“I don’t know how this keeps happening,” grumbled Shouri, arms folded across his chest with indignance.

  He hated being separated from his Resonators. It was becoming concerningly common in his life and he grew weary of it. What else persisted was his run-ins with law enforcement. He sat in the back of a cop car, with Emily being his ridemate in the back. A Maestro Officer and their Resonator partner for the evening sat in the front, also having a conversation. Thankfully the thick vatonium-infused glass separating the two groups also muffled the conversations, so the two pairs didn’t have to talk over each other.

  “How’d your end go?” asked Shouri – his first real opportunity to get info on what the others had been up to.

  “Uhhh, well we got as far as outside when suddenly the whole police force was pinning us to the walls and reading off our rights,” Emily replied. She sighed, hanging her head. “I’m so getting deported.”

  “Wow, ye of little faith,” Shouri rolled his eyes.

  “What about Ilea?” she asked.

  “Punched that fucker right in the face,” the boy grinned.

  “Wait, YOU? Not Rebecca or Taika?”

  “Me. They couldn’t touch him.”

  “But you could?”

  “I’m not arguing with the results.”

  The patrol car rolled on. One thing they did manage to catch despite the muffling protective glass was the radio up front talking about the multiple arrests for the evening. Though this was brief and the two young Maestros in the back cared not as it soon turned to prattle on about unrelated affairs.

  “Did they get everyone?” Emily asked, resuming their conversation.

  “I saw Colette, Elijah, and Vince getting carted away if that’s what you’re asking,” replied Shouri.

  “No Faith?” Emily raised a brow.

  Shouri shook his head. “No trace of her or her Resonators. Probably gotta ask Vince about that.”

  Emily nodded slowly.

  “Speaking of missing persons, did you find Liza?” came Shouri’s next question.

  Emily furrowed her brow. “Liza? She’s that dragon girl you took in for a little bit in Naiza, right?” she asked for clarification.

  “Yeah, her. She disappeared after our fight with her ex-Maestro, haven’t heard from her since.” Shouri’s voice lowered. “I was hoping we’d find her.”

  The princess frowned hard, turning her head. “No, she… wasn’t there,” she informed him, quieter.

  “Damn it all,” grumbled Shouri.

  Before they could dwell on the fate of those missing any longer, they arrived at the VdV headquarters.

  Like the other buildings in Quiretteh, the VdV HQ stuck to the ancient modernized standards the other structures in the city held. The impressive shiny white stone bore modern windows, with hand-carved statues of stone adorning not only the meticulously kept courtyard, but the tops of the building itself – as if the ancient heroes of yesteryear were watching over the constabulary of the present era.

  Shouri whistled. “Impressive,” he commented.

  “You’re way too relaxed,” Emily narrowed her eyes at her fellow Maestro.

  “I got to punch the guy directly responsible for my childhood friend’s seven years of torture right in his smug fucking mug. I’m going to be riding the rush of that for at least a year,” he boasted.

  “Carry on I suppose,” shrugged the princess, though she failed to suppress the smile brought on by his infectious mood.

  Speaking of carrying on, it was their turn to carry on, into the police station. Before unlocking the doors, Shouri noted the Maestro calling a spell. He wasn’t sure of which one, but based on the yellow tuner the officer was carrying it had to be of the lightning element.

  Before either door was opened, he also flipped down the guard on the gun at his side – allowing him to draw it if needed.

  The whole set-up was suspicious. They were taking all these precautions… but where were the handcuffs? He spotted a pair of them at the officer Maestro’s hip, so it wasn’t like they didn’t have them.

  Was it because of Emily? Surely they wouldn’t think to roughhouse the princess of Luna. Shouri perked up. How did they know who Emily was if that was true? It’s not like she went around advertising who she was. She even used a fake family name to avoid suspicion. It wasn’t like the princess of Luna was particularly well known.

  The door swung open. All he could do at present was play along. What they didn’t know is he could still feel Taika – they hadn’t removed her beads, probably just thinking they were jewelry and not a proto-tuner. At worst, they could find each other.

  He wondered if he could impart serenity into his undoubtedly concerned fox. There was this strange sense that existed as a shadow over him – she was upset. It wasn’t mere suspicion, but fact.

