Still Waters 3, Book 2: Chapter 4, Festival Preparations Part 2
Thursday, June 25th, 2009
Negi looked the classroom-turned-art-gallery over one last time and had to smile. The students had really done a good job…the room was transformed. Makeshift dividers decorated with nice curtains and special dim lighting gave the classroom an elegant feel, and each piece of artwork was tastefully displayed in its own spot, from Hayashi-san's superhero drawings to Eva's handmade plushy "Skinned Man", everything had a place. He was looking at Sasaki Rina's sketch, trying one final time to figure out just what exactly it was that she had drawn, when someone opened the door.
"Hello, Negi-kun," Takamichi said as he entered the room; Shizuna followed him inside. "An art gallery? Interesting…" he said, looking around with interest.
"Yes, they worked very hard this year," Negi said, smiling at his class's accomplishment. Short of a few of the more amateurish pieces, thankfully displayed in some of the more out of the way locations with purposely inadequate lighting in the hopes of hiding their imperfections or at least making their glaring problems less noticeable, everything was surprisingly well done; this was the best job he had seen since his first class, in fact.
"…yes…" Shizuna said in an odd tone as something strange caught her attention and she moved to get a closer look. She stood there for a moment, not exactly sure what she was looking at. Was it...? Surely not, no one would... She picked it up and cocked her head to the side as she looked at Eva's art project. She shivered and set the disturbing toy back down, absentmindedly wiping her hands on her skirt as if she had touched something dirty.
"So what brings you here?" Negi asked as he politely ignored Shizuna's confused reaction to Eva's 'Skinned Man'. To tell the truth, he had had a similar reaction when he had first seen it and, he reluctantly admitted to himself, had probably had the same dumbfounded expression on his face. "Are you checking the classrooms...?"
"The headmaster wanted to let you know the special security crew will meet one hour before the opening ceremonies tomorrow morning. In addition, we would appreciate if you brought along anyone else you feel is capable and trustworthy…the youkai festival falls on the same weekend," Takahata said, sparing Shizuna from further awkwardness. She had picked up the 'Skinned Man' again, and was poking around at the astonishingly anatomically correct organs, which could be accessed through a flap on the stomach.
"Youkai festival? Oh yes, I had forgotten…" Negi said, trying not to laugh at Shizuna's confused expression as a long trail of plushy intestines abruptly spilled out. "What exactly is it about? Is it anything we should be worried about?"
Shizuna hurriedly stuffed the plushy's guts back inside and put it back on its miniature chair, ignoring how it was now rather lopsided and the way the right side bulged out. She turned back to Negi and assumed a familiar teacherly stance to hide her embarrassment as she began to speak; Takahata thankfully kept any observations to himself. "Once every ten years, youkai from both worlds gather together here at Mahora for a special festival celebrating some sort of major event in youkai history, though few of them even seem to know exactly which event that is; it occurred centuries ago. In any case, they play traditional youkai games, sell special treats, and hold contests of skill and strength. Wrestling seems to be quite popular. It is nowhere near as extravagant as the Mahora Festival, but they seem to love it. Apparently the town and the land for miles around is considered sacred ground to them during this time, so they tend to be well behaved. However, there are occasional squabbles, and thirty years ago there was an incident and several people were killed."
"Oh no…" Negi said.
"Luckily, however, there have been only minor problems at the last two youkai festivals, so there is no reason to believe there will be any major problems this year," Shizuna explained, refusing to look at the 'Skinned Man', who had by this point fallen out of his chair and spilled his innards all over his small display platform as she spoke.
"But it is still better to be safe than sorry," Takahata said when Shizuna finished. "Good luck, Negi-kun. We'll meet again tomorrow morning."
"Yes, I will see you then" Negi said. He saw the two teachers out, carefully set Eva's project back to rights, and began running over the lists of people he felt comfortable with asking for help with security. "Asuna-san, Ayaka-san, Nodoka-san will be working in the office and the library so I can't ask her…"
"Hmm? Did I hear my name? What about me?" Asuna asked as she poked her head around the corner of the door and looked around. "Hmmmm? So nostalgic," she said as she stepped inside. She had spent a lot of time in this classroom, and it retained much of its old sentimental charm, even transformed as it was now.
