[FFML] [Mai Hime, Future] The Summer of Her Discontent 3 -- The Fire That Purifies the Night

[John Biles]

The Summer of Her Discontent:
    The Fire Which Purifies The Night

By John Biles

Series:  Mai Hime (future)

Home Page: http://www.thekeep.org/~wombat/Stories/MaiHime/index.html

******************

Erica's Tale:

    Performances start at 4 and run until 10 PM; we went over in the morning
because each team was allowed one on-site final rehearsal to get used to
using the set up at Saint Mary's, where the contest would be held.

    We got ourselves ready, then just as Mr. K was about to click his
stopwatch and start us, we could hear the deep voice of Tech Lord chanting,
"Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth!" and waving his hands over the lightboard, with
Gin staring at him as if he was insane.

    "What the HELL are you doing?" Mr. K shouted.  "Fukuda-san, open me an
ice coffee."

    Fukuda, who looked very tense, did so.

    "Blessing it," Techlord said.

    "That brings BAD luck," Mr. K said.

    "You have your superstitions, I have mine," Tech Lord said.  "Okay, Gin,
work your MAGIC."

    I tried to ignore the fact that Koyabishi-san was watching us rehearse,
but it made me tense.  Looking at her made me jealous, NOT looking made me
suspect she was kissing Dan.  Even when it was physically impossible.  Mr. K
had sent her to the backrow to listen and make sure we were audible.

    "Alright, let's BEGIN!" Mr. K said, and clicked the stopwatch.  "Let the
play begin!"

    I stumbled a few times on lines I should have nailed by now and Dan
almost started laughing during the final seduction by the Brides scene.  Mr.
K and Fukuda were both severely jumpy.  And the itchiness issue was even
worse here than it had been at our school, though it still came and went.

    Finally, we came to the kiss scene, which I was stupidly jumpy over.  I
closed my eyes and pretended it was Dan, though I knew this was futile.

    I think I pretended too well, as Hayao tried to stop and I started to
continue, then caught myself and felt like just throwing myself off the
stage in aggravation with myself.  We said our final lines and wrapped
things up.

    "Well, we got through it with no injuries.  Fukuda-san," Mr. K said.

    "Yes, sir?"

    "If some fool hoses down the stage with fire extinguisher foam and
doesn't clean it, it's your job to kill them."

    He smiled.  "With pleasure."

    "Okay.  We're on second, at 4:50 PM.  That means you all are free to go
after our performance once we haul our stuff back to school in the van.
However, you may wish to come back at the end, in case you get an award, as
they give out first, second, and third place for leads and supporting
actors, in addition to best play performance overall."  We'd driven a van
full of our costumes, props, etc, though it's not that far a distance.  Too
far to carry it all by hand, though.  "Be back here by 3.  We won't need
that much time, but this way, if someone has problems, there's time to
deal.  Thanks to the Moon Goddess of Mercy that no one injured themselves,
despite Tech Lord trying to curse us all."

    "BLESS," Tech Lord said, grinning.  "I think we have the best costumes,
but those idiots here at Tokugawa...Shun reported they were trying to make a
functional fireplace again."

    Oh great.  Just great.  Maybe I can burn my idiocy in it.

    "Hey, are you okay?" Dan asked me afterwards as we were about to all go
change back to normal clothing.

    "I'm okay," I told him.  I'm not, but he's....dammit.

    "Okay," he said, and headed off to the men's dressing room.

    I sighed and went to change.

    Natasha came up to me once we'd both changed.  "Hey, you okay?"

    "I'm fine," I said.  "Just fine."

    Natasha looked at me dubiously.  "Really."

    "Go kiss your boyfriend or something," I said and stormed off like an
idiot.

    I went off, did some homework and got some quality moping in until it
was time to go back and get ready to perform.

**************

 Crystal's Tale:

    Junko and I had eventually headed home to go sleep after making out at
the dance; she'd said she'd come by today so she could meet my folks.

    Junko showed up in a fancy red dress that was pretty modest, short
sleeves, but it covered pretty much everything else from neck down to
ankles.  She wore red high heels with it, though I could see she wasn't all
that good at moving in them.  I just put on blue pumps and a blue dress that
shows off my cleavage just a touch, but was as long down to the ankles as
hers.  Short sleeved too.  And I put on my sapphire pendant; Junko was
wearing not just one but two silver crosses on silver chains and a moonstone
silver pendant.  We both had earrings on; she was wearing silver studs with
little crosses; I put on silver hoops which had several intertwined loops
like a braided rope.  She'd put up her hair in a bun with sticks and put on
glasses; my hair is too short to do a whole lot with it, though I ended up
letting her put a ribbon and bow in the back.

    "I see you're ready for werewolves and vampires," I teased her, toying
with her necklaces.

    "I hear there are vampires at Tokugawa today," she said, then laughed.

    We hung out until my parents showed up; we were seated on the couch,
watching TV when there was a knock on the door.  I went to the door and
answered.  I was more dressed up than my parents, though they weren't
totally slobbed out.  Aunt Mikoto was wearing a blue blouse and brown slacks
and Dad had on a red knit shirt and grey slacks.  Mom was wearing a blue
blouse also and a dark blue skirt down to her knees with black pumps.  She
had a golden necklace on with a dragon pendant with little ruby eyes.  That
made me grin.

    "Oh wow, you're all dressed up!" Mikoto said.

    "You look great, dear," Mom said, hugging me as they came in.

    "Junko, these are my parents, Tate Yuuichi, Tate Mai, and Minagi
Mikoto," I said to her.  "Mom, Dad, Aunt Mikoto, this is my girlfriend,
Nagiki Junko.  She's a Saint Mary's student."

    Junko came over and bowed formally.  "It's a pleasure to meet you."

    Aunt Mikoto studied Junko up and down, while Mother bowed back to her
with Father.  Aunt Mikoto then hastily bowed also.  "Nice to meet you,
Junko-san," Mom said, looking approving.  "How did you two meet?"

    "We've known each other a while by the student dances," Junko said.
"Also, I've become one of Kurauchi-sensei's students."

    "Oh wow, I didn't know she was taking on students now beyond the
family," Aunt Mikoto said.  "We'll have to spar some time, Junko-san."

    "I'd love to," Junko said.  "I'm kind of rusty."

    I got everyone some tea and we sat down at the table.  "So what do you
want to do for a living, Junko-san?" Mom asked.

    "Librarian," she said.

    She is very good at literature and pretty smart.  I didn't know that,
though.  "I'm still trying to figure it out."  Though I suspect my real
future job will be superheroine.  I can see why Mom's in consulting.  It
means she can just take the afternoon and go blow up a factory or kill
monsters if she has to.

    "I didn't know what I wanted at your age," Dad said to me.

    "I took lots and lots of different part-time jobs in part to figure out
what I wanted, but I was still thinking when I got to college," Mom said.

    "I knew what I wanted before they did!," Mikoto said proudly.  "I pretty
much decided to become a martial arts teacher once...once I got to high
school."

    I wondered what she had been about to actually say.

    "My brother...," Junko began, then paused.  "Will inherit the brewery,
most likely.  And I like to read, so I decided to be a librarian."

    "Isn't he younger than you?" I asked.

    "Yes, but he's a boy," Junko said.  "And I am not."

    Mom frowned.  "That's rather sexist of them."

    "I don't really want to run the brewery," Junko said, though her tone
made me think the actual answer was 'I decided to stop killing myself over
not inheriting a while back and I can't change it, so I'll say I don't
care.'

    I frowned.  "So you have to be a manly man among manly men to run a
brewery?"

    "Yes," Junko said, as if that was perfectly natural, which I just don't
get.

    "That's too bad," Father said.  "But then, letting the eldest
automatically inherit is also a stupid way to do things."

    Junko looked rather surprised by that.

    "People born to money tend to end up lazy and weak," Dad said.  "So,
Crystal, we're going to spend your inheritance on wild partying so you won't
be weak."  He laughed, showing he was joking.

    "I know Mom parties like a wild woman," I teased her.

    Mom laughed.

    "You should have seen the last karaoke party," Mikoto said, grinning.

    "It's probably best they didn't see that," Dad said quickly.

    Now I was curious.  "Did you all get drunk?"

    "Let's not talk about that," Mom mumbled.

    Junko smiled a little, but she said, "I understand you are in robotics,
Tate-san."

    "The business end.  I couldn't build a robot if my life depended on it,"
Dad said.

    Junko now engaged my folks in a long conversation about the robotics
business and other developments in the business world.  I could tell Aunt
Mikoto was just as bored out of her skull as I was, but she soon had my
parents spellbound.

    So I took Aunt Mikoto to one side.  "How are things at your dojo?"

    "Very good," Aunt Mikoto said.  "I've gotten them a lot more fired up
thanks to our new rivals.  I just wish I could come to your practice
sessions, but it's too far and I have to teach my students."

    "Well, we could probably spar later, given the play will be over before
dinner."

    "Oooh, good idea," Aunt Mikoto said.

    We talked fighting shop talk for a while until it was time for everyone
to meet.

*************

Kasumi's Tale:

    I'd arranged to meet Mother down at the Commons.  That way, Hayao could
bring his parents, Mother and Father and my brothers could join us there and
my brothers couldn't mess up anything in my dorm.

    Hayao's parents arrived first; his father, Masakuri Michinaga, was tall
and slender, wearing a nice blue suit; his mother, Masakuri Sayuri, wore a
tan suit-dress.  Seeing them was very strange, as I'd seen pictures of
Sayuri...as a teenager.  She seemed so old by comparison.

    I wished that I had dressed up fancier; I was wearing a green blouse and
a long green skirt and it wasn't bad, but Hayao was in a suit and I felt
underdressed.

    But Hayao's mother smiled at me brightly.  "It's so nice to meet you,
Kasumi.  I went to school with your mother."

    "I know," I told her.  "I've seen pictures of you doing karaoke with
Mother, in fact.  It's nice to meet you."

    Hayao's father studied me curiously as we all sat down to talk and wait
for my family.  He didn't seem to speak much, though.

    "My husband is a policeman, and I teach Japanese literature at Osaka
University," Hayao's mother said to me.

    "Oh wow, so you're Professor Masakuri," I said.

    "And Father is Lieutenant Masakuri," Hayao said.  "I'm not sure which
rank is higher."

    "Depends on which one of us is right at any given time," Hayao's father
said, then laughed.

    "I haven't seen your mother since I graduated," Hayao's mother said
excitedly.  "I'm really glad she and Kazuya-san are still together, though."

    "First love, first marriage, all still intact," I said.  "They're
lucky."

    Hayao's father grunted agreement.

    "Well, you two weren't first loves, but you are first marriage too,"
Hayao said to his folks.  "That's nothing to sneeze at."

    "I am quite lucky in that regard," Hayao's mother said, smiling.  "So,
does our boy have a big part or was he just bragging again?"

    "I don't brag," Hayao said, sounding frustrated.

    "He's Count Dracula, of course his part is big," I said proudly.

    "Where's Taiki-san?" Hayao's mother asked.

    "He's got baseball stuff," Hayao said; he sounded relieved.

    I certainly was.

    I now heard running feet and saw my brothers charging me, far ahead of
Mother and Father; Father was wearing slacks and a nice green knit shirt;
Mother was wearing a knee-length black skirt with yellow question marks all
over it and a yellow blouse with black question marks.  They were holding
hands; I noticed Hayao's mother took her husband's hand when she saw that.
It made me smile.

    I rose and as my brothers reached me, I grabbed one with each arm and
spun around as they yelled happily.  Then I put them down and watched them
stagger.  But they seemed to like staggering and were laughing happily.

    Hayao's father studied me curiously and his mother came over to them.
"Hello, I'm Masakuri Sayuri.  I went to school with your mother."

    "I'm Keiichi and he's Katsuhito," Keiichi said.  "Do you like big
robots?"  He sounded hopeful.

    "They're a huge pain in the a...back," Hayao's father grumbled.  "Always
causing trouble."

    "Mommy lets us ride her like a giant robot, but she can't transform,"
Katsuhito informed them.  "She can carry both of us at once now!"

    "Sayuri-san, it's so good to see you," Mother said.  "Who is this
handsome man you brought with you?"  Her voice was gently teasing.

    Hayao's mother smiled and his father laughed.  "The handsome man is our
son; I'm just her husband," he said.  He's not half as pretty as his son,
that's true.

    Looking at my parents and Hayao's, they didn't look like classmates; his
parents had aged normally.  I could see Hayao's father could tell too and
was surprised, but his mother either didn't notice or didn't care.

    Pretty soon, our mothers were deep in conversation, catching up, while
the fathers mostly just listened and Hayao and I tried to be respectable; I
think I made a good impression, though my parents pretty much took over the
spotlight until Hayao had to leave to get ready for the play and I ended up
showing his parents around campus while they chatted with mine.

****************

Dan's Tale:

    I hung out with Koyabishi-san until it was time to go back and get
ready.  More and more of our family flooded into campus and I had to
introduce her what felt like a thousand times.  Mom and Dad finally showed
up shortly before I would need to leave.

    Mom gave me a big hug and Dad said, "Ready to break a leg, son?"

    "Yeah," I told him.  "Mom, Dad, this is my girlfriend Koyabishi Sanae.
Sanae, this is my mom Midori and my Dad Sasaki."

    "Nice to meet you," she said, shaking their hands.  "Mom said she liked
you as a teacher, Midori-sensei."  She smiled brightly.

    "Oh hoh, I didn't know you were seeing someone," Mom said, grinning at
me.

    "It's new," I mumbled.

    "We just got together last night, but I've been helping him with the
play," Sanae said, taking my hand.

    "Her father is one of the biology teachers and her mother is Suzuki
Miya, who went to school at Fuuka when you were teaching there," I told Mom.

    "Oh, I remember her.  She was a good student," Mom said.  "And tall for
a woman."

    Sanae and I both tower over Mom and Dad.  I'm 184 cm tall and Sanae is
just a tiny touch shorter than me.  I'm taller even than Uncle Reito.  Mom
is only 157 and Dad is 168.  None of us are sure how I ended up so tall.
Sanae's taller than her parents too.

    "So your father teaches biology?" Dad asked.

    "And mom teaches chemistry at Saint Mary's," Sanae said.  "I've been
tutoring Dan in math some."

    "He needs it," Dad said flatly.

    "Sanae is very good at math and science.  She takes the senior level
biology course with her Dad, even though she's a freshman like me," I told
them.

    This definitely impressed them.

    "So are you going to go into science?" Dad asked.

    She nodded.  "That is my dream, though I haven't decided what specialty
yet."

    "Midori and I are both historians and archaeologists," Dad said.  "So
we're very proud of Dan's historical skills."

    "We're going to the Babylonian exhibit on Sunday," Sanae said.  "If
you'd like to come with us."

    "That would be great," Mom said.  "I keep meaning to go and things come
up."

    I'm not so sure I want my parents along on a date, but at least we
aren't going to have to hide this like Shun and Kagami.

*****************

Hayao's Tale:

    I had a sudden feeling of doom and couldn't figure out why.  I've felt a
little weird ever since about two weeks ago when I had this hideous
nightmare about being buried alive.  Now I suddenly felt, just for a moment,
like I was being shoved into a coffin and buried again.

    I looked around and saw four women; an older blonde, a platinum haired
one, a tall (for a woman) blonde with spikier hair, and...HER.  The nun (I
know now).  Yuuki Nao, psycho-bitch on patrol, aka 'Juliet'.  I would have
just run, except that I couldn't just run with my parents, Kasumi's parents,
and Kasumi here.  The back of my left hand was itching like crazy, which
didn't help either.  I have a birthmark there that vaguely resembles a crab
and when I get tense, it tends to itch or ache.

    The four of them were striding purposefully towards us; none of them
were dressed like nuns, but from what I have heard from Kasumi, I think that
must be the bitch's sisters, who are also nuns.  They sure don't look much
like each other for sisters, though.

    The platinum-haired one was looking at me like she was going to nail me
to a wall and then use me for knife-throwing practice.  The bitch looked
ready to just gut me like a trout.  The taller but younger blonde was
frowning at me.  The older, short haired blonde just looked curious.

    Kasumi, on the other hand, was now smiling brightly at them and when
they turned to her, they all smiled brightly, except the platinum haired
one, who looked like she wanted to smile but only knew what smiles were from
reading about them in books.  It looked fake, but sincere at the same time.
Like someone who wanted to smile and didn't know how.

    "Sister Yukariko, Nao, Alyssa, Miyu, hi hi hi!" Mom said cheerfully.
"It's so good to see you all!  It's like a school reunion today!"

    Nao strode over to Mom and clapped her shoulder cheerfully.  "Hello,
sempai.  Going to introduce me to your sugardaddy?"

    Mom laughed.  "This is my dear husband Masakuri Michinaga.  Honey, this
is Yuuki Nao; she was two years behind me at Fuuka but we had mutual
friends."

    She knows my mother.  SHE KNOWS MY MOTHER.  It's a good thing I don't
carry a knife or I think I would have killed myself.

    "It's nice to meet you; I've heard a few stories and seen a few
pictures, but that's no match for meeting real people," Dad said.

    "I knew Sayuri-sempai would end up with a good guy," Nao said.  "It's
nice to meet you too.  I haven't seen sempai in a million years."

    The platinum haired one and the tall blonde both stared at me; the
former looked a little murderous and the latter just looked dubious.  The
older blonde said to Mom, "It's nice to see you again, Sayuri-san."

    Kasumi now hugged the platinum haired one very tightly.  "Hello, Aunt
Miyu.  How are you?"

    She smiled that weird pseudo-smile at Kasumi.  "It's very nice to see
you.  Your mother says your training is going well."

    Kasumi rested her head on Miyu's shoulder.  "Yes.  I had to give up
track, though."  She sighed.

    "That is a pity; it's good physical conditioning for you and has made
you very healthy," Miyu said.  "However, your coach had too many students to
give you the attention you needed, so this is probably for the best.  You
should keep running to practice, though.  Speed can be very useful."  She
glanced over at the tall blonde.

    The tall blonde said defensively, "I am an intellectual; my time is
spent developing my powerful brain."

    "I'm doing my best, Auntie," Kasumi said intensely.  "You should come
see us practice some time."

    "I will," Miyu said.

    Kasumi then hugged the other three women; the tall  blonde was Alyssa
and the older one was Sister Yukariko, who was apparently Alyssa's mother
and had been Miyu's guardian.  I'm not sure how the bitch fit into that.  It
was pretty clear she'd poisoned the others against me, except Sister
Yukariko, who seems to like everyone.

    "Nao, this is my son Hayao," Mom said to her.

    "We've met," Nao said crisply, gazing at me with eyes that promised my
imminent death, her head turned enough Mom couldn't see this.  "I'm sure
he'll take good care of Kasumi so Mother Nature doesn't turn her wrath on
him again."

    Mom said, "Mother Nature?"

    Kasumi put her hands on her hips.  "Aunt Nao!"

    "The bee incident," I told Mom.  She knew about the bees, just not why
or how I ended up in the middle of them. Fortunately, I have no bee
allergies or I would be a mess.

    Sister Yukariko said, "May I borrow your son for just a minute?"

    "Sure," Mom said, and now Sister Yukariko led me off.

    "Are you going to hang from a tree for seven days like your god?" I
asked nervously.

    "It was a cross and it was only a few hours before he died and was
buried, then rose again in three days," Sister Yukariko said.  "I think you
are thinking of Odin."

    Could be; I know little of Western religion beyond what you see in
anime.  "Is this the 'hurt Kasumi and die' lecture?"

    "I'll let Miyu and Nao handle that, though yes, if you hurt Kasumi I
probably won't be able to stop them from making you wish to go back to the
bees," Sister Yukariko said.

    "The...she seduced ME," I said angrily.

    "You were quite eager to be seduced," Sister Yukariko said.  "Look,
Kasumi is a very innocent girl and everyone is very protective of her.  I
was very much like her at her age and even into my early twenties.  Maybe
even moreso, as I'd never had a boyfriend or even been kissed until I was
twenty-four."

    "Well, you are a nun," I said.  I'm pretty sure they're supposed to be
celibate.  Which didn't stop the bitch...but then again, maybe pretending to
NOT be celibate to lure the innocent into traps is okay in their opinion.

    "I didn't become a full sister until I graduated from college, though,"
Sister Yukariko said.  "And then I fell in love with a very charming,
handsome man."

    "I guess it didn't work out, since you're still a nun."

    "I am not a normal nun," she told me.  "My old order expelled me, but
the Magdalenes took me in because of my special talents.  I eventually
married him but we went through a very rough period because I was young and
naive and couldn't help doing whatever would make him happy and he was very
keenly aware of his power over women," she continued.  "We both had to
change before we could know what real love is like.  And you remind me of
him as he was when I met him."

    I grimaced.  "You people don't even know me and you all want to judge
me."

    "I hope things will go well for you and Kasumi.  But please, I just ask
that you take this seriously and don't exploit her love for you.  You are
right, I don't know you.  But I know Kasumi and so do a lot of other
people.  If you want us to know you, you're going to have to show us you're
not what we're afraid of."

    At least Kasumi's parents gave me the benefit of the doubt.  I hadn't
realized half the universe thinks I am made out of evil, apparently.  "And
you're going to have stop treating me like shit."

    Sister Yukariko sighed and stared at the ground.  "Don't you have family
you're protective of?"

    "I don't have any siblings; Mom had to take fertility drugs just to
produce me," I said angrily.  Then I softened a little.  "But I am kind of
protective of Sanae.  Mandi's tough enough to handle anything, but Sanae's
all brains and no brawn.  But I'm not getting all in Dan's face over them
dating."  Even if I think she could do a lot better than the human doormat.
He won't even defend himself; how is he going to protect her?

    "When you love someone, you want them to be safe.  And we all love
Kasumi," Sister Yukariko said.  "I know we are very protective of her, but
our family is like that.  Anyway, I'm not here to hate you; I married a very
charming man like yourself, after all."

    That made me feel a little better.  "I have no intention of hurting
Kasumi," I told her.  "But if everyone pours hate in her ears, it's not
going to help us."

    "I know, I know.  I had a long fight with my daughters over marrying
Wateru."  Sister Yukariko said.

    She and all of Kasumi's family are so weirdly young looking.  Mom is the
same age as Kasumi's mother, but Kasumi's mother looks maybe 25 at most.
Sister Yukariko looks a touch older than Kasumi's mother, but she ought to
be in her late forties, I think.

    "Miyu and Alyssa?" I asked.

    "Yes.  Of course, they're both adopted, but we are family now," Yukariko
said.  "So your mother had to use fertility drugs?"

    "Sanae, Mandi, and I were all born thanks to some stuff made by Curie
Pharmaceuticals.  I won't pretend I know the full details," I told her.  "So
we're all only children and we pretty much regard each other as siblings."

    "That's very sweet," Sister Yukariko said, clearly sympathetic, which
made me feel a little better.  "Anyway, that's everything.  Let's go back to
the others," she said.

