oh yeah. Specially annoying."
"Damn, Danryu, your words cut deeper than your pathetic little vine attacks."
Danryu's eye twitches. "Say that again, NORMAL."
"Ohhh, hitting me with the classics? That's lazy, Back Princess."
Danryu immediately throws a pillow at me, but I duck, grinning. "Wow, your aim's gotten worse. You good?"
Poco clears his throat. "Alright, enough. Jokes aside, we need to figure this out. Katxu, has this ever happened before?"
I shake my head. "Not that I remember. But honestly, I never tried grabbing someone else's AE before. I didn't even know it was a thing. That rule you mentioned? Never heard of it."
Danryu scoffs. "Tch. Of course you haven't. You did say you never left the inner temple grounds before. Of course you'd miss the basics."
Kelly frowns. "Maybe… maybe it has something to do with the talismans you use?"
Poco shakes his head. "No, talismans enhance elemental magic. They don't interfere with AE."
Danryu groans, rubbing his forehead. "Okay, so, Katxu's just some weirdo who breaks the laws of Awakening. Got it."
I grin. "Finally, you understand."
Danryu throws another pillow at me.
As the conversation winds down, I notice something strange about Ren. He's been quiet—not just normal Ren-quiet, but unsettlingly still.
"Oi, Ren?" I wave a hand in front of his face.
His dark eyes flicker toward me, unfocused. It takes him a second too long to react, like he's waking from a dream. "...Huh?"
Kelly looks worried. "Ren… are you feeling okay?"
He tilts his head slightly, blinking. Then, without warning, he reaches for Grimm, hugging the teddy bear tighter. "...Still tired."
Something about his voice sounds off. Not just exhaustion—something deeper. I glance at Danryu, who also seems to have noticed.
"You sure you're alright, kid?" I ask, crouching beside him.
Ren doesn't answer. His grip on Grimm tightens, and his eyes darken for a split second before returning to normal.
***
Later that night, while everyone else is resting, Poco returns from his information gathering. He looks more serious than usual—which is saying something.
"I got some intel," he says, tossing a folded parchment onto the table. "The next exam… it's not like the last two."
Danryu squints at the paper. "What's with this layout? These names aren't grouped."
Poco taps the page. "Spacing's off. No team headers, no zones. Everyone's listed separately… and the order doesn't follow rank or squads."
I lean in. "…Could be one-on-one matchups?"
Danryu raises an eyebrow. "Or maybe we're being split into random placements? Like a rotation system?"
Poco shrugs. "I don't know. But one of the staff mentioned 'personal judgment under stress' and 'tracking isolated decision points.' That doesn't sound like team play to me."
Danryu frowns. "So… solo trials? Secret challenges? Or…"
He trails off.
None of us finish the thought.
The parchment stays quiet.
I sit back slowly. "Feels like they're setting something up. Something that pulls us apart."
Poco adjusts his glasses, tone unusually dry. "Maybe the real test isn't how we work together this time... but what we do when no one's watching."
A silence falls over the room.
We still don't know what the exam is.
But one thing's clear:
We won't be facing it the same way we did before.
***
The night was quiet except for the steady crackling of the campfire. The flames flickered, casting long shadows on the ground, while the cool night breeze rustled through the trees. The exhaustion of the past days still clung to our bodies, but for once, there were no fights, no exams, no rushing—just warmth, food, and the kind of stupid conversations that come when no one wants to go to sleep yet.
I stretched out lazily, hands behind my head as I leaned against a log, staring up at the stars. "Alright, I got a question."
Danryu, who was carving something out of a small wooden branch with one of his sharp vines, didn't even look up. "If it's another dumb question, I don't wanna hear it."
Poco, sitting cross-legged on a rock, smirked as he tossed a small pebble at Danryu. "Which means we absolutely have to hear it."
I grinned. "What's the dumbest thing you've ever done in a fight?"
Danryu groaned. "I hate this already."
Kelly, sipping tea beside Ren—who was half-asleep curled up against Grimm—tilted her head in thought. Then, hesitantly, she raised her hand. "Uhm… does getting lost in my own house count?"
Danryu finally looked up. "What."
Kelly fidgeted, her face slightly pink. "I-I was small! And my house is… really big. One time, I was looking for the kitchen, and I… uh… got stuck in the pantry for a few hours because I thought it was another room."
Silence.
Then, Poco doubled over laughing.
Danryu just stared at her. "You locked yourself… in a pantry?"
Kelly nodded, pouting. "It was confusing! There were shelves everywhere! I got lost in them!"
I held up a hand, struggling to breathe from laughing. "Wait, wait, wait—hold on. You're telling me, instead of realizing it was a pantry, you just… lived in there for hours?!"
Kelly turned even redder. "I panicked!"
Poco wheezed, wiping fake tears from his eyes. "You know what? That's amazing. I needed that. Thank you, Kelly. That's beautiful."
Danryu, still staring, muttered, "I'm never letting you navigate us again."
