#I've had this loaded in my chekhov's gun since [checks] The Long Way Down

[cloudbattrolls]

Another Drop

Jikiro Takami | Present Night | Takami Estate

Jikiro didn’t think anything of it when Hanabi left for several nights at a time.

She had her own business to attend to, her own friends and life outside of the estate. He knew she’d always come back eventually; it had been her home longer than it would ever be his, though he was in no hurry to go to space. Jamie couldn’t go, Viltau didn’t want to, and he doubted Velour had any desire to leave yet either.

What reason did he have to move on when everyone he knew and cared about was here? His staff and his other friends like Sarang and Ullane showed no desire to leave Alternia. He didn’t know Linnae as well, but he imagined they weren’t interested in joining the fleet either.

Plus, there was the business. He couldn’t just leave it...though he was starting to wonder if Viltau wasn’t right, and he should try to negotiate with his signmates about sharing its management.

It wasn’t that he hated running it. Quite the opposite; he’d had some good times, was having them again now that things had cooled down.

It still took him away from his quadrants and his true passions far more than he would have liked.

He wanted it to succeed, for his own sake and because it was expected of him, but the sheer time drain was becoming less and less appealing. All he wanted to do, if he was honest with himself, was manage the ink-making department. It would still take plenty of attention and energy, but god, he’d have so much more fun. He’d have so much more freedom - to be with Jamie and Viltau, to train Velour, to travel. To paint, to explore, to learn more magic.

He rubbed his eyes, not caring that he slightly spotted them with ink, and looked down at the current mix he was perfecting from the nettles Linnae had helped him gather. It still wasn’t quite right; the consistency was too thin, and the color wasn’t the exact hue he wanted. But he’d get there, and he could tell by how his mind was wandering that he wasn’t going to make much more progress at the moment.

So the tealblood cleaned his desk and packed up his tools, leaving his workshop neat as always. He yawned as he walked outside and back to his hive, just about ready to fall into his recuperacoon without even taking his clothes off -

“Jikiro.”

“Mmffwhat?” He mumbled, blearily registering that it was his lusus’s voice. He stood over the green slime, then backed away from it with a sigh because he realized her tone had been quite serious.

He turned around to face her troll form and the wriggler she had with her, who stared up at him with big gray eyes and small, almost unnoticeable horns.

Wait.

“Who’s. That.” He said slowly, blinking and squinting through half-asleep eyes. 

Was it some wriggler one of the lowbloods had clinging to their heels, or a kid separated from their lusus, or -

“Her name’s Kanako.” Hanabi said lovingly, if with some tiredness. 

“I suppose Iza made good on all her promises, even in death.”

Oh no. Oh shit.

Jikiro woke back up as surely as if he’d had cold water thrown over him, his dark eyes widening.

“No way. You can’t be…”

But even as he trailed off, Hanabi bent over to gently pick up the wriggler, who squirmed, and presented her to the ink maker.

He saw that her tiny horns were simply a miniature of his own, and he was sure that when she bled she’d be as teal as any Takami.

The wriggler reached out with her little arm and slapped him on one scarred cheek.

Stunned for a moment, Jikiro then broke into helpless laughter. So this really was happening.

“Damn, okay, kid.”

“You stop that.” Scolded Hanabi. “No swearing around her.”

“That’s gonna be a hard one and you know it.” He groaned.

“You will manage.”

“Guess I have no choice, huh.” He said, dragging a hand down his face. “F - darn, where’s she gonna sleep?”

“She’s in one of the guest rooms for now. But you’ll have to start moving out to the mentor’s hive.”

Jikiro blinked. Fucking hell. He’d known it would happen one night, but he wasn’t even twenty. This wriggler was at least a sweep old, from the look of her. Had Izanam known about Kanako the whole time, keeping her in reserve for when she finally made him lose every scrap of credibility he had left?

His mother must’ve guessed his thoughts, for she sighed and put Kanako back down, putting her hand to his shoulder.

“I wasn’t sure until recently, little Ji…and as far as I know, Iza never knew about her.”

“You said no one else in the bloodline knew what I was either, and she did.” He grumbled.

A rare moment of regret crossed the tanuki’s round face.

“I should have guessed. It was…the last inscribed before you, the one I mentioned before? Chiiyo was Iza’s mentor. Iza must have found out about her without me knowing. I had thought otherwise, because Chi pushed everyone away as she grew older…” Hanabi sighed.

Jikiro winced. Goddamn, he hated feeling a little bad for Izanam of all people. 

Not enough to regret Vil killing her, though.

“Man. Okay. I need sleep.” He said, finishing the sentence with a yawn. “I’ll figure this out in the evening. What a news blast this is gonna be for everyone.”

He tried to climb into his recuperacoon, but became aware of a small weight clinging to his leg.

He looked down.

“Your signmate needs to sleep, you little mochi ball. Scoot.”

Kanako looked up at him with big gray eyes and said nothing. Nor did she move.

He groaned as Hanabi laughed softly. 

The tealblood sighed deeply and leaned down to pick her up…which made her detach herself, kick him in the shin, and attempt to push him over.

Mystified, Jikiro watched all this with blinking eyes.

“I think she wants to sleep on you.” Said the tanuki with amusement.

“I’m not a - “ The midblood paused. “Okay, just because Jamie and Viltau do it…”

“It seems you have a third customer.”

“Man, I’m not actually a bed.”

“Hush. Lie down and let her rest.”

The tealblood could not believe this was where his night had gone, but he dutifully walked over to the nearest couch, arranged it so he’d at least be marginally comfortable, and laid down.

The wriggler nigh-immediately clambered on his belly, laid down, and closed her eyes.

Of course. This was his life now.

The undead sighed, and finally passed out as well.