Motoko was a rather serious girl, with heavy responsibilities placed upon her shoulders. As a practising member of the Shinmei Ryu school those duties fell hard enough, but as the next in line to succeed the school those responsibilities were far deeper, far more serious still. She took them with a degree of solemnity and dignity that would surely seem familiar to anyone that knew her. She approached this as a serious mission. The weight the duty carried was clearly held upon her back. One only had to see the furrows on her brow, the determined gleam within her eyes, the upright posture, the way she unconsciously gripped the blade on her sword as she paced towards her room.
At least, that was the external impression she was giving. Inside, well…
“I get to prove myself! Hooray! Finally! How could I ever take my place at the head of the school if I have not even once performed an exorcism? This is my chance! Now, remember what has to be done, let’s see now. First, identify the demon. Once its type is known, an attack can be mounted. There is little point in contending with a demon of ill fortune when it is in truth a succubus! An attempt to perform that kind of exorcism would only result in me and the other girls being bent to her will. We would be forced into all manner of depraved sexual actions against our will, and forced to enjoy it so that we do not make any attempt to escape…”
An outsider might have believed she fell flush through anticipation, but we, dear reader, know just a little bit better. Motoko slipped to the side of her room and, first checking that nobody was around, quickly unlocked and opened a hidden compartment within her chest of drawers. From within which she pulled out a book and looked upon it with reverence. Motoko clutched it to her chest. Yes. Whatever concerns she might have, whatever fears might assault her in this time of crisis, she could rely upon this book to - Hm? W-Wait a minute, where did it go?
“The Shinmei Ryu’s Guide to Demons,” Mitsune said. Motoko turned around and beheld the practical joker of the dorm leaning back against the wall behind her, casually flicking through the book - Even licking her fingers to turn the pages! Such lack of respect! And how dare she snatch it away from right out of her grip without being noticed! The sneaky little thief! “Ehhhh, wow, this is such an interesting read! Mind if I borrow this for a while?”
“This is not for borrowing!” Motoko yelled, grabbing the book out of Mitsune’s hands. “This is my family’s private record of demons slain and vanquished, to be used as a reference guide for future generations!” Then suddenly she realised how rough she had been with it when seizing it from her dorm mate, so she quickly looked back to make an inspection of any potential damage. Not there.
“No kidding?” Mitsune said, taking a sip of beer which would only make it worse when she resumed licking a finger to turn the pages! Did she not know how much damage that could cause? Particularly for a book this ancient and sacred! Did she not care?! “This is <i>so</i> interesting! What harm could it do to let me have a quick read?”
“All the harm in the world,” Motoko insisted, pulling the book back and not letting it leave her sight for a single, solitary moment. “This is not for civilians! Please, leave me to prepare!”
“Aw, but I just want to help!” Mitsune insisted, even going so far as to do an innocent whimper. Well! Motoko certainly knew her well enough not to fall for that! And even if it was genuine, it changed nothing! “This is far too dangerous! Demons are deceptive creatures capable of great malice! Only a trained individual should risk themselves in a confrontation!”
“Oh well! Can’t blame a girl for trying!” Mitsune said with a suspicious shrug. Motoko glowered at her, certain that she was still up to <i>something</i>. “Good luck, Motoko dear! But if you do change your mind, please don’t hesitate to give me a call!”
Mitsune strode out of the room and Motoko slammed the door behind her. Right. She needed to spend some time reading this book from cover to cover, memorising its contents and the wisdom of her ancestors! There was only one problem, and it wasn’t something she was even aware of even though it was happening just a few feet away. Outside her room, Mitsune made a few complicated gestures with her wrist, and was holding a familiar looking tome.
“Have fun reading through that fake…” Mitsune smirked as she strode off, licking her fingers as she flicked through the ancient pages. “Should be interesting to see what you try to do with it.”
<hr>
But Mitsune was not the only demon desperately trying to figure out what the hell to do. She was simply tackling the problem with a bit more of a direct and clear focus than any of the others. For example. Shinobu was compulsively cooking. She wasn’t even really aware she was doing it, but she was busily filling up the dorm with delicious, mouth-watering odours that could never normally be accomplished anywhere on Earth. Her thoughts were going in a rather different direction anyway. She wasn’t <i>hurting</i> anyone, or making them do anything <i>bad</i>, but the facts lay where they lay: Motoko was going to try to - Try to - Oh, the word was too scary to even think! There was only one way out. Only one way. Motoko was the kind of person that would not give up until she believed the situation was fully addressed. But how? How could she be deceived into believing that the demon she was after was gone and dealt with?
With a world-weary sigh, Shinobu reached over for her personal cookbook and flicked through the ingredients… Then stopped to quirk an eyebrow at what she read at the random page she had stopped on. Could that…? Would that…?
“Hi, hi! Whatcha cooking?! Can I eat some?”
