"Shit."

Cocolia rubbed either side of her head with her thumb and middle finger as she looked into the amount of damage her side project produced. While her primary objective remained stable and progressing, this one held no limit to the problems.

At first, cloning seemed to be the quickest solution to it. Creating a body from just a hair seemed nearly impossible, but the technology had been around for eons now. Not one, but several bodies were generated within just two days.

However, as they were created, they exhibited some odd swelling. A week later, all of them were completely bloated and looked ready to pop. It was during a physical exam to study this that they finally did.

In a fiery explosion, each clone took groups of personnel and totaled the entire lab with their blazing death. Fire emergency protocol was activated as the sprinklers were set off and more personnel scrambled for extinguishers to preserve whatever they could.

Cocolia dropped her hand as one of the lab rats alerted her of her fear: no equipment could be salvaged. The personnel were expendable; Anti-Entropy had no shortage of "recruits" at their disposal, but the loss of equipment meant the cloning process had to be halted for the time being.

"Is there anything useful you can tell me or was everything just a complete failure?" Cocolia asked the oily, black-haired man that told her.

"I can't be certain," he said, trying to bat soot off his white lab coat. "Most of the genome and biological experts were in there when the explosions hit. Even the observation deck, with blast-proof windows, was wiped out."

Cocolia groaned at this. "Were there at least some research papers left lying around?"

"Yes, but," the man started, before giving a heavy sigh. "Everything they put down sounds like complete and utter rubbish."

"Are you a scientist, or one of the ME techs?"

The man flinched under Cocolia's harsh glare. "I work under ME Corp, yes."

"Then hand me the documents, zip your lip, and get back to working on my machine!"

The man fled to fetch the documents, leaving Cocolia to stare back into the ruined lab and remember the few times she got progress reports from the group responsible.

Apparently, the kid's DNA was a jungle gym to get around. It was thicker than a normal human's and more so at the ocular aspects. The scientists believe that there was even more potential in the kid that goes untapped. It's amazing what a single hair gave away.

They tried breaking the genome, but there was no way to do so. The only way through was believed to be cloning, but that obviously didn't work, if the lab's remains were anything to go by.

The man had run back to her with a small folder, handed it to her, and ran off.

Cocolia rolled her eyes at the spineless coward and began reading. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to have changed from the last report she got.

She sighed as she got up and walked down the corridor and to an elevator, hoping the test tubes were a better bet than this lot.

_Character-Change: Phillip_

What the hell are you laughing at?

"Nothing. Just stopped a cloning process is all."

Phillip hummed at this. He had a feeling that Cocolia was up to something like that, so he didn't ask anything more of Gabriel. Right now, he had other things on his mind.

More specifically, one of the girls in front of him at this point.

Thanks to both his and Mei's efforts, Kiana actually managed to bring her grades up in a short amount of time... if only slightly. The only grade she managed to make leaps in was History but even that still floated just below passing. Everything else had improved from single digits to double digits. Now, to improve them from 10s to 20s.

Because of this, Phillip tripled down on his lesson-making to bring Kiana up to a decent student standing. This led to more loss of sleep, something he tried remedying by getting into school and sleeping. Though, he had to be slightly better at waking himself, lest he wants Mei breathing down his neck for bad habits.

Right now, the group was covering Trigonometry for Kiana while Phillip and Mei snuck in some parts for themselves to keep their own grades up. Kiana read her book with it in the air as she laid on her back, while Phillip sat cross-legged on the roof, leaning against his own bench. Only Mei sat on the bench correctly, seated next to the crown of Kiana's head.

"Kiana," Phillip said, trying to focus past the exhaustion, "you need to focus on more than history and more of history that isn't just the Kaslana side of things."

"But that's the only part that makes it good!"

Mei looked past her book and down at the girl. "Kiana-chan, you really need to listen. There isn't much time left before we head into the break and we won't be able to help you then."

Kiana decided to drop the book to her stomach to stare back at Mei. "You and I could study though, Mei-senpai. I know where you live, so I could come by and make that study date happen."

She received a light-hearted smack to her forehead for her efforts, giving a large smile in response.