  “It’ll be okay Taika,” he spoke under his breath. Maybe it was the trick of his mind, but the panic dulled, curling his lips up.

  “Hm?” Emily glanced at her fellow detainee, brow raised.

  “Just keeping them calm,” Shouri whispered to the other Maestro.

  There wasn’t time to question that as the pair were ushered into the station. Given it was well past midnight at this point, the office was sparsely staffed, the graveyard shift covering down for late-night bookings like them.

  Something Shouri noticed that he hadn’t before was the variety of elements among the Resonators. It seemed they had nearly every element covered with uniformed Resonators proudly carrying badges and defense equipment like their Maestro counterparts. Rather than guns, however, they had holsters with bright glowing Rubato crystals.

  “What are they?” Emily whispered, noting there was a majority of one particular Resonator species among the Police’s employ. Even with the menagerie of colors influenced by their elemental affinities, many shared similar traits – large floppy ears with thin fur, and short tails with coarse fur lining them. Another interesting quirk was their nose curved ever so slightly upward.

  “Suids – swine or hog species; they have the Rhythm Rooter species trait making them good for investigations,” Shouri explained quietly.

  “Huh? What’s that one do?” asked Emily.

  “Besides a good sense of smell, they’re excellent at sniffing out latent rhythm in the air. Some of the best from what I’ve read,” he told her.

  “Oh, they must be able to identify who was at a crime scene based on the rhythm still in the air,” the princess realized.

  “Bingo.” Shouri nodded.

  Their conversation came to an abrupt end, as they were led into one of the meeting rooms in the back of the building. However, they weren’t alone, as they were joined by four others.

  “Wait, Miro? How the hell did they link you to this?!” exclaimed Shouri as soon as he caught sight of the Natural among the ranks of the incarcerated.

  “I am not sure. Suddenly these men came into the room and told me to come with them,” fretted the fox, adjusting the uncomfortable device around his neck. “They said the computer was suspicious and took it away,” he added.

  Shouri grunted in frustration. Probably Vienna’s handiwork, he knew she wasn’t the most above-board individual, but it did explain why she made herself scarce after their part was done. Was she sloppy on purpose? Keep the authorities distracted while she made her getaway? It could be anything with that girl.

  His gaze fell back onto Miro, who continued to fidget with the collar. The fox boy yipped as the device jolted him (presumably with rhythm) as punishment for messing with it too much. Shouri honestly wanted to snap at their captors – this was another reason he didn’t want Miro near the building. He couldn’t be sure how the Riterran police would treat a Natural like Miro.

  The rest of the group was quiet. Vince was sitting on a couch, head in his hands; no doubt dreading having to explain to his parents that he got arrested again. Elijah was a bit more ruffled than Shouri was used to seeing him as, but if anything the Klein heir looked indignant about his arrest. Colette was pacing and chewing down her fingernails.

  And finally, Emily kept her gaze firmly on Shouri, her hands folded together. The hope in her eyes made his stomach churn with guilt.

  Besides Miro’s rhythm suppression collar, the Maestros in the room were free to use theirs. Granted, none of them possessed any tuners, so there wasn’t much they could do with it.

  The door opened and several suited individuals walked in. Clad in formal business attire, they were at odds with the geared-up battle-ready police officers guarding the doors just outside the room. The stand out was the one Resonator in their midst – a small boy with green hair and robes. The distinct feature that separated him from the Maestros he stood among was the long, thin reptilian tail wrapped around his waist.

  A snake, Shouri noted mentally. Nature element he surmised, but couldn’t place which of the five snake families this boy belonged to – he missed Rebecca.

  “Please, take a seat,” were the first words they heard from these individuals.

  None of the detained moved only ratcheting up the tension between the two groups.

  “Why?” Elijah spoke up. “What are your intentions?” he further questioned.

  “We’re here to discuss the terms of your punishment,” said the lead suit.

  “What kind of punishment?” Elijah asked, unable to hide the wariness in his voice.

  The gaze of the strangers in the room shifted to Shouri. “We want you to open a guild.”

  Shouri furrowed his brows. The suits continued to stare at him specifically. Not Emily nor Elijah, but him.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “Wait…” Shouri stepped backward. “Me?” he pointed at himself.

