Archive of Our Own ^beta

Everything is where it’s supposed to be.

The sink is drained and wiped clean. Each work surface is polished and cleared of clutter. All the containers in the fridge are labelled, sorted by date, sealed and secure. Tsukasa places the final tick on his end-of-day list and stands back, admiring his beautifully neat kitchen.

Yes! Another successful dinner service. The bistro salad that increased shoulder flexibility had been mildly popular, but his basil spaghetti that improved perception temporarily had been a big hit! Very interesting outcomes. Tomorrow will likely have something involving the royal pears he had found at the market this morning. A new dessert, possibly. His notes are still semi-complete.

The rubbish bag makes a clinking sound as he picks it up by the even bow tied on top, the empty jars and boxes rustling around inside. Unfortunately, when he opens the back door, the skies are completely open. This isn’t just a drizzle; it’s a complete downpour.

“It's been clear all day…” Tsukasa mutters, glancing at the outside bin only a few short paces away, but still so very far. “Why do you have to do this now?”

Sadly, the rain doesn’t relent despite his complaints. Tsukasa sighs, hauls the bag over his shoulder, then lets out a war cry as he sprints towards the bin with all the speed he can muster. Lid open, lid shut, and then another dash back to the door. Inside the doorway, he frets, patting his hair to make sure it isn’t too ruffled out of shape. Service may be over, but he still must maintain an orderly appearance at all times, of course. All seems fine, so Tsukasa goes to close the door. And then pauses.

Two amber eyes shine back at him from underneath the dumpster. Tsukasa tenses, glancing towards his sturdiest frying pan, but when he observes closer, he can see from the light of the door that this is no monster or beast, but instead, a simple cat. He lets out a breath, relaxing his muscles.

“This isn’t good weather to be out in, you know,” Tsukasa tells the cat. “You should go home! Somewhere safe! Somewhere dry! Somewhere away from my scraps! Understood?”

The cat keeps staring, watching him, and Tsukasa frowns. Is he not being loud enough? Is this not the volume needed to scare off a feeble stray?

“Don’t keep looking at me like that!” he instructs, putting his hands on his hips. “There’s nothing here for you to eat! I only serve paying customers!”

The cat blinks, and then slowly, cautiously, slinks out from underneath the dumpster. But instead of exiting down the alleyway as it should, it starts padding its way towards his open door.

“I’m telling you no!” he tries again. “This isn’t your house!”

Yet, as much as he wants to close his door and leave it there, his hand can’t quite find the way towards the handle. The rain is very heavy and this cat is very pathetic. Its fur is unbrushed, matted, and there’s a slight hesitation in each step that suggests injury. Its ears are pointed back as if to listen for danger, but its biggest threat should be the stranger looming ahead. Maybe it’s a stupid cat? A cat so used to staying indoors that it has no idea how to navigate the outside world?

“You’re really a pitiful creature, aren’t you?” Tsukasa watches as the cat creeps forwards, then pauses at the doorstep and looks up. There’s something in its face asking for permission, big and lost eyes staring up at him. Tsukasa sighs, and steps aside. “Fine, fine. You can come in. But only because it’s raining! And stay away from my kitchen!”

Despite the invite, the cat continues to linger in the doorway, tail receiving an unceremonious soaking. Tsukasa leans down and gently pushes it across the step, then closes the door so they’re both in the warm. Looking at it in this light, it’s even more obvious that this cat is in a very sorry state. It’s dirty, frail, and shivering. And despite being in this room full of wonderful and very lavish furniture and appliances, it limps its way over the empty corner and curls up.

“You’re going to catch a cold like that,” Tsukasa says, retrieving an old but clean dishcloth from the side. He crouches down in front, and the cat could easily run away to the side if it wanted to, but it stays put and lets him towel it off. It doesn’t even mind when he moves the cloth up to its ears and over its head. What a strangely obedient cat.

“You picked a very bad night to start your career as an adventurer,” Tsukasa tells the cat once its fur has gone from drenched to just damp. “But don’t look so crestfallen! I know just the thing to cheer you up!”

The stove may be off, but it doesn’t take long at all to heat up some simple ingredients from his morning menu. He takes out one of his backup plates and carefully dishes out the meal, adding a sprinkle of herbs on top. It looks beautiful, of course. His cooking always does.

He places it down in front of the cat, a metre or so away from the corner. “There! This is one of my most popular dishes that helps one regain energy and strength for the day ahead! I know you’ll like it, because most everyone does!”

But unlike everyone, the cat doesn’t dig in straight away. Instead, it lifts its head to keep staring up at Tsukasa with its oval eyes. Oddly expressive for a cat, he has to admit. Though, not that he knows much about the feline kind. He thought he knew the basics, such as loud noise equals a scampering cat, but this example has kind of proven him wrong, so maybe he knows very little after all.

“What’s wrong?” he asks. “Are you worried? Don’t be! I made this for you, so don’t be afraid to eat it!”

Even if he isn’t a cat expert, he is a cooking connoisseur, so it’s no surprise at all when the cat finally steps forward to start lapping up the awaiting meal.

“That’s better, huh!” Tsukasa watches proudly as the cat continues to eat, its hesitation fading along with the food on the plate. “Yes, yes! This is the power of a meal cooked by a five star chef! Even the most raggedy old cat can appreciate a good mea- hey, stop avoiding your greens! This is a quality dish, understand?!”

The cat moves back from the plate, leaving only the herb and salad leaves behind. It licks its paw contently, despite its fur still heavy with rain.

“What a picky cat…” Tsukasa mutters, picking up the plate to place it into the wash. “Well, you’ve had your dinner. You must feel strong enough to make your way back home now.”

The cat stops and looks towards the door, and Tsukasa does too. In the silence, both of them can hear the rain still beating persistently against the roof. There’s a slight rattle of wind, too. The cat shivers.

“You really are helpless…” Tsukasa mutters, then takes another deep breath, just so the cat knows he means business. “Okay! Fine! You can stay for tonight. But just one night! I can’t have an animal snooping around my restaurant! It’s unsanitary! And my restaurant is a good restaurant! A very good restaurant! People come from all over the land just to taste the cooking of the esteemed Tenma Tsukasa!”

His voice is loud again, but the cat doesn’t flinch at all. Rather, it seems interested, watching his speech with a slight curve in its tail, ears forward. A cat of good taste, then, clearly! Tsukasa grins.

“Your interest is piqued, I can tell! Hm, well, I can tell you all you want to know! My biggest clientele is adventurers, but I serve all kinds of people here! And almost every day, a different dish! It all depends on what I feel like and what kind of inspiration hits me! And also what ingredients are in season! But mostly the inspiration! So people come to see what dishes can aid them in their travels, but also to fill their hearts! This is food with passion! Five star cuisine!”

The cat’s ears twitch, but its eyes don’t move away. A clear sign of an audience in awe.

“Yes, there isn’t an adventurer that walks through these doors that leaves disappointed or hungry,” Tsukasa says with a nod. “Breakfast, lunch, dinner, I’m always open for business!”

***

“Sorry, can we get one more order of scallops?”

“Of course! It’ll be ready in five minutes!”

“Is it possible to get the noodles without the meat?”

“Absolutely! That’s no problem at all!”

“Do you have a dessert menu?”

“It’s right here! Specials on the back!”

An absolutely fantastic turnout, and it’s barely even one o’clock. All the fires are burning, the oil hot, tables constantly filling and emptying in a stable rhythm. It’s easy to keep track of orders on days where Saki is here to help, since she does an excellent job of bussing tables. He catches her eye as he places another dish down for a table of four, grinning as she smiles back at him on his way back to the kitchen. The restaurant is full of energy, chatter, mud-

Mud.

Tsukasa throws his ladle down and storms out to the counter, holding up a stern hand before the culprits can make their way to a table.

“I told you to ensure your equipment was clean before entering, did I not?”

“Aww, but Tsukasa, we’re really hungry!” Emu says, face pulling up into a pout. Unusually, she’s not alone today, a slightly taller mage girl cowering behind her shoulder. That makes no difference. He’s not having chaos in his restaurant. “I heard you have dumplings today! Can we get five plates?”

“Absolutely not! Can’t you see how much mess you’ve caused?”

“Hm?” Emu glances behind her, having the audacity to act like she hasn’t noticed the trail of mud they’ve been tracking across the floor. “Oh, sorry! But we just finished a super long expedition, and it’s Nene’s first time here! I’ve been telling her about how juicyjuicy all the food is!”

“Um, Emu, if it’s a problem, we can always go somewhere else…” the mage girl - presumably ‘Nene’ - starts.

“Go somewhere else?!” Tsukasa grabs two menus, slamming them down on the counter. “That is absolutely not an option! The quality of food and service you’ll receive elsewhere will simply not compare to the restaurant of a five star chef! If you’re going to eat, you’ll eat here at the counter so you won’t disrupt the other customers!”

“Yay yay!” Emu claps, tossing her large bag under the counter and hopping up on the seat. “Oh, you’re serving calamari today too! Let’s get three servings of those too!”

“Isn’t that too much…?” Nene questions.

“To share, I mean!”

