Mei
'It's too quiet…' Mei thought as she slowly got up from the bed.
It wasn't the comfortable kind of quiet either. This was the kind that appeared when her instincts were telling her that something was wrong.
She quickly put on her slippers and headed out to the hallway.
Slowly creaking open Kiana's door. The girl was still asleep in her own bed, sprawled out like a starfish with one arm dangling off the edge. She'd sleep through an earthquake if it didn't interrupt her dreams of food.
Mei smiled warmly at the sight and quietly closed the door.
But when she moved onto Kenji's door, she looked inside and saw it empty. She pushed the door open wider to look inside. There was no one.
Mei frowned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she checked the clock on Kenji's nightstand. 2:17 AM. She'd gone to bed around eleven, which meant she'd gotten maybe three hours of sleep before she suddenly woke up.
This had been happening for over a week now. She'd wake up in the middle of the night and find his bed empty, sheets pulled back but long since gone cold. He'd return sometime before dawn, exhausted and quiet, and pretend everything was fine in the morning.
The first few times, she'd let it go. Recurring insomnia wasn't uncommon after a month-long coma. The doctors had warned them about it.
But for an entire week straight? Something was fishy.
Mei grabbed a jacket from her chair and slipped it on over her sleep shirt. She'd tried asking Kenji about it yesterday. He'd brushed her off with a smile and an excuse about needing fresh air or being restless.
All lies.
Or at least, half-truths.
Tonight, she was going to find out where he actually went.
She slipped out of the dorm, walked down the stairs, and out onto the campus. It was peaceful outside, lit only by pathway lamps and the occasional window still glowing from a late-night study session. Her breath misted faintly in the cool air as she made her way down the steps.
'Now where would he go?'
Mei checked the training room first. It was the most obvious choice. Kenji had a habit of overtraining, especially when he was restless.
The problem was that he was supposed to be resting, and the only training he should be doing was physical therapy.
But the training facility was dark with the doors locked. She pressed her face to the glass and peered inside. There was no one there.
Next was any rooftops. Another common spot he liked. He said it reminded him of his vigilante days.
Mei couldn't stop the smile that crept on her face, 'He really does talk like an old man.'
She quietly leaped to a railing and jumped one more time to get on the roof of the training facility. From up there, she turned her sights to the surrounding buildings to find any signs of him to no avail.
Mei frowned, pulling her jacket tighter against the breeze. The library was closed at this hour, and she really doubted he would go there of all places. The cafeteria, same thing. Where else would he—
'The memorial garden!'
She'd only been there a handful of times herself—once during orientation, and another when an older Valkyrie from her combat class had died during a mission.
It was a place people, mostly other Valkyries, visited when they wanted to pay respects to their fallen warriors. Though this memorial was only for Valkyries from St. Freya, she heard of other branches having something similar.
Mei changed direction, heading toward the more secluded part of campus. The memorial garden sat tucked away near the eastern edge, past the academic buildings and the training grounds.
It wasn't really hidden, but it wasn't somewhere you'd stumble across by accident either.
As she got closer, she slowed her pace.
'Looks like I was right on the mark.'
A figure stood in front of the memorial wall.
'Kenji.'
She stopped at the edge of the garden path, just outside the small circle of light cast by the pathway lamps. She watched him for a long moment, her chest tightening with an unfamiliar feeling.
He wasn't doing anything dramatic. He wasn't crying or talking to the wall or anything like that. He just stood there reading the names carved into the stone, his eyes moving slowly from one engraved letter to the next.
The memorial itself was simple but dignified. It was a large stone wall with names etched into its surface in neat columns.
Valkyries and Knights who had died in service.
The garden around it was well-maintained. Small flowering plants lined the pathway, and a few benches were positioned at respectful distances.
Kenji stood directly in front of the wall, close enough that Mei could see his lips moving slightly, like he was reading the names aloud to himself.
