The Normal Illusion

“I’m holding her, I’m helping her.”

“No, I should get to hold her!”

“I’ve known her longer. You’ve known her for less than an hour. That means I get to take care of her.”

“I’ve actually known her since yesterday. I fought to protect her life! She owes me a debt!”

“I don’t think you understand the situation here. I’m one of her best friends. You’re just a stranger.”

Two voices going back and forth is what I wake up to. Looking around me, it seems I’m in the nurse’s office. Moaning at the headache I have, I start to sit up and see the faces that the voices belong to. Eri is holding me, looking at me with worry, and Gabrielle looks put out.

I double take. Shooting out of Eri’s hold, I stumble backwards. “G-Gabrielle?” I shout more than ask.

“The one and only!” Gabrielle beams, before looking at me imploringly.. “Are you alright? My appearances isn’t that shocking, is it?”

Admittedly, it is, because with fox ears and a tail (which I hadn’t noticed before) sticking out from her skirt, it leaves quite a unique impression. A gripping urge to give her a head pat is squashed in my mind. I shake my head and say, “No, that’s not it.” I then ball my fists, and I glare at her. “How are you here? Why are you here? And why is no one else freaking out!?”

“What do you mean?” Gabrielle asks. “This is completely normal! See?” She twirls around in her school uniform, nearly hitting me with her tail. “I’m just a regular fox-spirit, ready to attend school!”

“That’s not what I meant!” I exclaim. “I mean, why aren’t you freaking out about this, Eri? She’s a demon! She’s from another world!”

“Is she?” Eri asks, tapping her chin as she examines Gabrielle. “I mean, sure, she looks odd, but the news already explained everything. They’ve been among us this entire time, they just didn’t want to reveal themselves because of prejudice. As far as I know, that’s as valid a reason as any to hide.”

I stare at Eri. Then I stare at Gabrielle, who seems to be holding back laughter. Growling, I point at her again. “You did something, didn’t you? You knew this was going to happen!”

“Fu fu fu, and what if I did?” Gabrielle grins. “I’m not harming anyone, am I?”

“Aaaargh!” I yell at the ceiling. “Why am I the only sane one here?!”

I hear Eri sigh beside me and I look at her pleadingly. She merely shakes her head. “As far as I can see, you’re the one being unreasonable here, Yuki.”

“Yeah, Yuki! Lighten up!”

“You don’t get to call me by my first name!” I yell at Gabrielle, who only shrugs.

“Mistress, then.”

“No!”

“My Lady?”

“No!”

“Queen?”

Stomping my foot, I pout and whine. “No, no, no! None of those! If you want to call me something, just call me by my last name!”

“Miss Osaki!”

I grab Gabrielle and begin shaking her rapidly. “Osaki! Osaki! Just Osaki!” All the while, she flops like a ragdoll, completely at the mercy of my whims. Dropping her in disgust, I turn to Eri. “Are you sure you don’t notice anything? Anything at all?”

“I—“ Eri begins, but then she freezes, almost as if her time had just paused. Blinking, I poke her, but she’s as stiff as a statue. Behind me, the groaning of Gabrielle alerts me to her conscious awakening, but I’m still preoccupied with my frozen friend.

“Eri? Eri!”

“Sh-she can’t hear you right now,” Gabrielle stutters. “She’s okay, though.”

I whirl on the fox-spirit, fire in my eyes. “What. Do you. Mean.”

Gabrielle waves her hands and begins to sweat nervously. “It’s n-nothing serious! We only cast a spell on the whole city that makes it seem like we’ve always been here!”

My eye tics, and I glare at her even more. I want to ask about what she means by spell, but there are more pressing matters at hand. “Why is Eri frozen then, if that’s all it does?”

Laughing nervously, she moves slowly across my vision, inching towards Eri. “B-because anyone who q-questions otherwise is a threat to the s-spell, so it freezes them until we can f-figure something out!”

“Let her go!” I yell, pointing at Eri. “If anyone has the right to know, it’s Eri and Reiko!”

“Okay, okay!” Gabrielle says, terrified. “Just give me a second!” She finally makes her way to Eri, and places her hands on her temples. One moment, Eri is frozen. The next, she sways in her seat, and her eyes cloud for just a moment. Then, she blinks and looks at Gabrielle. Her gaze wanders over to me and, her jaw slowly drops as she turns her attention back to Gabrielle.

She jumps out of her seat, and the chair clatters to the floor.

“AHHH!” Eri yells, breathing heavily as she backs away from Gabrielle, all the while pointing at her. “AHHHHH!” She screams again, her wild eyes catching mine before swinging back at Gabrielle, then to every possible escape in the room. “AHHHH—!”

