Yugito thought for a moment, then nodded. "Mm... Sometimes it gets hot at night... but Sister Matatabi usually doesn't talk to me."
"I'll talk to her tonight." Mirai looked at her. "Just pull up your pajamas a little and expose your stomach."
Yugito let out an "oh" and obediently rolled up the hem of her pajamas, revealing her small, soft, fair belly.
A faint patch of sealing markings could be seen below her navel. They weren't complicated, but they weren't crude, either.
Mirai reached out and pressed his palm against the seal, slowly channeling Chakra into it--
The markings on the seal seemed to flicker in response, then settled down again, as if they had accepted his Chakra.
Mirai's consciousness sank down along the seal.
When he opened his eyes again, he was standing in a dim, gray space.
The ground beneath his feet was flat, and the sky overhead was a hazy gray. The air around him carried the oppressive gloom of something that had been confined for a long time.
Not far ahead, a little girl stood there. Her brown hair was tied into a ponytail, and her eyes shone brightly. When she saw him, she visibly brightened.
"Big Brother Mirai!" Yugito's spirit ran toward him. "How did you get in here?"
"I came in to see you." Mirai crouched down and ruffled her hair. "And to say hello to the 'big sister' inside you."
Following his gaze, Yugito looked behind her--
There stood a huge iron cage. Its bars were as thick as an adult's arms, and they were covered in intricate sealing runes.
Inside the cage crouched a gigantic blue cat demon. Its two tails swayed slowly behind it, while pale-blue flames burned across its body.
The Two-Tails, Matatabi.
The moment she saw Mirai enter, her