Chapter 5: Chapter 5 – Flight of the Parakeet

Harpys are half-human/half-bird creatures that personify stormy winds. Part of the birdman monster type Harpys features feathers on their arms & thighs with talons for feet & razor-sharp teeth. the larger feathers grow on their arms which allow them to become airborne & fly like birds, if not faster

The time is 15:16 & school has just ended for the day

Outside the front doors, a mass of students was grabbing their bags from their lockers & strolling toward the gates

Amongst the crowd stood a group of girls, three girls wearing their sailor school uniforms. White shirt, red scarfs & blue skirts

Stationed in the middle of the three was Shika displaying her familiar teal blue eyes & emerald hair. Apart from those features, the other monstrous qualities were absent, no feathers, no wings for arms, no talons for feet, no pointy ears & gone were her sharp teeth

Shika had taken the masking potion, this was essential to hiding her form when interacting with human society. For the case of this Harpy human society was her high school, the arcade & most importantly for the teenage girl her friends whom she currently walks with laughing at their jokes

Shika: “Ahahahaha! That one was soo funny Isa~riin. I must hear another”

That was Shika adorning a wide smile after listening to a joke from a girl to her right, with long blonde hair & eyes of gold. This was Shika’s best friend Sakakibara Isami (榊原諫見), extroverted like Shika & always quick to make her laugh  

Isami: “Hold on Shika~riin I got another one”

Bringing her right arm to her chin as she thought of a new joke to tell her bestie, eyes beginning to close as she enters a state of ponder

Noticing this Shika anticipates Isami’s next move, wrapping her hands around the closest arm of the person to her left Shika was anxiously waiting

Isami peers her eyes open & clicks her fingers, she has just found something. Clapping her hands together as if she were praying Isami was ready to say

Isami: “Ok Shika~riin listen up…what do you call a fake noodle?”

Shika still holding onto the girl to her left edged her way forward to hear the punchline

Isami: “Impasta”

Separating her hands Isami used them to emulate an explosion as she blurted the answer, this caused another laugh from Shika

Shika: “Ahaha! That one…ha…was good aha!”

Fully letting go now Shika rubs her laughing face with both hands as she tries to speak properly

???: “It wasn’t that funny”

That tight voice was coming from Shika’s left, it was the girl she grabbed seconds ago. Her rose-coloured eyes were stern & looking forwards, partially hidden by her dark brown bangs

This was Shika’s other best friend Matsubara Kameko (松原亀子) or Kame~riin, the more reserved one of the trio

Isami: “Well Kame~riin, I’d like to hear a better one from you”

Though Isami was the shortest of the trio she stood straight to challenge the taller Kameko, waiting for her to humour them with a better joke. Even with the masking potion hiding any physical of Shika’s monster from her gullible “birdbrain” persists & she awaits Kameko’s joke along with Isami

Seeing the two gang up on her like this she can only think of one thing to do which is, to blow air into her smooth cheeks & puffing the out then put both hands to the sides of her head to imitate the fins of fish

Kameko: “Fugu…fugu” (pufferfish)

This attempt at childish humour was not amusing to Isami

Isami: “Is that it? Kame~riin?”

Crossing her arms, Isami was not impressed one bit however the two glance at Shika who now copies her friend & puffing out her cheeks

Shika: “Fugu…fugu fugu”

Turning to Isami she stares into her gold eyes, Shika also gently taps on Kameko’s shin with the tip of her shoe which encourages the taller girl to do the same to taunt Isami

Now the two are behaving like pufferfish with Shika blowing so much air into her cheeks that her forehead begins to redden

Isami: “Hmm Shika~riin?”

Isami looks concerned at the now bright red Shika who continues to hold her breath. Seconds later Kameko came in with her index finger & casually pressed it against Shika’s now rose-coloured cheeks finally letting the trapped air flow out of her mouth

Isami stood there quietly laughing as Kameko with her signature still expression gently deflated Shika allowing her face to return to its normal colour

Shika: “Haaa! Haa. Thank yo..u for that”

She was now out of breath with her hands resting on her skirt & hunched in exhaustion

The other two can only look on in bewilderment at their friend

Isami: “So? You free to come to mine today?”

