Order of the Elements-Chapter 81: Of Love, Laughter, and the Scars We Hide

The Elements, Teshii, Mei, and Hikari were now back at the safehouse after Sora had overcome his laziness and finally gained the ability to fly.

The Elements – Hikaru, Haruto, Moriya, Ikazuchi, Reito, Daichi, and Sora – along with Mei, were all sitting on the couches in the living room.

Sora let out a heavy sigh as he leaned forward, arms resting on his knees. "I still can't believe Teshii tricked me like that."

Ikazuchi turned to Sora with a teasing grin. "Come on, Sora. You should've expected that. Like seriously, why would a woman even be at the edge of a cliff?"

Sora narrowed his eyes at him. "Ikazuchi..."

"I mean, you're a high schooler, right? This is just the kind of stuff you have to deal with," Ikazuchi said, mockingly shrugging.

Haruto shot a glare his way. "Hey, Ikazuchi! Don't say that."

"What? It's true though," Ikazuchi said, genuinely confused about what he'd done wrong.

Hikaru chuckled at their banter but suddenly paused, realizing something. He glanced around the room.

"Wait... where's Teshii and Hikari?"

Mei turned to him. "Oh, those two? Teshii said he was going to introduce Hikari to Satoshi and Reina."

"Tch. Lovebirds," Hikaru muttered under his breath.

Haruto glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "You can't really say that, Hikaru."

"What do you mean?" Hikaru asked, slightly defensive.

Haruto tilted his head. "Aren't you and Mei dating too?"

Both Hikaru and Mei immediately flushed bright red.

"W-We're not dating!" they both blurted out in perfect unison.

Haruto blinked in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah!" they both said again, nodding vigorously. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

Haruto squinted at them, clearly unconvinced. "Are you really sure about that?"

"Yes! We are not dating," Hikaru said firmly – until–

"YET!"

A loud voice interrupted from behind them.

Hikaru and Mei both whipped their heads around, still blushing. "Huh?!"

It was Teshii, casually stepping through the door, one hand in his pocket and the other holding Hikari's hand.

"Teshii!" You finished introducing my sister to Satoshi and Reina?" Hikaru asked quickly, desperate to change the subject.

"Hey!" Teshii pointed a dramatic finger at him. "Don't you dare try to change the subject, Sunshine. Me and Hikari both agree – you and Mei should totally be dating."

"B-But..." Hikaru stammered.

Teshii let go of Hikari's hand and leaned in close, hovering just in front of Hikaru's face over the couch.

"No buts, Sunshine. So tell me..." he said, smirking. "What's holding you back from asking Mei out?"

Hikaru leaned back, trying to put some distance between himself and Teshii.

"What's holding me back?" he repeated.

"Yes, Sunshine," Teshii said, nodding with curiosity. "What's holding you back?"

"Um... what's holding me back is..." Hikaru mumbled, clearly struggling to come up with a proper answer.

He glanced around the room, silently begging the others for help. But to his dismay, none of them were even looking at him – they were all suddenly very interested in the walls, their fingers, or literally anything else.

Damn you guys! I thought we were friends! Well... Sora gets a pass. He literally can't help me here.

Then–

"I'll tell you the reason," Mei suddenly blurted out, her voice soft but firm.

Everyone – including Hikaru, Hikari, and Teshii – snapped their heads toward her.

"Mei?" Hikaru muttered, stunned.

"Rich Girl?" Teshii echoed, raising an eyebrow behind his shades.

"You sese." Mei said, nervously fidgeting with her hands. "The reason Hikaru and I aren't dating yet–"

"HA!" Teshii leapt to his feet, pointing an accusatory finger at her. "You said 'yet'! That means you do want to date Hikaru!"

"Hey, babe!" Hikari interjected. "Let Mei finish!"

"Oh – sorry!" Teshii quickly sat back down, folding his arms like a scolded child. "Go ahead."

Mei exhaled softly and continued. "The reason why Hikaru and I aren't dating is because... I don't want to hold him back with his studies."

A silence fell over the room. Hikaru, Teshii, and the others all blinked in confusion.

"...You don't want to hold Sunshine back with his studies?" Teshii repeated, tilting his head.

"Y-Yeah." Mei nodded, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "I just don't want to put Karu under too much pressure."

The room went quiet again.

Mei suddenly gasped and slapped both hands over her mouth, realizing what she'd just said.

Hikaru's eyes widened.

Did she just...?

Teshii slowly raised an eyebrow behind his crimson shades. "Karu?"

"That's Hikaru's childhood nickname," Hikari explained with a little smirk.

"I see..." Teshii said, giving Hikaru a knowing grin. "Anyway – let's move on from this topic."

"You believe me?" Mei asked hopefully.

"Nope!" Teshii replied instantly, not buying her explanation for even a second.

Mei blinked. "Huh?"

Teshii laughed. "I mean... I don't really care about the reason you and Sunshine aren't dating yet. All I know is, the writer is probably cooking something between you two."

"I-Is that so?" Mei replied, giggling awkwardly.

Hikaru glanced at her giggle, blushing slightly.

