[FFML] [Mai Hime, Future] Road Trip (warning: BIG)
John Biles
john at biles.us
Wed Mar 18 20:58:36 PDT 2009
This is very big, but also, I hope, good.
***********
Road Trip
A Mai Hime (Future) story
By John Biles
****************
I still can't quite think of myself as an athlete, not compared to
Crystal or Natasha, anyway, but I do have one athletic talent. Running.
I'm on the Rosewood Track Team, though I'm just a first year and a lot
of people are better than me. But I do my best; the team is counting on me.
Our real star is Misano Ayumi. She's tall and wiry and moves like crazy;
she's one of our seniors, with short black hair and brown eyes. She's also
kind of mean, in my opinion. But mostly she ignores me, as she's focused on
trying to rack up 10 more firsts before she graduates.
We're both sprinters, so I was trying to warm up for the 100 meter,
which was the next event. It was at that point I heard a shout from the
stands, "GO, KASUMI-CHAN, GO!"
Was that Aunt Shiho? I blinked and now I heard, "FIGHT FOR ROSEWOOD,
KASUMI-CHAN!" It was Mom!
In fact, I could see Mom, Aunt Shiho, Natasha, and Natasha's fangirls up
in the stands. Natasha has a lot of female admirers who I think want to be
her, basically, she's so confident and pretty. Of course, the last thing
Natasha really needs is a horde of people feeding her ego. So of course,
she has one.
But I felt really flattered that they were now all cheering for me. In
fact, I had more people cheering for me as I warmed up than any of the other
players; middle of the week matches don't get much of an audience, not even
family. Mom must have had a slow day for catering or something. And Aunt
Shiho basically sets her own hours, so some days she works late into the
night and other days she lounges around with her boyfriends.
I smiled as I stepped up to my place on the track, ready to run. I had
pulled all my hair up into a bun; I like to let it flow free normally but
not when I'm running. I could see Ayumi looked even more irritable than
usual, like Aunt Shiho when she's PMSing.
"Go, Kasumi!" Natasha shouted. "Fight for Rosewood! You can do it!"
For all that Natasha can be a pain sometimes, sometimes she's great to
have in your corner. I made what I hoped came off as a 'FIGHT!' gesture and
not a 'Bite Me' gesture towards my family and Natasha's flunkies.
I took off running, pushing myself; pretty quickly Tokugawa Memorial's
people fell behind me and I hit the finish line just a touch behind Ayumi,
to my surprise. Of course, 100 meter sprinting is over so fast that once I
passed them, they had little hope to catch up.
Ayumi stared at me crankily, then stormed off to get water. I don't
know why, given she got the first she wanted. I told myself to make sure I
wouldn't screw up in the relay, as I didn't want to mess things up for her.
I got a little water and waved to my family, who waved back, while they
got ready for the 200 meter. Ayumi was going to be in the 400 meter without
me and then we'd both be in the relay. Coach wanted me to skip the 400 to
conserve my strength, but I think Ayumi could probably run all day and not
get tired, just more irritable.
As we got into position for the 200 meter, I could see Natasha and Shiho
whip out flutes and they began to play in unison. I couldn't quite figure
out what it was, though I kept trying to place it. The flunkies began
chanting my name to the beat. This seemed to trigger some cat to start
yowling off across campus.
I turned a little red, and Coach stared at them, while I quickly got
ready. I could see Ayumi looked very irritated and I realized she had no
cheering section. Or if she did, my folks were drowning them out.
I put the thought aside and focused myself to run. The starting pistol
cracked and I threw myself into it. It was strange, easier than usual, or
maybe I was just pushing myself harder with everyone cheering for me. I
wanted them to be proud of me.
The two hundred meter race is long enough to have a little bit of back
and forth; one of Tokugawa's people, a green haired girl, had joined their
force and she paced me as I ran forward, though both of us were behind
Ayumi, who was really pushing herself.
"Faster, Kasumi, beat that ugly girl!" Natasha shouted.
I winced; Ayumi wasn't going to like that.
Ayumi gave Natasha the finger, a fatal mistake as it threw her off her
stride just enough that to my utter shock, I passed her in the last second
and came in first, utterly shocked. The green haired girl got second, and
Ayumi was a close third.
Ayumi looked ready to chew steel and I felt quite embarrassed for her.
I could see Mother talking to Natasha, probably telling her to go
apologize. Aunt Shiho was cheering and clapping for me while the fangirls
argued with mother.
I waved to them and then went to get more water before the relay.
I could now see Coach go up and yell at Natasha too; I felt bad for her
and Ayumi, and tried to pretend I didn't notice the ensuing shouting.
It died down, back to cheering by the time we ran the relay.
I got into position for the relay; I was in the middle of the team. I
think I did okay, but it was nothing to really brag about. Well, not my
part. To my surprise, Ayumi managed to push herself enough for us to get
the win even though we were behind when she got the baton for the last leg.
I cheered loudly for her.
Afterwards, we all went to shower and clean up; I took my bath and
toweled myself dry and went to change into my civvies to go see my family,
feeling really excited.
I was buttoning my blouse when I noticed a large shadow over me.
"Kurauchi-san," Ayumi growled at me and I suddenly got very nervous, trying
to button faster and ripping off a button.
"Yes, sempai?" I asked weakly.
She looked ready to strangle me and I shrank in on myself, suddenly
wondering if this was how Aunt Miyu expected me to die.
"Your stupid fangirls messed me up and I blew the 200 meter!" she
shouted at me, advancing on me.
I scuttled back but found myself with my back to a locker. I also
ripped another button, and now I couldn't close my blouse all the way. "I'm
sorry, sempai! They don't normally come to games and they were just trying
to support me!"
"They messed me up and they almost did it again during the relay! You'd
better tell them to NEVER come again!" She hovered over me, hands clenched
into fists.
"If I tell Natasha not to come, it'll make her want to come!" I said
desperately. It was probably true; she's like that. Contrary. Unlike me;
I'm a good girl.
Which wasn't helping me here. I looked around but everyone seemed to
have vanished.
Where was Coach? Should I scream? Ayumi was just worked up; I'd never
seen her threaten another player like this, so she probably was just
irritated at Natasha for insulting her.
I suddenly wondered if Coach was STILL chewing Natasha out.
"Then I'll just have to make sure you don't..." Ayumi said; she looked
like she was about to hit me and I instinctively raised my arms to defend
myself, though the blow didn't come.
Yet.
"Get away from my daughter!" Mom said, striding towards me; she was
carrying a really large carrybag and something wooden was rattling in it,
like she'd decided to haul along a bunch of chairlegs or something. Also,
now that she was nearby, I could see she was wearing a white tank top and
blue stretchy shorts, her usual work out outfit. She'd come to school in
her workout outfit? This wasn't some Parent's Day thing I'd forgotten, was
it?
"You all messed me up!" Ayumi said, now looming over mom.
"I am very sorry about that, we just wanted to support Kasumi-chan," Mom
said, bowing to her. "I'm very sorry."
"Sorry isn't good enough! You wrecked my perfect record! Now go away!"
Ayumi yelled.
"Let's go, Mom," I said.
She nodded and we started to go.
"Don't go walking out on me!" Ayumi yelled.
"But you told us to go away, sempai," I said, confused.
"Not you, her! I'm not done with you!" she shouted.
"Yes, you are," Mom said firmly and turned to go; I could hear the sound
of wood on wood contact in the bag even louder now, as Mom seemed to have
moved into vigorous striding.
"Come back here!" Ayumi said and rushed at us.
I was about to sprint, then realized I couldn't abandon Mom. Not that I
could really save Mom either.
I couldn't believe sempai was actually about to attack us. Not over
this. But I guess not everyone's mom puts as much emphasis on peaceful
resolution of things. Not even Aunt Akira or Aunt Mikoto would attack
someone who apologized and tried to leave.
I was about to try and interpose myself, yelling, "Get Coach, mom!" when
Mom suddenly tossed the bag to me and whirled at Ayumi; I could see she was
now holding wooden tonfas and with one of them she blocked Ayumi trying to
hit her. Ayumi aimed a series of punches at her, but Mom blocked them all.
"Get a grip on yourself!" she said, now clearly in angry mom mode, which is
pretty rare. Pretty rare except for when my brothers are most out of
control. "You're a student athlete, not a delinquent! You think your coach
will be happy with this?"
I've seen Mom practice with the tonfas but I've never seen her fight
anyone, not even our martially inclined family members. So seeing her like
this was strange.
Wait, she brought a entire bag of tonfas with her? How many did she
need??
Ayumi stepped back. "Fine."
Coach now came running in. "What is... what is going on here?"
Mom lowered her arms. "This girl was threatening my daughter."
"I was just chewing her out when psycho-woman here came after me with
her fighting sticks!" Ayumi protested.
"We were trying to leave after apologizing and she rushed at us," I
said.
Coach sighed. "Alright, everyone sit, then I'll listen to you one at a
time."
He yelled at both of us and complained about Natasha to Mom, then took
Ayumi off for a private chat, while Mom stashed her tonfas in the bag and
took me out to where Natasha and Aunt Shiho and the fangirl army were
waiting.
"You okay?" Natasha asked.
"I'm fine," I said. "Sempai's just unhappy she didn't win all her
matches to keep up her record."
"She looks like an evil bitch to me," Natasha grumbled.
Aunt Shiho hugged me. "You were great! Natasha, time to send your fans
home; we need some privacy."
"Okay," Natasha said and began talking to each one and sending them
home.
"Mom, why do you have a bag of tonfas?" I asked her. She'd taught me
her Tai Chi, but I really wasn't into fighting, so she never really had
tried to teach me to use them and it seemed to me she mainly drilled with
them for exercise.
"Natasha is going to help me teach you and Shiho-chan how to fight with
them," Mom said. "We should spend more time together while we still can,"
Mom continued.
"Because I'm going to die?" I half-whispered, half-squealed. I really
shouldn't let Aunt Miyu get to me but that TOTALLY creeped me out.
"You are NOT going to die," Mom said very firmly. "I will protect you.
And teach you to protect yourself." I love Mom, but I have to say she
wouldn't be my first or second or third choice to protect me normally. She
sighed. "It's best not to take any risks."
"Why is Aunt Miyu so..."
"Creepy?" Natasha asked.
We started heading towards my dorm room across campus.
"Why would she say something like that?" I asked.
Mom stared at me quietly, then said, "If you think she's odd now, you
should have known her in high school." She stared off into space now as we
walked.
"Oh Kami, YES," Shiho said. "I hear the others won't let her hear
confessions. She's too brutal."
Natasha said, "It's just her clumsy way of saying you need to be
stronger, Kasumi." She shook her head. "You know how she is."
"Freaky," I said as we reached my dorm.
"I have mixed feelings about her myself," Mom said softly. "But in the
end, she is loyal to you and to me and to the rest of us. She only says
things like that because she cares about you but isn't good at expressing
it."
Mom's never as comfortable around Aunt Miyu as most of the rest of the
family, and I've never been sure why. She isn't hostile, but I get the
impression there's some past trouble between them.
"Mom, is this connected to whatever happened with Aunt Mai?" I asked
her, not sure if I'd get an answer.
"Yes," Mom said.
Natasha stared and so did I. I expected something evasive.
Now I was afraid to ask for fear of another honest but disturbing
answer.
"I..." Natasha started to ask something, then glanced at me. "I don't
suppose you could tell me why everyone came looking for me assuming that was
MY giant robot?"
"You'd have to ask Mai or one of the others who saw it. I really have
no idea," Mom confessed.
Natasha looked frustrated and Aunt Shiho patted her on the shoulder as
we got into the elevator. "It's okay, honey," Aunt Shiho said. "We would
have assumed it was Crystal's fault, but it was clear she couldn't have been
there."
I put a hand over my mouth to avoid laughing too loudly. Mom did
likewise, and Natasha smiled a little.
"Anyway, we both...made mistakes at your age," Mother said slowly, then
looked over at Aunt Shiho, who stared intently at the floor.
"Everyone makes mistakes at any age, Mom," I told her, patting her
shoulder.
"I've spent the last twenty years trying to forget it all, hiding from
it. But I can't hide," Mom said firmly. "I don't like fighting and I'm
glad you don't like it either, Kasumi. But this world is dangerous and you
have to be ready to defend yourself."
"You should have beaten the shit out of that idiot girl," Aunt Shiho
said.
Mom shook her head. "Not unless I had no other choice. She was just
young and angry and I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it."
"Being too trusting is how you got hosed," Aunt Shiho said flatly and
Mom looked utterly mortified for a moment, then said, "And not trusting
enough...? How did that work out for you, Shiho?"
Now they were both staring at the floor.
Natasha shifted uncomfortably on her feet.
Then Mom hugged Aunt Shiho silently. "Now we're both older and wiser,
right?"
"Older, anyway," Natasha said.
I had to cover my mouth to not laugh.
"Older, anyway," Shiho said softly. "Is this elevator ever going to get
to your floor?"
As if on cue, the doors opened and we stepped out.
To my surprise, Mitsu-san was standing there. She blinked, then smiled
at us. "Hello, Kurauchi-san, Munkata-san. It's nice to see you." She was
pushing a cart piled with papers stapled together.
"It's nice to see you too, Mitsu-san," I said. "Mitsu-san, this is my
mother Akane and my Aunt Shiho, Natasha's mother. Mother, Aunt Shiho, this
is Mitsu Kagami."
"Ahh, Shun's car-borrowing girlfriend, right?" Aunt Shiho asked.
Mitsu-san suddenly looked extremely embarrassed, shuffling on her feet
and mumbling. She really does look cute like that, but that was rude of
Aunt Shiho. "Please don't tease her, Aunt Shiho. She gets enough of that
from Shun," I said.
"Thank you, Kurauchi-san," Mitsu mumbled, then gathered herself
together.
"Are you actually Shun's girlfriend, or just a friend?" Mother asked
her.
"We're just friends," Mitsu said, now a little stiff as she tried to
hide her embarrassment.
"Well, good luck. My nephew can be hard to deal with, but he's
basically a nice boy," Mother said, then glanced at the papers. "Do you
work for the student council?"
"Ring Club," Mitsu-san said, flashing her blue rose ring. "I'm
distributing these health flyers."
"Shun relies a little too much on charming people into ignoring his
idiot moments," Aunt Shiho said. "I have to admit he's not what I would
have expected from Akira and Takumi."
"That's very good of you to help out like that," Mother said. "I was
too busy working to do something like that myself," she said.
Mitsu's eyes widened slightly and she looked a little bashful. "I'm
just doing my duty to my fellow students."
"What Akane isn't saying is how she didn't have time because she was
busy making out with her boyfriend," Aunt Shiho said.
"Oh, like you can talk, Mom," Natasha said, waggling an admonishing
finger at her.
` Mother looked frustrated for a moment, then said, "Anyway, it's very
admirable of you. You ought to rope Shun into it; it would do him some
good."
"I've tried but it's like roping the wind," Mitsu-san confessed, now
looking up at Mother. "You have a really big family," she said softly.
"I am blessed with a plethora of wonderful sisters," Mother said. "Even
when we...fight...there's a lot of love between us still." Her voice had
caught just for a moment there. I patted her shoulder awkwardly.
"Do you have a large family or are you an only child?" Aunt Shiho asked
her curiously.
"Father thinks the world is overpopulated, so he and Mother stopped
after having me," Mitsu-san said, sounding a little nervous. "They have
very high expectations of me."
"Well, I'm sure you're fulfilling those expectations," Mother said to
Mitsu-san. "Anyway, we shouldn't get in the way of your work. See you
later, Mitsu-san."
"You too, Kurauchi Akane-san," Mitsu said, smiling shyly, head bowing,
and then pushing her cart into the elevator.
"Adios, Mitsu-san," Natasha said.
"What a nice and proper young lady," Mother said as we headed to my
room. "I hope things work out for her and Shun-chan."
"I hope her parents don't kill her over the car thing," Natasha said.
"Sounds like they're kind of hard cases."
"Yeah, I think they'd probably just kill you, my dear daughter," Aunt
Shiho said, but ruffled Natasha's hair playfully.
"They'd have to CATCH me first," Natasha said, grinning.
Once Mom started the demonstration, I pretty quickly learned that Mom is
a lot more nimble with these things than the rest of us, and that I'm pretty
good at hitting myself or Natasha or Aunt Shiho by accident but not by
intent.
Tonfas seem to require you to be able to twirl the thing around in your
hand and change your grip A LOT. This usually caused me to flick it out of
my hands at someone's head. Aunt Shiho, on the other hand, though she isn't
very strong, seemed a lot more adept at flipping it about and Natasha who is
strong and nimble didn't find it too hard either, which frustrated me.
Blocking, on the other hand, was really easy. At least for me. I could
stop Aunt Shiho from hitting me with hers pretty well; going on the
offensive, on the other hand, wasn't so easy.
After a while, there was a knock on the door; I ran over and answered it
and it was Natasha's boyfriend of the moment, Gin. Houseki Gin, to be
precise. He's not bad looking but not too smart, in my opinion. Natasha
seems to like her boyfriends stupider than her, though.
"Hey, Kasumi-san, is Natasha here?" he asked.
"Yes, she is, Houseki-san." He calls everyone by their first name,
which irritates me as I try to be polite to others.
"Sweet, can I come in?" he asked.
Since he asked nicely, I decided yes. "Sure."
He came in as Mom was showing something to Aunt Shiho, then stared at
them. Was he ogling my mother? HE WAS. I grimaced at that.
"Hi!" Natasha said, then kissed him. "How's it going, boyfriend?"
"Pretty good, girlfriend. Going to introduce me to your friends here?"
He studied Mother and Aunt Shiho up and down. I think he liked what he
saw.
You shouldn't be noticing other women when your girlfriend is here, I
thought. Jerk. Especially when they're twice your age!!!
"Hmm, I give him a B," Aunt Shiho said. "Loses a few points for taking
interest in other women in front of you."
I had to put my hand over my mouth.
Mom blinked, then said, "I'm Kasumi's mother, Kurauchi Akane. And this
is Natasha's mother, Munakata Shiho."
Gin stared, then mumbled, "Please don't murder me."
Natasha said, "Gin!"
I couldn't help laughing loudly.
"I won't murder you unless you break her heart and then you will die,"
Aunt Shiho said cheerfully. "Yuuichi-kun didn't kill you too hard, did he?"
He mumbled something incoherent about pregnancy.
Natasha said, "What?"
"He threatened to make you pregnant?" Aunt Shiho asked, though I could
tell she was teasing.
"He told me that if I got Natasha pregnant, he'd show me how he got his
Kendo awards," Gin mumbled, looking nervously at the floor.
"He's really good," Natasha said admiringly, saw him wince more, then
quickly said, "But I won't let him hurt you, honey. And really, he's a big
softie." She put an arm around him.
"Nice to meet you, Houseki-san," Mom said. "I'm afraid we're busy right
now, though."
"Does everyone in your family train to beat people up?" Gin asked,
looking at the tonfas.
"Yes," Aunt Shiho said. "One way or another." She grinned just a touch
maliciously.
He shuddered, then kissed Natasha. "I'll leave you to your work, then.
Call me later, honey."
"Yes, dear," Natasha said to him, then showed him out.
"He doesn't seem half as terrible as your aunts and uncles made out,"
Shiho said. "As long as he treats you well, I won't ask Akira to kill him."
Natasha's eyes crossed. "Please don't," she mumbled.
"Alright, let's do some more drill!" Mom said enthusiastically.
Eventually, we all became giant mountains of sweat, then took a bath and
went out to eat, after which Mom and Aunt Shiho went home and I went to go
do homework before the secret meeting.
**************
Crystal Said:
I was sitting at one of the tables in the commons, trying to do math
homework with Dan, when two shadows fell over us. To be more precise, I was
pulling Dan's math-incompetent ass out of the fire while he stared at the
math as if it was in Sumerian. No, wait, he probably would understand
Sumerian.
"Hello, Crystal-chan, Dan-kun," Harada-san said to us. "This is my
daughter, Harada Erica."
Erica smiled at us a little shyly, her blue eyes behind glasses like her
mother's, her long black hair flowing down in a great cascade with angular
bangs in front, including a few oddly bent hairs. She wore a uniform like
us and was middling in height and build, but her face was very beautiful.
She and Harada-san didn't physically resemble each other much (not
surprising given she's adopted), but her eyes, though different colored,
reminded me of her mother's.
"Hi, Harada-san," Dan said, pushing his bangs back.
"Aunt Chie," Harada-san insisted.
"You can call me Erica," Erica said a little nervously. "Since we're
family now." I could tell she wasn't quite sure what to make of this. And
probably a little shy, which surprised me, given how her parents are.
"It's nice to meet you, Erica-san," I said, offering her a hand. She
shook it firmly and seemed to relax.
"Nice to meet you, Erica-san," Dan said, smiling and shaking her hand.
We both sort of half-knew her in the way that this school is just a
little too big to know everyone well but too small for you to not sort of
vaguely know everyone. I knew she had a reputation as a brainiac.
"You're almost as pretty as your mother," Erica said to Dan. "And
you're definitely as pretty as yours," she said to me, smiling.
"You've met our parents?" I asked.
"Chie-Mom showed me her photo album," Erica said.
I resisted the urge to ask to see it; it had probably been censored by
now.
"If you want to see it some time, Crystal, just come by my office," Aunt
Chie said.
Had she just read my mind???
"Did you show her the pic of Mom where she's karaoking while dressed up
as a magical girl?" Dan asked. "Dad always busts a gut every time he sees
that one."
"Did they ever show you the one where he's her magical boy, though?"
Chie asked Dan.
I felt brain cells die.
A big black cat half asleep under a nearby table took this moment to
groggily wake up and yowl for no clear reason. It then tried to wander off,
only to smack itself into another table.
Erica giggled a little, while Dan first stared, then laughed loudly.
"Anyway, I expect your parents burned their copies of some of these, so
you should come see it some time," Aunt Chie said.
Maybe I would find out something after all. But later. We had plans
for tonight.
"Oh yes, don't forget to invite Erica to your secret meeting tonight,"
Chie said. "I have to go home and do laundry, or I'd come too. Ugh."
"..."
Dan stared.
Erica giggled again, then said, "Don't mind Mom, she's kind of hyper
today."
She did seem very, very cheerful. Rather much so for someone who came
close to blowing up recently. Or whatever had happened.
"Anyway, I'm off to laundry world. Have fun being sneaky! See you!"
Aunt Chie said, then headed out.
How did she know about our secret meeting???
Well, it was too late now. The real question was whether Erica had any
clue what she was getting into. And whether she was going to spy on us for
her mom. This would definitely complicate things.
I pulled out a chair for Erica. "Has your mother told you what you're
getting into?" Probably not, I suspected.
"Mom, as usual, gave me a few hints and expects me to figure it all out
myself," Erica said. "Which sometimes is fun and sometimes gets me in
trouble when I didn't figure out the clues meant for me to do the dishes.
Luckily, Aoi-Mom is a lot less enigmatic."
"Did they strip-search you yet?" Dan asked.
"Mom interrupted me in the middle of taking a shower and I nearly beat
her to death with my brush before I realized it was her this morning," Erica
said. "Why would they strip-search me?" She sounded confused.
"See, that's something we don't know," Dan said.
"..."
Dan and I looked at each other. I wasn't sure what to tell her, or
whether I was telling Aunt Chie everything I said to her. And what had
happened to turn Aunt Aoi and Aunt Chie from friends of my parents who they
didn't see much into members of the family circle? Something at that
factory must have given away the family secret... There was definitely
something different about her now, though.
"There's only so many things which could be on our skin. A scar or a
tattoo or a birthmark. It has to be some kind of tattoo but why would they
be worried about us getting a tattoo to the degree of paranoia they've shown
about this?" Dan asked.
Several things suddenly clicked in my brain. "Ahah!"
Dan looked at me curiously.
"Tonight," I told him. "I have an idea."
******************
We'd assembled behind the science building; everything was quiet in that
part of campus and so long as no one found us...and Erica didn't sell us
out...but I couldn't leave her out at this point. If she wasn't...I'm being
paranoid. I felt bad for her, really; she'd just been thrown into the deep
end of a mystery.
"I had almost forgotten I had this, what with everything I've been
handling lately," I told everyone.
Then I held up the paper with a circle and dot in the middle and a
flechette coming out of it. "This was the symbol of a cult which..." I
began.
"It's the sign of the Fuuka legend of the Battle Princesses," Dan said.
We all turned to stare at him. He already knew about this thing???
"Mom has a big box full of things with that sign on it, part of some
research project she's been doing ever since I was little, but never
finishes. And tries to hide," Dan said, looking slightly distracted as if
dredging up memories.
What, NOW he tells us about this??? What took him so long?
"But not well enough, eh?" Shun asked, leaning on the science building.
"What is the legend?" Kasumi asked, sounding worried.
"Long ago, the Battle Princesses were chosen to fight for those they
loved. But one by one they perished, until only the Crystal Princess
remained to confront..." Dan paused, staring at me, then at Natasha, who
was pacing back and forth, tugging on her hair. He had the look of someone
who had never made the connection before, then looked totally embarrassed.
"Crystal Princess?" I said weakly.
"That's IT!" Natasha said.
"What happened to the Crystal Princess? Confronting who?" Shun asked
urgently.
Erica watched us all with the look of someone getting steadily in over
their head, but there was something about her eyes...did she know something?
"Crystal Princess?" I mumbled.
"What is what?" Dan asked Natasha.
"Great-Grandfather's Shrine! There's a door you're not supposed to open
that leads to an old sunken cave and that sign is on the wall a bunch of
times! I got in there one time we stayed with Great-Grandpa for the
summer!" Natasha said, smashing her hand into her fist. "I just thought it
was crazy ancient cave people scratchings but maybe it means something."
We were going to have to check this out.
"Dan, what happened to the Crystal Princess?" Shun asked.
"She had to confront the Lord of Obsidian to deliver the world from
darkness," Dan said.
"And?" I asked. Surely the parents hadn't named me after this legend.
What the hell were they thinking? I never have gotten a straight answer
from them on it.
"And?" Kasumi said tensely.
"She beat him and there's an annual festival which celebrates her
victory and mourns the loss of the Battle Princesses and their lost loves,"
Dan said. "There are tons of local legends like this woven into local
Shinto practices all over Japan. I wouldn't think anything of it,
except...Crystal, where did you get that?"
I didn't want to drag Nagisa into this any more than I could help. "I
found some stuff online that seemed to indicate it was connected to some
kind of cult in the Fuuka area when our parents were there, but it sounds
like it was just a local Shinto sign. So it's the mark of the Battle
Princesses?"
"Yes," Dan said.
"What are the names of the other Princesses?" I asked Dan.
"I don't know. People tie ribbons to this set of railings at Fuuka to
commemorate them and in the belief that whoever ties a ribbon there will be
with their loves forever," Dan said.
"Forever," I said softly. "Without aging?"
We all stared at each other silently, while Erica stared at us. She
must think we're crazy, I thought.
"But it can't be...I mean, remember when we tried sneaking into Fuuka?
That one place had ribbons all over it," Shun said. "And how could tying
ribbons to something make you stop aging, anyway?" He stared at me, then
over at Kasumi, then at the wall. "Wouldn't it affect everyone?"
"I..." Kasumi began.
We all turned and looked at her and she shrank in on herself.
"Natasha, you still have some of the temporary tattoo paint, right?"
Kasumi asked hesitantly.
"Yes," Natasha said. "But what...AHAH! Kasumi, you are a GENIUS!" She
grabbed Kasumi and hugged her tightly enough Kasumi could hardly breathe.
"I don't get it," I confessed.
Only to get it a few seconds later.
"Ahah! So we all paint fake tattoos of it on ourselves and then go tell
them this tattoo just appeared on all of us?" I asked Kasumi.
She nodded.
"Do you know what color if any they expect? Or the right size?" Erica
said quietly.
"I...no, dammit," I grumbled.
"Assuming this is even the right sign or tattoo or...why would such a
thing suddenly appear, anyway? Won't they get suspicious?" Erica asked,
adjusting her glasses.
"It's better than nothing..." I grumbled.
"Well, learning about the Battle Princesses seems a good start," Erica
says. "Also, I want to know more about Mom's escapade with my new aunts and
what happened." She sounded rather worried. "Mom goes into danger
sometimes, but nothing ever blew up before." She hesitated. "I think."
"We all do," I told her.
"I want to know why they thought it was MY giant mech," Natasha said.
"I have never once gotten into any trouble with robots, giant or otherwise."
Shun nodded.
"I think we need to find some way for one or more of us to sneak out and
visit Fuuka," I said.
"I think if I hint to Great-Grandpa, he'll be eager to invite us,"
Natasha said.
"Sounds good," Dan said. He looked over at me. "Cool with you,
Crystal?"
Everyone was looking at me. "Yes, of course," I said. "I want to
know."
"Then it's decided. Soon, Operation Fuuka Investigation II will
begin!" Shun said, then held out his hand. "And this time, Aunt Fumi won't
catch Crystal and spank her. I hope."
For a moment, my ass felt like she was STILL spanking me. Quickly, we
all put our hands on his, with mine on top. "Just don't start calling me
Princess," I said.
"We exist to serve you, Crystal Princess," Shun teased, then turned more
serious. He looked at Erica. "Welcome to the family, cousin. Now it's
time for you to get in big trouble with us for the first time. This is your
initiation to a world of hurt!" he said cheerfully.
"Chie-Mom practically trained me to get in trouble," Erica said. "And
Aoi-Mama trained me how to get OUT." She smiled a little.
Given our past luck, we'd definitely be needing THAT talent.
I was quivering with excitement. Finally, a breakthrough. I had a good
feeling about the future.
Assuming Mom didn't blow up any more buildings. What is going on with
her all of a sudden?
One mystery at a time, I told myself. Finally, a LEAD. The truth would
out this time, I was sure.
*************
Kasumi's Tale:
It soon became clear Mom was serious about this, coming over every day
with Aunt Shiho to train with Natasha and I. I had mixed emotions about
this; it was pretty cool to have Mom and one of my aunts lavishing so much
attention on me; being the good kid does have its privileges, but my out of
control brothers usually eat up all of Mom's time. And I like Natasha a lot
for all that she's a little crazy.
But it ate up a lot of time and made getting my homework done and
getting my track training done harder and I was struggling with the special
training as it required a lot of manual dexterity, whereas I'm a lot better
at endurance and leg speed. Also, IT HURTS.
It also was somewhat annoying that Aunt Shiho was picking it up faster
than Natasha or me, though it irritated Natasha more than me. I'd never
seen her even exercise, but she seemed to pick all this up very quickly.
Ayumi never threatened me again; she just glowered at me, which was in
some ways more scary as I couldn't tell what she was thinking beyond rage.
Which could lead to anything.
Crystal and Natasha ran off together every so often to plot the big trip
to Fuuka. They're both intensely excited; I'm not so sure. Part of me
wants to know, wants to understand why Aunt Miyu...why she said that. And
part of me is afraid of the answer.
Who did Mom trust too much? Who did Aunt Shiho not trust enough? I
don't know but I think it must be important. I think Natasha must have
forgotten the things they said within a few minutes, or likely Crystal would
be trying to pick them apart word by word, but it lingered in my mind.
Erica and Dan are in World History with me; I have to say that I wish I
was as good at history as they are, though I can blow Shun and Crystal out
of the water. They don't try half as hard as I do. Natasha could do as
well as me, but her soul belongs to music and athletics.
Dan was splayed out in a chair before classtime; we sit next to each
other; Erica is ahead and over to the right, but for the moment, she was
leaning on my desk while I sat in it. "We have a quiz today," Erica said.
"And a new teacher."
"A new teacher?" I asked. "What happened to Mr. Kukri?"
"He decided it was a good idea to carry a sack of groceries taller than
his head across an intersection without checking the light," Erica said,
then winced.
Dan grimaced and I sighed. Mr. Kukri had been a pretty good teacher.
"Poor man, we should visit him in the hospital."
"Good idea," Dan said. "Don't you have practice with your mom, though?"
"Yes, but I think I can beg off this time," I said. I could use a
break.
"So did your mom tell you what's on the quiz or is she making you figure
it out?" Dan asked Erica, grinning a little.
"Just a heads up about it," Erica said. "But I'd guess this probably is
about Iron Age Africa, given you and I were the only people who talked and
that usually means he hammers everyone with a quiz."
I thought it about and realized she was right. I hope I'm ready, I
thought.
The door opened and a man with brown hair turning grey walked in; he
had...an afro? An afro. "Hello, everyone," he said. "I'm Mr. Sakomizu
Kaiji, your substitute history teacher. Until Mr. Kukri recovers, I'll be
taking care of you. Everyone to their seats, please."
Everyone now went to their seats and he adjusted his glasses, then
studied us. "Mr. Kukri left a quiz for today, so we'll start with that.
Clear your desks, it's time for a trip to Africa." For some reason, he sang
the final word, dragging it out.
The quiz wasn't as bad as I feared, though I could hear grumbling all
over the room. He then collected them and launched into a lecture on the
Sahel area states of Sub-Saharan Africa. I'll spare you the details as I
only caught about half of it, scribbling furiously to keep up.
Most of the way through it, Dan asked, "Are you familiar with the
city-state of Tarak?"
"Tarak is a myth created by the Ghana emperors as part of their mostly
imaginary distant history," Sakomizu-sensei said.
"My mother found it," Dan said. "Well, both my parents found it. Their
paper on it came out two years ago."
Dan used to argue with Mr. Kukri too, citing his parents' various
adventures. Sometimes I envy him that; for us, an adventure is when my
brothers cover someone's dog with sugar. But adventures are dangerous,
which is why I wouldn't have tried to, say, sneak into that ruined factory
Aunt Mai blew up. Or at least, the others would have had to talk me into
it.
Sakomizu-sensei studied Dan, then looked at the seating chart. His
eyes widened slightly. "Are you Sugiura Dan? Sugiura Midori's son?"
"You know Mom?" Dan asked in surprise.
"We taught together at Fuuka Academy many years ago," Sakomizu-sensei
said, adjusting his glasses. "Well, if she says so, I'll accept it, though
I'd like to see that paper."
"Sure, Mom would love to give you a copy," Dan said, smiling.
I felt my phone vibrate. It was a text from Erica. 'Maybe he knows
something about the mysteries.'
Keep talking, distract him, Dan, I willed. Then I tried to covertly
text her back. 'After class, we try.'
I hastily hid my phone just as Sakomizu-sensei studied me. "Yes,
sensei?" I asked nervously.
"Is your father Kurauchi Kazuya?" he asked.
I nodded. "Yes, sir."
"I taught him when he was your age. I hope you're a better student than
he was."
I laughed nervously. "I do my best, sir."
"Anyway, I could..." He looked at the chart, looked at Erica, adjusted
his glasses, then said, "Wait...does your mother teach here?"
"You taught her too, Sakomizu-sensei, probably. She was in school with
Kasumi-san's parents too," Erica said.
"I feel like I'm in a school reunion movie suddenly," he said, smiling a
little. "Anyone else here with parents from Fuuka?"
Ota Mandi (a short girl with short blue hair and brown eyes) raised her
hand. "My mom went to Fuuka..." Her face squished up as she thought.
"Roughly 20 years ago, I think. Her name is Ota Yayoi."
We'd never thought of asking around to find other kids of Fuuka students
before. They might not be from our family but they might know something.
It's just...well, I don't know why we never thought of it before.
Dan looked at me. I looked at Erica. Erica looked at Dan.
Definitely paydirt.
"So probably when my parents were there," I said to Mandi. I wonder if
one of her parents is a gaijin or if she's just part of whatever crazy fad
got Crystal her name. Assuming...let's not speculate. Surely it's just a
coincidence. And Erica has a gaijin name and her parents aren't gaijin.
"Wow. That's kind of cool," Mandi said.
"Very surprising," Sakomizu-sensei said, studying his notes. "Okay,
let's continue."
The rest of class went by without incident, then everyone scattered;
unlike most Japanese schools, we don't all sit in one room all day; we go to
the teachers instead of vice-versa, so you mix with everyone. I think it's
supposed to encourage unity among everyone in the same grade. Don't hold me
to that.
I also have Mandi in sixth period, which is math, so after class, I
pulled her aside before I'd have to go to track practice. "So your mother
went to Fuuka?" I asked.
"Yeah," Mandi said. "She met Dad in college, though. He had to take
her name because Mom's family is kinda snobby and he was pretty poor. But I
like Daddy way more than my snobby grandparents." She kicked a rock as we
walked along. "I wanted to go to Fuuka, but Grandfather and Grandmother
think Fuuka's gone down hill ever since the original headmaster left after
the plague outbreak."
My eyes widened. "What?"
"Your folks never mentioned it? The army came in and shut the school
down to track down some crazies who wanted to unleash a plague. A lot of
the campus got trashed in the fighting," Mandi said. "Mom's got a photo
book from her school days showing the mess and all the construction to fix
it and everything. I just wish she'd gotten a picture of that bridge
blowing up. It sounds really spectacular when she talks about it."
"..."
Mandi kicked another rock as we walked along. "Your mom never mentioned
it?"
"Mom usually focuses on things like late night card games and working as
a waitress with Dad when they first started dating," I mumbled. "Or
double-dating with Aunt Mai."
"Mai..." Mandi said thoughtfully. "Wait, was that the woman with the
giant breasts?" She held her hands way out in front of her own rather small
breasts. "Are they real?"
I laughed. "Yes."
"She's in Mom's book, I think. Some woman with giant breasts and orange
hair, anyway," Mandi said. "Most of the photos feature Mom's two big
buddies, Aunt Sayuri and Aunt Miya. But there's lots of other people too."
My nose twitched. So her family has extended 'aunts' who aren't blood
kin too. Was this some kind of Fuuka thing? Or were there multiple
families like ours? I studied Mandi carefully, trying to figure out what to
ask next.
Mandi stopped and felt at her face. "Is something wrong? I didn't mess
up my makeup again, did I?"
"Miya? Not Miyu?" I asked, suddenly wondering.
"Miya. Koyabishi Miya. She's married to one of the biology teachers."
Mandi shrugged. "So your folks really never mentioned the bridge blowing up
or the plague?" She sounded surprised.
No, not at all. And now I wondered why. Though I suppose most people
don't dwell on disasters; it's not healthy for you, really.
"No, they didn't," I said.
"Well, my folks may have been there before yours, so maybe your folks
weren't there at exactly the same time. Anyway, if you are curious about
it, I can see if Mom will loan me her picture book."
"I'd be grateful," I told her. "Thanks, Mandi."
"No problem. I hear you won one of the track events at the last meet,"
she said.
I smiled. "Yes. To my surprise. I'm feeling pretty good about that."
"Congratulations," she said. "I'm too lazy for sports, but I'm good at
drawing and taking photos." She snapped a shot of me. "Want me to come
photograph you running some time?"
"Sure," I said, feeling flattered. "I'd better get to practice."
"See you!"
Practice passed in a blur. I couldn't stop imagining plagues and
exploding bridges. Which is why I managed to crash into a wall and had to
go to the nurse's office.
