Nowhere
It's great to hear everyone's opinion on the JyuuSena, hope you enjoy the chapter! A new character appears, so be happy!
Chapter Thirty-Six
"Hiruma's going to kill me," I chanted as we arrived closer to the school.
Monta swallowed nervously. "Hey, dude how about being a little positive?" He asked shakily. I gave him a blank look before bowing my head.
"Hiruma-san's going to kill me, but hopefully it will be quick and painless."
Monta groaned, sinking down lower in his seat. I threw Juumonji a look over my shoulder; he was sitting a couple seats away and gave me a small wave as we noticed each other.
"Oi, Sena, talkin' here." Monta waved a hand in my face.
Blinking, I sat up and turned to face him. "Sorry, I was just, um, what did you say?"
He sighed heavily. "I said we could just not tell Hiruma that I know. I mean seriously, how would he find out?"
I could feel whatever color that was left in my face drain out. "He can read minds Monta. He probably already knows."
It was Monta's turn to start looking alarmed. "H-hey you know, um, you could've mentioned that before," he croaked, staring out at the passing greenery.
"Sorry, I was too busy dreading our impending doom." I sighed again, wrapping Juumonji's sweatshirt tighter around me. I was really going to be screwed when I had to give it back, it was the only warm thing I had in my possession at the moment.
"Urg, but vampire? Seriously? What do they look like, you know, when they change? Van Helsing, or more Underworld?" He asked curiously.
I blinked tilting my head. "I really have no idea what you're talking about," I admitted.
Monta groaned. "You don't watch vampire movies? Well, figures. My mom always gets angry when I watch Underworld, the werewolves are the bad guys."
I nodded. Ahh, so he was talking about movies.
I think, maybe, I wasn't really that sure with Monta.
"What did they do to you when you found out?" Monta asked, still curious. I sighed, knowing the answer wouldn't help calm him at all.
"That bad?" He pressed. I nodded with a shrug. Monta didn't look that put out, I guess it was the oncoming full moon tonight somehow making him more confident.
"They tried to turn me into a vampire," I decided to explain.
Monta's eyes widened. "Did it work?"
I frowned, scratching the back of my neck. "Do I look like I turned into a vampire?"
He shrugged, holding up his hands defensively. "Whoa, I was just asking. But seriously, what do they look like?" He frowned, still not sure what he was asking.
"What are you talking about?" Juumonji appeared seemingly out of nowhere. I held back a high-pitched shriek and spun around to face him with wide eyes.
"Nothing," Monta and I said in unison.
The corners of Juumonji's face fell slightly, and I felt guilty. I didn't like lying to him at all. "Uh, okay then," he said slowly, his frown growing.
"How was the rest of your weekend?!" I asked, moving away from any awkwardness I was totally causing.
The rest of the bumpy school bus ride was quiet with Juumonji and I making light talk and Monta getting paler and paler. When we finally did creep up the driveway, I half expected to see Hiruma standing there looking all sorts of angry.
Surprisingly, he wasn't there.
Shin was instead.
My stomach dropped. I was seriously beginning to think that Hiruma lied about not being able to read my mind. Shin was scary and at least five times more intimidating than Agon, probably because he rarely talked.
Monta noticed the panic on my face and then turned to Shin. Hoarsely he whispered under his breath, "Is he one of the… you know, soccer players?" He threw Shin a look and stiffened as Juumonji came up behind us.
"Uh, what's soccer again?" I asked.
Monta sighed. Slouching down, he started muttering my earlier chant of 'we're doomed, doomed, doomed' to himself.
"Well, um, grab you later Juumonji!" I said. He smiled curiously.
"Catch," he said, still not leaving our company. Luckily he didn't notice as Shin started to march behind us.
"Catch what?" I asked, forcing myself to stare directly at Juumonji and not back at Shin.
"The saying, it's 'catch you later,' not 'grab,'" He said. I nodded. Yeah, yeah, I knew that.
"Yeah, bye," Monta said, giving a simple wave that said leaving would be a good idea. Juumonji gave me a slightly hurt look but moved away, going down the hallway to his room.
"H-hi Sh-Shin," I gulped, finally turning to look at him.
He blinked twice, which I translated as 'you're doomed.'
Monta took a step away from Shin and frowned, standing up straighter. "Come on Sena, let's get this done with." He marched up the stairs. I followed more meekly. Why was I so good at getting in trouble? I didn't even like trouble, it wasn't like I did it on purpose…
"Uh, Monta, you passed the room!" I said, hesitating at Hiruma's door. He turned to look at our own room, checking the distance from Hiruma's to our own door.
"Th-that close?" He asked. I nodded, equally alarmed.
