Holiday Surprises

An Academy Blues Side Story

By Daishi Prime

Mariachi had Hayate drop him off a few miles from the orphanage, just at the edge of the village that supplied most of the Sisters' needs. It was not that he did not want her to see the orphanage, or anyone at the orphanage to see him. It was simply that he knew he would need some time to get used to Mexico again, to remember the rules and habits which he had set aside while at the Academy.

For Mariachi, there had never been any question of returning. He had escaped, and when he left intended never to return. There was, he had been certain, nothing for him here. But when Vita had asked him if he wanted to return, he had surprised himself by saying 'yes'. Even now that he was here, walking up the street with a duffel bag over one shoulder and his guitar over the other, he was still debating why he was here.

The route to the orphanage took him through the village, which was decorated for the holiday, streamers and banners everywhere, most of the people smiling and chattering happily the day before Christmas. The ones who were not participating, however, were a problem, he could tell. They were paying far too much attention to him, and while they might leave him alone, if they did not recognize him, which was likely, there was too much chance of them trying to hassle him.

Trouble tried to happen as he was leaving the village proper, heading up the road to the orphanage. Two figures detached themselves from the last building, striding along to flank him, and he sighed slightly, "Not looking for trouble, guys. Just going to pay my respects to the Sisters."

"Up to the orphanage, eh? What're you plannin' ta do there, boyo?" The one that spoke, to Mariachi's left, was the seedier looking of the two. A stained tank top above ratty cut-offs, beat up old sneakers, a face that hadn't been shaved in days, and hair that hadn't seen a comb in even longer. The other was bigger, and cleaner looking, at least, but chewing on an unlit cigarette and staring disconcertingly.

"Grew up out there," Mariachi commented, "lucky chance and the music got me out of there back in the summer. Thought I'd go back and lend a hand for a couple weeks. That's all I'm here for, nothing else. Y'all probably won't even see me again."

"That a fact, boyo? Little young to be out and about, eh? Don't you get lonely?"

Mariachi shook his head, "I've never been less lonely. I've no interest in your trades or your routes."

"That a fact? Where you goin' in a couple weeks, then?"

"Back to Japan," Mariachi offered.

"Ha! Japan! How's an orphan kid like you gonna get all the way up to Japan, huh? That's for rich kids. Tell us another one, boyo."

Mariachi stopped in the path, turning to look at the talker. "Gimme a sec and I'll prove it. Deal?" The man nodded, so Mariachi set the duffel on the ground, and reached into his pocket, pulling out the wallet Zafira had given him shortly after he arrived at the school. The velcro-closed tri-fold was marked on the front with Hayate's symbol of crossed sword and staff, which he used for a moment as he focused and built a low-level shield in case these two tried something. He was fairly confident he could get away from these two, well enough to reach the orphanage, which none of the villagers would dare offend, but it never hurt to be prepared. He opened it up, careful not to open the cash pocket, even though it only held a few yen, and pulled out the student ID card he had been issued. "Here," he said, holding it out, "what's that say?"

The man looked at it, frowning in confusion for a moment. Mariachi just waited. Even if he was one of the few people hereabout who could read easily, the card was written in Japanese, which Mariachi only read thanks to Hayate's magic. After a moment, though, the man slowly read off, having a little trouble with pronunciation but still reading it, "Hector, El Mariachi, first year student, Yagami Academy, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan." He blinked in surprise, looking back and forth a few times from the card to Mariachi, matching the picture to the person, then grunted. "Well, damn, kid. You weren't kidding, were you." He gave the card back, smiling slightly, "damn, one of ours off in Japan getting' all fancified. Why'd you come back? Most who get out of here never stop running."

"I owe the Sisters," Mariachi said, glancing at the card as he put it away, to find it now written in Spanish, but slowly fading back to the kanji he remembered, "and they can always use an extra pair of hands."

The other man rumbled, "You any good with that guitar?"

"I'm all right," Mariachi shrugged, "self taught, but no one's ever complained."

"Come down with the Sisters for tomorrow's Mass," the neater man rumbled, "need a musician afterward, now that Isabella's married away, and old Rafael's injured his hand."

Mariachi blinked, then nodded slowly. The Sisters assisted with Mass at the local church regularly, and the orphans had all been required to attend at least once a week, and the Christmas Mass was always followed by a village-wide celebration. But none of the kids were ever allowed to that. "I'll ask the Sisters, but I'm not sure they'll say yes. I'm staying under their roof, so I have to follow their rules, but if they agree, I'll play."

