Enya's grin returned instantly. Worse than ever.
She lifted one hand.
Snapped her fingers.
"Guess."
Raizen barely had time to register the sound before the world around him answered.
Vines shot up from below the branches like living ropes - not rough, not thorny, but fast. They wrapped around his waist and forearm with firm precision, kind of like a harness. Another coil caught Hikari too, sliding around her hips and upper arm, careful not to snag at her dress.
Hikari's breath hitched. Raizen's instinct screamed at him to fight it.
Then the vines pulled. Not down. Up. So hard the ground - the branch under Raizen's boots blurred.
Hikari made a sound she tried to swallow, something between a gasp and a squeak. Her hands grabbed at air for balance, and for a split second Raizen thought she would scream -
But the vines didn't jerk. They held them steady. Tight enough that nothing slipped. Smooth enough that it didn't hurt. Still, it was a ride.
