Your eyes narrowed with determination as you stared down the little witch girl. You focused on retracting your claws, and found the task surprisingly easy.

Detailed images of Kumiho anatomy flickered through your mind with an uncanny amount of clarity. Particularly, the areas around their hands and fingers. You remembered reading that, in their human form, a Kumiho's hands operated on musculature not too dissimilar from that of a feline's. This included a network of tendons and ligaments that allowed them to extend and retract their claws.

So, it stood to reason that you also possessed them. The muscles would be a little weak, and underdeveloped, but they should still work.

You imagined a detailed diagram of muscles pulling your claws back into your fingers, and focused on replicating the feeling. Slowly, your nails subtly shifted in place, before retreating back into your flesh. Not all the way, of course, but you needed them short enough to where they wouldn’t interfere with your grip on the sword's hilt.

After that, you focused on getting your breathing under control. Or at least...you tried to, because the way Mercy was writhing and slithering along your skin was enough to distract you from the fact that you were staring down about half a dozen fireballs.

How many more is she going to make!?

“This is unwise…!” Mercy hissed from between your shoulder blades. “We will burn…!”

“Relax~! This isn't my first time dodging fireballs.” you said in a hushed tone. “And if we get singed, I'll just roll around in the dirt.”

She started squirming even harder.

“You would dirty us so soon after your apostate mother bathed us!?”

You frowned over your shoulder.

“First of all, she didn’t bathe us. I bathed myself, and you got thrown in the washer/dryer.” you corrected. “Second, don't talk about my mom like that.”

“It is the truth!” she protested.

Unable to look your alien ghost companion in the eye, you glared over at Janine. She was officially up to ten fireballs. You really should've set a limit.

“We don't know the full story yet.” you groused, adjusting your footing and your grip on the sword's hilt until you were taking a batter's stance.

Janine’s grin widened, flashing you a mouth full of yellow teeth as she started juggling the fireballs in more complex, winding patterns.

“Who’re you talking to over there?” Shaggy called out.

“Myself. Now let’s play ball!” you shouted back.

Before he could get another word in, Janine let loose a volley of fireballs by frantically windmilling her arms at you. One after another, the magically formed projectiles streaked towards you, quickly eating up the distance between Janine’s hand and your incredibly flammable clothes.

“Mercy, stop...squirming…! It tickles!” you muttered, using every ounce of willpower you had left to bite back a laugh.

(Cont.)