Still Waters 3, Book 2: Chapter 2, The Daughter
Negi strolled along with Taro and Rally beside him on his way to the festival grounds. "I wonder how far along they have come on the festival preparations?" he asked after a moment.
"I know they're gonna have a tournament this year," Taro said, feigning indifference in spite of her excitement at the idea. "I heard something about a band stage too. I wonder what else they'll do this year? Last year was kind of a flop with that bingo game as the last day event…"
Rally looked down at the ground. She sort of liked the idea of a bingo game…
"Six years ago we had a campus-wide battle," Negi said absently, not really paying attention to his two companions. "It was played up as a 'Mages vs Martians' battle to save the campus. It was quite fun."
"Oooh, a battle, huh?" Taro asked, eyes shining with excitement. "Sounds like fun!"
"You shouldn't set your heart on it, I don't believe they will be willing to try that again," Negi said absently. They had done it two more times after that first one, only once for real with that crazy mage who wanted to turn everyone into cats, and neither one had gone very well. Too much property destruction.
Taro glowered for a moment, but it didn't last long; she was too excited about the festival, even if she refused to admit it. "Should I enter the fighting tournament? I know the club'll want me to participate in the exhibition they're gonna put on…"
"The major tournament is once every twenty-two years, and the last one was six years ago, I'm afraid," Negi said regretfully.
"Every twenty-two years? Why?" Taro asked, taken aback by the unusual interval between tournaments.
"Oh, many reasons. Power fluctuations caused by the twenty two year cycle of the World Tree for the most part. There is nothing special this year, though," Negi said.
"Oh," Taro said.
They walked in silence for a moment before Negi finally noticed Taro's crestfallen look and paused. The two girls stopped walking as well. "Don't worry, I'm sure some strong people will be there," he said hurriedly.
"Negi-sensei," Rally said suddenly as she stepped in front of him. "W-would you please v-visit the Tea Ceremony Club's special ceremony during the festival?" she asked as she clasped her hands together in front of her shyly and looked down at the ground.
Taro looked away and waited in silence while Negi chatted with Rally. 'Why is he talking to her so much…isn't he more interested in fighting than some stupid tea party?' She refused to contemplate how jealous her thoughts seemed.
"Right, Taro-san?"
"Huh? What?" Taro asked, startled by Negi's question.
"I asked if you thought this year's festival would be enjoyable?" Negi repeated.
"Ah, yeah. Should be, I guess," Taro said, crossing her arms and sulking defiantly, drawing a confused look from Negi in the process as he wondered what he had done wrong.
"Taro-san…?"
"Hey! Negi-sensei!" someone called out.
Taro barely held back a disgusted 'hmph' as the teacher turned to see who had called out to him and smiled. She glared as the excitable guitarist of the No Name Band, Kobayashi Ayumi, did her best to bounce up to Negi. 'Tch. That's gotta be some kind of harassment,' she thought to herself as she put on one of her better death glares.
"Negi-sensei, we'll be up on stage, you have to come! You'll come watch us, right Negi-sensei?" Ayumi said, completely oblivious to Taro's glare as she grabbed the teacher's hands and brought them together dangerously close to her chest.
Taro gritted her teeth but kept her peace. 'Negi-sensei Negi-sensei Negi-sensei…! Shut up already, you brown nosed idiot,' she thought peevishly. The stupid, lying, vicious girl was just so shallow...! She really, really wanted to punch Ayumi in the gut and see what color her breakfast was... She gritted her teeth and fought the urge for fresh, invigorating and above all satisfying violence down, and forced herself to remain civil in the face of the other girl's onslaught of sexual harassment directed at Taro's favorite teacher.
"Of course Kobayashi-san. Do you know what time you will be playing?" Negi, the veteran of six years of attempted rape by female students, replied as he gently extracted his fingers, then came out with a winning smile that weakened Ayumi's knees, just as planned.
