Chapter 99: Miko's Light Kiss!
Yotsuya Miko boarded the night bus. Seeing that there were still quite a few passengers around, she placed both hands, still holding her phone, on her lap.
The female evil spirit with four heads, the one she had seen before, kept chattering beside her ear.
"What do you think? It won't be like that, right? What do you think? Hey, hey…"
Miko calmly closed her eyes and leaned back against the seat.
If there were not other passengers around, she would absolutely stab it with her dagger.
Back when she had gone to find Hana, this thing had been the reason she missed her stop.
"Huh? She can't see me?"
Seeing Miko remain perfectly calm, the evil spirit scratched all four of its heads in confusion, then went off to ask the next passenger.
"What do you think? What do you think?"
The sensation was not especially clear, but faintly…
Even with her eyes closed, Miko could still sense the evil spirit leaving.
Not that she would feel much fear even if it stayed.
It seemed she had already grown used to this kind of life, apart from the times when she found these evil spirits filthy and disgusting.
Miko lowered her head and held the dagger inside her small bag. The feeling gave her an indescribable sense of security.
Ever since she began seeing evil spirits, she had gone from having no one to talk to, to now having many people willing to help her.
Because of that, she felt that having Yin-Yang Eyes capable of seeing evil spirits might not be entirely bad.
Because of these eyes, she had met someone especially good.
Seeing that there were still two stops before home, Miko pressed the stop button early.
She would treat the remaining distance as exercise.
During the gathering, she had watched Sensei eat so heartily beside her that she had unknowingly eaten a lot too.
"Sigh."
Thinking of that, Miko sighed and rubbed her stomach through her skirt.
Ugh. She was going to gain weight again…
If only she were like Hana, whose energy all goes to her chest.
Sigh. What an enviable gift.
After arriving at the stop…
Miko got off the bus with her shoulder bag, glanced over the empty, pitch-black platform, then turned to look at the evil spirit that had followed her.
The surroundings were utterly silent. Miko gripped the dagger inside her bag and smoothed the wrinkles on her long skirt.
Looking at the evil spirit whose four heads hovered around her, she spoke softly.
"Can you see me?"
"Eh?"
Confusion appeared in all eight of the evil spirit's eyes. It did not understand what was happening with this person.
But when it noticed that Miko was truly looking at it, its several mouths opened in sudden realization, and it howled with delight.
"I can see you—!"
The dagger instantly pierced into its body.
Light flashed.
The evil spirit that had always been chattering vanished in an instant, as if it had never existed in the real world at all.
"Yeah!"
Miko happily clenched her small fist.
Every time she rode this bus, that thing would keep muttering beside her ear.
This time, she had finally taken advantage of the empty night to eliminate it.
Not only had Sensei agreed to come to her side again on the weekend, she had also eliminated that annoying evil spirit.
She was very happy!
Feeling refreshed, Miko checked that there were no people or evil spirits around, then drifted home in a cheerful mood. When she arrived, she found that her mother and younger brother had already gone to sleep early.
After all, tomorrow was Monday. Staying out too late would not be good.
She simply washed up, changed into pajamas, and comfortably slipped under the blanket.
"I hope I don't dream about evil spirits… Dreaming about Sensei is fine… Uh, but please don't make me do push-ups. They're exhausting."
Miko muttered to herself, placed her phone beside her pillow, wrapped the blanket tightly around her body, and closed her eyes with a little anticipation.
She lay on her side and curled into a ball, burying her head in the soft blanket.
Perhaps this kind of closed space gave people more of a sense of security.
After who knew how long, Miko tightly held someone's arm, feeling its warmth as she curled up in that person's embrace.
Then she realized something was wrong.
In the darkness, even her breathing gradually became careful.
This…
Before this, she had clearly been sleeping alone in her own bedroom, right?
Then whose arm was this?
"Miko?"
A strangely familiar voice woke her from her thoughts.
Luke loosened his arm, only now realizing that the dream had placed them far too close together.
"Sensei?"
Miko's back tensed, and she immediately straightened her upper body, poking her head out from under the blanket.
Bang!
Luke raised his neck and pressed one hand against Miko, who had headbutted him, pushing her away a little.
Damn lucid dream.
Why did it have to make him feel pain?
Rubbing his chin, Luke asked her, "Is this your dream?"
He still remembered what had happened before entering the Spirit Time Chamber, so he naturally knew about Miko's cultist and lucid dream situation.
After hesitating for a moment, Miko lightly nodded.
"…Yes."
Luke could not help thinking for a moment.
He had not gone to sleep wearing the [Dream Necklace], yet after eliminating that frog-like evil spirit, he had still entered Miko's dream after falling asleep.
So he tried controlling the dream and discovered that although he could not sense Miko's emotions as clearly as last time, he could still change this dream to a certain extent.
Was it because of that inexplicable [A Maiden's Prayer]?
Or was it because Miko herself had some problem, and combined with the evil spirit's interference, it had caused this situation?
