Maidens of Fate (Complete!)

[Sophie ♥]

8 hours ago, kerry said:

Such a wonderful and inventive chapter!

THANK YOU!! (A lot of it was Pudding's ideas.  I just wrote them down.)

[Sophie ♥]

Next time on: Maidens of Fate!

*

When Midori opened her eyes, she found four girls staring at her from their seats.  Only Kuu had gotten up to check the new Miko’s pulse.  Five seconds had passed since the room was torn apart, but Midori felt like she had been gone a lifetime.  

“Welcome back,” Kuu smiled.  

*

“We have a Richi to hunt tonight,” Kuu said. “It’s draining the life from a grade-school boy in the Kohana district.  It should be fairly low power, so it would be a great first expedition for Midori.  Until then, one of us should continue to stay with her.”

*

“It’s a lot to handle, huh?” Kachiko asked, swinging slowly on her swing.  Her feet didn’t quite touch the ground, only the tips of her toes. “But it’s a lot of fun too.  I promise.  And you can do anything you want with your free time.  Did you know Daisuke has been alive longer than any of us?  She’s so good at everything, and she’s seen so many amazing things.”

“I guess you’re right,” Midori said, but she was still nervous. “I don’t think any of it is that scary.  It’s just the unknown.  You’ve all been doing this for so long, and now I’m in the mix.  I just think…” What did Midori think? “I think I’ll feel better after tonight.  At least then I’ll know what I’m capable of.”

*

Episode 5: A Bolt From The Blue

[Sophie ♥]

Some art of Midori Kaneda from the end of Episode 4:

[Jayme]

I love the illustration of Midori's dress. Hopefully the hunt goes well!

[Sophie ♥]

On 6/6/2020 at 7:47 AM, Jayme said:

I love the illustration of Midori's dress. 

Thank you!  Some people need visual depictions of stuff, including myself.

[Sophie ♥]

Episode 5: A Bolt From The Blue

When Midori opened her eyes, she found four girls staring at her from their seats.  Only Kuu had gotten up to check the new Miko’s pulse.  Five seconds had passed since the room was torn apart, but Midori felt like she had been gone a lifetime.  

“Welcome back,” Kuu smiled.  Midori sat up on the table and looked down at her outfit.  The same blue dress from before, in that pagoda.  Even then, only select memories returned to her.  The forest.  The paintings.  The tiger.  But none of the details.

“How do you feel, Miss Kaneda?” Daisuke asked, getting to her feet.

“Who was your Guardian?” Kachiko asked, hurrying to Midori’s tableside.

“I love your dress!” Pandora followed.

“Give her some space,” Naomi said, the only one who remained in her seat.  But no one seemed to pay her any mind.

“Your transformation went well,” Kuu told Midori. “In the future, you change into your Miko form by eating a lollipop that you’ll find in your pocket, no matter what you wear.  Then to return to normal, simply untie your bow.”

“Bow?” Midori looked down at her neck, where she expected to find a bow tied under her collar; Kuu, Naomi, and Kachiko all had a bow there.  But Midori’s uniform didn’t have one.  She had bows on her sleeves, on her gloves, and on the hem of her dress, but all of them looked sewn on — not the kind of thing one would untie.

“Up here,” Kachiko said, patting Midori on the top of her head.  Midori reached up and felt the headband, tied at the top.

“Oh, okay.”

“Your uniform is so different,” Pandora said, circling around the table to get a better look. “And you feel different too.  Not like anyone else.”

“Thank you?” Midori said, more like a question than a reply.

“One of Pandora’s abilities is to sense potential,” Kuu explained. “She is familiarizing herself with your abilities.”

“Well, I don’t know my abilities.” Midori slid off the table, standing up to take a look at herself in the daylight.

“You have the same attunement as Kuu,” Pandora said, following Midori around the room.

“Aww!  I wanted her to have mine,” Kachiko pouted.

“She shot lightning everywhere,” Naomi said dryly.

“So?”

“So she would be attuned to air.”

“Right, right…”

“That’s enough, Miss Novak,” Daisuke said to Pandora, who was running her hands through the folds of Midori’s dress. Then Daisuke turned to Midori. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay,” Midori said. “Disorientated, I think.  I feel like I’ve been gone for a long time, but it looks like I have only been gone for a moment or two.” Like the tiger had said, nothing seemed different.  Only Midori’s clothes had changed.  She looked at the outfit once more and unbuttoned the top button on her vest. “Can I change clothes?  Do these come off?”

“If you pull on your bow, you’ll change back into whatever you were wearing before you transformed,” Kuu said. “And if your uniform gets damaged, it repairs itself.”

“It’s convenient,” Naomi added.

Midori unbuttoned the vest all the way and slid it off her arms.  Without it, she looked like she was wearing just a fluffy blue dress.  She set it next to her on the table and — instantly — it dissolved into sparkles and reappeared on her body.

“How do I know what powers I have?” Midori asked. “Can Pandora tell me that?”

“Not really,” Pandora said, faking a smile and rubbing the side of her head. “I can only sense potential, like how much potential you have or if there’s a potential for danger.”

“How much potential I have?” Midori asked.

“Yeah, it’s like… in a video game you have a magic bar.”

Midori never played a lot of video games, and the confusion showed plainly on her face.  Pandora changed her approach.

“You know after you run a lot and feel out of breath?  It’s like that.  Any time a Miko does something that shouldn’t be possible, they use some potential.  But if you take a break, it comes back.”

“And you can sense that stuff?” Midori asked. “Even without your Miko form?”

“Yep. I have some human perks, because of the way my powers work.”

“Will I?” Midori asked.

“No, I don’t think so.” Pandora reached up and pulled on Midori’s bow, which came undone.  Her dress dissolved into light and was replaced again with her school uniform.  The blue hair ribbon was still tied on top of her head.

“Then what powers do I get?”

“That depends on your weakness,” Kuu answered. “Your weakness informs your strength, and your strength informs your abilities.”

“Uh…” Midori reached into her pocket and found the stick of a lollipop that certainly wasn’t there before.  She didn’t really want to tell everyone her one indisputable shortcoming, but it was important to find out her Miko abilities.  Luckily, Pandora noticed Midori’s discomfort.

“My weakness is selfishness,” she said, “if that helps to know.”

Pandora didn’t strike Midori as particularly selfish, but it did help to know.  Everyone had a flaw, a weakness.  Without one, they could never have gotten their powers.  Midori had nothing to be ashamed of.

“Um.  Commitment.  Whatever that’s supposed to mean…”

“It could mean that you’re too trusting,” Pandora offered.

“It sounds like… too loyal,” Daisuke said.

“Like how you wanted to protect your Richi!” Kachiko added.

“I’m unsure how that will fashion into a strength,” Kuu mused. “Though it’s no more obscure than anyone else’s.”

“I still think I got the short end of the stick,” Naomi said.  Or maybe she joked.  It was hard to tell with her.

“I think you make a hot boy,” Pandora laughed.  Naomi rolled her eyes.

But Midori was lost in thought.  Too trusting.  Too loyal.  Like how she protected her Richi.  Was that such a bad thing?  But it was her trust and her loyalty that allowed Nari to take advantage of her for so long.  Midori was beginning to understand how commitment could be a weakness, but it brought her no closer to discovering her abilities.

“We have a Richi to hunt tonight,” Kuu said. “It’s draining the life from a grade-school boy in the Kohana district.  It should be fairly low power, so it would be a great first expedition for Midori.  Until then, one of us should continue to stay with her.” Kuu took a breath from her inhaler and settled down in the chair.

“I’ll do it!” Kachiko said excitedly, raising her hand.

“Wait, uh… why don’t we go now?” Midori asked. “School is out, isn’t it?”

“Miss Shima is babysitting the boy tonight,” Daisuke explained, referring to Kuu. “Babysitting is a useful cover for some younger hosts.  I would attend, but I’m following a Richi in Otaro.”

“I have a late lacrosse practice,” Naomi said.  It didn’t surprise Midori that such a tall, thin girl played on one of the school’s sports teams.

“I can go along,” Pandora said, “if you need me that is.  Otherwise I should study…”

“Well, I’m babysitting Miri anyway,” Kachiko said, taking Midori by the hand. “So that makes… Kuu, Midori, and myself.  I don’t think we’ll need four.”

Pandora let out a sigh of relief.  She wasn’t doing well in Japanese.  Midori couldn’t believe she was being ‘babysat’ by Kachiko of all people.  If anyone needed a babysitter, it was her.  But she followed Kachiko out of the music room all the same.

“So, we just wait, and we fight, and we go on with our lives?” The paradigm didn’t seem too obtrusive to Midori.

“Yep!  Sometimes you have to skip something important for Miko business, so balance can be hard.  Making sure you don’t fall behind in school is even harder!” Kachiko knew firsthand.  For how brilliant she was in her Miko form, she was still an airhead in human form.  There was a feedback of course; eventually the Miko form would influence the human form and vise versa, but it took a long time for any measurable results. “Luckily, we have a rather large team.  It’s easy to pick and choose who goes on a mission.”

Kachiko and Midori went to the park.  School was out and everyone had things to do, but the elementary school kids were still in class.  That meant Kachiko and Midori were left alone on the swings, watching an empty playscape.  So much was going through Midori’s head.

“It’s a lot to handle, huh?” Kachiko asked, swinging slowly on her swing.  Her feet didn’t quite touch the ground, only the tips of her toes. “But it’s a lot of fun too.  I promise.  And you can do anything you want with your free time.  Did you know Daisuke has been alive longer than any of us?  She’s so good at everything, and she’s seen so many amazing things.”

“I guess you’re right,” Midori said, but she was still nervous. “I don’t think any of it is that scary.  It’s just the unknown.  You’ve all been doing this for so long, and now I’m in the mix.  I just think…” What did Midori think? “I think I’ll feel better after tonight.  At least then I’ll know what I’m capable of.”

“Uh huh, that’s true.  Once you know what you can offer as a Miko, that will help a lot.  Like… I’m really smart.  Not ordinarily.  My weakness was ‘naïvety’.  I never thought anything through before doing it.  And now I can do so many cool things, just because I stop to think about it for a second.  Everyone’s abilities are so special and unique.  You’ll see.”

“Sounds like you all have it covered.  I don’t really know what good I’ll be…” Midori played quietly with the little lollipop between her fingers.  Five Miko against one Richi?  They would never lose.  Maybe Midori just needed to stay out of the way - maybe that was her talent.

“Well, sometimes Richi are very powerful and other times they’re very smart.  Sometimes they send humans against us and we don’t want to hurt them.  So… it’s hard sometimes.  Oh!  Maybe that’s what you can do, put people to sleep or something!”

Midori pouted.  She sure hoped she could do more than that.

Midori and Kachiko stayed at the park for a while, but ultimately wound up back at Midori’s house.  She had to tell her mom she was staying at Kachiko’s tonight.

“You’re making so many friends!” Midori’s mom said with relief in her voice.  Still, the house seemed fine.  No Nari.  After a quick conversation, Midori grabbed a change of clothes and her toothbrush.  Then the two were off toward the middle of the city.  Midori wondered if they were supposed to fight this Richi in public.

“Your mom seems nice,” Kachiko said as they walked.  Kachiko leapt up onto a small retaining wall that ran along the edge of the sidewalk, balancing atop it as she went. “I miss my mom and dad.  I’m jealous of you, a little bit.  Make sure you spend lots of time with your mom  and tell her how special she is, okay?”

“Yeah, of course.” That was why Midori was doing all this in the first place.  She watched Kachiko tip toe across the ledge. “I’ll be able to stay with her a lot longer now that I can’t die.”

“You can’t die in Miko form,” Kachiko corrected. “You can still die in human form.”

“Oh…” For some reason, Midori felt like she knew that.  Had someone told her that before? “Then why would becoming a Miko help keep me safe?  I only did this so I didn’t die.”

“Okay, well.  Human Midori can still die of unnatural causes.  Like a sword or something.  But you don’t get sick.  Any sickness you might have right now is paused until you get released.  You don’t age.  And even if you do get stabbed or something and you’re about to die, you can just reach into your pocket and transform.  Then, if you die, you don’t die.”

“So, as long as I’m conscious, I should be fine?”

“As long as something doesn’t kill you instantly,” Kachiko said. “It’s not an excuse to be reckless.  But in Miko form you’re always safe.  Just don’t run out of potential.”

“Wait, I can run out?”

“Well, yeah.” Kachiko stopped and jumped off the wall.  On the sidewalk, she was shorter than Midori, which was impressively short. “Okay, remember Panda was saying you use potential if you do impossible things, but you regain it if you take a break?”

“Yeah…”

“Well, if you run out of impossible power, then you can’t be in Miko form.  Miko form isn’t ordinarily possible.  You basically get kicked out.  Just don’t overdo it.”

“They should give you a guidebook on this stuff,” Midori said, making a mental note. “There’s so much information.”

“Kuu is our guidebook.  But yeah, there’s a lot to learn.”

Midori and Kachiko got on a train to take them toward the city, and then they got on a different train to take them to the Kohana district.  Midori waited until they were alone again before asking Kachiko a question that had been troubling her since they left her house.

“You said you miss your parents.  Did they…” Midori didn’t want to bring up any painful memories, but she needed to know if her decisions as a Miko would affect her mother.

“We were in a plane crash,” Kachiko said simply. “I had only been a Miko for a few months.  I transformed, thinking I could save them or something, but… well, it’s hard to be able to calculate every possibility, then know for sure there’s nothing you can do.” The way Kachiko spoke about it was matter-of-factly, like the way a child might describe a bad situation in a book.

“I’m really sorry,” Midori said, biting her lip. “I know how it feels to lose a parent… I couldn’t imagine what it’s like to lose two.”

Midori and Kachiko passed through the shopping district and some nicer residences along the south shore before either of them spoke again.  They walked past a house with a broken window and Midori thought of the window outside the music room.

“What about the things we break?  My room was back to normal after the fight with Nari.” And the window outside the music room was fixed too.

“The Cleansers take care of that stuff.  Richi and Miko leave a… uh… magic residue on all the stuff they touch.  A Cleanser’s job is to find the stuff that we break or move or whatever and cleanse the residue off it, which puts it back where it was, exactly as it was left.  Basically, it means we don’t have to worry about breaking something if we are in a fight.”

“That’s convenient,” Midori said.

“Not as convenient as you think,” Kachiko muttered.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Cleansers are… well, they are Miko.  If a Miko does something bad - like they get a human killed, or they do something the Missive doesn’t like - then they become a Cleanser when they die.  But our job isn’t always black and white, and Missives aren’t always that clear.  A lot of Miko end up as a Cleanser at one point or another.”

“So it’s not a permanent thing?” Already, Midori found herself quite nervous about becoming a Cleanser.  She had a feeling it might show up inside her afterlife pagoda next time she visited.

Kachiko shook her head. “It lasts however long it lasts.  But it only happens when you die, and you still wake up a few seconds later.  So… I guess Cleansers can time travel or something?  It’s complicated.”

“Were you a Cleanser?” Midori asked before the had the thought to wonder if it was rude or not.  Kachiko seemed uncharacteristically uncomfortable.

“Yes, once.  Like I said, the Missives aren’t always clear.  Even if they are, sometimes you… you really don’t like what they have to say.” Midori had the presence of mind to change the subject.

“What about other people?  Don’t they see us flying around or fighting monsters?”

“No, not really.” Kachiko’s mood quickly changed; she already sounded more upbeat. “People aren’t around when they shouldn’t be around, or they don’t look in the right places at the right times.” 

