I don't have much to say in this Authors note except that I don't have much to say so I'm just gonna get into it.
Supernatural Detective
Case #3-Black Cats and Pointy Hats
The two weeks following Tsukune's birthday had been a happy blur. The only difference in his relationship with Moka was her habit of touching him more often when they were together. She seemed happier as well, her smile lit up her whole face nowadays. It helped that she had once again made the front page with her story. Apparently homicidal teachers sells papers.
Ken had him reading books in his free time to broaden his knowledge base. Everything from Science to ancient civilizations. He could usually be found laying on the couch in the office reading something if he didn't have a case to work on. The human had taken plenty of time to read his book on monsters as well. He didn't need another mix up like with Kurumu.
The school was actually quieter than usual. The students that had disappeared had suddenly begun showing up again. As far as Tsukune knew there were no plots to take over the school and no homicidal teachers on the prowl. All that left was a dozen missing items cases and the occasional request for help with a relationship. Gin had been caught cheating 3 times in the last few weeks alone by the Detectives club. With everything the way it was Tsukune should have been happy. For some reason as things got quieter Tsukune had started to worry about what would come next.
The junior detective was sitting behind his desk when the door opened. It didn't take Sherlock Holmes to realize that the only two people who simply walked into the clubhouse were Ken and Moka. Seeing as Ken had just left and he wouldn't need to come back, he never forgot anything, it had to be Moka. It was the sound of a second female voice that made Tsukune's head shoot up from his book.
"Hey Tsukune." Moka said politely.
"Yo Tsukune." Kassi sing songed.
"Good afternoon Moka. Kassi." Tsukune said his eyes narrowing suspiciously. He knew that one woman caused enough trouble and he could only wonder what kind of misery two of them working together would cause. He knew he should never have introduced the two. His matchmaking now had him fighting a war on two fronts.
"We were just wondering if you were busy." Moka said stepping back to lean on the backside of the desk next to Tsukune.
"Yeah I got a job for you." Kassi said plopping down in the chair and putting her feet up on the desk. "I think someone is using magic to scare people. The problem is it is witch magic and it is not like the school needs any more reasons to hate witches."
"And you want me to look into it. What do I get out of all of this?" Tsukune asked.
"The everlasting gratitude of the witches at this school." Kassi shrugged.
"You know I know I'm a great guy and all but we have expenses around here. The case fee is for a reason." Tsukune sighed. He enjoyed being a nice guy but after a few weeks of useless jobs and sob stories he was starting to realize that it was just good business to get paid for his time. Not to mention his status as a human made just about everything he did a little bit more dangerous.
"What could you possibly have expenses for." Kassi said flatly.
"Hey we have... snacks... and …... drinks to go with the snacks." Tsukune said trying to actually think of what the money could be going to. Kassi opened her mouth to retort but Moka cut her off.
"Please Tsukune. I got assigned to cover the ping pong tournament by Gin and I really wanted to help Kassi but I can't do both. I thought, maybe you could help out for me." The vampire interjected.
"No... no... no... every time you end up being busy I almost get enslaved, or killed, or petrified... or molested." Tsukune shook his head.
"Please. For me." Moka asked looking cute and vulnerable.
"Fine." Tsukune finally said breaking under the pressure. He pointed at the witch. "But one day I'm going to need your help and your better remember this."
"Great, I'll meet you at the cemetery at 6:30 sharp so don't be late." Kassi chirped jumping up and skipping out the door. She stuck her head back in for one last parting shot. "and don't worry, I won't molest you too much."
"Thanks Tsukune." Moka said leaning over to where he was trying to pull off a manly pout and laying a light kiss on his cheek. "I owe you one."
The pink haired girl followed her friend out, running into Ken as he came in the door. She apologized hastily before disappearing out the door.
"What was her hurry?" Ken said as he watched her through the door before shrugging and turning back towards Tsukune. The human boy was slightly pink and intensely focused on his book. "So what did they want?"
"Kassi wanted me to help her with something." Tsukune replied without breaking from the book.
"Let me guess she wanted you to do it for free?" Ken asked taking his jacket off.
"Yeah I said no."
"But you said yes to Moka didn't you."
"Yep."
Ken shook his head as he put his jacket and hat on the coat stand by the door. "Man your gonna end up whipped by every woman you meet aren't you."
Tsukune didn't feel the need to answer.
Tsukune sat with his back against one of the many creepy trees that dotted the landscape around Youkai Gauken. The sightings of the "giant tiger" that was scaring everyone were all reported as having been in the tree line flanking the road to the dorms, so naturally Tsukune had decided that the hill at the cemetery was the perfect place to watch for the culprit.
"So I figured it would have happened by now." Kassi complained. Tsukune looked up to where she was laying on her stomach on one of the lower hanging branches. It was quiet for another few minutes. "So do you think it is going to happen soon or are we gonna have to do this again."
The constant questions was starting to get on his nerves. He had been nice at first. Even going so far as to have brought a few drinks. The witch was a very likeable person, she just didn't have much patience, and he was quickly running out of his.
