Chapter 5

Elijah was all too ready for the start of the next school week. After enjoying a weekend hanging out with Moka, he felt rested and ready for the busy Monday ahead of him. Elijah quickly threw on his school uniform and downed a small breakfast before heading to the crossroads in front of the dorms where he and Moka had met for the past few days.

Approaching the intersection, Elijah saw that she was there a few minutes early. She was sitting on their usual bench next to the main sign post, but to Elijah's surprise, she wasn't sitting alone. Seated on the bench next to her, was Kurumu. When he first noticed her, Elijah quickened his pace a little, thinking there might be a problem, but examining the pair for a second revealed that they were chatting idly while sharing what looked like a big box of sugar cookies. He paused for a moment to examine the scene with a soft smile. It looks like those two made up from yesterday. Perhaps Moka has made herself another friend.

Elijah walked a little closer before calling out a quick "good morning".

Upon hearing his voice, Moka jerked her head away from her conversation with Kurumu to face the young man that was now standing in front of her. "Good morning Elijah!" she replied with a toothy grin. Motioning to Kurumu and the box of cookies, Moka explained the situation between them. "She felt sorry for her actions yesterday and decided to bake me, you and that boy Kenji from yesterday some cookies. You should try some! Kurumu is a master in the kitchen!"

Chuckling at her enthusiasm, Elijah reached over and grabbed a cookie from out of the box. Biting into it, his face lit up as the delectable treat seemed to dissolve in his mouth. "Wow she wasn't kidding. Thank you Kurumu." The succubus nodded at him, appreciating his gratitude. "Of course. I realize now that I was being a real asshole yesterday. I felt like baking you guys some cookies was the least I could do after trying to ruin your little date."

Both Elijah and Moka blushed a little at the word 'date', smirking at the awkwardness she created, Kurumu continued. "Say, do either of you know what class Kenji is in? I wanted to give some of these to him as well."

Elijah thought to himself for a moment. "I'm pretty sure I have shop class with him for first period. I'll try to talk to him today for you."

At that moment, the bell rang, bringing in the start of the school day. Looking towards the building, Kurumu gave a quick wave of her hand goodbye and said "Well then, I guess we better get off to class. We should totally meet up during lunch today!" Moka gave a bright smile. "Sure! Elijah and I sit at the left end of the fourth table from the back; there are plenty of open seats."

With that, the group split off and headed to their respective homerooms to start the school week.

Homeroom began as it had for the past week for Elijah and his pink-haired vampire friend. Ms. Nekonome spent the first ten minutes of class struggling to make it through attendance while her rowdy freshmen did their best to make that task as difficult as possible. Two boys and a girl had already been slashed across the face for interrupting her during the unnecessarily difficult task, and Elijah rolled his eyes as Ms. Nekonome claimed yet another victim for ceasing to talk when she asked the class to quiet down. I guess it doesn't matter what world you're in, freshmen will always be freshmen.

Elijah could've swore that his class was down to half its size by the time Ms. Nekonome made it to the end of the daily announcements. The students, who figured that today's announcements would just be a reiteration of previously announced events (like they had been for the past couple of days.) decided that whatever Ms. Nekonome had to say that day didn't warrant their attention and promptly fell asleep. The conscious few, including Elijah and Moka were in for an interesting surprise.

Setting the pages of announcements down on her desk, Ms. Nekonome cleared her throat and scribbled something on the chalkboard. Moka, who was trying her best to look around Elijah, began to excitedly tap his shoulder as she read what was on the board. Stars began to light up in Moka's eyes

"Elijah! Read the board! We're joining a club!"

The boy in question had already read the board and was thinking about giving a smart ass response to his friend, but looking at her enthusiasm, he couldn't help but smile. Turning back around to look at the board, Elijah listened as Ms. Nekonome explained how the afternoon would go for the young freshmen.

"After fourth period today, instead of going to study hall, all students will report back to their home room, which for all of you of course, will be here. After another quick discussion detailing how the event will proceed, you all will be free to choose a club to join. Remember that it is required to be involved in at least one club here at Yokai Academy, so be extra careful that you don't miss the meeting after school today. With that, you all are dismissed from Homeroom. Have a wonderful day!"

With that the room was filled with excited conversations as friends discussed amongst themselves about which clubs they planned on joining. Some of the more quiet and reserved students looked panicked, now realizing that they could no longer be a participant in the "going home" club.

Moka's first period class was located on the opposite side of the academy's main building. Considering that the short bells gave students little time to meander around and talk with friends, Moka gave Elijah a quick "goodbye" leaving the young man to sit alone with his thoughts on what clubs they should join.

