"It is." Hoshi nodded. "I could always join the two of you tonight, if you'd like."

Picking a piece of mushroom out of her bowl, Moriko flicked it at her sister, "not funny, Hoshi-chan." She was laughing as she said this, though after a moment she became serious, "I'm not sure he's entirely trustworthy. We've only known him for five minutes."

She giggled. "I completely agree. But, the offer is legitimate, if you want someone else around. Of course, that might not be the best for Fu."

"I'd like to have you there, to tell you the truth," the girl admitted, "Fu will be all right, he's got to get used to people being around."

She reached over to squeeze Moriko's hand. "I'll always be there if you need me little sister."

Squeezing Hoshiko's hand in return, "and I, you, sister. Until you head off for the stars, at least," she added cheerfully.

"I think you could convince an otori to fly into space and find me if you needed to." she chuckled.

Moriko chuckled then sniffed, “can I tell you a secret? I don’t think Fu wants to go with Bayushi-san.”

"I'm sure he'd rather stay with you. Everything outside of the forest will be scary for him, after all." she agreed. "I could talk to Fu and see what he wants."

"Yes," Moriko answered enthusiastically, "you always were the smart twin."

"If I'm smarter than you, than you're prettier than me." she grinned.

The younger twin stuck her tongue out at her sister, "did I just say you were smart? my mistake."

"For saying you're pretty?"

"I-den-ti-cal," Moriko enunciated teasingly, "how can I be the pretty one?"

"Because we're both pretty." She said after slurping up some noodles. "And, we're both smart."

Moriko scoffed, picking up her bowl and drinking the broth. "You're going to need to take a compliment better than that, or this is going to be a long miai."

She smiled warmly. "I just want you to know that you're as amazing as I am."

She was swaying with the music playing over the radio, tapping her foot. Her restraint was remarkable. "I'm so happy we get to spend more time together."

Finishing her lunch, Moriko set the bowl aside, “gotta enjoy it while it lasts. It’s going to be weird when we can’t just visit anymore.”

"I know." she nodded. "I don't want to separate them either."

She looked over at the napping dogs.

Ten opened an eye, as if he could sense the twins were looking at him, then snorted and returned to his nap. “Ten took it pretty hard when you and Ren moved out, but I think this time will be easier.” Moriko smiled wryly, “I don’t think he can really grasp the difference between not seeing you for a few days and not seeing you for a lot longer than that.”