“Eri! Calm down!” I exclaim, pained at her terror. I grab her in a hug and stroke her hair. “Shhh, it’s okay! Gabrielle won’t hurt you or us anymore. She’s a nice demon. Nice demon, see?” I poignantly glare at Gabrielle, and she jumps, sending a small wave and a prim smile. “She won’t hurt us anymore.”

“W-what,” Eri gulps. “M-my head, i-it hurts, it f-feels like someone came and drilled ten holes into my skull."

I help her back to her chair and watch as she holds her head in her hands, staring at the ground while muttering things I can’t hear. Folding my arms, I stare at Gabrielle, who wrings her hands in nervous guilt. “Well?”

“It’s not supposed to do that,” she said honestly. “We call it the ‘Normal’ Illusion. It’s supposed to be a simple perception filter; It just suggests a simple phrase to the mind, like: Demons are friends.” She looks to me with tears in her eyes and a wobbling pout. “I didn’t know it would hurt people like this!” She sniffles, wiping her eyes. “As much as I hate humans, they’re not all bad, like how not all demons are good either! I wouldn’t cause them pain just for thinking out of line!”

I nod, frowning. “Something’s not right here, then. You said it was supposed to be simple enough. Why is it having such a strong effect?”

“I don’t know!” Gabrielle cries. “It’s almost like—“

“S-someone else is messing with our heads,” Eri finishes, staring up at us. I blink, a small smile gracing my lips as I look at Eri. She sighs deeply and takes an even deeper breath, appearing to try and calm herself. She continues, “It felt more like a taser was being held to my brain, and any thought that strayed from ‘demons are better’ or ‘demons should rule’ made it hard to think otherwise.” She holds her head, rubbing circles into her temples as she looks at the two of us.

“So who could have messed with the spell?” I wonder aloud, and Gabrielle freezes herself. I take notice and peer at her closely. “Do you think you know anything?

“M-maybe, but I’ll need to check something to make sure,” she says reluctantly. “You might need to help your friend, Reiko, out on your own.”

Eri moves to get up, but her legs shake, and I move to support her. “Classes h-have already started though,” Eri says, wincing. “And we don’t know the first thing about magic.”

Oh. Right. Magic. Something I kept pushing to the back of my mind because of how ridiculous it sounded, but the past day has already blown so many things out of the water that I find it hard to believe that magic isn’t real. I watch as Gabrielle winces, and walks towards us. Eri flinches, and she stops in place.

“I’m sorry, Eri,” she whispers. “But I need to touch minds with Osaki.”

“Touch minds?” I ask, letting Eri stand on her own. She stumbles to the chair and grips the headrest tightly. Gabrielle nods, tapping her forehead and bringing her thumb to her temple.

“It’s a short link we can use to transmit quick thoughts or ideas to others when words would take too long,” she says. Moving closer, she brings her middle finger up with her thumb, and motions for me to come close. “I need to touch your forehead and temple with my fingers for it to work.”

“O-okay,” I say, and do as she says. The moment her fingers rest in place on my forehead and temple, a flash of a memory burns into my mind, and I reel from the experience. Gabrielle looks like she’s panicking as she moves to support me, but I wave her away, clutching my head.

Woah, I think. Head rush… literally. I quickly try to sort out the new information in my head, a foreign memory and foreign thought that is almost repulsive in its nature of simply being from a different mind. “Wow,” I mutter, my gaze returning to the fox-demon. “This really sucks.”

“It’s most definitely unpleasant the first few times,” she nods solemnly. “It’s not something you should do normally. And not for anything other than a short memory or a message.” Her gaze darkens. “Any more, and one starts to lose their sense of self.”

“What? What’s going on?” Eri asks. She sounds less shaky, like she’s recovering. I’m glad. “You just did something, didn’t you?”

“Yes, we did,” Gabrielle responds. “I taught Osaki how to thought-transfer, and how to reset the spell connection, in the same vein.”

“Thought… transfer?” she asks. “And you can lose your sense of self if you do it too much?”

Gabrielle nods once more. “That’s why it’s forbidden except for royal missives and emergencies.” She turns to me. “This is one of those times. Please use it responsibly.”

“And why wouldn’t you want us to lose?” Eri asks, and I’m surprised by the sudden hostility in her voice. “Isn’t that what one of your kind is trying to do?”

