Gilded Ashes Chapter 154: The Boys

The door snapped open like it owed soone money. Light cut a stripe across the floor.

Esen stood frad in it, one of his hands firm on Saffi’s shoulder. Ichiro and Arashi behind him like backup.

"We brought the boys" Esen announced. "Division Four’s finest. And also Arashi"

"Rude" Arashi said, already grinning.

Saffi’s eyes locked on Raizen for half a second, then on the floor, then on anywhere that wasn’t a face.

"I just rembered I have to do sothing!!" she blurted, spun, and squeezed past Esen into the hall so fast her goggles bounced.

Esen watched her go, impressed. "Top speed. She’s been haunting this hallway for so ti"

"We hid for a bit, to see what she did" Arashi said, with a disappointed tone. "Literally nothing. She rehearsed a greeting. Or she just stood leaning on the wall"

Obi lifted a hand from the wall and gave them a lazy salute. "You idiots scared off my entertainnt"

"Your entertainnt is our friendship" Arashi said. "Please pay the subscription"

Ichiro shut the door with a soft click and gave Raizen a small, guilty smile. "We ca to say hi. And to see if you’re still shaped like a person"

"Mostly" Raizen said. His ribs tugged when he smiled back. He ignored it.

Esen dragged a spare chair close, and sat on it backward. "Our boy lives. Look at that posture! Elite recovery"

Arashi went straight to the window and checked the view as if it might have moved. "Nice. You can see a third of the city if you lean a bit off the side and ignore the nurse who says not to"

"Just don’t fall" Ichiro said without looking.

Obi nodded at the bed. "You need anything? I offer bad advice and a coin with sentintal value"

Raizen raised a hand. "I have advice already. Kori left books"

Arashi peered at the small stack. He read a spine aloud. "Prosthetic Load Balances. Advanced chanisms. Fishing Mastery. That last one is a cry for help"

"I need it" Raizen exhaled.

Esen raised a brow. "Get one called Punch Faster"

"I’d read that" Arashi raised his hand.

Ichiro folded his arms and tried not to smile too big. He failed a little.

Esen sniffed. "What’s that sll? Bread, at, onions... Edible stuff?"

"Obi brought food" Raizen responded.

"Obi is a saint" Esen exclaid, reaching by instinct.

Obi smacked his hand without looking. "Ask first"

"May I have one?"

"No. Because you didn’t ask like you ant it"

Arashi leaned a bit, from his chair. "So. Patient of the year. Can you walk?"

"Not really" Raizen sighed. "I don’t have permission"

"Permissions are a concept" Arashi grinned. "Like rules"

"Rules are real" Ichiro raised a brow.

"Concepts can be real. But also flexible"

Esen nodded with deep fake wisdom. "And rules are breakable. Raizen can tell you"

Obi tossed Raizen a folded napkin. "Translation: They plan cris"

"Small ones" Arashi said. "Cute ones. Nothing that starts with an explosion. Unless Esen sneezes"

"I don’t sneeze" Esen said. "I... Uh... Detonate the air around . Gracefully. "

Raizen shifted higher against the pillow. The movent set a bright line of pain across his side. He let it pass and kept the smile. It felt good to have the room noisy again. It felt like the d Wing had decided to be a place where people live and not just heal.

Ichiro’s gaze drifted to the slate under Obi’s arm. He didn’t ask. The room didn’t need that weight right now. Obi caught the glance and didn’t bring it up either. Easy truce.

Arashi rocked on his heels. "Alright. We’ve admired the window. We’ve bullied Obi. We’ve confird the existence of weird manuals. What else can we ruin?"

Raizen hesitated, then decided to let the sentence out. "I’m kind of thirsty. The vending machine on the lower floor sounds godly"

Arashi’s grin arrived like weather. "Say less"

Ichiro frowned. "No"

Esen clapped once. "Yes"

Obi folded his arms, already entertained. "Let’s go"

Raizen raised both palms. "Absolutely not. I’m not allowed to walk"

Esen pointed. "You heard him. He’s not allowed to walk"

"Which is why" Arashi went on, eyes bright, "he won’t"

The boys turned the sa shade of mischievous at the sa ti.

Ichiro stepped between them and the bed like a traffic cone. "No. We can bring the soda here. We have legs. We’re not helpless"

"True" Esen said. "But where is the adventure?"

"In not getting beat up by nurses, already made angry by Raizen" Ichiro said.

Arashi ignored him with practice. He tapped the bed fra thoughtfully. "We’ll need four points of contact. Esen and I take shoulders. Ichiro and Obi take legs. Raizen keeps arms inside the ride"

"Absolutely not" Raizen repeated, laughing now despite himself. "I’m not a sack of flour"

"You’re a very valued sack of flour" Arashi said. "Deluxe edition. Limited run"

Obi tilted his head. "I’m in"

Ichiro blinked. "Obi"

"What? I want to see if we still have it" Obi said. "Also I want a soda now"

Esen spread his hands like a preacher. "Witness. The power of suggestion"

Esen tightened his grip on the chair back like he was warming up to lift. "We move on three"

Raizen tried one more fake protest that had already lost the war. "Gentle. I like my ribs inside my body"

"And keep the blanket" Ichiro sighed, resigned. "It will help with grip"

"Don’t say grip" Arashi laughed. "He’s a person"

"Fine. It will help with... Person managent"

Obi pushed the small table aside with a foot and cleared a neat path. Then he looked at Raizen. The joke lines at his eyes softened for a second. "If it hurts, we stop. You say it out loud. No being brave for free"

Raizen nodded once. "Yeah, sure."

Arashi waggled his eyebrows. "He’s going to be brave anyway. That’s his whole brand"

"Your brand is chaos" Raizen sighed again.

"Exactly. We unite like cereal and milk!".

"Stop talking about milk" Ichiro said for no reason other than timing.

Esen moved to Raizen’s right side. Arashi took the left. Obi and Ichiro claid space near the foot of the bed, hands ready.

"Wait" Raizen said suddenly.

Everyone froze.

He reached under the blanket and pulled the fishing book free. He set it on the table like a small ceremony. "If I die, tell Kori I had mastered Chapter three"

"You won’t die" Esen said. "You’ll be hydrated"

Arashi cracked his knuckles dramatically. "Alright. Lift. On three. One"

"Hold on" Ichiro said, already adjusting his stance. "We need even pressure"

"Two" Arashi continued, ignoring him.

"Arashi..." Ichiro tried.

"Three"

Four pairs of hands slid under Raizen. The room held its breath. Raizen did too. And then the mission began.