The pain wouldn't let go. Even after our training adjustments, the calculations, the series of movements repeated to the point of nausea... there was still that fucking knot, lodged in my arm, like a rusty blade wedged under the skin. I went to bed thinking I could ignore it, but with every breath, it came back. A dull, throbbing, unbearable burning.
I sighed in the darkness of my room, my palm pressed against my tense bicep. No, this wouldn't go away on its own. My body was screaming, and I knew there was only one person who could soothe it.
I stood up, barefoot on the cold stone, and stepped out into the silent corridor. Torches cast twisted shadows against the walls. I advanced slowly, like a thief, to a door I knew all too well.
I knocked. Three muffled knocks.
The handle creaked, the door opened a crack. And Hikari appeared.
