Atman didn't take them outside right away.

He stopped in front of a small door along the hall, the kind Raizen didn't notice before because the Academy had too many doors and none of them had labels. Atman pointed at the three of them without even turning fully.

"Wait here for a second."

Then he slipped inside.

Raizen heard a dull clatter. Something metal. Something plastic. As if a whole warehouse fell on top of Atman.

Saffi leaned closer to Raizen and whispered, "If he comes out with cleaning supplies, I'm leaving."

Raizen gave a tired half-smile. "Totally."

The door opened again.

Atman stepped out, hair wild, holding two small transparent umbrellas.

Two.

He stared at them like they personally disappointed him, then looked up at the three faces waiting.

"This is all we have" Atman said. "And I have no idea why nobody cared enough to keep more here."

Kenzo lifted a brow. "You're a professor."

Atman shrugged. "Exactly. I don't do stock or stuff like that. I'm not paid enough"

Raizen expected him to hand them, maybe say something normal like "Share."

Instead, Atman did what Atman always did.

He threw his arm around Kenzo's shoulders like they were childhood criminals again, shoved one umbrella into Kenzo's hand, then flicked the other toward Raizen without warning.

Raizen caught it on instinct.

Then Atman started talking to Kenzo immediately, joking and ranting, like the whole world existed only to entertain him.

Kenzo laughed once, then answered, and suddenly the two of them moved ahead together as if they forgot anyone else existed.

Raizen stood still for a moment with the umbrella in his hand.

Saffi stared after them.

Then she looked back at Raizen and smiled slowly.

"Wow" she whispered. "He didn't even hesitate."

Raizen opened the umbrella with a short snap.

It didn't feel like much. It was small, and the rain outside sounded pretty bad. The leaves above helped, but the drops still hit heavy enough to be heard clearly. Ukai's branches softened the downpour, but they didn't stop it.

Raizen hesitantly held the umbrella over both of them, then stepped forward.

They followed Atman and Kenzo outside.

The rain hit immediately.

Not a storm, but strong enough that it soaked anything uncovered in seconds.

Raizen kept the umbrella angled for Saffi first.

He didn't want to bump her shoulder after the dance, or to stand too close. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable or anything.

So he stepped slightly aside.

One shoulder slipped out from under the umbrella, and rain hit his sleeve and collar right away. Water ran down his arm and soaked into the fabric.

They passed the training platforms.

They were silent now, empty, the stone circles and markings resting under rainwater. No chanting, no beast calls, no smoke. Just wet wood, wet stone, and a few small streams forming along the edges.

Raizen glanced at them as they walked.

Atman and Kenzo kept moving up ahead, umbrellas bobbing as they walked. Their voices came back in pieces through the rain.

"…still hate physics…" Atman said loudly.

Kenzo replied with something Raizen couldn't fully hear, but the tone sounded like a complaint and a laugh at the same time.

Raizen and Saffi stayed behind, and didn't talk much.

The rain filled the silence, and Tte smell of bark and wet leaves was everywhere in the air.

Raizen kept his eyes forward, then finally spoke without looking at her.

"Thanks" he said.

Saffi blinked. "Huh? For what?"

"For earlier" Raizen said. "...leading me."

Saffi's steps slowed slightly. "Oh."

Raizen tightened his grip on the umbrella handle. "I didn't even know what I would've done if it wasn't for you."

He expected a simple answer.

Instead, Saffi stopped.

Raizen stopped too, confused, turning his head slightly.

Saffi stared at him for a second, like she tried to hold a straight face.

Then she started giggling. A quiet, helpless giggle, like the thought in her head was too stupid to keep inside.

Raizen's cheeks warmed.

"What?" he asked, confused. "What's funny?"

Saffi covered her mouth briefly, trying to stop, and failed. "I just… I tried to imagine it."

"Imagine what?"

"You" she said, eyes bright with amusement, "dancing with someone else. Someone who didn't know what they were doing either."

Raizen blinked.

For a second, he actually tried to picture it.

Him standing there, stiff. Another person stiff too. Both of them waiting for magic to happen. Then someone stepping wrong.

He exhaled through his nose.

"Yeah" he muttered. "It would've been bad."

Saffi's giggle got worse.

Raizen glanced at her, then shrugged slightly. "I think I would've just… started spinning."

Saffi paused mid-giggle. "Spinning?"

