<Nocturnal Harmonia>

In Miyuki's mind, Kaguya's sole intention for the night was to do something a little... frisky. He was becoming very excited within, even though they'd probably have company throughout the night. Ah, but there was soundproofing in some of the rooms here. Maybe they could make use of that? "One of my favorite choices♥~" Miyuki flirted as the black-haired lass moved about. With that, he cleared his throat, closed his eyes and spoke to Yugi again. "Gomen. That was inappropriate, but... I'm sure you understand," he said, bowing lightly.

What a shame. While Miyuki's eyes were closed, Kaguya was behind him doing things he normally should have seen. Yugi had the joy of watching Kaguya's skirt rise enough to show the sort of undergarments she had on. His gaze was fixed while Miyuki remained ignorant. "Nothing to worry about. I do know how it is. Sometimes, you've got to appreciate something right out in the open," Yugi replied. Miyuki lifted his head and lightly slapped his own knee. He'd be gazing at the table thereafter to make good on the silent agreement to drink a bit ahead of the celebration, pouring two shot glasses. "You're a good pair. Both of you are so understanding," Miyuki observed while sliding the second glass across the table. "Hmm. I guess so."

Kaguya's sole intention for the night was indeed to be a little frisky. But 'little' had gotten quite out of hand for her for the last few hours. She was hoping to sort out how she felt, but even in a moment where her fiancé was present, she still found herself flirting with Yugi. Perhaps it was simply for the extra reaction without an applied apology? 'Yeah, that has to be it.' Kaguya thought as Miyuki was soon apologizing. "Oya? I had no idea♥~" Kaguya flirted with a playful eyeroll but while she flashed her panties her eyes were only for Yugi. What would he do about the apology?

Play it off while commenting on how some things required appreciation. Yugi's words on the matter also registered to Miko as she continued her little dances. She'd sat that custard aside, and begun working on making a caramel sauce... gentle cooling would be occurring as she fished out a set of four molds for the desserts in question. The smell of sweets would be proliferating before she started on dinner properly, but... a cute squeal would be escaping the girl as she tasted the custard. "Squee♪!~" she chirped as if she'd found something perfect. She might have thought that Miyuki might have been a bit too formal, but they were technically house guests. Perhaps there was more to it than she thought. Ai did say she didn't hang out here a lot for 'reasons' maybe it was to allow for privacy? Just the same drinks were being poured and Kaguya would be slipping away. "Sounds like something's tasty♥~" Kaguya in that same flirty manner as she slipped off for a sample going. As Miko strained the custard and the caramel began to bubble, Kaguya popped up with a spoon stealing a sample and blowing on it to have a little taste. "I knew you'd show up here you fucking scavenger!♪~" Miko chirped which only made Kaguya laugh, but such was simply how they spoke to each other when they were alone together. "But it sounded like it was good, I had to have a taste, you should add a little cinnamon to this I think it would pop♥~" she added, which Miko gave light consideration to, but... reached for the cinnamon her arms actually being able to reach it from her perch given her recent growth. "No free meals, rice♪!~" Miko chirped at the other lass while she continued to put together the desserts. Kaguya washed her hands and started on a full 6 cups of rice knowing know Miko tended to eat.

Just as he'd thought initially, there were positives to both outcomes ─ whether Miyuki went to the kitchen or remained in the living room. On this path, he got to see Kaguya guided by her own loins... which meant he got to see what they were covered by in the very same room Miyuki inhabited. Soon enough though, the silver lining was sauntering off to the kitchen. Yugi kept his ensuing sigh internal, and Miyuki merely nodded to the girl's announcement. "I knew you'd make your way eventually. Tell your friend I'll take good care of Kiriya-kun~" he said, winking. Both Miyuki and Yugi claimed a cup, the former offering a toast. "You made it sound like you're interested in becoming a Hunter. Cheers to future awakening?"

