Monsters of Flesh and Steel!

A rustle came from deep in the forest. Aoba felt for the last three specially made bells at his waist.

Kawaki Aoba stepped over dead branches and headed deeper into the woods, Yuhi Kurenai's cold rebuke still ringing in his ears.

Dusk cast a dark red sheen over the canopy. He crouched and parted the rotting ferns, but just as his fingertips touched the damp soil, something rustled behind him.

"Looking for water?"

Suigetsu Qingliu leaned against a crooked tree, though Aoba had no idea when he'd arrived. He toyed with a maple leaf. "Three hundred paces northwest. There's a stream in a ravine."

Kawaki Aoba straightened and took a wary half step back. "Weren't you supposed to be scouting outside the barrier?"

"I've already set up three layers of sensory nets."

Suigetsu Qingliu tossed the maple leaf idly. "But you keep looking for water the clumsy way. Aren't you afraid an enemy will follow your tracks?"

Before he finished speaking, Kawaki Aoba lunged. A Kunai had appeared in his hand, its point aimed straight at Qingliu's throat.

Suigetsu Qingliu's pupils shrank. He leaned back to dodge, and the blade's wake sliced the maple leaf in two.

"Don't joke about that."

Kawaki Aoba kept his voice low, his Kunai gleaming coldly. "Last time, a scouting oversight was what caused..."

"Enough."

Suigetsu Qingliu caught his wrist with ease. Blue light suddenly flared at his fingertips. "I'm only reminding you. A real enemy won't be as reasonable as I am."

He gave a sharp shove. Kawaki Aoba stumbled back two steps and hit a tree trunk.

The crisp sound of Hand Seals came from a distance, followed by Yuhi Kurenai's voice cutting through the trees. "What are you two doing?"

"Nothing!"

They shouted in unison.

Suigetsu Qingliu raised an eyebrow at Kawaki