Puppet Skin [OHSHC]

Chapter 8

The full two months of studying paid off . . . barely. Iiyo passed the class with a score of 89 on the mid-terms, making her class grade an average of 65.2. After giving Umehito her sugar cookies from the cooking class as a reward for helping, Iiyo thanked him a thousand times over.

"It's no problem, Fukuda-san." He gingerly took the bag of cookies. "How did your parents take it?"

On the last study session before the big tests, Iiyo's parents came home early from work and caught Umehito leaning over her text book trying to explain a problem, but it looked to them like he was about to cop a kiss. When Iiyo told them he was just a classmate who was helping her study, her mother spied a book that she had forgotten to cover with paper and exploded with anger. Even though it wasn't directed at him, it was enough to make Umehito freeze. Iiyo didn't have an excuse for it, so told the truth: she was in the Black Magic Club and had been studying the occult since the first day of the school year.

Upon hearing the secret she had been keeping, Iiyo's father glared at Umehito and told him to go home. Umehito hesitated in gathering his school supplies, along with another divination book he had pulled out earlier, and stepped out. He wanted to say, "See you at school," but considering how tense the air suddenly became, he decided that staying silent was best. After the door clicked closed, both pairs of eyes were on Iiyo.

"Why are you studying all of this weird stuff again?" Her mother asked. "You were studying odd subjects before, but," she picked up the book The History of Witchcraft and Demonology by Montague Summers, "witchcraft? Demonology? Black Magic Club?"

"It's not that bad—."

"Honey," her dad started, "we just want you safe."

"It is safe—."

"You were studying odd stuff before and you ended up—." Her dad continued to try to reason with her.

"This isn't the same. All of the books I've borrowed are from school clubroom, so it won't be tracked by any computer. I haven't used the internet at all. And all of this occult stuff is purely for research—I'm not practicing anything."

Her parents looked at each other, acknowledging that she had been careful as far as the use of technology was concerned, but still wasn't sure on the subject matter itself.

"The Black Magic Club isn't bad, and all of this research isn't as bad as it sounds—at least all of the neo-pagan stuff isn't as bad. The ancient ways were something different, but that's beside the point. Can you at least read one of the books before you ground me, or forbid me from studying it here?"

"Let your mother and I talk about it first," her father, the more let loose but reasonable one said. Her mother gave him a wide-eyed look, already deciding to forbid her daughter from the Black Magic Club. They went to the living room to talk about it, leaving Iiyo in her room. They had taken the book with them, but Umehito had let her borrow a couple more at a time, when the research had strings to multiple books involved. She didn't go back to studying her math because she felt comfortable enough that she would pass.

An hour later her parents came in just as Iiyo had hid the book under the low table. Her mother had a serious look on her face, and her arms were crossed. It meant that she lost, but was still opposed to it. It also meant that her father was the one going to talk. "While I'm still not quite OK with what you're studying, I understand your need for the research, especially if it involves one of your stories. I don't know much about the occult, but I do remember a few things on the 'Satanic Panic' back in America, and while there wasn't a way to prove that that had happened, it's still deterring whether or not we want you to continue studying 'black magic'. We don't want what happened at your last school to happen at Ouran—."

"—It won't. Nekozawa-san is also in the Black Magic Club, and practically my only friend. So there really isn't anything for me to lose when it comes to my social life."

"OK," he raised his hands up. "But still, I would feel better if I knew what you are studying before you continue."

"So, what, you want a book, a summary . . .?"

"Bring me a book that summarizes what these cults are, and what black magic is. I'll read it, and if it really isn't as bad as you say it is, then neither of us," he raised his voice an octave for Iiyo's mother, "will restrain on what you research."

"And if you somehow find it worse?"

"If I do deem it as bad as what I'm thinking it is, then you have to ask us permission for each book you're borrowing."

Iiyo was visibly confused. They weren't going to ban her from the Club?

"Because your only friend is also in the Black Magic Club, and you two obviously haven't been doing anything morally wrong here, I don't feel it would be right for you to stop socializing with him or stop going to your club cold turkey."

Oh, thank gosh! Iiyo thought with a huge sigh of relief.

"But if your grades suffer, or you start experimenting in illegal activities, you will be forbidden to attend that club, and you will be forbidden from hanging around him." Her father's stomach growled loudly. "We'll talk more about this tomorrow. Let's eat."

She and her mom cooked dinner in relative silence. This was going to be tricky.

When Umehito and Iiyo entered the clubroom the next day, she only told him of the deal, and nothing of what had happened before she moved.

"Well, that's good, isn't it? The occult and magic is generally perceptive depending on who's reading, and if your father was already skeptical of the 'Satanic Panic' that's generally a good sign."

"What is the 'Satanic Panic' anyway?"

"Basically, in America, witnesses widespread of the country said they had been kidnapped and brutally tortured for ritualistic purposes, seeing all of the typical rumor-spread imaginary nonsense about satanistic stuff like sacrificing animals or babies. Because the witnesses were from all over instead of a select few areas, it seemed to have credibility; however, besides the witnesses, there weren't any proof of it happening at all. In addition, there's more and more evidence that the real culprit of the hysteria was the psychologists using hypnosis, and the patients confused the satanic ritual abuse from their own childhood abuse."

"So should I read up on that, or because of the lack of physical proof should I ignore that."

"That all depends on you. A number of people still believed it happened, some think only a few people who were brutally tortured, and some others think it didn't happen at all. There's no proof that can prove or disprove that anything happened."

Iiyo hummed. "I think I'll save it for some other time. Can you explain more about making sigils? To be specific, I don't understand the numerology and the magic square aspect. How do you reduce the numerical value in the letters?"

"Of course. Are you planning on making sigils?"

"No, it's just for research."

Umehito wasn't disappointed anymore. He figured out that she would rather observe and read everything thoroughly before actually getting involved in anything. It was the same with their PE class. If they were doing something new, she would stand back and observe how the game worked before really getting in the middle if the game was a no-contact sport (if it was she would stay at the edge). Umehito had a medical excuse so didn't have to take part in the class, but still logged in hours of exercise each week at the inside gym. From the gym, he could see Iiyo out in the field.

Iiyo just wanted to be thorough with anything.

Umehito took out a star-shaped sugar cookie and took a bite. "These are good. Thank you."

"I'm glad you like them."