Aunt Aoi quickly began tending my leg; I like her, she's very kind and
gentle, though she loves to tease. I wasn't really hurt that badly, but
Coach wanted to make sure I didn't get infected wounds or anything.
"This will sting," Aunt Aoi said, washing my scrapes and small cuts.
"You need to pay attention where you are going."
"Did you know an Ota Yayoi?" I asked. "I met her daughter Ota Mandi;
she's in two of my classes."
"Oh wow, I haven't even thought about Yayoi-chan in forever. Is she as
short as her mother?"
"Tiny," I said.
"She and Sayuri and Miya were inseperable. It was very sweet." Now the
disinfectant went on and it stung, but I ignored it; I'm used to
disinfectant. More than I wish I was.
"Just the three of them?" I asked.
"Oh, they hung out with Chie and I and we all always tried to get Mai to
come along, but she was usually busy working or taking care of her brother
Takumi. Until Akira took over that job, anyway."
I wanted to ask about the bridge and the plague but I was afraid this
would just invoke the parental wall of silence. Or she'd pretend to know
nothing. So I didn't say anything about that. "And I hear you were Aunt
Nao's roommate?"
"Yes," Aoi said. "She was a constant troublemaker." She shook her head
and put a bandage on my leg. "It seemed like she had a new boyfriend every
five minutes."
"..." And now she's a nun! Wow, people can change. I don't think I've
ever even heard of her having a boyfriend.
"I was totally stunned to find out she stuck with being a nun. But I
think she's a lot happier now. So what's up with you and this Hayao boy,
hmm?"
I turned beet red. I can't stop thinking about him even though I turned
him down when everyone said it was a bad idea. I guess he's probably given
up, though. I just...I know he's bad news but he's so cute and when he
talks to me I just shiver and... and...
"That answers that, I see," Aoi said. "Don't worry. Even if things go
badly, you'll find more loves in the future. It took a long time before
Chie and I got together once and for all."
"Mom and Dad got lucky and married the first person they ever loved," I
mumbled. "I feel like..."
"It's not your job to relive your parent's life," Aoi said. "Don't rush
yourself; high school romances often don't work out. I dated Ken for nearly
a year and that ended in flames." She paused. "Metaphorical flames."
Part of me desperately wanted to know about the exploding bridge and the
plague. "Did you know Aunt Miyu very well back then?"
"No," Aoi said. "She was hard to get to know and usually spent her time
at the chapel with her father and Alyssa, who was such a cute, cute little
kid. And later she was training as a nun." She looked lost in the
memories. "Alyssa sang like an angel. Does she still sing?"
"Not too often around us, but she took us carolling last Christmas.
Shun's the only one of us who is any good and she dwarfed him," I told her.
"Alyssa was younger than any of us except... no, I think she's even
younger than Mikoto-chan," Aoi said. "Okay, I think you're fine now."
I didn't get up yet from the medical bed, though. "Did... were my
parents the same then as now?"
"Pretty much, I think. Your mom hadn't really figured out where she was
going in life and neither had your dad, but I don't think they've changed a
lot," Aoi said. "I was a lot closer to Yuuichi-kun and Mai-chan and
Mikoto-chan than to them, though. And to Miya-chan and Sayuri-chan and to
Yayoi-chan." Aoi pulled up a chair and sat in it. "Takeda Masashi, does
Natsuki ever talk about him?"
"Who?" I asked.
"Her sort of boyfriend," Aoi said. "Never worked out, in the long term,
but I heard Mai found them making out on the beach once. He was captain of
the Kendo club," she continued.
"No, I don't think she ever mentioned him. But Aunt Natsuki has so many
boyfriends I stopped paying attention a long time ago," I admitted.
Aoi laughed softly, then sighed. "I actually met her boyfriend a few
years ago; he's very handsome and gracious and..." She laughed softly. "He
doesn't seem like what I'd expect Natsuki to date."
I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling. "My family drives off
half my boyfriends and the rest either just wanted sex or just... well, you
know how it is." I sighed.
"They drive them off?" Aoi asked curiously.
"Dan and Shun and... okay, everyone's so protective of me. I mean,
sometimes I want to be protected, but... there shouldn't be anything wrong
with wanting peace." I sighed.
"There is nothing wrong. I think violence is best avoided unless you
have no choice," Aunt Aoi said, taking my hands with hers. "But boys are
like that, and your female cousins... well, Crystal and Natasha like to
fight, I think."
I nodded. "Yes."
"Just hold to your ideals. And be patient with them; it's how people
like that show they love you," Aoi said. "My dear wife Chie is rather like
that, protective of me."
I never did quite get up the courage to ask about the things I'd
learned. Eventually after more chatting, I went to go meet Mom.
"Natasha told me your history teacher got hurt," Mom said.
Mom, Natasha, and Aunt Shiho had been waiting in Natasha's room for my
return. So much I had to tell Natasha...
"Yes. I feel really bad for Mr. Kukri, but... mom, did you know
Sakomizu-sensei at Fuuka?"
Mom blinked, while Aunt Shiho looked confused. "I only knew him a
little but he was Natsuki's mentor, encouraging her to improve her grades
and finish school."
Interesting, I thought. "He's Mr. Kukri's substitute. Dan and Erica
and I were thinking about going to visit Mr. Kukri."
"We'll just go a short lesson then," Mom said.
I took my beatings with what grace I could muster and soon we had
assembled the whole cousin brigade to go see him. "Dan, did you tell them
about Ota Mandi and Sakomizu-sensei?"
"What I knew. Did you find anything else out?"
I told them about everything I had learned as we waited for the bus at
the gates.
"A bridge blew up and a plague broke out and they NEVER MENTIONED IT to
us?" Crystal asked.
"Man, now I have to wonder how much your mom's been blowing up all these
years," Shun teased her.
"Your mom was there too!" Crystal protested.
"I promise it wasn't me and my invisible giant robot," Natasha said,
then laughed.
"Don't forget the military takeover," Dan said. "And the fact that
Mandi's family also has non-biological relatives in it."
"Well, my mothers went there and they didn't follow that custom until
Crystal's mother blew up the factory," Erica said. "And now they do. Has
to be some kind of link."
"Maybe Ota-san's parents blew up that bridge with Aunt Mai..." Shun said
thoughtfully.
"We have no proof it was MY mother," Crystal muttered. "Is this bus
ever coming?"
"Whatever secret this family has, it's pretty clear something happened
to initiate my parents into it at the factory," Erica said, tapping her pen
on her notebook. "It should be here soon, Crystal-san."
A cat yowled off in the distance, and the bus now pulled up and we
hopped in to go visit Mr. Kukri, speculating all the way.
When we got there, we found Sakomizu-sensei visiting him; they were
discussing plans for the next several weeks of teaching. "Are you okay,
sensei?" I asked him, though it was clear that he wasn't okay. But it's
what you do in this kind of visit.
"I'm fine," he said, though he wasn't. He looked very happy to see us.
"It was very nice of you to come out here, though."
"Hello, sensei," Dan said to Sakomizu-sensei. "We didn't mean to
interrupt."
"It's okay," Sakomizu-sensei said, smiling.
"Would you like me to tell Aunt Natsuki you're here at Rosewood now?" I
asked him. Everyone studied me and it struck me I hadn't thought to talk
about that part of it all.
"Yes, that would be nice," he said. "I'm curious to see if she's still
the same or changed."
I was curious about that myself.
Crystal asked, "Did you know my mother at Fuuka?"
"I only knew Dan's mother and Natsuki-san very well," he said. "But I
taught all your parents at some point," Sakomizu-sensei continued. "Well,
except for Dan, since his mother was a teacher, not a student, for all she
pretended she was only seventeen."
"He's very good," Mr. Kukri told us. "You're in good hands with
Sakomizu-san."
"Your mother claimed to be seventeen, Dan-san?" Erica asked, sounding
surprised.
"Mom doesn't handle the aging thing well," Dan said as the rest of us
snickered.
"Hey, Mr. Kukri, you have got to get well soon before we all flu..."
someone said, coming into the room, then suddenly stopped.
I turned and saw a dozen boys and girls from our school; Gin was there,
but the one who had spoken was... Masakuri Hayao! And Crystal was right
here and... and... I could feel my breathing speed up and I turned around
to face Mr. Kukri trying to pretend he wasn't there. I didn't know... would
he be angry I turned him down? Would he ask me out again? Or...
"Aren't you supposed to be working in the gardens right now, Shun-san?"
Mitsu Kagami demanded of him, light flashing off her glasses. "I looked for
you everywhere! And you too, Crystal!"
Crystal and Shun both laughed nervously and backed up. "We... ummm...
hahaha..." Shun said.
"Does visiting an injured teacher count for community service?" Crystal
mumbled.
"Don't worry, I'll talk to the vice-principal for you," Sakomizu-sensei
said. "It was very kind of you to come out and visit Mr. Kukri."
"I'm very glad to have this much company," Mr. Kukri said. "Mitsu-san,
it was very nice of you to organize a greeting committee."
"It was Masakuri-san's idea," she confessed. "I really should have
thought of it myself, but it was his idea." She sounded a little guilty.
I stiffened slightly. It was his idea?
"Well, umm, yeah," Hayao mumbled, then glanced at Sakomizu-sensei. "We
hope you get well soon." He fumbled around, then grabbed two bouquets; Ota
Mandi had one of them and... I think her name is Sanae... Koyabishi Sanae,
maybe? She's tall, skinny, red-haired, and I think her father is one of the
biology teachers. Hayao brought them over, then said softly, "Being stuck
in the hospital all by yourself is terrible. I hope you aren't too lonely
here."
"You tell him, cousin," Mandi said.
Cousin? Wait...
"You look familiar, young man," Sakomizu-sensei said.
"I... uh... I'm in third period history so you probably saw me earlier
today," Hayao said, sounding confused.
I was shivering. Why am I shaking, I asked myself. There was no reason
to... even if he is very cute and... aaargh!
"Ahh! Was your mother named Ichinose Sayuri by any chance?" Mr.
Sakomizu asked.
Wait, his mother was from Fuuka too??? I glanced over the other
students, wondering if Miya-san had a son or daughter here too. And if
their family was as much like ours as we were starting to think.
"Uh, yeah," Hayao said. "Except she's Masakuri Sayuri now."
I glanced over; Dan and Shun were studying him, Erica was fiddling with
her cell phone, Natasha was studying the rest of the people with Hayao and
Crystal was looking at him as if she could kill him by looking at him hard
enough.
"So what's your game this time, Hayao?" Crystal snapped at him. "Trying
to impress one of these women with your compassion?"
"Calm down, Crystal," Dan said. "We didn't come here so Mr. Kukri could
watch us all fight to the death."
Mr. Sakomizu grimaced like he'd been hit in the gut, then said, "Now,
now, we're all here to say hello to Mr. Kukri, not have a fight that could
hurt him more, right?"
"Hey, I didn't come here just to impress a girl!" Hayao said.
"We all came because we like Mr. Kukri," Mandi said angrily. "And don't
insult my cousin! He's a good guy!"
Mandi attempted to get all up in Crystal's face. For all that Crystal
is on the short side, Mandi is just tiny and this was, I think, less
threatening than she hoped. It was rather like watching a little yappy dog
bouncing around a mid-sized one. I kept half-expecting her to accidentally
shove her face into Crystal's chest like Aunt Mikoto on Aunt Mai.
"Please don't fight," Mr. Kukri mumbled.
"That's enough," Mitsu-san said loudly, stepping between them. "The
hospital staff will throw us out if you two have a fight! Stand down!"
Shun pulled Crystal back, while an embarrassed Hayao pulled back Mandi.
"It's okay, cousin," he said softly.
"I may be small, but I'm fierce like a lion!" Mandi said angrily.
"You're the one who sicked those bees on him, aren't you!"
"Me? I wish I WAS the one who sicked the bees on him!" Crystal
shouted. "He's nothing but a user of women!"
"Come on, stop it," Mitsu-san said, but neither side was listening to
her.
"Mandi-chan, I told you, I've never seen that woman before or since. It
wasn't Crystal. She must have been from Saint Mary's," Hayao said, sounding
very embarrassed. He's so cute when he's embarrassed. "I won't mind if you
beat her up, though."
I pretended to cough so I could cover my face to keep from looking like
an idiot.
"Enough! Anyone who is going to be disruptive is going to have to
leave!" Mr. Sakomizu said, glasses flashing.
Everyone fell silent, though I could see Crystal fuming.
Mitsu-san took the bouquets and put them by Mr. Kukri's bed. "I'm very
sorry, sir," she said. "You shouldn't have to watch us fighting."
"Me too," I said to him. "We didn't mean to cause you any trouble."
"It's okay," he said. "It all seems so much more important when you're
that age." He looked at Crystal and Hayao. "Love is dangerous."
"Love? That man wouldn't..." Crystal began. Mr. Sakomizu glared at her
and she shrank in on herself.
"To be human is to love," Erica said softly. "Isn't love a good thing?"
"Weren't any of you paying attention when I taught you about Anthony and
Cleopatra?" Mr. Kukri asked.
"We haven't gotten to Shakespeare yet, Sensei," Erica said.
"Rome," Dan said. "Which I thought was going to be a little later this
semester." His face was scrunched a bit with the effort of memory.
"Hmm, yes, you're right," Mr. Kukri said, slightly embarrassed. "You
teach as long as I have and it all blurs together sometimes." He stared at
the ceiling for a few seconds.
Then he began his tale. "Cleopatra was the last of the Pharoahs; she
was forced to marry her brother, but she didn't want to. Eventually, she
got Julius Caesar to overthrow him and ruled Egypt on her own and became
Caesar's lover. They even had a son, Caesarion. Thus she protected herself
and her kingdom, keeping it free of Rome. When Caesar was murdered, two of
his generals, Lepidus and Marc Anthony allied with his nephew Octavian to
defeat those who killed him, then ruled the empire for a time as the Second
Triumvirate."
Mr. Kukri picked up the flowers and sniffed them. "But even though Marc
Anthony married Octavian's sister Octavia, he betrayed her because he fell
in love with Cleopatra. It might be argued Caesar and Cleopatra were using
each other, but the love of Cleopatra and Marc Anthony was genuine, strong,
and true. Never had either of them been happier in their life, and he cast
away all his responsibilities to spend time with hers, and set out to ensure
her legacy, her kingdom, would endure. They would throw wild parties
together, disguise themselves as commoners to play pranks on people, and in
general, cavorted together as those in love do."
"So Octavian took his revenge. Marc Anthony had betrayed his duties as
a leader of Rome because of his crush on that woman, and betrayed the wife
he'd sworn oaths to. He knew Cleopatra was just using Marc Anthony for her
own gain," Hayao said angrily. "And so they, who had once been companions
in battle, turned on each other and led armies to war. But Marc Anthony was
a loser, lost in a haze of lust for the evil Queen of Egypt, and when she
panicked at Actium and her fleet fled the scene, his fleet was annihilated.
In the end, he killed himself thinking her dead, and she killed herself not
for love of him but to avoid being humiliated by the victorious Octavian,"
Hayao finished. He sounded as angry as if he was Octavian himself.
I couldn't figure out why he was so worked up over something that
happened to other people thousands of years ago. It is thousands, right?
I'm pretty sure we haven't even gotten to 0 AD yet.
"That is a little harsher than I would put it and you left out how
Octavian murdered Cleopatra's son by Julius Caesar, Caesarion," Mr. Kukri
said wearily. "But it does convey the point. Love does not always triumph
and when it does, the results are not always good. And love can turn us
against each other."
Mr. Sakomizu sighed. "Well said. Tate-san, Masakuri-san, if you want
to fight, you can do it at school. Everyone can come up and say hello, and
then it's time for our community service students to go to work... as I'm in
charge of the gardens now." GLASSES FLASH.
Crystal, Shun, and Mitsu-san all paled at the sight of that.
***************
Crystal's Tale:
Being stuck working in the gardens isn't that terrible, really. Uncle
Takumi loves to garden and I've helped him out a lot. Shun and Mitsu were
busy pulling up weeds while Sakomizu-sensei and I were pulling up some
bushes which had caught some kind of blight and had to go. I took a shovel
to the roots while he pulled on them with rope. Hard work, but the
advantage of gardening is that you can see results as you work, so you don't
get frustrated in the middle for lack of progress.
I don't, anyway.
"I heard you were close to my Aunt Natsuki," I said to him as my shovel
bit deep into another bushes' roots.
He pulled hard, sweating. I'd offered to let him do the planting while
I shovel, but I expect his pride won't let him let a girl do the 'hard'
work. "She was a terrible student, so I took it upon myself to show her the
way."
"Did she have as many stupid boyfriends in school as she does now?" I
asked, wondering how long she'd been doing that. And why it had stopped
now.
"The head of the Kendo team liked her," he said, huffing and puffing.
He fell on his butt as it suddenly came free, then said, "But I can't think
of any guys she actually dated."
We moved onto the next bush; he began roping it while I began digging
hard, shoving the shovel down with my foot. Glancing over, I could see Shun
lazily pulling weeds; Mitsu-san was going two or three times faster. "Work
harder, Shun, don't let Mitsu-san do all the work," I told him.
"Exactly," Mitsu-san said sharply. "You talked me into what got me into
this and now you're slacking off."
"Don't let her do all the work," Sakomizu-sensei said; it was pretty
clear he'd mostly forgotten they were even there until I reminded him. "So
your mother married Tate Yuuichi, then?"
Shun just smiled and started working harder.
"Yes," I told him. "And I think... well, if they could marry Aunt
Mikoto, they would."
He blinked, then his eyes crossed. Given how Aunt Mikoto is, I couldn't
blame him... but it irritated me anyway. "Is there a problem with that?" I
asked him sharply.
"I suppose they're old enough now the age difference is a lot less
important," he said thoughtfully.
"What?" I asked.
"I think she's about 4 years younger than your parents. But that would
make her... maybe 35 to their 39 now. Which is a lot less extreme than 12
to 16," Sakomizu-sensei said.
I finished off the roots. "It's ready, sensei. Want me to help pull?"
Sweat poured down his face, but he said, "No, I'm fine."
As he knocked himself on his butt again, I tried to decide whether to
ask him about the bridge or the plague or any of that. He'd know, but if he
mentioned to Aunt Natsuki that I'd asked, she'd know we know and I want to
wait until I know what I'm knowing before we ask why they never told us
about it. "Anything exciting ever happen at Fuuka when my folks were
there?" I asked, tossing the bush onto the pile of dead bushes in our
wheelbarrow.
"Your father won a lot of kendo matches his second and third years,"
Sakomizu-sensei said. "Your Aunt Mikoto too." He began looping around
another bush.
I poked a bit, found the right spot and began driving the shovel home.
I glanced over and saw Shun and Mitsu-san each now had a flower in their
hair. Is he flirting with her again? He needs to either follow through or
stop flirting. Idiot.
"Oh, they're both still into swords. They trained me and Aunt Mikoto
runs a dojo," I told him. This bush was more stubborn and even a good foot
shove didn't work. So I jumped onto it with both feet and it sank down into
the ground, then my weight pulled it back faster than I expected and now the
bush flew up into the air and I toppled to the ground. Sakomizu-sensei
ended up with dirt all over him and a bush on his feet. "Sorry!"
"Are you okay, Crystal?" Shun said, suddenly looming over me and
offering me a hand up. I could see Mitsu-san brushing off Sakomizu-sensei
with a handkerchief.
"I'm okay, just dirty," I said. "I'll have to take a bath later."
"Me too," he said; I could see dirt up and down his arms and hands.
"Thank you, Mitsu-san," Sakomizu-sensei said to her, then we planted the
next bush and moved down the row.
"Dad works for a robotics company and Mom basically tells people how to
run their companies better," I told him. "You know Aunt Natsuki is a
bodyguard now, right? She's dating a negotiator named Roger Smith," I
continued, kicking the shovel through more roots and starting to push. This
bush was stubborn.
"Roger Smith," Sakomizu-sensei said very slowly in the sort of way I
have come to realize usually means someone has just made a mental
connection. Now I was very curious. "What's he like?"
He knows something. I could smell it. I shoved harder on the shovel
but the bush wouldn't come up. Why? I grimaced at it, then said, "He's
polite, very smart and cultured. Totally unlike her usual boyfriends."
"Not some kind of biker, then," Sakomizu-sensei said with an odd tone I
couldn't read. This intrigued and frustrated me at the same time. He
cocked his head slightly. "Here, let me try," he said.
"This is pretty hard," I warned him.
"I have more mass than you," he said. "And thus gravity gives me more
power for digging with my weight in it."
True, he could stand to lose some weight. I backed off and let him try
it. The shovel SHOVED and now it was stuck in very deep. Too deep as now
it was stuck. He laughed nervously.
"His secretary is kind of creepy, though, I've heard," I told him.
"Here, if we both pull..."
This landed both of us on our ass but now the bush came right out. I
laughed a little and helped him up. The fact that he was willing to work
with us made this all easier to bear. And much as I was half-wishing I
could read his mind right now, he seemed like a nice guy.
"I suppose I must come off as an overprotective father," Sakomizu-sensei
said apologetically. "I just... she was never good at affairs of the heart,
and I hope she's happy."
"But a sudden reversal of boyfriend type worries you," I told him. That
made sense.
I got my shovel and went to work on the next bush as he disposed of this
one.
"It could mean she's finally ready to have a long term relationship," he
said. "I just hope he's not some golddigger after her money."
"Money?" I asked, surprised. She isn't that well off, is she?
"She's not so wealthy as, say, Fujino-san or Suzuhara-san, but she was
pretty well off, enough to live on her family's wealth with no income
easily, when she was here. I mean, when she was at Fuuka." He rubbed his
forehead. "I'm getting old."
SHOVE, and the bush came up gently, letting him easily pull it up. I
didn't know she had serious amounts of money. It really doesn't show,
though I guess that's how she can afford to have so much lingerie. A
thought hit me. "So you knew Aunt Haruka and Aunt Shizuru too?" I asked
him.
"Everyone did. They were leaders in the student government. And
constantly squabbling over everything. Suzuhara was the total take-charge
type and Fujino was utterly laid back. Totally relaxed with her own force
of fangirls following her everywhere," he said. "As far as I could tell,
her version of leadership was to drink tea and tell Kanzaki or Tate or
Suzumiya or Kikukawa to take care of it while she lounged about." He shook
his head. "Hard to deal with as Suzuhara was once she got on a rampage, at
least she took the job seriously."
That's Aunt Haruka. But I could hardly imagine Aunt Shizuru as being
totally relaxed. She usually seemed tense and haunted to me. And trying
desperately to be kind. Well, she is kind but... well, I don't know how to
say it. What happened to her?
"Wait, Dad was on the student council?"
"Something like that. Fuuka had a lot more powerful student council
than most schools, and I saw your father assisting Kanzaki a lot," he
said.
I now began pulling leftover root bits from holes while he got the other
wheelbarrow, with the new bushes, into position.
Suddenly my brain clicked. The entire council was made up of members of
my family! And Aunt Fumi was now HEADMASTER of Fuuka. Uncle Reito, Aunt
Haruka and Aunt Shizuru are all wealthy and my parents are pretty well off
and...
I wasn't quite sure what exactly my brain was thinking but I felt like I
was getting pretty close to some kind of pattern. Aunt Natsuki has money
she doesn't show, I know Aunt Akane is pretty well off and so is Uncle
Takumi and Aunt Akira... in fact, the whole family is at poorest pretty
comfortable and at richest pretty well loaded.
Was Aunt Akira really a ninja? Or had that been a joke?
They also don't age, have been dating the same people forever, except
for Aunt Natsuki... okay, several of them have had various lovers, but none
of those get to be called part of the family...
"Are you okay?" Sakomizu-sensei asked me. Indeed, all three of them
were studying me as I knealt with my hand on a root I'd been trying to pull
before I zoned out.
"I'm fine," I said, pulling the root.
"Okay," Mitsu-san said and she and Shun went back to work with weeding.
"You can rest if you're tired," Sakomizu-sensei said, looking worried.
"I'm fine," I told him. "Let's start laying down bushes."
We got the first one and eased it in, then packed dirt around it. I
hummed cheerfully, kind of wishing Uncle Takumi was here; he'd enjoy this.
"So nothing very exciting happened beyond the usual school stuff," I
said as we started on another. Was he hiding something or was he
deliberately hiding it?
"Once Headmistress Fumi took over, things were pretty peaceful with only
the usual high school hijinx," he said. "Like it is here, from what I've
heard." He dropped another bush into place and began carefully patting the
dirt.
A clever evasion. "Wasn't someone named Mashiro Headmistress when my
folks got there?"
"She wasn't very good at running the school," he said, sounding slightly
nervous, as if he expected her to suddenly show up and taser him. "And she
didn't last very long."
And she was replaced by a member of the family when members of the
family controlled the student council... My eyes crossed. No way my
parents staged a coup at their school. But...
I decided to give my brain a little while to cool down. "Did you hear
about that factory blowing up, Sensei?" I asked.
"The Tallin Institute, you mean?" he asked.
We started on another bush. "Yes."
"It sounded to me like they were very sloppy with safety measures, so I
won't cry too much," he said. "Also, I know that you three are in trouble
for trying to sneak in there and investigate."
I froze up. Of course he knew. They wouldn't just hand us over to him
without telling him what we got in trouble for. Really, we got off easy;
I'm lucky Dad's a softie and so is the Headmaster, apparently.
But I had to know. I just want to know what's going on. And why they
felt they had to hide it from us. I can't wait two years.
I mumbled into the bush, not knowing what to say.
"I said it was a bad idea," Mitsu-san mumbled.
"I only regret we didn't have time to drag the others along," Shun said,
smiling.
"Well, Natsuki-san got into trouble like that all the time, but she was
better at not getting caught," Sakomizu-sensei said, sounding amused.
"I'm still better at not getting caught," Aunt Natsuki said, causing
Shun and I to jump.
"I thought that was you. Just like old times, eh?" Sakomizu-sensei
said, smiling.
Natsuki patted his shoulder, grinning. "Well, this time, I came because
Kasumi-chan called me and told me you were here."
That was nice of her, I thought. Just like Kasumi.
"Hey, Auntie," Shun said. "You remember Mitsu-san, right?"
"Mitsu... oh, you're Shun's lady friend with the car," Natsuki said,
coming over and shaking her hand. "How long have you two been dating?"
Mitsu-san made incoherent noises, while Shun said, "We're just friends."
Aunt Natsuki gave him a dubious look and I couldn't help but giggle.
Sakomizu-sensei put a hand over his mouth.
"I'd like to talk to you later, catch up on everything," Natsuki said to
Sakomizu-sensei. "But I see you're busy, so I'll go harass Chie and Aoi."
"Bye, Auntie!" I told her.
"See you later, Natsuki-san," Sakomizu-sensei told her.
And then she was gone as quickly as she'd appeared. I decided I'd have
plenty of time later to try to pry information out of Sakomizu-sensei. If I
kept this up, he'd likely wonder why I was so curious about old times at
Fuuka anyway.
***************
Kasumi's Tale:
I was starving as I tried to do my homework. But dinner wouldn't be
served for a while yet, even though I was very hungry after having had track
and my workout with the family. The cafeteria here serves ludicrously late,
though most days that does help me not get hungry at night.
There was a knock and I shouted, "Come in!"
It was, to my surprise, Aunt Natsuki. "Hey, Kasumi, are you busy?"
"Not too busy for you, Auntie," I told her, closing my economics book.
I didn't really like economics anyway.
"Thanks for calling me. I had a nice talk with my old sensei. So I
thought I'd take you out to dinner and over to Haruka's firing range."
"Firing range?"
"Show you how to shoot a gun."
"..." Have they decided to groom me to be a commando all of a
sudden??? I don't want to die, but surely I don't need to master every kind
of weapon either. "Sure, Auntie," I told her. If they think I need
that... "Are we going to get Dan? I know he likes shooting."
"I can't carry three on my cycle," Aunt Natsuki said.
Oh wow, Mother normally never lets me ride on Aunt Natsuki or Aunt
Mikoto's motorcycles. Of course, she's not here to object...
"Let me change out of this skirt to some shorts, then," I said.
"Good idea," she said, coming over and sitting on my bed as I ran to the
closet. "I understand you had some trouble with one of the senior
athletes."
"She hasn't given me any more trouble," I told Aunt Natsuki as I hung up
my skirt then went to find some shorts. Though she always glares at me like
she wants me to die.
"Good. Is she as demonic as Shiho says?"
"She isn't that bad, just unhappy I broke her string of victories," I
told Aunt Natsuki as I pulled on blue shorts. "If you want to see her, we
have another meet in a few days."
"So your mother has been teaching you tonfa-fighting?" Aunt Natsuki
asked me.
"Yes," I said. "Ever..." I shivered again. "Does Aunt Miyu ever tell
you..."
"That was pretty gauche even for her," Aunt Natsuki said. "Come on,
let's go."
We headed for the elevator. "She's teaching Aunt Shiho too."
"Good," Aunt Natsuki said.
We chatted about various things I won't bother you with in the elevator
as they'd take too long to explain to little point. As we headed to the
parking lot, however, I asked her, "I don't suppose you know much about
Anthony and Cleopatra, do you?" I was wondering why Hayao had gotten so
worked up over it.
"Isn't that the play where the two young lovers commit suicide in the
end?" Aunt Natsuki asked. When we got to the bike, she handed me a helmet
and helped me up onto it once I donned the helmet.
Hmm, he had said they both killed themselves. "Yes."
"Vaguely. You're better off asking Midori, though," Aunt Natsuki said.
She got up on the cycle and I put my arms around her waist and then we took
off at high speed. I could hear her humming to herself as we roared off
down the road.
It was just as cool as I'd always thought it would be. The only thing
better would be doing it with a cute guy like... I need to stop thinking
about him. But why had he gotten so worked up? And why was he so mad at
Crystal? And what was this about bees?
The security guards let us in at Aunt Haruka's place and we soon made
our way to the gym, where Aunt Yukino was doing some kind of exercise
routine with a fancy workout machine and Aunt Haruka was sparring with
Mother, using a pair of maces against Mother's tonfas.
"Hi, Natsuki-chan, Kasumi-chan!" Aunt Yukino said.
Haruka and Mother nodded to us but were locked in combat. Mom seemed to
have the upper hand which surprised me, as I would have thought Aunt Haruka
much tougher. Or was Aunt Haruka playing easy with Mother?
"I'm going to show Kasumi some gun safety and basics of shooting," Aunt
Natsuki said to everyone.
"Have fun!" Haruka said, then swept Mom's legs and held a mace to her
head. Mother looked rueful, then got up and they started again.
"Be careful!" Mother told me.
"Father making his own dinner tonight?" I asked.
Mom froze and took a mace to the head.
"Don't stop moving like that!" Aunt Haruka said to her.
"Oh dear, I'd better call him, I forgot all about it!" Mother said.
Mother forgot about cooking dinner? On what planet does that happen???
"I can have someone deliver him some food," Aunt Haruka said. "You
don't get to leave until you defeat me."
Mother laughed nervously. "He's my..."
"I know. But you need this. Everyone else is too weak to press you
hard or too kind. But I will toughen you up or die trying!" Aunt Haruka
said. Then she looked expectantly at Aunt Yukino.
Aunt Yukino paused in pulling metal ropes. "What, Haruka-chan?"
Aunt Haruka looked relieved, while I looked confused.
Aunt Natsuki snickered and took me back to the gun range, then carefully
showed me how to check the safety on a gun, how to load and unload it, and
the basics of gun safety. Some were obvious, like never pointing a gun at
someone you weren't willing to shoot. Others, less so. Then she drilled me
on loading and unloading. I was slow but steady. Unlike the tonfas, this
didn't require manual SPEED.
I could hear the sounds of Mother and Aunt Haruka clobbering each other
the whole time. It was oddly rythymic, almost soothing.
"Okay, now try shooting."
I had a bullseye target to shoot and I began shooting. The gun kicked
every time, throwing me off the mark. I ended up with ten shots clustered
in the upper right corner of the target.
"You have to compensate for the recoil," Aunt Natsuki told me.
I fired off shot after shot, my shoulders aching. My shots crept down
towards the lower left corner as I learned to compensate. Finally, my
shoulders hurt too much to continue, but most of my shots were hitting the
middle of the target instead of recoiling all over. I ached but I was
pleased with myself.
Aunt Natsuki looked surprised, then pleased. "A good start,
Kasumi-chan."
"Not bad, though not as good as me," Aunt Haruka said. "Watch."
She called down a man-shaped target, then shot it through the heart 8
times and in the chest twice. "Hah! Top that, any of you!"
Aunt Natsuki called down another one, then plugged it nine times in the
heart, firing from the hip.
Mother laughed softly and Aunt Haruka grimaced. "I'll catch up with you
yet, Natsuki."
"You're very good, Auntie," I told her.
"That's really great, Haruka," Mother said to her. She looked battered
but in good cheer. More than I feel after a fight, anyway.
But shooting, I had to admit, had felt pretty good.
"Let's see your tonfa skills," Aunt Haruka said to me.
"Do I have to? I already did this once today and now my shoulders
hurt," I said.
"Okay, you can come here to practice with your mother tomorrow," Haruka
said. "I want to see you in action."
I laughed nervously, hand behind my head. "Wear a face mask in case I
fumble, auntie."
"I'm sure you'll do better than that. False modesty only makes you
weep, right, Yukino-chan?" Haruka asked Aunt Yukino.
"That's 'weak', Haruka-chan," Aunt Yukino said, smiling. "And I will
have a surprise ready for you, Kasumi-chan."
Now I was intrigued. Aunt Yukino always has all sorts of nifty tech
toys. I can't make things like that or even know how they work, but I like
to play with them. I use a miniature recorder Aunt Yukino gave me to record
my classes to help me polish up my notes later.
"Thanks, Auntie!"
******************
Crystal said:
I finished my library research for my boring paper of the week and then
headed back to the dorm to get some sleep. As I walked, I had a sudden bad
feeling of impending doom. I stopped and looked around; hopefully some
pervert wasn't loose on campus when I was disarmed.
"Crystal-san," a man's voice said. I knew that voice, it was my
ex-boyfriend Iwao Taiki. He's tall and fairly strong; he's on the baseball
team. Unfortunately, as I found out when we started dating a while back, he
is BORING. He doesn't look boring, but all he really knows is baseball and
bad sports movies.
Plus, he seems likely to grow up to basically be a corporate drone
working for his dad. Not because he wants to, but because he isn't willing
to actually fight to have his own life. I don't know what I want to do with
my life, but I'll chose it for myself.
Though at least he's not a bastard like Hayao. It would help if Kasumi
wouldn't waffle about him.
"Hey there, Iwao-san," I said. Best not to call my ex by his first name
to avoid giving him ideas, though I could tell from his tone he was about to
beg me to take him back again.
This would be the fourth or fifth time. I had gone beyond getting angry
over to this to something more like resignation. I wish he would get the
point, but making him cry makes me feel like a bitch.
And I at least hope I'm not a bitch.
"How's things going with the baseball team?" I asked, then immediately
regretted it, as I was opening myself up to a mountain of endless boring
baseball reporting.
"We're in the off-season, so not a lot, but thanks for asking," he
said. "Crystal, I..."
I put a hand over my face. "Iwao-san, it's over. I've moved on. Why
can't you?"
"But we..." he began.
This was once again reminding me too much of the time Aunt Mikoto
watched Grease over and over and over, with big, hypnotized eyes, until Mom
finally threw the DVD into traffic.
"Iwao-san. It's over. Forget about me. There are plenty of other
women; why not date one of the softball women? They'd appreciate your
skills." I felt very clever I'd finally thought of that.
"But I'm not in love with them," he said, staring at the ground. He was
about to cry, again. I thought athletes didn't cry! Unless they're Kasumi,
anyway.
"I'm not in love with you," I told him.
"Dan's your boyfriend, isn't he," Taiki said accusingly. "I saw you
helping him."
For a few seconds, I stared at him mindlessly. "Wait... you think...
DAN AND I..." My jaw dropped.
"You two are certainly pretty damn close!"
"He's my cousin," I said, facepalming. "Cousins don't date each other
and even if they did, he wouldn't be my type."
"There are plenty of cultures where cousins date and even when it's
frowned on, it still sometimes happens anyway!" he said, pointing at me.
I give up.
"Fine, whatever," I said, rubbing my forehead. "I am not dating Dan and
he's like a brother to me, anyway. So please, get this crazy idea out of
your head."
I turned and left, leaving him rambling about something or another. I
don't know. I didn't want to know.
Thankfully, he didn't follow me.
I got some sleep and had nightmares where we went to Fuuka and
discovered Taiki had camped out in the cave and had replaced the battle
princess art with badly drawn pictures of me in a baseball uniform.
Ugh.
I ate breakfast with Erica and Natasha and Dan the next morning; Erica
made us all breakfast which was really nice of her. We ate at one of the
tables in the commons with a nice morning breeze. Seeing the fruits of my
gardening cheered me up; it looked much nicer now.
"I don't know whether to laugh or to get pissed," Natasha said.
"About what?" Dan asked.
"Aunt Natsuki's new boyfriend sent me a giant robot model kit with the
note 'Next time they accuse you of having a giant robot, they'll be right.'"
We all began laughing, which clearly irritated her, but we couldn't help
it. She grumpily shovelled food into her mouth, losing all pretense of
dignity.
I ate more slowly but my squid was really good. "So what do you all
think of what I learned?"
"Well... there is a simple explanation for how well off this family is,"
Erica said.
"Go on?" Dan asked between bites.
Erica waved her shrimp for emphasis. "Poor families don't send their
kids to expensive private schools unless those kids are brilliant enough for
a scholarship. Middling to rich families and leaning towards rich do."
How entirely mundane. But rather logical. "And the whole move to Aunt
Fumi taking over?"
"I haven't figured that out yet," Erica confessed, then ate her shrimp.
"We need to do some newspaper research, see if we can find something
that covers news of around that time, see what we can learn from the
archives. I'll cover that," Dan said.
"Thanks," I told him. "News on project road trip, Natasha?"
She looked up from face stuffing, licking rice off her lips. "We are go
for next weekend. But... Grandpa told Mom and now Mom wants to go."
I winced. "No way to get her out of it."
"Unfortunately, not that I can think of. But I figure if one or two of
us get in big trouble, it should distract her enough for the rest to do some
sneaking and investigation."
Well, it would have to do.
"Oh, Crystal, Taiki sent me a bunch of 'fuck you' emails full of
incoherent ranting about you," Dan said. "Any idea why?"
I buried my face in my hands. "The idiot doesn't know how to give up.
I think he's convinced himself you're dating me and I dumped him for you."
Dan stared, nonplussed.
"I'm lucky to have a nice, sane boyfriend," Natasha said. "But hey,
Dan, you should be flattered."
"I'd rather not have to deal with Taiki than be flattered," he muttered.
"Well, Crystal's mother had a lot of people after her she didn't want,"
Erica said. "I'm a little jealous."
"You should have boys all over you," I told her.
"I'm too smart for a lot of them," she said, sighing. "But really, I'm
too busy studying to worry about boys."
