Chapter Seven: Slime of the Slug
It was a busy day for the Newspaper Club. Two days after the "Missing Girls" case, they decided to print the article for the whole school to read.
I must admit. Kid thought. I never would have imagined myself joining something like a Newspaper Club. Of course, I never considered using one to right about the importance of symmetry before. And even though I'm working on a different article right now, this is rather nice. A pity that we didn't have activities like this in Death City. Hmm. When I get back home, I should convince father to do something like that.
But not everyone else was as happy as Kid was.
"I can't take this!" Kurumu whined. "It's finally Saturday and we're all packed in here."
"I know what you mean," Liz grumbled. "Saturday's are a time for kicking back and doing nothing. I mean, that's what the other students are doing. Instead we're sitting here doing more work."
The group had pushed their desks together and began working on different parts of the newspaper. Unfortunately, Patty was too busy using the extra pieces of paper to make origami giraffes instead. Everyone else let her do her own thing while they continued working.
"It's true," Yukari agreed as she typed on her laptop. "We're just like a mangaka being chased by a deadline. And we're not even getting paid."
"Stop being babies!" Gin shouted to the others. "A newspaper's the same as manga, with strict adherence to deadlines. The incident with the art teacher that's gonna be all over the front page was two days ago, Thursday! Ain't no one gonna call us a newspaper if there ain't no reporting immediately on her. I'll listen to your sob stories after you make the deadline."
"Then would you please help us out instead of relaxing over there drinking coffee!" Moka yelled at Gin, who really was sitting at his desk reading a paper and drinking coffee.
Liz's eyebrow twitched. "Gin," she said. "You're cute and all but you're incredibly lazy."
"Lazy-butt! Lazy-butt!" Patty chanted, causing Gin to have a tick mark on his head.
Yukari giggled at the sight. "He's letting it go to his head just like a manga editor." She pointed out to Kid.
Kid, who was trying to make sure that everything for the paper was symmetrical, looked up at Yukari. "Yukari, why do you keep comparing everything to manga?"
Just then, Kurumu threw her arms around Kid's waist. "Well I don't care what I'm doing as long as I'm with Kid."
Kid rolled his eyes, tired of this routine. Nearby, Liz and Patty were snickering at the embarrassed look on their meister's face.
"Kurumu-chan!" Moka yelled annoyed at how Kurumu was latching onto Kid.
"What?" Kurumu demanded, throwing a challenging glare at Moka, which she returned.
Kid sighed while Yukari called out. "The endless quarrels are starting again!"
"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Patty chanted at the two girls.
Liz rolled her eyes now. "Kid, can't you do something about this?"
Kid groaned just as Kurumu hugged him again. "Moka," she said as she stuck her tongue out at the vampire. "I know you want to steal Kid from me but I'm not about to let that happen! I'll never let you have Kid!" Moka flinched at Kurumu's words.
What the Newspaper Club didn't know was that they were being watched. Or at least Kurumu and Moka were.
"Uhuhu," chuckled a figure sitting in a tree near the academy, zooming in and taking pictures with his camera. "There you are, my beloved one. Aaaah, you're so cute! Just watching you isn't enough. I can't take it anymore. Just you wait. Soon I'll be holding you in my arms!"
Back at the Newspaper Club, Nekonome walked in carrying a bag. "Is everyone working hard?" she asked. "I brought snacks!"
"Nekonome-sensei!" Gin greeted.
"Well is the work continuing?" she asked. She looked over and saw how hard the others were working. "It doesn't even look like I need to ask, does it?"
"There are lots of cuts and a lot of pages," Moka said. "It's lots of work."
"Well come on," Nekonome encouraged. "Eat up the snacks and cheer up ok!"
"Snacks?" Liz asked. "Good, I haven't had a thing to eat yet." She looked into the bag and then leaped back in disgust.
"What's wrong, Liz-chan?" Nekonome asked.
"Sensei," Liz said. "The bag is full of raw fish!"
"Raw?" the other girls asked. Kid was too busy perfecting his paper. The girls got up and looked inside. Sure enough, it was full of raw fish.
"Sensei," Liz said. "Why is the bag full of raw fish?"
"It's more delicious that way!" Nekonome pointed out.
Yeah, to a cat. Liz wanted to comment until she remembered that Nekonome was a cat. At least Blair would cook her fish.
