Angel vs. Demon

Chapter 29 – Grotesque Puppet Show… and a Ball

"I wanna go home," Kenta whined, pulling at Moka's arm. "Please?"

Moka was torn. She wanted us safe, but we had hardly explored the rest of the attractions. Finally, she passed the burden on to Tsukune.

"Tsukune?" Moka asked, her eyes peeking up at him.

"Um…" Tsukune scratched his head, and I knew that it was going to be a long decision. Knowing him (as selfless, loyal, and nice as he is), he was going to do what we wanted to do, and it was going to end up with everyone arguing again.

Kurumu, as always, was trying to be upbeat about the whole situation.

"Well, I'm fine!" she said, laughing lightly. "I actually want to see the rest of the fair, don't you? I mean… I just want to make up for the popcorn I lost. And I'm still alive enough to do it, so why not enjoy the rest of the carnival?"

"We planned so hard for the ball, too," Mizore added, looking down.

"And we might get killed while attending the ball, ever thought of that?" Kiseki inquired, an eyebrow raised.

"I say we risk it," Garron stated, looking positive about his decision. "I mean, from what I know, we have all been through far worse. Why let strange occurrences ruin our night tonight? We're here on vacation, after all."

When no one looked convinced, Garron continued. "What I'm saying is, these little threats are nothing to be afraid of. Whoever is doing this has got to be trying to send us some kind of message, and if we take their hint and leave, then it's the same as giving in. We'll just carry on like normal. Am I right?"

"I suppose," Tsukune said, looking slightly more hopeful. "We should just all have a good time, regardless of what might happen."

"But we're sticking together from now on, ok?" established Moka quickly before everyone could wander off. "It's safer that way… no one is going anywhere by themselves."

"Sounds good," we all agreed.

"So to do something together… why don't we watch the puppet show?" Garron suggested. "It's just up ahead, and there's not many people; we'll be able to see if anyone's targeting us. I say it's a pretty safe place to start."

After considering the possibilities, we decided to go. Garron was right; there weren't a lot of people there. I supposed it was safe. We had arrived just in time to see the ending of the puppet show, though… the audience was looking bored.

"… and so, they all lived happily ever after!" the narrator concluded, while the puppets bowed and bobbed their heads. The audience started clapping, and the curtains were just about to draw when one of the puppets' head fell off.

It was a girl's head, and although it was a inanimate doll, the scene still looked strangely grotesque as the head rolled off stage and dropped down onto the ground. The long, dark hair got tangled around the head, picking up dirt and grime, and yet the head still kept rolling. It rolled underneath chairs, under audience member's legs, and - finally - rolled towards me. There was a soft knock as it hit my foot.

Everyone in the audience was looking at me; even the puppets onstage, it seemed. I looked towards my friends for assistance, but they all just stared back at me, not giving me any hint or help whatsoever. Flustered, nervous, and not knowing what to do, I decided to pick up the head and bring it back to the puppet master. As I held the head in my hand, however, something fell from inside of it. Since the head was hollow on the inside, it was easy to store something small in there.

I almost panicked and dropped the damn head, but – thank goodness – it wasn't a weapon or anything dangerous. It was a folded up piece of paper, and I could just make out the writing scrawled inside.

Curious, I decided to unfold the piece of paper and read it. My back was turned on the crowd, so luckily they couldn't see me snooping around.

It seemed like the note was directed right at me. The words: I saw what you did to your friend, you little backstabber. I have evidence, and I'm not afraid to reveal it. Consider this as payback for the time you embarrassed me in front of him. were written across the note. Although I didn't know how anyone could put this note inside the doll's head and get it to me without anyone noticing, I felt that without a doubt this note was meant for me, and that whoever wrote this was serious.

Which led me to think… Which sassy, evil girl have I angered? And who is this "him"?

"Ame," Kenta hissed at me from the audience. "Hellooo, Ame!"

"What are you doing just standing there?" Kiseki, not bothering to whisper, asked this out loud from the crowd. "Aren't you going to give that back to the puppet master?"

