Pruned Trees Re-Sprout!! ~ Ragazza Volpe Magica ~

“Holy shit.” Shouri relaxed on one of the couches in a staff-only room. Rebecca was still watching the now resumed battle on one of the close-circuit televisions, Taika and Pacifica too reclined, leaned up against their Maestro, similarly exhausted.

They had managed to get Marnix conscious again, but they couldn’t get his rhythm restored past zero percent without the possibility of rhythm burning him. Thus, he was stuck in a negative percentage of available rhythm. He would recover of course, but was still completely wiped out and was carted off to recuperate in one of the proper medical wings.

“You two were great.” Shouri smiled while stroking both of the girls' hair.

“Dr. Miya put us through our paces,” Pacifica sighed wearily, nuzzling up against Shouri’s side.

“She’s a really nice lady though.” Taika mirrored her fellow Resonator cuddling up to their Maestro.

“Damn, that Fureena chick is crazy for a healer,” Rebecca noted, still focused on the TV.

“What’s going on?” Shouri called out.

“Girl is untouchable. That cat could take some crazy damage, but this fox is just dodging everything. It's kinda crazy cause cats are supposed to be way faster than foxes," Rebecca informed the couch-bound trio.

“Oh yeah.” Taika glanced over at Rebecca. “That cat used a healing spell. I thought she was shielding,” the vixen pointed out.

“High-level Shielders start gaining healing spells and vice versa. It’s called Crescendo,” Rebecca said, her eyes still glued on the TV as she spoke.

“Yeah, though the Crescendo spells will never be as strong as the real deal. You’ll eventually get the ability to use all the shielding spells,” Shouri told Taika.

“Oh.” Taika fiddled with her jacket’s zipper. It was something else for her to be excited about.

The remainder of their time at the stadium for that day was hiding out in the staff room. After their earlier job, Shouri was drained. Rebecca joined the family once the battle was done (to no one’s shock, Ophira won). Finally, Elijah and Zino dropped by at the end of the festivities for the day and found Shouri in his usual configuration: in the center of his three clingy Resonators.

“Ah, there you are Mister Tomoshibi,” Elijah greeted the group upon his entrance to the staff room.

“Mister Klein,” Shouri greeted back.

“Shall we head back to the suite? Miss Severine should be on her way back already,” Elijah informed the other Maestro.

“Yeah.” Shouri had honestly forgotten about her presence. They had missed each other as she left early to come down to the stadium, and he never saw her last night, only being told of her arrival by his Resonators. There was some kind of deal or something worked out between her and Elijah, though what the specifics of said deal was remained a mystery to Shouri. Not that he actually cared.

Upon returning to their suite, however, Colette immediately threw everything into chaos. “Shouri!” she shouted.

He and his Resonators flinched at the noise. “Yes, good evening to you too, Colette,” Shouri grumbled.

“You had such a good seat! You got to see those battles so close!” Colette’s eyes sparkled like a desperate fan. Taika went ahead and placed a supporting hand on her Maestro’s shoulder, focusing her rhythm to her fingertips for a quick etude.

“One battle, we spent the rest of the day in one of the staff rooms recovering,” Shouri corrected.

“Those duelists definitely have a ton of rhythm, they’re no joke.” Colette nodded.

“Colette, perhaps you should give them a chance to unwind, they were working today,” Kaira attempted to reel in her Maestro for the sake of the peace.

“Oh fine,” the pushy scholar acquiesced. “But we do need to talk later. All of us,” her tone had shifted, more focused, more serious.

And with that, peace returned to the suite.

“Thank the sages, too many of you around.” Elijah wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief.

The Klein heir began to walk away. However, in a twist, Shouri spoke up.

“Elijah.”

The man stopped and turned to his counterpart. “Yes, Shouri?”

“Your condition. We haven’t done anything about it,” the brunet pointed out.

The blond Maestro returned the concern with a smile. “Nonsense,” he spoke knowingly. “You’ve been doing plenty.” Reaching into his coat pocket, he drew out a small notebook. “If nothing else, I am an observant individual.”

Shouri furrowed his brow. “Still, I’d at least want to give you something more tangible than you watching these three pile onto me every night.”

“If you wish. I will not push you – I’m aware of your condition just as well as I know my own.” And with that, Elijah took his leave.

“Busy body,” Shouri grumbled under his breath.

“I wonder what she wants to talk about,” Pacifica finally spoke up.

“Well, we did get attacked by a Feroce Resonator before, so probably that,” Rebecca theorized.

“Either way, I’m getting a heck of a rhythm exercise today,” Taika giggled, rubbing their Maestro’s shoulder while continuing their etude.

“You and me both,” Shouri sighed dramatically – he had been doing that a lot recently, and for good reason: these people were exhausting.

A couple of hours passed, it was around eight at night when Elijah and Zino joined Shouri and his trio in one of the living rooms. Colette was also there in one of the recliners, while Kaira sat on the ground in front of her, nose deep into a book.

“Good evening, I hope I’m not intruding,” the Klein heir spoke up.

“We’re just watching season 43 of Survivor: L’ultera.” Shouri pointed at the television displaying a “Reality TV” Show as it was called.

Elijah raised a brow, wholly unfamiliar with the program. From the two minutes he did catch though, it was drivel in the purest form. Several people arguing about who should be sent home with plenty of mud-flinging both verbally and literally.

“I like watching shows where people tear each other limb from limb and think ‘I’m better than them’,” Colette spoke up when Elijah went to comment.

The man chuckled. “I suppose there is some entertainment to be derived from such programming,” he added.

