Eiden stared at the two men in the doorway for a long second, expression unreadable.

Then he spoke, calm as ever.

"First of all, Kenzo, why do you look like you fell off a building?" His eyes shifted to Atman. "Second of all, who's this guy? Did he jump with you?"

Kenzo didn't even lift his head properly. He stepped forward, water dripping from his clothes onto the wooden floor, and his voice came out like a groan.

"I'm not in the mood for jokes right now, leave us alone."

Eiden's eyebrow rose a fraction. "Noted."

Raizen stood up from the table before the silence could settle too hard. He tried to keep his tone light, trying to lighten the mood as much as he could

"Eiden" he said, nodding from Eiden toward Atman, "this is mister Atman. A professor at the Academy. Atman, this is mister Eiden. He's… A really good scientist"

Eiden's gaze sharpened, taking Atman in properly now - the soaked cloak, the dust everywhere on him, the notebook held too tightly in one hand, his fingers still slightly trembling.

"A professor, huh…" Eiden repeated, voice mild.

Atman gave a small nod. "Yes. Is there a problem?"

"No, not at all! I'm just surprised that a guy like Kenzo would be close to a… Scientist"

"Was that supposed to offend me or something?" Kenzo groaned, annoyed, "We go a while back, so it's fine"

Raizen turned toward Kenzo and Atman, already moving into problem-solving mode. "Alright, let's not start anything we can't stop. You two should go clean up" he said. "Then you can come back in, and we can take everything slowly."

Then, he thought "Damn, these guys… Even now, they still act like they're fricking twelve…"

Kenzo opened his mouth like he wanted to argue, then shut it again. He looked t back at Atman, and for a moment his usual arrogance flickered through.

"Take the bath first" Kenzo said. "You're the guest."

Atman hesitated.

That alone made Raizen's stomach tighten a little. Atman hesitated like he wasn't sure he deserved the offer. Then he dipped his head again, quieter than Raizen ever heard him.

"Thank you."

Kenzo didn't respond. He just waved once, and Atman moved past them and disappeared into the back.

The door to the bathroom closed.

Raizen watched the door for a beat longer than he meant to. Then he turned back to Kenzo.

Kenzo was still standing near the entrance, dripping rain, shoulders tense. His hammer was in his hands, not levitating at his side, which was already strange. Kenzo never held it unless he was asleep or in combat.

Raizen lowered his voice. "What in the world is wrong with him?"

Kenzo forced a crooked smile onto his face.

"We, um… Had a friendly duel" Kenzo said, tone almost casual. "And now he's sad because he lost, that's all."

Raizen stared at him.

Kenzo's smile didn't reach his eyes.

Eiden, from the cooking area, made a small sound that could've been amusement. He didn't turn around, just kept moving with the pot like nothing was happening.

"Is the floor alright?" Eiden asked.

Kenzo blinked, thrown off. "What?"

Eiden finally glanced back over his shoulder. "You heard me."

Kenzo's brow furrowed. "Why are you even asking that?"

Eiden set something down with a soft clink. "Because you came back looking like you fell through a couple of stories, and you're trying to convince us it was a "friendly duel" with a random teacher."

Kenzo's mouth opened, but before he could say anything, Eiden continued, voice calm, almost ammused. "Kenzo, you. Former Phalanx."

Kenzo stiffened.

"You decided to duel a random teacher" Eiden went on, "and now you look like a wet corpse."

Kenzo raised one of his eyebrows. "Don't underestimate him."

Eiden's gaze flicked to him, measuring. "You're telling me a professor can come close to you in actual combat? And I'm supposed to believe that?"

Kenzo nodded once. "Yeah, he's pretty tough."

Eiden hummed, then smiled faintly.

"Nah" He said, same playful tone. "You've just gotten out of shape."

Kenzo stared at him, offended. "Excuse me?"

Eiden's eyes moved down Kenzo's torso with slow, clinical disrespect. "I can see it forming, hah!"

Kenzo froze.

Raizen's lips twitched. This wasn't good.

Saffi, still standing near her mattress in her clothes, made a small choking sound like she tried to swallow a laugh and failed.

Kenzo's face turned dramatically wounded. "In my days as a Phalanx, while protecting all of you, I have been in rainforests. For days! Walking. Fighting. Sleeping on wet wood. And you're now talking about my belly?"

Eiden shrugged. "The time after that surely didn't stop you from eating."

Kenzo pointed an accusing finger. "You're evil."

Eiden smiled. "Hey, hey, hey, now. No need to get personal! I'm merely honest!"

Kenzo looked like he wanted to argue more, but the tension in his shoulders eased just a little, like the insult gave him something normal to focus on. Raizen took the opportunity.

"Don't bother with anything else" Raizen told him, nodding toward the back. "You smell like rain and dirt."