    "Wait, how old are you?" I asked.

    "Forty-seven," she said.

    "You don't look forty-seven," I said.

    "God's love sustains me," she said.

    Somehow I doubt that.  On the other hand, all of Kasumi's relatives who
are older than us don't look their ages.

    We went back and I deliberately kissed Kasumi just to make her aunts
squirm.  I'm not letting the worst nuns in the world tell me what to do.  At
least Kasumi's mother and father seem to be friendly.  But as I understand
it, they both defied their parents to get married, so they don't have much
room to complain.

    At least I don't have to put up with Crystal's parents, who I expect
probably ARE made of pure evil, though Mom seems to have fond memories of
them.

    I fended off the evil nun brigade until finally, I had an excuse to
leave and go get ready for the play.  Kasumi was sorry to see me go, but I
have to confess I wasn't sorry to get away from her kin.

*****************

Erica's Tale:

    I thought I was going to evade my parents, but to my surprise, they were
waiting for me at Tokugawa when I got there to suit up.  I was engulfed in
hug before I could say anything.

    "I hear you've been moping," Aoi-Mom said.

    "I have not been moping," I protested.

    "Serious moping, probably over a boy.  Or a girl.  Or maybe both?"
Chie-Mom teased.

    "I am not moping over a boy at all," I said.  "I am just nervous because
I want the play to go well."

    "You're so cute when you mope," Aoi-Mom said cheerfully.

    I folded my arms across my chest and tried to pretend they didn't
exist.  This is hard to do when you are being hugged.

    "So mopey," Chie-Mom said cheerfully.

    "So who is it?" Aoi-Mom asked.

    "No one!  I am not in love with anyone!  Love is stupid!"  I tried to
storm off, but you can't do that either when you're being hugged.

    "You must really have it bad if you're at the phase of shouting that
love is stupid," Aoi-Mom said.

    "And making fun of me doesn't help!"  I finally got loose and stormed
off into the dressing room.

    Natasha, Mandi, and Koyabishi-san came in while I was trying to get the
fancy underwear on.  Natasha came over and helped me with the corset.  "You
should have seen Kasumi at the dance," Mandi said.  "I can't believe Hotaru
talked her into wearing that more than once.  Mind you, she looked great."

    I made non-committal mumbly noises as I didn't give a damn one way or
another.  Other than vague annoyance at the entire male half of the
species.

    "You okay?" Natasha whispered to me.

    "I am totally fine," I said.  "I wish everyone would quit asking me if I
am okay.  I am just fine and have no reason not to be fine."

    "Aunt Chie said you're pouting over a boy," Natasha said.

    Why is there never a monster attack when you need one?

    Not that I really wanted one but anything would be better than this.  "I
am not pouting over a boy.  I am just a little nervous over performing in
front of so many people and my entire gigantic family, most of whom I've
only known for two weeks."

    "You are great," Mandi said.  "You're going to knock them all dead.
Possibly including Mr. K if he doesn't stop drinking so much coffee, but
that's his own fault."

    "He will probably fall asleep during the performance, as he can't drink
during the plays and at this point he usually has his total crash once he
stops using stimulants," Koyatsu-san said.  "That's my experience of him.
He lasted 4 minutes into our performance, then passed out last year."

    I laughed; that made me feel a little better.

    "Also, we're early and Greenwood won't screw up the stage," Koyatsu-san
said.  "They're on first, at four."

    "Are they any good?"

    "From what I've heard, their glory days were back in the 80s, when our
parents weren't even born yet," Koyatsu-san said.  "They're an all-guy
school, so I assume that half of them will be in bad drag."

    "What is good drag?" Mandi asked curiously.

    "Tokiha-san is good drag," Koyatsu-san said.  "Good drag is where you
can't tell it's not real.  Bad drag is where your eyesockets catch fire.
Koyabishi-san could probably do a pretty good reverse-drag if she wanted
to."

    "She is kind of flat and tall," Mandi said.  "Oh, I don't know if you
know, Koyatsu-san, but she and Dan are dating now."

    "Good for them.  He needs someone to knock some sense in his head and
get him to stop just drifting," Koyatsu-san said, finishing dressing up.

    I tried to grind my teeth subtly.  Stupid woman.  I would have stormed
out but I had nowhere to go, so I got stuck listening to them speculate
about Dan and Koyabishi-san's future while I contemplated ways to go deaf.

****************

Dan's Tale:

    Fukuda-san was there, trying to suit up by himself when I arrived, so I
helped him get his hump in place.  He seemed to resent this, but said,
"Thank you."

    "You're welcome," I told him.  "It really looks great."

    "Thank you," he said again, though he seemed to resent thanking me.  I
don't think he likes me very much.  "I'm going to go get ready."  He headed
out and a few seconds later, when I was stripped to my underwear, Hayao came
in.

    He started stripping and said, "Look, Dan..."

    "Hmm?" I asked, working on getting my suit on.  It's not really that
much different from the one I own, so this was easy.

    "Look, I had this whole big lecture planned, but I'd be a hypocrite
after getting roasted alive by your family and it pissing me off."  He
grimaced at his pants as he put them on.  "I'm sure you hate Taiki and you
probably don't like me much, but just please be good to Sanae.  That's all.
She's the most sensible person I know and she really likes you.  And her
being happy is really important to me."

    I laughed nervously as I put my shirt on.  "I don't blame her for
anything.  I don't have much experience, but I intend to do my best," I told
him.

    "Thank you.  Whatever crap gets poured on me, she doesn't deserve to get
tainted with my brush," he said, starting on his own shirt.

    "Of course not," I said.

    That seemed to relieve him.  "Now I just have to calm down so I can act
without screaming."

    "Think of the most boring thing in the universe.  Focus on it entirely.
Let it lull you," I told him.  "I usually think about poetry."

    He laughed.  "Worth a try."

    We finished getting dressed, then went out to see Mr. K and get ready.

    We got to watch Greenwood's play; they did Lysistrata.  Much as I know
the Greek original would have been all male actors, it just doesn't work
very well when you know everyone in it is a guy.  Though one of the guys
playing a woman was actually pretty good at faking it, like Shun.

    Their set was very minimalist and only involved the platform pieces.
(There are standard set pieces for this—clamps, walls, and platforms.)
Their costumes were actually pretty good; I have to wonder how they did the
helmets.  Overall, though, I'm pretty sure we can beat them.  Especially as
they didn't manage their cuts well, so their play ended up more as
'highlights of Lysistrata'.

     They finally finished and cleared their set and then our scramble
began.  We have a limited time to set up and clear our sets; any longer than
that and it comes out of our time to perform.  Which can hose you.

    Fortunately, our techs and we have drilled and we can set everything up
quickly.  We then launched into our performance.

    Mr. K clonked out about fifteen minutes in, but we pressed on.  Erica
was seriously tense, and trying to act past it, but I think people could
tell.  But this seemed to make her more tense, as I expect she didn't want
to mess everything up by being tense.

    "Anything I can do to make you feel better?" I whispered to her as we
waited off stage at one point.

    "No," she said.

    I didn't know what to say to that.

    I could see our family whenever we were performing.  Mandi and Hayao's
parents were clumped together with Crystal and her parents and Junko and
Aunt Chie and Aunt Aoi and Aunt Akane and Uncle Kazuya and Kasumi and the
boys.  I could see Kasumi twitching but trying not to every time Erica and
Hayao did anything vaguely romantic on stage; it was pretty funny to watch
her try to not freak or react.  Everyone else was fanned out around them.  I
noticed Gin's parents hadn't come, and I wondered why.  I noticed Aunt
Natsuki, Aunt Shizuru, Mr. Smith and Ms. Waynewright were all sitting
together.  Sanae sat with my parents.

    Hayao looked extremely tense every time he came off stage but was
totally relaxed on, so I snuck over to him.  "Erica is pretty unhappy.  If
there is anything you can tell her to help her relax on stage, it would be
good."

    He went over and whispered to her for a while.  It seemed to help some
if not as much as I hoped.

    The play went very smoothly and though I'd had some itching in the dress
rehearsal, no itching during the performance, thank you, gods and spirits.
During my final seduction scene, I held it together; I think Mandi was
actually a little disappointed by that.

    Erica finally pulled it together and totally slamdunked her final scene;
the glasses tossing manuever provoked a wave of applause which woke up Mr.
K, who started applauding without even knowing why.

    Greenwood had gotten some applause at their end, but we got a lot more.
Mind you, we brought our own giant cheering section.

    We went and changed and then met the families in a giant tide outside
the backstage doors.  Mr. K told us all to come back much later when it was
awards time, but we could go off with our families until then.  I got to
meet Fukuda-san's parents briefly; they're both lawyers, but they seemed
very proud of his skills and lavished praise on him and on the rest of us.

    It had been decided to have a giant feast at Aunt Haruka's, then the
parents would bring us back to campus and Aunt Chie and Aunt Aoi would drive
us around to Tokugawa for the awards.  Hayao's parents got invited to come
too, along with Mandi and Sanae and Hayao.

    I think we all had a good time...well, most of us.  Erica was still
moping and I think Hayao would have preferred to just hide under his bed,
though Kasumi and Aunt Akane and Uncle Kazuya all treated him well.  And
everyone I introduced her to seemed happy to meet Sanae and were nice to
her, for which I was glad.

    Sanae, Mandi and Hayao's parents seemed utterly boggled by how wealthy
Aunt Haruka and Aunt Yukino are; I tend to forget myself, even coming over
here.  You just get used to it, I guess.  So watching them boggle was kind
of amusing and I could tell Aunt Haruka enjoyed showing off.

    Aunt Natsuki took Erica and Sanae and myself off for a lesson; more
precisely, she showed Sanae how to shoot and we all practiced, then we did
motorcycles and Sanae just watched, which she seemed to enjoy.

    This seemed to cheer Erica up, at least enough to be only a little
pouty.

    I just wish I could do something to help her, but I'm no good at this
sort of thing.

    So I just tried to act natural and avoid poking at her wounds.

**************

Natasha's Tale:

    I'd brought Gin with me to meet everyone but also so he could deliver
the painting he'd done.  He has another project but it wasn't quite
finished, due to the play.  I'd hoped his parents would come to the play,
but they were sick.  But I rounded up Mom, Shun, Kagami, Aunt Akira, Uncle
Takumi, and Sanae, since she'd posed for it too.  Which meant also Dan and
his parents.

    It showed Aunt Akira in her slinky red dress leaning over a piano and
singing as Uncle Takumi played the piano; the whole setting and Uncle
Takumi's clothing were chosen to give a kind of 1930s vibe to it.

    Uncle Takumi stared in surprise and Aunt Akira looked approving, though
she listed a dozen places for improvement.  However, she now took him aside
and gave him a new project and told everyone, "I am very pleased.  This will
go up in our living room."

    Gin looked extremely happy.  "Really?"

    "Congratulations, Houseki-san," Aunt Midori said.  "Akira is very picky
with her art."

    "I'm kind of jealous, actually," Dan's father said.

    "Well, I'd be happy to do one of you two.  Just give me some photos and
Natasha can help me figure out a theme."

    Once everyone had seen the painting, he was besieged with commission
requests.  He seemed quite surprised and I was extremely happy.  Gin has a
real talent and seeing him get some recognition and goodwill from the family
made me extremely pleased.  Especially compared to our nun aunts, who had
apparently decided to barbeque Hayao and only held back to have more time to
compare recipies for roasting him.

    I felt kind of sorry for him and Kasumi.

    But I wasn't going to stick my head in the fire when things were going
so well for Gin and I today.


***************

Crystal's Tale:

    Junko and I were milling around the family gathering in Aunt Haruka's
gardens when Junko asked me, "Is Kurauchi-sensei's spouse here?"

    "Yes, and their boys too, along with Kasumi," I said.

    It took a little bit of searching, but eventually, we found Aunt Akira,
Uncle Takumi, Uncle Kazuya, and Aunt Akane arguing about some international
soccer competition.  More precisely, Uncle Takumi was arguing on behalf of
Mexico kicking everyone's ass, while Uncle Kazuya tried to argue Japan had a
chance and Aunt Akane and Aunt Akira tried to pretend they cared AT ALL.

    Time to rescue my aunts.  I walked up with Junko.  "Everyone, this is my
girlfriend, Nagiki Junko.  Junko, this is my Aunt Tokiha Akira, Uncle Tokiha
Takumi and Aunt Akane's husband, Kurauchi Kazuya."

    I now noticed Junko was staring at Uncle Kazuya with a look of utter
surprise.  I studied him, but he wasn't wearing anything odd, he hadn't
spilled anything on himself...really, he looked totally normal.  After a few
seconds, she forced herself to look more normal.  "It's a pleasure to meet
you all."

    "Junko has been studying under me with Crystal, Shun, and Kagami," Aunt
Akane said very proudly.  "She works very hard and is very good."

    Junko looked a little embarrassed.  "Thank you, sensei."

    "It's nice to meet you," Uncle Kazuya said, shaking her hand, though he
studied her curiously.  She's slightly taller than he is, though it's only
obvious this close together.

    Uncle Takumi shook her hand as well.  "Nice to meet you, Junko-san," he
said.  "Crystal's mother is my sister."

    Junko bowed to him.  "It's a pleasure to meet you, Tokiha-san."

    Why does he get a bow and not Uncle Kazuya?  I glanced at Uncle Kazuya,
but he didn't seem to care.

    "Have you figured out what you want to do in the future yet?" Uncle
Kazuya asked.

    "Librarian," Junko said.  "Though these days, a lot of what librarians
do has as much or more to do with computers as books.  Or e-books for that
matter, so I'm planning to get into computer science as well."

    "Smart," Uncle Kazuya said.

    Aunt Akira seemed about to say something, but instead said, "Given
Natsuki's working with her students, we should probably give ours a lesson
too."

    "Surely you can give them a break this once," Uncle Kazuya said.

    "Oh, it's fine," I said.  "Except I can't exactly fight in this dress."

    Junko said, "I didn't bring my swords, either.  And I'm in a dress too."

    "There you go," Uncle Kazuya said.

    "But I hardly ever get to come and see their progress," Aunt Akira said,
looking over at Aunt Akane.

    "If there has to be a lesson, then I am going to teach it," Uncle Kazuya
said.

    I stared at him in confusion.  What?

    He pulled Aunt Akane around to face him, putting one hand on her
shoulder, the other at her side; she smiled and matched him.  Then then
began to glide around through a series of moves, spinning her around in
place and around himself, sometimes moving side by side, sometimes her
gliding backwards with him moving forwards facing her.

    Uncle Takumi grinned and took Aunt Akira and began doing the same
thing.  It looked very graceful.  I think this was a waltz, but I wouldn't
swear in a court of law.

    Uncle Kazuya then came over and got Junko and I into position, though we
collided when we both tried to lead, which made him laugh.  Pretty soon,
though, we were circling several tables and benches with our aunts and
uncles.  It would be easier with actual music.

    To my surprise, waltz music now began to play and Aunt Haruka came up
and began waltzing with Aunt Yukino, who looked very happy.

    More and more people joined us and soon we were all swirling through the
gardens in a great mob of dancing couples.  Uncle Kazuya looked extremely
happy, as did Aunt Akane.

    I saw Aunt Nao dancing with Hayao's father; part of me is curious to see
if he's as bad as his son, but given how much Aunt Nao was smiling, I guess
not.  I had decided to avoid Hayao today to avoid anything that might
somehow wreck things for the play after all the work Erica, Dan, Natasha,
and Gin have sunk into it.

    I could see Gin and Natasha dancing; to my surprise, Gin was very good.
He just doesn't seem very coordinated to me, but it was clear he's known
this stuff a while.

    I do enjoy sparring, but this was pretty cool.  Good move, Uncle, I
thought.

    Junko was quite clearly enjoying herself, dancing up a storm; she is
good at picking up this kind of thing, I think.

    I then chased him down and got him to teach us some more moves.  I never
realized he was this good at dancing; I guess I don't know Uncle Kazuya as
well as I know some of my kin.  He clearly enjoyed teaching us too.

    Aunt Akira enjoyed the dancing, I could tell, but looked a little
frustrated.  Sorry, Auntie, you can come kick our ass tomorrow.

****************

Akira's Art:

    I wanted to call everyone together to discuss the situation with the
children, but unfortunately, with Sayuri and her husband and her son and
Sanae and Gin here as well, I could not easily assemble everyone.

    It would be hard to explain us all running off and having a meeting with
out them, even leaving the kids with them.

    So I circulated, quietly feeling people out.  Nao, Yukariko, Alyssa, and
Miyu all favor telling the Children very strongly, given Akane and I's
suspicions.  Midori and Professor Sasaki agree, though it's not quite as
urgent for them, given Dan's less likely to end up with powers -  though
given that Mr. Smith is a major suspect for a potential powers person, we
can't take that as a given.  I am hoping for Shun to get them, as it's too
late for him to stay out of this, given his and Kagami's relationship.
Which has probably gone too far or will soon, given how they keep touching
each other all the time.

    But I can ruminate on encouraging self-control in them later.  Back on
topic.

    Haruka says yes.  Yukino seems reluctant.  Shizuru...I can understand
why Shizuru doesn't want to tell everything.  Natsuki is for revelation.  So
is Mikoto.  Yuuichi will simply agree with whatever Mai says, and Mai is
still opposed.  She's clinging to normality desperately, and so is Kazuya.
But that ship is sinking.  Chie wants to tell desperately and will likely
blab soon just because she is great at finding out secrets but must then
brag to the entire universe.  Aoi is reluctant to lay the burden on them
unless it can't be helped.  Though I don't think she likes lying to Erica.
Reito seems rather torn.  Shiho is still pretty strongly opposed to telling
until forced.  Though I can understand why.  It's easy for Akane and I, who
have nothing to be ashamed of.  But we don't have to tell absolutely
everything, just enough that they know not to throw themselves on easily
avoidable bombs that they don't know exist.

    With Akane and I having changed our minds, we have a large majority for
revelation at this point.  Mai is likely to be stubborn, but assuming
everyone doesn't cave in, we can likely persuade her.  Especially if we can
show the kids are starting to become Hime and thus need to know more.  I
wish we didn't have to burden them, but who knows what kind of trouble they
may get into trying to find out the truth.

    Miyu agreed to come to tomorrow's practice; she can use her abilities to
check and see if the kids are tapping into Hime energies while they fight.
That should be enough for us to get Mai to see reason.  And the others, I
hope.

    I also rounded up Aoi, Chie, Takumi, Akane, and Kazuya.  "Would it be
possible for us to stay overnight at your house, Chie and Aoi?" I asked.
"I'd like to go ambush Kagami tonight and if Akane and I are going to give
them a lesson tomorrow, we can save a lot of money by not driving home just
to come back again the next day."

    "Oh, that would fun," Aoi said.  "We could put the boys in Erica's room,
one couple could take the guest room and the other the sofa bed.  Or maybe
the boys should go on the sofa bed."

    "I can help you ambush them," Akane said, smiling.

    I'm not sure if she's sneaky enough to do that well, but it's best she
learn.

    "Fine by me," Takumi said.  "I wasn't looking forwards to the drive
home, really."

    Kazuya started to say something, frowned, then said, "Okay."  It was
clear he would rather go home.

    "If you'd rather go home, Kazuya, I can drive Akane home tomorrow if you
don't mind taking Takumi home," I said to him.

    He gave me an odd look and I couldn't quite figure out what he was
thinking.

    "The boys had better go on the sofa bed so they can't mess up anything
in Erica's room.  Akane and I will take the guest room," he said.  He nudged
Akane.

    Akane looked at him, then made a naughty smile.  "Yes, please."

    Chie grinned, while Aoi blinked, then laughed.  I could see Takumi
smiling a little.

    For a moment, I couldn't understand, then it hit me and I felt like an
idiot.  "That's fine," I said.  Akane's probably too worn out most nights
after a long drive, I thought.  Makes sense.

    We sealed our plans and I began figuring out how best to ambush them.

****************

Natasha's Tale:

    We had a good time at Aunt Haruka's then everyone got sent back to
campus.  Aunt Aoi and Aunt Chie got one of the school vans to drive us all
over to Tokugawa.  (For the value of us which is myself, Gin, Dan, Erica,
Kasumi, Hayao, Sanae, Mandi, Junko, Crystal, Shun, and Kagami.)   Aunt Akane
and Uncle Kazuya and Aunt Akira and Uncle Takumi and the boys all went to
Aunt Aoi and Aunt Chie's house; they wanted to save gas since they'd be
coming to train us tomorrow.  Which made good sense.

    Sanae and Dan were too cute; he gets flustered every time she touches
him and she loves to touch him.  They were holding hands so sweetly.

    We got there early and watched Tokugawa do its version of the play our
three schools were sharing. Well, we watched them do OUR version of the
play, but with fancier versions of our costumes; it looked like they had
more money to spend. That was kinda annoying, I mean to me, but Erica,
Fukuda-san, and Mr. K really went off the deep end about it. They did have
to modify the women's vampire costumes since all of them were guys; that
made all the romantic stuff really funny.  Also, they had a fireplace.  I
wonder if their director is a pyromaniac or something.  It didn't set the
stage on fire, thankfully.

    The judges met and we sat around for a while, while many of our people
groused endlessly about Tokugawa.  Then it was time for the awards.

    The lead judge announced the awards; he was Dr. Kunakada from Osaka
University, a sixty-year old drama professor.  They announced the awards in
reverse order.  "Honorable Mentions to three outstanding young ladies for
the Best Lead Actress," he said.  "Tomimori Katsumi of Saint Martha's
Academy for her portrayal of Lady Macbeth in Macbeth," he began.

    "Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth!," Tech Lord crowed, causing people to stare
at him and Mr. K to cringe.

    "Hososugi Izumi of Torio High School for her portrayal of Fukuoka Mariko
in The Shattered Ricebowl," he continued.  "And Harada Erica of Rosewood
Academy for her portrayal of Evelyn Blake in Sad Dracula in Snow."

    Erica's eyes widened and her mothers began cheering wildly, followed by
the rest of the family going crazy.  She and the other two girls went down
and got their award, which was basically a computer printout on fancy paper,
but hey, it's an award, right?

    Erica came back with a very bright smile on her face and Mr. K said,
"Excellent job, Harada-san," which made her smile even more.

    "We have given the third place award to Yoshiro Akiko of Saint Mary's
for her portrayal of Evelyn Blake in Sad Dracula in Snow," Dr. Kunakada
continued.

    "Dammit, I got beaten by someone from Saint Mary's," Erica grumbled,
irritated.

    Yoshiro-san went down and got her award, still in a fancy Victorian
dress.  I wish I'd gotten to see her performance, as I was curious if she
was really better than Erica, though Erica had apparently decided this
couldn't be the case without needing to actually, you know, see it.

