Dealing with Devas

The Dance Hall was empty, so I looked inside the Shop Room. There, Nekomaru was working alone, with the Devas sitting nearby on a bench. I could not tell what Nekomaru was doing, however, as his back was to me. Not wishing to mess up his work, I decided to approach the Devas instead.

The largest one was watching Nekomaru intently from the edge of the table, nose twitching. One of the other ones seemed to be napping, and the other two were playing with each other. I noticed one of them had a chipped ear. Curious, I reached out for its ear, but the hamster jerked its head away from my hand, then tried to nip at my finger. It seemed more like a self-defensive nip than an actual attempt to hurt me, though, but I got the message.

Nekomaru finally looked over at me. "Hmm.... I thought I heard someone coming in. What brings you here, Shishano?"

I turned to face Nekomaru, and answered him. "I wished to check in on the Devas. How are they faring, with Gundham no longer among us?"

Nekomaru shrugged. "They definitely miss Gundham, I can tell that much. That said, I think they'll be alright. I've made it my job to take care of them, so they can become the best Devas they can be"

Intrigued, I inquired further. "What, exactly, do you plan on doing with the Devas?"

Nekomaru replied, "Every top athlete needs three essential things: physical fitness, visual acuity, and willpower. If any athlete, human or otherwise, wishes to strengthen these three essentials, then it's my job to prepare a solid and effective training regiment for them. Let me tell you, it can be a real challenge to bring out the max potential of each and every athlete under my watch."

So Nekomaru was planning on using his talent to maximize the physical potential of these hamsters...somehow. Hence the mini-gymnasium he was building with Mondo.

Still curious, I inquired, "So what is your assessment of the four Devas, thus far?"

Nekomaru chuckled lightheartedly. "San-D and Maga-Z have the most potential when it comes to speed and agility, with San-D perhaps having the edge between the two. I believe Cham-P may be the strongest, though, as well as the smartest of the bunch. Jum-P...so far, all he ever seems to do is sleep. I haven't really figured out what to do with him yet."

I was genuinely impressed to get such a detailed answer from Nekomaru. He had only taken possession of the Devas yesterday evening, and already had a feel for each hamster's strengths and weaknesses, to an extent. But then, I supposed that was to be expected of the Ultimate Team Manager.

Nekomaru continued. "Anyway, can you do me a favor? I'm gonna carry this gym set to my room, but I could use an extra set of hands to handle the Devas. I'd rather not accidentally injure one of them while carrying this thing. You mind giving me a hand?"

I smiled. "Certainly." I curtsied out of respect, then walked over to a carrier that looked like it came from the School Store, judging from the Monorakun logo on it. I did not recall seeing it there before, but I also had not been in there in a few days, so maybe the stock changed in there. I managed to coax the Devas into the carrier, then zipped it shut and slung the long strap over my shoulder, carrying the smaller handle in my left hand. The top half of the carrier was mesh, so there was plenty of light and air to get through to the Devas within.

As for Nekomaru, he carried the gym set on one shoulder, leaving one hand free to get the doors. I had offered to get the doors for him, but he asked me to stay behind in case any small pieces fall off. I followed him all the way from the Third Floor to his dorm room, only running into Kyoko coming out of the Trash Room. She said nothing; we said nothing.

Entering Nekomaru's room, I set the Devas down on an end table, then opened the door so they could run into a terrarium that appeared to have been built for them. It had the standard hamster litter at the bottom, and a few hamster wheels, four water tubes, and four trays of food, all in opposite corners.

"Yeah, the Devas get a bit territorial sometimes, some more than others, so we had to split up their food and water like this. Maga-Z in particular is always fighting with San-D, it seems. I'm sure they'll eventually grow out of it, and if not...well, hamsters only live about, what, 2 to 4 years? Something like that?"

I shrugged, not knowing much in the way of hamsters, but not wishing to appear ignorant or rude.

Nekomaru continued. "Hey, anyway, thanks for helping me get the Devas back down here. I'm still not fully sure what I'm doing yet, but I'm working out a plan, and Mondo's helping me out on it! I'm keeping my promise to turn this group into the best team of hamsters the world has ever seen!"

I smiled and nodded, not certain how I should respond to this, then glanced at the time. It was already 6:30pm, and I had done nothing but run around nonstop today. Exploring a new floor, talking to Mondo, getting Fuyuhiko's side of the story, carrying the Devas down three flights of steps...not that I was not used to physical labor, but I just wished to sit and eat dinner at this point.

