The corridor outside the arena smelled like lemon cleaner and breath that forgot it was holding. The door thunked shut behind them and the crowd noise shrank into a fussing memory. Raizen walked because his feet remembered how. His hands did not belong to him yet.
Kori stopped. The eight almost ran into her back.
She turned, and slapped him.
It was sharp enough to reset a heart.
"What were you thinking!?" she screamed. Her voice had the wobble of someone who spent all her anger keeping people alive and only found her fear once they were standing. "Why would you go all in on a body that still forgets to stop!? Do you know what happens if you miss that brake by a hand? Do you know what happens to your spine if your angle is wrong by a breath!??"
Raizen looked at the floor. The floor had scratches in it that looked like writing. He tried to read them and could not.
