Blood Scrawled Note: Not much to say here except that Howell is property of Tsutomu Teruko, and that both Johnny Lee Coker and Hiro Sasuki are property of Kafka'sdragon. Also... Merry Christmas. Ha ha hah!

The King of Dust

---

This is the dead land
This is cactus land
Here the stone images
Are raised, here they receive
The supplication of a dead man's hand
Under the twinkle of a fading star.

Is it like this
In death's other kingdom
Waking alone
At the hour when we are
Trembling with tenderness
Lips that would kiss
Form prayers to broken stone.

--From T. S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men"

---

Chapter Three: Obfuscation

The sudden rush of students to the front of the room generates a palpable wind that rustles a few loose items about the room. The two tall spikes of hair on Katsako's head flutter from it, drawing her focus more to the group than anything else she had been staring at. Her face changes from confusion, to hesitation, to happiness and back again in several different passes.

The girls cluster around the young boy like flies on honey, asking any number of questions of the child. Several "adorable" comments are heard along with a couple of "cute" remarks and general fawning over the small, cute boy.

"Ladies, please!" Negi protests while being surrounded.

The door slides open and a man in suit steps in. "Take it easy on your new teacher, girls."

Breathlessly, Asuna takes notice. "T- Takahata!"

"So he's really our new teacher?"a taller blond girl asks. She turns to Negi. "Well then, please let me introduce myself. I am Yukihiro Ayaka and I am the class representative of 2-A. If there is anything you need, please let me know."

"Um, thanks. Takahata-san, it's nice to meet you here." The new teacher struggles from inside the swarm.

"Come on girls, let up a bit," Takahata orders gently, knowing full well they were just playing. When they do that, he introduces Negi. "Okay, let me introduce your teacher. This is Negi Springfield. He's your homeroom and English teacher. In addition, you also have a new classmate. Miss, would you come up here please?" he gestures to Kat.

"Umm… Yes. Okay." Kat stands up and walks over the gathering.

"Now the rest of you please sit down so they can do this properly. Negi-kun…"

"Yes?"

"We'll have to catch up again some time. It's great to have you aboard. And I'd like to talk to you too, Tamori-san. So I'll see you both around sometime."

His use of Tamori-san causes her to shudder. "Okay, Takamichi-san."

Negi agrees. "Yes, Takahata-san."

The older teacher leaves so the two new members of the class can do a proper introduction.

"Hello everyone. I am Tamori Katsako, and first off I'd like to say, if you can, please just call me Kat or Katsako. I'd feel more comfortable that way." She bows a little and goes to sit in her seat.

"Right. My name is Negi," as he is speaking he turns to write on the chalkboard, "Springfield. And as was said, I will be your homeroom teacher and English teacher from now on. So I hope we will all have a good year together."

Asuna seems slightly angry as she looks off to the side. Muttering under her breath, she comments, "Stupid kid…"

---

When class is over, Katsako walks with Negi outside. The birds chirp loudly, fighting over a few bits of corn someone happened to have strewn about. The last of the afternoon light beams down through the shade of the trees, making little dancing bright spots in their shadows.

"Well, I don't think today went all that badly," Negi says.

"No. It could have always been worse. I will say though, that Asuna girl seems like a grouch."

"Oh? But the dean said I could stay in his granddaughter's room… who also bunks with Asuna. But then I asked him what you would do and he assigned you to room with Sasaki Makie and Izumi Ako."

"So… he really is treating me like a student." She reaches around behind her and brings her hair around front. "Well, as long as I have my ribbon here, you and I don't have to worry."

"Your ribbon?"

Kat smiles. "Yep. You see," she removes it, allowing her hair to flow free, "if I fold it in the shape of the letter K…" She begins to fold it near the steps while one of the class members, a Miyazaki Nodoka, begins to come down towards them while carrying a large pile of books.

"Let's see…" Negi refers to his class chart. "Number 27, Miyazaki Nodoka."

"Negi!" Kat shouts suddenly. "Hurry!"

Negi looks up to see Nodoka still walking slowly down the stairs. Just as he is about to ask "Why the sudden outburst," the book carrying girl begins to stumble. As she teeters over Negi swiftly runs in and, using wind magic to slow her fall, catches the plummeting girl. Books rain down, falling all around.

