This house's kitchen isn't particularly big. Arguably, it's quite small. That isn't an issue for me living alone, but now that there are an additional two people, and one with a bit more to her body to take up space, it's really emphasizing how small and unremarkable it is. Regardless of that, the woman who initiated all of this flicks out a chair from under the table and takes a seat like she's familiar with this house. "So," she starts, crossing her legs slowly. "I should start with names, shouldn't I? I'm Kuroko Smith, I'm rather deep into the business of managing interspecies relations affairs in most of Tokyo. We're also a little short-staffed actually getting homestays out right now, though, so naturally, I'm also coordinating the homestays myself. Do you have any coffee?"
I blink blankly at her for a moment. The ending question was so off-topic it rendered me speechless for a moment. Still, I eventually manage to put it together right well enough to answer, despite that answer being a disappointing one. "No, I don't."
"What?! Really? Aren't you a student or something? How do you function?" Her questions come out labored like I just told her I've never eaten steamed white rice or seen a movie before.
"It gives me headaches," I retort, shifting in my seat. "That much caffeine just fries my senses. The most I can have is tea."
"Well, I guess that can't be helped, can it?" she pouts. I'm tempted to question why it matters so much right now, but I also can't help but feel like that's not the most pressing question on the table right now.
"So... Are you going to tell me her name?" I question, grabbing my over-steeped tea from the counter and sipping it quietly. I'm hoping to get back to the reason she demanded this sit-down sooner rather than later if I can, if only for the fact that I'm still unclear.
"Oh, right, right," she waves off. "This is Miia, she's a Lamia, right from the heart of their homeland! Her Japanese is really good, so you won't have to worry about any issues communicating with her."
"I... Pleased to meet you," Miia utters, still clearly being commanded by her nerves, but seeming like she's starting to calm down a little in some capacity now that things have gotten this far.
"Likewise. Now, Smith-san, can I ask you... how much accurate information do you actually... have on me?" The confidence in my voice drains steadily as I put the thought forward, but it had begun to bother me. She had mentioned I was a student. The guy whose name she has could also be one, but it did bring up the question and I've begun to feel like it's an important one for finding out how the hell this mistake happened in the first place.
"Well, if you're really that worried about it, here, see for yourself! They are all your records, after all!" Smith slides the fat folder she brought with her across the table. I waste no time in grabbing it and flipping it open to see what's inside, naturally. Inside the folder seems to be a mix of things of varying degrees of importance, but Smith speaks up again as I start to actually read through specific pages. "There are a few things that aren't in there that are important to know. I'm sure you're aware of the government stipend you get for housing someone, right?"
"Yeah," I respond unhesitatingly. "The problem is that I just don't think I'm eligible... Like, legally."
"Nah, students can sign up to have a homestay!" she pushes back with a similar reaction time.
"That's... not the issue I was thinking of," I clarify, trying to hold back being snippy right now despite my tired and impatient state. "I'm... My parents are Japanese, they were both born here and they're both citizens, but I wasn't born here. They give me some pretty nice, lenient conditions to get a visa, but I'm not actually... technically a citizen."
"Oh, that doesn't matter, either!" She waves off again.
"Really?" I'm not sure this is a woman I'd believe to tell me this on any other occasion, but the mounting number of times I've been told this was definitely starting to make me doubt myself.
"Yeah, they don't care! As long as you've got a place to stay and some long-term permission to stay in the country, you're fine!" Smith's legs switch over one another and she leans forward. "So, you've got nothing actually stopping you."
At this point, I have two pages in my hand. One is a copy of a birth certificate, the other was a record showing Japanese citizenship. The page with the citizenship info, quite predictably, has very little information that would match mine outside of things that can easily be coincidences. Past that observation, I don't even bother, switching to look at the other page almost immediately. The other page, though, the birth certificate, had all the correct information about me printed on it, including my name printed in plain English. The original corresponding Kanji for my name are hastily scribbled out in black pen along the margin of the page, but that doesn't explain why two different people were being counted in the same file.
My gaze drifts back to the citizenship information printout and I immediately notice something I missed... The addresses actually are the same. How disorganized is this system? Was the whole section of government dedicated to this program incompetent, or was it just this one Smith woman? Or maybe they're just getting screwed somehow. I guess it's a bit late to be considering that in detail, anyway but this definitely puts things in a slightly different perspective than they were before they came in. I lower the pages to the table and look back up. "Would they care that this homestay is apparently listed for two different people?"
"Probably not, actually," she answers. "Frankly, we're strapped for applicants right now! The time it takes to find a home for an exchange to stay in has gone from a few days to over two weeks in just the past few days alone, so I'm pretty sure they're gonna wave a few consistency issues as long as you okay it in person. And that's not even starting on the process of getting the person to approve the drop-off when we show up."
