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The sky was painted red and orange and purple, all the way to the first hints of black around the edges. Sunset lasted what felt like hours in this world. Miu liked to joke that maybe it was so their chances to meet spirits were higher. No one but Minoru ever seemed to find it funny. Speaking of him, he hadn't come back from his patrol yet. It made Miu worried sick, so she was glued to the window of the music room, waiting for him to show up. This way Kaito wouldn't pester her, and she didn't have to be alone— after all, both Saki and Syakomon were there with her.
Saki had a knack for people. She seemed to have understood that Miu wanted to keep an eye out for Minoru right away. Sometimes, Saki scared her— the way she could readily get others made her think she was secretly a psychic. Miu had tested the theory by thinking funny things about her when she was close-by. Saki had never reacted, so it didn't seem likely.
At any rate, Saki had asked Floramon to go look at the window in the corridor, so they could have more range covered. Meanwhile, Saki herself lied down, already under her blankets. 'I'm just a little tired,' she had explained to Miu. Well, even Miu could tell she got easily tired. But she didn't know what to say. All the previous times she had asked 'Are you okay?', 'Did you get hurt?' and so on, Saki had laughed it off: 'I'm as peachy as you could possibly be in another world!' or 'Don't worry about it!'. So, now Miu kept quiet. It's not like asking would get her an answer.
Although… There was a strategy Aoi would use that did get Saki to talk. Miu cleared her throat.
"Err… I'm getting kinda hungry, do you need anything?"
Saki smiled at her, that sort of easy, friendly smile of hers. "I'm good with whatever you can get your hands into!"
And so Miu got going, leaving Syakomon in her post. Usually, at this hour, Kaito was washing the dishes… Ugh, she better made sure he wasn't there. She tip-toed all the way to the main entrance to flank the school and take a peek through the cafeteria's windows. Once she got to the spot, however:
"We have to fight!" Miu heard her brother shout. She huddled just below the windowsill. That answered it: the kitchen was occupied.
"We can't sit on our hands until those gross tadpoles kill us!," he kept on ranting. "What is it gonna take, for another one of us to die!?"
“Kaito, don't shout," Aoi nearly yelled herself. Miu started pulling the weeds beside her. Her brother sure got into fights a lot.
"We are defending ourselves as best as we can… But none of us can know when the kenzoku will show up."
"That's one thing, another is humoring nonsense. We can't save Miyuki. You gotta give it to 'em straight."
Miu felt like her heart was gonna get ripped out of her chest. She shrunk into a ball. She already knew her brother thought this, it's not like they hadn't argued about it before. But it still hurt. Miyuki was the only one who was the same age as her, and the only one who didn't get all high and mighty with her. Miyuki was the only one Miu didn't feel guilty about bringing into this world. Miyuki was just as misunderstood and lonely as her. And now Kaito wanted to turn everyone on her. Miu didn't really know how the others felt about the whole thing, so maybe they agreed with him…
"... We'll decide together." Aoi's voice came through. Miu hadn't really been able to make out what she had said before, so Aoi remained a mystery. At the very least, the part about deciding together was true.
"The others would listen to you if you just made up your mind."
Aoi mumbled some more. Miu sighed. She was so hard to understand.
"Takuma isn't here. Don't tell me you're expecting him to show up, too!"
The silence lingered.
"It might almost be worse if he did." Aoi laughed strangely.
Miu gasped. Just what did she mean by that?! Her brother seemed to share her mind, at least just this once.
"Wha–What?!"
Aoi's voice got lower. She sounded like when you have fallen asleep with the TV on, picking on the voices but being unable to make out a single word. Blergh. Eavesdropping was supposed to be more fun than this.
"You—You got a point."
Miu had to bite her tongue in order not to shout`What, what did Aoi just tell you?! What about Takuma?!' Just what is it that they know that she doesn't?
"Don't tell the others."
"You need to give it to them straight. If you can't, then I—"
"You'll only demoralize them. I'll speak to them."
"Fine… Just don't be too hard on Miu."
"Of course not."