“Yeah, even then…”

“Emu!” Saki’s voice bursts through as she bounces over to them, the drinks on the tray in her hand barely shifting despite her eccentric movements. “Long time no see! How was your mission? Did you have lots of fun?”

“We did!” Emu says. “And we fought soooo many big big monsters too! Like bam! Wap! Boom!”

“Hey-” Tsukasa bends down to pick up the spoon that Emu has just flung onto the floor with her exaggerated arm movements. “The amount of cutlery you knock over, I should start charging you for my cleaning expenses….”

“That sounds so exciting!” Saki says to Emu. “I can’t wait to see it all when I go on my next journey with the girls! We’re gonna be heading out that way too for a bit!”

“Ooh, you should definitely visit the hot springs by the mountains! It’s so so relaxing, I felt like I was a slime!”

“I-is that relaxing…?” Nene asks.

“I will, I will!” Saki’s face remains bright. “I already told the others all about it! I heard the water there is so good for your skin, it’s way better than any of the stuff you can get at the markets here…”

“I have to get back to the kitchen,” Tsukasa says, even though there haven’t been any more tickets and his roast can handle another three minutes unattended. “Don’t order too much! And don’t cause any trouble for my clientele!"

“Okay!” Emu salutes in a way that makes him think he’s definitely going to receive a twenty item order in a few minutes. “Thanks, Tsukasa!”

He ducks back behind the oven and stove, grabbing the spoon of a soup that isn’t quite done yet. Really, there’s no need to talk about this adventure as if it’s only minutes away. She’ll be here for a whole other week! And after that- she’ll come home. For a while. But his sister journeying out into the world isn’t a bad thing at all. It’s very exciting! It’s a dream she’s wanted to pursue for a long time. He accepts it. He supports it! Being one staff down isn’t a big deal at all. That’s seven days away, anyway. Nothing to worry about now.

“Tsukasa, here you go!” The ticket appears through the window, and Tsukasa grabs it before it falls down. It’s completely full.

“Emu, what did I just say-?!”

***

When Tsukasa opens his curtains the next morning, there’s not a single raindrop visible in the sky. It’s a clear, bright morning, and he can already see the ships hovering down by the dock in the far distance, a new load of cargo ready to be unloaded. He slept well, so it’s a good day to get an early start.

Not everyone seems to agree with that sentiment though.

“Hey, how much longer are you going to sleep for?” Tsukasa asks the cat which is currently curled up in a ball on his rug. “Are you sick or just really lazy? Is that even a comfortable position to sleep in?”

He moves a hand to touch the cat’s head, and it immediately stretches out and leans into his hand with a short whine. Well, that answers that. Still, even if it’s not suffering any illness, it still looks pretty beat up. Is there anything he can do to even out that fur? There’s no way he’s using his expensive combs, but maybe they sell something at the market. And something for that leg that’s still being carefully held away from touching the sides of the chair.

“Our arrangement was just one night,” Tsukasa starts, and the cat opens its eyes to give him another soul-stealing stare. “But we have a little bit of time before I need to head out, so as a gesture of my kind will, I’ll prepare you one more meal, okay? But after that, you definitely have to head home!”

The cat watches for a moment more, then twists onto its back again, fluffy stomach exposed. Perhaps this is a sign of gratitude, an invitation to pet in a place where the fur isn’t quite as damaged? Tsukasa smiles to himself, because of course he is an expert feline charmer; if humans love him then it only makes sense for a cat to adore him too. He reaches out a hand, and the cat instantly draws its paws up to catch his hand before sinking its teeth into his knuckle.

“Hey!” Tsukasa yanks his hand back, narrowing his eyes at the cat’s innocent expression. “Haven’t you ever heard the phrase don’t bite the hand that feeds you!?”

Evidentially not. It doesn’t even seem guilty about it at all. Tsukasa huffs, turning on his heel to head back to the kitchen. There’s a soft sound as he hears the cat hops down the stairs to follow him. So are they enemies or not? If they are, this cat isn’t being very consistent about it.

The typical cat diet is a mystery to him, since Tsukasa only knows that cats usually eat mice and is definitely not cooking up one of those, so he decides just to make another human dish instead. It seemed to enjoy it last night, anyway. There’s something so odd about the way the cat sits and watches him ready his stove and prepare the food, but it’s not as unsettling as it should be. The cat is correct. He is entrancing to watch. His creativity does deserve an audience. There’s nothing wrong with that, really.

Tsukasa plates the dish just as expertly as last night, pleased again with the aroma and presentation. The cat doesn’t hesitate as much this time either, though it doesn’t look like that limp has gotten any better. If anything, it looks like it’s trying to hide it, but there’s no mistaking that clunky way of walking, or the millimetres of distance between its back paw and the floor.

“Can you really go home like that?” Tsukasa wonders aloud, leaning on his hand as he watches. The city is much safer than the forests, but that’s not to say it’s completely devoid of risks. “It’d be ideal to fix that before I let you go, but I don’t know much about healing…even my best recipes only offer temporary relief for pain and aches. And they’re all based on human biology, anyway. Hmm…but maybe I can ask Meiko…she has a lot of little animals wandering around her shop…maybe she’ll have something I can buy? Or some knowledge, at least.”

The cat doesn’t seem too bothered by this predicament, finishing up the meal by pushing the leafy greens to the side with its nose. Tsukasa narrows his eyes again. And here he had thought there was only one person in this world too picky to touch a salad prepared by even the best chef in the world.

“At least you still have an appetite,” Tsukasa concedes. The cat licks its lips once before hopping across the kitchen. He thinks for a startling moment it wants to go out the door, but it passes the exit and heads to his fridge instead. “What? Are you still hungry?”

The cat stares at the fridge for a moment, before it rolls onto its back and starts batting at the panel on the side as if playing with a toy. Tsukasa frowns, risking another bite to direct the cat away from the device.

“Hey, don’t play with that! There’s a very powerful magic source inside there! Without that, all my ingredients will spoil!” He shifts the cat over, and it gives him a wide eyed blink. “Anyway, a dear friend of mine installed that panel to replace the old one. I don’t want you to ruin his work.”

***

He has turned it off and on. He’s reset the temperature gauge six times. Tried it with the door open and the door shut. The oven is definitely not working.

“Gh…” Tsukasa peers into the back, trying to find any sign of damage, but it’s pristine and clear. The best it can muster is a flicker of light and a short hum, and then it powers off again. “Why…why have you forsaken me like this?!”

No fire, no heat. A dark empty box that will absolutely not give his customers the smiles they deserve. He needs to open in forty-five minutes. Crisis is quickly approaching. Is this the end of the world? It may be the end of the world.

There’s a sharp knock on the front door. Tsukasa flinches, hitting his head against the top shelf.

“Hey, Tsukasa-! Are you there? We came to get lunch!”

“You came to-” He stands up, fixing his hat, before hurrying to the front door. There is a sign on front, one that clearly reads ‘NOT OPEN’ and one that is very clearly being ignored right now. Pink eyes peer in through the window, and a wide smile appears when they catch sight of him.

“Hi, Tsukasa! How are you! I brought everyone here so we can have some lunch before we go out to the forest! Well, I brought Nene, and Nene brought Rui!”

“I don’t care who brought who,” Tsukasa says as he unlocks and opens up the door. “I’m not open! See! ‘Not’! It says ‘not open’!”

“But I bet you already made everything, right?” Emu asks, and she’s already stepping into his restaurant, along with two other people. The mage, Nene, who often seems to question his magnificent abilities for whatever reason, and a new, third person that Tsukasa only vaguely recognises. He has a lot of strange contraptions along his belt and goggles atop his head. If he’s travelling with Emu and Nene, then he must also be a peculiar person. But that’s not important right now. “We don’t need that much! Just something simple and then we’ll come back to eat properly for dinner later!”

“No, now is actually a very bad time,” Tsukasa says, crossing his arms. “My oven isn’t working.”

“Not working?” the third one asks with a curious expression.

“Are you sure you didn’t just forget to turn it on?” Nene asks.

“I’ve been a professional chef for almost a decade now! You think I wouldn’t know how to turn my oven on?”

“I mean.” Nene looks away.

“Huh?” Emu tilts her head. “But if it’s not working, how are you going to cook?”

“That’s the issue. I’m not.” Tsukasa takes a seat at one of the tables, pushing his bangs away from his face. “What am I going to do…so many people are expecting a delicious meal…a meal which I’ve always promised to deliver…”

“You can’t just make something cold for today?” Nene asks. “It’s not like your menu is set. And I would’ve thought something like that would be no issue for someone who always talks about how talented he is…”

“It isn’t a problem for me, it’s a problem for the restaurant!” Tsukasa stresses. “I have ingredients that I’ve already purchased! My pork has been marinating since last night! And imagine the disappointment if I open with an empty dessert cabinet?! The uproar would be so massive that even Saki would catch word of it!”

“I don’t think it’s that big a deal…” Nene mutters.

“Can’t we make a fire in a different way?” Emu asks. “Oh, Nene, what if you use your magic? You know the one where it goes wvshhhwvshhh?”

“Uh, that might be a little dangerous to use indoors…”

“So can’t we go outside?”

