As the wind swept gently across the open field, the Elents – Hikaru, Haruto, Moriya, Ikazuchi, Reito, Daichi, and Sora – all stared at the fake Teshii, who was hanging upside down, suspended by grass wrapped tightly around his torso. He grit his teeth as he glared back at them.
Hikaru's eyes widened.
"C-Chaleon?" he muttered, then turned to Moriya. "What do you an 'Chaleon'?"
"Chaleon disguised himself as Teshii and tried to trick us," Moriya explained.
The fake Teshii grit his teeth harder as a green aura began to radiate from his body.
ZZWRP!
His skin lightened slightly, becoming paler than Teshii's usual tone.
His once-red hair shifted to blonde.
The crimson shades vanished, revealing sharp green eyes.
And there he was–
Chaleon.
He glanced at Moriya, still suspended upside down.
"...How did you know?"
Moriya looked up at the dangling mutant, narrowing his eyes.
"I noticed sothing when you interacted with us," he said calmly. "You called us by our real nas. But the real Teshii? He never does that. He calls us by nicknas."
Chaleon raised an eyebrow. "Nicknas?"
"Yeah," Moriya nodded, pointing to himself. "Teshii calls 'Timber'."
He pointed to Hikaru. "Sunshine."
Then to Haruto. "Tsunami."
To Ikazuchi. "Zeus."
To Reito. "Sub-Zero."
To Daichi. "Terra."
And finally to Sora. "And... Zephyr."
Then – Moriya turned his hand and pointed directly at Chaleon.
"Also... the way you fight is too slow."
Silence...
Chaleon just stared at the Elents, his expression twisted in anger.
Suddenly–
He began to laugh.
Haruto narrowed his eyes at the upside-down Chaleon.
"What's so funny, Chaleon?"
Chaleon's laugh tapered into low, mocking chuckles.
"I'm just laughing at how the Order of the Elents can be so stupid."
Hikaru's eyes imdiately widened, and Ikazuchi snapped his head upward, electricity already crackling across his body.
"What did you just say to us?" Ikazuchi asked coldly.
"I called you stupid, Lightning Head."
Hikaru's gaze sharpened as he stared up at the dangling intruder.
How does he know about the Order of the Elents?
That information was supposed to be top secret.
Then–
It hit him.
And co to think of it...
How does he even know our real nas?
Chaleon grinned, his voice rising, laced with venom.
"So tell ..." he sneered. "What can you guys even do without Teshii here?"
Ikazuchi scoffed, smiling confidently at the question.
"I guess you don't know, huh?"
Chaleon raised an eyebrow, curious but cautious.
"What do you an?"
Ikazuchi raised his arms slightly, a spark of pride in his voice.
"We already defeated a mutant nad Molecule," he said. "And we did it without Teshii's help."
Chaleon's eyes widened in disbelief.
They... beat Akito?
That's impossible.
That has to be bullsh*t.
Then–
His body shimred.
A flicker of green aura burst across his form.
ZZWRP!
Muscles compressed.
Bones snapped and reshaped with a crunch beneath his skin. His arms folded inward, legs curled, spine bent and folded like origami collapsing on itself.
His flesh blurred.
Limbs vanished.
And in less than a heartbeat–
The grass that had been holding Chaleon was empty.
Moriya's eyes shot open.
"What?! Where did he go?!"
Sothing dropped out from the vines of grass.
It was small.
No larger than a clenched fist.
Covered in sleek grey fur, its obsidian-black eyes shimred with beady awareness.
Its twitching nose pulsed with sharp little breaths. Whiskers vibrated. Round ears flicked alertly.
It was...
Chaleon.
Disguised as a mouse.
Haruto's eyes widened in shock.
"He doesn't just turn into people – he can change into animals too?"
Then – green aura crackled again.
ZZWRP!
Chaleon shifted back into his humanoid form in the blink of an eye.
And then–
He reached into his pocket.
He pulled sothing out: small, cylindrical, tallic.
No bigger than a soda can.
Matte grey.
A narrow pin clipped to the side.
