Red Data Girl - Series 1 & 2

The First Makeup - 12

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Red Data Girl: The First Makeup
By Noriko Ogiwara
Chapter 2: Ichijo
Part 3 (2 of 2)

Izumiko and Mayura didn’t talk about the subject of shikigami again for a while that day. They ate their lunch too hurriedly to talk and then at dinner, the other students sitting at their table pulled them into a conversation. After dinner though when Manatsu brought his homework to do in the lounge attached to the lecture hall, Mayura finally brought the events of the afternoon up in a hushed voice.

“You didn’t notice anything at all, Manatsu? Was Izumiko really the only one who sensed something was weird even though there are are all those other people in same class? That’s ridiculous. Everything about that exchange student from Brazil was a lie. He was just what Takayanagi made everyone see. And no one even sensed one thing was off about him?”

“What are you talking about?”

Manatsu’s manner was relaxed, but he had listened to everything. Mayura’s words didn’t seem to surprise him at all.

“I knew something was scaring Izumiko, but I thought she got used to it. Ricardo looked like he was just as scared as she was.”

“He was scared? The shikigami?”

“Things that aren’t human don’t do well in in cramped, crowded places. I feel bad for them.”

Izumiko and Mayura stared at him, their eyes wide.

“Are you saying you knew he wasn’t human or are you just pretending you did?”

Manatsu shook his head. “Well, does it really matter if he was human or not?”

“It does matter. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I wasn’t one-hundred percent sure. I hadn’t given it much thought.”

“Ugh. Whatever. Why are you like this?”

Mayura threw the mechanical pencil she had been holding at Manatsu, but Izumiko was looking at him in a new light.

Manatsu’s an interesting guy…

To him, Izumiko, shikigami, and horses were all alike. All of them were different from humans and yet they weren’t that different either. When she saw how open-minded Manatsu actually was, she realized that up until now all of her fear had kept her from really getting to know him.

“I think it’s pointless to be so on edge,” Mayura complained. “Don’t you think so too, Izumiko?”

Izumiko turned to her and nodded.

“Actually, I could see Ricardo’s face in the AV room. By then, I could feel something bad. As if he didn’t like me or something.”

“You might say that, but it was just Takayanagi’s intentions being reflected through his puppet. Those things don’t have anything like a real personality and because they’re not made up of good spiritual energy, they’ll stab you in the back if you sympathize with it. That’s exactly why you fell for his trick,” Mayura said, her face serious.

It was the first time Izumiko had heard this, but there were parts she could understand. Ricardo had been an easily manipulatable pawn. She felt like he had been forced into being. All the same, Izumiko thought, Manatsu had pointed out that Ricardo had looked scared as well. He believed that Ricardo had had feelings.

Mayura continued to talk as Izumiko thought about this.

“So Takayanagi’s chosen to partner up with non-humans, huh? There aren’t a lot of people who can make shikigami who imitate humans so well. I’ll admit he’s a person with an impressive ability. And I can tell it’s already paying off for him. But I wonder if it’ll continue to pay off.”