Seeing the young girl, Huohuo, looking like she was about to snap and faint once again, 'Huohuo' quickly reached out, cupping the girl's small face in her hands and pulling her back before she could tip over.
This girl is way too timid...
'Huohuo' knew she was easily frightened, but the fact that she'd nearly passed out twice in a row was a bit much, even for her.
Perhaps sensing the warmth from her other self's palms—and the softness of those small hands—Huohuo managed to hold it together this time without blacking out.
"Mr. Tail, wh-what's happening...? Why is the 'other me' from my dream actually standing here?"
Huohuo felt as though she and Mr. Tail had been captured by some super arch-demon. Everything happening now felt like a hallucination triggered by falling into a trap.
"How should I know? You just got scared senseless, and the next thing I knew, she had me suppressed. She's the one who woke you up."
"Even... even Mr. Tail... sniff... It's all over now. I told them I didn't want to be a Judge, but they made me do it anyway. And this mission—Mr. Tail, you insisted we take it just so I could 'get some practice.' Now look! We're dead meat!"
Huohuo's eyes brimmed with tears, looking as if she'd burst into a full sob at any second.
However, her fear forced her to stifle the sound, leaving her with nothing but pitiful, quiet whimpers. She then began that rapid-fire mumbling unique to the socially anxious.
"Shut it! I'm gonna die from your nagging long before anyone kills me! Hey, you over there—you're not actually here to hurt us, are you? Hurry up and explain things to her, or I'm gonna lose my mind listening to this."
Compared to Huohuo, Mr. Tail's senses were far sharper. He could sense the power radiating from this 'Huohuo,' but he also felt no malice.
Though the fact that she seemed to be enjoying Huohuo's predicament was quite wicked, the situation was out of their hands. At least she wasn't taking their lives.
'Huohuo' watched the mutter-storm with a mix of amusement and pity.
This brand of socially anxious rambling was really something else.
With a little squeeze of her hands, she pressed Huohuo's cheeks together, forcing her lips into a pout.
The mumbling instantly dissolved into unintelligible whimpers. 'Huohuo' had a Synesthesia Beacon, so she could still understand her, but Mr. Tail didn't, so he finally got some peace and quiet.
"Heh heh heh... what a delicious little matcha cupcake. You were born to be eaten by your big sister~"
"Gasp—!"
"Wait—don't faint! I was kidding! I'm not here to eat you! Wake up, wake up!"
Seeing Huohuo's eyes roll back as she started to slump again, 'Huohuo' completely abandoned the teasing.
"Ugh... sniff..."
"Alright, calm down. Just think of me as a mysterious traveler who came to play with you."
"..."
Seeing that the woman across from her really wasn't doing anything—and noticing how warm her palms were and how gentle her smile looked (just like the version of herself she always admired)—Huohuo finally began to settle down.
Plus, if even Mr. Tail said so...
Huohuo eventually regained her composure, though her mouth was still being squished, making it hard to speak. As the other woman withdrew her hands, Huohuo asked with a bright red face:
"Wh-why do you look exactly like me? Do you have a Mr. Tail, too?"
"It's a bit of a cosplay game. Don't you think it's fun? But the Heliobus behind me is just an empty shell; there's no Mr. Tail in there."
"..."
Hearing this, Huohuo curiously eyed the flaming green tail that looked identical to her own. Mr. Tail, however, was genuinely amazed.
"Tch, well that's a new one. In all my years, this is the first time I've heard of a Heliobus without a consciousness..."
Their race was essentially made of spiritual energy. To be told that a spiritual entity existed without a spirit or a self was mind-boggling. How could something like that even exist naturally?
Mr. Tail split off a small wisp of blue flame and circled 'Huohuo's' tail twice, sensing it intently. His confusion only deepened.
"It doesn't feel like a Masked Fool's disguise... and if it were a History Fictionologist... that doesn't seem right either. Hmph, this really is a rarity."
"M-Mr. Tail..."
Huohuo watched Mr. Tail's "death-defying" antics with trepidation, terrified that he might annoy this powerful stranger enough for her to swat them both like flies.
"Quiet, I'm thinking."
"Don't mind him. He won't figure anything out anyway."
'Huohuo' waved a hand, dismissing the tail's behavior. "By the way, did you come here on this mission for this little guy?"
With a flick of her wrist, a head-sized Wubbaboo floated out from her palm.
"...A Wubbaboo? Did you catch it here?"
Huohuo blinked. As a relative of the Heliobi, she knew about them.
They were similar species, but compared to Heliobi, Wubbaboos were far more harmless.
"Yeah, ran into it on the way. There are a few more I didn't grab; I'm not sure where these little guys wandered in from."
