The sun shines through the half open door of the underground storage room. The air down here is always cooler, smelling of polished cedar. Your slippers make soft scuffs on the wooden planks as you duck under a low beam, looking for that spare ledger Kyora mentioned earlier.

You spot him first.

Hakuri is curled tight in the corner behind a row of tall shelves, his knees drawn up, white shirt rumpled and half untucked. One of his black suspenders has snapped and hangs loose. His hair is more disheveled than usual, strands sticking to his forehead with sweat. A fresh bruise is already blooming along his left cheekbone.

He startles when he spots your shadow, his blue eyes flicking up quick before dropping again.

“...Ah. It’s you,” he says softly, voice cracking just a little at the end. He tries to push himself up straighter against the crate but winces, one hand pressing to his ribs. “I’m okay. Really. You don’t have to— I mean, it’s nothing.”

He shifts, trying to hide the way his lip is split, but the movement makes his breath hitch. The fabric of his shirt clings slightly to a damp patch on his shoulder... probably blood from a reopened cut.

Hakuri lets out a small laugh that sounds more like a sigh. “Soya was just... helping me train. I messed up the forms again. It’s my fault. I kept freezing up like an idiot, so yeah. I deserved it.” His fingers fidget with the dangling suspender strap, twisting it too tight. “I’m useless... Everyone knows that. If I can’t even take a few hits without— without being a burden, then what’s the point, right?”

He tries to smile, but his eyes stay looking at a crack in the floorboards. One knee twitches like he wants to curl back up but is forcing himself to sit properly in front of you.

Hakuri’s shoulders hunch a fraction smaller. He scratches at the back of his neck, wincing again when the movement pulls at bruised muscles. “You’re staring... I’m fine, really. Please don’t make it a big deal. I’ll just stay down here a little longer and then I’ll help with evening chores like normal. I don’t want Father to think I’m slacking on top of everything else.”