Oh hello again all my wonderful fans! How are you today? I know I know, I'm truly sorry for the long wait, but I have a good excuse: College! The week I finished writing this chapter, I was hit with test after test that needed studying for. That's what put this off for so long. But hold up, let's look at some reviews:

pyromania101: Glad you liked it. We haven't seen the last of I-Moka, & Gin will get his own subplot. The Poem will Never Die!

Zoomatron: Yeah, we will have some divergence from Canon, more so later on. As for the question... you'll have to wait.

NightmareSyndrom: Yeah, the fact that they were both Moka threw me off. Also, I did not know that about 'getting hit down there'. I always figured that was a guy centric weakness. Moka's behavior change won't happen all at once, but it will be there.

ussopking: Awesome.

Draco Oblivion: I'm glad you like this chapter, but don't feel too bad for O-Moka. She'll be back. Gin... Gin will be around. The Poem will never die! A rabbit you say... makes me think of Rukia! Glad you thought it was epic.

Random Fanfic Fan: Thanks, I'd never seen it done before; and that was part of the reason I decided to do it. Gin's side story will be more... fleshed out later. College really eats up the writing time. Oh, don't worry, I will take it into consideration.

Anonymous: Glad you like it. Yeah, sometimes I get messed up when it comes to the two Mokas.

Anonymous2: I'd like to think that, since his heart to heart with Maka, Crona has found this sort of thing easier. Don't worry, Crona's magic won't show up all that often.

Mary Sue Lover: Glad you like it. Household objects? Yeah that does seem like it in the manga. If Crona had a theme, I'd think it would be blood or sound. As far as I have planned (which I'll admit isn't that far) there is no 'father figure' for Crona. As for Ruby... no comment.

FanReaderWriter: Glad you liked it. I type as fast as I can, but real life is a drag man. Look for Soul Eater Characters around the time of the festival... maybe.

Drake G. Reaper: Thanks, and don't worry, I-Moka is down, but not out. She'll be back, and I can promise you this: She won't be happy. Spiders huh...hmmm.

Anonymous3: Yeah, those little cameos are mostly for me. And I'm surprised too. Oh well.

Kenshin El: Glad you caught that. Maka... maybe in the future.

Fan-Anon: Yeah, I think I wrote that part after having bought the entire first season. I'm very happy you like it.

cronamaka: Glad you like it. As for your question... you'll see later.

dwskulldemonmen: Sorry, no spoilers.

Baron von Nobody: Thanks. Yeah, but the spells won't come up very often. I appreciate the advice.

The Infamous Man: Thanks. Gin will get to play detective, in a sub plot that will work over several chapters.

nice: Ah well, each fight is different. Yeah, real life makes updating harder then I would like.

succubihunterreluctant demon:

Random Person: Ok, here's another chapter.

Hales: Glad you like it, here's another!

narutofan020: Glad you like it. And I'd only go to the Academy if I could be in Crona/Tskune position. Lucky Bastard.

Ryuu: Glad you like it. And don't worry, Inner Moka isn't gone for good.

Animeguy1101: Thanks, I try. She calls him Lord for the same reason Medusa was called Lady. She thinks highly of them because all she knows about them are second hand stories, and like a kid she's idolized these women in her head. Having very little to do with the witch world, she was not made aware that Archne was a murderer; but all witches know to fear the Reaper. A summoning theme? That's different, but I'll take it under advisement.

Ultimate Black Ace: Dark? Oh, trust me, you haven't seen anything... I mean... uh... no comment!

thelegendarysupernerd: Glad you liked that.

DragonGolem: Thanks.

SovietSniper92: Glad to have you on board. Yeah, I'd like to think I've gotten better. Yeah, while Crona can overwhelm most enemies, he'll soon be up against some tougher folks. He does have weaknesses, but not many people know them and can exploit them. It's entirely possible this will end up a Harem fic, you never know.

Well alright, let's talk about this chapter a little bit shall we? I'm just putting this out there right now: This will push the border of what can be considered T for Teen later in the chapter. If you're familiar with this weeks enemy, you know why. This chapter focuses more on Kurumu then the others, so there won't be much Moka craziness this time (Though I think last chapter should have filled that quota up for a while). This chapter is less comedy more... well you'll see. Also, I got the chance to fix the one thing that always bugged me when this took place in the manga! What was that you ask? Well, no sense in stalling any more; let's dive right in to another chapter of

-Dealing With Youkai Academy-Chapter 7: Dealing with Blackmail

Our story takes place, where it is hard to judge the changing of the seasons. Deep in another world, the private Youkai Academy exists for monsters to attend. Heavy clouds hang overhead in the sky. The temperature is never hot or cold.

Crona gazed out the window, watching as a stray bit of lightning flashed across the sky. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice someone was addressing him until they stood right next to him.

"Crona you silly-willy! You're spacing out on us!" a cheerful upbeat voice said. Turning, he was nearly face to face with Moka, whose smile was so bright it was almost literally lighting the room. "Only two more days until the newspaper is printed. It's a lot of work but let's do our best ok!" she said cheerfully, twirling a pencil in her fingers.

Crona scratched his head sheepishly "Sorry, my mind was just somewhere else for a second" he explained. He watched Moka closely (Not that way!) as she practically bounced on the balls of her feet. It was strange, but after the events in the art room, she'd been a veritable ball of energy!

Moka nodded enthusiastically "I know what you mean! It seems so sudden to have this deadline so soon after everything that's happened!" she said, thinking back to the events involving the schools former art teacher.

But no matter how sudden, speed is the livelihood of the newspaper business! That meant that both Moka and Crona needed to get back to work right away, because there was no time for dillying or dallying!

Kurumu stretched, popping her back and jutting out her chest towards Crona "I can't take this" she complained "It's finally saturday and we're all packed in here." Kurumu sighed internally. She cast a glance at Crona; knowing exactly what she'd like to be doing this evening.

Yukari nodded sagely, her mind only partially there "It's true. We're like mangaka being chased by a deadline." she observed "And we're not even getting paid!" she added as an afterthought.

"STOP BEING BABIES!" Gin shouted from his spot at the front desk "A newspaper's the same as a manga, with strict adherence to deadlines!" His argument might have been better received, had he not had his feet kicked up while he read an old copy of the newspaper. "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." he explained. He then took a swig of his coffee, while leisurely turning the page of his paper "I'll listen to your sob stories after you make the deadline." he finished.

Moka's eyebrow twitched at the sight of the lazy editor "Then would you please help us out instead of relaxing over there drinking coffee!" she shouted waving her fist. The idea of walking over to him, and slamming his smug face into the blackboard was very appealing to her right now. Slamming it over and over and over and over and over….

Yukari giggled as she watched the normally calm Moka berate Gin "He's letting it go to his head, just like a manga editor." she said, turning to Crona. As she looked at him though, her heart beat faster as she thought about what he'd told her…

Crona just tilted his head to the side "Umm… why do we keep connecting this to manga?" he asked, looking at Ragnarok in askance. Ragnarok shrugged, not getting it himself.

