[FFML] [Mai Hime, Future] The Summer of Her Discontent--It Was a Beautiful Dream
John Biles
john at biles.us
Thu Jul 23 11:30:22 PDT 2009
The Summer of Her Discontent:
It Was A Beautiful Dream
By John Biles
Series: Mai Hime (future)
Home Page: http://www.thekeep.org/~wombat/Stories/MaiHime/index.html
*****************
Kasumi's Tale:
Breakfast on Tuesday came, unfortunately, with a side order of
uncomfortable. I had come out to the Commons with Erica and Crystal as I
didn't feel up to making my own breakfast. Natasha and Houseki-san then
joined us. Which was fine. But then Dan and Koyabishi-san joined us and
Dan and Natasha both wouldn't look at each other and then Hayao wanted to
sit with me and he and Crystal were about two seconds from killing each
other and then I noticed Erica was trying to not look at Dan and
Koyabishi-san and then Ota-san wanted to join us and the table was too small
and we had to pull up another one and then I could see Iwao-san glaring at
us from a distance, probably because his friends were all sitting with
people he doesn't like.
Ugh.
I tried to think of some topic of conversation which wouldn't lead to
any stabbing. "How is the play going?" I asked.
"It's fun," Hayao said. "I'll be surprised if we win anything, but I'm
enjoying myself."
"Me too," Dan said. "I'm glad I joined it."
Natasha started to say something, then gloomed at her bowl of cereal
instead.
"We have an assembly today," Aunt Chie said.
As usual, we all jumped; I don't know how she sneaks up on us like that.
Shun and Kagami approached; Kagami now had a pony-tail, which I thought
looked good on her. She's a really good girlfriend for Shun. He needs
someone to keep him in line and she's good at that.
"Hi, Aunt Chie. What's this assembly?"
"Your Uncle Reito has come to give the school lots of money, so they
have to make us all kiss his ass in public," Aunt Chie said.
She paused as if expecting someone to say something but no one did.
"Anyway, he has a very nice ass for those who are into such things. So
don't stare at it, Mitsu-san. You have a boyfriend." Her voice was
teasing, but Mitsu-san turned bright red.
"I wouldn't...I only have eyes for Shun...It's not that impressive a
butt, anyway."
Utter silence now hit.
She buried her face in Shun's chest and he grinned. "I can't see
anything," she babbled.
"It's nicer in a swimsuit, of course," Aunt Chie said. "If you weren't
all under age, I'd have to show you. But he's only for us grownups to lust
for." She struck a pose and I laughed. "Anyway, it will likely be totally
boring, but I expect he'll want to see you all, so be ready."
I'm not sure what we'd have to do to get ready for Uncle Reito, but
forearmed is forewarned and all that.
*****************
It was an entirely boring speech about the importance of studying and
charity and something about the school's honor and a long list of things I
already knew about Uncle Reito like his charities and the money he raises to
help the sick. He's a really great guy but this was like reading your own
biography where nothing is exciting because you already know it.
Afterwards, we all got called up. To my surprise, so did Gin. He looked
extremely nervous and I wondered what he had done this time.
"So you are Houseki Gin," Uncle Reito said. Aunt Alyssa was with him,
wearing a business suit. I wondered why she was following him around like a
personal assistant. And what everyone thought of a woman as tall as her.
Tall for Japan, that is. She's still a lot shorter than Uncle Reito, but
she's taller even than Aunt Shizuru.
"I...yes, sir, I am," he said weakly.
Everyone was gone except for the six of us and Kagami and Gin.
"So how long have you and Natasha been going out?" Uncle Reito asked.
"Four weeks, six days, five hours, three minutes and twenty-two
seconds," Aunt Alyssa said, making a note on her notepad.
We all stared and Gin and Natasha's jaws both dropped.
"That was a joke," Aunt Alyssa said.
Crystal and I both laughed, then Natasha laughed really loudly.
"Since just after our last break," Natasha said. "We got really serious
just a few weeks ago, though."
"When you two got caught painting each other," Uncle Reito said
cheerfully.
"It was really sweet and romantic," Gin mumbled, staring at the floor.
"It was super-cool. It was Gin's idea and I loved it," Natasha said,
taking his hand firmly. "You should try it with one of your girlfriends,
Uncle Reito."
"Reito-san and I are too busy for silly games like that," Aunt Alyssa
said firmly. "We have a holy mission to carry out."
Natasha gave Aunt Alyssa the look. Aunt Alyssa paled slightly, but
stood firm. Then Natasha gave her the grin.
Oh dear.
"I think it is sweet and romantic," Uncle Reito said. "Houseki-san,
would you like to be my guide around campus? The Principal was going to
select me one, but I think it would be more interesting with someone I'd
like to know better if you're going to be dating my dear little neice."
"You're not secretly her father who is going to kill me now, right?" Gin
asked a little warily.
That's kind of paranoid, isn't it? Also, I don't think Uncle Reito
would let a child of his go unacknowledged. I suppose Houseki-san probably
hasn't ever heard about Natasha's father, other than knowing he's not
around.
"I do not have the honor of being Natasha's father," Uncle Reito said.
"Though I would be pleased to have such a strong and energetic daughter."
To my surprise, Natasha actually looked embarrassed, which is very
rare. "You flatter me, Uncle."
"You shouldn't make random accusations like that," Aunt Alyssa said
sharply to Gin.
"Now, now, he's young and excitable. I seem to remember a few people
who made mistakes with the passion of youth," Uncle Reito said sadly to Aunt
Alyssa. I wonder what mistakes he made.
"So what brings you here, Aunt Alyssa?" Crystal asked her.
"I have come to pass holy judgement on Natasha's boyfriend, since he
didn't come to Fuuka," she said, looking up from the ground.
Gin looked ready to pass holy judgement on himself by simply catching
fire and dying.
"Show the boy some divine mercy," Uncle Reito said with his usual warm,
playful voice.
"Can I come too?" Natasha asked.
"We want to talk to Gin in private," Uncle Reito said.
Despite his warm tone, I had a feeling that didn't bode well.
*************
Akane's Tale:
It was a bright and cheerful morning and I was in a very good mood. So
was Kazuya. Kasumi had a new boyfriend and if he was Sayuri's daughter, I
expect he must be a nice boy. And she'd passed her drug test.
Not that I thought there was any chance of her being on drugs, of
course.
Akira now came out of the back. She was not in as good a mood as us,
but she seemed to be cheering up as the morning progressed. I guess we're
infectious.
My phone rang. "Hello?"
It was Aoi. "You heard about the drug test, right?"
"Yes," I said. "Kasumi passed, thankfully."
"Apparently, she's been showing a huge amount of improvement at track
and someone got paranoid," Aoi said. "Which could just be someone being
resentful, or it could be a sign she's a Hime."
"Surely she'd tell me," I told her.
"We're holding secrets from them, you know," Aoi said.
I frowned. Kasumi is really terrible at hiding things, though.
Wouldn't she tell me?
And when would she have been fighting monsters? Unless it just
appeared...but that doesn't seem to match us.
"Thank you," I said. "I'll have to think about this."
"Just wanted to let you know. Any of the other kids showing signs of
it?"
"Not yet," I said. She likely wants to know if Erica will. I have a
feeling they will, but maybe I'm being overconfident.
"Okay. Talk to you later, then, I'm on duty," Aoi said.
"Thanks for calling. Bye!"
We had to serve some customers; I would talk to Akira later.
*************
Gin's Tale:
I keep wondering if this is some kind of test by Natasha's family to see
when exactly they can break me or if it's just a coincidence that every time
I meet one of her family members they want to kill me.
It was pretty clear Alyssa was looking for any excuse to set me on
fire. I didn't even mention she was hot, which she is, or anything. She
just looked at me and knew I was thinking that, somehow. Shouldn't people
feel complimented by that?
Natasha's always happy when I tell her she's hot, anyway.
"Okay, here's the gardens where your neice Crystal and your nephew Shun
and Shun's woman, Kagami, work every day. Well some of the gardens," I said
to them. "They work all over the place. Kaiji-sensei works them pretty
hard."
Alyssa took out glasses, cleaned them with a handkerchief, then put them
on to look at me. I wonder if those are Intellivisors like Dad uses at
work. Those things are sweet for getting info quickly. It's like having
the internet in your head. But they cost too much for me to get some and
you're not allowed to use them in class anyway.
Dammit.
"He lets you call him Kaiji?" Alyssa asked me as if accusing me of
stabbing sensei in the heart and leaving him in the desert to die.
"Yes," I said. Mainly 'cause he gave up trying to stop me after the
fiftieth or so time.
Reito studied the gardens. "They seem to be doing a great job."
"Oh, I expect Kagami makes sure they do everything over and over until
they get it right. She's like that," I said. "Here, come this way."
We headed over to the greenhouse / gazebo which sits in the center of
the gardens. This is where the stuff which is really nice but picky about
environment grows. Even Alyssa softened at the sight of all the pretty
plants.
While she flittered around making happy noises, Reito said to me, "So
what do you plan to do for a living?"
"Art," I told him. "Well, once we get too old for rocking out, anyway.
I'm going to major in art and minor in music and Natasha's going to do the
reverse, though she's also thinking about picking up an English major or
minor since she's good with languages like her Mom."
He blinked, looking surprised. "So you've talked about college plans."
"Some. We aren't going to think about specific colleges until senior
year and that's not for two years," I told him.
Alyssa stared mouth wide open at some kind of orchid, I think. I
decided not to ask why, as I've decided it's best to never draw this woman's
attention if I can help it.
"But we definitely plan to do some rock banding in college, and go tour
for a while once we get our degrees," I told him. "Of course, we'll need to
recruit more people in college, see what the music scene is like in six
years and all that."
He looked at me in a way I couldn't read at all but which my nerves told
me was probably not good. But that was hopefully just my paranoia talking.
"Do you sing well?" Reito asked me curiously.
"Yeah," I told him. "Mom made sure I got voice training like she did.
Even if she doesn't really use it much these days except on the weekends."
Alyssa now stood over several vines and studied them warily as if they
were dangerous. I'm pretty sure honeysuckle can't kill anyone, though.
"What does she do?" he asked.
"Mom runs a gardening supplies place and Dad is an aeronautics
engineer. They met in the science program in a biology course," I told
him. "They go rock out with their old college buddies on the weekends.
It's kinda old fashioned but they're good."
"I'm surprised your father gets enough weekends off to go rock out,"
Reito said curiously.
Alyssa was still staring at the honeysuckle. My curiosity was trying to
force me to ask her why, but I rigidly shut my mouth. Don't draw enemy
fire, I told myself.
I had to open it to answer Reito, though. "Yeah, well, that's why he
hasn't had a promotion in forever," I told him. "Dad isn't willing to be a
total slave to his job. Which is why he and Mom are still married and his
co-workers are all on wife three and pay half their salary in alimony. You
ever been married?"
He looked at me with a very carefully blank look. "I have never been
married."
New topic, I told myself. I finally couldn't help myself. "I promise
it doesn't bite, Alyssa."
"These things are poisonous. Why are you growing something poisonous?"
she asked, as if I was personally plotting to poison everyone.
"They're only poisonous if you eat the berries or have a rare allergy.
Also, Lonicera caerulea, which is the one you're looking at, actually
produces edible berries. And even the ones with poisonous berries produce
really tasty flowers you can use to flavor up wine. Mom makes some very
nice honeysuckle wine." I licked my lips at the thought of it.
She stared at me with narrowed eyes. Geez, what did I ever do to this
woman?
Reito hummed a few bars of a tune; it sounded sort of familiar, but I
couldn't place it. "You know a lot about flowers?"
"Mom runs a gardening place, so I grew up helping out," I told him. "It
all burrows into your brain. What did your parents do for a living?"
"They had money," Reito said a little ruefully.
"The same for me," Alyssa said, though she said it sharply.
Maybe Natasha accidentally punched her in the face or something one
time. "Have you ever been married, Alyssa?" I asked.
She stared at me and I stepped back. "I'm just asking!" I said
frantically.
"Hasn't Natasha told us about you at all?" Alyssa asked.
"What?" I said in confusion.
"Alyssa, I don't think that's what you meant to say," Reito said,
putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Wh..." Her eyes suddenly widened and she looked very embarrassed,
mouth open.
My brain finally figured out what she meant. "Yeah, but there's so many
of you I lost track. You're the youngest of four sisters, right?
Yukariko's the oldest and then there's Miyu and then Nao and then you." I
looked at Reito. "And you're Mikoto's older brother, right?"
"Yes," he said.
Alyssa had a weirdly sentimental look which seemed rather unnatural on
her to me. Then she became more serious looking. "I am a nun. I am married
to God. Or at least, that's how it would be seen in Japan."
"Which god?" I asked.
She thrust a cross in my face which was hanging from a silver chain
around her throat. "THE God," she said firmly.
"This is a god? I thought this was a European monk's staff," I told
her. I'm kind of vague on religion in general but especially Western ones.
And I'm pretty sure she's from Europe or maybe the US.
And very hot when she's angry.
DO NOT MENTION THAT.
For a moment, I thought literal lasers were going to come out of her eye
sockets. I jumped way back. "What? What?"
Reito stepped between us. "Most people in Japan do not understand your
faith like I do, Alyssa." He put his hands on her shoulders and she
suddenly softened, looking embarrassed.
Wait, does she have a thing for him? Or is it more of a little sister /
big brother kind of thing?
Or maybe I should just stop thinking. Before I mention...aaargh.
Stupid hormones. I shouldn't be thinking of any woman but Natasha, but I
can't help thinking.
It would help if her family wasn't gorgeous. I feel like I wandered out
of another universe sometimes, hanging out with them. I don't think they
even realize it most of the time.
"This boy is such a hopeless idiot! I knew Natasha's standards were low
but I didn't realize how low," Alyssa said.
I half-leaned around Reito. "You take that back! I won't just stand
here while you insult my girlfriend!"
"Rock bands and art? You can't support a family with that! Your entire
future is based on stupid teenage illusions!" Alyssa shouted at me angrily.
"You think that is a FUTURE?"
"Hey, I didn't go off and marry a god because no human wanted me, unlike
you!" I shouted, getting angrier. The tiny 'self-preservation' part of my
brain informed me it only gave me even odds for surviving this, but as
usual, I ignored it. "You're just afraid to fall in love with a real person
and have real dreams! We love each other and we're going to make our dreams
come true!"
"You ignorant child! You want to talk about real love? You can't even
begin to imagine the cost of real love or how much it can hurt!" she shouted
at me. Reito was pretty much holding her back or I think she would have
just beaten me to death.
Or at least been in my face yelling.
Dammit, I totally fucked this up.
"Have you ever thought you loved someone and you were just a tool to
them? Nothing but a pawn? Have you ever watched someone you love die? You
think you know love? You don't know ANYTHING!" she thundered at me.
"That's enough, Alyssa. He's just a boy," Reito said firmly, embracing
her as he held her back. "You keep acting like he has seen as much as us,
but he's just sixteen."
"I was twenty times more mature than him by sixteen!" Alyssa protested.
"I am mature!" I protested.
"Please stop pulling the lion's jaws tighter on yourself, Houseki-san,"
Reito said to me firmly but not angrily, and I shut up.
"He hasn't gone through what we did," Reito said to her. "No one could
understand who hasn't." His voice was very gentle, but firm.
I wondered what had happened to them. I know Natasha's family has some
big secret the kids are trying to figure out which they think I don't know
there is a secret or that they're after it. Which they discuss in their not
as secret as they think meetings. Which I'm pretty sure involved some
pretty tragic shit going down at their parents' old school. Given all the
crazy shit Mandi and Sanae say happened when their moms were there.
Alyssa buried her face in his chest and whatever she said came out as
muffled wurfle, as Dad says whenever Mom does that to him.
I backed up a bit and considered my options in case I had to run for my
life.
"Even Natasha can do better than this," Alyssa finally said.
"What gives you the delusion you get to judge me?" I snapped at her.
"I..." she began.
"Shut up! I have had enough of this shit! You don't like me, fine.
But YOU DON'T GET TO DECIDE IF I DATE NATASHA OR NOT," I yelled at her.
"You want to hate me, fine. But this is between me and Natasha and maybe
her Mom and that's it. Unless you give me some reason to give a flying fuck
what you think, then stop taking a shit on me because I don't CARE what you
think. My own aunts don't tell me what to do! That's Mom and Dad's job!
So shut up and let us make our own decisions!"
Alyssa stared at me, clearly surprised.
"Now, now, let's not have a screaming match," Reito said smoothly.
"Alyssa, we're not Natasha's parents. Houseki-san, I'm sorry, this wasn't
supposed to involve yelling. Please don't yell at us."
I tried to make myself calm down. "It's okay. I get this all the
time."
He looked at Alyssa, who stared at the ground, then closed her eyes and
clutched her cross on the chain for a few seconds. "My apologies," she
said, though I could tell she wasn't sorry and was only apologizing so Reito
would lay off her.
A pink haired woman stuck her head in. "Is there a problem?" It took
me a few seconds, but then I recognized her. The vice-principal.
"It's okay," Reito said. "Sorry to bother you, vice principal."
"Koyabishi-sensei called me and said he heard shouting from here,
Kanzaki-san," the vice-principal said. She then gave me the 'ahh, it's the
troublemaker' look. I have come to know that look instinctively.
I did my best to look innocuous. "I'm just showing Reito-san around," I
said. "As he asked me to do."
"Everything is fine," Alyssa said, now looking fairly calm.
"Okay. Just making sure there's no trouble. Enjoy your tour!," the VP
said, then headed out.
"Where to next?" Reito asked.
"I'm thinking maybe the science labs. We can reassure Dr. Satoru that
we weren't killing his flowers," I told them.
"How often do you kill his flowers?" Alyssa asked.
Maybe I can get Dr. Satoru to kill ME, I thought.
**************
Alyssa's Story:
The biology lab looked very well equipped; definitely the students were
getting their money's worth, even if most of them clearly didn't enjoy
dissecting frogs.
Houseki-san, being a rude brat, simply opened the door and walked up to
Dr. Koyabishi. Dr. Koyabishi was tall and skinny and had bright red hair,
cut short. "Yo, Satoru-sensei, this is Natasha's Aunt Alyssa and her uncle
Reito, who is giving the school a bunch of money." He paused a moment. "I
guess you know that from the Assembly. Anyway, they asked me to show them
around."
"Asked you," he said, sounding surprised.
"I wanted to get to know my neice's boyfriend better," Reito said
graciously. Far more graciously than the human fungus deserves.
"Yeah, he asked me," Houseki-san said. "Anyway, this is one of our two
sweet biology labs." He wrinkled his nose at the smell. "And that's the
nasty smell of Formaldehyde."
"Were you all just over in the greenhouse?" Dr. Koyabishi asked.
"Yes," Houseki-san said. "That was us yelling. Nothing got damaged.
You know I wouldn't hurt the plants."
"I know," he said. "You could be a great botanist like your mother if
you were willing to work at it."
"I know more than most people," he said. "That's enough for me."
"Also, it would help your grade point average if you studied more, which
will be important later," Dr. Koyabishi-san said.
"No it won't, Satoru-sensei," Houseki-san said. "All they care about
are those stupid entrance exams. I could sleep for the next few years, then
ace the exams and get into whatever university I want. No one is going to
care in 3 years how well I did here, just whether I graduated and how I did
on their stupid exams."
I had the feeling they'd had this discussion before. "Yes, but if you
do poorly, you won't do well on those exams," I told Houseki-san. "Not that
I expect you'd do well even if you did study."
Dr. Koyabishi blinked at me and Reito now said, "I don't think either of
us even knows what Houseki-san's grades are like, Alyssa."
"Yeah, biology is one of my best subjects, so bite me," Houseki-san said
to me.
"Houseki-san usually gets Bs in my class. It could be even better if
you'd try harder," Dr. Koyabishi said, probably from force of habit. I
can't believe he really thinks this brat could do well in anything.
"Anyway, Kanzaki-san, let me show you everything."
He showed us everything, doing a very good job of presenting the
equipment. Really, I am pleased with this school so far, though I can't
comprehend for the life of me why Reito decided to choose this moron as our
tour guide.
Finally, Dr. Koyabishi said to me, "You're Alyssa Sears, right?"
I blinked in surprise. "Yes, I am."
"My wife, Miya, went to school with you. You were a lot younger than
her, but you were kind of famous, and I've seen pictures of you from then,"
he said. "She teaches Chemistry over at Saint Mary's."
"Good for her," I said. I could dimly remember someone named Miya who
hung out with Mai's crew, but really, she meant nothing to me. But Dr.
Koyabishi seemed like an intelligent, respectable man and it sounded like
his wife had done well too, so good for them. "I hope she's doing well."
"Yes," he said. "Our daughter Sanae attends here," he said.
"She's a mega-brain," Houseki-san said. "And very tall like her
parents. Too skinny for my tastes, though."
Dr. Koyabishi said, "Some people like their women slender,
Houseki-san." His voice was somewhat chiding.
"A pity she isn't here, then, as I knew her mother," Reito said. "I am
glad to see she found a good husband like you, Dr. Koyabishi."
Dr. Koyabishi looked a little embarrassed, but pleased. "Thank you,
Kanzaki-san. I do my best."
We moved on to the other labs, and then to other classes. Most of the
teachers either didn't know Houseki-san, or looked at him rather dubiously.
Which doesn't surprise me, as I'm frankly surprised he hasn't already
flunked out of here.
Reito, however, was cheerful and amiable to all as usual, and I did my
best to be cheerful also, though I'm not sure I was as successful as I would
have liked.
Saitou Kurou, the music teacher, was rather more favorable to
Houseki-san than the others. He was a short, stout man who wore a baseball
cap while teaching, which I have to disapprove of on general principles. He
had a bunch of students trying to play the recorder as we came in.
"Gin-san! Good to see you. Are these your parents?"
My mouth moved in total outrage, but I couldn't speak. I couldn't
think. The mere idea that I could be mistaken for his mother horrified me
beyond all rational thought.
"I am Kanzaki Reito," Reito said. "And this is my dear friend Sears
Alyssa," he said to Saitou-sensei. "She is a magnificent singer.
Houseki-san has graciously agreed to show us around the school, which I am
making a donation to in the name of my parents, to set up some
scholarships."
"Oh, yes, the assembly," Saitou-sensei said. "I'm afraid I fell
asleep. I was up late last night trying to get my lecture for History of
Music II ready. Sound file issues." He sighed. "Anyway, would you do us
the honor of singing, Ms. Sears? Gin and I can accompany you."
I felt on the spot. But I'm used to the spotlight. "I would be glad
to." It was kind of flattering, really.
"Students," he said. "You can sit down and watch us perform for a
little while."
"If you have a guitar, I can play as well," Reito said.
"Most certainly," Saitou-sensei said.
We ended up spending the rest of the class period with me singing,
Saitou-san on the piano, Reito on the guitar and Houseki-san on the
saxaphone. I must admit that he plays very well. He has talent. But he's
the sort of person to waste his talent.
"I hate to ask, but if you're still around, do you think you could come
to the Singing class in last period? They'd benefit from hearing as good a
voice as yours. Though I do have a few very good students in it,"
Saitou-sensei said to me.
I looked at Reito.
"I have no other serious plans," he said. "So we will do that if we
can."
"Thank you," Saitou-sensei said warmly. "Students?"
They all applauded, which was nice of them. Though we deserved it, even
Houseki-san.
We made our way through the rest of campus, getting lost briefly in the
library, which I think was poorly designed, though well equipped and well
stocked. The athletics facilities were quite good as well.
Coach Kumasaki Akemi, a short, muscular blonde woman, was in charge of
the PE class we ended up watching. There were two pools; the boys were in
one and the girls in the other, all wearing the usual bland blue school
swimsuits. They weren't too impressive; I certainly look better in a
swimsuit than any of them. Of course, they are awkward youth and I am a
mature adult, so it's hardly a fair comparison. This didn't stop
Houseki-san ogling the women, mind you, though at least he kept his filthy
mouth shut.
I did notice one of the girls was substantially faster than the others,
even though she was rather tiny. "Who is that?" I asked the coach.
"Ota Mandi," Gin said. "Her mom went to Fuuka, I think."
They were doing laps, and despite her size, Ota-san was definitely way
ahead of the others. Good for her. I love swimming, but no one can accuse
me of being fast.
"Hmm. Yayoi's daughter?" Reito asked.
"Sounds plausible to me," Gin said.
"She's very good. I think she's planning to go into literature and
editing, rather than athletics, but she's very good," Coach Kumasaki said.
"I keep trying to talk her into joining the swim team, but her parents want
her to focus on her academics."
"Can you call her over?" Reito asked.
The Coach blew her whistle and summoned Ota-san, who got out of the
water and came over. "Hey, Gin, how's it going?" Then she looked at us.
"You're the donors from the assembly, right?"
Reito nodded. "Are you Ota Yayoi's daughter?"
"Yes, sir," Ota-san said, now shifting posture from sloppy casual to
formal. Her vocal tone changed too. "You would be Kanzaki Reito, who was
president of the student council Mom's freshman year, correct?"
"It's nice to be known," he said, smiling. "I see you are as pretty as
your mother."
"Prettier," she said proudly. "I can make men dance a jig."
Delightful, it's a female version of Houseki-san.