Quickly pocketing the note, I took long strides up to the stage and cautiously handed the puppet head back. One of the crew members took it and thanked me, then proceeded to head backstage.

"Wait!" I said, pulling him back. "I have a quick question…"

"Yes?" the guy asked impatiently, turning to look at me.

"Was there a girl around my age backstage, by any chance? Was she anywhere near the equipment or anything?"

"A girl?" the guy asked, thinking hard. "Hmm, now that you mention it, there was a girl. She won the ticket for a backstage tour, so we let her look around."

"Do you remember her name?"

"Uh, I think it was N-something… Nona… Nana… Noni…?"

"Nina?"

"Oh, yes, it was Nina."

"Thank you," I said, giving him a quick smile before returning to my seat. There was no doubt about it, then. Although I had almost forgotten the incident, I was sure she was the girl who had tried to hit on Kiseki… and had been embarrassed in front of the whole class by his harsh rejection.

But this made me confused. Why was she trying to get back at me? How was that incident my fault? And, most importantly, what did I do to my friend that made me a backstabber…?

I shook my head sadly. I didn't think I would ever understand someone like her. But – just to make sure this situation doesn't get any worse – I had to meet up with her as soon as possible. Find her myself, if necessary. Although I was positive I did nothing bad to be afraid or ashamed about, I didn't want her spreading any false rumours about me, just in case.

"Well, that was interesting," Garron said after we'd watched the puppet show.

"Yeah, especially when the head rolled on to Ame's foot." The way Kenta said it made it sound so much more comical than it actually was.

"It's almost time for the ball," Moka reminded everyone. Tsukune nodded, and confirmed that we should all get going. It was going to be a town event, and all the other students that came with us from Yokai Academy were going to be there, so it was only natural for us to come.

I had another reason, though. Nina was in our grade, and I was hoping to find her among the crowd at the ball so I could talk to her. It was the perfect chance for a confrontation.

"Let's go!" Yukari cried, skipping ahead. "We'll need to change, too!"

It took forever to get ready, and the outfits were especially hard to get into. It took us quite a few tries to put it on right. Mizore kept sticking her head out the arm hole of her dress, much to our amusement.

When we finally arrived, I found out that we were actually kind of late. The ball was already packed, and the refreshments were already set out. After taking a look, I had to say that the room was probably one of the best venues in the entire town. It was big, big enough to hold hundreds of people, and there were elegant pillars and paintings everywhere. In the very centre of the room, on the ceiling, was this gigantic crystal chandelier that probably weighed a ton. The entire room was blinding and shining.

"I call first dance with Tsukune!" Kurumu announced, lacing her arm through Tsukune's. Embarrassed and blushing, Tsukune was led onto the dance floor.

"Hey!" Moka complained, chasing after her. Mizore, however, had found a suitable pillar and was standing behind it, gazing at everyone. I didn't mind that she was "spying" on us, but her beautiful gown was covered, much to my disappointment. Mizore looked so pretty, and yet she didn't flaunt her beauty. Yukari and Kenta (the younger ones) headed off to talk, dance, and sample the refreshments.

In the end, Tsukune, Garron, and Kiseki all got a turn dancing with all girls (that is, Kurumu, Moka, Yukari and I… and eventually Mizore, who had felt a little less shy and was brave enough to emerge from behind her pillar). Even little Kenta wanted a chance to dance with all of us. It was just a very fun night, in general. And, much to my approval, the food was delicious. Nothing was poisoned, dirty, or had anything deadly hidden inside it. We had examined each portion just to make sure.

One thing that still nagged at the back of my head was Nina. I still hadn't found her, and the ball was almost going to end.

Looking up from the refreshments table (which was where I was at, sipping at my drink and nibbling at the cupcakes), I saw a girl with long hair talking to Kiseki. Behind her, she was flocked with a group of girls… that all strangely dressed to look like her. Outfit, hair, makeup and everything.

