Eighty-Third Spell: Shedding Skin
"What's wrong with her eyes?" Haru said, pointing at Heshi.
"Oh, that's nothing to worry about," Popuri-dono assured. "It means your uwabami friend's skin is about to start shedding."
This statement caught Haru off-guard for a moment until he remembered that despite Heshi's human appearance, she was still a snake by nature.
"Have you shed your skin before, Heshi?" asked Haru.
"Yes, I have," Heshi confirmed. "It happened five months after I hatched, before my mom threw me out. Up to that point, I resembled a regular snake. Though after I shed my skin the first time, I took the human form you see now. But I've never shed my skin in this form before, so I don't know what to do."
"I'll get a warm bath going," Popuri said. "The water should loosen your skin enough to make it shed easier."
"A bath?" Heshi was perplexed. "Is that what you humans use to clean yourselves?"
"That's correct," Popuri confirmed. "How did you know what it was?"
"Sometimes I overhear the other boys in Haru's room talking about how good their bath was, so I've been curious to try one and see what it's really like."
Behind a paper screen, Popuri filled a tub in the corner of the Healers' Wing with hot water. In the light of the paper lantern that was set next to the tub, Haru could vaguely see Popuri stop Heshi from getting in fully clothed. He then tried to take off her clothes, but they stuck to her like flesh so she got in anyway.
Once she settled into the tub, Heshi looked relaxed as she peeled bits of skin off her arms and legs. Then she abruptly stood up and removed a thin membrane that resembled her figure from the head down to the hem of her robe like she were taking a bodysuit off. After shaking off some remaining bits of skin from her feet, she emerged from behind the paper screen.
To Haru's surprise, the Heshi that stood before him looked mostly the same except a little taller than before and the white stripes in her hair were less visible. But now Heshi's robe no longer had the tears from before and the cat scratches were completely gone from her face.
"Do I look okay?" Heshi said, noticing Haru was staring at her.
"Um, yeah, you look…fine," replied Haru. "I never got to ask about those stripes in your hair. Where did you get them from?"
Looking in a nearby mirror, Heshi frowned. "They were a parting gift from my mother when she kicked me out."
"You mean, she sprayed you with venom?"
"No, she sprayed me with water that was boiling hot to the point where it seared my skin. And it seems no matter how many times I shed, they will always be there…."
"They look a little better, though. Maybe they'll eventually go away when you get older."
"Uwabamis shed their skin about once a year, though Heshi was a little late this year due to the bad eating habits she picked up from living on her own," Popuri said.
Heshi looked embarrassed. "You could tell just from looking at my body?"
"I've worked with enough creatures alongside Kagaya and Maki-sensei that resemble humans to know if they're healthy or not," explained Popuri. "Though when an uwabami sheds its skin, their injuries do tend to heal."
"I guess that explains why her recent wounds disappeared," Haru realized. "But why does Heshi look…older?"
"As an uwabami grows, their human form ages about 1-2 years from their initial form which resembles a human child," Popuri said.
"So she looked to be the same age as my stepsister Daichi when I first met her. But now she's a year younger than me."
"Correct."
"How old was Daichi?" Heshi asked Haru.
"She was eight, before she was taken by Warumo…."
Being reminded of his sister's vengeful ghost and Warumo being the one who summoned her, Haru was unable to say anything further while Popuri and Heshi didn't speak either out of respect. So Haru slept in the Healers' Wing for the rest of the night until the following day.
"You seem well enough to leave," Popuri said after examining Haru and his birthmark.
"Then what do you think caused me to have that burning fever last night?" Haru wondered.
"If I had to guess, your mother's seal was trying to warn you that something very bad is going to happen," Popuri assumed. "Though what it could be, I can't say."
From there, it didn't take long for Haru to think about the cloaked figure and he suddenly had an idea of who that person was. But he chose not to say anything about it to Popuri or Heshi, who had returned to her snake form, as he made his way back to his dorm. The rest of the day consisted of him and his fellow classmates taking their finals for each class with half of them being done today and the second half left for tomorrow.
While some final exams required demonstrations, others were done using written tests with multiple choices on them. However, the students were given special paintbrushes that were enchanted with a truth spell that could tell if a person was cheating to get their answers or not. The only two people caught cheating were Ushiwa Koi and Gorogo Gumo, which embarrassed Daizō Maki.
"You're making our Clan out to look like fools!" Daizō scolded as he smacked Koi and Gumo across the backs of their heads after that day's final exams were over.
"Sorry, Daizō!" Koi apologized.
"I promise we won't cheat again!" Gumo added.
"About time those bozos got what was coming to them," Hikari remarked, seeing the display from a distance.
"Yeah," Sumi agreed.
Nearby, Haru was leaning against a wall holding a hand to his chest.
"Is something wrong, Haru?" Rui asked. "Do you need to see Popuri-dono again?"
"No, I can get through this," Haru said. "I thought the worst of it was done this morning, but apparently not."
Rui was surprised. "Why didn't you tell me your chest was hurting you earlier?"
"Because I didn't want to worry you, or give you an excuse to hang out with me since we're not allowed to be together."
"That doesn't matter! I'm your friend, no matter what my momma says!"
To be continued…