(18)

The brunette slapped the slips of paper onto the nail with one movement. "Cheese pizza for table three, two vanilla milkshakes and a chocolate malt for four, and table six wants another round of nachos."

Natsumi's father really wasn't what you'd expect if you only knew his daughter. He wasn't big and burly or loud and temperamental. Instead, he had a lean frame that was almost waifish for a man, and he kept his shoulderblade-length red hair out of his work with a man-tail and a baseball cap. He looked young for someone who had two nearly grown daughters, too. Realistically, he should be around forty, but those who didn't know any better would probably pin him at under thirty.

"Good work, Nariko," he praised. "Things should be pretty much settled down for the night. Why don't you clean off the empty tables while I get these ready? Once these orders are out and Natsumi's got the dishwasher loaded, you two can head on out. I can handle closing down the fountain shop for the night."

"You got it, boss!" the brunette cheerfully replied before moving to grab the dish tray and headed back out to the tables.

For the last week, she had been working at Red's family's restaurant as a favor. Normally, Homura's father and her older sister Haya handled it more or less on their own, with Natsumi throwing in only on weekends or holidays when the work load was higher. However, with Haya away on a mission trip, the need for extra hands had come up.

They weren't really getting paid for it - for Natsumi, it was just a responsibility to help the family, and when no pay was offered to her, either, she didn't feel right forcing it when being asked for a favor. Still, she was pretty sure she did better than minimum wage in the free snacks department. She'd had at least two strawberry malts every day for the last week, and there was always some new dish Homura's dad was experimenting with that he wanted them to try.

And then there was the excuse it gave her and Natsumi for training. Every night for the last week after they finished at the soda shop, they would go to the Homura dojo and spar. She had taken Reina's criticism to heart; Nariko's body was fit, but not trained for physical combat. It was a gymnast's, not a warrior's, build, ideal for jumping and running and diving and dodging. Thunder Witch fought her foes exclusively at a distance, and her body reflected that.

... She hoped Nariko wouldn't mind a little more brawn when she got her body back.

There was a second purpose to it, as well. Every time they sparred, she tried to put herself in Natsumi's head, in her frame of mind, to better understand how the redhead thought. If mindset were truly key to learning the spells of others, then she had to first understand the type she needed to attune herself with. Why she chose Homura was obvious enough. For the most part, especially in battle, Flame Witch was a very straightforward person, which should make her easier to understand, and she already felt some kinship with her as a fellow martial artist.

... That, and she could see a lot of uses in being able to chuck fireballs.

When the bell over the door rang, she turned on impulse, slipping the plate she'd just picked up into the bucket as she opened with her now-habitual greeting. "Welcome! Please take a seat and--"

Normally, she would have finished with, and I'll be right with you, but the face that came through the door took the words right out of her. As she stood there, struggling to get her thoughts moving again, only one word came to mind, leaving her mouth before she could consider it.

"Anna ..."

The tall, college age young woman grinning at her from the doorway was the spitting image of the portraits back home, and in her face, she could see Marcus and Misaki. She could see Kioshi. Without a doubt, she could even see Nariko.

She had pressed Haru for as many details about this woman as she could possibly squeeze out of the blonde, but now, her mind couldn't seem to come up with any of them.

"Anna," the young woman repeated in a mocking tone, still grinning as she began closing the distance. The brunette had to force herself not to step back to maintain it. "Is that any way to greet your big sister? Now I know you've been up to something bad."

She blinked. "... Bad?"

"Yes, bad," Wakana Kelly replied with a laugh, then pointed at the high schooler. "That's your, caught with the cookie jar, face. I know I haven't seen you since the holidays, but I'm not going to forget that expression that quick."

The brunette made a very conscious effort to get that expression off of her face even as the college student deliberately sat down at the table she was trying to clean off. "I was just surprised to see you back," she replied as her brain started moving again.

Still, the young woman grinned. "Yes, Riko, surprise, that was the expression on your face, not existential horror."

She made herself frown as she sent several glasses following after the plate. "I thought you couldn't get away from campus."

"Alright, fine, keep it to yourself a little longer," Anna shrugged. "I'll find out eventually. You know I always do."

That did worry her a bit. This was Nariko's older sister. If she was making claims like this, it meant she was accustomed to outsmarting Analysis, even if she didn't know it. There was also the little detail that this was one family member of Nariko's she hadn't had the opportunity to acclimatize herself with. Still, she didn't let it show on her face as she tossed some spoons on top.

"You can't sit there, I'm in the middle of cleaning this table off. There's a clean one up to the front if you want."

The taller girl just plopped her hat off beside her. "Eh, I trust you to do a good job."