    The other winners were people doing plays I didn't see and didn't care
about.  I was surprised that Osaka Science Academy scored the number one
with a performance of Juliet from Romeo and Juliet.

     Best Lead Actor was next.

    "Honorable mentions go to Hayashi Katsuo of Tokugawa Memorial for his
portrayal of Robert Barker in Sad Dracula in Snow, Yamamoto Fred of Osaka
Science  Academy for his portrayal of Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, and
Takahashi Masaki for his portrayal of Timon of Athens in Timon of Athens,"
Dr. Kunakada said.

    They all went down to get their award, looking very happy while Mr. K
grimaced and Shun and Fukuda-san patted his shoulder.

    "Third place goes to Suguira Dan for his portrayal of Robert Barker in
Sad Dracula in Snow," Dr. Kunakada said.

    For a moment, Dan sat there, looking confused and then Sanae embraced
him tightly and he turned red.  I slapped him on the back.  "Go down and get
your award!"  Then our whole family went crazy cheering and he stumbled
down, looking like he came from another planet and didn't know what these
strange earthpeople wanted.

    Mr. K cheered wildly.  "Hah!  Way to sock it to them, Suguira-san!"

    I noticed Fukuda-san didn't seem too happy about this.  What a resentful
idiot.

    Aunt Aoi and Aunt Chie now jumped for some reason.  I don't know why,
though I had another burst of itching myself.

    "Something wrong?" I asked them.

    "Nothing," Aunt Chie said, though now she was frowning for some reason.


    Well, I was going to revel in Dan's good luck even if they both just got
bit by ants or something.

    Best Supporting Male Actor came up next.  No one I care about got an
honorable mention, though I was fairly stunned to see someone from Tsunami
High School get an honorable mention for playing Paddington Bear.  I had
some of those books as a kid, part of Mom's efforts to ensure I didn't suck
ass at English, unlike most kids in this country.  They were pretty
enjoyable, but...a high school play about Paddington Bear?  Come on.  That
would be fine if we were in SECOND GRADE.

    Third place went to some guy from Osaka Science Academy playing Mercutio
in Romeo and Juliet.  He was still in costume and I have to say he was kind
of hot, though I wouldn't say it out loud as my boyfriend was right here.
We're both allowed to look as long as we keep our mouths shut.

    I'm better at that than he is, though.  HAH!

    Anyway, second place!  "The second place goes to Masakuri Hayao for his
portrayal of Count Dracula in Sad Dracula in Snow," Dr. Kunakada said.

    Kasumi let out a shout I didn't think her capable of, then kissed Hayao,
while Mr. K went crazy.  Hayao looked like the cat who ate the canary and
the mynah bird and then had all the pet fish for dessert.  We all went crazy
for him, even Crystal, though she quickly stopped herself and slapped her
forehead and pouted.  This made me laugh hysterically.  Fukuda cheered
loudly, but then started pouting after that.  I guess he was hoping to win
in this category, but he really was just a walking joke more than a
character.  But so was I.  I had no delusion I was getting anything.

    Other than more itching.

     Hayao walked down like he was being crowned King of the Universe and
got a lot of cheers from women from other schools which made Kasumi scowl,
though she got her smile back when he got the award and said, "I couldn't
have done this without the support of my girlfriend, Kurauchi Kasumi, and my
director, Mr. K."  Mr. K looked extremely pleased, especially since Dan had
been basically incoherent when getting his award.

    We were all a lot less happy when Kato Shinji of Tokugawa Memorial got
the first place as Dracula, though.  I didn't think he was half as good as
Hayao, though he did have a very nice, expensive costume. Indeed, Tokugawa
had pretty much totally copied our costumes as much as possible, but with
more money.

    I didn't get a supporting actress award, but I didn't seriously expect
to.  I wasn't so much acting as being myself in a sexy vampiress outfit on
stage.  Miyake Kohaku of Saint Mary's did get an honorable mention in my
role, and while I didn't see her perform, she looked pretty hot, so I could
be content.  But really, my character was a set of jokes more than a person,
so I wasn't offended.  I just did this for fun, especially watching Dan come
totally unglued, which is always good for a laugh.

    To my surprise, we got an honorable mention for lighting, which made
Tech Lord, Gin and the rest of our tech people very happy. He went down and
got it for all of them, then started ranting "Macbeth!" until they forced
him to sit down with him laughing his ass off.  I think Mr. K couldn't
decide whether to be proud or embarrassed that time.

    Tokugawa scored a second place for set design; their fireplace was
really impressive, I had to admit; I guess they kept practicing after last
year's disaster.  Mind you, I suspect they performed last because of fears
they'd set themselves on fire AGAIN.

    We got a rock.

    But we'd gone for 'sturdy' over 'innovative' or 'even slight risk of
falling down'.

    We got an honorable mention for Best Overall, which was the category
that determines who goes to the next level of competition.  We cheered that,
as it was better than most of us had really expected, given the
circumstances.

    "And Third Place, who will be going with Second and First to the
Regional contest, goes to Tokugawa Memorial's production of Sad Dracula in
Snow," Dr. Kunakada said, sounding faintly baffled.

    Tokugawa's people went crazy and we all grimaced.  I felt my arms itch
again and wondered if stress was causing it.  DAMMIT.  They just ripped us
off!!!  And their vampire women were TOTALLY NOT SEXY.  BECAUSE THEY WERE
NOT WOMEN.  Whereas Mandi, Koyatsu-san and I were pretty much the living
definition of HOTNESS.  Even if Mandi and I are short.  Is this prejudice
against short people?  DAMMIT.

    Mr. K sighed.  "Well, at least we beat Saint Mary's."  The Saint Mary's
brigade looked pretty dejected.  At least we could make fun of them for a
year.

    "Honestly, I'm amazed we did well enough to get the honorable mention,"
Hayao said.

    "You were GREAT, dear," Kasumi said, kissing him again.  Crystal
squirmed and I laughed into my hand.  Watching Crystal freak every time
those two touch each other makes me very happy.

    "We would have done a lot better if Mr. K didn't keep casting people who
flunk out," Fukuda grumbled.

    "I cast the best people for the role," Mr. K said irritably.  "You can
do it your way when you have my job, Fukuda-san."  He reached for an ice
coffee, but there wasn't one, which clearly pissed him off.  "Dammit!"

    "Well, I had fun.  Isn't that what matters?" Koyatsu-san said.

    "You all worked very hard," Mr. K said.  "I'm very proud of all of you.
You did a good job of recruiting replacements for me, Fukuda-san.  Thank
you."

    He looked surprised, then said, "You're welcome, Mr. K."  That seemed to
mollify him a little.  "Next year, we will DESTROY them.  Also, I'm going to
be trying to find out where the hell they got the money for those costumes,
given all three schools theoretically agreed to a budget cap after last
year, given how out of control things got."  He grimaced.  "Anyway, let's
get everyone home.  We're done here.  Again, good job, and my apologies for
the times I yelled at you.  I just want the best play imaginable, and yet it
always seems our one act play competition plays never go right."

    "I'd say fourth place out of twelve isn't bad," Koyatsu-san said.
"Especially for a cheesy comedy."

    I noticed that several other schools, like Greenwood and Torio were
trying to drill holes in our heads with their hate-gazes, which made me feel
a little better.  Hah!  We beat you!

    Aunt Chie and Aunt Aoi hustled us back to campus.  Shun and Kagami
wandered off together and so did Dan and Sanae.  The rest of us headed to
the Saturday night party, dragging Erica along to try to force her not to
mope.

    Unfortunately, she was now moping over losing out to someone from Saint
Mary's and moping over a boy, giving her double the moping power.  So
instead of dancing, she lurked by the refreshments as if she was born to the
job, drinking enough Dr. Pepper to kill five ordinary people.  I was
surprised she didn't get drunk, but I guess she's not the type.

    Dammit, there has to be something to cheer this woman up.

*******************

Crystal's Tale:

    I was dancing with Junko, but she seemed slightly lost in space.  "Earth
to Junko," I said.

    "My brother is coming," she said.  "Tonight, I mean.  In theory,
anyway."

    "Is that a problem?" I asked.  He'd bailed out the previous night on
coming due to exhaustion.

    "Part of me is wondering if maybe we should introduce him to Erica; it
might cheer her up and he needs a girlfriend," Junko said hesitantly.

    "Hmm, not sure if he's her type and she is moping over some boy right
now.  On the other hand, it can't hurt," I said.

    I didn't think that was everything, though.  "Anything else on your
mind?"

    "He seems so bland," Junko said, then put her hand over her mouth.

    "Your brother?  I must admit 'bland' is not how I would describe him," I
told her.  Indeed, I would never ever call Hikaru bland.

    "I have no right to criticize Kurauchi-san's husband," Junko said.  "So
I will shut up."

    I blinked.  "What?"

    "Nothing," she said.

    "C'mon, now I'm curious," I told her.  Did he do something to offend
her?

    "He's not a bad person, but...I had the impression she'd married a
woman," Junko said, sounding disappointed.

    "Hey, there's nothing wrong with marrying a man, you know," I told her.
"Neither of us would exist if men and women didn't get married."  I like
Junko, but I have to wonder what her upbringing was like sometimes.

    "No, no, I mean...I mean...my parents are the opposite sex from each
other...I don't know what I mean.  He is an impressive dancer and that was a
lot of fun, learning from him.  But still...," Junko said, staring at a
tree.  "Why would her parents oppose her marrying someone like him?  He's a
perfectly ordinary guy.  Though a very good dancer."

    "I think her family wanted her to marry someone with money and his
family wanted him to be a scientist instead of a baker," I told her.  "Plus,
her family self-destructed somehow while she was in high school," I
continued.  "So they both had to break with their parents."

    Junko nodded.  "I suppose I was expecting someone more like your Aunt
Akira or your father."

    "Aunt Akane loves him; that's all that matters," I said.  "And I think
everyone liked you."

    "Mother taught me how to make good impressions on people," Junko said,
smiling.  "She was a lot of help to me in becoming more feminine."

    "Well, I think you're very feminine," I told her, then drew her into a
kiss.

********************

Chie's Tale:

    Aoi and I had felt the prickly feeling of magic being active several
times during the award ceremony, then wink out, so we called in Akane and
Akira and snuck back onto the Tokugawa campus to go check things out.  We
called the nun brigade, too, but they were already most of the way home; we
didn't have time to wait for them to get back. I had a bad feeling about
this.

    We milled about the auditorium, but now there wasn't a trace of magic
about.

    Akira frowned.  "I can't feel anything."

    "Nor I," I confessed.  "But I did before."

    "When I called the nuns, Miyu told me that emotional release can build
up spiritual energy in a place, making it more vulnerable to monsters
breaking through - but that unless the place is already pretty weak, it
won't do enough damage to matter," Aoi told us.  "But there aren't supposed
to be any places like that on the campuses, right?"

    I nodded.  "Right.  But maybe someone deliberately weakened it here
somehow, hoping the contest would build enough energy to rupture and release
monsters," I speculated.

    Aoi looked horrified.  "That would be terrible!"

    "The Crimson Huntsman is terrible, from what little we've found on him,"
Akira said, frowning deeply.

    "It didn't work, though," Akane said.  "But maybe we'd better check on
the kids, just to be sure."  She frowned too now.

    "We didn't feel anything during the actual play, though," Aoi said.

    "Probably it had to build up to the point of weakness and now it's
dissipated," I speculated wildly.

    "Let's go find the kids," Aoi said.  "Most of them are probably at that
party in the woods."

    "Parents and teachers showing up by surprise at the party," I said,
laughing.  "That should scare some students."

    "The woods," Akane said softly.

    I blinked, then realized.  "They did sweep the woods, right?"

    "Yes," Akira said.  "Given that I think the students wander through that
woods all the time, hopefully it is not too dangerous."  She looked around
the theater.  "I think we've exhausted this place.  Let's go."

**************

Kasumi's Tale:

    I was dancing with Hayao when Ayumi-sempai and Iwao-san came up to us.
I did my best to avoid looking angry at Ayumi-sempai being here for Hayao's
sake.  I could tell from her face she was doing the same thing.

    "Hey, Hayao, is it true you got second place in the play contest?"
Iwao-san asked.

    "Yes," he said, smiling broadly.  "For my acting."

    Iwao-san smiled the happiest smile I have seen on him...well, since
Crystal dumped him.  "Hey, man, that is GREAT."  He clapped Hayao on the
shoulder.  "Did Mandi get anything?"

    "She had a pretty small part which mostly consisted of her being sexy,
which admittedly comes easy for her," Hayao said, then laughed.

    I wish it came easy for me, even if I only want to be sexy for Hayao.

    "Congratulations," Ayumi-sempai said soberly.  "Taiki-kun tells me you
have a real talent for acting."

    I kept quiet, watching her.  It was strange to see her this mellow.
Maybe she's normally like this and I only get to see her bad side.

    "Thanks.  I can't act and keep my grades up, so normally, I don't, but
they had an emergency," Hayao said.  "And I could hardly pass up being
Dracula when I'm dating a vampire."  His voice was teasing and I laughed.

    For a moment, Ayumi-sempai's face twisted up, but then she seemed to
force herself calm.  "Well, good luck if you ever do it again."

    "Yeah.  I had baseball stuff or I would have come," Iwao-san said.
"Anyway, I just wanted to congratulate you."

    "Thanks," Hayao said warmly.  "And thank you too, Misano-sempai."

    "You're welcome, kohai," she said.

    Then Iwao-san dragged her off to dance.

    Hayao looked extremely happy, pulling me close and slow dancing with me
as the music changed.  "I am SO GLAD he is moving on," Hayao said to me.
"Hopefully, this means he will get his head out of his ass about Dan."

    "Ayumi-sempai hates my guts," I mumbled and his face crashed.
"Remember?"

    For a moment, I thought he was going to let go of me and go bang his
head on a tree.  Instead, he just sighed and said, "I forgot because you
always call her by her first name and I'm used to thinking of her as
Misano-sempai.  I'm an idiot."

    "It's okay," I told him.  "Everyone on the track team uses each other's
first names.  Even if you hate each other.  It takes some getting used to
it."

    His hand started to slide down onto my buttocks and he pulled it up and
I turned a little red, keeping my hands carefully placed in the formal
positions.  We haven't done anything but kiss, but every so often, he starts
to do something else and stops and it usually embarrasses me and him.  But
he's trying to go slow and easy for my sake and I'm glad, as just doing this
gets me really excited and I will probably end up touching myself in the
dark again tonight and I can't believe I just...eeeee...

    Focus on the dancing, Kasumi, I told myself.  And the rest will take
care of itself.

    It's strange; I can hide my powers easily when dancing, though part of
me is curious to see exactly how fancy I could get.  I guess it's because
most kinds of dancing aren't about all out exertion the way running is.

      I could see Crystal and Junko; their dancing was rather more like two
people crawling all over each other; it would not have surprised me if they
just stripped right there and did it.  Thankfully, they did not.

    Ayumi-sempai moved really gracefully; I could see she was leading Taiki,
who followed well.  Like us, they were slow dancing formally, rather than
just crawling on each other.

    Natasha and Gin were like Crystal and Junko; it was more like rutting
with clothing on than dancing, in my opinion.  Except even more so than
Crystal and Junko.  I tried not to look at them, but then I realized their
movements actually perfectly matched the beat of the music.  They were
dancing very well, in fact.  It was just a way that looked like they were
about to have wild sex right here and I need to STOP looking.

    I made myself look at Hayao, gaze into his eyes.  He was smiling at me
and I smiled at him and tried to just forget everything else.  This was his
night of triumph and he loves me and nothing else matters.

    What were they do...no, don't look!  Hayao and only Hayao!

    I finally focused myself and danced with my boyfriend, forgetting
everything else.  This was a perfect night and I felt sure nothing could go
wrong.

**************

Erica's Tale:

    I had almost decided to just get the hell out and go home and sleep when
Crystal and Junko approached me escorting a short green-haired boy.  He was
in a Tokugawa uniform and had long hair, unusual for that school; he was
slender and androgynous (also unusual for Tokugawa) and his hair was just a
touch lighter than Aunt Akira's but the same basic shade.  He moved
gracefully and I had the feeling we'd met somehow.  He was rather good
looking, though I like men taller than him.  In fact, I'm taller than he is.

    "This is Harada-san's daughter, Erica," Junko said to the boy.

    "You're very beautiful, like your mothers," he said, bowing to me.

    Now I recognized his voice.

    "You spied on us for Tokugawa!" I said.

    He froze up and Junko slapped her forehead and Crystal said, "What?"

    "Did you steal our costume designs?" I asked angrily.  We could have had
first place!

    "I...might have observed them..." he mumbled.

    "I should kill you!" I normally am not so irrationally violent, but I
wanted very much to vent my frustration.  I jumped at him and he jumped out
of the way.

    "I'm sorry!  It was just school competition!  Your cousin Shun spied on
us earlier!," he said.

    Crystal tried to pull me back, but I wrenched loose, to her surprise.
However, he moved like greased lightning; becoming a battle princess has
made me faster, but has done a lot more for my aim and riding abilities than
it's done for my speed or strength. Thus, I was unable to hit him.

    "Please stop," he said. "I'm not allowed to hit women."

    "Well, that doesn't mean you can't let me hit you!" I said angrily.

    "Come on, Erica, this isn't like you," Crystal said, grabbing me with
Junko's help.  "Hikaru, I am totally sorry, I really didn't expect this.
This isn't normal."

    I slipped out of their grasp, but I still couldn't hit Hikaru; he didn't
seem worried at all or angry.  He just dodged everything.  "I would have
expected better of Harada-san's daughter, yes," he said calmly.

    That pissed me off deeply.  "Oh fuck you," I said.  "You're in no
fucking position to judge me!"

    Crystal stared at me, mouth open.  Junko frowned, then ran off.

    "You people STOLE our costume designs and stole our advancement slot
too!  All that work for nothing because you couldn't be bothered to do your
own work!  You are nothing but THIEVES," I said angrily.  "Why does
everything I work for get stolen?  Because of filthy little thieves like
you!" I said, pointing a finger at him.

    He frowned at me.  "I am not a thief, I am...I am not a thief!  I am the
Heir of Nagiki!"

    "Oooh, you're going to inherit a brewery.  Maybe if you get some woman
drunk enough, she'll actually go out with you.  But I expect you just steal
other people's girlfriends!," I shouted at him.

    "Erica, I don't know what he did, but he doesn't deserve this," Crystal
said to me, hands on her hips.  "Hikaru's never stolen anyone's girlfriend!"

    "You're just defending him because his sister is your girlfriend!," I
snapped.

    Hikaru stared at the ground.

    Crystal tried to speak, but was too aggravated with me to produce
anything coherent.

    Kasumi now came up with Junko.  "Erica, please stop shouting; everyone
is staring."

    "I don't care if they stare!  This spy stole all our secrets and helped
his school steal what should have been our prize!  And I'm going to punish
him!," I said angrily.

    I tried to jump at Hikaru and Kasumi grabbed me then pulled me around to
where I was basically trapped in a hug I couldn't escape.  "You could really
hurt him," she whispered into my ear.  "We have a responsibility not to
start fights when we have powers and others don't," she continued quietly,
pulling me back.  Now I felt rather embarrassed to go with my anger and
frustration.

    "Shun did kind of spy on them and Saint Mary's too, I think," Crystal
said lecturingly.

    I could see Hayao drift our way a little; he then saw Crystal and pulled
back and hovered like someone trying to push through a force field.

    I don't know if I could actually hurt him; I'm stronger, but not as
strong as Natasha or Crystal, as I was pretty weak beforehand.  And it's
pretty clear he moves like crazy.  Compared to me, anyway.  Though I could
probably zap him with my vajra.

    But I shouldn't go around zapping stupid junior high kids with my
vajra.     Ugh, why am I going so crazy over this?  I sagged.  "I'm going
home," I said.  "There's no point in me being here."

    "I want an apology," Hikaru said angrily, pointing at me.  "You accused
me of being a thief."

    "You are a thief," I told him angrily.  "Kasumi, either let me go home
or take me go home if you don't trust me to do it under my own power."

    "He is not a thief!," Junko said; she was getting mad now.

    Crystal looked very frustrated.  "C'mon, Erica, he didn't steal anything
and both schools were spying.  Please apologize.  He didn't do anything to
you."

    "I'll take you home," Kasumi said.  She began hauling me off while
Hikaru tried to bore a hole in my head with his eyes.

    Hayao soon came over to us.  "What's going on, Harada-san?"

    "All men suck, Hayao," I mumbled.

    He frowned at me and Kasumi said, "Don't mind her, dear, she's just in a
bad mood and taking it out on everyone like a five year old."

    "I'm sorry, Hayao," I said.  "I wasn't thinking of you as a guy when I
said that."

    This didn't quite reassure him.  "Great."

    "No, I mean..."  Having him frown at me was just another punch in the
face this evening.  "I'm sorry, Hayao.  I wasn't trying to slap you down."

    "It's okay, Erica," he said, sounding a little oddly nervous.  I don't
know why.  I don't know why he has to fuzz my brain by being so stupidly
good looking either.

    Kasumi continued to restrain me, though, and said, "I'm tired, anyway.
Want to come with us?"

    Hayao looked a little wary but he said, "Okay, let's go.  I'm not happy
about them stealing our costumes, but it's not worth freaking out over it."
I couldn't tell if he was sincere or if my ranting had embarrassed him too
much to admit he was angry too.

    I mostly grumbled to myself and petulantly let Kasumi carry me, though I
had calmed down by the time we got to the dorm.  Hayao and Kasumi chatted
about school, the play, and other things and just ignored me while Kasumi
hauled me like I was a particularly unruly sack of potatos.

    They kissed goodnight at the door very quickly and Kasumi hauled me
inside.  "What is WRONG with you?" she demanded angrily.

    "Nothing sucks like having everyone rub their love affairs in your face
all night when the guy you like is off with someone else," I mumbled,
staring at the floor.

    She sighed.  "Let's go to my room and talk."

    Her roommate was gone for the night, so we went to her bedroom and sat
on the bed.  "I'm sorry," I said, having calmed down.  "I really shouldn't
have ripped out his lungs.  I'm just stupid and miserable."

    "We all screw up sometimes," she said, putting an arm around my
shoulders.  I leaned on her.  "But we're family, and we love you, so forgive
us when we do it and we'll forgive you.  So who is it?"

    "Dan," I mumbled.  I wasn't crazy enough to mention the insane thoughts
about Hayao, which hopefully will GO AWAY now that I won't be kissing him
any more.

    "Why didn't you make a move?" Kasumi asked, sounding surprised.

    "I wasn't sure what everyone would think and...well, Dan normally comes
unglued if he likes a woman and he didn't unglue with me.  So I thought I
might get rejected and then it would be totally awkward," I told her.

    "Well, he only unglues a little with Sanae, so I guess he's getting over
it," Kasumi said.  "I'm sorry for you."

