Immediately after Maya awakened her power, I hovered over the dirt map in the middle of their camp for longer than I could keep track of. Scanning the entire thing repeatedly, as if something I had missed would suddenly appear in front of me. At some point, I wasn’t sure what I was looking for. Every time I got an idea of how to get in touch with Rubi and invade this place, some sort of intrusive thought would pull my focus elsewhere. I had nothing resembling a plan.


    I shook myself out of it for long enough to walk towards the tent, looking around for which entrances were harder to see from here.


    “Yu?” I almost leapt out of my skin when I heard Maya call to me in a low voice. “It’s like, midnight… Are you on guard tonight?”


    “Oh… I-Is it? Wow, had n-no idea. I can’t sleep so I, I mean I guess I’m uh, guarding.” I actually didn’t notice. You idiot, it would be so easy for someone who’s already suspicious of you to realize why you’re frazzled!


    Had to calm down. So I did, kind of. I realized that Maya was still looking at me. I had no idea how long I had zoned out just now.


    “Are you sick or something… Actually, don’t tell me. Go see Michael. Good night.” And away she went, saving me the discomfort of having to come up with another response.


    I inhaled slowly and replied in a steady voice. “I’m okay. Good night.” I closed my eyes to see if I could visualize the map, and I could do it pretty well. I walked closer to the tent and sat down in front of it, pretending to keep watch for intruders until I felt that long enough had passed and everyone was asleep. Shouldn’t be too long.


    I practiced breathing exercises for something like 20 minutes. This is good. I’m glad I was reminded of my purpose here. I’m not upset or scared about Maya’s power. I’m glad. This is good.


    I stood up slowly and confidently, and then I left the camp just as easily as I entered it. I already knew what excuse I was going to use if it turned out one of them heard or saw me, so I wasn’t worried.


    I, the pawn on the chess board, was finally ready to finish my job. I quietly tried to remember the path back home. My real home, the one I was missing from for what felt like ages. It took me a bit longer than I wanted it to. The sooner I could wrap this up, the better. If Damian or someone woke up and saw I was gone, things could get rough.


    Once I was closer, I stopped sneaking and started running. I figured they could hear me by now and I had no reason to hold back. I wouldn’t want to alarm them, I told myself. My feet sped up, then again, faster. I was sprinting towards that empty circle in the middle of the forest. I could feel the stiffness I had been carrying all night melt away with the wind. The adrenaline running through me almost made me run straight into the wall of meat waiting at the entrance.


    “Yu, dude!” Garald spread his arms out wide and high, waving both of them. I tried to stop myself but I kept tumbling forward, to which he leapt forward and caught me before I hit the ground.


    “Thanks…” My breathing was immensely strained. I didn’t think I could run that fast. As I was recovering from one of the most physically draining activities of my life, he let go of me for a moment and gave me a tight hug before I fell down. Up off the ground I went, squeezed like I wasn’t in a heightened physical and mental state. No regard for me at all, like the big oaf he is. My neck and head were nearly crushed by his massive arms and equally sizable chest. It was getting difficult to breathe. One would have a hard time finding out what percentage of the color my face had become was blushing and what percentage was asphyxiation.


    “Oh, snap! You good, buddy?” He released me and I fell to the dirt like a paperweight. No energy remained in my body.


    “Second person to do that…” I muttered.


    He tilted his head like a confused cat. “Huh? Oh, you can tell us all about it, man!”


    Rubi and Barb appeared behind him. Barb tried not to laugh by putting a fist in front of her mouth and turning away.


    “Are you hurt, Yu?” Rubi came closer, but I lifted my hand up weakly to assuage her concerns.


    “No… I just… needed that…” And limply my hand fell again. I ended up being carried to the tent by Garald.


    “Why are all three of you awake?” I asked under my breath. I wasn’t being quiet on purpose, it’s just what was easier.


    “Garald woke us up…” Barb complained while stretching and popping her limbs. She had obviously hurried out of bed to see me.