"Ah," I said out loud, setting down my cup. "I found Nina."

Striding over to where they were at, I hoped and prayed that Nina was going to be reasonable and at least explain to me what the note was about. I wasn't going to yell at her or accuse her of anything (as she was undoubtedly going to do to me), but the least I could do was ask her about the note.

"Nina," I called, trying my best to give her a sincere smile as I joined her. "What a surprise to see you here."

Nina narrowed her eyes at me in distrust. She actually looked wary of me, as if I was a criminal or something. This was so weird.

"What's wrong?" I asked, frowning. I couldn't keep the tone of worry away; it crept into my voice and made it squeaky.

Seeing my discomfort, Kiseki tried to answer me. "It's nothing much. Nina over here just decided on a whim to drag me over here and speak to me. Warning me about you, and other nonsense like that."

"Kiseki!" Nina chided, shaking her finger at him. "Don't go spilling our private conversation to outsiders. You're know, you know. It's actually a lot more than that. But for now, you may leave… I need to speak with Ame alone."

For a second, Kiseki was stunned. It looked like this was the first time a girl had dared to order Kiseki around like this, and he simply couldn't compose the look on his face. He didn't look like he was going to leave, either. Only when I put my hand on his arm and asked him quietly to wait with the others did he clench his teeth and give a quick nod.

"But if you need anything," Kiseki said slowly, directing his words at me but looking at Nina, "I'll be right over there. Close enough to call for help."

I rolled my eyes and tried to give him a shove, but it didn't work out too well. I turned my eyes away from his retreating back as Nina cleared her throat delicately.

"So, it has come to my attention that you have gotten the note?"

Thank God she brought up the subject first.

"I did," I answered. "And I'm confused about it. You might have to clarify things for me."

"What more clarification do you need? Do you not know what you did with your own hands? Do you not know what a mess you created?"

I decided to let her do the talking. "Okay, I guess I don't know. What did I do?"

Nina snorted. "You act like you're all good and nice, but really you're just an evil little backstabber, aren't you? Fine, I'll spell it out for you, since you want to play dumb. First of all, you ruined my reputation."

I opened my mouth to deny that, but Nina held up her index finger.

"Ah, no-no-no, wait till I finish speaking. You embarrassed me in front of everyone and made me look stupid. And don't try to say it wasn't you, because Kiseki wouldn't have said anything if you weren't there. He wouldn't have compared me to you then, at all. And, not only did you ruin my reputation, you suddenly decided to reveal your true colors and attempt a murder on your friend, too."

I decided that I couldn't keep quiet anymore.

"What?" I cried, angry and frustrated. "Why are you accusing me of all this? I did not try to kill my friend! I don't even know what you're talking about!"

"Don't feign innocence! I have proof! You poisoned a needle and stuck it in that succubus's popcorn!"

There, she let the bomb drop. I stood there for five seconds, processing what she said. What had I done during the time that Kurumu was buying that popcorn? Why would I poison her? And how come I don't remember doing it, if that's the case? Nina said she had proof, but…

"I really don't remember doing it," I said slowly, pronouncing each syllable slowly, as if to convince myself. "I'm not sure how you're convinced that I'm behind all this, but I really don't know. If you could show me, then…"

Nina stuck her hand out towards one of her followers without looking at her. "Bag?" she requested.

Obediently, one of the Nina-lookalikes placed her handbag into her hand. It wasn't a very big bag; it was more like a pouch. Nina rummaged through it and held up a camera.

"When I saw you creeping around the popcorn stand, I thought you were doing something suspicious, so I recorded everything. I didn't know then that you were planning on killing someone, but, you know… that doesn't surprise me."

I rolled my eyes. "Ok, so let's see the video."

Just as Nina turned on her camera, the entire room flickered. Suddenly, a loud creaking noise was heard. It was followed by a loud crack. Everyone raised their heads to look at the ceiling…

The chandelier's hinges were breaking off, and it hung precariously by a few wires. The chandelier's light flickered as it swung back and forth. Crystals rained down on the crowd, and people began screaming.