Farther away, Asuna happens to catch this. Curiosity takes over and she walks over to the two new additions to the class.

"Miyazaki-san, are you okay?" Negi asks.

Katsako stands up, taking her ribbon off the ground and dusting it off. "She'll be fine. You did well my gallant little knight."

"Thank you, Miss Tamori."

"What the hell was that?" The voice jerks their attention to the belled red-head behind them.

"N- N- N- Noth… I was…"

Katsako is about to put the ribbon back in her hair when Nodoka begins to stir.

"Negi… Sensei?" she asks quietly from her blurred stupor.

Asuna grabs the kid by the neck and drags the blue-haired girl by the arm and charges off quickly, Kat's hair flowing in the wind. Both hostages look shocked at the power of the girl railroading them.

Asuna dumps the two out in the nearby woods and instantly demands an explanation.

"Okay you two! Something odd is going on here and I want to know what it is. You both seem awfully chummy with each other and what just went on with Nodoka-san there?" she hisses. "You," she points at Katsako, "seemed to know what was going to happen before it did and you," she motions to Negi, "you're a freak. You're a couple of mutant superheroes aren't you? Where are the rest of the X-Men?"

As if she is ignoring the ragin' Kaguarazaka, Katsako remains silent as she ties the ribbon back in her hair.

"I'm not a superhero!" argues Negi.

"No, you're a mutant superhero! There's a difference!"

"I'm not a mutant superhero either! I- Imma mage!"

Kat begins to ask, "Negi… I thought that…"

She's immediately overpowered with, "There really isn't much of a difference if you ask me! They had Storm! And Jubilee."

"But she was so weak that I really wouldn't consider Jubilee…" Kat half says before being muscled out of the conversation again.

"Now you'll need to keep that a secret…"

"Like hell I will!"

"Oh, there you are Asuna. What's going on?" The voice belongs to her friend Konoka.

"These two are up to some shady things." Asuna goes on to explain her hypothesis, "Though they shouldn't, they know each other! And over by the steps, Nodoka was about to fall and she, Jean Grey there, knew it before it happened. He used some kind of powers and softened her landing when he caught her and now he's claiming to be a mage!"

Konoka's eyes light up. "Are you really a mage Negi-sensei? I love occult stuff and magic is awesome. Could you show me?"

"I'm going to have to, starting with you Asuna-san. I'm going to erase your memories! I can't have you telling anyone that I'm a mage. Sorry." He draws the staff from off his back and aims it at the now scared girl. "This may end up resetting your memories completely…"

With a wavering voice, she asks, "Reset my memories?"

Negi fires off his spell and the arcane force resets… her wardrobe.

Katsako takes a good look at what just happened, analyzing with a critical eye. "There's something odd about her," she mutters to herself.

Asuna breaks down and begins to cry. "WhaaaaaaaAAAAaaaa!"

"… Oops."

Konoka looks on in awe, mostly out of interest for the magic she's just seen. Slightly farther away, Takamichi hears the shouting and heads in its direction, not expecting to find what he sees. Negi, Konoka, Katsako, and Asuna… who happens to only be wearing threads.

The knowledge that Takahata has just seen her naked is too much for Asuna to bear. She runs off still unclothed. Konoka hurries to try and catch her friend, with Negi right behind her, with the hope he can smooth things over. Kat stays behind with the other teacher.

"Aren't you going to go catch up with the others?" Takahata asks the girl with the sky-blue hair.

"No. I can't get involved. This counts as a human-on-human thing," she answers.

Takahata gives her a weird look. "What does that mean?"

"You're a sort of a mage. I can tell it. So you'll be more likely to believe me when I say I'm not human."

"So what are you then?"

---

The black cloaked monster walks down a darkly lit hallway made of grim stone. He passes a window which shows a view of the landscape outside. Wherever it is, it certainly isn't anywhere on Earth. Black swaths of land retch up great black stones and dead trees. Grayed yellow skies carrying darkened clouds hang over head.

"Sooo… where are we?" asks the decapitated albino's head.

"We are beyond your understanding fool's head." He pulls a large metal ring attached to a heavy wooden door.

