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Re: Katawa Kijo

Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 12:38 am
by ChaoticGrowth
Mirage_GSM wrote:I'll have to strive to make even more obscure references, but then it wouldn't be fun if nobody noticed at all...
Anyway, you won. Your reward is the following chapter being dedicated to you
Hooray! Funny thing is, although history isn't my strongest point, that's one of the few things that I have always remembered about Gerald Ford. Haha. :D
I can't wait for the next chapter!

Re: Katawa Kijo

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 5:23 pm
by Mirage_GSM
Here's the next Chapter. Some Kenji-fans complained he wasn't getting enough screen time until now. Rest assured he will feature strongly in the following chapter as well.
Thanks to Leotrak and Snicket for their feedback!

Chapter Sixteen – Circle of Life
Mr. Kanzaki only raises an eyebrow when I storm into his office without knocking. He is sitting at his desk, facing Kenji, who is apparently handling a very dried out potted plant without any apparent enthusiasm.

“Ah, Hisao! Mr. Nomiya was just here to tell me about your session this morning. Remarkable progress. What can I do for you?”

I try to put my thoughts in order before I answer. I'm surprised I'm not as winded as I expected to be after running all the way here... Well, it's not all that far from the nurse's office.

While I'm still pondering how best to breach the subject, Kenji puts down the plant and rises from his chair. “Oh, Hisao, good to see you.” I doubt he is really seeing me, but right now I better not mention this. He walks over to me and whispers conspiratorially. “Seems you had a close one yesterday. That council president bitch almost had you by the balls. Good thing Mr. Kanzaki was there in time to save you. I hope you see now how dangerous they are.”

Suddenly I know exactly what to say. “Yeah, Kenji, I admit I doubted you before, but you were right all along.”

“No! You have to believe me...” Kenji trails off and takes a step back, apparently surprised by my sudden agreement. But a moment later he has sufficiently recovered and is determined not to lose any progress made in my conversion. “Of course I was. I told you I was. If only you had listened to me before... that happened... But it seems you did not sustain any lasting damage, and you will be more careful in the future.”

“Yes, I will. I wouldn't want to go through an experience like that ever again.” Mr. Kanzaki raises an eyebrow and looks at me curiously, but he stays silent. “I'd best keep my distance from girls from now on.”

“A very prudent choice. Did you know that there are far more widowed women than there are widowed men? I haven't been able to find conclusive proof yet, but it's too much to be a coincidence. I'm sure they must be suffocating their husbands in their sleep or something like that, so when the time comes, they won't be able to join in The Fight.”

I want to ask him why they would suffocate only the elderly who wouldn't be of much use in 'The Fight' anyway, but instead I agree with him. “Or they could be after the inheritances to fund the evil schemes of the Feminists!”

Kenji's eyes go wide as he considers the implications. “Oh my god, you're right! Man, we're in deep shit, bro.” He pats me on the shoulder. “But don't lose hope! The situation may be dire, but from now on, we'll oppose the forces of feminism together.”

Mr. Kanzaki opens his mouth, but I motion for him to keep quiet. If I'm lucky Kenji won't see the movement anyway.

“Yes, Kenji, we will. It is amazing how well the Feminists have kept their agenda hidden from us men. Hardly anyone suspects a thing. We're lucky they got careless this once.”

“Exactly! We're lucky...” He stops, confused. “Hey, when did they get careless?”

“Well, when they gave their presence away to you of course. If you hadn't grown suspicious, you couldn't have gathered all the data, couldn't have convinced me, and the world would probably be doomed.” I pause dramatically. “In fact, what kind of blunder did they make to give their presence away to you? I don't think you ever told me.”

Mr. Kanzaki finally understands what I'm aiming for and tries hard not to draw any attention to himself.

Kenji fidgets around a bit. “Well, it's not something I usually tell people.”

“Why not? It could be a powerful proof of the evil that is Feminism.”

“Because it is the story of how I almost fell prey to their evil. I never told this to anybody else before, but as we are now brothers in arms, you probably have to know, so you are prepared for the worst.”

