Lesson Five: Blending In

For once, the morning began quietly.

Birds chirped. Soft sunlight filtered through the enchanted windows. No one was crying, biting, flying, or combusting. Mutsuki stepped into the classroom feeling cautiously optimistic.

Before he could even say “good morning”, he froze.

The sight of Youchan handing out adorable carton boxes of juice and tiny yokai-friendly snacks took his breath away. She was also collecting some “homework” from them.

No matter how pretty he made himself, nothing was prettier than Youchan. Mutsuki’s heart already decided that the second they first met.

And eight little heads turned toward the door. Then back at her. Then back at him.

Silence.

Tanuki Mon’s straw slipped out of his mouth. Kitsune Gon smirked like he had witnessed forbidden romance. Kappa Sumire snorted. Maneki Meow’s tail puffed. Honey Bear hugged his drink like it was proof of a conspiracy. Kishin froze mid-sniffle. Akashi’s eyebrows reached his hairline. Tengu Kojiro’s mouth was literally on the floor.

Youchan straightened politely after finally realizing why everyone went silent. ‘Ah! Good morning Sensei!’

Mutsuki blushed at her smile. Youchan also blushed after seeing his reaction. The kids collectively leaned closer in suspicion.

Mutsuki who was already sweating said, ‘Mo…morning?’

Gon whispered loudly, ‘The atmosphere is weird.’

Mon nodded sagely, ‘Very weird.’

Youchan quickly clapped her hands. ‘Everyone finish your snacks. We’re starting class.’

The tension melted. Sort of. The kids still glanced between the adults like tiny investigators sniffing out a scandal. Mutsuki cleared his throat, snapped open his clipboard, and started roll call.

‘Mon?’

‘Here!’

‘Gon?’

‘Here! And looking fabulous as always!’

‘Good! Keep it up. Sumire?’

‘Present. Naturally.’

‘Meow?’

CRASH!

‘Ok I’ll take that as a “here”.’’

‘Kojiro?’

‘Here, unfortunately,’ the tengu grumbled from the corner.

‘Akashi?’

‘Yo.’

‘Honey?’

‘Mmm, present!~’

‘Kishin?’

A small sniffle. ‘Y-Yes, sensei.’

‘Good. Everyone’s accounted for. And not on fire. That’s progress.’

Mutsuki hopped up to sit on his desk. ‘Alright, class. New plan. Today we’ll actually learn about each other, without fighting, crying, or trying to eat anyone’s homework. Understood?’

Kojiro raised an eyebrow. ‘Those are three separate rules.’

Mutsuki deadpanned. ‘You’re very observant for someone who hasn’t submitted his homework.’

Gon snickered.

Mutsuki flipped through Maria’s ridiculous syllabus.

“Transmutation Basics,” “Dimensional Veil Physics”, “Soul Imprinting for Youths”.

His eyebrow twitched higher with every page. ‘Is this a lesson plan or a death wish?’

Until finally, something caught his eye. “Field Activity — Observation of Human Society”.

‘Aha!’ he exclaimed loudly, which startled the children. ‘This one. This we can do!’

‘What is it?’ Honey tilted his head.

‘We’re going to learn how to blend in with humans,’ Mutsuki said. ‘Some of you can already transform, right? Gon, Mon, Akashi. You three can manage human forms yes?’

They nodded proudly.

‘I am a human though. I just feel like wolfing out anytime I want.’ Akashi corrected.

‘Perfect. No transforming out of human form for this exercise. The rest of you… Meow, Sumire, Kojiro, Kishin, I’ll help with illusions. You’ll look human for the exercise.’

‘Illusion magic?’ Meow’s tail bristled. ‘That sounds unlucky.’

‘It’s completely safe,’ Mutsuki lied with the confidence of a man who had once hypnotized fifty thousand people by accident.

Youchan hesitated. ‘Sensei, perhaps you should test—’

Too late. Mutsuki had already drawn a glowing sigil midair. Golden threads spun and wove around the children like gentle sunlight through water. One by one, they began to shift.

Sumire gasped. ‘My… my head! My beautiful crown is gone!’

‘It’s still there,’ Mutsuki said quickly. ‘Just invisible. Think of it as fashionable minimalism.’

Meow stared at her new reflection, now human except for two twitching cat ears poking through her hair and her tail still swinging behind her. ‘…This feels weird.’

Kojiro scowled. ‘Why am I shorter?’

Kishin eyes welled up at his hornless state. ‘My horns are gone! I’m just normal now!’

‘That’s the point!’

‘But I liked my horns!’

And just like that, with Kishin’s Oni cry, the whole illusion shattered. Sumire’s complexion turned green again, Meow’s ears multiplied into four, Kojiro somehow grew taller, and Kishin’s tears turned into literal sparkles of demonic energy that started setting desks on fire.