Every night when he couldn't sleep, when he slipped out of the dorm and disappeared for hours, he came here. To read the names of the dead.
Mei took a slow breath and stepped forward, her footsteps just loud enough that he'd hear her coming. She didn't want to startle him.
Kenji's head turned slightly at the sound, but he didn't seem surprised. He glanced at her, then back at the wall.
"Couldn't sleep either?" he asked quietly.
Mei stopped beside him, close enough to read the names herself. She recognized a few veterans who'd been mentioned in classes, legendary Valkyries whose stories were used as teaching examples.
"I guess you can say that."
They stood in silence for a long while, both of them staring at the carved stone.
Mei subtly looked at Kenji's face. His expression was peaceful, but there was something in his eyes that made her stomach twist in anger and… disgust.
It was a look of longing.
"Kenji," Mei said quietly.
"Mm?"
"How long have you been coming here?"
"...Not that long." He slowly responded, "Just a while after Kiana got thrown out of the window by Fu Hua. So… about a week?"
Every night… for a week…
Mei's hands curled into fists inside her jacket pockets.
"Why?" she asked, keeping her voice gentle.
Kenji shrugged, "Couldn't sleep and needed some air. I never really visited this place in the day so… it just seemed right."
There wasn't anything wrong with his answer. But he was completely missing the point.
"Let me rephrase that question," she said softly. "Why did you come here specifically?"
"Why are you—?"
"Why choose this place instead of anywhere else? Why not the rooftops or the dozens of other gardens St. Freya has? Why here?"
/ — /
Kenji
Kenji knew exactly what she was asking. He had a gut feeling a conversation was coming the moment he heard her footsteps in the garden.
He just hoped it wouldn't be Mei who found him.
Kiana would've been much easier. They would joke around a little, she'd drag him back for midnight snacks, and move on with her life.
But Mei was more cutthroat. She asked questions and didn't let go until she got real answers.
Well… Kiana was like that as well, but it was just easier to hide it from.
"Like I said, I like that it's quiet here."
"That's not an answer."
"It is an answer. I don't know what you want from me."
Silence stretched between them. He could feel her staring at him, trying to read what was going on in his head.
"How long have you been doing this?" Mei asked.
"I already told you—"
"Before the coma. You've been doing this before the coma, haven't you?"
Kenji's hands tightened in his pockets.
"I've noticed a few things," Mei said quietly, her voice sounding like she was stating a fact. "Not just this week. All the way back since Nagazora."
'Shit.'
"I remember the VTOL on our first mission," she continued. "Everyone was nervous, but you looked different. You looked sad, like you were already somewhere else."
"I was focused on the mission—"
"You looked like you wanted to die."
Those words hit harder than he expected. Kenji turned to face her. "That's not—"
"I know exactly what that look means, so don't you hide it from me." She cut him off harshly.
"...There was guilt on your face," Mei muttered. "I understood that part. You care about people, and you were worried about the civilians we'd find. But there was something else underneath it."
Her voice dropped. "There was a look of Finality in your eyes. Like you were determined to die because of their deaths."
"You're reading too much into a look—"
"Am I?" Mei gestured at the memorial surrounding them. "Because now you're here every night, reading the names of dead Valkyries. So tell me I'm wrong, Kenji. Tell me I'm imagining things."
His throat dried as he tried to come up with a response. But he knew he couldn't.
"They were heroes," he said quietly, because it was the only thing he could think to say. "They saved people and made a real difference."
"I know."
"They gave everything for something that mattered."
"Some of them didn't have a choice." Mei pointed at a name near the bottom of the wall.
"Friendly fire. Hit by artillery meant for a Honkai beast." A third name, further down. "Suicide. PTSD from watching her entire squad die." And she kept going.
Kenji's throat tightened.
"Not all of them died heroes," Mei said, as cruel as those words may be. "Some of them just died. Some of them wanted to live and couldn't. Some of them would've given anything for one more day."