    "Oh, I ought to be used to this by now," I said, leaning over on her and
sighing.  "I tend to sit and watch things happen too much.  I'm surprised I
didn't just watch that snake thing eat someone instead of fighting it."  I
felt pretty low.

    "But you didn't.  You stopped it because you're not the sort of person
to let others get hurt when you can stop it.  You're responsible, like me.
There are plenty of other guys," Kasumi said.  "We wouldn't have minded you
dating Dan, though."

    "I'm new and I didn't want to rock the boat and I got the impression
that 'cousin' in this family is more like 'sibling'," I said.  Kasumi's
presence was comforting.

    "It is for us," Kasumi said.  "But you didn't grow up with us, though I
wish you had."

    THAT made me feel really good.  "Thank you," I said, blushing.

    "It would have been nice to have a sister with some common sense,"
Kasumi said, then put a hand over her mouth.  When she removed it, she
sighed.  "I'm sorry, I'm trying to stop levying judgement on people."

    "It's okay," I told her.  "I wish I was more like them, though.  Natasha
and Crystal wouldn't have waited until it was too late."

    "They'd probably be stripping Da..."  Kasumi stopped.  "Do you want me
to call Shun and Kagami?  They're probably still up and we could play cards
or something."

    "Yes, please," I said.

    They soon came over and we started a game of spades.

*****************

Natasha's Tale:

    To my annoyance, right in the middle of a good song, I had to go to the
bathroom.  Which means going off in the woods some and squatting.  98% of
the time, I love being a woman, but the other two percent is times decent
bathroom facilities aren't available and cramps.  Thankfully, I don't get
cramps as often or badly as I did when I started puberty.  Anyway, I did my
business, but then I heard a distant thrashing noise.  It sounded like
someone getting their ass kicked.

    Curiosity ON.  I pushed deeper into the woods to see what was going
down; to my surprise, what I found was four black serpents of the kind that
tried to kill us at Fuuka having a throwdown with a silver colored creature
which resembled a humanoid mushroom.  (Think a seven foot tall mushroom with
arms and legs and holes vaguely resembling eyes, a nose and a mouth under
the cap.)  Three of them had grappled it and were crushing it to death.  The
fourth was looking around, clearly keeping watch.

    Holy shit, not only were monsters attacking...clearly they were having
some kind of turf fight.

    I got my phone out and called Crystal.  "You aren't going to believe
this," I said to her.

    "What?" she said.

    "Four evil black serpents and they're kicking the shit out of a silver
mushroom man monster!  It's like watching the Mafia and the Yakuza go at
it!"

    I noticed that the silver mushroom man was gradually  shrinking, and so
was the black serpent on watch, but slowly the three killers were getting
BIGGER.  Not hugely so, but I think they must have been sucking out his
magic or his life force or something.  It looked painful.

    "Where are you?" Crystal asked urgently.

    "Off north of the party.  I can't see any landmarks I really
recognize."  The woods has some notable features we use to navigate, but a
lot of it is just trees and bushes and undergrowth and vines and more
trees.  "You can only just barely hear the party from here."

    The watch serpent looked right at me.

    "Shit," I said, and then my phone died.

    "If you run, you will only draw them to the party to feed and feed
abundantly," a man said to me.  "Innocents will die, possibly including your
boyfriend."

    I looked up and saw a red haired boy in the junior high uniform watching
me.  It had to be Kei.

    The watch-serpent was slowly making its way to my hiding place, I don't
know if it was innately slow or just taking its time.

    Could I fight all these?  Kasumi had kicked the ass of a bunch of them,
but then more had come swarming and...

    But I had no choice.  By the time Kasumi and Erica got here, people
would probably die.  But if I cut at an angle and drew them away...

    "You going to do something?" I asked.  "Or just tell me the obvious,
Kei?"

    "You'd be surprised how many people NEED to be told the obvious," he
said.  "This list includes you a lot of the time.  Nevertheless, I will give
you a distraction-- but then it is up to you."

    Fair enough.

    He suddenly appeared in another tree across from the silver mushroom man
slaughter-in-progress and yelled, "ALL HAIL THE SILVER KNIGHT!  Death to the
infidels!"

    The watch-serpent turned and charged towards him, shedding its skin and
becoming a black and purple creature rather like a black panther if black
panthers had two tentacles that ended in long metal blades coming out of
their ribcages like a fifth and sixth leg.  It was like a displacer beast
had gone to the chopshop and gotten himself cyborged.  It pounced into the
tree and vanished; the branch Kei was on got all sliced up when the thing
smashed into it.

    I had taken this chance to circle around them to one side.  Crystal
Princess, if you're going to zap me with power, THIS WOULD BE A GOOD TIME, I
thought.

    I didn't feel any zapping with power, but I did make it around to where
I wanted to be.  "HEY, WATCHMAN!  YOU SUCK!"

    The three crushers pushed harder and now the mushroom man came apart
into silver sparkles and they rolled around in them, growing larger, even as
the black panther tentacle-beast came for me.

    I took off running with them in pursuit.  "CRYSTAL PRINCESS, I COULD USE
SOME HELP HERE!"  Unfortunately, she didn't come to the white courtesy phone
or something and I just had to run like a bat out of hell with them in
pursuit.

******************

Crystal's Tale:

    I have never come closer to a heart attack than that exact moment of
losing Natasha's signal.  For a few seconds, all I could do was to
desperately punch buttons like a mad mofo.  Oh god oh god oh god oh god oh
god oh gods in heaven help us!

    Junko looked at me.  "What's wrong?"

    I tried punching in Kasumi's number.  NO SIGNAL.

    I was breathing hard and staring at my phone and Junko put a hand on my
shoulder.  "What's wrong?"

    Kasumi could be anywhere.  She could be in bed asleep by now, or kissing
Hayao, or having hypocritical sex with him or hanging out with Hotaru or out
jogging or dead in a ditch or oh god Natasha!!!!!

    "Tell me you can get a cell phone connection," I told her, breathing
hard.

    She got out her phone, then frowned.  "No."

    "FuckFuckFuckFuck," I said.  "Gin, where the fuck is Gin?"

    Gin was over at the table.  I ran over to him.  "Does your phone work?"

    He paused, about to open a beer.  "What?"

    "GIVE ME YOUR DAMN PHONE," I howled at him.

    Lots of people stared at me, though it was noisy enough that a lot
didn't even notice.  Or just didn't care.

    He jumped back, dropped the beer, and tossed me his phone.

    Nothing.  I threw it back to him.  "Gin, you...fuck, no, too dangerous.
Junko.  I need you to...shit, you can't get upstairs either!"

    They were both looking at me like I was insane.  Maybe I was insane.  I
was totally, utterly panicked.  I couldn't leave Natasha alone, couldn't
send Junko or Gin to find Kasumi or Erica or....Hikaru?  No, he'd left in
anger after the fight with Erica; he was probably all the way back to
Tokugawa by now.  And even if he hadn't, unless he snuck in, he couldn't
just walk into the women's dorm.  Though I suppose he could fake being a
woman pretty well with the right clothing.

    Definitely not his usual clothing, though.

    I looked around desperately, trying to find someone who was sane and not
drunk and could hopefully run like a MADMAN OR WOMAN.

     "Crystal, what is wrong?" Junko asked urgently.

    "Is she on drugs?" Gin asked, backing away from me a bit.

    Mandi and Hotaru were here.  But Hotaru would probably get eaten, and
Mandi is so short, she can't possibly run fast enough, but what if someone
stops Junko and sends her back to her school and SHIT.

    No, no, I can't panic now.  Natasha needs me to be focused.  How could I
ever ask to be a battle princess if I shit myself just trying to figure out
who to send as a runner?

    Oh god, NATASHA.

    "Junko.  You have to run to campus.  Take my phone.  Keep trying to call
Kasumi.  Go to her dorm and find her if you have to.  Tell her the black
serpents are here and they're after Natasha.  If you see Erica first, tell
her the same thing."  My heart was pounding.  Why am I so afraid?  Surely
Natasha would get her powers now...but what if she didn't?  Or....dammit!
"Gin.  STAY HERE.  Keep trying to call Kasumi too.  Do NOT leave here under
any circumstances.  I'm going to go help Natasha."  If I can actually do
anything beyond freak out, anyway.

    "Black serpents?" Gin asked.  He sounded very worried.  "What the hell
is going on here?"

    "I will find the Heir and inform her," Junko said.  She took my phone
and took off at top speed.

    "I don't have time to explain," I told Gin.  "PLEASE, just do what I
told you."  Then I took off running into the woods up one of the northerly
paths, hoping to intercept Natasha.

    I got about 30 seconds up the trail before I realized this was the one
Aunt Nao had taken Hayao up.  To sic bees on him somehow.

    I now heard the sound of angry buzzing.

    AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

****************

Aoi's Tale:

    We parked on the north side parking lot and hustled across campus,
heading for the west side.  Chie knows where the path is that leads to the
usual party.  As we walked, to my surprise, the Principal, the
Vice-Principal and a member of the board of regents were all out strolling
across campus together.  At close to midnight on a Saturday?  How very
strange.

    "Harada-sensei," the Principal hailed Chie.  "Aoi-sensei."  She waved us
over so we had to come, though Akira looked ready to detonate like a bomb.

    "Good evening, Principal, Vice Principal, Regent Kazami," Chie said and
bowed, so I did likewise.  "What brings out on this fine evening?"

    "We've had recurring trouble with pranks at night, so we're just keeping
an eye open," the Vice-Principal said, frowning.

    The Principal, on the other hand, was all smiles as usual; she'd let her
hair down into a pony-tail instead of the usual bun.  "Who are your friends,
Harada-sensei?"

    "Oh, these are two of my classmates from high school whose children go
here," Chie said.  "Tokiha Akira, mother of Shun, and Kurauchi Akane, mother
of Kasumi."

    "It's a pleasure to meet both of you," Regent Kazami said.  He was
middling in height with brown hair.  Where the Principal and Vice-Principal
both look rather young for their jobs, he looked to be in his mid-forties,
maybe even a little older, though he seemed to be in pretty good shape.

    "We're on our way to scare our kids by disrupting their illicit drinking
and sex," Chie said.

    The Principal's eyes widened and the Vice-Principal and the Regent
laughed.  Akira looked embarrassed and Akane mumbled something incoherent
while I laughed.

    "Oh come on, everyone knows what kids get up to on weekends if they
can," Chie said.  "Don't tell me you never went drinking or snuck off with a
boyfriend or did some other thing you didn't tell your parents when you were
in high school.  I know I did.  Which is why it's my job to make their
escapades harder like Mom did for me."

    "True," the Principal said.  "You're just so...blatant about it."

    "I am made out of blatancy.  I am blatancy turned into  a person and
walking the street," Chie said.  "Oh, did you hear the results from the
contest?  Our play got an honorable mention and some other awards and our
daughter got an honorable mention for best actress!"  She sounded very
proud.

    I am very proud too, but I don't brag.

    "Congratulations," the Principal said.  "I did Tennis in high school and
got some trophies myself, so I know how good it feels.  She must be very
happy."

    "Yeah, it feels pretty good," the Vice-Principal said.  "I did softball
and basketball and we did pretty well."

    "I just got good grades and ran into a tree," Regent Kanzawa said
ruefully.

    "I'm sorry," the Principal said to him.  "I was just trying to cheer you
on."

    "I know," he said, smiling at her.  "Anyway, it's nice to meet you all,
and I'm sure you have to go harrass your kids and we need to finish looking
around for imaginary threats to the campus."

    "I really got yelled at, you know," the Vice-Principal said.

    "Have fun with your children," the Principal said cheerfully.  "Put the
fear of school rules into them.  You can call us if you need to really scare
them."

    We all said goodbye and went on our way.

****************

Natasha's Tale:

    The good news was that these things were not very fast, compared to the
ones we encountered at Fuuka. The bad news was that they were relentless and
I am not a great runner thanks to the power of shortness and lack of
experience.  Also, these things could just crash through the underbrush that
tended to slow me.

    I finally emerged into a clearing; the reason it was a clearing is that
a really huge, mostly flat rock is lying here, basically preventing anything
growing, except at its edges.  I think it may once have been some sort of
sacred rock as it has the weather-worn remains of Chinese characters on it,
and the very top of it has an engraving of someone I think is supposed to be
Amaterasu on it.  Some sort of sun goddess, anyway.  I think it used to
stand up and now has fallen down.

    I jumped up onto it, and to my surprise, I could hear my own voice in my
head.

    Shut up.

    It was surprising because I could hear myself speaking an oath.  Which I
had been hoping for all this time I was RUNNING FOR MY LIFE.  I guess the
Crystal Princess must have gone to the bathroom or something.  With my luck,
she was probably calling Mom on the other line to chat about their love
lives.  Mom's currently seeing a guy named Robert Cooper; he works for Shell
Solar.  They're currently working on a big project to cover buildings with
solar panels so the whole city will be one big solar collector.  Anyway, he
is project manager, which seems to mean he has plenty of time to slack off
with Mom and gives orders to men a decade older than himself or more.

    Anyway... back to me being close to being eaten.

    As the panther-borg closed in on me, I had to wonder exactly why this
thing looked like a panther, yet was this slow.  A real panther would have
already eaten me.  He was a good jumper, but...

    FOCUS.

    I went straight to taking the oath without any further thought, as I
prefer living as me over living as dinner in a monster's stomach.  "This is
the oath of Munakata Natasha!  As it is spoken, so it shall be!  By the
speaking of these words, the contract is sealed and the prophesy made!  I
will pay the price and take the risk of power!  Power to fight the coming of
the Age of Chaos!   I will become the light that shines when all is
darkest!  I will become the fire which purifies the night!  I choose this
freely and of my own will!  I will protect my mother, my cousins and all my
family and our friends as well!  I will destroy all that threatens them!
This I do swear!  Let this contract be sealed!!!"

    Utter darkness consumed all the light around myself, the rock, the
panther-borg and his lagging evil friends.  Then the light exploded out of
me, leaving me clad in my fencing uniform, mostly red but with black trim,
with the rising sun blazoned in yellow above my heart; my fencing mask hid
my face behind red and black mesh. I held a saber.  A SABER WHICH WAS ON
FIRE.  OH YEAH.

      A name came to my mind.  "BORIS!" I shouted.

     Ice formed on the trees in a circle around me, then rushed inward - a
leading edge of flame converging, ice following in its wake. The flames
melded in the center and formed an egg, which exploded into a long lizard
creature, low to the ground, with green hide and huge thin spikes running in
a line along its back. Gas jetted out of holes in the spines, filling the
gaps between them with flames; creating a huge burning 'sail' on its back,
arching up as it moved from the neck to the center, then back down to end at
the tail. It was big enough to be ridden... if you didn't mind sitting right
behind its head, with a huge arc of flame behind you; in fact, two could
probably crowd in there, if they didn't mind getting a little hot. The air
around us now felt unusually chilly, despite the fire; so maybe it was safe
to ride, though your legs would barely clear the ground.

    The panther-borg hesitated at the edge of the rock, staring at Boris.
Probably wise on his part.  Boris now began sucking the heat out of him,
which seemed to make him even slower than before.  The panther-borg was now
slow enough he failed to react in time to me charging him and stabbing first
his left, then his right eye, leaving him as a blinded, facially burned
panther-borg with ice forming over him.  His blood fell on the rock, which
began to glow.  I felt a weird sensation like being hit by a heat wave when
you open an oven that's set to bake.

    He then went apeshit and began flailing at me with his tentacles.  I was
forced to give ground as he had two blades and I only had one.  The more of
his blood that dripped onto the stone, the brighter it glowed, though.  This
is why I wish modern fencing taught you more about how to fight with two
weapons.  However, his blades started melting when I parried them, so I knew
if I could hold out a while, the blades would melt entirely and then I would
have him, especially with him getting slower.

    Unfortunately, his buddies now were about to come crashing in.  One
transformed into a huge black and gold dog which started appearing and
vanishing at random intervals as it came towards me, as if it was in a
strobe light or something.  A second one turned into a miniature dragon
about the size of a cow and flew towards me.  The third one turned into a
huge amorphous puddle of black and purple gunk, oozing my direction;
thankfully, it was slow.

    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

    Enter Crystal, stage-left, pursued by a horde of bees.

****************

Kasumi's Tale:

    I studied my cards, frowning.  Erica and I had paired off against Kagami
and Shun in spades. Unfortunately, Shun is extremely good and Kagami
is...okay.  I'm okay, but Erica wasn't very focused.  The result was that we
had bid seven and taken 2, while Shun and Kagami had bid five and taken
six.  We had to take all five remaining tricks. I had the ace of spades and
I was pretty sure Erica had the king, so if all went well, that guaranteed
us two.  But could we really take five?  Erica's King of Diamonds, who she
had counted on, had gotten killed because it had pulled my Ace of Diamonds.


    I was spared deciding what to lead by my phone ringing.  It was Crystal,
according to caller ID.  Thus I was rather surprised when I heard
Nagiki-san's voice.  "Heir of Kurauchi," she said very solemnly, though she
was breathing fast.  "Crystal tasked me to tell you that the Black Serpents
are chasing Natasha north of the party area and she's gone to try to help
her and to ask for your help."  She said 'Black Serpents' in such a way that
I was pretty sure she assumed they were some sort of gang.  "For some
reason, my cellphone wouldn't work until I got out of the woods; I'm down
where we normally practice.  Do you want me to call the others and
Kurauchi-sensei?"

    "Yes, she's staying with Aunt Aoi and Aunt Chie," I said.  For a moment,
utter, absolute panic hit me.  Natasha, all by herself, trying to flee those
snake-monsters.  Crystal stupidly running off by herself to face them.
Which was a good way for both of them to be eaten, unless the Crystal
Princess empowered them.  Maybe she would.  But I couldn't count on that.
Only I had gotten empowered the first time and I don't even know why.
Unless the Crystal Princess prefers virgins.  Erica is a virgin like me and
she was second. And Kagami is a virgin...and she's probably one of us. Which
if that is true, Crystal and Natasha are in deep, deep trouble.

    But then, Mother wouldn't have her powers any more.  Or any of the
others.

    "Where is Gin?" I asked.

    "At the party, still.  Crystal said he would be safe there; I expect the
Black Serpents are not numerous enough to take on that many people,"
Nagiki-san said.

    "What's going on?" Erica asked, sounding worried.

    "Nagiki-san.  I need you to call Dan.  Tell him to call Aunt Chie and
Aunt Aoi and Mother and tell them the Black Serpents are after Crystal and
Natasha in the woods between the schools and that we're trying to launch a
rescue mission."

    Shun, Erica, and Kagami all stared at me.  Kagami said, "What?  Black
Serpents?"

    "Oh no," Erica said, dropping her cards.  "How many?"

    "Shit," Shun said.  He put his cards down and stood up.

    "Of course, Heir of Kurauchi, I hear and obey," Nagiki-san said very
seriously.  This felt a little surreal to me, like I was a noblewoman
commanding a retainer.  "What should I do once I contact everyone?"

    "Hold your ground; our relatives will need you to guide them once they
arrive."  If they arrive.  By the time even Aunt Aoi and Aunt Chie arrive,
Crystal and Natasha may be eaten.  "And make sure Dan doesn't do anything
crazy like trying to come into the woods."

    "Do I hav...Yes, Heir," she said, as if a conditioned reflex was kicking
in.

    "I know you want to help Crystal," I said softly.  "But there is no one
else who can guide them.  The same reason why Crystal sent you to get our
help instead of taking you with her."

    "What is going on?" Shun asked.

    "Shun, what is this about Black Serpents?" Kagami asked him frantically.

    He looked at her. "Monsters are after Crystal and Natasha and we need to
get moving!"

    "I understand and obey, Heir of Kurauchi," Junko said firmly.  "I am
calling him now.  Good luck, Saint Christopher guide you."

    "Thank you," I said and hung up.

    Kagami's eyes widened.  "Monsters?  Here?  But I thought..."

    Erica stood up.  "Let's move it."

    "Kagami, can your pet fly?" I asked.

    "My...oh, my...wait, you know I'm one of the Hime?" Kagami said in utter
surprise.  I had to wonder if she was paying attention the time I trained
with them, though I suspect she had her mind focused on Shun.  Or maybe
she's just panicky.

    "Yes, dear," Shun said.  "The evidence piled up enough for us to guess.
Your strength, how quickly you learn, the way the family adopted you and so
on."

    "My Child is Sophia, a huge metal owl," Kagami said, even as I ran for
the window in my bedroom.

    "Everyone follow me, onto the roof!"  I jumped out the window and flew
up to the roof and summoned Horus, praying no one would see or that if they
did, they'd think it was the power of beer commanding them.

    Shun came out the window and flipped up onto the roof; I was rather
impressed.  He then nearly fell back off, but I caught his hand.

    Kagami called down Sophia-- a huge mechanical metal owl--and jumped onto
her back, with Erica following her.  Shun and I jumped onto Horus and we
took off towards the woods with Erica and Kagami transforming; Kagami's
outfit was similar to mine, I noticed, though in different colors.

    Only once it was too late to drop him off did I think about the fact
that Shun has no powers and we were taking him into danger.  But it was too
late to turn back now.

    I saw Nagiki-san down below by the edge of the woods, talking into her
phone.  We flew on into the woods and I prayed no one at the party would see
us, though the music there is so loud and it's so dark with no moon that
hopefully only those too drunk to think we are real will notice.

    Crystal, Natasha, I'm coming!  Hold on!

****************

Chie's Tale:

    We were on our way to the dorms when we saw a giant mechanical owl and a
huge white falcon appear over the high school women's dorm and then launch
themselves off over the woods.  People were riding them, but we were too far
away to make out who clearly.

    SHIT!

    For a moment, we stood and stared, frozen in place, as they flew off at
high speed into the woods.

    Then my phone rang.  It was Dan.  "Dan, what's going on?"

    "Crystal and Natasha are in deep shit and I'm praying you all know how
to teleport, or it may be too late.  Are you at home?" Dan asked.  "Please
tell me you're at least near the school."  He sounded panicked.

    Clearly he knew about all this.  "Dan, what's wrong?"

    Everyone turned and looked at me.

    "Monsters are stalking Natasha and Crystal ran off BY HERSELF to try to
save her and Kasumi's going to try to save them with Erica, Shun, and Kagami
but I don't know if they can get there in time and please tell me you know
how to teleport."  Dan was breathing hard.  "And that you all actually have
powers and it's not just us or you're not dependent on phases of the moon or
shit I am totally losing it."  He had the sound of someone trying to
restrain himself from shouting.

    "I don't think any of us knows how to teleport," I said.  Though I
wasn't sure of that.

    "Is Dan under attack?" Aoi asked, worried.

    "Crystal and Natasha in the woods, black serpents.  I don't know more
specific than that," I told them.

    Cue panic and anger.

    "Junko knows where they are; she's waiting in the place where she trains
with Aunt Akane," Dan told me.  "I'm in the bathroom of my dorm room while
my roommate is trying to go back to sleep after the phone woke him up and
Sanae is asleep on the couch.  Also, phones aren't working in the forest."

