HOPE THAT WE'LL GET OUT OF THIS OKAY (EPISODE END)

We both slept until sundown. Not really surprising, given how late we'd all been up. I think after so much has happened to me-- to all of us, we deserve to sleep in.

Slowly, as to not disturb her rest, I lower my head, looking down to Fueko. She's sleeping soundly, completely unchanged. That's a relief. I'm glad.

...?

She's... smiling. Smiling so warmly. I-it's not like her smiling is abnormal, or anything-- she just seems so... at peace.

It's enough to melt your heart.

I honestly don't want to interrupt her slumber, it's just too cute~ So, I sit there in silence, allowing her to sleep just a bit longer.

Eventually, she stirs awake, looking up to me with a confused smile.

"How... how long have you been up?"

"Not much longer than you... I j-just didn't want to wake you up, ehehe..."

"Fair... What time is it?"

"Almost 5."

"S-shit...!!" She rolls out from under my arms, falling over herself as she rushes to the computer.

"W-what's wrong?"

"The YCH auction I was bidding on ends today! I need to make sure I didn't get sniped...!"

...I can't help but giggle. She's freaking out about a 'Your Character Here' auction, where the sketch is complete, barring character details, only to be filled in with the character of the winner's choice.

"The one with the giant cake?"

"Yeah."

I'll never really get the things she's into, but I won't really judge. It makes her a lot of money when she's the one drawing it.

"Usually you're the one sniping, huh?" I sit up, giving a great big stretch-- mindful to not bump into anything with my bigger frame.

"Not lately. I got tired of people yelling at me-- and, well..."

...

"Well?"

"Huh? Oh, right. I uh, made the first bid for this one on an impulse. I've always wanted a piece from this artist, eheheh..."

"Fair enough!"

After amusedly watching her go through the gambit of nervousness to giddiness to struggling to use the 2-Factor on her phone to pay for the auction she won, the two of us make our way to the kitchen, trying to figure something to eat.

"Say, Fueko..." I ask, as the two of us raid the pantry.

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask another uncomfortable question real quick... g-get it out of the way?"

She lowers her head, before lightly grunting as if to say 'go ahead.'

I hesitate, worrying that this is a mistake of me, before continuing. "So... about Sonora."

She tenses at the name.

"What was she like? I know Asahi and her were dating, but..."

"She... was nice. Troubled, but soft-spoken and kind. I really did want the best for her, but..."

Hesitation-- though, this time, not from her losing her train of thought.

"...well. I allowed her to get carried away."

"Y-you blame yourself for the Anxi, d-don't you...?"

"A bit. No... a lot." She sighs.

"W-we can drop the subject."

"No, it's... it's fine. I don't want to keep this from you any longer than I already have. She was trying to concoct a formula to make herself immortal. Tested it on her mascot, given their transient nature. And, when she realized how horribly it failed... she started using it on those she believed were getting away with cruelty."

"Like my mom..."

"M-mm."

"How was this your fault, though?"

"I could've told her to stop."

"D-doesn't sound like she would've listened."

"Maybe..."

I pull her into a soft hug from behind. "Well, I don't hold anything against you, Fueko."

She smiles, resting her hand on mine. "That... means so much to me. T-thank you, Chisaki."

...

...

We keep looking around, but no matter where we go in this kitchen, all the two of us see is ramen.

"You... think that ramen will be enough for you, right now?"

"How so?"

"I mean... uh... well." She glances at me, unable to find the words.

Then it hits me that she probably means how much bigger I am as an Anxi. "A-ah, I mean... It's not like... well, I'd probably be fine with it, I th-think..."

She laughs a bit. "Let's just get some MxDonnal's. Haven't had that in a while, yeah?"

"O-one unhealthy meal to another, eheheh..."

"Yeah, we should probably... diversify our diets." She rubs the back of her neck, probably still hung up over training yesterday-- how she was the last in-shape of all of us, I mean. Not the part where I got turned into an Anxi.

"Probably. But... not right now. I want a Big Don, bad." I chuckle, realizing I'm sounding like a child who thinks they've outgrown the kid's meals.

She nods, pulling out her phone to order delivery. "I'll see if Asahi and Mizuki want to join us, too. I think it's still Mizuki's day off, actually."

"Oh, is it? I wasn't keeping track." I move to sit next to the couch, petting the trio of familiars beside me.

"It's why we had training day yesterday."

"Ah, right..." Say, wait a minute. "Where is Asahi, anyway...? S-she left Tori here."

"Oh, did she? Huh. Must've... felt bad that I'd left Tora to guard the apartment on her own." She mumbles out an apology to her familiar.

"Well, I-I guess if she's coming over anyway, then it works out."

"Yeah."

After about a half hour, our food arrives. We'd ordered a bit more than normal, both because of having the others join us, a-and because I don't know how much I'll have to eat to feel full like this. ...I hide out in the bedroom so as to not give the poor driver a heart attack at my presence.

...

Then, after a while, a knock on the door signifies the arrival of our friend Asahi...

...missing her round-rimmed glasses...

...and with a vacant, almost lifeless expression.