"So you... brew potions." Tsukune finally said hoping that conversation would alleviate the boredom.
"Wow what an opening line. How you got a pretty vampire to even realize you exist is beyond me." Kassi snorted.
"What do you mean." Tsukune asked nervously. If any of the male population found out about them he was beyond dead.
"We women talk about these things..." Tsukune grew tense. "With our friends who we trust." Kassi added. "but she really does like you."
"R..really?" Tsukune stuttered.
"Yes really. It isn't that hard to figure out. I mean come on you saw her this morning. She is all formal and polite with everyone, but she leans against your desk..." Tsukune looked blank. "With her arms back on the desk so her upper body was thrust forward... and her skirt riding up her leg..."
Tsukune thought back and blushed. It was true that she had been a little careless but Tsukune had thought it was accidental. Kassi just shook her head. "NOW you notice it. Wow you are as dense as she says." Tsukune glared at her and started to open his mouth. "ANYWAY yes I brew potions. I grew up on this little witches commune in Salem back in the good ole US of A. Learned how to brew from my surrogate auntie, figured I might as well use what I got. I sell to the the village as well as the school and make a nice little profit."
"America? Didn't they have a school for you?"
"I could have gone to Salem Monsters Academy true enough, or Atlanta, Colorado... even Seattle, but my mother was from Tokyo and I wanted to go back to my roots so to speak. Besides this is the largest and most diverse school for Supernatural beings on earth." Kassi shrugged.
"Anything else you are good at." Tsukune asked curiously.
"Well I dabbled in runes and magical artifacts, but that was only so I could make this baby." Kassi said swinging her broom back and forth. The young detective admitted when she had first flown up on it he had been a bit jealous. The human noticed some movement in the bushes down below and looked down the street to see a pair of freshman girls.
"I think it is show time." Tsukune said bringing it to the witches attention as well.
As soon as he had mist started to float out of the trees. Not that it was unusual in the already incredibly creepy landscape that surrounded the school. It wasn't until the noises began from the tree line. The girls stopped and looked at the bushes nervously. The mist that had been slowly thickening rushed to block out both girls as well as most of the path.
"I don't like this." Tsukune said starting down the hill to get a closer look. A scream prompted him to speed up.
"Don't go in there Tsukune. The magic in that fog will mess with your head." Kassi yelled jumping on her broom and trying to stop him. Unfortunately she just missed grabbing his shirt as his form disappeared into the unnatural fog.
Everything was white. Tsukune fought his way to where he had thought the edge of the footpath was. Shadows rose up on either side of him and he dropped to the ground just in time to feel something sail through the air over his head. Another scream echoed from all around him. This scream wasn't one of the girls though. It was shrill and made the hairs on the back of Tsukune's neck stand up.
"TSUKUNE."
Tsukune turned heard Moka scream his name. The boy spun as it was repeated again and again from a different side each time. A few more steps and a shadow could be seen through the mist. He ran forward to find the two girls huddled together holding each other.
"Are you ok?" Tsukune said dropping down to one knee next to them. They looked at him for a few seconds before their gazes snapped to something over his shoulder.
A growl rumbled from the same direction causing Tsukune to slowly turn his head. Behind him stood a black saber tooth cat bigger than a horse. Tsukune turned to face the threat making sure to keep the girls behind him. The cat took a step forward and crouched low ready to pounce on them. Tsukune did the only thing he could think of. As soon as it jumped he stepped forward and yelled at it.
Surprisingly it worked as the cats mighty leap began a short hop and it backed a few steps up regarding the human strangely. After a few seconds it walked away never taking its eyes off the detective. As it disappeared into the fog Tsukune relaxed slowly. A hand on his shoulder made him jump.
"You are the dumbest most lucky person I have ever met." Kassi said as he swung around and stumbled. "Hold still."
The witch stepped forward and tipped his head back. She produced a small vial with a dropper and dripped a couple drops of whatever was within in the boys eyes.
"ARGH." He growled in response dropping his head to rub his eyes as they began to heat up and itch.
"Relax it should only take a second to take effect. You will be able to see through most illusions for a few hours." She said putting the vial away.
"What about the girls?" Tsukune asked straightening up and wiping the tears from his eyes.
"Don't have enough for them." Kassi said shrugging. "I will stay here with them, you take care of whoever is doing this."
Tsukune nodded and headed in the direction the cat had come from. The mist was still very real, but not so thick as before. The strange shadows and the movement at the corner of his vision was gone as well but the eye drops didn't affect the screams. Tsukune could only continue forward and hope that Kassi was taking care of the girls.
Ahead of him he could see a small cauldron over a fire. The mist that surrounded him seemed to have been produced by the liquid inside. A small figure crouched over the cauldron talking to something in the mist. Tsukune couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up. Standing in front of the cauldron was a little black cat, the "Saber-cat" that had scared Tsukune a minute earlier. The laugh however alerted the figure who knocked over the cauldron as it took flight.
