Magical Girl Phantom Ascension

[SpoopyGhost]

Eyes widening, you fix the nurse with a suspicious glare as you step closer. She just looks back innocently. "Well, I'll be closing the door, now!" she announces, Daisuke nodding gratefully. Taking the hint, you step through before she shuts it, leaving you in the hall with she and your already-departing companions. Something is clearly up here, and you're still not in a position to transform and warn them of your suspicions. Besides, it may not be a bad idea to follow her. She could have simply misspoke… you honestly doubt it, but you still want to make sure.

And so it is that you turn and follow her down the hall, in the opposite direction Midori and Pallavi are headed. At first nothing seems odd, but after passing a few doors, she glances back over her shoulder, and picks up her pace. You glance back as well, but it's just the usual assortment of doctors and a few other visitors also making their way back to the front elevators. You speed up in turn, and she shifts to all-but-jogging through the hall, dodging around a thicket of people to slow you down. You're relentless, though, and do your best to regain lost ground as she turns the corner, suspicion turning into outright anger.

There's another bank of lifts up ahead, with one already open and waiting; she quickly dashes in and hurriedly smashes a button to close the doors on you. You don't even bother stopping, running straight for the doors in hopes of wedging through, focused solely on catching her without any higher thought. The opening is already shut as you close in, but you don't even care, slamming full-tilt into them -

And so you're caught off guard when you rush right through and into the open elevator shaft. Sickening vertigo pushes away your singlemindedness as you fall down, clipping painfully against a beam on the opposite wall, and in the moment of pain, fall through the ceiling of the elevator itself and land face-first on the floor, making the lift judder a tad - though that may just be dizziness from the blow.

By the time the pain clears enough for you to regain your feet, the nurse has already left and the doors are closing again. This time you're able to stop them, roughly slapping the trigger to make them reverse direction as you stagger through. You're in a sub-basement, the friendlier atmosphere of the floors above replaced by cold concrete and harsh fluorescents, but you barely process much more than that as you scan for any sign of your target. She's disappearing around a corner a little ways down to your left, and you rush to pursue again.

Turning into the narrower side hall, you see it runs diagonally downward quite a ways before leveling out and widening again, ending at a bigger loading dock door. There's another door up against the side wall, though, a fancy gold-embossed thing that seems out of place against the sparse surroundings. The nurse is stepping through as you run down towards her, smirking and sipping from another juicebox as she watches you. At the last second she's engulfed in (or rather, replaced by) tangerine-tinted black smoke and shadows, and then the door slams shut behind her, the lock turning with an audible click.

You slam into the door a mere millisecond too late, the frame flattening out and the edges beginning to fold in on themselves like origami, until nothing is left and you're facing a blank concrete wall. "NO!" You shout, punching the space it had just been, but all you get is more pain for your trouble.

Taking a moment to calm down, you think things over. You know this wasn't Nelchael, but it's obviously someone of their same race. Maybe they could provide some insight into this… but you might not get any useful answers, if this is some sort of setup. It might be more prudent to tell Midori and Pallavi, but then you might have to explain to the latter why you were here and chasing the 'nurse' in the first place. Maybe you could just keep it to yourself and investigate further on your own before sharing anything, just in case there's something you're missing here. Though with your present state, it would be difficult to ask the hospital staff about the suspicious nurse, so any such investigation would require more indirect tactics.

You make your way back upstairs, (thankfully this sublevel is almost deserted, so nobody is around to see you pushing elevator buttons) pondering your next course of action. Unfortunately, you don't see any point in sticking around here, so make your way back around to the lobby and outside, glancing up and down the city street. Midori and Pallavi are long gone by now, of course, likely back at Nel's office. With that in mind, you return to the alleyway from earlier and tap your ring, leaning against a wall as you wait and wondering vaguely why you aren't falling through.

Soon enough, another door rises up from the ground, and Nel steps through. "Varma-san is still in there," they whisper to you, "So I'll have to act like this is a false alarm, alright?" You nod and step through as they loudly announce something inane about raccoons, and slink into the far corner. You watch the discussion intently, but troubled thoughts continue to swirl in the back of your mind.

"Anyway," Midori says as Nel closes the door again, "After that a nurse came by to tell us visiting hours were up, so we didn't get to hear any more details."

Nel nods. "I see. Still, we now know this was premeditated. It means we have a culprit to look for; this isn't just a random occurrence."

Midori lets out a sigh, counting on her fingers as she offers a rebuttal. "On the other hand, we still have no clue who this person is, what their motives are, how they're transforming these people in the first place, or why these specific victims were chosen."

"Well, I think there may be a pattern to the last one, though a sampling of only three means it's by no means certain." Nel says. "First of all, all three victims are extremely physically healthy, unusually so. This man is on the older side, but keeps fit, and while the other two were less dramatic cases, they too boasted a lack of significant illnesses or conditions. Secondly, all three seemed to be alone at the time of transformation. It made it easier for them to be dealt with undetected, but also for our culprit to get at them in the first place."

"Maybe they don't want witnesses any more than we do?" Pallavi suggests.

"Possibly, yes." Nel agrees. "While the first monster did get seen by some before it could be contained, since it was so unexpected, that was only after a great deal of wandering from its initial position. The subsequent ones both went largely unnoticed despite being in densely populated areas, because they were transformed late at night when very few humans would be out and about. If this continues, we can likely expect it to occur in that same time frame."

Pallavi's intrigued expression turns into a concerned grimace. "I'm a heavy sleeper; this could be a bit difficult to get used to."

"Don't worry," Midori says, smirking in amusement, "You can just catch up on sleep during classes!" Pallavi's horrified expression in response finally breaks through your troubled mood, and you snicker a bit as Midori facepalms. "I was joking, joking."

"Anyway," Nel speaks up again, "If that's all, I'll let you both go for now. Hopefully we can find further clues soon, and put a stop to this before anyone gets truly hurt."

They nod in agreement, and a few summoned doors later, make their exits. You're left to approach Nel's desk, still feeling pensive. "Why did you return later?" They simply ask, curious and excited rather than judging as you expected. "Did you find something else?"

How much to say?
> Talk about the nurse (Nel may be able to identify them, one way or another…)
> Make something up (You just fell behind by accident, nothing special, sorry…)

Where to go?
> Home (You want to take some time to relax before something else comes up…)
> Follow Midori (To perhaps discuss with her how things went...)
> Follow Pallavi (Maybe you can learn a little bit more about her…)
> Write-In

 

[SpoopyGhost]

October 31, 2017
10 Months Before Death

Your name is Yukimura Kikuko. You are an average high school girl, alive and well, albeit a bit absentminded. You love to draw, but you've opted out of joining the art club; you have little interest in dealing with other people and even less interest in dealing with one person in particular.

However, there is one social gathering relevant to your school life that you've been looking forward to with genuine excitement rather than apathy or dread. As an excuse to exercise your other big passion, the Halloween party is an interesting time where your mundane fellow students briefly transform into an interesting menagerie of supernatural creatures and popular manga and anime characters. You love seeing what people come up with, and it's an excellent opportunity to exchange tips and ideas with sewing club members without being pressured into joining.

But what has you most excited is the costume competition. You've put perhaps a little too much thought and effort into yours, in fact to the point of hiding how much thought and effort went into it. You grin again, feeling the bundled fabric in your bag. You're ready for this.

It's early evening, the sun having just sunk below the horizon, so the sky is still bright. Students are filing in the front doors; some already dressed while others have yet to change. The contrast between fantastical and mundane is more surreal than the fantastic elements on their own, and you struggle to comprehend the sight of the school's top baseball player chatting casually with a red-skinned Oni, and similarly bizarre juxtapositions.

Deciding that the crowd is too much for you, you turn away to loop around to the back entrance. A few others seem to have gotten the same idea, though you quickly see why it isn't being as used nearly as frequently; leaning against the wall a little ways down, cigarette burning bright against the long shadows, is Akashi Hotaru. The delinquent doesn't seem to notice or care as students occasionally sneak by to get to the doors as if stealing from a dragon's horde, but you see her eyes tracking everyone that passes.

There is one surprising exception to the rule, however. "No costume, Akashi-san?" Some scrawny boy addresses her, his boldness and vaguely insulting tone offset by how he keeps several feet of distance between them.

Hotaru just grunts. "I'm the scariest thing here, Daido-san, and we all know it." The boy just laughs, unphased. He quickly becomes phased when she jolts toward him, and he stiffly speeds away back to the main crowd. Hotaru watches him go with a sneer, giving you an opening to slip past.

And that's why you didn't join the art club.

However, with that ordeal done, you successfully make your way into the shoelockers and quickly change yours; then, it's upstairs to find one of the classrooms unlocked for boys or girls to change in. It takes a bit of searching, but you manage to find one with only a couple of girls present, (half-dressed and swooning over a photo of a boy on their phone, to your confused amusement) claiming the opposite corner to unfurl your minimalistic masterpiece.

You'd decided to use your naturally pale features to your advantage, sewing together a white dress with carefully hand-ripped tattered sleeves and bottom edge, that subtly shifts towards pale grey at the collar. It's actually comprised of three layers of extremely thin, translucent fabric, thus your reluctance to risk wear and tear by wearing it on the walk, but the effect is worthwhile, giving you an ethereal appearance. Each layer also has stitched patterns in narrow purple thread; abstract independently but which come together just right to give the impression of blowing winds and snowflakes. A more noticeable embroidery runs along the bottom edge of the dress, a Celtic pattern in thick violet thread. For the finishing touches, you're wearing grey stockings and elbow gloves beneath, and have put on makeup to make your face ever so slightly paler than it already was, and purple lipstick and eyeshadow to bring out your eyes. You consider tying your hair up, but decide to leave it loose, brushing some of it forward to hide your face a bit, but otherwise no changes are necessary, letting the natural silver coloring do all the work.