Suddenly, Crona felt a tug on his sleeve, just before he was roped into Kurumu's soft embrace. "Well I don't care what I'm doing as long as I'm with my Crona" she purred as she held him tight. Crona blushed at the contact, while Kurumu's actions drew Moka's ire. With surprising speed and quickness, the vampire pulled the succubus away from Crona, where they immediately engaged in a heated glaring and growling contest.

Yukari cheered, summoning popcorn with her magic "The endless quarrels are starting again! Weeee!"

Kurumu glared all the harder, ready to end this argument so she could get back to cuddling "Moka, you may have managed to steal him away from me when you played the damsel in distress, but I'm not about to let that happen again! I'll never ever let you have Crona!" she declared.

Moka jerked back, surprised that Kurumu would bring up her near stone experience as though she had planned it to steal Crona's attention.

'That is probably something you would do isn't it you two bit floozy. Get in my face and say that, and we'll see how cute you look with out a tongue…' Moka stopped herself and blinked. Were her thoughts always so violent?

Gin only paid half a mind to his writing staff, too absorbed in his own work. While it may not look it to them, he really was working… just not on this. He was still busy trying to piece together the mystery of the boy called Crona. The boy was a fucking ghost! Not in the literal sense of course, though there were rumors that Danny Fenton over in 3A was a specter… Focus! Crona's records were sealed tighter then a goblin's wallet, and no one in his list of connections had the clearance to get it opened. Why was this seemingly frail and weak boy's file so heavily guarded? The boy was a mystery, and a potentially dangerous one at that. For instance just what was Crona really? Where had he gone to school before this? How and why did he possess the ability to attract women like a freaking light house! (okay, that was really more of a personal irk he had with the freshman then anything).

Whatever Crona was, it was certainly a top tier monster. That fact that he easily mopped the floor with several high class monsters was proof enough. And that horrible feeling that emanated from his aura… nightmarish! All the more reason he had to keep digging. There was a story here, he could just tell! And he was going to blow the lid right off it!

-Dealing With Youkai Academy-

Unbeknownst to the members of the newspaper club, two of its female were being watched from afar. High up in a tree away from the Academy, a shadowy figure watched Moka and Kurumu though the end of a camera. (Gee, I wonder if this guy will be our antagonist?)

"Uhuhu there you are my beloved one." he muttered huskily. He watched the one he loved stick her tongue out at the pink haired girl "Aaah! You're so cute! Just watching you like this isn't enough, I can't take it anymore." he continued, his voice growing louder.

He giggled madly "Just you wait! Soon I'll be holding you in my arms!"

-Dealing With Youkai Academy-

Eventually the bickering settled down and the gang got back to work. Everyone was working hard when Shizuka came in to check on them. "Is everyone working hard?" she asked, her bubbly personality on high today "I brought snacks!"

"Nekonome-sensei" Gin nodded politely from behind his laptop where he was actually working on the newspaper (eventually even he realized he needed to step up for the greater good of the paper)

Shizuka turned to the group leader "Well, is the work continuing?" she asked as she surveyed the room, clearly seeing the hard work of the group members "It doesn't even look like I need to ask does it?" she chuckled.

Moka looked up from her station, her face still as bright and chipper as it had been when she'd first spoken to Crona earlier "There are a lot of cuts and a lot of pages, it's a lot of work." she said, but the smile never wavered even an inch. It was kind of creepy actually.

Shizuka turned away from the creepy smiling girl to the others who were examining the contents of the care package she'd brought them "Well come on, eat the snakes and cheer up ok!"

Crona looked green "Sensei? This is fish is raw…" he trailed off as he looked at his teacher. Surely she didn't expect them to eat uncooked fish did she? He didn't know how to deal with eating raw fish!

Shizuka nodded "It's delicious that way!" she exclaimed enthusiastically, ignoring Yukari gagging from the smell coming off the fish.

As the witch and Kishin tried to figure out what to do with the raw fish Shizuka turned to address the last member of the newspaper group. "Oh yeah, Kurumu dear," she started, getting the blue-haired girls attention "this letter was dropped off in front of the classroom." she told her, handing her a sealed envelope.

Kurumu blinked as she took the letter. A letter for her? Who could it be? Flipping it over, she saw that back was imprinted with the words 'to my beloved Kurumu' and was signed at the bottom as being from someone called 'Nagare'. That just made her all the more confused. Who was this guy, and why send her a love letter now? Did she know this guy? These were all things she pondered as she opened the note.

What she saw nearly made her drop the note. Inside the envelop was a stack of photos. And every last one of them was of her, in a provocative pose, or in some state of undress. Not only that, but also included was a letter stating:

If you don't want these pictures to become public, come alone to the 'Monster Tree' in the main schoolyard. Signed Nagare.

Kurumu's face flushed crimson as she clutched the package in her hangs. She didn't know what to say, or think.

Crona must have sensed something was wrong, because he looked over his shoulder at her "What's wrong Kurumu?" he asked innocently.

Kurumu nearly jumped. To have her sweet Destined One see these pictures would be too much! Thinking quickly, she buried the offending pictures and blackmail letter at the bottom of the Newspaper Club toolbox. She knew what she had to do.

Turning to face the rest of the club, Kurumu swallowed hard. "Ahahahaha!" she laughed loudly in what she hoped was a convincing manner "I kinda remembered I have to do something so I'll be taking off, ok!" she said as she head towards the door with a little wave.

Everyone was shocked "But the deadline!" Crona said, pointing at the stack of papers he was working on.

"Take care of the rest for me!" Kurumu answered as she dashed out of the room.

Moka blinked, surprised at Kurumu's sudden change in behavior. "Oh well" a voice in the back of her head said "This just means that with fun bags gone with can make some time for our man over here" it said, referring to Crona. Moka blinked and rubbed her head. That was weird…

-Dealing With Youkai Academy-

Kurumu quickly made her way to the Monster Tree, eyes darting about to find the one who would dare have the gall to blackmail her! She nearly walked under the tree before he gave himself away by speaking to her.

"Hey, I've been waiting for you!" he called. Looking up, Kurumu got a look at Nagare. He was a pale, pale kid, with long greasy hair that hung down so low that it completely covered his eyes. "So you saw those pictures and my letter… I'm glad!" he spoke again, his voice as nasally and slimy as the rest of him looked "Long time no see, eh Kurumu?" he asked pleasantly, as though he wasn't totally blackmailing her.

Kurumu found herself frustrated by his laid back attitude "Who are you?" she demanded "What do you want! Calling me all the way out here with those dirty pictures…" she trailed off, realizing that she didn't have the pictures on her. She nearly had a panic attack when she realized that she'd left them back at the Newspaper room, hidden or not.

Nagare hopped lightly down from the tree, and brushed himself off "I took really cute pictures of you right?" he said, "I really liked them!" he took a few steps towards her, his face glittering with what looked like sweat…. or slime. Either way it was a little creepy to Kurumu, who took a few hasty steps back.