Ahh, the excuse of people afraid to ask someone out everywhere, I
thought. "Is there someone you like?"
"Not seriously," she said. "Anyone on your mind?"
"Not now," I said. Not since Hayao turned out to be a complete
asshole. "I've got all of this to focus on right now."
"Yeah," Dan said. "So... Is Mitsu totally in love with Shun or just
mostly? And will we have to whip his ass?"
"I'm thinking we're going to have to hit his ass so hard it lands in
China," Natasha said, looking up from her food. "Maybe I should give her
some advice."
Oh, this should be entertaining, I thought.
"Hello, everyone," Aunt Chie said, suddenly appearing and patting Erica
on the shoulder. "Hello, my darling daughter."
Erica smiled goofily. "Hi, Momma."
Aunt Chie passed each of us a piece of paper. "Here's your intelligence
report for the day and your assignment."
Assignment???
Dan picked up his paper and stared, mouth open. "Another math quiz???"
"I'm afraid so," Aunt Chie said ruefully. "Item 2 is more important."
"Taiki is planning to beat the shit out of me at lunchtime. Crap," Dan
said. "Is this Taiki by himself or am I going to be running from the whole
ball team?"
"He seems likely to have backup in case your cousins try to intervene,"
Aunt Chie said. "I was thinking I could arrange to have you paged just
before lunch and you could eat with Aoi and I, as I don't think he'll try
anything with teachers watching."
I grimaced. "Maybe I should go chew him out before that so he'll be too
busy crying to harass Dan."
Dan sighed. "No, that'll just further convince him of his delusions."
Ugh. I read over my intelligence report. Surprise quiz in economics,
reminder of paper due in Japanese literature in two days, reminder to get
the leave slip I'd need to go to Fuuka... she knew about that??? And she
wanted me to find out if Mamiko and Seiya were actually dating... Is she
monitoring every person on this campus???
"Any idea what's on the suprise quiz, Aunt Chie?" I asked. Might as
well milk this for what I can.
"Investment things. Which I didn't understand well," she confessed and
we all laughed a little.
That was enough to let me do some extra studying at lunch time.
"Thanks, Aunt Chie," I said.
She gave me a thumbs up. "Good luck, everyone. I have to go pretend to
be productive now."
I glanced at the paper again and the other papers. I don't think she's
pretending, really. Though I suppose this isn't what they pay her for.
*******************
Kasumi's Tale:
"Oh, Dan, I'm sorry," I said to him in class as we waited for Mr.
Sakomizu to arrive. "Are you sure hiding you isn't a good idea? We could
go back to my room or Natasha's or Crystal's and he couldn't follow you in
without an escort."
"Or mine," Erica said. "I like cooking for groups."
"I've got to deal with this idiot myself," Dan said.
"So what's the plan?" Erica asked.
"I haven't figured that part out yet," he confessed. "I'm good with guns
but that's useless here. And you're better at running than I am, Kasumi."
"I'd offer to train you but we don't have time," I said.
"I haven't been in a real fight since sixth grade," Dan said, sighing.
"Well, at... dammit, baseball players train to run the bases."
Before we could discuss it more, Sakomizu-sensei arrived and it was time
for class.
***************
There are two kinds of anticipation. The good kind I call 'beforeglow',
where you know something cool is coming and you get happily excited. The
bad kind is 'reachback' where disaster reaches back in time and starts
punching you before it even happens.
This was reachback. I had bought some pizza for lunch because I'd been
too tired in the morning after my exercises to cook. I love pepperoni and
canadian bacon pizza but it tasted lousy because I knew trouble was coming.
And you could tell others knew too; the commons had more people than
usual at the tables or lunching on bushes. They wanted to see a fight.
Ugh, vultures.
We'd all gathered together to support Dan, who allegedly had a plan, but
wouldn't share it, just told us not to intervene. Shun looked relaxed;
Erica looked worried, and Crystal and Natasha both looked ready to eat their
own plates. Erica was eating some kind of pork and noodle dish, but most of
the others had gotten pizza like me.
"Room for one more?" Gin asked; I noticed he had pizza too. Ham and
green pepper? How odd.
"Of course, honey," Natasha said, shoving Crystal down the bench so he
could precariously perch on her side of the table at the end.
"Animal, vegetable, or mineral?" Shun asked Dan.
"What?" Dan asked, about to put a slice in his mouth.
"Give us some hints of your plan."
Dan winced. "You'll see soon enough," he mumbled.
Murmering started and I turned and saw the oncoming storm.
Taiki had brought ten of his teammates with him, or at least ten
friends; they all looked pretty tough to me. One of them, to my surprise,
was Hayao, though I was pretty sure he wasn't on the baseball team.
I hoped this wasn't going to turn into the family versus the baseball
team, as we were rather outnumbered. I had my tonfas in my carry bag, each
carefully wrapped in dishtowels held on with rubberbands so they wouldn't
clack on each other all day long making me crazy. But I don't think any of
the rest of us were armed unless Natasha had the ones Mother had given her.
Taiki strode up to the table and everyone tensed. "You! And me!" He
shouted, pointing at Dan. "I'm going to kick your ass for stealing my
woman!"
Crystal facepalmed, then was about to shout something but Dan shook his
head at her, so she just sat there, clutching the table and seething.
"She's my cousin, not my girlfriend," Dan said. "As everyone but you
knows."
"Liar! You're not related at all! Now, are you going to fight or am I
going to have to make you fight??" Taiki demanded.
Dan said, "Fighting like that is fine for five year olds. But we're not
five any more." His voice was eerily calm. "And do you really think that
if you beat me up, it will somehow make her love you?"
Shun had an odd look on his face; for a moment, I wondered if he was
going to claim he was Dan's real girlfriend. But he was wearing boy's
clothing today, so it wouldn't have worked.
"Please, Iwao-san, let's not have a fight," I said. I know he wanted us
to stay out, but I couldn't help myself.
"I'm not here to fight you," he said to me roughly. "So, you're too
much of a wuss to defend yourself, is that it?" He grabbed Dan and pulled
him to his feet.
Crystal started to move, but Natasha pulled her back, though she looked
like she was about ready to kill something herself.
"Ready for your beating?" Taiki demanded.
I could see several of his friends looking uncomfortable; it was clear
they didn't mind backing him up in a fight, but they hadn't come to just
deliver a beating. To my relief, Hayao was one of them. He's so... aargh,
this is not the time for thinking about how sexy he is or how he moves so
gracefully or...
"You can hit me until I pass out, but that just proves you're a thug and
a bully," Dan said flatly.
"You're a thief of hearts!" He began beating the crap out of Dan, who
just blocked the blows as best he could, but was gradually getting
clobbered.
I could feel myself shaking; I could almost feel every blow like it was
hitting me. I wanted to do something but what could I do? What could I do?
Crystal looked utterly mortified; she was being physically restrained by
Natasha now. Shun was staring at the table, fists clenched. Erica was on
the phone, speaking very quietly.
"We'll never get to go to Fuuka if you get in this fight," Natasha
hissed to Crystal. "Dan knows that."
"It isn't fair, it isn't fair," Crystal hissed back.
"Life isn't fair," Shun said softly.
Dan grunted every time he got hit, slowly getting louder; I couldn't
tell if he was holding back screaming in pain or if he was always like this
in a fight; I hadn't ever seen him get this pummelled.
Then I heard running; it was Sakomizu-sensei and the baseball coach,
Fujiwara Michinaga, was following him.
Most of Taiki's followers suddenly froze in place, then they scattered.
Hayao grabbed Taiki. "Run, you fool!"
Taiki, instead, clipped Dan on the chin and sent him sprawling.
"Stop, immediately!" Sakomizu-sensei said angrily.
"Don't bother running, I know who you all are, you know!" Coach Fujiwara
shouted at Taiki's gang.
Crystal finally gave Natasha the slip and ran over to Dan, followed by
the rest of us. This wasn't going to dispel any rumors, I knew.
"Very good, Masakuri-san," Sakomizu-sensei said to Hayao. "You can go
now. Coach Fujiwara will handle him."
I could hear more running; Aunt Aoi was coming at full tilt with her kit
bag.
"Dan, Dan, why?" Crystal asked him, kneeling down by him.
"Had worse in Morocco... never go off on your own in Morocco..." Dan
mumbled.
"Tate-san, help me carry him," Sakomizu-sensei said, and together they
picked him up.
"He's going to be okay, right?" I asked, shaking.
"It's okay," Dan mumbled. "I just need some aspirin."
"All you vultures scoot!" Coach Fujiwara shouted at everyone observing.
"Team members, round up for your beating!"
We escorted Dan back to the infirmary with Aunt Aoi and
Sakomizu-sensei. "What was that about?" Sakomizu-sensei asked.
"That bastard Taiki beat up Dan thinking Dan's my boyfriend," Crystal
said, arms folded across her chest, looking ready to eat the furniture. "I
can't believe I ever went out with that fu..." She glanced over at
Sakomizu-sensei and shut her mouth.
"It's okay, Crystal. I should be fine by trip time," Dan mumbled, eyes
closed as Aunt Aoi worked on him.
"I don't know if Coach Fujiwara will actually punish him, though,"
Natasha said. "Coaches tend to cover up for their players."
"It's in his hands," Sakomizu-sensei said. "Let's hope this doesn't
happen again."
"I expect he'll be satisfied after this," Dan said.
****************
I saw Taiki and the others running lap after lap during our track
practice. I'm not sure, but I think they kept trying to crowd me out
whenever I ran; it was hard to tell if it was deliberate or incompetence,
because they ran so poorly anyway, but it was enough to make me nervous. At
least they were getting some punishment, even if it really didn't seem harsh
enough to me.
When I got to Natasha's, she'd already told Mother and Aunt Shiho the
whole thing; Aunt Shiho looked ready to eat the furniture, while Mother just
looked sad. "Well, we're going over to Yukino-chan's house," Mother said.
"She's got some kind of surprise for us."
"Does it involve us kicking Iwao's ugly ass?" Natasha asked.
"Probably not," Mother said.
For some reason, Aunt Shiho and Natasha played their flutes all the way
there; thankfully they're both good flautists. This seemed to soothe both
of them.
When we got to the workout room, to our surprise, Aunt Yukino and Aunt
Haruka were both wearing black and green tight bodysuits and holding
helmets. They had a stack of them on a chair. "Everyone change into these;
take off everything but your underwear, especially anything metal," Aunt
Yukino said.
I studied the outfit. "Are we going to learn to ride motorcycles or
something?"
Aunt Yukino smiled more mischevously than usual. "You'll see."
We all changed, though I was a little embarrassed by how much the outfit
clung to me; it wasn't quite the same as being naked, but you could really
blatantly see the outline of my bra and panties. "Does it have to be this
tight?"
"Unfortunately, yes, or the full sensory simulation won't happen," Aunt
Yukino said.
I put my helmet on, which seemed to make everything seen through the
visor look green and black for some reason. "Okay, now what?"
"Artemis, Activate Program Four," Yukino said.
The world suddenly shimmered and now were on a beautiful school campus,
all of us clad in orange-brown and white school uniforms. Haruka stared at
herself, then moved a little. "It feels so real!"
"We're getting very good at this," Yukino said. "Artemis, trigger
Sequence one."
A dozen red balls rained down from the sky, then began to orbit Yukino
in an elaborate pattern like one of those atomic symbol things. She
produced a conductor's wand somehow and began making them dance and as they
danced, they emitted music. She looked incredibly happy.
"Artemis?" Shiho asked. "Who is that?"
"My electronic assistant," Yukino said. "I have her configured to run
the VR equipment."
Haruka tried touching a tree. "It feels so real. I can feel the texture
and everything..."
"I can smell the flowers!" I said to my amazement as I kneeled down and
sniffed at them.
"Artemis, may I have a flute?" Aunt Shiho asked hesitantly, and now she
had a flute, which she began to play.
"It's amazing," Mother said. "And it looks just like Fuuka!"
"It's all here," Aunt Yukino said. "Right now, I have it set to full
sim; you can also drop down the simulation level so your movements are real
world movements but you percieve extra information and so on. Right now,
you're standing stock still and just experiencing things as if they're
real."
"Wow, you're going to make billions off this," Aunt Shiho said, sounding
a little envious.
"It's too expensive and uses too much processor time in full sim mode
for most people, but if we can get this ready for market soon, we will make
even more money, yes," Aunt Yukino said. "There's a lot of good
applications for lower-sim modes, too. I've already got some built into my
glasses."
"How big of changes can Artemis make?" Haruka asked.
"Ahh," Yukino said, clearly enjoying the chance to show off. "Artemis,
activate 9000 mode."
"9000 mode?" I asked.
Aunt Shiho giggled; Mom and I clearly didn't get it.
Nothing obvious changed, though. "Are you sure that's the right
number?" I asked.
Then Aunt Yukino did a backflip and landed on the rooftop, high above
us. I stared.
Then she held out a hand. "Everyone, join me."
Haruka stared, then got a look of intense joy and leaped into the air,
flipping on the way and catching Yukino's hand, who pulled her up.
"Come on!" Mother said, suddenly smiling widely and taking my hand.
"And JUMP!" And then we were flying into the air, jumping impossibly high,
so high we overshot Aunt Yukino and Aunt Haruka, landing on the very peak of
the domed roof which was flanked by two flatter wings; Aunt Haruka and Aunt
Yukino were on the one to the right.
We slid down the slope to join them. "Come on, Shiho!" Mother shouted.
I could see Aunt Shiho staring. She looked rather nervous.
Natasha, on the other hand, looked very excited and said, "Come on,
mother! They'll leave us behind."
Shiho closed her eyes for a minute, then opened them, then took Natasha
by the hand and leaped up to join us on the roof.
You could see the whole campus spread out around us, though I noticed it
lacked people. "Can you make people?"
"Yes. Too many, though, and it eats up so much processor time that
everything lags," Aunt Yukino said. "Which feels really strange in full-sim
mode."
"How far can we jump?" Aunt Haruka asked, excitedly.
"About fifty to seventy feet, depending on strength," Aunt Yukino said.
"Maybe more. I'm not very strong, so I'm not sure how high the multiplier
will go."
It all felt so real, I thought. I could feel the textures of the roof
through my feet, smell the flowers everywhere, hear birds singing... wow.
"So are we going to practice like this?"
"We should normally train in low-sim mode, as this doesn't actually work
your muscles," Aunt Yukino said. "However, I have a special session
prepared for you."
"Wait, do you mean..." Mother began.
"Since you four are training with tonfas, cross your arms in front of
your chests, then say, 'Weapon A'," Aunt Yukino said.
I crossed my arms like Auntie said, and then suddenly high winds erupted
around all four of us. For a moment, I was terrified, and then I felt... it
was like the winds were hugging me. Or even petting me like a cat or... It
went from scary to exciting and then the wind suddenly compacted into our
hands and each of us were holding huge golden tonfas with two long bars
instead of one, offset from each other at a slight angle, though mainly
parallel to each other. Mother and I had both put our hair up but now it
came cascading down around our neck and shoulders. Aunt Shiho and Natasha's
hair cascaded down also. Aunt Shiho stared at the weapons in surprise,
while Natasha said, "Man, these things feel so real."
"And for Haruka-chan..." Yukino said, "Activate Weapon H!"
Shards of metal suddenly all converged on Haruka but instead of impaling
her, they coalesced into a mace and chain in her hands. She stared at it,
then grinned. "Alright!"
Aunt Yukino now clasped her own arms and leaves swirled around her in a
cloud, forming themselves into... a mirror? That's an odd thing to bring to
a fight. Then she pulled on it and it somehow split into an orbiting set of
many mirrors floating around her.
"And there's our target," Aunt Yukino said. She pushed the air as if
there was an invisible button and now we could see three giant snakes the
size of buses in diameter and very, very long. They were tearing up what
looked like a gymnasium. "Time to save the gym!"
Mom looked over at Yukino. "Are you sure..."
"It's all a practice game, right?" Yukino said.
I could sense some definite tension here, but why? This was just
basically a video game in our heads, right?
"THEN LET'S KICK SOME BOOT!" Aunt Haruka shouted.
She took off, leaping roof to roof, charging and swinging her mace
wildly.
"Butt," Aunt Yukino said softly, smiling.
Aunt Shiho licked her lips. "That's right, it's just a game," she said
as if assuring herself of this.
Okay, it does feel real, but we all know this sort of thing can't happen
for real, so why are they jumpy?
"Come on, Mom, we can't let Aunt Haruka hog the glory!" Natasha shouted
and took off after her.
"Yeah!" I said, surprising myself. I leaped, landing further ahead then
Natasha, to her evident surprise. I am pretty sure I have the strongest
legs here except maybe Aunt Haruka.
Aunt Shiho and Mother closed their eyes, then opened them, looking
determined. Then they started jumping after us.
The first of the snakes reared up to strike at Aunt Haruka and she
smacked it in the nose with her mace and chain, then crashed into its head
and went flying off at an angle. Mother leaped over and caught her,
dropping down between two of the snakes. Aunt Shiho landed on the roof of
the gym and Natasha dropped down next to her. I landed next to Mother as
she put Aunt Haruka down. The first snake was flailing about in pain, while
the second prepared to strike down at us and the third was about to lash out
at Aunt Shiho and Natasha.
"Their underbelly scales are softer and less potent for defense," Aunt
Yukino reported.
"I'm going to smack this one in the nose when it dives at us," Aunt
Haruka announced, swinging her mace and chain. "While it's distracted,
Akane, you strike at its weak bottom. Kasumi, keep the first one
preoccupied, strike the underbelly if it gives you an opening."
"What about us?" Natasha shouted.
"Keep Shiho from being eaten!" Haruka shouted as Mother and I moved into
position and the second snake began to strike.
"HEY!" Aunt Shiho sounded angry.
I could hear the sound of fangs and tonfas clashing up on the roof,
while I leaped up and began running up and down the first serpent's back.
It tried to strike at me, but I was too quick, impossibly fast, leaping
around crazily. Utterly impossible, but it felt... amazing. My blood was
pumping and I was moving in ways I'm pretty sure the laws of physics
normally veto.
The second serpent tried to bite Aunt Haruka, only to get a mace and
chain smack to the inside of its mouth, then another to the nose and a third
to the eye.
And then Mother swung her tonfas at the creature, but not actually
hitting it. To my shock, high winds erupted in visible bursts, blowing
scales off its underbelly, slicing them off with ribbons of air.
Aunt Haruka stared, then got swallowed and I could hear smashing and
yelling noises inside it as she went down its throat.
"HARUKA!" Aunt Yukino shouted.
"HARUKA!" Mother shouted and now she spun around, ribbons of wind
slashing wildly, ripping the creature's underbelly open and Aunt Haruka fell
out, covered in goo. Blood spurted wildly and the creature fell over
thrashing.
The first serpent tried to bite me again and now I tried imagining doing
what mother had done; to my shock, it worked, though really, given this was
basically a video game, it shouldn't have surprised me. Streamers of wind
erupted from my tonfas, smashing and battering and slicing its face and one
of its eyes burst open, and I was horrified and fascinated at once. I could
see the second serpent was dissolving away into yellow motes of light, and
now this one began to dissolve as well; I leaped impossibly backwards onto
the third one, which had gotten its fangs stuck in the gym roof, while
Natasha and Aunt Shiho were battering it in the head. "Do what Mother did!"
I shouted.
Aunt Shiho looked uncertain, but Natasha concentrated and swung and
ribbons of air sliced through the serpent's head and then it dissolved away
into nothing.
I dropped down to the ground, breathing hard, terrified and exhilarated
at once. It's just a game, nothing got hurt, I told myself. But seeing it
die like that... It had seemed so real. I shivered, but I couldn't tell if
it was horror or joy or both at once.
Natasha, on the other hand, clearly had no mixed emotions. "THAT WAS
AWESOME!" she shouted.
Aunt Shiho rubbed her forehead nervously, while Mother looked extremely
happy. "I did it!" she shouted.
Aunt Haruka was trying to get the goo off herself, and making faces of
nastiness, but her voice was cheerful. "Can you erase this goo, Yukino?"
Yukino pushed something invisible in the air and it evaporated and the
gym fixed itself. Haruka stretched. "That was GREAT!"
We all assembled on the ground by the gym, and Haruka now grabbed
Yukino, hugging her tightly. "That was GREAT!" Aunt Haruka said again, and
Natasha and Mom both laughed. Aunt Shiho stared up at the sky, then looked
at the two of them and smiled.
I could feel myself starting to calm down and I couldn't help but smile
at them embracing. I wonder if Crystal and Natasha feel like this every
time they get in a fight, I thought. It felt so good but also it scared
me.
"They may be busy a while," Aunt Shiho said to the rest of us.
"We should give them some privacy," Mother agreed.
"Someone's getting some nookie tonight," Natasha said. "How about if
you show us around?"
Ooh, clever, I thought. That would be useful for our trip if this is
accurate.
Aunt Haruka suddenly turned red and jumped back. "Ack, I'm sorry,
Yukino-chan."
Sorry? For hugging her? What exactly is up with them?
"It's fine," Yukino said softly. "I rather like it, you know."
"I just... I have a boyfriend and he might get the wrong idea and...
and..." Aunt Haruka was turning red. "Natasha!" she suddenly yelled.
"What?" Natasha said. "Dammit, I don't have a giant robot!" She
paused, then facepalmed.
I laughed.
"We aren't... I have a boyfriend!" Haruka protested.
"So I hear, but I have yet to see him," Aunt Shiho said. "I could loan
you one of mine if you want, though."
Mother covered her face in her hands for a moment, then said, "We'd all
like to meet Pierre. We should have a party for him some time."
"Alright, I'll talk to him," Haruka said, calming herself.
"Shiho, he really is real. I lost very badly to him at badminton last
weekend," Yukino said, putting her hands on Haruka's shoulders and slowly
kneading them. Haruka began slowly to relax. "And yes, I think a tour
would be nice."
"Yes, a tour! As head of the executive committee, I know every inch of
this campus! Follow me!"
We spent the rest of the session on a virtual tour; by the end of it I
felt quite back to normal, but I could still remember what fighting that
thing had felt like; it seemed so real. But so did all of this.
We all took a bath together afterwards; we'd all gotten quite sweaty,
though I didn't feel tired at all even after what seemed like hours of
jumping about impossibly... if I could do that for real, I'd be the Empress
of Track and Field.
Mother hugged me very tightly when she said goodbye. "You did very
well, dear."
"Well, if any giant snakes attack me at school, I'll know what to do," I
said. "I don't think that's too likely, though."
"How did it feel?" she asked me softly.
"Wonderful. Terrible. Kind of like when I'm running, except a lot
scarier. Running just feels good, but this was..." I shivered a little.
"I felt like my mind wasn't sure whether to laugh for joy or scream in
terror. Even knowing it was imaginary."
"I know, I felt like that too," Mother said. "But I did it. I won,"
she said very softly. "I can do it, and I will."
What was she talking about? Do what? "Do what, Mother?" I asked.
"When is your next match?" she asked me.
"Two days," I told her. "We have to go down to Torio for it."
"I will see if I can find time from work," Mother said. "And hopefully
your father can get off to come too."
"I know he's really busy," I told Mother. He's middle management and
they get worked like dogs. But the pay's good enough for us all to live
very well, especially with Mother's extra income. "Wait... who is taking
care of my brothers with you up here all the time?"
"Your aunt Mikoto was kind enough to volunteer to watch them for a few
hours down at her dojo when I'm here with you," Mother told me, smiling.
"She really loves your brothers very much."
"I bet she was just like them at that age," I told Mother.
Mother seemed to stare off into space for a moment. "Actually, I think
they're probably better behaved than she likely was at their age."
I shivered, trying to imagine that. Oh dear.
"Anyway, she loves them to death and I know she'll watch over them and
keep them safe, so I am very grateful to her," Mother said. "I'd better get
home and pick them up and make dinner for your father."
I was wondering how she was keeping up on that and spending so much time
with me. Mind you, I'm very happy to see her every day. I love Mother a
lot and she seems so happy lately. Even more so today.
But I was also glad to get home and get my homework done and rest some.
I was still working on my homework when there was a knock at the door.
I went and opened it and to my surprise, Hayao was there. "Masakuri-san!" I
said in surprise. How had he gotten into the women's dorm this late?
"Hey, I thought I'd come by, see if you'd like to go out this weekend,
Kurauchi-san," he said.
I wanted to, but I couldn't. I mean... I could feel myself shivering
already. When he smiles at me, I feel all gooey inside and I shouldn't, as
he's just a user of women, but he seems like a nice guy and maybe that's
exaggerated. No one who goes to visit a hurt teacher could be that bad,
though.
"I'm sorry, I'm going on a family trip," I told him. "And I shouldn't
be wasting time on dating, anyway. I have a lot of responsibilities."
"You sound like Kagami-san," he said. "All work and no play makes for
going crazy."
"I'm fine. And even if I could, I couldn't do it this weekend."
He gave me an odd look, then smiled in a way that made my heart
flutter. I shouldn't have these feelings! He's a bad boy and why do I like
him so much?
"Well, maybe next weekend." He glanced at my desk. "I'd better sneak
out before the matron catches me." We have an old lady who is supposed to
catch boys sneaking in and make sure we don't have sex in our rooms all the
time, but it hasn't stopped Crystal or Natasha EVER and there's always boys
roaming loose.
"Good luck," I tell him. I can wish him luck, right?
"It's not the matron you need to fear," Mitsu-san said.
He froze up. "Ack, don't turn me in, Kagami-san!"
"I'll let you go this time," she said. "Just go straight out."
He bowed. "Thank you."
"Because you were nice and wanted to comfort Mr. Kukri. Even if you
then got in a fight with Crystal."
He grimaced, muttered to himself, then said, "See you around,
Kagami-san, Kurauchi-san." Then he ran off.
"He's really being persistant," Mitsu-san said, watching him go.
"I think he likes me but..." I shuffled.
"Well, he's definitely looking to sleep with you," she said
disapprovingly. "Did he actually sleep with Tate-san?"
"I'm not sure what happened but I think she's decided he is the sum of
all evil," I told her. "Would you like to come in?"
"Sure," she said. "I was just coming by to say hi, but I can stay a
little. I need to get back to my homework soon."
"Me too," I confessed.
"Need help with anything?" she asked.
"Are you any good with math? I'm not as bad as Dan, but I could use
some help."
We worked on math together for a while; she's a good teacher, gentle,
slow, and patient. "Have you ever thought about teaching?" I asked her.
"My parents want me to be a doctor," she said in a way that indicated
the decision was made.
I tried to decide whether to say something about Shun. I really
shouldn't butt in.
Once we finished the math, she said, "Do you know..." She paused,
staring at the floor. "Nevermind."
"You can ask me," I told her. "I owe you a favor now?"
"Have you ever been in love before?" she asked softly.
"Yes," I told her. "Unfortunately, it never worked out. All my
boyfriends run away from my family or else they just wanted to... sleep with
me. Or both." I sighed. "I don't understand why I attract so many men who
just want... want... just want sex." Like Hayao. But he was... was he
different? I'm probably just rationalizing like Natasha.
"You're very beautiful," she told me, sitting down on my bed as I turned
my chair around. "You dress modestly, but if you didn't, you'd probably
have every boy on campus trying to get into your bed," she said. "I'll
never have that problem."
"I think you're very cute," I told her.
"My parents have forbidden me to date anyone until I finish my
education, anyway. Mom never finished graduate school because of me." She
sounded rather guilty about it.
What could I say to that? "I'm sure she loves you very much," I said.
Not that I had any clue. But what else could I say?
"I wish," Mitsu-san said, then looked embarrassed. "Forget I said
that," she mumbled.
I trundled my chair closer and leaned to put a hand on her shoulder.
"Mitsu-san," I whispered, utterly wishing I knew what to say. Maybe I
should call Shun. He knows how to make people smile. Or I could call
Natasha; she'd say something stupid and totally distract Mitsu-san from
everything.
"I wish I had a family like yours, Kurauchi-san," she whispered, folding
over to where she was basically talking to her knees and mine. "You all
love each other so much."
I was utterly paralyzed. What do you say to something like that? How
do you... "It's not always as good as we make it look," I mumbled.
"A lot of people think you're all pretty strange and Mother or Father
wouldn't be very happy with me, but... but... I like you all," she
whispered. "They're so angry with me and it's so hard to keep up with
everything and..."
Then she started crying.
I moved over to sit by her on the bed and clumsily hugged her. "It's
okay. It's okay," I mumbled. "I think you're doing a really good job.
When the fight nearly broke out at Mr. Kukri's room, you stepped in and
stopped it, remember? And you work hard for the club and Crystal says you
work really hard in the gardens."
"Not as hard as her. I'm just pulling weeds and she's doing the heavy
lifting," she said miserably, sobbing. "I could train a monkey to do my
job; she's doing all the real work while we goof off."
"Don't be so harsh on yourself," I told her. "You work really hard and
I can tell you're doing your best. But Crystal is twenty times stronger
than either of us. So she gets that kind of job, while people like us do
the tedious work everyone else gives up on or does a half-hearted job on,
but I can tell you throw everything you have into it. You are a wonderful
person."
"But you run so fast... you're much stronger than me. I'm so weak,"
Mitsu-san mumbled into my chest. "I'm not good for anything."
"Don't say that," I said. She doesn't really mean that, I'm sure. I
know how I sound when I get depressed and I feel like everyone is better
than I am. That everyone else is special and I'm just the leftover weakling
everyone has to protect. "You just helped me a lot and you work hard to
help everyone." I tried again to figure out what to say. "I believe in
you, Mitsu-san."
She clung to me, not so much crying as heaving silently, her breath
labored.
"I could call Shun, if you want," I said softly.
"He'd just make fun of me," she said gloomily.
"He'd try to make you smile," I told her. "He only teases people he
likes."
"You think so?" she asked weakly.
"We're cousins," I said. "I've known him since he was a baby."
"I wish..." she said softly.
"Go on?" I asked her.
"I..." She sounded very nervous and sad at once.
I held her expectantly.
"I wish..." She didn't say it out loud, so I wasn't sure what she
wished for. "I wish I didn't have to sleep by myself," she mumbled.
"Well, my roomate is off at some late night study session, but I'm sure
she won't mind if you stay over," I told her.
"Really?" Mitsu-san said weakly.
"Yes," I told her.
I haven't slept with someone else outside family insufficient bed crises
in a long time, though when I was little, one of my neighbors used to sleep
over at my place a lot.
It felt kind of nice, and she slept very quietly and peacefully, then
headed back to her room to shower the next morning after thanking me, and
then I went to join the others for breakfast.
****************
Crystal's Tale:
Jumping backwards in time...
I sat in the tree, asking myself if it was really wise to be doing
this. Especially given Seiya is on the baseball team, which I'm sure hates
my guts. However, I felt obliged to pay back Aunt Chie for the information
she gave me.
I could see the two of them; Seiya is a tall, slightly muscular brunet
and Mamiko is middling in height and build with long brown hair in two
pony-tails. They'd come out to the woods between the three schools here
(Rosewood, Tokugawa and Saint Mary's), which usually meant time for
makeouts. Except they were both carrying bags and one of the bags had a
baseball bat sticking out. Was this some kind of freaky makeout game???
As I quickly found out, what it actually turned out to be was her
pitching a baseball and him practicing batting and an awful lot of them
running around trying to find the ball while I hid desperately up in my
tree.
It was kind of sweet, actually. I couldn't quite figure out if they
were both just friends or if they both had a crush they couldn't express or
why they felt they had to come out here and hide this from everyone.
Eventually, I managed to sneak away and headed back to my room and
called Aunt Chie. "Baseball practice," I told her.
"Baseball practice?" Aunt Chie asked, confused.
"My assignment," I told her. "They're sneaking off so she can pitch and
he can bat."
"..."
I laughed softly. "Not what you expected?"
"She's one of those 'Oh, I am a soft wilting flower who can barely stand
to walk under my own power, so please bring me that, honey' types," Aunt
Chie said. "So I am totally surprised. Is she good?"
"Better than me. He seemed pretty pleased. But they kind of chose a
really bad place to be hitting baseballs at high power," I said.
"Hmm. Well, thank you very much," she said cheerfully. "How did the
quiz go?"
"Thanks to the heads up, well, I think. Thank you, Aunt Chie."
"I take care of my own," she said. "I used to do this sort of thing for
your mother, back in school."
I couldn't decide whether to ask about the bridge and the plague or
not. Erica had tried looking it up online and couldn't find anything; I had
called Nagisa, but he had told me he couldn't find anything about it or the
plague, either, though he was still looking into it.
"Something you want to ask me but can't decide?" Aunt Chie asked.
"..."
"I can hear your brain grinding."
For a moment, I wondered if she could read minds. But how could even a
real psychic, if there were real psychics, read a mind over the phone? "Do
a lot of people on this campus think I'm dating Dan or is that just Taiki's
delusion?"
"There's a lot of people who think our family is kind of strange, though
some people are kind of envious you're all so close," Aunt Chie said.
'Our family'. She says it so easily, like she's always been part of
this. Or has she and for some reason she and Aunt Aoi were under cover
until now? Erica seems to have just accepted suddenly having us as cousins
without protest and plots right along with the rest of us but if she knew
all along...
Okay, I am getting stupidly paranoid. I'm going to start thinking cats
are talking to me next.
When I caught myself looking for cats, I had to slap my own forehead.
There are a lot running around this campus, but none of them talk.
To me, anyway.
"Oh yes, did you remember to get your leave slip?"
"..."
"As you're already in trouble, so it's best you avoid breaking any more
school rules. Fortunately, I'm in a position to sponsor you all to take the
weekend trip, but you still need to get the slip, fill it out, and let me
sign it."
"How did you find out?" I had almost forgotten she'd found out on us
somehow. Hopefully, she'd tell me how.
"Natasha's great-grandfather told Shiho, who told the rest of us. Which
really, you all should have anticipated. I'm a little disppointed Erica
didn't anticipate that. Still, this will be good practice for you, trying
to avoid Shiho catching you all sneaking around. Whatever exactly you have
planned."
"..."
"Anyway, it will be a fun trip, I think. I haven't been back to Fuuka
in ages. I wonder if my old uniform still fits..." She sounded
contemplative.
I tried to figure out exactly when Aunt Chie had taken over our master
plan, but I wasn't sure. I also wasn't sure if she was trying to help us or
just playing around with us. Or both.
"I just want to know the truth," I mumbled.
"I know and I admire that," Aunt Chie said. "The desire for the truth
is an important virtue."
"Then why won't you tell us the truth?" I asked flatly.
Now I could hear HER mind grinding.
"I promised your mother to keep my silence for now. I can't tell you
anything, yet." There was something odd about her tone. "But I have a
feeling things will force an end to secrets sooner than she expects." Her
voice sounded oddly far away. "I'm sorry. You barely know me and now I've
been forced on you and I can't even tell you the truth. But I swear, I will
do my best to be a good aunt to you and to protect you and watch over you
like I watch over my own family." Her voice was very firm now. "Just
please give me a chance, okay?"
"Okay, Aunt Chie," I said softly. "I just wish I knew what you were
protecting me from."
"Good luck finding out. I'll have a fresh intel report for you in the
morning, but I will go ahead and tell you that you might want to make sure
you're up to date on your reading for lit class."
"Thanks, Aunt Chie," I told her. I think she wants to tell us, but Mom
won't let her. Though for some reason, Mom told her after many years of NOT
telling her. It's pretty clear she didn't know... what happened at that
factory? We've GOT to go back and look somehow.
But with Shun and I on a short chain, that may be difficult.
****************
At breakfast the next morning, Natasha was so hyper, I had to wonder if
she'd been eating Thin Mints all night again. Her mother won't let her near
them any more because she will eat an entire box in a day if not stopped.
Then she goes even more Natasha than usual. This is how we got such
disasters as the time we convinced ourselves it was a good idea to try to
teach ourselves how to ride a motorcycle without asking for help.
"IT WAS SUPREMELY KICK ASS," Natasha shouted, in case people on Mars
needed to know. Lots of people stared and I crouched down a little over my
ham and eggs, though I knew people would stare at me anyway.
"It was really amazing, but also kind of scary," Kasumi said, smiling a
little despite saying it was scary.
I glanced over at Dan, then winced for him; he still looked clobbered.
I hope he will get better fast enough to go with us. Dan's like that; he
tends to like to tough things out, which I think isn't the best solution
most of the time. Then again, I don't have his pain resistance or
endurance. Erica was fussing over him, checking his bandages. I guess she
learned first aid from her mother.
"Scary?" Shun asked.
"You totally have to BEG Aunt Yukino to let you try it. And now we both
know our way around Fuuka really well. Aunt Haruka showed us lots of
stuff," Natasha said excitedly.
"It was a very nice tour," Kasumi said, looking up from her cereal.
"I think Aunt Haruka and Aunt Yukino would have had mad monkey sex right
there if we hadn't all been around, though," Natasha said.
"Seriously?" Shun asked, sounding surprised.
"You thought Dad and Uncle Takumi were having mad monkey sex once and it
turned out you dreamed the whole thing," I told her flatly.
"Even Kasumi's mom thought so," Natasha said.
Kasumi looked a little embarrassed and said, "It was rather strange but
Aunt Haruka does have a boyfriend; Mother was talking about arranging a
party for everyone to meet Pierre."
"Did you manage to winkle any interesting information out of any of
them?"
"No, but it was so totally kickass that it doesn't matter. Because it
was AWESOME," Natasha said. "I expect they had mad nookie once we left,
though."
Kasumi's eyes crossed. "Mom made some enigmatic comments about how she
can 'do it' and 'I will'."
"Do what?" I asked.
"She changed the subject to my running matches," Kasumi replied.
I looked over at Dan. "You're very quiet. You okay?"
"Conserving my strength for class," he said, a spoonful of cereal in one
hand. "Thanks, Erica."
"You're welcome," she said. "You did put on fresh ointment after your
shower, right?"
"Yes," he mumbled, then ate his cereal. "Blessed Raisin Bran," Dan
mumbled.
Damn Taiki. I need to make him pay... somehow... without getting in
trouble... somehow. I sighed. And more gardening this afternoon. Ugh.
I reminded myself to not forget my permission slip.
****************
Kasumi's Tale:
I finished warming up and headed out with everyone to do some running.
We had another match tomorrow.
To my surprise, Aunt Miyu was up in the stands with Aunt Alyssa; they
both waved, so I waved back, wondering what they were doing here.
Then we started running; Ayumi kept glaring at me, but I did my best to
focus anyway, and I think I did pretty well. I was passing most of the
others, to my surprise, though I could see Ayumi keep ahead of me, really
pushing herself. It was pretty incredible and Coach looked really happy.
"You two have both been pushing yourself very hard," he said to us.
"Misano-san, I'm counting on you to anchor for our relay team again."
She pumped a fist and actually smiled. "Coach, you can count on me!"
"You're one of the best runners I've ever had," he said. "Isn't that
right, Kurauchi-san?"
"She's incredible," I said. It was true. "Good luck, sempai."
Ayumi-san looked very confused for a moment, then nodded gruffly. "You
too," she said.
