Eating Your Weight: No Place Like Home

With the amount of crazy shit that had happened this month, it was nice to finally be back in good old boring Kuoh once again. I never thought I'd say it, given how absolutely dull the town was but it was ultimately true. I especially missed my own bed and the house it resided in.

Compared to the others around it, my house wasn't overly large but in the grander scope of homes in Kuoh, it was pretty damn nice. Two stories with a large front yard and a gate that kept out trespassers. Our summer home was admittedly nicer, but this one was more… lived in, I suppose. From the way the law was taken care of to the little decorations in front of the door, it was easy to tell even from outside that my parents cared about making this place more welcoming when compared to the summer home.

I pulled my suitcase up the long driveway, Miyo following dutifully behind me as she brought her own things along with her. We got back into town a little bit later than usual because of… reasons, and so the sun was just beginning to set when I walked up to my front door and unlocked it with my spare key.

Just before I pushed it open, Miyo stopped me with a hand on my shoulder, giving me a serious look, “Naomi you understand that you can't breathe a word of anything that happened to your parents or anybody else, right? Devils or otherwise.”

“Don't worry Miyo, I know. I can keep this whole thing on the down low.” I replied, leaning up to give her a quick kiss on the lips. She raised an eyebrow and I grinned, “Just for luck. No reason to stop cold turkey, right? Just one month and you've already made me an addict.”

“I suppose you'll just have to keep reupping your prescription then.” She said wryly, "Discreetly of course. Away from prying eyes and ears. Unless you want to have a long and very uncomfortable talk with your father.”

“Well my bedroom's pretty discreet.”

“It is, isn't it?” Miyo hummed, “And I'm sure you'll need help unloading your things tonight once you finish unwinding.*

“I'll definitely need help unloading something.” I chuckled as she lightly pinched my shoulder, “Right, right. Discreet, I got it babe.”

“This is going to be a disaster, I can already tell.” She muttered as I pulled the door open.

The moment I stepped through the door, my senses were overwhelmed with the feeling and smell that was decidedly my home. My draconic senses made everything so much more intense, to the point that I was pretty sure I could smell the lemony scent of whatever spray my parents had used to clean the upstairs bathroom.

I could also smell the distinctive scent of my dad's cologne and my mom's perfume coming from deep in the kitchen just beyond my sight. Normally they would be gone at this time of day, working the jobs that had afforded us to live here, but it looked like they had taken the day off to welcome us home.

My theory was proven correct as my dad walked out of the kitchen the moment the door closed behind us. My dad was rather short, showing exactly where I got my height disadvantage from, with thinning hair on the top of his head that my mother had begged him time and time again to just get shaved off. He still clung to it through, and we both got to watch as years of stress and lawyering eroded what was of his hairline.

He had a small smile on his face that immediately turned to shock as he saw my new makeover. I gave him a sheepish smile and a wave as he stood there staring at me in pure befuddlement.

His shock was understandable of course. Before my unfortunate demise, I had been the picture of the quiet, nerdy girl who sat by herself at lunch, which led to quite a few weird looks when I actually spoke and didn't act anything like that. For me to suddenly come home looking like I had just attended a cybergoth rave, colored contacts and all, must have been a shock.

As the silence stretched, my mom's voice emerged from the kitchen behind my dad, “Hiro? Is Naomi home?”

“Yeah, I'm here, mom!” I called behind my dad, “Dad's just a little shocked by my new look.”

“New look? Oh, did you finally take my advice and get a makeover with a little bit of personality?” She asked in a teasing voice as she walked out of the kitchen. She stopped dead in her tracks and the mischievous smile on her face fell to shock as she caught sight of me, “Oh my.”

“I guess you could say that.” I said smugly at her shock. Miyo walked around me, grabbing both out suitcases as she walked up the stairs to the bedrooms, “I got bored up there and Miyo suggested this. What do you think? Too much or not enough?”

“I think it looks great, honey.” My mom said after shaking off her shock, “You’re the spitting image of myself at your age! Well, maybe a little less orange and more blue, but it looks great on you. Now when you open your mouth and spout about women’s cup sizes, people won't stare at you like you're some sort of alien.”

My mom was a fairly laid-back woman, at home at least. Unlike my dad who brought a bit of his work persona home with him, hospital director Shiori Kanei was a completely different woman the moment she stepped out of those sterilized halls. She was probably where I got most of my personality from, aside from the perverseness. I hoped.

She nudged my dad who was still staring, giving him a look, “Doesn't she look good, honey?”

He startled, “Y-yes, she does. Though I wish you asked us before you dyed and cut your hair, Naomi. I would have liked to know whether or not to expect a total stranger to walk through my door instead of my daughter.”

I rubbed the back of my head in mock embarrassment, “Sorry. It was kind of a spur of the moment decision. I got it done right before we came home.”

“Well like your mother said, it looks good on you.” He coughed, clearly still unsure about my new look. He wasn’t suspicious though, which was good. That was one crisis averted.

