"I hope she's fine.."
A long sigh accompanies the wish. Fuuka rubs her forehead as she's mulling over something.
"That's an awfully long sigh first thing in the morning.."
The last stairs creak below his feet, Keiki then pulls a chair at the table.
"Is it about Mii-chan?"
The housewife can only afford to let out a scoff.
"is it that obvious?"
He takes a sip of the coffee on the dining table, then turns his head around searching.
"Where is she? She finished breakfast already?"
"Hmm.. she grabbed a couple onigiri before bolting off"
"Was she in that much of a rush?"
"That's the thing-"
The middle aged woman inches closer as if trying to tell him a secret.
"She doesn't sound too good earlier"
The man remains silent, his inquisitive look alone presses her for more explanations.
"I thought I heard her throwing up several times in her room"
"You think she's coming down with something?"
He finally voices out his question.
"I don't know... when I asked her, she insists that she's fine"
"Come to think of it.."
His pupil touches the top corner of his eye, recalling the past.
"She seemed kinda out there last night too"
His eyeline bounce back to her,
"Should we get her checked?"
"You mean at the hospital?"
Fuuka's forehead wrinkles some more,
"You know she.. hates going there"
"Ah now that you mention it..."
Rubbing the back of his head,
"she'd come up with a million excuse if we even mentioned it..."
"Oh, what about that doctor friend of yours from before?"
Fuuka lights up with an idea.
"Can't you arrange a home visit again?"
"That doctor huh..."
His gaze scouts the room,
"No good?"
"It's nothing.."
He throws a heavy smile, followed by a barely audible sigh.
"I'll see what I can do.."
Something else occupies his mind.
Meanwhile,
back at the new training field, she and Daisuke confronts the beast that interrupts their training session.
"KKIIII KKIIII"
A chirping sound fills the calm meadow.
"S-stop it!"
Mizuki pleas.
Like cleaning the mud off a ball, the giant grounded bat continues licking at Mizuki's face, then her arms, then its own body. Not unlike a cat grooming itself.
"This is.."
She stands back up, observing that behavior.
"It must've liked the taste of your Reichitsu"
Daisuke comments.
Her gaze goes back and forth between him and the creature. Happily cleaning its body.
Purring.
"What's-"
She turns to his grin blinding her eyes.
"You knew???"
"Hmm, whatever could you mean-?"
"Don't gimme that!"
She grabs him by the collar with her gooey Reihado fists and shakes him violently.
"I had a feeling you were being too lax earlier! You knew it was harmless and you didn't bother to tell me?!"
"since it's a bat- with a cat body-, how about 'Nekomori'-?"
He propose.
"Don't try to change the topic now! Start explaining yourself!"
"Well well calm thyself"
Fixing his SP shirt and messed up hair, he casually continues
"My suspicion only arose when I was observing its pursuit on you earlier"
"I was fixing my gaze on that spectacle, but by fate, it was there that I realized..."
Grabbing his chin like he just figured out who the killer was, and with a determined face he exclaims
"The face you make then was so hilario-"
Before he can finish his sentence, a heavy ball of SP crash into his face sending him backward.
"That's not the point here!"
She violently retorts.
"You're just trying to annoy me aren't you!?"
"Well well that aside-"
Still planted on the ground, he continues,
"I also notice it was just chasing after your shadow throughout that"
"In other words, it seems more interested in playing than preying on you"
Though his tone suggests he's not fooling around, the Nekomori smelled the SP ball still stuck on his face and started licking it like popsicles.
"This creature looks like a result of a Reichi mutation"
"Reichi... Mutation..?"
That new term catches her attention but the Nekomori licking his serious face distracts her again.
'umm... are you gonna continue like that..?'
A strand of his SP launches forward and forms a string. Daisuke then wiggles it in front of the bat as it tries to stab it with its claws.
"Specifically-"
Then he continues,
"Our friend here looks like a hybrid of two species merged into one during a Reichi mutation event. No-"
He takes a closer look,
"Could even be more.."
"A conjoined animal.. like a chimera?"
She deduce.
"Yes yes, such names are also commonly used to address them"
"Wait wait hold on, firstly-"
still wrapping her heads around that new information.
"What's this Reichi event thingy? And how does Reichi even affect a real creature in the first place?"
"What do you mean?"
He bounces the question back to her while still in control of the string.
"Well.. aren't they supposed to be just a ghostly thing?"
"That's not true. I told you didn't I?"
"Reichi makes up the soul"
"But how does that explain-"
"And don't forget,"
He points toward her
"You are also in Reitai right now, a Reichitsu state"
"That is to say, Reichitsu is not disconnected from your own biology"
He walks around while tugging and extending his SP thread, leading on the playful Nekomori.
"Whatever happens to your physical body, affects your Reichitsu body"
He looks her in the eye, stopping briefly
"Which is also true the other way around"
She squirms a bit from that, hugging her hands.
"W-what do you mean?"
"Damages done to your Reichitsu state might affect your mental state"
He continues. Then offers her a reassuring smile.
"Although in our case, Reitai helps absorb that damage"
"However I suspect this one-"
He turns to the Nekomori and finally releases his SP string, letting the bat investigates for itself
"might not have the benefit of the Reitai.."
His gaze lays gently on the creature, almost sympathizing.
"I see..."
She crouches down to rub the creature's back while it's occupied with Daisuke's toy.
"I never thought they work like that.."
She sits down with that eye opening revelation for a few minutes. But then-
"Can we keep it?"
A different idea pops into her mind. The glitter in her eyes overshadows the absurdity the request.
"Are you even listening to me?"
She stresses her plea, with puppy eyes.
"But it's so cute!"
She hugs Nekomori as it licks its own lips.
"We don't even know how dangerous this thing can be"
He scorns, crossing his arm.
"You say that but..."
Pointing to his hand under that cross, unamused.
"you're not convincing anybody when you're playing with him too"
Fiddling his SP fishing rod in front of Nekomori's face as its round eyes dance to the swinging.
"This is merely a test..."
"A test?"
She questions, doubtful.
"Yes, a test of his... reflex"
"You just made that up!"
She retorts.
"You can drop the cool act. I know you also want to keep Nemori chan"
"That's not true"
Still scoffing in denial of the obvious.
"And it's Nekomori chan!"
"That's not important"
She just pounces on the Nekomori as it's chomping the fishing rod that's no longer in his palm.
"Hehe Nekori chan~!"
Hugging the human sized beast as it's mauling the rod. Kicking and biting the toy apart.
"So fluffy~!"
"Good heavens, don't keep changing the name"
But the girl just ignores him as she's drown in Nekomori's furry back.
"Still, a bat this big is quite amazing now that I think about it.."
Continuing to pet it until even the giant new pet seems ticklish, brushing her fingers away with its claw. But then, her hands slows down until it comes to a halt on the warmth of its belly.
"Wait a minute, you are-"
Mizuki stares through the creature's hand, recalling a past memory sometime ago.