Revelations of a Truthful Heart [Private]

It was dark. Why was she outside when it was so dark? It was darker tonight than it had been for quite some time. Michiko questioned her sanity as she slowly wandered through the streets, but she had been putting her ear to the ground for quite some time, as of late. She'd been hearing rumors of students going missing and then coming back as if nothing had happened. Normally it wouldn't seem suspicious, but all of these students were either relatively high-ranking, or they had some kind of power that was rather interesting. Michiko's power was interesting, but she was intelligent enough to go out alone at night--of course. With a soft sigh, she traversed the streets while keeping her wits about her. Her eyes darted left and right as she tried to pick out the shapes in the murky blackness. She was definitely scared, and not afraid to show it. Her entire body shook from head to toe, and every step she took was slow and steady.

"H-hello?" She called out, trying to see if there were anyone nearby. Smart thinking, Michiko. Make them aware of your presence. But she needed that feeling of aloneness to be sure that she wasn't being stalked. Of course, people chasing her wouldn't be dumb enough to call out back, right? Right. She sighed softly and tried to increase the pace of her step. She wanted to get back home quickly. If she didn't, she might get chased down. She'd come out to do her research, and found nothing. It was definitely time to make her way back to where she needed to go. If she didn't rush, there was a chance that someone would take her out. With each of her steps, she almost heard another one echoing in it. She slowed herself, quieted her steps. The other steps didn't quiet. Her heart started beating at a higher rate. Her body shook more, and she slowly turned around. She almost didn't have time to scream.

Her scream was cut short as a red-headed girl appeared in front of her and gripped her hand, ushering her along in hushed tones. "Hey, hey, hey! Shhhh!! You're being followed, come on!" She was basically overtaken by a flurry of red hair and, in the heat of the moment, decided that it was in her best interests to follow this new person. They'd have her goose cooked if they weren't the purest of people, but frankly she was more worried about her goose being cooked by the things in the dark. At least if this was her killer, she'd see it coming. Michiko saw the girl turn her head behind her for a mere moment, pale slightly and then try to run a little faster. If that wasn't worrisome, Michiko didn't know what would be. She tried to keep her breathing up and make sure she didn't fall behind, but Michiko wasn't much of a runner. Honestly, she wasn't much of anything. "Come on, come on!" The words were shouted rather than hushed, and Michiko took that as bad. Bad meant run faster. So she ran faster, following the girl right into a dead end. Her feet stopped fast, and she stared up at the thing that had appeared right in front of them.

"Sh--it." The girls echoed each other as they both stared at the being who sent an arm down at them. Michiko went to move away, but was startled as the arm passed right through them both. She closed one eye and stared quietly, shivering and shaking in quivering fear. She watched a moment more, before feeling herself being pushed away from the new girl who seemed to want to save her. This attempt almost failed, Michiko watching the newcomer knock away this new girl and put her up against a wall. She swallowed and landed on her ass, staring up at the thing that had turned its attentions to her. She was quietly staring, not sure how she was going to deal with this. "I.. what do you want with me?" Talking sounded like a good idea. Yeah. Maybe it'd speak and give away its position! That was a great idea!

What do I want with you? What does an insect like yourself care? She yelped. That voice was inside her head, she knew it. She just knew it. Did you think you could fool me into stopping to talk? Pitiful child... A hand reached up and started to move towards her head. Michiko felt her confidence that she had pulled up to talk to it just drip away as tears formed at the edges of her cheeks. She sniffed and began to cry, fearing for her own life and safety.

"Please, someone..."

She felt the fingers grip around her head.

"s-save me."