“No, that won’t work,” Tsukasa agrees. “It’ll be too hard to control the temperature of the fire to achieve the perfect flambé.”

“That’s your main concern…?” Nene asks.

“Then we’ll just have to see if we can make the heat want to come back again!” Emu runs to her bag, digging around for something. “Let’s bashbashbash it enough times that it starts working again!”

“Absolutley not! No weapons in the kitchen! Especially no weapons near the equipment!”

“I’ll be gentle?” Emu tries.

“Can’t you just make something like a sandwich for now?” Nene asks. “It’s not like we’re after anything complex. Just throw some salad and cheese on a slice of bread and it’ll be fine for now. Oh, but no salad for Rui.”

“I’m a chef, I’m not just going to ‘throw’ some cheese on a-” Tsukasa pauses. “Wait, there were three of you, weren’t they?”

“Hm?” Emu stops, standing up to look around. “You’re right! Rui’s gone!”

“Maybe he got tired of all the yelling and left,” Nene says. “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Or he turned invisible!” Emu gasps.

“No, Emu, that only happened to you because you drank that weird fountain water-”

There’s a sudden clunk from the kitchen, and Tsukasa is running before he can even process it. Please, if something is going to explode, make it a small one, even if he’s grateful that his kitchen is going to detonate whilst his sister is very far away and safe from the fallout-

But there’s no flames or scorch marks or bricks collapsing from the ceiling. Instead, there’s Rui standing up from the side of his fridge, goggles pulled down over his eyes. Tsukasa rushes over to him.

“What are you doing? You can’t be in here!” Of course, the many knives and machines and hot surfaces are no problem to him, who’s well acquainted with the space, but this is a stranger, a complete newcomer in his domain. The list of terrible and gruesome accidents that could occur is never ending. “This area is for staff only-!”

“I fixed your oven,” Rui tells him, and Tsukasa blinks. “One of the connection points had come loose, so I replaced it with a new one. Also, your fridge wasn’t running at maximum efficiency, so I installed a new wish piece for you. But your freezer might start malfunctioning soon, so you should get that looked at too.”

“Wh- you…did what?”

“Oh.” Rui stops, his satisfied smile melting into something smaller. “Sorry. I should’ve asked first.”

“You fixed it? And my fridge too?” Tsukasa twists the knob on the stovetop, and the fire lights up obediently, quickly. Actually it seems even brighter than it had before. “That’s amazing…! How did you do that?”

“It wasn’t too difficult,” Rui says. “Like I said, the parts just needed replacing.”

“I didn’t notice anything off at all…!” Tsukasa rushes to start his prep, retrieving his prepared ingredients from the fridge. Even the light in there is shining brighter too. He cups a hand to call back to the main floor, “You two! The oven is working again! Lunch will be ready in ten minutes!”

“Yay!” Emu calls back.

“Your name is Rui, right?” Tsukasa asks as he continues prepping. “I remember you now! You’re the weird person who never eats his vegetables no matter how well I season and steam them!”

“Yes, that sounds like me.”

“Well, even if I question your tastebuds, I’m now fully in your debt!” Tsukasa says, making time between his rushing for a quick bow. “All your meals will be fully on the house for the next week! Two weeks! If you can fix the freezer too, a month!”

“That sounds like quite the agreeable arrangement,” Rui says, his pleased smile matching the oven in how it returns to its full force. “I don’t mind performing regular maintenance checks if you can repay me in desserts and free lunches.”

“Absolutely! Consider it done!”

“Actually, I could probably make it so your oven is much more efficient too,” Rui continues, smile stretching into a smirk. “Don’t you think it would be exciting if we could make it reach temperatures of say, three thousand degrees?”

“Yes, it would be good if- wait, three thousand?!”

“That’s right. Cooking would take no time at all.”

“Absolutely not!”

***

“Okay! That’s everything done! Time to head out!”

Tsukasa tucks his shopping list into his pocket, retrieving his bag from the coat hook. He’s leaving through the front door this time, and had fully been expecting the cat to go back upstairs to the comfortable furniture and rest, but the cat is sitting waiting for him on the desk, lightly swishing its tail.

“I should be back within the hour,” he tells it, fastening up his coat. “You’ll be okay alone for a bit, right?”

The cat blinks, then stands up and walks to the edge of the counter. Without breaking eye contact, it brings out a paw and knocks one of the menu holders off onto the floor. Tsukasa gives it a look.

“There are better ways to communicate, you know.”

The cat opens its mouth and lets out a short meow.

“Just because you’re cute doesn’t mean you’re not annoying!” Tsukasa clutches a hand to his chest, then sighs. “Fine, you can come with me. But we have to do something about that leg! I won’t be able to carry you if you can’t handle any kind of pressure against it! I have the first aid kit just down here…”

The cat seems to consider this, then jumps from the counter to land expertly on three legs before dashing off across the room. Tsukasa flings his bag off and runs after, grabbing the box full of bandages.

“Hey! Come back! You’re the one who wanted to come with me, didn’t you?” He’s talking to this cat like it can understand him. Is he going crazy? But it’s not like there’s anyone around to witness it, so. “Hey! Slow down!”

The cat stops once it hits a corner, then turns around with a calculating expression. Very carefully, it lowers its back leg in a way that could almost pass for a normal stance, if Tsukasa didn’t already know better.

“Don’t pretend it’s fine, I already saw you limping,” he says, inching closer. “I promise I’m not going to do anything to hurt you! I just want to check the extent of the damage and see if there’s anything I can do to make it easier for you to walk, okay? Just let me take a look.”

It takes a second of holding out his hand, but slowly the cat moves forwards from the corner, lifting its leg back up. Tsukasa makes sure to keep his touch as light as he can as he carefully lifts the fur to examine the injury. It’s a clear cut, but it doesn’t look too deep or too serious.

“I’ll clean it up and put a bandage on for now, okay? It might sting a little, but please don’t scratch me too hard or then we’ll both be incapacitated.”

Surprisingly, the cat doesn’t struggle or growl even as he wipes its leg with the disinfectant cloth and wraps the injury up. Its attitude is much more docile than expected. That means it must have an owner, right? A lost cat, strayed too far from home. They must be missing him a lot. It’s lonely when a piece you’ve always had is suddenly absent.

“Okay, jump in,” Tsukasa tells the newly mended cat, holding out an old basket that he used to use for carrying produce until the straw started to fray. The cat follows the directions obediently and sits with its head sticking out the top. Not his usual accessory, but he’ll make it work. “Let’s go!”

Meiko’s stall is consistently set up at the edge of the markets, sat next to a wide area that overlooks the town plaza, the trees of the forest far behind her. It always smells fresh and inviting, the various herbs and plants mixing in with her other wares. Tsukasa is sure that if he didn’t have access to such a luxurious choice of seasoning, his food wouldn’t taste even half as good.

She sees him approaching and gives a wave out from the tent of her stall, fox ears perking up in greeting. They’re a different shape to the ones sported by the cat in his basket, but the same rules probably still apply.

“Good morning, Tsukasa,” she says as he reaches her. “How’s it going? Looking for anything specific today? My last expedition was pretty fruitful, so I have a lot of variety at the moment! Feel free to ask for anything you want!”

“I’ll definitely take you up on that, but- first!” Tsukasa places the basket down onto the table. The lid has shut slightly, though he can still see the glow of the cat’s eyes through the wicker. “I need help.”

“With what?” Meiko lifts the lid slightly, and the cat doesn’t straighten up even as the basket is opened. “Oh, my! A cat? Where did you find him? And what unusual markings!”

“He just appeared outside my restaurant last night. I think he’s lost, but he’s too injured to go home.” Too injured, and too stubborn. “Is there anything you can give me that’s more…cat specific? For his fur, too!”

“Hmm…yes, I think I should have something in the back for helping heal superficial injuries on small animals.” Meiko smiles. “I might have to lend you a comb from my own collection for his coat, though!”

“That would be much appreciated!” Tsukasa bows, then glances back to the mess of fur still low in the basket. “Hey, don’t be so shy. Meiko is a friend! You can trust her.”

The cat shifts very slightly, eyes darting from Tsukasa to Meiko’s encouraging smile, then slowly lifts its head to allow Meiko to scratch behind its ear. The action elicits a very happy response from the cat, and Tsukasa nods approvingly.

“See? You don’t have to be scared.”

“It seems he trusts you a lot already,” Meiko says. “If you can’t find his owner, what will you do?”

“Well…I’m sure he has someone already looking for him,” Tsukasa says, replacing Meiko’s hand behind the cat’s ear as she moves to start preparing his supplies. “So I’ll keep waiting until then! Besides, I can’t keep a cat in my restaurant. It’s not sanitary!”

“But you have an upstairs too, don’t you?” Meiko says, collecting a bag from the side. “And cats can be very useful creatures.”

“That's true, but…” Tsukasa frowns as those same amber eyes look up at him. “I don’t know. There’s something odd about him. He doesn't get scared even when I yell. And when I feed him, even though it's my cooking, he doesn't touch the vegetables at all! It's the exact same as someone I know. It makes me wonder…is he really a normal cat?”

Meiko laughs. “Tsukasa, you didn't know? Cats don't like vegetables. They're carnivores.”

