It was another day of cleaning for Hyde as he began to sweep across the house. Even if he was the only one leaving there, cleaning was just one of the things he's learned to enjoy doing. It passes the time if nothing else. That's when he notices something at the corner of the roof.

A spider catching something in its net. All covered up in silk and being devoured

"Well what do ya know"

Hyde didn't expect a spider to be present in his house. He was sure he took good care of it. Regardless, he had an example to make so he trapped the arachnid in a small jar and set it free somewhere outside.

"Nothing personal spider, but I have to keep the place clean ya know?"

With that, it was back to cleaning for the boy.

Area: Riverside Esplanade

Hyde was sure glad EXS had a healing factor. Yuzu landed some pretty painful cuts on him earlier. Course if she was actually going for the kill, he would have been in pieces easily, but he knew she was not that kind of person.

Still, he wondered if he really grew strong as she said he was. Yuzu was pretty vague on whether she was really trying but one thing was certain. He got to see a look of surprise from her when he landed Veil Bringer. That at least showed he actually got one on her.

Regardless, he shook his head. 'Focus Kido, the last thing you want is to get overconfident'

His travels took him to the Riverside Esplanade. Voids were blocking his way which Insulator made quick work of. The teen was glad that he was strong enough to rid these creatures, but the amount that appeared was getting annoying to say the least.

He spotted a bench along the way and decided to take a breather. He began to reflect on times he would just find a quiet place to sit and just keep to himself. It wasn't that long ago he distanced himself from everyone. Friends from Middle School, Yuzu, he hardly even spoke with his parents who were often away for work reasons.

But look at him now in just this month. He has Harada, Tsurugi, Linne, Wald, he was even able to rekindle his bond with Yuzu somewhat. Sure getting bitten by a void sucked, but he is slowly starting to take the good with the bad with it all.

'Course if Paradox gets her hands on Insulator, everything I worked for will be for nothing' He sighed and just relaxed on the bench.

That's when he spotted two individuals. They looked like students wearing their uniforms which he found odd. Of course he's not one to talk considering he was wearing his own uniform but he digressed. He didn't sense much from the girl, but the boy next to her was another story. He began to feel his presence and got the feeling he would be part of another battle.

'Well I relaxed enough, time to see if I have to fight' Hyde got off the bench and walked towards them.

"Well, you two look suspicious. What are you doing out here?" Hyde asked.

The girl in response flicked her long purple hair with a chuckle. "What an amusing child. Hm? What is it Byakuya?" She turned to speak with the boy.

'So the guy with the intense presence is named Byakuya huh?' Hyde noted

Byakuya said something to the girl he couldn't hear before walking up to Hyde with a simple smile.

"Alright kid, I'll listen to what you have to say. Go!" Byakuya said with a wide grin.

Yup, something was definitely off about him. Maybe it was his light purple hair with his hollow black eyes, or the almost childlike nature he was giving off. Hyde decided to chance it and spoke anyway.

"Where do you get off calling me a kid? You look alot younger than me. Aren't you like in Middle School or something?"

The boy in response gave a hearty laugh before answering. "I'm sure you figured it out by now, but my sister here doesn't have access to EXS at the moment. So if you're going to fight, it'll have to be with me. Why don't we have a chat?" Byakuya gave a friendly grin, but Hyde knew he was hiding something.

"I figured as much. Now that I'm an honest-to-god In-Birth, I can sense that you're really freakin powerful" Hyde admitted.

"Ah, you're making me blush. Even if the compliment is coming from someone as weak as you" The boy casually teased the swordsman.

Hyde gritted his teeth. He couldn't argue with that, but it still stung to be told off by presumably a more experienced wielder. He heard Byakuya continue.

"She is interested in finding someone, but I'm not. Anyone who'd potentially hurt her is going to get crushed by me" He said plainly.

'This guy looks like bad news. But maybe this can be a learning experience. Is this a gamble? Probably but any experience helps'

"I thought you looked pretty mellow, but that explains it. Well, I can take whatever you dish out. Can't let a punk like you walk all over me. I hope you're ready. Insulator!"

Hyde summoned his blade and took his stance.

Before the fight started, Byakuya told Hyde to wait a moment as he walked back to his sister. Did he just sign his death warrant? He'll just have to find out. Hyde could overhear them talking about him. Words like 'weak' and 'goodbye' he heard before the girl walked to the side.

"I didn't quite catch that! Seriously, I didn't hear a word. Why don't you come a little closer and speak up? No need to be such a stranger you know?" Hyde said annoyed.

"Oh just a little small talk, don't worry about it. Now then… Are you ready?" Byakuya then summoned 8 floating claws shaped like spider limbs behind his back.

'And there's the immense presence. Well no turning back now, let's do this!' Hyde gripped his sword as the fight commenced.

IMMORTALIZE

Hyde ve Byakuya

Hyde immediately began the fight on the defensive as the spider wielder used his claws to pressure him. He eventually pushed back with a wide slash and then rushed up to him.