He sighs dramatically, and I hardly dare to breathe lest I interrupt him. He continues in a whisper. “You know, I had a girlfriend once.”

“You had a WHAT?”

“Yes, I know, I've been naïve and foolish, but back then I simply didn't know any better. I was aware of several conspiracies at this school, but she didn't seem to be a part of any of them. She had just transferred here when I met her. I tried to warn her about some of the more dangerous secrets of this school, and she pretended to believe me. Today I know that was all an act, but then I was overjoyed to have finally found an ally.”

I cross my fingers, hoping he won't draw any comparisons to my sudden change of mind, but once Kenji has started his ramblings, there's no stopping him.

“She helped me with my research into the Yakuza contacts of the principal and gathered intel on the shady dealings of the nursing staff. We used to meet in either her room or in mine to compare our theories and just hang out, and then it happened.”

He draws another deep breath, gathering his courage. “We had sex.”

Okay, the next thing that will happen is either Shizune entering the room in a maid costume or Emi munching a parfait.

Kenji continues, oblivious to my reaction. “At first it was okay. She said, she'd done it before and helped me when I wasn't sure what to do, but when we were finished, I suddenly felt extremely tired. Like she had drawn all the energy from me. I fell unconscious almost immediately, and when I woke up, she was gone.”

He suddenly grows angry. “And that's when I knew that she had been using me all along! She spied on me, tried to find out what I knew and made off with all the stolen intel.” He continues in a more subdued manner. “When she didn't return to class the next day, I figured she had to be away reporting to her superiors. From there it wasn't hard to figure out who those superiors were. In the end they probably realized that her cover was blown, because she never came back to Yamaku again.”

I try not to let my despair show. I was hoping against all odds that it would be something I could argue against, that I could point out the one fault at the start of his reasoning chain that would make it crumble to nothing, but feeling drained after sex? How can I argue against that? From what I've heard it happens all the time. If that's his reason for thinking women are evil...”

“Mr. Setou.” Mr. Kanzaki's voice jolts me from my dark musings.

Kenji spins around to face Mr. Kanzaki as if stung by an adder. So he actually did forget he was still in the room. “Yes.”

“Mr. Setou, when did the events you just told us about occur?”

A glimmer of hope shines in Kenji's eyes. “Does that mean you believe me? Do you...”

“Please, Mr. Setou, just answer my question.”

Kenji thinks for a moment. “I'm not sure. Last autumn. Probably around the start of October. What does...”

Mr. Kanzaki holds up his hand to silence him. He closes his eyes and concentrates. Just as I'm about to ask him what he is doing, the room erupts in a bright white light.

He smiles at us, saying “That should have gotten his attention.” He then apparently talks to the air in front of him. “Takeshi, I know you're listening in now. Get Mr. Mutou and come to my office immediately.”

He then turns his attention back to Kenji and starts questioning him about his girlfriend. How did she look? What was her name? How long did they know each other?

I have no idea what he hopes to achieve with his line of questioning, so I just stay silent on the side and listen.

A few minutes later Mr. Mutou enters the room, closely trailed by a Takeshi who is looking even more tired than yesterday. I wonder what he's been up to.

Mr. Kanzaki rises form his chair to greet them. “Ah, Akio, thanks for coming at such short notice.”

Mr. Mutou just shakes his head. “No problem. What is it that's so urgent?”

“I want you to tell Mr. Setou here what happened last year on the eighth of October.”

“You mean...? Are you sure it's okay to tell them?” Mr. Mutou looks at him surprised.

Mr. Kanzaki nods. “I'm very sure, go ahead.”

“If you say so...” Mr. Mutou still looks doubtful, but he starts to tell his story. “I was patrolling the school-grounds that evening. I came upon a half-dressed girl who was making her ways from the dorms towards the front gate. She seemed to be in a stupor and could hardly walk straight. At first I thought she might be drunk, but when I walked up to her and asked her if she needed help, she tried to use an Enchantment on me.”

He sighs. “Turns out she was a succubus, so I destroyed her.”

Somehow I don't understand what they're talking about. “Hey, wait, what's a succubus?”