I was still recovering from the mental image of tiny Kelly wandering through shelves of flour and canned goods when Danryu exhaled sharply, clearly giving in to the ridiculousness of it all. "Alright, fine. My turn. Dumbest thing I did? I drank a potion I didn't label."
Poco immediately sat up straighter. "Oh no."
Kelly gasped. "What kind of potion?"
Danryu rubbed his temples, already regretting telling the story. "I thought it was a mana recovery potion. Turned out it was an experimental paralysis draft."
I lost it.
Poco clapped. "Oh my gods, Danryu—how long?!"
Danryu scowled deeply. "Twenty-four. Hours. Fully conscious. Couldn't move a damn muscle."
I fell over laughing.
Poco was wheezing. "HOW DID YOU SURVIVE?!"
Danryu groaned. "My little brother found me lying on the floor and assumed I was dead. He held a funeral before I could move again."
That was it. I was gone. Rolling on the dirt, struggling to breathe.
Poco gasped between laughs. "DID YOU—did you just have to lie there and accept it?!"
Danryu nodded miserably. "Couldn't do a damn thing. He even gave a speech."
I wiped fake tears from my eyes. "Oh, this is the best night of my life."
Kelly, horrified, put a hand over her mouth. "Your poor brother must have been so scared!"
Danryu scoffed. "No, he was THRILLED. The little bastard started dividing up my stuff before the funeral ended."
Poco fell off the rock he was sitting on. "HE DID WHAT?!"
Danryu pointed at me. "He gave my favorite coat to a chicken."
I was gasping for air. "A CHICKEN?!"
Danryu's face was pure bitterness. "A CHICKEN."
I couldn't handle it. "DID THE CHICKEN ACCEPT IT?!"
Danryu nodded gravely. "With dignity."
I had to lean against a tree to stop myself from collapsing. Poco was wheezing so hard I thought he'd pass out. Kelly had gone from shocked to outright laughing, her shoulders shaking as she tried (and failed) to keep it together. Even Ren, half-asleep, made a small amused noise.
When I finally regained enough strength to talk, I wiped a tear and sat up straight. "Alright, my turn—"
Danryu immediately pointed at me. "You. ARE. The dumbest thing you've ever done."
"EXCUSE ME?!"
Poco, recovering, snorted. "Nah, he's got a point."
I crossed my arms. "That is pure slander! I have never done anything stupid in battle!"
Danryu and Poco slowly turned to me, their expressions saying otherwise.
Kelly, still giggling, tilted her head. "What about the time you tried to fight a giant flaming boar with a bucket?"
Silence.
I narrowed my eyes. "Who told you that?"
Poco grinned. "That's a confession right there."
Danryu smirked. "Explain, Katxu. Explain the bucket."
I threw my hands up. "Look, it was a big flaming boar, alright? I panicked, and the only thing nearby was a bucket of water. It made sense at the time!"
Danryu was unimpressed. "Did it?"
Poco was holding back another fit of laughter. "Let me guess. You missed."
I glared. "No. I hit it perfectly."
Danryu raised an eyebrow. "And?"
I sighed. "It was oil."
Silence.
Then, Poco lost it. Again.
Kelly covered her mouth, but she was trembling from holding back laughter.
Danryu blinked at me, then slowly nodded. "So you… threw oil at a flaming boar?"
"…yes."
Poco wheezed. "AND THEN?!"
I sighed deeply. "I set half the forest on fire, okay?!"
Poco collapsed.
Danryu ran a hand down his face. "You… absolute disaster."
I sighed dramatically. "Look, we all make mistakes."
Poco pointed at me. "Yours are just… legendary."
Kelly, still giggling, nodded. "B-But… I'm sure you learned from it?"
I shrugged. "Of course. Next time, I'd throw the bucket first to see what's inside."
Danryu looked directly at me. "That's your takeaway?!"
Poco, wiping tears, finally stood up. "Alright. I have decided that we should all go to bed before Katxu says something even dumber."
Danryu grumbled. "For once, I agree."
I smirked. "You love me, Danryu."
Danryu stood up and immediately threw a pillow at me.
I dodged, laughing.
That was a good night.
***
After our campfire storytelling session, we were all wiped out from laughing so hard. Poco stretched, letting out a groan, then stood up.
"Well, I'm calling it a night," he said, rubbing his temples. "If I keep listening to Katxu, I'm going to lose brain cells."
Danryu yawned but waved him off. "You don't have many left anyway."
Poco threw a small rock at him. Danryu dodged without even looking.
Kelly stood up too, stifling a giggle as she dusted off her skirt. "I think I'll go to sleep as well. That was… fun."
I smirked. "Fun? Kelly, we just emotionally destroyed each other for an hour. That was beautiful."
She shook her head, smiling, before gently nudging Ren, who had completely fallen asleep against Grimm. "Ren? Do you want to go inside?"
Ren blinked slowly, his expression still half-asleep. "...Mmm."
