Chapter 7:

A Different Kind of History

The Demon Hunting Club


This may sound overly apathetic, but given that Kato has all but confirmed that Fukada will make a full recovery, why is it that we're all still gathered in the club shed? Why do Konishi and the others all still seem to be fretting over her? Is there some downside to magic that I'm not aware of? Will Fukada's recovery come at a cost? I've already asked the latter two questions (I get a feeling doing so for the first two wouldn't end well for me) and been told that, no, magical healing almost always works. Perhaps they're fretting over the 'almost' part of that statement?

“Oh! We never actually got around to discussing the Thrall.” Konishi says, if only to distract herself from Fukada.

“That's a good point, Tsuki-cchi.” Mei nods emphatically, before turning to me, her expression instantly souring. “What happened?”

“Fukada-san dragged me to the roof, gave a... limited explanation as to what exactly Thrall's are, then we got our asses kicked by this dude called Ueda.” I understand that might be a less than charitable explanation, but it's what happened.

“Ken Ueda.” Kato mutters, still healing Fukada's head injuries. “He's in my class, damn it. I should've noticed something was up with him.” As she curses her own perceived failure, the light emanating from her hands starts to dim.

“K-Kato-sensei!” Konishi yelps, and Kato immediately refocuses.

“Oh, shi- uh, shoot.” I get the feeling Kato isn't what most people would describe as 'teacher material', but it's obvious she cares about us. I'm not sure whether it's as a teacher, or as a fellow hunter.

“Hmm...” Date seems to be deep in thought. Unexpected of her, but I guess she'd need to be at least a little smart to be the leader of this group of misfits (myself included, of course). “Hmm... indeed...” Her eyes suddenly shoot open, and are fixed squarely on me. “Yes, I have decided! Sekigahara, you are entirely ignorant as to the supernatural world in which we hunters and mages live, are you not? Wahaha! Then it falls upon me, your intrepid leader, to give you the full, incredibly boring rundown of the intertwined history if the two professions!”

“Date-senpai, you didn't even know magic existed until I joined the club.” Mei notes.

“I may not have had proof before our fated meaning, but I believed with all of my being, and that is more than enough! Indeed, if a believe something, there is no doubt that it must be true! That is the full extent of my genius! Wahaha!”

I take it back, this woman is irredeemably stupid! There isn't a single rational thought in that gaudily helmeted head of hers! It's just elevator music on loop!

“So, Sekigahara! Lesson 2 shall be a full history of the Mage's Association, and rejoice, for you have the greatest genius in all of Kitaminami High as your teacher!”

“Um, Date-senpai, didn't Fukada-senpai teach Sekigahara-kun about Thralls? That would make this lesson 3.” Konishi corrects our... illustrious leader, albeit with a healthy dash of trepidation. Date doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd flip out at somebody correcting a genuine mistake, but at the same time...

“Talented and clever as you are, Konishi, you fail once again to see the full extent of my intellect! Fukada's lesson was 1.5, due to the simple fact that I was not the one administering it!” Yeah, that. “Do not, however, be disheartened. Why, the combined might of Einstein, Da Vinci, and Aristotle barely holds a candle to my own intelligence! Wahaha!”

It takes every ounce of my willpower, plus a little that I didn't even realise I had, not to just call Date delusional to her face. Seriously, it wouldn't bother me nearly as much if she was even half as misguided as she is, but it's getting harder and harder to hold my tongue.

“Uh, Date-senpai.” I mutter. “Wouldn't it be, I don't know, better for an actual mage to teach me about this sort of thing?”

“Hmm? Why, Sekigahara, are you insinuating that I should not be your teacher?” Date says, glaring at me. Oh, crap, even holding back, I managed to make her mad? Actually, judging from how quickly her face softened, maybe not? “Never fear, my good man! For I, Super Ultimate Genius Tomomi Date, am more than happy to waste my time explaining such boring things as non-Japanese or post-sengoku history!”