"STOP." Tsukune yelled vaulting fire to take chase.
The mist quickly dissipated without its anchor allowing Tsukune to keep his line of sight on the target. The figure was much shorter than he had been expecting, and wore a black cloak with the hood up. Kassi had suspected a witch but Tsukune wanted to be certain. The last time he had gone on a hunch about a creatures race he had almost ended up a mindless drone.
The figure raced past the school gates and into one of the many courtyards. Tsukune heard a shout and a dull thud as he followed. Ahead of him stood a trio of boys over the figure he had been chasing. The figures hood had fallen off when she had fallen backwards to reveal Yukari Sendo.
"Bitch, you messed up my coat." the leader of the trio sounded annoyed as he straightened his school uniform. Not that you could tell it seemed to have never been introduced to an iron.
"Well you shouldn't have been in my way scum." Yukari shot back rubbing her backside.
"Why I..." The boy said grabbing for the young girl. His hands met only air as Tsukune grabbed Yukari and pulled her up.
"Let's all calm down." Tsukune said calmly pushing the young witch behind him.
"If it isn't the goody goody detective, here to save the witch." The boy said as his mouth opened much wider than should be possible to show off a row of sharpened fangs.
"HEY. I don't need your help ku..." Yukari started.
"Shut up." Tsukune hissed quietly before turning back to the three boys. "Well you see we were just late for a meeting so we were hurrying so if you could let us go..."
The boy just growled low in his throat. Tsukune chuckled nervously backing down the narrow hallway he had come down with the witch. The boy on the right was now showing a similar set of teeth while the third one sported a furry tail. Tsukune noticed the door to his right that went into the building was being held open just a bit by a door stopper.
"We don't want any trouble." The detective chuckled nervously.
"Well you found it." The leader growled just before he leapt.
Tsukune had stuck the toe of his shoe in the slightly cracked door though and as soon as his opponent jumped he kicked the door open, right into the boys face.
"RUN FOR IT." Tsukune yelled to the witch prompting her to take off.
He didn't get a chance to do the same though as the second boy lunged as well. Tsukune was ready though and side stepped, bringing his knee up into the boys stomach. The last boy, now sporting quite a bit of fur to match the tail was on the detective before he could recover, knocking him onto his back. The primate Youkai brought his joined fists down to crush Tsukune's skull in. The blow missed as Tsukune jerked his head to the side.
The primate didn't get to go for a second swing as Kassi came rocketing down the hallway on her broom, grabbing his tail on the way past. The boy grabbed the base of his tail and squealed as he was hauled backwards by his ass. Tsukune jumped to his feet and turned to watch as the two boys with sharp teeth, and now fins coming out of their head, climbed to their feet.
"TSUKUNE." The boy turned to see Kassi heading for him with her hand out. He turned and grabbed the hand as she passed, swinging up onto the broom. The two boys had been distracted from Tsukune by Kassi's shout and didn't turn back in time to catch him. He did however feel something rough tear at his pants leg.
"Thanks Kassi." Tsukune sighed in relief as they raced out towards the gates Tsukune looked around frantically. "I can't find Yukari anywhere."
"I think I saw her head into the woods. Don't worry they won't get her. My broom can't go any higher with 2 people. I would be more worried about us." Kassi replied. Tsukune turned to find the 3 boys rushing out of the hallway behind them.
"Good idea."
The next morning found Tsukune waking up at the crack of dawn to shower and get ready to spend his god given day of rest helping Kassi find Yukari. He yawned as he walked out of the dorms. Every time Moka wanted his help his weekend was shot. Though if he played his cards right he might get another day at the village with her. Kassi was already standing outside with her broom and the cat she had nabbed while Tsukune was chasing Yukari.
"Tilt your head back." The girl instructed as he came to a stop in front of her. He looked at her quizzically and did as he was told.
"Why are you... AGH." He yelped as it felt like he was being stabbed in the eye. When he finished rubbing his eyes he looked up to find her holding another vial. Something was different about the cat though. Now it shone with a bright golden aura.
"Ok what was that and why is the cat shining?" Tsukune asked rubbing his eyes again.
"Well the cat still has remnants of Yukari's magic on him so I whipped up a batch of eye drops that will allow you to see magic and keyed it to her magic specifically." Kassi explained.
"And you didn't feel the need to explain that before you give it to me." Tsukune quirked his eyebrows.
"Nope." Tsukune just shook his head and headed to the path that Yukari had cast her illusions on the night before.
Tsukune reached the area they had been the night before to find that the entire area had a golden fog over it. The two of them followed the trail to where Tsukune had lost her the night before. Sure enough it headed into the forest like Kassi had said.
"So we just follow this to her?" Tsukune asked looking at his partner. She nodded her head and Tsukune followed the trail once more.
The trail actually made a U-turn not to far into the woods and headed back to the school. When the two broke the cover of the trees they noticed that it was going towards the main auditorium. They were about to follow it when a pair of students walked out of the woods not far from them and headed the same way. Tsukune recognized the two from the day before and ducked back behind the tree he was standing next to. Kassi didn't notice though and continued to look at the two.