"Oh yeah, Kurumu-chan," Nekonome said, pulling a letter out of her pocket. "This letter was dropped in front of the classroom."
"Letter?" Kurumu asked. She took the letter from Nekonome and went off to the side. On the envelope, it read "TO MY BELOVED KURUMU-CHAN" on the top. On the bottom was the name Nagare.
Love letter? Kurumu asked herself. Who's this? And why now? To answer these questions, Kurumu opened the envelope. What she saw made her heart stop. The envelope contained a bunch of pictures of her. Rather, inappropriate pictures. While they showed her underwear instead of showing something worse, they were still embarrassing and Kurumu thought she would die if those pictures ever got around the school. Kurumu then noticed that there was a letter among the pictures.
"If you don't want these pictures to become public, come alone to the "Monster Tree" in the main schoolyard.
Nagare"
Kid noticed Kurumu trembling and holding something in her hand. "Is something wrong, Kurumu?" he asked.
Panicking, Kurumu shoved her hands into the Newspaper Club toolbox that she had been standing next to. She didn't want anyone to see those pictures but she definitely didn't want Kid to see them.
What's going on? Kurumu screamed in her head. Aren't those my dirty pictures? Meaning this is really a blackmail letter?
"Ahahahaha!" she laughed. "I kinda just remembered I have something to do so I'll be taking off okay?"
"What?" Liz shouted. "How come she gets to leave?"
"Wait!" Moka called as Kurumu began walking away. "The deadline."
"Take care of the rest for me!" Kurumu called as she left.
Moka sighed. "Kurumu-chan." She felt a hand on her shoulder and saw that it was Kid's.
"Kurumu wouldn't leave unless she had a good reason," he reassured her. "We'll just have to pick up the slack."
Liz snorted. "This coming from a guy who was three hours late to class because he was tidying up his home?"
Moka stared. "You were three hours late to class once, Kid?" she asked him.
Kid glared at Liz. "I was making sure that everything in the house was perfectly symmetrical," he pointed out.
Liz groaned. "There is a limit to the insanity you know."
The Monster Tree, a landmark of Youkai Academy. Its name most likely comes from the monstrous-face like formation on the trunk of the tree. And that's where Kurumu was, trying to get to the bottom of her blackmailer.
"Hey!" a voice called from the tree. "I've been waiting for you."
Kurumu looked up to see a boy with a camera around his neck sitting on one of the three branches.
"So you saw those pictures and my letter," the boy said. "I'm glad. Long time no see, eh Kurumu-chan?"
Kurumu glared at the blackmailer. "Who are you?" she demanded. "Who do you want? Calling me all the way out here with those dirty pictures…" she reached for the pictures only to realize that they weren't with her.
Ah, those pictures. Kurumu thought. In a panic I hid them in the toolbox and left them there!
Just then, the boy dropped down from the branch he was sitting on. "I took really cute pictures of you right? I really liked them." He began chuckling to himself. Kurumu grimaced in disgust. Especially when she noticed something like sweat or so dripping down his face.
Ugh. She thought. What's with this guy? He's all slimy with or something. It's a little scary.
The boy looked at Kurumu. "I'm Kanou Nagare. Don't you remember me? It was right after we started school. I walked up to you one day and asked if I could take your picture? You were so thrilled that you even asked me if you were more beautiful than Akashiya Moka. And then you promised me that if I took a good picture, you'd let me go out with you. I was so thrilled." He sighed dreamily. "So that meeting was fate."
Kurumu was panicking inside her head. I don't remember at all. She thought. I guess I talked with lots of guys in order to compete with Moka before I met Kid.
"I've been waiting all this time since then," Nagare said, causing Kurumu to recoil in disgust. "Go on a date with me right just like you promised, Kurumu-chan. Unless you want "those pictures" to be shown to the whole school?"
Kurumu looked at Nagare in horror. Why was this happening to her?
Back at the Newspaper Club, the other members were hard at work.
"Man," Liz groaned. "Why isn't Kurumu back yet? We'd get this done faster if she was helping."
"We have no use for people who run away like that!" Yukari said.
Kid looked up from his work. "Don't you think you're being rather harsh, Yukari?" he asked her. "I'm certain Kurumu had a good reason for leaving."
Liz scoffed. "Then why didn't she tell us what that reason was?"
"Perhaps it was a personal matter that we didn't need to pry in," Kid pointed out. "After all, people are allowed to have their privacy."
