Pruned Trees Re-Sprout!! ~ Ragazza Volpe Magica ~

“Oho? You had a fun first half of the day.” Elijah smirked as they ate lunch in one of the staff rooms. The Klein heir even made a point to reserve one specifically for them to speak alone after hearing about what happened. He even went as far as to have Zino be taken care of by other members of the tournament staff, recognizing the gruff Dinosaurian wouldn’t help such delicate matters.

A wise choice as Shouri and his Resonators were just picking at their food rather than properly eating, wearing sullen expressions as they did so.

On the table, Taika, Pacifica, and Rebecca’s tuners all laid with new spells gracing their lists.

Taika got:

Purifica L'anima (New!)

For Pacifica:

Mani Nell'acqua

Presto – Allegro – Moderato – Adagio – Lento (New!)

And finally on Rebecca’s tuner:

Roccia Fusa (New!)

Legato (New!)

While normally gaining access to new spells was an exciting prospect, some complicated emotions were hovering over the group about these particular spells. Taika getting the status cleansing spell would be a big boon to them for sure, as was Mani Nell'acqua’s Lento rank providing extra control over the water Pacifica could create for either filling water bottles … or cleaning wounds.

The most complicated emotion was Rebecca’s receipt of the Fire-Earth Ossia Spell, Roccia Fusa. This wasn’t the way any of them had expected to obtain a new Ossia. “Urgh.” Rebecca put her head down on the table. Shouri scooted his chair closer to her and wrapped an arm around the fox, pulling her close.

“Perhaps you should go see him,” Elijah spoke up. “It may help ease your hearts a bit,” the Klein heir proposed.

Pacifica studied those words. “I think he’s right Sho,” the otter advised her Maestro.

“It’s 12:35 now, Round Nine doesn’t start until 2, you have plenty of time.”

With a short nod, Shouri agreed to the plan. “Excellent, I’ll ring them up and let them know you’re coming.” Elijah chuckled, pulling his brown tuner from his coat pocket.

Kalyan and his team had been taken to one of the Intensive care units the stadium had. Both Rebecca and Pacifica were familiar with the power of Viva units, both having had serious injuries restored to pristine condition through their power.

“Why aren’t Viva units used more often?” Pacifica wondered aloud.

“Expensive,” Shouri replied simply. “Just running one Resonator through a single healing cycle is estimated to cost around ten thousand notes.”

“Ten… thousand?” Taika gasped. She suddenly had a new appreciation for her healing magic.

“Serious injuries like that can take several cycles to run through to get the Resonator fully healed,” Shouri explained. “That’s why they’re only used if a Resonator is severely injured enough,” he added.

“Wait, why didn’t they use a Viva unit on you then?” Taika pointed out, remembering Shouri’s brush with death from a week ago.

“Viva units only work on Resonators due to how sensitive your physiology is to rhythm. Maestros radiate rhythm instead of taking it in naturally. In fact, etude is the only way Maestros can take in foreign rhythm,” he explained, his nerves about the situation calming.

Rebecca nodded, understanding the idea. She could sense that explaining this to them was easing his anxiety, so she spoke up herself: “Who pays for running the Viva units then if they’re so expensive?”

Shouri shrugged. “Government probably. I’m sure whoever authorizes the usage of the Viva units has to fill out a bunch of paperwork.” The boy shuddered thinking about dealing with the bureaucratic red tape.

And they were about to see one in action as they arrived at the room in question. Letting themselves in, the four were hit by the familiar sterile scent of a medical office. It was quiet, only the hum of the machinery in the back, breaking the veil of silence.

The first people they saw were Solmaz and his other two Resonators. He was flanked on both sides by his concerned Resonators who laid a hand on his back, Solmaz himself was hunched over, his head in his hands.

“Maestro Solmaz,” Shouri spoke up.

The boy snapped to, tears dropping from his face. “R-ref…” his voice cracked. Shouri hadn’t paid the duelist any mind before Kalyan took that hit, but Solmaz had to be around his age, eighteen, maybe nineteen?

“I wanted to come see Kalyan,” Shouri admitted, after taking a moment to choose his words.