I hadn't thought it would be this easy, but getting her off my back made
me feel much better. If I was was lucky, this would be the end of her being
angry with me.
After I showered, Aunt Miyu and Aunt Alyssa came to meet me. "Am I
about to be taken off to learn how to operate a tank or something now?" I
joked.
To my surprise, Aunt Miyu and Aunt Alyssa hugged me very tightly. I
don't think either of them has ever hugged me before. "Aunties," I said
softly, hugging them back.
"Come with us," Aunt Miyu said softly.
They led me off to a quiet spot between several buildings with a bench
and some bushes obscuring the sight of us. "I understand I have caused you
some distress," Aunt Miyu said to me with her usual flat voice.
"You told me I was going to die by thirty. And I think everyone agreed
with you." I shivered. "How could I not be scared by that?"
"She only said it because she cares," Aunt Alyssa began, a little
lecturingly.
"I can explain my own actions adequately," Miyu said to Alyssa. "Though
if you would rather..."
"I'll shut up," Alyssa said, though she now began to hum softly to
herself.
"I was not created to be empathic; I understand Alyssa instinctively,
but with others, I am still learning, even after all these years," Miyu said
to me, slowly and evenly. "I have not been able to be around you as much as
I have my sisters, so I will sometimes make mistakes."
"It's okay, Auntie," I said, patting her hand. "I know you're doing
your best." But I'm still worried about why she thinks I will die.
"Soon, you will be an adult and take on adult responsibilities. Some of
these may be very dangerous," Aunt Miyu said. "If you are fortunate, you
will not have to take up all of them, but I do not trust in luck. If I seem
harsh, it is only to motivate you to become stronger to protect yourself and
those you love. As I protect my sisters and Alyssa."
"You made it sound so dangerous, though. I mean, most people get to
thirty without dying. These days."
"You are not most people," Aunt Miyu said, taking my hand and studying
me up and down. "You are special. All of you."
I could feel my breathing growing faster. Was she about to tell me the
family secret? "Even my brothers?"
"They are too young; their time has not yet come; I do not know if it
will," Aunt Miyu said.
"Let's hope not unless they mature a lot," Aunt Alyssa mumbled. "Little
kids can be very bratty."
Then Miyu gave her a look and Aunt Alyssa turned red and stared at the
grass.
"Your mother has coddled you too much. She was always weak," Aunt Miyu
said flatly.
"She's not..." Okay, she's usually not a pillar of strength, I fear.
But I love her anyway. "She's my mother, don't talk about her that way," I
said sharply. "I won't tolerate that from anyone, not even one of the
family."
"Good," Aunt Miyu said to my confusion. "You must find that fire and
stoke it. Both you and her. The times comes soon for both of you to fly."
Whatever that means. "Does that mean we're being trained to help Aunt
Mai blow up factories or something?" I asked.
"It was a research center, not a factory," Aunt Alyssa corrected me.
"And it was Natsuki, I believe, who is most directly responsible for the
explosion."
"The world has bigger problems than evil factories," Aunt Miyu said.
"You must release the limits you've put on yourself, so that you can achieve
your full potential. Find that fire within you and fan it to a full flame.
Don't you envy Natasha because she throws herself whole-heartedly into
everything she does?"
"No, of course I..." I sagged. "Yes," I whispered. "Erica is so smart
and Dan is so tough and Shun is so clever and Crystal is so strong and
Natasha is so free..." I stared at the ground. "And I'm not very special
at all, unless being well behaved counts." I sound just like Mitsu-san did
last night, I thought, feeling frustrated with myself for thinking this way
again.
"Manners are what seperate us from nature, red in tooth and claw," Aunt
Alyssa said, taking my other hand. "And do you think any of the others can
run like you do?"
"No," I said softly.
"Or cook as well as you?"
"I hear Erica is a good cook," I mumbled. "But I am pretty good."
"Or avoid getting in pointless trouble as well as you do?"
I had to laugh a little at that. "You really think I am special?" I
asked her. I know Aunt Alyssa is special. She's so smart and sings so
beautifully and she's a bride of a god. I think that's what nuns are. I
wonder what that is like.
"You are special. All of you," Aunt Miyu said, squeezing my hand
softly. "Unleash your full potential and together, nothing will be able to
stop any of you. And together, you will be invincible. The future is in
your hands, to make a golden future for everyone."
I leaned over and hugged Aunt Miyu tightly; she stiffened a moment, then
relaxed, embracing me back. Aunt Alyssa hugged me from behind. "Thank you,
Aunt Miyu," I said, hugging her as tightly as I could. "I'll do my best to
become stronger so you don't have to worry about me. Or Mom." Me, making a
golden future? But Aunt Miyu... if she thinks that, maybe it is true. She
doesn't make false promises or threats.
"That is all I ask of you. All I have the right to ask of you," Aunt
Miyu said softly.
I put an arm around Aunt Alyssa too. "You have the right to ask more
than that. We're all family and we love each other, right? Isn't that what
family is?" I asked them.
"Many families do not love each other so well as they might or ought
to," Aunt Alyssa said softly. "Some parents don't take good care of their
children or show them much love."
Like Mitsu-san's family, I thought, feeling sad. "Well, we're lucky our
family is special," I told them. "So, ready to confess the family secrets?"
I teased them.
"I see you have been secretly replaced with Crystal," Aunt Miyu said,
lips quirking just a touch into a faint smile.
"I had to ask," I told her.
"You will know soon," Aunt Alyssa said. "Whether by turning eighteen or
by it needing to be revealed sooner."
"Do I get strip-searched now?" I mumbled.
"Let us bathe together, just to be sure," Aunt Miyu said.
We went back to my place; Aunt Alyssa is pretty skinny and Aunt Miyu is
fairly skinny, except having middling sized breasts like I do. I carefully
washed myself and looked to see if I had any abnormal marks on me or
whatever they're looking for, and I helped Alyssa do her huge pile of blonde
hair. I couldn't see any sign on them of any whatever it was.
Maybe it's the Battle Princess mark... but why would we have it on our
bodies? Unless they fear the cult still exists and wants to recruit us for
some crazy cult reason...
"Kasumi, are you there? Are you ready to go?" I could hear Mother call
out.
"Yes," I shouted. "I'm taking a bath with Aunt Miyu and Aunt Alyssa!"
"You are welcome to join us," Aunt Alyssa said.
"Honey, you're going to need another one after our workout," Mother said
to me. "I'm clean right now, thank you!" Her voice wobbled just a touch.
"We will finish soon and then you may take her," Aunt Miyu said. "We
just came to watch her practice."
"Your father says he will try to close up the bakery early enough to see
you go up against Torio."
"Thanks, Mother!" Dad getting to see me run? That made me very happy.
********************
Crystal said:
Splattered in mud, I know that's how I like to spend MY afternoons. I
have to say, being as goody-goody as Kasumi does have its appeal when the
alternative is this. Though Sakomizu-sensei is interesting to work with.
The fact that he works with us makes this less annoying.
Watching Shun flirt with and tease Mitsu-san, on the other hand, makes
me a little crazy. Maybe after the road trip, I'll have time to look for a
guy who isn't a skank like Hayao or a psycho-drone like Taiki.
"Can you two flirt later?" I finally snapped as I trimmed a bush,
accidentally taking out a branch I didn't intend to.
"We're not flirting," Mitsu-san said, turning bright red.
"We're both hard at work, too busy for flirting, obviously," Shun said.
"Less flirting, more working," Sakomizu-sensei said. "How is
Sugiura-san doing?"
"Better," I mumbled, feeling very frustrated. "Dammit, what happened to
him isn't fair at all."
"We have to make our own justice," Sakomizu-sensei said. "The world
won't make it for us, no matter how we beg."
I've certainly learned that over the years.
But at least I remembered to get my slip signed, and I made sure
everyone else got one too, so it looks like the trip is go... though having
the chaperones will make it harder.
As I continued trimming, Erica came up to us all. "Hey, Mitsu-san,
Crystal-san, Shun-san, would you three like to eat with me tonight? My
roommate's gone out with her boyfriend and I will end up with extra food."
"Sounds great," Shun said.
"I won't be a burden, will I?" Mitsu-san asked nervously.
"No burden at all; I like company," Erica said.
"Thanks," I said. "I'll be ready to eat a horse."
******************
Crab! And Shrimp! And Squid! It was a seafood frenzy at Erica's room
and I loved it. Mitsu-san was squealing with joy which I found incredibly
cute and Shun stuffed his face like crazy. I don't know how he can eat so
much and stay so skinny.
I glanced up and noticed a very strange doll along with several others
on a shelf. It was an elephant wearing a crown and a suit, walking
bipedal. "What's that?"
"King Babar," Erica said. "He's from a series of French novels for
kids. Aoi-Momma gave me a bunch of books and dolls of him when I was
little, as she thinks he's cute."
"I still have my favorite dolls on a shelf too, even if I'm too old for
them," I said.
"I still have my hordes of lego men in a box," Shun said.
"Oh, I have a ton of legos," Mitsu-san said. "I loved to build things."
"I loved to build things, then have palace intrigues wreck it all,
leading to it collapsing in fire," Shun said.
Mitsu-san's eyes crossed.
"Not literally, though, as I got spanked the one time I was dumb enough
to try to use real fire." He shook his head. "Little kids are crazy."
I stretched, then got another helping. "Thanks, Erica-san. This is
great."
"So what's this road trip you're taking?" Mitsu-san asked.
"We're going to Natasha's family's shrine to see it and to see our
parents' old school, Fuuka Academy," I told her.
"To search for family secrets," Erica added, smiling.
I facepalmed. Let's not advertise it to the world, Erica!
There was a knock on the door and Erica went to answer it.
"Sometimes it's better for things to stay secret," Mitsu-san said a
little nervously, then looked up at the doll shelf. "What if it turns out
to be something that drives people away?"
"I have to know," I said.
"I want to know too," Shun said. "I have to take that chance."
Mitsu-san stared at him a few seconds, then turned back to her food,
eating delicately and with grace, unlike most of us.
"Oh, hi, Akiko," Erica said to the blonde at the door; she was tall and
middling of build with her hair elaborately curled. "Want to eat with us?"
"Ugh, it's the freak brigade," Akiko said. "How can you hang out with
these violent maniacs?"
"We're not violent!" I said, then forced myself to not bang the table
for emphasis.
Mitsu-san turned red and mumbled.
"At least none of us milk our lovers for all the money they're worth,
then dump them," Shun said sharply to Akiko, who flushed, looking
embarrassed.
"They are my kin," Erica said softly to Akiko. "They are not freaks.
If you insult them, you insult me."
I widened my eyes a little. A lot of people... stupid people... would
kill to hang out with Akiko, who is pretty popular, but she chose us
instead. I felt flattered and determined to stick up for her.
Akiko grimaced, then said, "I'll see you later, then," and left.
Erica sighed and closed the door and came back, sitting down looking
depressed. "Sorry about that."
"It's not your fault," I said firmly. "Some people are just idiots."
"I don't think you're all freaky," Mitsu-san said softly.
"Thank you," Shun said, touching her hand. She turned red, though if he
noticed, he showed no sign of it. "I don't think you're freaky either."
Mitsu-san mumbled something incoherent, then looked up at the doll shelf
again. I looked up. Babar, a cow, a turtle, an owl, a... some sort of
battered, messed up vaguely human doll with a staff, and a bear... a bear
wearing pants and a hat, armed with a shovel??? How very strange.
"Erica-san, does the bear have a name?"
She blinked. "Bear?" She cocked her head slightly, then her eyes
widened and she looked a little embarrassed. "That's Smokey. He's an
American bear god who is the patron of their forest service and fights
fires, they say. I got him when we went to Yellowstone last year."
I laughed a little and Mitsu-san smiled.
Erica said, "Night Owl is the owl. The turtle is Kameko and the cow is
Henry."
"Aren't all cows female? Male cows have horns," Mitsu-san said.
Erica laughed. "When you're four, you don't realize that."
"Is that a monk doll?" Shun asked curiously, pointing to the messed up
one.
"That was made for me by grandmother when I panicked around age 7 and
thought the world would end. So, she made Miroku, the Buddha of the Future,
to 'protect me'," Erica said, now half-lost in memory. "Unfortunately, our
neighbor's cat got at him when I was ten."
"I'm not sure if I'd want a meditating monk to protect me," Shun said.
"Though he's less fat than most Buddhas."
"Fat Buddhas annoy me," Erica said. "Buddha was a member of the warrior
caste who then became an ascetic. He was anything BUT fat. I always
thought of Miroku the same way, a warrior who got tired of carnage and so
retired to become a peaceful monk who only used his skills to protect
others. He'd team up with Babar and have adventures."
"So he was a martial arts movie lead," I said. I kind of liked the
image of the reluctant warrior who fights to defend others. Looking, I
could tell he was handmade now, but that just meant he had gotten lots of
love. Good luck protecting her, I thought, then laughed at myself.
Erica blinked, then laughed. "I suppose so."
"I..." Mitsu started to say something, then stared at her food and took
a bite.
"Is something wrong?"
"Are you sure it's safe to go to Fuuka?" Mitsu-san finally asked.
"Safe? Why wouldn't it be safe?" Erica asked. She sounded confused.
I could see Shun stiffen, his usual lazy smile now a frozen mask. This
was not a good sign; he's usually better at faking than this.
"I guess it was over twenty years ago," Mitsu-san said nervously.
"What?" I asked.
"Terrorists massacred an entire research facility where my Mother's
first husband worked," Mitsu-san said.
We all stared, eyes open wide.
"Killing Mother's first husband," Mitsu-san said nervously. "Mother
moved to Osaka, eventually met Father, got married again, and had me."
I shivered. How terrible. "Was this... the year of the plague threat
and the exploding bridge?"
"Yes. First the bridge blew, then they had to close Fuuka because of
the plague and then the same terrorists wiped out everyone at Primus
Research, where my Mother's first husband, Takahashi Yugo, worked," Mitsu
said. "But I haven't heard any disaster stories about there in decades, I
guess. Mom's still scared of the place, though."
She fiddled with a ring she was wearing. I blinked, having not noticed
it before. It was the blue rose ring of the Ring Club. I guess I don't pay
enough attention to things. "Wait, you're in the Ring Club?" I asked.
"Yes. So I try very hard to take care of the other students and our
campus." She stared at the table and mumbled something.
"Well, I'm sure we'll be fine. We have chaperones and everything," Shun
said.
"I just feel like... umm..." Mitsu fiddled with her food with her
chopsticks.
"Don't worry, Mitsu-san, we'll be fine," Shun said. "I promise I will
run away from any terrorists who might show up and so will the rest of us."
Mitsu-san looked at him, then stared down at her food. "It's my duty to
make sure students don't get hurt," she mumbled.
"It's okay," he said. "You don't have to worry about us."
"You're right. I'm just being paranoid," she said. "Enjoy your trip,
everyone."
Was she trying to get an invitation? If this was just for fun, I'd
invite her, but this is family business. I just hope we find out something
worth all the effort.
****************
Kasumi's Tale:
The next morning, I was on my way to the gym when I heard shouting
coming from the administration building; we all got to skip most of our
classes today in order to go to our Track Meet at Torio; it's a fair
distance from here.
However, I could hear the distinctive sound of Dan's father, Professor
Sasaki, losing it. This doesn't happen easily, and I ran inside. I
shouldn't pry, but I couldn't help myself.
I found Dan pacing nervously in the secretary's office, while the
Secretary tried to focus on typing (and failed). From inside the
Principal's office, I could hear angry Professor shouting and incoherent
noises from Aunt Midori and the ocassional undulating noise that might have
been the Principal trying to get a word in edgewise.
"Wow, I haven't heard your father this angry since the time we
accidentally burned the mummy," I said to Dan.
"Since Natasha accidentally burned it," Dan mumbled.
"You feel any better?"
"I'm good to go after your match," Dan said. "Still hurting some but I
can handle it. Assuming the Principal doesn't just kill me after this."
"Why is your father so mad?"
"He's angry I got hurt and the staff didn't stop it in time," Dan said.
"I didn't mean to call him in, but Mom called and asked about my day
yesterday and now she's trying to keep Dad from comitting murder."
"Good luck," I told her.
He laughed nervously. "Good luck to you too, okay?"
"Thanks!"
I hung out on the bus, chatting with my friend April; she's a short
skinny blonde freshman runner like me. We gossiped about various people and
talked shop to while away the long drive.
Mother, Father, my brothers, Aunt Mikoto, and Aunt Shiho were all there
to watch me; I was surprised to see Aunt Mikoto, but happy to see her. I
could see she was herding my brothers, though I was surprised they weren't
in school.
The meet went well, though it posed me with the problem of what to do
when I was faced with Ayumi-sempai. I didn't want to make her lose and get
angry with me again but I couldn't just throw the match. I had promised
Aunt Miyu I would become stronger. And really, wouldn't it be an insult to
Ayumi, saying she couldn't win unless I cheated on her behalf?
She took the 100 meter because I was still going around the block in my
mind, so I got fourth behind two Torio people. Having focused myself, I
poured on the speed in the 200 and just barely inched her out. She glared
at me and I tried to glare back at her as my family cheered and shouted in
the stands.
We stood there glaring until coach pulled us away from each other. I
walked off to wait for the relay, while she ran in the 400 meter. Stupid
woman, I thought to myself.
I did my very best in the relay as my family cheered, which was a big
morale boost. Unfortunately, the next of our runners tripped and though
Ayumi did her best, our foes won. I could see Ayumi yelling at the
unfortunate Meiko and tried to decide whether to stick my head into it.
Instead, I got Coach and went to go get clean.
I got lots of hugs, even from my brothers. "Wow, you're fast," Keiichi
said.
"Do you run away from bullies a lot?" Katsuhito asked.
"No, I practice running every day," I told them, lifting them up to hug
them. "And do homework and work out with Mom and Aunt Shiho and Natasha."
"You did great, honey," Father said, hugging me and my brothers, then
passing them to Aunt Mikoto. "Jinnai ran track at your age; he was really
good." Jinnai is Father's elder brother. He's blood kin to me, but he's not
part of the family secret, I think. He's a good uncle, but I think he can
tell he's not privy to something, so I don't see him as much as I'd like.
"I wish you could come with us," Mother said to Father, looking a little
worried.
"It's okay," Father said. "Mikoto will take care of the boys so I can
work. We've got to keep the bakery running." I could tell from his tone he
wasn't happy about missing this.
"And I'll cook too so you don't come back and find us all starved to
death!" Aunt Mikoto said, taking Keiichi and spinning him around as he
laughed. She really loves my siblings.
"Honey, are you sure this is a good idea?" Father asked Mother, sounding
worried.
"It's fine, honey. We used to go take trips when we were in school
together, right? And we didn't even have a chaperone." Mother wiggled her
eyebrows at Father, who cheered up, laughing for a little, before he got
sober again.
"It'll be fine, Father," I told him. "Natasha's never gotten hurt any
of the times she visited her great-grand-father except in ways she'd hurt
herself anyway."
He buried his face in his hands a moment.
"I will ensure Kasumi's safety, Kazuya-san," Aunt Shiho said to father.
"And make sure your wife only lightly samples the dancing boys."
Father's eyes widened.
"Shiho, don't tease my husband," Mother said to Aunt Shiho, though she
sounded amused.
"I just..." he began then glanced at me. "But that was long ago, I
guess," he said. "I'll miss you, dear."
"I'll miss you too, my sweet little Kazuya," Mom said, then kissed Dad
softly.
"You can just imagine Akane and I bathing together, slowly scrubbing
each other's soft skin and..." Aunt Shiho began, her voice mischevious.
"And eating cookies and ice cream in the bathtub!" Keiichi said.
Aunt Shiho's hair all flew up for a moment as she remembered two ten
year olds were listening.
Aunt Mikoto said, "Oh man, I never get to bathe with you two. Now I'm
jealous!" She had her hands on her hips.
"You can bathe with us, okay, Aunt Mikoto?" Katsuhito asked.
"You're too old for that," Father said hastily. "But she can tell you
bedtime stories and tuck you in."
"Yaay!"
Aunt Shiho mumbled something incoherent.
"Let's go, Auntie, before you embarrass yourself again."
She grumbled as I led her off.
*******************
Crystal's Tale:
FINALLY. I hauled my suitcases down to the parking lot; to my surprise,
Dan's parents were there with him stashed in one of the back seats of his
Dad's open top jeep. Aunt Chie had pulled her car around next to them and
she and Aunt Aoi were loading Shun and Erica's luggage into the back while
Shun and Erica helped. "Hi, Prof, Aunt Midori!" I said. "What brings you
here?"
"I had to kill some people in the administration," the Professor said.
"For not protecting my boy."
I felt guilty. "Sir, I..."
"I know you would, but my stupid son decided being a punching bag was
the best solution," the Professor said. "I'm not mad at you, Crystal."
I looked at Aunt Midori, who struck a pose which said, 'I'm not getting
in the way of THIS rockslide'.
"I can make my own decisions, Dad," Dan complained from the back of the
jeep.
"How about if you ride with us?" Aunt Midori said. "Shun and Erica can
ride with Har... Chie-san." Hmm, interesting, I thought. It doesn't come
as naturally to her as the others. "And I know Shiho-chan and Akane-san
will be bringing Kasumi-chan."
"But what about Natasha?"
"We can haul her if she ever shows up," Aunt Chie said.
"Sorry I'm late!" Natasha said, running up with Gin. He was carrying
her luggage, which she tossed in the trunk of Aunt Chie's car, then turned
and kissed Gin. "See you on Monday, dear."
"So I can't come? I was hoping for a getaway," he said ruefully.
"Sorry, dear, family only. Shun didn't get to bring his girlfriend
either," Natasha said, then kissed him again.
Dammit, I need a boyfriend, I thought. Watching them get snuggly was
irritating me.
"Aww. Okay," he said. "I'll see you later, okay?"
"Yeah. I'll call you once we get there." KISS.
I think they kissed maybe 12 more times before finally Shun simply
hefted Natasha and stuffed her in the car.
I put my stuff in the jeep and got in. "You two are coming?"
"The shrine is HISTORICAL. Here's my chance to show you that history
doesn't suck!" Aunt Midori said.
"Fighto for history!" the Professor said, then laughed.
"You'll see," Dan mumbled.
"You okay?" I asked softly, leaning over to him to check his injuries.
FLASH!
I saw Kiwara Hitomi, a girl of middling height with long brown hair and
brown eyes, almost as stacked as I am, but most known for her camera and her
gossiping. Everyone in school would probably have a copy of me leaning
affectionately over Dan by dinner time. Possibly everyone on Earth would.
Dammit!
The fact that she was pointing and laughing didn't help.
Uncle Professor driving the jeep through a mud pile and splashing some
on her-- that helped a little, though.
I love riding in their jeep; having short hair is an advantage for it as
my hair whips around wildly. And Aunt Midori tells great adventure stories.
So the drive felt much shorter than it actually was.
Even if she couldn't convince me history was fun.
We roared through the countryside and stopped at a gas station. The
Professor pumped gas and I went inside with Aunt Midori to get some sodas.
As we walked up to the counter, the manager stared at us. "Sugoi-sensei, is
that you?" He was a middle aged man, going bald with short black hair he'd
tried to comb over it.
"It's Sugiura-sensei, but yes," she said. "Been a long time,
Ishida-san. I'm surprised you remember me."
I studied him carefully, wondering if he was there when my parents were
at Fuuka. Unless maybe she taught him somewhere else.
Then it hit me; looking at them really shoved home how unchanging our
aunts and uncles are. He clearly looked twenty or so years older than Aunt
Midori. I shivered slightly, feeling strange.
"You haven't aged a day!" he said. "Tokiha-san, is that you?" he asked,
studying me, sounding surprised.
"This is Tate Crystal, Tokiha's daughter," Aunt Midori said. "She and
my son Dan go to Rosewood Academy. I'd invite him in to meet you but he's
not feeling too good."
I bowed. "Nice to meet you, Ishida-san!" I bet he'd know about the
bridge and the plague.
"I'm kind of surprised to see you here," Aunt Midori said.
"My dad died of a heart attack when I was in college and I had to come
take over the family business. I own four of these now. This one's been
prospering ever since they FINALLY fixed that damn bridge."
BINGO, I thought. "Bridge?"
Aunt Midori looked frantic a moment.
"Yeah, a meteor hit the bridge down that way." He pointed off the way
we were going. "You know how slow road work is. I think the first few
years, they refused to even admit it got hit, then they took forever and a
day but the last five years, I've gotten good business from this store,"
Ishida-san said.
Bless you balding man, I thought. Aunt Midori can't say no to me
probing into it now!
"Yeah, that wasn't the best of years."
"I'm surprised they fixed all the damage. What with the crop circles
and the big fire and the underwear theif and the 'vampire' and a nun getting
PREGNANT and..."
Aunt Midori was vibrating.
You are the best bald man ever to live, I thought. Bless your run on
mouth. A nu... duh, Aunt Yukariko and my rarely seen by us cousin
Shinichiro. Shinichiro was concieved when my parents were still in school
so he's a lot older than the rest of us and we don't see him much. He lives
in Hokkaido. He's twenty three or so, I think, and a school teacher of art
and math.
You know, I don't know if he knows the secret, though he's not sharing
if he does.
"Well, let's not frighten Crystal, okay?" Aunt Midori said.
"I'm sorry. It's really been very safe since that year, but oh what a
mess that was. But I got laid four times from girls wanting co..." He
paused and punched himself in the side of the head. "Just forget all that,
okay?"
"We have to pretend perfection in front of the kids, remember,
Ishida-san," Aunt Midori said, clearly amused.
"I can pretend perfection, alright. So did your mother marry
Kanzaki-sama or Tate-san, Crystal?" he asked me. "Oh wait, Sugiura-sensei
told me that you're TATE Crystal, so I see. Did Kanzaki-sama and
Fujino-sama shack up, then?"
Say WHAT? Uncle Reito and Aunt Shizuru? SHACK UP???? I think I
literally staggered at the idea, as Aunt Midori put a steadying hand on my
shoulder. "I... they... what?"
"I guess you probably don't even know who they are," Ishida-san said,
sighing. "Except for Nancy and Miki, I don't see most of my school friends
very often. Cherish your friends while you have them, Crystal-san. You'll
find it's harder to keep such close friendships when you're older."
Aunt Midori looked sad for a moment, then said, "Yeah, I should call
Youko."
Youko is one of Aunt Midori's old college buddies, I think. I haven't
seen her in a good while, but I think she does research for some company in
genetics or something. She's not part of the family... unless it's now
recruiting season or something, anyway.
"You should," Ishida-san said, and sighed. "I'd give up half my stores
to see some of my old friends."
"Call them, email them. I'm sure you can find them online," Aunt Midori
said. "If you're busy, make time." Her voice was urgent now. "There's
always more time to make money, but friends may not last until you have more
free time."
"A final homework assignment, sensei?" he said softly. "You're right.
I can't just wait for things to happen." He stared off into space for a
moment, then smiled. "It was good to see you again, sensei."
"Good to see you too," she said, then paid for our stuff and we went
back to the car.
"A student?" I asked her.
"Yes," she said. "He had a lot of potential." She sighed. "But family
comes first."
"So what's this about a meteor strike and the bridge?" I asked, making
sure Dan could hear.
"Something descended from the heavens and destroyed it," Aunt Midori
said, getting into the van and tossing a chocolate bar to the Professor as
he finished gassing up. "It made leaving a lot harder."
"That was right in the middle of some festival, right?"
"Yes," Aunt Midori said. "Scared everyone at the festival a lot."
"And they just now fixed it?" I asked, surprised.
"As you age, you will come to know the true power of bureaucracy,
unfortunately," the Professor said, closing up the gas tank and getting in
once he got his reciept. "I'm glad it's repaired; I didn't even think about
whether it might still be trashed."
"So Aunt Mai didn't blow it up?" Dan asked.
"Your Aunt Mai's ferry sank on the way to school, but she didn't sink
that or blow up the bridge," Aunt Midori said. "And the bridge got smashed;
it didn't explode because metal doesn't explode, it just melts or breaks."
"It got hit by a meteor?" Dan asked, surprised.
"Remember the time we found that meteor strike in the ruins of N'kambe?"
Uncle Professor reminisced.
"How could I ever forget. That poor Pharoah, he never knew what hit
him." Aunt Midori shook her head ruefully.
She then launched into a long story of a Pharoah who had died by meteor
strike when inspecting his future tomb. I have to admit, it was pretty
funny.
The bridge seemed perfectly normal as we drove across it; it crossed a
bay to get to Fuuka, which is on the north shore of Kyuushu. It's a very
beautiful bay and a very beautiful area. We could see the bridge could be
raised to let ships pass it; the giant ferry was trundling across the bay as
we raced along at high speed. There really didn't seem to be much traffic.
"Oh, does Aunt Fumi know we're coming?" Given the parents had somehow
totally taken over our trip, at least we could say hello to Aunt Fumi.
And her delicious cookies.
Oh god, THOSE COOKIES.
I had to force myself not to drool at the thought.
"I'm sure she'll come by," Aunt Midori said. "She doesn't get to see
you all as much as she would like."
Given Aunt Fumi controls Fuuka, I keep wondering why they wouldn't send
us there where she could watch over us. And now this thing about Primus
Research...
Which I couldn't find online any mention of it. Or of the bridge. Or
the plague. Or anything. Someone covered everything up. But who? And
how? Or do I just totally suck at the internet?
"You okay, Dan? You're very quiet," I asked him.
"Just resting," he said. "Meditating like Mom taught me."
It's hard to imagine Aunt Midori meditating. That's something Aunt Nao
or Aunt Alyssa or Aunt Yukariko would do.
"Feeling okay?"
"I'm fine," he said firmly, then grunted as he shifted in his seat.
Yeah, 'fine'. I sighed. I'm sorry, Dan.
*******************
As we approached the edge of Fuuka Town, I suddenly felt a small stab of
pain on my leg. "Oww!" I said.
A second later, Aunt Midori said, "Oww!"
A second after that, Dan said, "Oww! Oww!"
We all looked expectantly at Uncle Professor, but he just glanced at us
quickly, then put his eyes back on the road. "What's wrong, honey?" he
asked.
"My leg," I said.
"My leg," Aunt Midori said.
"My leg," Dan said.
We all looked at each other. "Where?" she asked.
I had a little red bump there now I realized. "I think I got ant bit."
"Me too," Dan said.
Aunt Midori leaned over the seat dangerously, given we were going full
tilt. "Show me," she said with a commanding voice.
I bent around to let her see. She licked her lips nervously. "Dan?"
I looked at her, then looked at the bump and then began looking around.
"Ants." I pointed. They were coming from... the trunk???
Aunt Midori gave a sigh of relief. "Pull over, honey."
We quickly found part of an ant mound had somehow been dumped into the
trunk. "How'd they sneak past us," Aunt Midori pondered.
"The flash," Dan said. "It was a distraction."
"Very good," Uncle Professor said. "I will congratulate them on their
cleverness when I introduce rhino beetles to their bed." He sounded quite
irritated.
It took forever to remove or squash all the ants, but we finally got on
our way.
***************
Natasha's Great-Grandfather is pretty spry for a man of his age; he must
be in his eighties by now, I think, but he's still healthy, mobile, and in
good shape, though he certainly looks very old. "Professor-san, Midori-san,
Crystal-chan, Dan-chan, it's good to see you all!"
"It's good to see you too, sir," Uncle Professor said to him. "Are we
the first?"
"Harada-san called from the town, said she was going to pick up some
dinner for everyone," Great-Grandfather Munkata said. "Everyone come in.
I've prepared one room for the girls, one for the boys, and some for the
adults."
We soon got squared away, by which time Aunt Chie, Aunt Aoi, Shun, and
Erica had arrived. Once they got squared away, Aunt Fumi arrived, dressed
elegantly in a suit as usual. She speaks in a weirdly childish way, but
otherwise, she's always like Mom is when Mom is in business mode. "It's a
pleasure to see all my lovely neices and nephews," she said, then hugged
each of us until she came to Erica.
"You must be Erica," Fumi said. "Would you like a hug?"
"Yes, please," Erica said, looking a little embarassed. "Nice to meet
you."
"Nice to meet you," Aunt Fumi said, hugging her tightly, then letting
go. "So you make nine."
"I make nine?" Erica asked in confusion. "Nine what?"
"The ninth member of your generation. Shinichiro is the oldest, then
there is you and Kasumi and Natasha and Dan and Shun and Crystal, and then
Katsuhito and Keiichi who are younger than you all."
"Oh, I see," Erica said, looking thoughtful. "I... never mind." She
looked more embarrassed.
Aunt Chie cocked her head curiously at Erica.
"Were you going to say you expected me to be in a maid costume?" Aunt
Fumi asked, smiling.
MAID COSTUME????
I could see Dan and Shun and Natasha were just as confused as I was,
which was reassuring.
Aunt Chie slapped her forehead. Aunt Aoi giggled.
"No, I... yes," Erica mumbled, now very red. "Mom has several pictures
of you in it."
"If I'd known, I could have gotten it out of storage, just so you could
see," Aunt Fumi teased Erica gently.
I cannot imagine her in a maid costume. She's a professional educator,
not someone's servant. I can't even see her serving tea to someone and...
making cookies.
My eyes crossed.
"I think Chie would like that very much," Aunt Aoi teased Chie.
"Honey, I... Umm... ahaha." Aunt Chie said, flummoxed.
"Maybe tomorrow," Aunt Fumi said, then looked around. "Aren't Akane-san
and Shiho-chan and Kasumi-chan coming?"
I frowned. What was keeping them?
****************
Kasumi's Story:
I stood around being useless while Aunt Shiho and Mother argued over how
to change a flat tire. I need to learn, though I can't drive yet. "Maybe I
should..." I tried asking a fourth time.
"Alex always cranks it like this," Aunt Shiho said, demonstrating.
"It'll break the frame," Mother said.
We had gone through this roughly 3 billion times, I think.
A car now pulled up nearby and two men in suits got out, both wearing
sunglasses. "Are you ladies alright?" the first one asked.
Aunt Shiho now struck a kind of helpless pose. "Oh dear me, I can't
figure out how to change this flat tire and neither can my poor sister. Can
you help us, please?"
I've never actually watched Aunt Shiho stalking new prey before. It
scared me a little.
The man stared at her, up and down, then said, "I'd be happy to, ma'am."
Pretty soon, Aunt Shiho had them fixing the flat while she methodically
flirted with them and while Mom just stared; I think like me, she was in
awe.
The two men got it done quickly and they each got a kiss on the cheek
from Aunt Shiho, who was laying it on thick. We soon got on our way and
they on theirs.
"I can't believe you did that," Mother said to Aunt Shiho.
"They were going to help us anyway; I just made it nicer for them," Aunt
Shiho said.
"Who were they?" I asked.
"You know, I never got their names," Aunt Shiho said. "They looked like
salarymen to me, though."
I decided not to worry about it; nothing was missing, so they must have
just been kind to strangers. Sexy strangers, anyway.
Aunt Midori called us on our way from there and I let them know what had
happened. We got there just in time for dinner, which was a huge amount of
chicken and rice and mushrooms and other vegetables, which was fine by me; I
was starving.
Great-Grandpa told us a series of stories after dinner; they were all
local legends about heroes and commoners, spirits, gods, demons, and curses
and blessings. He's a good storyteller and I really enjoyed it.
I thought about asking him about the battle princesses, but I was afraid
that might give up the game... we don't know if this has anything to do with
the family, but they'll probably hide the evidence and clam up if we ask.
That seems to be how it works.
"Great-Grandfather, can I ask you about a local custom?" Crystal asked.
The adults all turned their gaze on her; I felt bad; being stared at
isn't fun.
"Sure," he said.
"I have heard that if you tie a ribbon with a person's name on it in the
well room in the main hall of Fuuka, your love for that person will last
forever and theirs for you. Is that true? I mean, is that a real custom?
Is there a legend?"
"It worked for me," Mother said, smiling a little.
"Doesn't work," Aunt Shiho said. "You can't rely on silly customs."
She grimaced, then sighed.
"It is a real custom," Aunt Midori said. "Can you tell us about the
Holy Tree?"
"Oh, let me answer Crystal first."
The adults looked tense and Crystal looked like my brothers do when they
just covered a cat in applesauce.
Great-Grandfather tapped out and refilled his pipe, then said, "It's
connected to the Festival of the Battle Princesses. They tied their
headbands to that railing, they say, in order to remember those they loved
and fought for. But one by one they died, until only the Crystal Princess
remained. She triumphed over the evil, but never returned."
I winced. That's awful.
"If they all died, why would anyone follow their practice?" Shun asked,
confused. "It's like emulating lemmings or something."
"We all die in the end, remember," Great-Grandfather said. "They left
behind something to remember them by. And we honor their sacrifice."
"The ribbon symbolizes a commitment and a bond between two lovers," Aunt
Fumi said. "And a circle is a symbol of perfect infinity, with no beginning
or end. By tying the ribbon, you make it part of that infinity."
Shun nodded. "See, that makes sense, symbolically."
Distantly a cat yowled to the moon and Great-Grandfather smiled and
puffed at his pipe. "Don't worry, we do get some wild animal noises, but
it's perfectly safe if you stay inside and don't wander around outside in
the dark."
"So a whole lot of people tie these ribbons," Natasha said.
"Tons of people. Mikoto-chan tied one for just about everyone she
knew," Aunt Aoi said. "From Mai and Tate to Chie and I."
We all glanced at each other. There had to be something to it... But
it did seem lots of people engaged in the custom without special effects.
"Love has its cost and so does power," Great-Grandfather said. "One way
or another, you must pay and work at it. It is not an engine which goes of
itself."
"I wanted to show you my boyfriend Gin, Great-Grandpa, but everyone else
vetoed it," Natasha said, then sighed. "I miss him."
"Ahh, young love," Great-Grandfather said, smiling. "Do any of the rest
of you love someone?"
"Kasumi wants to steal the guy Crystal refuses to admit she finds
attractive, Masakuri Hayao," Natasha said, grinning.
"I am not out to steal him!" I protested. Crystal turned him down so
he's fair game. Not that I should be thinking about him.
"He's an ass! You'd better stay away from him for your own good!"
Crystal said to me.
"He doesn't seem like a bad guy to me," I said. "He's so cute and the
way he moves and... eep." I put my hand over my mouth.
Mother looked at me curiously and I wanted to die.
"Someone's got it bad for this fellow," Aunt Shiho teased me.
"Well, Shun has a girlfriend but neither of them can admit it," I said,
desperate to change the subject.
"Mitsu-san is not my girlfriend!" he protested.
"See, he knows who we speak of WITHOUT US HAVING TO SAY IT. BUSTED,"
Natasha crowed.
"I think she wanted to come with us and hoped Shun would invite her,"
Erica pointed out.
"I... you think so?" Shun asked, surprised.
"Short of punching you in the face and saying 'TAKE ME WITH YOU,' she
hinted pretty hard," Erica said.
Shun grumbled at the floor.
"How about you, Dan dear?" Aunt Midori asked him.
