As the neon light began to tilt toward the surface of the river, Miyabi walked the narrow path leading to Senryu River Bridge.
Kareno followed her back in silence, its stride by now grown naturally aligned with hers — falling into step without effort.
Against a weathered concrete wall beside the alley, a man sat with a notebook propped on his knees, writing.
A worn plain hoodie. Sneakers at his feet, conspicuously new.
The AR devices from his ears and eyes had been removed and set aside without care.
Only his hand kept moving.
Not desperately — but as though clinging to something.
Miyabi did not spare him a glance.
Only Kareno turned its gaze toward him, for just a moment.
The smell of rain thickened in the air.
Senryu River Bridge was just ahead.
―――
...…
―――
Out on the bridge, the neon reflected in the river swayed and drifted, and the wind moved across the railing with a low iron moan.
At the centre of it, a particularly outlandish shadow blocked the way.
Jangle... jangle-jangle...
A man draped head to foot in armour-like, but cheaply made, metal plating — chains hanging from every surface in extravagant excess.
He carried a sword at his hip, but the scabbard held nothing but a rod.
The yatate at his waist, however, was a different matter — its quality unmistakable, its presence strangely out of place on him.
Todoroki Joe.
"Well, well — there she is. The Battle Haiker everyone's been talking about."
His easy voice rang across the bridge.
Miyabi stopped and narrowed her eyes slightly.
"...You're loud. You'll break the bridge."
"Heh, don't sweat it.
I've just got something I want to 'test out.'
Heard you've been collecting some interesting stuff."
Kareno moved to step forward, but Miyabi raised her hand lightly and stopped it.
"...Test out, is it.
The rain's too heavy for that sort of thing."
"Rain, storm — doesn't matter to me.
I fight my own way, that's all."
―――
...…
―――
Joe drew his yatate and swung it up toward the sky.
"Night rain falls; howling above the iron bridge — it rises!"
GARANK.
A light sound, his usual register.
Yet for just that instant, the air trembled — just slightly.
Miyabi did not move. She only narrowed her eyes, quietly.
"...Light. That's the sound of bluster."
"Sure it is. That was just warming up."
Joe's expression changed. The easy manner dissolved, and something sharp kindled in the depths of his eyes.
"Here's the real thing.
Thunder, rend the dark — and light my way!"
GAKIIIIN.
The whole bridge shuddered. The neon in the river spread outward in ripples.
Kareno stiffened involuntarily.
Miyabi finally rested her hand on the yatate.
"...Now that's a sound worth hearing."
―――
...…
―――
Rain began to fall.
Drop by drop, dark spots spread across the bridge.
Miyabi stepped forward, quietly.
"Autumn rain; the armour of false display — wet through and severed."
SHUVAAAAN.
A sharp stroke split the falling rain and swept across the bridge.
Joe's armour was sliced apart in an instant; the chains clattered loose and fell.
"Wha——!?"
"...Decorations don't hold up well in the rain."
Miyabi's voice was level.
Joe stepped back — but gripped his yatate again.
"Not yet — this isn't over yet!
I can't go down like this!"
The rain intensified. The light on the river churned, and the bridge filled with a wavering, unsteady shimmer.
"Darkness howls; iron soul — shatter and scatter!"
GAKIIIIN!
But the sound was shallower than before, edged with something like panic.
Miyabi shook her head quietly.
"...A soul isn't that light a thing."
And she raised the yatate again.
"Winter rain; the howling soul — brought to stillness."
DOOOOON.
A heavy impact shook the bridge. The puddle at Joe's feet leapt upward.
Joe's knees hit the ground, and his yatate fell from his hand.
"...Hah... what a piece of work..."
―――
...…
―――
Joe lay where he had fallen, laughing in the rain.
"...Your verses — not bad, actually.
Makes me sick."
Raindrops ran down his face and burst against the scattered pieces of armour.
"...You're out of your mind..."
The voice held no bluster. It was just a person's voice.
Miyabi turned her back.
"...You're not weak. Wasting that as someone's errand boy — what a waste."
That was all she left him with, and she walked out into the curtain of rain.
Kareno followed her back, quietly.
The one who had sent this hired blade was Okuya, chairman of Neonodo.
But to Miyabi it was a matter of no consequence.
Against the journey in search of bookmarks, the schemes of a corporation were no more than another raindrop.
Battle Haiker Miyabi.
On the bridge where rain and neon crossed, she severed the armour of bluster — and walked quietly away.