    "Dan is safe," I told them.  "Junko knows where they are going; she is
in the place behind the women's dorm where the kids train.  And phones
aren't working in the woods."

    Akane simply hefted Akira over one shoulder and took off running.

    "Hey, wait!"  I ran after them, but even carrying Akira, Akane left us
in their dust.

    I got what information I could from Dan as we ran and I prayed the
monsters were slow and sluggish and not so numerous as the ones we fought up
in the mountains.

    Well, at least the kids had the sense to tell us when monsters showed
up.  At least SOME of them had the sense.

    I had my pistol loaded with the ammo Haruka gave me which can actually
hurt these things, in case they're are in a no-magic zone.  Though I thought
the whole woods was a no-magic zone.

    I guess we're going to find out.

***********

Crystal's Tale:

    The only good thing about running into a clearing full of monsters was
that when the miniature dragon (miniature compared to a real dragon,
actually a lot bigger than me) breathed fire at me, I managed to throw
myself flat and the fire vaporized the bees chasing me.  My upper right arm
felt very strange, almost in pain.

    Unfortunately, this left me flat on my face with a huge puddle of purple
and black ooze coming my direction.  Worse, the randomly teleporting dog
monster now landed on my back briefly; fortunately, it then teleported away,
looking somewhat frustrated, just before it could bite me.  Natasha began
laughing even as I tried to get my wind back.

    The giant lizard with a single wing of fire and green spikes now made a
grunty noise and cold washed over everything.  Including me; I was now
shivering violently.  "No, bad Boris, don't freeze Crystal!" Natasha
shouted, picking me up under one arm as I tried to recover.

    I was pretty close to just breaking down and gibbering, but the cold
seemed to slow our foes down a bit, though the puddle of ooze seemed to
basically ignore it and keep coming, slowly, relentlessly.  Shouldn't it
have frozen?  Isn't it the job of slime monsters to freeze since you can't
kill them by other means and they just keep coming and coming and...

    Natasha got us both onto the back of her lizard, crammed in between the
head and the first big spike of the flame wing.  Fortunately, the warmth now
revived me, even as Natasha shouted, "RUN LIKE A MOTHERFUCKER, BORIS!  RUN
RUN RUN!"

    Boris, unfortunately, was not built for grand speed, though he did
gradually speed up.  But he's slung low to the ground and my shins and feet
kept dragging in the dirt, bouncing off bushes and in general, this wasn't
pleasant.  The insane, blinded sword panther thing chased us but kept
crashing into trees instead of us.  The mini-dragon would try to fry us but
Boris would suck up the fire and briefly speed up.  The ooze gave chase, but
wasn't fast enough to catch even a rambling lizard.  The teleporting dog was
faster than us and got in some shots at Boris and Natasha, but kept finding
himself up a tree or suddenly out of bite range; he was going steadily more
berserk and I wondered why he had powers he wasn't very good at using.
Though he was gradually getting better at it, I think.

    Then we crashed through some bushes - which caught fire behind us, only
to be snuffed by monsters crashing through them -- and found the huge rock
ahead of us, having somehow returned to our starting point.

    I could feel my upper right arm throbbing gently and I looked; I could
see a crystalline, translucent Hime sign wobbling in and out of existence.
And there was something strange in the air, calling to me.  A voice
whispering, asking for forgiveness of its sins.

    I'm not exactly authorized to forgive sins.  Unfortunately, my nun aunts
weren't here.  Still, I am a forgiving person.

    Don't laugh at me!

    It's okay, I told whatever it was.  If you've sinned, then you should
atone for them, so everyone will know you won't do it again.

    "Shit, what is this, another damn dimension bending trap?  I am so
fucking sick of those things!"  Natasha said.

    'Another'?  There was a first one?

    "Never a wizard when you need one.  Also, Crystal, HURRY UP AND GET
SUPER POWERS BEFORE WE GET EATEN."

    The ooze was now coming towards us from the direction we previously
left, while the others chased us towards the center, but in the center, I
could see another black serpent slowly materializing in front of us.

    I will serve you in war; let me make up for my past mistakes, the voice
asked me.

    I accept your offer, I told it.  We need your help!

    Words now sprang into my head and I hoped I hadn't made a big mistake.
But I had to act, not just panic and get my ass kicked and scream at bees.
How could I claim my place as the daughter of the Dragon Princess if I
didn't act like a heroine instead of a victim?  We still didn't know the
cost of power, but we had to act.  Or these things would rampage through the
woods and wipe out everyone at the party.  Even idiots like Taiki and Hayao
deserve better than being eaten by monsters.  Crystal Princess, guide us, I
thought, as you guided my mother and my aunts in the battles at Fuuka.

    I could feel them, the words in my mind.  I smiled like the promise of a
new dawn.  I wanted this.  I totally wanted this.  Whatever the cost,
whatever the price, I would pay it.  This was my legacy as the daughter of
the Dragon Princess. This was my ascent out of the darkness and into the
light.  "Foolish monsters!," I shouted.  "This is the oath of Tate Crystal!
As it is spoken, so it shall be!  By the speaking of these words, the
contract is sealed and the prophesy made!  I will pay the price and take the
risk of power!  Power to fight the coming of the Age of Chaos!  By this oath
I take up the duties of the Hime as my mother did before me!  I claim this
by my love for my family and my right of descent!  I choose this freely and
of my own will!  I will destroy my enemies and defend those under my
protection!  I will protect these three schools and all who dwell within!
This I do swear!  Let this contract be sealed!!!"

    The rock suddenly glowed extremely brightly and the glow all suddenly
flowed into me and exploded outwards in a cascade, then crashed back in.  I
was, to my surprise, dressed in a miko's outfit, complete with the baggy
pants; my top was in gold with crystalline dragons embroidered on it and the
baggy pants were made of woven translucent crystalline threads, with golden
boots under them.  To my surprise, I didn't have any sort of mask or
headgear beyond a golden tiara with a huge diamond set into it.  In my hands
I held a huge two-handed sword with a crystalline blade that shimmered with
the light of the rock and the glow of Boris' fires.

    "MIROKU!" I shouted, holding my crystal blade skywards.

    Light erupted downwards around me, and then parted to form shadows and
ribbons of light that wrapped around the shadows, until a suit of samurai
style armor made of a mixture of translucent crystal and black steel, a good
eight feet tall, formed, wearing golden robes and one of those conical
monk's hats, and carrying a monk's staff, complete with those jingling rings
and tipped with a round crystal in a rainbow of colors.  His robes were
embroidered with glittering crystalline thread into six repeated symbols—the
battle princess sign, a wind, a wave, a flame, a leaf, and a naginata
blade.  His monk's hat covered a samurai helmet which hid his face if he had
one; he might well have been a suit of armor come to life.  He struck the
ground once with his staff, causing the five rings (blue, red, white,
silver, and green) to jingle.

    "Miroku, take care of the dog!  I will go after the false dragon!
Natasha, finish the panther-cyborg-thing!  And sic Boris on the ooze
monster!  Maybe he can freeze it!"  Surely he could freeze it this time; it
just needed more exposure.  That's the traditional way to kill ooze monsters
in the movies, anyway.

    Miroku went after the dog, which began bouncing around him, in and out.
It would teleport in, bite him, then get whacked in the head, let go and
teleport out of range.  He stood his ground, whacking it whenever it got
within hitting distance.

    Natasha took on the blinded panther-thing; it forced her back, but her
every parry further damaged its blades and pretty soon, it was going to lose
them completely.  She looked very confident; fortunately, fencing has a
strong defense component, even if Natasha tends to favor the attack.

    Unfortunately, my attack on the dragon wasn't going so well.  It was too
fast for me; when I could hit it, my blows drew blood or ichor or whatever
these things leak.  But most of the time, my attacks whiffed in the air and
it would try to rake me with its claws or breathe fire on me.  I could parry
the claws, but I was wearing myself out trying to avoid the fire.  Everyone
is going to laugh at me if I get my ass kicked by a dragon, given who Mom
is.

    Boris wasn't having much luck, either.  You would THINK an ooze would
freeze easily.  Instead, it just kept coming, covered in frost, gradually
driving him back.

    Worse, the new black serpent molted and became something which rather
resembled a classic saucer UFO if saucer UFOs had eye stalks and tendrils
hanging down around the edges of it. It's main body was black with purple
veins, but the tendrils had white suckers and its eyes were pure white.  It
now charged towards Natasha, firing blasts from its eyes, which she found
hard to dodge, while beleagured by the injured panther-thing.

    Worse, ANOTHER black serpent was now manifesting, faster than the one
before it had.  CRAP.

    This wasn't going to cut it, but we couldn't escape, either; something
had bent space or some sort of metaphysical something to trap us.  Dammit,
why couldn't we get wimpy losers like Kasumi had?  She'd been threshing
serpents like wheat!

    Natasha suddenly switched to all-out assault. A mangled, twisted metal
blade remnant smacked her left forearm, and she cried out in pain; but her
blade pierced her foe's eye socket, and fire suddenly exploded inside his
head.  His remains burned away, turning into black sparkles which gradually
rose skywards.

    She now got knocked on her ass by blasts from the flying tentacle
laser-eye thing.  She shouted at it, "OH COME ON!  COME ON!  I refuse to die
at the hands of something this stupid!"

    Boris now turned and charged the flying thing, breathing fire at it,
which injured it badly, but now his flame wing died down to a low level and
he became sluggish in his movements.

    Unfortunately, this left the ooze free to head for Miroku, who didn't
seem to notice it, preoccupied by his ongoing duel with the teleporting dog;
worse, it evaded his blows with increasing skill, though its own bites
didn't seem to hurt him much.

    "Miroku, watch out for the ooze!"

    Miroku now ran to evade it, but the materializing serpent now formed
itself into a giant poisonous toad and lashed out with its tongue, grappling
him; he beat on it with his staff, but now the ooze was coming for him,
while the teleporting dog bounced around him, biting at him.  NO!

    But I couldn't manage to take out this DAMN DRAGON.  Hopefully Mom's
dragon is less of a bitch than him.

    AND ANOTHER SERPENT WAS FORMING.

    Then two knives dove down from the sky and nailed the injured tentacle
thing, putting out one of its eyes, sticking into the central hub where the
eyes rose.  The flying tentacle thing now lost its balance and began
crashing into trees.  I noticed, though, that the knife stuck in its 'head'
was slowly being pushed out of its head in some way; the other had fallen to
the ground.

    Someone - who I guessed was Kagami, from the naginata - now leaped down
from the sky, nailing the white tentacle eye laser beast thing to a tree
with her weapon. It flailed and howled.  She shouted, "SOPHIA, TAKE OUT THE
DRAGON!"  A huge metal owl now dive-bombed  down towards the dragon, claws
out.  Erica rode on its back and opened fire with a kind of golden and blue
crystal wand thing, hurling a miniature thunderstorm at the dragon. It began
melting - literally - coming apart as the giant owl seized and ate it.

    I could see Shun riding on Kasumi's Horus, a knife in each hand, wedge
shaped with a kind of circular ring on the bottom of the pommel.  I didn't
think he normally carried fighting knives.  Then again, given the monster
attack last Tuesday, I guess he wanted to be ready.  Or maybe he's powered
up and he can call up a swarm of throwing knives?  He doesn't seem to have a
battle uniform, though.  Kasumi rode in front of him, and now she shouted,
"Horus, FEATHER MISSILE ATTACK THE SLIME MONSTER!"

     Horus, who I noted looked a lot larger than when we saw him first at
Fuuka, fired feather-rockets at the ooze, blowing it apart into a half dozen
oozes - now smaller - which began all flowing towards Miroku again.
Fortunately, a fair amount of its mass had been blown away. Then Kasumi
struck with her tonfas at range; her winds sending the teleporting dog
tumbling away from Miroku, who now turned his full attention to beating on
the frog as it tried to eat him. The frog was large - but it wasn't large
enough.

    The new serpent erupted into a bird made of flame and the rock table now
glowed even brighter and TWO black serpents began to form.  DAMNATION.

    "HANNIBAL!" Erica shouted, jumping off Sophia and landing on a giant
steam-powered elephant as he rose up out of the rock table in a wave of
water and began spewing steam everywhere.

    Boris now sucked in heat again and the steam turned to a rain of snow
near him, coating Natasha in white.

    Hannibal charged at the fire bird, Erica also blasting at it; it was
soon in retreat and getting worn away.

    Natasha launched herself at the oozes, only to find her sword barely
hurt it and indeed flickered as if it might go out whenever she struck at
it; she soon was in retreat with the oozes in pursuit.

    I charged in to cover her; to my pleasure, MY weapon could hurt them,
cutting them into smaller bits and burning away some of their black and
purple gunk with bursts of yellow light on contact.  Now I drove the pieces
back, whaling away at them with glee.

    Kasumi attacked the teleporting dog and shouted, "Horus, take out the
frog!"   She and the dog began bouncing around, neither of them staying
still for more than two seconds, neither of them able to hit each other at
all.

    One of the serpents now unfolded into a giant metal bull; the other one
became a tangled mass of vines with yellow flowers which kept puffing out
bursts of pollen and moving unnaturally as if it was alive.  I mean, as if
it was an animal.

    THREE more serpents began forming.  Dammit!

    Erica and Hannibal had slaughtered the fire bird easily and now turned
and charged at the metal bull, firing away at it with her wand.  It tried to
breathe a grey gas at them, but her storm blasts dispersed it, and then
Hannibal and the bull went at it, tusks vs. horns.

    Boris and Natasha charged at the giant mass of vines, which soon found
itself burning as they unleashed fire on it.

    Horus was hit-and-running on the giant frog with his beak and claws, and
it was gradually being beaten to death as it tried to eat Miroku - who
seemed fairly resistant to its attacks, for which I was grateful. With the
ooze bits dead, I charged to his aid, and began stabbing and beating on the
frog. It began tearing open and burning where I hit it; but now I got purple
and black gunk on me, which smelled terrible, and I started to feel a little
sick.

    Kasumi looked really frustrated, because she couldn't hit her foe.
Meanwhile, Shun was still riding on Horus. He hadn't thrown more knives; I
couldn't tell if he was picking his targets carefully, or more likely, had
only a limited number of knives.

    Crystal Princess, if you are listening in, this is probably a good time
for powering up Shun!  Assuming you take men, but I don't see why not.  He
certainly needs it!

    Miroku turned his staff and touched the gunk on me; it began rapidly
burning away, and I felt better.  The frog died under my sword, coming apart
into a pile of gunk, which burst into purple and black flame and began
burning away into sparkles.

    Natasha's vine monster was now dead; as it burned, Boris sucked out the
heat, and it just crumbled to ash.

    This was just in time for the three new serpents to shed their skins.
The first became a weird looking black, purple, and white-fringed kind of
winged lion with a spiked tail.  The second became a flying giant manta ray
with red glowing eyes.  And the third became a black and purple giant human
skeleton with ruby eyes, engulfed in flames.

    And four more serpents began to form.

    DAMMIT.

********************

Akira's Tale:

    Being carried by Akane left me feeling extremely frustrated and panicked
at the same time.  My boy, my boy, my boy!  I wasn't even properly armed; I
only had a few knives on me.  I stupidly wasn't expecting a real fight.
Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!

    I was breathing hard and trying to calm myself when we reached the
practice field.    Nagiki Junko was pacing back and forth, agitated.  Her
fancy dress was now dirty and torn in several places, and she carried a
stout tree branch in each hand, broken off to make fighting sticks.

    She turned and stared at us as Akane came blazing up, then bowed to us.
"Sensei, I am ready."

    "Your poor dress," Akane said, sounding sad.

    That's Akane all over.  The kids are in danger and she's sorry
Nagiki-san's dress got torn.  What is wrong with you?

    "Junko-san," Akane now said, changed from stupidly sorry over a dress to
very serious.  "Do you know where the fighting is taking place?"

    We'd lost track of the kids in the darkness thanks to buildings and
trees blocking our line of sight.  They must have been flying pretty low.

    Assuming that was them, anyway.

    "I know the general area," she said.  "I am ready, sensei."

    Akane licked her lips nervously, then said, "Junko-san, this is going to
be very dangerous and you must tell no one what is going on."

    "I understand, sensei," she said.

    I frowned.  Does she?  How much has she been told?  For all we know, the
kids have blabbed everything to their lovers, given at least one of them has
powers now.  And was either confident or foolish enough to summon her falcon
where other people might see.

    "I'm serious," Akane said firmly.  "This is the point of no return.  If
you are in, you are in."

    "I can't stand back and leave Crystal in danger," Junko said.  "And if I
train to fight, surely it is for times like this."  She stared at the
ground, then said, "If you think I am ready, then I will go.  If not, I will
stay."

    "I wasn't even close to ready for my first battle," Akane said softly,
staring off into the past.  She looked over at the dorm; most of the lights
were out and no one seemed to be looking.  She closed her eyes for a
moment.  "Don't laugh if this doesn't come out the way I want it."

    I blinked.  "Don't laugh?"

    "Laugh, sensei?" Junko asked, confused.

    "Harry!," Akane said loudly and then winds engulfed us; Junko and I both
nearly fell down and when the wind and debris cleared, Harry stood before us
and Akane had changed her clothing into a white and gold version of my ninja
uniform, right down to a gold-trimmed white domino mask.  She now held her
giant double-tonfas.

    Junko's jaw dropped for a moment and she stared.  I guess she didn't
know everything.  The children had some discretion.  Shun had told Akane not
to show off in front of outsiders, after all.

    I prayed this wasn't a mistake.  But if Crystal has powers now...though
if Crystal does, you'd think she'd come flaunt them in our face and demand
answers.

    Akane looked down at herself and looked extremely relieved.  "It
worked."

    "Why did you think we would laugh?" I asked curiously.

    "No reason at all," she said firmly.

    I raised a curious eyebrow, but she said, "Everyone get on Harry.  We
have to hurry, even if it risks being spotted."

    We clambered onto Harry's back and he took to the air.  Junko's eyes
widened, but then she smiled widely as the wind wipped at us.

    The large cloud of mist off to the northwest of the party was pretty
easy to see once we were up over the trees; Akane stayed close to the
treeline to reduce our visibility, though it was pretty dark here with just
starlight and a new moon.  Plus clouds hid some of the stars.

    "That's probably it," I said.  Looked like we probably didn't need a
guide after all.

    "That doesn't look natural," Junko said, frowning.

    "It's not," I said.  "Is there anything in the woods there normally,
Nagiki-san?"

    "There's an old stone platform that has a bunch of Chinese characters
and inscriptions.  If you brin...umm, anyway, it makes a clearing because
nothing can grow on it or through it," Junko said.

    I had thought the nun brigade went over this whole area with a fine
tooth comb.  So either that thing used to have no powers or maybe it just
makes a good place for a fight.

    As we headed for the fog, I could hear something.  Junko and Akane
seemed fixed on the mist, but there was something, a voice...

    My voice.  Whispering to me.  Whispering an oath.  If I took it, if I
said it, I would gain my powers back.  But there would be no release this
time.  If our powers failed, it would mean the power of the Hime had been
destroyed and we all were doomed before whatever god took control of the
Earth.

    We had not chosen our destinies the first time.  Not understanding the
path we would walk or the duties our power entailed.  To take this oath was
the end of normal life.  We might fake it in the future, but it would only
be faking, for we would not be normal.

    I had enjoyed being normal.  Being able to just be myself with a loving
husband and a loving son, teaching my students and having a wonderful family
who accept me.  I've never been very good at being a woman, but I found the
one man who wouldn't care about that at all.  Takumi loves me as I am, with
all my flaws.

    I would kill for him.  I WILL kill for him.  Because anyone who
threatens my husband is going to be destroyed.  Or who threatens my son.

    But taking this power means risking Takumi.  We'd discussed this.

*************

    The first night we came back from Fuuka, I couldn't sleep.  I wandered
outside into the garden, staring up at the moon and the stars, leaving
Takumi asleep as I wandered around in my burgundy pajamas.  They have little
green frogs all over them, a gift from my sister, Mai.

    For all that I am frustrated with her desire to hide from all this, I
love her dearly and she loves me.  I could ask anything of her and she would
give it.  Well, almost anything, though I suspect if I asked for a night
with Yuuichi, Mikoto would ask to join us.

    Not that I would ever ask for that, mind you.  I greatly respect Yuuichi
and his fighting skills but he's too tall and macho for me and I would never
break my marital oath and neither would he.

    Anyway, they're very nice pajamas.

    As I was busy wandering around, worrying about my son and his new Hime
girlfriend, Takumi surprised me with a hug from behind and a kiss on the
cheek.  I smiled, feeling a little better.

    "I love you, come to bed," he said softly.  "Before you walk on more of
the petunias."

    I had trampled several of them, not paying attention to my own movements
and felt horrified.  "I'm sorry."

    "It's okay," he said.  "The summer heat was killing them anyway."  He
pulled me out of the middle of the flower bed.  "What's wrong?"

    "Takumi, I don't know what to do," I said softly.  "I need the power to
protect you, but I can't...if I take the oath, if I get a chance to, it puts
you in danger."

    "It doesn't matter," he said.  "I'm already in danger.  We're at war.  I
trust you to protect me."

    "The last time you trusted me to protect you, I failed," I said, staring
at the ground.

    He kissed me again.  "Only because we were turned against each other.
This time, we will win."  He was so confident, and I felt so weak.  He has
no powers, he knows I couldn't protect him last time, but he trusts me
anyway.

    "So you want me to take the oath if I get a chance," I said.

    "I will take any risk for you.  I would take it myself and fight by your
side if I could, but I know that's not an option.  So I will just support
you however I can," he said.  "Remind me to go restock our first aid
supplies tomorrow."

    I turned to face him and kissed him quickly, then rested my head on his
shoulder.  "I am too weak and you are so strong," I mumbled.

    "You are strong," he said softly.  "I was nothing, a wretched, clinging
wreck when you met me, and you made me strong.  If I am strong, it is
because you pushed me to become more than I am.  You taught me to be a real
man."

    "I'm not good at being a man or a woman," I mumbled.

    "You are my Akira, and that is all that matters.  I love you in all your
guises, warrior and wife, teacher and mother, ninja and artist."  Then, to
my surprise, he picked me up and started carrying me inside.  I was rather
stunned.  "Come to bed.  Do what you must when the time comes.  But worrying
about it right now won't do us any good."

    His voice was strained as he spoke and I said, "Honey, are you sure you
can handle me?"

    "I am fine," he said, stumbling and gritting his teeth.  "I am going to
carry you to our bed."

    "Honey, I can walk," I told him.

    He started to sweat.  "Yes, but I refuse to give up."

    He does do a lot of yardwork.  I didn't think he was strong enough to
carry me this far in his arms, though.  Being carried in someone's arms is
very romantic, but it's not very practical for carrying adults if you can
help it.