Though I do admit. Kid thought to himself. Kurumu was acting rather odd after she received that letter. Does that have something to do with her behavior?
"You know," Moka said, drawing everyone's attention onto her. "I wonder what Kurumu-chan thinks of this club."
Kid raised an eyebrow. "Thinks of this club?" he repeated.
"Kurumu-chan is here because she likes Kid, right?" Moka pointed out. And she totally hated me from the beginning. She added to herself. "The truth is that maybe she doesn't think of us as friends. Because going off like that at such a busy time for everyone is really weird!"
Oh my. Nekonome thought sadly as she overheard this. And just when I thought they were all so good at working together. It seems the team isn't together as I thought.
"Moka," Kid said gently. "I understand how you must feel, but we should consider the possibility that Kurumu is doing something important. If it makes everyone feel better, we'll confront her later and see what's going on. Fair everyone?" he asked.
The others didn't reply, merely nodding in a half hearted away. Except for Patty, who was currently leaping around like a frog at the moment.
"H-Hey, what is all this?" Kurumu asked. She was wearing gym shorts and a white t-shirt. "Why do I have to change into gym shorts for a date?"
"It's a pretend photo shoot!" Nagare yelled happily. "Oh Kurumu-chan you look real good in those!" He began taking rapid pictures before Kurumu could even blink.
"This isn't what I meant by date!" Kurumu yelled. "Stop acting like a…"
"Oh," Nagare interrupted. "Are you sure about talking to me like that?"
"Uh…" Kurumu said, not liking that tone in Nagare's voice.
Nagare grinned as wiped some of that sweat or slime off his face. "I have this special ability of finding out what a girl's secrets are. I know a lot about you, Kurumu-chan!" he walked over to her. "For example, stuff like this and stuff like that…" he began whispering in her ear.
"Hentai!" Kurumu screamed, her face a nice crimson.
Nagare's grin widened. "Maybe I'll just tell ev-er-y-thing to Kid-kun, hmmm?"
Kurumu froze. "Why do you know about Kid?" she asked. She began to tremble. "Stop…" she said on the brig of tears. "Anyone but Kid…"
"Then how about we cosplay?" Nagare asked, brandishing a maid outfit.
"Maid?" Kurumu asked weakly. Having no other choice, Kurumu went into the shed nearby the tree to change.
This sucks. Kurumu thought. This guy is going too far. Maybe I should use my powers of illusion as a succubus to control his mind so that he can't disobey me. She shook her head. No, I can't. Because I stopped doing those awful kind of things when I first met Kid.
Soon, Kurumu was in the maid outfit and Nagare was hungrily taking pictures. What should I do? She asked herself. And to know everyone's working so hard for the club when I'm doing this.
It was night time and Kurumu had finally been let go. She hated it. That jerk Nagare had forced her to change twelve different times. One the outfits even included a swimsuit. Luckily it was the school one instead of a bikini.
I wonder if everyone is still working hard? Kurumu thought nervously as she reached the Newspaper Club. She opened the door and was met with a whole lot of what seemed to be killing intent coming from her fellow members. Eyaaa! Kurumu screamed in her head. They're angry. They're all really angry. I'm gonna get yelled at.
"Welcome back, Kurumu-chan, you're late."
Kurumu was shocked. Weren't they going to yell at her?
"Well," Yukari said. "We're just about to finish up work today."
"We decided to work hard tomorrow and up the rest."
Patty nodded. "So you can leave too, Kurumu-chan," she said sweetly.
Liz looked like she wanted to say something but held back. Instead she followed the others as they left the room. Kurumu just stood there in stunned silence.
Too late. She thought in horror.
"Kurumu?"
Kurumu turned around to see Kid still in the room beside her. Immediately she became nervous. Had Kid stayed behind so he could yell at her personally? She clutched her sweater tightly. She didn't think she could bear to have the boy she loved mad at her.
"Kurumu if something's bothering you, you know you can talk to us," Kid said softly.
Kurumu's eyes widened. She gave a small gasp.
"We're your friends," Kid told her. "You can trust us."
Kurumu tried to fight back the tears in her eyes. Even after all this, Kid was still being kind to her. She wanted nothing more than to tell Kid everything. But she was too afraid of what Kid would think of her if he knew. He might see her as trash and have nothing to do with her. Kurumu knew that she couldn't handle that happening.