"Um…I'll let you know?" Ayumi answered cutely when she had recovered, holding her head at an angle as she continued ignoring Taro's death glare.
"Okay Kobayashi-san. But be sure to let me know as soon as possible so I don't accidentally double book myself, okay?" Negi replied, then smiled again stunningly in a way that sent the two girls and the robot into fits of blushing.
Ayumi, blushing ferociously with her eyes glittering, nodded and ran off, turning around now and again to wave at Negi as she went. Taro noticed the way Ayumi turned just so in order to exaggerate her curves, and rolled her eyes.
"Ugh, I can't stand her."
"Taro-san, that's not the way you should behave toward your classmates," Negi lectured as he started walking again, prompting Taro and Rally to follow.
Taro bowed her head in embarrassment and tried to withstand the teacher's good intentions. She sort of wanted him to smile at her the way he had at Ayumi...
"Hey, Negi-kun!" someone called out as the trio approached the tournament grounds. Two figures materialized out of the crowd and approached as the trio again came to a stop.
"Konoka-san, Setsuna-san! What a nice surprise, I didn't expect to see the two of you here today," Negi said pleasantly, beaming at them much more honestly than he had at Ayumi, Taro noted with surprise, as they approached.
Taro looked up at the newcomers curiously; while both were several inches shorter than her, both of them exuded a sense of calm and mature femininity. It was a rare thing, and she found herself considering them to be women she should look up to before she recalled just where she had seen them before.
"You…!" Taro announced, pointing at Konoka. "I saw you hugging Negi-sensei in Kyoto!"
Konoka smiled brightly at her, and Taro wilted under the shine of that sun.
"…I'm sorry…" she muttered.
"Hmm?" Konoka asked, cocking her head adorably to the side. "Sorry for what?"
"Ah, please allow me to introduce you," Negi said helpfully. "Taro-san, this is Konoe Konoka, and this is Sakurazaki Setsuna, both of the Shinmeiryu; I'm sure you have heard Asuna-san speaking of them and perhaps you may have seen them in Eva-san's resort. Konoka-san, Setsuna-san, this is Urashima Taro, Asuna-san's student in the fighting arts."
"It's nice to meet you," Taro said as she bowed awkwardly, wondering briefly why Negi-sensei hadn't bothered to introduce Rally.
"Urashima…of the Hinata Urashimas?" Setsuna asked politely.
"Yes," Taro said, smiling a little at finding someone else who knew her family; her earlier annoyance at Ayumi had completely disappeared at the prospect of finding someone who knew of her relatives. "Do you know my grandma?"
"Only through reputation," Setsuna replied. "I met her once during a party at Kono-chan's home years ago. She was…ah…strong."
Taro grinned knowingly. "Yeah." The two of them stood in mutual silence for a moment, their eyes distant as they recalled various incidents where Granny Hina's strength had dealt them or those close to them humiliating blows.
Konoka began chatting about random things with Negi after a moment, so Taro turned all her attention toward Setsuna. "How about the others? Do you know any of them?" she asked.
"Well…Urashima Keitaro and his wife come to visit my sempai Motoko from time to time as well. He is...a worthy opponent," Setsuna said awkwardly, recalling several embarrassing incidents.
"You know Keitaro-nii? How about Kanako-nee, do you know her too? How are they? Is everyone okay? How about Naru? Did she finally calm down and stop hitting Keitaro?" Taro gushed happily. Finally...! Someone who understood Keitarou-nii...! Mentally, she cried in happiness for her poor, terribly misunderstood cousin.
"Ah…er…yes…" Setsuna said, unsure how to deal with this sudden personality change. "I don't know any of them personally, but they seem like good people, and it seems as if Keitarou will soon be a father," she offered, totally unprepared for the deafening squee Taro performed immediately upon hearing she would be sort-of an aunt, but more of a cousin.
