After a brief flight to the Human Village, (which would have been long if walked to.) Keima and Elsie got to the schoolhouse where a girl who was reported by Reimu to have been acting strangely taught. While this may only be a hunch from Reimu's part, it's in Keima and Elsie's best interest to check it out! Back to the event!
"You weren't supposed..."
"What?"
"You weren't supposed to... see me."
"..."
"I can't let you live having seen me. I'll have to take care of you."
"..."
"Sorry, Keima-kun."
"W-wait!"
...
Hours Earlier.
The darkness of the schoolhouse accentuated the faint shadow coming from the inside of the room. The shadow was tall, with a big head moving left and right. After a few seconds, the candle died down and the shafts of light came through all the doors.
"Nii-sama... I don't think we should be here." Elsie said.
"I agree. Let's wait outside." Keima opened the door carefully, still facing down the hallway.
Closing the door to the schoolhouse, Elsie said, "Nii-sama. Was that Keine?"
"I would think so."
"She's a... big girl." Elsie said.
"Yeah... So it seemed." Keima said again.
Minutes passed, then hours. It seemed school started later than Maijima in the Human Village, for it was the afternoon when kids started to open the door to the schoolhouse.
"Damn, she never came out." Keima said. "Looks like we'll have to wait until school is over."
Elsie sighed, "Kami Nii-sama, do you think Keine has a loose soul in her?"
"Well, I don't know. It wouldn't hurt to check to see."
The day went by slowly. Keima and Elsie walked around the human village to pass the time, looking at windows of stores and vending stalls. Soon, the small roster of children poured out of the schoolhouse door and a tall white haired, not-fat woman waved them out.
"That's her." Keima pointed out. "Keine."
"Wow. Nii-sama, she's pretty!" Elsie said, mesmerized by Keine's beauty. "And not fat like we thought!"
Keima walked up to the door of the schoolhouse. Keine saw him walking up, and said, "Hello there, young sir. How may I help you?"
"Keine-san, I have been looking at you from afar. I would be honored if you would go on a date with me."
Keine was astonished by this man's sudden confession "B-beg pardon?" Keine said, trying to play the whole scene off.
"I think you heard me, loud and clear."
This man was serious. To Keine, it wasn't new to have men confess to her every so often. Each one she turned down. This man was different, however. No nonsense about his confession. No fear.
"I'm very glad you feel that way, mister, but I don't tend to be a romantic person. Not only that but I don't know you."
"Okay," Keima said, quickly turning away toward where Elsie was hiding. "Goodbye then."
"Who was that just now? I don't think I've ever seen him here before... And his clothes are strange..." Keine thought.
Back behind a food vending stall where Elsie watched the whole even unfold, Keima said, "I think that went rather smoothly."
"If I remember correctly, you did this for her to remember you?" Elsie asked.
"Correct. You learn well." Keima said, lightly patting Elsie's head.
Elsie giggled, "Oh, but Nii-sama, don't you have to be an equal to this girl like you were with Jun?"
"The only difference between Nagase-sensei and Keine is that one I was a student to, and the other I'm not. If you think about it, that's a world of a difference." Keima pointed out. "With Keine, I can't struggle to be her equal without being her student. I have to struggle by being her friend."
"Isn't it harder to be a teacher's friend though?"
"Allow me to teach you something useful : TEACHER STUDENT FRIEND FRIEND!
"That... made no sense."
"Yes, it did. A teacher and student are two different things, but a friend and a friend however are..?"
"The same thing! Wow, it makes sense now!" Elsie's eyes gleamed.
"Anyway, I need you to get close to her to see if she actually has a loose soul. The good thing about what I did is that if it turns out she doesn't have a loose soul, she won't be suspicious if I left after being rejected. Although, if it turns out she does have a loose soul, she'll expect me to be back and try to court her. Win win."
"Nii-sama, you really thought this out. It really is amazing," Elsie said. "Okay, I'll try and talk to her."
