“Um, yes?” He answered nervously. Given how Kinuko had responded to learning of this news. Nishiki got the feeling that perhaps it wasn’t a good thing at all for other people to be aware of the truth behind Tenha. “There’s a problem, isn’t there?”

“You pick up on things real well.” She answered, walking inside without waiting for his permission to enter. “And how exactly did this situation come to pass?”

“It wasn’t our fault.” He replied, closing the door and following her to the living room. As they chatted, Fusa simply sat at the couch, keeping her hands rested on her lap like a child waiting for their parents to talk to their teacher. “It was an accident and a misunderstanding that got us to where we are now.”

“Sounds like an excuse to me.” She walked right up to Fusa and bent down to get face-to-face with the girl. The office lady broke a sweat as she didn’t move a muscle. The only parts of her body that did move were her eyes as it followed Kinuko scanning along her. “Hmm, she’s a nervous wreak.”

“I think anyone would act like that if you’re going to stare!” He scolded her. Nishiki always thought her to be the mature one between the fox spirits. Now he was uncertain on if the kitsune were actually all insane. “Look, she’s just someone I know from work, we can trust her.”

“But look at this girl.” She argued back, standing up straight again. “She looks like someone who would break easily in an interrogation situation.”

“I doubt there’s anyone who would torture someone just to figure out if you guys are real.”

“He’s right.” Tenha back him up on that matter as she finished up cooking their dinner. “No one cares that much if we’re real or not.”

“Well you never know.” She crossed her arms and pouted. An oddly immature things coming from her, but maybe she was upset Nishiki and Tenha were on the same team in this case.

“If you just got to know Fusa, then you’ll see everything’s all right.” He went up behind the girl and rubbed her shoulders a bit to try and ease the tension. “Right?”

“Uh, r-right.” She wasn’t prepared to have to prove herself to a total stranger, but Fusa did have concerned on what might happen if this lady continued to not trust her. For all she knew, this woman might kidnap her and take her away to the spirit world where no one would ever see her again. All just to keep the secret of their existence private. “It’s nice to meet you, uh…”

“My name’s Kinuko.” She extended a hand which was accepted. “So Fusa, you are very friendly with Nishiki here?”

“I wouldn’t call us close friends, but I enjoy his company.” She answered. This was nerve-racking for the young woman. She hadn’t been this anxious since her first interview with the company. And that was easy compared to now as Kinuko looked like she was ready to end her life in an instant. “We’re just friends.” Fusa sweated heavily as her knees shook uncontrollably. She kept her head down to avoid having to look at the woman as things quieted down.

“Well at least I don’t have to keep my guard up.” Was all she got in response as Kinuko sat down on the couch besides her. Judging from actions, she summarized this girl would be unable to harm a fly. If anything, the fly might actually have a fighting chance to win.

“Good.” Nishiki breathed a sigh of relief as he joined them around the coffee table and Tenha served the dinner she cooked up for everyone. “Oh, sorry in advance if the food’s not that great.” He said to her right before anyone took a bite. “She’s not what you call a fine chef.”

“It’s okay.” She replied and took the bite anyway. He wasn’t wrong, the food was quite bland. Not to mention it was simple and not at all fitting compared to when she ate out with friends. But Fusa didn’t say anything to not come across as rude.

“Hmm, this is one of your better efforts.” Said Kinuko, as if her rating mattered. At this point, Nishiki wondered if she actually had any need to keep swinging by to check on Tenha. They had been through this process for a while now and it should be clear that both sides understood the expectations placed on them. If he didn’t know any better, he’d almost think she came here because she wanted to be with them for some reason.

“I’d hope so.” Tenha took the compliment about as well as one might expect she would. “I tried extra hard on this because we have a guest over.”

“Well thank you.” Fusa bowed her head. This made her feel like a bit more special of a person. A feeling she had lost ever since entering the workplace. Even if the end result in this case was lackluster. “You know, I thought I’d be more shocked about getting to meet spirits like you.”

“Yeah, I noticed you took the news a lot easier than I expected.” Said Nishiki. He believed she would’ve suffered a mental breakdown from the absurdity of the situation. Yet here they were, all hanging out together like it was the most normal thing in the whole wide world.

“I guess I can accept it because…” She wasn’t entirely sure what led to her feeling the way she did. It was like she accepted not because of the ability to, but the desire of it. “It makes life a little exciting, doesn’t it?”

“That’s certainly how things were when I first met them.” He commented. While he understood that perhaps an ordinary person might seek these extraordinary circumstances, thought Nishiki it was more fantasy than the reality he got. “My door definitely got the most pain, but really things have been a lot more underwhelming after he got settled down with Tenha living with him.

“But isn’t that so cool? This is like the norm for you.” She hardly noticed him acting strangely. The only difference the girl would say about how he was during work would be his health appearing to improve. The man’s complexion healed, his posture more straight, just the way he talked sounded more energetic. “You’ve got two fox spirits who hang out with you all the time, meanwhile I’m just a normal and average girl compared to them.”

“You’re younger than him, correct?” Asked Kinuko.

“Yes.” It wasn’t an odd question for her to receive. Though Fusa would say it appeared obvious given her appearance compared to him.

“You certainly act in that manner.” Though the reason for the fox woman to feel this way was different. “I can tell from this short time we’ve known each other you hold Nishiki in high regard.”

“Oh.” That was enough to make her blush. “I do respect him as my senior, if that’s what you mean.”

“Yeah don’t worry about that too much.” He could tell Kinuko’s way of speaking could be misunderstood. “I wouldn’t say the way she treats me is all that different from everyone else. She’s kind of the young employee at the office.”

“Still, with the way she treats you, I’m surprised you don’t have many friends.” When Kinuko told him that, he had to think about his social life before the fox spirit’s arrival. Or rather, the lack of one at all.

Nishiki was not a mean person, nor was he shy and socially awkward. The man simply spent so much time working and when he wasn’t, he would be handling other responsibilities during his waking hours. So this left basically not time for him to actually chat with anyone in a nonprofessional manner.

But wouldn’t things be different now? It certainly seemed that way as he looked at the three girls hanging with him, enjoying some dinner around his television. Sure, one might say it was out of obligation with people like Tenha and Kinuko because of that contract. But they didn’t act that this was the case.

Maybe it was due the former getting closer to him. After all, he was one of only two humans to be friends with her. Then with Kinuko, even she was more open than when they first met. They had slowly become less of an officer making regular checks on a parolee to being a part of the family.

And with Fusa, this was far past crossing the boundary between coworkers. All this time after he first met her as that plucky and somewhat awkward new girl to the office. Nishiki only viewed her as just another person. But now with her sitting next to him in his house. It would be a disappointment if this were the only time she ever came over. So the man knew he hoped she would return and continue to make her way into his life.

“Heh.” He chuckled at her assessment of him. For once, he didn’t think her ability to judge was correct. “I’d say I have plenty of friends.”