meowelina: Haha sorry this is a bit late, but it's here~!
Eramis8: Thanks! Your review is a great summary of this story so far :p
Grecia: Thanks for reading despite the language barrier! As to your question, this will answer it! :D
Tofu-kun: Here's the next chapter! :D
VampireQueenKrul: Thanks! :)
Away With Your Fear!
Mitsuba had truthfully thought that she was the only one at this party who hadn't wanted to come. At first, the idea of hanging out with friends had seemed fun, but when her only friend who had promised to go to the party with her – Shinoa – had seemingly ditched her for a dark-haired werewolf, she figured that the night would turn out just the same as always. That was until another young looking boy had fainted but a few feet away from her.
I guess it's a good thing that I took that first aid class last semester. The thought came as a side note as the blonde girl helped the barely conscious classmate to a seat against the wall. Luckily it wasn't too far from where he had first collapsed; the boy promptly fainted again once he was in the seat.
Mitsuba briefly wondered if she should help the people who were cleaning up – one of them being the werewolf that Shinoa had been stalking all night. Truthfully, Shinoa probably wasn't aware that the blonde girl had made it to the party. Maybe she had gotten so involved in her pranks that she hadn't noticed…
A small noise from beside her made her look to the seat. The boy's hazel eyes fluttered open slowly, blinking several times in confusion. She seriously began to hope that he hadn't hit his head on the way down; if he had memory loss from the incident, it could lead to more troubles. Why did he even faint in the first place?
Instead of inquiring on the question echoing through her mind, she decided to ask another one. "Are you feeling a bit better?"
The boy's gaze focused on her and, when he didn't answer, she started to wonder if he had heard her. Contradicting to her thought, the boy sat up quickly in the seat, a small blush of embarrassment on his face. "Ah, yeah! Sorry for causing trouble…"
He gave a small bow in his seat while facing her, making an uncomfortable feeling run through her. Why was he apologizing for something he had no control over? "I-it's nothing. You clearly fainted and I took a first-aid class over the summer, so I figured I would be able to help."
The boy gave her a bright smile despite her humbling words. "Still, thank you for helping! I really didn't mean to cause so much trouble, it's just that he looked so…" The brown-haired classmate trailed off slightly, as though he were having trouble remembering what he was going to describe. His words only deepened her confusion.
"Wait, 'he'?" She glanced at the crowd cleaning up the refreshments, her gaze lingering on the werewolf. By the looks of it, the teen and Shinoa were now having some sort of heated conversation. Or Shinoa could be acting again…
The boy followed her gaze, a look of recognition on his face. "Oh, Yu-kun!" The small exclamation left his mouth in a hurry, but it was replaced by a withered expression from the brunette. "I really did it this time…"
"He's your friend?" Mitsuba inquired as the pieces started to come together in her mind. She had seen the boy with a small group of other students before he had fainted, but their physical features hadn't been important at that moment. She had merely focused on what she could do to help.
"Mm-hmm." The boy beside her nodded as he watched the cleanup. "Yu-kun and Mika-kun are always watching out for me, even though we haven't been friends for long. I always just seem to cause trouble for them though."
The blonde girl didn't know who either of the names were referring to personally, but she figured one of them had to be the werewolf. The other… Maybe it was that vampire he was near before he fainted, or the ghoul. Whichever of the two it had been, she wouldn't know unless she was introduced to them.
"They're your friends for a reason, so I'm sure it's not too much trouble." At least they stuck around for this party. The slightly bitter thought caused her to freeze slightly. She watched as Shinoa's form retreated from the room, the werewolf following promptly after. What they were doing, she had no idea, but she wouldn't worry about it now.
As she stared at the brown-haired boy, her first-aid training came back to her. "Do you feel any lightheadedness or nausea?" If her memory served correctly, these signs could lead to another fainting spell. It could also be possible that the occurrence of his fainting was common, but what exactly did that mean for possible health problems?
Her thought process was stopped when the boy shook his head. "No, I feel alright now. The scary creature from the underworld sort of spooked me."
Once again, the boy's descriptions were confusing. Scary creature from the underworld? Her gaze trailed back to the peer dressed as a ghoul, a cloak covering most of his body. All three creatures that the boy had been surrounded by – a vampire, werewolf, and ghoul – could be associated with the 'underworld' and the fact that he had said 'creature' meant that the offender responsible was singular.
"You fainted from fright? Not from any medical conditions?" Mitsuba was, once again, befuddled. Fainting from fright wasn't uncommon, but with the suddenness of what had happened, she had surely thought it was something possibly hereditary.