    “Ah… Sorry.” I let out a loud exhale and didn’t say anything else. I wasn’t even looking where I was being taken. Against my wishes, I remembered why I came here and my heart rate increased. I didn’t have the energy to go into it at the moment and thinking about how important it was sapped my energy further.


    “What’s up?” Garald asked.


    I furrowed my brow in confusion. “Uh, nothing… How did you know?”


    “I dunno. Guess even I can read the room sometimes!”


    Whatever it may be, I was glad he asked. My chest was right on his back, so he must have felt my heart accelerate. “We.. have to do it soon. The attack, I mean. They have powers now. Uh, not they, I mean her… They already had some powers but, uh…”


    Garald decided not to let me finish. “Hey, at least let me put you down. You’re not in a state to get that thought out.”


    “But… Buh… Thanks.”


    “As I was saying,” I let myself rest a bit longer than I wanted to, something like 20 minutes. I woke up to see they were all gathered around me. “You don’t have to coddle me… My mission isn’t done. This is where the tough part starts. If I’m gone any longer than I have to be, they’ll notice.”


    Nobody argued. I straightened my back and spoke as clearly as I could, so I wouldn’t have to repeat myself. “Maya… My, uh… My interpretation of her, the shorter woman. She has awakened her powers.”


    The reactions of the crowd were surprised. “So that’s why you came back in a hurry…” Garald pondered aloud.


    “Yes.” I nodded. “Her power has something to do with the way she awakened it, I think. I can’t tell what it is, but she was holding a knife and it suddenly flew out of her hand. I’ll keep watching her when I get back, but we should mount our attack before she has time to figure out any uses besides that. Watch out for flying objects. Very fast ones. It was like she threw a spear straight forward, but it was by complete accident.”


    Rubi tipped the hilt of her sword towards Garald. “We need to get up close to her, then. Can you do that?”


    “You bet.” Garald popped his knuckles like he was excited to be called upon first.


    “Good. We’ll have to hone your instincts. By the sounds of it, a knife throw from this woman isn’t something you can dodge with reaction alone. By the time you register it, it’ll be too late. Is that right, Yu?”


    “Pretty much.” I recalled the rest of the relevant information. “Their captain, the tall guy with the weird white hair, has some sort of power but I can’t tell what it is, and he doesn’t know about it either. I punched him by mistake and my fist felt no contact, despite physically touching him. I’ve felt him before so I know his whole body isn’t like that.”


    Barb and Garald seemed at a complete loss. Barb asked, “What kind of power could do something like that..?”


    Rubi spoke up. “It must be wind control. So strong to block a punch yet so precise as to not create any friction with what it touches. Could he truly do that without even realizing it? It’s different from my fire control. I can’t move the individual flickers of the flames. I can only make them bigger or smaller. To have an automatic self-defense system… I need to fight him myself.”


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    I lifted my hand up to speak. “Are you sure? He’s hardly a combatant. I saw how indecisive he was during an invasion from an enemy team. He’s a pacifist who doesn’t know how to fight. He didn’t do anything besides run forward.”


    “His power is incredible, isn’t it? Then his mental strength must be equivalent. To do such a thing with no realization at all. The conviction he must have makes me afraid of what he may do if he believes his team is going to lose.”


    I wanted to disavow every positive thing she just said about Willy, but I held back. “He’s really not impressive, physically or mentally.”


    “Yes, but we must attack before he realizes what his power is. I will see if my flames can interact with his wind. If not, then I’ll just corner him and make him unable to join the fight. A power like that must have limitations or conditions, or else he would have noticed it interacting with the world around him at some point. Are you certain he has no idea about it?”


    “Uh, I was pretty sure… at the time… I’m confident that’s how it is.”


    “Alright, then. If he realizes his strength, and if we interpreted his ability correctly, he may very well be invincible to us. If worst comes to worst, Barb and I will combine our powers to make a smokescreen. His powers don’t protect his eyes from light or he would be unable to see anything. Therefore, we can go for his eyes indirectly.”


