The group of eight spent a wonderful hour laughing and chatting, letting all their fears from earlier melt away. As per usual, Kurumi and Miiko managed to play handful of pranks in that one hour and Haruna found herself again dreading the day they were old enough to legally drink.
"If you want to keep them off alcohol for a little while longer, just give it to them plain," Marika whispered to her, snickering. Even though Kurumi and Miiko genuinely had no interest in drinking, when Marika offered them the tiniest of sips, their curiosity got the best of them. They weren't in a hurry to grow up, but the idea of getting to do something forbidden certainly was enticing…
"OH! YUCK! GROSS!" Kurumi only took the smallest of sips, as Marika instructed, but it still came flying back out of her mouth a second later. Marika ducked out of the way just in time, she and Rika howling with laughter.
"Ohhh! It burns! It burns! It burns Miiko's tongue!" Miiko cried at the same time, both of them wiping at their mouths wildly, trying to rid them of the foul, overpowering taste.
Although the others didn't seem as thrilled that Marika had given Kurumi and Miiko alcohol, Haruna had to admit that it was somewhat satisfying watching Kurumi and Miiko get pranked. Before that day, the only alcohol any of them ever touched was communion wine, and it wasn't nearly as strong as whatever Merm4id was drinking tonight. That was why Marika only gave them the tiniest of sips, but that was all they needed.
"Miiko is never touching that stuff again!" Miiko declared as she came out of the bathroom, still wiping her tongue.
"I'll never get why adults like the stuff so much!" Kurumi agreed, doing the same thing as Miiko.
"Mission success," Marika smirked.
But after long enough, it was time for Lyrical Lily to go to bed.
"Shall I escort you back?" Dalia offered kindly.
"Oh, that won't be necessary!" Haruna smiled. She appreciated the offer, but she didn't want to become dependent on the other woman.
"Consider it a chance to keep the party going just a little longer!" Rika chimed in with a knowing smile. For once, Dalia turned around and actually gave her a smile of thanks and approval. It was a white lie, but exactly the one all of them wanted to hear it.
"Well, when you put it that way…" Kurumi grinned.
Although, as well as the night had gone so far (at least after returning to the hotel) it seemed as though fate had one last cruel trick to play on Lyrical Lily and Dalia. While searching for Lyrical Lily's suite, they got a little turned around somewhere along the way and wound up lost.
"Not again!" Kurumi despaired. But at least, this time, there would be no creepy guys as gas stations. Although they didn't have any maps either.
"Do not worry," Dalia spoke calmly and confidently. "We will find a way." Then she took the lead and the others were more than happy to follow.
We're so lucky to have her tonight, Haruna thought with a bashful smile. I hope to be just like her someday!
Eventually, they came across what looked like a lobby, but it wasn't the one they entered in at. Likewise, it was completely empty, even though the lamp on the front desk was still on.
"Helloooooo?" Kurumi sang, ringing the bell on the desk incessantly.
"Enough, Kurumi, no one's here!" Haruna finally snatched the bell off the desk, annoyed by all the ringing. No sooner had she said this, though, before the door into the lobby swung shut.
"Huh?!" the others jumped in fright and they were quick to race back to the door. It was locked!
"Oh, great, just when we thought this night couldn't get any worse!" Kurumi cried.
"Now Kurumi, let us at least try to stay positive!" Miyu said lightly, but it was clear she was a little freaked out too. They all gravitated towards Dalia, looking to the taller, older, stronger woman for protection. For a moment, she seemed ready, straightening up and entering a defensive stance as the other girls coalesced around her. Then Miiko spoke up.
"Hey! Is that a ghost?" She gestured to a far corner of the room where something cloudy was floating. It hadn't been there a second ago.
"Ghost?!" Dalia yelped, immediately jumping backward and entering a terrified, cowering position, backing up to the opposite corner of the room.
"Dalia?" Miyu looked at her in concern. "Are you all right?"
"I- I- I-…"
"She's afraid of ghosts!" Kurumi realized, then she burst out laughing. "Who'd have thought the mighty Dalia would—"
"Kurumi!" Haruna snapped. "Don't make fun of her! Everyone has something they're afraid of and it's rude to laugh about it!"
"Like you and snakes, Chairman?" Kurumi teased.
"I'm not falling for that this time, Kurumi!" Haruna snapped. "And who are you calling Chairman?!"
"Guys, shouldn't we be more focused on the ghost?" Miyu interrupted their quarrel.
"Gah! Don't say it, don't say it!" Dalia flinched again, somehow becoming even smaller. Snakes she could handle. Creeps she could handle. But ghosts? As Lyrical Lily would eventually realize, she was scared of them because they were an enemy she couldn't fight. All her black belt training went out the window against the supernatural, so of course she was terrified. But not Miiko.
While the others bickered and cowered amongst themselves, Miiko walked towards the cloudy mass on the far side of the room.
"Miiko! What are you doing?!" Dalia almost sounded beside herself, clutching her head in horror, but not daring to take a single step closer.
