F Grade Healer Becomes Strongest Biomancer-Chapter 61: Midnight Snack

Mio

Mio woke up screaming.

"Don’t blow up the microwave!"

She sat up, gasping. Sweat dripped down her neck. The room was dark, lit only by the glow of the TV on standby.

She looked around. The Bureau quarters. The couch. The coffee table with newspaper strips scattered across it.

The window showed a single moon, white and normal.

Thank god.

The little elf was sitting criss-cross on the coffee table, toothpick daggers resting on her knees. Yellow eyes cracked open at Mio’s stirring, assessed her for a long moment, then dismissed her.

She’s... sleeping?

The elf hadn’t flinched at the scream. Just confirmed Mio wasn’t a threat and went back to whatever this was. Meditation? Napping while sitting upright?

"Oh, it’s you."

Mio reached over and patted the little head. White hair, soft as silk, longer than the elf’s entire body.

One yellow eye opened, narrowed, then closed again.

"Sorry."

She pulled her hand back. The elf didn’t acknowledge it.

Nana was on the floor, drooling onto a throw pillow. Her white hair fanned out around her head. Ivory was nowhere in sight.

Mio wiped her forehead. She was drenched. The heater must have been set to max. Why would—

"Mio-san!"

Mio screamed again.

A shape loomed out of the dark. Short, pale, eyes catching the TV’s blue glow.

Monster—

"Mio-san, you’re awake!"

Wait. That’s just—

"Ivory, what the fuck."

"Eh?" Ivory stepped closer, head tilted. "Did something happen?!"

"No, forget it." Mio pressed a hand to her chest. Her heart was still hammering. Just Ivory. Just the weird Marrow girl, standing in the dark like a normal person. "Why are you up?"

The growl of a stomach answered.

Two stomachs, actually. Mio’s and Ivory’s, in near-perfect harmony.

Ivory clutched her midsection. Her eyes had gone wide. Desperate.

"All the little animals are gone," she said. "I’m very hungry now."

Mio blinked. "You mean the dino-nuggets?"

"Hai."

Mio glanced at the floor. The scattered nuggets from earlier had been picked clean. Some were half-eaten, abandoned mid-bite. Nana’s work, probably.

Her own stomach twisted. The Reservoir was nearly empty. She needed to eat.

"I’ll go order something."

She swung her legs off the couch and stood. The obsidian arm hung heavy at her side. Can was still dormant inside, a faint warmth against the glass-smooth surface. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Mio looked for the phone. The landline was on the side table where she remembered it.

The cord was cut into ribbons.

She looked at the elf. The elf’s eyes stayed closed.

Tsk.

"Wait here."

She took a second look at her outfit. Shizuka had dressed her while she was unconscious. The thought made her skin crawl, but the alternative was waking up naked on the couch, so she’d take it.

Oversized merch from some anime Mio didn’t recognize. A girl with pink hair and a comically large sword. The pajama pants had black and white cat paws printed on them.

Nana’s clothes.

Better than being naked.

She found her shoes by the door. Slipped them on. The elf still hadn’t moved. Ivory was watching her from the corner.

Mio opened the door.

The Bureau hallway was empty.

She walked.

The cafeteria was on the second floor. Open 24/7, according to OG. Mio had never tested that claim until now.

The elevator dinged. Empty car. She stepped in, hit the button, and caught her reflection in the metal doors.

She looked like Nana had dressed her. Which, technically, Shizuka had, using Nana’s clothes.

Great.

The cafeteria was deserted. A single staff member dozed behind the counter, head propped on one hand. The lights were dimmed to half, casting everything in a yellow haze.

Mio grabbed a tray.

Onigiri. Six of them. Rice bowls. Two. Fried chicken. A whole container. Miso soup. Three cups. Bottled tea. Four. A family pack of melon bread that was probably meant for an actual family.

The tray couldn’t hold it all. She grabbed a second one.

The staff member didn’t wake up.

She piled instant ramen cups on top. Shrimp chips. Chocolate. More onigiri. A suspicious-looking egg salad sandwich that she’d probably regret later.

Her stomach growled.

"Shut up."

She grabbed two more bottles of tea and called it done.

The payment terminal blinked at her. She tapped her Bureau ID. The screen flashed green.

Hazard pay. Compensation for the deceased. Agent salary. It all added up.

Minus the Lumens.

8,247 of them, converted from her inventory liquidation in the Marrow. Gold bars, technically. Ivory had explained it poorly, something about "condensed value" and "cross-threshold currency."

She still hadn’t traded it for actual yen. Ishida would know.

Am I rich now?

She picked up both trays and headed back.

The elevator opened on her floor. She stepped out, balancing food like a circus act.

"Yo."

Mio nearly dropped everything.

Kaito was leaning against the wall opposite her room. Silver hair, tired eyes, hospital band still on his wrist.

Mio steadied the trays. "What are you doing here?"

"Couldn’t sleep." He looked at the mountain of food in her arms. Raised an eyebrow. The silver hair blocked his other eye. "That’s enough for a whole school. Didn’t catch you for the gluttonous type."

If only you knew.

"Don’t start."

He ignored her. His eyes went to the pajamas, the anime shirt, then the arm. "You got an upgrade."

"Somewhat."

Kaito pushed off the wall.

"Well, as you know, our squad is deployed tomorrow. A couple of C-grade incursions. They’re getting more frequent now." He fell into step beside her. "Bureau scientists say it’s starting to look like what happened in America."

"Which is what."

"Don’t you know?"

Mio shifted the trays. "I mean, yeah. Everyone knows America nuked itself. Stupid politicians. Etcetera."

Kaito raised the same eyebrow. Shook the silver hair from his eye. "Segawa hasn’t told you shit, huh?"

"What are you talking about?"

He was quiet for a moment.

"The incursions there got so bad that America nuked every single major city."

Mio stopped walking.

"What?"

"New York. LA. Chicago. Houston. All of them." He kept his voice flat. "They did it to themselves. On purpose. Because the alternative was worse."

Mio’s grip tightened on the trays.

"The government said it was an accident. That’s what the world said."

Kaito shrugged.

"Politics was the cover-up, and everyone ate it up. Why wouldn’t they? America was a boiling pot ready to burst."

"That’s..."

"Yeah."

Kaito turned away.

"Anyway, 0800. Don’t be late. Same place as last time."

"Wait."

"What is it?"

"You look good." Mio flinched. It sounded way better in her head.

He paused, didn’t even bother to turn around.

"I’ve got seven years left to live, Mio. Good is relative."

"Right."

"Get some sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be long."