Keisuke closed the book and stood up. The library was going to close soon. He had to decide whether to stay here or take the book with him. He could get in real trouble for not checking the book out, but he didn't want anybody to see it. Well, he'd managed to take it once before. For a moment he wondered why he had brought it back, but then he realized he felt this place had something to do with the spell and getting his sister back. He opened the book's cover. No wonder! There wasn't a barcode or check out stamp to be had. Maybe this book wasn't even property of the library. He tucked the book into his bag and shuffled out the library's front door into the evening air.
The roads were as crowded as ever, as he biked along the thoroughfare. He experienced a subtle dislocation, as if just getting off roller skates, at the clogged intersections. Tokyo's noise and light was very different after having spent the whole day alone in a dark library room reading about the serene southern kingdom of Konan.
Keisuke popped a wheely over the curb and screeched to a stop in front of the apartment complex where he lived with his mother and sister. He took the bag off the handle bars, slinging it over his shoulder, and lugged the bike up the stairs to the front door. Keisuke turned the knob and flung the door open.
The wonderful smell of supper cooking wafted to his senses. "Hi, Mom! I'm home," he called. "That smells great!" He wrestled the bike into the room and closed the door.
His mother stood in the archway to the kitchen. "Where have you been? I was beginning to think you weren't coming home for supper. A phone call would have been nice."
Keisuke grinned at her. "I'm sorry, Mom. I got a little sidetracked at the library."
"The library?" His mother sounded incredulous. "Well, that's just awful. Here I thought I'd raised you right. Why weren't you down in Shinjuku razing the public with that gang of yours?" She smiled.
Well, his mother sure was in a good mood tonight! She almost never teased him anymore. Keisuke chuckled. "Okay, Mom. I'll try to do better tomorrow." He followed her into the kitchen and leaned on the counter while she stirred the sauce on the stove.
"What were you studying, Honey?" she asked in conversational tones.
Keisuke felt a stab of fear, but it was all right. She didn't know about the book or Miaka. He told her the truth. Sort of. "I wasn't really studying, Mom."
"You weren't? Well, I hope you weren't perusing the girly magazines again."
"Mom! I wasn't reading magazines!" He blushed guiltily anyway and she scoffed at him. "Really!" He reached to snag some sauce, but his mom slapped his hand. "Actually, I was reading a book." He told her the title in Chinese. She just sort of looked at him. Keisuke knew her Chinese wasn't great, and he added, "It's sort of a Chinese history book, but it's a little more epic."
"Oooo. 'Epic.' Other than teaching you some fancy words, I don't suppose it has any decent educational value, does it?" she asked drily. Her eyes wrinkled into a smile.
"I do just fine in school, Mother."
"I know! I'm teasing." She kept smiling to herself.
Keisuke considered a moment. "Well, it was written in Chinese, so you could say I was practicing my foreign languages!"
His mother laughed. "All right, all right. You win! I just don't want you to be distracted from school studies, and I don't mean the girls, either."
Keisuke rolled his eyes. "Mom!" He checked her out slyly. "So, what happened to you today?"
She grinned. "About time you asked! I got a raise! Isn't that great? I was a little worried about affording Jonan School for Miaka, and keeping you at your school, but now it's not a problem!"
"That's great, Mom! Congratulations!" He hugged her.
"Thank you, Honey!" She beamed at him and gave him a little kiss on the cheek.
They kept talking as Keisuke started to set out the dishes. "By the way, Honey, where is your sister? I thought she was going to be home tonight."
Keisuke started. Well, this was going to be a lie. "Um, I saw her at the library today. She's going to stay with Yui again."
His mother exhaled. "Uh. Well, it would be nice if she'd be here. Or at least called, but I suppose, if they're actually studying, it'll be good for her."
He returned, "Well, at least she's not dead!"
His mother gaped as she brought out the food. "I should hope not! Really, Keisuke, I just don't know where you get that sense of humor!"
He smiled mysteriously as they sat and they began to eat.
Keisuke flipped on the lamp and laid the open book on the desk. He sat on the chair and leaned on his elbows. He found the place marker. "Wow! In the time it took for me to have supper, days have gone by in Konan!" He scanned the lines. "Looks like during that time, the Kutou army tried to cross the border again, and the Suzaku Seven all gathered in the palace." He started to read again.