The young days of October had finally settled in on the Golden State. Miko looked around the library nervously one Friday afternoon. She had recently saved yet another innocent civilian from being thrown in the slammer for a crime they didn't commit- this time, a young teen who had been dragged along on a joyride with some ne'er do-well friends- the case was closed earlier than expected, and with Kaito not scheduled to be floated over to the law firm office for a report on just this level of parental negligence and delinquency and what to be done about it for a good few hours, they decided to take another day on uncovering some more of Pyra and Mythra's past… as well as giving Frankie a lead on a project he had to get ready for Winter this semester… an archaeological study n a topic of their choice… what better things to uncover than some of the artifacts they found in Mexico?
The trouble was… where to start? Kaito checked city after city with no leads or hints and even returned to the Cabazon Dinosaurs to investigate some more… only to find out the premises had been shut down to the public for refurbishment… what a waste of gas. Miko knew WHERE to start, but HOW was entirely different. The library Kari worked at was the only other place either knew of that even had books of the sort of things they were looking for. That, and the fact Miko carried this ancient text all willy nilly made her look incredibly suspicious… but if there was one thing she wouldn't stand- it would be lying over the truth. Whether Tepozteco was this Addam fellow or not was irrelevant at the moment, but the truth needed to be uncovered! How to bring that up though…
"Thank you for coming, and have a nice day!" Kari bid farewell to a young lady taking a book in hand and walking out the door, and it was at this moment did she notice Miko.
"Oh? Hello, Miko! What brings you here, dear?" She asked kindly, walking up to the much smaller woman.
"O-oh… well… nothing much, but… I was wondering if you could help me out…" She said, before looking around suspiciously. "Er- where are Pyra and Mythra, exactly?"
"On lunch- did you need them?"
"No, that's fine, but… what I mean is… you've got a lot of old history stuff, right?"
"And I pride myself in it!"
"Well… what can you tell me about this…?" Miko held up the book she and Kaito had uncovered from Cabazon to Kari, whose gentle and kindly face suddenly melted away to one of shock and intrigue.
Kari quickly snatched the book from Miko and scanned it quickly up and down in disbelief.
"Where… did you get ahold of this…?" She asked.
"Somewhere you wouldn't believe…"
As the two women stood in silence, Kari looked intently at the bold lettering of the label that so worried Kaito and Miko in the first place… Kari, however, seemed to sweat and huff in concern as she gazed at the lettering herself… concern turned to uncharacteristic anger as her fingers gripped the book tighter and tighter the more she read the classified notice. Miko was growing worried.
"K-Kari…? Is everything alright?" She asked.
"You…!" Kari caught herself about to snap- but very quickly, took a deep breath and relaxed. "I-I'm sorry, Miko… I'm afraid I don't have a lot to say on the matter…" She turned away, unable to face her as she spoke. Miko noticed this and raised an eyebrow as she reached for the book back.
"W-well, if you don't mind, I'll just-" Kari stepped backward, keeping the book in her grasp, breathing heavily as both women stared at each other. Miko's gaze grew more intense as they eyed each other down. "…You're not telling me something." She said.
It wasn't a question, Miko could see right through her. Kari stood in silence for just a bit longer before turning away fully.
"Miko… for the sake of… ease… you really don't want to get involved with the Amaluthus Corporation… that's all I'll tell you…" She said through baited breath.
"So you know about them." Miko answered once again.
"I do."
"And you want me to not stick my nose in it because you're afraid."
"Yes… but believe me… it isn't for the reasons you think…" Kari turned to face her again and handed the book back to her. Miko simply stared blankly at the taller woman before the latter broke the uncomfortable silence once again. "That being said… if you want to collect more pieces for your puzzle… give this number a call…"
She handed Miko a piece of paper with the phone number written on it.
(951)555-1017
"Okay… I'll trust you, Kari… but you better not be hiding anything nefarious…" Miko warned.
"Believe you, me, Miko… if it were up to me- and I try my very best to make it so- I wouldn't be hiding anything at all…"
Miko sat alone in the car… head resting on the back of her seat, unsure who to call first, Kaito, or the number Kari gave her. She just looked up towards the sky and wondered how on earth she even ended up in these wacky turn of events in the first place… all because of Kaito… Kaito and Kaito alone…
…
This day was not going very well for Miko Iino.
As head of the disciplinary committee in both her middle and high school -eventually the Student Council president in the latter- she felt it was only natural to join the one on her college campus as she pursued her law degree. But just five months after her first day enrolling, what seemed like a natural decision ended up being a repeat of history. This was because, being an enforcer of rules no one wanted to follow, especially at an age where freedom from parental figures was an epidemic across students, Miko was primed to be treated like an outcast…just like she was in her prior school.
This was something Miko had commonly dealt with, no one likes a stick in the mud, and she was one of the more defiant sticks she was aware of. Her behavior and adherence to her ideals didn't help matters. She was far from the obsessively direct person she was in her younger years, much thanks to the friends she made in high school. But she was still prone to following the rules as best as possible, which naturally caused conflict with the vast majority of the campus.
That said, what really made matters worse was that those friends who helped her were now gone. Not a single one of her friends from her prior school had come up to Ontario like she had to pursue her law degree. Not out of choice, mind you, they all simply had where they needed to go. And she still managed to keep somewhat regular contact with them from time to time.
But at this moment…it really was not helping this isolation Miko was feeling at her college. And on days like these, that was starting to wear her down more and more. She'd always had some difficulty with the prospect of being left alone, given her parents regularly spent days away from home due to work even in her early childhood. It developed in her an underlying worry about pushing the people around her away, which…clashed greatly with her goals and status of enforcing rules and good behavior on a college campus of all places.
She had just come back from an especially rough argument with one of the popular students for bringing illegal drugs on campus grounds and encouraging younger students, some of whom were still minors, to partake.
Normally Miko was better at handling debates than anyone else, but the social pressure and anxiety of a crowd of individuals all being against her, less out of a sense of logic or reason and more out of a desire to simply do as they pleased, was difficult for her to handle.
It didn't make her almost completely shut down like she would have in the past, no, she was much stronger than she was then.
It was more so the aftermath of such occurrences that were the most taxing, because there was just this period of complete silence in the isolation where Miko could do nothing but self-reflect on how she behaved. With no one else around, the only person she could criticize was…herself.
"Why did I do that?"
"Why didn't I just leave it alone?"
"Why am I so stubborn?"
"Am I just…a complete screw-up? …a failure?"
"What is wrong with me…?"
It was hard. She knew for a fact that she was a stronger person now than when she was in school, but days like these made her feel so much weaker. The quiet of the room surrounding her meant that she had little noise to drown out her increasingly negative thoughts.
She needed a distraction.
Lunch.
Perfect.
If there was one thing that could immediately improve Miko's mood when she was feeling stressed, it was food. She was very diligent in making sure her lunch was packed and tidy, it had become a small source of pride for her as it was something she knew anyone would admire regardless of their personal stances on anything.
In fact she had admittedly become a bit over-reliant on food in the past few months to maintain her mental health…but there was no point in concerning herself with that now!
All she had to do was open her boxed lunch filled with all the rice and chicken and veggies a girl could want…
…unfortunately, to her surprise, the box was completely empty.
That's right.
She had completely forgotten to pack it earlier today.
