EPISODE FIVE: STAR TRAINING

Yone felt the crackle of power running under his skin, sharp and familiar. Each swing of the sickle yanked more from him, the strength in his arms fading as though poured straight into Satar's pull. Every strike landed heavier, slower, until his body screamed at him to stop. The room was stripped bare, no one there but Jenna practicing slightly at a distance from him.

His last swing scattered his balance. His knees gave. He slammed onto the tiles, breath punched right out of his chest. The sickle bounced from his hand, metal echoing long and harsh as it clattered across the room, the sound dragging at the silence like a warning bell. He blinked hard, gasping for air, the weight of Satar's power like a hand pressed to his chest, forcing every breath twice as hard.

Jenna didn't move. Still as stone against the distant light peeking thinly through slits of windows. Yone's chest heaved, his lungs tight, thoughts crashing into him—he had leaned too far into it, drawn too much from what wasn't his. Too much, for too long.

For a moment all sound cut, the silence heavier than the ringing metal. Yone lay broken on his back, sweat sticking to his skin. He exhaled in a ragged growl, forcing his body to move again, inch by inch dragging himself across the cold floor. His numb fingers reached for the sickle lying a pace away.

The moment he touched it, he felt it slipping. The metal shivered in his grip, blurring then peeling away in fragments. It scattered in flickers, white sparks, like a fall of snow caught in faint light, only to vanish mid-air as though it had never existed.

Yone sighed as he slumped back on the floor. The space thickened, light shimmering around the entire room.

And out of that shimmered haze, her form pulled itself into being. Satar. Her body wove into presence piece by piece, her outline burning solid under a pale blue glow from the fluorescents overhead. The room shifted under her. He could feel it, the air heavy, humming, charged like the sky before a storm.

She floated toward him, a sharp grace in every motion. Something carved sharper, deliberate, eyes lit with otherworldly fire, wearing a bold, thigh slit white dress. His body shook, both in awe and unease. She would always tease him with her flirtatious kinks, and it wouldn't matter to her whether others were around.

He forced the words out, voice low, its edge cutting more than volume. "Where is your kimono?"

Her face tipped, a sigh carried out soft but filled with disappointment. She pulled back with a small shake of her head. "So cold. Truly heartless," she murmured, more to herself than to him. "I show myself like this for you, and that's how you greet me?"

Yone didn't move, didn't give her more than the same line in his voice. "What is this about, Satar?"

She didn't answer. Not in words. Not to him. She drifted past, her gaze hooking instead on Jenna.

The mood in the room dropped sharper. Yone's stomach twisted before his mind caught up. In one shift Satar's hands were at Jenna's throat, fingers wrapping and locking as she lifted her high into the dim air. Jenna's legs flailed, her throat cut by the invisible grip. She gasped, clawed at her own neck, eyes glassing over in panic. Jento wasn't here either. He had asked them to practice by themselves because he had a meeting to attend with Kisuke and Awara.

Yone's muscles fired without thought. He drove himself back up to his feet, stumbling on exhaustion but still pushing. His voice cut out, raw. "Satar! Stop! What are you doing?"

Her head swung to him sharply, her voice flat, almost too calm. "There is room for only one special person, only one special star-bearer. Just one. That must be you, Yone. I'll make sure it's you. And for that she needs to go. She is standing in the way."

Jenna coughed against the choke, her arms striking at the force she couldn't tear off.

And in the same breath, Hibiki was there. Shadow through shadow, one arm hooking around Jenna's waist as he snapped her from Satar's grip. He stepped back with her held fast, face strained with quiet fury. Jenna collapsed against him, hacking for air, spit slipping at her lips as her fingers dug into his sleeve.

"My apologies, master..." Hibiki bowed his head, voice nearly breaking with shame. "It took too long to heal back strength before I could intervene..."

Jenna shook her head quickly, hands pressed to her throat as she spoke through hoarse breath. "No... Hibiki-san... you came. That's what matters." Her voice was light but heavy with meaning.

"Dismiss her, Yone," Hibiki barked suddenly, still steadying Jenna against him.