“Oh, is that why…?” That makes sense, as insulting as it is. “Hmm. Maybe I need to do more research.”

“Maybe,” Meiko says, and smiles. “But I think he likes you plenty already.”

***

“You've really never been to see the markets before?”

“Well,” Rui starts. “I've seen them from afar.”

“That's not the same thing!” Tsukasa has to keep his strides careful, lest he let Rui fall too far behind and slip away. “One of the most important parts of going to the market is buying something from the market! Which you cannot do if you're watching ‘from afar’!”

“It does seem very wonderful. There are so many different stalls here.” Rui glances behind him, stepping a little closer to Tsukasa. “But…I'm not sure the people here would appreciate me very much.”

“What do you mean? They've never met you.”

“I think they may have heard of me.”

“So that means they don't know anything at all.” Tsukasa finds a spot at one of the book merchants he knows has reasonable prices. Reading hefty text passages isn't his favourite passtime, but he's seen a couple old cookbooks turn up now and then, and some of the foreign novellas can be pretty entertaining. The stall owner is turned away, sorting the stock behind them. “Weren't you just saying the other day you wanted to find more material about crystal properties and energy harvesting?”

“Energy harnessing,” Rui corrects. “And yes, but I don't think they would have anything like that here.”

“We could ask.”

“It's fine, I-”

“Excuse me!” Tsukasa calls, catching the owner’s attention. “Could you help my friend look for something?”

“Of course, I’d…” They trail off slightly, giving Rui an almost suspicious look. It's probably the goggles. “I'd be…happy to help. What is it you're looking for?”

“I was…wondering if you had any books on crystals,” Rui says. “Or energy harnessing. But we already had a look, and it seems like you don't, so please don't worry.”

“Mmm…actually, I might have seen something like that around here…” She turns around to sort through one of the piles behind her, before selecting a large hardcover book at the bottom. “Is this the kinda thing you mean?”

Rui carefully takes the book, blinking with a little awe. “This is…exactly it. Thank you.”

“Something for everyone,” she says with a shrug. “Anything else?”

“I…” Rui hesitates, but manages to continue. “I saw you have one of the books here, by this particular author…I was wondering if you had any more?”

“Ooh, good choice!” All the tension on the woman's face disappears as she grins. “I'm a big fan of this guy too! Have you read his first book, the one about the mountain and the bear? It's a classic!”

“I'd like to, but unfortunately I've never been able to find it.”

“Well, today's your lucky day! Let me see…I've got a whole collection of them back here…”

There's something quite satisfying when Tsukasa catches a glimpse of Rui's face once they're walking away, his bag a lot fuller than before. It makes him feel something akin to pride, in an odd sort of way. Like peeling an egg in a single twist of the hand.

“People here are…very nice,” Rui says after a few moments of walking. “I thought they would want nothing to do with me.”

“You say that like you're not a nice person.”

“I know I can be intimidating. I keep to myself a lot. It's natural they don't trust me.”

“Well, you're not keeping to yourself now,” Tsukasa says, admiring a few clay storage pots as they pass. “And everyone at the markets is always happy to chat. Especially if you want to spend money.”

Rui chuckles. “I suppose that's true.”

“Anyway, I saw they've got some new kinds of legume in at the dry goods stall,” Tsukasa continues. “I wanted to try experimenting with putting a different kind of magic into each batch, but do you think that would be possible with something so small? I don’t want a repeat of last time…it took so long to clean the residue off the ceiling…”

“Hm…I don’t see why not. If we could find a way to tightly control the amount of magic transferred over, it wouldn’t cause any overflow or spillage. Though it might take a bit of fine tuning to figure out the exact amount needed…”

“That’s okay! I’ll just buy double the amount I need so I can test it out first.” Tsukasa takes out his list, adding it to the bottom. “You know, it’s nice having you to accompany me, but I am surprised you actually made it here so early. I thought it would be impossible to wake you up at this hour.”

“Oh, well.” Rui shrugs with a light smile. “That's because I haven't been to sleep yet.”

“Wh- Rui-!”

***

The evening rush comes and goes without issue, ending the day with another successful service. Tsukasa ensures the kitchen is organised and tidy, checks his mailbox one last time, and then heads upstairs to prepare for bed. During all the bustle of the evening, he’d almost forgotten about his new roommate upstairs, so the sight of him curled up at the end of Tsukasa’s rug is a welcome one.

“Oh, you’re still here!” he says, and the cat’s ear twitches as it opens one eye. “I thought you might’ve slipped out the window or somethi- hey, what did you do to my pillow?!”

At least a couple hundred feathers are scattered at the head of his bed, trailing down onto his floorboards and rug. Next to them lay the remains of his pillow, ripped to shreds with a dozen neat lines torn across it. Tsukasa mournfully picks up the casing, limp in his hand like a dead fish. The cat stands up, stretching out with a yawn.

“Why did you do this?! I need that to sleep, you know!”

No remorse. Instead, the cat walks over and pushes itself against his leg, tail curled around in the shape of a candy cane. It’s cute, but it feels very much like a manipulation tactic.

“I’ve only been downstairs for- a few hours.” Maybe more, since he’d had a lot to do between the lunch and evening close. He’d definitely been upstairs to check on the cat during that time, but…it may have been closer to lunch time than it was dinner. “You’re lucky I have spare…”

The cat must’ve got lonely waiting up here by itself. That’s a little unexpected, because Tsukasa always assumed cats were solitary animals that preferred to keep to themselves, but it makes sense. If he were to sit upstairs alone whilst everyone else ate and had fun, he would feel a little melancholic for sure.

“I’ll give you a pass this time, but don’t do it again!” Tsukasa says, and takes the cover off the plate he’d been holding. The cat’s head perks up. “Here’s your dinner! I saved some of today’s special, but I prepared this one without any vegetables. That way you can enjoy it to its fullest!”

That, and he tossed in a little of the healing medicine Meiko had given him. Adding foreign, probably bitter tasting powder to his beautiful cooking had hurt a little, but this was for the good of health and recovery. And he knew the mince tasted good by itself, endowed with the ability to relax the spirits, so he’s confident it’ll be fine even with one unsavory element.

The cat seems to think differently, sniffing at the plate instead of tucking in straight away. It gives him a questioning, and maybe even disappointed, stare. Tsukasa folds his arms.

“Don’t look at me like that! You have to take your medicine or you won’t get better. If it doesn’t taste good, I’ll make you another, but at least try it first!”

Still watching him, the cat begins to eat, starting slow but building up to regular speed soon enough. Tsukasa nods in satisfaction. Even the most potent medicine in all the world wouldn’t be enough to blot out his masterful flavours. He takes a seat on his chair as he watches.

“...It’s strange having company here again,” Tsukasa says after a few moments. “I mean, not that I don’t have friends! I have many many great friends! But they’re adventurers, so they often go on long trips across the world. Of course, I have to stay here, so we often go a bit of time without seeing each other.”

The cat finishes up the meal, then shakes out its uneven fur. That’s another thing he needs to sort. Meiko gave him one of her brushes, a shell comb crafted much more delicately than he thought a tool for an animal would be. He grabs it out for the bag and takes a seat on the floor, gesturing the cat over to him. Certain noises are used to call over cats, but he’s not sure which is the best one. So far he’s done fine just speaking normally.

“You better not be fussy about this,” Tsukasa says, but the cat allows him to start working the brush through without complaint. He seems happy just to be getting attention again. “Yes, my friends are very experienced and powerful travellers. I met Emu first. She’s very excitable and has a lot of strength. Well, she has to be, since her preferred hobby is taming wild beasts. And she eats a lot! I think she must be trying to run me out of business some days. Well, it’s annoying, but it makes me proud to think I can be the source of sustenance for someone of her energy level. She’s one of my best customers by far, and never fails to light up my restaurant with her bright spirit.”

He uses his handle to gently untangle a knot, then brushes the patch of fur down so it’s nice and smooth. The cat starts to purr softly, eyes closed and body relaxed.

“After that, she started bringing her other friends along. And she really knows a lot of people! One of her most regular friends to see is Nene. She’s a mage. A little quiet, but somehow always has enough to say.” Tsukasa huffs, then smiles. “But even though she seems unsure of herself, she’s very powerful and brave! Sometimes I’m sure she doesn’t realise just how magnificent her magic is. It’s been a delight to see her come out of her shell a little more each time we’ve seen each other. Even though I don’t see what her problem is with my dish naming system! If I didn’t include all those adjectives, how would people understand the level of quality they’re about to receive?”

He moves further up, carefully grooming the long tufts of fur under the cat’s chin. Doing this is actually quite relaxing. Not too dissimilar to decorating pastries.

“I do have Nene to thank for introducing me to my other close friend, though,” Tsukasa continues with a smile. “His name is Rui, and he used to spend all of his time locked away in his workshop at the very edge of town. Lots of people used to say he was weird and creepy because he really likes fixing things and using magic, but that's just because they don't know him! He uses crystals to infuse machinery with magic so they can function without any instruction! My kitchen would be falling apart without him! Even if some of his ideas can be a little- extreme. But- he’s a really close friend. I…enjoy spending time with him.”

