After the disaster of last night, and after apologizing profusely to Evan for having to clean up all the mud I tracked in, my family and I had decided to look for leads at Cafe Pride. Or, more accurately, Mom had sent me here because I had another shift today anyway, and both she and Evan’s dad had to work. 

So here I was, sipping drinks with my two coworkers and not-yet-step-brother with Kannya on my lap. I had managed to get her clothed in one of my old shirts like a dress, and got her much cleaner after I’d earned enough trust to take a warmed-up wet towel to all the mud I didn’t get prior. I currently had her engaged with a game of Connect 4, which looked more like the two of us just putting pieces in random spots. I felt like I was beginning to understand Kannya a bit better- she liked the sounds certain things made, the way some things felt, and enjoyed simple, colorful patterns. She definitely understood a lot more than she could say, and she was always listening, even if it didn’t seem like she was paying attention.

“So… let me get this straight. You found a kid under a bridge, took her to the police who promptly gave you the middle finger, and then decided the next best people to ask for help from was us?” Sachi questioned, taking a sip of her Catgirl Cuppa. I had no clue why my pink-haired, twintailed, catgirl friend had this much patience with me. She’s the only reason I have any sort of understanding of my catgirl powers, which may or may not have contributed to my massive crush on her. 

Look- I know she’s like, the first girl that was nice to me post catgirlification, and it’s super stereotypical to crush on the first person to show you kindness and all that. But, in my defense,  Evan and Ada are dating, so nyeh. Let me have my baby gay crush. She’s way out of my league, anyway. I don’t know how she doesn’t have a boyfriend yet. Or a girlfriend. I don’t even know if she likes girls or not! Am I overthinking things?

“Sorry you had to put up with that asshole,” Ada consoled, snapping me out of my mini-spiral. In stark contrast to Sachi’s bright and bubbly personality, the goth vampire girl remained as calm as ever as we chatted. “I’ll ask my dad to look into it.” 

Oh yeah, Ada was the daughter of the super-powerful magic mayor. Which was a great little perk given the current situation- Last night’s government injustice against wouldn’t go unnoticed.

“But it might be a while,” She clarified. “Everyone’s all tweaked out about a new vampire coven forming in town. Well- Mom’s all tweaked out, and not even Dad can handle her when she gets like that.”

“A coven?” Evan asked. “What would a bunch of vampires want with New Haven?”

“That’s the million-dollar question,” Ada replied. “They’re either very brave or very stupid. It’s only a matter of time before Mom hunts them down.”

“Except they won’t get near anyone in the family,” Sachi said. “Whoever’s leading them knows how to lay low.”

“...What if I went to speak with them?” Evan volunteered. 

Wait, what?

“Evan, that’s way too dangerous!” I chided. “Can’t we just leave it to Sachi and Ada’s parents?”

“I might find a way to fix all this, Miyu. What if the vampire that got me is part of the coven?” 

Oh man… he’s serious.

“I-” I started, looking for another way to dissuade my friend. “Ada, Sachi, you agree with me, right? Just cause he’s a vampire doesn’t mean he’ll be okay!”

The two girls averted their gaze.

“Seriously, guys?”

“I mean… he’d really be doing us a favor,” Ada admitted. “Plus, most of the myths and magic users here aren’t that strong. Sachi and I have been keeping them in check since we were… tenish?”

Shit, really? It kinda makes me wonder how quickly Sachi could wipe the floor with me. For completely straight reasons, of course. “I… whatever,” I sighed.

 “Nyaha!” Kannya suddenly exclaimed, dropping one final piece into the Connect 4 board. I glanced over at our game, only to find that she’d completed four simultaneous lines against me in one move. I guess the universe said that today was not my day.

Evan laughed. “Owned. Skill issue.” 

“Skill nyissue,” Yuki repeated.

“Nyissue skill!” Kannya chimed happily.

Dammit, Evan! Don’t teach them that! I glared at him while I took a long sip of my drink. Just you wait until I learn how to make arcane constructs. Your room will nyever be safe again.

Never. Dammit.

“So, where can I find this coven? Any clues?” Evan asked, undeterred by my mental threats.

“If we knew where, we wouldn’t need help,” Sachi said. “All we’ve got are vague clues that never pan out when any of us go to check out the places for ourselves.”

“Oh. Makes sense,” Evan replied. But like… no, it doesn’t? What part of any of this makes logical sense? Just cause your girlfriend is a childhood vigilante doesn’t mean we’re just as capable!

Evan continued, “So, like, I just go and start looking around these places myself and see what I find? Maybe they don’t hide from me or something?”

“Yeah,” Ada said. “Ideally, you have better luck, and you can figure out what’s going on with this coven, who leads it, and what they want with New Haven.”

Sachi nodded. “Yeah, if you can find out any of that, it’ll make Grandma’s job way easier hunting them down.”

For the record, Sachi and Ada aren’t related, but their families do live together. It’s- Their family history is complicated. Sachi tried to explain it to me once, but I got lost somewhere around Ada’s mom literally backstabbing one of Sachi’s moms, and some sort of mini-war happening. How that turned into them living together and Sachi calling her Grandma, I will never know.

“What’s she going to do if she catches them? I can’t imagine she takes rivals very kindly,” Evan asked.

“Depends,” Ada replied ominously.

“On…?” I blurted. Immediate regret. Like most things related to their family, it was probably better for my sanity that I didn’t know.

“If they agree to deal with her peacefully, or if they have bad intentions. If it’s the former, she’ll probably just let them do their thing as long as they report to her and keep clean. Or force adopt them. Long story. Don’t ask.”

“And if they don’t play nice?” Evan pressed.

“Well. Let’s just say there won’t be another coven for long, then,” Sachi said.

Yep. I regretted it.

Ada tapped away at her screen, halfway through a text. “Anyway, I’ll get you the addresses we’ve checked out before. Take a look when you can, but don’t go getting yourself hurt. Play it cool, and don’t let them know you’re connected to us, okay?” 

Evan smirked. He looked… confident for the first time in a while. “Got it. Play it cool. Nobody’ll ever know. I mean, after all, I’ve seen enough movies and read enough books to know how this whole covert agent thing goes.”

Sachi rolled her eyes. “...Yeah, okay, superspy. Just text us if anything goes sideways and we’ll try to come pull you outta the fire.”

“Of course!” Evan replied excitedly. He pulled out his phone to confirm the information Ada had sent him. “Thanks, babe.”

Ada blushed. “Mm. No problem… hon…”

I couldn’t decide if I was grossed out or jealous. Kannya, undeterred, was fidgeting with the Conncet 4 game, trying to unlock the bottom so she could beat me again. With a resigned sigh, I focused on starting up a new game with Kannya.

Evan stood up, draining the remainder of his drink. “Well, I’m off! Tell Dad and your mom that I went out investigating! Be back by dinner, probably.” With one final glance at his phone, he took off. Hopefully, he wasn’t heading straight into trouble.

I looked at my friends, worried. “He’s going to be okay, right?”

Sachi nodded. “Yeah, he’ll be fine. Probably.”

“Probably?”

“You worry too much, Miyu,” Ada said. “By the way, you just lost again.”

“Huh?”

“Nyaha!” Kannya had gotten two lines on me already. What the-

“Nyissue skill,” she purred happily.

I- I don’t even know anymore. “How are you so good at this without having words?” I asked her.

“I’d bet you’d be surprised,” Sachi said. “Mama Nee works with a lot of kids like her, actually. Does she have an AAC device?”

I tilted my head. “A what?”

Sachi smiled and stood up. “Here, I’ll show you.”