“He’s over there…” Solmaz pointed to an adjoining room, the source of the humming machinery.

“Thank you.” Before Shouri could excuse himself, however, the other Maestro spoke up.

“Ref?”

Shouri stopped, his back to the other Maestro. His gaze lowered as he considered whether or not to turn around. After a moment, Shouri faced the former competitor. “Yes?”

“It’s my fault, isn’t it?” Solmaz asked.

Once more, Shouri considered his choice of words before speaking. “Why did you pick him?”

Solmaz glanced at the room his third Resonator was in. “I took a gamble on Jo picking his earth Resonator,” he told Shouri. “I trusted Kalyan,” the duelist mumbled.

Rebecca slowly nodded as she listened to Solmaz speak. Some would have interpreted those words as Solmaz feeling betrayed by his Resonator’s loss, but this was far from correct. She could sense Solmaz truly trusted Kalyan and the feeling was mutual. And considering the stakes of their match, it honestly wasn’t a bad call. Kalyan was a Nature-Cat, he was fast, way faster than Gad could ever hope to be. Strictly speaking, Jo would have probably forfeited the match if it wasn’t an elimination round. They both had to take risks and Kalyan was the one who paid for it.

“You had to have expected he would have every Ossia available, that’s the bare minimum for competitive battling,” Shouri pointed out.

“I know!” Solmaz shouted. “I know… I just thought all of the earth spells have such a wind-up time to them it wouldn’t be an issue.” He lowered his head shamefully. He didn’t speak another word.

Shouri turned and made his way into the adjoining room where Kalyan floated inside the Viva unit. A mask was strapped to the cat boy’s face, with diodes attached to key points on his body. The burn on his chest was still deep, but not nearly as bad as before. The machine was working its magic though, as they could see the wound slowly closing up in real time. It was truly a technological marvel.

Taika spotted the boy’s vitals, noting they were quite stable (at least from her understanding), despite the near-fatal injury he had sustained only an hour ago.

The big thing Shouri spotted was the cycle count displayed on one of the monitors affixed to the machine:

1/5

35:23 Remaining

Each cycle was an hour, so he was going to be in there for some time. Either way, there was nothing more Shouri or his Resonators could do. Kalyan was in good hands and would be back on his feet in a few hours.

As Shouri and co went to take their leave, Solmaz spoke up again: “W-wait, Ref?”

“Yes?” Shouri stopped again, glancing back at the other Maestro.

“Those two-” He pointed to Pacifica and Taika. “-they’re yours too?”

“They are.”

Solmaz bowed, keeping his head down. “Thank you so much for saving him! I don’t know what I would have done if I lost him,” his voice cracked with emotion.

Pacifica and Taika looked at one another. “Of course.” Taika smiled.

Klein: “Have you wrapped up your meeting?” 1:47 PM

Shouri studied the text on his tuner while they walked back to the courts.

Me: “Yeah, going back to finish out the day.” 1:49 PM

Was the reply he decided on. Almost instantly, Shouri got a reply back from the other Maestro but chose to ignore it. The group of four stopped in front of court thirty-one. Rebecca and Shouri both regarded the battlefield with some hesitation. Pacifica took up Shouri’s hand, then Taika’s, motioning for her to grab one of Rebecca’s.

Seeing what Pacifica was after, he completed the circle linking his hand with Rebecca’s. “It’s okay.” The otter closed her eyes. “They’re not here by force, they know what they’re doing. Accidents happen, we’re only a call away if you need us,” she spoke serenely, matching the warm rhythm flowing through them all like a gentle current.

“They want to be here, they poured so much rhythm, sweat, and tears for this chance, and we should respect their decision.” Taking in a deep breath, she released her Maestro and fellow Resonator from their etude circle.

“Th-that was beautiful…” One of the ninth-round Maestros was tearing up along with their Resonators in awe of the motivational speech.

Shouri stood frozen in shock for a moment before Taika’s rhythm thawed him into action. “Q-quit gawking and get on the court!” he barked, attempting to hide the fluster on his face by stomping onto the court himself.

