Setsuna sneezed shooting white, opaque glowing miniature bubbles out of her mouth that floated into the air. Rubbing her eyes, which were watering, Setsuna glowered at the bubbles. She hadn't stopped sneezing ever since this morning which hadn't escaped the notice of everyone else. Yue had been in the library ever since this morning world-diving to see if she could find any antidote and Nodoka had been rummaging through tomes of books. Yue had told Nodoka exactly what had happened while everyone else had just assumed Konoka had done something to Setsuna that caused her to become a demon bubble blower. Ayaka had made herbal tonic from some roots she'd conjured up using her earth elemental abilities that Setsuna's stomach had regurgitated on the spot and ended up ruining Ayaka's dress. She hadn't tried helping after that. Haruna had been no help, snickering when Setsuna had coughed up enough bubbles to fill a pool just an hour before the show started. The twins had tricked Setsuna into drinking some weird substance they'd made from orange juice, rum and vodka that they'd stolen from the bar in one of the parlour rooms under the pretence that it was a special potion that Yue had made for her. Now as Setsuna stood in the wings of the Colosseum, watching the circus show from the shadows, she could still feel the concoction wreaking havoc on her stomach making her feel queasy and nauseous. Leaning back against the wall she closed her eyes, listening to the audience gasp and cheer as Konoka continued to dance across the tight-rope. Just like in rehearsal she was graceful, elegant and inhumanly so, seeming to fly across the rope with the lightest, barest of touches. Setsuna opened her eyes, side glancing to the main area as the crowd clapped. Her enhanced hearing picked out whispers.
"She's so beautiful!"
"Yeah, it's like she's not even human!"
"I bet she's a demon! Like one of those really hot demons that comes to you in your dreams!"
"You think a demon could be that beautiful?! She's an angel!"
"Maybe she's an elf!"
"Elves don't exist you idiot! I bet she's a vampire they're hot!"
"I don't care! I wanna marry her!"
"Even though she's a girl I want to kiss her! I bet she's a good kisser!"
Setsuna's eyes snapped open. That last one had come from a girl. And she'd sounded way too excited. Setsuna pushed herself off the wall, edging closer to the end of the corridor. Konoka had reached the other platform and Makie was walking across. Underneath the make-believe sky and in her hat and dress she looked radiant. Or maybe it was her smile. She was blowing kisses to the crowd happily, waving down at them. Setsuna spun around, pressing her heart as she felt it jump into her throat. What was this? It made her feel nervous. It kind of hurt too. As she wondered why her head felt light of a sudden and her stomach felt like it was doing flip-flops she realized that the audience was whistling and roaring. She could even hear some of the girls shrieking. Setsuna straightened, sticking her finger in her ear. She must be hearing things. That wasn't normal. People never made that much noise at the opening.
"You might want to take a look out there," A deep chuckle rang through the air.
Setsuna's eyes snapped open. Jack was standing opposite her, arms crossed with his back against the wall in a pool of blue and red lights from the ceiling operated by Yuuna in the wings opposite this one in the hallway. Setsuna glanced upwards again. She felt hot. And the noise outside was getting louder, way too loud making Setsuna's ears hurt. And despite all that Konoka was breath-taking, a figure of perfection standing in a spotlight of ethereal wonder and untouched beauty, showering the audience with chocolate kisses. Setsuna paused, taking a moment to wonder whether whatever had happened to her in that room with Yue had made her delusional. Had she snapped? She was just a girl! A girl who she barely knew. A girl who had lied when she had first met her and had a tamed griffon for a friend!
"I'd die for you!"
Setsuna twisted her finger in her ear vigorously. That came from a guy and a girl.
"She's got some charm doesn't she?" Jack mused, his eyes seeming to gleam.
"She's beautiful," Setsuna said abruptly. Then paused, frowning, "What did I just say?"
Jack grinned at her wolfishly, white teeth flashing. He chuckled, "Hang out with her sometime kid, just the two of ya. See what happens."
Setsuna looked at him, "Are you telling me-?"