Miu groaned. Always trying to shield her from the world. But it's always way worse when others keep things from her, even if they're things so awful they'd take away anyone's sleep. It's better to know than to imagine the worst all by yourself. She crawled away from the windows, unable to stand either of them any longer.
Just as she was making her way back to the school, she heard Minoru call to her:
"How is my favorite sidekick doing!"
Miu rolled her eyes and smiled, getting up and dusting her knees. He ran to close the gap between them, holding his arms open. He stopped just before he reached her, waiting for her to decide whether to high five him or to hug him. Minoru wasn't always the best about asking before getting all over your space, so she appreciated that he at least remembered this. At any rate, a hug would be nice right now.
"What were you doing out here, anyway?"
Geh.
"I just wanted to sneak in for some snacks."
Minoru smirked. "Leave it to a hero to sweep in and save the day!"
Miu laughed. It was easy with him around. And just like he promised, he handled dealing with Aoi and Kaito. They went back to Saki with peanuts, crackers and such, and played cards together. It was fun but…
Once the time to sleep came, Miu found it impossible. She was still thinking about what she heard during the evening. Or rather, about what she hadn't heard. Had they managed to see Takuma? Was he in trouble? It was driving her crazy, so Miu took a look around the room. Saki was out cold, but Aoi was nowhere to be seen. That was kind of a bother. Miu wanted to sneak out of the room, but she ran the risk of being found out right away. Well, not like there was anything to gain by staying in the Music room. She couldn't even talk to Syakomon!
She exchanged a knowing look with her partner and tiptoed to the corridor outside. Despite her best efforts, everything creaked loudly. Miu cringed and stood frozen by the doorway, checking if Saki had awoken and if the coast was clear. Despite everything, there really was no problem at all.
Outside, she could hear the wooden boards creak and steps approaching. She gasped and froze. Should she go back into the Music Room? But then, the steps got distant again. Miu's shoulders relaxed, and she followed the direction of the sound to take a peek and make sure. Turning the corner, Aoi was pacing back and forth with her partner in tow. Just like earlier in the evening, it was completely impossible to make out what she was telling Labramon.
"Aoi, someone is there."
Aoi turned around, catching sight of Miu and Syakomon right away. Geh…
"Miu…, " she said slowly. Then, she smiled, as usual. Miu felt uneasy. Why did she always have to smile? If she was angry, it'd be way better to know for sure.
"Come here," Aoi added, patting a vacant chair beside her and straightening the desk besides it for herself.
Miu looked at her partner. Syakomon shrugged.
"Don't worry, Miu. I'm here with you."
Miu smiled. Alright. She could trust that. So, she did as she was told.
"Can't sleep?" Aoi asked her.
Miu pursed her lips. Obviously not. But no one ever liked it when she replied that. So, she smirked.
"I'm hunting for a ghost!"
Aoi quirked an eyebrow, and the silence lingered uncomfortably. Miu was expecting her to lecture her, so she wasn't really sure what to do now.
"There are no ghosts here," Labramon said, very matter-of-factly.
Miu snorted. "You can never be sure!"
Syakomon bounced up and down. "Leave it to me, Miu. I'll find you the best ghosts around!"
Miu giggled. "I'm counting on you!"
Aoi sighed, bringing the fun to a halt. "If you're bored before sleeping, you could just say it. There's no need to sneak around."
Miu wanted to say she kind of needed to. She needed to at least be able to talk to Syakomon. Her partner understood this and vouched for her.
"There's nothing to worry about, I'm with her!"
"Yes, but—"
But, well, Aoi was a bit like Kaito about these things. They needed to stay safe.
"Don't get in trouble," Labramon said solemnly.
Miu rolled her eyes and shrugged, feeling Aoi's stare boring into her.
"Say, Miu," she talked slowly yet again. It was always weird when she spoke like this. "What do you think of our situation?"
"Eh?! Me?!“
"Yes, you." Aoi smiled again.
Miu frowned and fixed her eyes on her sleeves, pulling some loose threads around. "It sucks."
Aoi sighed again. That wasn't the answer she wanted. But what was Miu supposed to say? It sucked that they had to fight against those weird, slimy things. It sucked that Miyuki was on the kenzoku side and wasn't listening to them. It sucked they might have to fight her. If Takuma were there, would he agree with Kaito? If Miyuki had come back, why hadn't Takuma done so too?
