After finishing her favorite meal and putting her plate in the sink, Emi fixed herself a cup of water as her Father made his way upstairs to watch television. Being too young and ignorant to wash dishes, she drank her cup of water before putting on the counter, now making her way to the stairs.
"I wonder what Lumi is up to right now!" Setting foot on the first stair, she suddenly stopped in her tracks, hearing the door behind her rattle. "Huh...? Oh, Mom's home!" Emi widened her eyes, running to the door to greet her mom.
And slowly, but surely, the front door creaked open just a bit before freezing.
"...Mom?" Emi said, slowing her steps.
There was nothing but silence until the door fully opened, revealing her mother standing there, keys still in hand. She looked tired, but when she saw Emi, her expression seemed relieved.
"Oh! Emi!" She said heartwarmingly. "You're still up?"
Emi beamed in excitement, rushing forward and wrapping her arms around her mom's waist.
"Welcome home!" She said bright as ever. "Dinner's ready! Me and Dad saved you some!"
Her mom laughed, hanging her bag onto the handle by the door and hugging her back.
"I can smell it. You two didn't burn the house down this time?"
"Nuh uh, Dad was the one who did all the cooking!" She replied.
"Is that so? He's always making your favorite meal, just to spoil you like always." Her mom teased, ruffling her hair, though as they pulled apart, Emi noticed something odd.
Her mom's shadow, cast by the living room's light—lagged behind her movements by just a fraction of a second.
Emi blinked multiple times in confusion.
"...?"
She shook her head quickly, telling herself that she was just tired from all the things that happened today.
"Make sure to go upstairs and get ready for bed, you have school tomorrow." Her mom said a bit demanding. "I'll eat and come check on you in a bit, alright dear?"
"Okay!" Emi nodded. "Good night, Mom!"
"Good night, sweetheart."
Emi skipped toward the stairs, approaching her room again before closing the door behind her.
She quietly opened her bedroom door and stepped inside, looking all around her for the Star Spirit.
"...Lumi?" She whispered, keeping her voice down.
There was no immediate response, causing her to frown. The teddy bear sat innocently on the floor and her homework was stacked neatly on the desk. The Silver Key rested on her pillow as well—so nothing changed when she was gone.
"...Lumi?" She muttered again.
All of a sudden, there was a shimmering light appearing near the ceiling.
"Oh. Hey!" Lumi's voice drifted down as he slowly descended. His expression seemed thoughtful—almost troubled—as if he's been overthinking some things.
"There you are!" Emi said, closing the door behind her. "What were you doing?"
"...Just thinking." He replied, causing the youth to tilt her head.
"That doesn't suit you."
"Hey!"
Emi giggled at his response, then climbed onto her bed, sitting cross-legged before picking up the Silver Key.
"...My Dad's worried." She said quietly. "About the Moonscar Gang. And about me."
Lumi floated closer to her, hovering in front of her face.
"Yeah. I heard from up here. He wants you to stay away from them, if I'm not mistaken."
Emi tightened the grip around the key, nodding her head.
"He thinks they're the scariest thing in this town, and that they're after me."
Lumi looked toward the window.
"Well... maybe you should listen to him, Emi."
"Huh, but why? Those guys are picking on Kenji, and many other kids! I can't just let them get what they want! That's cruel!"
Lumi gazed at her, seeing how righteous and good-hearted she was. It made him smile, just a bit.
"You have a golden heart, Emi, but you're still a kid!" Said Lumi, floating closer. "And just because you became a Magical Girl doesn't mean you can go off not listening to your parents. You have to still follow their orders."
Emi puffed her cheeks, turning her head away.
"That's not fair..." she muttered. "If I don't do anything, people get hurt. But if I do something, I'm in trouble. Either way, it feels wrong!"
"That's what growing up is like, you know? Things can be unfair. Especially the world. It's extremely unfair!"
She glanced back at him, furrowing her brows.
"It's dumb."
He chuckled.
"It is."
Emi sighed and flopped backward onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling.
She rested the Silver Key against her chest, letting it rise and fall with her breathing.
"...Lumi, something weird happened." She said, breaking the silence.
"Huh, what do you mean?"
"Earlier... when Mom came home." She hesitated to speak any further as she could only stare at the ceiling. "Uhh, never mind, I think I'm just really tired."
Lumi suddenly hovered above her, watching her face closely.
