Archive of Our Own ^beta

Niki whistled as he walked through town, his shoulder bag of essentials slung over his chest and a slightly bigger backpack hanging from his other shoulder.

It was a quaint town, one that would be seen more as a spot for travelers and adventurers to take a rest rather than reside in, most of the residents save for a few being farmers and the like. Nothing like the bright and bustling streets of the capital, or the always loud and busy cities where trading and commerce reigned. Niki liked it here, and was glad to call it home.

He had lived there his entire life, born to two culinary adventurers that had settled down for a while. He doesn’t remember much about his parents, both being very busy with work from the local adventurer’s guild and often forever pursuing the finest ingredients, much like he was now minus the adventurer’s guild as apparently one needed to have…academic credentials now to apply as a prerequisite or else you would be deemed unsafe for the types of jobs given? Honestly Niki never minded, since his condition that always made him hungry never gave him time to honestly think about anything besides food, save for a few things.

He wasn’t extremely skilled at magic, but he did know enough to keep himself on his feet and out of trouble if needed. He had to defend himself from the vicious wilds somehow, and thankfully his cooking skills weren’t the only thing he learned from his mostly-absent parents and the books they had lying around the house.

Thankfully, Niki wasn’t completely hopeless and broke, still managing to live all these years even after his parents eventually went off on a grand expedition and seldom contacted him. A couple that ran the local tavern had recognized his skills even while he was young, and offered him living expenses as long as he stopped by once in a while, did some ingredient runs for them, and ever so often work in the kitchen (which he definitely enjoyed more rather than subjecting himself to the whims of academia and big words and the cutthroat culture of magic users in the capital).

So there he was now, officially a semi-employed culinary adventurer since he was young, always going out into the wild and fighting off beasts and monsters and then giving them a little taste, maybe with a little magic cooking sprinkled in (and honestly, flambeing usually made almost everything taste phenomenal. A drop of alcohol, a quick little fire spell, and BAM! Deliciousness! Maybe it was because he wasn’t picky but he still will never be able to see the reason why the couple refuse to put flambeed direwolf on the menu, especially after Niki tried it multiple times to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating the mouthwatering juiciness and glorious smoky flavor of the meat. He makes a note to try suggesting fried direwolf next time he sees the couple.)

He was wearing a red shirt, coupled with a cream-blouse that covered his arms and dark gray high-waisted pants, along with a black cloak with white and orange accents. The cloak was also covered in various patches, self-stitched by Niki, each patch depicting a different monster he’s managed to have a taste of, sort of like a record-book. There also was an orange hood on the cloak, also sewn on by Niki, and the entire thing was held together on him with one small black button with a cute orange face on it. His long gray hair was tied back into a low ponytail that rested over his shoulder.

He also had a belt with some satchels filled with a variety of things, from various spices for cooking, to more random herbs he’d pick up while exploring, and even spellcasting materials for his magic (which as much as he’d like to not admit…he does sometimes mix them up without noticing which has resulted in some…events. Like that one time he was being chased by a hoard of wyverns when he might’ve gotten hungry for fried wyvern egg and tried to sneakily grab one and then ended up alerting the entire group and while running he threw pepper instead of the correct spell components at the wyverns while trying to cast one of his attacking spells, resulting in them nearly tearing him to shreds and leaving him sore and aching for weeks but god damn that wyvern egg was good and he still had a ton of different recipes he could try with it but…maybe at another time. It wasn’t wyvern season anymore).

 He stopped at the door of a modestly decorated tavern, a sign hanging to the side that said The Beehive. He walked in, the door chiming out his arrival.

The inside of the tavern was pretty simple, quite normal for a tavern with various seating areas, a large stage, and all kinds of bottles lining the wall. A moderate-sized bar was on the side with stools lined up against it. There currently was no one else in the room, at first glance.

“Niki-han! It’s been a while, how’ve ya been?” a voice called out from somewhere behind the bar counter. 

There was some shuffling, and then Kohaku popped up.

“Kohaku-chan! Fancy seeing you at the bar, aren’t you a little too young to be there right now?” Niki laughed, walking forward and setting his backpack down onto the counter.

Kohaku rolled his eyes. “We’re not open right now, and I’m helping clean for tonight. What’d you get this time? Whatever you got last time was…interesting.”

Niki grinned and pulled out a small orb. Waving his hand around and muttering a few words, the orb slowly expanded until it folded out into a blanket with various ingredients inside, all kinds of things Niki had picked up from his most recent travels.

“This is meat from some white furry beast I encountered in the snowy region! Andddd..these are several herbs and greens I found near that marsh out on the west side. Oh and this one is some kind of lizard that honestly tried to eat me but too bad for it I’m just better! And this rubbery meat may look inedible but it's actually really good paired with some spices and some boiling and-”

Niki went on and on, eagerly recounting his latest finds while Kohaku looked down at the…colorful arrangement of ingredients, an unsure look on his face.

While Niki Lived alone in his quaint house on the outskirts of town (which he never stayed in for more than a week because the outside undiscovered always called for his free spirit! And maybe also because the quietness of just him alone in that small and warm house would make him feel even more hungry than usual.), he wasn’t completely friendless. Besides the couple that owned The Beehive , several other townspeople were on friendly terms with him and often helped him out, many being acquainted with his parents who were known for helping out many people.

Kohaku was one of these, with amusingly a slightly similar situation with Niki. The younger boy had turned up in the town one rainy night, covered with dirt and hungry enough to almost eat more than Niki could (which was a shock!!). The couple had a son, Aira, who was actually the one to find Kohaku and bring him to the tavern. The two became inseparable, and Kohaku was given lodging at the tavern as long as he helped out.

