Angel vs. Demon

Chapter 4 – Arrival

The bus driver stopped after we exited the tunnel, and we all got out. I assumed that the bus stop was outside of the school grounds, because the habitat here looked… abandoned. Eerie, I guess you could say; it definitely created a gloomy, dark atmosphere.

Bare trees bent over the unkempt grass, and the dirt road didn't look like a proper sidewalk at all. A deformed scarecrow sat on a cross near the bus stop, and beyond that there was… a lake? We were on a cliff, I soon realized. Things looked dangerous and wild here…

And I liked it.

Back at home, all I could do was stare outside the window from my room and pretend to do homework… Now, it looked like I could actually do something here!

"Thank you, Mr. Bus Driver!" I waved goodbye to him as I lugged my stuff down the steps of the bus.

"You're welcome," he drawled in his deep, brooding voice. "You be careful, huh? Good luck to you, now…"

Now, why did I get the feeling that he had said this to many other people before me?

Anyway, after we bid farewell to the bus driver, Garron, Kiseki, and I walked on the well-worn path into the woods. The school campus indeed seemed very big… I swear I could get lost in here if I wasn't careful.

"You don't seem nervous about this place, do you, Ame?" Garron asked, seeing me gawk at the tombstones and crooked trees that lined the dirt road.

"Oh, no," I replied. "I'm kind of excited, really."

"You should be scared, actually." Kiseki snorted, like me being excited for this school seemed stupid and typical.

Garron's eyebrows lifted. "And why is that?"

"I've got relatives already attending this school," Kiseki answered. "I do hear things, you know. This school… there's more things going on here than you would ever like to know about."

I considered that. From what Maria and Lucy told me, that was true. Yet why do I feel excited, now that I was actually here at this school? I should feel that the danger was more pronounced, the closer I got… not the opposite.

Midnight meowed, running ahead. Looking up to where she was, I saw that we were fast approaching the main entrance. It was an old iron gate, and a lone figure was standing in front of it, sweeping the ground. She had two thin, ponytails on the sides of her head, with the rest of her hair down. It looked slightly anime-style.

"Hello," Garron called. "I'm Garron Lived, and this is Ame Kanmuri and Kiseki Shuzen."

The young woman looked up. "Oh, you three must be the new students coming today! Follow me; I'll take you to the Headmaster's office."

As she led the way, I quickly scooped Midnight up and placed her on top of my luggage. I didn't want her getting lost inside this big academy.

"I'm Ruby, by the way." Ruby turned and smiled at us. "I'm basically the school custodian, and I help out with many of the Headmaster's orders. After you meet the Headmaster, I will assign you to your dorm rooms and have you check out the uniforms…"

As she talked, I couldn't help but notice what she was wearing. It was a long under-the-knee black skirt, with a corset-looking top. I didn't pay much attention to her outfit before (since I thought it was part of the uniform she was supposed to wear), but looking at the few students in uniforms around us, hers still seemed a bit… off.

"Is that an old-fashioned corset she's wearing?" Kiseki whispered. I couldn't help but smile dryly. Garron and I wouldn't have said that out loud, of course, but I was starting to understand Kiseki's character a little bit. He seemed so arrogant and frank, but also intelligent… almost like he had a reason to be arrogant. I was sure he did.

We had arrived in front of the Headmaster's office. The double doors seemed very intimidating, but grand. You could almost feel power radiating from inside the room.

"Well, here we are." Ruby knocked, and then gestured for us to enter. "I'll wait outside until you guys are finished."

The three of us cautiously entered, and to my surprise, I realized that the room barely had any light illuminating it. Dark curtains and drapery covered the ceiling-to-floor windows, and the Headmaster sat behind a dark mahogany-colored wooden desk.

He was dressed in a priest costume; although I got the feeling he wasn't trying to be amusing. His white headwear covered his eyes, and it made me feel uncomfortable. He could see us perfectly, and yet we couldn't make eye contact. This might sound odd, but I felt vulnerable… I got the same feeling when you are having a conversation with a person wearing sunglasses or shades. They could see your every move, but they themselves were still hidden behind their lenses.

"Hello, Ame, Kiseki, and Garron…" He smiled slightly, like we were amusing. "Welcome to Yokai Academy. I'm sure you three are excited to explore the school, and you will have time to do that… First, we have to complete a few forms and go over a few rules."

I wasn't sure if all the students visited the Headmaster before they started their regular classes, but he was true to his word. After making us sign a few forms and going over a few of the basic rules – some including keeping a human disguise and form at all times on school campus, and using our powers for good and not harming humans – he let us go.