The boy nodded once again. "It was just too much to handle at the moment. It's like the gym has been transformed into a…" The word seemed to elude him once again, causing him to stop. She took note of this, thinking through the possible brain damage of his fall. He seemed to give up on finding a suitable word and settled for his next comment. "It's definitely scary."
"I'm assuming this has happened before?"
"Yeah…" The words brought an even deeper shade of embarrassment to her classmate's features. He seemed reluctantly to talk about it, but under her questioning gaze, he continued. "When I was really young, this used to happen a lot – for different reasons. It seemed to get better after a while, but then I accidently signed up for Health class…"
The story sounded very familiar to something that her older sister had told her: one of the students in her second-year Health class had fainted early on in the semester. Supposedly the student had been given a permit to be excused from the class but came anyway. She hadn't really paid much attention to the story at the time, but now she wished she would have.
"My sister mentioned something similar to that."
The boy's gaze widened for a moment before it trailed to the ground. "Ah, that's because it's been talked about a lot. The teacher was really worried, but the person on the screen looked so realistic that I couldn't help but feel ill."
The remaining words pieced together the whole story in her mind, helping her to remember what she had forgotten. Her sister's class had been learning about the different systems of the body and was using first-rate technology. She could have only figured that the diagrams on the screen were realistic.
Mitsuba felt some amount of sadness run through her; he had most likely been bullied for what had happened. Which probably led to the werewolf… "Is that how you met the werewolf you were with?" She didn't want to refer to the person by name, considering that she didn't fully know the answer.
"Yu-kun had to help me to the nurse's office. That was the first time I had fainted in front of him, so he was really worried too. I just wish I wouldn't be such a burden…" The boy's thoughts were turning negative quickly, which was something that she wanted to avoid, but it seemed as though she didn't have to worry: he looked at her with a slightly curious expression. "I just realized that I didn't properly thank you since I don't know your name."
The request hidden in his words was innocent, but it still caused a slight blush of embarrassment to appear on her face. They had been talking for – how long? – and she hadn't even introduced herself yet. I'm glad my sister isn't around to witness this.
"I'm Mitsuba, a second-year (1). And you are…?" She tried to hide her embarrassment by acting natural, but she still felt disappointed by her actions. Certainly her sister wouldn't have made that mistake, and the fact that she rarely did so herself was even more disheartening.
"My name is Saotome Yoichi. Thanks for helping me, Mitsuba-san!" The boy – Yoichi – seemed like he was feeling much more upbeat. Another bright smile accompanied his words, all embarrassment seemingly forgotten.
"Like I said, it's alright. I'm just glad it wasn't something serious." She avoided his gaze, instead focusing on the moving aspects of the party. Another thought came to her mind. "You're probably feeling exhausted after all this. Are you sure you want to stick around for the rest of the party?"
Mitsuba found that she almost wanted him to stay, considering the fact that both of their friends had ditched them for the other. How exactly does that work? She didn't want to be selfish, but she found the boy's strange innocence to be mildly amusing.
"Well, Mika-kun and Yu-kun are still around here… somewhere." Yoichi's hazel gaze searched the crowd, a small amount of worry in his features. "I think they would be worried if I just left. I can't contact them either since my phone's battery ran out."
That certainly was a problem. The blonde came to a quick decision on what she could do to help, despite feeling hesitant. "If you would like, I could help you find them, if you're feeling up to it. I would just need to know who I'm looking for."
At her words, Yoichi's expression lit up again. "That would be great, if it's not an inconvenience." The brown-haired boy moved to stand up, careful of his wavering balance. "Yu-kun has dark hair and is dressed as a werewolf, while Mika has really, really blonde hair and is a vampire. They're also twins, so they look a lot alike."
The description helped her, but it allowed her to come to another conclusion as well: if Shinoa had gone after the werewolf – Yu – then they would most likely find the brothers if they found her friend. She voiced her thoughts to the boy beside her, standing up as well in order to prepare for if he felt lightheaded.
"Shinoa was following Yu around, so she should be around here somewhere."
Yoichi nodded in recognition of her comment. Apparently he had observed some of his friend's interactions with the purple-haired classmate. They made their way past the refreshments table, which was now refilled and upright, and headed towards the opposite corner. She had to assume that Yoichi hadn't driven to the party and that he had walked, which would make getting him home a bit more complicated.
"Last I saw, Shinoa went through here." Mitsuba stated, half to herself and half to the other occupant of their temporary group. Yoichi must have also seen something similar; he nodded from his slow pace beside her. They were approaching the doorway that led to the hallways leading further into the school. Maybe Shinoa had run into one of the classrooms for… whatever she had been doing.