"What is wrong with me…"
Tears started welling up in Miko's face as her forgetting to pack her own lunch was the straw that broke the camel's back, and suddenly all her anxieties piled up on top of each other at once.
This was supposed to be one of the few things she was objectively good at. And yet she just let this slip too…
It was too much.
She couldn't take this anymore.
She couldn't handle this feeling of being all lonely and afraid.
She just wanted it to stop.
She wanted to stop feeling weak and tired and alone.
She just-
"Uh hey, is anyone in here? I had a question about…uh"
A scruffy boy that had just slowly but nonchalantly barged into the room unannounced took a quick gander at the mostly empty space in front of him, then at the crying girl sitting smack in the middle of it, staring at him in an expression that could only be described as a violently annoyed "do you mind?"
"...alrighty, cool, sorry about that I'll just…yeah I'll just go."
He started to close the door and walk off, and it was then Miko suddenly started to feel bad for seeing him off so rudely. She'd never met this boy before, it's not as if he'd done anything wrong by her. Was her personality really that terrible-
Suddenly, to cut off her panic, an immensely loud growling sound emitted from her stomach, a painful and embarrassing reminder that she had also skipped breakfast that day.
It was so loud that she'd be lucky if everyone down the hall didn't hear it, much less the boy that was about to leave. An avalanche of sheer embarrassment rocked Miko as the next few seconds filled with an awkward silence.
"Did uh…something happen?" The boy said, frantically poking his head back in. "Was…was that your stomach-"
"JUST LEAVE ALREADY!"
"OKAYSORRYTOBOTHERYOUMISSBYE."
He fumbled around a bit before dashing off.
"Ugh…this is just the worst day ever." Miko said aloud to no one.
Now she was stressed, hungry, AND extremely embarrassed.
But something else caught her attention, a smell. It was a rather odd smell, like that of a salty gas-station. It took Miko a second to realize she recognized it.
She looked back over by the door, and on the shelf next to it was a small, greasy box with a 7-Eleven logo on it.
Miko slowly walked over and opened the box up, and what she found were 4 rather large pieces of oily fried chicken that had an extremely strong smell.
Furthermore, this wasn't average 7-Eleven chicken from the ones found in Ontario…this was…the type one would find in Miko's home country of Japan.
Her very favorite.
Before Miko could ponder the sheer coincidence of this, she saw that there was a note next to the box as well.
In clearly hastily written marker, it said:
"Feel free to have these, I know how hard stuff can be sometimes. I'll come over tomorrow to ask my question, hope that isn't an issue. Yours truly, Kaito."
Miko slowly read the note over multiple times, before putting it in her pocket.
"Kaito, huh? I think he's from the newspaper staff…"
He said he'd be coming by tomorrow as well. And for some reason that…comforted Miko. She couldn't quite tell why, maybe it was because of how alone she was feeling but it was a comfort she certainly didn't dislike.
She took the box over to her desk, took out a piece, and took a small bite.
Perfect.
She then immediately gobbled up the rest, feeling the happiest she had all day.
…
Miko waited patiently at the Redlands bookstore cafe for Kaito, keeping her book as close to her as possible. After what Kari told her -the little that she actually said and the mountains of info derived from her reaction alone- the anxiety of lugging this strange book around weighed on her. She looked down at the number she was given over and over again, breathing deeply about what it was she should do.
The isolation didn't help much. While the cafe wasn't empty by any means, Miko's table certainly was. And while she was very capable at handling stressful situations on her own, typically that came with the premise that she knew all the information she needed. But now? She was flying very blind in an environment that could prove to be a lot more strenuous than she could conceive at this moment.
So yes, the lack of anyone to talk to was giving her an anxious feeling she hadn't felt in quite some time.
Thankfully that feeling wouldn't last.
"Hey, anyone sitting here?" The scruffy individual before her asked, having just entered the cafe.
Miko couldn't help but chuckle with the extent the anxious feeling left her body the moment she saw him.
"No, you dorkus. You sure felt like keeping me waiting, huh?"
"Ahh, sorry. Clover needed me to help pick a gift for Akane, not sure why he thinks I'd know anything about the right date present but hey, gotta help your friends, amiright?" Kaito breathed out as he slumped his bag onto the floor and himself onto the chair across from Miko.
"Dawww… my modest little Kokonut… like you wouldn't know how to win a girl's heart~?" Miko smirked.
"Gah, shut it you dork. I'm just lucky I can figure out what's on your mind half the time…" Kaito snapped back, trying to hide any red shades appearing on his face. With how relaxed he came across with most anyone else, it was truly a marvel just how easily Miko could fluster him when they were by themselves.
"Mhm…can you figure out what's on my mind right this second…?" She batted her eyelashes at him, playfully.
"...the fluffy crepe with bananas, chocolate, and whipped cream. Got it." Kaito barely finished his sentence before he started skimming the menu, getting a proper laugh out of the lady across from him.
Indeed. Miko was aware she wasn't the only person who claimed Kaito's presence was calming -something the man himself would doubt and deny with all his might- but it was something she always appreciated about him.
As the two got their orders and made their way through their meals, parts of themselves nearly forgot there was something serious to discuss in the first place. Kaito merely went on about the antics he and his work friend Clover ran into, with Miko chiming in with her commentary at every point she felt intrigued by. It wasn't so much they were avoiding the topic, more so that they knew the both of them needed a comfortable base to start approaching it.
This was part of the dynamic the couple shared. In their own terms, it's what made them a good team. Both of them were passionate people, but together they formed a solid groundwork for the other, with each of them being much shakier without this mutual presence.
Finally, once Kaito got done detailing how much he had to wall off Clover from breaking the bank on his gift, the two gave one more hearty chuckle at the situation, before sighing and nodding at each other.
"So…how'd it go with our librarian friend?"
"Not great, unfortunately. She definitely knows something, but she's really clammed up about this topic, and what's more concerning is how much it seems like she wishes that wasn't the case." Miko rolled around one of the remaining banana slices on her plate (from the half of Kaito's crepe he gave to her) in contemplation.
"Ahh…yeah that makes sense. With how much cover-up stuff has been going on, I'm not surprised that the few people who'd know anything about this wouldn't want to risk anything by giving it freely."
"Mm…that said, she did give me this number if we wanted more information." She handed over the number Kari gave her.
"Uh huh…but I take it this came with a warning, eh?"
"Yeah…she mentioned that we shouldn't get involved with the Amalthus Corporation, and I get why she said it, but…it's just…"
"Heh, you were never one to let something unjust go by without your scathing critique-"
"It's downright underhanded, I tell you!"
"Mhm, and it seems like we'd be putting ourselves in a line of fire once we try digging beyond the surface on this one, huh?"
"It does…"
"...and tell me, Koko Puff."
"Hm?"
"When has that sort of thing ever stopped the two of us before, eh?"
"...yeah, heh…you've got a point."
…
"You really meant all this corny stuff you wrote about me…?" Miko asked, holding the campus newspaper as she walked and doing a poor job at hiding her blush.
"Every word, miss!" Kaito chuckled as she walked alongside her.
It had been roughly 3 weeks since he had stumbled into the student council office and walked in on its short-statured president. His first attempt barely got off the ground, but he managed to get the interview he was looking for to write his article on her, the outcome being the section on the paper Miko held in front of her at that moment.
