Suspicions

Noa had made it home before Miyori, and spent a while sitting in the dim hallway, peering outside and worrying about being followed. Miyori was the first back, and she'd looked wan and worried. He'd done his best to reassure her, but she'd stayed with him until they spotted Kenshin on his way in. 

They were all safe. That was what mattered. 

The spell that he'd been under wasn't just illegal—it was powerful. Noa woke up with the king of all headaches the next morning, and it lasted through the whole day Saturday and part of Sunday.

Though, he reflected, that might not just be because he'd had it used on him. He'd also done some himself.

Blood magic was supposed to be unheard of outside criminal gangs and the fae families. He'd never expected that someone tied to a commercial business would be using it…though perhaps he should have, since this company gone to the fae looking for volunteers. 

The weekend was quiet enough, and a good chance to lay low. But he was supposed to go back to the Kusumotos with Kenshin on Monday.

Should he pretend that nothing had happened? Should he ask about it?

In the end, still undecided, he met Kenshin in front of the house as usual after seeing Miyori off for school. 

Kenshin looked normal, though it seemed he was also thinking about last week. "Hey, man, where'd you go on Friday?" was the first thing he asked. "I looked for you after breakdown because I thought we'd be heading back together, but I didn't see you anywhere." 

"Well," Noa said. "I…had something to take care of. Extra, you know. Got back late. By the way, what'd you think of the fireworks show?" 

"The what?" Kenshin blinked at him. "Oh, that's right, that was on the schedule, wasn't it? It must have been during our break. That'd explain how I missed it."

Noa said nothing, thinking hard. Did he really not remember anything about the spell in the tent, or Noa running away? That was…not a good sign. 

"Anyway," Kenshin said, flying along beside Noa at head height. "Yutaka-ojisan was saying Daisuke-ojichan's going to be discharged soon. That's good news, isn't it? Once we know when we're back to work at the Matsuda house, we can let the…other uncle know we're set for work again. He'll probably like us stepping off."

"Yeah," Noa said absently.

"Unless…" Kenshin paused. "You're not thinking of sticking with uncle's jobs, are you? I mean, sure, they pay better, but they're a bit…." 

"Yeah," Noa said. "I'd rather go back to working for your real uncle. When we can, I mean." 

"Good," Kenshin said. 

They took the rest of the trip to the Kusumoto office in silence, taking up their regular place in the room. 

The usual chatter dropped as Kusumoto walked into the room a couple minutes early. There were no greetings. Instead, he scanned the people inside till his gaze landed squarely on Noa. "You," he said, and then pointed to Kenshin as well, "and you. Down the stairs, door on your left. Wait quietly."

Kenshin jumped, but let out a "Yessir" at the same time as Noa did.

They pushed their way through the usual crowd to a staircase Noa had never used before. It led downstairs to a short, cramped hallway of rooms. Noa pushed open the first door on the left. 

The inside was dimly lit; after a moment of hesitation, Kenshin reached out and hit the light. It revealed a rather plain room—clean and unassuming. Two chairs sat in the middle of the room, and featureless filing cabinets lined the back wall. 

Noa tentatively sat in one of the chairs. Instead of taking the other, Kenshin landed on his shoulder. 

"What do you think he wants?" he muttered. "Maybe he's got another job for us?" 

Noa just grunted. Kusumoto's tone hadn't sounded like good news. 

Kenshin kicked his legs a little, heels bouncing off Noa's bicep as they waited. 

It felt like a small eternity before Kusumoto shoved the door open. "All right, boys," he said. "Let's catch up. That job on Friday, how'd it go? Anything…unusual?" 

Kenshin and Noa looked at each other. Kenshin looked innocently perplexed. Noa didn't know what his face was doing. 

"I think so, sir…?" Kenshin said. 

"Why?" Noa asked, instead of deciding whether to lie. 

"Because we got some questions about your involvement," Kusumoto said. "Nothing too specific, but something that worries me." He leaned forward. "See, we were asked to vet the people we sent Iseki's way for the event. We were specifically told to avoid anyone with too many ties to…well, anything too shady." 

Kenshin gulped. "Sir, I promise I—" 

"Do you?" Kusumoto snapped, rounding on him. Noa felt Kenshin shrink back against his neck. "Not sniffing around to any other fae families for a loan, are we? Because our debts don't leave the kind of mark others can detect. So unless you've been shopping around for a better deal…." 

"I wouldn't, sir!" Kenshin said desperately. "I would never!" 

Kusumoto straightened. "And see, kid, I believe you. Or at least, I'd like to." He turned to Noa, glaring more darkly than he'd ever seen. "But your friend here…how well do you really know him, huh?" 

Noa stared back, wondering what he was being suspected of. Kenshin lifted off from his shoulder, creating distance between them now that Noa was the target of Kusumoto's ire. 

"You know, kid," Kusumoto said to him. "This whole joint's intened as a service to the community. We keep an eye out for folks who're about to fall between the cracks—make sure they don't end up in any sticky situations." He leaned forward, staring Noa in the face. "We're not here for the benefit of people who already have other entanglements." 

Noa stared back, trying not to flinch. "I'm not sure what you mean." 

"See, we heard back from the Iseki rep this morning—they were complainin' that one of our volunteers had fae contacts." Kusumoto leaned forward. "Only fae in this building's supposed to be me. Operations like this can be delicate. You know?" 

Noa swallowed. He thought he could feel the curse twining around his wrist tightening. "I didn't do anything," he said. "And I don't know anything. I don't know why they'd say that about me." 

"Really." Kusumoto glowered. "Givin' you one more chance, kid. If you have any idea what they could possibly be talking about—anything at all—you might want to say something. Now."

Noa thought hard. "If they were worried about fae," he said, "did they tell you what they—" 

"Not the moment for questions, kid," Kusumoto snarled, leaning forward. 

Noa was intensely aware that Kusumoto was at least twice his size, and likely an experienced fighter. He heard Kenshin suppress a whimper in the corner. But something inside him had gone cold and still and calculating. 

This man's bluster didn't scare him. It should…but it didn't. 

Still, logic said that keeping the Shijos' secrets for them wouldn't help keep Noa in one piece. He'd start there, and circle around to the part about blood magic later. 

Making his decision, he rolled up his left sleeve.