Stepping out into the hall, Elijah's eyes wandered around, examining the various advertisements that senior students were placing over every available square inch of wall. Towards the end of his trip to his next class, Elijah caught sight of a certain poster and felt his heart soar with excitement.

Swimming was Elijah's favorite sport in his old life. He was the captain of his high school team his Junior and Senior year, and swam on a private club team for extra practice year round. Examining the swim club's poster, Elijah was a little disappointed to learn that the club was mostly casual, and contained almost no competition, (which made since, Yokai Academy had no rival schools to compete against.) he was still ecstatic to find a club he could do well in, and have a way to get back in the water.

Plus he thought, Moka probably wants to join a club together, I certainly wouldn't mind seeing her in a swimsuit.

He smirked at the thought, and then quickly realized the problem with that idea Oh wait… She probably doesn't know how to swim. I guess that makes sense if you've never been able to even touch water before.

He let out a disappointed sigh. Well I guess I could always teach her, if she wouldn't mind. I'll bring it up to her after lunch.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts as he opened the door to his first period class. Although they had done hardly anything in the introductory woodworking class, Elijah still tried his best to pay attention and work diligently. Carpentry had never been his thing. As much as he enjoyed working with his hands, Elijah was far more comfortable with electronics than with wood. He figured that since he was at school, he should do his best to pick up as many new skills as he could.

Unfortunately for Elijah, many of his freshmen classmates did not adhere to the same ideals. Like the entry level electives at his old high school, a large portion of Elijah's classmates had no desire to learn or do anything productive. Stepping into the room, Elijah shook his head and sighed. A group of three freshmen boys were using an old soldering iron in the back corner to engrave something onto the wooden bench they were crowded around. The room reeked of burning wood and chemicals, and judging by the mischievous snickers, Elijah could get a solid idea of what "art" they were creating.

Going against his better judgement, Elijah walked over to the corner to confirm his suspicions on the activities of his classmates. Getting closer, Elijah could hear the poorly hushed whispers of their rather crude conversation.

"Shit man, that's a big one. Mr. Olive is an oblivious old bastard but even his blind ass would notice that."

"Yeah whatever, I couldn't really care less, at his age, it's not like he could stop us if he wanted to."

A third student looked over from his own doodle to the work of his two classmates. "Damn you guys weren't kidding." He snickered "Imagine giving that Akashiya girl a good pounding with one like that." The other two started to laugh and Elijah's blood started to boil.

"As much as I'd like to, that girl's a square from what I've heard. Good luck doing anything with her without forcing it."

"No difference to me if I have to give her a little push to participate."

Just as Elijah was about to walk over and intervene, a fourth voice entered the conversation.

"Surely you heard the rumors of the last guy who tried that right?" Looking to his right Elijah could see Kenji standing behind one of the boys. Whipping their heads around, the other freshmen looked to Kenji with a perplexed look.

"Saizou Komiya got his ass handed to him on the first day for attempting to mess with that girl."

The boys' eyes widened "No way, that guy? I thought he was just skipping! He's been in the hospital for a week? Who the hell is strong enough to do that?" Kenji smirked and nodded his head towards Elijah, who in response cracked his knuckles while staring at the boys in front of him. All three paled and began to frantically mutter apologies.

Kenji cleared his throat and flared his aura, his whole body shimmering in a hazy blue. "And while we're on the subject, I want to make it clear. Kurono is off limits." He finished his assertion by throwing his upper body forwards, putting it inches away from the middle boy of the trio. All three slowly nodded their heads in unison before turning off the soldering iron and pulling out their unfinished assignments from the week prior. Being aptly intimidated, they wanted to be clear to Kenji and Elijah that they had given up all plans of misconduct.

For the past week, both Kenji and Elijah had been sitting at separate benches by themselves, attempting to remain isolated from the troublemakers of rambunctious class. Today however, in some mutual, unspoken agreement, the two claimed a bench together.

"Kurono is off limits huh?" Elijah asked with a smirk. Kenji laughed as he reached into his bag. "When a girl gives you cookies as good as these" he started, revealing a small tupperware box of sugar cookies. "You can't help but stand up for her you know?" Elijah gave a hearty chuckle.

"I'm guessing you already talked to her this morning then? She asked me to find you to tell you to meet up with her at some point, but it looks like she found you before I did."

