Kenzo led the way like he remembered every bend of Ukai's branches by instinct.

Raizen followed with the small map tucked away now, the morning light doing most of the work.

Ukai in daylight looked just like Raizen first remembered it - less mysterious, more alive. Birds hopped between vines. Leaves whooshed overhead.

Saffi walked beside Raizen, still half in her own world, eyes drifting up at every strange plant she passed like she expected one of them to catch her eyes.

Kenzo's hammer floated close to his back, steady. It floated more like a patient companion than a weapon.

They took the same path as before.

Raizen recognized it it by the shape of the trunks, by the way the light fell through the canopy, by the small stalls he visited before.

And then they reached the place where the burn should have been.

Raizen slowed down a bit.

Yesterday, it was a scar - a huge patch of blackened bark and dead wood. It stood out like a scar you couldn't stop staring at.

Now it was gone.

Not erased or hidden. He could still see where it happened because the texture changed.

A smooth layer of resin covered the damaged section, glossy and pale, almost yellow-ish in the sunlight. It looked like the someone wrapped the wound in a protective skin.

Raizen stepped closer, eyes narrowing.

"This is…" he started.

"Some kind of resin" Kenzo answered. "I've seen it before, apparently it helps plants heal faster." He didn't slow much, but he glanced at it with something like respect. "Ukai mobilized fast."

Raizen frowned, still staring. "In one night?"

Kenzo's mouth twitched. "This place doesn't like staying hurt."

Saffi leaned in, fascinated. "It looks like it's… sealing it."

"It is" Raizen said quietly, more to himself. He imagined what it took - people climbing, pouring, shaping. He imagined dozens of hands moving in silent coordination while the city slept.

Ukai didn't erase scars. It didn't pretend they didn't exist.

Ukai healed them.

Kenzo went on, and Raizen followed closely.

They reached the Academy not long after.

And at the entrance, someone waited.

Atman.

Raizen noticed him first because he looked... Bad, to say the least.

Dark circles sat under his eyes like someone punched his face with full force. His skin looked slightly paler than usual. His hair wasn't messy, but it lacked the shine it usually had, like even his grooming gave up.

He stood straight anyway, hands behind his back, trying to look welcoming.

It didn't really work.

His face was stuck in a grumpy expression that didn't match the morning at all.

"Welcome back" Atman groaned, and it came out like he was accusing them of returning. "Raizen, you're too early..."

Raizen blinked. "We're - Wha- it's already morning."

Atman stared at him with miffed eyes. "Exactly."

Saffi covered her mouth like she wanted to laugh.

Kenzo stopped so abruptly his hammer drifted a little too far forward before correcting itself.

Raizen glanced at him.

Kenzo froze.

He just stared at Atman.

Not a quick look. Not a curious glance.

A stare.

His whole face tightened into something unreadable, like his brain tried to solve a weird puzzle.

Atman's brows furrowed slightly.

He shifted his gaze to Kenzo and squinted, as if trying to remember a dream.

Kenzo's mouth opened, then closed.

Then, he said softly,

"Atman…?"

Atman's face pulled into a grimace. "Huh? Do I know you?"

Kenzo didn't answer.

His hammer circled him once in a slow loop, like it got nervous too.

Atman's eyes followed the hammer, and for a second his expression remained blank, tired, almost annoyed.

Then something clicked.

His eyes widened.

His posture broke.

His face turned from grumpy exhaustion into pure disbelief.

"Oh my -" Atman gasped, staring harder. "No way!"

Kenzo still didn't move.

Atman stepped closer, squinting like he didn't trust his own vision.

Kenzo's jaw clenched. He looked like he was seconds away from pinching himself just to confirm reality.

Atman's mouth fell open.

"KENZO!?" he shouted.

Kenzo's expression changed.

Shock became disbelief, disbelief became recognition, and then his face changed into something almost boyish.

"…Atman!?" he said again.

Atman's exhaustion vanished so fast it looked fake.

He let out a laugh that sounded too bright for someone who looked like he hadn't slept.

"No" Atman said, shaking his head. "No, no, no. You're - you're here?"

Kenzo took a step forward.

Atman took a step forward.

Then they ran into each other like they were both twelve again.

Arms open, but not for a hug.

They grabbed each other's hands and immediately started jumping like children who found each other in a crowd after years.

"You're real!" Kenzo said, laughing.

"You're... Uh... Strangely alive!" Atman shot back.

"You got huge!"

"You got less weird!"

"What do you mean?"

"Hey, not my words... You always were weird..."

Atman laughed harder and squeezed Kenzo's hand in a firm handshake like he didn't want to let go in case the moment disappeared.

Raizen and Saffi stood there, watching, both of them silent.

Saffi's face slowly twisted into confused disappointment.

Raizen looked at their handshake, and thought that it would break his hand if he tried.

Kenzo and Atman kept talking, fast, loud and completely unintelligible.

Words overlapped. Names. Places. Old jokes. Half-finished sentences. Their voices became a blur of excitement.

They moved closer to the entrance while still yapping, like they were too happy to walk normally.

Saffi got on her tiptoes, leaned close to Raizen's ear and whispered

"Uhh… are they alright?"

Raizen lifted his shoulders in a helpless gesture. "I honestly have no idea. It looks like they know each other..."

Saffi pulled back and stared at them again like she expected them to suddenly regain dignity.

They didn't.

He released Kenzo's grip but immediately threw an arm over his shoulders.

Kenzo did the same to him. Two grown men, walking like best buddies, laughing.

