·||Tosva||·

The evening streets were living their own evening life: doors were slamming somewhere, laughter and the quiet hum of a television could be heard from open windows, and the air was filled with the smell of fried fish and fresh asphalt after the day's rain.

Mikey walked slightly ahead, his hands in his pockets and swaying to the rhythm of a melody unique to him. Draken stood beside him, as always—calm, as if carved from stone, but now there was something soft, almost relaxed, in his gaze. Chifuyu walked alongside, occasionally adjusting the strap of his backpack and muttering under his breath that it was late, time to go home, but no one was paying attention.

Mitsuya and Pa-chin walked slightly behind. Mitsuya was talking about a new uniform design—not for the gang, but just for himself, as if he wanted to sew something that wouldn't be about strength, but about comfort. Pa-chin nodded, occasionally interjecting short "uh-huh"s and "wow," and then suddenly stopped in front of a small shop window and stared at a toy robot:

"Look, it's just like the one we used to try to get from the slot machine when we were kids. Remember? You spent all the coins then."

Mitsuya chuckled:

"I didn't spend it. I invested it. The machine was just dishonest."

Pa-chin snorted:

— Invested... You just couldn't come to terms with the fact that you didn't get it.

They laughed, and this laughter easily merged with the general hum of the street.

Baji brought up the rear, kicking an empty plastic bottle and pretending it wasn't a game but serious training. Then he suddenly stopped, squinted, and pointed toward a narrow street where the shadows were particularly thick:

"Remember how we chased that guy from Mobius? He almost crashed into a dumpster on the turn?"

Mikey turned around, raising an eyebrow slightly.

— I remember. And I also remember that you tripped over your own foot.

Draken chuckled:

• He didn't trip. He made a false move.

"Exactly!" Baji slapped his knee. "A false move! That's it!"

Chifuyu rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but smile.

• There you go again... We're trying to have a normal walk here, and you're talking about fights again.