The werewolf – Yu – he was following as well. Now I just have to hope that they didn't go too far…
A few steps through the door, Mitsuba realized that the footsteps that had been following her had stopped. She turned around, seeing her brown-haired companion standing a few feet away, not moving another inch. His wide eyes, which at first seemed like they were looking at the doorway, were glued to something at the edge of the door's frame.
She glanced at him, then turning her head to focus on what she assumed he was looking at: the skeletons hanging along the doorway. Her gaze trailed back to him as her loose hair moved with the motion. I should have worn it up; it's too distracting. "What's wrong? Aren't you coming?"
"Uhm… yeah." Yoichi nodded, his eyes still glued to the skeletons. He didn't move from his spot, even though he had said otherwise. Now that Mitsuba was properly observing him, the brunette still seemed a bit pale.
"Do you need to sit down?" she asked, feeling as though the inquiry was necessary. She wanted to find Shinoa – and Yu – as quickly as possible, especially for Yoichi's sake. "We can take a few moments and-"
"A-ah, no I'm alright." Yoichi shook his head quickly, bowing in slight apology for interrupting. The paleness didn't go away, even as he took a deep breath. "We should find Yu-kun. And it'll be fine; they're just fake."
Her classmate took a few steps forward, coming towards her hesitantly. The latter portion of his proclamation seemed to hint at the fact that he was still very much frightened, at least as far as she could tell. It's good that he's trying his best to get over it, especially so soon after he fainted the last time. Maybe we'll make it through the rest of the night fine.
There was one thing, however, that Mitsuba hadn't accounted for. Yoichi was right; the skeletons were made of lightweight plastic and had no extra features. In fact, if the blonde had wanted to, she probably could have easily moved them with a push of her hand. All of this let her predict that there was practically, in no way possible, that Yoichi would faint from the exposure to the skeletons. So, as he stepped forward and into the arch of the doorway, she breathed a sigh of relief. And then she felt that relief plummet just as quickly.
Right when one of Yoichi's shoes reached the archway to the door, something blurred from beside him. The blonde had to assume that whatever it was had moved incredibly quickly, as the blur shone with tones of red, gray, and black. The blur materialized right beside Yoichi, the figure violating personal space with the extreme proximity. The brunette's eyes grew wide at the sudden appearance as his skin took on an even paler shade of white, and with a small noise of surprise, the fragile boy went tumbling to the ground.
Mitsuba could have sworn that she heard a countdown in her head as she released a sigh. The figure that had scared Yoichi was still standing in the same place. No that's not right… Now that she took a better look at it, the figure was simply another decoration.
As she looked at the mechanism that had activated the motion of the decoration, she realized that whoever had placed the decoration there had probably done it as some sort of scary joke. She certainly didn't remember the coffin that the overly grotesque vampire figure had popped out of. In fact, she hadn't even seen it when she had walked through the door at the start of the party. Do they have extra decorations stashed somewhere around here…? Never mind, I'm not sure I even want to know. I wonder why it only went off when Yoichi got close to it…
Several mumblings from a group of peers nearby jolted her out of her musings. Two of the small group offered to help her bring the unconscious boy back to the wall, for which she was grateful; it didn't seem like a very good idea for Yoichi to wake up in the same proximity as the motion-activated decoration that had scared him in the first place.
Now, Mitsuba found herself waiting in the same chair that she had been in, looking over at the boy in the chair beside her. They were back at square one. Literally, this time… Her purple gaze wandered to the two peers that had helped her, and she figured that thanks were due. "Thank you for the help." She knew that, if her two classmates hadn't helped her, she would have had no chance of dragging Yoichi back to the chairs. This time he was fully unconscious, whereas the first time he had been at least partially conscious.
Ironically enough, one of the classmates that had helped her was the ghoul that had most likely scared Yoichi on accident in the first place. A smile was present on the ghoul's face as he replaced his mask. "We were glad to help! Besides, it would have been wrong to just leave him there, don't you think?" The latter part of his statement was directed at his friend, who stood beside him. The other classmate was dressed in a similar manner as his ghoul friend, with some variations in outfits. If the blonde girl hadn't been told what Mika and Yu had looked like, she might have considered these two to be the brothers – she knew that they were very close friends since early elementary school and looked similar for the most part.
