Please pay no attention to the gap of time between this chapter and the previous one. Enjoy if you can!

…

"—that is acceptable… Yes… Understood. I'll see you soon."

Yuuta looked up from his breakfast just as Rikka put away her phone. "What did she say?" he asked, idly prodding his omelette.

"Touka said she's about to board the plane," Rikka replied. "Her journey back to Japan will take around twelve hours, assuming there are no delays." She paused for a moment before grimacing. "Though she is my mortal enemy, I do not envy her situation. Not even my supernatural discipline and self-control—" she ignored Yuuta's incredulous snort, "—could last that long trapped in a crowded plane full of non-magicals. Her patience is unrivaled."

Despite rolling his eyes, Yuuta still nodded in sympathy. "Yeah, I wouldn't enjoy being cooped up in an economy-class seat for half a day either. But, hey. At least it's cheap."

They shared small smiles and chuckled before continuing their breakfast. A companionable silence filled the room as they ate, only broken by Kuzuha emerging from her bed room with a tired yawn.

"Good morning," she greeted as she proceeded to the bathroom to brush her teeth. A moment later, she emerged, now looking more awake.

"You're up pretty late today," Yuuta noted, pushing a plate of omelette towards her. "Have trouble sleeping last night?"

Kuzuha picked up her spoon and frowned at him. "A better question is why you and Rikka are up so early. I woke up five times last night, and every time, you two were still awake watching anime."

Yuuta winced, shooting a guilty look at Rikka, who shot the same look right back at him. He scratched his cheek and let out an awkward laugh. "Ha ha… Yeah… Sorry about that. We got really into it."

Kuzuha stared at him for four full beats before sighing. "Well, did you at least enjoy what you were watching?"

"Absolutely!" Rikka cheered before Yuuta could say anything. "It was easily the greatest piece of entertainment of all time!"

Yuuta happily chose not to mention how Rikka always called the most recent anime, TV show, or movie they watched the greatest piece of entertainment of all time. But it was better to let her gush than try to put a stopper on her enthusiasm—especially since she looked so vibrant while doing so. That bright smile? That eager voice? He wouldn't even dream of downplaying it.

"—but the bottom line is that Sophia discovered that we've never seen it, and insisted we needed to watch it tonight."

Kuzuha merely stared incredulously. "And that's why you ended up watching all twelve episodes and a sequel movie in the span of six hours?"

"No, it is why we started watching it," Rikka corrected. "We watched the rest because it was good, as I explained earlier." When Kuzuha continued to stare uncomprehendingly, Rikka frowned and turned to Yuuta with worry. "I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, Yuuta. I cannot seem to communicate with her, no matter how plainly I say things."

Yuuta blinked, realizing that he'd gotten lost in thought while staring lovingly at Rikka, completely missing what must have been a minutes long monologue. Shinka's lover-boy nickname seemed uncomfortably appropriate, right about now.

"Uhh, well, you see…"

The rest of breakfast was spent first explaining themselves to Kuzuha, then giving a summary of the plot of the anime they'd watched.

Unfortunately, they weren't particularly effective at endearing her to the show. She seemed turned off by Yuuta's vague but accurate descriptions—he didn't want to spoil anything—and downright confused by Rikka's enthusiastic play-by-play of the fight scenes and big moments. When they got to the part where a character died, Kuzuha just told them to stop. They apologetically complied, promising not to talk about it anymore.

Satone would probably be saddened to hear about this.

Once they were done eating, Rikka picked up the plates and took them to the sink while Yuuta and Kuzuha stayed at the table, watching her do the dishes. Yuuta felt strangely proud that Rikka was doing chores more readily now, and it was clear from the smiles he and Kuzuha exchanged that both Togashi siblings felt this strange pride.

"So, what are you two's plans today?" Kuzuha asked, resting her chin on her palm. "Will you be vegetating in front of the TV while watching anime again?"

Yuuta shrugged noncommittally. "Maybe? Who knows?"

