I awoke from a wonderful, if perhaps too stimulating dream, to an aggressive buzzing sound at the side of the bed. I looked around with bleary eyes. Neon light bathed me in a pink and purple glow as I searched for the source of the buzzing. It was a phone attached to the wall. I picked it up. A very gruff sounding woman immediately began berating me for overstaying the amount of hours we’d paid for.

I grimaced, letting the wave of verbal abuse wash over me. When she was finally finished I let her know that I’d pay the additional charges and for the next two hours. She changed her tune really quick, telling me how grateful she was for our business and would I please write a review.

I hung up.

I flopped back down into bed.

Wait.

flexed the fingers of my right hand. I raised it. Twisted it. No pain. Only a slight stiffness. Amazing. I noticed that a bandage had been applied to the source of the cut itself, the girls must have tended to it while I slept. I was impressed.

And Kira must have touched it, or at least done some of her spirit magic to help it heal even faster.

Fenra had healed me with a kiss when we first fought a demon. Had Kira done the same? If so, Hana hadn’t mentioned it. Not yet at least. The thought sent a feeling of both excitement and danger coursing through me. I dismissed it as quickly as it had come. Perhaps some things were best left a mystery.

As I mused I noticed that I was staring… right at myself. Not a pretty sight. There was a mirror spanning the length of the ceiling surrounded by the lights giving off the neon glow. I could see dark circles under my eyes and disheveled hair. I was naked from the waist up. I lifted the covers to check. At least I had my boxers on. That was good. And I was not pitching a tent.That was also a good thing when sharing a bed.

Speaking of sharing a bed, I wonder if the ladies are up?

Using the mirror I turned my gaze to the two female forms laying beside me. It was amazing we all fit on one but. I supposed that was the beauty of staying in a love motel. They tended to have king beds.

Extra space for extra fun.

Actually I didn’t want to imagine what things went on in this room between others. Hopefully they cleaned it well. But that was a mystery that was better left unsolved. Back to the two girls. They were sleeping heavily and I did not want to wake them yet. I was glad I’d paid for the extra hours.

Hana’s pink sweatsuit had rolled up exposing her firm stomach and the blankets were bunched up around her legs. I couldn’t help but notice the lack of pajama bottoms, only a familiar white lace poking out from the edge of the blanket.

I gulped.

Don’t stare, you know better.

I looked at Kira instead. While Hana was cuddled up on the far right of the bed, Kira was starfished in the very center. She had eschewed all the blankets and seemed content to sleep totally exposed. Even her mouth hung open. Kira had kept her suit on but had unzipped it in the front to let out the chest and I couldn’t help but peek at her cleavage on full display.

I’m staring. God help me. Could these two cover up for once in their lives? And after that dream… the two of them.. together.

That was enough. This had to end. I got to my feet. I stumbled into the bathroom to do my morning business. After I’d finished I took a look in the mirror. Thankfully there was toothpaste provided. Also condoms, I noted, not that we would be needing those.

An image of my two companions in the shower flashed in my mind and I dropped the tooth brush. It clattered to the floor. I reached over to pick it up and managed to knock over the toilet roll and the box of condoms, spilling them out onto the wet bathroom floor. I leaned on the toilet roll dispenser as I bent down and it came off the wall with a crack then clattered across the tile. I slumped to the ground.

“God damnit!” I cried out.

I heard the door open and saw two furry ears poke out, then a smiling face.

“Master, are you okay in here, what are you doing?”

Kira was on all fours, her tail wagging lazily. As the door opened wider I saw that Hana stood above her, rubbing her eyes and yawning. The pink haired woman put her hand on her hips and I saw her gaze travel down to the condoms that I had spilled on the floor.

“Really, peach-butt? You couldn’t wait to get your rocks off? You were going to rub one out… into a love hotel condom!?”

I couldn’t tell if Hanawas was teasing or seriously accusing me. Her green eyes were twinkling mischievously so I had to assume the former.

“Master, what does… rub one out… mean?” Kira asked innocently.

“Would the two of you just cool it for one single moment!” I burst out exasperatedly.

I got to my feet and stalked past the two of them. Hana was chuckling and Kira, not getting it but wanting to join in, giggled.

“Your master probably got a little excited sleeping beside us, who wouldn’t?” I heard Hana explaining to Kira.

I sighed and called out to them without turning around:

“You two get ready, we should think about getting back to the train station for our bags and calling Miku as well. We need to consider where to go next… and what to make of last night.”