He nodded once, still frowning, but somehow no longer hostile, and walked of without another word. His seedier partner handed Mariachi his duffel, and said, "welcome home, kid. See you tomorrow." Then he, too, wandered off back into the village.

Mariachi watched them go for a few moments, then shrugged and continued towards the orphanage. They had obviously decided he was no threat, which meant he was safe enough, but he was distinctly uncertain what they meant by the invitation to play the next day. That puzzle was enough to distract him until he was walking through the orphanage's open gate, and he was noticed.

"Hector!" It took a second for the name to penetrate his mind, since he only vaguely recognized it as his own. Still he looked up in time to find old Sister Teresa bustling across the yard, a smile on her usually stern face. "Hector, welcome back!

He gave her a polite bow, "Sister, did senorita Yagami warn you I would be coming back for the holiday?"

The old nun, gray haired but still more than vigorous enough to keep her charges in line, pulled him into a hug, "yes, but you've no need to worry about that. We have been so worried about you, young one. So long without even a letter!" She stepped back, holding him at arms length, considering him critically, "it looks like that place has been treating you well. You aren't sickly skinny like most of those foreigners, at least. They let you use a guitar? That's good, you should continue with that gift."

"No, Sister," Mariachi said, smiling at the tone that was at once welcoming and judgmental, "they have not been starving me, and they've let me use one of their guitars." Better not to explain how it had been a gift. For an organization that depended heavily on charity, the Sisters were more than willing to lecture about the need for self-reliance and not accepting gifts. "They've also been teaching me a lot."

"Good, good," Sister Teresa said, smiling again, "come, though, you must be tired after traveling so far. We'll set you up in the guest room – Father Ignatius just finished his monthly visit, so it should be clean and free. Sister Magdalena should be in the classroom with the children right now, she'll be happy to see you as well."

Mariachi was a little uncomfortable to be put up in the orphanage's sole guest room, that had always been reserved for visiting priests come to check on the orphanage. Because of that, he left most of his meager belongings packed, expecting to move back into the dorms, and settled instead for re-tuning the guitar for what he knew would be a long afternoon and evening of music, when a step at the door caught his attention.

Sister Magdalena was standing in the open door, a severe look no her narrow face as she studied him, crouched over his guitar. "Welcome back, Hector," she said after a moment.

"Thank you, Sister," he replied. Sister Teresa was, as nuns went, nice and easy to get along with. Strict, yes, but compassionate. Sister Magdalena was simply strict. She had, as long as he had lived in the orphanage, brooked no variation from the rules of the Church, the rules of the orphanage, and the rules of good behavior, in that order. "Sister Teresa put me in here, ma'am, but I was expecting to be back in the boy's dorm."

Magdalena shook her head, "that would not be appropriate. You are not a ward of the orphanage, any longer. You are welcome to visit, but it would not be appropriate to house you with the other boys. Tell me, though... why did you come back?"

He started to answer, then paused as he realized he still was not sure, and settled for a shrug. "I'm not sure myself, Sister. But I know you can always use an extra pair of hands, and I would have felt an intruder, staying with the teachers over the holidays. I guess... when I think of home, I'm afraid that is still here. If you object, I can..."

"Don't be silly, boy. You're here, we'll put you to use. The little ones have been restless recently, Jose lacks your skill with music."

"About that, Sister," he hesitated, not sure how to ask, "I was approached by a couple of the villagers about playing at the festival tomorrow, after Mass. Would that be permitted?"

"Not surprising, since Rafael got his hand stuck in his tractor's gearing," she frowned at him, "I'm not sure, however. What could possibly be different this year from last year? The Christmas festival can get quite rowdy, and is no place for boys."

Mariachi nodded, "I'll tell them tomorrow I can't make it."

One gray eyebrow rose, "what, no argument?"

Mariachi shook his head, "no, Sister. You just said you don't want me going, so I won't. I told them it was dependant on your approval, so they can't object."

She gave a contemplative hum, then told him, "you can play at the festival, but remember, while you are staying under our roof, you follow our rules. No alcohol, no drugs, no girls, and you are to be back here by sundown. Understood, young man?"

Mariachi was surprised, to say the least. "Sister?"

She snorted, "You're growing up, but you're not there yet, young man. You accepted my decision without trying to argue with me. I remember last year, when you argued with me for days. As I recall, I had to take your precious guitar away for a week. Your lack of argument shows more maturity than you displayed last year, enough that I am willing to give you a chance to prove you can handle it."

"Thank you, Sister," he said, "I... didn't even think of it, it was just..."

