"What are you doing!? Let me go!" Megumi cried out, still trying to pry her hand free as they approached an intersection.

"So you can go out there and get yourself killed? Nuh uh. I don't think so," Dre said, looking around the abandoned city. There was a ghostly silence surrounding them, with only the sound of the wind and Dre and Megumi's slight breathing around them. It was like something from an apocalyptic movie. "Man, everything looks the same. Do you remember where the school is?"

Megumi's eyes flashed. "Yeah. Of course I do," she said.

"Which way do we go?"

"Let me go and I'll show you."

Dre looked at her suspiciously. "No shenanigans?"

Megumi shook her head. If she was going to get back out on the battlefield, she was going to have to outsmart Dre. Shouldn't be too hard to do, right?

Dre frowned, but ultimately let her go. "Now, which way?"

She looked around, trying to recreate the walk over in her mind. "This way," she said, sprinting down the street, purposely running faster than Dre.

After a moment of running, she heard him call out, "Megumi! Wait up!" from a distance.

Let's see if my acting skills can finally pay off, she thought to herself as she skidded to a halt. "What was that?" she asked, looking towards a dark alley.

Dre finally caught up to her, gasping for air as he rested his hands on his knees. "What... was what?"

"I thought I heard something down there," she said, pointing down the alleyway. "You wanna go check it out?" Dre quickly shook his head, just as Megumi suspected. "Then at least let me use your sword to make sure it's clear." Dre unwillingly slid his sword from under his arm and handed it to her. Almost there. "Keep on the lookout for any Edge Walkers."

Dre nodded and turn towards the other side of the street. This was almost too easy. She couldn't help but grin as she ran past Dre, running back to Loyalty and Sakura's location. She ignored Dre's pleas as she turned right at the intersection, his sword firmly grasped in her hand. It was lighter than what she was used to and it felt like a hard rubber, but it would be better than nothing.

She closed in on the battleground, where Loyalty and Sakura was fighting off four Edge Walkers. She held the practice sword over her head, and slashed vertically at one of the monsters, hitting the back of its head with a sickening crunch. It fell on the sidewalk before Megumi punted it into the street.

"Megumi?" the both said, narrowly missing an Edge Walker's attack.

"What the hell are you doing back here? I thought I told you to get back to the school!" Loyalty bellowed as he stabbed an Edge Walker through its chest.

"I didn't want to miss out on the fun."

"Fun?" Sakura repeated. "This is not fun. This isn't a video game. This is a battlefield. If you die here, there is no respawning or continue options. You're simply- behind you!"

Megumi turned around as an Edge Walker held up a clawed hand, attempting to slash her in halves. She held up Dre's sword, ready to block it, and caught the full blow of its swing. The sword reverberated in her hands as she was swatted across the street into a concrete building, slamming her back on it and knocking the wind out of her. She fell to her hands and knees, dazed, gasping desperately for breath.

The Edge Walker dashed towards Megumi with its claws outstretched, green slime dripping from its mouth. She tried to stand, to make a sound, but all she could do was sit there and struggle to take a breath.

The ground under her felt like it was moving, and then suddenly a large cement wall rose cocooned her, blocking off the sunlight. On the other side of the wall, she heard a wet thud, followed by the gurgling cry of the creature. For a moment she could only hear her tattered breath before she heard the rumbling of the roof above her as the walls began to recede and crumble around her. Laying on the ground in front of her was the ashes of an Edge Walker. Both Loyalty and Sakura sprinted towards her.

"This is why you two needed to go back to the school!" Sakura stated.

"Hold up, where's Dre?" Loyalty asked her.

Megumi grimaced as she stood up; her forehead was beaded with sweat as her breathing became less labored. "He... he was behind me a second ago."

"Was? What the hell do you mean was?" he asked, now showing full-on panic.

Before she had a chance to speak, they heard a young man's terrified voice cry out to them. Both Loyalty and Sakura turned and saw Dre, back against a wall, while the Edge Walker slowly prowled, stalking him with its green luminescent eyes.

A cold chill passed by the group as three cyan ninja stars flew into the creature's neck, freezing it on contact. He watched as the ice incased its body and fell apart on the ground. Wide-eyed, Dre carefully side stepped the pieces of ice before running to the group.

"What the 'eff, dude? You said no shenanigans," he said to Megumi once he made it to the small group. "What happened to you?"

"What do you think?" she said as Dre pulled her arm across his shoulders. He bent down slightly so she could keep her balance. Megumi looked out towards the area where the ninja stars were fired from. A chilling, almost ghostly mist covered the street, engulfing it into nothingness. Among the mist appeared a short, scrawny body. As it limped closer, the icy chill grew stronger, and shook Megumi to her core. Both Loyalty and Sakura sheathed their weapons and stood rigid, apparently unaffected by the deep chill. That, or they were really good at hiding it.

"We've taken care of the invasion at the moment, Mr. Kimachi," Loyalty said as the figure full appeared from the mist.

With a fox-grin, Ichi stood before them with his feet shoulder length apart and his hands behind his back. His tan khakis and white, short-sleeved button up shirt seemed too formal for a battlefield, but then again, Megumi hardly ever seen her uncle Ichi in anything that was close to being informal. He looked far too young to be her uncle. If she had not known him, she'd guess that he was close to the same age as her. He said nothing to Loyalty, only keeping his eyes on Dre and Megumi.

"W-we were getting ready to scout the area, father, until-"

Ichi raised a finger to Sakura, his grin still directed to Dre and Megumi. He returned his hand behind his back as he limped towards them. Megumi felt her heart pound in her chest with every step her uncle took. With him being a teacher in the school, it was evident that the both of them were in serious trouble for ignoring Sakura's and Loyalty's command. He looked from Dre to Megumi, his grin never faltering. "What the hell are you two doing here?" he asked casually in a tactful baritone voice that didn't match his look.