Thirty-Eighth Spell: Inari
"It's my fault, Dōmeki-Sama," Hikari said, before Haru got the chance to make his case.
Rui and Sumi were surprised by Hikari's answer, while Dōmeki looked puzzled.
"Explain, Genma," Dōmeki demanded.
"When Shō-Sensei left the summit earlier today, I followed her out of curiosity," Hikari said. "I saw her get attacked by the oni, and worried about the safety of our class. So I used my Inari Kitsune familiar Kusano to lure the oni away from the summit while I shadowed it to make sure it didn't turn back. Though I made one misstep and it spotted me. Fortunately, Haru showed up just in time to stop the oni from taking me to its lair and eating me alive."
"And how did you accomplish this?" Dōmeki asked Haru.
Haru thought about mentioning the snake girl, but he worried that Dōmeki wouldn't believe his story just like Hikari did.
"Since I couldn't use magic, I threw a rock at the oni's face which made it drop its club and fall down the slope next to the trail," Haru said, telling a half-truth. "That's how we were able to get away."
"I helped, actually, by using my wand to poke one of its eyes so it would let me go," Hikari added, holding her wand towards Dōmeki.
Dōmeki took Hikari's wand and examined it carefully.
"Can you summon Kusano for a moment?" Dōmeki requested to Hikari after giving back her wand. "I would like to hear her side of the story."
"Of course," Hikari agreed.
From her wrist, Hikari revealed a woven red bracelet with a bell attached to it. She moved her wrist to ring the bell, which caused an opaque shape standing next to her to become more solid. It revealed itself as a fox with light-gold fur and a white belly with four bushy tails and red eyeliner that complemented its amber eyes.
"What is that?" Haru asked Rui, eying the bell on Hikari's wrist.
"A Spirit Bell," Rui whispered. "When you ring it, a spirit that's invisible will reveal itself even when it's trying to hide from humans."
"Thank you, Wataka, that will be enough," Dōmeki said. "Now tell me what you saw, Kusano."
From the fold of her lilac robe, Dōmeki produced a tofu pouch filled with rice. Haru recognized it as Inari sushi, which his adopted parents sometimes got as a special treat. But upon seeing the Inari sushi herself, the fox Kusano wagged her four tails in excitement and cautiously walked over to Dōmeki.
As Kusano ate the Inari sushi out of Dōmeki's hand, the headmistress knelt down and stroked Kusano's furry neck whispering quietly into one of Kusano's pointed ears. The fox nodded from time to time while sniffing Dōmeki's robe pockets for more Inari sushi. Dōmeki gently pushed Kusano back and gave her another Inari sushi before sending her back to Hikari.
"How did you know Kusano liked Inari sushi?" Hikari asked.
"Every type of kitsune likes Inari sushi, whether they're kitsune-onna, kitsune-tsuki, or Inari kitsune like yours," Dōmeki stated. "It's a weakness of theirs, and a primary way of identifying kitsune disguised as humans. Now regarding your actions, Genma-Chan, I admire your courage in attempting to lure the oni away from our group. However, what you did was entirely reckless and almost got you killed! So ten points will be taken from the Suzaku Clan as punishment."
Hikari wanted to protest, but she silently nodded instead.
"As for you, Ryuji-Kun," Dōmeki addressed, glancing at Haru. "What you did was equally reckless. You should have told Midorime-Sensei about Genma's absence instead of running off to look for her on your own."
"But the fact that Ryuji survived his encounter with the oni, successfully rescued Hikari, and managed to tame an uwabami without being eaten is quite remarkable!" Midorime chimed in. "I think he should get ten points for his gumption alone."
Haru glanced up at Midorime with surprise, still holding the snake girl in serpent form. "How did you know I was holding an uwabami and not a regular snake?"
"Your snake doesn't look anything like the typical snakes that live on this mountain," Midorime explained. "And I knew she wasn't a nure-onna either, because she would have a more human face even in serpent form."
"While I understand where you're coming from, Midorime-Sensei, we can't ignore the fact that Ryuji put himself in mortal danger," Dōmeki said, trying to get the conversation back on track. "So as a compromise, I will award five points to Byakko for his gumption. Now, Ryuji-Kun, what do you intend to do with the uwabami?"
Haru looked down at the snake girl, but her expression was hard to read.
"Can I talk to her for a moment, in private?" Haru asked.
"You have ten minutes," Dōmeki said. "In the meantime, I will take Genma, Boin, and Wataka back to Mahoutokoro."
While Dōmeki performed the Body Evaporation Spell which turned her, Hikari, Sumi, and Rui into water droplets that drifted on the wind back to Minami Island where Mahoutokoro was located, Haru went a little ways off into the trees. He put the snake girl down on the ground as she transformed into her human form, still wearing the white robes with the long black hair and the same ice-blue eyes she had as a serpent.
"Are you going away now?" the snake girl asked.
"Yes," Haru answered.
The snake girl looked sad. "Will you ever come back?"
"Probably not, though it might happen."
"I see." Shifting her feet in the ground, the snake girl asked, "Are you still going to give a name? You promised me one."
"Right, I did." Haru thought for a moment and then decided, "What about…Heshi?"
"Heshi?"
"Since you used a torrent to save me and Hikari from the oni, I thought I'd call you Heshi, which is short for 'hageshī' meaning 'torrential.'"
Pondering over the name, the snake girl smiled. "I like it! My name is Heshi!"
"Well, nice to officially meet you, Heshi," said Haru, bowing in politeness.
Mimicking him, Heshi bowed as well. Then she turned around and started walking further into the forest. Haru was about to head back, but thinking about what Heshi said about eating garbage he hesitated.
To be continued…
