CH 84

It the small lounge, Tsukune sat in the middle of the wide couch talking on the phone. Moka sat on his right side, looking over some figures. Mizore was curled up on his left, her head on his lap, his free arm slowly stroking her side.

"... I would be happy to do that," Tsukune said on the phone. Thinking about his schedule, he added, "The soonest I can make it is next Wednesday ... Yes, I'll be in Australia Tuesday, and the Monday after that I have to be in New England, so Wednesday or Thursday would be best ... No, we won't be flying by airline, we'll meet you at the court house say right after lunch? ... My wives, Mizore and Kurumu... Yes, both of them. Mizore hasn't been on a trip in quite a while and she loves the cold. Kurumu, well, let's say after she gets back from a concert she needs close attention ... No, I'm sorry, I don't think the local yokai are comfortable to meet government officials yet. They won't by joining us. You have to remember, Sir, humans and yokai have been at odds for centuries, many times for no other reason than misunderstanding each other, which turned into violence ... That's right, the witch burnings are a prime example. I know the Wiccan religion is mostly now tolerated there, many places it is not. That's only the witches, mind you. Why do you think the Sasquatch in your own country take such pains to avoid humans? They get shot at, and their lands get taken by humans ... I agree that shouldn't happen, but it is ... Yes, we do need to discuss that as well as many other things ... I know, a couple days is not enough, but it will be a good start in the right direction ... Right Sir, see you then."

Tsukune closed up his phone and leaned his head back. "My ear hurts," he grumbled.

Moka cracked a grin and eyed him. "The cost of doing good, my love," she said in an amused tone.

Mizore wiggled to get herself comfortable and said in a sleepy tone. "If it's too much trouble, just freeze them."

Flopping his head over to look at his silver haired vampire mate, Tsukune asked, "Moka, are you sure you don't want to come along?"

"I'm sure," Moka stated. "Those men tend to try my patience, and we all know Kurumu is going to need constant sex until she passes out. I also have to meet with some people during the week to get that new engine factory going. I've been getting stiff resistance from certain parties not wanting the water to hydrogen engine setups put in cars. We may have to finance our own car company to get it moving. There are some companies that feel threatened by us."

"Freeze them," Mizore offered.

"Tempting," Moka replied. "But first, I want to offer employment to their workers. Better wages and benefits. We can absorb the losses until we get things going well. It may take a few years."

From the hallway, Liz's voice said in an irritated tone, "I can do it!"

"We just don't want you to fall and hurt yourself," Kumiko replied.

"Don't you like it when we hold your hands?" Frank asked.

"Come on guys, I can WALK!" Liz cried.

Tsukune chucked and said, "Looks like they're killing Liz with kindness."

.

Kashiro stood in his new office looking at the map of the student village. On the map, the houses were depicted large enough to write in the names of the students occupying them. The lake and swamp houses had filled up first, the ones nearest their cabin filled up next, and the few around the Student Police station were now occupied by weaker yokai. All in all, they were not doing that badly.

"Only three houses left unoccupied," Kashiro noted.

"For the moment," Namiri said from her desk. "The problem is we have fifteen qualified applications and two of those houses are three bedroom, and the small one is only two. If we narrow the applicants down to only juniors and seniors, we can reduce the applicants to ten and squeeze one more in someplace, but that would have to be approved by the Student Council and Student President."

Kashiro let out a huff and said, "I don't know if that will be acceptable, we have Sophomores already in the village."

"No Freshmen yet. Three of the applicants are Freshmen, we could narrow the applicants down a little," Namiri noted.

"OK, I'll talk to Nog about that. If we can get the Council to vote that in, then we'll only have only four left," Kashiro said.

"I suppose a few yokai will be disappointed. It can't be helped," Namiri said with a huff.

"Yup," Kashiro agreed. "Well, I'm off to school, see you later." He picked up his bag and headed out.

Despite the fact Namiri was constantly flirting with him, she did have a knack for making things work out. Kashiro went to school feeling glad she was on his team. He didn't know what he'd do without her when it came to the shifting patrol schedules. Most of the time Namiri had the solution worked out by the time he found out there was a problem. Even Kaiyo was beginning to be friendly with her.

Kaiyo was another worry. A few times now, Kaiyo had disappeared from her patrol. Each time Kashiro had freaked, and in the following search, Kaiyo was found unharmed not far away, and had no idea how she had gotten where she was. He figured something was going on, but had no idea what.

.

Kashiro found Nog in the main Student Police station and explained the problem. "Captain, we have more qualified students than places to put them, so I think our best bet, at least for the remainder or this year, is to make the Student Village available only to Sophomores and above."

"You really think that is the way to go?" Nog asked, eyeing Kashiro.

"Yes, sir. It will mean seniority means something, and the older students will need the experience more that the younger ones," Kashiro explained.

Nog bounced his head once in agreement and said, "That is very good of you, Vice Captain Aono. I will bring it up to the Student Council this afternoon for a vote. "Your recommendation is sound, and fair. Come by after school, and I'll tell you what the decision is."

"I have to get to class, Thank you, Captian Nog," Kashiro said and hurried off.

.

After school, Kashiro and Kaiyo walked back to the Student Police station to find out the results of the vote. Kashiro was guided straight into Nog's office.

Captain Nog smiled at Kashiro and said, "The council approved your suggestion, Vice Captain Aono. They also commended you, as I do, on such a selfless act in your proposal. You have indeed proved your dedication to the students of our school!" he said heartily. Nog then handed Kashiro five slips of paper.

"What are these?" Kashiro asked. His jaw dropped as he saw what they were the same time Nog explained.

"The eviction notices for you, Kaiyo, Setzu, Shizu, and Letti."

"WHAT!" Kaiyo cried.

"You are all juniors. By the new rules, juniors are not authorized to live in the student village," Nog explained.

Kaiyo turned her shock face to Kashiro. "YOU GAVE AWAY OUR HOUSE?" she screamed.

Wincing, Kashiro recoiled from Kaiyo's wrath. "We built that place," Kashiro said defensively.

"Yes, and it is very generous of you to offer it to the older students," Nog agreed.

Suddenly Kaiyo's book bag impacted Kashiro's face to knock him back into the wall. "I don't believe you gave OUR HOUSE away!" Kaiyo screamed at him. Turning back to Nog, she cried, "That is OUR house, it's not part of the village!"

Nog shrugged. "It was made part of the school grounds and part of the village if you remember," he reminded her.

"ARRHHHH!" Kaiyo screamed as she glared at Kashiro. Her nails shot out.

Seeing how angry Kaiyo was, Kashiro knew there was no talking to her at the moment. He had two choices, fight of flee. He fled. Kaiyo chased him.

.

Kashiro finally stopped running in the woods half way to the bus stop. Kaiyo was fast, he had to run as hard as he could to keep ahead of her. He also had to dodge and change directions to loose her so he could rest for a moment. Panting out his breaths, Kashiro sagged down behind a large tree. As he caught his breath, he wondered about the eviction notices. What about Namiri and Belle? Or right, they were Sophomores, they could stay in the house he built. He would love to blame his stupidity on Namiri for suggesting not allowing juniors in the village, but at the time, he hadn't been thinking his cabin would be affected. He didn't think Namiri did either.

"I'm an idiot," he grumbled.

Carefully approaching the cabin he could no longer live at from the back, Kashiro kept a close watch out for angry girls. In front, he heard Setzu and Shizu complaining and the front door slammed. Peeking around the corner, he saw them stomping off towards the school, carrying their bags.

Yeah, he was in trouble all right.

Thinking he could slip into the kitchen door, Kashiro moved that way to meet Letti bursting out with a sack over her shoulder. He froze as she cast him an angry glare.

"I'm taking MY cooking utensils back to the dorm with me," she growled and stomped off.

Bracing himself, Kashiro peeked into the kitchen. It was empty. Going over the schedule in his mind, Belle and Kaiyo should be on patrol. He sneaked in and went up to his room to get his things.

Everything he had was here. He packed his clothes, noting Kaiyo's were already gone. "I really screwed up," he grumbled.

"Ahh you're back!" Namiri said from the doorway. She then asked, "What are you doing?"

"Packing," Kashiro said heavily. "Nog liked my proposal, and the Council OK'd it, so now no juniors are allowed to live in the village!" he snapped.

"That doesn't mean you," Namiri said.

Kashiro spun on her. "Yeah, it does! I got my eviction notice. The only ones left who CAN live here are you and Belle," he snapped.

"Then, be my guest," Namiri said with a shrug. "Look, I'll claim this room, and you can stay here with me. There are no rules saying we can't have guests. Humans have house guests, right? So you don't have to move out."

Kashiro stared at her. "Kaiyo has already moved out. How do you expect me to stay?"

With a roll of her eyes, Namiri said, "I'm sorry for suggesting no juniors, I wasn't thinking we would be affected! What's done is done, and this IS your house. If you move out, I'll burn it down, I SWEAR! To have you kicked out of your own house is just plain WRONG!"

"What about Kaiyo? It's her house too," he asked caustically.