Luke silently guessed the reason he had once again been pulled into Miko's dream.
But there was one thing he could say for certain.
It definitely was not his problem.
Unable to figure it out, Luke got up and leaned his back against the headboard. Beside him, Miko was wearing green pajamas and sitting with her legs folded to the side, dazedly grabbing her hair with her hands.
He spoke haltingly.
"Miko… you… seem to have a problem."
"Eh?"
Miko froze.
Although he had no concrete clues, he somehow felt that the problem lay with Miko.
"Did you use that dream ritual?"
He asked again thoughtfully.
"No."
Inside the dark room, a dream version of her room in reality, Miko answered firmly.
However…
She glanced at the familiar yet unfamiliar scenery outside the window and remembered what had happened before she fell asleep.
She was not sure whether this had been caused by her thinking about all sorts of things before sleeping.
If so, that would be troubling for Sensei, right?
Miko looked at Luke, who was deep in thought, and wanted to ask.
But Luke directly said without much concern, "Forget it. Although I don't know the reason, since it happened, it happened."
He turned on the room light, and the room was instantly illuminated.
If he could not figure it out, then he would stop thinking about it.
Not every question had a matching answer.
"This might make it a little hard to rest, but let's watch the situation for now. Tomorrow night, we'll see whether I still get pulled into your dream."
Luke made a simple plan.
"Then if it still happens, what should we do?"
Miko asked.
"We'll stagger our sleep times. As long as I'm not asleep when you fall asleep, I won't get pulled into the dream."
"Mainly, I don't think this situation will last for too long. Although it's very slight, I can still sense that my connection to your dream is weakening little by little."
With his high Spirit attribute, after familiarizing himself with the dream for a while, Luke still sensed something abnormal about it.
"Maybe when we destroyed that evil spirit, our spirits became tangled together. Combined with the special trait of your Yin-Yang Eyes, it caused the current situation."
Luke guessed.
"There shouldn't be too much of a problem. Don't worry."
"Mm."
Miko nodded and calmly looked at the simulated moon outside the window.
Because Sensei was here, she did not feel worried or afraid about this matter.
"Miko, is there anywhere you want to go?"
He asked.
Since he had once again entered Miko's lucid dream, he would not waste the opportunity.
He could use this chance to train his newly increased spirit and also temper Miko. In the Spirit Time Chamber, there had been no such convenient practice opportunity.
Miko turned back in confusion.
"Somewhere I want to go?"
"Yes."
Miko thought for a moment.
"Mm… I don't really have anywhere I especially want to go. As long as there are no evil spirits, anywhere is fine."
Although she no longer feared evil spirits, sometimes she still thought about the ordinary life she used to have.
"Does Sensei want to go somewhere to play?"
Miko asked curiously.
"No."
Luke did not explain too much and suggested, "How about an amusement park? Do you like them?"
Miko thought for a moment, then nodded.
"They're okay."
With a single thought from him, the scene abruptly changed. The two of them moved from the room to an empty amusement park.
The details of the hazy amusement park were not very real.
He planned to have Miko construct a dream scene like this. It could train her spirit very effectively.
Maybe as her control over her own spirit improved, she would slowly become able to control her dreams and stop pulling him into them.
But Miko, who did not understand his intention, looked at the entertainment facilities shrouded in darkness and remembered the horror zombie movie she had watched with her younger brother a few days ago.
A nervous feeling rose in her heart.
Miko tensely grabbed his sleeve and felt slightly more reassured.
In her heart, she silently thought:
It's fine. Sensei is with me. Even if I dream of American zombies scarier than evil spirits, it'll still be fine…
After all, with Sensei here, danger would not be a problem.
Thinking that, the image of herself and Sensei, covered in dust and surviving through the apocalypse, flashed through her mind and grew clearer and clearer.
"Miko?"
"Mm?"
"Could you stop thinking about random things? I don't really like zombie movies…"
Looking at the sudden appearance of a group of staggering zombies with broken limbs, Luke called out to Miko speechlessly.
This girl really had a talent for wild imagination.
And the zombies she simulated were so vivid. If they simulated two weapons too, this place could be used as a virtual-reality game.
"Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."
Seeing that zombies had actually appeared because of her imagination, Miko hurriedly closed her eyes, wanting to erase them all.
But for some reason, the more she tried to forget them, the more she thought about every zombie detail.
"Sensei, I can't do it…"
Looking at several bloody mouths approaching her, Miko's face turned a little pale.
Western-style bloody horror movies really were not better than supernatural evil spirits.
"Hm? You can't do it?"
Luke looked at the surging zombie horde.
Could this also count as training?
He patted Miko's shoulder.
"Sensei?"
Miko looked at him in confusion.
He spoke quietly.
"You… good luck."
"Eh?"
"One with all things."
Luke's figure vanished.
"Sensei?! Eh! Don't leave me alone!"
Miko panicked and grabbed at the air beside her. Feeling nothing there made her even more alarmed.
"Hurry and focus your spirit. This situation is perfect for training spiritual power."