Niki knew nothing about his younger friend’s history, and he didn’t care to ask. Honestly, why would he ask if Kohaku obviously didn’t want to talk about it, and was happy in the present? Better to leave history that one doesn’t want to be reminded of in the past.

One thing for sure, though, was that ever since he was young, Kohaku was one of those prodigies at magic, his spells always hitting the target whenever they would all practice slinging bolts of fire at a board (which Aira’s mom then proceeded to yell at them for because Kohaku’s bolt might have been way too strong and singed some of her flowers). 

Lately though, it seemed like Kohaku was making an active attempt not to use his magic, cleaning and working in the tavern with his own physical strength rather than just flicking his finger and levitating most of the dirty dishes into the air and onto his hand. It puzzled Niki because he was pretty sure both Kohaku and Aira had applied to the greatest magical academy in the Capital, and was certain Kohaku would pass the entrance exam with flying colors. However, when the two returned home, all Kohaku said was that he just wasn’t what they were looking for and left it at that.

“Niki-han, as cool as these all are and I trust your judgment and all but…I think Shiratori-han won’t share the same perspective.”

“You don’t know that for sure, Kohaku-chan! Come on, you've got to try some of these weird fish I found in the swamp near those woods! Don’t they look tasty? I know the bumps may look scary but those are where all the flavor is hidden!”

“Niki-han…” Kohaku sighed, covering his face in exasperation.

“Kohakucchi~ I heard the bell, is Shiina-senpai back?” Aira walked out from the kitchen, his hands full of papers.

“Rabu-han~ Yeah, he’s back. Got a variety this time, for sure.” Kohaku looked up at Aira, relief washing over his face as he finally had someone to help him with whatever Niki had brought them.

“Hi Ai-chan I’m back~” Niki waved, popping some kind of fried critter he had stored in one of his satchels into his mouth.

Shiratori Aira was an interesting case. While in their world, magic was an innate thing that nearly everyone had the ability to do, the only difference being levels and quality of magic which was where most of the academy came to play. So any common person or random person on the street with no formal training could wave their hand and with some concentration cast a small spell, ranging from an assortment of different low level spells even a child could pick up.

Aira was a massive fan of the upper echelons of the magic system, often eagerly talking for hours about various mages he looked up to, their achievements, how he wanted to be a mage like that and become a renown adventurer and help people and other things that Niki couldn’t recall(He often either slipped away to grab food or fell asleep listening to the younger boy ramble. Niki could never understand how Kohaku managed to stay attentive during those sessions the entire time.)

Unfortunately, Aira, the biggest magic fanboy Niki has seen in all his years of living, was quite literally the worst at magic. Ironic, with his best friend (? boyfriend? Niki could never tell those two were literally inseparable but he was happy for them regardless) being the complete opposite and a master of extremely high-leveled spells.

And it’s not an exaggeration either, take for example that time when Aira tried to cast a simple water spell that Niki and Kohaku had taught him to water his mom’s flowers, and ended up burning them to a crisp (her poor flowers…), and then after a stern yelling from Aira’s mom (again) when they then tried to get him to use his newfound ability to light up a fire for Niki to cook with, the poor boy ended up dousing their pile of kindling in poison. 

In fact, he was infamous throughout their small town for his unpredictable and uncontrollable magic, which resulted in Aira’s parents eventually having to limit the unfortunate Aira to “only use magic when you desperately need it.” Upset and dismayed, this led to Aira wanting to prove everyone wrong, grabbing Kohaku, and together after much studying, going off to the capital, taking the test, and then both returning home disappointed and downtrodden.

Now that Niki thought of it, Aira definitely didn’t pass and knowing Kohaku…he probably did refuse to go as then he would be separated from Aira. And probably that same reasoning was the reason why Kohaku had stopped using his magic.

Not that Niki would ask them or confront them outright about it! He’s observant, but respectful! If they don’t want to talk about it, he won’t pry!

Aira stood next to Kohaku, leaning onto his shoulder.

“Err Shiina-Senpai…as much as I’m sure these taste good to you, my parents won’t really like to hear that we’re serving our customers…” Aira lifted one of the fish, “whatever this is. You’ve got to have at least some appeal in the food, right? I know we aren’t a high end establishment but your suggestions are a little too adventurous.”

“Ai-chan please, you’ve got to live dangerously or else you’ll never experience the best of life, nahaha.” Niki brought his backpack close and rummaged through it.

Aira sighed while Kohaku rubbed his head in comfort.

“And I agree with that! But! Not everyone has an iron stomach like you! We really don’t want people coming back with vengeance because our food mysteriously cursed them or something! Please tell me you at least got some more normal ingredients?”

Niki pulled out another small orb, similar in shape and size to the orb from before. “Yeah, yeah Ai-chan, you don’t trust me…Poor me… Here you go, it should be full of the usuals.”

“Why didn’t you start with this~” Aira took the orb, pocketing it. Niki stuck his tongue out. “I can have my fun, can’t I?” He waved his finger, and his assortment of ingredients (that honestly everyone else was missing out on but oh well, more for him!) rolled back up into their orb.

“Kohaku-chan knows the spell to open it as always, make sure to keep the meat on ice, and oh, Kohaku I got you those cheeses that your little guy likes. Plenty of them~”

At the mention of cheese, a little hamster popped its head out of Kohaku’s shirt pocket. It was colored a light beige, with a white face marking which resembled a heart and little white spots on its belly. It was a familiar, a magical being of some sort that was either summoned by the mage and created from their own magic or an actual animal that entered a special pact agreement with their mage, sharing the magic between both. Kohaku had brought it home one night, and always kept it in his shirt pocket.