    We have a two-story house; Shun's room and the guest room are upstairs;
we took the ground floor bedroom so we could ensure he didn't wander outside
when he was little like he sometimes tried to do in the middle of the night.

    I could feel him shaking, but he continued to move forward, ever slower
with every step.  I kissed his cheek.  "Better hurry, I'm starting to feel a
little frisky," I told him.

    He sped up, suddenly carrying me easily, and rushed into the bedroom,
and then we both fell over onto the bed, laughing.

    "Yes!" he said.  "I wasn't sure if I'd make it.  I really need to build
some more muscle."

    "Come over here and show me your muscles," I purred at him.

    We soon...got frisky.  Which you don't need to hear about.  Back to the
woods.

***************

    I want the power.  I need it.  But what if I fail?

    I looked over at Junko and Akane again.  Junko looked confident, but she
clearly didn't know the score and there wasn't time to tell her.  Quite
possibly she's already at risk and doesn't know it.

    Akane looked ready to kick the Crimson Huntsman in the groin, then dance
with Kazuya on his bent over body.  No fear at all.  Was she just
overconfident from her victory at Fuuka?  Or was I overthinking this?

    "Akane," I said softly.  "How can you be so confident after all you've
been through?"

    "I have the best sisters in the world to fight by my side, students who
trust me, a daughter and two sons and a husband who love me, and I am
stronger than ever before.  I failed last time because I was betrayed, but
this time, we will stand together and win and nothing can stop us.
Nothing."  She looked so strong, as Takumi had, and I felt ashamed of
myself.

    I'm supposed to be strong, why do I always feel so weak when it's most
important?  I talk about being a strong teacher, pushing the kids hard, but
I crumple myself when push comes to shove.  I hate this.  I hate it.

    Junko looked at me, now worried, then at Akane and seemed to get her
assurance back.   Hesitantly, she said, "Don't worry, Tokiha-sensei.  Shun
has been practicing very hard and he is very good."

    Is it written on my forehead?  I guess so.

    This was the moment of decision.  We were almost there.  If I did this,
there would be no turning back.  If I did not, the Crystal Princess would
find someone else to take my place.  I know Haruka is champing at the bit
for power.

    But no.  I may risk Takumi with the power but without it, I cannot
protect him.

    I stood up and held out my hand, the words springing to my lips once I
released them.  "This is the oath of Tokiha Akira!  I am the Battle Princess
of Shadow, striking in the night in service of the light!  I accept my
destiny to fight for this world and the ones I love!  I wield the
Shadowblade and command Gennai!  This is my fate, now and forever more!"

    All the darkness of the night converged on me and swirled around me,
then exploded outwards, leaving me clad in my ninja uniform in burgundy and
black, my Element in my hand.  Junko stared at me, eyes wide and I wondered
why she was so surprised when she'd seen Akane do the same basic trick
before.

    We were over the fog now and Akane smiled at me brightly.  "Let's fight
side by side, my sister."

    "As we were meant to," I said, taking her hand.

    "Harry, take Junko down inside the mist.  Akira, let's go!," Akane said
and then we jumped down through the mist to the battle below us.

    A huge ancient chunk of wall (I think) covered much of the floor of the
clearing; it was covered with weather-worn Chinese characters and engraved
images.  Crystal stood on it, parrying flaming attacks from a giant burning
skeleton while a suit of samurai armor in monk's robes, probably her Child
given she was dressed like a miko, beat it in the head with his staff.

    A manticore-like creature was attacking Shun in the air, firing spikes
at him as he rode upon a giant white falcon.  However, the falcon now dove
under the flying creature and Shun proceeded to slice at its underbelly with
the two knives in his hands.  I smiled a little at that, then frowned, as it
was clear he hadn't manifested powers, given he was still in casual clothing
and all the others had on fancy outfits.

    On the other hand, he was hurting an Orphan with ordinary knives, which
wasn't something most people could do, so I wasn't sure what was going on.
Or were they ordinary?

    Kagami was sparring with a giant flying manta ray. It kept trying to
sting her with its tail; but she would parry with the shaft of her naginata,
then counter-attack with the blade.  Her Child now came around and snatched
the creature in its jaws and began chewing on it as it flailed desperately.

    I looked at another of the children, who was busy blasting a metal bull
with her wand and her elephant Child was busy ramming it over and over,
slowly beating it into the ground.  I couldn't quite tell who she was at
first, somehow, though when I concentrated, I could tell it was Erica.

    Natasha and her...I have no clue what that thing is...her giant flame
lizard were fighting against a stony stegasaurus-like Orphan; it was losing
the fight.

    Kasumi was locked in battle with a strange teleporting dog thing; there
was a giant bat creature in the air above her about to go after Shun and the
falcon.  I noticed Kasumi had tonfas just like her mother.

    There was also a huge purple and black fungal puffball bouncing towards
Kagami, who charged it with her naginata.

    Right in the middle of the stone floor of the clearing, four black
serpentine creatures were shimmering into existence.  This area had somehow
become a magic zone and I suspected the stone table was somehow responsible.

    I landed on the table, shouting, "GENNAI!" He came in a puff of
darkness; I felt much better having him here. It's been so long since the
last time I saw him. Twenty-three years. He looked much larger and more
powerful now; of course, Akane and I have had a long time to build much
deeper relationships with our husbands than we had back then.

     Akane landed beside me; above us, Harry was diving down with Junko
riding him.  I leaped up onto Gennai's back and hurled the Shadowblade, my
element, pinning the shadow of the teleporting dog.   It looked utterly
confused when it was unable to teleport.  "Kasumi, finish it!"

    "HORUS, FEATHER MISSILE STRIKE!," Kasumi shouted, leaping away from it;
the dog was blown apart into chunks by high speed exploding black tipped
white feathers that shot like rockets from the falcon's wings.  The chunks
dissolved into black sparkles which dissolved away.  Kasumi, though, looked
a little nauseous after seeing the chunks.  I certainly felt a little
nauseous.

    "Harry, stop the bat!"  Akane shouted.  Harry and Junko and the giant
bat were soon locked in mid-air combat.  The bat was doing better than I
thought he would until Junko leaped onto him and began bashing him with her
sticks.  To my surprise, this did rather more damage than I would have
expected.

    Erica shouted, "Go for his ears!"

    Ears?

    Junko began bashing vigorously on his ears, barely staying on the bat,
while Harry clawed at it.  The bat now started flying erratically, smacked
into a treetop and fell.  Unfortunately, this also meant Junko went
tumbling.

    "JUNKO!" Crystal shouted, and broke off from the burning skeleton -
which had been losing its fight with Crystal and her Child - to try and
catch her.

     Akane had the same idea, though, and was faster, springing upwards for
the catch, then dropping lightly to the ground with Junko in her arms. "Are
you okay?

    "Shun!" she said, pointing upwards.

    Shun blinked, turned and saw the manticore had come around, bleeding
from the wounds on its underbelly. I noticed those wounds had partially
closed - but only partially.  It was about to dive down on Horus from
above...  or more precisely, dive down and snatch Shun with its claws.

    I summoned the Shadowblade to my hands only to realize that the main
light sources here were Natasha's burning Child and the burning
skeleton...which meant the manticore's shadow was projected UPWARDS.  There
was nothing up there to pin the shadow to, assuming I could even find it.

    DAMMIT!

    The fungal puffball charging Kagami found itself cut in half as her
blade cleaved it with ease, then she spun and cut it in half a second time.
Fungal chunks flew in four directions, then dissolved away, skywards.
"SHUN!"

    "Go for the eyes!," Erica shouted and aimed her golden wand at the the
manticore's eyes.  She blasted one side of its head and I threw the
shadowblade at its other eye; the blade, to my surprise, went right through
the eye socket into the brain.  However, Erica and I were both surprised
when its other eye survived her attack.

    Shun now whipped one of his knives into the other eye and Horus rolled
to one side, putting itself on the side totally blinded.  Shun's knife dug
into the eye, ruining it but not piercing it to the brain. I still felt very
proud of him.

    Kasumi and Akane gave huge sighs of relief, and now Kagami gave a howl
of anger and hurled her naginata like a javelin.  It sliced right through
the manticore's skull, rupturing it.  It exploded in a shower of black
sparks and rained down, the sparks dissolving away.  The naginata kept going
and stuck in the upper part of a tree a fair ways away and Kagami shouted,
"No!  Come back!"  She began to run after it.

    Crystal hugged Junko.  "Are you okay?"

    "I am fine," Junko said.  "We must fight."

    Crystal nodded and ran back to the slow but steady beating her monk was
giving to the burning skeleton.

    "Call it to you," I told Kagami.

    She shouted and it pulled itself out of the tree, flying to her.

    The stegasaurus facing Natasha now died and dissolved away, just in time
for the four serpents to unfold themselves.  One of them resembled a sort of
giant purple, green, and black six-legged wolf thing.  The second rather
resembled a griffon in green, purple, and black.  The third was a huge red
and black skinned humanoid about ten feet tall with pointed ears and fangs
in his mouth and flames all over.  And the fourth was a humongous silver and
black metal centipede with blades on every single one of his feet and spikes
sticking out of him and huge pincers.

    And now five more serpentine creatures were forming.

    This had to stop.  "Gennai!  Smash this stone floor to bits!" I
shouted.  "Natasha, take on the metal bull!  Erica, break off and attack the
flaming skeleton!  Crystal, take on the centipede!  Akane, handle the wolf!
Kasumi, Shun, deal with that griffon!  Kagami, reinforce Horus with Sophia
but you help me destroy this stone floor!  Junko, see if you can spot Chie
and Aoi, they're supposed to be coming!"

    It's a good thing that mist muffles sound or that whole party would be
hearing this, I thought.  At least no one is likely to be wandering around
through the woods.

******************

Gin's Tale:

    Seeing Crystal freak out freaked me out.  Junko and Crystal took off
running, having given me an incoherent message and telling me to call Kasumi
EVEN THOUGH THEY HAD JUST SHOWN ME MY PHONE WASN'T WORKING HERE.

    For a moment, I wondered if someone had drugged Crystal, but Junko was
acting weird too.

    Black serpents?  There are snakes in the woods?  After my girlfriend?

    I had to do something, but what?  I paced back and forth, trying to
think of something that scares snakes beyond Indiana Jones.  Or was he
afraid of snakes?

    Anyway, smoke...I was pretty sure smoke scares off snakes by messing up
their sense of smell.  Or was that bees?

    I borrowed a lighter and turned my shirt and a sturdy stick into an
improvised torch by soaking it in sake.  Which means no more shirt, but I'd
rather buy a new shirt than lose my girlfriend.

    I then headed into the woods in quest of the missing Natasha,
periodically trying to make calls to Kasumi, none of which went through.

    The air was very muggy and unpleasant, but my torch gave me plenty of
light, thankfully.  I slowly made my way roughly north, trying to find
Natasha or Crystal or anyone, smoke swirling around me from my torch.

    This repulsed a few stray bees, but I was pretty much blindly wandering
around, unable to find anything.  Then I heard footsteps nearby.  "Hello?" I
asked.

    "Houseki-san, is that you?" Chie-sensei asked me.

    I turned around until I saw Chie-sensei running up, stuffing something
in her purse.  Aoi-sensei was with her, carrying a flashlight, and they both
looked quite worried.  "Have you seen Natasha?" Chie-sensei asked me.

    "It's me," I said.  "And no, I'm trying to find her," I continued.
"She's being chased by black snakes or something."

    "Are you burning your shirt?" Aoi-sensei asked, noticing my torch.

    "I can't get a GPS reading," Chie-sensei grumbled, studying her phone;
it looked like she was using some kind of GPS and map program to try to
navigate.

    "Why are you two here, anyway?" I asked.

    "Trying to find Natasha," Chie-sensei said, glancing around.

    "Well, we can search together," I said.

    For a moment, I thought they were going to say no, but then Aoi-sensei
said, "Okay.  Let's search."

    I was utterly lost, but at least I wasn't utterly lost by myself.

**************

Shun's Tale:

    I only had one knife left and would have to make it count. I was aching
all over and my arms and fingers and my chest had this annoying feeling as
if they'd somehow gone to sleep in the middle of the battle.  Also, I felt
like I had gas or something, though I tried to ignore it.

     Mom's giant frog kept spitting a huge spinning mace on a chain out of
its mouth and smashing up more of the table.  It was pretty awesome.  And
man, Mom can pin things in place by putting a knife in their shadow!  That's
really cool.  The five materializing snakes began to howl in agony.  Kagami
was hacking away with her naginata, sending chunks of stone flying.

    This, however, didn't make things easy for my cousins, who were trying
to fight monsters on the table as it was being smashed apart. Even so, the
battle was going much more smoothly. Natasha was carving up the metal bull
quite easily, after it had held its own so long against Erica; Boris was
sucking the heat out of it, slowing it to a crawl. The flaming skeleton's
fires were being doused by Erica's rain blasts, while Hannibal smashed at it
with his tusks; electrical discharges came with every hit, while steam from
his joints made it howl in agony. Harry and Aunt Akane did some kind of
joint attack which seemed to suck all the air out of the area around the
wolf, making it struggle to keep from exploding in the vacuum. Miroku was
holding the centipede at a distance with his staff, keeping its many spikes
from touching him; as it reared up to attack him, Crystal darted in and
attacked its underbelly, her sword slicing it open there with ease.

    I couldn't see what Junko was doing; I think she'd wandered into the
mistdome trying to watch for Aunt Chie and Aunt Aoi.

    The griffon had no real hope against both Horus and Sophia.  Sophia
latched on to him; Horus made a series of passes, clawing and biting. I took
whatever chances I could to stab, though I don't think I did very much to
him.  Mostly I clung to Horus and prayed my legs wouldn't get too tired for
me to stay on.  Kasumi flew up and joined us, hammering away at the griffon
with her tonfas, and then he came apart under the assaults and dissolved
away.

    The table shattered into broken bits of stone and the materializing
serpents gave a final howl and broke apart into sparkles.  More black
sparkles now rose up through the breaks in the giant slab and rose upwards,
evaporating.

    Had the snakes all been trapped under the table or something?

    Pretty quickly, the family took apart the remaining monsters, which
dissolved away.  Horus and Sophia landed and I stumbled over to Kagami, legs
sore, and hugged her.  I could see Aunt Akane hugging Kasumi and Crystal ran
off to find Junko.

    Kagami kissed me fiercely.  "Are you okay?" she asked frantically.

    My legs ached and I need to find my knives and I feel battered all over,
but basically, I was okay.  "I'm fine," I said to her.  "But I need to find
my knives."

    Mom came and grabbed us both, hugging us tightly.  "Are you okay, Shun?"
she asked frantically.

    "I am fine," I said.  It actually kind of hurt to be hugged, but that
was okay.  I didn't want to worry them, as I wasn't bleeding anywhere.  "I
may need some of that bruise cream stuff, though."

    Erica was feeding fallen tree branches to Hannibal; he would strip them
of leaves and throw them in a stack.  I'd never seen an elephant eat before;
it was kind of cool.

    "Oh, and Mom, you totally kick ass," I said, smiling.

    Mom said, "Thank you, Shun.  Nice throwing at the eye."

    "Yeah, but you kinda outdid me there," I said.  "Of course, I just have
normal knives." I began to wonder if I hadn't powered up because I was being
saved for later, or if this meant that I was just out of luck.  On the other
hand, Natasha and Crystal had both powered up when they were totally on
their own and either had to get powers or die, whereas I had rather strong
backup.  "Did Dan call you?"

    "Yes," Mom said, still hugging us.  "We were on our way to see you all
anyway."

    Natasha stared at the shattered table.  "Well, there goes this makeout
spot."

    "This was a makeout spot?" Mom asked, frowning.

    "No one was making out here and got eaten," Natasha said quickly.  "I
actually first encountered them off in another clearing a lot closer to the
party."

    She explained everything that happened to her, then Crystal told the
story of what had happened to her when she returned with Junko.  I couldn't
help laughing at the bees chasing her.

    "Do all of your generation have matching outfits like that?" I asked Mom
curiously.  She and Aunt Akane were wearing the same outfit, just in
different color schemes.

    Kagami looked at Aunt Akane, blinked, then nodded approvingly.  I
wondered what she was thinking.

    "Just the two of us," Mom said.  "Though Midori tried proposing matching
outfits one time."

    Aunt Akane laughed.  "That's Midori."  She now came over and hugged
Kagami tightly.  "You okay?"

    "I'm great," she said.  "But how do we hide a mess like this?"

    Broken branches laid all over, various trees had battle damage, the
stone table was smashed to bits, some of the stone had black soot on it, and
now there was a stack of branches stripped of leaves.

    Mom looked thoughtful.  "Move the rubble to form a ring.  Dump all the
broken tree bits in the middle.  Set them on fire.  Erica can then douse the
fire once it burns enough.  There won't be a good explanation how this was
done, but everyone will think someone decided to make a really big
campfire.  As for the rest...well, nothing we can do about that,
unfortunately.  Shun, make absolutely certain you find all your knives."

    I nodded; Kagami and Erica helped me search.  I was able to find all of
them.

    "Shouldn't Harada-sensei and Senoh-sensei be here by now?" Junko asked.

    "I'll call Mom," Erica said.  "Assuming phones work."

    Her call went through, so I assume they started working again.  Whatever
made the stone summon monsters probably was cutting off calls too.

*************

Gin's Tale:

    Chie-sensei took a phonecall and looked relieved.  "We're here with Gin;
he's trying to find Natasha.  Given we got your call, I assume my GPS should
start working again.  Where do we meet up?"

    "Is Natasha okay?" I asked urgently.

    My phone rang; it was Natasha.  Wow, just like magic.  Say the name
and...anyway.

    "Hey, dear, are you okay?" Natasha asked; she sounded tired but excited.

    "I'm fine, except I kind of had to burn my shirt to make a torch," I
told her.

    "Why?" she asked, confused.

    "So I could see when I went looking for you," I said.

    "You're okay, right?" she asked worriedly.

    "I said I was fine," I said.  "Did you get away from the snakes?"

    "Yes.  But now I think I'm going to be taken and bitched out," Natasha
said.  "So I will have to see you tomorrow unless we run into each other on
the way out of the woods."

    "That's not fair," I said, frowning.

    I now noticed Chie-sensei had stepped to one side and was whispering
into her phone.  Probably chewing out Erica for throwing a bitch-fit at
Hikaru or something.

    "I really shouldn't have run off on my own, it's okay," she said.  "I
love you."

    "I love you too," I told her.  "I think Chie-sensei can get us out of
the woods with her GPS."

    "Okay," she said.  "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

    "Okay," I told her.  "Love you."

    "I love you very much," she said.  "Bye, dear."

    I hung up.  "Natasha is okay," I said.  "So who is in charge of chewing
her out?"

    "Probably Akira, as her mother is probably asleep," Aoi-sensei said.
"Let's take you somewhere we can get some decent light, so I can make sure
you don't have any cuts that could be infected."

    "Thank you, Aoi-sensei," I said.  "I think I'm okay, but I'd rather not
have to have any of my limbs cut off to save me."

    "Quite," she said and once Chie-sensei finished her call, we headed
back.

******************

Natasha's Tale:

    Erica had bandaged up my upper left arm; the rest of me had some bruises
but was pretty much functional.  These battle outfits provide pretty good
protection.  Plus, I had KICKED ASS.

    We walked back through the woods in civvies; best not to draw any
attention.  Erica guided us with her phone GPS and map thing.

    "Man, I never expected to have a dinosaur, but Boris is pretty kickass,"
I said.  "I'm really glad my uniform has nice sturdy pants, though.  He's a
low-rider dinosaur.  I wonder what he eats; I need to stock snacks for him."

    "He's not a dinosaur, he's a pelycosaur," Erica said.  "They're actually
closer to mammals than to reptiles, and they actually predated dinosaurs.
They lived in the Permian, around 280 million years ago.  Dinosaurs were
from about 230 to 65 million years ago, when that meteor hit and wiped them
out."

    I frowned.  "Pelycosaur sounds kind of retarded."

    "I have a giant frog.  Quit your complaining," Aunt Akira said.

    "Yeah, but you have a giant frog that KICKS ASS," I said.

    Shun nodded.  "You were great, Mom."

    "You should carry an xenon arc light," Erica said.  "Then you could make
a shadow whenever you want and pin things, even in a normally dark
environment."

    Aunt Akira nodded.  "Wouldn't it tend to get broken in battle, though?"

    "True.  Still, some kind of source of light would be good," Erica said.


    "Your child's fog muffles sound, right?" Aunt Akira  asked Erica.

    "Yes," Erica said.  "Hannibal can hide our battles well, well enough no
one saw me in my first fight on Tuesday."

    Junko walked hand in hand with Crystal, seeming very cheerful even
though her dress was about to come apart and leave her half-naked. Crystal
mumbled something, and Junko looked over at her curiously.

    I looked over too. "What's wrong?"

    "I kind of expected to do better after the way Kasumi kicked so much ass
at Fuuka," Crystal mumbled.  "Also, I feel like an idiot I didn't think that
we all needed to switch foes like Aunt Akira told us to do.  Of course you
sic the person with water blasts on the fire monster and the fire person to
melt the metal monster and so on."

    Erica looked embarrassed.  "Well, I wasn't thinking of the big picture
either."

    "All's well that ends well," Aunt Akane said.  "I missed the giant brawl
up in the mountains, so this is the first time I've seen a fight this big.
Unless you count blowing up the star, but that was just one opponent."

    "You blew up a star?" Crystal said in shock.

    "Was it Marduk's Namcub?" Erica asked.

    "Who?  What?" Aunt Akane asked, looking confused.

    "Marduk is a Babylonian god, I think," Kagami said hesitantly.  "I think
he got mentioned briefly in World History."

    Even Sakomizu-sensei can't make that class not suck or me stay awake.

    "The Hime star was used by the Obsidian Lord to control the world," Aunt
Akira said.  "Most of us destroyed it together, while Mai and Mikoto and
Yuuichi defeated the Obsidian Lord."

    "It must have been his Namcub's physical manifestation," Erica said.

    "Does that mean Dad has powers too?" Crystal asked.

    "Not that we're aware of, other than sharing in whatever is keeping us
young," Aunt Akira said.  "However, he did use a special sword made by Miyu
in the fight."

    "Can men get this power at all?" Shun asked.

    "We don't know," Aunt Akira said.  "All of our generation were women.
But the Obsidian Lord selected us because he wanted a bride.  We don't know
if men are entirely barred or if it's just because, well, he didn't want a
man."

    "I can't decide if Dad was crazy or super-brave," Crystal said softly as
she walked along, holding Junko's hand tightly.

    "Love makes you both," Aunt Akira said softly.  "The more we love, the
stronger our powers become.  The more you love and the clearer you are about
your feelings, the stronger your powers become and the more powerful your
Child is."

    "Child?" Crystal asked.

    "Our animal companions," Erica said.  "Right?"