"Oh, right. Remember, because this is a lucid dream, getting bitten will really hurt…"
Luke's voice came from every direction.
Miko looked at the zombies also coming from every direction, widened her eyes, and manifested the dagger from reality.
"Nope."
Luke scattered the exorcism tool energy in her hand.
"Ah!"
The dagger vanished from her hand in an instant. A chill ran down Miko's back, and she hurriedly called on the spiritual power she had only recently learned.
Disappear, disappear, disappear!
"Ugh."
But after trying too hard and seeing that the zombies were still walking toward her in an orderly manner, Miko turned and ran.
"…If there's a chance, I'll let Yuria try this too."
Above, Luke watched Miko being chased everywhere by layers upon layers of zombies.
Seeing this familiar-looking scene, he muttered to himself, wondering whether he could also use this training method on Yuria.
At the same time, he added a tiny bit of strength to the dense crowd of running zombies in the amusement park, resisting Miko's spiritual power as she tried to erase them.
Mm. This was all for Miko's sake.
Miko, nearly in tears, fled in panic, desperately calling on her spiritual power to stop the zombies from getting closer.
Naturally, she sensed the power working against her.
"Ah! Sensei! At least let me change out of my slippers!"
Calling out with difficulty, Miko reached the security room and hung the last chain on the door, then deeply sighed.
"Sigh."
With this kind of rest, she would definitely be scolded by the teachers at school tomorrow.
Next time.
Next time, she absolutely would not think about Sensei entering her dream again!
When there was no danger, Sensei became the danger.
Last time it was push-ups.
This time, it was being chased by zombies.
Next time, it might be aliens.
Why did she have to imagine these things so randomly?
Outside the window, the zombies' ferocious roars and their pounding on the door kept coming.
After changing into sneakers, Miko helplessly sat back down on the soft chair in the room, one suitable for lying down and resting, and lightly closed her eyes.
But…
Although she felt a little tired…
For some reason, it felt strangely good.
This feeling of shouting everything out.
All the oppressive emotions she had accumulated during ordinary life had been released at once.
Next time in reality, she would bring Hana and Yuria-chan to a haunted house.
She would wait until the weekend.
And she would invite Sensei too.
Miko sat in the chair and thought quietly.
"Okay, that's enough. The dream is about to dissipate."
Sensing that Miko had simulated the security room into a safe house, Luke appeared beside her. When it came to controlling dreams, he was already doing it effortlessly.
"Mm."
Miko answered weakly.
"Use up the last of your spiritual power too. It's about time to rest."
He erased the security room from the dream.
"I already don't want to move. Please let me rest a little."
"Don't worry. Next isn't a battle royale."
Luke pointed into the distance.
A Ferris wheel, a merry-go-round, slides, and all kinds of entertainment facilities were there. These were what he had spent a lot of effort constructing while Miko was being chased by zombies earlier.
"It wasn't easy constructing this amusement park. We can't leave without playing, right? It'll also use up the last of your strength."
Miko looked toward those entertainment facilities.
"How about adding fireworks?"
Luke very skillfully imagined fireworks launching with spiritual power.
In the silence, fireworks like serpents of flame shot into the sky, lighting the dream sky like stars.
Looking at the colorful fireworks, Miko relaxed a little.
"Come on."
Luke called to her.
"Okay."
Miko grabbed the hem of her pajama top and followed him.
The two of them used their spirits together to fill in the missing details of the amusement park.
Miko relaxed and experienced the amusement park, which had already become as real as reality, until the dream was about to dissipate.
"I had fun."
On the chair, Miko, who had become somewhat dazed from constructing the dream, murmured tiredly.
Although it was a dream and not reality, she had still been happy.
Bang—!
The fireworks blooming nonstop burst into countless sparks, flying through the sky like fireflies.
"Mm. As long as you had fun."
Luke constructed rare blue fireworks and let them explode in the sky.
Looking at his face painted by the colorful light, Miko said softly, "Sensei, I've troubled you a lot recently."
"Hm?"
Luke raised his chin and glanced toward her.
Miko spoke gently.
"When I first awakened my Yin-Yang Eyes, every day after waking up from a dream, I would wonder whether I might suddenly stop seeing evil spirits, just like how I suddenly started seeing them."
"This talent is really exhausting… and there was no one I could talk to about it."
"Even with Hana, I couldn't tell her these things."
Miko lightly brushed up her hair.
"But thankfully, I later met you, Sensei. You kept helping me without needing any reason."
"I also met other people who helped me… So now, this life is actually okay."
Luke looked at the blue reflected in Miko's shining eyes.
"How should I put this? You don't need to take it too much to heart. It's just part of my duty, and it's also one of my training methods…"
Miko clenched her hand.
Her empty, dreamlike mind held no other thoughts. She lifted her hair, brought her cheek close beside his ear, and quickly pressed her lips against his face like a dragonfly touching water.
At the same time, her warm breath brushed beside his ear.
"Then… I'll be counting on you for what comes next too, Sensei."
…
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