    “You really don’t have to have so many contingencies for that guy. Keep an eye on him, but don’t focus on him unless he suddenly makes himself a threat.”


    “Okay, if you believe that it’s best. Please continue, Yu.” She placed her hands back down on her knees, listening attentively.


    I straightened my body. “Oh, yeah, um… This captain, if he tries to bargain with you to stop the fighting, ignore him.”


    Rubi gave me a puzzled look. “Is he a trickster?”


    “Not exactly… He doesn’t like violence at all.”


    “Ah! Then why not reason with them, if you learned this? You should’ve started with that!”


    “Their team doesn’t agree with him. Remember how I said there was a fight? He was basically a spectator. He grabbed and pushed, but it was pitiful. He didn’t know how to throw a punch. He doesn’t have the resolve that you do. His team basically ignores his request.”


    “Oh, gosh… That’s a shame. Maybe if I talked to his teammates…”


    “Anything but that…” I cringed at the thought. “Please, trust me. They will fight us.”


    She lowered her arms as if they were limp. “Alright, alright. I understand.”


    “As I was saying… Their team only has two other, uh… power users? Powered people. Their medic, the skinny, older-looking guy. His power makes his nails long, which he uses for medical procedures. I want Rubi to keep a passive watch on him, too. Garald and Barb should focus all their attention on fighting. He can’t fight but he’s a trickster. He got us out of a bind by deceiving two attackers into creating an opening. That was the whole team on two guys, though. He might not risk it against us. He wasn’t originally on their team, by the way. He was the captain of a team. They were all killed and he ended up with these guys.”


    “Killed..?” Everyone reacted to that information, which I was so used to at this point that it took me a second to realize what was wrong with it.


    “Oh! Yeah, do you remember that big guy we met at the start who was running in fear? It’s related to that. Agh, that can of worms, too…”


    Barb leaned forward and put a hand on my shoulder, a bit roughly. Was that supposed to calm me down? “You can tell us that later, don’t fry your brain.”


    “Yeah, it doesn’t matter to us in this fight… So, about the skinny guy. I’m thinking since he’s new and not a close friend of theirs yet, if push comes to shove, he would run away before risking himself for that team. Same for the other two. The guy with the weird hat and the buzzcut guy. They joined the team a couple of days ago after their defeat. They probably feel no loyalty to those guys. They’re cowards, too. The hat guy only has a power for scouting, it’s no use in surprise combat. He defeated the most skilled fighter on the team in close quarters, but he already knew what kinds of attacks he would throw. I kicked him and he nearly fell over, so I can say he doesn’t have a lot of muscle on him. Buzzcut is decently big, but I didn’t get to see him fight. Hat should go down with one good hit, but if you leave him alone and let him analyze the fight, he may come up with a countermeasure. Don’t let that happen. Assuming he even stays in the fight.”


    I took a breath and then continued. “The short, well-built guy is unpowered but he knows martial arts. Like Garald’s fighting style but way more trained. He might end up being the most dangerous one, depending on how the woman uses her power. They have a taller girl but she’s mentally weak and can’t bring herself to fight. Ignore her. That should be everything…”


    Rubi rose her hand as soon as I finished like she was in school. “You could just tell us their names instead of vague descriptions..”


    I gulped. “You… Y-You think I paid attention to that? I just got what I needed from them. Do you need more specific descriptions?”


    She gave me an unconvinced expression, but didn’t say anything more. “No, that will do. So, who is going to handle the short man? Barb might be good…”


    “I will.” I didn’t give her much time to speculate on that. “I’ve trained with him a lot. He’s never seen me fight with a knife in my hand, but I’ve seen all he can do. I’m sure I can beat him.”


    Garald smiled. “You’re taking on the boss yourself?! That’s sick!”


    Rubi corrected him. “The white haired one is their captain.”