Raizen nodded, more confident now because it was his kind of stupid. "Like with the prototype. If I don't know what I'm doing and lose my balance, I think I'd spin."

Saffi stared at him like she pictured it instantly.

Then she laughed again, louder this time, shoulders shaking.

Raizen felt his embarrassment rise, but the laugh was contagious in a way. He let a small smile slip out before he could stop it.

Saffi caught it.

Her giggle slowed.

And then she looked at him with a slightly different expression - playful, a little bold, like she forgot to be careful for one second.

"Hmm... Then I'll make you dance with me again" she said.

Raizen blinked. "Pardon?"

Saffi kept going, words coming out too fast. "But next time, without me doing anything. And without music. That would be -"

She stopped. Her eyes widened slightly.

Her ears turned red so fast it was almost impressive.

She looked away immediately, like she tried to throw the sentence into the rain and pretend it never happened.

"I- I didn't mean that" she said quickly. "Forget it."

Raizen didn't even know what the correct response was.

So he did the only thing that felt safe.

He kept walking.

Saffi followed, quiet again, the rain filling the space between them.

They trailed Atman and Kenzo up another set of stairs. Higher now. More exposed. The leaves above helped less, and the rain hit harder. Water ran off the umbrella edges in steady streams.

After a minute, Raizen asked the question that sat in his head since the ballroom.

"How did you know how to dance?" he asked.

Saffi's shoulders stiffened slightly.

"When I was little" she said, voice quieter, "my parents hired a private teacher. Gymnastics and ballet."

Raizen looked at her. "Both?"

Saffi nodded once.

That explained a lot. The control. The balance. The way she could shift weight and guide him without thinking too much.

Raizen's first instinct was to say something simple and kind.

So he did.

"They must be proud" Raizen said. "I mean… you're a Royal Scholar. You work with Alteea. You -"

Saffi's gaze dropped to the ground.

Her expression changed fast, like a curtain falling.

"Haha! Let's... uhh, let's about something else!" she suddenly said.

Raizen swallowed. "Okay."

They walked in silence again.

The rain kept hitting. The stairs kept going.

And then they reached it.

A high platform, above the others. It sat elevated enough that Raizen could see more of Ukai's canopy through the rain, layers of branches and misty distance.

But this platform looked different.

Older.

The wood was darker, worn, and some parts looked slightly rotten from years of rain. It wasn't completely broken, but it didn't feel maintained. Like nobody used it anymore.

Saffi's eyes lifted, distracted from whatever she wanted to avoid .

She looked around, curious.

"This one…" she murmured, more to herself than to Raizen. "Why isn't it used?"

Then she raised her voice toward the two figures ahead.

"Mister Atman!" she screamed.

Atman turned, umbrella tilted, hair slightly damp around the edges. "Yes?"

"What is this platform?" Saffi asked. "Why doesn't anyone use it?"

Atman waved one hand lazily, like it was nothing.

"We have more platforms than we actually need!" he shouted back. "We just use the closest ones."

Atman ignored him.

Saffi looked like she didn't fully believe it, but she didn't argue.

She turned, and looked around. The her gaze stopped at Raizen, and her eyes narrowed.

"Your shoulder"

Raizen blinked. "What?"

Saffi pointed. "It's completely soaked!"

Raizen glanced left.

His left shoulder was wet enough that water dripped from the fabric. His sleeve clung to his arm. He didn't even notice when it got that bad.

"Ah, It's fine" Raizen said, automatically.

Saffi clicked her tongue softly, annoyed.

Then she reached out and tugged him closer under the umbrella.

Just a firm pull, like she corrected his position the way she corrected his stance earlier.

Raizen stepped in, shoulder to shoulder.

Ahead of them, Atman stopped.

Kenzo stopped too.

They stood near the center of the old platform, rain tapping on both umbrellas. Atman faced Kenzo, posture loose, but his eyes focused.

Raizen couldn't hear everything over the rain.

But he caught fragments.

Atman's mouth moved with purpose now, not joking.

Raizen watched his lips, and read the words slowly.

…brought you here…

…see how strong…

…you became…

Raizen's chest tightened.

He looked from Atman to Kenzo.

Kenzo's expression sharpened, smiling in a provocative way now. His hand lifted slightly, and his hammer hovered closer.

Atman's lips moved again.

Raizen caught the last piece clearly.

…Let's fight.

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