Click!!
Door shut in Meili's face.
Meili walked outside to meet the others.
Getting shut down by Lei still stung a little, but at least she'd said what she needed to say. That was enough for now.
She headed downstairs — and stopped.
Ryou was there. Jaggy. Kagawa.
All of them. Shoes on. Jackets ready. Actually waiting for ramen.
"Well," Ryou said with a small shrug. "Too bad she didn't come. She's been in one of her phases for a while now.
Haven't even spoken to me since the hospital."
He looked at Meili. "Don't let it weigh you down, okay?"
Meili shook her head, and this time the smile came easy. Bright. Real.
"Nothing to worry about. Let's go."
And just like that, the air shifted.
No heavy silences. No serious talk.
The walk to the ramen shop was loud.
Jaggy arguing about who pays, Kagawa calling him broke, Koko pretending not to listen, Fuse trying to mediate, Ryou pretending he wasn't enjoying it.
Meili walked in the middle of it all, laughing.
For the first time in weeks, everything felt... okay.
The noise didn't stop when they hit the street.
If anything, it got louder.
The moment they pushed open the doors to the ramen shop, the chefs looked up — and broke into grins.
"Hey! You're them! The ones from the war!"
"From Iron fist! The kids who held the line!"
Bowls were quickly being set down before they even ordered. Extra toppings. No charge.
The whole shop was buzzing with it. Whispers turning into cheers.
Meili and the rest froze for half a second, then broke into awkward, grateful smiles.
Jaggy, of course, took it as a personal victory.
He puffed out his chest, threw an arm around Kagawa, and shouted,
"That's right! We saved your noodles! Remember that when you're eating them!"
"Jaggy," Kagawa groaned.
"What? I'm just giving the people what they want," Jaggy said, soaking it up like he was the main character in a legend.
Koko rolled her eyes. Fuse hid her laugh behind her sleeve.
Ryou just shook his head and slid into a seat.
Meili looked around the shop — at the steam, the lights, the normalcy — and felt something tight in her chest finally loosen.
They weren't just students anymore.
To this city, they were the ones who made it back.
"Alright, alright," the head chef laughed, waving them to sit. "Enough hero talk. Eat before it gets cold.
On the house. For what you did."
And for the first time in a long time, they did.
No missions. No training.
But before anyone could pick up a pair of chopsticks—
"Hey, you guys!"
A voice cut through the shop.
Everyone turned.
"Elia??" Meili blinked. "And... the rest of Golden Elite? What are you doing here?"
Elia walked in first. One eye was bandaged. Behind her came Levi and Nix, both trying to look casual and failing.
"I figured I'd come check on Lei," Elia said, shrugging like it was nothing. "Well. Maybe not all of you. But you all look fine."
She jerked a thumb back at Levi and Nix. "These two just decided to tag along."
"Oh— that's okay," Meili said quickly, bowing her head. "We're sorry we didn't come see you guys first..."
Elia waved it off. "It's alright. We were just—"
She didn't get to finish.
The chefs spotted the Golden Elite insignia and immediately lit up.
"Ah! From the Western Academy! The Golden Elite!"
More bows. More free toppings. More eyes in the shop swinging toward them.
In seconds, Elia's squad had pulled half the room's attention.
Whispers, stares, a few kids asking for autographs.
Jaggy deflated instantly. "Wait. I was just the main character a minute ago."
Kagawa snorted. "Tough break, hero."
Meili, though, just smiled. It wasn't rivalry anymore. Not after the war.
She stepped aside and gestured to th said t seats at their table.
"Sit," she said to Elia. "If you came all this way to check on Lei... you might as well have ramen while you're at it."
Elia hesitated for a second, then smirked and slid into the seat.
"Fine. But I'm not paying."
"On the house," the chef called from the counter. "For all of you."
And just like that, two rival squads were crammed around one table, steam rising between them.
For a while, it was just the sound of slurping.