"Miiko is going to try talking to it to ask it if it can help us out!" Miiko replied cheerfully.
"How…? Is she…?" Dalia's eye twitched.
"Yeah she's always like this," Haruna sighed and shook her head, although she was also cowering beside Dalia.
"She's a horror fanatic," Miyu agreed curled up against Dalia's other side. Only Kurumi wasn't part of the little huddle, but she was also very much keeping her distance from the ghost. What if it was an angry or vengeful spirit and it gobbled them up?
That thought didn't seem to bother Miiko in the slightest as she walked right up to the pearly, cloudy, floating mass and started talking.
"Hello there, Mr. or Mrs. Ghost! Who are you?"
She received a ghostly moan in return.
"Oh, make it stop, make it stop, make it stop!" Dalia whimpered pathetically covering her ears. The sound alone chilled her to the bone. Miyu and Haruna also looked scared, clinging tighter to the other woman, although it was hard to say what scared them more, the ghost or a frightened Dalia.
"Do you happen to know how we can get out of here?" Miiko continued to ask the ghost. More ghastly, chilling moans. Dalia gave a moan of her own, shaking her head again, cowering even further into the corner and whimpering again.
"Hang on, let Miiko see if this ghost can help us! Miiko has always wanted to talk to a real live ghost, before!" Miiko turned around and flashed the others a reassuring smile. It didn't really help. Then she turned back around to address the ghost again. "Have you been here long? Do you work here?" She continued to chat it up as if it were merely another hotel guest, or a friend in the making.
The others could only watch, shaking their heads in amazement and fear.
"Ah! So you're the son of the man who built the hotel? Well, it sure is a lovely place!" Miiko grinned up at the ghost. "Oh, Miiko is sorry to hear that you're still stuck here, too. Do you know a way out? Is there some way we can help?"
"Miiko! You can't offer help to ghosts! You don't know if it's friendly or not!" Haruna cried. Beside her, Miyu was praying and crossing herself.
"Oh, Miiko can tell!" Miiko said confidently. "This isn't a vengeful spirit, just one that haunts the premise because he's so closely tied to it! Miiko knows all about ghost folklore, and not just from horror movies!" She turned back to the ghost once more, locked in serious conversation with it. For a few minutes, they only heard muttered replies from Miiko and the occasional, ghostly moan that would make Dalia tense up every time.
At last, though, the conversation seemed to reach a close.
"Deal!" Miiko cried.
"What did you just promise it?!" Haruna howled. Miyu started praying and crossing herself again, still shaking. Dalia looked a little sick.
"Well like Miiko said, it's not an evil or angry spirit, so she offered to help it out of this room if it would do the same for us!" Miiko said cheerfully.
"Miiko, you're insane!" Kurumi decided, but because she could see that this ghost wasn't actually a threat, she was the first one to stop feeling quite so scared. They all watched in awe as Miiko followed the ghost behind the front desk. She disappeared from view for about a minute, but they could hear her shuffling around back there. When she reemerged, she was holding a map.
"Well." Dalia blinked. "Alrighty then." At the same time, they hear the lobby door click open again.
"Thank goodness!" Miyu and Haruna both cried out, putting hands over their hearts.
"There we go! Thank you, Mr. Ghost!" Miiko smiled up at her new spectral friend, then she turned to address the others. "This map should help us find the way, so come on! Let's roll!" Then it was her turn to take the lead. The ghost floated after her.
"W-w-wait…We h-h-have to travel…with a ghost?!" Dalia, if it was even possible, looked even more scared.
"He won't stick around forever," Miiko promised. "But you can hold my hand, Dalia, if it would help!"
Dalia shook her head violently, knowing that holding Miiko's hand would put her right next to the ghost.
"Suit yourself," Miiko shrugged, then she exited the lobby with four girls and one ghost in tow. Since Dalia wasn't going to, Kurumi retook her spot beside Miiko. Dalia, meanwhile, stayed back with Haruna and Miyu.
"Y-you can h-hold my hand…if you want," Miyu said shyly. It was clear she wanted the comfort just as much as Dalia.
"I can hold your hand, too, Miyu!" Haruna said quickly, hoping she didn't sound too desperate. She kicked herself mentally, but when Miyu only gave her a knowing smile and reached out to her, she looked much happier. Dalia was also quick to take Miyu up on her offer.
"Thank you, Miyu, I feel much better now," she tried to steady her breathing as they slowly, carefully, treaded after Miiko, Kurumi, and the ghost.
"Me too," Miyu agreed, and Haruna nodded as well.
After long enough, the group made it back to familiar territory.
"We did it!" Miiko cried. She turned to thank her ghostly companion, but he was gone. "Huh? Mr. Ghost?" She sounded genuinely disappointed.
"W-wait, is- is- is he gone? Is he really, really gone?" Dalia sounded like she scarcely even dared hope…
"Yes, he's gone," Miiko hung her head sadly.
"Don't worry, Miiko, I'm sure there will be other times," Miyu tried to comfort her, although it felt awkward since she was also quite glad the ghost was finally gone. Her words seemed to work, though, and Miiko looked a bit happier.
