When she finally arrived back at her shrine, Eva was quite tired. As she was about to let out a yawn, she was more than a little surprised to hear a surprised gasp right beside her.
Turning around she saw Hanako stand there, eyes wide with surprise.
“Did-did, did you just step out of thin air?” The young office lady asked the Kitsune after a second.
Looking around to make sure they were alone, Eva sighed before responding. “Kinda?” She said, wiggling her hand in a so-so gesture. “If you want a better explanation, I’d ask you to come inside with me.”
Hanako just nodded as she turned to follow Eva. Waving to Touya as they passed by him, she opened the door and held it open for Hanako. Inside they both quickly took off their shoes, before Eva led them to the small table at the center of the room and sat down.
“So.” She began, twirling her thumbs as she rested her hands on the table. “You remember that time we had a Kitsune take you to work after that whole Tengu fiasco?”
Hanako quickly nodded, sitting opposite of Eva, leaning back in the chair.
“Well I’ve been using that same, let’s call it a short cut, since I first managed to navigate it. Though I never had anyone manage to see me appear or disappear before.”
“Might that be because I am learning magic?” Hanako offers unsurely, trying to hide an exhaustion Eva couldn’t quite explain.
“Maybe. Though neither Touya nor Komaki can see when I appear. At least as far as I know.”
“Hmh.” The Japanese woman hums as she leans forward, clearly thinking hard. “Maybe because it is you teaching me? Or because Mumei’s power is what we use to teach me?”
“That could just be. I’ll have to ask around for that.” Eva replies with a quick nod. “While we are on the topic, how’s your practice going?”
“Quite well actually.” Hanako offers, still sounding rather exhausted for some reason. “I even managed to keep that connection going while my eyes were open twice now.”
“That’s great progress.” The Kitsune offered, trying her best to sound sincere despite having no idea if it actually was good progress. “Say, you aren’t practicing till you are way too exhausted are you?”
“Huh?” Hanako asked, a bit confused until her thoughts caught up with her. With a quick shake of her head she explained. “Ah no. Just Co-Workers dumping extra work on my desk while they still can.”
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“Why’d they do that?”
“Because I got a promotion yesterday. Well, it will take next month, but going forward I’ll be taking over for our department head once he retires next month.”
“Congratulations!.” Eva exclaims as she smiles at her exhausted friend. “Though that doesn’t explain why they’d be so mean as to dump extra work on you.”
“Well they probably expected me to quit, or at least reduce my work hours now that I am engaged. Not snatch a Promotion they thought was surely theirs.”
“I see. Well don’t let them get you down, I am sure you got this.”
“Thanks. It’s kind of why I am here tonight. After she helped me stay focused during the interview for the promotion yesterday, I wanted to ask Mumei for the strength to get through this hazing.”
“Hm, Yesterday?” Eva asks, vaguely remembering hearing Hanako’s voice the day before.
“Yeah, I had the mask with me as a kind of good luck charm. But when I heard our CEO had decided that she’d want to sit in on this interview, I panicked a little and prayed for Mumei’s help while I tried to get even a bite of my bento down.”
“Well, I am glad she could have been of help to you there. Though does that mean you’ll have less time for practicing with me?”
“No, I should still be able to keep some evenings free each week.” She then let her head hang to the side in her exhaustion as she continued. “Maybe even more because I’ll be the one dictating office parties and bar hopping soon.”
“Good, because I just figured out what to have you try to do first, and how to go about it. Next wednesday sound good for you?”
“Sure, see you then.” Hanako said as she slowly got up. “Though if you don’t mind, Yujiro is waiting for me with dinner. He said he’d keep some choice cuts himself today for some nice home made sashimi tonight.”
“Sure, don’t let me keep you.” Eva replied as she escorted her friend back to the door.
~~~
The next morning, Eva was a little lost at the brewery, as Asahi seemed to be missing today. Seeing that most people were going around cooking rice again, she decided to try her best to do so on her own for now.
But even just getting the first full sack of rice downstairs proved to be more than she could manage on her own. While some of the other workers seemed to snicker at her missfortune behind their hands, Kuroko though looked like the cat that got the bird. Or maybe more like a child that raided the cookie jar.
After maybe fifteen minutes, Ms. Satou came up to Eva, and wordlessly grabbed the other end of the sack she’d been struggling with. Together they fell in an uneasy rhythm filled with silence, but they at least got work done.
“So.” Eva began once they had finished filling their second pot with rice and water. “Where’s Asahi today?”
“Noone knows. Though he’s probably just sick and hasn’t called in yet. It’s not unheard of to catch a nasty cold this time of year.”
“I see.” Eva said before they fell into silence again.
The rest of the morning went the same as yesterday, except for the lack of friendly conversation. When she stepped out of the changing room to take her lunch out into the nearby park again, Ayami’s granddaughter pushed her back inside and closed the door behind her.
“We need to talk, I think.”