The wind skimmed across the rooftops of Windsea, carrying the scent of salt, ash and baked goods through the city. Below, the streets churned with noise- bells clanging like warning shots, guards barking orders, smoke pluming from chimneys like the city itself was breathing.

*Haiyaio didn't flinch. He sat beside the great bell atop the large, weathered clocktower, his arms folded, back straight- still as a sculpture. Unshakable.

He didn't look like someone hiding. Not like his brothers. He looked like someone waiting.

The red lines etched across his body pulsed faintly under the fogged lights, crawling like fire underneath his skin. Not a scar. Not a wound. Just design. Precise. Perfect.

But the flaw in their logic was thinking perfection meant obedience.

The Society taught him how to listen, so he listened. He knew their drills, their voices, the sound of their footsteps. He knew how long they could make a scream last. He knew what floor Atsu had cried on. He knew how Hime's hands trembled as he healed someone too far gone. He knew what Koishi looked like when he wasn't covered in shadows.

He knew, because he paid attention. He always paid attention.

When the tower bell struck midnight, Haiyaio rose to his feet. Looking out over the city, he took a step forwards.

Windsea blinked beneath him, washed in lantern light. The weathered buildings curved like waves, rooftops shattered and painted with salt. He scanned it all, hunting for a flicker. A movement that didn't belong.

And there you were.

Perched on a distant rooftop, crouched between the chimneys like you were one of them. No sound. Just a figure bathed in moonlight, hood drawn low. For a moment, you were just a shape in the dark.

Until your eyes met his.

He tilted his head. A breath. A test.

He didn't know you. Not yet. But he wasn't going to look away.

Haiyaio cleared his throat deliberately. A sound meant for you to hear. Then, with the ease of someone who had done this a thousand times, he jumped up onto the rooftop beside you, landing without a sound.

You barely flinched.

He stood a few feet away, backlit by the moonlight. His gaze didn't waver as his eyes locked on you.

"Well,"he said, voice smooth and almost amused."Hello there."

Not a threat. Not yet. But not casual, either.

"Well hello there."