Yone's voice rang across the space. "Satar! Enough! Seal!" His hand shot forward with the order. His brows clenched with the weight of the command.

Satar didn't obey. She gave him a glare sharpened like glass and drifted back, a flick from her incorporeal shape knocking him to his knees. Yone hissed in pain, hand clutching his side, sweat dripping down his face. Since she refused to be sealed back into the star holder, his bandana, it drained his own ability to even stand up.

"You'll break our contract if you keep this up," he growled through gritted teeth.

Her eyes narrowed, bitter, her tone biting down through the quiet. "And someday I will. But rest assured. That day. Is. Not today."

Before she could say more, her hand spun wide, pulling a whip-like blade into shape and hurling it with vicious speed toward Hibiki. He cut back in a fluid step, holding Jenna close and moving her behind him as the weapon sizzled into nothing against the stone wall.

Hibiki's voice came softer, clearer in the dead silence. "Satar. End this madness before there's nothing left to fix."

But her only answer was a sharp flick of her movements, lightning peeling itself from her form and launching in deadly arcs toward them. Zeus' thunderbolts. They flew fast, flaring against tiles and walls, the air splitting loudly.

Hibiki shifted on instinct, slipping between the strikes, every motion fluid, protecting Jenna with his own body. He pushed her down against the safer side of the floor toward Yone while fending lightning that carved fire through the air. His stance leveled: calm, unreadable strength, eyes locked on her as he circled.

Satar whipped bolt after bolt in their circle, the room filling with smoke, wind, crackling static tearing at the stone. Yone pushed himself and Jenna back toward the far wall, crouching low with her shoulder tucked into his. All he could do was protect where he could, chest heaving in the swarm of chaos.

"Agents! Are you both alive?!" The muffled, frantic voice banged at the shut door. Jento's fists pounded again and again. "Talk to me, what's happening in there?!" The smoke was too thin and too much as it slipped out the alits of the mechanical door. Alarming and spreading panic.

"My spirit's out of control, sir!" Yone shouted back, words carried rough, knifing through the static.

Outside the room, footsteps pounded away fast. Orders snapped. Kagaro's crew split sharp, some darting into jeeps, others wrapping weapons to their sides. Shimin broke off, sprinting to slam herself into one vehicle. Tires squealed as she jerked it out, driving it hard through crowded roads toward the only address they knew—Jenna's on the register.

Kagaro didn't stop moving, cloak pulled over his shoulder as he sprinted out back with his full unit spilling around him, his voice carrying so they all heard. "Priority is Yone and Jenna! Nothing else beats that!"

One agent asked as they ran, breath breaking fast. "Captain... how do we fight spirits?"

"You don't," Kagaro shot back without hesitation, snapping his cloak shut at his throat mid-stride. "That's not your fight."

They reached the open space outside, boots hammering as one. Each agent flicked devices at their belts, hauling themselves clean into levitation, guns tight in hand, eyes wide and fixed. Kagaro soared above them, wristband flashing with light, summoning his spirit in a shimmer-bound call.

Anisole.

Its eyes locked straight to its master's call as Kagaro steadied his grip. Smoke curled in trails behind him as he raised his arm high at the shattered top-floor window of the building. "Star Anisole. Metal whip," he commanded.

The spirit struck shape, coiled iron forming long and heavy around Kagaro's palm. His jaw locked, eyes fierce. "Agents, hold the line."

Inside, Yone saw him and shouted, desperate against the thunderous crash shaking the walls. "Captain! Stay out of this—it's not safe!"

The answer back wasn't heard, but Kagaro's stance outside said enough. He hadn't come to stay out.

The clash inside swelled louder, bolts tearing the walls apart. Hibiki moved in tighter motion now, every step like dance, his body weaving past arcs aimed straight at his chest. Sparks cast wild shadows across the walls; stone cracked and smoked with each strike.

For a heartbeat Hibiki and Satar locked gazes, neither breathing words. She broke it in a whisper. "Humans are here."

He smirked faint, his voice pointed back. "And your master's in pain."