Nagare offered her a small grin, as though unaware he was heavily perspiring "I'm Nagare Kanou. Don't you remember me?" he asked.

Kurumu thought hard… she did vaguely recall someone who may have looked vaguely like the boy in front of her. It must have been right after school had started, and she was still in her 'harem phase (of course now she knew she would never need anyone other then Crona).

She remembered how excited she had been when he had asked for her picture. And then she remembered that she had indeed told him that if he took a really good picture of her, she would go out with him… crap.

"That meeting was fate!" Nagare said, spreading his arms wide in happiness. "I've been waiting all this time ever since then!" Looking at Kurumu, he saw that she wasn't exactly enthusiastic about the idea of going out with him.

Nagare leered at Kurumu "Go on a date with me right now just like you promised Kurumu." he leaned towards her, his body looking even more sweaty and gross then it had been earlier. "Unless you want 'those pictures' to be shown to the whole school?" he said menacingly.

Kurumu gulped, it looked like she had little choice in the matter.

-Dealing With Youkai Academy-

Moka sighed as she leaned back and looked at the clock. She knew she should be working, but her mind was having trouble focusing. It kept bouncing all over the place; from bunnies to Crona, to slaughter, to Crona, to sex, to Crona, to her work, to Crona, to Kurumu… Moka eyed the time again.

"Kurumu isn't coming back." she remarked.

Yukari, annoyed at having to pick up the slack left by Kurumu's absence, found herself unsympathetic. "We have no use for people who run away like that." she said candidly.

Crona frowned, that sounded unduly harsh. He was sure Kurumu had a good reason for being gone.

Moka's mind dwelled on the succubus, trying to dissect the inner workings of the big-breasted babe's mind. "You know, I wonder what Kurumu thinks of the Newspaper Club." she said aloud, her face becoming pensive good cheer dying down.

Both Yukari and Crona turned fully to Moka when she said this, wondering where the vampire was going with this train of thought.

Moka bit her lip as she spoke her thoughts, her hand unconsciously working on the paper as she did (and doing a damn fine job to boot). "Kurumu is here because she like Crona, right?" she said, thinking about how often the succubus had proclaimed Crona to be her 'destined one'. It was almost as often as she claimed she hated Moka.

Moka noticed the looks she was getting from Crona and Yukari and immediately looked back down at her desk. She began to write with a frantic pace unlike anything the others had seen from her "The truths is that maybe she doesn't think of us as friends." she said in a rush, wanting to get the unpleasantness out of the way, like removing a bandaid in one quick swoop "Because going off like that at such a time for everyone is really weird!" there, she'd done it. She spoken her mind (and nearly shouted near the end), let the chips fall where they may.

Everyone blinked, their minds processing what was said. Yukari's mouth opened and closed repeatedly. She may not have been happy with Kurumu, but she liked to think their little back-and-forths were a sign of some camaraderie. She had never had many friends, and she valued her new ones greatly.

It was hard to tell what Gin was thinking. He just sat there, looking disinterested.

Nekonome looked at her students, her trademark cat grin giving way to a frown. 'Oh my, and just when I was thinking that they were all so good at working together. It seems the team ins't as close as I thought."

Crona though would have none of it. He had never given up or betrayed a friend (the time he had betrayed Maka's trust still haunted him), and Kurumu was no different. He didn't get why Moka was suddenly saying this "What are you talking about? You've been getting along so well… right?" he said, his mousy voice ringing loud in the silent classroom. "Look, I'm sure it's just that Kurumu had something important to do today, so that's all it is." he said, trying to sound upbeat (which for him, was amazingly difficult).

-Dealing With Youkai Academy-

"H-hey, what is all this?"

Kurumu was as red as a tomato as she tried to adjust the gym cloths that were clearly to small for her. "Why do I have to change into gym shorts for a date?" she asked the obvious. This was not at all what she had been expecting from the little weasel who had the nerve to blackmail her.

Nagare would not be deterred "It's a pretend photo shoot!" he said with ecstatic glee "Oh Kurumu you look so good in those!" he practically squeal as he took out his ever-present camera and started snapping pictures a mile a minute.

Kurumu would not be treated this way! "This isn't what I meant by a date! Stop acting like a-"

"Oh, are you sure about talking to me like that?" Nagare interrupted her, a creepy grin on his face. As he saw Kurumu's mouth snap shut, he chuckled "I have this special ability of finding out what a girl's secrets are." his eyes practically glowed beneath his mop of hair as he spoke "I know all about you Kurumu!"

To really drive the point home, he leaned in and whispered what he had found out in his digging to her. For legal reasons, what was said cannot be posted here. Rest assured, by the time he was done, Kurumu was very red, very embarrassed, and quite certain that those things could never be said to anyone she knew and respected.

"Maybe I'll just tell ev-er-y-thing to Crona, hmmm?" Nagare said, taking a mock thinking pose.

Kurumu gasped, her red face turning pale so fast she nearly lost consciousness (she made sure to resist the impulse, not knowing what Nagare might do if she did). She felt her eyes water at the thought of someone like Nagare speaking to her destined one "What do you know about Crona!" she shouted, but her voice was wavering "Stop…anyone but Crona…"

Nagare's mood changed instantly "Great! Then how about we do some Cosplay!" he said, removing a frilly maid's uniform from a large bag, which Kurumu could see had a myriad of costumes in it.

And like she thought, Nagare made her pose in each of them. "This sucks… 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 thought, changing out of one costume and into the next. "No… I can't do that. Because I stopped doing those awful things after I met Crona." she reminded herself.

But as the costumes got more and more risque she couldn't help but wonder "What should I do? And to know everyone's working so hard for the club when I'm doing this."

"You could just tell Crona" a little voice in the back of her head whispered "Our destined one is so kind and so understanding, he would never hold this against you."

Kurumu shook her head of that thought. The idea of Crona finding out what Nagare had done made her feel dirty. What if he didn't look at her the same way again?

"Don't be silly" the softer, more calm voice said. "You should know better then that. Crona has taken care of problems like this before. Remember those three that bullied Yukari? Crona laid down the law with them; and she hasn't seen them since" the voice pointed out. "And what about Moka? Gin actively tried to mate with her, and you remember what happened to him, right? Broken ribs, internal bleeding, and then he got thrown off a roof!" Kurumu had to admit the voice had a point. She could only imagine what Crona would do to this slime ball.

And yet… she couldn't. For her Destined One to see her in such a vulnerable state, might be to much to bare. Her race was suppose to be proud, strong; they were the ones who were supposed to dominate and humiliate men, not the other way around! She had to find a way out of this on her own, for the sake of her pride…

"Hmph, so you care more about your racial pride then you do about him… so sad" the inner voice said, before going quiet. Kurumu would have gotten offended, but Nagare had come back with more costumes. It was going to be a long night.

