The old house was considered an oddity in the town of Forge. It was said that the first Vulcan had come there before founding his kingdom anew. Certainly, the house was strange in and of itself - King Johannes often said that that only the forest was older than the house. Even in the wars that tore the kingdom apart all those eons ago, the house had been left untouched.
Of course, the true history of the house was known only by one living person, currently being dragged all over Japan in search of a forest that wasn't there, and Meioh Setsuna didn't really want much of anything to do with the Kingdom of Magic these days. Not since the fall of the Moon Kingdom, anyway.
But regardless of how strange the house was, the inhabitant was even stranger. Granny Riley, the legendary fortune-teller, had made it her home. As weird things seemed to actively seek her out, this meant that strangeness was drawn to the house like moths to a flame. A perfect example of this would have been the mischief brothers, Masshi and Hoshi. True, nobody could remember what brought the pranksters to the house in the first place, but everyone knew that it was Riley's fault. Even though it was thanks to her and Queen Rhodie that the two were sealed (up until a year ago, when Kamilu and Robelia freed them by accident...)
So, when the lights in the old house started to flicker alarmingly, the people nearby took little notice of it. They assumed that the old granny could weasel her way out of trouble again, whatever she did this time.
They hadn't counted on Fine and Rein.
"Fine, you hold Pokota. Rein... erm, no, that won't work. Need the Fortulette for that."
Granny Erica had finally escaped from her closet, and was now trying to make the mirror work as a portal. Reflected in it was Granny Riley herself. Like Erica, she was a Dentite - a mouse-woman, and the only Dentite to have been born outside of the Mysterious Star. Her and Erica were good friends, and kept in contact using the very mirror that Pokota now found himself squashed against.
"Can I have some breathing room?" he asked.
Riley tapped on the mirror. "It's a shame Sei couldn't get that experiment of his working properly, Eri."
Altezza, in order to prevent anyone from making a tasteless 'came out of the closet' joke, had managed to get the rest of the cleaning crew to clean other houses on the street. Only Fine, Rein, Pokota, and Erica were left in the house.
"Oh, so the idiot failed after all, Riley?" Erica pushed Fine onto her hands and knees, then placed Pokota in her hat. "Rein, stand up on your sister's back and hold your arms out... No, not like that, more like this..."
After Rein had done what Erica asked her, a thought occurred to her. "Why don't we just ask the king and queen for help?"
Riley and Erica both just stood there for a moment, then buried their foreheads in their hands. "Why didn't we think of that before?"
The plan was to get Hibino out of the way long enough for Erika to get Kanro and the stranded trio from the Magic Kingdom home without too many questions being asked. Given that Himeko had known bunnies more perceptive than Hibino, it couldn't be too hard, right? In any event, Hibino Hikaru was now chasing Himeko and Daichi in the direction of Kazetachi First Middle School, giving Erika the opportunity she needed.
In little more than a whisper, Aiko called out to the departing princess. "Wait. Can... can Kouichi and I go with you?"
Erika stopped and considered the consequences. If Aiko and Hasekura were brought to the Magic Kingdom, then there would be people calling for her family to change the laws. But, if Hasekura were admitted for 'medical treatment' and Aiko were permitted entry because of the circumstances... she turned to face Aiko and, carefully, gave her answer. "I will arrange for Hasekura Kouichi to be brought to the Magic Kingdom, to see if there is anything we can do to restore his memories. Given the situation, it should not be unreasonable for you to also be granted permission to come. I will come get the two of you if and when the time comes." She then turned to Chappi, the broom. "Can you handle four of us?"
Chappi frowned. "I'm not certain. We may need to make multiple trips, swish-swish."
Kanro smiled. "'S okay, you broom. Sei'll want ter have comp'ny, an' Nonohara'll want someone t' keep th' reins tight on th' guy. B'sides, when I'm needed back I'll jus' gate back."
"Oh yeah, I forgot you could gate. Still, you're supposed to come back too. Anyway, since you can just gate, that simplifies things somewhat. Chappi, you take Kamilu and Robelia... hey, wait a minute, Kanro, if you can gate, why didn't you gate back earlier?"
"I told yer, Sei'dve wanted comp'ny an' someone's gotta keep an eye on 'im. T' be hones', though, I forgot I could, jus' like you did."
"Well..." began Erika.
"B'sides, what sorta trouble d'you think I'd get up t' here with th' Senshi on th' watch? Even if I wanted t' do somethin', I wouldn't get away with it. They'd be on me like stink on a skunk."
