The wind whispered across the vast golden sea, shaping and reshaping the earth in waves that never crashed.
The Tottori Sand Dunes stretched endlessly beneath the pale sky, rising and falling like the breath of a sleeping giant.
Each dune was a sculpted masterpiece – so sharp and narrow like the blade of a sword, others smooth and gentle like a desert's lullaby. Footprints vanished within minutes, swallowed by shifting sands, as if the land refused to rember anyone who walked it.
The sunlight kissed the grains at just the right angle, turning them into gold – a sea of light that glittered with every breeze. In certain spots, the sand swirled in small, graceful spirals, dancing upward like spirit wisps before vanishing into the wind.
Far in the distance, the Sea of Japan shimred on the horizon, its deep blues standing in bold contrast to the pale, sunbaked dunes.
And the Elents?
"Do you all have tickets?" asked a lady in uniform, her expression polite but firm as she stood at the entrance gate.
The Elents froze.
"Huh?" Haruto said, confused.
Hikaru slapped both hands on his head, realization dawning.
"I forgot to get the tickets at the bus station!"
"Hah?! Are you serious?!" Ikazuchi shouted, clearly ready to explode.
The lady gave them a small shrug.
"If you don't have tickets, I can't let you in."
Hikaru placed a hand on his chin, thinking hard.
What would Teshii do in this situation...?
And then – it hit him.
Teshii, standing tall with his signature grin, would casually pull out a rose from his fleece jacket...
Then lean in toward the lady with a charming sparkle in his eyes and say–
"Mademoiselle! With beauty like yours, I'm shocked you're not already married! If you let these fine gentlen in, I might just consider going on a date with you – with marriage in mind."
The lady would blush, overwheld, and let them pass without a second thought.
Hikaru blinked at the ntal image.
"...Yeah. I'm definitely not doing that."
Hikaru turned to the others.
"Guys, let's go."
The Elents glanced at each other, confused.
Reito spoke up. "We're... going?"
Hikaru nodded firmly.
The group began walking away from the entrance of the Tottori Sand Dunes. Ikazuchi, fuming, grabbed Hikaru by the shoulder.
"OI! How could you forget to buy the tickets, Hikaru?!"
Hikaru looked down, his face filled with sha.
"Because... I got too excited about going to the Sand Dunes. I completely forgot to buy them."
He stopped walking and turned around to face the team.
His disappointed expression faded, replaced by a mischievous grin.
"But don't worry... I've got an idea."
Haruto raised an eyebrow.
"You do?"
Hikaru nodded confidently.
"Yep!"
He turned toward the side of the fence.
The others Elents followed his gaze – still confused.
"Um... Hikaru?" Moriya asked, tilting his head. "Why are you looking at that?"
Hikaru smirked.
"Because... we're going to climb our way to the other side of that fence."
He placed a hand on it, getting ready to climb.
Then–
"What are you doing?"
Hikaru froze.
"...Huh?"
A security guard stood a few feet away, arms crossed and expression stern.
"Um, uh..." Hikaru stamred.
The guard raised an eyebrow.
"You're not planning to climb over the fence, are you? Because if you are... that's trespassing. And I'll have to call the police."
"What? Of course not! I'm just... admiring the fence!" Hikaru said with the most awkward smile imaginable.
The guard narrowed his eyes.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!" Hikaru quickly turned to the others.
"Guys, isn't the fence interesting?"
"Y-Yeah," Reito said stiffly, playing along.
The security guard eyed them all suspiciously... but finally shrugged.
"Fine. Whatever you say."
He walked away, still watching them out of the corner of his eye.
Hikaru let out a long sigh of relief.
"Whew..."
"So..." Ikazuchi leaned in. "Is climbing the fence still an idea?"
"No," Hikaru said flatly. "I'm not risking getting arrested."
He turned to the group.
"So... do you guys have any other ideas?"
Ikazuchi angrily spoke up first.
"YEAH! WE COULD JUST BUY THE TI–"
"I've got one!" Haruto suddenly interrupted.
"I'll summon a thick coastal fog, so dense the staff can't see a thing. While they're panicking, we walk in like sea spirits."
Ikazuchi slowly turned to Haruto, blinking in disbelief.
"THAT'S SO STUPID!"
Haruto raised an eyebrow. "How co?"
Ikazuchi thew up his hands.
"One – you can't produce water! You can only manipulate the water from your pouch. And two – even if you could do that, not only would the staff lose visibility, but all the tourists would get lost too!"
Haruto crossed his arms, frowning.
"Yeah... fair point."
"SO – LIKE I SAID BEFORE, WE CAN JUST BUY TICK–"
"How about this?" Moriya chid in calmly.
"OH MY GOD! WHAT NOW?!" Ikazuchi snapped.
"I shall grow vines across our bodies," Moriya declared. "We will beco one with the bushes."
Ikazuchi stared at him, haw dropped.
"WELL THAT'S EVEN MORE STUPID! If people see bushes moving, they'll definitely freak out, and I don't want that kind of attention from the public!"
Moriya placed a thoughtful hand on his chin. "True."