"Is that..?"
"Yep." Tsukune said hauling her behind the tree with him.
"Why Tsukune, what would Moka say about this." Kassi cooed causing him to jerk his hands away from her so fast she almost lost her balance. The witch caught herself and began to laugh.
"Shh. We need to follow them to see if they know where Yukari is." Tsukune said peeking out from behind the tree.
"Spoil sport." She pouted as he followed the two students.
The pair followed the students to a small building that looked like an abandoned green house. Tsukune crept to the corner of the green house so he could eavesdrop.
"This is where they said to meet." One of them said sticking his head in the door.
"But there is no one here. He said she went in the green house and he would meet us here. Are you sure this is the green house he was talking about?" The other asked.
"YES, YES. He said it was the abandoned one on the south side. All the other ones are being used." His partner replied.
"But this one is being used."
Tsukune peeked around the corner. The trail did indeed go into the green house but didn't come back out. The two students straightened up and looked back towards the auditorium.
"What was that."
"I don't know it sounded like a fight. WE must have been late." The other growled taking off in the direction the noise had come from.
Tsukune looked at Kassi who shook her head vehemently and mouthed the word no. Tsukune looked back at the two students for a second before facing her and nodding.
"NO TSUKUNE." She hissed quietly as he took off after them. He came to a stop when he reached the front of the auditorium.
The auditorium was on a slight hill overlooking the rest of the school with the greenhouse behind it. What Tsukune found in the small field between the school and the auditorium, was what could only be considered a small battlefield. The ground was torn up in several places and a tree was leaning at a 45 degree angle, only a few roots still keeping it upright. Amongst the ecological destruction was the unconscious bodies of a dozen or so students, friends it seemed, of the two that Tsukune had followed. The detective shook the frozen witch next to him and jerked his head back the way they had come and away from the two students checking their friends. The two stopped in front of the greenhouse.
"What do you think did that?" Kassi asked.
"Not a young prepubescent witch that is for sure." Tsukune shook his head in a daze. "We need to find her fast or she might be next."
Kassi agreed and the two walked into the greenhouse. A quick inspection revealed that the greenhouse was far from abandoned and someone was even growing plants in it. Kassi pointed out a few to Tsukune. Mint, Thyme, and even a few different types of tea. Not to mention all the rose bushes. However even after a half hour the two could not find any hint of the witch. Her trail just ended next to a rose bush.
"Is it possible that she just wasn't putting off any magic?" Tsukune asked Kassi from his place leaning against the wall.
"Impossible. Her wand would constantly put out some sort of magic and no self respecting witch would go anywhere without it." Kassi answered. Tsukune shrugged and started to head for the door.
"Well maybe she...ahhhhhh." His foot caught on the edge of a planter sending him head first into the rose bush. The thorns tore at his clothes and skin but it slowed his fall. The human started trying to stand "Ah fucking hurts."
"Wait wait stop." Kassi shouted prompting him to stop untangling himself from the bush and look at her. "bounce up and down... Just do it."
Tsukune gave her a strange look but did as he was asked. His efforts were rewarded with a strange sound.
"I think its a trap door." Tsukune said smiling at his companion. "Good work KassIIIIII."
Apparently his weight had been to much for the door and had opened up under his feet. Kassi leaned over the hole to find a ladder. She followed it down to the bottom to find Tsukune dusting himself off.
"You ok?"
"Fantastic. Lets just find where Yukari went so I can be done with this case and get back to my weekend." Tsukune growled letting her go first with her wand as a light.
The two followed the path for several meters before coming upon a fork. They took the one on the right that Yukari's trail went down. Not far down the new hallway Tsukune found a door slightly ajar. He covered Kassi's wand with his hand prompting her to extinguish the light before he peeked through the crack.
Inside he could see Yukari sitting on a stool across a table from someone just outside of Tsukune's field of vision. All around them were containers and jars filled with plants from the greenhouse above. The detective could just barely hear what was being said inside.
"..I did not order these childish pranks. They are bringing us trouble that I don't need." The rooms mystery occupant.
"But k..." The witch winced in reaction to something the other person had done. "My lady... it isn't my fault that boy..."
"I don't want excuses." The woman growled causing Yukari to flinch and grow teary eyed.
"But I just wanted you to feel proud of me. I just want to help you." Yukari bawled breaking into a torrent of tears.
"Aww.. my little Yukari. Come here." The woman said. Yukari slipped off the stool and crossed over to the other side of the room by the other woman. Tsukune cursed as he lost sight of her. Something was off and he couldn't figure it out. "I know you want to help but you could have gotten hurt."
"I just want to help you." Yukari sniffled. Tsukune tried to slide the door open just a bit so he could see better. Slowly Yukari's arm came into view. It seemed she was sitting on the other woman's lap with her arms around her neck. Just a little more and he would be able to see the other woman's face.