Stopping to admire yourself in the reflection of the windows, you suppress a grin at how the other two girls are now staring at you in awe. All in all, you think you make a perfect phantom.

~~~ .oO◯Oo. ~~~​

After that, it's back downstairs, and into the indoor gymnasium situated on the far end. The party passes in a blur of loud music, sugary drinks, and trying to show off your costume without actually talking with anyone too much. You're already feeling a headache coming on, tired from the constant stress of interactions, so you finally decide to duck into the Haunted House for a breather.

Hosted in what's usually the gymnasium's equipment storage, the members of an… occult club? have somehow transformed the wide space into a dark and claustrophobic maze, with all sorts of legitimately disturbing sights and scares waiting around every corner. You're not sure you have it in you to make the run, frankly, but you hope you can at least find a decently isolated corner and just sit for a little while.

You step carefully through the darkness, but it isn't long before a decaying zombie shambles out to block your way, with worm-infested intestines spilling from a slashed gut. You jump in surprise and shudder at the convincing outfit, but when you try to pass, the clammy hand that lands on your shoulder feels a little too real.

"Yes, you're very frightening. Now please excuse me…" The zombie doesn't let go, and now you're starting to feel legitimately scared. "Okay, seriously, stop."

Instead, it takes a step forward, pushing you back a bit. "What are you doing?" Your heart is pumping a little too fast, breaths short and sharp and misting in the chill air. "Please, stop this now, it's not funny anymore!" The zombie just continues to advance, looming over you more and more. You try again to brush around it…

A moment later you collide with the black divider wall, roughly shoved back by the monster. You charge forward, but an outstretched palm pushes you down on your rear. Looking up at the tall creature of undeath, suddenly noticing how very detailed it's decaying appearance is, and that the maggots in it's guts are squirming individually, you do the only thing you can think of - scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! NOOO, DON'T EAT ME!"

The zombie stops abruptly, head tilting, before it sheepishly sighs. "I went too far, didn't I? Sorry about that…"

Even under your makeup, all color drains from your face as you stare up, stark terror giving way to something else entirely. "What."

~~~ .oO◯Oo. ~~~​

"So yeah, that's basically what happened," the zombie explains, shame written across her now-unmasked face.

"I'm sorry about this, once again," Hanako says to you, giving said zombie a light smack on the forehead for emphasis. "This is after I specifically told you, Miyako-san, not to go overboard with the scariness. We want this to be fun, and most people don't have the same tolerance for that kind of thing as we do. Ugh, I knew the animatronic intestines were a mistake."

You're sitting around a table, in a small part of the haunted house set aside for the club members to take breaks from the maze. Mikuru Hanako, your upperclassman and the occult club's leader, is a dark-haired girl wearing a somewhat scandalous-looking vampire costume, (and confusingly, a cute kitty-ear headband that clashes in tone with the rest of the outfit) while the zombie is Miyako, an auburn-haired girl with a well-known interest in the macabre even outside the confines of the club.

At least she has the grace to look apologetic, though, the pitiful expression undercutting your anger just enough to keep you from saying anything regrettable. You remain stubborn, though, arms crossed as you glare over your upturned nose at your assailant. "So why did you go that far?" You demand harshly, ignoring the pang of sympathy as she flinches.

"You're always so… distant, and cold, so when I saw you coming, I guess I figured it might do you some good to loosen up a bit. I didn't mean to start pushing you around, though. I just wasn't really thinking, went overboard with it. I really, truly am sorry!"

You hold your position for a moment longer, before finally relenting. "I guess I have no choice but to forgive you. My dress didn't get ruined or anything, so it's fine."

Miyako sighs in relief, and Hanako looks on with a grin. "Thank you for understanding. Feel free to hang out here as long as you need."

"Actually, I'd better just get out of your hair now, if that's okay. I don't want to miss the costume contest."

"Alright," Hanako says with a nod. "Just follow me, then." You retrace the path out of the maze, Hanako avoiding any further jumpscare spots. You wouldn't find them nearly as effective now, honestly, but neither do you have the patience for any further shenanigans, so you don't say anything about the handholding approach.

"Good luck with the contest," Hanako says out of the blue. "I saw some really good costumes earlier, so it's going to be a close one." You hmm in acknowledgement but don't respond otherwise, and she scrambles to fill the silence. "Yours looks really good, though. Ghost, or a Yuki-Onna?"

"A little bit of both," you admit. "And... thank you, for this whole… thing."

"Don't worry," she says, placing a hand on her chest proudly. "I may not be good at much, but I can at least look out for my kouhai."

