Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 3, Part 3

[Oldmansour]

>"Not precisely, though I have seen objects twisted to malicious forms by similar dark powers. What I sensed from you was not exactly the same, but reminiscent of, the auras I have felt in the presence of demons and their youma servants."

>"Youma?" Keine blinks, then turns to Kaguya. "Isn't that-?"
>"Yes." the classics teacher says with a slow nod. "And that's something I mean to discuss with these girls later myself."
>Rin gives Kaguya a somewhat pointed look, which the raven haired teacher doesn't miss. "We can discuss that later." she says again. "The side of the school isn't the place for a conversation that long."
>"It is if it's related to what happened to me." Keine counters.
>"Even you can't cover that much history in a few minutes, my dear. And you know how it would go."
>Keine considers that, and while she thinks, Kaguya asks you, "Were you able to damage the demons any before they retreated?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Perhaps a little, though I do not think substantially."

[Oldmansour]

>"Perhaps a little, though I do not think substantially."

>"How'd you know they retreated?" Rin asks her.
>"Simple deduction. If either of them had been destroyed, I would have detected it, which I did not."
>"You weren't watching?" Lily asks curiously.
>Kaguya does not answer her directly, but rather gives Keine a quiet smile. "I had other things to take care of."

[DracoOmega]

>To Keine: "While you may not remember what happened this morning after walking into the kitchen..."
>Turn to Kaguya: "You were there. What happened next?"

[Oldmansour]

>To Keine: "While you may not remember what happened this morning after walking into the kitchen..."
>Turn to Kaguya: "You were there. What happened next?"

>"She.. changed." Kaguya answers, with a modicum of discomfort. "Keine was right, she did shout at Mokou and myself, but she stopped. A bit sooner than either of us were expecting, I would say. She looked like she was about to fall over, but then... Well." she casts a quick look in Keine's direction. "You'll forgive me if I spare you the less pertinent details. But she screamed, once. Then she doubled over, which wasn't exactly unlike what normally happens when she changes on full moon nights. But the change that happened..." Kaguya's exquisite beauty can't disguise the haunted look in her eyes. "I don't believe I'll ever forget it."

[DracoOmega]

>"I shall assume that the form she normally takes on those occasions appears... rather different."

[Oldmansour]

>"I shall assume that the form she normally takes on those occasions appears... rather different."

>Kaguya looks at Keine again once more before answering. "Quite different, yes."
>"More importantly, it's less violent as well." Keine adds, not sounding at all comfortable discussing the matter. "What happened today was leagues beyond anything I've ever done before. Or any of my ancestors-" She cuts herself quickly, biting her lip.

[DracoOmega]

>"I'm sorry - I don't mean to pry into something obviously personal. I hope you understand the spirit in which I inquire."

>"With that said, if the last day or two doesn't seem to contain any obvious link to the source of this problem, how about before this? Did anything unusual happen to you before you felt yourself starting to grow more agitated? Even something that might have seemed trivial at the time?"

[Oldmansour]

>"I'm sorry - I don't mean to pry into something obviously personal. I hope you understand the spirit in which I inquire."

>"With that said, if the last day or two doesn't seem to contain any obvious link to the source of this problem, how about before this? Did anything unusual happen to you before you felt yourself starting to grow more agitated? Even something that might have seemed trivial at the time?"

>Keine gives you a grateful look. "I do. It's... I am not quite myself yet. And I'm still worried about Mokou, too..."
>"I told you you shouldn't." Kaguya admonishes her. "And even if you had, you know just as well as I do she'd be perfectly fine."
>Keine's face darkens. "So you've said." she answers dangerously. "You'll have to forgive me if I waste my time on little things like concern."
>"I didn't deserve that, Keine."
>"Excuse me, ma'am." Lily interrupts, her wings flaring out to the side. "But who's this Mokou?"
>Keine's face softens noticeably. "That's Mokou Fujiwara. She's a gym teacher here at this school. We are... close."

>Nice move, Lily. Rin compliments the blonde.
>I didn't want them to fight. This isn't supposed to be a time for fighting.

>The blueish haired teacher ponders your question. "I.... don't think so. At least I can't think of anything. I did change..." she pauses, then sighs. "I suppose I may as well. There is a certain... potion, I take. It suppresses my lycanthropic transformations. I had to change one of the ingredients in it two days ago, but this was after I had already noticed my temper growing more and more frayed."
>"Do ya remember when it started?" Rin asks.
>Keine nods. "Thursday morning. As near as I can tell, I started showing signs of... whatever this was, on Thursday."

[DracoOmega]

>"Where were you Wednesday afternoon, if I may ask?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Where were you Wednesday afternoon, if I may ask?"

>"I was here at school, until sundown." She smiles. "I'm fairly sure I spend more time here than at my house, to be honest."

[DracoOmega]

>"So you were here when the ambulance arrived for the students affected by the gas leak?"

[Oldmansour]

>"So you were here when the ambulance arrived for the students affected by the gas leak?"

>Keine scowls. "Yes. And we still haven't found the source of that, either. That caused me more than a little aggravation. Of course, that would have been true even if I had been myself." she adds.

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, I can provide you an answer to at least that much: there was no gas leak. The affected students were attacked by a youma. Another demon had been present on the school grounds at that time as well, but retreated."
>"No lasting harm was done to any of the students, as far as I could tell, but the youma in question had been a creation of that demon and I wonder now if it might have done something elsewhere in the school that I had not observed. Can you recall anything else unusual you might have encountered or experienced that afternoon?"