Certain that she wasn't moving just to be obnoxious, the brunette decided not to give her the pleasure of making a fuss over it, shrugged, and began wiping the table down. "And University?"

"Half the people for my classes are out," Wakana shrugged. "Some trip for their stuff, half the colleges do it all at the same time. I didn't need it, so I got a little vacation out of it."

"Do Mom and Dad know you're back?"

"Stopped there first," was the reply. "That's how I found out you were here, toiling away as a soda waitress!"

"Haya's one of those off on that trip," she explained. "That left Mr. Homura shorthanded."

"Oh, that's right, you're friends with her little sister," the older girl nodded as she recalled. "Well, good on you, I always figured you'd act like it was beneath you."

For that, she put on a hurt expression. "Oh, come on, you don't think I'm that bad, do you?" She shifted the dishes under one arm as she stood up from bending over the table. "Kitchen's about to close for the night, but what do you want to drink?"

"Depends," Anna replied, thinking it over. "How much longer are you here for?"

"We're about to get off in a little bit," the brunette provided, "but we have to go cups."

The college student seemed to think it over a little more. "Alright, I'll take a pineapple soda."

"Great, I'll be right back." And the brunette turned away and headed back toward the kitchen, careful to keep her pace steady without rushing ahead or seeming too stiff.

* * *

Natsumi was tapping her foot when she finally got in with the dishes. "About time! I was starting to think I was going to have to come out and help! What happened, did we get another sudden influx of customers this late?"

"Just one," the brunette replied as she put the tub of dishes next to the steel sink. "But I've got a problem."

At that, the redhead looked concerned. "What kind of problem?"

"It's Anna."

"Anna?" It took Natsumi a moment to place the name, then her eyes went wide. "Wait, Wakana?! What's she doing here?"

The other girl shrugged as she went over and pulled a clean glass out. "Apparently, 'tis the season for mission trips, and her classes are all but on hiatus."

"Oh, that's not good ..." Natsumi fretted as she began sorting the dirty dishes. "Nariko and Wakana were always close." She paused in her motions to consider her statement. "Well, not as close as Nariko and Haru, but closer than average for siblings. But Haru's probably told you as much about that. The real problem is Nariko could never get away with anything with her around."

"Yeah," the brunette confirmed as she filled the cup with ice, "Anna said as much, too."

"Unprovoked?" Then Natsumi jolted as the other girl started filling the soda. "Wait, what are you doing?!"

She jumped at the sudden exclamation and looked back at her with bewilderment. "I'm getting her drink. Y'know, my job?"

"Pineapple?!"

"It's what she ordered."

The redhead processed that for a fraction of a moment, then turned away and swore. "She's already pegged you."

She frowned and tilted her head. "Come again?"

Natsumi wheeled back around and snatched the cup from her. "Wakana hates pineapple soda! If that's what she asked for, it means she's suspicious that you wouldn't know! There's only two ways her own sister wouldn't know something like that about her," she reached up and sharply jabbed her index finger against the girl's skull, causing her to flinch at the impact, "and as far as we know, you're both of them!"

The redhead hefted the cup and waved it around. "You cannot bring this to her! You have to get it right and guess what she really wants!"

"And I'm betting you don't know, either?"

Natsumi had to sigh and shake her head. "I never served her. And if she ever ordered it in front of me, I wasn't exactly memorizing it for the sake of breaking a fake Nariko out of a bind. Haya would have known in a heartbeat, but the whole reason you're here is because she's not."

The brunette pondered that in turn. Had Haru ever told her what Anna's favorite soda was? Had she ever thought to ask? She hadn't imagined any situation where something like that would have come up. How could she get the drink right if she had no way of knowing? But wasn't that the whole point of the trap?

Then she stiffened as an idea struck her, and she reached out and took the glass back from Natsumi. "No. I don't have to guess. I have a better idea."

* * *

Wakana stared down at the tall foam cup her little sister placed before her. "This isn't a soda shop glass."

"It's a to-go cup, like I said," the brunette easily replied. "Nobody likes having to pour their drink into another cup, so I figured I'd save you the step!" When the older girl still stared at it without reaching for it, she leaned down next to her. "Well? Aren't you going to try it? It's not like you're getting it for free, after all."

Anna hesitated a moment longer, then clearly came to some sort of a decision. With a determined twist to her face, she took the cup up and took a deep pull from the straw ...

... and promptly spewed it back out.

"What the hell, Riko?! It really is pineapple!"

But the girl just grinned in reply. "But isn't that what you ordered, Anna? Why would you order something that you didn't want?"

The college student stared at her younger sister for a long moment, but a charming bell from the kitchen kept her from having to come up with an answer there on the spot.