She sniffed slightly, "of course not. Men don't think, they act, generally foolishly. For now, however, make yourself useful. The younger children have finished their chores and are out in the yard looking for trouble to get into. Go keep them entertained."

Mariachi could not help smiling. That was more like the Sister Magdalena he remembered. "Yes, Sister."

He found the old bench still set up against the side of the main building, looking over the entire courtyard, and settled into it carefully. Sure enough, the younger kids, under ten years or so, were playing in various ways. None approached him, at first. The few that recognized him probably figured he had been returned and would not be happy about it. But as soon as he began playing, they started drifting closer, even if he was just rambling notes, not playing an actual song. Grinning, he matched the music he was playing to what he could feel inside, creating a little calling pull in the music to bring the kids closer and settle their nerves and energy, feeling again the pride of any self-taught musician when his original audience appreciates him.

Man, I guess this is why I came home, he thought, realizing abruptly that he had done precisely that. When he did start singing, it was a tune Allison had taught him.

"Oh it's home, boys, home,

Hey, home I'd like to be!

Home for a while in the old count-a-ry..."

------------------------------

"Mãe? Do you have a minute?" Allina was hesitant to interrupt, as her mother was working, even the day after Christmas.

"Certainly, Precious, what did you need?" Her mother leaned back from the screen, turning a little to smile at her.

Allina relaxed, ever so slightly, and slipped into the office, hoping up to sit on the edge of the desk. "I'm not sure what to do about a... people problem."

"You're father's better at those than I am," her mother reminded her.

"Yeah, but Pai's not a girl, Mãe."

They both laughed at that, before her mother replied, "no, no he definitely is not a girl, in any way, shape or form."

When her mother stopped chuckling enough to listen, Allina asked, "Do you remember 'Jana? The baby-hacker I've been working with at school?"

Her mother laughed again, "You're a little young to be referring to anyone as a 'baby' anything, Precious. But I remember you mentioning her. I don't remember meeting her in person, though."

Allina shrugged off the age comment and the subtle request for more information, it was enough that her mother knew who she was talking about. "She gave me a Christmas present. Little pest hid it on my PDA the last day of the semester, and wouldn't give me the encryption key until yesterday morning. I was going to give her one, even though she's Hindu, not Catholic. She'd be cool with it. But I'm not sure if what I was going to give her is... enough, any more."

"Compared to what she gave you?" Her mother tapped her on the knee, "remember, it's the thought that counts, the personal meaning, not the gift itself. What did she give you that's so spectacular?"

Allina held out her school PDA, already keyed to Niranjana's 'gift'. "You know how I told you the school has some programming languages that are out of this world? 'Jana took the best of those, the one they use for Intelligent Devices, and re-wrote my hacking suite with it. Didn't do much for the suite's overall power, but look how much smaller it is, how much faster. And it'll interface with any operating system out there. I mean, she had to be working on this for months, Mãe, even though all she did was translation."

Her mother took a minute to look over the programming package, studying not only the interface but the exterior program data and what the PDA would let her access of its internal coding. After a few minutes, she whistled softly. "Eighty percent reduction in size? Thirty percent increase in speed? She cut this to the bone and juiced it on rocket fuel, Precious. I don't know the language she used, but I can still tell this is beautiful work."

"Yeah, she's a genius," Allina smiled at the PDA, obscurely proud at her mother's compliment of 'Jana's work, "real one, too, scores somewhere round two hundred on the IQ tests everyone says are junk. Total software wiz, girl thinks in code sometimes. But you see what I mean? She put a lot of work into this, a lot of work. I haven't put anywhere near that much effort into anything for her, and now I'm worried about it."

Mãe gave her a curious look, "What were you planning to give her?"

Allina shrugged, "Just an admin ID on the Beowulf. 'Jana never even heard of them until I mentioned mine, and she's been asking me for anything I can tell her about how the programming side of it works, so I thought she might like to play around with the real thing. She did good when we were using it to catch that noob back in October, so..."

"Wait, wait, wait," her mother interrupted, blinking at her, "you're thinking of giving her an admin ID on your Beowulf? This is the same computer you won't let your father and I touch, the same machine you keep securing against us, and you're giving her an admin ID?"

The look in her mother's eyes, and the tone and emphasis she used in her questions, was more than a little confusing. "Umm, yes? You and Pai are teaching me things, trying to hack into the Beowulf, so I can't just let you in, but she only wants to look at the software, play with it a little. Why?"

Her mother looked back and forth between her and the PDA for a minute, then her eyes grew even wider, and she giggled, "Oh, this is just too cute!"

