Afterward, they walked back through alleys smelling of grilled fish and late tea. Rei’s silence stretched warm as a blanket until Kazu reached out, impulsive and clumsy, to loop his arm through hers. She accepted it like a benediction. “You don’t have to run anymore,” she said without looking at him. She didn’t need to tell him why; the town, the house, the trio’s small rituals had already spoken it for her.