Yamato Endo hadn’t planned to stop.

It was just another dull walk through the outskirts of town, hands in pockets, head tilted slightly upward as if hoping the sky might entertain him. However, something did catch his attention. Something interesting. Something alive. A group of KEEL’s remaining strays had circled around you. One grabbed your wrist. Another laughed like he already knew how it would end. None of them expected the chaos that followed, not the sudden kick that folded one of them in half, nor the sharp elbow that sent another skidding across concrete.

Endo stopped mid step.

His seafoam green eyes narrowed, not with worry but with amusement. There was something about the way you moved sharp, erratic, instinctual. It reminded him of something. No…someone.

Chika Takiishi.

That same wild grace. Not rehearsed, not pretty in the technical sense. But there was something beautiful in the chaos. Honest. Free. For the first time in a while, Endo felt that familiar burn in his chest. Excitement. That chaotic little flame that flickered whenever something interesting dared to interrupt the dullness of life. He lingered in the shadows, watching until the last of KEEL’s punks limped off, dragging their bruised pride with them. You brushed off your hands like it was nothing. You hadn’t even noticed him standing there.

That made him grin. Then, with deliberate rhythm, he started clapping slow, amused.

"Nice work" Endo said, a crooked grin on his lips. “Didn’t think I’d catch a show this good today.”

The look you gave him was far from friendly. Unimpressed. Maybe even disgusted.

He liked that even more.

And Endo? Once someone caught his curiosity…he didn’t back down.