“Rabu-han say thank you~ He got you your favorite treat~” Kohaku laughed, lifting it out of his pocket.

Oh yeah, and Kohaku had named it accordingly. Niki silently laughed as he watched Aira pout in response, puffing up his cheeks. 

“Kohakucchi~We talked about this already~~ Geez! Couldn’t you have named him anything else?!” Aira huffed.

Kohaku smirked and held Rabu-han (hamster) up. “Nope~ He’s the spitting image of you, Rabu-han~ So cute~”

“At least add a junior to his name or something so I can tell who you’re talking to?!”

“But Rabu-han, when Rabu-han becomes big he’s bigger than you. Wouldn’t you be the Rabu-han junior then?”

“Kohakucchi!!!!!”

Niki finished packing up his things, swinging his backpack back onto his shoulder. “Well, I’m gonna head back home~ I’ve got some cockatrice eggs that are calling to be in my stomach! See you later Ai-chan and Kohaku-chan!” He walked over to the exit.

“Oh yeah, since he’s not here, can you tell Himeru-kun I’m back~ Thanks!”

“Of course. See you later, Niki-han.”

Niki walked out and started on his way to his home, the sun going down.

His house was a bit out of the way, nestled comfortably past a small trail out of the town. He never minded it, and found it refreshing to walk that trail back and forth for the times that he was back in the area.

Humming a tune he had heard from a passing bard and chewing on another mysterious fried critter from his satchel, Niki walked up the path.

He suddenly froze, the unpleasant iron smell of what was certainly blood wafting in the air. Even with all his pursuits in the name of the culinary arts (and his stomach), the scent of blood never failed to make him freeze in his tracks, the acrid odor completely flooding his sharper than normal sense of smell.

Lifting his nose into the air, he turned off to the side of the path and pushed through the bushes, running. As he ran, he could hear the sound of growling, barks, and a high-pitched noise.

Niki burst into a clearing, upon which he found four wolves surrounding a scraggly small red fox. The fox had its ears lowered and teeth bared, one of its legs definitely not in the right angle. One of its eyes was closed, while the other was a bright cerulean blue. The wolves seemed to be batting the fox back and forth, toying with it.

Niki was all for the circle of life, but what he absolutely was not for was anyone playing with their food. He would gladly char them to a crisp, and maybe eat them (if they weren’t human. Niki would NEVER touch human meat.)

Which was why there he was, running into the fray and sticking his hand into his satchel. He muttered a few words and with a flick of the hand, several shards of ice shot out and impacted the wolves, sending most flying into the surrounding foliage.

The wolves yelped and snarled, running back at him to take a bite at him. Niki easily rolled over, barely getting grazed, and repeated his previous movements. He watched as the wolves were impaled on bigger shards of ice. Two of them dropped to the ground, lifeless, while the other two, upon seeing their companions dead, tucked tail and ran.

“Well then, that’s that. Unfortunately I have enough meat already so~ Guess some lucky creature will be having a feast.” Niki wiped his hands on his pants.

He then turned back, finding the fox collapsed on the ground, a pool of blood slowly growing around it.

Niki frantically ran over, inspecting the animal. It was breathing still, thankfully, but very slowly. Its eyes were shut.

“Ah I don’t know any healing magic at all, what do I do, what do I do…” He looked back and forth, unsure.

Wait, I’m pretty sure some of the herbs we grow back home have medicinal properties and aren’t just for cooking-

Shrugging off his cloak, Niki quickly bundled the fox up, the blood slowly seeping into the fabric. “Hang on tight, I’ve got you! Just wait a little more, little guy, don’t give up yet!” He slowly lifted the fox up into his arms.

After casting a quick mobility spell, Niki ran as fast as he could, back from where he had come from and down the rest of the trail. With a wave of a free hand, his door opened and he dashed in.

After setting the fox down onto the ground, Niki stumbled around his cluttered house gathering wrappings and harvesting the few medicinal herbs he had growing in the windowsill planters. He also grabbed a book from his parent’s collection, one with recipes of foods that could heal.

When he returned to the fox, he saw it writhing in pain, a pool of blood now on his pristine wooden floors. 

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you. You’ll be okay.” He mumbled softly, casting a small spell that could soothe the pain (which wasn’t directly a healing spell and more like a distraction from pain spell! Which he’s definitely used himself multiple times on his adventures but that’s not the point right now!). He quickly got to work, bandaging its wounds, setting its leg back into place with a homemade splinter of wood, all while gently wiping away the blood and dirt from its fur.

He relocated the unconscious fox gently to his couch, cleaned up the blood with a quick water spell and washed his cloak of the blood, leaving it to dry hanging up on a clothesline outside. 

The fox doesn’t wake up for a few hours, so Niki spent his time unpacking his things and cleaning his house. With most of the clutter out of the way, the candles all lit and his newest spoils all safely stored, Niki got to work in his kitchen, chopping up some potatoes and meat.

With nikujaga stewing on the stove, he added a bit of the medicinal herbs he had gathered and stirred, mouth watering at the smell.

He turned at the low sound of a growl. The fox lay on his couch, ears lowered.

Niki smiled. “Hello little guy, how are you doing? I don’t know what kind of trouble you got into, but you’re safe now.”

It watched him, unblinking. It was obvious the fox was wary of him.

“I’m not gonna hurt you~ Here you must be hungry, have some nikujaga.”

Wait… can foxes eat nikujaga?

Niki shrugged the thought away as he filled a bowl, then slowly approached the fox.

It watched him approach, ears still lowered. He set the bowl next to it, backing away a little.