Hikaru narrowed his eyes.
"...What is that?"
Click.
Chaleon hurled the object at the group.
And–
BANG!
In a blinding instant, light exploded outward – white-hot and rciless - like the sun had ignited in a box and punched the world in the face.
A thunderclap of sound cracked the very air in half.
Vision gone.
Ears ringing.
Balance wrecked.
Hikaru, Daichi, and Sora raised their arms, shielding their eyes.
"Damn it!" Hikaru shouted.
Was that... a flashbang?!
Haruto, Reito, and Moriya clutched their ears, eyes squeezed shut, stumbling backward.
Ikazuchi dropped to one knee, head spinning from the blast.
Then–
"Ikazuchi!" soone shouted through the haze. "Chaleon transford into – he's in front of you!"
The mont the blinding light faded and the ringing in their ears began to dull–
Ikazuchi snapped his head up.
Haruto was right in front of him – still clutching his ears, but now staring at him with wide eyes.
Ikazuchi's jaw clenched.
He raised two fingers – electricity crackling along their tips.
"Lightning..."
Haruto's eyes widened in panic, raising one hand in protest.
"Wait!"
But Ikazuchi ignored him.
"...Gunshot!"
With a snap of his fingers, a piercing bolt of lightning shot from his hand–
ZAP!
"AAAAAGHHH!" Haruto scread as the lightning tore through him, launching him backward and slamming him into the ground, unconscious.
His body twitched slightly, smoke curling off his shirt as he lay limp on the grass.
Ikazuchi jogged forward, his pulse racing, eyes locked on Haruto.
But sothing didn't add up.
Wait a second...
If that was Chaleon...
Shouldn't he have already reverted back to his normal form?
Then–
"Nice shot, Lightning Head!"
Ikazuchi's eyes widened at the voice behind him.
He turned just in ti to see it–
A bull – massive, muscular, and frothing at the mouth – charging straight at him.
CRASHHH!
Chaleon – disguised as a raging bull – slamd into Ikazuchi, sending him hurtling through the air like a ragdoll.
"Aaaahhhhh!" Ikazuchi scread mid-air, electricity flickering wildly around his body as he flew.
Everyone's eyes – except for Haruto, who lay unconscious – snapped wide open in horror.
"IKAZUCHI!" they all shouted in unison.
CRASH!
Ikazuchi's body hit the ground outside of the arena, the impact knocking him out cold.
Hikaru stared at his fallen comrade, breath catching in his throat, fists clenched, heart hamring.
"Damn it!" he growled, grinding his teeth. "How do we even beat this guy?!"
Then–
"Hikaru?"
A soft voice echoed behind him, gentle, familiar.
Hikaru turned around – and froze.
Standing there was–
i Tomita.
His eyes widened, and his cheeks flushed a deep shade of pink.
"M-i? What are you doing here?"
"T-Teshii told you and the others were training out here..." i said, hesitantly. "I-I just wanted to... see you."
Hikaru blushed harder, his heart skipping.
"You wanted to... see ?"
But then – he snapped back to the mont, shaking his head and grabbing her shoulders urgently.
"i!" You need to get out of here! It's not safe!"
"B-But..." i stamred.
Then–
She smirked.
Before Hikaru could react, she grabbed him by the sleeve and lapel in one swift motion.
Her hips dropped.
She spun.
And slamd him onto the ground with practiced precision.
"Gaaah!" Hikaru gasped as he hit the earth, the air ripped from his lungs. His eyes fluttered – and he blacked out.
i stood over his limp body...
And smirked.
Then–
Her form shimred.
Green aura flickered around her body.
ZZWRP!
Her skin lightened. Hair shifted. Eyes stayed green.
It was never i.
It was Chaleon.
He slowly turned to face Reito, Daichi, Sora, and Moriya – the last four standing.
That sa smug grin pulled at his lips.
"Three down," Chaleon said, coolly.
"Four to go."
Moriya gritted his teeth in fury.
And–
WHAM!
–he slamd his hand onto the ground.
"TURF ASSAULT!"
