"Merry Christmas, Kaori. I'm surprised you decided to come out," I said to Moon. Between spending the whole evening alone, the book in her hands, and the 'fuck off' written on her forehead, I didn't think she would appreciate the attempt at conversation...but given that she'd come out here for whatever reason, I didn't just want to leave her alone all night.

She snapped her book shut. I still didn't read Japanese, but I could tell it wasn't the same as last time. "I believe I made it perfectly clear that it is considered impolite to speak with someone when they are attempting to read."

"Well...yeah. So I'm sorry. But you are here."

"And you assume that because I am here, I wish to be bothered? An odd leap in logic."

"I mean, if you just wanted to be left alone, why not just stay at home?"

"There could be any number of reasons. Perhaps I am enjoying the ambiance, or suspect that an Exhuman event could occur and by being in proximity to the others, could improve response logistics."

"Oh. Kay. Well, which reason is it then?"

She sighed. "Your fundamental premise is flawed. I did not choose to come here. Your sister Lia arrived and was shepherding the rest of the team. She denied my refusal to come out, and apparently clumsy foolishness is a trait common in the Ashton household, because she, like you, decided to grab at me like a monkey."

"And you possessed her. And then they just took your body anyway?"

"That is an accurate summary."

"Damn it, Lia. I'm sorry about her."

"Both of you seem to suffer from issues of arrogance and stubbornness. If you could put me in contact with your parents, I have a few choice words I would like to tell them. Namely, please stop procreating."

"Ouch."

"Joudan."

"Yeah, I hope so. Well, other than getting kidnapped, how are you liking the party? Did you...do Christmas in Japan?"

"I, characteristic of most of Japan, occasionally practice Shinto, but do not identify as any religion. I did not celebrate Christmas as such, but the holiday was observed and treated as a time for general merrymaking, I suppose."

"That's cool."

"The party is lively, and until you, everyone has been respectful of my solitude. I cannot complain. Some of the events have even been more amusing than my book and have temporarily pulled my interest from it. Such as your kiss with your sister. I did not suspect you were in that kind of relationship."

"Kiss…?" I racked my brain. I'd...messed up her hair, with my hands? She'd freaked out about Saga being here? Nothing resembling a kiss. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Karu wandered over and sat down next to me while we spoke. Moon's eyes darted over to her for a moment but otherwise didn't react, but gradually learning the diminutive tells of Moon-speak, that was a pretty big reaction out of her. Basically her equivalent of 'oh, not another fucking one of them'.

Or, so I thought. Not like I really knew Moon that well.

"Hey Karu, did I kiss Lia tonight?"

"What!?" she yelled. "What?" she repeated at a normal volume afterwards. "No. Of course not. Why would you ask such a thing?"

"Kaori mentioned it."

Karu fixed Moon with an even stare which had something beneath it. "She must be mistaken."

Moon shrugged. "If you say so."

Karu seemed satisfied, though I had no idea what the hell was going on, but given the girls involved, I didn't exactly find this surprising. I opened my mouth to ask another question but Karu was already talking.

"So, Moon, I apologize for the lateness, but tend to make an effort to familiarize myself with my colleagues."

"Yes, it seems everyone is quite a fan of doing that," Moon replied dryly. "And please do not call me Moon unless we are on duty."

"My apologies. How would you prefer I address you?"

"Kaori is fine, or Ikeda-san if you are more a fan of formalities."

Karu scratched her chin idly. "I apologize if this is racially insensitive, I am not familiar with the commonality of Japanese surnames, but would you have any relation to Ichiro Ikeda of IkaCo Tech Conglomerate?"

"That would be my father."

"Ah. My condolences."

"It is no bother."

They dropped the conversation, leaving me to look back and forth between the two, completely lost.

"Okay, what the heck just happened here?" I asked. "Is Kaori's dad dead?"

"No," Karu answered, "but I am familiar with the man. He is an associate of my father's, and leads one of the largest companies in the east. He has...never struck me as a particularly nurturing father, as it were. My apologies, I should let you answer, Ikeda. Ikeda-san."

"It is fine. I suspect you know him better than I do."

"Was he that bad?" I asked, and then realized that was a really stupid question. This was a girl who was, at the very least, wholly convinced her entire life was a mistake. That kind of trauma probably didn't come without some parental guidance.

"It does not matter," Moon answered.

"Because your opinion doesn't matter, because you're a person who who shouldn't exist?"

"I am surprised you listen to at least some of what I say."

Karu knitted her eyebrows. "That does not sound healthy, Ikeda. Sorry, Ikeda-san."