Allin was starting to get seriously nervous. Her mother never acted like this. I didn't think Mãe even knew what the word 'cute' meant, Allina thought, let alone that she could produce such a... a... giggly voice! So it was with some nervousness that she asked, "Mãe? What are you talking about?"

Her mother smiled looked up at her, then leaned forward, wrapping one hand behind Allina's had as she kissed her forehead. When she sat back, she said, "give her the ID, she'll love it. But, and I'm quite serious about this, your father and I insist on meeting her. Do you think you could talk one of your teachers into magicing her over here for a day or so, or should we arrange a little parental visit to your school?"

"Mãe?"

"We want to meet 'Jana, in person, not just over a phone line. Oh, I won't object if you can arrange a video conference or something as well, but we want to meet her in person. Come to think of it, your father has some leave time coming, and it's been a while since we went anywhere interesting, I think Kyoto might be just the thing."

They want to meet 'Jana? Why For some reason, the idea of her parents meeting 'Jana scared Allina silly. "Mãe, what are you talking about? You can't just show up in Japan! It's Japan! It's on the other side of the world!"

Her mother waved that away, "Oh, it'll take us a while to set it up, but we should be able to make it for... oh, March or so. Relax, Allina, I just want to meet the girl that's got my Precious all flustered. Oh, I admit, I'd be happier if you'd picked a boy, but this 'Jana seems like a good foil, so we'll see."

Picked a boy...? That threw Allina's stumbling thoughts for yet another loop, but this one settled quickly on, Oh, Jesu y Maria, she thinks we're... "MÃE!"

"Oh, don't you 'Mãe' me, Precious. I remember that look you got when I complimented her program. Your father used to get that same silly grin when we were going out, and someone complained to him about getting burned by yours truly."

"Mãe, she's my sister!"

"Then you don't have anything to worry about," her mother was still grinning as she turned back to her computer, "now, what's her last name?"

Still flustered and confused by what her mother was suggesting, Allina didn't think before muttering, "Konnoth, handle's are Niranjana-ten-fifty-two or Darth Jana." Then her brain caught up with her mouth, and realized that she probably should not have said that without asking, "Why?!"

"Oh, calm down. I'm just going to do a little preliminary research." One delicately boned hand waved her towards the door, "go set up your 'sister's' ID, Precious. Mãe's working now."

"Mãe, please, you're embarrassing me! 'Jana's just a friend, a good friend, a sister! We're not like that!"

"Oh, not yet maybe," her mother agreed, shooting her a grin, "But I bet you'll be meeting her parents soon as well. Which should be amusing. You're so cute when you're trying not to embarrass yourself in front of someone new. Now, seriously... I need to get some work done today if we're going to have the family New Years party here. Go on, scoot."

Allina tried, but trying to maintain an argument her mother considered closed was sort of like trying to stop the ocean's tide with bare hands. Like her mother, the tide merely flowed on, ignoring the obstruction. So she found herself in the hallway staring at a closed door, a sinking sensation of doom in the pit of her stomach. Trying to talk her father out of this, after her mother explained why she wanted to go to Kyoto, would be impossible. If anything, her father would want to go sooner.

Which leaves damage control, Allina decided. A quick mental calculation told her 'Jana would probably be up, and she shaped the communications spell carefully, falling back into Japanese without a thought, "'Jana? Nee-chan? I've got a problem."

A moment later, 'Jana's voice sounded in her ear, "Merry Christmas to you, too, Allina."

"Gomen, 'Jana. Happy new year?"

A faint chuckle, "good enough. I was thinking about calling you, as well. I have a problem of my own I need to speak with you about."

"Shoot."

"My parents think you might be a bad influence on me." Allina chuckled at that, but before she could comment, Niranjana dropped a bombshell. "They want to meet you, so they're coming to the school, they're looking at March."

------------------------------

Juliet's walk up the street slowed precipitously when she saw the car parked in front of her parent's house. It was not so much the car itself – expensive though it obviously was, such cars were not uncommon here – as it was the two very large gentlemen standing at either end of it. One of them was staring at her, face blank, eyes hidden behind wide wrap-around sunglasses. He could not have been comfortable, standing in the South African summer sun in a dark suit, but he gave no sign, not even a hint of sweat. The other man was scanning in the other direction.

Frowning in thought, she decided after a moment that they were bodyguards. Continuing her walk at the new, slower, pace, she contemplated, Who around here needs bodyguards? Mom and Daddy don't know anyone like that. We always go visit Daddy's family, they don't come here, and Mom's family won't have anything to do with us...