“Is that why my mom wasn’t home for the fight with Nari?  She’s always home around that time.”

“Yep,” Kachiko nodded. “We aren’t meant to be seen, so things usually fall into place.”

“What a weird coincidence,” Midori said, more to herself.  But Kachiko offered another explanation.

“Okay, think about it.  Richi don’t want anyone to know they are there, ‘cause it makes it harder to control a host.  And we don’t want anyone to know we are there, ‘cause they’ll ask questions and the police might call your mom or something.  So whoever made the rules knows this is best for both sides.  The universe bends to those rules.  And anyone who does see something usually can’t make sense of it.”

“So they rationalize us away, but magically?”

“Yep, that’s it!” Kachiko smiled brightly. “The only real problems are kids, ‘cause they have way more imagination.  But no one takes them seriously anyway.”

Midori nodded along.  This was a lot of information, but the purpose was clear: Miko didn’t have to be careful.  Breaking things and being seen would all just take care of itself.

Kachiko finally paused in front of a house.

“This is the place?” Midori asked. “It looks rather… normal.”

“Richi don’t like to rock the boat,” Kachiko answered. “Kuu will be here soon and you two will take care of it.  I’ll be here for backup.” As far as anyone knew, the Richi had only been attached to the boy for a few weeks.  It wouldn’t be that strong.

“Okay,” Midori muttered, looking at the lollipop in her hands.  She still didn’t know how to use any of her powers, or what those powers even were, but it couldn’t be that bad, right?  Any damage she did would easily be undone.

“Hi.” The boy was well-dressed in clean clothes, his nails were groomed, and his hair was tidy.  He stood by the mailbox inside the gate to the house and looked up at the two girls, a doll tucked under his left arm.  He couldn’t have been older than ten. “Are you my babysitters?”

“Nuh uh,” Kachiko answered in an inflection just as childish.  “She’ll be here soon though!  Her name is Kuu, and she has special legs.”

“Special?” The boy sounded so lackluster.

“Like a robot.”

“Oh.”

Midori stared nervously at the boy, then at the doll, and then looked away entirely.  She didn’t want to give away their intent.  She played quietly with the lollipop in her pocket, biting her lip.  It was so suspenseful.

“Where is that dumb girl,” Midori muttered.

“She doesn’t walk very fast, Miri.”

“I thought she had robot legs,” the boy interrupted. “Why does she walk slow?”

“Well, that’s because… they’re… strong.” Kachiko fumbled for something that made sense. “Strong but slow.”

“My name is Reko,” the boy said. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Kachiko.  And this is Midori.”

“Your name means green…”

“I know what my name means,” Midori said flatly, crossing her arms.  Her parents gave her that name because of the color of her eyes, but Midori always found it a little trite.  To make matters, worse, her Miko outfit was blue!  It hardly made sense.

“Kuu means sky,” the boy went on. “Kachiko means…” The boy held the doll close to his chest like a young girl might do.  Without the effects of puberty, he may even be mistaken for a girl given the opportunity.

“It doesn’t mean anything,” Kachiko helped him. “I think I’m named after an Empress or something.  But you sure do know a lot about names, Reko.”

“I read a lot of books.  I don’t have many friends…”

“I like your doll,” Midori said, finding a footing in the conversation.  It might have been a dumb thing to say, but she wanted to know more.  Maybe if they could get the doll away from him… but it was more than that.  Midori wanted to know if he felt what she felt for Nari.

“Thank you.” Them mention of the doll made him smile, which hadn’t done until then.  He clutched her tighter. “Her name is Kira and she says she likes you too.”

Kachiko smiled at the boy, then gave Midori a nervous look.  Kuu would be here soon.

“I had a doll when I was your age,” Midori said.  She figured it might be best not to refer to Nari by name; she didn’t now if Richi could communicate with each other. “I loved it more than anything in the world.  She loved me too.  So I know how you feel.”

“What happened to her?” Reko asked, his head tilted inquisitively to one side. “Did you throw her away?”

Midori hesitated.  Guilt filled up her stomach.  Kachiko noticed the lull and came to her rescue.

“Actually!  Miri’s dolly fell apart because she wouldn’t let anybody wash it.  So you make sure to let people clean Kira, okay?”

Kuu turned the corner and joined the two girls in front of the boy’s house.  Her legs ached and she took a puff from her inhaler.  Then she noticed Reko.

“Good evening.  And you must be Reko, right?”

“She does have robot legs,” Reko whispered under his breath.

Kachiko gave Midori a serious look, but it melted away when she saw the expression on her face.  Midori did her best to smile, but it was hard.  She looked down at her feet and continued to play with the lollipop in her pocket.  How was she going to do this?  How was she supposed to take this kid’s friend away?

“Let’s go inside,” Kuu said to Reko. “Is it okay if Midori joins us tonight?”

“I suppose so.  She can play with Kira and me?”

“Perhaps.” Kuu led the child inside, leaving Midori and Kachiko alone for a moment.

“The doll isn’t a Richi,” Kachiko said, looking more concerned than relieved.

“It’s not?” Midori was surprised. The way Reko spoke about his doll was the same as Midori would speak about Nari.  Though in retrospect, it’s how any kid would speak about their doll. “So does Kuu have the wrong place?  The boy isn’t possessed or whatever?”

“Oh no, he definitely is.” Kachiko nodded to the fence along the side of the house, where a cat sat atop the wooden planks.  It was always worse when the Richi was an animal. “The Richi is probably the reason he has the doll, though.  Richi alter your behavior, to keep you weak.  Boys with dolls get picked on.  It probably makes his parents fight, too…”

“So we have to kill the cat?” Midori’s stomach turned at the thought.

“The cat’s dead.  We have to kill the thing that replaced the cat.”

Midori nodded.  She remembered.

“I’ll be your backup just in case.  I didn’t think it would have taken on a complex form like this.  Kuu should be able to handle it, though.” Even though Kachiko wasn’t in her Miko form, it was interesting to see how down-to-business she got when it came to the issue of a Richi and her friends. “You go inside.”

Midori closed the door behind her, finding Kuu with the boy’s parents in the living room.  The mom looked upset about something and was just then getting her shoes on.  Midori watched from the hall until they were ready to leave.  She waved as both parents walked by, straight out the door, without so much as a word to Midori.

“His father thinks he shouldn’t be playing with dolls,” Kuu explained quietly as Midori came into the living room.  The boy had two other dolls alongside Kira who he played with on the floor.  It wasn’t just odd for a boy, but odd for someone his age too. “The parents fight about it, which adds fuel to the fire.  The Richi doesn’t need to speak with him at all; it only has to encourage this stuff.”

Midori sat on the couch and waited quietly for the plan.  But it felt like there wasn’t a plan at all.  The two continued to babysit, and as the night dragged on, it seemed like that was all they would do.

After three long hours, Reko was finally getting tired.  He fell asleep on the couch and Midori carried him upstairs; Kuu wouldn’t be able to do it on her own.  Kuu tucked him in and the two of them whispered quietly in the darkness.

“His parents will be home soon, won’t they?” Midori asked.  She wondered if this battle would even happen tonight, or if this was a scouting mission.

“It will come for him,” Kuu said quietly. “Wait downstairs.  When you see the cat go by, guard the bottom of the staircase.  Don’t let it run past you.”

Midori did as she was told.  She sat awkwardly in the living room, watching the stairs out of the corner of her eye.  Kuu stayed upstairs.  The pet door moved ever so slightly and the orange cat snuck its way inside.  Midori stared as it started up the stairs.

“Here goes nothing…” Midori got into position.  A second or two later, there was a loud thump, a clanking of glass, and the pattering of small footsteps.  The cat paused on the landing, staring at Midori, and then down the hall.  Kuu would be slow, but the cat had to escape somehow.  It got a running jump and tried to dive over the banister, but — in an uncharacteristically competent display — Midori caught it in midair.  It tried to scratch her, but she held it by the scruff of the neck.

Neither Midori nor Kuu had taken on their Miko forms, so Kuu needed another puff of her inhaler as she came down the stairs.  Midori held up the cat with a blank stare.

“This thing isn’t very impressive.  Are you sure it’s a Richi?”

“The Missive said so,” Kuu told her.

“What if it’s wrong?  You kill an innocent cat?”

Kuu pulled a lollipop from her pocket and slipped it between her lips.  A light burst from her back, scattering white feathers around the room.  She landed, wearing her elementary school uniform, with her majestic wings stretched wide.

“Hello, Richi.  Are you afraid?” Kuu plucked the cat from Midori’s grip and held it in one hand. “You disgusting little parasites never learn, do you?”

“From our perspective—” a voice echoed in Midori’s and Kuu’s heads “—you Miko are the parasites, taking over human hosts.”

“Do they usually talk?” Midori asked, taken aback by the sudden cartoon voice in her mind. “I thought only their hosts could hear them?”

“They can choose to be heard.  You should transform.”

Midori pulled the lollipop from her pocket and put it in her mouth.  With a rush of light, her cheeks warmed and she felt the clothes surround her.  It took less than two seconds, but Midori wondered if she was vulnerable in that time.

This time though, when Midori transformed, she was holding a bow in her hand.  Just a bow; no arrows or anything.  It was made of a cherry red wood with markings along the limbs.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Midori sighed.  She had never even taken an archery class before!

“Oh, you brought Nari’s host,” the voice echoed, followed by a whimsical laughter. “She’ll be happy to hear you’re okay.” 

The cat’s voice sounded so smug, so sure of itself, until Kuu threw it into the air.  Four feathers lofted after it and struck the creature from all sides.  Disturbingly enough, it didn’t leave any blood.  The cat landed on its feet, tensed up, and the feathers were squeezed from its body.  They landed on the carpet before dissolving into light.

Midori drew back her bow and — oddly enough — an arrow began to form.  Tiny blue shards flitted into existence, pulled together like stars imploding, and coalesced into a single crystalline arrow as soon as the string was drawn all the way back.

Curiously, Midori loosened the string, and the arrow began to crack apart into different shards again.  By pulling the string back again, it once again became a single arrow.  It reminded her of those toy balls that expand and contract.

“Nari says she forgives you,” the cat sung in Midori’s ear.  Kuu shot a dozen more feathers toward the cat, but it expertly stepped out of the way of each one. “She misses you.  She wants to be friends again.  She’s sorry about your hand — she was just scared.”

“That’s quite enough from you!” Kuu flew at the cat and tackled it through the window, shattering glass into the back yard.  Kuu called back into the house: “Don’t let it get to you, Midori.  Shoot it!”

Oddly enough, the Richi’s comments about Nari didn’t really matter to Midori.  Instead, she drew her bow and prepared a shot.  But just before she let go of the string, the Richi ducked around the corner and ran toward the front yard.  Midori released the arrow anyway, which… disappeared.  There was the sound of shattering glass somewhere in the distance.

“Midori!” Kuu called from the front yard. “Get out here right now!”

Midori took one more look around the room, but the arrow was nowhere to be seen.  She hurried out the front door to find Kachiko in her Miko form - glasses and all - standing behind the wall to the front gate.  Kuu was waiting in the yard, her wings low.  And there, pinned to the grass, was the cat, impaled by Midori’s arrow.  No matter how hard it squirmed, it couldn’t seem to push it out of its flesh. 

“You’re either the best shot in the world,” Kuu sighed, “or the worst.”

“I don’t know what happened,” Midori said.

“It came from the upstairs window,” Kachiko said, tilting her head to the top of the house through her glases.  Sure enough, one of the windows was broken.

“But I was standing in the living room!”

“That isn’t possible,” Kachiko said with absolution. “There’s no angle of deflection that would allow for that.”

“I swear—” But Midori was cut off by a flicker of light, then a glowing red envelope floating in front of her.

“That’s a Sending Missive,” Kuu explained. “You immobilized it, so you have to send it.”

“Just read the card,” Kachiko said, but her mind was clearly distracted.  She kept looking at the upstairs window.  Midori took the little red envelope and opened it up, then removed the card.

“Ima kieta.  Broken bones show no mercy, but all mend in time.”

The cat in front of Midori dissolved, disappearing into the night, and the red letter followed.  She stood there for a moment, watching the strange beauty of it, until a voice interrupted the moment.

“You’re all dressed weird.” Reko was standing in the doorway at the front of his house, rubbing his eyes.

“You’re just dreaming,” Kuu said with a half smile. “Midori will take you upstairs and put you back in bed, okay?” Kuu looked expectantly at Midori, but Kachiko continued to stare at the upstairs window.

Midori led the boy into the house - still dressed like an anime character - and helped him into bed.  His upstairs window was broken — no wonder he woke up — and Midori wondered how her arrow had gotten up here.  It didn’t make sense.

“There was a shooting star…” Reko spoke sleepily. “Are you an angel?  You look like my babysitter, but blue and not green…” 

“Uh.” Midori didn’t know what to say. “Sure.  Why not.” She tucked the boy into bed and sat on the floor, waiting for him to fall asleep.  He slipped his thumb into his mouth and Midori pulled the bow on top of her head, turning back into her human form.  The next time she looked, Reko’s bedroom window was fixed.  She made her way downstairs to find her friends in the living room.

“The arrow came from an upstairs window,” Kachiko insisted, but she sounded much more childish without her Miko form.

“We were downstairs.  You must be confused.” Kuu was fitting her leg braces back on.

“Excuse me, Feathers McGee.  I don’t get confused.”

“Maybe it was you human form bleeding through?” Kuu grinned and Kachiko stuck out her tongue.

“The window upstairs was broken,” Midori explained, confirming Kachiko’s theory.  But that didn’t get them any closer to understanding how it worked.

“How did you hit it?” Kachiko asked.

“I just aimed.”

“You weren’t even in line of sight!”

“Yeah I was?  It was right in front of me.”

“I didn’t see you.”

“I was standing in the living room.”

“You saw the Richi from the living room, so you fired an arrow, which came out of the upstairs window, and hit the centerline in the front yard?”

“Centerline?”

“The centerline is a very small part of a Richi’s form that can incapacitate them,” Kuu explained. “It’s very hard to hit.”

“I thought it was in the backyard,” Midori said quietly, suddenly less sure of herself. “Kuu and the Richi went through the glass.  Kuu told me to shoot, so I did.”

“Then how did it hit him in the front yard, hm?” Kachiko asked. “And why did it come from upstairs?”

“Maybe you have Richi-seeking arrows?” Kuu offered, but Kachiko was unconvinced.

“Maybe we could practice?” Midori suggested.  They certainly weren’t going to figure it out without some experimentation.  But a part of Midori was nervous; if she had Richi-seeking arrows, where would they go when there wasn’t a Richi around?

“Maybe after school,” Kuu said. “Probably with Naomi.” Naomi could heal herself, after all, and would still provide a formidable opponent. “But for now, we should call it a night.  We did good work here.”

Kachiko sighed and nodded her head.  Kuu would have to stay until Reko’s parents got home, but the night had been much more unexpected than anyone had anticipated.

“I’ll take Miri home,” Kachiko said.  They could figure all this out tomorrow.

[Ending Song & Credits]

-------------

Cast & Favorite Subject:

Midori Kaneda > Art

Pandora Novak > English

Kachiko Kazumi > Music

Daisuke Hidoki > Social Studies

Kuu Shima > Science

Naomi Sato > Physical Education

[Sophie ♥]

Next time on: Maidens of Fate!

*

“Come on!” Kachiko pouted. “Wake up!” Midori forced her eyes open to see the smallest of the Miko, sitting on her stomach in footed pajamas.  Her eyes were wide and bright, and Midori wondered to herself if this was what it was like to have children.