Another turn later, and you're back at the entrance, the muffled noise of the crowd growing more intense again. Hanako gives you a parting wave and a smile, and you nod in response. As you head back into the fray, you find yourself wondering what's with her kitty headband…

~~~ .oO◯Oo. ~~~​

After some further mingling, you take another break, this time in the more sensible location of a set of bleachers along one wall, opposite the stage. There's only one other person there, and you chuckle in amusement; the costume consists of a basic bedsheet draped over them, with small holes cut through for eyes and a mouth. Underneath the sheet they have a pair of cheap sunglasses to hide their eyes. The mouth hole, meanwhile, has some pinkish stains around it, and the cups of punch stacked beside them provide the likely cause.

"Looks good," they say apropos of nothing as you take a seat a few feet away. "Your costume, I mean."

"Thank you," you say. "Yours… isn't bad either. Simplicity has its charm, right?" Ugh, that was stupid, why did you say that? They could probably smell the awkwardness in your tone.

"Honestly, if I had the means, I would have done something fancier," the other ghost replies. "I'm envious of those with yen easily on hand for this sort of thing."

"My family is hardly rich or anything," you protest. "I had to work over the break in order to afford all of this."

They just sniff dismissively. "Don't care. You live on this side of the railroad tracks, you're rich, to me."

"Well, I'm sorry," you say, feeling a little defensive. "Maybe I could help you make it together, or something, would that be better?"

Though you meant it to sound like a dumb suggestion, they lean their head back, looking somehow melancholy through those cheap sunglasses. "Wouldn't that be something," they mutter wistfully.

You don't know how to respond, so you simply opt not to, and silence falls between you two, as you watch the milling crowd. The bedsheet ghost takes another sip of punch. You want some, but you don't want to ruin your makeup, and it somehow feels rude to ask in the first place after what they said.

"I wanted to go as Kairi Takahashi." They say again, abruptly. "the Voyager Kairi, that is." You already knew. "Unfortunately, even setting aside money concerns, it could never happen. I just… don't cut the right figure for that sort of thing."

You eye them. Under the bedsheet it's impossible to tell for sure what they look like, but it clings just enough that you can tell they're on the more slender side. "I don't know, it's probably not as bad as you think. Not that it should matter whether you're thin or not, anyway."

"That's not what I meant," they retort, but don't say any more than that. Another silence descends, broken this time when some boy runs up to hand you both little slips.

"Here, to vote for your favorite costume. Just write down who wore it, and hand these in at the stage."

After he leaves, your companion speaks up again. "Your name is Yukimura Kikuko-san, right?"

"Uhh, yeah." you mutter. "Why?" They wave their slip in the air, your name written on it when you weren't looking. "Oh, thank you."

"I don't think you'll win," they add, conversationally. "You've made it very clear the spotlight just isn't for you, and this is at least as much a popularity contest as it is about skill."

"Then why are you voting for me?" You ask, not sure how to take their words.

"Because if we're going by skill alone, you deserve to win."

You shift self-consciously, fiddling with your slip, before remembering you have to fill it out. You turn back to them, looking over the ratty bedsheet, the cheap sunglasses, and the stains from drinking punch through too small a mouth hole. "What's your name?" You ask, pen poised to write.

"Actually, I need to use the restroom," they say, standing up to leave. It was hard to tell before because of their slouch, but wow are they tall. "Drank too much punch." The excuse is solid, but their tone betrays the lie. You're not even sure they were trying to hide it.

Still, you simply nod silently, mildly disappointed but not much more than that. They begin picking their way down the bleachers, only to turn back toward you for a parting word. "By the way, all that stuff about being poor was a lie. I really just didn't care enough to put in any effort."

"Alright," you say, and watch as they finish their descent and bob through the throngs, in the direction of the stage rather than the hallway. On the way, they pass by a green-haired girl on the edge of the crowd, dressed as some sort of dark elf or dark fairy, who you realize is looking back up at you. You meet her gaze and tilt your head questioningly, but she just turns and vanishes into the crowd as well. Weird.

You mull over the conversation in your head, trying to think of who it may have been you were talking to, but eventually you have to admit you're not familiar enough with most of your fellow students to say for sure. Their voice was kind of husky, so you're not even sure if they were a boy or a girl.

Whatever.

The contest winners are announced a few minutes later, and true to prediction, you aren't even in the top ten. You do have to admit a couple of the winning costumes are genuinely impressive (a highly detailed mecha costume made from carved cardboard; and some angel with huge purple wings, a red dress, and white hair in a sidetail, whose giant size was achieved with stilt-boots under the dress) but most of them are merely okay, winning on account of who they're worn by.

It's disappointing, but you suppose you should have made more effort to talk to people earlier. Maybe you were a little too subtle with things, too... You drift off, already making plans for next year.

 

[SpoopyGhost]

No point in hiding this, you figure. "Well, I think so. As Kazane-san said, a nurse came to tell us to leave, but she was acting… strange, so I decided to follow her instead. In the basement, I saw her leave through a door."

"A door?" Nel stares at you blankly. "What's so strange about that?"

"I mean, a door. Like the ones you make. It disappeared behind her, and while she was walking through, she turned into a shadow, like you."

"Wait, are you saying…?"

"Yeah."

"But that wasn't me! I was talking to Shimizu-san." You facepalm at Nel's protests, "Finally convinced her to join, too. She's been stubborn." They sound a little proud of themselves at this, and your palm meets your face a second time.

"That's not what I meant. Let's try to focus, okay? The point is, I think the nurse may be our culprit, and is another shadow person like you."

"It may just be our contact in the hospital; that's how I knew Gushiken-san's name in the first place." Nel points out.

You hesitate a moment, but the memory of the nurse's smirk flashes in your memory, and you shake your head. "I don't think so, not with the way they were acting."

"If you say so," Nel shrugs. "It's at least worth looking into; I'll try to see if I can arrange a meeting with our contact, and you can tell me if they're the same person you saw."

"But…" You grimace, fist clenching, before sighing in defeat. "Fine, I guess. Thank you."

"I just don't want to jump to conclusions," Nel says. "Either way, thank you for taking the initiative there. Please don't take it the wrong way when I say I hope you're wrong, but if not, this could let us solve this incident much sooner." You simply nod. "Well, will that be all, or is there anything else?"

"I think that's it for now," You sigh, still a bit disappointed at their response, before another thought occurs to you. "Is it alright if you send me to Kazane-san? I wanted to talk to her a bit more."

"Uh, certainly," Nel says, and after a moment pulls up another door. "Sorry if this isn't what you wanted. Again, thank you for telling me." You simply nod in acknowledgement, and make your exit.

You find yourself in Midori's room again, though it takes a moment to realize it's the same place as last night; better-lit now, and with you coming in from the opposite direction, you're left a bit disoriented. Midori is leaning back at her desk, talking on the phone. "Yeah; like I said, sorry for being absent; something came up, but I think it's been resolved now. I'll be back like normal tomorrow."

You decide to take a seat on the edge of her bed, waiting for her to finish before announcing yourself. You make a point of trying not to listen in, but wind up catching her side of the conversation anyway. "No, I can't really tell you what it was. Just some family stuff; not a big deal, but still something better kept private." Another pause, and then she snorts with laughter. "No, it wasn't them. Trust me, that's never happening, and even if it somehow did, I wouldn't lie to you about it." The other person responds more quietly, and Midori rolls her eyes in response. "Well, don't you think you're being a bit too paranoid about this? Just trust me. I'll be there. Bye!" She hangs up too fast for a response, lightly tossing the phone down and shaking her head in bemusement. "Why are you like this?"

You're not sure whether to reveal yourself now or not, but she turns around before you can decide. "I saw that door appear; I know you're somewhere in here."

You transform, shrugging sheepishly. "Seemed like you were busy with something."

"Ehh, not really." She sighs, side-eyeing her phone. "Leader of my club was calling, wanted to know why I skipped out on today. Seems to be under the impression the Theatre club will snatch me up the moment he's not looking."

"Oh, the Botany club?" you guess, but she shakes her head.

"Nope, Wilderness Survival. We do some hiking and camping up in the hills sometimes. I do like to lunch on the roof, but gardening isn't for me either; I just have this way of making everything wilt if I even walk near it." She chuckles again, and you give an uncertain smile in response.

"Well, anyway," you change the subject, "I wanted to talk about the thing today. Also, Varma-san. What did you think of her?"

"Uh, sure." She tilts her head, then frowns abruptly. "Varma-san… she seems perfect." Somehow, the way she says it makes the descriptor seem more like an insult than anything, annoyance dripping from her words.

"How do you mean?" The venom doesn't quite seem warranted to you, but you're curious nonetheless.

Midori shrugs. "Just, we were talking on the way there and on the way back, and she's too perfect. Wealth, brains, beauty all going for her, and her attitude? She's a precious cinnamon roll, too good for this world, too pure. It's annoying. She's either legitimately that nice a person, in which case she's way too naive, or she's hiding something. I don't like it." She crosses her arms, looking annoyed to just be thinking about this again.

"I guess…" You're still not sure you agree with her indictment, but you have to admit it is an interesting perspective on the newcomer, something to keep in mind next time you meet with her. "Anyway, as for the meeting itself, did anything stick out to you?"

"Aside from what we already talked about back there, not really. The nurse was a bit weird; who on earth needs that many juiceboxes? Seriously. But the guy's story matches up with what we saw, so I've got nothing else." She shrugs. "Why, did you see anything?"

What do you say?
> Tell her too (Maybe she can help you in a way Nel can't right now)
> Don't tell her (Telling Nel is enough; no need to spread it around until you know more)

 

[SpoopyGhost]

You already told Nel, didn't you? But that didn't quite turn out like you'd hoped… And besides, so far you've been fairly honest with Midori, (outside of Death-related matters) haven't you? You bite your lip a bit, but ultimately give in. "Yeah. That nurse said for the 'three' of us to leave, remember?"

Midori frowned. "You're right, she did. I guess I just assumed she'd misspoken, but now that you mention it, that was really weird."

"Between that and being kind of strange in general, I went and followed them." You explain. "They saw me, and ran."

She blinks in confusion, before realization dawns, catching on to what's wrong with your statement. "She could see you?"

"Evidently. I chased them down into the basement; they became a shadow person and left through a Door." Midori thankfully catches on to your meaning much easier than Nel did, eyes going wide. "I already told Nelchael-san, but they weren't much help."

"Maybe they're working together," Midori suggests, glancing suspiciously down at her ring, but you shake your head.

"I don't think so. Nelchael-san doesn't seem like that kind of person."

"If you're sure," Midori acquiesces. Leaning back in her seat, she strokes her chin thoughtfully. "But this is still pretty serious. Did you hear the discussion after we got back?"

You nod in confirmation. "Most of it, yes. Why?"

"Well, if the nurse is behind this, she- err, they might be using the hospital to find their victims. Nelchael-san said all three were in really good health, right? If they're looking for people like that specifically, where else would they find the records to figure out who to go after?"

It's your turn to experience dawning realization. "Ooohhh…"

Midori nods, a cocky grin appearing. "So they have to have been around a lot recently. Even if they tried to Door in after-hours to look at the files, it would have been caught by security. More likely, they're posing as a nurse there regularly, so someone would have to have seen her. If I can find a way to get in and ask around, we might be able to learn more about them that way."

"The problem being the getting in part, if you aren't there to visit someone." You point out.

"Yeah, that could be difficult. Still, though, I think I can figure something out, in a couple of days." Both of you trade excited grins, and you can't help but feel a little bit more optimistic. It's not a sure thing any more than Nel's plan, but it feels a little more promising, somehow.

"It may not be a bad idea to tell Varma-san, too," you suggest, and she nods thoughtfully. "At least about the plan, anyway."

You both stare at each other for several moments more, before you realize the conversation's concluded; you've run out of things to talk about. Glancing down at your lap for a moment, you play with the fold in your dress again. Midori's eager gaze softens to a quieter smile, and she takes on a shyer posture. "Well, I guess that's it for now. What are you planning to do next? I suppose I should let you go…"

You open your mouth to respond, before realizing you hadn't thought that far ahead.

Where Are You Going?
> To the library (As reluctant as you are to revisit the site of your death, you want to look into some obituaries and news articles from the past...)
> To just wander a bit (You want to find somewhere secluded to practice again, and maybe even transform a bit to figure out your powers better, too...)
> Maybe you'll just stay a little while (If Midori is okay with it, you just want to stay here and take a proper break for a while, before the next crisis inevitably appears...)
> Write-in

 

[SpoopyGhost]

It takes a few moments to sort out your thoughts, struck by indecision. On one hand, it occurs to you to do some investigating of your own - you remember the shadowed entity you faced last night, that must at one point have been a student of your school. Perhaps there's merit in learning more about when they died, and if whatever it was that killed them is still a threat. Unfortunately, the records are all at the library, and you're… you're reluctant to revisit that place just yet.

On the other hand, it's also very tempting to just stay here. Today hasn't necessarily been as intense as the previous night, not by a long shot, but you've still had a lot of information and developments dumped on you in the past several hours. Even aside from that, you just feel emotionally exhausted. Your circumstances are starting to sink in now, but on some level you're fairly certain the dam is still waiting to break in full. You would love nothing more than to just stay and relax, making small talk with Midori and perhaps doing some sketching… But all the same, you can't quite bring yourself to ask; the way she's looking at you, the softness in her eyes, makes you squirm in discomfort. She would accept right away if you were to make the request, you can feel it, and it makes you feel intimidated and strangely guilty, though you're sure you've done nothing wrong. So no, as much as you're tempted to stay, you don't feel entirely ready for it, either.

So what else? You could go home, but it's still fairly early in the evening, so your family will likely still be up and about, eating supper and taking care of their nightly routines. Maybe you could just spend some time wandering around the city. Your rather… embarrassing performance during the chase with the nurse springs to mind, and it occurs to you that this could be a good opportunity to practice your abilities.

"I think I'm going to go and just spend some time walking around," you offer with a weak, uncertain half-smile. "It's still been a lot to adjust to; I want to clear my head." Midori looks disappointed, but nods all the same, and you once again clamp down on the strange guilty feeling. It's not technically a lie, just omitting a bit. If you said you were going to practice, after all, she might ask to come with, which would then run into the same problem as staying here would. You want to have some time to yourself.

~~~ .oO◯Oo. ~~~​

Of course, after you've said your farewells, detransformed, climbed out her window again, and wandered a fair distance, loneliness sets in; you're not sure whether to be amused or frustrated by your own indecision. You didn't used to have much of a problem with your social isolation, but neither were you completely cut off, either; your parents and little brother were often there if you wanted to talk to someone. Now even they're out of reach, leaving you with an airheaded alien bureaucrat and a classmate you're still ambivalent toward as your only company. Well, and Pallavi, though you can't exactly call on her just yet without it being weird. At any rate, your already-crippled social life has only been worsened by your death. The morbidity of the thought is strangely amusing; you crack a disbelieving grin and try to suppress the internal screaming.