"L-let me do it! Th-this is my job!"
Upon seeing the Wubbaboo, Huohuo's fear diminished significantly.
Even though they were technically related to Heliobi, Wubbaboos were just so cute. Their looks were leagues ahead of the Heliobi, and they were famously low-risk, so Huohuo relaxed quite a bit.
Once caught and sent to the Ten-Lords Commission, someone would ensure they were safely released.
Seeing Huohuo struggle to her feet despite her shaky legs, 'Huohuo' didn't stop her. She reached out to steady the girl, helping her find her resolve.
As she was about to set off, Huohuo paused, realizing she had forgotten to ask for a name.
"U-um, what should I call you? I can't just keep calling you 'the other me.'"
"If you want to, that's fine. For now, I really am 'another Huohuo.' Watch~"
'Huohuo' took out a Ten-Lords Commission talisman and, right before Huohuo's eyes, activated it with practiced ease, recapturing the Wubbaboo that was trying to slip away.
"??!"
Huohuo's eyes went wide. Why did the other her know how to use an exclusive Ten-Lords tool? That was something only members of the Commission knew.
"H-how did you do that? Can 'imitation' really go that far??"
"That's my own little secret trick."
"..."
Huohuo felt a sense of mystery radiating from her counterpart.
She felt as though this woman was capable of anything. Combined with that gentle personality and calm demeanor, she was exactly the person Huohuo dreamed of becoming.
"Um... could I... ever become like you?"
Huohuo gripped her official seal with both hands, looking at 'Huohuo' with a mix of hope and anxiety, her eyes filled with longing.
If only she could be that confident.
"Well..."
Before 'Huohuo' could answer, Mr. Tail shouted from behind: "No way! If you become like her, where am I supposed to get my daily entertainment from scaring you?"
"Ugh... Mr. Tail!! I definitely won't let you scare me ever again!"
"Hahaha! You think you can take me down with a joke? Well, you almost succeeded there~"
Huohuo's face turned bright red—she was practically steaming. The thought that Mr. Tail would object just for the sake of his "fun" made her want to give him a good thumping.
Luckily, her other self was there today. Huohuo puffed out her cheeks, ignored Mr. Tail, and looked expectantly at the other woman, hoping for an encouraging answer.
"..."
'Huohuo' had to admit she was a sucker for a soft heart. Being stared at like that, she couldn't bring herself to say no.
"I think so. With enough effort, anything is possible."
"Oh, 'other me'~"
Huohuo was nearly moved to tears.
Her other self was just so reliable—the perfect role model. She almost wished the other woman could just be Huohuo from now on, and she could just be her little sidekick.
Seeing Huohuo on the verge of crying again, 'Huohuo' helplessly wiped the girl's eyes with her sleeve to keep the "little pearls" from falling.
"Alright, alright, don't get worked up. Let's catch those Wubbaboos first, then we can talk."
As for Mr. Tail... he knew he couldn't beat this strange Huohuo, and his earlier comment was mostly just habit. Truth be told, he didn't hate the idea of Huohuo becoming stronger.
At the very least, it would mean hearing "Mr. Tail, save me!" a few less times during a fight.
And so, with the company of her other self, Huohuo began her exorcism work.
Perhaps because she had stopped overthinking and truly accepted 'Huohuo' as a version of herself, Huohuo—though still cautious in speech—gradually became more talkative and open.
While searching for the remaining Wubbaboos, Huohuo chatted about when she first met Mr. Tail as a child, followed by at least ten minutes of mutual complaining with the tail itself.
She then spoke about joining the Ten-Lords Commission so young. She admitted she knew she was only recruited because she carried Mr. Tail.
That was part of why she always wanted to quit but never brought it up—partly because she was too scared to ask, and partly because she felt conflicted about her worth.
She went on to say that she would have been perfectly happy remaining a mere messenger, as there was usually someone to accompany her on missions.
But for some reason, after only a few years, she had been mysteriously promoted to a Judge.
Even if she was only an apprentice, Huohuo had zero desire for a promotion. To her, a higher rank only meant facing more frequent and more terrifying monsters.
By the end of it, Huohuo was practically clinging to 'Huohuo's' arm.
She walked along, sobbing out her woes to her other self, tears and all. She looked pitiful, but also undeniably adorable—the kind of "cute" that makes you want to tease them just a little bit more.
As they walked, Huohuo showed off the "New Science Exorcism Tools" she had prepared for this mission.
They were flashy and looked impressive, but in 'Huohuo's' eyes, they were mostly for show. They might work, but it wasn't likely.
Looking at these over-complicated gadgets, 'Huohuo' thought it would be much better to just give the girl a specialized Transformer, similar to her own silver ring.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL