Volume 20 - Grand Finale, Chapter 151 - New Year Review

On the morning of January 2nd, it wasn't even 5AM when Agent Will arrived at the Mountain Lily Inn. A cold fog hung in the air, the sun wouldn't rise for another two hours, and Yuisu was still asleep. Rem was on call for any visitors or guest emergencies, but neither the doorbell nor phone rang.

Instead, as Agent Will climbed the frosted steps to the front porch, Chione flew down from her perch on the roof where she'd been waiting. She landed solidly on the wooden deck and smiled brightly in the pre-dawn gloom. She was bundled up in a comfy and fashionable black and cyan coat that had special slits to accommodate her wings. It had been a Christmas gift from Actia and she'd worn it at every opportunity in the days since.

The cheerful gargoyle said, "Good morning, Agent Will! Thanks for agreeing to meet me so early."

Agent Will was not nearly so chipper. He wore his typical black suit and carried a large briefcase, and he nursed a steaming thermos of coffee, holding it tight for warmth. "No problem, Chione." He yawned wide, then continued, "It's my job to work within the schedules of my homestays."

Chione smiled and bounced over to the front door. She opened it and gestured inside. "Shall we get started?"

The Interspecies Exchange Program had several goals, such as exposing humanity to liminal-kind in a safe and controlled manner and helping liminal races learn to integrate with human society. This early morning meeting was about the latter. Every Exchange Program Coordinator was required to periodically check in on their assigned homestays and make sure they were on track for their integration goals and that they weren't having any trouble.

Agent Will traveled more than most Coordinators, thanks to his secondary role as an interspecies ambassador to liminal lands, so most of his homestay check-ins had been over the phone. However, some things were best handled face to face and he made sure to visit in person every few months. When he did so, he could meet with all of Yuisu's homestays in a single trip, saving him from driving up to her mountain home repeatedly.

"Are you sure we won't wake anyone up?" Agent Will asked as he took off his dark sunglasses and sat down at the kitchen table. He ran his hand through his gelled-back hair and looked around the quiet room and down the hallways to the north and west that lead to all the bedrooms.

Chione nodded. "It'll be fine if we keep to our voices down. I've talked for hours with Actia right here and it never bothered anyone. Rem's the closest in the boiler room right there, but she doesn't wake easily unless it's the on-call phone ringing."

"Hmm, alright," Agent Will said, then he lifted his briefcase up onto the table and opened it. It was full nearly to bursting with stacks of paper, all stuffed into yellow folders with big labels. He took out a folder with Chione's name on it and closed the briefcase again.

"That's a lot of paperwork in there," Chione remarked.

Agent Will shrugged and forced a smile. "There are a lot of homestays here, and a lot to cover with each of them." He knew he probably sounded a bit curt, but he had a lot to do and needed to get down to business. He picked out a specific sheet from Chione's folder and tapped a pen on a blank line near the top of the form. "To start us off, how are you doing on your graduation requirements?"

"Oh, they're coming along really well. I didn't make much progress last spring because of all the work for ComicMon, but Actia's really been helping out. Having an Exchange Program graduate on hand for any questions feels almost like cheating," she said, grinning.

After his meeting with Chione, Agent Will met with a sleepy Yuisu. As a host rather than a homestay, her interview played out quite a bit differently. They reviewed the previous year's reimbursed expenses to make sure they'd all been tracked, talked about how each of her homestays were doing, and reviewed the policies and laws that Yuisu needed to be aware of.

Agent Will continued to turn a blind eye to Yuisu and Haru's romantic violations of the Interspecies Protection Act, and his superiors had long ago joined his side of the issue. Now that interspecies marriage was commonplace, there was no real concern about other consensual relationships between humans and liminals. The law was just slow to adapt to changing culture.

After over an hour of mundane, overly specific, or sometimes intrusive questions, Agent Will asked one final question, "Are there any issues you've had with specific homestays that I should follow up on?"

Yuisu sipped at the dregs of her tea and hummed in thought for a moment. Then she said, "No, but I am curious if you'll be checking in on Rem, even though she's not in the program anymore."

"Yes, I'll be doing a follow-up with her. Why do you ask? Is there a problem?"