A sigh of resignation. "I guess I should buy some ear plugs later," Kuzuha replied, slumping forward onto the table.

Yuuta snickered and patted her head, ruffling her hair. "Don't worry too much about it. We still have to pick Touka up from the airport tonight, so we won't be bothering your sleep."

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that." She casually brushed off his hand and leaned to the side, eyeing Rikka at the sink. "She has found a place to stay, right? I remember we had to turn her down."

"Fear not, Kuzuha!" Rikka declared as she returned to the table. "The Priestess is resourceful beyond measure!" She pumped her fists emphatically.

"She'll probably be staying in a hotel like the last few times she visited from Italy," Yuuta explained before Rikka could elaborate. "She said she's bringing Cento along too, so it's probably better that she won't be staying here. We don't exactly have a lot of space."

Kuzuha nodded. "Well, if you have a plan for tonight, what about the rest of today? Are you really gonna watch anime until it's time to pick up Touka?"

"No no. What happened last night won't be a normal occurrence, I promise."

All Yuuta could do in response to Kuzuha's skeptical raised brow was laugh weakly.

"Honest," he insisted.

"I was debating on visiting our comrades," Rikka said, saving Yuuta from his sister's uncomfortable gaze. "Dekomori did not answer my calls last night. I wish to check on her."

Yuuta tilted his head slightly. "I'll take a guess and say: You want to talk to her about that anime we watched." From the way Rikka wordlessly looked away, he knew his shot in the dark hit its mark.

She fidgeted before opening her mouth. "I just—"

"Don't worry, I get it. No need to explain," Yuuta interrupted with a chuckle, waving a reassuring hand. "Let's freshen up a little first. Then we can visit them."

Rikka nodded. "Sophia should accompany us as well. She demanded we tell her our thoughts on the show once we finished it, so bringing her along would kill two beasts with one bullet."

Yuuta grinned. "That's an interesting turn of phrase but you're not wrong. Go get ready. I'll tell Shichimiya."

"Understood."

Rikka nodded and rushed to her room. Yuuta rose from his seat, pulling out his phone. He began messaging Satone.

"Well, while you two are gone, I suppose I'll go catch up on sleep." Kuzuha also stood and departed for her own room. "I'll see you later, Yuuta."

"Laters," Yuuta mumbled absentmindedly in reply, focused on typing his message. Once he was done, he tapped send and awaited a response. His phone buzzed seconds later.

[Wait for me in the stairwell. I'll be ready in 15 minutes!]

The lack of Satone's usual flowery language and emoji-spam made it clear she had only just woken up. She'd probably try to skip breakfast in order to go with them. He made a mental note to stop by the convenience store on the way to Sanae's.

Yuuta snorted and put away his phone, returning to his own room to get ready to leave.

…

Once again, Shinka awoke with a blonde girl nuzzling into her bosom, arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Letting out a contented sigh, she patted Sanae's head gently.

Then she pried the little hellion's arms from her torso and got out of bed, giving her limbs a satisfying stretch.

How many times had it now been that they'd both woken up on top of each other? This morning had to be the fourth day in a row. It was getting a little excessive how much they've been sleeping together—among other things.

Then again, they were both technically still teenagers. Not only that, there was no danger of pregnancy. The biggest price they'd ever need to pay for their downright hedonism was a bit of pride and their free time. Summer break afforded them plenty of the latter. As for the former? Well, after three separate occasions of being walked in on by one of their parents or friends, pride was no longer much of a concern. As it was, neither of them saw much reason not to make love as frequently as they damn pleased.

"Oh, what lust-addled fools we are," Shinka chirped in a sing-song chuckle.

With a sigh, she began picking up the clothes scattered about the room, laying them onto the nightstand in a neatly folded stack. As she did so, she noticed Sanae's phone light up and begin to vibrate intermittently. Her brows rose when she noticed it was a call from Rikka.

Shinka picked up the phone as she moved to shake Sanae awake. "Hello?"

[Oh! Nibutani? Why do you have Dekomori's phone?]