"You are helping me. I don't know what I would do without you little Yukari." The voice said. Yukari squealed happily and opened her eyes... just in time to see the a glint of light off of Tsukune's eye.
"SOMEONE IS HERE." The witch yelled causing Tsukune to jump back and turn towards the exit.
"GET THEM."
Tsukune didn't stop to figure out who the voice was sending after them, instead he put more energy into the escaping. Kassi stopped just ahead of him at the fork in the tunnel.
"Someone is coming from the greenhouse." She yelped at the sight of a light coming from further down. Tsukune didn't waste his breath with a response, pushing the witch down the unknown hallway instead.
The tunnel was not as long as the other one had been before they mounted a set of stairs that took them back to the surface. As soon as they reached the top Tsukune closed the cellar doors. Kassi whipped out her wand and cast a quick spell, setting a locked iron bar across the doors. The cellar doors were beside an abandoned wooden shed in the woods outside campus.
"We need to move quick those doors won't hold them long." Kassi advised. Tsukune agreed and followed her into the forest.
Unlike the rest of campus where everything was dead, the forest they were in on the North side of Campus had dense underbrush that made it difficult for the pair to navigate. It didn't take long for the noise from the their pursuers crashing through the bushes got to them. A howl sounded out from not far behind them.
"That is no werewolf. They have to be Feral Youkai. Our scent must be giving us away." Kassi said worriedly. She reached into her jacket and pulled out a small yellow ball, heaving it into the bushes behind them. "That should fix that."
Tsukune was about to ask what she meant when a horrible pained whine was heard.
"That enhanced sense of smell can be a bitch." Kassi smiled.
The pair broke the tree cover to find themselves back by the green house. Kassi whistled loudly and the broom she had left by the front door came hurtling towards them. She threw her leg over it and waited for Tsukune to mount up behind her. As soon as he was on they took off towards the Detectives office.
"So long story short you found the culprit. Yay. Congratulations. Case closed." Ken said leaning back in his chair.
"But what about Yukari and whoever she was talking to." Tsukune asked loudly.
"You did your job you. You found out who it is and she won't do it again. Bam, done, next. If you want to find out whoever this mastermind is, do it on your own time. The Detectives club helps people. Do you know how many people it would take to know every secret in this school. Not only that but the danger some of these groups could bring down on us. IF they aren't hurting anyone then we don't go after them." Ken replied drinking from his usual flask.
"But..."
"N. O... spells no." Ken interrupted. "Now you don't take any more cases for the rest of the week, we have some training to do. Starting now. Come on."
Tsukune sighed and followed his senior out the door. The living statue led Tsukune to a door below ground level at the bottom of a set of stairs. The living statue knocked twice on the door. A slit slid open to reveal three eyes.
"Password."
"Brian it's me just open the door. I am here to see Koru." Ken said.
"Password."
"I swear to Christ I will poke you in the eyes. You only have one good one left." Ken huffed.
"Password." Ken grabbed his staff from his jacket and extended it. "OK OK shit."
The slit slid shut and the door creaked open. Ken pushed his way inside and disappeared into the dark room. Tsukune hesitantly followed. Just inside the door was some sort of purple monster with no legs but several tentacles around its sides and three stalk eyes on top of its head.
Tsukune walked down a short hallway and pushed through a pair of swinging half doors. Just beyond lay a bar. The Actual bar was along his right stretching for most of the room before turning 90 degrees and running into the wall. Several booths lined the walls and the detective could just see a pair of french doors leading to a small room with pool tables. Ken was seated at the bar across from the bartender. Tsukune hurried over to take the seat next to him.
"What cha havin Ken?" The man asked. He was tall, probably almost 6 foot, with a bald head and dark eyes. What color Tsukune couldn't tell in the dark room.
"I'll have the usual. The kid needs something non-alcoholic. He is supposed to be here to learn and I need him cognizant. How about a soda." Ken said laying a few bills on the bar. The man grunted and turned to get the drinks. As soon as he handed them to them he walked down the bar to check on a couple of guys down the line. Ken took his drink and led Tsukune over to an empty booth next to the bathroom door. They sat in silence for several minutes drinking their drinks.
"Alright kid what do you think?" Ken asked finally setting his drink down.
"What is this place?" Tsukune asked.
"This is a bar."
"I know that."
"Alright to be more exact this is Koru's bar." Ken answered.
"And that guy is Koru?" Tsukune gestured towards the man that had served them.
"Yes and no. Aru Koru was a student here some 10 years ago. He started this little operation and when he left it to an underclassmen he knew. Koru isn't really his name but more the title that the owner is given when he takes over." Ken explained.
"So what is his name."
"Ah who the hell knows. Doesn't matter he is Koru. The important thing is he knows all the good gossip on campus and helps me out sometimes." Ken said waving it off. They sat for several more minutes looking around before Tsukune asked his next question.
"So why did you bring me here?"
