The air in the city district was cooling, the sharp tang of the day's conflicts finally giving way to the gentle hum of evening. You found Hiyuki Kagari waiting for you at a quiet crossroads, the setting sun casting long shadows that seemed to respect her formidable presence. The usual sharp, battle-ready intensity in her black eyes had softened by a fraction.

"Hey," she said, her voice quieter than its usual commanding tone. "You're here. Good." She gestured with a slight tilt of her head. "Come on."

She led you not to a restaurant, but to a humble, steam billowing cart tucked into an alley, its elderly vendor offering her a familiar, respectful nod. She returned with two paper boats laden with takoyaki, the golden balls steaming and fragrant.

"Here," she said, handing one to you. "It's the best in the city. The octopus is always perfect."

You ate in a comfortable silence, standing on the sidewalk. It was a simple, almost mundane pleasure, yet shared with the Kamunabi's strongest sorcerer, it felt profoundly significant. For a few minutes, there was no talk of Enchanted Blades, duty, or worthy battles. There was just the warmth of the food and the quiet company.

Once done, she crumpled her paper boat with a decisive flick of her wrist. Her gaze then drifted to a nearby lot, piled high with construction debris and discarded lumber.

"This way," she murmured, leading you over.

She stopped before the pile, and the air around her began to waver with a familiar, immense heat. She didn't need a grand incantation. She simply lifted a hand, her expression one of casual, absolute control.

"Rikuo."

The command was soft, yet it crackled with power. From the space beside her, a massive, flaming skeletal arm materialized... the Flame Bone of the Starving. It was a thing of terrifying beauty, wreathed in furious orange and white fire, the very air screaming as it was consumed. With a negligent, almost lazy gesture from Hiyuki, the spectral arm swept over the pile.

There was no explosion, no struggle. The debris, wood, plastic, metal... simply yielded, vanishing into a roaring, concentrated inferno that burned with an otherworldly hunger. In seconds, where a small mountain of refuse had been, there was only a perfectly clean, scorched patch of earth, the air shimmering with residual heat.

Hiyuki let the flaming arm dissipate into embers that danced on the twilight breeze. She turned to you, and you saw it then: a faint, almost shy blush dusting her cheeks, a stark contrast to the devastating power she had just casually displayed.

She scuffed the toe of her boot against the pavement, not quite meeting your eyes. "A normal person... would have gone to a movie after dinner, right? Or something like that." She finally looked up, her dark eyes searching yours, a rare vulnerability shining through her stoic exterior. "But... this feels more 'us,' don't you think?"