922/Three Ghosts: Ghost The First (Ghost of Christmas Blast)

Three Ghosts: Ghost The First (Ghost of Christmas Blast)
Date of Scene:	25 December 2023
Location:	Chikafuji Manor
Synopsis:	Kureha Sekenzan is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Pas--Wait, no, it's just Himeko Soryuu. A very different type of ghost from the past.
Cast of Characters:	Kureha Senkenzan, Pyrite

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Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    Christmas Eve has become bigger in Japan over the past few decades, but at the Chikafuji estate in Tokyo, it's still relatively minor. Some of the staff have taken the 24th and 25th off, and... that's about it. Hozan is a fairly traditional man, so New Year's will be a much bigger deal.

    This means Kureha has largely had a peaceful evening, though there may have been some fast food fried chicken involved. A rare treat, that; and one that the 'medical miracle girl' has rarely had a chance to enjoy. But dinner is long past, and winter break is in full swing, which means that young Kureha Senkenzan is enjoying a peaceful night in her room, browsing around the internet. Most of her browsing tonight involves cooking videos, recipes, and various treatises on spices and how they're best used.

    She may or may not have found a new hobby.

Pyrite has posed:
    Himeko Soryuu has no idea what a Christmas is. Like so many things, no one has explained it to her. And like even more things, lately, if it's something that was explained to her, then she has forgotten. She was returned to being just a ghost, and the effects of that are making themselves known quickly and harshly. So, before she forgets, she decided to come thank one of the people who helped out with her mom and Galatea.
    She does this by appearing in the middle of Kureha's bedroom and staring blankly ahead of her until she is noticed. Why did she come here again?

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    Maybe Kureha was always so perceptive, and just never had a chance to show it. Maybe it only came about with the awakening of her oni blood. Whatever the case, some buried instinct nudges at the back of Kureha's mind, draws her attention up from her video - and leads her to look around the room, feeling as if she's being watched. When her eyes settle on the ghostly form of Himeko, there's a little bit of surprise... but, on realizing who she's looking at, she relaxes slightly. "...oh. Hello." The video is paused, and then Kureha turns her chair, facing towards Himeko directly. "I..." It's a bit uncertain, a touch awkward. "...I am unused to entertaining guests. I apologize if there's protocol I should be following."

Pyrite has posed:
    The ghost turns towards Kureha when addressed. "Oh? Do you have guests? I can come another time." Himeko says, startled by her own lack of consideration. "I would offer advice, but I was never taught any protocols." Then she just stands there and stares, with a cute smile and no inkling of anything else being expected of her. c:

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    The response isn't quite what Kureha expected - there's a blink-blink of crimson eyes, and a slightly bewildered look. Then, she finally manages a soft, "A-ah, no, you're... you're the guest. You have come to my home. It... I have never had an acquaintance come to my home before." A pause, then an awkward shift in her seat; then, the oni-blooded girl folds her hands in her lap and takes a breath, steadying herself. "Thank you for coming to visit me this evening. I... I would ask if you have been well, but..." But that's a question she already knows the answer to. She was there to see Himeko give up her physical presence for someone else.

Pyrite has posed:
    Red eyes blinku-blinku back. Then Himeko 'ohhhh's in understanding. "Yes, I came to visit. Because..." She scratches at her left cheek, and looks up at the ceiling, and then all around the room, and then finally... "Because I wanted to thank you. For protecting me, Nii-chan, and Galatea-nee-chan. If you need help with anything, you can call me and I will assist you." Then, in her indistinct, black and red, funeral-style kimono that may not have been there a second ago but is there now, she reaches into one of her sleeves, and pulls out a phone. She turns it on and holds it up to her ear.
    From a meter away, the static and sounds of distorted voices, ghost signals if you will, can be heard. She pulls a phone out of her other sleeve, turns that one on, and immediately a burst of static and the sound of an air raid siren and the screams of a crowd in distress spill out before she can even put it to her ear.
    Mildly put-off, she hesitantly puts the screaming phone to her opposite ear. She arches an eyebrow, perplexed, and then that eyebrow goes down and the other arches as she focuses again on the murmuring and creepy phone instead of the horrifying one.
    After another few seconds, she turns off the smartphones, and offers the quieter of the two to Kureha. "Hai! This is for you, Kure-nee."
    The other one is slipped back into its proper sleeve.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    There's another soft blink, this one of a more... emotional sort of surprise. Someone coming to thank her for her protection. And after thinking on it, her face actually falls slightly. "I didn't protect Galatea, though. I... should have followed my first instinct and attacked. I may have been able to distract her from..." Kureha shakes her head slightly, as if to brush the thought off. But before she can continue, there's a very startling noise from one of the wierd phones that the ghost girl is checking on. "Hya-?!" She just about jumps out of her seat; the recovery is quick, but it can't quite erase the noise she just made.

    A-hem. When the phone is offered, Kureha stands up out of her seat, and steps over to Himeko with a curious look. More than the phone, though, it's the words that surprise her. "...Kure-nee...?" It's a sure bet she's never had anyone in her life refer to her as a nee-san of any sort.

Pyrite has posed:
    "It was more than I did," she says to Kureha cheerfully despite her own words, as the phone is accepted. Smiling and rocking back and forth, though it appears her body trails off into nothing about mid-way down her legs so what feet she's rocking on is a mystery no one wants to solve, she just blinks and waits. Oh, right! "So, you can call me, or if I don't exist when you call, you can call Nii-chan, and he'll find out when I am." Then, on impulse, or perhaps part of the new cycle she is establishing as a 'new' ghost, Himeko moves forward to try to hug Kureha about the mid-section.
    Unless, like, prevented. But who would deny her!?

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    Kureha doesn't prevent the hug. Quite the opposite, in fact - Kureha is so utterly unused to hugs that she doesn't even realize it's happening until there is already a ghost girl hugging her. "-aa?!" There are several seconds of wide-eyed alarm, of utter deer-in-headlights 'oh god, what do I do, how am I supposed to react to this'. The Chikafuji household has not prepared her for this. Finally, on some half-formed memory of a TV show, she brings one hand down and sort of hesitantly... uncertainly... pat-pats Himeko on the head. Pat, pat. "...I-I will remember that." It's a little confusing, but she can get the gist; call Himeko, if she can't get ahold of Himeko, call the Cape Formerly Known as Hematite.

Pyrite has posed:
    Seemingly placated with headpats, Himeko disengages hugging mode and moves backwards. "Yes. Okay! So concludes your visit from the Ghost of Christmas Past!" She tries to sound very ceremonial about it, but it's hard to take seriously. You know, except for the sppoky parts. She also seems much less... Cognizant than their previous meeting. Distracted, spacing out, forgetting things...
    The degrading of a mind after death is a terrible thing to witness. It may happen slowly, but it always happens. There is no such thing as a sane ghost.
    She is already gone without a trace, other than the phone she handed over. Otherwise, Kureha might be inclined to wonder if the visitation had happened at all.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    Perhaps, the same time last year, Kureha might have wondered if she were sane. But she has the phone in her hand, and more importantly, she has spent the latter half of the year transforming into a pyrokinetic oni with superhuman strength and fighting various magical threats, some terrifying, some... less so. She chooses to accept the visit as it was, though there is a good long while where she stares at the space Himeko was occupying. If any trace of the 'young' ghost's focus remains, she'll get to see the young Chikafuji scion with a complicated look on her face - equal parts worry, bafflement, and maybe just a hint of stern resolution. She can't help but want to help, at this point.