"Anyway, I hope to eventually be a magazine or book editor," Ota-san
said. "So I take literature and writing classes, some journalism, and I
write stories for fun."
"It is commendable to see you know what you want and where you're
going," Reito said kindly. He is kind to everyone, though most people don't
deserve it. "Most people your age don't."
"I'm not sure Mom knows where she's going NOW," Ota-san confessed.
"She's so loaded she can just do whatever she feels like, though. The three
of us all know where we're going."
"Three?" Reito asked curiously.
"Sanae, Hayao, and myself. Our mothers all went to Fuuka and we pretty
much grew up together. Between us, one of us is good at almost everything,"
she continued. "I'm the brawn, he's the charm and Sanae is the brains of
our outfit."
"I wish you good luck, then," Reito said. "You will make friendships in
high school, some of which will last you a very long time. And others
which, unfortunately, will be forgotten."
"Yeah, I know your family is huge and you all met in high school,"
Ota-san said, looking at me.
I suddenly wondered how much she actually knew; something in that gaze
made me nervous.
"Yes. I was very fortunate to have good friends who could get me out of
the troubles I sometimes got into, and I am glad to see you have friends to
back you up when things turn dark, Ota-san," Reito said very seriously.
"Do you know what Kiyohime was after at Fuuka? Really?" Ota-san asked,
now very serious.
Kiyohime is the name everyone at Fuuka uses for the terrorists that all
the events of the Summer of Fire got blamed on. The bridge, the school
takeover, the destruction of Primus Research and First District and so on.
I'm not sure how it got started, but it spread quickly, and within a few
months after it all, everyone 'knew' they were to blame. Humanity needs
scapegoats.
"Is there some reason I should know?" Reito asked, now very calm in a
way I knew meant he was putting on a mask. More of a mask. He almost
always tries to appear very friendly to reassure everyone. But when he goes
from that to very calm, I know he's tense. I can read him like a book after
all these years.
"You vanished when the school needed you most, and didn't resurface
until it was over," Ota-san said. "You were student council president. But
then, so far as I can tell, the whole council basically abandoned the campus
to die, vanishing one by one."
I suddenly wondered how much she knew. People at Fuuka saw things, and
these days they usually act like none of it happened, but her mother was
there. How many people saw the final battle and the destruction of the Hime
star? What did they think of it?
For a moment, Reito was very silent. I tried to figure out what to
say.
Houseki-san, to my suprise said, "Oh come on, Mandi. The campus caught
fire, there was a plague, things were exploding, and you expect unpaid
student volunteers to tough it out? Lay off."
"The student council got special scholarships! They weren't just normal
students and they abandoned the campus to die," Ota-san said, sounding a
little angry. "When people like MY MOTHER were in danger."
"Ota-san, please don't harrass our guest," Coach Kumasaki said. "I'm
very sorry, Kanzaki-san."
"It's okay," Reito-san said very calmly. "It's a fair question. And
the answer is pretty simple. We failed. When the school most needed us to
hold together, we all turned on each other and scattered. I failed. I was
the Student Council President and I failed miserably to lead or to deal with
the growing crisis at Fuuka. I'm very sorry, Ota-san. Your mother deserved
better of me and I failed her."
"You did your best," I said instinctively, though I knew otherwise. But
I couldn't let some teenage brat harass him.
"It was not even close," Reito-san said, "to my best. It was my worst.
Which is why I stayed out of student government in college. I am very
sorry, Ota-san."
Ota-san looked rather embarrassed. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I
just...When I was little, Mom once woke us all up in the middle of the
night, convinced the house was on fire. We all ended up out front before
Dad woke up enough to realize nothing was wrong. She'd just been dreaming
about her dorm getting burned." She looked up at me. "Are you two
married?"
Why do people keep asking us this? Mind you, if I ever married, I'd
want to marry a serious, intelligent man like Reito, but I am a nun. Just
because he...I am a nun. "I am a nun, a Bride of Christ. We are just old
friends."
"A nun? Good. There was this fake nun running around here a while
back, luring men into the woods with the promise of nookie and sicing bees
on them and then claiming it was the 'wrath of God'. I asked around Saint
Mary's, but none of them knew anyone named 'Juliet'," Ota-san said. "Do you
know who this person is?"
"No, but I will make sure it's looked into," I said. Nao, that really
was a bit over the top, even for a manwhore like the one you were dealing
with.
I keep wondering how she got the bees to obey her, though.
"Wait, you talking about Crystal's aunt Nao?" Houseki-san said. "I
think she is the one who sent the bees after Hayao."
"YES," Ota-san said. "I want to give that woman a piece of my mind."
It would have to be a very small piece or you won't have much left to
function with, I thought.
Houseki-san started to say something, looked at me, then said, "Anyway,
I think we need to move on so we can hit everything before it's time to
entertain the Choir."
"It was nice to meet you," Reito said very calmly to Ota-san, shaking
her hand. "Give my best wishes to your mother."
"I really am sorry I yelled at you," Ota-san said apologetically. "I
mean, it was decades ago and everything and yeah, most people would run
under the circumstances. I can be a little self-righteous if I'm not
careful."
"Kasumi has you beat there, though she mostly just judges with her eyes
and face," Houseki-san said.
"Anyway, nice to meet you," Ota-san said and bowed.
We said our goodbyes and moved on. "Sorry about that," Houseki-san said
to us. "I didn't realize she was going to jump down your throat, Reito."
"It's okay," he said. "Nothing I don't deserve."
"Me, I would have crapped my pants and run for the hills," Houseki-san
said. "Probably when the bridge blew up."
"So you'd just abandon Natasha if there was any trouble," I said hotly.
"No!" he said fiercely, stepping towards me. I stepped back. To my
surprise, he now pulled off his jacket and his shirt, revealing his chest
was bandaged over some kind of lump. "I didn't get this bruise falling off
my HIGH HORSE," he said hotly. "I got punched out trying to defend
Natasha's honor."
"Trying," I said. "And failing, I expect."
"That is ENOUGH, Alyssa," Reito said hotly, startling me.
Houseki-san jumped backwards.
"You don't like him, we get it," Reito said. "Please do not insult him
for getting hurt trying to defend his girlfriend." His voice was calmer
now.
I felt extremely frustrated. Why is he on this idiot's side?
"What happened?" Reito asked, sounding concerned. "I hadn't heard of
any kind of fight."
"Well, you gotta take care of these things yourself; parents are never
any use when it comes to fights," Houseki-san said, putting his shirt back
on and donning his jacket. I'm kind of surprised they make them wear the
jacket in the summer, given the heat. "Either they lecture you for fighting
or they give you stupid advice that is useless, and then the staff punishes
everyone involved because they can't tell who is to blame and they're afraid
the parents will yell at them or pull their kids." He shrugged. "Every
school on Earth is like that, I think."
I frowned. "Students who start fights don't get disciplined?"
"Most of the time, they can't tell who is to blame and when they do
actually just punish one person, it's whoever has a bad reputation. It's
not like they know us personally or can watch us all the time and everyone
usually lies to make their friends look good." He shrugged. "Our national
justice system is even shittier than that, and if you complain, you just end
up a 'bad kid' who gets blamed for everything." He sounded rather bitter.
That didn't sound good at all. But then, that was pretty much how it
was when I was a kid.
"So what happened?" Reito asked.
"Crystal's ex-boyfriend Taiki called Natasha a bitch, a whore, and a
prostitute. I tried to ignore him, but I couldn't take any more of his
shit," Houseki-san said bitterly. "Then he one-punched me down and his gang
all moved in and kept Natasha from killing him like he deserved."
She wouldn't get called a whore if she didn't slut around with boys like
this. That being said, she is family, and outsiders don't get to judge us.
"So nothing happened to him?"
"I hit him first," Houseki-san mumbled. "I would have been the one to
get in trouble."
"You shouldn't let people provoke you into a fight you can't win," Reito
said. "Violence is generally best avoided."
"I couldn't just stand there and let him crap on my girlfriend!,"
Houseki-san said. "Don't tell me you wouldn't have done anything."
"I wouldn't have hit him. There are many better ways to destroy
someone, especially when you are the student council president," Reito
said. "So you got hurt and she didn't?"
"Yeah. Mandi just grappled her. She's tiny, but she's tough,"
Houseki-san said. "Did you date anyone I know in high school?"
"Have you met Natasha's Aunt Mai?" Reito asked.
"You two? HOT," Houseki-san said, then poked himself. "Dammit."
Saying they dated...is a bit of an exaggeration. I think. I was still
young enough I really didn't follow that whole mess.
"I loved her, but she loved someone else," Reito said. "Then I
graduated, as I was two years ahead," he continued.
I can't believe he just told an idiot like this that.
Houseki-san's eyes suddenly widened. "Wait...isn't Mikoto your sister?"
"Yes," Reito said.
Houseki-san winced, then stared at the ground. "Okay, new subject."
"It's okay, I moved on long ago," Reito said, patting his shoulder. "So
you would fight for Natasha, even if you're not a fighter at heart."
"Yes," Houseki-san said. "I love seeing Natasha fence. She's really
good at it and so graceful and strong." He sounded rapt with imagination.
"And totally hot."
Can he go three minutes without calling someone hot? I don't think so.
I can't see why Natasha hasn't killed him yet. I suppose you could use him
as a three-minute timer, though.
"I hope it won't have to happen again," Reito said.
We toured around more of the campus, had lunch, saw the dorms and
generally fiddled around until it was time to go sing.
I had a very good time, and again, I have to confess Houseki-san played
very well. One of the students was Mitsu Kagami, the new Hime; she had an
exceptionally good voice, better even than Natasha's, which is pretty good.
Afterwards, I pulled her aside.
"You sing very well, Mitsu-san."
"Thank you, Sister Alyssa," she said. "Or should I call you Sears-san?"
"Sister Alyssa is fine," I said. She's a nice, polite, well-mannered
girl. Something every school needs more of.
"I would offer to show you around, but I have to go do my gardening
punishment detail next," Mitsu-san said.
"That's okay," I said.
I could see the music teacher, Houseki-san, and Reito were busy
talking. "Does he get in fights often?" I said.
"Shun never gets in fights," Mitsu-san assured me.
"I'm sorry, I mean Houseki-san."
"No, he's very peaceful and tries to avoid violence. It's one of his
better qualities," Mitsu-san said. "The fight with Iwao-san was an
aberration."
"He seems to lust for every woman in sight," I said to her.
"I think Natasha lusts for every man in sight, so I guess they agreed
not to be bothered by it," Mitsu-san said a little nervously. "But my Shun
only has eyes for me."
I doubt that, but he certainly doesn't comment on every woman in sight
the way Houseki-san does. "Is Shun treating you well?"
"He loves me very much," she whispered. "But our relationship has to be
a secret, so we shouldn't talk about it where people can hear."
Oh yes, I had forgotten that. "He's strange, but a good boy at heart,"
I whispered to her. Out loud, I said, "You have a lot of musical talent."
"I'm very good at singing and decent with instruments," Mitsu-san said.
"But I really have to go, I'm sorry."
"It's okay. It was nice to meet you." We bowed to each other and she
ran off. A pity more of my neices aren't like her.
I went over to the others. "Houseki-san and I are going to have a
little private conversation," Reito said. "If you don't mind, Alyssa."
"It's fine," I said. "I'll go visit my neices and nephews."
I headed out to do so, leaving them to their man talk.
**************
Reito's Story:
We went to a place in the gardens to talk; I could see Shun, Mitsu-san,
and Crystal off in the distance, hard at work under Sakomizu-sensei's
supervision. It felt odd to see him again here.
"I'm sorry Alyssa was so hard on you. She is a nun and has to live by a
very high moral standard. And I fear nuns tend to be judgemental, Alyssa
doubly so."
"Where does that..." Houseki-san strained.
"She is so harsh because when she was young, she made terrible mistakes
and did terrible things and now she fears others will do what she did," I
told him seriously. "I know she is hard to deal with sometimes, but she is
also deeply loyal and very smart and hard-working. You have to learn to
just let the flames roll off you when she gets worked up."
"She never yells at you," Houseki-san said a little dubiously. "Aren't
nuns supposed to be gentle and kind?"
"The Magdalenes deal with pushers, pimps, gangs, and worse, to try to
protect women on the streets. They can't afford gentleness and kindness to
everyone," I told him. And they hunt monsters, but he will have to stick
around a lot longer to find that out. "They have to be strong."
Houseki-san frowned and stared at the ground. "But does she have to be
so mean about everything?"
I sighed. "I'm sorry about that. I would have asked Mikoto to come
with me if I had realized she was going to chew on you all day." Which I
should have, but I was foolish and wanted to spend some time with her, as I
generaly enjoy her company. Some time in which nothing was trying to kill
us. "My apologies."
"It's okay. You seem like a nice guy, and I'm sorry Mandi decided to
bite your face off."
"So what do you two do for fun?" I asked.
"We go dancing on the weekends, she models for me, we go to the movies
when we can. Right now, we're in a play together."
"Tell me about that."
"Sad Dracula in Snow. She's one of Dracula's brides and I'm on tech,"
he said. "It's cheesy, but fun. Your nephew Dan and your neice Erica are
in it too." He looked at me curiously. "So how exactly did Erica suddenly
become part of your family with her parents?"
"Renewal of an old friendship," I told him. "We'd known them a long
time but drifted apart. You know...well, you wouldn't know yet. You're not
old enough to have had a lot of people drift away."
He laughed. "I really like Rosewood, but I guess you've been out of
high school since before I was born."
"Yes," I told him.
"You don't look so old, though."
"Clean living," I told him.
He looked over at the others. "So is this where I get initiated into
your family's big secret?"
"Not yet," I told him. "None of Natasha's other boyfriends were."
"Well, I intend to last much longer than them," he said.
I nodded. "You two seem to have big plans."
"We do," he said. "She's the best woman I've ever been with. Probably
the best I ever will. I hope this lasts."
"I wish you luck," I told him. "But most relationships at your age
don't. Though my own case was messier than most."
"Yeah, from what little I know, I'd have to say so," he said. "So...why
is Natasha's father a secret?"
"Her mother is being stubborn," I told him. "And the rest of us will
respect her wishes and keep silent. I expect he's married somewhere with
children and cheating on his wife with his secretary right now."
"He just...he wasn't like me, was he?" Houseki-san asked nervously.
"No. He was rather more like me, actually," I said. "Except he
abandoned her when she needed him most." I sighed. What a mess that was.
"Bastard," Houseki-san said angrily. "I'd never do that to Natasha.
Mind you, we use protection."
I still don't know if there was an accident or if he had refused to use
protection or she had forgotten to take her pills or what. But it left her
a scar that never healed right. I always feel bad for Shiho; her childhood
was destroyed and she never really fully recovered.
"You should be careful. Such things don't always work," I told him.
"They have some pretty good stuff these days," Houseki-san said. "We'll
be better off when we can just turn off our reproductive organs until we
need them, but we still haven't gotten there yet, unless you want to shell
out huge amounts of money." He studied me. "You're not celibate, are you?"
"No," I told him. "But I could afford to support a thousand children if
I had to."
That stunned him into silence.
"Would you and Natasha like to go out to dinner with us tonight?"
He looked torn. "She's probably on her way to her Aunt Haruka's place
to practice stabbing, and then...it would have to be something like fast
food so we could make it to practice. You could eat with us at the
cafeteria, but really, that would be kind of cruel to you."
"We could order a pizza or two," I told him.
"Really? Yeah, that would be great," he said. "If you want to take us
out some other time, though, that would be cool."
Alyssa now came running up. "I'm afraid we're needed, Reito."
I frowned. "Alright. I'm afraid I'll have to give you a rain check on
this."
"Okay," Houseki-san said. I expect he wasn't too disappointed to avoid
spending more time with Alyssa, unfortunately.
We headed for my car. "What's wrong?"
"One of the smaller southern islands," she said. "Something has been
mutilating cattle. Could be just a local feud, but there is a tagged site
on the island."
Tagged sites are places where magic functions well enough for something
to potentially break through. Fortunately, such breakthroughs are rare,
though growing more common. Most people still will never encounter a
monster, unless they are foolish enough, like myself, to go looking for
them.
I do what I can. I am quite wealthy and happy to help out. I will
likely spend the rest of my life atoning for being weak enough to fall prey
to the Obsidian Lord. He didn't have to force his way in; I succumbed to
the promises he offered me. I was young and foolish and Mai shone so
brightly...
She still does, but I am not the sort of person to bang his head on a
wall forever. I have moved on, though my love life has always been hampered
by the need to keep secrets. I can always find a woman if I need one, but
holding onto them is another story.
But I have my nakama. I never would have seen myself in the arrogance
of my youth as having two academics and a pack of nuns as my closest
friends, but they are. We have fought...a lot of things. And I trust them
with my life. And they trust me. The others...they like me, but they don't
trust me.
I can't blame them. No one trusts Shizuru but me, I think. She and I
understand each other. It is a pity she has no interest in men. But as I
said, I don't bang my head on the same wall for decades, unlike, say,
Yukino.
But I digress.
I don't...okay, I don't look down much on the men in our ranks who stay
home. Kazuya wouldn't be any use in the field and neither would Wateru,
except perhaps to fetch and carry. He seems good at that. I'm not sure if
Takumi would be useful or not, though he is at least intelligent. I
understand why Yuuichi doesn't go into the field and most of the time I
accept that. He has responsibilities I do not.
And likely, so will his daughter. We have no proof that the children
will inherit their mothers' powers, but it seems logical. Though the only
known one is outside the family's ranks.
"Helicopter time, I take it?" I asked.
"Yes," she said.
We hopped in my car and roared off.
**************
Akane's Story:
Jumping back in time to lunchtime...
After lunch, Akira and I went to her dojo to train. I told her about
what Aoi had told me.
"There's a good chance she's right," Akira said, sighing. "It's not
proof, but if Kasumi is suddenly a lot faster, she's either a Hime or
something else has happened. The fact that she can keep up with you
inclines to me suspect that too."
I wasn't sure what to do if that's the case. "Why wouldn't she tell
me?"
"I don't know," Akira said, frowning. "I'd kind of think Crystal would
be using this to argue for us telling them everything. Which I think needs
to be done."
"I would like to tell Kasumi everything even if she is not a Hime," I
told her. "If I'm going to be risking my life, I don't want her to suddenly
find out the hard way." I sighed. "But I think if we tell one we're going
to have to tell everyone."
Akira nodded. "Well, we have to work on bringing the rest of the family
around. I want my son to know. Especially...I want to believe he'll get
powers."
"I'm sure he will," I said.
"How can you be so sure? Even if men can become Hime, there are five
slots and six children. Seven if we count Shinichiro."
"I don't think he will be involved," I told her.
"Can we be sure?" Akira countered. "Our generation ranged in age from
whatever the hell Midori's real age was to 13. Nine if you count Alyssa."
"Eight," I said. "I think."
"I think the Crimson Huntsman declaring war on us
triggered...something," Akira said, now pacing back and forth on the mat as
I began doing stretching exercises. "First we got two new Hime. Then we
discovered Kagami and you gained the ability to use your powers anywhere.
And our powers are linked to Draco now," she said. "Which I guess you are
now fully linked to one of the stars of Draco. But if there are fifteen
stars in Draco and six new Hime..."
"Some of the stars in Draco are binaries and there is even a trinary," I
told her. "I can't remember which is which, but I did a little reading
after I made an idiot of myself over Betelgeuse. Which is the third largest
star in the sky, after the Sun and one I'd never heard of before so I forgot
its name."
Akira smiled for a moment, then said, "A trinary, huh?" She laughed.
I blinked, then it hit me and I laughed. "I don't know how they can
live like that, but it seems like real love to me."
"It is," Akira said. "I frankly can't imagine sharing Takumi with
another person, though I think it's crucial that it's Mikoto as the third
person." She started pacing again.
I did a hand stand and did some leg stretches. "I agree. And I suspect
it's probably destiny."
"I think our powers were destined, but not our loves," Akira said. "Or
if our loves were destined...they were intended to trap and destroy us and
pit us against each other. I don't think some of us would have destined
loves and others not."
I continued my stretches; Akira now copied me. "Kazuya and I always
felt like destiny to me," I told her. "I hoped Kasumi would be as lucky as
I am." I sighed. "But I guess not."
"Well, I have to admit that my only regret about Shun and Kagami dating
is that I wish her parents had trained her to fight from the cradle," Akira
said, working her legs. "This is a good idea, by the way. Builds balance.
You should make the kids do it."
"Thank you," I told her. "We can't change the past."
"Oh, some of the blame is mine. I should have been riding everyone hard
to get their kids trained." She sighed. "But I wanted to believe it was
over. Most of us did. We should have listened to Midori. But what's done
is done."
I sprang back to my feet. "I just wanted to say, Akira, thank you for
training me and helping me train them. I'm not used to this. But I can see
why you do it for a living. It's a huge amount of fun. It's like...It's
like playing with them. Like you do with little kids. Except now you can
do much cooler things because everyone is older and smarter and won't
suddenly poop their pants from excitement."
"Oh god, did your boys do that? Shun did a few times when we were
trying to potty train him," Akira said, rubbing her forehead. "Then he was
so proud when he stopped, he wanted to show everyone who visited the house.
So he would haul out the kid-potty into the dining room." She made a face.
"Yes," I said. "Kasumi was very easy to potty-train, but we went
through a long period of trying to get her to eat her food instead of
covering herself with it and flinging it around the room and trying to wear
food bowls as a hat."
"I think all kids do that," Akira said. She smiled nostalgically, then
turned serious. "I'm glad you enjoy it, but you need to turn up the
pressure. Push them as hard as you can. Harder, as I know you'll moderate
yourself."
"I have to be careful not to seriously hurt them," I told her.
She frowned. "True. Just do your best."
"I will," I told her.
She stared at the mat. "I should be there. Every day. Dammit."
"Language," I said instinctively. "Sorry, Akira. But I swear, I am
doing the very best I can."
"I know," she said. "They need someone to ambush them."
I smiled a little. "I've got Aoi and Chie to help out in staging some
ambushes."
"It will have to do," she said, and sighed. "Let us begin."
I bowed to her and we went to work.
***************
Dan's Story:
"Do you mind if Koyabishi-san watches us practice?" I asked Mr. K.
She stood next to me with a large handbag, looking a little nervous. No
reason for HER to be nervous, though.
"Hmm, actually, Koyabishi-san, do you mind sitting way up in the back?
I need someone to make sure everyone can be heard and all important business
seen from the back too," Mr. K said. "So I would be very grateful."
She bowed to him. "Of course, Takeshi-sensei."
"You can call me Mr. K, Koyabishi-san." Puff, puff.
"Okay, Mr. K-sensei," she said.
I laughed a little, and she headed up to the back. I went to study my
lines. I think I've gotten them down pretty well.
Erica came in. "Hey."
"Hi, you okay?" She's seemed mopey all day and I don't know why.
"I'm fine," she said.
While I am not adept at psychology, even I know better than to believe
that. But she seemed disinclined to say more, so I didn't press her.
I felt my arms itch again; something in this place must be giving me a
mild allergic reaction.
We ran through the play as usual, now working with the tech people to
get all the lighting and set changes done. Tomorrow, we'd do it with
costumes.
Koyabishi-san sat in the back, doing homework and watching at the same
time and making encouraging gestures to me.
The first part of the seduction scene went pretty smoothly; we'd done it
enough times I was getting used to it, and though I couldn't actually see
Koyabishi-san most of the time, I kept imagining the three of them as the
dolls, which helped keep me from overheating.
As I turned to try to back away from Koyatsu-san, who was stroking my
arm, I had a flashback to our 'practice' with the dolls last night and I
couldn't help but laugh.
"Cut!" Mr. K said wearily.
"Dammit, Suguira-san, can't you take this seriously? The contest is in
just a few days and you STILL don't have it together!" Fukuda-san has been
getting more and more annoyed with me as we go along because I'm still
struggling to act well. Whereas, he's very good, but is stuck in a
basically secondary role.
"I'm really sorry," I said. "Let's start over."
"You were doing well to that point," Mr. K said. "As you were
disintegrating too much the previous times, but this was good. You do need
to be falling apart and losing your defenses, but not to the point where you
totally lose it like the first time we tried this."
The rest of the night went pretty smoothly, though Fukuda-san was cranky
all night. Instead of walking back with Koyabishi-san and I as I expected,
though, Erica went off on her own to 'run errands'. What kind of errands do
you run at this hour?
But it's her life, so she can do what she wants, so I headed back with
Koyabishi-san. "Thanks for the help," I told her.
"You're welcome," she said, smiling.
She really was a big help. And good company too.
****************
Alyssa's Tale:
I had switched to a thin but dark blouse that wouldn't overheat me but
would hide my bra, and durable denim shorts. I'd also armed myself with two
pistols, several bottles of holy water, my combat rosary and two crosses.
I had hoped to dine elegantly tonight; instead, I'd eaten a sandwich and
now I was rounding off my evening by lurking in trees waiting for cattle to
be mutilated. "So what happens if it's just a prankster or some kind of
feud?"
"We stay hidden or scare them off or possibly call the prefecture
police," Mother said. She's not my biological mother, but I would be quite
happy if she was. I was born in a test tube, but she loves me as her own
and I love her.
I nodded. "When we go back, you need to show me how to sic bees on
people, Nao."
"Don't," Reito said firmly.
