Kyūri waddled back and forth, inspecting the exchange students who stood before him in a neat row. "Alright, young ones!" the elderly kappa declared. "As you can see, the portal is ready." He pointed at the mystical gate connecting the grounds of the heya to Morgana Faye's shop. "As soon as Morgana-sama gives the signal, you will step through it and enter America. Now, is everybody here? Humiya Omoibushi?"
"Here!" the tanuki said, raising hir hand earnestly.
"Very good," Kyūri nodded. "Asuga Innō?"
"Here!" cried the second tanuki, hir cock going hard from the excitement.
"Good, but try to keep your eagerness from going straight to your loins," grumbled Kyūri. "Tamiko Inarimago?"
"Here," the kitsune girl said shyly, barely raising her hand.
"Good, I almost didn't see you there for a minute," said Kyūri. "Maiko Hiko?"
"HeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeerrrrre!" the black-furred yako kitsune sang out as shi struck a seductive pose.
"Don't show off, Maiko-san," Kyūri frowned. "It's unseemly. I especially hope you control yourself in front of the Americans. We wouldn't want to give them the impression that Japan is a crass, shameless nation, now would we?" His glower carried an implicit threat.
"I'm not a rikishi!" Maiko scoffed. "You're not the boss of me!"
"No, but I can tip off some of the more senior yokai members of the Takarazuka Review and get you expelled," the obese turtle man threatened. "Now, back to the roll call. Yuna Hayashida?"
"Here," the white-furred kitsune said with a polite nod of her head.
"Very good, Yuna-san," Kyūri smiled. "Unlike a certain black-furred yako, I'm sure you will make Inari proud."
Maiko stuck out her tongue at Kyūri, which the kappa rikishi ignored (aside from "accidentally" stepping on hir foot as he paced).
"Lastly, Hōkō Jigokumoto?"
"Here," the oni girl smiled.
"Ah good, everyone's assembled," Kyūri smiled. "Now, there's some things we'll need to go over. First, I'm sure some of you may be worrying about the language barrier."
"Yes, I've been wondering about that, Kyūri-sensei," said Humiya.
"Well, I have good news for you," said Kyūri. "Witches are capable if whipping up something called the Potion of Understanding, which can instantly fill your mind with knowledge of a language. Once you take it, you can speak perfect English. I'm sure Morgana-sama has some bottles of the Japanese version for the American students that Alpha Selena is sending me."
"And where will we get the English version of the potion?" asked Hōkō.
"I spoke about that with the witch Humiya found to transform my pupil Misaki from a human into a kitsune," answered Kyūri. "The witch's name is Saku-sama, and I asked her to prepare some Potions of Understanding for you. Ah, here she comes!"
The yokai teens turned their heads in the direction Kyūri was looking and saw a strange figure approaching. This woman was entirely nude aside from the eerie oni mask she wore and some bone jewelry. A snake familiar was curled around her arm. "Greetings, Kyūri-san," she said. "It is I, Saku. I have the potions you require."
"Thank you, Saku-sama," Kyūri said, handing the witch some money. She then handed him six clay bottles. Kyūri passed them around to the exchange students, who drank from them.
"Ooh, my brain feels hot!" said Maiko. "Does that mean it's working."
"Yes, it does," said Saku. "I believe I will now go meditate by the river, Kyūri-san. You may call me when the Americans in need of transformation arrive."
"I wonder if anyone's ever seen her real face?" mused Tamiko.
"Who knows?" Yuna shrugged.
As Saku left, Kyūri turned to face the exchange students. "Now, as you know, your destination is Stokerville, a town in northwestern America. It has a higher-than-average magical population, but it is still a majority-human town. Unless you are completely certain that there are no humans around, you must remain in your human forms at all times. All! Times! Am I clear?"
The exchange students all nodded, even Maiko.
"Good," said Kyūri. "Now, you've all been assigned host families to live with while you attend school in America. For convenience, they are under a geis to believe that they've been expecting you for months. I've provided each of you with a card containing the name and address of your host family." The old turtle-man handed a card to each exchange student.
"That should be everything," Kyūri concluded. "Well, everything other than a reminder to that you are representing Japan to America and should all be on your best behavior. You must be hard-working, honest, humble, generous... and modest. I know I cannot stop hormonal adolescents from having sex entirely, but please refrain from going too wild."
Maiko the yako kitsune and Asuga the tanuki rolled their eyes.
"I have especially high expectations for you, Humiya," Kyūri said, looking directly at the young tanuki rikishi. "You are the exchange student who represents my sumo heya, and you have always been sensible and responsible."
"Thank you, sensei," Humiya said with a respectful bow of hir head, which caused hir chubby neck to jiggle.
"Now all we have to do is wait for the Americans," Kyūri proclaimed.