“Ack!” Shinobu yelped, sending the book flying through the air. She plucked it out of the sky, and peered over her shoulder at the unexpected arrival of her good friend Su. Hyperactive though the girl may be, there was something about her that Shinobu couldn’t resist having around. Maybe it was the way she ate up absolutely anything, and channeled that energy into so many fun things.
“W-Well… After all this talk of demons, I thought it might be fun to whip up some d-devil’s food cake,” Shinobu explained, cutely fidgeting in place and completely failing to notice Su slip something into the bowl she was about to use. “B-But I also just finished this batch of cookies, so -”
“Yum!” Su declared, scooping up the cookies right out of the oven and dumping them in a bag. “These will go great in my cookie-powered hovertank!”
“Cookie… Powered… Hovertank?”
“That’s right!” Su triumphantly confirmed, hands on hips with a smile that seemed certain it could devour the sun whole. “If there’s a demon loose, my hovertank will soon find it!”
For a fleeting moment Shinobu thought to do something about that, before the ensuing chaos set off. However, she was left with a fleeting sense that the more she did to try to stop it, the worse everything would get. Besides which. Su would surely provide Motoko with enough of a distraction for her to try something else anyway… So on she went, with the intention of baking a devil’s food cake while being utterly unaware that her magic cooking was about to meet a bit of high science chaos.
<hr>
Haruka took a slow, long drag of her cigarette and regarded the two idiots in front of her. One, a demon of ill fortune. The other, a succubus. It was obvious to her - a student of the life of hard knocks and a demon of ill fortune herself - that the two of them wanted to screw each other stupid. Stupider. Keitaro would probably deny it out of politeness, while Naru was obviously just in denial. But, if she were to seriously argue the point, it would be rather difficult for her to explain why she was sitting right next to him in a rough facsimile of a schoolgirl's outfit that <i>just about</i> bordered on the non-fetish side. It was almost funny, really. Though not quite as funny as the fact that neither of them knew the other’s secret. It seemed rather obvious to her, but then again… The two of them were young idiots.
“So, you see,” Naru said, firmly elbowing Keitaro in the ribs for sneaking a quick peek at her breasts while fighting back a smile for the same reason. “We’re really worried about Motoko. Aren’t we, Keitaro?”
“Huh? Oh… Yes, that’s right!” Keitaro replied, forcing himself to maintain eye contact with Haruka. How recklessly adorable. “We’re worried she’s, uh… What was the term again?”
Naru rolled her eyes. “Chasing shadows, idiot.”
“Yes, that’s right!” Keitaro nodded. “We’re worried she’s chasing shadows, idiot! I mean, you know what she’s like. She’ll leave no turn unstoned until she finds what she’s looking for.”
“Stone unturned,” Naru grumbled.
“I see,” Haruka said. “And I suppose you’re worried what she’ll wind up doing while trying to search out a demon that doesn’t exist?”
Both of them nodded in unison. It made Haruka chuckle how naive they were, though the unfamiliar sound did send a bit of a shiver down their spines. Obviously, they were really interested in protecting themselves and were using this as a cover. They probably thought it up at the same time to ask for her help with this lame-ass cover story and Keitaro had to bring Naru along to avert his own suspicions. Look at them. The way Naru was fidgeting. The way they were both avoiding each other’s eyes. The way their breathing was growing a little more laboured and the sweat beginning to pour from their brow and Naru’s clothes shrinking just a -
Uh oh.
Haruka reached forward and grabbed the pair by the arms and shoved them into the back room, ignoring their complaints because, frankly, in about ten seconds they wouldn’t much care either.
“Hey, Aunt Haruka! What’s the small idea?”
“Big idea!” Naru yelled, seizing Keitaro by the collar and hauling his body right next to hers. “Big idea! Can’t you get anything right, you stupid, handsome idiot!”
“… Handsome?” Keitaro asked, moments before Naru’s lips met his. Haruka closed the door and quickly set up a soundproofing spell around the back room. They’d probably be busy for a while yet. Certainly enough time for her to figure out a way to answer their requests. This was the trouble with a relationship like that, particularly if they ignore their “needs”. Naru for sex, Keitaro for “getting lucky”. The two of them would get their rocks off, let off a hell of a lot of steam, then continue about their business as if nothing had even happened at all. So far as either of them would care it was all just some weird dream they’d had. The only chance they had at a normal relationship is if they both stopped resisting the urge to feed and - Well, got on with what they were supposed to be doing.
But that was a problem for another time. A problem which required a longer-term solution than she could currently think of. Haruka scowled and tried to concentrate on a possible solution, which was a little bit difficult to do when the situation those two young idiots were in happened to remind her of another pair of young idiots in a very similar situation. What exactly was Seta up to these days anyway?
- Motoko tries reading the book, which is full of ridiculous and embarrassing suggestions which she takes as gospel.
- Before Motoko can do anything, she’s given a piece of devil’s food cake.
- The devil’s food cake is given to everyone except Motoko.
- Okay, we’re gonna need more details about what happened in that back room. Stat.
- Mitsune has other plans for the book she has stolen.
- Something else
No comments:
Post a Comment