Hikari didn't stop walking until the crowd fell behind them.

Raizen followed without question, half pulled, half guided. The farther they got from the chaos, the more the noise dulled. Of course, the music didn't vanish, but it turned into a distant layer - like Ukai's sounds were somewhere behind a wall.

They reached the edge of the platform where street shops and quiet doorways lined the edge. Hikari finally let go of his sleeve and took a slow breath, shoulders rising and falling a few times. Her cheeks were faintly pink from the squeeze of bodies and the effort of cutting through them.

Raizen stood beside her, catching his own breath. The ceremony still sat in his chest like a stone. He kept glancing back toward the white cloth and petals, toward the coffin that kept circling.

Hikari followed his gaze for a second. She straightened her dress, and hit off any dust. She wore a simple black dress, with simple, yet elegant lining, and a subtle pattern near the edge.

Then she looked at him again.

"Come on" she said simply "Somewhere more… Private."

Raizen nodded immediately. It must be very important – whatever she had to say – that she looked for him, and needed a more "private" place.

A nearby restaurant sat under a wide roof of living branches, its entrance framed by carved wood and plain lanterns. It looked open, but barely. The whole city was outside, so it was mostly empty.

Hikari went in first, and Raizen followed.

Warm air hit his face, carrying the smell of herbs and something very sweet. The room was dim, lit by soft lamps that made the wooden walls look almost golden. Only two tables were taken - a couple sitting close together, speaking in whispers, and a single older man absently staring into a cup.

A server looked up and offered a polite nod, then gestured toward an empty table near the side. It had a view through a glass wall, where the damp streets and pale lantern glow blurred together.

They sat down. Raizen set his hands on the table, then moved them, then set them again like he couldn't find a position that felt normal. His formal shirt suddenly felt too tight around his throat. His body was still in "crowd mode" still expecting elbows and sudden shoves, still ready to brace.

Hikari sat across from him and didn't fidget. She rested her hands neatly near the edge of the table, posture straight but not stiff. For a few seconds, she just looked at him.

Just quiet, the way she always was.

Raizen swallowed. "Uh… So? Why did you call me here?"

Hikari's eyes didn't move. "You haven't checked your messages from Alteea in a while."

Raizen froze.

It took him a second to understand. Then the weight hit, and he felt his stomach drop.

He blinked once. Looked down. Looked away.

He hated to admit it, even to himself, but he'd forgotten. Not because he didn't care. Not because he wanted to ignore her. He just… Kept getting dragged from one weird moment into the next, and the idea of opening that slate and actually checking for messages instead of working at his prototype never came in his mind…

"Ah" he said, and it came out smaller than he intended. "Did she… Did she have anything important to tell me?"

Hikari's eyes shifted. She didn't smile too often, but you could see her eyes softening or shining. That was her way of smiling.

"Nah" she said, dead in the face. "Not really."

Raizen stared at her.

For a few seconds, he genuienly didn't understand. He was pulled away from the funeral crowd for this? He lost Saffi and Kenzo and Eiden in that chaos for- huh?

Hikari watched his expression shift.

Raizen opened his mouth, ready to ask the obvious question.

But Hikari spoke again, calm as ever. "Of course, she just wants to make sure everything's alright."

Raizen didn't answer right away. He rubbed his thumb against the edge of the table, not knowing what to do with his hands. Hikari wouldn't do things like that if it wasn't anything serious. Or, if she didn't personally want something.

She slowly reached for a menu and opened it like a normal person who actually planned to order food. Her eyes moved across the page with strange focus.

Raizen exhaled slowly through his nose. He decided not to spiral in his own thoughts. Not now. Not across a table from her.

He could check Alteea's messages later.

He could handle that later.

"So, how are things back at the Academy?" he asked, voice steadier. "While I've been… Here."

Hikari's eyes stayed on the menu as she answered.

"Eh… We didn't really do much" she said. "Nyx activity's been weirdly low lately, so we got way more free days. Kori had things to handle at the Council, so everyone just… I don't know, did whatever they wanted."

Raizen nodded, listening closely.

Hikari flipped one page of the menu. Then another. "The girls were all really nice, actually. Feris took me to the Glowline, and we had tons of fun there! There were some arcade games, and guess what?"

"Surprise me" Raizen smiled, glad that she opened up again.

"I won a pink plushie whale! Now I'm matching with Feris!"

Raizen waited, expecting her to stop there.

She didn't.

"I did a bit of combat training with Lynea, just so we wouldn't completely get out of form… She's been getting really good these days. Every time when I take a peek at the training grounds or Eon room, she's there! She also learned some new tricks with her fragments…"

Then she turned her head slightly, just enough to glance at him, and something in her expression shifted - not into seriousness, but into some kind of humor.

"And" she added casually, almost amused, "Esen discovered a gambling website."

Raizen blinked. "A what now?"

Hikari's mouth twitched. "A gambling website."

Raizen stared at her for a second, then frowned like his brain refused to accept the sentence. "Esen?"

Hikari hummed, unbothered, and kept reading the menu.

Raizen sat back slightly, stunned.

"Mm." She turned her attention back to the menu like this was a normal update about the weather. "He's kind of addicted now."

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