"Isn't it cute?" Konoka asked, not really expecting an answer as she watched her Secchan and the young member of the Urashima family interacting. Honestly, that helpless, confused look in her Secchan's face as Taro-chan questioned her was just so…
"So, do you have any plans for the festival, Konoka-san?" Negi asked. The smiling woman looked at him, and he found himself smiling back.
"Me an' Secchan are supposed to do security, but we're just going to wander around and see what we can see when we're off," she said, then checked her watch. "Sorry Taro-chan. I have to take Secchan back now. Bye!" she said as she latched on to Setsuna and began to drag her away.
"But…but I wasn't finished!" Taro called out, but it was too late. "Well that's irritating," she said, putting her hands on her hips as she watched the two leave.
The trio soon found themselves at the traditional site of the tournament grounds at the Tatsumiya shrine. Workers had already completed the four raised stages for the matches, and had started on a rather extensive set of bleachers for the spectators.
"Wow…are you sure this is a small tournament?" Taro asked as she surveyed the scene. The fighting stages were very large, much larger than the padded areas in the gym at school or in the few dojos she had been in. Being made of wood, they would hurt a lot more as well if one were thrown down.
Negi was quite surprised himself. There had been a tournament every year of course, but none had ever had this level of preparation, not since the first one he had seen six years before.
"It's not the major tournament, but it looks like it will be big, maybe even as big as it was six years ago. I wonder what the prize will be?" he said distantly as he sized up the fighting area.
"Sounds like fun!" Taro said, a little fang showing itself as she grinned wide. "I can't wait to show-" She cut herself off there, but couldn't stop the thought that flashed through her mind. 'I can't wait to show Possum!' she would have said.
Taro, Rally, and Negi all watched the workers for a moment, each lost in his or her own thoughts.
"Hey, Negi-sensei…" Taro said after a moment as another worry, temporarily forgotten, blazed into life. She had tried to hide her worry for the other girl behind false bravado, but...she just couldn't help it. Possum was her best friend, and now...
Negi and Rally looked at her. "Yes?" Negi asked.
"Has anybody found Possum yet?"
Negi sighed wearily at the question and swept his hair back out of his eyes, his previous air of general well being all but gone. "I'm sorry, Taro-san…there has been no sign of her. Do you know where she might have gone, or who she might go to for help?" If anyone knew where his student Possum might hide, it would be Taro. However, the question had been asked several times before, and, as expected...
"No…"
...the answer was the same. "We've turned the vampire's hotel room inside out, but she wasn't there. Did she say anything to you?"
"Nothing," Taro replied sadly. It was a well known fact around campus that while Possum was friendly with just about everyone, her best friend was without a doubt Taro-kun. If she had had any sort of place to go for help, she would have told Taro.
"Maybe she is hiding from us," Rally said suddenly, her soft voice catching the attention of the two standing beside her.
"What do you mean?" Negi asked. Rally shrunk back a bit under their scrutiny before she spoke.
"Probability indicates that Jonus Hart most likely tried to turn her into a slave; but Friend-Possum-san is powerful. It is possible that she has overpowered the slave impulse. Records indicate that there are several examples of individuals overcoming the slave impulse and becoming full fledged vampires-"
"What?" Taro demanded.
"Rally-chan, we don't know-" Negi said, looking worriedly back at Taro as he tried very carefully to indicate to Rally that she had said too much and needed to shut up.
"That's impossible! Are you saying Possum turned into a vampire?" Taro shouted as she leaned forward and got in Rally's face. "She can't be a vampire! She's my friend! She's not a vampire!"
"Taro-san!" Negi said. They did not need to attract attention here, with so many others around.
"I…it is a possibility," Rally said shyly, backing away from Taro.
"She's not! She can't be!"
"Taro-san!" Negi said sharply, finally catching the girl's attention. "Please, keep your voice down."
Taro's eyes widened as she looked around and realized several people were staring. She blushed furiously and looked at the ground.
"Don't worry, Taro-san. We'll find her. She's one of my students after all," Negi said, smiling crookedly at her.