We were all perched up in a large tree, wearing dark clothing to try to
blend into the night darkness. There's no light pollution out here and the
moon is declining towards new, so except for the stars, it was pretty dark
and we were all wearing nightvision goggles.
"What happened?" Nao asked curiously.
"Did Natasha's boyfriend hit on you?" Midori asked.
"The boy hits on anything with breasts," I said. "He is totally
disgusting and needs to learn some self-control."
"He hasn't hit on me yet," Midori said, sounding disappointed.
"Saying 'he hits on anything with breasts' isn't precise enough,"
Professor Sasaki said. "I have breasts."
"Don't remind me," Nao said, but she laughed.
"You know what I mean," I said, frowning.
"I think we are likely to scare off any would-be mutilators if we
continue to discuss Natasha's boyfriend," Mother said. "Natasha seems quite
taken with him. But ultimately, it is her problem and Shiho's. Now, let us
keep watch."
The cattle mutilation formed a pattern, though we couldn't be sure
exactly why. Three out of four corners of a theoretical square around one
of the tagged sites had seen mutilations the last three nights. We were
staking out corner number four. I hoped my theory was correct.
The cattle mutilators, however, were taking their own sweet time about
this. I began praying the rosary, so I would not end up falling asleep or
getting distracted like the time I was so busy running a debate between
Descartes and Voltaire in my head, I nearly got eaten.
Please Lord, let something happen or else let us be sure nothing is
happening soon.
****************
Erica's Tale:
I went off to go pout, pretty much. I'm not normally a moper. At least
I hope not. But love tends to lead to me moping a lot.
Much as kissing Hayao is more pleasant than it ought to be, he's
Kasumi's boyfriend and really, she ought to be in my role. I'd rather be
seducing Dan.
Not that I have the courage to try.
I sat on a bench by the science building and stared up at the night
sky. Half-moon was fading to crescent moon, and the stars glittered high
above. I stared at Orion and Draco and the Big and Little Dipper, which are
the main constellations I can consistently find.
I need to be bolder, I told myself. But I'm not good at bold. I tend
to be more a watcher than a doer, wanting to know what's going on, but not
getting directly involved as a mover and shaker. Except in my dreams, but
those are just fantasies; it's easy to act when you control every
variable.
Someone tapped my shoulder. I turned and didn't see anyone, but I saw
something else. A great serpent made of silvery flames. It was coming my
direction. I leaped to my feet and pulled my can of mace, not knowing what
else to do. I couldn't see who had tapped my shoulder, but I could see the
serpent coming closer, moving faster than I walk but slower than I run.
I grabbed my phone. Please answer please answer please answer, I
thought as I punched in Kasumi's number.
I backed up as it got closer, ambling towards me as I backed into one of
the many campus flowerbeds. Flowers died at my hands, unfortunately, or
more precisely, under my feet.
And then it turned and headed off towards the dorms. I guess I wasn't
tasty enough or something. This actually offended me.
My phone was still ringing, but then it went dead.
Dammit!
No way to get help, Kasumi wouldn't know to come, there was no one to
stop this thing but me.
With no powers, no gun, nothing but a can of mace. Well, mace might
actually work on it; it does have eyes.
If it didn't speed up, I could probably outrun it to the dorms. But who
knows what it might do by the time I got back with Kasumi?
Either I was going to have to stop it or no one would.
I felt a moment of utter, total fear. How could I stop this thing all
by myself? Though maybe if it was vulnerable to blunt objects, I could
follow it to the commons, grab a chair and attack it.
If nothing else, it might make enough noise to attract someone who could
run for help or something.
I followed it to the commons, and then it suddenly turned, rose up to
where its head was at my head's level and hissed at me.
Threat display. Maybe it had been afraid of me before? So it avoided
my 'turf' but now it felt threatened and was trying to scare me off.
Science classes do have their uses.
I drew myself up and spread my arms and legs to look 'big' and I hissed
at it loudly.
It retreated for a moment, then lunged at me; I jumped back, then
realized it couldn't have hit me. But it now advanced just a touch.
A thought then hit me. WATER. DUH. I felt like an idiot. Lure this
thing into water somehow...there is a pool. But will it be stupid enough to
follow me into the water? Surely not, but it would lead it away from the
dorms and maybe I could scoop up water with something.
But could I actually outrun it? This thing may be very fast. I could
at least lure it that direction. I grabbed a chair and made another threat
display.
It lashed out at the chair, which caught fire and began to burn with
silver flames.
The METAL chair is burning.
Fire extinguisher! All these buildings have them, if I can just make it
inside and they're not locked.
I ran for the nearest building, which happened to be the cafeteria. It
pursued me now, chasing me just slower than I could run full tilt; I
couldn't get in the cafeteria, and it nearly got me when I had to dive to
one side.
I couldn't quite figure out if I was just a touch faster or if it was
trying to wear me out so I couldn't fight back when it lunged at me; I
turned and sprayed mace in its face; it all caught fire, but it did get in
the creature's eyes, causing it to flail about. However, I dropped the can
and it burned up, while I ran off at full speed.
That gained me enough ground to make a break for the gymnasium, beyond
which is the pool. Unfortunately, it now shed its skin, becoming a lion
made of silver flame.
Dammit, lions are sprinters! KASUMI, THIS IS YOUR JOB!
But there was no Kasumi, only me. So I ran full tilt for the gym and
prayed they had forgotten to lock the gate to the pool. As I ran, it now
was coming for me, covering great distances with its speed. However, I also
noticed it was significantly smaller than it had been as a serpent, maybe
even a little smaller than it had been when it first shed its skin. Maybe
it was consuming its fuel, whatever that was.
Unfortunately, unless I got some help, I wasn't going to make it to the
gate to the pool. Which, as often happens, was slightly ajar... only now I
could hear why it was open. People had snuck in there for a swim.
I couldn't lead it in there; too risky. I had to turn, but it cut the
angle and was closing with me fast. Also, the back of my neck was starting
to itch under my hair, which I found deeply annoying.
I had done all I could, but I was out of ideas and options. But one.
Kasumi's option. Trying to invoke the power of the Crystal Princess and
become one of the battle princesses. I am just a foundling; everyone has
been very kind to me, but I'm not...could I really do this? Or was I about
to whistle into the wind?
And further, power has its price, and taking the oath meant buying the
product without knowing what it will cost. I wasn't sure if this was wise,
but I had no choice. I could have walked away from this thing, but for
once, I had stuck my nose in and now I was about to get it bitten off.
"As Chaos rises, the old rules fade; those with the will may forge their
own Namcub and make their own destiny, may seize power with their own two
hands," I said, quoting the Namcub of the Crystal Princess. "Then I claim
that power for myself! This is the Namcub of Harada Erica!" I said loudly.
"As it is spoken, so it shall be. By the speaking of these words, the
contract is sealed and the prophecy made. I will pay the price and take the
risk of power, power to fight the coming of the Age of Chaos! I will leave
the shadows and step into the light! I will act, and risk the consequences
which may ensue when I stand against the tide instead of letting it drive me
where it will! I choose this freely and of my own will!" Water suddenly
exploded up around me in a pillar of expanding mist, shrouding everything
around me.
Distantly, I heard someone in the pool area say, "Hey, is someone out
there?"
The silver flame lion roared in agony as the mist hit him, but the mist
muffled the sounds, preventing them from carrying.
"I will take what I see and use it to act, not just to observe or to
dream of action! I will make my dreams real!" I shouted and the mist spread
further and grew more intense. The lion stumbled about, lost in the fog and
howling as it shrank as its fires began to be doused.
"Naah, there's nothing out there but some fog," I heard someone say.
I held my arms up like lightning rods. The lion turned to try to flee
my power and I said, "This I do swear! Let this contract be sealed!"
And then I felt a sudden burning sensation on the back of my neck, under
my hair. It was the mark of my Namcub, I sensed instinctively, of the
contract I had made with the Silver Princess. I would be one of her battle
princesses. And her power would flow through me, answer my call.
A sapphire rod appeared in my hands; it was a tube in the middle, then
at each end blossomed out into five long leaves which then arced around to
join, forming a hollow sphere tipped with a blue crystal opal. It was a
vajra, the weapon of Indra.
The mist now collapsed in on me and I was wearing...our school uniform.
Or more precisely, a variation on it; the blue was deeper and it had little
lightning bolts all over it and I was wearing a blue domino mask with lenses
instead of my glasses. It was still basically the uniform.
The silver fire lion now tried to pounce on me with what was left of
himself. I blasted him at point blank with a miniature storm of howling
rain and lightning, knocking him back on his ass. He shrank even more.
I felt a presence and then I felt his name inside my head and I called
out to him, remembering it from my dream of a week ago. "HANNIBAL!" Rain
and lightning and wind erupted out of my wand in a surging chaos, and then
within, I could see lightning strikes forming a great bulky four legged
skeleton. Water rolled around the lightning, boiling from the heat and
surging away from the lightning frame at the joints. Then the water's
surface froze and turned a deep blue and a great elephant stood before me,
over three meters tall with tusks made of lightning. Whenever he moved,
steam vented from his joints and you could glimpse the electrified water
within him. Pretty soon, a cloud of steam engulfed us and I leaped onto his
back and chased the fire lion, venting steam in a great cloudy trail. I've
always loved elephants and he was a magnificent specimen, towering over the
lion like the ocean closing in on a fool trying to give it orders.
It fled and we pursued. He jumped over one of the flower beds and I
nailed him in the air, peeling off a few more layers of flame, then rounded
a corner, blasting him again.
He ran in a zig-zag, but he was no match for Hannibal, dwindling rapidly
as the fog ate at him and my storms pelted him. He came apart like an
unravelling shirt in the end and faded away into more steam.
Distantly, I heard, "Man, look at all this fog."
"That's really weird for this time of year."
I have never felt this excited in my entire life. I had defeated it!
All by myself! Even if no one would know. Well, my cousins would know once
I told them.
But how had the monster gotten onto campus? The parents had been pretty
sure this place was monster-free. On the other hand, it had been shrinking
even before I attacked it, so maybe it had come from another place and
basically had been withering away from lack of whatever energies support
it. And why was it silver instead of black?
I hugged Hannibal clumsily and then jumped down to the ground and sent
him...wherever he comes from and turned everything back to normal, then
ambled through the lingering mists as they began to dissipate.
Unfortunately, this left me rather wet by the time I got out of my own
fog and headed for the dorms. On the way, I encountered Kagami, Sanae, and
some other girls and guys, all Ring Club members.
"What's going on?" I asked, smiling.
"Looks like you got caught in it. Someone called in a report that the
sprinkler systems have gone berserk to the point of fog everywhere," Kagami
said.
I shivered a little; it is very hot here in the day but cools down at
night. "Yeah, I kind of got caught in it."
"Why don't you take her back and get her dry, Kagami?" Sanae said to
her.
"Okay," Kagami said, and she went back with me to my room.
On the way there, she said, "You look very happy for someone who got
drenched."
"Oh, I am just excited about the play contest," I told her. "We're not
actually very great, but it's a lot of fun."
We chatted about the play and she came up to my room and helped me get
dry. "Everything going well with you and Shun?" I asked.
She smiled brightly. "I hate having to hide it, but yes."
"Well, your parents don't come around much, so it shouldn't be too hard
to hide," I said. "Good luck."
"And good luck to you. What's the custom...it's not wishing for an
actor to drop dead..."
"Break a leg, I think," I told her. "And never mention the name of the
play Macbeth."
Even as I said this, there was a distant sound as if rain had broken out
across campus. We went to my bedroom window and it looked like every
sprinkler on the classroom side of things had now kicked on.
"Oh dear," Kagami said. "I'd better go help."
"Okay," I told her. "Good luck!"
She headed out and I went to the bathroom and got a hand mirror and
angled around to check my neck. I had the Battle Princess sign in sapphire
blue now. I smiled brightly. I was definitely part of this family now.
I emailed the others to come over and soon had my own miniature flash
mob.
I showed off my sign. "Ta da!" I said with a flourish.
"I see that by 'errands', you meant 'get magical powers'," Natasha said,
sounding envious.
"Well, congratulations," Crystal said, sounding envious too.
Dan said, "Does this have something to do with the whole mess with out
of control sprinklers?"
I told them everything.
"I would have come if I'd realized, but you hung up before I could pick
up and I assumed if it was important, you'd call me again," Kasumi said,
embarrassed.
Dan frowned. "It can't be a good sign if monsters show up here. From
what you said, it sounds like we were still walking back to the dorm when
the thing showed up, so it would have ended up attacking Natasha,
Koyabishi-san and I, or maybe Kasumi and Masakuri-san."
"I think it was running out of power for some reason," I told them. "It
seemed to get smaller as time went by. And not just from me hitting it.
Also, I think it was originally wary of me."
"It may have had a specific target. And who tapped your shoulder?"
Crystal asked, frowning. "Unless maybe this was a test."
"That makes sense, but who?" I asked.
"Kei, maybe," Kasumi said, frowning. "He can appear and vanish. And
it's not really clear what he wants, besides wanting me to 'get serious'."
She sighed. "If we're going to start having monster trouble, I am
definitely going to have to quit track." Kasumi sagged. "And track's not
very fun when I have to hide my full skill, anyway."
"Kasumi..." I went over and put a hand on her shoulder. "With two of
us, it should be easier to keep watch, right?"
"Yes, but I need to be available; what if something happens when I'm off
at another school for a meet? Like I will be on Friday. And I need some
extra free time to be able to spend time with Hayao." She perked up
slightly. "And no more having to deal with Ayumi."
"Yeah, things stop being fun when no one else can really compete with
you," Natasha said. "I'd go mad trying to hide my skills from people. What
are you going to tell your coach?"
"That I'm overcommitted," Kasumi said. She sighed. "I hate to do this,
but it's really not fair to the other people."
"I'm really sorry, Kasumi," Crystal said.
"It's not your fault," Kasumi said. "However, if we're going to start
having monsters show up, we need to figure out if we can handle this without
levelling our school."
"Well, I only lost a chair and got things wet this time," I said. "We
don't know for sure there will be any more monsters. I don't think this
place was healthy for it."
"Let's go investigate, Erica," Kasumi said. "Maybe we can track it back
to its point of origin."
"I..." Crystal began.
"You all stay here. This could be dangerous and there's no guarantee
who may or may not gain powers from facing these things," Kasumi said, arms
folded across her chest. "As the first time, it was just me, even though
everyone was in danger."
We headed out, though I could tell Crystal, Natasha, and Shun didn't
seem too pleased to have to stay behind; Dan, on the other hand, seemed to
agree with us.
*****************
Reito's Tale:
"Maybe this time it will be aliens. In a universe this big, there has
to be intelligent life on other planets," Professor Sasaki said.
"Except we have plenty of reasons to believe that this universe was
completely reshaped by the Obsidian Lord less than 50,000 years ago," Alyssa
pointed out. "Which means the stars are just a giant cosmic power
generating device, not a home for alien races."
"We can't be sure it was the whole universe," Professor Sasaki said.
"The Bible would say something about other sentient races if they
existed," Alyssa said.
"It doesn't say anything about Orphans or the Obsidian Lord or..."
"Oh Lord, please smite these fools before I have to listen to this
argument AGAIN," Nao said.
One of the many signs we've been waiting too long is that Alyssa and
Professor Sasaki start debating whether life exists on other planets. Mind
you, I vastly prefer this argument to the times that the nuns start arguing
over feminine hygiene products or the times Nao starts going crazy over Jan
Huss, Spiderman, or the Merovingian conspiracy theories or Alyssa and Miyu
decide to debate the grammar of what one of us is saying.
"We should have brought Akane, so we could have someone watching from
above," Midori said.
They could summon their Childs if they got close enough to the tagged
site, but the last thing we need is a Child suddenly evaporating under
them. The one advantage to not having any powers is that I can't get in
trouble if they suddenly shut off on me.
"I don't think we'll need Akane, though air support would be useful,"
Sister Yukariko said.
I studied the crescent moon in the sky. "Let's hope the Crimson
Huntsman isn't connected to this."
Miyu and Yukariko's studies have shown some reason to believe the
Crimson Huntsman's servants will be more powerful when the moon is up and
much weaker when not. How much so, we aren't sure. They also will get
stronger closer to the Four Great Hunts--the Solstices and Equinoxes. Which
means right now, they're on the downswing. We think.
"Incoming, two people," Miyu said. "Teenagers, male and female."
Cultists? I hate cultists, both because they are usually insane, but
also because I really don't like having to fight other human beings. Even
evil ones.
"Nao, switch to blessed knuckles, Reito, Sasaki-san, switch to tranq
guns. Everyone else remain ready for any support monsters," Sister Yukariko
said.
We did so.
We could make them out, though not very well. They both were armed with
machetes, which fit the cattle mutilation reports. They looked fairly
normal, wearing slightly dirty work clothing, probably from working on their
parents' farms when not in school. The cattle started to become restless,
however, which was unusual, as cattle usually ignore humans unless we harass
them or make loud dangerous noises.
"Too small for a cult," I said. "I think it's possession."
"Miyu?" Sister Yukariko asked.
"Scanning," she said.
They drew closer and now began leading a cow over to a distance.
Smart. But how would they keep it from making noise and causing a panic?
"Possessor Orphans, matching Crimson Profile," Miyu announced.
That's not good, there could be more. We may be stuck here for days,
checking people. Delightful.
On the other hand, it means no one has to die.
"Tranq them," Sister Yukariko said. "Be ready for when the things
abandon the body. Miyu, Nao, move to cut off retreat. On my signal." She
and the other nuns quickly did a prayer, while I made sure I knew where my
holy water was. It won't stop a Possessor for long, but it'll keep it out
of your body long enough for us to do something about it.
Miyu and Nao circled, while we all got ready. The girl touched the cow
and it stiffened, then they began drawing a square in the dirt around it.
Interesting; I would expect circles of someone imprisoned in the Moon. It
did match the larger pattern, though.
"Miyu is in position," Alyssa said.
Professor Sasaki and I each took a shot and hit them. They staggered,
turning our direction, then began to run towards us, machetes in hand,
slowing down as the tranquilizer did its work. We didn't have to shoot a
second time, as Miyu and Nao were then on them, beating them unconscious.
Two Orphans rose out of them, one of them remiscent of a bear and the
other of an Iriomote mountain cat. Nao pulled the Sword of Saint James and
went to town on one of them and Miyu switched to Blue Sword mode on the
other, while the rest of us began taking careful shots with our holy bullet
supply. Silenced weapons are a must this close to civilization and it's
best to conserve ammo. (The Order's armory is indispensible to us, and my
own donations help to ensure it remains well stocked. But holy weapons and
the like are not so easily replenished as mundane ones, though I'm also
packing some of Haruka's staff's inventions.)
Fortunately, here outside a magic zone, these things were weak, though
they lasted longer than we would have expected. But we were ready, and they
were not.
We've gotten pretty good at this, and it was over quickly. I'd already
bribed the police to avoid trouble with them. Time to first go reseal the
tagged site, then the tedious part--trying to meet everyone on this island
or at least getting Miyu close enough to scan them.
And praying nothing escaped before our arrival.
*****************
Kasumi's Tale:
We headed off to where the fighting happened. There were a lot less
signs of passage than I would expect of a snake on fire. Or a lion on
fire. Knocked over furniture, some bent grass, char marks in a few places.
Erica frowned. "I remember it making more of a mess."
Surely the damage couldn't somehow fix itself.
However, when we went back to where Erica first spotted it, there were
more signs and they grew stronger yet as we headed towards the woods. By
the time we reached the woods, there was a clear scorch mark trail burned in
the ground.
"It must have been losing strength as it pushed into the school," I
said. "Somehow."
"Maybe the parents did something to this place to kill monsters," Erica
said. "We have no real idea how much power they have now. Given how strong
we are and we just started."
I nodded. Mother may actually STILL be holding back.
Warily, we followed the scorch trail, which led to something that looked
like some kind of burrowing mammal's lair, a hole slanting down into the
ground. It was charred inside, but it wasn't big enough for that snake
thing to fit through, far as I could tell.
We looked a bit and couldn't find the other end of the tunnel or warren
or whatever, so we blocked it up with dirt and rocks.
"I wonder how you tell if something is a weakpoint," Erica said.
"I don't know," I said, frowning. I poked the ground a bit with my
tonfas. "We could try digging, but..."
"I think we've done all we can for now," Erica said, snapping pictures
of the area and the trail.
"I guess so," I said. Which didn't feel like enough.
But for lieu of a better idea, it would have to do. Given this hadn't
happened before, it didn't seem likely to happen again. If monster attacks
were common, they'd be public knowledge, after all.
*************
Miyu's Story:
It was pretty clear what had happened. Strong emotional release over
and over had eroded the seal, eventually enabling something to break
through. In other words, too many people came here seeking a makeout spot
and too much stray spiritual energy built up. If you have ever wondered
about entertainment in which the bad teenagers get eaten first, it is
because the bad teenagers are more likely to release spiritual energy
through loss of self-control, whereas those who are self-controlled, the
'good' teenagers, do not. Emotional release is like dousing yourself in
monster catnip. Many monsters like to stalk their prey because prey driven
into an emotional frenzy tastes better and releases more spiritual energy.
Most of the time, it does not matter, of course. Even very intense
emotional release, such as a rock concert or a really good play will not
release enough spiritual energy to allow things to break through. Only in
weak points does it matter. And even then, it's only if some monster
happens to be hanging around at the right time on the other side.
This is why the power of Hime fluctuates with their emotions. The
stronger your feelings, the more spiritual power you can tap.
Unfortunately, this also means the more danger you will lose control and do
foolish or even terrible things.
Fortunately, among our Magdalene training is the ability to create new
seals. Which would have to do for now.
It is fortunate that the Obsidian Lord fell in an age with a much
reduced belief in monsters; this general disbelief tends to reinforce the
barriers. Which is among the reasons we keep our monster hunting secret.
The other stood guard while the four of us performed the rite, which
left us exhausted. Even I was tired. But the deed was done and the place
would stay locked for a good while.
Fortunately, we would have plenty of time to rest while poking around to
make sure there was no more trouble. Professor Sasaki and Midori had to go
back; they had work, but the rest of us would stay.
Unfortunately, there are a limited number of people with the power to
do this, and too many weakpoints. There are more weakpoints and they are
spreading.
I fear with the Crimson Huntsman trying to find a way through to get at
us, it will only get worse.
At least for now, the children are safe. I think it is time to tell
them everything. But for now, too many are reluctant to confess.
So I will abide.
**************
Shun's Tale:
I stared out the window. "I hope Kagami is okay out in that mess."
"You know, maybe Kagami has powers and hasn't told us," Natasha said.
"The parents seem to have taken her in; none of our boyfriends or
girlfriends have ever been treated that way, that I can remember."
"She does seem remarkably strong for someone who used to basically get
only moderate exercise at best," Crystal said.
"Given the strength she's displayed, I'm almost certain she is one," I
said. "After all, they're not training, say, Gin, but they are training
her, and they didn't do that with my earlier girlfriends." And she'd do
anything Aunt Akane told her to do, like hide it.
"Did they...now I wonder how much they told her," Crystal said,
frowning.
"Well, she isn't Aunt Kagami now, so probably not everything," Natasha
said.
My eyes crossed.
Dan went and looked out the window, but couldn't see anything. "I hope
they're okay."
"Kagami probably found them and put them to work helping to clean up the
mess," I said.
***************
Kagami's Tale:
We finally got all the sprinklers turned off, after accidentally turning
them on. We couldn't figure out what happened, so we all got to work
cleaning up the mess, since the facilities people wouldn't be in until the
morning. A lot of places we could just let soak.
The half-melted metal chair, however, made me very nervous. What could
do this? It looked like someone had attacked it with a blow torch. Plus
there were scorch marks in places and some charred plants.
The people in the pool had heard someone running and then the fog had
rolled in. Or the sprinklers went crazy. Or something. Something that
dumped a large amount of water all over the place.
Clearly some idiot had somehow melted the chair, then ended up
triggering the sprinklers to try to put out the fire. Great, insane
vandals. Probably pranksters from another one of the schools; we get raids
like this every so often and some of our students are stupid enough to do
pranks on them, like the time the Saint Mary statue at Saint Mary's ended up
with underwear on her head and holding a beer.
Unfortunately, there were no footprints, so I couldn't figure out who
had made the mess. Just a general trampling of the thick grass.
The Principal arrived, wrapped in a green bathrobe over pink pajamas,
sandals on her feet, her glasses perched on the edge of falling off her
nose. Instead of her usual bun, her auburn hair spilled down freely. "What
happened?"
"A vandal somehow set off the sprinkler system, Principal," I said. "He
or she melted this chair, and probably triggered the sprinklers to put out
the fire," I continued.
She looked around frowning and pushed her glasses up her nose.
"Strange," she said. "Did anyone hear anything?"
"The kids at the pool heard someone running around and then the
sprinklers kicked in," I told her.
She pushed her glasses again, though they were now already in the right
place. She frowned, then said, "Very good, Mitsu-san. I'm glad to see the
Ring Club doing its job well." She clapped her hands and gathered us all
around. "Thank you very much for coming out. I'll have the ground crew
work on the remaining damage tomorrow. You all need to get your sleep. A
commendation point for everyone."
"Thank you, Principal," Sanae said.