"I said this is Koru's bar... not THE bar. As a matter of fact there are 2 bars I know of on campus, and rumors of 2 more that are related to certain groups within the school." Ken said. "Did you know there were bars on campus."
"No. I didn't think it was even allowed..."
"ALLOWED." Ken laughed. "Everything is allowed at this school. There are Fight clubs, bars, breweries, black markets just about everything that you aren't allowed to have at a school. The only real rule is keep your human disguise as much as possible and no fighting in school, and even those are broken. The only reason fighting doesn't happen as often is the groups that grew up under the rules. That is the point of bringing you here. You think this is a school like in your human world. This is a social experiment, it is a way for monsters to how to live in the human world together and it is a testing grounds for several powerful people. This school has far too many secrets that can kill you and you haven't even scratched the surface. You need to learn that quick and you need to either get out or get serious."
"What do you mean?" Tsukune questioned.
"Well for one thing I don't expect you to get comfortable with killing right off but you need to learn how to fight. The only reason you have survived is because of your friends. Your first case Moka beat Kurumu. The second one you were barely saved by a mirror. Yesterday you charged into a fight with three enemies and Kassi had to drag you out." Ken lectured.
"But I'm human what can I do." Tsukune whispered.
"You saw how Kassi beat those Feral Youkai today. She used a mustard seed smoke to burn their noses. I beat that mermaid by using her weakness. Learn how to fight Youkai as humans have for centuries." Ken said. "That is what I am going to be teaching you this week."
Tsukune sat back and thought about what his friend had said.
"You said there were groups. Explain."
"When this school was first built it was chaos. People died all the time, so the Headmaster set up a student organization to keep the peace. This group worked as a team, but it was little more than a mafia. Soon the rest of the school was banding together in groups. Ideals, race, type, there were lots of foci that the groups grew around but one thing stayed the same, power. Pretty soon people that did wrong got put down by one group or another. Sure there were incidents that happened outside the fringes of the school's pecking order, and even the groups fought sometimes, but fear of reprisal from a group kept everyone in line. The only problem is people now fear a war. If one group should move against another the whole school could descend into chaos once more. I fear the woman you stumbled on down under that green house is building a new group." Ken explained finishing his drink.
"Do you know who it is." Tsukune asked.
"No I don't know of any female group leaders right now and I know most of the groups around the school. There was a woman a few years ago that was obsessed with Alice in Wonderland. Called herself the Queen of Hearts, but she disappeared about a year ago." Ken said.
"What about the rest of the groups."
"Don't worry about them yet. When I graduate at the end of the year most of the big groups will lose their power and be taken apart by the lesser groups. You need to get stronger, then you can start learning about the groups you will be facing your last two years." Ken said standing up. "Come on let's get back to the office so I can give you the run down on what you need to know."
"Alright monsters all have an energy called Youkai. This Youkai is the measure of their strength and it is what allows them the strength and skills that humans are so afraid of. But how the monsters use their Youkai, and how it affects their bodies are not all the same. They can be put in groups." Ken said starting to write on the board. "Dark, Fae, Holy, Feral, Elemental, Common, Mythic, and Humanoid are just the main categories. You can pretty much figure out how most of them work except the last two. You have met a Mythic creature. The Gorgon you petrified was Mythic. Mythic monsters come from a curse or a deity. They have special powers, but they all have one blinding weakness. It differs from creature to creature. Now Dark and Holy are two sides of the same coin. You have met several Dark creatures. Vampires, werewolves, and Succubi all come from this category. Dark Creatures all gain their power from an outside source. Moka grows stronger with each drop of blood she drinks, though you don't produce much power so it takes quite a bit to fill her up and increases her power very little. Gin grows more powerful as the moon does the same. Kurumu grows more powerful as she absorbs lust. The only problem is all Dark Youkai are hurt by anything holy. Holy light, holy places, Holy symbols, holy water, silver bullets. Some work better than others but they all affect Dark Youkai. Likewise Angels, Cherubs, Priests, and other Holy Youkai are hurt by Darkness. Dark Power, Dark Crystals, Dark Symbols, Desecrated places, Tainted blood it all hurts them." Ken said pausing to finish writing the names of the monsters he had mentioned under the Holy category. " Then you have your Elementals. They all use one of the 5 elements. Likewise their weakness is the opposite element. Fire is weak to water, Water is weak to Earth, Earth is weak to Lightning, Lightning is weak to wind, and wind is weak to fire. Fae don't really have a weakness but they don't really have a strength either. Each race has a gift but they aren't really fighters. Feral creatures are not human and not animal. Fighting them really is based on trickery or strength. Same for Common monsters, they aren't anything special they just aren't human and Youkai runs through their body so they are classified as monsters but they don't have special powers so you fight them using strength or smarts. That brings us to the last classification, Humanoid. Humanoid Youkai are humans that learned how to use Youkai. Some have forms, some have powers, and some just learned how to be more than human. In fact witches are humanoids that are just born with the power to use magic."
"SO Humans can use Youkai?" Tsukune asked.