"Hello Asuna-san. The class decided to do an art gallery this year," Negi said, grinning ruefully at the same particularly bad sketch he had been looking at before Takahata and Shizuna's earlier arrival. Poor Sasaki Rina…the girl simply couldn't draw at all. 'Well, they say everyone has a weakness somewhere,' he thought, grinning crookedly as he cocked his head to the side, trying to figure out what the picture was supposed to be. '...a zebra?' he thought hesitantly. 'No, not enough legs.' And then there was the whole...antenna...thing. Or was that supposed to be hair? Perhaps the missing limb? He gave a mental shrug; he supposed her athletic and singing ability balanced it out.
"Ohhh? Asuna asked, stepping further into the room and eyeing some of the closer works of art. "I'm surprised they wanted to do something like this," she said as she came all the way into the room and walked slowly along, looking at each piece as she went. "Hey, some of these are really good!"
Negi grinned in a benevolently proprietorial manner, and nodded. The two of them made a circuit of the room, looking at the various pieces arranged along the walls, and then turned their attention to those set up on displays in the middle.
She paused in her study of a miniature Easter Island statue and turned back to Negi. "I saw Takahata-sensei and Shizuna in the hallway; they said you'd be here. What did they have to say?"
Negi grinned ruefully. "He wanted me to bring more people to the security patrol meeting tomorrow morning. The Youkai Festival is taking place during the regular festival this year, so we need more security."
"Oh," Asuna said plainly as she gave him an expectant look.
"…want to come along?" Negi asked, unable to hide his grin. His first mission, if mission it could be called, alongside Asuna since her return from Kyoto...
Asuna grinned in return. "Sure. Who else is coming?"
"I don't know, I haven't asked anyone else yet. Yue-san and Nodoka-san would be good, but both of them will be involved with the library or HQ during the festival. I thought about Kotarou, but Chizuru-san and Natsumi-san would want to come with him, and I can't-"
"Negi…" Asuna said in exasperation as she interrupted him, rolling her eyes. "What, do you still think we're all helpless? Pretty much every one of us is stronger now than you were when you first started teaching here, and we're all more skilled. You're our teacher, our friend. We've fought dragons and vampires and demons together; remember that demon that got unsealed when we were seniors? Now tell me, who was it that was knocked out in the beginning of the fight?" Asuna asked, giving Negi a pointed look.
Negi's face went red and he looked away sheepishly in a manner that harkened back to the child he had been when he had first arrived in Japan. "It was me," he said after a moment.
"Right. And who was it that took down the demon in the end? Hmmm?"
Negi shrank in on himself a little. "Sakurako-san."
"That's right, and it was nothing for her. Now look, we're not weak, none of us have been weak in a long, long time. We can handle anything that comes up, don't worry about it."
"But-"
"Who beat the gang of vampires that tried to move in four years ago? Who stopped that crazy mage who wanted to turn everyone into cats at the festival a few years ago, huh? Come on, give us some credit here," Asuna said. She put her hands on her hips and gave him a look that just dared him to say otherwise.
"Fine," Negi said, frowning. It was the closest he could come under normal circumstances to showing outright annoyance toward any member of his first class. Damn it. "But you have to ask them."
"Sure, no problem," Asuna conceded. "Now, let's go to Eva's place. I've got a new move I want to practice on you."
Miyoshi Youko strolled along in high spirits, whistling a tune she only half-remembered as she swung her school bag back and forth. The air was full of the scent of flowers, the sky was clear and blue, and... "~Going to get an apprentice, yeah~Getting me an apprentice to tee~each~"
She had always wanted an apprentice, but compatible types were few and far between, and fewer still had managed to impress her with their power. But this time...
"Heh~" She grinned wide, showing the tips of her pointed canines. "Thi~is should be fu~un~" she sang aloud as she went, almost skipping along.