Kelly giggled softly, patting his head before leading him inside. Grimm followed, the giant teddy bear shrinking back to its small plush size, resting against Ren's arm as he disappeared into our apartment.
Soon, it was just me and Danryu.
Danryu groaned, stretching his arms. "Tch. Can't believe we just sat around roasting each other instead of sleeping."
I grinned, picking up a random stick and twirling it. "And yet, it was time well spent."
Danryu snorted. "Sure, whatever, Normal."
I rolled my eyes. "You're still salty from the potion story, huh?"
Danryu narrowed his eyes. "You literally set a forest on fire by accident. I have no reason to be embarrassed."
I shrugged. "Fine, fair. But what's a little chaos without food?"
Danryu froze.
"…What do you mean?"
I clapped my hands together. "Kelly went to sleep, which means—we are now in charge of food."
Danryu immediately turned toward the apartment. "Nope. Nope. Not happening. Kelly left for a reason—"
I grabbed his sleeve. "Danryu."
"No."
I looked at him, serious. "We have a responsibility."
Danryu's expression twisted in absolute distrust. "The last time you said that, we almost failed an exam."
I gasped. "How dare you. That was one time."
Danryu squinted. "One time is already too much."
I grinned wider. "Come on. What's the worst that could happen?"
Danryu sighed heavily. "We die."
I grabbed his wrist and dragged him inside. "Good thing we have a healer then!"
Five minutes later.
Danryu was standing in front of a pot of boiling water, holding a spoon like it was a weapon, while I rummaged through our extremely questionable food supplies.
Poco had already refused to help, saying something about "not wanting to be an accomplice."
"Alright," I clapped my hands, looking over the ingredients. "Step one: We make food. Step two: We survive eating it."
Danryu scowled. "Step one should be 'Don't let Katxu touch anything.'"
I waved him off, pulling out random ingredients. "Relax, Back Princess. Cooking is just combat with extra steps."
Danryu gave me a long, exhausted look. "You do realize that doesn't make sense, right?"
I ignored him, picking up a dried root. "What's this?"
Danryu leaned forward, squinting. "That's an energizing herb. Helps restore stamina."
I immediately tossed it into the pot.
Danryu grabbed me by the collar. "STOP THROWING RANDOM STUFF IN."
I gasped dramatically. "Are you stopping me from expressing myself through food?"
Danryu exhaled sharply through his nose. "Yes."
I huffed. "Fine, fine. You be in charge, then."
Danryu muttered something about "keeping idiots away from fire" and started stirring the pot.
I watched him for exactly five seconds before saying, "You're stirring it wrong."
Danryu turned slowly, eyes narrowing. "I'm stirring it wrong?"
"Yeah, you have to do it counterclockwise first to infuse the flavors."
Danryu stared at me.
Poco, who had just been walking by the kitchen, paused. "Wait… is that true?"
Danryu looked at me, suspicious. "...Is it?"
I grinned. "Oh, totally."
Danryu, fueled by pure spite, started stirring counterclockwise.
Poco squinted. "That better not be a lie."
I smiled. "Oh, it totally is."
Danryu flung a ladle at me.
Eventually, we got… something resembling food into bowls.
Danryu took a cautious sniff.
Poco sat across from us, watching like he was about to witness a historic tragedy.
Danryu frowned. "Smells… weird."
I nodded. "That means it's working."
Danryu glared. "THAT IS NOT HOW FOOD WORKS."
Ignoring him, I grabbed a spoonful and took a bite.
Poco and Danryu watched me closely.
I chewed.
I swallowed.
I blinked.
Then I grabbed a second spoonful.
Danryu looked shocked. "It's… edible?"
I nodded. "Yeah, it's actually—"
My stomach immediately made a sound I did not know was possible.
Danryu and Poco froze.
I slowly put the spoon down.
Poco pointed. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT SOUND?!"
Danryu took a step back. "Oh no."
I held my stomach. "I think it's—uh—reacting with something?"
Poco stared at the pot. "Didn't you put in some weird root?"
Danryu snapped his fingers. "Oh. Right. That's the 'fast metabolism' herb."
Poco blinked. "What does that do?"
Danryu sighed. "Doubles digestion speed. Which means…"
Poco and Danryu both turned to me.
I suddenly felt very, very warm.
"Oh."
Danryu smirked. "Oh, this is gonna be good."
Ten Minutes Later…
Kelly woke up to me running outside at full speed.
Danryu and Poco were crying laughing in the doorway.
Kelly looked around, confused. "W-What's happening?"
Poco, barely able to breathe, wiped a tear from his eye. "Katxu accidentally made the strongest digestive potion known to mankind."
Danryu, still laughing, waved after me. "Good luck, idiot!"
Kelly blinked. "...Should I heal him?"
Poco grinned. "Let him suffer first."
Kelly, flustered, nodded. "O-Okay…"
And thus, I learned never to trust Danryu's ingredients.
But did that stop me from cooking again?
No. No, it did not.