Kara knew it was finally her chance. Ever since she had bought that pretty white dress, she had been itching to wear it. Unfortunately, her classmates were almost always around and she hadn't been able to do more than sneak the occasional look at the dress. But today…
…today her roommate Possum was still off to whatever place she had gone, and Kara had the dorm room all to herself.
Kara locked the door and ran to the drawer that contained the treasured dress. Her heart raced as she opened the drawer and removed the clothes that covered it, and stood there for a moment, just looking at it as a sense of glee stole over her. It was so pretty…!
She took the dress out and held it up at arm's length, looking at it. Now, if she could just remember how to put it on correctly…
A moment later, she stood in front of the mirror, wide eyed as she stared at what seemed to be a stranger's reflection. A beautiful girl looked back at her from the mirror, and she was stunned. 'Surely this isn't me…?' Sure, the dress had creases from being folded and flattened in her drawer for a week and a half, but… She gave an experimental spin and the bottom flared out just above knee level; she could barely contain the sheer joy that coursed through her at the sight.
"Wow…" someone said.
Kara froze in place, letting the bottom of the dress settle again as the fact that someone else was now in the room worked its way through her head. She went pale and started to sweat.
"Oh, that's so pretty, Kara-san!"
"Isn't it?"
It wasn't just one person, it was two. Kara regained control of herself enough to at least look at the two people she would undoubtedly have to kill…and she started to sweat even more.
It was two of her bandmates, Kondo Kai and Watanabe Miyako. Kai was dressed as she always was, with shorts that showed off her legs and a t-shirt that showed off the shape of her chest; Miyako was wearing a simple flower print dress and strappy shoes. Both were smiling wide at her, though Kai's smile was more of a teasing one.
"…just…shut the door, please…" Kara managed.
"Gotcha," Kai said as she shut and locked the door.
"That's so pretty, where did you get it?" Miyako asked wonderingly as she circled Kara and poked her here and there to help settle the dress into place properly.
Kara shrank in on herself a little. "…a store called Agatha's."
Kai and Miyako looked at each other. "That's Ayumi's favorite store," Kai said after a moment. "She didn't see you there, did she?"
Kara paled further as she contemplated that. If Ayumi had seen her buying the dress, she would never let her live it down…
Kai and Miyako looked at each other worriedly with a different thought going through their minds. If Ayumi saw Kara in this pretty, simple dress that looked as if it had been made for her, it would make her insanely jealous, especially since Ayumi preferred the more complicated and noticeably shorter sort of dress and was always complaining about how they never fit right. And a jealous Ayumi was a dangerous thing… But the look on Ayumi's face would almost be worth it...!
Kara fidgeted while Miyako circled her several times, asking questions and giving advice on what to do should she decide to go out in public with it.
Kai, meanwhile, just sat comfortably on the bed, spinning the homemade lockpick with which she had unlocked the door and thinking of how to best keep Ayumi from finding out.
Ayumi quietly slipped the door shut and backed away from the room, her frown dominating her face. Her earlier glee at having Negi-sensei smile at her so beautifully was long gone. 'Stupid Kara...' she thought; she had rushed over here to tell Kara about her latest interaction with the teacher when she had come around the corner to see Kai working on the lock on Kara's door, with Miyako standing at her side looking nervous. Ayumi, curious, had ducked back around the corner to hide, and then crept up and listened at the door for a moment when the others were safely inside and wouldn't notice her. When she heard someone mention her favorite store, her curiosity had gotten the better of her and she had picked the lock and opened the door a crack to get a peek inside. But now...
So, Kara thought she could go and take over Ayumi's favorite store, did she? She took a deep breath to calm herself and set off down the hallway as she tried to straighten out her lockpick, which she had accidentally bent in her fist after seeing what she had seen.
Well…Kara could shop where she wanted, Ayumi supposed; she just wished the girl would shop somewhere else. 'She doesn't have good taste in dresses either,' Ayumi thought spitefully as she recalled certain curves. 'That one doesn't show enough leg.'