The grassy terrain of the arena exploded to life, lashing out at Chaleon like whips and spears.
Chaleon's eyes widened as he saw the spear-shaped grass surging toward him.
Quickly, he stepped back and broke into a sprint across the grassy arena, the vegetation trailing aggressively behind him.
Moriya stood tall with his arms raised, focused.
"You think you can get away just by running?"
The grass pursued Chaleon relentlessly, accelerating with each second.
Chaleon glanced over his shoulder and saw the grass gaining on him.
He clicked his tongue.
"Tch! It's getting faster."
Then – he smirked.
Changing direction, Chaleon darted toward Daichi, the living grass still chasing him.
He circled around Daichi, drawing the vegetation along with him.
Daichi, watching the dizzying loop around him, clenched his fists.
"Damn it!"
Green aura shimred around Chaleon.
"Got ya!" Moriya shouted.
"Daichi! Get out of there!"
The grass suddenly snared a leg – lifting the target off the ground.
Daichi managed to leap free just in ti.
Moriya raised his hand sharply, commanding the grass to follow his signal and slamd it downward.
SLAM!
The grassy whip crashed into the ground with imnse force.
Daichi jogged over to Moriya, eyeing the tightly coiled vegetation.
"Did you get him?"
"Yeah," Moriya replied, nodding as he approached the trapped figure.
He lifted his hand again, signalling the grass to unwrap its captive. But as the greenery loosened and peeled away–
Moriya's eyes shot wide open in shock.
Because...
It wasn't Chaleon.
It was Daichi–
...now unconscious.
Moriya stared at the unconscious Daichi, his eyes wide with shock.
"H–"
BAM!
Moriya gasped as a punch slamd into his stomach–
–delivered by Chaleon, who had been disguised as Daichi.
The force knocked the wind out of him. He collapsed to his knees, clutching his stomach with one hand, his forehead pressed into the grass. A groan escaped his lips as pain pulsed through his abdon.
Through narrowed, pained eyes, he looked up–
Chaleon stood above him, smirking.
A green aura flickered around the mutant.
ZZWRP!
In an instant, his form shifted. Daichi's features lted away – skin turning pale, brown hair transforming into blonde, and his eyes flickering back to that eerie, glinting green.
"Fool," Chaleon sneered.
"I wonder why the leader wants weaklings like you in the first place."
Moriya gritted his teeth even harder and tried to rise–
THMP!
Chaleon stomped him back down.
His boot pressed against Moriya's skull, grinding slightly into his scalp. Moriya's face twisted in pain as he groaned again, his body trembling beneath the weight.
Chaleon leaned in close, his voice as cold as steel.
"You... aren't even worth Sinister X's ti, Moriya."
Moriya's eyes shot up at the na.
Sinister X?
Who's that?
But he had no ti to process it – Chaleon's foot kept him pinned, his smile widening.
On the edge of the arena, the two youngest Elents – Reto and Sora – stood frozen in place.
Sweat dripped down Reito's face as he stared at the scene in horror.
"W-What should we do?" he whispered.
Silence.
He turned to his side.
"Sora?"
But...
Sora wasn't there.
Reito's eyes widened. He quickly turned, scanning the arena.
"Sora? Where did you go?"
Suddenly–
The tall grass began to sway wildly.
Leaves rustled. Dust lifted from the ground.
The breeze turned sharp.
Reito's hair whipped to the side. His sleeves fluttered violently. Across the arena, the others began to stir from the strange wind.
Chaleon looked around, confused, his foot still pressing down on Moriya's head.
"What's happening?" he muttered, his eyes narrowing as the winds grew stronger.
Grains of dirt began to swirl, pulled into a spiral. The air moved with strange, unnatural intention.
One of those grains struck Hikaru's cheek.
His eyes fluttered open.
"W-What happened?" he murmured, groaning as he sat up and rubbed his aching head.
But when he looked up–
His breath caught in his throat.
His eyes widened in awe.
Because hovering above the battlefield...
...lifted by the wind itself...
...was Sora Arashii.
TO BE CONTINUED!!!
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