Lesson 2: Punctuality
Misao looks at herself in the mirror; the sailor uniform is not to her liking at all.
It makes her look childish. She's a red backpack away from just giving up and putting her hair in pigtails. Students in America didn't need to dress like this; why should she?
She briefly contemplates just not wearing the uniform for her first day, but she knows the entrance ceremony will be better than being walked to the principal's office for delinquency. She throws a pink cardigan over it to give herself something nice-looking as she throws her bag over her shoulder, her leopard-print hair bows keeping her cute twin-tails up as she walks to the kitchen where her grandmother is cooking a simple, traditional breakfast.
As Misao moves to the door to leave, Chieka and her grandmother look toward her:
"And where do you think you're going?" Chieka says.
"School. I want a good seat for the principal's opening speech," Misao says with a sarcastic grin.
"You should eat before you leave; we have some things we wish to discuss with you, Granddaughter," the wrinkled old bat says.
"It can wait, right? Cause I really want to make sure I know where my classroom is this year. I have suuuuch a problem getting lost..."
Chieka growls a bit, grabbing Misao's ear and pulling her to her seat. "I personally cooked a blessed meal for you. Not only that, but we have ground rules to inform you of after your near-loss of those sacred lots and the way you had them made."
"I did them myself! AND I got them back!"
"You seduced a boy into doing half of them for you, had not studied enough to see a monster coming, and required Chieka's intervention to fix your mistake. I would say that is a poor omen of your conduct as the Princess of Fire," Grandmother says.
Misao rolls her eyes as the old lady continues: "Given how difficult you have been, I have made arrangements for Chieka to join you at school and keep a close eye on you in human guise. I expect you to return home to study magic after your studies of academics and go on patrol from the hours of 19:00 to 22:00 at the very least. Perhaps when you mature and prove your ability to learn your duties and take them seriously, this can be loosened."
Chieka gives an angry look toward Misao: "Oh, you're mad at me?! She's the one who enrolled you!" Misao says before eating a bit of well-flavored rice.
"I need to go get changed. Just remember that I'm your cousin from Ryukyu, Akari Chiaka," the Puchuu says as she stands up and goes to change into her uniform. Grandmother stares at Misao, channeling a silent spell of guilt to the girl as she eats, her plans of getting something from a vending machine scrapped as she walks with the disguised chicken toy by her side to their school.
The masses of fresh faces move about the school grounds, with those with present parents taking pictures and dressed in nice suits and conservative dresses. It was a sea of black and brown-haired heads, with a few islands of taller kids and the rare white or blonde-haired island of individuality. Chieka was unfamiliar with many practices of the modern world, like cross-walks, which made walking to school even more of a pain than usual. As they reached the gate, a white-haired girl with a disciplinary committee armband looked the two of them over.
Chieka gives her a bow, Misao gives her an eye-roll, and they move on to listen and check their class.
2-C, with a bunch of names that Misao would more likely end up associating with the quality of their hair styles than their faces.
While they listen to the principal blather on, she looks at the boys in her class: lots of smart types and a few more athletic-looking boys. The girls in the class seemed like busybodies and demure, shy types. She grinned as she realized she was an apex social predator, and her ball and chain actually listened to the same canned speech that every principal has about "hard work" and "making connections", which translates to "don't make trouble for us" in practice.
She bows with the rest of the school as she looks for a chance to leave Chieka behind, following some nerdy but slightly cute Otaku kid back to their classroom for introductions and the usual song and dance before she could try and ditch.
"Frustrating" was how Misao could describe her first day at Kameyama High, enough that she would almost rather be cooped up in the shrine, chanting sutras and hoping a spell went off. She sits still as well as she can when her attention is focused on anything but his words.
Is the nerd in the back more into feet or ass?
How many stuffed animals does the tomboy-looking softball player in the front own? How hard would it be to get pictures of them?
Did the boys intend to all look like clones of each other? Or is that simply the unspoken uniform of the male population here?
Is this teacher the kind that actually likes teaching, or is he in this for an excuse to see her in a pair of bloomers and a swimsuit without feeling bad about it?
By the time lunch came, Chieka seemed to have warmed up to the institution of modern Japanese secondary education as she followed Misao to the school store.
"While the uniforms are quite... showy, there is more order here than I expected after hearing your grandmother's stories of her time in school."