"I..." I don't finish starting that sentence. Partially because the thing I'm compelled to say doesn't really seem like it'd make sense anymore, but mostly because all of this information is finally starting to string together into actual thoughts in my tired, disoriented head. "Sorry, I'm- I just couldn't find good info on this, I guess."
"Oh, it's okay, Koruto-kun. It's all still a work in progress, so that's bound to happen to some folks! Of course, we can't force you if you still wanna refuse, but I dunnoooo~, college student living all alone in such a big house..." She's playing with me now. "Must be pretty lonely."
"Smith-san, I don't know if he-" Miia was in the process of speaking up but her concern, whatever it is, gets cut off pretty firmly by Smith. She doesn't use words to do it, though. Instead, she simply shifts her head to look at Miia and then tilts it down to look personally over the rim of her sunglasses, which she quickly aids with one finger to help move the glasses themselves.
I draw in a deep breath as the two of them exchange looks. With the rush of air into my lungs clearing my thoughts up a bit better from the mess they've been during all of this so far, I let out the only thing that comes to mind. "Fuck it," I mutter softly, and although I say it in English, it seems to catch the attention of both the women across from me anyway. I set my half-empty mug of tea down on the table in front of me and push myself up from the table. Both pairs of eyes across the table from me watch me closely with some level of intrigue, although Smith's intrigue seems to be much less surprised and concerned than Miia's. Luckily for the sake of her nerves, I had what I needed nearby for me to grab; I swipe a number 2 pencil from the far end of the nearby counter, towards the way back into the living room.
I'm pretty sure Smith has connected what's going on at this point, but Miia still seems like she feels she's imposing as I sit back down. It's when I pull out the unsigned form at the top of the folder's stack, the one clearly labeled 'Drop-Off Confirmation' in both English and Japanese, that Miia's eyes begin to fill with a different kind of confusion. The Kanji of my Japanese name are relatively simple ones, but despite that, by the time I look up, the aura collectively coming off the other two across from me has completely changed.
Miia looks to be at some bizarre crossroads between excitement and even worse anxiety than before, much like it's taking a lot of power to process the fact that I actually decided to sign up right here and now. Honestly, that would make two of us. Smith, on the other hand, has a grin that encompasses both smugness and a level of insincerity, likely coming from something I won't be made aware of. It doesn't matter much anymore, though, as I don't intend on backing up on this now that I've committed to it, at least not without giving it a sincere shot first. It makes me sound like my dad saying that, but if there was one thing he always said that I have to agree with, it's that if your gut says yes and all the thought you give it doesn't say no, that's still more positive answers than negative ones. Besides, things have already gotten a lot weirder than they used to be, so if I'm not going to have the stable environment I was hoping for, who the hell cares anymore?
I slide the drop-off sheet back into the folder and scoot it over the table to Smith who hastily grabs it. "Glad to help get this sorted out!"
She's tempting me to once again call her out, 'cause I don't feel like she's really helped sort out anything, but again, it doesn't really matter much anymore. "Thanks for at least explaining the unclear parts," I force out, trying to remain at least moderately respectful to her face for the moment.
Miia's silence continues, but as soon as she sees Smith rise from her chair, she seems to do so too on natural impulse. I follow their lead in standing up and, although I can only assume they still know the way, I trail my way back to the front door with them following me relatively closely behind. "I can help move in any stuff she has," I put out as I stand to the side to let Smith get to the door.
"Good! She doesn't have too much stuff, don't worry." Smith gives me a smug grin like that was meant to be some kind of playful poke at me or something.
As I firmly ignore that, Miia slips out the doorway and brings forward two suitcases, as well as the one she was holding when I opened the door. "This is everything," she says, seemingly pushing to be a bit less timid, although still clearly feeling it.
"Alright, yeah, I should be able to handle this," I mention quietly, trying to stifle another oncoming yawn.
Smith laughs quietly to herself. "Then I guess I'll leave you to get her settled in! Good luck! Let me know if you run into any serious issues!" I have a feeling she really would rather I don't let her know of any issues, but regardless of how that was meant to be taken, it's her last comment before turning and retreating from my doorway towards the street. Actually, scratch that, because as I close the door, she mutters to herself, "now, to find somewhere that actually has coffee."
I roll my eyes as the front door shuts, and with another steady deep breath, I turn around to face Miia. This is approximately the moment where the magnitude of this decision properly sinks in; I'm not just alone with this half-human half-snake woman from a totally different walk of life, but I'm also going to be living with her for an unstated amount of time.
After a very awkward moment of composing my thoughts from that re-realization, I try to break out of the silence. "So... you've, uh... you have a choice from two or three rooms you could stay in here. I'm pretty sure they're all big enough to be comfortable, so whichever you want most..."
