I can't believe it's taking me so long to get through Year 1 of Haru's time at Mahoutokoro. Hopefully, things will go more quickly from Year 2 onward. Thank you for your patience! And if you want me to change the title of this fanfic, since there's a bunch of other fanfics on the site with the same title, let me know.

Eightieth Spell: Nobusuma

Haru blinked at Hikari. "Did you just call me by my first name?"

"What?" Hikari blushed. "No, I didn't, Ryuji!"

"You did," Rui said. "I heard Hikari say, 'Haru' quite clearly."

"Enough, you two!" Hikari said. "We're getting off-track! Now if Warumo was trying to control Haru using Kotodama Magic, why hasn't he succeeded yet?"

"Because of my mother's seal, which is powered by my emotions," Haru said.

"So if your emotions are positive, Warumo's power is weaker," Hikari assumed. When Haru nodded to confirm Hikari's assumption, her brows furrowed. "Then if your emotions are negative…that's why he cast the Onryō Curse on you!"

"Huh?" This confused Haru greatly.

"Don't you get it?" Hikari insisted. "Because the curse has made your dead Manai relatives appear before you constantly, your state of mind has become unstable. That in turn makes Warumo think it'll be easier to control you with Kotodama Magic, and he almost succeeded with the way you acted during the play. But luckily, I intervened with the Raincloud Jinx."

"Then during the Quidditch Exhibition Match, Warumo almost made Haru kill the Japanese Prime Minister of Magic," Rui added. "Fortunately, Haru had enough willpower to hurt himself which broke the connection between him and Warumo. And Shō-sensei was present at both the play and the Quidditch Exhibition Match, meaning she was acting on Warumo's behalf."

"Exactly," Hikari concurred. "But we don't know why Shō-sensei is helping Warumo, and where controlling Ryuji fits into Warumo's plan to get the Jinsei Stone."

Then Haru and the girls spent a few minutes contemplating these questions, but couldn't come up with any answers.

"Maybe we should talk to Higa about this," Haru suggested.

"Why?" Hikari asked. "He's just the Groundskeeper."

"He's also my legal guardian, since my Manai family were relatives of his," said Haru. "And I think if anyone knows Warumo best, it would be Higa."

"Is it because he also used to be part of the Shimono?" Rui questioned. "That's what I heard."

"Not just that, but he tried to save my birthmother before she died," replied Haru.

Later that week, Haru, Rui, and Hikari sneaked out of their dormitories on Friday night using the Namahage Cape. While Rui and Hikari hunched under the straw part of the cape, Haru held up the mask and told the girls which directions to move. They made it to Higa's cottage without too many difficulties and knocked on his door.

A loud meowing sound came from inside the cottage, followed by the door opening. It was Higa, who stared down at the three with a look of annoyance.

"Sorry to disturb you, Higa," apologized Haru. "But we need to talk to you about something really important."

"Can it wait till tomorrow?" Higa demanded. "I'm kind of busy at the moment."

"Doing what?" Hikari asked. "You're not looking for the Onryō ghosts right now."

From inside the cottage came a squeaking noise, forcing Higa to turn away. Haru and the girls came in, though they were greeted by Fuan's hissing.

"Enough with the hissing, Fuan!" Higa snapped. "I've got enough to deal with as is."

Next to the fire pit in the middle of the cottage was a woven basket with a bunch of blankets stuffed inside. Curled up in these blankets was a small furry creature that resembled a flying squirrel which was suckling on a cloth that Higa had soaked in a bowl of milk he was heating over the fire.

"Is that…a Nobusuma?" Rui said, her eyes widening with surprise.

"Yes, it is," Higa said. "I found him stuck in a tree earlier this evening."

As he spoke, the creature stretched inside the basket revealing tiny bat-like wings covered in the same chestnut-brown fur as the rest of the creature's body.

"What's a Nobusuma?" Haru asked. "I don't think Kagaya-sensei covered them in this week's Care for Magical Creatures class."

"They're a type of yokai that looks like a flying squirrel, but they're actually an old bat that has transformed into a yokai," Higa explained. "Normally, they feed on fruits and nuts. But sometimes they attack people by latching onto their face and sucking their blood."

"Gross!" Hikari gagged. "Are these things native to the island?"

"No, they typically live in the Kochi prefecture further north," Higa said. "But some of them get blown down here by typhoons. I think that's what happened to this little guy."

After sucking all the milk from the cloth, the small Nobusuma squeaked again forcing Higa to dip the cloth in more milk to keep feeding it.

"Would you mind if I took over feeding the Nobusuma for you?" Rui offered. "Then you can listen to what Haru has to say without being preoccupied."

Higa sighed. "All right, but be careful. He does bite if you get your hands too close to his face."

"Does he carry any diseases like a regular bat?" Haru wondered as Rui took the milk-soaked cloth from Higa's hand and continued feeding the Nobusuma.

"Some yokai carry diseases, but most of them don't," said Higa. "Now what did you want to talk to me about so urgently?"

Taking a deep breath, Haru said, "We know about the Jinsei Stone that's being guarded in the storage house, and we suspect someone is trying to steal it."

For a moment, Higa looked perplexed. "How did you find out about the stone?"

"A little bit of research," Hikari said vaguely. "But we think Shō-sensei is the one who wants the stone, and plans to give it to Warumo-uragi."

"You kids must be out of your minds!" Higa said in disbelief. "Shō-sensei would never do something that foolish! And besides, she's one of the teachers who offered her services to protect the Jinsei Stone from intruders. Why would she sabotage herself by protecting the thing she's supposed to steal?"

To be continued…