  “Yes, Mr. Tomoshibi. We’ve been keeping a close eye on you.”

  “Not making me feel good,” mumbled the Maestro.

  “Let me take over,” one of the other members of the suit gang approached the apprehensive young adults. She was the only one wearing a tuner, a green device bound to a nature Resonator.

  “Cheryth Arkwright, I’m a guild liaison.” She motioned to the snake who had stepped forward with her. “This is my partner, Haruki.”

  The snake gave a short bow as his greeting, allowing his Maestro to continue.

  “Tonight’s events… were dangerous and I’m being nice when I say that. Didn’t you think for a second there was a reason we had not brought in Dr. Vim ourselves yet?” Cheryth didn’t wait for them to answer. “We needed evidence of what he was doing before we could move in. It was awfully convenient that every time the VdV moved in to try to pin him down the evidence just evaporated.”

  That was a concerning fact Shouri was afraid to hear confirmed. A new train of thought brewed in the young man’s mind. If Ilea was able to avoid the authorities like he had for apparently years, why now? Why could a ragtag group of young adults bag one of the most elusive criminals in probably all of Riterra?

  “…show me something interesting.”

  That couldn’t be it. Ilea Vim being bored couldn’t be the reason this was so easy…

  None of them were even hurt! Something was going on. Shouri wasn’t the paranoid sort; okay maybe he was a little paranoid, but this all went too well. And by the way Cheryth was talking she felt similarly.

  “If I must be honest if Dr. Vim hadn’t been so agreeable, this could have been a major disaster. We’re talking mobilizing the Grand Masters level of possible damage.” The woman’s gaze sharpened. “You got lucky. In playing hero, you almost put a major metropolitan area in cataclysmic danger. It was extremely stupid and reckless of you all to do this and I know you all know better.”

  The accused shirked back at the harsh tone. They did plan for that, but none of them could deny the allegations. Their only real contingency plan had rested on Miro’s shoulders – to call the police and local MA Offices if everything fell apart.

  It didn’t but...

  “To be fair, I did have some of father’s top security detail stationed around the building as well,” Elijah chimed in.

  Shouri snorted indignantly, giving the Klein heir the side eye. “Woulda been nice to know that detail Mister Klein,” he muttered under his breath.

  “Yes, we talked to them as well,” Cheryth focused her scrutinizing gaze on Elijah, who was more than happy to sharpen his gaze back.

  “Even with your people watching, it still could have been a bloodbath out there,” Cheryth asserted. Another stab of guilt hit the group as they avoided the judgmental scrutiny of the authorities. “If I’m being frank, we should be processing paperwork to have you all locked away for a long time for this foolishness.”

  Studying the rueful expressions of the young adults gathered, Cheryth decided they had enough of the scolding and allowed her glower to fade. “Buuuut we’re not,” her tone notably fell back to a less authoritarian level. “In fact, I dare say you did exactly what you set out to do. You stopped one man’s cruelty disregarding any personal cost you would have to pay.”

  Shouri allowed himself to meet Cheryth’s gaze. He didn’t like where this was going, but it didn’t sound like she was about to throw them in jail.

  “So!” The suited woman clapped twice. One of the men stepped forward with a bundle of papers. He walked over to the meeting table and dropped the stack. “We’ve already got all the paperwork here. All you need to do is sign on the dotted line!”

  “Woah woah, wait…” Taika would know something was going down as Shouri practically grabbed hold of his rhythmic link with her and yanked it like he was dying.

  “Why me? Why not Elijah? Or Emily even?” questioned the boy.

  “Well…” Colette spoke up.

  “You did organize this whole thing,” said Emily, turning her head away from their group’s leader.

  “You’re really good at it,” Vince sheepishly chimed in.

  Elijah simply nodded in agreement with the other three Maestros.

  “I don’t want it,” Shouri shook his head. “Just fine me to hell, I can work it off.”

  Cheryth sighed, shaking her head. “Can you take the rest of them out of here? I want to talk with Mr. Tomoshibi in private.”

  Shouri ground his teeth, only able to muster a frustrated scowl as all of his friends were carted out of the room, leaving him alone with this woman and her Resonator.

