Ah! Sorry my dears, this took awhile to update but that's because...uh homework and stuff. (What a wonderful excuse!) I feel totally pooped, but long detailed reviews might help replenish my artist soul :D (please ignore the crap I'm spewing and enjoy my humble story)
Chapter Thirty-Eight
I waited for another noise, too frightened to look up even as another thick drop of blood landed on my arm. The groaning started up again, only this time it was deeper…more like growling.
Jerking back I forced myself to look up, expecting the worst and most gruesome sight. Instead I saw…a thick canopy of trees not looking like anything out of the norm. Taking another step away from the brook I bumped into trunk of one of the trees and thick sticky blood covered my back.
The blood was coming out of the trees!
"Sena!"
I didn't even bother to wonder, I bolted for the thick line of trees leading into the forest. I was lost in a forest of bleeding trees, I wasn't about to stop for anything. In the back of my head I heard Monta's voice.
"You're like the guy in the horror movies that decides to not go into the basement - only to fall through a trap door and wind up there anyway."
I wasn't even sure if Monta really said that or not, but it couldn't have been more true. If I had been running on concrete or at least semi-stable ground I might have been able to outrun my chaser. But instead I kept tripping over rocks, invisible stumps, and other small things that kept me from breaking out in a clear run.
Then something like a rope latched around my ankle. One moment I was stumbling, the next I was on the ground looking up at a slightly familiar face upside down. "Hey, hey, dude you're not dead are you?" He asked not really looking as if he cared all that much.
I groaned and winced hearing a loud thumping noise, for a moment I thought it was an earthquake. "Che, you killed it," the voice complained and I sat up slowly. The back of my head hurt along with my ankle, but other than that I was fine.
"I-I'm not dead," I said before swallowed and looking up at a man who strongly resembled a caveman and a shorter boy with some odd dot, or mole, or something on the middle of his forehead.
Wait, they both really looked familiar, slowly standing up I shot looks at both of them. The caveman like one grinned and my stomach dropped. He was very muscular and freakishly tall, worst than Agon even.
He shrugged almost looking a little disappointed and said "Good this was beginning to get boring."
I turned hearing loud thrashing noises to the right, my stomach clenched as Agon himself appeared. Suddenly it clicked; they were his friends or whatever from my first week at the school. "Where the fuck have you been?" Agon asked in a causal way indicating that he wouldn't care about my answer all that much.
Instead of replying I sneezed and the younger guy, I couldn't remember either of the twos names, spoke for me. "We found him in that grove over there, he just sort of bolted but," he paused for effect. "I was able to catch him pretty quickly."
Agon grunted not sounding that amazed, but I couldn't really think of a time that he had been. "Whatever, what's this?" He asked and I shuttered knowing that he probably meant the red covering me.
The short guy moved closer and sniffed my shoulder; I stiffened somewhat feeling as if my personal space was being invaded. "Just tree sap," he said looking proud again. I blinked and hesitantly wiped the side of my face.
"I-I thought it was blood," I admitted stumbling forward when the three started to head back to the grove. I still felt jumpy and skittish and could feel the affects of my adrenaline rush, my skin felt too tight and I was sure that I was probably twitching horribly.
"Blood? Don't you know how blood smells? These are Bleeding Cherry Trees they always to this, at least during fall." The boy said again and I nodded.
I wasn't really paying attention too busy trying to remain standing. My whole body ached and it seemed as if I was getting colder and colder. "Ikkyu, go tell the trash," Agon snapped motioning slightly with his head.
Without a second of pause the boy, Ikkyu darted into the woods leaving me along with Agon and the scary caveman guy. I was too exhausted to muster up enough emotion to care though. Instead I crouched against the tree truck I had awoken on and tried to conserve whatever lasting heat I had left.
What surely had to be seconds later Hiruma broke through into the grove, Ikkyu following him wearing an expression of mild annoyance. I wasn't surprised, he was the only one I could think of that Agon would use the level of loathe that he had when he spoke to Ikkyu.
Swallowing I looked up at Hiruma, he was obviously irritated and I winced sure that he would have at least half a dictionary of insults to through my way. Instead he looked up noting the trees that were obviously oozing tree sap. Not blood.
"Shrimp are you cold?" He asked and I nodded slightly. Walking past Agon he ripped the jacket the more muscled, physically stronger male was wearing. My eyes weren't able to even keep up with the movement, one second Agon was wearing it, and next Hiruma was walking towards me holding it out.
I didn't protest when he hung it around my shoulders and couldn't help but to sigh in relief. I always knew that Agon was strangely always hot, temperature wise, and the jacket warm from his body heat felt better than anything I could have imagined.
"Th-thank you," I said directing it to both of them before weary standing up. I inhaled knowing that both would probably want a detailed intelligent reason to what I was doing in the middle of nowhere.