    "The Child is the strange creature born of the love between a Hime and
the person most important to them," Aunt Akane said.  "Be it your lover or
your child or your parent or a beloved friend or whatever.  The stronger
that love, the more powerful your Child becomes.  Which is why Harry and
Gennai are so large.  Akira and I have very strong hearts."

    Aunt Akira looked embarrassed by that.  Shun grinned.  "They're kind of
loud, too."

    "Shun!"

    He began laughing.  "I'm just teasing, Mom.  So, I might or might not
get powers, but the family has anti-monster weapons for those who don't."

    "Yes," Aunt Akira said.  "And there is at least one person we suspect
may have Hime powers who is a man."

    "The mysterious master of the giant robot you tried to pin on ME?" I
asked.

    "Yes," Aunt Akira said.

    "I suppose Aunt Shiho's powers flow out of her love for Natasha, then,"
Shun speculated.  "Given she goes through boyfriends so much, I doubt they
count as the person most loved."

    "I would think so," Aunt Akane said.  "These days."

    "Well, I know she was hot for Uncle Yuuichi a long time ago," I told
her.  "So what is her Child?"

    "A giant crow," Aunt Akane said.  "Yagatsuchi is his name, I think."

    "Sounds about right," Aunt Akira said.

    "Do monsters normally come in all sorts of colors?"  I asked.

    "Potentially, yes," Aunt Akira said.  "They often manifest first as some
sort of black shape, then turn into another shape."

    "Do they fight each other?" I asked.

    She frowned.  "Not unless someone controls them to, in our general
observation."

    I told her what I had seen.

    "I will have to ask Miyu," Aunt Akira said.  "Maybe they've seen
something like that in their monster hunting."

    "So it's not normal," I said.

    "No, I don't think so, but I'm not sure," Aunt Akira said.

    "So Harry can fly?  But he's a tiger," I said.  Maybe Boris can learn to
fly.  That would rock.

    "You need to be very careful about flying around so you are not
spotted," Aunt Akira said.  "We saw you and it's possible others did, as we
ran into the Principal, Vice-Principal AND a Regent of the School roaming
the grounds a little earlier.

    "We were desperate to get to Crystal and Natasha quickly," Kasumi said.
"It was my idea."

    "Given what was happening on our arrival, it likely saved their lives.
But you will need to be very careful," Aunt Akira said.  "Fortunately,
tonight was very dark and we couldn't even keep you in sight for long." She
paused a moment, thinking. "So what is this 'Namcub' you mentioned?"

    I explained everything, from our finding the Namcub and Dan reading it
to Erica's battle to now.  "So I guess Marduk took to calling himself the
Obsidian Lord."

    "So Dan carries this 'Namcub' inside him?" Aunt Akira said, frowning.

    "I think it, at the very least, makes him heal very quickly.  His
bruises faded far faster than is natural," Erica said.  "It may well have
enhanced him in general, but the stuff we've been doing mostly would not
show that off.  He and I have both been learning very fast to shoot better
and drive a motorcycle, though.  Aunt Natsuki was impressed."

    "So how do you turn your powers on and off to avoid giving them away?"
Kasumi asked.

    "We don't," Aunt Akira said flatly.  She then explained about magical
zones, while we all boggled.

    "So the seven of us are the only ones of us who can use our powers
everywhere?" Crystal said, eyes wide.

    "Eight with Miyu," Aunt Akira said.  "Her abilities work everywhere
too."

    "I'm sorry, Kasumi," Aunt Akane said to her.

    "It's okay, Mother," Kasumi said.  "I've accepted it."  She sighed.  "I
should have known it was a case of no turning back."

    "We are all committed," Aunt Akira said.  "Shun, I..."

    "I will take the oath, if given the choice," Shun said soberly.
"Especially given so few of us can use their powers everywhere."

    "I think that thing was generating a magic zone until I smashed it,
enabling the monsters to break through.  And I expect it was getting
stronger," Aunt Akane said.  "Hmm.  Shun, Junko, did either of you feel a
kind of itchy feeling during that battle?  Like a part of your body was
tingling?  Or just a general feeling like goosebumps?"

    "Yes," Shun said.  "My hands, arms, chest all felt kind of prickly.
And..."  He paused.  "Well, probably not relevant."

    "Anything might be.  Spit it out," Aunt Akira said urgently.

    "Umm...I felt like I had gas, then I forgot, and by the end of the
battle, the feeling was gone," Shun said.

    "You probably just farted without actually noticing," I said, laughing.


    "Having gas doesn't mean anything I know of," Aunt Akira said.  She
rubbed her forehead.

    "I definitely felt something odd when I was attacking the bat creature,
a kind of itchy sensation," Junko said.

    "I felt it most when I was attacking things too," Shun said.

    "Hmm, that could indicate potential," Aunt Akira said.  "Unfortunately,
we really don't know as much about all this as I'd like."

    We now emerged from the woods and found Aunt Chie and Aunt Aoi waiting
for us.  They immediately rushed over to Erica and began fussing over her,
which clearly embarrassed her and made me laugh.

    "Does anyone need medical attention?" Aunt Aoi asked urgently.

    "We're all going to need some stuff for treating bruises," Junko said.

    "My legs are really sore," Shun said.

    "The nun brigade will be here soon," Aunt Aoi said.  "If everyone is
okay, I will give them a call.  Is the crisis over?"

    "For now," Aunt Akira said.  "Do any of you have a room where we can
talk privately?  And we should get Dan."

    "I'm going to call Kazuya so he doesn't worry," Aunt Akane said.

    "Get him to tell Takumi too," Aunt Akira said.

    "Dan's girlfriend is asleep on his couch," Junko said.  "I'm not sure if
we can even call him without waking people up."

    "I can go in and get him quietly and covertly," Shun said.

    "We can go to my bedroom. It would be cramped but if we're quiet, we can
talk there," Kasumi said.

    "That will have to do," Aunt Akira said.  "Most of this is going to have
to wait for tomorrow, but there are some things I am going to tell you
tonight."

    "I'll go get Dan," Shun said, kissing Kagami and running off.

    "I'm going to call a few people," Aunt Chie said.  "The other parents
need to know."

**************

Mai's Tale:

    My instinct was to go to the high ground.  So I ended up on the roof in
my pajamas, sitting with my knees pulled up to my chest and staring up at
the constellation of Draco.  Crystal...Crystal...why didn't you tell us?
You could have gotten yourself killed!

    But I knew why.  Because we didn't tell her.  Hide things from your
daughter and it teaches her that hiding things from your loved ones is okay.

    I wanted to beat my head against a wall and scream at her until I
exploded and scream at myself until I exploded a second time.   She could
have been killed.  I imagined her dying and all I could do was cry.  So
brave of her and so foolish.

    All I ever wanted was to protect her.  She is my daughter and I love her
and I just wanted her to have all the things I never had.  Was that so
wrong?

    I'd run off in the middle of a phone conversation, just panicked,
dropped my phone and ran like a little girl.  Like I'd go and hide whenever
I was unhappy when I was little.

    But I wasn't alone.  Yuuichi now climbed up and joined me.  "Hey," he
said softly.  "You kind of panicked Aoi."

    "I'm sorry," I mumbled.  "Our daughter...she's crazy."

    "Yeah. That's how I know she's ours."  He came over and sat down by me,
putting an arm around me and pulling me up into his lap.  He was topless
with boxers on.  I leaned against him, hoping he wasn't cold.

    "You would have done the same thing, just dressed it up better as being
responsible," he told me.

    I know.  I always felt the urge to solve it all myself, to take all the
responsibility if I couldn't evade it.  Crystal... why didn't you tell us?
You weren't afraid of how we'd respond, were you?  How much does she know?

    "She could have died.  And I couldn't have saved her.  What use are
powers that can't save anyone?" I asked, shaking him.

    "If I get some, I'll let you know," he said dryly.  How could he take
this so calmly?  Why isn't he freaking out?  Doesn't he care?

    But the words got to me anyway.  He must feel even more helpless than
me; he doesn't even have powers any of the time.  But he's being strong and
I'm falling apart.  "Where's Mikoto?"

    "Getting the news update," Yuuichi said.    "I hope Junko is as
responsible as she seems.  She knows...well, as much as the kids know now.
But she did seem very intelligent and rational and responsible when we met
her."

    "She really has it all together, plans for the future, pretty and smart,
versed in business matters."   I sighed.  "Crystal will probably get bored
and dump her tomorrow."

    "Give our daughter some credit," he said patiently.  He knows that's
just my frustration talking.  "She ensured she would have backup, which is
more than you did half the time."

    I winced at that too.  Half the time I'd tried to hide from being a Hime
and the other half I often tried to do it all myself.  I wouldn't even let
Takumi do his own laundry or cooking.

    The kids still should have told us everything after the first monster
attack.

    But then, we didn't tell them everything when we had the chance.  When
the Crimson Huntsman declared war on all of us.  Compared to them finding
that out by ravenous crimson animals ripping them apart...

    We've hardly made any progress.  Learned some legends of Atlantis,
collected some myths and legends about hunting gods and spirits in
Japan...But nothing concrete.  And now more of the children can use their
powers freely than we can.

    Akane, Akira, I'm so sorry.  You shouldn't have to bear the burden with
just Miyu.

    But then, I've been piddling around, trying to hide.  To pretend we can
deal with this in our spare time.  And what is the consequence?  Our
children nearly get eaten, that's what.

    Without my powers, I can't protect them.  But with powers, I can't have
a normal life.  I've worked so hard for everything.  I don't want to give it
up.

    "I just was trying to avoid dragging others into my troubles," I said
softly.

    "I know.  I'm like that too," he said, stroking my hair gently.  I
smiled a little at that.  "This is war.  We can't hide from it any more."

    Mikoto popped her head up.  "Can I join the roof party?"

    I opened my arms wide and she came over and sat down in my lap.  I hoped
we weren't too much for Yuuichi, but he didn't complain at all.  "Is
everyone okay?"

    She handed me my phone.  "She's fine," Mikoto said.  "Everyone is fine.
A little battle damage, that's all.  Junko beat up an evil bat with nothing
but sticks.  Sticks!"  Mikoto sounded a little jealous.  "Now I really want
to have a good fight with her."

    Poor Junko, I thought.  She just wants to be a librarian and she'd
dumped down in the middle of this.  "She...she didn't get hurt, did she?"

    "Akira says she performed very well and that Crystal has some new
bruises and that Junko and Shun both seemed to be sensitive to magical
energies and did a lot more damage to the monsters than she would have
expected," Mikoto said, kissing my cheek.  "What's wrong, Mai?"

    "I...I'm scared of what they will think of us," I mumbled.  "If they're
angry we hid so much from them, scared of what they know.  I'm not even sure
what all they know or what my daughter will say when I see her."  I hugged
Mikoto tightly.  "I love her so much and now I'm afraid she hates me."

    "Crystal would never hate you," Mikoto said firmly; I felt Yuuichi nod.
"She's probably gonna rub having powers that work everywhere in our face,
though."

    "If we take the oath, there is no turning back," I said softly.

    "There's already no turning back," Yuuichi said firmly.  "I could never
abandon the others and neither could you, and we both know it."  He gently
ruffled my hair and kissed my forehead.  "I think it's time."

    "I want to fight with Mai by my side forever," Mikoto said simply.  "And
Crystal too and our friends and the other children."

    I knew she did.  I've been holding her back and it makes me feel
guilty.  "I don't want them to suffer as we did."

    "Me neither," Mikoto said.  "But they won't.  This time, we'll stand
united.  And we know that united, NOTHING can stop us."

    "Exactly.  I stood up to the Obsidian Lord without even any powers.  And
if I can do that, you can do twenty times better, Mai," Yuuichi said
firmly.  "I'm sure Crystal is going to taunt us some, but that's okay.
It'll be a lot easier to make sure they're responsible if we're able to stop
hiding things from them, right?"

    "Yuuichi, I don't want to see you get hurt," I said, kissing him softly,
then turning and kissing Mikoto.  "Or you."

    "I will protect both of you!," Mikoto said.  "And Yuuichi's tough, you
know that, Mai."

    To my surprise, I saw Gotou Kichiro, our neighbor on one side, stick his
head over the fence.  "Are you all okay?" he asked.  "I woke up and heard
noises."

    "We're fine, Gotou-san," I said.  He's an insurance agent and a good
guy.  He has a son in college, I think.  "I just had a nightmare."

    He laughed.  "Flooding?  Doris woke up on the roof one time after
dreaming of that.  Then I had nightmares once she told me, about filling out
flood claim forms."

    All his nightmares are about bureaucracy, I think.  "Something like
that," I said to him.  "I hope we're not keeping you up."

    "It's fine," he said.  "Have a good night, you three."

    He was on his way back to bed when I suddenly realized I was fondling
Mikoto in public.  Our neighbors just think she lives with us.

    Or do they?  He didn't even seem to bat an eye at it.  Have we not been
fooling them?  Do they know everything, but they don't care?  How much do
they know and just don't mention it to be polite?  Am I fooling anyone at
all trying to pretend to be normal?

    "I wonder what he thinks of us," I mumbled.

    "It can't be anything too bad or he would have said something," Yuuichi
said.

    "He's probably jealous there's only one person waiting for him in his
bed," Mikoto said, kissing my cheek.

    Yuuichi laughed and I blushed a little.  I would never have imagined
ending up like this, but it's been my life for over two decades now and I
can hardly remember what it was like to not have them in my life.  Except to
know I couldn't stand to lose either of them.  I kissed Mikoto on the lips,
then wiggled around to kiss Yuuichi.  He looked surprised, but smiled,
kissing back firmly.  "Feeling better?" he asked softly.

    "I don't know how I'm going to do this and have time for my job," I told
him.  But I have to do it.  My daughter is on the frontlines and I certainly
can't make her safer by burying my head in the sand any longer or feeling
sorry for myself.  "Though at least I have a pretty flexible one."

    "Maybe you can get Haruka to put you on retainer so you can work full
time on everything," Yuuichi said.  "She is pretty much rolling in cash."

    "We're pretty much rolling around in money as it is with three of us
working," Mikoto said.  "If you have to cut back, we won't starve.  I make
more than our morgage payments and Yuuichi makes more than our other
expenses and the Rosewood tuition payments, so if you have to cut back,
we'll still be laying money away for the future."

    I blinked; Mikoto usually gives me the impression she's blissfully
unaware of our finances.  I wonder how much else I've missed.

    Yuuichi nodded.  "Do what you have to do, Mai.  We won't starve if you
have to go full-time Hime."

    "Thank you," I said softly.  "If people are going to end up putting me
in charge of things, then I need to actually be free to do so."  I was going
to have to, much as I'd rather have a normal life.  I have to get serious
and settle this before we end up with Rosewood in ashes and a giant horned
head across Osaka Harbor.  Or whatever the Crimson Huntsman uses for a
symbol.

    War is upon us, whether I want it or not.  And I'm going to have to
fight.

    Mikoto now yawned widely and fell asleep.  I stroked her cheek,
smiling.  "I think that's our cue to go back to bed; we've got to drive up
in the morning."

    Yuuichi kissed me, picked up Mikoto, and said, "Yeah."

    We were soon fast asleep.

********************

Kasumi's Tale:

    We just had too many people, especially once my aunts showed up, so we
ended up going across campus to the Journalism classroom and sitting down
there.  Fortunately, Aunt Chie has the keys to that building, as her office
and classroom is in it.

    All my aunts stared at each other, until Aunt Miyu finally took the lead
when everyone else was clearly reluctant to speak.  "The full story of the
Hime will wait until tomorrow," Miyu said.  "But there is an issue we need
to cover right now."

    "The cost of our powers, right?" Erica said softly.

    "Yes," Aunt Miyu said.  "The power of the Hime flows from their bond to
the person most important to them.  The stronger that bond, the stronger the
Hime and of the Child tied to that bond.  It is not clear to us whether this
bond can create a Child from nothing, or more likely, an appropriate Orphan
is somehow chosen to become your Child.  There is reason to believe that
some of the current Childs were bonded to other Hime in the past.  Mai's
Child, Kagatsuchi, was bonded to Mashiro, who is now the Crystal Princess.
The full story of Mashiro will have to wait until tomorrow, however."

    "We only know bits of it, anyway," Aunt Nao pointed out.

    "So the Crystal Princess was originally a Hime?" I asked.

    "Yes," Miyu said.  "Chosen to be the Obsidian Lord's bride three hundred
years ago.  But that is part of the story of the past which is going to wait
for tomorrow when we have everyone."

    Crystal looked like she wanted it now, but to my surprise, didn't press
the issue.

    "There is, however, a downside to this bond," Miyu said.  "During the
war on the Obsidian Lord, we discovered that if a Hime's Child was slain,
the person most important to her dissolved away into nothing."

    I stared eyes wide.  WHAT?

    Crystal's jaw dropped and everyone in our generation  looked
incredulous, then horrified.  Kagami just looked very guilty.

    "It turned out that all of them were imprisoned in a construct of
pillars down below the school and that their sufferings, along with those of
the women who loved them, was feeding power to the Obsidian Lord through the
Hime Star, a star that only Hime could see, which fell to Earth during the
Festival and planted itself at the mouth of the harbor."

    Crystal looked utterly horrified, but she now got a knowing look.

    Mother was sitting next to me, with an arm around me.  She now embraced
me tightly and said, "I was the first to be defeated, and I spent most of
the Festival in virtual catatonia from the shock."

    I hugged her back tightly, feeling the urge to cry for her but trying to
resist it.

    "We do not know what exactly will happen now.  No Hime has lost her
Child since the defeat of the Obsidian Lord," Aunt Miyu said.  "But we can
expect that in some way, our loved ones will be on the line when we fight."

    Shun said, "How the hell could you not tell us that?"  He sounded
pissed.  Crystal looked horrified.  Natasha looked a little sick.  Erica
rubbed her forehead and stared at the floor.  Junko frowned and I gave in to
the urge to cry now, crying on Mother's shoulder.  Kagami looked guilty.
Dan, weirdly, looked like he'd expected this.  Surely he didn't know before.

    Hayao, Hayao, Hayao, I'm sorry, I thought.  I'm putting him on the line
and he doesn't even know it.

    "We stupidly hoped it would never matter for any of you, that you would
never have to shoulder that burden," Aunt Akira said wearily.  "After all,
none of us inherited this from our parents, so though we feared you might
inherit, we hoped you could live normal lives without our burden."  She
sighed.

    But then her voice turned angry.  "We would have told you if you had
actually told us that you had learned about the family secret and that some
of you were getting powers and taking the oath!  You could have come to us
two weeks ago and you didn't!  You lied to us!  How could we know it was
time to tell you everything when you hid it from us?  We can't read minds!"

    "You lied to us first!" Crystal said angrily.  "Why didn't you tell us
before?"

    "Because this is a huge burden and we thought we could spare you.  We
thought the war was over and it was all in the past and you wouldn't have to
suffer for our sins and bear our burden," Aunt Akira shouted back.

    But then she sagged.  "It was a mistake.  We let the dream of a normal
life seduce us and we tried to keep you in that dream and we failed.  I am
sorry."

    Crystal stared in surprise.

    "I understand," I said softly, forcing back my tears.  "That's all I
ever wanted, just a normal life.  I would have done exactly the same thing
if I was the mother and Mother was my daughter."  I stared at the floor.
"I'm sorry, Mother, Aunt Akane.  I should have told you all as soon as I got
powers.  As soon as we read the Namcub."

    Mother kissed my forehead.  "I love you, Kasumi."

    "I love you too, Mother," I said, kissing her cheek.

    Shun was still pretty angry looking.  "What about me?  Even not knowing
about Kasumi or the others, didn't that put ME on the line?"

    Kagami tried to speak, but couldn't.

    "I wanted to tell you," Aunt Akira said, staring at the ground.  "But it
was a case of tell no one or tell everyone and we all dithered around too
much on it."  She shivered.  "I'm sorry."

    "I wanted to tell you kids once you were old enough to understand.
You'd have known years ago if I had my way, but the parents all wanted to
protect you from the truth, which never ever works," Aunt Nao said, sounding
bitter.

    "I take it all the imprisoned people went back to normal once the
Obsidian Lord died?" Erica asked.

    "I was able to use my dematerializer blade to destroy the prisons and
free everyone's loved ones.  This enabled them to regain their strength and
counter-attack, destroying the Hime Star and the Obsidian Lord, though I was
disabled a second time in the process," Aunt Miyu said.  "And Midori had to
revive me again."

    "Again?" Erica asked.

    "I first fell when I lost Alyssa," Aunt Miyu said softly, staring at the
ground.  "But Midori enabled me to get my strength back."

    "Nice job by Mom," Dan said.

    I got up and went over and hugged Aunt Miyu tightly, which seemed to
surprise her, but then she hugged me very tightly.

    "As it stands, we don't know for sure what if anything will happen if
one of us loses our Child," Aunt Yukariko now said.  "It may be nothing, but
we have to expect it will be something.  There is no Obsidian Lord to
imprison our loved ones, but it may be that our enemies will be able to take
them hostage or some other effect entirely.  The one clear thing from
Magdalene lore is that power always has a cost."

    "Do you think I...," Dan began.

    "You seem to be an unusual case.  I have a suspicion that whatever the
cost of bearing the Namcub is, you may well pay it yourself on yourself,"
Aunt Yukariko said.  "Though another unfortunate possibility comes to mind."

    "If I die, everyone will lose their powers because I stand to the
oathbearers as the Hime Star stood to the Hime during the war with the
Obsidian Lord," Dan said grimly.  "I am the new Tablets of Destiny."

    "Conversely, that may also mean you'll grow stronger as more Hime
swear," Aunt Yukariko said.  "And the Hime Star was not easy to destroy."

    "Dan," I said softly.

    "Also, you don't have a Child and your power derives from the Namcub, so
I don't think anything will happen to Sanae if you are defeated," Aunt
Yukariko said.  "But we can only speculate."

    Dan looked relieved by that and I felt better for him.

    "There is a further matter," Aunt Miyu said.  "You must not tell anyone
unless you have no choice.  Our world survives, without a god sustaining the
walls which keep out the Orphans and other invaders, because humanity is not
aware these creatures exist.  The defenses of our world are decaying, but
they will decay faster the more people know about the Orphans and the gods.
Further, we need to protect ourselves by ensuring our secrets and
vulnerabilities do not leak.  This is why none of Natsuki's or Shiho's
various boyfriends have ever been told about our secrets.  I know you wish
to tell your lovers, but we cannot allow that.  Not until we can be sure
they will remain loyal to the family and keep our secrets.  Otherwise, we
risk them falling into the hands of the Crimson Huntsman."

    "I can't tell Hayao?" I said.

    "But...Gin..." Natasha spluttered.

    "We are fortunate," Junko said softly to Crystal, who was now staring at
the floor.  She nodded to Junko.

    "I'm sorry, Shun," Kagami said, agonized.