"Maybe before we leave, I can come back here and sing for him!"
"Absolutely not!" Haruna cried, stepping forward for the first time since before the ghost visited them. "You will not be running around this hotel alone! What if you get lost again?!" And that was how everyone knew everything was finally back to normal.
"Chairman is back to her usual chairman-self!" Kurumi cried, snickering a little. She'd come to realize that, like Miiko said, the ghost was a friendly one. His worst "crime" was just being a prankster. Kurumi could relate. If anything, she also wanted to visit him again someday, if only to go out pranking with him. This would be Haruna's worst possible afterlife, being stuck with Kurumi as a prank-ghost for eternity.
"Who are you calling Chairman?!" she snapped back, but the others laughed, all of them feeling much better now.
"Miiko," Dalia suddenly spoke up, still sounding a little uncertain and shy. She was looking down, holding one of her arms. Even though she only addressed Miiko, the others looked at her in surprise as well. They'd almost forgotten she was there, she'd been so quiet for the past few minutes. Miiko tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. "I just wanted to say that… I'm really impressed by what you did tonight."
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"Facing down the ghost, of course. You were absolutely fearless, a supernatural superhero…" Dalia shook her head in awe. She could learn a lot from these girls. Twice, she'd watched them stand up against something far bigger and scarier than them even though, unlike Dalia, they had no combat training. And even more embarrassing, at least against the ghost, Dalia had quailed. As soon as her own abilities were rendered moot, she panicked, even though Haruna and Miiko had both shown her tonight that one did not always need great physical skill to still be very brave.
She even said as much, commending all of them for their immense courage that night.
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Dalia," Miyu said gently. "It's easy for Miiko to talk to ghosts because she loves them, and you still showed a lot of courage with that guy at the gas station because you had no idea if he was armed or not."
"Thank you, Miyu, I'd say your greatest strength is your immense kindness. You always know how to make others feel better, and sometimes you put them even before yourself, I can tell."
"Oh, well, thank you," Miyu looked down, blushing and giggling slightly.
"Hey, hey! What about me?" Kurumi asked.
"Kurumi!" Haruna chided, but Dalia only chuckled softly and shook her head.
"You were also quite brave with the ghost, and I know your sense of humor can often be the life and light of a party." Much like Rika… She and Miiko remind me of Rika and Marika so much…
"That is, when she isn't also being the bane of someone else's existence," Haruna muttered under her breath.
"I heard that, Chairman."
"Who are you calling—?!"
"In any case, it was an honor getting to be with you tonight," Dalia bowed politely to Lyrical Lily. Now they all looked flustered again.
"The pleasure was all ours!" Miyu stuttered, speaking for all of them as they were quick to bow back repeatedly. Oh, to be complimented by Dalia!
"I hope this isn't goodbye? At least not forever?" Dalia asked, smiling hopefully at them.
"Of course, absolutely!" Miyu nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah, we'd totally be down to adventure with you again!" Kurumi agreed.
"Just no ghost next time," Dalia made a face and the others laughed quietly, but they could agree to those terms. "But don't forget, you can also call on me, or any of the rest of my team, if you ever need help with anything, all right? It won't be any trouble. We'd rather if you asked than if you didn't," she said, giving Haruna and Miyu a knowing look. They were definitely the type to not ask for help, be it out of pride or fear.
Dalia could understand that, Saori was the same way, but that was why she considered it so important to let the girls know that there were people out there who cared about them and would lend them a helping hand if it was necessary. They seemed to understand and they bowed again.
"Yes, Dalia, of course, thank you!" Miyu and Haruna said. The group exchanged a few more goodbyes and goodnights before finally parting ways.
"Oh, wait, Dalia! One more thing!" It was Miiko who called out to her before Dalia got very far.
"Hmm?"
"If you ever have any other, uhh…issues," she didn't want to say the word in case it spooked Dalia just at the mere mention. "Feel free to call the supernatural superhero! Miiko would be glad to help you just the same way you helped us!"
"I'll keep that in mind, thanks," Dalia chuckled again.
"Actually, would you want us to escort you back to your room?" Haruna offered.
"That would defeat the purpose of me escorting you to yours, would it not?" Dalia teased. Ah, that was right. The only reason any of this had happened was because Dalia was trying to help them find their room. "But I appreciate the offer, you girls really are so kind."
"Goodnight, Dalia! Sleep well!" they said, waving from the doorway as she walked back down the hall.
"Goodnight, and you as well!" she waved to them one last time before rounding the corner.
"I hope she doesn't have any nightmares," Miyu sighed sympathetically. It was a kind thing of her to worry about, but Dalia was already confident she wouldn't. It was a little unnerving to walk back to her room alone, but she kept telling herself that the ghost was gone, and even if it wasn't, she had friends she could call on, as well. That thought got her back to her room, and she knew it would carry her on through the night, too. It certainly had been an odd one, but if getting closer to Lyrical Lily was the end result, then Dalia was satisfied, and so were they.