"Yeah, it turns out her homeroom class is next door to mine. She stopped me in the hallway, and gave me these, said they were apology cookies. She told me that I had given her a new perspective on love, and that she really wanted to be friends. You know, even though she didn't leave the best first impression from Saturday, I really think she's a nice girl, if maybe just a little naive. I certainly wouldn't mind the chance to get to know her better. "

"Well, I'm eating lunch with her and Moka. If you want to join us, feel free."

"Sure, I'd like that."

With that, the teacher walked in and class began.

After shop class finished, Elijah hurried off to English class. Of course, being a native English speaker, Elijah was lightyears ahead of almost all of his classmates in terms of performance. Moka had surprised him last week by being bilingual. She told him that her mother made sure she knew several languages as a child, and that other than Japanese and English, she was also fluent in German. Naturally because she lived in Japan for most of her life, her grammar and vocabulary wasn't quite as developed as Elijah's but her writing and pronunciation was clear and concise.

So far, the class was primarily focused on grammar, and Elijah finished his work for the day with well over half an hour left in the period. He wasted away the remaining time scribbling aimlessly in the margins of his notebook.

With second period over, the freshmen of Yokai Academy headed to lunch. With his matter manipulation ability, Elijah discovered that he could recreate any meal he could dream off, enabling him to skip the long lunch line and claim a spot for him and his friends. Granted he and Moka always sat in a relatively quiet section of the cafeteria, so they weren't really hard pressed for enough seating.

Moka was the first to arrive out of the group. Noticing that her plate was more than a little empty, Elijah quirked an eyebrow at her as she sat down. She smiled and blushed nervously at his questioning glance. "I missed my 'breakfast' this morning, and I was wondering if I could have it for lunch." Elijah smiled and looked at her. "Is my blood so good that you would skip most of a meal to save room for it." Her eyes glazed over as she stared at him while slightly nodding her head in agreement. "Alright then, I guess you can have some."

She gave a noise of joy and gratitude as she lunged across the table and sunk her fangs into his neck. Taking a few long draws, Elijah began to feel a little woozy when she finally retracted from him, and licked the wound clean.

"Moka! I never would have assumed you to be so bold to neck a boy in public like that!" Kurumu said in fake astonishment as she and Kenji approached the table. Moka's face blanched at the accusation before moving her head to look at the girl. "Kurumu! You know that's not what I was doing!" Kurumu jerked her head back and started laughing, amused at the other girl's embarrassment.

She leaned in and whispered "Besides, you should've seen the smile on his face while you were doing it; if I didn't know any better, I'd say he likes it." Moka blushed even harder, and both Elijah and Kenji gave the girls inquisitive looks as Kurumu pulled away from Moka's ear.

Moka, recovering from Kurumu's comment, decided it would be best to change the subject. "So, has anyone here thought about what clubs they want to join?"

Elijah spoke up first. "Well I really want to join the swim club, if that's alright with you Moka." The girl in question flinched back at the suggestion. What? He knows that vampires and water don't mix well doesn't he? He should for heaven's sake! I told him that much!

Getting the reaction he feared Elijah continued. "I know it definitely isn't your first choice, but looking at the flyer, it said that the water was treated for the safety of all students, and it's a very casual club. You don't have to be great at it to join. I just figured that since the area under the barrier is climate controlled, that hanging out in the pool would be a fun way for everyone to unwind after a school day."

Moka closed her eyes and exhaled. Elijah did make some good points. "Alright I'll think about it. We can check it out at the very least."

Kurumu voiced her opinion next. "Well that's one idea, I sure wouldn't mind swimming after school. I checked if there was a baking club or cooking club of some sort, but for some reason the school doesn't have one. I know there's adequate cooking space and materials. Home economics is literally in a room with kitchen space. I wonder if there's another reason."

Kenji looked around, turquoise eyes deep in thought trying to find an answer to Kurumu's question. "Yeah I guess that is a little strange, but I haven't really taken a look at the options, so I guess I'll join the swim club with you guys."

Finishing their food, the group broke up, agreeing to meet at the west most end of the outdoor plaza where a lot of clubs were setting up advertisements.

Math class and gym passed without issue for Elijah. When the final bell rang for the day, Elijah headed back to homeroom, thinking about the exciting afternoon to come. Managing to gain the attention of her homeroom class, Ms. Nekonome reviewed a few simple rules for the afternoon, and did a little advertising for her own club. "If you can't find any other club you want to join, please consider joining the Newspaper Club, we would love to have you." Earning a disheartening eye roll from most of her class, Ms. Nekonome let out a dejected sigh. "Alright then, go out there and have fun!"