Inside the room, pyres burn in every corner and one suspended from the ceiling, flooding the room with a dim light.

"Where are we now?" the head asks. With no answer forthcoming, Howell plows on. "Are we there yet?"

The King of Dust slams the head down on a table filled with equipment, completely ignoring the question posed to him. He walks over to a stand along the northern wall in the room and holds out his left hand, palm up. A dark energy spirals into existence above his hand as he chants.

Howell doesn't recognize the language.

The lights of The King's eyes change from red to white and then to a deep blue. A crimson fluid pools in his palm, quickly drawn up into the black energy like a vapor. Kneeling down, he takes a bottle from a cabinet in the stand, uncorks it, and sets it in the middle below the black orb. Slowly, and with purpose, he scrawls a circle of symbols and runes around it. The black energy condenses down into a liquid and drips into the small glass container.

When the black energy is fully in the bottle, The King opens the front of his cloak. Since the black cloaked monster is facing away, the only thing Howell can sense is the sound of a quiet inhalation as the bottle apparently gets placed in an inside pocket within the cloak.

When he turns around again, his eyes are once again red lights.

"So now what?" Howell asks.

The King of Dust's eye lights focus on the talking head. Howell feels himself avoiding the glances. If he could swallow, he would.

"You seem to be under the impression that I am your friend…" The King snarls softly. "I am your lord and master. Nothing more. I will be back for you if I need you or your ingredients." With his clawed gauntlet clad right hand, he lifts Howell by his hair again and places him in a wardrobe filled with other random bits of decayed human.

The cabinet is dark on the inside and smells horrific. He can swear he hears a heartbeat.

---

"I never would have believed you," Takahata says to Kat. "So why haven't you told Negi?"

"I… think it would be best if he didn't know. I don't want to scare him."

"That's probably for the best."

They both step out of the small grove and back out on to the pavement.

Before they part ways, Kat comments, "It was really nice speaking with you. Perhaps you'd like to talk again over dinner or something…?"

Confused, Takahata asks "Are you asking me on a date?"

Katsako blushes and looks down. "Not exactly. I was thinking about how you humans need to eat and I figured dinner would be a good time to find out a bit more about this place here and you seem to know quite a bit about here. Knowing more would be useful in my job here." She twiddles her fingers. Quickly, she realizes she used the word 'here' a bit too much. The idea that she must look like an idiot passes through her mind.

"Sure. I think that would be okay. Would tomorrow night at around seven work for you?"

Embarrassed, Katsako nods. "Yes. Any time would be good."

"I'll see you then." Takahata turns and walks away with a small wave.

Kat smiles cheerfully and heads in the direction Negi followed Asuna in.

---

Negi is walking behind the formerly naked girl, having restored her clothes shortly after she fled. Konoka is right next to him. Since finding out that he's a mage, he's quickly become her new favorite person.

She has also taken the role of mediator between the two parties.

"Come on Asuna. He said he was sorry," pleads Konoka. "Besides, my grandfather told him to room with us."

"He's going to ruin my life at this rate! What makes you think I'd want him in the same room as me, huh? And for that matter, why can't he simply room with that friend of his?"

"She's going to room with Makie-san and Ako-san," Negi answered.

Asuna asks the boy, "Why here of all the places in the entire world, did you have to come here and screw things up. Why?"

The boy says timidly, "Well, it's part of my certification to become a master mage. See as a mage, it's my duty to go and secretly assist people using my powers. It's highly respected non-government work amongst the residents of the magic world.

"Right now, I'm on a probationary contract. So I have to be careful not to let my secret out."

Asuna grabs the child by his shirt collar. "And what happens if someone uncovers you?"

"Well, first I'd lose my license and I'd get sent back home. When I got back they'd turn me into an ermine."

Asuna laughs creepily enough to scare the young boy in her clutches. "So that's how it is, huh? Well, then, in order for you to smooth things over with me, I'm going to need your help."

Konoka can sense Asuna is up to something. "Oh dear."

"Konoka, I'll meet you back at our room later."

"But—!"

"Later Konoka!"

Without a second attempt at an argument, Konoka lets her friend walk away, dragging the boy behind her, hoping that Asuna will remember the party. After she is a good distance away, Katsako finally catches up to her.

