The hosts set up a buffet line, and we gathered our plates to eat. Now, maybe it was the business major in me, but I thought their setup was a little inefficient. With dishes lined up all around the dinner table—from chicken skewers to gyoza to spring rolls—everyone had to go around the entire table to get a chance at everything. If it were me, I would've had half the number of different dishes and doubled-up on the portions, allowing people to get the same thing either way, and we would've been through with picking up our food twice as fast. But maybe I was overthinking it, or maybe I was just hungry. In any case, the hosts urged people to come back for seconds later on, once the initial bottleneck died down, and things started to smooth over after that.

I ended up near the back of the line because I'd been helping Mizuhara with the food, but I didn't mind that too much. I just needed to find my friends to sit with. It turned out Sasapai and Kuri had gotten cozy with Shinbo and Kawanaka; meanwhile, Kibe was eating out in the garden with a girl dressed as Batwoman. I guess he had a short memory.

"Don't be shy, Mr. Fish," said Mizuhara, dragging a chair over to their table. "Rest your feet and have something to eat."

She was being awfully friendly if she thought I was a stranger, and even her friends caught on. "Miss Sugar Plum, I had no idea you had such a taste for sea creatures," said Shinbo the cowgirl. "Maybe that's why we can never get you to hang out with guys willingly. We were trying the wrong species!"

Mizuhara wasn't amused, shooting Shinbo a cool look. "I don't know what you're talking about, Miss Calamity. I'm not afraid of men if that's what you're implying. I just have more important things to pay attention to. Today, we're hosting this party, and I'll do everything I can to be a good and welcoming host." Cool as a cucumber. It would take more than a little teasing to faze her.

"That's right, leave her alone, Calamity," said Kawanaka the raven, who had a plate piled high with food that Kuri had offered to share. "It's enough that she dolled herself up for this event." She clapped her hands in awe and beamed at Mizuhara. "Our own Sugar Plum Fairy! You've really knocked it out of the park today."

At that, Mizuhara smiled and seemed to relax. "Thanks, it was fun. I love your outfit, too, Raven! The black feathers really add to it."

Kawanaka struck a pose like a hyper-aware bird, and the girls broke out laughing. It really helped me to relax, too. The odds were low someone would figure out Mizuhara was Mizuhara, and it was so nice to see them all having a good time—Mizuhara in particular, of course, given everything she'd been through over the last couple of months. I was happy to just sit back and take in the atmosphere of the party—the indistinct conversations going on through the rest of the house as we ate, the clinking of utensils as people helped themselves to seconds, and the dull thumping of music from the main room where a couple people were already putting on some karaoke videos. I chowed down on some chicken wings and let the vibe wash over me… only for my chair to rock back and bump into an ornamental pumpkin.

"Whoa there, partner!" said Shinbo, who rose from her seat to straighten up the pumpkin. "Don't get too free and easy now, ya hear?"

I blushed in embarrassment and apologized, but Mizuhara wouldn't have it. "Let's get you over this way so you don't keep bumping into that." She moved her chair over, and I moved over, too, closer to her and the other girls. I thought that was going to be all, but Mizuhara had other ideas. "You have quite an interesting costume, don't you, Mr. Fish? How did you come up with that idea?"

I paused with a chicken wing halfway from my plate to my mouth. "Oh, haven't I said it?"

Mizuhara tilted her head. "I don't believe you have."

I absolutely had. I'd told her one time early on why I had fish, and it'd come up here and there, but I could explain it again for people to have a good laugh. "Well, my family owns a small business, and when I was a kid I got to know a lot of the nearby store owners, including one guy who had a store full of fish and aquarium supplies, and since I was a young kid who didn't know any better I would hang out there from time to time and try to learn a thing or two before, you know, one day I started bugging my parents to get a fish! I was nine years old at the time. You know how that turned out?"

The answer had already dawned on Shinbo and Kawanaka, who looked awkward, but Mizuhara served up an innocent remark to keep things going. "Poorly, I bet," she said.

"Sure did! I mismanaged my allowance, and so I just kept putting off changing the water filter, and… well, I think you can guess what happened."

"But did you let it get you down?" asked Mizuhara.

Kuri came back around with another plate for Kawanaka. "For a week!" he said, catching the end of the conversation. "Then he decided to work off his guilt for a year at that fish store until he could convince the owner to give him another chance, and he's been keeping fish ever since!"

"They're peaceful animals," I said, "while I'm too restless for my own good!"

The girls laughed. "There's nothing wrong with that if you put it to good use!" said Kawanaka.

