Humiya walked through the dining hall of the shiyūdōtai building. Before the new students had arrived last night, there had been five shiyūdōtai students inhabiting this wing of the school: three tanuki (including Humiya), a kitsune, and a bakeneko. Humiya smiled when shi saw the new jonokuchi (sumo new recruits) sitting together at a table. Thanks to them, the shiyūdōtai division was now the same size as the male division. Humiya decided to check up on the new jonokuchi.
Maruko Futobara waved happily as shi saw Humiya approaching. Maruko was a tanuki, but Humiya almost didn't realize it at first. Shi was five feet and five inches tall, and shi weighed 137 pounds. Humiya had never seen a tanuki weigh under 155 pounds. "Hello!" Maruko chirped. "You're the one who greeted us last night when we arrived. Nice to see you again."
Humiya smiled. "Nice to see you, too, Maruko. How's the midday meal going?"
Maruko sighed. "It's going alright, but how come we aren't being given any of Kyūri Sensei's special chankonabe? Aren't rikishi supposed to be fat?"
"Of course," Humiya said, "but my beloved master is very choosy. If he gives you his chankonabe, it means he thinks you've proven yourself and you're worthy of continuing to pursue the art of sumo. Wait until he sees you in action a little."
Maruko smiled a bit. "That's great. I can't wait to get rid of my breakup belly. Ugh, it's so flat!"
"Just be careful you don't give Kyūri Sensei the impression that's the only reason you're here," said Humiya. "Sumo is very spiritual to him (and to me, for that matter), and he won't look to kindly on it being used as a beauty treatment. Oh, and watch what you say even when he isn't around. His granddaughter's a huge blabbermouth, and she's always snooping around."
Akane Inarimago gaped in awe at the other, more established kitsune student who was helping hirself to a bowl of chankonabe across the room, hir belly and exposed breasts pendulous. "I've never seen on of my kind so big before! Could I look like that someday?"
"Yes, Akane," Humiya answered, nodding at the willowy kitsune. "If you take care of yourself, that is. That's Haia Yoshimoto you're ogling, by the way. Shi's a very good student. You'd do well to have hir for a friend."
"And shi's really a futanari like me?" asked Akane. "I'm the only one in my village. Only five percent of kitsune are shiyūdōtai, you see. We aren't like you tanuki."
"Shi is indeed," said Humiya. "Shi could not set foot in this heya if shi weren't. So, how's everyone settling into the dorms?"
"Great, thank you," grinned Tsubame Sorayama. The plump, broken-winged tengu almost looked like a different person than the sad, dispirited yokai that had arrived with the others last night. "I haven't felt so at home anywhere since the accident. Sumo's my vocation, I just know it!"
Hōman Harekōgan looked the tengu over, patting hir own 224-pound belly as shi did. "I'll give you this, Tsubame, you're more of a natural than those twigs Maruko and Akane. They aren't even really here to learn sumo like us. They just want a belly like mine!"
Humiya fixed hir fellow tanuki with a death glare. "Hōman Harekōgan! Kyūri Sensei expects his students to conduct themselves with humility and respect. You might be the most talented rikishi in the world, but you'll go nowhere if you can't act with decency!"
Hōman hung hir head. "I'm sorry, Humiya-sama."
Humiya spoke the the whole table. "Good manners are very important to life in this heya, as is respect for tradition. For instance, you shiyūdōtai are expected to live entirely separately from the male students who live in the building on the other side of the river. Don't even make eye contact, and certainly don't speak to them."
"Why?" asked Akane.
"Sumo has always traditionally been considered a man's sport," said Humiya. "Women aren't allowed to compete at all. Shiyūdōtai were also banned until 1578 when a tanuki petitioned King Ryūjin, the ancient sea-dragon who rules Japan's magical beings. He ruled that shiyūdōtai are distinct from women so long as they avoid the men and as long as recuse themselves while menstruating and undergo purity rituals afterwards."
Misaki Satō raised her hand. "Where does that leave Kijo and me? We're girls."
"The two of you will have to undergo a magical ritual to become shiyūdōtai," said Humiya. "And since you're human, you'll have to do another one to become a yokai."
"I choose kitsune!" Misaki grinned.
Kijo Onidzuyo crossed her arms. "I still think it isn't fair that we have to change ourselves to be accepted as rikishi. Girls can do sumo, too! I've been doing amateur sumo in my oni clan for years! Just ask my girlfriend Hōkō!"
"I don't make the rules," sighed Humiya. "Just consider yourself lucky you aren't being turned into a boy. You just have to put up with a penis in your loincloth, that's all."
"I don't mind having a penis," said Kijo. "I just don't like sexism." The oni maiden grimaced, baring her menacing tusks.
"Do we have to wait for our transformations to begin training?" asked Misaki.
"Yes," Humiya answered. "Also, you have to wait for some American exchange students to arrive. We'll be having a lottery soon to choose one or two of our older students to send to America in exchange. I think some of your old high schools are participating in the program, too."
"Cool," said Tsubame. "I've never met an American before, and now I'm going to meet a bunch of them! How many, again?"
"Six," said Humiya. "Three of them are coming to learn sumo. The other three are their girlfriends. They'll be doing chores around the heya to justify their presence."
"This is incredible!" Tsubame laughed. "Up until yesterday, I'd barely ever seen a non-tengu before. Now I'm meeting six Americans. What kinds of magicals are they?"
"Four werehyenas, a werevixen, and an ordinary human," said Humiya.
"Oh, a werevixen!" said Akane. "My people descend from prehistoric population of them. This'll be fun, almost like meeting my ancient ancestors!"
"I wouldn't be so happy about it if I were you," said Kijo. "Werefoxes are basically yako kitsune with less magic. I bet shi'll be a huge pain."
"Don't worry," laughed Humiya. "People make inhibitor potions for magicals like them. I'm sure Kyūri Sensei will insist shi take them."
Misaki noticed a humanoid cat glaring at her. "Humiya-san, who's that? And why doesn't shi like me?"
"Oh, that's Shizuka Zayasu," said Humiya. "Shi's a bakeneko, a cat yokai. Forgive hir, bakeneko REALLY don't like humans for some reason. Some human folktales even claim a bakeneko is the vengeful ghost of a dead cat come to take revenge on the abusive owner who killed it. Pure nonsense, but understandable nonsense, considering all the garbage bakeneko can give humans. I'd stay out of hir way until we can get you turned into a kitsune if I were you. So, does anyone need some help unpacking after the meal?"
"I traveled light," said Kijo.
"Same," said Misaki.
"I could use some help unpacking the trophies I won in local sumo competitions back home," said Hōman.
"You brought all those with you?" Maruko asked the other tanuki in disbelief.
"I figured they'd bring me luck," said Hōman. "Not that a sumo wrestler of my caliber NEEDS luck, mind you."
Maruko smiled. "Oh, I think we'll see about that. I think I'm finding sumo motivation beyond getting my chub back. See you in the dojo, Hōman!"