"She's asleep next to me. I'm trying to wake her up but the dolt refuses to open her eyes. I almost can't believe it but she's managing to annoy me in her sleep. A menace, this girl." Shinka chose not to dwell on the endeared wistfulness that came upon her voice as she said this.

There was static on the other line as Rikka let out a sigh and chuckle in the same breath. She seemed relieved, though Shinka couldn't tell what for. [Well, at least I now understand why my servant did not reply to my messages last night. I trust you two are well?]

"Well enough," Shinka replied with a shrug and noncommittal shake of her free hand—a gesture that she only just now realized Rikka could not see. She quickly dropped her hand back onto Sanae's shoulder. "A-anyway, what are you calling for? I can take a message."

[Yuuta, Sophia, and I will be visiting today. We have things to discuss that I believe Dekomori will greatly enjoy being present for.]

"Sophia, huh? Is it related to her people watching hobby?'

More static came as Rikka chuckled once more. [It is, perhaps, tangentially related. She made Yuuta and I watch an anime last night. It is the greatest piece of media in existence.]

Shinka rolled her eyes. "You said the exact same thing the last time you watched a movie. I ended up disappointed when I watched it for myself."

[Then perhaps you simply did not understand what you watched?]

A snort. "Maybe," she conceded easily—it was way too early in the morning to argue about the validity of Shinka's opinions on media.

[We are, in fact, journeying to Fortress Dekomori right now—though the information you've given me suggests that you might not be there. Will we need to reroute to the Nibutani household?]

A wry smile. "No no. We're at The Fortress, as you put it. I'll make sure she's awake by the time you get here."

[Excellent. Thank you, Nibutani. I'll see you soon.]

"Yeah. See you."

As Shinka set the phone back down onto the nightstand, she couldn't help but nod thoughtfully. That was probably the most coherent conversation the two of them had ever had. Usually, they'd either talk past each other, or one of them would try to get the other to do something for them. Rarely did they ever just talk about current events or the goings-on in their personal lives—she normally broached or engaged with those topics with Yuuta instead. All things considered, Rikka was not unpleasant to talk to. She lacked the dry wit she enjoyed in Yuuta, or the explosive spiciness she adored from Sanae, but she was refreshingly straightforward.

She lolled her head to the side before shrugging again. "Ah, doesn't really matter."

"Now—" She grabbed Sanae's shoulders and began shaking her more vigorously. "—wake up already, midget! We'll be having guests today!"

Shinka's more involved wake up call fared better than her earlier token efforts, though Sanae was none too happy about it. The little hellion's eyes cracked open before grumpily jabbing Shinka's side, eliciting a girlish yelp that made the taller girl's face burn. The vindictive smirk Sanae gave her in response only made her face feel hotter.

"You're so lucky we have guests today, else I'd wipe that smile off your face."

"You can still try," Sanae said nonchalantly as she gently prodded Shinka's chest. "What'll you use to wipe it off?"

"Nope. Not taking that bait." Shinka slapped Sanae's hands away and gestured at the stack of clothing next to her. "Get dressed. Takanashi's coming over with Togashi and Shichimiya. They're already on their way here."

"Uhhhg. Fiiine…"

Half-hearted grumbles and unintelligible murmuring were the only things said between the two as they put on some clothes.

Their relatively frequent sleepovers had familiarized them to each other's morning habits. Sanae's routine usually started with powering up her computer and checking her inbox on the various message boards she frequented. She'd usually spend several minutes simply reading and replying to messages. This was offset by the fact that she'd spend significantly less time on hair and make-up than Shinka did. She would settle for simply brushing her teeth, splashing a bit of soapy water in her face, and running a comb through her hair a dozen times. By the time she donned her signature twin-tails, she'd look radiant and glowing.

It would take Shinka a little while longer before she'd look half as fresh as Sanae, and by the time she finished, Sanae would usually be in the dining room already—either that, or talking with the housekeeping staff.

No, Shinka was not jealous. Not at all.