“Demons don’t do that,” Gabrielle frowns. I can almost feel the anger starting to pour off of her. “Monsters do.” She stomps to the door, her aura growing thicker with each step. “I didn’t mean to cause you harm, Eri. I’m sorry. And whoever’s doing this…” She huffs. “I’ll make them pay.” With that threat, she rushes out the door, and her footsteps slowly fade.

Eri frowns, and I look at her in worry. “Hey, are you alright?”

I watch as, after a second, Eri nods, and she visibly sags. “It felt like a wave of power was washing over me the whole time,” she admits. “Like I was being controlled.”

I nod, frowning. I think over the memory I was given by Gabrielle, and hum thoughtfully. Something about all of this seems awfully familiar, but I can’t seem to place it. A strange sense of déjà vu. “Do you think you’re alright now?” I ask. “We still have to find Reiko and release her from this spell.”

Eri nods, but winces once more. “I’ve got a killer headache, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.” She groans, clutching her head. “It hurts more to think of the classes we’re missing.”

“I know the feeling.” I wince at the same thought, wondering how we’ll survive in school after this. “But we have more important things right now.”

“Like freeing an entire city from mind control,” Eri says darkly. “This is not going to be fun.”

“Is anything I do ever fun?” I wonder aloud. “I mean, I have a fun time, sure, but it’s not as if I’m asking for any of it—“

“Now’s not the time for an existential crisis, Yuki,” Eri says, taking one shaky step after the other. Her gait steadies, though, as she makes it to the door. Resting against the frame, she looks back at me. “Reiko should be in biology right now. We’ll need to head up two flights of stairs.”

“Are you sure you’re up for this, Eri?” I ask, rushing to her side. “This is a lot to take in, isn’t it?”

She smiles at me, and I feel myself lighten up. “With you, Yuki, nothing is too much to take in. If it means skipping class, well, you’ll have to make it up to me later.”

I bite my lip as we walk towards Reiko’s classroom. I can almost feel a strange pressure building as we go. Turning to Eri, I voice my thoughts. “How can you believe in magic so readily, Eri?” I ask. “I mean, I just got a thought shoved into my head, and I still find it hard to believe.”

She sighs as we continue walking. “Some of the things you get up to and survive makes me believe you have your own brand of magic, Yuki,” she says. “That’s why it’s easier for me to believe that magic is real, than it is for me to believe you’re just that hard-headed.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?!” I pout indignantly.

“Shush, we’re here!” Eri says. “We’ll need to be subtle if we’re going to get her out of the class without suspicion—“

“Sensei! Could we borrow Reiko, please?”

The teacher looks at the two of us with a confused expression, but nods hesitantly. “Sure, Ms. Osaki. You may go, Ms. Miyamura.”

I grin triumphantly at Eri, who can only deadpan as Reiko approaches us into the hallway. “I thought we wanted to be discreet,” Eri said. “This is a sensitive matter!”

“Huh? What’s going on?” Reiko asks.

“This isn’t some spy movie, Eri.” I say. “And this isn’t some shady business. All we have to do is ask.”

Eri countered saying, “But won’t it affect everyone if they knew they were under some sort of spell?”

“Hello? Why’d you call me out here?” Reiko asks. I sigh as I turn towards her.

“Reiko, can you come with us? Please?”

Blinking, she nods. “You were talking about a spell?”

“Not here,” mumbles Eri. “We don’t know if anyone else or any other demons are listening.”

“Oh yeah!” Reiko chirps excitedly. “Our transfer student was this really cool-looking demon boy who has whiskers and—mmmfhg hgggh mmfff!”

Grimacing at her hand covering Reiko’s mouth, we make our way to the nurses office. All the while, and as Reiko continues to babble, I peer into other classrooms and spot the odd ducklings speckling the rooms. Demons that seemed to have chosen to induct themselves into high-school life.

Gotta say, not the best move there, but if it works, it works.

Eri and I guide Reiko to a chair and stand in front of her. We then proceed to glance at each other nervously, not sure how to proceed. Reiko doesn’t seem to care, as she hums while glancing between the both of us with a smile on her face. Grimacing, Eri motions her head and glances her eyes for me to make a move. Sighing, I begin to open my mouth, but before I can turn my head and speak, Reiko pipes up.

“Is this about the demons not actually being here for fun and now your demon friends are looking for whoever is trying to control us humans?”

Our mouths both drop at Reiko’s insight. Turning like cranks, both of our heads swivel to look at Reiko’s infuriatingly innocent face. She gasps at our surprised looks and claps her hands. “Hooray, I guessed right!” She smirks and points her finger at the two of us. “I happen to have excellent memory, so I know if something happens to my mind. No one can beat me! Ha ha ha!” She folds her arms and crosses her legs as she kicks back, looking entirely too smug. “I also asked the demon boy I was talking to why he was here, and saw the fox-girl run down the hall.”

