Fifteenth Spell: Guardian Spirits

"Rakkashi, Nayu," Shō called after saying many other names.

From the back, a girl who was round in face and body skittishly walked up. But she tripped in front of the Subemitō Mirror, which made the students laugh.

"Still living up to your last name, eh, Nayu?" Hikari joked.

Not saying anything, the round girl Nayu stood up and looked in the mirror. From the mirror appeared an illumination in the shape of a tiger.

"Byakko!" Shō declared.

The table with the tiger flag clapped loudly as Nayu stumbled over to them.

"Ryuji, Haru," said Shō.

Haru couldn't believe his name was called, but when Shō repeated it he reluctantly stepped forward. He glanced down at the mirror, which showed his reflection on a clear surface. Then it suddenly changed to a shadowy figure that morphed into a snake with multiple heads. Frightened by the image, he backed away.

"Is something wrong, Ryuji?" Shō asked.

"No, I-I'm fine," Haru fibbed.

Stepping back up to the mirror, Haru took a deep breath and looked. The mirror flashed and an image of the Byakko tiger appeared. So Haru went to the Byakko table where he was welcomed with open arms.

A few more names later, Shō said, "Wataka, Ruri."

Making a nervous hiccup, Rui walked up to the mirror and glanced into it. From the mirror leapt the Byakko tiger, which relieved her greatly. She went to the Byakko table and sat next to Haru.

Shō then rolled up the scroll and banged the gong again, which made the pedestal the Subemitō Mirror sat on disappear back down into the floor. Just then, the door to the Student Dining Hall opened and the First-Year Primary Students entered with Midorime following after them. A fifth long table suddenly appeared off to the side of the entrance, which the First-Year Primary Students sat at.

"Where did that come from?" Haru asked.

"That's the Phantom Table," Rui explained. "It only appears when there are guests staying."

Just then, a trail of purple butterflies fluttered into the room. They flew across the tables and gathered into a cluster next to Shō. As the cluster tightened, a figure emerged from the butterflies. It was a tall elderly woman with gray-white hair tied up in an elaborate bun, a stoic expression, and wore a lilac-purple kimono.

"Is the Initiation Ceremony over?" asked the elderly woman.

"Yes, Headmistress Dōmeki," Shō said, bowing out of respect.

"And the Ceremony of Kimonos?" Dōmeki said to Midorime.

"Yes, Headmistress Dōmeki," Midorime acknowledged.

Dōmeki then looked to the students. "Before you start the Feast of the First Night, I have a few announcements to make: First-Year Primary Students are not allowed to enter the Cloud Forest below the school grounds under any circumstance with the same rule applying to the First-Year Secondary Students as well, the storage room behind the courtyard is off-limits, and with the recent sighting of Warumo-Uragi I want you to report any suspicious activity directly to me or the caretaker Uba-San. That is all."

After Dōmeki dissipated into the purple butterflies and flew away, Shō hit the gong a third time. Now the tables were suddenly filled with various Japanese-style dishes along with box trays, small dishes, chopsticks, and cups for every student. While the students immediately started digging into the food and sharing it among each other, Shō and Midorime left the Student Dining Hall.

"Where are they going?" Haru wondered.

"The Teachers' Dining Hall," Rui said through a mouthful of Karaage chicken pieces. "It's where Dōmeki-Sama and the other teachers have their meals."

"I see."

Haru briefly glanced at Hikari, who only glared back at him. Sighing, he used his chopsticks to reach for a piece of salmon maki. But as he did, a white cloud suddenly appeared on the table. From it emerged a well-endowed woman with light brunette hair wearing a black tank top and mini-skirt, matching black stockings and gloves with claws on the ends. But what surprised Haru more was the woman had black cat ears and two tails that twitched like they were real.

"Kuro!" Shouted the girl with the mannish haircut who was with Rui at Kyoto Station. "Get off the table!"

"Oh, come on, Peri," the cat girl said. "Don't be like that! I just want to say hi to the new guy."

"Uh, what…are you exactly?" Haru asked.

"I'm a nekomata, which is a type of cat yokai," Kuro said. "The name's Kuro, and I am the Guardian Spirit of the Byakko Clan."

"Guardian Spirit?"

"Each Clan in Mahoutokoro has a Guardian Spirit who's a yokai that's sworn to protect the Clan," Kuro explained and used her clawed hand to point to the different tables. "For instance, Suzaku's Guardian Spirit is Toku the Tengu. Then there's Oshi the Oshōuo, who protects Genbu, and Zennyo the Pearlskin Dragon who protects Seiryu."

Indeed the other tables in the dining hall had equally strange creatures occupying them now. The Suzaku table was being blasted by winds coming from a winged man with long nails and eyes that reminded Haru of a kite bird while the Genbu table had a turtle walking on the table with the head of a human man with a bald head, and the Seiryu table had a small girl who was floating on a cloud wearing a golden snake for a crown.

"So what's your name, fella?" Kuro asked Haru.

"H-Haru Ryuji," answered Haru.

"Was there a Ryuji in Byakko before?" Kuro wondered. But then she shrugged. "Can't say if there was one, because I don't remember."

"You're so scatterbrained!" said one of the twin girls, who was also with Rui earlier.

"Go catch a mouse!" chimed the other twin girl. "It's the only thing you're good at!"

"You're not helping, Gaane and Fuyou!" Peri snapped.

"And this is the real reason I don't sit with them on the train," Rui whispered. "My older sisters can be quite a handful."

"Do you have any other siblings?" Haru asked.

"One little brother, Gyoku," Rui answered. "He'll be graduating from Primary School at the end of this year."

"That sounds great."

"It would be if Meru, my mother, wasn't putting so much pressure on him to succeed our family business when he grows up."

"Which is what?"

"A trading company called Sundaumi, which trades and exports Wizarding Goods. It used to be run by my father Ata. But then he passed away unexpectedly ten years ago, leaving my mom to raise me, my sisters, and our newborn brother all by herself."

Being reminded of his own family's passing, Haru placed a sympathetic hand on Rui. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Hey, you two gonna kiss?" Fuyou asked Rui, while her twin Gaane snickered.

"Leave her alone," Haru said, lowering his hand. "She was just talking to me."

"Whatever you say, Boy Who Vanished," Gaane scuffed. "Rumor has it you were being raised in isolation by a Manai family until a few weeks ago when they all got killed by Warumo-Uragi and you were the only survivor. Is there some truth to that rumor?"

Before Haru could respond, he felt a sharp pain in his chest and suddenly passed out on the table.

To be continued…