"It's nothing, Kid," she said with a very fake smile. "I'm fine. Really."
Kid frowned. He wasn't buying it for a second. Something was not right at all. What could it be so that Kurumu wouldn't tell them? This required further investigation.
"Very well," Kid said. "I guess I'd better get going. Good night, Kurumu."
"Good night, Kid," Kurumu replied as she watched Kid walk out the door. As he did, the tears started falling down Kurumu's eyes.
Even after all this, Kid wasn't angry at me. Not at all. She walked over to the desks where the articles were. She could tell which ones were Kid's as the papers were made so that they were perfectly symmetrical. She smiled despite the sadness. Kid's OCD was a trait that she found rather adorable about him. I used to be stuck up and make men into my slaves using my powers as a succubus. Since I was treated so special I never had a real friend. And at the time, I thought that it didn't really matter. Yeah…I'm sure I'm paying now for how stupid I was back then.
"I've got to apologize," She said to herself.
"Huhuhuhuhu! Hey what's wrong, Kurumu-chan?"
Kurumu spun around to see Nagare standing in the doorway and smirking at her. "Well, today was really fun wasn't it?" he asked. "Let's have some more fun tomorrow, Kurumu-chan!"
"Nagare-kun, what are you doing here?" Kurumu demanded. "And there is no tomorrow. The date was supposed to be just for today."
Nagare grinned. "That's a really cold tone you're taking with me. Should I show the pictures I took today to Kid?"
Kurumu was horrified. "What? No! You told me you wouldn't show them to anyone."
Nagare smiled an evil smile that showed all his teeth. "Then we'll have some fun tomorrow, right?" He told her. "I'm not going to let you go now!"
Kurumu flinched away in fear.
"I'm afraid I won't leave you with any choice."
"Huh?" Nagare asked as he started to turn around…
Bam! Nagare went crashing into some of the desks after his face got smashed in by a fist. Shaking the stars from his head, he looked up to see who his attacker was. He paled when he saw who it was. "D…Death the Kid?"
Sure enough, Kid now stood in the doorway with an angry look on his face.
"K..Kid?" Kurumu asked.
"I had come back because I thought the stack of papers lying on my desk were a little more to the left," Kid explained to Kurumu. "And when I got here I overheard everything." He walked over to Nagare, who began to sweat more. The stalker guy tried to climb away but Kid grabbed him by his collar and yanked him up.
"I don't know what is going on," he said. "But apparently you were blackmailing Kurumu." His face darkened. "I don't take kindly to those who blackmail my friends."
Nagare gulped in fear. Kid's eyes hardened. "Don't ever come near Kurumu again." He threatened. "Understand?" Then without waiting for an answer, Kid dropped him to the floor. Nagare and Kurumu just watched as Kid walked over to his desk and looked at his stack of paper. "Ah, just my imagination after all. Still, one must always be careful when it comes to symmetry." He looked back at Kurumu and smiled. "Come on, Kurumu. Let's leave."
Kurumu never felt so happy in her life. Kid had saved her from that creep. And pretty much any guy by now knew not to mess with Death the Kid. Maybe her Nagare problems were finally over. Sticking out her tongue at Nagare for good measure, Kurumu happily followed Kid as they left the room.
Nagare was furious. "Curse you, Death the Kid," he said. "Kurumu-chan belongs to me, not you." He walked over to the desk Kid had looked at and noticed all the paper work on Kid's and the others. "Hmm," he said as he looked at the work. "A half finished newspaper." He smiled evilly. "This is nice!"
The next day…
"Kyaaaa!" Moka's scream came from the Newspaper Club. "They're gone? The drafts we had half finished yesterday…they're all gone!"
"Whaaaat?" the other members cried. Except Patty who was watching some bird outside the window.
"That's crazy!" Gin exclaimed. "They were stolen?"
"What are we going to do?" Moka asked. "We won't make it in time if we do them all over."
"Iyaaah!" Yukari screamed, looking at her computer. "My data was even deleted! My backup disk is gone too…and on top of that, they read my diary!"
Liz sweatdropped at Yukari. "You put your diary on there?" she asked.
"And even worse," Yukari said. "The keyboard is all slimy like there were slugs crawling on it."
"Slimy?" Kurumu asked. She shivered. It's him! She thought. He was still in the room when Kid and I left. Then this is just more blackmail towards me. By him keeping those drafts he is trying to make me do as I please.
Idiot! Kid thought to himself. I should have known better than to leave our work out in the open for him to steal. Now he can do whatever he wants with them. Kid's eyes widened when he realized that Nagare could burn them, tear them, or even scatter them all over the place so that they would become rumbled and torn. My beautifully symmetrical papers! Nooooo! He clutched his heart as the mere thought was almost enough to make him have an attack
"Darn it, there's nothing we can do!" Gin shouted. "We don't have time to search for the thief now. Start it from the beginning! It doesn't matter if there's not much on each page, just do something!"
Kid pondered. It's obvious that guy has our work. The only problem is that I don't know where he could be at. Kurumu might know but she might not want the others to find out she's been blackmailed. I need to think.
"Ummm, everyone," Kurumu said, making everyone look at her. "I'm sorry to do this at a time like this…but I'm going to skip the club today."
"Kurumu-chan!" the other girls shouted.
Kid looked at the ground. She intends to confront that guy. He no doubt intends to use our work as more blackmail against her. And I don't know what type of monster he is, so I don't know about what powers or abilities he might possess. Nonetheless, it would be foolish to let Kurumu face that creep alone.
"What's going on, Kurumu-chan?" Moka asked. "You're just thinking about yourself when everyone else is having a hard time. Don't you think about how everyone else feels?" Kurumu flinched at that.
Kid opened his mouth to tell Moka the reasons why but stopped himself at the last second. No. he thought. When Kurumu is ready, she'll tell them.
I can't. Kurumu told herself as she struggled whether or not to tell the others. I don't know what he'd do with everyone's drafts if I told them the truth. "I'm going." She said as she turned to leave.
"Kurumu-chan," Moka said. "I thought you were different, but in the end you don't think of us as friends or anything do you! If that's how it is then leave the Newspaper Club and don't come back!"
Kurumu paused for a brief moment, but then she walked out of the room without saying a word.
Kid sighed. Moka doesn't know what's really going on. He thought. I wish I could tell her but that's for Kurumu to do, not me. But that doesn't mean I can't help.
"Liz!" he called. "Patty! Transform!"
"Huh?" Patty replied.
"Kid?" Liz asked. "Why do we have to turn into…"
"There's no time to explain," Kid told them. "Hurry!"
"Uh," Liz replied. "Sure."
Confused by still obeying, the sisters went into their gun forms in Kid's hands.
"Kid?" Moka asked in confusion. "What are you doing?"
"I'm going after Kurumu," he explained as he started heading towards the door.
"But why do you need Liz and Patty in gun form?" Yukari asked.
"I'm afraid it's not my place to say," Kid answered.
Moka looked at him. "Not your place to say?" She asked. "What do you mean by that?"
Kid paused at the doorway and looked at Moka. "When Kurumu's ready," he replied. "She'll tell you." With that, Kid ran out the door.
"When Kurumu's ready?" Moka asked. "What does that mean?"
By now, Kurumu had reached the Monster Tree.
"Hey," Nagare called from the Monster Tree. "So you did come. I had a feeling you would, Kurumu-chan."He helped up several pieces of paper a disk in his right hand. "Is this what you're looking for?"
Kurumu glared at Nagare, not bothering to use words.
"Well," Nagare went on as he looked through the drafts. "In any case this newspaper sure is boring. The writing is very childish. And don't you think I'd be a better choice to take pictures? This thing would be better off burnt!"
Kurumu's fists tightened.
"Well, what're you gonna do, Kurumu-chan?" Nagare asked as he put the drafts in his left hand and pulled out a lighter with his right and flicked it on. "What're you gonna do? If you want to protect these then do what I say today."
Bang!
A pink blast struck Nagare's right hand, causing him to drop the lighter. Yelling in pain, Nagare looked to see where the blast had come from.
"I believe I warned you not to come near Kurumu again. You should have listened to me."
Kurumu turned around and Kid standing behind her. In his hands were two pistols that he was holding upside down. The left one was smoking. "Kid!" she cried.
Nagare snarled. "You again!" he yelled.
Kid aimed both of his guns at Nagare. "Blackmailing one of my friends is an underhanded tactic," he said. "I will make you pay."
"Wait a minute!" Liz cried. "You mean this guy was blackmailing Kurumu this whole time? What a jerk!"
"Jerk!" Patty yelled.
"Eh?" Kurumu exclaimed. "Kid, did Liz and Patty's voice just come out of those guns?"
"Yep," Liz said. "It's us alright!"
"Hi, Kurumu-chan!" Patty yelled.
"But how?" Kurumu asked. Then comprehension dawned on her. "Those are their weapon forms!"
Kid nodded. "Now if you'll excuse me, Kurumu," he said as he walked closer to the monster tree, his guns still pointing at Nagare. "I believe I have someone I need to punish."
Nagare glared at Kid. "You're always getting in the way," he said. "Kurumu-chan should be mine but she's always thinking about you instead! Well enough is enough! Death the Kid, this is where you meet your end!" Nagare's face suddenly began to ooze. Two strange appendages that looked like stalks popped out of his neck.
Kid's eyes narrowed. "What is this?" he asked.
"I'm a monster as well, you know," Nagare said. "I don't have to rely on using this crap!" he waved the drafts. "I didn't want to use it but I've prepared a trump card to play."
"Kid, be careful," Liz warned. "This guy's about to do something."
Kid nodded. "I can see that. Well, ready or not, here we go."
At the Newspaper Club, Moka was still pondering over Kid's words. When Kurumu is ready, she'd tell them? What did that mean? Did something happen to Kurumu? How did Kid know about it, then? It must have been something really personal if Kid wouldn't even tell her.
Nekonome sighed sadly as she noticed that Kurumu, Kid, Liz, and Patty were all missing. This group is breaking up out of nowhere. She thought in dismay.
"I can't believe it," Gin said in aggravation. "Does that mean the newspaper we'd create doesn't matter to them?"
Moka sighed. She wish she knew. He was missing that they would miss the deadline for sure. She looked at the ground sadly. She had been hoping that the paintings that she and Kid shared with each other would draw them closer together. But now…
"Fool!"Inner Moka said from the Rosario. But she was speaking in a quieter voice so that they wouldn't be overheard. Still made Outer Moka jump a little bit.
"Listen to me," Inner Moka said. "Kid has never done anything without a reason you should know that by now. Just because he's missing on this deadline does not mean he doesn't care. Perhaps he found out the reason why Kurumu was missing the previous day. Most likely she is in danger."
"Danger?" Moka whispered to her Rosario, so that Gin, Yukari and Nekonome wouldn't think she was weird.
"Kid took his Weapons with him, didn't he? Was it not obvious that the only reason he'd take them is because he'd need them?"
Moka's eyes widened.
"Oh my!" Yukari shouted all of a sudden. "Hey everyone, I found something awful." Yukari ran toward the others with the Newspaper club toolbox in one hand and a letter in the other. "When I was looking for some clues about the drafts, I found this in the toolbox!" she waved the letter.
"What is it?" Moka asked. She grabbed the envelope and gasped when she saw what was inside. It was the Kurumu's pictures and the letter. "Kurumu was being blackmailed."
"You see now?" Inner Moka asked her outer self. "Kid had found out about the blackmailing and decided to help. He didn't tell you because he felt that Kurumu should be the one to.
Now Moka felt horrible. She had said all those horrible things to Kurumu without even bothering to find out the reasons for Kurumu's actions. Racked with guilt, Moka ran out the door. The letter said Monster Tree. It was possibly that it was where they were now.
Meanwhile, Kid and Kurumu were facing the transformed Nagare, who had jumped off the tree and was on the ground in front of them. He had become some kind of humanoid slug.
Bite Sized Monster Dictionary:
Madslug: A slug monster that enjoys wet places. It likes being a bother, and is often found in swamps and wetlands enjoying scaring humans who come nearby. They eat rotten food and make poison gas with their body. When scared, they use the gas as an attack.
Patty laughed at him. "Hey, you're all icky and gross!"
"If I was in human form, I'd barf right now." Liz mumbled in disgust.
Nagare laughed. "I'm a slug monster," he bragged. "Thanks to that I can sneak into the girls' room and find out their secrets and weaknesses!"
"Why that little pervert!" Liz yelled. "Kid! Blow his brains out!"
Kurumu stared at Nagare's slug form in fear. "How many times?" she asked. "How many times have you done this kind of horrible thing to girls before?"
Nagare thought about it. "You know I don't remember," he admitted before grinning. "But you're the prey I've ever had, Kurumu-chan!"
