Chapter 63: The Victory Feast

We do not go back home. Miki, in her infinite wisdom, declares that our victory requires an immediate and substantial celebration. She herds our exhausted but triumphant little group to a nearby, cozy izakaya, where she reserves a private room.

The moment the door slides shut, Kenji collapses onto a cushion with a dramatic groan. "I have witnessed the clash of titans," he declares to the ceiling. "My soul has been both scarred and ennobled. Also, I am starving. Let's order everything."

And we do. Plates of karaage, edamame, yakitori, and gyoza quickly fill our table. The mood is light, giddy, and full of a profound sense of relief. The war is over, and we have won.

"To Ectiqa," Miki says, raising her glass of oolong tea in a toast. "And to Hime-Hime, for making us look so good by comparison." We all laugh and clink our glasses.

Kenji is in the midst of a dramatic, five-minute monologue about his fleeting, tragic love for Haruka. "-and though she crushed my heart beneath her heel," he says, clutching his chest, "I will always remember her as a worthy, beautiful, and terrifyingly mean rival! A true queen of darkness!"

"You are so weird," Hana giggles, pushing a plate of gyoza towards him. "Just eat."

I am just quietly eating, a sense of peace settling over me for the first time in weeks. The external threat is gone. Haruka has retreated. It is just us.

Rina is sitting next to me. She has been unusually quiet throughout the meal, just smiling and listening to the others. She leans over, her shoulder pressing against mine.

"You were really cool back there," she whispers, her voice just for me. "My knight in shining armor, telling off the dragon."

"I was just tired of the yelling," I mumble, my face feeling warm.

"No," she says, her voice soft but firm. "You protected me. And you protected her, too, in a way. You were the only one who saw us as people, not just as rivals."

She is quiet for a moment, then a familiar, mischievous glint returns to her eyes. "So," she says, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial purr. "Now that the evil queen has been vanquished, the handsome knight gets a reward, right?"

"What reward?" I ask, my guard immediately going back up.

"The princess, of course," she says, as if it is the most obvious thing in the world. She leans her head on my shoulder, a contented sigh escaping her lips. "I am the prize, Onii-chan. And you have officially won me."

I just sigh, but this time, it is not a sigh of frustration. It is a sigh of tired, helpless resignation. I look around the table, at my crazy, wonderful friends, at my brilliant, impossible sister who is now clinging to me like a victory trophy. The war might be over, but my own personal, forbidden, romantic comedy is clearly just getting started. And for the first time, the thought does not fill me with dread. It almost makes me smile.