We migrated to the kitchen, where it was clear the two of them had been hanging around. The dishes were in the sink, covered in soapy water, and a bunch of official looking papers were sitting on the kitchen table, likely mom's doing judging by some of the terms I spied on the pages.

My mom motioned for me to sit as she headed towards the fridge, “I'll make us all something to drink and you can tell us how your trip went. Did you have fun over there?”

I snorted as I sat down, “Not really. I'm not really sure why I even bothered to go over there; there's less to do than here.”

“I told you that you should have just stayed home this summer.” Her dad said as he stepped to the sink and plunged his hands into the soapy water, “You should have just gotten a summer job or something like that. My firm needs interns and I'm sure your mother could use some help at the hospital.”

“That's an understatement.” Mom groaned as she sat a pitcher of homemade strawberry lemonade on the table. I eagerly poured a glass, gulping down the liquid with a happy sigh. This stuff was like liquid crack to me.

“I'm definitely not getting a job.” I said as I sat my half-empty glass down moments later, “I'd rather wait as long as possible before throwing my freedom away to dive into the workforce. But… if it's alright, I did have an idea I wanted to run past you guys.”

The tone of my voice got both of my parents' attention. They shared a look, before my mom nodded, “What is it, Naomi?”

“I wanna go to school.”

The reaction to my words was to be expected. My parents knew what I was about, and scheduled learning was definitely last on that list, right after deep sea diving and anything involving tentacles. They stared at me like I had grown another head, before my mom spoke.

“Why?” She asked bluntly. I shrugged as I began pouring myself more lemonade.

“I just think it would give me something to do Also, while I was away, I realized that I have literally no friends apart from Miyo and it's literally her job to be my friend.”

“You didn't seem to care before.” Dad pointed out, “It used to be a struggle to get you out of your room to go out to eat because you hate being in public so much. Why would you want to go to public school?”

“Because I don't want to spend the rest of my life rotting away in my bedroom.” I said plainly, “I'm a NEET, but I'm gonna have to get a job eventually, right? I'm not gonna just leech off you guys for the rest of my life; that's scummy. It'd be nice to know the people I'm probably gonna enter the workforce with.”

They shared another look before a smile grew on my mom's face, “Naomi… did you go on some sort of drug trip on your little vacation?”

The question was so out of left field that I was left gaping at my mom. My dad had a similar reaction, staring at his wife like she had lost her mind. She just smiled at our reactions, “Oh come on, those are the type of revelations that come with a really good trip! I've had a few earth shattering revelations while high out of my mind too, you know?”

“I didn’t know that actually.” I finally said, “But good to know, I guess? I’ve never been drunk though, much less high. I guess I just had a normal revelation thanks to the sheer, mind-numbing boredom I was facing over there. We really should have bought a place closer to… literally anything. Even a cow pasture would have been better than that.”

“Like the ones we saw in America? Aren’t their little faces just so cute?”

“Yes mom, but I still say that a dog would be a better first pet than an entire cow. Or a miniature pig!” I added on as she opened her mouth, “They don’t stay little forever.”

The grown ass woman pouted, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked at me sullenly. My dad cleared his throat, purging the thoughts of his wife’s past hobbies from his mind, “Well I think it’s very responsible of you to finally start taking your future seriously, Naomi. I see no issue with enrolling you in school as long as you promise to keep your grades up and don’t make a fool of yourself.”

Being the straight-laced man that he was, I knew that my dad often worried about what the future held for me. Before, I didn’t care, being the go-with-the-flow type of person that I was, but my death and subsequent resurrection put some things into perspective for me and I realized that I was kinda a selfish prick before. I wanted to make my parents proud of me, in this lifetime at least.

After that… Well, I had damn near forever to figure out what I wanted to do long term.

“I agree. It’ll definitely be good for you to make some friends with people your own age.” Mom said as she got over her little pouting spell. Her eyes became mischievous, “You might even find a girl or two willing to put up with all that perverted shit on your computer. That ‘homework’ folder needs a better name girl. You’re homeschooled. All the work is homework.”

My face bloomed red at the insinuation, “You went through my computer?” I asked, somewhat mortified by the prospect of my parent’s seeing the mountain of material I had hoarded over the past few years. I was alright with them knowing I was a pervert, that was fine, but for them to actually see the shit that I jilled off to made me feel like my head was going to explode.

Luckily for my brain and Miyo’s sanity upon the inevitable cleanup, my mom burst out in laughter as she got a look at my face, “HAHAHA! No, Naomi! I didn’t go through your computer! I don’t think there’s a thick enough pair of gloves in the world that would make me want to touch that mess!”

“I always disinfect everything after I use it!” I defended, only to immediately cover my mouth as my mom erupted in laughter again. Even my dad was having trouble keeping a straight face as mom leaned into him for support, holding her stomach from laughing so hard.

My ears burned and I grumbled silently as I poured another glass of lemonade, slumping in my chair as I watched my mom bust a gut at my faux-pa while my dad did his best to calm her down.

