Roommate Wanted. No Betrayers.

Chapter 13

For Kronii the evening was an important one. It was imperative that things go well. That March 6th would lodge itself in her memory as a day that she, her best friend, and her girlfriend started a new era in their lives.

Maybe she was thinking too grand. Still, even though she would be the first to admit she wasn't exactly the most perceptive person in the world when it came to other people, even she could tell that the other two were feeling at least similar, that they both also understood the importance of the night.

Still the relationship between Mumei and Fauna was, well not exactly a worry, but a place where things could go wrong. The place where things could go wrong really, if they didn't get along, everything kind of just falls apart. Still, Kronii knew them both well enough to not be worried about it. Well no more than a normal Kronii level of background worry about everything.

It was a relief then, when her two housemates walked down the stairs, having a lively conversation about something or other.

"Hey!" Kronii said, waving. "Food's almost done."

"Oh! I know that smell!" Fauna exclaimed, wandering over to the pot in front of Kronii. "You're making my favourite!"

"Well, it's your first night back." Kronii shrugged. "Plus it's nice and warming. I'm sure March nights like tonight are a bit of a shock to your system."

"It was still March in the Southern Hemisphere, dummy." Fauna joked, giving Kronii a light push. "But thank you. Have you had Kronii's bean chilli before Mumei?"

"I think so?" Mumei tapped her chin in though. "Well, if it is made by Kronii it's sure to be lovely."

Kronii felt herself blush a little at the offhanded compliment.

"Uuuuuu!" Fauna squealed. "Where did you find a roommate this cute Kronii?"

"Objection! I found her ." Mumei interjected.

"Well, you found me because I put up posters." Kronii countered.

"Two posters. You put up two posters."

Fauna laughed. "You really printed out posters and only put up two?"

"It's about quality of placement not quantity." Kronii argued. "Don't you ever see an ad a bunch of times and it has the opposite effect where you start thinking that whatever it is they're advertising must be really annoying and needy. I was trying to avoid that."

The other two girls snickered.

"In any case, the credit for Mumei being here should go to Bae." Kronii shrugged.

"Yeah, it is her fault." Mumei nodded.

Fauna blinked. "Who's Bae?"

"She's the one who found me after I lost my memory!"

"Ohhh." Fauna nodded. "She took you in and blessed us with you. Is she an angel?"

Kronii snorted out a laugh. "I wouldn't be surprised honestly, that girl is an enigma."

Baelz Hakos sneezed. "That was weird." She mumbled to herself idly, it was a cold march night, but not cold enough to spontaneously catch a virus like she was an anime character who'd gone into cold water for one second. Still, it broke up the monotony of standing around waiting for midnight.

Wow, did she actually just think that. Things were dire if a random sneeze was somehow an exciting enough event to even be notable.

She sighed and attempted to resist the urge to check the time on her phone again.

Why she had gotten here early she didn't know. It wasn't like there was traffic this late at night and she knew the amount of time to get from her flat to the shrine down to practically milliseconds at this point.

She checked her phone.

11:45 PM

A minute had passed since she'd last checked it. One minute. One. She cursed out time a bit for keeping her on tenterhooks. She decided to do a lap of the shrine, just to keep busy. Just to do something.

Something other than waiting.

Bae had done a lot of waiting.

Too much.

More than most people would think it even possible for her to do.

And frankly, she was sick of it.

Sure her day to day life wasn't the worst thing in the world. She had friends and regulars at her coffee shop to talk to, and all the hot bean juice she could ever want.

But, there was a hole in her life. A supermassive black hole right at its centre, threatening to crush everything else she cared about.

A hole she couldn't talk about.

Not her friends, not her regulars.

Not even Mumei, who had become the closest thing she had to family.

11:48 PM

Three minutes this time. She noted that walking and wallowing was faster at passing time than just standing still and willing it to pass.

She went for another lap. Then another. Then a fourth, each time accelerating. By the fifth she was sprinting. The faster she went, the less she could think. The less she thought, the clearer her head became.

She went faster and faster, her feet nimbly navigating the shrine's familiar geometry.

Until they couldn't anymore.

In one moment where time seemed to slow, she tripped, coming down hard on the cobblestone path.

For a moment she just lay there, her breath ragged, looking at her sore, scraped hands, just feeling. The cool air on her skin, the rush in and out of breath, the throbbing of the pain, the beating of her heart, the cool tears rolling down her cheeks.

After the moment passed she reached into a jacket pocket and pulled out her phone.

11:59 PM

It was now or never. Well, now or next year.

She pulled herself up to her feet, wiped her eyes and walked over to the shrine. The same place she'd stood every April for as long as she could remember.

For a beat everything was still. The moon and stars shone down in the clear night sky.

And then there was light.

A burst of blue and pink light that lit the old overgrown forgotten shrine up in brilliance like it had never before seen.

Bae's eyes welled with tears, unable to move them from the sight in front of her, watching in stunned silence as the light faded, revealing a humanoid form. She dashed forwards, throwing her arms around the materialising figure. The figure returned the hug, warmly enveloping her in their embrace.

"Hi-rys!" They whispered, their voice soft and gentle. "It's Irys!"

"You fucking nerd." Bae chuckled, tears streaming down her face. "You make me wait all this time and that's the first thing you have to say to me?