Rebuild

Miyori didn't waste any time thinking. She dove into the house yelling instead. 

The first person she yelled for was her father, because Aunt Yuko was his sister. But several other aunts, uncles, cousins, and family friends converged on her as she went. That was good. It would save time. 

"Dad! Auntie Yuko came by asking for help. Uncle Daisuke's in trouble at their house! Some sort of cave-in." 

Her father stood from where he was sweeping up shattered glass from a fallen shelf, expression uncharacteristically serious. "We'll leave in three minutes. Shiro, Asuka, Kenshin, come with me. Kiyoko, get Ryota to bring his medical kit and follow after us—we might need the help. Wear clothes that will shift with you if you have them handy. We might need enlargement spells if the damage is bad enough."

Miyori darted to her room and changed into her school uniform with a speed born of both desperation and practice. She wasn't very good at emergency magic and even as a human she wasn't very strong, but she definitely didn't want to get left behind. 

She was one of the first to the front of the house, and then as soon as the others had gathered they were off, zooming at top speed towards the Matsuda house. 

It looked fine from the outside, but the front doors on both levels were hanging open, and the inside looked like a nightmare. 

"Nii-san?" came her aunt's voice from further in as they rushed inside. "We're in here!" 

Miyori tore her gaze away from the floor that must have fallen out from under them as they slept, now strewn across the ground, and made her way to the human-sized storefront. 

When she saw the scene inside, she froze. 

Her aunt was crouched on the top of Noa's head, holding a ball of glowing light that hovered above her palm. Noa had a hand planted on the table, bent over the prone body of her uncle. In his left hand was a tiny stylus that Miyori recognized. 

"How does that feel?" he asked, voice tight. If he'd noticed any of the others flooding the room, he gave no sign.

"It…hurts," her uncle gritted out, and Miyori let out a breath of relief that he was awake. "But I think…it did something. It's like…it's not as bad as it was? Could be imagining that." 

"No, that's good," her aunt said, fretful. She patted Noa on the head. "Noa-kun, do you think you can move him and keep the spell going?" 

"Maybe," Noa said. His teeth were gritted, and Miyori spotted sweat glistening on his brow. "Depends if I can walk. But I might be slow." 

Miyori's father alighted on the table, staring down at her uncle. "Noa-kun. What did you do?" 

Miyori edged forward. The darkness under her uncle's body wasn't shadows from Yuko's light, she realized. It was blood—though it looked oddly like it was already drying out. 

Noa pointed down at his own leg, then at Daisuke's. "Borrowed a pixie rune," he said. "As above, so below. It seemed right, and I think it's working to keep his leg in one piece. But I don't want to test my luck any longer than we have to. How far is it to the hospital?" 

"Far enough," Miyori's father said. "But we'll have to make it work. Noa-kun, if you think you can walk while that spell's going, now would be the time to try. Would it be easier if we carried him, or do you need to stay in contact?" 

"Contact helps, I think," Noa said. "Maybe. But do you think you could get him up off the table?" 

"Of course." His father turned to Miyori. "See if you can get a blanket from upstairs. But don't take any risks up there—it might not be stable." 

"Okay." Miyori darted upstairs, trying to remember how her aunt and uncle's house had been laid out before tonight. It didn't take too long to find the linen closet, which had thankfully remained unscathed—aside from a few of the doors having fallen from their tracks to the floor below. 

She came back with a sheet, and several others stepped forward to fold it into a pixie-sized bed. A quick rune on one side, and it stiffened into a slightly curved shape that was rested carefully across Noa's cupped palms. 

Noa straightened slowly, like a sore old man. His entire focus seemed to be on the spell he was holding, his eyes fixed on Daisuke's leg. It was like the rest of the world had nearly ceased to exist. Miyori could feel an odd power rolling off of him in stready waves, which she realized were synced with his breath. 

"What sort of spell is that?" she heard one of her cousins whisper. Another aunt only shushed him in answer. 

Miyori's father perched on Noa's shoulder. "Miyori, Kiyoko, Ryota, you're with me," he said. "Kenshin, go ahead and explain what happened to Daisuke-kun and what he'll need. Asuka, lock up here and then go back and let the others know what's happened."

Miyori perched hesitantly on Noa's other shoulder. If he so much as noticed, he gave no sign. As he headed for the door, Miyori's Aunt Yuko fluttered down from his head to sit between Miyori and his neck. 

Miyori wrapped an arm around her massive waist. She was shaking, and she squeezed Miyori right back. 

"Tell me where to go," Noa mumbled, and Miyori's father took the lead down the dim streets towards the nearest hospital. 

Noa's stride was long but even, eating up the distance without jostling his passengers. She couldn't see much of his face, except that the muscles of his jaw were drawn tight. With each step he took, she could see a very familiar mark flashing on his pant leg, a forbidding dark brown against the pale fabric. 

As above. Written in blood, she suspected. She had a worrying suspicion that she knew what it was Noa had tried to do. 

No, more than a suspicion—but if she was right, she had no idea how he was walking. For more reason than one. 

But it wasn't the time to ask questions. She settled in, staring down at her uncle's pale face and trying not wish Noa could maintain his impossible spell and also, somehow, run.