The sun was shining down on a human city as people were going about their normal routines; driving to work, walking on the sidewalk, going shopping, coping with monsters possibly being anywhere around them, the usual things really. People were becoming cautious and paranoid that anybody could be a monster since some have revealed themselves to the world after hiding in the human world for so long. Some people welcomed them while others were scared or hostile to the otherworldly beings. It was causing a bit of civil unrest within the world as people couldn't tell who was a monster now and who wasn't. It could be your teacher, the policeman, the nice old lady you bought your groceries from, your girlfriend, that stranger on the train staring at you with the creepy eyes.
Or even that girl who was racing down the road on her motorcycle. She had a black helmet with a dark visor as she drove down the streets with haste, being sure to heed the traffic laws as not to cause a scene. Being pulled over for speeding was one thing, but committing a crime, even small one, wouldn't be a good thing for the vampire who pulled to a stop at a light. She glanced around with her crimson eyes behind her visor as she waited for the light to turn green at the intersection. While cars and people crossed in front of her she sat on her bike dressed in her usual outfit, and fighting off a blush as well. She trembled a bit then shifted her hips around on her bike.
'Damn, I'm never going to be able to ride a bike the same again now…'
She remembered to when she was trying to detect Tsukune's aura while riding on Dark's bike, the vampire being thrown into ecstasy then from the overwhelming aura along with the vibration from the cycle. Even though the powerful aura was no longer smothering her she still found her body heating up from the familiar vibration she felt that day. The thought of holding on tightly to the shadow demon as her body started to move on its own came to mind, along with the effect of the aura causing her to lose all sense of vampire pride when her body went out of control and rode the shadow demon in the middle of the street… in broad daylight… in front of a large crowd of humans… in front of her friends… and in front of a very angry snow maiden and witch.
She was snapped out of her daydreaming when a horn sounded off from behind her. She looked to see the light had turned green then quickly made haste again through the city. She drove towards a smaller building near the commercial district and pulled up in front of it with a screech. It was a two story brick building with multiple windows on the first floor wall. She walked swiftly into the building as she took her helmet off, shaking her hair a bit and looking ahead with her crimson eyes. Walking up to the counter a man in white clothing turned to her with a smile.
"Welcome to the… oh, Akua. It's you. What brings you here?" the man asked curiously.
"Just need to make a withdrawal, and quickly. I'm in a bit of a hurry," the girl said looking around casually. Other people in the lobby were sitting in chairs while others were talking to other people at the large counter. The man nodded and looked down as he got out some paperwork.
"Anything for the Shuzen family of course. How much do you need?" he asked. The girl glanced to her pocket with her cell phone in it and blinked.
"Good question…" she said to herself. After a pause she looked back to the man with a shrug.
"She didn't specify, but I assume that five would be sufficient," she said simply. The man nodded and jotted down some writing on a sheet of paper. He set it down for the girl to sign then walked back to a room behind the counter. The vampire wrote her signature on the paper then glanced to her pocket again. After a while the man came back with a small carrying case with a handle, the white and gray object being handed to the girl with a smile.
"There you go. The finest we had today," he said kindly. She nodded then slid the paperwork to him.
"Thank you. Good day," she said simply as she walked back out. She slipped the helmet back on and attached the case to the side of her cycle securely. She mounted the vehicle and revved the engine, the vampire holding back a moan a she trembled.
'Seriously… how long is that going to keep turning me on?'
She shook her head and then drove off quickly, making haste towards the gateway into the monster world. As she raced through the human streets she wondered just what exactly her sister needed blood transfusion packets for in such a hurry. Luckily the Shuzen family had good connections with the blood banks in the human world, for obvious reasons.
Ruby was sitting at a table outside during the school festival, looking up at the clouds with a calm gaze as she slowly twirled her wand in one hand off to the side. She was lost in thought about her boyfriend, the warlock who was actually a treasure hunter, the caster who was skilled with chains and whips, the man who was her boyfriend after she waited so long for one.
'Razico… I wonder what you're doing right now…'
She looked over to see Ran, Rin, and Ren walking towards her table, the girls looking down with annoyed expressions.
"Hey, what's wrong girls?" she asked as they sat at the table with her.
"Just some students we had the unfortunate pleasure of getting to know better," Ren said with a tone of frustration.
"What? Are they being mean to you again?" Ruby asked looking around with caution.
"No, quite the opposite actually," Ran said shaking her head while Rin looked down with an embarrassed expression.
"Then what? What happened?" Ruby asked. The girls just looked to her with small blushes and annoyance as she glanced from one girl to the other. After a pause she leaned back with a tired sigh.
"They hit on you," she said flatly.
"If rubbing my rear, stroking Rin's hair, and holding Ren's thigh while we sat at their table counts as hitting on us, then yes. They did indeed," Ran said bitterly.
"I think I need to shower," Rin said as she trembled.
"Me too," Ren said as she shivered a bit. Ruby shook her head with disappointment for the student body then looked to the girls with a weak smile.
"Well… I guess that's one way of the student body showing they don't hate you anymore," she reasoned worriedly.
"This is a bit worse," Ren said glancing away.
"You just need to stand up for yourselves with creeps like that. Or get a boyfriend, that worked out rather well for my friends… and myself," Ruby said looking down, blushing at the end part.
"I have a feeling if we fight back now we'll only cause them to hate us altogether again," Ran said worriedly.
"Yeah, we could have charmed them to go away, but if we did everybody would be mad at us again," Ren said softly.
"Do you think everybody would be mad if I kicked that kid in the balls? That's not crossing the line is it?" Rin asked glancing behind her with a bit of discontent.
"I'll find them and deal with the matter; it is my job after all. Still, aside from them are you enjoying the festival now?" Ruby asked. The sisters nodded and smiled at the witch.
"There's so many different events and clubs here," Ran said looking around as she adjusted her glasses.
"It's better than being in the darkness, even with the perverts," Ren said looking around with a dull gaze.
"I wanna see the fireworks thingy still!" Rin cheered out. Ruby smiled amusingly at them as the girls looked around curiously.
'Tsukune and the others were right, they really are good girls. The poor things, being used and abused by that strange man in the darkness, I'm glad they're free again.'
"Ruby," Ren said softly looking back to the witch. She looked at the siren as the three sisters turned to her with small smiles.
"Thank you for trusting us again. I'm sorry… we hurt you all earlier," Ren said looking down.
"We just wanted to be free. So much," Ran said quietly.
"You're not still mad are you?" Rin asked worriedly. Ruby shook her head and smiled gently at the girls.
"No, we understand why you did what you did. You know, it's sort of a habit for new monsters here to nearly kill one another before they become friends. Just ask Tsukune, I'm sure he'll have a few tales for you," she said with a slight laugh at the end.
"Really?" Ren asked.