"Hated Student Council President: A Noble Underdog Fighting for the Sanctity of our Campus? It's true!" Miko held the paper over her mouth, almost as if she was embarrassed to even read that headline outloud. "...dork…when you said you wanted to write an article on me, I figured it'd at least be something critical and unbiased…"
"But it is unbiased, miss! It doesn't take a genius to realize you've been hard done by from a lot of these jokers just for doing the right thing, it's only fair for someone to spread the proper truth about you!"
Kaito figured Miko would be resistant to that idea. Anyone would feel awkward being so directly praised, being described almost like a heroic protagonist as she was in his writing. Admittedly, he certainly didn't hold anything back when complimenting her, but Kaito was nothing if not a lover of underdogs.
He was a bit less open about this part, but he also figured Miko's culture shock was partially to blame for the immediately somewhat hostile reputation she had at this new school. Kaito had visited Japan more than a few times, and one thing he knew about that place for certain was that everyone was a lot more respectful and willing to follow rules.
Compare that to where they stood. While Canada certainly had a reputation of being less aggressive than its brother down south, comparing that bar to Miko's home country would make for a staggering trapeze act. Kaito could only imagine the rulebreakers from Miko's rich upper class school would feel like daycare kids compared to the average North American college attendee, even if this was a much more well-kept one.
That level of difference would make a fish out of water of anyone, much less someone who made it their duty to uphold strict regulations on others in the school environment. Frankly the lack of a "public morals committee" as Miko described it to him was enough of a change.
Because of all that, Kaito felt that Miko deserved a proper chance to get the right impression with those on campus, explaining his choice to present her in the light that he did in his article. That said, a part of him did worry he was making Miko feel uncomfortable, she did seem rather anxious. But…the glimmer in her hazel eyes as she read his words over and over again…it gave him all the response he needed.
As they walked, another set of students were proceeding down the hall the opposite way, and once they noticed Kaito, an almost instantaneous call for a fist bump followed.
"Nice work on getting on the front of the paper again, man!" The fellow said, hand outreached.
"Eyo, thanks!" Kaito bumped him -needing to reach up a fair bit to do so- and chuckled. "But hey, when you have a star like this as your subject, the words just write themselves!"
He lightly patted Miko on the back, also signaling her to properly address the two. Miko did so by silently bowing. She only then realized that she was holding the very feature focused on her in plain view, which drew a chuckle from the fellow and from Kaito as she hastily tried to hide it.
"Yeah, I had you pegged wrong, Iino. Keep up what you're doing, you got us as support!" He waved Kaito and Miko off alongside the other boy he was walking with.
The shorter duo returned the wave and continued.
"...hmph…you call them jokers, but you seem pretty chummy with them…" She muttered.
"Hm? I mean…I'm kinda chummy with everyone I guess. Couldn't tell you why, but it's no big deal."
"No big deal, he says…" Miko pouted, and Kaito pretty quickly regretted how he phrased that.
Through the interviews -really they were just conversations over lunch breaks, but he wasn't quite sure what else to call them- he'd picked up on the fact that under her justice-pursuing bravado, this Miko Iino was anxious about the way people felt about her. Surely when someone like her was struggling with making friends or even just not getting on people's bad side, hearing of and seeing people like him naturally ease the tension in the room when they walked in and acting like it wasn't valuable would be rather frustrating.
However…
"But I mean it."
Miko turned to Kaito, initially with some anger in her eyes at how brazenly he seemed to ignore her annoyance, but that anger melted when she noticed how serious he looked at her back.
In all the times they had talked up to that point, his face never once donned such an expression.
He continued.
"I know it's a matter of opinion but…I don't think being on good terms with people is all that difficult by itself. What I'm more impressed by is…you. You have the bravery to do things that you know will make people dislike you, but you do them anyway because you know it's right."
Miko's hand reached for the newspaper she had stuffed into her pocket. Kaito could somewhat piece together why, he did just take a line he wrote in the article and repeat it to her verbatim. It was clear she was looking for a way to respond, but not finding anything.
"...heh, what's the matter, miss? Thought you were a master of debate, did I just make the strong willed little lady speechless?" Kaito's expression softened as he spoke with his usual cadence.
Miko, realizing herself, quickly pulled away from his gaze and kept walking.
"Y-you…stop calling me 'miss' already, it's weird. My name is Iino. You know this."
Changing the subject, eh? Kaito smiled as he kept up with her.
"Still…you seem so..attuned to this sort of thing. How is that?" She asked.
It took a moment for Kaito to process what she meant. It seemed as though she was referring to the art of defending someone like her with her poor reputation. It wouldn't be wrong to say that Kaito was accustomed to the concept.
"Ah, well, when I was younger…I mean, ever since I was younger, I sometimes go online and uh…talk about stuff that I think gets a bad rap, you know…"
"Stuff?" Miko tilted her head. She definitely picked up on his sudden shift from casual chatter to slow stuttering.
"...like…P-Pokemon games…and anime series…stuff like that…I'd go and rant about how people were uh…treating them unfairly…so…yeah…" Kaito could practically see his sense of confidence and bravado displayed not 20 seconds ago exiting his body like a hazy mist with each word he spoke.
He wasn't exactly sure how Miko would respond, so when he looked over, her expression very much perplexed him.
An almost condescending smirk.
"Ohhhh…? So…you'd be the type to go onto online forums and shill to your heart's content, is that it?" She giggled at his expense.
All of a sudden the tables had turned, as Kaito had never seen Miko speak in this…cheeky tone before. The fact that she knew what the term "shill" even was, much less its mocking connotations surprised him enough. Up to now she was always either anxious, stern, or flustered talking to him. But now, he was the one that was flustered by her, frankly.
"H-hey now, just because I defend the things I like doesn't make me a shill, you-"
"Aww, does that mean you like me?" Miko snickered.
"W-well I didn't…well I mean I don't not…like…uh-"
"I do suppose I should be honored…I don't believe I've ever had my own shill before!" She grinned.
Kaito was about to make another point, but when he looked at her, he paused.
There was a tone of mockery and teasing in her voice and on her face. But…deeper beyond that, he could see shades of someone being genuinely happy from the bottom of their heart. Confident, even.
It was a look on her he'd never seen before. But it still overwhelmed him with the charm that drew him to her in the first place. This self-assured, strong lady who stood before him. Even if she did so a few centimeters shorter.
"...pfft, calling me shill…like I said miss, you got some guts."
"Well if you stop calling me 'miss', I'll stop calling you my shill!"
"What's wrong with miss? You're lucky I don't call you something REAL cringey like 'madam', now that would set us back a few centuries."
"And you're lucky I don't go for the jugular and call you a 'simp', now aren't you?"
"...touche, Iino. Touche."
…
"God, uncovering deep lore is a lot more fun for video games than it is for…real life, I guess." Kaito groaned in front of his laptop, yet another 404 screen staring back at him, almost mockingly.
Him and Miko were both face-down at their cafe table, having come up to another dead-end in their search for something, anything really, to connect the contents of the book to the Amalthus corporation.
Much like his last web-search deep dive, Kaito could only rely on recently published sites which either felt like they went down within seconds of him finding them or were decades old and had more dead links than proper words.