Our Principal is a very kind woman; the vice-principal usually plays the
bad cop to her good cop. I'm surprised she isn't out here too. Though she
may be sneaking around, trying to find out who is behind all this.
**************
Kasumi's Tale:
I hid up in a tree; Erica took cover behind some bushes; the
vice-principal had shown up and was poking around, looking extremely
unhappy. She wore a blue bathrobe over blue and pink pajamas, but she was
carrying a fencing foil in her right hand and looked ready to give someone a
beating. Not one of those safety weapons they use in competition but a
real, old-style sword for stabbing people. Can you legally run around with
one of those in public? I wasn't sure. But then, she is the law here.
She poked around but our efforts had destroyed the evidence. "Is
someone there?" she said angrily. "If I find someone hiding out there,
there is going to be some deep, deep trouble."
I held my breath desperately.
After a bit, she sighed and got her phone out. "There's more scorch
marks out here, but it's clear someone tried clumsily to cover it up. I
lost the trail. Damned if I know what happened."
Don't breathe, I told myself.
"It's probably just someone's stupid prank," she said. "There is going
to be some beatings if I catch those responsible."
The vice-principal listened to someone on the other end of the line,
then paused. "I heard something. Movement."
I tried to listen. Maybe a footstep or two. Maybe not.
Distantly, some woman in the woods shouted, "Saint Mary's rules!
Rosewood sucks!"
"Dammit!" the vice-principal said, charging off into the woods. "You're
going to regret this, young lady!"
She vanished into the depths of the forest.
We both got down and prepared to slip back onto campus. "But who was
that?" I asked Erica.
"Sounded vaguely familiar, but a lot of Saint Mary's students would
sound vaguely familiar to me," Erica said, frowning. "But let's get back
before we get caught."
**************
Crystal's Tale:
We had moved up to my room, since Erica had left and we didn't think we
should stay in her room. I spent the whole time trying to do homework
instead of freaking out.
Kasumi and Erica returned and we flocked around them; they both looked
rather disheveled.
"Looks like it came out of a hole in the ground," Kasumi said. "Like a
rabbit warren."
"A flaming snake monster came out of a rabbit warren?" I asked in
disbelief.
"We plugged it up," Erica mumbled. "Then the Vice-Principal found the
place while we hid, but some Saint Mary's student taunted her and she ran
off in the woods."
"That seems weird," Shun said, frowning.
"Well, couldn't you have a dimensional weakpoint that lets things break
through underground? And only creatures that could dig or fit through
narrow tunnels could break through," Erica speculated.
"It just seems weird for a flame thing to come out of the ground," I
said.
"Magma," Dan said. "Go down deep and there's molten rock and so on
everywhere."
"Well, if that could happen...it could happen again," Kasumi said. "So
what do we do?"
"Keep watch," I said. "For all we know, this has happened before and
Erica's parents usually show up and kill it."
"But if they just became Battle Princesses..." Erica began.
"IF," I said. "They may have been undercover before."
Erica looked dubious. "They hid it remarkably well. And unlike you
all, I never got searched."
"Or it could be that by reading the Namcub, we've kicked off a war," Dan
said, frowning deeply. "Though another thought comes to mind as to why the
parents kept us in the dark before."
"Go on?" I asked.
"What if knowing monsters exist makes you more vulnerable to them?" Dan
asked. "Or even attracts them to you? Those monsters who came after us may
have somehow sensed I had read the Namcub. A lot of cultures think eating
something powerful gives you that power. Monsters may think that too. For
that matter, it might be true."
"Shouldn't our houses have gotten swarmed by monsters all the time,
then?" I asked. "Though the Namcub may be a special case."
"I just have this feeling we may find out ignorance actually did make us
safer somehow," Dan said gloomily.
"I can't believe ignorance ever makes you safer, other than maybe
keeping you from thinking to do something really stupid you didn't even know
could be done," Erica said, frowning.
"I think we should wait until, say, 1 AM, then go back and dig as deep
as we can, see if we can find some reason the thing came out of the hole,"
Shun said. "Just to be sure there won't be more."
"What if we end up unleashing some big horde of them which are
underground but stuck?" Dan asked.
Shun frowned.
"There has to be some way to be sure," I said.
"But we don't know what it is," Erica said, frowning.
This is where the refusal of the parents to tell us anything is
especially frustrating. We ought to have been told by now what to do in
this kind of situation. Though given this probably hasn't happened before,
this is probably a fluke.
Ugh. If we tell the parents, they will become so paranoid we'll likely
end up being moved into my folks' backyard to be privately tutored or
something. Or at least move us from Rosewood, which I don't think any of us
want to leave, even if my grades kind of need some work in some of my
classes.
We handled it, but they don't even think we can handle just knowing the
truth.
Only, we need to be sure we handled it.
"We could send an anonymous tip to the Magdalenes," Erica suggested.
"They'd know what to do to make sure there isn't another one if something
else needs doing. Without giving away anything."
"The parents will go apeshit if they find out there was an attack here.
We might end up at school in the US or something," I said gloomily.
"Or moved to Fuuka so Aunt Fumi can ride herd on us," Dan said.
"I don't think they'd send us far away; they'd worry too much for our
safety," Natasha said.
"I think we can be pretty sure this has never happened before, as I've
never heard a single rumor of monster attacks. So this is likely a fluke,"
Erica said. "Whereas, I think reading the Namcub likely somehow caused the
snake attack. My suggestion is we leave it for now, and if there is another
attack on campus, we tell the parents, whatever the consequences. Once is a
coincidence, twice is a pattern."
We discussed matters and decided that made sense. If this sort of thing
happened very often, the parents couldn't possibly be crazy enough to keep
us in the dark. Whatever reason they had for hiding IMPORTANT information
from us.
For now, we'd go to sleep, and see if events proved us right or wrong.
*****************
Wednesday morning, we were having breakfast down at the commons. I was
busy stuffing waffles in my mouth when a groggy Ibuki Hotaru stumbled up to
us; this is what happens when you stupidly stay up all night. She said to
Kasumi, "Are you busy Friday?" she asked hopefully.
"I have a track meet, maybe," Kasumi said to Ibuki-san, frowning.
"Maybe?" Ibuki-san asked in confusion.
"I...I don't know if I'm going to be able to stay on the track team,"
Kasumi said. "I have too much on my plate."
Ibuki-san studied Kasumi in a way that made me confused as to what she
was thinking. And I felt guilty. I mean, I haven't done anything to make
her need to quit, but somehow...I'm not sure why I feel guilty. Maybe it's
just that I feel terrible for her because she loves it so much.
"I was thinking of going dancing on Friday, was going to see if you'd
like to come with me. Maybe even..." Ibuki-san seemed to wilt. "Anyway, if
you get free, let me know. You could bring your boyfriend, of course; he
goes to the dances all the time."
Now Kasumi looked extremely torn.
I tried to decide if I would regret this. Ibuki-san is kind of weird,
but...I'm not exactly normal myself. And I know Junko likes to dance.
Given that's where I met her. "Ibuki-san, if Kasumi isn't free, Junko and
I might go and you could go with us. I need to talk to her, but we had sort
of said we'd do something, but since I can't really leave campus, dancing
would be fun."
"Gin and I might go too," Natasha said. "If I can convince him it's
safe." She grimaced.
"No, you won't," Erica said. "Final dress rehearsal."
"Dammit, you're right, no dancing for me until post-contest," Natasha
said.
"Hmm, I might try talking Kagami into going dancing; we can do that
without having to leave campus," Shun said.
"Everyone on Earth will know you are dating," I pointed out.
He frowned.
"Well, I can come," I told her.
"Thanks," Ibuki-san said, perking up. "Just give me a call, Kasumi,"
she said.
"Thanks for asking," Kasumi said warmly to her.
Ibuki-san headed off.
"She's very lonely, I think," Kasumi said softly. "So it would be very,
very nice of you if you took her if I can't, Crystal."
"It's no problem," I told her. "She'd probably be less lonely if she
was actually awake when everyone else is, though."
"That's no guarantee, either," Erica said, sighing.
"You have to see this," Aunt Chie said, holding up her smartphone.
Everyone started as once again, we had failed to notice her approach.
Everyone tried to look, but it was hard to see on such a little screen. But
it looked like half a cargo ship washed up on the beach. "Freaky, isn't
it? I haven't seen something like this in decades."
We all stared at it; it looked like someone had cut a cargo ship in half
with one smooth stroke. Damn.
"When that ferry sank at Fuuka?" Erica asked.
"Yeah, and then there was a huge circle of fire in the lawn the next
morning with Mikoto and Mai asleep in the middle of it and I thought Haruka
was going to just beat Mai to death for that. That's how I first saw your
mother, Crystal, sitting in the mi..." Aunt Chie looked like a kid caught
with her hands in the cookie jar. "Dammit."
We all started laughing which made her even more aggravated. She rubbed
her forehead. "This is totally unnatural for me," she mumbled.
"You could just break down and confess," I suggested, half-serious and
half-teasing. "We can tell them we beat it out of you." That was all
teasing.
Aunt Chie stared at us, and for a moment, I thought she might well break
down and confess. "So is it true you're seeing Sayuri's son, Hayao,
Kasumi?" she asked softly.
"Yes," Kasumi said proudly.
I grumbled, but kept my mouth shut. I guess sometimes you just have to
let someone crash their own ship. Car. Whatever.
"But he's kissing you every night, daughter?" Aunt Chie said, recovering
more of her usual good cheer.
Erica turned a little red and I suddenly wondered if she had a thing for
him too. She sure looked like it. "It's just in the play, Mother," she
mumbled.
I blinked. That was a bit more formal then usual.
Aunt Chie clearly could smell blood in the water. "Mmm."
"It is! He's Kasumi's boyfriend!" Erica flailed. "I like someone
else."
"Oh hoh," Aunt Chie said. "And that is?"
Erica shrank in on herself. "Nothing. No one. You imagined I said
that."
Shun laughed. "Come on, tell us."
Dan looked at her curiously. "Not that pompous ass Fukuda, I hope."
"NO," she said.
Koyabishi-san now approached us. "What's going on?"
"We're trying to break my daughter enough so she'll confess who she has
a crush on," Aunt Chie said.
Erica stared at her food and started stuffing her face.
"That's enough," Kasumi said. "You'll hurt her feelings, Aunt Chie."
Her voice was unusually firm.
Aunt Chie stared at her in surprise, then said, "Well." She fell
silent, then seemed to suddenly think of something. She moved over to Erica
and whispered to her, which seemed to perk Erica up a bit, but only a bit.
"So, Dan, I hear you have your own harem now," Aunt Chie teased.
Dan's eyes crossed. "It's just the play."
"It's not a harem!," Koyabishi-san said.
"He can't even handle me pretending to kiss him, let alone three women,"
Natasha said. "Mind you, that would make him a typical harem anime lead."
"I am not a typical harem anime lead!," Dan protested.
"He's much smarter than they usually are," Erica protested.
Natasha was about to say something, then she quivered oddly. Everyone
stared at her as she tried to say something, but it didn't actually happen.
Finally she said, "Dan, the other night, I shouldn't have done that. I was
just trying to help."
"I know," he said. "I'm not mad." He sighed. "I just unravel. Though
I think I'm doing better now."
"Yes," Natasha said. "If you keep being exposed to something, you get
used to it. Plus, we're all pretending, though Mandi would probably ride
you all night long if you asked. I don't think she's seeing anyone and I
know she likes tall guys."
"..."
"Natasha! That's a terrible solution," Kasumi said chidingly.
"Natasha!" Koyabishi-san said, utterly shocked.
Erica mumbled into her food and finished it.
"That's probably not the best solution," I said. "But maybe just
something like having her sit in your lap for a while, until you get used to
women being close to you." Having sex just to help someone get over being
nervous around women sounds...well, it's a Natasha idea.
"That's a terrible solution," Aunt Chie said to Natasha. "Doing some
cuddling probably would help." She came over closer to Dan and put a hand
on his shoulder. "Does this bother you?"
"I don't find you sexy, so it's not any different to me than if Shun did
it," Dan said, then looked a little embarrassed. "I mean..."
"It's okay," Aunt Chie said. "I'm not into men, so it's mutual." She
laughed a little, then got serious again. "But really, it's just something
that contact with women you do like will get you over, probably pretty
fast. You just have to be brave."
"Easy for the married person to say," Dan mumbled.
Kagami now walked up, started to reach for Shun, pulled her arms back
looking frustrated, then said, "Hello, everyone. Did you hear about the
chair fire?"
"I heard there was some sort of vandalism with fire," Aunt Chie said,
then paused, looking like a hammer had hit her. "Chair fire?"
"It was half burned away. Some other scorchmarks too," Kagami said.
"And someone set off the sprinklers." She looked embarrassed. "Then we
sort of set them off again."
"But no one saw it?" Aunt Chie asked, frowning.
"No one saw it," Kagami said, then blinked. "Is something wrong?"
"I heard some Saint Mary's student taunted the Vice-Principal when she
was trying to investigate," Erica said.
Aunt Chie looked relieved. "Ahh. Someone's stupid prank got out of
hand."
I had to wonder about that. Had the student somehow called up the
monster? Or was it a coincidence? Or what? Maybe Junko would know
something.
****************
"The Vice-President of your school came and bitched at ours," Junko said
to me on the phone later. "I had freaky nightmares about people being
buried alive and being chased by people's shadows, but other than that,
everything is normal here."
"I hope they don't try and stop people visiting the other schools," I
told her.
"Me too," she said.
"Hey, you want to go dance Friday? Then we can come back to my place
and hang out, maybe watch a movie or whatever," I told her.
"I need to bring my brother if we go dancing," she said.
"That's okay, I have another friend who wants to go too," I told her.
"Why do you have to bring your brother?"
"He needs to learn to dance and do things like being social instead of
just doing journalism and stabbing things," she said.
I knew he did martial arts. I always forget about the journalism,
though, as he usually focuses on how MANLY he is. But I can put up with
that for Junko's sake.
"Okay, cool. Gotta run."
"See ya," she said, and then we hung up and headed to class.
*************
At lunch, it was myself, Erica, Koyabishi-san, Dan, Natasha, Gin, Shun,
and Kagami. Kasumi was off lunching with Mandi and Hayao and Yaten and that
fucker Taiki, who kept glaring at our table. Kasumi seemed torn between
being happy to sit with Hayao and not happy to be sitting with Mr. Cranky
Bastard. I warned you, Kasumi.
Erica was tense for some reason and seemed to be basically focusing on
her food.
Dan and Koyabishi-san, on the other hand, kept whispering to each other
and laughing at something they would not explain.
Shun and Kagami kept almost touching each other; they really, really
suck at trying to hide their desire to make out. It's kind of cute.
Natasha said to Gin, "Are you sure you can finish it by Friday?"
"I think the due date is Saturday. I need...dammit," Gin said. "Ahah!
Koyabishi-san, can I kidnap you this afternoon once classes end?"
She blinked, stared at him, and said, "What?"
"You're the closest thing I have to someone with Akira-sensei's body
type," he said. "If I use Natasha, she'll end up unrecognizable."
"I...you want me to model?" she asked, flattered.
"You're doing a painting of Aunt Akira?" I asked in surprise.
"By special request from Akira-sensei after seeing my work," Gin said
proudly. "Anyway, I normally don't paint skinny women, so I need a model to
get the proportions right."
"She's a lot taller than Mom, though," Shun said.
"That's fine," Gin said.
"Sure," Koyabishi-san said. "I'd be happy to."
"Sweet," Gin said.
**************
There really wasn't very much fire damage; somehow, I'd expected more
from the stories going around. But it fell to US to fix it.
"Did my Mother really arrive at Fuuka in a ring of fire?" I asked
Sakomizu-sensei, expecting him to deny it.
"Yes, she and Mikoto made quite a mess," he said. "She never did tell
anyone what happened to cause it all," he continued, then studied me
curiously.
I did a v-sign, then went back to digging up a burnt bush. Kagami now
hefted the new one and put it in place as I pulled out the old.
Sakomizu-sensei glanced at her as she did this, silently, looking
contemplative.
Kagami blinked at Sakomizu-sensei. "Is something wrong, sensei?"
"No, it's fine," he said.
I frowned. What was he thinking?
She paused and something hit her. "You were at Fuuka when Shun's
parents were there, right?" Kagami asked.
"Yes," Sakomizu-sensei said.
"Did you know my mother and her first husband?" she asked softly.
"Were they connected to Fuuka Academy?" he asked. "I don't remember
anyone named Mitsu."
"Takahashi Yugo was her husband, so she was Takahashi Mari at the time.
Her husband had just finished his degree and he got his first job at Primus
Research," Mitsu said. "And then he got killed by terrorists when they
levelled the place during all the disasters."
Sakomizu-sensei studied Kagami again, and seemed to be thinking about
something. "Yes, I knew them, though not very well. It was a great
tragedy. I didn't know your mother actually survived it, as I never saw her
again after everyone there died," he continued, sounding distant.
"What was he like?," Kagami asked, then said, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't
make you relive bad memories." She stared at the ground.
Shun looked around; no one was paying any attention to us, so he quickly
patted her shoulder.
Sakomizu-sensei stared off into nowhere. "He was a hard-working man who
loved your mother very much and was very dedicated to his work and his hope
of making a better humanity." His voice sounded somewhat hollow as he
spoke. "I'm sure your mother must remember him fondly."
"Yes," Kagami said softly.
I kept my mouth shut. I was extremely curious, but I could tell this
was touchy enough I shouldn't throw myself on any mines and I could
definitely sense something wasn't being said by Sakomizu-sensei.
He looked at Kagami again, studying her. "You must take after your
father."
"Yes, I look more like him than mother," Kagami said. "Mother is
blonde, though she dyes her hair brown most of the time these days, and I
have black hair like Father and I'm built like Grandmother Mitsu. But I got
Mother's intellect."
"I can tell," he said. "Shun, stop lollygagging and set up some plant
food. Crystal, turn over that soil."
He seemed a little disturbed the rest of the time, but I didn't say
anything even though curiosity was eating at me like acid. I had a feeling
I'd get bitten, one way or another.
***************
Roger's Rules:
I sat down opposite the old man, Yamada. I've been using him for a
while; Natsuki originally recommended him to me as a contact. He's proven
quite useful. I needed to know more about the wreck of the Shiraishi; late
last night, the cargo ship had washed up on shore, cut in half. Its owners
wanted me to negotiate with the insurance company, which was trying to
assert they didn't owe anything. Disgusting. While Shirayami Shipping is,
like most big companies, not always the most honest of businesses, I tended
to find myself on their side in this case. Their insurance was intended to
cover the possibility of human attacks, which this had to be, even if I
wasn't sure what could have cut a huge ship like that in half. Certainly it
couldn't be natural.
"I have one big lead, though I don't know what it means, and one
possible theory floating around," he said. "The theory first. There is an
area in the ocean southwest of Osaka where sometimes radio communications
and other kinds of communications are disrupted. It's supposed to be
marked, but sometimes the buoys sink in storms and so on or drift. When it
happens, this causes huge trouble for ships. From what I've found out, all
radio contact was lost with the ship when it was close to that area. So
someone may have deliberately lured it in by, say, moving the buoys," he
said.
That made good sense. If you're going to engage in piracy these days,
you'd better have some way to prevent calls for help.
"Mind you, there hasn't been a cutting-in-half ship incident in 23 years
and no one ever explained that one either," Yamada said.
"The Fuuka incident," I said.
He blinked in surprise, then nodded.
"Now, from what I understand, the thing was supposed to be hauling
furniture. But certain of my contacts insist it was carrying parts for
something called 'Project Janus'. If it was, they are gone now."
"Whose project?" I asked.
"Someone has been hiring up former mech company engineers, who then
'vanish'. But there are conflicting reports from US Robots to Shinohara
Enterprises to Genom to Suzushiro Enterprises," he said. "US Robots is
engaged in a huge alliance with Shell Solar, Kurauchi Electronics, Morisato
Motors, and some other companies, but it seems to be entirely on the up and
up. Unless they're going to power something covert with all those solar
panels."
Kurauchi Electronics. Which is run by relatives of some of Natsuki's
clan. Which may or may not mean anything here.
Except that I'm pretty sure the last boat-in-half incident was somehow
connected to said clan. Perhaps those relatives are not as alienated from
Kurauchi Kazuya as it would casually appear. Rogue elements have their
uses.
"If Janus is connected to creating combat mechs, it's unlikely there is
a direct connection, as I don't think they would want to jeapordize the
amount of money they stand to make from this," I said. "If anything, they'd
want to discourage people fiddling about with mech construction here."
"Perhaps they sank it," he said. "If I find out more, I will of course,
inform you." He passed me a small drive. "This has all the data I was able
to gather, enough you can likely check out the site where I think it sank
yourself. Though I would expect the coast guard is going crazy all over the
area. I find it hard to think they didn't figure out the likely target
point too."
It won't hurt to go look around the area; I can come back later if I
have to. And make inquiries, bribes if necessary, with the Coast Guard if
they are all over the likely location. If I am lucky, Captain Wang will be
in the area and will know something. Her girlfriend lives in Osaka, I
think.
"Thank you," I said to him.
And perhaps see about doing something with the Kurauchis so I can get a
better feel for them. Time to call Natsuki.
****************
Gin's Tale:
Sanae-san came out in the dress, which was the closest thing we could
find in her closet to what Akira-sensei was wearing in the picture. It was
the wrong color, but the style was close enough it would do.
I studied my table, then piled some books on the end. "Here, lean on
these," I said.
She leaned over and I adjusted her around some, then got the easel and
started painting. "What am I supposed to be leaning on?" she asked.
"A grand piano," I said. "Hold on..."
I got a wine glass, half filled it with Coke, then handed it to her.
"Hold this as if you just finished swishing it around."
She looked confused, then swished it a little and posed.
"And smile. Smile like Dan's sitting there," I told her.
She turned red. "What?"
"Oh come on, we're too old to play blushing maiden," I told her. "Smile
like someone you like who we both know is Dan is sitting there."
She tried to smile and I consulted my photo so I could ignore her skin
tone and just get the shadows right. "Sexy smile. Like you're going to
climb over the piano and TAKE him."
"..."
"Oh come on, you can do it," I told her.
I finally got her posed right and then started painting, letting her
break every so often. Fortunately, she's very patient when not freaking
out.
"How can you tell?" she finally asked.
"Everyone on Earth can tell. There's people in the Gobi wondering when
you will ask him out," I told her. "Hmm, dammit, I'm going to need a model
for Takumi-san too." I consulted the other picture which Natasha had gotten
me. "Oh wait, I can get Shun, I bet."
I kept working until half the picture was done. I could do the rest
after the play, maybe. "Here," I said.
The picture showed Akira-sensei leaning over the top of a grand piano,
swirling a wine glass idly and smiling down at...blank space where
eventually her husband would be.
"Wow, that's really good," Sanae said, amazed. "It doesn't look like me
at all."
"Well, I needed you to get all the shadows and things right and make
sure everything was the right proportions," I told her. "So, when are you
asking Dan out?"
"We have a date, Sunday. At least...I think he knows it is a date," she
said nervously.
"Is he freaking out and rolling around on the floor?" I asked.
"He isn't that bad," she said.
"True. His lack of freaking probably means he thinks of it as 'friend
zone', though."
"Well, maybe I need to make it clear," she said nervously.
I shook my head. "You have to go stealth. Sneak it up on him. Get him
to where he's been dating you for weeks and then realizes he's been kissing
you for five minutes."
"Do you think I have a chance?" she asked.
"I know jack and shit about what Dan wants in a woman. Other than
knowing Mandi, Natasha and Joan apparently have enough of it to cause him to
melt to slag." I had a suspicion he wanted someone with substantially more
curves than Sanae, but I wasn't sure and I didn't want to crush her out when
I could be wrong. "But I'm pretty sure he likes smart women, so you're in
good shape there."
"Thanks, Houseki-san," she said.
"You're welcome," I said. "Thanks for helping me out."
"You're welcome," she said, smiling.
And now to work on project two.
****************
Erica's Tale:
"Very good, Erica. Your score is up 90 points," Aunt Natsuki said.
Dan and I were at Aunt Haruka's, doing shooting practice again. My
hand-eye coordination seemed somewhat better, but not at superhuman levels.
Or at least not with a gun.
I could feel I was faster and stronger now, but since we mainly focused
on shooting and riding, I had a feeling it would be easier for me to hide my
new abilities than for melee combat Kasumi training with super-mother.
I could hear them from here; how our Aunts couldn't tell Kasumi had
gotten powers, I don't know. Maybe it's just because it's Kasumi and none
of us would have expected her to be the first. But I don't know if we can
keep this up much longer.
Or if we should.
I guess I don't have the grudge over a life of not being told the others
have, though. But I'll go along with the family tide for now.
***************
Shun's Tale:
Another day, another beating. Aunt Akane was about to roundly kick our
asses again when Junko came out of the woods in blue shorts and a red and
black t-shirt that proudly proclaimed 'Choir Club 2028: Singing With the
Angels'. She had a belt on for no clear reason (unneeded with the shorts)
and two short swords made of wood thrust through it.
"Hi!," Crystal said, coming over to her.
They clasped hands with each other and kissed quickly. Then Junko
glanced very nervously at Aunt Akane.
Aunt Akane was smiling brightly. "How sweet."