"Absolutely, I myself am guilty of that as well. I was foolish when I first met the boy, nearly killed them all with my magic," Ruby said looking down to her wand. The sisters looked at her curiously as she shook her head with a soft smile.
"Yet they still forgave me. They all did, after how I behaved. So you're not alone. Mizore, Kurumu, even Yukari, we all acted like… well, monsters before he helped us see clearly. Well, him and Moka, but still," she said looking back up to the girls.
"Do you think they'll really forgive us for what we did?" Ren asked softly.
"They already have remember? That's why they saved you all. Don't worry, we can all be friends here now," Ruby said with a calm smile as she looked at the girls. The sirens nodded and looked down with soft smiles.
"Relax, that's all behind us now. You can just relax and enjoy the festival in peace now," Ruby assured with a confident smile. Right after she uttered those words Yukari and Ahakon rushed around the corner and raced up towards their table in the food court.
"You three need to come with us right now!" Yukari said with frustration as she grabbed Rin and Ren's hands, the two sirens looking at her with surprise. Ahakon raced over and grabbed Ran's quickly.
"C'mon, you need to put a stop to this!" he said as he pulled her to her feet.
"What's going on?" Ruby asked with surprise.
"What are you talking about?" Ren asked shaking her head.
"Are we still in trouble?" Rin asked worriedly.
"Ok," Ran said softly as she looked at the young mage with wonder and a small blush. She blinked then looked to see the others watching her curiously while Yukari was narrowing her eyes at her. She jumped a bit then looked back to the mage again.
"I mean… why?" she stammered.
"Just follow us," Ahakon said as he pulled the siren after him, the girl offering literally no resistance to the caster. Yukari pulled Rin and Ren and ran behind them, looking at Ran with a dull glare. Ruby shook her head with puzzlement then raced after them as well. They raced through the festival grounds then came to a large crowd watching something. They pulled the three confused girls, one of which was blushing, towards the front then pointed to something. The girls looked to see Rason, Dark, and Gin watching something with dull expressions while other students around were pointing and laughing with amusement. Ruby ran up and saw the crowd was gathered around a large stage with overhanging colored spotlights and a bright backdrop wall. On the wooden stage were a microphone stand, speaker sets on both sides of the stage, and three girls struggling to pull the mic away from the other two. Mizore, Kurumu, and Kokoa were growling as they tried to pry the mic away while it gave off a static-like hiss and ring every now and then.
"Let go," Kurumu grunted with bared teeth.
"Not a chance, you let go," Kokoa barked back.
"I'm going to sing first, wait your turn," Mizore said with narrowed eyes as the girls tried to pull the mic away from each other.
"What's going on?" Ruby asked tiredly.
"They wanted to sing for their boyfriends, and couldn't agree on who goes first. They've been at it for 15 minutes," Yukari said with a sigh.
"Yukari offered to go last but they wouldn't take a noble route and back down from each other," Ahakon added.
"I thought the stage was destroyed earlier," Rin asked tilting her head.
"Yeah, we rebuild fast here. It's a school for monsters after all," Ruby said shaking her head at the three girls on stage.
The three boys were looking at their girlfriends with dull gazes, with Dark still listening to his music since it was apparent no girl was singing anytime soon, Rason sighing at his lover's stubbornness, and Gin watching his girlfriend while Kou was on his shoulder.
"So… should we stop them?" Gin asked.
"Sure, you try to grab that thing from them and keep all your fingers," Rason commented dryly.
"Ms. Kokoa should go first, it's only proper. It was her idea, weee!" Kou squeaked.
"It was all their idea, they all shouted 'me first!' and rushed the stage at the same time," Rason said shaking his head.
"Yeah… and they knocked the girl that was already singing clear off the stage with no remorse," Gin added. He glanced over to the side of the crowd where a female student was glaring at the three girls while rubbing her rear with of annoyance.
"Somehow I'm not surprised," Ruby said dully.
"Um… but what did you want us for?" Ren asked looking to Yukari. The witch was glaring to the side with a small growl.
"Ran, you can let go of his hand now," she said with a stern tone. The girls looked over to see Ran jumping then yanking her hand away from Ahakon quickly. He looked between the girls curiously as he didn't even notice Ran was still holding onto his hand to begin with. And he certainly didn't see that until now Ran was mostly watching him rather than the three stubborn girls on stage.
"Sorry," she said quickly. Yukari rolled her eyes then glanced to the other two sirens she didn't feel like clonking on the head with a washtub.
BANG!
"We want you three to go up there and put an end to this. You're all sirens, you can sing better, get them to stop," she reasoned with as Ran dropped to the ground from a washtub hitting her on the head from above. Ahakon looked at the siren with remorse while her sisters watched with surprise.
"Yukari!" Ruby shouted out.
"Oh c'mon, she had it coming and you know it. Anyway get up there and sing. Make those three shut up already," Yukari said pointing her wand towards the stage. Ahakon helped Ran up, the siren's world still spinning as the two others looked to the stage with worry.
"But… we can't do that," Ren said shaking her head worriedly.
"Yeah, we'll cause a scene," Rin said looking around nervously. Ran adjusted her glasses then looked around worriedly; well aware she deserved that hit to the head.
"We just received their trust, if we sing again they'll panic," she said with a bit of fear.
"You can show them that you're good singers and that you won't charm them again," Ahakon reasoned.
"You three sing great, you shouldn't have to stop now. Go on," Yukari urged with a confidence.
"But how are we even going to get those three off stage?" Ren asked looking to the three girls that were still wrestling for the microphone.
"Why not use those washtub things on them?" Rin asked Yukari. The witch shook her head and looked to the three stubborn girls worriedly.
"Right, knock them all down and piss them off along with their boyfriends who are watching right now. Just for the record, I'd rather clonk Inner Moka on the head than Mizore," she said glancing to the shadow demon that, if provoked, scared the hell out of her.
"Really?" Ruby asked glancing to her little friend.
"Yeah, at least Ahakon can stop a vampire with his magic. Nothing's going to stop Dark," Yukari said nervously. Ruby thought about that reasoning then looked to the stage with discontent.
"This is ridiculous," Ruby muttered as she walked towards the stage. The group watched as she marched up next to the arguing girls and cleared her throat. They glanced to her as she had her arms crossed before her.
"Would you three mind having a little dignity and quit acting like little girls? Seriously, what is wrong with you? Try to do the mature thing here and settle this like adults," she said with annoyance.
A mere second later she dropped down onto the ground in front of the stage encased in ice with a claw mark on her face and a lump on her head. The boys looked at the frozen witch then to their girlfriends.
"Saw that coming," Rason said simply. Dark and Gin merely nodded in agreement. Yukari and Ahakon looked at their frozen friend then to the siren sisters who were staring with wide eyes.
"Well go on, do your thing," Yukari urged.