Looking past her shoulder, Katsako asks, "Where are Negi and Asuna-san?"

"It's best we don't disrupt Asuna right now. So, are you a mage like Negi-sensei?"

"No. Listen, I need to speak with Negi right now—" is all Kat can say before being cut off.

"Oh don't worry so much. Come with me," the brunette says while grabbing Kat's hand and pulling her in the opposite direction. "We are having a welcoming party for Negi, and since you both are new I think that should include you too." She is all smiles as she leads Katsako back to the classroom.

"So tell me," Konoka continues, "are you a mage like Negi-sensei?"

"Not really, no. But I don't think it would be a good idea to tell you the truth either…"

---

Just like Konoka hoped, Asuna does remember the classroom… but only because she needs to pick up some stuff. When she opens the door, the two of them are greeted by a great cacophony of joyful noise. Small popping fireworks, streamers, confetti, and cheering from the girls of 2-A take the new teacher and his student by surprise.

"Oh, that's right! We were having a welcoming party for you!"

In a clear enough tone, during a well timed low spot in the noise, Ayaka merits, "Thanks for showing up late Asuna-san."

Asuna growls and holds her fist up in response to the rep's snide comment.

Negi is quickly shuffled to the middle of the room by the girls and made to sit down as the special guest of honor. A good few of them crowd together around him, offering him food, complimenting his Japanese, and remarking how cute and adorable he is.

"Took you a while. What were you two up to?" Konoka asks her friend while handing her a drink.

"Nothing a good stiff belt won't fix." Asuna swigs her punch and pounds the cup down in the table with a firm exhalation.

"Excuse me… Negi-sensei…?"

"Ah, Miyazaki-san. You're the Library Monitor, right?"

With a red face covered by her hair, she says, "Since… you saved me earlier… I wanted to give you this to say thank you and as a show of my gratitude." She sticks a book awkwardly out to him.

"Way to make a move, Honya-chan!"

"It's not like that and I'm not Honya!"

"Thank you Miyazaki-san." Negi cheerfully takes the book. He looks around and asks, "Have you seen Tamori-san? Since she is new I think she should participate too."

Kazumi replies, "She said it was a bit human in here for her, whatever that means, so she greeted Ako-san and Makie-san, her roommates, and left."

"Ah. Well, I can't force her."

Negi decides to spend a good time at the party, eating and drinking and receiving bronze statues from the rep, which, while tastefully sculpted, are a bit much. He "helps" Asuna by reading Takahata's mind, which mostly involved the red head's panties. When Negi relays this information, Asuna sees fit to run away.

When he catches up with her…

"I'll make the love potion for you. It might take a few months but I can do it!"

Asuna protests, "Just leave me alone! And keep out of my business."

"Listen Asuna-san, as your teacher from now on, it is my responsibility to see that my students are happy."

"It's an unrequited love. I know that he'll never feel anything for me… Even if you had a love potion."

"Magic would be no good here anyway. Ojii-san said once: Our magic is not omnipotent. A little bit of courage is the real magic." Asuna turns and walks away. "Did… Did I say something wrong?"

She swishes back around. "No. I understand that showing a little courage goes a long way. I'll try being a bit more courageous."

Katsako walks by a little later, not going much further than a nearby corner, to hear Asuna talking. She isn't wearing the bells in her hair and she seems… anxious? The blue haired girl can't quite place it.

"I… Sensei… I love you." Katsako's expression changes to a calm look of resolve and understanding. Asuna whirls around again. "But it would never work out between us. You're a teacher and I am a student."

Negi grabs her shoulder and they both end up face to face, with such a small distance between them. Both kids are flushed as they look into each other's eyes.

"Is… Is it okay if… we keep going?"

Katsako steps back and away with a pleasant smile on her face. She opens a door and heads up to the roof.

---

The sun is going down when Katsako opens the door and steps out. She makes her way over to the edge to look out over Mahora. The breeze picks up enough to make her hair flow. She is fully aware of the footsteps approaching from behind.

