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Chapter Text

Taking a sip of her sake, Komachi let out a contented sigh. While she would have preferred to spend her night off somewhere quieter, and preferably in a comfortable bed somewhere, asleep, there were worse places to be than a small party at the Hakurei shrine. In between Kasen stressing about what food to prepare and how she was going to carry the large quantity of food she ended up making to the shrine, Komachi had missed what the reason for the celebration was, but she was happy to indulge in the free food and drink. 

The night hadn’t gotten any easier for Kasen, unfortunately. She left Komachi to ensure the snacks she prepared were being displayed as she intended, but on her way back to the perimeter of the shrine where Komachi was sitting, she got caught up in a conversation with Yukari. She repeatedly shot desperate glances at Komachi, silently begging for her to intervene, but Komachi continued to pretend she didn’t see her. Kasen had promised her a stress-free, relaxing night, after all. If Yukari kept her for another five minutes, she would think about intervening, but for now, she was content to relax. 

“Komachi!” A sudden, slurred shout cut through the chatter, making Komachi jump. Before she could look around to see who was calling her, a pair of small but powerful arms wrapped tightly around her neck. 

“Long time no see!” Suika hugged Komachi tighter, laughing as she took a clumsy sip from her gourd.

“Didn’t I see you last month?” Komachi asked, politely hugging Suika back with one arm. 

“Huh…” Suika pulled away and thought for a moment, before bashing her gourd against Komachi’s cup hard enough to spill most of its contents. “Good to see ya anyway! Cheers!” 

“You too,” Komachi said, setting her cup down to shake the sake off her hand. 

“Sorry, lemme just-” Suika refilled Komachi’s cup before she could say anything. “Y’here with Kasen?” 

“Yeah, she’s over there talking to Yukari, I think.” Komachi looked over and squinted. “Or talking at her, I guess.” 

“Hah!” Suika laughed, giving Komachi a hard pat on the back before giving her a deadly serious look. “You two a thing yet?” 

Komachi stared at her for a moment. “Huh?”

Shifting a little closer to her, Suika smirked at her. “You n’ Kasen? Heard y’were a thing now, or somethin’.” 

 “Oh, yeah,” Komachi answered, laughing nervously. “We are.” 

“Well, shit!” Suika broke out in a laugh, taking Komachi’s free hand and shaking it vigorously. “She’s a good catch.” 

“Yeah, she’s great,” Komachi agreed, glancing over at Kasen again. 

“How long you two been a thing now?” 

“Oh, man…” Komachi covered her face with one hand and scoffed. She wasn’t quite sure of the answer. Not that that bothered her, she was happy to go along with Kasen’s preferred pace, even if it meant spending years in romantic limbo together. Pensively, she took a sip of her drink and almost choked. “That’s strong!” 

“Ahaha!” Suika patted Komachi’s back, a bit more gently this time. She watched as Komachi just about managed to swallow it without coughing it back up. “But it’s good, right?” 

Komachi grimaced, expecting to be hit with its aftertaste, but it actually tasted quite pleasant. “What is that stuff?” 

“Eh, don’t worry about it,” Suika said, taking a swig from her gourd. “Well, how long?” 

“Oh, yeah. Well, it’s been a while, we never really put a label on it, you know?”

Suika nodded.  “Sounds like Kasen alright! How long was she givin’ ya the runaround?” 

“A while,” Komachi scoffed. “You two were close, right?” 

“That’s one way of puttin’ it,” Suika said, winking at her. 

“Knew there was a reason she acted so cagey around you,” Komachi said after taking another sip of her drink. 

“Eh, she’s like that with everyone though, isn’t she?” 

Komachi thought for a moment and then nodded. 

“But yeah, we were a thing. Really long time ago.” Suika took another swig from her gourd and laughed, though it was a softer, more wistful laugh. “Married actually.” 

This time, Komachi really did spit out her drink. 

“What, she never mentioned it?” 

“No!” Komachi put her drink down and stared at Suika in disbelief, waiting for her to burst out laughing and admit it was a joke. “Married?!” 

“Yup! If I wasn’t so drunk I’d be makin’ sooo many ball n’ chain jokes right now, ahaha!” Suika shook one of the chains shackled to her wrist and cackled. “But yup, we were married. She’s my ex wife!”

Komachi forced a laugh to be polite. “How long?” 

“Oh, it was ages ago, she still had the arm n’ all.” 

“No, how long were you married?” 

“Huh… Can’t really remember. For a while…” Suika swayed back and forth in thought. “Wasn’t super serious. Can’t really remember why we did it… Hm…” 

Komachi looked over at Kasen, who was still deep in conversation with Yukari. She was more surprised than anything else, but couldn’t help but wonder why she never told her. Kasen rarely ever spoke about Suika, or any other oni, but Komachi couldn’t understand why she would neglect to mention she was married for this long. 

Her train of thought was interrupted by Suika putting a firm hand on her shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry, she’s all yours. I’m not tryin’ to interfere.” 

“Yeah, I know,” Komachi said, smiling at her. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t imagine Suika successfully wooing Kasen. She wondered how different the two must have been all those years ago for them to marry. 

“Like, I still love her n’ all, but in a… like a different way. I care about her, y’know. N’ I know she can be difficult n’ shit so if you ever need advice-” Suika put her arm around Komachi’s neck. “Y’can always talk to me!” 

“Thanks,” Komachi gasped, trying to pry Suika’s arm away from her neck. A shadow cast over the two of them, making Suika loosen her grip and allowing Komachi to pry her off. 

“Hello, Suika,” Kasen said, her voice flat. She stood over the two of them, trying to look stern, but her eyes darted around nervously.

“Kasen! I was wonderin’ where ya went. Want some?” Suika held out her gourd. 

“No, thank you. I’m not drinking tonight.”

“Boring!” Suika took a long drink from her gourd and then rest her elbow on Komachi’s leg. “I was just givin’ Komachi here some relationship advice.” 

Kasen’s face dropped. She gave Komachi a concerned look, but Komachi just smiled. “Oh, c’mon, Kasen. You two dating is as obvious as your horns-” 

“You know, they’re doing shots…” Kasen spoke over her, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the other side of the shrine. “Over there. Somewhere.” 

“Really?” Suika quickly stood to her feet. “Yeah, I gotta go. Look, Komachi, remember what I said. Y’know where to find me!” 

“Thanks, Suika,” Komachi called after her, but Suika didn’t look back. 

“Just what I needed…” Kasen sat down next to Komachi and let out a sigh. “What was she saying to you?” 

