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Chapter Text

Komatsu shivered and wrapped his arms more tightly across his chest. Each exhale came out in a cloud of white and shivers wracked his frame as he walked. He was far from being in good condition but he had to keep going- he had to keep moving. He wasn't thinking about the cold, the stinging feeling in his toes and fingers, or how the air seemed cold enough to burn. He wasn't even thinking about the shadows that might have been following after him.

He was just focused on moving forward.

Unfortunately it was getting harder and harder to do that. Each step made his body ache and scream for him to stop- to just rest, even if there was the chance that he wouldn't get up again- but something else kept him going.

Not for the first time, he was regretting his choice of clothing. His shirt and pants were thick enough for ordinary, day-time travel and usually his coat was good for trapping in heat, but he hadn't anticipated temperatures like this. His boots, although they had thick soles, did little to keep his feet from getting sore and they felt heavier and heavier with each step. His traveling pack was heavy against his back. Inside of it he kept the tools of his trade- two kitchen knives- worn with use but still well cared for-, several pouches of spices, and enough food to last him for a few more days; Assuming that he didn't eat it all before getting out of this wasteland.

Not that he'd planned to come through here in the first place. He'd been heading to a town that was still a day or two away but before he'd noticed, the green grass and rolling hills had turned into barren rock and thick underbrush. The wild life had seemingly disappeared with the setting sun and the plummeting temperatures. Occasionally Komatsu would hear something in the distance, but he forced himself to not dwell on the, frankly terrifying, noises. A few times he had considered turning back, but it would have taken hours to get back to those green fields and he was already dedicated to his path.

"Just a little farther." Komatsu mumbled. His nose and chest burned from the cold air and his voice sounded a bit like a croak, but it was better than just silence. "Just a little-"

He caught a burst of movement in his peripherals and Komatsu stumbled, letting out a loud cry as something flew at his head. He waved his arms- despite them burning from the effort- around his head like he was trying to put out a fire. There was a loud squack and a flutter as something landed not too far away from him. When he finally stopped moving and peeked out from between his arms, all he saw was a bird perched on a jagged rock, just a few feet in front of him.

It was a large bird- it might have come up to his knee had they been standing side by side- with nearly pitch black plumage. It watched him with beady black eyes.

Komatsu sighed when he saw what it was. "Oh! Just a bird. You really scared me." he bent down to pick up his dropped pack and when he looked up again, the bird was gone. "Its gone already?" he wondered. Had it just come out of nowhere just to dive bomb him? He looked around but spotting the black bird was a hopeless task when it was already so dark. "Strange." Komatsu shook his head before deciding that he needed to get moving again before he completely froze. He flexed his fingers and grimaced at how stiff they were. At the very least they hadn't gone completely numb yet. "Well, at least one of us is smart enough to get out of here." he sighed before continuing on his way.

Come to think of it, what was a bird like that doing out here in the cold? Didn't most birds leave when it got this cold? And didn't most of them stick to flying during the day? He'd never been any sort of expert when it had come to animal behavior, but he found himself wondering if the bird had been just a bird.

Not more than a minute later, he jumped again as he heard a deep caw from the brush near him. He turned his head from side to side until he spotted the bird again, watching him.

"I guess you didn't leave?" Komatsu asked, a bit bewildered. "What are you doing out here? Don't you have a home? Somewhere warmer than this? You shouldn't be freezing your feathers off here." Even if talking at a wild animal was a bit silly, there was something nice about the company, at least. Animals tended to avoid him. He wasn't entirely sure why- maybe they could tell that he made a living cooking them up? Or maybe it was because of his tiny, little curse. Either way, it wasn't often that he could observe an animal from this close.

The bird took a few seconds to run its beak through its feathers before it looked at him and cawed again- it was a loud, startling sound- and then it took off. This time he watched as it landed on a rock that was just a few feet farther, left of where he was heading. "Oh, you're leaving again? Well, bye again." Komatsu said before he continued walking. He was interrupted by the bird landing in his path again, and then flying off. It landed in the same spot as before and watched him, expecting something or another. "Eh?" By now, even without being a bird expert, Komatsu felt like this wasn't normal bird behavior.

The bird watched him and he asked, "You don't want me to follow you, do you?" It cried out again and hopped up and down in the same spot. "I... This is a bad idea." Komatsu mumbled before turning and walking towards the bird. When it saw that he was willing to go along with it then it took off again. Komatsu didn't lose track of it this time.

Now, Komatsu wasn't the sharpest person out there, but he was far from a fool. It was beyond obvious that this bird wasn't a normal bird. In fact, it might not have ever been a normal bird. It was magical- enchanted- and now he was following after it without any clue as to where he was going. It wasn't a smart move, but he didn't regret doing it. It might have been a part of his curse, but he had a feel for magic. He could tell when magic had been applied to objects or people, and when that magic was meant to harm or meant to help. This bird didn't give off the feeling of something malicious but it didn't feel wholly good either.

He followed it for some time, only stumbling over the occasional rock or through the occasional bit of brush. He could still hear the calls of animals in the distance, but the black bird paid them no mind, so Komatsu followed suit. The night was still cold, but Komatsu didn't worry about it. The cold might have made his entire body ache, but it wouldn't kill him.

But, speaking of the cold, it wasn't quite as bad as before.

"Is it getting warmer?" Komatsu wondered, and even the white cloud from his breath seemed smaller. "Are you really leading me somewhere warmer?" he asked the bird.

And rather than getting a response from the bird, there was instead a sudden burst of hot air and a bit of light- almost as if someone had lit a bonfire in the distance. "Hey!" Komatsu shouted, scrambling to grab his coat as it fluttered around him. The warm air blew under his clothes and burned against his chilled skin. Still he continued to follow the bird.

The path that he was on led downwards and seemed to move away from the source of light. The rocks beneath his feet and the stone outcroppings around him gave no indication of what had caused the sudden gust of air. He walked for another minute or so before they came to a stop in front of what looked like a stone wall.

This time, when the bird landed on his shoulder, he only screamed a little. But that sound devolved into a breathless chuckle. "Where did you even lead me?" he asked as he examined the area. It was much warmer now and it felt like pins and needles were racing along under his skin. His body was crying out for the warmth that this place offered. The wall in front of him was a bit strange as well. At first glance it just looked like a pile of rocks and boulders- like it was maybe the result of some sort of rock slide. The details only seemed to stand out once you really stared at it.

The door hidden in the stone was as grey as the stones surrounding it. It looked like it had the same sort of texture as well, and the only out of place thing was a small knob on the side of the right hand side. Komatsu reached for it without even thinking about the gesture before quickly snatching his hand back. He asked the bird instead, "You led me here- are you saying that you want me to go in?" he asked and, instead of a reply, the bird took off from his shoulder- nearly clipping him in the head with a wing- and landed on the knob. That seemed like all of the invitation that he'd get.

Komatsu looked at the door before looking at the wasteland behind him. Just going through a stranger's door probably wasn't a good idea, but he also wasn't crazy about the idea of going back into that cold. After a few moments he made a choice. "...Ok." he mumbled, "But if I get cursed again then I'll be holding you accountable." he told the bird, half-hearted.

He shuffled down the path another foot until he was at the gap between the stones that he stood on, and the stone steps that led up to the door. He stepped across the gap, grabbed the door knob- while the bird landed on his should again- and turned it. He had to use a bit of strength to push the door open and peer inside, but it was pitch black. "Oh," he mumbled, bit his lip, and then sighed. "Here I go. Sorry for intruding."

He stepped inside the dark area and then let the door close behind him. He heard the click of a lock and the sound of something spinning but he kept his eyes forward. Before he could take even another step forwards, there was suddenly light- a bright blue light. It wasn't much, but it allowed him to see that there were stairs in front of him. They let upwards and the light came from somewhere beyond them.