"Order's up," the brunette told her as she turned away. "Let me know if you need anything else!"

Wakana grumbled over the beverage and habitually leaned down for another drink, only to be reminded of its contents and spit it out again.

* * *

"I can't believe you're sparring against Natsumi, Riko." Wakana's statement as the two younger girls changed clothes in the dojo got grins out of both of them.

"Well, I'm not going to be at home forever, right?" the brunette replied. "Sooner or later, I'll move out, too. Maybe in less than three years. I don't want to be helpless should the worst happen." She leaned toward the wooden wall and rapped her knuckles against it three times as if to punctuate it.

"Well, sure, I get that," the older girl agreed, "but to think you're able to go against Haya's little sister, the red terror, herself?"

"Hey, who are you calling a terror?!" the aforementioned terror protested. "Besides, Riko's got a lot of potential. I'm glad she's finally using it instead of skating by with it."

The brunette had an urge to remind Natsumi that was the other Nariko who skated by, but for obvious reasons, in the current company, she held her tongue.

Finally, the girls were ready, and with Wakana safely off to one side, the two squared off for their evening spar--

"Oh, there's people here?" a small voice asked in surprise before it could stop itself. All eyes turned to see Hisoka at the entrance to the sparring area, her duffel bag seeming too large next to her tiny frame. "Oh! It's Riko and Master Natsumi! You two train together?!"

"It's a new arrangement," the brunette offered, waving the girl in. "Homura's been helping me polish my skills."

Hisoka's eyes nearly looked like saucers. "You need to polish your skills?!"

"There is room for improvement in everyone, Cho," Natsumi put in.

"Well, yeah, but I'm kind of afraid of what improvement will mean for her," the girl commented.

At that, the brunette cleared her throat. "Hisoka! You haven't met my older sister, Wakana. She's visiting from university."

Hisoka almost literally jumped, as if she hadn't noticed the third person in the room and she had appeared in a flash and a puff of smoke before the timid girl. "O-oh! Hello, Miss Wakana. I-I'm Cho. Hisoka Cho."

Wakana chuckled at that and closed the distance, presenting her hand to shake the girl's. "Well, hello, Cho Hisoka Cho. And please, any friend of my little sister can call me Anna."

The girl let out an eep and jerked away, but kept herself from darting from the young woman. She barely set her fingertips into Wakana's hand. "O-okay, Miss Anna ..."

Wakana's smile turned into a grin a moment before she pushed her hand in and gripped it fully. The grin was just a little tight on her face. "Hey, hey, what's this Miss nonsense? I'm not even twenty, you know!"

Hisoka clenched her face as if a vice grip had closed on her hand, even though it was plain the grip wasn't that hard. "Aaah! You're definitely Riko's sister! Help!"

The brunette gave a light burst of laughter at the scene before her. "Don't mind her so much, Anna. It's just the way Hisoka is. She's a hard-working girl that respects others and just, ehhh," she held her thumb and forefinger a bit apart before her as she squinted to look between them, "has a bit of a confidence issue."

At that, Natsumi put herself into the conversation to move things back on track. She had a spar to get to, after all. "Was there something you needed, Cho?"

Again, the girl jumped as if ambushed. "Oh! Um, well, no, but, uh ..."

The redhead sighed as if this were an all too common issue, and she held up her hand with all fingers and her thumb extended. "You've got five seconds, Cho."

Perhaps it really was too common an issue, as the smaller girl didn't seem to need to be told what would happen if she ran out of time. She spent the first second gathering her will, a second taking a deep breath, and impressively crammed what seemed a small essay into the last three.

"Well, you see, I've been coming in at least once a week to practice on my own when no one's looking because you said I could come over whenever, and usually nobody's here, so I didn't think there'd be any issue, but really, I was just going to practice my lessons from the regular class and didn't expect to see so many people here," she blitzed out in a bullet spray of words.

Silence filled the room for a minute afterward as everyone else's brains caught up.

It was Anna who broke it first. "Kid, you're missing your calling as an auctioneer."

"Or a diver," the brunette added. "The amount of air she can cram into those lungs could sustain her for half an hour."

Hisoka's face went red at the comments, but even though she trembled slightly and twisted and fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, she stayed where she stood as if awaiting judgment.

Natsumi was more focused on the subject of the matter, though. "Lemme guess, you don't have the confidence to practice by yourself while we're here?"

The smaller girl didn't answer, and instead pointedly looked at the ground to avoid eye contact.

The redhead sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose for a minute. "Well, we're not leaving until we get our training in, but if you're willing to clean up and lock up when you're done, I don't mind if you do it after we leave. You're pretty reliable, after all."

