Pruned Trees Re-Sprout!! ~ Ragazza Volpe Magica ~

Shouri and Rebecca idly chatted about random stuff they found on the internet while they rode in the back of the cab. Guy, the truck driver, listened to a tunecast to pass the time.

"Huh, Jo got eliminated already," Rebecca noted. "All that fuss and he just ended up dropping," she spoke with disappointment in her voice.

"I'm sure he was shaken up. I was reading about the investigation procedures in accidental deaths during battle." Shouri paused, keeping his gaze fixated on the tuner in his hand. "It's not pretty, even if you're innocent," he spoke quieter.

"I… see." Rebecca too kept her head down.

The pair fell quiet, the hum of the truck's engine and the chattering of Guy's tunecast breaking up the silence. Their contemplative moment was broken up with both Rebecca and Shouri perking up suddenly.

"Sho-!" before Rebecca could relay her thoughts to Shouri – chaos struck.

First a loud popping sound, then the entire forty-ton vehicle suddenly and violently jerked to the right, straight off the road.

It all went black. When Rebecca came to, she was hanging on her seatbelt by her waist. "Ggahh…" she grunted. The entire cabin was on its side, both her Maestro and the truck driver were totally unconscious. Thankfully rhythm-based engines like the ones used in trucks and automobiles didn't have the capability of exploding or even catching fire for that matter, not like they were commonly depicted doing in movies.

However, the violent collision they were just in couldn't have been good for their bodies. Rebecca counted her blessings that she was born a Resonator, as she was much sturdier than a Maestro. Bracing herself, she released the seatbelt digging into her abdomen, and dropped down, pivoting herself around the still-extended table between her and Shouri.

Speaking of her Maestro, he seemed to be outwardly okay, with no blood or injuries. Just knocked unconscious by the shock… hopefully.

"Sho! Sho!" Rebecca shook him, also allowing her rhythm to flow from her fingertips into him. For a moment Shouri remained still. Rebecca trembled, her heart racing. "Not again…" she whimpered. "You're not allowed to die on me!" she barked, intensifying her shaking of him.

He began to stir. "Nn Re… Rebecca?" Shouri gradually came to.

Rebecca wiped away the gathered tears, relief flooding her. "Careful, we were just in an accident." Reaching over, she unclipped his safety belt and helped him sit up.

"What even happened?" he asked, taking in the scene around him.

Rebecca sat silent for a moment. "I think-" She paused, gathering her thoughts. "-right before we crashed, someone cast a Feroce spell."

"What the hell? Are you sure?" Shouri gasped, sobering up in an instant. She nodded slowly. This wasn't just a random accident – they had been attacked.

Grasping Taika's tuner at his waist, he pulled on her rhythm – he needed her stubborn willpower right now, even if she was an hour away. The small wisps that came through her connection with the device were enough to spur Shouri into action: "Come on, let's get Guy and get out of here."

Shouri attempted to stand up but found his sense of balance not working with him. "Ough, this is…" He swayed a bit but was thankfully caught by Rebecca.

"Easy there bossman, we got shook like a mixed drink." She wrapped an arm around him.

Through her touch, Rebecca's emotional state was being broadcast to him loud and clear: she was scared witless. Even so, she wrestled her feelings into place - they had to prioritize their safety first and then she could have a meltdown.

And honestly, Shouri was in the same camp. Adrenaline was a hell of a drug.

Rebecca naturally ensured her own Maestro escaped first. They made their way to the front of the overturned vehicle, finding the driver still safely in his seat, though unconscious and bearing several fresh cuts from the windshield shattering.

Speaking of, the force of the collision had blown out the front glass entirely, giving them a way to get out of the truck without having to fight gravity one-on-one. "Come on Sho." Rebecca urged her Maestro over the seat.

"What about him?" Shouri fearfully looked at the still unmoving driver.

"I'll get him after you're out, go!" she demanded.

Hesitantly, the Maestro obeyed his Resonator, climbing out of the truck, being extra careful to avoid the jagged edges of the shattered glass. Rebecca then unbuckled the driver and hoisted him up. It took her a couple of minutes to maneuver the man's body around given he was dead weight. Finally, she was able to get herself and the driver out of the overturned vehicle. Shouri rushed over and helped her with the load she was carrying. They laid him out on the grassy knoll, away from the overturned vehicle.

It was around that point that the local emergency services arrived on the scene, starting with the police. An officer and their partner Resonator rushed over and immediately dropped to their knees to check on Guy.

"What happened here?" was the first question the officer asked of Shouri.

"We were attacked; my Resonator sensed it right before we crashed," the Maestro replied.

"Yes, we saw it, never seen a spell like it before," the officer's Resonator replied while checking the driver's pulse.

"Wait… you saw it?" Shouri and Rebecca shared a glance.

"Yeah, it's still on the road. Never seen anything like it. Though we got some healers on the way to dispel it." The officer pointed back down the road while rising to their feet.

Along with the thick black tire marks where the truck had skidded off the road, several other vehicles crashed with popped tires, the drivers and their passengers also leaving their vehicles in a daze. Finally, Shouri and Rebecca's eyes fell on them.

Littering the road with the vehicle debris were black glowing caltrops, radiating that similar lightless energy that the Feroce spells gave off.

With the paramedics being called over to tend to Guy, Shouri felt confident enough to get a closer look. Rebecca took hold of his arm, her eyes locked on the menacing spikes that littered the road. "Fuck…" Suspicions confirmed, Shouri grabbed one of his tuners and dialed a number from his contacts.

Rebecca raised a brow, wondering who he was calling.

"Colette? It's Shouri."

For Rebecca's nosiness, she closed her eyes and focused her hearing on the receiver.

"Where the HELL did you go?!" was the first thing she heard from the other Maestro.

"Oh whoops, we went to Naiza – Mr. Klein invited us to be tournament staff."

"Some WARNING would be nice!"

"Yeah my bad, anyways, we got attacked by a Feroce Resonator down here."

"Wait what really? What happened?" Colette's tone noticeably shifted to curiosity instead of righteous indignation.

Shouri quickly recounted the day's task along with the events leading up to the crash, and finally, the strange spikes set in the road.

"Ah, that sounds like Grave Rischio, it spreads caltrops out, a tool usually used for escape, but the user can alter the size of them when casting turning them from a stealth tool into just a blunt force object for striking the opponent with," Colette explained.

"Less being impressed, more strategy – why were we attacked in broad daylight?" Shouri demanded of his fellow Maestro.

A thoughtful hum from Colette's end followed. "I'm not entirely sure – that is concerning though."

"Yeah, it's fucking concerning!" he barked back.

"Sho." Rebecca rubbed his shoulder closest to her, imparting some serenity into him.

"Sorry, kinda stressed," he mumbled into the tuner.

"Let me see what I can find out from my end. I'll call you back." Before Shouri could get another word in edge-wise, Colette hung up.

The Maestro let out a sigh. "Fuck." He rapidly began to lose strength in his legs, thankfully Rebecca was right there to keep him propped up.

"Hey folks, come have a seat." The first officer they spoke with directed Shouri and Rebecca to one of the ambulances on the scene.

"Yeah, probably a good idea, come on Rebecca." Shouri heeded the officer's order for nothing else but to make sure he didn't have a concussion.

He stole a glance at Rebecca's vitals while they walked over