The table was full, but the conversation wasn't.
Everyone from Iron Fist kept sneaking glances at Elia's bandaged eye and then quickly looking back at their noodles. No one wanted to be the one to ask.
Finally, Meili set her chopsticks down.
"Hey, Elia. What happened to your eye?"
Every head turned.
Elia paused, then let out a breath. "Ah. That."
She tapped the bandage lightly. "Got taken out fighting one of Xaphan's warlords. It was pretty bad. I can't see out of it anymore."
The words hit Meili hard.
Levi just shrugged beside her, like he was used to it.
"If I'd been stronger, I could've dodged it," Elia said quietly. "Could've done more in the war."
"You shouldn't say that," Meili said fast. "We all could've done more. But we made it out. That's a victory too, isn't it?"
Levi snorted. "Well, you didn't lose an eye. For a Hanzo, losing an eye is—"
"Levi."
Elia's hand landed on his knee. Just like that, he shut up.
She looked back at Meili and smiled, tired but real.
"But you're right. Enough of that."
She stood up, bowl still half full.
"The truth is, we all need to get better. Because we still failed to bring Lian back. And I know Lei's taking that rough right now.
Which is why two things. First, I want to see her.
Second..."
A grin cut across her face.
"I want to duel you. Both you and Kai."
Silence.
"Uh... why?" Meili asked, blinking.
"Your heroics in the battle," Elia said, like it was obvious. "They caught my interest."
Meili fumbled with her chopsticks. "Er... I don't really know what to say to that."
"You don't have to answer now," Elia said quickly, polite again. "Whenever. Whatever terms you want."
That's when Ryou shot to his feet. He'd been tense since Levi walked in.
"Well in that case, I want a match too! With you, Levi!"
Levi didn't even look up from his ramen.
"Get lost, weakling."
Ryou deflated and sat back down.
Jaggy and Kagawa barely covered their laughs.
Meili glanced around the table, then back at Elia.
"Well... okay, Elia. I'll let you know when."
"Great," Elia said, sitting back down like nothing happened.
The steam kept rising. Chopsticks started moving again.
And slowly, real conversation began to stir around the table.It was well past noon by the time they were all ready to leave.
Elia checked the sky. "We should head to Lei now. Don't want to get stuck traveling back late."
Just like that, Golden Elite bowed out and left.
Before they split, Fuse tugged at Meili's sleeve.
"We're still going to see Kai today, right?"
"Yeah," Meili said without hesitation. "And we're all going."
So they went.
Iron Fist, all six of them.
The walk to the hospital was lighter than it was when they left their dorms. More smiles, jokes, hope that they'd finally see their teammate up and okay.
Ryou walked a little apart. He didn't say much. But he came.
When they reached Kai's ward, though, Meili's stomach dropped.
A weird feeling. Cold. Off.
She almost ignored it.
Almost.
But then they turned the corner.
A small crowd of healers was gathered outside Kai's room. Whispering. Moving too fast.
Some of them looked worried.
Meili and Fuse exchanged a look.
"What's going on?" Meili asked, her voice barely steady.
Meili spotted Lei first.
Her eyes were wide. One hand was pressed over her mouth.
Horror, plain on her face.
Meili's heart dropped. She ran.
"Lei? What happened—"
The words died in her throat.
On Kai's mat wasn't Kai.
It was a dummy. Straw and bandages. Dressed in his hospital yukata.
The healers were in a panic, crowding the room.
"When did this get here?"
"How did no one see someone bring it in?"
Footsteps. Fast.
Sifu Mei and Kaede burst in, out of breath.
Sifu Mei's gaze locked onto Meili immediately.
"Meili. I need you and the rest to stay calm."
Her voice was steady, but tight.
"Search. Everywhere you can. Find Kai."
Those words hit Meili like a punch.
"'Find Kai.'
Why would he be missing? And at a time like this?"
She nodded once. "Yes, Sifu."