“I kinda get her thinking,” Zino commented. “Could use with more blood though,” he grumbled.

“I’m not invested.” Shouri glanced at Elijah. “What’s up?”

“I wished to ask your guidance on proper etude form if you had time to spare.” Though he maintained his eloquence, Pacifica felt the sheepishness the man had in requesting this.

“Oh, okay,” Shouri replied.

“I don’t really know how to describe it, but it’s a give and take.”

“Sho and I are equal. That’s what I feel.”

“Right, we’re not Maestro and Resonator - we’re two people, two rhythm users, two friends, leveling each other out.”

“He clears my mind.”

“And she gives me reason to move.”

Shouri and Taika calmly spoke in turn, hands linked, eyes closed, sitting cross-legged in the center of one of the living rooms of the massive Presidential Suite.

Around them were the other six guests in the suite, but also Alfred and the two cat maids watched from a distance with interest.

Colette was excitedly taking notes in a notebook, while Kaira recorded the whole demonstration on a small digital camera.

Elijah admired the form of the two experts before him. All they were doing was holding hands, but even with that simple gesture, he could feel the intensity of the rhythm passing between the two. How easily it flowed, like water from a faucet; they shared rhythm so easily, so fluidly, and on demand. It was awe-inspiring.

“Hmph, big whoop.” Zino rolled his eyes, unimpressed by the whole spectacle.

“Want me to knock some teeth out, lizard?” Rebecca growled at the dinosaur.

“You’re welcome to try, mammal,” said dinosaurian snarled back.

Pacifica placed a hand on her fellow Resonator’s shoulder. “Relax Rebecca, he’s just jealous.”

“Say that shit again,” Zino turned his anger on the otter now.

Pacifica fired back a cold glare, one harsher than anyone had ever seen the normally cheery girl muster. Elijah gulped, loosening his shirt collar as a wave of intense rhythm crashed over him.

“Gladly.” Pacifica took a breath.

“You think you’re all big and tough, but in reality, you’re just a child. A whiny petulant baby who throws a temper tantrum when he doesn’t get his way. And the worst part is you think you’re the coolest guy in the room! You’re not fooling anyone - you’re just trying to compensate for how weak you really are. You know I was excited to meet the ferocious Dinosaurian, but you turned out to be one giant disappointment after another, you loser.”

Everyone stared in absolute shock at Pacifica. She let out a sharp breath and smiled brightly. “Damn that felt GOOD,” she beamed.

Slowly everyone turned to Zino, waiting for him to lash out and attack the daring otter. What they found, however, betrayed their expectations of him. The boy sat there, eyes wide, mouth agape, a couple of sad squeaks that failed to express any kind of speech was all he could muster.

There was blood in the water, and this otter smelled it. She took a breath and: “He knows I’m right. He’s not weak because of Elijah; Elijah is weak because of him,” Pacifica resumed twisting the knife, not giving the earth Resonator any breathing room. The rest of the room sat there in stunned silence, mere witnesses of the verbal slaughter.

Pacifica let out a sigh. He wasn’t putting up any kind of resistance, not even a “you’re wrong!” or more predictably an insult. He looked like a kicked puppy. Finally, she rolled her eyes. “Hey, look at me,” she demanded.

He refused.

“Or don’t, whatever.” Another eye roll. “You’re only so weak because you haven’t tried. At all,” Pacifica told him. “I want you to know – what happened before, won’t happen again. If you ever come at me like that again, I will bury you. That’s a promise.”

No one dared utter a word. It was insane to think that Pacifica could hold a grudge that hard. Though Taika and Rebecca were both holding back cheering on their fellow Resonator. After all, Zino did almost kill their Maestro. It was a miracle they all had been as cordial with the dinosaur as they had.

Even so.

“You’ve made your point Pacifica, cut it out,” Shouri reeled the otter in.

“Sorry Sho,” the girl instantly wilted.

“No, you did make some good points,” he paused, “in the middle of your verbal beat-down,” the Maestro added, quieter.

Colette found her courage and spoke up: “Etude is a bilateral process. You have to give your rhythm up and take your partner’s rhythm in.” The rhythm studies major hummed in thought, studying the pair. “It might be good that Zino is so rhythmically weak, it’ll be easier to etude without overwhelming Mr. Klein,” she observed.

Shouri nodded in agreement. “That was my thought, too.”

“Would you like to try it, Zino?” Elijah asked the Resonator.

His head remained down, and he slowly shook his head.

“Right, at your own pace.” The blond Maestro still gave a smile to the dinosaur-man. “I think we will reflect on your teachings over some rest. Thank you for your time.”

Elijah departed the room with Zino, leaving Shouri, Colette, and their Resonators alone.

“Holy shit Pacifica!” Rebecca tackled the girl, hugging her.

“Paci that was so cool!” Taika joined in the dog pile of their friend.

Kaira had remained silent the entire time. Truthfully as soon as Pacifica started laying into Zino, she had opened her sand pouch, ready to restrain the dinosaur, but that turned out to be unnecessary.

Instead, what the jackal found was her Maestro’s rhythm made her itch with curiosity. “Why did you let her go so far, Maestro Shouri?” Kaira questioned.

Shouri raised a brow. “They both needed it?” he said as if it should have been obvious. “She beat herself up for days after the incident. I wasn’t going to stop her. And Zino needed someone to be brutally honest with him,” the Maestro elaborated. He glanced down at his right hand, flexing the digits. “It’s how we should have handled it back then; instead of what actually happened…”