Junko looked relieved, then bowed to her. "Please, let me train with
you all today."
"Please come over here with me, Junko," Aunt Akane said to Junko and
took her to one side. "All of you drill while I talk to Junko."
For just a moment, I suddenly wondered if Junko was a covert agent for
the parents or something. But I dismissed the thought. It was stupidly
paranoid.
*************
Akane's Tale:
There is probably nothing I like more than promoting young love.
Unfortunately, as Shun pointed out to me last time Junko trained with us, I
need to make sure people don't start talking about the things I can do. We
don't know how much our enemies know and it's best not to help them.
However, I think the children are going to get powers and that means
Junko is going to be caught up in this if she and Crystal stay together.
She might even be one of the new Hime. In which case, it's best she be
ready for it. The better she can fight, the easier it will be to keep her
safe when things really heat up.
And this is good, healthy exercise which kids these days usually don't
get enough of.
"Junko-san, I would like to accept you as a student if that is what you
desire," I said. "However, I must require that you tell no one of what you
see and do here. I do not want my techniques getting out to the general
public."
She nodded. "Of course, sensei," she said. "I understand entirely. I
promise I will not tell anyone of what we do here."
I blinked. That was easy. "I have a second question. Why did you stop
training?"
She now looked very embarrassed. "It is not a very womanly thing to
do."
IE, her parents made her stop. Mother was never happy with me when I
went running around, falling into mud puddles and climbing up trees and
getting stuck on the roof. It wasn't 'feminine'. I frowned. "Why did your
parents tell you to stop?"
"I didn't..." She was staring at the ground.
I reached over and lifted her chin up to look into her eyes. To look up
into her eyes, as she's actually taller than I am. "Junko-san, I need to
know."
"The women of our family recieve basic combat training in order to
defend themselves when necessary, but beyond a certain point, only the men
continue their studies," Junko said, looking very nervous. "Which is why
the parents sent me to a school as pacifist as Saint Mary's."
"So your brother was sent to Tokugawa which has a ton of fighting clubs
but you were sent to Saint Mary's, which does not," I said.
She nodded. "He is the Heir of our family arts. My parents run a
brewery, but we are an old fighting family."
My own family passed down the study of the tonfa, but I didn't take it
seriously as I wasn't planning to become a real martial artist, I just
wanted some self defense. My brother really got into it; the last I knew,
he ran a dojo, in fact. But I haven't seen him in forever. Over a decade,
I think. I wish I'd studied more. And I wish I'd thought to pass it on to
Kasumi earlier, but I was hiding from myself. I wanted peace so badly...I
still want peace, but I'm not going to hide any more.
"But you want more training any way."
"I like it," she said softly. "Even though I'm not supposed to any
more. I'm not...I'm not a child any more."
"You're a young woman. And you will find the world no longer functions
as your family does," I said. "Our family is different, with different
customs. I'm sure yours has secrets, so does ours. I am willing to let you
train with us, so long as you keep all this a secret. Though I see you have
plenty of reason to do so."
"Yes, sensei," she said, sounding grateful. "I swear I will keep all
this a secret."
"It will not be easy. I promised Akira I would train everyone as hard
as I can and I will."
"Of course, sensei. I would not want it any other way." She paused.
"Do you have any children, sensei?"
"A daughter, Kasumi, and two sons, Katsuhito and Keiichi. They're ten
and she is your age and attends Rosewood."
"Why does she not train with us?" Junko asked.
"She recieves special training from me earlier in the day, along with
Natasha," I told her.
Junko looked intensely envious for a moment, then seemed to visibly
force herself to stop showing it. "So she is your Heir," she said, putting
an emphasis on 'Heir'.
"Yes," I said. "The boys have started training with their Aunt Mikoto,
who runs a swordsmanship dojo. They really love her a lot, and I think
they're having a great time." And they seem better disciplined, thank all
the gods. I guess they just needed something to bleed off all that energy.
"And you train under Shun's mother," Junko said a little hesitantly.
"She's much better than me," I told her.
Junko stared in shock, but then nodded. "She provided Shun's original
training? I can tell he uses a different style."
I nodded to her. "Yes. So how long did you have your eyes on Crystal
before you two started dating?"
Her eyes widened. "How...how did you know?"
"She told me you are dating and you two did kiss in front of me," I
said, a little amused. Was it supposed to be a secret?
"No, I mean, how did you tell...We just met once before." She seemed
very confused. "I mean, you and I. I've known Crystal for months, but I'd
never heard of her going out with any women, so I didn't start anything.
She seemed only interested in boys."
"You two were blatantly checking each other out at that one other time
we met," I said. "And I am a mother who knows about love. And I know it's
often hard to be sure how a woman would respond to another woman coming on
to her," I said kindly. "Lots of people still don't accept it."
"My family wouldn't accept it," she mumbled. "Though I'm not sure how
they thought I would meet a nice boy attending an all-girls' school."
"I accept it," I said very seriously to Junko. "You will not have to
hide your relationship from anyone with us."
"Thank you," she said softly, looking very grateful. "Why do Tokiha-san
and Mitsu-san seek to hide their relationship?"
"You should call them Shun and Kagami, since you will study with us.
And Mitsu-san's mother forbade her to date anyone at all until she has her
final degree. You can ask her if you want to know more," I said.
"Did you..."
"I had to defy my parents to be with the one I love," I told her. "I
understand."
She now fell to her knees and took my hand and brought it to her heart.
"I swear I will obey your commands as my sensei and I will keep the secrets
of your family, revealing them to no one outside the family." I was
surprised for a moment, then pleased. This was exactly what I needed.
"And I swear I will teach you and guide you, Nagiki Junko, and protect
you when necessary," I said. Good luck with Crystal, I thought.
She rose and bowed. "I am ready, sensei."
"Then let's go rejoin the others before they start worrying." I think
she'll keep her promise. She seems a very serious young lady and I
understand where she is coming from.
***************
Shun's Tale:
Then we all kicked ass and got beaten up. We all kept laughing all the
time and I'm not sure why. I guess some of it for me was being able to kiss
Kagami without worrying about it getting around. Though if anyone was
watching, they'd see us. But I doubt anyone pays attention to us any more.
Some of it was that Junko's good cheer was infectious. She was loving
this and it was pretty clear that Aunt Akane was both impressed by her
skills and liked her. Then again, Aunt Akane likes most people.
The odd thing was that Junko seemed oblivious that Aunt Akane could
basically take the laws of physics out back behind the barn and shoot them
like a lame horse. She seemed to treat this as perfectly normal that Aunt
Akane could do things like backflip over people.
Now if Junko had been breaking the laws of physics, at least I would
know why she viewed this as normal. But while Junko was good, she certainly
was not on a level with Aunt Akane, or any better than Crystal or I. Maybe
I'm just reading too much into this. Aunt Akane wasn't doing anything which
was beyond what you get in some martial arts movies, but...Something weird
going on.
We were in the middle of kicking each other's asses when I heard
movement in the woods. Looks like Aunt Akane had decided to finally play
the ambush card. I was about to say something when Junko said softly,
"Kurauchi-sensei, someone is spying on us. Two, I think. Do you want me to
deal with them?"
I nodded. "I concur."
Kagami, who had been doing drills, blinked. "What?"
Crystal, who had been duelling with Junko, looked embarrassed. "What?"
Aunt Akane smiled. "Very good, Shun, Junko. It's okay, Junko, they are
friends. Crystal, Kagami, you need to be more alert."
Aunt Aoi and Aunt Chie now came out of the woods, dressed all in brown
and green to blend in. Sort of. It was not a great camoflague job. "We
got busted," Aunt Chie said, disappointed.
"We did our best, but we're not very stealthy," Aunt Aoi confessed.
"We're going to go watch Erica practice and embarrass her," she continued.
I laughed. "Good luck on that."
Crystal said, "Wait, this is my friend Nagiki Junko, from Saint Mary's.
Junko, this is Harada Chie and Senoh Aoi, two of my aunts. They're
married."
Junko looked rather envious for a moment, then said, "It is a pleasure
to meet you." She reached out with her hands, realized she was now pointing
swords at them and put them through her belt. "My brother is a big fan of
your investigative reporting, Harada-san."
"Really?" Aunt Chie sounded flattered. "He's free to come by and say
hello any time. I've never had a fan before."
"A very manly fan," I said, laughing.
Junko rubbed her forehead and mumbled. "Thank you, I'll tell him
that." She turned to Aunt Akane. "Test of alertness?"
Aunt Akane nodded. "Yes."
"Good," Junko said, sounding pleased with herself.
They soon said their goodbyes and moved on and we returned to
ass-whipping.
Eventually, we moved on to what had become our custom of a post-training
flop in the grass. Kagami cuddled up to me and Junko flopped down next to
Crystal with her head on Crystal's shoulder and one arm each around each
other. Aunt Akane laid down in the middle between the two couples.
Junko gave a happy little sigh. "That was fun."
"Yeah," Aunt Akane said. "I am always worn out after first training
Natasha and Kasumi, and then all of you, which makes the drive home
terrible." She sighed. "But it's worth it."
If she's worn out, I'm not seeing much sign of it.
"I would like to see their skills some time," Junko said.
"Perhaps on a weekend," Aunt Akane said. "Crystal, Shun, and Kagami
don't have punishment detail on the weekends, so we can take them off campus
for training."
"You run a bakery, right?" Junko asked.
"Yes. My dear love and I run a bakery," Aunt Akane said. "We had to
defy our parents to date and get married." She smiled brightly. "We're
very happy together."
"They make some really great pastries," I told Junko.
Junko looked weirdly jealous, though she now turned and kissed Crystal,
so I kissed Kagami and Aunt Akane laughed softly, gazing up at the stars.
I was in fact so busy kissing Kagami I didn't even notice Gin
approaching. Thus, I was caught off guard when he said, "Shun, I need your
body right now."
Rarely in my life has anyone fed me such a good straight line. "Oh Gin,
you're so forward," I said in falsetto and he blinked, then turned a little
red. Kagami's jaw dropped. Crystal and Junko both began laughing very
loudly.
I sat up with Kagami curled up on me, looking embarrassed. "Seriously,
what's up?"
"I need you to MODEL for me," Gin said.
"Oh, you don't need an excuse to ask me to strip for you," I told him.
Gin stared mindlessly.
Kagami was now gibbering into my chest.
Aunt Akane was just smiling, but Crystal and Junko were laughing so hard
they were ready to die. Crystal tried to say something but it just came out
incoherently.
Gin said, "I have a girlfriend, you know!" He had his hands on his hips
and looked weirdly to me like the way Kagami does when she's outraged.
"Well, Natasha and I did take baths naked together as kids," I said.
"You did?" Kagami squealed.
"All of us did, when we were really little," Crystal said. "Not in a
long time, though."
"Look, I need you to model in clothing. Or I can go find someone else
if you're just going to make fun of me," Gin said, sounding frustrated.
"Shouldn't you be at play rehearsal?" I asked.
"I begged out a bit early so I could get you and get this painted
tonight, since Thursday and Friday are going to be REHEARSAL FROM HELL
NIGHTS," Gin said.
"Okay. Can Kagami come?"
"Sure, she can stand in for the other model when I'm posing you."
He led us off to his room.
*****************
Crystal's Tale:
Once they left, Aunt Akane sighed. "Time to drive home."
"You should just move in with Aunt Chie and Aunt Aoi," I teased her.
"You'd be five minutes from campus."
"But then we'd have an hour commute to the bakery in the morning," Aunt
Akane said.
"Wow, you drive an hour here and back?" Junko said.
"Yes, but it's worth it," Aunt Akane said. "Or at least the trip here
is. The trip back, I'm usually zonked."
"Well, thank you," Junko said. "I'd better get back and get my homework
done." She paused and looked at me; I tried to figure out what that meant.
Did she want me to walk her back? Or did she want a goodnight kiss?
"Goodnight, Auntie," I said, hugging Aunt Akane. She hugged me back,
shook hands with Junko and took off. Junko was giving her an oddly wistful
look as she left, then turned to me and smiled and kissed me.
We kissed for a while, then I said, "Is something wrong?"
"No, I feel great," she said. "Just...It's nothing."
It's not nothing. It is NEVER nothing. I think we need to ban the
whole phrase 'It's nothing', as it is ONLY used to lie. "It's okay, you can
tell me, I won't make fun of you."
She shifted nervously on her feet. It seemed rather uncharacteristic of
her, making me wonder. "I....your parents..."
"You want to meet my parents?" I asked.
She froze up, then said, "I...is it...Do they..."
I cocked my head slightly. I had no clue why she was so agitated. "Dad
and Aunt Mikoto do swordfighting. Dad is a salaryman, though, while Aunt
Mikoto teaches swordsmanship. And Mom is just a consultant." And a
superheroine. Who thinks I don't know. Hah!
"Do all your aunts fight?" she asked.
"Most of them, one way or another," I said. Publically or secretly.
Heh.
"I'd better go," she said, then kissed me quickly. "See you Friday if
not before."
"See you!" I waved bye to her as she went and I headed back towards the
dorms.
**************
Shun's Tale:
It took some effort to make a fake piano for me to pretend to play.
Kagami posed nearby, so he could keep the spatial relations consistent with
what he already had, and faster than I expected, he was done.
"Wow, they'll love this," I told him.
"It's my apology for insulting her," he said.
"For...oh, that." I frowned at the memory, but quickly cheered back
up.
"When are you giving it to her?" I asked.
"Uhh...actually, we didn't think to discuss that," he said. "Maybe if
she comes for the play."
"I'll talk to her," I told him.
"I really need to take a shower," Kagami mumbled. "My clothing is all
sweaty."
"You two can go take one right now if you hurry; my roommates won't be
back for a while, I think," Gin said.
"Two?" Kagami asked, confused.
"You and Shun. I'm not seeing double," Gin said.
"..." She turned red, and I grinned a little.
"Well, I do need a shower," I teased her.
Kagami vibrated like an egg-timer going off. Gin said, "Wait, you two
haven't done that yet?"
"We've only been going out a little over a week!," Kagami said. Then
she glanced at me.
"Oh, I see," he said. "Well, you can just take one yourself; Natasha
keeps leaving her clothing here, so you could borrow one of her outfits. I
went ahead and washed them all."
"Well, I'll just wait," Kagami said cautiously. "I'm too tall to wear
anything of Natasha's, anyway." She paused. "Umm..."
"Want to go up to my room?" I asked.
"Yeah," she mumbled.
I grinned, said goodbye to Gin and took her up to my room.
*****************
Kagami and I laid on my bed, worn out, with Kagami's head on my chest
and her body splayed out over mine. "Don't want to walk back to my dorm,"
she mumbled.
"You can just sleep here," I mumbled, worn out myself.
"But..." she began.
"Don't have to get naked. That would require moving," I mumbled.
"But Kim-san..." My suitemate is named Kim Masahiko. His
great-great-grandfather was Korean; his family is mostly Japanese by now, I
think. He's a good guy but a total fashion disaster, ESPECIALLY when he
spikes his hair.
I'm in the corner of the dorm, so we each have a tiny bedroom which
suspiciously resembles a closet, with a shared living room / kitchen and a
bathroom. Which means total privacy when I want it, which is perfect for,
say, now. Not that Masahiko cares.
"He has his own room, he can get his own cuddly woman," I told her.
"Anyway, I'd love for you to stay, but I think I whatever you decide, I am
going to lie here until I die."
"If my parents call..."
"I won't answer your phone," I told her.
"I want to stay," she mumbled.
"Then stay," I told her.
She finally relaxed. "I'm trying to be wise."
"You're wiser than me," I told her.
"I know," she said. "I mean..."
"It's okay, dear," I told her. "I am not Natasha and I do have
patience."
"Thank you," she mumbled, mostly still, but running one hand idly up and
down my side. "Were you planned?"
"Planned?" I asked in confusion.
"You know. As in your parents decided to have a son and everything,"
she said hesitantly.
"Natasha was the only one of us who wasn't sort of planned in a 'Let's
have a kid' way," I told her. "I don't think they had any preference for
what they'd end up with, though," I told her. "I think Aunt Shiho basically
was dumb enough to have sex with a guy who wasn't using a condom because it
'made him uncomfortable', or some shit, but I couldn't swear to that."
"That was really stupid of her," Kagami said a little harshly, then
mumbled, "I'm sorry. I mean, I'm not wishing Natasha to not exist or
anything."
"Oh, Aunt Shiho would totally agree. But she loves Natasha more than
she ever loves any of her boyfriends," I told her. "I don't think I've ever
seen her really deeply in love. She got burned too many times at our age, I
think. And just gave up."
"Well, a lot of guys just want sex and don't care how they get it,"
Kagami said harshly. I could feel her tense up.
I stroked her back gently until she relaxed. "Tell me how you really
feel, Kagami," I teased her.
"I did...oh," she said. "But it's true."
"I know," I told her.
"I wasn't..." she said, starting to sound frantic.
"It's okay," I said, stroking her back some more. She made a happy
noise and calmed down again.
"Shun," she said softly. "Is it just me or does Nagiki-san act like
she's doing something naughty when she's training with us?"
I could see that. "Hmm, yeah, maybe."
"Though I think she likes being naughty," Kagami said.
"Like a certain girl I know who is cuddled up to her boyfriend in his
bed after curfew," I said, and now pulled the covers up over us.
"No, I mean..." She got very flustered. "I shouldn't..."
"It's okay," I told her, pulling her close. "I want you here."
"What will Akane-san think?" Kagami mumbled.
"I think I won't be telling her," I told her. "And she did this with
Uncle Kazuya all the time." I assume. "At our age."
"I don't want to disappoint her or Akira-sensei." She looked up
suspiciously at the ceiling. I glanced up, but I didn't hear anything, so I
expect we're alone.
"I think they are both proud of you," I told her.
"Your mother really loves you very much," Kagami said softly, sounding a
little jealous.
"I'm very lucky," I told her. "A lot of people, their parents don't
love them as much as mine do."
"I want them to be proud of me," she said softly. "I want..." But she
didn't finish.
"It's very obvious Aunt Akane cares about you, Kagami," I said softly to
her, now playing with her hair. "And Mom will too. Just don't expect her
to be showy about it. You're part of our family now." Especially since
you're likely a battle princess.
She smiled brightly at that. "I love you," she said softly.
"I love you too," I told her, then slid off into sleep.
****************
Akane's Tale:
My phone rang on the way home. "Hello?"
It was Natsuki. "How would you like to go out to eat and attend a play
with Roger and I? He has scored four tickets to a production of Twelfth
Night."
"That would be wonderful," I told her. "Kazuya and I had vague plans,
but we couldn't decide what to do, other than go out. So we would love to.
Well, I'll have to ask him, but I'm sure he won't mind."
"Good. Dress up. We will be fancy."
I smiled. I like to dress up. "Of course. I'll call you back once I
get home, okay?"
"Okay," she said, sounding cheerful. "I suppose I shouldn't be so
excited, but...well, it sounds stupid when I say it."
"None of your other boyfriends had all that much interest in getting to
know the rest of us?" I said.
"Yes," she said. "Give me a call when you know, okay?"
"Okay," I said.
I was excited all the way home. Kazuya said yes, of course, so I called
Natsuki and we set our plans. This would be fun, I was quite sure.
***************
Thursday morning went by peaceably; Akira and I went to train as usual
and I told her about Junko.
"Are you sure that's wise?" she asked. "We need to be careful about who
gets drawn even partway in."
"She has promised and she seems the sort to keep her promises," I said.
Akira frowned, but said, "I suppose it is likely that if the children do
inherit, she is likely to get tangled in this anyway. And it is better she
start developing bonds to the family now in that case." She paced back and
forth across the mat while I warmed up. "How good is she?"
"She is very skilled, good enough to take on Crystal or Shun," I said.
"I will want to meet her this weekend," I said.
"Of course. I expect everyone will be going to the play."
Akira nodded. "True. Alright, let's get started."
***************
Kasumi's Tale:
"I know you're up to something," Ayumi said in practice on Thursday.
"You'll never be as fast as I am now and we both know it," I told her.
"And I'm not up to anything except being better than you." I've had enough
from her. "So, I suggest you just shut up and go away." I put my shoes
into my locker and changed into my running outfit.
She glared at me, but it didn't matter. I control my destiny now. As
much as anyone can, anyway. I will defend this campus and I will defend my
family. And if she ever hits me, I will make her regret it.
I headed out to run with the endurance runners. I still had to hold
back, but I could do this more naturally in the long distance runs. But I'm
increasingly thinking that there isn't much point in me being here if I have
to hide my speed. It isn't fair to them, and it's not really fun if I have
to pretend to be worse than I am.
I never thought I could feel that about my running. But this isn't
really running; this is lying to everyone. I don't want to lie any more
than I have to.
Once I was done, I went back to change. Ayumi tried looming at me, but
I just ignored her again. That seemed to anger her even more. "Look at
me!"
"No," I said. I pulled off my running shorts and reached for my skirt.
She grabbed my shoulder. "Look at me!" she said angrily.
"Don't touch me," I said, pulling my skirt on.
"Ayumi-sempai, why do you keep harrassing Kasumi-san?" June asked
nervously.
"Shut up," she barked at June, who backed off. "This girl is cheating
and we all know it. No one gets that fast so fast."
"Let go of my shoulder," I told her.
"I'm sick of you and your stuck-up attitude!," she shouted. "You always
act like you think you're better than everyone else! Bringing your family
to meets and getting them to shout your name so as to mess everyone else
up! Acting like you get to judge everyone around you's morality! Your
family paying for you to get secret tech to be faster than everyone else! I
know all about how your relatives make electronics and cyborg parts and
robots and everything!"
"I am not cheating with technology!," I protested. "I don't have
nanomachines or drugs or cyborging or anything! And Dad left his family's
business to be a BAKER. What do you think, I have donut-powered
cyber-limbs?" Except, she was right. I was cheating. How can any of them
compete with the power I have now? She's got a right to be unhappy about
that. "And let go of me!"
June ran off to get Coach. I assume that's why she ran.
"I'm not letting go of you until I figure out how you're cheating!"
I looked around. Some of the other girls just looked scared of her.
Some of them looked at me sympathetically but clearly were not going to get
in the middle of this. But many of them clearly thought she was right. How
else could I suddenly run so fast? Having my own teammates suspect me
hurt. I didn't ask for this. I just wanted a normal life.
But I can't have it. Not all of it, anyway. I'm never going to be able
to explain this and I can't figure out how to hide it. And what's the point
of running if I can't go all out?
I thought I'd accepted this, but now when it comes to the sticking
point. It hurts. I've put so much of myself into this. And this is how it
ends? No wonder our parents hid everything for so long. "Let go of me," I
said again. I could probably break free, but she'd want a stupid fight.
Much as I am sick of her, I don't want a fight.
Coach shouted from outside, "Is everyone decent?"
I keep wondering why we don't have a female coach, but we just have one
track coach for both boys and girls. Not enough of us, I guess. Track
doesn't get as much money as the big sports as we don't draw enough crowds
or alumni who care. Which annoys me as we work as hard as they do.
There was some scampering, and then Aiko shouted, "Everyone's either
decent or retreated to the shower room, Coach!"
He came in, with June hovering behind him. "Ayumi, let go of her."
"But..."
"Let go of her," he said firmly and she did so.
Ayumi fumed. "She has to be cheating."
"Coach, am I too judgemental of people?" I asked. I hoped he'd give me
an honest answer.
"Yes," he said. "But I generally agree with your judgements."
Several of my team mates snickered; others glowered at me.
"You've always been a good girl who played by the rules and kept
yourself pure, but you do tend to badmouth anyone who doesn't play by the
same rules as you," he said. "There are times when it's better to keep
one's opinions to oneself instead of judging your teammates." He turned to
Ayumi. "And the same for you. It is my job, not yours, to determine if
people are cheating."
"Pure. Hah! She's dating that manwhore Masakuri Hayao," Ayumi said,
crossing her arms across her chest.
"He's dreamy," Aiko said, drifting off into a fantasy about my
boyfriend! I had to force myself not to glare at her.
"So long as Masakuri Hayao does not interfere with the functioning of
the track team, I do not care about his sexual or other morality or even his
existence," Coach said, sounding frustrated.
"My boyfriend is NOT a manwhore! I'm the only one for him!" I said
angrily.
"He's kissing your cousin every night," Ayumi said.
"That's for a play!" And I'm only somewhat jealous, but I know Erica
doesn't mean anything by it and neither does he. Don't show jealousy, I
told myself.
"I could care less. The next person to even mention Masakuri-san is
getting a three day suspension," Coach said. "You can fight over whose
boyfriend is sleeping with who later. MUCH later. As in, never again in my
presence. Look, Ayumi, do you have any proof at all of Kasumi cheating?"
"No one gets better that fast!" Ayumi said. "And she looks very weird
when she's running. And her kin run an electronics company, so she could
easily have cyberparts or some other new kind of device or treatment."
A lot of people nodded at that.
I kept my mouth shut tight, not wanting to get cut off by Coach, much as
I want to comment.
"But you have no proof," he said.
I looked around at everyone; more people were drifting in, having
finished changing in the showers. Some looked curious, others supportive,
but many of them clearly agreed with Ayumi. Too many. I couldn't tell them
the truth and no lie would relieve their fears.
"I just want to know how she got so fast!," Ayumi said. "Shouldn't she
be sharing with the rest of us if it isn't cheating?"