All the tangles and mats have been cleared out now, but Tsukasa keeps running the brush through the cat's fur, just because it really seems to be enjoying it. The sound of purring is nice, too. It makes the room feel a little less quiet.

“What my friends do is very important and admirable, but…” Tsukasa pauses for a moment. “I can't say that I don't miss them sometimes. It wasn't too bad when I still had my sister living here, but even she's set sail on her own journey now. As she should! Yes, I loved having her here, but her dream was never to stay here and run the restaurant with me. She’s overcome so many hardships and stayed so positive through it all. It’s only right that she be given the chance to roam the world now.”

He moves the brush back, and the cat gives him a look. That’s right. A cat. He’s telling all these things to a cat. Does that make him weird? But the cat is listening, he’s sure of it. Even if it can’t understand anything.

“What kind of people are waiting for you?” Tsukasa asks instead. “Do you have lots of friends too?”

The cat pushes its head against his hand, then glances back at him.

“What? You want more brushing?” Tsukasa complies with the request. “I do worry though, sometimes. Times like this, when they’re gone for weeks…well, I obviously trust their wisdom and judgement! But…still. I’m looking forward to seeing them all again. I already have their welcome meal fully planned out! I’m sure Emu and the others will come here before anywhere else, and when they do, I’ll be ready! Because Tenma Tsukasa will always provide for his friends!”

***

It’s been two weeks.

Or, specifically, fifteen days, which might as well be rounded up to three weeks at this point. Tsukasa is scarred, traumatised, dishevelled and breathless, but he’s still here. And his fears of getting the wrong house are also proven to be unfounded; when he had asked Nene how to know he was at the right address, she had simply responded ‘you’ll know’, and true to those words, he very much does know.

This is not a house like the ones found in the main part of town. He’s not entirely sure if he attributes that most to the way the walls are half overtaken by plants, the display of moving contraptions around the door or the constant whirring sound that he can’t quite place the source of, but this is very undeniably Rui’s abode. Tsukasa repositions the bag on his arm, takes a breath, and knocks.

A couple long seconds pass. Then a few more. Tsukasa cranes his head to try and look through the window, but there’s no crack in the curtain. The windows upstairs are uncovered, though it’s too high to see inside. Nene had said Rui was most likely here, but what if she had been wrong? Perhaps he’s away on a solo expedition after all? But if he is, why did he not come by the restaurant to stock up on meals before he left? There’s a dozen empty containers in his cupboards still waiting to be used. Tsukasa knocks again.

This isn’t good. He frowns, then decides to check the other side of the house for another door. There’s a large garden around the back, and it makes Tsukasa understand why some people spread rumours that Rui is a witch with the explosion of plants that dwells there. Some patches of grass basically stretch above his head, though the patch of soil surrounded by a fence looks well cared for. Tsukasa tries his best to follow the obscured path up to the back door, then knocks again. It’s not an overly hard knock (though of course he is trying to be heard) but the door creaks open with the third rap of his fist.

Tsukasa takes the handle, and carefully leans his head around the door. “Rui? Are you here?”

Inside isn’t any more organised than the outside, but instead of plants, the room is cluttered with machine parts, tools, and books. It’s empty, but not still. Tsukasa cautiously closes the door behind him as he walks through - what is this, a kitchen? Surely not - and passes the various whirring devices and parts. There’s a hanging clock with a yellow metal bird that is pecking at its shelf and tweeting. A contraption on the side full of cogs that keep turning each other in a smooth motion. Something colourful scuttles past him on the floor, and Tsukasa hardens his jaw and hurries past.

“Rui?” he tries again. It’s amazing how much this looks like a house from the outside when it’s actually a complex labyrinth full of trinkets and works-in-progress. “Hey, Rui! Where are you? Are you asleep? Sick? Alive?”

There’s a loud clunking from upstairs, and Tsukasa squints at the stairs. In his experience, whenever there’s a suspiciously overt thud, it means Rui is somewhere close. Somewhere close, with a project in hand. Well, at least that confirms he’s not dead.

Tsukasa climbs the stairs and follows the clunking noises, finding another ajar door to peek through. It’s hard to see at first, but through all the stacks of books and clutter that he can’t even name, he sees Rui hunched over at his desk, goggles on and focused entirely on something in front of him. Tsukasa pushes the door fully open.

“Rui!” he calls, stepping closer. “I finally found you!”

Instead of jumping like a normal person might do when startled, Rui’s hand stills slightly, and then he slowly sits up, glancing around left to right as if he’d heard a distant noise from outside instead of someone yelling right next to him. When he finally catches sight of Tsukasa, he smiles warmly.

“Oh, Tsukasa? I wasn’t expecting to see you here. How are you? Has something broken at the restaurant?”

Tsukasa gives him a decisively unimpressed look. “What do you mean, ‘how are you’? You’re the one I’ve been worried about! Have you been here this whole time?”

“Hm? What do you mean?” Rui pushes his goggles up and glances to the window as if to check the time. “It’s only been a few days since I last saw you.”

“A few days? More like half a month! You missed out on my stir-fry, my wellington, my grilled mackerel, my brownies and my pumpkin soup!”

“No, I’m sure…” Rui frowns in thought, then looks back at the panel in front of him. “I was sure it hadn’t been that long…”

“I brought you some dinner.” Tsukasa hands the bag out to him. “And a few snacks, too. Nene told me you can get distracted by your work at times, but this is far more extreme than I thought! Have you even had lunch yet?”

“...I’m not sure I’ve had breakfast,” Rui says contemplatively. “But that depends on what day it is.”

“Time for a break!” Tsukasa grabs the chair Rui’s sitting on, twisting it away from the desk and placing one of the lunch boxes into his lap. “I’m not leaving until the entire thing is gone!”

“I guess a short break couldn’t hurt,” Rui says, removing the lid. “Oh, this looks very delicious. Thank you.”

“It is delicious! I made it just this morning! The rice helps restore energy and strength, and the egg is infused with magic to soothe aches. You probably need it if you’ve been hunched over your desk this whole time.” Tsukasa crosses his arms, taking a seat on a stack of books across from Rui. “It would be better if you could have had it straight from the kitchen.”

Rui chuckles, beginning to eat. “I’ve been more invested in my work than I realised.”

“What are you working on?” Tsukasa eyes the clutter on his desk. The only thing he recognises is the gentle glow of the crystal next to his lamp. “It looks complicated!”

“It’s not,” Rui says. “I’m just devising a more efficient manner of transferring the energy from crystals. When infusing them into an external material, there’s always been a little energy loss during the transfer process. I’ve been experimenting to see if there’s a way I can reduce that initial energy loss to increase the lifespan of the magic held within the object. It’s been going well so far!”

“Oh, really?” Tsukasa leans forward a little more. “Could I use that for my cooking too? I’ve been wondering if there could be a way to extend the effects of eating each meal, but so far everything I’ve tried has failed!”

“Yes, because even if you increase the energy going in, you’ll ultimately be left with a very similar end amount, since the percentage of wasted energy increases based on how much initial energy is added. But if I can perfect this process, you should be able to use it for ingredients too. I’ve already tried a few experiments with consumable material, though the first few did set on fire.”

“That sounds cool…and also very dangerous! What are you doing starting fires in a place like this? The whole building would go down in a matter of seconds!”

“Don’t worry, I have a lot of enchantments to prevent that.”

“That won’t help you if the fire is magically charged! You need to take care of yourself.” Tsukasa eyes him. “You can talk and eat, so long as you remember the ‘eat' part.”

“Ah, right.” Rui looks back to his already forgotten lunch-breakfast-dinner, then at the basket sitting next to him. “...There’s a lot of food in here.”

“W-well, I was worried you might have been ill,” Tsukasa says, voice more bashful than intended. “I didn't want you to go hungry.”

“...Thank you,” Rui says, and smiles down at the food.

***

Business is good in the week that follows. Tsukasa finds himself set into a new routine that’s almost the same as what he did before, just with a few extra meals included, the occasional extra check upstairs. He's closely scoured all chapters of the books Toya sought out for him at the library, such as ‘How to Pick Up a Cat’, ‘How to Brush Your Cat’, and ‘How to Stop Your Cat From Pushing All Your Belongings off the Side Onto the Floor’. The last one had been a slightly niche, yet fully welcome find.

All the medicine that Meiko gave him is gone too, as is the bandage around his cat’s leg. He's nice and energetic now, no more ailments plaguing him. Which is a great thing, absolutely, except…

“Hey! What’re you doing?”

Tsukasa sweeps in and pulls his hat out from the grasp of the cat, detangling it from its hold in the cat’s legs. He holds it up, inspecting it carefully, though surprisingly it seems free from any actual damage. Even still, he crosses his arms, frowning down at the cat that is still lying on its back, mouth curled up in clear joy.

“You don’t need to play with this! What about all those toys I bought you?” Tsukasa sighs, but the irritation dissipates easily. “You’re lucky I’m in a good mood today, or I might decide to take away the caviar from your next meal.”

The cat gives him a look like it doesn’t believe him. Well, it might be right to.