"Our thing? What's our thing? Dying by their hands?" Ren said shaking her head.
"I'm not going up there," Rin said nervously.
"Maybe… they'll stop on their own," Ran suggested worriedly.
"Just hand it over bazooka girl," Mizore growled into the mic.
"Not a chance snow skank!" Kurumu barked back.
"Dark heard that you know!" Mizore shouted back.
"He can't hear anything, are you kidding me?" Kurumu yelled back.
"Both of you let go, I'm singing for my mate first!" Kokoa barked out.
"Like hell you're singing for your mangy wolf when my Destined One is waiting to hear my melodious voice," Kurumu said arrogantly.
"What would you know about music anyway, you think his damned howl is music," Mizore hissed.
"Your boyfriend won't even hear you singing anyway!" Kokoa yelled back.
"At least my boyfriend knows what good music is," Mizore barked back.
The three boys glanced to each other as their girlfriends continued to fight and curse into the mic. Rason just shook his head while Gin sighed tiredly. Dark merely raised an eyebrow at the girls as his own music kept playing for him.
Yukari and Ahakon shook their heads then looked to the siren sisters.
"Please, maybe they'll listen to you," Ahakon said worriedly.
"No way, I don't want to die now that I've finally been freed," Ren said shaking her head.
"Yeah, if Ruby couldn't stop them we sure couldn't," Rin said worriedly.
"Ok Ahakon," Ran said softly. The group looked to her as she jumped a bit with a blush.
"I mean… we should at least try, right?" she said nervously. Yukari gave her a dull stare then looked to the stage.
"Good, you go first Ran," she said flatly. The siren trembled a bit then looked to her sisters for support, both of which were looking at her like she was crazy.
"Are you crazy?" Ren said with disbelief.
"Yeah, just because you want to impress Ahakon doesn't mean we want to die," Rin said shaking her head.
WHACK!
Rin stumbled around dazed from the hit to the head while Ran was nervously looking at Yukari, the witch glaring at her with narrowed eyes. Ahakon was looking at the girls worriedly while Ren merely raised an eyebrow.
"That's not… true. I'm just trying to help… really," Ran stuttered out.
"Ran…" Yukari hissed out as her wand glowed softly.
"Really, that's all! I'm not charming him am I? Am I?" Ran pleaded while waving her hands around in front of her quickly. Yukari rolled her eyes then pointed her wand towards the stage while staring at Ran with a glare.
"Then get up there now," she ordered firmly. Ran looked to the stage then grabbed her sisters' hands.
"Well c'mon, you heard her," she said quickly as she tried to pull the two with her, with Rin pleading for her life while Ren struggled to pull free using colorful language that most wouldn't assume she would know of. Yukari watched them head off then looked to Ahakon with a curious glance.
"Ahakon… you don't feel anything for her do you?" she asked worriedly. Ahakon looked at her for a moment then smiled.
"You're kidding right? After all we've been through you're going to ask that?" he asked. Yukari nodded then looked down with a nervous smile.
"Sorry, it's just…" she said softly. She jumped and looked to see Ahakon holding her hand.
"She's just a friend now Yukari, you're my girlfriend. That's the way it's going to stay. You should know that I only love you," he said gently. She looked at him with loving eyes and nodded slowly, feeling her heart beat faster for the mage. The boy winked at her then looked to the stage.
"But we might want to help them, I don't want to see them die so soon," he said simply.
Yukari and Ahakon walked up to the three boyfriends as they continued to watch their girlfriends struggle to get the mic.
"Um, you guys really should stop this. I mean… they're kind of causing a scene," Ahakon said looking around at the crowd that was now starting to take pictures with their cameras and phones.
"Been thinking about it," Rason said with a thoughtful nod.
"We were actually about to play rock paper scissors to see who would be the first to get mauled by them trying," Gin added.
"We asked the siren sisters to sing instead, they are the best so they should go first," Ahakon said looking to see Ran struggling to push her two frightened sisters up the steps to the stage.
"They don't seem eager," Gin said with a laugh.
"Your girls are a bit scary like that. Think you can calm them down and get them off stage before blood starts flying?" Yukari asked simply.
"AH! You bitch!" Kurumu yelled into the mic.
"Too late," Rason said tiredly.
Ruby broke free from her icy prison and crawled back to the boys shivering.
"Ok… seriously, where's Inner Moka when you need her?" she whined as she stood back up. She looked to see Mizore had her ice claws formed, Kurumu had her nails extended out, and Kokoa was hissing at the girls with her fists clenched. The siren sisters, including Ran, had stopped and were looking at the fighters with fearful eyes.
"You guys have to do something, please!" Ahakon pleaded. Rason and Gin looked to each other while Dark continued to watch the girls stare each other down with glares.
"Ok, enough is enough. Kur-" Rason started before Dark spoke up.
"Mizore," he called out. The snow maiden blinked then looked to see him staring at her. She tilted her head curiously as the other two fighters glanced to him.
"Come down here," he said simply. The snow maiden paused then glanced to the other two, the girls looking at her curiously. After a pause she retracted her ice claws then hopped off stage, walking back to Dark with a timid expression.
"You're going to stay by my side, ok my little snow bunny?" Dark said as he took her by the belt and pulled her closer. She blushed and nodded while in a trance.
"Ok," she said softly.
"Haha, he's got you by the leash frosty," Kurumu laughed.
"Kurumu," Rason called out. The succubus looked to see Rason smiling expectedly at her.
"C'mon down, the sirens are going to sing instead," he said waving her over. Kurumu looked at him with disappointment then shook her head.
"But I want to sing for you. Really, my voice is better," she said worriedly.
"I have no doubt that I would enjoy your singing above all else my dear, but you're causing a scene. Besides, are you saying you'd rather be up there than with me holding you down here?" the angel asked tilting his head and putting a hand to his chin curiously. The blue haired girl looked at him with wonder as he glanced to Gin.
"Always ready to take one for the team," the angel said with a shrug. Gin looked at him puzzled before Rason turned back only to be tackled to the ground by a fast moving blue blur. Looking down Gin saw Kurumu was 'hugging' her boyfriend once again while sighing happily with a dreamy expression.
"Oh Rason, you know I'll always take this over anything! My perfect angel, I wouldn't dream of being anywhere else but in your arms holding you and loving you for all time. I love you so much my lovely Destined One, so very much!" she cheered out. The angel shakily gave a thumbs up before passing out while his head was smothered in his girlfriend's bosom.
"What a trooper," Gin said with a nod. He looked back to see Kokoa watching him with loving eyes while holding the mic.
"This one is going out to my boyfriend," she declared confidently.
"Um, Kokoa? You need to wait your turn. The sirens are going to sing," Gin called out. The vampire blinked then looked at him with discontent.
"Are you saying you'd rather listen to them singing than me?" she barked out while tapping her foot expectedly. Gin jumped then smiled nervously at her.