"Be careful you don't fall over the edge now." The owner of the voice is a small blonde girl. Right behind her is a taller, green haired girl. Kat chooses to ignore them. The speaker becomes impatient with her. "Listen, I can sense when magical beings cross into my grounds here. And you're glowing like the sun."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't slay you where you stand vampire?"

"I know what you are too."

"Congratulations. Do you want your prize in one lump sum or paid out over 20 years? I'm sure you can spare the time."

With a quick burst of movement all parties quickly end up at each other throats. Kat has small runed circles with small orbs of silver energy in the palms of her hands, and aimed at the heads of both of the other girls. Evangeline, after speaking her release in the short instant, has a dark orb on her fingertip, pointing it right at Kat's right eye and Chachamaru has a blade at the blue haired girl's neck.

"And yet I still win this situation," comments Katsako.

"Is that so? As I remember, in that form, you're just as weak as a normal human."

Kat huffs a laugh. "You're severely underestimating me."

"Feh. The two of us are more than a match for you."

Chachamaru punches Kat in the gut and Eva lands a powerful kick there right after. Kat's orbs dissipate as she begins tumbling backwards and over the edge. She trips over the parapet and begins a plummet downward. Before she can splatter all over the ground, she disappears. Eva goes up to the ledge to see the corpse only to find nothing. No red splatter, no body… Just the blue haired girl casually walking away with her arms behind her head.

"She's going to be fun. Come Chachamaru."

Chachamaru nods and follows her petite master.

---

Later and much farther away, in Los Angeles, California, USA.

A young Asian male is talking with another man in a back alley. He lights up a cigarette which shows his features, including a patch over his left eye.

Two red specks of light come from down the alley and stop, their owner not making a sound while leaning against a wall and watching. The two men continue their conversation, unaware of their visitor. The fire of the cancer stick bobs up and down as the one man speaks.

The smoking man tosses out a couple of names and the larger man answers that he doesn't know anything about that, asking if the guy with the cigarette is a cop. The smoking man answers that he's an errand boy and then remembers that he was telling the big guy about the fact that he stole someone else's car and beat the crap out of them, then shot him three times in the chest and then raped his girlfriend and shot her between the eyes afterwards.

It isn't long before the smoker crushes his light under his shoe. They toss racial remarks between each other and then begin to fight. The smoking man spends a little time, as the local terminology will allow, kicking the shit out of the big guy. As he lay there, bleeding, the smaller guy pulls a pistol out of his coat and screws a silencer into the end of it.

The red lights flare up energetically.

Three shots tear into the grounded man's chest and then one more rips a hole in between his eyes. As the shooter leaves the alley, the owner of the red lights exhales which makes the sound of a distant winter wind. Quietly, the owner of the lights whispers, "You are an angel…"

The shooter tightens his coat around him. It seems that it is going to be cold tonight.

The owner of the red lights steps over to the dead body. The garbage in a nearby trashcan sets ablaze, providing a soft orange light. The light reveals the dark cloak of The King. He kneels down and sticks a claw in the bullet hole in the dead man's forehead, making blood spurt out from the edges. A few moments of digging produces a small metal lump. He observes it in the weak light, how the light plays off the lead and blood.

"Why he simply did not blow your head off… I do not care." He flicks the bullet into the burning barrel, making a metallic ding as it bounces off one of the inner walls. "I do find it quite a useful development though." His attention draws down to the corpse. "Wake up… Mister Johnny Lee Coker."

The dead body of Johnny opens its eyes. "Uuuugh… Fuck. What happened?"

"You died Mister Coker, which means you fall into my jurisdiction now. Stand up."

Johnny does as The King instructs. Blood flows forth from the new hole in his head. "So what do you mean I'm in your jurisdiction? Who the hell do you think you are? And why are you wearing a mask? This ain't Mardi Gras and you're a hell of a long way from New Orleans."

"I am the one true god of the dead Mr. Coker. I am The King of Dust. And this is not a mask. This is my face."

"What a fucking joke, you're telling me you ain't human then?"

"I spit on the human race Mr. Coker. I am of dragon blood. Far above and beyond you pitiful monkeys."

"What bullshit man… Fuck you! You ain't no goddamn dragon. You're just some fucked up coke hound looking for his next hit." Johnny begins to walk off.

