I cracked the audio booth door just enough to peek out into the aisles of the tastelessly named Stevie Wonder Memorial Library. I was hoping the coast would be clear—just a clean break. But no. There she was.

Murasaki Kagehime.

She grinned, looked over her shoulder at the audio booth.

And then she began to skip.

Like she actually skipped through the damn rows of books.

Her hair bounced with every step, and the obnoxiously perfect rhythm of her movement made my eye twitch. It was like watching a manic ballerina powered by bubble tea and zero shame.

And every ounce of seductive temptress melted away, revealing a cute schoolgirl, her innocent face betrayed only by her bouncing chest.

Azuki would've been proud of her.

And then, of course, Rōshi-sensei appeared like a horror movie jump scare, lurching out from behind a bookshelf with that crooked hunch of his. His voice wheezed through the dusty air like he hadn't spoken to a living soul in thirty years.

"I knew there were more of you kids hiding in the rows!" he yelled, shuffling after Murasaki and reaching out with his brown, liver-spotted hands.

I tensed. Any normal person would've bolted. Any normal person would've screamed. Or at least flinched.

But not Murasaki.

She giggled. Like she'd just been caught sneaking a second cookie and stopped beside the Non-Fiction section.

"Rōshi-sensei!" she said, clapping her hands together. "Can I feed Mongo again?"

What.

"I know I fed him last week," she continued, twirling a lock of hair around her finger, "but he's just sooo cute. And I think he likes me!"

Mongo. The Shoggoth.

She said it like she was asking to pet a corgi. Not… whatever the hell Mongo is.

Rōshi-sensei didn't even question it. He just started wheezing like someone had kicked the last puff of life out of his lungs, but then I realized he was laughing.

"You're lucky you're adorable, young lady," he said, shaking a finger at her like she'd stolen a cookie, not made a lunch appointment with a cosmic nightmare. "I'll put you back on the schedule."

She clapped her hands. "Oh, you're such a sweetheart. Thank you."

I'd had enough.

I slipped out of the booth while the two of them continued their cheerful little shoggoth chat. My boots hit the carpet a little harder than they should've. I didn't care.

I was mad.

Because it hit me right there, between the over-sanitized bookshelves and the scent of cheap plastic from the audio equipment—

She'd played me. Again.

Every time I thought I had the upper hand, she'd flip the whole damn board over and giggle like it was part of the game.

I made it three rows down before I felt the familiar chill at my shoulder.

"You're thinking about kicking a vending machine, aren't you?" Yuki said softly, floating beside me.

"Am I an idiot for trusting her?" I asked. "Like, really? I want a second opinion because I really think I'm an idiot."

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"She's dangerous, Ryu," Yuki replied. "And she wins every time you try to play her game. And I hate her too. But… I don't think you're an idiot. I think she's lonely and doesn't know what she wants."

"Yeah," I muttered. "I noticed."

We passed the Reference section on our way out, and I stopped. Something inside me decided that if I couldn't win the game, I could at least start doing some damn homework.

I quickly scanned the reference shelves, looking for anything that sounded helpful. Among thrilling titles like Slovak Fried Chicken-Hut's Eleven Herbs and Spells, and The Necronomicon's Pocket Reference, I grabbed a hardcover titled: A Complete History of Orcs, Goblins, Hobgoblins, and Kobolds: Second Edition off the shelf like it owed me money.

If I were going to understand Ken and other weird creatures, I was at least going to be ready.

Yuki floated ahead of me, glancing back. "You actually found something. Nice! Now, get out of here before you're seen!"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah. I'd hate for Rōshi-sensei to have to squeeze me into the schedule."

Yuki scoffed. "I'd hate for Murasaki to try to squeeze herself against you again."

I nodded, having mixed feelings about that image.

Yuki floated ahead, making sure the way was clear before I left the Stevie Wonder Memorial Library.