Lost in your head, you don't realize how far you've gone until you arrive at the river. Running more-or-less diagonally through the city until ending up in the lake to the southeast, it's fed by several smaller streams and tributaries from the mountains all around. It's the main waterway you're at, though, and it strikes you just how far you've wandered. Here, the banks are fairly steep, leading from the street down to a narrow bike path far below, running directly beside the river. Off to your left is a rusted-brown but still powerful-looking suspension bridge, while further away to your right is a more modern-looking white arch-truss bridge with illumination from beneath. On the opposite shore, the buildings of downtown loom high to overlook both, the light from their many many windows reflected on the flowing water's uneven surface.

You glance about to make sure nobody's around to see you, before realizing that even if they were present, you're currently invisible. Facepalming, you take a stairway down the sharp slope to the bike path, and follow it under the older bridge. Sheltered beneath it and surrounded by support pillars, it seems like an excellent spot to practice for now; aside from some litter and a few rusting drum barrels half-embedded in the dirt since who knows how long ago, it seems surprisingly safe as well. So now, you just need to figure out what you're doing.

You decide to start simple, using the support beams as obstacles to practice walking through. Simple in theory, it proves stubborn in practice, and you waste a solid half-hour just trying to do this. Eventually, you end off just standing, leaning forward against the cold, flaky metal, forehead pressed into it as you glare in impotent frustration. "Please just let this work," you plead, but nothing happens.

"I hear it's said that 'trying the same thing over and over is a sign of insanity'," someone says behind you, and you slowly glance over your shoulder to see Death behind you. Of course. She's down on the bike path, seated atop her pale tan chopper from the first time you met, watching you with clear amusement. You don't even need to look to confirm that the skies are once again blood-red, the brown of the bridge supports turned grey. You're in her dimension once again, and it's still as utterly creepy as the times before.

"Well, dying hasn't exactly helped my mental health, you know," You respond coolly. "I'd love to see you do better."

She laughs, getting off the motorbike and doing some stretches. "Take it easy. Try not to think about your circumstances so much, just live in the moment. You may have better luck like that."

You were pretty good at living in the moment before, almost to a fault. You didn't really worry about the future much, and coasted through school, getting by without much effort while your real focus was on your ideas and artistic projects. In hindsight you probably should have given those matters more concern, given this was your last year…

"It's a bit hard to keep that up now, now that I'm involved in all of this," you mutter, crossing your arms and looking away, feeling surly. "Did you come here just to give me some life advice?"

"Actually, I had another task for you. Another Corrupted Spirit, though this one is fully developed. Just a poltergeist, thankfully."

You sigh, but nod acceptance. "Alright, where can I find it?"

Death chuckles, looking a bit sheepish. "Well, it's not something to be done right this second. It's in Mittsutakaihashi, so not exactly within walking distance. I'm telling you now so you can figure out travel arrangements, but you don't need to go until you're ready; tomorrow may be more suitable."

"I see." Mittsutakaihashi is the name of a tiny town way up in the mountains, a few dozen miles south of the city. As the crow flies, it's not a huge distance, but both roads and train lines wind among the peaks so much that it takes twice as long to reach as it should in theory. So this task would likely take at least three or four hours just in travel time round-trip, let alone the time spent hunting this poltergeist. "Thank you for letting me know."

Death nods, smiling. "Aside from that, I wanted to see how things are going for you. Is there anything you want to talk about, or any other questions you have?" It's still surreal to have the embodiment of Death itself asking these sorts of things. Still, today seems to have had a theme, so more inquiries certainly couldn't hurt.

What do you want to ask?
> Write-in

(Much like before, this vote will not be a competitive one. Just put the usual X before any and all questions you can think of, and they will all be counted. There may be some that can't be answered if Death doesn't know either, but don't let that discourage you.)

 

[SpoopyGhost]

Mulling things over, you glance back at the obstinate pillar you were leaning against, and your eyes narrow in impatience. "Sure, I'd be more than happy to take you up on that offer." At your tone of voice, she gives a nervous laugh, likely already regretting this. "If you could kindly spill, without being so cryptic, what the big secret of passing through things may be?"

Death shrugs sheepishly, looking away as she considers her answer. "Honestly, I don't know exactly how it works. What I do know, I know from conversations with other ghosts that had at least a little bit of time to experiment before I took them, and what I've observed from corrupted spirits."

"Wow, great," you mutter, throwing your hands up in exasperation. "Aren't you the helpful one today."

She just shrugged, starting to look a little irritated herself. "I can try to give advice, but it's something you're going to have to figure out yourself. Just, what I do know is that it's something easier to do when you aren't thinking so hard about doing it. Something along those lines."

You give a long sigh, letting your own frustrations out with it. You feel tired. "Alright, I'll try to keep that in mind. Sorry, It's just…"

She smiles easily again, waving off your apologies. "Don't worry, I understand. Anything else?"

You think a bit more, nodding slowly as something else comes to mind. "Well, if you don't know that much about it, is there anyone else I could talk to about ghost stuff? Maybe someone who could help me figure out the rules, how it all works. If this is what I'm bound by now, I want to know what I'm doing."

Tilting her head, Death tapped her finger to her chin. "Well, I can't just leave another ghost around to mentor you, especially since they probably wouldn't know any more than you do. And for those I've taken, I don't think I can bring them back, unfortunately. However, maybe you could look for someone still alive? I mean, I've taken many fake ghost hunters, but there are also legitimate Mediums out there in the world. If you could find one of them, they might be able to help you. Though those who do actually have a gift tend not to advertise it much, so it may be a bit tricky to locate one."

"Well, it's an option at least. Thanks." You nod to yourself, making a mental note to look into that later. Once again she mentioned taking people… "Wait, so, if you're Death, what exactly does that cover? Just humans?" You remember Nel mentioning the other worlds, and add "Sapient life in general? Or is it all life, including animals and plants and stuff?" And now just plain overthinking it, you recall some discussion from your science classes that you for once had paid attention to. "Or are you, I don't know, the embodiment of a broader sort of entropy?"

She blinks at you uncomprehendingly for a moment, before finally giving an embarrassed chuckle. "Nope, just humans. I think there are other psychopomps dedicated to different kinds of animals, and plants, and if there's anything living out on other worlds they probably have their own Deaths, but yeah, no, I'm actually not quite that omnipotent."

"Oh, huh." You suppress a bit of disappointment, then shrug and admit to yourself that it makes sense, since she does look human. "So does that mean you can take a vacation day or something?"

She just snorts and chuckles, shaking her head. "Only if there's a day when no people die, and given the world's current population, that just doesn't happen, unfortunately. Time passes in 'my' world much much slower than it does for you, but even then I tend to be kept busy running after everyone."

You nod thoughtfully. "But what if you took a day off anyway, just because? Would people just not be able to die, or…?"

Death giggles again. "Not quite. It would just end up with a bunch of people like you, hanging around as ghosts without being taken on. And well, I'd have a backlog again. Those aren't fun, not worth the trouble. Besides, I'm not even sure what I'd do with all that time!"

"So is there anything you like to do to unwind?" you ask again. "I mean, I'm not asking if you could hang out or anything, I'm just curious." You have no ulterior motives here, none.

She doesn't seem to agree, though, given the amused tilt of her brow. "Well, like I said I do like to talk to a lot of my passengers, when I'm ferrying them. When I have the time, I try to check in on certain things; even if I can't really influence them myself, it still helps to have some knowledge of what's going on in the living world outside of the circumstances of people's deaths. I also check in on the Corrupted Spirits to make sure they haven't gone out of bounds. And of course, now I've got you to talk to. I hope it isn't a bother."

You hesitate, but finally shake your head. "It's not a big deal." You still don't know how to feel about this whole thing, honestly, but at this point she's shaping up to be less of a hassle than some of the other things you've been stuck dealing with. She intrigues you, at the very least. "Anyway, on the subject of the corrupted spirits. You have me dealing with them now, but did you have to do it all before?"

"Well, sort of," she says, shrugging. "As I said last night, I can't really impact them directly myself, there's some metaphysical nonsense that sets them apart from normal ghosts. I can at least set a sort of barrier... or maybe more of a leash? to keep them from wandering too far from where they died, but that's unfortunately the extent of it. They're thankfully rare, and thankfully most tend to be in remote locations, but until you came along I had no way to really get rid of or save them. So, that's most of what I'll be asking you to do. Though you're limited a bit by geography, we can at least hopefully take care of some of the nearby ones. There's a fair few in this region alone I want to ask you to clean up, that seem to have shown up recently."

You bite your lip, wondering if you could convince Nel to door you further away to deal with more spirits, but you're still not sure how to explain it to them. You'd rather stay local for now anyway… And it sounds like there's a lot to deal with already. "I see. So, do you know how long that last one had been at the school, or when exactly they died?"

She looks away for a moment, frown slanting as she thinks to herself. "I'll admit, I don't exactly know how to tell time well, given this" she waves at the featureless red sky out past the bridge's underside, "But I do remember glancing at a calendar around that time it appeared, I think the year was… 2006, or maybe 2007? I'm not completely sure. It's not been there all that long, relatively speaking."

Your eyes widen in surprise; it was a full decade ago? Maybe not that long, but still more than you were expecting. If it took that long to develop, then what about… "Do you think this new spirit could have been created by the same person?" You ask.

"That one, I think, was from further back, maybe another ten years?" Death shrugs. "But it's entirely possible. Like I said, there have been a strange amount appearing around here in the past couple of decades, so a common cause behind it all makes the most sense."