*

“You could sell your art online,” Kachiko suggested. “Or work as a mangaka?  Those sorts of things work really well.  And you can have your Mom open you a bank account now that’s called a um… family trust, so it only has your name on it.  And that way you can use it for years and years and years, way beyond what they might expect you to be around for.” Kachiko was surprisingly on top of things, for someone with such a breezy personality. “We don’t need sleep either, so that gives you a lot more time to practice or make money.”

*

The clearing was a wide space behind the school surrounded by a forest of trees.  It made for a good place to blow things up without the risk of damaging anything.  Even though Midori knew other people wouldn’t notice her in Miko form, she was still more comfortable in the solitude of the clearing.

When Midori arrived, Naomi was already transformed.  Like before, he appeared to be a slight, almost feminine boy.  Tendrils of light flourished from his hands, where the ends tied around his wrists.

Everyone else was present as well, standing around in a circle and talking amongst themselves.  But when Midori and Pandora approached, they all turned their attention to the new Miko.

*

Episode 6: The Shot Heard Round the Clearing

[Sophie ♥]

Episode 6: The Shot Heard Round the Clearing

“Good morning!” Kachiko jumped on Midori with a chipper smile.  Midori hadn’t realized how tired she was until she got to Kachiko’s place.  Kachiko spread out the futon beside her bed and Midori was asleep before she knew it.

“Come on!” Kachiko pouted. “Wake up!” Midori forced her eyes open to see the smallest of the Miko, sitting on her stomach in footed pajamas.  Her eyes were wide and bright, and Midori wondered to herself if this was what it was like to have children.

“Dun wanna,” Midori muttered, rolling over and knocking Kachiko off her.  It was the last day of school for the week; the girls would have tomorrow off.  But to Midori, tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough.

“Don’t be a crybaby,” Kachiko said, pulling the blanket off Midori.

“You’re one to talk.” Midori motioned to Kachiko’s whole self with the wave of a hand.  Though despite Kachiko’s appearance, there was no telling just how old she was.

“Just because you’re a Miko now doesn’t mean you can just lay around and let your grades get bad!  You have to learn grammar and English and science, and all that stuff.”

She was right.  Midori hated that she was right.  She sighed and sat up on the futon, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.  Her hair was a mess and her ribbon was somewhere beside her on the floor.

“I’m up, I’m up…” Midori pulled herself off the mattress and followed Kachiko into the hall, nearly bumping into Daisuke as she turned the corner.

“Oh, you are awake,” Daisuke said with a smile.  She was already dressed for the day.  Midori was still in her pajamas.  Suddenly, she felt a little embarrassed.

“I didn’t know you were here,” Midori said.

“Why would I not be?  I live here.”

Daisuke walked toward the bathroom and Kachiko toward the kitchen.  Midori needed a moment to process that before following Kachiko.

“You and Daisuke live together?”

“Yep,” Kachiko nodded. “You didn’t know that?  It’s so hard to keep track of what we’ve told you and what we haven’t.” Kachiko went into the kitchen and looked around, but something wasn’t to her satisfaction.  She pouted.  When Daisuke returned to the living room, tying the ribbon under her school uniform, Kachiko rushed up to her.

“Where’s breakfast, Dai?”

“You’ll have to make it yourself today,” Daisuke said with a smile. “I have a morning club meeting.”

“Nuh uhhh… I don’t wanna cook!  Please just make something real quick, please please?” Daisuke took Kachiko by the shoulders and turned her around, facing Midori.

“We have company, Kachiko.  Don’t you think she’s hungry?  Surely I don’t have time to make food for the both of you.”

Midori watched Kachiko’s cheeks puff out and her shoulders slump.  She knew she had been defeated.

“Fine.  But I won’t have any fun!” Kachiko returned to the kitchen and Midori stood awkwardly in her pajamas.

“Make yourself at home, Miss Kaneda.  There is no need to feel awkward.  You’re amongst friends.”

Friends.  Midori had to remind herself of that word every now and then.  Was this what it was like to have friends?  Daisuke grabbed her school bag and headed out the door, patting Kachiko on the head before she left.  Midori decided to take Daisuke’s advice and sit down at the table.  The apartment was traditionally western in design.  Maybe Daisuke spent some time in America or Europe.

Kachiko put a plate down on the table for Midori and sat next to her.  She didn’t realize until the food was in front of her, but Midori was very hungry.  It was strange having such big feelings, especially when they arrived so suddenly.

“I have so much homework,” Midori complained.

“It’s not so bad if you keep up on it.” Study advice from a girl in footed pajamas wasn’t that reassuring. “What’s your favorite class, Miri?”

“Um… right now, it’s Art.  I used to hate it, but I’ve been excelling the past few days.  My teacher thought I was getting someone else to do it at first.” Midori wasn’t offended - she would suspect herself of cheating too.

“Your drawing skills are really good!  Maybe you could draw manga for a living?” The expression ‘for a living’ didn’t mean much to a Miko, but most of them liked to build the illusion of a normal life. “My favorite is chemistry ‘cause it’s fun to make the fire different colors.”

“How do you live, if you don’t mind me asking.” Midori didn’t like to ask anyone about money, but Daisuke and Kachiko were high school girls.  Neither of them had jobs and neither of them had parents.  How did they afford a place like this, so close to the city?  

“Dai has money from when she was younger.  Her parents were wealthy and she learned a lot about economics.  The Japanese economy wasn’t so good after the war, so she invested in some American companies while she lived there.”

The war? Midori wondered.  How old was Daisuke anyway?

“So she pays for you?” Midori asked awkardly. “I mean, she pays for… things for you?”

“Nuh uh.  She pays for the apartment, but I have my own money.  It used to be really hard, but the internet has helped a lot.  I have a computer programming job in another country, and I’m very good at it.  They send me projects and I finish them, then they pay me.  They don’t even know who I am, honestly.  There’s a lot of work like that and it’s made being a Miko a lot easier.”

“That’s pretty smart,” Midori said quietly between bites of breakfast. “I don’t think I would have thought of that…”

“You could sell your art online,” Kachiko suggested. “Or work as a mangaka?  Those sorts of things work really well.  And you can have your Mom open you a bank account now that’s called a um… family trust, so it only has your name on it.  And that way you can use it for years and years and years, way beyond what they might expect you to be around for.” Kachiko was surprisingly on top of things, for someone with such a breezy personality. “We don’t need sleep either, so that gives you a lot more time to practice or make money.”

“We don’t need sleep?”

“Nope.”

“But I slept last night. It felt like I needed it.” Then Midori remembered the world with the tiger, and how she slept a lot there.  She probably didn’t need to.

“Being in your human form is like being asleep - that’s how Miko rest and get back their energy.  But you can sleep for fun if you want.  Same goes for eating.  I love it, so I sleep a lot!  And Panda sleeps too.  But Dai doesn’t.  She thinks it’s a waste of time.”

“So we don’t need food or water?”

“Not to survive.  But what’s the point of being alive if you can’t have donuts, right?”

Midori shrugged in agreement.  Maybe one day she would stop eating or sleeping to save time or money or something, but she was still getting used to feeling happy about things.  Now wasn’t the time to cut something like that out of her life.

“You go get dressed, Miri,” Kachiko said after breakfast. “I’ll take care of the dishes.  We don’t want to be late to school.”

Midori and Kachiko walked to school together.  They talked about food and trains and the viability of modern-day lemonade stands.  They talked like normal people talk about normal things.  And Midori was happy.  Her happiness stuck around all day, through class and lunch and study hour.  She couldn’t shake it, and she didn’t want to.

“Miss Kaneda?” One of Midori’s classmates leaned across the aisle. “Do you have a pencil I could borrow?” 

“Oh, sure.” Midori rummaged around in her school bag until she found a spare pencil she had been using for drawing.  She passed it across the aisle to the girl.  She had dark hair, but not in a Japanese way, and her skin had an olive hue.  Midori tried to remember where she was from… Greece?  Italy?

“You seem to be in a good mood,” the girl said with a smile. “Most days you sit there quietly.” Midori smiled a little, a blush on her cheeks.  Since Nari had disappeared a week ago, her life had been completely different.

“I’m seeing life from a new perspective,” Midori said with a smile.

“Well, it’s nice to see you smiling, Miss Kaneda.”

“You can call me Midori.”

“Oh, then you can call me Reina!”

Midori didn’t expect to make a new friend, an ordinary friend, a friend that wasn’t required to hang out with her because of their mutual destiny.  But a week ago, holding a conversation like this would have been impossible.  She looked down at her backpack, silent and still.  Midori realized she only missed Nari a little bit these days.  Maybe one day soon, she wouldn’t miss her at all.

“You look giddy.” Pandora found Midori after school. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you looking so bright and chipper.  What’s got your spirits up?”

“I got all my schoolwork done,” Midori said happily.

“So?”

“So?  This is the first time I’ll have a Sunday off in like… my whole life!  I always have homework.  Always!”

“Oh, I bet it used to take you forever just to get one page of work done,” Pandora mused. “That thing would have made it hard for you to focus on anything.  You must feel like Little Miss Brilliant right about now.”

“Well…” Midori’s cheeks took on a bit of color. “Kind of.”

“Come to think of it, what was with your Missive?  Do you like girls?”

The color drained out of Midori’s cheeks. “What?  No!  I do not!”

“I mean, it’s fine if you do.” Pandora was nonchalant about it. “I bet anyone with an extended life span at least considers it, right?”

“I… I dunno.” Midori struggled to find her footing in the conversation.  Pandora sure could be abrupt sometimes. “I think maybe it was about Nari.  Like… she was my girl that was always there, you know?  And I miss her a lot, even though she was using me all that time…”

“Seems like you’re covering.” Pandora stuck out her tongue and Midori huffed in annoyance.

“The whole thing was stupid!  I didn’t even want to say it, but you guys made me.  Honestly, I thought it was a joke, like you switched my card or something.”  

“That’s a great joke,” Pandora said. “Damn, I should have thought of that.”

“Well, now you have a plan for the next girl.”

“It was a pretty little haiku though.  We would need someone poetic to come up with something like that.  How was your dream thing, anyway?  You are air attuned, right?  I’m attuned to water.  But that means you had the tiger.”

“Oh.  Yeah.  He was nice.  He fixed my pagoda when I blew it up.”

“You blew it up?!  How?!  You don’t even have Miko powers in there.” Pandora was halfway between surprised and impressed.

“I guess I… shot lightning or something?  Because of the bugs?” Remembering any detail about her death was difficult for Midori.  She was barely putting the pieces together.

“Oh, the bugs.  Everyone has that fear.  Maybe because we’re a bunch of girls.  Do you think Naomi is afraid of bugs?”

Midori shrugged her shoulders. “I have to fight her later today.  A sparring match or something, to get used to my powers.” Midori wasn’t looking forward to it.  Attacking her friends was the last on her list of things she wanted.

“Oh man, I’m glad she can heal you,” Pandora whistled. “She’s going to kick your butt.  I mean, no offense.  But Naomi is a complete badass in Miko form.”

Midori knew that first hand.  She had watched Naomi fend off the darkness in her house and put up a solid fight against Nari.  Kachiko had to come to his rescue, but Naomi wasn’t anything to take lightly.  Midori definitely didn’t want to fight her.

“Let’s go to the clearing,” Pandora said. “That’s where the girls are waiting.”

The clearing was a wide space behind the school surrounded by a forest of trees.  It made for a good place to blow things up without the risk of damaging anything.  Even though Midori knew other people wouldn’t notice her in Miko form, she was still more comfortable in the solitude of the clearing.

When Midori arrived, Naomi was already transformed.  Like before, he appeared to be a slight, almost feminine boy.  Tendrils of light flourished from his hands, where the ends tied around his wrists.

Everyone else was present as well, standing around in a circle and talking amongst themselves.  But when Midori and Pandora approached, they all turned their attention to the new Miko.

“I’m excited to help you out, Midori,” he said politely.  His attitude was so contrary to the ordinary Naomi.  Midori took the lollipop out of her pocket and put it in her mouth.  In a flash of light, she turned into the blue Lolita girl.  The wooden bow was already in her hand, ready to go, like it knew she was entering combat.

“You’re not going to hurt me, right?” Midori asked, a little nervously.

“I’m going to do my best to teach you,” Naomi said. “But I won’t hold back, so neither should you.  Are you ready?”

Midori nodded and took her stance on the edge of the clearing.  The other four girls hurried off to one side to watch.  Kachiko and Pandora looked excited, but Kuu and Daisuke were observing intently.

The ribbons of light exploded in Naomi’s hands and he was shot up into the air.  Then, using the same move, he propelled himself forward at Midori.  He swung his arm around, causing the ribbon of light to strike like a whip at the girl.

Midori drew back the string on her bow and aimed.  The arrow formed in front of her, pointing straight at Naomi.  But when she let it go, the arrow disappeared again.  Midori looked around to find it, but was struck with the lash of yellow light from Naomi’s hand.  Midori was knocked backward into the dirt, only barely holding onto her bow in the process.

“You’ll need to be faster than that,” Naomi said, advancing on Midori as she got up from the ground.  Midori drew the string of her bow once more, but a ribbon of light caught her ankle and pulled her straight to the ground.  Midori’s hand slid off the string before the arrow fully materialized.

As it plucked, every shard of crystal that was being pulled together turned into its own smaller arrow, shooting an upwards of fifty arrows into the sky.  Except they didn’t go into the sky.  Midori fell onto her back and looked up, expecting to see them raining down, but one zipped past her face.  Then another stuck into the side of a tree.  The arrows rained in all directions and — before Midori could think — Naomi threw one of his ribbons at Midori to shield her from the onslaught.

The four girls at the edge of the clearing hid behind the trees and Naomi protected himself with his other ribbon.  It was a full thirty seconds of whistling wind and snapping branches before the dust settled and the clearing was littered with small crystalline bolts.

Midori groaned, still lying on the ground.  

“What the hell,” Naomi said under his breath, stepping through the battlefield of arrows.  They were stuck in the ground and the trees and everywhere they could find, all at different angles.  He made his way over to Midori about the same time the other four did, running as quickly as they could.

“How did she do that?” Kachiko asked.

“I don’t know,” Daisuke said.

“Did you see her first arrow?” Kuu spoke up. “It just vanished.  Then all those others ones vanished too.  She isn’t following any of the laws of physics.  It must take incredible amounts of potential just to fire one of those arrows, let alone a whole barrage.  With practice, this could be a very powerful ability.”

“I don’t do anything,” Midori sighed, still lying in the grass. “Stuff just happens.  I don’t control it.”

“It takes time to master,” Kuu assured her, “but I’m confident you’ll figure it out.”

“Can you get up?” Naomi asked Midori, but Midori felt heavy all over.  Every muscle was aching.  Every breath felt sharp.

Pandora approached Midori to get a better sense of the situation.  She put a hand on Midori’s head, like she was checking her temperature. “Her energy is dangerously low.  I’m surprised she kept her Miko form.”

“I am not surprised,” Daisuke said. “That attack imposed a very high cost.”

“What if all those arrows actually hit something?” Kachiko asked. “Like, if the attacks didn’t miss?  That would be crazy!” Fifty shots on one Richi would incapacitate it, centerline or not.

“Maybe the Missive was right about her,” Kuu muttered. “That she was destined to lead.”

