The hand at Raizen's collar didn't tremble. It didn't hesitate. Whoever grabbed him didn't do it like a thug - it was clean, efficient, practiced. Almost... Elegant.

Raizen's mind tried to catch up, but it was too slow.

Too many hours. Too much noise. Too many fragments of the day stacked wrong in his head. He was just too tired to think straight.

He blinked hard, eyes adjusting to the alley's darkness.

The first thing he saw wasn't a face.

It was a cloak.

Dark fabric, close to black, catching the faint lantern glow from the street. And on the shoulder, stitched with pride, sat a symbol Raizen knew too well.

A lotus emblem.

The Lotus Academy.

Raizen's breath hitched.

But before he could do anything, the grip eased.

Not slowly.

Immediately. Like whoever held him already decided he wasn't a threat the moment they recognized who they grabbed.

The hood came off with one swift movement.

Bright red hair spilled out in a messy wave, catching just enough light to look like a flame. A familiar face leaned in, brows raised, eyes wide with irritated disbelief.

"Raizen!?" she said, like his presence at three in the morning personally offended her. "What the flames are you doing on the streets at three AM?"

Raizen stared into nothingness.

He knew her voice. He knew her energy. He knew that specific brand of chaos that made everything feel like it might become a story whether you wanted it or not.

But his brain lagged.

"Keahi…" he managed, and it came out like a guess.

Keahi narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, Keahi. Unless you got so lost you started hallucinating other girls."

Raizen swallowed. His head felt heavy. His eyelids felt heavier than ever. He tried to straighten, but the wall did most of the work holding him up.

"You…" he began, then stopped because his mouth started talking before he knew what he actually wanted to say.

"My guy, you look like you got dragged through a storm," she said. "A storm that hated you personally."

Raizen let out a breath that tried to become a laugh and failed.

"What are you doing in Ukai?" he asked, frowning. "Why are you here?"

Keahi lifted a hand like she wanted to lecture him, then remembered she wasn't his mentor and chose sarcasm instead.

"Mission," she said. "I track a drug dealer. One of those idiots who thinks hiding in a tree-city makes him invisible."

"How's that the Academy's business?"

"It's not. Alteea asked me personally, she didn't want any fuss. That man runs a deal tonight. I was preparing to intercept him, then saw a guy that walked like a drunkard, looking around like he didn't know where he was. Surprise, it's you."

Raizen blinked slowly.

Drug dealer.

Deal tonight.

His brain tried to place those words inside the pile of Anathemas, contracts, Sovereigns, orchestras, and half-dead rulers he carried all night.

Keahi watched his blank face, and her eyes narrowed again.

"Don't look at me like that" she said. "Not every mission ends with the world falling apart. Some - most - just end with a moron in handcuffs."

Raizen opened his mouth to answer, but she kept going, leaning in dangerously close, like she already decided he belonged in her problem.

"And" Keahi added, "I could use your help."

"Nope!"

Raizen didn't even let her finish. He answer immediately.

Keahi blinked. "What?"

"Absolutely not" Raizen continued. "I had enough. I can't help anyone right now. Enough for the day's trouble"

Keahi stared at him like he spoke a new language.

Raizen forced himself upright. His ribs aching again. His eyes stayed half-closed.

"Even if I try" he grunted, "I only become a nuisance. I'm -" he gestured at his own chest, like injured was too boring to say out loud - "not exactly at my best."

Keahi's mouth twitched.

Then she stepped closer and grabbed his arm.

"Fine" she said. "Then go sleep."

She pulled.

Hard.

Raizen stumbled forward, not ready for the force, and his body did the only thing it could do to avoid collapsing - it latched onto the nearest stable object.

Which happened to be Keahi.

For a split second, he hugged her.

Not cutely. Not awkwardly.

Keahi froze for half a heartbeat.

Then she burst out laughing.

"Oh my days" she said, laughing harder. "You're actually dead!"

Raizen pulled back immediately, scowling. "I'm not dead. Yet."

"I can help with that!"

Keahi slapped him on the back in a friendly way that would've been comforting if it didn't feel like being hit by a hammer.

"This is my mission anyway" she concluded.

Raizen rubbed his side, then gave her an offended look.

"Thanks" he said dryly. "For shaking my head into a new arrangement."

Keahi grinned. "Anytime."

Raizen turned to leave, because if he stayed any longer, his body might decide to lie down in that alley and never move again.