She turned to face him directly, and there was something in her eyes that made it impossible to look away.
"So what are you looking for here, Kenji?"
He stared at the wall. At the names carved in stone, permanent and final. People who'd fought and bled and died. People who were gone, who'd done what they thought needed to be done.
People who—
"I don't know," he said finally.
It was the most honest thing he'd said all night, and somehow that made it worse.
Ever since Fu Hua made that declaration to him. To take him in as her student and recognize him as her successor.
And those words that were etched so deeply into his memory.
"So be at ease, my pupil."
"..."
"..."
Mei studied his face for a long moment. He could feel her trying to piece together what was going on in his head, trying to understand something he barely understood himself.
"You're scaring me,"
That made him do a double take. Her expression was calm and serene, like always, but there was genuine fear in her eyes.
"I'm fine," he said automatically.
"You're standing in a memorial garden at two in the morning reading about people who died." Mei's voice had an accusatory edge to it. "That's not fine, Kenji."
"It's just—"
"Don't." She cut him off before he could finish. "No more half-truths. No more 'I needed air' or 'I couldn't sleep.' I'm tired of the excuses."
Kenji's jaw tightened. He wanted to deflect, to change the subject, to do anything but have this conversation. But Mei wasn't backing down.
She stepped closer, close enough that he couldn't avoid her gaze even if he wanted to.
"I know what it looks like when someone stops caring if they live," she said quietly. "I saw it in the mirror every day after my father got arrested."
Kenji's blood went cold.
"Even before that, people already treated me differently. Scandals, assassination attempts, it felt like the world hated me for merely existing." She clenched her fist so tight that Kenji worried she might cut her skin.
"But after dad got arrested… The whole world turned against me overnight. Friends, teachers, people I'd known my entire life, all of them looked at me like I was garbage."
Her voice stayed steady, but he could hear the venom underneath. "I kept thinking how much easier everything would be if I just wasn't there anymore."
She paused, letting her words sink into him.
"I didn't want to die," Mei continued. "But I stopped caring if I did. Stopped seeing a reason to be careful. Started taking risks because what was the point of protecting something that didn't matter?"
She looked at him directly, and he saw the parallel she was drawing.
"Then I met Kiana. She refused to leave me alone, refused to let me disappear, refused to accept my excuses. You were there too, supporting me even when I pushed everyone away. Treating me like nothing even happened."
Mei's expression softened slightly. "Talking didn't fix it. What helped was people being there. Showing me I mattered to them, not because of what I could do but because I existed."
Kenji remembered the dojo getting much quieter after Mei's dad got arrested. How she became quiet and afraid of people.
That seemed like a distant memory to him now. After he and Kiana helped her through it, he thought it was all behind them. But it clearly still hurt Mei even now.
"So I'm asking you directly," Mei said, gesturing at the memorial. "What are you looking for here?"
/ — /
Mei
'I'm not getting anywhere with this…' Mei thought with irritation. Kenji was too good at deflecting when it came to himself.
There was something else she could bring up… A part of her felt bad because she promised she wouldn't pry until he was fully recovered.
But this was for his own good.
"I've been thinking about your predecessors," she said quietly.
Kenji's entire body went rigid.
"What about them?" His tone was immediately guarded.
"You told us they're inside your head. But that's everything we know. The only thing you told us."
"Mei I—"
"Do you trust them?"
"With my life." No hesitation in his voice.
Mei took a slow breath. This was the question that had been eating at her since she'd started connecting the dots.
"Can you be absolutely certain they won't hurt you?"
Kenji's expression hardened immediately. His defensiveness turned into an almost offended look.
"They would never hurt me," he said with full conviction. "They've… saved me more times than I can count. Without them I…"
He cut himself off there. And Mei was left unsure of what he was going to say.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." Kenji's voice was firm now, almost defensive. "They've only ever tried to protect me. They're not a devil on my shoulder or anything like that. They're people who gave everything so I could—"
"Then let me ask you something else."