"I'm not saying… that. It's just they know how to sing and-"
"Are you saying I don't know how to sing? Is that it?" Kokoa yelled out. The group, except Rason who was unconscious, looked from the vampire to the wolf.
"No no, that's not what I'm saying. It's just… um… wouldn't you rather I hold you down here?" he asked nervously with a weak smile.
"Way to be original," Dark said simply.
"I'd rather sing for my mate up here, is there a problem with that?" Kokoa demanded loudly with anger. The crowd then looked from the vampire to the boy with curious expressions as he stammered out of fear.
"No no, that's not… what I'm saying is…" he stuttered nervously. The siren sisters backed up a step from the stage as the young vampire hissed at them, her aura flaring up around her.
"Is what?" Kokoa barked out into the mic while glaring at Gin, the speakers hissing and ringing from the outburst. The wolf gulped and looked around nervously.
"Psst," Kou whispered into his ear. He glanced to the bat as it nodded at him.
"If you're going to be Ms. Kokoa's mate then act like it. Show some backbone," Kou hushed at him.
"She's a vampire… and one with a bit of a temper," Gin said worriedly looking back to the redhead that was staring at him with narrowed eyes. She may have been smaller in size but there was no doubt in his mind that she could cause him serious injury if provoked.
"Yes but… she loves it when a boy is forceful. Show her you're the boss, make her know her place," Kou whispered eagerly.
"Really?" Gin asked curiously.
"Of course. You're S-Class are you not? She's always bragging that you're strong-willed. Show it," Kou whispered with a smile. Gin looked up thoughtfully as Kou quietly snickered.
'Then Ms. Kokoa can beat you into the ground for daring to speak to her with such arrogance. Hee hee wee!'
Gin then looked to Kokoa with a determined expression as the group watched him curiously.
"Kokoa, come down here now," he ordered out. The crowd jumped a bit in surprise as Kokoa just looked at him with a stunned expression.
"You've been causing a scene and you knocked the previous singer clear off the stage. You're done for now," Gin said crossing his arms before him. Kokoa dropped the mic, hopped down from the stage, then marched towards the boy with a loud growl.
"What… did you just say to me?" she yelled out as she got close to him. The group, minus Dark and Mizore, watched with a bit of fear as Gin shook his head at the vampire. Rason was slowly coming to at this point and was seeing a very angry Kokoa glaring at Gin who was showing a firm expression.
"I said you're done Kokoa. The sirens are going to sing now, both to show the crowd that they aren't going to do anything bad anymore, and so you three girls can cool it and stop all this fighting," Gin said sternly. Kou snickered as he flew up while Kokoa stared at the boy, taken aback by his nature.
"Dude… are you crazy?" Rason said worriedly as he and Kurumu got back up and backed away from the couple. Mizore slid behind Dark as the demon watched the vampire closely. The siren sisters were watching with frightful eyes while Ruby merely raised an eyebrow at the couple.
"Gin…" Kokoa growled loudly. Gin showed a look of discontent and shook his head.
"You're. Done," he said firmly. The vampire looked at him with surprise while Kou flew overhead, the bat squeaking with laughter.
"Ok Ms. Kokoa, I'm all ready when you are, wee!" he cheered out.
Everybody watched the vampire as she stared at the wolf. She saw him standing before her with his arms crossed, looking at her with a determined expression.
'Gin…'
And she also saw something in his eyes. The same thing she first saw in Dark's when he showed he wasn't afraid of her at all.
'Gin…'
The same thing in Tsukune's eyes when he gained confidence and strength, the power within that she was drawn to before.
'Gin…'
The same confidence and willpower that she admired in the boys before, and now Gin was showing it firsthand; standing proud in the face of possible death by a fiery redhead.
"Oh this is going to be bad," Ahakon said shaking his head nervously.
"Gin…" Kokoa said softly.
"Kokoa?" Gin asked with a firm tone.
The vampire looked at him for a moment then down.
"Ok, I'll stop," she said softly. The group jumped a bit while Kou froze in midair, the bat then looking down with wide eyes at the vampire as she timidly glanced up to her boyfriend.
"I'm sorry," she said gently.
"It's ok Kokoa; I know you can get a little carried away. How about you stay here with your mate and cool off a bit?" Gin asked caringly. The vampire looked up at him as he smiled at her calmly.
"I already know your voice is the best out there, you don't have to worry about proving that. You can go after them if you still want, but for now you're staying here with me," he said gently. The girl's eyes widened a bit as he held her close. Kou just stared in disbelief as the vampire buried her face into Gin's chest, the girl sighing happily and nodding. The wolf looked up to Kou and gave a thumbs up, the bat then just looking at the couple with bewilderment.
"Ms… Kokoa?" he squeaked out slowly.
"Well, now I've seen everything," Rason commented with a raised eyebrow. He then looked over to see the siren sisters just watching the group.
"Go on, the stage is all yours," he called out. The girls jumped a bit and looked to each other worriedly. The group turned to them as they slowly walked up towards the mic. Ren walked up and grabbed the mic while her sisters walked over to her sides. They looked around nervously as the large crowd was watching them with anticipation.
"Go on, it's what you were born to do," Ruby called out with a smile. The sisters looked to each other then to the crowd with wonder.
Dark removed his earbuds and nodded at the girls. Mizore glanced to him then smiled at the sirens as well. She knew of course her boyfriend would like the music, but no longer felt threatened by that fact. She held onto his arm and smiled at the sirens, eager to hear their singing as well. Kurumu held onto Rason's arm as the couple watched with interest. The bond relaxed her greatly, and she wanted to hear their singing again as well. Yukari held Ahakon's hand and watched with wonder as Ruby glanced around. So far nobody was panicking, although some students were showing a bit of caution. Gin held his girlfriend from behind, the vampire holding onto his arms with a timid smile as she watched the sirens. Normally she would have beaten anybody that spoke to her like that into the ground, but with Gin's confidence and just plain attractiveness to her, she felt her anger vanish as she melted in his arms. Kou landed back on her shoulder and looked between the couple with disbelief that his mistress would actually allow some wolf to handle her like that. The sirens glanced to each other then to the crowd again with soft smiles.
"Well… ok then," Ren said as she closed her eyes. The crowd watched as the sirens stood there in silence for a moment, and then Ren started to sing a gentle melody. Her voice echoed out through the speakers as the crowd watched with awe. Her sisters then joined in, the three singing in perfect harmony with one another.
"Wow…" Ruby said with amazement. The world around the crowd seemed to melt away as everybody felt at peace and relaxed. Even Dark had a slight smile on his face as the music was heard by the three sirens. Their voices and their song, although not understood with their foreign tongues, were uplifting to everybody's spirits. Ren's voice was gentle and calm while Ran's was more pronounced and clear. Rin's was energetic and lively as the siren bobbed a bit with a smile on her face.