The remainder of the day went smoothly – some more injured Resonators went through Taika and Pacifica’s first-aid tent (though nothing even remotely close to the situation with Kalyan). While Shouri and Rebecca dealt with some mouthy Maestros; though they begrudgingly accepted their rulings without too much fuss (just a lot of huffing and bitter muttering).

At last, it was quitting time. 5 PM rolled around and with it the standings for the first sixteen rounds of Swiss. Shouri and Rebecca waited near one of the exits to the stadium, having changed out of their uniforms. Pacifica and Taika were still working on some last-round damage before they were allowed to leave for the day, giving the two referees a chance to people-watch until the other half of their party was freed from their obligations.

There was a healthy mix of spectator and competitor foot traffic departing the venue. Quite a few Maestros were obviously and visibly bummed out. With such a huge playing field it was no surprise when over five hundred Maestros failed to make the cut into day two of the preliminaries.

“I never realized how many people came to these things,” Rebecca commented, noting the sheer volume of human foot traffic.

“Never been to a Nationals?” Shouri asked.

Rebecca shook her head. “Had a couple of Maestros trying to make a career out of it, never stayed with them long enough to see any tournaments.” Kalyan flashed into the forefront of her mind. “Thankfully,” she mumbled.

Shouri placed a hand on her shoulder, gripping it tightly. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I know.” The fire Resonator trembled. “They want to be here,” she reminded herself.

They stood in silence for a bit. “If Maestros lose day one, they don’t get anything for their time?” Rebecca questioned, deciding to return to her original inquiry.

“Oh no, if they’re here they’re getting a government stipend to compete. Depending on their placement, they get more money on top of their tournament winnings.” Shouri watched a Maestro and her Resonators celebrate nearby. “Like us hunters, they also get to stay in MA Offices, so lodging and food are taken care of for them. Though the stronger Maestros will get themselves hotel rooms rather than stay in the packed MA Offices.”

“My god, it’s probably a shit show there, huh?” Rebecca realized.

“Yeah, glad we dodged that bullet.” Shouri shuddered thinking how full it must be there right now.

The pair resumed people-watching. Rebecca’s gaze gradually fell, sneaking to Shouri’s hand. Eyes darting away, she slowly extended her hand out, and her hand grazed his – though she whipped her arm away as if she touched a cold surface. Shouri smirked, knowing exactly what his sneaky fox was after. Reaching out, he took hold of her hand. Her tail started swishing, pleased with the turn of events.

After some time, Taika and Pacifica joined the group. “Sho!” the two Resonators called out to their Maestro.

“Hey! How was the rest of your shift?!” Shouri called back to his returning Resonators, waving with his unoccupied hand.

“Bene! Bene!” Taika beamed, holding the strap of her medical bag.

“I’m first aid certified!” Pacifica bragged, having gotten a crash course on basic wound care in the latter half of the day.

“Good, I’m glad.” Shouri smiled back; pleased they had a good time.

“What about you two?” Taika inquired.

“So this dude tried to argue with us about his Resonator hitting zero first due to poison, but it’s like, the tuner tells us exactly when it happened, why are you arguing?” Rebecca told her fellow Resonators.

“People haha…” Pacifica chuckled, shaking her head.

It was at that moment, that Shouri got a call on his tuner. Of course, it was one Elijah Klein. “Keep talking, gonna see what Elijah wants,” Shouri told the rest of his group as he stepped away to answer.

Shouri wanted to snap at his current employer but decided at the last second to be civil. “Yes?” he asked, really having to bite his tongue to even get that out in an even tone.

“I’m sending a car to pick you up, we’re going to have dinner, my treat.”

Poor Shouri couldn’t even get a word in edgewise before Elijah hung up on him, justifying his previous inclination to snap at the other man. With a tired sigh, he looked back to his trio of girls excitedly sharing stories about their day. Returning to the circle, he announced the plans forced on them: “We’re going out to dinner,” he told them.

“Dinner?” Taika perked up, earning an eye roll and a smirk from Rebecca.

“Where at?” Pacifica asked though she wasn’t familiar with any of the local eateries.

“Dunno, Mister Klein didn’t say, he just said he was going to have someone pick us up.” Shouri allowed his shoulders to catch slack, letting out another annoyed sigh. “Weak will, why doesn’t anyone respect my condition?” the Maestro grumbled.