Mr. Mutou glances at Mr. Kanzaki, but he just nods. “A succubus is a cursed human, similar to a vampire, but while vampires kill their victims by drinking their blood, succubi drain their victim's life energy during sexual intercourse. They also have some weak skills at Enchantment that help them ensnare their victims. Common belief is that succubi, like vampires were created by Necromancers long ago to act as thralls or even to collect life energy for them to use in rituals.”

“Sometimes creatures like them are drawn to magic-rich places like this one, which is one of the main reasons I was assigned here. They need to kill in order to stay alive, so they are hunted down whenever we find them.”

“Wait, you built a school in a place that draws vampires?”

“Well, succubi are extremely rare in this day and age. They cannot survive without killing and they inevitably leave behind their genetic fingerprint. They are usually found and destroyed very fast.” Mr. Kanzaki seems disinclined to discuss the topic any further. “Besides with Akio here and at least two more mages, this place is protected better than most.”

Mr. Mutou continues his tale. “The strange thing about this case was that while we found traces of her having had intercourse recently, we didn't find any bodies. A succubus' victim almost always dies. Very rarely does one become a succubus himself – that's how they replicate – but we discreetly checked all students in the following weeks, and nobody showed signs of being a succubus.”

“We tried to find out who she was hanging out with, but her classmates rarely saw her after school and she didn't seem to have any friends. So, we still don't know who she had intercourse with, why that person didn't die and why she was in such a sorry state when I found her.”

Mr. Kanzaki chuckles. “Well, Akio, I think I can shed some light on those mysteries. She must have been the most unlucky succubus of all times, because first she just happened to choose the only living Necromancer as her victim, and afterwards she ran into one of the most skilled Evokers in the Pacific Council Area.”

Mr. Mutou's mouth drops open, and Takeshi looks much the same. “You mean, Kenji was...”

“Yes. If it is true that succubi were created by Necromancers to gather energy, then it is possible that she was drawn to him because of his affinity. It is also likely that there is some sort of protection that prevents succubi from turning their powers on Necromancers, but as she obviously never met a Necromancer before, she probably didn't know about that. She tried to drain him, only to have the energy backfire somehow, which would explain the sorry state you found her in.”

Mr. Mutou looks at Kenji, trying to process the information. “So the reason he did not die after being drained by a succubus...”

Takeshi interrupts him and completes the sentence. “...has to be because he unconsciously used his magic to heal himself!” He beams at Mr. Kanzaki. “That means that it's true, he can use Necromancy for healing!”

All eyes turn to Kenji, who squirms uncomfortably. Mr. Kanzaki clears his throat. “Mr. Setou. I want you to think back to that evening and what happened then.”

Kenji turns pale. “No! I don't want to! I never want to think about that ever again.”

Mr. Kanzaki gives him an annoyed look, but he relents. “Okay, you don't have to think about that, but please remember what happened when she had left. What did you do? How did you feel? Try to recreate that feeling!”

Kenji seems less than enthusiastic, but he closes his eyes, which is hardly noticeable behind his glasses. We all hold our breaths while we wait for... whatever it is Mr Kanzaki is expecting to happen.

At first there is no change at all, but after a short while Kenji seems to emanate a faint black aura. “Yes, that is it, remember this feeling! And now please sit down at the desk.” Mr. Kanzaki motions for Kenji to sit down in the chair he was sitting in when I first entered the room. Then he hands Kenji the potted plant again.

“That is what you did back then to heal yourself. Now I want you to use the same effect to heal this plant. It has completely dried up, but there should be enough water in the pot to restore it. I taught you the basics about photosynthesis and how plants function, so you should know what to do to heal it. And now you also know how to use your magic.”

Kenji takes the pot between his hands and starts to concentrate again. As we are watching a black glow emanates from his hands and enters the pot. After a while the glow emerges at the stem of the plant and slowly rises upwards, until it engulfs the whole plant.

It is an eerie and sinister sight to see the plant surrounded by that black aura, but when I tune out the magic, I see the brownish leaves regain their green colour little by little and finally the blossom at the top opens shining a vibrant red.

