After the battle, it was about late night, and the city lights of Shinkami twinkle in the distance, neon signs casting long reflections on rain-slicked pavement. Kaizo and Yumi walk side by side beneath the dim glow of passing streetlights, leaving behind the hidden stadium of the Top Ten Tournament.

  Yumi: “So… you just stood there until Miyu surrendered?”

  Kaizo (shrugs): “She knew what was up.”

  Infinity (poking his head out from Kaizo’s jacket): “Honestly? That was pretty weird. You like scaring little children, huh?”

  Kaizo (grinning): “Can you shut the hell up, you rascal? I don’t have to hit anyone who doesn't have the will to fight… I don’t benefit from that.”

  Yumi (tilting her head): “She barely lasted ten seconds... I thought you were gonna kill her.”

  Kaizo (winking): “Oh no. I don’t kill females, I excite them...”

  Yumi (sighing): “That’s disgusting…”

  They share a small laugh.

  Suddenly, Yumi stops, narrowing her eyes at a nearby alleyway. The light above it flickers as shadows shift suspiciously in the corner.

  Yumi (pointing): “Hey, Kaizo… come look over here.”

  Kaizo turns, seeing a group of shady figures slipping toward the side entrance of a closed convenience store. A crowbar glints in one of their hands.

  Kaizo (to us): {What’s up everyone, it’s been a minute since you’ve seen me and Yumi, huh? Let’s have a new change of pace. Wanna see what Yumi’s brand new abilities in action?}

  Yumi: “…Why are you just standing there? You’re not gonna stop them or something?”

  Kaizo (stretching): “I'm a bit tired from the tournament, actually. I think you can handle this.”

  Yumi (blinking): “Wait—me?”

  Kaizo (smirking): “Yeah. Let’s put all that training to use… Besides, we’re right here if you somehow start losing…”

  Infinity: “Yeah!”

  Kaizo (to us): {She won’t need us.}

  Yumi steps forward, nerves buzzing in her chest as she approaches the group of 8 thieves.

  Thug #1 (laughs): “Yo, what’s this? A little girl came to stop us?”

  Thug #2 (brandishing a knife): “She’s got a bow… That’s cute.”

  Thug #3 (snickering): “Maybe she’s one of them cosplay freaks. Let’s grab her stuff and bounce.”

  Yumi (eyebrow twitching): “Cosplay…freak?!?”

  Kaizo (interested, to himself): “Cosplay freak, that’s a new one. (slight pause) {Do you guys know a fictional character who has a bow that’s “visually appealing?}

  She draws back her Aura Bow, the purple arrow glowing softly as it forms on the string.

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  The arrow is fired—

  BOOM.

  It slams a thug in the chest, sending him flying into a brick wall. He’s down cold.

  Thugs (pausing): “...Huh?”

  Thug #2 charges, swinging—

  Yumi fires an arrow into the pavement in front of her, and just as the blade nears her head—

  SNAP. (She snaps her fingers)

  She swaps places with the arrow, reappearing behind the attacker in a quick flash.

  WHACK.

  Elbow to the back of the head. That makes two.

  Thug #4: “She teleported?!”

  Yumi draws again. One arrow curves midair, cracking a pipe overhead that bursts steam into another thug’s face. She dances across the field, firing, snapping, teleporting, disarming, disabling—and one by one, the goons drop like moths at a lampost.

  A final attacker rushes her blindly. She fires straight up.

  The arrow sticks in a fire escape.

  Yumi (to herself, focused): “Yaten…”

  She snaps—vanishes—then reappears above, slamming down from the air with a perfect Kensei-covered double kick to his face.

  All 8 thieves were knocked down, groaning in pain.

  You’re probably wondering about right now, how Yumi is capable of doing this. There’s definitely an exclamation for this.

  Yumi and Kaizo’s training in the Jungle of Time took an interesting turn once Yumi truly began experimenting with her aura arrows. One morning, before the sun even began to rise, Yumi had just fired an arrow across a small valley. It was a practice shot, but it flew extremely far. It just went to show how skillful Yumi was.

  Yumi (whistling): “That one went pretty far.”

  Yumi thought about how far she’d have to travel if she wanted to get that arrow back.

  Yumi (thinking to herself): That’s a long trip. If it were a real arrow or something, I’d rather swap places with it than going to get it back.

  Suddenly, Yumi felt an insane rush of air flow past her body, and before she knew it, she was standing directly in front of the tree the arrow was originally at.

  Yumi (stunned): “What the-”

  Kaizo (from the top of a tree): “That’s crazy, I can’t believe you can do that too…”

  Yumi (looking up): “How long have you been there, Kaizo?”

  Kaizo (staring at the tree): “I was just in the area and wanted to inspect your aura arrow a little more but I guess that’s not possible…”

  Yumi (excited): “It looks like I can teleport now though… Isn’t that cool?”

  Kaizo (annoyed): “Yeah, definitely.” Why the fuck can’t my aura do that?

  Yumi, fascinated by her new ability, began practicing and making her arrow swapping more frequent in her kit. Her teleportation could even keep up with Kaizo when he activated the Speed Set. However, Kaizo had something to tell her about that she thought was a little weird.

  Kaizo (watching her): “Hey, Yumi.”

  Yumi (breathing heavily): “Y-yeah?”

  Kaizo (rubbing his chin): “For your swapping arrows technique… start snapping your fingers before you swap places to teleport from now on. Try to make it a habit.”

  Yumi (confused): “Why?”

  Kaizo (sincere): “It will make more sense to you later on…”

  Yumi (truthfully): “Alright, if you say so. But I might forget a little sometimes.”

  Kaizo: “Oh, don’t worry about that. I’ll make sure you won’t.”

  Yumi (curious): “What do you mean?”

  Kaizo (grinning): “You’ll see…”

  Yumi: “I’m scared.”

  Kaizo watches her with arms folded, a light breeze fluttering his jacket. Infinity sits on his shoulder like a sports fan, watching intently with excitement.

  Kaizo (smiling): “…You’ve earned yourself an award.”

  Yumi (returning, slightly red): “Oh shut up…”

  Kaizo (walking beside her): “So… no dinner, then?”

  Yumi (annoyed): “…Fine. But I’m picking the restaurant."

  Infinity (from Kaizo’s jacket): “As long as I get chicken.”

  Yaten (矢転 – “Arrow Shift”)

  Yumi’s signature technique. She swaps places with her arrows by snapping her fingers—or mentally when focused—using them as anchors to reposition mid-combat with near-instant speed. This technique makes her incredibly hard to track, allowing her to flank, evade, or strike from unexpected angles.