Connections

It was a long night, and the morning came early. Noa was awoken by a knock on the door and a quick goodbye from Miyori. He caught himself worrying about being late for work before reminding himself that his boss was in the hospital. 

Still, he found himself wandering down to the Matsuda house soon enough, for a few reasons. Not all the workers there had been living with the Ogimuras, for one thing—or at least he didn't think they were. Some of them might not know what had happened. 

And besides, he couldn't help wanting to get a look at that strange symbol again in the light of day. 

When he arrived at the house, there were indeed a small knot of pixies buzzing around in the backyard, chattering in low voices. When he greeted them, they checked whether he'd heard the news and then gossiped for a while. Slowly but surely, though, they peeled off, one or two at a time. 

Noa was left standing with one or two other workers, wondering if he could sneak off and check the side of the house without attracting notice. 

As the last few workers drifted away, one younger pixie settled against the side of the house with his head in his hands. 

Noa considered leaving quietly, but went to check on him instead.

"You okay?" he asked. 

"Yeah," the pixie groaned. "Ugh. It's just, I'd finally found a steady job for a bit, you know? And now it's back to square one. I mean, I feel bad for Uncle Dasuke and everything, but also this just kinda sucks." 

Noa crouched down beside him. "Have you done that a lot? Looked for work, I mean." 

"Yeah. More than a lot of guys my age, probably." The pixie turned to look at Noa. Up close, his suspicion was confirmed: this was one of Miyori's cousins, probably one that lived in the family complex. He thought he might have seen him the night before, though most of that was a blur. "Why, are you looking too?" 

"It looks like I'll have to." 

Before heading to sleep last night, Noa had counted through the rest of his money. He'd spent more than half of what remained helping out Daisuke and Yuko—and while he didn't regret that at all, it did mean his food budget was going to run out faster than he'd anticipated. Combined with the fact that he wouldn't be getting paid even pixie wages for the next little while…it shortened his timeline for how long he could just coast on his mother's savings. 

It had occurred to him, both last night and again this morning, that he really couldn't just stay with the Ogimuras forever. Even if they were fine with him staying, he needed a better plan...or, at least, a better income. 

"Well," the cousin said—Noa had seen him last night, and thought his name was Kenshin—"It's not jobs just fall into your lap. Though I bet if you're a human and not a pixie, then you'll have it easier." 

Human or not, Noa thought, he was still underage, which might complicate things. And that was leaving aside the curse, and the worry about being found by somebody. "I'm really just looking for something short-term. Like this." 

Kenshin gave him a sideways look. "I mean…I know where I'm headed after this, but…look. Are you cool?"

"Cool…?" Noa echoed. "I guess? Depends what you mean by that." 

"I mean," and here Kenshin lowered his voice, "there are places that'll hire day laborers, not ask too many questions. You just have to go to people with the right, y'know, connections." 

"Connections." 

"Yeah. Won't be a formal work contract, and the pay's all over the place. Plus, you gotta be real careful what you agree to—some of the jobs aren't on the up-and-up. That the sort of 'work' you're looking for?" 

Noa recognized what he was hearing. It sounded like sketchy businesses at best and fae at worst. 

But…well, he did need the money. And he couldn't think of anybody more likely to let a curse slide than the sorts of people who cast them. 

So he shrugged. "Won't know till I try, I guess."

Kenshin shot him a narrow look. "Okay. I'll let you come with me if you promise not to tell the others—not Miyori, none of the other grown-ups. Nobody else in my family. Got it?"

"I promise," Noa said. 

"It's the Kusumotos. Fae family, but one of the less scary ones. This neighborhood's in their territory, and they take that kind of thing real seriously. I think it's some kind of public service for them, matching up workers to people who need 'em." 

Kusumoto. Noa didn't know that name, but that might be a good sign. He was halfway across Kikyo from where he'd been living—and hopefully the Shijos wouldn't have any connection to a small family this side of town. 

He spared one more moment to second-guess himself. But the truth was, this seemed like a safer option than the alternative: trying to get a legitimate job with an enchanted ID, when even if he succeeded he'd be using his legal name and going regularly to the same workplace. Compared to that, shady day-labor that changed regularly felt like the smaller risk. 

He'd just have to avoid taking any trouble back with him to Miyori's place. But Kenshin seemed to have avoided doing that thus far, so hopefully Noa would have similar luck. 

"Yeah," he said. It was surprising how easily the words came out. "Yeah, can you introduce me? I'd really appreciate it." 

Kenshin shot him a grin and stood, lifting off into the air. "My pleasure, man. Let's go."

"Great. Oh, but one thing really quick," Noa said. "I'll meet you out front—there's something I want to check." 

He rounded the corner of the building, going to the wall where the symbol had been drawn the night before. 

He wasn't sure when he'd started suspecting it, or why. But somehow, it didn't surprise him when he found the wall unmarked—as though nothing had ever been there at all.