29

There wasn't any question in the invitation. Nagitsu fell in a step behind, and Ren followed, still visibly unsettled, casting one last glance at the pond group—who, now that attention had moved on.

They moved a short distance away, the four of them halting near the edge where the falls masked private conversation. Fūre spoke without preamble, tone light but not casual.

"I'm told you've been in a mood." He looked at Kamo, then Ren. "Surprising enough you lost a fight, let alone had a fit about it."

Fūre's eyes narrowed a fraction, reading past the surface. 

"I didn't have a fit that I lost"

He waited, but Kamo didn't elaborate. Fūre pressed anyway, tone deceptively calm.

"Care to explain?"

Kamo didn't answer right away. He looked toward the water, tracking the reflected light off the wet cave wall. When he did speak, it was directed at Fūre, ignoring the others. "I hate the lack of control. Doesn't matter how much I train, it's like I can't even get there. Even the right answer feels wrong."

"What does that have to do with this?"

"You asked why I 'had a fit', I didn't, he just took my training as a joke. I wasn't joking, I feel bottlenecked, and trying to overcome that."

Ren shifted at that, caught off guard by how plain the admission was. Kamo didn't look at him. Fūre studied Kamo a second longer, then gave a brief, humorless nod before replying.

"It's been 2 days, what'd you expect?"

"It's been months. But it's no big deal, I'm gonna get it under control"

"That so? I'll take your word for it." Fure turned slightly, gaze raking the falls and the cave shadows beyond. "This isn't about sparring. You keep acting like a ghost in your own camp. So I'll keep it simple."

He gestured, subtle. "I'm assigning you to the lookout shifts tonight. You, Nagitsu, Ren, you three will be with Sora. My understanding is that you four will be the leaders of this compound, so I need you guys to get acquainted and to get along" He didn't explain further—didn't need to. Everyone understood the assignment. It wasn't an honor, but it wasn't exile either. Just a job nobody asked for.

Dusk had drained from the ridge by the time night watch began. The outpost perimeter barely held a shape—lanterns guttered along the mountain lip, fighting off mist that crawled up from the valley floor. The dew mixed in with the cold allowed each breath to be visible, pale and quick, even before the wind caught it.

The four of them split the high ground by silent consensus. Kamo found a patch under a crooked pine, back to the trunk, boot pressed in loose dirt. From here, he watched the others arrange themselves: Ren by a break in the rock wall, loose-limbed and alert. Nagitsu in the open, closest to Ren and half-turned to everyone, a hinge the line revolved around. Sora, the new face of the four crouched at the nearest post, tightening worn straps by the top entrance to the Ketsuen Cave. 

Sora and Ren were the only ones with weapons beyond their hands. Sora had a staff that seemed regal, Ren's sword had a similar appearance. Kamo felt that both of them had a posture that seemed foreign, closer to Fure's then Nagitsu or his own. 

At first nobody bothered with small talk. Kamo tallied them in silence but kept the assessments to himself.

After a near hour passed, only footsteps and gear clicks filled the quiet. Ren tried first.

"Any of you ever pulled this shift before?"

Nagitsu answered, turning to engage slightly. "A few times."

Ren looked Kamo's way. "What about you?"

Kamo simply shook his head while Sora kept her focus on her gear. 

Ren shrugged, voice drifting into the damp air. "Doesn't seem complicated. Stay awake, not like anyone would come all the way up here"

Kamo noted the two of them conversing back and forth. He didn't much see the point though, they were communicating common sense.

Nagitsu rolled his shoulders, eyes on the misted line where rock met trees. "Fūre wants a staggered watch," he said, voice even. "Pairs only, four hours each all told."

He traced the schedule with two gloved fingers in the air, drawing an unseen grid. "First change comes at ten. Ren stays with me until midnight. Midnight to two, Kamo takes Ren. Two to four, Kamo with Sora. Last stretch, four to sunrise, I finish with Sora. Everyone covers four hours, nobody stands alone."

Ren tapped his sword hilt, impatient energy visible even in the dim glow. "Easy enough. We cycle, keep eyes fresh."

Sora eased her staff upright, metal butt capped on stone. A short nod—no complaint. Kamo watched the motion, smooth and silent, then let his gaze linger. Sora's presence carried no extra noise.

She's not as annoying as them, at least.

Deep in the treeline a branch cracked—one dry click. Four heads pivoted. A dead limb tipped, slid through leaves, and landed with a muffled thud. Kamo's pulse stayed level; the others reset just as quickly. 

"Maybe we need to ease up." Ren chuckled "Anyone want to play a game or something?" 

"And if something comes up? We have to pay attention"

"No ur right, but we can still play something like I-spy or another looking game, that way we can be less on edge"

Kamo returned to the place of ignoring the group, Ren and Nagitsu played their looking game, while Kamo returned to meditating, trying his hardest to return to the plane he'd been on in near death. Kamo felt that if he could return to that state, maybe he could challenge Hikari and beat him into submission as he'd read in the fantasy books. Many topics he found in literature had a way of carrying into real life, one way or another.

The mist atop the mountain thickened. Ren stole a glance toward Kamo, opened his mouth, but thought better of speaking. He likely thought Kamo was so bold as to go to sleep. The cold worked its way through cloth and leather. Lanterns hissed in the damp. Two hours passed, marked by breath turning denser in the dark. Kamo noted the time, exhaled, and settled deeper against the pine. While it technically was his turn to rest, while Ren and Nagitsu watched, Kamo tried to remain in a meditative state, similar to resting. But given the time of night he eventually dozed off.

Kamo woke, 2 hours later, to cold seeping through the back of his shirt, cheek numb where it pressed against rough bark. He blinked, trying to piece together the blur of mist and lantern halos drifting along the ridge. Nagitsu crouched nearby, shaking his shoulder just hard enough to sting.

"Your up," Nagitsu murmured, voice low to avoid carrying. 

Kamo grunted, rubbing the side of his neck as Nagitsu rose and faded into the dark, boots quiet on the grit. Ren was already moving, blade slung across his hip, waiting with that restlessness he never lost.