When Shinka arrived at the dining room, Sanae already was seated at her usual spot at the table, halfway through a stack of pancakes that were completely drenched in syrup. Shinka's own pancake tower was across the table, mercifully syrup-free for now.

"Feeling more awake now?" Shinka asked as she took her seat and pressed her hands together.

"Quite," Sanae replied after swallowing a mouthful. "And these pancakes certainly helped my mood."

A laugh pulled their attention towards a woman entering the dining room.

"So it did," Sanae's mother said with a mischievous smirk, scarily similar to the one Sanae often wore. "The housekeeping told me you're expecting guests?"

"Indeed, mother," Sanae replied, sounding predictably enthused.

The woman clapped excitedly. "Excellent! I've always wanted to meet more of my little firecracker's friends."

Shinka's lips twitched upwards a little but she managed to keep her face carefully neutral. She stood and gave the woman a proper bow. "Good morning, Mrs. Dekomori. Thank you for allowing me to stay the night again."

A dismissive wave. "Yes yes, lift up your head. We've had this song and dance before. I'm tired of repeating it."

Shinka suppressed a scowl and sat back down. "I was being polite."

"I'm aware, just as you are aware of how much I value authenticity." She took a seat at the head of the table, steepling her hands over her plate. "If you truly wish to continue dating my daughter, you'll do well by not giving me hollow platitudes. You're still years away from being good enough to fool me into thinking you mean them."

Shinka pursed her lips, swallowing the retort she wanted to shoot back. She returned to her breakfast with a bitter taste in her mouth.

A moment of silence passed before Sanae's mother next spoke. "Sanae, your girlfriend continues to be more boring than you describe her," she said before digging into her own meal.

Shinka kept her eyes trained on her pancakes, swallowing the uncharitable remarks she nearly barked in reply. She had no intention of giving the woman what she wanted. There were things she was willing to play along with, but satiating the boredom of her girlfriend's haughty mother was not one of those things. The woman should have found someone else to pester.

As Shinka fumed under her mask of calm, Sanae nudged her shin with a light kick. She shifted her attention to the blonde, who glared and tilted her head pointedly towards her mother. Stop embarrassing me, the look said. Fight back already!

All she received in reply was an unamused quirk of a brow and a stubborn refusal of any further eye contact. Sanae growled wordlessly and gave Shinka another, more forceful kick, before returning to her own meal.

Breakfast continued in silence.

…

"—I see. So it's because Mr. Togashi here allowed you to locate these… lights at the edge of the horizon?"

"The Invisible Boundary Lines, yes."

"And that is why you sought to awaken this Dark Flame Dragon of his?"

"The ancient being he draws power from, correct."

"Fascinating."

Yuuta fidgeted under Mrs. Dekomori's gaze, feeling the woman eye him with an intense criticality, not dissimilar to the way Sanae eyed him during their tutoring sessions. He had the distinct feeling that she was getting the wrong impression of their relationship based on what Rikka was telling her, but he didn't have the nerve to interrupt.

"And you say Miss… SP Saturn, was it?"

Satone awkwardly scratched her cheek. "Uh, feel free to call me Sophia…"

"Alright. You said Sophia helped you reach this goal?"

"Yes. You see…"

As Rikka continued explaining, Yuuta winced and averted his eyes, instead focusing on the various furnishings in the Dekomori estate's living room.

He had met Sanae's mother only once before, during a Christmas party in his first year. They had barely exchanged three sentences to each other before parting ways, so he didn't really have a solid first impression of her. That said, whatever impression he did have of her was promptly shattered when she ordered the three of them to join her and Sanae on the couch, where she proceeded to—politely—interrogate them. She mercifully focused on the girls more than she did Yuuta, but that did nothing to alleviate the knot of tension that had formed in his stomach.

"She vaguely reminds me of Miss Nanase," Yuuta muttered to Shinka, who kept her gaze fixed on her phone. "Except more intense, I guess."

"A fair assessment," Shinka muttered under her breath, not taking her eyes off whatever article she was reading. "Honeyed tongue? Sees through everything? Willing to twist a situation to her advantage? All she needs now is a teacher's license and a less haughty attitude."