The whole talk made me feel quite uncomfortable, though. I was sure he didn't know I was human, but still… monsters promising to be good, and not "harming" humans? What was that? So if they knew I wasn't a monster… they'd "harm" me? This wasn't turning out as favorable as I'd imagined.

Ruby greeted us as we exited the office, and I had caught her in the act of petting Midnight. She smiled at me shyly then straightened up. "Alright now, everyone, we'll head over to the uniform shop. Right this way!"

We rolled our luggage into the main hall, and placed them in a very convenient storage space under the stairs. We could get it as soon as we were done looking for our uniforms.

"By the way, Ame…" Ruby turned around and smiled at me. "This is quite an adorable cat you have. What's its name?"

"Her name's Midnight," I replied. "Oh, but I wasn't exactly sure if the school allowed pets, so I…"

"Oh, it's quite alright." Ruby scratched Midnight behind her ears. "Animals are okay… as long as they're taken care of. They have to be kept safe. We don't want them wandering around and getting eaten as snacks, do we? To be honest, we did lose a few pets over the years… That's why boarding students found it wise not to bring their animals along. Most students don't own any, anyways…" She trailed off, as if she realized she had said too much.

"Anyway, here's the uniform shop!" Ruby unlocked the door and ushered us in. "We have to find your size, first, and then we can take your order. I can recommend things, but buy what you think you'll need."

Rows and rows of uniforms lined the shop. One side was for the guys, and the other side was for the girls. The uniforms didn't look that bad… The blazers were a nice turquoise color, and the skirts were plaid, tan-colored and classy.

"For you…" Ruby looked me up and down, after having sent the guys to decide on their own. She said she'd help them later, but ladies first. "Personally, I'd recommend a casual uniform. A blazer and blouse can just get so stiff sometimes. Besides, I think this outfit suits you!"

She pulled off an outfit from a nearby rack, and showed it to me. It was a white blouse with a sleeve-less yellow sweater-vest and a ribbon. It looked so cute!

"This could be your size…" Ruby checked the tag. "The fitting room is just down there."

I grabbed a skirt on my way, too. To my surprise, the skirts were actually short… like, shorter than usual high school skirts. Wasn't the standard a hand above the knee or something?

"For you, Kiseki… something dressy and professional-looking." I heard Ruby rustling through the racks of uniforms. "A blazer, definitely… Hmm, how about these pants? I think they're the right size…"

After trying on the uniform, I folded them neatly and made my way out of the change rooms. The clothes had fit me; and they had looked pretty good, too, I must say. I was starting to like Yokai Academy.

On my way out, I bumped into Kiseki going in to try out his outfit. I smiled at him, and he did smile back. A little reluctantly, however… I could tell that he wasn't used to being so friendly with people. I hoped that the other students at Yokai Academy wouldn't be the same… If they were all gloomy and serious like Kiseki, who would be able to make friends with them?

"Oh, Ame, did those fit?" Ruby hurried over, carrying a pair of dress shoes. "If they did, try these on next…"

"They were perfect," I told Ruby. "Thanks so much."

"You're welcome," Ruby said, smiling in satisfaction. She seemed to like pleasing others and making them proud of her work. We were kind of alike, in that sense.

"Oh, and also…" She pulled out something from behind her back. "Ta-da! Look at this!"

It was a package of cat clothes… Pajamas for cats, little mittens for their paws… and even a Yokai Academy school sweater, mini-size!

"It's for Midnight!" Ruby grinned at me, and handed me the package. I could tell then she really liked my cat. "Just for fun, of course…"

"Thank you so much, Ruby! These are amazing!"

Ruby blushed. "No, they're nothing…"

At that moment, both guys exited their change rooms. Garron was dressed in just a button-down white collared shirt, with his tie loose, and Kiseki was dressed similarly… except in a blazer.

And I must say, both guys were equally hot. Did school uniforms ever look so good?

Ruby clapped her hands. "They're perfect!"

"Yeah, they are." I nodded in agreement, blushing a little.

Half an hour later, we were ready to pay. We had already paid the uniform fee in our cost for the whole semester, so all Ruby had to do was record it. I wasn't a big fan of the uniform shoes, though, even though they were comfortable and fit me nicely. They were black dress shoes, and kind of boring-looking. The uniforms themselves I did like.

"That was nice," I said, swinging my bag left to right as we made our way to our luggage. "I should go explore the rest of the school, later… take a tour and stuff, I guess."