"No ya don't!" She felt the beating of her heart halt in her chest for a moment, gaze moving upwards to see something coming down at both her and the stranger. A weapon was in the thing's hand, and that weapon cut through the arm of the beast and split her apart from it. She fell backwards, trying to catch herself and managing to land on her right arm with a grunt. Pain rushed up through the nerves and she bit her bottom lip, but she endured. She couldn't stop herself from staring--the figure that had appeared was beautiful and deadly. Red eyes streaked through the darkness, breaking apart the silence that Michiko endured through the beating of her heart. She closed her eyes and imagined that scene in her head in full light, but could not even consider bringing it to pass. She slid backwards, away from the fight and got to her knees, trying to stand up and make her head stop spinning. She slowly clambered to her feet, stumbling a little but then righting herself and looking over at the redhead who had gotten her out of this mess in the first place. She coughed and hacked, stepping over and kneeling down beside her with a worried expression on her face, trying to rouse the girl. She didn't know what was wrong with her, and she probably wouldn't--unless...

She swallowed back her worries, and looked over to see the two continuing to fight. They battled it out for a little longer, Michiko seeing an advantage in the newcomer. That's right, she had to do everything that she could as well! She looked back at the red-headed girl and swallowed again. If she recalled correctly, being in a contract with another person always gave her a little feeling as to how the other one was. She might be able to use that to work out where they were injured, right? She assured herself of this and leaned forwards, bringing her eyes even with the closed ones of the other. "In the body, I contract thee..." Her voice barely a whisper, as she moved her face ever so closer. She'd be able to make the contract in a manner of mo--You alright?"

"Eep!" She jumped backwards, landing on her arse once more with a pained yelp. She slowly turned around to see the face of the new girl looking down at her. With a sore expression, she nodded a couple of times; face redder than a tomato, for obvious reasons. "I was just trying... t-to see if she was okay..." She wasn't lying. She tried to brush herself off and get to her feet again, and found that she was shaking almost uncontrollably. She slowly gathered the strength to make contact with the red eyes and attempted her best and sweetest smile. "I-I'm Michiko. H-Hasegawa Michiko, contractor of spirits!" She sharply bowed and stiffly straightened up again, face bright and burning the entire time.

"You were trying to kiss the girl, weren't ya?" Her heart stopped, and she felt her face turn brighter, stepping back a pace to be sure she wasn't about to be slapped. She opened her mouth to reply and argue her case, but no words seemed to come out. She swallowed and tried again, yet it was still completely useless. Michiko felt the cold wall of the alley press up against her back, and she shivered from the feeling of its touch, now staring at this red-eyed woman with a worried gaze. "I-I..." The woman approached her, and Michiko knew that she was completely trapped, closing one eye and putting her hands against the brickwork as well. She simply had to explain how her power worked! It would be fine if she did that--if she could actually do it--but her body didn't seem to want to respond. The light of the moon shone into the alley and exposed the face of the girl when she stepped out of the shadows, and Michiko was smitten by her beauty. She shivered and almost lost the strength in her knees, but was bolstered by the confident words from the other.

"If you wanted a kiss, sweetheart..." Suddenly, there was no distance between them. Michiko didn't know how quickly she had approached, but she knew that the time taken was tiny. She swallowed and stared into those bright red eyes for the time, wondering if it had frozen on her and she was simply watching this moment slowly come to pass. "...all you had to do was ask." Time started again, and Michiko barely had time to utter: "In the body, I contract thee--" before being silenced by lips against her own. She felt the rush of power being shared enter her body, but the next noise that Michiko made was not a worried one--it was the sound of pleasure. She didn't know when, or why, but her body reacted and she released a soft whimper back into this new girl's mouth without a single care. She simply accepted both that, and the arm snaking around her body to pull them close together. Michiko's own hands started to move on their own, sliding up Ayame's back and playing around with her shoulders. In mere moments, Michiko realized something about herself. This was made more clear when Ayame pulled away, and Michiko felt herself moving with Ayame's face, trying to keep the kiss active for as long as possible, before being let away with a wanton whimper.

