Chapter 7: A smoldering ember

A few months had passed since Rin had entered Yokai Academy. Some of the male student body kept approaching her and asking her out, after which she would always say "Maybe later." For the more persistent ones, she'd set up a meeting time and place, and then fail to arrive. Nobody aside from her knew why she took pleasure in standing people up, but she did.

Her pursuit of her goal there, to stalk Aono Tsukune and prolong his exposure to the energies of Akashiya Moka, had revealed some interesting results. Tsukune had managed to cozy up to a succubus, and another witch who was initially after Moka's affections. From then until now, however, the sealed Moka had not emerged that many times. Misaki was clear on the subject: Tsukune had to be exposed to Moka's energy, and it was happening at the speed of making fire without matches or flint. She would have to speed it along somehow…

Come to think of it, during her stay there, she had encountered three guys who were hopelessly in love with Moka, Kurumu and Yukari respectively. They had recently formed their own Fan Club Coalition, and were also somewhat worshipping of Rin, so just maybe she could use them…

Now she was on her way to their secret lair. She was walking, ignoring the swooning boys in her path, until she got to one specific door, kicking it in. Walking back out after a brief conversation, everything was set. For worshippers of each of their 'one true idols', they sure were heretical, by which she meant easy to persuade. Now they were sure that Tsukune was the one thing keeping their goddesses from being with them. She just needed to make sure they didn't actually kill him, and things would become interesting.

Later, she could see Tsukune, somewhat brooding, carrying trash out, and the three one-member fan clubs approached him, started comically beating him and commanded that he suffer divine punishment. Rin was alerted when the trash can started bombing her min- accomplices, and she quickly got her wand and crystal ball ready. The witch Yukari was interfering with her own magic, but if she had to be a problem, Rin would have to deal with her. Kurumu and Moka arrived soon after the young witch, but the seal on the latter wasn't released. Oh well, things weren't always going to be this easy. At least a seed was planted… so maybe it might germinate within the next twenty-four hours?

Once that was finished, it was back to classes at Yokai, or as Rin liked to call it more often, Innsmouth 2.0. It was math class, but it got so boring that she almost fell asleep on her desk again.

"Sugiyama-chan!" the teacher yelled out suddenly, hovering over her.

"What is it now- I mean, yes, Riri-chan?" Rin mumbled. Maybe she actually did fall asleep.

"Stop calling me that. It's Ririko-sensei!"

"That's what I said, Riri-chan."

"Be careful of falling asleep in classes. It's become a bad habit, disrupting everyone else. If you fall asleep one more time, you will get private lessons with me."

"Ia, ia, Riri-chan."

"Don't fall asleep again, Sugiyama-chan, and address me properly!" Ririko walked out of the classroom then.

Rin stood up after a minute of yawning, and walked down to the cafeteria. Once there, she found Kurumu, Yukari and Moka conversing among themselves about their 'stalkers'. It was really good when seeds bore fruit so soon. She managed to find Tsukune again, and continued to stalk him for the rest of the day.

During the early evening, he walked out of his dormitory with his backpack on him. Was this guy actually going to leave Yokai Academy? Rin knew she couldn't allow that to happen. Besides, especially with places like Innsmouth, getting in is a whole lot easier than getting out. If need be, she would make sure that was the case here. She still had her asso- who was she kidding, those three nitwits were her minions. They would make sure that Tsukune wouldn't leave the school.

Soon after Tsukune stopped, the three fan club leaders cornered him. After a combination of their monster forms into one blob of flesh and the appearance of Moka, Kurumu and Yukari (again), the seal was finally broken. Moka's hair turned silver, her eyes turned red, her figure grew, her personality changed and her energy was overflowing again. Now, Tsukune just had to bask in that energy, as the vampire rather predictably made short work of the giant blob that was the Fan Club Coalition.

Barely a few minutes later, and she resealed herself. Rin was getting sick of the habit; if you were going to come out, then fucking stay out, don't retreat back inside your host! Besides, just how much more did Tsukune have to be exposed to that woman? Sometimes, like just now, Rin felt that she was trying to create fire not only without matches, but with two wet pieces of wood. Sooner or later, she would have to take more direct action.

The bus arrived… Rin readied her wand and crystal ball… Tsukune asked for the bus driver to… deliver some letters? Wasn't he in the mood to leave? Rin continued to watch him, waiting until the bus departed without taking the human away. At least she wouldn't have had to destroy its engines.

Now it was back to Yokai, back to Maths class, back to Ririko-sensei… and back to sleep. Again, it was that flaming, volcanic landscape. Cracks in the earth below her, explosions of fire around her, molten seas… then she found herself back in Yokai with Ririko shaking her shoulder. "What now, Riri-chan?" she grumbled.

"You have dozed off in class for the last time, and are getting supplementary lessons with me. It's very clearly the only way I can make classes more interesting and teach you something. Come with me," Ririko ordered, dragging Rin away from the classroom.

"It's not my fault you are so boring,"

"You would talk to a teacher like that? It appears that Math is not the only thing I have to teach you during your supplementary!"

They reached one of the other rooms, where the only light sources were candles, and Rin took her seat while Ririko… stripped? Not only stripped, but stripped to reveal some rather unusual undergarments. "Okay, that's just trying too hard," Rin sighed.

"The students respond well to me when I do this. They find it very… inspiring," Ririko stated.

"Of course they do. Most young boys cannot resist the look of flesh on display. You're still trying too hard."

"Girls as well… you'll see why…"

"I'm still sleepy, Riri-chan, and you're still exhaling tranquilizing agents instead of carbon dioxide."

"Oh really?!" Ririko shouted, and the next thing Rin knew, some fleshy clamp was holding onto her head. Electricity was forcing its way into her head.

"Tsukune…" Rin gasped.

"No you don't!" The electricity increased.

"Side 1 squared… plus side 2 squared… equals… Misa-chan,"

"Concentrate!" More electricity focused in Rin's head. She was fairly certain Ririko was now also whipping her.

"A circle, in brackets x minus a, squared, plus, in brackets, y minus b, squared, equals r squared, the radius of the circle… a sphere… the sphere… of flame!"

While still being electrocuted and whipped, Rin managed to get the strength to plunge her hand down her blazer and retrieve her wand… and her crystal ball. She threw the latter up towards the ceiling, and then, still blind, thrust her wand forward at it, only to move it to point at where she thought Ririko's face was, judging by her barking orders. Judging from the loud splat followed by agonized screaming and the halting of the electrocution and whipping, her little gambit worked.

Right behind her was Ririko, clutching her face, and a flaming ball by her snake-like appendage that replaced her legs. Rin just walked over to the flaming ball, grabbed it with her left hand, watched as the flames left the ball to reveal the crystal ball, raised her now flaming hand and placed it on Ririko's shoulder. Immediately, the snake/woman creature burst into flames, and Rin let go of her shoulder and walked away.

"You know you attacked a teacher!" Ririko screamed. "You'll be in serious trouble!"

"Calm down," Rin laughed, feeling a surge of excitement, "…I'm only singeing you. The burns will be gone within the week. But with inspirational looks, now you are inspiring me to do better. I just can't resist things that are on fire."

"This isn't over, witch!"

"Bye-bye now, hentai sensei Riri-chan."

Walking out of the room with the excitement fading, Rin found herself actually getting quite irritable. All of this, Yokai, and lessons, and this, and that, and these, and those, absolutely everything was getting in her way! Tsukune had to be around somewhere! Oh well, at least he'd come into view sooner or later, and she'd be able to monitor him again. Although, perhaps she needed to think of ways to bring that inside force in Moka out herself…