“Relationship advice,” said Komachi coolly as she put her arm around Kasen’s shoulders. 

“What kind?” 

Komachi let her drink sit in her mouth for a moment, thinking less about what to say and more about how to say it. “You two were married?” 

Kasen froze, her eyes widening. 

“Hey, I’m not mad you didn’t tell me,” Komachi reassured her. “Just surprised.” 

“I’m sorry…” whispered Kasen, hiding her face in her hands. “It was… ages ago. And political. Suika never brings it up, I don’t know why she…” 

“To give me advice,” Komachi reminded her. 

Kasen frowned and crossed her arms, turning to face Komachi. “Well, just so you know, it was a very amicable separation, so whatever she said about me- What?”

Komachi tried to stifle her laughter. “I would’ve never imagined an oni divorce as being amicable.” 

Kasen tried to maintain her stern look, but eventually, she smiled and laughed quietly along with her. After a moment, she gingerly put her arms around Komachi’s waist and leaned against her, sighing. “Komachi, I wasn’t trying to hide it from you. It’s just… You know I see who I am now and Ibaraki-douji as… different.” 

“Nah, it’s fine, I get it,” Komachi said, rubbing her back. “You’re way older than me, of course you have some skeletons in the closet.” 

“Excuse me!” Kasen elbowed her, laughing. 

“And you’re definitely not married anymore?” 

Kasen nodded. “It’s not like we signed a contract.” 

“Good to know. I heard stories about it, actually, but I thought they were just myths. Especially after meeting you. You just don’t seem like the marriage type.” 

“Why is that?” Kasen asked, stiffening up. 

“Dunno. Just doesn’t seem like something you’d be into.” Komachi paused and looked down at her with a lopsided smile. “I mean, it took, what? Ten years for you to decide if we were dating?” 

Kasen squeezed her eyes shut and sighed. “Komachi…” 

“I’m not mad, just surprised, is all. Good to know you’re open to the possibility of it.” 

“Of what? Marriage?” 

Komachi paused to take a sip of her drink. “Yeah.” 

Kasen went red, squirming around. “W-Well, I mean-” 

“Hey, relax, I’m not about to propose.”

“Good. If you proposed to me at a party at the Hakurei shrine of all places, I’d…” Kasen eventually relaxed, though her cheeks stayed flushed. She looked up at Komachi, her brow furrowed. “I really am sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.” 

“Don’t worry about it,” Komachi said, kissing the top of Kasen’s head. “Really. It’s fine.”

Kasen nodded, though she seemed reluctant to accept Komachi was genuinely unbothered. She shifted around a little and cleared her throat. “I told Yukari, by the way. About us. Being together.” 

“Ooh.” Komachi glanced over to where Yukari was sitting. “Is that why she keeps staring?” 

“Yes,” Kasen muttered, rolling her eyes, before she turned to Komachi and took her hand in both of hers. “I really am committed to this, Komachi. To you. I’m sorry if I ever made you doubt that.” 

Komachi shook her head, but she gave Kasen a soft, earnest smile. “It’s fine, Kasen. But I appreciate it.” 

After quickly glancing around, Kasen suddenly leaned in and pressed her lips against Komachi’s. It took Komachi by surprise. It was rare enough for Kasen to initiate any kind of romantic gestures when they were alone, let alone when they were out in public. Komachi couldn’t help but grin into the kiss, cupping Kasen’s face in her hands as she kissed her back. 

As they kissed, they could both hear the faint sound of Suika cheering. Cheering for them. Kasen froze, but after a moment, she smiled against Komachi’s lips and shrugged, before continuing to kiss her. 

Chapter Text

“Oh, honey, look at the state of you.” 

Cautiously, Hecatia ran her hand down Junko’s chest, pausing where an arrow had pierced through her sternum. It was hard to see the severity of the wound in the dim light of Hell’s caverns, but Junko’s tabard was cool and damp, thoroughly soaked with blood. Hecatia let out a soft sigh and gently pressed the heel of her hand near the wound. “Does it hurt?” 

Junko shrugged, watching Hecatia poke at the wound with a blank look. 

“Jun…” Hecatia sighed, taking her hand away and wiping the blood on her fingers off on her skirt. “Third time this week. You’re going to run out of clothes to wear at this rate.” 

“Fine,” Junko said, her voice flat. 

“Oh, so you’re just going to walk around with no clothes on?” Hecatia asked with her hands on her hips. She tried to give Junko a stern look, but quickly broke out into laughter when she saw a smirk play at Junko’s lips. “Oh, don’t you smirk at me! I still have to take that arrow out.”

“Go ahead, then.”

“Alright then. Let me just-” Hecatia stepped behind Junko and gripped the shaft of the arrow, giving it an experimental tug. “Oh, that’s really stuck in there.” 

“The arrow is caught between my ribs,” Junko said, not wincing or flinching as Hecatia continued to push and pull on the arrow that had just narrowly missed her heart. 

Not that it would have mattered much if it had pierced her heart. That wouldn’t be enough to kill her, let alone hurt her.

“Oh, I see. Hm…” Hecatia stepped back and thought for a moment. “I’ll just snap the back off and pull it out from the front, okay?” 

Junko nodded. Hecatia grasped the shaft of the arrow close to where it was embedded in Junko’s back and snapped it, letting the end of the arrow fall to the floor. 

“Only one this time?” Hecatia asked as she stepped in front of Junko to pull the arrow out by its tip. “Did they run out of arrows or something?” 

“I dodged,” Junko scoffed.

“That’s my girl,” Hecatia said as she let the other half of the arrow fall to the ground, standing on her tiptoes to kiss Junko. As she pressed against her, she could feel the blood gushing from the now open wound, soaking into Hecatia’s shirt. Junko pulled away after a moment, giving Hecatia an apologetic look. 

“I would kiss you back, but there is a lot of blood in my mouth,” she said as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

“That’s alright, honey.” Hecatia laughed and gestured to their clothes. “There’s a lot of blood everywhere.” 

“Sorry.” 

“It’s okay,” Hecatia reassured her, reaching up to stroke Junko’s face with the back of her hand. “So, did you…”

Junko flinched. “Can we not talk about it?” 

“Of course,” Hecatia whispered, giving her a soft smile. “Can I at least get you into something that isn’t soaked with blood?” 

“I think you were right about me running out of clothes,” Junko said. She plucked at her tabard and dress, pressing her fingers against her wound.

“You could always wear something of mine.” 

Junko grimaced. 

“Oh, don’t give me that look,” Hecatia said, rolling her eyes at her. She grabbed Junko’s hand and gently tugged on her arm, gesturing for her to follow. “I’ll find something nice for you. Come with me.” 

