Tamura sat with Nekeya on the edge of the guild's outer wall, legs dangling, the wind brushing past like it didn't dare interrupt. Her flame flickered lazily around her fingers, not for defense. Just habit.
"Hey Tamura, have you ever felt like you were born in the wrong world?" she asked.
Tamura didn't answer right away. He watched the horizon, where the Deadlands waited like a scar no one wanted to admit was still bleeding.
"To be honest, I don't think I was born for any world," he said.
"I think I was made to survive whatever's left of it."
Nekeya smiled faintly.
"That's poetic. Sad. But poetic."
She leaned back, letting her flame curl around her wrist.
"I don't have a home here. Not really. But I wouldn't mind starting one. With you."
Tamura's mark pulsed once. A soft, violet.
Before he could respond, a voice cut through the quiet.
"Well damn. So you are capable of smiling."
Mugen stepped out from the shadows, arms crossed, his grin was more smug than usual.
"You gonna introduce me to your fire hazard or do I have to guess?"
Tamura rolled his eyes.
"Her name's Nekeya."
"Cute. She yours?"
Tamura didn't answer.
Mugen smirked.
"Guild wants us back. Vayrik's got a mission. Something about beastmen and a contract."
He turned to Nekeya.
"Nice to meet you. Try not to melt him before the briefing."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Only if he asks nicely."
Tamura,now sounding irritated, "You two done?"
---
Back at the guild, Squad 2 gathered in the war room. Kael sharpened his blade. Aylin leaned against the wall, tail flicking. Mugen sat casually, tossing his coin between his fingers.
Tamura entered last.
"You're late," Kael said.
"I had some company."
Mugen grinned.
"Speaking of... Tamura's got a guest."
Aylin perked up.
"Who?"
"Someone he met during downtime," Mugen said.
"She's got fire. And attitude."
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"You finally found someone other than Mugen to keep you busy?"
Tamura shrugged.
"She's… different. Smart. Doesn't play games. She's blunt. And she listens."
He paused.
Then smiled.
The room went quiet.
Aylin blinked.
"You're smiling."
Kael leaned in.
"That shit should be illegal."
Mugen chuckled.
"Guess we're not the only ones who get under his skin."
Tamura shook his head.
"She's not like the others. She doesn't ask for anything. She just… stays."
"She's special."
---
Later that evening, Tamura found Nekeya near the guild's outer courtyard, her flames seemingly being shaped into a type of flower Tamura had never seen before.
"Where are you staying?"
She looked away.
"Nowhere. Tried a few inns. Got kicked out of one for melting the sheets. Another for scaring the barkeep."
Tamura stepped closer.
"Stay with me. At the guild. My room is plenty flame proof."
She hesitated.
"They'll ask questions."
"Then, give them silence."
She smiled.
"You're really protective huh? I like that."
---
Nekeya sat beside Tamura at the guild table. The entire guild was in one room for once. They passed food, traded jabs, and prepped gear. No one asked directly. But the glances were loud.
The food hall was louder than usual.
Not chaotic. Just alive. For once, every squad was present. No missions. No scouting. No briefings. Just tables packed with warriors, mages, scouts, and healers sharing food, stories, and the kind of laughter that only comes when you forget what waits outside the walls.
Tamura sat with Squad 2, shoulders relaxed for the first time in weeks. Aylin was halfway through a plate of smoked venison, tail flicking with contentment. Kael had a mug in each hand and a third waiting. Mugen leaned back, boots on the bench, throwing out small jokes towards Kael between bites.
Nekeya sat beside Tamura, quiet but observant. Her flame was dimmed, curled around her wrist like a bracelet. She didn't eat much, just picked at the bread, eyes scanning the room like she was memorizing it.
"You're not used to this I'm guessing," Tamura said.
She shook her head.
"I've never seen mortals laugh without fear."
"We don't get many chances in this life."
Across the hall, Squad 5 was arm-wrestling over a barrel. Someone from Squad 3 played a lute badly. A healer passed out on wine, and the room buzzed with the kind of joy that felt borrowed.
Vayrik entered late.
He didn't speak. Just walked through the hall, cloak trailing, eyes scanning. When he passed Tamura's table, he paused.
His gaze landed on Nekeya.
She met it.
No flinch. No smile.
Just recognition.
Vayrik nodded once.
Then moved on.
Mugen leaned in.
"I think he knows."
Tamura didn't look away from Nekeya.
"Let him. I could care less."
Kael raised his mug.
"To surviving whatever bullshit missions the royal family throws at us."
Aylin clinked her mug against his.
"To coming back with all our limbs."
Mugen smirked.
"To Tamura finally getting laid!"
Tamura rolled his eyes.
Nekeya didn't.
She just smiled. "Why not, I think he earned it."
The table laughed.
But beneath it all, the air felt heavier.
Like the world was holding its breath.
---
Tamura's room was quiet. Nekeya stood by the window, flame dimmed, eyes distant.
"You sure about this?" she asked.
Tamura stepped behind her.
"I don't want to leave without knowing you're close."
She turned.
"I've never been close to anyone like this before."
"Neither have I, so let's take the first step towards a new life... together."
They undressed slowly but not out of urgency. It was out of reverence. Her flame touched his skin, not to burn, but to remember how he felt. His aura wrapped around her, not to protect, but to hold onto her.
They kissed. Not like lovers. Like survivors.
Their bodies moved together, heat rising, marks glowing. Clothes burned away in soft flickers. They collapsed into each other's arms, breath tangled, tears began falling, not from pain, but from release. Tamura held her tightly.
"I don't want to lose this. To lose you."
She whispered against his chest.
"Then when you leave... fight like hell to keep it."
---
The two slept peacefully for a bit before Tamura was awoken by thee feeling of Nekeya's missing presence.
She stared out at the horizon, eyes distant.
"You ever wonder what you were before all this?" she asked.
Tamura glanced at her.
"Before the mark? Before the wars"
She nodded.
"Before the pain."
He thought for a moment.
"For as long as I can remember, I was just a kid who wanted to protect people. That's all."
Nekeya smiled faintly.
"I was a weapon. Born in a forge that didn't ask what I wanted. Just lit me and pointed."
Tamura turned to her.
"You're not a weapon now."
"No. I'm something worse."
She reached into her cloak and pulled out a small, scorched pendant made from a strange obsidian-like crystal, cracked, shaped like a flame curling inward.
"This was given to me by the first person who tried to name me. He died before he could finish the word."
Tamura took it gently, thumb brushing the edge.
"It's beautiful. Like you."
"It's broken."
"So am I. That ain't stop you from spawning in my now did it?"
He reached into his belt pouch and pulled out a strip of cloth. It was faded, torn, and marked with a single sigil. The last remnant of his old squad. The Redmanes.
"This was mine. From before I knew what loss really felt like."
He tied it around the pendant, binding the two together.
"Now they remember each other."
Nekeya stared at the fused token.
"So you're sentimental too?"
"Nah, I'm just tired of forgetting."
She stepped closer, her flame brushing his chest.
"Then remember this."
She kissed him, slow, firm, not for comfort, but for claiming. Tamura's mark pulsed, his heart flaring up in speed briefly before settling.
He pulled her into an embrace, forehead resting against hers.
"If I die out there…"
"You won't."
"If I do… burn this world down for me."
She smiled.
"Only if you ask nicely."
They stood like that, silence wrapped around them.
And somewhere deep in the Deadlands, something stirred silently. Waiting.
---