Back To High School Part 3

February 6th
Amari High School, Aoyama-Itchome, Tokyo
14:25

After lunch, everyone went back to class. And they continued without much problem, everyone concentrating on their own things. My biggest concern was that Maria continued to act like a normal person, but I began to notice that she was very aware of what was going on in class, although she did not participate much. When we got to the last lesson of the day, the teacher began to give the directions for the group work.

"So the science work will now be done in a group of four".
"And to avoid problems with the groups, I will assign them myself"
"I don't expect any complaints about why I assign such a person to such a group.
"And above all, Josuke, I do not expect you to ask your colleagues to sell the posters for the presentation!"

Although she only has two weeks as a teacher, she is doing a great job. Despite the fatigue of having 40 people who ignore her most of the time, but when she was here, was it necessary for her mother to pretend to be a teacher as well?

"And the last group will be our new colleagues and the delegate."
"I think it will be a good opportunity for them to get used to the environment here.
"That would be all for today.
"Remember to study at home and do the homework for the other classes."
"Bye."

After the teacher left the class, she started to clean the room, some students left later, but I stayed to talk to the group they assigned me. And I even thought that the others had the same idea because it was Haru and Maria who approached me first.

"And again it's my turn to take care of new people, I wonder what the substitute teacher is looking for when she entrusts everything to me," the delegate girl said as soon as she approached.

"Very well."
"I'm here."
"We need to arrange a meeting to do this."
"How about tomorrow to start earlier?" Said my sister Maria.

Finally I hear her voice again. It fills me with hope that she is well. Compared to the last time I saw her in the hospital in intensive care. To see her here by my side alone is unbelievable. But I cannot neglect myself now that I am close to her, if it is true that she works for the I.S.C. and they come to pick her up, it means that they must be watching her closely. If so, maybe they shouldn't let her out so easily. I'll check it out.

"Sure, no problem."
"Though I would like to ask if we can leave the school"
"I don't like to stay in a place where I am bothered with questions from the curious."

"I have no problem with that."
"How about that new coffee shop near the park in Shirahige Park?
" It is a bit far, but I know the owner and I think she will let us do our homework there"
"It's also quite quiet and we can stay there all day," Haru said again.

This description sounded familiar to me. It seemed to be my mother's shop. So it would be perfect for me to watch over Maria.

"Is it the one that doesn't have a name yet?"
"I think I've been here before, I like this place."

I said, trying to find out if this was the place. I think only my mother could run a restaurant without a name, so there can be no other place that fits.

"Yes, the same place"
"As far as I know, the owner still doesn't know what to call it, but she has to decide within a few days," Haru confirmed.

"Okay"
"In the coffee shop then," my sister replied without showing any disagreement with the idea.

That means I was wrong. It seems that if she has freedom, she can at least make sure that they give her permission to go there. It could also be that whatever she is researching has something to do with this. I'm still lost in my thoughts about how to get more information about my sister and what could be happening, but then Maria starts talking to me again.

"Will you tell your friend about the meeting later?"
"Elise?"

"What?"
"What do you mean?"

"The girl who came with you today," she replied.
"The one you made a scandal with this morning, that you were a couple."

"Tamamo?"
"But if she is here!"

I looked behind me for Tama, but when I looked closer, she was nowhere to be found. She wasn't at her seat or in the classroom, she wasn't anywhere I could see her. Which was strange, because she had never been away from me since I met her. And I don't think she thought it was a good idea to get lost in a place she didn't know.

"Where did she go?" I asked.

"She just left, saying something about preparing food for you when you arrive."
"She left in a hurry."
"Do you live together?" Haru answered me.

"Seriously?"
"Okay, I think I better go warn her about tomorrow!"
"Remember to get information"
"I'll bring the materials for the presentation poster!"
"Bye!"

I started running on the way back from school. At the same time, she was also hanging around, thinking that she might be entertaining herself while walking alone. Hell, hadn't we agreed to meet after school to report on her? This was the best time to get information, I'll talk to her about what she did.

When I passed by my mom's store, I looked inside, thinking maybe she was there. And I found her, she was near the entrance talking to someone at the counter where the cakes were. I immediately went in to talk to her.