It didn’t move, narrowed eyes still watching Niki.

“Don’t worry, I’m not trying to hurt you. It’s really good, have some! You see, I’m a bit of an expert at cooking~ Bad at nearly everything else but cooking, nahaha. So sorry if I set your leg wrong, I tried following what one of my parent’s books said to do!”

The fox started to get to its feet, immediately yelping and falling over and back into the couch.

“Oh yeah, you probably shouldn’t walk on that leg for a while~ Which is why you should have some nikujaga! I put in some herbs and magic that should help it heal faster.” Niki nudged the bowl closer. He watched as the fox slowly sideyed him, and then took a slow bite of the nikujaga.

It finished the entire bowl within a minute, obviously starving. Niki laughed and slowly sat next to the fox.

“Well aren’t you hungry~ Don’t worry, I have more! Eat, eat! That’s my purpose in life, to make good food that I and others can enjoy~”

The fox licked its lips after finishing the bowl, and then slowly butted its head against him, letting out a low yip.

Niki smiled. 

He’s finally opening up to me, yay~

“You know, I just got back from an ingredients run, so I’ll be around for a while still. I’ll make sure you're healthy and able to walk again, chef’s word!”

—

Niki stays in town for a few weeks, cooking up various things with the ingredients he gathered and sharing them with his new friend.

The fox wasn’t picky, and excitedly ate everything he gave it, to Niki’s complete shock. Finally, someone that shared his sentiments in trying anything and everything!

Niki did note that the little guy ate a lot for a fox (from what he knows, foxes shouldn’t eat as much as this one did? But maybe he was wrong, he doesn’t really pay attention to things like that.), and seemed to understand him clearly. Maybe the fox he had picked up was a little magical, a runaway familiar or something like that.

Niki doesn’t name the fox, and just calls it “Little Guy”, which obviously the fox doesn’t like as it would bite him every time he did but he found it amusing despite the pain it would bring sometimes so he kept doing so.

He does come to learn that the fox had become very attached to him, not wanting to be left alone in his house while Niki went to town to help out in The Beehive.

Which was why he was there now, seated at a table with the fox in his lap. He was peeling potatoes with Kohaku and Aira, the other two talking about some topic he didn’t pick up because his mind was too focused on how he should cook that griffon meat he had back home later for the night.

The door opened, and Himeru walked in.

“Shiina, it’s great that you’re here and helping out, but does that creature always have to come with you?”

“Himeru-kun~ That’s what I’ve been saying! He won’t let me leave him alone though…Every time I try to leave without him he always complains. Even when I’ve tried sneaking out! He jumped out the window and ran over, which he really shouldn’t be doing because he needs to be healing!” Niki whined, glaring down at the ball of fur that was nestled comfortably on his lap.

Himeru was another person Niki would consider a friend. He was mostly mysterious, his bright yellow eyes definitely hiding many secrets, but once again, Niki was never one to pry! 

While Himeru was more standoffish and older than the three others, he was the newest to the tavern, also being taken in after Kohaku had found him rummaging through the trash one night. 

Simply put, the Shiratoris sure loved to take in strays.

Himeru was sort of like Niki, going off for a few weeks at times doing…who knows what. Unlike Niki though, Himeru never brought anything to show where he had been, no spoils from adventuring of the sort. Almost as if every time he went out, he was looking for something but could never find it.

It wasn’t as often as Niki, so when Himeru wasn’t out of town he’d be in the local town library all day and working behind the bar at The Beehive at night.

“Shiina, we all know with your skills you could easily make it sleep the entire time you’re out, or even lock it in with no escape. You’re being too soft on it and it’s using you to its advantage. Even if you do have nearly nothing in that brain of yours except food, Himeru does hope you know that this isn’t a normal fox.”

The fox lifted its head and glared at Himeru. Himeru stared back, unmoving.

Niki sighed, set his knife down, and petted its head.

“Nahaha Himeru-kun~ That’s too cruel, so cold, so cold. It doesn’t bother me that much. He never gets in the way and just sits quietly waiting to go home so I never minded it~” He tipped his head over.

“And of course, Himeru-kun! This little guy is special~ You know, I caught him using growth magic on the plants in my garden? Helpful and talented, he probably is some run-away familiar.” Niki scratched the fox under its ears, the fox closing its eyes and letting out a low rumble of happiness.

“Himeru doesn’t mean that-”

He paused. “You know what, never mind.”

“Shiina-Senpai, maybe you should make a familiar pact with him. He very clearly wants to be with you all the time, and they say the stronger the bond is between an animal and the mage, the more powerful they are~” Aira offered, setting down his last peeled potato.

“Yeah, like me and Rabu-han Junior. Wait, I might have a leftover pact scroll from somewhere, I could give it to you?” Kohaku moved to get up and started to walk toward the stairs that lead to their living quarters.

Niki waved his hands wildly. “No, no, no! I’m not looking for a familiar, don’t need one~ I’m just taking care of him until his leg is healed. Then it's back into the wilds I go, my stock has been getting low and I’ve been craving some wyvern meat~” The fox looked up at him, eyes narrowed because he had stopped scratching it.

“Himeru agrees with Oukawa and Shiratori. Shiina should at least take the creature with him, at least for company. It’ll probably help keep Shiina out of trouble, too. Don’t forget the last time Shiina came back with a broken arm because in the words of Shiina himself, ‘Nahaha Himeru-kun I might’ve angered a bunch of giant spiders and they overpowered me and had me wrapped up and were ready to feast but with luck I managed to escape’. Himeru himself can’t believe sometimes how Shiina has managed to survive for this long alone.”

