Brave Fighters Get Scammed Too

Holding her dress, Mizuki stands. Pulling a cloak over her shoulders to make sure she isn't cold while she's out, she pushes the door open. It creaks and she's instantly hit in the face by a gust of cold wind.

6 o' clock is smeared in indigo and purple, Mizuki's words falling into a sigh. Even the street lights flicker. Mizuki follows the sound, noticing the streetlights—one after the other—gleaming red, white, a faint yellow.

Close by, a little down the street, Mizuki catches sight of a few cats. She recognises them and they recognise her too, especially the one that reminds her of Hinata. Maybe she'll call it that, Hina. Hina curls at the sight of Mizuki. What's more surprising, rather, is the mysterious person that's with the cats. Their purring only grows louder as the wind picks up pace but none of the neighbours seem to complain.

The covered-up stranger turns at the sound of Mizuki's approaching footsteps. Mizuki crouches next to her, reaching a hand out to Hina who rejects her touch, continuing to nuzzle up to the stranger, however.

"The cats were being too loud," she speaks as she turns her head to the stranger. To her surprise, the stranger has her eye on her already. Her cloak has been blown off her head, revealing hair as dark as navy blue and bright yellow eyes. Mizuki narrows her eyes slightly, though she's not even sure why. Something feels off.

"Ah, I apologise," she mutters in a soft but polite voice. It's smooth and even comforting, so much so it could be a melody of its own. She turns her head back to the cats. Mizuki lowers her gaze to the stranger's bag, raising an eyebrow at the glistening object. "You know, it's rude to stare," she voices, moving her satchel away from Mizuki's eyeline.

"Right," Mizuki clears her throat. "You feel oddly familiar."

"Do I?" And there's something about her voice that hits deep too. She brushes her hair over her shoulder and it's long enough to almost touch the ground. Her eyes sparkle under the light and Mizuki wonders how someone could look so close to ethereal. "I'm nothing more than a twilight that passes," she smiles.

"Do you live around here?" Mizuki questions, quickly adding. "If you don't mind me asking. I don't mean to be invasive."

The lady takes the cat in her hands, nuzzling it up to her face. "Oh, no, I come from a land far, far away. I only travelled in hopes of finding something valuable to me. I must return soon to continue my conquests."

"A person?"

The lady turns her head. "Perhaps that too but I have no idea where he might be. A brother of mine. I wonder how he's doing after all these years," she confesses. "You like to ask a lot of questions, don't you, Mizuki?"

"How—" Mizuki splutters.

"Hotaru," the lady puts the cat down gently. She stands, pulling the hood of her cloak over her head once again. Mizuki wonders why she needs to cover herself up even when it's so dark in the day. It's not like anyone's around either. "You're going to see my name in the future. We'll cross paths again."

"Do you have a surname instead—?" Mizuki stands too.

"I don't," Hotaru corrects sternly. "I have no time left to waste," she adds as she turns on her heel. Even as Mizuki calls out to her, she continues walking and walking till eventually her silhouette is too small to be seen. It's like she has vanished.

Mizuki squints and the wind only gets heavier. For some reason, she feels like floating away. Brushing the cats lightly, she returns to her home again, thinking about the odd encounter.

'I feel like I've seen her before', Mizuki grumbles, kicking off her shoes. She starts to realise how much she hates leaving the house, only to return to an empty home. For another unknown reason, she's brought back to thoughts of Hinata.

On her way upstairs, she's vaguely reminded of the photocard she saw earlier of Hinata and his sister. A little girl, hair raven black and striking yellow eyes. It's definitely a coincidence.

Like most other instances, this one remains at the back of Mizuki's mind, untouched and weird as it may be, unquestioned. Mizuki studies the night away, emerging from the studying session with nothing more than one proper incantation memorised.

One good thing, though, is she has the history of spells nailed down so she can better understand the context. Mizuki shakes her head at the sound of birds chirping outside, peering over to notice that there's sunlight peeking through the windows.

'I might've gone a tiny bit overboard', she grits her teeth as cleans the books up. Her impromptu game plan is to go out and get a bit of exploring done in the town, maybe even rack up friendship points with short favours if she's lucky. First thing, though, she decides she'll go out to see how the plants are doing.