When she came close enough to the car, she realized exactly what they were after. There was a strong feel of magic about it, the sense of quiescent but watchful energy she had learned to recognize as wards. They were nothing much, compared to the arsenal around the Academy, but they were definitely present. They're here for me, she realized, an icicle of fear running down her spine. But why? Are they the ones who've been harassing Hayate-sensei, or someone else? Her right hand crossed over, fingering the small gem suspended from the watchband on her left wrist, and after a brief mental argument, decided to risk it rather than disturb her teachers. I should have enough time, if I keep it in hand and take it slow, she decided, resuming her walk up the street, slowly building up some unobtrusive shields.

The guard, when she passed by on her way to the gate in the fence, merely gave her a polite nod, "Good afternoon, Miss," then turned his attention outwards again.

Inside the fence, Juliet found everything normal, at least in appearance. No more strangers standing about, no obvious damage to the door or house. Still, the entire feel of the situation was setting her nerves on end, and she was seriously expecting to find her parents missing or worse. Part of her wanted to call out and hope for an answer, but she had learned too much discipline, and a little paranoia, these past months in Japan, to react in such a childish manner. Instead she carefully skirted the edge of their fence, around to the back of the house, visually checking windows as she went for any sign of trouble. She reached the back door, and opened it as slowly and quietly as she could, stalking into the house, intending to check every room until she found her parents.

Wish Allison or Luke were here, she thought as she eased the door closed. Wilderness Girl and the Aussie could be through the whole house in a couple minutes, no one the wiser. There was no sting in the thought, though a touch of jealousy at the two's ability to, as Luke put it once, "stalk up and bugger a 'roo 'for it knows what's happenin'." Funny, he never would tell me what 'bugger' meant, though I think I can guess. Who'd want to do that to a kangaroo, anyhow?

Similarly irrelevant thoughts crowded the back of her mind, just enough distraction to keep her from panicking, as the back rooms of the first floor proved empty. Finally, though, she caught motion in a mirror in the front hall, one her mother used for 'last check' before going out. From her current position, she could just barely see into the living room, well enough to make out her mother and father standing against the far wall, one of his arms comfortingly over her shoulder. Juliet studied that for a moment, and decided that, while they looked concerned, they did not look like they were facing imminent death.

So, either this is the attackers, and they've got Mom and Daddy scared of what might happen to me, or this is someone local who doesn't like Hayate-sensei, who's got Mom and Daddy scared of what might happen to me. Wonderful.

She was debating how to go in there when a strong but raspy voice ordered, "stop skulking about the house, girl. I know you're home, and I'm too old to waste time waiting for you younglings to make up your flighty little minds. We're in the living room."

That gave her a start, and she almost gave away her position. The authority in the voice, the snap of command, had her picking up one foot before she knew what she was doing. But she stopped herself, and slipped back away from the room, returning to the back of the house and ghosting into the kitchen. Whoever he was, he was too sensitive for her comfort, and she really did not like being told what to do by some random stranger. So she made her way to the basement stairs, gently pulling the door behind her until it was almost closed. Then, using her parents as the focal-point, and shaping it to broadcast instead of focus, she formed the communications spell, including her own little twist – a two-way capability. "Who are you?"

She heard a muffled thud something hit the wall in the living room, and felt a moment's guilt for scaring one or both of her parents. She had demonstrated a little magic for them, but had not used it as routinely as they did at school. Then the same unidentified voice came back, "I am not accustomed to addressing empty air, girl, despite how many of you children use it in place of brains. Come here, where I can see you."

"I'll retain my freedom of action, thanks," Juliet replied, annoyed at being referred to as an airhead. "You won't be seeing me until I'm certain who you are and what you want."

"Someone took you from your proper place and people, girl, and I'm here to see about bringing you back."

That set Juliet's blood to boiling, without much effort. "My people?! Which ones?! The ones that shun my mother because she's black? Or the ones who deny her existence because she married a Boer?" Not technically true, her father had never owned any land but the house and she wasn't sure if he was actually of Boer descent, or what his politics or her paternal grandparents' had been back before she was born. But she had heard enough from other kids in school, her old school, and from her relatives on both sides. She had learned to protect herself quite early, and learned that she had no people. "I think I'll stick with the people who accept me for what I am, thanks."

There was a moment of quiet, then, "Mistakes were made all around, girl. I did not create your situation, nor do the small minds that judged you and your mother constitute your people. I am not here for strife or violence. You were taken by stealth, without learning our side of the offer. Now come out here where we can have a civilized conversation, girl. You're scaring your parents."