“Himeru-kun~ Whose side are you on~” Niki laughed, shrugging. “I’m fine by myself~ Wouldn’t want to drag others into my mess.”

Unfortunately for Niki, the other three were very pushy and eventually he retired back to his home, a familiar pact scroll now in his possession. He tossed it into the clutter on a table to be forgotten, and got to work making dinner after letting the fox jump down from riding on his shoulders.

As he got some stew boiling, he felt something bump his leg. He looked down to find the fox, who looked back up at him, the familiar pact scroll in its mouth.

Niki stared down at the fox, its cerulean eyes staring back at him.

"I told you already, I'm not looking for a familiar!"

He nearly choked when the fox lowered its ears and appeared to widen its eyes, akin to that of a sad puppy.

"Not going to happen! I already only have enough food for myself as it is!" He was definitely not falling for this!

The fox dropped the scroll onto the ground. It then slowly rose to its feet, crouched down, and pounced. It bared its teeth at him.

"Are you trying to show me you can hunt for yourself? Well then, go on, you don't need me anymore, you can obviously take care of yourself."

Niki watched amusedly as the fox looked off to the side and made a noise kind of like a tongue click. "I already told you, didn't I, I'm not going to stay around much~ the delicious ingredients of the wilds call and my stock is close to empty."

Niki was certain he won this battle, the fox lowering its ears again and slowly raising back to its feet.

Unfortunately for Niki, it seemed like this being that he had taken in was definitely slyer than he thought, and it had the audacity to let out a low whimper.

"That's not going to work on me! Don't think you have the upper hand!" Contrary to popular belief, it definitely was working on him.

It continued to whimper, walking forward, lowering its head, and even rubbing itself against Niki's leg.

Niki silently cursed whatever deity that was out there that made him an extreme pushover, much to his own dismay. He leaned over and held his arms open, sighing. The fox’s eyes brightened and it let out a small yip for joy, jumping straight into his arms and bowling him over in the process.

Niki grimaced as he lay on the floor, the fox playfully nudging and licking him all over.

What have I gotten myself into…

He scrunched his face when he felt the fox nuzzle up to him, butting its head against his chest.

“Ugh…fine. But you’d better put in your work! Guess I’ll be using the pact scroll Kohaku-chan gave me after all, hold on a second.”

Niki started to move to get up, but the fox barked at him, then pawed at him, swishing its tail. it climbed off of him and leaned over, picking up the scroll it dropped earlier. It then padded back over, dropping the pact scroll onto Niki’s face.

“I don’t see why you would want to be my familiar so badly~ You’re smart and probably powerful, you can settle for someone more your style, you know. I’m just an always hungry chef that knows just enough magic. I’m not special at all.” Niki muttered, muffled by the unrolled scroll on his face.

He felt a sudden sharp pain as the fox climbed back onto him and bit his cheek gently.

“Well then. Let’s get this done with.” Niki sighed in defeat, pulling the scroll off his face.

Clapping his hands together, he muttered the incantation, both of them being surrounded by a swirl of lights, the scroll glowing brightly and then finally burning up into ash.

As the spell finished, Niki felt a sudden rush of energy into his blood, magic coursing through his veins. He staggered a little, the fox running leaning forward quickly and grabbing his shirt with its mouth to stop him from falling back.

“Wow, no kidding. You’re some powerful little guy, aren’t you?” Niki laughed weakly, head aching from the sudden wave of magic he was hit with. “They say that a mage is the one that mainly splits the magic with their familiar…ha, it seems like I’m the one that gained more though. Are you really sure you want to be with me?”

The fox nuzzled him, tail wagging.

—

Niki had to admit, traveling with company for once was really fun. Even if that company was a fox that would constantly pull him everywhere, make him scratch it, and quite honestly was such a bossy character! As if their roles were switched!

It was nice having someone to warm up with during the cold nights. 

The fox also helped keep him out of trouble, as much as Niki was ashamed to say, barking at him to drop poisonous plants and pulling him out of harm’s reach.

Speaking of, Niki had also decided on a name for the fox, well, at least a name that the fox would let him call it instead of biting him all the time (Though it took a little while to get there, the fox rejected all kinds of his food-related names and eventually gave a satisfied huff of approval with the simple name of “Aka”, for its strikingly red fur. Which in Niki’s opinion was extremely boring and Tomato was a way better name by all means but he really didn’t want to be constantly bit all the time).

They went around hunting various beasts and creatures, gathering all kinds of flora, and exploring, just as Niki had been doing before.

They were currently in the forest next to the town, on the trail of a large beast hybrid of some sort that there had been word of.

Niki crouched down, sweeping away leaves to look at large tracks on the ground, Aka on his shoulders. “Hmm…it’s close. I can almost smell it, like a mix of bear and deer. Ooh my mouth is watering, I wonder if it’ll taste good seared.” He turned toward Aka. Aka had his ears perked up, eyes wide open, snarling at something.

“Aka?”

He heard the sudden sound of foliage cracking, and was knocked to his feet as something large pounced on him, his head hitting the floor as a crushing force trapped him.

Niki heard the yelp of Aka being sent flying by the momentum somewhere a little off, crashing into some bushes.

Niki lay there, the beast staring down at him with beady eyes, its mouth drooling and hot breath in his face. He felt a sharp pain in his lower leg as some kind of stinger impaled him.

He couldn’t move, paralyzed by the beast’s gaze. His head was in immense pain and…at least Aka had a chance to escape.

Nahaha…I might’ve been pushing it too hard this time. No wonder this was listed on one of those guild posters… Well. I hope you enjoy, even till the end my purpose was to make good meals and share those with others…

And nahaha, guess I’m that meal now.