Finally, when the moon was high in the sky, and after twelve costume changes, Nagare finally let her go. When she finally got back to the Newspaper Club room, she saw light coming from under the door. She wondered if everyone was still working hard.

Opening the door, she felt an amazing amount of killer intent directed at her. Everyone in the room glowered at her, their eyes filled with rage (well, except Crona. He just looked tired and disheveled.) It was clear they were pissed, and she was most likely going to get yelled at. Kurumu braced herself for the backlash…

"Welcome back Kurumu" Crona said, his voice just as kind as ever.

"You're late." Moka bit out frostily, making the bluenette flinch.

Yukari stood up from her desk "We'll we're just about to finish up work for today." she said, not looking at the taller girl "We decided to work hard tomorrow and finish up the rest…" she trailed off, looking like she wanted to say more to Kurumu, but wasn't sure how to articulate it. She looked over her shoulder at Moka, then quickly ran out of the room.

"That means you can leave too, Kurumu." Moka said, following the diminutive witch. It wasn't normally in her nature to be bitchy, but she and the others had been forced to pick up the slack because Kurumu had played hooky.

Crona was the last out. He looked at Kurumu concerned. "Um… I don't really know how to deal with situations like this, so…" he bit his lip and rubbed his arm, a gesture Kurumu found cute "But… is something wrong Kurumu?" he asked, finally. "Cause… you can tell me if you want. I won't tell anyone if you don't want me too." he seemed to slump into himself "Cause, you know… that's what friends do?" he had meant it to be a statement, but from him it had come out like a question.

Kurumu knew this was her chance. She could tell him, and then watch as he bit the tar out of Nagare! All her troubles would be over…

And yet…

A part of her couldn't bring herself to do it. To admit helplessness to her Destined One. To admit her own failings as a Succubus. To acknowledge her wounded pride. And that was why she said what she did:

"Nope, nothings wrong. Nothing at all." she gave a forced smile and an even worse chuckle. Crona didn't look convinced, but didn't really have the strength of will to call anyone out on it… so he just slowly shuffled out of the class, leaving Kurumu alone with her thoughts.

Kurumu could only sigh, looking at the empty classroom, the place she should have been all day. As she looked over the supplies, she thought of how she used to be so stuck up and made men into her slaves using her powers. Since she had been treated so special, she had never had a real friend… and at the time she had thought she didn't really need one. And now she was paying for her stupidity back then.

Kurumu felt tears come to her eyes "I've got to apologize." she whispered.

"Hey, what's wrong Kurumu?" a familiar, slimy voice said, chuckling behind her.

There was Nagare, fiddling with that damn camera again "Well, today was really fun wasn't it." he said, ignoring Kurumu's protest of how it most certainly was not "Let's have some fun tomorrow!" he suggested.

Kurumu couldn't bare to be around this insufferable jackass anymore "Nagare what are you doing here? And there is no tomorrow, the date was just supposed to be today!" she screamed, about a second away from going full monster on Nagare and slicing his manly bits clean off.

Nagare just stood there, cool as could be "That's a really cold tone you're taking with me, should I show the pictures I took today to Crona?" he asked, stepping towards her, his slimy skin glistening in the light.

That took all the wind out of Kurumu's sails. All of her anger and confidence drained away as easily as water down a drain before that treat "What, no! You told me you wouldn't show them to anyone…" she said in near panic.

Nagare's grin was wide and unnatural as he spoke "Then we'll have some more fun tomorrow right?" he asked, though it was clearly a rhetorical question "I'm not going to let you go now!"

Kurumu felt her legs get weak "No… any time but tomorrow…" she muttered weakly. Finally, she couldn't bare to be in the same room with Nagare any more and practically flew out the door, screaming "Stop Following Me!"

Nagare just blinked, before rolling his eyes. She'd come around eventually. If not, he could always just ruin her life with those pictures (though he might just do that anyway, just for fun).

Turning to leave, he spotted the Newspaper Club's supplies left out on some desks. Walking over to it, he picked up a large stack of papers "Hmmm… a half finished newspaper. This is nice!" he said, though frankly he thought the photography could use some work.

And that was when he got an idea. An awful idea. Nagare got a wonderfully… awful idea.

-Dealing With Youkai Academy-

The next day screams of shock and fury could be heard all the way down the hall as the Newspaper team gathered the next day.

"They're gone! The drafts we had half finished yesterday… they're all gone!" Moka screamed "Wait… why would I say that. We can all see that they're gone, so who am I telling?" she thought, her mind taking a sudden twist as she found her focus drifting away from the subject at hand.

"I don't know how to deal with someone stealing our work." Crona muttered, his fists clenched. Ragnarok popped out and quickly gave his two cents:

"You track down who took them, then beat them until they cry for their mommy… then you beat the mommy too for raising a thief, just for good measure!" he said, slamming his fist down on the table.

"What do we do?" Yukari asked, looking from Gin to Crona "We won't make it in time if we do them all over."

"What about the back up copies?" Gin asked, his voice serious for once.

Yukari went to check, only to jump back from the computer "Yaaah! All my data was deleted! My backup disk is gone too…" her eyes widened in true horror "And on top of everything else, they read my diary!" she said, before wiping her hands on the sides of her skirt "And for some reason, the keyboard is all slimy, like there were slugs crawling on it." she said in disgust.

Kurumu's breath caught at that, knowing what could mean. This did not go unnoticed by Crona, who saw a look of understanding pass through Kurumu's eyes.

"It's him! It's clearly evident he was the only one in here other than me last night." Kurumu thought, thinking about how she had left Nagare alone in the room last night "Then this is just more blackmail towards me by him keeping those drafts he is trying to make me do as he says." Kurumu realized she was panicking, as she had no idea what to do.

Gin slammed his hand down on the desk, getting the attention of the whole room "Damn it, there's nothing we can do! We don't have time to search for the thief now." Gin actually growled in anger. He may be a major flirt, but he cared about his newspaper dammit. "Start from the beginning again!" he ordered, getting shocked faces from all around. "It doesn't matter if there's not much on each page, just do something!" he practically shouted, sending everyone scurrying about. Except Kurumu.

Kurumu knew she had to do something. It would be irresponsible of her not to stop Nagare if she knew he was the one who had taken the paper. But if she told the others she knew who had taken it, that would lead to all sorts of embarrassing questions about how she knew, and that would lead to why she was absent yesterday.

Therefore, she just couldn't tell them. "Um… guys…" she spoke up, getting her friends attention "I-" she froze, knowing that if she went through with this, her friends would likely hate her. Even Crona's endless patience would probably run dry with this.

"What is it Kurumu?" Yukari asked, already setting up her station for a very hard day of work.

"Well, I, uh… that is" Kurumu stuttered, something in her fighting her plan to bale on them.

Moka stepped towards her, concern on her face "Kurumu, are you alright?" her face switched from concern to suspicion "You're not planning on leaving us now are you? Not when we've got so much work to make up for!"