Phillip stretched his arms and sighed as he heard three pops. Normally, this would be the point that he and Kiana would start sparring, something that has become a staple whenever a session went south. However, he didn't have the energy, and Kiana seemed really hyper about telling them something prior.

"Let's take a break. We're hitting another brick wall, and that's gonna take a bit to beat."

Kiana quickly sat up at this, a twinkle in her eyes. "Spar time!"

"Not today," Phillip said, causing Kiana to slump before falling onto her back again. "Did you want to tell us something before?"

There was a few seconds' worth of pause.

"Oh, yeah!" Kiana sat back up, with the same rambunctious energy as before. "It's my birthday today!"

"Today? Did you forget about it until now?"

Kiana gave a sheepish grin as she rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, but we can celebrate it tomorrow, right?"

"Of course!" Mei exclaimed, bringing her hands together in front of her face. "Then, would you like me to make something special?" She said this with a tilt of her head and hands, all with a bright expression.

"Chocolate cake! No, wait, chocolate ice-cream cake!"

Mei looked to the sky with a pondering expression, before bringing her eyes down to her bag.

"Um... maybe something smaller," Mei said, before whispering to herself. Phillip caught something about "single-serve pans" but he didn't pay much attention to it.

"Well, congratulations."

Kiana looked over at him. "That's it?! How about you get me a gift? Like a game or something?"

"Kiana, if you couldn't tell, I'm dead broke."

Kiana didn't seem enthused by Phillip's reason. "You are definitely not husbando material."

"What?"

Kiana turned back to Mei and leaped at her, landing on her lap. "Mei-senpai, you're my only hope!"

"I will buy you a gift, Kiana-chan, but don't blame Phillip-kun for not being able to." Kiana just gave a "hmph" at this.

Phillip sighed, picking the book back up. "Well, if Kiana's announcement is over, let's get back-"

"WAIT!"

Phillip looked up at Kiana, lightly amused. "What is it?"

"How rude," Kiana exclaimed, puffing out her cheeks. "I don't think you deserve to hear what I have to say now!"

"Hm. So, we were discussing the square roots of tangents-"

"Nonononononono!" Kiana nearly screamed as she jumped from her position to try and push the book out of Phillip's hands. Phillip lowered the book down to the ground, causing Kiana to land on his lap. Luckily, she landed on her stomach, which, while it could knock the air out of her, was far less awkward. She scrambled back to her seat afterward.

"Well then, Kiana, just tell us"

Kiana gave another huff at this, before replacing the discontent with a large goofy grin and a fist pump.

"I just got a date for tonight!"

Phillip simply gave a raised eyebrow at this. If Kiana was really desperate for a date, he knew for certain she would just keep teasing Mei. So, why now get a date from someone else?

Mei's reaction, however, was far less composed than he thought it would be.

"H-Huh?!"

"Yep! A really hot third-year talked to me earlier today and she asked me out!" Kiana exclaimed this to high heaven with a glint in her eyes.

Phillip could tell that the glint didn't match what she said. It wasn't something based on some love-struck passion, but that of a predator that had met its prey. Whatever was going on, Phillip was almost completely certain it wasn't about a date.

However, Mei didn't know what the other two did, thus explaining her stutter. "W-Well, I hope you two have a good time together." Both he and Kiana noticed the dejection in her voice.

"Don't worry, Mei-senpai!" Kiana said, still all cheerful. "If the date goes wrong, I'll come right back to you!"

Phillip facepalmed at Kiana's lack of awareness.

_Later_

"Hey, are you alright?"

Mei jumped at Phillip's question; her focus stuck in her mind. She sighed when she realized who it was.

While lunch ended smoothly, Mei kept quiet as she and Phillip walked back to their class. Now it was the end of the school day, and Mei has yet to speak a word to him. Thus, as soon as the two walked out of the school, he popped the question, stopping them at the entrance.

Mei didn't answer immediately, standing there in worried thought. After a few minutes, she spoke.

"I'm sorry, I simply thought that Kiana-chan would stay with us for longer."

"She's not leaving us. She just has a date tonight."

"B-But if she's going out with someone, then she'll have to meet with her often! A-And if she's meeting her, then she won't come by for lunch and-"

Phillip placed a finger over Mei's lip, despite the girl being an inch taller than him. He could tell Mei had something hidden beneath the friendship between her and Kiana. Whether it was something beyond, he couldn't tell, but it was making her worried Kiana wouldn't stay for whatever reason.