Isami had a burst of energy contrasting Shika’s lack of any, widening her eyes & giving a big grin. The spirited one of this Harpy’s friend group with friendly energy only matched by Shika was closing the gap between the two, keenly anticipating the answer

Isami: “We could play Swotch, watch Playful Kiss then style each other’s hair. Perfect for the three of us”

She spans her head in Kameko’s direction while maintaining that cheerful smile, Kameko sees this & feels reassured. It’s a good feeling to be included in those fun activities, Kameko grows a gentle smile

Kameko: “That sounds fun…though I’m an episode behind you guys”

Kameko’s smile is replaced with anxiety

Isami: “There’s no problem with that. So what’s your word? Shika? Are we finally getting that best friend’s sleepover party?”

The two girls huddle closer to Shika awaiting her response

The approaching girls cause a storm to brew inside Shika’s head, their enticing invitation was enticing but she knew full well that there was a time limit ticking away before the effects of the masking potion ended & the feathers become revealed to them. Shika could not do that, “Haru already doesn’t trust me alone in the human realm” she thought while deeply inhaling some more air & then slowly exhaling it

Shika: “I’m really sorry but Haru won’t allow me to stay out that long”

She said this with a sulking face which spread to the other girls, Kameko especially felt the atmosphere suddenly darkening from this news

Shika grabbed both their hands & stared at both of them with her large teal eyes

Shika: “Today I plan on asking her if a best friend sleepover party is good, I’ll convince her…somehow”

This act to console her friends seemed to work as Isami’s face lit up while Kameko’s small smile returned

Isami: “He~y it’s all good, we can wait ‘til after”

Kameko: “You can Jinx us after you speak to her” (Jinx is a social media app that exists in this world)

Hearing such support from her friends rejuvenated Shika’s confidence & she jumped on the spot & with a new smirk

Shika: “Thank you too, this was really stimulating”

Isami & Kameko: “Umu”

All the girls agreed & totally ignored the flow of students that passed them, luckily one such person was caught in Shika’s field of view

A male student was walking at a distance from the girls, clutching his blue satchel this boy had dirt brown hair & unstylish dark lenses. He was standing far apart from everyone else, a perfect target for Shika

Shika: “You two go on ahead, I have something”

She was quite dismissive of the other two, not even facing them & observing this unaccompanied boy with an intense gaze

This behaviour caused the other girls to turn & match the direction Shika is staring at, Isami to her left & Kameko to her right both edged closer to Shika’s green hair

The three now intensely stared at this boy like birdwatchers

Isami: “Oh I see”

To Shika’s right, Isami gave an evil grin as she understood what was about to happen

Isami: “Kame~riin, I think we should get going. Let Shika~riin attend to things”

Isami took her grin to Kameko who met this devilish smile with a look of woe but unable to say no in this situation just haltingly nodded

Isami: “Ok Shika~riin we’ll leave you be for now, see~ya”

Shika: “Bye”

Still uninterested in her friends at this moment, responding to them was pure reflex as her mind was fixed on this boy. Nevertheless, they both exited the area leaving Shika to take care of things

The boy she stared at was walking towards the gate with his back to Shika, there was something about him. Shika shares most of her lessons with him & in all of them he merely sits alone far apart from the rest of the class. No one but Shika notice this behaviour generally

Now he awkwardly avoided contact with the other students, passing the front gate he begins his afternoon routine of walking home alone while facing the concrete path

Not so far behind him was Shika who stalked him like a hawk

Whenever she sees him there’s a weird unexplainable feeling in her head, it’s not love nor hate. It’s the feeling she gets when amongst friends like Isami & Kameko, a feeling of wanting to be near them & craving the attention they give her

But this boy will not give Shika the attention she desires, he’ll have to be forced

& So her glare grow more intense, a grin began to get larger. Shika narrowed in on her prey with her human hands mimicking the claws of talons. “Target found”

--

Adjusting his glasses & with a look of fatigue, Ishibari Tarou (石張太郎) was walking unaware of who is swooping in

“School today was a nightmare. I just want to go home & re!!!”