"Better than kissing the unconscious chick, eh?" If Ayame had been paying close attention to Michiko's face, she would've noticed the rosy brightness of her cheeks, the light shakes in her body, and the bright red in her eyes that vanished after less than a moment. Her tongue hung out of her mouth, and she was leaned back against the wall, breathing heavily as she did so. She nodded rapidly in response to Ayame's question, and then attempted to straighten herself up on shaking and weakened legs. She brushed off her clothing as best she could, and turned around to look back down at the first girl who had saved her, running a knuckle along her cheek to see if she was to wake up any time soon. It appeared not. She breathed out and stood up straight once more, turning back to look at Ayame with a slightly different, possibly more wilful expression.

"We need to get her somewhere safe, but we also need to be careful. That... thing might still be around." She nodded and then looked back down at Haruka with a worried expression, before looking up and trying to see if she could spot that creature lurking around in the shadows. "Times like this... I wish I had night vision." She laughed softly, deciding that she'd have to contract someone with night vision at some point. Though she did wonder what she'd gained from Ayame--she didn't know specifically, so she'd have to test it out at some point.

"I'd sense anything with ill intent around us, so we're fine. Can't sense shit in the area." Michiko nodded a couple of times and slowly turned around to check the area around them. Apparently this girl was good at sensing things like that, so she had no plans to worry about anything right now. There was still a bit of wet warmth on her lips, but that was also ignored in favor of keeping this girl safe. "Let's get going then. Is there even a hospital around this place? Never been. I'll follow you there..." Michiko tapped her chin, trying to remember the layout of Academy City. She knew there was a hospital, but she didn't know where it was, and how close it was. She instead reached into her pocket and produced a touchscreen phone, a light shade of lavender with a neko charm hanging off of it. She activated the main screen and tapped on it a few times as the light from it erupted over her face. She picked up the 'Academy City' application and started to hunt through that for the hospital's address. For an underground city, there was definitely good phone reception, she thought. Finally finding what she was looking for, she memorized the address and turned back towards Ayame.

"I know where it is, now. It'll take us about ten minutes to walk there, tops." She nodded and started off in that direction, knowing at least the place, but not remembering seeing the hospital. Must've been a distance away. Every so often, she would turn her head slightly and look back at Ayame in order to keep an eye on her, avoiding her gaze. She didn't want to feel awkward, but she didn't know how Ayame had felt in the slightest--and frankly, that kiss had almost escalated into more. If Michiko wasn't who she was... She swallowed and attempted to push thoughts like that out of her head, instead reconvening her gaze to the ground in front of her and making sure that they made good time in their move to the hospital. This girl needed to be checked out, even if it was just some treatment for concussion. She stretched and finally noticed the lights of the hospital in the distance. "There, we're not far from it." She turned around to see the pair, and gaze her best reassuring smile.

"So why the hell were you out here anyway?" The silence was broken as Ayane strided past Michiko, causing the shorter girl to turn her head and look at her with a soft expression. "If you can't fight, then you shouldn't put yourself in a situation like that. You're gonna end up getting yourself killed." She looked to the side, away from Ayame's judging expressions. She didn't want to admit it, but she had come out specifically to look for trouble--or its source. She had heard the stories of students simply being snatched away at night--students who had interesting and potentially powerful abilities, but had not quite developed them enough to fight off attackers. She hadn't banked upon the possibility of there being someone who could turn around and notice that she had an ability that hadn't quite developed... and then she looked over at Ayame again, realizing what this girl was doing. She swallowed and nodded, partly wanting to taste those lips again, partly to keep up a certain deception. If Ayame found out that she had already taken part in the contract, then there was a chance that she'd get really angry, so it was best that this was kept up. And, again, she really wanted to kiss Ayame. She wasn't sure why. However, this would wait until they'd gotten this other girl somewhere safe. "I'll... explain soon."