"You are welcome to drop the honorific. I will not be offended. This is America, after all."

"I will address you only as I properly should."

"Ikeda will suffice. It is of no consequence."

"Very well. That does not sound healthy, Ikeda."

Moon just shrugged. "That is of no consequence either. Do you intend to pry into my entire past as Athan does? I find him endlessly exhausting already on his own."

"Hey, I'm not that bad," I argued. "I try to respect your privacy."

"Regardless of Ashton's lack of tact, I have no intention of digging up your history if it is not in your interest to share."

"Hey," I interjected. "Why does every pairing of women feel the need to gang up on me?"

"Are you perhaps attempting to argue that you do not have a lack of tact?" Karu blinked at me with apparent surprise written all over her face.

"...yeah?"

Her face transitioned through mild amusement to holding back a giggle with trembling lips to full-bodied raucous laughter while I just sat there trying my best not to be offended while she laughed right in my face.

"Aaaand, I'm the one who lacks tact?" I asked.

"Yes. I can confirm," said Moon. "Karu's laughter speaks for both of us."

Like Karu had previous slid up and joined us, it now seemed to be Saga's turn. Karu's laughter died down rather quickly as Saga quietly took a seat.

"Stop singing that fucking song or I'll blow it out of your head," Saga said through set teeth. A very nice little hello.

"Are you perhaps finding it difficult to affect my mind through it?" Karu asked, glaring fiercely at the new arrival.

"Athan, I'm pleading with you here. Let me just wipe the one thing from her mind. She won't even notice. She's begging for it."

"No."

"Pleeeeease? Call it a Christmas present?"

"No. Bad Exhuman, bad."

"You never let me have any fun," she sighed as she flopped back into her chair. "I thought you said this party would be fun. We're like, hardly torturing or killing anyone here."

"Hardly?"

"Heh, well, you had a pretty amusing moment, I guess. Tortured everyone here a little bit to watch. And I've been convincing the people in a room downstairs they keep seeing cockroaches in the corners of their room. They've had housekeeping up twice now."

"You truly are an utterly despicable person, representative of the very worst Exhumanity has to offer," Karu condemned.

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"Thanks. I really try. I've been waiting for my award, but it must have gotten hung up in the mail. Must be all those mailmen I drive crazy. Or, heh, postal."

"It was not a compliment."

Saga's mouth fell open. "Really? No. Hey, Athan, the girl who hunts down and murders all the Exhumans wants to hunt down and murder me. Can you believe this shit?"

"Guys, please," I said, rubbing my temples. "Seriously, Saga, I hoped you'd find some happiness here. If nothing else, you're not wandering a freezing city street, right?"

"Yeah, true. And the food is killer. I've basically spent the whole party trying not to bleed that out all over everyone, or else this would become a whole different kind of party. Which might also be fun. I'm interested in how much fun this one is when she cuts loose." She jabbed a finger at Moon.

Moon blinked politely. "This one?"

I laughed. "Cut loose?"

Karu narrowed her eyes. "Fun?"

Saga laughed a delicate little laugh like windchimes which always caught me a little off-guard considering how boisterous her personality was. "Yeah, it's always the quiet ones. Like how Tem seems so placid until she's ready to nuke something from orbit at the drop of a hat? I bet this one will be even better."

I leaned over the back of the couch and looked at the ground where Tem was lying on her back, apparently just watching the ceiling. She saw me peeking and gave a small smile and wave which I timidly returned. What a weird girl.

Moon blinked politely again, slightly slower and more deliberately this time. "This one?" she reiterated.

"I know you get caught up on names, and that is just the cutest little thing," Saga said, leaning forward to pinch her cheeks. "Seriously though, where does the XPCA find all these weirdos?"

"Japan?" Moon said and shrugged, apparently defeated enough by the conversation to return to her book.

Saga clapped her hands and everyone in the room jumped. Karu and Jack were both on their feet, scanning for threats, while everyone else just kind of looked around wondering what happened.

Moon glared at her for moment and then the book went right back up anyway.

"Neat trick huh?" Saga said. "See, I've been working on blending in a little more. Saves me having to blast people's minds and make a scene. Found it's really effective to...I guess you'd call it yelling in people's minds, but do it the same time as some other distraction. Keep it short enough and nobody realizes anything psionic just happened. Just, boom, 'why was that clap so loud?'"

To my surprise, Karu grabbed me by the collar and picked me bodily from the sofa. In an instant, Tem was up and growling at her, but I waved her back.

"Ashton, my profession relies on the ineptitude of a newly-turned Exhuman to be successful. One which is in tune with their powers and is developing new tricks such as she is a threat I cannot turn a blind eye to. I insist that you let me disable her and bring her in for containment."

"Hey, you want to go, let's go. I don't even need to take this outside. Tell me, would you rather die from your heart stopping, or throwing yourself in the fireplace? Or just diving off the building? That seems appropriate for an annoying little fly."

"Saga, Karu, enough. Seriously. Nobody in this party is going to kill anyone else here, got it?"

Karu held me at arm's length, her arms not even shaking as she held me up with just my toes on the ground. Her green eyes bored into me, almost seeming to float above the fierce scowl of the rest of her face. She swallowed hard and then put me back on my feet.

"My apologies for my outburst, but I will not apologize for acting in this world's best interest. Saga is a monster, and she will cause the deaths of thousands, or more."

"I mean, if they pick a fight with me like a fucking idiot, sure. But right now that's just you, so..."

"I said enough. I made my decision, nobody here kills anyone else. If you have a problem with someone else at the party you can leave. But it's fucking Christmas, so fucking act like it."

I realized everyone was staring at us, but seeing me apparently in control of the situation, the other conversations gradually resumed.

Karu glared at me, but straightened my collar and sat back down. Saga smirked and crossed her legs.

"Now seems like a good time to tell you something, Karu," Saga said.

"Saga--" I warned.

"Relax. I'm not gonna poop on your stupid holiday party, all right? In fact I had something nice to say to Karu for once."

"I suspect I have no interest in hearing it."

"Karu. I know who killed your mother."

Karu gasped exaggeratedly. "You do? Pray tell. Tell me the name and federal ID of the heart disease which killed her so that I may hunt it down and avenge her." She sat back with a disgusted look on her face.

Saga cackled. "I'm just kidding, sheesh."

"I am aware," Karu snapped. "Your humor is as amusing as your propensity for murder."

"But I was serious I had something nice to say. It'd be a lot easier to say if you weren't such a huge douchenozzle."

"Again, I have no interest in hearing it. Now if you will excuse me--"

She stood, but with surprising speed--for Saga, pretty tame by normal people standards--Saga rose with her and gently held her by the wrist. Karu flinched and withdrew her gloved hand like she'd been bitten.

"Liking someone isn't a sin, Karu."

Karu stood like she wasn't sure what she'd heard.

"And I know this means less coming from me, but you don't have to hate someone just because they're sinful. Jesus spent a lot of time talking about forgiveness."

The two of them stood there for several seconds, Karu breathing heavily with her grabbed arm still at her chest. "I loathe you," she said finally.

"Fair enough," said Saga with a shrug and sat back down, and Karu disappeared into the others.

"What the heck was all that?" I asked.

"Big heaping bowl of mind your own fucking business," Saga said. "Just figured, if I'm leaving, least I can do before I go is make some dramatic statements and disappear like an old hermit on a mountaintop. Everyone going, 'wow, she sure was wise and beautiful, I wish I'd tapped that when I had the chance.'"

I shook my head. I couldn't tell where the fucking around ended and where the bullshit started with her sometimes, but I did gather by Karu's reaction that something just went on between the two of them.

"Speaking of," Saga said, and leaned over, flicking Lia in the forehead.

She came to, dreamily at first, and then clutching her head. "Ow, frogging, fishy, ferrets. Why the feline is everyone being so frogging loud?"

"You used frog twice, kid," Saga said.

Lia looked up with eyes scrunched up with pain and they widened imperceptibly at Saga. She gaped a little bit, and then glanced at me, and then winced at her sudden movement.

"Hey, Lia," Saga said. Her voice was soft, but not gentle.

"H-hey, Sa...ga," Lia said. "Long time...no see."

"Yeah. 'Cuz I ran away. 'Cuz you mindfucked me."

"Yeah."

Welp. Time for me to go. I grabbed Moon and Tem's arms and stood up. As much as I wanted to stay on-hand to make sure things went smoothly and nobody tried to kill each other, this was also absolutely something the two of them needed to hash out. Neither of them said anything as I left, but Lia did arrange her hungover grimace into a pleading bearing. I guess I could check on them before too long.

"I hate you so much." Moon said before we'd even crossed half the room, and then collapsed in my arms. Tem watched her collapse with the idle curiosity of a cat watching a vase fall off a shelf.

"Goddamn it," I said, hovering over Moon's body like I'd just killed her.

"Your continued inability to learn astounds me," she said in my own voice over my shoulder. I guess it was symptomatic of the people we had at this party that aside from Steffie, nobody seemed bothered by someone spontaneously collapsing or a purple phantom emerging from another guest like a tumor.

