When we last left our heroes a distraught Mizore had just attacked a group of young men on their way back from practice. What could be the consequences of these actions? Let's find out…
"You want me to go talk to Mizore?" Danny asked. Ms. Nekonome had asked him to come to the teacher's lounge for something important. This wasn't what he'd expected.
"That's right," the teacher smiled at him. "She's already missed most of the semester. And now she's missing class even though she's back. If this keeps up she'll be in serious trouble. So I want you to drag her back."
"Well I don't really mind," Danny said hesitantly. "But why are you sending me?"
"Well you are class president."
"Since when?!" Danny shouted in confusion. "We haven't even voted yet…!"
"So here's her room number," the teacher giggled. "If she isn't there you might try the cliff nearby."
"You mean the one that looks like it's from 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'?" Danny asked.
"The what?"
"Ms. Nekonome, I need to talk to you about Shirayuki."
"Oh Kotsubo," Ms. Nekonome greeted the gym teacher. "Have you seen her?"
Okuto Kotsubo was a tall, lean man with dark red hair. Each of his ears had four piercings. He was wearing a white t-shirt that had studs up the sleeves that covered some kind of coil shaped tattoo that seemed to reach from his arms up to his neck.
"You haven't heard?" Kotsubo sighed angrily. "Last night Shirayuki ran into two of my soccer players, and nearly killed them."
"What?!" Ms. Nekonome gasped. Danny's face mirrored hers.
"You heard me," Kotsubo growled. "She froze the boys and nearly beat them to death. They probably would have died if I hadn't shown up. With all the trouble she's caused this year, I think it's time that we expelled her."
"Now hang on a second," Danny said.
"Danny, wait," Ms. Nekonome said. "I'll talk to Kotsubo, I still want you to talk to Shirayuki," she whispered before walking away with the gym teacher.
"Danny you're such a naughty boy…" a seductive voice purred in Danny's ear.
"Oh… H-h-hi Ms. Ririko," Danny blushed.
Okay, if Ms. Nekonome was hot, Ms. Ririko was a knockout. She was the math teacher, as well as Kurumu's homeroom teacher. Her breasts were big enough that even the succubus was developing an inferiority complex. She had beautiful brown hair that reached her shoulders and she always wore a revealing white blouse and black miniskirt that was even shorter than the girls school uniforms. It drove all the boys in school nuts.
"You shouldn't argue with your teachers. It's very naughty," she said, playfully slapping his cheek. "Although I can't completely blame you," she sighed. "Kotsubo is hardly an ideal teacher. He's always making moves on the girls. I heard one was suspended from school because of him. You shouldn't make him an enemy."
XXXXXXXXXX
"Wait, don't you think it's a good thing that she's about to get expelled?" Kurumu asked. "I mean she was stalking you and she tried to kill Moka."
"If I remember correctly, she wasn't quite the only one who's tried," Danny shot back getting a blush from the succubus.
"But what about what she did to those boys?" Yukari asked.
"Look, I'm not defending her, but I'm not condemning her either," Danny replied. "It's just that something about this whole deal stinks. Mizore just seems really lonely, something everyone here can relate to. I just don't think she'd actually hurt anyone like that."
"Well it doesn't really matter what you think," someone said. "She still did it."
"Coach Kotsubo," Moka gasped in alarm as the gym teacher marched up.
"If you want proof, here it is," Kotsubo tossed a notebook at the boy's feet. The same notebook Mizore had made with all of Danny's newspaper articles.
"Where did you get that?" Danny asked.
"At the scene of the crime," Kotsubo replied as he flipped through the pages. "It looks like she's been bugging you Danny. You're not the first. At the beginning of the year she fell in love with a teacher. When the teacher didn't feel the same, she froze him and got herself suspended. Still think she wouldn't hurt anyone?"
"'He's always making moves on the girls. I heard one was suspended from school because of him'," Ms. Ririko's words echoed through Danny's mind. "You know, I kinda do…"
XXXXXXXXXX
"Room number 106. This is it," Danny thought as he stood alone outside Mizore's dorm room. "Well, here goes nothing." He knocked on the door.
At first there was no response, but just as Danny was about to leave, there was a quiet "Who is it?"
"It's Danny. Can we talk?"
The door was cut like butter as five ice blades ripped through the wood. Danny jumped backwards hard, barely missing Mizore's ice claw as it tore the door off its hinges. Luckily he was on the first floor around the outside of the building so he was able to put plenty of room between him and the doorway as it exploded outward.
Danny stood in a defensive stance in case Mizore tried anything else but he didn't bother to activate any of his powers and give her a sense that he wanted to fight. The snow woman marched through the cloud of dirt her right hand covered by her icy blades and a lollipop in her mouth.