I winced at that. Much as I dislike Ayumi-sempai, she's right. I
couldn't stay. They deserve better than lies and a teammate who is cheating
with magic. "My love makes me strong," I said. "But I can't share that
with everyone. Either it happens to you or it doesn't." I stared at the
floor. "Coach, I'm resigning. My presence will just make people unhappy.
I'm sorry, you've been very good to me. But I just can't do this right
now."
"Kasumi, you don't have to go," he said, looking rather unhappy.
"I have to go," I said softly. "You've all been good teammates to me.
I'm sorry, everyone. Either this will happen to you or it won't and it is
beyond my control. But I'd only cause trouble if I stay. Please forgive
me." I bowed to them and then to Coach. "You were a very good coach to me,
Coach. I'm very grateful."
He sighed. "If that's what you feel you have to do. But I hope you'll
keep honing your talent. I would hate to see it wasted."
"I'm going to be running races with tornados and comets," I said softly
to Coach. He looked confused, understandably so. I took both his hands and
shook them. "I won't forget you."
I turned to June and hugged her; she turned a little red. Like a lot of
Japanese people, she's not so huggy as I am. "Thank you, June, you were
always a good friend to me."
"Kasumi," she said, sounding agonized.
"It's okay," I said, though I was feeling the urge to cry. "Keep
running. Make me proud of you."
"I will," she said fiercely, then started to cry.
I gave her a squeeze and let go.
"Goodbye, Ayumi-sempai. I'll always be faster than you and you'll never
know why. Ever." I shouldn't have said that, but I couldn't help myself.
I'm not prone to violence with my fists, but I guess I am a little too harsh
with my words sometimes. But she had it coming.
Or that may be me being judgemental again.
"You bitch!" Ayumi-sempai probably would have glowed with a bright red
aura if people actually did that in the real world.
"Goodbye, everyone. I'll be cheering for you, even those of you who
don't trust me. Win tomorrow for our school. Goodbye." And I turned and
left.
"You don't get to say that and just walk away." Ayumi lunged at me
angrily.
I was ready this time and I simply slid out of the way. She tried a
half-dozen times with Coach yelling at her to stop. Every time, I simply
jumped or slid or ran out of her grasp. "Are you done yet?" I asked her.
"I hate you!" she shouted as Coach finally grabbed her.
"Stop it, Ayumi," he said. "You're a senior, show some dignity."
"I can't even be bothered to hate you," I told her, and then I left.
Someone ran after me; I could tell it was June. "Kasumi..." she said,
catching up to me.
"It's okay," I said softly. "Be strong. Win races for me that I can't
run any more. You're a really good runner. Dream the dream for me."
"I will," she said. "This is so totally unfair." She was shivering.
"Thank you," I said, trying to smile. I probably looked insane or
sickly. "It's okay. Just beat Ayumi-sempai for me."
"I'll do my best," she said, though she sounded doubtful. "I...what did
you mean by 'either this will happen to you or it won't and it is beyond my
control'?" she asked me hesitantly.
"It means I don't understand myself," I told her. "I went to Fuuka and
came back much faster and I don't really understand it all."
"I've heard some creepy stories about that place," June said softly.
"I'd better go get ready for Mother," I said softly.
"Do you think..." June asked hesitantly.
"You'll be better off if it doesn't happen to you," I said softly.
"I'll see you in class tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay," she said softly. "Bye for now," she said hesitantly.
"Goodbye, June." And I walked away.
Once I was out of her sight, I found a wall to lean on and I collapsed
into a ball and cried.
****************
I was still crying when I heard Natasha calling my name. I said
something incoherent, which I guess came out loud enough for her to find me.
Natasha and Aunt Shiho now ran up to me. "Kasumi, what's wrong?"
Natasha asked.
"I had to quit the track team," I mumbled.
"What?" Aunt Shiho asked, kneeling down by me, as did Natasha on the
other side.
"You'd better call Mother, let her know I am okay," I mumbled.
Aunt Shiho got on the phone. Natasha asked, "What happened?"
"I have too much on my plate and something had to give," I mumbled.
"Before I run myself into the ground. But I also got accused of cheating by
Ayumi-sempai and couldn't prove anything and everyone was resentful and
thought I was holding out on them." I stared at the ground. "And they all
think I think I'm better than them and they hate me."
Natasha stared at me, mouth open.
"You can't let bitches get you down," Aunt Shiho said firmly to me, then
said to Mother on the phone, "We found her. She's behind the library. Come
quick."
"Do I pass judgement on everyone, Natasha?" I asked.
"No, of course not," she lied weakly.
"Be honest," I told her sharply, then had another crying jag.
"Umm, yeah, you can be kind of judgemental like you think you're better
than us," Natasha said. "It makes me crazy sometimes. Especially when you
aim it at my boyfriend." She now hugged me.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I said, trying to apologize for
everything ever. "I'm a terrible person."
"You are not terrible," Natasha said. "I'd be...Don't cry, Kasumi, or
I'll have to cry too."
She started crying with me, and we were both crying as Aunt Shiho
embarrasedly tried to pat our shoulders when Mother got here and rushed over
to us.
"Kasumi, what's wrong?" she asked frantically. "There wasn't..." She
looked terrified for some reason.
"I had to quit the track team," I mumbled.
I was rather confused when she briefly looked hugely relieved, but then
she hugged Natasha and I both tightly, just holding us.
Eventually, I calmed down.
Some.
"Why?" Mother finally asked me.
"You saw how worn out I got last week," I told her. "And now I have a
boyfriend too. I need to be able to focus on what's important."
"I thought...isn't track very important to you?" Mother said softly.
"Yes, but now too much of the team is unhappy with me and I need to be
able to focus on my homework, my boyfriend and my training," I told Mother,
trying to hold myself together.
"Honey, I never wanted to push you to where you had to give up track,"
Mother said, sounding guilty.
"It was a beautiful dream," I mumbled. "But sooner or later, you have
to wake up."
Mother frowned. "Akira didn't tell you that you had to do this, did
she?"
"No," I told Mother. "I made this decision myself." I had another
crying jag, fainter this time. "I promised Aunt Miyu I would get stronger
and I will. I will be ready when the time comes that we have to fight."
Mother and Shiho glanced at each other.
"It's coming, isn't it?" I asked softly. "That's why you started
training us."
"You shouldn't have to fight," Mother mumbled, sounding guilty. "And
you shouldn't have to quit track."
I have fought, I thought. And I will again. I am the eldest and it's
my responsibility to protect the others. "We don't always get what we want,
Mother," I said, then staggered to my feet, pulling everyone up.
"I know," Aunt Shiho said sympathetically, clumsily patting my
shoulder. "Sometimes, you dream about something for years, and then you
have to give it up." She stared at the ground.
I smiled at her weakly. "Exactly, Aunt Shiho." I turned to Mother.
"I'd like to stay here today and train with the others, if you don't mind.
When they finish their work."
"Of course," Mother said.
"I wish I could do that, but I have mega play practice tonight, so
either I go train right now or not at all," Natasha said, frowning. "I'd
skip, but Mr. K would eat me alive and everyone's counting on me."
"It's okay," I told her. "Duty comes first."
Natasha grimaced. "Are you sure you have to, Kasumi?"
"I have to," I said softly. "I'm thinking we can cook everyone a nice
meal, Mother, for when they get off their work."
"Okay," Mother said, sounding pained. "We can do whatever you want.
Anything. Shiho, you don't mind driving Natasha over to Haruka's, do you?"
"It's fine," Aunt Shiho said, taking Mom's keys. "I'll bring them back
when we come back."
We went back to my room to cook.
****************
Roger's Rules:
The advantage of working in the same area for ten years is that you
build up a network of contacts who can help you out when necessary.
One of mine is Captain Nina Wang of the JSDF, specifically, in their
Coast Guard section. This enabled me to get access to where they had found
the other half of the cargo ship, exactly where Yamada had predicted.
I felt a strange sensation at the bottom of my back as we went down into
the water, the same one I'd felt around Tallin. I glanced over at Dorothy;
she nodded. She'd felt it too. Captain Wang and the rest of the diving
team she'd insisted on sending down with us seemed oblivious.
What caused that sensation, I don't know; both of us were perfectly
normal in that region when we got home and had time to check it out.
Dorothy does have a tattoo right there, but she's had it at least since we
came to Japan and I think she had it in Paradigm City, though I'm not
absolutely sure of that. But I don't have any tattoo or anything else of
note there. Also, I think Natsuki would have commented if she ever saw
anything odd there on my body. With each of us in a wetsuit, there was no
way to check.
The crew was nervous; communications seemed to be working fine,
including my water-proof watch gadget, but none of us wanted to be down this
deep with a communications failure. Dorothy had insisted on coming. I was
nervous about that, but a gentleman should always take a lady's request so
long as it is honorable and polite. Rule thirty five.
It had to be piracy; all cargo was stripped. Even the dead crewmembers
were missing. But what cut the ship in half?
"The pirates stole the corpses," Captain Wang told us over our
headradios. "They even stole the captain's infamous calendar."
"Dare I ask?" I asked.
"Rumor has it, he had a calendar of photos so horrifying, he used it to
punish errant crewmen. Not that these ships have very many crew these
days. Highly automated," Captain Wang said.
The other divers were fanned out around us for protection, though it
seemed unlikely to me we would be attacked. They were armed with
spearguns. Too close to real guns for me, except in an emergency. It's not
my style to carry a gun. That's rule number five.
We went through the whole thing, but we couldn't find any real clue.
Studying the cut, it looked melted, like someone had taken a really gigantic
blowtorch, or at least something very hot, to do the cut, but Captain Wang
had no idea how that could have been pulled off.
Further study, however, showed that apparently there had been multiple
blows. Sections of the cut off edge were smooth, but if you found the right
points, you could see where the cuts angled differently. I took photos as
best I could, hoping Norman and Dorothy might be able to piece together a
recreation. Or something.
"Perhaps it was a combat mech with some sort of heated weapon," I
speculated.
"Maybe," Captain Wang said. "However, such a thing shouldn't have been
functional if this area was acting up again, which seems likely, given the
radio silence."
"How long has this area been here?"
"First reports about twenty or so years ago, slowly growing more
common," she said. "Scientists can't figure it out, but we can find the
edges and mark them. Bastards moved the buoys."
"Are these zones common?"
"No, but they've become more common the last twenty years,
unfortunately," she said. "This sort of thing has happened for a long time
at sea, but it's only become more persistent in areas, persistent enough for
us to mark off zones with buoys, the last two decades or so. But this sort
of thing contributed to all those exaggerated stories about the Dragon's
Triangle, Bermuda Triangle, and so on."
This area felt like the zone around Tallin. I'm not sure what that was,
but it wasn't anything good. And may well have been basically a dimensional
weakpoint. Maybe even an actual hole. The idea that more of them are
appearing does not please me.
Unfortunately, this wreckage had been efficiently scrubbed of clues. I
could pretty much prove pirates, covered by the insurance, were to blame,
however, and that would be good enough for my client.
Just not good enough for me.
****************
Alyssa's Tale:
We spent the day wandering the island, being touristy and seeing as many
people as possible. This included hitting the beach and lounging around in
bikinis in order to draw as many curious locals as possible. Everyone
seemed to be clean.
Though a lot of their thoughts were no doubt dirty and driven by lust.
We are a good looking bunch.
But not for them. We're taken.
Except for Reito, anyway. But he's not interested in random island
people.
We flew back to Osaka and had dinner at Reito's, which was very nice.
His butler is a true gentleman's gentleman and the food is always good and
we all like to relax after a successful mission.
I'm just worried that this sort of thing may be happening elsewhere
without us noticing it. I think the Crimson Huntsman wants a bridgehead on
Earth and I don't know if we can stop him from getting it.
But at least for now, Japan is safe.
****************
Shun's Tale:
Kagami was a little jumpy all day. I had to wonder if she was going to
end up finking on herself. Kasumi gets like that whenever she's being
naughty, then finks on herself. I suddenly wondered if she and Hayao had
done anything beyond kiss. Not yet, but he was going to want to. I was
curious in a trainwreck watching sort of way what would happen then.
I also was curious what Natasha would do for revenge on Taiki. She
seemed to have forgotten about it, but I found that hard to believe. Though
she may have delayed it until she finishes the play.
Kagami got even more jumpy during our gardening work. We were busy
going around pouring plant food for the plants and pulling weeds. Tedious,
slow, but easy. Kagami kept acting like all human life depended on this
going well or something, though.
After we finished, Crystal asked Kagami, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I haven't done anything wrong at all," Kagami said.
Crystal looked at me, then looked at Kagami, then grinned in a manner
reminiscent of myself. "Did you and Shun do something naughty?" she asked.
"No, not naughty at all, no," Kagami said, started to take my arm,
forced herself to stop, then said in a high whisper, "People could hear; it
could get to mother."
Crystal blinked, looked around, then said, "I'm sorry, I didn't even
think of that."
"It's okay," Kagami said. Then her phone rang. "Hello, Akane-san."
She listened a little. "Oh, you and Kasumi made us a meal? You didn't have
to."
"Hey, that was nice of her," Crystal said, looking pleased at the news.
"We'll be right over," Kagami said, smiling, then hung up.
We said goodbye to Sakomizu-sensei and headed over.
Kasumi looked rather somber when we got there. "Hey, Kasumi, what's
wrong?" I asked.
"I had to quit the track team," she said softly, then began pulling out
chairs for us, while Aunt Akane turned off the heat under the stew on the
stove.
Kagami's mouth widened. "Why?"
"Too many people think I am cheating," Kasumi said, looking at the food
instead of us.
"You would never cheat," Kagami said hotly. "That's an outrageous
accusation!"
"Everyone should know better than that," Aunt Akane said, frowning.
"That's just...cheating? How exactly do you cheat in track, anyway?
You can't exactly make the track shorter or make your legs longer or...," I
said. Oh wait, HER POWERS. I felt like an idiot.
"At the last meet, the other school thought I was some kind of ringer
brought in to throw the match in Rosewood's favor," Kasumi said. "And a lot
of my teammates don't trust me now either." She sounded very unhappy about
that. "Some of them think I got cyberlimbs or something from my relatives
in Kurauchi Electronics."
"What a load of crap," I said; I tried to help Kagami sit, but she went
to help serve the food.
"That punk who was bullying you is behind this, isn't she," Crystal said
angrily as she sat down.
"Somewhat," Kasumi said. "But I don't really have time for track now
either," she continued. "Not with training and homework and having a
boyfriend."
I felt terrible for Kasumi. She loves her running. But you really
can't hide her speed. Not unless the parents have a trick, which they
must. "There's nothing to be done?"
"You saw how I was last week. It was just too much," Kasumi said.
"I'm so so sorry," Kagami said to Kasumi. "I know you loved track."
"Well, the good news is that at least I can make Hotaru happy, as I'll
be free to dance with her tomorrow, since I won't be going to the meet. And
I'll have to see if Hayao can come," Kasumi said.
"Junko and I will likely be at the dance," Crystal said. "Or maybe we
shouldn't go if Hayao is going to be there, so we don't end up with him and
I having another fight." She stared at her bowl as Kagami served her out a
portion.
"I would hate to chase you away from the dance," Kasumi said hesitantly.
"Well, I will do my best to keep my mouth shut," Crystal said, sounding
determined.
We'll see if that actually happens.
******************
To my surprise, Kasumi came with us to train. She and her Mother had
hung out and talked after Kasumi bailed out of track, instead of going to
Aunt Haruka's. Junko was waiting for us at the usual place, as I expected.
She immediately ran over to Crystal and they kissed, then she bowed to Aunt
Akane and said, "I am ready, sensei." She then looked curiously at Kasumi.
Aunt Akane put an arm around Kasumi. "Kasumi, this is Crystal's friend
Nagiki Junko. And Junko, this is my daughter, Kasumi. I am very proud of
her."
Junko studied Kasumi, then bowed deeply to her. I noticed she had
especially studied Kasumi's legs. Which are pretty muscular like Junko's.
Kasumi blinked and bowed back. "It's nice to meet you, Nagiki-san," she
said softly.
"It's nice to meet you too, Kurauchi-san," Junko said. She sounded very
serious and formal.
"Let's warm up with some weapon drills," Aunt Akane said. "Crystal,
let's see if I got this right to show you."
She began working with Crystal and a second sword, showing off moves I
recognized from Mom, who probably pounded them into Aunt Akane's head all
afternoon. Kagami began her naginata drills and I began doing some unarmed
katas. Junko worked on short sword drills, and Kasumi began doing tonfa
drills. Junko kept getting distracted by watching Kasumi move, which I
hoped wouldn't make Crystal jealous, though Crystal seemed to focused on her
own drills and yelling kiya at imaginary people. I noticed Kasumi was being
a bit...well, she was pretty obviously showing off exactly how incredibly
fast she is now.
I slid over to her and whispered, "You're being kind of obvious."
"I have to push my limits," she said softly to me. "If I have to hide
what I can do, I won't get better. I have to get better. To protect
everyone." Her voice was very sober and determined.
I suppose she's been doing this before and somehow Aunt Akane never
noticed. Or maybe Aunt Akane is deliberately not noticing and waiting for
Kasumi to confess to her. That makes sense.
After some drilling, Aunt Akane paired me off to spar with Kagami and
work on her unarmed combat skills. She was about to pair off Crystal and
Junko when Junko asked, "Please, may I spar with Kurauchi-san,
Kurauchi-sensei?"
"Sure, Nagiki-san," Kasumi said.
"Alright, I will work with Crystal some more, then," Aunt Akane said.
Kasumi drove Junko back across the yard some, then Junko ducked low and
kicked Kasumi's legs out from under her, catching her by surprise, and
pummeled her as she fell down. Kasumi, however, then flipped up into the
air, somehow spun around over Junko and attacked her from behind, sending
her sprawling.
Junko kept catching Kasumi off guard with kicks and knocking her down
and then Kasumi would defy the laws of physics and bounce around impossibly
and beat on her. Junko fought back gamely and I was impressed by how well
she was doing. But then, Kasumi has powers but only a little training, and
I get the impression Junko started training early, though she seems a little
rusty to me. That might just be my imagination, though.
Kasumi landed on her ass for the seventh or so time, then flipped over
Junko again. She's so mobile it makes me rather envious. Envious enough
Kagami grabbed and threw me because I wasn't paying enough attention.
"Good job, Kagami," I said to her.
"Are you okay?" she asked, worried. "I didn't do it too hard, did I?"
I had rolled with it, or I wouldn't be okay. She's very strong and I am
pretty sure she's likely become a battle princess. Not sure which element,
though. Given the naginata...wood? For the haft? Or metal for the head?
Metal. Has to be metal. Assuming this follows the system Mom taught me
when I was a kid, anyway. Five elements – Wind stirs the waters, Water
douses fire, Fire forges metal, Metal chops wood, Wood bends in the wind
without breaking. I've forgotten most of it, but I remember that part.
"I'm fine," I told her and then I started throwing her around.
"I need to learn to use my legs more," Kasumi said. "For attacking."
"I favor them as they're stronger than my arms," Junko said. "And your
legs are probably stronger than mine. You jump very well."
"Thank you," Kasumi said. "You're very good with your legs."
At the end, they bowed to each other. "Thank you, Kurauchi-san," Junko
said to her. She looked respectful.
"And thank you, Nagiki-san," Kasumi said. "It is a pleasure to meet you
and practice with you." She smiled brightfully.
"And you."
They both stood there a few seconds, apparently revelling in their
ability to be polite to each other and then Aunt Akane got Junko and I to
show everyone some unarmed combat techniques and then we all tried
practicing them on each other. I noticed Kasumi looked very serious through
all of this and was working very hard. But that's Kasumi. If she does
something at all, she pushes herself hard to do well. I wish I could muster
that much dedication so easily.
And I know she doesn't even want to do this; she loved track, not
fighting. But she's giving it up for us and now I feel kind of...well, no
one is asking me to give anything up. I felt guilty.
I sparred with Junko unarmed while they practiced. I'm more about locks
and throws and helping people to knock themselves out, while she's a
kick-fighter. So I spent a lot of time dodging and trying to grab and toss
her.
She was pretty good, so it was a fairly even match. After a while of
clobbering, she asked me, "Does your mother ever come teach too?"
"Weekends," I said. "She's usually teaching students."
She nodded. "I should have expected Kurauchi-sensei's daughter to be
incredible, but I just...wow," she said, then swept my feet.
Well, she can at least tell Kasumi's on a higher level than us. But I
have to wonder what she thinks is the cause of that. I managed to roll back
out of the way, and when she tried to follow up, I caught and threw her.
"She'd be very pleased to hear you say that. Aunt Akane too."
Then Kasumi's phone rang.
*****************
Kasumi's Tale:
I answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Kasumi," Aunt Akira said. She sounded guilty. "Did you really quit
the track team?"
"Unfortunately, yes," I said, sighing. "Too many of them think I am
cheating and I got sick of Ayumi-sempai and really, I don't have time and
energy for that and training every night," I told her.
"Kasumi, when I said those things in the car...I wasn't...I mean..."
She sounded very guilty.
"Yes, you did mean it," I told her. "But it's okay. I promised Aunt
Miyu I would become stronger, and I will. I'd rather not fight, but I will
do my very best."
"You always do, Kasumi," Aunt Akira said, still sounding guilty.
"You saw how worn out I was. Something had to give. And I got too good
for my own good in running." I sighed. "Anyway, I am training with Mother
and then I have to go see my boyfriend before bedtime."
"Good," Aunt Akira said weakly. "You need more training."
"I know," I said. "I will do my best."
"That's all I can ask. Is Kagami working hard?"
"Yes," I told Aunt Akira.
"I need you to ambush her for me, since I cannot." Aunt Akira paused.
"If I can ask that of you."
"It's okay," I told her. "Don't feel bad, Aunt Akira. This was my
decision. No one pushed me into it."
"I just want you all to be safe and happy," she said softly.
"I know. I love you, Aunt Akira." I said that loudly, to let the whole
world know.
"I love you too, Kasumi. Give my love to Shun and Kagami," she said.
"I will. Bye." Click. I put my phone away.
"Shun, Kagami, Aunt Akira sends her love," I told them.
They both smiled, especially Kagami. "Thank you."
"And she sends...THIS!" I suddenly leaped high, coming down at Kagami.
"Proxy Ambush!"
"Ahhh!!!!" We were soon rolling around on the ground and I laughed and
she started laughing and soon the others were too.
Even I think she needs to become more alert, though.
**************
Shun's Tale:
Watching Aunt Akane work with Kagami, it suddenly struck me that Aunt
Akane may be showing off in part because she has no real idea any more of
where the barrier is between what humans can actually do normally and what a
battle princess can do. She doesn't go to tournaments, doesn't even watch
much in the way of action movies. And she used to always seem...no one who
was really aware of how badass they are could possibly be as jumpy as she
used to be. She may be showing off more now...but I don't know if she
actually KNOWS. She seemed really surprised when I pointed it out to her
last week.
Weirdly, Junko doesn't seem to notice, even though I would expect her to
grasp that. Then again, Junko has some weird ideas in her head.
Kasumi and Crystal were fighting hard; you could tell that Crystal was a
better fighter, but Kasumi had natural speed and kept circling around
Crystal, dodging every attack, then darting in and hitting her. Crystal was
going more and more crazy and wearing herself out with wild assaults.
"Force her to close with you, then counterattack," Junko yelled to
Crystal.
"Kendo tends to emphasize attack, attack, attack," I said, grabbing
Junko and throwing her down.
"You can't win every fight with pure attack," Junko said, kicking at my
legs and forcing me to retreat long enough for her to stand back up.
"It's one of the reasons Mom isn't too fond of Kendo," I told her. "But
when Crystal hits you, you really feel it."
"I know," Junko said ruefully, having sparred with her before.
Crystal finally connected with Kasumi, who went tumbling and ended up
flat on her back. Crystal looked horrified and ran over. "Kasumi, are
you..."
"I'm fine," Kasumi said, getting up. "You really hit hard." She began
dusting herself off.
"I didn't mean to..."
"It's okay, I won't break," Kasumi said, sounding determined. "Don't
hold back, Crystal. Throw everything you have at me. We have to get
stronger." She sighed, then straightened up. "Come and get me."
I got a good hold on Junko and tried to pin her, but she threw me off.
As I went flying, she asked, "Why is Crystal so worried about whether Kasumi
could handle her full strength?"
There was no good way to answer that, so I had to improvise. "Crystal
is physically stronger than Kasumi," I said. I think. "Kasumi relies on
speed and agility, rather than strength. And we always had to protect
Kasumi when she was little."
"So she studied hard to be able to protect herself. Good," Junko said,
sounding respectful. She rushed at me as I rolled to my feet. I jumped to
one side, and grabbed her as she went past me, helping her along so she
would fall down.
She managed to block my counter-attack, then kicked my legs out from
under me. She tried to pin me, but I rolled out of the way, got up, and
grabbed her, falling backwards to throw her over my head and across the
grassy field.
"Your relationship with Kagami-san is a secret, right?" she said softly
as she got up.
"Yes," I said. "Her parents don't want her to date anyone." I went for
a grab but had to jump to one side to avoid being kicked in the legs. "But
Aunt Akane...well, she defied her own parents on who she could love and
marry."