    “Dude, I was talking about, y’know, video games… Whatever, I’m the nerd now, I guess.” He crossed his arms and made an exaggerated pout. The snicker I was holding back managed to escape.


    “A-Anyway… I think it’s our smartest move. I’m not going to join the fight immediately. We should plan around when the short guy isn’t around, and I’ll pretend to be just as surprised as them. When the real threat shows up to fight, I’ll reveal myself then and try to take him down before it becomes a fight.” I blushed as I realized I said something as stupid as ‘I can beat him.’ “Not that I’m hoping it becomes a fight or anything… I’ll aim to incapacitate him. Don’t worry, I’m not going to get hurt if I can help it. I don’t want to make any of you worried. A-And if I can’t do it alone, I’d like to make use of Rubi’s excellent combat ability to finish the fight.”


    Rubi looked like the question in her head had been answered before she spoke it. I already knew what she wanted to tell me. I’m well aware that If I play my part without any silly egocentrism then nobody will get hurt. Not me or my friends. I trust the plan we came up with together.


    Rubi spoke, “In that case, we should be certainly flexible and move around the battlefield as needed, but this is a good place to start. Barb should take down the hat and keep the buzzcut busy. Do you think she can take them, Yu?”


    I wasn’t expecting to be called on again. “Ah, y-yeah, they wouldn’t be a concern in an ambush. Barb can take out Hat in one hit, and I bet Buzzcut would lose a lot of his confidence.”


    “Cool!” Rubi smacked her balled fist in her palm. “While that happens, Garald will take the powered girl and Yu will handle the shorty. I’ll keep watch over the whole battlefield and ensure that the captain and medic don’t intervene, and join in with you all whenever needed!”


    Barb looked left and right with her hands on her hips like she was ready to fight at any moment. “So, they’re saying we need to start this ASAP, right?”


    “Um, not exactly n-now.” I tried to get her to settle down. “I think tomorrow night is good. Yes, that was my plan. At night, Rubi should use her athleticism to watch the camp from a tree and signal the others to join her when she sees that everyone is asleep. If possible, I’d like to be on guard duty, but if I ask for it, I’ll look suspicious.”


    “Is there a way to know ahead of time who will guard?” Rubi questioned.


    “No,” I answered, “it’s basically whoever feels like it. I’ll see if I can offer to guard casually, but if somebody sees me coming back in tonight then I won’t even try. I’ve got a few excuses lined up.”


    Barb suddenly looked worried.


    “Wh-what?” I stuttered.


    “Oh, nothing. Just got a little worried that the outcome of a battle might depend on your acting.”


    I frowned. “Shut up. I’ll be fine.”


    She chortled and kicked up dirt in my direction.


    “You need to rest more?” Garald reintroduced himself to the conversation with his usual excessive kindness.


    “No, I can leave now. I should leave now.” I stood up and dusted off my pants. I made my way to the entrance slowly. I had the energy to move faster, but it felt like I was trudging through mud. I wanted nothing more than to stay here forever, but all I had to do was finish this job and we would be back together for good.


    “Hey, why so quick?” Garald grabbed my shoulder as suddenly as expected of him, causing me to gulp.


    “I told you! If I wait too long, they’ll catch on.”


    Barb stepped between us. “Garald, if you’re gonna say something like ‘at least say goodbye,’ then don’t. Yu doesn’t need that right now. You’re gonna see us again, right?” She turned to me with a cocky smile.


    I stared in surprise for a second, then nodded. “Yeah.”


    Rubi smiled as well and waved. I returned the gesture, then turned my back. “If you’re confident, so am I. The only threat after this is handled is Kenzo. Then we’ll own this whole forest. Won’t that be awesome?” I looked back at them with the most confident expression I could muster.


    Garald blinked a few times. “Kenzo’s the bad muscle killer?”


    “Obviously.” Barb sighed.