Yuuta continued staring at the intricately carved leg of the coffee table. "You don't seem to like her," he noted carefully.

"She's her daughter's mother. There are many things about her that are things I eventually grew to love in Sanae—like that damnable antagonism of hers. The only difference is that I don't enjoy getting attacked when it's not Sanae." She shook her head. "For the record, I don't really dislike her. She just gets under my skin in ways that only Sanae is allowed to."

"Has it ever crossed your mind that her antagonism might actually mean she likes you?"

A snort. "Affection-through-antagonism runs in Sanae's family? Perish the thought."

"—which led to Sophia fighting the Dark Flame Dragon while I watched from the sidelines."

"I see. You three have an interesting relationship."

Yuuta suppressed a wince as more snippets of Rikka's interrogation reached his ears. Explaining himself out of this hole that Rikka dug them into was likely going to be hell. He just hoped that whatever the woman took away from this meeting would not be the same unfortunate implications he feared she'd take.

Thankfully, the conversation lasted only a few minutes more. One of the housekeeping staff reminded her that she still had work to do, so she dismissed them, thanking them for the stimulating conversation. Everyone except Sanae was quickly escorted to the recreation area they had stayed in for that one Christmas party.

"Tell me, when you decided to name it the Dark Flame Dragon, were you deliberately making a euphemism?" Shinka asked with a smirk as she reclined on one of the couches.

Yuuta felt his face burn. "Of course not! I was only thirteen!"

"To be fair," Satone chimed, "Mori Summer was also thirteen when she wrote the forbidden chapters of the Mabinogian—or rather, one hundred and thirteen."

Shinka slammed her palms onto the couch's armrests. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me Mori Summer!?" She narrowed her eyes. "And don't you dare mention those chapters. They're forbidden for a reason!"

"Oh?" Satone grinned and proudly gestured to herself. "But half of it was written by me. I think I have some right to bend the rules of what is and isn't forbidden. But if you truly wish to challenge my authority on this," she took on a dramatic pose, "you'll have to fight me."

A roll of the eyes. "Oh, don't start this again, I am in no mood." Shinka slumped further into her chair, pressing her hands onto her eyes. "You've been at it for half a decade at this point. Give it a rest already."

Satone crossed her arms and pouted. "Killjoy," she grumbled. "Fine, I won't talk about it today. But make no mistake: this'll come up again eventually, and we will have that fight."

"Oh, I don't doubt that," Shinka said off-handedly before sitting up. "But to change topics a little, what's the news on Comiket? Are we still going?"

Satone perked up once more as she and Shinka began discussing the details of the upcoming event. Yuuta smiled and beckoned Rikka to sit with him on one of the larger couches.

"You've met Deko's mother before?"

"That is correct. We became acquainted just a mere few weeks after Dekomori pledged fealty to The Eye of the Wicked Lord. Do not be fooled by her critical demeanor, Yuuta. She may not lead an existence such as ours, but we are alike in many ways. She understands far more than you'd assume."

Yuuta pursed his lips. "I highly doubt that, but… I'll take your word on it."

Rikka put her hand on top of Yuuta's and intertwined their fingers. "Have faith, Dark Flame Master. Rarely have I led you astray."

"So you haven't," he said as he mentally went through the list of the many times she led him astray, be it through wrong assumptions or chuunibyou antics. Yes, "rarely" is certainly the right word, he thought with a wry chuckle.

Sanae entered the room around a minute later, allowing them to finally talk about what they came here to talk about: an anime they really, really liked—a relatively normal topic, for once.

…

At the end of the day, Shinka escorted Yuuta and Rikka to the gate where they bid each other farewell. After a quiet, wordless exchange of waves, the two made their way to the station and Shinka went back inside the mansion.

"The housekeeping says dinner is in half an hour," Shinka said as she retook her seat on the couch—though she said it more for Satone's benefit, since she and Sanae already knew the meal schedule.