"Tamamo, you are here!"
"What were you thinking, coming here right after class?"
"Now was the time to talk to my sister and get information!"

"Darling!"
"How quickly you arrived!"
"Sorry for running away."
"It was because I was thinking of watching over the car that would come for Maria from the sky with the moon.
"But if I did that, my physical body would disappear and the others would not be able to see me, although I would still be in the same place.
"Although I think it would be very strange if I disappeared like air.
"That's why I came here!"

"Can you do that?"
"Why didn't you say so before?"

"You told me you didn't want to know!"

"I'm sorry!"
"You're right, if you can do it, do it"
"Please!" I told her

"Despite following the cars with the city's security cameras, they always manage to avoid them by changing cars in a tunnel or parking lot."
"If you can do something like that, follow them from the air."
"Please!"
"Follow them, I want to know what they are doing with my daughter!"
"Where are they taking her?"
"I need to know!"

My mother was speaking from the other side of the counter. She hadn't been paying attention to me, so as soon as she spoke, she scared me. She was dressed more casually, wearing a white apron. The clerk was at the register while my mother seemed to be serving customers.

"Mom!"
"How long have you been here?"

"This is my coffee shop."
"I come here every day after I finish my job at the Akasaka Press Center."
"I came about an hour ago"

Tamamo immediately jumped on the counter and sat down on her knees right behind it, so that she couldn't be seen by the customers.

"I don't want to waste any more time"
"The car should be there by now!"
"So I'm going to start tracking them."
"Even though I am fading, you can still talk to me, because I will continue right here"
"I can continue to listen to you.
"When I finish, I will appear again!"

"Good luck!" I told her

"Please don't lose sight of her!" my mother added.

Right after we finished talking, Tamamo put her backpack on her side and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened her eyes again, they glowed golden, and as if she were a ghost, she became more and more transparent until she disappeared completely. And as if what my mother and I had just seen was not enough, the backpack that had been next to Tamamo was still in its place and lost its balance and even fell to the place where its owner had been just moments before.

"Although I never thought something like this could happen, it is convenient enough to have a goddess in the family," my mother spoke again, trying to sound calm, although I could see that she even doubted what she was saying.
"I still can't believe she's actually married to..."
"That..."

"Do you look disappointed in me?"

"Well, it shouldn't bother you and I'm glad you're still alive"
"But I think she would prefer a man"

"She knows I am one!"

"Yes, I know that too!"
"Only that way you won't be able to continue the family!"
"I want to have grandchildren!"

"Is that why you won't let me live in peace?"
"Years have passed, and when we meet again, you always talk about the same things!"
"And what about León?"
"Is he not married yet?"
"He must have a family by now!"
"Why do you keep bothering me with this?"

"He lives in the United States!"
"I want to take care of the children!"
"They should live near me!"

"Don't you want to know more about Maria?"
"She is more important than talking about this subject"

My mother and I were arguing for a long time. It was so bad that we decided to sit at one of the tables and have a drink. While we were sitting there, a new customer came into the cafe. She was our teacher, Warlady was here, and as soon as she saw us, she came to talk to us.

"You're late, Xian!" my mother said to her.

"I'm very sorry, there was a meeting with the other teachers, so I couldn't leave until now."

"Wait, is your name Xian?"
"Are you from China?"
"Then why did Yamada call you Clarice all day?"
"How did you get such a nickname?" I ask.

"Because he thinks he's the class clown and because I hate that name."

"And how did he find out?"

"Very good Xian, what have you found out?" my mother returns to the subject.