She stalked down the hallway and went downstairs.
A young man in a plain T-shirt and jeans stepped into a public bathroom to get away from the growing crowd. He wasn't used to such huge throngs of people. Where he came from, a thousand people getting together at the same time meant an army was forming or a new king was being crowned; this was so far out of the scope of his experience that he didn't even know where to begin; he couldn't comprehend it. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and took a cell phone from his pocket. He opened it and fumbled around for a moment before dialing the number he had been told to use in emergencies. He raised the phone to his ear, feeling like a fool at the unaccustomed gesture, and waited for the other person to pick up.
'Hello?'
"U-um…I'm having trouble locating the Daughter, sir. The local population, it's…it's huge, sir. I can't even find the other members of my team."
The man on the other end sighed. 'What is your name and rank?'
"Rale, sir. I'm an initiate," he said as he inspected the unusual toilet. They sure didn't make them like that back where he came from…
'Initiate Rale. Yes," the man said, accompanied by the sound of papers being flipped. "Rale, have you been able to locate the school?'
"Yes sir. However, there are thousands of students, and they all wear the same uniforms. I'm afraid I haven't been able to tell one from the next; they seem a lot alike in most respects," Rale explained, trying and failing to sound sophisticated. He reached up and tugged at his shirt collar a little. He wasn't used to this extreme heat or this world; he was just a simple country boy from the north! How was he expected to do what had been asked of him in this terrifying place? 'I should have stayed on the farm back home…' he thought to himself, not for the first time.
'That is…unplanned for. Do they not remain in the school at all times?" the man on the phone asked.
"No sir. They freely mix with the locals during the latter part of the day and evening. It…it is most different from that to which I am accustomed. Their clothing, it allows free view of…of their legs," Rale said, blushing heavily. This place was far too different from home or the temple. But…it was the first time he had seen so many members of the fairer sex expose so much of themselves willfully; he was torn between staring in shock and staring in fascination. And the locals…! Why, he had seen women showing the tops of their bosoms! Oh, his mouth had dropped open when he saw that for the first time. Back home, everyone covered up all the time; it was too cold not to, most of the year. He had once seen a traveling bounty hunter swimming in the creek behind the farm a few years back, but had run away when she spotted him and called for him to come closer. But she had been swimming in deep water, and he had seen little but the skin colored blur of her body beneath the water. It had been nothing like this…!
'Initiate Rale, concentrate please,' the man on the phone said, sounding somewhat amused.
"Ah…sorry sir. I have been unable to locate the Daughter, and have been unable to contact the other initiates or adepts. I…I don't know how to contact them with the 'cell phone' devices. I'm sorry, sir."
The other man barely suppressed a groan. 'Proceed to the meeting place at the sacred tree. That is the location of your arranged meeting, correct?'
"Yes sir."
'Very well. Do this, and wait for them to arrive. You will have to wait several hours, I am afraid. Consider this your punishment for becoming lost.'
Rale bowed his head instinctively, even though the other man wasn't there to see him. "Yes sir. Goodbye sir."
'Goodbye, initiate Rale.'
Rale awkwardly closed the cell phone and put it into the pocket of his pants. This clothing reminded him of what he used to wear on the farm; rugged, comfortable, only…different. More refined. It made him afraid that he might rip it or ruin it somehow, as if he had been given an expensive vase to take care of. But in any case, he must make his way to the sacred tree or risk further punishment.
With such thoughts going through his mind, he opened the door of the public toilet and stepped outside, plunging back into the noisy crowd. He could see the top of the sacred tree even beyond the buildings here, so he followed the crowd as it moved in the direction he needed. It was very awkward; he was unused to such pushing and shoving and the noise hurt his ears, not to mention the stench of the city itself compared to the clean air of his home or the temple. After a moment, the buildings blocked his view of the tree so he pushed out of the crowd into a narrow side street that was mostly deserted.