Mei looked him directly in the eyes.
"If they asked you to give your life for them, for reasons good or bad, would you do it?"
Kenji's mouth opened, but no sound came out.
"..."
"..."
The silence stretched between them, and Mei felt cold settle in her chest. She'd hoped she was wrong. Hoped the silence would be immediate denial, laughter even, telling her how ridiculous that question was.
But he just stood there, unable to answer.
Mei's throat tightened. The worst part wasn't the silence itself, it was what the silence meant. If the answer had been no, he would've said so immediately.
The fact that he had to think about it, that he couldn't give her a simple "of course not"...
"Kenji—"
"It's not… Things aren't that simple."
"Aren't they?" Mei could feel frustration building in her chest now, mixing with fear. "It's a yes or no question."
"They would never ask that of me." Kenji's voice was quieter now, less certain. "That's not what they do, they would—!"
"That's not what I asked." Mei cut through his deflection.
Kenji's jaw tightened, and he turned away from her, unable to bear her piercing gaze.
"Would you?" Mei pressed, her voice getting sharper. She could feel her control slipping. "If they asked you right now, would you do it?"
"They wouldn't—"
"Answer the question!"
Kenji flinched at the raised voice.
Mei's hands were shaking. She clenched them into fists, trying to keep control, but fear was drowning out everything else now.
The image of his empty bed every night. Finding him here, reading names of dead Valkyries. That look on his face during the Nagazora mission. The way he fights like he has nothing to lose.
All of it came together into a single terrifying conclusion.
He really would do it. If his predecessors asked, he would give his life without hesitation.
The part that made her blood boil was that he probably thought that made him noble. A good successor.
'I won't let you.'
"How could you?" Her voice was shaking, anger and fear bleeding into every word. "How could you even consider it? Throwing your life away so easily?"
"It's not about throwing my life away—!"
"Then what is it about?!" She shouted, unknowingly releasing a purple aura as purple thunder sparked to life around her.
"Explain it to me!"
The purple lightning crackled around Mei's hands, sparking in the air between them.
She could feel it buzzing under her skin, responding to her emotions. The Herrscher power always did this when her emotions spiked too high, manifesting without her permission.
She needed to calm down.
But Kenji was just standing there, staring at her with that lost look on his face.
He knew she was right, but refused to admit it.
"I..." He couldn't even start a sentence.
Mei forced herself to take a breath. To pull the power back under control before it got worse. She could feel her hands still shaking even as the purple aura dimmed slightly. She unclenched her fists, forcing herself to breathe.
But then, Kenji's expression switched from lost to resolved.
"If you want me to answer that," He started slowly. "Let me ask you something."
Mei blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift in his tone. "Kenji, I said don't change—"
"Would you die for Kiana?"
"..."
"What?"
"Would you die for Kiana?" Kenji repeated, and his voice was steadier now. More controlled. "If it was necessary, for reasons good or bad, would you do it?"
Mei's throat went dry.
"That's different—"
"How?" Kenji cut her off, and now he was the one asking her questions. "How is it different?"
Her mind scrambled for an answer, but the words wouldn't come.
"It just is," she said, cursing herself for the weak answer. She couldn't think of a clear answer after being suddenly put on the spot like this.
"Is it?" Kenji took a step closer. "You're asking me if I'd give my life for the people who saved me. For the people who gave me purpose when I was nothing."
He looked at her directly.
"So tell me how that's different from you dying for Kiana. The person who saved you when the whole world turned against you. The person who gave you a reason to keep going."
Mei's jaw tightened.
He was turning this around on her. Making her defend a position she hadn't expected to defend.
"It's not the same thing," she said.
"Why not?" Kenji's voice was quiet but relentless. "Because you think your reasons are better than mine? Because you think dying for Kiana would be noble, but dying for my predecessors would be stupid?"
"That's not—!"
"Then explain it to me."
He threw her own words back at her.
"Explain how it's different."
