After Himiko had acquired a small army of figurines they began their walk back home.
Light rain fell on Yumekoji once again as they walked out of town. Thunder boomed, startling Kajai. Himiko shifted next to him, causing him to look at her again. She had her hand raised, with her palm flat towards the heavens. He blinked.
It was raining.
It was raining around them.
The falling water deflected around them, keeping them dry. Kajai’s mouth fell open again. Himiko’s gaze was upward, her face calm with concentration. Her amethyst eyes suddenly stared into his. “I have enough energy to keep this going until we reach your home...I think. It’s heavy.”
“That’s awesome!” Kajai exclaimed, surprising both Himiko and himself.
“Eh?”
“Ah...no...It’s just…” Kajai looked at the road. “Really impressive.”
Himiko blushed. “I see…”
When they returned, Griselda was sitting in front of the television, engrossed in a drama. “You’re finally back,” Griselda said, not looking away from the television. She sat cross-legged in the middle of the couch. “You’re going to make dinner now, right?”
“Yeah,” Kajai replied, sighing as Himiko let go of his arm.
Himiko pulled off her boots and Kajai stepped out of his sneakers, and back into his slippers.
He set down his bag of groceries in the kitchen, washed his hands, put on his apron, and got to work. As he lived alone, Kajai made all his meals himself and often found his meal ideas from cooking shows and magazines. That night’s dinner was nothing too complicated for him: grilled fish, a side of stew, and a cucumber salad. He hummed and murmured a song to himself as he worked. “Nice to meet you, good to see you surely….” As he chopped the vegetables, he found he had an audience. Himiko and Griselda were peering at him from the other side of the counter, but for some reason keeping themselves half-hidden. He could only see their heads, making them look like children.
“What are you two doing down there?’
“Watching,” Himiko replied.
“Don’t mind us.” Griselda smiled.
“Right…” Kajai resumed his work, but at some point, while he was working on the stew, he found himself riddled with anxiety. There was something unnerving about having a pair of eyes at his back. “Ah...Hey…” He turned, but then realized there was something hovering over his head. A large, bright red logo hung in the air, that read ‘Cooking with Kajai.’
“What the heck is that!?” Now that Kajai thought about it, he had been hearing music and ‘Ooohs’ and ‘Ahhs’ for some time now, but the TV was not on.
“What...Who...What is this!?" Kajal's face flushed.
Himiko propped her head upon her hands. “See, Grizzy? I told you he wouldn’t like it.” She spoke her words with a nonchalant gaze in Kajai’s direction.
Griselda laughed. “Oh, that expression is good! Do you have any tips for your audience?”
“I-I...Definitely do not!” He shooed them out with his hands. “Go wait in the livingroom!”
Griselda laughed and Himiko held back a fit of giggles as they allowed themselves to be pushed out of the kitchen.
Assuming he was finally alone, Kajai completed dinner. The kitchen grew hot, and the air outside was sticky. He decided to serve dinner along with a pitcher of iced Barley tea.
“Dinner’s ready!” He called.
Himiko and Griselda came quickly, and for a moment Kajai wasn’t sure how to interpret his feelings. He set up three meals and three cups of iced tea on the table and took a seat.
“Itadakimasu.” Kajai picked up his chopsticks.
Himiko said a quiet prayer over her food before reaching for a pair of chopsticks. “Smells good.”
“Where did you learn how to cook, Kajai?”
Kajai took a bite of his fish. “Hn...Probably my parents. I kind of understood how to cook when I got out of the hospital, but I don’t think I’m self-taught.”
“Hoooo?” Griselda sipped her tea.
Dinner conversation dissolved as they ate until there was only chewing and hums of approval. Before cleanup could begin, Himiko spoke to Kajai again.
“Griselda and I want to leave tomorrow. We’re both fit for flight now.” She explained.
As Kajai collected the plates and bowls, Griselda had tiptoed out of the room to avoid giving a helping hand. Kajai rolled his eyes at her. “Un, that’s fine.”
“Good.” Himiko smiled.
It took three hours for Kajai to fully comprehend what Himiko had said.
‘Fit for flight…’
He woke up in his bed at midnight. The Tsukihime sisters were downstairs laughing hysterically at something on the television. Kajai stared at the ceiling. He was going to visit another dimension. He was going to a place where magic was real. The place where Himiko had rode dragons, the place where she had brewed potions. It was all going to become part of his reality.
And so, Kajai didn’t fall asleep until dawn. He woke up again when his stereo’s timer went off, and music swelled throughout the house; ‘Reaching out for no man's land
to take a breath and take a chance…’
He dragged himself out of bed. ‘Come on Kajai, you can do this…’ He forced himself to go through his morning routine, albeit quietly, as the Tsukihime sisters were still fast asleep. After leaving a note and more pancakes, he pedaled off to school.
“Good morning Ojunko-kun!”
This time, Kajai was too busy yawning to hear the greeter.
After falling asleep in three different classes, Kajai decided to go take a nap in the infirmary during lunch. Unfortunately, he fell into a deep sleep…
At the sound of the final school bell, Kajai awoke again.
“Ah!”
He looked out the window. The sun was getting ready to set. ‘I overslept! At school! That’s annoyingly backwards!’
He sped back home on his bike as quickly as he could. Himiko and Griselda were waiting outside when returned.
“What happened?” Himiko frowned. “If we had missed the sunset we would have had to wait another day, you know.”
“I'm sorry.” Kajai huffed. “Just let me drop my backpack…”
Himiko puffed her cheeks out in disapproval.
Griselda snapped her fingers. A long broom appeared, but like Himiko’s, it was different from the norm. A large, cartoonish cat head sprouted from the brush. Its wide, green eyes fell on Kajai and he blinked back.
“Neko...broom?” Kajai raised an eyebrow. Nekobroom, like Petalbroom was both a broom and a familiar. Both were heirlooms of the Tsukihime family, passed down for generations.
“This one knows me, nya.”
Kajai smiled. Nekobroom’s voice was close to what he had imagined. He put his bag inside and grabbed his grey hoodie at the coat hook. The air had been chilly when he had flown Himiko before. When he walked back out of the house, Himiko and Griselda had both mounted their brooms.
“Ready to go?” Himiko asked.
Kajai nodded. “Nn.”
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