Unfortunately, she did too good a job and I got kicked several times.
"Is that some sort of custom in your family?" she asked curiously.
"It's all coincidence," I said.
She looked at me curiously, though; was she looking at my chest or did I
hallucinate that? Sometimes, I don't understand Junko at all. I looked
down at myself, but my body looked perfectly normal, and then Junko kicked
me in the stomach while I was distracted, so I gave up thinking about that
and focused on not being hit.
**************
We went longer than usual; Kasumi insisted. I was pretty tired out by
the time we all flopped down to look at the stars like we always do.
There was a distant boom of thunder; there were clouds gathering off
over the ocean.
"Sensei, what are we going to do if it rains?" Junko asked.
"I'll just blow the clouds away," Aunt Akane said, smiling.
See, she might actually be able to do that. The weather has been rather
clear all these nights.
"Looking forward to going to the dance you always told us was naughty
and bad, Kasumi?" I asked, grinning a little.
Kasumi turned a little red and mumbled something about having a
boyfriend.
"What?" Aunt Akane asked.
"There's a dance in the woods on Fridays and Saturdays," I said to Aunt
Akane. "The usual, you know. Just lots of music and dancing."
Kasumi mumbled something about promises.
"It's a lot of fun; it's where I met Natasha, Shun, and Crystal," Junko
said, half-laying on Crystal, who was smiling.
Aunt Akane looked at them and said, "Well, it can't be too bad if Junko
goes to it. You're very hard-working, Junko." She smiled.
Junko looked a little embarrassed. "I'm way out of practice."
"Yes, but you're working hard to overcome that." Junko looked pleased,
but embarrassed. Aunt Akane now rolled onto her side to face Kasumi, who
was next to her with Kagami and I cuddled up beyond her. "And of course,
Kasumi, you get better every day and I'm very proud of you. So I won't mind
if you go dancing with your boyfriend. I will be busy going out myself on
Friday night. We're going out with Natsuki and Mr. Smith."
"Aunt Mikoto going to take the boys?" Kasumi asked, now looking very
embarrassed but happy.
"Yes. If I'd known you would be free...I will see about taking you two
out next weekend. I'm curious to meet Sayuri's son."
"I could call him right now," Kasumi mumbled.
"Introduce me on Saturday when we all go to see the play," Aunt Akane
said.
"When you say all," I began.
"I expect most of the family will be there," Aunt Akane said.
No pressure, guys, I thought.
"I'm sure it will be very good," Kagami said, then seemed to think of
something and looked nervous. I think she'd forgotten about last night's
sleep-over until now, and remembering it was making her jumpy.
"Is something wrong?" Aunt Akane asked Kagami, studying her curiously.
"There is nothing wrong at all and I have not done anything naughty at
all and everything is fine," Kagami said urgently.
"Kasumi, did you pass your tattling on yourself skills to Kagami?"
Crystal asked, grinning a little.
"She must have done something very naughty," Kasumi said, smiling.
"My infamously naughty girlfriend," I teased.
Aunt Akane said, "Well, I've done a few naughty things in my day. Just
be careful, Kagami."
"Akane-san, I don't want to do anything to disappoint you," Kagami
mumbled.
"You and Kasumi are both good, wise girls and I trust your discretion,"
Aunt Akane said. "Now, let's..."
There was a distant noise. Aunt Akane sprang to her feet and cupped an
ear, listening. There was another noise and a sound...were the sprinklers
kicking in again?
Aunt Akane frowned.
Junko and Kasumi sprang to their feet. "What is it, sensei?" Junko
asked, going for her swords.
"I don't know." Aunt Akane had suddenly sobered up. "Kasumi, take
everyone to your room, stay there until I call you or come back."
Crystal's breath caught. "Wait, is it..."
"Yes, mother," Kasumi said soberly.
"Wait, sensei, maybe..." Junko began.
Aunt Akane took off at high speed.
"...we should go with you," she finished weakly.
"It's probably the idiot prankster from Saint Mary's," Kagami said,
frowning.
"W...oh, right, THAT." Junko frowned. "I hope Hikaru hasn't done
something stupid again."
"To my room, now," Kasumi said firmly and began herding us along.
I hope it's not another monster attack, I thought. Even though I expect
Aunt Akane will handle it easily.
****************
We went to Kasumi's room and did homework. But Junko didn't have any
handy to work on and so instead she paced like a caged lion, growing more
and more agitated until Crystal roped her into helping out with some poetry.
"Junko, it's going to be fine," Kasumi said to her. "I'm sure we'd hear
something if there was trouble."
"Even the best can be taken by surprise," Junko said, frowning.
Now Kagami began to look worried. "Maybe I should have gone with her."
"Mother said to stay here; we stay here," Kasumi said firmly. "Even if
that means Junko has to sleep over."
Junko's eyes widened. "Do you think that will be necessary?"
"I hope not, as you don't have any clean clothing to change into,"
Kasumi said. "Though I suppose you and Erica wear roughly the same size
clothing."
"This could be another test," I speculated. "To see if we stick to
orders."
"Well, I have a ton of homework to do and it is probably nothing Aunt
Akane can't handle," Crystal said with the tone of someone not convinced of
the truth of their own words.
"Dan and Natasha and Erica should be fine with the other drama people,"
I said. Erica has powers, too, now.
"I hope Hayao is okay," Kasumi said, suddenly worried.
I could see Crystal biting her tongue (figuratively).
There was a distant boom of thunder and then a distant rattling noise.
I know that noise; it's the sound of massive rain coming down. Were we
supposed to have rain tonight?
I got out my smartphone and started trying to call up a weather report,
just to be sure.
******************
Akane's Tale:
I waited in the parking lot; I'd called Aoi and Chie partly for backup
and partly because I didn't want to go stomping around campus by myself in
case the staff challenges me. And also because they know it better than I
do and in case we need to go into a locked building.
They soon arrived and joined me. "What exactly is going on?" Aoi asked.
"Maybe nothing. Probably nothing," I said. "But it was supposed to
rain today and I heard all the sprinklers kicking in at once when it
normally doesn't happen at that time."
Drops of rain began to fall and we all got umbrellas out and headed onto
campus. I wanted to walk with my tonfas in hand, but I kept them in the
purse, just in case we met someone who might challenge us.
The sprinklers were going, even with it starting to rain, though we saw
a frantic looking staffer run across campus into the facilities building.
The sprinklers stopped even as the rain stepped up.
The wind picked up and all three of us began to get wet as the rain fell
harder, blowing under our umbrellas.
I sighed. There were no signs of a fight or monsters or anything. I
was being paranoid. "I'm sorry," I said to them. "I think I just wasted
your time."
"It's okay," Aoi said. "Better safe than sorry."
"Probably the prankster from Saint Mary's set off the sprinklers," Chie
said, sounding amused.
We came upon Hotaru striding cheerfully through the rain without an
umbrella. She was totally soaked, her uniform clinging to her, water
dripping down her legs. She's a little taller than I am, about the same
height as Chie, built about like Aoi, with long black hair and glittering
violet eyes. She was Kasumi's roommate last year.
"Good evening, Harada-sensei, Senoh-sensei, Kurauchi-san." She bowed to
us, her bookbag swishing about as she did so. "How are you all today?"
"You seem happy," I said.
"It's a wonderful day," Hotaru said. "And we've been needing this
rain." She twirled about. "This is why I always buy water-proof bookbags,
though."
"Do you have any idea why the sprinklers went off?" I asked.
She looked thoughtful. "Isn't this about when they went off two days
ago? Maybe the timer has gone wrong?"
"That makes sense," Chie said.
"Hotaru-san," I said. "Did you hear about what happened with Kasumi?"
Hotaru suddenly froze up, looking extremely worried. "She and
Misano-sempai didn't get in a fight, did they?"
I sighed. "Kasumi quit the track team after too much harassment by that
girl." I felt quite angry about it.
Hotaru frowned deeply. "That's terrible."
"Thank you for dressing up Kasumi earlier this week. She looked really
cute in that outfit," I said.
She smiled again. "I'm sure you'd look good in that too."
Kazuya would definitely boggle. I smiled a little. "Thank you for the
offer. Anyway, have fun in the rain, Hotaru."
She smiled. "I will."
We searched a little more, but the other students we encountered all
agreed it was just rain and a sprinkler malfunction, so I said goodbye to
Aoi and Chie and headed back to the dorm, feeling a little ridiculous. This
campus is safe like we think.
******************
Shun's Tale:
Aunt Akane finally returned, dripping wet. "Well, other than getting to
chat with Hotaru and get sprinkled on by the sprinkler system and rain
clouds, nothing." She sighed. "Sorry to scare you all pointlessly."
"It's okay, Mother," Kasumi said. "Better safe than sorry, right?"
Mother glanced at Crystal for a moment, then nodded. "Crystal, I will
go with you to escort Junko back to her campus. Everyone else, I will see
you Saturday; no lessons tomorrow, I have a date." She smiled brightly.
"Have fun, Mother," Kasumi said, smiling.
"You want...okay," Crystal said, getting up and putting her books in a
bag, then taking Junko's arm. "Let's go."
"We should go too," Kagami said to me.
I got my stuff and took her by the arm. "See you, everyone!"
We headed out and down the elevator. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow," I
told her.
"Hmm, someone's probably propped the back door of your dorm open again,"
Kagami said nervously.
"Yes, if you want to come back to my place a while," I told her.
"I brought pajamas," she mumbled.
I grinned. "How naughty of you. I'm surprised you didn't confess."
"I almost did," she mumbled, then kissed my cheek quickly. "But I
think..." She smiled brightly. "Akane-san trusts my judgement and I think
we deserve this."
"Me too," I said, and together we snuck her into my dorm without any
trouble.
**************
Alyssa's Story:
We ended up crashing at Reito's mansion instead of driving back to the
nunnery. As usual, Miyu and I shared a bed. She doesn't really need to
sleep, but she's gotten used to faking it in order to keep her cover up and
I sleep best when being held.
"He's outside the door," Miyu whispered as I was starting to drowse.
"What?" I asked in confusion.
"I can clear out if you like," she said.
I turned red. "Miyu, we're not having an affair."
"I can tell you like him," she said softly.
"I'm not...Miyu!" I flailed pathetically.
"I can clear out," she said softly.
"Miyu, I wouldn't...I shouldn't...I'm sure he isn't interested and I
shouldn't be," I mumbled.
"You are human. It is your nature to form bonds with others and to
desire intimacy," Miyu said.
"We are the worst nuns ever," I mumbled, curling into a ball with Miyu's
arms around me. "I shouldn't want this."
"He is touching the door," she said softly. "I must either go or not
quickly."
I shouldn't think things like this. I am a nun. I gave myself to God
to atone for my sins, but also because most men are garbage. So of course,
I end up constantly around one of the few who are not.
"Miyu, you shouldn't indulge my foolishness," I mumbled.
"You always indulge mine," she said softly, then headed for the window.
"No, don't go!" I said.
She just smiled at me, then she flipped out the window in her blue
pajamas with yellow birds on them. Reito gave them to her last Christmas.
Then the knock came and I froze, utterly unknowing what to do with
myself. I'm such a hypocrite, condemning others and wanting...I only
vaguely know what I want but I know I shouldn't want it. This must be what
Mother felt like.
But Reito is a far better man than Father, though Father has gotten a
lot better.
"Come in," I said, forcing myself to sit on the edge of the bed and not
look utterly terrified.
He came in with three cups of decaffinated tea; it smelled wonderful
with a hint of lime, just like I like it. "Where is Miyu?" he asked.
"She went for a walk," I said.
He came over, put the tray on the end table and handed me a glass,
taking one himself and pulling up the chair by the wall. "To another
successful mission, Alyssa."
"To another successful mission, Reito," I said, clinking glasses and
smiling nervously. Can he tell how I feel? All these years and I still
can't tell how he feels. He probably just thinks of me as a child still.
It would be better if he did. I shouldn't want this.
I took an oath.
Sometimes, I hate myself.
"Are you going to the play tomorrow?" he asked.
"The...oh, the contest. Yes, of course," I said. "You're coming,
right?"
"Of course." He smiled warmly at me. "I will see if I can finagle us
better seats. Being a big donor has its advantages."
"I think it's over at Tokugawa," I told him.
"I've donated to all three, just in case we need leverage," he said.
"Money is my power."
"A mighty one," I said, sipping my delicious tea. My whole body kept
trying to tremble. I forced it to still itself. Natasha would just jump on
him, I thought.
I AM NOT NATASHA.
But she probably feels like this before she jumps on someone like the
little...
I closed my eyes. I'm in no position to criticize.
"Is something wrong?" he asked.
"No, I'm fine," I said, drinking more tea. "Just hoping Miyu doesn't
blunder into anything in the dark."
"I don't think so," he said. "I hope there were not more possessors."
"If so, they left the island and we won't find them until they show
themselves," I told him, then sighed. "Of course, I am the safest woman in
Japan with Miyu as my companion, so I can sleep soundly."
He glanced at the open window, then said, "Will she be gone a while?"
I tensed, my breathing speeding up. Does he want to know...if we have
time to...oh God...I shouldn't...
"I...umm..." I drank more tea to shut myself up. "Probably."
I could open a line to her and ask, but she'd probably say 'as long as
you need me to be.'
He got up, went over and shut the window. "Best not to let a draft in,
then."
I flopped over, nearly spilling my tea on myself. I am such a fool.
He came back over and sat down, pulling me up gently. "You should
apologize to the boy."
"No," I said. "He's terrible and worthless." Even more than me.
"He has been faithful to Natasha and even injured in her defense. He
deserves more than abuse."
"He's a filthy, lustful manwhore," I said. "He's probably secretly
cheating on her."
He sighed. "You shouldn't make up sins in your head and attest them to
people, Alyssa." He sipped his tea and seemed to gaze off into space a
moment.
"I know the type," I said sharply. "I could tell he kept thinking about
me naked."
"You are a magnificent woman in the prime of your beauty," Reito said.
"And teenagers still struggle to rule their hormones. But he never tried to
touch you or get a look at your underwear or anything. And you terrified
him."
"Terrified him? He yelled at me and told me off!" I said, outraged.
"And his terrible lady friend condemned you! She wasn't there and doesn't
know what it was like."
"I deserved it," he said, looking guilty. "I was a total failure as
Student Council President."
"It wasn't your fault, you got possessed," I said urgently.
He stared at the floor. "I could have fought it, but I let myself be
taken because he offered me things I wanted but didn't have. I was weak and
stupid and jealous."
I put my tea aside and put my hand on his shoulder. "Reito, you
couldn't have stopped him."
"Couldn't I?" he said, sounding more guilty. "We'll never know because
I didn't even TRY. I never broke free, not even when I might have ended up
killing Yuuichi. If Mikoto hadn't broken the locket...If her love hadn't
been strong enough for her to break free of being controlled...her love was
pure and mine was hateful. I hated him. I wanted Yuuichi to die. We both
wanted the same thing." He shuddered and buried his face in his hands.
I got off the bed and hugged him tightly. "It's okay. You've fought by
our side for decades and done infinitely more good than the evil your body
was used to do then."
"Have I?" he asked. "Everything bad that happened to all of you, it's
my fault." I could feel him shudder. "I should have died."
"No," I said firmly. "We both sinned, but God loves us and forgives us
and gave us this chance to make good for what we did while we're alive.
Your death would have only brought us sorrow without fixing any of what you
did. It is better to repent and live and make good than to die to redeem
oneself," I told him. No one is dying to redeem themselves on my watch.
"That's how I can bear to live," he said.
I held him until he stopped shaking, then gently kissed his forehead.
"Everyone wants you to live, Reito. Even Yuuichi."
"That's the worst part, being forgiven," he said. "It would be easier
if they hated me."
"Mai loves me and would probably die to keep either of us alive if she
had to choose between us dying and her," I said softly to him. "Which is
why neither of us can die, or she will blame herself, even if it was
entirely our own fault. She would still find some way to feel she should
have saved us."
"And Mikoto loves me too," he said softly.
"Mikoto loves everyone," I said. And as far as I can tell, basically
lusts for all of us as well. Or just somehow makes no distinction. I'm not
sure if she would actually have sex with Reito, but I think she would with
me or any of the others if Mai and Yuuichi didn't object. Fortunately, they
are not so...omnisexual or whatever the right word is.
He put his arms around me and we held each other silently for a while.
"I should go to bed," he finally mumbled. "Tomorrow will be busy."
I didn't want him to go, but I couldn't just say 'STAY WITH ME',
either. Dammit. Sorry, Lord. I shouldn't swear, I am a nun. And I
shouldn't want him to stay. Give me strength, Lord.
"Well, there's no rush," I said. "I can't really go to bed until Miyu
comes back."
"I think she is hiding, waiting for us to finish," he whispered, then
kissed my forehead. "Goodnight, Alyssa, my dear friend." And then he left.
I flopped down on the bed. He is too much the gentleman to tempt me to
violate my oath of celibacy.
Which makes me want him more.
Nao would just jump him.
But I don't want to be Nao.
"Oh, hello, Nao, fancy finding you here listening at doors," Reito said
in the hallway.
I froze up completely.
"I was just looking for a contact," Nao said lamely. I'm pretty sure
Nao does not wear contacts.
"Are you wearing Spiderman underwear again?"
"Spiderwoman," she mumbled. "And looking at my underwear? How
perverted of you."
I turned utterly beet red.
"It would be easier not to if you wore pants at night," he said
cheerfully. "I'm sure Alyssa would be happy to help you find your contact
lens. I'm going to bed."
I ran out into the hallway. "Nao, put on some PANTS!" She usually
sleeps in panties and a long shirt, which isn't so bad in the nunnery, but
she'll do it even when Reito and Professor Sasaki are around.
"Hmm, I can see your nipples through your pajama top," Nao observed idly
from the floor, though she now stood up and her shirt dropped down, hiding
her butt and thighs. "You must be turned on by my good looks."
"AAA!!!" I ran back into my room and buried myself under the sheets.
"Mission accomplished," Nao said and I heard her slink away.
Contact lens. As if. She probably would have burst in and made fun of
us if anything had happened.
I'm better off like this.
Really.
**************
Erica's Story:
Friday evening, Mr. K had brought a large cooler and filled it with ice
and cans of ice coffee. He'd stopped smoking and now just drank enough
coffee for four people and paced back and forth constantly.
I was nervously flirting with Hayao on stage in one of our scenes. A
spotlight was supposed to click on and reveal the Brides. Instead, three
lines before the cue, as I was saying, "That is a lovely poem about
mourning," the spotlight on us went out, plunging us into darkness and an
empty section of stage clicked on.
"NOOOO!!!!!" Mr. K shouted, pulling his hair. "Come here!"
Gin, Tech lord, and another guy, who was running sound, came out.
"This? Do you see this?" Mr. K pointed at the stage.
"Dammit," Gin said. "I'll get it." He ran and fixed things.
"Two days," Mr. K said. "Tell me the window can't mess up now."
"It can't mess up now," Techlord said.
"I climbed in and out of my friend's window to practice, sir!," Mandi
shouted from where the Brides were hiding.
"Let's test the worst case scenario," Mr. K said. "Masakuri-san,
Harada-san, just hold where you are. Suguira-san!"
Dan, suited up in his nice Victorian clothing, ran out from the back.
"Yes, sir?"
"Climb through the window three times. If anyone can knock it down,
it's you."
"Dan is not that clumsy," I protested.
"He's big," Mr. K said. "See if it can survive collision with you."
Dan looked around, circled and climbed in through the window. It went
fine all three times. "We're good," he said, then turned and promptly
stumbled into Fukuda-san, knocking him down.
"Look where you are going!" Fukuda-san shouted angrily.
"I'm sorry," Dan said.
My arms were itching again. But it's hard to scratch well in all this
Victorian clothing.
This stupid itching is making me crazy.
I actually was starting to think we had a decent chance...well, to not
suck, anyway. We've all learned our lines and I think our performances are
getting better. I at least feel a lot more confident as Evelyn, though I
still get kind of twitchy over the final scene, as I feel guilty about
kissing Kasumi's boyfriend and more guilty about actually enjoying it as I
REALLY DO NOT WANT TO GO THERE.
I keep wondering what kissing Dan would be like and whether
Koyabishi-san has tried to kiss him yet and whether kissing any man feels
this good or if Hayao is just very good at it.
And then he broke it off and we finished off the scene with my brain on
the spin cycle.
"Okay, it's very late and that's enough," Mr. K said. "Everyone sleep
well and tomorrow, we practice until we explode." He took a deep draught of
ice coffee. "Goodnight, everyone."
Kasumi and Koyabishi-san were waiting for us. Koyabishi-san zoomed in
on Dan. "Walk me home, please?" she asked.
"Okay," he said. "See you all tomorrow."
I fumed and tried to ignore Kasumi and Hayao getting all kissy-face.
And tried not to think about kissing Hayao. Or Koyabishi-san kissing Dan.
Or ANYTHING.
I ended up walking with Natasha and Gin through the rain, then went to
bed, where I alternately dreamed of Dan and Hayao coming and seducing me in
the night.
DAMMIT.
************
Akane's Tale:
We had a very nice dinner with Natsuki and Mr. Smith. We'd ended up
with Dorothy Waynewright and Shizuru coming as well, but they were also good
company. Versailles Palace had a mixture of French and Italian food. Very
rich, but good.
"Do you get to see your family very often?" I asked Mr. Smith
curiously. I know he is from America.
"Unfortunately, I am on bad terms with them and haven't talked to them
in a long time. They weren't pleased with my choice of a lifestyle," he
said a little mournfully.
"My father is dead," Dorothy said, sighing. "And mother."
"The same for me, Dorothy," Natsuki said compassionately.
"I know the feeling," Kazuya said sympathetically. "Akane and I are
both on the outs with our families. My brother Jinnai is the only one we're
in contact with."
"Now I feel left out because I actually have family," Shizuru said a
little teasingly.
"I'm surprised your family didn't approve," Kazuya said to Mr. Smith.
"They wanted me to be career military," Mr. Smith said. "But I quickly
discovered that involved giving away too much of your discretion and being
used too often for purposes I couldn't approve of."
I nodded. "Good reasons to get out." I ate some of my pasta. The
alfredo sauce here is very good.
Kazuya picked at his own; he'd gambled on something new, but it was too
hot for his tastes. "I didn't want to have to fire people and ruin their
lives," he said. "Being a baker means everyone walks away happy."
"You're very good at it," Dorothy said. "Norman has supplied us with
your wares for several times we had guests to good result."
"Thank you," I said, smiling brightly. "So why did you two come to
Japan?"
"I was an exchange student and I liked it," Mr. Smith said. "Also, it
got me out of the reach of my parents."
"That's why we never went back to Tokyo," Kazuya said. "You chose
wisely. Osaka is a great city."
Shizuru smiled. "I grew up around Kyoto, but I like Osaka. Of course,
you all stand out as outsiders to the locals, even now." She has the local
accent and we don't.
"I'm sure I would blend right in if only I could master the accent," Mr.
Smith said, deadpan.
"Yes, of course," Dorothy said flatly. "We could even form a
tsukkomi-boke act."
"I think you already have," Shizuru teased and we all laughed.
Natsuki very lightly tapped Shizuru on the head. "Like us."
We all laughed.
I love spending time with the kids, but it was also wonderful to spend
some time with some interesting, intelligent adults too. I hadn't expected
to find something in common with Natsuki's boyfriend and his assistant, but
it was nice to do so. He is definitely different from the others. I guess
she finally decided it was time to get serious.
He and Shizuru seem to get on well, for which I am glad. I know a fair
number of her past lovers fled due to Shizuru, one way or another. I've
stayed out of it, of course. I know better than to stick my head in lion's
mouths. But I've observed it.
"So what exactly does a Negotiator do, anyway?" Kazuya asked.
"A combination of investigation and negotiation," Shizuru said. "We try
to help the parties involved to come to terms. Which unfortunately
sometimes means getting caught in the middle of corporate intrigues, crimes,
and so forth."
"The basic rule of negotiating is to consider and respect the other
person's feelings, whether friend or foe," Mr. Smith said.
"Which can sometimes be difficult if you're in the middle of a
firefight," Dorothy said.
"Which is why I don't carry a gun; it's not my style," Roger said.
"Rule five."
"Likewise," Shizuru said.
"I don't have an absolute oath against it, but it's best not to go into
situations assuming you will be shooting," Mr. Smith said. "Right now, I am
finishing up a case between a shipping company and its insurance by showing
clear evidence of piracy."
"Piracy?" I said in surprise. "Down around Thailand, you mean?" I had
heard reports there is some kind of actual PIRATE CITY down there.
"Oh, the business with the container ship where half of it showed up on
the shore and the other half is missing?" Kazuya asked, sounding curious.
Shizuru and Natsuki looked curiously at Mr. Smith also.
"The curious thing is that the last example of this was a good
twenty-three years ago near Fuuka City when a ferry was cut in half," Mr.
Smith said. "However, whoever did this was not as good at cutting ships in
half as whoever did that."
I suddenly felt very nervous. Shizuru and Natsuki looked perfectly
calm, but I suspect if I could see a mirror I would look totally guilty.
Kazuya certainly did. "Not as good?" he said weakly.
