The courtyard was sleepy, bathed in warm morning light and scattered with flower petals. Yuzume sat with her legs tucked under her, chewing thoughtfully on the end of a rice cracker. She hadn't said much through breakfast, which for her was a dangerous sign: silence meant thinking, and thinking usually meant trouble for someone.
Riku, seated opposite with his usual tea, finally glanced up.
"Alright. Spill it."
She blinked innocently. "Spill what?"
"You've been squinting at me like I broke something."
"Well," she said slowly, "you are something of a mystery."
He raised an eyebrow.
"You never told me how you got here."
"You never asked."
She made a sound like a broken wind chime. "I'm asking now."
He exhaled through his nose and rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't remember."
She blinked. "You don't what?"
"I don't remember how I got here."
"You remember other stuff, though."
"Yeah. My name. The city. How to make questionable eggs."
"So how come you can remember all that but not how you got here?"
He gave her a look. "If I knew, I'd tell you."
Yuzume leaned in closer, narrowing her eyes like a very suspicious priestess.
"You're not some… sneaky little demon, are you?"
"Would a demon scrub floors that well?"
"...Fair."
She tapped her chin. "Maybe you died and forgot."
"I feel alive."
"That's exactly what a ghost would say."
He smirked. "Should I start floating?"
"Only if you want to be on mop duty for eternity."
He sipped his tea with a dramatic sigh. "You're very comforting, Yuzume."
"I know."