“We dress… very differently,” Junko said as she let Hecatia lead her away towards her chambers, though she was slow and hesitant. 

“It’s alright, once I do your makeup it’ll look natural!” 

Junko was quiet for a moment, but then she laughed, speeding up to walk alongside Hecatia.

Hecatia looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. “What are you laughing at?” 

“This feels like it was an elaborate plan for you to finally convince me to allow you to do my makeup.” 

“Yeah, maybe, it was,” Hecatia said, giggling. She gave Junko’s hand a squeeze. “So you’ll let me?” 

Junko pretended to think about it for a moment, before nodding and giving Hecatia a shy smile.

“There.” Hecatia turned Junko around to face the mirror. “What do you think?” 

Junko stared at herself in silence for a moment, before mumbling, “I think that this style suits you more.” 

“I dunno…” Hecatia wrapped her arms around Junko’s waist and looked at her in the mirror, winking at her. “I think you look good.” 

“Well, if you think so.” Junko plucked at the ripped t-shirt Hecatia had put her in. “‘I went to Hell and all I got was this shirt.’” 

Hecatia snorted. “I designed that one myself.” 

“Funny.” 

Hecatia put her arm around Junko’s shoulders and leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Glad you think so.” 

Chapter Text

With a loud, dramatic, blissful sigh, Yuuka collapsed down onto her deck chair and put her feet up, smiling as she shut her eyes and basked in the warm afternoon sun. After a long morning of pruning and shaping the hedges that surrounded the perimeter of her garden, she wanted nothing more than to lie in the sun and forget about the rest of the work she needed to do before the weather took a turn. 

She thought about going inside to make herself a drink, but she couldn’t compel herself to move. A nap in the sun would have to suffice, she thought, but just as she was about to take her gloves off, the air suddenly turned cold as a long shadow cast itself over Yuuka. She sighed loudly, keeping her eyes closed. “What is it?” 

“Are you busy?” 

Yuuka opened one eye and lifted her head. Mima was hovering over her with an obnoxious grin, almost like she was intentionally trying to block out as much of the sun as possible. Closing her eye, Yuuka laid her head back down. “Yes.” 

“You don’t look very busy,” Mima said, laughing. 

“Well, I am.” 

“Ah, alright.” Mima moved closer, making the temperature around them drop significantly. “I suppose I’ll just wait here until you’re not busy then.” 

With an irritated sigh, Yuuka opened her eyes and glared at her. “What do you want?” 

“I need to ask you for a favour,” Mima began with a smirk, unable to contain her satisfaction at wearing Yuuka down so quickly. “I need a bouquet of flowers.” 

“For who?” Yuuka asked. She tried to keep her tone uninterested, even though her interest had most definitely been piqued.  

“Confidential.” Mima winked at her. “It’s a gift for someone.” 

“And who is this mystery person?” 

“That’s not important,” Mima said, waving her hand dismissively. “If I told you who it was for, you wouldn’t do it.” 

“So why should I do it?” Yuuka scoffed, rolling her eyes. 

Mima thought for a moment, before widening her eyes and pretending to pout. “Because you love me?” 

Yuuka couldn’t help but smile. “Not a good enough reason.” 

“You probably owe me,” Mima tried, shrugging. 

“Probably?” 

“I’ve lost track of how many favours I’ve done for you, darling. Surely there’s some debt you haven’t repaid.” 

Yuuka thought for a moment. As much as she wanted to tell Mima to get lost and take the nap she had been looking forward to, she wouldn’t be able to rest not knowing who the mystery bouquet was for. She knew Mima would continue being cagey about it, but if she refused to do it, it would take far too much work to get her to finally tell her. She closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “What kind of bouquet?” 

Mima grinned at her, clearly delighted at her small victory. “Just something simple. Red roses, with some of those nice little white flowers for decoration.” 

“Baby’s Breath,” Yuuka said. 

“Is that what they’re called? How sweet.” Mima paused and let out a small laugh. “And maybe you could-”

“So a rose bouquet?” Yuuka interrupted, glaring at her. 

Mima rolled her eyes and nodded. 

“Give me an hour or two.” 

“Thank you, darling,” said Mima as she leaned down and took one of Yuuka’s gloved hands in hers, bringing to her lips to kiss her knuckles. “Now we’re even.” 

“No, now you owe me,” Yuuka corrected her.

“Of course.” Mima smiled and placed another kiss on her hand before letting go. “Well, I have some work to do. I’ll be back to collect it later.” 

Yuuka watched as her wife disappeared in a puff of smoke. She groaned as she stood back up, dusting off her pants and picking up her parasol. Luckily, her rose garden wasn’t too far of a walk away. It was one of Mima’s (and hers) favourite features of her vast garden, so she always made sure to keep it close to their home, wherever they ended up together. 

As she walked, she wondered who the bouquet could be for. Mima wasn’t the type to give such a… generic gift to someone. She wasn’t worried about it being for some romantic interest either. Perhaps it was part of some elaborate experiment or curse, or she was repaying a debt of her own and didn’t want Yuuka to mock her for it. She would have pried more, but she didn’t want to seem too invested or interested. Mima would enjoy that far too much. 

Yuuka hummed aloud and spun her parasol thoughtfully. If Mima didn’t tell her who it was for after it was prepared, she would eviscerate the bouquet in front of her, she decided. And then maybe Mima, after. 

After adding some assorted foliage to the bouquet as a finishing touch, Yuuka took a step back from her workbench to assess her work. Even though she wasn’t particularly in the mood to put a lot of effort into it, she couldn’t have her name associated with a shoddy bouquet. Even though she had purposefully chosen the lesser quality roses, she made sure to arrange them in a way that still made them look presentable. 

She took the bouquet out of the vase she had been arranging it in and laid it on the wrapping paper she prepared. She carefully wrapped the bouquet up, securing it with a piece of twine. Although she didn’t want to make it too fancy and use a ribbon, she couldn’t bear the look of a single piece of twine holding together one of her bouquets. She opened one of the drawers of her workbench and took out a scrap piece of lace, wrapping it around the bouquet and tying it in a small bow. 

“Ah, it seems I’m right on time,” she heard Mima say from behind her. 

“Yes, it’s ready to go.” Yuuka turned around and handed Mima the bouquet. “So, are you finally going to tell me who it’s for?” 

 “Very nice work, darling,” Mima said, admiring the bouquet. “It’s for someone very special.” 