You take that in, thinking aloud. "So in that case, what's the endgame for us? I didn't really get a good look at the killer when I was in that last one's memories, but maybe if I can learn more from this next one… If we knew who it was, I could find them and stop them. I don't want to just be freeing corrupted spirits until they die of old age or some nonsense."

Death nods. "We don't want them to take any more innocent lives, yes. It'll be dependent on catching them first, but perhaps you should put some thought into how to stop them once that's happened. Dark magic isn't to be trifled with lightly, and can hurt you even as a spirit."

The thought gives you pause, but you shake your head. "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I don't know what to expect from them, so there's no point in jumping to conclusions now." Pushing that aside, you return to the original subject. "Anyway, do you know where exactly I can find the spirit, when I go there? Easier to fight if there won't be other people around at the time."

"Oh, that at least shouldn't be a concern," Death explains, sounding more chipper. "I got it tethered in to where it died, an old abandoned mansion on the edge of town. You shouldn't have to worry about getting noticed; everyone already knows the place is haunted!" She laughs at her own joke, but you just give her another unamused stare until she stops. "You really are no fun, you know that?"

You just shrug brusquely. "Yeah, well, maybe it would be funnier if I wasn't dead, okay?" You try to suppress the upset feeling, but your tone is still far more defensive than you wanted. "Sorry, that was…"

Death fixes you with a concerned look, awkwardly patting you on the arm. "Don't apologize, that was on me. Sorry about that." Her touch is cold, and you shiver involuntarily.

"Let's just move on," You suggest. Mentally reviewing the conversation, something else sticks out to you. "Wait, so you've been around for… basically forever, yes?"

"Are you calling me old?" She says almost reflexively, before looking to reconsider the joke. "Essentially, yeah. Though things were… different, in some ways. Why do you ask?"

"Then in that case, what do you remember about the Ruling, and the Emperor?"

"The Emperor?" She tilts her head in confusion. "There have been lots of emperors throughout history, really. I never even got all of their names. What, is this for some sort of history assignment?"

You frown in frustration. "Okay, umm… When we talked in the graveyard, you acted like these shadow people have only started showing up recently. But when I talked to Nelchael, the one who recruited me, they said they've been around for ages. Were you just being cagey, or is there something not lining up here?"

Her eyes go wide in sudden surprise. "Oh," she says softly, "That Emperor. I didn't think you would know about that. Sorry."

"Well, I do," you shrug, "but not much. I was wondering if you could tell me more." She frowns, gaze distant, and abruptly turns away from you to walk back to her motorcycle. "Hey, what are you-?"

"I remember that it happened," she interrupts, stopping in place but still looking away. "I remember… collecting lots of people. I remember a fortress, a seven-spoked crown floating in the sky... But it's strange; there are a lot of… blanks." She clutches her arms and shivers. "I don't remember. Why wouldn't I remember?" She finally turns back to you, with a strangely vulnerable expression. "This is why I don't like to think back on it. Because something happened then, and I don't remember. What could even cause that?"

Shaking her head, she bites her lip. "Sorry, but I can't really help shed any light on it. Even the parts I do remember, it's mostly just chasing after the freshly-deceased. Just life and death as normal. I wasn't as much of a talker back then, and the people weren't much interested in sharing, either." She straddles the chopper, crossing her arms across the handlebars and resting her chin on them, expression troubled as she glances across the river. "That's about it."

Your earlier frustration falls away, replaced by a strange feeling of discomfort as you watch her face. You want to reassure her somehow, but you can't help but be reminded that it's death you're talking to, and so keep to yourself. "It's fine," you say, though it's not, and change the subject again. "Well, even if that's all weird, there's still the rest of history. What can you tell me about Magical Girls in general, at least?"

She at least perks up at that, sitting back upright and grinning at you, even if it doesn't entirely reach her eyes. "Well, they've been around basically since pre-history, as you evidently already know. The world was kind of a mess after the Ruling ended, so there were a lot of them running around dealing with all the… stuff… that got unleashed after the Ley Lines got flooded. But since then things kind of slowed down; usually it would be like, decades at a time between when teams got formed. Though there was this mess in Europe, when a bunch of dragons got unleashed. Raised hell for everyone at the time; I had to collect a lot of dumb knights who thought their little swords and axes could stand up to literal giant fire-breathing lizards from an entirely different world. It was the Magical Girls of the time that actually got rid of them, of course, though it was still a really public thing. I bet the Shades are glad people think it's all made up, nowadays."

You stare blankly. "Wait, dragons were real?" Death smirks, clearly enjoying your reaction, but you just feel your knees going weak. "Well okay, that is… that is a thing. I'll just count myself lucky I'll never have to fight one myself, and uh, and let's move on."

She nods. "Silver linings are important! Was there anything else you wanted to know?"

"Well, just like, recently. Nel said they've been having to make new teams more frequently. Is that accurate?"

Death nods in agreement. "Yeah, I've noticed it too, in a way. A lot more weird incidents, a lot more magical girls. It's been ramping up over the past half-century or so, I'd say, maybe a bit more. Nowhere near the level it was at back when the Ruling ended, mind you; if things were that bad, everyone would notice. Still, it is strange, and has me worried."

"Hopefully it won't be my problem," you mutter to yourself, and ignore her raised eyebrow.

"For what it's worth, almost all of these incidents have been bloodless. My perspective on things is incredibly limited, because if nothing else, Magical Girls are really good at their jobs. That's part of why I still don't know much about the Shades; I'm rarely ever collecting anyone when they happen to be around, and even when I am, the death has nothing to do with whatever magical things are happening… There have been exceptions, of course," she admits, hesitating before brushing it aside with a cheerier grin. "But at least they just prove the rule, right?"

"...Right." You nod in acceptance. You feel like you're missing something yet, but despite doing your best to formulate more questions, nothing else comes to mind. "Well, thank you, for all of this. It helps a little bit." She still seems troubled somehow, and you reach up to pat her on the shoulder without thinking. It's only when you make contact that you freeze up, remembering just who this is, but she doesn't seem to notice.

Instead, she flashes you a wide smile, leaning back and revving the engine. "I hope you can figure out your issue with going incorporeal, and don't forget about Mittsutakaihashi!"

And before you can respond, you're deposited back in the normal world; the sky dark once again as a cold breeze disturbs the grass at your feet. You stare blankly at the spot Death had just been, before dropping your outstretched arm with a sigh; feeling both freshly enlightened, and utterly mystified. It's hard not to feel overloaded, as you think back on everything that's happened; today alone has been filled with more information, more radical redefinitions of how you understood the world, than the entirety of your life before now. Taking a seat in the middle of the sidewalk, you look out over the river and just try to let it all parse together.

Spoiler: Accompanying Music

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYkxnueEhVc

The past; the Ruling, the Emperor's overthrow, and the shift in Magical Girls' purpose from oppressors to saviors. A thousand centuries of secrecy, a strange sort of benevolence born from guilt. All of human history developing as untouched as possible, despite some unavoidable leaks. All with Death watching from her vantage point both omnipresent yet deeply limited.

The present; you, Midori, Pallavi, and others you have yet to meet, and a missing ring. Strange happenings throughout the city, and the possibility of another of Nelchael's people causing some of it. The corrupted spirit in the school, and another up in the mountains. And your family, so close, but so far away.

The future; so many things you don't know how to resolve. These incidents with so much still unknown, and their apparent growing frequency on a larger scale. Death's missions for you, and all that may entail. And your uncertain place in the world now that you're deceased. Even if you can solve all of these magical problems, what would you do afterward?

But even as you think back on everything, you find your mind wandering elsewhere. Perhaps it's just tiredness or overload, but it all just falls away the more you chase it. Lying back and feeling the grass cushion your head, you stare at the bridge to one side, and the starry sky on the other. You close your eyes, and with a cold breeze rippling off the river, remember another starry night.

It was winter, your breath becoming clouds in front of you. You were bundled up in your coat and layers of blankets, lying back in a folding chair set down in the snow. The lights of the city were spread out below you, while behind you, your parents' car rested in darkness, turned off to avoid disturbing the view. On either side in chairs of their own, your mother, eyes soft as she pointed out particular stars of interest, and your father, holding your younger brother on his lap, both of them bundled so tight they looked like a cocoon with faces.

And above, a gorgeous tapestry of diamonds against the darkness, so much brighter, so much clearer, and far far more plentiful than those you see in the present. As you watched, a chilly breeze blew, and slowly, ghostly curtains began to fade into view. Your mother fell silent, grinning widely, and your small self realized why she'd woken you all to come here in the middle of the night. You watched in awe as the billowing trails of light grew brighter and more vibrant, showing in violet, seafoam, pink, and coral, filling the sky; and felt both deeply moved, and yet just... content.

Opening your eyes again, you stare at the dimmer night sky half-blocked by the bridge, but now you find, somehow your heart isn't aching of loss. For possibly the first time since you died, you feel just… content. The worries of past, present, and future all take a backseat for a short moment, while you allow yourself be at peace. Without even thinking about it, you stand up once more, affording your surroundings only a brief glance to check for onlookers, before activating your ring to transform.

It feels different this time, or maybe you're just letting yourself feel it more. Either way, it seems to take longer than usual, and you watch as your outerwear melts away in a wave of sparkles, long boots closing around your legs and lacing themselves up. An arctic wind blows, but you feel refreshed rather than chilled, hair billowing up in its wake. The Aurora Borealis themselves come down from that gorgeous night sky in your memories, unraveling into impossibly thin silk threads of energy that weave themselves back together into a now-familiar dress around you. A flurry of snow rises in a cyclone around you, then disperses just as quickly, leaving behind the white vest and hip-sash. Finally, you hold out your arm, and a lengthy narrow icicle materializes in your hand, reshaping itself into a long polearm before the ice shatters, leaving behind the same form in steel and inlaid purple jems.