"Hey, do you think Takuma will come back?"
Aoi tilted her head, her mouth twisting. "I don't know."
But she does know something, doesn't she? She told something to her brother, anyway.
"But… it'd be a good thing if he did, right?"
Aoi's eyes widened.
"You were listening."
Ugh. Busted. Miu shrinked, burying her jaw in the collar of her hoodie. "Only a little."
Aoi stared at her, sitting upright. "It's wrong to eavesdrop on people, you do know that, don't you?"
"Yes…,"Miu drawled. Well, that was it. She was talking to Miu like a little kid. She wouldn't answer any of her questions. Miu hated grown-ups because of this.
"Have you brushed your teeth?" Aoi asked next, as if to prove her point.
"Yeah," Miu lied by reflex.
Aoi smiled—she smiled a real smile. Miu could tell because her whole face changed.
"I know it's hard for you, so it's great you're making the effort."
Syakomon sighed and her shell closed. Miu wished she could do that. Lying to Aoi was the worst; now, Miu felt guilty. Now, she'd actually have to do it, even though it was the grossest thing in the world. Though, it was likely to be impossible tonight. She doubted they'd let them wander around alone. Miu kind of wondered when they'd get back to the Music Room. Aoi was staring at nothing, or maybe there was something on the wall. Miu strained her eyes in the penumbra to look at the spot as well.
"Miu," she started again really softly.
"Hmm?"
"I… It's a hard situation, isn't it? If you feel worried or sad, if you want to talk… Well, I want to listen to you."
Miu was stunned. People rarely wanted to listen to what she had to say. It was hard to believe. Even with Takuma, it had been hard to believe he truly cared about what she said. But he had never stopped trying. He had never stopped asking for her opinions and about how she was doing. So she had had no option but to believe him. He was good with people the same way Saki always seemed to understand her. In the same way she and Minoru always clicked together and could talk for hours about things others found weird. It was a little strange. Sometimes, she was happy she had dragged them all into this world. It made her feel less alone. And other times…
"I want to know what you told my brother."
Aoi's smile vanished. Syakomon peeked out of her shell.
"They were talking about what to do about Miyuki," Labramon explained.
"Duh." Miu knew as much. "My brother wants to give up on her, I already know that."
Aoi took a long breath. "We'll decide what to do together. But it's getting hard to stay here. Minoru and Kaito are looking for places we could stay at, but it's not panning out. I wish I knew how to help Miyuki… But… We need to protect ourselves."
"And Takuma?"
“I don't know… I know everyone is hoping he might turn up but I… I just worry. I don't want anyone to take unnecessary risks. "
Miu frowned. Was that it?
"Are you worried he might turn out like Miyuki?" Syakomon, ever so sharp, asked.
Aoi grimaced.
Oh.
That'd truly be the worst!
It was too painful to even think about. About as painful as thinking of Kaito always jumping into the fray, doing stupid things, putting himself in danger. She couldn't really bear it. Miu sobbed.
"That's not… that's not really gonna happen, is it?"
"Miu… I'm sorry. I… Takuma will likely not turn out like that. I mean, Miyuki reappeared alone. I-I'm sorry. I'm always imagining the worst, and I made you worry because of it…"
Aoi's arms hovered over her, unsure of what to do. Miu closed the gap for the hug. It really was the worst thing to imagine. But it wasn't like it was true. Until she saw it, she'd refuse to believe it. Not knowing for sure sucked and always led to such bad thoughts, but…
"It's because you're always worrying all alone," Miu mumbled against her sweater.
Labramon agreed with her loudly: "I'm always telling her to tell you guys what she thinks!"
Aoi let out a weird laugh and rubbed circles on her back. "I'm sorry. I guess that's why you were eavesdropping. Don't do that. I… I tend to freak out and... All that, but I don't want everyone to panic with me. I—Listen, if we find anything new, I'll tell you all directly, okay?"
Miu hummed. And then yawned. She let Aoi lead her back to the Music Room.