"Kiana is head-over-heels for your cooking, Mei. More than likely, we'll be getting another friend instead."

In some ways, Mei seemed to calm down, and in others, she tensed even more. She spoke as soon as he dropped his finger.

"I don't think anyone else in our school would want to be friends with a 'criminal', especially a third-year."

"Yeah, well, nobody wants to deal with the 'serial killer of Senba High' either."

Mei looked at him bewildered, before realizing what he meant. "Wait, you're the one everyone's afraid of?"

Phillip gave her a grin, which led to her giggling, soon turning into a burst of laughter. Phillip simply allowed her to enjoy the softer atmosphere.

After another moment, she relaxed. "Thank you, Phillip-kun, for trying to help me."

"Anytime."

She would have said more, but yelped instead, as two students passed right by her. The way both had a hand behind them and how long it lingered told the entire story to Phillip.

Phillip was set to charge after them, but Mei stopped him by grabbing his arm. He spun to her, where she shook her head, asking him to drop it. She still had a crimson blush on her face. He stared down the two students as they left the gate, thinking of summoning clones to stalk them and get revenge that way. For now, though, he stayed near Mei.

"Assholes are getting bolder."

"Language," Mei told him softly, the blush receding. "And don't go getting into trouble for my sake." Phillip simply grumbled at this, still looking at the gate. "You don't seem this protective when Kiana-chan does it."

"Kiana doesn't run away when she gets served punishment. Those prats did."

Mei leaned into him, placing her head onto his shoulder. Phillip smiled at her and wrapped his right arm around her. They stood there a few minutes more, enjoying the brisk air of early December.

The two soon untangled themselves from each other, and Phillip took a step forward down the school stairs. He was stopped, however, when Mei gave his arm a pull and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Phillip stood there silently as Mei ran past the gates, leaving him a blushing mess. He managed to pull himself together to go home, though the blush didn't disappear until he got back to his room.

"So, would this be number 5? Or should we count Kiana into the mix as well?"

Phillip's blush returned full force at Gabriel's suggestion.

_That-Night_

Phillip stared down the book. With how poorly Kiana's grades still were, he needed to figure out a new course of action that could guarantee better grades. So far, nothing created withstood the might of Kiana's impatience, but Phillip had a feeling that this one could finally break the iceberg.

"You've believed the same thing the last few times. Just go to sleep"

I'm sorry, I can't hear you over Kiana's failing grades. Phillip groaned, rubbing his eyes to throw off his sleepiness. I'll sleep when she's at the average.

"You'll be wasting time again. If you're headstrong about staying up, do something more beneficial."

The Library's out, and ME Corp would be ready if I go back. What can I do exactly?

"Get some experience, maybe? We definitely need some battling those beasts."

We already did that, and we found none! We-

Phillip breathed through his nose and rubbed the side of his eyes with his index and middle fingers. Maybe he should sleep. He was getting too aggravated from the smallest of things.

"Hey ya!"

Phillip nearly jumped from the voice, almost getting in battle position, but he realized whose voice it was.

"Kiana, what are you doing here?! How'd you even get up here?!"

Kiana gave him a wink and a silly smile, complete with a bit of her tongue sticking out. She had one foot on the window sill and the other hanging outside, where no fire escape was ready to prevent her from falling.

"I climbed up here!" Kiana stepped through the window, past the blinds she was holding up and scanned the room. "This is your room? It's, like, super-shitty, ya know. No T.V. or anything."

"Glad I made such an incredible impression," Phillip said flatly. "You didn't answer my question."

"Well," Kiana started with a slightly distant tone, "I didn't want to talk to Mei-senpai, so I decided to see where you crash."

Phillip looked at her slightly amused. "Of course, you did." Phillip put the book into his backpack and gave Kiana his attention. "So, I'm guessing your 'date' went well."

"Y-yeah."

Phillip rose an eyebrow to Kiana's stutter. When it came to her work, for lack of a better word, Kiana never seemed to shrink at it. However, he noticed she kept her eyes away from him, studying the room instead.