Kurumu's insides were a raging torrent of emotions. She was barely able to keep herself from tearing up. She could see the others looking at her curiously. And Crona, her beautiful Crona, how would he take this? She had to go though, because she had no idea what Nagare would do with the drafts if she told them the truth.

Kurumu opened her mouth, ready to tell the rest of the club she was leaving again. But just as she drew breath, everything slowed to a crawl. The world seemed to gray, and the world seemed to deaden in silence.

"You are being ridiculous." the calm voice at the back of her mind said, louder now then before. "You're so caught up in your emotions and your feelings that you aren't thinking rationally. Don't you see how much easier this would be if you told the truth." it asked.

Kurumu shook her head, hardly believing she was having an argument with herself "I can't! Then they might find out about Nagare's photos!" she protested.

The voice sighed "These people, they are your friends aren't they? And Crona is your Destined One, correct?" it asked. Kurumu just nodded, not sure where this was going "Then don't you think they would not only care about you enough to help you in this time of crisis, but also forgive and forget any misdoings on your part involving these pictures?" it asked, making Kurumu gape. "I know you think you have to do this on your own, but that is no longer necessary now that you have friends to relay on. Trust me, if everything you think about them is true, then you can bet they won't care a lick about the pictures. Not even Moka." the voice said in the most calm, reassuring tone it could.

Kurumu had to know "Who are you? Are you like my subconscious or something? Why have you never spoken to me before?"

The voice humphed "In laymen's terms, I'm the part of you that's not completely ruled by your tempest like emotions. I'm the part of you that thinks objectively, not whether or not my actions will make others like or dislike me, or improve my chances of getting into Crona's pants." the voice explained, making the succubus blush a little at getting that far with her Destined One. She was sure it would happen (as a succubus, she was quite sure it was inevitable), just not as soon as she might like. "As for why I've never spoken to you before, who's to say I haven't. I've been shouting at you in the dark for years, you just never listened before." Kurumu could tell the voice was annoyed.

"So what changed?" she asked. If what the voice was saying was true, and she wasn't just suffering a stress related break with reality, something had brought her closer with a more… shall we say rational part of her psyche.

"The boy, Crona. Ever since your encounter with him, I've felt us grow closer. It's as though he has truly made you whole, and even the parts of you that you ignored are coming to the surface." it told her. Of course it was mostly just guessing. It had no idea it was because of the black blood she'd taken in during the fight. All it knew was that before her fight with Crona, Kurumu never listened to her more rational mind. Afterwards, she could finally hear! That was good enough for the voice.

"Now then, enough stalling, tell your friends the truth. Now" the voice, her voice Kurumu realized, ordered as the world returned to color.

Everyone was still looking at her. The conversation had only taken a few heartbeats. "I still don't know if I can do this!" Kurumu thought, not sure how to begin.

"Oh for goodness sake!" her rational mind yelled, before mentally 'kicking' the words out of her mouth.

"I know who took the drafts!" she shouted, making everyone jump in surprise. Poor Crona couldn't take surprises like that, and fell over the back of a chair and crashed to the floor.

"You… you do?" Moka asked. This was the last thing she was expecting.

Kurumu just nodded. Gin walked up to her "If that's the case Kurumu, then please, tell us everything." Kurumu looked around the room, seeing all eyes on her, but not in the way she liked. Taking a deep breath, and with some urging from her subconscious, told them what she knew.

-Dealing With Youkai Academy-

Nagare waited atop the old Monster Tree outside the Academy. He knew Kurumu would come to him. How could she not? He had her by the short hairs and he knew it. So it was no surprise to him when she came walking up the path towards him, with her head low in sadness. He just couldn't resist rubbing it in

"Hey!" he called out "So you did come after all. I had a feeling you would, my little Kurumu." he said in a sickeningly sweet voice. As she got closer, Kurumu saw him hold up a stack of paper and a small disc "Is this what you're looking for?" he asked, relishing the feeling of Kurumu's heated glare at him.

Nagare just chuckled, further fanning the flames "Well, in any case, this school newspaper sure is boring." he commented, flipping through some of the pages "The writing is very childish, and don't you think I'd be a better choice to take the pictures?" he continued, not noticing or caring that Kurumu was clenching her fists, her finger nails slowly growing and sharpening in her rage. "This thing would be better off burnt!" Nagare finished his rant with a flourish of his arms.

Before Kurumu's horrified eyes, he produced a lighter, the small flame dancing maliciously "Well, what're you gonna do Kurumu? What are you gonna do?" he moved the flame closer to the paper "If you want to protect these then do what I say today." he said, giving his ultimatum.

"And if you do burn the paper?" Kurumu asked coldly.

Nagare blinked, not expecting that. He… really hadn't planned what he would do if he did have to burn the papers.

Kurumu looked up at him, tears falling from her face even as she glared "Those are very important to the people I care about! And no matter what you do, I'll never forgive you for dirtying them!" she declared, her righteous fury ready to tear Nagare's disgusting eyes from his head.

Nagare looked back at her, his sweating seeming to kick into high gear. Now, he just looked down right slimy. "What, are you gonna defy me? You're going to go against the likes of me!" Nagare dropped down from the tree, his sweaty slime dripping dropping to the ground like rain drops. He was giving off an oder that smelled of sour milk and mildew; and frankly it was making Kurumu ill.

Suddenly, Nagare's arm lashed out, stretching farther then it should have. It would have hit her right in the chest, but a second before impact, a blur dashed in front of her and grabbed the appendage.

"I think we've all had just about enough of you." Gin said, holding the offending limb in a death grip. Nagare gapped as out of the foliage around them came the cavalry. From behind him Moka and Yukari covered the flank; Moka cracking her knuckles menacingly. Nagare couldn't make out what, but he was sure that the vampire was muttering something under her breath. If the way she was giggling was any indication, it was not very nice. She stood slightly ahead of the small witch, who knew her use in a fight would be somewhat limited. But she was determined to do her best for one of her friends, and the three very large and very heavy washpans reflected that.

And then there was Crona. His eyes were hard as steel and his shoulders were set. In his hands he held a broadsword that looked like it would have no trouble lopping Nagare's head clean off.

"Now Nagare" Gin said, having elected himself head of this little grouped (even though everyone else had elected Crona) "I think we need to have a talk about how you've been treating my staff." Gin growled, actually growled, as he spoke, his teeth razor sharp "Now you listen and you-"

He was cut off as the slim on Nagare's hand provided enough lube to slip right back to him. "No, you listen!" Nagare said, thin tubes poking out of the sides of his neck "I don't just have to rely on this blackmail crap! I'm a monster to you know!" he shouted, though his voice was shaky. He wasn't sure what his odds were for fighting all these monsters. "But I've still got a trump card to play!" and it was true, he did. One that should be taking affect right about…

Gin suddenly swayed on his feet, before collapsing to the ground, his body getting weak. Everyone's eyes widened, and they all went to move in on Nagare, but they were all feeling the effects too. Gin had absorbed a lot of the poison through his skin via the slim on Nagare's arm, but the musty smell in the air that had put everyone off was also a part of it.