Miko herself, having given up her anxiety about being seen with the book, was now seemingly fine with being seen in the book as her face was planted squarely on top of one of the crusty pages.
"Maybe…we should just go ahead and call the number…" She said, muffled and defeated. Kaito pulled her head from the page.
"Gahhh…I didn't want to risk stuff by making a phone call without a burner or something, but at this rate I'm probably being tracked by enough government computers to be accused of tax evasion…"
"Sooo…?" Miko slowly glanced in his direction.
"...just…a few more tries."
The two proceeded through forum post after forum post, minutes bleeding into each other as time passed. Patrons of the cafe left and entered while they remained, with one notable set coming in around the hour mark.
"Well look who it is… surprised to see you lot out without the bean poles to protect you." A nasally female voice suddenly called. Miko sighed angrily as she turned to see Irma making her way over to them.
"Irma, don't you have anything better to do?" She asked.
"Yeah, like trying to make a case for your law school after nearly starting your hit and run-" Kaito added.
Irma growled and glared Kaito's way before focusing on Miko again.
"It's your fault, you little dog-eared cow! They've been using me as an example of what NOT to do outside of work! I hope you're happy!"
"As a matter of fact, I am! It's nice to know the world of tomorrow has such a perfect anti-role model to deviate from!" Miko stated proudly. Irma only grew angrier as she put herself closer to them.
"Don't act so smug, little girl! You and Frank and his little girlfriends may be the pictures of perfection, but it's always SO nice to see you struggling over silly stuff like… whatever this dinosaur stuff is!" She accentuated her speech by wildly gesturing to the mess on the table.
"At least we have the free time to GET stressed over little things- it's your own fault you had to repeat a year, you toeheaded parasite!" Miko shouted back at her.
"Why I oughta-!"
"Irma. Irma, what's going on?" A tall, raven haired woman with red glasses approached the table, a look of disapproval on her face the closer she drew. Irma's eyes widened in concern before quickly turning to Miko and smiling smugly.
"Ariel! Ariel, baby, they're making fun of me!" She cried through crocodile tears.
"Who did?" The other woman asked flatly.
"Them! Miko and-and Shaggy Rogers over here!"
"Hey! That's the nicest thing you've ever called me!" Kaito said with a smile.
"Irma, come on, you said you'd cut the bull and turn over a new leaf… I don't need to remind you about the street racing again, do I?"
"But-but-but…!" Irma struggled to find words to further paint herself as the victim. Kaito and Miko exchanged impressed looks… it wasn't often anyone could break through Irma's steely exterior… they liked this girl already.
"Irma, play nice and apologize to them or we're skipping this Friday night… alright?" Ariel crossed her arms over her chest and awaited a response. Irma groaned and turned to face the younger couple, handing out a wad of cash to each of them.
"This is to say I'm sorry… I GUESS… use this to pay off any damages that you might've suffered after… all that… okay?!" She spoke through gritted teeth.
"There. That wasn't so hard, was it?" Ariel asked with a sly smile on her face.
"I miss the old you…"
"But the old me wouldn't get to have nearly as much fun, now would they~?" Ariel teased her partner lovingly as she planted a fluttering kiss on her cheek, leaving Irma to silently brood like a bratty toddler.
"Wow… that's impressive… you actually got her to shut up!" Miko gasped in amazement.
"What can I say? I like a little project- Irma and I have been thick since grade school… who better to help her out than me, eh?" Ariel boasted proudly, towering over the three other people in the area. "Although her little INCIDENT up the mountain had me thinking of a few things…" Ariel glared Irma's way, causing the shorter woman to shrink down and blush as she looked away nervously. It was a look neither Kaito or Miko had seen before… and it was satisfying.
"A project, eh?" Kaito asked as he sat down in his seat once again. "You wouldn't happen to be interested in giving us a hand in researching some of these artifacts and scriptures here, would you?" His eyes sparkled with hope.
"Kaito, don't be rude! We've only just met them!" Miko reprimanded.
"I don't imagine I'll be much help… but I'll bite, what you got?" Ariel asked.
"Ariel- what are you doing?! This was supposed to be our time!" Irma grunted.
"And it will be- but our order isn't ready yet, hon… now just hang tight and watch what I do- okay?" Ariel patted her girlfriend's cheeks teasingly, getting a growl out of her that she chose to ignore as Kaito laid everything out in front of them.
"We've ran into a whole lot of brick walls concerning all this old world stuff… Blades and Drivers and moving continents and whatnot…" Kaito explained.
"Blades? Drivers? Don't those only exist in anime and manga? That's all kid's stuff, what are you so worried about?" Ariel asked.
"That's information we like to keep under wraps…" Miko explained. "But the existence of any of this VERY REAL phenomenon at all is perplexing to us… we've got some friends who're pretty immersed into this stuff as well, and we wanna help em out… they've got their own little research going on…"
"Oh yeah- Frank's been going back to school, hasn't he? The 9-5 behind a screen been too much for him, eh?" Irma snided.
"As a matter of fact- it hasn't! He's just found a new interest! Something you'd benefit from, Irma-?" Kaito shot back.
"Okay- okay- let's cool it down- I'm sorry to say I don't know anything about anything here, but… hmmm…" Ariel put her fingers to her chin as she stared off into space.
"Hm? What're you thinking about?" Miko asked.
"My brother used to read these stories with me all the time… from what I remember, there's this thing called… Aptitude or Infinity or something…? That keeps a hard lock on the bond these wacky sword people have with their masters… maybe you should look into that a little more! If things like this are out there in the world, somewhere, keeping a hold on that stuff is sure to lead somewhere! Those kind of connections don't just go away!" She responded.
"Infinity, huh…? You wouldn't happen to mean Affinity, would you?" Kaito asked.
"Couldn't tell ya, kid, sorry."
Miko in particular pondered over Ariel's musing some more… she knew for certain that the bond Frankie had with Pyra and Mythra was particularly uncanny with how comfortable it had gotten in such a short time… and recalled the moments the three did seem to be quite in tune with each other… how to bring that out and look further into it though…? That's when she noticed a flyer sticking out of Ariel's bag.
"Hey… What's that you got there, Ariel…?" Miko asked. Irma suddenly stopped brooding and yanked it out of Ariel's bag and hid it behind her.
"Nothing! Don't worry about it!" She shouted.
"Irma…" Ariel bemoaned as she gently retrieved the flyer from Irma's grip and presented it to Miko and Kaito. "It's a couple's cooking competition! It starts tomorrow, Irma and I go to these every year, but this is the first time they're holding open entry, so we're gonna be in it! You wanna join?"
"W-will there be free samples…?" Miko asked as she drooled expectantly. Ariel laughed heartily.
"Long as you're willing to put in a little bit of elbow grease!" She responded.
"For Ariel Walters!" The barista suddenly called out.
"Oh! That's our order! We'll talk to you guys later- Irma, say good bye~"
Irma rolled her eyes in annoyance and made eye contact with Miko and Kaito once again.
"See ya… I guess…" Irma shot Ariel a menacing glare, not like she cared, it only made her look cuter in her eyes.
"Y-yeah- thanks Ariel- buh-bye-" Miko said as the couple walked away.
"You just had to gettem to butt in didn't you? Now we're in trouble!" Irma complained to Ariel.