"Melk?" a man called out. "Is that you? What have you brought to the castle this time?" The voice was bored, a bit lazy, and Komatsu shivered at it. The bird- Melk- took off- this time after swatting him in the head with a wing- and flew towards the light. Komatsu rubbed at his temple with one hand and gripped the straps of his bag with the other, wondering if he should follow the bird. As if there was another option at this point.

"Well come on- don't just stand there all night." The man spoke again and Komatsu felt a shove square in the middle of his back. He squeaked and stumbled against the steps, banging his knees when he couldn't catch himself. "Come up already." And without waiting for another push, Komatsu began climbing the steps.

When he reached the top, he looked around for the man. From the voice he'd expected someone large- definitely someone intimidating looking- but what he saw instead was just a messy room. There were boxes overflowing with knick knacks and books, tables with more books and fabrics piled up on top of them, and yet again more books tossed around on the floor amidst a sea of junk. Whoever lived here seemed well read at least. Shiny baubles and trinkets hung on the walls and from the ceiling. Words were scribbled on the wallpaper- spells and incantations and things in languages that Komatsu couldn't even begin to decipher. There was a staircase a little farther back and a large door right next to it. A chair sat in the middle of the room with even more piled on top of it.

"Amazing." Komatsu muttered as he looked at the interesting things in the room. Then he grimaced at the rest of the place. "It's kind of dirty though."

"Well, you try and keep this place clean with so many slobs living here. I assure you that it's no easy task."

Komatsu jumped and let out a shout as he tried to find the source of the voice. It was the same one from earlier but he'd somehow forgotten about the man. And then he'd started to badmouth his home! He immediately opened his mouth to apologize but he closed it when he didn't see anyone else in the room. "Wh-who was that?!"

Komatsu heard a loud cry and he glanced around until he saw the black bird from before sitting on a perch near the hearth. And on the hearth was a fire. A blue one.

From the depths of the flames, a pair of eyes watched him- maybe looking bored, maybe looking annoyed. It was hard to tell on a fire.

"WHOA!" Komatsu screamed before jumping back- even though his body protested the movement. "What are you? A magic fire? A demon?!"

"Well, aren't you a loud one?" the fire mused and was that a bit of amusement in its- or maybe his- tone? "And I'm nothing of the sort. I'm a caretaker if anything.

"Now, sit down and tell me," a length of flame burst out of the fire in the direction of the chair, "why you're here."

Komatsu, after a pause, walked over to the chair. He looked between the things piled up in the chair and the fire, which just seemed to roll his eyes before gesturing to the side of the room with another burst of flames. "Just set it down near the wall. I doubt any of them will realize that it's been moved."

Komatsu, still a bit hesitant, nodded at the fire's instructions before gathering the items from the chair into his arms. He laid it down where the fire had instructed- feeling bad about adding to the mess in the room- before he sat down in the chair, which seemed to have been made for a person several times larger than himself. He left his bag by his feet and sank down into the fabric. It was comfortable and warm and he could feel his body drooping. It was such a relief after the cold.

Meanwhile the fire watched him get comfortable before saying, "Now, now, don't fall asleep on me." It watched him with bored eyes. "Now, why have you appeared on my doorstop?"

"Why did I-?" Komatsu mumbled before fully taking in the question. "Oh! I was just following the bird. It led me here and I just sort of came in. Sorry for the rudeness." he said, finally feeling a bit of bashfulness settle in. Here he was, potentially talking to the owner of this place and he was having a terrible time just trying to keep his eyes open.

"Of course Melk led you here." the fire said, with the air of someone talking to a child. "Only those who have been to the castle before should be able to find it so you would have needed someone to guide you here. No, I'm asking why you were out in these wastelands to begin with." the fire paused and those eyes narrowed. "And with such a nasty curse on you too."

"..." Komatsu bit his lip and averted his eyes. "I was traveling to another town." he finally said. "I didn't feel safe in the last one." he remembered, again, the shadows that had tailed him, and the people who had been looking for him. His heart clenched as he thought about the family that had been housing him. He could only hope that they were ok now. "And about the curse, I can't- I can't really say-"

"Yes, yes, curses don't normally allow you to speak about them." the fire said, sounding bored again. "That's why they're so troublesome to deal with. But I'm still surprised by the strength of it. You're not a magic user, are you?"

"Not at all." Komatsu said honestly. He didn't know much, but he knew that that was the truth. "I- I can't remember much but that's one thing that I'm sure of."

"Can't remember much?"

"...I can't remember receiving the curse." he said slowly, waiting for the moment when his throat with close up and the words would begin to choke him. It always happened when he spoke about his curse too much, but it seemed like this much was fine. "I can't remember my life before it. I can't remember who cursed me. I can't even always remember what happened afterwards!" There was just entirely too much that he couldn't recall and it was equal parts frightening and frustrating.

"Well," the fire said after a few moments' thought. "At least you know that the curse isn't directly tied to your memories. If it were then you wouldn't have been able to even say that much." The fire reached out and gripped a piece of wood from the back of the hearth. Komatsu watched as the flames danced and the wood was dragged against the stone basin of the hearth until the flames consumed it. "You've come to the right place though. There are several wizards who live here. They could probably break your curse."

"They'd break it?" Komatsu asked, feeling a little breathless. "Without even knowing anything about it? About me?"

"I'm not saying that they will. Only that they could. They're exceptionally temperamental, but they can get results." the fire corrected him. "You can even stick around to find out if they'd be willing to help you. Under one condition."

Komatsu frowned. "A condition? I'm sorry but I don't know if I should be making deals with strange fire creatures." Komatsu said, slurring his words slightly. He was exhausted and between the steady heat from the fire and the softness of the chair, it felt nearly impossible to not drift off.

"It's nothing sinister." the fire assured him, looking at little sinister as he spoke. "I just ask that you earn your keep by cooking and cleaning this place. It's tiring to do this by myself and the others are of no help." the fire's voice was calm and lulling. "Do this and I'll allow you to stay for as long as you'd like- assuming that the others don't find offense to you staying here."

Komatsu blinked at the fire, slow, heavy blinks, before finally nodded his head. "Ok. I'll only cook and clean. I won't give you my soul or blood or anything like that." he said and those were the last words that slipped out before his eyes closed and Komatsu fell asleep.

The fire chuckled. "I wouldn't worry. I'm not the one who's interested in those." he said. Melk looked at him with beady eyes, somehow judging without saying a word. "I'm serious." the fire sighed. "Besides, you know that I'm not the one that he should be worried about in this house."

And the bird didn't have the voice to refute this. Instead she turned her head and began grooming her wings, seemingly content with just ignoring the fire.

Meanwhile, the fire watched the young man who had stumbled into their midst as he snored away in the armchair. It might have just been a trick of the light, but for a few moments, he resembled someone who had died a long, long time ago.

Chapter Text

A star filled sky stretched above his head- a sea of white spots of light against an ink black backdrop. They were various shapes, sizes, and degrees of brightness, but one in particular stood out. It wasn't the largest star, nor did it stand out the most, but something about it caught his attention regardless. He stared at the star- stared until it he doubted that he'd ever forget the sight of it. Then his eyes moved lower.

A lone figure stood underneath the star. Their back was to him, head pointed straight up. Like the star, there was something both incredibly ordinary and incredibly remarkable about them.

As if they could feel his gaze, they turned their head to look at him, and his eyes met theirs. He saw the same light reflected in their gaze as he saw in the stars above their head. They smiled and their mouth opened like they were going to call out to him, but he couldn't see the words that they formed-

Because at that second, the star went out.

Komatsu jolted awake and clamped a hand over his mouth- barely in time to stop the whimper that wanted to escape. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths until his heart stopped racing and his breathing slowed down some.

