A Glimpse of Necessity (Elite Rendezvous Arc)

[Ch 2, Act 1] Rendezvous.

After a long brawl in the city of Yin, our heroes enter the gates of Shitosan, filled with despair, for the loss of Ruminasu. As the three ride a vehicle, towards the main shrine of Shitosan, Inzagi and Hecate lean onto each other, snoring, as they both lie in a deep sleep. Meanwhile, Sumiko wept and wept, acknowledging that the person who treated her like a granddaughter, a daughter and a student, is now gone.

As heaps of carriers exit out the 9 front gates of the walls of Shitosan, carrying materials to rebuild, the three arrive, as Hecate and Inzagi are awoken, all woozy and sleepy.

Hecate fixes herself up, as with Inzagi. Sumiko, not speaking a single word, exits the vehicle immediately, before the driver opens it for her. Sumiko walks to the shrine, to her office. Inside the office, Sumiko cries silently, feeling a sharp ache inside her heart, as her memories with Ruminasu began to lapse, in a loop.

Hecate and Inzagi, saddened by Sumiko's behaviour, leave the vehicle and enter the main shrine as well, taking a seat, under the cherry blossom trees. The main shrine is a huge structure with walls that circulated around the land. Each wall has an office for every elite, with a huge gate beside two offices, the center being a pink grassed land, with cherry blossoms blooming and leaving some of its petals to fall. It felt like a different world, inside there.

"Miss Hecate... Excuse me, but, where's the bathroom?" - Inzagi asks

"Ah, you can use my office's bathroom. It's right around there." - Hecate points to her office, the door having a symbol of a curved diamond, looking like a shining star.

Inzagi heads to Hecate's office and enters, looking around the small, yet organized room.

Inzagi looks at Hecate's table, the table having a picture of her and Sumiko, with two other girls, having purple and red gradients on the ends of their black hair.

Inzagi then heads to the bathroom, flustered by the smell of Hecate's office. It smelled like a mixture of a warm breeze of air and light scents of a bubbly perfume. He then uses the bathroom and heads back to Hecate, sitting beside her.

"Hey, Inzagi. Once the other elites arrive, try not to make a scene, okay? Some of them are quite tight, I must admit, when it comes to strangers." - Hecate implies, as she looks at Inzagi, with a serious tone.

Inzagi felt rather insulted and left out, by Hecate's words, but he nodded in agreement, anyway.

"I'm sorry if that sounded harsh, I don't really think I have the time, to think of a way to sugarcoat things, at the moment. Especially, after our failure." - Hecate looks down, saddened by the recent event, and Sumiko's behaviour.

Inzagi looks down as well, feeling disappointed in himself, pondering why he couldn't do better.

"Lady Hecate..? Do you still remember that day, when you told me that you would wait for me, in the elites, for my potential?" - Inzagi asks, as Hecate nods.

"Do you... Do you still think that I can make it..?" - Inzagi asks once again, filled with doubt, lacking confidence in himself.

"I believe that everyone has the potential to become an elite. Being titled as an elite doesn't affect who you are. So, don't thrive too much, just to get such a title. A title is a title, but whatever training you've done, to reach that title is all yours to celebrate. Do you understand my point?" - Hecate states, as Inzagi nods.

"So, you're saying, as long as I have the power to prove myself as powerful, the title of an elite wouldn't matter, since the title itself doesn't give me power, once I obtain it?" - Inzagi asks, as Hecate nods once again, patting his head

"Exactly, dear." - Hecate smiles lightly. Though, her words are deeply covered by a void caused by sadness.

The room stays silent, as they wait for the elites to arrive.