"Meal times?" Juri said, raising his brows as he scanned through the paper Shintaro had handed him. "What do you guys need meal times for? Can't you just-" he mimicked sinking his very human row of upper teeth into his own lower lip, "a couple times a week and be done with it?"
Shintaro tried to remember whether he had been so clueless back in the day. Maybe he might have been, but it had never come up, because ever since he agreed to become Akito's familiar, Akito had given all his rations to him, living on Shintaro's blood only and drinking as little as possible as long as the war went on.
So maybe he was being unfair. How could Juri have known know that Shintaro and the others still liked to eat actual food?
"It takes time to get used to it," he said, trying his best to make it make sense for Juri. "You know, living on blood alone. When you live a hundred years, eating something every day, it's not easy to just...not do so. Even if we don't strictly need it. And you guys need the regular meals anyway."
Juri nodded slowly, though Shintaro wasn't sure if he actually got his point or if he just decided to let the matter go.
"When will the other familiars arrive, by the way?" Juri asked, glancing around the living room as if expecting to see them hiding somewhere.
"Both said they'd be here around noon. We'll all gather together then and cover the same basics with them. I hope you don't mind hearing the same briefing twice. Considering your interview, I didn't expect you to be such an early bird today," Shintaro said, leafing through his papers.
A weird expression flashed on Juri's face, like he was trying to stifle a twisted snort.
"Don't worry," Juri said once he got his face under control again. "Matching our circadian rhythms won't be a problem."