Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the OCs.

Wylfred groaned as the first rays of the morning sun shone through his window. He slowly got up and shut off his annoyingly loud alarm clock, then picked out some a fresh uniform for the day's classes. Grabbing a clean white towel, he went into his bathroom to shower. After finishing that, he put on his uniform and gathered his hair into his signature ponytails.

A part of him still couldn't believe the things that had happened, and it had only been his first day! In one day alone, he'd managed to: paralyze a mob, battle a vampire, defeat his dark side, and witness a dramatically short fight. He honestly wondered if he'd actually make it to the end of the year still alive and/or sane. Enough dwelling on yesterday's events, he thought, it's time to face a new day.

He left the dormitory building; today, he chose to walk through the forest trail rather than the open clearing. Unfortunately for him, there were certain individuals waiting for him. To be more specific, three students stood in his path, much the same as Nakamura had done; they even wore the same black uniform that he had.

Thankfully, years of fighting experience had taught Wylfred how to avoid enemies that stood in his path, as well as how to avoid detection methods. He easily snuck past them; they were obviously ill-equipped to handle people like him. After making it out of the forest, he saw that the main building was just up ahead. He sighed in relief: at least there, they would stop harassing him.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans for him; Wylfred cursed loudly as he saw that there was a good-sized group of Student Police members surrounding one individual who looked ready to run. He recognized the individual as the one who had dealt Nakamura a stinging defeat the previous day.

Lee-Roy cursed internally; today just isn't my day, he grumbled as he looked around. Firstly, he hadn't had any time to train because these guys had been chasing him. Second, he had to skip breakfast because of them. Finally, they managed to trap him, out in the open no less! Not for the first time, Lee-Roy cursed and wished he had better stealth skills.

"Nakamura told us about what you did to him, so we spared no effort to find you, and here you are! Now we'll make you pay for what happened!" yelled one of the members, a short male with light-brown hair.

"I'll pay, I'll pay! How about four bits?" Lee-Roy replied cheekily, holding up two rusty American quarters (where'd he get those?).

This reply only served to enrage the Student police further. "How dare you make a mockery of us! We refuse to be made fools of!" they shouted at once.

"Whoa, scary. You guys always show up in swarms and talk all at once. Are you guys like sand people, or are you part of the Smorg?" he quipped nervously, backing up a bit only to realize that he was (quite literally) with his back to the wall. The Student Police smiled as they closed in on the hapless young man.

However, instead of showing any fear, the impudent traveler smiled widely in a way that made some of them uncomfortable. "Wow, I thought you guys were supposed to be smart and ruthless. I guess you're all bark, no bite."

"Imbecile! We have you cornered! There's no way you can get away from us now!"

Lee-Roy cocked his head to one side. "I guess y'all haven't heard…the trapped rat, will bite the cat. Or in this case, the trapped rat…has caught the cat in a trap. My own trap, by the way. Look at the sleeves of your uniforms." Some of the 'enforcers' thought he was bluffing but looked at their sleeves anyway. They could see that there was a thin silver thread laced throughout their sleeves and connected to one another.

They glared at Lee-Roy questioningly before he decided to elaborate. "While you guys were busy taunting me, I used my powers to sew your sleeves together. Now you're all caught, and don't even think of trying to escape. Those threads are made of mythril. Now, if you'll excuse me…Wyl, will ya help me finish these guys?" the young man's sudden appearance next to Wylfred startled him, but he quickly agreed.

He knew which of his powers to use in this situation. This will be fun, he thought, and I'll be doing a good deed. With that, he mustered up his powers and, glaring at the stunned enforcers, he began to glow with power. Thinking quickly, Lee-Roy pulled back on the string in his hand, causing the Student Police members to be forcibly drawn together into a large ball. They tried to struggle free, but it was meaningless; the mythril thread was too strong.

They looked at the two boys with hatred when Wylfred suddenly spoke out. "Atop alpine heights where men dare not fare, the bellows of giants crack the frosted air! Avalanche of the Jotun!" Wylfred's cry caused the balled-up Student Police members to literally freeze, slowly at first, then quickly. Soon there was a large ice ball sitting in the middle of the clearing. Their eyes widened in terror when they saw Lee-Roy standing next to them, cocking his leg back.

He smiled widely as he brought his foot up, kicking the ice ball with an enormous amount of force. Both he and Wylfred laughed as the ball soared high into the sky and out of sight. "Thanks for helping me back there! Well, see ya!" Once again, Lee-Roy jumped upwards and disappeared without a trace.

Wylfred sighed and shook his head in desperation; he was no closer to figuring the couple out than he was when he first met them. He grumbled something unintelligible as he headed to his first class of the day. He had a feeling that today was going to be just as eventful as the previous one was.

(Nekonome's Classroom)

Wylfred arrived to his class, and what he saw made his jaw drop; he certainly didn't expect to see her here, of all places.