That compliment gave Hisoka a boost that lifted her head a bit, but then she hesitated again. "So ... should I come back when you're done?"

The brunette and Natsumi glanced at each other for a moment, and the former nodded to the latter. Homura nodded back before returning her attention to Hisoka again. "Actually, Cho, I think you should stay and watch. Since Kelly isn't actually a member of the dojo, you're not likely to see a fighter like her in class, and there's as many ways to fight as there are people. It'll be good for you to see something different."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"I've ..." Hisoka swallowed nervously before she tried the sentence again. "I've already seen Riko fight, though."

"You've seen me fence," the brunette replied. "That's a big difference from hand to hand." She looked away as she rubbed the side of her nose. "And I'm a lot more confident in my hand to hand than I am fencing, to be sure."

"Wait, wait," Anna put in at that. "Fencing? Since when did you do fencing?"

This time, all three of the high schoolers exchanged glances, but the college student didn't seem inclined to drop the matter.

"Uh, I don't," the younger sister replied after a long moment. "That's the joke. I watched the Fencing Club for a few sessions and got goaded into giving it a try without any training. Their captain mopped the floor with me."

Hisoka nodded in confirmation, her tone full of admiration. "Even you're no match for Prez."

"Prez?" Wakana repeated.

"The student council president," Natsumi provided. "Reina Tamashini."

"Oh, I remember her!" Wakana proclaimed, slapping her hands together as the name rang a bell. "Long, black hair, super serious expression? You started hanging out with her when you were still in middle school, didn't you? Always thought that was an odd match."

At that, the brunette rubbed her temple in consideration. "We're friends, but we're not really that close, to be honest. We've just got some overlapping hobbies, that's all. It's actually kinda through her that we know Hisoka."

"Kinda?" her older sister asked, arching an eyebrow.

But the brunette shook her head. "It's complicated. I was more trying to bring the conversation back around." She glanced back to the aforementioned girl. "Homura's your teacher, yeah? Even if you don't think there's anything to learn, if she says you should watch, you should pay attention, because she thinks there is."

Immediately, the girl was apologetic, bowing to Natsumi. "She's right, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to be disrespectful!"

Natsumi, in turn, gave a sigh, but then shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Just take a seat with Wakana and make sure you pay attention, alright?"

With that settled, the two squared off once more, and the brunette grinned. "Got an audience this time, Red. Sure hope you're a graceful loser."

"Ha!" Homura actually threw her head back with the force of the scoff. "You're in for a surprise if you think I ever lose."

* * *

From the sidelines, Wakana watched with an unwavering eye as her sister began to trade blows with the redhead. Nariko definitely wasn't Natsumi's match in brute force, but her fighting style countered the Homura clan's brutal, straightforward style well. Wakana wasn't some competitive sports star who memorized all the names of the different martial arts in the world, but she was pretty sure Haya had once told her theirs was based in Chinese kung-fu. She didn't know exactly what Nariko was using, but she wanted to say something like jujitsu.

As the two teens sped up in their exchange of blows, Anna racked her brain for where in this town Riko could have picked up jujitsu. Had another gym opened up in competition with the Homuras while she was gone? It would be just like Riko to insist on studying something different from her friend just for the sake of being different. Still, there must have been a great amount of natural talent there. Her little sister didn't fight like it was something she'd only been doing for a handful of months.

Both of them acted like they took it so seriously, too. Not like they were trying to kill each other, necessarily, but they certainly weren't pulling any punches for whoever they were planning on killing.

Beside her, the mousy Hisoka watched the fight with rapt attention as if she were trying to burn every movement into her brain. This girl didn't seem the type appropriate for any sort of combat, like she'd bolt out of the gym the first time someone shouted in the ring. But maybe that was why she was here. Maybe, like Riko, she was worried about not being able to defend herself.

... That was a depressing take on the state of the world ...

To distract herself from that line of thought, she struck up conversation with the girl beside her. "So you seem pretty impressed with my little sister."

Still, Cho didn't look away, though she nodded. "She's really strong."

When no elaboration followed, Anna verbally nudged her along. "... In comparison to ... what, exactly? Other girls?"

Hisoka frowned on that, but shook her head. "She's surrounded by strong girls. They're all really strong, actually. Her, Prez, Master Natsumi ... I've never seen Chiaki or Wakumi fight ... but they must be strong to keep up with them, right?"

"Yeah, I guess that'd make sense," Wakana agreed hesitantly. She didn't want to point out the Wakumi girl didn't seem any stronger than Hisoka, and the blonde girl Riko had been hanging out with since grade school always seemed kind of an odd duck for their little improvised social circle, like she had more business being a cheerleader than in ... whatever circle had both a budding politician and a promising thug in it.