"So was that a 'no', a reluctant 'yes', or a 'shut the hell up right now you stupid son of a bitch before I friggin kill you'?"
Mizore glared at him but the tension in her eyes seemed to lessen a little. "It's a 'talk fast before I turn you into a popsicle'."
Danny followed suite and dropped his stance. "I wanted to talk to you about what happened yesterday. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings the way I took off, but you gotta see things from my point of view. My friends were in trouble and you were the one who had threatened them. I don't think I was in the wrong the way I reacted."
Danny stopped to gauge Mizore's reaction. The girl's expression was unchanged but she was still listening.
"I heard about what happened last night," he continued. "Is it true that you jumped two guys?"
"Yes," Mizore replied in monotone.
"That's not a good thing Mizore," Danny sighed at how sedate she was about it. "Those guys are in the hospital. The teachers are talking about expelling you."
"Wait," Mizore snapped, tensing up again. "What are you talking about 'in the hospital'? Sure I froze those guys, but that's just because I was pissed. I defrosted them before they should have been hurt…"
"I knew something was off about all this," Danny gritted his teeth. "If Mizore didn't hurt them…"
Danny's thoughts were interrupted by Mizore giggling. "Is that what you think of me Danny? That I would just hurt anyone on a whim?" she smiled with tears in her eyes. "You were the only one… I thought that maybe you could understand me…"
"What? No Mizore wait…!" Danny panicked as a white mist enveloped the girl and she disappeared. "Dammit Mizore get back here! I wasn't done yet!"
But the fog had already vanished, and with it, Mizore.
XXXXXXXXXX
Mizore was standing on top of what she called Spiral Hill. It was a strange place where the cliff stretched out over the red water and curled back like some kind of bizarre hook. It was her favorite place at the academy. The wind was always so strong and comforting and the uniqueness of the place reminded her of herself.
"I should have known better," the young girl thought as she looked sadly out over the crimson ocean. "There's no way he could ever understand me…"
"Surprise surprise," a voice chuckled behind her. "You always come here when you're upset, don't you Shirayuki?"
"Coach Kotsubo!" Mizore gasped as the man grabbed her roughly by the shoulders.
"Be careful," Kotsubo continued to laugh as he moved the girl closer to the edge. "The wind is pretty strong up here. It wouldn't be that surprising if some strange girl who spends her time here just so happened to fall off the cliff."
"Wait, what are you…?!" Mizore panted as the teacher moved her closer and closer to the side. She panicked at the sadistic grin on his face. "Let me go!" she screamed. "LET ME GO!!"
She managed to break free of his grip and pull away from the ledge. When he grabbed her arm again, she pushed him away… right off the cliff.
"Sensei!" Mizore shrieked as he tumbled down the cliff. Her eyes grew as big as saucers as something slithered up over the side and wrapped around her leg.
"Jeez Shirayuki, I was only playing with you and here you try and kill me," she heard Kotsubo's voice as the strange appendage pulled her back to toward the edge. She could see a large black mass moving up the side of the cliff. She trembled as several flailing arms slammed against the rock as the dark shape pulled closer to her. "That wasn't very nice."
Mizore screamed when she saw his true form. Kotsubo looked like he had an enormous black octopus extending from the back of his head. Its many waving tentacles allowed him to crawl up the hillside while the dark red suction cups gripped the rock. The octopus stared at her with a huge pair of golden eyes that were completely devoid of emotion, a frightening contrast to the wild glint in Kotsubo's face.
She screamed even louder as the tentacle that held her dragged her over the cliff. She flailed wildly, managing to grab a small bush before she was thrown down. She flinched in pain as the thorns of the plant stabbed at her hand and the crushing grip of his arm pulled at her leg.
"You're such a dangerous girl Shirayuki," Kotsubo smirked as his appendage slithered its way up her thigh. "First you try and freeze me and now you throw me over a cliff. A vicious girl like you belongs at the bottom of the sea…"
"But… but you were molesting me…!" Mizore cried, tears of pain and terror streaming down her face at the memory of what the teacher had done to her earlier that year.
"You said you liked me right?" the kraken taunted. "In fact you said you loved me… So you shouldn't complain about what I do to you." Kotsubo's sickening tentacle slithered its way higher, pulling playfully at her panties while it continued to coil tighter around the girl's leg. "All I was doing was screwing around a bit and here you went and took me seriously," he licked his lips as he toyed with the helpless girl. "I hate shit like that. And when you came back I knew I had to get rid of you before you go spreading 'rumors' about me. But then that stupid Danny kid goes and sticks up for you and now the whole damn Newspaper Club is trying to keep you around…"
"What?!" Mizore stared at him in disbelief, her pain and fear eclipsed for that one agonizing moment by shame. "After everything I did… they still tried to help me? Danny wasn't accusing me, he was warning me!"