Yuuka stared at Mima blankly, daring her to keep playing with her. Mima seemed to get the hint. She held the bouquet out, as if she was handing it to Yuuka. 

“It’s for you.” 

Yuuka blinked a few times, looking at the bouquet and then at Mima. “What?” 

“The bouquet. It’s for you,” Mima said again. “There’s no one else I would trust to make the perfect bouquet for my darling wife.” 

“Are you serious?” Yuuka laughed as she took the bouquet from Mima, shaking her head at her. 

“I think the words you’re looking for are ‘thank you’.” Mima smiled at her, leaning down and turning her cheek towards Yuuka for a kiss.

“Thank you very much for making me spend my afternoon making a bouquet for myself,” Yuuka said, smiling wide. She put the bouquet back on her workbench and grabbed her parasol, which she had left leaning against the bench. “I actually have a gift for you too, darling.” 

Mima raised an eyebrow at her and smirked. “Oh?” 

Yuuka lifted up her parasol and pointed it directly at Mima, smiling at her sweetly. 

“I think you’ll love it.” 

Chapter Text

“This can’t be happening,” Aya muttered to herself as she clung to a headstone. Her head was spinning and throbbing, an awful combination. She couldn’t be drunk. She didn’t get drunk. She was a tengu, after all. The last time she felt like this was after Miyoi spiked her drink out of fear but… 

Aya groaned. Miyoi wouldn’t do that again, right? She had no reason to. She thought back to everything she had to drink at Geidontei that night, even though her memory was fuzzy. She didn’t drink anything out of the ordinary, as far as she could remember. Just some sake, and then… 

Shots. 

Shots with Suika. 

Her stomach turned as she remembered fighting to try and keep each shot down. She should have known better than to try and outdrink Suika, but she couldn’t help it. Suika had challenged her after all, or maybe she challenged Suika, she couldn’t really remember. Either way, getting home was going to be a struggle. 

She looked around, considering whether it would be a safer idea to spend the night wherever she was now. Judging from the headstone she was currently clinging to, she determined she was in the Myouren Temple Cemetery. It wouldn’t be the first time she would have to sleep off a night’s drinking in a cemetery, even though she thought those years were behind her. Swallowing her pride, she leaned against the headstone and slid down onto the ground, shutting her eyes and resting her head against the stone. 

“What are you doing here?” 

A commanding voice made Aya jump, just barely containing a shriek. She looked up at the figure looming over her, unable to make out who it was in the dark. All she could see was the figure’s glowing yellow eyes. 

“You’re that tengu,” the figure spat. 

“Hey, I have a name,” Aya muttered, rubbing her eyes. She squinted, tracing the figure’s silhouette as her eyes adjusted to the dark again. She noticed the tip of their spear glint as they turned it towards her, pointing it at her chest.

“You need to leave.” 

“Huh?” Aya pressed herself back against the headstone and held her breath. That spear… it must be that tiger youkai, she thought to herself. “Look, I’m just tryin’ to sleep, I’ll be gone by morning, okay? Shou? Right? That’s your name?”

“You can’t sleep here,” Shou said as she slowly pulled her spear away from Aya’s chest. “Are you drunk?”

“I! Am peeerfectly fine!” Aya scoffed, clawing at the headstone as she tried to stand up. She clumsily got to her feet, leaning against the headstone for support as she tried to steady herself. 

Shou’s eyes darted up and down. “Really.” 

“Yes. Yes, I am,” said Aya as she crossed her arms and shot Shou a disapproving look. 

“How much did you have to drink?” 

“I’m a tengu, alright. We don’t get drunk. Ever. It doesn’t… doesn’t happen, okay?” Aya tried her hardest to not sway, but her head was spinning. She reached out to grab the headstone again to steady herself, taking a deep breath to fight off a wave of nausea. 

“So you’re just…” 

“Look!” Aya snapped. “I think that- that whatever was in those shots I did with Suika maaay have been a little strong but!” Aya let her wings burst out from her shoulder blades, prepared to take off. “I. Am. Fi-” 

She didn’t take off though. She could barely coordinate her steps, let alone her wings. She flapped her wings and immediately stumbled forward, and Shou caught her. Shou’s strong arms were hooked under Aya’s arms, holding her up and carefully dragging her back up to her feet. She kept a firm grip on Aya, a calloused hand on both of her shoulders, as if Aya would stumble forward again at any moment. 

“There’s no way you’re making it up the mountain like this,” Shou muttered. “Or even out of the Village.” 

“So, what, you’re gonna- gonna keep me here?” Aya scoffed. 

“I don’t want to,” Shou said plainly as she grabbed Aya’s arm and began to drag her towards the temple. “But you can’t just stumble around here drunk. We have humans who stay here, and some humans come here at night to visit the cemetery.” 

“Then just-” Aya struggled against her grip, but it only made her stumble again. 

Shou caught her before she hit the ground, by her collar this time, and lifted Aya up with ease. Aya fought against her, but Shou just looked at her, with an almost amused look. “You’re really fucking drunk, aren’t you?” 

The expletive caught Aya off guard. She stopped struggling for a moment and thought about what to do. Yes, Shou was right; she was really fucking drunk, which wasn’t good for someone like her who rarely got drunk, let alone really fucking drunk. So, perhaps it was in her best interest to accept her hospitality. After all, she could always continue that story about her Master conspiring to ban alcohol in the Human Village…

She glared at Shou, hating that she was clearly getting some sort of kick out of this, hating that she was right, and finally admitted, “Yes.” 

Shou sighed, but there was a triumphant glint in her eye. She didn’t let Aya go. “You can stay here until you sober up.” 

Aya nodded, expecting Shou to put her down, but she didn’t. Instead, she squatted slightly and wrapped her arms around Aya’s waist and unceremoniously threw her over her shoulder. Aya protested, feebly banging her fists against Shou’s back, but she quickly gave up. All the stumbling and being hauled around made her nauseous, and she was afraid if she didn’t focus on her breathing she would throw up, and she wasn’t sure her pride would be able to handle that. She was already going to have to spend the next day nursing her severely bruised ego. 

Instead, she took deep breaths, trying to ignore the smell of whiskey that seemed to linger, even though she didn’t remember drinking any whiskey. She kept her eyes shut, but could tell they were inside the temple now. It was warm and smelled strongly of incense. She didn’t know where Shou was taking her, but she eventually stopped and put Aya down. 

Shou put an arm around her shoulders to keep her steady as she guided her through the open door they stopped at. 

“Is this-” 

“It’s my room,” Shou said. “I don’t want someone else finding you.” 