‘No, no, no! Stop!’ Mutsuki waved his hands, trying to stabilize the spell as magic fizzled around them.

Amid the chaos, Tanuki Mon rummaged through his enormous black magician’s hat. ‘Sensei, I can help!’

‘Mon, unless that hat contains divine intervention, I’m—’

‘Got it!’ Mon pulled out a paper fan roughly the size of a parasol.

‘What in the world—’

‘Tanuki Grandma’s Calm-Down Fan! Family heirloom. Works on tantrums.’

‘Mon, I—’

FWOOOOOSH!

Mon gave one mighty swing. A gust of enchanted wind roared through the classroom, flipping papers, blowing out fires, and instantly silencing everyone. The illusion stabilized, the sparks disappeared, and even Mutsuki’s hair fell neatly back into place.

The room froze in stunned silence.

Youchan’s hands were already up, ready to summon anything and everything. ‘…That actually worked.’

Mon grinned proudly. ‘Grandma says, “When chaos strikes, blow it away.”’

Mutsuki pressed a hand to his forehead. ‘Remind me to hire your grandmother.’

The children slowly appreciated and admired their new disguises. Kishin eventually smiled shyly at his reflection. ‘I look… normal.’

‘You look perfect,’ Youchan said kindly.

Mutsuki nodded. ‘Alright, team. We’ll take these for a test run soon. But for now—’

THUD! Meow tripped over nothing and faceplanted.

Mutsuki sighed. ‘—let’s make sure everyone can walk before we terrorize a human village.’

Laughter filled the classroom. Even Mutsuki smiled genuinely, affected by the bright little faces surrounding him. They were chaos. But they were his chaos now. 

‘Everyone! Safety vests, please!’ Youchan announced.

Eight tiny yokai scrambled to grab their bright yellow jackets, the classic Japanese kindergarten style, pulled over their uniforms with varying degrees of success.

Akashi wore his backwards. Gon wore his upside-down. Mon’s was somehow on inside-out AND sideways. Youchan fixed each one with practiced grace.

‘Helmets,’ she reminded gently.

Eight colorful helmets popped onto eight little heads.

‘Rope line!’ she called.

Immediately, they formed up. Each kid grabbing their little loop handle along the long rope, exactly like Japanese kindergarteners on a field walk.

Honey beamed proudly. Sumire sighed dramatically. Kishin sniffled. Kojiro grumbled from his assigned front position. Mutsuki tried not to smile too hard. They looked adorable.

‘Remember,’ Youchan said, ‘walk slowly, stay together, and say hello politely to anyone we pass.’

The class shouted, ‘HAI!!’

‘You too, Sensei,’ Youchan added.

‘I know how to walk,’ Mutsuki muttered.

‘Do you?’ Gon teased, earning him a tickle from Mutsuki.

*****

They lined up like a tiny parade. Mutsuki at the front, Youchan at the back. Down they went, hand-in-hand, helmets bobbing, little feet pattering in perfect rhythm.

They bowed to elderly shrine visitors. They stepped aside for ascending guests. They said, ‘Ohayou gozaimasu,’ sweetly and a bit mechanically.

Mutsuki was impressed. ‘Wow,’ he looked towards Youchan. ‘You’ve trained them like an elite squad.’

‘Basic manners,’ she whispered back. ‘You should learn from them.’

When someone from his family or idol life told him, “ You should learn this or that”, Mutsuki would take offence to it. But with Youchan, he finally understood flirting banter.

From the base of the shrine hill, the bright lights and welcoming signs of the convenience store was visible in the distance.

The kids gasped excitedly until Youchan stopped right at the barrier line.

Mon tugged her sleeve. ‘Aren’t you coming?’

‘I can’t leave the sacred grounds. Plus I have to tend after the visitors who just went up.’

Eight tiny hearts broke simultaneously. Gon actually pouted. Kishin teared up. Honey squeezed her hand. Even Kojiro looked back 99 times. Mutsuki saw every face fall.

He turned to her quietly. ‘I’ll take care of them.’

‘I know,’ she whispered.

Their eyes lingered a fraction too long. The kids noticed immediately.

Sumire narrowed her eyes. Gon gasped like he’d witnessed romance drama. Meow squeaked.
Kojiro choked on air.

Mon whispered theatrically, ‘I think Sensei’s in lo—’

Mutsuki didn’t let that sentence finish. ‘MOVING ON!’

Still clinging to the rope, the kids marched forward and waved at Youchan dramatically.

‘BYE YOUCHAN!!’

‘WE’LL MISS YOUUUU!!’

‘COME WITH US NEXT TIME!!’

She waved back until they disappeared into the kombini.

So much cute goodbyes for being only 300 meters outside of the shrine…