"What happened?"

Kiana gave a shaky breath, before walking up to his bed. "Could I?" Phillip pulled his pillow behind him, allowing Kiana to crawl onto the bed. Once on, she brought legs to her chest, resting her chin on her knees, wrapping her arms around them.

"She was the one," Kiana stated. "She was the other source of trafficking in the school."

"Who was she?"

"Asakura Miyuki," Kiana answered him, still locked onto the desk in front of her. "A third-year that got through by selling off her friends and 'dates'." She said the last part with air quotes.

"What happened to her?" Phillip was hoping to hear what exactly made Kiana stutter.

"I met her at a warehouse after school." Kiana didn't drop any hints as she spoke. "I called the police to surround the place before I went there. Once there, she tried to capture me, but I pushed her off." She then smiled that large smile she always had. "I beat her up, and handed her to the police! Super Kiana saves the day again!" She put her right hand on her left arm, trying to show that she was strong.

Phillip saw through the false bravado immediately. With how many times he saw others put on the same act, it was almost second nature to pick up the hints.

"Kiana, what actually happened?"

Kiana flinched. "W-what do you mean? I said-"

"You wouldn't stutter if everything went according to plan."

Kiana's hands flew to her mouth, before sliding them down so she could speak.

"I-I didn't mean to. I just wanted to -"

She paused and let out a long sigh. "I... had to do something I didn't mean to do. It was the only way I could have left alive."

Phillip caught on to the hint and wrapped his right arm around her, resting his hand on her shoulder. He knew what it felt like to have to kill another person. After so many kiddy adventures where he was able to avoid doing so, it was only a matter of time before it caught up to him. He was just glad it was in a controlled environment instead of in the middle of the war.

"Not easy to kill, is it?"

Kiana's solemn expression was broken by the dry chuckle she gave in return. "Yeah, well, Dad taught some small things before he left."

"Smart man."

"Hm." Kiana seemed too deep inside her mind to really pay much attention to Phillip's comment. "Do you mind if I stay awhile? I don't feel comfortable back at my place, and I don't want to scare Mei-senpai."

Phillip nodded. "Sure. Let me wash up first." Seeing what face Kiana made at this, Phillip stated, "It won't be long," before he walked out. Leaving a few clones behind to keep watch over the room, Phillip hurried down to the restroom, soaked his face and hands, dried, and returned up the stairs as quickly as he could.

The sight he received upon his return was quite something.

Kiana was dead asleep, laying on her stomach and one hand laid next to her face.

Phillip chuckled at this. Once the door was closed, he lightly flipped her to be on her back, pushed the pillow under her head, and covered her with the blanket. When he tried to pull away, however, Kiana latched one of her hands onto his wrist. With nothing close by to substitute with, Phillip resigned that his left hand was hers for the time being.

Pulling the book back out, Phillip started reading again, keeping himself close to the bed to not pull Kiana off it.

_December-15:Early-Morning_

Well, the test tubes had been slightly better than the clones.

After they emerged from their containers, thanks to rapid-aging, they were able to move almost immediately. Obviously, they seemed confused, but they didn't have much time for even that.

Because, exactly three minutes into life, all of the test tubes were immediately overcome with Honkai Radiation. It seemed that none of them had any form of resistance at all, but Cocolia knew better than that.

The test tubes were created by mixing two different sources of genetic material. The most stable ones were only capable if one male's and one female's materials were used, and almost every woman was resistant to Honkai Energy. So, all of the test tubes should have had some level of resistance.

Thus, the only viable solution was-

"Miss Cocolia."

Cocolia was brought out of her thoughts by one of the scientists.

"We don't have enough primary material to synthesize more. If you're planning to make something from this, we need a fail-proof way to achieve your goal."

"I understand this, thank you!"

Cocolia glared at the test tubes as their corpses were dragged from the lab. She extracted genetic material from the most resistant people to make these, only excluding her children. It did include, however, samples from her superiors, and even from herself. If none of these sources would make the cut, then there is only one other solution.

"We need a Herrscher."

_Later: Phillip_

"Sounds like that bitch's father is still in prison."

"So, he is guilty after all."

"Bet she's an accomplice, seeing how she was crying how he was wronged and all."