Sanae sighed as the movie credits continued to scroll down on the big flat screen in the room. She took the remote and lowered the volume until it was barely audible.

"It's a shame The Engaged Link won't be able to join us," she muttered. "If only The Priestess picked a better time to arrive from Italy."

A snort. "I highly doubt she has the ability to control that."

"Egad, woman! Even now, you underestimate her power?"

"I'm not underestimating anything," Shinka replied, crossing her arms and turning up her nose. "There are certain things that Fate controls that only a concerted effort of monumental power can overcome. Do you really think Touka will put in the work to force her will upon international flight schedules? Do you have any idea how many others' fates she'd need to bully into submission just to disrupt that?"

Sanae scowled. "I liked it better when you just yelled at me to shut up. Cherry-picking moments like this to show your true power level is tantamount to cheating."

A roll of the eyes. "Oh yeah? How so?"

"Because you won't let me use it against you due to that damn promise we made! You're so clearly more magical than you present yourself, and it's killing me to not point that out!"

Shinka grinned. "Oh, yes. And how I love that fact. It's a promise I plan to continue taking advantage of."

Sanae seethed as a wild light twinkled in her eyes. "Mark my words, faker." She gave Shinka's chest a sharp poke. "I will find a way to regain the advantage."

Shinka's grin remained. "I look forward to what you come up with. But in the meantime you—"

Their attention was pulled away from their on-going exchange of affection when they heard the crunch of popcorn. They both turned to find Satone sitting at the edge of one of the couches, enraptured by what she was witnessing. She swallowed the popcorn she was chewing and gestured for them to continue. "Don't mind me. Just pretend I'm not here."

"I'm not sure if I'm comfortable anymore," Sanae said thoughtfully.

Shinka nodded. "Yeah, me neither. I think we should stop."

They collectively rolled their eyes when Satone began to pout. "Aww. But it was just getting to the good part."

Shinka rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I might never get used to how callous you've become in these last few years, Sophia."

The self-proclaimed Magical Devil Girl cackled. "Nyahahaha! I am a dutchess of the demonic realms, Mori Summer. Callousness and blatant disregard for our peers' discomfort are as much a norm among demonic nobility as it is among mundane nobles."

Shinka raised a brow and turned to Sanae who nodded begrudgingly. "She is correct, unfortunately. Making each other uncomfortable is sort of just a thing we do."

A twitch and forced smile. "Well, that certainly explains a lot of things," Shinka muttered before addressing Satone once more. "But can you not?"

Another cackle. "Nyahahaha! Of course I can! But I won't—not until you make me." She punctuated this with a smirk and wink, earning a sigh and another facepalm from Shinka.

"You really want that fight, huh?"

"Admittedly," Sanae muttered timidly next to her, "I really want to see you two do battle as well…"

Shinka gave her girlfriend a flat look before taking a steadying deep breath. "The things I do for love," she grumbled before standing up. "Fine! Whatever. I'll do it."

Both chuunis cheered and proceeded to push the furniture to the walls. Once there was space to maneuver, the two combatants stood on either side of the room, doing some stretches.

"For safety reasons, let's limit it to ranged attacks only," Shinka said, taking a readied stance.

Satone grinned. "On account of that concussion you had? I understand. Been a while since I last had a straight danmaku duel." She unfolded the scepter she kept in her bag and raised it with both hands. "Shall we?"

Shinka nodded and intoned, "Reality Rejected!"

"Cherubim Aria!" Satone responded.

Sanae dimmed the lights, leaving the room shrouded in darkness.

"Synapses Shattered!"

"Seraphim Descend!"

Sanae pressed something on the remote that caused the flat screen to flash into pure white. Harsh shadows lined the sides of their faces.

"Banishment from this World!"

"Anchor the Metaphysical!"

The surround sound system began playing battle music. Shinka couldn't help but match Satone's wild grin—Sanae's dramatic flair was elevating this battle fantasy to far higher than it had any right to be.