    Rubi walked closer and tapped my back with her wooden sword. “I like how you’re thinking, Yu! This is the first major step in our victory plan. We need to spread our influence across this whole world!”


    Like a kid, she was glowing. Barb extended an open palm to me, and only after looking at her for a long while did I realize it was a high five. I stiffened my back and awkwardly slapped her hand, to which Garald ran up and whollopped my hand with his, causing me to nearly fall back. Rubi giggled and extended her hand high to reach my face. I sighed in exhaustion and gave her one, too. With that, I was gone.


    The way I was feeling before I returned crept up on me. There was nothing pleasurable about leaving my friends again, but staying there for as long as I did carried its own fair share of anxieties. Basically, nowhere was comfortable for me, so all I had was my duty. This pushed me into going back to that dreaded place, where Willy and his gang were surely waiting for me. No, why would I assume they’re awake at this time of night? It will be fine. I’ll wait for Rubi’s signal and it will work out.


    I took light steps along the path that made the least noise. It was harder to see now than it was earlier. Kind of spooky. I traced the path in my mind repeatedly until I found the entrance. I took a breath and relaxed my shoulders, only to realize that a figure was standing in the middle of the camp, facing straight at me. I almost jumped out of my skin, falling onto my back and yelling.


    “What are you doing?” Damian was mad. I had no clue what to say. My mind was still returning to my body after that fright. I opened my mouth, but incoherent murmurs came out.


    “Did I catch you in the act?” His voice was louder this time. I gulped and started to stand up, patting dirt off of my pants.


    “God, Damian… Don’t scare me like that. Are you p-pranking me? You’re j-just like Willy…” I wasn’t certain if he had actually found out my plan or not, so I played dumb until he said more.


    Even in the darkness, his glare was apparent. “Am not. I’m not trying to entertain you. I want to know why you were gone just now.”


    There was no one thing I could say that would cover all bases here. I really wanted to find out how long he had been waiting for me here, but there was no way without seeming suspicious. I had to gamble on the slightly more likely one.


    “I just went to use the bathroom. Well, the forest. You know what I mean.” If he had been waiting for me for hours, that would be an obvious lie.


    “Hmm… I guess so.”


    Safe. Guess he did just wake up. It would be a bit odd if he got up to check right after settling into bed. “Lighten up, will you?” I walked past him and tried to return the usual banter we had to him, just to ease his concerns and increase my chance of success.


    “I don’t like being on my toes all the time, you know.” He growled. “But I guess I could lower my guard a bit around a wimp like you…”


    I turned back to him with a slight shock on my face. “Really? You?”


    “Yeah, me! What do you think I am, anyway?”


    “Don’t wake up the others.” I lifted my finger up to my lips to shush him. He took my advice, but wasn’t happy to.


    “Damn… Maybe Willy’s right. I should stop being so tense. Lately it’s just been… Ugh. Nevermind.”


    My face softened as I watched him go back to bed. I didn’t want to think about how I would be validating those fears of his tomorrow. This guy who was opening up to me… Damn, it was really hard to avoid the thought. Still, I did it. My struggles were the least important, after all. Who would I be to let them get in the way of our goals?


    I tried my best to shut down those thoughts and go to sleep, but I found myself staring up at the tent ceiling for hours. I was never good at making friends. I’m in high school and I’ve got three friends total. So, I don’t know much about it, but it almost felt like something akin to friendship was being born in this camp. For someone like Damian… Was he trying to become friends the whole time? Is he just like that? No, he definitely hated me. How could that change so fast? Is he stupid?


    I tossed around every few minutes, unable to find a comfortable spot. That’s what I was actively focusing on, anyway. It was the only thing I could do to suppress my emotions. Why am I so bad at this? It’s my only job!


    All those years of self-isolation must be catching up to me. I should know how to deal with pointless feelings at this age, and the fact that I can’t is going to get in the way of my real friends’ plans. The frustration gnawed at me for another thirty minutes or so, until I became so tired that sleep was my only option.