<h4>Chapter 252: a Major beginning</h4>


    "Um Minor… should we be… I dunno doing something?" asked Kat


    "That… is a great question" said Minor getting up from her kneeling position. "I think we should wait? Maybe. Maybe having you leave her mind would be better but I think we want her to wake up here first"


    As if those words were some sort of magical calling, the form of Major started to stir. Kat and Minor froze, and let their gazes turn in sync towards Major as she finally started to move. When Major let out a light groan as her head turned to the side, Kat and Minor''s muscles tensed and their breath caught in their throats.


    "Urgh, my head" mumbled Major as she started sitting up. When Major opened her eyes, Kat noticed that they were now a bright blue, literally shining out of her eye sockets. *Will that apply to the real world? Or is this more dream shenanigans.*


    And then the screaming started. "DEMON!" shouted Major leaping to her feet and readying a spell sigil. Only for a sharp sound to ring out. Even with Kat''s eyes she didn''t see the source but Major now had arge red hand print on her face and Minor had swapped positions and was now standing straight on with her hand positioned as if she had just pped someone.


    *Ok what? Why couldn''t she use that sort of speed before!* "Shizuka, I am disappointed in you. Kat saved your life, multiple times, my life, multiple times, and responded to Grandmother''s call despite how horrible she was treated by Enuko when they first met. And the first thing you do is scream in her face and look at her like she''se to kill you" said Minor, her voice chillier than the snow around them.


    Kat shivered. *What the hell happened to Minor… is this… no seriously what the hell.* Major looked up at her sister with big eyes. "But… but…"


    Minor red at Major and didn''t let up in the slightest. Major flinched under her gaze. "Ok fine, I shouldn''t have said that??? said Major moving her gaze back towards Kat. "Hey… wait... Don''t I know you…"


    "Yes Shizuka you do. It''s the demon that you got Mother to summon" said Minor.


    Major''s eyes went wide as her face fell. "Oh no… am I dead? Is that what happened? I''m in the frozen wastes… I always thought I was a better person than that… but I guess I did let my sister die for me…" Major was going to continue ranting when Minor somehow managed to p her without moving again.


    "Don''t be an idiot" growled Minor "Did you not hear me exining how many times your life has been saved?"


    Major now sported two separate red marks on either cheek and they had started to swell. It made her sound a little silly when she talked but Kat made sure to keep her expression neutral. *This is Minor and Major''s show. Like with Ki, but more important. I''ll try and stay out of this.*


    "But… but where else could we be? I thought maybe if a demon saves your life too much you go to the wastes or something… how should I know? There are tonnes of bad rumours about demons but Kat was so nice… maybe she was ju-" Major stopped herself from finishing that thought when Minor very slowly and purposefully raised her hand ready to p Major again.


    "Ok ok fine" said Major "I''m not dead, somehow you''re not dead, Kat''s probably not dead. So nobody is dead right? Then where in the name of Everfrost are we? Why are we surrounded by snow? Where are these nes?"


    Minor groaned "You know Kat. I had more faith in my sister''s intelligence when she couldn''t speak back to me" said Minor looked to Kat.


    *What sort of a response do you want from me? This is the most forceful I''ve ever seen you. Major just went through several traumatic experiences. She doesn''t seem to remember you setting her on fire, or putting her back together but… I feel like your expected her to be up and working without rest??*


    *Actually, that might be exactly it. Minor was shockingly ok after shattering into literal pieces. I don''t think you are supposed to recover from something like that so fast. I thought it was because we had a goal and that she''d fall apartter but… maybe it actually didn''t bother her?*


    "Um Minor, perhaps you shouldn''t be too harsh on her. She did just have her mind shattered, and put back together after all. I think that would be a rather extreme situation for anyone, however she also has to contend with the fact that her long lost sister isn''t dead and that she isn''t anywhere she recognises


    "So maybe just… give her a second? Or if you really need to have this conversation now I could use my aura but I''d have to be careful" said Kat


    Minor opened her mouth and closed it multiple times as if she was a fishing gulping for air. "Huh" was eventually all she managed to say before letting herself fall backwards onto her bottom. Once on the ground she started to hug her tails and look up at Major like a sad puppy.


    *Um… Minor why do you look so sad now?* "Sorry Shizuka… I just… I really wanted this to be a great moment and then you insulted Kat, and I mean… I couldn''t let you do that… and now I''m sure your mad at me" said Minor. *Ok well that answers that question but… why is your mood bouncing around so much…?*


    *Could this be bacsh from calming her so much with my aura during that fight? Is this everything spilling out maybe? Or something?* "Hey hey" said Major as she ran over and gave Minor a hug, sliding along the ground to get there faster. As Major hugged Minor, she looked over at Kat and gestured towards them.


    Kat tilted her head in confusion. Major flicked her eyes down to her arms and then back up to Kat and then back down to her arms. Ah, I understand. Kat took a step towards the two of them and got a big grin. Wrapping them both up in her tail Kat used it to pull them both onto herp as she sat down with them.


    Minor let out a giggle and snuggled in closer to Major before copsing in their arms and letting out soft breaths. *She''s asleep now! Well, maybe that''s for the best.* "Yes, I believe so. She needs her rest" said Major.


    "How did you know what I was thinking" asked Kat


    "Because I was thinking the same thing" said Major quietly. A moment passed before Major spoke up again, when she did it was in the same hushed tone but with a slight edge to it, signalling she wanted to know the answer dearly. "One question though, why did she keep referring to me as Shizuka instead of Shizuru, she of all people should know the truth"


    "Ah" said Kat drawing the sound out. *I''m not sure how to address that elephant in the room… but I can see she wants an answer from me now.* Through Kat''s ''stalling'' tactic Major had kept her eyes locked with Kat''s. She hadn''t even blinked once during the twenty-five seconds Kat had drawn out the sound.


    "Ok fine. So… right there is a bit of an order to things, but that is one of the ones she addressed back after you passed out back in the tunnels to Enuko''s. Minor thinks that-"


    "Why do you call her Minor? She is your friend is she not?" growled Major "Do you not have the decency to refer to her by her name?"


    "Well MAJOR" said Kat stressing Major''s ''name'' "That is part of the exnation as well if you''d so desire"


    Major''s brows drew together upon hearing her designation "Why would you refer to me as that? Is that not a disgrace to her?"


    Kat shrugged "I don''t know. Minor means a lot to me, regardless of what I call her. She''s the one who requested it, and until I hear otherwise from her I''ll keep referring to her as Minor. I might even refer to you as Major just because that''s how she wanted me to refer to you"


    Major growled but Kat continued "Now, let me recount the tail of what exactly has happened… actually should I do it now? Will you remember this when you wake up?"


    "Wake up? But I''m not dreaming" said Major


    Kat chuckled at that "I''m afraid you are. Well, it''s a bit moreplicated than that, and part of therger story. Want me to skip around or tell you everything from the start" said Kat with a smug grin.


    "Do you take joy in this?" asked Major


    Kat''s grin dropped into a t line. "No. I do not. You annoyed me a bit implying that I didn''t care enough to use the name Haruka for Minor. Now, will you let me recount everything? WITHOUT interruption?'' asked Kat


    "Fine" grumbled Major no happier with the fact that Kat clearly did know of Minor''s ''real'' name.