Chapter Fifty-Three
53
The Dawn had broken and everyone had gathered into the infirmary where now three students rested in cots and one was being tended to with care for rope burns from tight bindings. The medicine stung, and the areas around Norika's wrists and ankles were still red and raw. It was a struggle for her walk, or even lift or hold anything.
There was a sleeping Connar, who hadn't spoken much since after having warned Chazz about the events that went down at the volcano.
She fell right back asleep immediately after things had settled...
Chazz thought to himself.
Still though...
He closed his eyes as he recalled the events with her during the previous night.
I wasn't seeing things...
He thought to himself.
Connar's eyes...they were glowing!
He huffed.
And somehow...despite not being a key holder herself...she knew where Jaden was and where we needed to be...
He sighed as he opened his eyes once again to rest upon the sleeping girl's pale face.
...What's up with that?
Jaden was out cold in a cot right next to hers, surrounded by his friends and room mates, while in a cot next door, Alexis sat with another motionless body with Zane.
"To think..." Norika said softly as she looked upon the unconscious male, "It was Atticus who had kidnapped me and said and did such things to us..."
She sighed and narrowed her amber eyes. She remembered him from Duel Prep School.
She found him attractive...but seeing him now, her feelings were...rather mixed.
"It wasn't him, before..." said Alexis, "But that Shadow Duel with Jaden...somehow that took away whatever darkness was holding him." she said, "He's back now."
"Right..." said Norika, "I-I didn't mean-"
"It's okay..." said Alexis, "I get it..."
Norika blinked and sighed looking down at her bandaged ankles and dirty feet. Because of the damage done to the skin there, she wasn't allowed to wear socks nor shoes until these wounds healed enough for her to do so.
I never expected anything like this...
She thought to herself.
Had I known things like this would come from being friends with Connar, I never would have-
She gasped and stopped her thoughts immediately.
No...stop it..
She thought to herself.
Connar is your friend...she didn't ask for this...she didn't ask for any of this...it's not fair to blame her...
You just wanted to help.
She said to herself as she tried to calm her nerves.
"Princeton?" Connar spoke out softly. Her eyes were closed but she could still sense his presence by her bed side."... Were you... worried about me?" she asked.
"Wha?" Chazz blushed as he got caught and some slight snickering could be heard from the crowd that had gathered around, pretending not to listen.
"O-Of course I wasn't worried about you!" he scoffed," I just...get all irritated when you get all ancy and you're not in proper condition to so anything!" he stated,"A shadow Rider could have gotten you if I wasn't around, and no one would have known!"
"So...you were worried about me."
"No. I wasn't."
"I'm pretty sure that's called being worried, boss."
"Lay off!" Chazz snapped as he smacked away the Ojama Yellow who poofs in whenever he pleases and sent him flying into Connar's chest."
"Aww, you're so mean to him." Connar said softly as she held him in her little hands while he cried into her breasts.
"Why is he so cruel to me~!?"
"Hey, you little bug, you get away from there!" He huffed blushing as he watched the yellow creature nestle his way into Connar's bosom.
"Awe, come on Princeton...he's sad!" said Connar.
"Yeah, a sad case!" Chazz huffed as he prepared to clap his hands over the creature before stopping himself in an awkward and rather suggestive looking pose infront of the eyes of those who couldn't actually see what was going on. Norika blinked in confusion, because from her point of view, she had no idea who or what Connar and Chazz were even talking about, and to those who couldn't see the spirit she held against her chest, all it looked like from there was Chazz standing hunched over a bed ridden Connar with his hands cupped over her breasts while her eyes remained closed. He began to get strange looks and a Hell bent glare from Zane which only made the ash haired male blush.
Dammit! I can't even grab him!
He thought to himself with a steaming and heated blush while Ojama made himself more than comfortable on the rather oblivious pink haired girl's chest mounds.
"You pervert!" Syrus called out.
"Yeah, why don't ypou get a room!" said Chumley.
"It better not be OUR room though!" said Norika, "I'll kick your ass, stubby hands and feet or not!"
"I don't know what you're thinking Chazz!" said Alexis,"But this is not the time or the place...!"
Bastion simply had no words while Zane could be seen shooting the most chilling threat of a glare. If looks could kill and eyes shot laser beams, Chazz would have been triple crisped and well done with char.
"Wh-" Chazz blushed even more once he gathered where everyone was getting at,"N-No I swear it's not like that!" he stated,"You don't know what's going on!"