"Maybe when I hurt less." He grunted.
"Do you need some aspirin or anything? I brought my first aid kit,"
Erica said quickly.
"I can help you," Aunt Aoi said.
"I'm fine," he said.
Dan can be very stubborn, like Crystal.
"Are extended families like ours common around here?" Crystal now asked.
"A lot of the students stay close later in life," Great-Grandfather
said. "Any marriage prospects, Shiho-chan?"
"Marriage sucks," Aunt Shiho said flatly. "I'm not getting married any
time soon."
Great-Grandfather sighed and took a few puffs of his pipe. "You need to
find a husband before you get old like me."
"Mom's got a boyfriend, that's enough for anyone, right, Mom?" Natasha
asked.
"Exactly," Aunt Shiho said. "Can you tell us some more stories?"
He was happy to do so and we listened into the night. One of the
stories was about how Fuuka was the place where the gods first came to
Earth; the mother temple of all Shinto once stood here, though it was
destroyed long ago. So many, many areas here are sacred to the gods.
Eventually, the parents began clonking out and soon ordered us to go to
bed. But we already had planned for this.
Once they were all sound asleep, we slipped out of our rooms and
assembled to creep outside. Shun slipped aside, vanishing into the night;
he's the sneakiest of us.
We lurked just inside the front door, waiting for him. Crystal was
eager, while Natasha looked uncharacteristically worried. Dan was pretty
calm, but I could see him wince when he thought no one was looking. Erica
looked mischevious and I think I was about ready to have a heart attack for
fear of being caught.
Shun now returned. "Aunt Akane is outside, drilling with her tonfas and
staring at the night sky. I would guess they suspect our intentions. It's
a full moon, which would help us get around in the dark, but will also help
Aunt Akane spot us."
Distantly, an owl hooted, causing a cat to yowl, so the owl hooted
again. I began to wonder if they would keep this up all night.
"And there's no other way to get to the storage building?" Crystal
asked, frowning.
"Well, if we could jump roof to roof like in Aunt Yukino's video game...
then yes," Natasha said. "We could try going out the back door, circling
around and trying to crawl over to the building. If she's looking up, she
might not see us."
"I'll go distract her while the rest of you go to the shrine," I said.
Crystal shook her head. "We've come this far; we'll all go."
"But how are we going to get past her?" Natasha asked.
"Maybe if we somehow throw a rock, lure her into the woods just long
enough..." Dan mused.
"What was she looking at?" Erica asked.
"Tsuzumi boshi," Shun said. "It is an easy constellation to find, but I
don't know why she'd be staring at it nervously."
Then suddenly we heard running and we all ran and hid. Mom came running
in and went to Aunt Midori's room; soon she'd woken up Midori and Uncle
Professor. "There's a red star in the sky," she said. "But I can't feel
anything."
"What?" Aunt Midori said.
While I can't pretend I'm great at science, I'm pretty sure there's an
entire class of red stars. And one day the Sun will turn into one and eat
the Earth. Or blow up. Maybe both? I saw it on TV, but it's been a
while.
So why would Mother care? It's not like any other star but our own can
eat the Earth.
Right?
Aunt Midori frowned. Uncle Professor raised an eyebrow but went outside
with Mother. They either didn't see us or pretended not to. I could see
them pointing and then Uncle Professor said, "I'm sorry, Akane-san, but
that's Betelgeuse, which has been red for all of recorded history."
Aunt Midori laughed softly, while Mother looked frustrated. "Sorry,
Akane-san," Aunt Midori said, then yawned. "You want me to take over a
while?"
"No, I'm still drilling. Have to get my hours in," she said.
"Good for you. Wake me when it's my shift," Aunt Midori said.
"Have fun," Uncle Professor mumbled, then went back to bed with Aunt
Midori.
Once they were gone, Erica said softly, "Betelgeuse is the upper left
star on Tsuzumi boshi," then scrunched up her face in thought. "Why would
she worry about red stars?"
"Red skies in morning, sailor take warning," Shun said. "Red skies at
night, sailor's delight." Everyone looked at him. "Old saying." He
shrugged.
Dan peeked out the window. "Don't stars moving towards Earth appear
more blue and those moving away more red? It's some relativity thing." He
frowned.
I racked my brain. "I could try calling Mitsu-san. She's good at
science."
"She almost always goes to bed by 11, even on a weekend, unless someone
keeps her up," Shun said.
We all looked at him and he wilted slightly, mumbling something about
homework.
Distantly, an owl hooted, followed by more cat, then more owl. Mother
looked a little frustrated, and clearly was trying to ignore the sounds of
nature, especially when we started hearing frogs getting in on the act.
"I think I can make it to the woods and try to draw her away so the rest
of you can get past her and then I'll join you," Shun said.
"Alright," Crystal said. "Unless anyone has a better idea?"
We didn't, so soon he was off making noises in the woods to lure her
away while we slipped through the courtyard and headed for the storage
building which would let us get to the cave Natasha had told us about.
Soon, Shun joined us and Natasha led us to the back and past the 'evil ward'
fixed on the door.
We had to jump a short distance down to the floor; getting out of here
was going to be annoying, I could see. Crystal and Dan had flashlights and
soon we found the wall writing. It was made up of odd chicken scratchings
which didn't look like Japanese at all to me; also the 'Battle Princess'
symbol was mixed into the mess fifteen times.
"What the hell?" Dan said, staring. "This is Sumerian. Cuneiform,
anyway."
"What?" Shun asked.
"Maybe Aunt Midori got in here and erased all the old art and replaced
it with this to hide whatever secrets it held," Crystal said, sounding
frustrated.
"Also, there's only supposed to be twelve battle princesses," Dan said.
"One for each month. Or something like that. You know, if it's lunar
months, it could be thirteen. Which isn't enough, still."
Crystal stared, then flicked off her light. "Kill yours, Dan."
Dan killed his and now I could see one of the signs glowed in the dark.
"Hey, one of them glows," I said.
"I see three glowing," Crystal said.
"One for me," Dan said.
"One for me," Shun said.
"Two for me," Erica said a little nervously.
"Two for me," Natasha said.
"Maybe it's by breast size," Shun speculated.
"Hey, my breasts are bigger than the guys!" I protested. "Can we get
some light?" I asked. "This is... wait, how can each of us see a different
number?"
Dan turned his flashlight on. "Everyone point at the ones which you saw
glowing."
Nine out of the fifteen were glowing when we turned the lights of. No
one had any overlap EXCEPT Natasha and Crystal both pointed to the same one
as one of theirs.
"Can you read any of the writing, Dan?"
"Some," he said. "But I'm much better at Aramaic. Also, we know more
Aramaic; all we know of Sumerian is what we've deciphered from things like
walls." He began copying the whole wall inscription carefully down in
sections into a notebook while we all looked around the cave. "Marduk has
fallen; the Spawn of Tiamat are free. The Dragon Princess has shattered the
Namcub of Marduk Tiamat-Slayer and freed the Princesses from its power," Dan
said. "Marduk? But Marduk was a Babylonian god integrated into a mythology
inherited from Sumeria..."
"And?" Natasha asked.
"See, the Babylonians wrote in cuneiform, which is what this. But spoke
a totally different language known as Akkadian, which died out when Aramaic
became popular," Dan said. "But I think this is written in Sumerian."
"Just make with the translation," Crystal said. "We can figure out if
this is your mother's idea of an obscure history joke later."
"It's been here a long time if it is," Dan said. "You can see where the
slow cooling and heating of the rock over time has cracked it in places."
"What is a Namcub?" I asked.
"It's a verbal incantation which causes things to happen by speaking it;
by predicting something will happen, you cause it to happen, as the words
themselves compel the universe to obey," Dan said. "Marduk could draw upon
the authority conferred to him by the Tablets of Destiny to command the
other gods to obey him. Marduk was the last of the gods to appear, but was
chosen to defeat Tiamat, the goddess of Chaos and the Sea and her chosen
champion Quingu and Tiamat's divine followers. He wrested the stolen
Tablets of Destiny from her, the tablets being a sort of magical contract
which spoke the universe into existence and conveyed rulership of the
universe on its holder. He thus held the title of 'Bel' or 'Lord'. The
world as we know it was made out of the remains of Qingu, Tiamat, and her
servants and children. Marduk's most powerful servant was a dragon he made
from some of the bits of Tiamat. And he came to be seen as the creator of
Eridu, believed to be the first city by the Sumerians and Babylonians."
"Obviously the Princess cult must have written all this stuff," Crystal
said. "Read more; it might give us some clues even if it's all ancient myth
gabble."
Erica nodded. "What people believe can tell you a lot about them."
Dan nodded. "The Dragon Princess has shattered the Namcub of Bel
Marduk Tiamat-Slayer and freed the Princesses from its power, but with its
destruction, all its deeds are undone, for good and ill. For though he
ruled demanding absolute obedience, he also brought absolute safety from the
Children of Tiamat. Who will protect us now?"
I rubbed my forehead. This sounded rather bad. Dragon Princess... was
this the pet dragon Dan had mentioned earlier?
"Many headed Tiamat stirs in her watery grave, and her six children from
which the world was made, once mastered by Marduk's all-seeing eye, now
squabble to see who will rule in the world to come. And many, many other
pretenders to the throne of Heaven come forth. The age of Chaos begins."
I shivered. Definitely this sounded bad. I glanced at the others.
Shun looked confused, Erica was busy... texting someone on her phone???...
Crystal was frowning deeply, and Natasha was watching Dan very intently.
"Go on," Crystal said tensely.
"The call has sounded against the daughters of the Crystal Princess.
The Crimson Huntsman rides again through the wild places, leading his Wild
Hunt. He will cull the weak and reward the strong. For he knows that might
makes right and only the strong survive in a world of predator and prey."
"That's NASTY," I said, outraged. What a horrible, horrible person.
"How very Nietschean," Erica said.
"Actually, it's closer to Spencer and Social Darwinism," Dan said.
"Nietszche would have some kind of anti-rational thought rhetoric if he was
an evil god. And it would say something about Christianity and the
Bourgeoise all sucking ass."
"Is there more?" Crystal asked tensely.
"As Chaos rises, the old rules fade; those with the will may forge their
own Namcub and make their own destiny, may seize power with their own two
hands. Others may join the powers that be, strengthening them for the
battle to come. But even in the age of Chaos, power has its price and its
risk, so few will do so. In the hands of those who do, the future will be
written. The elements will answer their commands, their noble robes will
protect them, and their children fight by their sides. But remember, to
grasp the rose, you must risk the thorns and these thorns bite deeply."
Dan paused and frowned.
"What's wrong?" I asked. The air was heavy with something and I could
feel my nerves jumping.
"My Sumerian isn't nearly this good. But I can read every word. Also,
I don't even know any Akkadian and... " He was starting to sound very
worried.
"I don't know. But we need to know. They may have already figured out
we're missing," Crystal said. "We have to know. Even if this is your
parents playing a practical joke on us."
"If this is a practical joke, then I must apprentice myself to Aunt
Midori, as it's the fanciest one I've ever seen," Shun said. "Please
continue."
"Just read it, Dan. We can figure out when you learned Sumerikkadian
later," Natasha said. She was shifting nervously on her feet.
"Read it, no one else can," Erica whispered.
"I have to know how it ends," I said, staring at the wall.
He continued to read, but now the air seemed to grow thicker with every
word and I found it hard to breathe.
"The future will be written in battle, the new Tablets of Destiny
written in blood and tears and terror and hope and love and hate. You stand
now within the circuit of the First City, beautiful Eridu, where the Gods
came to Earth. And in your hands is its future and that of the world, as
they come again. Marduk created humanity to serve him, but now this world
belongs to you. If you can keep it by the strength of your right hand and
the wisdom of your left."
I could hardly breathe; I was sweating and the air was hot and close. I
could tell everyone else wasn't feeling too good either.
"Remember, love is both a weapon and a balm; it can both heal and slay,
unite and divide. The wise Knight knows the utility of both and wields
their love wisely instead of it weilding them and surrendering to Chaos."
Dan's voice sounded labored now, almost as if the words were speaking
themselves through him instead of him speaking them.
I felt terrified and paralyzed at once, wishing to flee and unable to
move. Everyone else looked panicked as well, which actually made me feel a
little better; I'm normally the one who panics.
"This is the Namcub of the Crystal Princess. As it is spoken, so it
shall be. By the speaking of these words, the contract is sealed and the
prophecy made. The Prison is broken, but you are the hope to seal it once
more. I wish you all luck, my children, my grand-children, and all the
foundlings you have or will gather in. My time in your world has ended, but
your time is just beginning. Power has its price, but without power, you
can only watch and trust to others to save this world. Together you must
forge a new First City or all that is and has been will perish in fire and
ice and thorns and blood and steel and terror."
For a moment, all fifteen of the 'Battle Princess' signs flared and then
the air suddenly cleared and we could all breathe again. Dan peered at the
writing again, nervously. "Well, dammit, now I can only make out bits and
pieces of it."
"What? Didn't you just read it to us?" Natasha asked. "And is it just
me or does it feel like someone finally turned on the AC in here?"
Crystal said, "You can't read it now???"
"I will copy it all and try using dictionaries later, but yes," Dan
said. "Also, I feel like I just scrubbed my brain with steel wool or
something." He winced.
"So this cult believed that the end of the world was coming and they'd
have to fight for a better future," Erica said. "Or possibly they hoped by
writing this on the wall, they'd force it to happen. As you said a Namcub
was a kind of magical incantation, right?"
"Yes," Dan said.
"So with Marduk gone and the future uncertain, they hoped to force it
into a path they could control," Crystal said thoughtfully. "And Dan
apparently now speaks in tongues."
"Hey, that is what it said! Even if I... umm... somehow can't read it
again." He trailed off until he was staring at the floor.
"Well, if it's real, I think we just activated it," Shun said. "But
surely it can't be true." He said this with the same tone he uses when he
denies Mitsu-san is his girlfriend.
"Whatever it is, this isn't normal," I said. "Either the parents are
going to jump out now and announce we're on Japan's Humiliation Videos or
else something very strange is going on."
"Let's look around some more," Dan said.
Looking around quickly revealed that in fact there was a tunnel leading
deeper into the ground from here, along with a lot of very enigmatic pieces
of primitive looking art incorporating the Battle Princess symbol. Even Dan
couldn't make heads or tails of it.
"I... is it safe to go deeper?" I asked.
"This isn't some video game where monsters lurk in caves," Crystal
said. "We have flashlights. As long as we avoid things like chasms, I
expect it's safe."
I wished I could be as confident in our safety as Crystal seemed to be.
The slope led downwards to a room with a large underground pond in the
center; the room was wet and humid with stalagmites and stalagtites and
various kinds of mold and fungus growing in it. The water of the pond was
crystal clear, like a mirror.
Except that none of us reflected in it.
I jumped back nervously in shock and the rest of us, except for Crystal,
drew back from it. She just stared at her lack of reflection, then slowly
kneeled down and reached to touch it.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" I asked.
"No, but I am wondering if this is fake water; maybe it's actually very
clear plastic or something made to look like water," Crystal said.
Her hand touched the surface of the water and then vanished when she
reached down into the water. Crystal screamed, causing me to scream,
causing everyone else to panic. Dan pulled Crystal back... but she still
had her hand. It was just dripping wet.
"The hell???" Dan said.
"Holy shit," Natasha said. She tried it herself and her hand vanished
and then reappeared when pulled out. "The hell???"
Erica pulled out a piece of candy and threw it in; the second it hit the
water, it sank out of sight... without rippling the water. She then reached
in and fiddled around a bit and pulled it out. "Somehow this doesn't
reflect or transmit light."
"But it's not dark. You can see the floor near the edges," I said.
"Man, maybe I'm dreaming all this," Shun mumbled.
"I'm going to stick my head into the water and see if I can see anything
underwater," Natasha said.
I looked around nervously, wishing I had my tonfas, just in case.
Dan kneeled down by her and helped Natasha stick her whole head in the
water without falling in. After a little bit, he helped her pull up. "Did
you see anything?"
"Man, I really want to swim in this thing," Natasha said. "It felt
great."
"..."
"We didn't bring bathing suits," Erica said.
"Aunt Mikoto would just strip naked and jump in," Natasha said. She
sounded kind of admiring to me.
"Aunt Mikoto is strange even for our family," Dan said. "Are you trying
to propose we all go skinny dipping in a cave together?" He sounded rather
dubious.
"Man, now I'm imagining Aunt Akane catching us doing that," Crystal
said, laughing. "Did you see anything?"
"It looked about what I'd expect underwater in a cave to look like,"
Natasha said. "Man, I could really use a swim."
"It would be kind of nice," Crystal said. "But we don't have bathing
suits and who knows what kind of stuff has oozed down here."
I suddenly felt an odd feeling, like I was a string that had just been
plucked. "Did anyone else feel that?"
"Feel what?" Dan asked.
"I don't know," I said.
Shun fell over, but I think he was faking it for dramatic effect.
I concentrated. It had felt like a gentle tug. I tried to follow it,
but it just led me to a wall, so I began fumbling at the oddly smooth wet
rock.
Everyone else came over and began looking. "What is it?" Crystal asked.
"I'm trying to... I feel this tugging."
"Perhaps you're being summoned to Narnia," Shun said.
"Ha, ha, very funny," I said a little sourly, though I actually like
those books.
"You know, I bet that Princess cult used this pool for bathing," Natasha
said, studying it.
"Natasha, this isn't a good time for one of your obsessions," Dan said.
Crystal and Shun felt along the wall where I was. "Maybe there is a
secret door here," Crystal said.
If there was, I wasn't sure if finding it was a very good idea.
The tugging shifted slightly, but not much. I walked back and forth,
trying to pin it down, but then it ended. As I moved, though, a couple of
times, I thought I saw shadows on the floor moving.
Then my hand touched a rock formation and a section of the wall slid
open. A strong breeze now blew in my face; I found it rather refreshing.
"That breeze probably means that tunnel leads to the surface," Dan
said. "I think."
I was willing to trust his word for it.
"Let's explore," Crystal said.
Dragging a still-swim-desiring Natasha with us, we made our way through
a long tunnel up to a small natural cave which deposited us on a small
plateau further up the mountain. You could see the shrine and Fuuka Town
and the school, all glittering in the night under the full moon.
I could also see the shadows moving oddly again. I rubbed my eyes, then
pointed. "What's that?"
Dan saw the moving shadow and shone his flashlight on it. It didn't
vanish. Instead, it suddenly sprouted glowing eyes, as did several other
shadows, which now rose up like great serpents with glittering ruby eyes.
They rippled like a struck pond, as if made of a black, oily liquid.
"Holy fucking shit," Natasha said.
For once, I totally agreed with Natasha.
"Snakes sense movement," Dan said. "Don't move... I think." He was
trembling.
I didn't need any help not moving; I was too scared to move.
For a few seconds, we all stood frozen
Then one of them tried to lunge and bite Natasha. She jumped out of the
way, only to smack into a tree, though it did miss her. "I should have
brought my sword!"
"Run for the caves! I know Uncle Professor is armed at least," Crystal
shouted.
"Chie-Mama has a gun too! But shouldn't we run down the mountain?"
Erica asked.
"We'll just get hopelessly lost in the woods!" Crystal shouted.
So we took off running and got into the cave with me in the lead; I am
the expert runner. Then I heard Natasha yell as she ran into a tree while
looking back. I stopped and ran back to her as the others piled into the
cave. As they realized Natasha was in trouble, they turned back to help; I
reached Natasha first, helping her up. But now the snakes had moved in,
cutting us off from the others, who I could see wavering. They didn't think
they could fight these things but they could never just abandon us to them,
either.
"There is one good thing about this," Natasha said as they slowly
approached.
"There is?" I asked. I wasn't seeing it.
"We may not have super powers like in Aunt Yukino's game, but at least
these things aren't dozens of feet tall like in Aunt Yukino's game, either.
Maybe we can break off tree branches and fight our way out," she said, but
it was the tone I know she uses when she's trying to talk us into something
she knows is foolish but can't help trying anyway.
These things weren't natural; they felt wrong to me, like they'd crawled
out of some ancient pit of darkness. They hungered for our blood, our
life. Just looking at them terrified me. But if I panicked, I might get us
all killed.
Oh god, no wonder Aunt Miyu thought I was going to die, I thought. All
I'm really good at is running and even that gets me in trouble sometimes.
No, be strong, I told myself. I promised Aunt Miyu I would be stronger and
I keep my promises. I always keep my promises.
Distantly, I heard a bird cry, and I felt a gentle breeze begin to
blow.
"Kasumi?" Natasha asked as the creatures crept closer; they were clearly
savoring our fear. I must have tasted like a five course banquet to them.
I didn't want to be a banquet for evil oil snakes who probably work for
some nasty polluting oil company. I didn't want to die. But what could I
do?
Crystal picked up a rock and hurled it at one of the serpents. Its head
exploded, but then the liquid all flowed back together and it hissed
loudly. She stepped back, looking pissed.
"Fuck me," Natasha muttered.
There was only one thing I could think of to do. Crystal Princess, tell
me what to do, I prayed. If you're listening, if you even exist, if there
was something more to that wall inscription than some crazy old cult that
isn't around any more, just tell me what to do! I'll do anything to save my
family! Anything!
I heard Dan's voice reading the inscription in my head. "As Chaos
rises, the old rules fade; those with the will may forge their own Namcub
and make their own destiny, may seize power with their own two hands.
Others may join the powers that be, strengthening them for the battle to
come. But even in the age of Chaos, power has its price and its risk, so
few will do so. In the hands of those who do, the future will be written.
The elements will answer their commands, their noble robes will protect
them, and their children fight by their sides. But remember, to grasp the
rose, you must risk the thorns and these thorns bite deeply."
I didn't care. I'd risk any thorns to save them. Even if I paid for it
with my own flesh. I'm an athlete; I'm used to injuries even if I don't
like them. They're the risk you have to take to achieve greatness on the
field. "I'll do it!" I said, suddenly stepping forwards.
Everyone stared at me. The words suddenly boiled up inside me,
straining to speak themselves through me. But only with my permission, I
sensed. I had to choose this freely.
And I chose freely. I would risk myself to save the others. I would be
strong, as I had promised Aunt Miyu.
"This is the Namcub of Karauchi Kasumi!" I said loudly. "As it is
spoken, so it shall be. By the speaking of these words, the contract is
sealed and the prophecy made. I will pay the price and take the risk of
power, power to fight the coming of the Age of Chaos! If there are to be
thorns, let them tear my flesh and if there is blood to be lost, let it be
mine! I choose this freely and of my own will!" Winds began to whip around
Natasha and I at high speed while she stared at me, while everyone stared.
And the oily serpents hesitated, staring at the winds.
With my every word, the winds grew stronger. "I promised Aunt Miyu I
would become stronger! I want to be strong enough to protect my family! My
friends! EVERYONE!" I shouted over the howling winds, barely making myself
heard. I could hardly see the snakes or my family, but I could see Natasha
staring at me, mouth wide open. I felt a tiny bit of probably perverse
pride making her freak over my actions for once instead of vice versa.
Instinctively, I held my arms out to my sides, angled, almost like
wings. Leaves and dirt and small rocks and other debris orbitted me in a
great storm of wind with Natasha and I standing in the eye of the storm.
"This I do swear! Let this contract be sealed!"
And then I felt a sudden burning sensation on my leg. On my right thigh
to be precise. It was the mark of my Namcub, I sensed instinctively, of the
contract I had made.
But what had I contracted with?
I would have to figure that out later. The wind howled around me and
now I felt my clothing explode off my body; for a moment, I was utterly
embarrassed, but then the wind collapsed in on me and I found myself clad in
new clothing.
I had on white boots with black laces, and white tights covered my legs
and my lower torso up to my waist. Above my waist, I had a fairly tight
white long-sleeved blouse with winds embroidered on it in black, though you
couldn't see most of it, as over it and over part of my tights, I now had on
a long white surcoat, fringed in red on which was embroidered images of
falcons and gusts of wind; the surcoat was held close to my chest and back
by my black belt, then flared out below the waist like a divided skirt. I
wore a domino mask in white on my face with a nose guard that flared out a
bit to resemble a beak. And in my hands, I held two pure white tonfas that
looked to have been carved from ivory, though the three ends of the weapons
were ringed by slender circles of onyx.
"Man, this is the most fucked up dream of my life," Natasha mumbled.
I stepped forward, and swung my tonfas as I had in the virtual reality
game and winds erupted from them, slicing the oil serpents into pieces; the
serpents scattered and I pursued them relentlessly. I was laughing like
Natasha now; I felt so powerful I could hardly believe it. Serpents tried
to climb trees and I cut them in half; they tried to use bushes for covers
and I blew the bushes away. I'm sure I was shouting something, but I'm not
sure what; I was lost in motion the way I am when I run. I danced through
the mob, ripping them apart into bits, then scattering the bits into tinier
bits.
A few times the creatures tried to strike at me, but this only got them
shredded by my winds, though I did have to parry one lucky one who got
close; the mere touch of my tonfas caused him to shatter into droplets.
The surviving ones sank down into the ground, soaking into it, and
leaving me unsure how to proceed. It left me with a bad feeling, though.
"Is it over?" Crystal asked, warily coming a little closer.
I held out a hand, palm perpendicular to the ground. "Not yet, they
might come back."
Erica began texting again.
"This is probably not the best time for a phone call," I told her.
"I'm just taking notes. This thing has a ton of memory," Erica said,
then pointed at the ground, where there was now a huge serpentine bulge
making its way towards them. "RUN!"
I ran towards it; my family ran towards Natasha. Natasha snapped off a
tree branch and ran towards my position.
I wind-struck the ground and now a huge fifty foot oil serpent erupted
out of the ground, striking down at Natasha. I ran, grabbing her, and
jumped out of the way.
And stayed up.
I'm flying.
I AM FLYING! I soared down and dropped Natasha off with the others.
"Watch for more!" I told her.
My kin began grabbing rocks and tree branches, though Shun seemed to
have chosen this moment to close his eyes and meditate or something.
Let me help you, a voice whispered to me. Call my name.
I felt his name inscribed within my heart. "HORUS!" I shouted.
And now a great white falcon the size of a horse with black and red
fringed feathers and light red eyes plunged out of the night sky and plucked
out one of the eyes of the giant serpent. I dodged its counter assault and
Horus wheeled around and plucked out the other eye. Purplish black goo was
now oozing from the wounds and I soared around and struck at the empty
sockets with my winds.
Winds rushed into its liquid skull, which now exploded from the inside
out, showering us all in purple-black goo, but the goo began to fade away
into purple-black sparkles which rose to the sky even as it hit us, and the
creature itself caught purple-black fire and burned away into rising motes
of purple-black light.
I landed and Horus landed next to me; I could see he had a black ankh on
his forehead, and I hugged him around the neck as best I could. "Anyone,
umm... have a sugar cube or something?"
"I think falcons only eat meat," Erica said weakly, then snapped a photo
of me with Horus.
Horus rubbed his head against my body, and made an encouraging sort of
noise, then spread his wings and took to the sky; as he flew, he faded away,
but I knew he would return whenever I called his name.
Natasha ran over to me. "Holy shit! How the hell did you do all that?"
"It just kind of came to me," I said, rubbing my forehead as the others
came over too.
"I got some photos of those things, whatever they were," Erica said,
then looked me up and down curiously.
I couldn't resist the urge to rise off the ground and hover just a foot
above it, grinning wildly.
Shun touched my surcoat, running his fingers along the edge of it. "It
feels like cotton."
"It's very warm and comfortable," I said. "And decent, thankfully."
Dan said, "Did it feel like the words spoke themselves through you?"
"I let them," I told him. "But yes."
Dan frowned, then stared off into the woods.
"So how do you turn back to normal?" Shun asked.
I thought about it. "Everyone turn around; I think I'm going to end up
naked again."
Everyone turned around, and I concentrated. Another whirlwind erupted
and my clothing turned back to normal... after first exploding off me and
then reforming again.
"Okay," I said, feeling rather tired now. I yawned. "So no clue what
those were?"
"Not a clue," Crystal said, looking at the woods and frowning.
"Nothing like that EVER happened any other time I was here," Natasha
said. "Something must have escaped from a genetics lab."
That made sense. Though if what I did worked, the other stuff in that
inscription could be true. "That doesn't explain what I was able to do,
though."
"Let's head back," Dan said. "I think this is more than enough trouble
for one night."
"Amen," Natasha mumbled and we headed back to the tunnel.
I had to keep forcing myself to slow down so as not to outpace
everyone.
Shun said, "Kasumi?"
"Yes?"
"So you said it felt like it spoke through you?"
"Yes," I said. Hadn't Dan already asked me this? "But only because I
invoked it. I asked for help."
"Asked who for help?" he asked softly.
"The Crystal Princess."
Everyone stared at me.
"Well, I was desperate, okay! What else could I do but beg Heaven for
help?"
Erica rubbed her forehead, mumbling something about theism.
Natasha closed her eyes and seemed to concentrate. Then she opened
them. "I got nothing."
"Don't just pray to gods who may or may not even exist just because
Kasumi did!" Crystal said to Natasha.
"I certainly didn't feel anything different," Natasha said. "And how
are we supposed to figure this out without experimenting?"
"Probably it only works when there is real danger," Dan said. "But what
is the price? Remember, assuming we can trust mysteriously readable then
unreadable wall inscriptions that don't make sense due to historical issues,
they said, 'But even in the age of Chaos, power has its price and its risk,
so few will do so.' So what is the price and the risk?"
"I don't know," I confessed. "I was too desperate to save everyone to
think about that."
Erica rubbed her forehead again. "Signing a contract you haven't read
isn't very wise."
"Would you rather we all got eaten?" I snapped at her. "I didn't
exactly see you do anything to stop us getting eaten!"
Erica jumped back in shock, then stared at the ground. "Thank you," she
mumbled.
"I'm kinda envious," Natasha confessed. "Only activated by danger,
hmm..."
"Don't be stupid," Crystal said to Natasha. "We'd best not go running
off into danger just because maybe it will let us bind ourselves to
something we don't even know the terms of." She took a moment to breathe.
"Or whatever exactly happened."
I paused, suddenly realizing something. My thigh, I'd felt something.
"Guys, turn around."
"What?" Dan said. "Going to transform again?"
"Just do it," I said and they did. Then I lifted up my skirt enough to
look at my right thigh. I now had a small tattoo, about the size of my
thumb past the topmost knuckle. It was the battle princess sign in white.
Natasha, Erica, and Crystal knelt down by my leg. "Five will get you
ten this is what the parents keep looking for on us," Crystal said softly.
"What is it?" Dan asked as he and Shun stared off down the tunnel,
fidgeting.
"Kasumi has a new tattoo," Natasha said in her annoying sing-song I'm
tattling voice. "She's got a white battle princess tattoo."
I pulled my skirt down. "But I..." Well, I had hardly known what to
make of this before; one more question to be answered.
We kept on speculating until we reached the pond, and I glanced at it...
and saw my reflection. "Hey, look!" I said, and stood closer to the pool.
Everyone stared at it and Natasha said, "Hey, now you reflect in it!"
Crystal stared at it. "Dammit, where's an all-explaining wise man when
you need one?"
We all laughed at that, and Dan said, "He's in the other castle," which
got more laughs. We needed a little tension release.
"So is it time to confront the adults?" I asked. "They must know
something about this."
"Not yet," Crystal said. "We need to go into that confrontation knowing
as much as possible or they may still try to keep us in the dark." She
frowned. "For some reason. They've done it too many times." She sounded
pretty angry about that.
"But what if more of these creatures come back?" I asked. I can't be
everywhere at once.
"Either they know these things exist and have hidden it from us for some
reason I want to find out, or they don't know, in which case there's nothing
they can do about it," Crystal said. "If they do know, I expect they've
taken precautions."
"Or possibly we freed the things by me reading that wall inscription,"
Dan mumbled, staring into the pool.
"How could that work?" Crystal asked.
"I don't know, how did Kasumi suddenly get super-powers and a new
tattoo???" Dan asked, sounding tired and jumpy and irritated at once.
"Calm down. I think," YAWN, "that we've better get some sleep," I
said. "Or the folks will know we were out all night."
I stopped by the wall inscription, then pointed. "Look," I said.
There was a sixteenth battle princess mark on the wall and it was white,
unlike the others.
I shivered and everyone stared.
"Okay, this is officially... what the fuck," Natasha said.
Crystal slapped her forehead. "AHAH!"
"What?" I asked.
"What happened just before Aunt Aoi and Aunt Chie joined the family?"
Crystal asked.
"Aunt Akira, Aunt Natsuki, Aunt Mikoto and Aunt Mai went to a factory to
help Chie-Mama investigate the... place... where they did experiments to tap
into other dimensions!", Erica said, growing steadily more excited. "Mom
must have done the same thing Kasumi did! And became a battle princess!"
"Hah! I bet she summoned the giant robot! HAH!" Natasha said. "Man,
and then they tried to pin the blame on ME."
"I think someone else must have summoned the giant robot," Dan said.
"As they didn't know whose it was, and they thought you knew. Whoever
summoned it... I don't think they're part of the family. But they know the
family. Or else had a common interest in the factory," Dan said.
"What about Aunt Aoi, though? She wasn't there," Shun pointed out.
"Well, Aunt Aoi and Aunt Chie were both sick at the same time Mom took a
day off from work..." Crystal said. "We're going to need to do a news
search to see if anything exploded that day."
"So you accept your mother is the queen of explosions?" Shun teased
Crystal.
Crystal grumbled, then suddenly slammed her hand into her fist.
"Mitsu-san!"
Shun blinked. "What?"
"Her mother's first husband was killed along with the entire staff of
Primus Research, here in the Fuuka area. Dan, Primus is Latin, isn't it?"
"Yes, it means 'chief' or 'first'," Dan said. "Wait... First City...
First Research..."
"What if they were doing the same research as Tallin? And unleashed
creatures from another dimension? Like the oil snakes?" Crystal said,
growing more animated. "What if those creatures ate them all and it was
covered up with stories of 'terrorist attack'? But someone was stupid enough
to duplicate the research..."
"We need to find out who owns Tallin and if the leadership of it has any
ties to this area," Dan said.
"Ahah!" Shun said.
"What?" Crystal asked.
"I bet the symbols we see glow in the dark are those of our parents who
are 'battle princesses'!" Shun said.
"Wait, that would mean my DAD is a 'battle princess'." Crystal said.
"He's not a woman!"
"Well, you know how 'man' is sometimes used to refer generically to
women and men? Well, this could be a female equivalent," Shun said. "Where
some of them are actually battle princes, but the default assumption is a
woman."
"That would have to mean Natasha's father is a battle prince, but then
why isn't he around?" Dan asked.
"Maybe HE is the guy with the giant robot and they all think he's dead
and he's trying to stay hidden for some reason," Shun speculated.
"I always got the impression Dad was alive, but Mother wanted to never
see him again," Natasha said.
"Oh wait..." Shun said. "Natasha and Crystal SHARE a common glowing
mark up there." He pointed. "Which either means Uncle Yuuichi is both of
you's father, or this unknown guy impregnated both your mothers."
"There's no way either of those could be true," Crystal insisted.
"I wouldn't mind having a YOUNGER sister," Natasha said. "But there's
no way Uncle Yuiichi and Mom ever had sex. She'd rub it in Aunt Mai's face
constantly."
I had to agree with that.
"It's not measuring simple blood-kinship," Erica said.
"What?" Crystal asked.
"I'm not blood related to either of my parents or any of you to my
knowledge, but I think my two must be my adoptive parents. So it has to be
something more complex," Erica continued. She yawned. "I think we should
go get some sleep. We can try collating a list of possibilities tomorrow.
But if we stay here much longer, we'll be so groggy tomorrow they'll know we
stayed out all night. Trust me, I speak from experience."
Crystal nodded. "I think we've made a real breakthrough. If we're
lucky, we'll finally know what's going on soon."
"I'm sure they just want to protect us," I said. "If they're dealing
with things like that all the time, we'd just be a liability. Also, Natasha
has a big mouth, so..."
"I do not have a big mouth!" Natasha fumed.
Crystal held out her hand. "Let's all promise to keep this a secret
until we know what's going on. THEN we can talk to the parents, okay?"
We piled our hands on each other; this time I got to be on top. We
promised each other and I prayed I wasn't going to regret this.
We snuck down and thankfully, Mother wasn't out in the courtyard, so we
all crept inside and went to bed. I spent a while wondering if we'd made
the right decision. Did they all have powers like mine? Why were they
hiding it from us? Surely they couldn't have thought monsters might attack
us... then again, the monsters were off in an area we weren't supposed to go
to, so maybe they'd assumed we wouldn't run off into danger. Then again,
maybe Mother had been patrolling to guard us. But that hadn't happened any
other time Natasha was here.
Had Dan unleashed ancient evil by reading that Namcub? Certainly mine
had done things. I spent quite a while wondering what I'd gotten myself
into. But it was too late to back out now.
Finally, I slid into slumber and I had a wonderful dream about riding
Horus across the skies. Hayao was with me, riding behind me, his arms
around my waist as we soared. I was beet red but very happy. It was a
beautiful dream.
***************
Akane's Tale:
I felt like a complete idiot after the whole Betelgeuse thing. I also
wasn't sure if there was much point in me being out here on guard duty since
our powers didn't work here inside the shrine. I'm working on my fighting
skills but I have a long way to go. But I can't just let Midori and
Professor Sasaki do it all.
After what seemed like forever of staring off into the woods on the off
chance of trouble and trying to listen for the kids finding trouble, I
spotted some kind of shadow in the woods. Having the full moon shining down
was a big help for seeing things like this.
"Hello, is someone there?"
I could see her now, a dark haired girl... was that the Mitsu Kagami
girl? Here in the woods? And why was she running?
"Come back!" I said, running after her.
She kept running, so I called Midori and told her to take over guard
duty while I ran this girl down.
Suddenly I felt something, was it... I could faintly feel my tattoo and
my eyes widened. A magic zone this close to the shrine? Nestled here in
the woods? It was strange, one minute normality and then that subtle
different feeling...
I didn't call my element yet to avoid having to explain it to Mitsu-san,
though I was very tempted.
Finally, she stopped in a small clearing and I saw something. Moving
shadows...
Moving between Mitsu-san and I. I summoned my element and jumped up
into a tree to try to figure out what to do. Had she been running from them
all along? I didn't think so; she hadn't screamed or anything. Though
she'd looked panicked.
The shadows were a crimson-black in color and they spoke. Or one of
them did. "Say it. If you don't accept her help, you will die and then we
will devour your precious love."
Mitsu-san paled, poor girl. I was shivering myself. I haven't fought a
monster since the day we destroyed the Hime Star. Part of me wanted to
charge in and save her and part was terrified that I had run into a trap.
'Her help'. Was this an effort to lure me out, to try and destroy my Child
again? I'm the weakest of all of us, the biggest failure. I don't want to
be. I want to fight for my love and for my friends. But... on my own... I
was a failure.
I couldn't protect Kazuya. Trying to protect him just sent him to be
trapped in a pillar. My precious Kazuya. This was a trap. They wouldn't
be talking instead of killing if it wasn't.