Kurumu's heart beat quickly with fright as she slid against the wall of the building behind her. "Aw, what's wrong? What happened to your resistance?" Nagare mocked, smoke seeming to float around his head as he looked down at her "Now you're a good girl, just like a doll…" Nagare licked his lips, barely controlling his lust.

"P-poison gas! It's him! He's releasing poison gas from his body!" she realized with horror, watching as her friends had difficulty standing. Little Yukari had already passed out, and Moka was on her knees. But Crona was still able to stand! The attack having taken him by surprise, and it wasn't something he really knew how to deal with, but he had to try!

Crona turned to her "Kurumu, get out of here…" he gasp, accidentally inhaling more of the toxin. He raised his sword and gave a stumbling charge towards Nagare.

Kurumu knew to do as she was told in this case, and turned to the door of the gym storage room. She tried her best not to inhale, because she knew that path just ended with her completely paralyzed.

Nagare gave a wheezy laugh. Kurumu had realized his power but it was too late! Soon she wouldn't be able to run anymore! He turned as Crona tried to slice him with his sword, only for his attack to slip right off him. Before Crona's eyes, Nagare's body seemed to lose all definition, becoming blob like, with more and more gas spreading tubes growing on it. Nagare's eyes sprouted up like stalks, and his mouth filled with razor sharp teeth.

The mouth moved forward and bit Crona on the arm, making Crona shout in surprise. Nagare quickly gassed Crona, making him stumble backwards in surprise.

Nagare raised his body up, loving being able to look down on his victims. Sure he could only win by taking them by surprise, but a win was a win no matter how you slice it. "Don't worry so much about Kurumu." he whispered, enjoying the look Crona gave him. "I'll be sure to take good care of her. Who knows, there might even be something left over when I'm finished with her!" he laughed, and a paralyzed Crona could do nothing.

"Crona? What the hell are you doing?" Ragnarok called from inside Crona's head. "Why is there so much poison in our body? What were you thinking you idiot! When I get my hands on you…" Ragnarok shook his head internally. He'd punish Crona later. That was the last time he took a nap during Newspaper club. How could something so boring have turned into something so complicated?

"Have to… help… must protect… Kurumu!" Crona thought desperately, his limbs like lead. He filled Ragnarok in on what had transpired, and suffice to say, the little demon wasn't happy.

"WHAT! Why didn't you wake me, dammit! I would have loved to have been apart of this! And I wouldn't have been taken out as easily as you! God you're so pathetic Crona, without me to save you, what would you do!" And with that, the demon went to work. He knew he had to hurry; he wasn't about to let anyone else have what was his.

-Dealing With Youkai Academy-

Kurumu panted as she tried to move her body despite the poison in her system. "That creep! I can't lose to him. I'm definitely not going to let myself lose to him!" she thought frantically, forcing her nails to grow out to battle length "I've got to stall for time somehow and wait for a chance to retaliate…"

"Oh, hiding in the storage room, that's so cute!" Nagare voice sounded from just beyond the door "Could it be that you're inviting me in?" Something brushed against Kurumu's rear, causing her to jump forward with a start.

To her shock, and eyestalk was poking out from under the door. Slowly, a gelatinous body oozed its way under the crack, a second eyestalk joining the first to eye her hungrily.

"What the hell is with your body?" Kurumu asked, scooting back as quickly as her body would allow.

Nagare chuckled "It's nice isn't it?" more of the body followed the eyes "Don't you know a slug's body can go through the smallest of cracks? I am a slug monster! Thanks to that, I can sneak into the girl's room" the slug creature rose up, taking up more and more space in the room "And find out their secrets and weaknesses!"

Kurumu blanched as the full implication of Nagare's confession washed over her "How… how many times… how many times have you done this kind of horrible thing to girls before?" she asked, a mixture of fear, disgust, and a dozen other feelings in her voice.

Nagare's head twisted at an unnatural angel as he thought it over. He tried counting on his stubby, slimy fingers but quickly gave up "You know I don't remember!" he said, sounding rather proud of the fact "But you're the best prey I've ever had, Kurumu!"

Nagare swooped down on her, his slimy body all around her "Well then…" Kurumu struggled against the multitude of slimy tentacles that slithered over her like something out of a twisted hentai "Let's take lots of dirty pictures tonight!" that wasn't helping.

Kurumu couldn't move, her energy was gone. Tentacles were caressing her face. "NO! I've got to beat him!" she thought desperately. But it seemed hopeless. Her body had stopped responding to her commands, and there was no one left who could save her. She wept silently as Nagare's slimy appendages worked their way under her shirt and bra, while a second set made their way under her skirt.

It wasn't supposed to be like this… she wasn't supposed to be deflowered this way, by some slug in a storage room. "Oh god… please… someone… anyone… help me" she thought, just as she felt her underwear moved to the side…

"NAGARE!" a voice roared, just as a pitch black wave of energy cut horizontally through the door and the wall behind Nagare. If the slug hadn't ducked, he would have no doubt been split in half. As it was, he turned his head just enough to allow Kurumu to see Crona step through the ruins of the wall of the storage room.

Only it wasn't quite Crona. It had Crona's general shape; but around the eyes was a mask, with giant white eyeballs where Crona's normal eyes would be. Instead of pupils, the eyes had little 'x's. Just like… Ragnarok!

Ragnarok, sensing there wasn't enough to time to purge all of the poison, had gone for the direct approach. Manipulating Crona's blood, he had simply moved the boy like a puppet. With no need to focus on resisting the poison, they had been able to launch one heck of an attack. And just in case Nagare was still belching smoke when the found him, Ragnarok had put a handy gas mask around Crona's ugly mug to protect him.

Seeing the position the two were in, and the look on Kurumu's face, made even Ragnarok's blood boil (though thankfully not literally). Ragnarok had made Crona do a lot of things, from murder, to kidnapping, to arson. But he had never rapped anyone. It was beneath him to do so. After all, someone as awesome as him would have no trouble getting the ladies, and to do… that… would be an acknowledgement that he couldn't. Something he would also never do.

Besides, the girl had pledged herself to Crona, which meant she had also done so to him. That meant that this guy was trying to steal from him! Clearly Nagare was in desperate need of some education…

"Now listen here you son of a bitch" Ragnarok started strong, his wavelength making the air tremble "That's MY girl you got there." he took another step into the room "And I don't appreciate you putting your slimy mitts all over her!" Black blood slipped out of Crona to form rotating buzz-saws in the air "If you don't get the fuck off her right now" he gestured to the floating blades "I'm gonna use these to peel off your skin, then eat your soul. So what's it gonna be?" Personally, Ragnarok was really hoping he resisted. Not that it would matter, this guy was dead either way.

Sadly, Nagare was very, very stupid. And stupid people do stupid things when they panic.