“Hey, I’m not special, alright?” Midori tried to sit up, but she needed Pandora’s help to do it. “I can’t even keep from shooting you guys on accident.  I’m not leading anyone.  I’m just trying to practice not killing you.” Simple enough in theory, but the clearing showed a different outcome.

“You can’t stay in this form,” Pandora sighed, pulling the bow on top of Midori’s head.  Her Miko uniform dissolved and she was once again in her school clothes.  And oddly enough, she felt better.

“Don’t move too quickly,” Naomi suggested.  He leaned down and wrapped his ribbons around her hands, which made Midori’s whole body feel warm. “Even though you feel better in human form, you still need to take it easy.  Your energy will come back slower if you push yourself.”

“Okay,” Midori nodded. “Thank you.”

“So she’s rough around the edges,” Kachiko shrugged. “I think it’s amazing.”

“Definitely amazing,” Daisuke agreed.

“Totally amazing!” Pandora couldn’t help but gush. “And this was only her first day!  Imagine how powerful she’ll be in a week, or a month!”

Midori wasn’t nearly as happy as the others seemed to be.  She couldn’t even practice without causing trouble.  Yesterday she hit a Richi so easily, and today she couldn’t even shoot an arrow straight.  When Naomi was done tending to her energy levels, he changed back into human form and the girls headed back toward the school.  Daisuke walked with Midori.

“You were nervous today, Miss Kaneda.  Last night, perhaps you were more relaxed.”

“I shouldn’t be more relaxed with my enemy than with my friends,” Midori pouted.

“You were unaware of your potential then.  Today, you could not stop worrying about what would happen.  You felt anxious and scared.  You were on edge.”

Midori gave Daisuke an odd look.  How did she know so much, anyway?  Daisuke sensed her confusion.

“I’m a bit of an empath,” Daisuke explained. “That’s my Miko ability.  Like Miss Novak, I have the power to use it in human form.  I can sense people’s emotions, like doubt and worry and fear.  But also happiness and excitement and serenity.  And often, I can influence them as well.  I try not to infringe on the emotions of others when it is unavoidable, but sometimes people need a bit of help.”

“Do the others have human powers?” Midori asked.

“They do not.  Only I and Miss Novak.”

“Why is that?  Luck of the draw?”

“Something like that,” Daisuke mused. “Miss Novak and I do not have Miko forms, not truly.  So we have human powers instead.”

That caught Midori off guard. “You don’t… have Miko forms?”

“Not like you.  Not like the others.  We are support roles, and useless on our own.”

Midori thought about Pandora’s weakness: selfishness.  Was she given a support role to force her to care about other people?  She had a Miko form that couldn’t be selfish?  That made Midori wonder what Daisuke’s weakness was.

“So you think my emotions made my arrows miss?” Midori asked.  What good was it to have arrows that never hit the target.  It was like firing blind.  Was yesterday only luck?

“I believe you didn’t hit Naomi because you didn’t want to hit Naomi,” Daisuke said. “The whole time, you were so worried about hurting her.  I felt that, even from across the clearing.”

“Yeah, well, I want to hit her now,” Midori sulked, looking down at her feet. “I want to prove I’m more capable than this…” If that meant shooting an arrow right through Naomi, then that was fine by Midori.  But Daisuke knew there wasn’t a lot of sincerity in her claim.

“Well, hold onto that feeling for the next time, Miss Kaneda.  We cannot die, so no matter what you do we will be fine.  If it helps you feel better about yourself, you can’t harm us in any way that matters.”

“I guess,” Midori sighed.  She followed the girls back to the school, though classes were long since over.  The sun was already on the horizon and the sky was growing dark.  Today was over.

But tomorrow Midori had a day off, and she had a good idea how she would be spending it.

[Ending Song & Credits]

-------------

Cast & Blood Type:

Midori Kaneda > A+

Pandora Novak > B+

Kachiko Kazumi > B+

Daisuke Hidoki > AB+

Kuu Shima > A-

Naomi Sato > O-

[Sarah Penguin]

[Sophie ♥]

Next time on: Maidens of Fate!

*

The school was closed on Sundays, but that didn’t mean Midori didn’t know how to get in.  The gymnasium was always crowded during the week, but this time - when Midori went in through the sports entrance - it was empty.  She wasn’t sure she had ever seen it empty before.

She pulled one of the archery targets out of the back room and set it up across the auditorium, then looked around for anything breakable.  The windows were high, and she hoped her arrows wouldn’t make it all the way up there.  Even if they did, the Cleansers would take care of it.  It would be smarter to do this outside, but she was practicing in secret for a reason.  No one else might notice her, but if one of the other Miko walked by the school… well, that was a different story.

*

“Are we going?” Pandora asked. “Aren’t friends supposed to hang out on Sundays?”

“Or maybe she wants to be alone for a reason,” Naomi said. “Perhaps she doesn’t want us around.”

“Well I’m going,” Pandora huffed. “Maybe she’s never had friends to hang out with before!  This is good bonding time!”

*

“Well,” Pandora began, holding tight to a small arrow shard in her knee, “what we learned today…” Naomi put the lollipop between her lips and transformed, preparing her light ribbons to heal Pandora. “Is that Midori should never, ever, ever be blindfolded.  Ever again.”

*

Episode 7: Blink and You’ll Miss It

[Sophie ♥]

I'll be posting episode 7 tonight, but episode 8 might be delayed next week... truth be told, I haven't written this entire story yet and I'm struggling to keep up with the one chapter a week thing.   Originally I thought "hey, a week is a ton of time to write a chapter!" and then 5 video games came out that I wanted to play and I run two podcasts.   I'm bad at time management.

But I promise promise promise this story will get complete!  I already know how it's going to happen.   Thanks for your patience.

~Sophie

[Sophie ♥]

Episode 7: Blink and You’ll Miss It

The school was closed on Sundays, but that didn’t mean Midori didn’t know how to get in.  The gymnasium was always crowded during the week, but this time - when Midori went in through the sports entrance - it was empty.  She wasn’t sure she had ever seen it empty before.

She pulled one of the archery targets out of the back room and set it up across the auditorium, then looked around for anything breakable.  The windows were high, and she hoped her arrows wouldn’t make it all the way up there.  Even if they did, the Cleansers would take care of it.  It would be smarter to do this outside, but she was practicing in secret for a reason.  No one else might notice her, but if one of the other Miko walked by the school… well, that was a different story.

Midori put her lollipop in her mouth and transformed in a flurry of blue light.  Her bow appeared in her left hand.  She pulled back the string and an crystalline arrow appeared nocked in place.  With an exhale, she let it go and - unsurprisingly - the arrow vanished.  Then a loud bang echoed through the room from the bleachers, nearly causing Midori to jump out of her skin.

She went over to the bleacher, where the arrow had pierced straight through the metal.  She touched the arrow and, the second she did, it dissolved into wisps of light.  At least Midori was learning something.  But the Cleansers would have to fix the hole.

Midori returned to her spot in the gym across from the target and formed another arrow.  But she didn’t fire it.  She had to want to hit the target.  She had to focus…

*     *     *

“I think she’s lovely,” Pandora said over lunch, kicking her feet under the table.  Daisuke and Naomi sat with her.

“I think she’s dangerous,” Naomi said, her usual cynical self. “That Richi of hers shows up and you know she’ll go back to it.  We won’t matter anymore.”

“Thinking that way about a friend is a great way to ensure it happens,” Daisuke sighed.

“You think she would choose Nari over us?” Pandora seemed concerned.  Daisuke shrugged her shoulders.

“Miss Shima” - Kuu - “is worried about it.  But if Midori chooses her Richi over us, I think we are to blame.  She had Nari for six years, and she has had us for less than a week.”

“Maybe I should call her, to be sure…” Pandora pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed Midori’s home number.  Thankfully, she had the presence of mind to ask for it a few days before.  But Midori’s mom answered.

“She’s not at home,” Pandora concluded, closing her phone.

“Maybe she’s with her Richi,” Naomi scoffed.

“Or maybe she is at the school, Miss Negativity,” Daisuke joked.  Though Daisuke knew she wasn’t wrong.  The day before, she could sense Midori’s drive to improve.  She also saw her eyeing the gymnasium.  It wasn’t hard for an empath to put two and two together.

“The school is closed on Sundays,” Pandora said.

“They leave a lot of doors open for sports and stuff,” Naomi answered. “Sometimes we do Sunday practice for lacrosse.  It’s the worst kept secret.”

“And you think Midori knows about it?”

“No reason to believe she wouldn’t,” Daisuke said.

“Are we going?” Pandora asked. “Aren’t friends supposed to hang out on Sundays?”

“Or maybe she wants to be alone for a reason,” Naomi said. “Perhaps she doesn’t want us around.”

“Well I’m going,” Pandora huffed. “Maybe she’s never had friends to hang out with before!  This is good bonding time!”

So after lunch, the three of them started walking toward the school.  If they really wanted Midori to trust them more than she trusted Nari, they needed to start somewhere.

*     *     *

Midori exhaled as another arrow left her bow.  But the arrow… stopped.  It just stopped.  Midori blinked, thinking it would go away, but it didn’t.  It stayed there, hovering, and she looked at it questioningly.  Tentatively, she approached and poked the arrow.  Would it disappear into light, like the others?  But it didn’t.  Why?  Her powers felt stranger with every practice shot.

Midori tried another arrow, doing it the same way.  Exhale.  Release.  But this one didn’t freeze in place - it shattered one of the ceiling lights.  The first arrow - the levitating one - stayed perfectly still in midair.  Midori was starting to believe she would never understand this.

“This is crazy,” Pandora whispered. “It’s just floating there.  How is it doing that?”

Pandora, Daisuke, and Naomi were crouched down behind one of bleachers.  They had seen the arrow freeze in midair and spoke in whispers.

“It’s just floating there,” Pandora said. “Is she telekinetic?”

“Telekinesis couldn’t do that.” Daisuke tilted her head to the side. “It’s not wavering at all.  It’s just stuck.”

“So it’s disregarding gravity?”

Midori took a breath and tried shooting another arrow.  This one disappeared, like most of the others did, and hit the wall next to the target.  Well, at least it was closer.

She pulled the bow back again, but not all the way.  She watched the crystalline arrow come together.  Little bits of shards, like splintered wood, gravitated toward the middle.  Then, she stopped, just before the final two fragments connected.  Two parts.  With a sigh, she released it.

Two arrows fired.  One hit the target, in the upper right, and the other flew directly at her.  She fumbled to the side as it whistled past, and Midori fell to the ground.  Her heart was racing as she looked at the far wall, where the arrow was stuck in place.  That almost hit her!

“She has no idea what she’s doing,” Pandora sighed.

Naomi scoffed and said, “Why give this power to a dummy like her?”

“Hey!” Pandora’s voice rose above a whisper. “She’s doing her best!”

“Shh!” Daisuke and Naomi hissed in unison.

Midori paused and looked around the room.  She swear she heard… but she was joined by nothing but the glistening sunlight through the rooftop windows.  With a sigh, she turned back to the target.  She drew her bow and released an arrow, but it seemed to vanish again.  Then it landed with a thunk into the bleachers between Naomi and Pandora.

“We’re sorry!” Pandora shouted, covering her head with her arms. “Please don’t hurt us!” Daisuke and Naomi looked at each other and sighed.  The three of them finally came out from behind the bleachers, greeting Midori in her Miko form.  She looked unimpressed.

“We were just wondering where you were,” Pandora tried to explain. “And we wanted to check that you were okay.”

“I’m fine,” Midori said flatly, looking at the girls for only a moment before turning her attention back to her training.  She released another arrow which seemed to fly like a normal arrow.  Midori was surprised!  Then, just as it nearly hit the target, it disappeared and hit the wall behind it instead.  She groaned.  So close…

“We thought to check on you,” Daisuke explained, “but when we called your house, your mom said you were out.”

“And we missed you,” Pandora added. Naomi rolled her eyes.

“I’m practicing,” Midori said simply, around the time the three of them arrived in the center of the gymnasium.  She looked around at the litter of arrows and holes. “It’s dangerous down here.”

“You don’t say,” Naomi muttered. Pandora shoved her.

“Don’t be a butt.”

Daisuke walked around the target to the arrow behind it, dug into the wall.  If the target had been three feet further back, it would have been a bullseye.

“Does this one count?” she asked.

“I don’t think so,” Midori sighed. “Unless I’m trying to hit there, which… I’m not.” Midori looked at the wooden bow in her hands.  Maybe she needed a better bow.  A flimsy piece of wood hardly seemed appropriate for a magical girl.  What about the ones with all those pulleys?  She liked those.

“Maybe you’re afraid of the target retaliating.”

“Was that a joke, Naomi?” Pandora asked. “Did you make a joke?”

“Miss Sato doesn’t make jokes,” Daisuke reminded her with a smile. They seemed to have a good relationship with Naomi - despite appearances - to be able to tease her like that.  Daisuke remembered something Midori had said yesterday, about wanting to prove herself.  Surely she couldn’t do that without one of them present.  That gave her an idea.

“Would you like to spar with one of us?” Daisuke asked.  Which meant sparring against Naomi, as both Pandora and Daisuke had only support powers.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” Midori said quietly, pulling back on her bow.  Another arrow went toward the target, disappeared, and popped back into existence somewhere between Daisuke and Pandora, and shortly thereafter hit the wall.  Pandora jumped in surprise, but Daisuke didn’t seem at all fazed. 

“I said it was dangerous!” Midori shouted, welling up with frustration.

“You say that,” Daisuke agreed, “but you know you haven’t hit any of us.  Not even once.”

“Yeah…” Pandora paused to think about it. “What if you’re not firing them randomly, but there’s some order to the chaos of it?”

Midori sighed and pulled back another arrow, but Pandora rushed out in front of her.  She stood between Midori and the target, her arms out at her sides like she was defending it.

“Okay, shoot it now.  Just pretend I’m not here.”

“What?” Midori asked incredulously, lowering her bow. “No way!  You’re not even in your Miko form - you could die!”

“We have Naomi here, she can heal me,” Pandora said with full confidence.  Then she took the lollipop out of her pocket. “And if you hit me, I’ll put this in my mouth.”

“If you want to play stupid games,” Midori said sharply, “then I’ll shoot at Naomi, in her Miko form where there’s no danger.”

“But if there’s no risk, it might not work!” Despite Midori’s best efforts at persuasion - which were admittedly not great to begin with - Pandora stayed where she was.  That is, she stayed in harm’s way.  With a smile, Pandora nodded her head. “I believe in you.”

Midori didn’t like this.  This was sick!  She was going to hit her.  The arrow would hurt.  Blood would drip onto the gymnasium floor.  And what if Pandora died?  Midori’s eyes welled up with tears and she drew her bow.  Naomi took a step forward, but Daisuke waved her back.

The air was silent.  Everyone was quiet.  Midori could hear her own labored breaths.  She pulled the bow back as tight as she could - one arrow, less casualties - and closed her eyes.  Naomi was here.  She could heal her.  They had Pandora’s lollipop.  Her Miko form was immortal.  There weren’t any inherent risks, not really.  But Midori had never wanted anything more than for this arrow to miss Pandora.  Don’t hit her, she told herself.  Don’t hit her.

She released and the arrow bounded toward Pandora, directly at her.  Then, half a foot away, it disappeared.  Then a twang rang through the gymnasium as the arrow hit the target, a little off-center from the bullseye.  Midori opened her eyes to see Pandora unharmed, looking behind her at the target.

Daisuke and Naomi exchanged impressive looks.

“Well, would you look at that!” Pandora turned to face Midori with a big smile on her face, then ran up to her and wrapped her arms around her, squeezing her tight into a hug. “I’m so proud of you, Midori!”