These were the words Phillip and Mei heard as lunch began that day. Phillip was ready to get after them, but Mei had stopped him again. She brought herself and Phillip, mostly dragging him, back to their seats.

"Phillip-kun, it's fine. It's nothing new to me, and you know that."

Phillip glared at the group of four students at Mei's words.

The students went from growing bold to attempting to attack Mei even when Phillip was around. Sometimes, the teachers would get in on it, which only added fuel to the fire. Phillip wanted to retaliate with force but Mei prevented him from trying.

It was only her that kept the burning flame inside Phillip from quelling itself with blood.

The group of students noticed his glare. "Hey, bitch! Keep your mutt on a leash!"

Phillip rose from his desk, but Mei pulled him back down. "Just once, Mei. It'll be quick."

"Please, Phillip-kun, calm down. It really isn't worth it."

"Oi! Stop bad mouthing Mei-senpai!"

Phillip and Mei looked at each other before looking back at that group. Kiana was now in their faces, giving a glare that dared them to say more.

"This has nothing to do with you!"

"Yes, it does! I'm her friend so I gotta protect her!"

At this point, Phillip and Mei were by Kiana's side. Mei had grabbed Kiana's arm to get her attention, but she continued to stare down the group.

"Great, you and the mutt can join her behind bars!"

Mei latched her other hand around Phillip's arm, who had stormed forward to match Kiana. Slowly, Mei was dragged forwards, despite her pulling back as hard as she could. She gave a glance at the students; in hope, it would relay the warning to them, but it was in vain.

Kiana yelled at them instead. "SAY! THAT! AGAIN!"

"Stop it, you two!" Mei pleaded. "They didn't hurt me!"

"No! I'm going to slug 'em so hard they'll beg for your forgiveness!"

Phillip wasn't listening. He was trying too hard to reach the group of students with his free hand. They kept taking a step back whenever the trio got close, which only fueled Phillip's drive to grab them. It got to the point that Mei abandoned the arms and wrapped herself around their stomachs and pulled from there. This kept the trio from advancing, but now she had to deal with flailing instead of pulling.

"Look, the bitch got another mongrel for her collection! Make sure they don't breed." This earned a couple of snickers from others in the group and a few more students that came into the class.

"Keep talking! Let's see you talk through a broken jaw!"

Phillip's threat caused almost every person other than Mei and Kiana to pale and decide that their lives were more important than the taunts they would say. They left, including the group that started it, leaving Mei to temper her friends.

"Cowards! Come back!"

Once the classroom was completely emptied, Kiana dropped her aggression, muttering how she didn't want to see those "roaches" again. Mei, at the time, was trying to gather her breath, having overexerted herself holding back the two power-houses.

Phillip, however, was still seething. While Mei and Kiana talked about the ME case, Phillip was formulating a plan to get back at the students. It wasn't long before he thought something up.

"Could you girls go up to the roof? I need the restroom for a second."

Phillip tried to get out of the door quickly, but Mei stopped him by grabbing his hand.

"Phillip-kun, they really aren't worth it. Don't get into trouble because of me."

Phillip wanted to turn to her and tell her that it was worth something, but he knew that would just make her upset. Calming himself just enough to not be pissed, he turned back to her with a smile.

"I just need to use the restroom. I'm not going to cause trouble."

She gave him an analytical gaze, before relenting her hold on him. He walked out of the room but ran down the hall for the restroom. While he wasn't in need to use it, he did need some level of secrecy.

I'm sorry, Mei, but let me be selfish just this once.

_Lunch: Mei_

"They called him a WHAT?!"

Mei shushed Kiana into silence, pointing over to the sleeping Phillip. "Please keep your voice down for him."

By the time Phillip had gotten to the roof, he leaned against one of the benches' legs and fell asleep. Mei and Kiana transferred his position onto the bench, but Mei opted to sit down next to him, and placed his head onto her lap.

For whatever reason this happened, Mei didn't know, but she did notice Phillip becoming slowly more rigid and unfocused ever since they had begun Kiana's studies. She hoped the two weren't interconnected, but considering who Phillip was, it seemed likely.

"Oh, when I get my hands on those bastards," Kiana said threateningly, cracking her knuckles while lost in her thoughts.