By the time Elijah and Moka made the long trek across the Yokai academy campus, Kenji and Kurumu were already waiting on them at the predetermined meet up spot. "Hey guys!" Kurumu called out "Took you long enough! Geez we've been waiting for like ten minutes!"

"Yeah really sucks when your homeroom is on the opposite side of campus, sorry for the wait." Elijah replied. After a little more small talk, the group joined the fray of other excited freshmen to find a club.

Looking at the map on the back of the pamphlet handed to them in homeroom, Elijah let out an exhausted sigh. It had only been ten minutes and they hadn't made it even half way through the plaza, but Elijah was ready to just go back to his dorm and drop dead on his bed. Almost every club they had passed thought it was a good idea to forcefully pull Moka and Kurumu away from the two boys. Some clubs were hoping that an attractive mascot would pull in more members, but some others had far more disturbing plans for the two young women. Kurumu had managed to keep most of the handsy young men away from them with charm, but a few still tried to get a good feel on her and Moka. Of course, Kenji and Elijah wouldn't let that happen, so several upperclassmen ended up leaving the event bruised and bloodied.

All of a sudden, the bustling crowd that had been surrounding Elijah stood still. Students parted ways in the street and opened to reveal three bikini clad seniors waving around flyers. "Come join the Swim club everyone! We have plenty of open spots! Especially for boys!" As she finished her statement, the males of the crowd began to cheer and the wild group descended upon the seniors.

Eventually, the one of the young women passed by Elijah's group, and the young man flagged her down. "Excuse me! Me and my three friends here would all like sign-up sheets." The girl turned around, eyed the group, and handed Elijah and Kenji a flyer. "Hey you only gave us two, what about them?" Kenji asked, motioning to Moka and Kurumu. The young woman turned around. "Sorry but we have enough women in our club. We're only looking for boys now. Those two can find somewhere else to go." Kurumu stepped forward to question her, anger in her gaze, but Kenji held her back as he read the application carefully.

"Holy shit. They're gonna kill someone. Guys look at this!" Kenji's eyes widened into saucers as he scanned the bottom clause of the entry form. Glancing over his shoulder, Elijah read out loud. "Any person signing this form is giving any senior club members permission to feed at their expense. All new members must be prepared to donate at all club meetings." There was silence for a moment before Kurumu broke the silence. "Oh my God they're Mermaids! Kenji is right! If we don't do something all of those boys are going to die!" Elijah shot her a questioning look. Picking up on his confusion, Moka jumped in to explain.

"Elijah, vampires aren't the only monsters that feed on others for strength. Kurumu, as a succubus for example, feeds on the lust energy of those around her. Mermaids also feed. But they feed directly on life energy. While normally losses are recoverable, if a person is fed on too frequently, it can result in permanent shortening of life, and potentially even death! From the flyer, the club meets three times a week! Feeding on any of those boys more than once a week could be fatal!"

"Well what do you guys suggest we do? All of us are fairly strong in our own right. We could probably beat those girls in a fight if we all worked together."

Kenji looked at Elijah like he was stupid. "And what? Get suspended for fighting? Look, clubs don't meet for another two days. If we report it to the student police, surely they can do something before then. We won't get in trouble for fighting, and all of those boys should be fine. I'll file the report this afternoon. In the meantime, let's focus on finding another club because this one is clearly no longer an option."

Moka cleared her throat, gaining the group's attention. "Well I don't know about you guys, but I really don't want to stay here much longer. The amount of times that I've almost been groped is quite honestly disgusting. Ms. Nekonome mentioned her Newspaper Club, and I honestly like that idea. It will give us something productive to do, while still being a fun activity that we can do as a team."

Kurumu looked at the sky deep in thought. "Well I guess that could be fun. I wouldn't mind writing a column on baking or something."

Kenji shrugged "I really didn't have any other ideas, so I guess that works for me. What about you Elijah? You in?"

The boy looked at his friends "I guess I'll just have to see if the pool is ever open to the public. I miss being in the water, but you guys are right. That club is just a disaster waiting to happen. Newspaper Club it is!"

With that, the group headed over to Ms. Nekonome's room to finally give her some new recruits.

Author's Note

Sorry for taking so long to get this chapter out. I promise I'm still actively working on this story, I've just been busy recently so I'm working in small increments. I'm going to try to establish a loose release schedule, hopefully at worst putting out a new chapter every 2-3 weeks. I'll try to work to release faster, but I've got a lot going on at the moment (nothing bad, I'm just getting busier.)

Thanks for reading :)

-FridgeWater