142nd Spell: On Silent Wings
Higa immediately noticed the sake jug and the note Haru hurriedly wrote, claiming the sake was a gift from Dōmeki to show her appreciation for the extra work he had been doing since Bambō got attacked.
I'm sorry, Uncle Higa, Haru thought guiltily. But I have to do this to find out who or what has been attacking our school.
Then Higa went back to the school castle from his house with Haru following him far enough away to not get spotted. Higa eventually found Ako, who upon seeing the sake jug immediately seized it. But Higa insisted on sharing the sake with Ako so the two of them went into the storage house where the fake Jinsei Stone was kept.
Figuring what Ako and Higa were going to do next, Haru left the school courtyard and went to the girls' bathroom on the first floor. Rui was already there alongside Hikari, who was reheating the claypot the Polymorph Kampo was in with the Firelighting Charm.
"So I take it Higa and Ako-san are occupied with the drugged sake I gave you," Hikari assumed.
"Yeah," Haru confirmed. "My uncle actually took the sake more readily than I thought."
"Did you mean 'guardian,' since Higa's not really your uncle?" corrected Hikari.
"Well, he may not actually be my uncle, but I—
"Look, can we not go into another pointless argument," Rui interrupted. "We have a kampo to drink. And the sooner we get this done, the better."
"Took the words right out of my mouth, Wataka-chan," Hikari said.
Once the Polymorph Kampo was sufficiently reheated, Hikari used a wooden ladle to pour the kampo into three identical handleless cups. She gave one each to Haru and Rui before taking the third cup for herself.
"Now all we need to do is sprinkle the shavings of the animals skulls I crushed up beforehand," Hikari stated.
"But you only asked for two mice carcasses," Haru pointed out. "So what animal are you going to turn into?"
"You'll see soon enough," said Hikari. "Now let's get to it."
Hikari gave Haru and Hikari small pouches containing the crushed up skulls of the mice Haru provided from the food bag he was using to feed Heshi. It resembled white powder that when poured into the green-and-purple liquid gave the kampo a lighter sheen, making the dark Tanuki Sack Hairs and orange Kitsune Tail Fur that were mixed in stand out. Meanwhile, Hikari poured a similar white powder into her cup which Haru assumed was the crushed skull of the animal she was choosing to turn into.
"The time is 5 PM," Hikari noted, looking down at a pocket watch she got from her Manai dad. "So we have to get ourselves exposed to cold water by 6 if we're to change back."
"Right," said Haru. "Well, here's to hoping we don't get stuck as animals."
As Haru raised his cup, Rui and Hikari did the same thing before they all drank the kampo. Haru felt the hairs going down his throat, and the bitter taste of the kampo made him nearly gag. Rui almost choked on her kampo, while Hikari seemed mildly disgusted.
Then a few seconds later, Haru's body started to burn all over causing him to collapse on the floor from the pain. He felt his limbs growing shorter, his eyes growing bigger, and something emerging from his rear end. When he came to, the world was suddenly bigger with the bathroom sink now several stories high and the claypot where the Polymorph Kampo was served was as tall as a building.
"Haru!" cried a familiar voice.
As Haru got up, he realized he was standing on all-fours with a fleshy tail and a long nose that twitched constantly. Various smells entered his nostrils and they were all quite strong. But his attention was drawn to a mouse that stood to his right. While it seemed like an ordinary mouse at first, Haru quickly noticed the mouse had a small tuft of chestnut-brown hair on its head.
"Rui?" Haru said. "Is that you?"
"It is," said the mouse with the chestnut-brown hair. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Not really," replied Haru. "I feel completely disoriented."
"That's because mice interpret the world differently than humans," said a loud voice above Haru and Rui.
Flinching nervously, Haru turned around and beheld a Japanese Scops-owl with gray plumage and large amber eyes. But Haru quickly noticed some of the owl's tuft feathers were a light blonde color.
"Wait," Haru realized. "Are you Hikari?"
"Of course I am!" the owl said incredulously. "Who else would it be?"
"But why did you pick an owl to turn into?" Rui asked.
"I figured it would make things easier if I carried you two to the Seiryu Wing and then picked you up rather than have you wandering through the school halls, considering we don't have much time," Hikari stated. "Now get on my legs and let's go."
Haru hesitated for a moment. "You promise not to drop us?"
"I'll try not to," insisted Hikari.
So Hikari waited for Haru and Rui to grab onto her legs before she flapped her wings and took off. Her balance was a little off as she flew through the bathroom opening and through the hallways out into the open air courtyard. Luckily, her wings were silent.
"Do you know where you're going?" Rui demanded of Hikari.
"Yes, I'm sure," replied Hikari. "The Seiryu Wing is on the eastern side of the school, so we just need to drop you and Ryuji off on a balcony that is connected to the Seiryu Sitting Room."
"How do you know that?" Haru asked.
"During our Flying Class the other day, I took a detour to the Quidditch Cove and saw a balcony on the school castle with a banner that had a dragon-shaped symbol," Hikari explained. "I figured that had to be where the Seiryu Wing was, and it makes sense for them to have a balcony facing the cove since the Seiryu Dragon had a strong connection to water."
This reminded Haru of the strange dream he had, but chose not to say anything as he and Rui held on tightly while Hikari flew over the castle grounds before banking towards the Quidditch Cove. From there, Hikari spotted the balcony she described and glided up to it.
To be continued…