After a moment's pause, you step down the slope to the water's edge. You watch the waves lap up against your boots, and nod. Then with a graceful spin, you whirl in place, blade trailing outward, and plant your naginata into the ground. Instantly, everything freezes. The river ices over and the grass becomes encased in frost, an expanding circle with you as the epicenter. The air temperature drops sharply, the moisture solidifying into flurries of snow, but somehow you just feel warmer for it. The ice reaches the bridge supports and encounters resistance, fracturing upward, and you pull the blade free to stop it. Instead, you wave it slowly through the air, watching light trail behind it and understanding now what it is, why the coral and violet hues feel so comforting.

And you smile.

~~~ .oO◯Oo. ~~~​

As a girl drags herself home, feeling tired and overwhelmed but having found a measure of peace despite that, elsewhere, those with darker designs plot and prepare…

A shadowed figure rests in darkness, surrounded by gilded doors, sipping a juicebox and planning their next move…

A woman of inhuman beauty waits in the center of her plentiful night-garden, humming as she shears excess branches from the bushes, waiting for confirmation from her messengers...

A robed man steps into an abandoned quarry, casting a critical eye at the dark holes in the rock, before pointing with purpose, and his followers wordlessly jump to comply…

On a midnight train, a passenger rests, all alone in her car. She is disturbed as a pair of boys step in and attempt to flirt, but she simply glances at them, and they immediately turn and leave, silently vowing to forget what they just saw in her eyes…

In his study, a politician reads over his recently-finished speech, before nodding to himself in satisfaction, confident that his cause is righteous...

In a deep cavern untouched by sun in eons, a massive shape breathes softly, eyes closed as it dreams, remembering fire and poison gas, remembering glorious purpose...

And in the twisted depths of another plane of existence, something waits. The time is drawing near, and its desire, its hunger, grows ever stronger…

End Of Episode 2​

 

[SpoopyGhost]

Episode 3: One Step Forward, Best Foot Back​

The next morning finds you feeling less content, as again rediscovering your ghostly state and recalling all the chaos and revelations thrust upon you, proves an effective killer for your positive mood. Sighing, you get your futon in order and glance out the window; it's mid-morning again. And once again, you're left pondering your next move.

Your Next Move?
> Write-In

 

[SpoopyGhost]

You're honestly not sure what to do at first, with the only reasonable courses of action that come to mind being talking to Nel or talking to Midori. The former would probably be more productive, but after yesterday you're not feeling keen on any more exposition… So Midori it is; even if you're not sure what you'll talk about, at least she might be able to help you figure it out.

After another quick breakfast downstairs, you attempt to make your exit by passing through the front door, which quickly fails. You may have figured out your magical girl abilities last night, but it seems the ghost end of things still needs work. Thinking back to what Death told you last night, you frown in frustration; how can you do something by not thinking about doing it? Nonsense. Still, instead of walking headlong into a solid object for hours, you once again resort to clumsily clambering out a window.

Yesterday, when you went to the school, the average surroundings of your neighborhood had felt uncomfortable after the strangeness of everything else occurring. This time, though, you revel in the normality, enjoying the bright sunlight, familiar houses, and lack of anything happening. The walk goes quickly like this, perhaps even a little too much so, and soon enough you find yourself approaching the school's front doors again. Think about something without thinking about it, huh? You decide to put that to the test…

Oh wait, no, one of the teachers is coming around the side of the building, rolling his eyes as he tosses a pack full of cigarettes in a nearby trash bin. "One of these days," He mutters irritably as he pushes the door open; taking advantage of the opportunity, you slip in behind him, just narrowly avoiding brushing against him as you do so.

It seems you've arrived in the middle of lunch period this time; a few students are dotting the halls, some armed with brown bags and bentos, others making their way to the cafeteria. It doesn't take you long to make your way up to the roof, (thankfully the door at the top of the stairwell is already propped open) and sure enough Midori is there - albeit with the members of the Botany club also present this time; some also eating, while others already have their hands in the dirt. Midori is seated near the stairwell away from everyone else, but you definitely can't transform to talk like last time.

Instead, you simply take a seat on the bench next to her, and gently tap her shoulder. She glances up sharply with a venomous expression, but after a moment of confusion, she relaxes and slumps back down again. "You here? Write on my back." she whispers out the corner of her mouth. One of the club members shoots her a curious glance, but she just smiles easily. "Nothing, nothing! I was just enjoying my food, please don't mind me." She picks up a bit of noodle to illustrate, and the boy just shrugs and turns back to his weeding.

Suppressing an amused giggle, you do as instructed, tracing out a quick message; I'm here. Let's talk somewhere else. Nodding in agreement, she quickly packs up her bento again, before standing up with a long stretch, and makes her way toward the staircase. You follow close behind as she makes her way down to the fourth-floor hallway, striding slowly but purposefully as she glances through windows in search of an empty classroom. However, she comes to an abrupt halt, making you bump into her back before you can stop yourself; glancing over, you realize your reflection is showing in the glass. Right. You give a quick, shy wave, and she smiles wistfully. (The boy and girl eating inside give her a confused glance, and she quickly shakes her head and moves on.)

It doesn't take long to find an unused spot, and she holds the door open to let you in before locking it behind her. "Don't transform," she says, "Remember, Nel didn't want you doing that here." Instead, she pulls her class notebook and a pencil from her pack, tossing them on a desk before flipping it open to the back page. "You can write on this. What's up?" Dragging another desk around front of it so they're facing each other, she opens up her bento again, apparently not one to let a ghostly visitation interrupt her meal.

Taking a seat, you pick up the pencil and put it to the page, before hesitating. You didn't have much of a plan in coming here, and now you're not really sure what to say. After a long moment, you finally just scratch something out. Nothing much. Wanted to ask if anything else has happened.

She shrugs, leaning her head back as she sips another noodle. "I've just been here like normal. Can't really do anything yet with school and all, and nothing else urgent has come up… Though, wait, there was this!" Digging around in her pack again, she produces a small envelope. "Nelchael did visit me this morning, and asked me to give you this if you decide to come to me first." She pushes that over to you, before glancing down shyly. "I mean, I'm assuming you're talking to me first, right?"

I am. Thank you for the letter. You write out, deciding not to comment on her blush; instead turning your attention over to the envelope. Ripping open the top and turning it over, a short note and two photos fall out. With Midori trying not to look like she's looking over curiously, You start with the note, obligingly laying it out flat to read together.

This is NelchaeΓ. I didn't want to disturb you last night, as you were already asleep, so I'm giving this to Kazane-san to pass along. Since there don't seem to be any emergencies for the time being, I wanted to ask for a favor from you, if at all possible. Attached are two photos, taken at the same time, in different parts of the city.

Click to shrink...

Turning the photographs upright, you examine them curiously. The first appears to have been taken from some bushes by the side of a road, focused in on a man in a clean-cut suit crossing the nearby intersection. It appears to be not too far from downtown; the buildings in the background are clearly on the older side, mostly brick-built, but still several stories each. The other photo is of a construction crew assembled together, smiling proudly by the front entrance of what must be a recently-completed building, with the southeastern lake visible behind them on the other side. A member of the crew has been circled in red; comparing it with the first, it doesn't take long to realize the two men are virtually identical, with only a strand or two of hair out of place. You cast a significant glance over at Midori - only to realize she can't see you, and is still looking at the pictures with a slight frown. You turn back to the letter.

One photo is of Nomura Yuudai, a man who moved up here from a small town all the way down in Okinawa approximately a decade ago, and has been working as a foreman to support a wife and child. The other is of Sakamoto Takuya, a small bookshop owner who lives with his sister; the two moved here from Tokyo about three years ago. Both have complete records and family histories as far as we can tell, and no relation to one-another, but their similarity is suspicious; one in several cases we've noticed of apparent clones arriving here.

If you are willing, I would appreciate if you could spend the day tailing one of them; given your invisibility as a ghost, you are in a unique position to spy on their daily activities and report anything suspicious. If so, I will leave the question of which to follow up to you, but I would recommend Sakamoto as the more recent arrival of the two.

I understand if such a course of action bothers you, however; humans tend to be prickly about privacy, so you certainly may choose to turn down this mission. Either way, I will be gathering you, Kazane-san, Varma-san, and Shimizu-san this evening, to speak to Sakamoto Takuya directly and try to assess him that way. Any additional insight you may be able to offer beforehand would be appreciated, but it is by no means mandatory. If you do accept, simply summon me, and I can send you where you need.

-MichacaxiΞoatl~NelchaeΓ

Click to shrink...

Leaning back in your seat, you glance over the photos again, then over at Midori. "Well, it's definitely something," she remarks, looking a bit irritable. "So we're all going to talk to this man tonight? Gonna have to explain what I'm doing out late again…"

After a bit of hesitation, you write in the notepad again; Inconvenient as it may be, at least we aren't fighting another monster.

"That is true," she agrees, glancing down at her side; you find yourself wondering if the bruise has healed any. Looking up at the clock, then over at you, she tilts her head questioningly. "I should finish eating before the period ends, don't want to be late to my next class. What about you? Are you going to go with this?" You look down at the letter contemplatively, recalling Death's task for you from last night, and weighing your obligations.

What Will You Do?
> Accept (You can spy now, meet up with the others later, and then take care of that poltergeist tonight.)
-> And spy on Nomura Yuudai (He's the better-established of the two and the less obvious choice, but you may still glean something from watching him.)
-> And spy on Sakamoto Takuya (He's a much more recent arrival, and Nel clearly finds him more suspicious. If nothing else, it may make the questioning later go more smoothly.)
> Refuse (The idea of spying on someone like this does bother you a bit, and you have other things to do.)
-> And go to the Library (You want to look into the dead student still… even if it means facing the place where you died in the process.)
-> And go to Mittsutakaihashi (May as well get the Poltergeist out of the way as soon as possible, and hope you can get back in time for the questioning…)
-> Write-In

 

[SpoopyGhost]

After thinking it over, you hit upon a plan that seems most viable - You can do this spying thing and the followup interview with the others, and go up to the town afterwards. You nod slowly, and write in the notepad; I may as well tail the bookstore owner. Want to do this the right way, after all. You pause, wondering if you should mention your plans for afterward to her, but instead you just set the pencil down.

"That makes sense," she nods in agreement. "Hopefully you can find out if he's up to anything… but be sure to be careful, too, alright?" She bites her lip pensively, but shrugs it off. "Good luck, anyway."