"So now I'm forced to go with Plan B," Kotsubo sighed in fake regret as he pulled her down harder. He quickly ducked his head when a storm of icicles rained down on him. "What the hell?!"
When Kotsubo looked up at Mizore, the fear in her eyes was gone, replaced with stern resolve. Even with her hand a bloody mess, she gripped the bush tighter to hold herself up. Her left hand was now covered by her icy claw as she fired down on her tormenter.
"I'm sorry…" Mizore thought, her mind on Danny and the others who had tried to help her. "I brought you nothing but trouble and you still fought for me. The least I can do is fight back."
"You fucking bitch!" Kotsubo shouted furiously at the girl, striking with another tentacle that grabbed her claw. "You just can't sit there and take it like a good girl can you?!"
Mizore felt the flesh rip away from her hand as the kraken pulled her with greater strength. She couldn't keep her grip on the bush and watched it slip away as she was dragged down towards her inevitable end.
For an instant, Mizore felt better. Time seemed to stand still as the girl floated weightless for that one moment when she went over the side. Mizore didn't scream or close her eyes. She'd lost the right to do that when she had shunned Danny earlier that day, besides she wouldn't give Kotsubo the pleasure of hearing her break at the end. However, one final tear of sadness escaped her eye and floated in the air right in front of her.
It fell away, along with her last glimpse of the sky, only to be replaced by the cold stone as she began to plummet. She could almost see Danny now, that same white hair and green eyes that had looked at her with such determination the day before. They held that same determination now, only they were for her. She thought if that was the last vision to go through her mind, just maybe she could die happy…
"Gotcha…" Danny declared as he caught Mizore and pulled her back towards the sky.
"What…?" Mizore gasped as Kotsubo's menacing grip fell away from her. The boy held her tightly in his arms as he flew higher into the air, pulling her safely away from her would-be grave. "Danny, how did you…?"
"What, you never met a guy who can pass through solid objects before?" the halfa smiled as he floated back down.
"But why are you here?" the girl asked, dumfounded.
"I told you yesterday Mizore, I don't like it when people go after my friends," Danny replied as he landed softly. "I meant any of them…"
Mizore blushed as Danny placed her gently on the ground. Her happiness was short-lived however as Kotsubo appeared behind the boy and wrapped his sickening tentacles around him.
"Don't get cocky you little bastard," Kotsubo spat as he lifted the halfa into the air. "I'll just drag you down too!"
"That's your real body?" Danny sneered. "Eww, it's so sucky and squeezy…"
"Funny kid," Kotsubo growled. "Let's see if you feel like cracking jokes once I crack your bones!"
Danny cried out as the kraken began to pull at him. He could feel the huge strain in his stomach and spine as the teacher tried to rip him in two. Slowly but surely, his body began to give way as the tentacles tried to wrench him apart until it finally became too much.
"DANNY!!!" Mizore screamed in horror as she watched him ripped apart. His head and torso were lifted high into the air and his legs fell away from the rest. New tears filled her eyes while Kotsubo cackled insanely at his triumph.
"YOU SEE YOU BRAT?!" Kotsubo roared in Danny's dead face. "You can't protect a damn thing!"
"Yeah…" Danny's head whispered, a cocky smile crossing his face. "You sure showed me…"
Kotsubo's jaw dropped as the halfa's glowing eyes opened and his smile widened. The kraken felt a strange tingle flowing through his body and looked frantically for the source. His eyes fell back on Danny and when they did, the dull white light that had surrounded him moments before had been replaced with a green static-like glow.
"Ghost stinger…"
Kotsubo screamed in agony as green electricity flowed from Danny's body. He tried desperately to let go but his arms had been wrapped so tightly around the ghost boy and now his muscles refused to obey his mind. The pain was immense as the fleshy beast collapsed in a heap to the ground from the devastating jolt. Danny's legs flew back and connected to his body as the tentacles fell away.
"Sorry to scare you like that Mizore," Danny smiled, walking over to the trembling snow woman.
"How did you do that?" she asked shakily.
"It's just one of my many handy tricks," he smiled twisting his torso in a complete circle before bringing it back and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Really great for getting the kinks out of your back too."
Mizore jumped into Danny's arms and hugged him with all her might, afraid that if she let go, she would find herself falling again with no one to catch her.
