Elffire City Interstate Train Station, Sakura Abode Country.
Sunday, 4 PM.
After a breezy three-hour train ride—during which Max had sohow lost at cards seven tis in a row—Theo and his friends finally rolled back into their ho city. A few things had changed along the way.
For one, Kaori had hopped off at an earlier stop to catch her connection to Sakura City. Vacation ti waits for no CEO, apparently, and her massive company wasn’t going to run itself. There had been hugs, a few dramatic promises to text imdiately, and Ayia had clung to her sister like a koala for a solid thirty seconds before Shizuka gently pried her off. Goodbyes were rough, but everyone understood.
For another, stepping onto the familiar platform hit them all with a strange jolt. The past few days at the Heartwood Mountains had felt like sothing out of a storybook—ancient secrets, hidden legacies, the whole Leonard DaVinti mystery unfolding before their eyes. And now? Now there was concrete under their feet and the distant honking of city traffic.
Reality was rude like that.
"Well," Sam exhaled as they shuffled out of the station, "that’s it. We’re ho."
"I feel like I need a week just to rember how normal life works," Aurora said, shoulders slumping. "Too bad I have classes tomorrow. The universe has no respect for adventurers."
"At least the restaurant’s closed tomorrow." Ayia stretched her arms overhead with a lazy grin. "I get a grace period."
"So of us aren’t so lucky," Kumiko said, sliding a pointed look sideways.
"Thank the goddess I’m not that person!" Shoko declared, hand over her heart.
"Sa here," chorused the rest of the restaurant crew, voices dripping with exaggerated relief.
Max’s eye twitched. "I hate all of you."
That got a round of laughter. The post-adventure blues were real, sure, but teasing Max was a reliable cure for just about anything.
Besides, once the lancholy faded, they all knew their everyday lives were pretty great too. A celebrated restaurant, a buzzing publishing house, an animation studio doing genuinely cool work—nobody here was exactly suffering through a boring existence. The emptiness was just the codown from discovering a centuries-old secret. It’d pass.
"Alright, I’m out," Sayuri announced, flagging down a cab. "See you all at morning workout this week. I need my couch and approximately twelve hours of doing nothing before work tomorrow."
"Sa. Heading ho!"
"Bye, everyone!""Text the group chat!"
"Don’t let Max brood too hard!""I am right here—"
One by one, they scattered into cabs and disappeared into the city.
The ragtag crew that had stumbled through an honest-to-goodness adventure was back to regular life. But sothing had shifted. They weren’t just friends anymore—they were co-conspirators, keepers of an incredible secret, bonded by a mory none of them would ever forget.
Theo and Aurora shared a cab with Ayia and Shizuka, since the four of them lived in the sa neighborhood. The ride ho was quiet, but the good kind—the kind that cos after sothing aningful, when nobody needs to say anything at all.
A few minutes later, the cab pulled up outside Ayia and Shizuka’s house. Theo and Aurora stepped out to bid them farewell.
"Bye, babe," Theo said, leaning in to kiss Ayia lightly on the cheek. "I’ll text you later."
"Bye!" Ayia replied, her characteristic smile lighting up her face. She wagged a playful finger at him. "You better, or else!""Bye, Aurora-chan!" Ayia added, wrapping Aurora in a warm, enthusiastic hug. Aurora giggled, hugging her back tightly.
"See you guys tomorrow!" Shizuka called out with a wave from the front door.
With final waves all around, Theo and Aurora hopped back into the cab. Just a couple of minutes later, they were cruising toward their own neighborhood.
"I seriously cannot wait to hug Maya and Angel," Aurora said, bouncing slightly in her seat with excitent. "They are officially sleeping in my room tonight, Theo. No negotiations!"
Theo laughed, shaking his head at his sister’s enthusiasm. "Sure, sure. The fluffy balls of chaos are all yours tonight."
Soon, the cab climbed the familiar winding road, finally stopping outside their house on top of the hill.
"Ho, sweet ho!" Aurora exclaid, practically bursting out of the car.
Before the doors of the elevator could even open, a loud, synchronized "ooow!" echoed from the porch. Two furry streaks—one pitch-black and the other snow-white—ca sprinting toward them like tiny, excited rockets.
"My babies!" Aurora squealed, dropping her backpack and instantly scooping Maya and Angel into her arms.
Theo couldn’t help but smile at the sight. He dropped the heavy suitcases and sat right down on the floor to join the welco-ho party, letting the white cat, Angel, rub its cheek against his hand.
"How did you guys fare these days, huh? Did you miss us?" Aurora asked in a high-pitched pet voice, burying her face in Maya’s black fur. Then, her face shifted to sudden panic. "Wait, Theo, look at them. Do they seem skinnier to you? What if they didn’t eat well while we were gone?"
Theo chuckled, gently scratching Angel behind the ears. "Calm down, detective. If they weren’t eating, Sylph would have sent us a text days ago. Trust , they look plenty plump."
"Yeah, you’re right," Aurora admitted, petting Maya’s head. "I think they just missed us and want so extra attention."
They spent a solid ten minutes sitting on the floor, getting covered in cat hair and listening to a chorus of happy purrs. Once the feline greeting committee was thoroughly satisfied, Theo groaned playfully as he stood back up. He hoisted their heavy luggage and began the trek up the stairs to the upper floor to drop everything off in their respective rooms.
The trip had been amazing, but as both siblings separated to their respective rooms and collapsed onto their beds, they shared the exact sa thought: there was really no place like ho, and the rest of the day was strictly reserved for doing absolutely nothing.
Upstairs, Theo and Aurora wasted no ti diving straight into maximum relaxation mode. After taking a long relaxing shower, Theo threw on his favorite oversized hoodie and collapsed face-first into his mattress with a dramatic groan of pure satisfaction. Across the hall, in Aurora’s room, she had taken a long relaxing bath, and now she already transford her bed into a cozy fortress of blankets and pillows. Maya and Angel imdiately claid their spots at the foot of her bed, curling up into two perfectly round, purring loaves of fur. The heavy luggage remained completely unpacked in the corner of their rooms, but neither sibling cared; unpacking was officially a Monday problem.
For the rest of the lazy Sunday, the house was filled with the comforting hum of their television screens. Theo spent his hours happily lost in a marathon of his favorite sci-fi ani while texting his girlfriend, Ayia, mindlessly munching on a bag of chips while cheering at space battles. A few doors down, Aurora snuggled under her covers with the cats, completely engrossed in a trendy romance drama and periodically texting her best friends. It was the ultimate, guilt-free lazy day, filled with soft blankets, low lighting, and the wonderful feeling of having absolutely nothing to do except recharge their batteries before reality called again tomorrow.
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