Mio
The kitchen floor was cold.
That was the first thing. The cold, seeping through the tile, pressing against her cheek. Everything else came after—the ache in her joints, the crust on her eyelids, the way her hoodie had stiffened with something she didn't want to think about.
She'd made it home.
She didn't remember the train. Didn't remember the walk. Didn't remember unlocking the door or kicking off her shoes or collapsing in the kitchen instead of the three extra steps to her futon.
But she'd made it.
The light through the window was wrong. Too bright. Too high. Late morning, at least. She'd left the incursion at dawn. This was—
"—not gonna work. She's really out."
Nana's voice. Close.
"Maybe if we—"
A boot hit her face.
[-2 HP]
[HP: 1,418/1,420]
"Hey, watch it!" Mio's eyes snapped open. "Who did that?"
Nana stood by the fridge, still in her pajamas. On the counter next to her, six inches tall:
The knight.
They pointed at each other.
"He did it," Nana said.
The knight's visor turned toward Nana. Then back to Mio. His tiny gauntlet still extended, pointing.
"Traitor," Nana muttered.
Mio stared. At her sister. At the knight. At the boot on the floor.
"...what."
"He was on your shoulder when you came in," Nana said. "You collapsed and he just... stood on your head. For like an hour. It was creepy."
"So you threw a boot at me?"
"I threw a boot near you. To see if you were alive." Nana crossed her arms. "He's the one who kicked it."
The knight stood at attention. Visor forward. Perfectly still. The picture of innocence.
"I saw you do it," Mio said.
The knight didn't move.
"He's pretending he can't hear you," Nana said. "He did that to me too. I named him Can."
"...Can?"
"Like a tin can. Because he's made of metal." Nana shrugged. "He doesn't complain."
Can's visor turned toward Nana. Then back to the window. No objection.
Mio sat up. Her everything hurt.
"There's eggs," Nana said. "I made them. You're welcome."
Twenty minutes later, Mio was showered, changed, and sitting across from Nana at the kitchen table. The hoodie was in the trash. No amount of washing would fix it.
Nana slid something across the table. The 2,000-yen note. Still creased from where Mio had left it.
"Didn't need it," Nana said. Went back to her eggs.
Mio pocketed it without a word.
She pulled up her inventory while Nana ate.
Mostly junk. Acid cores from the slimes—over a hundred of them, worth a good amount if she stopped by a kiosk to trade it in. Some corroded armor fragments, a few withered cores, crafting materials she'd have to sell or dump.
But two things stood out.
The Putrid Core sat at the bottom of the list. Purple. Heavy. Crystallized essence of an elite-class entity. Worth more than everything else combined, probably.
And at the top—Aoi's hair clip. Still there. Still damaged. Still worth nothing to anyone but her.
She dismissed the window.
Nana was halfway through her egg when she stopped. Pointed her chopsticks at Mio.
"You killed my plant."
Mio blinked. "What?"
"My succulent. It's dead. There's dirt everywhere." Nana's eyes narrowed. "You said you'd water it."
The succulent. The bathroom. The first bloom she'd ever absorbed—one HP, barely visible, the spark that started everything.
"I'll get you a new one," Mio said.
"You also forgot my food."
"There's plenty of eggs."
"You said convenience store. You said onigiri." Nana stabbed her yolk. "You said you'd be back before I woke up."
The yolk bled across the plate. Nana watched it spread.
"You smell really bad," she added. Quieter now.
"I showered."
"Still bad."
Mio didn't argue. Some things soap couldn't fix.
Nana didn't look up. Pushed egg around with her chopsticks.
Silence.
"I heard you," Nana said. "In the kitchen. With those Bureau people."
Mio's chopsticks stopped.
"I wasn't asleep." Nana still wasn't looking at her. "You were out here. You thought I was in my room but I heard through the door. I heard everything."
The kitchen. Segawa's cigarette smoke. Homura standing by the door like a statue. Your sister's placement can always be reconsidered.
"Nana—"
"They said they'd take me away." Nana's voice was flat. Careful. "If you didn't do what they wanted. They said I was leverage."
"That's not going to happen."
"You don't know that."
"I won't let it."