They continued to move towards the hospital, eventually getting through the doors and being greeted by worried-looking nurses, who immediately got her onto a stretcher and into care. They asked if Michiko wanted to stay with her, though she politely declined and left the hospital to go stand outside, still illuminated by the bustling building. Interesting, that it was still busy this late at night; then again, injuries never ran on a clock. She laughed softly at this, and leaned with her back against a pillar, before noticing the other arrive into the night just beside her. "You... wanted to know why I was out here, right? I came out because I'd heard the rumors, and I wanted to either help people, or see if I could find something out about them... but as for not having any fighting skills? Yeah, you're right. Sort of." She swallowed and changed her expression to a completely serious one.

"I told you that I was a spirit contractor, right? Well I don't just contract spirits; I can also contract humans. And when I make these contracts... I 'borrow' their powers. Not in the sense of taking them away, but I get to use them... and if I hold onto it for long enough, it becomes a part of me completely," She smiled weakly, "And all I have to do to forge a contract... is kiss the other. A kiss is the most intimate two beings can get aside from, well, y'know. The mind speaks through the mouth, the body takes in its sustenance from the mouth, and the soul... well, the soul doesn't matter in that case. But if I were to kiss someone after choosing to allow a contract, then I could borrow their powers and use them--well, not all of them," She shook her head and tapped her chin, "Only whatever I contract them for. For example, you seem like you're strong and a physical attacker. So if I wanted to contract you, I'd take your body. You also mentioned being able to sense the darkness, then I could contract your mind. But only one or the other, not both. And I could only ever contract that one thing from you, no matter what..."

She suddenly stepped closer to Ayame, face red. "So... if you wanted to do that... we could even..." She wanted to finish that sentence, but was pretty sure Ayame would understand.

"That might not be the best of ideas... I don't know what part you want to contract and I definitely am tempted to share another kiss, but you could get hurt with my power..." She blinked, and tapped her chin lightly. Her fears were well-warranted, but Michiko had other thoughts. Having already felt what this girl was like, she had a fair idea of how this worked. "Half of the time I wake up and don't remember what has happened. I have blood all over my clothes and find out the next day I've killed someone. I don't even know what part of me this transformation would be... And that's the issue, it's a transformation. I'm not like this all the time." Her expression was worried, for the most part--but as she thought about it, it slowly changed from that worried look to a soft smile.

"I don't think you have to worry about that, you know," she began, "You say that something changes in your personality, right? That's your mind, or possibly your soul. If it's related to your senses and cognitive thought, then it's mind. If it's related to the manipulation of spiritual energy, it's your soul. But if it's manipulation of your own physical energies..." She tapped her forehead and nodded, before moving her finger from her forehead, down her face, over her lips and neck and to a point just above where the valley of her breasts would be, "You have the power to make yourself physically stronger, right? If I were to contract anything, it would be that. Which would be your body. There might be side effects; I tend to develop additions to my personality based upon the persons I contract... but those additions are based upon the actual person, not the person they are from their powers. If a powerful personality change occurs, then it would be because I contracted their mind, or their soul. Not their body. The body is the safest, but the weakest of the three." She nodded once more, and took another step, bridging the gap with pretty much no time in it at all.

"The magnitude of what I get is reduced, so even if I were to get a personality shift, it would be smaller. You don't have to be afraid. And I'm prepared for the risks. If it hurts me, I can break the contract in a simple manner." Her hand reached up and caressed the side of Ayame's face. "Trust me. In the body, I contract thee." She leaned up and bridged the gap completely, placing the softest and sweetest kiss she possibly could onto Ayame's lips. This one was nowhere near as aggressive or powerfully arousing as the one they'd shared earlier. Instead, it was a simple, soft exchange that coursed through Michiko's body like fire and electricity. She shivered at the first touch, and the shakes didn't leave her while the kiss continued. She'd allow this kiss to hold for a few more tenuous seconds before pulling away, feeling the contract break and reconnect in a moment. She looked down and pulled away the front of her jacket for only her to see, and noticed the glowing sigil between her breasts. She let out a long, relaxed breath and looked at Ayame with a kind smile. "Like I said," she started, flicking a switch inside and causing her eyes to glow red.