I respectfully took my leave of Nekomaru, took a quick wash-up in the bathroom (mostly my hands, arms, underarms, and neck), and then headed to the Dining Hall for dinner. Teruteru had made crab legs, with roasted carrots, steamed broccoli, and mashed potatoes, and served sweet or unsweetened tea to everyone.

After the horrors we experienced yesterday, this was a very welcome surprise. It was a true shame that Teruteru was a pervert, even one who tried to hide behind innuendos, because his cooking put anything else I had ever eaten to shame. I had almost wished I had not eaten lunch, so I would have more room for THIS meal instead!

However, I ate my fill and resisted the urge to pig out, as I knew a stomachache would make me regret it later. I put my dishes up with Mahiru, Korekiyo, and Toko (who I was surprised to see join us), then retired to my dorm room for a while.

At 9pm, an alert went over the monitors. It was Monorakun.

"Attention, everyone! Please gather at the Gymnasium for an important announcement! Don't worry, I'll try to make it quick!"

Then his face disappeared, and the TUTEC logo reappeared. What was THIS about now?

Annoyed, I got up off of my bed, where I was relaxing, put my heels back on, and walked out to the Gym with everyone else. Monorakun was waiting in the middle of the Gym when we all arrived, and true to his word, he did not waste much time.

"Alright, as you all know, tomorrow is a holiday! So everyone will have a special holiday outfit they'll have to wear tomorrow, LIKE IT OR NOT!!"

Fuyuhiko spoke up. "Wait a fuckin' second! No, we don't know it's a fuckin' holiday tomorrow!"

Mondo sided with Fuyuhiko. "Yeah, what the hell holiday IS this, anyway?"

Monorakun cocked his head. "Check your E-Handbooks! The date should be right there, above the time!"

I checked my handbook. There was no date. Not on the lock screen, not on the home screen, not in the settings.

"Hey, Robo-Trash-Panda, there's no dates anywhere in our stupid E-Handbooks! We don't even know what today IS!", a voice rang out. I was certain that was Hiyoko.

Monorakun responded, "Huh? Really? Lemme see that!"

He then scurried on all fours to Hiyoko, who thrust her E-Handbook at Monorakun. Monorakun looked it over, changed screens a few times, then handed it back and scurried slowly away, his teeth showing but not sawing back and forth.

"Sonova...bitch. Yeah, you're right, the date's not showing up. Ok, sorry, that one's on me. I'll work on that tonight, and send an update to everyone's E-Handbooks. If you're gonna be with me in here forever, you need to at least KNOW what today is, after all. I'll even take the liberty of uploading everyone's birthdays, so we can celebrate those too!"

"Good thing I just had mine, right before you threw me in here," Hiyoko spat out in disgust. "By the way, what stupid, boring holiday is coming up, anyway?"

"I'm not surprised you don't know; it's not a Japanese holiday, after all." Monorakun continued, "Anyway, as I said, everyone will have an outfit picked out for them for the occasion, based off your Ultimate Talent, combined with the theme of the holiday. Some may be more Talent-based, some more Holiday-based. You'll find them in your closet, next to your other clothes, and your dorm room will NOT unlock unless you are wearing your holiday outfit!"

"Bastard..." Fuyuhiko muttered under his breath. Mondo looked like he agreed, but said nothing. Korekiyo, from what I could tell, just looked amused at all of this.

"Anyway, enjoy your outfits for tomorrow, and fair warning: this update will cause everyone's E-Handbooks to reboot when it goes through, but should not affect anything else. I do really apologize about that," Monorakun finished.

Korekiyo spoke up next. "Kehehehe...Odd for one who's usually crass and divisive, to suddenly be apologetic and uniting. What's your play here, I wonder..."

Monorakun chuckled as he regarded Korekiyo. "Honestly, the date thing really bothers me; that should have been working Day One, no excuses. As for the outfits...well, it depends on how much you like this particular holiday. Anyway, meeting's over, so cya later!"

Then Monorakun disappeared, leaving the 13 of us in the Gym, looking at each other in confusion. I did not know what holiday was coming up, either, nor did I have an idea as to what I would be forced to wear for the occasion. For that matter, neither did anyone else.

However, Monorakun DID say he would update our E-Handbooks to show us the date, stating that they were always supposed to do so, and seemed genuinely upset that they did not, so that is...something, at least. 

That left everyone with the same two question:

What day is it? And what holiday is coming up tomorrow?