Yuisu shook her head. "No, she's great, but a follow-up would be good."

After that, Agent Will met with all the remaining homestays in an order that tried to accommodate their sleep and work schedules. The early-riser Tsuen was next, and her interview was the shortest. She took her graduation requirements very seriously and she had come a long way since the day she'd lost her phone and had to chase Yuisu's truck all the way from town. Her Japanese pronunciation was nearly flawless now and she'd proven herself indispensable at her job as a fitness trainer.

"I heard you got another promotion last month, Tsuen," Agent Will said.

"Where'd you hear that?" she said, surprised. The whole town knew about her first promotion because Korbin had announced it at a televised event about the new Ski Lodge Kobold, but she had kept the other one under wraps. She was a full-fledged manager now, up from assistant manager.

"Korbin told me when I went up to visit Rosty. He really likes to brag about you, you know."

Tsuen rubbed her forehead with one hand. "Yeah… even though I'd rather he not. I do like being recognized for my work, but I don't like too much attention."

Agent Will shrugged and shook his head. "If you say so. Just make sure not to sell yourself short."

Mara's interview was far more chaotic. She had nearly as many question for Agent Will as he had for her, and she tended to give unusual answers. She had never landed a formal job, which left Agent Will with a bit of a dilemma. He could credit her online craft sales as 'work experience' even though she never interacted with people directly, or he could push her to apply for a job in town. At least now that she could manage her agoraphobia, working in town was an actual option.

Mara still had a couple months left on her two-year maximum homestay, so Agent Will decided to table that for another day. He ended the interview by giving Mara a pamphlet containing phone numbers for his superiors and some support specialists, in case she had any problems she didn't feel she could share with him.

Mara quickly skimmed the pamphlet, then said, "Is this because of what happened to Rem?"

"I can't confirm or deny that," he said, but his expression and tone made the answer clear.

"Say no more, say no more," she said with a wink of three of her eyes.

After Mara, Aluru was up. Almost immediately, Agent Will could see signs of her growth. She seemed happy and satisfied and for once she was wearing clothing suitable for public: a sweater without any distracting cleavage. During the interview, she spoke of her long-distance friend Kura and a few other girls she was keeping in touch with, and she talked about how she'd changed her approach to romance. She still wanted casual flings, but she always made sure to be honest and upfront about it, and to treat her partner fairly.

Then Aluru surprised him by recounting a conversation she'd had with Quess that finally worked out some deep-seated drama. "I'm not as dumb as I look, so it didn't take me long to realize Quess had moved on. She found love, that sticky, cheesy kind from the movies, and she left me behind. I hated her for it for a while, but texting Kura helped me get over it. On Christmas, Quess and I finally talked."

"We talked about how she'd had a rude awakening of her own and had to change her ways, like I did later. I won't go into details, but I got dumped on my ass by another woman for being a bitch." Aluru shrugged and continued, "Hearing that she'd been through something like it made it easy to understand where she was coming from, and why she'd wanted to avoid me, the old me. We both get each other now. Not sure we can be friends, since we're so different now, and since casual sex is off the table for her, but things are good."

She was silent for a moment, poking at a flower in her hair, then she added, "The kid's cute too. Pwess, that is. I don't think I'll ever be a mom, but I'm glad Pwess has such good ones."

When Agent Will was sure she was done talking, he smiled and said, "Yeah, I agree wholeheartedly." He jotted down some notes about Aluru's improvement, then said, "Now, unless you've got any more questions…"

"Nah, nothing else," Aluru said, still looking a little lost in thought.

"Alrighty. Thanks for your time, Aluru. Our next check-in will probably be over the phone, since I'll be traveling again in a month."

Aluru nodded and shuffled off down the hall towards her room, her root-like tendrils near silent on the smooth wood floor.

After a deep breath, Agent Will stood as well. He walked over to the boiler room door, right next to the kitchen, then knocked gently.

"Come on in!" came a shout from inside.