He followed this narrow street for a short way until he came out on another wide street, which he stepped into. The crowd was much looser here, and he could see the tree again. Thank the Daughter…! He followed the road as it curved around and led directly to the large plaza around the sacred tree. He found an empty spot on a bench and sat down awkwardly, trying not to look at any of the passersby. There were so many people…
He remained in the plaza as the hours passed, sometimes getting up to walk the numbness out of his legs or inspect some technological wonder or gaze stupidly at an attractive girl until she looked at him, at which point he would look away awkwardly. After a while, he settled down on a better designed bench with a comfortably curved backrest. He leaned back and looked up at the branches of the sacred tree high above, and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Rale awoke to the sensation of someone shaking him. "Mmwha…?" he asked, wincing at his stiff neck. "Ow."
"You shouldn't sleep like that, you'll hurt your neck that way," a girl said softly as she sat down demurely next to him.
Rale jerked fully awake and looked away, ashamed of himself and unsure what to say.
"I won't bite," the girl said, amusement coming through in her tone.
He turned to look at her again, and nearly ran away when he caught her eyes. "I-I-I-I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?"
He tore his gaze away from her eyes and looked down at the ground in front of him. He realized his gaze had drifted to her legs, and he turned away quickly as his face went red. Really, she was very pretty…but to be wearing such a short skirt…! Why, a good third of each thigh was exposed!
"Are you new in town?"
"Y-yes."
"You have a place to stay, right? Are you lost?"
He nodded frantically. What did this girl want? She was driving him crazy! And she had a nice, clean, slightly flowery scent that really, really, bothered him. In a good way. Oh, God how it bothered him…!
"Are you waiting for someone?"
"Yes," he said, finally managing to meet her gaze for a few seconds before he looked away. She was so cute and pale and pretty! Like Bonnie, from back when he had lived on the farm, only…different. Exotic. He shivered.
Time passed; in the beginning, she did most of the talking. Simple things about life in Mahora and questions about himself. Rale was slowly drawn in and soon began to ask questions of his own. He found out she was a musician, and that she wasn't really a local; her family lived far away in some place called Osaka, and she only stayed here for school and the band she played in with her friends, who she was currently waiting for. He learned their names; Misa, Madoka, Sakurako, and he learned the names of several of their songs, which she also hummed for him. He was in love; never in his sixteen years had he met a girl like Izumi Ako. And she was so nice! In the end, he poured out his life story to her, carefully omitting any references to the other world or the temple.
Eventually, he spotted the other initiates and the two adepts that he had come with, and politely excused himself. The girl, (Ako-chan, he thought with a curious floaty feeling of glee), waved and smiled prettily at him as he stood up, and he found himself turning around and smiling back at her now and then as he made his way across the plaza to rejoin the others.
"She was really nice," Rale thought aloud as he walked dreamily over to where his fellow members of the temple had gathered. He made his way into the alley and smiled goofily at them, not even noticing their shocked expressions.
"Hello everyone! I've been waiting for you~"
"Initiate Rale!" Adept Cort barked, startling him back to reality. "What are you doing?"
Rale stumbled as his mind came crashing back to earth. What in the name of the Daughter was Adept Cort talking about? "I was befriending one of the locals. I know it is frowned upon, but I felt that under the circumstances-"
The other adept stepped forward and smiled in amusement. "No, Initiate Rale, you were not 'befriending one of the locals'," Adept Amos said almost fondly as he removed a picture from his pocket and showed it to Rale. The other initiates huddled together a fair distance away, looking at Rale with a mixture of awe and fear.
As for Rale, when he saw the picture his eyes widened and his face went pale. "Oh no…oh no…I'm going to die, aren't I?"
Cort glowered. "No, you aren't going to die. Not for this, even though you have jeopardized our entire mission. You may have a chance to redeem yourself. However, keep in mind that such familiarity is not allowed. If you manage to lead her to us, I will forget about this mistake of yours. Do you understand?"
