Carefully, I extracted myself from the pile of sleeping beauties, moving with the kind of stealth I'd learned from dodging Kimiko's suspicion and Luka's well-meaning dad talks. Natalia mumbled something that sounded like my name but didn't wake. Emi's hand twitched toward where I'd been, found empty space, and settled back down with a soft sigh.
I grabbed my sweatpants from the floor, stepped over Akari's discarded nightie, and opened the door just wide enough to slip through.
The hallway was blessedly empty. Silent except for the usual creaks and groans of an old building settling into night. I made it down the stairs without incident, my bare feet silent on wood that had probably seen better days before the Academy decided to dump the reject guild here.
The kitchen light was on.