Kenji puts the plant down and grins like a Cheshire Cat. “ I did it!”

Mr. Kanzaki lets out the breath he has been holding. “Yes, Kenji, you did it. Very good.”

I decide to capitalize on Kenji's euphoria, before the chance is gone. “Yes, that was really cool, Kenji. And aren't you glad we finally saw through their deception?”

Kenij looks at me confusedly again. “We did?”

“Of course! If it weren't for Mr. Mutou, we'd still believe their lies about the feminists.” I don't want to give Kenji too much time to think. “It's obvious now, isn't it? Those creatures! They tried to drive a wedge between males and females. That's why they picked out you, their most dangerous enemy, and wove an intricate deception to make you believe you'd been targeted by feminists. And it would have almost worked, too, if Mr. Mutou had not found and destroyed that thing after it left you.”

Kenji seems to ponder this for a while. “But how can we be sure that succubus wasn't sent by the Feminists?”

I grope for an answer, looking to Mr. Kanzaki for help, but it's Takeshi who comes to my rescue. “Oh, that is impossible. You see, there are just as many male succubi as there are female ones, and they often work together. In fact, the victims of succubi are most often females. That's because this is more easily disguised as a mundane rape and murder.”

Again, I don't allow Kenji enough time to come up with a counter-argument. “Isn't it great that we finally know who the true enemy is now? Imagine what could have happened if we had continued wasting our resources trying to fight against feminists, while all those succubi, vampires, demons, werewolves, devils and gorgons were waiting on the sidelines for us to decimate each other.”

By now I'm just throwing out creatures from all the fantasy novels I've ever read. I have no idea if those really do exist – I guess everything is possible – but it seems to work.

Kenji's eyes widen in shock. “Hey, man, you're right! I can't believe I fell for their devilish tricks! Oh, god, how could I be so stupid? All the time I could have spent devising ways to counter their insurrection! How can I ever fix this mistake...”

As he continues his tirade, I let out a deep breath of relief. Somehow I still can't believe it worked, but finally there's a chance for Misha and for all of us. Before I can say anything else, though, Takeshi interrupts Kenji's mumbling.

“Well, Kenji, I am glad we all know what we're up against now.” He coughs quietly as he says that. “I think the best way to prepare for the coming fight would be to hone your magic skills, so you can lend your help to any mage who is injured fighting the Forces of Darkness.” He motions for Mr. Mutou and me to follow him out of the room. “And now we won't distract you anymore from your important training session.”

Kenji nods enthusiastically. “You're right! We have not time to lose and much lost ground to make up for.” He waves in my general direction. “See you later, bro!”

“Later, Kenji.” I throw a last glance over my shoulder to see Mr. Kanzaki pick up a small cage from a corner of the room, then Takeshi closes the door behind me.

********************

Please look forward to Chapter Seventeen:
A Spoonful Of Sugar

Re: Katawa Kijo

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 5:58 pm
by Leotrak
Mirage_GSM wrote:Okay, the next thing that will happen is either Shizune entering the room in a maid costume or Emi munching a parfait.
You got that from this one, didn't you? :P

I'm still loving this one ^_^ Can't wait to see what comes next!

Well, what comes after chapter 17, that is... Bwahahahahaha :3

Re: Katawa Kijo

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 6:41 pm
by scott1and
Once again well done, still love this fic. It's great that you're actually still going through with this rather than dropping it after you got bored.

Re: Katawa Kijo

Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 12:50 am
by Mirage_GSM
Leotrak wrote:
Mirage_GSM wrote:Okay, the next thing that will happen is either Shizune entering the room in a maid costume or Emi munching a parfait.
You got that from this one, didn't you? :P
Actually I'm not quite sure. I might have written that part before that story went up...

