“Suuuuu!”

Haori’s vocal chords are truly impressive — her voice manages to reach Susato even from two floors below. Susato peers out the window and is greeted with the sight of Haori waving at her from the courtyard.

Susato grins and waves back, then squints. Rubs the sleep out of her eyes. Is that Kazuma next to her?

Yes, it is — he lifts a hand in greeting, mouth ticking up in obvious amusement at Haori’s enthusiasm. In his other hand are several bags, and on the ground is a very large trunk. Susato’s clearly not awake enough for this, because she could swear that trunk just moved…

Hold it! Susato’s hand flies up to her mouth as the gears in her brain finally start to spin. It’s the day — the day they’re about to set out to Great Britain — and she isn’t even done packing yet!

“I’ll be right there!” she shouts to her sort-of-brother and her best friend, before dashing towards her own luggage.

A few minutes later she’s dragging her two bags down the stairs (one for books, one for everything else) and into the sunny courtyard. Haori rushes to take a bag for her, then nearly doubles over from the weight. “Rookie mistake,” Kazuma murmurs, and Susato can’t help but laugh even as she eases the luggage out of Haori’s grip.

“I didn’t know you were coming,” she says to Haori, who is still massaging her arm with amazement written all over her face.

“What kind of best friend would I be if I didn’t see you off?” Haori smiles at her while Susato tries to hide a wince. She’s only met Naruhodou-sama once, but Kazuma speaks of him often. Why isn’t he here, after Kazuma helped defend him against murder?

Kazuma quirks a reassuring smile in Susato’s direction, like he’s read her mind, and she relaxes. He explains, “Murasame-san insisted on accompanying us to the harbor, so I insisted on sharing our ride with her. It should be along soon.”

Susato nods. She and Kazuma said their goodbyes to Grandmother yesterday — too cruel to force her to wake up at the crack of dawn for this — so that just leaves… “What about Father?”

“Professor Mikotoba’s at the docks already,” Kazuma says. “He wanted to get the paperwork for our exchange student trip in order with the sailors.”

Susato’s still not used to hearing Kazuma call her father — their father — Professor Mikotoba. She understands why, of course: Kazuma Asougi’s adoption into the Mikotoba family is on strict need-to-know basis. It’s secret even from Haori, who comes over to study almost every week; it’s why Father refers to him as Asougi-kun outside their walls and Kazuma-kun within it. But she’s never been able to call him anything but Kazuma-sama, even though on his part —

“Judicial Assistant Mikotoba, could you help me lift this trunk?”

There it is.

“Coming,” Susato calls. Kazuma, she thinks, is deceptively good at facades.

The two rickshaws are waiting on the road already. After Susato and Kazuma heave the trunk into one (maybe she’s still not fully awake, because there’s a sound like a human “Ow!” as they tip it into the compartment) and they pay the drivers, the two of them — plus Haori — squish together on the seat of the other rickshaw, and they’re off.

“I still can’t believe you’re both going to England,” Haori gushes as the cart’s wheels rattle under them. “We’ve read about it so much, haven’t we, Su?”

“We have,” Susato agrees, smiling. “Oh, that’s right — I told Father to give you the Randst Magazine issues that will arrive while I’m gone, so you can keep reading The Bride of Hallow’s Eve.” It’s a time-honored tradition between them: Susato reads every monthly issue from cover to cover (though really the highlight is always The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes), then gives it to Haori so she can read her favorite parts (usually the serialized romances). Susato would hate for it to stop just because of the addition of an ocean between them.

“Oh, thanks so much, Su!” Haori clasps her hands together in delight. “You’re so gallant!”

“Th-that’s not the right adjective for a girl, I think,” Susato deflects. Heat is rising to her face. Kazuma smirks sideways at her but stays silent.

“But there’s no better one for you!” Haori giggles, the smile lines of her eyes creasing, as Susato’s face goes even redder. “You’re like a gentleman in a girl’s body, Susato.”

“Um,” Susato says. Alongside the embarrassment, there’s a confusing, fizzy joy filling her chest that she doesn’t know how to deal with. Susato Mikotoba, gentleman. She could get used to that. “I—”

“Would you look at that, we’re almost there,” Kazuma swoops in. Susato shoots him a grateful look for the rescue. “Judicial Assistant Mikotoba, you remember what to say when we embark, yes?”