"Stay back!" Nagare cried, wrapping himself tight around Kurumu. In fear, his various tentacles had retreated inwards, with only a few still clinging to her body. "Come any closer and I'll bite her head off!" he threatened.

Kurumu felt a stirring in the back of her mind "Well now, I think it's time we showed Nagare here just why he shouldn't mess with a succubus." the voice that was her rational subconscious (which in itself seemed a contradictory statement) said. But regardless, Kurumu agreed. She was tired of being pushed around by this guy. Even when faced with Crona, he just wouldn't back down! And now she was being used as a hostage? She couldn't take it anymore! She felt like she just wanted to… wanted to….

"ENOUGH!" Kurumu suddenly shouted, wings shooting fro her back and through Nagare's hold. Before the slug could say anything, Kurumu had launched the too of them upwards and out through the roof, using Nagare's head as the battering ram to break through.

Once outside Nagare let go and fell to the ground, his slimy body splattering but not dying. There, Kurumu's friends were already awakening, and there they had the chance to bear witness to something… incredible.

"I'll….I'll show you" Kurumu growled, her aura spiking wildly "For myself… for my friends" the aura only went higher "For those other girls you terrorized" Kurumu looked into Nagare's eye stalks, who felt it was like looking into the eyes of the devil himself "You'll never hurt anyone ever again!" she screamed, and her eyes rippled with power.

The ground beneath Nagare quaked, and Nagare gave a shout of surprise as roots suddenly shot up through the ground to pierce his body. The curved through the air like bizarre snakes towards him "What's going on! The tree roots are attack? Why is this happening?" he screamed in fright.

Kurumu just stood there, her wings spread like a bat in mid flight, her finger splayed as though conducting a bizarre recital "I'll never forgive you! As long as I live I'll never forgive you for what you've done!" she screamed, even as tears slowly trailed down her face as she thought of what Nagare had put her through…

And before Nagare's very eyes, the tree he'd been sitting on earlier, pulled itself out of the ground, and lashed its branches at him. "N-no way! Is this a dream?"

He had no way of knowing that Kurumu had used her anger to draw on the true power of a succubus.

Nagare gasped as the tree's branches formed a noose around his slimy neck, and slammed him repeatedly into the ground. Despite his best efforts, he could not move his body.

"Take this!" Kurumu yelled, flying down from the tree's top towards him. With all her might, powered by frustration, hate, anger, and sorrow, she brought vengeance down on Nagare in one fell swing, raking her sharp as swords claws through his flesh, leaving a bloody trail over his body.

Nagare screamed in agony and, his body unable to handle any more, passed out. As soon as he did, the tree branches faded away. The damage to ground also faded. Everything that had happened was merely an illusion created by Kurumu's succubus magic, a talent only higher orders of succubi were said to possess.

But none of that mattered right now. Kurumu held up her prize, her wings folding back into her "The most important things! I… I got them back!" she held up the mostly completed newspaper and the disks containing all the backups. But that's not what she meant by 'most important things'. She had gotten her freedom back…

Crona started as Kurumu suddenly started weeping, folding into herself as the tears just flowed and flowed. He didn't know what to do! He didn't know how to deal with this!

Gin placed a hand on his shoulder, making Crona look up at the taller boy. "Listen Crona, I want you to take Kurumu back to her room. I'm going to go see Nekonome-sensei and let her know what's been going on." he turned to Moka and Yukari, who were both trying their best to comfort the crying succubus. "You girls, take the supplies back to the Club Room. We had enough done that I can finish up without you if I put my all into it. Come in early tomorrow if you can and we'll go over the rest alright?" he said, making the girls nod. Soon, Gin used his enhanced speed to go off in search of Nekonome-sensei.

Crona sprouted his dragon wings and flew back to Kurumu's room with her held tightly in his arms. Moka picked up Yukari and did her best to keep up.

Once there, they managed to get Kurumu to open the door, revealing her surprisingly neat room. But they weren't there to admire the decor, and laid Kurumu down on her bed. Once out of his hands, Crona immediately started pacing. Apparently the close encounter with Nagare was a little too close for her. Crona desperately wanted to help his friend, but didn't know what he could do or say. Even Ragnarok was quiet. He didn't figure this was the type of problem that could be solved by shouting 'Get over it' and slapping her, so he kept his mouth shut.

And along with the fear this experience brought, anger also festered. How DARE Nagare do this to Kurumu? How dare he do this to ANY woman! Oh, when Crona got his hands on that slimy sack of shi-

Then Nekonome-sensei hurried in, desperate to check on her student. Neko loved her students dearly, and when Gin had told her what had happened, her hair stood up on end and she nearly released her disguise in anger. But she knew there would be time for that later. Right now though, there was a girl in desperate need of attention. She could tell how much this bothered the girls friends, and the one small bit of light was how much they all cared for each other.

Wanting to talk to Kurumu in private, she ushered the others out of the room. They were quite resistant to the idea of leaving their friend alone, but she promised she'd get them when she was done.

Once the door closed, Yukari and Moka figured they might as well go back to the Newspaper Room and help Gin out. When they turned around to ask Crona what he thought… they were surprised to find out he was gone.

-Dealing With Youkai Academy-

Nagare groaned, his body in pain from the ass-kicking he'd just received. Who knew that bitch Kurumu had such power in her? But he'd still have the last laugh! He'd simply dig up more dirt on her and all of stupid friends, especially that pink haired son of a bitch, and spread it all over the school! He'd teach them he wasn't some one you could step on!

He started to stand up, when someone stepped on him, knocking him back down.

Nagare yelped in pain, and looked up to see Crona standing over him. Nagare had expected a face of anger, of hate, even a questioning look as he was asked why he had done what he'd done. What he got was far stranger, and if he was honest, more frightening.

Crona was wearing a calm look, tranquil you might say. There was a faint smile playing about his lips, and it seemed to widen as he took in Nagare's expression. Nagare tried to back away, but felt a firry pain in his sides. Looking, his eyes grew in horror as he watched what looked like black fishing hooks sprout from the ground and pin him to the earth.

He reacted on instinct, and fired a blast of knock out gas at his attacker. But before his eyes, black blood seemed to flow from the pores on Crona's face, forming a protective gas mask. Crona raised his hand, and shot a needle from his pointer finger. The needle was fast enough to take one of Nagare's gas dispensers clean off. Then Crona fired another, and another. Both hit him, and pinned the small appendages to his body. Nagare quickly realized that if he didn't want to be a pin cushion, he'd better knock it off with the gas.

When the cloud of gas settled, the mask melted away to reveal Crona's smile was bigger, though the rest of his face had yet to move. Then he spoke.

"You did a bad thing Nagare" he said, and the slug boy felt the hooks in his skin tug him closer to the ground. "A really, really bad thing." Crona said, folding his arms behind his back, and leaning in closer to Nagare. "You made Kurumu cry, Nagare. Why would you do that? Why did you have to make my friend cry?" he asked simply, his voice never going above his average speaking voice.