"Don't worry," Jack stretched, rolling his shoulder. "You just got a little lust for the girl. It ain't love."
Setsuna opened her mouth then closed it, speechless. She knew what that was. She'd seen it so many times at the palace. When couples came to the casino, drank together and got cosy in the parlour rooms or at the bars. Boom. Ayaka had unleashed the fire-works. That meant that they were going to get into the main act with the faerie masquerade and Makie. The crowd had quieted down. Konoka would be coming back into the wings, having run through the cover of the darkness as fast as quicksilver.
"Here's your chance," Jack grinned.
His form rippled and he disappeared. Setsuna pushed herself off the wall, stumbling as the ground swayed. She sneezed, white glowing bubbles popping out. Putting a hand on the wall to steady herself she closed her eyes, taking in slow breaths before heading down the corridor towards the exit. The sound of the audience faded away the further she got. Setsuna felt her heart slowing down, becoming normal again which was a relief. But she was getting tired. Fear skittered down Setsuna's spine. Just from walking, she was getting tired just from walking. She hoped this wasn't serious. Setsuna made it outside, almost falling as she pushed open the door and stumbled outside into the cold air, pressing her back against the wall of the entrance-way into the Colosseum. Raising her gaze upwards she saw Icarus fly past the moon, silhouetted against it for a few seconds. He wheeled around the battlements of the palace then angling his wings, glided down to the ledge that unfurled the purple banner with the crest of the white wing on it. He had a dead rabbit in his talons and holding it down with one clawed foot, tore into it with a razor sharp beak. Setsuna covered her mouth as the sound of ripping flesh sounded through the air. She could hear everything as if the griffon was standing right beside her. As a wave of nausea washed over her she glared at the double doors that led into the palace itself. If she died because of them she'd find a way to come back and hang them on a tree and leave them there with nothing but Al singing to them for weeks straight in his horrible singing voice. While Setsuna watched them with delight and refused to set them free. Oh yes, she could be evil.
"Oh god," Setsuna groaned as she felt her stomach heave.
She knelt down and quickly drew three identical symbols in the air in the ground that resembled inverted fishhooks, glowing blue and wrote the name "Nodoka" in Latin. It was the symbol for teleportation. She was glad she had learnt this. Only skilled gypsies could do this because of the distance and power it took. She heard the door swing open, laughter drifting through the air, someone that sounded like Haruna laughing about Konoka boosting sales and a surprised "Secchan" before a hollow column of blue light shot up around her obscuring everything from sight. She disappeared, a flash of light blinding her. When it disappeared she was kneeling in the hallway outside Nodoka's room. Setsuna rose and knocked on the door. After a few minutes it opened revealing Nodoka in cotton blue pajamas, her hair tied back.
"Setsuna?" Nodoka said, alarmed. "What are you doing here? I thought you were watching the show?"
Setsuna opened her mouth but hiccupped then sneezed.
"Oh dear," Nodoka said, her face falling as a jet of white bubbles erupted from Setsuna. "It's gotten worse."
"Have you found anything to cure this?" Setsuna said thickly.
"Um…" Nodoka hesitated.
Setsuna realized Nodoka's face was swimming in and out of focus. Nodoka looked extremely worried.
"Just come inside," Nodoka finally said.
Nodoka tugged her inside with surprising firmness. Setsuna tripped over her own feet, almost falling. She put a hand on Setsuna's forehead and quickly took it away, yelping.
"What's wrong?" Setsuna asked.
"You're burning up," Nodoka said, biting her lip. "Come on, you can lie down on the couch. You shouldn't move around like this."
She steered Setsuna towards the couch beside the banister of the stair-case and pushed her down gently. Setsuna hiccupped, ejecting white glowing bubbles from her mouth.
"I'll go get Yue. She was concentrating really hard on something before so I think she was onto something with your bubbles problem," Nodoka said.
With a backward glance to Setsuna Nodoka hurried up the stair-case, disappearing in between two rows of book-shelves. Setsuna sat there, looking blankly at the floor feeling miserable. Miserable and confused about Konoka.