"What if he hates me," she whispered. "I'll never be normal again, I
know that much. Whatever the dreams may say. He probably wants a nice
normal girl..."
I knew that fear; I'd wallowed in it before I finally embraced my
destiny... and got cut down for it. This had to be a trap, playing on what
happened to me last time...
They drew closer to her, snapping at her, herding her back towards a
huge tree so she'd have no room to escape, like wolves working a cub away
from its herd. That poor girl, I thought. "Do it. Or you will die and
then we will devour him. Call her! Call her now!" The full moon shone
down on her like a spotlight being used by the police to interrogate
someone.
"I... what will everyone... what am I thinking?" she said, and suddenly
she went from terrified to angry. "My reputation isn't more important than
Shun's life." She slapped herself.
A light began to shine from her back, illuminating the tree with weird
shadows and I suddenly realized it. She was one of us and they wanted her
to summon her Child so they could destroy it.
Like happened to me.
Oh god, this was a trap for her! She was going to suffer like I did!
Shun would dissolve away and she'd become nothing but a shattered shell.
"You want this? You want it?" she shouted. "I won't ever let you hurt
Shun! NEVER! Fine! I'll say it! This is the oath of Mitsu Kagami! 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 make of myself a
shield for the defense of others and a weapon to smite my foes! I choose
this freely and of my own will! I will protect those I care about, whatever
the cost! I will defend the students of Rosewood Academy, whatever the
cost! This I do swear! Let this contract be sealed!!!"
And then the ground erupted up around her as blades exploded out of the
ground and enfolded her in a complex pattern of interwoven weapons of every
kind, so long as they were sharp and pointy. Then they collapsed in on her
and exploded outwards at once.
She now had on black boots with green laces and silver pants with black
and green trim covered her legs and her lower torso up to her waist. Her
upper torso was covered by a black jacket with silver images of weapons and
shields embroidered into it, though it was trimmed with green thread. The
bottom of the jacket below her waist flared out like a skirt in all
directions. She wore a shining silver domino mask with glass lenses which
hid her eyes with tiny weapons worked into the rim of it in jade. In her
hands, she held a silver bladed naginata with green traceries of vines
worked into the brown wooden hilt.
"Wait! It's a trap! They want you to call your Child so they can kill
it!" I shouted.
"Karauichi-san?" she asked.
"But I won't let you fight alone! This time, we're not going to be
picked off one by one! NOT THIS TIME!" My fear had turned into anger and I
leaped down to land beside her. "We'll fight them together!"
"Karauichi-san, I don't think mundane weapons will hurt these things,
whatever they are, if they're like the nightmares I had," Mitsu-san said.
"These are called orphans and I don't just have mundane weaponry." I'm
going to do it. Whatever the risk. I won't let what happened to me happen
to her. "I'm just like you, Mitsu-san. I'll do it!" I shouted. "I won't
be fooled again and I won't FAIL AGAIN!"
"Go ahead, fool. We know how weak you are; we will feast on what little
strength you have, to grow and to thrive. The weak die and the strong
survive. And the stronger your prey, the more she will sustain you and make
you strong. Not that YOU will ever know what strength is," one of the
shadows taunted me. They resembled flying manta rays, undulating along as
if the very air was water.
"I won't lose again! THIS I DO SWEAR! We will defeat you and protect
those we love! FOR I AM THE BATTLE PRINCESS OF THE WIND STORM! AND
TOGETHER WE WILL DEFEAT YOU!"
I felt a tremendous surge of strength and shouted for joy as the winds
erupted around me, flinging the creatures back. I felt my clothing explode
off me as my tonfas appeared in my hand, but I didn't care. I was free of
fear and I was going to save this girl from my old cursed fate. I was FREE.
My clothing exploded back into place, but I was too busy going to the
offensive to care about it. "These are only minions to make us
overconfident, Mitsu-san. The real boss is hiding, waiting to try to
destroy our Childs. This is a trap, but we're going to spring it. ATTACK!"
I moved left and she moved right and I unleashed a storm of destruction
upon them; to my surprise, my attacks easily ripped them apart into pieces.
I leaped about, dodging their tails and slicing them into bits with my
winds; I had to fight to keep my common sense and not get overconfident.
I could see Mitsu-san had a harder time of it; her naginata easily
sliced the creatures, but she had no combat training and the creatures wove
up and down and around her, making it hard for her to hit them, though her
long blade kept them at length.
She'd killed half of them; two got blows in on her but they bounced off
her jacket, just knocking her around a bit. Probably armored, I thought.
Maybe I should talk to Haruka about some armor.
I aimed a wind blast and killed another one. Wow, these things die
easily, I thought. Or I've gotten a lot better. Mitsu-san took out another
and I blew up the last one. "Good job!" I told her. "However, there's
probably a boss who is hoping to force us to summon our Childs."
"Child? Do you mean..." She began.
"If you say his name, he will come," I said softly. "Which is what they
want, though we may have no choice."
She blinked and stared at me. "I... I'm not dressed like that, am I?"
She looked down at herself.
I paused and looked at myself. I had huge armored shoulderpads and a
white and blue bodysuit on with white and blue boots. But the bodysuit had
two huge diamond shaped cutouts showing my cleavage and my stomach and was
pretty tight. I had a belt around my waist with a tiger fur pattern, the
two ends trailing in my winds to either side of my waist. And I had long
white and blue gloves. Something... I touched my head and felt along the
thing on my head... was I wearing some kind of hairpiece with... cat ears???
I was still staring mindlessly at myself in utter shock when a much
huger manta ray now flew out of the shadows and rammed me from behind, then
tried to sting me. I barely blocked it, rolling through dirt and sticks,
even as Mitsu-san stabbed it with her naginata, though it only barely cut
the creature.
It knocked her to one side and turned to face me. "You may know this is
a trap, but if you die, there will be no one to stop me from killing
everyone anyway. I can survive within that shrine long enough for that,
since none of you can use your powers there. You cannot hurt me."
He was about to say something else when Mitsu-san swung her naginata in
a wide arc and knocked three trees down on him. This knocked the wind out
of him and then we both unloaded on him, me blasting him with wind and
Mitsu-san in a stabbing frenzy.
At first, I thought we had him, but then he suddenly swept his tail,
knocking me into a tree and knocking Mitsu-san down.
I concentrated and my belts extended up like grappling lines, pulling me
up into a tree so his follow up charge passed under me. "We're going to
have to risk it," I said.
"But you said..."
"I know. But together, we're stronger than alone. When he makes another
pass, drop more trees on him and we'll call our Childs."
She nodded. "Yes, Karauichi-sama."
-sama? No one has ever called me that. Especially not in an outfit
like this.
It came back around and charged towards me, stinger ready. But I pulled
myself out of the way and once more the trees came down on it.
"HARRY!" I shouted.
"SOPHIA!" she shouted.
Harry erupted out of a whirlwind as he had the last time I summoned him
so long ago. He was still a giant gleaming white tiger (well, sort of like
one, anyway). But now he was substantially bigger, big enough to catch the
giant manta in his jaws as his winds worked it over.
There was a creaking noise and the flapping of wings and metal on metal,
and now a giant metallic owl which moved with stiff, jerky, mechanical
movements, flapped down and began to harry the manta ray, even as Mitsu-san
and I renewed our attack. I suppose it shouldn't have surprised me that my
blows did more damage than hers; I am older and have... well, a touch more
experience. And Harry looked so strong now...
The creature came apart, dissolving away into streamers of crimson light
which burned away. I heard a scream in the woods and saw crimson sparkles
of light rise skywards.
"We won?" Mitsu-san said nervously.
"We won!" I said, high-fiving her.
She smiled softly. "Shun's safe." And then she collapsed, utterly
exhausted, falling into my arms and turning back to normal. "I came all
this way to keep him safe, and he is..." She smiled a little.
I tried concentrating and thankfully this... outfit... turned back to my
normal clothing as my element vanished. I gave Harry a hug and then he
faded away as did Sophia.
I did it, I thought. I DID IT. We did it. Together. Thank you,
Mitsu-san, I thought. You gave me back my courage. I can face this now.
I just hope I don't end up looking like that every time now. Though I
bet Kazuya-kun would think the ears are cute...
**************
Crystal's Tale:
I couldn't sleep. Or possibly I dreamed I couldn't sleep, which I do
sometimes; it makes me crazy when that happened as I always end up totally
fucked up the next day.
I got up and started pacing around, then decided to go outside to get
some fresh air, my brain in chaos. Something I couldn't understand or
explain had happened. I had a strong feeling that our parents knew
something like this was going to happen? So why hadn't they told us? I
couldn't think of any good reason and it was making me paranoid.
I found Aunt Midori pacing in the courtyard, looking around and
periodically yawning. "Hey, Crystal, can't sleep either?" she asked.
"Tell me about Marduk," I said. I didn't mean to say it. But I
couldn't help myself.
Aunt Midori blinked. "Marduk?" she sounded utterly confused. Which
made me more confused. Did they not know about this stuff at all? But in
that case, what the hell are they hiding? "You want a history lecture on
Marduk at three am?"
"Yes," I said firmly.
"Wow, I must have fallen asleep after all," Aunt Midori said. "But hey,
seize the day and all that! Okay, Bel Marduk, lord of the gods whose name
means 'Bull Calf of the Sun', was the patron god of Babylon. As it rose in
power, he eventually was elevated to the position of ruler of the gods in
Mesopotamian mythology, until displaced by Asshur when the Assyrians whipped
everyone. He gradually assimilated more and more portfolios as time passed,
but was especially connected to living things, magic, and judgement in his
role as king of the gods. He created humanity to serve the gods; the
Babylonians very much operated on the old pagan model where you have to pay
off the gods so they don't kick your ass. He got his job by defeating
Tiamat and her servants, a triumph of Order over Chaos."
I got the feeling she didn't know any more than Dan did, unfortunately.
"I suppose the Babylonians would have claimed he built their city?"
"Actually, they asserted Sargon of Akkad built it. Marduk stole the
title of builder of the first city from Enki, who originally was said to
have created Eridu, the first city. Which actually is not as old as, say,
Jericho, or a few other neolithic cities," Aunt Midori said. She ushered me
over to a bench. "Much as I would love to talk about this until the sun
comes up, why are you suddenly curious about Babylonian mythology?" She
sounded very confused.
Aunt Midori cannot lie worth a damn. So I knew she couldn't have read
the Namcub of the Crystal Princess. Or whatever that thing was. Or else
she'd almost certainly know, as we knew she'd been in that cave. But if
she'd been in that cave, how could she NOT have read it?
For that matter, what did the sign on Kasumi signify? Was she a battle
princess now?
"I had a really weird dream," I told her. "So was he a good god or a
bad one?"
"It's hard to label ancient gods. Most did some really good things and
some terrible things. Marduk defeated the Queen of Chaos and protected
humanity from monsters and evil, but he expected to be paid in sacrifice or
he would stomp you flat. So I guess it was a case of suffer a little pain
to avoid a lot worse pain. Depends on if you think safety or freedom is
more important, since he was an absolute monarch."
Aunt Midori looked up at the sky. "There." She pointed up at the sky.
I could see something where she pointed, but I don't know much
astronomy. "What's that?"
"Jupiter. Zeus and Marduk were both associated with it by their
cultures and of course, Jupiter is the god the Romans thought equivalent to
Zeus. The Babylonians called it Nibiru. Marduk was said to have ordered
the heavens, creating constellations for the major gods and taking the
'wandering star' Nibiru for himself. And the Constellation of Draco
commemorated his great enemy Tiamat," Aunt Midori said. "Draco...
Draco..." She began searching the skies. "There we go. Next to the Big
Dipper."
"I'm surprised they thought he'd put up a memorial to his enemy," I told
her.
"She was an enemy, but it was a way of exerting power over her too, to
keep her subdued. He made the world out of her and her army, according to
myth," Aunt Midori said. "So you dreamed about Marduk?" she asked me.
"Very strange, yeah," I told her. Dare I risk using the word 'Namcub',
I wondered. Her suspicions weren't up, but what if I raised them by that?
If they... they'd have to know the word, right? Or could you somehow...
contract... with whatever without having to know it?
It couldn't just be any prayer, either, or the world would be overrun
with people with powers like Kasumi's. So there had to be limits. But what
kind?
They had to have been waiting for this to happen. But why not tell us?
I was starting to repeat myself, never a good sign.
"Aunt Midori, I..."
And then Aunt Akane came out of the woods, carrying Mitsu-san over one
shoulder; they were both covered in bits of leaf and dirt and a few bits of
branch clung to them. "Mitsu-san?" I said in disbelief.
"Hello, Tate-san," Mitsu mumbled, sounding utterly drained and
exhausted. "Is Shun-san okay?"
"He's fine," I said, coming over with Aunt Midori, who picked up
Mitsu-san while I began brushing her off and Aunt Akane brushed herself
off. I noticed she had her tonfas tucked half in and half out of her
purse. "What are you doing here?"
"I just had this terrible feeling that something terrible was going to
happen to you all and it's my duty to help watch over everyone so..." She
sounded like she'd been running for hours.
But if she'd run here, she would still be somewhere in the countryside,
unless she can run dozens of miles an hour. Though if she took a bus to the
city, then tried to walk out here...
"It's okay," Aunt Midori said. "No need to justify yourselves to us.
Crystal, come help me," she said.
I went in and helped get a futon and laid Mitsu down next to Erica, who
I now discovered had brought Babar with her and was hugging him in her
sleep; it was very cute.
I then snuck out with Aunt Midori and found Aunt Akane had come inside
and gone to get herself some water. "What happened?" I asked.
"She took the bus out here, then tried to find the shrine. Then when
she finally found it after wandering the woods forever, I spotted her hiding
and watching and I spooked her and she ran and I had to chase her forever,"
Aunt Akane said.
She was hiding something, I had a feeling. She wasn't making eye
contact. But what? "She really has it bad for him."
"Him being Shun?" Aunt Akane asked. The sense of hiding something was
gone. Probably I was being stupidly paranoid.
"Yes," I said, then yawned. "Ugh, I just can't seem to sleep but I'm
tired and want to."
"Here, come and have some blackberry tea," Aunt Akane said. "It will
help you sleep."
In fact, it helped me sleep so much I think I fell out of my chair,
though when I woke up, I was in bed with the other girls, except Mitsu was
gone; I saw signs of her previous presence, though.
I got up and wandered to the kitchen where Uncle Professor and
Great-Grandfather Munakata were making breakfast. Smelled like hash browns,
ham, some trout, rice, and scambled eggs. Yum. It'll probably kill us by
fifty, but what a good way to go.
"Where's my aunts?" I asked.
"Bathing with Mitsu-san," Uncle Professor said.
"Can you help us cook?" Great-Grandfather Munakata asked.
"Sure," I said, and they put me to work fixing fruit, which I was
content to do. "I hope Mitsu-san isn't going to get in trouble again; I get
the impression her parents came down hard on her."
"Harada-san told us that fortunately, the appropriate paperwork to come
on the trip was filed for her two days before you left and it's properly
chaperoned by two of the school staff, so she won't be in trouble at all;
she'll actually get some credit for this," Great-Grandfather Munakata said
as he fried eggs on a skillet.
"..."
"I understand you'll all be going to town today to conduct a photography
project," Uncle Professor said. "And she'll be critiquing your work.
Chie-san, that is."
No doubt intended to keep us unable to get in trouble. But that's okay,
I could use some extra credit and some photography advice. And it'll save
Mitsu-san's ass, which is nice.
"You coming with us?"
"I'm going to laze around uselessly and trade stories with
Munakata-san," Uncle Professor said, stirring the pork. "So tell me about
this piece of shit..."
"This unfortunate lad," Great-Grandfather Munakata cut in.
"This piece of shit unfortunate lad who attacked my son."
I was still ranting when Mitsu-san came in, wearing some of Aunt
Midori's clothing, which was too big for her. She wasn't wearing her
glasses for once and she looked... even happier than when she and Shun flirt
with each other when they're supposed to be working. She looked bright and
cheerful like she had no worries in all the universe. Her soft brown eyes,
which I now realized are the same color as Aunt Akane's, were virtually
shining with life for once.
I had to envy her that.
"Thank you," she was saying to Aunt Midori.
Aunt Midori affectionately ruffled her hair and Mitsu-san blushed
slightly, then retucked her shirt into the shorts she was wearing. "We take
care of our own. Want me to sucker punch Shun so you can just drag him
off?"
Mitsu-san blushed more. "You're such a tease, Suguira-san."
"You could just go climb into his bed; I bet he's still malingering," I
teased her myself.
She looked like we'd boiled her now. She had her hands on the side of
her face and squealed slightly. "Now you're teasing me too."
Aunt Akane walked in. "I can he... oh, hi, Crystal. I was going to
come help, but I see you have it in hand." She looked at Mitsu-san.
"Kagami-san, you look like you could use some fresh air. Why don't I show
you around?"
"I should help Tate-san cook," Mitsu-san said.
"It's okay," I said. "You take a tour. It's my turn to cook."
"Okay, Tate-san," she said.
"Come on, Kagami-san," Aunt Akane said. "And you can call me Akane-san,
if you like."
Holy shit, what the hell happened in the woods with them? Had they ever
even met before this?
"I shouldn't be so informal with you, Kurauchi-sama," Mitsu-san said,
starting to go with her.
-sama??? What the hell happened?
"So, where can I pitch in?" Aunt Midori asked. "I could eat a horse."
"Can you punch out a bull and make some steaks?" Uncle Professor asked
as Mitsu-san and Aunt Akane vanished out the door.
"No, but..."
"Make us some lemonade," Great-Grandfather Munakata said, thus saving us
from Aunt Midori's cooking. As even she can't screw that up.
I hope.
After a while, Shun drifted in. "Man, I must be half-asleep," he said,
still drying his hair.
"What?" I asked.
"I could have sworn I heard Mitsu-san talking to Aunt Akane," he said.
"She was worried about you and came all the way here to make sure you
were okay," I said, folding my arms across my chest.
"..."
Dan came in. "Hah! I told you it had to be her. We couldn't both
hallucinate the same thing." He had clearly just taken a bath.
"She... but how..."
"She used deep, powerful magic," Aunt Midori said.
"What??"
"The magic called... train and bus," Uncle Professor said.
"Holy shit, that's some determination," Dan said. "I'm pretty sure
she's allowed to send you to Hokkaido to wrestle a bear and steal its salmon
now."
"She really came," Shun mumbled.
"Go set the table," Great-Grandfather Munakata said. "Then we can
prepare for your ritual suicide." He was clearly teasing.
"Yes, sir, Great-Grandfather," Shun mumbled then stumbled out.
"The girls are in the baths," Dan said. "Crystal, why don't you go
bathe and I'll finish helping here?"
"Thanks!" I said and ran off to bathe.
I was soon naked and scrubbing myself; Erica and Kasumi were already in
the hot water, but Natasha was working on her long hair, so I helped her
out. "Did you hear?" Erica asked. "Mitsu-san is here."
"Yeah, I know. I'm stunned," I said. "That's dedication. If Shun
fucks this up, we're going to have to beat him up."
"Most definitely," Natasha said, working on the rest of her body as I
did her hair.
"Mother seems very fond of her," Kasumi said.
"Yeah, she actually invited Mitsu-san to call her 'Akane-san'."
Kasumi stared at me.
"Daaaamn," Natasha said. "Did she die of embarrassment?"
"Yes."
"Mother took her in to bathe with our aunts, too," Kasumi said.
There was a sudden silence.
"If I bathe with any of our elders, they may notice my... tattoo,"
Kasumi said slowly. She ran her fingers around it slowly, studying it
nervously.
"Yeah, but how can you hide it?" I asked, finishing Natasha's hair.
"I don't know, but we'll need something, though once we go back to
school, it may be a good while before they have a chance to see it," Natasha
said.
Erica looked thoughtful but silent.
"My running team! We shower together. Aaargh," Kasumi said.
"We'll figure out something," I said. "We've got a lot to look into.
And if we can somehow sneak out and scout out the ruins of Primus tonight
before we have to go back..."
"I think it's too far for us to sneak," Erica said. "But Kasumi could
probably fly there."
"Is it safe for her to go alone?" I asked.
"Which one of us is a monster-slayer now?" Erica asked.
I grumbled and began washing myself as Natasha rinsed off and got in the
hot water.
"I'm sorry," Kasumi said.
"It's okay." Though if we stay away from anything dangerous... well, we
don't know if it's danger or something else that triggers the powers. Or if
it's a good idea to want them. They seem to have a cost, but what is it?
Whatever it is, it's not obvious yet.
Which worries me.
*************
Kasumi's Tale:
We all got cleaned up and went to eat breakfast. Shun looked like he
might suddenly explode or run screaming at any moment. I wasn't sure why;
everyone else was perfectly relaxed. I'd already been eating a little while
when Mother and Mitsu-san came in; I could see Mitsu-san was wearing a pink
t-shirt and blue shorts borrowed from Aunt Midori. They were too big for
her.
"Hello, Mitsu-san," I said, smiling. "Hello, Mother."
A tide of greetings flowed in, leaving Mitsu-san looking rather
embarrassed.
She came over to Shun, who was very fixedly trying to eat and looked
wobbly. "Shun-san," she said. It suddenly struck me that she always uses
his first name.
"Hi, Mitsu-san," Shun said, not looking up and sounding oddly nervous.
She leaned down close to him, then suddenly kissed his cheek and ran
away around the table to find a seat. This triggered a general wave of
applause and hooting that caused Shun to fall backwards, looking stunned and
Mitsu-san to look ready to die. But when she sat down between Mother and
Dan on the far side from Shun, she said, "You're so cute when you get
flustered," then smiled at him brightly.
More laughter ensued, while Shun laid there looking half-dead and frozen
up. Finally, Aunt Chie and Erica both snapped pictures of him and he sat
up.
"Harada-san, thank you very much for helping me out," Mitsu-san said to
her.
"It's okay, Mitsu-san," Aunt Chie said. "Taking care of students is
part of my job." She idly twirled her own rose ring.
"Chie-san is very clever, Kagami-san," Mother said. "As you will
learn."
Shun mumbled into his food, stuffing ham and hash browns into his mouth
and chewing rather loudly.
"Well, kids, we're going to have more fun than you can possibly stand.
We're going to take enough photos for a small army and I'll show you all our
old haunts, including where Akane-san, Midori-sensei, Mai-san, and Miyu-san
all were waitresses together in our school days," Aunt Chie said.
"And where I met Kazu-kun," Mother said. She whispered something to
Mitsu-san which made her eyes cross.
"I met a lot of boyfriends at Linden Baum myself," Aunt Shiho said. "We
can see about getting Crystal one there."
Crystal laughed. "Auntie, a boyfriend this far from school wouldn't do
me much good."
"True," Aunt Shiho said.
We eventually finished breakfast and headed into town, though Uncle
Professor stayed with Great-Grandfather Munakata. Aunt Midori pointed out
points of interest as we drove down to town; we had to ride around a while
until Aunt Midori found somewhere for us to park long-term, then we headed
out into the city, finding good places to take photos.
Mitsu-san had put her glasses back on, and Mother posed a lot of shots
with myself, Mitsu-san, and herself for the others to take, along with
encouraging Shun and Mitsu-san to pose together. I could tell that Shun
seemed kind of out of it, though.
Eventually, I took advantage of our lunch break to pull him aside. "Are
you okay, Shun?" I asked. "Are you... I mean... You're not mad at
Mitsu-san, are you?"
He took a deep breath. "I don't know how... I mean..." He stared at
the ground. "She really, really likes me."
"You've had girlfriends before," I told him.
"It was all for fun, none of it was really serious," he said, staring at
the ground. "I don't do serious well. I'm a joker, not a... serious
person. I don't want to hurt her."
"Shun, do you like her?" I asked.
"Yes, but... I can't... I think her feelings are a lot stronger than
mine and I don't... I don't want to fuck this up and hurt her. She has a
pretty rough life and shitty parents," he said. "They're going to hate me
with the blazing atomic hate of 5000 suns."
"Just give her a chance. Be yourself. That's the person she likes. I
think she's too happy to even realize right now, but I'm sure she wouldn't
want to worry you."
"I keep wondering what made her so happy," Shun said.
"Best not to question happiness; it's fragile enough," I told him.
"Just calm down, relax, be yourself, flirt a little. You don't have to rush
it, just be good to her and give it a chance."
"The fact that everyone is rooting for us so hard is kind of confusing
to me, too," he said. "Usually the folks hate all my girlfriends."
"Well, your parents, like mine, were first loves. And I think they're
both a little disappointed in us we didn't get it right the first time. I
know I totally was." I sighed, glancing inside at everyone eating.
"I think your mother is contemplating assassinating Mitsu-san's parents
and just taking her to adopt her," Shun said.
"..."
"Okay, I exaggerate, but they just... Don't they look like your mother
looks when she's doting on you?"
I couldn't quite tell as I've never observed myself and my mother from a
distance at the same time, but they certainly seemed to have bonded
extremely quickly. I was a little jealous. But only a little. I'm not that
petty. Usually, anyway.
And after everything Mitsu-san told me, I couldn't begrudge her some
time with Mother.
"It's fine. She needs some love," I said, looking at him meaningfully.
"Everyone needs love, but it's not always good for us," Aunt Fumi
said, causing both of us to jump into the air.
She smiled at us, wearing a very nice red and black suit dress with her
hair elaborately done up as usual. "It can make us into monsters as well as
angels, unfortunately." She sighed, then patted our shoulders. "It is good
to see you again, Shun-san, Kasumi-san. You're both growing up so fast."
I hugged her tightly and Shun patted her back. "We have to introduce
you to Mitsu-san," I said. "She's one of our classmates."
Shun mumbled incoherently.
"Should we go in?" Aunt Fumi asked.
"We're done talking, so yes," I said.
We went inside and got hit by a wall of hellos, to which Aunt Fumi
replied courteously to everyone. She got a chair and some food and joined
us.
We gossiped and teased each other while the adults caught up with Aunt
Fumi. To my surprise, after talking to Erica-san for a little while, she
stole Mitsu-san for a private conversation while the rest of us went back to
photo-taking.
After an hour or so they rejoined us; Aunt Fumi looked very thoughtful,
and Mitsu-san was, if anything, even more cheerful than before.
"Why don't we do some photography on campus?" Aunt Fumi said.
"Oooh, I want to see if it still looks like Aunt Yukino's VR game,"
Natasha said.
It suddenly hit me that I had fought something in the game similar to
what I'd fought to save everyone. But surely Aunt Yukino couldn't... but I
even had the same power, just no Horus, in the game. And my tonfas weren't
quite the same in the game. Still, close enough to...
I shook my head. There was no way Aunt Yukino would send monsters just
to awaken my abilities.
You know, if the adults in our family are the Battle Princesses, then
Aunt Haruka must be one of the strongest. She fights so well and so
bravely.
I wish I could tell Aunt Miyu, I thought. She'd be proud of me.
We were on our way back to where the cars were parked when we started to
hear four men singing in the distance. Aunt Fumi blinked, and our Aunts all
cocked their heads. Then Aunt Chie said, "Is that the Fuuka Fight Song?"
"The real question is whether or not that's Ishida-san singing the Fuuka
Fight Song," Aunt Aoi said grinning and looking at Aunt Chie in a teasing
way.
To my surprise, Crystal said, "I think I do hear Ishida-san," causing
Aunt Chie to stare at her in utter surprise, then hide behind me.
"Auntie?" I asked in confusion.
"I am not here," she hissed into my ear.
"Hey, Ishida-san, is that you?" Aunt Midori shouted.
Four middle-aged men came around the corner; three of them were balding,
in jeans and very old-looking t-shirts, while the fourth had long hair,
slacks, and a white-knit shirt. They were all carrying tennis gear, one of
them bouncing a ball on his racket. Three of them were singing the song -
whatever it is - very loudly, while the fourth one looked ready to die of
embarrassment.
The first of the balding men waved to us. "Suguira-sensei, Tate-san,
good to see you again!"
We all stared at Crystal; how did she know some balding middle-aged guy
in Fuuka Town???
Crystal waved as if this was perfectly normal.
"Senoh-san! Kurauchi-san! Good to see you both again!" the second man
said.
"Hello, Kajima-san," Mother said. "I see you kept up with your tennis."
"Yeah, Ishida-san just called us up out of the blue for a game, so we're
on our way over to the courts for a game or three," Kajima-san said.
"This is my daughter Kasumi," Mother said, pulling me up.
I bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kajima-san."
Mother introduced me to all four; the other two were Hajime and Ieyasu.
Pretty soon, a massive storm of introductions ensued with Aunt Chie doing
her best to hide behind all of us.
"I'm kind of surprised to see you without Harada-san," Ishida said to
Aunt Aoi.
"Oh, we got married," Aunt Aoi said. RING FLASH. "But she had a major
fit of cowardice and ran off to hide from someone she hasn't seen in twenty
years." Her voice was very cheerful despite the barbed comment.
"Oh man, who would scare her that much?" Ishida said. "She always
struck me as someone afraid of no one."
His three male friends rubbed their foreheads nervously in unison.
"So you two got married?" Ishida asked ruefully.
"Yes. This is our daughter Erica," Aunt Aoi said, pulling her up. "I'm
the school nurse at Rosewood where she attends."
"She's very smart like Aunt Chie," Crystal said, then paused. "I mean,
not to say Aunt Aoi isn't smart..."
"It's okay," Aunt Aoi said. "I'm not as smart but definitely braver."
Aunt Chie had her hand over her mouth but looked like she was just ready
to die now as she hid behind us.
"That's too bad she's not here," Ishida-san said. "Well, I hope you two
will be very happy together." He turned to the others. "We'd better get
going so we still have time to play."
Crystal gave him a thumbs-up for some reason, then said, "We'll see if
we can roust out Aunt Chie from her special safety place to come round and
say hello to you later."
"Thanks, Tate-san. Say hello to your folks for me," Ishida said.
"I will!"
They moved on and so did we. Aunt Midori now said to Aunt Chie, "You do
realize that unless he's gone blind, he almost certainly saw you."
Aunt Chie mumbled into her hand until Aunt Aoi pulled it loose. "I just
was hoping to never see him again."
"Why are you so afraid of this man?" Dan asked curiously.
"It's just... he was totally obsessed with me senior year. I just
reached the point where I couldn't deal with him any more." She glanced
back down the road. "Of course, it didn't help when Aoi kept 'accidentally'
revealing me." She stared over at Aoi, who laughed.
"It's for your own good, dear. You have to face your fears to overcome
them."
"Amen to that," Mother said firmly, and Mitsu-san nodded in virtual
unison.
I wondered again what had happened last night.
"How do you know Ishida-san, Crystal?" Aunt Chie asked her curiously.
"We met at one of his gas stations on the way to here," Crystal said.
"He really doesn't seem obsessive; he didn't even mention you."
"Funny how someone might move on after twenty years," Aunt Aoi said,
glancing at Aunt Chie, who mumbled into her hand again.
Aunt Chie decided to mope the rest of the way to the car and was still
moping when we reached the campus.
"This place looks a lot better well-lit," Crystal said, looking around.
It looked totally like the VR reconstruction Aunt Yukino had done of
it. It's an incredibly beautiful campus. Students milled about everywhere,
though they didn't have to wear their uniforms on an off day, so everyone
was in civilian clothing.
We headed for the domed building first, following Aunt Fumi's lead.
Inside, we found Father, Aunt Mikoto, and my brothers. Aunt Mikoto was
trying to show my brothers how to tie ribbons to the railing around the
giant well, while Father was having a discussion with a middle aged black
haired man in a kendo outfit.
"I'm kind of stunned you two of all people got married. But your boys
look very healthy and strong for their age," the black haired man said,
apparently oblivious to our approach.
"I make sure they get lots of exercise so they'll grow up big and
strong," Mikoto said cheerfully, then turned to Katsuhito. "No, you do the
knot like this."
I could see Keiichi was busy tying his hand to the railing.
Mother stared at the kendo man and Father, eyes wide, while Aunt Midori
began to laugh.
"No, no, we're not married," Father said frantically. "I married
Akane. Who I'm not sure if you remember her, but..."
"You married Akane but you have two children by Minagi-san??? What kind
of man are you?" the angry middle-aged man said, hand on his sword. "I
ought to smite you in Heaven's name!"
Aunt Fumi strode forward. "There will be no smiting, Takeda-san," she
said firmly. "Mikoto-chan is just helping to babysit the kids. They're not
hers."
"I wouldn't mind, though," Aunt Mikoto said, not helping at all.
"Aunt Mikoto is the greatest!" Katsuhito said.
"Help, the railing attacked me!" Keiichi said.
Mother now ran forward. "Hello, Takeda-san," she said, then started
untying Keiichi. "Don't take yourself hostage, dear," she said to him.
"What brings you here?"
"I teach here," he said proudly. "We've been national champions three
years in a row!"
The rest of us now milled forwards. "Hello, Takeda-san," Aunt Shiho
said. "I'll make sure to tell Yuuichi-kun that."
Takeda stared at her; he looked old enough almost to be her father.
"Shiho-chan, is that you?" he said in disbelief.
"It's me, all grown up," she said, grinning, clearly enjoying having an
impact on him.
Another wave of introductions ensued, and Crystal said, "It's a pleasure
to meet you, Takeda-san. Father still talks about you sometimes."
"I'm glad to know that. Have you studied any Kendo?"
Aunt Mikoto grinned. "She and Natasha are geniuses with a blade. I'm
very proud of them."
"Let's spar like in the old days, Takeda-san!" Aunt Mikoto said
enthusiastically.
"You really haven't changed a bit," he said a little ruefully. "But how
can I refuse a challenge from an old friend? Come! I will show you the
honor of Fuuka Kendo!"
We soon ended up in the Kendo Hall, though I noticed Aunt Midori and
Mitsu-san stayed behind in the well room at first, though they soon caught
up to us. Takeda-san was a really top notch fighter, especially for a man
his age. I wasn't sure if Aunt Mikoto was really going all-out, though.
I've seen her faster than this. She was winning, but he was giving her a
very good fight. Some of his students had been here practicing, but they
were now staring in awe.
"What brings you here, Father?" I asked him as Aunt Mikoto slid under a
blow.
"Fumi-san called and asked us to come join you. I think she has a
surprise planned."
"Kick him in the balls, Auntie!" Katsuhito yelled.
Father rubbed his forehead, and Mother said, "You shouldn't say things
like that, Katsuhito."
"Okay, I'll get Keiichi to say them," Katsuhito said.
I laughed softly. "This is an honorable fight where no one kicks each
other in the groin, brother," I told him.
"Oh, a boring fight with rules," he said.
I wasn't sure what to say about that.
"Only nasty people fight with no rules," Mother said to Katsuhito.
"That's why nasty people win," Katsuhito said.
"That's not true at all," Mitsu-san said. "If we fight without rules,
we become monsters."
"And if you do, monsters eat you," Katsuhito said sagely.
Keiichi was trying to fish around under the bleachers; I pulled him out
before he could get stuck.
"An honorable warrior will always triumph over a monster," Mitsu-san
said firmly to Katsuhito.
"Whether you win or you lose a fight, if you fight honorably, you have
the right to be satisfied," Mother said. "If you win by cheating, you
become as filthy as your foe."
"But you still win," Aunt Shiho said. "Would you rather see something
eat Katsuhito than fight dirty, Akane?"
Mother looked mortified. "I wouldn't let anything eat my son!"
"Aunt Mikoto would save me when Mommy gets eaten, but I'd cry for
Mommy," Katsuhito said.
"Big sis, let go of me, I think I see candy down there," Keiichi said,
squirming.
"Be respectful of your mother," Father snapped at Katsuhito.
"You should have more faith in Mother," I told them.
"But we're not supposed to worship Mommy," Katsuhito said, confused.
I rubbed my forehead, while Dan laughed, then put his hand over his
mouth.
"Your father and I will always protect you, dear," Mother said to
Katsuhito, picking him up and putting him in her lap.
Aunt Mikoto now laughed cheerfully as she knocked Takeda-sensei's sword
into the air, then tagged his shoulder and caught the falling sword with one
hand.
"You're even better than you used to be," Takeda-sensei said ruefully.
"You're better too!" Aunt Mikoto said. "Let's do it again!"
They started going at each other with swords again.
"See, Aunt Mikoto's a super-badass. She'll save us all while you save
us from being killed by Aunt Mikoto's cooking," Katsuhito said to Mother. I
suppose this is what passes for trying to be concilliatory with him.
"Let go of me!" Keiichi said.
I tangled him in my arms. "You'll get your head stuck again," I told
him.
"I saw candy!"
"You should respect your mother," Mitsu-san said sharply to Katsuhito.
He stared at her, then said, "Make me!" and stuck his tongue out at her.
"Nyaaah!" Keiichi stuck out his tongue at Mitsu-san; her glasses now
seemed to almost glow and you couldn't see her eyes, just reflected light.
I looked over at Mother, who was pretty clearly angry with them. For a
moment, I was worried she'd say something like 'Fine, you can go live with
your Aunt Mikoto.' Or spank them. Mother and Father never spanked me, and I
don't think it's a good way to discipline kids. I came out fine without
it. But my brothers are worse behaved than I ever was, and out here where
there's no way to make them go to the corner or to take away the toys they
didn't bring with them, I didn't know what they'd do.
I had to do something.
Before I could quite figure out what to do, Shun stood up in front of us
and pulled some candy out of his pocket and waved it in the air in front of
my brothers. "Loook... candy..." he said in a slow, droning voice.
My brothers stared at it, then tried to rush the candy. However I held
Keiichi quite firmly and Mother restrained Katsuhito. Which wasn't easy;
you wouldn't believe how hard a boy who wants candy can wiggle.
Distantly, I could see Takeda-san was breathing hard, but he managed to
bat Aunt Mikoto's sword aside and tag her shoulder. His students cheered
and Aunt Mikoto laughed happily.
Shun then turned and handed it all to Mitsu-san. "Because she's nice
and you're not, she gets the candy and you get NOTHING."
My brothers both looked like they'd been punched in the gut, while
Mitsu-san smiled a goofy smile.
"No, I'm not bad!" Keiichi wailed.
"You're a bad boy who insults his parents and their guest and so is your
brother," Shun said firmly. "Come on, Mitsu-san, let's eat all the candy
and not give them any."
My brothers were still wailing and flailing when Aunt Mikoto finished
the match and Takeda-san had to sit down, plopping down by Aunt Shiho; they
began trading info about people they knew from school.
Aunt Mikoto bounced over to us. "Anyone else want to play? Anyone?"
Aunt Fumi checked her watch, tapped her earring, frowned slightly, but
then perked back up. "I will."
I stared. Aunt Fumi was going to swordfight Aunt Mikoto?
"You will?" Aunt Mikoto asked, then she smiled. "Wow, this is my lucky
day!"
I could see Natasha's jaw drop and Crystal stared. Dan was talking to
Aunt Chie and didn't seem to be paying attention, Erica looked curious, and
Shun was completely focused on Mitsu-san and candy at the moment.