Mizuhara raised a glass. "To being just a little too restless for your own good," she said, and we all drank to that, but the weak beer didn't quench my thirst for understanding. Mizuhara was all smiles as we talked, but I still had no idea what she had in mind for tonight. Acting like I was a stranger—okay, I could understand that given the whole idea of the party, but it felt like she was doing more than that: pulling out a chair for me, making little references to stuff she knew about me that the others wouldn't pick up on, and so on. Actually, it was kinda hot! But also uncomfortable, like sitting across from a bombshell who was also the woman you're investigating in a murder. Well, she was having fun, so I didn't have much reason to complain. Still, it left me wondering.

I didn't get the chance to get things cleared up until Shinbo and Kawanaka got up to start collecting plates and clean up before the next round of festivities. Sasapai offered to help, and Kuri was still trailing Kawanaka like a dog on a scent. Since Mizuhara and I had gotten our food very late, we were still eating, and it gave me an opportunity to talk with her privately.

"Things are going well so far!" I said.

Mizuhara looked like she wanted to laugh, but she held it in. "Yes, I think so, too. You're enjoying yourself, aren't you, Mr. Fish?"

"Come on, are we really keeping this up?" I asked.

She tiled her head down, looking at me from just underneath her eyebrows—a disapproving gesture even if she was wearing a mask. "It's a masquerade. Even if you think you know who I am, Mr. Fish, maybe you don't."

I blinked. "Do you mean that literally or figuratively?"

She took a bite of a piece of chilled tofu and grinned. "Yes."

I sighed. Didn't think she'd drop the oldest joke in the book on me. Did she become a math major all of a sudden? "I didn't think you'd be so mischievous, 'Miss Fairy.'"

"Just relax," she said, leaning back in her chair. "Immerse yourself in the moment."

"Like… an actress would?"

She smiled broadly—brilliantly, considering the contrast between that dark lipstick and her teeth. "Something like that."

It's true that, if I ignored Mizuhara toying with me out of character all of a sudden, it was a great party so far. I'd never been to a house party like that one, but the decorations were top notch, with jack-o'-lanterns all over the place, elaborately carved with occult symbols and faces. Fake cobwebs were in the corners of doorways and halls, and the costumes were amazing. Everybody seemed to take the masquerade idea seriously.

"It's really turning out great so far," I said. "I'm happy I came."

"I'm happy you came, too," she said, dabbing at the corners of her mouth with a napkin. "That fish story of yours—I really enjoy it. I feel like it tells people a lot about you."

"How silly I am?"

"I wish more people were positively silly," she remarked. "I like that about you."

Even though it was gently said, Mizuhara looked at me cautiously, with a pensive expression, and watched for my reaction. This wasn't exactly part of the game, was it? But if that was real, what was I supposed to say to that? "Uh, I guess I'll keep being positively silly, then!" I said, laughing nervously.

"Yeah," she said, a little less enthusiastically. It didn't seem like what she wanted to hear, not like I had any idea what would've been the right answer. "Well," she went on, "I should help clean up before we move on to party games."

I got up. She still had half her food on her plate, and I didn't imagine she would be so wasteful. I'd been a fast eater. She could take some time to finish up.

"Well, if you insist," she said, taking another piece of tofu between her chopsticks, "but I have to say, though I may be the regent queen of the Land of Sweets, I try not to let other people do too much work for me."

"Yeah, well, that's something I like about you, too, Your Majesty!" I picked up my plate and a couple empty glasses lying around, and I bowed for her. She broke out laughing, even covering her mouth politely, and as I made my way back to the kitchen with some more trash and bowls to clean, I only began to realize what was so funny: I'd never told her I liked something about her, had I? Admired and respected her, yes. Wanted the best for her, sure. But this was the first time I'd used that word to her face and meant it about her.

"Relax," she'd said, "and immerse yourself in the moment." For a moment, I forgot myself and how guarded I was used to being with her, trying not to let my real feelings show. Was that her plan all along—to pay me back for our date in Shinjuku? Well, if so, how could I complain? To see her smiling warmly from the table, looking my way as I came back from the kitchen… I wouldn't trade that for the world.

But even then, I wasn't prepared for the next thing Mizuhara had in store. Once she and the other hosts had folded up the portable tables and chairs to make room again, they announced that multiple events would be going on throughout the house. Karaoke would continue in the main room. Glow-in-the-dark limbo would take place outside in the garden. As for Mizuhara, she would be taking anyone interested to a side room of the house. "You all know charades, but we have something in mind to flip the script on that and get a little spooky tonight, so if you're intrigued, head over this way." She gestured down the hall, and as group began to peter out, she shot me a look and winked. "Coming, Mr. Fish?"

I had no idea what else Mizuhara had in store for me, but she'd cast her line and caught me already, and what's more, I would happily let her reel me in.