"I haven't made any progress.
"She continues to do what I assign, but she still doesn't talk much in class.
"There is not much I can do from the position of a new teacher."
"Leave an assignment in groups today for your daughters to complete together"

"There's not much I can say either," I began to report my part.
"Talking to the other students, they told me the same thing.
"It seems that she is supposed to be looking after a friend of someone in the class, but I don't know if she is someone in the classroom".
"It also seems that if they let her out of school, she must have some autonomy to act".
"We will meet here tomorrow after school to do homework.
"It seems that a certain Haru Yamamoto said that she knows you and that you would let us do the work here.
"I think it is better if you are not here tomorrow so that Maria does not see you yet.
"I hope Tamamo can get more information"

"Haru said that?" my mother spoke now.
"She is the granddaughter of the person who told me that Maria is here.
"There is no problem with her doing the work here"
"Although I prefer to talk to Maria as soon as possible"

"But we have to find out what she's doing first," I said.
"I know that when she sees you, she will leave everything behind to meet us again.
"But then we won't be able to see what the I.S.C. has planned for her."
"Besides, I doubt that what they have told Maria is the truth, because they are probably lying to her about what they really plan".
"In any case, I think I can find out soon."
"I just need time."

Right after she finished speaking, I could see Tamamo slowly reappear behind Xian, silently. When she had almost finished giving her the entrance to her ghosts, he put his hands on her and shook her a little to scare her, which had an effect on her because Warlady almost spit out the coffee she had just bought.

"AAAAHH!"
"Where did you come from?"

"I came from the bathroom," Tamamo replied with a smile on her face when she saw the fear her victim had suffered.

"What did you discover Tamamo?" My mother asked.

"After they left the school, they took her to a tunnel in the south.
"After they changed their car to a white one, they drove towards the big orange tower with white.
"They stopped at a building that I saw belonged to a security company called Alfa, where they changed cars again.
"Then they went south to the port and entered a warehouse, number 4, I think it was.
"Since then they haven't done anything, they haven't moved again.
"Through one of the windows I could see that Maria had a small room with a bed, probably where she slept.

"Did you see the license plates of the cars?" my mother asked.

"What is a license plate?" Tamamo said with a smile, accepting her ignorance.

"Thank you for your efforts to help us"
"It helped us a lot" My mother knew that Tamamo did her best despite not knowing anything about our world, she let go of the mistake Tama made.
"Xian!"

"I will immediately investigate Alpha and the warehouse"
"I will inform you today!"

"I hope so!"

And without even waiting for my mother's confirmation, the teacher left the shop and walked away.

"What happened to her and how did it end like this?"

"Well, she missed something very important in Vienna, and she has to show that she is capable of fulfilling what is required of her".
"Although that was just an excuse to put someone in the first class before I left."
"Maybe I will give her her old job back later."
"Although she prefers to stay as a teacher, in reality she seems to enjoy it more than her real job".

After that we stayed in the store until closing time, then on the way back my mother told me that she had finally come up with a name for the cafeteria, which from now on would be called White Moon, clearly referring to Tamamo as the goddess of the moon and to me for my white color.

Later at home, during dinner, I started to talk about some of my adventures in the Alliance Army, some of them were common, like the raid on some place, but others were a little crazier, like how I managed to escape from a military base with only an empty leather wallet.

"And that's how we discovered that the best way to infiltrate the Empire's base was to use a screwdriver and a plastic card.
"Otherwise we would lose those three weeks we spent in the tower of that church in Podgorica spying on the soldiers," I finished my story.

"How did you know that fresh fish would do such a thing?" My mother asked.

"In everyday conversations sometimes very strange things are said," I replied.

"How many languages do you speak?" the goddess asked.
"As far as I know, Japanese is not your first language, and when you say you are from America, it is not Russian either.

"You know I have been speaking Spanish with my mother since I was in the cafeteria, right?"

"Seriously?"
"I didn't notice!"

"But you are speaking Spanish right now!"

"Seriously?"
"Right now?"
"I'm still doing it?"
"It must be for being a goddess that surely all languages are the same for me.
"Otherwise, I don't understand how I'm talking to you if it's not Japanese"

"How many languages do you know?" The next person to ask was my mother.
"I'm still curious"

"Spanish is my native language, of course, later it would be English, completely, also Italian, German, Russian and Japanese, although those a little less".
"Finally, French and Portuguese, I hardly know what they say, because they sound a bit like Spanish".
"So that would be 6 languages, I do not count the other two last".
"It turns out that in a war it is very useful to know several languages.
"That way you can hear what the enemy is up to."
"Although most of them learned it with the other soldiers."

"In my work, I also have to know several languages," my mother said.
"Although I prefer my employees to speak Spanish.
"I do not want to complicate my life more than I already have to do by having to know so many things and then adding the language.