Mei felt the purple lightning flicker again, then fade almost completely.
She was trying to find an answer. Some logical argument that would make the distinction clear.
But she couldn't.
Because when he put it like that…
"My predecessors saved me," Kenji said quietly. "They gave me power, purpose, something that mattered. Without them, I'm nothing."
He paused.
"Kiana saved you. She gave you a reason to keep living when you wanted to disappear. She made you feel like you mattered when the whole world told you that you didn't."
"So tell me," Kenji said, his voice soft yet so full of emotion. "How is what I feel any different from what you feel?"
Mei stared at him, her mind racing through arguments that all fell apart the moment she tried to voice them.
The purple lightning had now faded completely. All that was left was the uncomfortable realization that she'd walked straight into her own trap.
"It's different because..." Mei started, then trailed off.
She tried again.
"It's different because you don't know the full story about your predecessors. You don't know everything about them."
"And you know everything about Kiana?" He countered instantly, "You think you always know what she feels? What she thinks? Isn't that a little arrogant?"
Mei couldn't help but scowl.
"That's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?"
Mei looked away, unable to hold his gaze anymore.
"I just..." She took a breath, trying to organize her thoughts. "There's something not right about this. I can feel it. The way you talk about them, the way you act like you owe them your entire existence—it's not healthy, Kenji."
"And the way you'd throw yourself in front of a Honkai beast to save Kiana is?"
Mei's eyes snapped back to him.
"That's different."
"It's the same, and you know it—"
"Because I love her!"
The words burst out before Mei could stop them.
She froze.
That... wasn't how she meant to say that.
Kenji stared at her, also a little caught off guard at her sudden outburst, and Mei felt her face heat up. Even in the serious situation, Kenji couldn't help but let out a small but smug smile.
"You love her," Kenji said quietly. "So you'd die for her. Because that's what love means to you."
Mei couldn't respond. Because he was right again.
"My predecessors gave me everything," Kenji said, his voice soft. "They gave me a reason to exist. A purpose. Something that made my life matter."
He looked at her directly.
"So maybe… that's what love looks like for me."
Mei felt something crack inside her chest.
"Kenji, that's not—" Her voice came out unsteady. "That's not the same kind of love. That's... that's obligation. You think you owe them."
"Don't you feel like you owe Kiana?"
Again, he somehow countered her questions that left her without a way to fight back.
"After everything she did for you," Kenji continued quietly. "After she pulled you out of that darkness, made you feel like you mattered again—don't you feel like you owe her something?"
Mei's hands unclenched slowly.
Did she?
She'd never thought about it like that before. Never in her mind did she think of it as a debt to be paid.
Even so…
"I..." Mei struggled to find the right words. "It's not about owing her. It's about... caring about her. Wanting her to be happy. Wanting to protect her because she matters to me."
"And my predecessors matter to me," Kenji said. "They're the only reason I'm standing here. The only reason I have anything to offer at all."
He paused, and then sighed softly. "So you can't judge me for what I'd do for them when you'd do the same thing for Kiana."
Mei's eye twitched in irritation at the realization that she had been outplayed.
She would die for Kiana. Without question. Without hesitation.
She would do anything to ensure her safety… But that courtesy also extended to Kenji, and that only made her arguments more hypocritical.
Her mind couldn't explain why that was different from what Kenji felt about his predecessors.
The anger drained out of her completely, leaving her sad and exhausted.
"You really believe that, don't you?" Mei said quietly. "That you don't matter without them."
Kenji didn't answer, nor did he need to. She could see it in his eyes.
"You're right," she said, and the admission tasted bitter. "I would die for Kiana if I had to. And I can't judge you for feeling the same way about your predecessors."
She looked at him directly.
"But there is a difference, Kenji. I just can't quite put my finger on it yet."
"What difference?"
"I don't know," Mei admitted. It frustrated her that she couldn't articulate it. "But I can feel it. Something about this isn't right."