Agent Will knew that Rem had a house of some sort inside the boiler room but he didn't really know what to expect. When he opened the door he was pleasantly surprised by what he saw built into the shelves. From waist height nearly to the ceiling was a three-story Victorian-style dollhouse. Each floor was about a foot and a half tall, giving the home's 15-inch occupant room to move around easily. A rope ladder led to the front door, where Rem was already standing in a white tennis dress and thigh-high stockings. Her strawberry-blonde hair was pulled into twintails just under her white-tipped ears.

"Nice to see you again, Agent Will. Like my place?" she asked proudly. "Mara helped me make it and I've been working on it here and there, usually when I'm on call at night."

Agent Will gave an emphatic nod and said, "It's very impressive. I've heard that gremlins often like to tinker, but I never thought about applying that to architecture."

"Neither did I!" Rem responded. "But necessity is the mother of invention, and I needed a place to stay. At first it was all functional, and I had a big setback with the earthquake, but I found I really enjoyed working on it so I kept adding personal touches and nifty features."

"That's great to hear, and I'd love to take a closer look if we have time… but I'd like to start our meeting, if that's alright."

"Yep, sure thing. Let me grab a snack and I'll meet you at the kitchen table." She giggled to herself, then added, "The main house's kitchen table, that is."

Agent Will couldn't help but smile at how genuinely cheerful Rem seemed to be. When he'd first met her, fresh out of the Exchange Program and literally traumatized by the experience, he had worried that she might never be able to live a normal life. But now, with the help of Mara and Tsuen and the rest of the household, she was thriving.

He had barely sat down when Rem hopped onto the table with a bag of potato chips hugged to her chest. She flopped down on the table cross-legged, tore the bag open, then said, "Alright, I'm ready."

Agent Will immediately noted down that Rem was more casual with food than before. She used to only eat in private and if she was forced to eat with others, she'd do so in total silence.

Then he said, "I know you're not in the program anymore, but I'll run this similarly to my meetings with the other girls. Even if you aren't required to complete the graduation prerequisites, they're still good things to do. You've obviously got the 'work experience' one handled."

Rem grinned at that and he continued, "But before that formal stuff, just talk to me. How are you doing?"

"I'm great, actually. I assume Mara and Tsuen told you about our relationship?"

Agent Will nodded. A polyamorous trio wasn't the most unusual relationship he'd encountered in his travels, especially when you considered symbiotic or hive-based liminals, but it was certainly nonstandard.

Rem said, "Well, I have them to thank for a lot of my growth. My psychiatrist helped of course, but having personal love and support was huge. Tsuen's so patient, and Mara understands me because she's been through some issues too, with her phobia."

She crunched on a potato chip for a moment, swallowing three times to eat the whole thing, then offered one to Agent Will. "Want one?"

Agent Will froze for a moment. Rem actually sharing her food was a step beyond where he expected her to be. There was a chance she was pushing herself a bit for the sake of the interview, but that was still a sign of improvement. He reached out and took the chip from her. "Thank you, Rem," he said before eating the chip in one bite.

He double-underlined his note about Rem's improvement, then asked her a few more questions, about her interactions with humans and her satisfaction with her job as a live-in maid for the Inn. Rem was happy to answer and she was surprisingly candid about how little she respected messy or rude children. She admitted that it caused trouble sometimes, but Sya could handle that stuff.

"Sya complements me really well," Rem said. "Not like she says nice things, but she's good at what I'm not and vice versa. You're her coordinator too, right?"

"I am," he said simply. He wasn't allowed to go into specifics about other hosts and homestays, but he would gladly admit how impressed he was with Sya. She was incredibly mature for her age and she was on track to graduate from the program in record time.

"Ah, then you probably already know this, but she's awesome. Put me down in her file as a workplace commendation if you can."

Agent Will smiled. "Will do."

Their meeting lasted another ten minutes or so, then it was Rem who asked if they could wrap things up. "I've got some cleaning to do before a guest arrives this afternoon. Are we all good here?"

"We are. But before you go, can you point me to Hakuto's room?"

"She's probably out at the shrine this time of day so I'll do you one better and zip out there and send her your way. Seeya, Agent Will!"

With that, she took off in a flash. She dunked the empty chip bag into the kitchen trash, then zoomed around the corner toward the front door.