"You know you love me~"
Irma stayed quiet, leaving Kaito and Miko in peace once again.
"So we're going, right, Koko Puff?" Kaito asked with a sly grin, already knowing Miko's answer.
"Yes, of course we're going! You better brush up on your chicken making skills, mister, or you'll be in big trouble!" She exclaimed.
"Yes ma'am!" Kaito responded with a salute before bringing his face closer to Miko. "But you know we won't be the only ones…~"
"Oooo~ well we don't have to tell them it's a couple's thing~ I just feel bad for Frankie and Pyra… their backs will be sore carrying Mythra through the whole thing…"
"So it's a date then~?"
"Yes, Kokonut… it's a date~"
…
"Kaito."
"Kaito! Hey!"
"...wha- oh, sorry…"
Kaito finally looked up from his phone and over at Miko. He hadn't realized how much he zoned out.
He felt guilty.
It had been 4 months since their first encounter, and by this point the two had developed quite the back and forth. Kaito had even become a member of the student council as Miko's vice president, a role he definitely didn't feel qualified for, but he took up as best he could. He still maintained his position as a writer for the campus newspaper, and it wasn't too difficult a transition as he was always more of a freelance writer who would submit work at his leisure. He was more than comfortable maintaining both roles, and frankly Miko made sure of that given how hard she worked. At times it felt like his being vice president was barely needed, despite Miko's insistence.
"What's the matter with you? I called out to you like four times." Miko peered around Kaito's head. "You aren't wearing earbuds are you?"
"Nah nah, I'm just…kinda tired is all." Kaito gave her a relaxed smile, but when he looked at the short lady it didn't seem to assuage her concern much.
"Anyways… you were saying? About the new policies?"
Miko was weary of Kaito trying to change the subject, but that was the topic of the conversation they were having so it was only reasonable. She shuffled the papers in her hand and paced around the council room as she spoke.
"Well…I've been looking over the mission statements and I'm just…not sure if I should go through with them…"
"Huh? But I thought you were all for the 'restricting phones on campus' movement?" Kaito went from leaning back to sitting forward as it was his turn to look concerned.
"I am, and I've done the research. While using phones on campus is fine, they've become a clear disruption when it comes to instructors trying to perform their lectures. So we do need a call to action on that…" Miko's head snapped in the direction of her scruffy vice president. She didn't say anything, but given that Kaito had just been distracted when talking to her due to his phone not seconds prior, her ice-cold glare gave him all the info he needed. He raised his hands in defeat.
"But…no one's gonna like that. If I push too hard with a position like this, all of the goodwill we've built up might just…"
Miko gripped the papers in her hand with worry. While she didn't say it directly, it was clear that part of her concern came from not wanting to let Kaito's efforts in improving the campus's impression of her go to waste. He'd written a few more articles defending her name before becoming her vice president, and despite his stated desire to write more, Miko didn't want people to think he had a conflict of interest.
It would not have been a stretch to say Kaito's writing was one of the key pillars to Miko's reputation as president having turned so positively as of late, and she'd been lucky enough that none of the statements or suggestions she'd made over the past few months did anything to hurt that reputation.
If she did something to make people hate her now, it would be soul-crushing to her. Not because of her own social status tanking, while that would be upsetting and deal a blow to her ability to take action as president, she was more than capable of accepting that. No, it was because Miko didn't want Kaito to become a similar social pariah as her just because he was a crew member on her sinking ship.
The students on campus had a trust in Kaito, and now that trust could be broken if Miko -the girl he'd backed so fervently- were to get on all of their bad sides. And as much as she'd hope otherwise…Miko knew Kaito would stick by her regardless of how badly she'd mess up.
"Hey…"
Kaito stood up and walked over to the brown haired girl, gently and respectfully putting a hand on her shoulder. "Dork, don't you dare back out on something just for my sake, that'd just suck."
"Y-you…I never said that…" Miko, caught off guard by how blatantly Kaito had read her mind, couldn't come up with a proper rebuttal. Kaito, chuckling at his victory this round, gestured to take the papers.
"But let's look at these then…so you want to maintain this policy, but present it in a way that people will actually take it to heart?"
"I mean…yeah I guess." Miko fiddled with her hair a bit in thought.
"Hm…well, try to understand, you're not asking anything too drastic of people here. It's not like they're not allowed to use their phones in class at all."
"Of course not! That'd be barbaric! Not to mention studies show that in many cases, checking our phones in moderation can actually help focus for students in longer lectures! Especially those with certain neurodivergent tendencies!" Miko hopped a bit as she made her point, a habit Kaito had noticed she'd adopted whenever she was feeling comfortable chatting about something.
"Aha-!" Kaito suddenly pointed at Miko, startling her a bit. "Right there! That's how you present it!"
Miko simply looked confused.
"Bring that up in your speech." Kaito elaborated. "You know nothing you're saying here is wrong, and anyone willing to look from your perspective would likely agree with the logic of it, yeah?"
Miko nodded, still not exactly sure where Kaito was going with this.
"So…bring up the fact that phones can be used to help in the lecture halls. Instead of making all your points about what students are doing wrong, meet them in the middle a bit. Acknowledge why a lot of them use phones in class."
"Huh…and that way, they'd think of these mission statements as less like a 'phones vs studies' battle and more like…everything can be helpful so long as they're used properly and in moderation?"
"Exactly! Now you're cooking with gas!" Kaito excitedly patted her on the back, drawing a chuckle out of Miko. He always had a tendency to be extremely supportive and congratulatory whenever she'd come to some sort of breakthrough like this, even when he was the one prompting it.
"Heh…you sure that would work?" She asked.
"I mean, hard to know until you try. There might end up being some stragglers, but at worst you'd be starting a discussion, not making an enemy of the student body or nothin'. People feel combative whenever it seems like you think everything they're doing is wrong, so as long as you make it clear you come from a place of understanding and support, they'll at least make the leap to hear you out."
"And…you sure they even like me enough to make that leap?" The small girl still looked weary and unsure, prompting the small boy beside her to pat her on the shoulder again.
"Trust me. You'll win 'em over like you did with me!" He smiled brightly at her.
It was almost enough to make Miko laugh out loud again. It wasn't even exclusive to her, but Kaito had this ability to compliment and spot the good in people without any reservation or embarrassment of any kind. But this she had gotten used to…what really soothed her was seeing him brighten up after spending the bulk of the day looking so…drained and forworn.
She was still worried about his emotional state, but…seeing him like this gave her some relief.
Unfortunately, that relief was short lived as Kaito's phone gave a notification.
Immediately his wide and happy expression became tense. Kaito tried to hide it, but he was clearly not looking forward to checking what was just sent. Regardless, he gestured apologetically to Miko before turning away and looking at his phone.
"Hey, c'mon…" Miko, somewhat upset that the good vibe they were having was so abruptly cut off, tried to peer around to meet Kaito's gaze.
As she did…her concern skyrocketed once again as she saw his expression. At this point Miko felt like she knew Kaito well enough to know what to expect from how he handled situations. But nothing could prepare her for how…scared he looked.
Color drained from his skin. His usually tired and calm eyes wide with horror. The other features of his face gave across a very neutral expression, but those details included gave off a very particular sense of worry.
Miko was about to speak up, before Kaito began to rush off.