Nana finally looked up. Her eyes were dry.
"Your old party," she said. "They left you to die."
"Yeah."
"And you killed them."
Mio's throat tightened. "That's not—"
"Good."
The word hung there. Good, from an eleven-year-old girl eating eggs in her pajamas. Her knuckles had gone white around the chopsticks.
Mio grabbed Nana's shoulders.
It surprised both of them. Mio hadn't meant to move. Her hands just... did it. Nana's chopsticks clattered against the plate.
"Nana. Listen to me."
Nana stared at her. Blank. Waiting.
"I didn't kill them. The Entity did. They tried to kill me, and then the Entity killed them, and I just—I survived, okay?"
Nana's gaze drifted past Mio's shoulder.
Already moved on. Tsk.
Mio turned.
Can was trying to break into the cabinet under the sink. His tiny gauntlets wedged into the gap, legs braced against the wood, pulling with everything his six-inch body had.
"What is he doing," Mio said.
"He's been doing that for like ten minutes," Nana said. "I think he wants the cleaning supplies."
"Why."
"I don't know. He's your knight."
Mio let go of Nana's shoulders. The serious moment was gone. Evaporated. Replaced by the sight of a miniature suit of armor trying to burgle her kitchen.
"Can. Stop."
Can did not stop.
"I think he's stuck," Nana said.
He was stuck. His left gauntlet had wedged into the cabinet gap at an angle that wouldn't come back out.
Mio sighed. Got up. Went to extract her Chimera from the cabinetry.
Behind her, Nana picked up her chopsticks and went back to her eggs.
"Are you still you?" she asked. Casual.
Mio paused. Can dangling from her hand by one arm.
The hunger stirred. Are we?
She looked at Nana. At the eggs. At the sunlight coming through the window.
Quiet.
"I don't know," she said.
Nana nodded.
"Okay," she said. "Get me a better plant. The spiky kind."
Mio set Can on the counter. He immediately started toward the cabinet again.
"No," Mio said.
Can stopped. Looked at her. Looked at the cabinet.
Looked at her.
She held his gaze.
He sat down. Cross-legged. Sulking.
"He listens to you," Nana said. "He just ignores me."
"He kicked a boot at my face."
"That's different. That's respect."
Mio wasn't sure that was how respect worked.
The notification pulsed at the edge of her vision. Still waiting.
[ENGINE: REWARD AVAILABLE]
Claim at any time.
Nana needed something else to hold onto. Something that wasn't leverage and dead parties and a sister who might not be herself anymore.
"Hey." Mio sat back down. "Want to see something?"
Nana perked up. "Is it another tiny knight?"
"No. It's—just come here."
Nana abandoned her eggs and padded over. Can watched from the counter, visor tracking.
[Claim]
A chest materialized on the kitchen table. Small, golden edges flickering. Physical—real enough to touch.
Nana's eyes went wide. "Is that a loot box?"
"Engine reward. First clear bonus." Mio reached for it. "Let's see what we got."
The chest opened.
Three options floated up in her vision—projections only she could see, the Engine's way of showing choices before you committed. Nana just saw Mio staring at empty air above an open box.
[OPTION 1: Widow's Embrace]
[Grade: C]
[Type: Longsword]
[Requirement: STR 25]
Single-edged blade. Attacks apply Sorrow (reduces target healing by 30% for 5 seconds).
"First one's a sword," Mio said. "Black blade. Needs twenty-five strength."
STR: 11
"That one sounds cool," Nana said.
"Can't use it. I've only got eleven."
"Eleven's not great." Nana leaned over, trying to see something that wasn't there. "What about your other stats?"
Mio pulled up the sheet.
[Status]
Level: 10
VIT: 67 | STR: 11 | AGI: 12 | INT: 12 | SPR: 16
"Twelve agility. Sixty-seven vitality. Twelve intelligence—"
"Wait." Nana held up a hand. "INT is intelligence?"
"Yeah."
"And yours is twelve?"
"...Yeah."
Nana's face split into a grin.
"So the system thinks you're dumb."
"That's not how it—"
"Twelve, Mio. Out of what, a hundred?"