The boy’s thoughts of dread & tired look were interrupted when out of nowhere sets of claws dug into the sides of his torso

Shika: “Cuuute! Huuuuuuman!!”

Tarou: “Waaaaaahhhh!”

His lack of preparedness sent bolts of lightning through his body as he yelled in a high-pitched voice

Tarou turned his head to see the perpetrator, this was non-other then Ukiyama San. She shares most classes with Tarou including his favourite ones (History & science mainly), she was even in his homeroom so avoiding this chirping parrot was near impossible for him

Tarou: “Why…ah…did you do that”

Tarou looks in pain & displeasure while he looks for answers. The orchestrator of this attack put her hands together & looked at her sharp nails

Shika: “I’m soo sorry Ishi~Kun. I didn’t realize the claws of my talons were that sharp…”

After actualizing what she just said Shika hid her hands behind her back hoping Tarou didn’t suspect anything. “Oh no I can’t let him know that”

Tarou: “Talons? Nevermind, I’ve had a bad day so please take another route home”

He silently questions Shika’s usage of terms before coming to his senses. Tarou clutches his satchel then turns his back to her marching away with a newfound motivation

But rushing to match his pace was the irritating girl looking to continue their interactions

Shika: “Bad day ka? Was this because Nakano Sensei yelled at you?”

Hearing the name of that teacher caused Tarou to feel troubled, he shut his eyes & turned his head away from Shika. “So this must be it” was the conclusion in her head

Shika: “So what if you forgot your homework one time, it happens to everybody”

This act of reassurance from her was not received as such by Tarou who remained walking with a greater wave of annoyance filling his face

Tarou: “This doesn’t happen to someone like me, I need to stay on top of my work”

Speaking with an agitated tone he had deeper feelings about this subject, keeping his eyes forward & away from Shika he spoke once more

Tarou: “I don’t live in your mind…where things aren’t important”

This was said at a much softer frequency from the previous rant

Tarou’s fingers begin to twitch slightly, his breathing steadily increased & he gradually distanced himself from Shika. “I hope she didn’t hear that” he was contemplating

Shika on the other hand was fixating on an opening in the clouds above exposing a small sliver of blue, “that must be the sky” she was thinking

Staring into that gap for a few seconds more before realizing where she stood, this was Shika revealing a microscopic part of herself that isn’t expressed through her daily actions in front of others as she fills her already blue-shaded eyes with even bluer from the sky as the gap slowly widens

This girl’s lack of action & slowed pace caught Tarou’s attention who turned to check up on the once spirited Shika

Tarou: “Ukiyama San?”

His look changes from anguish to concern as he turns to face Shika. Her face displayed a feeling of longing for something, it is difficult to say as Shika hardly puts on a face like this which increased Tarou’s investment in her current state

Shika: “Ohh right, I’m talking to Ishi~Kun”

Her attitude suddenly became carefree & tone of voice was relaxed. Still not quite the Shika we were used to

Tarou: “Are you ok?”

Tarou’s question caused Shika’s face to turn slightly pink, it came as a surprise to her that he would take an interest in anything she had to say. Hoping to keep his attention Shika readied her response

Shika: “I’m fine. Hey, wanna hear a joke!?!”

Instantly her lively persona came back as she marched closer to Tarou, this caused him to widen his eyes as it felt like out of nowhere she was charging at him

Tarou: “Ahhh ok”

He answered her while taking two steps back, Shika cupped her hands together to mimic the same gesture Isami made before, believing that was part of the punchline

Shika: “What do you call a fake noodle?”

Tarou turned his head side to side as if indicating *no* with a look of anticipation

Shika: “Impasta”

Shika could not hold in her laughter at this joke but managed to say it clearly for Tarou who stood at a distance from her with gentle amusement swelling in his eyes

He takes his right hand to cover his mouth & turns his face in that direction, again avoiding Shika’s teal blue eyes. Tarou begins to quietly giggle

Shika is still caught up in the hilarity of that joke to notice this from him

Tarou stops giggling as he thinks to himself briefly, “why am I finding this funny?”

