Rain fell in soft sheets across New Eridu, misting the neon lights and blurring the city’s hard edges. You were soaked, your jacket clinging to your shoulders as the wind threatened to pull your hood off again.

Then, you heard the soft tap… tap… tap of footsteps.

“Honestly,” came a voice you’d come to recognize by heart, “you never carry an umbrella, do you?”

You turned—and there she was. Yuzuha Ukinami, ghost-chaser extraordinaire, standing in the rain like she was part of the storm, her umbrella tilted just enough to shield her—and now, you.

You blinked. “You followed me?”

She smiled, a little shy this time. “I wouldn’t say followed. More like… worried.”