"It started at two, okay? Twelve is improvement!"
"Improvement from two." Nana was delighted now. "You started at two intelligence."
"Can we move on?"
"I'm just saying. The system has opinions."
Mio waved to the next option before Nana could keep going.
[OPTION 2: Bulwark of the Fallen]
[Grade: C]
[Type: Heavy Chestplate]
[Requirement: STR 30, VIT 25]
Full plate armor. Grants Unyielding (cannot be knocked back while HP > 50%).
"Second one's armor. Full plate. Skulls on it. Needs thirty strength."
"Skulls?"
"Actual skulls."
Nana's face lit up. "That's—"
"No."
"I wasn't going to say—"
"No."
Nana pressed her lips together. Clearly biting back something.
Mio waved to the last option.
[OPTION 3: Seedkeeper's Satchel]
[Grade: C]
[Type: Accessory]
[Requirement: None]
Contains assorted flower seeds. Hardy. Low maintenance.
"Last one's a pouch. With seeds."
"Seeds? Like... flower seeds?"
Mio read the description again. Hardy. Low maintenance. The Engine matching her class, maybe. Or something else.
"Yeah."
"That one." Nana grabbed Mio's arm. "Pick that one."
"It's just seeds—"
"That one." Nana was bouncing now. Actually bouncing. "Mio. Pick it. Pick it pick it pick it—"
"Okay! Okay."
[CONFIRM: Seedkeeper's Satchel?]
[Yes / No]
[Yes]
The other options dissolved in her vision. The pouch dropped into Mio's palm—physical now, real, the leather warm against her skin.
[RECEIVED: Seedkeeper's Satchel]
[Contents: Moonpetal Seeds ×12]
Grows into luminous white flowers. Traditionally used in memorial arrangements and lunar festivals. Blooms year-round.
Nana was already tugging the satchel from her hands.
"The balcony. Come on."
"Nana—"
"You killed my succulent. You owe me."
Can hopped off the counter and followed.
The succulent graveyard was worse than Mio remembered.
Three pots. All dead. Dirt scattered across the balcony tiles from when she'd knocked one over stumbling home. The December wind cut through her still-damp hair.
Nana knelt by the largest pot. The one that used to hold something green and spiky. Now it held dust and a single withered stalk.
"This one," Nana said.
Mio crouched beside her. Opened the satchel.
The seeds inside were small. Dark. They looked like apple seeds, almost—except for the faint shimmer when the light caught them. Like oil on water.
Nana held out her hand. Mio poured a few into her palm.
"How many?"
"I don't know. A few?"
Nana pressed three seeds into the dead soil. Patted the dirt over them. Looked at the pot like she expected something to happen immediately.
Nothing happened.
"They probably need water," Mio said.
"They're magic seeds. They should magic themselves."
"I don't think that's how it works."
Nana humphed. But she went inside for the watering can anyway.
Mio stayed on the balcony. Looking at the pot. At the soil.
Moonpetals. Luminous white flowers. Memorial arrangements and lunar festivals.
She wondered what they'd look like when they bloomed.
Her phone buzzed.
REMINDER: Training begins noon. Sublevel Three.
She checked the time. 11:15.
"Nana."
Her sister came back with the watering can. Oversized. Shaped like an elephant. A gift from their mother, years ago.
"I have to go to the Bureau."
"Now?"
"Yeah. Training." Mio stood. Brushed dirt off her knees. "I'll be back before dinner."
Nana didn't look up. Just watered the pot. Careful. Thorough.
"Promise?"
The hunger stirred. Mio pushed it down.
"Promise."
Can was still on the counter when she went back inside. Watching.
Nana kept watering. The elephant's trunk dribbled water into dead soil, into the place where something was trying to grow.
"If they don't bloom," Nana said, "you owe me another plant."
"They'll bloom."
"You don't know that."
"No," Mio admitted. "But give them a chance."
She grabbed her jacket.
At the door, she looked back.
Nana was still on the balcony. Watering. The elephant can in her hands, the dead pots at her feet, the seeds invisible beneath the soil.
Memorial flowers. Growing in a graveyard.
The hunger stirred. Mio let it.
She walked out into the cold.