The laughing from Shika continues, taking her hand to her mouth to cover the excessive chuckling

Shika: “Now that I’ve lightened your mood we can get on the same page”

Shika swoops in front of Tarou to block his path home, showing him a proud grin while spreading her featherless arms

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Shika: “Meet me tomorrow, at lunchtime! Under the *Hinoki Cypress tree”

Maintaining her devilish grin & teal eyes piercing into Tarou’s soul

If Tarou accepts, he’ll be stuck in a contract with the chirping girl & avoiding it would be futile. Shika will locate him

If Tarou refuses, he’ll have no choice but to avoid her, making all future confrontations awkward. Knowing Shika the subject will be brought up constantly

But Tarou still has questions

Tarou: “Will it be just us?”

He asks with scarlet cheeks. It was a good move to bring up the other girls, this will allow him to better understand what’s happening. If it’s only Tarou alone with this girl it could be seen as a small date, if that’s what Shika is planning

On the other hand, if Shika brings her friends then Tarou will need to deal with more teasing, it could become an ambush. The three girls towering over this small boy is a scene Tarou would dread to experience, “I hope it would be that. What is she thinking” he thinks with annoyance boiling in his mind

Shika: “Just us, why? Are you interested in Kame~riin?”

She begins twisting the knife into Tarou’s chest with the introduction of another girl into the conversation

The face of Tarou became a deeper shade of red, taking a step back he was flustered by this

Tarou: “What!?! No!! I don’t…”

Shika: “Eh that’s a shock. All the males at school give her extra attention, I guess Kame~riin has that shy moe moe vibe. I don’t see why that’s a reason to go for her, I can speak for hours and make an excellent speaking partner. These mammals just don’t see it”

Tarou hears this statement from Shika & tilts his head with confusion, “mammals? You’re one as well. What are we different species or something?” He thinks to himself

Tarou: “Mammals?”

Even mumbling that word softly, Shika refuses to hear it as she returns to the original topic. Taking her hand to him, her index finger was pointing directly towards his nose like a knife causing Tarou’s face to go red once again

Shika: “I promise, I & Ishi~Kun will be the only two there. You don’t have to worry about Isa~riin biting your head off”

Spoken with a menacing smile, Shika takes her hand away from Tarou & placing it under her chin. Shika proceeds to stroke her soft pointy chin while pivoting closer

Shika: “You see there is something secret you must know, something only you can know. I plan on telling you tomorrow under that tree”

She creeps closer with what appears to be a cloud of dark mist following from behind

Shika: “Before I kill you”

Shika’s grin expands revealing her pearly white teeth. A strong gust of wind flows through her sinister green hair waving in Tarou’s direction as if imitating the snakes of Medusa

Tarou hesitantly brings his arms up into a defence pose anticipating a strike from the vulture before him, his breathing increased

Shika: “But that’s tomorrow’s problem”

Suddenly, Shika’s chilling aroma dissipated & in its place was the bubbly teenager everyone was familiar with. The wind also left the scene thus her green hair dropped to its normal place on her shoulders

Tarou saw this & lowered his defensive pose thinking the threat was neutralized, his heavy breathing subsided

Flapping her arms like a bird Shika let out a screech

Shika: “Kyaa Kyaa!”

Tarou: “Ehh!”

Not expecting this kind of behaviour from Shika he grabbed his ears, trying to hide from that dreadful sound

Tarou: “What was that about!?!”

He asks with irritation

Shika: “It means it’s 15:30!”

Shika stops flapping as she answers Tarou with a large, excited smile

Shika: “& I must take flight outta here!”

Tightly gripping her bag Shika readies herself to sprint past Tarou but before that

Shika: “See ya!”