I quickly knocked on the door, hoping that by doing so Shin wouldn't break it down and Hiruma wouldn't be as angry and Monta and I wouldn't die. Yeah, I was putting a lot of faith in that door. No one answered, so I shared a look with Monta before slowly pulling it open. The door opened the other way though, so after a panicky moment I pushed it.
"Fucking shrimp," Hiruma greeted. I noticed the dread-head sitting on the far arm of the couch. Monta hovered outside the door for a moment before sneaking in behind me, probably hoping that no one noticed him.
I giggled nervously and was about to ask them both for forgiveness, but to my surprise I was pulled into a slightly painful hug. My brain froze for a moment as I tried to think of why I couldn't breathe.
"Oh, you poor thing!" A very female voice gushed into my eardrum.
Wait, Deimon was an all-boys school. What was going on?
After another bone-crushing hug, I was yanked an arm's length away and met the owner of the female voice.
Well for one, it was a girl, and secondly, she was wearing the strangest outfit. Light blue jeans and a pink blouse underneath a heavy cloak, a pair of old-fashioned helmet goggles pulled up on her forehead, and thick brown gloves.
"Having to deal with Hiruma and Agon all at once, that's just horrible. You must be so confused. Ah! You look so pale, are they feeding you? I don't think they're feeding you. Damn it Yoichi, what's wrong with you?! Oh, are you okay, do you need to sit down? Here, here sit down." The girl ushered me to a white chair, pressing her hands against my shoulders to get me to sit.
"Okay, let's see. You must be starving," she said. I coughed and choked on my spit, not able to breath and listen to her talk at the same time.
"Huh? Oh, are you okay?" She crouched down to my level, staring at me with intense blue eyes.
"Um, Hiruma-san?" I asked turning to look up at him with wide eyes, hoping for him to explain something or at least say 'yeah, we hired her to scare you. That's what you get for breaking a promise'. Instead he snorted and moved to the other side of the chair to loom over me.
"Oi, fucking witch, you're freaking the kid out," he snapped.
She looked up, narrowing her eyes at him. "As if you can talk! To think of the things you've probably put this poor child through. I've been talking with Riku, is it true they locked you in the backroom for a week?" She asked, snapping her gaze back down to me.
"Uhhhh," I said, turning my attention to Monta who gave me a thumbs up for some reason.
"Huh, oh, I'm confusing you aren't I? Of course, since Hiruma probably wouldn't tell you anything. I'm Mamori, the Witch of Protecting." She gave me a slight curtsy.
I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. "Um, I'm Sena Kobayakawa. Did you just say you're a witch?"
She huffed, glaring at Hiruma. "No wonder he doesn't know anything! You probably didn't even tell him I was coming, did you? Yeah, I didn't think so. You're unbearable!" Hiruma shrugged, not looking all that troubled.
"Like I said, I'm Mamori. It's my job to make sure that all the prisons are in working order," she explained.
I blinked curiously. "Prisons?" I asked. Obviously that was the wrong thing to say, because she launched herself at Hiruma, intent on beating him with a broom.
I snuck a look at Agon and blinked in surprise. He lowered his chin in greeting, spreading as much dirt on Hiruma's white couch as possible. "Look, as much as I hate being here, which trust me I do, I came for a reason." Mamori flattened down her hair as her expression grew serious.
"There's been an… outbreak at Victoria Island," she said softly.
Hiruma and Agon both froze, turning to face her. Mamori blushed slightly and picked up a bag, digging through it. "Here, I have a letter," she muttered, holding up a thick envelope.
Hiruma reached forward and grabbed it at an inhuman speed. To me it just looked as if one second Mamori was holding the letter and the next Hiruma was. He pulled out some of the papers, scanning at them for a moment before dropping them in my lap as he moved on to the subsequent pages.
"Why the hell are we just now being informed of this?" He growled. Curious, I picked up the first paper.
A chill slipped down my spine. If possible the paper felt familiar, it was thick and the ink was rich. I slid my hands across the papers, trying to place the texture in my memory. Too quickly Mamori took them out of my hands and handed them to Agon.
She glared, making sure that Agon would have to reach farther than she to receive them. "Well for one, I'm the only one who can come here without getting killed by you two, and the report was just sent out a couple days ago. And I'm afraid that's not even the really bad news."
Hiruma snapped his head up. "What the hell?" He retorted. I immediately felt sorry for her.
Mamori crossed her arms, the cloak falling across her shoulders while Agon and Hiruma waited for her to continue. "It's not on the report, but my sources have informed me that Mr. Don is one of the escapees," she said softly. I jumped as Hiruma and Agon both started to protest. They were both really scary angry, and even scarier together.