He took one step.

Then a second one.

Then something tugged the back of his shirt, like a cat grabbing her kit.

"…What now?" Raizen stopped, without turning yet.

"You forgot something. I mean, dropped"

Raizen turned, annoyed, and followed her gaze downward.

On the ground, near the edge of the alley where the lantern's light barely reached, lay the silvery knife.

His sleeve felt a bit empty without it, like he lost a piece of himself.

He crouched, reached for it - and paused.

The red threads were gone.

No circling. No weaving. No delicate halo of Eon wrapping the blade.

Just shiny silver again.

Raizen picked it up carefully, turned it once in his hand, half-expecting the threads to return.

Nothing.

Keahi watched with a curious tilt of her head.

"That yours?" she asked.

Raizen slipped it away fast, because he didn't want to explain anything to anyone, least of all at three in the morning.

"Yeah" he said. "Long story."

Keahi's brows rose. "Of course it is. With you, it's always a long story"

Raizen exhaled and started to leave again.

This time, Keahi didn't grab him.

He walked out of the alley and into the main street, and the night air hit him. Ukai at night stayed quieter than he expected. Lanterns dotted bridges like steady fireflies. The wood beneath his feet creaked softly.

Raizen walked a few steps, then slowed down.

His frown deepened.

He stopped completely.

And realized something extremely inconvenient.

He had no idea where he was.

He turned his head left. Trees and bridges. Dim lantern light. Shadows.

He turned his head right. Same thing.

He stared forward. A walkway that looked familiar in the way dreams always looked familiar - convincing until you tried to recall details.

Raizen sighed.

He turned back toward Keahi, who now stood under her own lantern, careless, like she didn't just pin him to a wall.

"Hey, Keahi" Raizen said carefully, like he admitted a crime. "Do you know where I'm supposed to go?"

Keahi blinked.

"Oh" she smiled softly. "Excuse me, are you looking for a local? You lost, little guy?"

Raizen narrowed his eyes. "I'm not lost. I'm… temporarily directionless."

Keahi's smile widened. "You're lost."

Raizen sighed, defeated. "Do you have any idea where we are?"

Keahi tilted her head, thinking, then shrugged with complete honesty.

"I have... No idea!"

Raizen stared at her.

Keahi lifted both hands in a defensive gesture. "Don't look at me like that. Ukai's streets are a nightmare at night. Everything looks the same when you're half asleep and the city is basically one giant web of trees, branches, bridges and platforms."

Raizen blinked. "So… You can't help."

Keahi's expression brightened like she waited for this exact moment to be useful.

"But I can" she exclaimed. "I always carry two maps."

Raizen paused.

"…Two."

Keahi nodded proudly, reached into her cloak, and pulled out a folded map with practiced ease.

"One for me" she said, unfolding it just enough to check orientation. "And one for emergencies."

Raizen stared at the map like it was sacred.

"Why two?" he asked.

Keahi gave him a look like the answer was obvious.

"Because sometimes" she said, "you meet people like you."

Raizen exhaled through his nose, half amused, half offended.

Keahi handed him the smaller one. It was compact, worn at the folds like it was used a lot before. The markings looked clean, practical, and of course the map already sat oriented the right way in her hand.

Raizen took it and looked down.

The lines swam slightly at first because his eyes were tired, but after a few blinks, the shapes started to make sense. A main ring. Branch bridges. A marked district near the Ruler's home. A few landmarks scribbled with quick notes.

"You're actually insane" Raizen muttered, and he meant it as a compliment.

Keahi pointed at a point on the map. "I know I am. And we're right here."

Raizen looked up. "Thank you."

Keahi waved it off. "Just go already, you sleep-deprived workaholic"

Raizen made a face. "Stop calling me that."

Keahi's grin sharpened. "Nuh uhh"

Raizen sighed. He tucked the map into his pocket carefully, then glanced at her again.

"Good luck with your mission" he said. "Try not to set anything on fire."

Keahi placed a hand on her chest like he wounded her. "I am offended. But oh well, I guess you're right"

Raizen started walking, eyes dropping to the map again as he tried to match the lines to the bridges around him.

He took three more steps.

Then Keahi's voice called after him, almost like an afterthought.

"By the way -"

Raizen slowed, still looking at the map.

Keahi's tone stayed casual, too casual, like she mentioned the weather.

"Hikari is here too."

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