💞

"Humans are so averse to me, I suppose I always assumed it would be the same with animals." They kept their gaze downcast as they spoke, and from her present angle, Himiko couldn't tell whether they were watching the cat sniffing their bandaged hand or merely staring down at the floor.

The lock clicked open, far too loud in the nighttime air. Insects chirped in the distance, cars whizzed by down the road, splintering off to so many different destinations, but to Himiko, all the world seemed silent. The click of the lock and the subsequent creak of Maki swinging the door open were all that existed.

So I drew the whole 16 V3 kids and redesigned most of them. I will probably redesign some of them even more (especially Tenko because I'm still not happy with what I did with her clothes, blah).

I also included some random doodles.

“Very well. I promise to set aside all preconceived notions and avoid playing detective. I wish only to observe your talent, Yumeno-san.” A single beat of silence passed, then they offered another exaggerated smile through their mask. “Is that sufficient, or will a blood oath be necessary?”

Not long after Kirumi’s trial, Himiko has an encounter that helps bring the joy of magic back to her life.

Written for DanganGarden Zine.