Re: Katawa Kijo

Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 4:06 am
by Shades of gray
the chapter after the next chapter better not be called, "helps the medicine go down"....

urgh... im too tired and too confuzzled at the moment to think straight... I blame Fate/Stay night

Re: Katawa Kijo

Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 6:51 am
by Mirage_GSM
Shades of gray wrote:the chapter after the next chapter better not be called, "helps the medicine go down"...
If you're curious, you can always check the chapter list in the OP.
Be aware that this is only the current plan. The only chapter that has actually been written so far is #17, and I reserve the right to change the other's titles as I write them...
I don't think the number of chapters will change at this point

Re: Katawa Kijo

Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 9:31 am
by Petermeter
Gotta say I loved that turn in the story, its a pretty good explanation of why Kenji is (was) so mad about women.
Mirage_GSM wrote:She dried to drain him
(Thats rather in the middle of this Chapter)
I don't really know if that makes sense there, I read it as "She tried to drain him", but feel free to correct me.
But anyway, good read, as always.

Re: Katawa Kijo

Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2011 10:15 am
by Leotrak
... "dried to drain"... >_<

Great gods, I'm slipping ">_>

Re: Katawa Kijo

Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2011 5:14 pm
by Mirage_GSM
Fixed the typo. Your reward for finding it is the next chapter ;-)
By the way, and not that it has anything at all to do with this story... *whistles*
I was wondering how one would write a Russian accent in English... Any pointers?

Chapter Seventeen – A Spoonful of Sugar
I want to hurry to the nurse's office to tell Misha and Shizune the good news, when Takeshi calls me back. “Please wait a moment, Hisao!”

I turn to him, anxious to be on my way. “Yes? What is it?”

“I just wanted to congratulate you on your success just now. Now we can finally begin Kenji's training for real.” He turns serious. “However don't think that this solves all your problems. He might be able to use his magic now, and perhaps he is even willing to use it on girls, but so far all he managed was revitalizing a plant.”

“Your heart defect is something very complicated, and it could be years until he is proficient enough to try to heal it. Destroying Misha's cancer might require him to tap into the destructive parts of Necromancy to destroy the cancer cells, and he has to to so without damaging the healthy cells, or his magic will be just as destructive as the chemotherapy.”

He sighs when he sees my face. “Look, I'm just telling you to not get your hopes too high. Of course we will all do our best to help him... Which is why I wanted to talk to you in the first place.”

My mind is already crystal clear on that matter. “If my ability will help, I will support Kenji with all my power.”

“I know that, but I'm afraid power alone is not going to be enough. For now, I was hoping you and Lilly could help me with something else.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“Well, Kenji is going to need to train his magic as soon as possible, and I don't think he should spend too much time with potted plants and lab mice. We want him to be able to heal humans after all.”

“So what's the problem? There isn't any shortage of ill people at Yamaku, isn't there?”

“No, but we can't simply walk up to the students and have Kenji heal them by laying on hands. There's only a handful of students who know about magic, and even if he managed to regrow Emi's legs – or if she even wanted him to – that would also be a bit hard to conceal.”

I mentally go through the girls and realize what he's getting at. “You mean you want him to...”

“Yes, the only one of the students he could try to heal right now is Hanako.”

***

We set off to search for Lilly. Thanks to Takeshi's talents it doesn't take long to find her, and after we bring her up to date we head to class 3-2's homeroom, where Hanako is supposed to have another Transmutation lesson right now.

This time I knock on the door, and soon Ms. Miyagi's voice bids us to enter. Hanako is in the middle of kneading what looks like a lump of granite into shape. Ms. Miyagi is supervising her efforts critically. “Good, but try to get a more even consistency. That part there is softer than the rest.”

She looks up, surprised to see so many of us enter. “Yes? Something the matter?”

Takeshi is the first to answer. “I'm sorry, Makoto, but could we please talk to Hanako for a moment?”

She glances at Hanako, who is trying her best to shrink into her chair. “Sure. It's time for a break anyway.”

We walk over to Hanako. I stay silent, unsure of how to approach the subject.

“We wanted to tell you that Kenji has finally learned how to use his magic.” Takeshi looks at Hanako expectantly, but Hanako just nods her head.

“Y-yes. W-why do you t-tell me?”

Takeshi looks helplessly to Lilly and me. I look helplessly to Lilly. Looking back it would probably have been better to have Lilly talk to Hanako alone.