Mom, Dad, Kohaku-chan, Ai-chan, Himeru-kun, I’m sorry. Guess I’m fulfilling my life’s purpose.

I hope you live well, Aka. Ha, I really am a terrible mage. I told you you should’ve gone for anyone else.

As Niki lay there, a weird sense of peace over himself, he felt himself losing consciousness while the beast lifted its giant claw to strike him.

He suddenly heard a loud sound, a bright light, and could’ve sworn he saw a humanoid figure, before he blacked out.

—

Niki woke up to find himself surprisingly not dead, intact, and back in the comfort of his bed back home. Which was confusing, as Niki was certain that though they had been a little close to town, they had been deep in a forest that not many passersby would just…happen upon him in the woods, bleeding to death and also somehow saving him from being eaten.

Which left only one possible reason, though far fetched, probably being the case. He stared down at his bandaged wounds, and then at the asleep figure of Aka curled up next to him.

“Niki-han, I’ve removed the poison from your blood. Really? A manticore? You went after the manticore even the guild was having trouble with?” Kohaku was putting bandages into his bag, Rabu-han Junior sitting on his shoulder.

“I’ve never gotten to try it~” Niki laughed. Kohaku gave him a deadpan glance.

“You should be lucky your familiar is so strong. I don’t even know how he did it, but he managed to drag your unconscious and bleeding stupid self all the way to town and into the tavern. Mind you, while we were open too, so believe the shock all our clients had upon seeing a small fox drag in something that looked at first-glance like a dead body. Himeru-kun was not pleased.”

Niki smiled. “Yeah…I guess I am lucky.” He looked down at the sleeping fox, then recalled something.

“Hey Kohaku-chan, was it just Aka? Was there no other person or anything?”

Kohaku picked his bag up, letting his hamster hop back into his pocket. “No? Not from what we saw? Are you right in the head, Niki-han? Maybe you should rest for a bit longer, make sure the traces of poison haven’t messed with your head.”

Niki shook his head. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Thanks, Kohaku-chan. Tell Himeru-kun I’ll make it up to him~”

I swear I saw someone though…maybe I am going insane.

—

Under Kohaku (and literally everyone else he knew)’s orders, Niki stayed home and rested, occasionally going to the tavern for company and to help out in the kitchen. Aka accompanied him, as always, instantly bumping his head against Niki if Niki ever looked like he was in pain.

He sat at the bar counter, brainstorming drink ideas for the seasonal menu. Aka sat on top of the counter, yawning lazily.

The bell rang, and Niki turned to see Aira and Kohaku walk in, accompanied by an unfamiliar boy with red hair and cerulean blue eyes.

“Hey Kohaku-chan, Ai-chan~ Who’s this?” Niki called out, putting his pencil down.

“This is Amagi Hiiro, me and Kohakucchi found him lost in the town with nowhere to go for the night, so we brought him here.” Aira waved Hiiro over.

Niki stared at the new boy. “Another stray for the Shiratori household~ Hmm…he reminds me of Aka-” he turned to find Aka frozen in his place, cowering behind Niki.

“Aka?”

“Hello! As Aira said, I’m Hiiro. I’m of the Amagi family, and I’m on a quest to find my brother who has run away!” Hiiro approached, holding his hand out.

Niki took it, shaking it. He glanced at Aka again, who for some reason looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there at the moment.

“Your brother?”

“Yes! He’s the next head of the family! He’s really skilled at magic, even more so than our father, and was supposed to take his place last spring! However, he ran away from home and we have been searching ever since. I’ve come to ask if you possibly have seen him- wait a minute.” The boy’s eyes widened. “Nii-san?”

Hiiro got closer to Niki, looking around him at Aka.

“Yeah? What’s wrong?” Niki blinked, confused.

“Err..”

“Shiina Niki.”

“Shiina-san! May I see your companion there?” Hiiro pleaded, his eyes sparkling.

Niki looked at Aka, who clearly didn’t want to be there.

“Aka? He’s my familiar, what do you want with him?”

“You see, Shiina-san. Nii-san was really good at magic, and one of the first spells he mastered was a shape-shifting spell, which he would use to skip classes and hide. And his favorite form to take was a fox. Father had to put a magic limiting charm on him to get Nii-san to stop running off. Nii-san tore the charm off though, and has been missing ever since.”

Slowly, all the puzzle pieces started to come into place in Niki’s mind. He whipped around, staring at Aka.

You know…that kind of makes sense. Why he’s so smart. Why he’s so powerful…that human figure I saw back in the forest…

And I did first meet Aka last spring…

“Nii-san! It’s me! Hiiro! Your brother! Please come home! Everyone is still looking for you!” Hiiro got close to the fox excitedly.

There was a bright flash, and in Aka’s place sat a tall man with bright red hair, cerulean blue eyes, and clothing similar to what Hiiro was wearing. The man looked to be older than Niki by a few years, and had black earrings.

“Ototo-kun! Go home! Let me live my new life in peace! Tell the old man that I’m happy out here!” the man grumbled, putting his hands on Hiiro’s shoulders and steering him towards the exit.

“But Nii-san, he’s sick! Who will take over if you don’t?”

“I don’t know, I don’t care. And you shouldn’t either! They aren’t worth it, especially the way they treat you.”

“Nii-san please listen-”

“We are taking this outside. Beat me in a duel and then I’ll listen.”

Niki could only watch as the two exited the tavern.

“Wow.” Aira muttered, breaking the silence between the three of them left in the tavern.

The fox that I saved that also became my familiar that has more magical potential than me is actually a human?