Does she consider anything other than the Sengoku period worth her time!?



~~~



“Take a seat, Young Sekigahara, for I shall now regale you with the tale of both the First Demon Hunting Unit and the Mages' Association!” I should note, I'm already sat down, but Date either doesn't realise that, or just thinks that starting the explanation with 'take a seat' is the correct way of doing things. Either way, she continues immediately. “Magic has always existed, and so have it's practitioners, though they were not always unified. Taking on the names of legendary heroes and renowned thinkers of ages past, the Mages Association was formed some time around the turn of the 14h century.
When the first demons awoke, it was Mages, not Hunters, who battled them, in secret, across the globe, using their arcane might, they fought back against the demonic hoards, but their power alone was not enough. For 100 years, the Mages Association waged a losing war against the otherworldly enemy, until the First Demon Hunting Brigade emerged in Europe in 1425. It's leader, none other than Jeanne D'Arc!” I look over to Mei, just to make sure nothing's being embellished, and, surprisingly, she nods her head in approval. Who'd've thought? “However, it was decided by the religious leaders of the time that the existance of both Demons, Mages, and the newly formed Hunters must be kept secret from both the public, and the annals of history. To that end, a staged execution, in which a prisoner dressed in Jeanne's clothes was burned at the stake, was held, and from that day forwards, Jeanne was referred to only by her title, 'Premier Chasseur'”

This all sounds... well, put bluntly, it sounds incredibly dumb. Exactly the kind of thing that Date would just make up out of the blue and try to pass off as objective fact, actually, so I look over to Mei once again. “Technically the idea that Jeanne D'Arc was the Premier Chasseur is just hearsay backed up by a series of things that'd be brushed off as coincidences in isolation. The first record of the Premier Chasseur just happened to be two days after Jeanne's execution, and they were described by multiple accounts to be a French woman with blonde hair who was a devout Catholic. It all adds up a little too perfectly, so it's widely theorised and accepted that everything Date-senpai just explained is correct.” Mei tacks on a slight disclaimer.

“However, we now skip ahead 300 years in order to get to the good part!” Date announces. Wait, three hundred years? Is it really okay to jump ahead that far? “For it was during the Sengoku period that demons and Hunters first arrived in Japan, thanks in no small part to the international trade established by Oda Nobunaga-sama. Yes, it was more than mere firearms that were imported, as demons originally preyed only on Christians, it was the introduction of such practices that made Japan a target for them!”

“Wait, demons only attack Christians?” I ask, since, well, evidence suggests otherwise.

“Wahaha! Originally, yes, but like any creature, when their primary food became more scarce, they adapted and evolved, or perhaps merely abandoned one of their own traditions, and began attacking humans indiscriminately!” Date corrects. “Now, I would ask you refrain from interrupting further! This lesson will be long enough already, I am afraid!
Anyway, where was I? Ah yes! As Japan was engulfed in civil war, no single army, not even the Toyotomi, could spare troops to hold off the Demons, and so bands of Mercenary Hunters from other countries roamed the land, and no soldier was permitted to interfere with their work for any reason, under pain of death! It was not until after the fires of war were extinguished that a branch of the Demon Hunting Brigade was established in Japan, headed by my resplendent ancestor, Date Masamune!” As if to make her point land even harder, Date stands up and does what I can only assume to be some sort of flourish with her arms. Quite frankly, all it does is make her look even more of a fool than that replica of her so-called ancestor's helmet already does. “Well, what do you think, Sekigahara? Are you left awestruck by the incredible history of our organization? Or perhaps left at a loss for words by me equally, no, even more incredible explanation? Wahaha! No need to answer, I can see it in your eyes! Have you perhaps fallen in love with me all over again?”

I don't recall falling in love with you in the first place!

“D-Date-senpai, you shouldn't say things like that!” Mei frets, “This guy still hasn't proven he isn't some sort of pervert yet! In fact, he's friends with my brother, so he's definitely some sort of pervert!”

“Don't go lumping me in with your idiot brother just because we're friends!” I defend. “By that logic, you'd be an even bigger pervert than me!”

“So you admit it, huh?”

“How was that an admission! You're just hearing what you want to hear!”

“Loud.”

“Like hell I am! You're the one who's twisting my words!”

“Uh, you two...?”

“Twisting your- would you lay off me for five seconds? What happened to make you this openly antagonistic to every guy you meet? Even your brother can't have warped you this much!”

“Fellows, I believe that-”

“My past is none of your business, you damn interloper! What gives you the right to just waltz in here and ask whatever personal questions you want!?”

“Would you brats give it a rest!?” Kato's yell echoes throughout the Club Shed, and both Mei and I immediately quieten down and see Fukada sat up on the floor, glaring daggers at both of us. Konishi and Date had both clearly noticed she was awake long before we did, and are crowded around her, making sure she's comfortable.

Mei lets out an uncomfortable laugh, before quietly muttering “Glad to see you're okay, Fukada-san.”

~~~

With Fukada wide awake and none the worse off from her injuries, Kato suggested we all get back to class before the final bell rings, if only to prevent her getting chewed out by our teachers afterwards.

Of course, as soon as I walked through the door, Nishida threw out all pretences of being even a moderately good student and began asking me where I was.

“Club stuff.” Is all I tell him, before I completely ignore him in favor of the teacher. Unlike him, I'm not some sort of delinquent. But that defence only lasts for a few minutes, since I basically arrived just to hear the end of a lesson I had no context for. Besides, I've never been wired to properly understand math in the first place, so I doubt I'd have been able to follow if I'd been here the whole time.

“Okay, but seriously, you were gone for basically two whole lessons, you can't just say 'club stuff' and leave it at that, man. What's going on with you, it's like you've totally changed in, like, one day.”

“Even if I did tell you what was really going on, you wouldn't believe me.” I explain.

“Oh, I can be very imaginative.” He says with a wry smile.

“It's got nothing to do with anything you'd be interested in.” I tell him.

“Sure it hasn't, you just keep telling everyone that. Keep up that Herbivore disguise, see just how long it lasts when everyone finds out you're getting busy in the Occult Research Club.”

“Your innuendos are trite, Nishida.” I tell him. “And need I remind you that the club member I've spoken with the most is your sister.” Sure, the vast majority of words we've exchanged have been yelled, or sometimes even screamed, but he doesn't need to know that.

It doesn't seem like my tactic works, as he seems more confused than outraged. “Dude, barking up the wrongest tree possible. Or have you not noticed that you're about as far from Mei's wheelhouse as possible?” Yeah, he makes a good point.

Verson
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