From what she knew of the girl, she tended to ride her bike after school on the lesser-used paths near the woods. With her nose, it shouldn't be too hard to find her. The problem was the simple fact that the other girl was very skittish, and was likely to run if startled. 'Smart girl,' Youko thought to herself as she paused on the deserted path by the woods and glanced around to make sure no one was nearby. She untied her ponytail, letting her long silver hair flow freely, undid her summer uniform's tie, then hopped over the bushes beside the trail and ducked down out of sight. A passerby, had there been one on the all but deserted trail, might have heard the rustling sound of clothing being removed for a moment.
Mere moments after Youko had disappeared into the bushes, a rather large silver fox holding a bulging bookbag in its mouth by the handle stepped cautiously out of the bushes, looking around to make sure no one unexpected had appeared. It took a few quick sniffs of the air and bounded off down the path.
The grass was green, the path was firm under her feet, the sky was a beautiful shade of blue...
"No."
"Come on, why not? I really want to see it."
"No means no. Besides, it's not like I can just go around turning into a monster whenever I want!"
"Actually, yes you can-"
"Shut up Haru!"
Keiko blinked at that odd comment. "Why did you just tell yourself to shut up? And why can't you show me that big fox-wolf-thing you turn into?"
Endo Haru heaved a much-put-upon sigh and rubbed her forehead. 'I never should have told her about all this stuff,' she thought to herself bitterly. Ever since she had explained the truth about being a part-youkai and her ability to shapeshift to her classmate Suzuki Keiko, the girl hadn't given her a moment's peace except when Haru went to bed at night. Even then, she had to turn off her cell phone to make sure the other girl wouldn't wake her up with a late phone call, asking for more information. She sighed again and dug around in her pocket for some change for the vending machine the two of them were standing in front of.
"You worry too much. If you're that sick of her, just let me eat her and she won't bother you anymore."
Haru bit off a sharp retort and mentally gave the voice in her head a punch in the nose. It yelped and quickly fell silent; she quickly got the feeling it was giving her a kicked puppy look.
"The reason," Haru finally ground out between clenched teeth as she inserted a few coins, "is that every time I do that, it's really hard to change back." She neglected to mention the additional fact that being in that form left her with virtually no control over her body, making it all too easy for the other Haru, HARU, the one in her head, the bloodthirsty wild animal that constantly wanted to eat her classmates, the same HARU who had almost succeeded in killing Keiko after the fight with all those shadowy creatures not too long ago, take over and do whatever she wanted. Changing back into a human also left her utterly drained of energy; it was a horrible feeling. She pressed the button and grabbed her drink.
"Hard to change back..." Keiko muttered.
"Yeah," Haru said, then took a long gulp of her soft drink so she wouldn't have to explain any more.
"Well if it's that hard, you should practice!" Keiko said, smiling expectantly as she watched Haru suddenly choke on her drink and splutter for a moment.
"That's...What...Just..." Haru said when she had recovered enough to attempt speech. "I don't..." 'Dammit!' she thought viciously. Even she had to admit that Keiko was right about the need to practice, no matter how much the thought of giving up control, no matter how briefly, terrified her. And she was terrified. Few people had ever experienced the utter horror of some other thing living in your body, trying its hardest to push you aside and take over. And, in a moment of weakness when it inevitably did, having to feel your body move on its own, powerless to stop it as you looked out through eyes that now belonged to someone else... She abruptly shuddered, almost choking on her soft drink again.
"Are you alright?" Keiko asked, pushing her glasses up; they had begun to slip down her nose in the heat.
Haru shivered and shook her head to clear it. She looked down at her can, half empty, and felt a sense of revulsion. The other Haru hated soft drinks; she said they made her throat and nose feel weird. And, to tell the truth, Haru wasn't particularly fond of them either; she drank them just to annoy the other person in her head sometimes, but she just wasn't feeling it today. "I don't know," Haru finally said, tossing the half empty can into the trash.