Midori felt her cheeks take on a bit of color and hugged Pandora back.  She looked at the arrow from across the room, a few inches from the bullseye.  She had done that.  Then she looked at the arrow that still floated in midair.  Midori broke her hug with Pandora and turned to the others.

“Well, that’s a good start.” 

“Maybe trying is the problem?” Naomi offered, more to Daisuke than to Midori.  That gave Pandora an idea.  She untied the ribbon from her uniform and tied it over Midori’s eyes.  Then Pandora spun her around and around until she was dizzy.

“Okay, shoot!  Don’t think, just hit the target.  Go!”

“I, uh.  I don’t think this is a good idea…” With a sigh, Midori drew back the string on her bow until she was sure she would only fire a single arrow.  Predictably, it vanished.  But when it reappeared, it struck down on the arrow that continued to hover in the center of the room, shattering it into a hundred small crystal shards.  They exploded outward crashing into cement walls and metal bleachers.  And though Midori could hear the sounds all around her, not a single arrow hit her.

“What happened?” Midori took off her blindfold and examined the room, littered with small arrow fragments.

“Well,” Pandora began, holding tight to a small arrow shard in her knee, “what we learned today…” Naomi put the lollipop between her lips and transformed, preparing her light ribbons to heal Pandora. “Is that Midori should never, ever, ever be blindfolded.  Ever again.”

Midori dropped her bow and hurried over to Pandora.  There was blood everywhere.  She felt her heart pound as she looked it over, a burning deep in her stomach.

“I’m so sorry… I… I didn’t mean to, I didn’t know it was… I don’t understand how!  I only shot one, I swear!  I was careful to just shoot one!”

“You didn’t mean it,” Pandora said with a smile, sweat beading on her forehead. “Naomi will take care of it.  Don’t worry your pretty little head.”

“It’s our fault for blindfolding you, Miss Kaneda,” Daisuke said quietly.  She hadn’t expected this.  Actually, she was confident Midori’s arrows couldn’t even hit an ally.

“Maybe…” Nonetheless, Midori felt terrible, even if it wasn’t her fault.

“It’s going to hurt to pull this arrow out,” Naomi said solemnly, looking over the wound.  It was already bleeding quite badly.

“Wait, hold on.” Midori touched the arrow and it instantly dissolved into flecks of light.  Blood started to pour from the hole in Pandora’s knee, but Naomi was prepared.  He quickly wrapped the wound and it took only a minute or so to heal.  When he was done, there wasn’t even a mark where the arrow had been.  Midori felt guilty nonetheless.

“If I train with Naomi,” Midori offered, “will you both promise to stay somewhere safe?  I don’t want any more accidents.”

“That is fine with me,” Daisuke said. “Besides, if you hit Naomi it won’t be an accident.”

“Excuse you!” Naomi stuck out his tongue.

“I believe in you, Midori,” Pandora said with more confidence than anyone should after being shot in the leg.  She and Daisuke retreated out of the room and hid behind the bleachers, where they could peak through with - hopefully - no chance of harm.

When Midori and Naomi were alone, they took a few steps away from each other.

“Okay, don’t hold back,” Midori warned him. “No one to protect but yourself.

Naomi fashioned his ribbons of light into two thin rapiers and ran at Midori, giving her plenty of notice to fire in retaliation.  He didn’t relish killing Midori, but she would only be dead a moment before returning — relatively speaking.  To Midori, she could be gone hours or days or months or years, depending on how she handled her Rebirth lesson.

Midori didn’t fire her arrow.  She let him come down on her, blocking with the edge of her bow before spinning around him.  She figured she would have a better chance at hitting Naomi point blank, but after drawing back her arrow, Naomi was prepared to block.

The arrow disappeared and shot down at Naomi from a different angle, from the ceiling.  Naomi took a step back, barely dodging it.  He looked at Midori with surprise and Midori smiled back, proud of herself.

The arrows couldn’t be predicted or countered, so Naomi knew he’d have to handle them on a case by case basis.  He had to keep his wits about him.  He struck at Midori with one sword, then the other, but Midori deflected both blows with the edge of her bow.  Then Naomi rose his arms above his head and the two swords joined together, melting into a huge claymore of light, which he gripped with both hands and cleaved down on Midori.

She didn’t have time to dodge it and her bow wasn’t at the ready to deflect it.  But the attack didn’t hit her.  She looked up to see Naomi on the other side of the room, looking confused.  Midori drew back the string - not all the way - and ten arrows came out.  They disappeared and rained down on Naomi from all sides.  Or maybe they rained down on the gymnasium itself.  Naomi swung his sword around like a whirlwind and smashed the arrows before they could hit him.

“Huh,” Naomi said in his warm, thoughtful voice. “I should have known you’d be a blinker.” The sword disappeared in his hand and a dozen tiny daggers of light appeared in its place, hovering around Naomi.  He took one and threw it in Midori’s direction, and proceeded to do the same thing with the other eleven.

Midori panicked.  She disappeared again.  And again, and again, and again, and again.  Then she was behind Naomi.  But before she could take a shot, she teleported again.  And again, and again.  Then she was in the air, falling.  Then she was on the bleachers.  Then she was outside.  Then inside.  Then in the air again, though this time she fell ten feet toward the ground.  Midori braced herself for the fall, landing on her shoulder, and groaned.  The broken arrows beneath her disappeared, then all the arrows in the room, then her bow.  She felt sick.

“Ow………”

“Well, that was chaotic.” Naomi approached Midori and smiled down at her.  He dropped a dagger above Midori, which landed sharply in her shoulder.  It almost seemed like a mercy. “A Miko should never allow herself to be defenseless, cherub.”

“Naomi!” Pandora’s voice of protest came from behind the bleachers and she hurried toward the two Miko in the center of the gym. “She’s on the ground, don’t be mean!”

Midori didn’t pull her hair bow, but the outfit vanished around her anyway.  Her shoulder started to bleed.

“It hurts…” Midori whimpered, rolling in place.  Naomi looked uncomfortable, maybe because Midori was bleeding or maybe because she was human again without pulling on the bow.  Naomi reached down and touched the dagger, which turned into a ribbon and wrapped itself around her wound.

“Sorry about that,” Naomi said nervously. “I was trying to help.  I didn’t think you would change back.”

“She’s out of potential,” Pandora sighed, running her hands through Midori’s hair.

“I fell from the ceiling,” Midori reminded them, swirling in a haze of exhaustion.  She felt so tired, and the bandage on her shoulder felt so warm.  It was like a two story fall - it was a miracle her shoulder wasn’t broken.  Or maybe that was a Miko thing.

“I don’t understand your powers at all,” Naomi pouted, pulling on the bow on the front of his uniform.  In a shimmering light, Naomi was a girl again and Daisuke joined them, arming a small circle around Midori

“Your blinking was incredible, Miss Kaneda,” Daisuke told her. “In eighty years, I’ve only seen one other Miko that could blink the way you do, and she had a lot of practice.”

“Blinking?” Midori could hardly keep her eyes open, let alone stand up.  Last time this happened, she felt better after switching to her human form.  Maybe because last time Pandora pulled her ribbon, and this time her Miko form had been broken.

“Blinking is teleporting from one place to another,” Daisuke explained.  Though Midori’s wound seemed to heal just fine, the mental fatigue was a bit longer lasting.

“Some Miko have it as a primary power,” Pandora said. “But yours seems to be… a side effect.”

“So because my arrows teleport, I teleport?” With some effort, Midori managed to sit up.  The gymnasium was spinning around her. “It would be nice if it didn’t drop me from the ceiling…”

“You’ll need to practice, I guess,” Pandora sighed, brushing the hair out of Midori’s face. “You’re such a mess right now, Midori.  But when you’re more refined, you’re going to be so damn powerful…”

It wasn’t the best way to spend a Sunday afternoon, but the four of them were together.  For Midori, company like that was worth all the trouble.

[Ending Song & Credits]

-------------

Cast & Grade:

Midori Kaneda > Second Year

Pandora Novak > Third Year

Kachiko Kazumi > Second Year

Daisuke Hidoki > Second Year

Kuu Shima > Third Year

Naomi Sato > First Year

[Sophie ♥]

Next time on: Maidens of Fate!

*

“I want to be an angel, like you are!” Reko - the young boy that the Miko girls had saved from a Richi the week prior - had taken the train to the station outside Midori’s high school.  He was wearing his boys’ school uniform, his bangs pinned back with a barrette.

*

“Being an angel is very hard work,” Midori said simply. “But you can’t be an angel yet.  When you grow up, if you’ve been very good, you’ll become an angel.  But only if you help people and make everyone’s life better.” And hopefully, Midori thought, by the time he was old enough to realize how silly all this was, the magic of rationalization will run its course.

“But I don’t wanna wait,” Reko whined. “I wanna be an angel now!  Please, please, please let me show you that I’m ready!” He stamped his foot and puffed out his cheeks. “It’s not fair that I have to wait.  I don’t wanna wait!”

*

“A Lay-Miko?” Midori asked.

“It’s like a temporary Miko, who draws on your powers," Pandora said. "Kind of like a side-kick version of you.  They even get a similar outfit.” They could only transform with their Miko’s assistance, and could lose their powers on a Miko’s command.  It was a way for a Miko in danger to empower someone to help them, and the Lay-Miko would inherit a lower level of their power.

“Huh…” Midori paused. “You don’t think…”

*

Episode 8: The Sins of Angels

[Sophie ♥]

Episode 8: The Sins of Angels

“I want to be an angel, like you are!” Reko - the young boy that the Miko girls had saved from a Richi the week prior - had taken the train to the station outside Midori’s high school.  He was wearing his boys’ school uniform, his bangs pinned back with a barrette.

At first, Midori was surprised to see Reko, but his determination caught her off balance.  She looked up at the school on the horizon and checked her cell phone for the time.  She could have a short conversation, to assuage the boy.

“I’m sorry,” Midori said with a fake smile. “I think you were just dreaming.”

“I wasn’t!  I know I wasn’t.  Mom said there aren’t any such things as angels, but my dad said that Miss Fuzzles was taken by angels and she’s happy in the sky now.” 

Miss Fuzzles, evidently, had been the cat that the Richi had killed.  Midori looked uncomfortable.

“So I know you’re an angel and I want to be an angel too… just like you.  Look.” Reko put down his bag and unzipped it, pulling out a girls’ uniform from his school. “I even got an angel outfit.”

Midori sighed and pulled Reko off the path.  What was she supposed to do?

“Okay,” Midori finally admitted. “I am an angel.  You got me.  But we can’t tell anybody.  And I want you to know, that’s not an angel’s uniform.  That’s just a normal uniform.  Angels can wear whatever they want, so don’t dress to copy me.  Actually, you’re more likely to be an angel if you are yourself, not someone else.”

“Oh…” Reko actually looked… disappointed. “Well… well I still want to be an angel.  Okay?  I wanna have wings like Kuu does, and I wanna have a dress like yours.  I wanna help people…” He was clearly confused about this whole thing, like what it was implicitly that the Miko even did.

“Being an angel is very hard work,” Midori said simply. “But you can’t be an angel yet.  When you grow up, if you’ve been very good, you’ll become an angel.  But only if you help people and make everyone’s life better.” And hopefully, Midori thought, by the time he was old enough to realize how silly all this was, the magic of rationalization will run its course.

“But I don’t wanna wait,” Reko whined. “I wanna be an angel now!  Please, please, please let me show you that I’m ready!” He stamped his foot and puffed out his cheeks. “It’s not fair that I have to wait.  I don’t wanna wait!”

Midori took a deep breath and forced a smile.  Already, this boy would be late to school.  She wondered if he would be missed.  Then again, his parents seemed to fight a lot.  Would they even notice a call home?  But Midori was going to be late too, if she kept up this conversation.

“Patience is a very important quality in an angel,” Midori explained. “If you can’t be patient for something, you can’t be an angel.  Understand?”

“Okay…” Reko looked down at his feet as Midori stepped away and made her way to the school.  But a moment later, there was a tug on her sleeve.  She turned around to find Reko at her hip. “I was patient.  Now I wanna be an angel.”

Midori sighed and put her hand on Reko’s head. “Patience takes years, sweetie.  It can take a whole lifetime, even.  But when you become an angel, I promise you’ll look very… uh… pretty.” Was that the right word, Midori wondered.  But it seemed to make Reko’s eyes light up.  He smiled and bounced up and down.

“I can be pretty?  Just like you?  Are all angels as pretty as you are, Midori?” He was giddy, looking down at his bag where the girl’s uniform was tucked away.

“I think so…” Midori thought of herself as the least pretty of the Miko team, so the bar was rather low.  But as she approached the high school entrance, she knew responsibility demanded her attention.  She turned on her heel and walked Reko back to the train station.  It was a ways, but she would only miss part of her first class.

“Do you know where you’re going?” Midori asked him, before helping Reko onto the train.  He nodded. “Two stops, then go right to school.  Understand?” He nodded again. “Do well in school.  Be good.  Be patient.  And always help people in need.  I know you’ll be an angel someday.”

Reko wrapped his arms around Midori and squeezed her tight.  Then the train doors closed and sailed Reko off to school.  Midori checked her phone again and sent a text.

*     *     *

When she finally got to school, Pandora was waiting for Midori at the gate.  They would both be late to class.

“What’s up, Midori?  I got your text.”

“That boy, Reko…” Midori sighed and walked up next to Pandora.  They made their way together into the school. “He’s obsessed with being an angel, or a Miko I guess.  I don’t know.”

“Well that’s kind of cute.” Pandora shrugged, then added: “Entirely impossible, I mean.  Boys can’t be Miko.  I’m sure it’s just a phase and he’ll grow out of it.  Maybe tell him that Miko have to wear dresses and skirts and he’ll give up on the idea.  Boys are easy.”

“I don’t think that will work,” Midori said unevenly, putting her hands in the pockets of her jacket. “He likes that stuff.  Even without his Richi around, he still wears a barrette in his hair.  He lights up when I call him pretty.  I don’t know.  It’s just… I wish there was something I could do to help.”

“He’s your responsibility,” Pandora said simply. “You have to convince him that he can’t be a Miko, even if it means breaking his heart.  He’ll get over it.” Midori and Pandora walked together down the empty school hall.  Both were lost in thought, but over different things.  Midori couldn’t stop thinking about what to do with Reko.

“Hey, um…” Midori paused just outside the classroom door. “What happens if I give my lollipop to someone else?  Obviously they wouldn’t become a Miko, right?  So, is it just a lollipop?” Someone had to have been prompted with the magical lollipops in the past, Midori thought, and she was right.

“They become a Lay-Miko.” The lollipops were not just lollipops. “But you have to give it to them; if they find it on the ground then it’s meaningless.”

“A Lay-Miko?” Midori asked.

“It’s like a temporary Miko, who draws on your powers.  Kind of like a side-kick version of you.  They even get a similar outfit.” They could only transform with their Miko’s assistance, and could lose their powers on a Miko’s command.  It was a way for a Miko in danger to empower someone to help them, and the Lay-Miko would inherit a lower level of their power.

“Huh…” Midori paused. “You don’t think…”

“Don’t think about it,” Pandora said sharply.  She was rarely so direct.

“I don’t know.  Maybe it would give him some perspective…”

“And what if he wants more?”

Midori crossed her arms and looked at her feet.  As much as she hated it, Pandora was right.  Midori couldn’t even control her own powers - how would such a small boy handle them?