She paused, trying to figure out how to say what she needed to say.
"I just wish you could see yourself the way we see you."
Kenji frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Mei's expression softened into one that Kenji had become used to. An expression like that of an older sister who was worried about her siblings.
"Kiana and I..." She hesitated, choosing her words carefully. "We'd be really lonely without you."
Kenji frowned at her words.
"What do you mean?"
Mei took a slow breath, trying to find the right way to say this.
The anger was gone now. The frustration had burned itself out during their argument. But she still needed him to understand.
"I mean exactly what I said," Mei started quietly. "Kiana and I would miss you. Not because of what you do for us or how you protect us. Just... you."
Kenji's expression shifted into something she couldn't quite read. Confusion, maybe. Or disbelief.
"You really don't get it, huh?" Mei's voice was gentler now. "And that's the problem."
She moved closer, until she was standing right in front of him. Close enough to see the exhaustion in his eyes.
"Remember what I said about what happened to me after my father got arrested."
Kenji nodded slowly, but she could tell he was unsure about what she was specifically referring to.
"I didn't want to die," Mei reiterated her words. "But I would've been okay with it if it happened. I stopped caring whether I lived or died."
"Does that sound familiar?" Mei asked quietly.
"...Yeah. It does."
Mei sighed. "I thought so. Because I see the same thing in you. The way you throw yourself into fights. The way you treat your injuries like they're nothing, using your regeneration as an excuse."
She gestured at the memorial behind them.
"You don't want to die. But you'd be okay with it. Because you think that's what you owe to… whoever it is you think you owe it to."
Kenji looked away, unable to hold her gaze.
"I know because I've been there. I know what that looks like."
Kenji stared at her, and she could see him struggling to process what she was saying.
"I... don't know what you want me to say," he said finally, his voice quiet.
"I don't want you to do anything," Mei said. "I just need you to understand something."
She stepped even closer.
"You matter to us. Not your power. Not your ability to fight or protect or sacrifice yourself. Just you. The man who keeps getting our team in trouble, the one who makes us laugh… Our friend."
Kenji's expression cracked slightly. For the first time, she was finally able to see his vulnerable side.
"I don't..." He struggled to find words. "I don't really know who that person is."
Mei's eyes widened as It clicked together in her mind.
"That's the difference," she said quietly. "Between what I feel for Kiana and what you feel for your predecessors."
Kenji looked at her, waiting.
"When I think about Kiana, I don't think about what she did for me first. I think about her. Who she is. Her terrible jokes, the way she lights up when she sees food, how she cares so fiercely about everyone around her." Mei's voice was soft. "I love her for who she is, not just for saving me."
She paused.
"But when you talk about your predecessors... You only talk about what they gave you. What they did for you. Like without that, they wouldn't matter."
"And more importantly," Mei continued, "when you talk about yourself, you only talk about what you can do for others. What you owe. What you can give. Like without that… you don't matter."
Kenji's breath hitched in his throat.
Mei watched his expression carefully. She could see the conflict there, the struggle between what she was saying and what he believed.
A part of her was surprised that she got this far. She half expected him to literally run away the moment things got tense.
Something else must have happened to make him think about this. But what could—
'Fu Hua…' Her mind pieced together.
Kenji said that they were just talking about training when she and Kiana walked in on them. Given that it was Fu Hua, she didn't find any reason to doubt that answer.
There was no more doubt in her mind, something else was going on between them.
But… that can wait for another day. Right now, she needed to focus on what was in front of her.
"I can't force you to see yourself differently," Mei said as she stepped back slightly, giving him space.
"But I need you to know that Kiana and I see you. Not the power or the Knight. Just you."
"And we'd be really lonely without you."
Kenji's face scrunched up as he tried to process her words. Trying to understand something that clearly didn't fit into his worldview.
"Why… Why do you care?" He didn't say that in anger, but in genuine confusion.
Mei didn't know whether to smile or cry at his question.