"I took photographs of the sunken ship; it clearly took half a dozen
blows with a gigantic blade or something similar to do it. Our current
theory is a combat mech, even if none of them come standard with a
sufficiently large blade. Or have the strength to actually cut a cargo ship
open. The blade had to have been heated in some manner, though how it could
be hot enough and not melt remains a technical issue." He was looking
intently at Kazuya, who now looked even more guilty.
Not that we had anything to do with this; I don't know if even my powers
could cut a cargo ship in half. Without smashing it to bits in the
process. It could be Mikoto and her sword, but why? Wouldn't we have been
told something?
Natsuki was frowning. "What were the pirates after?"
"The ship was supposedly carrying furniture from Africa," Mr. Smith
said.
"Supposedly. And in reality?" Shizuru said, now all business.
"That's the question. I got some information from a friend of Natsuki's
which seemed to indicate something called Project Janus was being
transported," Mr. Smith said. "Possibly involving combat mechs."
"Those terrible things," Kazuya said, scowling, which caused Mr. Smith
to frown in turn.
"As in the Roman god Janus? Whose temple doors opened in wartime and
closed in peace?" Shizuru asked, frowning herself now.
"Two-faced Janus, yes," Mr. Smith said. "Japan is one of the leading
producers and developers of combat mechs, though the JSDF and police only
use a relative few. The rest are exported to other countries. And someone
is hiring and hiding experienced designers."
"The gates of Janus have been shut in this country for a long time,"
Shizuru said. "I hope it remains that way."
"This could have some connection to the appearance of a mysterious mech
during the destruction of Tallin," Mr. Smith said. "Matching no known
model."
We suspect he's connected to that, but he doesn't seem to know about it,
I thought. But if he isn't, who was?
Shizuru was smiling an odd smile and I don't know why. It rather
reminded me of a mother smiling at her child, but that made no sense at
all. I would have to ask her later.
"I..." Natsuki began, then stopped and stuffed her mouth with food.
"No doubt it was Racer X," Dorothy said, and we all laughed.
"I met Shiho's current boyfriend," Shizuru said suddenly, surprising me.
"Really? Is he like all the others?" Kazuya asked, working on his
pasta.
"Mostly," Shizuru said. "However, this one has good manners. Which I
would expect of a project manager." She pointed her chopsticks at Kazuya.
"Apparently, he knows your family, Kazuya-kun."
Kazuya blinked. "He does?"
"Robert Cooper works for Shell Solar, which is doing a project with
Kurauchi Electronics and some other Japanese companies and US Robots. I had
to help settle a labor dispute," Shizuru said. "He has a bunch of pictures
in his office of himself with various American and Japanese businessmen and
one of them was him shaking hands with a man who looked like a much older
version of you which turned out to be your father," she said. "Very
handsome and dignified looking man. Your father, that is."
"Father tried hard to take care of himself," Kazuya said. "I..."
"Your father is doing well, I think," she said. "If you want family
gossip, here is a copy of Mr. Cooper's card." She passed it to Kazuya. "He
seemed young to me to hold as much authority in the project as he does."
She shrugged. "My negotiation was fairly successful, so I am content."
Kazuya took the card, looking nervous. He still loves his family,
for all the trouble we've had with them. But at the same time...well, you
know.
"Have any of you seen Blue Mountain Fever?" I asked. I decided it was
time to steer the conversation to something comfortable.
We soon got into an argument on the merits of the movie, and away from
uncomfortable waters.
Before we left, I more or less dragged Shizuru to the ladies' room with
me; Natsuki looked rather surprised. Shizuru asked, once we were inside,
"My, Akane, you're so bold, taking me off to seduce me in front of your
husband." She had a playful smile.
I just laughed. There was a time when this routine would reduce me to
incoherence; I think it still gets to Natsuki. But I got used to it. "I
would have invited Dorothy too," I said deadpan, and she laughed.
"Earlier, you had a kind of a weird look when Mr. Smith was talking
about the combat mech," I said. "Like you knew something."
"Oh, I was just amused that he thinks he can fool us," she said. "Roger
is a very good Negotiator, but so am I, and we know each other's tricks to a
large extent. I expect he has a numbered rule for it."
"I noticed him quoting a rule list. Is that a Negotiator thing?"
"To some degree. But a lot of it is just Roger being a little anal,"
she said, clearly amused. "I hope you're having a good time."
"I am having a wonderful time," I assured her. "I'm glad you and
Dorothy came."
"So am I," she said. "Is everything well with the children? I don't
get to see them often."
"It's fine," I told her. "Their training is coming well. But Kasumi
had to quit the track team." I sighed. "I feel terrible about it."
Shizuru studied me silently, then said, "They have to suspect something
is going on."
"They do," I said. "I can't hide my powers very well while training
them and Shun actually reminded me I was showing off, which means he has to
know. Know something. I doubt they know everything but I think they're
suspecting the family secret relates to what I can do."
"Good luck."
"Thank you. Well, we'd better get back before they worry."
Shizuru nodded soberly. "Let's go."
************
Kasumi's Tale:
Hayao is going to come to the dance once rehearsal is over. Which means
late. But I would go with Hotaru, who is going to dress me up. Which
probably means looking like a vampire again, but that's okay if it makes
Hotaru happy. I want to return the favor she did me, and I don't like
seeing her looking sad and lonely.
Also, I think Hayao really likes seeing me in that outfit. Guys do like
women in sexy clothing.
Don't think about Hayao kissing Erica right now. I know it's just
acting, but I'll be happier when it's over.
To my surprise, Crystal and Junko showed up. "Dress us up too," Crystal
said. "We can go as a pack or a coven or whatever you call a group of
vampires."
Hotaru looked ecstatic. "That's great!"
It took some running about, but with some work, we got everyone suited
up. Right down to fake fangs; I was kind of surprised Hotaru had that many
sets. I was pretty nervous, as I've heard some wild things about this dance
and I expected I'd have a bunch of drunk guys hitting on me until my
boyfriend showed up.
It started about five minutes after Hotaru and I got there and were
dancing. Or she was dancing and I was trying to imitate her. Crystal and
Junko were dancing nearby, rather close to each other. I was starting to
wonder how long it would be before they took each other's clothing off. Of
course, given the outfits we were all in, it would have taken long enough to
get their clothing off that probably the tedium of undressing would have
cooled their desire.
Or maybe not, given how hot for each other they clearly were.
Anyway, the first attempt to hit on me came about five minutes in. I
could see some black haired Tokugawa student (you can tell by the usual crew
cut) closing in on me, studying my exposed cleavage.
I tried to summon my purity and outrage, but instead, I got embarrassed
as I'm not used to flaunting my body like this thing does. Even if it
covers most of my body in many layers, I was rather flaunting my breasts.
The attention was a little flattering, but I only wanted Hayao to look.
"Hey, babe, want to dance?" he asked.
"No thank you," I said, trying to avoid eye contact. Unfortunately,
this ended up meaning looking at his chest, which admittedly was pretty good
and his muscle shirt did show it off.
"Nice muscles, eh? Work out every day," he said. "C'mon, give me a
chance."
"She has a boyfriend," Hotaru said sharply. "And no means no."
"Hey, this is between me and her," he said to Hotaru, sounding angry.
Junko slid over to him and whispered in his ear. His eyes crossed and
he fled.
Crystal laughed. "What did you tell him, Junko?"
"Secret technique," she said, then laughed. "Do not worry, Heir of
Kurauchi, I will ensure you are not bothered."
I kept wondering what she told them, but she ran an effective defense,
in between undulating with Crystal. A lot of guys kept trying to approach
me, which was rather flattering, though I don't think any of them knew who I
was. Certainly several guys I knew from Rosewood clearly didn't recognize
me.
Or possibly didn't expect me to come to the dance I'd always condemned.
Which despite my embarrassment, I was really enjoying dancing. I wished
my boyfriend would hurry up and get here but Hotaru is a good dancer and
taught me a lot of moves and dancing is really fun.
I was starting to really enjoy myself, when, to my amazement,
Ayumi-sempai showed up. With Taiki of all people. They started dancing
together. I couldn't decide if this was a hopeful sign he was moving on or
a sign the universe was plotting to combine threats to my sanity.
I decided to ignore them and they ignored me, thankfully. Or just
didn't recognize me. Crystal was trying to avoid him, I think, staying on
the far side of the dance.
Hayao, Mandi, Dan, and Sanae all showed up together. Hayao and Mandi
went over to say hi to Taiki and Dan and Sanae came my direction.
"You look very sexy in that, Kasumi," Sanae said, sounding a little
envious.
"Umm, thanks," I told her, glancing at Hayao.
"Yeah, I'm kinda surprised too, given she's a senior and he's a
first-year like us," Sanae said. "I..." She then saw Crystal. "Please
tell me there's not going to be a fight."
Dan glared at Taiki. "Not unless that bastard starts it."
"He and Crystal have been not noticing each other all night," I said.
"I'm surprised Ayumi didn't come gloat, though."
"Yeah. Sorry about you quitting the track team. Hayao's feeling kind of
guilty over it," Sanae said.
"It's totally not his fault," I said.
Hayao now came over with Mandi, then said, "Oh dear, it would appear my
girlfriend has been turned into a vampire." He feigned horror and I
laughed.
I kissed his neck. "Slurp, slurp."
"I asked them to please not start any trouble. Taiki claims he will be
good," Hayao said, then kissed me properly. "I couldn't get any guarantees
from Ayumi-san, though." He frowned.
"If she tries to mess with Kasumi, I will make her regret it," Hotaru
said firmly.
I'm pretty sure that Ayumi-sempai could squash Hotaru flat. "It's
okay," I told her.
"It's not okay. I don't like people messing with my friends and I don't
intend to tolerate it," Hotaru said with an unusual amount of confidence.
"But for now, let's just DANCE."
So we danced. Dancing is a lot of fun, and dancing with a big group of
friends was really fun. And dancing with Hayao, who is a really good
dancer, was the most fun of all. He kept looking at my breasts and then
making himself not stare, which made me smile. I want him to want me, even
if I'm not...even though I don't want to rush into getting physical. But I
want him to want me like I want him.
I think Sanae likes Dan; she at least seemed willing to dance pretty
close to him. To my surprise, he didn't fall apart; I don't know if that
means he's getting better or if he just doesn't think of her that way.
Gradually, people began drifting away in pairs and moaning noises
started in the woods and I turned rather red. Hayao asked me, "Are you
okay? Is your outfit too hot? You are wearing a lot of layers."
"Are those people..." I whispered.
"Probably," he mumbled.
Suddenly, he ran off, over to one such couple about to go down one of
the many paths out of this clearing and whispered urgently to them. They
turned and went another way.
Then he came back.
I blinked. "What was that?"
"Path isn't safe," he mumbled.
"Bees?" Dan asked, grinning.
Hayao looked like he wanted to die for a moment. "Yes," he mumbled.
Sanae rubbed her forehead, while Mandi very gently kicked Hayao in the
butt for some reason. Well, I know Aunt Nao turned bees loose on him, but I
think bees are punishment enough for almost any crime.
Which as far as I know, said crime basically consists of hitting on Aunt
Nao instead of Crystal.
A thought hit me. "Where are Natasha, Gin, and Erica?"
"I think Natasha and Gin went to go have sex," Dan said. "Erica said
she was tired and going to bed."
Erica has seemed kind of stressed lately. But she does have a big
role. "I hope she's okay."
"She's probably sound asleep by now," Dan said.
I glanced over and saw Junko and Crystal kissing against a tree. I
suppose they'll be running off in the woods to have sex too.
I poked myself. I need to be less judgemental. So I don't turn all my
cousins on me too. Especially after Junko went to all that effort keeping
the morons away from me. I sighed.
"What's wrong?" Hayao asked.
"I'm too judgemental," I mumbled.
"That's better than being too slack," he said. "I like you just the way
you are."
"You're so sweet," I said, kissing him firmly.
I glanced; Crystal was too busy sticking her tongue in Junko's mouth to
care. I thanked her for not causing any trouble.
We danced under the stars. There was only the very tiniest sliver of
moon in the sky; tomorrow would be a new moon.
Eventually, almost everyone was gone except for the two guys and a girl
who were playing the music, a half dozen people I didn't recognize, and us.
Where us was myself, Dan, Sanae, Hotaru, and Hayao. Mandi had gone off with
some guy, Taiki and Ayumi had left without a fight (thank you, Buddha!), and
Crystal and Junko had wandered off.
"Dan, we'd better go get some sleep so we don't collapse during the
contest," Hayao said to Dan.
"Yeah," Dan said.
"I'm going to stay a little longer, as I'm not tired yet," Hotaru said.
"Thanks a lot for coming with me, Kasumi."
I hugged her. "It's fine. You sure you'll be safe walking back by
yourself?"
She smiled confidently. "I'll be fine."
We walked back together through the woods, then split off, even though
we were going to the same dorm; I could tell Sanae wanted a little of Dan to
herself and that was fine by me.
We ended up by the back door of my dorm, propped open as usual even
though it's not supposed to be. "Thank you for not yelling at Crystal," I
told him softly.
"I didn't want to mess up your fun night. After everything." He
sighed, gazing into my eyes. Every so often, though, his gaze flicked down
to my exposed cleavage and my breasts, which this outfit shows off as
greater than they really are. I kept wondering if he was going to try and
kiss me there, which made me feel rather flustered for thinking such a
thing. Then I started imagining it. EEEP.
"It is not your fault. I just can't handle the training and track at
the same time," I told him.
"Why is your family suddenly training you? There's not going to be
trouble here like there was at Fuuka, is there?" he asked, frowning.
"We don't actually know much about that," I told him.
He frowned at that. "Well, I don't know the whole story, but my
understanding is that terrorists basically burned up much of the school and
blew up a bridge and killed a lot of people."
I nodded. "So I've heard. But the parents don't like to talk about
it."
He kissed me softly, then said, "I guess I should go."
"Thank you for being a gentleman," I told him.
"I'm trying," he said. "I kind of learned a hard lesson from your aunt
about being too casual about...things." Then he glanced at my breasts and
forced himself to stop looking.
"Well, I'm very happy with how you treat me, dear," I told him and
kissed him again. "My mother will likely want to meet you tomorrow."
Hopefully he won't stare at my chest in front of Mother. But so long as
it's my chest, it's okay.
"Wait, please tell me..."
Oh dear, I fear Aunt Nao will be there.
"Well, Aunt Nao will just have to deal with it," I said firmly. "I'm
not going to dump you just because some members of my family say to."
"Likewise," he said. "Though Mom will probably die of joy and...oh,
she'll be there too." He sounded a little embarrassed. "She's excited to
see me act and I think she wants to see your family too."
I felt a little nervous, but I was sure it would go well. I kissed him
another time and then he left and I went up to bed.
*************
Natsuki's Tale:
The play was very enjoyable and we all had a good time. I'd been afraid
Shizuru and Roger would have another of their fights, but instead, they both
seemed determined to outdo each other in GOOD manners. Thank you, gods and
goddesses.
Akane and Kazuya really, really enjoyed themselves. I guess they must
be a little starved for adult interaction that doesn't involve selling baked
goods. They were good company, as they're both able to be quite dignified
but friendly at the same time.
As we were coming out of the theatre along with everyone else who had
attended the play, however, someone suddenly grabbed Shizuru's purse and
ran.
"Oh dear," she said.
"I'll get him," I said.
However, Dorothy and Akane both suddenly kicked off their shoes and took
off after the snatcher, plowing through the crowd at high speed. Dorothy
grabbed the man from behind and Akane actually passed him and cut off his
retreat, producing her tonfas from her purse and striking a combat stance.
"Freeze," she said firmly.
The guy tried to taser her, but she dodged the darts and then hit the
man sharply in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. He crumpled in
Dorothy's arms and we called the police.
They were both blindingly fast and didn't bother to hide it. Which
Akane needs to work on and which I suspect will soon be an issue for all of
us. But it's more confirmation that Dorothy, at least, is not normal. Only
a Hime could move with that kind of speed. Is the mech hers? But if she is
a Hime, her powers work everywhere like Akane's.
Kazuya said, agonized, "He could have had a gun, Akane."
"Thank you for helping, Dorothy," Akane said, then turned to her
husband, who had her shoes. "Even these days, guns are uncommon in Japan."
Shizuru looked over at me, looking amused.
I nodded. "She's right."
"But what if he did?" Kazuya asked nervously.
"I'm sorry to worry you," she told him and kissed him. "But I'm not
going to stand there and let someone rob a friend right before my eyes."
"Thank you, Akane," Shizuru said as Akane put her shoes on.
"You're welcome," Akane said, smiling brightly. But Kazuya didn't look
very happy about it. I understand his worries, but she's a Hime. Stopping
a purse snatcher is trivial compared to other dangers.
"And thank you too, Dorothy," Shizuru said.
"You are welcome," she said.
"You are very fast," Shizuru said to her.
"I ran track in college," Dorothy said. "And did swim team."
"Me too," I said.
"My daughter...used to run track," Akane said, deflating. "She had to
stop to have more time to study."
"That's a pity," Dorothy said. "Her name is Kasumi, right?"
"Yes," Akane said. "I am very proud of her."
"We have a kind and gentle daughter and love her very much," Kazuya
said, perking back up a little.
The cops came and took the thief and our statements and we headed on,
talking about Kasumi.
*************
Dorothy's Tale:
I have changed since Paradigm City. I think some of my systems were
upgraded. I have fully functional senses of smell and taste now and my body
no longer makes loud mechanical noises when I run or otherwise exert
myself. I think I am the most sophisticated robot in this entire world that
I have seen, in terms of passing for human. Which is how I could run down
that thief without giving myself away. I have grown used to being treated
as human and rather prefer it that way now.
Today was more evidence Akane is one of the Augments. Probably whenever
she vanished at Fuuka, she was upgraded. She seems sloppier about showing
it off lately, though.
Natsuki is an Augment and so is Tate-san and most likely Harada-san,
even if it wasn't obvious. We're still trying to figure out which of them
are Augments and which not. I don't think Kazuya-san is, but I'm not so
sure about Tate-san's husband or her live-in mistress. I am not sure about
Shizuru-san.
Well, we'll see.
*************
Dan's Tale:
I walked Sanae to the door. "Want to come up a while?" she asked
hopefully.
"Isn't it after curfew?" I asked.
"If you go around to the back, I could let you in." She sounded
hopeful.
"Well, I can't stay too late, as I have to sleep to be rested for the
play, but sure," I said.
I went around, seeing Hayao leaving the back door and heading for our
dorm. He saw me approaching the back and grinned extremely broadly and gave
me a thumbs up. I'm not sure why.
Sanae took me up to her suite, but we made a discovery.
"OH YES, RIDE ME LIKE A HURRICANE," Mandi shouted through the door of
her and Sanae's bedroom.
We both paled. "Uhhh..."
"Can we go to your place?" Sanae mumbled. "In fact...umm...any way I
could crash there? I can't sleep on the couch if I have to listen to
Mandi."
"Does she do this often?" I asked.
"Usually, they don't make it out of the woods," Sanae said. "I was kind
of anticipating that."
"Let's go to my place."
My roomate was off with Joan and wouldn't be back until tomorrow; my
suitemates were already in bed, so we sat on the couch and watched TV. "You
can take Ken's bed," I told her.
"Thanks," she said. "How are things going in the play?"
"Thanks to your help, I'm holding up better than I was before," I told
her. "And I got over laughing inappropriately too."
She smiled. "I...I have another idea," she said hesitantly.
"Hmm?"
"Close your eyes," she said.
I did so, and now suddenly, she was leaning over on me, and then she
kissed me firmly on the lips.
I froze up in abject surprise. Being kissed by her felt very good, but
it also sent my brain into sudden panic mode too.
"I...is that okay?" she asked weakly, suddenly very nervous.
I mumbled incoherently.
She shrank back. "I'm sorry. I was too forward. I just thought..."
"No, it's fine, I just panic, you know," I mumbled to her.
She relaxed a little. "Should I do it again?" she whispered.
"Yes," I mumbled.
This time, I clumsily embraced her, trying to silence the whirling
thoughts in my head. For some reason, in addition to roughly 3000
inappropriate impulses, I could also hear the Namcub whispering itself in my
head.
That kind of creeped me out and I was caught between enjoying being
kissed and hugging her and not enjoying listening to my own voice whispering
about possibly the end of the world.
And why was it talking to me now? Was it trying to hint Sanae was a
battle princess? Or was this its way of saying it enjoyed this?
Let's not go there.
She smiled once she finally broke off the kiss and sat down next to me,
holding my hand. "I was afraid I'd done something you didn't like," she
mumbled.
"I just panic. Though it felt very nice and I hope I kissed okay."
"That's the first time I ever kissed a boy, Dan" she said very softly.
"It was great, Sanae" I told her. It was very nice. But I could still
hear the Namcub. "I wouldn't mind if you kissed me again."
We kissed several more times. The panic in my head calmed down some
and the Namcub shut up after reciting itself a single time.
I wasn't sure what to do. I like Sanae, but I wouldn't have said I was
in love with her. But kissing her...I like that a lot. Wow, I sound
trashy. But I don't want to hurt her feelings and I do want to kiss her
again.
"Oh, Mom is coming to the play with Aunt Sayuri and Aunt Yayoi," Sanae
told me. "I told her the boy I like is in it." She paused. "That means
you."
I laughed. "Yes, I sort of guessed that."
"So she'll want to meet you."
"That's cool," I said. "Now we just need to hook up Mandi and Erica to
have a clean sweep."
"I think Mandi is only into boys. Is Erica into girls?" Sanae asked me
curiously.
"Well, both her parents are," I said. I'd kind of assumed that. But I
can't tell, as she never talks about it. "On the other hand, Aunt Aoi is
into boys too."
"Dad's like that, though he would never cheat on Mom," Sanae said, then
put a hand over her mouth. She mumbled through it.
"I dunno if your Dad would want you telling people that," I told her.
"I'm just into guys," Sanae said. "Like Mom. But we both like seeing
boys kiss."
"Sanae, I don't think your mother would want you advertising that
either," I told her.
"I must really be tired," she mumbled. "I start saying too much. Like
how I once dreamed about you and Shun kissing."
"..."
She put a hand over her mouth. Mumble, mumble.
"I think we'd better put you to bed before you say anything else you'll
regret, Sanae," I told her.
"At least I didn't ment..." She put her hands over her mouth.
I picked her up gently and carried her to my roomate's bed, and laid her
down on it. "Good night, Sanae."
"I think you're really handsome," Sanae mumbled.
"And you're very pretty," I told her. She has a nice face, but I must
admit I prefer someone a bit shorter and with larger breasts. But given my
romantic ineptness and the fact that one's body is beyond one's control, I
wasn't going to complain.
She passed out, while I laid in bed a while wondering where this all
would go and why I'd started hearing the namcub in my head. I prayed this
did not mean it had just summoned monsters or something.
However, I slept pretty soundly and woke up not-eaten, which is all you
can ask for, some days.
**************
Shizuru's Tale:
We went over to Roger's mansion; Akane and Kazuya were clearly quite
amazed by it. I'm used to such places myself. Eventually, they went home,
but the rest of us lingered on, as usually happens after a group outing.
Roger clonked out in his chair fairly quickly after that, as did
Dorothy, leaving Natsuki and I awake on the veranda, sipping tea and talking
quietly.
"That was fun," I said.
"We should put them to bed," Natsuki said, so with Norman's help, we
hauled them off to their beds, then went back to the veranda.
"I think Dorothy must be one of us," Natsuki said. "Or something like
it."
"She could be like Miyu," I pointed out. "But she's definitely not
normal. I hope Akane's renewed Hime status isn't making trouble between her
and Kazuya."
Natsuki frowned. "I know. Most men would be happy their wife caught a
purse snatcher."
"Well, he was right. The man might have had a gun, though I expect she
could have handled it," I said. "Most men can't handle their wives being
tougher than they are, too."
"He's not that kind of guy," Natsuki said. "But I'm sure he does feel
frustrated he can't do more." She sighed. "I suspect if Roger does find
out about my powers he's more likely to ask me to hit people for him than
feel any angst over it." She laughed, and I smiled. Her smiling face is
best.
"He doesn't need a gun when he has Dorothy," I said. "Whatever exactly
their relationship is."
"They're like siblings," Natsuki said.
Is it just that? Sometimes they act like they're married. But then, so
do I and Natsuki.
I didn't expect to like Roger, but he has enough of Natsuki in him to
make him easy to tease. They both want so hard to be dignified, but it's so
easy to yank their chains and embarrass them. Neither Dorothy nor I can
resist.
And I think he loves her very much. But they're both hiding things from
each other and I can say that rarely ends well.
Still, if I have to lose her to a man, at least it is a man I can
respect. And envy.
"Perhaps I should seduce Dorothy so we can find out her secrets. And go
on double dates."
"I think she's only into men, and not all that strongly even there,"
Natsuki said.
I know Dorothy has had boyfriends, but not very many. All apparently
short, but highly passionate affairs. I have to admit she intrigues me with
her wit and her intellect.
"Perhaps we could use Reito as a proxy," I said.
"Just let her be," Natsuki said. "Seducing her to find out if she has a
tattoo would be rather skeezy."
"Oh, I wouldn't do it just for that," I said.
I could see Natsuki torn on what to say. I expect she would welcome it
if Dorothy and I became lovers. It would be the easy solution.
Life, however, rarely lets us take the easy solution.
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