"Sir Heartz, what makes you the leader of the group?" one of the older kids asked. A few more perked up immediately.
"Yeah, I wanna know too!"
Heartz and Loretta exchanged a laugh. Heartz crouched down to their level. "Before I answer that, I want to know — who you think should be the leader."
The kids scanned the group with squinted eyes and hushed whispers.
"Hmmm... Miss Erenyx is kinda scary-looking. With all those tattoos, she looks like a gangster!"
The kids burst into giggles. Erenyx narrowed her eyes at them, but even she couldn't fully hide the smile tugging at her lips.
"Mr. Loretta doesn't seem all that strong, though..." another boy added.
Loretta's eye twitched, but he forced a grin. Heartz had to hold back a full laugh.
"I'll have you know," Heartz said, elbowing Loretta, "Loretta here might even be the strongest of us at full power!"
Loretta crossed his arms but couldn't hide a small smirk.
"But Miss Rui is beautiful and she seems really strong," a girl declared. "I think she should be the leader!"
The other kids nodded in quick agreement.
Heartz nodded thoughtfully. "You all went off looks or what you can sense with chi. But that doesn't always tell the whole story. The one you overlook the most could be the next big thing... just like Land Master Zephyr."
The kids leaned in.
"I earned my role," Heartz continued. "Master Zephyr saw that I'm a fighter who pushes to the last second — even if it costs me everything. I might not be the strongest in the group, but I am the best leader for it."
His tone was calm but firm — simple enough for the kids to understand, yet powerful enough to light a spark in them. Determination shone in their eyes.
"There you go, sounding like the Land Master," Loretta said, patting Heartz on the back before heading over to join Erenyx and Rui with the younger children.
Loretta shot Heartz a look before he left—an unspoken understanding passing between them. Heartz nodded once and headed over to the others.
"Hey, Erenyx, Rui, I gotta grab something real quick. I'll be back," he said casually.
They nodded, none the wiser. The moment he rounded the corner and slipped out of sight, his expression hardened and he broke into a full sprint. His legs blurred as he vaulted over stalls, climbed walls, and scaled rooftops, pursuing the cloaked figure he'd noticed watching them earlier.
"Stop!" Heartz barked, channeling chi into his feet. The force detonated beneath him, launching him skyward. He angled down and triggered another blast to propel himself like a missile toward his target—dropping straight onto them.
Only for the cloak to collapse under him, empty.
Heartz clicked his tongue and exploded forward again. This time he caught the figure mid-escape, slamming a fist into the back of their head and sending them skidding across the rooftop.
"Oi, bastard. When a Visionary gives an order... you follow it." Heartz marched over, grabbed the figure by the hair, and wrenched their head back to see their face—
A starved, terrified young boy.
"What the hell...?"
"Get the hell off me!" the kid screamed, thrashing uselessly in Heartz's grip.
Heartz tightened his hold just enough to keep him in place. "What's that stench...? Who are you with?"
The boy locked eyes with him, trembling—then spat in his face.
"Tch, little bra—"
Heartz stopped mid-sentence. A surge of chi burst from the boy's body.
"Shi—"
The boy detonated into a dark cloud. The blast hurled Heartz across the rooftops and into a wall. He slid down with a groan before dragging himself back up, scanning the area.
"Did he just... kill himself? Or was it some kind of pact...?" he muttered.
Heartz hopped across the roofs until he reached the discarded cloak. He picked it up, turning it over in his hands, but his chest felt tight.
Cough.
Cough.
Heartz rubbed his throat. "Weird... feels dry today. Should've cut back on the smokes earlier..." he muttered before leaping down to street level to rejoin the others.
Heartz drifted back toward the group and threw an arm over Loretta's shoulders, tugging him aside. "Slimy bastard blew himself up the second I caught him... but I snagged his cloak." He handed the garment off.
"Use your Evil Eye on it. See if anything's off."
"Got it, Cap." Loretta slipped away with the cloak, already examining it as he moved.
Heartz made his way back to Rui and Erenyx, only for a small hand to clamp onto his pant leg. He looked down to see a little girl staring up at him, frightened but hopeful.
"C'mon, I got ya," he said gently, scooping her up and setting her on his broad shoulder. Her eyes lit up as she giggled, waving shyly at the other kids below.
"Yo, Erenyx," Heartz called out. She approached—then recoiled dramatically.
"Ugh, did you get jumped by a pack of demonic skunks or something?" she said, pinching her nose.
Heartz blinked, grabbing his shirt and sniffing. Nothing.
"What are you talking about? I smell fine!"
Rui glanced over. "Maybe the smoke's still clingin' to you."
"I told you I quit two months ago!" Heartz protested.
Rui folded her arms. "Baby, you damn sure don't look like it."
She lifted the girl off his shoulder, setting her down to run back to her friends. Heartz shrugged helplessly.
"I don't smell anything. Maybe Erenyx just has a strong nose."
"Or maybe y'all are nose-blind," Erenyx muttered, still holding her nose as she rolled her eyes.