Episode 2: Global Warming: The Desert Heat?
Monday morning—the sun soars above the sky. No longer the Laughing Sun of yesterday, the Panting Sun of today mercilessly bakes the land with intense heat. The overwhelming temperature affected even the most stalwart of fortitude.
"It's too damn hot to be waiting around here!" Soul complained. He and his partner, Maka, were waiting atop the stairs in front of the school.
"What's taking her so long?" Maka's patience was being stretched over its limits. From early in the morning, they've been waiting for their new classmate to arrive. It's been four hours since they've stood guard and the sun wasn't showing any pity. So Soul retreated to the shade, leaving Maka by herself. Of course, the situation was far too serious to be ignored by the other meisters.
"Damn! What's taking her so long!? The Great One can't wait forever!" Black Star was also losing it. Similarly to Maka, he stood alone but on one of the protruding spires. Tsubaki remained rested in the shade far behind him.
"Where the hell is she!?!" he screamed to the heavens.
Unbeknownst to them, their target was still asleep. A few miles away, safely hidden between some towering rock formations was the pumpkin house. Inside, the temperature was much cooler. It was for this reason that sleeping was much more enjoyable. However, this didn't excuse the sleeping witch, Blair de Valesti, from missing school nor did it justify the rude awakening that's about to happen.
"Is it morning, already?" Blair the cat was still lying comfortably in bed. The clock at her bedside read, "9:32" Still exhausted from last night, she buried herself under the covers, hoping to extend her sleep. Something felt odd. She looked under and found someone's left arm wrapped around her abdomen. She tried to get it off, but succeeded in inviting the other arm in for a snuggling embrace. A frightening realization came upon her when a pair of soft things pressed against her back. Were they spooning now!?
"Let's stay like this a little while, okay?" a seductive whisper to her ear.
Almost immediately, Blair turns into a cat and frees herself. She leaps off the bed and transforms back. "P-Please! Now's not the time for that!?" she gasped, turning away from the barely descent person. The covers were cast aside and revealed the witch to be missing her pants, all-the-while having her shirt unbuttoned.
"Ah, relax. Can't a girl have a little fun, once in a while?" she gets up and briefly fixes her hair. "Pumpumkin-Pumkin!" chants her feline companion. In effect, the drawers and cabinets in the room open up and released a cavalcade of designer dresses, gowns, casual wear, undergarments and even an assortment of lingerie.
"What's all this?" she asked, inspecting the clothing.
"If my Okami-sama is going out, she'd best be sporting some proper attire," smiled the cat. After a night's rest, and some hours of reflecting, she had finally accepted the person as her long-lost owner. The term "Okami" means a variety of things that range from mistress to emperor.
"Okami-sama? My, my, you sure are trustworthy. How do you know I'm that person?"
"Because, as a cat, I have never forgotten your scent. Besides, I didn't forget the person who I named myself after," she answers. Her Okami seemed to be satisfied with that and bids her to prepare breakfast. But before leaving, Blair gives her a warm hug. It has been a very long time and she couldn't think of anything better to express herself.
"You never change, do you?" she reciprocates the hug.
"Look who's talking," she smiles. The two end up in a chorus of laughter, the conclusion of a great divide. An old relationship is rekindled.
In the meantime, elsewhere, Kid and the Thompson Sisters climb the stairs leading towards the school.
"What is the deal with this heat?" even under a large umbrella, Liz wasn't spared. She and Patti held separate identical black umbrellas and walked two paces from Kid.
"Hey, Kid. What do we do about that girl?" asked Patti.
"What can we do? She's a student now. We'll just have to deal with her until she makes a mistake," Kid wasn't affected by the heat. This was due to his Shinigami Skin. Anyway, upon reaching the top, the trio was surprised to find nothing but carnage.
"W-what happened here?" Liz blurted out. Before them, Soul and Maka were lying lifeless at the entrance. As they went to investigate, Black Star fell from above and struck the ground. He, too, was out cold.
"Black Star!" screamed Tsubaki from several stories up. She jumped down to check on her partner.
"Impossible! How could she do all this?" Kid couldn't imagine how the witch succeeded in doing such a thing right in front of the school.
"What was he thinking?" Tsubaki sighed. Unbeknownst to the trio, Blair wasn't responsible for this, for the culprit was an invisible enemy. Tsubaki explains:
Half-an-hour ago, Maka and Black Star waited patiently for Blair to arrive. Maka stood at the stairs and watched the town below for any signs of their target, while Black Star was at the tip of one of the spires. They waited and waited. Unfortunately, their bodies couldn't wait any longer. Maka suddenly collapsed.
"Hey, wake up!" Soul rushed to her side and tried to revive her.
"Haha! The sun is no place for the weak!" Black Star shouted. Soul dragged Maka back under the shade, at the entrance.
"Um, Black Star, your skin's turning red. Maybe you should stay here in the shade as well."
"Huh?" he checked himself and found this to be true. "This is just because I'm growing more powerful! Yahoo! I'm Red Star!!!" he declared to the heavens. In response, the heavens sent a gentle gust of wind that grazed his skin.
"No, I think it's just sunburn," Tsubaki sighed as Black Star realized the painful truth and couldn't help but scream in pain.
"What the hell!!" he tried to cover himself with his hands but ended up inducing more pain with every touch.
"Don't worry! I'll go get some lotion," she rushed away.
"No, I don't need lotion," he thought to himself. The Panting Sun above seemed to be laughing.
"Is this your way of testing the Great One!?!" he shouted.
"Nice try, but I won't be defeated like this!" he looked defiantly at the sun. He stared and he stared. The end result was a very strange smell. It was either popcorns popping or an egg was being fried. Either way, Black Star's brain was being scrambled. The effect left him dizzy. So he fell, and thus explains the current situation.
"I see," Kid stared at them in disbelief. A large sweat drop formed on his head.
Anyway, the person whom this was all meant for arrived about an hour later. Accompanying her was Blair in cat form.
"How did you become a student? And why do I have to come with you, nyahh?"
"First of all, the Shinigami said so. Secondly, a true witch needs a familiar."
"I'm not sure I understand all of this. But if you're really hiding from the witches, then why are you wearing my clothes?"
Her Okami blushed, "that's probably because most of those things are rate R."
"What do you mean? You'd look way cuter in them."
"I don't want to attract any unwanted attention," she said as they entered the school. Like a thorn amongst roses, the students immediately noticed the odd one out. From her pointed hat to her uniquely designed witch outfit, nothing about her was unnoticeable.
"Right," the cat sighed.