Is it okay if I hug you now?

 “It's nothing,” said Kohaku when Yua blinked slowly at her. “Ras was just saying anything to annoy me.”

“Oh?” Both of Uchi's eyebrows lifted. “Then why does Toshiko look like she just got caught stealing one of Yua's models?”

“No, I don't,” squeaked Toshi.

“You steal her models?” asked Kohaku, shaking her head. “I don't know why she looks like that but I'm telling you the truth. He said that after he saw Shizuka and he knows dark magic will get us in the most trouble.”

“You would do well to remember that, child,” said Uchi. “Magic is not something that should be wielded carelessly. The spirits that protect our world demand our respect. Using their energy without being invited to would be akin to stealing from a dragon that burn down our entire world.”

“I'd be upset if you stole my energy,” said Tatsuya solemnly, adding when Kohaku turned exasperated eyes on him. “I wouldn't burn your world down though. Not without asking questions first.”

“If anyone was going to use dark magic, it would have been him.” She pointed at the shape-shifter. “You saw how far he was willing to go to bring Shi-”

She stopped and, even though none of them looked at me directly, I knew what she had been about to say. I had felt it from the moment he had appeared before me. A desire that burned like dragon's breath hidden by fluffy clouds. Despite all his blushing, Tatsuya had appeared wearing armour and faint frown marks that revealed years of unhappiness, frustration, and the skill set needed to vent both on those he deemed appropriate.

“He did say it after he saw me,” I said, giving them all a legitimate reason to look in my direction. “Ras, I mean. He wouldn't have known what to make of my return any more than the rest of us, right? I can see why he'd jump to something as scary and wild as dark magic.”

“Did your world have dark magic too, Shizuka?” asked Uchi. The distance in her eyes chilled my blood. “You seem to be somewhat familiar with it.”

“Some people there believed in it,” I replied. “I wasn't one of them. But this world is another story and the sooner I learn more about it, the better for all of us.”

“You wish to know more about a world that has not yet accepted you?” She frowned.

“Of course.” I forced the corners of my mouth upwards. “After all, I haven't accepted it yet either.”

Toshi laughed, then coughed into her fist to avoid the old woman's glare. A smile erased the lines between Tatsuya's eyebrows but he didn't look straight at me the way he normally would have.

“We should go,” said Yua. “We have a lot to discuss but could I have a word with you before that, Uchi?”

“You may,” said Shizuka's guardian. “I'll back you some supplies while we talk.”

“I'll get the drion ready,” said Kohaku. “I need to make sure the wagon is safe enough for us to get back.”

“I'll help you,” said Washi, following her out of the front door.

“Toshi, if you're up for it, could you go back to Aoto's and tell them we're on our way back?” asked Yua. “If you're fast enough, you might catch them before they set off.”

“On it,” replied the energetic woman. She came over to me first. “I'll see you back in Nippo, okay?”

“See you there.” I nodded and considered raising a hand.

She hesitated before holding her arms out and I almost choked on her uncertainty.

“Is it okay if I hug you now?” she asked, looking even younger. “Before I go?”

Was everyone in this world that touchy or was Shizuka affiliated with a particularly clingy crowd? Either way, they were all very good at proving how touch starved I had been in my previous life. I spread my arms out and she wrapped her own around me, burying her face in my neck for a long second.

“I'm so glad you came back,” she murmured and I might have believed the sincerity that seemed to have rubbed her tone raw.

But her eyes lingered on Tatsuya as she waved at him and she didn't say good bye to anyone else in the group before disappearing on the spot. It was hard to work out how much my impression of her was stained by the person she reminded me of and what that meant about my opinion of Tatsuya. The door was already open and, though it rattled in the wake of her speed, it stayed that way.

“Let's wait outside,” he said, touching the back of my left upper arm as he passed me. “You look like you could do with some fresh air.”

“As long as it's not the free falling kind,” I replied as we left the dark house.

I squinted in anticipation but the daylight was starting to fade. A sight made very apparent by our vantage point on the hill. One that I would never have been able to see back in my original home town. I closed my eyes and considered all the other views and experiences this world could offer me if I just played my cards right and tried not to repeat too many of my past mistakes. Including being too considerate.

I stopped halfway between the front steps and the drion – the creature that resembled a griffin – and Tatsuya paused too.

“So,” I began without looking at him. “Were you and me more than friends?”