"I said it was fine, Kiana-chan," Mei stated with a sigh, combing her fingers through Phillip's hair. "I don't want you or Phillip getting into trouble."

Kiana looked back over at Mei to give a complaint but noticed what she was doing. Mei sigh at the surprised expression Kiana took at this, hoping the girl wouldn't explode into arguments for not getting something someone else got.

What happened, however, was different.

"He looks a lot nicer than before."

Mei blinked a few times at this, before looking down at Phillip.

Kiana wasn't wrong. Normally, Phillip seemed distant and stern, showing emotions now and then, but never seemed approachable to others. He did smile, something Mei was enraptured by and cherished, but he changed back to impassive when dealing with other people.

Now, sleeping on her lap, the young man's features soften, allowing a level of peace that seemed impossible for him to have.

Mei was pulled from her thoughts when she noticed Kiana's finger prod him slightly, not enough to awaken Phillip, but enough to put Mei on edge.

"Kiana-chan, please-" Mei stopped from giving the girl a scathing lecture at the girl's expression. Rather than the annoyed one the girl had whenever attention wasn't on her, Kiana seemed calmer, more gentle than other times she and Phillip interacted.

Kiana prodded him a few more times, before laying her palm against his cheek.

"I'll protect him too."

The promise was quiet, nothing more than a whisper, but Mei could hear it. It surprised her that these two came to be this close, even if it had been a few weeks since their first meeting. She couldn't help but giggle.

Kiana's eyes widened at Mei's giggle and leaped back in shock. "I-I didn't say nothing! I'm just complaining that I never got to sleep on your lap before!"

"Right," Mei replied with a smile, not believing Kiana for a second.

Kiana decided to keep to her lunchbox, lightly blushing as she ate through the rest of it. Once she was through with that, she began eating what was left of her birthday cake.

"Wish you made ice cream cake, though."

Mei sighed at this. "I did try, but it melted in my bag. I don't have a refrigerator in there."

"I know, I know," Kiana said as she swallowed her final bite, patting her stomach in content after. "It was delicious anyway!"

It was at this point that the bell rang out, signaling that lunch was over. Kiana offered to aid Mei in getting Phillip to class but was denied, even after insisting for quite some time. Kiana walked off sulkily, leaving Mei and Phillip alone.

There was a reason for Mei's action. There had been an urge welling up from inside her, but she quelled it while in front of Kiana. Now that the girl was gone, the last bit of restraint was removed, allowing it to become uncontrollable.

Staring down at the boy that laid on her lap, Mei smiled gently. After just a few seconds, Mei slowly, unconsciously, lowered her head down closer.

Mei couldn't determine what the urge was. She simply knew it came from deep down, buried within her soul. It felt restrained, but she still couldn't contain it. It took all her will to bring it back under her control, and even more so to finally subdue it.

Mei's lips were a breath away from Phillip's when she realized what she had been doing. Blushing deeply, Mei snapped back to her original position and slapped both of her cheeks.

Mei couldn't do that, not to Kiana and not to herself. She knew who she liked and she knew she liked them completely.

Right?

Shaking her head from these thoughts, she shook Phillip awake and the two walked back to their class.

Neither of them noticed a purple light faintly glowed for a few seconds within Mei's skirt, from her left hip. Something sealed away many years ago, by her own father no less, had come back.

Mei's stigmata has returned.

_After-School: Phillip

"BWAHAHAHA!"

"Kiana-chan, this isn't funny!"

"You do have to admit, Mei, it is pretty funny."

"Phillip-kun, don't encourage this!"

What was the thing that got Kiana into hysterical laughter, Mei in a huff, and Phillip looking on with mild amusement? Well, a flagpole seemed to have planted itself in the schoolyard, right in front of the entrance. What was truly comical about it was that four students were hanging from the top of said pole by their undergarments. While the females were blushing madly at their situations, the males were the ones feeling the pain.

Thus, all the other students stopped to look on their way out. Many were just pointing with a variety of grins, while others were pulling out their phones to capture a few photos. However, Mei was not happy, as all four students were the ones from this morning, which meant...

"Alright, which one of you two did it?"

