Chapter 211: House Hunting
The night after finding out he would be moving, Kir paid a visit to Noir’s grave. A tombstone with a small epithet describing how he’d helped face Maledict had been added not long after the burial, and next to it, a similar tombstone bore the name Kir Gale.
As weird as it was to be standing next to his own grave - a "necessary pretense" as it had been described to him when he found out - he set aside his dissonance to stand before his dead lover and friend, as he had done once a week since waking up.
As was his habit, he had a one-way conversation, pausing at times to sort through his emotions. As was Kiryu’s habit, the ghost of Kir’s past remained silent out of respect for the dead.
"Hey, Noir," he spoke to the grave. "Sorry if I won’t be around as much, but I guess I’ll be moving. Lumin’s turning the mansion into student dorms if you can believe it..."
"Sam’s in the same boat as me, but at least Lumin’s giving them a stipend. Even offered them a job working security at the new Academy..."
"Did I tell you what they decided? They’re going to name their child Nimba Caroon Starios. I can’t believe they never told me their last name until now, but... I’m just glad they still want to be friends. They don’t want to move in with me, but they said they’d get a place nearby. We’re going to do some house hunting tomorrow and... I wish you could be with us."
For a long time, Kir paused to just remember. Then, with a final sigh, he went back to his room to sleep.
*
The next morning, Kir woke up to a small but constant itch in his wings.
As he walked through the city with Kordia, Stella, and Sam, the scene in the upper district was one of relative peace and calm. Their first destination would be the city hall, at the very heart of the upper ring, where one office dealt with abandoned properties and the building-related estates of the dead.
Kordia’s suggestion was that they both look for places the city didn’t want to leave abandoned. Since most of the properties in the upper ring were spoken for, it was a long shot but one that would fit Kir’s needs.