That dream was a common one. He would dream of the same person, in the same situation, over and over again. He'd never hear their voice or be able to remember their face, and he'd always wake up at the same point in the dream. The stars- or that star in particular- would extinguish and then he'd be left with his heart pounding and his nerves on fire.

He couldn't even say what it was about the dream that bothered him so much. He was never in any danger during it, and neither was the person that he dreamed about. But there was always that feeling of despair that came from seeing those lights go out.

A few minutes had passed by the time that he'd calmed down enough to open his eyes. When he looked up, he saw the fire watching him.

"Oh." he sighed, a little too tired to react with his usual amount of energy. "Hello there. Good morning."

The fire's eyes narrowed slightly as he observed Komatsu. "Good morning." he finally said, "I would ask if you'd slept well, but I suppose that the answer's apparent." Komatsu blushed and looked away.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I get those sorts of dreams sometimes. I hope that I didn't bother you with any noises."

"It's nothing to apologize for." said the fire. "Bad dreams happen. But now you'll need to get up. You're dirty from walking in the wasteland and you look terrible. Take a bath and then you can start getting to work."

For a few seconds Komatsu had no idea what he was talking about before he suddenly remembered their deal. "Oh! Yeah." he rubbed at his neck. "I guess that I do need a bath." He looked up again. "Um, where is the bath?"

The flame gestured to a door near the entry way. Komatsu wondered if that had been there last night.

"Thank you." Komatsu said with a nod of his head.

"Starjun."

"What?" Komatsu blinked at the word. "Star-?"

"Starjun. It's my name." the fire- er, Starjun- looked bored as he dragged another log closer. "It occurred to me after you fell asleep that we hadn't been properly acquainted. Had I been a real demon, then getting your name would have been the first thing that I did." Starjun said with some humor in his tone. There was a pause and Komatsu waited a few seconds before realizing what Starjun was waiting for.

"I'm Komatsu!" he said quickly, wondering if he should offer out a hand before deciding to offer a short bow instead. "I'm a chef. Or, I was a chef. But I can still cook!" he said quickly. "It's just hard to do when I travel so often..."

"I'm sure. Now go. You'll just get the seat dirty if you remain there." Starjun made a shooing motion at him.

Komatsu jumped up, and awkwardly bowed again at the fire- Starjun, he reminded himself- and shuffled off towards the new door.

The first thing that stood out about it was how small it was. Or rather, it was small compared to the other doors that he saw. Anywhere else and it would have just been the standard door size. As he reached out for the knob, he realized that it was at the perfect height for him as well. Without thinking too much on it, he grabbed the doorknob and turned it, letting himself into the room.

And it was a plain room. It was maybe 10 feet from wall to wall, with most of the space being taken up by a dresser and bed. Above the dresser was a small, circular window that provided him a view of the wasteland outside. Rather than feeling small, it felt cozy.

Against the adjacent wall was another door and when Komatsu went through that one he found the bathroom. It wasn't much larger than the bedroom, but there was a sink, toilet, and bathtub. He noted the linens stacked on top of the toilet, and he began undressing. He had his pants on the floor and his shirt in his hand when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He couldn't help the grimace at the sight. Exhaustion, reoccurring nightmares, and his recent travel had left him looking worse for wear. Komatsu pressed his fingers against the bags under his eyes and frowned. He made quite the sight.

Suddenly he brought both hands up and slapped his cheeks. "Ok, get it together." he told his reflection. "Take a bath, get cleaned up, and look less like... this." his words were slightly muffled by the hands on his face. He nodded at his reflection before turning to look around the bathroom. He hadn't noticed any soap the first time around, but there must be something to wash with in here.

After some searching, he discovered a bottle of oil under the sink and when he uncorked the top, a warm, floral scent greeted him. Komatsu walked over to the tub and turned on the tap. Hot water came out in a roar of sound and Komatsu kept his hand under the flow of water for a few seconds to keep track of the temperature. A few seconds after that he added the oil to the water. The scent became stronger as it mixed in with the water until the room was filled with it. Immediately Komatsu felt some of his worries start to fade.

He climbed into the tub and stretched out as much as he could in the small space. Between the relaxing fragrance and the warm water, he was boneless in a matter of seconds. "This feels so good." he moaned, leaning even further back until his nose nearly touched the surface of the water. His knees were poking out of the water now but that was fine.

Komatsu closed his eyes and just sat there for a while- not thinking about anything in particular but simply passing the time. When his eyes opened again, he watched the colors from the oil that played across the surface of the water- which was still as warm as it had been when he'd first gotten in. It should have been lukewarm by now, but Komatsu supposed that that was just one of the benefits that came from living in a magic house. "Magic is pretty amazing." he sighed before finally deciding that he actually needed to wash himself. He grabbed a nearby cloth and set about the task until his skin was a bit pink. He remembered his reflection in the mirror and shivered. He'd truly looked bad and he wondered about the impression he'd made with Starjun. He had to make a better one when the wizards returned. He had little to offer them in terms of payment and he worried that even that little my deteriorate if they first time he saw them he was still covered in dirt and grime. No, no, no. He needed to avoid that so Komatsu scrubbed even harder. He washed his hair and behind his ears and in the little nooks and crannies until he was cleaner than he'd been in weeks. When he finally got out of the tub, he felt almost like a new person.

He dried off his body and considered what to do next. He had to get dressed of course, but, he realized with a sigh, he'd left his pack back in the main room, next to the chair. He had an extra set of clothes in there, but he'd have to walk out in a towel or something in order to get them. He'd have to walk out in front of Starjun like that. Even the thought of it had him turning pink with embarrassment. He was a grown man after all, he didn't just wander around half dressed. Maybe he could borrow something from the room's dresser? It was a bit rude, but as long as he cleaned and returned it then he should be fine- right?

He considered his options for a few more seconds before deciding on borrowing the clothes, if only until he was able to get to his own set of clothes. If there was an issue then he was sure that Starjun would let him know.

Komatsu gathered up the linens that he'd used and his dirty clothes and opened the door to the bedroom. He distributed the pile on the floor next to the bed and stared looking through the dresser. Everything in it was obviously nice quality, which added to Komatsu's nerves, but eventually he found a nice pair of dark pants, a white shirt, and a simple brown vest. He had avoided the nicer and flashier clothes, and had instead found that the simple attire made him feel much more comfortable. As Komatsu got dressed, he was surprised to see that the outfit, despite the fact that he'd just found it in this room, fit him perfectly- like it was a tailor cut garment. "Magic really is amazing." he mumbled before shaking his head and chuckling. Honestly, despite what he'd seen already- Starjun, the mysterious bird, the countless items that had been just tossed around willy nilly in the other room- the things that amazed him the most were the heated baths and well fitting clothes. That must have been why he'd never been good with magic. He was entirely too content with just the most mundane types of magic. True magicians were supposed to be dramatic! Full of flare!

Komatsu chuckled again as he tried to imagine a version of himself that acted like that. He still had a smile on his face as he left the room.

As imagined, Starjun noticed him immediately. "Well look at that. It's an improvement already."

"Yes! Thank you!" Komatsu said, regaining a bit of his usual energy. "I'm sorry though- I borrowed some clothes..."

"It's fine. They fit you."

"Thank you Starjun!" Komatsu beamed. "So, what can I start working on?" Starjun had talking about cooking and cleaning last night, but he'd do whatever he could to keep on staying here. He just had to think of it as just another city, another town. Instead of worrying about when the powerful, probably terrifying, wizards would return, he'd focus on treating this place like any other. Although it certainly seemed like his work was cut out for him with how much clutter and mess there was already.

