Seventeenth Spell: Shitanaga Uba
The following morning, everyone in the Boys' Dorm of the Byakko Wing was woken up by the sound of loud crowing along with the Girls' Dorm.
"What was that noise?" Haru asked Cheng as the two of them stood in line for the boys' shared bathroom on the same floor as the Byakko Wing.
"It was Dōmeki-Sama's familiar Fushigi," Cheng explained. "She's a yatagarasu, a special type of crow yokai that's been passed down for generations through the Dōmeki family line, and serves as the school alarm bell."
"So what are yokai exactly? I remember learning about them in elementary school, but I never understood what they were."
"And that's the problem: they're not easily defined as far as magical creatures go. Some are good, some evil, some take human form, some don't…. It's why they're in their own category of classification with the Japanese Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Creatures."
Haru was tempted to ask Cheng about the Japanese Wizard Code, but decided not to as he got himself ready. The robes were not that easy to tie on, so Cheng had to help him out. It was then that Haru noticed his pink kimono now had a white tiger embroidered on the back and his kimono sash had turned white.
"That's to indicate which Clan you belong to," Cheng said and pointed to other boys in the bathroom whose sashes were blue, black, or red. "And if you look closely, you'll see Clan emblems embroidered on the backs of their kimonos too."
Indeed that was the case as some boys had either a blue dragon, a red songbird, or a black tortoise embroidered on their kimonos. Then in the Student Dining Hall, everyone sat at their Clan tables while the First-Year Primary Students once again sat at the Phantom Table.
"So how did you sleep, Haru?" Rui asked.
"Fine once I got settled in," Haru answered. He was eating more food than usual since he barely had any dinner last night due to unexpectedly fainting.
"That's good," Rui yawned again. "I couldn't get much sleep because Gaane and Fuyou started a pillow fight in our dorm, which Peri tried to break up to no avail."
"Your sisters sound like a pain to deal with."
"But I still love them deep down. That is the nature of family after all."
Haru thought about that, and realized he didn't really have a family. Because the people he thought were his family turned out to not be related to him, and he didn't know much about his birth parents. From what little he gathered, his mother Kiku was gifted but naive while his father Taka was strange yet unassuming.
"Do you know where I'm supposed to go for remedial classes?" Haru asked Rui, wanting to change the subject.
"I'm not sure, but Peri might know," Rui said.
As cawing sounds rang through the Student Dining Hall, everyone finished their breakfast and filed out. But Haru stayed back and approached Peri, who was wearing a red kimono that matched her short chestnut hair.
"What is it, Ryuji-Kun?" Peri said.
"Um, I was wondering if you knew where my remedial classes were, Peri-Sempai," Haru inquired sheepishly.
"No, I don't," Peri said. "You'll have to ask the Byakko Clan Head about that."
"And who is that?"
"Midorime-Sensei. She should be heading out of the Teachers' Dining Hall now if you want to catch her."
"Where is that?"
"It's to the left on the first floor with a view of the courtyard."
"Okay, thanks."
But like yesterday, Haru got lost because of the changing walls. He didn't know where to go, and saw a person standing at the end of the hallway he was in. As he got close, the person turned out to be an old woman with peppery hair bundled up wearing a violet shawl over a red dress with a green apron on. She was too busy sweeping the floor with an old-fashioned broom made of twigs to hear Haru approaching her.
"Stupid kids," the old woman grumbled loudly. "I tell them all the time not to drag dirt and mud in from the outside, but do they listen to old Ako? No, they don't!"
"Excuse me," Haru said, getting the old woman's attention.
"Go bug someone else!" The old woman turned around and glared at Haru. She sniffed the air, looking puzzled. "Your scent…I don't recognize you."
"Huh?" Haru was confused.
The old woman then opened her mouth, and an unnaturally long tongue unfurled licking Haru in the face. He was so shocked that he could barely move while the old woman retracted her tongue and swallowed.
"You taste like a kid who's too inquisitive for his own good and liable to cause trouble," the old woman said.
"How do you know that?"
"I'm Ako, the school's resident shitanaga uba and caretaker."
"Shitanaga…uba? Is that a type of yokai?"
Ako looked offended. "You don't seem to know much, do you? What's your name?"
"Haru…Ryuji," Haru said nervously.
"Ryuji…. You're the Boy Who Vanished!" Ako realized. "But clearly, you didn't vanish at all. Such a shame!"
"Why?"
"Kiku Tago died because of you. How else do you explain why she disappeared around the same time you did? I didn't like her personally since she was a real troublemaker, but I can't fault her for her brilliance. The same cannot be said for your father Taka. Bambō knew he was bad the moment he laid eyes on him, and he was right."
"Bambō? Who's that?"
"My shunobon partner." Ako snapped her finger.
From a cloud of gray smoke appeared a giant humanoid creature that resembled a man with vermillion-red skin, one eye, and hair that was sharpened like spikes on a sea urchin. The creature growled at Haru, showing two rows of sharp fangs.
"I'm the only person Bambō trusts, so you'd best stay on his good side," Ako said. "Now scat!"
As Bambō roared, Haru took off the other way. He eventually found his way back to the Healers' Wing and found Popuri writing something on a scroll.
"Ryuji-Kun!" Popuri exclaimed. "I didn't expect to see you back here so soon."
To be continued…