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“What is that?” Himiko asked faintly. She gestured to the item cradled in Korekiyo’s bandaged hands, just in case it wasn’t obvious what she was talking about. It should have been obvious, given the way they’d skulked into the house late at night like a child who’d just raided the cookie jar, but there was always a chance they’d try to play dumb.
They were too intelligent to be very good at it. It never worked.
“What’s what?” they asked nonetheless, brow furrowing as they lifted one hand to their chin in a false expression of thoughtfulness. “Ah, could you be referring to the latest addition to my collection? Yes, it’s quite the beauty, is it not? An ancient box carved of crystal and containing a few sundries like beads and lacquerware.” Korekiyo held it out carefully for her to get a better look, grip on it staying firm all the while.
“Yeah, it’s beautiful, but where did you get it? I doubt anyone was auctioning off artifacts at this time of night.” A moment passed as she tried to stifle a yawn, and then she amended her statement. “Well, no one normal, anyway.”
Her girlfriend just chuckled, cradling the box close to their chest again once she was done examining it. “Of course not. One could easily argue that artifacts of such great historical value are priceless. If nothing else, they might as well be so to all but the richest of the rich. No, I did not purchase it. I merely...liberated it.”
“Liberated it?” she echoed, turning away from them in favor of flopping down on the sofa. One of the cats nosed against her ankle, mewing softly. “It’s tiring if you talk around it like that at this hour. Don’t make me use a truth spell on you to figure it all out.”
“The museum wasn’t caring for their artifacts appropriately. These items are too precious to be treated with anything less than the utmost care, and as an anthropologist with a great deal of experience collecting, I’m qualified to do so. I simply brought her home where she’ll be cherished.”
“So...you stole it. You robbed a museum.”
“If you insist on putting it in such negative terms, I suppose so,” Korekiyo said, letting out a quiet scoff. “I suspect it will take quite some time for them to even notice anything is missing. In fact, I plan on going back for more. I wasn’t adequately prepared tonight. I had to devote more of my focus to evading the security systems. Anyway, why don’t you come upstairs with me? You can assist me in finding an appropriate place in the library for this treasure.”
Himiko buried her face in a throw pillow, focusing on her breathing and the quiet of the room around her. There were no sirens approaching. That was always a good sign. They didn’t live close enough to the museum for her to have any idea whether there were alarms and sirens blaring there, but knowing that no one had followed Kiyo home was something.
“Unfortunately, I am unable to carry you both,” they continued when she failed to respond, apparently taking her silence to mean that she was tired. Which, well, wasn’t untrue. It just wasn’t the entire truth, but they probably knew that too. “So you’ll need to summon up the magical energy to take your own weary bones upstairs. Unless, of course, you’d prefer for me to bring the artifacts up first, then I can return for you.”
“Just tell me you were safe and didn’t get caught,” she mumbled before slowly picking her head up from the pillow. When she first opened her eyes again, her vision was blurred, making Kiyo into a dark, fuzzy figure in the general vicinity of the stairs. She couldn’t make out their expression, but the warmth in their voice was plenty evident when they replied to her.
“I promise. No matter what crimes I may commit, I’m always aware of the need to be careful for you, my dear. Now, you’ll stay awake until I come back, yes?” Without waiting for an answer, they began the trek up to the second floor. Himiko, mentally tracing their route to the vast room they dubbed the library, waited.