Wait scratch that…how on earth did the familiar pact work then????

Niki’s head started to spin, when a loud boom sent shivers up his spine and shook the entire tavern.

Kohaku shook his head. “I guess we all see what Himeru-han was talking about now… Though I have no idea why he opted to not inform us.”

Another boom resounded and the tavern shook once more.

Aira looked around nervously. “Uh. Should one of us maybe go…check on them?”

Niki blinked out of his trance, nodding furiously. “Yes, yes definitely! And I have someone that needs to do some explaining! Oh that little…”

Even if he is a human…He still is also my familiar! (I think??) He needs to listen to me!!

He stormed out of the tavern and looked around, seeing a bright flash of light off in a field outside of the town. He ran, heaving as he came to a stop to find…an entire ring of the field burnt to a crisp and reduced to ashes, all kinds of scuff marks in the ground, and Hiiro and his mysterious older brother casting various spells at each other.

Niki ducked down as a stray bolt of electricity passed over his head.

Taking a deep breath, he reached into one of his satchels and flung the powder at the two fighting mages, muttering a few low words before letting out a loud whistle. The two stopped in their tracks, frozen in place.

“Now stop right there! You two are going to scare the people living in the town!”

Niki stomped over, tapping Hiiro on the shoulder and releasing the spell. Hiiro fell over, looking up.

“But Shiina-san, I really need Nii-san to listen and come home-”

“Do you really? It seems like he doesn’t want to. Not like I know anything about it, as this fool has been living with me unaware for nearly a year!” Niki hmphed, arms on his hips.

“It’s all because of my love for my beloved Niki~ I shouldn’t bother him with my troubles~” The mysterious older brother called out, grinning slyly.

“And YOU! Aka- no. You probably have an actual name. Stay quiet, can’t you see that I am furious at you? Oooh I could punch your stupid pretty face right now-”

“Aww, Niki thinks my face is pretty-”

“Shut up!” Niki yelled, embarrassed by the slip up.

He closed his eyes in frustration.

“You know what. No. We are not doing this right now. I am starving.” Sighing, he offered a hand to Hiiro on the ground.

“Wanna join us for dinner? I was planning on trying a wyvern egg recipe today.”

Which was how he found himself in his home seated at the world’s most awkward dinner table, his food for once being left untouched because his mind was stewing with emotions, the mysterious man that was also his familiar sitting lazily next to him, and the man’s little brother seated across staring down at the wyvern egg omurice in awe.

“Shiina-san, this is incredible! What is this heavenly delicacy…it certainly is an Amen!”

Amen?

Niki laughed. “It’s omurice, a soft egg omelet covering some fried rice tossed in ketchup. Except this one should especially be heavenly, being an egg from a wyvern.”

“See Ototo-kun, isn’t Niki great? He’s so good at cooking, he’d make a great wife, dont’cha think?”

Niki glared at the man next to him.

“First, I’m a guy. Won’t ever be a wife. Second, didn’t I tell you to shut up and eat your food? You’ll have plenty of time to talk after I’m done yelling at you. Third of all…”

“I can’t really call you Aka anymore, can I? It feels weird. What’s your actual name?”

“I thought you said to shut up~”

Niki looked away, ignoring him.

“It’s Rinne. Amagi Rinne.”

“Well okay, then Rinne-kun. Now shut up and eat your damn food before I eat it myself.”

After dinner, the three sat in silence, a candle flickering between them.

“Now, where do we start…Hiiro-kun. You’re saying that your dad, the current head of the family, is sick and you need Rinne-kun back to take his rightful place?” Niki started, looking from Rinne who was annoyingly nuzzling him as if he was still in fox form and back at Hiiro who sat in the chair across from them.

“Yep, that’s all Shiina-san.”

“And…there isn’t anyone else that can take his place? No cousin or just some other guy or even you…?”

“Nope! Only Nii-san has the magic capability to do so. I’m nothing compared to him.”

Rinne stopped his nuzzling and mumbled something under his breath, which Niki was unable to catch.

“Hiiro-kun, what does the head of the family even do, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“They lead everyone and keep our family’s secrets safe!”

“Ototo-kun you really shouldn’t be saying that…don’t tell me you’ve been telling anyone you’ve run into…” Rinne mumbled louder, going back to burying his head into Niki’s shoulder.

Huh. Secrets. Who knew it gets deeper.

Niki felt an incoming headache.

“Nope! No one except maybe Tatsumi-senpai and Mayoi-senpai! They’re a few people from a town a little bit from here that run a chapel that I took shelter in for a while! But don’t worry, they promised not to tell anyone!”

Niki faintly recognized one of those names, a distant memory from back when Himeru first started living at the tavern. Himeru had caught a fever and was stuck in bed, tossing and turning. When Niki went up to bring him soup that he made together with Aira’s mom, he could hear Himeru muttering words in his sleep, one of them being the name “Kazehaya Tatsumi '', the other being “Kaname”.

He shelved that thought away for later though, because right now he had a bigger issue at hand.

Hiiro looked around the room, inspecting his surroundings. “And also, I feel like Shiina-san is trustworthy too. After all, it seems like Nii-san really loves Shiina-san.”

“That you’re right about, Ototo-kun~”

Niki sighed. “Well, it’s getting late and the trail back to town is a little dangerous in the dark. You can take the couch, Hiiro-kun.”

“Thank Shiina-san! But I’m not leaving without Nii-san, just so you know.”

“That’s fine. We won’t be going anywhere anytime soon because as much as I’d rather be anywhere than here I am still unfortunately under house arrest until everyone I know deems that I’m fit enough to travel again.” Niki grumbled.

