They finally decided to call a truce with Takeshi after chasing him around for hours through the night. No matter what they tried, he was just too fast, too agile. Even with Nadya's explosive bursts from her palms, Sven's sharp bursts of speed, and Kai's Blood Vision tracking every twitch and movement, they still couldn't catch him.

But they had got close. And it was only a matter of time now that they had fully set their minds to prying that damn blindfold off his face. Or so they thought.

Reluctantly, they headed back toward the cabin, the night air finally cooling the heat in their exhausted bodies. After stuffing himself with enough meat to feed an entire family and running around like a hyperactive child, Kai was practically dragging his feet, desperate to collapse back to sleep.

Inside the cabin, it was cramped and cosy. They pretty much huddled together, the tiny space just barely wide enough for all of them to lie down, with only a little gap between each person, packed in like sardines. But no one complained. It wasn't awkward either - aside from Nadya's absurdly loud snoring, which earned a few groggy remarks from Sven before they all eventually dozed off.

Naturally, the game didn't end just because they were half-asleep. They still tried to sneak the blindfold off Takeshi as he lay there, motionless, beside them. But every time an arm even so much as reached for him, he would immediately grab it in a vice-like grip, giving a silent but firm warning not to test him.

Still, there was an almost imperceptible twitch at the corner of his mouth - Takeshi seemed to be enjoying the childish game just as much as the rest of them.

And sure enough, the moment the sun broke over the horizon, the hunt for Takeshi's blindfold resumed without missing a beat.

-

Kai, Sven, and Nadya spent the entire morning chasing Takeshi around like a pack of children after eating candy. It was a fruitless effort - no matter how fast they moved or how tricky they were, Takeshi was simply on another level. Eventually, Sven threw his hands up in defeat, plopping down on the grass with an exhausted groan.

"Can't be arsed anymore," he muttered, waving Takeshi off like a white flag. He had left in the middle of the night for a couple of hours before any of them had woken up, and was the most drained of them all.

Kai gave it a little while longer before following suit, realising he was just burning energy at this point. Leaving the others behind, he wandered into the nearby woods to clear his head and maybe find something useful.

Not long after, he returned, a couple of rabbits swinging from his hands.

He hadn't expected himself to be so good at hunting. But honestly, it felt almost too easy now, with his enhanced physique and Blood Vision. While trying to catch Takeshi, he had been quietly experimenting with the eerie power that turned his world crimson.

It wasn't just enhanced sight. It was like he could see life itself. The blood pumping through veins lit up his field of view in vivid red, allowing him to track every heartbeat, every twitch, even through obstacles. His focus could even sharpen onto a single target, locking them into his sights like prey.

It was superior to X-Ray vision, heat vision, and anything he could imagine when it came to hunting living things.

Of course, the downside was the brutal strain it placed on his eyes and mind. Not to mention, it made him look even more menacing, dying his entire eye crimson and amplifying the dark, gnawing thoughts that scraped at the back of his skull.

But for now, he had it under control.

He returned to the cabin, rabbits in tow, each killed cleanly by a single blood projectile through the head. Kneeling by the fire pit, he crafted a sleek blade from the rabbits' blood, its sharpness gleaming ominously in the light as he began gutting and skinning them with deft, instinctive movements.

He wasn't sure when or how he had learned to do such things. But he had grown used to relying on the instincts buried deep within him and attributed it to some sort of survival training from when he was a soldier.

Along the way, he had also gathered a handful of berries and plants. Somehow, he was pretty sure they weren't poisonous.

'Even if they are poisonous, my body should be able to handle it. I can't get drunk and seem to be able to heal from anything, so this should be fine,' he thought with a shrug, tossing a few into his mouth without hesitation.

Soon enough, the fire roared back to life, thanks to Nadya sparking it up and Sven gathering enough wood. Kai threw the prepared meat onto the grill, calling out to the others as the savoury scent filled the air.

"Breakfast is served."

Everyone gathered around, drawn by the smell, and for the first time in a while, there was a genuine sense of calm. They ate quietly, each lost in their own thoughts, but at least for now, the atmosphere was lighter.

Nadya, surprisingly, was the most energetic among them, back to her loud, rowdy self - at least on the surface. The wild sparkle in her eyes was missing, replaced by something steeled and focused. But no one called her out on it. Instead, they let her energy lift them, even if it was partly an act.

And once they finished eating, Nadya stretched out her arms and suddenly grinned mischievously.

"I don't know how long we'll be out here," she said, "but we might as well make the most of it. So I have an announcement to make..."

"The Mutant Training Camp starts now!"

She spoke with her usual animated flair, almost like she was joking, but Kai could tell she meant every word. They all needed this. To bleed, sweat, and push themselves forward until they never felt so helpless again.

Everyone was immediately on board. And what better way to kick things off than with a good, old-fashioned spar?

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