"He should be die!" Agon snapped, speaking for the first time. I frowned again, something about him seemed… off.
"What the hell is going on, fucking witch," Hiruma growled.
She held her head, refusing to be talked down. "It's not like I purposely didn't tell you this before! As soon as I knew for sure this was the first place I came! And I'm not even supposed to know. I could get fired for this, but instead I risked my own neck to tell you two idiots."
I slowly started to admire her even more. It takes serious guts to call Hiruma and Agon idiots, especially when they were both really angry.
Both were still looked irritated, but didn't press the issue. Pushing a lock of hair behind her ear, Mamori turned to face me again with a smile. "But, on to other topics. What did you say your name was?"
I was surprised to feel as relaxed as I was. "Um, um, Sena Kobayakawa," I said sheepishly.
She patted my shoulder. "Oh, okay. So Sena, do you know what got them so mad? Both were livid by the time I arrived." She turned to Hiruma for a momentary glare.
Uncomfortable with sitting I slowly stood, swallowing heavily. "Well, um, I accidently, kind of slipped the whole, um, vampire thing to my friend Monta."
On cue Monta waved, looked just as nervous as I was.
"Is that all? God. Yoichi, Agon, you two are utterly horrible. Let me see, you're Monta, right?" Mamori asked.
He nodded. "Yes ma'am." he stood a little straighter.
"Well, you don't look like the type that would spill a friend's secret, ne?"
Monta nodded furiously. "Never. Uh, right Sena?" He leaned around her and I gave him a thumbs up. The gesture was kind of contagious.
"Y-yeah, and anyway I thought he already knew," I muttered, giving Hiruma a pitiful look.
Mamori took a step away from Monta, tapping a finger to her chin judgmentally. "However, there is something… off about you," she mused.
Monta nodded eagerly. "Yeah, yeah!"
Her eyes widened. "Are you a werebeast? I've read all about them, but I've never actually met one!" She gasped.
Monta, who still hadn't stopped nodding, broke out in a grin. "Uh huh, you could seriously tell? That's amazing!" He gushed.
Hiruma stooped down next to me. "See, that's what it looks like when you talk to Kazuki Juumonji," he muttered.
I blushed, moving away. "Is-is not. Um, hey, what's that supposed to mean?" I asked, turning back to face him. But Hiruma had already moved across the room.
"Oi, fucking witch, aren't you supposed to go talk with Oka? What the hell are you still doing here?"
She huffed as she stomped over to him. "I was just about to go. Anyway, if you're going to have a Knowing here I wanted to make sure he wouldn't be tortured as soon as I leave!" She snapped before turning to me. "You're the 'Knowing.' That's what we witches call ordinary people who know about us."
"Uh, okay I guess," I stuttered.
She smiled, walking over to the desk where Hiruma usually kept his laptop. "So I'll be talking to you later Sena. I have some serious questions for you and I don't want these two influencing your answers. Hey, Mr. Monta, would you mind helping me carry my stuff downstairs?"
Seconds later Monta was carrying at least five heavy suitcases. The only thing Mamori ended up carrying was a wooden broomstick. I stared at it suspiciously but didn't comment. Hiruma waited until the door was shut behind them before turning to face me. The look on his face was not a pleased one. I swallowed, noticing out of the corner of my eye that Agon was making his exit.
"Hiruma, um, you can yell at me all you want, and I won't protest because I know I came really close to spilling your secret, even though I promised I wouldn't. But, um, could the, uh, scolding wait for a quick moment? Thank you!" I ran for the door. He didn't stop me, so I took that as permission to leave.
Looking both ways out in the hall, I spotted Agon and ran in his direction. "Agon! Um, pl-please wait for a second. Th-thank you," I said, almost sliding past him.
He frowned and crossed his arms. "What do you want, Sena?" He asked with a huff.
I looked a little closer. "Unsui?"
He stiffened, looking down at me with slight wonder. "What about him?"
I nodded, sure now. "Unsui, what are you doing here? And why are you dressed like Agon?" I asked, truly curious.
He shrugged. "Agon hates Hiruma and had a bad run-in with Mamori a while back. I always take his place for meetings. How could you tell it was me?"
"Um, you look a little younger than Agon. And anyway, he wouldn't ever call me Sena." I explained.
"That's strange that you could tell I was younger than Agon. How long did it take you?"
I shrugged. Even though I could now tell I was talking to Unsui, it was still weird to see someone who looked like Agon acting so relaxed. Wait, that didn't really make sense. Even though I was talking to Unsui, he still looked like Agon, and therefore I wasn't used to seeing Agon relaxed. Though it was really Unsui. Uh, never mind.
