Refuge

Takasu's destination was a convenience store half a block away. He stopped in front of the snack aisle. "Pick whatever," he said. "They've got good meat buns at the front, too, I just figured you might want something that's a good size." 

Miyori eyed the shelf dubiously. "Nothing's really a good size," she protested. "These containers are as big as I am." And each was twice the cost of a full-course meal at pixie restaurant, she didn't say, but she couldn't help but think it. She'd been hoping there might be pixie-sized options, but no luck. There was a reason she'd never stopped at this store before. 

"You can keep the rest for later, just in case," he said. "Something like this, maybe?" He pointed at a glass bottle of ramune candies. 

"S-sure." 

"Great." He picked up a glass bottle as well, twice the size she was, presumably for himself. 

The woman at the counter eyed them curiously, but didn't say anything as Takasu made his purchases. Miyori bit her lip as he counted out the coins, but he didn't seem the least bit reluctant to part with them, nodding to the woman as he left the street.
He shoved the bottle into his bag and then opened the candy bottle, shaking a piece into his palm and raising it to shoulder level.

"Here." 

"Thanks." She grabbed the candy in both hands—it was fully half the size of her head, but if she started at an angle, she could sink her teeth into it into the chalky sweetness. She leaned forward so the powder wouldn't get on her skirt. 

"So, which way?" 

Between bites of candy, she gave him directions—past the shopping street, down an alley, hang a right beside the temple, and then was a single, slightly lonely-looking door and a blank wall of siding, above which were rows upon rows of tiny windows. 

"This is me," she said, hopping off. "Here, let me just get the key."
She slid down the strap of her bag, retrieving the key from her pocket. It was small for a human key, but still uncomfortably bulky in her hands as she opened it up. "Can you get the door? And just set the bag down in the entryway?" 

She really ought to return to human size and do it herself—the sugar in the candy had given her back enough energy that she was pretty sure she could manage it. But it felt silly to do just do it for a few seconds so close to home. 

Takasu did as she asked without complaint, turning back to her and putting his hands in his pockets. "You'll be okay from here?" he checked. 

There was a chiming from the street clock down the block, and Miyori froze in midair. 

"Yes, but…" She frowned. "Are you okay? That was the curfew bell."
Takasu shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'll figure something out," he said. 

"O-okay?" That wasn't quite the promising answer she'd been hoping for. She settled on the door latch. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Uh, no," he said, seeming to shrink into himself. "I'm...dropping out, actually." 

"Dropping…?" 

She looked him over again. He was in a fairly thick jacket for the spring weather, wearing beaten-up jeans. His hair was limp and messy-looking, there were shadows under his eyes, and his bag was remarkably large and heavy-looking for a kid on his way home, even if he had club equipment inside. 

Takasu hadn't been in a club anyway, if she was remembering right. 

"Takasu-kun…where are you going from here?" she asked. 

He bit his lip, not meeting her eyes. "I don't know," he admitted. 

A voice came from overhead. "Miyori-chan, is that you? Welcome back!"

"I'm home," she yelled up automatically. Then, as inspiration struck, she continued "I need to finish my assignment—I'll be up in a bit!"

"Okay! Don't take too long," her mother answered. "Your dinner's getting cold!"

"I won't!" Miyori promised, and then turned back to Takasu. "Follow me," she said, and ducked down the dark hallway and past a half-curtain. 

The room beyond was dark. Miyori tapped the circle on the wall and a weak circle of light flickered to life overhead, showing a small but still human-sized table surrounded by three sides with boxes and other storage.

"It's not much," she said apologetically. "But…if you need a place to spend the night…" 

Takasu's eyes were wide. "Would you let me?" 

"If you want," she said. "It won't be very comfortable, and I don't have any human-sized pillows or blankets, just some spare clothes—" 

"That's plenty," he said. "That's—I don't want to impose, but—"

"If you need it, then you should stay," Miyori assured him. "I'll explain things to my parents. Here, move the table out of the way and I'll find my winter jacket." 

Once they'd moved a few boxes around, there was just enough room for Noa to stretch out. He put his bag on one end of the room and held up Miyori's full-length coat, plus one of her late great-grandmother's shawls to toss over his feet. 

"I'm sorry there's no mattress," Miyori said, looking over the scant accomodations with concern. 

"It's really fine," Takasu said. "It's better than I could've hoped for. Seriously, thanks, Ogimura-san. You really didn't have to do this." 

"No, I did," Miyori said. "You helped me first." And besides, she wasn't going to leave a classmate out on the streets. "I'm going to head upstairs, but if you need anything…hang on." She fluttered down to her bag, which had stayed near the door, and pulled out a notebook. Carefully, she ripped out one page, then tore off a corner. "Draw a linking spell, and I'll copy it upstairs." 

"I think I'll be fine," Takasu said dubiously. 

"I'd feel better about it," Miyori insisted. "My room's pretty far away, and I don't want you to have to wake everyone up just to get my attention. Like, what if you need to know where the bathrooms are? Oh, actually, I'll just tell you that now." As Takasu was drawing, she took her key out of her bag pocket and left it beside him. "If you go around the edge of the temple, there's a park with public restrooms. It's the best we've got that's human-sized. Sorry."

"Good to know," Noa said. He showed her the link he'd drawn—very simple phonetic characters for Noa in the center to connect to in her design. 

"Got it," she said. "I'll draw mine upstairs. Goodnight, Takasu-kun." 

"Night, Ogimura-san." 

The rest of the night was quiet. Miyori told her parents she had a friend staying over, that they were in a tricky situation with nowhere else to go. That was all she knew, but fortunately her parents didn't ask any further questions than that; they let distant relatives and family friends crash at their place all the time, and only a handful of them used the human-sized space downstairs for anything more than storage anyway. 

Besides, they knew friends of friends who'd been in "tricky situations" before—usually pixies, sure, but that didn't make a huge difference at the end of the day. They might have more questions later, but they were willing to look the other way for a night. 

In her room, Miyori drew her own version of the linking circle, watching it start to glimmer faintly as it activated. It was meant to chime if one of them needed to get the other's attention, but though Miyori slept restlessly, Noa didn't activate it all night, and in the morning the circle had gone dim like he'd folded it up or thrown it away.