"You're the one doing that," Juliet snarled back, "take a hike. Come back after you've made an appointment."

"Juliet!" That was her mother's voice, and Juliet could tell from that one word that she was appalled at her daughter's tone. "Get in here right now, miss! He is a guest!"

"There a goon in there with you?"

"Not anymore," the still unidentified man offered, "He is on his way out the front door now."

Sure enough, moments later she heard the sound of the front door open and close. She stuck her head out, very carefully, and saw a shadow briefly in the curtained window in the front door. She debated a moment further, then let the communication spell fade and fingered the gem on her wrist, channeling a little power into it and whispering, "Hayate-sensei, I think I need you."

She felt no flicker in return, had on idea if the gem worked as it was supposed to, but she trusted her teachers enough to have faith that it did. So she sucked in a breath, and ghosted down the hall. By the time she reached it, she had her weapon in hand, her magic on edge, and her arms crossed belligerently. When Signum had taken her and Allison aside to start self-defense training, Allison had recommended that she get her hands on a pocket knife, something innocuous that could be passed off as a 'tool' but also function as a weapon. All she had managed, however, was a couple pounds of lead fishing weights wrapped in a leather tube, to put some serious weight behind her punches. She found it made her feel surprisingly more confident, having even an improvised weapon in hand.

When she stepped into the entry to the living room, her parents were still standing against the wall. Sitting on the couch, hands cupped on the top of a walking-cane set between his feet was an old black man, skin dusky and hair gray with age, staring at her intently. He was physically unimpressive, but the fixed stare was utterly confident. She could sense a probe, a finger of energy, and slammed power to her shields, hard enough they manifested physically as a greenish-yellow haze around her. "Stop that," she ordered, "I'm not one of your people, you can't scan me without my permission."

"You are one of my people," he countered, "despite your beliefs and current teachers."

"But you are not one of her teachers," Signum rumbled, stepping out of nothing to rest a hand on Juliet's shoulder.

The old man's eyes narrowed slightly, then he nodded slowly, "I had wondered how she managed to acquire a daughter of Africa without our noticing, since I know she never came here before our first encounter. I forgot, she had you and your sisters to come skulking in while we were distracted."

Juliet snarled back, "My parent's aren't named Africa, last time I checked. I'm a daughter of Johan and Naledi Van Saar, not Africa."

The steady glare fixed on her again, "You would deny your heritage?"

"Why not? Everyone else does. My heritage is my parents, nothing more."

"Juliet," her father said, walking over finally, "you cannot simply discard your heritage just because of a few hateful children."

"Yes I can, Daddy," she countered, still staring at the old an. "You and Mom are my heritage, not 'Africa', not some people that don't want me until they can take me away from someone else."

"Juliet, Shaman Ndebele can teach you so much," Her mother, unlike her father, did not stop until she had Juliet by the arm, pulling her towards a seat opposite the couch. Juliet let herself be dragged but remained standing, as her mother continued, "I know things have been difficult in the past, but all that would stop if you were under his guidance. It is a great honor, he rarely even meets with those outside his inner circle, let alone offering to arrange their education. You would have just as good an education as Miss Yagami's school can offer."

Juliet just shrugged, making sure Signum was not leaving with a glance. Her teacher was merely standing there, arms crossed, watching the Shaman watch Juliet. "So where was he last summer, huh? Or the year before that? He's had lots of time to make his offer, and never bothered until after Hayate-sensei made hers. Like I said, I'm only interesting to him when I can be taken away from someone else. A counter in a game I'm not interested in playing."

"You are no game counter, girl," Ndebele countered, "I may have my games, but I do not play them with children, nor against those who are not equipped to play back. Your teachers, yes. You, no. You would not be a challenge. I did not locate you previously because your mother's family is, quite frankly, rabidly insular and judgmental, and in the circles I move in, won't even admit to your mother's existence, let alone yours. For all our ancient ways, we rely on tracing bloodlines, family pride and rumors to find those in need of training, which methods have served us well for centuries. They failed in your case, through no fault of mine."

"Shamal-sensei found me pretty easily, found all of us and more besides."

He barked a laugh, "Yes, yes she did. She also has a satellite network watching over the entire world, girl. Hard to match that kind of sensory ability, even when you're as old and wily as I am. Mistakes were made, all around. Personally, I think your parents' relationship is a mistake, but it's their's to make, and they've made the best of it, so I've nothing to say there. On the other hand, I think your attendance at the Yagami Academy is a mistake, and that one does affect me. You are of Africa, girl, whatever you think. When you finish there, where will you go? Most likely, right back here. Which means, whatever you think or intend, you are going to have to deal with me and mine, and we with you. It would be better for everyone... for you, for me, for my fellows, for Africa... if you were trained in traditions that we know work, that we know will safeguard our land, rather than this foreign magery that has yet to prove itself anything but yet another western method for destroying the world."