Of course, she didn't say that. Instead, she imagined a pattern of magical projectiles to weave into her first spell. The rune-matrix version of her L-O-V-E Cheer spell could probably work as an opener.

"Mabinogian ~ Words of Power!"

"Haven't seen that one in a while! This'll be just like old times!" Satone laughed and called her own attack. "Devil's Deal ~ Suite of Hearts!"

In her mind's eye, Shinka saw a familiar criss-cross pattern of hearts colliding with the hearts she herself had shot out. "Old times indeed," she agreed as they both darted around the room in an attempt to weave through each other's waves of bullets. She chose not to dwell on the fact that none of them could actually see any projectiles.

Oh, Sanae better enjoy this farce of a duel, else there'll be hell to pay.

…

"Wait, you're getting married!?" Yuuta blurted as he deposited Touka's suitcase to the corner of the hotel room she was staying at.

Touka gave him a dry look as she carried Cento to the bed, the sleepy Italian girl immediately falling unconscious as soon as she touched the mattress. "Do you remember when I joked about Cento being my daughter?"

Yuuta's eyes widened. "But isn't she your manager's daughter?"

Touka smiled at him sharply. "You remembered that, I see. Yes, I'm marrying him a little before new years. I was supposed to tell you this back in spring, but my summer wedding was delayed to winter. Such a shame, too. I had a fun outing planned for us in the lead up to me announcing the wedding."

Yuuta turned to Rikka, who he shared wary looks with. The words fun and outing coming out of Touka's mouth were not things that bode well for them, typically. The first time it happened, she had forced Rikka to confront some unresolved trauma before she could come to terms with it, while Yuuta had been forced to be an accomplice in that act. Despite being two years past now, the memory still left a bitter taste in their mouths.

"Do we even want to know what this plan was?" Yuuta hazarded to ask.

"Imagine a frantic scramble across Japan in an attempt to avoid me separating the two of you."

They winced. Yep, that definitely sounded like something Touka would do.

"For the record, you two wouldn't have actually been separated. I planned to lease a nearby apartment for a year so that Rikka could experience living independently." Touka turned to Rikka, eyeing her meaningfully. "That part of the plan is still on the table, by the way. Just say the word."

Rikka blinked. "Uhh… I'll think about it?"

Touka rolled her eyes and shook her head. "One week," she said flatly. "I don't have long before I need to go back to Italy, and I still have other errands to run while I'm here. I'll happily give you some time, but I can't give you forever."

Rikka nodded. "Uh… Understood. In seven days time, I will have an answer."

Touka tilted her head slightly, averting her gaze for only a second. "I'll be generous and give you ten days. Use them wisely.

"In any case," she continued, rubbing her eyes, "I'm jet-lagged and exhausted. I'd appreciate some sleep."

Yuuta and Rikka stood. "We'll get out of your hair, then. Good night now, Touka."

"Good night Rikka, Yuuta. I'll see you both tomorrow."

After a short exchange of waves and polite bows, Yuuta and Rikka left the hotel and made their way to the station. As they waited for the last train of the night to arrive, Yuuta nudged Rikka's shoulders and asked,

"You gonna accept Touka's offer?"

Rikka wordlessly looked down at the train tracks, lightly running her fingers over her eyepatch. "Maybe…"

A small smile tugged at Yuuta's lips. "Even if you do accept, you'll always have a home with me."

A slow nod. "I know, just…" She shook her head. "Waking up to your breakfast… walking to school with you… walking home with you…" She trailed off.

"Makes you happier than you could ever imagine," Yuuta finished for her. "I know. I feel the same. But still, we can't pretend like this will last forever. We only have a few months of high school left."

Rikka cracked a wry smirk. "Those who do not adapt to their changing surroundings are doomed to fall, painfully."

"Er… Perhaps nothing that dramatic, but… yes, something like that."

Another nod. "I understand… But still… I'd still like to spend more time thinking about it."

"That's fine," Yuuta replied with a chuckle. He moved to hold Rikka's hand, their fingers intertwining. She squeezed softly. He squeezed back. Yuuta closed his eyes and let a contented happiness well up inside of him.