"Because you're our friend." She paused. "Because when you're not being a self-sacrificing idiot, you're actually pretty decent to be around."
That got a small, startled laugh out of him.
"There," Mei said, and now she did smile. "That's what I mean. That version of you. The one who laughs at stupid jokes and helps me cook dinner and gets into arguments with Kiana about useless topics."
She looked at him seriously, and he met her gaze in tandem.
"That's the person we'd miss."
"..."
"..."
She didn't know what happened, but Kenji suddenly turned his head away.
"T-Thanks, Mei."
Mei felt some of the tension in her chest ease.
The silence that followed was different from before. Not heavy with anger or frustration. Just... really, really tired.
Mei looked back at the memorial wall, at all those names carved in stone.
"You know what the difference is between you and them?" she asked quietly.
Kenji followed her gaze.
"They're dead. You're not." Mei turned back to him. "And I'd really like to keep it that way… wouldn't you?"
Kenji's eyes widened slightly, not expecting the question. But his expression quickly softened as he let out a smile so small she could barely see it.
"Yeah, I guess that'd be better."
It was a small admission. But it was something.
Mei would take it.
/ — /
"We should probably head back," she said quietly. "Before Kiana wakes up and panics thinking we both disappeared."
Kenji let out a small, tired laugh. "Yeah. That sounds like her."
They started walking back toward the dorms.
The campus was still quiet. Just the two of them and the sound of their footsteps on the pathway.
Mei's hands brushed against each other as she walked, and she was reminded of the purple lightning that had sparked around them earlier.
Her chest tightened with embarrassment and shame.
"I'm sorry about earlier. When I lost control of my powers."
Kenji glanced at her, ready to brush it off, but she talked again before he could.
"I thought I was past that," Mei continued, looking down at her hands. "I thought I had better control. But when I got angry, it just… I'm sorry. That was dangerous and reckless."
"It's fine," Kenji said simply. "You were frustrated. It happens."
"It shouldn't," Mei muttered. "I should be better than that."
"Mei." Kenji's voice was gentle but firm. "You're not going to be perfect all the time. Cut yourself some slack."
Mei looked at him, slightly taken aback. Coming from him, of all people, that felt almost ironic. But she appreciated it nonetheless.
"Thanks,"
They walked in silence for a bit longer, and because of their previous conversation, Mei found herself thinking about Nagazora.
But not about the days in Chiba or when Kenji split the sky. Her mind went back to the memory of waking up her powers for the first time, surrounded by destruction.
There was something that had been bothering her for a while now. A question she'd never gotten around to asking.
"Hey, can I ask you something?" Mei said.
"Sure."
"Where were you when I woke up as a Herrscher? You should have been in the city during the eruption too, right? You must have survived it somehow."
Kenji's footsteps slowed, and his expression turned confused.
"I..." Kenji frowned. "Now that you brought it up… I have no memory of a previous eruption."
"..."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"I don't remember there being an eruption before the one I experienced," Kenji said slowly. His frown deepened.
"Wait, you always said that you woke up during the previous eruption. How am I just now realizing this?" he muttered to himself.
That didn't make sense.
To her knowledge, Kenji had always lived in Nagazora even before they met. While the eruption back then wasn't as bad as the one he'd been in, there's just no way he wouldn't know about it.
How could he not remember the eruption?
"I don't remember. Maybe I—" He stopped, then laughed weakly. "I'm probably just too tired to think straight. It's been a long night."
Mei watched him with narrowed eyes.
There was something off about this. Something that didn't fit. But it didn't seem like Kenji was lying either.
"Come on," he said. "We should get back before Kiana actually does wake up."
Mei nodded slowly and fell into step beside him.
But a part of her couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
How could he not remember the eruption?
Everyone who'd been in Nagazora remembered it. It was traumatic, devastating, impossible to forget. But Kenji looked genuinely confused when she brought it up.
'Something's not right.'