The light vanished.
Standing there, arms crossed, clearly annoyed, was Kaidan.
Mei stiffened. Ren's breath caught.
"…You scared us," Mei said.
Ren nodded quickly. "Yeah. Don't ever do that again."
Kaidan frowned. "That's it? No panic? No screaming?"
Then—
A low growl echoed behind him.
Ren's eyes widened. "Sora?"
Kaidan stepped aside.
The moment Sora saw Ren, the dog bolted forward, crashing into him with full force. Ren barely managed to stay on his feet as Sora jumped, paws pressing into his chest, tongue licking his face wildly.
"Hey—hey—okay! I missed you too!" Ren laughed, struggling to hold him.
Sora whined, tail wagging violently, pressing his forehead against Ren's chest like he was afraid to let go.
Mei smiled softly.
Kaidan exhaled. "Now you see why I brought him."
Ren looked up. "You did?"
"He wouldn't stop crying. Growling. Refusing to eat. Every time I turned toward the mountain, he pulled me this way," Kaidan said. "Annoying little thing."
Sora barked in protest.
"Yeah, yeah," Kaidan muttered. "You got what you wanted."
Ren knelt, resting his forehead against Sora's. "I'm okay. See?"
The dog finally calmed.
Kaidan cleared his throat. "Alright. Enough reunion. Where's the Solita stone?"
Mei reached into her pouch and showed him the sealed fragment—smooth, lifeless, heavy.
Kaidan nodded once. "Good. Then let's go back."
The journey down the mountain was… loud.
Sora followed Kaidan like a shadow—sometimes mysterious, sometimes absolutely stupid. At one point, Ren and Mei were walking ahead, talking quietly, when Kaidan suddenly vanished with a shout.
A loud splash followed.
They turned.
Kaidan was knee-deep in a muddy rice field, covered head to toe in brown sludge.
Silence.
Then Ren laughed so hard he nearly fell over.
Mei joined in seconds later.
Kaidan stared at them, drenched, expression murderous. "If either of you says a word—"
Sora barked.
That made it worse.
They stopped at a small roadside inn by evening.
Hot baths. Clean clothes. Steam rising into the quiet air.
Sora waited outside Kaidan's room like a guard dog.
Lunch came after—simple rice bowls placed neatly on the table.
As they ate, Kaidan looked at Ren. "So. Did you learn anything?"
Ren nodded eagerly. "Yeah. I learned how to attract fire. And shape it."
Kaidan froze mid-bite.
"…What?"
Ren scratched his cheek. "I mean, not perfectly. But I can do it."
Kaidan slowly put his bowl down. "That took us weeks. Months for some."
Ren grinned. "Guess I'm special."
Kaidan didn't laugh.
He stared at Ren like he was trying to solve a problem that shouldn't exist.
Ren tossed a small rice ball into the air.
Sora jumped—snap—caught it perfectly.
Kaidan's eyes lit up. "I wanna try."
He threw one.
It missed.
The rice hit the floor.
A sharp voice echoed instantly. "HEY! FOOD IS NOT FOR THROWING!"
An old woman stood behind the counter, hands on her hips.
Kaidan froze. "…Sorry."
He bent down, cleaning the floor while Ren laughed openly this time. Sora barked in approval.
The walk back to headquarters was quieter.
By nightfall, they stood before Master Tsukishiro.
The old man looked at them once—then his expression hardened.
"I need to tell you something," he said.
His voice was serious.
Too serious.
And just like that, the air changed.