... Yeah, nevermind, Riko's friends were weird. And apparently all liked to fight? Come to think of it, they did say Tamashini was captain of the fencing club.

"Well, alright, then," she went back to the original point instead. "She's really strong, compared to what, if not other girls?"

"Um ..." This girl really was too vulnerable. With Hisoka focusing on the fight, she wasn't thinking enough about the answers she gave. "... An oni, I guess?"

At that, Wakana had to grin. "Riko, my little sister, is really strong compared to an oni?"

Hisoka gasped as if realizing she'd said something she shouldn't and finally looked away from the fight. "Um, I mean, not literally, oni aren't real!"

"Sure, they are," Anna replied, still grinning. "If they weren't, we'd only have giri!"

Oh, gosh, those vacant, dead eyes, that slackjawed mouth as she watched the younger girl's brain crash and shut down right in front of her. That was the absolutely delicious expression that made telling such jokes so addicting. It was far better than even them getting it and groaning. Anyone could tell a bad joke, was Wakana's opinion, but dropping one at just the right time so you could watch their minds break from just your words alone took an artist's touch.

She relished the expression until a sudden, loud thump shocked the younger girl out of it, drawing both of their gazes back to the mat.

"Cho!" Natsumi barked sharply. Nariko was on the ground, her arm twisted up and about while the redhead pinched her wrist. "What did she do wrong?"

The girl literally began to quiver on the spot as she panicked, and every attempt to make coherent words leave her mouth only produced stuttering and blubbering. When Natsumi's gaze got sharper, Wakana felt compelled to intercede.

"Sorry, sorry, 'Sumi!" the older girl stepped in with a bright and at least slightly apologetic grin, waving her arms as if she were pulling an angry bull's attention away from Hisoka. "It's my fault! I deliberately distracted her! It's completely my fault she didn't see it!"

Natsumi's eyes narrowed on her, but more in annoyance than hostility. "She's watching for her own benefit, Wakana. Please, if you can't avoid being disruptive, you'll make me ask you to leave."

* * *

After abundant apologies and promising she wouldn't do it again, the two teenagers resumed their sparring. For Wakana's part, she made only small talk with Hisoka for the rest of it, and only about the sparring.

The girls were very nearly evenly matched, shockingly enough. She was surprised by how athletic her little sister was, she hadn't really ever seen her as particularly sporty. They had both worked each other into a heavy, heaving sweat by the time the doors opened again and the smell of pizza came in.

"Hey, am I on time?" Natsumi's father came into the main room of the dojo carrying a short stack of pizza boxes, clearly the source of the aroma, and a drink carrier.

"Dad!" the redhead greeted him as she rubbed her forehead with the back of her forearm.

"I'm beginning to think the soda shoppe has live feed of this place," her brunette counterpart commented as she put down a water bottle.

Mr. Homura laughed at that. "Sure, if by live feed, you mean my father. He's the one that always seems to know what's going on over here." He put on a higher-pitched, old man voice. "Make sure you bring three pizzas, Ichirou, you know you have extra company this time." The fake voice dropped. "You'd think he ran the soda shoppe, too."

Wakana looked over in surprise at the boxes. "Wait, you mean ..."

"Every day, after working hard for me even following a full day of school," Ichirou replied as he set the boxes and carrier on a table along one of the walls, "these two kids come out here and slog until they're exhausted. Maybe not everything my father taught me stuck, but you've got to put back in what you put out, or your body can't grow. So it's just my little way of thanking them for their hard work."

He opened the top box and the aroma multiplied immediately. "And I can't give them free eats and ignore their company. That kind of reputation would be bad for business! Come on, now, all of you, get a slice while it's hot."

Nariko was still adjusting her gi as she approached alongside Natsumi. "Surely two would have been plenty, Mr. Homura. I know Red can put away a whole one on her own, but I can't get through more than a few slices. That would leave plenty for everyone else."

The redhead scoffed. "That's just because you eat too little, Riko. Your body needs fuel, or you'll never keep up."

"Most of your fuel is carbs and oils in this case," she countered back.

"Carbs are energy. Fatty oils are energy." Natsumi scooped up a slice right out of the box, the cheese stretching behind it. "And protein is protein."

The other girl just stared at her as she began to inhale the slice, engulfing nearly half of it in the first bite, then shook her own head. "If you ever stop being a martial artist, Red, you're gonna blow up like a blimp."

"Yeah, well, go blow a horn," she bit back with impressive clarity for a mouth full of pizza. "I'll be a martial artist for as long as I live."