Rale nodded and swallowed the lump in his throat. He should've known…instead he hadn't had any idea! The fact that the Daughter could be such a pretty girl had never crossed his mind. He had expected…well, he didn't know what he had expected. An old hag, maybe? A matronly woman in her middle years? Izumi Ako, the friendly girl that was so pretty…he had a sudden bad feeling that this wouldn't end well. If they were to awaken the Daughter as prophesied, the soul inhabiting her vessel would…what? Be destroyed? Just…go away? He shuddered at the horrid thought. But…there was no question about what he must do. If the Children's Prophecies were correct, the Daughter would have to be awakened, or the world would end. But…
He realized the other initiates now kept far away from him as the little group walked. He looked around at the adepts and they, too, had created quite a bit of distance between themselves and him. But if he really did lure her to them, then he would get to spend more time with her, right? If so, then he was willing to do it. Probably. Maybe. Except for the whole soul-destruction thing.
'What am I going to do?'
"Hu hu hu~" Misa chuckled as she sat down beside Ako.
"Hm hm hm~" Sakurako laughed evilly as she sat down on the other side of the bassist.
"He was kind of cute, I guess," Madoka said as she stood behind the bench, watching the boy disappear around a corner with a fair sized group of others. The three of them had been spying on Ako for at least half an hour while she sat talking with the boy.
Ako blushed, but managed to fix Misa with a glare anyway. "He just looked lonely, so I thought I would say hello."
Misa grinned wide. "Oh? Does our little Ako-chan have a crush~?"
"No!"
"I think so~" Sakurako provided from the other side. "He looked really young though, like he wasn't even through high school yet. Do you like that type Ako-chin~?" she asked teasingly. Madoka grinned but kept her silence.
"Don't call me that," Ako protested feebly as her blush deepened.
Kagami caught up to Taro in the dorm lobby that night by the stairs as the dorm curfew approached.
"Hey, Taro-chan. Are you coming with us for training tomorrow? Asuna-sempai will be there."
Taro's frown deepened and she looked away. "I don't know, I'm not in the mood."
"Hey, wait a minute, you can't just brush it off! What would Eva say?"
Taro grumbled something under her breath.
"What?"
"Just go away," Taro said as she started up the stairs.
Kagami raised an eyebrow at that. So, Taro-chan was being uncooperative, hmm? Smiling like a cat, she looked slyly at the other girl. "Negi-sensei will be there."
Taro stumbled on the next step and almost fell.
"Kotarou-san, too," Kagami said as she moved to step around Taro and stand in her way on the stairs. Taro went red and turned to look at the wall. "Come on, admit it. You're a girl, too; even you think they're cute, right? Both of them," Kagami teased, leaning over to the side to look Taro in the face. Taro stiffened and whipped her head around to look at the wall on the other side.
"…yeah."
"What? I couldn't hear you~?"
"I said yeah, okay? Yeah, I think Negi-sensei is really freakin' hot, and so is Kotarou-san! And…and he smells really good too! There! Are you happy now?" Now that her unplanned rant was over, Taro froze when she heard a few snickers and suddenly realized she felt at least a dozen pairs of eyes trained on her. With a dawning sense of horror, she forced herself to look down the stairs and into the suddenly quite crowded lobby of the girl's dorm.
"Hehe~ I bet Negi-sensei has no idea~" someone said.
"Don't worry Taro-san! I'm sure with a little makeup and some nice clothes, you'll be able to get either one of them in no time!" another girl said. This comment brought a burst of giggling with it as several girls she didn't know smirked at her.
Taro rounded on them and gave her best deathglare, but the effect was completely ruined by her flushed face. "Shut up! I hate you guys, you're all the same!" she bellowed, knowing how ridiculous it sounded even as she said the words. She felt tears threatening to form, shoved Kagami aside, and fled up the stairs.
Kagami watched as Taro disappeared upstairs. "I…think we overdid it." Several girls nodded.