"Yes, I suppose you're right," the ghoul's companion answered, although he sounded the least bit concerned about what had happened. His gaze seemed to echo that as well. She briefly wondered why he was coming to the party when he didn't seem to enjoy it, but her thought was interrupted when he spoke again. "Although I don't see why he would faint from a small fright like that."
"He's the legendary fainter, so it's really not a surprise." Even though the ghoul said this, his upbeat tone was still present. His gaze wandered back to the unconscious boy beside her, almost studying him for a moment, before another helpful suggestion occurred to him. "Ah, he might need something to drink when he wakes up! Water would be fine, right?"
"Uh… sure." Mitsuba nodded and the two companions embarked on their search (since the majority of the drinks on the snack table were red-dyed punch, they might have had a bit of trouble finding water in the first place). She didn't quite know how to react to their sudden helpfulness. This party might just have a different effect on different people. I've certainly never been offered help during the normal school year…
Her negative thoughts were interrupted by another noise from the classmate beside her. Purple eyes turned to look at him as he awoke for the second time, almost identically so to the first time, except for the fact that he remained in the same position for a few extra seconds. Yoichi leaned against the chair, looking slightly dazed as his gaze found hers. That same hazel gaze focused on her for a few more moments before he bolted upright, the action causing her heart to beat in surprise at the sudden action.
"W-what's wrong?" the slight stutter came out of her mouth at the shock she felt. For a moment, the blonde wondered if Yoichi had spotted his friends, and her gaze scanned over the crowd. She couldn't identify anyone that looked like Yu or Mika though, so she focused her attention back on the brown-haired boy.
"I'm so sorry!" Yoichi was now bowing again, eyes closed as a blush covered his face. "I didn't mean to faint again! It's just…!"
"It's fine! You couldn't help it this time." She interrupted him quickly, feeling uncomfortable with the over-politeness of his apology. This time, she really couldn't blame him. That trap was most likely set up as a jump scare, so at least it was understandable.
"Really? But still I…" At the warning glance she gave him, his repeated apology trailed off as he looked uncomfortably at the floor. She felt bad for silencing him with a look, but she couldn't handle all the apologies. It's just too abnormal. As she thought this, she realized that Yoichi's gaze had slowly made its way from the floor to her shoes, then up to her face. A light blush was still present on his cheeks, but it seemed like for an entirely different reason. She didn't understand, until his question made itself known. "Mitsuba-san, are you… a princess?"
"Ah! Well…" a blush covered her face at the embarrassment she felt. The truth flowed from her mouth in a rush as she looked at her lap. "My sister… she thought that I should wear something more… girly than what I originally was going to wear, so I…!"
At her quick explanation, Yoichi shook his head, a smile on his face. "I'm sorry; you must have misunderstood! I didn't mean to embarrass you, it's just… I thought that you look really pretty…" The brunette trailed off, his blush deepening as his gaze wandered elsewhere. Her mind went blank at the proclamation, as some sort of warmth filled her.
When Mitsuba had shown her sister what she was going to wear to the party, the older teen had insisted on the blonde wearing one of her old dresses. The renaissance-style dress, which flowed to just above her ankles, was made with mixes of light and dark purple fabric. Gold ribbon etched designs along the seams of the dress, and her sister had even offered to braid her blonde hair with decorative flowers. Still… I… didn't even think of anyone believing I looked pretty, not at a party.
"I… uh… thanks." She felt at a loss for words, like a comforting light had calmed her nerves. Her gaze wandered to Yoichi's costume, desperate for something to talk about. "So… did you make your outfit?"
"Hmm?" a small noise came from the boy as he redirected his attention back to the conversation. The change seemed like something that both of them had needed. Another smile, this was softer, appeared on his face. "Well, yes and no. I had the shirt and pants, but my big sister helped me to make the wings. She even had the idea of attaching them to one of my elementary school backpacks so that I would have a place to put…"
His words trailed off suddenly as his gaze found another spot to stare at, becoming almost conflicted. He seemed unsure for a moment, before a small utterance came from him. "Ah, never mind."
The sudden change in attitude caused the blonde to become confused. What was he about to say? Why did he stop? Mitsuba would have been very disappointed with herself if Yoichi had thought she was uninterested with the topic. In fact, she had felt the opposite; it was interesting hearing about his family. Still, I'm not sure I should bring it up. Something stopped him from continuing and I wouldn't want him to be bothered by it now. I'll keep a close watch though.
Before she could change the subject a second time – this one to something that would hopefully be more comfortable for her companion – another voice cut through their conversation. "Sorry it took so long!" Her gaze snapped to the newcomer as she recognized the two classmates that had helped her, the ghoul holding a cup in his hands. "We couldn't find any water on the condiments table, but there was some in the kitchen. We did run into a guy with glasses and- Oh, you're awake!"
