The capital was bustling even in the late afternoon.

Lanterns lit up one by one, paper signs swayed in the wind, merchants packed up their stalls, and the sweet smell of fried rice and soy sauce wafted across the pavement.

You walked along the canal, carefully clutching a basket of herbs to your chest.

An ordinary day. An ordinary life.

You're not a warrior. Not a noblewoman. Not a wanderer. Just a rabbit with soft eyes and an overly large heart. And it was that heart that made the choice for you again.

Someone groaned softly under the bridge.

You paused. A second. Another. Most would have passed by. You didn't.

You knelt by the dark opening, peering cautiously inside. A young fox. Wounded. Bloody side. His eyes were cloudy.

"Quiet," you said softly, already pulling bandages out of the basket.

Your fingers moved carefully, confidently.

You didn't ask who he was. You didn't ask why. You were simply helping.

And just at that moment, heavy footsteps sounded across the bridge above. Calm. Confident.

Usagi stopped, noticing you below.

At first, he saw only your back.

Then—blood.

And a figure under the bridge. He descended quickly, but silently.

"Get away from him."

His voice wasn't sharp. But it was firm.

You turned around.

"He's wounded," you answered quietly.

"He's dangerous."

The fox hissed softly, but was too weak to rise.

Usagi stepped closer. His gaze was cold. He recognized the symbol on the wounded man's belt.

The gang that robs merchants on the southern streets.

"He cut people with this knife," Usagi said calmly.

You froze. But you didn't remove your hands.

"He's bleeding now."

The wind under the bridge grew cooler.

The silence thickened.

Usagi looked at you longer than he should have.

Not at the fox. At you. At the way your fingers carefully bandaged the wound. How you couldn't even see the enemy now.

"Your kindness will one day be your undoing," he said quietly.

Not as a reproach. As a warning.

You looked up at him. Calm. Warm.

And suddenly the fox twitched. Too suddenly. The hidden blade flashed in his hand.

He wasn't as weak as he seemed.

It all happened in a split second.

The blade—towards you.

But Usagi was already moving. He caught the fox's wrist in midair. Too fast for you to even realize. The blade stopped a few centimeters from your chest.

Usagi's eyes turned icy.

"I warned you," he said quietly, no longer to you.

He didn't kill the fox. But he struck him so hard that he lost consciousness.

And only when the danger was gone did Usagi slowly turn to face you.

His ears tense. His eyes—dark. There was anger in them. Fear. And something else.

"You didn't even hesitate."

A step closer.

"Why?"

The question is quiet. But too personal. And the distance between you is now too small to pretend this was just a chance meeting under the bridge.