And just like that, Iron Fist scattered.
Elta skirta. No plan, no talking. Just running.
Hallways. Courtyards. Rooftops.
Lei was right beside her, jaw set, eyes sharp again.
Meili's chest was pounding.
Because if someone could swap Kai for a fake body and walk out of a guarded hospital...
Then this wasn't over.
Meili couldn't sense Sanguine anywhere.
Not in the alleys. Not by the training grounds. Not even as a whisper on the wind.
And the longer she searched, the colder that feeling got.
He might not even be in the North Region anymore.
"We should head back," Elia said, falling into step with Levi and Nix by the northern city gates.
"We've checked Iron Fist Academy. We've checked her dorm. There's nowhere else here we know."
She glanced up. The sun was low. "And it's getting late..."
Then she stopped.
A flicker.
Something fast. Too light to be a person, too deliberate to be wind.
"What was that?" Levi asked, noticing how her eyes narrowed.
"Hmm. Probably nothing," Elia said. "Just felt a breeze."
They pushed through the gates and out onto the road.
Ten steps later, Elia stopped again.
"Hey, you guys... I'm kind of dying here with all that ramen." She gestured vaguely toward the treeline. "Mind if I take a minute? You know."
Levi blinked. "Wait, in those bushes?"
"Shut it, dumbass," Nix cut in. "You don't ask a girl that when she's pressed."
Levi went red and looked away immediately. Nix followed him, shaking her head.
"Thanks," Elia said, already walking off.
The moment they were out of sight, her expression dropped.
No bathroom break.
That presence. That flicker. She felt it again — faint, moving fast, heading east along the wall.
Her intuition was screaming.
Elia took off after it, silent.
Because if she was right, whatever just slipped past the gates wasn't wind at all.
Elia slipped away from the road, following the trail only she could feel.
Each step took her farther from Levi and Nix. Farther from the gates.
Then—
"Hey."
The word was soft. Right behind her ear.
She froze.
Cold steel pressed lightly against the side of her neck. A short dagger.
"Well," the voice continued, calm. "This wasn't your way back home, was it?"
Elia didn't move. Her mind was already running through options.
But then she recognized it. That tone.
"I know that voice," she said. "Kai. Right?
We just finished a goddamn war and now you wanna play rogue?"
A pause.
"No. It's not like that." Kai sounded tired. Hurried.
"I don't have time. And I don't have any business with you. So do me a favor and forget you saw me."
Elia let out a low laugh.
"You might not know me yet, but I'm terrible at minding my business."
Her grin widened, even with the blade there.
"Also... I've been wanting to meet you."
"There's no time," Kai replied quickly.
Elia didn't wait.
She twisted, dropped her shoulder, and slid out of his grip in one smooth motion. Landed three feet away, already in a stance.
"If you won't tell me what's going on," she said, "then I'm gonna have to stop you by force."
Kai didn't look surprised.
He was breathing hard behind a mask he had on. One hand clutched at his side under the cloak. He hadn't recovered.
He looked at her. Really looked.
"Well..." he exhaled.
"I guess you're worse than Meili."
Then it happened.
Kai's body shimmered.
The edges blurred, like wet ink in water.
"Hey —" Elia started.
His form collapsed.
Not flesh. Not blood.
Mud. Thick, black mud, slumping to the ground.
The same kind of clone Xaphan's warlords used.
A voice echoed from nowhere, already distant,
"I'll be gone for a while. Do me a favor. Tell them not to come after me.
I'll explain everything when the time is right."
And then silence.
Elia just stood there, staring at the puddle that used to be Kai.
"How? When did he—"
The words caught in her throat.
She dragged a hand through her hair. "Can't believe I let him slip away."
Footsteps.
She turned.
Meili. Lei. Iron Fist. All of them.
Standing at the treeline with faces that had gone completely blank.
They'd seen it too.
Kai was gone.
And the only thing he left behind was mud, and a message no one wanted to hear.