I felt better walking to my next class as I held the book. "By the time Ken tries anything, I'm going to know everything there is to know about orcs and their weaknesses," I said.

Yuki frowned. "I hope so, but I don't think that's what Hina meant when she said you needed to understand Ken. Reach out to him, like you did with Namazu."

I wanted to sigh and roll my eyes, but I thought about what Yuki said instead. "You're right about that. But, damn it, the only thing I want to do is punch Ken in the face. That is the reaching out I want, Yuki."

I felt the vibrations through the school's broken, tile floor, and I didn't have to look up to know who it was.

But I had to look up because Ken was taller than I was.

And he was walking towards me.

Ken didn't say anything. He just stared at the book in my hands like it was a loaded weapon. Or maybe like he knew what I was trying to do, and it pissed him off.

"You studying my people, dragon-boy?" Ken asked. "What? You gonna carve your name on a magic cucumber and feed it to me? Think that'll work?"

I felt Yuki's chill by my side, and her whisper. "Don't let him get to you. He's trying to make you throw the first punch, so he won't get in trouble."

I took a breath. "I thought I smelled bacon. For a second, I thought one of Tito's pigs escaped from the kitchen, but I see it's just you."

Ken's nose flared with rage, and I watched his eyes twitch. "You think you're real funny, don't you, Kazeyama? Well, guess what I think."

"You think?" I asked without missing a beat.

Thank you, Shion.

"Your problem is you think you can just read about orcs in a stupid book. Like some words on a page have us all figured out. I've got a question for you, mighty dragon of the wind-bag mountain: what do you know of the Three-Battles-Pass?"

I blinked. "What?"

He nodded. "Yeah. That's what I thought. What about the Broken-Rock? Or Winter's Grey Burden? Huh? Let me just ask you this: What do you know about my people?"

He raised his eyebrows, not taunting but asking. "Have you ever felt the hair on the back of your neck rise when you hear the sound of the war horn break through the early morning fog? Or know what it's like to lose your clan while you're scouting out a trail through the rain in the night?"

I shook my head.

All of this was alien to me, but it sounded bad-ass.

He leaned forward. I could smell whatever foul thing crawled into his gullet for breakfast.

"You don't know a damn thing. But I know this. It doesn't take much to call yourself a dragon around here, does it, Kazeyama?"

I realized my mouth was hanging open. "…Okay. I'll put the book down."

Ken looked at me. Then he looked at the book. He just shrugged. "Do whatever you want," Ken said, stepping back. "Just don't call yourself one of us until you've bled with one of us. And you? You never show up. Just here for school and gone."

He shook his head, like he was disappointed in me.

My hand curled into a fist, and I was ready to throw it.

But then I felt a cool draft around my shoulders, like I was standing under a powerful air conditioner.

"Listen to him, Ryu. Don't let him win. You don't have to fight him, remember?" Yuki whispered.

"You know what, Ken? Damn it…" I tried to sound calm. "Azuki called me a dragon when I told her what my name was, okay?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"I have a room at Shin'yume," I continued. "And I have a job in the evening. That is why I'm not up here doing whatever the hell it is that's so important to you for some reason!"

I wasn't very calm by the end though.

And Ken, for all his credit, didn't insult me. He put his hands to the side and listened.

"So… you weren't going around calling yourself a dragon. You told a tanuki your name and she started calling you the dragon? Huh? …I'll be damned."

I nodded.

Then his gaze darkened. "You know. If you'd said that in the first place, I would've just said 'okay.' And none of this would've happened. Instead. I had to help Ivan walk back to the dorm after your lunatic friend clawed his eyes out with her fingernails."

He took a breath, puffing his chest up.

"Yeah, I didn't expect her to do that either," I said. "But, Ken, we can't fight. The school said you can't."

He smiled, but it was joyless. An executioner's smile. A gallows grin.

"Yeah? That's what you think. We found a loophole. Get ready, dragon, because I'm coming for you."

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