The ever oblivious Connar blinked weakly as she tried to shed light on the situation.
"He's right." she said,"It's...kind of hard to explain, but it's not whatever it may look like."
"Hmph...I dare him to try and follow through with that action!"
Kaibaman huffed and Connar shot him a glare.
"Will you be nice!" she hissed.
"Who are you talking to?" Chazz blinked,"Is it your spirit partner again?"
"Well..."
"Hmph, you tell him to show himself to me if he has a problem!"
"He can hear you, Princeton..."
"Oh." he blinked,"Well then...Show yourself to me if you have a problem, you jerk!" he huffed and the spirit who chose to remain invisible to Chazz Princeton's eyes shot daggers at him with his and visible chills could be seen on the black haired male's body as he darted his eyes around trying to find the source.
"I feel like I'm being watched with piercing eyes...!" he shivered,"It's creepy!"
Though to everyone else in the room, they both just looked like a couple of weirdos talking to their imaginary friends and doubt to the eyes who couldn't see the invisible was very apparent.
Connar sighed as she rested her eyes once again, but as she did so, she let out a startled gasp as a sudden image played in her mental state. A small boat in the middle of a misty sea, hovered over by swarms of bats carried a coffin. The door slid open and a woman rose...an ominous chuckle with a crimson grin echoed all around as she bared her fangs. It was at this point that Connar let out a painful gasp and her eyes snapped open, glowing a most vibrant blue.
"Oh no, not again!" said Chazz, "Connar! Hey!"
Ojama flew up immediately from her chest startled by her scream and Chazz grasped her hand which was now bloodied red with what looked to be a bite mark. As Connar acted, Jaden too, seemed to be reacting and shot himself upright with a startled cry.
"Jaden, are you okay!?" Asked Syrus.
"Weird dream..." said the brunette as he huffed to catch his breath,"I saw a girl..." he then blinked when he noticed Connar in the bed next to his as she held her hand to her chest that seemed to be bleeding from two small marks on her wrist,"Maybe it wasn't a dream..." said Jaden as he blinked in the image of the pink haired girl.
"V-Vamp...ire..." Connar gasped out.
"What's that?" Chazz blinked, but suddenly all went to normal once again. The blood that streamed from the pinkette was now gone and so was the glowing light in her eyes.
Did she say...Vampire?
He blinked.
"You must be feeling better if you're dreaming about girls." said the nurse.
"Nurse Fontaine!" Chazz called out,"Take a look at Connar's hand I think she was bitten by something!"
"Bitten!?" Jaden blinked.
"You don't have bed bugs, do you Slacker!?" Chazz huffed as he leaned in and whispered, "That's right I know all about your little sleep over in her bed-you punk!"
"It wasn't bed bugs..." Connar said as she hissed and shook her wrist, "... I was bitten by something with fangs." she stated,"Like a vampire or something."
"A vampire?" Chazz blinked.
So I'm not crazy...she really did say that!
Does she even recall?
"Okay clearly you're delerious."
"Maybe I am..." she groaned, "Whatever the case...the mark is gone now..."
"What!?" Chazz blinked and looked one more time.
She was right. Not only had the bite mark vanished, but it seemed the blood from it all vanished as well.
Connar blinked.
Was it even real in the first place?
She sighed.
I have a bad feeling about this...
"Well I'm glad to see Connar is okay." Jaden said with a gentle sigh,"How is Nightshroud? Er, I mean...Alexis's brother."
"Alexis's brother!?" Connar gasped softly.
"Oh yeah..." said Chazz, "I forgot, you had already passed out again by the time we all made this discovery." he stated, "Yeah turned out the Shadow Rider Jaden dueled actually turned out to be Alexis's older brother Atticus." said Chazz,"But after winning, whatever darkness that had a hold of him is long gone now." he explained.
"I see..."Conar blinked and glanced over at the other sleeping body. That explained why Alexis was watching over him.
"I'm afraid he hasn't woken up yet..." said the nurse softly,"But he's in stable condition."
"...Good." said Connar, "That's a relief to hear."
The next day rumors of a Vampire echoed in the halls of Duel Academy.
"Vampire!?" Chazz gasped as the chosen had gathered to meet with the Chancellor and he glanced over at Connar who tagged along.
First she mentions it...
And now there are rumors.
He blinked.
Somehow...Connar seems to be getting information before hand...
...Why is that? WHat's going on with you, Connie?