"You should make sure the can is empty, first," Keiko said in a motherly tone. Then, upon realizing what she had just sounded like, she blushed deeply and glanced away.
"Yeah, yeah..." Haru said, looking away to spare the other girl some dignity. It wasn't as if she hated Keiko or anything; she was just annoyed. There was no point in taking out her frustrations on her; as much as Haru didn't want to admit it, Keiko had perfectly justified reasons for wanting to know more, and had the situation repeated itself, she would have jumped in to save her again. "I don't know," she repeated as she glanced off back down the path in the direction the two of them had come; she thought she saw some sort of animal moving around a long way off. "It's sort of scary."
"Scary?" Keiko asked.
Haru nodded. "It's like..." she said, pausing as she looked around, trying to find a half-decent metaphor for what she was trying to express. Her eyes drifted from the vending machines to the bushes beside the path to the odd gray-colored animal she had spotted before, now much closer to their position than it had been; it seemed to be carrying something its mouth. She perked up suddenly. "It's like when you try to learn to play guitar or piano."
"...is it?" Keiko asked, skeptically raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah," Haru said as she recalled her time trying to learn to play the guitar a few years before. "When you first pick it up, your fingers are all awkward and don't work right, and you don't know what you're doing at all. And if you don't stumble on the right way to do it, you'll just get used to doing it wrong, and you'll never be good. And if you're not good, you can't be in a band."
Keiko's eyebrow rose a little further. "I think you lost track of your simile," she said helpfully.
"...huh. Hey, what's that dog doing?" Haru asked, looking over Keiko's shoulder at the rapidly approaching gray animal she had spotted earlier. Keiko turned to look, startled, and had just started to correct her on the creature's species when it turned and headed straight for them.
Keiko squawked in startled indignation when Haru shoved her aside and got in the animal's way; she noted, at this point, that it was not in fact a dog, but seemed to be instead a rather large and very healthy-looking gray fox of some sort, that just so happened to be carrying a bookbag in its mouth.
"..." Haru looked down at the fox as it came to a stop in front of her and sat down.
"..." The fox looked up at Haru and dropped the bookbag. She got the distinct impression it was smirking at her, and something about it didn't feel quite right. It took her a moment to realize just where she had felt that particular sensation under her skin before, and when she did, the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. "You?" she said, horrified as she took an unconscious step back.
The fox only grinned wider.
Keiko, staying well back, adjusted her glasses as she peered at the interesting animal. "Is it someone's pet...?" The fox gave her a look that could only be described as 'shocked' or possibly 'offended', but abruptly turned its attention back to Haru as she started to back up again, looking around wildly for some sort of exit route.
"I, ah, I'm not, I mean—I didn't mean to...!" Haru said, trying to back out of the fox's range. It darted forward between her legs to trip her up as she let out a startled cry that was echoed by Keiko, tried to get away, and tripped, landing in a clumsy heap on the ground. The big gray fox immediately jumped up to sit firmly on her chest and stomach, and started grinning at her again.
"...I think it likes you," Keiko said dryly when Haru shot a panicked look at her. The fox's form abruptly shifted into that of a naked woman so quickly that Keiko let out a startled scream and covered her face with both hands.
Haru looked up at her the woman seated on her stomach, her mouth dry and her heart pounding.
Miyoshi Youko propped her chin up on her hand as she sat cross-legged, and grinned, the tip of one of her canines just visible. "Haru-chan~"
Haru would have shrunk back had she been able to move. Unfortunately, Youko weighed more than she looked.
"You know Haru-chan, I've been thinking..." Youko said, trailing off as she looked down at the terrified half-youkai girl she was sitting on for a moment. "Aren't you going to ask what I've been thinking?" she prompted gently.
Haru swallowed the lump in her throat. "W-what have y-you been thinking, M-Miyoshi-san?"
Youko grinned down at her toothily, utterly oblivious to her own nudity. "I've been thinking you're pretty interesting, Haru-chan."
