Miko also felt quite aggrieved inside.
She couldn't tell her mother about Akuto either.
The pressure from both sides weighed on her, and her eyes grew slightly red.
"It's okay, I understand."
"It's Mom's fault for not doing better. I should have realized Kyosuke had already grown up."
Mrs. Yotsuya placed the milk on the table, stood up to open the door, and hesitated for a moment at the doorway before speaking:
"Miko, if anything's bothering you, you can talk to me."
"Yeah, I know."
...Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Kyosuke was sulking.
However, he soon noticed something.
He didn't seem to see whether his sister had any kiss marks on her at all because a sudden gust of wind had blown through the bathroom then.
Miko looked around; the bathroom didn't even have a window, only an exhaust fan.
How could there have been such a strong wind?
"Where did the wind come from?"
In the room.
Miko sent a message to Hana on her phone.
"What kind of gifts do fifth-grade boys like?"
Hana: [Eh? Transformers or something like that... What's wrong?]
Miko: [I had a fight with my brother.]
Hana: [I see. Tomorrow is Saturday, so let's go shopping together! It's the perfect time to buy a gift for your brother!]
Miko: [That's a huge help. Let's meet at the Satake Shopping District at ten tomorrow.]
"Okay!"
Akuto didn't go out that night either. After all, it wasn't time for his tasks yet; going out would just be wandering aimlessly, and being in a female body made it quite dull.
When Miko woke up the next day, Mrs. Yotsuya had already left for work.
For the sake of the family, Mrs. Yotsuya didn't have weekends off.
Kyosuke sat on the sofa watching TV, petulantly refusing to speak to Miko.
"I'm heading out."
"Oh."
"I'll bring you a gift."
"Whatever."
Looking at her angry brother, Miko couldn't help but smile as she opened the door and walked out.
On the bus.
Miko was looking at her phone when she suddenly heard a strange sound.
The next moment, several heads like pythons poked out from under the seat in front of her, and then a Cursed Spirit gradually stood up.
That Cursed Spirit had multiple heads on a single body.
Each head was saying something before breaking into a fit of wild, ear-piercing laughter.
Miko, however, seemed accustomed to it and changed seats with an expressionless face.
"This spirit... I can't beat it..."
Miko's eye twitched; she didn't plan on fighting a Cursed Spirit in public.
So when she reached her stop, Miko decisively got off the bus.
"Miko!! Over here!"
Hana was as energetic as ever, waving her arms and drawing the gazes of several nearby men.
The two wandered through the shopping district.
"You look like you're in bad shape. By the way, what happened between you and Kyosuke?"
Miko thought about it and ended up telling Hana about her troubles.
Hana also looked a bit troubled after hearing it.
"That is quite embarrassing."
"It's hard for an older sister to talk about such things... and Kyosuke really isn't a little kid anymore."
The two continued to wander aimlessly.
Suddenly, Miko's gaze was involuntarily drawn to a shop by the roadside.
[Fortune-telling, Exorcism, Godmother of Spirits]
"Hana, let's go check that place out."
Miko couldn't take her eyes off the shop; ignoring Hana, she walked toward it on her own.
"If I could get some kind of 'Spiritual Tool,' fighting would be much easier."
"That pervert yesterday almost provoked two Cursed Spirits. In the future, there will definitely be situations where I have to deal with many of them."
Miko thought back to last night's battle and suddenly felt like the shop before her was glowing.
It was practically a godsend!
"Miko, wait for me!"
Miko ran to the front of the shop; it was just a street-side stall, and the room behind it was off-limits to customers.
"Are there any powerful prayer beads?"
Miko looked at the Old Woman behind the counter.
"Miko, are you interested in this kind of stuff now? I want some too, I want some too."
Miko glanced at Hana, remembered the perverted ghost in the desk drawer from not long ago, and nodded firmly.
"Yeah!"
The Old Woman behind the counter glanced at the two and then turned around.
"Two more students, huh? Not much profit to be made. I'll just give them a couple of strings to send them on their way."
The moment she turned back, the Old Woman put on a kind smile.
"My two lovely customers, these are luck-bringing prayer beads. They are filled with energy!"
"It feels like they're really powerful!"
Hana looked at the bracelet excitedly.
"Can I try it on?"
Miko glanced at the bracelet but didn't feel any energy from it.
"Of course."
With the Old Woman's permission, Miko picked up the bracelet and put it on. In the next instant, a surge of energy erupted from within Miko's body.
*Snap!*
The bracelet exploded, and the prayer beads hit her painfully.
The Old Woman's pupils shrank.
She looked closely at the two girls in front of her; the blonde-haired girl was brimming with a dense aura of life.
As for this poker-faced girl... As the Old Woman watched, she suddenly seemed to see something incredible. Her mouth fell open, revealing her few remaining teeth.
Before she could look away, her consciousness was instantly pulled into an unfamiliar environment.
The Old Woman looked around in terror.
Blood, wreckage.
On a high throne, a tall man rested his head on one hand, looking down at her with disdain.
"Yo, Old Woman."
"W-What are you looking at?"
With a smirk, the Old Woman seemed to hear the screams and wails of countless vengeful spirits!
She saw a mountain made of corpses, with the man standing atop it, covered in blood.
The next moment, the Old Woman clearly felt her head fly off, as if severed by something!
"Heh—"
The Old Woman gasped sharply. Coming back to her senses, she lost her footing and fell onto her backside.
A metallic, sweet taste filled her mouth.
The clutter at her feet made a clattering sound.
"Are you okay, ma'am?"
Hana leaned in with concern.
The Old Woman's face was pale. She swallowed hard, her expression turning grave:
"Little girl, I'm a bit thirsty. Could I trouble you to buy me a cup of hot milk nearby? I'll give you the money."
Hana nodded slightly.
"Then please wait a moment, ma'am."
Hana turned and left, and the Old Woman immediately opened the counter:
"Child, come inside."
Miko was completely confused but went in anyway, following the Old Woman to the room inside the shop.
Upon entering the room, the Old Woman busily brought out some Talismans and placed a large pile of dolls around Miko.
*Whoosh!*
The next moment, the Talismans suddenly caught fire without any wind, burning at a visible speed.
"It's not enough? Good thing I prepared some extra."
The Old Woman placed more Talismans around Miko and then said to her gravely.
"Inside your body, there is an incredibly powerful Cursed Spirit."
"Its power is something I've never seen before in my life. Little girl, how did you get mixed up with something like this?"
Miko opened her mouth, but after a while, her eyelids drooped as if she didn't know where to start:
"This... It's a long story."
The Old Woman looked at the talismans; one had already finished burning, and the second one caught fire.
"Before these Talismans and dolls finish burning, the thing inside you won't be able to hear our conversation."
"You... can see them, can't you?"
Miko nodded bitterly, still somewhat shocked that the Old Woman could block out Akuto.
After all, she knew all too well how powerful Akuto was.
"To what extent can you see?"
The Old Woman's expression was grave.
"Very clearly. I can see everything. They're everywhere on the streets, and some can even affect reality."
---
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