Taika shuffled over and rubbed her Maestro’s back. “Andrà bene, Sho.” She smiled sweetly.

“You’re just saying that because you want dessert,” Rebecca mumbled.

Though Shouri couldn’t hear her, Taika shot a glare at Rebecca, who stuck her tongue out. Pacifica raised a brow, the spat seemed more… playful than she was used to seeing between the two. How odd.

“Master Tomoshibi,” a familiar voice broke up the antics.

“Mr. Belvedere, what are you doing here?” Shouri questioned the elder man who stood waiting for the group.

“Master Klein requested your presence at the Six Senses Chophouse on Galango Road – he tasked me to ensure your timely arrival,” the butler informed the inquiring Maestro.

Shouri grunted, glancing back at his gaggle of girls. They stared back with hunger in their eyes. “Fine fine,” he relented. “Let’s get going.”

Alfred nodded slowly. “Excellent. This way if you would.”

The Six Senses Chophouse was, as expected, a wonderful dining experience. Turns out Elijah had reserved the entire restaurant to celebrate a successful first day of tournament play. The building was filled by the staff who made that all possible.

By the end of it though, Shouri was sporting a lovely headache and wanted to just go back to the hotel so he could put his head under a pillow and not exist for a few hours. However, things didn’t go the way Shouri envisioned upon their return to the hotel.

As Alfred pulled the car under the porte-cochere in front of the Villas Fairingway, Shouri, and his Resonators exited the vehicle, but so did Elijah and Zino.

Shouri thought nothing of it – figuring the Klein heir must also have a room in the hotel. With that, Shouri made his way inside and to the elevator, with Elijah right behind.

In the elevator, the pack of six went, but Elijah made no selection of his own when they entered, allowing Shouri to scan one of his tuners to select the floor.

The door opened and the six departed the elevator, causing Shouri to stop and turn back to the two hangers-on. “Ok, why are you here?” he finally questioned the other Maestro.

“Shouldn’t it be obvious? I am returning to my room.” Elijah smiled innocently.

“This floor is a suite, there isn’t another room here,” Shouri pointed out, though he already had a nasty feeling about what his employer was about to say next.

“Mister Tomoshibi, there is only one presidential suite and it is quite large, even for myself and Zino,” Elijah said.

Shouri remained silent – he knew this whole situation was too good to be true.

“What’s going on?” Taika asked.

“They’re staying in the suite with us,” Pacifica told her fellow Resonator.

“Oh good.” Rebecca cracked her knuckles, eyes cast squarely on Zino, who was more than happy to flex his own digits and glare back.

“Don’t worry, I need a break from strong rhythm users. I’ve had my fill today.” Elijah pushed his bangs back, the exhaustion apparent on his face. Turns out, the tournament organizer was quite good at putting on a show and hiding his discomfort. With that in mind, he stepped around Shouri’s group and made his way deeper into the Presidential Suite.

This left Zino alone with Shouri and his team. Pacifica and Taika studied the dinosaurian - Pacifica edging back slightly and Taika staring with indifference.

“Hrmph.” And with that, Zino too made his departure, (taking an extra-long gait to avoid Rebecca) before disappearing into the suite.

“Uhg. Our vacations suck.” Shouri slumped over himself, letting out a big dramatic sigh.

“There there Sho.” Pacifica patted her Maestro’s back.

“Tch, I wanted him to start something,” Rebecca grumbled.

“Rebecca, componiti.” Taika held her fellow fox’s shoulder.

The evening thankfully was relaxing for the quartet, Taika and Pacifica made some snacks for the group and they gathered in one of the living rooms to watch some movies on the hilariously large flat-screen television.

At one point Elijah wandered out of his room, catching sight of Shouri and his three Resonators all draped over him. Being so focused on the movie, the quartet failed to notice they were being watched. The expression on Shouri’s face was of particular interest to the Klein heir.

Comfort, trust, true comradery. The three girls around their Maestro shared in this emotion, this bliss. Together they carved out their little slice of heaven no matter where they were.

Treating Resonators right wasn’t just feeding or training them well or anything clinical like that.

They’re just people…