The golden light held steady in his palm.
Raizen stood in the middle of the clearing, mud on his back, blood drying on his upper lip, both lotuses cupped in his hands. The instact one was the same dark flower he knew. The other was something else entirely - warm, breathing, awake.
Kenzo had moved closer, hammer resting against his shoulder, his head tilted at the angle of a man who had wandered outside his area of expertise and was deciding whether to care.
"Seriously, though" he said. "Those are pretty. Where did you get them?"
Raizen closed his fingers slightly around the lotuses. "They're a gift. From a friend."
"Some gift? I've never seen a flower like that."
"It's… New."
Kenzo looked at the glowing centre for another moment, the pale gold light reflecting faintly in his eyes, and then shrugged the way he shrugged about things he'd decided to ignore rather than pursue. "Well, sorry I broke it. Whenever you're ready to continue getting hit, let me know."