At the classmate's excited statement, Yoichi's gaze also settled on the newcomers. The blonde – who was fully prepared to explain what had happened – took a deep breath. She didn't get to start what she was going to say, however, because Yoichi let out a small gasp and, as though he had a headache, brought his head to rest between his knees.
"Are you alright?" she leaned down to try and hear if he would say anything – he might have been more soft-spoken around people he didn't know – but all she could hear were panicked breaths. Her gaze turned to her two classmates. "Thanks for your help Lacus, but could you give us a few moments. I can explain in a bit."
The ghoul, Lacus, thankfully understood the situation. He nodded vigorously, turning to his friend. "Sure! Come on, Rene. Let's see if we can find where those two guys went!"
Rene nodded wordlessly and left with Lacus after giving one last glance at the brown-haired boy. Yoichi was still resting his head between his knees, but it seemed like his breathing had calmed down a bit. "Are you feeling a bit better?" her question slipped out as concern hit her. Was he still startled by Lacus and Rene's outfits?
"Yeah, I think so." A small nod answered her as he raised his head. "Sorry about that. I thought I could deal with it, but this time there were two of them."
"It's alright." The blonde knew that Yoichi had to be feeling worse now. Her comment came out with a smile as she hoped to cheer him up a bit. "You seem to making progress though. You didn't faint this time, even with two ghouls."
A small laugh left him as he met her gaze. "Thanks. I guess you are right." The bat still seemed a bit shaky as his hand reached for his pocket. The action caused her eyes to follow the motion, watching as he pulled a phone from his pocket. His hands reached for the power button, but stopped short, almost as though it was a habit that he just remembered wouldn't work. Her guess was confirmed by his next statement. "Ah, I forgot it's out of power."
Mitsuba took another glance at his phone, realizing that she recognized it. "Your phone looks like it's the same as mine. I brought my charger with me, just in case. You could use it if you would like to." Her hands reached for the small leather pouch around her waist, which contained her phone and the mentioned charger, as well as some pocket change.
"A-are you sure?" At her nod, he gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks."
As Yoichi plugged his phone and the charger into an outlet next to them, they sat in silence. Her gaze was cast at the crowds of students around them. So far, they hadn't run into the bat's friends, but they were bound to eventually. The gym isn't that big.
She glanced back at Yoichi, seeing his eyes close every few seconds, only to open again. The amount of comfort that he must have felt to fall asleep at a party… or he's just that tired from nearly fainting so much. "You can fall asleep for a bit, if you want. I'll keep an eye out for your friends."
At her proposal, his eyes opened quickly as an embarrassed blush covered his face. "I-if that's alright. Sorry." The small apology slipped from him, but she figured that it was good for him to rest. Not a minute sooner and her companion was already dozing in his chair, soft breaths leaving him every second or so.
"Who thought this would be how the party turned out?" she whispered, knowing that no one would overhear the thought spoken aloud. Her gaze continued to scan the crowd, not only for Yoichi's friends, but for someone that she knew. Her older sister, with her pale blonde hair braided neatly down her back and dressed in a midnight blue gown. After a few moments, she shook her head, feeling that the notion was silly. That was another time. She wouldn't even be near here now.
A buzz sounded from Yoichi's phone where it sat on the small end table beside her. The notification light blinked green as the text popped up on the screen. She had meant to pay no mind to it – after all, looking at the contents of someone's phone without asking was rude – but the subject caught her attention. Sent from an unregistered number was a simple question: Did you get it?
"What…?" Is that supposed to mean? She finished her small utterance within her thoughts, careful not to wake Yoichi. The blonde was sure that her companion wouldn't yell at her, even after looking at the text, but the fact that he could suddenly wake up made her feel uncomfortable. Another glance at the brunette, however, confirmed that he was fast asleep, even with the loud noise of the gymnasium.
Concern formed a tight knot in the pit of her stomach as her gaze wandered back to the text. All she could see prior to clicking on the text was the obscure subject line, which didn't set her mind at ease. The blonde took a deep breath and then exhaled, feeling torn about what to do. Clicking to fully see the message made the situation worse.
Did you get it? You know where to find me.
The message was sent pretty recently and she was pretty sure that it could have been someone at the party who was making contact with the sleeping boy beside her. Her gaze scanned the crowd around them, searching for any students that could be checking their phones, but she knew the search would be futile. Even if someone is on their phone, it doesn't guarantee that they are the one who sent the message. It wouldn't be fair to assume otherwise, and I can't just confront them about it. Besides, I don't even recognize the number.