“They think it might be a good idea to have him try to heal your scars.” If Lilly notices our discomfort, she doesn't show it.

The visible half of Hanako's face looks almost exactly like Ms. Miyagi's without any pigments. “M-me? I-I don't think t-this would b-be a g-good idea.”

Lilly reaches out and takes hold of Hanako's hand. As she finds it on the first try, she probably used magic to locate it. “I think this would be a good idea as well. We don't know if he will manage to heal the scars, but if it doesn't work, you won't have lost anything either.”

“B-but Kenji h-hates m-me. He is a-always m-mean to me, and...”

“Don't worry. Hisao convinced him to help you, and he will be there as well , to help Kenji and make sure he doesn't hurt you.”

Hanako glances at me as if this were not the most reassuring thing Lilly could have said, then she turns back to Lilly. “W-Will you be there as well?”

“Of course, Hanako.”

Hanako fidgets a few moments longer before she utters an almost inaudible “Okay.”

Takeshi suppresses a sigh of relief. “I'm glad to hear that. So, could the three of you please come to the nurse's office this evening at eight? I'll make sure everything is ready by then.”

Hanako tenses again, but nods. Takeshi and I take our leave and let Lilly comfort Hanako a bit more. I feel bad leaving her to do it alone, but I guess my presence would not be helpful anyway.

***

When I return to the nurse's office to finally talk to Misha and Shizune, I find that Shizune has already left. Instead I find Emi entertaining a giggling Misha by magically juggling medical implements. Rin is sitting at the side and watching the two of them with an air of detachment. The nurse is sitting at his desk trying to ignore the noise Emi is causing.

Misha's bed is set so she can sit almost upright. When she notices me she calls my name and waves. “Hey, Hicchan!”

I walk over to her and give her a kiss, causing Emi to grin from ear to ear. Then I sit down on the bed next to her. “Hey, glad you're awake. Where's Shizune?”

“Council work. I told her I'd wait for you and then we'd go join her. Then Emi came by for her Conjuration lesson. And now we're having a little party. Where'd you go to? Shizune didn't want to say.”

So she didn't believe I'd succeed and didn't want to get her hopes up. Takeshi's words come back to me, but a little bit of hope shouldn't hurt. “I talked to Kenji, and convinced him that the feminists aren't out to get him.”

In the ensuing silence you could hear a pin drop.

“How do you know they aren't? Do you know any?” Everyone chooses to ignore Rin's question.

Emi stares at me as if I'd just sprouted wings. “How the heck did you do that? Nobody ever managed to cure his paranoia.”

“Well, I didn't cure it... You could say I redirected it at another target.” I ponder how much I should tell them, but decide to protect Kenji's privacy as much as possible. “Turns out, Kenji was once hurt very bad by something he thought was a normal woman, but it was some dark magical creature instead. I convinced him to consider a truce with the feminists to fight against a common enemy.”

“Anyway, he now believes that it's vampires and demons who are out to get him, but that's not too bad, is it? If such creatures really do exist, they probably are.”

Misha shivers at the thought, so I try to change the subject. “He also managed to do a bit of healing magic, but Takeshi said it would still take some time until he would be able to try to heal cancer or heart defects. He's going to try to heal Hanako tonight.”

“Is he going to fix her bladder?” Both Misha and Emi look at Rin uncomprehendingly.

It takes me a few seconds to remember what she's talking about myself. “No, he is going to try to heal her scars, but maybe that will also help with her other problems.”

“You think her bladder problems are linked to her scars? How very unique. I don't have anyone like that in my collection yet. Maybe I should ask her about it.”

This is not good. “I don't think you should. I'm probably mistaken about the connection anyway.” Another change of subject might be in order. “So what about you? Mr. Kanzaki said Kenji might eventually be able to regrow lost limbs.”

Rin looks at me. “Yes?”

“Aren't you excited that you might have arms soon?”

She shrugs. “Not really. They'd probably want me to wear skirts like the other girls, and I don't like them.”