Rinne laughed, leaning back from his spot next to Niki. “What about me, Niki~” 

“You’re sleeping outside.” Niki deadpanned, standing up to grab Hiiro several pillows and blankets.

“So cold~”

Despite what he said, after getting Hiiro settled in and blowing out the candle, Niki begrudgingly let Rinne into his (technically their’s but.. that was him and Aka and not him and Rinne) room. 

They sat on his bed in silence.

“I’m still mad at you, you know.”

“Yeah, it’s very cute~”

“Explain. Now. I may have no brain except food, and normally don’t care to drag people’s history that they don’t want brought up out but…”

Niki sighed. “I feel like this is something that I need to know.”

Rinne stayed silent for a moment, and then leaned over, taking Niki’s hands gently into his.

“Well. Alright. I wasn’t kidding though when I said I didn’t want to bother you with my problems, and I was perfectly happy living as your Aka.” Rinne smiled softly at him, rubbing circles into the back of his hands.

“Didn’t it get… suffocating to always be in that form? I know you’re super powerful but it must take so much energy to maintain it all the time.”

Rinne shrugged. “You heard my brother, I’m used to it. It’s basically second-nature to me. And besides, I could always sneak out and stretch while you slept like a log~” Rinne smirked. Niki rolled his eyes.

“Anyways, yeah. Hello, Shiina Niki. I am Amagi Rinne, also known as your familiar, Aka. I’m from a family of powerful mages not well-known as you would expect and well…you probably shouldn’t look into it, it’s not important for you to know.”

“I was their prodigy son, you could say. As soon as they realized the scope of my ability, the elders instantly pronounced me the next head, constantly putting me through boring classes every day of my life. Piling expectations upon me. Making me out to be some great person that everyone should respect ever since I was a child. Now that was the very definition of suffocating.”

Niki noticed that Rinne was starting to tremble a little, an imaginary mask shattering into pieces one-by-one. He gently adjusted their hands so that they were intertwined.

“I really didn’t mind much. It was all boring but it was what everyone wanted so who was I to refuse? I did have my fun, escaping and trying out all kinds of new shifting forms, trying to see how long it’d take them to find me. Like a game of messed up hide-and-seek.”

Rinne took a staggered breath.

“That was, until they brought Hiiro into the picture. Hiiro, my only brother. I vowed to protect him ever since he was born…They treated him like trash. Offered him to me like some kind of servant. Someone to just step over and use as a tool. I hated it. I had to get out of there. Maybe then, they would treat him better. Better than just a tool for me to use at my disposal.”

Rinne-kun…

“So I ran. Snapped off that dumb magic limiter which honestly didn’t do anything, I was just entertaining them. Took off into the night and fled as far away as I could. Which was how I got into the woods near your place. Maybe it was fate, haha.” Rinne smiled weakly.

“You saved my life, Niki. It was at that point that I decided that I wanted to spend the rest of my new life keeping you happy. You didn’t know about my position or my powers, and took care of my sorry excuse of a self.”

“Naha Rinne-kun…I just saved someone in need. Wouldn’t anyone do that?”

“But you’re not just anyone, and you know that. You could’ve kicked me out anytime, but you continued to keep me around.”

“You’re kind of clingy~”

Niki felt Rinne pinch his cheeks.

“Merumeru definitely figured it out from the start. Pretty sure he had his reasons to not say it though. That guy is an even bigger mystery than me~”

Niki definitely agreed with that.

“Traveling with you was fun, even if you tended to get us into trouble.”

“Nahaha~”

“Don’t nahaha me! Speaking of being mad, I’m still mad at you for nearly dying to that manticore! Don’t scare me like that!!!”

Niki smirked.

“But Rinne-kun was there to save me~”

“And what? You almost died!!”

Niki rolled his eyes. “And I’m fine, aren’t I? And wait, no, you are NOT allowed to be mad at me when I’m still mad at you! Keeping all of this a secret for a year?!” he pouted.

“I have a greater reason to be mad at you. I could have lost Niki!”

“But I’m fine and now here we are, me mad at you because you kept your actual appearance secret from me this entire time?!”

They glared at each other for a few seconds, before they both began to laugh.

“What are we doing…” Niki sighed, letting go of Rinne’s hands. He moved over to get comfy in his bed, moving to blow his bedside candle out. Rinne watched him, looking around awkwardly.

“Oh come on Rinne-kun, I was joking when I said you’re sleeping outside. I’m tired, let’s sleep.”

He watched Rinne lift a finger up, as if about to cast a spell. Niki shook his head, yawning as he let his hair down. “No, not Aka. Rinne-kun.”

Rinne’s face turned a bright shade of red, akin to that of his hair. Niki smirked. 

So he can’t take what he dishes out, hmmm~

“I have no idea how the familiar pact worked, but we basically are connected permanently, aren’t we? Like it or not, we’re stuck together~ Through thick and thin. I still have much to learn about this Rinne-kun.” Niki softly smiled, scooting over for him.

Rinne, face still bright red, slowly climbed in after him. Niki blew out the candle and snuggled up next to him, warm and cozy.

Maybe he would come to love this man who had always been by his side, just as he had loved Niki. Niki had a sneaking suspicion that he subconsciously always felt this presence by his side, just never being able to put a name to it the whole time.

He still had Hiiro asleep on the couch, probably adamant on not leaving unless Rinne went back with him. He still had that mysterious name that Hiiro mentioned, the one that Niki knew Himeru had called out in delirium.

He still definitely had to get used to having a…slightly bigger housemate now. If Rinne was willing to stay around.

He probably would, Niki didn’t doubt it. 

But that was all a problem for another day.