With no way to confirm the identity of the sender, she forced herself to place the phone back on end table. Still, the text caused several thoughts to form in her mind, one of which stood out the most. The thought left her uncomfortable, but it seemed to make sense. Is someone bullying him? The timed decoration that only seemed to trigger when he was near it, that text….
The evidence of everything that she had observed since meeting the brown-haired boy pointed to her conclusion, but she had a problem beyond identifying who could be doing such a thing: she had no way of getting a confirmation from Yoichi. Sure, she could ask him about it when he woke up, but she didn't want to bring up such a subject at a party, when he was supposed to be having fun. Then again, if the issue is serious, it should be dealt with…
A usual sight caused her worries to halt. A dark blur was making its way through the crowd at a fast pace, but what caught her attention was the fuzzy appendages attached to the figure's hair and outfit. She didn't think much of it at first… until she saw Shinoa following behind said figure. "That's…!" The blonde girl muttered, turning to the sleeping boy beside her. "Yoichi, wake up! I think I've found him!"
"Hmm?" Yoichi made a small noise as his eyes opened slowly, almost as though he had been sleeping for much longer than the small nap he had taken. "Found… who?"
"Yu! Or Mika! I'm not sure which! It was the werewolf" She cursed not remembering the descriptions more carefully. She knew the descriptors very well, but not what costume went with which brother. As her words registered in his mind, the boy-turned-bat jolted upwards, nearly knocking his chair over as he scanned the crowd.
"Yu-kun!" The name burst from his mouth as he looked, but Mitsuba had realized another problem: in her haste to wake Yoichi, she had lost sight of the dark-haired werewolf. I know the general direction that they went in. If we hurry, we should be able to catch up.
"Come on!" Her hand grasped Yoichi's as she started to drag him in the direction that the two friends had been going. As she stormed through the crowd, she could feel the boy lagging behind her. Poor Yoichi, being abandoned by his friends at a party. You think they would be more concerned about him, especially with how scared he was and after he fainted. When I catch up to them, I'm going to…! In the middle of her self-induced tirade, she realized suddenly the murmurs coming from some of the crowd. But why would they be…? Her purple gaze glanced the brown-haired boy behind her, unaware of their circumstances, but it also reminded her of their clasped hands. Oh no!
"I-It's not what you think!" She shouted, her cheeks brightening with embarrassment as she quickly let go of the bat's hand. Yoichi gave her a puzzled look as the beginning of a question formed on his lips. She didn't give him time to answer, however, as she bolted through the crowd, desperate to avoid any misunderstandings. It wasn't until she bumped into something – or more like, someone – that she realized she had left Yoichi behind. Sadly enough for her, she knew said person.
"Mitsu~ I'm so glad you're here~!" Shinoa's overly joyed voice proclaimed after they had fallen to the ground. Mitsuba unsteadily stood to her feet, ready to bombard her friend with questions, until she saw the dark-haired werewolf staring at her. His expression was one of worry, which should have made her feel better about him, but her emotions turned to rage. He's worried about me, a random stranger, when his friend has been through so much?!
"Yu!" She shouted as she pointed a finger at him, unable to hide her rage. He seemed genuinely surprised at the outburst as he glanced around at the students nearby, probably hoping that she was referring to one of them. After a few futile moments of this, he pointed a finger at himself in shock.
"Me?" He asked, then leaning towards Shinoa and attempting to whisper something along the lines of "Was this the friend you were telling me to avoid?"
The words irked the blonde-haired girl, but her friend's words cut off any retort that she could have said. "Nope, not her." The magical girl then turned to her. "Mitsu~ I wasn't aware that you were coming to the party! What a surprise!"
"A surprise…?" Mitsuba took a moment to digest the words, feeling conflicted about them. The reason was simple enough… "You were the one who invited me to the party."
"Really?"
"Yes! You sent me a message yesterday!" Shinoa tilted her head a bit in confusion at her words, taking out her phone to check. Meanwhile, Mitsuba caught Yu trying to sneak off, his 'flight' instinct activating. The blonde caught his tail before he could wander off.
"Oh no, you don't! You're going to stay right here!" Shinoa was flipping through the messages on her phone as Mitsuba began her tirade. Yu, wanting to avoid what was coming but unable to find a way to dislodge his tail from her grip, turned to face her.
"Wait, why do I have to stay? I have to find-!"
