The morning sun lit the courtyard in soft gold as Ivy and Noa walked side by side. The paths were quiet, most students off to training or still sleeping through their alarms. Noa fiddled with the hem of her sleeve, her steps light but hesitant.
"I want to learn to fight," she said quietly.
Ivy glanced at her. "Like, proper training?"
Noa nodded. "Just enough so I don't feel helpless next time."
Ivy considered. She could suggest a club, maybe a teacher, but those would be formal, crowded. Not Noa's style.
"Garry could teach you," she said. "He's not bad at the basics. Knows how to explain things, even if his metaphors are weird."
Noa tilted her head. "Would he?"
"Probably. If you pay him in cheap soda. Peach-flavored."
Noa gave a small smile. "That's manageable."
Ivy returned it. "Why not ask now?"
Noa blinked. "Now?"
Without answering, Ivy took her hand and led her toward the dorms.
They reached Garry's door just as voices inside spiked into an argument.
"You were supposed to feed her!"
"I did! She didn't like it."
"You fed her pasta. She's a cat, Garry!"
Ivy paused, hand on the doorknob. Riley's voice was unmistakable.
Before she could knock, Elias rounded the corner, Zhihao trailing behind with a carrier.
"We left our cat with Garry this morning," Elias explained. "We had a group session and she needed a quiet place."
Zhihao nodded once, eyes down.
"Poor cat..." Ivy muttered.
They knocked, all four at once.
The door burst open. Garry stood there, hair disheveled, shirt wrinkled, and faint claw marks trailing down his cheek.
"Never again," he said flatly. "That thing is part gremlin."
Inside the dorm, the cat, the one that had clung to Zhihao during the rescue, now lounged on the top shelf of a bookcase, eyes half-lidded in judgment.
"She climbed the curtains twice," Garry said, pointing. "Knocked over my ramen stash. And she bit my notebook. My homework notebook."
Riley snorted. "You're lucky she didn't shred your clothes."
"She did!"
Ivy noticed the room was a complete mess: an upturned plant on the desk, scratched-up curtains, and half a pillow sticking out from under the bed. Somehow the cat had made herself the queen of the chaos, unbothered by any of it.
Noa stood quietly near the door, watching the scene unfold with wide eyes. Ivy nudged her.
"Go on."
Noa stepped forward. "Um... Garry? Could you maybe teach me to fight? Just the basics. If you're not too busy."
Garry stared. Then he grinned. "Only if you bring me peach fizz. The vending machine one. The one that rarely works."
"I'll bring five."
"Deal. You start next week."
Riley raised an eyebrow. "You gave her a better deal than me."
"She didn't throw a shoe at me in a meeting."
"You deserved that."
Noa gave a small laugh, the sound quick but genuine. Ivy smiled at her, and the tension in her shoulders seemed to ease a little.
Zhihao moved quietly through the room, collecting scattered cat toys. He paused near the bookcase, crouched, and extended a small plush mouse. The cat looked at him, stretched, then hopped down into the carrier without a sound.
Elias blinked. "She actually listened?"
Zhihao shrugged.
"She likes you more than me," Elias muttered.
Zhihao closed the carrier gently. "She just doesn't like noise."
Ivy caught the faintest smile on his face before he turned away.
"Maybe you should train her," Ivy said lightly. "You're already good with unpredictable claws."
Zhihao didn't respond, but there was a flicker of amusement in his eyes.
On the way back, Ivy and Noa walked through the dorm halls in silence. The building buzzed faintly with activity, a TV on behind a door, someone practicing violin off-key, the distant slam of lockers.
Noa clutched the soda list Garry had scribbled for her. She looked at it like it was a mission assignment.
"Thanks for coming with me," she said softly.
"You asked. I followed. That's the deal."
Noa looked down. "Do you think I'll be any good?"
"You asked for help. That's already more than most."