By Week 5, their days had found a steady rhythm.

  Every morning began with sprints through the dew-slick jungle paths — Yumi chasing Kaizo’s blur ahead of her. Afternoon mostly meant Zenshin lessons: movement drills, focus training, and sometimes all-out sparring. By night, Kaizo would work on his aura alone, or test himself against wandering PrimeBeasts in silent, one-on-one challenges under the glowing canopies.

  Infinity, meanwhile, spent most evenings floating in a vine hammock, occasionally making sarcastic commentary about how “Kaizo’s idea of a vacation” was a survival speedrun.

  But near the start of Week 6, as the three rested around their campfire, Infinity asked a question that broke the usual pattern and routine that they had got themselves into.

  Infinity (curious): “Hey, Yumi— how are you so at home here? Most people would lose it after a few days in this place.”

  Yumi (smiling faintly): “My dad was a hunter.”

  She poked at the fire with a stick, eyes distant. “He used to take me into the forest every day. We’d track, move quietly, sometimes sleep under trees just like this. My mom… she’d use the oils and herbs we gathered to make lotions, perfumes — even medicines. She’d sell them in town. Those were the best days for me, honestly…”

  Kaizo stopped adjusting his gloves, listening quietly.

  Yumi (softly): “Things changed when Mom went missing. Dad… he died a year after that. I was sent to live with my aunt. Then she moved to the big city last year — and suddenly I was surrounded by noise, crowds, lights… no forests. I guess that’s how I ended up here. New school. No friends. Still trying to adjust to this day.”

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  For a moment, only the crackle of the campfire filled the silence.

  Kaizo (calmly): “Huh. Guess we’ve got more in common than I thought.”

  Yumi (looking up): “What do you mean?”

  Kaizo leaned back on his hands, eyes reflecting the firelight.

  Kaizo (quietly): “My dad’s gone too. It’s a long, complex story but basically, he said if he didn’t come back after a year… assume the worst happened to him.”

  He gave a small laugh. “So… yeah. That’s what we did.”

  Yumi tilted her head, surprised.

  Yumi (gently): “What was he like?”

  Kaizo paused, glancing into the flames.

  Kaizo (soft chuckle): “Complicated. I don’t really know how to feel about him. I don’t think he loved me the same way most dads love their kids.”

  Yumi blinked, then smiled softly.

  Yumi (warmly): “You definitely loved him though. Even if you don’t want to admit it.”

  Kaizo looked at her, a little caught off guard.

  Then he gave a quiet, genuine smile — one of those rare moments where the sarcastic barrier dropped.

  Kaizo (softly): “Heh. Maybe.”

  The two sat quietly after that, letting the conversation settle into the crackling rhythm of the fire.

  Infinity yawned and drifted upward into his vine hammock, muttering something about

  “emotional humans.”

  Yumi (whispering): “Night, Kaizo.”

  Kaizo (lying back, eyes on the glowing canopy): “Night, Grace.”

  Yumi (thinking): "Grace?"

  The stars shimmered faintly above — or maybe they were just the strange lights of the Jungle of Time — but either way, the air felt lighter that night.