"Because, we've searched all over the place for you! Yoichi was worried about leaving because you two were here, and he's beyond exhausted because you couldn't bother to keep an eye on him!" At her explanation, Yu's eyes widened.
"Y-yoichi? I was going to come help but…" The dark-haired teen's gaze trailed over to Shinoa, who was still searching through her phone. Said person in question seemed to sense the two pairs of eyes staring holes into her.
"Ah, yes… we got sidetracked~!" She proclaimed, then her expression turned calm again as she stared at her phone. "Well, I guess I did send you a text. The problem is, it wasn't necessarily I who sent it…"
At her words, both Mitsuba and Yu stared at her in awe. "Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" At her question, Shinoa just waved the whole thing off and, like she did best, diverted their attention.
"Well, Yu-san. I believe we should keep searching for your brother."
"Um… yeah, we only have a bit more to check…" Yu's gaze wandered to the haunted house, causing him to shiver. Then, as though remembering something, he looked over at Mitsuba. "Oh yeah, where is Yoichi?"
As both the werewolf and magical witch stared at her, she felt the temperature in the room drop a few degrees. "Uh… well…" How was she supposed to explain this? Yu, already reading between the lines, sighed.
"You lost him, didn't you?"
"Well, I've done better at keeping with him than you have!"
Shinoa, sensing the bickering argument that was surfacing, decided to quell it in the best way that she could. "Now it seems like we have two people to search for~! Let's get going so we can find them~!" She grabbed both of the teen's hands and dragged them onwards. Mitsuba just couldn't believe that she had found Yu, but lost Yoichi in the process.
Mika's leg throbbed as he continued to follow Krul through the crowd. He would most likely have to put ice on his shin when he got home, since walking with an injured leg was not the best way to let it heal. His parents would probably be aside themselves with worry, thinking that he had gotten bullied. Instead, he would probably answer with something like "No, I just got beat up by a girl younger than me who had a sadistic streak. On another note, can she come visit sometime?"
The vampire sighed at his train of thought. It will just go wherever it wants to at this point. I give up on trying to filter anything. Krul most likely heard the noise, but she didn't comment on it, instead continuing with the tour of her 'kingdom.' So far, they had been to most of the places where he had already passed with Yu-chan: the refreshment tables (which were now fixed, with Krul proclaiming that an unknown commoner, one that "most likely wanted to cause trouble," had caused a shortage of food), the doors to the gymnasium (or the north entrance of her kingdom), and several remarks on the decorations scattered throughout the room ("There was a horrible, but brief war a while ago, and so we hang the bodies of our enemies to celebrate our victory. We may have to clean it up soon though, since it is starting to smell."). Now, the haunted house took up most of his view.
"So, have you ever gone…?" Mika barely got the question out of his mouth before she had caught on, her crimson gaze following his.
"No, never before. The commoners and guards alike know not to go near that castle. Even I have never set foot in it, but one day…" Her voice quieted as she gazed at the wooden set-up. "One day, I will conquer it."
"…Alright then." Mika had no other words for an answer, not knowing what else he could say. Most of her ways of describing things at this party had been… not normal, so he had come to expect it. Maybe she's scared like Yoichi was, considering he has an interesting way of describing things at this party as well, and it's the only way she can cope with it. …Or maybe she's crazy and I'm just trying to convince myself otherwise.
If this all was just an act, he would have been tempted to put an application into the Theater Club for her, since he knew her name. If that isn't a lie… Since she acted like this at a Halloween party, he briefly wondered what she would seem like at some of the other parties their school held through the year. There weren't as many as some of the other districts, like Yu-chan had mentioned at the beginning of the night, but it would be interesting to see… "Hey Krul, have you ever been to the other-?"
"Mika-kun!" A familiar shout interrupted his question, causing the vampire to look in the direction of the voice. Yoichi was making his way rather quickly through the crowd towards them, causing the blonde to have conflicting thoughts. Am I relieved to see him or do I want to scream "run away as quickly as you can"? So far, Mika had been able to fend off the Vampire Queen's strange antics, but Yoichi might not have been able to handle them… "I've been looking all over for you and Yu-kun and… oh…"
The brown-haired boy had probably seen the other vampire accompanying him, which was the sudden reason for his slowed pace. Yoichi was a few feet away from him, but close enough for Krul to observe his appearance. The pink-haired girl strode up to the bat, her posture confident as she looked at him. Yoichi seemed to shrink a bit under her gaze, but his expression was filled with curiosity as well.
"So, Yoichi…" Mika started, keeping an eye on Krul to make sure she wouldn't kick him for interrupting her inspection. Her gaze narrowed, but she didn't do anything drastic, which probably meant that he could speak. "Are you feeling any better? How did you find me?"