"You're ready? Start by making yourself a meal." Starjun instructed. "I don't know the last time that you ate and I'd rather not have you pass out in the middle of cleaning." Starjun pointed to the door that Komatsu had seen last night- the one near the stairs. "The kitchen is over there. Feel free to use whatever you'd like to cook. Some things are off limits, of course, but you'll be fine if you avoid cooking with anything too strange in there."

Komatsu nodded, his attention already drawn by the door. "Alright." he turned to look at Starjun again. "So, what would you like? Do you have any preferences?" he asked, already imagining what he could make. He also wondered how he should prepare Starjun's meal. What sort of taste buds did a fire have? Would he even need to cook what Starjun ate, or would it just cook naturally as he ate it? Could Starjun even get sick from under-prepared food? There were so many questions that he wanted to ask, but he was interrupted by Starjun's surprised,

"What are you talking about?"

"What am I-? I was going to make breakfast. Did you not have a preference for what you ate?"

"..." Starjun observed him for a few seconds, his slightly wide eyes narrowing again, before he said, "No. I don't have any sort of preference. I don't usually require food at all."

"So you don't eat at all?" Komatsu frowned. The idea bothered him on a few levels- as both a chef and someone who thoroughly enjoyed eating.

"Not usually. I usually get my energy and nourishment from the material that I burn." Starjun said before clarifying. "Most of the wood in the hearth is from far, far north and known for it's quality. But," Starjun continued after a pause. "If you insist then I'll have some of whatever you prepare for yourself."

"Ok." Komatsu nodded, his smile returning. "I'll make sure that it's extra delicious." And with that goal, he grabbed his pack, turned on his heel, and walked to the kitchen.

Now, it wasn't surprising that the kitchen was Komatsu's favorite room so far- by far. He was a chef, and so of course he'd prefer being surrounded by food. But what amazed Komatsu more was the sheer quantity of food that surrounded him. Breads, meat, cheeses, wines- everything seemed to be there. There were types of food that he hadn't seen in months! With the King and the government beginning to charge more in taxes to cover the war effort, it had gotten harder and harder for ordinary people to buy anything beyond the staple foods. Rice, bread, cheap ground meat, and the like had become more and more frequent in the markets that he'd visited recently.

Just by looking at this kitchen, one might have completely forgotten about the war. It was clear that whoever lived here wasn't struggling for food.

Komatsu, however, didn't think about that. He reached into his pack, pulled out his knife, and got to work.

Almost immediately Komatsu realized that he just couldn't open some of the cabinets. They seemed to be sealed with magic so Komatsu quickly moved on and explored the ones that he could open. In the bottom cabinets he found pots and pans, some scratched and dented and worse for wear, but still usable. In the drawers he found cutlery, cooking knives, spatulas, and other cooking tools. Some were in similar states to the pots and pans, while other sets were shiny and polished. The former seemed to have been treated too roughly, while the latter seemed like they'd never been used. Komatsu wasn't sure if either was better.

He explored the rest of the cabinets, the ice chests, and the oven and stove top. There were a few things in particular that stood out to him.

For starters, there was an incredible amount of meat around. Raw meat, smoked meat, meat that he hadn't seen on the market before. A lot of it was gamier meat- venison from the looks of it- and Komatsu wondering if they had bought it at all. But wizards didn't actually hunt deer, did they? And meat wasn't the only thing that he found large quantities of. He found over a dozen different types of teas, boxes and boxes of sweets, more spices and seasonings than he could count, fruits and vegetables that he'd never even seen before. He wanted to taste everything, try everything, but he had found himself growing more and more curious about the wizards themselves.

Most of the rumors and that he'd heard about witches and wizards had focused on the academic side. To study magic you had to be incredibly smart, studying for years and years. When he pictured a wizard, he imagined a wise elder, dressed in flowing robes and holding a staff- or perhaps a spell book. But he knew that there were plenty of younger wizards and witches as well- many of them served under the King. The tall tales that he heard about them were usually a bit more... dramatic. According to some they would kidnap children or animals for their spells and experiments. They could summon wild beasts and use them to fight against their enemies. There were tales, even, of witches and wizards stealing the literal hearts of young men and women- straight out of their chests.

Not that he believed those sorts of rumors...

Ok, maybe he believed them a little. He had been cursed by one of them after all. Although he recognized that he needed their help, he couldn't deny how truly dangerous some of them were. He could only hope that these wizards were the good ones.

Realizing that he'd come to a stop and that he'd just been staring at nothing for the last few minutes, Komatsu shook his head roughly and began looking in earnest for something to cook. In the end he settled on a simple egg and bacon breakfast. He worked mostly on autopilot, using two of the less dented iron skillets to cook the eggs and bacon. He added seasoning and played with the food in a way that he hadn't been able to in a while. All the while, his mind was buzzing with questions. How well should he cook the eggs, the bacon? How would adding this or that spice affect the taste? How would the eggs and bacon and spices taste altogether? He could have just stopped at making a good meal, but he wanted to go farther. He wanted to make the best possible meal for Starjun. He didn't eat often so that was all the more reason to make this meal special.

He poured these feelings into his cooking and when everything was just right, he grabbed two plates out of a nearby cabinet and began plating the food. He washed the skillets in the sink, dried them, added a bit of oil to the bottom, and then set them down on the still warm stove. After he finished eating then he'd take care of them and then work on cleaning the rest of the rest of the kitchen. It was a big job but definitely not something that he was opposed to.

 With a smile on his face, he carried the plates to the door. He pressed his back against it and pushed until the door gave way. He walked over to the hearth and set one of the plates down near Starjun. "It's not much." Komatsu said quickly, before sitting back down in the arm chair. "But I hope that you'll enjoy it."

With a quick thanks for his food, Komatsu dug into his meal and immediately melted at the taste. He pressed a hand against his cheek and sighed. "Ahh, I had almost forgotten what using spices was like!" He ate quickly, not thinking about his manners. He was startled out of eating when he suddenly felt a burst of heat against his face. Mid-chew, Komatsu looked down to see Starjun looking a bit odd. The fire stared at the plate- now missing a bit of food- with wide eyes.

"St-Starjun, are you ok?" Komatsu asked, a little nervous. "Your color's a bit... bright?" Komatsu asked, not sure if this was normal or not. But actually, 'bright' didn't feel like the right word. Starjun was vibrant.

"I'm fine." the fire replied, but his tone was less curt than normal. Starjun's attention seemed captured by the plate. "You cooked this just now? What was going through your head during that?"

Komatsu leaned back in the arm chair and smiled. "Not a lot honestly. Mostly that I was happy to be back in a big kitchen. That I was happy to have so many ingredients to work with. But mostly," he felt almost bashful as he scratched his cheek. "That I really, really wanted you to enjoy this meal. Since you don't really need to eat and all." His laugh sounded a bit nervous. "Why? Was it not good? Is there something that I need to fix?" He wanted to show Starjun his best of course, but he also needed criticism so that he could make his best even better.

Instead of criticizing the food, however, Starjun just frowned. "...No, it was delicious. Thank you." he paused to think. "The rest of them- Toriko especially- tend to wax poetically about the joys of food and eating and I'll admit that I usually don't understand. It's a very...different experience for me." he met Komatsu's eyes again. "But I think that I understand a little better now."

Komatsu beamed. "I'm so happy to hear that!" It was one of the best things about being a chef- the ability to convey those sorts of feelings to people. Regardless of everything else, the joy that came from eating a good meal was universal.

And with that thought in mind, and a wide smile on his face, Komatsu continued to enjoy his meal with Starjun.

Chapter Text

Komatsu was halfway through scrubbing down the stove when he felt a burst of magic underneath his finger tips. It flowed through the kitchen but disappeared as soon as it had come. He paused and started to wipe his slightly tingling fingers off on a nearby dish towel, when he heard a door open. It was followed by Starjun's voice, although Komatsu couldn't make out the words, and a voice that he didn't recognize.

