Meal

"So, uh…thanks again, by the way."

Miyori looked down at Noa from the top of the shelf in the downstairs room. He'd packed up all his things and slung his bag over his shoulder, and was now wearing an awkward expression. 

She had to smile. "You know you're welcome anytime, right? Though I hope you won't need it." 

"Yeah, hopefully I should be set." He shifted. "It's kind of weird being back home, actually. And it's going to be even weirder Monday. People are definitely going to talk." 

Noa's mother had managed to re-enroll him at school, albeit after navigating some difficult conversations. 

"I'll help keep everyone off your back," she promised. "Shizuka-chan will, too, especially if you explain a bit. She said she wants to help out however she can, after everything." 

Noa smiled. "That's kind of her. It'll be nice to have some friends when I get back—I hadn't really gotten that far yet." 

Friends. Miyori beamed.

After rescuing Noa, it had been a difficult week of not telling Shizuka anything. Noa had been taken to the Kuraishis' private doctor for a full check-up and put on bed rest for most of the week, and Miyori had gone out to Satoshi Kusumoto's house again to make a report and end her pact. 

Just when everything had started dying down, the news of Iseki's wrongdoing had started to trickle out. Shizuka went to intern at the Iseki building only to find the doors shuttered and Project Wisteria indefinitely suspended. At that point, she'd tracked Miyori down with questions, and Miyori had tried to answer as honestly as she could without breaking any remaining promises of secrecy. 

Officially, Iseki was currently under investigation for human trafficking, labor violations, and magical malfeasance. Less officially, Sumiko and Sayaka had passed along police reports—and the Kusumotos and Kuraishis had also passed along word through other, more secretive channels. 

Miyori wasn't affiliated with the fae anymore, and Koji, it seemed, had gone on leave to look after Sayaka and ensure she recovered fully. But it sounded like the underworld was involved in dismantling what the Shijos had been working on—or at least filling the power vacuum Murasaki Shijo had left behind. 

Because Murasaki Shijo was gone. There was little or no mention of her in the news reports about Iseki, and neither the Kusumotos or Kuraishi would tell Noa or Miyori what had become of her. The most they'd heard was that she wasn't their problem to worry about anymore. 

Despite lingering curiosity, Miyori was trying her best to accept that. 

She followed Noa out into the hall and grew to human size to lock the front door behind them. Then, instead of asking Noa—again—whether he'd heard any more news from one or the other of his parents, she instead asked, "You're sure it's okay if I follow you back?" 

"Definitely," Noa said. "You should know how to get to my place, for a few reasons. For one thing, my mom loves it when I bring friends over for dinner." 

"Are you sure? She doesn't have to—" 

"Loves it. She'll tell you herself. And that's for people who haven't let me live with them, helped her find me again, saved my life—" 

Miyori's face burned. "Oh, come on!" 

"What? You did! I heard all about it from Ryosuke-san." 

"I just helped out," Miyori said. 

"You shoved your hands into that woman's eyes. Oh, and then you figured out how to save me from blood loss." 

"That's…! You figured out the blood loss thing on Daisuke-ojichan first. And I just remembered it, it was your—I mean, Ryosuke-san that actually did it." 

Noa shrugged, ignoring her near-slip. "Well, still. Actually, come to think of it, how's Daisuke-san doing? Is he out of the hospital yet? I want to do more renovations work if he'll have me." 

"He was discharged a little while ago, but I think he's still resting. I'll let him know." 

The walk to Noa's place was a little longer than the walk to school, but not by much. He lived in a neat apartment that was probably only spacious by Miyori's standards. When they arrived, the front door was ajar, and Ryosuke Kuraishi was sitting behind it with a chisel and a paintbrush. 

"Welcome back, Noa," he said. "And Ogimura-chan! How have you been holding up?" 

"Very well, thank you," Miyori said. "How are…things?" 

He rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Don't you start," he said. "Things are good—let's leave it at that."

"Understood," Miyori said. 

As good as things were, Miyori noted as she sat on the Takasus' sofa that what Ryosuke was carving into the door looked quite a bit like wards—though not any sort that Miyori was familiar with. 

"Miyori-san, welcome," Sumiko said, coming to the table with glasses on a tray. "I hope you're hungry—there was a sale at the store, so there's going to be more oyakodon than I know what to do with." 

"Miyori-san's usually hungry," Noa said, grinning. "It's a safe guess." 

"Noa-kun!" 

But Sumiko just smiled. "I'm glad. I hope to see you around here often, Miyori-san." 

"Thank you for having me," Miyori said politely, mentally accepting that it was very likely. 

She sat in the living room in the middle of an odd little family. As far as Noa had explained it, Ryosuke hadn't claimed paternity, and Noa had decided not to formally join the Kuraishis just yet, either, electing instead to stay in school and keep his options open. Ryosuke stood out more than a little in the otherwise unassuming apartment, and he and Noa were still a bit awkward around each other. 

But at the same time, Noa didn't seem upset with either of his parents for their decisions—including hiding those decisions from him for years—and they, in turn, seemed ready to support him in whatever decisions he made. 

Miyori, whose future options probably wouldn't turn out quite as fraught as Noa's might turn out to be, was happy for him. Though she also had to acknowledge the possibility that staying friends with him might get her into trouble again someday. 

She'd been talking with Sayaka about that, too. By the time she'd recovered enough to go back home, Sayaka had gotten herself a daring haircut, a set of healing and glamour spells…and a bit of a dilemma regarding her previously ex-boyfriend. Miyori had squeezed as many details out of her about that as she'd been willing to share, and then listened to Sayaka second-guessing herself about whether it was actually possible to be a civil servant and the girlfriend of an active member of a fae family at the same time. 

She'd told Sayaka that Sumiko might have some advice for her about that, and seeing Ryosuke in Sumiko's apartment didn't change that assessment at all. Ryosuke looked perfectly at home there, and judging by Noa's reactions to him, had been that way for a while. Now that his secret was out, Miyori suspected she'd see him more often than not when she came to visit. 

The Takasus' dining table sat just across from the kitchen, and it reflected these recent changes—pulled away from the wall and unfolded as far as it would go, it just about held four people, mismatched chairs or not. It was different from Miyori's tiny-but-massive table back home, which sat between five and a dozen people at every meal, but it was equally homey. 

And the oyako-don, as expected, was fantastic. 

END