"It's so fuckin quiet here."
The walls were thin, the furniture was sparse, and the single window looked out on a brick wall and a fire escape.
The city beyond was dark now, the sun long since set, the streets below empty except for the occasional distant wail of sirens.
Hoshimi stood by the window, his back to the room, his violet eyes fixed on the darkness beyond the glass.
His reflection stared back at him, pale and hollow-cheeked, the scar on his cheek a thin white line against skin.
His hands were in his pockets. His posture was relaxed.
Behind him, Neila sat at the small kitchen table.
A single lamp burned beside her, casting long shadows across the worn linoleum floor.
She'd spread a collection of documents across the table, the note from her insider, a crude map of the Academy grounds.
"Hoshimi we need money don't we?"
Her blonde hair had escaped its ponytail hours ago, falling around her face in wild strands that she kept tucking behind her ears with increasing irritation.
"Of course we do."
Vert sat in the corner.
The goddess had claimed the room's only armchair, a battered thing with torn upholstery and springs that creaked whenever she shifted her weight.
She sat with her legs crossed beneath her, her hair pooling around her shoulders like spilled milk, they had gained a green hue, her gray eyes fixed on some point in the middle distance.
She hadn't moved in over an hour.
"We can't stay here," Neila said finally. She didn't look up from her documents. "The government will have our faces plastered on every screen in the city by morning. The families will have trackers on our trail. We need to move by today."
"I know." Hoshimi said. "The Goddess said the government is already deciding what to do with us. If they declare us rogues—"
"They will." Vert's voice was soft, almost gentle, but it cut through the tension like a blade. "The ones who serve the state. They have already made their decision. I can feel it. They believe you are too dangerous to live."
Hoshimi's jaw tightened. "Then we need to be gone before they act."
Neila finally looked up, her blue eyes meeting his. "We're fugitives. We have no resources. Where exactly do you propose we go?"
"I don't know yet. But staying here isn't an option."
Neila was quiet for a moment. Then she pushed her tea aside and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. "Fine. Let's think this through. What do we have?"
"A goddess who's been drained of most of her power," Hoshimi said flatly. "A stolen sword. And whatever assets you managed to salvage from the Mirlo estate."
"We need resources. Especially money. Everything I had is back at the Academy." She paused, her finger tracing a line on the crude map. "The Mirlo assets. I never had time to liquidate most of them so they're still accessible even if we're labeled as criminals. They're still in my dorm room. If we're going to survive this, I need those."
"It's a trap. They'll be watching the dorms."
"Obviously." Neila's lips curved. It was not a smile. "But they won't be watching the windows. My room is on the third floor. I can climb."
"With what mana? Your reserves are still depleted from the fight."
"I'll manage." She leaned forward, her elbows on the table. "My room has a window. Third floor. Facing the courtyard. The lock is broken, I never bothered to fix it because I assumed no one would be stupid enough to climb up three stories of sheer wall." Neila stared at him.
"The question is whether you're coming with me."
Hoshimi turned from the window. His violet eyes met hers, and for a long moment, neither of them spoke. The lightbulb buzzed. The city murmured beyond the walls. Vert watched them both with those ancient, knowing eyes.
"I need to go get Kira."
Neila looked up. Her blue eyes were sharp, assessing. "The girl who follows you around like a lost puppy?"
"Yeah."
Neila leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. "Why do you need her? She's a liability, who knows when she could get scared and creates a precarious situation. Her ability is dangerous, yes, but she can't control it half the time."
"She'll follow me no matter what," Hoshimi said quietly. "She needs me to stay alive. She's going to die without me."
"Then let her." Neila's voice was cold. "One less liability to worry about."
"Neila, she depends on me. I doubt we can find anyone else who would listen to our commands in the situation that we're in. I can control her, "
Neila studied his face for a long moment, her expression unreadable. Then she sighed, a sharp, irritated sound that was entirely performative. "That's a lot of faith in someone you've known for less than a year."
"I know."
"Fine. We'll retrieve your emotional support human. But we're putting priority on trying to retrieve the Mirlo assets. After that, we need to run."
"Agreed."
"The Academy is the obvious place to start. It's where both our objectives are located." She tapped the map with her finger. "But there's a problem. Several problems, actually. The Goddess says the government has already found us, which means they're probably watching the Academy's dorms."
Vert's voice was soft, almost gentle, but it carried through the small room with the weight of something ancient and absolute. "The ones who serve the state are aware of your actions. They are deciding what to do about it. All of them want me returned."
"Comforting," Neila muttered.
"The Academy will be watched," Vert continued. "But probably not today, they'll definitely act on it tomorrow. But I still think it's best if you aren't obvious."
"There's one more thing." Hoshimi said.
"Of course there is."
"We need allies. People with resources and connections who can protect us from the families and the government." Hoshimi paused. "The Leviathans."
Neila's expression flickered. "The rogue witch syndicate? The one that orchestrated the invasion? That's your plan? Walk up to the most wanted criminals in the country and tell them 'oh come help me please! I'm in such deep trouble!'"
"Kira's father was one of their lieutenants. Daniel Aamon. He was killed by the government during a raid on her house. She's the daughter of one of their own. They'll listen to her."
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah I am."
"How the hell did you even figure that out."
"I did a background check on everyone before I even enrolled into the school."
"That's rather….impressive."
He met her eyes. " The families are coming for us. The government is coming for us. It's impossible for us to fight them head on."
Neila sighed, running a hand through her tangled hair. "Even if Kira gets us in the door, there's no guarantee they won't kill us on sight."
"That's a risk we'll have to take."
"You're asking me to trust you."
"I'm asking you to trust that I've thought this through."
Neila stared at him for a long moment. Her blue eyes, sharp and calculating, swept over his face, searching for something. Deception. Weakness. The cracks in his composure that would tell her this was a mistake.
Whatever she found seemed to satisfy her.
"Fine," she said.
She leaned back in her chair, her arms crossed, her blue eyes still fixed on his face.
"Fine. We'll go back to the Academy. Get my shit. Get your emotional support human. And then we'll somehow convince the Leviathans not to kill us on sight." She paused. "This is going to be an absolute fucking disaster."
"Of course."
Vert spoke from her corner. Her voice was still soft, but there was something new in it now.
"The path you are choosing is dangerous. The syndicate you seek, they are not what they appear. There are forces within their ranks that have been waiting for an opportunity such as this. An opportunity to strike back at the system that has oppressed them."
"Forces?" Hoshimi turned to face her. "What kind of forces?"
"The kind that do not forgive. The kind that do not forget." Her gray eyes met his, and for a moment, he saw something in their depths. "The Leviathans have been planning something. Something large. Your arrival may accelerate their timeline. And the consequences—"
"Will be dealt with when they come." Hoshimi's voice was flat.
"One thing." Neila turned to Vert. "How come you know all of this?"
"I'm the goddess of greed."
"She's the goddess of greed." Hoshimi pointed. "I don't think you should question it."
Vert pointed to her eyes. "My greed manifests in this mortal body as a desire to want to know everything, but never all of it to keep me still wanting more."
"How awfully convenient."
He turned back to the window. The sun had fully set now, the city swallowed by darkness. Streetlights flickered on one by one, casting pools of cold light across the empty sidewalks.
"We leave in an hour," he said. "Pack everything you can carry."