Upstairs, something else crashed.

Everyone looked at the ceiling.

"What’s up there?" Luka asked.

"My room." I stood. "Probably just...stuff falling over. Old building. Happens all the time."

"Want me to check it out?"

"No!" Too fast. Too loud. "I mean, it’s fine. I’ll handle it after lunch."

Kimiko sipped her tea, her expression unreadable.

"You know," she said conversationally, "when you were little, you used to hide things from me all the time. Under your bed. In your closet. Behind the dresser."

"Okay?"

"You were terrible at it." She set down her cup. "I always knew. I just waited until you were ready to tell me the truth."

The message was clear.

I’m giving you rope. Don’t hang yourself with it.

"Noted," I said.

Another crash from upstairs.

Emi looked at me with wide eyes.

I watched Kimiko’s eyes tracking every single gesture between me and Natalia. The way my stepsister’s fingers were laced through mine. The subtle way she’d angled her body toward me. The protective curve of her shoulder.

My mother was constructing a psychological profile in real-time, assembling puzzle pieces I desperately needed to keep scattered.

"Should we—" Emi started.

"Nope." I sat back down with what I hoped looked like casual confidence. "Everything’s under control."

Natalia’s grip tightened hard enough that I felt her nails dig into my palm. A warning. A threat. A promise.

She leaned close, her breath hot against my ear as she whispered, "If your cat destroys my room, I’m killing you both. Slowly."

"She’s in my room," I whispered back.

"Even worse." Natalia’s voice dropped to a hiss. "That means she’s probably going through your things. Finding things. Touching things."

The possessive edge in her tone would’ve been amusing if I wasn’t currently fighting a war on multiple fronts.

Kimiko watched us with that infuriating maternal smile—the one that made my stomach knot. The kind that said she was cataloguing every interaction, every glance, every touch, every whispered word. Building her case against me brick by brick. Gathering evidence with the patience of a prosecutor who already knew the defendant was guilty.

She was just waiting for the perfect moment to spring the trap.

Luka, oblivious as ever to the psychological warfare happening two feet away from him, kept talking enthusiastically about Gate strategies and optimal team formations. Something about how B-Rank parties needed better crowd control options and how the VHC’s standardized loadouts were inefficient.

I made appropriate sounds of agreement while internally screaming.

My phone buzzed against the table.

I flipped it over just enough to read the screen.

A text from Carmen: Your mother is terrifying and I’m hiding in my room until she leaves. Good luck, kiddo. If you die, can I have your gacha account?

Another immediately followed from Jacob: Statistical probability of surviving maternal interrogation without revealing compromising information: 34%. Factoring in Kimiko Nakano’s reported perceptiveness, actual survival rate drops to 12%. Should I call an ambulance preemptively?

I put the phone face-down on the table and resisted the urge to put my head in my hands.

This was fine.

Everything was fine.

Five soul-bonded women, each one a ticking time bomb of jealousy and possessiveness. One chaotic, horny catgirl familiar currently demolishing my bedroom. Two concerned parents—one of whom could detect lies like a goddamn polygraph machine. One building absolutely full of witnesses who could report back to the VHC at any moment.

What could possibly go wrong?

Kimiko set down her teacup and smiled at me again.

"Satori, sweetheart. Why don’t you show me your room? I’d love to see how you’ve been living."

Natalia’s hand turned to ice in mine.

"Actually," Celeste interjected smoothly, "I was hoping to show you our training facilities first. We’ve made some interesting modifications that might interest you."

"Oh?" Kimiko’s attention shifted. "What kind of modifications?"

"Tactical ones." Celeste stood, gesturing toward the back door. "Professor Miller gave us permission to restructure the combat arena. It’s quite impressive."

She was running interference.

Buying me time.

I caught her eye, mouthed thank you, and she gave the tiniest nod.

"I’d love to see that." Kimiko rose, and Luka followed. "Lead the way."

The group migrated toward the back of the house.

As soon as they were gone, I bolted upstairs.

My door was closed.

I opened it slowly.

Maki sat on my bed in human form, completely naked except for my shirt, surrounded by the wreckage of my lamp, several books, and what looked like Bartholomew’s entire terrarium setup.

Bartholomew himself was on the floor, slowly traversing the carpet like nothing had happened.

"I can explain," Maki said brightly.

"Please don’t."

"I was practicing lightning and it got away from me and then the lamp exploded and I tried to catch everything but I have two hands and there were like eight things falling and—"

"Stop talking."

She stopped.

I looked at the mess.

At the broken glass.

At my familiar, who watched me with those huge hazel eyes and her two tails swishing nervously.

"Transform. Cat form. Now."

She pouted. "But—"

"Now."

The darkness swirled, and suddenly a black cat sat where Maki had been.

A very smug black cat with two tails.