Nagare didn't know what to say, his mind blanking in the face of fear. When, after few seconds, he failed to respond, several more hooks, bore into his skin. The way they latched on, and seemed to move beneath his skin made them feel more like worms; but Nagare got the message "I-I don't know" was all he could come up with for a defense.

Crona shook his head "That can't be true Nagare. You must have had some reason? So tell me. Please… I promise I can keep a secret…" Crona trailed off, his wavelength leaking into the air, seeping into Nagare's brain, poisoning his mind.

"I-I wanted her!" he cried out in panic as black worms seemed to wiggle around him.

Crona tilted his head to the side "But you knew she didn't want you…" he said softly, clenching his fists unseen behind his back.

"I didn't care what that bitch wanted!" Nagare cried, too afraid to lie anymore "I knew I could take her, so I did! And I would have done the same to any girl that caught my eye! I was tired of just watching girls, I wanted something more!" he cried, tears running down his face as the pressure seemed to increase, the air around him seemed to twist and bend like a nightmare come true.

Crona nodded as he listened to the slug spill his preverbal guts. Then he asked the next question "If we hadn't stopped you when we did… what would you have done to Kurumu?"

Nagare almost paused to wonder why he was being asked that, considering it should have been obvious, but was to afraid of this monster, no, this demon in front of him to think straight "I would have raped her!" he cried.

And just like that, the worms seemed to grow still, as though waiting for something. Crona's smile had faded, but the calm look remained "And then what? She had seen your face, surely you knew she would talk…?" he trailed off questioningly, like a prosecutor at trial. Because that was what this was really, a trail for the would-be rapist.

Nagare didn't have it in him to lie at this point, his mind simply wouldn't function properly to come up with one "I would have killed her! Slit her throat, eaten her, whatever! After she'd satisfied my needs I would've just gotten rid of her!" he screamed, practically foaming at the mouth like a mad dog.

"Okie dokie then" Crona said, he face breaking out into a grin that reached his ears, seeming to show far more teeth then should be possible. His eyes, once calm, now had the fire of madness dancing behind him. "That's all I needed to know. Nagare Kanou, I find you guilty of leaving the path of light. Your soul is truly bathed in darkness."

Nagare gulped "So, what… you gonna turn me over to the student police or something" as awful as that would have been, given the rumors about the yakuza like organization, anything would have been preferable to another moment in Crona's company.

Crona just shook his head "Nope, now you're gonna die." he said, cheerfully.

Nagare's eyes went wide, and he tried to struggle, to run away from this thing. But the worms wouldn't let him. They wriggled up and through him, tiny barbs on their skin sending waves of agony through him as they worked through his pudgy slug body.

"~The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out~" Crona sang, his voice high pitched and kind of girly as black blood shot out of his palms, which were still behind his back.

~In your stomach and out your mouth~" Nagare nearly vomited in agony as the black worms tore through his intestines and, like Crona said, started to work their way up his throat and out his mouth. Yet amazingly, he did not die.

"~Your eyes turn into to slimy green~" The worms did not crawl into his eyes (a small miracle that was lost on Nagare), but they did force them open, so he could not blink or look away.

Crona raised the finished product up into Nagare's range of view. The long handle was gripped firmly in Crona's hand, and as black as night. The head of the weapon was a large hammer. It was wider then Crona's entire body. On top of the hammer, instead of a spike like what one might find on a traditional war hammer, was the head of Ragnarok. Ragnarok shared the same grin as his partner, but for once stayed quiet.

"~Your brain turns into whipping cream!~" Crona joyfully finished the song, raising the large hammer over his head like an executioner's axe. The part of the hammer that now faced Nagare seemed to suddenly sport large red lips, which were licked by an equally red tongue. The lips took a deep breath of air, making the already wide hammer even wider.

Nagare tried to shout, yell, hell even sob a plea for mercy. He desperately wished someone would help him… and yet he knew no one was coming.

"Nagare…" Crona said, drawing his attention one last time. "Your soul is mine!"

And just like that the hammer fell. Literally. The black weapon slammed like a meteor into the boy's body, reducing it to so much mush and broken bones. Not only that, but the same instant it made contact with the body, the mouth on the hammer released a powerful hypersonic scream, further reducing Nagare to so much jellied slug.

Crona paused long enough for the mouth to consume the soul, the retracted all of the blood. Now the ground was only a large round indent and a red stain. Quickly sprouting black wings, Crona flew back to Kurumu's dorm.

-Dealing With Youkai Academy-

Had Crona been even a bit more stable, he might have checked out the surrounding better with his senses. Because, far away from where he had executed Nagare, high in a tree, a girl sat, eyes wide.

Her name was Keito, a member of the Youkai Academy Safety Commission. She had been on her way to bring in one Nagare Kanou. They had received an anonymous tip that the boy was a notorious blackmailer, who had apparently been spying on female Safety Commission officers. When she had heard that, she decided she would be the one to bring him in for questioning. After all, they couldn't arrest him without proof (wow, couldn't even think that with a straight face. Yeah, they could and had done that before, and probably would have done to Nagare).

Yet imagine her surprise when she had felt a strange aura drifting on the breeze. Deciding to stay hidden, she had watched from afar as some student apprehended, interrogated, then executed Nagare without even blinking!

"I have got to tell Kuyou about this"

End Chapter 7

Well, what do you think? Yes, the ending has officially set us up for the Safety Commission arch, but it won't be quite how you remember it! We also saw Crona take some damage in a fight this time. I figured there had to be something Crona was weak against, so I figured why not poison? Obviously Ragnarok would filter it out in time, but it would take a while.

And you probably noticed that Kurumu didn't try and do this all on her own. In the manga, it always bugged me that she thought she had to. If you had super powerful friends, wouldn't you go to them for help? And as for the voice in the back of her head... let's just say Moka isn't the only one the Madness is creeping up on..hehe. Not a lot of Yukari or Gin this chapter... oh well, they'll get their own centric chapter later, especially since they each are part of a subplot (the detective Gin subplot and the Yukari learning the truth subplot). Moka... Moka... I haven't really pinned down the exact nature of her madness just yet (which is in and of itself a quality of madness.) but expect her to be a bit more... erratic(?) in the future.

Sorry about no Omakes this time... the funny bug just didn't strike me. Plus, with the serious ending we just had, they might have felt out of place.

And for everyone who commented: INNER MOKA WILL RETURN! SHE WILL MEET CRONA FACE TO FACE! IT WILL NOT BE A HAPPY OCCASION!

And... yeah. That about covers everything I want to say right now. As always I hope you enjoyed this, and if you did please feel free to leave a comment tell me such. If you want to flame, please do not. Constructive criticism is appreciated though.

If you think you have an awesome move for Crona to use in a future fight, leave it in the comments. I consider all submitted attacks, and if I use one you will receive credit.

In a bit of self promotion: If you liked this story, maybe you should check out all my others stories!

Alright, once again I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I hope to see you again with the next chapter soon (or at least sooner then last time).

Until Next Time...