…

When Shinka arrived home that night, her mother was still awake, eating a cup of instant ramen in the kitchen. It took a few seconds for her to look up and see Shinka at the doorway. Shinka's face scrunched up into a scowl when their eyes met. A heavy silence seemed to fill the room.

"I'm glad you arrived home safely," her mother eventually said, swirling her chopsticks around the cup. "You've been staying at your girlfriend's place a lot lately. I was getting worried you were never coming back."

Shinka looked away. "I wouldn't do that to you…"

"Wouldn't you? Children like you are statistically more likely to run away from home than normal children—especially when their parents don't approve of them."

She felt a bitter taste fill her mouth when her mother used the word normal. Shinka was normal, dammit!

"Granted, they're also statistically more likely to be disowned by their parents, but I wouldn't do that to you." Her mother let out a low chuckle before continuing her ramen.

Shinka pursed her lips and forced herself to walk away. This wasn't a conversation she wanted to have so late at night. But right as she was about to cross the threshold into the hallway, her mother called out again.

"For the record, just because I don't approve, that doesn't mean I won't support you."

Shinka's breathing hitched.

"Even if it means you'll move out of the house to live alone, or to live with your girlfriend… If being with another girl is what will make you happier, I won't get in the way of it. I never have. Never will."

She pursed her lips tighter as she felt an uncontrollable tremble in her limbs and a deafening ringing in her ears. "You already told me that," she croaked stiffly.

"It bears repeating."

Shinka set her jaw and willed one foot in front of the other. "Good night, mother," she said as she made her way to her room.

Her mother's voice was distant and muffled as she walked down the hall, but the reply still cut through the silence like a knife. "Good night as well, Shinka. I love you."

Shinka hesitated at her door for only a second before entering, collapsing onto her bed, and immediately falling unconscious.

No, she did not cry herself to sleep. Not at all.

End of Chapter

Thank you to asianpotter1 and Sypharo for beta reading this chapter.

An internet cookie to anyone who can guess what anime Satone made Yuuta and Rikka watch. As a hint, think of a twelve episode magical girl anime with a sequel movie, all released before 2015.

I didn't end up writing about Yuuta's parents like I planned. There just wasn't room to squeeze it in without making the chapter feel bloated to me. Maybe in a chapter or two.

I decided to loosely base Mrs. Dekomori on someone I once worked with. I took Sanae's personality and tried to reverse engineer what kind of people her parents would be to raise someone like Sanae. It just so happened that that coworker of mine fit what I needed.

Satone and Shinka's magic duel is, in fact, a reference to Touhou. I actually have a list of projectile patterns (spell cards) that I never ended up using. I'll keep it on hand in case I ever need it, though. For the record, Shinka absolutely has a version of Love Sign ~ Master Spark. "Focus your mind, utter the spell to your Mini-Hakkero, then aim it at someone you don't like. A magi-cannon of love will be unleashed!" It just fits Shinka way too well.

The whole thing with Touka is both a reference to the events of Take on Me (which could not happen in this story's continuity) and a statement of my personal headcanon for who Touka married at the end of the movie (come on, KyoAni. Why'd you make him faceless?) That it also involves Cento is a bonus.

There should be 3 more chapters left before all my planned story beats are met. The problem is that I might still need an additional 2 more chapters to wrap this story up in a neat little bow. That'd make it a nice and even 30 chapters, but I don't want to take five more years to get there. Given how close this story is to completion, I might try to focus less on my other works to get this one finished in the next year or two. I just hope the quality doesn't dip as a result.

One last thing before I end this note. Sypharo, one of the beta-readers for this chapter, is writing a fic on Ao3 called Yamada Daigaku no Reyna-chan. It's an OC-focused character drama that heavily features existing characters from other KyoAni properties—the "KyoAni Cinematic Universe," some might call it. It's on-going right now and updates way more frequently than I do. Go check it out!

Now, this end note has gone long enough. I'll see you all in the next chapter!