"Honestly Star," the mystery woman groaned. There was the sound of something hitting the ground, and of a bird's cry. "Running all of these stores is, like, getting tedious." She picked up speed as she spoke, her irritation growing more and more. "The government's getting nosier, the people are more demanding, and the others, like, can't even be bothered to help with anything! Did you know that I was followed yest-" there was a pause before, "Oh? What's this?"

By this point, Komatsu had his ear pressed against the door. He hadn't intended to eavesdrop, but the thought of going out there to greet the new arrival wasn't the most appealing one. Call it bad nerves.

Komatsu figured that this must have been one of the wizards that Starjun had told him about. One of the actual owners of the house. Someone who could possibly help with his cur-

He squealed at the sudden feeling of a hand on the nape of his neck as his feet were suddenly an inch or so above the ground. In the same breath, the kitchen door blew open and he was practically tossed into the next room. He landed on his feet, just barely, but still stumbled forward and hit what felt like a wall.

"Oww," he groaned and stepped back before blinking up at what he had hit.

Or who.

"So-So-SORRY!" Komatsu burst out, jumping back so quickly that he ended up tripping over his own feet. He hit the ground this time and winced before freezing up completely. The person in front of him was definitely a witch- as if the spell just now hadn't been enough of a clue- and a powerful one at that. Komatsu could feel the power radiating off of him and it left him feeling a bit lightheaded.

He slowly looked up- slowly, slowly- from the woman's scuffed boots, to her dark pants, and the red blouse and cloak. He saw her round face, bright blue eyes, and choppy black hair, and a part of him thought that she looked so young- maybe even younger than him. That part of him was eclipsed by his fear. The bird on her shoulder, the raven from before, didn't help her frightening image. He felt a bit like prey caught in a predator's gaze but he couldn't look away, and she didn't say anything either.

Starjun's bored voice interrupted their standoff. "Rin, this is Komatsu. He's our new housekeeper." Starjun gestured between them. "Komatsu, this is Rin, a very powerful witch."

The woman- Rin- snorted at the introduction and turned to glare at the fire. "Just 'powerful' Star? Please, I'm, like, the best that there is!" She unclipped her cloak and swept it over her shoulder. The raven took flight at the movement and landed back on its perch by the hearth.

"Fine, since you want to be so boring about it, I'll do my own introduction- my name is Rin, the Aroma Witch!" She grinned for the first time, her face lighting up. "Every scent, every smell falls under my domain! My potions and spells can, like, totally captivate people! Heal them! Even make people fall in love!" her cheeks turned slightly pink at the last idea.

"And I wonder how successful those last potions are." Starjun mused and Rin scowled down at him.

"Shut yer trap before I douse you in water!" she huffed and tossed the cloak to the side, onto a pile of junk. "And it's about time that we got a housekeeper. This place is a mess!"

Starjun gave her a withering look. "Yes, and it would be less of a mess without your help."

"Psh." she flapped a hand at him. "You can skip the lecture Star. Besides, I won't be here for long." The raven croaked, seemingly a noise of agreement from Rin's smile. "You wanna come along Melk?"

"Um..."

Rin paused to look back at him and Komatsu almost lost his voice then and there. He took a deep breath and continued.

"He-Hello Miss Rin-"

"Just Rin is fine." Rin cut in, making a face. "Calling me 'Miss' is just weird ya know."

"Ok. Um, Rin, my name is Komatsu and I was cursed a long time ago- I'm not sure when- but I hope that you'll let me stay here until I can figure out what to do about my curse." he bowed like he had with Starjun. "I'll cook and clean and help with the housework around here in the meantime." He didn't hear a response from her and for a few seconds he feared the worse. When he peeked up at her, he saw her hand folded over her mouth like she was trying to hold back a laugh. Confusion slid onto his face as she snorted again.

"Oh man Star- where did you even find this one? He's, like, so polite! Can we trade him for Zebra? Or my brother? Please?" she sounded almost hopeful. Starjun replied with a quiet,

"I wish," before continuing with. "He's also take care of the cooking for the household. He's quite good at it from what I've seen."

Rin brightened up immediately at the mention of cooking. "You can cook? No lie?" she hummed. "That's great! It'll be nice if I don't have to run around to get a good meal anymore. Plus there's, like, no way that the others would kick you out if you told them that." she paused, "Well, unless you're shit at cooking." she hummed. "I can see why you let him stay Star.

"Anyways Komatsu," Rin turned back to him and propped her hands on her hips. "I'll accept you staying here. Star could use another hand around this place." she paused and scratched at her cheek with her finger.

"About that curse though, I dunno what to tell ya about that." She reached out and suddenly cupped his head with both hands. She turned it from side to side, her eyes focused like she was reading something off of the pages of a book. "It's a bit of a weird curse- not really my area of expertise. I might be able to do something to help with it, but I wouldn't bet on it too much."

Komatsu tried to squash the disappointment welling up. Her words were hard to hear, but as long as she wasn't saying that there was nothing that she- or the rest of her group- could do, he'd cling to that hope.

Komatsu looked up after a moment and spotted the bird watching hum. "Hello again." It looked a bit smaller in the light of day. "Rin," he asked "Is this your familiar?" He'd heard stories about witches and wizards who had them- special animals that helped them cast spells and use magic.

"Familiar?" Rin asked, looking at him like he had suddenly spouted a second head. "No! Of course not!" she walked over to the hearth and ran a finger along the bird's back. "For starters, I don't have a familiar. They're, like, a pain to take care of.

"And second, Melk isn't a familiar. She wasn't, like, even originally an animal. She's was cursed and now she just looks like a bird. Big difference." Rin rubbed at her temple with her free hand. "We're also having problems figuring it out..." she propped her hand against her hip. "It's fine for right now though. As long as she remembers that she was originally a human- and still very much a human on the inside- then her curse can still be broken. It's when she starts forgetting that, then we have a problem." Her voice trailed off as Melk nipped at her finger. Komatsu couldn't quite think of what to say to that. It was just another reminder of how bad these curses could be.

"Ya know, I'd say the same to you too." he looked up again when he realized that Rin was addressing him. "Curses are more dangerous and persistant than other spells because they just... chip away at you until there's nothing left. It's easier to resist them if you can hold onto your sense of self, but that gets harder when you can barely remember it at all." Komatsu shivered at the expression on her face. It was miles away from the cheeriness that she'd shown before. Her eyes were sharp and cold. He wondered what was going through her mind.

"I'll remember that." he promised.

Rin seemed a little startled out of her thoughts but she nodded and said, "Ok great. Follow me then, Komatsu. I'm going to assume that Star couldn't give you a tour of this place."

He shook his head and began trailing after her as she started walking towards the stairs near the kitchen. She pointed to the kitchen door. "You already know what that is, right?" He nodded. "Ok, I'll show you a few other places then." she walked towards the stairs but instead of walking up them, she went behind them.

Komatsu followed her to the small space behind the stairs. A light flickered on above their heads, illuminating the dust and cobwebs there, but Komatsu noted that there was less clutter in this area. Before he could ask why, Rin knelt down onto the floor and drew his eyes with a, "See that?" She pointed to a silve ring on the floor. "If you pull on that then you can lift up this section of the floor. The room under this door is where Zebra lives. Whenever he's, like, here anyways." she stood up again and brushed off her pants. "You shouldn't go into any of these rooms without permission but Zebra's room is especially off limits. He's pretty fond of 'kill first, ask questions never', if ya know what I mean." She seemed amused, but Komatsu got the feeling that she was completely serious, so he nodded. "Don't worry about cleaning our rooms either. If we need anything then we'll let you know.