Yugi could have scoffed harder than he had in any recent memory. It was strange keeping certain secrets. If he committed to the grind, Yugi was sure he could surpass someone like Miyuki in a matter of days. He didn't have a measure of what S-ranks were made of, but reaching that level surely wouldn't take long either. Regardless, Yugi raised his cup. "Sure," was his only answer. Glasses clinked, and Miyuki downed his drink quickly. "Huu!~" he exclaimed. "It's good stuff! This isn't a sales pitch, but we at the Stoneheart Guild celebrate successful raids like this all the time. I'm sure a lot of other guilds do something similar if it interests you. The guys knew how much I wanted to get home today, so they left me with two. So... any questions about being a Hunter? I'm a pretty knowledgeable guy, you know?" Miyuki's offer warranted a raised brow as Yugi downed a rather powerful swig of hard liquor. It was quite the hit indeed, causing his face to contort in its aftermath. Yugi even coughed once or twice before wiping residue from his bottom lip with a thumb. When he spoke, a bit of seriousness had returned. "... How strong is an S-rank?"

Kaguya and Miko were alone together in the kitchen, quiet whispers passing between them. "What he said out there was the truth wasn't it? It was yesterday for you..." Kaguya murmured while washing the rice. With the caramel being poured into the bottom of the dishes, Miko answered honestly. "Hai, sorry stuff got really crazy really randomly... sorry I know you were probably really worried and then really surprised," Miko mentioned knowing things had gotten away from her. "Yeah, definitely all of that. Add on top of it the Gates and the whole world going crazy and I feel like I was just kind of set adrift," Kaguya added as she finished rising the rice and added water and salt to it, before looking to approval and placing the bowl into the rice cooker. Miko for her part, tested it with the finger test turned on the tap for just a second longer and then gave a little nod.

As meal prep went on with a lot of things both spoken and not, the conversation happening between Yugi and Miyuki didn't go unnoticed. "I might let you know when to get back out there... " Miko claimed, but she figured she could trust in Yugi not to get them into too much trouble. That little cough though made it sound like that alcohol might have been really strong. "But let me ask you one thing... are you happy?" Miko wondered as she placed those filled purins into the water bath and into a slow oven, so they could plump and be taken out before the rest of the food went together. Another hand wash and then it was time for vegetable prep. Which Kaguya was willing to be extra hands for. "I'm not unhappy. I think today has just been a few too many things... I'm probably happy," Kaguya managed, never having thought about whether or not she counted as happy.

Kiriya Haruto, as Miyuki knew him, was a very strange lad. Aspirations of awakening were one thing, but it was most unusual to hear someone question the general strength of S-rank Hunters with a straight face. Miyuki exhaled and poured a second shot for each of them. He knew hearing the story of an S-rank's power and experiencing it for oneself were two very different experiences. "Whew! That's a pretty loaded question, buddy. For starters S-ranks are exceptionally rare. I wouldn't hold out any hope of awakening as one. Based on the numbers, people are lucky just to get C-rank," he explained first and foremost. "Not the question," Yugi interjected.

It was Miyuki's turn to sigh as he slid the other male's glass over again. "Yeah, but it's best to curb expectations," he said to Yugi's obvious annoyance. "Anyway. S-ranks have immeasurable strength. That's the simplest way to put it. They're so strong, no one can really hold them accountable if they commit crimes, so some are more than a little questionable. They're so strong and sought-after, awakening as an S-rank means you'll have the attention of every country's bureau. At the very least, every guild wants to recruit them." Yugi was reaching for his glass while hearing an explanation which... still didn't answer the question. "Oi!" he interrupted again. "How... strong. City buster? Country buster? Planet? Star? What scale are we talking?" the lad asked in a demanding way. Miyuki took his second shot. "Ah! No way is there a planet-lev─err... well... maybe. I think most S-ranks could take down a city, as that's about the same as some dungeons. Country-level... is what National Hunters are said to be capable of."