“Why not?” Aya asked, smirking at her. She watched as Shou propped her spear up beside the door, gently but firmly pushing Aya towards the neatly made bed in the middle of the room. “Not allowed bring girls home-”

“Because then I’ll have to explain why I let the drunk tengu who tried to defame us into the temple instead of politely chasing her off,” Shou spoke over her, her tone as flat as ever. She kneeled down, pulling Aya down with her, and gestured towards the bed. Aya was surprised she didn’t just push her down onto it, but she decided to do as she was told. 

She clumsily sat back and kicked her shoes off, followed by her tokin, and then her tie. Her skirt and shirt would stay, of course. She took her notepad and pen out of her shirt pocket and set them down carefully beside the futon. The bed was so pristinely made, she felt a little bad about pulling the sheets back, but just seeing a comfortable place to lie down had made her realise how badly she needed to sleep. She pulled the sheets back and then glanced over her shoulder at Shou. 

Shou was a few feet away, sitting on the floor and facing away from her bed. She glanced over at Aya and nodded. “I’ll have to wake you early. Before everyone else.” 

“That’s fine,” Aya muttered as she climbed into bed. She turned to face away from Shou, feeling a bit awkward that she was just going to sit there and… watch her sleep. She tried to distract herself, scanning the sparse decor of Shou’s room and the little she owned. A desk messy with scrolls, statues, some old shield, a dagger, a … bottle of whiskey? Aya rubbed her eyes, convinced she was seeing things, but it was still there. Definitely a bottle of whiskey. 

Her first thought wasn’t that a Buddhist, the avatar of Bishamonten, shouldn’t be drinking. Instead, she wondered where she would source a bottle of whiskey, and how she would have paid for it. 

Bewildered, Aya held out her arm and pointed at the bottle. “Is that…” 

“It’s nothing,” Shou said quickly. 

Aya rolled over to face her, flashing her a grin. “Hey- hic- I won’t judge, you know. I think the whole ‘no alcohol’ is stupid anyways. What’s wrong with a little alcohol? Not like it’s gonna kill us, right…” 

Shou didn’t look at her. “You should try and rest.” 

“What is that anyways? Whiskey? Where did you get it?” 

No answer. Aya considered pressing her more, but something in her gut told her to shut up. She watched Shou silently for a moment, before softly saying, “Not gonna tell anyone.” 

“Good.” Shou’s voice was raspy. 

Aya continued watching her, waiting for her to say something else, or even just for her to move. But she was as still as a statue. Aya lay back down and rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. “G’night.”

After another moment of silence, she heard Shou shift around. 

“Sleep well.” 

Chapter Text

Sagume’s eyes fluttered open. It took a moment for her to remember where she was as she took in the scenery around her. She was standing in the corner of one of the Palace’s banquet halls, her arms crossed as she leaned against the wall and watched her colleagues and subordinates socialise. She couldn’t quite remember what they were there for, or how long she had been there… 

Did she doze off? She reached up to massage her temples. It wouldn’t surprise her if she did. Standing alone in a corner wasn’t the most riveting way she could be spending her evening, but it was certainly better than trying to navigate socialising. She looked around for her interpreter, Sayumi, who appeared to have slipped away to chat with the other rabbits who had been brought along with their masters. She didn’t mind that much. It gave an even stronger signal to everyone else to not bother approaching her. There were very few who would try and hold a conversation with her even with her interpreter, let alone without one, with one exception being - 

Sagume froze as she suddenly locked eyes with Toyohime from across the room. She couldn’t look away without seeming rude, and it was too late. Toyohime smiled at her and began to make her way over to Sagume, politely dismissing those who tried to pull her into conversation.

Swallowing hard, Sagume looked around for Sayumi, or anyone nearby she was familiar with that she could use as a social buffer, but she couldn’t see anyone. She preferred having an interpreter to speak on her behalf, as did those around her. She made sure Sayumi was briefed on her work, so often she didn’t even have to write a response for Sayumi to read. She forced herself to smile, reaching into her jacket to take out the device she used to communicate. It would have to do.

“Sagume!” Toyohime reached out to pat her shoulder, beaming at her. “How nice to see you.” 

Sagume bowed and nodded at her politely. She glanced around the room, feeling herself blush when she realised everyone was watching them talk, their conversations lulling as they not-so-subtly tried to eavesdrop. 

“I brought you a drink,” Toyohime said, handing Sagume a small glass filled with unnaturally pink liquid. “It’s peach-flavoured.” 

She nodded again as she gingerly took the cup, taking a small sip. It was sickly sweet, but she managed to swallow without making a face.

“Enjoying yourself?” 

Once again, Sagume nodded, looking around for Sayumi. She didn’t want to get her in any trouble, and it would certainly make this ordeal a lot easier, but she was nowhere to be found. She could see Toyohime was eyeing her device, probably wondering why she wasn’t using it. Putting her drink down, she typed out a message and hit play, “It’s great to see everyone.” 

The unnatural, robotic voice grated on her ears, and as usual, brought unwanted attention from the rest of the room. It wasn’t her voice of course. One of her previous interpreters was used to create the voicebank. She quickly typed out another message. “The decor is very nice.”

“Mm, the rabbits did a great job, didn’t they?” 

Sagume nodded, still forcing a polite smile. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard as she tried to think of something else to say, but her mind was blank. 

“Oh, how is the drink?” Toyohime asked, gesturing towards the cup on the table beside her.

Forcing herself to take another sip, Sagume typed out another message. “It’s very nice. Thank you.” 

“Yay! It’s one of my favourites,” said Toyohime as she finished her drink, which was quickly replaced with a full glass by a nearby rabbit. “So, how are things with you?” 

“Fine,” Sagume typed, grimacing at how abrupt her response sounded. “Busy. But it’s fine.” 

Toyohime smiled. “Great!” 

Sagume waited for her to continue, but instead, she continued staring at Sagume expectantly. What was wrong with her? Usually Toyohime was much more talkative. She really just wished she would move on, but she seemed intent on holding a conversation with her. Sagume smiled back and typed a response. “And you?” 

“Oh, you know!” Toyohime waved her hand dismissively and then froze, staring directly at Sagume, a smile still plastered on her face. She was unmoving, her mouth still open as though she was about to keep talking. Sagume blinked a few times, and then looked around. Everyone else in the room seemed to be frozen too. She waved her hand in front of Toyohime’s face, but she stayed in place, her expression unchanging. 

Before she could even start panicking, Toyohime suddenly fell forward. Sagume instinctively stepped out of the way, watching as Toyohime fell to the floor, still as a statue.