Her face twisted, tongue clicking sharp before she swung back another volley. Hibiki cut low, stepped high, his every dodge precise. But she switched angle midway, turning the arc at Jenna in a flash. Hibiki lunged in, intercepting it with his own back, sparks splitting across skin and cloth.

"—Hibiki!" Jenna cried, clinging at his arms as the shock flared off him. He shook faint in pain but kept upright, brushing her words aside. "The Master cannot hold his own star. Pathetic." He spat it bitter, eyes flicking once to Yone before hardening on Satar again.

Weak but forcing upright still, he steadied himself in stance. Across from him, Satar floated unscathed, smirk sharp as blade.

"SATAR!" Yone's voice boomed rougher than it had all day. He pushed forward, every muscle shaking, words carried sharp through the smoke. "GET BACK! NOW!"

For a beat, her form shimmered softer, his command cracking into her. She flinched. Then steadied again, voice dripping like poison. "The tighter you grip, the worse the break. You know as well as I do, Yone. Once a star defies going back into the star item, and the master forces them to while they are still refusing, the master will suffer in pain. So stop it."

Yone's voice stayed fixed. "Why? Why her, why him, why now? What has she ever done to you?"

Her grin answered first. Then words followed smooth as venom. "So sweet... the way you plead, master."

"Satar! Enough! You'll not only destroy me but yourself too! The contract binds both parties! I might get hurt, but you will be sent back to the star world forever once I'm dead!" Yone shouted it raw, anger breaking his tone.

The wall of glass behind shattered suddenly with Kagaro's whip crashing in. Fragments exploded down street-side, scattering everywhere. Hovering agents filled the sky, weapons glowing, spirits being called to hand. Reinforcements broke the dark like fireflies gathering in swarm.

Awara and Kisuke joined first, their weapons sparking into their own stances on either side. Shimin's jeep barreled through the gates, the hidden JEO HQs, stopped skidding hard under hovering units, before she vaulted out and soared into the air. Momoko close behind her, her spirit flashing to life.

Satar's eyes burned with fury as she lunged, her hand snapping around Hibiki's arm. Her grip was stone, fingers digging deep until the flesh dented under her strength. Hibiki didn't flinch. His arm twisted as he pulled her straight into him, jerking her body forward in one brutal motion. The two slammed together. It wasn't grace—it was collision, a violent crash that pitched them into a dance filled with rage.

Her glare sharpened, lips curling as Hibiki spun her body around in ruthless circles before flinging her clear across the ruined room. Her form whipped through the air and slammed into the wall with crushing force. Dust burst outward. The wall split open with a crater, Satar's body locked into the curve of the break like a crescent hammered from stone.

The sound hadn't even cleared before voices cut in.

Through the shattered window, Momoko vaulted, glass scattering around her boots. "Jenna!" Her voice snapped like thunder, and her hands clawed forward as her star streamed behind her in a burst of light. Shimin dropped in next, urgency all over her face, eyes darting immediately toward Jenna crumpled on the floor.

Leeney shimmered out of his form, his body reshaping in a flash as steel. A spear. At the same time, Moichi unfolded behind Shimin, pulling tight into something sleek, long—sniper rifle, locked and ready as it dropped in her arms.

Yone forced air into his lungs, voice cracking rough with desperation. "Star Satar! Transform!" The shout cut out through the rubble like command could fix this. His hand extended, his gaze wild, demand dripping from his tone.

No response.

Satar peeled herself out of the wall like nothing had touched her. Dust slid from her body. Her eyes never once blinked, never left Hibiki. Energy lit her stare from inside, unyielding with intent.

Hibiki let his lips curl back, the shape of his teeth glinting, fangs sharp in the dim light. A hiss left his throat, warning drawn like a blade.

Jenna froze on the floor, whisper breaking against the chaos, strangled heavy with fear. "Oh god... he's... he's losing it."

Momoko crouched, arm on Jenna's shoulder as her chest tightened at the sight. "He is. Badly." Her words were clipped, her eyes scanning back to Hibiki's twitching frame, reading every movement as Satar stepped nearer. Two spirits were fighting after all. It was a power struggle of space..