But my sentence was drowned out by another, more high-pitch and alarmed one. "Sena! This is how you treat humans Hiruma? God I should have both of you reported no protection, nothing. Oh god what is covering him? Is that blood? If that is blood I swear you both will be in Lake Victoria prison forever."
The girl came stomping out of the woods from the same direction Hiruma had. Following her was Shin, Musashi, Riku, Kurita, and Takami. "I-It's not blood," I promised blushing darkly. She paused and took a step closer to investigate sighing in relief when I turned out to be telling the truth.
But seconds later her angry expression returned along with the screaming, "Oh my god he isn't even wearing shoes! Yoichi what on earth is wrong with you?" She snapped and I could feel myself die a little on the inside.
"It-it's not Hiruma's fault," I whimpered and Mamori, still facing him continued to argue. "He is your responsibility! How am I going to be able to return to DC when knowing this?" She shrieked and I could feel myself die a little in the inside.
"I-It really wasn't his fault," I stated weakly but Mamori didn't make the slight indication that she heard me. "Fine, whatever just get him out of here," Hiruma growled finally turning to face her. His expression was unreadable, as usual.
Mamori blinked though and twisted her wrist, somehow during the motion her broomstick from earlier appeared. I stared at it in awe; it wasn't every day I saw something materialize out of thin air. Not that it really should have surprised me, after all hadn't Mamori said she was a witch?
Silently she wrapped one leg around the broomstick she was still wearing the same outfit I had met her in and pulled the goggles over her eyes before turning to me expectantly. Truthfully she looked kind of ridiculous holding onto a broomstick. But that didn't stop me from climbing on behind her, swinging my leg to the opposite side.
My foot never touched the ground, seconds before the broom started hovering in the air. I reached out to grab the small area between us part of me had expected the broom to start flying, I wasn't a complete idiot.
But what I hadn't expected it to be so uncomfortable, not that I ever thought about it much. Near the base of the broom was a thin iron square on both sides, where Mamori's feet where. I had to place my own on top of hers or risk never walking again.
I wasn't thrown off so I guess she didn't mind that much.
It took me a second to realize that we were already a good eleven feet off the ground. I expected to be a little panicky but the only nervous I had were from the fact I still couldn't remember any reason to why I ended up in the wilderness.
The ride was extremely short and when we landed in the grassy mellow – which was now all brown – behind the school I slipped off. I cracked my jaw trying to muscle out the sudden change of air pressure that had left my ears aching slightly.
"Oh I'm sorry, um; I should have asked before if you didn't like heights." Mamori apologized and I instantly shook my head. "Oh! Um, no I didn't mind at all!" I promised and bowed out of habit. Mamori giggled and led me to the front door; it was still too early for any classes to start so I didn't have to worry about running into anyone.
Mamori led me straight to Hiruma's room and I instantly headed to take a shower.
--
At first I couldn't understand why no one was asking how I ended up in the forest, even the one time I saw Agon he didn't ask in his usual blunt way what happened. But I realized everyone probably amused that Hiruma already knew and was used to the way Hiruma would keep information until needed.
For the rest of the week I stumbled through my classes under the watchful eyes of Mamori the witch who obviously took her job at protecting seriously. Before I thought that having a vampire in every class was slightly overbearing but now I was practically suffocating from Mamori's 'mother-like' nature.
It wasn't that I minded it was just strange to me. Having someone who would remind me to eat, shower, and change my clothes was practically a new experience for me. Actually it would have been rather nice, if I hadn't been worried that any moment she'd fly a new insult at Hiruma or Agon.
Somehow it was even more frightening when Mamori stuck a battle because it was usually about my health or safety or something odd like that. It made it harder for me to object because when she wanted to be, Mamori was scary.
However by the second week I slowly began to really like her, it was hard not to like someone who was strong enough to stand up to a vampire…and whatever Agon was. And as the week pasted I learned more about her abilities as a witch which never hindered to amaze me.
But what was really amazing was Mamori's honestly, she probably explained more things to me than Hiruma and Agon ever had. What I was most curious about at first of course the 'prison' aspect to the school.
The memory Hiruma had for some reason showed me sort of made sense. But there was still a lot of stuff I didn't get, mostly about the whole Lake Victoria thing.
"There are twenty-one high sectary prisons for the 'supernatural' as humans tend to call our world." Mamori had explained, it had been two days since my adventure in the wilderness. She was helping clean the cuts that covered the bottom of my feet, arms, and face. When I say 'helping clean' I mean she was applying this green glob that smelled like a cross of mint and pine wherever I was mortally wounded.
The pain didn't just instantly disappear, the cuts did too.