He remembered her glowing eyes, her weird murmers. He saw the bite marks, and he remembered the blood. Then like magic, it all had vanished. Perhaps it was a bad omen...
"I'm afraid the rumors might just be true." Chancellor Sheppard stated,"
"This has got to be a joke!" bellowed. Apparently he had missed all the action of the first Shadow Rider.
"Do you think she's a shadow rider?" asked Zane.
"Perhaps." said Sheppard,"So be on the look out for anything that seems odd."
XXXXX
"Hmph...Let's see this vampire girl try to get the drop on the Chazz." The ash haired male huffed as he siffed through his deck while Connar stood in the corner by his room window and gazed hyponotically upon the moon.
"What's on your mind Connie?" Chazz asked as he scooted closer to get the girl's attention.
"Norika..." she said softly, "I feel like there's a strain between us...like she might be afraid of me..." she blinked, "By the way...thanks for letting me stay here with you." she said softly, "It just seems so awkward and weirdly heavy with Norika right now..." she sighed sadly.
"...Try not to think too much of it." Chazz stated, "She went through a tramatic experience...she probably doesn;t want you to see her like this right now that's all." he stated,"I'm sure once she heals up and gets to being back to her normal self...the two of you will go back to normal too." he stated.
Though there was no way he could actually be sure of that...
This was a world Norika had no clue what so ever about...not that he knew better, but atleast he wasn't in it alone...unlike how Norika must feel, seeming to be the only one of her friends who can't see spirits, and yet still gets sucked into all the Doomageddon drama invonving them.
"Besides...better with me than that Slacker." he said, "You can't be trusted on your own in these circumstances." he blinked, "Norika is out of sorts and Jaden is in no condition to help anybody, let alone you if you wind up getting yourself into some sort of trouble again." he stated, "So I'm making sure you always stay within my sights." he sighed,"If you were lost to a Shadow Rider...I don't know what I would do..."
She blinked and let out a soft sigh with a gentle expression while she sat next to him.
"Thank you, Princeton." she said,"That's really sweet...but my real concern is this vampire..." she sighed,"You know...they are said to be...alluring, and such..."
"Hmm..."Chazz blinked and gave a teasing smirk,"Aww Connar are you afraid I'll be swept away in the arms of a sexy vampire~?" he smirked and leaned in close.
"A-As if!" She blushed,"I-I just mean, w-well...you are a guy and...she's a vampire and...uh..."
"Basically what I just said." he teased," So Connie is jealous of a Vampire~" he laughed," But what makes you think I'll be the victim here!?" he asked,"For all you know she could be the one who gets allured by the great Chazz Princeton and his undeniable sexiness!" He made playful hissing noises and threw his arms around the pinkette in captivity.
"Noo! Stop it! Ahh!" She squealed and giggled as he held her captive against his chest and wrestled her until he could toss her down into the bed as he chuckled and stood to stretch,"It's getting late." he said,"Come on Dork... snuggle up and get comfy." he said, "In my bed~ it would be impossible not to!"
"But.." she blinked, "What about you, Princeton?"
"I'll be fine." said Chazz, "I can sleep on the floor, just toss me a pillow and the sheet."
"Princeton!" She huffed, "I can't make you sleep on the floor!" she said, "I'm the guest, I don't mind sleeping on the floor-"
"Number One!" Chass huffed, instantly interrupting her before she could properly finish her sentence, "You're a lady~ and The Chazz is most certainly NOT gonna make a lady sleep on the damn floor!" he stated, "Number two! Like you said...you ARE my guest, so it would be rude of me to take the bed-"
"But it's YOUR bed!" she huffed, "It's not like it's not big enough for us both to-"
"What?" Chazz blinked, "Uhh...B-Both?"
The two stood in silence looking at each other with wide eyed expressions, both blushing.
"W-Well I mean-"
"W-Well I suppose I-"
The stammered at the same time, both struggling with their words.
"Fine..." chazz caved, "Just put a body pillow between us and pick a side of the bed..." he sighed, "I'll take the other half...but before that...let's go do our final check in with the Chancellor." he stated.
XXXXX
"So here's some good news!" Chazz said with a prideful grin. He had taken the long way to the office in order to check for anything out of place, keeping Connar close to him, refusing to leave her alone.
"Connar and I took our time to check the whole campus, and there's no-"
"VAMPIRE!"
"HUH!?" the gathered gasped when they heard Chumley's sudden cry as he ran into the Chancellor's office.
"I saw her!" said Chumley,"She's at the lake!"
To be Continued