"Setsuna!" Nodoka stuck her head out from behind the bookshelf, apologetic, "I'm having a little bit of trouble finding her! Are you able to take a hot bath by yourself? I think it's better for you right now."
Setsuna pushed herself off the couch. The world wasn't tilting for now. Setsuna nodded.
"Great I'll come get you when I've found Yue. You can use our bathroom!" Nodoka sounded relieved. "The twins did something weird to the pipes with the shower earlier so the water's not coming out. Just use the bath-tub!"
Setsuna stumbled to Nodoka's room then inside to the bath-room, pulled open the door and wrenched it shut. A minute later she was half submerged inside a bath-tub full of hot water, her clothes lying on the floor near the door. Setsuna sighed, sinking into the water so only her eyes were visible. She blew bubbles. Least her heart was ok now. After a while Setsuna heard the door open, excited footsteps and voices. She picked out Nodoka and Yue and the faint voice of someone she couldn't hear.
"Setsuna! Are you done in there?" Nodoka called. "I found Yue. She wants to talk to you."
"Yes can you get me a towel please Nodoka?!" Setsuna called.
"Oh yes sorry Yue and I left them out on the balcony to dry!"
"I can get it!" A cheerful voice chirped.
Setsuna angled her head, glancing at the closed door. That had sounded suspiciously like Konoka. There were panicked shouts, the sound of sliding glass doors opening and Nodoka crying out something. Setsuna stood up, concerned.
Then the door swung open. Setsuna let out a horrified cry and dropped back down into the bath with only the top of her head sticking out. She peered over the bath-tube rim at Konoka embarrassed but the damage had been done. Konoka was staring at her, open-mouthed her face growing red. Setsuna was sure hers was even worse. Silence fell between the two. Setsuna just gazed at her, wishing the ground would swallow her while she just gazed back at Setsuna with a towel in her hand. The silence stretched on. Then Konoka started to grin.
"You have a very nice body Secchan," She said innocently.
Setsuna just blushed even more.
"I'll leave this here," Konoka said, putting the towel on the railing neatly.
With a lingering backwards look at her, Konoka left the bath-room closing the door behind her. Setsuna waited before standing up, reaching over and grabbing the towel hastily wrapping it around her body. When she finished dressing and went out, Nodoka was standing near the landing of the stair-case talking with Yue. Konoka was sitting on the ottoman behind the table absorbed in an emerald bound book entitled "Fenris and Loki-Tale of the Two Tricksters". She looked fascinated. Yue looked past Nodoka as Setsuna neared them. Nodoka glanced over her shoulder, smiling at Setsuna in relief.
"You look better," Nodoka said.
Setsuna smiled at her slightly then glanced at Konoka who still had the book in front of her face. As Konoka flipped a page Setsuna felt her face burn with humiliation. Konoka had seen her naked.
"How do you know all this stuff Nodoka? You've got so much detail in…" Konoka trailed off as she noticed Setsuna. A slow, impish smile spread across her face, "Hey Secchan. Are you feeling ok now?"
Setsuna lowered her head, nodding slightly and mumbled something incoherently under her breath, rubbing the back of her head and shifted.
Nodoka looked at Setsuna strangely then said to Konoka, "I travelled a lot as a story bard before I ended up here. I heard a lot of tales from gypsy clans and people in the circus."
"Oh," Konoka said brightly. "Well you must've visited a lot of places then."
"Yes…" Nodoka said shyly.
Setsuna looked at Nodoka, wondering why she wasn't moving an inch from the stair-case. Her heart was beating a bit fast. She was nervous for some reason speaking with Konoka. Nodoka wasn't exactly a social butterfly but she was friendly enough and Konoka wasn't a stranger. She wasn't intimidating.
"Have you finished with the other book then?" Setsuna asked Konoka, partly to help take the attention off Nodoka and partly out of curiosity.
"No," Konoka said. "I came in here because I was worried about you. And people wouldn't stop coming up to me after the show. I needed to get away."
