Homura waited until she was certain the others were in the training yard. She went to her trunk, her fingers twitching as she opened it. Her mind longed to hear the noise of the sweet Hawaiian music; it put her at ease and had helped her through the hard times prior. Her fingers twitched once again as she grabbed the velvet black case that was at the bottom of the trunk. She unzipped it, her body surging with energy to play.

There it was; unharmed and laying on her bed. The small instrument waited to be tuned and played. Homura took it with shaking hands and placed the tuner on it. She grabbed her pick, plucked the top string until it was tuned, and continued until the instrument was tuned. The young fire wielder took a deep breath, and began to play.

She lost herself in the melody and angelic sound of the ukulele. Picking along, the music continued into a crescendo. Homura began to sing along. Her voice mixed with the sounds from the instrument, creating one of the most elegant harmonies anybody had ever heard. She wasn't aware, but there was someone eavesdropping on the other side of the door.

Paige and Seth were listening outside. When Paige had discovered the door to the room she shared with Homura was locked, she went to go find Seth. Their sensei's son was a master at picking locks, but he froze when he stepped in front of the door. The enticing sound of Homura's voice, alongside the ukulele was enough to put anybody in a trance. The ice and earth wielders were just waiting for the God above to take His angel back with Him.

"What are you waiting for? She is late for dinner," Paige asked. Confusion dawned on her pale features. A small smile played on Seth's lips. As much as he hated that Paige didn't quite understand jokes and sarcasm, he still wanted to say something snarky.

"I'm just listening because she sounds like a songbird," Seth responded. He fiddled with one of his thick black curls. Paige turned to look at him, her eyes wide. She cocked her head, trying to understand where Seth was coming from.

"I find that highly unlikely. If Homura was a songbird, she would have flown back to her nest," Paige flatly responded. Her green irises with blue flecks let out a soft glow amidst the darkened corridor. The two kept arguing back and forth with each other, and little did they realize the door had opened. There stood Homura, her face redder than her gi in the doorway. "It is not what it looks like, Homura."

"Is it? It looks exactly what it looks and sounds like!" She snarled. Unclenching her fists, she shoved the two out of her way and ran down the corridor. Paige and Seth turned to look at each other. They shared a look, then followed the path Homura took. Cole blocked their paths, and they each earned a bonk on the head from his staff.

"What have I told you both?" Cole asked, his voice steadily rising. Seth and Paige both rubbed their heads. They sighed in defeat. It hadn't been right for them to spy and eavesdrop, but it also wasn't right for Homura to just lock the door without warning. "Go. All I know is that she went outside. Use this to think about what you both have been taught."

"Yes, Sensei," both Paige and Seth said in unison. They bowed, and waited for Cole to leave. The two shared a look with each other and nodded. Sprinting, they ran to find Brook, who was out in the training yard practicing. The lightning wielder looked up from his training, cocking his head with confusion dawning his features.

"Have you seen Homura?" Paige asked while Seth was catching his breath.

"She ran out of the doors. She hasn't come back, and I'm starting to worry," Brook responded. He wiped some sweat from his forehead and placed his nunchucks in his belt. Paige and Seth shared another look. Their fire wielder hadn't come home, and dusk was beginning to fall. The three knew Sensei Cole didn't necessarily like it when they weren't home by the time dusk fell. "Do you think your father would let us go look for her?"

Seth had zoned out; his brain creating multiple scenarios about what had happened to Homura. The majority of the situations he had come up with had ended with Homura being captured or tortured by their enemy. He shook his head, feeling lightheaded. Hearing snapping, he looked up, seeing Brook and Paige staring at him with worry.

"I'm fine," He began before Brook or Paige could ask the obvious question. He shook his head again, sighing. "I guess you both want me to go ask him, huh?"

"Actually, Brook and I planned on going with you. It does not seem right for just you to ask if we are all worried about Homura," Paige replied. Seth let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. It was good to know that his team was still by his side, even when one of them was missing. They all started to walk towards Cole's room.

"Paige and I will knock if you don't want to," Brook whispered. Seth placed a hand on the back of his neck and rubbed his head. Finding one of his curls in his face to fidget with, he nodded.

"I would appreciate that. I'm still trying to gather my thoughts," He admitted. He didn't always like the team doing the work that either Homura or he should be doing, like asking Sensei things, but in the moment, it felt right. Seth continued to fiddle with his curl while Brook and Paige knocked on the door.

"Enter," the voice from the other side of the door answered. The three teenagers walked into the room. Brook and Paige gasped in awe as they looked around, scanning their surroundings. It showed in their reactions that they had never been in Sensei's room before now. Seth kept messing with that one particular curl to ease his nerves. More often than not, the times he had been in this room was when he was in deep trouble. "What can I help you three with?"

"Sensei, we were wondering if you would permit us to go search for Homura, even after dusk falls," Brook quickly spilled everything. Paige and Seth nodded their heads after their lightning-fast friend had finished explaining their reasoning.

"Seeing as that she hasn't returned yet, yeah. You all can go, but if you are ambushed, do not engage," Cole swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. If what he saw in his smoke visions were true, then his three students were heading into the hornet's nest. He didn't want to lose them like Homura did Kai. Cole much preferred if they returned to report what they had observed, then they would all go together.

"Thank you, Sensei," the teenagers bowed. Cole nodded his head. They sprinted out to the training room where their weapons were kept.

Brook placed his nunchucks into his belt. His eyes lingered on Homura's katanas. She hadn't taken them with her? That put a pit of anxiety in Brook's stomach. He was lost in his thoughts when a hand found its way to his shoulder. Jumping, Brook turned around, seeing Paige and Seth were looking at him. He looked down and saw a pale hand that belonged to the ice wielder resting on his shoulder.

"We are all worried about her, Brook. We will bring her home; that is a promise. Come on, it is time we headed out," Paige whispered. Brook nodded his head and grabbed Homura's katanas from their resting place. Seth pulled his hood up and motioned for the two to follow him. Paige and Brook followed suit, pulling their hoods over their heads and trailing in Seth's footsteps.

The teenagers raced out of the monastery. They scanned the rural country area, hoping that Homura was just outside, but they didn't see any crimson or black amidst the bright green grass. The last rays of day were just above the mountains that sheltered the monastery to the east. The countryside was usually bursting with life of organisms of all sorts. That was not the case tonight. There was an eerie silence that even the elemental wielders noticed; something dire was on the horizon.

They continued their search in the abandoned area where the Caves of Despair were located. Drawing their weapons and keying their senses for anything that sounded or looked suspicious, they checked every nook and crevice for their missing friend. When they didn't find anything, fear seized them all. Brook broke down in sobs, anxiety gripping him in an invisible embrace. Seth fidgeted with his hair, trying to come up with some sort of plan to find her. Paige paced back and forth, determined to use her scanners to pick up where Homura's last whereabouts were.

The silence was suffocating. It was like a twister had popped up and was gripping them all in death's embrace. The only sound for miles was Brook's sobbing; even that had quieted down to mere whimpers. Dusk was falling, and they had made no progress. The devil's hypnotic devices of anxiety and horror clawed away at the once-blossoming self-confidence of the teenagers. All that was left now were mere shadows of what they once were.

It was a long time before anyone said anything. "We can't just give up," Brook spoke up, his voice cracking. Emotions then and there boiled over. Anger, despair, anxiety, they all boiled over in each of the teens.

"We aren't. We're going to find her," Seth responded and stood up.