"...Emi." He said, furrowing his nonexistent brows. "If you saw anything out of the ordinary, let me know! You shouldn't be taking risks."
Emi widened her eyes before shaking her head in denial.
"N-Never mind, I was just overthinking. It's time for bed."
He stayed hovering above her like a nightlight, before sighing.
"...Alright." He said at last, though his voice lacked its usual enthusiasm. "But if you do see anything, even something small, you tell me immediately. Deal?"
Emi nodded, already turning onto her side.
"Deal."
She kicked off her socks, tugging the blanket up to her chin, and shut her eyes with a long yawn.
The day had been too crazy for her small body to keep up with.
She met a floating Star Spirit, became a Magical Girl, and learned about hidden secrets that no human was ever meant to discover. It all felt unreal.
"Goodnight Lumi, see you in the morning. You can sleep on my bed if you like."
Lumi drifted quietly toward the window, peeking through it at the darkened street below.
"Nah, it's fine. Spirits don't have human limitations. Sleeping, eating, or even breathing aren't things we do." He said, nodding reassuringly. "Just make sure you get some sleep, don't worry about me."
Emi yawned as she nodded her head with a gentle smile.
"Okay, that's good to know..."
And thus, sleep consumed her.
+
Morning came slowly as sunlight shone into Emi's room, painting stripes of gold across her floor.
Somewhere outside, birds were chirping as nature took its course, giving one a sense of comfort.
And so Emi slowly woke up from her sleep. "Mmm..." She groaned, burying her face into her pillow before lazily rolling onto her back.
For a second, she forgot everything that happened last night, until her fingers touched against metal.
Her eyes snapped open as she blinked multiple times.
"...Oh." She whispered.
The Silver Key was right next to her, fallen on her side.
"...Everything felt like a dream... but I guess this is really my new life now." Emi muttered before sitting up, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.
Glancing around her room, everything looked normal as usual.
Her homework was still stacked neatly. Her teddy bear sat where it always did, and there were no strange shadows.
"...Lumi?" She called out quietly until a familiar golden light flickered near her wardrobe.
"Haaah!" Lumi yawned dramatically as he appeared, stretching like someone who very much did sleep despite claiming otherwise. "Morning already? Wow, time really flies when you're existentially worried."
"You slept!" Emi said with a pouty face.
"More like rested my consciousness." He corrected smugly. "Very different."
She gave a little 'grrr' before swinging her legs off the bed.
The first thing she noticed was the smell of breakfast coming up from downstairs.
"Emi!" Her dad's voice suddenly called from below. "You're gonna be late if you don't get moving!"
"I'm awake!" She shouted back, scrambling to her feet.
She rushed through her morning routine; brushing her teeth, splashing water on her face, tugging on her school uniform while hopping on one foot. Everything felt rushed but it was muscle memory doing its job.
As she tied her ribbon in her hair, Emi glanced at the mirror with a smile, feeling proud of herself.
"Ehehehe!"
Downstairs, she could hear the clatter of dishes as her mom's voice followed soon after.
"Emi! Breakfast's ready!"
Emi took a deep breath as she talked to herself in the mirror.
"...Okay, it's a school day. It will be normal as always! Even though a lot of things have changed about me, my life is still the same!"
She walked to her bed and slipped the Silver Key into her bag, zipping it shut.
Lumi floated beside her, smiling.
"Humu." He chuckled. "Magical Girl or not, you've still got homework, school, and a lunch schedule to survive! Your life will still function as it always has. That's the good thing about all of this!"
Emi smiled, nodding her head at the Star Spirit.
"I suppose you're right... everything's looking ordinary as always!"
Lumi chuckled as Emi threw her backpack around her shoulder, approaching the door.
"By the way, are you coming with? Mom and Dad can't see you, so it should be fine, right?"
"Huh?" Lumi jolted back, widening his eyes. "Y-You mean you actually want me to accompany you to school?"
Emi blinked multiple times at his response, tilting her head to the side.
"Hm? Yeah, why wouldn't I? You're my new friend now."
"Friend??" Shouted the Star Spirit.
"Yeah! My new best friend!" She said, placing her hands on her hips. "And friends always have each other's backs!"
Lumi started blushing on his starry face, flustered by her response.
"I-If you really consider me a friend... then I guess it wouldn't hurt to stay beside you! I'll try not to ruin your normal life." He bowed respectfully.
"Ehehe, then come on!"
She opened her bedroom door and stepped into the hallway as Lumi slowly flew behind her.