Aunt Fumi sent a runner to her office who soon returned with... a wooden
scythe? She keeps a wooden scythe in her office???
Aunt Mikoto grinned. "It's been a long time, Fumi-san."
"I don't have a spoon, so this should be a fair fight," Aunt Fumi said,
smiling, and Aunt Mikoto looked rueful, which for her, is rare.
Then they charged, giant wooden scythe against sword, dancing about each
other and jumping over, around, and under each other. I could see how much
Aunt Mikoto had been holding back before; she'd been holding to the rules of
Kendo, but this was more like a martial arts movie fight where anything
went.
Pretty soon, more students were showing up and I could see observers
calling their friends. Takeda and his students were cheering for Aunt Fumi;
I cheered for Aunt Mikoto and my brothers kept shouting things like "FINISH
HER!"
Aunt Mikoto tried to sweep Fumi's legs after ducking under a broad
scythe sweep, but Aunt Fumi simply jumped up, back flipping and using her
superior reach to tag Aunt Mikoto in the shoulder. "One."
Holy cow, I'd never seen ANYONE get the first blow in on Aunt Mikoto.
"Hah hahahaha! Nice one!" Aunt Mikoto said, then charged, battering the
scythe aside and forcing Aunt Fumi back, round and round the room in a
circle, moving at high speed. Until Aunt Fumi reversed the scythe and
struck Aunt Mikoto in the side while she was recovering from having an
earlier blow parried.
Aunt Mikoto now ducked under the follow up and struck Aunt Fumi in the
legs. "One!" she said determinedly.
At this point, I saw Aunt Yukariko, wearing a long red dress and a
silver chain in her hair, ringing her head, coming our way, followed by
Uncle Wateru and... Cousin Shinichiro! I haven't seen him in FOREVER.
Uncle Wateru and Cousin Shinichiro were carrying large brown leather cases
that looked basically identical. Aunt Yukariko looked worried and when she
arrived, she said to Mother, "What on Earth is going on?"
Aunt Fumi now jumped over Aunt Mikoto and tried to smack her in the butt
with her scythe, but Aunt Mikoto jumped over the blow and spun to land a
solid blow on Aunt Fumi's shoulder. "Two!"
It was hard for me to hear anything with so many students shouting.
"Sister Yukariko!" Mother said, now finally smiling again. "What brings
you way out here?"
"Fumi-san called us yesterday and asked us to come down so my husband
and my dear son could paint you all," Aunt Yukariko said.
"She was very insistent," Shinichiro said. "Fortunately, I have
weekends off." He laughed nervously. Shinichiro has dark black hair like
his father, and blue eyes like his mother; he's very skinny and kind of cute
but not really what you'd call handsome. Like his father, he wears glasses,
and I now guessed he and his father were carrying some kind of painting
kit. His father was in a suit, while he was wearing a knit blue shirt and
jeans.
"Oh wow, Shinichiro came out of hiding!" Aunt Midori said.
A general chorus of greetings ensued, which clearly embarrassed him a
little. Shinichiro is oddly shy, given how outgoing his parents are. His
dad only gets shy when Yukariko is affectionate to him in public, which is
admittedly often.
"I haven't been back here in ages," Uncle Wataru said.
"Or I," Aunt Yukariko confessed. "Why are they fighting?"
"Aunt Fumi volunteered to play with Aunt Mikoto," I said.
"Oh, okay." Aunt Yukariko relaxed.
Aunt Mikoto finally tagged Aunt Fumi a third time, and then we all got
dragged to the gardens around Aunt Fumi's house, which are beautiful. Uncle
Wateru and Cousin Shinichiro lined us all up on some benches and then we had
to sit still for a long time while they painted on a huge canvas.
"We should have just invited everyone and had a really gigantic family
portrait," Crystal said.
"Well, this isn't exactly a family portrait; it's a portrait of everyone
on your trip, which is why Mitsu-san is in it, but neither I nor my husband
nor my son is in it," Aunt Yukariko said.
That made sense.
But why not just take a picture? It would be a lot faster.
"Is Aunt Nao coming?" Crystal asked.
"And Aunt Miyu and Aunt Alyssa?" I asked.
Aunt Yukariko looked at me curiously a moment, then said, "At least in
theory, yes."
"In theory?"
"They ought to be here by now," Aunt Yukariko said.
"I'm sure they're fine," Aunt Fumi said. She was sitting on another
bench, working on a laptop while the painting went on.
"Are we keeping you from your work?" Mitsu-san asked, worried.
"It's fine," Aunt Fumi said.
Aunt Mikoto squirmed. "This is so slow," she grumbled.
Shinichiro said, "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize," Uncle Wataru said. "This is slow but it's also
special, unlike a photograph."
"Hey, photographs can be special too!" Aunt Chie protested.
The ensuing argument seemed to last 3 million years; during that time, I
could see a helicopter flying back and forth around the school, as if it was
lost. How strange.
Eventually, however, it landed and Aunt Yukino and Aunt Haruka stepped
out. "Hello, everyone!" Aunt Haruka said, striding over. "Campus is
looking good, Headmistress Fumi-san," she said to Fumi.
"Thank you," Aunt Fumi said. "Can I get you two to help me bring
something out?"
They left; we were still being painted when they returned with several
covered trays and some tables, followed by a lot of tea.
Once the painting was done, we feasted on cookies and tea. Aunt Fumi's
cookies are just incredible. Aunt Fumi's cookies are just incredible. I ate
way too many, and had to help Mother and Father keep my brothers from
totally glutting on them.
Aunt Nao, Aunt Miyu, and Aunt Alyssa, all in full regalia, unlike Aunt
Yukariko, now arrived. "Hello, everyone," Nao said, grabbing some cookies.
Aunt Miyu said, "Good day, everyone," then got herself and Alyssa some
tea.
Aunt Alyssa grabbed several cookies, then choked on the first one as she
turned to greet us. Erica darted forwards, grabbed her, and pounded on her
back, causing her to cough up the cookie.
"Very good, daughter," Aunt Aoi said, smiling.
"Thank you," Aunt Alyssa mumbled.
"Anyone else coming?" Dan asked as Crystal went to talk to Aunt Nao.
"In theory, everyone," Aunt Fumi said. "I have prepared a formal dinner
for everyone."
I hope she didn't have to cook it all herself.
The rest of our family drifted in gradually as we moved in an ever
growing mob around campus, taking pictures and getting instructed by Aunt
Chie on photography while the adults gossiped and reminisced about old
times. I expect Crystal probably tried to spy on everyone at once, but I was
mainly focused on the photography. I really wanted to talk to Aunt Miyu,
though I didn't know what to say, given I couldn't tell her everything.
I do have to wonder what the students made of us.
Finally, we ended up sitting around the garden while some of the parents
helped get everything ready to serve. To my good fortune, Aunt Miyu was
sitting quietly by herself, sipping tea and watching the campus, while Aunt
Alyssa was inside helping to set up.
"You busy?" I asked Aunt Miyu nervously.
She studied me for a moment, then patted the chair next to hers which
Aunt Alyssa had abandoned.
I sat down beside her. "Aunt Miyu, I... I've been trying to get
stronger, like I promised. I think I've had some success."
"You should speak more firmly, instead of hedging it all with 'trying'
and 'I think'," Aunt Miyu said. "Your language conveys weakness."
"..."
"This is why your brothers fail to respect your parents; they are too
gentle and don't convey strength," Aunt Miyu continued.
"..." Did she know about the earlier incident?
"I have made a suggestion to your Mother about that, but I do not know
if she will follow it." Aunt Miyu sipped her tea.
I sipped my own nervously, afraid to ask what it might be. I really,
really wanted to tell her about my new abilities, but I had promised to keep
quiet and I knew she would tell everyone. Or I assumed.
How am I going to hide this tattoo, anyway???
"I have heard about you training with your mother and your Aunt Shiho
and Natasha. I think it's a very good idea for all of you," Aunt Miyu
said. "I hope it's not hurting your studies, though."
"It's hard for me to do this and track and my homework, but I'm okay so
far. I go to bed tired a lot, though," I told her.
"It will help you to sleep soundly," Aunt Miyu said. "You run very
well."
"Thank you, Auntie."
"So what is it you really wish to talk about, but are not?" Aunt Miyu
asked.
I froze up. It's like she could see right through me. "I...
Auntie..."
She studied me in silence while I writhed. I knew she'd feel less
worried about me if I told her, but I couldn't tell her.
"Do not be afraid. God forgives us all our sins, if we but ask. But
you must ask," Aunt Miyu said.
"I haven't... sinned..." I said, squirming. I should have just waited. I
can't just...
"Everyone sins," Aunt Miyu said sadly. "We are all flawed, no matter
how we were made. And we often do not think of our sins as sins until it is
too late."
"I promised not to talk about it," I mumbled.
"So why did you approach me, then?" Aunt Miyu asked curiously.
"I just wanted to reassure you that I was following your advice," I
mumbled.
She reached over and took my hand, clasping it between two of hers.
"Thank you for trying to reassure me. Continue to do well and practice hard
and you will make me happy." As usual, this was all in a monotone; I could
see her trying to smile, but she's not good at it.
I suddenly remembered bathing with Aunt Alyssa and Aunt Miyu before...
they didn't have marks, but surely they were among the Battle Princesses...
so why did I have a mark and they didn't??? Or does it fade after a while
if you haven't used your abilities lately?
Then Aunt Alyssa came out with a pot and a ladle and began banging
away. "Dinner is served!"
So we headed inside.
*****************
Crystal's Tale:
I really wish I could tell Aunt Nao everything. I pulled her aside
before dinner to talk off in one corner of the garden, though I had the
problem I couldn't ask her any of the things I was most curious about. "You
have any idea why we're having this giant family dinner?"
"I think Fumi-san wanted to see everyone; you know she can't get away
from here often." I could tell Aunt Nao was being at least somewhat
evasive. "We don't get to do this so often. But with you all coming here
anyway, it made it easier," Aunt Nao said.
"Aunt Nao, do you have a sword on under your robes?" I asked, noticing
how the outfit gathered in one place.
"..."
I laughed a little.
"Yes," she said, embarrassed. "It's got a saint's finger worked into
it."
Why was Aunt Nao carrying a sword with a saint's finger in it??? "I..."
Aunt Nao looked around, then said, "Look, Crystal..."
I tensed, wondering what she was going to say.
"Look, I... I suppose you've never looked up my order."
Actually, I had. "The Magdalenes work with the poor and especially
protect women trapped in prostitution, right?" I asked. "Oh, I suppose
that's for self-defense if a pimp comes for you." Though if she is a battle
princess like Kasumi, what good is a sword with some dead guy's finger going
to do?
"We're exorcists. We get rid of things which aren't supposed to be in
this dimension. Your Aunt Midori and your Uncle Reito and Professor Sasaki
help out too sometimes." Aunt Nao looked around nervously.
Was she expecting something to attack? Or was this one of the things we
weren't supposed to be told?
It had to be. Being Battle Princesses would make dealing with that kind
of thing a LOT easier.
Oh man, what happened at Tallin... that had to be one of their cases.
And she probably joined the Order because of something that happened when
the monsters killed everyone at Primus Research. When our parents were in
school.
That's got to be how they all gained their powers, having to save the
school from the invading monsters. I shivered and Aunt Nao looked
mortified.
"Look, you're perfectly safe here and at school," Aunt Nao said. "I
never talked about this before since your mother was afraid you'd want to
come help."
I laughed nervously. "I guess I am an open book."
"Promise me you won't go rushing off into anything because I told you
this," Aunt Nao said. "And don't tell anyone. Or at least no one who will
blab to your Mom and thus cause trouble. I'd have told you a long time ago,
but..."
I had to ask. "Is Mother the head of this family?"
"Yes," Aunt Nao said. "She's not an absolute monarch, but she carries a
lot of weight with all of us." She stared at the ground. "Your mother is
the strongest of us, even if she refuses to admit it." Aunt Nao sounded
very frustrated. "This is all bullshit. We should have told you a long
time ago. Though I can also see..." Her hands were clenched.
I stepped up and put my hands on my shoulders, "It's okay, Aunt Nao. I
grew up with Mother and her endless quest for normality," I told her. "So
these monsters..."
"Can't live long in most places, but some places are very dangerous.
Crystal, promise me, if you encounter something... terrible... you'll run
away and call us to deal with it. I couldn't..." Aunt Nao was shivering.
"I wish I could arm you all, but this gear is for order members and lay
allies only. You're not old enough."
"I promise you I won't try to fight anything I can't handle," I told
her. I'm not that crazy.
I hope.
I took her hands and held them. "It's okay, Auntie."
She closed her eyes a few seconds and then she was back to normal. Or
faking it, anyway.
"Auntie, you trained to become a nun here at the chapel, right?" I
asked her.
"Yes," she said.
"Do you think you could show it to me after supper? I'd like to see
where you and Aunt Alyssa and Aunt Miyu all became nuns."
"Sister Yukariko will want to come too," Aunt Nao said.
"That's cool," I said.
Then Alyssa summoned us all to dinner.
It took a huge amount of space for us all; I was surprised Aunt Fumi had
enough tables and food, though I suppose Aunt Chie probably called her once
she figure out about our now completely not a secret at all trip.
So they knew about monsters but not the whole Marduk thing. And yet,
they had to be the Battle Princesses. So what was going on?
I glanced around the dining area at the gathered family. If Battle
Princesses really were all women, then Mom's generation had... Mom, Aunt
Mikoto, Aunt Nao, Aunt Miyu, Aunt Alyssa, Aunt Yukariko, Aunt Fumi, Aunt
Akira, Aunt Shiho, Aunt Akane, Aunt Chie, Aunt Aoi, Aunt Haruka, Aunt
Yukino, Aunt Midori, Aunt Natsuki, and Aunt Shizuru. Which meant... but I
have 17 aunts and there are only fifteen Battle Princesses plus Kasumi
now...
Adding uncles would make it even huger. So who had powers and who not?
I had to guess Aunt Midori, Aunt Miyu, Aunt Nao, Aunt Alyssa and Aunt
Yukariko if they went around deliberately seeking out monsters continually.
Though if Aunt Nao had to carry a sword...
Aunt Chie, Aunt Aoi, and Mom definitely. That's how they became aunts
and Aunt Nao gave away Mother was the strongest... so is she the Dragon
Princess? Maybe.
After watching Aunt Fumi fight, I suspect she has to be one and Aunt
Mikoto too.
But... what exactly does qualify for the family, though? If only some
have powers... or maybe it's just KNOWING about the powers...
Which means Aunt Chie and Aunt Aoi may just know about the secret... Or
maybe Aunt Chie has it and Aunt Aoi gets in by marriage, since Aunt Aoi
didn't go to the factory...
Wait, why didn't they call in the professional monster hunters for the
factory? Maybe to try to avoid giving it away to Aunt Chie...
I'm just tying myself into knots.
I glanced over and saw Mitsu-san and Shun flirting again as they ate
dinner, though Shun still seemed kind of flustered. Whereas, Mitsu-san had
his usual confidence, and was playing with his long hair and whispering to
him. For a moment, I wondered if they had somehow body-swapped with each
other.
Aunt Akira and Uncle Takumi now sat down opposite them. "Shun, won't
you introduce your friend to us?" Uncle Takumi asked.
Mitsu-san now turned red and froze up. Shun said, "This... I...
you..." He stuffed crab in his mouth and started chewing.
"That's an interesting name," Uncle Takumi teased.
Mitsu-san now rose up and bowed deeply to both of them. "I am Mitsu
Kagami, a member of the Rose Ring Club and a classmate of your son, Takumi
Shun. I am blood type A, I am 167 cm tall, I weigh 61 kilograms, my
measurements are 91-81-98, my favorite food is chicken, and my grade point
average is 3.96! It's a pleasure to meet you both!"
A few seconds later, she seemed to realize what she'd said and collapsed
in on herself like a black hole.
"She's very smart," Shun mumbled to his food.
Aunt Akira studied her curiously, while Uncle Takumi smiled at her.
"It's okay," he said. "I promise I won't bite."
"That is my job," Aunt Akira said, which only caused Mitsu-san to
unravel more.
"Mom, please don't scare Mitsu-san," Shun said.
Aunt Akira now plucked an ice cube from her drink and casually flicked
it at Shun to my total surprise. What the hell?
Mitsu-san lashed out and caught it as Shun stared in surprise. "You
shouldn't throw ice cubes at Shun-san," she said in a lecturing tone, then
suddenly shrank in on herself. "I mean, my parents never threw ice cubes at
me..." Finally, she stared at her food.
Aunt Akira said, "Nice catch, Mitsu-san."
Shun said, "Please don't throw ice at me, Mother."
Uncle Takumi looked at Aunt Akira, who looked back at him; I had to
wonder if all married couples can communicate like that or if it's special
to our family. Uncle Takumi said, "I'm sorry, Shun, Mitsu-san. So tell us
how you two met."
They drifted off into anecdote land, while I ate and watched the various
proceedings.
"Earth to Crystal," Dad said and I jumped, suddenly realizing my parents
had sat down opposite me. Aunt Mikoto seemed to be lecturing Keiichi and
Katsuhito, who definitely deserved a tongue lashing for being such little
bastards to their own parents.
Mind you, I could understand some of the sentiment, but even at my worst
moments, I wouldn't tell my parents something like that. "Those kids should
be glad I'm not their mother."
Mom said, "What? Oh, you mean Keiichi and Katsuhito?"
"How did two nice people like them produce evil little demons like
that?"
"Oh, boys are a real handful until they start to mature," Mother said.
"Just remember what they were like at age 4."
I've managed to blank most of that out, thank the gods.
"I was a handful myself when I was a kid," Dad said. "We're lucky you
weren't that bad, though," he continued.
Mom began breaking crab legs and picking out all the meat, which she
piled up; Mom always eats crab like that, while Dad just eats it as he goes
along. "Aunt Mikoto really gets on with them, though," I said.
"Well, I think she was a lot like them at their age," Dad said.
"She was a lot like them when I met her," Mother said. "Though she
never would have said anything that bratty to her family."
I glanced over and Keiichi and Katsuhito looked pale as Aunt Mikoto
lectured them. "Wow, she's really letting them have it. I can't think of
any time she got that cross with me."
"I wish her luck," Mom said, glancing over at them and shaking her head,
then returning to crab shucking.
"Aunt Nao's going to show me the chapel with the other sisters too,
after dinner," I told them. "You want to come?"
"Sure, if you want us to," Mother said.
Why would I ask them if I didn't want them to???
Dad laughed softly, possibly thinking the same as me. "It's a pity we
can't take her on the ferry."
"Why can't we take her on the ferry?" Mom asked.
"Will it still be running when we finish with the chapel?" Dad asked.
"I don't see why not."
"That's where you two and Aunt Mikoto met, right?" I asked.
"Yeah," Dad said.
"I'd really like to see that too," I told them. They're always vague on
the exact events, so I'd like to at least see the place.
"Okay, I think we can try, anyway," Dad said. "I'll ask Fumi-san if she
knows the schedule."
We chatted about school stuff and various family gossip for a while, and
then it was time to head to the chapel. Cousin Shinichiro and Uncle Wataru
ended up coming with Mom and Dad and me and Aunt Nao and Aunt Yukariko and
Aunt Alyssa and Aunt Miyu.
I once again made a valiant attempt to talk to Cousin Shinichiro, even
though he's not easy to talk to; he always seems kind of distant and he's
unusually shy for this family. "How's your teaching going?" I asked him.
"Pretty well. Unfortunately, the summer beauty art project turned out
not the way I wanted as most of the boys did art of women in bikinis, which
was not actually the idea." He sort of half-talked to me and half to the
invisible imaginary goblin over my right shoulder. "Several of which were
girls in the class who got mad about it." He shook his head. "And a
student got a crush on me and I couldn't figure out what to do about it."
"Call the parents as soon as possible so they don't decide you are a
pervert, that's what," Uncle Wataru said.
Aunt Yukariko rubbed her forehead; I got the distinct feeling they'd had
this argument a few dozen times.
I decided to change subjects. "Thank you very much for painting us."
"I really shouldn't have come, but Aunt Fumi was very insistent, and I
lost the staring contest," Shinichiro confessed.
"You need to see your family more often," Aunt Yukariko said to him.
He gave her an odd look and now she carefully studied the trees and we
walked along in silence, which I found kind of depressing. Mother was busy
talking to Aunt Nao, and Dad was talking business shop with Aunt Alyssa, who
really knows a remarkable amount of such things for a nun.
I desperately tried to think of something to say to deflate the
tension. "I got busted at school, so I'm lucky to be here." No, dammit, I
don't want to have to try and justify myself to a teacher! Me and my big
mouth.
"I heard," Cousin Shinichiro said, lecturingly. You could tell he's a
teacher. "You're lucky you got to come here."
"I am assisting Aunt Chie," I said.
"So she's Aunt Chie now," Shinichiro said quietly.
"Yes," Yukariko said, sounding a little worried.
"Now, son, a little professional rivalry is good for you," Uncle Wataru
said. "It pushes you to improve. We must prove our field is the best,
superior to merely catching photons in flight with a machine. There is a
real heart and soul to painting that no photograph can convey."
I didn't think he even knew Aunt Chie. But the news definitely
depressed him. Why? Suddenly I wondered if he'd once had a crush on her or
something.
"Honey, life isn't always fair," Aunt Yukariko said to Shinichiro.
"I know," he said, now staring up at the sky.
Uncomfortableness levels were rising. I had to do something. This is
where Shun would say something witty and everyone would laugh, or Natasha
would do something retarded and everyone would laugh. But I wasn't sure
what to do.
"Do you see something?" Aunt Yukariko asked softly.
Uncle Wataru now looked up.
"No, and I never will, as you both know," he said.
What was he talking about? His vision isn't THAT bad. He's just
near-sighted, right? Or does... no way he has colorblindness. He's a
really good artist.
I looked up at the sky, spotting the constellation of Draco and the Big
Dipper and the Pole Star and Tsuzumi boshi and lots other constellations. I
tried to remember... there's a galaxy somewhere in Tsuzumi boshi but I can
never remember where... "Never see what?" I asked.
"Nothing," he said. He was definitely in a snit. And I definitely
didn't know what to do; neither did his mother. Uncle Wataru either couldn't
tell or was determined to ignore that. "Son, sometimes you have to accept
the things you can't change. Rebellion is noble sometimes, but sometimes,
it's like rebelling against gravity."
"Humanity rebels against gravity all the time," Shinichiro said,
frowning deeply.
Next time, I just ask Aunt Nao to take me. I don't know why Shinichiro
gets so crabby sometimes, but he's totally impossible to deal with once he
gets in a snit.
I tried to draw on my inner Shun to see if I could find something,
anything to defuse this before my whole trip to the chapel exploded like an
atomic bomb. Why had Aunt Fumi insisted on him coming anyway?
I hope I'm not that cranky at his age.
I sidled over to Aunt Alyssa and Dad. "Aunt Alyssa, you need to reboot
Cousin Shinichiro." She always seems to know how to handle him. They grew
up together, I think.
"Is he moaning about how no one understands him and the world is cold
and uncaring again?" Aunt Alyssa asked.
"It's coming."
Indeed, by the time I got back, he was complaining about how they never
listen to him and how his students didn't like their art projects and how
human creativity was withering on the vine from too much CGI.
Aunt Alyssa walked up to him and whispered in his ear and he suddenly
cringed. "Sorry, big sister," he said, staring at the ground.
"There are people who have it infinitely worse than you, brother," Aunt
Alyssa said. "Your parents love you and you have a nice job which is
exactly what you wanted to do. And you're free to make all the art you
want, without duties you cannot escape hanging over your head. So quit your
bitching or I will give you something to cry over, little brother." She
folded her arms across her chest.
Cousin Shinichiro looked utterly embarrassed now. "I'm sorry, big
sister," he mumbled.
"Now, come talk with me and your uncle," she said, dragging him off; he
looked slightly trapped as he now was caught in the middle of Dad and Aunt
Alyssa talking business shop.
I giggled a little, and Aunt Yukariko smiled. "She's grown up to be a
fine young lady, hasn't she, Wataru?"
"Yes, she has," he said, smiling at Yukariko. They now clasped hands,
which I thought was sweet.
"Was she a good kid?"
"Very stubborn, sometimes," Aunt Yukariko said. "But basically very
well behaved and she really is a good big sister to Shinichiro. She
understands him." She sighed. "Probably better than me." Aunt Yukariko
shook her head. "I tried my best, but you know how he is."
"I am very proud of his skills," Uncle Wataru said. "But at least we
can be glad he isn't like I was at that age."
Aunt Yukariko says, "We both had a lot of growing up to do."
He smiled ruefully. "Do you have a boyfriend these days, Crystal?"
"No, I dumped Taiki, who I think has now gone insane, and I was
interested in Hayao, but he's a skank and a half and I think he's after
Kasumi, so I may have to kill him. You know how she is," I told them.
"I know a little too well," Aunt Yukariko mumbled, while Uncle Wataru
stared off at the trees.
Wait, were THEY like that?
"Look, give the man a chance to grow up and stop being an idiot. Some
people just take longer," Uncle Wataru mumbled.
"Kasumi is commendable for her kindness and gentleness and her ability
to comfort others," Aunt Yukariko said. "You shouldn't pass judgement on
her love life."
"You weren't a skank, were you, Uncle Wataru?" I asked, surprised.
"I was a skank who was very good at hiding it until I got what I
wanted." He sounded ashamed of himself. "Whoever this boy is, he will
eventually grow up. And hopefully become a better person like I hope I
have."
"Yes, but we can't wait that long," I told Uncle Wataru. "He just toys
with women's hearts until he gets what he wants, then discards them."
Uncle Wataru stared uncomfortably at the ground.
Dammit, can't I open my mouth without causing trouble, tonight? I
never... he isn't... I don't see him too often, but he's always been kind to
me and he's utterly, totally devoted to Aunt Yukariko. To the point of
being her little bitch, really.
"I'm sorry," I mumbled. "Maybe I should take an oath of silence for the
rest of the night."
Aunt Yukariko kissed Uncle Wataru's cheek. "That's the past dear. It's
gone and forgotten and the Lord has forgiven both of us long ago. So let's
not brood like Shinichiro."
Now I see where Shinichiro gets his brooding from.
"You are going to take an art class, right?" Uncle Wataru asked,
rebounding.
"I was thinking of photography, actually. Aunt Chie teaches it and I
had a lot of fun taking photos together." I was half serious and half
trying to lighten the mood by letting uncle have one of his art rants.
That kept us busy all the way to the Chapel, which was really
beautiful. Aunt Yukariko explained all the saints and holy images in the
stained glass windows and to my surprise, it had a painting which looked
just like Aunt Yukariko. "Wow, this looks just like you, Auntie." It was
some woman holding a baby.
"That's the Virgin Mary and her son, Jesus," Aunt Yukariko said fondly.
"With Shinichiro and I as the models. And your uncle painted it."
Wow, that was pretty cool! "Is this where you two met?"
"Here at Fuuka," Aunt Yukariko said. "Was it here in the chapel?"
"I think so," Uncle Wataru said. He stared over at one side of the
chapel and looked very sad and distant for a moment. I noticed Aunt
Yukariko doing the same thing.
"We should pray together," I said.
Aunt Yukariko looked flattered, then we all kneeled at the edge of the
dias and started praying. To my surprise, pretty quickly everyone else
joined us, praying silently.
I really need to sit down with Aunt Nao some time and get a clearer idea
of what exactly she believes in. And my other nun-aunts. I've never been
very religious. But I did my best, praying for him to protect and guide us
and asking for help in figuring out the wall inscription and what was going
on and asking him to please get the parents to tell us the truth, as it's
increasingly looking like it's dangerous for us not to know.
I could see Aunt Yukariko and Aunt Nao both using a rosary, slowly
thumbing their way through it, and to my surprise, my mother had one too. I
dimly remember Aunt Alyssa giving her one but I don't think I'd ever seen
her use it. Shinichiro was praying very fervently, and Aunt Alyssa and Aunt
Miyu seemed to be listening to something only they could hear, their lips
moving silently.
I tried to think of what I did know about Jesus. He had been a
carpenter before he became a boddhisatva. I think. His birth father was a
god, which must have made things really uncomfortable between him and his
step-father, Mary's husband. Joseph, I think.
I suddenly thought about Uncle Wataru and Shinichiro and Aunt Yukariko.
Wait, Aunt Yukariko was a bride of her god and... surely Shinichiro could't
be...
I rubbed my forehead. No way. Surely Uncle Wataru would be more
uncomfortable about it. Still, being the mortal spouse of the bride of a
god and having a possibly divine son would have to be uncomfortable for
anyone. Though if Shinichiro had any divinity in him, it was a god of
angst.
And what exactly had Shinichiro been being bitter about earlier?
I forced myself to pray some more, running through the family and its
problems and praying for guidance in figuring out what to do. Please show
me what's going on, I prayed. I just want to know the truth.
Was that really too much to ask?
****************
Later, we split from my aunts and just Mother, Father, Aunt Mikoto, and
I went down to the docks of Fuuka Town in Mom's giant car that really drinks
too much electricity but Mom wants it for hauling big things.
There was a sudden roar of a motorcycle, and Aunt Natsuki slid to a halt
next to us. She had Aunt Shiho riding behind her as well. "You can't go
without me."
I blinked. "What?"
"This is where I met Mai and Mikoto and Yuuichi and Shiho," Aunt Natsuki
said.
"Where you scared us nearly to death," Mother said, laughing.
"It's where it all began," Aunt Shiho said softly.
They all looked very distant for a moment, and I wondered what secrets
this held for them.
"We should have brought Takumi too," Shiho said.
"I tried, but he was too busy driving his son and Mitsu-san insane,"
Natsuki said.
We all now got in line to get onto the Ferry; I hoped it wouldn't take
too long.
"I didn't know you met Aunt Natsuki on the boat too." I vaguely knew the
rest of them had all met on the ferry on the way to school. But not the
details.
"My first sight of Natsuki was her kicking me in the groin with her
knee," Dad said, groaning exaggeratedly.
Aunt Natsuki looked embarrassed. "I apologized for that a long time
ago."
"I know, I'm just teasing," Dad said.
"And it's where I first got kissed by Mai!" Aunt Mikoto said cheerfully.
"It was mouth-to-mouth technically," Mom said, laughing a little.
"Mikoto was floating in the water when the four of us first saw her and I
had to revive her."
"I tried, but I hardly knew what I was doing," Tate said.
"He would have gotten the first kiss, but I stopped him," Shiho said.
"He was being a pervert," she said teasingly.
Dad laughed cheerfully. "Pot accuses kettle," he said.
Aunt Shiho laughed loudly.
We got onto the boat, though something about the crew made me nervous.
There weren't too many other people getting on, though given the hour that
wasn't surprising. We were just taking a short trip over and back, so we'd
be back in time for bed.
We went up onto the deck and watched the water go by in the moonlight.
It's a beautiful bay and the folks told me lots of stories about their
school days, though nothing that touched on the family secrets so far as I
could tell.
Aunt Natsuki's wrist watch suddenly beeped and her eyes widened.
"Everyone, don't turn around," she said softly.
I froze up. "What is it?" I whispered.
"Listen," she said softly.
I listened; was that a motorboat?
"There's a large number of men with guns coming this way. Probably
pirates," Aunt Natsuki whispered.
"Right here on the coast of Japan?" I asked in utter shock.
"Assuming my watch's readings are correct," Natsuki said. "I suspect a
few of the ferry crew are in cahoots with them. None of us are armed but
me, so unfortunately, we're going to have to run."
"I suppose..." Aunt Shiho began.
Mom shook her head. Probably afraid of blowing their secret identities,
I suspected.
"So what do we do?" I asked.
"You're a good swimmer, right?" Aunt Natsuki asked.
"I float pretty well but I'm not a great swimmer," Aunt Shiho confessed.
"I don't float half as well as Mai-chan or Shiho-chan or Crystal-chan,"
Aunt Mikoto said mournfully. "But I will help you, Shiho-chan."
"And me too, of course," I said.
I could feel my heartbeat speeding up. Having an adventure with my
parents... Even if it was just running away from pirates. PIRATES. In
Japan. Mind you, down here on Kyuushu was prime pirate territory. I
think. Hundreds of years ago.
"I'm sorry, Crystal," Mom said.
"It's okay," I told Mom. "I haven't ever swum this far before, though."
"I hate running, but..." She glanced at me.
"Hey, I can fight," I said. "You want to take them on, I'm game."
"You can fight... with weapons you don't have. Also, as they say, never
bring a sword to a gun fight," Aunt Natsuki said.
"Swords are best," Aunt Mikoto said, crossing her arms in front of her
chest.
"Pirates," Mom mumbled. "This never happened back when were at school
here."
Dad frowned. "It smells."
"Smells of what?" Aunt Natsuki said, stretching. "We've got to get
going."
I kicked my shoes off; I was going to regret losing them, but thankfully
I had more pairs back at school. I noticed everyone else doing the same.
"I don't know, but something definitely is wrong," Dad said. He
sighed. "Okay, on three."
We got up onto the railing. I could hear one of the crewmembers saying,
"What are you doing?"
"One," Dad said.
I had to fight the urge to laugh. This was so cool.
"Two," Dad said.
I got into a diving position, as did everyone else; Aunt Mikoto gently
corrected Aunt Shiho's pose.
"THREE"
And then we were over the edge and into the water and I couldn't stop
laughing. Aunt Mikoto was laughing too.
This was going to be a hellacious swim to safety but I didn't mind. For
once, I got to be part of something. I was going to be exhausted tonight,
but it was WORTH it.
We started swimming, heading for the nearby island which helped to
isolate the bay. "I have a cellphone in a waterproof bag," Aunt Natsuki
said. "We can call for pickup once we're there."
We began swimming across the bay. "I hope they don't spot us," I said.
Aunt Shiho blurbled something in the water.
We swam as fast as we could, though Aunt Shiho and Mom couldn't keep up
with the rest of us and we had to keep doubling back to them to make sure we
didn't outpace them. "You need more exercise, Mom."
"I'm trying, I'm trying," Mom splutterd, swimming clumsily as the
current pulled at us.
Distantly, I heard an odd noise, like metal scraping on metal, up in the
sky, but it was dark enough I couldn't see anything. "Does anyone else hear
that?"
Dad frowned. "What the hell is that?" he said as best he could while
swimming.
Natsuki frowns. "Sounds like someone chambering a lot of bullets.
Loudly. In the air." She peered up but she couldn't see anything either.
Mother seemed to concentrate on something, then looked frustrated.
"Swim faster."
"Mom get on my back. I can swim faster carrying you than you can swim
on your own."
Mom looked embarrassed. "Honey, I can't make you do that."
"C'mon, everyone's gonna be totally jealous of me being cool," I said,
grinning. "And Dad can get Aunt Shiho."
Aunt Shiho tried to laugh, then got water in her mouth and had to spit
it out.
It was, in fact, a lot harder than I had convinced myself it would be.
Mom seems to weigh 2 billion pounds when you're trying to swim with her on
your back. Dad didn't seem to have any trouble at all carrying Aunt Shiho,
so I did my best, while Aunt Natsuki and Aunt Mikoto flanked us.
I could hear shouting and yelling from the boat, but no sound of
gunfire, thankfully.
"So there weren't pirates here when you went to school here?" I asked.
"Not even slightly," Aunt Natsuki said.
"Will they have eyepatches and parrots? I like parrots," Aunt Mikoto
asked excitedly.
"Hopefully, we won't find out," Dad said. "Hmm, if we're lucky, Yukino
and Haruka brought a helicopter."
"They did," I told him.
"Natsuki, call them as soon as we reach the shore," Dad said.
Aunt Natsuki nodded.
And I'm going to get to ride in an assault helicopter. Totally cool. I
started laughing again, and now Aunt Shiho was laughing too and Aunt Mikoto,
while Mother looked embarrassed and Dad smiled a little.
"You want to switch?" Dad asked me as I got a wave to the face. "You
look tired."
"I'm not tired at all!" I announced, though I was a little tired. But I
felt proud of myself, carrying Mom to safety. I'd be able to brag about
this forever. I guess I'm being shallow, but I don't care. This was
totally cool.
"I'm sorry, Crystal. We just wanted to show you a fun time," Mom said,
sighing and looking unhappy.
"It's totally cool, Mom. I'm having a GREAT time." I haven't had this
much fun in forever. Even if I was getting tired.
"At least this time the boat didn't sink," Aunt Shiho mumbled.
My ears immediately perked up. The boat sank the first time they came
here? No wonder Aunt Mikoto needed mouth to mouth.
The shore was drawing close and I was glad. This was tiring, though I
think Aunt Natsuki and Aunt Mikoto could have swum twice as far or more.
Even carrying Mom. I hope I don't weigh this much in case anyone has to
carry me.
We reached the shore and pulled ourselves into it, withdrawing into the
woods. Aunt Natsuki got on the phone with Aunt Haruka immediately. I peered
through the bushes we hid behind; I could see a half dozen motorboats
combing the bay. What were they looking for?
Mom shivered, so Aunt Mikoto cuddled up to her, and Dad did likewise. I
could see Aunt Shiho shiver too in the cool night air, so I hugged her,
trying to share my body warmth. "Here, Auntie," I said softly.
I guess Aunt Natsuki doesn't get cold, as she continued whispering into
the phone.
"Thank you," Aunt Shiho said softly. She seemed to concentrate, but
whatever it was, it didn't do anything, which frustrated her.
"Probably a good thing we didn't bring Uncle Takumi," I said.
"He's a good swimmer now," Mother mumbled.
"I think we're going to have to definitely do more swimming," Dad said.
"Man, this is awesome," I said, peering out at the boats.
"It's not all fun and games, you know," Mom mumbled.
"This is awesome," Aunt Mikoto said. "We finally get to take Crystal on
a real adventure with us!" She came over, hugged me, then bounced back to
Mom.
The men were slowly getting closer. Aunt Natsuki bagged her phone. "We
just have to evade notice long enough for Haruka to get here with her
helicopter and get us out of here."
"I think they're looking for us," Aunt Shiho said.
But why? Surely we didn't look worth this much effort. Unless this was
a 'leave no witnesses' thing but it looked like everyone on the ferry was
unhappy but alive.
I felt so utterly excited and happy. This was just so cool. Which I
think I have said a few thousand times now.
BUT IT WAS SO COOL.
"Why us?" Mom asked.
"They may be after me," Aunt Natsuki said. "I have made some enemies
over the years."
Well, if worst came to worst, the folks could bust out with their powers
and kick huge amounts of ass. I was almost hoping for that, just to force
them to tell us everything.
Also, I wanted to see it. I could see what Kasumi the novice battle
princess could do. With their experience, it must be incredibly awesome.
If Mom is the Dragon Princess... holy shit, she must have a dragon! An
actual dragon. Man, that would rock.
We could hear the helicopter in the distance. "You know, I just thought
of something," Aunt Shiho said.
"Yes?" Dad asked.
"Won't the helicopter give away our position?" Aunt Shiho asked.
