Magical Girl Phantom Ascension

Lingering at the threshold of Miho's room, you're surprised to find you want to talk some more, intrigued despite yourself. If nothing else, it feels like she may have something different to say about what happened earlier that the others may not, given her unusual perspectives so far. Even if you can fairly easily guess what happened while you were upstairs, and the team's quick explanation to Nel all but confirmed it, perhaps there was more to it yet. She also, you have to admit, reminds you just a little bit of Kichirou.

…However, now that you are reminded of him again, you still think your brother should take higher priority. You must admit to being genuinely curious about the entire affair at the bookshop, especially with your own strange findings, but perhaps not right now. Impatience still pulls you to get home as soon as possible, even more so after this detour, and you can almost feel your own thoughts sliding away from thinking too much about this newer mystery, a puzzle tantalizingly in reach yet which you suspect you're still missing too many pieces of. You still have commitments for tonight anyway, so best to focus on those.

…Besides, your new teammate already seems well on her way to sleep, if the soft snoring from the far end of the room is anything to go by, so you finally decide to just leave her be for now.

Softly closing the door as you depart, you glance around to see where Midori went, and find the near-darkness has been lit while you were dithering. You're standing in a very short hallway lined with a few other doors, with a small closet on one end, while the other opens up into a modest living room with a kitchenette on the other side. Whereas moments before, only a pair of simple night-lights cut through the gloom from each end, now a wide cone of light is cast on the living room's floor and ceiling from around the corner, brightly concentrated but just diffuse enough to make the rest visible.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, you quickly find the space is as oddly clinical and clean as Miho's room was. There are enough little touches that you can tell people live here, like a series of memos on the fridge, but nothing more than that. A cat climbing tower in the corner beside a sliding glass door (or what you assume to be one, though it is blocked by long vertical blinds reaching to the floor) seems to dominate the space just as much as the modest couch in the middle, or the massive, dusty flatscreen television it faces. Even less surprising is that Jijihime, dark coat now starkly visible in the light, seems to favor the couch to the tree, lounging upon it with an air of regality. The impression that this is her domain and her humans simply happen to live here, you suppose, may not really be inaccurate.

The source of the illumination turns out to be an open door off to the right, opposite the tall blinds. The carpeted floor ends at a step down to wood flooring, where Midori has just finished dutifully putting Miho's shoes into exact position beside the door. "I think this is an apartment building," she whispers as she straightens back up. "So I'm going to head down and take a look around the area. You can come with me, if you want?"

You're spared from an immediate response as Jijihime gets up from her seat and drops to the floor, heading towards the exit door with the specific gait of a cat trying to look indifferent, and you instinctively keep an eye on her, ready to stop her from getting into trouble.

Midori, meanwhile, fiddles with the doorknob and deadbolt, humming unhappily. "We don't have a key. Hopefully her parents won't notice if the door's unlocked…"

"I can stay in here and lock it behind you," you volunteer, trying not to sound too grateful for the excuse to split off. "Nel can take me back from here, and then you can call on them separately once you're done." You had briefly considered taking the train back to give yourself more time to think, but you're too anxious to get home as soon as possible, and following Midori around while she spends however long getting the lay of the land would only fray your patience further.

She pouts a little, but reluctantly nods. "That… makes sense, I guess. I'll see you later, then. I should get out of here before anyone sees me."

"Have a good night," You simply say, and she flashes an appreciative grin before finally shuffling out into the bright hallway outside. A streak of black in the corner of your vision alerts you, and you swiftly move to block your new kitty acquaintance from escaping after her with an outstretched foot. She mews angrily at you, but thankfully Midori slams the door shut before she can try again.

It's simple enough to lock both of the latches behind her, and you're once again left in darkness. Pressing down on your ring, soon enough another now-familiar door rises up along the wall nearby, leading into the same slightly gloomy office as usual. "Is she alright?" Nel asks the moment you step through, standing up behind their desk.

"I think so," you mumble with a shrug. "Kasai-san needs rest, and may need to go to the hospital tomorrow if she still feels bad? But it's probably fine. I hope. Kazane-san can fill you in better, once she's done."

"That is… concerning. We really must complete the team soon, then." They sit back down, deep in thought as they stare at the box once again. "You are all more vulnerable without the full benefits of an interconnected magical latt-"

You interrupt their rambling with a half-irritated wave, and get the impression of a sheepish wince. "Right, right, you all still have to sleep. We'll figure this out tomorrow." So saying, they summon another door for you, and you waste no time pushing it open to escape any further tangents.


After all the recent conversation and spying and running about, the somber silence of your room is downright blissful, and despite yourself, you take a moment to just sink down into your futon and go limp. Despite having wanted to just hurry up to this point all night, now that you are here, it is suddenly so very tempting to just blow off your obligations. You can ask your brother to wait another night, and if Death arrives, to tell her the same thing but slightly more rudely. Perhaps you will get another chance to talk tomorrow, and those corrupted spirits won't exactly be going anywhere soon.

Nonetheless, the annoyingly logical part of your mind reminds you that with everything else you've gotten yourself into, having another chance like this may not be something you can count on. It really is just best to do this now, instead of regretting it later. All that aside… If nothing else, you just miss your family. Exhaustion clings to you like cobwebs, dragging your ghostly form down, yet you somehow find the strength to push yourself upright again.

You spare a moment to consider detransforming to hide away that strange fruit in one of your unused desk drawers, but ultimately decide not to. Wherever your clothes have gone, it's probably safer there for the time being, and in all honesty, you don't want to have to try to have this conversation without the benefit of being perceived. With that decided, it's just a matter of teasing open your (normal) door, and creeping across the hall to knock softly on your brother's.

Kichirou opens it way sooner than you expected, and you realize with a pang of guilt that he has most likely been waiting for a while already. "I'm here," you whisper, and his shocked stupor is finally broken by an instinctive eyeroll in response.

"You really are, huh… Come in," he ushers you through, locking the door behind you. "Mom and dad are already asleep, but I have no idea how to explain this to them if they woke up for some reason." You absently nod in agreement as you take a seat in his desk chair, before realizing you still have no idea how to explain everything to him either, or how much you should.

For his part, Kichirou sits down at the edge of his futon, picking up that Werewolf Hunter volume from earlier and riffling the pages without looking at it. Instead he stares at you again, almost disbelievingly, and the close attention makes you squirm in place somewhat. Still, despite clearly being a bit worn out after a long school day, and his shaggy slate hair is messier than usual, you note with some relief that something in his posture feels less… deflated, you guess, than when you watched him at the train platform. He opens his mouth a few times, and you can almost sense the questions swirling, but he doesn't say anything yet, simply watching you as if half-expecting you to vanish again in a puff of smoke.

Glancing about to stall, you find his room as a whole looks much like you last remember; a disorganized array of manga, old half-completed homework, clothes, and anime merchandise and game cases all scattered about with little rhyme or reason. There is a clear path between the door, futon, and desk, but otherwise you have no idea how he finds anything in here. It isn't trashy by any means, but it certainly used to make you recoil a little, whenever you deigned to enter his territory. Now though, after the past few days, and especially after the oddly sterile mirror of it you saw in Miho's abode, it just feels comfortable in a strange way.

"So," he finally gets out, breaking the stretched silence between you two, "maybe this isn't really happening, but if it is… what's going on?" After a moment, he raises an eyebrow. "Also, what's with your dress?"

You sigh. Despite all the stalling, you're still not sure how to start, but you're now committed to this either way. He's sitting up attentively, awaiting your response, and there is no more putting this off; you need to decide what you are going to say, and how.

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