“And why am I in a good mood, you might ask? Well, because of this!” Tsukasa holds up a letter, address handwritten in bright ink on the front. The cat gives it a curious sniff. “Yes, you’re right to be interested! This is something more precious than even the finest of ingredients, more worthy than the most expensive jewels! This is, of course, a letter from my sister!”

He takes a seat on the bed, and the cat jumps up next to him and watches as he peels off the wax stamp. It’s a good length correspondence, a couple pages long, decorated with tiny hand drawn illustrations and lots of exclamation marks. The four of them have been to a lot of villages and met a lot of different people. They've explored many incredible types of landscapes. Browsed the markets in other ports. There’s a whole paragraph talking about a new kind of fabric dye she’s found. Every word conveys the excitement and wonder she must be feeling. He can hear it perfectly in his head.

“She’s doing well,” Tsukasa says, not taking his eyes off the letter. Her swirled signature at the bottom. He only breaks out of his trace when he feels soft fur brushing against his arm. “Ah- no, I’m fine. I was just thinking- it’s a little stuffy in here, isn’t it? Maybe I should…get some fresh air.”

Tsukasa leaves the letter behind as he makes his way over to the door leading to the balcony, stepping out into the brisk air. A slightly cool evening, but with a completely clear sky. The stars are very visible, and Tsukasa presses his hands against the wood, staring up. Even the slither of the moon that remains is shining bright.

He’s alone, or he thinks he is, before he hears a soft noise against the floor before the cat jumps up onto the railing beside him. It sits down, watching him with its tail curved and eyes flashing yellow against the dark.

“It’s colder than I thought,” he tells the cat. “You’re probably better off staying inside.”

But the cat doesn’t leave. Instead, it knocks its head against his arm again, almost as if attempting to comfort him. No, that’s ridiculous, isn’t it? For a cat to do something like that, when he’s not even in any need of cheering up…or maybe the more ridiculous thing is being dishonest with a cat that can’t even understand him.

“...You’re right,” he says, and sighs. “The temperature inside was fine. The real reason I wanted to come out here was so I could look at the night sky. And it’s a good night for it, isn’t it?”

Far across over the stray lights of the village, he can see the glow reflected in the strip of the ocean, all the way out into the horizon. It’s a long way, even if it doesn’t look too far from here.

“Sometimes…I do get a little lonely,” Tsukasa admits, keeping his voice low so that none of the stars above hear him and risk spilling his secret to someone across the cosmos. “I like coming out here to look at the sky, because I know it’s the same one my sister will be looking up at too. And my friends. Each of us is under the same moon, the same sky. Even if it’s a little different…we’re all still here, somewhere.”

He lets his hand find the top of the cat’s head, scratching him lightly behind the ears and gaining another soft purr in response.

“You’re actually good company, you know?” he says, and smiles. “I always knew Saki wouldn’t be a permanent resident here, but I do often think how nice it would be to have a roommate or something of the sorts. Just someone to talk to in the evenings, after the restaurant is closed. Someone to join me at the market, someone to give me feedback on my menus before I post them up for the day.”

Tsukasa leans down closer to the balcony, the wind brushing his cheeks.

“I actually…have a friend, that I want to…” He pauses, because even if it’s just the two of them, it’s still a little embarrassing to say. “Somehow, I always feel comfortable around him. Whenever we spend time together, my spirits feel lifted. And it’s a lot easier for me to decide what I want to cook! And he gives me good feedback too, since he also knows a lot about magic infusion and stuff like that. Of course, I have to ignore him when he says things like ‘why not try removing all the herbs and salad with this dish’ or ‘let’s make a recipe with this mysterious slime I found in a cave because I think that would be fun’, but everything else is genuinely useful critique. And even when he says crazy ideas like that, it still makes me think in a way that can give me legitimate solutions. And really, I’m glad he feels comfortable enough around me to suggest such insane ideas.”

The cat keeps its ears forwards, eyes attentive as it continues to listen. Its keen interest encourages him to keep going.

“I actually have this fantasy of inviting him to live here with me. Of course, he could still keep his workshop back at his house and visit there whenever needed! I would go crazy living with all that clutter in my room and around my kitchen, anyway! But I thought, maybe each time he goes on an expedition, I could make him lunch to eat each day, and then after, he could come back here and wouldn’t have to leave after it gets too late.” Tsukasa smiles to himself, then sighs. “But, it would be far too forward to suddenly ask something like that. And I’m sure he’s already satisfied with the life he lives right now. I wouldn’t want to get in the way of all the amazing work he does. It’s just a silly thought I have sometimes. But, if I have your company, maybe I won’t need another person to stop the place from feeling so quiet! Right?”

The cat gives him a long look, then closes its eyes into a slow, happy blink. Tsukasa grins, scooping him up to bring him back into the warmth inside.

“You don't have to sleep on the floor every night, you know,” he says to the cat staring up at him from his arms. “I'm sure it can't be very comfortable! You can take a spot on my bed, if you like. Just until I buy you your own, of course.”

He places the cat down at the end of his bed, and amazingly, it doesn’t jump off straight away. It stays sitting, watching with calm eyes. When Tsukasa turns off the light and climbs into bed himself, he hears the cat slowly pace towards him, and settle down beside his pillow. It's a nice feeling to have the softness and warmth right beside him. Falling asleep has never been difficult for Tsukasa, but tonight, it's extra easy.

***

Fifteen minutes after Tsukasa has flipped the sign on his door to ‘closed’, the door chimes. It’s dark outside, there’s no yelling or clutter of a staff being placed down, so Tsukasa knows exactly who it is paying him this late night visit.

“I’ll be out in a moment!” he calls, using his elbow to close the cupboard as he transfers the stack of boxes over to the counter by the fridge. “I just cleaned the front, so please don’t open any hazardous materials or unstable magic sources!”

“I wasn’t planning to, Tsukasa,” Rui calls back, and the smile in his voice makes Tsukasa a little suspicious, but there aren’t any crashes or concerning noises, so he continues his clean up as needed. It only takes a couple more minutes before everything is polished and shining, the kitchen sparkling as if it hadn’t served over a couple hundred people tonight. Tsukasa nods, then heads back to the front of house.

“Thank you for waiting,” he greets, and of course Rui is not there sitting at one of the counter seats, because that would be a much too normal place for a person waiting at a restaurant to sit. He’s instead crouching behind the counter, examining the various dry goods that Tsukasa keeps down there. “This is a staff only area.”

“I was curious,” Rui says simply, turning a box around to inspect the contents. “Why do you keep things hidden down here?”

“A lot of it isn’t ready to eat yet,” Tsukasa says. “There’s a certain type of biscuit that tastes best three months after baking. I tried putting some perception-infused cinnamon in there to see if it would enhance the effects as well as the flavour!”

“So these are your experiments, then?”

“Well, they’re maybe not quite as explosive as yours, but yes, you could call it that. I'd rather not keep them locked up in the pantry so I can keep an eye on their progress.”

“Interesting,” Rui says, standing back up. “I did enjoy those sweet lemon flavoured candies you have down there, though. If you’re waiting for them to be ready, I’d say they’re done.”

“Don’t just go helping yourself to my inventory!” Tsukasa stops. “Wait, lemon flavoured…?”

Rui takes a seat, resting his arms against the counter. “Yes, the light blue ones. I was surprised by the taste considering the colour, but they were very pleasant.”

Lemon flavoured… “How…many did you eat?”

“Hm? Just a few, don’t worry.”

“Rui.” Tsukasa sighs. “Those are sleep enhancements. They’re designed to help someone fall into a deep sleep. One sweet is one dose.”

“...Ah.” Rui makes a thoughtful face. Probably recounting how many he actually ate. “They…didn’t taste like the usual sleep medicines.”

“No, that’s because I tried to give them a sweet taste so you would eat them,” Tsukasa explains, and doesn’t miss the way Rui’s next blink lasts a little too long. “I know you don’t like the bitterness traditional sleep medicines have, so I was working on an alternative to stop you from always staying up so late. I was planning to experiment a little more to make sure the dosage was right, but…”

“That's…very considerate of you,” Rui says, and stifles a yawn. Tsukasa huffs a sigh and comes around to the other side of the counter.

“Okay, put your arm around me.”

“Hm? Why…?”

“Do you have the energy to stand up on your own?”

Rui blinks a few more times, then glances down at himself. “...Ah. You…may be right.”

Tsukasa secures Rui's arm around his shoulder, then hauls him up in a movement that's only a little awkward. He can already tell Rui is slumping forwards, his body heavy against Tsukasa’s own. So long as they get upstairs quickly, they should be okay…

“I hope this will teach you not to eat random things you find in my cabinets,” Tsukasa tells him as he grips the hand railing, climbing one step at a time as Rui struggles to keep his head up.

“It's not…such a bad thing. And they were tasty.”

“So long as you actually wake up tomorrow.”

He makes it to the last step, dragging Rui along to his room. By the time he’s rolling him off his shoulder and onto the bed, Rui’s eyes are closed and his body nearly completely limp. It looks like he’s already asleep, so Tsukasa takes a step back to go get some extra blankets, when Rui stirs again.

“This bed is…comfortable,” he murmurs, and Tsukasa gives him a look..