"They really can sing," Rason said in wonder.
"We told you. It's unreal isn't it?" Kurumu said watching the girls with awe.
"I've never heard such music before," Ahakon said with a smile.
Male students in the crowd were watching with awe as the three beautiful girls sang their song perfectly.
"Wow, they're really good," one said with amazement.
"Are you feeling ok now?" his girlfriend asked worriedly. He nodded and smiled at the sirens.
"Yeah, I'm still me," he said assuredly.
"They're not charming us this time," a boy said waving his arm in front of him curiously.
"Their voices… they're so beautiful," a girl said in awe.
The three girls sang their gentle song then looked around as the crowd was staring at them speechless. After a long pause the group started to clap, followed by the claps and cheers of the crowd. The girls smiled and looked around as everybody was cheering for them.
"That was incredible," Mizore said with wonder.
"Very nice," Dark agreed.
"It's nice being able to hear their voices and not lose all control," Gin said with a small laugh.
"I gotta admit, that was impressive," Kokoa said clapping with wonder. Kou merely nodded and squeaked in agreement.
"They like us," Ren said with a smile.
"They really do," Rin said waving around. Ran waved to the crowd then looked to the group, all of them smiling at them and clapping as well.
"They really have forgiven us," she said with relief.
"Again! Again!" a boy's voice cheered from the crowd.
"Keep going!" a girl's voice called out.
"Sing something with some kick! Yahoo!" Kurumu cheered out. The sirens looked to each other with smiles then to the crowd.
"Encore! Encore!" Rason called out.
"More, keep going!" Ahakon called out. Ran blushed at him then looked to her sisters.
"Well, you heard them," she said with a shrug. The girls nodded then faced the crowd with smiles again. They started to sing another song, their voices carrying through the speakers as the crowd grew quiet to listen. Again the words were unknown yet they resonated with those that listened to it nonetheless. The song was faster and had a lively beat to it, the girls singing in unison as they moved a bit to the music. Their voices traveled across the crowd as everybody watched with amazement. The song made them feel energetic and seemed to make any fears or worries they had vanish.
"It's like their music affects us… I feel so… ready for anything," Kokoa said in wonder.
"Their voices really are magical. I feel like I could take on Fairy Tale again singlehandedly," Ahakon said with amazement.
"Well they are sirens, maybe their songs naturally have some charm to them," Yukari reasoned with a curious smile.
"That's right. When they sang before to cheer themselves up in the restroom… it made us feel so calm and relaxed then. It really got to us too," Kurumu said in wonder. The group glanced to Dark who had a small smile on his face.
"Dark's smiling, it definitely has magic to it," Rason said simply. The demon glanced to him and shrugged.
"It sounds good to me, that's all I care about," he said calmly. The group smirked then looked back to the stage as the sisters continued to sing. The entire crowd was watching with amazement at the three new girls, all of them captivated by their song. As the sirens sang their melody Kurumu, Mizore, Yukari, and Kokoa glanced to their boyfriends. The boys were enjoying the song, and it was pretty clear that the new girls had more talent when it came to singing. But the girls didn't feel threatened. So what if Dark smiled at them, he appreciates good music, so of course he would like their singing. So what if Rason called out for an encore, he was a nice guy and only wanted to be friends with the girls. So what if Gin opted for them to sing instead of Kokoa, he only wanted the girls to calm down and not break out into a brawl after how they behaved. And so what if Ahakon was smiling weakly because Ran kept looking back to him with a soft smile, well… actually that was bothering Yukari, but still. The girls knew their boys were truly loyal, and nothing would be taking them away. They all sighed happily and held onto their loved ones, enjoying the music along with the crowd. Well, Yukari not as much since her eyebrow was twitching as she caught Ran's looks towards Ahakon, but she smiled forcibly and tried not to get overly jealous again.
"I think they'll fit in just fine here," Ruby said looking around to see the crowd smiling at the performance.
"Yeah… although Ran isn't getting the hint," Yukari said as she held up her wand. Ruby grabbed her hand and pulled the stick back down.
"Wait until they're done at least," the elder witch said with a weak smile. Yukari sighed and nodded as she lowered her wand. Ahakon chuckled nervously then looked back to the new girls singing on stage, the sirens of Yokai Academy who felt safe and sound once again.
Inside a classroom students were listening to their math teacher as he explained the lesson for the day, the man pointing to the board where several equations were written out. As he did a few students weren't paying much attention to the lecture as they kept glancing to each other. Apoch, Astreal, Falla, and Kyouko were looking between three of their fellow students after they had learned that they were actually monsters in disguise. Render, Leon, and Ceal apparently had met Razico at some point and caused a bit of panic with the warlock, the caster going on about something involving keys and the destruction of the world. Normally such talk would just be waved away as crazy talk, but since they knew Razico, and Render even admitted he had keys stashed away in the magical ether, the girls were cautious and thinking there may be something to the story after all.
"What do you think that was all about?" Kyouko whispered to Falla. The chronofly merely shook her head slowly as she looked from the two mysterious students sitting in front of Apoch and Astreal to the other one sitting across from Kyouko. So far Ceal had been staring ahead of the class with a bored look while his gloved hand slowly drummed on the table with his fingers. Render and Leon however were glancing from the girls with curious expressions to Ceal with cautious ones.
"Alright class. I'm going to hand back your papers from the other day. Most of you did very well. Others I expected better of," the teacher said as he started walking around the class. He stopped at Render and Leon's table and put their papers down in front of them.
"Mr. Asaga and Mr. Takeda, I know you're both capable of solving these problems as you've done so before. However, these papers were certainly not your best work," he said with discontent as he put them down. The class chuckled as the boys glanced down to them.
"Sorry about that… we were out late last night," Render said glancing back to Ceal. The girls looked at him carefully as Leon shrugged.
"Won't happen again, just a… little snag," he said simply.
"Good, see that it doesn't. I know you two have been trying to keep ahead of the work here and were doing well, I'd hate to see you fall behind just for some late night parties," the teacher said walking away. Render leaned back and sighed while Leon just held his pendant around his neck with a gentle touch. The teacher walked around passing out papers to the students then stopped at Ceal's desk.
"And Mr. Erres," he said putting the paper down on his desk. The girls looked at him carefully as the boy continued to look ahead uninterested.
"While I'm glad to see you know the material and have once again done excellently, I'd appreciate you not providing colorful commentary on the bottom of your assignments," the teacher said with narrowed eyes. Ceal calmly took the paper and looked at it while his gloved hand continued to drum away.
"Just providing you an honest perspective sir," the boy said simply.
"Now listen up Mr. Erres, just because you ace the assignments doesn't mean you can speak with such disrespect about my teachings," the man barked back.