"Yo!" she greeted him with an inordinate amount of enthusiasm. She was dressed in a more conservative version of her normal outfit. Her top no longer exposed her midriff, but still showed off her figure excellently. The long slitted skirt was replaced with a simple knee-length one, and she no longer wore the long leather gloves. The long boots were scrapped in favor of short black stockings and white ballerina-style shoes. The cape was gone and was replaced with a black leather trench coat that complemented her outfit beneath. Tacked onto the coat was a name tag that read COPILLI DAMACY.

"Wh-what are you…doing here?!" he sputtered out in disbelief; he couldn't believe she was here, out in the open.

"Haven't you heard," she replied cheerfully, "that I'm Neko-sensei's new assistant? The Headmaster himself appointed me to the position. If you wanna know more, wait 'till after class." She motioned for him to sit down, which he did.

Wylfred didn't pay much attention the rest of the class, even though he earned himself a trip to detention for his behavior. His mind was too preoccupied with thoughts over how exactly his friend (the only real way to classify her) had gotten such a job. She'd told him that the Headmaster gave her the job, but he didn't know him, so he had to give her the benefit of the doubt. Still, he was wary around her. He remembered the week in Tokyo; not all his experiences had been pleasant.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the bell that signaled the end of class had finally rung, and the students quickly shuffled out of the room.

The ex-mercenary, however, hung back in order to help put away the materials used during the class, as well as to ask Ms. Nekonome's new assistant some questions. "How did you get here and how did you get this job? And what are you planning to do here anyway?" his questions were rapid-fire, signaling his exasperation.

"Okay, take it easy there, Wyl. One, I got here the same way you did. Two, I told you, the Headmaster gave me this job. And three, I'm just here to monitor you, that's all. Relax a bit, I'm not gonna do anything crazy (not yet anyway)." She muttered the last part, which Wylfred didn't hear.

The concern was still evident on Wylfred's face; he knew her, and thus knew that she most likely had something insane planned. "Very well. If you say that nothing else is up, I believe you. But I will be watching…" he kept his wary eyes on her as he left the room.

Once she was alone, Copilli sighed in relief. "Wow, it's like that guy works for the Spanish Inquisition or something. Man, he really needs to learn how to relax; he's not gonna get anywhere if he doesn't know how to take it easy…" she mused for a while as she put the remaining things away.

Unknown to her, Ms. Nekonome had been watching their entire interaction from the back of the room. Monitor him? What does that mean? Are they distant relatives? Lovers perhaps? She found herself growing a bit jealous when this last thought crossed her mind. Despite the fact that she knew student-teacher relationships were forbidden by Mikogami, she couldn't help but to look at her newest student with longing. There was just…something about him that intrigued her. She did not know what it was, but was determined to find out.

That night, Ms. Nekonome decided to follow him; that way, maybe she could gain some insight as to who he was.

(Some hours later)

The neko was finally finished with her work for the day. Sighing to herself, she knew it was time to find out exactly who the Monferaigne boy was. She removed her glasses and shifted into her true form, that of a cat demon. It was nighttime, and her youkai abilities afforded her night vision as well as improved stealth. Grinning slightly, the wily cat snuck out of her office and out of the building.

She quickly climbed a tree to get a better view; during class, she found out (with her exceptional hearing) that Wylfred liked to train alone in the woods at night, as it was peaceful. She soon spotted him making his way to a certain clearing. Careful to remain out of sight, she easily followed him. She did not know, however, what he was about to do.

Wylfred could not shake the feeling that someone was following him; he knew not for what purpose, but somehow he felt that whoever it was didn't intend to do him harm. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and drew his sword quietly. He held the blade straight up, the shiny surface of it reflecting the crimson light of the moon and making it appear as though it were soaked in blood. Grimacing, he gripped his sword with both hands and began his katas.

Hidden up in the trees, Nekonome watched him in wonder. Like the ones she had seen in his fight with Kokoa, his movements were graceful and experienced, yet also practical and suited to his fighting style. She idly wondered if he was some sort of Swordmaster, or perhaps an apprentice to one. That theory was dashed, however, as she remembered that few if any youkai still used swords, and fewer still took on students. Perhaps he was self-taught.

Some time later, Wylfred removed his shirt in order to practice more. When he did this, the neko nearly gasped in shock. He was VERY well-built, yet not overly muscular. There were many long scars crisscrossing his torso, marking him as an experienced warrior. She unconsciously licked her lips, but failed to notice one thing.

There was a dark shape heading right towards her.

A/N: And that's a wrap for this chapter. Hopefully nobody was too OOC. Also, a cookie to anyone who correctly guesses all the shout outs in the fic so far. To whoever chose to follow this story, I humbly thank you from the bottom of my heart. You really made my day! Remember to read and review! This is unknownbyself, signing out.