“If you want to sleep, then sleep. There’s no point trying to resist it.”

“Your bed…?” Rui asks, smile twitching even though his eyes remain shut.

“Don’t worry, I can use Saki’s- the spare room.”

Another pause. Tsukasa waits, but this time, he really definitely must’ve fallen asleep- “Thank you, Tsukasa.”

“For what? Helping you up the stairs? I mean, it’s not like I was going to let you just drop unconscious in the middle of my restaurant!”

No reply. Rui’s breathing is slow, even, and Tsukasa watches for a few seconds more. Finally, he’s sleeping now. It’s almost a novel sight to see Rui’s face so relaxed, so soft and devoid of its usual mischief. Though, honestly, somehow he even looks like he’s calculating something problematic in his dreams. Tsukasa lets out a breath, and smiles.

“Good night, Rui.”

***

When he wakes up, there’s a crushing pressure against his neck.

Tsukasa makes a blind grab to whatever is trying to murder him, but the only thing his hand connects with is a mass of fur. He pushes the cat back slightly to give his airway a chance, sucking in a sharp breath through his nose.

“You’re- going to kill me-” he manages, and the cat stretches out with its front paws, shifting just enough to let some air through to his lungs. It might’ve just been a coincidence, but he’s grateful for the mercy anyhow. Tsukasa pulls himself up slightly, smiling as the cat leans into the hand he holds out. After that first night, the cat has taken to his bed exponentially, almost never opting for the rug anymore. But, waking up with warmth, and company- it’s nice.

“Should we go get some breakfast?” Tsukasa asks, and the cat rolls over onto its back lazily. “Just because today is a late start day doesn’t mean we can lie in! It’s important to stick to routine every day of the week!”

The cat doesn’t move, staring up at him with unimpressed eyes, but after Tsukasa has finished getting dressed, it follows him downstairs the same as it always does. They’ve fallen into a routine where the cat will sit and watch him the entire time he cooks and prepares the kitchen, keeping a distance that Tsukasa has decided is just about acceptable for hygiene purposes. Not that his cat is unclean, considering the careful grooming he does each and every day.

“...I asked Nene about it, and she confirmed it is a vegetable patch, but she said he never actually eats any of it,” Tsukasa tells the cat whilst he flips the omelette in the pan. “So I went back to ask Rui, and he says ‘do you really expect me to eat these saplings I’ve raised so tenderly? That’s so cruel, Tsukasa!’, as if they’re some kind of living creature! And he said it so sincerely I almost let him get away with it for a moment!”

The cat watches with an interested expression, eyes aware and observant.

“Now I’m worried next time I go, he’s going to actually animate a bunch of vegetables to try and put me off wanting to cook them.” Tsukasa shakes his head. “I did see him with a beetroot with robot arms on his desk once, and when I asked him what it was for, he just laughed at me.”

The cat meows back at him.

“I know! That’s so suspicious, right?” Just as the egg reaches perfect consistency, there’s a hard knock from the front door. Tsukasa turns the flame down, placing the pan over to one side. “Hm, I wonder if that could be…wait here for one moment, okay?”

Tsukasa places his apron to one side before heading to the main door. Of course, the only people who insist on stopping by even when they know he’s closed are…

“Emu, Nene!” Tsukasa greets as they stumble in through the doorway, still heavily encumbered with their travel equipment and bags. They must’ve come straight here, then. Tsukasa looks around for Rui, but he isn’t there. Hm. That’s strange. “How was the journey? Did you find the wish pieces you were looking for?”

“Tsukasa!” Emu grabs his shoulders, an alarmingly distraught look on her face. “It’s- it’s really really bad! Really really really bad!”

“Huh? What happened?”

“Rui is…Rui is…!”

“R-Rui is what?”

“He’s…missing,” Nene finishes for her. She sounds exhausted.

“Missing?!” Panic starts to set in as he glances across at their faces, and realises it isn’t a joke or strange prank. “Since when? Didn’t he go travelling with you?”

“He did, but…” Nene makes a face. “There was a weird artifact in one of the boxes we found during the expedition, and, well…he accidentally got turned into an animal. We’ve been looking for him the whole time, but he ran off as soon as it happened and there’s been no sign of him since…”

“Into an animal-?”

“He must be so scared!” Emu cries, hands wringing her bag straps. “Poor Rui…he probably has no idea where he is…”

“That’s…” Tsukasa frowns, chest hurting at the thought. “So awful…! To think such a terrible fate has befallen our close friend!”

“We’re going to head further north just in case he went there,” Nene tells him. “We’ve already checked around the village and his house, but there was nothing there.”

“I’ll come with you!” Tsukasa declares, pushing away any thoughts of terrifying insect monsters and equally as terrifying normal insects. “If Rui is missing, then we need to do everything we can to find him!”

“Maybe we can find a spell that lets us talk to animals?” Emu suggests. “Then we can ask around to see if anyone has seen him!”

“I don’t think that would work, Emu,” Nene says. “There’s far too much ground to cover, and those types of spells don’t usually last that long. We just need to…keep looking.”

“Yeah…you’re right…”

“Let me grab my things!” Tsukasa says, turning to hurry back to the kitchen. The other two follow after him. “I’ll close the restaurant for today so I can set out immediately. Is there anything specific I need to bring?”

“No, not really. Just…” Nene stops at the doorway to the kitchen, body stilling in a way that is wholly unnatural. Tsukasa glances back and sees the two of them staring over at his cat with wide eyes. Ah, right. Because they haven’t been introduced before.

“Oh, that’s just a cat I found the other week,” Tsukasa tells them. “Don’t worry, I’m sure I can find someone to look after him whilst I’m gone. Or, he could probably come with us, he’s not that much of a hassle. He just doesn’t like to be left alone.”

“Oh my god,” Nene says, and falls to her knees.

“Rui!” Emu springs forwards, crashing down to the cat’s level and scooping him up into her arms. “You’re okay…!”

“Hm? What?” Tsukasa watches as Emu cradles the cat closely to her. It doesn’t seem to mind at all, purring lightly in her grasp.

“Of course he came here…” Nene mutters, shoulders slack. “Of course…”

“What?” Tsukasa frowns. “What’re you talking about?”

“Are you really that stupid?” Nene asks, managing to pull herself back up, if a little unsteadily. “That’s Rui.”

“What?” Tsukasa looks back to the cat, and its bright amber eyes. “Oh, that’s Rui. Wait, what-?!”

“We were so worried…” Emu brings the cat over to the two of them. “But he seems really happy! I guess because he was living here with Tsukasa the whole time!”

“And here I was worried thinking he was hiding in a ditch somewhere, surrounded by monsters…” Nene sighs, then gives the cat - Rui? - a relieved look. “I really should’ve known.”

“You’re saying- this cat- the cat I adopted- that’s Rui?” Tsukasa thinks back to the past few weeks, and feels his face flush. “I’ve been…keeping him here this whole time. ” I said far too much.

“I guess he’s not really fully in control of himself right now,” Nene says. Emu places Rui back down on the floor, wiggling her fingers to coax Rui into pawing at her hands. “Well, luckily now that we have him back it won’t be too difficult to change him back to normal. We already collected all the ingredients on our journey back just in case we ran into him along the way.”

“That’s…a relief.” Hopefully he won’t remember. Hopefully once Rui is back the past few weeks will all be a feline-brained haze to him. He’s allowed to remember the food, but that’s it. “So…how do we change him back?”

Emu pulls out a large bag of assorted ingredients for her backpack, the outside still coated in mud, and Nene gives him a sheepish look.

“It…actually might be easiest for you to handle this one, Tsukasa.”

They made it sound complicated when they were talking him through it, but ultimately, the recipe isn’t too difficult to throw together. He’s not sure the ingredients they gathered are the ones he would necessarily pick if given the choice, but the resulting block in the pan doesn’t look too unappetising. It mostly looks like a normal health boost supplement, except for the slight pale green aura surrounding it. Tsukasa picks up the list again, scanning it through.

“Okay, so that’s everything, I think.” He ticks them off one by one as the other two lean over on each side. “One wish piece, ground…basil…sage…”

“Tomato…cucumber…” Nene reads. “Kale…mint…”

“Broccoli…red cabbage…and parsley!” Emu finishes.

Yes, that’s all the ingredients. The three of them turn to look at Rui, sitting across the kitchen, ears upright and alert. There is a very slight pause as he looks from them, back to the contents of the pan. Then he bolts from the room, dashing up the stairs in the fastest movement Tsukasa has seen from him this whole time.

“Hey!” Tsukasa throws the cure into a napkin and then runs after him, climbing two stairs at a time. “Rui! Don’t run away! You have to take your medicine!”

“Yeah, Rui, don’t worry!” Emu hurries closely behind him. “It won’t taste that bad! And you’ll feel better really soon!”

Tsukasa throws the door to his room open just in time to see Rui slink underneath his chest of drawers, tail disappearing into the darkness. He drops down onto his knees, trying to scope out exactly where he’s hiding.

“I didn’t think he would understand what we were saying…” Nene says from the doorway. “This might be harder than we thought.”

“Come on, Rui!” Tsukasa calls, and hears the thump of a tail against the ground. “Stop being difficult! It’s not even that bad, I tried some before!”