Setsuna flushed red as she remembered what had happened at the show. Konoka set the book down.
"Yue said she figured out why you reacted the way you did when I touched you," Konoka said.
Her eyes flicked downwards. That was odd. It was like she was nervous but what did she have to be nervous about? Konoka looked at the window, her expression fading somewhat as rain started to drizzle down the window-panes.
"You should take a seat," Yue gestured towards the couch.
Setsuna crossed over to the ottoman and sat down beside Konoka, feeling apprehensive. Konoka's fingers somehow found her way over to Setsuna's, sliding them through hers. Strangely Setsuna found it reassuring.
"What did you find out?" Setsuna said, looking at Yue tensely.
"When your fingers touched it, you were affected by the magic," Yue started, "Which started a chain reaction due to all the emotions floating around. If you hadn't had touched it nothing would've happened to you but you did."
"Then what about everything I saw with Konoka? When she touched me?" Setsuna said.
"Well I don't know why it was love you reacted to the most," Yue murmured. "But when Konoka took your hand, you were already reacting strongly to the magic from the emotions. Konoka, being filled with magic, ignited some sort of spark inside you that made your senses hyper-attuned to every detail. You could say it acted like a drug."
"But I'm not…demons don't have innate magic. That's more for the ones that do magic like Konoka and Ayaka," Setsuna frowned.
"That's the problem. It shouldn't have happened because as demon you're not supposed to a being of magic," Yue said. The skin in between her eyebrows creased a thoughtful look crossed her face, "Since Fumika and Fuuka drank some of the emotions and it was magic it just made them even more hyper-active than they already are without drinking but with you…."
Yue looked up at Setsuna, hesitating. Jack hunched over, peering at Setsuna over his clasped hands, his eyes dark.
"Maybe you're not who you think you are," Yue said.
"What does that mean?" Setsuna swallowed.
"I think it means that you weren't born a demon," Nodoka said.
Yue nodded. Setsuna felt her world tip. She sat up, hand on the side of her head and swallowed, "That can't be. I'm a demon I know I am. I was raised by the Uzoku clan in the mountains. I…"
"Nodoka's right. It's the only possible answer I can think of," Yue said.
The words died on Setsuna's tongue. Yue's face was solemn.
"No demon should have that kind of reaction to magic. Setsuna…from what I found, you're a magical entity. Konoka's powers drew the magic out. It was just lying dormant inside you and needed a stimulant. Konoka was the stimulant."
Konoka's eyes darted to the window again. It was brief an infinite-second's worth of movement but Setsuna caught it from the corner of her eye.
"So what are you saying exactly?" Setsuna
"What I'm saying is…," Yue said. She hesitated then said quietly, "You were made out of magic from the very beginning."
A.N: Ok so I was looking back at chapter 4 and I realized I had a couple of screw-ups with editing and scenes that would've definitely confused people. Nodoka's/Yue's room has two floors. The ground floor/bottom has an ottoman with a coffee table in the middle while the second has a massive, large row of book-shelves. That is where Konoka went. The first/ground floor also has a bookshelf tucked away in the corner that just has a bunch of scrolls on the shelves. Some are tied, some are not. They're the paper Nodoka uses to make her books.
Pinstripe Fedora: I think I might take you up on that offer. I'll hit you with a pm to work out the details when I get a chance. Rl stuff is taking away some of my time atm T.T. And what are your theories? I encourage you to post em up on the review section. I'm curious and don't worry about looking stupid because who knows, one of them might be right :P.
Spanish Girl: No she isn't a goddess but you're not entirely crazy ;]. And love is such a strong word. I'd say she has a crush right now.
Tsukanda: Hmmm guess I need to give more defining hints then xD. Konoka's hiding something alright. A lot of somethings.
Lance: I'm trying buddy
Keeper Aki: Love chemistry lol I like that xD
NegimaFan: Cheers mate. Appreciate it.
To new readers, welcome and I hope you enjoy reading. To those that have stuck with this story so far, you have no idea how much I appreciate it. 3