Gilded Ashes-Chapter 272: Supervision is NOT Safe

Enya didn’t even look at her. She already stepped toward the door. Raizen leaned forward.

"Enya, wait. We should talk about this. You can’t just show up in full armor and give me a time limit."

Enya paused at the doorway and looked back over her shoulder, rain air swirling in behind her. "I can" she said simply. "I just did."

Then she stepped outside.

She didn’t wait for permission, for agreement or any kind of validation.

She didn’t even close the door gently, come on! Even Saffi felt bad for the hinges. She stared after her, stunned. The rain noise filled the silence she left behind.

Raizen sat there, motionless, and felt the weight of two adult stares settle onto him. Slowly.

He looked up.

Kenzo stared at him like he tried to decide whether to laugh or scold him. Saffi stared at him like she wanted answers and didn’t even know where to start asking.

Raizen lifted his hands a little, palms up.

"Woah, woah, woah. Hold up." he said quickly. "Listen, I can explain."

Kenzo’s brow raised. "Great. Start with why a goblin in knight armor knows our address."

Saffi’s voice came quieter, but sharper. "And why she thinks you’re responsible for her."

Raizen opened his mouth.

Then he closed it.

Because explaining meant explaining Mina. And the greenhouse. And the whole mission. And the fact that he somehow made a deal with a thirteen-year-old while an Alteea-level problem hung over Ukai like a storm.

He didn’t have the energy. Also, he had ten minutes.

Raizen pushed himself up from the chair.

"Well" he said, too fast, too casual. "You heard what she said. Uh... I’ll be out for a while."

Saffi stared. "Raizen."

Kenzo leaned forward at the exact same time. "Raizen."

Raizen backed away from both of them like they were the danger.

"I’m fine" he said, already moving. "It’s fine. I’ll just... Go check, make sure she doesn’t do something stupid, you know..."

Saffi’s eyes narrowed. "You’re going to fight Nyxes. In the rain. With a thirteen-year-old."

...And then she switched on ranting mode. "Oh, and by the way. The Nyxes appear to be different, in different parts of the world. These might not match the ones in Neoshiman guidebooks, you might not be used to them-"

"Hey." Raizen pointed at her like that was a strong argument. "I’m going to supervise. Supervision is safe."

Kenzo’s mouth twitched. "That’s the lie you’re choosing. Trust me, from all my time teaching, I can tell you. Supervision is NOT safe."

Raizen didn’t answer. If he answered, he’d get stuck. So he ran to his matress, grabbed a light chest plate from the side, pulled a large raincoat over it, the fabric heavy and familiar. Then he took his twin blades.

The metal felt right in his hands. At least this was something familiar. He didn’t think too hard. He started moving toward the door.

Saffi’s voice caught him right before he left. "Be careful."

Raizen paused for half a second, then nodded without looking back.

Kenzo didn’t say good luck. Kenzo wasn’t that kind of person. But as Raizen opened the door, he muttered something, quiet enough to pretend it wasn’t half a laugh.

"Don’t trip over a kid’s ego."

Raizen shrugged. "I’ll try."

Then he stepped outside into the rain.

Cold air slapped his face. The night smelled like wet wood, green life and fresh rain that never stopped falling.

Enya stood a few steps away, waiting like a soldier. Her coat was gone now.

And on her head sat a huge dark helmet.

It was oversized in the funniest possible way, like someone dropped a war relic onto a kid. The metal covered all of her face. The eye slits made her look like a tiny-tiny villain. The helmet’s top even had a little ridge like it wanted to look noble.

Raizen stared for one second. Then another. Then he lost it. He laughed out loud, full-body laughter, the kind he couldn’t just swallow. It came out way too loud.

Enya’s helmet turned toward him slowly.

"Stop" Enya said, voice muffled behind metal.

Raizen kept laughing. "You look - you stuck your head inside a kettle-"

Enya took one step closer.

Raizen tried to pull himself together. "Woah. I’m sorry - it’s just - why is it so big!?"

Enya lifted her fist.

Raizen didn’t take it seriously.

That was his first mistake

Enya punched him in the chest plate. Not a dramatic swing. Not a wind-up. Just a quick, compact hit. The impact punched the air out of Raizen’s lungs so hard his ribs forgot what breathing was for a few seconds.

He made a horrible sound, half-wheeze, half-offended gasp, and staggered back two steps.

Rain hit his back as he bent forward, hands on knees.

Enya stood there like she just proved a point. "Don’t laugh about it"

Raizen tried to inhale. Nothing happened. He tried again. After a few seconds, his lungs finally worked again, and he sucked in air like he almost drowned.

He looked up, eyes watering, both from pain and rain.

"You" Raizen rasped, "You are insane."

Enya nodded proudly. "Correct."

Raizen straightened slowly, still coughing once under his breath. "Okay. Fine. I guess I’m stuck with you."

Enya’s helmet tilted. "Correct."

Raizen pointed at her. "But be careful. If you get yourself in danger, Mina will strangle me."

Enya waved that off like it was a minor detail. "Mina likes me."

"She likes you the way people like bombs that haven’t exploded near them yet" Raizen muttered.

Enya took a step forward, rain bouncing off her armor. "Nothing will happen."

Raizen looked her up and down again, then huffed out another laugh that hurt his chest. "Oh" he said, voice dry. "So that explains the... Fancy armor."

Enya lifted her fist again, slowly this time, menacing for show.

Raizen raised both hands. "Okay, okay. No more jokes. I learned my lesson."

Enya’s helmet faced forward again, like she decided they were done talking. Raizen walked beside her, still adjusting the raincoat on his shoulders.

He glanced at her again, still unable to believe it. "Seriously, though. Why do you even have armor like that?"

Enya was quiet for a few seconds, like she was still mad. Then she said, with a tone that sounded too funny for the honest truth underneath it, "My dad... You know, he’s too overprotective..."

Raizen blinked, rain dripping off his lashes. He looked at the tiny armored menace marching beside him.

Then he exhaled slowly. "Oh," he murmured. "I can see that."

And they kept walking, straight toward the south-eastern side of Ukai, while rain hammered the streets like it wanted to wash the world clean before the Nyxes could stain it again.