"'Cause Grandma went to school like, 60 years ago. Times have changed."
"Still, everyone automatically understands their role within the school, a role that in turn will prepare them for their futures as laborers and spouses," Chieka says with a romantic tone as they wait in line to buy some melon bread.
Misao gives her an eye roll. "Yeah, cause that's what I want to do when I grow up: sit around the house and take care of kids," she says with clear sarcasm.
"You are different; you must bear the mantle of Princess of Fire until another daughter of your line takes it."
"Oh, so you don't think I'm worthy of spawning another magical girl out of my crotch?" Misao says crudely, intentionally saying it in an overly blunt manner to try and offend the chicken spirit.
She goes red in the face. "At least speak such vile words quietly!" she hisses at her giggling charge as they get a chance to get a small lunch, glad to see the other students looking their way at the odd conversation.
As they walk off with bread in hand, Misao turns to Chieka. "I need to visit the ladies room; you go on ahead. I'll meet you in the classroom, okay?" she says, trying not to crack a smile.
"Fine, fine, just be quick. I want to see which of those "clubs" are recruiting with you," she says as Misao slips into a stall in the bathroom. She waits a few moments before coming out to make sure her story seems legit. She exits the lavatory and walks toward the back of the school with its incinerator area, tracing the fence for holes or an unlocked gate to leave for a bit. She had no intention of staying at the school during lunch hour if it was going to be so boring. Besides, the more recon she does, the easier it will be to get boys to come with her and pay for her food when she finds Chieka a club to take up her time.
Arika could peg Misao as a troublemaker the moment she saw her. Animal print bows, sloppily tied laces, lax posture. And following her during lunch hour proved fruitful for more than just her work as a member of the Disciplinary Committee. Tsukoyomi had told her that others like her existed, those who inherited the power of ancient gods in one way or another. And it seems she found another unfortunate soul stuck with a voice in their head.
She watches as Misao tugs at the back gate and sighs, peeking around a corner with her white hair done up in a loose ponytail so it wouldn't immediately be seen. She had seen enough now, her hair fanning out as she stepped around the corner and confronted the attempted rule-breaker. "Miss Furijo, I must ask you to follow me," she says in a cold tone.
Misao just laughs as she notices how short and childish the girl looks: "Did you get lost on your way to elementary school? Your older sister's uniform must make you feel like a big girl, right?" she says condescendingly.
Arika gives the taller girl a glare. "Would you like a referral? Perhaps the principal would like to know you've been snooping around looking for a way out of the school," she threatens, causing Misao to sigh.
"Look, pipsqueak. Your little armband doesn't change the fact that you're still a year or several below me. Are you really going to try and drag me off to your little playroom so you can charge me with some broken rule?
Arika's glare hardens, and she reaches for Misao.
Arika drags Misao by her sleeve to an empty classroom, causing the older girl to go red with embarrassment as the students try to look away from a girl getting dragged by her kouhai. When they finally find a class room to hole up in, Misao gives an irritated look to her captor.
"So what's the plan, Conan? Gonna search me for cigarettes? Maybe measure my skirt to make sure I'm not tempting the boys with an extra centimeter of leg?" she says angrily.
"No!" the smaller girl says with an exasperated sigh. "I wanted to talk to you about what god is living in your head and why you were talking about giving birth earlier!"
"Oh no... no way," Misao says. "There is NO way you are one of the Elemental Princesses I'm supposed to track down," she says in denial.
"I am, and you seem about as thrilled with the task as I am, Miss Furijo."
Misao puts a hand over her forehead. This self-righteous little kid was one of her partners?
"If it means I can move on with my life, I'll tell you that Amaterasu is apparently too busy to bother with me, so she sent a damn supernatural chicken that can transform into a human to keep an eye on me!"
Arika nods. "Tsukoyomi is my curse, and he is still quite broken about his... separation from his wife."
Misao blinks. "Wait... they're siblings, right?"
"I find it easier to not assume anything about the customs of the gods, Furijo-san."
"That too. I want you to address me properly," Misao says, standing over the young-looking girl.
She seems disappointed more than scared of the more developed girl as she simply looks past her puffed-out chest. "May I ask how many monsters you've killed?"
"One of the shadow things, beat it all by myself," Misao says smugly.
"I've slain three of those, plus some other odd monsters. I offer you respect only because of your patron," she says. "Enjoy your lunch, and please tie your ribbon properly," she says as she leaves.