“Of course,” Susato says. They had practiced how to get past the expected questions — why Kazuma’s judicial assistant was female, why she was not yet of age, how they had met each other in the first place. “If all else fails, I’ll simply give them my best Susato Toss!”

“And I’ll come running with Karuma.” Kazuma pats the sword that’s always hanging by his side. “Just give me a shout.”

“I will,” Susato promises, as the cart rounds a corner and she first glimpses the hulking silhouette of the S.S. Burya. At least the happiness that buoys her now is familiar. It’s really happening, isn’t it! She’s going to England with Kazuma by her side, and she’ll finally get to practice in an actual court, and she’ll make her father proud and have so many stories for her grandma, and…

“I just wish you could come too,” she tells Haori. Then the tableau in her head would be flawless. “I’m sure you could learn as much about medicine as I could about the law in England.” That was close to what her father had done for six years, wasn’t it?

Haori sighs. “I know… but Su, you deserve this most out of anyone! You studied so hard to go! Don’t hold yourself back because of me!” She leans forward to stare intensely into Susato’s eyes. “You’re the most upstanding judicial assistant I know!”

Susato is fairly sure she’s the only judicial assistant Haori knows, but still she blushes when she answers: “Well, I doubt I deserve it more than Kazuma-sama, but I’ll… try to remember that. Thank you, Haori-sama.”

“There you go talking like an old man again,” Haori laughs, settling back into her seat. Susato immediately misses the weight of her gaze. “Just remember to write.”

“Of course I will,” Susato says, the words as light as air, just as the carriage grinds to a stop near the entrance to the harbor and the driver hollers for them to disembark.

As Kazuma heads towards his luggage (to… sweet-talk it down? She loves Kazuma, but sometimes he really is strange), Susato offers an arm for Haori to step down from the rickshaw. Haori takes it gracefully, and Susato wonders at how easily their hands fit in each other’s. Haori has a singular calluse at the base of her thumb — testament to the years she’s spent writing medical reports, Susato knows — and suddenly Susato’s heart aches.

She’ll miss Haori. For all that her father calls her mature for her age, this realization hits her with all the impossible longing associated with being a sixteen-year-old in love.

(Not that Susato is — not like that — not —)

How long until she sees her again? It’s not as though Susato is anyone special — what if she returns to Japan and Haori has forgotten all about her? What if England tears the memory of her best friend away from Susato and she comes back unrecognizable? What if…

“Su?”

“Judicial Assistant Mikotoba?”

The voices reach her simultaneously and she realizes she’s been staring at Haori for… entirely too long. Kazuma’s trunk is already being carried away by some sailors, in fact.

“Ahhhhh! I’m sorry!” She lets go of Haori’s hand, face burning, and picks up her luggage. “I’ll go put this on board!”

“Susato—” Kazuma calls after her, but she’s already gone.

The sailor she meets doesn’t know any Japanese and Susato doesn’t know any Russian, but they manage to meet in the middle with awkward English. She’s studied enough British law books to at least warn him that the bags are heavy before he takes them, though he’s not convinced until he fails to lift one and has to call another person over. Susato frowns to herself as she walks back to where Kazuma and Haori are. She really needs to brush up on her general English once she’s on the ship…

She spots Haori standing quietly next to her father, who’s discussing ship logistics with Kazuma, when she returns. “Judicial Assistant Mikotoba,” Kazuma says easily as he looks up. “So you didn’t need any violence after all.”

“They didn’t ask me anything,” Susato reports. She’s almost disappointed — she had practiced the right level of friendliness and all. (And the optimal method for a Susato Toss.) “Perhaps they will upon boarding?”

“Perhaps,” Kazuma agrees, then steps aside respectfully as Susato’s father hands her a boarding ticket. She runs a finger over the gilded paper, the excitement rising again despite herself. How thrilling, being on a steamship for the first time! It’s like a scene straight out of the Adventures! Oh, to be carried through the waves and inhale the salty air of the seven seas!

She only barely manages to rein herself in enough to hear her father say, “Asougi-kun, your cabin is on the top deck. Susato, yours is in steerage.”

“Oh.” Susato blinks. For some reason she’d been imagining them in adjacent rooms. “We’re going to be far apart then?”

