Chapter 11

Suspicions

Business went on as usual, with plenty more precaution. With the discovery of a new possible threat, everyone was on their toes. Especially Nymph.

She was holding a meeting at Tomoki's house to discuss the issue with everybody.

"I've already said, I don't like this! If it was able to put down Grim, in his Demonic Form no less, with one dart, imagine what it could do to us! Or worse!"

Grim hung his head in shame.

"Then again, he was drunk. We don't know how much weaker he is when he's plastered." Mikako pointed out.

That only made Grim hang his head lower.

Nymph raised her voice. "My point is, I think we all need to be a little more careful! We know nothing about this new Angeloid, other than the guess that he hides in the shadows, which only makes it all the more important that we remain alert and watchful of our surroundings!"

"But we fought off Scylla and Charybdis, no big deal, so who's to say we couldn't take this one?" Astraea scoffed.

"We only survived that because Grim used freaking Pandora!" Nymph stomped her foot on the ground.

Grim stood up and threw his hands in the air. "Here we go again with the Pandora! Which, I still want an explanation to!"

Tomoki stepped in before things got heated. "Okay, guys, let's just cool it! We'll be more careful, Nymph, just calm down now, okay?"

Nymph crossed her arms and harrumphed. Grim sat back down.

An awkward silence followed the discussion.

"Is anyone hungry?" Ikaros broke the silence.

Everyone said yes. After dinner, Sugata, Mikako, and Sohara went back home.

Grim was running the water for a bath, but Nymph walked in.

When she did, she gasped. Grim was standing stark naked as the water filled the tub.

"Ever heard of knocking, Nymph?" Was his only response.

Nymph bolted out the door. "I-I was just gonna ask if you could, you know. Keep watch?" She still looked astonished.

"Aww, but my bath… Yeah, okay, if it'll make you happy, i'll keep watch tonight. Do you want this bath? I'm not about to waste it."

"Umm, no, maybe someone else would want it. Okay, thanks." Nymph quickly left the door.

"What did I just see?" Nymph thought. "It was weird, but also kind of endearing… No! I can't think like that! Not while there's another Angeloid to be dealt with."

Nymph plopped herself on the floor and turned on the News. She decided she would stay like this in case someone tried to sneak into the house.

A few minutes after, Grim walked down the stairs.

"Kay, Nymph, i'm going outside… Hey, is everything alright?" Grim got closer to Nymph, but she backed up a little.

"Yeah, Proto, everything is fine! Goodnight!" She smiled falsely.

"Yeah… Goodnight." Grim looked concerned, but went outside anyway.

In the early morning, Grim was still outside. He looked extremely groggy from pacing the yard all night. Nymph didn't look any better. Both of them had no rest.

Nymph stumbled outside and yawned. "Hey, Proto. You can come in now. We have school today." Nymph went back inside.

Grim got up from the lawn and shuffled his way to the door.

When he walked inside, he smelled steamed rice and Miso soup. This somewhat invigorated him.

"Good morning, Nii-Chan, how are you?" Ikaros asked.

Grim yawned. "I'm okay, didn't rest though. Nymph had me outside all night on watch."

"I'm sorry." Was all Ikaros said.

"Meh, if it keeps her happy."

He sat down and grabbed his bowl. He ate fast, as if he was in a hurry. As soon as he was done, he put his dish in the sink and ambled up the stairs to change into his school uniform.

In the hall, Astraea stopped him. She was giggling about something.

"What's so funny?" Grim questioned.

"Oh, nothing, i'm just glad to know you had a good night's rest!" Astraea thought that was just hilarious.

"Just shut up." Grim muttered as he walked away.

Once Grim had changed, he went to take a piss. When he opened the door, Tomoki was still in the bathtub.

"Hey, what's wrong with you! I'm still in here!" Tomoki shouted from the tub.

"Calm down, we're both boys. No shame, right?" Grim lifted the toilet seat and let loose.

"Yeah, I suppose not. Hey, why didn't you come inside last night?" Tomoki wondered.

"Eh, Nymph was worried so I kept watch outside. It wasn't so bad, though. It didn't snow, for one." Grim finished up and flushed.

Sohara walked through the door. "Hey guys! Hurry up!" she shouted. She watched Grim walk down the stairs. "Good morning, Grim-Kun. Are you okay, you don't look so good."

"I didn't get any rest last night. I stayed on watch duty." Grim explained as he put his backpack on.

"Oh, did Nymph put you up to it?" Sohara asked.

"She mentioned it and I said I would. That's really it. I'm fine, so it doesn't matter." Grim said.

Everyone left a few minutes later. The walk to school was mostly silent.

Sugata and Mikako met them at the front of the school and walked in with them.

As soon as Nymph walked through the door, she felt uneasy, as if she was being watched.

"Hey, do you guys feel weird at all?" She asked.

"Now that you mention it, it is quieter in the halls." Tomoki said.

"Why do you ask, Nymph?" Sugata inquired.

"I don't know, it just feels… Strange to me. Like we're being watched." Nymph whispered.

"I think that's just the unknown Angeloid getting into your head. Let's get to our classes." Mikako said in a sing-song voice.

Everyone went to their lockers. Nymph still felt funny. She glanced over her shoulder at least a dozen times before retrieving her books.

Everything was fine in the first class, the second class, and the third class. Lunch was normal, and so was fourth and fifth class.

Nymph was walking to her sixth class, when she felt even more uneasy than ever. She turned around and saw a shadow round the corner.

Nymph became stricken with fear. She darted through the halls and found the girls bathroom.

Nymph hid in one of the stalls for a few minutes. Ever so slowly, she opened the door of the stall. Everything was quiet. She tip toed to the door and peaked outside. Nothing.

She sighed relief and turned around. There it was.

She screamed for a split second before a black pistol was pointed directly at her forehead.

"Turn around slowly. Get on the floor. This can end well if you follow my directions."

Nymph did as it said. She didn't get a very good look at it, she only saw the black cape that surrounded its body.

"W-What do you want?" Nymph whimpered with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I want you to cooperate. If you don't, you and everyone else in this building die. Understand?"

She noticed it had a deep and raspy voice, like someone who was gravely ill.

"Y-Yes… I'll cooperate." Nymph didn't know what else to do.

"Good. Get up off your knees, and put your hands over your mouth. I know you could easily 'Paradise Song' me." The voice hissed.

Nymph did as it wanted. She slowly got up and put her hands on her mouth. She still faced the door.

"M-My people could easily kill you!" Nymph uttered.

"Do you really believe that, Beta? Think about it. You knew from the start I was advanced in stealth. They won't know what hit them. I think i'll start with you, though."

Nymph turned around. She saw a black figure that looked like a living shadow. It was very tall, at least 8 feet tall. It held a large black pistol with the Synapse symbol on the side. The hand holding the gun was wrapped in a metallic silver cloth. The only feature other than the hand that she saw was its face. The face of the Angeloid was a metal skull with glowing red eyes. I large curved scythe hung from its back. (looks like Death Gun from SAO)

"Nice to meet you, Beta. I think you and I will get along nicely."