* * *

As she and Wakana set out walking back home with full stomachs, and her with a cleansing shower, the brunette reflected on the sparring session. Mr. Homura wasn't going to be needing their help for much longer. Should they continue these sparring sessions after that point? If she managed to get into Natsumi's mindset enough to cast by then, would it be better to move on and diversify her skillset, or to stay and focus on refining her basics and training this body?

As for the magic, she felt she was close. Natsumi was an on the tin sort of person, so understanding how she felt at any given point was pretty straight forward. The trick was in why she felt that way. She knew Natsumi was driven by strength, but she almost seemed like she was driven to flaunt it rather than seek it. The problem was figuring out if that was because she already had it and desired to stay on top, or was it one of the conflicting cognitive flaws all of the Witches seemed to have?

Either way, it was hard to put herself in a mindset of being the strongest by default. She was almost Natsumi's polar opposite, accustomed to being an underdog in most physical encounters and relying on quick thinking and ingenuity to get out of them. Still, in the heat of combat, when Natsumi was pushing her to her limits, she could almost feel that fire building up in her chest. Was that how Homura felt?

She wanted to test it, to play with that fire, see what it led to, and if it had only been Hisoka there, she could have gotten away with it. With Wakana there, though, she had to restrain herself, and she was surprised how much that physically hurt. It was like the fire demanded to be called upon, or would burn her for refusing.

She was in the middle of musing if that, too, was an essential part to Natsumi's psyche when Wakana's hands came gently down on her shoulders, surprising her slightly.

"You seem pretty deep in thought, Riko," the older girl mused from behind her. "Or are you just that tired?"

She smiled softly in appreciation of the gesture, but before she could respond, her forward movement jerked to a sudden stop as the hands suddenly snapped around into a headlock across her neck and under her arm.

"Hey," she shouted as she began to flail. "Anna! What are you doing?!"

The older girl's voice was sharper and more demanding now. "Bold of you to let your guard down around me when I already told you that you can't hide anything from me!"

"What are you now, Char Aznable? Giddoff!"

"Not until you tell me what you did with my little sister!"

As her Aw Crap alarm sounded in her head, she reflexively flashed through a dozen different options to escape, from summoning a weapon to casting Shining Lance and using its localized area effect to blast her off. Though she obviously couldn't recall it, she must have kept a knife concealed in her belt buckle in her previous life, as there was the impulse to pull it out and stab her attacker in the thigh.

All of these were immediately discarded, of course. She didn't want to actually cause Nariko's sister serious harm, and credited it to an instinctive reaction to being under attack rather than a willingness to harm an innocent bystander. Well, that, and she wasn't even wearing a belt to stash a knife in.

"Oh-ho!" Anna crowed. "How many times did you just think of trying to kill me there, my dear little sister? Hmm? That's not very in-character!"

"Neither is attacking me from behind!" She turned and twisted in the grip, but the older girl's superior leverage and hold kept her in complete control of the brunette's position.

"It's your fault for underestimating me," Wakana answered back with a vicious grin. "You're supposed to know Dad started teaching me military hand to hand the moment boys took an interest in me! And wherever you learned to fight didn't give you the upper body strength I got from rock climbing! You were doomed the moment you let me touch you! Just give up already!"

The brunette continued to pull, testing her bonds and the older girl's control. She racked her brain as she tried to figure out some other way out of this, something to say, something to do.

Meanwhile, after a pause, Wakana continued. "You almost had me fooled with that pineapple stunt, that was awfully clever to play it that way," she praised. "But when I realized Natsumi was in on it, it was obvious she must have filled you in on your mistake. And then you left that poor Hisoka girl with me while you and Natsumi played. All the defenses of a wet paper bag, that one."

"Do you realize how much of a villain you sound like, monologuing like that?"

But the grip tightened fiercely. "Do you think I can't tell when you're dodging a question, Riko?! Come on, now! Fess up! What's really going on?"

There was only one way to get her to let go without hurting her, the younger girl realized as she continued to pull. "Alright! Fine! I'm not Nariko! There! Is that what you wanted to hear?!"

Instantly, the larger girl's grip went slack, and the brunette wasted no time pulling away and spinning back to face her with two arm lengths between them.

Wakana barely seemed to notice, just staring at her with a stunned expression. "... Wait," she finally found a couple words, "seriously?"

The brunette didn't immediately answer, instead taking the opportunity to stretch her limb and neck back out with a grimace.

The other girl continued anyway after a little longer. "I just thought, shoot, I dunno, you had amnesia or something and were trying to hide it from me."

At that, she paused in her stretching and arched an eyebrow at the older girl. Was her situation so ridiculous that that was actually a believable alternative? ... Yeah, it probably was. Too late now. "I mean, basically, that's kinda the case ..."

"... This isn't funny, Riko!"