"Not interested," Juliet snapped back. "Africa's never done anything for me, you've never done anything for me, so why should I do anything for you? You're right, I'll probably be back here after I graduate, but so what? This is a free country, ji-ji. If you want a piece of me then, you'll be welcome to try. Same now."

His eyes narrowed, and his voice was suddenly very soft, "Are you challenging me girl?"

"Damn right I am!"

"Juliet! Don't curse!"

"Yell at me later, Daddy," she replied. "Ji-ji wants to dance."

He continued to glare at her, and she kept glaring right back, waiting for him to make a move. She had no idea how strong he was, or how skilled, and knew challenging him was reckless, almost as reckless as Laura's stunts, but she was too angry, at his insulting assumption of superiority and how scared of him her parents were, to think clearly. The clearest thought in her mind was something Signum had told her and Allison. "We've encountered several Terran mages now, of multiple styles. They all share a few common habits and traits, whatever their claims. The most important for what I'm trying to teach you is that their methods of shielding are flawed. While they have demonstrated shields as strong as any you can produce, they are only shields against one thing or another. Their shields against magic have done little to nothing to stop physical attacks, and vice versa." Which had been a surprise, given that Lotte-sensei had trained them from the start to build one shield against both threats.

If he takes me up on it, she decided, I have to convince him it'll be a pure mage fight, magic versus magic. Then hit him while he's not looking.

After a moment, he smiled widely, showing perfectly even white teeth, "It's a good thing for you this is Africa girl, and I'm no mage. One of those thick-skulled western mages would take you up on that, show you just how much you've got to learn."

She snorted derisively, "You can't teach me anything Hayate-sensei can't teach me better. I'm going back there, not staying here."

"That is actually not your decision to make, girl. I asked out of politeness and curiosity. Your parents will make that decision, and I think they've already made up their minds."

Juliet shook her head, "They can tell me what to do, sure, and they can wrap me up in chains and hand deliver me to whatever prison you think you're going to teach me in. And I'll be there just long enough to escape. I know a lot of tricks, ways of using magic to get in and out of places, that I seriously doubt you know. You won't be able to hold me."

"You aren't that good, girl," he replied easily, smile shifting to a dismissive sneer, "Fourteenth in a class of sixteen. Not exactly a stellar performance."

"Bull," she shot back, just barely managing to keep from swearing in front of her parents again. "Fourteenth in a class of millions. Hayate-sensei picked and chose, took the best in our ages from all over the world. I could flunk out and still be better than the kids she passed over."

"You would defy your parents?"

"Why not? You're not respecting them, coming in here with your bully-boys and trying to scare them into forking me over like a mindless hunk of meat. I've made my choice, I know where my future lies, with people who accept me for what I am, instead of those who hate me for half my blood."

He chuckled again, sneer shifting back to full smile, "Good, then. See, Juliet, that's the thing that's been missing in this country for a good long while. Righteous backbone, and the pride that goes with it. The gumption to stand up for what's right, instead of what's easy, and damn the consequences." He shoved himself out of his chair, leaning heavily on the cane. "Go on back to Japan. Learn whatever you like. But you remember that righteous backbone, Juliet, and we'll get along just fine when you come back."

He started for the door, then stopped next to Signum, craning his neck up to look at her. "You've been quiet, pretty. Thought you were here to protect her, eh?"

Signum quirked an expressive eyebrow in a chastising manner, "Juliet is quite capable of presenting her own case. I am merely here to insure that any argument is strictly verbal. I would not have allowed her to battle you, for instance. Though, I would like to add that you made the right decision. Our students are all creative and motivated. If they thought she was being held against her will, they would come for her, even after she escaped."

"Hah, be good practice, for all of 'em, wouldn't it? Just remember, if she looses that spine, I'm taking her back."

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Translations:

Mãe – Mother, in Brazilian Portuguese.

Pai – Father, in Brazilian Portuguese.

Noob – an insulting term for someone new at a task (and thus unskilled), usually implies incurable stupidity.

Naledi – A South African girl's name meaning 'star'

Ji-ji – a Japanese term meaning, roughly, 'old man'. I've generally seen it used as a mild insult.