She soars straight past Tarou’s left side at such a speed he’s unable to respond in time. Instead, he leisurely turns his head

Tarou: “See ya tomorrow”

After this was said Shika dashed to a pedestrian crossing near the school’s entrance & loses herself in the crowd of students

Tarou sees the distance between the two greaten, then she disappeared

He prepared to make his way home but before he could, Tarou glanced at the ground & from the corner of his eye Tarou noticed something

Lowering himself down to get a closer look Tarou spots a short little feather relaxing on the concrete path

Not wanting the wind to steal it Tarou promptly takes it into his hand & begins to examine it

A soft bushy feather in a bright green colour, almost matching the colour of the outside of a watermelon

Tarou tries looking into his memory of the previous events, searching for answers but can only see Ukiyama San & her hair waving with the wind

Tarou: “That’s odd”

He says while elaborating in his mind, “This is the same colour as Ukiyama San’s hair”

Shaking his head Tarou brushes off this thought & walks off placing the feather in his front pocket

--

The time is now 15:43

Shika sits in a park far from both her home & the school, the bench she placed herself on is amber bamboo & can sit three people

Luckily for any monsters in the area, it’s rare for humans to come to this bench as it sits under trees & completely hidden from the sky. As the weather is clouded there’s no point in trying to find blue up there

In her hands are two socks, these were the ones she was wearing. Shika’s bare feet now rest on the murky ground, no longer concrete the ground under this bench is hardened dirt unable to grow grass. This hardened dirt has left dark stains under Shika’s bare-skinned feet

Shika sat slumped on the bench with an expression not matching the loud joyful one she left Tarou with, some time has passed & Shika perched herself there placing the socks in her hand before proceeding to scroll through apps on her phone

Taking her human fingers across the screen she makes little reactions in her head while displaying a desolate expression on her face:

“Takehito has a nice cake, did he make that?”

“Ryo~Kun & his break dances”

“That is not Kino~Riin’s car”

Endlessly scrolling through the app Shika views pictures & videos of people she interacts with almost daily, they all seem to be having fun, without her

Shika: “Alright! Looking at these is starting to depress me”

Shika turns off her phone & puts it back into her bag & rummages her hand for a few seconds, taking her hand out to throw a harmless green feather out

The wind then takes it towards the bench she sits on. Shika puts her hand back inside to locate something else

Her expression changes, “aha! I got you” she screams in her head. What pops out of the bag is a veal of cobalt blue liquid, Shika unscrews the cap & takes a big gulp

| Goku Goku |

Shika: “Iiiiaaaa!”

She drinks a sufficient amount & lets out an unsatisfied roar like a child drinking wine

Closing the cap tight & shoving the veal back into her bag Shika shoots up from the bench & stretches her limbs

Remaining under the thick trees Shika takes her left hand through her emerald hair before grabbing her bag from the bench

She proceeds to wrap the straps around her waist tightly, yanking on them to make sure they’re in place before beginning to stroll out

A little feather gently falls from her bag & flies with the wind, the flow takes it to the bench Shika sat on

Shika stretches out her arms which gradually change colour, first green, then black

Her breathing starts to become heavy. Shika lowers herself & crouches on the thick heavy soil curling her toes as she grabs her shoulders maintaining her inhales & exhales as she morphs

The texture of her skin shifts and little hairs begin to sprout on her arms & legs. These hairs turn to fur then at a rapid pace thickens turning into feathers

Her dirt brown feet adjust in shape as they too change in texture, the area from her ankle to her toes morph & grows scales the colour of lemons pile

The feathers all over her body have grown larger & a deeper shade of green

Ukiyama Shika is a normal human no more. This is the body of a harpy

After such transformation Shika lets out a sign & breaths heavier, this physically taxing body transformation has concluded

Shika calmly rises from her squat letting the wind wave her hair like a flag, her tassel-like feathers moving along with the breeze

Taking a deep breath Shika reveals her sharpened teeth. she lets out the air that was trapped in her lungs

| Hakashun |

Shika: “Ahh”

Her great exhale was met with an equally great sneeze followed by a sound of discomfort from the Harpy

Shika: “Eh!”