"Sorry Moon, my bad. Let me just get you back in there."

"With the rate you do this by accident, one would think that you find this enjoyable."

"Well, I mean, who wouldn't want a cute girl hanging off of them, right?"

I touched her body after clearing it for the requisite few seconds and the unusual sensation of a huge load off my mind signaled her return.

"...cute?" I saw the words on her lips.

"Sorry. Maybe not professional to call you that."

"Call me what?" she said, continuing the conversation from her back like this was totally normal, and showing no signs of getting up.

"Uh. Cute."

"I didn't say that."

"Yes you did. When you woke up."

Her look burned right through me with its intensity. "No. I did not."

"Uh, right. My bad again."

Apparently satisfied, she sat up and dusted herself off. I also just noticed that what I thought was some kind of velvety collared dress was actually pajamas, a top like a bathrobe and matching fuzzy shorts. She was just so fashion-coordinated...and at a party...that I assumed it was an outfit.

"Why...are you wearing pyjamas?" I asked.

"I was kidnapped, if you recall. By an individual who performed the same idiotic trick as you just did."

"Ah, right." I looked over at that individual, who was, from the looks of it, having an incredibly shitty time, crying her eyes out and hiding her face behind her knees, while Saga looked tired, but was listening and speaking calmly. I tried to pick up on any of Saga's feelings, but when I did, she just shot me a glare that let me know that yes, she saw what I was doing and no, don't do it, or yes, she will fuck my shit up.

I went and talked with the others, keeping an eye on those two. Tower smelled like alcohol and eggnog, and let me know that someone spiked the 'nog, and while vodka wouldn't have been his first choice, at least now it was a real party. Why he felt the need to crush me affectionately while saying this, I wasn't sure, but at least he was having a blast.

I spoke with Jack and Steffie again for a while longer, and thought it very sweet that he offered to do things for her, and she let him about half the time. Considering her restricted and his unlimited mobility, I guess he made a pretty optimal caretaker for her, but she also seemed to have a small streak of stubbornness I recognized, and wouldn't let him do everything for her. They spoke mostly of Steffie's future, and New Eden, which I felt like I'd heard a lot about, but also, simultaneously, almost nothing. She was excited, but also sad to be going, though he promised to visit often.

Eryn had little to say to me except a few sarcastic quips and nudging me to spend more time with Karu, and after a few minutes of this, Karu had to come over and excuse the both of them so she could tell her servant to be less obnoxious and more discrete, embarrassed beyond reason.

Finally, I sank into comfortable conversation with AEGIS, saving her for last because I knew once we started bullshitting together, I wouldn't want to leave. Like me, she was keeping a keen eye on Lia, but agreed those two needed to sort their shit out. To hear AEGIS say it, having both of them around in Vegas was a thin slice of hell, with Lia drunk and moronic constantly, and Saga being impossible to talk with, and then when the two of them blew up, it was AEGIS as the one psionically-immune entity in the house who got to smack everyone's senses back into their heads and clean up the whole disaster.

So she thought that was a clusterfuck, and both of them probably had a lot of unresolved shit they'd be covering all night, but long-suffering caretaker of the group that she was, AEGIS was glad they were doing it.

We got off that topic and covered a few others as I just soaked in the last couple hours of the party. I was comfortable, even happy here, with these people. Compared with the idolization of the Irenside affair, I liked just being ignored, I found out. Here, I could stand around and conversations happened around me like I wasn't anything special. I could join them, or leave them, or do whatever I wanted, and nobody really gave a shit. It was liberating, being ignored, in a way I wasn't sure I'd ever actually experienced.

Back in high school, and before that even, I'd walk in and get acclaim from my teammates. I couldn't count the number of times Brick would start the team chanting my name in the locker room, both to annoy me and to 'get me the recognition I deserved'. Looking back on it now, I realize that Brick was the one who wanted attention, and being the oddball, being the head of my cheering section was how he got it. Still meant I was constantly being worshipped uncomfortably though.

Also fuck that guy.

But here...man. Being nobody special was fantastic. Nobody cared I was an Exhuman, or wearing a uniform, or recognized me as the face of the New XPCA...I was just another guy eating a handful of grapes.

That party and the friends I had in it would forever be one of my most cherished memories, I thought. Happiness might not be attainable, but existing without making trouble for anyone, that was my sweet spot. That was the dream.

But of course I knew it wouldn't last. I was an Exhuman, and trouble was my life. So I just soaked it in as much as I could in the moment, burning this evening into my mind and remembering the faces and voices and happiness in the air around me.