Misao grumbles on her way back up to her classroom, her whole plan ruined as some girls explain to her "cousin" what Rine is. She eats alone for once, chomping on her bread roll while the boys who lingered give her glances.
As the last bell rings, Misao is tired of doing nothing. She'd happily take her shrinemaidenly duties over the drudgery of school. Maybe she could just drop out and convince her grandma that it was so she could focus on defending the world.
"This place is wonderful," Chieka says as she walks beside Misao.
"You know they let the best students live in the school; it's a modern Japanese tradition," Misao lies with a straight face.
Chieka's human sigh. "You're trying to trick me, scoundrel," she says, disappointed.
"I'm sorry. Will you pwease forgive me?" Misao says sarcastically as they walk to the shoe lockers. Chieka simply grabs her shoes and turns her nose up at her disrespectful charge.
"You still have patrols tonight; Miss Tsukishiro will be joining us and will make sure you attend," Chieka says with a severe look before slipping her shoes on. As Misao is about to do the same thing, she hears a little voice clear her throat behind her:
"Your "cousin" has been quite forthcoming about your personality. I've taken measures to help you with your job," she says as she presents Misao with a disciplinary committee armband.
"Funny, but no."
"The paperwork is already filed. Now affix it to your arm while we check around."
The two stare each other down, Misao giving Arika a look of fury that is returned by one stoic determination.
The two patrolled for an hour after school, checking the bathrooms for hidden stashes of contraband or for people hanging around with bad intentions toward the student body. Arika is like a little general, with her penal legionnaire behind her.
They found nothing to confiscate and walked back to the shrine.
"Don't you have a place of your own to boss people around at?" Misao says.
"I can handle an old bitch, but you have already pushed me way past my frustration limit today."
"It saves time, so I don't have to come over when we start patrols, which is fairly soon; I'm sure you understand."
"Fine! Drink our tea and eat our food, for all I care! Just leave me alone, okay?"
Arika nods as the two walk up the steps to Furijo Shrine. The silver-haired 12-year-old has a chat with Chieka and Grandma Fujiro, while Misao sulks in her room listening to music from her "ANGRY" playlist: loud guitars and Vocaloid metal, which helped her work through her thoughts and get to the part where she imagined Arika being forced to call her Senpai or Onee-chan out of her head.
The two magical girls jump from rooftop to rooftop at night, Misao having tried to sneak out of her bedroom window only to be chastised by her grandmother when caught.
Misao's costume had not changed: a shrine maiden's outfit with a large bow in her hair and her large gohei resting on her shoulder. The outfit was surprisingly warm despite the cold night air, as noticed in Arika's outfit: A short, off-the-shoulder military-ish dress with combat boots on her feet and a black, yellow, and blue color scheme. Her sword shines under the moonlight as she seems to control some aspect of space itself.
Jumping around came easily to Misao when she got the hang of it; her focus was more on not causing a scene than anything else.
"Why patrol here?" Misao asks as they look over a shopping plaza.
"Because the Overcity is much too large and innavigable to find its residents without a guide. In my experience, all we need to do is look for the telltale signs of-"
People start running out of an electronics store in a panic, screaming about a fire inside. The two magical girls look at each other.
The shrine maiden sighs and growls, "It could be a coincidence."
The silver-haired soldier of the moon shakes her head. "We must do our duty, forced as it is," she says, expecting the older girl to follow her.
The two leap down and face down their foe.
Wordlessly, Arika approaches with a drawn blade. Misao draws a paper charm from her sleeve and lets it sail through the air toward the beast. It explodes in a small fireball. The burning cat man holds onto a dying man, unconscious, over its shoulder and grins.
"Children magicians... how cute. You'll burn like all the other sorcerers trying to stop my work!"
"Yeah, your work of murdering a bunch of Pear phones and their guardians, how scary," Misao says to the creature smugly.
"You're fighting the sun and the moon. Save us some time and just give up the guy, okay?"
The Kasha merely laughs while Arika starts to advance silently, as her blade would do her talking for her. She swings with precision, seeming to pull the dodging Kasha closer with small bursts of her magic. A dance of swinging and dogding eventually turns into a stumbling rythm of divine moonlight striking burning flesh, Misao flanking around and mustering her flames to what they can against it. While Arika fights well, her steps having been trained by more combat than Misao had seen, she is by no means perfect. A hole in her guard is exploited by the powerful Youkai's fist, knocking her back, and as he readies a smashing fist to turn the girl into charred paste, a cloud of smoke appears around him after a deafening explosion.