There were shouts and commands to evacuate the room, and although everyone was too busy freaking out to listen to it, they instinctively sought out the exits and exited through the doors. The only ones who were left were Tsukune, Moka, Mizore, Kurumu, Kenta, Yukari, Garron, Kiseki, Nina, her minions, and I. We didn't evacuate the room, but we stood clear out of the way as the chandelier came crashing down onto the smooth marble floor.

The room got a whole lot dimmer, but there were still other lamps and lights to see by. Immediately after the crash, Yukari ran up to the broken chandelier and inspected it.

"Someone cut the base," she announced in a grim tone, straightening up. "The damage was done with a sharp edge; most likely a knife."

"Who would've done that?" Kurumu demanded, looking aghast. "Is there someone who tried to ruin the ball?"

"I know who did it!" Nina cried. Her voice echoed through the room. "It was Ame!" She pointed a perfectly manicured finger at me.

All eyes in the room turned towards me. Although there was almost nobody else left, I still felt a stab of fear. These were my closest friends… and if they believed Nina's lies, then what would become of me?

"Ame…"

"Ame would never do it!" Kenta cried defensively. "She'd never…"

"Yeah," Tsukune added in a sure tone. "She was with us the entire time; when could she have done that?"

"Well, I think she did it." Nina said stubbornly. "She was probably just jealous; she knows that she'll never be able to compete with me. Ame just wants to make everything look like it's not her fault, when it actually is."

"What proof do you have of that?" Kiseki demanded. "Stop blaming everyone. It's clear that none of us did this."

"I've got proof of everything!" Nina cried in defence. "She's jealous of Kurumu too, although I wouldn't know why. She put the needle in her popcorn! I saw it with my own two eyes."

"Nina!" I cried, horrified. Why would she just blab out everything – whether it was true or not – to my friends? Although they probably wouldn't believe her (they were my friends for a reason), it would still make a mess of things.

"See?" Nina said, gesturing towards me. "She's surprised I know. It's true, after all. She's trying to deny it."

This girl was pushing my buttons. She said she has proof, but she hadn't shown it yet. And I know it wasn't true, so what right did she have to accuse me of anything? And to spread the rumour around, too! As if things weren't already a mess!

"Ame completely ruined my night," Nina continued, looking sorry for herself. "I just came here to enjoy myself, but then she had to do all this!"

Nina was making me so mad. I wasn't talking "irritation" or "annoyance" kind of mad… I was talking a full-blown, seeing-red kind of anger. For the first time in a very long while, I wanted to hurt someone. I wanted to injure her physically, right on that perfect-looking, pale skin of hers, so she will stop complaining and learn when to shut up.

Oblivious to my feelings, Nina continued complaining. "Aren't you guys pissed? I mean, I'm not the only one who got excited for this carnival, right? What does it feel to have your nights ruined?"

Nina paused, then rolled her eyes. "Oh wait, right… What was I thinking? I was completely wrong! You guys have no life! That's why something like this is exciting for you guys! All you know is to cause trouble in school and run around fighting bad guys… This is just so sad."

That was it. The floodgate opened (or in this case, the "firegate"), and I could feel my entire anger letting loose. It poured out from me not in waves, but in heaps, and it swirled around me and filled up the entire ballroom.

"Um, Ame…?" Moka tentatively stretched out an arm to get my attention, but Tsukune held her back.

"She's very… agitated right now," Tsukune said softly. I almost didn't hear him, my anger was so loud; it roared in my ears and consumed me. "You better leave her and let her chill for a while."

"I'll help with the chilling if she doesn't chill soon," Mizore offered, flexing her wrist. Ignoring her, I focused all my attention on Nina.

"You," I said slowly. "I don't care if you accuse me - make fun of me, whatever. But don't you ever make fun of my friends."