"Now let's go upstairs."

She led the way up to the first landing, then the second, and then the third. All of the floors had the same general layout. They were crammed with magical items, trinkets, statues, books- the type of shiny hoard to make a magpie, or even a dragon, jealous- and a single door. What differed were the names that Rin attributed to each door.

Toriko lived on the first landing. "So that he's closer to the kitchen!" Rin had grinned. "Not that Star will even let him near it if he can, like, help it."

Sunny lived on the second landing. "Because it's more 'beaut'ful' if he's in the middle, or something. Don't ask him what that means unless you want an hour long lecture." The words had been followed by a deep sigh. "Honestly, I try and forget that we're related sometimes."

Coco lived on the third landing. "Coco's easy to get a long with if you can ignore the rude things he says sometimes. His fortunes are always spot on too."

"And up there?" Komatsu asked, "The stairs keep going up. Is there another floor?"

"Yeah. The very top floor. It's where my room is." Rin told him. She didn't make a move to go up the stairs so Komatsu remained where he was as well. "It's been a few weeks since I've been back here so I'm not sure what else Starjun's added to the place. I'm sure that you'll find a lot of fun stuff if you just poke around."

"When you say a few weeks- do you not live here?" Komatsu asked, taking a seat on the steps. After a moment, Rin followed suit. "You said this was your home right?"

"Hmm, I don't know if I'd call it a home. It's probably the closest thing to that." She put up a few fingers like she was counting. "There are other places that I sleep at. Other places that I spend most of my time- selling potions, gathering more ingredients, ya know- but I always come back here in the end." she glanced over at him. "What about you? Where's your home?"

"My home?" Komatsu tugged at his shirt cuff. "I don't know. I've been traveling for a while now. I usually don't stay anywhere for more than half a year." That was when the anxiety would begin to build, like hands circling his heart, applying more and more pressure until he cracked. Then he'd leave. Sometimes he'd leave sooner than that. He'd see a person- almost never the same one, but they always struck the same chord of fear within him- and before he'd realized it, a bag would be packed and he'd be on his way. He could rarely remember the time inbetween those two points.

"I think," he told her instead. "That a home would be somewhere with a kitchen. Somewhere where I could sit around the table and share a meal with others." he mused. "That's where the best meals are, right? The places where you're surrounded by loved ones?"

"...Maybe." Rin responded after a few seconds. "You might have a point there." She stood up suddenly and offered a hand back to him. When he grabbed it, she pulled him to his feet. "I haven't had that sort of meal in ages, but if you can make it happen with these guys then I'd love to see it." she grinned. "Just don't be sad if it doesn't work out. It's hard to even keep those guys in the same room as each other without some sort of bloodshed." she bemoaned.

"I don't think that it would be that bad." Komatsu said.

"Why?"

"Well," he looked down, saw the clothes that Starjun had gifted him, and looked back up again. This time there was a smile on his face. "It's because I think that you guys are nicer than that. I mean," he gestured as he spoke. "Melk helped me find this place when I was lost in a wasteland, Starjun gave me these clothes, and you've been nice to me so far. So I think that the others can't be that bad."

"Optimistic. I like that." Rin shrugged. "But you haven't seen any of us in a bad mood yet. Your opinion will change after that. We're, like, known as evil witches and wizards for a reason after all."

"I don't think it will." Komatsu said, stubborn this time.

Rin shrugged again before giving him a cat-like grin. "Well don't say that i didn't warn ya." she told him walking back down the stairs. Komatsu followed after.

"And last stop," she said once they had reached the ground level again. "Although you're probably already familiar with it-" she walked over to the descending stairs and the front door at the bottom, "Is this fancy little door. See the five knobs?" she asked, gesturing towards each one. Komatsu nodded but came closer to see them again. "Well, each of them corresponds to one of the wizards here. In clockwise order from the top, there's Toriko's, Coco's, Sunny's, mine, and Zebra's." she walked down and pointed to her knob. "See the colors around the edges?" And against Komatsu nodded. Each door had a ring consisting of 3 to 5 colors. Rin had 5 herself. "These lead to different places in the world. Mostly stores and shops. Some of them just lead to places that we like. We can change the locations with a bit of extra magic or even add more places to our wheels." she pointed a finger at him. "But like the other stuff in this place, don't just play with someone's knob without asking first. And let Starjun know before you go somewhere. His magic helps keep these things working."

"Actually my magic keeps the whole place working." Starjun added lazily from his hearth.

"Yeah, yeah." Rin grumbled. "Anyways, this door leads to some pretty amazing places. Wanna see?"

Komatsu nodded eagetly and Rin grinned before grabbing onto her knob. She twisted it and said, "Blue Ridge door," which Starjun echoed. Komatsu felt the flow of magic from the door and when Rin pulled it open, they weren't looking out at a wasteland, but at a town street. Rain came down in sheets and flooded the cobble streets. People hurried past with their faces down and their umbrellas and coats held above their heads. Komatsu reached a hand out, barely believing his eyes, and gasped at the feeling of rain against the palm of his hand.

"Watch your hand." Rin warned as she pulled him back into the house. "Now time for the Salazar store." she twisted the knob again and the color above the door changed. When she opened the door, they were staring at a completely different town. This time the buildings seemed more green- they were covered with vines and foliage- and as Komtasu took a few steps out of the door, he could feel the difference in the warm, almost muggy air. He marveled at the view of the castle from the outside, where it looked like any other storefront, before Rin ushered him back inside.

"This is amazing!" he told her as the door closed. "And they all lead to places like this?"

"Yup!" Rin smiled. "Every door leads to a new place. It's the easiest way of getting around." she took a step back. "And I can show you more of it later but right now I need to run some errands." she walked over to a pile of junk and started rummaging in it until she pulled out a small brooch. She pressed the brooch to the front of her outfit and twisted it. A layer of magic flowed from the brooch and suddenly there was a stranger standing in front of him. Komatsu found it hard not to gawk.

"You like it?" Rin grinned and now instead of short and black, her hair was long, wavy brown, and tied up with a ribbon. Her dress was bright and festive, and her boots were shorter and shinier.

"So you can create disguises with magic as well?" he asked and Rin nodded.

"I'm a damn good witch after all! It's good to have a few disguises just hanging around." she started for the door. "I'll be back soon. I just need to grab a few items for a spell." she called out but Komatsu quickly followed after,

"Um-Rin! Can I come with you?" he didn't think about the request before asking- the words just seemed to fall out. He blushed as he continued. "Everything you'd done so far has been so amazing. I'd like to see more. If that's ok..."

Again Rin laughed. "Amazing? You haven't seen amazing yet, but sure, I don't mind if you tag along. No one should know your face so you'll be fine without a disguise." Komatsu nodded and followed after as she walked to the door. When she twisted it this time she said, "North Haven shop."

Chapter Text

Komatsu hadn't known what to expect when he'd gone through the doorway. What type of town would be on the other side? What sorts of people would he see? But to his surprise, when he opened his eyes, they were just in another room.

The main source of light was from the two windows at the front of the room. Through them he could see people passing by, all dressed in shades of gold- like Rin's disguise. The inside of the store had a similarly bright color. The walls were painted a light shade of red, with yellow shelves and four slightly lighter tables. He ran a hand along the closest one and asked, "Where are we?"

Rin swept past him before turning around and throwing her arms out. "This is my new shop of course!" She grinned and crossed her arms over her chest. "You wouldn't believe how much this spot costs, but it's worth it! I, like, love this place, and there are already some magic shops around so it'll be easier to blend in."

"Wait," Komatsu thought back to what he'd overheard this morning, "I thought that you were tired of running stores. Didn't you just tell Starjun that?"