Author's notes:

0) This was supposed to be the 3rd or 4th Side Story, but... al three scenes got stuck in my head while writing Academy Blues Chapter 19, so now (hopefully) they're stuck in yours. I do have one other Side Story half-written, and another planned, which just goes to show how short my attention span is, since this was supposed to be updated once in a blue moon.

1) I updated h4k0rz with a list of some network/Internet terminology I used in the story. Apologies to the non-techno-geeks who read it and were confused.

2) The song Mariachi starts singing is, once again, a real song. It's off a record (vinyl, spinning disc, makes noise when you put a needle in the grooves…:) my father has of an Australian folk band singing Irish & Australian folk music. I believe the group was called 'The Bushwhakers', but the name of the song escapes me.

3) Allina's name is a variation on Alana, which means 'Precious', hence her mother continuously calling her that. It is NOT a reference to a certain infamous adventure trilogy.

4) Allina's and Niranjana's relationship is a matter of debate. I hadn't intended any such suggestion, but as I pictured Allina telling her parents about 'Jana, I remembered a few of jokes along similar lines that my parents have made at my expense. Are Allina and 'Jana, or could they be, an item? Haven't the foggiest! I'll figure it out later.

5) South African Summer - in case anyone's confused, South Africa (and Brazil, the Philippines & Australia, for that matter), due to their position in the southern hemisphere, have Christmas in the middle of summer.

6) Racism – I do not know how widespread and/or virulent racism of the type described above is in South Africa, but I can't imagine a society completely switching gears from Apartheid to flowers-and-sunshine in a couple measly decades. Apologies if I'm offending anyone, but I remember my own childhood experiences here in the US, (where we've had a few decades more to try and get over it) and they were quite similar, if for different reasons. The point of Juliet's family predicament is not to judge or insult, merely to give a basis for her character and personality.

7) Ndebele – this is actually the name of a people from northern Zimbabwe. As for whether Naledi uses it as a reference to the Shaman's people, or if it's his name, or has some other meaning, that's a good question, now isn't it?

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AceStarLeaf: Glad you enjoyed the last chapter. I don't have any plans for whoever the 'noob' was, mostly because he/she/it served my purposes already. Never even heard of Uplink, I'm afraid, most of last chapter was based on my own information technology training.

Kell Shock: I'm afraid I stole the application of that reference from one of my IT teachers. Most hackers are referred to as 'black hats', but he preferred 'darksiders', and I'm enough of a Star Wars fanboy to prefer that as well.

CrimsonDX: Glad you liked it, it was more fun to write than I expected (hence Allina & Niranjana being included again here). I know the above wasn't much of Mariachi, but he has a part to play in the main story, though I may give his view of it here instead of there. Unfortunately, that won't be until later, since doing anything with it soon would reveal the main story's plot! Same for Cid-chan, I'm afraid, only more so.

Eni Li'Nave: I post in a couple of fandoms (primarily Naruto and here), so that's where a lot of my other stories end up. Also, most of my 'other projects' recently haven't been post-worthy, though I am re-working one of them to make it so. I wasn't expecting this either, but was re-reading AB and found myself wondering about a scene early on that mentions Allina & Niranjana doing something together. Ideas spiraled from there. I had originally planned to explore each of the students in the main story, and not really have a 'running plot' for that, but the idea of the Circles cropped up too strong, and I wound up focusing on the trio almost to the exclusion of the other students. So yeah, this is separated to let me explore the other kids without having to disrupt the main story with random scenes. Keeping track of details is actually fairly random for me… I haven't referenced my outline for AB since about chapter four or five, if then. I had originally planned for the hacker to be a Circle operative, but then lost track of it until I went back and re-read. Rather than de-rail or over-complicate the main plot, I decided to side-track that detail here, which then helps to create continuity between AB and Side Stories. As for the level of detail… two of my favorite authors are Tom Clancy and David Weber, both of whom provide sometimes terrifying levels of detail in their books (as an aside, I obstinately refuse to read Dan Brown, after spending a year being told by everyone and their brother, "you'll love his books"… didn't have the time then and got tired of being harped on for it:). I do actually have an idea for a story on Noah, but as with CrimsonDX's request for more on Mariachi, it'll have to wait, since it's set in as-yet-un-posted part of AB.

TheWhiteMonk: yup, if enough people yell at me, I'll listen:). I added the terminology explanation to last chapter for you, if you're still confused &/or curious.

Liingo: You're welcome! This is actually, as I mentioned to Eni Li'Nave, what AB was supposed to be originally, seeing what a bunch of kids with no tradition of magic get up to when given what amounts to free reign.