“Okay, I won’t do it,” Midori relented.  It was a bad idea.

*     *     *

“It’s not a bad idea,” Daisuke mused.  The two sat beside each other in math class. “It could be a good way to teach him some perspective, Miss Kaneda.”

“He’s like ten years old,” Midori said.  She didn’t like the idea of putting her powers into that boy’s hands any more than she liked putting them in her own.  It wasn’t a good idea.  She knew that!  Everyone knew that.  But she still wanted to help… 

“Hey Daisuke… Kachiko said you have been a Miko for a long time, right?  Have you ever seen this happen before?  The Lay-Miko thing?”

“Oh yeah, many times.  For this kind of thing, too.  I had a girl… let’s see, she must have been about eight years old.  Her mom was a revolutionist, and her Dad was fighting communists, and she wanted to feel like she had the power to do things.  I made her my Lay-Miko and she helped me with a Richi.  Truth be told, fighting Richi without a form is quite difficult.  I rely on others a lot, and others aren’t always available.  But the girl was able to feel important for a day, and afterward went back to her normal life.”

“That’s pretty cool.” Midori wondered about Daisuke’s past.  If she had really been a Miko for so long, and she couldn’t fight alone, it must have made her life difficult.  But there was a more pressing question. “Can Lay-Miko die?”

“Their deaths are similar to ours.  If your Lay-Miko dies, you do as well.  You both venture through your Shrine of Rebirth together, and when you come back they lose their memories of you and everything about the Miko.  They cannot become a Lay-Miko again, either.  Once one is chosen, they are bound until their Miko releases them.” Daisuke shrugged her shoulders. “All in all, their deaths are inconvenient.  But it is no big deal.”

“No big deal,” Midori repeated.

*     *     *

Midori was lying in the grass just inside the gates to the high school.  Classes just let out, but Midori didn’t go to the music club.  She had a lot to think about.  Pandora and Kachiko were probably looking for her.  That’s when Reko showed up, standing above Midori.

“Hi.”

“You should be in school,” Midori sighed.  Middle school still had another hour in session.

“Do angels even have to go to school?” Reko pouted and sat in the grass beside Midori. “I asked my teacher, but she told me if I asked questions like that I’d get in trouble.  I didn’t want to get in trouble, so…”

“You can’t talk about angels that way, Reko,” Midori sighed.  She was sure she warned him about that. “How am I supposed to trust you if you can’t keep secrets?” Reko bit his lip and Midori felt a bit guilty.  Maybe she did have a commitment problem, putting so much trust in this boy.

“I’m sorry.  I was a bit curious, is all.” Reko readjusted his barrette using a mirror from his bag. “Mom and Dad fight a lot.  About me, I think.  So I can’t really ask questions to anybody but my teachers…”

“You can ask me questions,” Midori sighed. “Anyway, teachers won’t know anything about angels…” Midori sat up on the lawn and looked at Reko. 

“I’m a type of angel called a Miko.  Miko can only be girls.” Reko looked crestfallen and Midori pulled her knees to her chest. “Does that bother you?”

“It means I can’t be one,” Reko acknowledged, pulling his knees to his chest in an attempt to mirror her actions.  Then he put his head on top of them and rubbed his eyes on the fabric of his pants. “It’s not fair… it’s not.  I wanna be an angel too, a pretty Miko angel like you…”

Midori was lying.  She knew she was lying.  Even if boys couldn’t be selected to be Miko, it didn’t mean Miko had to be girls; that much was proven with Naomi.  So if a Miko gave a boy her lollipop, why would it differentiate by gender?  It was the Miko’s choice.

“But,” Midori smiled, “you can be a Lay-Miko if you want.  It’s like a Miko, but a sidekick.  And a Miko has to sponsor you.”

Reko’s eyes went as wide as dinner plates and as shiny as marbles.  He looked up at Midori with the kind of excitement reserved for a kid on Christmas morning.

“I can?  I can be a Lay-Miko?  Do I get to be pretty like you, Mi-chan?  Would you sponsor me?” His cheeks were rosy as he asked, but his excitement was no less pronounced.

“You’ll wear an outfit similar to mine, I think,” Midori said. “I’m new at this.  I’ve only been a Miko for like… six days.” Had it only been six days, Midori wondered.

“Anyway, there’s a lot of rules.  A lot of things you need to know.  You can’t just write them off.  You have to work hard, and you have to fight with us - me and Kuu and the others.  And if you tell anyone, you’ll never be able to be a Miko again.”

“Uhhuh uhhuh uhhuh!” Reko pulled at the fabric of his pants with anxious delight. “What do I do now, to become your sidekick?  Can I do it now?  I wanna do it now.”

“It will give you weird powers,” Midori explained. “Powers you probably can’t control.  So it might be best if we, uh… talk to other people first.  The other Miko.  So they can keep you safe while you practice.” The gym probably wouldn’t work on a school day, but they could use the clearing.  Midori got up off the grass and led the boy into the school, to the third floor.

*     *     *

“There’s a boy here.”

“You mean another boy, right Naomi?” Pandora asked with a chuckle.

“Don’t be mean!” Kachiko stood up and approached the boy, barely having to kneel down to stand at his height. “Hi Reko.”

“I hope you’ve brought him here to see our musical instruments,” Kuu said sharply, glaring at Midori.

“I want to make him a Lay-Miko.” Midori mustered all the confidence she could and crossed her arms.  Pandora rolled her eyes and put her head down on her arms.  Clearly she wasn’t coming to Midori’s aid.  “Where’s Daisuke?” The one person who as on Midori’s side wasn’t even around.

“You told him what that means, haven’t you?” Kuu steadied herself against the table. “He’ll become a girl.”

“Oh!” Kachiko interrupted. “We can do his hair!”

“Kachiko, this isn’t a joke,” Pandora muttered.

“I told him he would be in my clothes,” Midori answered. “Are you okay with that, Reko?” He nodded his head. “Even though you’ll be in a dress?” He nodded again, so Midori shrugged. “See?”

“What did I miss?” Daisuke walked in, setting her bag down on the chair. “Oh, you must be Reko.  I’m Daisuke.” It seemed even Daisuke had limits to her formalities.

“This is a bad idea,” Pandora sighed.

“I think this is a wonderful idea,” Daisuke said with a smile, ignoring the eyes of the skeptics in the room. “Raise your hand if you’ve taken a Lay-Miko before.” 

Daisuke’s hand went up.  Then Kachiko’s.  No one else.

“Notice how everyone who is whining has never done it before?” Daisuke asked.

“It’ll be fun,” Kachiko said excitedly. “It’s just like having a pet!”

“I don’t think he wants to hear that,” Pandora said.

“I don’t see the problem if it makes him feel better,” Midori chimed in.

“And we’ll have two liabilities,” Naomi said harshly.  Midori knew she was right, but she wouldn’t admit it.

“I think this is what the tiger was talking about,” Pandora sighed. “You have a problem with commitment.

“Well if I didn’t put my faith in anyone, I wouldn’t be here, would I?” Everyone knew Midori was right, but it was Reko who spoke up.

“I want to,” he said. “I want to help.  I want to save people.  And I want to be pretty.”

“You’re going to be so pretty,” Daisuke reassured him. “Isn’t that right, Kachiko?”

“Uh huh!  The prettiest boy that there ever was, in fact.”

After that, no one else had anything bad to say.  Maybe it was seeing how openly Reko wanted this, or maybe it was Daisuke’s input.

“I thought we could do it in the clearing,” Midori said tentatively. “He can have some practice before he goes home.”

Only Daisuke, Kachiko, and Pandora joined Midori and Reko in the clearing.  Naomi and Kuu made quiet excuses not to come along, and Pandora only agreed to assess the influence he would have on Midori’s potential.

“Where do I get my uniform?” Reko asked, once the five of them were alone in the clearing.

“It’ll happen on its own,” Kachiko said happily. “Just like magic.”

Midori took the lollipop out of her pocket and looked up at Daisuke.

“You eat it like normal,” Daisuke explained. “Then you’ll find a second one in your pocket.  That’s the one you pass on.”

Midori nodded her head and popped the lollipop in her mouth.  A second later, the dress flittered down around her she looked down at the vest.  Reko watched on in awe.

“That’s so cool!” Reko bounced up and down on the balls of his feet.  He looked around at the girls, expecting them to be just as impressed, but it was like they had seen it a hundred times before — probably because they had. “Your dress is so pretty, Midori!”

“Oh, he’s so cute,” Kachiko cooed.

“He has no idea what he’s in for,” Pandora sighed.

Midori looked down at the boy, with his bright eyes, then up at the three girls in the clearing.  Suddenly, unexpectedly, Midori’s certainty was wavering.

“I’m not so sure this is a good idea anymore,” she said.

“It was your idea,” Daisuke reminded her.

“Well, I know!  But it’s… he’s a kid.  And this is dangerous stuff.  And he could blab to anybody about it, or get himself hurt.  It’s not smart to trust a kid like that.”

Reko held out his hands and puffed out his cheeks. “I want my lollipop now.  Please?” It was about the most assertive the boy could be.  He was always wavering in his tones, full of self doubt and caution.  But in that moment, right there, he sounded more sure of himself than ever.

“He’ll be fine,” Daisuke encouraged. “Nothing bad can happen to him.”

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea, okay?” Midori said, a little irritation in her tone. “We’re in enough jeopardy with me and we want to toss another me into the mix?  And I don’t even know Reko.  What about his parents?  He can’t come hunting with us at night.  So no, I’m not.  I’m not doing it!”

Everyone was speechless, no more than Pandora.  She gawked at Midori.  But it was Pandora who found her words first.

“No way!  You’re only changing your mind now because you’re in Miko form and you don’t know how to control your powers!  Well newsflash.  Maybe teaching this kid how to control his might give you some kind of clue on how to do it yourself!”

Midori blinked in surprise, looking up at Pandora. Then she steeled herself.

“I didn’t ask for your advice…” Midori faltered.  Was it really her Miko form?  Was that why her mind changed so suddenly? “It’s just… I’m not going to be responsible for him.”

“You think we’re going to be able to trust you to look out for the rest of us if you can’t even look out for the safety of one person?” Pandora shouted. “You need to learn to control your… your flippancy.  And this is a good place to start.  Now give him the damn lollipop!”

Midori’s cheeks went pink: something between embarrassment and frustration.  So she yelled at Pandora.

“You don’t have to trust me, ‘cause I don’t trust any of you anyway!”

Reko sat down in the clearing during all the yelling and pulled his knees up to his chest.  Daisuke watched with a little annoyance before interrupting.

“Are we doing this or not?  Because it’s rude to bring Reko out here with promises and then to go back on them.”

“I’m not responsible for him,” Midori muttered, walking past the girls and into the trees, back toward the school.

[Ending Song & Credits]

-------------

Cast & Favorite Season:

Midori Kaneda > Autumn, for the weather

Pandora Novak > Winter, for the school uniforms

Kachiko Kazumi > Summer, for summer vacation

Daisuke Hidoki > Summer, for the festivals

Kuu Shima > Spring, for the cherry blossoms

Naomi Sato > Winter, for the hot springs

[kerry]

?  I feel so bad for Reko right now. 

[Sarah Penguin]

Reko just wants to help and be pretty.  Poor kid.

[Sophie ♥]

Next time on: Maidens of Fate!

*

“Ugh!” Kachiko stamped her foot into the grass. “You can’t get by only thinking about yourself!  You think Dai would be so wise if she didn’t spend the past eighty years helping others and listening to them?  You don’t get smart by being dumb!”

“Like you’re one to talk!” Midori turned on her heel and walked off.

*

Midori walked toward the school, lost in her own head.  She walked for a minute, and then ten, and then half an hour.  Then she paused.  She should have reached the school by now.  The woods weren’t this big…

“You can’t be trusted around people…” The voice was unrelentingly familiar.

*

She rubbed her eyes and reached for the lollipop in her pocket.  But just as she pulled it out, the shadows flicked it away.  It landed beside her in the grass.

“Don’t do it, Midori,” Nari urged. “They poison you against me with candy and toys, like dangling a rattle in front of a baby.  They try to erase you, to make you their puppet.  You don’t feel like yourself, do you?  You’re my friend.  I don’t want to see them do this to you.  Please, trust me…”

Midori remembered what happened earlier.  She hurt that boy.  She hurt those girls, her friends.  It was the lollipop’s fault.  Miko’s fault.  She would never do that.  She was caring and compassionate and she would never!  But then she put that lollipop in her mouth and she was so awful.  Midori’s hands slid off her lap and her eyes grew heavier and heavier.

*

Episode 9: Under Temptress & Tempest

[Scarlet]

Poor Reko, Midori really messed up with this.

 

Normally I'd be against it, but given the nature of Miko existence and their relationship to death. I think that this is a good solution especially given the "failsafes" that are in place upon Lay-Miko death. Thus the risks are mitigated enough for this solution to be viable. Although death is still death even if Miko and Lay-Miko don't stay dead.

So, I can imagine that it would till have an impact on your psyche.

 

 

 

If I remember correctly, Miko form does have a small effect on personality, right?

 

 

On 7/8/2020 at 12:03 AM, Sophie ♥ said:

“Their deaths are similar to ours.  If your Lay-Miko dies, you do as well.  You both venture through your Shrine of Rebirth together, and when you come back they lose their memories of you and everything about the Miko.  They cannot become a Lay-Miko again, either.  Once one is chosen, they are bound until their Miko releases them.”

This part does confuse me a bit though. Does this mean that upon their First Death, the Lay-Miko pact is broken? So, it's either until they're released or they die for the first time? Or did I misunderstand that?

[Sophie ♥]

On 7/11/2020 at 10:43 AM, Scarlet said:

If I remember correctly, Miko form does have a small effect on personality, right?

It hasn't been explored too deeply yet, but yes.

On 7/11/2020 at 10:43 AM, Scarlet said:

This part does confuse me a bit though. Does this mean that upon their First Death, the Lay-Miko pact is broken? So, it's either until they're released or they die for the first time? Or did I misunderstand that?

You understood that perfectly!  Sorry if the wording wasn't precise. >_<

[Sophie ♥]

Episode 9: Under Temptress & Tempest

Midori wasn’t going to be bullied into making some kid her responsibility.  He was just a boy - he didn’t deserve this.  And why should she get stuck with him?  But her thoughts were interrupted when Kachiko came out of the woods, following behind Midori in a huff.

“That was mean and you know it!” Her tone wasn’t her usual ditzy self either; she was much more astute. “I know you’re having trouble with your powers Miri, but this could be good for you.  Dai learned to use her powers by taking on a Lay-Miko too.”

“I don’t care if it’s mean,” Midori shot back.

“You’re supposed to be our leader someday.”

“Well I didn’t ask for that either!  I’m not in charge of anyone but myself.  Figure things out on your own.”

“Ugh!” Kachiko stamped her foot into the grass. “You can’t get by only thinking about yourself!  You think Dai would be so wise if she didn’t spend the past eighty years helping others and listening to them?  You don’t get smart by being dumb!”

“Like you’re one to talk!” Midori turned on her heel and walked off.

She hadn’t meant to say that.  She didn’t want to be mean.  But the other Miko didn’t understand.  Midori pulled the hair bow and her magical girl form dissolved.  Fresh tears appeared in her eyes.

“They don’t get it,” she muttered to herself. “I’m not good at anything.  I never was.  And now I can’t even keep my powers under control.  I wanted to help Reko, I did.  He kept coming up to me and asking for help and I had the opportunity.” But until she changed forms, Midori hadn’t realized… like a flick of a switch.  She wouldn’t help.  She would just get him hurt.  That’s all she was good for.  Why was she even a member of this team?