Tapping a finger to her chin, she frowns slightly. “Come to think of it, I think I saw upperclassman Ryoka sprinting down the halls as well. I wonder what that was all about.”

“Upperclassman Ryoka was out of class too?” Eri asks. “That’s really odd. He’s the top student of the grade. He wouldn’t skip classes for nothing—“ She stops and turns to me with questioning eyes. “He has something to do with this too, doesn’t he?”

“Well…” I stretch out, rubbing the back of my head sheepishly. “Like I said, he’s the one who got the jump on me.”

“What in the world happened yesterday?”

I look at the two of them with trepidation. “You might find it hard to believe…”

“I’ve just been mind-controlled for the better part of last night and this morning, demons are as real as you and me, a demon literally gave you one of her memories, and Reiko is completely calm about this! And that last one is the hardest one for me to believe!”

“Hey!”

Eri rubs her head while shaking it. “If anyone’s having a hard time believing any of this, it’s you, Yuki. Seriously!”

“Okay, okay!” I say, waving my hands in front of me placatingly. “So basically, I entered a district where reality was thin, I touched and orb and it glowed a little and then Gabrielle came flying out, and Ryoka tried to kill me—“

Reiko stumbles out of her chair in shock. “W-what, he tried to kill you—“

“That’s what you meant when he jumped you!?” Eri cried in outrage. “Why I oughta—“

“IT’S NOT LIKE THAT!” I yell at her. “He thought, well, they both thought I was some sort of Demon Lord trying to summon demons, when all I was doing was trying to pray to the gods at a shrine like you told me to!” I huff, folding my arms as I turn my head. “It’s not like any of it was serious anyway. I’m still alive, aren’t I?”

Sensing a silence, I open one eye and find them both deadpanning at me. I start to sweat as I turn back to them. “W-why are you looking at me like that?”

Reiko walks over to me and pats me on the head before smiling and tilting her head like she’s consoling me. “It’s okay, Yuki. Not everyone is the same.”

I blink in confusion and turn to Eri, who sighs. “Your ability to downplay everything that happens around you is simply astounding.”

“What do you mean by that?” I ask, but they both ignore me as they move to the door. “H-hey, don’t ignore me!”

I rush over to them and make it just past the door when Gabrielle comes flying down the hall and hits the banister. She falls to the stairs and groans, twitching as she tries to get up.

“You!” A familiar voice yells across the hall, and I turn to look at a face I definitely wasn’t ready to face right now. Shin Ryoka, in all of his uniform glory, points a bokken at me. “What have you done?!”

“Sh-she hasn’t done anything, idiot!” Gabrielle growls, stumbling toward us. Eri and Reiko step in front of me, as if to shield me. I can only look at the two of them with confusion.

“What—“

“If anyone’s to blame, it’s me. Your quarrel is with me!” Gabrielle yells, and pulls a blade from… somewhere.

“She’s the reason you’re all here!” Ryoka shouts. “She has to be the one behind it. I was fighting that spell this entire morning. Seeing you run down the halls was what finally did the trick. Now that I have a killer headache too, I’m both angry and disappointed in myself that I let you go yesterday.” He grips the bokken with two hands and assumes a stance. “I won’t do that a second time!” He moves his glare to me. “I won’t let a Demon Lord, pretending or not, escape me again!”

“Osaki, run!” Gabrielle screams, her attention never wavering as her blade catches fire. “I’ll hold him off, you need to go!”

Reiko and Eri use that moment to grab my arms and pull me along with them. All the while, I shriek, yelling, “I don’t know what’s going ooooooon!”

“Come on, Miss Demon Lord!” Reiko says cheerily. “We have to escape!”

“There’s a lot we need to talk about after this!” Eri exclaims.

I grimace as we reach the doors to the outside. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this!”

Eri shakes her head. “You drag us into everything. If anything, it’s our own fault for getting involved!”

“Plus, it’s more fun this way,” Reiko shouts. “We get to be part of your adventures!”

Our steps slow as we look behind us at the school. We can see all the students starting to get out of their desks to see what’s happening in the halls, and we all glance at each other nervously.

“Do you think—“

“Will they be—“

“I don’t know—“

A soft rumble emanates from within the building, and we all quiet as if the world itself is holding it’s breath.

Ryoka stumbles out the entrance of the school, his school uniform singed, as he holds his half-charred bokken with a vice grip. I see him begin to mouth something, before a bright light flashes behind him.

I go blind as the entrance to the school explodes.