Finally, there was something interesting. Yugi hadn't heard or seen anything about National Hunters yet. "National Hunter?" he asked more calmly than before. "Hai. National Hunters are said to have the strength of an entire nation, hence the name. They were all given the authority of a nation too. It's impossible to become a National Hunter though. The title and political power was given to a specific group of S-rank Hunters who managed to defeat the first S-rank Dungeon Break ─ one that wiped out most of the world's S-ranks at the time."

Miko began chopping vegetables while the conversations were taking place. Her mind was able to keep track of both and compartmentalize the information. As such she was picking up quite a bit... including what Kaguya sounded like when answering her question. "Uh-huh, you know that if you're happy I am happy for you," Miko mentioned. As she finished chipping up a combination of vegetables she would be using both for the meat and for sides and appropriate extras. "I know you are, but I can see you... ya' know~" Kaguya offered the small girl. "All grown up physically, still processing quite a lot mentally... you don't have to worry about me either," Kaguya mentioned to her friend. "Just having you back makes me feel a bit better~" Kaguya admitted. "Iia, I'll worry all I want and you can't stop me. Besides... what I said still applies. If there's no one else, I'll always want you. I've become a bit more reliable since you saw me last, so trust me♪~" Miko chirped.

Kaguya would be slipping up on her friend and resting her head on her shoulder while she worked. "Hai hai.... it's good to hear you say that. But if you want to be trusted it has to go both ways~" Kaguya said cheekily. "I happened to meet an interesting young man the first week I moved in here..." she lead quietly cheekily. "I think he's known as Dreameater..." she continued which made Miko's eyes widen and her hands stop moving for just a second. "And wouldn't you know he gave me an interesting description of a certain tiny brunette he seemed to be looking for... and wanted to be notified if she turned up," Kaguya mentioned full teasing in her voice. Miko for her part in this... didn't say a word. "That silence is quite loud Mi-chan♥~ Do you want to confess?~" Kaguya interrogated the lass as she went back to chopping vegetables. "Did he talk to anyone else?" Miko asked skittishly. "Iia just me. No worries, I just hope you wouldn't keep a secret like that from me for too long. Also I've seen inside your piano~" Kaguya mentioned she'd not said anything about it, which made Miko relax again.

Information was finally forming into a neat little pile. Still conscious of the fact that they were against his father, who certainly had some magical abilities, he figured aiming for the highest threshold of power was the only viable route for safety's sake. S-rank was his initial goal... but National Hunters sounded much more interesting. He'd be wanting to overwhelm all of them, probably with the caveat of remaining incognito until at least achieving S-rank. "You made it sound like one of the National Hunters might be a planet buster," he mentioned before taking his second shot. Miyuki would pour no more, but the discussion would continue.

"Ishigami Daisuke," said Miyuki. "The streamer?" Yugi asked. "He was. All of the National Hunters are definitely powerful enough to take on a whole country. The only thing that makes him questionable is the fact that nobody actually knows what he does. He goes into Dungeons, even taking an unawakened girl in with him, and he clears them. Behind all the NDAs going on with that guild, the only people who probably know what he's capable of are his guildmates and the other Nationals." It seemed the ceiling was much higher than even Yugi anticipated ─ potentially infinite. As bothersome as that was, it was equally... kind of exciting. Speaking with Miyuki was informative after all, so he supposed he'd continue probing for information until dinner was ready. . .

Vegetables were cut, meat minced and mixed and a large cast iron skillet was being heated. All the while, Miko was still listening to the conversation outside and having one with Kaguya. It seemed her secret was still mostly safe, but a lot had changed for her. "I called him, earlier... he seemed busy but he might pop up sometime soon," Miko mentioned softly. "Good, it seems like much like me, he missed you~" Kaguya mentioned cautiously. "I know it doesn't feel like long to you, but for the rest of us... time hasn't been so kind," Kaguya mentioned. Soon she was watching the girl place meat into a pan and hearing and smelling the seasoning of meat. Kaguya moved on and began preparing the table and watching as Miko moved those desserts out of the oven and into the freezer, for chilling. So many things were happening but Miko seemed quite at home in the chaos of the kitchen as time went on.