Midori walked toward the school, lost in her own head.  She walked for a minute, and then ten, and then half an hour.  Then she paused.  She should have reached the school by now.  The woods weren’t this big…

“You can’t be trusted around people…” The voice was unrelentingly familiar.

“Shut up,” Midori shouted back. “You don’t know anything!”  It was dark out, darker than it should have been.  But Nari’s voice seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere all at once.  When she was a doll, her voice had direction.  But this was… different.

“You were so much better off when you didn’t try to help.  Everyone was.  They don’t get you, Midori.  Not like I do.  I understand you.  I never wanted to change you.  And I forgive you for hurting me, for betraying me.  I still love you… don’t you love me?”

Midori shook her head.  Her pace through the woods began to slow.  Everything felt heavy - really heavy - like that time she was in her house with Naomi.  She took another step and stumbled, almost falling to the grass.  She felt sick.

“Stop it…”

“They’ll never accept who you are.  They don’t even know, Midori.  They didn’t grow up with you.  They don’t understand the things that are hard for you…”

The voice seemed to be closing in on her, surrounding her on all sides.  Midori’s heart was aching.  Not racing, not full of adrenaline and fear and anxiety.  It was hurt and heavy and weak.

“I understand you,” Nari went on. “I love you.  They’ll never forgive you, but I forgive you.  I just want us to be friends again… best friends again.”

With another step, Midori stumbled to the ground, bracing herself with her arms outstretched.  Her head swirled with Nari’s voice, like it was inside her.  Midori managed to pull herself to a tree, pressing her back to it.  Black clouds swirled around her.  

When did those happen? she thought to herself.  She rubbed her eyes and reached for the lollipop in her pocket.  But just as she pulled it out, the shadows flicked it away.  It landed beside her in the grass.

“Don’t do it, Midori,” Nari urged. “They poison you against me with candy and toys, like dangling a rattle in front of a baby.  They try to erase you, to make you their puppet.  You don’t feel like yourself, do you?  You’re my friend.  I don’t want to see them do this to you.  Please, trust me…”

Midori remembered what happened earlier.  She hurt that boy.  She hurt those girls, her friends.  It was the lollipop’s fault.  Miko’s fault.  She would never do that.  She was caring and compassionate and she would never!  But then she put that lollipop in her mouth and she was so awful.  Midori’s hands slid off her lap and her eyes grew heavier and heavier.

“Midori, don’t listen!” Another familiar voice, but not at all.  Like hearing Naomi talk in her Miko uniform, but it wasn’t Naomi.  It sounded like Reko, but airier, wispier, and equally as ethereal as Nari’s voice. “It’s trying to confuse you.  You make mistakes, and that’s okay.  Your friends will forgive you.  They won’t make you feel bad.”

Midori’s eyes blinked open slowly, seeing nothing but the darkness around her.  Everything felt sick, like she was in a carnival ride.  This was exactly how Midori imagined dying before she knew what dying was actually like.  She looked around the blackness, trying to find something… anything…

Reko appeared before her, wearing a white dress that flowed down to his ankles, a large bow across his chest, and his hair up in pigtails.  He floated through the shroud until his soft hands - nails painted blue - took Midori’s.

“It’s okay,” Reko said quietly. “I know why you were scared.  You didn’t want me to get hurt, and you didn’t trust yourself.” 

“Reko…” Midori winced, looking around the forest.  The boy - or rather, girl now - held her hand, but she was still struggling to stay conscious.  Reko looked so serene as she guided Midori’s hand.  The weight of the shadows disappeared and Midori felt like she could move it.

“You might not trust yourself,” Reko said, “but we all have enough trust in you to make up for it.  You just need to trust us.”

“She’s hurting me, Midori!  That girl, she’s trying to push us apart!”

The lollipop glowed in Midori’s hands.  The smoke still swirled around her, but she could see through it.  She had a choice to make.  The voice in her head, or the girl in front of her.  But now that she had a moment to think, the choice wasn’t all that hard to make.  She did something bad to Reko and she had to make up for it.

Midori put the lollipop in her mouth and the shadows parted.  She grabbed Reko by the hand and pulled her through the dark fog, out of the forest and onto the school grounds.  She turned around to watch the smoke disappear.

“Thanks,” Midori said with a smile, looking down at Reko.  She sure looked different, but undeniably cute.  Her dress was flouncy and puffy, a soft white, or a very light blue… it was hard to tell in the evening light.  And her whole body had a strange ethereal glow to it, like she wasn’t really there.  Was Midori imagining her?

“Miss Panda gave me one of her lollipops,” Reko explained. “She said I couldn’t fight, but I could help… and I like to help.” Which gave an insight into what Pandora’s support-like powers were.

“Pandora gave you her lollipop?” Midori asked.  Reko was Pandora’s responsibility now.  And Pandora had been so against it…

“She did.  She said you might actually listen to me when I try to help.” Reko laughed, which chimed like jingling fairy bells. “Everyone knew you’d be in trouble, ‘cause of how you were acting.”

“They were worried about me?  Even after how awful I was?” But before Midori had time to be touched by her friends’ compassion, a dark cloud swirled overhead.  Something was coming.  But for something to attack a Miko, rather than the other way around… only one thing would dare.

“It’s your doll,” Reko said nervously.  The darkness swirled and coalesced, blotting out the sun.  The lamplights on the school grounds came on automatically.  Then the ground began to tremble, like footsteps.

“Then we’ll kill it,” Midori said simply, her cherrywood bow appearing in her hand.  Darkness spread across the sky, shrouding the school in an eerie mist.  The wind picked up and some of the clouds began to form a funnel.  The swirling shadows crashed down into the soccer field and tore up one of the lamplights.  In the distance, storm-warning sirens blared.

Midori drew an arrow from her bow and let it loose at the massive pillar of shadows.  It didn’t teleport.  It flew straight, and then gravity pulled it to the ground.  The tornado spun closer to Midori, ripping up the school’s chain link fence and throwing shrapnel at the two Miko.  

Before Midori could do anything, Reko was in front of her and a bubble of translucent white energy appeared around them.  The broken fence bounced off it and collided with the side of the school, breaking a hole in the bricks.

“Thanks,” Midori shouted to Reko over the wind.  Without her, Midori wasn’t sure if she could have taken a hit like that.  Truthfully, Reko was proving herself indispensable. “It’s dangerous out here… we have to get some cover.”

“Inside?” Reko asked, looking a little winded from the blow.  But she sure knew how to keep her spirits up.  Midori looked at the hole in the wall and then at the massive tornado.

“If the school comes down, we won’t have an escape.” Midori had to think of something better, something less dangerous.  If Reko died, she would go through the pagoda.  But then she would lose her memories.  Midori didn’t want that.

Another tornado formed above Midori and crashed just beside her, and with a half-step backward Midori teleported about fifteen feet away.  More interestingly, Reko seemed to be pulled along with her.  Midori drew her bow and let loose ten arrows in one shot.  A few of them hit nearby trees, two hit the school, but a handful shot into the tornado and exploded into lightning, like a storm was raging inside them.

“Woah,” Reko said in awe, still getting her bearings after the teleport. “I didn’t know you could do that!”

“It doesn’t seem to be weakening it,” Midori shouted.  A crack split open the ground at their feet and Midori blinked out of danger.  At least that part of her powers seemed to be working.

“Maybe it has a weak point?” Reko offered, watching a third tornado crash down across the schoolyard.  Midori looked up at the cloud above, where the three columns of darkness came from.

“Up there.” If the pillars were its legs, then that would be the body.  A vast, shadowy cloud, hovering like a space ship over the school.  Midori drew her bow, but a gust of wind knocked her off her feet and threw her into the wall of the school.  But rather than slamming into the bricks, she landed softly on another white barrier.  Reko stood beside her.

“We should get to the roof,” Reko said, pointing high above them. “Teleport us up there.”

“I don’t know how,” Midori admitted, getting her footing.

“Try.”

With a sigh, Midori tried.  She stared at the roof and imagined herself up there.  She had to get up there.  She had to keep Reko safe.  And suddenly, she and Reko teleported into midair.  Reko reached out and grabbed Midori’s wrist and the two teleported again, tumbling onto the roof.  But Midori knew the second one wasn’t her doing.

“You can teleport me?” Midori asked, catching her breath.

“Sort of.  I can guide you, I think?”

“Well… that’s good to know, I guess.” On the roof, it was quieter.  No debris slamming into things.  No dirt ripped up from the schoolyard.  Midori had a moment of calm.  She pulled back her bow and aimed at the sky, but the arrow landed somewhere in the street.

“Sorry,” Midori said shyly. “I’m new at this.”

“It’s okay.  Me too.” Reko didn’t sound scared, but she sure seemed exhausted. “Try again, okay?  I know you can do it.”

“You can’t.  You couldn’t even hit a ball when your mom took you to softball.”

“Don’t listen to it,” Reko interrupted. “It’s just a mean little doll.”

“You can hear Nari, huh?”

“When I’m close to you,” Reko said. “And I know she’s wrong.  You can do anything.  You teleported us out of the way of that tornado.  You got us on the roof.  You beat Nari once.  You can do it again.”

Midori nodded quietly and pulled back her bow.  An arrow formed.  Just one.  That’s all she needed.  She could do this.  Reko stood beside her and rested her hand on Midori’s arm, and another on her back.  Like she was guiding her.

Midori exhaled and loosed the arrow.  It disappeared.  Then a minute later, in a flash of light, it struck the sky high above them.  A shimmer of light poured from it and the clouds began to part.  The wind stopped.  The columns of shadows faded.  Evening light filled the schoolyard.  The parking lot was littered with debris and the soccer field was destroyed.  The sirens continued to blare in the distance, and Midori looked down at it all from above.

“Amazing!  You did amazing.” Reko sounded so happy, a far cry from the somber, quiet, nervous tones the boy was usually known for.  Midori slid to the rooftop with a sigh of relief.

“I should have turned you into a Lay-Miko,” Midori admitted. “I’m sorry I didn’t.  You were great.” Aside from saving Midori’s life, Reko’s cheerleading was… more helpful than Midori could put into words.  It was so easy to give up, and Reko made it difficult. “I made a huge mistake.”

“It’s okay.  I forgive you.  Maybe I can be even more useful this way?” Reko sounded so exhausted, but her voice was still bright with excitement. “You’ll always be my favorite angel, because nobody else wanted to give me a chance.”

Midori pulled the ribbon from her hair and her Miko form faded away.  Likewise, Reko’s white dress was replaced with his schoolboy uniform.  Midori pulled herself to her feet and held Reko’s hand, leading him down the stairs and toward the music room.

It was empty, unsurprisingly.  Nari wouldn’t attack if there were more girls here.  Midori decided to take Reko home herself before heading back to her own house.

Midori almost fell asleep on the train home.  Kachiko said Miko don’t have to sleep, but she couldn’t imagine staying awake much longer.  But when she finally got to her house - an hour later - Pandora was waiting outside her front gate.

“We should talk…”

Midori nodded and took a seat next to her.  If she went inside, she would go to her room.  If she went to her room, she’d go to sleep.  No, the conversation was better to have outside.

“Is everyone okay?” Midori asked. “Kuu and Naomi weren’t in the music room…”

“They left just after we did,” Pandora encouraged. “Everyone is fine.  And Reko?”

“I took him home.  He’s tired.”

Pandora nodded.  

“I’m sorry about what I said,” Midori began. “About how I acted.  You were right.  I should have given him a chance.”

“It’s your loss.” Pandora shrugged it off, but it was clear she was a little unhappy with the whole situation. “I know you’re still sorting yourself out right now.  I just wish I could help more…”

There was a long pause before Midori asked the question she had been wondering the whole trip home: “Why did you do it?  Why make him a Lay-Miko?”

“Because I didn’t want the others to lose any respect for you.  I didn’t want you to look bad.” Pandora wouldn’t have been able to explain this if any of the other girls were there.  She was glad she came alone.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Midori said quietly, looking into her lap.

“You’re new to the group.  You doubt yourself so much as it is.  I wanted everyone to see you made a good decision, so that you’d know how much everyone respects you.  And we do.  Even Naomi.  She thinks your powers are crazy intense.” Not that intense was always a good thing.

“You know,” Pandora said in a lighter tone, much more like herself, “if Reko were your Lay-Miko you could fight alongside him.  But because he’s mine, you two can fight as one.  So that’s cool.”

“True.” Midori kicked her feet against the wall and Pandora put her arm around Midori’s shoulder.  If Midori let her head rest on Pandora, she would likely fall asleep.

“I knew when the sirens started that something was wrong.  Maybe it was one of my powers kicking in, but I knew it was a Richi.”

“It was Nari.”

“Then she found a new host…” A Richi’s powers weren’t always predictable, but they were useless without a form.  If Nari created a storm like that, then she had to have found a new vessel.

“Can we find her?  Can we track it?”  But Pandora shook her head.

“Not until a Missive arrives… Kuu thinks your Richi has more power over you than expected. That it’s not safe.”

“Maybe she’s right,” Midori muttered. “I thought I was in the control.  I thought I was safe.  But the moment she spoke, all those doubts returned to me.  I felt like that weak, useless six year old girl all over again.  To stop a Richi, I have to be confident, right?  Sometimes I feel confident.  But sometimes I just feel like I’m pretending…”

“Your Miko form should help, right?  Your problem is commitment.  So you aren’t as susceptible to her.”

There was a lot of truth in Pandora’s words.  The moment she put that lollipop between her lips, Nari didn’t have any sway over her.  But there was a bigger problem.

“I don’t trust any of you either,” Midori sighed.

“Nari had ten years to break you down and leave you with no option but to trust her.” Pandora used Nari’s pronoun as a courtesy to Midori. “We’ve only just met, but we will earn your trust in other ways.  Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m scared,” Midori admittedly, shrugging off Pandora’s arm with a false smile. “I really am…”

“We’ll figure it out together,” Pandora promised. “For now, we just have to keep pushing forward.”

Midori nodded her head and said her goodbyes.  They would see each other again the next day.  Until then, Midori had a lot to think about.

Pandora was right about Midori’s Miko form.  She had no allegiances.  She didn’t pick a side.  It was the same as Human Midori, but on the other end of the spectrum.  The difference was, for all the problems it caused, Midori liked her compassion and her kindness.  They were characteristics that made her who she was.  Miko Midori felt wrong.  Miko Midori hurt people she cared about.  Miko Midori broke promises she made.  How could she go on being a version of herself she didn’t like?

[Ending Song & Credits]

-------------

Cast & Miko Form:

Midori Kaneda > Sky blue dress, fluffed out skirt, puffy sleeves, white petticoats, black vest, a blue hairbow tied on the top of her head

Pandora Novak > Flowing white gown, a light blue bow on the chest

Kachiko Kazumi > Sailor uniform, long grey skirt, hair pinned up, glasses, and a yellow bow tucked under her collar

Daisuke Hidoki > Variable

Kuu Shima > Junior girl's uniform, suspender skirt, green glittery trim, large white wings from her back, green bow under her collar

Naomi Sato > Junior boy's uniform, shorts, dark blue bow under a round collar

[Sarah Penguin]

[Sophie ♥]

Next time on: Maidens of Fate!

*

“You are released when the Missive decides,” Daisuke said. “You have a mission, whether you know it or not.  Something you do is important, and the Missive can’t let you go until you fulfill your purpose.”