Thank you, you simply write in response.

An awkward silence permeates the room as you both lean back in your seats; you watch her, while she watches the notebook. She slowly turns back to her lunch, hand floating uncertainly over her chopsticks, before glancing back in your direction. "Shouldn't you call them up?"

You jolt in your seat a bit, glad for your invisibility as it prevents her from seeing your embarrassment. "Right," you mutter, pressing down on your ring; within moments, a door slides up from between floor tiles. See you later, you scrawl out, before standing to leave. Midori smiles to herself, gathering her things back up; after a moment of hesitation, you push open the door to find yourself back in Nel's office.

The transition from the bright sunlight outside the classroom windows, to the office's aquatic gloominess, leaves you blinking as your eyes adjust. When they do, though, you're surprised to find someone else already present. While Nel is leaning forward with limbs splayed out on their desk, there's also a tall bespectacled boy with short blue hair, leaning against the side of it with arms crossed over his chest in a haughty manner. He glances over lazily as your door closes and slides away, making you freeze instinctively, but he of course doesn't seem to see you; bright silver eyes searching the wall briefly before he shrugs and turns his attention back to Nel.

"What was that about?" He asks, and you realize abruptly that he is in fact a she - the voice is low, but undeniably feminine. You mentally berate yourself, but stepping closer to look her up and down, you have to admit it was an honest mistake to make. Between her sticklike figure without a hint of curves, her short, utilitarian hair, and the fact that she's wearing a boy's uniform, (from the same school Pallavi attends, you note) she certainly looks more masculine, with only a pair of small lapis-lazuli earrings and a certain softness to her face to tell you otherwise.

Your attention is pulled away when Nel finally speaks back up, coughing slightly. "Just a false alarm; nevermind that." somewhere within their usual cloudy frame you think you perceive a wink in your direction; taking the hint, you fall back and wait quietly. "Anyway, back to what we were discussing, sorry."

Shaking her head in annoyance, the girl sighs. "What I was saying is that you should reconsider her altogether. She may be my friend, but she's also a complete and total moron who will just hold us all back. Is there anyone else who could possibly fit?"

Nel blinks, disbelief clear in their posture. "Harsh words for a supposed friend," they comment. You can't help but agree.

The girl just shrugs stubbornly. "I'm telling it like it is. She may be smart, but she's also an idiot. Failed the exams on purpose just so she could go to an easier school, and wastes all her time on frivolities instead of trying to get ahead. It's as simple as that; you don't want someone like that on the team, when she won't take any of this seriously, and probably use whatever power you give her for her own fun and nothing else." Straightening up with an imperious tilt of her chin, she adds "I'm sorry, but I won't help you with this. Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe lunch period is nearly over; I need to get back to my classes. Unlike some people, I actually want to do something productive with my life."

Sighing in frustration, Nel waves an arm at the nearby wall, summoning another door. "She's the best candidate by a long shot," they insist, leaning further across the desk for emphasis, "the second-closest person would be a far weaker choice. I hope you will reconsider; if you can bring her on board, your friendship could help bring the team together more easily." When she just strides to the exit without a response, Nel hangs their head. "Then again, maybe not." The disgruntlement is clear in their tone, but the blue-haired girl doesn't seem to notice or care.

Once she's gone and the door has vanished again, you step forward again with an awkward wave. "I got your note," you say. Nel's attitude seems to brighten considerably, standing back upright with an affirmative nod. "So yeah, I'll do the mission for you." You hesitate, but your curiosity proves too much. "Who was that, anyway?" you blurt out.

Nel sighs in frustration. "That was Shimizu Masami-san; she's who I chose to take the blue ring. I found out she's long been friends with one of the last few candidates I've been attempting to recruit, so I hoped Shimizu-san could help me convince her, but it seems their relationship is a bit more… uneven, than I had been led to believe. This puts me back at square one, but now I'm not even sure if recruiting her would be a good idea; if those two don't get along, it could be a huge problem. No team's ever been threatened by being too close, but discord at critical junctures could put all of you at risk." You notice that their clouds seem to be swirling faster, churning like a storm rather than their usual placid shadowy appearance. Sighing, Nel slumps vaguely. "Maybe I'm just overthinking this. What do you think?"

What To Say?
> It'll probably be fine (Whatever problem they have can be resolved in time, keep with the most qualified option)
> Maybe you're right (More power might not be worth the potential drama, maybe best to try other people)
> Uhh… I don't know? (You already have enough problems as it is, and this is Nel's area more than yours)

 

[SpoopyGhost]

"What do you think?" Nel asks, and you freeze like a deer caught in oncoming headlights. What do you think? Right now the only thing in your head is that you don't know what you think of this. Any of it, really; you've just been going with the flow…

Cutting off that line of thought before you can go too far off the rails, you close your eyes to try to calm down, and properly sort out your feelings. It feels weird to be asked this at all, for starters; you're completely new to all things magical girl, while Nel seems to live and breathe it; plus, recruitment is their job anyway, not yours. In addition, this could affect how well the others get along, but given how detached you are, (have always been, really) can you really make an accurate judgement? Is it even your place to do so? It doesn't feel right to be making a decision about a matter that will likely affect you the least.

Still… it doesn't feel right not to say anything, either. Hesitantly, you step closer. "I'm… I'm sure everything will probably work out fine?" The assurance feels fake and hollow in your ears, the most generic and unhelpful possible thing to say; more a question than an answer. Still, it seems to help, Nel's tumultuous swirling gradually dying down.

"I sincerely hope so," Nel sighs, but they do sound relieved. "You're right: I'll keep to the plan, no matter Shimizu-san's misgivings. We've had far less qualified-seeming candidates turn out just fine in the past, after all!" Turning to you, they give a grateful bow. "Thank you very much for your help." You squirm uneasily at the praise, but fortunately they've already moved on.

Returning to their spot behind the desk, Nel shuts the lid on the box of rings with a loud clap, making you jump. "There's one other matter I wanted to bring up, just for a moment."

With a wave of an arm, the window behind them changes suddenly. Blinking in surprise, you realize it doubles as a screen; while you can still see schools of fish outside, there's now a video overlaid on the view. Retreating to the back of the room to take it in more clearly, you realize you're watching footage from a news helicopter looking down upon the city; it zooms in on the river, and you recognize the old bridge you'd visited last night. Right at the shore, there's a wide circle of white, reaching all the way to the first set of bridge supports.

Oh, right. That.

The view quickly switches to a lady newscaster, prim and proper, sitting next to a rather frazzled-looking elderly man. "The strange phenomenon discovered early this very morning continues to baffle local meteorologists." she explains; "While snowy conditions aren't unheard of this time of year, as we settle into early autumn, there's never been such a localized and extreme drop in temperature." Pointing her microphone toward the man, she adds "As our resident weather expert, Kobayashi-san, do you have any theories regarding this incident?"

Frowning to himself, he hesitates before speaking up. "I suspect this could be some previously-unheard of consequence of our ongoing global climate change. Without further data, it is difficult to say for certain; we will keep watch for any repeat incidents, but at this stage it is nothing more than a particularly bizarre fluke of nature." Trying to shrug it off, despite his clear anxiety, he gives a fake laugh. "Perhaps this is just the world's way of reminding us how little we actually understand?"

Reclaiming her microphone, the newscaster nods sympathetically. "And what a fluke, to be sure. It's uncertain if this is likely to happen again, but for the time being no harm has been caused, just confusion." Turning back to the camera, she takes on a somewhat more serious tone. "Now, the ice is already beginning to break up, and will likely finish melting away completely by this evening, so we strongly urge everyone to stay away from the area; the risk of falling through and into the river is extremely high." With a cheesy smile and a wink, (made somewhat surreal by the shark partially visible behind her face) she adds "there's no need for popsicles in this weather!" The meteorologist rolls his eyes and begins to get up, before being cropped out of the frame. "Now, on to other news. As the national election draws nearer, candidates for Prime Minister have begun announcing themselves, leading wit-"

With another wave, the window returns to simply being a window, leaving a somewhat startled shark to swim away in surprise. You give Nel a nervous grin. "Magical Girl prison?"

Nel stares at you uncomprehendingly for several moments, before chuckling. "No, we still don't have that."

"But I'm in trouble, right?"

"Not really," Nel says, and you slump in sheepish relief. "As I said before, there have already been a few monsters just in this city that we had to hide the presence of, before I was able to convince you to join. With the nature of some girls' powers, cases of near-breaches of secrecy are somewhat inevitable, to a certain extent at least."

You're still feeling confused, so they elaborate further. "The reason I mention this now is for future reference; the problem is not the ice, but that you didn't alert me to it. Given you're still learning to use your powers I don't expect you to get rid of it yourself, but if I knew about it before any other humans noticed, we could have found another way to remove it, or at the very least excuse its presence. Swamp gas, weather balloons, reflected light from Venus; there are a variety of possible cover stories."

You raise an eyebrow at that, but Nel moves on before you can comment. "Fortunately, it's only on the local news, and should hopefully go down as an isolated fluke without attracting broader notice…" You sense a 'but' coming."But I do ask that you be more careful in the future." Ah, there it is.

You nod quietly. "Sorry. I wasn't really thinking."

Even through the obscuring cloudiness of their form, Nel seems to give a warmer smile in response. "There's no harm done; it's just something to keep in mind for the future." You both nod at that, and their tone brightens up further. "I also wanted to congratulate you; it seems you have discovered both of your powers, now?"

Remembering the feeling from last night; contentment and understanding, peace and purpose; you find yourself smiling involuntarily. "I think so, yeah." It feels better to… well, feel than to think, to forget all about the situation and consequences and just act. "My magical girl powers, anyway; I still haven't sorted out this ghost thing."

"It's progress nonetheless!" Nel encourages. "And while there's still a lot to learn before you can gain full control, this should hopefully help any future encounters go more smoothly, yes?"

"Right, right." Wait, aren't you getting a bit sidetracked? "Anyway, what about my mission?"

Nel halts for several long moments before laughing in embarrassment. "I'd almost forgotten about that. Let's not waste any more time, then! You received my note and understand the situation?"

You nod in confirmation. "Follow the construction worker or the bookstore owner around, and see if they're up to something, right?"

"In essence, yes; that's correct. While there are other clones we've noticed and are tracking, these two have both been here the longest, by our estimation, so it seemed prudent to start with them. Which one have you chosen?"

