Chapter 434: Living Together

"Huh?"

Minutes later, Misaki opened her beautiful starry eyes, feeling quite confused. She tried to look around, the strange clown that emerged from the wormhole had left a strong impression on her. The ability to control her body at will left a bitter taste in her mouth. At the same time, she wanted to know who or what exactly that clown was, to turn the room into a fantasy.

However, she found herself in Dolly's room, everything was normal, and there was no trace of the crazy clown. This left Misaki astonished.

At first, she thought the clown had escaped; with how loud his singing was, it would be impossible not to discover him. But seeing the state of the room, she was mistaken.

"Hmm~"

Suddenly, a strange sound caught her attention. Turning her head, Misaki found Dolly still with her eyes closed, peacefully sleeping beside her. Judging by the expression on her face, she was having a pleasant dream...

"What is happening?!"

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Hours later, Misaki found herself back at her home, wearing a thoroughly confused expression. After all, the laboratory where she was this afternoon, both the guards and the scientists, found no clown. Even the cameras had no image of him. No one knew about the clown except for Dolly.

The scientists concluded that it was due to an anomaly in Misaki's ability and that the clown, or whatever it was, was a mere product of her imagination. The fact that Dolly could see it was because Misaki unconsciously connected her mind to hers.

No one saw or heard it, the room was normal, and the cameras captured nothing. Joker didn't exist.

This event made Misaki suspicious. The scientists were right, but at the same time, they weren't.

Everything felt so real. Dolly thought the same. What they experienced didn't seem like a dream. Despite how extraordinary it seemed, there had to be a logical and scientific explanation.

She even considered that it might be the ability of another Esper with mental powers, but she was the most powerful mental Esper; it shouldn't be possible.

"Is it just a dream?"

Rubbing her chin, Misaki pondered deeply. However, what she didn't imagine was that someone would actually respond to her.

[Who knows~, it's possible.]

"Eekk!"

Jumping in horror, Misaki screamed like a bat. This voice almost caused her to have a panic leak.

"Who... is it?!"

Stammering, Misaki trembled, and her gaze scanned the area. Unfortunately, besides her, there was no one in the room.

[Don't be afraid; I won't harm you. We've met before; I'm your good friend, Joker~]

This familiar voice didn't stop Misaki's trembling; instead, she swallowed hard, trying to maintain control.

"You... You... Don't play games with me, come out wherever you're hiding, coward...."

[So you can control me with your ability? No, thanks. But I have to warn you that it won't work. Also, at the moment, I'm living inside you.]

Although these words were partly true and partly false due to the Black Rock Shooter pendant and the existence of Zafkiel, Misaki couldn't control Yuki.

As for living inside her? That was a lie. Yuki took the opportunity to hide in Misaki's shadow.

Misaki doubted a lot, but no matter how much she searched, she found no one. Not to mention there were no voice devices in her room.

Everything was so confusing and unsettling.

"Living inside me?... Are you some kind of imaginary friend? Or a ghost?"

[I don't know, maybe... Anything is possible in this world. But you don't have to worry, as my existence is like that of an Angel.]

"For heaven's sake, I won't worry! An Angel? Please, I'm not so naive to fall for that."

There were quite a few anomalies when it came to the Mind; the human mind is quite complex, and those with abilities like Misaki's are even more so. Joker could well be a kind of abnormality created by her ability as a defense system or some other anomaly. This would explain why no one has seen Joker besides Dolly, and it would also support the scientists' theory. However, Misaki still doubted. She didn't know if this 'Joker' was telling her the truth or if it was another mental Esper.

It could also be an astral being, without a physical body and invisible to people, but this possibility is very low, still existing.

As for being an Angel? Misaki didn't even consider it. A being that only exists in books, categorized as someone pure and without blemish. Even though this clown had a strange aura, Misaki could tell at a glance that he wasn't pure. Therefore, she leaned towards something more scientific and explainable by science.

Unfortunately, not everything had a scientific explanation.

(If you are a product of my ability, I should be able to answer this.)

Because of this, Misaki put it to the test. No matter what, Misaki needed answers.

But once again, Joker left her speechless, as no matter what question she asked or if it was some intimate secret, Joker knew it all.

Although it made her blush, it confirmed this: Joker was related to her. As for why he existed?

Misaki didn't know, but for now, she decided to wait and see.

After all, she still didn't believe that this clown was part of her ability and suspected it was some strange being. Not to mention that this guy didn't say anything about being part of her and called himself an Angel.

[Tomorrow, you should go see that girl Dolly again.]

Of course, this 'Joker' living in her was quite irrational at times.

"Huh? What does she have to do with you?"

[She's very important.]

"Even so, she doesn't interest me."

[You should go, or else you'll suffer the consequences.]

"Consequences? Hmph, I'm not interested, and I won't see her again."

Misaki was quite confused; she didn't know why the sickly girl Dolly was involved, but she wasn't interested. So she cared very little about what this Joker wanted from her.

So she shook her hair and rejected without hesitation.

Unfortunately, she couldn't refuse.

[Is that so? I have no other choice, then...]

As if expecting this response, Yuki smiled and stretched his hands out of the shadow.

"Yekk! What is this?!"

Misaki once again panicked; from her shadow emerged two white arms, resembling a scene from a horror movie that sent shivers down her spine.

[Let's play, Misaki-chan~]

"No, no! Stay away!"

Misaki tried to run, but this only made Yuki's smile widen even more. After all, he was attached to Misaki's shadow, and no matter how much she ran, the pair of white hands followed closely, creating quite a comical sight.

"Haaa... Ha...."

And as expected from someone with very little stamina, Misaki gave up quite easily. Yuki didn't have to do anything, and this girl could barely catch her breath. This resulted in the pair of white hands grabbing her tightly and slowly moving across her stomach.

"You! What do you want to do?! No, no..."

[Go ahead, scream all you want. No one will come to save you! Hahaha]

"Nooooo!"

Imitating the laughter of a third-rate villain, the white hands moved their fingers in a creepy manner, and a feather materialized, leading to chaos.

Unfortunately for Misaki, her screams were unheard, as they all vanished into the darkness.

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Minutes later, Misaki found herself panting, sweat running down her body. She was quite exhausted, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. At the same time, her clothes were in disarray.

[How easy was that? You just had to say 'Yes'; it didn't have to come to this.]

With his hands disappearing along with the feather, Yuki spoke from the shadow.

"...?"

Misaki didn't respond; her starry eyes were now glassy.

Who would have thought that refusing this clown would result in this— a concentrated dose of tickling.

Yes, it was nothing dirty.

And though it seemed quite silly, it was effective, as the future Queen of Tokiwadai begged for mercy after a few minutes. Unfortunately, Yuki was not satisfied, so he continued until the girl couldn't take it anymore.

What a pair of hands and a feather could do— you just had to see this girl in a mess to figure it out.

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