“But you don’t even know what the Missive is,” Midori snapped back.

“We know it keeps people safe, Miss Kaneda.  And we all made our choice to be here.”

*

“I hate it.  There’s so much pressure with this leadership thing.  And my Miko form is so…” Midori shook her head. “Why can’t we just be school friends, like normal people?”

“Even when you’re not in Miko form, you’re still a Miko nonetheless.  You don’t age.  You can’t die.  You see someone who is depressed or antisocial and you wonder.  There’s a reason we gather in groups.  Sometimes you need people that understand.”

“I never got the chance to be normal, Pandora.  I had Nari since I was six years old.  And now I have to fulfill some magical destiny ordained by tiny envelopes.  When do I get to live my life?  When do I get to be the person I want to be?”

*

Halfway through class, Midori was distracted by a tapping sound.  She pulled her attention away from the front of the class and found Reina tapping the eraser of her pencil against her desk.  Reina glanced at Midori and held up a little slip of paper.

Midori wasn’t used to getting notes.  Was she supposed to reach across the aisle and take it?  But when the teacher turned her back, Reina tossed it onto Midori’s desk with expert precision.  She unfolded it.

Busy later?

*

Episode 10: Imitation Fate

[Sarah Penguin]

[Sophie ♥]

Episode 10: Imitation Fate

“Most Miko are done before seven years,” Pandora established to Midori.  All the girls had assembled in the music room before classes to discuss what happened the day before.

“Though Kachiko and Daisuke have been Miko much longer,” Kuu said.

“They’re the exceptions that prove the rule!”

“That makes no sense,” Kuu sighed. “They’re discounted outliers.”

“Seven years?” Midori asked, just to make sure.  Suddenly, she didn’t feel so well.  Maybe it was the omelette her mother made her for breakfast.  Maybe it was the principle of being bound to serve a mythical postal service for almost a decade.

“The average is four years, Miss Kaneda.” Daisuke’s power over emotions began to calm the nerves of the newest Miko. “I’ve seen some only last six months.  Kachiko and I are unusual.”

“How long have you two been Miko?” Midori asked, turning from Daisuke to Kachiko.

“Um.  Twenty-nine years?” Kachiko tilted her head. “Maybe thirty…”

“Seventy-eight,” Daisuke said plainly.

“Seventy-eight years?” Midori quietly played with her fingers beneath the table.  She felt like she was going to throw up.

“Are you alright, Midori?” Pandora asked nervously.

“Yeah, just… I don’t know.  I thought it would be less time.  A couple years.  Or something.” Would Midori go eighty years without aging?  Even seven years was risky.  She would be a twenty-three year old in the body of a sixteen year old.  There was no way it would go unnoticed.  But by the looks of things, Kachiko was still in middle school when she stopped aging.

“You are released when the Missive decides,” Daisuke said. “You have a mission, whether you know it or not.  Something you do is important, and the Missive can’t let you go until you fulfill your purpose.”

“But you don’t even know what the Missive is,” Midori snapped back.

“We know it keeps people safe, Miss Kaneda.  And we all made our choice to be here.”

“You wanted to keep yourself safe, didn’t you?” Kuu asked. “Now you have a form that can ignore your Richi’s manipulations.  You have the power to drive it away if it goes after your mom.  You got what you wanted.”

“And you get to look young and adorable, as a perk,” Pandora added with levity.  The mood was dour.

“Right…” Midori sighed and drew lines on the table.  Pandora and Kuu were already two years in and they didn’t have missives for release.  Naomi was on her fourth year.  Then there were the… outliers.  Midori pulled her hands over her head.

“You shouldn’t think about it as a trip to get to a destination,” Kuu said, shrugging her shoulders. “It’s like being at school; you don’t count every day until the end.  You go, knowing one day it will be over, and you enjoy it while it lasts.”

Kuu was right.  Midori had gotten into this gig for this very perk.  No aging for seven years meant no dying for seven years.  She could get glasses after she graduated high school and let her hair grow out.  She could dress in more adult clothing.  Her mom wouldn’t notice.  Not for seven years.  Midori’s concern was over Daisuke, who had been alive for almost a century.

“Do you think you’ll ever get your release Missive?” Midori asked Daisuke.

“Heck if I know.”

“Maybe it got lost?” Midori suggested.  But she knew that couldn’t happen.  Missives didn’t get lost.

“Most people figure I stashed my Missive away and chose not to be released,” Daisuke said. “After all, being a teenager in this day and age is much better than the 1940s.  But if I did have my Missive, I’d accept it in a heartbeat.” There was a point where the novelty wore off.

“You can do that?” Midori asked. “Just hold onto it?”

“I’ve met a couple of girls who wait, usually the ones that get their Missives early on.  They feel there’s no reason to use it until they are ready.”

“A release Missive is just an offer,” Kuu explained. “You don’t ever have to take it.”

“I could be a Miko forever,” Pandora said brightly. “In a thousand years, I could recount the history of mankind to new Miko.  Wouldn’t that be awesome?”

“What about your parents?” Midori asked.  Pandora - like Kuu, Naomi, and herself - had at least one parent alive.  In Pandora’s case, she had both.  Naomi had two older siblings and Kuu lived with her dad. 

“I haven’t thought about it, really.” Pandora shrugged. “In a few years I’ll move overseas and tell them I need to find myself.  I’ll join a Miko group elsewhere.  Perpetually in high-school, like Daisuke.”

“I had to transfer to a different school,” Naomi spoke up for the first time that day. “I graduated from high school once already, moved across town on my own, and started here as a First Year.”

“I hope I’m released by the end of high school,” Midori sighed.  She might not take it, not right away, but the option would be nice to have.  Of course, the end of high school was almost two years away.  She had time.

Naomi went home early and Pandora went to scout the school grounds for any lingering signs of Nari.  Kachiko and Daisuke headed home for dinner, leaving Kuu and Midori alone in the club room.

“How have you been feeling?” Kuu asked.  She had chosen to stay behind for a few reasons, but talking to Midori was the most important.  The night before had been unexpected. 

“Are you concerned?” Midori asked flatly, but she already knew the answer.  Kuu was a calculating girl, but she wasn’t subtle.  She had her priorities and she stuck to them.  

“Bluntly speaking, you are more powerful than the rest of us.  And you have a soft spot for your Richi.  The Missive said you were supposed to lead us.  But how are we supposed to rally behind you if you wouldn’t rally for us?”

“I don’t want you to rally for me,” Midori said sharply, sitting upright in her chair. “You’re my friends.  That doesn’t mean I’m responsible for you, but it means something.  That’s why I’m here.”

“I believe we’re friends with your human form,” Kuu said coldly.  Midori stared at her for a long minute, then got up from her chair and left the music room.

*     *     *

The next day, Midori met Pandora for lunch.  She had been up all night thinking about Kuu’s words, so much so that she hadn’t slept.  Oddly enough, she wasn’t tired.  Maybe Kachiko was right about not needing to sleep.

“Some people look for a bigger meaning to things,” Pandora told Midori, sipping her juice box. “Ever since Kuu became a Miko, she’s been something of a leader.  She organizes the hunts.  She assembles the teams.  She plans everything in advance.  That’s her weakness - she needs to be in control of everything.  Then you come along and the Missive says you’re our leader.  She’s trying to fit you into the equation.”

“I hate it.  There’s so much pressure with this leadership thing.  And my Miko form is so…” Midori shook her head. “Why can’t we just be school friends, like normal people?”

“Even when you’re not in Miko form, you’re still a Miko nonetheless.  You don’t age.  You can’t die.  You see someone who is depressed or antisocial and you wonder.  There’s a reason we gather in groups.  Sometimes you need people that understand.”

“I never got the chance to be normal, Pandora.  I had Nari since I was six years old.  And now I have to fulfill some magical destiny ordained by tiny envelopes.  When do I get to live my life?  When do I get to be the person I want to be?”

Pandora sighed and sunk into the table.  Maybe Midori had a point.  Was Pandora pushing Midori into something that might not make her happy, just because it would make Pandora happy to have Midori close to her?  Was she being selfish?  It was so hard to tell sometimes.

“Try to make some other friends, then?” Pandora offered, hiding her anxiety with a smile. “Some normal friends.  Then you can have the best of both worlds.”

Midori nodded her head.  That wasn’t such a bad idea.  And in less than an hour, she would have the opportunity to do so. 

“I don’t suppose you have another pencil?” Reina - the girl from last week - leaned over with smile on her face. “I swear, I’m not ordinarily this forgetful.”

“It’s no trouble,” Midori said with a smile, reaching into her backpack and passing the girl a pencil. “You can keep it.”

“You’re a life-saver.”

Halfway through class, Midori was distracted by a tapping sound.  She pulled her attention away from the front of the class and found Reina tapping the eraser of her pencil against her desk.  Reina glanced at Midori and held up a little slip of paper.

Midori wasn’t used to getting notes.  Was she supposed to reach across the aisle and take it?  But when the teacher turned her back, Reina tossed it onto Midori’s desk with expert precision.  She unfolded it.

Busy later?

Midori scribbled back: I usually go to the music club.

When Midori was sure the teacher wasn’t looking, she reached across the aisle and Reina took the note from her.  Another moment of writing.  Another note passed.  Midori was getting good at this.

I need to pick a club for the semester.  I play guitar and my brother plays drums.  Do you think I’d be a good fit?

Midori pondered that.  Would Reina be a good fit for the music club, which seemed to act as a front for a secret magical girl organization?  Probably not.  Midori wrote back: 

There are better clubs.  Actually, I don’t think I’m going today.

Truth be told, Midori needed a break from the Miko girls.  All her time in that music room felt like an obligation.  How was she supposed to feel normal if her friendships felt like a job?  And it wasn’t like Kuu wanted her around anyway.

Then you aren’t busy?

Midori thought about it for a moment.  Maybe Pandora was right; maybe she just needed a new friend. 

No, I’m not busy.

Midori and Reina exchanged a few more notes and left the classroom together.  As they made their way off school grounds, Midori looked back at the building.  She couldn’t help but wonder what the Miko girls were up to.

*     *     *

“So she’s not coming?” Kachiko pouted, putting her head on the table.

“I feel like this is my fault,” Kuu sighed.

“She needs some time to figure things out,” Pandora said. “We’ve been putting a lot of pressure on her.”

Naomi spoke up. “That’s the life of a Miko.”

“But she never had an ordinary life,” Pandora argued. “She went from being this depressed, anxious kid to the leader of a magical girl battalion.  It’s a lot for her to handle.”

“But she has to,” Kuu said.

“No she doesn’t,” Daisuke stepped in. “There’s no rule.  She doesn’t have to fight at all, if she doesn’t want to.  But I wish she would talk to us.”

“I was too hard on her,” Kuu mumbled. “I’m just worried.  She’s not herself in her Miko form.”

“She’s different, that’s true…” Kachiko nodded.

“We all are,” Daisuke said. “Our Miko forms turn our weaknesses into strengths.  Kachiko is taller, older, and smarter.  Pandora loses her physical form and relies on others.  Kuu has freedom.”

“I’m a boy,” Naomi said dryly.

“You’re confident,” Daisuke told her. “And didn’t you hate it at first?  Didn’t everyone?  Didn’t you all despise being someone else?”

The room went quiet.  Even Kuu - who had the freedom of flight - was emotional and arrogant in her Miko form.  Her first few weeks, she hated it.  Nothing was calculated; everything was on a whim.  She was reckless and put everyone in danger.  But over time, she learned to trust her instincts.  She realized freedom from the rules meant freedom from choice paralysis.  She could act in a split second and change everything.  

Slowly, the girls nodded in agreement with Daisuke.  Naomi most of all.  Four years in, and she still hated transforming unless it was an emergency.  She didn’t hate Midori; she envied her.

“None of us spent time under a Richi’s effects,” Naomi said. “This is her first chance at having a normal life.  We shouldn’t get in the way of that.”

*     *     *

“So, where are you from?” Midori asked on the walk home. “Your Japanese is a little, uh…” 

“Bad?” Reina laughed.

“I was going to say fractured,” Midori laughed.

“I’m from Greece.  We moved here two years ago, when my dad got a job.  I like it here, but things are different.  Like, in Japan you don’t kiss when you say goodbye.  And my mom thinks Japanese food is too bland.”

Midori nodded along as Reina described the differences of Greek food and Japanese food, of which there were many.  Everything she said had a bit of excitement to it, like it was new.  Midori hung on her every word.  Before they knew it, they had arrived at Midori’s home.

“It looks really nice,” Reina encouraged. “Japanese houses are smaller than what I’m used to.”

“You’re welcome to come in, if you want?”

“I guess I could come in for a bit, but I can’t stay long.  My mom is already upset that school days go on forever here.  And we go to school on the weekends too!”

“Only Saturdays,” Midori said as she led Reina into the house. “It’s not that bad.  Most of the afternoon is for clubs.  Maybe we could join one together?” Midori then began to wonder if the music club even counted.  Mom was waiting in the kitchen when the girls got inside.

“Mom, this is Miss… uh… Kalo…” Midori felt a heat rise in her cheeks.  Reina’s last name was a mouthful and Midori had never taken the time to properly learn it.

“Kalohristianakis,” Reina laughed. “But you can call me Reina, if that’s easier.  It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Kaneda.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Reina,” Midori’s mom said with a smile.  She didn’t even take a stab at the last name. “Will you be staying for dinner?  I’ll be cooking soon.”

“She has to go home soon,” Midori said.

“Missing dinner in my family is like not getting into college,” Reina explained sheepishly. “Maybe another time, if I give my mom enough warning?”

“Well be in my room,” Midori said to her mom, then led Reina down the hall and up the stairs. 

“Do you usually have guests?” Reina asked, glancing over the pictures on the walls.  Younger versions of Midori.

“Sometimes,” Midori answered, though that was a relatively new concept. “Pandora was over last night.”

“Pandora?”

“Oh, uh.  She’s a friend from the music club.” Midori did a cursory glance around the room to make sure it was clean.  No underwear lying out.  No empty plates on her homework desk.  After a moment of certainty, she let Reina into her room. 

“It sounds like you have some good friends in the music club.  Why didn’t you go today?” Reina played with the corners of Midori’s notebooks, looking over the writing.  Three written languages could be exhausting; most of her kanji still had furigana.  

“I don’t know,” Midori sighed, sitting on the edge of her bed. “Sometimes it feels like I’m only there because I’m supposed to be, not because they want me there.”

“Well, we could join a club together?” Reina offered. “There are a lot of different ones out there.”

Midori nodded along with Reina’s words, but she wasn’t sure quitting the music club was the way to go about it.  Even though the Miko put a lot of pressure on her, they were also the first to fight for her.  Reina checked her watch - she actually had a wristwatch! - and frowned.

“Looks like I’ve got to go.” She leaned down to Midori and, perhaps a bit out of cultural habit, kissed her once on each cheek, then once on the lips. “See you tomorrow, Midori!”

“Uh huh… bye…” By the time Midori realized what had happened, Reina had left.  Midori touched her lips and stared at the doorway.  That was her first kiss.

[Ending Song & Credits]

-------------

Cast & Years of Service:

Midori Kaneda > 0

Pandora Novak > 2

Kachiko Kazumi > 29

Daisuke Hidoki > 78

Kuu Shima > 2

Naomi Sato > 4

[kerry]

I am really enjoying this story. I'm happy that you continue to work on it and love every new chapter. I hope Midori finds comfort with her Miko self before too long...and I hope that Reina isn't some kind of richi-controlled hidden adversary.