Chiaki wakes up the next morning.
I on the other side didn't have that kind of luck and constantly wished for time to proceed faster.
In the end, I settled down to re-reading some of my light novels while adjusting my eyes so I don't need to make light and wake up Chiaki.
Which isn't too hard, as apparently nothing can disturb her sleep.

Nightvision is apparently a thing for me and I don't need any profound knowledge about anatomy to make it happen.
The mere intention was enough.
I don't know if Kuri sleeps but she didn't move the whole night and I had no intention to disturb this peaceful image.

 

Eventually, it's morning.
I set 7:30 am as my personal moment to get started.
To make mum happy I prepare breakfast.
It's not like there's a reason why I couldn't spend my time usefully.
I also have an abundance of energy so doing something nice at times should be a given.
It doesn't take too long till mum is up.

 

"Ah! Breakfast! Thank you, sweety!" (S)

"No problem." (I)

 

A look around shows that Kuri is as well up and a short time later Chiaki comes out of my room.
She looks as energetic as always.

 

"Did you sleep well?" (I)

"Like a log." (C)

"Great to hear. Now come and eat." (I)

 

Soon we all sit at the table.

 

"So, what did you two plan for today?" (S)

"I want to learn how to use my magical lifeforce energy and for this reason, Iori will accompany me into the forest!" (C)

"Ahh... Okay... Great... Sorry, might take a while till I get used to this supernatural stuff." (S)

"It's not like I'm the slightest bit more proficient than you." (I)

"If you say so. But I think you're slowly adapting. That one panic attack was already quite some time ago." (S)

"Panic attack?" (C)

"Yes, she covered the whole bath in tentacles because she was afraid I would see her in her demon form." (S)

"Demon form?" (C)

"Yes. Tiny horns, a slim little tail, and those cute elf ears." (S)

"What!?! I would've loved to see that!" (C)

 

Oh, I'm sure about that.
And because of that, you'll never see it.

 

"Mum! Did you have to tell her about that?" (I)

"It's the privilege of a mother to tell everyone all the embarrassing stories of her children." (S)

"God!" (I)

 

I lower my head onto the plate.

 

"Pfft!" (C)

"So regarding your little venture, I think you should take Kuri with you." (S)

"Kuri!?" (I)

"Don't act so surprised. We can't lock her always in here. Getting out at times will be good for her." (S)

 

Kuri meanwhile concentrates on her meal as if nothing we discuss would concern her.

 

"Maybe good for her, but what about the world?" (I)

 

At the moment, I only know that she's a ghost mass murderer.

 

"That's even more of a reason. She needs some experiences out there. How else would she get used to this?" (S)

 

Mum is convincing even if I feel like someone who got forced to take her younger sibling on a tour.

 

"Is that fine with you Chiaki?" (I)

"Sure. But it might become a bit dangerous. As I said the demons might come running for the lifeforce." (C)

To be honest, I still have no idea about the nature of this energy.
According to Zika lifeforce and miasma are polar opposites.
Yet she might have simplified it.
Maybe it's like fire and smoke so that too much smoke extinguishes the flame it feeds from?
I have no idea.

Maybe I'll ask Zika about this.
When she's in a better mood.
Which might be quite distant in the future.

 

"Running for the lifeforce?! Are you doing something dangerous?" (S)

"Please, mum. That's not the kind of problem where you should call her mother. We are trying to help Chiaki so she can protect herself from monsters." (I)

"Urgh, I feel irresponsible. But especially if it's like this you should take Kuri with you." (S)

"What does she mean?" (C)

"Ah, you haven't seen Kuri in action yet. She can be... quite a force." (I)

"Really? I would like to see that." (C)

"No, no, no, no. We will reign the calamity in as much as possible." (I)

"Sorry." (K)

"Uh, no. This wasn't meant negatively. It's just that you need to learn to restrain yourself. You could easily destroy things, or people. (I)

 

She still looks a little sullen.

 

"If you're a nice girl I'll spend in exchange almost the entire day with you." (I)

"Yay! I love you, mum!" (K)

 

Oh no.
This caused an eruption.

 

"Cough, cough." (C)

"Chiaki! Are you fine?" (I)

"Yes, yes. Just a little smoke." (C)

 

Okay, don't react to the fact that most of this drifts to mum and gets sucked inside her.
You have other problems.

 

"No, no. That's miasma. Be careful not to breathe it in." (I)

"Okay, in this case, I think we should leave the apartment." (C)

 

That's a good idea.

So we hurry up and soon are leaving my home.

 

"Bye you all! Have a nice day!" (S)

 

I guess the main reason for mum to send Kuri with us was so she could get one calm day for herself.
In my opinion, she deserves that.

 

We pass the streets and I walk next to Kuri.
I have to make sure that Kuri's presence isn't dangerous to Chiaki.
Also, I need to make her refrain from future massacres.

 

"Kuri, you still need to be careful with Chiaki. As far as I know, your black smoke isn't compatible with her lifeforce. She is my best friend and I don't want you to harm her. Or repeat what happened to mum." (I)

"Uh, I'm not sure if I could. It's so much. And it burns a bit." (K)

 

Hmm, this is actually an interesting piece of information.
Even if I look at Chiaki it feels a little like staring straight into the blazing sun.
Maybe it's her purity.
And well, I'm not exactly pure.

Zika is feeding on negative emotions so this might mean that it's the dark part of life that strengthens demons while the other does not.
Yet who said that demons couldn't support this to happen?
Making someone feel miserable.
And if someone has more, there's more to corrupt.
Hence why they're targeting Chiaki if she can see them.
Even so, Kuri's power is simply overwhelming, so it's more concerning to have her close to Chiaki.

 

"Just be careful that no one gets hurt. We're not going around killing stuff. That includes people and ghosts. But especially people. You have to always be absolutely lenient towards them. Even if they're hostile you can't kill them. I'm not saying that you can't defend yourself, you can. But we can't have normal people see you using your powers." (I)

 

I still have the incident from yesterday in mind and believe that Kuri would have annihilated those guys.
However, she should be allowed to deal with hostile entities.
At least Kuri can ward them off without any greater effort.
Chiaki drags us on the next bus and I decide that this is the right time to confirm something.

 

"Chiaki, I know you said we're going to a forest but could you be a little bit more concrete?" (I)

"Oh, you will love it! To be honest, I've looked it up some time ago. The Nakano forest. It's an absolute insider tip. The review says that the whole place reeks of spirituality. Many go there to do stuff like Tai Chi, or meditation. Don't you think this will be great?!" (C)

 

I don't want to break it for Chiaki, but I wouldn't give too much on online advertisements for spirituality.
The bus drives for quite a while and Kuri looks the whole time totally fascinated out of the window.
It's interesting that the other passengers don't notice that anything is off about her.
There was even an elder couple who gave her sympathetic looks because they thought she looked a bit sickly and then gave her sweets.
I was a little too embarrassed to say anything.
Wouldn't have known how to correct this impression in the first place.
Well, at least Kuri had a very elated reaction to the sweets.

 

Finally, we arrive at the station leading to the rumored forest.
It's a small parking and resting area which gives a good outlook on the forest.
Well, regarding my first impression,

Damnit!
Chiaki was right.
Something is up with this place.
I see some kind of aura smoke drifting everywhere over this whole landscape.
It's certainly feeling unnatural.
A small ocean of trees shifting and glowing, giving it an eery atmosphere of being alive.

Why do I have a bad premonition?