My Normal Life Now Has a Clingy New Friend

“I’m not going.”

“You’re gonna say that after she let us crash here?” Sarine grumbled, to which Tama groaned and turned onto her other side. “Speaking of, you’ll be late if you keep mumbling and shutting your alarm off. Get up before I zap you.”

“Didn’t Ohzora tell you to quit it with the threats?”

“Mh, but this is part of my job, isn’t it?”

“Ugh. You suck.”

“But you’re gonna go. I’m not letting you skip.”

Tama buried herself within her futon in one final act of resistance—but, eventually, out of the shriveled kindness of her heart, Tama sighed and shoved herself into an upright position, bed-head on full display. She knew she had to go, but it wouldn’t stop her from putting up a fight the entire way there. Though Tama didn’t care whether Sarine got upset from her words, Chiho had been nothing but a gracious host; she let the other girl sleep over, and even offered to get up early and make breakfast so Tama could sleep in.

She needed to get up. She owed it to Chiho, even if she really didn’t want anything to do with this magic crap.

Really, even if Chiho was some super heroic magical girl with some big duties on her shoulders living in a massive mansion with a traditional life, traditional family, all while Tama complained on social media in her Western style bed, house—whatever. Chiho lived a weird life.

Tama rubbed her eyes, and with a groan, went to retrieve her clothes hung on a laundry line outside the other sliding door, leading to another garden. She had to borrow Chiho’s old clothes to sleep in, but at least she found the time to get her uniform ready.

“Society Prime, huh,” Tama said.

Sarine sighed. “Is that my cue?”

“Hey, if you’re gonna guide me, you might as well tell me shit.”

“I don’t know anything about them!” Sarine crossed her arms, flitting about the room. “…I have some ideas, though. Okay? So don’t interrupt me.”

Sarine flew about the room in circles. “Since we’ve got here, I’ve had a weird feeling. Nothing bad, but—it’s just something about this place. You know how loud music makes it feel like your heart’s beating to the rhythm of the song? It’s…the feeling’s something like that, but with magical potential. I’ll need to see the Ohzora family shrine for myself to confirm, but if she works for an organization who calls themselves Society Prime…”

Sarine turned to Tama with a smile. “We’re in good hands.”

“That doesn’t tell me anything helpful,” Tama said, snatching her clothes back and running to the bathroom. “But if it’s not a trap, I guess I gotta go along with it or you’ll choke me out in my sleep.”

…

“Uh, you won’t do that, right?”

Tama received no response. She dressed, hurrying to breakfast, where the smell of delicious miso and grilled mackerel nourished her soul before they even reached her mouth.

Oddly enough—despite the massive size of the kitchen, no one else cooked there but Chiho. No parents, no siblings. All that room and for what? Tama flopped into a seat comfortably close to Chiho’s, digging into her meal after a quick thanks.

“So what’s up with this?” Tama said between bites, mixing egg yolk and rice together with a gentle swish of her chopsticks. “Your parents live here, right? What about siblings? Any servants?”

“Um, no servants,” Chiho said, folding her chopsticks on her plate before she spoke with a sheepish smile. “I have a few siblings, actually, along with two aunts and some cousins who live with me. My parents wake up extra early to check the shrine for overnight damage; my older sister goes with them. They don’t come back until later. The rest of my family either starts the day at a different time or uses the second kitchen, so I’m often on my lonesome.”

“There’s a second!?”

“Three, actually!”

“Three…uh, I mean—sounds like a lot. So you take care of yourself then?”

“Mhm. My parents aren’t usually approving of me inviting friends to stay the night. Due to—circumstances.”

Chiho looked out the window. “…We don’t live in a normal home. The shrine my parents watch over is a direct communion point with the Powers of Prime.”

Sarine slammed her hands on the table. “I knew it! Ever since we made it here, I could sense the raw magical energy in these woods.”

The reticent girl turned her mackerel over and nodded, Lavi flying into Tama’s face and taking over. “Yeah, yeah!” she said, “Lots and lots of magical folk come by to talk to the Powers this way. The shrine spills out tons of excess energy: lures in mischievous spirits, attracts creatures of all kinds, and even makes weird disappearances happen. It’s said if a tree falls on you here, you’ll be reincarnated into another world with a special ability!”

“Precisely why we like to avoid visitors,” Chiho said. Sarine stared at Tama, who scooted away from the faerie’s intense gaze.

Tama cleared her plate, pushing it away. “Yeesh. Sounds kinda lonely…But, if it means anything, the food was awesome—if I could come over and mooch off your cooking every morning, I would.”

“…Ah.”

Chiho pursed her lips.

She leaned forward, grabbed Tama’s hands. “You…wish to visit again?”

“Uh—” Tama blinked. “Sure. You’re nice, and this place is pretty sweet too. Plus I have Sarine with me, and she’s magic. She can fight off evil spirits or whatever, right?”

“I’m not a weapon you can throw at whatever scares you,” Sarine said, though her complaint went ignored as Chiho let out a squeal, pulling Tama over the table to give her a hug.

“A friend—I’ve never had a friend I could invite over before! Oh, please,” she pulled away, “Please join Society Prime! They’ll teach you to protect yourself, and then you can come over whenever you want, anytime, all the time! On days off, after school, it’ll be so much fun!”

“Okay, okay! Enough with the sales pitches, I said I’d do it!”

“Please! Please do so!”

Sarine watched the pair, and though Tama may have failed to notice, Sarine saw the smile on the girl’s face. Lavi left their sides and landed next to Sarine.

“I’ve never seen her so happy before,” she said. “We might have a promising future yet; don’t you think so?”

“…I don’t know,” Sarine said, though the sparkle in her eyes, the first in far too long, said it all.