"I only spoke the truth sir. Are you condoning honesty?" the boy said glancing to him.
"Honesty? You need to learn some manners about speaking to your elders," the teacher snapped with discontent.
"Being honest is good manners, am I right?" the boy merely replied with. The teacher growled then walked towards the front of the class while glaring at the boy.
"I want no more of that crap, you understand me?" he said with anger. Ceal merely looked at him for a moment without saying anything.
"Well?" the teacher barked out. Ceal glanced to the paper and raised an eyebrow.
"Sorry, but I don't believe I could wake up in the morning with a bright smile on my face knowing I chose not to be honest about the fact that you're an incompetent failure of a teacher that struggles with the simplest of formulas and would be absolutely lost without his precious teacher's guidebook sitting on his desk," he said looking back to the man with a calm expression. The class just stared at the student with surprise while the teacher growled loudly at him. Before anybody could say anything else the bell rang to signal the end of the period. The teacher slammed his hand down on his desk and pointed to the student.
"I have a mind to report you to the principal Mr. Erres!" he yelled out.
"Go ahead. I'm sure he'd be interested in knowing what you're doing during all your 'cigarette breaks'," the boy challenged with narrowed eyes. The teacher jumped a bit and looked at him with surprise while the class looked to him puzzled.
"What… what are you talking about?" the teacher stuttered. Ceal smiled coldly at the man and tilted his head.
"Shall we talk about that with the principal?" he asked curiously. The teacher looked at him with frustration then growled quietly to himself.
"No? Good. Now get," Ceal said simply. The teacher took his book and papers then proceeded to walk out, glaring at the student as others stood up.
"What… what was that about?" the boy next to Ceal asked.
"Nothing that concerns you. Get out of here, I have matters to discuss with my 'friends'," Ceal said looking to Render and Leon. The other students filed out while looking at Ceal with puzzlement as the four girls were still watching him cautiously. After the last student left Ceal held out his gloved hand towards the door. The girls watched with surprise as a black tentacle appeared out of a rift on the wall and closed the door quickly, then flipped the lock. As it vanished the girls looked to the student with wide eyes as he stood up.
"Now then," he said looking at Render and Leon. They stood up and faced the boy with cautious expressions as the girls looked between them.
"What… what are you?" Kyouko asked nervously looking at Ceal.
"What are all of you?" Falla said looking between them all. The witch sisters glanced from one boy to the other with a careful eye.
"I have to ask, just what does the teacher do during his cigarette breaks?" Leon asked carefully.
"He peeps into the changing room of the girls," Ceal said with a shrug. The others looked at him with surprise as he showed no emotion to that.
"He does what?" Kyouko said with shock.
"Wow, didn't figure that guy to be a perv," Render said looking down in thought.
"And why haven't you told the faculty about that?" Leon asked.
"Leverage," Ceal said simply.
"I see; use that dirt to keep him out of your hair. Is that how you ace all your works here? Do you have all the teachers blackmailed?" Render accused while pointing to the boy. Ceal chuckled and smirked a bit.
"I do have dirt on nearly every teacher here yes, but I ace my work because unlike you idiots I know this simple garbage. I merely use what I know against those that get in my way," he said calmly.
"Ok, what is going on here? Who are you and what was Mr. Razico talking about?" Apoch demanded standing up. Astreal stood and looked between the boys with an accusing glare.
"We just got done saving the world, this had better be some sort of joke about you all about to destroy it again," Falla said as she and Kyouko stood up, the human girl looking nervously at Ceal now. The boy glanced to her and raised an eyebrow.
"Scared?" he asked with a slightly amused tone.
"No. Not at all. My friends are stronger monsters than you are anyway," she said nervously.
"Oh? Is that a fact?" Ceal said looking to the three monster girls. Falla stepped back with her arm shielding Kyouko while Apoch and Astreal kept their hands at the ready to attack.
"Ok, let's keep cool here. They're not a part of this Ceal, no need to harm them," Render said cautiously.
"You want us to help you, then you'd better back off," Leon said firmly. Ceal glanced to Render as the boy chuckled at him.
"Remember, I have those keys in the ether, and only I can bring them out," he taunted confidently.
"You need me as well, don't think you're in the position to make threats," Ceal said simply.
"Alright, enough!" Apoch yelled as she formed her sword, the glowing blade manifesting in her hand as she whipped it to face Ceal. Astreal aimed her hands at the two other boys as light raced along her arms towards her palms, the glow building up as she narrowed her eyes. Falla narrowed her eye as she kept Kyouko behind her.
"I don't know what's going on, so start from the beginning," Apoch said with a glare at Ceal.
"Razico didn't seem too happy to be dealing with you; I doubt you're friends of his. Now start talking," Falla said sternly. Ceal looked to Apoch with a slight smirk as Render and Leon just glanced to Astreal.
"You really don't want to do that," Leon said shaking his head.
"We're not your enemies, don't be foolish," Render said gently.
"Don't move, and start explaining," Astreal said with a commanding tone.
"Put your weapon down, or I'll make you," Ceal said coldly. Apoch narrowed her eyes at the boy as she kept her blade at the ready.
"You're in no position to tell me what to do," she hissed.
"Talk!" Falla yelled out.
Ceal chuckled as his hand glowed with a black hue. Suddenly from the ground several black rifts appeared as dark tentacles whipped out. In a flash all four girls were ensnared as their hands, legs, waists, thighs, and arms were bound by the limbs. The girls were pulled down to their knees as they watched with surprise. The powerful limbs from the otherworld kept them held down tightly as they struggled to move about. Although they were posed with the bindings that their breasts and hips were more pronounced the boys didn't take the time to really notice at the moment. Render and Leon watched Ceal with frustration as the boy walked up towards Apoch. He held her chin and tilted her gaze up to him.
"You were saying?" he asked mockingly. She growled as she struggled to move, her hand being held down while her blade vanished from sight. Ceal chuckled and looked to Render and Leon, the boys looking at the girls worriedly.
"You're making a big mistake here!" Kyouko yelled out at the boy. He glanced to her as he smirked.
"I doubt that," he said simply.
"Ceal stop!" Render yelled out. Ceal looked to see Render and Leon glaring at him. The girls looked to the two other boys as they growled with anger.
"Don't you dare hurt them. They're not involved in this," Render demanded through bared teeth.
"Oh? And why should I comply with that request? Not that it matters to me if they live or not anyway," Ceal said with a shrug. Leon looked to the girls quickly then back to Ceal.
"Because we need their help, so do you," he said quickly. Ceal laughed a bit as the girls looked at him cautiously.
"Help?" Ceal asked with jest.
"Yeah, you were right. Razico won't help us. He's too scared by the legends. But maybe one of them can," Leon said waving to the girls. Ceal chuckled and looked to Kyouko.
"Really? You think one of them would be any better?" he asked with a smirk.