~~~ .oO◯Oo. ~~~​

A few minutes later, you step through another door and into another narrow alleyway. Unlike the one you used to reach the hospital, where smooth metal and concrete dominated the architecture, this place is much more humble, with red brick walls all around. There isn't much to it, just a fire escape, a couple of dumpsters, and a manhole cover, so you waste little time in stepping out into the road to get your bearings.

Smaller trees line the road, providing shade while allowing the sun to still shine brightly down, giving a cheery and comfortable atmosphere to the tight-packed storefronts. With outdoor cafes, music shops, and smaller restaurants, this place of commerce is warm and inviting... and so very very busy. Cars drive past frequently, and the sidewalks are filled with pedestrians, forcing you to hang back to avoid bumping into anyone, despite your invisibility. Suppressing anxiety at the sheer amount of people to avoid, you call on old instincts as the school wallflower to look for gaps in the crowd.

It takes some time to make your way to your destination, but soon enough you're standing before the bookshop Nel told you about. The window displays have a mix of recent releases and extremely old novels, and the door is cluttered with notices about local events and fundraisers; nearly buried beneath them is a sign giving the shop's hours, along with a handwritten note; An inclusive space, all are welcome here! Please remember that drinks are not allowed, and smiles are mandatory! : P

It doesn't take long to wait for someone to enter, and you quickly follow on the heels of a horribly giggly young couple, rolling your eyes slightly as the man slings his arm over the woman's shoulders, making her titter like a startled bird. Quickly sidestepping away from them, you look over the shop's interior.

One thing you have to give them credit for - this is the kind of place you would have loved to spend time in, had you been aware of its existence. It's cozy and cluttered without feeling chaotic, classy and spotless without feeling opulent; heavy carved-wood furniture and hardwood floors contrasting with welcoming beanbags slung in a corner dedicated to manga, and indirect lighting in the ceiling providing a warm glow. The shelves are packed with books, again a mixture of bestsellers with more obscure releases and a variety of old volumes. The topmost shelves in each case, though, are dedicated to a rather eccentric collection of souvenirs and objects; a buddha statue next to a small scale-model of the Sphinx of Giza, next to a photograph of the Eiffel Tower, and so on and so forth, a sizable clutter that makes it hard to focus on any one thing for too long. Turning around, you find a counter in the back corner, behind which stands your target: Sakamoto Takuya, the owner.

Narrowing your eyes at the man, you drift closer to examine him up and down. He's fairly average-looking, aside from dark-tanned skin giving away his more southerly origins; with black hair cut very short, and clearly in his mid-thirties. He doesn't seem particularly reedy or stocky yet somehow gives the impression of both at the same time, and you note with approval that he also seems to be a fan of sweater vests.

He wears an easy, friendly grin as he patiently watches the affectionate couple. "Is there anything I can help with?" He calls out, but they just wave him off, and exit not long after without buying anything. You carefully watch his reaction, but he just shrugs and sighs without much disappointment, grabbing a feather duster from under the counter.

As he goes about an unnecessarily-thorough dusting spree, you sit down into a far corner, watching him carefully but soaking in the comfortable ambience, letting yourself relax. For his part, once he's done with the lower shelves, he takes a ladder from a backroom to reach the higher ones, and something interesting occurs. From one of the souvenir-cluttered top shelves, he pulls out an object you'd seen without really noticing before. It appears to be a mason jar full of pink lemonade, or something very similar, though there's a layer of brown silt at the bottom. He frowns down at it, stepping down and putting the jar behind the counter before resuming his dusting.

A few shelves later there's another jar like this, and another further down yet from that one; they also have the brown sludge, and also wind up behind his desk. Moving to the opposite wall, he finds the jars concealed there lack the sludge, and are put back in place instead of removed. That discovery seems to take the edge off his disappointment, and he quickly gets back to his normal cleaning, though he still seems a bit less enthusiastic than before. Your brows furrow as you look back over the shelves, noting the jars' locations; there are eight in total, and spaced evenly along each wall, though the three that got removed create a large gap on the one side.

Just as he's finished putting the ladder away again, the bell over the door rings, and another woman enters, arms stuffed with grocery bags. "Nee-san!" Takuya greets her, and she gives him a friendly shove on her way past.

Giving her a quick once-over, you find she's a rather beautiful woman. Her darker skin and blonde hair would give off the impression of being a gyaru, not helped by her rather curvy figure, but there's a sense of professionalism in the way she carries herself that offsets that entirely. Not to mention her outfit, a pale green pinstriped button-up shirt with a long black tie in front, and black jeans that aren't remotely girly, yet which hug her hips well regardless. Her hair is cropped in a short and fluffy bob cut, with one side tucked behind her ear while the other hangs in front of her face, giving her a strangely open yet reserved appearance, and reminding you a bit of Midori and Pallavi. Shaking your head, you focus on listening in to their conversation.

"I'm back, finally. The lines were long; I told you we should have waited until after lunchtime!" He rolls his eyes good-naturedly at her complaints, while she sets the groceries down on the counter and rolls her shoulders with a wince. "I see we didn't get much business while I was gone…" Spotting the jars he'd set down, her frown deepens.

Scooting behind her to return the duster to its original spot, Takuya shrugs. "Just a couple, and they didn't buy anything."

"Looks like they won't be a couple for long, either," his apparent sister notes with a dark expression. "I'm guessing they looked to all the world like the most inseparable pair?" You frown, leaning intently closer, confused by the accuracy of her guess, which Takuya confirms with a nod. She sighs, taking a seat behind the desk and continuing to massage her shoulders. "Great, one of those types. At least they didn't stick around too long. You gonna put up new ones?"

"Yeah, I was just getting to that," Takuya says, sounding a little annoyed with her ordering tone. "Rina nee-san, please trust me for a change?"

She just gives him a lazy-eyed grin. "Maybe once you stop relying on emprunter?" At his exasperated sigh, she finally takes pity, patting him lightly on the shoulder. "Sorry, sorry, I'll let you take care of it. I should get all this put away upstairs anyway, and I can call règle dame with our mea culpa. It will be a decent shipment this month, I think, but not what she was hoping for."

Standing back up, she begins gathering up the grocery bags again, only to pause suddenly at her brother's next words; "I take it you didn't have any luck either?" Sighing again, she nods in confirmation.

"Not a clue. I think we're searching in the wrong neighborhood, but it's impossible to be sure until it's found." Huffing in frustration, she adds "Though have you seen what they're saying on the news? It seems part of the river froze over last night, just a small part though, and nobody can tell why. It's on the opposite end of the city, of course; it may be something else to look into."

"May not have anything to do with us, though," Takuya points out. Still hidden in the corner, you raise an eyebrow at the irony. "Anyway, I should let you go make that call, and rearrange things down here." She nods in agreement, gathering up the bags again and vanishing into the backroom; through the open door, you see her back retreating up a staircase to the second floor. Once she's gone, Takuya shivers slightly, mumbling to himself "Better you than me…"

Just as you're wondering whether you should follow her or continue to observe him, the bell rings again, and your attention turns back to the front of the shop. A young boy enters, face concealed behind a baseball hat and hoodie; Takuya smoothly returns to his original cheer as he calls out; "Shouldn't you be in school right now?" The boy just pauses long enough to give him a sullen glare, before marching over to the manga corner to begin scanning the titles. Takuya sighs at the rude response. "It seems a little early in the day for you to be here, is all."

"Lunch period," the boy grunts in return. You frown a bit; that voice seems really familiar…

"Very well, but you'd best be heading back soon!" Finally finding whichever volume he was searching for, the boy yanks it sharply off of the shelf and heads toward the counter to make his purchase. The transaction is short and wordless, Takuya offering an easygoing smile but getting no reaction, as the boy focuses more on fishing out his wallet. You stand up and start heading slowly toward the backroom, but something about the scene bothers you, so you keep watching. "And may I have your name?" Takuya asks, and the boy finally looks up; you stifle a gasp.

"Yukimura Kichirou," your little brother responds.

By the time you've recovered from your shock, the transaction is done and he's already stepping out the door. Glancing back and forth between his retreating form and the stairwell Rina had vanished up just a minute ago, you feel trapped between options.

Where To Go?
> Follow Takuya's sister (You need to learn more about just what's going on here, and listening in on her call may be the best way to do that…)
> Follow your brother (What's he doing so far away from school? You haven't even seen him since your death, and his behavior has you worried…)