That has to be the most ridiculous reason for not wanting arms I've ever heard – not that that's saying much – but then, did I really expect anything else from Rin? I turn to Emi. “And you? You want to get your real legs back, don't you?”

Emi levitates her running blades that have been standing in a corner to her hands. “What, and give up on these? Who else can just put on a suitable set of legs for every occasion? Who else can adjust their height? Besides, I don't really need real feet. I don't plan on taking on either ballet or tap-dancing.”

Misha puts her arm around my waist. “Seems like the two of us and Hanako are the only ones who even want to be healed. I know Shicchan isn't interested. We talked about it earlier, and she said she didn't want to learn another foreign language. I'm not sure about Lilly. A week ago she'd probably have been excited about it, but once she's got the hang of that Divination thing, she'll probably be able to see better than the rest of us.”

She swings her legs out of the bed and stands slowly. “Anyway, we should get going to help Shicchan, or she'll be mad again. And thank you.” She plants a kiss on my cheek. “I know you've been doing all this for my sake.”

Without giving me a chance to reply, she grabs my arm, waves goodbye to Emi and Rin, and before I know it, we're en route to the student council office.

***

The rest of the afternoon goes by in a flash. We didn't really get to do much council work this week, so there's plenty to catch up on.

After a quick dinner in the cafeteria I excuse myself and head back to the nurse's office to assist Kenji, should my help be needed.

I am five minutes early, but Lilly and Hanako are already sitting at a table. I try to show my most reassuring smile, but Hanako still looks like she'd rather be anywhere but here right now. I don't want to agitate her more than necessary, so I go and talk to the nurse for a bit after greeting the two of them. Luckily we don't have to wait long.

There is a polite knock on the door, and then Mr. Kanzaki enters the room, closely followed by Kenji. Kenji squints a bit to make out the occupants of the room. “Hey, Hisao, good to have you here. Who's...” He seems to recognize the two girls. “Her? She's the one I'm supposed to heal?”

Hanako would probably bolt from the room if Lilly wasn't holding her hand, so I do my best to calm Kenji down quickly. “Of course, Kenji, Don't you remember? We're allies now. You know? The enemy of my enemy?”

Kenji hesitates. “Hmm, I don't know about an alliance... I was thinking more along the lines of a cease-fire...”

I lean over to him and whisper in his ear. “Just think about it as a token of our goodwill. It's not like healing her scar will give them any tactical advantage.”

Kenji brightens considerably at this thought. “You're right, Hisao. Good thinking as always. I don't know what I would do without you.” He turns towards Hanako. “Okay, let's get this over with.”

A cough from Mr. Kanzaki quiets the room. “Before you start, let me explain a few things. Mr. Setou and I did a lot of experiments this afternoon, testing the possibilities and limits of his healing powers. What we can say so far is that it seems to be comparatively easy to heal a wound that would heal naturally on its own. In that case, the magic serves to augment and speed the body's natural recuperative powers.”

He pauses for a moment. “In Ms. Ikezawa's case, the wounds are old and would not normally heal on their own. This apparently takes a lot more effort from the Necromancer, so please don't expect a complete recovery today. In fact, I would count any improvement at all as a success.”

“As I expected Ms. Ikezawa to be Mr. Setou's first patient, I taught him a lot about dermatology this week, so he should know what to do to return your skin to normal.” He turns to Kenji. “I suggest that you work on the scar on Ms. Ikezawa's right hand for now. I will only observe, but Hisao should feel free to assist you if needed.”

Kenji sits down at the table to Hanako's right. Hanako hesitates, but after some encouragement from Lilly holds out her hand.

I quietly sit down across from Hanako and look at the hand. From the end of her sleeve to the knuckle of her index finger, almost the entire back of her hand is covered in scars.

Kenji grabs the hand clumsily and begins to concentrate. As I watch, the black aura appears from his hands again and engulfs Hanako's hand as well.

Hanako recoils from the black glow and clutches her hand to her chest.

“Hey, hold still! I can't work like that.”

Reluctantly, Hanako holds out her hand again. Though she is trembling, when Kenji's magic touches her hand again, she doesn't draw it back this time.

