Dust swirled. Silence rang.
> "Hell nah" I murmured.
A figure dropped from the air, wind slicing around her like razors, boots landing light but deadly.
She straightened. Her silver braid gleamed in the low light. Her wind-scarred coat bore the crest of Luce Nera's elite.
Jazz whispered in my head,
"Luce Nera Vice-Captain. Global Toppler Rank: 72. Virelia Rank: 19."
"Hailee Cross."
> "You're supposed to be on tour…" I said aloud.
She smirked, lowering her blades of sharpened air.
Huey lay in a pile of rubble, ribs howling, breath shallow. Through the blur of his cracked goggles, he caught a familiar silhouette descending, dark boots tapping down on the fractured asphalt like an angel of wrath.
Silver braids trailing, wind circling her frame like obedient spirits.
Huey chuckled, or tried to, only for pain to punch his gut from the inside out.
"Vice-Captain," he muttered, raising one shaky hand in salute. "Reporting in…"
Hailee's boot nudged his ribcage.
CRACK.---
"Does it hurt?"
"Obviously," he muttered.
WHUMP.
Her heel connected with his side.
"Ow!"
"Good."
Her expression danced between fury and panic. Hands on her hips. That signature black and red Luce Nera coat catching the wind.
"What. Were. You. Thinking, Huey?!"
Huey blinked slowly.
"That I could handle it?"
"You almost got killed."
"Didn't."
"You almost got seen."
His gaze dropped. Silence wrapped around them.
"You know what that would've meant," she hissed.
Huey only nodded. That kind of exposure… not even his fake records could cover that.
"You held back." Her eyes narrowed.
"Didn't have my sword."
"Like that's an excuse."
She stepped closer.
"I've seen what you can do without a blade, Huey."
"Didn't wanna steal the show," he offered with a dry grin.
Hailee glared, jaw tightening.
"You're so—"
She didn't finish that sentence.
She didn't need to.
Later that night Huey lay on his bed, lips swollen, one eye pink, ribs wrapped in bandages. Calvin sat on the lower bunk, holding a drink, trying not to laugh.
"what did you get yourself into at home, you look like you got jumped by six wrestlers and a nun."
"Don't want to talk about it," Huey grumbled.
He shifted and winced, hand instinctively touching the sore cheek Hailee's slap had marked as her signature.
"Oh, don't tell me it was your sister." Calvin smirked. "so you actually weren't kidding when you said she's into domestic violence."
Huey sighed, turned over, and buried his face into the pillow.
"Let's not."
The soft glow of evening filtered through the half-drawn blinds of Room 202, casting long shadows across the cracked holo-tab screen on Huey's desk.
He'd just gotten back from class, still nursing his bruises like a one-man trauma center.
Calvin sprawled on his bed, arms crossed behind his head, his grey joggers and sleeveless shirt giving him that casual "dangerous but chill" vibe. A hint of his symbiont crest's mark trailed lazily around his wrist, a reminder that he could rip metal off the walls if he felt like it.
"So… you really missed the freshman welcome party?" Calvin asked, raising a brow.
Huey, hunched over a cup of water, pressed it gently to his swollen bottom lip.
"Had… more important things to do."
"More important than Rosario Park at night, free drinks, and freshman girls with crests and cheeks that glitter when they laugh?"
Knock knock.
Before Calvin could cook up more slander, the door clicked open.
Willy strolled in, hoodie half-zipped, small eyes glittering with mischief.
Beside him was a girl a red haired girl, sharp, sleek, with a camera lens around her neck like a necklace. High-waisted jeans, polished boots, and a blazer that screamed "journalist with a vengeance."
"it's Louis Lane from Turin ," Huey muttered.
"Name's Alessia, and you know that Cross" she corrected, slipping into the room like she owned the place.
Willy grinned like he'd just introduced the heroine of the next plot arc.
"She has something to show you."
Huey lowered the water.
"Is that so?"
Alessia wasted no time. She tapped her tab, flicked a few gestures, and a grainy image blinked to life in the air between them.
It was a photo. A party scene. Fog lights, laughter, cups raised mid-toast.
But in the corner…
A hand.
Suspiciously reaching over a red solo cup.
"Some girl was taking pics for her Instashot. Didn't realize until she got home. That hand?" Alessia said, pointing. "It spiked Lorenzo's drink."
Huey blinked.
"Lorenzo…?"
"Lorenzo got hit with a crest infection this morning," Calvin said, voice serious for once. "Collapsed during combat training."
Willy nodded. "Everyone's talking about it. Word is… his crest went haywire. Started leaking energy, nearly electrocuted the instructor."
Huey rubbed his temple.
"Okay. And what does this have to do with me?"
Three blank stares answered him.
Alessia swiped again. A forum thread popped up on the holo-tab feed. Title:
"Sabotage? Crest Infection or Setup? Tournament Rigging?"
A blurry video of Lorenzo seizing mid-fight, glitchy but clear enough to terrify.
"You haven't seen the forums at all?" Willy asked.
Huey just blinked at the ceiling."
I was unconscious for half of yesterday and grounded by boots the other half." he said to himself in a toke barely above the ceiling while staring at the ceiling
"Well," Calvin added, "Lorenzo isn't just any student. He's a Level 4 crest bearer. One of the favorites to win the freshman showcase next month."
Alessia crossed her arms.
"So someone wanted him out."
Calvin nodded. "And spiked drinks? Crest infection? It's too convenient."
Huey didn't respond. His swollen eye narrowed. His lips tugged ever so slightly.
"I thought they said you were some kind of genius, some detective you turned out to be" Alessia shot as she headed towards the door evidently disappointed.
"So all they really did… was give him a perfect excuse not to participate."
Everyone looked at him.
"What?"
Huey sat up straighter, the bandage at his side shifting.
"Think about it. A Level 4 doesn't just get infected. He could recover in two weeks, sure. But now, everyone assumes he's been sabotaged. There's pressure to pull out. For safety. For PR."
He pointed at the image in the air.
"here's a thought,Someone didn't want him beaten. They wanted him out. On his own terms."
Alessia stared, then slowly smiled.
"So... you do know how to use your brain." she said the smile still tugging at her lips.
Huey smirked back.