"Aw, so I hurt your little friends' feelings?" Nina asked, making cooing noises. "Well, you guys deserved this! Especially you, Kiseki, and Ame. You guys made a fool of me in front of everyone. And the rest of you – Kurumu, Moka, Cappuccino, whatever – you think you're all so popular. Well, Nina won't be left behind! She's gonna make her comeback, too. Just you wait."

Nina seemed not to sense my anger at all. I didn't get how she couldn't; it surrounded me like a flaming tornado. Bits and pieces of red floated around me. Fuelled by my fury, my demon wings slid out from my back so easily and suddenly that it felt like second nature. The iron horns emerged from my crown as I beat my wings and levitated a few feet off the ground, directly in front of Nina. I was sure my eyes were blazing red.

Seeing me for the first time, she backed up a couple of steps.

"Whoa, wait… who said you could transform right here?" Nina stuttered, as her arms rose automatically to defend herself. The rest of her so-called "friends" were backing up faster than she was, and some even turned on their heels and ran out the door.

"There's no one here, is there?" I argued back, my voice turning into a scary hiss. I knew she was terrified, and to be honest, even I was terrified of myself. But I couldn't control it. She made me this mad; I think I deserved to let out my anger a little. I was fairly confident in my ability/powers, and I knew I wasn't going to harm her in any way.

"S-stop," Nina commanded, pointing a quaking finger at me. "Don't you make me transform into my true form, too!"

Even in times like this, she still wanted to act all tough! Calling up her bluff, I conjured up a flaming trident. The fire felt at room-temperature when I held it against my skin. Nina gaped at me.

My friends, though, seemed to think I took it too far. Tsukune must have pulled the rosario off of Moka's chest, because the room suddenly filled with a bright red light; we could simply feel the power radiating off of Inner Moka when she appeared.

"Ame, stop this," Moka commanded, taking steps towards me. "I know you're trying to defend your friends, but you need to know how to control yourself. Had all my training gone to waste?"

I was in control of my powers, yes, but it was difficult when I was angry. Aside from that, I still hadn't mastered transforming at will; it always seemed to be fuelled by my emotions instead.

And right now, I was raging.

"She was accusing you guys!" I cried. "And she blamed me for trying to poison Kurumu!" My flames went up a few notches just at the thought of it. "She won't keep quiet about this at all!"

Seeing as words were no use against me right now, Moka took the initiative and used force instead. She bounded towards me in three quick strides and pushed herself off of the ground, her feet aiming towards me.

In reality, her training hadn't gone to waste at all. From pure instinct, I dodged her attack and reached out to grab her ankle. I was just about to attempt self-defense when I stopped in my actions, completely stunned.

What was I doing? This was my friend I was hurting. Hesitating, my fingers trembled against her ankle.

Moka used this pause to spin around and twist herself out of my grasp. She took me down and tackled me to the ground, landing softly on top of me. I almost couldn't feel her weight, but somehow I couldn't seem to be able to get up. Lying on my stomach, I struggled to rise.

"I'll let you up," Moka said, "but you have to calm yourself. Control your powers; don't let your powers control you. Your actions are the result of your feelings, Ame, never forget that."

I gave up struggling and nodded. I took several deep breaths and blinked the redness out of my eyes. Embarrassed and slightly light-headed, I stood up.

"I'm sorry, guys," I apologized, looking down. "I wasn't helping at all, was I?"

"Well, you did help a little," Kurumu said, trying to cheer me up. "Nina over there sure won't be angering us anytime soon, will she?"

Turning my head to the side, I saw Nina huddled there against the pillar, looking at me with a terrified, wary expression. I sighed, feeling horrible. Now why did my demon self have to be so scary?

"Well, well, well... what do we have here?" a familiar voice drawled.

I knew this voice. It wasn't as scary and haunting as "the voice", but it came in close second in terms of making my skin crawl.


Author's Note:

Sorry for the cliff-hanger, and thank you guys for reading! I wanted to continue, but it got waaay too long x( I'll have to save the rest for the next chapter... You'll be able to find out who the voice belongs to then, if you haven't already :P

Till the next chapter!

- ACookieZ