"Good. I'll be watching from here." Keima said, pointing to the ground.
Elsie walked up to the schoolhouse door. School for the children had ended rather early, as there is still sunlight in the air. Plenty of it. It must've been at least early afternoon. Knocking on the schoolhouse door, Keine opened the door quickly, as though she had been standing there the whole time. From Keima's perspective, Elsie was making small talk with Keine until...
DORODORODORODORODORODORO
Reimu's hunch was right. Keine does have a loose soul. Elsie pressed her beret as they both let out a high pitched yelp, to which she quickly laughed. She must've thought Elsie was set up by the neighborhood kids to scare Keine. Elsie waved goodbye to a surprised Keine, who was probably surprised Elsie was leaving so soon. Keine waved goodbye back and closed the door. Turning around, Elsie quickly ran toward the stall Keima was hiding behind.
"I think you heard, Nii-sama." Elsie said
"Yes, I did. It proved that Reimu was right about Keine. If memory serves me right, she said Keine was acting depressed or something." Keima rubbed his chin. "Elsie."
"Yes?" Elsie perked up.
"I need you to shape shift and become a kid."
"A kid? I don't know if my hagoromo can do that." Elsie said.
"Well, try. I need you to be a student."
"O-okay. Now?"
"Where else? I need you to be ready by tomorrow."
"Um, Nii-sama, speaking of tomorrow... Where are we going to sleep?"
That's right. Up until now, every conquest provided room and board. Sleeping in the Human Village should not be a problem, with the abundant amount of inns in the area, but they most likely all charged money. Sleeping would be a problem.
"Right. I didn't think about that." Keima sighed.
"I can try and counterfeit money, if it comes to that." Elsie said, obviously not wanting to.
"No, it's fine. Just focus on now, we'll worry about that later." Keima pointed at Elsie hagoromo, wanting her to change into a child.
"Fine, I get it." Elsie said, closing her eyes and pointing to herself to focus the hagoromo magic on her.
...
The day went by faster, as Elsie had tried again and again to shapeshift into a child. Eventually, she succeeded and turned into a child looking about 6. It was dusk by the time she finished, and the sun was setting quickly. Keima had stayed up the whole time watching Elsie change form, or lack thereof, and was exhausted. The two walked into the closest inn, just around the corner from their previous location. The inn owner welcomed the two with great emotion. Keima explained that the two are from out of town and did not carry money. The inn keeper still offered them a room, saying "it was an honor to have an out-of-towner at his inn."
The room the inn keeper gave the duo resembled the room in Eientei strongly. Futons on the floor, which may have been custom here to leave them on the floor, kotatsu in the middle, yukata in the closet, and sliding doors to separate sleepers. Elsie thanked the keeper profusely and the keeper patted the little Elsie on her head. She had forgotten she was still in her child form. The keeper excused himself and left the room with a wave an a smile. Keima took off his glasses and got in the futon.
"Man, I miss beds." Elsie said.
"We should go to sleep early. You have school tomorrow." Keima said.
"Right! Good night!" Elsie said, slamming herself down into the futon and covering herself.
Keima got up and turned off the light. After turning it off, he got back into the futon. About 5 minutes of silence passed before Keima said, "Elsie."
"Yes?" Elsie said, obviously half asleep.
"I'll get us home," Keima closed his eyes. "We'll see mother soon. I promise."
"I believe you, Nii-sama. Mostly because I don't have anything not to believe with you. You make the impossible happen." Elsie said.
"Th-thanks..." Keima turned around.
"Good night, Nii-sama. Wish me luck tomorrow." Elsie said, turning around also.
"Good luck." Keima said, before closing his eyes and going to sleep.
A shorty! It turned out Reimu was right about Keine. She DOES have a loose soul. Keima already has experience in capturing a teacher, so should this be easy?
Thanks for everyone who supports the story. I try to write my best, even though writing is not my strong point. I hope to keep writing this story for a long time. Thanks again!