Akako didn’t remember how he had gotten back to the Restkeep that night. One moment, he’d been standing on the raft, the glow of the last few remaining fireworks fading into smoke over White Lily Lake. The next moment, he was sitting up in bed, sunlight already streaming in through the blinds, signaling that it was already late morning.

“Midday already!” Akako yelped, once the grogginess from his abrupt awakening had faded. Then, panic struck him like a hammer, and he shot straight out to bed, putting on his clothes haphazardly before bolting down the stairs two steps at a time. He’d nearly collided face first into the wall from the sheer momentum alone as he reached the bottom, though once Akako’s feet had found solid footing again, he yelled, anxious and urgent, “What happened?!”

“Oh. Awake?” Came Hanako’s even reply from behind the counter, “Good morning.”

Akako blinked. Then, he looked around. Instead of the chaos he’d been expecting, the Restkeep Tavern was instead calm, with only a few residents scattered across several tables, nursing brunch and easy conversation. Akako rubbed his eyes, and once he was sure that the tranquil scene before him was no facade, did his panic finally settle, and he turned towards Hanako, a questioning look in his gaze.

“You seemed exhausted yesterday, so I let you sleep in,” Hanako explained, catching Akako’s silent question easily enough, “I’ve been handling things since morning.”

Relief flooded Akako, though guilt was quick to follow.

“You really shouldn’t have,” Akako said, a slight hint of a complaint in his voice. Hanako had been stuck watching the stall at the festival all day, after all. And now, Hanako was also the one who’d been watching the tavern while Akako had slept in the entire morning! “You should’ve woken me.”

“Slow day,” Hanako shrugged, nonchalant, “Everyone’s still tired from the festival. Hardly anyone came by.”

“Still,” Akako pouted, indignant, “Next time, just wake me. We run the Restkeep together, remember?”

Hanako gave a non-committal hum. Not exactly a refute, but not exactly an affirmation, either.

“I thought you deserved the rest,” Hanako said, “Especially after saving the festival yesterday.”

Before Akako could properly retort, however, a figure had approached their table, drawing both Akako and Hanako’s attention. It was Aria, a soft smile on his face as he looked between the two.

“Hanako,” Aria greeted first. Then, he turned to Akako.

“And Akako,” He said, beaming, “Yesterday was a success. And we all have you to thank for it.”

Akako instantly flushed a bright shade of red.

“Oh! It was nothing!” Akako spoke as he frantically waved his hands, “I’m sure anyone would’ve done the same!”

“Of course,” Aria agreed, his smile deepened knowingly, “Anyone else would have done the same, but you were the one who actually ended up stopping Kami before the celebration could spiral into disaster, after all.”

“A-actually,” Akako had fumbled around for an excuse for several moments longer, but when that had failed, he had resorted to changing the subject entirely instead, “I was wondering- How did I get back from the festival, anyways? I don’t remember?”

Aria blinked, “You don’t?”

“General carried you,” Hanako interjected before Akako could respond, “You passed out once you’d gotten back to shore, so General ended up carrying you back to the Restkeep.”

Akako’s still-warm cheeks went an even darker shade of scarlet upon hearing this. Carried?! Akako felt his heart stumbling into a frantic, irregular rhythm at the thought of General lodging around his unconscious body through the village- Gods above, why would he do something like that? Did anyone else see?! And General-

“General!” Akako blurted out far too loudly before he could even stop himself. His eyes were scanning the room with fear-fueled panic and embarrassment, “Is he here?!”

“He left early,” Hanako replied casually, and Akako’s racing heart finally settled a bit. Good. At least that meant he wouldn’t have to deal with the subject of his awkwardness right at this very moment! “Said he wanted to walk around and explore the village a bit more. If I had to guess, he’ll probably he back by lunch-”

BANG!!!

With a startle, all eyes now turned towards the commotion, where the tavern door had been slammed open with a violent crack. There, a long, dark figure filled the hallway, his silhouette framed by sunlight, plunging the atmosphere of the Restkeep into unease and trepidation as the air around him seemed to grow taunt with danger.