"Who-whoso d...dwelleth under the de...defense of...of the Most H-high-"
Possum's words were cut off abruptly as another spasm racked her body and she fell to the dirty concrete floor again, clutching her sides as waves of agony threatened to rip her apart from the inside out. She lay there in a fetal position for several minutes until the shaking and spasms died down. She somehow managed to gather the strength to sit up, and leaned heavily against the wall behind her. Her gaze drifted wearily through the chamber, chasing floating spots and things that weren't there, until it finally settled on the small pile of corpses in the far corner, and she shuddered. Granted, it was only a bunch of rats and a cat, but she was the one responsible for it. Her stomach churned again and she clamped her eyes shut until the nausea passed, clutching the replacement conjure bag she had started after escaping the vampire Jonus Hart's room. Her mind strayed back to those hectic minutes that had seemed to stretch for hours, even days...the struggle to get loose from the ropes, her search for her things, finding the ruined, powerless conjure bag she had used for so long…escaping.
The rising urge to kill and drink the blood of the same people she passed or talked to on the street every day.
She realized her mind was wandering again and tried to concentrate on the charms her great grandmother had taught her. The charms against the body's urges, the charms against evil, the charms against corruption. She could barely even recite the 91st psalm anymore...she shuddered. They had all taken her so long to learn, even though her older sister had picked them up almost immediately. Lucy was always good at learning new things quickly, and though she loved her older sister dearly, it had rarely failed to make Possum feel like an utter failure when she had trouble learning even the simplest of tricks. She still remembered her great grandmother's words, though.
'I don't care a whit how fast li'l Lucy picks it up, you're the stronger one. You got the faith. Jus' keep at it, you'll get it some time, an' then you'll have nothin' to fear.'
"…then you'll have nuthin t'fear," she said aloud in English, not even noticing as she fell back into the American southern accent she had worked for so long to hide. When the Burial Agency found out about Great Grandma, she and Lucy had had to run away to keep from being caught. Apparently, hoodoo was frowned upon in the world of 'proper' magic, even when it was only performed by two young girls and an old woman. They had fled to her grandmother's house at that point, and after awhile Grandma had sent her on to Mahora…
Possum grimaced as her stomach turned over again. She vomited explosively without warning, jerking back as she sprayed herself with the back splash from the wall. She realized she was crying and turned away from the mixture of blood and thick, syrupy bile that coated the wall and floor and her clothes. The stench was overwhelming, even here in this fairly clean section of drainage pipes under Mahora, and she had a hard time trying to avoid another round.
The last rat had been hours ago, and she felt thirsty.
She shook her head to clear it and half crawled, wincing at the sensation that her brain was bouncing around inside her skull, and half dragged herself to a corner away from the vomit and lay there, curled up and sobbing as she tried to recite the 91st psalm again. "Whoso dwelleth..." She was instantly wracked with pains and cried out.
If she was turning into a v-…something else, she would rather die. "I'll never be one of them!" she shouted weakly, wincing at the pain caused by her effort as her voice echoed eerily down the tunnels and came back mockingly.
'One of them'
She shook her head, closing her eyes to fight her dizziness, and resumed chanting.
Author's notes: And a round of blushing for everyone! Except for Possum.
Initiate Rale - Naïve Hick Cultist
Born - 3/10/1992
Height - 5'10"
Likes: Good food, pretty girls
Dislikes: Hard decisions, big crowds.
Little Known Facts: Despite what some people say, his guilelessness isn't an act.
Shiina Sakurako - Lucky Playful Trickster
Born - 6/9/1988
Height - 5'5"
Likes: Cats, money, shrines, drums, playing tricks on people, lazing around
Dislikes: Being busy
Little Known Facts: She often lies around all day, sleeping in random places and positions on the floor.
Izumi Ako - Scarred Pale Bassist
Born - 11/28/1988
Height - 5'
Likes: Gentle music, the sound of playing the open E string on a bass guitar
Dislikes: Being ignored
Little Known Facts: She has a pet name for every guitar she owns