    "It's okay," he said to her.  "You're not the one who kept secrets from
me for sixteen years."

    Aunt Akira grimaced.  "I said it was a mistake."

    "That doesn't mean I can just forget about it," Shun said angrily,
though not as angrily as earlier.

    "We need to discuss one more thing," Sister Yukariko said.  "Then we
will let you all go sleep.  Erica, you said you fought a silver serpent
which was actually on campus, correct?"

    "Yes," Erica said.

    "And you saw a silver monster being killed by black serpents, Natasha?"
She continued.

    "Yes," Natasha said.

    Aunt Alyssa now broke her silence and said, "The Silver Knight is
another one of the gods imprisoned by the Obsidian Lord.  It may be that he
has broken some of his bonds and is trying to recruit his own 'Hime'.  The
Silver Knight was obsessed with greatness, as embodied by figures such as
Samson, Hercules, Achilles, and so on, though they all lived or were
invented after his imprisonment."

    "Heroism in the ancient sense where it means accomplishing great things,
but was often accompanied by being a drunken, lustful, murderous lout?" Dan
asked.

    "Yes.  He didn't deliberately seek out drunkards and murderers, but it
was the desire for greatness, to accomplish mighty, heroic deeds which drove
him.  Physical heroism, morality optional," Aunt Alyssa said crisply, but
then sighed.  "So some of his champions were wonderful and some of them were
terrible, but they were all the same to him."

    "So he wasn't good or evil, but interested in greatness," Dan said.

    "Yes.  Gods tend to have their own moral codes which don't smoothly line
up with the ones we use.  And each god has their own," Alyssa said.  "Valor,
courage, bravery, defiance of the odds, these are the things the Silver
Knight looks for.  The Crimson Huntsman, by contrast, emphasizes the
struggle for survival and gaining power over others.  You must either rule
or submit.  Those who will not do either must die."

    Junko fingered the cross she wore.  "And the Crystal Princess?"

    "Has given this world to us," Dan said.  He now launched into reciting
the entire Namcub of the Crystal Princess, then looked uncomfortable when he
finished.  "It's in our hands to reseal the prison and keep these gods
imprisoned before they destroy the world in another Age of Chaos.  Anyone
who has studied ancient mythology knows humanity is better off without the
old gods.  They sucked."  He sighed.  "I will do everything I can to help."

    "I'm not going to sit back and let a bunch of stupid gods trash the
Earth," Natasha said.

    "I am...as ready as I will ever be," I said.  I will fight and fight
with all my strength.  For Hayao. For Mother and Father and my brothers and
all my family.  And for my world.  "We will fight."

    We all nodded in agreement, all of my generation.  We would do whatever
we could to help.

    "I fear this could mean more trouble here and we don't know who set up
that magic zone or how," Aunt Yukariko said.

    "Wait...did black Orphans serve the Obsidian Lord?  Who do they serve
now?" Erica asked.

    "All Orphans were black in their base form until recently," Aunt Miyu
said.  "Which probably reflected the Obsidian Lord's power.  I would guess
that they were summoned by someone trying to prevent the Silver Knight
sending Orphans onto the campus to create champions for himself."

    "But where are the Silver Orphans coming from, then?  How do they get
here?" Erica asked.

    "There must be a weakpoint," Aunt Miyu said.

    "The hole," I said.  "We have to take them to where we tracked that one
from.  Is there some way to seal a weakpoint?"

    "Yes," Aunt Miyu said.  "Take us to it."

************

    "It has been sealed," Aunt Miyu said.  "Someone cleaned up here.
Probably whoever is responsible for the black orphans."

    Not just sealed, but someone planted a rose bush and some nice violets
too.  And some peonies.

    "Probably Kei," I said, then explained about him.

    "It seems likely," Aunt Miyu said.  "He may well have been sent to keep
uncontrolled monsters away from campus and then Natasha wandered into the
middle of things.  Or possibly he also was planning to use his Orphans to
force you all to activate your powers before you could have second thoughts
from finding out the truth."

    Crystal frowned.   "I thought his mother was on our side."

    "We can debate morality later," Aunt Alyssa said.  "If he really is
Mashiro's son...well, his mother was rather a manipulator herself."

    "I think this crisis is over.  We had best all get some rest," Aunt
Yukariko said.  "Let's get you all back home and tomorrow, the family meets
to discuss it all and tell you the rest."

    We headed back to our dorms.  I took a shower when I got home and
thought about Hayao.  I promise you, I will defend you, Hayao, I thought as
I put on my pajamas.  I'm much stronger now and I'll do my very best.  I
wish I could tell you, but they're right.  This might not last and we have
to keep our secrets.  I hate this.  I hate lying to you.  But I will do my
best for you and for everyone.

    I just hoped that would be enough.

********************

Crystal's Tale:

    I felt hugely guilty about dragging Junko into all this.  Knowing that
if I screw up, she could be in trouble... assuming she was my most important
person. I mean, my parents are really important to me too and so is Aunt
Nao.  And we've only been dating a little while.  I mean, I like her a lot,
but is it enough?  Is this love?  Fighting with her by my side was totally
awesome.  It felt so right.  Nothing ever felt so right with any of my
boyfriends except for my very first one, who I thought was the greatest
person ever to live until he dumped me.  I wonder what Osamu is doing right
now.  Probably lying to someone and telling them he loves them.

    And she doesn't have any powers and there's only one slot left and I
think Shun's going to get it and Dan's just going to be Namcub carrying
man.  I hope the Namcub gives him some powers so he can actually fight to
defend himself.

    I shivered and Junko pulled me a little tighter. We'd gone back to my
room and were half-asleep on the couch, arms around each other, blankets
pulled up and pillows behind our heads.  Probably a stupid way to sleep but
my roomate was crashed and I was afraid of waking her up and getting a
head-biting.

    "You awake?" she said softly.

    "Yes, feeling bad I dragged you into this," I said.

    "It is fine," she said softly.  "I am honored that your clan has shown
such trust in me and I swear I will prove worthy of that."

    "There's going to be a lot of danger," I mumbled. "And if I fuck up..."
When I fuck up.  Tonight made me keenly aware that even WITH powers, I'm not
as badass as I thought.  Which I should have learned from nearly being eaten
two weeks ago, but I guess I learned slowly.

    "You will not," she said.  Probably lying to make me feel better.  "Your
Aunt Akira, is she one of the leaders of your clan?"

    "I'd say Aunt Yukariko, Mom, Aunt Haruka, and Aunt Natsuki are more or
less the leaders," I told her.  "Aunt Akira is pretty strong-willed,
though."

    The guilt hammered me again.  "I'm sorry."

    "Don't be sorry," she told me.  "I thought...I think I am very lucky to
be your girlfriend and a part of your clan."  She kissed my cheek.  "And I
like your parents."

    I'm superlucky she is okay with this, I thought. Maybe it's destiny.
Please, Miroku, do your very best and I will too.  Aunt Nao and Junko's God,
please watch over us.  I swear I'll protect her with everything I have.

**************

Akane's Tale:

    I came home, feeling pretty good.  Wonderful, in fact.  Being able to
tell Kasumi everything made me feel as free as a bird.  And even more frisky
than I usually am on a Saturday night.

    Kazuya was sprawled out in his underwear, having fallen asleep on the
bed, one of his mystery novels lying open on his leg.  I carefully removed
it and bookmarked it, then stripped down to my underwear.

    Then I woke him with a kiss.  He groggily came to life.  "Hello, dear,"
he mumbled.  "How did the ambush go?"

    I was bursting to tell him everything, so full of words that for a
moment, I couldn't actually speak as alternate things to start with competed
in my head.  "Kasumi is a Hime and so are Natasha, Crystal and Erica too."

    He snapped fully awake and sat up.  I sat down in his lap and he stared
at me.  "They what?"

    "Apparently they got in a fight with Orphans at Fuuka, another one last
Tuesday and a third one tonight.  Akira and I came to their aid.  Our
daughter is fine, don't worry," I told him.  "She fought magnificently, and
her Child is really beautiful, a great white falcon.  I expect she'll want
us all to go flying with her when we get a chance."  I was looking forwards
to that.

    "So that's why she quit track," he mumbled, staring down at my legs.  I
looked down, but my legs looked fine.  But he clearly wasn't happy at all.
"Does Hayao know?"

    "No, and we can't tell him yet," I said.  That bothered me.  It is
unfair to him, but we can't afford to spread the family secrets to anyone we
may lose.  "Oh, and Akira took the oath."

    "What about Shun?" Kazuya asked.  "And Dan?"

    I explained about the Namcub to him, hoping I was getting it right, and
then said, "Shun fought very well, but he hasn't become a Hime.  Though it's
still possible he might."

    He put his head on my shoulder and embraced me tightly.  "Kasumi," he
whispered.  "She shouldn't have to be part of this.  Neither should you.
Didn't we already give up enough?"

    Just for a moment, I thought Miyu was going to come through the door and
say "No," then lecture Kazuya on responsibility, but thank Buddha, she did
not.

    "Yes," I said softly.  "But I have to fight, Kazuya.  We're at war and I
have to do my duty."  I turned and kissed his forehead.  "Everyone is
counting on me."

    "And the boys, they'll be sucked into this too, when they're old
enough," Kazuya said, sounding very, very unhappy.  "They'll want to fight,
whether they can handle it or not.  Kasumi..."

    "Kasumi fought very well," I told him.  "She is strong and fast and
brave and she and her cousins fight together, not alone.  It's not going to
be like last time, honey.  This time, we're going to fight together, and
we're going to win."

    "I don't even know what will happen to me if we lose," he said,
shivering.  "And all I can do is wait to get zapped."  He buried his face in
my bosom which would normally turn me on, but I could feel his tears running
into what passes for cleavage with me.

    I pulled him tightly to me.  "Nothing is going to happen to you," I said
hotly.  "Nothing!  I'll be fighting with Akira by my side and you know how
strong she is."

    "She was the second Hime to get defeated!  She FAILED.  And she hasn't
fought a monster since then except for blowing up the Hime Star!" he said,
now raising his tear-stained, terrified face to mine.  "And you know her
first concern will be protecting her boy!"

    "And my first is protecting you and Kasumi and Keiichi and Katsuhito," I
told him, rubbing his back with one hand, trying to comfort him.  "But we're
stronger together than apart."

    "And Sayuri's boy, one day, he'll just go poof and his mother won't even
know why and neither will he..."  Kazuya was shaking and crying onto me and
now he lost the ability to speak.

    I made soothing noises, not knowing what to say.

    "Hey, are you two okay in there?" Aoi asked through the door.

    "We're fine," I shouted to her.  "We're fine."

    "Okay.  There's shaving stuff in the bathroom so Kazuya doesn't have to
sport the scruffy look tomorrow," Aoi said.

    It now hit me that we didn't have clean clothing for tomorrow.  "We're
going to have to borrow some clothing for tommorow," I shouted to her.

    "Chie's suits should fit Kazuya just fine, and I have plenty of stuff
that'll fit you," Aoi shouted.  "You two have fun."

    "We will," I shouted, though fun wasn't what we were likely to be having
tonight.

    I heard her retreat.  Kazuya had stopped crying and was just leaning
against me silently.

    "It's going to be okay," I told him softly.  "You should come watch them
practice tomorrow.  You'll feel much safer when you see how strong they
are."

    "I don't even like fighting games," he mumbled.

    "I know.  You are peaceful and gentle and kind and it's why I love you,"
I said, kissing his forehead.  Whereas, I think I enjoyed that fight more
than I really should.  It just feels so natural and right to be fighting
side by side with Akira and the children to stop those things.  To teach
them how to fight.  I wish I knew more to teach them, but learning more with
Akira is fun too.  I've never felt so alive before.  Not even before I
became a Hime.  "You are my rock upon which I can trust.  I love you."

    "I love you too, dear," he said, holding onto me as if I might vanish.
"I'm sorry, making an idiot of myself."

    "You're not an idiot," I told him.  "You are my beloved.  Without you, I
am nothing."

    "You don't need me," he mumbled.

    "I need you.  I crave you," I told him.  "I love you.  I cannot go on
without you."

    He hugged me silently and I hugged him back.  "We'd better sleep," he
mumbled.

    I wasn't going to push him, under the circumstances, much as I wanted
to...well, it could wait.  He was always patient with me when I wasn't in
the mood.  I pulled his face up to mine and kissed him firmly.  "Goodnight,
my love."

    "Goodnight, dear," he said softly and quickly he was asleep.

    It took me a lot longer.

************

Takumi's Tale:

    I pulled Akira away from the wall.  "Dear, don't spy on our friends."

    We were each wearing a shirt and underwear and nothing else.  Well,
she'd taken her bra off, but still had her boxers on.

    "I think they had a fight," she whispered, frowning.

    "I think it's none of our business and we shouldn't try to listen in on
them," I told her.  She knows better.  Which is why she was letting me drag
her away.  I'm a lot stronger than I was when we met, strong enough to carry
her if I have to, if not a long ways, but she's still stronger than me,
especially now.

    "Don't be angry with me," she mumbled.

    "I'm not angry," I told her.  I turned her around and kissed her, then
picked her up and carried her to the bed.  She likes that.  And it's pretty
easy to do it such a short distance; Erica's room is pretty cramped and the
bed is only big enough for two because we're going to sleep with her on top
of me.

    I laid her down on the bed and then got up over her and leaned down and
kissed her, while on my hands and knees.  "Or were you hoping to listen in
on them getting it on?"

    She stared at me.  "I wouldn't do that!"

    "We could ask them to come join us," I teased her.

    "Takumi!"

    Then I began laughing.  "You're as much woman as I can handle."

    "I knew you were joking," she said.

    I think she worries a little, sometimes, that I wish I was like my
sister, with two lovers.  But Akira is all I need.  I don't know how Mai
does it.  I kissed her again.  "Show me your battle outfit."

    She concentrated and I felt energies swirl around me; my whole body
goosepimpled for a moment, and then she was clad in something much like her
ninja uniform.  Just like the first time I saw her fight.  "Oh my, who is
this sexy ninja who has snuck into my bed?"

    She laughed and put her arms around me, hands on my back, but then she
turned serious.  "You shouldn't have to put your life on the line."

    "Neither should you, but I can face anything with you by my side," I
told her, playing gently with her cute little domino mask.  "Is this thing
actually going to fool anyone?"

    "No one who knows me would think I would ever wear something like that,"
she mumbled and then we both laughed a little.

    "Shun, he...," she said hesitantly.

    "We'll see," I said.  "From the battle report you gave me, it sounded
like he fought pretty well with just the skills you taught him.  You should
be proud of yourself."

    I kissed her again.  "Want to see how fancy we can get with your new
strength and abilities?"

    She looked nervous.  "I want to, but I'm so strong now..."

    "You have supreme control," I told her.  "And I know you would never
hurt me."

    "I just..."

    I got up and carried her out the door and down the hall into the
bathroom.

    I heard Keiichi say, "Who's there?"

    "Special ninja delivery," I told him.  "Go back to sleep, young man."

    Then I took her into the bathroom and found some shaving cream.  "Summon
your blade."

    "What?" she asked in confusion.

    "Your blade.  The double-knife.  The Shadowblade."  I smiled a little.
I don't think any of the others actually named their weapon.

    She summoned it.  "I don't understand."

    I began lathering my face and neck.  "Shave me with it."

    She stared at me, aghast.  "This thing could hideously injure or kill
you."

    "But it won't, because you're holding it and I trust you to do a good
job.  This should be the smoothest shave of my life."  I finished
lathering.  "Ready."

    She breathed in and breathed out and then her face went blank and she
stepped over to me and started shaving.  My skin tingled gently where the
blade touched it, and inch by inch, the cream and what little facial hair
growth I had came off in unison, until my face was totally bare.  I splashed
water on it to get the remaining soap off.  Not even the tinest of nicks and
utterly smooth.  I brought her hand up to stroke along my cheek and chin and
throat.  "Perfect job, dear."

    She washed the blade off in the sink.  "We're going to be in trouble if
this clogs their sink," she mumbled.

    "I see Mai's been influencing you," I said, then turned and kissed her.
"See?"

    She made her blade vanish; I wondered idly if it would have reappeared
covered with shaving cream and hair if she hadn't washed it off.  Best not
to find out.

    "You're not afraid at all," she whispered.

    "I believe in you and I believe in my sister and I believe in our son.
We're going to come through this," I told her.  "Believe in yourself, dear.
I believe in you."

    She kissed me firmly, and smiled.  "Well, in that case, let's get busy."

    I carried her back to Erica's room and we proceded to deflower her bed.

****************

Shun's Tale:

    The parents all said goodbye when we got to where they would head for
the parking lots and we would head to the dorms.  I couldn't bring myself to
give Mom a hug, though I could tell she wanted one.  I was still too angry
with her.

    We all scattered and Kagami and I ended up at the back door of my dorm.
She rocked back and forth on her feet as we stood there, both of us staring
at the ground.

    "I'm so sorry," Kagami said to me for maybe the millionth time .

    "It's okay," I said for roughly time 3 billion myself.  "I'm not mad at
you; I'm mad at them for hiding all this important stuff from us," I told
her.  Crystal was right. We really needed to know this a lot earlier than we
got told.  And how can we be sure they will tell us everything?

    Ugh, I hate being angry.

    "I swear, you will be safe," she told me frantically.  "I won't let you
get hurt."

    "Well, if I do become a Hime, your life will be riding on my skills, so
we'll be even," I told her.  I am confident in my skills, but I'd rather not
gamble on it if I don't have to.  Even with the risk, I will take the oath
if it is offered.  Having seen how dangerous this can get and especially
since most of the family can't actually fight at full strength if things get
worse.  I'm going to need the power to take care of those I care about.
Even though it's probably a bad idea.

    Ugh.

    And that was almost certainly the tip of the iceberg.  It's going to get
worse before it gets better.  I'm certain of that.

    Kagami kissed me and I kissed her back and let my mind blank a little.

    I'm lucky; my girlfriend knows everything.  If the parents insist we
can't tell Hayao or Sanae or Gin or whoever Erica has a thing for, it's
going to be hell for them.

    Well, Natasha's probably confident she will never lose, but...

    "Do you want me to come up with you tonight or should I go home?" she
asked softly.

    What I wanted was to strip her naked and make love to her.  To just
forget everything in passion.  "I want to make love to you," I said hotly.

    For a moment, she looked utterly stunned and then terrified, and she
closed her eyes, shivering.

    Dammit.  I shouldn't have said that.

    Then she pounced on me, pushing me against the wall of the dorm, kissing
me frenetically and I kissed her back, forgetting everything in her kiss.

    She broke it off.  "We shouldn't," she said softly.  "But you've got
condoms, right?"

    "Yes," I said.  "And I know some things that have absolutely zero risk
of pregnancy but are quite enjoyable anyway."

    "Then let's go upstairs and do it," she said, breathing hard.  It
reminded me of what she'd looked like when she'd leaped down and nailed the
freaky white tentacle beast to the tree, killing it.  So passionate and
strong and I wanted her to rip my clothing off right now.  Her usual fear
was gone and I was so turned on I could hardly stand it.

    We went upstairs and took each other until we finally collapsed from
sleepiness and exhaustion and I slept, feeling wonderful.

    I prayed I hadn't fucked up again.

****************

Aoi's Tale:

    Erica came back with us to our house, even though it was crowded.  We
wanted her with us.  Chie and I sat on our bed with her and I told her, "I'm
so sorry we didn't tell you everything.  But the others insisted and, well,
we're new and didn't want to rock the boat."

    "I understand," Erica said.

    I hope she does.  We just didn't want to mess things up, and...we should
have just told her.  But we didn't want to dump a bunch of burdens on her.

    "We're very proud of you," Chie said to her, giving her a hug.  "We know
you'll make us proud. Just don't ever hide anything like that again and we
won't hide either, okay?"

    "Okay, Mom," Erica said, and then she yawned and hugged us at once.
"What's your Child?"

    I felt somewhat embarrassed.  "We share a huge metal cat
named...umm...Erica," I mumbled quickly.

    "..."

    "We love you most of all, so we kind of named her that," Chie mumbled.

    Erica laughed.  "Is this like Aunt Natsuki naming everything she loves
Dhuran?"

    "More or less," Chie mumbled.

    Erica laughed again and then said, "We'd better go bed."

    "Sorry to make you sleep with us," Chie said.  "I know you're too old
for it, but I just kind of want to know you're safe with us."  She laughed
nervously.  "I'm sorry, it's kind of a retarded thing to ask at your age."

    "It's okay, that's why I came back with you," Erica said.  "I'll feel
safer too.  We're all novices at this together, right?"

    "Right," Chie said, taking one of her hands and one of mine.  "Harada
family forever, right?"

    "Forever!" we all said in unison, then smiled at each other.

    "So...about this boy you like...," Chie said, grinning.

    "He has a girlfriend, so I'm going to move on," she said, but I wasn't
so convinced.

    "You didn't get a crush on Sayuri's boy, did you?" Chie asked.

    "I do not have dreams about him kissing me!  Or..."  Erica put a hand
over her mouth.

    "He is handsome and charming," I said.

    "But rather taken," Chie said.

    "I know!  I am NEVER THINKING OF HIM AGAIN!"  Erica said firmly.  "And
if either of you tell anyone anything I will just...I will just explode."

    "I won't tell and neither will Chie," I told her.

    "But..." Chie began.

    "Neither will Chie," I said firmly, staring at her.

    "My lips are sealed," Chie said, crumbling before my will.  She drew a
finger across her lips.

    "At least I don't have to keep my mouth shut to anyone I wouldn't keep
it shut to anyway," Erica mumbled.

    "Yeah.  We can't give away family secrets to every person who dates
someone in the family, but..."  Chie sighed.  "No wonder Natsuki and Shiho
go through so many boyfriends."

    I am quite lucky to already be married, yes, I thought.  "Look, there is
something we have to think about," I told the others reluctantly.

    "What?" Chie asked.

    "If being a Hime is partly genetic, then Erica's birth parents must have
come from a line with the potential, right?  Or did the magic somehow change
her when we adopted her?" I asked.

    "..."  Chie stared at me.

    Erica looked thoughtful, pushing up her glasses.  "The orphanage didn't
even know, right?  As someone just anonymously dropped me off, right?"

    "Yes," I told her.  "I guess I could call and ask them, but since none
of the current Hime are closely related, you may be from some family with no
ties to us, or some Fuuka student who was gathered in by First District who
never manifested.  There's the birthmark, but those aren't hereditary," I
continued.  Erica has a birthmark, but I doubt it has anything to do with
Hime powers, as I never saw a mark like that on anyone else in the family.
It kind of resembles a crab, though.  But only very vaguely.

    Erica yawned.  "I'm just kind of curious."

    Totally understandable.  "Let's get some sleep," I said.

    We soon fell asleep and despite my worries, I slept very well, feeling
relieved she wasn't angry with us.
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