Kid snarled. "This time the predator has become the prey," he pointed his guns at Nagare. "For all the women you have belittled and violated, I place judgment on you."
Nagare laughed, which sounded like someone gurgling mud. "Oh, I've heard all about you, Death the Kid! They say you're one of the strongest monsters in this academy. Well let me tell you something! No matter how strong you are, you can't protect yourself from this!"
Just then a type of gas began pouring out of the appendages on Nagare's neck and towards Kid and Kurumu. Kurumu accidentally inhaled it and became wobbly.
"Kurumu!" Kid called. "What's wrong?"
Nagare laughed. "It's useless!" he boasted. "No one can withstand the power of a slug monster's gas no matter how strong you are." He leered at Kurumu as she started to slowly fall to her knees. "Soon you won't be able to move at all, and then we'll take some nice dirty pictures."
Bam!
Kid's foot collided with Nagare's face, causing the slug monster to hit the tree next to him. Nagare's slimy body absorbed the impact but right now he was shocked. "H…How are you still able to move? My poison gas should have left you paralyzed!"
Kid chuckled but it had no mirth in it. "Apparently you don't know me all that well." He said. "I'm Shinigami and our bodies reject any harmful substances including poison. Your gas won't work on me."
Nagare's eyes widened in shock. His trump card, gone.
With a smirk, Kid raised his guns and began firing. Pink blasts struck one by one into Nagare's body. The slug monster winched in pain from each blast. But as Kid kept firing he noticed something and scowled.
"Kid, what's wrong?" Liz asked.
"It's his slimy body," Kid explained. "It makes my attacks less painful to him than it would to another monster. I guess I'll just have to hit him harder."
Kurumu watched in amazement as Kid fought Nagare. Well, it was a really onesided actually since Kid was the only one delivering the blows. She felt so happy that Kid had found out about Nagare. If he hadn't been here…Kurumu shivered. She didn't want to think about it.
"Kurumu-chan!"
Kurumu looked up and saw Moka running towards her.
"Akashiya Moka?" Nagare said. Just then a pink blast hit him in the face.
"Never take your eyes off an opponent," Kid lectured as he continued firing.
Moka ran over to Kurumu's side. "Kurumu-chan!" she said. "We found the pictures and the blackmail letter in the club toolbox. We understand your situation, Kurumu-chan."
Kurumu gasped. She looked at Moka and saw that Moka's eyes were a little watery. "I'm sorry," Moka apologized. "I didn't know about it and misunderstood your intentions. I thought you still hated me. Since I just get in the way of you and Kid, you know."
Moka. Kurumu thought.
"I'm going to save you, Kurumu-chan," Moka said tearfully. "Kurumu-chan, you're just as important as Kid after all."
By now, tears were falling down Kurumu's face. "Moka," she said.
Kid decided to go and ahead and end this shortly lived fight. He leaped into the air and did a flip onto Nagare's shoulders.
"What are you…?" Nagare started to ask before Kid jammed both of his guns into Nagare's face. Then he pulled the triggers. The blast caused Nagare to fall backwards and Kid backflipped off of him into a cross formation.
"There," he said. "A point blank blast should do it."
Liz and Patty turned back to their human forms.
"Take that, stupid slug guy!" Patty said to the fallen Nagare.
"Kid!" Liz yelled at Kid. "Did you have to shove us into his face?"
"Quit complaining," Kid told her. "A point blank shot to the head was our best bet of defeating him."
"Is he…dead?" Moka asked.
Kid shook his head. "Highly doubtful," he replied. "I hope I knocked him out at least." He walked over the fallen Nagare and tapped him with his shoe. Cringing at the slime that was now at the tip of it, Kid turned around. "I believe we took care of him."
"Guess again!" Nagare suddenly got up to his feet and wrapped his arms around Kid, his hands covering Kid's nose and mouth.
"Kid!" Liz and Patty cried. Liz looked at her sister. "Sis, weapon form!"
"Got it!" Patty said.
"Oh no you don't!" Nagare yelled as he blasted some of his poison gas at them. The two sisters fell to their knees. Laughing wickedly, Nagare looked at the struggling Kid. "I underestimated you, Kid." He said. "But even you can't be immune to suffocation."
Kurumu and Moka watched helplessly as Kid struggled to break free. But all his martial arts had no effect on Nagare's slimy body.
"Give it up!" Nagare ordered. "There's no power you possess that can save you now!"