After a minute, Atman finally noticed Raizen and Saffi's presence again, and led them inside another building Raizen never visited before.

This building smelled faintly of sweet sap and fresh leaves. Light poured through high windows. Raizen followed behind, listening to Kenzo and Atman talk in a rapid, nostalgic stream he couldn't fully catch.

They passed the corridor that led toward the training grounds.

Raizen's eyes flicked toward it.

The place looked… fixed.

Completely. The damaged zones were already back to normal.

The ground that was torn up from the lizard incident looked smooth and polished again. The broken parts of the railing were replaced. Even the scattered marks on the wood were gone .

Kenzo and Atman walked ahead, still talking with their arms hooked around each other's shoulders, like nothing in the world was more important than catching up.

Then Atman stopped suddenly and turned around.

His face shifted into a forced expression of hospitality, but it barely held. Exhaustion sat in the corners of his eyes like a stubborn stain.

"Before coordination practice starts" Atman said, waving a hand as if he was announcing something grand, "let me treat you to a cup of tea."

Kenzo's eyebrows shot up. "Tea?"

Atman nodded proudly. "Freshly made."

A pause.

His eyes flicked to Saffi, then to Raizen, then away like he didn't really want to say the next thing.

"…Borrowed leaves." Atman added. "...From the tea greenhouse."

Saffi gasped in delight. "You have a greenhouse for tea leaves?"

"We have several, and not only for tea leaves. The best medicine is from Ukai!" he announced proudly. "You never noticed? Half the medicines you own were probably made in Ukai."

He led them away from the training grounds, down a corridor Raizen didn't recognize. This side of the building felt quieter, less traveled.

Saffi leaned toward Raizen as they walked. "This is close to the greenhouse."

Raizen nodded, eyes scanning the new space. The Academy kept revealing new corners like it was bigger inside than outside.

Atman pushed open a door to the outside, and dim sunlight flooded in.

They stepped onto a small terrace tucked against the side of the building. The roof above was made of thick moss woven into a living canopy, soft and green, filtering the light into a calm glow. A few simple tables sat arranged neatly with chairs around them. Vines curled along the edges, and small wind chimes made from thin wooden pieces hung near one corner, barely moving in the breeze.

It felt… Private.

Quiet.

Atman gestured around with a tired little flourish.

"This area is exclusively for professors" he said. "So nobody should bother us."

Kenzo smirked. "You're a professor now? Poor kids!"

Atman's eyes narrowed. "Don't even start."

Saffi sat down immediately, thrilled by the atmosphere.

Raizen sat too, mostly because his legs threatened to quit if he didn't.

Atman nodded once. "I'll be right back with the tea."

He left.

The moment the door closed behind him, the terrace went silent except for the faint wind.

Raizen looked at Kenzo.

Kenzo looked back, still wearing an expression that hovered between joy and disbelief.

Raizen pointed at him. "So."

Kenzo blinked. "So?"

"How do you know him?" Raizen asked.

Kenzo exhaled through his nose and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Childhood" Kenzo said, as if the word contained a whole world. "We grew up in the same district for a while. Same streets. Same training yards. Same stupid fights."

Saffi leaned forward instantly. "You were friends?"

Kenzo's mouth twitched. "Best friends."

Raizen's brows rose. "You?"

Kenzo shot him an annoyed look. "Yes, me. So what?"

Saffi looked delighted. "That's so cute."

Kenzo glared. "Don't call it cute. We just enjoyed annoying the living soul out of each other"

Raizen stared at him, letting the information settle.

It made sense in a weird way.

Kenzo's blunt honesty. Atman's... Weird humor.

"How did you get separated?" Raizen asked.

Kenzo's expression shifted slightly.

He leaned back and stared up at the moss roof for a moment.

"Atman disappeared one day. No word. No nothing. Now I guess he went to Ukai" Kenzo said. "I stayed in Neoshima."

Saffi frowned. "Just like that? You didn't even try to look for him?"

Kenzo shrugged. "Not just like that. I looked for him for days. Weeks. Months. But life just… Went on. People choose paths. Then the paths become distance."

Raizen nodded slowly.

Suddenly, the door opened again.

Atman returned carrying a black porcelain tea set.

Raizen's eyes narrowed immediately.

It looked expensive. Super expensive. The kind that puts you in debt if you knock a teacup on the floor.

The teapot's handle curved elegantly, and even the tray looked like it belonged in a ceremonial hall or a museum, not in the hands of a man who "borrowed leaves" from a greenhouse.

Saffi and Raizen exchanged a concerned look.

"He definitely stole that." Raizen thought, trying not to laugh or giggle.

Atman set the tray down carefully like he respected it, poured tea with practiced ease, then slid cups toward them.

The tea smelled fresh - a bit sour but slightly sweet.

Raizen took a cautious sip.

It tasted… Actually good.

Saffi took a sip and her face immediately lit up. "This is amazing."

Atman's mouth curved into a tired, satisfied smile. "Of course it is, what do you mean?"

Kenzo took a sip too, then made a small noise of approval.

Atman finally sat down, stretching his shoulders slightly. For a second, the exhaustion showed again. His eyes looked heavy. His hands looked tired.

Then he glanced at Kenzo, and the exhaustion shifted into something more amused.

He leaned forward slightly, elbows on the table, cup in hand, like he was about to ask about a normal life.

Like they weren't in Ukai.

Like they weren't years apart.

"Soo" Atman said, voice light, "What about that girl, Kori? Did you marry her?"

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