"I still don't think I knew I could speak all languages!"
"It's quite useful!"
"I will pass the English class tomorrow perfectly!" Tamamo said cheerfully.

"Well, I'm going to sleep now," I said.
"If they have already delivered that new bed, I want to sleep in it!"
"And for that I have to get used to preparing the room with the new furniture first"
"For something I bought them!"
"I've slept on floors and chairs long enough to keep doing that."

It takes about an hour just to get the new furniture in the room. In addition, more time is spent trying to install a closet for clothes and putting together a bookcase. Since my mother was taking care of Tamamo at her job in the cafeteria, it was my turn to do it all by myself without any help. So it took longer than I had planned to finish the room. By the time I was done, it was already dawn. Afterward, Tamamo went up to the room to see how it turned out.

"What do you think of the room?"
"Nice, right?"
"The windows finally have curtains.
"I even managed to get some extra screws when I finished following the instructions on how to assemble the bookcase and the bed."

Tama looked around the room from side to side, and even though she saw the fruits of my efforts, her face didn't change a bit.

"It's pretty"
"But it's not too much...simple?
"I was expecting something more elaborate!"
"This is supposed to be our sanctuary!"
"Our home!"
"And the bed is too small for two."

"Is that when I saw it in the store it seemed bigger"
"And if I bought a bigger one, the desk for the computer would not fit."

"And the bookcase?"
"Your mother already has lots of books in the other room!"

"But they are about politics, law or novels"
"Those are the ones we need for high school!"

Tamamo, however, went to the bookstore and went exactly where I thought she wouldn't look. Then she took one of the books and opened it. And even though Tamamo doesn't like books, it didn't matter this time, because the book she chose was one with a lot of black and white pictures. A very popular type of book in Japan among young boys who buy them secretly.

"And these are for school too?" She asked.

"I didn't buy them!"
"I'm innocent!"
"I swear!"
"I never went to a store on the third floor of the mall to buy anything like that!"

"And how did you know it was on the third floor?"

Shit, I just gave myself away, it's the end!

"These are guides!"
"These are guides to human anatomy!"
"You need to know a little bit about everything."

"And what will these guides do for you if you don't have any tools?"
"You said yourself that he left, never to return"

"So sorry"
"I bought them on impulse, I haven't seen a copy in years!"
"You know how desperate you can get when you spend so much time on a boat, full of people, with no privacy."
"The officers even confiscated the books we collected as war booty."
"And just when the war ends, I get caught up in it, without even one last chance.
"You just did something one last time and didn't realize it until he was gone.
"I could never really do it with a girl, not even when I was married to Nanami.
"I didn't know what I was doing until I finished buying them, then I remembered that nothing will be like before.
"I'm going to get rid of her right now"

"Wait"
"What are these other books about?"

It turned out that she had found other books in one of the boxes that I hadn't opened yet. They were other types of manga. They were of the genre where only girls appear in the drawings, only of that gender, specifically.

"I swear I did not buy them!"
"This time I'm serious!"
"There was no place I went!"

"Here is a note"
"It says they are for you"
"It says you'll need them since we're both girls."
"Sincerely, your mother"
"Look!"
"These, if we can use them as a guide!"
"We could try something like this, or maybe this"
"The truth is, we've never done anything like this before, but we could try it."
"Looks fun!"

"Leave it!"
"Don't pay so much attention to what my mother is doing!"
"Can we save this for another day?"
"Please?"
"We have a few hours before we get up in the morning"
"Besides, I'm tired of putting all this together."
"Please have mercy on me"

After that, I managed to talk to Tama about letting me rest for one more day because I really wanted to rest and because it was really late.

I know she is really trying to make me happy and please me as much as she can. But the truth is that just having her by my side is enough for me, knowing that I can talk to her and that she is with me gives me joy. A joy I thought I had lost when the war against the dragons ended and I lost Nanami. Since then, I thought that no one else would want to be by my side. But if these last days have shown me anything, it is that there may be more people who really want to be with me than I thought.

With these thoughts, I was able to sleep well tonight without any trace of yesterday's nightmare.