Byakuya proceeds to use disoriented attacks with his claws to catch Hyde off guard, but with patience, he was able to grab Byakuya and kick him across the battlefield.

"Haha! I see you have some bite after all" Byakuya dusted himself up. "Let's have some fun then"

Byakuya licked his lips as he stepped back and began using each spider claw at a time to attack Hyde.

Hyde sidestepped each attack, trying to find an opening. After dodging the fifth claw, he tried rushing the boy until something stopped him in his tracks.

'My arm?!'

Hyde turned to his left arm to see that it was trapped in some spider web. The web was so transparent, he could not even see that they were placed.

In response to him getting trapped, Byakuya began laughing hysterically. "I just love it when they get entrapped in my web. Now then…"

The spider wielder casually walked up to Hyde as the sword fighter desperately tried to break free.

"How should I cook you?" Byakuya began by twirling his claws in a spin attack, damaging Hyde and launching him up

"Maybe Minced?" Byakuya then jumps up to Hyde and does another spin attack with his claws.

"Or Perhaps Torn Limb from Limb?" He then finishes his attack by slamming Hyde down with his claws.

'Pah! His claws are like a spider's. Should have known he'd have webs of some kind…' Hyde shook off the damage and got up.

"You make it sound like you plan on eating me?" Hyde said as he caught his breath.

"Oh that's exactly what I intend to do. I have a feeling your Insulator will be quite the treat" Byakuya licked his lips in response.

'Damn, I really ran into a nutcase this time around' Hyde sweatdropped, but could not allow himself to get scared now. 'That's right. Focus! Those webs caught me off guard because they're thin. It just means I have to cut them!"'

Byakuya then began dashing around the field, planting more webs in his path. Hyde, now aware of their placements, slashed them apart as he ran ahead. Upon seeing the purple haired boy finish placing a web, that was his chance to strike.

"Orbiter!"

Imbued with EXS, Hyde sent a fast projectile his way. Byakuya dodged it, but not before the disk grazed his cheek.

"Cheeky Cheeky. However…" Byakuya faded into shadows, causing Hyde to look around frantically.

"There's no point in running" Hyde could hear his voice echo.

Bloodlust was sensed right away as Hyde sidestepped, the claw grazing his shoulder, causing him to grit his teeth. He slashed at Byakuya's direction, causing him to jump back to dodge it.

"Look at you, already backed in the corner. That's what I mean. You're weak." Byakuya lightly clapped his hands.

'Alright, I've had about enough of this punk' Hyde took a deep breath and began to focus. What was he doing wrong? The webs are the bread and butter of his skills. If only there was a way to get them out of the picture…

An Idea occurred. As Byakuya was placing his webs, he made it apparent to be away from me before making his move. Maybe there was a reason for that. Only one way to find out.

"Heh, don't think I'm down for the count yet." Hyde winked as he took his stance again"

Byakuya shrugged and began to place more webs. Hyde slashed them apart like before, he could spot his opponent giving a smirk as he realized a few webs remained.

'Time to put my plan in motion…'

"Orbiter!"

Hyde shot his disk at Byakuya, to which the latter dodged with ease. Little did he know that this was part of Hyde's plan. Using what he learned from Vatista, he began using the extension from his Orbiter.

"Dark Lotus!"

The disk was behind Byakuya as it detonated into an energy explosive, not only sending the spider wielder flying towards Hyde, but removing all the webs in the process..

'I thought so. The punk needed to keep controlling those webs even after placing them. The moment he got hit, they all went away'

"Wha… What?!" The usual smug look on Byakuya turned to shock.

Hyde didn't stop there. He dashed towards his opponent and landed a swift slash across his chest, forcing Byakuya to his knees.

"Sinister!"

Deciding to use the blunt edge of his sword, Hyde ended the fight with a downward slash, sending him crashing on the floor with enough force to form a small crater around him.

"Sis…ter…" Was all Byakuya could say before he went unconscious.

Hyde took a deep breath as that last rush took a lot out of him. The girl in response walked up to Byakuya to check his injuries.

"It seems Byakuya has lost." She said plainly.

Hyde held Insulator over his shoulder as he tossed something to the girl "Here"

Examining the contents, she could see Hyde gave her a set of bandages. She raised an eyebrow in response. "Why? You know my brother tried to kill you."

"I do not want to take a life if I can prevent it. That's why I made sure the slash was not deep." Hyde said with his eyes closed.

He turned his back on the pair and decided to leave one more saying to them.

"The first lesson that was drilled into me ever since I became an In-Birth. Never underestimate your opponent."

He was about to make his way until he heard the girl ask him one more thing.

"Wielder of the Insulator, why do you fight?"

He turned to the girl who had just finished treating the boy's wound and answered with Insulator over his shoulder.

"Because I made a promise to someone and also…" With a deep breath, he added. "I'm going to put an end to this twisted Night"

With that, he left the two and continued his way.