Then – Teshii clapped his hands together and turned to the others.

"Anyway, guys! Ready to train like usual?"

At first... no one answered. The group just sat there on the couch, each of them wearing the same exhausted expression, staring blankly at Teshii.

Until...

Haruto finally spoke up.

"You know, Teshii... ever since I joined the Order, all we've done is nothing but train every single day. It's... kinda starting to get boring."

Teshii tilted his head. "Are you only saying that because I keep beating you guys up?"

"I mean... n–" Haruto started.

"Yes. It's because you keep beating us up every day," Ikazuchi interrupted bluntly, arms crossed.

Teshii rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm... then what should we do? We should at least do something fun. Something not boring."

He tapped his chin again... then snapped his fingers.

"How about we go airsofting?"

"No. Absolutely not," Ikazuchi said immediately. "You'll just keep shooting at us."

"Yeah...fair point." Teshii nodded, rubbing his chin again. "Okay, okay... Um..."

He turned to Hikari beside him. "Got any ideas, babe?"

Hikari shook her head. "Not that I can think of."

Then – Mei shyly raised her hand.

"I... have an idea."

Teshii turned to her with a teasing grin.

"Oh? Seems like Sunshine's future girlfriend has a suggestion."

"F-Future girlfriend?!" Mei muttered, her cheeks flushing red.

Hikari sighed and looked over at Mei. "Just ignore my boyfriend, Mei. Go ahead – tell us your idea."

"O-kay. Thank you, Hikaru," Mei said, still blushing.

Everyone – even Hikaru – turned their attention to her, curious about her idea.

"I-I think we should do a scavenger hunt," Mei said softly.

Hikaru raised an eyebrow. "Scavenger hunt?"

"Yes." Mei nodded. "I think it would be fun"

Teshii grinned and began nodding. "Nice. Nice. I like that idea. Great for team bonding. So, Mei... what are the rules?"

"I'll create a list of items, locations, or tasks to solve," Mei explained. "Each clue leads to the next. Sometimes it's finding an object. Sometimes it's completing a task."

"So..." Sora raised a hand. "Are we going solo or in teams?"

"I think it's better if we go solo," Teshii answered. "That way we can get some character development... hopefully."

"How do we win?" Ikazuchi asked, arms crossed.

"It should be whoever collects all the items – or solves all the clues – first," Mei said."

"I understand the part about items." Haruto chimed in. "But what about solving clues? How do we prove we actually did them?"

Teshii smirked. "Video proof."

Haruto glanced over at him, raising an eyebrow. "Video proof?"

"Yeah," Teshii nodded. "I've got a bunch of GoPros. We can strap them to your chest and record everything you do."

"Hmm... yeah, that could work," Haruto agreed.

"Alright then, it's settled," Teshii said, turning to Mei. "Rich Girl! Can you print out the list for us now, please?"

"Yes." Mei nodded. "I will."

Ikazuchi cracked his knuckles. "This'll be a walk in the park."

"We'll see, Zeus. We'll see," Teshii said, flashing a grin.

Meanwhile...

Outside a house nestled in the peaceful countryside, a lone figure stood still, his breath shallow.

He wore a carbon-black tactical suit, reinforced at the joints and woven with lightweight ballistic fibres. A badge on his left shoulder bore the unmistakable insignia: SHINRA.

It was Agent 139.

But today, he wasn't just a soldier. He was a broken man.

Staring at the wooden door before him, memories of what happened at Tanaka's Barn raced through his mind like a storm His hands trembled.

Then–

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Seconds passed.

Creeeeaaaaak.

The door opened slowly, revealing a black-haired woman with warm brown eyes. Her rounded belly gently poked through her dress – clearly six months pregnant.

CHARACTER INTRODUCTION

Name: Kurumi Takahashi

Species: Human

Age: Unknown

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Brown

Height: 5'5

Weight: 130lbs

Occupation: Housewife

Kurumi's eyes widened the moment she saw the man before her.

"S-Shoto?"

The name pierced Agent 139's heart. Hearing his real name – Shoto Takahashi – broke the dam.

His knees gave out.

Collapsing, he wrapped his arms around Kurumi's pregnant belly, pressing his forehead against it.

"I-I'm sorry!" he choked out, trembling.

"Shoto?" Kurumi whispered, confused, and alarmed. "What are you sorry for?"

A voice echoed from inside the house.

"What's going on out there?"

Kurumi glanced over her shoulder. "Dad! Something's wrong with Shoto!"

Her father stepped outside, eyes narrowing as he took in the sight: his son-in-law, a trained SHINRA agent, broken and weeping on the ground.

"Shoto! What happened?"

Shoto didn't even lift his head.

"I...I'm done," he muttered, voice shaking. "I'm quitting SHINRA. I'm quitting working for the Prime Minister. From this day forward – I'm staying here. With you, Kurumi. With our baby.

Kurumi's heart clenched. She knelt beside him, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.

He was shaking uncontrollably.

Something – someone – had done this to him.

Kurumi clenched her teeth, her eyes darkening with resolve.

What did they do... to my beloved husband?

TO BE CONTINUED!!!