"Whats wrong, kitty? Can't see through smoke?" she says as the beast starts to notice its wound: deep cuts into his burning fur. He makes a portal into the Overcity, running off into the innavigable urban jungle of empty shops.
"Come on!" Arika says to Misao before jumping in after him, trying to keep pace while looking toward the phase of the moon. Half was good enough for banishing something wounded.
"Follow the smoke! If he makes it to water, we lose him!" Misao says, pushing herself to be quick while Arika moves ahead of her with a nod.
She goes from side-street to side-street, alley to alley, watching the lessening amount of smoke from Misao's fireballs as a fountain gets closer. She jumps down right before it can jump in, the moon in the sky reflecting down as she raises her Katan in the air.
"By the power of Tsukoyomi and the line of Izanagi! Feel the gravity of your actions, monster!"
"Lunar Disater!"
Her sword and the moon glow with a stark white light as Arika does an acrobatic flip over the Kasha to grab its victim from its arms. The burning cat demon starts to get dimensionally crushed by a seemingly approaching moon, only able to struggle before becoming a shadowy stain in the bricks surrounding the fountain. Arika looks toward the heavily injured man and the fleeing shadow, seemingly still clinging to a basic form of life and fleeing.
Her conundrum is answered by three paper charms flying out and exploding the shadow off the ground, being executed mid-air by a ray of holy fire from Misao.
Both girls get on their knees, exhausted for similar reasons. After a few minutes, Arika looks toward Misao as she herself uses her large gohei as a cane.
"Let's get this guy somewhere safe... and call it a night..."
"Yeah," Misao says, no backtalk left in her for now.
They slipped back out of the portal with the rescued man in hand. After calling an ambulance for the man, they walk off, with Arika seeming to go the same way as Misao.
The silver-haired girl notices Misao awkwardly trying to walk by her and looks up at the taller girl: "...Do you need something, Miss Furijo?"
"I just wanted to make sure you got home safe," she says, looking away from the smaller girl with an embarrassed blush.
Arika looks at the girl, confused. Throughout the whole day, she has been difficult and whiny about her job. She verified what Chieka had said: that she is not yet fit to take on the mantle of a magical girl and needs someone to make her do her job. She could watch over herself... usually.
Misao did not seem to relent under her withering gaze, trying to approximate a sisterly smile.
"You're what, 12? Its almost midnight, and if I get weird looks on the train, your basically pedo bait," she says, not trying to be funny.
"...Perhaps it's because of your goal to tempt men that you get stares. I... am rather unfond of hiking my skirt up like you do. I'm sure you'd rather be at home anyway," Arika says, her steely eyes directed forward.
"I'm sorry, okay? Is that better?"
"...Yes, it does give some catharsis to hear you admit fault."
"...Could you call me Onee-chan?" Misao says with an awkward smile.
Arika sighs. "Thank you for walking me home, Onee-chan..." she says, not being able to play into the Imouto voice.
Misao blushes red as they walk to her apartment building; the older girl even holding her schoolbag. A kind wave was given to her as she left.
The older girl walks home late, alone for once, but a strange feeling of fulfillment sticks in her mind as she follows her maps app back to the shrine.
The next day, the news would report on a strange electrical fire that almost killed an employee at a Pear electronics store. The building is closed for renovations, and the man claims to have been "saved" by "angels". While the public is fed a calming narrative, the police and fire departments are stumped. This building was put up a year ago, had been safety checked last month, and had a fire that seemed to have started itself. The cameras were shut off before being broken, as if someone had disabled the system before setting a fire.
The arson made no sense: nothing was stolen, no insurance money was on the line toward any citizens involved or involved with the store, and no message that would indicate a political motive was found. Someone did this for kicks, for laughs, or for more perverted reasons.
A girl watched all of this from the sidelines. She's tall, dark-haired, and elegant, like a model. She looks on, seeming disappointed, gripping her head like she has a migraine. She takes some medication out of her purse and swallows it dry.
She shakes her head and leaves, as a hissing sound in her brain and more words of power come to her, making her grin in twisted joy.