Chapter 120

"Am I approved, then?" Yuta asked when they reached the street.

Noriko glanced at him sidelong and half-smiled. "You know you are. The door would have been locked if you weren't. Husband, I have a question for you."

"Ask it."

"Does your niece always wear that scarf?" It was irrelevant and commonplace compared to the rest of their morning but Noriko really wanted to know and wanted to talk about something that wasn't mystical and extraordinary. She began to see how keeping normalcy in their human lives would help to keep everyone steady and sane.

"She does. She has no hair, only feathers where hair should be." There was no point, Yuta thought, in dissembling with Noriko not after meeting her teachers. Once again, he was at a loss in the presence of things far over his head. That happened far too often in his life. He combated it with dedication to normal humanity and normal human lives. So far, that had worked.

"Has she ever considered a wig?"