"I can't fix everything," Namiri complained. "Look, next year you and Kaiyo will be able to move back in officially. I won't take the chance that you'll be ... assigned to a place down the street, and never be able to come back. Like I said, next year when you come back, Kaiyo can too. The year is half over, it won't be that long."

"So I'll be a guest in my own house until then," Kashiro said, not at all happy about it.

"Yes, and we'll make sure you get assigned to our house next year," Namiri insisted. "So please stay," she begged.

Kashiro looked down at the clothes he was gripping in his fist. Today has gone very wrong. Namiri was right however, unless he built a new cabin outside the village limits, he might get stuck living down the street if his house was fully occupied next year. "We assign seniors only here," he said stiffly.

"Yes, seniors only," Namiri said quickly.

"Damn it!" Kashiro growled, angry at himself.

Namiri went over to him and said in a soft tone, "Hey, your intentions were good. Why don't you just relax and calm down. I'll get dinner going with... the things we have left."

"I'm going to go check on the patrols," Kashiro said. He turned and walked out.

Namiri noted the crumpled clothes Kashiro stuffed back in his drawer. She refolded them, and shut the drawer very pleased with the way today turned out. Her plan had gone perfectly. Tonight, and every night, she would be sleeping with Kashiro while Kaiyo was kicked back to the dorms. There was one last scheme she had to complete to ensure Kashiro ended up in her arms.

She was going to get Kashiro to accept her as his wife, and NOT his sister.

.

Kaiyo was livid. When she left their cabin, one thing she made sure she took was a the big saw. She didn't go on patrol, nor did she head for the dorms. Kaiyo headed out into the woods. It was good Kashiro got away from her. Now that she calmed down some, she still wanted to slap him silly but she truly didn't want to hurt him.

Kashiro had started their cabin just for the two of them. He'd made it off school grounds, and unfortunately his 'help' had stayed and ruined their private time. Maybe it was better this way. They could just build another cabin.

Finding a nice, flat area not far off the path between the bus stop and the school, Kaiyo dropped her things. A fight had taken place here at one time, several trees were down. Kashiro had started the first cabin. It was her turn to make one, and she was not going to accept any help! Her nails came out and she attacked the first tree that was in her way.

.

Kashiro talked to the watch Captain. Kaiyo hadn't even shown up for her patrol. Kashiro figured the fault was his, after all he'd just gotten her kicked out of the house he'd built for her. Letti did show up, and ignored the fact he was there. She signed in with her partner and left. Kashiro took Kaiyo's patrol with Belle.

As night fell they walked along in silence down Swamp ave. until Belle finally spoke up.

"What you did was selfless, but foolish," Belle told him.

Kashiro barked out a sarcastic laugh and said, "Tell me something I don't know."

With a blush, Belle said, "I was making a love nest back behind our cabin, outside of the village limits."

"A love nest?"

"Nothing big, just a cozy place for us," she said meekly as she eyed him with a blush.

Kashiro sighed out a tired breath and said, "Belle, you know I'm going to marry Kaiyo."

"So? Marry me too."

"I'm not my father," Kashiro said a little harsher than he meant to.

"No, you are you," she agreed. "But you still are going to be a very important man, I can feel it. Tell me, do any of your mothers sit and do nothing?"

"No. Mama Minori has her hands full with duties in the house, as does Mama Mizore. Mama Kurumu has a band, Mama Moka takes care of the family businesses, and Mama Yukari has her magical duties," Kashiro told her.

Belle nodded. "They are all busy. I don't think they all married your Papa at the same time, did they?"

"No."

"And your father just doesn't sit around being king of the castle either, does he?" Belle pressed.

"No, he pretty much takes care of political things."

"You see," Belle said pointedly. "He is very important, and needs wives who support him, just as you will. Kashiro, I really like you a lot ever since I first saw you. I know we can be good mates, and I will do whatever it takes to support our household."

Kashiro rolled his eyes. "The thing is, I don't love you, Belle. Yeah, you're a friend ..." he paused and added, "And you also helped set me up to force me into the Student Police," he finished in a harder tone.

"For your own good," Belle stated. "If I did not believe you would benefit from being in the Student Police, I would not have done it."

"You still set me up."

"I did what is best for you," she countered.

"Maybe I should be the one to determine what is best for me?" he asked.

Belle was silent for a moment, then said, "In this case, no. You needed a push in the right direction."

Kashiro let out a sarcastic chuckle. "So, your idea of being a wife is to push me into doing things."

"Not often," Belle said with a shrug. "But I will not let you flounder, either. You are better than that even if you don't see it."

Kashiro rubbed his forehead and said, "Belle, I'd rather decide for myself what I need to do."