"Sorrygottapicksomethingupseeyoulater-" He almost ran to the door, only stopped by Miko just as quickly moving to grab his arm.
"Wait-! Just…wait a second! What's wrong?!" Miko practically shouted.
"It's nothing-" Kaito tugged, hoping Miko would simply let go.
"Oh and you just expect me to believe that?"
"I-I'm sorry, I just don't want you to worry-"
"What about anything you're doing right now do you think is gonna make me NOT worry?"
Kaito stammered, unable to come up with a response. Miko, noticing his phone was not yet turned off, quickly reached over and snatched it out of his hand.
"H-HEY DON'T-"
Kaito, with a lot more strength than he was intending to use, harshly pulled the phone back out of Miko's hand, leaving her in a daze. She grunted in pain as he stepped back.
"Y…you should…privacy…I…" He tried to come up with some form of justification, but as he saw Miko's small, dainty hand go pink from the way he ripped the phone out of it, he simply muttered…
"I'm…sorry…"
The two sat in silence for a few moments. Miko held her now reddish hand and looked to the ground. Kaito looked in the same direction, but stole a few nervous glances at the girl out of concern.
After a string of awkward silence, Miko finally spoke.
"...who was that?"
Kaito, more so startled by her voice, simply turned his head towards her.
"Who. Was. That. Kaito?"
So she did see it. The messages on Kaito's phone that made him so anxious.
He had secretly hoped Miko was more concerned with the force he used on her by accident than the contents of those messages. Frankly he hoped she hadn't seen them at all.
"...just…error spam messag-"
"Don't lie to me."
Kaito, initially afraid to meet her gaze, eventually did so with great hesitation.
He expected more anger and annoyance, perhaps a hint of betrayal. But…all Miko looked at him with was concern. Genuine concern.
After a moment, Miko sighed.
"Jeez…it's not that serious, stop looking at me like a frightened puppy already."
"O-oh…s-sorry…" Kaito hadn't realized just how anxious he looked. Another beat of awkward silence commenced, as he thought long and hard about what he could tell her. He didn't want her to worry, but in the state he was in, Kaito was going to make Miko think a horrific beast was after him just through how poorly he'd been communicating the situation. He had to come clean or else she'd become far too worried.
Miko noticed the strain on Kaito's expression, and took another sigh as she flipped her hair slightly.
"Listen, if you don't want to tell me, that's fine. But if you-"
"It's my ex."
"..."
Miko, eyes a bit wide from the bluntness of Kaito's response, slowly turned and looked at him. Kaito's own expression was now more…sullen. He took a deep breath in and out, before repeating.
"It's my ex…girlfriend…I guess?"
"You…guess…?" Miko tilted her head in some confusion.
"W-well like…I dunno, we never officially…became a couple or anything but…I feel like I'd be lying if I called her anything else so…" He trailed off, clearly not really knowing how to elaborate.
Miko in turn tried to look for some type of response. Nothing really came of it.
"...you could look a little less surprised, you know." Kaito stated. He was mostly joking, of course. But a small part of him did assume she was shocked in part at the knowledge that he had what some would call a girlfriend in the past. He certainly wouldn't have believed it himself.
However, Miko's mind was in a completely different place. Because of this, she stood up harshly.
"Excuse you…of course I'm surprised! What do you…I just…those messages read like a deranged serial killer's drivel!"
"...okay they aren't that intense Miko, c'mon-"
"How is 'GIVE IT BACK TO ME' in all capitals NOT intense?!"
Kaito didn't really have a response to that. He just went silent in general. He was clearly looking for something to say, but as was becoming frustratingly repetitive…he couldn't.
Miko, noticing this, eased her posture and slowly sat next to him.
"I'm…sorry for yelling…"
"...it's okay…I'm sorry for being so rough…"
Miko chuckled, staring at her palm again. It was clear at this point Kaito was more hurt by the redness on her hand than she was.
"Kaito…you seem like such a relaxed person, but you worry way too much. I'm not made of paper."
"...okay…"
They sat in silence once again, but this time with a much more cooled down and understanding air between them. Eventually, Kaito resumed.
"...you know how some people are like, too dedicated to helping others that they forget about themselves…?"
"Of course…I have firsthand experience with that." Miko rested her head on Kaito's shoulder. "...so…you tried to help someone too much in a way you didn't want for yourself, and they took advantage of you as a result."
Kaito was shocked. "How did…that's assuming so much, where did you…"
The tiny brunette chucked once more.
"Kaito, you've done so much for me without being promised anything in return or even being asked. And as much of a shill as you are…I know I'm not the only one you give that treatment to."
Kaito, somewhat flabbergasted at how much Miko had read from the little information she was given, could say nothing more than a flat "...huh…"
Miko rested a hand on his arm. In any other circumstance, this much physical affection would've sent both of them into a fritz, but…neither of them felt put off by any of it.
"I did…everything I could to make her happy…but…she wanted something I couldn't give her. So…like…"
"So now she's taking out her frustration on you when you've done everything you can for her?"
"..."
"Doesn't exactly sound fair, does it?"
"..."
"...do you have anyone else you've talked to about this?" She asked.
"Mm, usually my brother…Frankie. I've told you about him, yeah?"
Miko nodded, and smiled. She knew Frankie was similarly kind and highly considerate like his brother. Even in this context, knowing Kaito had someone like that looking out for him put some ease in her heart.
"Yeah…I'd usually talk to him about this stuff…but he's…going through it right now…I really don't want to make things harder on him by giving him reasons to worry about me…"
Kaito brought his hands together and twiddled his thumbs, while Miko turned to him with a far too observant look in her eyes.
"...and that's why you were trying to hide all this from me, too, huh?" Miko asked, subtly looking at her palm again. Kaito simply let his head droop.
"I'm supposed to…be the chill, relaxed guy people feel at ease being around…"
"Idiot…you told me that being that for people was nothing…big liar…"
"Sorry…"
Kaito took another deep breath. Even with what he knew Miko was trying to tell him, he felt a pit in his stomach knowing he was taking up so much of her time and mental energy. Miko spoke once again.
"You know…I needed help from others too."
Kaito looked at Miko. He wasn't surprised by this information but was caught off guard with her bringing it up now.
"People like us…we give ourselves up to try and make the world around us a little better…in our own way…" She rested her hand on her face. "But…we're also stupid because we keep forgetting to add ourselves to that equation."
"...yeah." Kaito looked back down.
"So…maybe we can help each other. Help balance this stuff out."
This time Kaito was properly shocked. He wasn't even sure why, but he was. He returned his gaze to Miko, who now gave him an annoyed glare.
"You've been running around helping me all this time, not giving me a chance to return the favor. Got some nerve-"
"H-heh…sorry…"
"And quit apologizing for everything! I know you're Canadian but this is just ridiculous!"
"Uh…w-well…"
After a moment, the two small individuals laughed at the now comical nature of their exchange. They both sat up, Kaito stretching and Miko brushing some hair out of her face as she rose to her feet.
"But…seriously." She leaned over at Kaito. "If you need my help with this stuff, just say the word. It would make me feel better than you constantly getting me out of trouble with no payback."
Kaito was initially going to brush her off with a simple "alright", but then took a moment to ponder and look at his phone. Some of the anxiety returned to his face.
