Chapter 11 - Secrets at Mecchen House (cont.)

I told Jamie about how my voice finally made her listen and how she actually treated me humanely. We helped Nathan out of the clutter of cute he’d been placed in. Nathan fussed to make the pile as neat as Tara had left it. Jamie gaped at the idea of a nice Katsumi. He shook his head. “Only for you, I guess. And you two will only get closer if we’re turning into girls.”

“A prospect which I’m stunned you’re so blasé about.”

“Well, I wanted to leave, but you certainly helped with reasons to stay. Speaking of which, you better have those books someplace really safe and secure. I’m not a fighter, as you figured out. Although, without help from above, you stink at fighting too. I tend to take everything the same way: Lying down. Why struggle when the result will be the same? Which is why when the worst of this change hits, I will be spending it in bed with the covers over me.” He reclined on Tara’s bed.

I rolled my eyes and gave the carefully-working Nathan a pat on the shoulder. I told them both about what happened with Nana. Jamie sprung up. “Hitomi? What the heck? I knew Nana was up to no good. She’s in cahoots with this Hitomi, huh?”

“I’m not altogether convinced Hitomi is a real person. I could ask around, but the way Nana responded says to me that Hitomi is her imaginary friend.”

“Eh. Well. I didn’t talk to her, but it wouldn’t surprise me, given she’s such an anti-social nerd. But what if this Hitomi is real?”

“If she is real, then it’ll probably be like pulling teeth to get much more useful info from Nana. Ms. Ishida said she’s known Hitomis before, but it’s not a rare name.”

Jamie rolled his lip-line around, then clapped his hands with a little white puff. “Alright, then we must search and ask into this further. And give me those books back. I promise not to bolt. For now.” The motions by Jamie suddenly reminded me that we were in an animated world.

I looked down at my hand. I turned it over. Jamie stood up. He looked at it as well. “What? Another change? I don’t see it. Although, I’m guessing arms are next.”

“No. It’s not that. I’m just pondering over how normal it looks, even unchanged. I mean the term ‘anime’ rarely even enters into my mind anymore, and it’s more in relation to these shows and songs which Tara talks about. That it’s so usual was what upset me, and yet it’s not normal, but we seem to be getting so used to all this.”

“And that surprises you? Look at us. If this all were some sort of spider trap, then we’re the perfect prey. As I said, I’m like I am. Nathan, for all his motivation and former muscle, is so obsessed with the concerns of others that he’d probably offer someone a fork if they were eating him. And you. You’re the consummate observer. I bet you’ve got this whole narrative monologue going on in the back of your head.”

Nathan didn’t react, but I resented those remarks. Besides, I figured everyone had that. “Just the weirdos,” was Jamie’s answer. He picked up Mr. Snookums from the bed and held it over his head. What did he know anyway?

“What do you know anyway?”

Nathan seemed to be done with his rearrangement of the soft, stuffed little things on the floor. He was watching me now. Jamie set the tailed bear back where he got him and crossed his legs.

[https://i.imgur.com/VYX4hPb.jpg]

[If Jamie were a girl, this is what he/she might look like in a cosplay of Yumeko magical girl form]

I looked over the outfit Jamie wore. Except for the skirt and long socks, it wasn’t particularly girly. That was probably how Tara got Jamie to wear it. The cat ears were different on this outfit. They were gray with a maid-like headpiece joining the two in Jamie’s amber locks. White, unattached sleeves flowed from just below Jamie’s shoulder to his wrist. A stylish, gray scarf lingered on the bed behind him like a pair of tails. They matched his ears and ribbed, sleeveless blouse. On top of it, he wore a lime, sports-bra-like garment which hung uselessly on his flat chest. A blue skirt with a dangling belt emerged from the tail of his blouse. They nearly met his long, striped green-and-white socks. White leg-sleeves landed on a pair of shoes.

Nathan’s outfit wasn’t bad either. It seemed to take after a red-and-white leaf design. It reminded me of a poinsettia. Nathan had what seemed like cut-off shorts and long stockings with a folded top adorned in little bows. A pair of red drapes flowed along his back like wings at rest. His shoes were big and white. All he was missing was a wand.

Jamie cracked his knuckles. “I know enough to figure out certain things. I know each of these girls has at least one secret they’re not sharing with us.”

“You guessed that. You don’t know that.”