"A proper wife will see in you, what you do not see in yourself," Belle countered.

"Next time do you think you can talk to me about what's best BEFORE you set me up?" Kashiro asked.

Belle nodded. "Yes. Come back to my nest with me tonight," she replied.

Kashiro raised an eyebrow. "You say that like those two things are connected."

"They are. Spending time together will allow us to talk. Besides, you don't have anyplace else to go, do you?"

Kashiro almost said he was staying with Namiri in HIS room. Then again, it seemed Namiri was a little too happy about that arrangement. He pondered about just going back to the dorms. Then again, he wasn't going to get a room this late at night.

As if reading his mind, Belle said, "It would not be a good idea to stay with Namiri. She manipulates more than you know. She's a Fox, she's good at it."

"And what about Kaiyo?" he asked.

"Kaiyo left early enough to get a dorm room. Chizu, who runs the dorms, told he she was expecting them today or tomorrow," Belle explained. "Tomorrow, you can get a dorm room too if you want. I just feel better if you stayed with me tonight."

Kashiro almost said, "I bet you would." He predicament was not her fault though, he'd done this to himself. He gave a begrudging nod. "All right, but we're not going to do anything."

"That's up to you."

For some reason, the patrol went fast for Kashiro. In no time, they were back at the station signing out for the night. He expected Belle to be bragging about their sleeping arrangements. She didn't. Belle even walked out first and waited for him.

.

Belle's 'love nest' really was a nest. Perched 15 meters off the ground in a dual fork in a tree, the eight foot diameter ball was made of sticks and leaves on the outside. Kashiro had no trouble jumping up to the branch the nest was on. He did think it odd Belle took off her shoes and hung them on pegs just inside the hole. Kashiro followed her lead and hung his shoes on the other set of pegs beside hers.

Being dark inside the next, Kashiro could feel the inside was soft. The inside was comfortably warm, also. Feeling the inner lining, he asked, "What did you line this with, it's really soft."

"I'm glad you think so. It's down from my own feathers," Belle said in a hushed tone.

"You... plucked yourself?" he asked, thinking that had to hurt to pull her own feathers out.

"Only the best for you," she said softly from close by.

"Oh, Belle," Kashiro said, impressed and humbled at what she'd done. He reached out to her and touched skin. And more skin. "Ahh, are you naked?"

"Best way to sleep. Body heat creates warmth," Belle said. "Don't be shy," she coaxed.

Kashiro did strip down to his shorts. To his surprise, he found the floor was thick, but also flat. Lying down, he sank into the soft down.

"Hold me," Belle whispered, and laid up against him.

"We're not going to do anything," Kashiro said again. He then noticed she was lying with her back against him.

She grabbed his arm and draped it over her. "We need to sleep," she replied, and wiggled up tight to him.

Kashiro's shorts did not insulate him from knowing his groin was pressed up against her butt, and his hand seemed to gravitate naturally to her breast. She held his hand tight to her as if fearing to let it go. Between the feel of her and the warmth of this strange bed, he couldn't help but become hard.

"You will sleep better if you take me first," Belle said softly.

"But, Belle," Kashiro protested weakly.

"I'm yours, that's all you need to know," Belle replied.

"What if I get you pregnant?"

"Birth control has been around for quite a while now," she said with a giggle.

Kashiro perked up. That was the first time he had ever heard her laugh. That made him smile. And if it was possible, it made him harder. He swore his shaft was going to explode, it was so hard it hurt.

Belle twitched her butt cheeks, and his shaft twitched in response. His fangs also grew from her sweet smell. "Belle ... I ... can't take much more," he said.

Belle turned over to face him. "You've had a rough day. Take me. All of me, let me be your release."

Kashiro felt her cup the back of his head and pull him close, right into her neck. Before Kashiro knew it, he had his mouth open and gently sank his fangs in. Belle let out a soft coo. Her toes came up and pulled his shorts down. He could resist no longer.

.

In the moonlight, Kaiyo had downed some trees and cut the branches off. In trying to form logs for cabin walls, she had no luck. She tried the saw, and it cut crooked. She tried slashing them with her nails, and got long, curved cuts. Why wouldn't these trees cut straight!

Frustrated, Kaiyo looked at the useless piles of branches and warped looking lengths of wood around her. She had done a good job of making a big mess, but that was about it. Sitting back against a stump she frowned at her bad attempt to get a cabin started. She decided to wait until morning, and go to school and find Kashiro. He knew how to build a cabin!

.