He definitely didn't want to ask her for help. But…he couldn't very well not bring it up.
"...she's gonna fly over…face me in person, she said that. That's…the real reason I freaked out earlier…"
"I see…a stalker too, then…" Miko looked over at the phone too. There was a level of pure, genuine anger in her eyes that Kaito had not once seen, which was odd given how serious Miko usually was. "When, exactly?"
"In…2 weeks. About when your speeches are gonna start…"
"Mm, so I can't do anything too drastic-"
"Jeez, Miko. She's just a bitter ex, you sound like you're making plans to throw her in prison or something!"
"..."
"...Iino, c'mon now."
"Fine…"
Kaito chuckled again. He didn't realize it himself obviously, but…Miko was having the same soothing effect on him that he was having on her. He was so brutally afraid of this situation, even more so of anyone in his life beyond Frankie learning about it. But…here he was. Having revealed it to this bratty little lady he'd not known for half a year.
And he felt…good.
"Heh…if I didn't know any better, I'd say there's a hint of jealousy involved in this drive of yours-" Kaito spouted. He felt like he earned an awful joke after all this seriousness.
"In your dreams, dork. Like I'd ever give you the emotional effort." Miko looked back at him smugly.
Two weeks then passed by swiftly, every weekday Miko preparing for her big speech and Kaito helping her out with her script and practicing. He had promised to introduce her to the podium when it was her time, so naturally he was there rehearsing with her. It was…fun. Miko's nervousness regarding her delivery slowly broke away as they practiced, and it gave Kaito an ample distraction from his own concerns.
By the day of Miko's speech, the two of them had almost forgotten what was making them nervous to begin with.
They held the speech outdoors, using the park slightly off of the campus. There was an elevated platform with a podium that allowed the speaker to look across the rows of convenient (albeit rather uncomfortable) foldable chairs, not unlike those one would find in the closet of a school gymnasium.
This elevation was certainly appreciated by the short duo, given both of them were below the average student height wise, so even on that they felt confident. Kaito stepped up first, his calm and relaxed attitude being familiar to most of those sitting in front of him. A few joking comments about the uncomfortable chairs that doubled as a vouch of appreciation for those sitting in them certainly warmed the audience up, just in time for Miko's own speech.
And this time…she was positively radiant on stage.
Miko felt so cool and collected when she spoke. She hadn't felt this confident in herself speaking in front of a crowd since she was sending off her seniors in her second year of high school. She knew her points, and just like Kaito said, even if not everyone agreed with them, they clearly still resonated with what she was saying.
After about 30 minutes, Miko was done. It was an impressive length for such an information-dense speech, but even with their sore behinds, it didn't seem like the students felt like it dragged.
Miko began to step off stage, relieved. She eyed the crowd as it muddled up and conversation arose. She tried her best not to listen in on the discourse she could hear, but she still picked up bits and pieces.
Unfortunately, while she seemed to captivate them in terms of what she said, some conversations drifted over to…less than stellar commentary on her character. This was the first time she was speaking out in months after all, so anyone looking for things to dislike about her would naturally come out of the woodwork.
Miko shook the negative thoughts out of her head, this wasn't the time to worry about that. All she had to do was find Kaito and-
"Who's that chick talking to Kaito over there? She seems pretty mad-"
Miko's eyes widened.
Immediately she scanned the crowd for Kaito, who was definitely not standing where he was midway through her speech. She had gotten so wrapped up in it that she hadn't noticed him walking away.
The small yet determined young lady dashed off in search of him. She first located the individual who noted them and asked him to point them out to her.
Finally, over by a tree…she saw them.
Kaito speaking…more just listening to, frankly…with a taller girl mouthing off at him.
Miko couldn't hear what they were saying, but…she didn't like any of what she was seeing as she drew closer.
The girl spoke angrily at Kaito, but her body language felt…deliberately meek and demure.
As she got closer, Miko began to pick up bits of their conversation.
What the taller girl said was…concerning. She spoke in threats, but…they were threats of harm to herself. A consistent winge about how awful her life was and how much worse her mental state had gotten. And despite the source of these issues being so far removed, she somehow seemed to direct all of the hurt emotions onto Kaito and Kaito alone.
For his part, Kaito stood practically still. Unemotionally apologizing. Again. And again. And again.
"What's she doing with him?" Another onlooker said. At this point, much to the short man's displeasure, the conversation was drawing attention. And it seemed like the woman before him was more than fine with that.
Seemingly, the more eyes directed at them, the louder and more upset the girl became. She began almost screeching, before Kaito, finally emoting, began to desperately plead for her to stop. That he'd do anything to help her.
Anything.
And slowly…the girl reached a hand for Kaito's shoulder. Fear entered his gaze.
"That's QUITE enough!"
Miko hurriedly stepped between them. She was out of breath, but she still stared daggers into the girl's eyes, despite her now realizing she practically towered over her. Brushing her hair aside and catching her breath, Miko settled herself and straightened her posture, holding her clipboard with her speech and flyers to her chest and staring directly up at the taller woman.
"M-Miko you…"
"I won't have you harassing my vice president." She pressed further with no hesitation, cutting off Kaito.
An almost silent "oh damn" could be heard as Miko was definitely not afraid of being noticed by the crowd in this situation.
She took one of the flyers and handed it to the woman. "If you have a problem with the student council…with any of its members…you may take it up with us through the proper channels."
Miko couldn't quite read the expression on the woman's face. She wasn't quite as adept at parsing emotions as Kaito was. But she stood her ground. As she always did. Even as the woman stared at her blankly. Even as practically the entire crowd from the speech audience was now taking note of what was transpiring.
Miko stubbornly stood there.
Eventually, the woman looked between Miko and Kaito. A hint of anger finally flashed in her expression.
"M-Miko it's alright, we were just…uh…this is-"
He was cut off by the woman almost violently swiping the flier from Miko's hand, before she walked away. She angrily crumpled up said flier and threw it on the ground as she did so, somewhat undermining the demure nature she was exhibiting earlier, and walked off the campus.
Miko didn't stop glaring until the woman was well out of sight.
Kaito…couldn't stop looking at Miko.
Once the woman was well and truly gone, Miko took a deep breath out.
She turned and walked up to her vice president. Without looking, she placed a hand on his shoulder. A kind hand. A gentle hand. A supportive hand.
One not unlike those Kaito would place on her own shoulder when Miko was anxious.
"...Miko…?"
"You… owe me the biggest fried chicken dinner ever, dork." She spoke candidly.
Kaito, holding back a surprised chuckle, felt the need to ask something else, even if he didn't know what.
"But…is that…"
"We're a team, Kaito." Miko turned to meet his gaze. "We're not gonna let stuff like this stop us, are we?"
"...heh…yeah…you're right."
"Good, now let's hurry. I'm starving."
"Mm, lucky for you, I found a great korean chicken place that opened up just recently-"
And the short duo walked off to Kaito's car. Little did they know that, for some unknown reason, Miko's popularity and reputation would soon skyrocket, to the point that her suggested phone restrictions on campus would later be unanimously voted on by nearly the entire student body.
This was the result of two things; the logical and well-researched arguments the student council president made, and the strong character she presented to the student body, inspiring them to follow her example.
…
As Kaito drove, Miko slept soundly in the passenger seat next to him.
