The indoor pool glistened as the sun rose through the windows. There would be very few people there in the Spring and Summer under most circumstances. It was perfect beach weather. However…
“This place is full,” Hisa groaned.
Haru said, “I heard there’s a police investigation of the beach. The onmyoji might be using it to cover up, or it might be a genuine investigation.”
“Then we don’t have the place to ourselves,” Keiko stated. “But that shouldn’t be too much trouble as long as we mind our own business.”
They walked further inside, hateful gazes turning to Haru as they passed. Keiko saw an unoccupied area of the pool and directed them towards it. Three punks got in their way. One was short, fat, and had a shaven head. The other two were tall and thin, with one having a bowl cut, and his companion having a mohawk.
The first glared at Haru, “Look at that! Some jerk’s making off with a couple of ladies.”
“We can’t tolerate that sort of thing around here,” his bowl-cut wearing friend folded his arms.
“Look, we’re just here to enjoy the pool,” Haru said.
“A likely story.”
Keiko spoke, “As in, it’s a story that’s very likely. Could you just leave us alone?”
“I don’t know what lies this guy’s told you,” the mohawked boy stated. “But he’s clearly just the sort of guy ladies like you should avoid.”
“Holy hella crap!” Hisa’s eyes widened with realization. “Guys, we’ve got to get their autographs!”
“Autographs? What for?” their fat friend wondered.
Bowl-cut boy grabbed his ear and pulled, “Keep it down, chucklehead. There’s a lady who wants out autographs.”
“No, it’s a fair question. Why do you want them, Hisa-chan? Do you know these people?” Keiko asked.
Haru added, “They look familiar, but I can’t place them.”
“Oh, come on! They’re totally famous in America,” Hisa said. “They’re the Three Stooges. Some wizard or god must have resurrected them. But why did you get a mohawk, Larry?”
The fat guy chuckled, “She thinks we’re the Three Stooges, nyuck nyuck nyuck!”
“That isn’t a complement, you nitwit,” bowl-cut barked.
He poked him in the eyes and got slapped for it. Haru and Keiko used this opportunity to back away as the mohawked bot joined them.
Hisa asked, “So, I am getting your autographs or…”
Keiko grabbed her and yanked her onward.
The three arrived at an area of the pool that was unoccupied; however, they were still crammed in there. Every time Haru tried to swim out, he was blocked by several people.
“I thought we’d get a more relaxing pool day,” Keiko sighed.
Haru said, “Sorry, Keiko-chan. My curse is causing trouble again.”
“You don’t need to apologize for that, Haru-kun. It isn’t your fault.”
“Well, if we can’t swim, we might as well have a hella awesome lunch!” Hisa smiled.
Keiko replied, “That’s a good idea. I’ll go get some food.”
“Don’t worry about that, sis,” the kitsune smiled. “I packed lunch.”
She jumped out of the pool and walked off. A few moments later, Hisa came back with a large box.
“Thanks for packing it, Hisa,” Haru spoke.
“Hold on a minute,” Keiko said. “This is food that humans can eat, right?”
Hisa stated, “You don’t need to worry about that. I totally used your recipes on this.”
“That’s good. What food did you pack?”
The kitsune brought some of it out, “Mouseburgers, teriyaki worm tempura, and berries.”
“I think I’ll just have the berries,” Keiko sighed.
Haru nodded, “Berries for me…hang on, are those poisonous berries?”
“Of course not. I got them at a store,” Hisa told him.
“Then where did you get the mice?”
“A restaurant.”
Keiko and Haru turned pale.
“Hisa, you have to tell us which restaurant you got those mice from!” the former grabbed the kitsune’s shoulders and shook her. “It’s of utmost importance.”
“It’s the General Chicken Legs near your house.”
“Keiko-chan!” Haru declared. “We must never visit that restaurant!”
As time passed, Hisa ended up eating everything except the berries. Haru and Keiko’s stomachs grumbled.
“I’ll get us some food,” Keiko got out of the pool. “There’s a hot dog stand nearby.”
As she walked away, several large men approached Haru and Hisa.
“Hey!” one of them said. “You had better not hurt those two girls.”
Haru sighed, “I’m not hurting anyone.”
“Don’t any of you see it? He’s sabotaging the pool!” another man stated.
“How the hell am I supposed to do that?”
“I’m not giving you any ideas!”
“Get that boy out of the pool,” a nearby woman sniffled. “Just the sight of him’s making me cry.”
“You don’t need to make me,” Haru went ashore. “I don’t want any trouble. Hisa, tell Keiko-chan that I’ll be waiting outside.”
He took several steps forward, but Hisa grabbed his arm.
“What the hell? Are you just gonna take that?” she asked.
Haru answered, “I took it for my entire.”
“Then why don’t you stand up for yourself?” Hisa wondered.
“Because it doesn’t matter. I’ll just get my ass kicked without doing anything. If I’m going to get momentary satisfaction, I should at least do it stealthily.”
The kitsune smiled, “Oh, I think I get what you’re saying.”
She stepped out of the water. Haru uttered some powerful words under his breath. Ice formed around the men and the woman in the pool.
“What the hell? Where did this ice come from?” she said.
One of the men exclaimed, “Fuck! I can’t move.”
“It’s freezing in here.”
“Holy crap! You have a freezing spell!” Hisa’s eyes widened.
Haru replied, “I don’t. It’s a spell for solidifying liquids.”
“Huh?”
“Ice is the solid form of water,” he explained. “I can’t make things colder with magic, so this is a bit of a loophole.”
Keiko and Hisa stepped outside of the pool where Haru was waiting for them.
“This was a bust,” Hisa groaned.
“It was,” Haru sighed. “We’ll have to do things where no one can see us.”
A person on the road said, “Just what are you kids getting up to, especially you, asshole?”
Haru’s teeth ground so hard everyone on the street could hear it. Keiko handed him his hot dog, grabbed his arm, and pulled him and Hisa away.
“I knew it was bad for you,” Keiko stated. “But not this bad.”
He replied, “I let my guard down since I’ve been around you and the others a lot, Keiko-chan. We need to be more careful.”
“Don’t worry, you two! The next time someone tries to pick a fight, I’ll hit them with a hella drop kick!” Hisa gave them a thumbs up.
“But Hisa, you’re not strong enough to pull one of those off,” Keiko pointed out.
She scoffed, “When I’m up against things with super strength, I’m not, but I should be fine against humans.”
“Saburo’s a human and your drop kick didn’t do much to him,” Haru pointed out.
Hisa lied as naturally as she breathed, “That’s because I was going easy on him! If I were going all out, I’d have turned his head to jelly in a single hit.”
“Let me handle the drop kicks next time,” Keiko said. “Actually, your technique’s pretty good, Hisa. You’re just not very strong. If you worked out a bit…”
“Working out? You mean, like pushups?”
“I don’t think pushups will help all that much with your…”
“Well, I already do pushups,” Hisa smiled. “So, I’ll keep doing those.”
Keiko sighed while Haru gave her a sympathetic look. As good a friend as Hisa was, kitsune were quite troublesome.
Ved'ma Story 