Kashiro awoke alone in a very strange place. He lay naked in a bed of tiny dark feathers, as if someone had ripped up a lot of feather pillows and dropped him in the middle. The room was round, and overheard was not a regular ceiling, but tightly intertwined branches like a bird's nest. His clothes hung off a few branches that stuck out of the wall. Beside his clothes was a note.

Despite the odd setting he woke up in, he was feeling more relaxed than he had been in a while. He then remembered the night before.

"Oh no," he groaned. This was Belle's 'love nest', and she had indeed made it live up to it's name. "Kaiyo's going to kill me," he moaned as he got up.

Beside his clothes was a note. : Went to school. You should stay here and think about what you want to do. Whatever you choose, I support you all the way. Belle.

Kashiro dressed wondering if she meant staying here as a place to stay, since he'd gotten kicked out of his house, or staying with her as her boyfriend. Shrugging on his shirt, he became angry at the fact Nog had sent them eviction notices. His cabin wasn't built by the school, HE had built it with his friends! As he thought about this, he also remembered that he'd claimed that land under Yokai law. No one else was there, so he had made it his. By law, that cabin was his. Kashiro finished dressing and climbed out of the opening. He jumped to the ground and set off to confront Nog. The school and Student Council had no rightful claim to HIS land!

The first place Kashiro went was back to his cabin to make sure no one else was moving in. It was a school day, the place was empty and he didn't see any strange bags. He next went to the Student Police Station and and had them post a guard on his front door with orders that no one, except himself or the rightful residents were allowed in. He went over the rightful residents with them to be sure no others would try to move in.

He then went looking for Nog.

On the way, he found Namiri talking to a couple seniors. Seeing him, she smiled and said, "Kashiro, wonderful news! These two boys will be moving into our place, and be ..."

Kashiro interrupted her with a bark of, "NO, they are NOT!" Glaring tat the boys as if it was their fault, he said, "MY cabin is not community property, it is MINE. Unless you want to fight, you better not show up there looking for a place to stay!"

Taken aback, one boy said, "Hey, she just told us we can."

"Namiri does not OWN that cabin, I DO," Kashiro growled at him. Turning his glare to Namiri, he said, "Do not offer anyone else a room at my house or YOU are out on your ear!"

"OK," Namiri said defensively.

"And if you see Kaiyo, tell her to pack up and come back home," Kashiro told her, then stomped off.

Not knowing what classes Nog had, he went up to the teacher's offices to find out. He passed Letti on the way. She tried to ignore him, but he grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him.

"Get your things together and come back home. No one is kicking us out of our house," he stated heavily, and strode on.

Letti gapped at him as he strode away, then pumped a fist and said, "YES!"

Passing the Student Council room, Kashiro peeked in to see if anyone was there. A single boy sat behind the desk. He walked in.

"Ah, Vice Captain Aono, President Nog has some papers for you to sign to officially hand your land over to us," the boy said.

"NOT going to happen, " Kashiro growled at him. "If fact, not only am I not going to obey his eviction notice, no one in my house is. That is mine, it is not part of the Student Village. I laid claim to that land, none of you have any right to it. If you think I won't fight for what's mine, you are so wrong."

Shying back from him, the boy held up his hands. "OK, OK! I'm just a clerk."

"Tell Nog I'm looking for him," Kashiro stated, then turned and left.

Kashiro found Nog was gone on a class trip, and wouldn't be back until tomorrow. Between getting up really late and his searching around, it was afternoon homeroom time by the time he'd gotten to his class. Going in, he saw Kaiyo was looking a bit rough and had her head down on her desk. Setzu and Shizu eyed him unhappily. He went to the front of the class and asked, "Teacher, may I make an announcement?"

The teacher nodded.

"Listen, please," he announced. Kaiyo picked her head off the desk, bleary eyed. "Recently, the Student Council has tried to talk me into thinking the cabin I and my friends build is community property. I claimed that land under Yokai law. The school nor the Student Council had no hand in it, nor do they have any right to hand out eviction notices to anyone living there. If anyone decides who lives there, it is me, and me alone. Kaiyo, Shizu, Setsu, you are NOT evicted, so please come home."

Kaiyo shot up, glaring at him. "You COULD have told me that before I spend all night trying to make a new cabin!" she cried.

"Sorry, my mistake, I didn't know where you were," he offered.

"You didn't stay in the boy's dorm last night, so where did you stay?" Kaiyo asked, eyeing him.

Kashiro flushed and turned to the teacher. "Thank you for letting be say that. I'll be in class on time tomorrow." He bowed and headed for the door.

"KASHIRO!" Kaiyo yelled, and chased him out of the room.

Kashiro fled. He was not eager to answer her question.