"Totally," Garron agreed. "We could go together, if you want."

I looked up at him in surprise. "Really…?"

"Of course," he answered. "If we stop by the cafeteria, I can even get you something."

I smiled. Garron had his ways of cheering people up.

"Wait a second," Kiseki suddenly interrupted. "I want to come."

Garron looked back at him, and Kiseki held his hands up to show that he had nothing to hide. "No, I don't want to be the third wheel, but I'm new here, too. I was thinking of getting my relative to take us on a tour, later."

"That's a great idea, actually…" I pondered over this. Meeting new people possibly would be a good thing, especially since we were newcomers and all. "Well, how about this… we could call each other later, when we're all ready, and we could meet together with Kiseki's relative and go on the tour!"

Garron agreed, and wrote down his cell phone number for me. Kiseki did the same, and I gave them mine. We were to meet at the main gate, after unpacking and settling down. I assumed it would be afternoon, by then. We would have to have lunch first, and then go on the tour.

We quickly exited the building and made our way to the dorms. Garron's dorm was farther away, and so he left Kiseki and me, heading down the other path to the left.

"Bye, guys! I'll call you later, Ame…!"

Somehow, that made me feel a whole lot better.

The feeling didn't last, though. Now, it was just me and Kiseki, alone. It was kind of awkward. We walked in silence, with me occasionally trying to make conversation, and failing. I was pretty good at small talk, but Kiseki just wasn't cooperating with me.

As we arrived near our dorm buildings, I looked at my dorm address, compared it with Kiseki's, and pointed. "Look, Kiseki! Our dorm rooms are right across from each others…!"

"Yeah," he said, unenthusiastic. I sighed and ruffled Midnight's head, hoping she would comfort me and protect me from Kiseki's aura of coldness.

Crack, crack - !

A scuffling, cracking noise suddenly sounded behind us, and I immediately whipped around. I strained my eyes, listening, and Midnight seemed to do the same.

"Kiseki…" I whispered, "Did you hear that…?"

"Shh," he hissed, leaning forward. "I think it's coming from behind that tombstone."

There sure were a lot of tombstones at Yokai Academy. What did they do, plant dead bodies? Did this area used to be a graveyard?

I saw a bit of movement, then. A hand was poking out from the ground, reaching out and grabbing at the air; its nails were decayed and rotten. The hand had an odd sheen to it. The limb looked dead.

"Whoa…" I murmured.

Intrigued, I moved closer. The hand couldn't possibly be dangerous. It was still half-buried, and it wanted to get out. Why did it want to get out, though? What was even connected to the hand? All these questions – and more – made me want to investigate. I cautiously went up to it, grabbing a nearby stick.

"Ame!" I could hear the astonishment and shock in Kiseki's voice. "What the hell are you doing? That could be dangerous! Get back here!"

"No, wait…!" I wanted to explain to him how it was probably harmless, but he wouldn't understand. He probably wouldn't even understand my fascination about this. "I just want to see… I mean, look at it…!"

I poked it gently with the end of my stick. "It's… kind of sickening. I wonder why it's still alive…?"

"Ame, watch out - !"

Before I could react, something wrapped around my ankle and yanked me downwards. I fell, landing on my behind. I saw what pulled me down, though… It was another hand, almost the same as the first one I saw. This one definitely seemed more alive; it was making the hole it was protruding out from deeper, as if preparing to drag me into it. It continuously yanked me downwards, and it was all I could do to stop my leg from being tugged into its hole.

"Kiseki!" I called, looking around wildly. I dug my nails into the ground, not caring about it just then. I was usually so careful with my nails. "Kiseki? Help, please…! Where are you?"

I looked around once more, but all I saw were other zombie hands poking out from the ground. It seemed like my cry for help agitated them even more. I didn't see Kiseki, though.

He had disappeared.


Author's Note

Eeek, I know, cliff-hanger ending!

I have to apologize, though… I didn't describe the Headmaster well enough :/ He's a very mysterious character, honestly. Nobody even knows what his eyes look like xD

Speaking of characters, Kiseki might seem disappointing to you so far. He seems like the bad guy, of course, and just in the cliff-hanger above, he abandons Ame in his plan to escape and save himself (or does he…?). He will make a comeback in the next chapter, I promise. (No spoilers, though. Sorry, you'll have to read on!)

Well, that's about it. Favorite this story if you like and Review to let me know your thoughts on the developments so far! I love reading your comments, they inspire me…! :D

― ACookieZ