"Why not? We need a fourth person Ceal, you know that. Why couldn't it be one of them? They were involved in Alucard's destruction, surely they are capable of the task," Leon reasoned quickly. Ceal looked at the girls with a raised eyebrow as they glanced around at the three boys.
"What… what are you all talking about?" Falla cried out.
"Interesting," Ceal said looking at the chronofly with a careful eye. She felt a cold chill run down her spine as she was held down with the boy's necro magic. Render glanced to Leon quickly then back to Ceal.
"He's right Ceal. Give them a chance. We need a fourth remember? And if Razico really won't help us then why not one of them?" he reasoned. Ceal glanced to the boy as he pulled off his glove, the girls staring with wide eyes at his black reptilian hand.
"What… what the hell are you?" Kyouko cried out.
"Ok, maybe she can't help, but still," Leon said with a sigh. Ceal looked to Falla and held her chin up to face him. The girl trembled as she was bound down while his cold blue eyes stared down into hers, his monstrous hand holding her chin as she shivered with fear.
"We do need a fourth," he said to himself. He smirked then glanced to Render and Leon.
"Tell me then, which one did you have in mind?" he asked. The boys jumped a bit and looked to the girls as they glanced to them worriedly.
"Well…" Render said slowly.
"This one doesn't seem to powerful. Neither does her human friend," Ceal said looking back to Falla. The girl trembled as she couldn't move or fight back at all, her body being held down by the powerful limbs that bound her. The boy chuckled and glanced to the other two monster girls.
"So tell me, which one shouldn't I kill?" he asked simply. The girls jumped a bit in shock as the boys looked to him with frustration.
"If you lay a hand on any of them…" Render growled with fury. The girls looked to him as he seemed to give off a blue aura. As it rippled out the girls felt something briefly from him, the same confidence that Tsukune always had in battle before. He seemed to shine in a different light in their eyes for a moment. Leon clenched his fists as the girls looked back to Ceal. After a moment the boy chuckled and shook his head, then slipped back on his glove with a calm expression. He snapped his fingers and in doing so the tentacles vanished back into their ether rifts. The girls dropped back as the caster looked down at them with a smirk.
"What… what are you doing?" Kyouko asked worriedly.
"Like I said, I don't care if you live or not. You're nothing to me. However, you seem to mean something to those two, enough that they would actually suggest having one of you help us to save you. And I would imagine even Razico wouldn't want anything to happen to his 'friends' should he be presented with such an ultimatum," the boy said with a chuckle. He looked to Render and Leon and nodded.
"He'll help us now. I have a feeling he'll see reason if motivated properly," he said simply. Render and Leon glanced to the girls then to Ceal with narrowed eyes.
"You're going to blackmail him with their lives?" Leon said with anger.
"Leverage my dear friend. Leverage," Ceal said with a chuckle. The girls stumbled back to their feet and backed away from the caster as Render and Leon watched him with narrowed eyes.
"Hey, I'm not up for harming the innocent here. We're not going to force him to help us like that," Render said shaking his head.
"Fine, then talk to them. Convince one to take his place," Ceal said looking to the girls. They jumped a bit then looked to the two boys. Render and Leon glanced to them then to Ceal.
"We need a fourth right? Well we have five candidates now," Ceal mused. He glanced to Kyouko, the human jumping a bit then hiding behind Falla from being in his sight.
"Well, four anyway. Personally I don't care who you choose, so no pressure on your part," Ceal said with a shrug.
"If you didn't already have one of the keys with you…" Leon said with frustration.
"You would what?" Ceal taunted with an amused grin at him. Render and Leon glared at the boy as he stood there. After a pause Ceal laughed a bit then walked towards the door.
"Four possible 'fourths' for our little game, I thought you would be thrilled at that opportunity," he said as he opened the door. He glanced back to them and smirked.
"I'll leave the selection up to you; otherwise I'll have a little talk with Razico myself at lunch. And ladies, it was nice to meet you after all," he said with a cold smile. He walked out as the girls steadied their breathing. Kyouko watched him vanish then bit her lip nervously. The girls then looked over to see Render and Leon watching the door with narrowed glances.
"Great, just great," Render muttered as he shook his head.
"You were the one that gave out that first key early. It's your fault he has it," Leon scoffed.
"Don't get mad at me! That other guy was trustworthy until Ceal ripped him to bloody pieces to get his key!" Render cried out.
"And you opened your mouth about your magic to these girls. He nearly tore them to pieces right here. You could have played it off like Razico was crazy or something," Leon said shaking his head.
"Oh I'm sorry, I was just trying to calm down our paranoid partner in cri-"
THUMP!
The boys looked back to see Kyouko passed out on the ground while the other girls were looking down at her with worry. Slowly they turned back to the two boys as they looked at them with a bit of remorse.
"So, um… sorry about that," Render said rubbing the back of his head.
"Are you girls ok?" Leon asked gently. The three girls looked to each other then back to their friend at their feet.
"Ok… what is going on here?" Falla asked looking back to the boys.
"Who... what…" Astreal said shaking her head.
"Ms. Kyouko," Apoch said worriedly. The two boys sighed and walked over to them, both looking down at their unconscious friend. The girls looked to them as they glanced around.
"We'll explain everything… I mean we sort of have to now. First things first, let's get her to the infirmary," Leon said tiredly as he picked the sleeping girl up. The three new girls looked at the boys carefully.
"What was he anyway?" Apoch asked cautiously. The boys looked back to the door with narrowed eyes.
"He's a nightmare, brutal, powerful… and unfortunately we're stuck with him in a common goal," Render said bitterly.
"Don't worry girls; we won't let him harm you or your friend. We promise," Leon said with a bit of a glare. The girls looked at them then to each other worriedly. Ceal had revealed himself to be a true monster, one that was resourceful and powerful in the arcane arts. He also was apparently needed by Render and Leon for something involving keys, something that could potentially cause the world's destruction. However at least they did see that Render and Leon were not evil as they did try to spare them from any harm.
"C'mon, I'll show you where the infirmary is," Leon said looking to Astreal. She nodded then followed him out while Kyouko remained passed out from the thought of somebody getting ripped to pieces by that student. Render sighed then looked to Apoch.
"Alright. We'll explain everything to you girls. Just try not to freak out or anything, ok?" he said simply. She looked at him with a bit of wonder as he walked out. She wasn't sure what that aura he gave off earlier was about, but now it seemed to be gone. After a pause she followed quickly after. Falla watched them go then looked down with a tremble. The way Ceal had her detained with what seemed to be no effort made her realize how weak she was now with her magic sealed. She sighed softly then followed after her friends, worried about what was happening around her.
"Luna… I wish you were here," she said softly as she walked out of the classroom.