  Despite the glower Shouri continued to wear, Cheryth not only remained calm but relaxed with the diminished presence in the room. “Okay, Mr. Tomoshibi. Let me cut to the chase,” she began anew.

  “What you achieved tonight was frankly terrifying,” she said.

  “What? Punching Ilea in the face?” he snarked back.

  “That was one thing yes – you not only managed to bag him and bring him in, but you beat him one on one. That’s not everything, however.”

  “You managed to do it with the help of the heir of one of the biggest companies on Riterra AND the current Princess of Luna. Do you know how absurd this is? Surely you realize this,” Cheryth pointed out.

  Thinking it over, yeah it was kind of hard to believe when it was presented like that. One of the greatest rhythm masters on Riterra was taken down by a normal average guy from Lybertera who somehow managed to recruit two people linked to highly influential figures in their system.

  “Fuck,” Shouri cursed.

  He had long ceased being normal. He had earned himself the attention of the Riterran government, because of course he did.

  “It’s not only that but we’ve traced your records as a hunter. Your Resonators’ growth over the last half year has been nothing short of miraculous,” Cheryth continued to sing his praises, causing the boy to try to make himself smaller than he was.

  “So that’s why I’m here,” she said, stepping over to the table. “This guild paperwork is already filled out, the only thing left is for you to write your mission statement and guild name.”

  “I’m not doing it,” Shouri asserted. “Besides, guilds require five Maestros minimum to be established, and ten Resonators among those five,” he countered. “If you force Me, Emily, Vince, Elijah, and Colette, we only have nine Resonators between us.”

  Cheryth chuckled knowingly - Shouri didn’t like that. “The guild establishment charter requires ten spellcasters; defined as individuals capable of utilizing elemental magic.” She paused, allowing the horror to wash upon Shouri’s face. “There happens to be a tenth individual amongst your ranks capable of utilizing rhythm to cast spells in an elemental capacity.”

  “Miro…” Shouri fell backward into a nearby chair. “You’re gonna force a Natural to work in a Riterran guild?!” he snapped, glaring at the woman.

  “To be entirely fair, he does seem happier with you all than back home,” Cheryth said with a shrug.

  “Tch,” Shouri clicked his teeth, averting his gaze bitterly. “I’ve had enough of being spied on,” he grumbled.

  “Just sign it already.” Cheryth held out the pen for him.

  He refused.

  “You know,” Haruki spoke up for the first time since walking into the room. “I am quite shocked with Mr. Tomoshibi’s actions,” he stated simply. “I had guessed he’d eagerly sign up for the chance to right a fundamental flaw of this world.”

  Shouri and Haruki’s eyes met. “What?” he asked the snake.

  Haruki smirked. “Something in your file said you care very deeply for Resonators. The exact wording was something to the effect of ‘obsessively so’,” said the snake. “My thought was you’d use this opportunity to make a guild worthy of that obsession.”

  Shouri Tomoshibi wasn’t one to be baited. However… this forbidden fruit suddenly looked quite appealing. He turned to the papers stacked up on the table just to his right.

  Mission Statement:

  His eyes remained transfixed at the empty space before him. Slowly he allowed his vision to fade into darkness, focusing on the string connecting to the ones that mattered to him the most. “What should I do?” he whispered.

  In the void of his heart, he heard them speak.

  “Follow your heart, Sho”

  “We’re right behind you.”

  “We trust you.”

  When his eyes opened next, the pen in his hand was at the end of the box, his choice documented loud and clear.

  Mission Statement: To rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome Resonators in crisis, ensure their healthy lives through education, advocacy, and affordable services, and inspire a community where the Maestro-Resonator bond is celebrated and nurtured.

  Cheryth smiled at the completed box. “Yeah, that sounds like the you I’ve read about in your file,” she said with a nod. “You got an idea for a name?” came the next hardest question all evening.

  Shouri hummed. He thought about it long and hard, but he didn’t just want any name. He wanted something that really sold his mission statement. Something that said, “You can start your new life here.” Something that celebrated the most important people in his life. Before his mind could catch up with his body, he found he had already written his answer:

  Pruned Trees Re-Sprout