Jamie shrugged and adjusted the free-floating sleeves. “Fair enough. But I know your friend a wall over must have a doozy of a secret.”

“And something’s up with Tara was well, you know.”

“Probably nothing…”

“Aren’t you being biased about this?”

“Of course I am.”

Nathan clutched his gloved-hands and said, “I don’t think Miki has a secret. Or if she did, it wouldn’t be that bad. She seems quite earnest.”

Jamie rotated a finger in a circle. “‘Seems’ is the operative word.”

Nathan stepped forward, his hands clutched close to him. “I think she’s a really nice person. She wouldn’t do anything bad.”

“Noted,” was all Jamie said in reply.

I took a deep breath. “Nana and Hitomi weren’t all I discovered down there. I came to a conclusion about the recipe with Ms. Ishida’s help.”

Jamie raised an eyebrow. “Do tell.”

“I think the whole thing pertains to us.” I unraveled the numerology and potential significance in connection with what I’d expressed about Nana and the so-called “Hitomi” before.

“You know, mentioning that before would’ve really been much more useful. Just for future reference.” Jamie scooted back onto the bed and found a soft spot in the mattress. He seemed content to stay there.

I pursued him to the side of the bed and added, “I think it could be important. As in finding a way to stop what’s happening to us.”

“Thanks, but undoing it is rather more important to me right now, considering I do not want to have hair I can’t cut and a high voice for the rest of my life.”

“That’s assumed…” I didn’t want to get into another tussle with Jamie, but I felt myself being led in that direction. Fortunately, a blond blur in the form of Tara darted through the door as quickly as it would open from her floating grasp.

She bowed and said, “Vegetable chicken tofu and soba noodle bowls with rice and leftover sauté of fish! Mami just came home too. She started eating before everyone else. No fair! Come on! You gotta eat before she swallows it all like a giant vacuum!”

She grabbed our hands. Now Jamie was concerned. He looked over at his bag of clothes and assorted items and said, “Wait, wait, wait. We have to change into our normal clothes first.”

“But you look so cute! Please?”

I immediately knew how to handle this. I gave a smug look to Jamie, which he promptly ignored. I told Tara, in my most earnest voice, “That would be alright, except then their secret identities would be exposed. We can’t let that happen. They need to be dressed in their normal clothes so no one suspects they’re actually magical girls.”

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Tara’s eyes went wide. “Oh my gosh! I forgot!” Then she cupped her mouth. She spoke a little quieter with her hand on the side. “Yes. We have to be careful. A magical girl must protect her secret identity above all else. We’re best friends, so it’s okay, but we have to be careful about telling anyone else. Although, I didn’t give either of your secret names yet. And Kelly doesn’t have a cute outfit picked out either.”

I nodded but reminded her, “True, but it is important to make sure Mami doesn’t conquer supper before us. So, we must make a quick costume change and prevent that terrible event from befalling us!”

Jamie gave me a narrowed-eyed look like he suspected I was on drugs. It didn’t faze me.

Nathan was hurriedly slipping off his gloves. I found out the two of them originally changed in the closet in turns. When they had their loaned clothes from Ms. Ishida on again, Tara tugged us with all her effort to the dining room. Everyone else had beaten us there, even Ami. Fortunately, there was enough for all, despite concerns about Mami. All Mami did was gaze at the three of us with a bit of curiosity.

Her first question was, “Would you like to buy some hairclips?” Nathan expressed some interest, but I didn’t have enough hair for it to be worth the price. Jamie seemed similarly disinterested.

She also seemed curious about our voices and wrapped it up in her next question, “So, did she do it to you?” She pointed her head towards Katsumi, who flatly denied any association. Mami shrugged, pointed her head at me, and said, with a wink, “I must admit, I like the hair on the one with glasses.” I bowed back at her and found a seat.

We joined Tara in a hasty, “I humbly receive this meal” before digging in. Tara slurped the noodles loudly, and Ms. Ishida gave her a smile. Nina was in a quiet corner of the table with a fair distance from any of the other girls. Nana cleaned the grill. I offered her a word of thanks, and she turned her head slightly and gave a little bow.

Jamie nudged me and whispered, “Secrets…” Katsumi straightened in her seat and asked, “So, did any of you change further? I was thinking about skirts as we purified the last of that room. I also drew up a list of things we should do to draw in beneficial spirits while keeping the negative spirits away.” She passed the list to Ms. Ishida, who looked it over politely and set it on a side table.