The King holds out his right hand, causing Johnny to tumble over. The monster slowly pads over to him, each step making an audible click. "You're existence now wholly depends on me. Right now, I am preventing you from moving. You see, when something dies, its brain and therefore all of its other vital organs shut down. I'd think with the number of people you yourself have killed, that'd be completely obvious. You may notice that you can resist a little, but that's just the last of the electrical charge in your brain firing off. I can even shut off your ability to taste, touch, smell, see…"

Johnny loses the view of the bottom of the King's cloak. "Even your ability to hear, but I rather want you to listen to what I am saying."

"Then why me? I'm a human."

Johnny's eyesight returns. The King puts both hands on Johnny's shoulders, forcing Johnny to look up to his eye lights. "Because you are, or rather were, a very angry man and anger knows no race. If you decide to work for me, I'll offer you a chance at revenge on the one that brought you to me. If not, I'll let you get on with the rotting you were about to do."

"You ain't giving me much of a choice, are you?"

The King shook his head. "…No. So, what say you?" He takes his left hand and offered it for a shake.

Johnny's first reaction is to stick his right arm out. This confuses him for a second until he switches hands. He grabs and shakes The King's hand firmly. The lights of The King's eyes grow intense for a moment. When that's done, Johnny stands up.

The King holds out his right hand and makes a concentration of black energy flare up. "You made the right choice Mr. Coker…"

As they walk out of the alley into the dark, The King reaches into his cloak, once again producing the quiet inhaling noise. He holds out a vial and looks at the dark fluid inside. Three quarters of the contents remain as he swishes it around. Drops cling to the side of the vial when he stops and places it back within his cloak.

"What's that noise?" Johnny asks as the inhalation noise is heard again as The King opens his cloak, though he can't see in the dark.

"None of your concern Mr. Coker. There are greater things for me to focus on."

---

The two of them enter into the room where The King left Howell's head. The monster opens the cabinet again and takes the head out. He hands it to Johnny and begins walking away.

"What do you want me to do with this?" Johnny asks.

"I want the both of you to get out of this room."

Howell, seemingly unaffected by being in a cabinet full of body parts, asks, "So where will we be staying?"

"You're both dead. You require neither room nor board." With that, he walks away, leaving the door open. "Keep each other company for all I care. I will not be requiring you where I am going."

When he's gone, Johnny turns Howell's head to look at him. Howell smiles at him and asks, "What's your name?"

"Johnny Coker, freak job."

"You've got red on you…" Howell observes.

"Worthless." Johnny walks out and of the room and tosses Howell down the stairs. "See you at the bottom!" Johnny cackles.

---

Katsako arrives at the door to her new room later that day, taking a second to confirm names. With a flare of white light, she runs a finger over the door in a strange pattern. The pattern is an arcane symbol that starts to glow then fades away slowly.

"Home away from home I guess," she sighs. The blue haired girl sits down outside the room.

About a half hour later, Ako and Makie show up to find Katsako propped up against the wall near the door.

"Um… Katsako-san?" asks Ako.

"Hmm? Oh, hello Makie-san, Ako-san."

"Hiya!" Makie says energetically.

Ako asks the new girl, "What are you doing?"

"I tried to go in but the door is locked." Kat points weakly to the door.

Ako exclaims. "Oh that's right! We completely forgot. We're sorry Katsako-san. We'll have to get you a key soon."

"Hey," Kat waves it off "don't worry about me." She stands up and brushes her outfit off. "The time went by in an instant."

"Well come on in," Makie says as Ako unlocks the door.

"I hope it doesn't feel like I'm intruding." Kat looks embarrassed as she enters.

Happily, Makie says, "Of course not!"

"I'll try to remain as unobtrusive as possible." The blue haired girl's voice is small.

"Good luck with that," Ako warns her. "Our class can get pretty rowdy so being out of the way really won't be possible. Yeah we have a couple of quieter classmates, but don't be afraid to speak up and have a good time.

"By the way, it was odd that you happened to show up at the same time as our new teacher."

Kat thinks swiftly. "I transferred before school started so it was inevitable that if you were to get a new teacher that we'd arrive on the same day."

Makie agrees. "That's true."