"What?! Mei-senpai, you don't really believe I did this, do you?" Mei started to reply to Kiana but was halted by the puppy eyes. Mei sighed and looked back at Phillip.

"Do I look like I could hike a flag pole from out of nowhere?"

To be fair, it was Phillip's plan for this. He sent two clones out to handle the act, while he returned to Mei and Kiana. The part when he fell asleep wasn't intentional but seemed to cement the belief that he couldn't have done much.

Where the flagpole came from ranged from stolen to transformation, but it really didn't matter. Phillip's plan was a success and hopefully prevented any more taunts from being used against Mei.

Speaking of which, Mei dropped the case against him and Kiana, but wished to aid in getting the group down. It took a lot of coercing to convince her to let the school handle it for Mei to drop the matter. The trio walked out of the gate together, though Kiana took a step back to snap a picture of the scene.

_Character-Change: Principal_

The principal stared down from her office, watching the faculty slowly pry off the students from the top of the new flagpole. It took every ounce of her being to prevent the grimace from taking over. This... 'prank', for lack of a better term, was obviously a form of reprimand against actions these students took, and considering who these students were, it was from insulting Raiden, Mei.

It really wasn't her fault that she was telling the teachers to attack the girl and anyone who happened to be near her at the time. These were orders from someone above her: to cause as much emotional damage to Mei and the boy.

Rumor has it that the "serial killer" changed to "mutt" for the fact that he never left Raiden's side. All the better, as the orders seemed to be more focused on the boy more than it was to Mei. For what reason, she couldn't fathom. Seemed like a revenge plot if you asked her.

Her desk phone rang, and she rushed over from her window to answer it.

"Good morning, Ma'am... Yes, I understand the idea, but I don't see-"

The principal sighed as her employer explained. "I get that you want the boy to suffer, but what does that have to do with Raiden, Mei?"

"..."

"Alright, I'll keep my mouth shut on this, but I don't want any other students to suffer for your goal"

"..."

"Alright then, you've given your word. Do as you please, Miss Cocolia."

_December-27:Phillip_

As winter break came, Phillip found himself hunkered in his room as days came by. While he wanted to go out, his black jacket wasn't really crafted for the cold of winter, despite its bulky appearance. Granted, this did leave a lot of time to work on regaining more muscle mass.

Normally, the break would be a time where Sho really hammered work into Phillip, but this time, it was different. His clone came upstairs early in the morning and alerted him that he had the day off. This hadn't happened since the single time last year, which gave Phillip a sense that something was going to happen later.

So, he had the clone walk out of the store while Phillip stayed inside. The clone was allowed to do anything necessary, so long as it didn't involve other people, especially Kiana or Mei. As the clone left his room, Phillip threw on transparency, and followed it from the ceiling, stopping at a corner near the kitchen.

As time went on, Phillip noticed several customers had come and not ordered anything. No, more along the lines that Sho didn't come by to collect an order. They simply sat in the booths near the windows, looking out every once and a while as if in search of something. It began with two females, both young women, then a large, tubby male. Before dark, enough people had crammed the place full.

It was then that Phillip noticed the vast disparity between the number of males to females. For every one male, there were at least 4 females. Given that there were about 5 males, including Sho, that meant the restaurant was flooded with the opposite sex.

However, this was the least of Phillip's worries. Seeing the sun go down, he knew the time that he was supposed to be back was coming. Last time he was late, thank Christ, but Phillip doubted they would leave before his clone came back this time.

Thankfully, that's exactly what Phillip wanted.

Sneaking his way across the hall that led to the back, Phillip carefully and quietly dropped to the floor right before the walkway. On the wall, there should be a seal, hidden from standard sight. Phillip could have seen it if he had his ocular powers, but those were sealed away.

Regardless, Phillip placed his right hand on the wall and channeled chakra into the hand. The effects were almost instantaneous.

All the occupants of the sitting area suddenly rose off the ground. All of them seemed either confused or shocked, but couldn't voice it. Phillip retreated for the supply closet and pulled out a large bundle of rope.

Fast as light, Phillip managed to tie up Sho, who was in the middle of it all, and then collected everyone else into a large bundle around him, before anyone knew what had happened. Phillip then knocked them all unconscious before walking to the back.