They finished their research at the cafe, and were now heading home, the sun setting as the day wound down. Miko had ordered another 4 items from the menu and had eaten herself into a slumber. Kaito chuckled, as he couldn't help but be reminded of how she did something identical the first time he took her to that Korean chicken place back when they were in college.
Suddenly, he got a call. Stuck in slow traffic, he decided to answer.
"Sup, Clover. Everything go alright with that Akane girl?"
"..."
"Aha, see? I told you she'd like it! What'd I tell you about confidence?"
"..."
"Well you two are a good pair, it makes sense you'd know what she likes, stop acting surprised, man!"
"..."
"Heh, yeah well, she's a keeper, so treat her well mate-"
"..."
Kaito looked over at Miko.
"Yeah…yeah don't worry. I am."
The small lady smiled happily.
…
"Big broooo- is this a bad tiiiiime~?" Kaito asked in a sing-songy tone as he opened the door to Frankie's house, only to immediately find Frankie and Mythra in the kitchen, the latter holding a pen and paper in hand.
"Now, the key here is to dry the breasts with paper towels… that way there won't be any splash back when you drop it in the pan and so… you know… it'll actually get a crust…" Frankie explained, removing a plastic bag with a chicken breast inside of it from a water bath, cutting it open, and demonstrating the technique to Mythra, who jotted notes down furiously.
"Dry… and fry…" she said to herself before chuckling. "H-hey- Dry and fry- I can make somethin' of that…!"
"That's the way to do it, you give it a try-" Frankie handed over another open bag with chicken in to Mythra, who immediately dropped her pen and paper and stared at it with just a slight bit of nervousness, eyeing it and the sizzling hot pan warily. Just as she did this, a yawn came from the living room. It was Pyra, with a horrendous bed head. Nevertheless, Frankie was very happy to see her.
"So you ended up taking a nap, huh? Gonna be hard to go mimis so late…" Frankie lightly teased.
"Mmm- I didn't mean to… but everything being so quiet and smelling so good did the trick…" She admitted woozily before opening her eyes and widening them happily as she saw Kaito in the doorway. "Oh? Hello Kaito! Is everything alright? What're you doing here so late?" She asked. Frankie turned quickly and smiled in turn as he opened the door for his brother inside.
"I could ask you all the same thing…" He said before turning to Frankie, "Part Time's been REALLY freeing up your schedule, huh, Romeo~?" He teased.
"Sh-shut up- we were all just hungry after work… and I wanted to teach them Sous Vide cooking…" Frankie said with a blush.
"Oh! Is Miko here?! I'd love for her to try my latest creation!" Pyra chirped as she rushed over to the toaster oven by the fridge, grabbing a pot holder and present the contents inside towards Kaito. "Honey Garlic carrots! Frankie's been sitting on that raw honey in the cabinet for goodness knows how long, so I had to use it somewhere…!" She leaned in and whispered that last part to Kaito… but not quietly enough for Frankie not to hear.
"Hey, don't say it like that!" Frankie exclaimed while Pyra chuckled to herself.
Kaito smiled even wider now… it had seem like such a long time ago when both Frankie and Pyra were in such dour, quiet moods nearly 24/7… but with their relationship developing so quickly in such a short amount of time… he knew that smooth sailing was ahead… even Mythra, who was still pondering over the food stuff in her hand and not paying any attention to him, seemed so different from before… and it put his own heart at rest after such a trying day… all the people he loved most… happy to just be… it made everything worth it.
"So uh… did you find anything about… mm…" Frankie nervously and quietly asked. Pyra looked over his shoulder to try and nose in on the conversation, unaware of what the two were trying to discuss.
Kaito sighed lightly.
"Not much… again…" He said. Frankie groaned in discomfort. But his heart skipped a hopeful beat as Kaito smiled again. "But hey- you know what'll help out in more ways than one~?"
"What? What's that?" Frankie leaned in even closer, as did Pyra, now fully invested in the secret conversation.
Kaito cupped a hand over Frankie's ear as he revealed what he was keeping.
"We're gonna get your affinity with these two up with… a cooking competition!"
"A COOKING COMPETITION?!" Pyra asked excitedly, erecting herself rapidly, as Frankie jumped in shock. A loud SPLAT was heard from the stove. Mythra, who had just taken the chicken out from the bag, looked down in horror as it landed smack dab in the middle of the ground, now completely wasted. She growled angrily and glared daggers at Pyra, who blushed heavily and waved sheepishly her way.
"That's right, big sis!" Kaito exclaimed. Frankie tried and failed to call him out on his terminology, as Kaito kept talking regardless.
"You're still calling her that-"
"A little birdie told me that there's open tryouts for a live audience and recording for a cooking show she and her partner go to every year, and they want us to come too! And you know what they say!"
"A penny a day keeps the luck in the day?" Frankie asked.
"…I mean sure but- I mean… the more the merrier! You wanna come?!"
"Whoa whoa whoa, hold on. You're just gonna drop yourself in on our Friday night and drop this absolute bomb on us just for funsies? You should know by now how we roll." Mythra said sternly as she finally entered the conversation. She also didn't want to admit it, but she was scared to death of her cooking skills being broadcast to thousands of people from who knew where all willy nilly when she still needed supervision to even try to make something half decent. Frankie and Pyra, knowing her all too well, stared at her in slight worry as she folded her arms, waiting for Kaito to continue.
"I know, it's a bit of a shock, but like I told big bro here, this'll be an opportunity for the lot of you to… well… help each other!" Kaito exclaimed. Pyra placed a hand to her chin as she pondered aloud.
"Hmmm… an affinity tied to stuff that's less combat-oriented does sound interesting…" She said, also recalling the dance night not too long ago, feeling something quite similar that day as well.
Frankie looked towards his forehead, as if he was waiting for Pneuma to ring out in his subconscious to speak up on the matter… while she said nothing, the strange delightful beaming he felt running through his brain was enough of a clue he needed to feel confident about this sudden plan dropped on them… but Mythra was still unconvinced.
"And just who relayed this information?" She asked.
"Oh I dunno… someone you and I may know all too well, say… Irma…?"
"IRMA?!" Frankie, Pyra, and Mythra all asked loudly.
"Wait… Irma is seeing someone?" Pyra asked.
"I pray for that poor soul…" Frankie responded, Pyra nodded in her own response. Mythra on the other hand, felt a fire light up inside her. Her brow furrowed and her teeth gritted. All doubts and fears washed away as she looked towards Kaito and stood tall.
"We'll do it." She said darkly. Frankie and Pyra turned in surprise.
"Mythra, you're sure?" Pyra asked.
"Surer than sure… as a matter of fact-" Mythra spun Frankie and Pyra around and started pushing them out of the kitchen. "YOU TWO. Oughta get cleaned up for bed so we can be up and attem, bright and early!" She said.
"W-wait! Mythra! What about dinner?!" Frankie asked.
"Make sure to turn off the toaster oven!" Pyra advised, as Mythra continued pushing them out of the room.
Kaito chuckled mischievously to himself as he exited the house-but not before taking up Pyra's request and taking a few of her carrots for Miko-. The drones of Frankie and Pyra's light spat with Mythra were drowned out as he quickly ran back to his car to drive home and tell Miko the news… those three would have to get up on stage and act a couple whether they liked it or not…
