Study Session

[halfemptyglasses]

"Oh, good evening, Autor-senpai," Mirai greets when she opens the door to her sparse room. "I'm sorry there's not much."

The plush bed sits unmade, the comforter piled on the end. A small stack of books and papers wait on the low table that serves as her desk next to a few canned juices. Living on the fund for minors provides the necessities but not much else. Still, Mirai can't complain.

"We'll pretty much have to work from the floor," she says, padding over there with stocking feet. "Ah, and please help yourself to something to drink."

Comments

[halfemptyglasses]

She pauses for a drink of juice to think on that one.

"Youmu are..." she starts. "They're monsters made of darkness. They come from the darkness in people. They... well, they can be dangerous to normal humans but usually don't bother with them?"

[herr_bookman]

"Wait, really? Wow," Autor says, blinking as he processes that. Negative feelings that create monsters no one can see? It... makes a certain amount of sense to him.

He picks up another paper, skims it, and sets it down.

"What is the name of your organization that hunts youmu? Also describe the hierarchy of each clan, and where you start in the chain."

[halfemptyglasses]

"The Society of Spirit World Warriors."

That part she can answer with confidence, but the hierarchy... How does that go again? She rattles off what she can remember, tossing in that it's usually by age and birth order for good measure.

She probably got some of it switched around.

[herr_bookman]

Autor turns the current page around on the desk. "Close. You missed one and switched two. This might be a good paper to study."

The boy adjusts his glasses. "But you've done well until now. Who do you contact when you move into a new territory?"

[halfemptyglasses]

"Ah, all right.

"That...the clan of that territory has a representative, right? They handle this sort of thing?"

[herr_bookman]

Autor smiles a little, inclining his head. "That's right."

He opens his can of peach juice and gulps some down to wet his throat while he reads two more papers. "Thanks for the juice. What are the Cleaners, and how soon should you notify them?"

[halfemptyglasses]

"The Cleaners are the ones who repair any damage done while fighting youmu and need to be called... it's as soon as it's safe to do so, right? Once the youmu is killed or otherwise gone?"

[herr_bookman]

Autor nods again, and then he launches into musing of his own. "That's right. I wonder who pays them, or how you get to be a Cleaner, too--not to mention what magic they use to restore everything that's been destroyed--but, ah, you probably don't need to know any of that for this test. That'd be a Cleaner test."

He smiles apologetically for the diversion, and asks another question. "


What's the difference between an Intelligence Officer and an Interrogation Officer?"

[halfemptyglasses]

"Ah, that... intelligence is about keeping track of information and interrogation is getting it through questioning?"

[herr_bookman]

"Good," he says, picking up another page.

Autor continues quizzing her in this manner, skimming the papers and absorbing her answers. He's proud of her for knowing her stuff.

He ends with a last question, one that has been bugging him for a while since it was only briefly mentioned and not well defined. "What is the Calm?"

[halfemptyglasses]

"That's a period of time when youmu become weaker. It's almost like a hibernation?"

[herr_bookman]

"Hibernation is the word they used," Autor says, setting the last page on the top of the stack. He leans back on his hands and glances at the ceiling, drawing a breath.

"Well, you've done it. You've answered all of my questions, and did quite well, in fact," Autor says, smiling a little. "Are you hungry?"

[halfemptyglasses]

"I did?" she asks, even though he's been confirming her answers along the way. At least it sounds like she has a shot at this.

Mira nods at his next question. "Oh, should we head downstairs for dinner?"

[herr_bookman]

"Yes, you did," Autor says, nodding again. Then he sits up a little, holding up a hand. "Oh, no, we don't have to. If we don't want to, that is. I brought dinner."

[halfemptyglasses]

"Ah? Th-that was a good idea, Autor-senpai. It... I am used to it this way."

[herr_bookman]

And Autor knows exactly what she means, and tries to keep his consternation off of his face. He kicks himself for forgetting that she spent most of her time with the Inami clan in her room. "I'm still glad to see you downstairs," he says quietly.

Autor pulls his sylladex out of his pocket. "Thus do I pine and surfeit day by day, or gluttoning on all, or all away,*" he says to his journal, and out pops his food bag.

The boy rummages around for a while, and then pulls out two large bowls with lids, which he pops off to reveal the homemade udon noodles with tofu and baby spinach, garnished with grated ginger. Steam rises from the food, and scallions and red pepper flakes float in the dark brown miso broth. He sets the bowls on the table, and holds two pairs of chopsticks in his other hand.

*Shakespeare, Sonnet 75

[halfemptyglasses]

Mirai looks into her bowl, inhaling the aroma. "This... is this the udon you said you were going to make?"

[herr_bookman]

Autor nods, and sets her chopsticks down next to her bowl. Making the noodles proved more difficult than he thought it would be, given that Hannibal Lecter stopped by, but Autor isn't about to tell her that.

"Yes," he says shyly, ducking. "I hope it suits. I wasn't sure what to top it with, so I asked Bar."

[halfemptyglasses]

"I didn't know you would bring it so soon," she says, picking up her chopsticks. "Thank you."

[herr_bookman]

"Neither did I," Autor admits, and warmth floods his cheeks. "But I had the opportunity to make it, so I took that and ran, I suppose."

He sips his remaining peach juice, wondering if she'll approve of his efforts. His very friendly efforts. His not crush-like at all efforts. Friends can make each other dinner and eat it in their rooms together. Sure.

[halfemptyglasses]

Mirai picks up some of the noodles, careful how she moves in case they're overcooked. She takes a bite...

"I like it," she tells him.

[herr_bookman]

Autor's shoulders relax. "You do?" he asks, easing into a smile. "I'm so glad."

He sips his broth, and licks his lips, surprised. Autor considered using the milder shiromiso, but he's glad he sprung for the dark, rich awasemiso. The salty, earthy taste is something he's never experienced before, and he absolutely plans to make more recipes with it--especially since Miss Kuriyama seems to approve.

"Do you often have miso, then? I'd never heard of it before this. Or tofu. Or udon."

[halfemptyglasses]

"Oh sure. Those are all pretty common. And seafood, but that's kind of a given since Japan's made up of islands."

The last part spilled out of her mouth almost against her will, and she watches Autor for his reaction.

[herr_bookman]

Autor doesn't react in the way she might expect. He nods, listening to what she has to say, and takes a bite of his noodles. He's clearly practiced with chopsticks enough to get the food to his mouth, but no more than that.

"Oh, that makes sense," the boy says. "By the way, I brought a third bowl of udon if you finish the first one--and, well, if you liked it enough to finish the first one and want a second."

[halfemptyglasses]

She gives an internal sigh of relief and continues eating.

"How much udon did you make, Autor-senpai?"