***

Breakfast.

We were having breakfast.

I had tried to fight it, I told the girls we needed to get going. But Kira had begged, and Hana had given in almost immediately. It seemed her soft spot for the cat spirit was growing.

Perhaps the dream had not been a total fantasy? Perhaps it had its roots in reality after all.

Indeed the sisterly attitude she’d taken, the affectionate touches, the way Hana watched over her… there was something more to their relationship than a simple friendship. I knew Hana swung both ways. It wouldn’t surprise me if a crush was developing there. I considered the possibility.

“Master! Are you going to eat that?” Kira interrupted my thoughts by reaching over the table to point at my hashbrowns.

I chuckled and shook my head.

“Aren’t you forgetting something, Kira?” Hana scolded.

“P-please!” Kira said after checking in with Hana.

“Yes of course, take them.” I said

I pushed the plate over to the hungry cat spirit. Truthfully, I wasn’t hungry. I had far too much on my mind. Instead I looked around the place. It was an american themed diner complete with leather booths, a jukebox, and chrome siding. It was empty. An elderly waitress, who I had no doubt was the owner, had disinterestedly taken our order then headed off to the back, I assume to also make our food.

I hadn’t seen any signs of other staff.

If my two companions' voracious eating was any indication, the food was actually pretty good.

So we were at least two for two in Okaino on the food front. I knew that would make Hana happy.

After we’d ordered, I'd given Miku a call. She hadn’t sounded much better than last time. Still stressed to the max. I mentioned that we had not been able to locate the man who owned the temple and she had agreed to file a missing persons report once we were out of town. She had, she said, a bit of good news for us and I perked up at that.

It turned out she had a bit of a lead for us. It was a remote northern town called Kibukuro. A report had been filed that a man matching the summoner’s description had been spotted behaving erratically in town and a disturbance had happened in a local bar there that was still under investigation. The following morning the local monastery had reported a robbery.

There were too many similarities for it to be a coincidence.

The monastery, Miku explained, was only accessible by a hike that was quite strenuous and had to take place from the nearby town. The train from Okaino would be a whopping five hours, which meant by the time we got in it would be midday to late evening depending on what train we caught. Miku argued that we should wait, that perhaps she could find someone else to send from the hunter’s guild but I waved away the notions, telling her we would be careful and that we would not engage in anything unnecessary. Besides, I said, if he’d already robbed the place, what was the danger? Miku reluctantly agreed, then was called away, forcing her to say a quick goodbye and hang up.

It feels like everytime I call her she’s farther and farther away. And not just in physical distance.

“Why didn’t you tell her what happened at the shrine?” Asked Hana, while wiping some yolk off Kira’s chin. Kira did not even slow down for a second, continuing to shovel food into her mouth.

“So you were listening…”

“I was. Why didn’t you tell her Ryo?”

No peachbutt this morning huh? I guess she’s back to business.

I thought about how to answer Hana honestly yet tactfully. I didn’t want to drag her into the disagreement between Miku and I. We seemed at odds for how we wanted to approach this problem. I hadn’t set out to lie to Miku, I just didn’t want to tell her the whole story. If I’d told her I knew she’d try to stop me.

Try to stop all of us.

I decided to explain that to Hana and just hope she was on my side:

“Hana, It's just that… Miku wouldn’t have let us go. She’d have tried to stop us. And maybe, with all her resources, she would have succeeded.”

“Go where?” Hana asked, still chewing happily on the last few bites of her hashbrowns.

I explained To Hana all that Miku had told me about the new town and that she’d agreed to get us tickets. Hana listened impassively then nodded.

“Right, we should go then. Usually I’m not in favor of any kind of deception but you are right in this case. It was your only choice.”

I twiddled my thumbs.

“Are you sure? The two of you.. It’s not safe.”

Hana shook her head.

“Unbelievable Ryo. We saved you yesterday. The two of us. And you want to lecture me about staying home? You think-”

“Okay okay Hana it's just… god. I know you two are powerful. Hell, I was super impressed yesterday. I just don’t want to lose anyone. Anyone else… “

I felt myself tearing up as I thought of Fenra.

Hana reached over and grasped my hands in her own. I let her hold them. Together we shared a tender moment.

And then Kira knocked over her plate onto the ground with a clatter and slapped her own hands on top of ours.

“I wanna play too!”

We’d better get the cheque.