“Do you think it’s because cats don’t like mint?” Emu asks sadly, crouching down at the other end of the drawers.

“I think it’s because he’s a-” Tsukasa makes a grab for Rui as he shoots out suddenly and makes a beeline for the door. Nene quickly kicks it shut with the back of her foot, trapping him in the room. Before Rui can figure out his next plan, Emu dives onto him and wraps him up in her arms.

“Gotcha!” She grins as Rui struggles in her arms. “Sorry, Rui, but you have to take your medicine or you’ll stay a cat forever! Hm, but that doesn’t sound so bad…”

“Cats can’t have candy,” Tsukasa tells him as he leans over with the cure in hand. “And they definitely can’t work on vaguely dangerous contraptions and robots!”

“Yeah, you’ll be happy with your thumbs back, Rui.” Nene helps secure Rui as he continues to squirm in Emu’s hold. He lets out a sad whine as Tsukasa forces his mouth open. It would almost work, if Tsukasa hadn’t seen this act a thousand times before.

He shoves the cube into Rui’s mouth, and then they all move back. Nothing happens for a second, and Tsukasa worries that he may have gone too light on the sage after all, but then there’s a bright flash that makes him close his eyes. When he opens them again, Rui is sitting on the floor, fully human once more.

“...Oh?” He looks around, expression a little confused but not seeming injured or unwell. Emu immediately locks him into a tight hug, pressing her face against his shoulder.

“Rui, you’re back!”

“Welcome back, Rui,” Nene says with a smile. “I hope this will teach you not to open mysterious boxes without checking for curses first.”

“But everything turned out okay in the end, didn’t it?” Rui says, slowly seeming to realise where he is and what’s happening. “And my hypothesis was correct. It did have a very interesting type of magic inside.”

“Next time, I wanna try!” Emu says. “I think it’d be really fun to turn into a mountain goat! I could climb so many things!”

“At least pick something normal- wait, nobody else is turning into animals!” Tsukasa huffs, directing his frown towards the floor. Does Rui remember? Maybe he really won’t remember. Tsukasa aims a hesitant glance towards Rui, and his heart flips as their eyes meet.

Oh. He definitely remembers.

“Was it fun being a cat, Rui?” Emu asks, pulling back slightly. “Did you climb anything super super high?”

“No, my leg was a little injured at first, so I didn’t do anything strenuous.”

“It’s just lucky you were able to make it back somewhere safe without running into too much trouble,” Nene says. “I seriously thought you might’ve gotten eaten by something.”

“W-well, I hope you enjoyed all your home cooked meals whilst you were here,” Tsukasa says. Rui chuckles.

“I did. They were very lovely. Thank you, Tsukasa.”

“You- all must be hungry as well!” Tsukasa turns away. “Since you came such a long way, and we never got chance to finish breakfast. Should we all head back downstairs so I can make something more filling? I still have time before I need to open!”

“Yes!” Emu jumps up. “Let’s have pancakes! And waffles! And I saw an omelette before, can we get a bunch of those too?”

“I’m just kind of craving fresh fruit after the journey,” Nene adds.

“The usual menu is fine with me,” Rui says brightly. Tsukasa straightens his back, and nods.

Everything...is back exactly how it’s supposed to be.

-

It’s very quiet.

The celebrations couldn’t last forever, of course. Emu, Nene, and Rui had stayed until midway through the morning rush, and then decided it was finally time to head back home. Their journey had been a long one, so it only made sense. Rui had informed Tsukasa of needing to head back to oil his machines, forlornly looking as if he was describing poor children in need of love, instead of the scattered parts that Tsukasa knows fill his home.

But, everything is normal again now. His room is empty and calm, no feathers or clothing dragged out onto the floor. And that’s a good thing! He doesn’t want his room disorganised or his possessions ruined. It’s quiet because it’s supposed to be. Tsukasa glances away from the menu he’s working on towards a loose cat toy on the table. He should put that away.

The second Tsukasa stands up, there’s a loud thud from downstairs. He freezes, mind racing. A robber? Monsters? Or worse- rats?! With a swallow, Tsukasa starts the tepid descent downstairs. There’s a frying pan not too far from the entryway, and he grabs it to use as a weapon. Maybe it’s not quite the same tenacity as Emu’s hammer or Nene’s staff, but it’s an item he knows how to use very well, and that should be enough to frighten off any potential threat.

He rounds the corner, breath held, hands firm on the handle, and-

“Hello, Tsukasa,” Rui greets, hunched down by his fridge, goggles on and tools in hand. The panel of the fridge is resting on the ground, wish piece exposed.

“What are you doing?!” Tsukasa exclaims, dropping from his battle stance. “You broke in?”

“I noticed before that the piece wasn’t running as efficiently as it should have been,” Rui says, resecuring the panel before standing up. “I thought I would upgrade it now that I have the means to again. It shouldn’t need refilling now for at least another six months.”

“Don’t just let yourself into my kitchen! There are a lot of dangerous things in here!” Tsukasa pauses, the awkwardness from before settling back in. “You really do remember everything then.”

“Yes. I do.”

“...Well- those things I said!” He looks away, eyebrows drawn tight. “Understand! I was just! Trying to make the cat feel better!”

Rui’s eyes flash with intrigue. “Trying to make the cat feel better?”

“Yes! Because he was alone and lost. I thought he might feel sad and scared, so I decided I would make him feel better by sharing my own experiences.”

Rui smiles. “Oh, is that it?”

“Yes.”

“That was very kind of you.” Rui moves away from the fridge, leaning near his countertops. For anyone else, Tsukasa would shoo them away from the carefully polished surface. But- well, Rui has been through a lot recently, so he’ll let him stay for now. “I didn’t realise you were such a cat person.”

“Anyone would’ve done the same,” Tsukasa says. “You looked so pathetic when you were out in the rain. It’s not like I had a choice!”

“And you finally stopped putting vegetables in my meals,” Rui says, eyes glinting. “I’ll look forward to that change from now on.”

“I only did that because cats only eat meat! You’re a person so you’re supposed to eat a variety of foods! I’m not going to stop serving you meals that are good for your health!”

“Aww, but I really enjoyed all those meals…and I already ate so many vegetables when I ate the medicine, so technically I don’t need to anymore now for the rest of my life.”

“How little do you consider a lifetime serving of vegetables?!”

Rui laughs, then lowers his eyes slightly. “But you know, I think your plan worked.”

“Hm? What plan?”

“I think the cat did feel a bit scared and alone. He’d been through a lot on his journey and was very tired and unsure. The world had seemed very unforgiving and isolating. But he found a safe space with someone else who also didn’t want to be alone. It’s very comforting to know there is a very kind, very warm chef who wants to invite him into his home.”

Tsukasa looks away. “...You forgot talented.”

“Of course, very talented.” Rui smiles in a way that makes Tsukasa wonder how he ever failed to make the connection between his friend and a cat. “And I liked hearing all your stories, too. It was very nice spending so much time with you, listening to you talk. I’m going to miss it.”

“You don’t have to be a cat to do those things.”

“No,” Rui says. “I don’t.”

Tsukasa swallows. It still feels like too forward of a question, but- he’s here, isn’t he? He heard everything Tsukasa had to say, and instead of returning back home to his peaceful and solitude life, he came back here. “Do you…want to stay here tonight-?”

“I do, yay, thank you Tsukasa-”

“Don’t answer so quickly!” Tsukasa exclaims, his voice rising with his flush.

“I missed Tsukasa’s bed,” Rui says with a smile. “It’s so soft~.”

“It’s not even been one night! And you’re just saying that because you usually sleep on the floor! Also, you ruined my pillow!”

“I thought you weren’t going to come back…” Rui says, eyebrows drooping, expression far too innocent considering his crimes.

“Of course I was coming back,” Tsukasa says, huffing. “I wouldn’t just abandon you like that.”

“I know,” Rui says, and his eyes grow softer as he steps away from the counter and towards Tsukasa. “Thank you for not shooing me away.”

They’re standing very close. “...You’re the one who decided to come here.”

“Because I know you’ll always let me in.” Rui nuzzles his cheek against Tsukasa’s hair. Yes, he really should’ve made the connection sooner. “And now you’re stuck with me.”

“...I guess so.” Tsukasa closes his eyes, relishing the contact. It’s not so different after all. “But…you might make a good roommate, even if you’re not a cat.”

“Will you really make me lunches every time I go away?” Rui asks.

“Don’t I already do that?”

“Special ones, just for me. You could cut the shapes into hearts.”

“The other two would make fun of me!” Tsukasa frowns to himself. “But…it could be an interesting way of displaying the food…”

“Yay,” Rui says against his hair. “I’m excited to try it.”

“But don’t think I’m going to spoil you like when you were a cat,” Tsukasa warns him. “I meant it when I said you have to keep all your clutter at your own house!”

“I believe you,” Rui says in a way that really makes it sound like he doesn’t believe him. Tsukasa will make sure to lecture him properly in the morning, but for now, this is nice. The lost cat has found its home, and it only took a few good meals to convince him to stay.

Finally, now everything is where it’s supposed to be.