"Yes but it usually takes some extreme measures." Ken said watching his juniors face fall. "Don't worry I will have you fighting Youkai like a pro. Go ahead and head back we can start training Monday."
Tsukune leaned against the front gates of the school watching the Newspaper club give out their latest edition. Tsukune had even let Moka print a small piece in the very corner explaining that the hauntings had just been a prank and they wouldn't happen again. A little bit about dry ice to make mist and some other little misleading information allowed them to keep Yukari and the rest of the witches out of the lime light. The detective had just noticed wink in his direction from Moka when he felt a hand on his arm. He turned to find Kassi.
"Hey I brought you a little present for helping me." She said holding out a box. He opened it up to find his sunglasses.
"Thanks you got me... my sunglasses. I was wondering why I couldn't find them this morning." He said blankly.
"No moron. Look at the sides." She said pointing to several markings along side. "I enchanted them so that you can use them to see things like the magic trail we followed to find Yukari. This Rune allows you to see Magic. This one allows you to see Heat. If you center on a specific trail or source you can press this Rune to home in on it so you can block out the other trails and only see that one. This one allows you to zoom in to twice your normal eyesight. I am still working on the Runes to allow you to see through Human disguises but I will add that when I can." She said pointing out the runes as she explained their purpose.
"Ok. Just one question, how did you get my glasses?"
"I had Moka steal them from your room last night while she was writing her story." Kassi explained. Further conversation was cut off as a loud annoyed voice caught their attention. Tsukune had noticed something brewing at the newspaper table but had been distracted by Kassi. Now he could see several students in black uniforms surrounding the table. A lone figure stood just in front of the newspaper table, obviously the leader, with plenty of space between him and the ring of subordinates that kept the students back.
"We don't remember inspecting this." He shouted kicking the table in half. "Do you understand that it can cause problems for us. When a gang like you selfishly goes on and does what it wants."
Tsukune was about to step forward when Ken stepped up from behind him and grabbed his arm. The detective looked at his senior who shook his head. When he looked back he saw Gin doing much the same to Moka. Whatever else was said was not loud enough to cover the distance to them. As soon as the group had left Tsukune turned to his friend.
"What was that about." Tsukune glared at the living statue accusingly.
"That was one of those groups that keeps this school in line. Actually that is THE group that keeps people in line. The strongest and the oldest. The Public Safety Commission. Police with a Gang mentality." Ken said shaking his head. "They almost shut down the newspaper last year and it looks like they are ready to do it again. Don't worry Gin will take the Newspaper underground. It won't be the first time they had to be Guerrilla Media. My first year here the Newspaper was run out of a dinky old shrine on some mountain."
Tsukune nodded as Ken turned and walked with Kassi towards the school. Tsukune stayed behind until the crowd had dispersed before picking up the paper the PSC's leader had thrown on the ground, the Newspaper club had taken the rest when they had left.
"Well well well. What do we have here. A little lost Freshman." Tsukune shot up and whirled around. He had thought he was alone, apparently he was wrong. Standing behind him were three black uniformed PSC members with Shinai.
"What can I do for you gentleman." Tsukune asked guardedly, looking for a way out of the situation.
"Well you see the boss knows that the Detectives club is helping the Newspaper club just like they did last year, so the boss sent us to silence the Detectives club." The one on the left said. He was the smallest. Shorter than Tsukune and much skinnier.
"The other one is to tricky, so we are just gonna settle for you." The one on the right said. He was much taller than the other two, but still as thin as his friend, with a humorously large head.
"Smash." The one in the middle said. He stood about 6'2 but looked to be of enormous weight. Unfortunately for Tsukune a large part of it was muscle.
The human barely ducked underneath the blow that would likely have taken his head off. A second blow passed by as he stepped back out of reach. The problem was the person who's reach he had stepped out of was the shortest of the three. A third swing caught Tsukune in the right ear, snapping his head to the side and causing his ear to ring.
Suddenly his vision was filled with blue as a sword collided with his chin and snapped his head back as he stumbled to keep his feet. It was to no avail as a third blow fell on his left thigh causing it to give out and the boy to fall to his knees. As soon as he was down strikes began to rain down on his body. He was forced to curl up in a ball to protect himself as the swords struck him again and again.
Eventually the three PSC thugs grew tired of hitting his prostrate form and stepped back to admire their handy work. Tsukune lay on the ground with several cracked ribs, a black eye, a dislocated shoulder, a broken nose, as well as a burst ear drum. With all the pain, not to mention the damage to his auditory system, it was amazing he heard what they said next.
"Come on guys he is no fun." The tall one said to the others.
"Man I wish we had gotten the pink haired chick from the Newspaper club. Stupid Keito getting all the good jobs. It is only because she is such a good pet dog." The short one whined as they turned to leave.
"Smash." The third asked causing his companions to laugh.
"Yeah Ru Keito is gonna smash her good." one of them chuckled.