A faint sparkle shines in her eyes but only for a moment long enough to see it. "Are you sure?" she asks, a modicum of that meek demeanor coming back out from under the excitement.
"Yeah," I confirm. "I mean, nobody else is living here. I don't really do anything with those rooms, so... If you're going to live here, you might as well get a pick of what's available."
Her confused, partially ajar frown curls up into a smile that borders on elation. Before she can really express it outwardly, though, another thought hits her mind and she immediately dips into a full bow. "Thank you for the hospitality, Masuda-san! Please take good care of me!"
That gets a laugh out of me, and a pretty earnest one. I'm still trying to get used to being treated like an adult, frankly, so hearing that type of honorific used by what is unquestionably a fully-grown woman is still a lot to think about. "Don't worry about any honorifics with me. You can just call me Koruto. Or Koru, or... anything that doesn't make me sound like my dad, really."
"O-Oh, sorry." She retracts from her bow with a light blush pasting her cheeks, almost seemingly seeping in from under her facial scales. "You're welcome to do the same to me, then. Just calling me Miia is fine."
"I-... A-Alright, then, Miia. Let's get you settled in." Her eyes seem to waver for just a moment before she nods her head. I take that as enough and start leading her through to the nearest room, one towards the back of the ground floor.
As we enter the last of the three possible options she could pick, I try to scoot out of the way a bit. The two rooms we've looked through thus far were a little cramped getting in with how forceful her snake half seems to be. Reportedly, the rooms were not that small, but I could tell it's at least smaller than what she's used to living in. This room, though, was meant to be a larger bedroom on its own, so her entrance is noticeably easier, even to her own senses. Not to mention, it's also one of the better-furnished rooms in the house, seemingly not even touched by the last guy who lived here when he moved out.
"Wow, this one's very nice," she gawks quietly, just loud enough that I can hear her, but not loud enough that she thinks I can hear her, if I could wager.
"You want this one?" I conclude, although trying to put it forward as a question rather than a statement, attempting to make it come off like an offer above all else.
Her shoulders shrink a little and she tucks her chin down and fidgets with her fingers. "Are you sure? This seems like it'd be a guest room or something..." She trails off, almost as if she had something more she wanted to say. Clearly, she doesn't know what that thing was, though, because she gives up on continuing.
"I don't think I'm gonna have many guests over, Miia, don't worry." I tried not to make that sound pathetic or sad, but even with how lukewarm I am on the idea of inviting someone over in the first place, it still came out sounding like something I was quite thoroughly bothered by.
Regardless of my own tone, though, Miia looks up to me and her lips curl into a hopeful, excited smile. "If you really don't mind, then... I'd definitely like this one, yeah!" While her statement started remaining a little hesitant, when she emphasizes her choice, she quickly shifts into much more enthusiastic body language along with her tone of voice. It makes her quite the sight to behold, grinning and swaying at her waist gently like all her reservations about this were fading away.
"Then I'll start getting your stuff up here and you can figure out where you want stuff to go," I respond. "But... afterward I might need to nap for a few hours 'cause I'm running on very, very little sleep right now." I look away briefly. It didn't feel like the right thing to do, but I know I'm going to suffer even more later if I don't.
A layer of concern creeps over her expression but following a moment of consideration, it begins to slip away in favor of her previous expression. "That's alright. You wouldn't mind if I look around a little while you do, right? I promise I won't mess around with anything too much."
"Miia, you're going to be living here," I point out, a proper smile beginning to spread over me as well, although completely unbeknownst to me. "Look around as much as you want to, make yourself at home however you need to."
Another outside emotion splashes across her current smile, this time much more on the side of general surprise. Similarly, though, it only takes a moment for it to be abandoned for her prior expression again. Still, she bows with her full upper half. "Thank you, Koruto!"
"It's my pleasure, seriously. I know all this… intro stuff went pretty poorly, but if I'm going to house a homestay, I'm going to try and make it the best environment I can…" My voice trails off as I run out of further things to add and I peek back towards the door as I awkwardly try to find more.
"Oh, right, you and I'd better get moving before you fall asleep standing up!" She lets out a gentle, teasing giggle before turning away from me to see what storage space this room has to offer her. Lucky for me, given I've broken out into another rampant blush, but I don't dwell on that very long and quickly make my way down the stairs to start hauling up her bags.
I was certainly going to get my afternoon nap like I'd promised myself earlier, but after all this, I'm not sure it's going to do me much good. Not that I won't be able to sleep now, but when I'm trying to get through the night I don't think I'll be able to sleep then. Still, teasing tone or not, Miia had a point; whether she could see it or not, I was certainly getting towards that level of tiredness where I was ready to fall asleep the moment I started resting in any general way.
I draw a deep sigh as I take two of her largest suitcases by the handle and turn towards the stairs to take them up. One thing at a time.