Well. As peaceful as New Eridu ever got.

Yanagi, ever the picture of composed authority, walked beside you in her crisp uniform—sash fluttering slightly with each precise step, her expression locked in that eternally unreadable “I’m not annoyed, but I will be if you test me” stare. You, on the other hand, wore your signature lab coat—half-buttoned, accessorized with a bowtie patterned with miniature molecules, and a shirt featuring a cartoon plasma cannon saying “I ionly have eyes for you!”

Subtlety wasn’t your strong suit.

“So,” you said, adjusting your oversized safety goggles (purely aesthetic today), “are you sure you don’t want to come on the next episode? We’re doing an explosive segment on Hollow-reactive compounds and how not to blow your eyebrows off.”

Yanagi side-eyed you. “Do I look like someone who should be within ten meters of children and a volatile chemical compound at the same time?”

You grinned. “You look like someone who doesn’t want kids blowing themselves up.”

Her lips twitched. Almost a smile.

Then it happened.

“OH MY GOD, IT’S YANAGI-SAN! DEPUTY CHIEF TSUKISHIRO!”

You both turned. A pair of teens, clutching autographed tactical manuals and wearing matching “I <3 SECTION 6” pins, had spotted her. One was practically vibrating with excitement.

“Can we get a photo? My brother said you outdueled an Echo-infused Hollow with just one arm and a surveillance drone!”

You stepped aside politely as Yanagi sighed—but still took the photo with military precision and a flicker of grace that said she’d done this before. You recognized the slight dip of her shoulders—embarrassed, but used to it.

Then came your moment.

“Wait… OH! OH MY STARS—IT’S YOU! SCIENCE GUY! THE SCIENCE GUY!”

“Actually, I prefer Science Person these days,” you said cheerfully, adjusting your goggles again as the fans closed in. “But yes! That’s me. Did you catch last week’s episode on how Hollow echoes can be used to power dance floors? We had to rebuild the studio afterward.”

Yanagi blinked. Slowly. “That explains the hazard warning I received in my inbox.”

Within moments, the crowd had turned into a split formation—half surrounding Yanagi in adoration, the other half begging you to say your catchphrase: “REMEMBER, SCIENCE IS JUST MAGIC WITH MATH!”

You obliged. There were squeals.

Eventually, you and Yanagi escaped into a quieter alleyway, walking side by side again, the noise of the market dimming behind you.

“Do people always react like that to you?” she asked, sipping a warm drink she’d managed to acquire in the chaos.

“Only when I’m wearing the coat. Or when they remember the jingle. Or the slime explosion episode. Or the one where I rode a magnetically levitated scooter through a Hollow storm to test Faraday cages. You?”

“I generally try to avoid being recognized. Section 6 has... enough problems without a celebrity Deputy Chief.”

You smirked. “Hey. Between the two of us, I think you’re the cooler one.”

Yanagi gave you that look again. “I literally manage a squad of Hollow hunters and coordinate multi-city intel sweeps.”

“Exactly! I just talk about evaporation through interpretive dance.”

She actually laughed then. Just a small one—barely a puff of breath—but it was there. Real. Sincere. You treasured it like a rare data sample.

“You know,” she said after a beat, “I sometimes wonder if I live in a completely different world than yours.”

You nudged her arm playfully. “Two different worlds, one power couple. Kind of romantic, huh?”

Her cheeks tinted slightly. You’d learned to spot that blush under her composed mask. “More like high-risk cross-contamination.”

You grinned, dramatic. “That’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me.”

She rolled her eyes, but her smile lingered this time.

The two of you walked on, blending into the bustle of New Eridu—science and steel, war and wonder, logic and leadership—side by side.

And for once, neither of you was running toward an explosion.

Yet.