"AGAIN! LIKE I SAID BEFORE – WE CAN JUST BUY T–"
"I wonder what Teshii would've done," Hikaru muttered to himself.
Instanly, Hikaru, Haruto, Moriya, and Reito all imagined it.
"I got a brilliant idea!" Teshii declared with a confident grin. "We get in by force, take out any staff in our way, find the Elent of Earth, and once the mission's done... we break out and leave like nothing ever happened!"
The four blinked in unison, their imagined scene ending.
"...Yeah. No chance," Haruto said, deadpan.
Just as Ikazuchi opened his mouth again–
"I've got an idea," Reito said calmly.
"OH MY F@%#ING GOD! LET F@%#ING SPEAK!" Ikazucho shouted.
Everyone turned to look at him. He was done.
"Do you have an idea, Ikazuchi?" Hikaru asked innocently.
"Yes! In fact, I do have an idea, Hikaru. I've been trying to say it buy you guys... KEEP INTERRUPTING !"
"Let's hear it, then," Haruto said.
Ikazuchi took a breath and pointed behind him.
"We... go back to the bus station... and buy tickets... like normal people would do!"
He stood there, panting with rage.
The others looked at each other... processing the idea.
Then–
They all started clapping.
"Wow, Ikazuchi! I didn't know you had it in you," Hikaru said with a smirk.
"That is an outstanding idea," Moriya added, nodding.
Ikazuchi's eye twitched violently.
"You all sound just like that guy..."
He was clearly referring to Teshii.
"You should write a book about it," Haruto said sarcastically.
"F@%K IT! If you guys are gonna keep acting like this, I'LL JUST GO TO THE BUS STATION MYSELF AND BUY THE DAMN TICKETS ALONE!"
He spun around and stord off, stomping heavily on the ground as he made his way back toward the station.
The remained Elents watched him leave.
Hikaru spoke up.
"Jeez... I know he has anger issues, but did he have to act like such a drama queen?"
Then–
At the entrance of the Sand Dunes...
A hooded figure appeared, walking calmly toward the ticket booth.
The attendant smiled warmly.
"Hi, sir! Do you have your ticket?"
Without a word, the figure reached into his pocket and pulled out a single ticket, handing it over.
The lady took it, scanned it, and nodded.
"All good! Hope you have a great ti sir!"
The figure gave a small nod of acknowledgnt and stepped forward.
As he moved past the gate, his gaze drifted off into the distance...
...to where the Elents stood, gathered just beyond the dunes.
A slow smirk curled beneath his hood.
"So those are the so-called Elents the leader ntioned," he thought.
He clenched his fist tightly, the fabric of his cloak tightening around his arm.
"I'll take them out... with the giant fist of mine."
The lady blinked, noticing his clenched hand and intense expression.
"Um... sir? Are you okay?" she asked cautiously.
The figure turned to her, expression quickly softening.
"Yeah. Sorry. Just... sothing was on my hand."
The lady blinked but gave a hesitant nod.
The hooded figure turned away once more, the smirk returning to his face as he walked off into the dunes – disappearing among the golden waves of sand.
15 Minutes Later...
The Elents had finally entered the Tottori Sand Dunes – all thanks to Ikazuchi.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU GUYS FORCED TO BUY THE TICKETS FOR YOU!" Ikazuchi shouted, his voice echoing across the sands.
Moriya turned to him, raising an eyebrow.
"Forced you? You volunteered, though."
"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU GUYS WERE TOO LAZY TO WALK BACK TO THE STATION! AND YOU WERE SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING BREAKING IN!"
"C'mon, drama queen," Hikaru said with a smirk. "It wasn't that bad."
Ikazuchi froze.
His eye twitched violently.
"...Did you just call a drama queen?"
Hikaru also froze, realizing what he'd just said.
"Um... maybe?"
"YOU GUYS ARE UNBELIEVABLE!" Ikazuchi growled. "I'D RATHER TALK TO TESHII THAN ANY OF YOU!"
Haruto turned sharply. "Hey! That's too far!"
Ikazuchi narrowed his eyes.
"Oh really?" he scored. "Teshii may be annoying, but unlike you guys, he has so class."
Silence.
Then–
POW!
Ikazuchi was suddenly sent flying, as if sothing punched him right in the cheek.
"Ikazuchi!" everyone shouted in unison.
WHUDD!
He crashed onto the sand, tumbling before coming to a stop. Dazed, he slowly got up.
"What the...?"
POW!
Another strike – this ti, Reito took a blow to the stomach, gasping for air.
"Reito!" Moriya called out in alarm.
Haruto spun toward Hikaru.
"What the hell is happening, Hikaru?!"
Hikaru clenched his fists, scanning the surroundings.
"I'm not sure."
Then–
Just a few tres ahead, the sand began to swell. Sothing massive rose from the beneath the dunes.
A figure erged – hooded, silent, his back facing the Elents.
Hikaru narrowed his eyes.
"WHO ARE YOU?!"
The figure slowly turned around to face them.
His eyes locked onto the group.
And then – he smirked.
TO BE CONTINUED!!!
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