"Trust me."

"Does the contract break every time you kiss?" She didn't even have to think about it, shaking her head and replying in a succinct manner: "Only if I make a new one." Apparently that was all the question required, since Ayame bridged the gap. She expected it, wanted it and let it happen all the same. An arm was wrapped around her waist and she willingly moved with it, being pulled into Ayame's body and pressing up against it. Another hand made its way behind her head and pressed their faces together completely, melding into a far more sensual kiss than either the first or the second. Michiko couldn't escape the pleasured noises that started from her throat, bubbling out into the air and muffling against Ayame's lips. She shivered and shook underneath her hands, and found her own starting to rub the other's back, a finger lightly tapping up and down the length of her spine. A tongue brushed up against her lips and she parted them slightly, bringing her own tongue to meet Ayame's without thinking. Their breathing became one, and their bodies moved together in unison. Michiko hadn't noticed before, but her movements had evidently pushed Ayame up against a nearby pillar, and Michiko was holding her there with both hands and a knee between the other's legs. A few moments passed, and Michiko pulled away for a mere second, taking in a few gulps of air and staring Ayame in the eyes. No sooner had they locked gazes then Michiko went back into the kiss, not allowing any more time than that away from the feeling that she was having.

A mixture of awe, shock, arousal and pure lust was filling her body and she shivered at every touch, longing for this to continue. Her tongue danced with Ayame's, moving about and mixing their saliva into one. Her eyes were wide open, staring deep into the orbs of the other. Her hands were a little busy too, moving up and down Ayame's sides and trying to get the feel of the girl's body. Eventually, however, she had to will herself away from it. She forced herself off of the kiss, but didn't force herself out of the embrace. She let her fingers numbly touch Ayame's figure, tracing both its shape and shapes within it. Her breathing was labored and tinged with pleasurable sounds coming from every exhale. Her eyes were hazy and yet alert, and her mouth was shining and wet. A small trail of saliva lasted for a moment between them before being broken by their movements, and Michiko couldn't help but just watch the face of the other. She wasn't even sure where to go from here, or if it was best to just leave it. Her body wanted it, she knew that much. Her body was almost begging for it. "H-heh," she chuckled, face flushed with heat, "That was... amazing." Her voice was a bit crackly, though she was sure that'd pass soon enough.

"Do you live near here? It'll probably be a good idea to get you back before I fall asleep." She blinked a couple of times and turned in a certain direction, vaguely judging the distance to her apartment from here. She nodded and quickly rushed into the hospital first, giving her name and phone number to the receptionist, asking them to send her a text message whenever the girl was released, and to send her back home with a patrolling member of Judgement. The receptionist obliged, and Michiko moved herself out of the hospital and over to Ayame, lightly slipping her fingers in between the other girl's and starting to lead her towards her apartment. "Let's make this quick, then." She gave Ayame her best and kindest smile, before turning back towards her home and taking the girl along with her. The darkness was worrying, but she wasn't too frightened--not with the warmth in her hand, and in her belly. She smiled to herself and chuckled, taking Ayame to her home and finally approaching the door. She produced her key from pocket and unlocked the door, reaching in and switching on a light, before turning around and stepping back--she would beckon Ayame to go in first.

If the other were to argue against her, her eyes would sharpen slightly, she would pout and she'd speak, "Look at you. You're obviously tired, and I don't know how far you have to walk to get back to your own apartment. Also, that thing could still be out there. And if you pass out from any kind of tiredness while it's watching you, I don't want to know what it'd do. So I'm making you stay the night, whether you like it or not. I have a couch, but..." Her face reddened a little, "If you're not pleased with that, I do have other things." She was not entirely certain where this little bit of courage had come from. Frankly, she was shaking in her shoes and nervous as all hell. She felt like dropping to her knees and stuttering--she wondered if the kisses had instilled her with a little bit of liquid courage. However, whether or not Ayame agreed, Michiko would take her hand and lightly pull her into the front hallway of the apartment, closing the door behind them and locking it. She move into the kitchen and start up the jug, while also taking a couple of mugs out of a cupboard and looking back at Ayame, "Tea?"