Kenzo opened his mouth, then closed it, then muttered, "You look like pure boredom" as if that was an insult too.

For a moment, only the rain and the quiet cooking noises filled the room.

Saffi slipped closer to the table, eyes still on the bathroom door.

Raizen sat back down slowly, fingers resting on the edge of his slate without writing. He listened to the sounds outside – it was still raining, and the water drops sounded larger - and tried to convince himself it was normal.

Eiden didn't comment. He simply finished whatever he was doing with the calm patience of a man who knew questions could wait until people were eating.

A bit later, Atman returned first.

He looked cleaner, hair damp, his cloak was surprisingly dry, but the dust was at least gone. The notebook wasn't in his hand now. Raizen assumed that he just put it away or something.

He paused near the doorway as if unsure where to stand.

Raizen gestured toward the table. "Come, you can sit here."

Atman obeyed quietly.

Raizen watched him like he tried to match this version of Atman with the professor who fell asleep standing up holding 10 kilometers of fog and then skipped away like a child. It didn't fit at all.

Kenzo entered the bathroom and returned a few minutes later, hair wet, a new set of changed clothes, face looking slightly less haunted. He looked at the table, then at Eiden, then at Raizen, then at Saffi, and finally sat down with a heavy sigh.

Eiden served the food without ceremony. Warm dumplings, steaming, arranged neatly. Something like a rich broth on the side, and a plate of greens that smelled fresh.

Raizen didn't realize how hungry he was until the smell hit him properly.

Saffi did too. Her posture softened instantly, shoulders relaxing as if food gave her permission to stop being tense.

Eiden sat down last, as if he wanted to make sure everything was in order before joining. Then he looked around the table like he was checking a lab group for missing limbs.

"All good?" he said quietly. "Alright."

Kenzo stared at the dumplings like they personally owed him something.

Raizen took one and bit into it carefully. Warm, savory, soft. His whole body reacted with relief.

Saffi hesitated before eating. Then, she put her hands together, and closed her eyes. It was a small gesture, but Raizen noticed it.

He just stood there, watching her, not sure if he should say anything.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes, said a word that Raizen didn't understand, something that sounded like "A-men". Then she took a bite, too and made a small satisfied sound that she tried to hide by chewing.

"What was that?" Raizen quietly asked her.

"What was what?" Saffi looked at him with an innocent face.

"What you just did-" Raizen tried to explain.

"Oh… That? My parents taught me. It's called praying." She answered while slightly looking down.

"Ha?"

"I thanked God for this food!" Saffi's eyes brightened the smallest bit.

"God? What are you talking about? There are no gods." Raizen raised a brow. "You should thank Eiden for the food, he cooked it…"

"Well, it's… It's really complicated… Forget it." Saffi sighed.

Across the table, Kenzo ate like he planned to erase the plate out of existence.

Atman ate slower. He chewed properly, swallowed properly, hands still too careful, eyes drifting now and then like his thoughts refused to sit down with him.

Eiden watched all of them for a moment, then spoke with mild satisfaction. "It's not burnt, is it?"

Kenzo swallowed fast. "It's good."

Raizen nodded, mouth full. "Mmyeah, ish weally good."

Saffi glanced at Eiden, eyes brightening. "You cook a lot?"

Eiden raised a brow. "Of course."

Saffi looked genuinely offended on Raizen's behalf. "And you never told us?"

Eiden's mouth curved. "You never asked. After all, I always have to cook for myself. And I couldn't survive off canned food…"

Kenzo nodded. "Canned food is indeed criminal."

Eiden returned to eating like he didn't care, which somehow made it funnier.

Saffi leaned forward slightly, voice casual but curious. "So… how are things at the Echelon meetings?"

Eiden's eyes flicked to her, then he winked once, quick and smooth. "Wish I could tell ya, but it's confidential."

Saffi stared at him, then sighed. "Of course it is."

Raizen ate another dumpling and listened to the quiet banter. Kenzo kept saying he was fine. Saffi tried keeping her questions for herself. Eiden remained annoyingly calm. Atman stayed mostly silent, but he didn't want to leave, and that alone felt like progress.

Minutes passed. Then more minutes.

The rain kept pouring outside, steady and loud enough to cover softer sounds. Inside, warmth spread through the room. The earlier tension didn't disappear, but it sank, like a stone settling at the bottom of a lake.

Raizen didn't realize how long they ate until he reached for another dumpling and his fingers touched empty plate.

He blinked.

Kenzo blinked too, staring at the center.

Saffi paused mid-reach.

Eiden looked down, amused in that quiet way of his.

Atman, for the first time since he walked in, seemed to come fully back into the moment. His eyes flicked to the plate like he suddenly understood the seriousness of the situation.

In the middle of the table, on the shared plate, sat the thing everyone wanted.

There was only one dumpling left.

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