Aisu Erlic awoke to the familiar sound of a slipper colliding with his forehead.
"Wake up, sloth," came the dry voice of his older sister. "The sun's already gone to lunch."
Aisu groaned, rolled over, and pulled the blanket tighter over his head like it could shield him from responsibility. "Five more minutes," he mumbled, voice muffled by sleep and dreams he couldn't quite recall.
"Five more and you'll miss lunch too," Elda shot back from the doorway.
The blanket was torn away.
Aisu hissed like a vampire before squinting at the harsh morning light filtering through the wooden shutters. His messy black hair stuck out in tufts, and he blinked slowly at the world like a boy betrayed.
Milo and Miko, his twin younger brothers, stood just outside the door holding makeshift wooden swords, one in each hand, poking at him gleefully.
"The sleeping beast awakens!" Milo declared.
"Too late, he's missed breakfast!" Miko added, laughing.
Aisu flopped back into bed. "Traitors. I fed you."
Elda smirked. "You slept through breakfast again. And you have five people waiting for you. Under the willow."
At that, Aisu sat up, groaned, and rubbed his face. "Right. Sorry."
He stumbled through his morning routine—half-laced boots, unbuttoned collar, and yesterday's jacket slung over one shoulder—and made his way out into the village of Clova.
---
Clova smelled of sunlight and flour, earth and river reeds. The narrow streets wound lazily between stone cottages and market stalls. Children dashed about chasing each other with sticks. A few merchants called out greetings as Aisu passed, waving with flour-dusted hands or nodding from shaded porches.
The willow tree stood at the edge of the village, draping over a gently flowing river. And there, gathered beneath its wide green canopy, were the five people who knew Aisu best.
Renji Aoka stood atop a crooked fencepost like a street performer mid-soliloquy. His short reddish hair caught the sun, and his wide grin promised mischief.
"Lo!" he called. "The fabled Sleeper walks again! Shield your eyes, Clova, for his breath fogs mirrors and his socks flee laundry baskets!"
Aisu raised a hand as he approached. "I missed you too, Renji."
Next to him leaned Hiro Tanaka, arms folded, expression unreadable. His midnight-black hair fell just short of his sharp eyes, which flicked toward Aisu with lazy amusement.
"We considered carving your face into a gravestone," Hiro said.
"I'd like something dramatic," Aisu replied. "Something like: 'Here lies Aisu. Slept through greatness.'"
"Fitting," Theo said from beneath the tree.
Theo Linhart, seventeen and the oldest among them, sat calmly with a wooden sword balanced across his lap. His gaze was steady, his posture exact. He looked like someone carved from principle.
"You missed morning drills," he said simply.
Aisu gave a sheepish shrug. "I had a duel with my dreams. It was intense."
"You lost," Theo said.
Kaela Drayce scoffed as she approached from the riverbank, snapping a twig between her fingers. "He always does."
Kaela, sharp-tongued and agile, carried herself like a coiled spring. Her braid was tied tight and her expression tighter, but Aisu knew she cared deeply—she just showed it through kicks and arguments.
"I was wondering if you'd ever show up," she said. "I nearly started using your name as a curse."
Aisu grinned. "It'd be an honor."
And then came Aya.
Aya Mori, with her quiet steps and softer smile, arrived with a small cloth bundle in her hands. Her long sleeves brushed against her wrists as she offered it to Aisu.
"I saved you something," she said, barely above a whisper.
Aisu opened it gently—inside, a sweet bun, still faintly warm. His eyes lit up.
"You're the best, Aya," he said, voice honest.
She smiled, cheeks coloring. "I know."
Renji threw himself dramatically into the grass. "I ship it!"
"Seconded," Hiro murmured.
Kaela sighed. "Idiots."
And so the six of them sat together beneath the willow, as they had countless times before. Not warriors, not legends, not marked for greatness. Just friends. Just kids in the quiet arms of a peaceful village.
---
Time passed lazily, like the river behind them.
They spoke of dreams and jokes and things that didn't matter.
"Okay," Renji said, waving a stick like a conductor. "Question of the day: if we all got turned into animals, who'd survive the longest?"
"Kaela," Aisu said.
Kaela blinked. "You didn't even think about it."
"You're like a feral cat already," he replied. "You'd rule the wild in five minutes."
She paused. "…Thank you?"
"Aya would become a deer and befriend everyone," Hiro added.
"Aisu would become a sloth," Renji said.
"A really tired sloth," said Theo.
They laughed, easily, like people who'd shared years.
---
But then, the bell rang.
Twice. Low and slow.
They all went still.
Theo stood first. "That's not the market bell."
Kaela's eyes narrowed. "Northern watch?"
They looked toward the ridge at the village's edge—just in time to see a cart race past, driver shouting breathlessly about something coming.
The laughter died.
Even Renji straightened.
Theo's voice was quiet. "Do you feel that?"
Aisu did. A pressure. A weight. Like heat without fire, like sound without noise.
Aura.