The questions were meant to divert the boy's attention from the uncomfortable situation that he was in and, thankfully, it worked. His eyes lit up happily as he recounted what had happened. "After I fainted, I met Mitsuba-san. She was really nice and was helping me to find you and Yu-kun, but we got separated a bit ago…"
The tale seemed to be a bit more extensive than that, but before the boy could continue, Krul's eyes narrowed dangerously again. "Fainted…?" She repeated the word softly as her gaze trailed to the refreshments area. Mika paled, scared for what she would do. Several tense moments passed before…
"What could have caused such a thing?" She circled Yoichi, an air of worry surrounding her. She stopped when she was behind him, her hands reaching for his winged backpack. "Could your wings be hurt?"
Mika could hardly believe what he was hearing. Yoichi, not quite sure on how to take the situation, looked at him desperately. The vampire shrugged, finding that Krul was being tame about the situation. The tousled-haired boy continued to explain. "Well, my wings aren't broken, but there was this scary creature…"
"A creature, you say?" Krul thought for a moment at the words before fury burned in her eyes once more. Oh no. "How dare they threaten a helpless creature such as yourself! Show me to this creature and I will put them in their place!"
The pink-haired vampire started to stomp off towards the refreshment table, but Mika quickly stopped her, knowing it would only lead to trouble. "W-wait-!" His shout contained a stutter and quickly broke off when she turned to stare at him, her gaze cold again. He inwardly flinched, his shin throbbing with the phantom pain, before he found the courage to continue. "It was a misunderstanding. I was there, and Yoichi seems to be fine…"
At this, he turned towards the brown-haired boy, hoping that he would say something to sate the Vampire Queen's anger. Yoichi, unknowingly, did just that. "It's alright now. It was my fault initially, but it's done miracles for my fainting spells."
"Is that so?" Her anger completely forgotten, Krul walked over to the boy and, surprisingly enough, wrapped her arms gently around him in a hug, a light blush covering Yoichi's face at the action. Her 'initiation' ceremony started. "Yoichi, was it? You can be my… bat familiar."
"'Bat familiar?'" Both boys in the room repeated the words, Yoichi in confusion and slight embarrassment and Mika in an unknown emotion. He didn't know why, but Krul was hugging Yoichi. He also didn't know why he disliked the action so much, but he did. Krul, maybe taking notice of his expression, continued.
"I've always wanted a familiar, but I've never been able to find one fitting enough. Plus… bats are cute, don't you think?" A small frown appeared on Mika's face as she smirked at him. She was definitely doing this on purpose. As she released the brown-haired boy from her hug, another crucial point appeared in his mind, which was then proven by what the boy said next.
"I'll do the best I can!" Yoichi's enthusiastic reply caused Mika to inwardly sigh; he had forgotten that the bat enjoyed role-playing, which was probably what he thought this exchange was. As they continued their tour, Mika whispered to the boy who was walking happily beside him.
"Yoichi, you know this isn't - ." He started to explain, but stopped at the cold stare Krul gave him from where she was leading. Yoichi didn't seem to see the expression; his gaze was wandering around the gymnasium like he saw it in a new light.
Thinking that it couldn't do much harm, he gave up. They still hadn't found Yu-chan, but having Yoichi around might have put Krul in a better mood. That means she might not take her wrath out on me as much. The thought forced Mika to stop walking as the implications of such an idea hit him. He inwardly sighed again, feeling terrible about the situation. Where are my thoughts even going anymore?
(1) Basically, the equivalent of a high school sophomore in Japan, I believe.
Hi everyone! So… I definitely meant to upload this chapter last December, but it just kept getting longer and longer, so that didn't happen. So… um… it's a few months late. Oops~! I hope you all enjoy this anyway (and I hope someone is actually still reading this…)! This chapter was mainly on Mitsuba and Yoichi, with the POV being from the former. I was originally going to make the chapter in Yoichi's point of view, but then thought it would be really inconvenient with him fainting so much… Plus, we have a check-up with Mika and Krul! I know we haven't seen them for a bit, so I figured I would put that in after much debate. So… next chapter is with Kimizuki and a few of the demons in the series (I know we haven't seen them much, but I was saving them for that chapter~). Also, sorry if Lacus and Rene are a bit OOC… They aren't seen in the series much, and I think I might have made Lacus act a bit like Heishi from Norn9… :p Either way, I will see you all in the next chapter!
~AnimeWolfGirl9