A few minutes go by without any noticeable change. I look up and notice Mr. Kanzaki nodding my way encouragingly.

Slowly, so as not to startle anyone, I reach out and put my hand on top of Kenji's. I start to concentrate and my hand begins to glow with the white colour of Abjuration. However, when the white aura mingles with Kenji's black one, the black does not dissolve but instead it becomes even darker. Soon, I cannot even see Hanako's hand through the glow, but I dare not tune it out for fear of losing my concentration.

Five more minutes and Kenji suddenly stops. He looks pale and beads of sweat have formed on his brow. Slowly the black glow fades, and Hanako holds her hand up to her eyes to examine it.

For a moment everything is silent, then tears start running down her face. She is hugging Lilly and sobbing uncontrollably at her shoulder.

Mr. Kanzaki lets out a frustrated growl. “So it didn't work. I'm sorry, I really thought...”

“No!” Hanako lets go of Lilly and turns to Mr. Kanzaki. Her face is a mess from all the tears, but her mouth is smiling. “It did work.” Hesitantly she presents her hand for us to look at. There is still a large scar there, but no longer does it reach all the way to her knuckles. It has receded almost two centimeters.

She smiles at Kenji. “Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

If I didn't know better, I'd swear I saw Kenji blush right now. He fidgets nervously. “If you want I could try again...”

“I think this is enough for today, Mr. Setou. This has been a very exhausting day for you, and you will have plenty of time to continue this session. In fact, I would like you to spend some of your magic lessons in Ms. Miyagi's Transmutation training. It seems that Necromancy is a bit similar to Transmutation in that you both need a solid background in anatomy, and Ms. Miyagi is a much better teacher in that field than I am.”

He looks at his watch. “It's getting late. Please use tomorrow to relax. We'll resume your training on Monday.” With that he excuses himself and walks to the door.

I want to return to the dorms as well, but as I am just about to leave, Takeshi enters. “Ah, Hisao, I'm glad you're still here, and you as well, Lilly.”

“I'm sorry to impose on you two, but I'd like you to meet me tomorrow morning at ten in the tea-room for an experiment.” When I open my mouth to protest, he holds up his hands. “I know tomorrow is Sunday, and I said I'm sorry, but this is important, so please.”

I look at his face and there is nothing like his usual grin. He is completely serious. Whatever he has planned for tomorrow it has to be really important. I nod my agreement. “Okay, if it's okay with Lilly as well, we'll meet you tomorrow at ten.”

Lilly doesn't have any objections either, and so I say my goodbyes and return to my room. As I drift off to sleep, I wonder what Takeshi thought was so important...

********************

Please look forward to Chapter Eighteen:
Hellfire

Re: Katawa Kijo

Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2011 9:41 pm
by griffon8
Okay, another great chapter.

Where did Disney use a song titled, 'Hellfire'?

Re: Katawa Kijo

Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2011 10:59 pm
by ChaoticGrowth
The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXqhxoeV3wY

Re: Katawa Kijo

Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 4:16 am
by Russian tourist
Mirage_GSM wrote: By the way, and not that it has anything at all to do with this story... *whistles*
I was wondering how one would write a Russian accent in English... Any pointers?
Like Orcs in Warcraft :lol:

Okay, now seriously
http://talkrussian.info/how-to-write-in ... accent.htm
this may help

Or maybe just "He\she speaks with russian accent"

Keep up the good work!

Re: Katawa Kijo

Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 7:12 am
by scott1and
Another great entry Mirage, really enjoyin this series. It's also great to see Kenji not totally reformed, it would be kinda strange had he suddenly dropped a believe that he had had for a couple years

Re: Katawa Kijo

Posted: Sun May 01, 2011 11:24 am
by Petermeter
Mirage_GSM wrote:Your reward for finding it is the next chapter ;-)
Well, thank you a lot :) Hanakos reaction to Kenji in general is written out pretty nicely, liked that a lot. Keep the story up, its rather better than some of the books I read, and as somebody stated elsewhere, I did pay for them and this is free. Thank you for it.