While Miko watched the meat cook she began making the sauce which she would be making a lot of. The goodness of this dish was the extras and well executed little things. All of the stuff she'd gotten from the shop seemed to be of reasonably high quality and all of it smelled great. She was sure by her small taste tests everything would be good. "So one more thing... how do you swallow all of that?" Kaguya asked while coming back to the stove. Miko turned around on her little stepstool and pointed at a few things. "Breathe through the nose. Start deep from the stomach. Try to relax but it's hard to get over when it feels a bit chokey.... still if you're into that it will go fine. Trust... if you can trust the person not to hurt you, then you'll probably be able to do it. And it gets easier the more you do it!♪~" Miko chuckled. "After you finish setting up the table tell the guys food will be ready in a minute. I just gotta finish this part up!~" Miko chirped the smells of hamburg steak wafting out of the kitchen and filling the house in the way that it'd been when she was younger. And in that moment, once she was alone for a second she'd note... a tear falling onto the stovetop. Even in their quite moment, Kaguya hadn't mentioned her parents... whatever was going on with them, had to actually be terrible. But after wiping that tear away... she did the only thing she could do, "Box it!" she put away those thoughts, and let them get buried deeper. There was too much else to consider.

"Oya? Dinner's almost ready... get yourselves to the table, ya?♥~" Kaguya said while having a look at both of the guys who seemed to be getting along as much as one could expect. Civility was probably one of the major aspects of life of the upper echelons.

As time passed in the kitchen, time passed in the living room. A conversation that Yugi had been steering in a more preferable direction was reaching its natural end soon enough. "Personally, I think it's only natural that we have one of the strongest associations. Even if you don't count the number of S-ranks we have in Japan, our Hunters across the board are nothing to shake a stick at. If you awaken, you'll definitely be part of a good association right here at home!" Miyuki assured, though it seemed Yugi didn't care about that topic at all. Ah, but he was in luck. Kaguya was stepping out into the living room to announce dinner time.

"Welp! That's our cue. Mind grabbing a bottle? I'll take the glasses," Miyuki said. He'd take up the opened bottle and the shot glasses, making his way ahead of Yugi. Only lagging behind enough to leave three paces of space, Yugi took the remaining bottle in one hand to move. He wanted to be out of Miyuki's line of sight. In keeping that positioning, one of his arms was obviously extended outward just a bit, as if on offer for Kaguya just after Miyuki passed her by. Of course, he'd be staring her down the entire time so long as Miyuki never turned around.

Miko would be plating what looked like the equivalent of a six pound giant hamburg steak on a platter for the table. She'd been quietly moving about placing steaming bowls of rice and vegetables around the table. She'd also gotten a large bowl with ladle for the sauce so that people could get what they wanted out of that. She was certain her hamburg steak was perfectly cooked, and seasons she'd heard the perfect musical sizzles. She'd also been listening to all of the conversations. 'I'm okay. I'm strong. I can work through it. I'm not alone...' Miko gave herself a bit of affirmation as she prepared to eat a happy meal with her best friend and boyfriend. Extras were all in place and she'd be moving about to put the last of the items on the table.

At the same time, Miyuki was once again leaving his woman at the mercy of another. He'd not even looked back once, as Kaguya casually placed her ass cheeks right against Yugi's hand. Obviously, this was just a matter of availability. She wouldn't be planning to do anything else tonight except spend time with her fiancé. But still, it was fine to do a little bit of riling up of herself, still a cheeky wink would be occurring as they moved towards the dining room table. "Chii♪~ Come on. Sit down! Sit Down!" she chimed. Once everyone else was seated she'd be coming in with that giant platter to put it where it belonged right beside a large serving knife. "I made hamburg steak♪!~" Miko chirped. "And purin, but that's for dessert!♪~" Miko asserted. Her own seat would be beside Yugi's and Kaguya's would be beside Miyuki.