"Well, Yukino is supposed to alert the self-defense force, so ideally
they'll come and deal with the pirates soon," Aunt Natsuki said, a little
worried.
It seemed like we'd been waiting for a thousand years after a while,
staying close to conserve body heat in the chill air as we gradually dried.
The pirates flailed around the bay; I couldn't figure out why they weren't
trying to investigate our island but I wasn't going to complain.
And then we heard it; Aunt Haruka's chopper. It flew over us and on
towards the pirates to my surprise. I could see Aunt Haruka hanging down on
a rope ladder holding a megaphone. "You idiot pirates are WASTING MY TIME!
I'm supposed to be winning at Monopoly right now, but no, I have to come
whip your miserable donkeys!" There was a brief pause. "ASSES. Now, do
you surrender?"
The answer was pirates raising their rifles. "KICK IT, CAPTAIN!" Aunt
Haruka shouted.
And then suddenly there were smoke capsules everywhere, followed by
howling winds and the everpresent sound of metal on metal and the sound of
water spouts and the periodic sound of metal striking metal even harder than
that.
When it cleared, pirates were scattered everywhere clinging to pieces of
sunken motorboat. And Aunt Haruka was laughing like a maniac.
Clever, auntie, I thought. She released the smoke, transformed and
kicked all their asses. Pretty slick.
Soon, Aunt Haruka picked us up and the Self-Defense Force Coast Guard
arrived to bust all the pirates.
I drank coffee with the others, now wrapped in a blanket. "That was
totally awesome, Auntie," I said to Aunt Haruka.
She grinned. "I am totally awesome. But thank Colonel Wang and my good
pilot, Captain Ikama."
Said captain was tall and handsome with short brown hair, so I was happy
to thank him. Too old for me, but damn, he was hot.
"Oh man, Nina Wang?" Aunt Mikoto asked.
"Yes," Aunt Haruka said. "You know her?"
"She's going to totally lord this over me forever," Mikoto grumbled.
The colonel turned out to be a good looking woman in her thirties with
long blue-black hair rather like Aunt Natsuki's. "It's good to see you
again, Tokiha-san, Tate-san, Kuga-san, Munakata-san, Minagi-san," she said
to us as we sat on the deck of one of her ships, which Aunt Haruka had
gotten the pilot to land us on so we could quickly get dry before going back
to the school.
Aunt Mikoto made grumbly noises and chugged her coffee. I patted her
shoulder.
"This is our daughter Crystal," Mom said to her.
"It's nice to meet you, Colonel Wang," I said to her. "Thanks for the
lift."
"It's no problem. I've worked with Suzushiro-san before," Colonel Wang
said. "We've been after these guys for a long time."
"So they are pirates?" I asked, feeling a little surprised. I thought
you only got pirates off in places like Indonesia. There had to be more
going on here than just piracy.
"Among other things, yes. I'll let you know if we find out anything
interesting from them, Suzushiro-san."
Haruka nodded. "Thank you."
Man, everyone else is going to be totally jealous.
***************
"Pirates? DAMMIT, I should have gone with Mom," Natasha said. She
sounded utterly, totally jealous.
"My goodness. I've never even heard of a pirate attack in Japan in
decades," Erica said.
The radio now announced, "Pirates attempted to kidnap Minister of the
Interior off the coast of Hokkaido today while he was out fishing with
friends. More after the commercial break."
We were back at the headmaster's house, listening to music in the garden
while the parental generation had a big meeting inside. Which for some
reason had required Mitsu-san's presence, but not ours. Which was fine by
me, as it let us discuss family things. Though right now, it was just me
bragging.
"Damn," Dan said, staring at the radio.
"Very strange," Shun said. "I'd heard crime was spiking up some, but
not that actual pirate attacks were happening."
"Crime usually spikes up in the summer," Dan said. "Too much heat and
people get irrational; whereas winter is cold enough to deter some criminals
from going outside more than they have to."
That made sense. "Also, I got a confession from Aunt Nao."
Everyone turned to stare at me.
"She and the other nuns are professional exorcists slash monster
hunters. She said there are places where things break through and cause
trouble and then they go kill them," I said. "She's got a sword with a
saint's finger in it right now, in fact."
"The Sword of Saint James?" Dan asked in surprise.
"Yeah," I said. I think. "You know it?"
"It was lost centuries ago. I guess Aunt Nao found it."
"Uncle Reito, Aunt Midori and Uncle Professor work with them too as
lay... lay something or another." I continued. "I'm going to guess this
means Aunt Yukariko, Aunt Midori, Aunt Miyu, Aunt Alyssa, and Aunt Nao are
five of our fifteen battle princesses."
"If they can only be women," Dan said.
"And Aunt Nao didn't actually SAY Mom is a battle princess, but she
pretty much hinted really strongly," I said. "And either Aunt Haruka is or
she's got some pretty amazing high tech weaponry."
"And probably both of my mothers," Erica said.
"And probably Aunt Mikoto and maybe Dad," I said.
"Probably not Aunt Shizuru; she's a pacifist. Maybe Aunt Akane, but she
doesn't really usually act like a magical warrior might," Dan said.
"I think we have to assume that at least one parent of each of us is a
Battle Princess, assuming those lights meant anything at all," Shun said.
"That would give us Mom, Aunt Midori, Aunt Mai, probably Aunt Mikoto, Aunt
Akane, at least one out of Aunt Chie and Aunt Aoi and probably both given
Erica's glows, and Aunt Shiho. That's somewhere between six to eight. Add
in four nuns, that's ten to twelve. Leaving us three to five to account
for."
"Aunt Natsuki, I bet," I said. "Aunt Haruka. She's got to be one.
Remember, we know she tried to take on a tank with her bare hands."
"Good point," Kasumi said. "Aunt Yukino probably just helps out by
coordinating fights the way she did in the VR game."
"Was it a game?" Natasha asked.
"What?" Kasumi asked, confused.
"Remember, we now suspect everyone in that game of being a battle
princess and you got EXACTLY the same power set, you just didn't get the
super outfit, in the game. Maybe she was hoping it would awaken both of our
abilities."
Kasumi's eyes widened. "Wouldn't we have made a mess of their house,
though?"
Natasha frowned and looked thoughtful.
"I still want to know why they won't tell us," Dan said.
"Given we're the same age they were when this all started, it's not like
we can't handle it. They handled it," I said. "Their parents didn't make
them wait until they were eighteen."
"Aunt Mai's parents were dead, Aunt Akira's parents seem to have cut
her off after she went to Fuuka, Aunt Midori was over eighteen whatever she
may claim, Mom was on really terrible terms with her parents at the time,
and Aunt Shiho's parents were dead too and her grandfather was raising her.
Their parents were not in much of a position to do anything," Kasumi pointed
out.
I grumbled a little. Okay, so the situation is a bit different.
"Well..." Dan said. "You know, if they told Shinichiro at eighteen,
that's about when he went totally into King of all Emo mode."
"Okay, I can kind of understand them being afraid we'd all turn Emo," I
told Dan. "As I just suffered through one of his fits of being pissy
earlier." I rubbed my forehead. "I thought people were supposed to stop
being Emo after college, though."
"Goethe was Emo For Life," Dan said. "He was the eighteenth century
KING of Emo. The Sorrows of Young Werther is distilled, pure Emo in book
form."
"I can guess why he turned Emo," Shun said softly.
We all looked at him.
"If it's true that only women can be Battle Princesses, then he may well
have gotten Emo over basically being relegated to the sidelines for life,"
Shun said.
I suddenly felt horrible for Dan and Shun. I somehow totally hadn't
thought about that at all. How do the guys cope with it in our family? But
we couldn't be sure that was the case. Why would it only be women?
Especially given that the Namcub of the Crystal Princess used Dan as a voice
and if you contract to make it happen... why couldn't a man do that?
Dan said, "Well, I promise not to dress in black and lie around
moaning."
Natasha said, "I expect it has to be something else. Lots of people go
Emo without anything like our family's situation. And surely he'd get over
it after a while."
"Some people just wallow in their misery. Which is more or less what
Emo is," Shun said, briefly faking an expression of intense anguish, then
laughing. "Anyway, I don't intend to wallow in my own angst either, whether
or not I get powers." He frowned just a little, sincerely this time.
"Though I won't like seeing everyone going off without me either."
"Well... they have been searching you guys too, right?" Kasumi said.
"Yeah," Dan said.
"Dad's checked me a few times, but I got the impression they were a lot
more serious about it with you girls than us guys," Shun said.
"Ergo, it must be possible for men, even if it does mess up our attempts
to guess who is a Battle Princess," Kasumi said. "Why bother searching them
otherwise?"
"I wonder why they... wait, do they have Cousin Shinichiro in there
too?" I asked.
"I think he left," Kasumi said. "When you went to the harbor."
"So why do they have Mitsu-chan in with them?" I asked.
"Probably this is to determine whether Shun gets to date her or whether
the family scares her off like everyone always does to my boyfriends,"
Kasumi said a little bitterly.
"Hey, Hayao is BAD NEWS," I told her.
"Whatever," Kasumi said, leaning back and looking up at the sky.
I'm just trying to protect you. You always seem to attract the worst
men, I thought.
Mitsu-san now came out, looking very pleased. She walked over to Shun.
"Hi, Shun-san," she said, then held out a hand to him.
"Hey," he said softly, taking her hand.
"Come with me, please," she said.
"Okay," he said nervously.
The rest of us all grinned, even Kasumi. I wish them luck. Just don't
screw it up this time, Shun, I thought.
*****************
Shun's Tale:
I let her lead me along, wondering why she was so incredibly happy all
the time now. Not that I MIND, mind you. I prefer this smiling face of
hers to her usual unhappiness, which is one reason I like teasing her, to
make her come out of that shell.
She took me around the house to the other side, over to a gazebo, then
sat me down on the bench, then to my surprise, sat down in my lap, putting
an arm around me. "Shun-san," she said softly, hesitantly reaching towards
my chest with her other hand but stopping just short of touching me. She
closed her eyes for a moment, while I felt my brain trying to explode.
When she opened them, she said, "Your mo... I mean, your Aunt Tate-san
told me, that if you... if you..." She closed her eyes again and took off
her glasses, stowing them in her shirt pocket. Her soft brown eyes were
hard to see in just moonlight, but I could see her face clearly, shining so
brightly.
Hmm, so it's just Kasumi's mother she is now addressing by first name, I
thought. I was very curious what had happened to them.
I glanced around just for a moment to see if anyone was spying on us,
but they were either too good for me or else we really were alone.
"Shun-san, why are you looking around?" she said, looking around.
"Because the others may have followed us here and are likely spying on
us," I told her.
For a moment, she froze up, and then opened her eyes, looking
determined. It made her look oddly like Aunt Haruka looks all the time.
She said, "I want you to call me Kagami."
I had to fight the intense urge to face-fault and fall off the bench.
Her hand landed on my chest now and started to slide up and down my
chest and I could feel myself getting turned on. Was this her way of
confessing love? It couldn't just be what it was on face value, you don't
start caressing a man's body while asking that normally.
Okay, I could see Natasha doing that, but normal women don't.
"Okay, Kagami-san," I said. "I'd be happy to."
She smiled even more brightly, then closed her eyes and leaned in
close. I knew what was coming, so I closed my eyes and kissed her, putting
my own arm around her. It was a rather clumsy kiss; I could tell she hadn't
had much experience. But there's plenty of time to learn that.
I adjusted my position slightly and kissed her back until finally, she
pulled her head back; she was blushing a little and her eyes were wide.
"And I want you to take me out on a date next Friday," she said firmly.
"Even... if I can't tell my parents."
"Can't tell your parents?" I asked.
"It has to be a secret. They told me I can't date anyone. I shouldn't
break their rule, but... but..." She closed her eyes again, then opened
them and said, "I want to be with you. You're so kind to me even when I'm
harsh. And your family... is so kind and accepting like you. I even like
getting in trouble with you by my side."
"Well, if you're looking to get in trouble, I'm a good person to hang
out with," I said, tickling her chin. "I like being with you too."
She kissed me a second time, as clumsy as the first, but I could feel
the beating of her heart as she pressed against me. I raised my hand to
stroke her upper back, around her left shoulderblade. She started for a
moment, then relaxed and brought her other hand around to stroke my back.
We made out for a little while; I could feel myself getting more turned
on. Which feels very good but I was only a few dozen feet at most from over
2 dozen adults, all of whom would likely beat me to death if they caught us
going any further than this.
Well, Aunt Shiho would probably start giving us advice...
Which would probably actually be more embarrassing.
Please, kami-sama, don't let anyone be watching us. I tried to see if I
could hear Natasha snickering, but all I heard was the distant sound of the
radio and some song about loving someone as much as an elephant. As an
elephant?
We were still kissing when I heard a scream, distantly, off across
campus. I froze up and so did Mitsu... Kagami-san. She jumped back and
turned. "Did you hear that?"
"Shit," I said. "Yes."
"Go get the headmaster! I'll deal with this!" Kagami-san said.
She turned and began to run; there was a second scream. This one was a
guy. Monster attack? In the middle of campus? Shit, please don't let us
have unleashed ancient evil.
I ran after her. "Come back! This could be dangerous."
"I can't let the students get hurt!" she shouted.
"This isn't even our campus!" I shouted, but I pulled my phone out.
I hit the speed dial for Mom. She answered, "Shun-chan, what is it?"
"A guy and a girl are screaming and M... Kagami-san's decided she has to
investigate, so I'm following her. Please tell the headmaster so she can
call security."
"I will. And be very careful. Don't bite off anything you can't chew,
son," Mom said firmly.
There was another shout, the woman again. "No, stop!"
I winced. "Anyway, we're headed... I think it's west of the gardens."
"Be careful," she said very firmly.
"I will. I expect my cousins are probably running this way too," I told
her.
"I expect so," she said, clearly not happy with that.
I had not realized Mitsu-san... Kagami-san could run this fast, but I
suppose it's a matter of motivation.
I could see the trouble now; a girl and a guy were down on the ground in
Fuuka uniforms; they were both kind of short and skinny; the girl had long
black hair and the guy had short auburn hair, kind of curly. He was
basically shielding the shrieking girl with his own body, on his hands and
knees, as a big guy in a Fuuka uniform with short cut blond hair kicked him
over and over. "Hah! Take that! And that!" I could hear him shouting.
Just a bully, whew. This I could handle.
"STOP!" Kagami-san ran up and interposed herself. "What do you think
you're doing attacking other students?"
"He has a girlfriend and I don't, so I'm gonna kick the shit out of both
of them!" the guy shouted.
Distantly, I heard crickets chirp.
"I mean... I mean... I don't need a reason to kick the shit out of these
wimps! They were in my way! Who the fuck are you, anyway? You're not even
a student here! Back off, or I'll kick your ass too!"
"Kagami-san, let me handle this guy!" I shouted as I tried to close in.
"I'm pretty good with my fists."
"Wow, you're the most faggoty looking guy I've ever seen," the guy said,
staring at me. "I'll be happy to kick your ass in a minute, freak."
"Shun-kun is not a freak!" Kagami-san said angrily, then went into
something resembling a fighting stance, though it looked to me like someone
trying to imitate martial arts movies they'd seen. "It's my job to look
after the students and prevent trouble," she said, then flashed her ring at
him.
"Kagami-san, this isn't Rosewood. He isn't going to know or care." I
really need to practice running more. I was still trying to catch up with
them.
"Anyway, out of my way!" He slapped Kagami-san in the side of the face
with tremendous force and I expected her to go sprawling. Instead, she just
stood there, putting a hand to her cheek and looking angry.
"You made me do this," she said, then slapped him back. His head turned
and he staggered back. "You want to play Roshambo? FINE," she said.
I finally caught up to them. "Honey, Roshambo is when you take turns
kicking each other in the groin."
She looked horrified and instinctively covered her crotch with her
hands. "EEEEK," she eeked and then the boy, whoever he is, kicked her in
the stomach. She groaned and stumbled back, tripping over the unfortunate
couple on the ground.
She was up almost immediately, faster than I would have expected.
"Shun-kun, help them out of here," she said. "I'll handle this thug."
I wanted to handle him myself, but given she seemed to take these blows
better than I would have expected, I helped the two off the ground while she
went on the offensive. Her fighting form was terrible; her blows kept
connecting with air and I could tell she had little to no combat
experience. He dodged every blow. But she was quite doggedly persistent and
he couldn't dodge her blows and attack.
"You two okay?" I asked.
"I'm fine," the girl said, though I could see her cheek was bruised.
"I don't know what's wrong with Yuki there. He's normally an asshole
but he's not violent, but we were..." The boy turned red. "We were about
to have our first kiss," he mumbled.
The girl turned red. "I'm Katiya and this is Hirohito."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Shun and that's my girlfriend, Kagami, who has
forgotten we're not at our home school," I told them. I think she's my
girlfriend now.
Kagami was looking pretty frustrated. "Stand still!"
"I'm not that stupid!" he said, and then one of her blows connected,
knocking him onto his ass. "Shit!"
"You ready to surrender and face judgement?" Kagami asked.
"Fuck no!" he said, then headbutted her legs, knocking her down, though
she fell onto him and rolled off to one side.
She was somewhat discombobulated, but I could tell she was hardly
feeling his blows. It was like watching Dan get beat up, which is like
seeing a normal person get clobbered in slow motion. Except this time I was
even more pissed.
He'd managed to pin Kagami down and was kneeling over her; she looked
angry instead of scared.
I couldn't stay out of this any longer, even if it made her mad. And
where was campus security? And the family? Or at least my cousins?
I kicked him in the ass. "Get up, Yuki-san, I'm here to kick your
fucking ass."
That didn't seem to work; Kagami-san shoving a foot into his groin
worked rather better. I winced instinctively and heard Hirohito groan.
Then I saw something. Was a shadow moving? Or was I imagining things?
As I stared, Kagami lifted him off her and threw him into the nearby
bushes and got to her feet. "What is it?" she asked.
I saw a shadow move again. Shit. No sign of anyone and there might be
monsters here. "I thought I called campus security," I said to Katiya and
her boyfriend. "But it probably wouldn't hurt if you called them again."
Then I charged at Yuki-san as he charged at me, then slammed him to the
ground as he came at me, spinning to kick him in the ass to help him fall.
"I can take him," Kagami-san said, breathing hard.
"Kagami-san, I think you can take him hitting you better than me, but
you aren't very good at hitting." I regretted saying that, afraid she'd get
mad at me for criticizing her.
She sighed. "I have a lot to learn. I only learned basic
self-defense. But I will get better at this."
It sounded like she was anticipating getting in more fights. Why?
While I was busy debating who should fight Yuki, he grabbed my feet and
flung ME into the bushes. I quickly recovered, by which time he and M...
Kagami-san were wailing on each other again. Part of me felt kind of bad
for double-teaming him, but Mother taught me you do what you have to in
order to get the job done. Fighting isn't about glory or honor, it's about
ending your foe's ability to hurt those you care about. So I didn't feel
any more guilt when I swept his legs and then Kagami-san and I pinned him on
the ground.
I kept an eye out, though, for moving shadows.
WHERE IS EVERYONE???
"Fuckers. I could have taken both of you bitches if you hadn't double
teamed me like cowards," Yuki grumbled into the dirt.
"I called them; they said they were on the way," Hirohito said.
Apparently security here sneaks up on you by surprise and can't be seen
coming, it looked like.
"Kagami-san, is it just me or am I seeing shadows moving?" I whispered
to her.
"Let me go, you bastards!" Yuki shouted.
"You're only getting what you deserve!" Katiya shouted at him.
He struggled but he didn't have a prayer of escaping Kagami-san and I.
Kagami-san looked around, then whispered to me, "I think so, too. Shun-kun,
I..." Then she seemed to remember we were right over Yuki and she clammed
up.
And then the shadows seemed to vanish as a giant flood tide of my
relatives armed with things ranging from chairs to swords to pistols to
tonfas to a tablecloth which had been rolled up into a rat tail now poured
out of the bushes and the shadows and Aunt Mikoto even jumped down from atop
the nearby light pole.
I could hear Katiya and Hirohito making incoherent noises.
Aunt Fumi strode forward. "What is going on here?"
"Yuki tried to beat us up, but these two saved us," Hirohito said.
"I was minding my own business and these bastards set me up!" Yuki
yowled.
"Bullshit!" I said.
"We were just about to have our first kiss, too," Katiya said, then
began to cry, while her boyfriend hugged her.
"I was set up," Yuki grumbled.
Aunt Fumi took him by the ear. "Come with me. You two also. Thank
you, Shun-san, Kagami-san."
"You're welcome, just doing my duty," Kagami-san said, then took my
hand.
I squeezed her hand gently. "Do you need us too, Aunt Fumi?"
"In a little bit," Aunt Fumi said.
Mom stepped up to me. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," I said.
Aunt Akane came up to Kagami-san. "Are you alright, Kagami-san?"
"I'm fine, Akane-san," she said, putting her glasses back on.
"Shun-san's offered to train me in unarmed combat. I didn't do as well as I
hoped."
"Are you hurt?" she asked, worried.
"I could take it but I couldn't dish it out," Kagami-san said.
Mom said to me, "It would have helped if you'd given us the right
direction. You're actually north of the mansion here."
"..."
"Once I found you, I called everyone," Mom continued.
"Maybe I should buy him a GPS tracker so he can find himself," Dad said,
grinning a little.
I grumbled, but then Mother hugged me gently. "You did well, though,
son."
I huggd her back, smiling. "Thanks, Mom."
"It's all about practice," Aunt Akane said to Kagami-san, then pulled
her aside to talk quietly.
"Mom, is it just me or..." I began.
"It's not," she said. "But that's their business," she continued.
"Let's go back to the mansion; I expect Fumi-san will need your report."
"Okay," I said, walking with my folks. "Mom, Dad..." I wasn't sure if
I could ask them, but they... they have a really good relationship and love
each other very much, though Mom tends to avoid talking about her emotions
if she can help it. "Mom, Dad, what was it like when you fell in love with
each other?"
"It was wonderful," Uncle Takumi said. "Though it took me a long time
to figure out what I was feeling. I'd never really loved anyone outside my
family before."
"I was horrified with myself for being so weak," Mother said very
softly. "I was afraid I was betraying my duty, my family, everything. And
I didn't think he could possibly ever love me back. I knew my parents would
never approve." She sighed. "They still don't really approve."
I knew that. I know I have kin through mother but they might as well not
even exist.
Dad now took Mom's hand. Her eyes widened a tiny touch, then returned
to normal. Most wouldn't notice it but I grew up learning to read Mom's
attempts to hide her emotions.
"Do you two like Kagami-san?" I asked nervously. They usually don't like
my girlfriends. Especially Mom.
"I entirely approve," Mom said.
"Oh, so it's KAGAMI-san now," Dad said, grinning wildly.
I laughed a little nervously. "Yes."
"She is brave, hard-working, and dutiful. You need help with both of
the latter," Mom said. "I give my permission for you to date."
"He wouldn't stop if we told him no," Dad said. "But yes, we like her
and don't mind at all."
"Her parents won't approve," I mumbled.
"Neither did mine, but in the end, Takumi-kun and I became lovers
anyway," Mom said. "And I have no regrets now."
She loved him enough to abandon her family. And it seemed like Kagami
would for me. But was... did I deserve it? I like myself, but I'm not...
I've never felt that strongly. I want to... I don't want to screw this up,
but it scares me a lot.
I'm not as good at screwing up as Natasha, but I'm probably the second
best of us at that. "I'm scared," I said, then put my hand over my mouth.
You can't admit that sort of thing to your parents.
"Love is terrifying," Dad said. "And dangerous."
Mom paused, looking as if something had just flickered into place. Then
she glanced over at the mob of our family drifting back towards the
mansion. Then she stared at the ground, then straightened up.
"What's wrong, Mom?" I asked.
"Nothing definite," she said. "I would be a hypocrite to complain."
I raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Nothing, son," she said a little sadly, then tried to lean her head on
Dad's shoulder, but this didn't work well, since we were all walking.
Great, now what?
**************
Crystal's Tale:
I was feeling one thousand percent awesome. I could see Natasha looked
a bit cranky, probably because not just me but Shun had also gotten to look
awesome. And she hadn't. At this point, even if the family had told me
they were sacrificing me to Tiamat, I would likely have been cool with it.
I looked up at Draco, and wondered again why a red star had freaked Aunt
Akane out. Though it probably had something to do with Marduk allegedly
putting up the constellations.
"Are you all staying?" I asked Mom and Dad.
"It's too late now to go back, so we'll stay overnight," Mom said.
"Great-Grandfather Munakata has a lot of space."
"Cool," I said. "It was pretty cool seeing the whole family together
tonight."
"Yeah," Mother said softly. "I didn't expect pirates, though."
"That's totally freaky," Dad said. "Not to mention, apparently these
aren't the only ones."
"No danger of pirates at Rosewood," I said.
"Yeah, you'd get stronger quick beating up pirates," Aunt Mikoto said.
"Dear, we chose Rosewood to keep the kids safe, not make them fight all
the time," Mother said to Aunt Mikoto.
I tried to decide if I should tell them about Aunt Nao telling me. But
that would likely get Aunt Nao in trouble. I don't get it, why is Mom so
determined to hide everything? It can't be just... I mean, surely knowing
the truth wouldn't somehow endanger us more, would it? Or...
I thought about the Namcub speaking through Dan, Dan who was the only
one of us who could have read that thing. Did knowing the full secret of
the Battle Princesses make you vulnerable? Were we endangering ourselves
probing into it?
But maybe it was too late to worry about that. We couldn't be sure if
any of the things in the Namcub of the Crystal Princess were true, but
Kasumi had powers now and there were monsters and suddenly it all looked way
too plausible.
And... I had a feeling my parents had tried to invoke their powers and
it hadn't worked. Why? This is the area they first got those powers,
right?
Too many questions again. "So what do we do if Pirates show up at
Rosewood?" I asked.
"Kick their ass," Aunt Mikoto said.
"Call security and keep each other safe, fight only if you have to," Mom
said.
"Your mother is right," Dad said. "And call us."
About what I expected. "I wish we'd gotten to finish the cruise."
"At least the boat didn't catch fire this time," Dad said.
"And sink," Mom said.
"I wouldn't have minded some mouth-to-mouth, though," Aunt Mikoto said.
Mom and Dad and I all laughed, then Mom kissed Aunt Mikoto, followed by
Dad kissing her, followed by me kissing her cheek.
"I am the luckiest girl in the world," Aunt Mikoto said. She tried to
put an arm around all three of us at once but had to settle for taking Mom
and Dad by the arm as she ran out of arms for me.
For all my frustrations at times, I think I'm the luckiest girl in the
world too.
******************
Akira's Tale:
I stared at the silent block of stone which had once produced the
soul-trapping pillars which held our loved ones. There was nothing left of
the pillars but stumps. Everyone was asleep back at the temple or in a
hotel or staying at Fumi's mansion, but I couldn't sleep, so I was down
here, brooding.
We don't know what, if anything, will happen to us if our Children are
slain this time. At first, we thought all our Children were dead, but they
seem to have been restored by Miyu's destruction of these pillars. Are we
free now? Or do we accept the risk of the loss of our loved ones every time
we summon them? The fact that our powers work only in fairly limited areas
and that so far, we've been very lucky, has kept us from finding out. But
those areas are slowly spreading. And so far as I can tell, I think soon we
will have to abandon the lives we've carved out for ourselves and fight.
I'm not sure what to make of that. I was raised to fight. To be a true
man. But I haven't fought much the last two decades, other than training
people in martial arts. I've hardly seen Gennai in all this time. I have
grown attached to this peace, if not so much as Mai.
But unlike Mai, I know fighting is sometimes inescapable. If the
Crimson Huntsman seeks us out, we must fight or die in our homes. And I do
not intend to die.
And yet, if I fight, it may be I must risk Takumi. Of course, if I ask
him, he will tell me to fight without hesitation or thought for himself. As
he did before. He is kind and gentle and still more naive than myself. But
the thought of losing him... He is still, after all these years, the one I
love the most.
But Shun... Takumi knows what the consequences of my return to the fray
may be. He experienced it. And yet he doesn't hate me for it; he loves me
more for our shared sorrow. But Shun is a child as we were. He doesn't
know what he is getting into. If he is not yet Kagami's most important
person, he will be soon, I am sure. Which means she may be risking his life
every time she goes into battle, and he doesn't even know.
Or maybe not. Which is why I haven't said anything. I do not know if
she could bear it without breaking. I need to know. But how can I know?
I press deeper into the caves, searching for answers, though I already
know they aren't here. I feel a change in the air and I summon my element.
Though most of Fuuka Academy is now a null zone, this holy place retains its
power.
We could settle it... some of it... by taking the kids down here. But
then we would have to explain everything. I feel no shame for my role in
the Festival. I avoided hunting my fellows until I had no choice and I fell
honorably. But some among us did horrible, horrible things, and I fear if I
had been a little luckier, I would have been one of them. I do not wish the
children to hate Shizuru for her succumbing to the madness brought by the
Obsidian Prince or Shiho for succumbing to the base impulses of childhood,
or Mikoto for being loyal to her kin or even Yukino for being weak and a
pawn. I was raised to kill without regret or pity and I fear that as the
power of the star grew, I might have become far more terrible than even
Shizuru did.
And I do not wish to lose my son, not even temporarily. Kagami-san is a
good girl; indeed, in many ways she's exactly what I want for Shun, but she
only knows a part of the truth and I fear the consequences of her knowing
and her not-knowing.
The tunnel leads to the shore of a lake, which is not new, but what lies
beyond, is. Two things catch my eye in the starry ceiling; the constellation
of Draco and... a reddish something. Not the Hime Star, but my knowledge of
astronomy is not good enough to see what star it is. A great fungal garden
now arises on the shores of the island beyond it, a riotous profusion of
colors which glitter under the stars high above. In the center, the great
stone massif still rises, but now staircases allow easy egress to the top,
though from this angle, all you can see is a giant ziggurat up there. A
ziggurat???
Fumi hadn't mentioned this. Then again, does Fumi know? What reason
does she have to come down here often?
I was torn between my solitary instincts and the feeling I shouldn't
enter unknown territory alone. I could call Gennai... but that might just
play into a trap like the one set for Akane... Though this time she sprang
it safely.
I contemplated my options, and then suddenly Fumi said, "Hello, Akira."
I did my best to conceal my surprise. "Hello, Fumi," I said.
"Welcome to the Dragon Palace," Fumi said. "Come with me." She wore
neither her maid outfit nor her business outfit, but instead was wearing
sturdy denim jeans and a multi-pocketed green blouse. Only her hair
remained the same and her element looked the same as ever.
"Fumi-san," I said, following her. "What has happened here?"
"The Obsidian Lord is dead and the Crystal Princess has bequeathed this
shrine to us, the Hime," Fumi said. She reached the water and struck it
with her scythe. "CHARON!" The water rippled and a shadow rose out of it,
a flat image, which then took on depth and became a black robed figure, a
skeleton made of light blue crystal, the same which had once imprisoned the
Crystal Princess; he had coins in his eyesockets which glittered copper in
the starlight. He struck the water with his scythe and a boat now
appeared. He moved to the front, his scythe becoming a pole of black metal
with stars shining in it, leaving seats for both of us.
Fumi hopped on and I followed her nervously. Charon began to pole us
across the water; I could see the stars reflecting in its surface.
"What is he?" I asked softly.
"He is my Child. He will come to bear across any Hime who strikes the
water with her Element."
"Wait... did your Child not return to life?" I asked, concerned.
"My Child... required Mashiro-chan to work properly," Fumi said sadly.
"Like Mikoto-chan, I was an unusual case, standing to the Crystal Princess
as Mikoto did to the Obsidian Prince."
I studied Charon; he looked oddly like an effort to make Death cute.
Which fitted Fumi, I suppose.
"He is the Guardian of the Threshold, as am I," Fumi said, studying the
fake night sky. "Anyone entering the Dragon Palace is under his protection
and mine."
How much does she know that she's not telling us, I wondered. She
hadn't mentioned these changes at all. On the other hand, no one thought to
ask.
I followed her down a path through the fungus; Charon and his boat
dissolved away into the water behind us. The fungus grew in all sorts of
shapes; at times some of them seemed to have been shaped to form crudely the
shape of various of the Children. Fumi led me on silently to the base of
the massif; I could see three staircases; one in front of me, and one to
either side. I expected there were likely three more to match beyond. This
one was made out of steel with two huge side rails all the way up.
The one off to the right was made of red sandstone and the one to the
left was made of wood. I followed Fumi up the stairs. "Interesting art
design."
"I did not create it; it recreated itself over the years, slowly," Fumi
said.
We reached the top and I could now see the other staircases: There were
two more on the far side: a staircase of pure white ivory and staircase
made of sapphire. I stared at it, wondering how much it was worth. There
was a sixth, a spiral staircase of transparent crystal that descended into
the massif; images flickered within the crystal which vanished when I tried
to look directly at them.
A great stone ziggurat rose upwards beyond the staircase; there was a
pool of water on the other side of the ziggurat from us. Heat shimmered
from it... a hot spring??? The ziggurat had simple brick stairs leading up
to the shrine on top. Twin dragons flanked the entrance to the shrine.
"There are quarters for each of us and empty quarters as well, within
the massif, as well as stores and a kitchen," Fumi said.
Pretty defensible, I thought. I wouldn't want to fight my way in past
angry Hime. Though way out here in the middle of nowhere, not so useful to
us. "And the shrine?"
"I cannot open the shrine," Fumi said. "But I think I have an idea how
now."
She took me up the stairs to the double doors which had six hime signs
on it; a translucent one in the middle of constantly changing colors and
ringing it were five: white, blue, red (a lighter red than that of our
marks), grey, and green. "These marks were just colored circles on my
previous visits, but now they are colored Hime signs," Fumi said.
"And Kagami-san has a grey mark," I said softly. "What happens when the
shrine is opened?"
"I don't know," Fumi said. "But where the Festival demanded only one
winner, I think this requires six people to cooperate."
That didn't sound so bad. "That seems rather easy."
"Too easy," Fumi said. "Power always has its price, and this seems too
simple. On the other hand, it may do something terrible once opened." She
sighed. "I will continue my research. Unfortunately, most of the Book of
Fuuka remains obscure to me. And pieces of the text seem to be missing."
"Missing?" I asked.
She produced the book from somewhere and opened it, counting pages.
"Here on page six..." She paused and stared.
"It looks like... some kind of writing," I said, staring at the wedge
shaped script.
"This was blank the last time I looked. Not that I can read it," Fumi
said. "Oh dear."
Oh dear indeed.
I studied the other door; the constellation of Draco was upon it with
fifteen stars represented by rubies. "This is Draco, right?"
"Yes," Fumi said. "It is the constellation of our power now."
"But there's only fourteen Hime... fifteen with Kagami-san. If more
Hime bearing the colored marks appear..."
"I think those over there are for the new Hime to come," Fumi said. "I
am not sure how we number fifteen, though perhaps Alyssa counts for this.
All is new and the old lore often does not apply."
"What I want to know is what is the price of our power now?" I said.
"Am I..."
"The Festival was designed to produce crippled, despairing Hime whose
overflowing tears would feed the Hime Star," Fumi said. "This is why our
loved ones were drawn into the pillars, to link us to them so they could
feed off us. The Festival has ended; there is no Hime Star; now we share an
entire constellation. I do not think our loved ones will be absorbed into
the pillars again, but what price will take its place, I am not sure. But
as our childs are born of the link between us and our loved ones, I think
they will share that price with us, in some manner."
I frowned. "So Shun..."
"May be in danger. If he is her most important person," Fumi said.
"But the prophecies within the book have turned unreadable. I think with
the Obsidian Lord dead, there is no single destiny; rather, competing ones.
And we will be the ones to determine which one wins. And for that..."
"We must fight." I said flatly.
"There is no one else who stands for humanity in this war. The world is
ours now, but we must defend it, if humanity is to achieve its dreams." Fumi
said, now gazing off across the cavern.
"The children aren't ready to fight... assuming this is their destiny."
"I know. But we will have to make them ready," Fumi said. "I must stay
here and guard the Dragon Palace. But I will aid you however I can."
I knew what I would have to do.
***************
Kasumi's Tale:
I woke up to find a ninja standing over Mitsu-san with a finger to her
throat. A few seconds later, I realized it was actually Aunt Akira. What
was going on???
The finger was removed and Aunt Akira said softly, "If I had chosen, you
would be dead."
Mitsu-san stared, mouth wide.
"I will never do that to you," Aunt Akira said. "But you are
vulnerable. If you wish to date my son, you must become good enough I
cannot catch you flat-footed or easily take you out. Do you understand?"
No wonder Shun goes through girlfriends so often. I think I'd run for
it if Hayao's parents did that to me.
Not that I should date Hayao. He just... later.
"I understand," Mitsu-san said softly.
"Good. I will train you as best I can in the free time we have.
Remember, any time I am not out in the open, I MAY be waiting to ambush
you. Once you can reliably spot me or stop me, then I will be satisfied."
Mitsu-san nodded. "Of course. I understand."
Aunt Akira smiled. "Good. This will not be easy."
"I don't care if it's easy. I'm used to hard work," Mitsu-san said.
"Kasumi is watching us and pretending not to, so we will finish this
later," Aunt Akira said.
"You're good, Auntie. Do you do this to all of Shun's girlfriends?" I
asked a little nervously, opening my eyes all the way.
"That, as they say, is a secret," Aunt Akira said, then she sprang out
the window.
I got up and closed it while Erica, Natasha, and Crystal all rolled
about in their sleep; I wondered how they'd slept through this.
"I'm surprised she's being so hard on you. I'm sorry, I thought she
liked you," I said softly to Mitsu-san as I laid back down.
She looked at me soberly. "I think that's why she's doing this,"
Mitsu-san said. "Good night again, Kurauchi-san."
"Goodnight," I whispered to her.
I slept, dreaming of riding Horus back to school, over the beautiful
landscapes of my homeland.
We got up the next day, had breakfast, and headed back to school. I
rode with Mother, Aunt Shiho, and Natasha; Crystal's parents took her and
Shun and Kagami and Erica all rode with Aunt Chie and Aunt Aoi. "Did my
stupid brothers ever apologize?" I asked Mom.
"Sort of," Mother said.
"You should spank them," Aunt Shiho said firmly. "If you put up with
them, they'll just continue being retarded."
Natasha said, "You've got to convince them you can and will protect
them."
"By what?" I asked.
"Dunno," Natasha said.
"Hmm," Mother said thoughtfully.
They discussed ways to do this while I tiredly zoned out and wondered
what the future would bring. Would the others get powers like me? Or was
this a coincidence. Surely not, not when our parents had the big secret.
And some of them were monster hunters. No wonder they started giving me
fighting training.
I'd rather not fight, but if it's going to happen, I want to be ready.
Especially now that I'm going to have to protect the others until their
abilities happen.
Of course, this would be easier if the parents would just confess, but I
learned that's an immovable object a long time ago, unlike Crystal, who is
just relentless in trying to wear them down. So I'll just go around them
and do what I can.
It'll all work out in the end, right?
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