Notes – For the gx_100. Could be set either pre-GX or after Fubuki had returned in season one, not specific. Demonstrates why these two aren't allowed to have free time. And before anyone gets annoyed I am English myself, so I'm not trying to be racist. Simply a 'making fun of yourself' story.
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"You know in England they have rhymes about magpies," said Fubuki thoughtfully, as he lay with Ryo on a patch of grass not too far from the Blue Dorm.
"I'm sure they do," said Ryo without much interest. Fubuki was always looking for pointless trivia from the western world, mostly because he thought it was cool. Everyone thought being able to so much as write your name in English was cool. He wondered if in countries like America or England they had people who annoyed their friends by thinking that writing in Japanese was cool.
"Well, they have several of them," corrected Fubuki, "A magpie's a little black and white bird by the way," he added, on the off chance that Ryo didn't know what one was, "The most famous one goes on about if you're going to be happy or not and what gender your baby's going to be."
"How does it tell you that?" Ryo sat up, seeming vaguely more intrigued now.
"Well it depends how many you see," Fubuki confirmed, "If you see one of them you've got sorrow, if you see two that's supposed to be joy… Or mirth, depending on which version of the rhyme you use. Then it starts going on about whether you'll have a girl or a boy or if you're going to go to a funeral and get rich. Stuff like that."
Ryo seemed to consider this for a moment, before asking, "So seeing one magpie's always a bad thing?"
"Yeah, that one usually means sorrow no matter what version of the rhyme you try," answered Fubuki.
"Seems like a daft superstition, really. So there's all these English people who see a magpie and think 'I'd better find another one fast or else I'll have bad luck'?" said Ryo, who was always wary of folklore.
Fubuki wasn't sure on this; he made a quick flick through the book he'd been reading to check.
"I think there's some kind of charm they can use against it," he muttered, then stopped as he found the page, "Yes, they've got to say 'Aye aye captain' as they see it coming if they don't think there'll be another one."
"And what happens if they do see another one?" Ryo wanted to be thorough about this.
"Then they have to say 'Aye aye captain' backwards to take it back."
There was an awkward pause as they both tried to work this out in their heads. Fubuki then made several attempts to pronounce 'Niatpac eya eya' which started off with him sounding like he was sucking on a cough sweet and ended up with him sounding like he was doing a tribal summoning.
"Sounds like it would be easier just to try and avoid them," said Ryo, when it sounded like Fubuki had finished, "It would certainly save a lot of hassle with worrying about sorrow and spitting all over people trying to say that."
Shaking his head, Fubuki continued, "You'd think so, but the more you see the better it gets, usually. By the time you get to ten of them you're going to have an absolutely wonderful day."
"Fubuki?"
"Yeah?"
"If you see ten magpies then you've probably wandered into a nature reserve."
"That's a good point."
They lapsed into silence, reflecting upon how lucky they were to be on a subtropical island where no bizarre magpie lore about being depressed or having babies existed.
"Still, it's interesting to know how strange people can be," said Fubuki cheerfully.
Looking up at the sky to see if there were any birds at all, Ryo responded, "It certainly is interesting, I suppose. Though I really think that those people should just avoid the magpies unless they live near a nature reserve and want some extra good fortune."
"Shame you're not there to tell them that," agreed Fubuki, smirking.
"You'd never get me to go there now that I know I'd have to count birds all the time," insisted Ryo. That certainly would be a sorrowful day out.