I knew I was basically immortal now but could I still kill myself? Because I was seriously considering it right now.

{--- Later That Night ---}

Later that night, I was staring up at the ceiling of my bedroom, relishing the feeling of my own mattress underneath me and the silky sheets on top. The moonlight crept through my window, shadows of the figurines on my shelves playing against the wall in silent performance. I snuggled deeper into my sheets, pulling the woman beside me closer heedless of both of our sweaty states.

Miyo happily leaned into my naked body. She heaved a sigh as my hand came down to her naked back, rubbing it gently as the two of us basked in the aftermath of our lovemaking session. It took less than two hours after my parents had gone to bed for us to end up in this position and I had to say, it was so much better fucking in my own bed than one I saw maybe once a year. The entire room was bathed in my scent and now so was she, and I knew that it would remain that way even after she took a shower in the morning. It was like I was marking her. Sure, it was in a way that nobody but me would be able to tell, but all that mattered was that I knew that she was mine.

I grinned at the thought, slipping my hand down her back and to her ass instead. She let out a soft moan as I squeezed it, looking up at me with soulful brown eyes, “I have something important to tell you, Naomi.”

I raised an eyebrow at her tone, “Uh oh. Important news after we just spent the last hour and a half fucking? This isn’t about my performance in bed, is it?”

“No, that was stellar as always.” She said to my relief. She sat up, the sheets falling around her body like waves of liquid silk, “This has something to do with what Lucia and Marcille told me about before we came back here.”

“You were talking to them for a while.” I noted, watching as she slid out of bed to stand naked in the middle of my room. My eyes roved appreciatively over her body, taking in every curve that I had already thoroughly explored with my fingers and tongue, “I thought it had something to do with the Devils we killed.”

“There wasn’t much to talk about there. As far as we can tell, they were the only two in the area.” She said seriously as she conjured a small ball of water. The liquid warped, gliding over her hand and then her skin as it began to slide across her entire body, picking up sweat and other liquids as it went. She did this last time as well, something about not wanting anything drying on her skin because it was a pain in the ass to clean in the morning. I’ll admit I wasn’t listening very well the first time, “No, the issue is more close to home.”

“So what is it?” I asked, my curiosity piqued as Miyo finished cleaning herself. She held a hand out and the murky ball of water floated into the nearby bathroom, splashing in the sink.

“There are Devils in Kuoh.” She said, making my eyes widen, “Two peerages to be exact, and they are both quite formidable.”

That wasn’t good. “Devils?” I asked, sitting up, “Do we know how many there are?”

“No, but it doesn’t really matter anyway. They are mostly harmless and definitely more trouble than they are worth.” She said, “They belong to two of the noble houses in the Underworld and from what I was told, actually have a standing agreement with the Church to reside here. They do our job for us basically, taking care of Strays and other supernatural anomalies that happen to show up in Kuoh.”

“So they’re good guys then?” I sighed, relaxing, “Or well, as good as a literal Devil could be, I guess. That’s good, but why’d you tell me?”

“For one, so you wouldn’t be surprised when you came across one of them. It would be disastrous for you to attack such important figures and shred the treaty they’ve made with the Church.” She said as she slid back into bed. I held an arm up and she happily retook her space beside me, squeezing into my side, “For another, we have reason to believe that every single one of them attends the school that you asked your parents to send you to.”

Ah, it was all starting to make sense now. That many Devils in one place would set off so many alarms that I could absolutely see myself flying off the handle if I wasn’t warned about it beforehand. My parents lived in this town, after all. There was no way I’d just let a bunch of evil bastards set up shop in a place only a few miles away from home. If Miyo said they were fine though, then that probably wouldn’t be a problem.

It definitely would have been a memorable first day though, that’s for sure.

“Thanks for telling me.” I said, “I’ll do my best to stay out of their way though I doubt it will help with the whole demonic dragon thing. I probably smell a lot like them thanks to the Evil Pieces I’ve been absorbing.”

“Your aura is slightly demonic, but it’s almost completely overwhelmed by your draconic side.” Miyo breathed deeply, inhaling my scent, “I doubt they’ll even be able to tell you’re technically part Devil. Nidhogg’s power is practically radiating from your skin alongside your own.”

I frowned, “I should probably find a way to fix that, huh? If that Cult comes knocking again any time soon, I’d rather not be a beacon pointing them directly at my front door.”

“We’ll work on that first then.” Miyo said, making me blink. She smirked at my expression, “You didn’t think we were going to take a break in your training just because you’re back home, did you? You have a lot of enemies now, Naomi; that cult is only one part of the problem. Don’t forget, you still have to find and defeat the current Sekiryūtei and that's no easy feat. There will be no slacking off on my watch.”

“Are you going to reward me for these sessions too?” I asked coyly and Miyo smirked, leaning up so that our lips were just a hair’s breadth away from touching. She placed a hand on my cheek, stroking it with a thumb as she stared into my eyes.

“I thought that would be a given.” She said, before leaning forward and closing the gap between us.