"Stay." I pointed at the bed. "Don’t move. Don’t break anything. Don’t exist loudly."

The cat meowed.

It sounded sarcastic.

I grabbed the trash can and started cleaning.

Ten minutes later, the room looked almost presentable.

I’d hidden the broken lamp in my closet. Repositioned the furniture to cover the scorch mark on the floor. Put Bartholomew back in his repaired terrarium.

The cat watched from the bed, her tails twitching with barely contained energy.

"Good?" I asked her.

She meowed again.

Definitely sarcastic.

Footsteps approached down the hall.

Kimiko’s voice: "...and this is Satori’s room."

I opened the door before she could knock.

"Hey. Finished the tour already?"

"Celeste gave us the abbreviated version." Kimiko peered past me. "May I?"

"Sure."

She entered, Luka filling the doorway behind her.

My mother’s eyes swept the space with professional efficiency.

The bed, rumpled but not suspicious. The desk, organized. The terrarium, intact.

The black cat sitting on my pillow, watching her with intelligent golden eyes.

"You got a cat." Kimiko moved closer. "When did this happen?"

"Recently. Her name’s Maki."

"She’s beautiful." Kimiko reached out, and Maki allowed the touch, purring loudly. "Two tails. That’s unusual."

"She’s special."

"Clearly." Kimiko scratched behind Maki’s ears, and the purring intensified. "Does Braxton allow pets?"

"He said as long as she doesn’t set anything on fire, we’re good."

"Sensible policy."

Luka laughed. "Remember when you told me Satori wanted that hamster? What was his name?"

"Mr. Whiskers," I said flatly. "And he died in three days."

"Poor Mr. Whiskers." Kimiko’s attention returned to me. "Well. Your room is cleaner than I expected. No suspicious substances. No contraband. No hidden girlfriends."

That last part hit different.

"Nope. Just me and the cat."

"And Natalia, sometimes," Kimiko added lightly.

Natalia, who’d appeared in the doorway, went rigid.

"We study together," she said quickly. "Academic collaboration."

"Of course." Kimiko’s smile didn’t waver. "That’s exactly what I thought."

The air in the room could’ve been cut with a knife.

Luka, completely oblivious, clapped his hands together.

"Alright! Who’s hungry? I’m starving! Let’s see what you kids have in the kitchen!"

He left, his heavy footsteps retreating down the hall.

Kimiko lingered.

She looked at me, then at Natalia, then back at me.

"You’re being careful, right?"

The question hit from an unexpected angle.

"Always."

"Good." She touched my cheek, gentle. "Because I’m too young to become a grandmother."

"Understood."

She left.

Natalia sagged against the doorframe.

"That was terrifying."

"She didn’t even do anything."

"Exactly." Natalia pushed off the frame. "She didn’t have to. She just...knew. And let us know she knew. Without saying anything direct."

Maki transformed back into her human form, sitting cross-legged on my bed.

Still wearing just my shirt.

Still completely shameless.

"I like your mom," she announced. "She smells like cookies and danger."

"Transform back. Now."

"But—"

"Maki."

She pouted but complied, the darkness swirling again.

The cat settled on my pillow, tails tucked around her body.

Natalia stared at the cat, then at me.

"That’s your familiar."

"Yep."

"She’s a person."

"Also yep."

"And she was naked."

"That’s kind of her default state."

Natalia’s eye twitched. "We’re having a conversation about this later."

"Can’t wait."

She left, muttering in what sounded like Russian.

Downstairs, voices rose in laughter.

Luka’s booming enthusiasm.

Emi’s nervous chatter.

Akari’s smooth interjections.

I sat on my bed beside the cat.

"You almost ruined everything."

Maki meowed, sounding completely unrepentant.

"You’re going to be a problem."

Purring.

"A massive, catastrophic problem that I’m going to regret pulling from the gacha."

More purring, louder now.

I scratched behind her ears anyway.

Her tails curled with satisfaction.

"Stay up here. Don’t break anything. Don’t transform. Don’t exist."

She butted her head against my hand.

Translation: No promises.

I headed back downstairs to face whatever fresh disaster awaited.

In the kitchen, Kimiko had somehow convinced everyone to sit for an actual meal. The dining table was full. Luka held court at one end, gesturing wildly while describing a recent Gate run. Emi sat beside him, hanging on every word. Akari and Skylar occupied opposite corners, watching each other like panthers. Celeste maintained perfect posture, sipping tea. Natalia sat in the chair beside mine, her leg pressing against my thigh under the table.

Kimiko sat at the other end, directly across from me.

Her eyes found mine.

She smiled.

"So," she said pleasantly, "tell me about your teammates. I want to know everyone who’s been keeping my son alive."

The table fell silent.

Five pairs of eyes looked at me.

Waiting.

I took a long drink of water.

This was going to be a very long afternoon.