The walk back to the school took longer than it should have. Fifteen new bodies, worn down from a day that had asked more of them than the last several weeks combined, made for a slower pace than the three of them were used to, though nothing close to as rough as it could have been. Jin's group had held back plenty during the fight at the hospital, and it showed. Bruises, yes. Scrapes, sore muscles, the kind of exhaustion that came from actually trying at something for the first time in weeks. But nobody was limping badly enough to need carrying, and nobody looked like they regretted a second of it.
By the time the school gates came into view, the group had fallen into a loose, tired quiet, footsteps dragging more from fatigue than injury.
Echo was waiting by the gate, arms crossed, the pile of zip-tied attackers still sprawled where he'd left them near the entrance. A few had woken up and gone still again the second they realized struggling wasn't going to help.