Tsukune lay groggily processing the information. Someone needed to protect Moka. Moka could protect Moka. He just needed to get her rosary off. The detective felt the blissful escape of unconsciousness starting to set in. He shook it off and groaned as he pulled himself upright. He could always black out later. He idly realized that he was gonna be late for class.
The battered human stumbled through the woods in the direction he had seen Moka go. He started looking at the mental map of the school he had built at Ken's request. Turns out it really did help. From what he remembered Moka was going towards the trash furnace that he had met Kurumu near. She must have been going to destroy the papers.
Sure enough he stumbled into the area around the furnace to find Moka stuck to a tree by what appeared to be spider webbing. That was just a guess though, based on the appearance. Well and the giant spider woman about to eat Moka.
"I'm sorry. I know this isn't justice but if I disobey Kuyou will kill me." The woman said. Before she could sink her poisonous fangs into her prey though Tsukune wrapped his good arm around her neck and pulled her back.
She wasn't all that strong physically and between the surprise and the lack of air Tsukune was able to pull her off of Moka. It didn't last long though as her struggling jarred Tsukune's ribs and he dropped to the ground on his ass.
"You shouldn't have gotten involved. You were lucky those idiots didn't kill you and I had no such orders. They would have been punished, not me. But now I have to end you." Keito said turning and pointing the sharp tip of one of her spider legs at his eye.
"So this is the Public Safety Commission's "Judgment"." Tsukune said quickly. When he opened his eyes he wasn't dead and the leg had retracted a bit. "You just kill whoever you want. You said so yourself, this isn't justice."
"No it isn't but I don't have a choice." Keito shot back.
"Bullshit. Everyone has a choice. You chose to join them..." Tsukune started.
"No I didn't. I wanted to do good." She interrupted."I just wanted to help and I was recruited on the first day, just because I saved some kid from a bully. I thought the Commission was good but they weren't and I couldn't leave. I saw what happened to those that tried to leave. On my second day of school I watched Kuyou burn a recruit that tried to back out... alive... slowly."
Tsukune could see how scared she was even now.
"Couldn't you have done something." Tsukune queried.
"I did. I killed his Lieutenant. By the Commission's rules that made me his second in command. I took her place and I did everything I could to protect those that didn't deserve it." Keito growled. "So don't question my sense of Justice or my resolve. I live in fear every day that he will be displeased with my actions. I'm only a freshman. There are much stronger people in the Commission. Any one of them could challenge me for my position and kill me. Hell the weak ones could do like I did and trick me or surprise me. When I kill one of his subordinates I fear that he might have taken an interest in them and will kill me. He just laughs though. Survival of the fittest and to be the fittest I have to do some things I don't like."
"Why don't you get rid of him and take over for yourself?" Moka asked entering the conversation for the first time herself.
"No one can kill him he is too strong." Keito said looking scared of the very thought.
"What if you had people help you." Moka said.
"We could help you." Tsukune added.
"I don't think even your Vampire friend could defeat him." Keito shook her head.
"What if we took him down administratively?" A familiar voice said. The three turned to find Ken standing next to the trash furnace.
"How?" Keito asked confused, her face becoming human once more.
"I have some pull with the Headmaster, and he has been..." Ken paused looking for the right words. "toying with the idea of dismantling the PSC for awhile."
"So you could get him to disband them. It won't do any good Kuyou would continue and the Headmaster never gets involved in school affairs, that is why he formed the Commission." Keito said.
"No he wants Kuyou to go down. If you can bring me enough evidence he will make sure Kuyou is no longer a threat." Ken explained.
"So if I help you we can stop Kuyou?" Keito asked putting away her legs.
"Yes." The spider woman looked indecisive for a minute.
"Then I will help you." she said causing Tsukune to sigh as the tension left his body. Ken helped the boy to his feet. "But first I need someone to beat me up..." Tsukune started to protest. "Or else he will think I betrayed him. He has taken a liking to me... I think... sometimes I think he likes me too much, but he won't kill me for failing him once."
The group looked unsettled at the proclamation, none more so than Keito herself.
"Alright then I'm sure Gin would be happy to beat up a PSC member." Ken smiled. "Well Tsukune your training will still go on as planned but your ban from work will be lifted in order for you to help Keito gather her evidence. You will be her handler."
Tsukune started to protest that he didn't know what to do but was cut off by Keito herself. "Works for me. I like strong determined men."
She leaned over and kissed the battered boy on the lips. He was so surprised by the action he couldn't move. She stepped back licking his blood off her lips. It took him several minutes while Ken chuckled and Moka glared before he could compute what had just occurred. He felt light headed but he wasn't sure if it was from the kiss or was related to why he couldn't feel his legs.
"Here it comes." Everything went black as the adrenaline that had kept him going could no longer fight the unconsciousness.
Alright another chapter down. What do you think so far. Don't worry Tsukune will be learning how to fight his own way. I don't want him to start killing his opponents until after the Festival for sure. Probably after winter starts. Anyway everyone that is reading this should go review. It is right there. Right there under these words. You see it. Use it. DO IT. Review.