"Danny I'm so sorry," she cried into his shoulder. "I didn't mean-"
"Shhh," Danny whispered, returning her embrace. "You've got nothing to apologize for. At least to me. Moka might want one for the whole 'trying to kill her thing'," Danny was relieved when he heard a sobbing laugh against his shoulder. He smiled when a cloud of blue smoke appeared from his mouth. "Still want to play coach?"
Mizore opened her eyes and gasped as Kotsubo's massive tentacle swung down to crush the pair. The next moment the teacher cried out in pain as Danny severed the offending appendage with one glowing hand.
"Sorry Coach but I think we've both had enough of those things for one day," Danny said standing protectively in front of Mizore.
"You bastard!" Kotsubo screamed holding the bloody stump of his arm. "You think I'll let you get away with this?!"
"I don't think you have much choice in the matter you sorry excuse for a squid," Danny growled clapping his hands together. He slowly pulled them apart and they crackled with green electricity. The bolts of energy quickly solidified and turned into a spiraling green ball of light. "Word to the wise… Keep away from my friends!" Danny roared as he shot toward Kotsubo.
The kraken could only watch helplessly as Danny rocketed forward with the massive sphere of energy. Danny slammed the ball into the man with incredible force. Kotsubo wailed in pain as it tore away at his body. The spinning light held its form for a few seconds before it exploded, releasing all the suppressed power on the teacher and sending him flying out over the sea.
Danny grinned as the teacher sailed through the air. "And that's the lesson for today…"
XXXXXXXXXX
"Ghost stinger?" Moka asked as Danny relayed the events of the previous day to his friends.
"Yeah," Danny demonstrated by flowing a small surge of green electricity across his fingertips. "I actually came up with it after the Swim Club incedent. I've been dying to find a way to work it in."
"How does it work?" Yukari jumped at the chance to learn something new, especially if it was about Danny.
"Well it's pretty much the same as my ghost ray only instead of powering it up all the way I kind of jumpstart the energy and control the flow so it won't be erratic and it comes out as electricity instead of an ectoplasmic beam," Danny explained.
"I'm sorry, what?" Kurumu said her mind spinning.
"To be honest, if I wasn't the one doing it, I wouldn't understand either," the ghost boy chuckled before he felt a shiver run up his spine. "Hey Mizore."
Everyone turned around to see the blushing snow woman hiding behind a tree.
"Oh Mizore your hair is so cute!" Moka cheered at the girl's new hairstyle now that she had cut it above her shoulders.
"Thanks," Mizore mumbled embarrassed. "How did you know it was me?"
"You're the only one who can send that chill up my spine so easily," Danny smiled making the snow woman blush deeper. "Wait… That might not have come out right."
"I'm so glad everything worked out right," Yukari whooped.
"Maybe," Kurumu growled. "But now that the news is out about Coach Kotsubo and his 'activities', Danny's even more popular and even more girls are hitting on him!"
"Don't worry Kurumu, there is a very select group of girls that I have my eye on," the halfa grinned earning a blush from the girls.
"Does that include me?" Mizore squeaked.
It was Danny's turn to blush.
Well now Danny has a new girl and a new power to show off. Hope I didn't confuse anyone with the whole "ripped in half" thing. That was just Danny's ability to stretch his body. In the first episode it looked like his torso was invisible when he used that power so there you go. As for the ghost stinger, it just makes his body one big ghostly taser. And now, on to reviews.
Thanks to all my reviewers.
Okami Princess: You read my mind in regards to Mizore. I like the idea about Sun though, I'll have to remember that one. Thanks for the idea.
thepenultimatefailure: As always, I'm glad you're enjoying the story. As for being original its not a matter of being afraid I just think that things would more or less go the same at the beginning. Just bear with me a little longer cause my story will start getting more original very soon. You asked about Danny's humanity. I don't know if you were getting at this but if you remember I have made references to people noticing Danny smelling like a human, that hasn't changed. It's true that he is different from Tsukune in the "half-dead thing" as you put it. Despite that, Danny still comes off as completely human, at least in his human form. Danny does actually consider himself human, but an "advanced" human. He has found a place at Youkai and thanks to that he has come to believe he belongs in both worlds (at least for the moment). I'm sorry if that wasn't coherent but that's the best I can do for now.
Cylon One: Okay, in chapter eight you asked if Moka agreed to be a model to make Ishigami happy. Yes, I suppose, but the main reason is that Ishigami just kept asking over and over, and even sweet little Moka has her limits and finally gave in. Glad the nosebleed joke hasn't got old yet. I'd answer your other questions but I think the story covered them all. Thanks and keep the reviews coming.
That goes for everbody, keep the reviews coming and I'll catch you later.