"I suppose that's true. Chappi, meet up with me at the castle."
The door popped up out of nowhere. Riley couldn't stop in time to keep from running into it headfirst. Erika stepped out of the door, which then disappeared, and noticed the Dentite just laying there dazed.
"Riley! I'm sorry!"
"Oh, it's nothing I can't mend at home, Princess. Hey, wait... Princess Erika! We're on the verge of bringing Pokota back here from the Mysterious Star, but we're in need of some raw power to make it work."
"So you're here to borrow Mama?"
"We may need her, but you should have enough power to do it. Since I just ran into your gate spell, you've even got the words we may need, too."
Erika sighed. "I don't like this, but I'll go. Let me leave a message with-"
Chappy, Robelia, and Kamilu came over the horizon, just as Erika was about to explain. She waved at the broom and his passengers, then sighed "Never mind, let's go."
Himeko and Daichi had stopped running at full speed when they saw Chappi fly overhead. Thankfully, Hibino had thought nothing of the shadow and kept her eyes on the terrible duo. Himeko panted as she clambered up a tree. "Daichi, I think that's enough running."
Daichi climbed up after her. "Isn't it strange that we're doing this late at night, on a day when we were supposed to be celebrating someone's birthday, all because Arisaka can't keep his magic under control?"
Unbeknownst to Daichi and Himeko, Hibino was now close enough to hear them properly. She promptly ducked into a bush and listened.
Himeko shrugged. "If it wasn't for the fact that they'd erase everyone's memories, I'd have told her long ago why she needs to back off."
Daichi laughed. "Yeah, well, since the Senshi are apparently as real as Erika and Pokota, I don't think we'll have too much trouble getting another person to keep your magic secret."
Himeko smiled at that. "I wonder what they meant by Senshi crawling out of the woodwork? You don't think that there's another one hiding here in Kazetachi, waiting to be found. Do you?"
Hibino didn't know what to make of this. Erased memories, magic being real, Tin Nyanko being a real Senshi... wait, erased memories?
Daichi frowned a little. "As weird as our lives have been since you got that ribbon, I don't think I'd be able to handle it if you did turn out to be a Senshi. I wasn't kidding when I said I was devastated."
Himeko leaned in closer to him. "Daichi, I'm always going to want to protect people. I almost let you get married to Hibino by accident because of that, you know."
Hibino's ears pricked up. What about marrying Daichi? It had been a dream that she had never told anyone, but then how did Nonohara know about it?
Daichi also leaned in closer. "I know. The High King told me what happened, but not why he gave you a free wish... My brother, your sister, Yuka... even Hibino. They all owe their lives to you in some way, and most of them don't even know it. Hell, I even owe you for keeping me away from that creepy stalker girl."
Himeko blushed and said softly "I love you, Daichi. That's why he gave me a free wish."
They kissed. Hibino couldn't take it anymore. She jumped out of the bush she was hiding in and ran under the tree, shouting "AHA! I was right all along!"
Himeko and Daichi, surprised by the sudden shout (and the realization that Hibino had heard them) fell out of the tree... right on top of her.
Erika, Erica, and Riley finished casting the spell that would bring Pokota back to the Kingdom of Magic. They put just a little too much power into the spell.
Fine and Rein were standing in Erica's bedroom, looking confused, and holding a very struggling Pokota. "Erika! Thank you so much for getting me here at least! How's Hime-chan doing?"
For once, Fine and Rein remembered their decorum upon meeting a new person and not shortly afterward. "I'm Princess Fine." "I'm Princess Rein." "We're the princesses of Sunny Kingdom."
Erika watched their introduction, and introduced herself. "Welcome to the Kingdom of Magic. I am Crown Princess Erika, heir to the throne of Vulcan the Inventor. You two are Poomo's friends, correct?"
Fine and Rein nodded enthusiastically. So much for decorum. "Yes! We'd like to have him back soon, but we can take time to explore your kingdom and meet your family and friends. We'd especially like to meet Himeko!
Erika, who didn't know what had just happened between Himeko, Hibino, and Daichi, smiled. "Sure! I'll take you to her right away. Hang on tight!"
As Hibino extracted herself from the pile of bodies, a door sprang up inches from her face and opened away from her. Out of it stepped a long-haired version of Nonohara, a girl in all pink, a girl in all blue, and that strange toy lion of Nonohara's.
Erika buried her head in her hands. "This just isn't my day."
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(Posted Sat, 31 Jul 2010 21:30)
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