Shinju and Kohaku sit together over a meal of fish and rice. It was Shinju’s turn to cook tonight. Their apartment, thankfully, was a little too high up and secure in the military base for the riots to have affected it. 

Kohaku: Mm, what’s this? … Shinju?

Shinju: O-oh, what?

Kohaku: This sauce is new.

Shinju: Oh, yeah, I got some advice from Ueno. Uh, Asaharu-san. Maybe you remember them from the gym?

Kohaku: The candy girl who made all the baked goods, I remember. 

Shinju: The secret ingredient… is honey. Just a little.

Kohaku: Really? The sweetness works pretty well. 

Shinju: Mm-hmm. 

A moment of silence. They both look up at the sound of heavy vehicles rolling by outside. There was still much reorganizing to be done. Nothing for Kohaku to attend to, at least this time.

Kohaku: … Something wrong, Shinju?

Shinju: Aw man… not the inquisition again.

Kohaku: Say, how’s Niko doing with everything getting back to normal?

Shinju: I-I think it’s fine. She’s going to her job at the clothing store and all like normal. 

Kohaku: And her taking over for those “conductors” and their “dreamscape?” 

Shinju: Yeah… I think so. The Conductors were all about being mysterious so I’m not too sure about it. 

Kohaku: Is Niko being mysterious?

Shinju: (She tilts her head, swaying) Mmm… maybe? I don’t know… I think she’s up to some mysterious Conductor stuff she can’t tell me about. (After a pause, when Kohaku doesn’t respond) I think about that preachy fop guy and I don’t understand how someone gets like that. Or the other Conductors, how they get to have like twenty years of history that nobody knows about. I hope this isn’t how it starts. 

Kohaku: … Seems like at some point they must have left their parents and a lot of the people they were close to behind, to keep pursuing their goals. Everyone’s gotta be close to someone. I think it’s important you don’t give up on understanding what’s going on.

Shinju: I-I didn’t say I was giving up! 

Kohaku: Probably a lot of them had people they left behind to keep chasing their “conductor” dream…

Shinju: (In a nasal voice, imitating a nagging housewife) Neb-neb, if you don’t stop this mysterious dream business we are THROUGH! Either the mask goes or I go! 

Kohaku: (She chuckles) If I remember right, I think his wife passed away, actually.

Shinju: Oh. … A-anyway, I’ll talk to her the next time I see her. I ought to be in on stuff, too. 

Kohaku: (She nods sagely) … Honey, really? Never thought it’d be good on fish or rice…