Later that night, Hokuto could say that she was more self-aware. But she had looked around the town for another round and had drank E's blood from a vial she had brought along. Talking to Kakyou had erased some long pent-up things off her chest.

Being in the same room as Kotori made her feel even better despite the obstacles of it, and she sprawled out on the floor, exhausted.

"What did he say about your brothers?" Kotori asked her, genuinely curious. She had mentioned having problems with her brothers that made her want to throttle them in a I-hate-the-things-you-do but I-still-love-you-idiot way. Hokuto talked about them with a lot of affection. She… honestly, understood. She had two brothers of her own out there. It was funny, really, that the two of them had that in common.

Hokuto groaned and looked up, blurry eyed.

"They're fine," Hokuto huffed. "I don't get to talk them much… so I have to make sure of it. They're out there, somewhere, probably having fun without me!" She wondered if there was true or not. She had no idea. Because. Kamui usually set the grumpy mood wherever he went, and Subaru sweetly just went along with it. They were likely happy whenever they were together and that was the brunt of it.

Kotori wasn't sure how she should feel about that. Hokuto was trying to hide it, but… she heard the tone of sadness underneath those words. It was a bit of a mask, and she could easily tell because vampires tended to tell lies with that little waver under it. Perhaps she was overthinking it. Hokuto wasn't lying to her about that, and even if she was a vampire or lying to her, it wasn't her business. But now that she had gotten to know her a bit it would hurt knowing that her new friend had hurt her.

"Why don't they ever contact you?" Her brothers had to be more in touch with Hokuto than hers were. It was frustrating when she wanted more answers, but she guessed as long as she didn't hear anything from the Dimensional Witch, nothing was wrong.

And Hokuto's face crisscrossed with confusion for a second. She pursed her lips, frowned, seemed to be thinking of something that Kotori herself couldn't reach. It was a weird expression like she didn't want to reveal something but did at the same time.

Explaining the technicalities of that would be difficult. Kotori probably wouldn't believe her if she said that her brothers had gotten a mystical power from a Dimensional Witch that sent them to worlds beyond her imagination. Just the thought of it made her want to screech with laughter, because she wanted to see the cultures in those far-off places. There was so much she didn't know or hadn't ever seen.

"Where they are, it's difficult to send mail," she told Kotori. "They're in a far, far away place. And my brother—he's kind of fussy. He's the ultimate worrier, so he's hard to talk to sometimes. It's better if you don't bother him. He'll talk to you if he needs to."

Sounded like a certain couple of brothers Kotori knew. But she couldn't help thinking it was a slightly vague answer more so than Hokuto's usual honesty. But Hokuto rolled over on the futon and put her arms behind her head. Kotori knew she had to be patient.

"That's the same thing with me," Kotori admitted to her. "I mean, my brothers don't talk to me much… and I have to sit behind while they go travel and probably do all kinds of fun things."

"What a pain!" Hokuto growled and dug her fingers into the blanket. "You'd think they'd make more time to dote on their beautiful sisters when I put my all into worrying about their welfare. But all they care about is being chased!" It might be a selfish thing to say, but… she was lonely. Realizing that made them sound like criminals, she added, "Oh, and they didn't do anything wrong. It was a misunderstanding."

Kotori couldn't help but think that sounded familiar… She had to remind herself that she was being silly.

"That's nice… mine aren't together. They get along, but they don't travel. It's just as complicated." The Dimensional Witch made it clear that Fuuma usually went wherever she asked him to go, and Seishirou followed his nose after that "special" person he was after. While Fuuma looked up to Seishirou, they didn't always want to be around each other.

Hokuto pushed herself up to a sitting position and launched herself at Kotori. She enveloped her in a crushing hug. "I knew you would understand."

Kotori didn't try to push her away this time. Her cheeks warmed up again, and she didn't understand how Hokuto could make her turn to mush easily.

"Anyway, I'm beat," Hokuto told her. She flopped back down on the bed. "We should go to sleep."

"Y—Yeah," Kotori replied. She was about to lay back on the floor on reflex, but Hokuto grabbed her wrist.

"What did I tell you about that?" Hokuto scolded. She looked scary like her wrath wouldn't forgive it.

"Okay," Kotori laughed, awkward but amused.

She let Hokuto pull her to the futon and cover her with the blanket. With a final good night, she heard Hokuto drift off to sleep. She hadn't slept next to anyone for a long time, but it was a nice feeling, and she closed her eyes much more soundly without thinking it. It did make her sad deep down in her heart. There was no need to get used to kindness. This moment would be a memory after this.