Shika just realized how loud that sneeze was & so shuts her mouth with her hand, no bird talons. The same shade of yellow as her “feet” talons with lengthened pointy nails the colour of coal

Holding tightly Shika looked in all directions to make sure no one heard, “this part of the park is deserted…good” she thought with a forlorn look on her face. “Nobody here, it’s a lonely feeling” she thinks before checking her bag

Unzipping the bag & rummaging in there once more, out comes a small padlock with a cylinder of numbers on the side

Zipping her bag hard, Shika locks the zippers together before spinning the cylinder

Shika has made every precaution she can think of so she strolled out into an open patch of grass enclosed by

Stretching out those arms to proclaim her form before taking off, these limbs were spread out like wings with their lush green feathers sticking out & flowing with the gusty wind

The time is 15:51 & Shika is certainly ready for taking off

Her wings have lengthened

Shika swiftly tilts them downward & equally quickly flaps them pushing all the air below to slam against the hard ground

Within an instant, she blasts herself forward with her legs & proceeds to run flapping as she moves

With the air enhancing her speed Shika lets go of the earth, using an invisible cushion of air to force her upwards

Shika careens her wings before reaching the rest of the forest, tilting her body to the left this allows Shika to change direction & curve away

The air from under Shika rustles the tree branches as she swoops past them

Shika clears her sight of leaves & flies out of the forested park

Letting the wind carry her away as she flaps her wings up & down at a rapidly increasing rate, clearing the trees unravelled a wide grey view of Saitama

Seeing the buildings get smaller & the vehicles become ant-sized draws a large grin on Shika. This large breeze waving her hair & the blue skirt of her uniform

The cold wind was not affecting the warm feeling in Shika’s heart as she tastes the only piece of freedom she had today. “I can move again, this feels so freeing. I don’t want to go back!” cheering in her head as she reaches a higher altitude

Shika spirals her way up to the dreary overcast hoping to catch the azure-coloured sky that lies above

Haru: “Only fly when it’s overcast & don’t make yourself noticeable”

Shika remembers the words from the house leader Haru during Shika’s flight hours. This came to mind as Shika speedily approached the clouds

Her surroundings began to freeze, her vision is hazy & skin wet. “The feeling of a cloud’s insides” Shika was less used to the feeling than she would like to be

The chillingly cold air penetrated her feathery shield, & Shika’s heart rate increased at this intense temperature change. A feeling that resembles a cold shower in the morning

Shika: “Ahhhhh”

She quietly exhales, her breath even forms momentary vapour which races past her. This speed is so much that droplets of water smash onto her cheeks before fleeting off her face

These rain droplets smacking on her face leave behind coral red cheeks & nose

Shika squints her eyelids to block droplets from entering her vulnerable eyes, all that’s left for visibility is a narrow window into a fast canvas of iron silver…until

A bright light enters Shika’s narrow vision causing her to shut her eyes completely. “Could it be? Have I passed the clouds?” she questions

Clears her eyes & takes in this light which gradually settles in her iris & what Shika views as something land dwellers can only see glimpses of

Shika is witness to a world above the clouds, layers upon layers of fluffy pillows stretching to the horizon where they meet the endless blue blanket that hovers over everything

Staring into that blue void Shika peacefully glides parallel to the iron silver clouds leaving small trails of vapour as the tips of her wings straddle its silky surface

Shika “The sky box”

She says to herself whilst maintaining lift with her steady speed, this was the height of monsters in this world. Shika flew higher than any other

To her right corner, Shika clocked the large radiant Sun staring back lighting up this world above the clouds

Shika: “Hello Sun!! it’s me Ukiyama!!”

She announces herself to the great golden disk of the sky, the entity that Hoshi spoke to that very morning. While unable to look at her directly Shika still smiles at this giant flaming ball before changing direction

The absence of any other individual at this moment gave Shika great feelings of joy. This time alone above the clouds allows Shika to give the biggest smile she can

Even the lack of aircraft was surprising & so Shika took in all the air she could before playing her instrument, this teenage girl was gifted with a precious singing voice that she was now able to express in any way she wanted

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