Hakuto was Yuisu's newest homestay by a wide margin and it showed. She was still learning about human culture, modern Japanese society, and how to live alongside other people instead of above them as a goddess. But she had a warm heart and an open mind, and she was learning fast.

She had even been in contact with Rosty, another Shinto goddess going through the same thing, and they'd been helping each other out. The fact that they were both inept at modern technology wasn't doing them any favors, however. Hakuto had misdialed Agent Will more than once when trying to use her contact list. Touch-screen technology wasn't made with big rabbit paws in mind.

"What are your plans for the future?" Agent Will asked part-way through their meeting.

Hakuto didn't need to pause to think of the answer. She replied, "I want to buy up some land on the mountain, keep it as a nature preserve, and live on it with my shrine."

"Oh yeah, you mentioned you got a big donation. Did you get that squared away with the bank?"

Hakuto blinked as she pondered out the meaning of the unfamiliar phrase 'squared away', then said, "Yes, I did. The bank even recommended a real estate agent, and I already have him working on the land-buying thing."

Agent Will was surprised to see Hakuto moving so quickly. When she first joined the program, she'd been used to gradual processes that took seasons or years. "Wow, you're really taking initiative on this dream of yours, Hakuto."

She just nodded and said, "I have to. Okayado is going to keep growing and I need to get the land before someone else does. Korbin is a good man, better than most humans, so I trust him to treat his land well, but what about the other business people that follow him? I worry about what would happen to this valley if I don't protect it."

"I think the valley's in good han—, er, paws with you, Hakuto," he said with a grin. "On a different note, have you looked into getting a part-time job in town? Now that you can leave your mountain, it would be good for you to experience some more normal human interaction."

Hakuto's long white ears folded back and her eyes went a little wider. "Um, I don't know about that… Do I have to?"

Agent Will withheld a sigh. As far as Hakuto had come, she still had some growing to do, and it looked like she'd need help doing it. He had some work to do yet.

"Haru, how are you today?" Agent Will asked. Haru was his final interview for the day, and the one with the most to talk about. He'd intentionally scheduled it at the end in case they ran long.

"Pretty good. I'm glad that things calmed down again after the holidays. It's nice to have some of Yuisu's time to myself again," Haru answered. She was sitting casually in a kitchen chair with her legs crossed and her wings folded behind her head. A lacy purple bra strap was visible on her shoulder, where it had slipped out from under her dark blue shirt.

Agent Will tried to ignore that detail, for multiple reasons: he was her Coordinator and needed to keep a professional relationship, the lacy bra and Haru's statement about Yuisu's time implied something lewd about their plans later that he didn't want to think about, and he was still dating Haru's mother. He had known that getting involved with Kohaku would bring trouble into his life, but it was absolutely worth it. If everything worked out the way he hoped, he'd see Kohaku again in a couple weeks…

He shook himself out of that line of thought and said, "That's great to hear. Now, about your graduation requirements. You're getting really close to the end of the two-year Exchange period. Are you on track or do I need to file for an emergency extension?"

Haru shook her head. "No, I believe I've got all the requirements done. We can go over the list today, but I have something I need to say first."

Agent Will nodded and said, "Alright. The mic is yours, so to speak." He was pretty sure he already knew what she was about to say, but he didn't want to steal her thunder.

Haru sat up straight with her feet on the floor, then she fidgeted with the little wing-shaped pendant around her neck. She grabbed it tight in a feathery fist and said, "Yuisu and I are engaged. We're getting married and we're staying together, one way or another, whether the Exchange Program approves, and whether the law allows it."

"Congratulations! Let me start by saying how happy I am for you both." He paused, then said, "But as an Exchange Program Coordinator, I can't say I'm thrilled by your statements about the Program and the law. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, so—"

Before Agent Will could finish, three voices echoed down the hallway, cheerful and vibrant. They were coming closer, threatening the privacy of Haru and Agent Will's conversation. The kitchen was a shared space, so interruptions weren't unexpected and had been occurring occasionally all day, but the timing of this one was certainly inconvenient.

"Hang on," he told Haru over the sound of approaching giggles. "Let's put this on hold for a moment."