You must find Hani

The girl's strong and defiant voice rasped through Levi's mind as he watched her crumple inwards into nothing more than a bellow of black smoke. She had won; she had actually fucking gone and won.

Levi blinked in disbelief at the scene that was unfolding before him. The crowds were going wild, the noise they were making was surely deafening, but Levi couldn't hear a single thing apart from those words in his head. It was as if the girl had reached out with the last single tendril of her power to touch his mind, to make him remember his promise.

Levi turned to the guard next to him; the man's face was almost comical in how shocked it looked.

"You need to release me," Levi stated, suddenly coming back to his senses and wincing as the roar of the Coliseum's audience washed over him like a tidal wave of sound.

The guard didn't even seem to register Levi's voice, but stared straight ahead instead, at the freshly sprayed red ring of sand.

"Hey!" Levi shouted angrily, feeling his nerves start to rise up. He leaned forwards to bat at the man's shoulder, finally grabbing his attention. "You need to take this fucking collar off," Levi growled, gesturing to the metal leash around his neck which connected him to the guards behind.

"What?" the guard asked blankly. Levi presumed he must have meant it as a question despite the lack of inflection.

"My champion won," Levi grit out with impatient frustration, "I'm a free man."

"I -" the guard started, before shaking his head, "no, that doesn't even happen."

"Well it just fucking happened didn't it?" Levi snarled, glancing down as his wrist started to hurt, for a moment he thought the guard was grabbing on to it. Instead, he realised there was nothing there - just the Seprimo mark.

The patterned burn scars looked red and raw, a far cry from the docile pearled white they had been that morning.

"Shit," Levi scowled, glancing up into the thousands of spectators and wondering if any of them was 'Hani'? The girl's promise was obviously still holding fast, just like she had said it would.

If Levi didn’t find her brother soon then the mark would re-ignite and devour him in punishing flame. Levi frowned hard, he hadn't just miraculously escaped one death to be greeted by another. "Fuck this," he growled, jerking his aching hand forward and snatching the ring of copper keys off of the still shell-shocked guard.

Levi made short work of his own bindings, quickly releasing himself and letting the heavy and constraining metalwork fall to the ground with a thud. He pushed past the guards behind him, who seem to be too dazed to make any attempt to stop him - not that they even had any legal grounds to do so now.

"Free man!" Levi shouted at the barrier guard who looked slightly wary before nodding hesitantly and letting Levi pass out of the ring and into the bowels of the Coliseum.

The tunnels were dark and gratifyingly cool, but all Levi could focus on was the burning sensation that was now spreading up his entire left arm. He dashed through the labyrinth of tunnels like a madman, thank fuck for his keen sense of direction or he figured he would have ended up lost down there. He only knew the way out because the guards had led him that same way that morning.

Levi emerged into blinding daylight on the outside of the Coliseum, exiting via a small concealed door behind the back of a wooden toy stall. The bearded seller paid Levi no attention as he hurried past and began to frantically scan the crowds that were currently pouring out of the main entrances of the Coliseum.

*The Day Before*

"Look - say we get lucky tomorrow. How in hell am I meant to find your brother afterwards? Wait outside the arena with a handwritten sign or something?"

Muna clucked her tongue impatiently, before waving her hand - her own fresh burn marks still clearly visible. "Do you think I've already considered that?" she hissed. "I will cast a spell, one that uses a part of Hani's own magic so it will not die with me. You will be able to find him."

"Think you could give me a few more details sweetheart?" Levi asked with a sigh. "Only if my life is depending on locating 'Hani' then I would quite like to make sure I do."

"He'll glow," Muna stated simply, much to Levi's amazement.

"He-he'll what?" Levi asked incredulously.

"He will glow," Muna annunciated clearly as if Levi was some kind of common idiot. Perhaps she thought he was, she didn’t exactly know anything about him other than he was a thief and smelled like shit. "Like a glow worm," Muna added with a shrug.

"So I'll be keeping an eye out for a glowing boy who looks a lot like you?" Levi questioned dully, already half certain he must have hallucinated this entire exchange due to dehydration. The guards kept trying to give him fucking piss instead of clean water to drink.

"You will find him," Muna repeated, betraying absolutely no doubt in her tone.

"Fucking hope so," Levi growled.

Not dying a horrible and painful death had always kind of been at the top of his list.

**Present**

Levi winced as the sun beat down further and he was still stood helplessly outside the rapidly emptying Coliseum without a glowing boy in sight.

"Damn," Levi muttered, wiping his non-stinging hand down his face and throwing the sweat to the sand where it fell in darkened patches. He groaned as he realised there was just no way in hell he was going to be able to find Hani like this, and judging by the tender pain across his shoulders – he was running out of time.

Levi strode forwards and pushed his way through the tightly packed crowds, shifting his form as he emerged from the shadows to a gnarled old beggar. This had the fortunate effect of none of the masses identifying him as the dodgy shape shifter that a dark magic champion had just died for.