“I am so sorry!” a familiar voice called out as the room began to glitch around her, the floor changing to the textureless, tiled surface of the Dream World. Sagume looked up, watching as Doremy barged past her still-frozen colleagues, knocking a few over in the process. Once she reached Sagume she leaned against the wall, panting as she tried to catch her breath. “I got here as fast as I could!” 

Sagume stared at her for a moment, her mind still trying to catch up with everything that had just happened. She quickly typed, “I’m dreaming?”

“Yep. Sorry, you must have gone to sleep early or something and…” Doremy gestured to the crowd surrounding them. “This happened. I was… busy, so I had no idea you were here.”

Sagume looked down at Toyohime, who was still in the same position on the floor. So it had all been a nightmare? It made sense. Being trapped in a state of endless small talk with Toyohime of all people really would be a nightmare. But since meeting Doremy, she had very few ‘unsupervised’ dreams, and practically no nightmares. She dropped her tablet, letting the ground swallow it up. 

“... That was awful,” she muttered, shutting her eyes and taking a deep breath.

“I mean, it’s not the worst nightmare,” Doremy said, nudging Toyohime with her foot. 

“Where… were you?” Sagume asked, trying not to sound accusatory. She wasn’t that annoyed, but it wasn’t like Doremy to leave her unsupervised in the Dream World for that long. 

Doremy smiled at her sheepishly and fidgeted with her hands. “You’re gonna hate me…” 

Sagume sighed, though she couldn’t help but smile. “... Were you asleep?” 

“You weren’t meant to be here for another hour!” Doremy reached under her capelet and pulled out a large pocket watch, pointing at the time. “I was just having a little nap. One of the others should have noticed you though, I’ll have to talk to them about that.” She tossed the pocket watch over her shoulder and then stuck her fingers into the wall, pulling a chair out and sitting down across from Sagume. “Anyways. How are you? There’s a seat behind you, by the way.” 

“Better, now,” Sagume said as she sat down. She glanced at Toyohime, who was still on the floor. “Can you…” 

“Oh, you want me to get rid of her?” Doremy nudged her again with her foot and then waved her hand. Toyohime was slowly swallowed up by the ground, as were the other party guests. “Yeah, it’s a little weird having your boss just lying there when you’re on a date, huh?” 

Sagume grimaced, sure that she wouldn’t forget the image of Toyohime melting into the floor when she woke up. “... Quite.”

“So.” Doremy put her hands on the table that was now between them, with a vase of flowers and candle in the centre. “What do you wanna do?” 

“As long as it’s not another party, I’m happy with whatever you have in mind. 

“Hmm…” Doremy leaned back in her seat and giggled. “How about you come and finish that nap I was having earlier with me?”

“... You’re still tired?” Sagume scoffed.

“Nah, but you look exhausted.” Doremy reached over and grabbed both of Sagume’s hands, pulling her forward and then falling backwards with Sagume in her arms. They both fell back into Doremy’s bed, now in her bedroom. Realising she was on top of Doremy, Sagume blushed and quickly rolled off of her, sinking into the pile of soft pillows and blankets. 

“That five minutes of small talk really took it out of you, huh?” Doremy said as she took her hat off and tossed it to the end of her bed. She curled up against Sagume, resting her head on her chest. “You’re still all tense.”

“Well, it felt much longer than that,” Sagume muttered, tentatively running her fingers through Doremy’s hair.

“Nothing a little nap won’t fix, anyways.” Doremy looked up at Sagume and grinned. “And maybe after, we can finally do that bungee jumping thing I was telling you about. There’s a couple falling-from-a-high-place nightmares we could jump into.” 

“You can do that,” Sagume said, laughing nervously as she twirled a strand of Doremy’s hair around her finger. “I’ve had enough nightmares for one night.” 

“Mm, fine, I’ll take you out for dinner or something,” Doremy yawned and rubbed her face against Sagume’s chest. “Or we could just…” 

“... Nap?” 

Doremy nodded and giggled. “Yeah.” 

Sagume looked down at her and smiled. “That sounds good to me.” 

Chapter Text

Carefully folding up another dress, Maribel began the laborious task of trying to shove it into her travel bag, which was already stuffed to the brim. She managed to shove it down the side, leaving her with just enough room to be able to zip her bag closed without risking it bursting open on the train. She hadn’t been sure what exactly she was supposed to pack for her and Renko’s trip to Renko’s family home in Tokyo. She wanted to leave a good impression, so she mainly packed her nicest dresses, but knowing Renko, they could end up going on an impromptu hike and she would be severely unprepared. She would just have to keep them away from any rural trails-

A sharp knock at her door interrupted her worrying about hikes and long walks in the middle of nowhere.

“Merry?” Renko’s voice called.

“It’s open,” Maribel called back. She turned around and rushed to the door, greeting Renko with a tight hug. "Only ten minutes late, this time." 

"I left without my phone and had to run back to my dorm," Renko said defensively. “Are you ready?”

“Yes, I’m just making sure I have everything,” Maribel said as fought to zip her bag closed the rest of the way. Once it was closed, she dropped her bag on the ground with a heavy thud. “I haven’t packed too much, have I?” 

“No. If anything, you’re travelling light. Are you sure you haven’t forgotten anything?” Renko paused and turned towards Maribel’s desk, peeking into her handbag. “No books?” 

“I have everything I need for my assignments on my tablet,” Maribel said, pointing to the slim device peeking out of one of the pockets. She lightly patted Renko’s backpack, no doubt full of books she wouldn’t even get a chance to open on their trip. “See, it’s not always convenient being so old-fashioned. Did you pack any clothes?” 

Crossing her arms, Renko sighed and flipped her hair out of her face. “The text is far more engaging when you read it from a book. And yes, but I have clothes at my parents’ anyways.” 

“No amount of fancy hardbacks will make physics engaging,” Maribel teased as she picked up her travel bag and slung it over her shoulder. As she reached over to grab her handbag, she noticed Renko staring at her. 

“Have you got your meds?” she asked, looking away. “It’s just- you forgot them last time-” 

“It’s okay.” Maribel gave her a comforting smile and reached into her handbag, taking out her pill organiser and shaking it. “Yes, they’re here.”

Renko smiled back and then checked her watch. “Well, we should probably get going. I want to pick up some gifts for my parents at the station first.” 

Maribel put her handbag under her other arm and adjusted the strap of her travel bag. “I should probably get them something as well…”

“You don’t have to. They’re not super traditional like that,” Renko said as she followed Maribel out of her room and waited for her to lock the door before they began to set off.