"Wantin' to get me alone, huh?" Michiko turned slightly and licked her lips, closing one eye in a teasing wink. "Don't tempt me." She honestly wondered where this flirtatiousness of hers was coming from, but assumed that it had something to do with her newfound confidence, and a bit of encouragement from the amazing feeling that still tingled across her lips. She didn't deny the feeling; she was higher than a kite. She even noticed the girl's eyes moving up and down, wandering around and checking out her body. She'd never  realized it before, but Michiko was quite proud of her looks. She had curves, and she was complimented on her appearance a lot. Usually, though, she was just too scared of people to consider replying to them. But now... she had a way to be a bit more confident. She let out a long breath and continued boiling the water for her tea, taking a couple of cups and putting them onto the bench in order to start preparing. While the water boiled, Michiko let her eyes travel up and away from her kitchen bench, staring out at her apartment. It was rather frugally decorated, with very few things on the walls. A couple of end-tables had some ornaments that she'd brought from her home, the shrine. The most interesting thing in her room, however, was the Miko outfit that hung in a special place on her wall. It still fit her, and she wore it if she needed to do anything as an officiate of her family. Her grandmother didn't know that she was here, but sometimes people needed spiritual help. If Pikan-obaasan had done anything, she had taught Michiko well on how to be a spirit medium, even if Michiko herself didn't have the power to do so. It came in handy sometimes, and even earned Michiko a little coin for her troubles.

Eventually, the sound of boiling water took her out of her stupor, and she quickly went ahead and made the tea how she liked it, asking Ayame how she liked hers and making it to those specifications. She took it over to the couch in the centre of the room, took a seat and placed the cup on the coffee table in front of Ayame with a soft smile. "Here you go." She then took up her own teacup and leaned back, closing her eyes and relaxing herself while she sipped away at the hot drink. Feeling a bit of the heat, she unzipped her light jacket and pulled it off, leaving just a t-shirt underneath that accentuated the curves of her chest and torso nicely. She let out a relaxed breath of air and curled up with her teacup at one end of the couch, looking over at Ayame with a soft smile. "I hope you like it; I don't decorate much, so it's not the most interesting home in the world." She nodded and continued to sip her tea. It was very Western here, but she didn't mind. It was a lot more comfortable than the Hasegawa Shrine.

She was slightly drunk on this feeling, she wasn't going to lie. She didn't really know how to feel about it, sipping her tea and watching Ayame with a quiet expression. "I come from a military family. It's more decorated than my place is." She nodded and stretched outwards a little, sipping her tea again and setting it on the table before her. She closed her eyes for a second and felt a wave of tiredness start to wash itself over her body. She tried to will it away; she didn't want to be sleepy yet, she was enjoying this feeling of flirtatiousness! She looked back up at Ayame in time to catch the other girl's eyes wandering again, and maybe even a slight smirk appearing on her face. Michiko was honestly flattered--she'd never been checked out like this before, and especially not by another girl. Ayame must've noticed that she was staring, because she suddenly cleared her throat and rubbed her eyes after looking away. Michiko avoided laughing, instead simply watching Ayame with an inquisitive gaze.

