Kazuyoshi's POV – Return from the Valley
Kazuyoshi moved through the marsh like a shadow that had learned to walk. The fight was hours behind him, two broken boys bleeding on scorched earth, Kaname's scream still ringing in his ears like a victory bell he would never admit he enjoyed.
He found them exactly where he had ordered: a crumbling hunter's blind perched on a low rise above the black water. Rin stood outside the doorway, arms wrapped tight around herself, barrier rune flickering. Yuki sat on a moss-covered log inside, knees drawn to her chest, turquoise pendant catching the sickly dawn light.
Rin saw him first. Relief flooded her face so violently it looked like pain.
"You're late," she whispered, voice trembling.
"I'm never late. I'm precise."
He knelt in front of Yuki. Her eyes were clearer now, studying him with something dangerously close to trust.
"How do you feel?"
"Like I slept for a year and woke up in someone else's life," she said softly. "But… better than yesterday."
He allowed the smallest, most convincing smile.
"Good. We're heading west. Town called Ashmere. Two days if we push. You up for it?"
She nodded, then added shyly, "Will there be real beds?"
Rin laughed, cracked and relieved. "Real beds, hot food, no more mud for one night. Promise."
The First Night – The Cloak
The rain came down in sheets, cold needles that found every gap. Yuki's teeth chattered so violently the sound cut through the roar of water on leaves. Without breaking stride Kazuyoshi unclasped his own cloak and swung it around her shoulders.
The sudden warmth hit her like stepping into sunlight. She buried her chin in the high collar and inhaled pine smoke, faint steel oil, winter campfires.
She let out a tiny, wondering sigh. "It smells like home I don't remember having."
Rin snorted softly. "Everything about him smells like danger, but I'll let you keep that fantasy."
They found shelter under a root overhang. The cloak was big enough for three if they sat close. So they did. Yuki in the middle, cocooned. Kazuyoshi's arm along the stone behind her. Rin curled against her left side. Yuki's head finally rested against Kazuyoshi's upper arm. She slept for the first time since the memory wipe.
Arrival at Ashmere – Evening
Two days later the sun bled into the horizon when Ashmere's stone walls rose out of the mist. The town smelled of woodsmoke, hot springs, and fresh bread. Yuki stopped dead in the street and inhaled like someone breaking the surface after too long underwater.
Rin looped an arm through hers. "Food first, baths second, sleep third."
"Definitely baths first," Yuki said, wrinkling her nose. "I smell like swamp monster."
Kazuyoshi's mouth twitched. "You smell like victory. Swamp monster is just the cologne."
Skipping Stones – Afternoon
After steaming baths and clean clothes, Rin dragged Yuki to the hot-spring pool behind the stables.
Rin flicked a stone. Four perfect skips.
"Teach me."
"Looser wrist. Toss your dignity away, easy for you."
Fourth stone: two bright skips.
Yuki squealed and jumped up and down. Rin tackled her. They toppled backward into the shallow water with twin shrieks, laughing until their ribs hurt. Droplets glittered through the late-afternoon sun.
Kazuyoshi leaned on the stair rail above them, arms folded, fighting a smile and losing.
The Honey-Cake Avalanche – Late Afternoon
At the bakery, Yuki stood on tiptoe, nose pressed to the glass. "I want twelve."
Her sleeve caught the wooden tray.
Twelve perfect cakes slid, teetered, then tumbled in slow motion: soft thuds, gentle splats of honey and crumbs. The scent exploded.
The baker laughed and pressed two warm cakes into Yuki's hands. "On me. Pretty girls shouldn't frown over pastry."
Outside, Yuki silently offered Kazuyoshi the second cake.
Their fingers brushed, sticky with honey.
"You carried me across three rivers," she said, eyes lowered. "You get the bigger half."
They ate walking side by side, shoulders brushing, honey on their chins. Rin cackled. "Children who raided the pantry."
Yuki licked honey from her thumb and grinned. "Best raid ever."
Evening – Before the Night
Later, when the inn was quiet, Kazuyoshi caught Rin at the foot of the stairs.
"North road. Council patrol might be closer than we thought. Go now. I'll stay with her."
Rin nodded once, pulled her hood up, and vanished.
Kazuyoshi climbed the stairs alone, left his boots by his bed, and took the wooden chair beside Yuki's window, moonlight painting silver across the floorboards.
Yuki's Dream – Midnight
She was standing in a moonlit courtyard paved with pale stone. Night-blooming jasmine scented the air. Someone stood behind her, arms encircling hers, warm hands gently closing over hers. A tiny tongue of golden flame danced on her fingertip.
"You've got it. See? You're a natural."
The voice was warm, proud, impossibly gentle.
She turned to see his face (green eyes, crooked smile), but the image shattered like glass.
Yuki woke gasping.
She sat upright, hands pressed hard over her mouth. Tears were already falling.
Kazuyoshi was out of the chair in an instant and sat on the edge of her bed.
"Yuki. Look at me."
She did.
He brushed a strand of hair from her damp cheek.
"You're safe. Rin's out on watch. I'm here. Whatever it was, it can't touch you tonight."
His palm settled, feather-light, against the side of her face for a heartbeat.
Then Yuki pulled back, wiping her eyes roughly.
"I'm okay," she whispered, voice cracking. "I don't even know why I'm crying. It was just a dream, but it hurts and I don't understand why and that makes it worse."
Kazuyoshi let his hand drop to the blanket.
"You don't have to understand it tonight. Just breathe."
She nodded, shaky, and lay back down on her own, curling onto her side facing him.
"Stay in the room? Just… until I fall asleep again?"
He dragged the chair closer so she could see him clearly in the moonlight and sat.
"I'm not going anywhere."
Yuki watched him for a long minute, eyes still glassy, then let them drift shut. Within minutes her breathing evened out.
Kazuyoshi stayed until dawn painted the sky pale gold, unmoving.
Final Morning – Breakfast
Rin stole the last piece of bacon off Kazuyoshi's plate with a triumphant smirk.
"Thief."
"Finder's keepers."
Yuki tore her own bread in half and slid the bigger piece onto Kazuyoshi's plate.
Rin's smirk softened. "Look at you, taking care of the grumpy one."
Kazuyoshi looked at the bread, then at Yuki. "Thank you," he said, quiet, almost reverent.
He ate every crumb.
Leaving Ashmere
Mid-morning bells rang as they walked out the west gate. Yuki carried the baker's paper bundle, swinging it like a child, humming those same three soft notes.
Rin bumped her shoulder. "You're happy."
Yuki smiled, small, real, dazzling. "I think I am."
Kazuyoshi listened to the rhythm of their footsteps and felt the lie settling deeper into his bones.
He hated how much he didn't hate it.
Kaname's POV – Infirmary
Pain woke Kaname first. Then the smell of healing salve.
Elias sat beside the bed, light spear propped against the wall. He hadn't slept in days.
"She's alive?"
"Yes."
Kaname told him everything.
Elias gripped his wrist, hard enough to bruise.
"We get her back. And Kazuyoshi will learn what it feels like to lose the only thing that ever mattered to him."
Later, Kazuhiro still hadn't woken. Seraphina knelt at his bedside, forehead pressed to his hand.
Outside, the storm finally broke.
Inside the infirmary, three people who had each lost something irreplaceable waited for the fourth to open his eyes.
The war lived in the space between heartbeats now.