“I still want to get them something to thank them for letting me stay.” 

“Just take them out for drinks in the evening,” Renko scoffed, elbowing Maribel. “They’d appreciate that way more.” 

Maribel rolled her eyes at her, but laughed. No doubt Renko would appreciate that too. She wondered what Renko’s parents would think of her. From what Renko told her, they seemed kind and equally as eccentric as her. Renko didn’t call them often, preferring to send them letters and postcards, but she did briefly let Maribel speak to her mother when Renko called her to ask if she could join Renko on her trip home. Even though she knew she probably didn’t have anything to worry about, she still felt a bit nervous, especially considering... 

“Renko?” 

“Hm?” 

“What have you told your family about me?” 

Renko scrunched her face up as she thought for a moment. “Uh, well they know you’re studying psychology. That you’re European. I’m pretty sure you were in some of the pictures I sent to them last year, so they know what you look like. My mom said you look pretty, or something like that. Why?” 

Maribel nodded. “They know we’re dating, right?” 

“Uh, of course they do,” Renko said, laughing. “Well, I never made a big announcement, just said you were my girlfriend now in one of my letters home. They said they were excited to finally meet you when I told them you were coming. I told you, they’re not super traditional, they don’t have a problem with-” Renko gestured to the two of them as they walked alongside each other and laughed. 

“I know. I was just-” Maribel laughed too, but it wouldn’t be completely absurd to think that Renko could have failed to mention to her family that Maribel was her girlfriend. Maribel cleared her throat and quietly asked, “Did you tell them about me being in the hospital?” 

“No. My letters home aren’t that detailed.” Renko slowed her pace for a moment and gave Maribel an earnest look. “I wouldn’t tell them something like that without your permission.” 

Maribel shot her a grateful smile. “I just don’t want them to think I’m weird.” 

“Compared to some members of my family, you’re pretty normal, Merry,” Renko said, laughing to herself.

“I just... I don’t want to get bad while I’m there,” Maribel whispered. 

“You won’t.” Renko took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. “You’ve been doing well the past couple weeks.” 

Maribel squeezed her hand back and sighed. “I know. It just feels like I always get bad when it’s most inconvenient.” 

“You don’t have to stay the whole week, you know. If you need to leave early, you can. I’ll just say you have an appointment. Or you had to do tutoring.” Renko paused and thought for a moment. “Or you can just stay in my room as much as you want.” 

“Are you sure your parents are okay with us sharing a room?” 

Renko slowed down and raised her eyebrow at Maribel. “Why wouldn’t they be?” 

“Well, we’re dating…” Maribel trailed off. 

“Eh, that probably didn’t even cross their minds,” Renko said, shrugging. “Besides, there’s nowhere else you can sleep. Unless they make me sleep downstairs.” 

Maribel giggled. “We’ll just have to be quiet.”

“When you see all the geeky crap from my childhood in my room, I dunno if you’ll even want to share a bed with me.” 

“Well, I like your geeky crap,” Maribel said as she leaned down and kissed Renko’s cheek. “Can’t be any geekier than what you have in your room now.”

“Thanks.” Renko pretended to glare at her and then checked her watch. “We should probably start walking a little faster, actually…” 

“I did tell you to come to mine early,” Maribel teased.

“We’re not late, we just need to speed-walk a bit…” 

And with that, Renko pulled Maribel along with her as they began to run towards the station, both of them laughing. 

After their barrage of questions about where she was from, how she managed to pick up Japanese so quickly, and if Renko was behaving herself in university, Renko’s parents left her alone to go to Renko’s room and unpack her things. 

Renko’s old room wasn’t much different from her dorm, it just had a lot more things to be cluttered with. She made a small effort to clear things away while Maribel was unpacking, but after she had cleared enough space for Maribel to unpack, she gave up on doing any more cleaning. Maribel didn’t mind. She was enjoying snooping around Renko’s room, particularly her books.

“I think my parents want to show you around Tokyo and then take us out for dinner,” Renko said, leaning against the door. She didn’t seem too bothered by Maribel going through her books. “If you’re too tired, I can tell them we’ll go out tomorrow.” 

“No, it’s okay. I told your dad I’d buy him a drink.” 

“Well, don’t let him drink too much.” Renko sighed and rubbed her temples. “He can’t hold his drink well.”

“So that’s where you get that from,” Maribel teased as she put the book she was flicking through down and stood up from Renko’s bed. Her eyes were drawn to a stack of books at the end of her bed, some of the titles in English. She smiled. “I thought you didn’t like Sagan.” 

“I don’t,” Renko said firmly, crossing her arms and looking at Maribel sternly as she walked over to her. “But Cosmos was one of the first books I read cover to cover in English.” 

“Aw.” Maribel looked down at Renko and tapped the tip of her nose. “Young Renko must have been so cute.” 

“There’s some pictures of me as a kid on the wall out here.” Renko leaned back and looked along the wall of the hallway. She pointed at a nearby picture frame and beckoned Maribel to come out and look. It was a framed picture of a young Renko holding some award. “I think I’m ten here.” 

Maribel smiled, looking at the other pictures hanging on the wall, most of them featuring Renko. 

“Oh, Merry, come look!” Renko pulled her over to the opposite side of the hall, pointing at a small picture frame. “This was my great aunt, Sumireko. The founder of the Secret Sealing Club.” 

“Wow…” If Renko hadn’t told her who it was, she might have mistaken the person for Renko. She was wearing a hat similar to the one Renko wore, with a cape too, only hers was longer than Renko’s. Maribel cleared her throat as she felt her chest tighten. Her eyes shifted focus as she noticed her reflection in the glass of the picture frame shift, her eyes darkening to a shade of violet, her hair growing out past her shoulders, her -

No, she said to herself. Not now. She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fist, taking a deep breath. 

“Are you alright?” Renko asked softly, placing her hand on Maribel’s shoulder. 

“Mm.” Maribel quickly turned on her heel to face away from the picture and flashed Renko a smile. “I just felt a bit weak. Probably just a bit hungry.” 

Renko smiled back, though her gaze drifted past Maribel to the picture. She reached down and grabbed Maribel’s hand, tugging her away. “Come on, I’ll make you a snack before we head out.” 

Maribel allowed herself to be pulled away, following Renko to the stairs. She had definitely been taking her medication, so... 

As they reached the stairs, she turned around to look at the photo again, just for a moment. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that distinctive red ribbon, a gloved hand reaching out of the inky-black hole on the wall beside the photo, waving at her.

Rolling her eyes, she waved back. 

Chapter Text

Thump.

