Silence came down hard and sudden, the kind that didn't invite noise back in. Nathan and Genzo stood apart from one another by only a few feet, close enough that neither needed to shout, far enough that the space between them hummed with intent.
"Yukihime." Nathan didn't look at her. "Stay back."
She didn't argue. A single nod and she slipped away behind him, her feet barely whispering against the ground.