Rin huffed and waved off his question. "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that I was tired of running other people's shops." She groaned. "All of them, 'cept Zebra, have at least one shop under one of their other wizard names. But, like, besides getting some income, magic shops are pretty useful for getting information, keeping up with magic trends, and being able to find ingredients that would be freaking annoying to get elsewhere," she counted off the reasons on her fingers. "With more stores we have more opportunities to do just that. The problem is that sometimes they're away from their shops for weeks on end- especially Toriko- so I'm always using a disguise and keeping everything running in their places. It's a complete pain.

"But, with my own place, I can start selling my own potions on my own without having to get a lecture from certain people about how my way of selling isn't beautiful enough." She hissed, clearly with someone in mind.

"Anyways," she took a deep breath, "I'll also have some extra help around the place. It'll be great!" she winked at him and it took Komatsu a few seconds to realize that she meant him.

"Wait- why me?" he gawked. "I don't know anything about magic!" And he didn't have any experience helping in stores either. He'd stayed with people who owned shops before, but he'd never actually worked anywhere besides in a kitchen.

"Isn't it great then that you don't need to know anything about magic then?" She grinned and clapped her hands together. "Besides, you said that you'd do anything for us to let you stay right?" She waited for Komatsu's hesitant nod before continuing. "Then you'll be, like, fine! This won't be any worse than the work that Star's gonna have you doing anyways." Her tone was light and carefree and Komatsu just slumped his shoulders in resignation.

When it was clear that he wouldn't protest, Rin walked over to the door and grabbed the knob. "Now come on. Let me show you North Haven!" She threw the door open and it felt like an explosion of color and excitement. He walked outside and he could hear music playing and see people dancing and singing. He looked rather plain compared to everyone else, but Rin's disguise fit right in with the crowd. "What is this?" he asked Rin. "Why are there so many people here?"

Rin grinned down at him before gesturing around them. "It's a festival of course! The biggest one for this town." she started walking and he trailed along after her. "North Haven is a stop along a popular merchants' route and filled to the brim with wealthy people who want to live near the capital but, like, can't actually live at the capital. And with so many more merchants in town right now, it's the best time of year for good deals." she grinned and thought of the spells that she'd be able to craft after this. Sure, she usually preferred collecting her own ingredients, but there were definitely times that ordinary merchants could be useful.

As they walked she continued to explain. "This place is full of non-magic shops too. The magic shops that they do have have a pretty good selection. You can, like, find anything from healing potions to enchanted swords. The only issue," she huffed, "Is when the King's men start getting nosy and asking too many questions, but they never do anything since they rely on some of the shadier salesmen here too." she said it so casually, but Komatsu was more confused. From what he'd heard about the Capital, it was a place where magic and magic users flourished. In the stories he'd heard, the Capital already had so many people, and was so advanced in terms of the magic, that people having to travel from the Capital, to a town like this, for magic supplies seemed a bit odd. Then again, Komatsu was the first to confess that he just didn't get most of the things that magic folk did.

So he accepted the idea and followed Rin as she went from stall to stall, and store to store. When she spoke, she adopted a strange accent that had Komatsu struggling to follow some of her words, but he quickly realized that it matched the accent of the region. The people here spoke with thicker, more guttural words, but he found himself slowly growing used to it.

As Rin bought and bartered for ingredients and tools, she would drop each inside of the bag that she carried- and when had she even gotten that? Komatsu wondered- and no matter the size of the item, they all seemed to fit inside. Although he was dying to ask how the bag worked, he could imagine that the answer would just be 'magic'.

Some of the items that disappeared inside the bag included a jar of strange colored powder, several charms from several different stalls, and a heavy book with a faded cover. It took Rin close to an hour and a half to seemingly find everything she needed, but as she turned to go back to her shop, Komatsu stopped her.

"Are you really going back now? You haven't even done anything yet."

"What do you mean?" Rin huffed, annoyed at being stopped. "I'm done shopping so I'm heading back."

"But are you sure?" Komatsu asked again. "There's an entire festival here to see and yet, you hardly did anything but barter. Don't you want to actually experience the festival? It looks like there's a lot of other things to see here."

Rin looked over her head, considering. "Well it's fine isn't it? I just came here to buy a few things. Besides, it's just a festival, right? It's no big deal if I don't see it or anything."

"Just a festival? I mean, well maybe, but that doesn't mean that you can't stay for a while and just have some fun, right?" Rin seemed like a cheerful person but he had to wonder how much time she actually took to just step away from her work and enjoy herself. If she was already a strong mage at such a young age then he couldn't imagine that she took much time off. "Besides, you don't have anything in there that you need to take care of right away, right?"

Rin hummed as she thought. "I guess not." she conceded after a minute, before scratching her head and ruffling her hair. "Ya know what? Fine. It's been a while since I've been at one of these festivals." She propped her hands on her hips and looked around. "So, what were you thinking about doing here?"

"Well," Komatsu's eyes sparkled as he pointed to a food stall that they had passed before.

"So, how do I look?" Rin called out to Komatsu about half an hour later as she leaned against the side of a stall, a sheer scarf wrapped around her neck and draped over her shoulder. Komatsu chuckled at her dramatic pose.

"It looks beautiful, but I think it's a bit impractical." he couldn't imagine that it would help with the cold all that much.

"It's perfect then!" She laughed and paid for it. "I'll give it to my brother. The more useless and flashy the better." And into the bag it went. She drifted to the next booth and continued to browse, this time looking around as a consumer and not an owner. She had already bought several new things- gifts for the rest of the house, she had declared- and each one told Komatsu a little more about the person it was for.

She had looked for something for Toriko first before buying a pack of cigars. She searched through several types, sniffing each, before settling on one in particular. When Komatsu asked her what she was doing, she replied,

"It's not his favorite brand, but I've smelled it on him before so it should be fine." Now, Komatsu didn't know how she could tell this type in particular had been the one that she'd smelled on him, especially because they didn't smell distinctively different from each other- to him at least- but that was the sort of thing that he should expect from someone who specialized in fragrences, he supposed.

The next gift had been for Melk, and Komatsu had recognized what it was right away. "A whetting stone!" He'd cried out in joy. It was a smaller one- less shiny and polished looking than the ones around it. Rin looked at it with a careful eye, turning it this way and that. "I didn't know what you had an interest in sharpening, Rin."

"Nope!" she'd told him. "I don't care about that sort of thing at all, but," she stretched out the sound. "Melk likes them. She worked as a blacksmith before she was cursed."

"A blacksmith? That's amazing!"

"Yup!" Rin had grinned before purchasing the stone, and moving on to the next stall.
She had laughed as she'd purchased a little charm for Starjun.

"Burn over a fire to decrease the flame's odors?" Komatsu had read off of the charm's label. "Is this really supposed to be a gift? It's a bit...odd isn't it?"

"I dunno but it's pretty funny." Rin had waved him off. "Starjun's always burning different kinds of wood and sometimes the smoke has a weird aftersmell- it's fun to make fun of him for it, even if he's petty enough to make sure that your baths are freezing for a month afterwards." She'd grimaced but purchased it anyways.

For Coco, she bought a book that seemed so heavily cursed that the owner had to wrap it in several layers of fabric before handing off to Rin. Rin had given it similar treatment as she'd dropped it into her bag. "He likes cursed items. I, like, don't even ask anymore."

And Sunny got his flashy scarf. Rin tapped on her chin when she considered something for Zebra. "I dunno if I should even bother. Anything I get him will be destroyed or covered in blood and I don't want to waste money like that. Plus he'd probably call me cocky for thinking that I could get him anything." She grumbled and looked at a few more stalls for things that he might like but eventually gave up on the task. "Well," she huffed, when it became clear that she wouldn't find anything suited to his taste. "Whatever. He'd break any of this stuff within an hour anyways."

