Gilded Ashes-Chapter 52: Four on Four

They didn’t mean to collect a parade. It just happened.

By Third Bell the eight of them couldn’t cross the east corridor without accruing a polite tail of uniforms - first years with notebooks and tablets, second year students pretending they weren’t interested, a librarian rolling past and absolutely listening. Arashi kept walking like he was late to a gala. Hikari slowed down at every question, then sped up because questions just kept coming like pigeons when you pull out food. Esen waved like a politician on a very small campaign.

"Examples, not exhibits" Lynea reminded under her breath.

"Exhibits with school hours" Esen answered, pleased at himself.

The Hall of Petals opened in front of everyone, light reflecting off the chandeliers in small rainbows. Banners hung still. Raizen stifled yet another yawn large enough to swallow one of Kori’s pastries in one bite.

"Do not nap vertically" Keahi murmured, shoving her elbow into his ribs. "You look like you’re about to faint."

Suddenly, the crowd went quiet in a way that had nothing to do with bell schedules.

Four second-year royal scholars slid out of a side corridor and occupied space like they owned it. Their badges carried the longer star - a whole year of training in the Academy behind them, a badge to prove it. At their front walked a boy a little taller than Arashi, long dark-brown hair a mess that looked fancy and messy at the same time, a thin golden fan flicking open and shut like it couldn’t decide.

"Keita" some students whispered.

On his right, a slim figure with shockingly white hair and a mouth constantly curved into a grin, hands in pockets. On his left, a mountain of a young man assembled from metal - right arm all bright prosthetic from shoulder to fingertip, left rebuilt from elbow down, both shins sculpted steel from knee to boot, servos and small motors humming. Behind them, a bright blonde girl wearing a cute green dress. Raizen recognized her from the entrance exam. Iris. People said she’d been sent back from the front line for being "useless" - the word had traveled fast, but the truth was different. Thanks to her formidable healing abilities, she joined the second year royal scholars, assisting them in missions. She kept her gaze down, like she was trying not to make enemies of everyone’s opinions at once.

Keita’s fan clicked shut for the sixth time. "Critters" he said, as if greeting pets. "I see your tail grew."

The words were aimed at the normal students. The corridor chilled by a degree. The librarian’s cart squeaked like it wished it could reverse. The students tailing behind the eight first-year royal scholars went dead silent.

Esen stepped from their line before anyone could stop him. "Critters? You talk like people are animals" he said, lightly but not missing his usual mocking tone. "Weird, because you’re standing on the same floor."

Keita smiled. It was a beautiful, empty expression. "What are you" he asked without looking, "their mascot?"

He reached up and set his hand going forward toward Esen’s face in a beginning of a slap.

The hand did not arrive.

Raizen had been watching the whole time, between yawns. Without giving it too much thought, he stepped forward, shortest angle possible. His fingers closed around Keita’s wrist with the kind of precision that looks like luck until you realize it isn’t. No squeeze. No show. He just stopped the hand in the air before it could do something to regret later.

Keita glanced down at the grip, then up, calculating whether this had become a scene yet.

"Greetings" Raizen said. His voice was the temperature of ice. "If you want spectacle, there’s an arena for that."

The guy with half his body made of metal lifted his chin a bit. White-hair’s mouth curled, amused. Iris flinched so slightly it looked like a startled breath.

Keita’s fan opened again with his other free hand. "Adorable" he said. His tone tilted contemptuous without having to lean. "First-years collect strays, then think they’ve adopted the city."

Then he leaned close to Raizen, until he was right in his face. "You confuse applause with respect."

Esen grinned despite himself. "You confuse your fan with a personality."

A murmur rolled behind the eight.

White-hair laughed once, short. Keita’s eyes never left Raizen’s.

"Let go, please" he said gently. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Raizen did, and Keita let the wrist drop by an inch more than necessary, as if he just wanted to add to the show.

Arashi stepped forward before the next insult formed in someone’s mouth. He was smiling without heat. "We can settle through foul vocabulary" he said using fancy words on purpose, "or resolve matters through skirmish."

Lynea nodded once, visibly annoyed. Keahi’s shoulders had gone still.

Raizen didn’t look back. He didn’t look at the crowd. He arranged his badge with a fingertip, and spoke to Keita like it was just them.

"One week" he said. "Formal 4 on 4. The arena. Second Bell."

Keita’s fan stopped. A choice flickered behind his gaze - show now, or bigger show later. Later let him collect a crowd. Later let him plan contempt.

The guy with metal limbs rolled his wrist in impossible angles and the servos whirred. "At least make it interesting" he said.

White-hair tipped his chin toward Hikari, then to Keahi, then to Arashi, as if sorting pieces on a board. "We were wondering when you’d stop teaching slackers and start performing" he said, bored and delighted all at once.

Iris looked up for the first time, and her gaze hit the cluster of ordinary students like a quiet apology. Kori would have called that moment a punctuation mark.

Keita tapped the fan’s spine against his palm - once. "Agreed" he said at last. "Four on four. Second Bell. Try not to arrive with excuses."

"We don’t collect excuses" Esen said, wide-eyed innocence. "We recycle them."

"Esen" Lynea warned.

Keita pivoted. The four second-years drifted past with the air of people leaving a conversation that bored them. Students parted automatically - that old, bad habit of making space for arrogance. As they passed a group of first-years, one of the younger boys tried to flatten himself against the wall. Keita’s fan brushed his sleeve without looking.

Iris slowed half a step. "Sorry" she whispered, so soft only Hikari and probably the banner heard. Then she hurried to catch up to her group, silence settling on her shoulders like a uniform.

The corridor stayed breathless a second after they were gone, like applause that didn’t know if it had permission.

"Pretty arrogant, not gonna lie" Esen said, bright despite the situation. "Well... Nice friends we made!"

"They aren’t" Keahi said mildly. "That’s the problem."

"I heard a ton of rumors about them" Esen said. "Wondered when I could kick some of their fancy-"

"Esen" Keahi warned him again.

Arashi straightened his cuff as if that were a strategy. "One week" he said. "Keita. White-hair. Machinery. The healer-"

"Iris" Hikari said, voice low. "She likes the first-years. That rumor about the front - it hurt her badly."

"Noted" Lynea said. She’d already taken out a small notebook and written four names without asking for them.

Behind them the tail of students found its courage again and reattached itself, now walking with their shoulders a little more daring. Someone far behind even asked: "You’ll win, right?"

Kori would have said something wicked and inspiring. Too bad she wasn’t there. Hikari answered instead. "We’ll try our best" she said, and meant it in the way that makes trying dangerous.

A week. The arena. Second Bell.

Four on four.