Korū was glaring distrustfully at Richard, his hand on the hilt of his blade.
Kumori mentally begged her cousins to calm down and not kill anyone.
Alina glanced at Korū warningly. "Guys, sit."
They looked like they didn't register anything she said. They did, actually, but they didn't really bother to listen or respond.
"Why the fuck are you being so wary?" Alina asked, a little irritated.
"Is there a fucking problem with that?" Korū asked aggressively.
Kumori sighed, tugging Korū and Hikari towards the couch.
"It's standing in the way of being civil, which stands in the way of getting information, which stands in the way of finding out if we can break the curse, and we're actually on a schedule here because I'm sure you'll want to head back once we hear from Night Stalker." Alina said, curling her lip a little.
"Remind me why we need to do this right now? Why can't we wait for after the other issue is settled?" Cole asked.
"Their lack of will to live is heavily impacting their performance." Linda spoke from beside Alina.
"What will to live?" Hikari questioned, essentially proving Linda's point.
"You probably didn't grow up in an environment where you risk getting killed by a bunch of hostile packmates the moment you leave your home, so you can stop judging me." Korū growled.
"And the longer this isn't settled, the higher the chance of them dying before we can break it." Linda added.
Kumori pushed Korū and Hikari onto the couch as gently as the situation allowed her to. "Just carry on, Alina."
Alina was frowning into the distance, silent and distracted. Richard was watching her, a slight crease similarly present between his eyebrows. Linda chewed on her lip and slung an arm around Alina's shoulders, hugging her.
Awkward silence ensued as Cole, Cayne and Liam moved to find space on the abundant sofas.
"Ali?" Richard prompted softly.
Alina looked up, shocked out of some sort of trance. "Hm? Oh, yeah, um." She cleared her throat. "Okay, so apparently, a few generations ago, their bloodline was cursed by a Chikara Fujihana to die by thirty. We want to see if the present Fujihana can or are willing to tell us how to break the curse." She said, nodding towards the twins and their cousin who were sitting on a couch perpendicular to hers.
Richard nodded. "You know that comes with an extremely large price right? You," he glanced around at everyone, "need to be exceedingly careful when negotiating, or even communicating with the Fujihanas, or you could make it much worse." He was starting to question if it was even possible for them to emerge unscathed and uncursed.
Kumori glanced at Korū when Richard said that.
"Don't fucking look at me like that," Korū growled.
"So do you know how to contact them?" Alina asked.
Richard pondered for a moment. "I'll send them a hawk, see if they are willing to give you an audience, and pray that it would reach them. If it doesn't, then we'll have to find another way."
"...That's it?" Kumori looked skeptical. "You aren't asking for anything in return?"
Richard coughed while Alina snickered. "I mean, if you involve me in this and somehow get me cursed or on bad terms with the Fujihana, then yes, I'll come after you. Otherwise…"
"He kinda owes me his life." Alina stated smugly, ignoring and hiding the pang of pain that shot through her as she remembered the scene where it had happened, where Richard lay bleeding and unconscious before her.
Richard held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, hey, I don't owe you anything. It's only natural for partners to have each other's back."
Alina stared at him, an eyebrow raised.
"Okay, fine." He gave in. "I do owe you." He grumbled, while Alina smiled a satisfied smirk. "But only a little, because I saved you too, just less epic."
"I'll take what I can get." Alina shrugged. He had a point, though it would probably have been easier for her to drop and roll, instead of being virtually drowned in salt water.
"You guys crashing here while we do stuff? You could fill me in on more details and what to write. After you've settled down a little." Richard asked all of them.
"You have space?" Cole asked, glancing around
"He's a wizard, Cole." Alina said, as if it answered everything.
"Ah." It apparently did.
"Okay, sure, I'm not gonna question this further." Kumori glanced at Korū, who'd been surprisingly silent the entire time. He looked drop-dead tired, though, so it was probably understandable.
"How many rooms do you want?" Richard asked.
"I'm sharing with Hikari," Kumori said. "Korū... well, rest in peace, whoever shares a room with him, then." The person in question didn't react, but continued to stare blankly ahead.
"Do you want a room to yourself?" Richard asked Korū lightly.
"Do what you like. I don't care." Korū hardly moved, not even making eye contact.
"Okay then…" Richard answered, dragging out the "o", wondering if anything would explode in his face.
"Linda and I can have one to ourselves, you can put Cole and Liam together-" Alina started.
"NO!" Cole interrupted, getting weird looks, "I mean, I would like a room to myself." Listening to Liam for another night would drive him over the edge.
"So me and Linda, Cole, Liam, Hikari and Kumori, Cayne and Korū?" Alina confirmed.
"Yeah. My brother has to sleep either alone or that Cayne shares a room with him because he's the only one out of those three-" she nodded towards the three other guys on another sofa, "that he won't murder in the middle of the night." Hikari grinned at Korū. Not suggestively at all.
Korū snorted and glanced at Cole. "Maybe he's actually becoming saner."
Cole's eyebrow twitched, and he murmured, "I'll take what I can get."
"If you say so." Hikari told her brother, he shit eating grin still plastered on her face.
"So, five rooms?" Richard inquired, getting nods in response. He waved his hand and a wand appeared. Another wave, and some doors materialised on a blank wall, each with names carved in gold.
"There you go."
"Thanks, we'll go to the cat to get our stuff, then we'll head right back up." Linda said, and all of them trooped out.
Alina heard him mutter as she left the apartment, "Peace really hates me." And she shot him a grin, which he returned. She'd missed him.