Oh, great, Wakana was starting to break down. Maybe this wasn't the best course of action just yet. Maybe she wasn't ready to hear it. Instead, the brunette looked away as she rubbed the back of her head. "... Ehehe, sorry, I guess it really isn't ..."

But her reply was even louder and more dramatic. "Oh, gosh, it's really true, isn't it?!"

"For crying out loud, would you just pick a side, already?!" the brunette finally snapped at her. "You're giving me whiplash!"

"Blow your whiplash! I want my sister!"

"Fine, then it's amnesia!"

"And what's the truth?!"

"I'm not Nariko! And why are you yelling?!"

"Why are YOU yelling?!"

"BECAUSE YOU TRIED TO KILL ME!!!"

"Oh." Wakana blinked, her volume suddenly dropping back to normal. "Well, you're overreacting, a choke hold isn't trying to kill you."

"It's literally called a choke hold, Anna. And you still attacked me! I'm allowed to be worked up about that!"

The older girl floundered for a moment, but then sharply shook her head. "You're derailing the issue again!" She pointed a finger sharply at her younger sister. "If you're not Nariko, then who are you?!"

At that, the brunette went silent, the tension leaving her face as she looked first to the ground, then off to the street beside them. "... I can't say," she finally said after a long moment, but held up a hand when she heard Wakana inhale. "I do not mean I'm keeping it a secret," she clarified as she looked back at the older girl. "I mean I am literally, physically incapable of saying. I've even tried writing my name, and it comes out gibberish."

"That ... that makes no sense, Riko," the older girl stressed.

"I didn't say it made sense," she countered. "But it is verifiable. I've had others watch me do it, and they say the motions are the same, but the gibberish is still different each time. Just random lines that look like letters but aren't."

"But how?" Anna tried. "How could you be somebody else that can't say who they are?"

At that, the brunette sighed and leaned her back against a lamp post before shrugging. "Dunno. My last fragment of memory was getting to ..." she fished for a descriptive word, but soon gave up, "... something. Then there was darkness, some other stuff that didn't make sense, and then the alarm went off and I woke up on the first day of high school."

"As Riko."

"As Riko," the brunette confirmed with a small nod. Then her expression darkened as she toed at a loose stone. "... I even freaked out and punched Haru."

Wakana's eyes widened at that. "Nariko would never lay a hand on Haru."

The Nariko in front of her sighed with a grand roll of her eyes. "So I have been informed, believe me. I've since come to understand why she wouldn't, but I still did." Again, she looked away. "Haru's forgiven me, but I don't think she'll ever forget that it happened."

The older girl couldn't help herself. She found herself stepping toward her sister like she could vanish into the ether, and reaching out toward her cheek like she might be a mirage. The brunette let her prod her cheek with her fingertip.

"You can't be someone else, Riko," Anna told her softly. "You're too you. All of your tells are the same, all of your behaviors are the same, all of the things you obsess over and worry about, the way you think ... Riko, if you were anyone else, I'd know it."

The smaller girl watched her for a moment, but then looked up to the sky as she crossed her arms behind her head. "Sure, one of the first things we considered was that I'd lost my mind. Spontaneous D.I.D. It's the obvious rational assumption. Setting aside it would never develop in someone my age and that I lack every known or suspected cause, though, it doesn't explain the physically impossible gibberish, or how I have a skillset Nariko never studied or was even exposed to."

Wakana could only resume staring at her, so the younger girl continued. "If I really was someone else that found myself in her body, for me to be so similar, we figured it could only be because I was so similar. Like a tuning fork pitching at just the right frequency, Natsumi had suggested. But I'm just different enough to cause all of the quirks that make me stick out."

"... So then, what," Anna tried, "you're a ghost possessing my little sister?"

"Possibly," she nodded. "I don't remember dying, though, not unless somebody shot me in the back or something and I never knew it happened. And I have a strong feeling that's not what happened." Now, however, she shook her head. "No, ghost or not, I have a strong feeling I was taken, not that I left."

"Taken?" Anna repeated, and it was her turn to arch an eyebrow as her tone took on one of sarcasm. "Don't suppose you were messing with some ancient cursed artifacts or something, were you?"

That drew a short laugh from her. "That's a bigger possibility than not. In fact, whatever I was after almost certainly played a role in whatever happened to me. Don't know if it did it to me, itself, though, or if something else acted on me because of it."

Wakana's face went to a combination of disturbed and repulsed. "Riko. Seriously. Stop agreeing with my sarcasm. It's freaky."

An uncomfortable silence filled the air between them as they both churned to come up with something to replace it and both came up empty.

"... Do Mom and Dad know?" Anna finally asked.