"Not that long really. I couldn't really tell because you were across the room. Probably when you started talking. H-hey speaking of Agon, um, is he really angry at me?" I asked, picking at a loose thread on my shirt.
"He'll calm down once he knows that you hadn't told that Juumonji guy," Unsui said, heading up a staircase.
"Um, Unsui, if you don't mind me asking, why does Agon hate Juumonji so much?"
"That's just… Agon. I'm just his twin, it's not like I can read his mind. That's Hiruma's area of expertise." He reminded me.
I nodded, realizing that I should probably head back. "Well, thank you. Don't worry, I won't tell Hiruma or Mamori that you're not really Agon," I promised as I headed back down the stairs.
"Wouldn't Hiruma know anyway?" He asked. I shrugged, not sure if Hiruma would want me telling people he wouldn't read my mind.
Heading back to Hiruma's room my stomach twisted. I was still panicked about talking to Hiruma alone, but at least so far nothing really horrible happened. Actually, compared to how I expected things to turn out, this was a lot better.
But what had Mamori been talking about earlier? About the whole prison thing? I'll probably have to ask her or Riku, surely one of them would clue me in. Sneaking into the room, I instantly noticed Hiruma.
He was taking a red bottle out of a mini-fridge. Seeing me, he grabbed another bag and threw it in my general direction. "Here, eat."
Catching it without that many difficulties, I looked down at it and blinked. Carrots, he got me a bag of carrots.
"Uh, thank you," I said, sitting down on the couch where Unsui's feet had been. I eyed the red bottle and my stomach dropped. "Is that…?"
He looked up, still typing on the laptop. "Blood, what else?" He snapped.
I nodded, biting down on a carrot. I wasn't able to chew it off right away and nibbled away at it, the slightly bland but sweet taste kept my mind off of when Hiruma was going to jump up and start yelling. Like I expected him to any moment. It was slightly nerve-racking.
"Um, Hiruma…" I said, not really in the mood for awkward silence. He looked up, his expression tense. "Er, what Mamori said earlier about prisons, was she referring to Deimon too?"
For a moment he was quiet, and I suspected he wasn't going to answer.
"Come over here," he snapped.
I stiffened, quickly standing up. "Um, sorry," I said as he shut the laptop.
"Stop that, it's fucking annoying. Just hurry it up."
I nodded, standing next to him. He continued to glare and I got smart enough to sit down on the edge of the couch, facing him. There was only an inch or so space between us, and my face started to warm up. Hiruma didn't seem to notice and roughly grabbed my hand, staring at me impatiently. After a moment I realized what he was trying to. Nervous but curious, I took my other hand and placed it on top of his. I looked up, worried about his expression-
Past the library, a heavy iron door usually can't be seen, down stone steps, take a right. What the fuck did they think he was, an idiot? Hiruma gritted his teeth and behind him Musashi made a sound of amusement. He knew that Hiruma would be offended by the idiot-proof directions.
However, what really pissed him off was what the Hunters were being called. Protectors, who the fuck did they think they were kidding? A century hadn't even passed when they would run after Hiruma bearing weapons.
But then again, at least he would be able to keep a closer watch on them. Couldn't do that when he was out roaming the wild. Next to him, Musashi nodded at the man Hiruma chose to ignore. Humans didn't hold the same appeal as they once had. In the back of his mind he could hear the fucking idiot complain.
Focusing more of his attention on the directions, he headed out of the room into the hallway. The 'students,' as the man had called them, were refreshingly mindless. Another reason he had decided to work here. Oka, an ex-Queen witch, didn't seem to have any trouble keeping the hundred or so children under control.
Not that some of the humans could seriously be called children; the range in age was somewhat random. Kurita, who should have been watching the crap, damn it, instantly bent down to read over Hiruma's shoulder.
The blond vampire flinched, coming deadly close to attacking the more idiotic one. After this much time, he should've known to stay the fuck away. Oblivious to Hiruma's anger, the fucking fatty tried harder to read the tight scrambled letters.
"Hiruma, are you sure about this? There won't be any newbloods for you to attack, you know," Musashi said.
Hiruma glared. "I fucking noticed. I'm not fucking doing this for the blood, asshole." He growled, coming to the right door.
The door was invisible to the naked eye, Hiruma ran his hand over the area. Sure enough, his hand connected with a latch. None of the human students paid him much attention as he pretty much opened a wall.
"It's just like New York," he mused as he headed down the stairs where the ex-Hunters were waiting.
"I still don't know why you're going through with this, Hiruma." Musashi shook his head.
"A-are you saying that-?" I stared at Hiruma with wide eyes, not even sure how I had expected to end that sentence.