That's where you're wrong! Kid thought. I'd rather not waste it on someone like you, but it seems I have no choice. I need to use my Line of Sanzu!
But before Kid could do it, the ground began to rumble.
"Huh?" Nagare said. "Wha…what is that rumbling?"
"St…stop it!"
Nagare saw Kurumu standing up. Her anger overpowering the poison gas. "Kurumu-chan?" Moka asked.
"K…Kid," Kurumu said as her wings and claws began to form. "Don't touch my precious Kid!"
Suddenly roots began shooting out of the ground and shooting towards Nagare, who dropped Kid in his terror. "What's going on? The roots are attacking! Why is this happening?"
"I'll never forgive you!" Kurumu yelled angrily. "I'll never forgive you for laying a hand on Kid!"
Kid stared in awe. "Her soul wavelength has skyrocketed. What is going on?"
Suddenly the Monster Tree came to life and moved towards Nagare, who was too scared to move. "N…no way," he said. "Is this a dream?"
"What's this?" Inner Moka asked from her Rosario. "So Kurumu's anger has drawn out her potential ability. This is the true power of a succubus!"
The Monster Tree then raised its roots and began wrapping them around Nagare. "The tree is attacking?" Nagare cried as he was completely immobilized.
Raising her claws, Kurumu flew up into the air and divebombed at Nagare. "Take this!" she yelled.
Nagare shot slimy tentacles out of his hands but Kurumu dodged them with ease. She brought her sharp claw slashing down Nagare's slimy flesh. Blood erupted from his wound.
"Gwyaaaaaah!" Nagare yelled as he collapsed. As soon as he did, the branches and trees began disappearing.
"What?" Kid asked. "The trees are disappearing?"
"It was an illusion," Inner Moka said from the Rosario. "What you just saw was all an illusion created through Kurumu's magic. It is said that higher orders of Succabae even have the ability to inflict mortal wounds upon their opponents using only their magic."
Kid looked at Kurumu in awe. "Don't tell me Kurumu was hiding that powerful ability."
"Wow," Liz said as the poison gas began to wear off. "That's amazing."
"Kurumu-chan is so cool!" Patty cheered.
It's more than obvious that this school contains some of the most powerful species of monsters within it. Kid thought. Under no circumstances can I allow the Kishin to get his hands on this school.
Panting, Kurumu held up several pieces of paper. Kid and Moka recognized them at the drafts to the newspaper.
"The most important things!" She said happily. "I…I got them back."
Kid, Liz, Patty, and Moka all smiled at her.
"Moka," Kurumu said as the four walked back to class. "May I come back to the Newspaper Club?"
"Oh, what are you talking about Kurumu-chan?" Moka asked pleasantly. "We've got to hurry of we won't make the newspaper deadline! A lot has happened but let's on working hard together, ok!"
Kurumu felt her eyes water with joy as the group walked back to the Newspaper Club. Kid smiled at the scene.
"So Kid," Liz said in a low voice so only Kid could hear her. "Who do you like more?"
Kid halted. "What?" he asked.
"Come on," Liz said. "Two girls like that with you all the time? Don't tell me you haven't noticed."
Kid scowled. "That is none of your concern, Liz." He said.
"Oh, so you do like one of them," Liz said gleefully. "Which is it? Moka or Kurumu?" Now it was her turn to scowl. "Don't tell me you like them both just to keep your symmetry!"
Kid's scowl deepened.
"Then again," Liz said as she tapped her chin. "Moka's got those two personalities, right? I suppose it might be best if you get together with her. She's two girls in one body. That oughta match your symmetry." She noticed Kid was stomping away in annoyance. "Hey, Kid! Am I right? I was right, right! You do like Moka!"
"Will you just be quiet?" Kid snapped at her.
It was now Monday and Nekonome walked toward the Newspaper Club. "Everyone!" she called. "The deadline has arrived. Is the newspaper finished?" She walked inside and saw that everyone was sleeping with their heads resting on their desks. She then spotted the Newspaper in between Yukari and Moka and picked it up.
"This is," Nekonome realized as she read through it. "Completely finished!" She looked at her exhausted students and smiled. It looks like they are a close knit group after all! "Good work," she said although they couldn't hear it. "Rest up and leave the rest to sensei."
And so she left the room, letting the Newspaper Club get the rest she was more than certain they deserved