It had to be a coincidence on the part with the skirts. Jamie slurped the noodles as well. Katsumi sipped her tea.

I said, “Not yet, but we’re concerned about a couple things.” I figured ‘Hitomi’, out of courtesy, was off-limits till Nana left the room. So, I brought up the recipe, the books, and a couple other points. Katsumi looked bored. She stirred her noodles into a clay-like rattlesnake’s tail and slurped them up as well. Figuring slurping was fine, I finished my update for all concerned and slurped a length of noodles. It’d been a long time since I’d had soba and this was well-cooked. Nina ate with watchful, curious eyes that never looked down for long.

Mami seemed interested and, once I’d said my piece, asked, “So, how long before I’ll be selling the three of you tampons?”

I answered, “We figure some time yet. We’re looking for a way to reverse all this in the books we found in Ms. Ishida’s room.”

Tara lifted her chopsticks like a pair of small wands. “Oooo, spellbooks! We’ll find the truth! Study hard and you’ll be rewarded! Be true to your heart! We’ll all be normal girls again! The fire within will never die! Be sure to watch next week!”

I grinned and said, “Tara, I admire your energy.” She beamed back at me.

Katsumi huffed. “I’d like to see these books you keep talking about. Do you even have them?”

Ami had avoided looking at or commenting on us. She washed her food down with her tea and commented, “I have them…tucked away safely.”

Katsumi let out a breath. “Wow. Well, they’re gone forever. Guess the three of you are doomed.” Ami set her cup back on the table with a ‘clang’. “I have them where I can find them.”

“With the assistance of an archaeological team,” Katsumi added. Ami stood from her seat. Ms. Ishida cleared her throat a few times and tried to make peace. Ami turned and told Katsumi, with a resolute face. “You’ll see. I’ll go get them right now.”

Katsumi lifted her cup of tea as a toast to Ami as she strode off. Ms. Ishida rested her hands. “I hope she does have them. With that room, I swear it’s alive.”

Mami stirred her cup of tea. “I wonder how much it’ll cost if she lost them. You want me to get it out of her, Ms. Ishida?” That sounded disturbingly like what a loan shark would say.

Ms. Ishida waved her hand plaintively. “Of course not. I’m sure she has them.”

Katsumi swirled her cup. “Shame I never read them, especially if there’s girl-making involved with them. So, you were the one who saw the books first and recommended them, isn’t that right, Nana?”

Nana stood and turned. Her hair moved like a curtain cast aside by a hidden stagehand. She said simply, “That is right.”

Katsumi leaned back in her chair, “So, is there anything about gender-bending in the books?” Nina’s ears seemed to perk up.

“The materials involve many topics. Gender-bending could be associated with the topics involved.”

“Fantastic. I hope Ami gets back with them soon.”

I took this moment to ask her more about what she’d read in so far as the books but each query I offered felt more than merely buried in Nana’s way of speaking, it seemed like she was deliberately deflecting me.

“Is there any way home for us in those books?”

“Those books would not take you home.”

“What about what you said concerning passages between worlds before?”

“I read about them. I only considered possibilities. There is nothing within those books of practical worth in that regard. My apologies. I wish to be able to help more, in time.”

My eyes followed Nana’s retreating form for as long as I could. I still didn’t understand her, but I felt like the more I pried out of her, the closer I got to understanding. But I didn’t want to push her away with harshly-worded questions.

Jamie took a long sip of his tea and noted, “Ami isn’t back yet… You sure this was a good idea?”

Katsumi seemed to be of a similar mind on this. “If you wanted to hide those books, you should’ve at least done it in someone’s room where you can actually find them again. Like mine.” Never mind that we weren’t on speaking terms at the time. Jamie still gave me a subtle nudge. I cleared my throat, set my soba down, and announced, “I’ll go see if she’s alright.”

Mami pointed her chopsticks at me. “I have a megaphone, if you want it.”

“Why would I need a megaphone?”

She listed off all the potential uses with a clear and varied voice and a straight posture. When she was done, I wasn’t sure what to say.

I replied simply, “I don’t need one.”

“See if Ami will buy it.”

“Sh …wha?”

“She’s been a good customer lately so she doesn’t have to pay me for it right now. Unless, of course, she lost the books.” She looked at a still-worried Ms. Ishida. “But I guess we can deal with all that later. Go on and bring her back, help her, and so forth. Don’t get lost yourself.”