Chapter Five: Someone to Watch Over Me
Katya made a point of trying to avoid Anna as much as possible the next few days. It was bad enough for her here at Youkai as a human witch. Her people had existed for centuries on the borderlands between humans and monsters, feared and reviled on both sides. A Russian surrounded by a majority Japanese population made her doubly outcast. Her people occupied lands fervently claimed and disputed by Japan and Katya could feel the hostility on all sides. Robert found a group of rough and tumble wannabe thugs and seemed to fit in okay, despite the slight language barrier. Anna, as an American, garnered some respect because of the mutual treaties between the two countries, yet her blustery attitude tended to rub the more 'refined' students the wrong way.
There were a few other random foreigners. A nice, yet somewhat aloof Romanian girl some thought to be a doppelganger. The Brazilian boy who others claimed to be some sort of werecat and seemed to spend more time on the football pitch than in class and the Norwegian teen who swaggered through the halls like a Viking, his long, brown hair tightly braided down his back. It was claimed his father was none other than Odin himself. The Norwegian denied the rumors, but unconvincingly. The rest of the school was heavily in favor of the Japanese populations.
Katya found herself, alone as usual, in the library reading up on the history of shapeshifters in China, when a young girl, no older than 14, sat next to her.
"Hi," the girl said. "You must be Katya…forgive my poor pronunciation…Time-oh, senko?"
"Tim-oh shenko," Katya corrected politely. "Yes, I am Katya. And you are?"
"Yukari Sendo," the girl smiled. "Rumor mill has it you are a witch, is this true?"
"If it is…?" Katya glanced warily about the room.
"I am a witch, too," Yukari said. "And I am a bonafide genius, which allowed me to skip over middle school at 10 years of age." At this, Yukari puffed herself a bit.
Katya only stared at this little girl making outlandish claims. 'It could be a trap,' Katya thought. 'Get me to admit I am human then try to kill me.' Katya knew well the under stories of Youkai; of the Security Enforcement Committee, its previous leader Kuyo and his insane hatred of all humans and the legacy he left behind; of how Kuyo turned the Committee into something like the NKVD. Katya also read the unofficial literature circulating about that witches, despite being magic users and will-workers, were only barely tolerated.
"A genius, eh?" Katya proceeded cautiously. "That is impressive."
"Oh, it is," Yukari puffed out more. "You should see the level of spells I am capable of. It would blow your mind."
"That sounds like an invitation," Katya said, still carefully choosing her words. This was no time to be lulled into complacency. The lessons of Stalin's deals with the Nazis drilled into her head throughout her years in state schools.
"It could be an invitation," Yukari smiled innocently enough. "If you wanted to accept."
"I have a lot of homework tonight, perhaps on our next day off," Katya said warily, continually scanning the room.
"I guess it's true what they say," Yukari said. "Russians are a suspicious bunch."
"Long history of bloody warfare, invasions, duplicity and Communist rule," Katya smirked. "You would be suspicious too if your people suffered as we have."
"Does this mean you are turning me down?" Yukari started to pout.
Katya thought for a moment before replying. "No, I accept your invitation, on one condition."
"And that would be…" Yukari asked, perking up.
"You are to understand that my brother and his comrades are all Spetsnaz…Russian Special Forces…just back from the fight in Chechnya and they will not hesitate to come here and raze this whole place looking for my assailants."
Katya watched Yukari's face sink as she registered the gravity of what had been said.
Katya began to laugh softly and gently roped Yukari toward herself in a friendly hug.
"I am sorry if I frightened you, little one, I assure you that was not my intent," Katya smiled broadly. "I have to be very careful who I can trust, especially here where my life is in constant jeopardy due to my lineage."
Relaxing slightly, Yukari turned to face the older Russian.
"I can sympathize completely," she said. "It is only because of my friendship with Moka that I have any peace."
"Moka," Katya thought back, "the pink haired girl with the boy who met us at the bus stop?"
"Yes," Yukari said, puffing up again. "We are in the same year, so I guess that make me your sempai."
Katya cocked her head at the unfamiliar word.
"Sorry," Yukari said. "It basically means I am your senior, an upperclassman, but it also means I am responsible for you, to ensure that you don't fall behind and that you understand everything you need to."
"What is it about this Moka that gives you confidence in her abilities to protect you?" Katya asked, genuinely curious.
"I am not really at liberty to tell you, but…" Yukari spoke conspiratorially. "Let us just say that she is more than a match for anyone at this school."
"Now I am really curious," Katya mused. "I shall have to watch my step in the future."
"Just don't get her angry and you will be fine," Yukari quipped, then quickly changed the subject. "I can help you with your homework, if you like."
"There is something you can help me with," Katya replied, greatly relieved. "I don't want to be a chekist snitch or anything, but my class-mate, Anna Fiddler, is planning something soon…"
A/N: a bit of Katya's back story and how she views her world. Kudos to you if you recognized the chapter title as a Frank Sinatra tune. I am also neglecting Aja. Not to worry, I just need her set up entrance to be just right. BTW, chekist or cheka (чрезвыча́йная коми́ссия Chrezvychaynaya Komissiya, Extraordinary Commission) was the first iteration of what would become the KGB.