Quickly cleaning up, Mizuki pushes the back door open, hoping to get herself more ingredients to experiment with for breakfast. To her luck, she finds ripe tomatoes and even a couple of carrots that are ready for picking.

Mizuki picks up a straw basket left by the side, gathering a handful of vegetables in it. She approaches the shrubs of herbs, leaning forward as she wonders if they're ready for picking. She knows absolutely nothing about gardening.

Do I even need herbs? she questions mentally, trying to recall any recipe that comes to mind. Nothing does. Mizuki ultimately decides there's no harm in trying, picking at a plant with particularly narrow leaves. "Rosemary," she notes as an information panel slides into her view.

Letting out a satisfied hum, she returns to the kitchen. "Ooh! I can make an omelet," she jests, promptly dumping the correct ingredients into a pot while she leaves the basket at the corner of one of the counters.

By the time she turns back, her plate is halfway through the air. Mizuki catches her breath, leaning forward with only one foot on the ground to keep her standing. The plate falls in her hand. Mizuki composes herself. Taking a fork to dig into her food, she grumbles, "Still haven't gotten used to this catching thing, ugh."

Mizuki finishes the food quick enough, so much so that she doesn't bother to sit down at the table to eat the rest of it. Leaving her dirty plate in the sink, Mizuki wipes her mouth with a cloth and proceeds to change into a more appropriate set of clothes. She has started to pay less attention to what she wears out now, as long as it looks legitimate enough. Fixing on her leather sleeves as basic armour, Mizuki strolls out of the house, wondering where to wander.

On her way downtown, she's stopped by a tug at her skirt. Mizuki lowers her gaze, spotting a little kid standing by her. She has her hair done in braids, red ribbon woven through her hair. Slung around her shoulders is a bag filled with toys. She holds up a silver pinwheel to Mizuki's face. "Miss, would you like to buy this toy?"

"Oh, no, I'm fine," Mizuki declines, about to walk away.

"It can dispel magic!" she exclaims brightly. Mizuki pauses in her tracks. She turns, attention now piqued. The little girl continues, smiling wider now, "It doesn't break unless you're faced by a really strong wind. Even bad, bad enemies can't break it!"

Mizuki's eyes glitter with interest. "How much is it?"

"Ten thousand!" the child chirps. Mizuki blinks.

"Why is it so expensive?"

"It's very durable, you know," the kid persuades, flashing a patronising smile. Mizuki pulls out a bag of coins, happily giving her the bag in exchange for the enchanted pinwheel. MIzuki holds her new item in her hand, lifting it to the sky proudly. "I'm sure you'll be an all-powerful fighter with this new item, miss."

Mizuki thanks, grinning brightly. "Huh, Adelia should've told me I could buy something like this instead of practicing spells. Much easier. Convenient too," she remarks to herself. On the way down the street, she runs into Miko who calls out to her.

"Whatcha got in your hand there?" Miko questions, leaning forward as she judges the object.

"It's some magic-dispelling pinwheel. It's special," Mizuki flaunts proudly. Miko stands back, furrowing her eyebrows quizzically. "The seller told me it wouldn't break even in the face of strong enemies. It's a snatch, only ten thousand coins."

Miko narrows her eyes, "Who exactly is the seller?"

"The girl over there," Mizuki points at the girl with braided her, prancing around to an older woman with the sack of coins in her hand. Miko places an arm on Mizuki's shoulder, a sympathetic frown on her face. Mizuki cocks her head in confusion.

"You got scammed," Miko lays it on her bluntly.

"It can't be," Mizuki frowns. "Besides, how would you know?"

Miko shoots her a 'You chose to doubt me?' expression and snatches the pinwheel out of Mizuki's grip. With the sheer force of her arms, she snaps the pinwheel in half, revealing that it's not even made out of iron or anything, just a scrap of painted wood.

Mizuki stares, distraught. She can't tell if it's sadder that she got fooled by a kid or that her ten thousand coin worth item is now in pieces. Little kids are literal devils.