A quiet, rainy day at school comes and goes, and the trio of friends head to the stadium to practice. A simple friendly between the main and reserve teams, nothing particularly special. But when one of the reserve players runs with the ball, Eugene rushes over to and slide tackles them, his momentum aimed straight at their legs. One of the managers, standing for the referee, blows the whistle, but he pays no heed and shoots the ball towards the goal. The goalie, caught unaware, could not react fast enough to make a save.
Eugene receives a stern lecture from the coach, which he tunes out of as his sharp gaze focuses on Kaiser, whose expression seems to mirror his own. As he turns and starts to leave the pitch, Adé lunges to grab his wrist. "Hey, where are you off to? We're not done here."
Eugene tries to pull away, but his grip is too strong. "I can practice in my own time. Now, let go!"
"No." Adé's voice and mien are harsh and stern, which look completely out of place on the casual, affable boy, and his grip tightens the more the other struggles. "We're part of a team, and lately, you haven't exactly been acting like it."
With some persistence and quick thinking, Eugene frees himself and takes a defensive stance. "Are you blind, Adé? I'm working my hardest to do everything for you—for all of us. The one not working for the team is him!" He jabs a finger in Kaiser's direction.
"He's not the one breaking people's legs and showing off. You are!" As he says this, he reaches out and yanks Eugene by the collar. "If anyone needs their eyes checked, it's you!" The captain tries to intervene, but his words are cut off with, "Back off! This is our business!"
Shocked, he and the others back away, though some of the more assertive members of their team keep at the ready in case a fight breaks out. Silence lingers heavily over them, eventually broken by a wry chuckle. "I get it now. Maybe I do need my eyes checked. Just let me go, and I'll take my leave right away." His dark eyes, large and pitiful, show a glimmer of shame and regret. Adé, with a twinge of hesitation, lets him go. Suddenly, he is knocked off his feet, and his head hits the ground. As he loses his focus, he can hear the sounds of shocked voices and footsteps, all of which dissipate as he blacks out.
Meanwhile, walking out of the dojo and trekking down the east side of Raimon, Timmy is ready to pack up and head home when a gust of wind rushes by him, turning his long hair into a tangled mess on him. As he brushes the strands aside, he catches a glimpse of the red blur zipping away. Curious, he starts off after it, but as he makes the turn towards the front of the main building, he bumps into something, cutting his pursuit short. "Hey, what's the rush, Tim," a familiar voice asks as a hand helps him up.
Barely able to contain himself, Timmy says, "I saw… something red… ran by me… I—"
"Woah, calm down, buddy. Breathe." Doing as told, Tim explains his earlier occurrence, which causes Max to give pause. "Red blur? I saw something zip by here just a moment ago. He can't be too far. C'mon!" Following Max's insight, they run out of the school and end up by the train station, where—to their dismay—they lose track of the mysterious blur. "Dammit, we lost 'im! But he'll be back. And when he does, I'll catch him in the act!"
"What makes you think he'll be back?"
Max's hand rustles through his pocket and takes out a gold ring, adorned with a gemstone containing a miniature galaxy within its crystalline confines. "Cus he dropped this on the way out."
"What do you mean, you lost it?" Naga grabs Eugene by the shoulders and shakes him. "You know we can't fuse without that!" He stops and shifts his hands to the barren fingers that once sported the possession in question. "Sorry, I just…"
"It's okay," Eugene whispers as he lays his free hand on top of Naga's. "I'll get it back somehow."