The group was gathered at the school festival, all standing off to the side of the stage where just a little while ago the siren sisters performed for a cheering audience. Their voices, which were laced with a magical power from their monster energy, were a hit with the students who watched with amazement. Each song that was performed had a few things in common. For one they were all in a foreign tongue, with the words being unknown to everybody but the sisters themselves. Secondly each song seemed to affect the crowd, with happy songs making the crowd joyful while gentle and calm songs made them feel relaxed. Even faster songs with a heavy beat got the crowd cheering with energy. It seemed each song seemed to resonate with all those who heard it. And three the sirens were met with applause and cheering after each one, the student body loving each song completely. They weren't charmed, they weren't cheering out of pity; they really liked the singing. And who could blame them, everybody loved their songs.
Well, almost everybody.
"Um… did you have to do that?" Kurumu asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Ruby said I had to wait, so I did," Yukari said flatly as the group was looking down at Ran, the siren lying on the ground dazed with a golden washtub spinning around next to her.
"Why did you hit our sister?" Rin cried out.
"Because she kept staring at Ahakon," Yukari muttered as she firmly held the young mage's hand.
"Yeah… I kinda noticed that too," Kokoa said simply. The blue haired siren slowly sat up as her world stopped spinning then looked to the young witch with worried eyes.
"Um… sorry," she said softly.
"So she was looking at him, what's wrong with that?" Rason asked puzzled.
"She kept staring at him, it's pissing me off," Yukari said with annoyance.
"Yeah, she does keep looking at him a lot," Ruby mentioned as Ran got up and looked down embarrassed.
"Sorry, I couldn't control myself," she said softly.
"How come you like Ahakon that much? Isn't he a bit young for you?" Mizore asked curiously.
"Yeah," Yukari snapped with a growl and bared teeth, not liking the attention her boyfriend was getting from the siren.
"That's exactly why she likes him," Ren said flatly. Ran jumped a bit and looked down with a big blush.
"Stop picking on me! I wasn't going to try anything, honest!" she cried out.
"What do you mean that's why she likes him?" Gin asked. Ren glanced to Ahakon with a raised eyebrow.
"Remember her manga?" she asked plainly. The boy looked up thoughtfully, blinked, and then looked down with a weak expression.
"Oh… yeah," he said nervously.
'Now I remember… not that I wanted to.'
"Her manga?" Kokoa asked.
"She likes younger boys," Rin said with a smirk and a giggle. Ran trembled and looked to her with frustration.
"I just like… the stories. I can't help it if… they're cute too," she said as she looked down with defeat.
"The boy on boy stories? Really, that's why you like Ahakon so much? You know he's straight right?" Kurumu asked with a laugh.
"I know that!" Ran cried out. Ahakon chuckled nervously then looked to Yukari with a bit of fear. The witch narrowed her eyes at the siren as the group watched the girl cover her eyes and look down with embarrassment. She then peeked to the mage and hid her blush.
"It's just he looks like some of my favorite characters from the stories," she said softly.
"Well… that's flattering, I guess," Ahakon said nervously. Ran looked to him with worry and shook her head.
"I promise I wouldn't charm you or do anything now though. I know you have a girlfriend. Honest," she pleaded. Yukari looked at her with a dull gaze then down with a sigh.
"Is this what Kurumu and Mizore put up with before with Luna and Felucia?" she muttered.
"Um, I'm still putting up with it, what are you complaining about?" Kurumu said with a raised eyebrow.
"She admitted she's not going to try anything, she's just seeing a resemblance from her stories," Mizore said with a shrug. Yukari hesitated for a moment then looked to Ran.
"Fine. I'm sorry Ran," she said simply. The siren nodded and looked down.
"You used to read those stories when you were held captive by that strange man?" Ruby asked.
"No, I read them before he took us, and whenever I could during our little… missions for him," Ran said softly. Yukari looked at her with a bit of sympathy then down as she held her wand in front of her gently in her hands.
"Mother and father weren't too thrilled when they found them at first," Rin snickered.
"That's because you ratted me out!" Ran yelled out at her. Rin giggled and looked up innocently as the group looked at her with amusement.
"I'm not the one with the strange tastes," Rin said with a laugh.
"No, you're the one that curiosity got the best of!" Ran yelled out. She gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth as Rin looked to her with heartbroken eyes.
"I… I'm sorry… I didn't mean…" Ran said as Rin started to cry.
"What the hell Ran?" Ren said with worry as she looked at Rin. The blonde haired siren looked down as she trembled.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that, really," Ran pleaded.
"What's wrong?" Ruby asked as the blonde haired siren backed away from the group as she broke down, the girl holding her headphones over her ears tightly.
"I… I didn't know then… I didn't know!" she cried out loudly.
"Rin, she didn't mean it, really," Ren said worriedly.
"Yeah, it just slipped out. I'm sorry," Ran pleaded. Rin sobbed then ran off into the crowd. Ren watched with worry to where her sister vanished then looked to Ran with a glare.
"How could you even mention that to her like that? What is wrong with you?" she snapped.
"I don't know, I'm sorry, it just came out," Ran reasoned nervously. The group looked at them with concern before the two girls ran off after their sister.
"What was that about?" Rason asked.
"I'm not sure, let's go make sure they're ok," Kurumu said as they took off after them.
Rin was running aimlessly through the crowd, crying as she shook her head with a pained expression. She held a hand to her headphones as the music quietly played for her. The magical item was the only thing keeping her memory working for her, the only thing that kept her mind mostly focused; the magical item that was needed to reverse a mistake in her past.
'I didn't know then… I didn't know what I was doing!'
She sobbed as she ran through the crowd quickly, running as tears dropped down to the ground below. She was so busy crying that she didn't see somebody in front of her, the girl crashing into a larger male student and taking them down to the ground.
Ren and Ran weaved through the crowd with worried eyes as the group was following closely behind. After a while they came to a small clearing in the crowd of students walking around where they saw Rin laying on the ground shaking her head, the girl's hand over her ear while her blonde hair flowed behind her. She blinked then looked up with curious eyes as a few tears still dropped to the ground. The larger boy was getting up with a growl as he looked back to the girl.
"What's the big idea, watch where you're going!" he barked out at the girl. The group caught up to Ran and Ren as the two sirens were looking down at the ground, at the headphones of their sister that was lying on the ground next to her.
"What? Where I'm going?" Rin asked confusedly.
"You stupid bitch," the boy scoffed while raising his foot. Ran and Ren gasped as the group watched with surprise. The boy then stomped down and crushed the headphones into the ground, the blonde haired siren looking at him with fear as she had no idea what he was talking about. Ren and Ran looked with shock at the broken headphones then shook their heads.
"No… no…" Ren said with fright.
"Oh… my… god…" Rason said as the group slowly looked to the two sisters. Ran shakily held her hand out towards Rin and trembled, staring with wide eyes at the destroyed headphones.
"NO!"