A split second of conflict washes over Haori’s face before it resolves into determination. “That isn’t right, Professor Mikotoba! Su shouldn’t be separated from the attorney she’s assisting!”

“Yes, it’s quite unfortunate,” Susato’s father agrees gently. “But as I understand it, the other priority cabin has been reserved for someone boarding at… Shanghai, I believe?”

“Shanghai, China,” Susato murmurs to herself. She’s read about it in some magazines as well, but she can still hardly imagine the place. “That’s where our kanji characters come from.”

“That’s right.” Her father sighs. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get you a better cabin, Susato.”

Haori looks downward, a little wistful. “It’s so unfair how they’re making you stay alone…”

“I’ll be fine,” Susato lies. “It’s not as though Kazuma-sama could bring anyone onboard, either. And I need the studying time!”

“Speaking of which.” Kazuma casts a glance at the ship. Is that guilt in his expression? No, it can’t be. “We should probably get—”

The ship’s horn blows. They all jump, Susato clapping her hands over her ears.

“—going,” Kazuma finishes. “I think I have to check in with the sailors guarding the first-class deck as well.”

Susato nods, then turns to face her father and her best friend, trying to conjure up her resolve. “I suppose this is goodbye for now, Father, Haori-sama.”

Her father takes a few steps closer and then, unexpectedly, wraps her in a hug. She buries her face in his shoulder — she’s almost as tall as he is now, she realizes. “Be careful,” he whispers into her ear. “Remember that you’re a young woman in a foreign country. Safety is always the first priority.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Susato says, as he lets go and looks her up and down, like he’s trying to memorize the look of her even after ten years.

“Good.” He turns to Kazuma, doesn’t hug him but does ruffle his bangs affectionately. It’s a dangerous action around someone like Haori who doesn’t know about their family situation, Susato knows, and her throat aches at the sight of Kazuma’s answering smile. “The same goes for you, young man. Be careful. Some things should be avoided even when you’re carrying Karuma.”

Kazuma’s hand drifts to his hip, brushing over the hilt of the Asougi clan sword. He'd fought for weeks to gain permission to carry Karuma onboard, Susato knows. His voice is a little rough as he answers, “I know.”

“Hey Su,” Haori pipes up, and Susato turns. “I, um, got you something. Hold out your hand?”

Susato does. She watches Haori fish around in the folds of her clothing and find something that she presses into Susato’s palm. Susato has enough time to process that it’s small and made of iron before Haori gently closes Susato’s fingers around it. For someone who spends a lot of time in laboratories, Haori’s hands are surprisingly warm, Susato thinks.

“It’s a good-luck charm,” Haori explains. “From the temple near our house — they said it would protect against any natural disasters and sea monsters. I know you’re a scientific person and everything and so am I but I thought you might want one and I wanted you to have it because I’ll be worried about you because who knows what could happen on a steamship—”

“Haori-sama,” Susato says.

“Eep!” Haori stops. “Yes?”

Susato swallows. “I love it. Thank you.”

“You haven’t even looked at it yet,” Haori says, a pink tinge settling on her cheekbones.

“I’d love anything you gave me,” Susato says. It comes out far too sincere, but when Haori blushes harder she finds she doesn’t mind.

The horn blows again, making Susato wince. “I suppose we really must be going now, Kazuma-sama?”

“Right,” Kazuma says. “Thank you for seeing us off, Professor Mikotoba and Murasame-san.”

“Of course,” says Susato’s father. “Ah — Susato, you know your grandmother can’t stand chilly mornings, but she did want me to pass on her well wishes.”

“Tell Grandma I’ll write,” Susato responds.

“We’ll miss you, Su, Asougi-san!” Haori clasps her hands together. “You both have to tell me all about London!”

Susato’s throat suddenly feels tight. Oh no, is she about to cry? She blinks quickly and only just manages to say, “Of course.”

“Judicial Assistant Mikotoba,” Kazuma warns, flicking his eyes towards the Burya.

Oh, and despite how long she’d practiced for this day it’s so hard to leave them. Her father, her grandmother, Haori… Is it wrong of Susato to board this steamship now? To abandon them all the same way that, sixteen years ago, her father —

No. No, she can’t think that way. Susato forces a wobbly smile on her face and says, “Yes, let’s be off.”