Kat looks around the room, noticing the various details. The items around the room speak volumes about the varying tastes of its inhabitants.

"Oh!" the blue haired girl chirps suddenly. "We should do something to commemorate."

Makie agrees. "We totally should."

"How about dinner," Katsako asks, "my treat?"

"Really?" Ako asks.

Kat smiles brightly. "Yes. I find food warms humans up rather quickly. And since I'm new, why not do something special? Plus, if I pay, the likelihood of you showing me the best place to eat here increases. So what do you say?"

Both of the other girls agree to the idea of celebrating a new roommate and go to prepare for going out. Kat simply waits as her two roomies get changed.

---

They end up following Makie to… a beef bowl. "Here. I like this place."

All three of them are dressed casually after spending 20 minutes preparing.

"Oh come on," Ako pleads, "she said the best place to eat. Not… this."

"What?" Makie argues. "This is the best place to eat."

Ako groans. "She wanted the best place to eat, not your favorite."

"Well, when you think about it, the best place to eat is really a matter of opinion," the pink haired girl reasons.

Kat agrees with her and adds, "I'm not much of one for randomness, but at the same time, I can't choose sides. So how about you two flip a coin or something?"

"Aww… Would you at least be willing to see the other place?" Ako asks.

"Of course! I'm always up for going to new places!" exclaims the blue haired girl.

"Okay then," Makie says. "But don't forget about this place."

Kat acknowledges. "I won't."

They walk all the way to the place Ako thought of. A fancy place a few blocks down the road. The debate about where to go is about to kick up again.

"Oh, this place looks nice." Katsako enters without hesitation.

Makie is still a bit pouty when she and Ako enter.

They sit down and get waited on right away. Kat orders quickly and with a lot of enthusiasm. Ako orders like a normal person, and Makie orders like a normal person on a depressing day.

"You ordered rather quickly and were awfully excited." Ako asks, "Is that your favorite?"

"Not at all." Kat is all smiles.

"Then what was that all about?"

"I've never had it before!" Kat states. "Now about you Makie-san, how about we go to that place you wanted to tomorrow perhaps? So please cheer up. It's supposed to be a fun time. It's the end of the first day back in class with a new teacher… a new student and roommate."

The gymnast sighs. "You're right. Tomorrow I'll take you to the beef bowl place."

"Sounds like a plan, Makie-san."

---

Eventually, they get their meals and finish them off. When they make it back to the room, something dawns on Ako.

"Katsako-san, I didn't see you bring any bags or anything."

Kat seems a little uneasy. "Um… I don't mean any disrespect or anything, but could you just call me Kat or Katsako. And I brought my bags in. Didn't you see?" Ako doesn't remember all too well whether she had bags or not. "It wasn't much, I'll admit. I like to travel light."

After sorting out her bed, Kat excuses herself from the room. She makes her way to the roof of the building and expects to be greeted by the vampire girl and the robot again. When no such thing happens, she finds a nice wall to… place her ribbon on. Carefully, she folds it into a "K" shape.

A fancy door ripples into reality on the wall. The girl turns the knob and enters, emerging not but a few minutes later with a glass bottle, a goblet, and strange metal device. She sets the goblet down on the barrier wall around the edge of the building. Using the metal thing on the top of the bottle, she makes a few twists which create a satisfying pop when she lifts the arms of the device up. The metal thing gets placed to the side in favor if the glass.

A dark crimson fluid flows into the glass. Kat sets the bottle on the ceiling, against the wall.

"Well dad… I started a new adventure today. I'll still remember my duty, but thanks to my big mouth, I've become appointed as the guardian of a human child and teacher." She sighs, takes a whiff of the goblet's contents, and sips. "No, I won't treat him any different than a standard human, but… I'm not sure how to handle this really. This is something new entirely.

"I mean… I like him well enough… and if I waited long enough… Well, I suppose that's for me to figure out isn't it. How did you handle it? I know you said I was ready but I'm still way too green for this I think. I am trying as hard as I can, and I know that's all you ever expect of me... but what if I fail in either of my duties?"

She sighs and sips her drink again. Speaking in perfect English she comments, "Like you said, nothing to it but to do it!"

---

End Chapter Three…