Yone shouted again, one arm forward. "Satar! Come back to me! Now!" His tone rose in pitch—less command, more desperation.

Shimin grabbed him by the shoulders, forcing his eyes to hers. "Listen, Yone!" Her voice hit low and heavy, urgent. "We have to get out. Now. All of us. It's not safe."

He stared back, shaking his head violently. "No. Are you out of your mind? If I run now, she'll never return! I'll lose her forever." His voice cracked with the words, heart pounding through all reason.

"Your life is worth more than your spirit!" Shimin bit back, eyes narrowing, head shaking. "Don't be stupid."

Yone shoved back against her grip, his voice cutting thick with conviction. "She chose me," he spat. "She's mine to bring back. It's my responsibility."

The sounds of destruction made their words almost vanish. Lightning ripped the walls behind them. Bricks cracked, cement swirled loose, every corner of the room blown into chaos. Dust stung the throat. Furniture had long been reduced to scraps. What stood instead was a scar of battle, walls caved in like weathered ruin.

Yone stared through the haze. Jenna coughed, pain in her chest obvious as her hands clutched tight. Her wide eyes never left Hibiki. Her fear said everything without words. Yone's own gaze sank heavy, torn between her face and the shadows of his spirit on the attack.

Blood pooled at the edges of stone. Red streaks marked where agents had tried—failed—to cut in. Their bodies bore the scars of lightning, claws, debris. They littered the floor outside the broken door frame, the unlucky caught by shockwaves of unleashed power.

Satar barely seemed to register, raising her arm high with a flick. Lightning screamed outward again, striking fast, bolts ripped through the dust as arrows straight for Hibiki. The room bent with thunder. The more her contract weakened, the more powerful she got.

Hibiki gave no cries. He moved—calm, like water cut by stone. He ducked spins, his body weaving through her attacks in a rush of movement. His every step carried Jenna at its center—her safety his single gravity. He never countered, never swung. Every calculated evade was for her.

Momoko stared. "He's not even trying to fight back."

Jenna's breath caught. Her hands shook. "No," she whispered, trembling. "He doesn't care if he gets hit. He just doesn't want me touched."

Their words were drowned as thunder peeled again.

Satar pressed forward, relentless, movements shifting like liquid. Lightning bolted from her fingertips, her eyes slitting like a predator, hands reaching straight as claws. She circled Hibiki, each strike pushing him closer to cornered ground.

Close enough. She lunged, hands snapping forward not to his arms this time—but his horns. Fingers slammed down on bone. Grip like a vice on each curved point. She pulled down hard.

His body jolted. Pain seared through him, but Hibiki's face twisted only slightly before his stare steadied again. His silence did more than scream.

But Satar drew harder. Nails dug into the hardened surface of his horns, skin at the base cracking. She tugged, each pull wrenching. Her laugh rippled low. "You think loyalty makes you unbreakable?"

Hibiki snarled through clenched teeth. His feet dug into fractured floor, muscles straining to resist.

Her arms snapped again. The horns splintered. One crack, then two. With the final jerk, the sharp structures tore free from his head.

The sound filled the room. A sharp, grotesque crack. Hibiki bent forward slightly with the shock and pain, growl thick in his throat.

Satar smirked, holding both horns high in her grasp. Her lips twisted cruel. Then, with deliberate spite, she hurled the pieces to the floor.

The impact choked the air. A thud, then a massive release. The horns burst into eruption upon hitting tile. An explosion shook the building, a surge of air and crushed flame tearing everything outward.

The blast hurled agents mid-flight off their feet, smashing them hard back against cracks of wall and stone stair steps. Screams cut the thunder, bodies tumbling down one over another in chaos, breaking bones against concrete below.

The death toll settled quick. Fifty-plus gone within seconds.

Kagaro's breath locked in his throat. His grip fumbled at his whip as ash fell around his shoulders. His eyes refused to blink, locked on the blood, the broken bodies scattering below.

His voice finally broke, hollow at first, then thick. Stammer. "Y-Yone..." He froze, words like frost. "This... this is out of hand." His throat locked, a choke pulling his words thin. Horror draped his tone raw.