Levi paused just outside one of the Coliseum exits, the crowds were starting to thin out and Levi felt a rising panic that he had already missed the boy - or perhaps he hadn't even been at the Trials? Muna hadn't given much indication that her brother was in on her death-wish of a plan. Levi chewed on his lip for a moment, trying to imagine that if he had just lost the person closest to him in the world - where would he be?

Levi clucked his tongue in frustration, as he had never been that particularly close to anyone on Nagimiotani, let alone felt any familial affection. He took a deep breath and attempted to simply use his imagination, the first thing he would probably feel would be shock, and just like it had done to the guard holding the key - shock renders you motionless for a while. Levi wrenched his head back round to peer into the gaping entrance before turning on his heels and sprinting back into the Coliseum.

The auditorium was still scattered with spectators who were yet to leave. Some were gathering their belongings, counting their children or simply waiting for the initial queues to die down. There was one figure, however, who was stood completely still, pressed up against the barrier between sand and seats as if there was still a protective shield stopping him from making the transition.

That particular figure caught Levi’s undivided attention - owing to the fact that he was emitting a soft but noticeable glow. Levi's mouth fell open before he looked around to see if anyone else had noticed the human glow worm - apparently not, judging by their lack of curiosity or interest.

Levi guessed the spell only affected him and as he drew nearer to the figure the glow seemed to abate, as if satisfied it had successfully drawn in its quarry.

Levi finally managed to get the sun out of his eyes as he rounded the corner of stacked seats and walked quietly up behind the fading glow. The silhouette morphed into the clear form of a young man with dark hair and simple clothes. He had his back to Levi and was stood staring out across the arena at a darkened patch of sand. Levi frowned as the figure's breath hitched strangely and slender shoulders shook, before he realised that the boy must be crying.

Levi shifted back into his true form before clearing his throat awkwardly and hazarding, "Hani?"

The boy spun round and immediately Levi knew he had succeeded in finding Muna's brother. It was not just the sudden relief from burning pain in his left arm that told him it, but rather Hani's unmistakable shared features with his twin.

The boy's eyes were red and puffy but hardened immediately upon seeing Levi into something that genuinely looked quite threatening. Levi was just about to introduce himself when the tear-stained desert rat made a lunge at him, wrapping his hands around Levi's neck.

Whatever reaction Levi had been expecting, that was not it. He coughed and spluttered before jerking himself out of the boy's attack and going to grab his narrow wrists. Turning Hani quickly around and pinning him down against the railing with ease.

The boy let out a furious shout, squirming back against Levi's muscled grip and frantically kicking his legs back to try and catch Levi in one of his more sensitive areas.

"God damn it," Levi bit out, thrusting his hips and his crotch out of reach just in time. Eventually Hani's struggle began to wear down, clearly the boy was exhausted and probably suffering from dehydration and heatstroke, judging by the prominent red flush down his cheeks and neck.

Levi knew that Hani must be dark magic - the same as his sister, and that would probably explain why he was refraining from using any spells against Levi.

"My name is Levi," Levi shouted to try and be heard over Hani's laboured pants of breath.

"I know," Hani spat with a particularly vicious kick backwards, causing Levi to let out a grunt of pain. Levi shoved his weight forwards, instead of trying to arch backwards. In this new position he could use his entire frame to render Hani immobile against the railing. The notches in the boy's spine pressed uncomfortably at Levi's chest and every desperate breath pushed them further in still.

"Well normally I only get that kind of greeting from people I've actually met before," Levi huffed, blowing hair out of his face where the sweat has caused it to stick to his skin.

"Why you?" Hani croaked. "Why the fuck would she die for you?"

Levi steadied himself, gathering his own breath back before leaning his weight further into Hani to ensure the boy was listening closely. "I don't fucking know alright? All I know is your sister made me swear a Seprimo that I would find you after the fight and that's what I've done. Now if you're prepared to try and stop rendering your sister's sacrifice redundant for a moment - "

Hani let out a howl of rage that caused Levi to have to crush him further still.

"-maybe we could actually get out of here and figure this thing out yeah?"

After a few tense moments, Hani stilled beneath him and Levi let out a sigh of relief he didn't realise he had been holding. He drew back tentatively from Hani's quivering body, wincing as he noticed bruises already blossoming on patches of visible skin. He hadn't meant to hurt the kid - only stop him from violently murdering Levi.

"Don't try to run either," Levi added as an afterthought, glancing warily down at his promise burns.

"Why would I do that?" Hani asked bitterly, turning round to meet Levi's eyes with the same defiant stare as his sister. "Muna died so you could find me apparently. I think I'm owed an explanation, don't you?"

Levi swallowed hard before holding out his hand to Hani, indicating that they should leave the Coliseum together. Hani looked down at the hand as one might a bloodied dagger before sniffing with evident disgust and storming out ahead of Levi.

Levi shook his head as he paced after the kid, finding himself struggling to keep up, despite the boy's obvious weakened physical state. It was going to be a very long journey to Alack at this rate.