"What time do we go to bed?" Michiko looked over at a digital clock sitting nearby--it was definitely late and she certainly needed her sleep as well. She tapped her chin lightly, before feeling her heart skip a beat, "And where would you want me to sleep?" She tapped her chin a bit more, looking around the room and thinking. What to do, what to do? Here she had the opportunity to get this lovely, sexy lady into bed. This wasn't her normal thing, and she certainly hadn't quite registered it to be the option: but frankly, with the amount of spit they'd shared and with where their hands had ventured, it was amazing that she wasn't raring to go. She bit her bottom lip and looked back at Ayame with the softest smile she could muster:

"It all depends, really. It depends on when we finally get tired enough to crash... and where you want to wake up in the morning." Her smile turned from soft and sweet to slightly mischievous and sexy. It was sort of the tiredness talking, with maybe a bit of arousal and some definite and certain confidence from the powers. Her hand went back down to her teacup, and she brought it back only to finish the last of it in a single gulp. Breathing out a relaxed breath, she got to her feet and moved back into the kitchen to clean up her cup, watching Ayame over the counter. Honestly... there was a lot of her that wanted to crawl into bed with that girl. She didn't mind just sleeping with her; she didn't feel the need for anything more. But the warmth was something she felt like she wanted right now.

The warmth of another person--nay, another woman.

It was all getting to be a bit much, very fast. Michiko knew that this wasn't how she usually operated--part of it would have been her melding with the flirtatious personality of this woman, and the rest would be her instincts driving her wild. She honestly wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this up for, and felt like she was going to fall asleep very soon. She wasn't paying much attention, it seemed, as hands were placed both on her stomach and just above her breasts, pulling her in close so that she felt the heat of Ayame's body behind her. She shivered, her own body quivering with excitement as words were whispered into her ear: "If I wasn't so damn exhausted... How come you couldn't have needed rescued a couple hours prior?" Michiko laughed softly in return; she almost felt the same way. Why could she not have been rescued a couple of hours earlier? Probably because it wouldn't have been the same person. She smiled softly at the feeling of lips against her cheek and turned her head slightly, "For one night... Let's share a bed. I'd like to wake up to your beautiful face in the morning." Michiko smiled and nodded, feeling herself being lead along--she didn't mind. The things she was cleaning were put down, and her body was simply guided to her own little bedroom.

She was sat on the bed and blushed brightly as Ayame took her own clothing off for her. She didn't know how to feel--her body was shaking with excitement, even though she knew that it was just sharing a bed. With a stranger. All the warning signs were there, but Michiko had decided to ignore them tonight. She refused to be tucked in, however, instead standing up in her underwear and using her own shaking hands to help Ayame with her clothing, "It's not fair that only you get to undress me," she laughed nervously. Once they were both done, Michiko slid into the bed first, choosing her side and allowing Ayame to get in after her. She turned her body to face the other girl, but as soon as her head hit the pillow, she felt her body giving way to sleep. The last thing she remembered saying was "Night..."

---

Damn. She knew that she'd forgotten do to something, as the bright morning light streamed onto her face, waking her up from a particularly lovely and somewhat raunchy dream involving herself and Ayame. She yawned and sat up in the bed, looking over at where Ayame... was. Instead of that lovely, sexy girl looking up at her with bed hair and a satisfied smile, she merely saw empty sheets. Did she just hallucinate? No, no she didn't. She moved her fingers to her lips--it was real, she knew it. Letting out a long breath, Michiko sighed and rolled out of the bed with a groan. Her entire body ached--too much activity the night before. She slid slippers on and yawned, trudging into the living room that was just as lit up as her bedroom. Had she really forgotten to close all of the curtains? She really was distracted. However, she then recognized the scent of tea, and looked over at the counter, wandering towards it and noticing the still-hot cup. It seemed that Ayame wasn't long gone. She reached over to the teacup and noticed a scrap of paper underneath the saucer. She slid it out, and sighed once more--there was writing on the paper in long, flowing handwriting, with a message that was as plain as day:

"I'm sorry about last night. That wasn't the real me; that was my powers taking me over again. I don't regret anything, but I didn't think it was right for you to wake up with a completely different person in your bed. ~ Ayame"

Her lips curled into a wry smile, and she looked back at her tea, shaking her head.

"So your name was Ayame, huh?"