Megumu groaned. If she didn’t know any better, she would think she had just awokened to Momoyo trying to crack her skull open with her pickaxe. No, her head had just slipped off the pillow and onto the floor, but the throbbing headache she had been plagued by for the past few days made it feel like she’d just hit her head on a rock.

Very slowly, Megumu rolled onto her back and sat up, rubbing her temples with her finger and thumb. Her body ached and she felt heavy, like she was made of lead. She looked over at Chimata, who was curled up on the other side of the bed with the blankets pulled up over her head. Megumu’s coughing had kept her up, making her forfeit her usual spot in Megumu’s arms. If Megumu wasn’t so busy feeling sorry for herself, she might have felt bad about it.

Chimata stirred, slowly rolling over to face Megumu and opening her eyes. “Go back to sleep, Megumu,” she muttered.

“I have work,” Megumu mumbled back, her voice raspy and dry. 

“Megumu…” Chimata sat up and crossed her arms, shooting her a disapproving glare. “You’re sick.”

Megumu groaned. It had been a point of contention between them for the past few days, ever since Megumu had woken up with a little cough. She was convinced it was just from spending a bit too long with Momoyo, but Chimata insisted she was sick, despite Megumu’s protests. She didn’t get sick. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had to take a sick day. She continued to protest, even as her cough got worse and her head began to throb, until it became a bit of a game between the two of them. Chimata would try to make her lie down or take the medicine she picked up for her, and then Megumu would playfully protest, until Chimata gave up and let her go about her day in peace, only occasionally tutting or shaking her head. 

This morning, though, Chimata didn’t seem to be in a playful mood. 

“Look at you!” Chimata reached over and pressed the back of her hand to Megumu’s forehead. “You’re burning up. You spent the whole night coughing. You’re sick.” 

“I just need a cup of tea,” Megumu muttered, swatting Chimata’s hand away. She kicked the blankets off her legs, trying her best to not shiver as she left the warmth of their bed and stood up. The room spun. “I’ll be fine.” 

“Suit yourself, then,” Chimata said, sighing. 

Megumu heard the blankets rustling as Chimata wrapped herself in the blankets and snuggled up on Megumu’s side of the bed. Megumu couldn’t help but envy her a bit. Their room was freezing, and she could hear the wind howling outside. She crept over to the wardrobe, pulling her robe tighter around herself. Even just the thought of getting undressed filled her with dread. She could just write a message and have Tsukasa deliver it, crawl back into bed and stay warm, but she’d spent so long insisting Chimata was wrong. She wasn’t ready to back down yet. Besides, she had a mountain of work to get through. 

“I guess I’ll just have to spend the morning being all warm and cosy alone, then…” Chimata sighed wistfully. 

“What a-” Before Megumu could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by a coughing fit. Perhaps a compromise was needed. She finished coughing and then cleared her throat. “I think I’ll work from home today, actually. I wouldn’t want to bother my coworkers with my coughing.” 

“Megumuuu!” Chimata groaned, throwing what seemed to be one of her balled-up rainbow socks at Megumu. “Stop being silly and take the day off. You’re not well.” 

“It’s just a cough, Chimata,” Megumu said as she closed the wardrobe and went to kneel down at the small writing desk nearby. She squeezed her eyes shut and aggressively rubbed her temples, though it seemed to just make the throbbing worse. “I’m already starting to feel better.” 

“Oh, really?” Chimata let out another dramatic sigh. “I was going to offer to give you one of those back massages you love so much to help you recover, but if you’re feeling better…” 

Megumu looked over her shoulder at her and rolled her eyes, but Chimata’s attempts at wearing her down were starting to work. Even the effort of writing Tsukasa’s name at the top of the small memo she was going to leave her felt like too much, and she was starting to shiver. 

“There’s a lot of things I could do to make you feel better, you know,” Chimata’s voice took on a more sultry tone, but then she sighed again. “But I’m glad you’re feeling better. I’ll just stay here while you work.” 

“Fine…” Megumu put her hands up in surrender. “I’m very sick.” 

Chimata giggled. “See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?” 

“Let me just finish writing this note, then I’ll join you.” 

“It better be a ‘I’m not working today because I’m very sick’ note, and not a ‘I’m working from home’ note,” Chimata said, throwing her other sock at Megumu’s desk. “Or no massage.” 

“‘Tsukasa, please inform the office that I will not be working today as I recover from the flu,’” Megumu read out as she signed off the memo. “Is that alright?” 

“Very good.” 

“I’m glad you think so, Dr. Tenkyuu,” Megumu teased as she stood up and went to open the door of their bedroom just a crack. She felt the chilly air of the hallway flood into their room as she left the note on the floor. She quickly shut the door and went back to bed, letting out a small sigh of relief as she slid back under the warmth of the blankets. 

“One more thing though.” Chimata scooted over and turned to fumble around with something on her side of the bed. She turned to face Megumu and shook a bottle in front of her face. “You’ll have to take your medicine first.” 

“Chimata..” 

“If you’re sick, then you need to take your medicine,” Chimata said playfully. “Or are you feeling better after all…?” 

Megumu sighed and snatched the bottle from her, sitting up and popping the cork off. It smelled bitter and medicinal. “You’re really enjoying tormenting me, aren’t you?” 

“I didn’t know getting to spend the day in bed, being nursed back to health and doted on, counted as torment.” Chimata elbowed her and nodded at the bottle. “Drink up.” 

“Fine,” Megumu relented. She took a swig from the bottle, trying not to make a face as the bitter taste filled her mouth. She stuck the cork back on and handed the bottle back to Chimata, just barely managing to swallow the mouthful of medicine without wincing. “Happy now?” 

“Mhm!” Chimata put the bottle back on the floor next to her pillow and sat up, gently pushing Megumu down. “Now, your massage.” 

“What about those other things you were talking about?” Megumu asked, smirking at her. 

Chimata crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, gesturing for Megumu to roll over. “Do you want that massage or not?”

“Yes, Dr. Tenkyuu.” Megumu continued to smirk as she rolled over onto her stomach, feeling Chimata straddle her lower back. “You’re not going to pull my robe down?” 

‘I wouldn’t want you to get cold. I’m supposed to be making you feel better,” Chimata said as she brushed Megumu’s hair out of the way and began gently rubbing her shoulders. “But if you still don’t feel well after, I’ll see what else I can do.” 

Megumu chuckled. “Oh?” 

Chimata leaned down and kissed the back of Megumu’s head, giggling. She brushed her lips against the slant of her ear. 

“I’ll give you another dose of that nice medicine you just had.”