Haru shook her head frantically. "N-no! I'm not interesting at all! I...I'm very boring! I don't follow celebrities or do anything but ride my bike everywhere! Just ask Keiko!" she said, looking to the other girl for help. Keiko was still covering her face however, too shocked and embarrassed at Youko's blatant nudity in a public place to do anything.
Youko shook her head. "Nah, that's just stupid stuff; it's all useless. What I'm interested in is what you did the other night, and all that power that came out. You did know a lot of power came out, right?" she asked, giving Haru an amused look while the trapped girl looked up at her blankly. Youko rolled her eyes. "Well, isn't that a real laugh! Don't you know what happens when a youkai blasts out like that and doesn't bother to ward it?"
Haru shook her head, eyes wide.
Youko grinned. "The hunters come. And then..." she said, pausing a moment before slowly drawing her thumb across her throat in an unmistakable gesture. "Didn't your parents teach you to be more careful than that?"
Haru finally managed to break eye contact and looked away, ashamed.
"Well?"
"...they weren't youkai, not like me..."
Youko's lively grin froze and she blinked. "...what?"
Haru trained her gaze on a nearby bush to keep from looking at the full-blooded youkai girl. She had been so dense...! How could she not have noticed that Youko was a full-blooded youkai? It was so obvious, especially this close...! She tried her best to calm her racing heart before answering. "M-my parents weren't youkai, not really...w-well, my mom was, but she never showed any signs. Grandma was, though. A youkai, I mean. Showed signs of being one, I mean. Her mom and dad were wolf and fox youkai...what?" Haru asked, vaguely offended at the laughter Youko was trying to muffle behind her hand.
"Oh wow, that must've really been something," Youko said when the fit of laughter had subsided. "Fox and wolf, huh? They've been at war for a thousand years or more," she said, smiling down like a predator at Haru, still trapped under her. "So your dad's a human?" she asked. Haru nodded but didn't elaborate, so she nodded as well. "I see, I gotcha. So," she said, finally standing up and offering a hand up to Haru, who took it hesitantly and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. "I'm looking for an apprentice, and you desperately need some training. Whaddaya say?" she asked, still hanging on to Haru's hand and giving her a lively smile.
"U-um...I don't know if that's a good idea. I mean, 'cause of my family situation-" Haru began.
"Don't worry about it! Who the hell do you think I am?" Youko demanded in a playful tone. "My mom was the famous Silver Fox Youkai Queen who stopped the first oni revolt in Kyoto; they won't dare to mess with anybody under my protection," she said haughtily, then grinned a toothy grin at Haru. "Got any more excuses? I'll shoot 'em all down one by one, you know."
Haru looked helplessly at the girl she had once thought she had known. Could it really be true? Miyoshi Youko, her classmate, was youkai royalty? And not just any royalty either; Youko was the long-lost daughter of the last youkai to be deemed worthy of being named the Youkai Queen...it was like something out of a fairy tail, really. After the Youkai Queen died years and years ago due to treachery, the three proofs of office had been sent out through the lands by the steward to be searched out by the next ruler-to-be, as per tradition. All of this, as well as the other stories her grandmother had told her as a young child, had taken on the feeling of nursery rhymes to her, something to be repeated to entertain young children, the sort of thing that had little connection to reality, and yet here before her stood someone intimately connected with those old stories...
"Um...Miyoshi-san?"
Haru froze in the act of opening her mouth to speak, as did Youko. Their eyes met, then turned in sync toward Suzuki Keiko, whose presence had been utterly forgotten by the both of them.
Keiko, for her part, shrunk back a little when the other two turned their attention toward her. "Here, you should put on your clothes..." she said, holding out Youko's bulging bookbag. "And...and can you tell me more about the youkai queen? It sounds interesting..."
"Eh..."
Asuna flipped her cell phone shut as evening fell and turned to Nodoka. "Misa says she'll be busy with the band tournament, so none of them can help. Who's left?"
"Hmm…" Nodoka said, scanning the list of students she had made earlier. "Maple-san…" She glanced up at Asuna, and the two of them immediately shook their heads.