"No!" The question reanimated the brunette, who shoved herself off of the lamp post as if to add more force to the refusal. "They can't! They'll just ship me off to a hospital or something. Nevermind what it'll do to them emotionally, thinking their daughter has lost her mind."

She sighed and turned away, taking a few more steps down the sidewalk before running out of steam again. "Besides, I can't do anything if I'm locked up in a hospital, getting fed a diet of happy pills and therapy. There's the very real possibility that I'm incredibly temporary. At any moment, I could vanish and Nariko's consciousness would reassert itself. I'm very actively trying not to ruin her life so I can return it to her in one piece. Having her wake up with insanity on her permanent medical record seems counterproductive."

Anna sighed, too, and crossed her arms as she shook her head. "I appreciate that you're trying to protect her, but it doesn't seem right that your entire circle of friends knows, but not our parents."

"I tried to keep it from them, too," the brunette admitted, "but since I didn't even know they existed, I didn't do a very good job of it and it came out."

"But you managed to fool the people that raised you?"

The brunette could only shrug. "I knew they existed. I knew what parents generally expected. I'm sure I didn't do a perfect job, but I kept it covered up long enough to learn." But then her expression turned crestfallen, her head hanging down again. "I ... They're good people. I sound like a horrible manipulator, and I won't lie and say that my own well-being isn't also a motivating factor, but I don't want to see them hurt ..."

A flash of alarm lit up in Anna's eyes as she stepped toward the figure that looked like her little sister. "You're getting attached. You're getting attached to Nariko's family."

The way the brunette's face hardened before her eyes belonged on a grown woman, maybe even a woman older than Wakana. It certainly wasn't an expression that belonged on a teenage girl, and for the first time, there was a moment where she didn't recognize the eyes in that familiar face.

"Don't worry," the girl answered with grim seriousness, as if she were scolding herself as much as answering Wakana's concern, "I don't intend to let my feelings interfere with anything, if they even can. I'm fully aware I'm just a placeholder. If anything, understanding what she has here makes trying to keep it from her the last thing I want to do. This is her life, her friends, her family. I'm just an extra, watching over them until she gets back."

And Wakana watched on as her little sister stonily buried the sentiments she had been close to admitting. It was like watching her bury someone alive, but the burier and the buried were the same person. She wanted to tell her to stop, she struggled to come up with something to say. But what could she say? No, it's alright to get attached to things that aren't yours?

As she searched for anything to latch onto, something else occurred to her, something that had gotten lost in the shuffle. "... Wait, what does any of this have to do with onis?"

At least the confusing question made the metaphorical shoveling stop. "Onis?"

"Hisoka," Wakana noted, and didn't miss the flash of recognition as her sister made a mental connection. When she didn't share, however, the older girl continued. "She is both terrified and in awe of you for some reason, and both you and Natsumi were going at that sparring like you were training to fight for your lives. Or make somebody else fight for theirs."

But the brunette frowned and looked away, going back to not answering.

So her sister had two secrets going on. Anna took a step toward her. "Riko, are you involved in some sort of gang?"

The girl pursed her lips thinly for a moment, but then let the tension out of her shoulders as she sighed. "No." She looked up and directly into Wakana's eyes. "But please don't ask any more than that. That one isn't my secret to tell, it's Nariko's, and you'll have to get it from her. All I can do is promise you that we aren't doing anything illegal or that will interfere with school."

But the older girl's eyes only narrowed in response. "So it's just something dangerous, then."

"It's not something anyone else can do, and it's not something we can refuse in good conscience." The brunette's eyes hardened again. "That's all I can or will say on it. You want more, get it from Nariko. I'm just the bodyguard."

Wakana sighed with a smirk on her lips. "Setting your foot down so openly now, you must really mean it. And if I figure it out, myself?"

"Then that's still between you and her," her little sister's mouth replied. "I'm not going to keep you from it, it's just not mine to tell."

That left her with little to do but shake her head. "Fine, fair as anything, I suppose." Wakana walked up and threw an arm over the brunette's shoulder, grinning at the way the shorter girl tensed at it. "C'mon, Sis, let's get home. Some puzzles are meant to be solved another day."

But as they began to walk, there was at least one more she thought she might be able to fit in. "Though I was wondering ..."

"... Uh-oh ..."

"... If the only time Cho's seen you fight was when you were getting your clock cleaned by the fencing captain, why was she so sure you were stronger than an oni?"

"Well ..." the girl drew out, "I may have beaten the entire rest of the club before she did it."

"You may have?"

"Yes. And may also be banned from ever applying to join because they're convinced I'm a monster."

Wakana threw her head back and the evening street was filled with the sound of her howling laughter.