When Erich runs out of things to explain and Kurosaki runs out of questions, he lets silence settle over the room and turns his focus towards Alexis. He reaches out, stretching his presence towards her until he feels her mind brush against his own.

::How did it go?:: she asks.

::Well,:: Erich tells her happily, sharing a few snippets of memory with her in explanation. ::He was wary at first, and we should strive to be visible to him whenever possible, but he took the news very well. Is pleased with it, in fact.::

Alexis hums, mind twisting-curling-darting with thoughts too quick, too ephemeral, for Erich to get more than a vague impression from her. ::That’s good,:: she says at last. ::Now all that remains is to see him healed.::

::Yes.::

“Can I… see it?” Kurosaki speaks up, drawing Erich’s focus from his connection with Alexis.

Erich lifts his head from the couch cushion and opens his eyes, taking in Kurosaki and Sado and the way they’re curled together. Alexis lingers on the edges of his awareness, curious as to what drew his attention, and he opens their connection a touch further so that she can share his senses.

(Their edges blur like melt-water, he-is-she-is-he—)

Erich gives himself a shake. Focuses on the here-and-now. Feels Alexis close her eyes and rest her head on her paws.

::You may,:: he tells Kurosaki once their senses settle and Kurosaki-and-Sado is no longer overlaid with Inoue-and-Ishida. He reaches beneath his chin with his trunk and draws forth the hoshi no tama, holding it out to Kurosaki. ::Go on,:: he encourages when Kurosaki makes an aborted gesture to reach for it. ::It is yours, after all. We are using it to heal you, but it is you who Inari Ōkami gifted it to.::

Kurosaki takes it gently from Erich’s trunk and holds it in his cupped palms, awe spreading across his face as he stares down at it. “I never thought… I mean… I pay my respects, but this…” he whispers.

Sado leans in, arm tightening around Kurosaki as he examines the hoshi no tama from up close. “It’s beautiful,” he adds.

::It is.:: Like the teens, Erich has never seen a hoshi no tama up close, much less had the privilege to hold one, before now. Part of him remains in disbelief — who ever heard of a baku being handed such a priceless treasure? — and another part feels unaccountably humbled by the trust he’s been handed.

(Alexis, he knows, feels the same.)

(They will treasure this memory forever.)

“Do you think…” Kurosaki pauses to chew on his lower lip, gaze flickering between the hoshi no tama and Erich. It takes him time to find the words he wants, and even then his tone is cautious when he continues. “When I regain my powers. Do you… do you think I’ll need to remake it?”

Erich blinks and cocks his head, Alexis’ curiosity flooding his thoughts and compounding his own. ::What makes you ask?::

Kurosaki shivers and closes his hands around the hoshi no tama, hiding it from view. “This healing… you said it would change me. The catalyst is this, part of you is being used to keep everything in balance, and… and even the part that’s human is being filtered through you. Will I… will I need to remake the hoshi no tama after I’ve absorbed it all and been healed?”

::He might,:: Alexis says thoughtfully through their connection. ::Not immediately, but it might be helpful to him.::

::We should ask Her myōbu,:: Erich agrees. The question is beyond either of their experience, so returning to the source is their best option. To Kurosaki, he says, ::We are unsure, but we will ask the myōbu for an answer.::

“Thank you.” Kurosaki stares down at his hands for a moment longer, then reaches out and hands the hoshi no tama back to Erich. “Here. I… thank you. For… all of this. You didn’t have to—”

::We wished to,:: Erich interrupts, words firm and ears canted back. He tucks the hoshi no tama back beneath his chin and fixes Kurosaki with a stern look. ::We are protectors, Kurosaki-san, and we will always do our best to see to the safety of those who need us.::

Kurosaki sighs and slumps against Sado’s side, rubbing at his face with one hand and gripping Sado’s arm with the other. Sado pulls him closer, tucking Kurosaki into his side and resting his chin atop Kurosaki’s head. He’s practically wrapped around Kurosaki, sheltering the other teen from the world, and Erich knows he’s overstayed his welcome.

They need time to process, time to accept, and he won’t be any help if he remains. He’s still a stranger to them — still strange to them — and there’s nothing more he can do here except get in their way.

Alexis agrees with him and pulls away, letting the connection between them fade like mist, till only the faintest brush of mind-against-mind remains.

(It’s a relief to be self again. To know where Alexis begins and he ends.)

(They do not Share of themselves lightly or frequently for good reason.)

Erich gives himself a shake and crawls backwards away from the couch. ::I will be going,:: Erich tells the teens when they give him curious looks. ::I’ve given you much to think on and little time to process.::

“You’ll be around?” Sado asks, his gaze sharp.

::We will,:: Erich confirms. ::If you need us, focus on that need and call one or both of our names three times. We will hear you.:: And using their chosen names would prevent any other baku from answering by accident… not that Erich has seen or sensed any others around.

“Thank you.” Sado inclines his head then turns his attention back to Kurosaki, who waves absently and otherwise keeps himself tucked against Sado.

Taking it for the dismissal it is, Erich shakes the weight of the physical from his body and settles back within shinkai. Their duties are done for the day and there’s no reason to linger.

He could use a nap with Alexis anyway.