We were in Hiruma's room, but he wasn't anywhere in sight, out of everyone I had seen the less of him. I was taking small nibbles of the cake that Mamori had made me; yeah she made me a cake. It was the weirdest and kindest experience of my life. And it turned out to be carrot cake.
"Each one is numbered for it's dangerously, one is the least and twenty-one is the worst. Deimon is only twelve," Mamori continued swallowing a bite of her own piece of cake before continuing.
"Um, who exactly is here?" I asked and Mamori shrugged. "That's way top secret; I don't even think Hiruma knows that one." She said somewhat smugly.
A week later I stumbled down the staircase wearing the sweatshirt I never returned to Jyuumonji. One of Mamori's powers was appearing out of thin air, at the exact moment that no one else was around. At first it kind of made me a little nervous, because she would practically appear at any moment.
But like most things of my current stage of life I just got used to it.
Anyway, Mamori appeared out of thin air and just as fast as it took her to materialize a thought hit me square in the face. It was painfully obvious and it was only due to my oblivious nature that I hadn't noticed before.
This wasn't going to be something I would just walk away from. In a couple years I wasn't going to be able to leave Deimon and go to college or anything like that. How would I? It wasn't everyday you met a vampire, witch, weremonkey…and whatever Agon was. (I still wasn't very sure with that one.)
With that came the usual wave of unanswered questions whizzing so fast that I collapsed on the bottom step and had to take a couple of calming breathes, or risk my first asthma attack in years. "Sena!" Mamori cried and sat down next to me her expression worried.
"S-sorry," I wheezed and between breathes explained my striking epiphany. It didn't take that long but it wasn't until a couple minuets that Mamori spoke next.
"I don't mean to sound rude, but I'm surprised it took this long, you know, for you to realize that." She admitted and I sighed.
"Yeah, I know," I muttered finally calming down. My head throbbed slightly; I think I was starting to come down with a cold. "Sena, I've been meaning to ask you," she said wringing the edge of her coat nervously.
"How…happy are you here?" She asked and I smiled instantly feeling touched but not quite sure what she was asking. "Huh?" Mamori sighed not pleased with my answer.
Even through my headache I was impressed with her posture and felt myself sit up a little straighter. Mamori had her legs crossed at the ankles and her hands sat neatly in her lap. "Look Sena, I don't feel comfortable keeping things from you. I was actually the first one to find you not Ikkyu and Gaou. I could…sense this aura, magical, um, sense in that grove, it was so strong." She paused to shiver.
I watched her without a word; this was the first time in weeks that anyone actually talked to me about what happened. "Anyway, which leads me to believe that someone led you there and I can think of why." She said seriously.
I tilted my head slightly to the side not following.
Mamori crossed her arms and pressed her lips together tight. "Yoichi, I know that the whole immune thing is nonsense. And I know Yoichi he doesn't keep people around because he likes their personality, even if it is as sweet as yours." She added kindly. My head throbbed in response it almost felt as if my brain was repeatedly getting attacked by a paperweight.
But worst.
"Um," I said keeping to my one vowel answers, Mamori didn't seem to mind and continued to talk. Another reason why I liked her so much, she didn't mind my lack of social skills. "Don't worry you don't have to tell me I can see why you wouldn't want to tell on Yoichi," here she rolled her eyes. "But, back to what I was saying, um," she blinked frowning. "What was I saying?" She hummed and I smiled at her expression.
She recovered quickly and her face grew serious again.
"Oh yeah! I think that for whatever reason it's possible that someone could try to use you in order to attack Yoichi. Trust me Yoichi Hiruma has more enemies than there are stars in the sky." She said and instantly widened her eyes.
"Ah, I'm scaring you aren't I?" Mamori said covering her mouth with a light hand. I nodded meekly somehow unable to lie to her. "Uh, just a little bit."
"I'm so sorry! Okay, what I'm trying to say is that there's the possibility that you could be in danger here." Mamori deadpanned. A cold chill instantly ran down my spine despite the fact I should have known that already. "So what I want to know is how much do you want to be here?" She asked and I stared down at my feet.
Sensing my hesitation Mamori sighed and gave my shoulder a quick pat. "You don't have to decide right now," she said but her pause was awkward. I turned up and gave her a mystified look. "What?" I asked softly and slid a hand to my forehead; my hand was icy cold in comparison.
"Nothing, it's just…I'm going to have to end by the end of the week," she said catching me by surprise. Again, that shouldn't have, but even though I only knew her for a couple of weeks, I felt like I known Mamori forever.
After that shock pasted the next wave came, Mamori was asking me to leave Deimon with her at the end of the week. Recognizing my expression Mamori sighed and stood up lifting her hand off my shoulder and gently brushing against my temple.
My headache instantly vanished and I turned up to her in shock.
"Just think about it."