?"Have you been stalking us this whole time?"

  Clamo’s voice broke the heavy silence.

  ?The Doctor remained silent, peering through the viewfinder of his camera. Click. He checked the digital display, his eyes narrowing as he confirmed the capture.

  ?The woman answered, her voice as cold and clear as mountain water.

  "I have been with you from the very beginning. And I shall be until the very end."

  ?She was there, rendered in sharp pixels.

  The Doctor felt a pang of scientific disappointment; he had been hunting for occult evidence, but she was no phantom. It was almost a pity.

  ?"You all took me for a spirit, didn't you?" she said. "Were I a true ghost, I would rarely deign to manifest in such a physical form."

  ?This is a 'Yandere' situation if I ever saw one, the Doctor mused. He couldn't ignore the glimmer of the genuine katana she carried at her side.

  ?During the day, she had shied away from the sun; at night, she had stood a tireless watch. She had protected the institute so perfectly that neither the Doctor nor Byakko had sensed a ripple in the air. Yet, all the while, she had been meticulously observing the newcomer, Clamo.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  ?"On whose authority are you guarding this place?" the Doctor demanded.

  ?"I cannot disclose that now," she replied. "Only that I am here to ensure your safety, Doctor."

  ?"Well, you could at least give us a name... Amethyst."

  ?Before she could even introduce herself, a moniker had been cast.

  Amethyst—the violet quartz that shimmers only where the ultraviolet rays cannot reach. The stone of sobriety, the calm in the storm of passion.

  ?Amethyst—or Ame-san? Ame-chan? Amaterasu-san?—prepared her reply.

  ?"My name is..."

  ?"My name is Amethyst."

  ?The Doctor felt a sudden, electric chill. He had guessed her true name by some uncanny intuition.

  ?"Your name is truly Amethyst?"

  ?"As of today, yes," she said. "In my childhood, my parents bestowed upon me the name Anah-maka—'The Nameless' in the ancient tongue. They told me I must earn a new name upon reaching adulthood. Until then, I was to remain in the shadows."

  ?The Doctor exhaled a long sigh of relief. A family with eccentric traditions was one thing, but he was just glad he hadn't accidentally cursed her with some half-baked, 'sparkly' nickname.

  ?"It’s late. Let’s call it a night," the Doctor declared. "Ame-chan, can you return tomorrow at 10 PM?"

  ?"I will be there."

  ?"Let’s share a meal."

  ?"Understood."

  ?Her response was curt, but Clamo saw it—the ghost of a smile dancing on her lips.

  ?And so, the white night reached its end.

  Clamo knew the Doctor would soon begin a relentless inquiry—demanding to know why those books were taken, and why, of all names, he had been dubbed Nakigitsune.