So they moved on until Rin spotted a cart that seemed to be selling cold snacks. With sparkling eyes, she purchased two of the snacks- little cups with fruit and a creamy yogurt. Rin passed one off to him before digging into her own, grinning at the taste. "It's been a while since I've had one of these! Most places don't have a lot of fruit or dairy stuff anymore."

Komatsu hummed as he tasted his own. The mixture of fruits and yogurt was sweet and helped cool him down a little, but more interesting than the taste of the food was the smile on Rin's face. Despite her being disguised, Komatsu could imagine her real smile underneath that. He smiled and compared this to the rest of the food she'd purchased and realized that there might be a bit of a pattern.

"Rin, do you like sweet things?" he asked and Rin grinned.

"Yeah, of course! I never really ate a lot of them as a kid so I'm making up for lost time now, ya know?" And Komatsu thought back to the kitchen and the food already in there. Now that he knew that she had a preference for some things, it would be easier for him to cook for her in the future. His head was already filling with ideas.

All too soon, Rin finished her snack and seemed finally ready to go. "This has been fun and all, but I gotta get back now." she turned to him. "So what's up? Are you coming back with me or staying longer?"

"I'll stay a little longer." he told her. Even if he didn't have money, he still wanted to look around a little.

"Ok then. Wait here for a second." Rin glanced around before spotting something and walking off. She was back less than a minute later with something in her hand. "Hold out your hand." she instructed him before dropping the item into his palm.

"A mirror?" he asked, rubbing his finger against the back side.

"Not just any mirror- a soul mirror!" Rin pointed to it. "Have your heard people say that eyes are the window to the soul? Well, rumor has it that looking into one of these is, like, the same as looking into yourself. They're supposed to help some issues- like helping people remember things they've forgotten." Rin pulled her hand back and shrugged. "But I can't promise that it'll actually work. Magic items are more of my brother's specialty. He's annoying but, like, he might actually have something that can do the trick, but this might work in the meantime?"

"Rin..." Komatsu mumbled as he stared down at the mirror's smooth surface. It looked like any other mirror, but he could feel the slight amount of magic running through it. Just enough for it to be a very not normal mirror. "Rin, thank you." he looked up at her with bright eyes. "I'll pay you back for this as soon as possible!"

"Don't worry about it." Rin waved a hand at him. "I'm already buying a bunch of stuff for the others so I thought that I might as well buy something for you too, ya know?" And maybe she was just playing off the kind gesture, or it had been that sort of last minute thought, but Komatsu appreciated it all the same. "But, if you really want to pay it off, then just help around my shop and we'll call it even, ok?"

"Ok!" he nodded eagerly this time and Rin grinned before turning around and walking into the crowd. He watched her until she disappeared then he returned to enjoying the festivities. He couldn't buy anything, but there was still a lot there to look at and experience.

He learned, for one, that the festival was called the Golden festival. It lasted a few days and it was a tradition that had been started by the town's founder over a hundred years ago. The founder, a woman from a country to the north, had been exiled with her family and they had traveled for weeks until coming across the area. According to the legend, they had been traveling and getting low on food and supplies to the point that several people had died on the trip and the founder had had a foot in the grave herself. Just as they were on their last legs, the party had been saved by a mysterious figure. According to some it had been a nature diety, to others it had been an incredibly powerful mage, and to the rest, it was said to have a been the leader of a group of people who already lived on the land. But after that the tale was the same. The founder, Crofte, and her group were nursed back to health and they were able to create a settlement. They named the town 'North Haven' to mark it as their refuge and created the Golden festival to honor the person, or people, who had helped them.

It was an interesting tale and one that Komatsu reflected on as he sat down at a table outside of a store. There were musicians playing nearby as young men and women in the town's traditional garb danced. Since he wasn't doing much else, Komatsu took the mirror that Rin had given him and just examined it. Before, he had noted that it seemed like any other mirror and that assessment still seemed the same now.

He ran his fingers along the pattern on the back. It felt like waves had been etched into the back. Komatsu turned the mirror up towards him again and stared at its surface. "A window to the soul, huh?" he sighed. "I wonder what mine would show?" he mused.
He tilted the surface of the mirror, seeing other things reflected until his image was in the center again. He gave it another try and stared into the surface, willing himself to see or remember something- Anything. Instead, the more that he tried to focus, the more he could feel his attention wandering. Instead of his reflection, he found himself thinking about the music and voices in behind him. It was odd- the music hadn't bothered him before but now his mind was filled with it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and when he opened them, he focused on his reflection- but he was distracted again.

The music was all wrong. In his head he imagined a softer song. Something sung by a single person. The tune was familiar and the words were just on the tip of his tongue, despite the fact that he was sure that he'd never heard it before. He focused on that train of thought, so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice when he'd begun to hum along. He closed his eyes and focused on the images that the song brought to mind.

It felt... blue. Blue and clear, somehow. The song made him think of the blue of the sky, cloudless and never ending. It made him think of the sea too. With pure white surf and blue waves. He thought of the distant point where the sun and the sea met and how the sun's lights would bounce off of that point and spread across the surface of the waves. He felt the grit of sand under his feet and beneath his toes. The air smelled strongly of salt but it wasn't a bad smell. The sea breeze carried it more of her way and with a laugh she pulled a hand back through her hair. It would just get in her face again but there wasn't much she could do with such a short hair style. With her other hand she held onto the hem of her dress and kept it out of the way of the surf. With a few steps she was up to her ankles in the water. She wiggled her toes and the water gave her goosebumps. She turned and looked over her shoulder, holding out her free hand to her partner, who still stood a good distance away. She smiled, beckoning him closer, keeping her hand out, and it seemed like he might continue to grumble and resist, but inevitably, he came closer and took her hand. Her fingers were engulfed in his heat as he stepped closer until they stood toe to toe and she craned her head up towards him. He was taller- but barely.

'So, you've dragged me into these blasted waves. Now what?' he asked her, his words contrasting with his playful tone.

'You tell me. I was getting tired of seeing you standing there like a grumpy old man.' she smiled and bumped her forehead against his chin. 'But give me some time ____ and I'm sure that I can think of something that we can do next.' she breathed, playfully winding her fingers in his as she looked up and-

-nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden pain in his hand.

Komatsu blinked a few times and rubbed at the sore area. A black bird stood on the table in front of him, and he asked, "Melk?"

He took it as an affirmative when the bird nipped at him again.

"Wha-what are you doing here?" he tried, and the bird cawed, as if asking him the same question. He finally looked up and realized that quite a bit of time must have passed. It had just been midday and now the sun was starting to set. There were still crowds in the street of course. They were just lighting lanterns and getting ready for more celebrating.

"Oh, it's getting late." he mumbled, then frowned. "But I couldn't have been out here for that long, could I?" It felt like he had just sit down, but obviously that wasn't the case.

Alas, Melk didn't seem to have the answers to his questions. Instead she flapped her wings just enough to take off from the table and to land on his shoulder instead. He felt her claws just barely poke through his vest but they didn't scratch his shoulder. "Well," he sighed, more than a little unnerved at how much time had passed. Already he could feel whatever he'd been daydreaming about slip away, but he didn't dwell on it for now. He'd have time to worry about his odd lapses in memory later. Instead he slipped the mirror into his pocket and stood up. "I suppose I should be getting back now." he had dinner to make and surely Starjun would have other jobs for him to do before the night was up.

So Komatsu, with Melk balanced on his shoulder- as she had been just yesterday- made his way back home.

Chapter Text

So just a heads up about this fic- it's going on brief (very brief) hiatus so that I can rewrite the earlier chapters and work on the next one. It's not abandoned (which I know are the famous last words) and I'll update it when I can

So thank you for the support until now!