"No."
"That wouldn't be pretty."
Maple Birdsong, in a position of power with the authority to use any means at her disposal to stop a fight? No thanks. The girl certainly meant well, but things tended to devolve quickly when she broke out the chainsaw and gardening tools.
Asuna plopped down on a folding chair in the Youkai Registration Office and took a drink of water. "I think we should let the ones who are still students enjoy the festival. There should be enough of us who have already graduated, and then the teachers… Taro-kun will be disappointed though," she said, grinning a little when she thought of her student. Taro was always so gung-ho about everything; it was amusing. But since her friend Possum had gone missing, however, a lot of that excited energy had vanished. 'She probably needs a good shock to bring her back to reality...' Asuna thought absently. Finding Possum would certainly help, but that was easier said than done.
Nodoka nodded in response to Asuna's observation as she scanned over the list again, crossing off quite a few names. After a moment she reached over and turned on the desk lamp; the sun was setting and there wasn't enough light in the room.
"I think that's everyone," Nodoka said thirty minutes later after one final check of the lists.
"That's good, my phone bill will be huge," Asuna said as she flipped her cell phone shut and leaned back in her chair, throwing her feet up on the edge of the table and making the chair balance on two legs as she stared up at the ceiling. "Do you think I can charge it to the school?"
Nodoka laughed softly and shook her head.
"Dang."
"Hey guys!"
Asuna and Nodoka both jumped when Kazumi threw the door open hard enough for it to slam against the doorstop on the wall and bounce off. Asuna struggled for a long moment to regain her chair's balance, but it was a lost cause and after a long, suspenseful moment the chair fell back, dumping her on her back with her legs up in the air as her skirt drifted down.
"Hey! We need to talk about the scheduling for- Oh~ providing a little extra service for Negi-sensei, are we?" Kazumi said slyly as she pulled Negi into the room behind her.
"Hmm? What are you talking about Asaku…ra…san…" Negi trailed off as Kazumi pulled him into the room and he saw Asuna.
For a moment, it seemed as if it was just the two of them. Asuna, flat on her back with her legs in the air and her loose skirt rumpled around her waist from her fall, her face growing redder by the second as she looked up at him; and Negi, dressed smartly in a nice suit, looking down at the woman Asuna had become, except…
"B…bear panties…" Nodoka and Asuna both went beet-red at that.
"It's the only clean pair I had!"
The results were not pretty.
A black Mercedes pulled up just outside one of the best hotels in town, and a smirking Japanese man in his late twenties got out and glanced around, then stepped aside to allow the next person to exit the car.
A rather plain looking Japanese man who looked maybe twenty five but may have been as old as thirty climbed out of the car and expertly scanned the street. He shut the car door and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his suit jacket; there was an air of casual amusement about him.
"Are you sure she's here, Nobuo?" he asked the first man.
"No doubt about it. Come on, Jin. Let's go check in," Nobuo said, swaggering toward the front door of the hotel as the Mercedes drove off.
Jin took another, more careful look around, noted several suspicious people on the streets, and poked the twin pistols in their hidden holsters in his suit jacket's pockets. Yes, Tatsumiya Mana had to be here. If she wasn't…Well, he had a job to do, and Saga Jin wasn't known for shirking his work.
The sound of fireworks indicated the start of the Pre-Festival Party, followed almost immediately by the deafening roar of thousands of people cheering the unofficial start of the festival.
Author's notes: The Still Waters series now has its own page (and character sheet, for those of you who might have problems sorting out all the characters) on TVTropes dot org; you can find it there by doing a search for "Still Waters Series". Feel free to drop by there and check it out. But anyway, there will be a followup side story chapter involving Taro and Sachiko posted very soon, so keep an eye out for it. The Festival starts next time! Don't worry, the festival won't last for twenty chapters. Also, things will move quickly during the festival, be prepared. Also, if you don't remember Saga Jin or Nobuo, you should check out Still Waters 2, specifically chapter 16 and 19.