"What do you wish to do with them?"

Phillip thought it over. He didn't completely trust the police if this was as rampant as Kiana suggested. If anything, this would simply lead to a time-out, if not a warning, and then let go. The logical idea would be to just end them now, but...

Phillip summoned two clones and gave his order. "Take them to the closest police station and leave an anonymous tip. Stay close to the group, and if any of them get off easy, take action." The clones nodded and sealed the group away before jumping off.

"Deadly combination there. A paralysis seal mixed with a limbo seal."

Yeah, I know. I've forgotten how many clones I had to replace trying to mix them together. Phillip shuttered. I'm sure there are places in the forest that still need patching up, even after we've done damage control.

"So, what now?"

Well, the resources of the building are technically ours now. Phillip thought back as he walked to the counter and pulled the cash register to him. I'm sure we'll be- Phillip's hopes were diminished at the interior of the machine.

There was no money in it.

"I'm pretty sure Sho pockets all of the earnings."

...Let the clones know to pickpocket some cash from the slavers. They won't be needing it.

Phillip felt Gabriel's presence in his head disappear, so he decided to take a look at the fridge and freezer.

Luckily enough, both were completely stocked, so there was little fear of starving to death. However, if electricity bills weren't paid, that can go right out the window. Similarly, there would be no cooking if the gas goes out.

Granted, he could make a fire with chakra, but he needed the building to remain intact for shelter.

Gabriel returned. "They got the message. What's your plan?"

Close the place down. Phillip said, pulling the receipt paper from the cash register. Say it's for maintenance.

"Not everyone is going to believe that forever."

Well then, we'll just have to improvise.

Phillip looked up at the clock that hung from the right wall. It was midnight, and Phillip noticed that snow had begun to fall.

Gabriel, could you go back out? Tell the clones to keep the group out of the snow until morning.

"Very well. Also-"

I know.

Gabriel left again, and Phillip sat down in one of the wooden chairs at a nearby table. At first, he drummed his fingers at the edge of the table, tilting his chair back slightly as he stared up at the ceiling. A short while after, he began to sing.

"Happy birthday to me."

All righty then, that takes care of this chapter.

Thank you so much for your support, for the new follows and favorites.

I'll see you in the next chapter!

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Hidden-Chapter

The beast had long since left the waterfall in search of the new energy. It swept the forest for the source but came up with nothing.

A scent would carry the beast from one location to another, before it flew away, beyond the large stone wall. The pellets that rained down on the beast when it came by hurt, so the beast learned to keep away from it.

Finding no alternative, the beast went in search of the other energy farther away from the wall. What laid before it now was a prime source of that.

Trunk-like arms, broad upper body with a slim lower body, and had four protrusions: two longer ones coming out of either side of its chest over its shoulders and two shorter ones coming out of the middle of its arms, one for each. Its head was detached from the body, with a semi-circle at the back that narrowed to a pointed nose. Its only pink eye was held by a horn pointed backward. Behind its head laid a larger semi-circular appendage, seemingly cut from the head and also floating. In-between the head and the other was a hole that burrowed deep into the body, spilling out a purple radiance.

This radiance, this energy, was what the beast wanted.

Lunging out from its hiding spot, the beast bared down on its prey. Sinking its silvery fangs into white-gray flesh and pinning the other large creature beneath it with insectoid legs, the beast began to suck out the energy. Slowly, the prey began to dull and wither.

However, this was stopped as a new challenger stomped onto the scene.

This creature was covered in both white plates and purple indents. The indents were littered with pink lines. With the white plating looking like shoulder pads, leg guards, helmet, and chest plates, it resembled a human knight. The most prominent features, however, were the white spear that served as its right arm, and the white shield that served as its left. On top of that, the knees, the top of the shield, the upper part of the right arm, and just under the helmet were pink orbs.

The orb under the helmet leveled itself towards the beast.

The beast simply snarled at the creature, making a sound that would send anything else in the other direction. But not this one.

The knight rushed the beast and lunged the spear down towards the head of the beast. The beast jumped to the right, causing the spear to pierce the withered form of the prey.

The beast knew it did not have the strength to contest this knight. However, the knight had more energy in it than the prey. Mouthwatering with intent and fueled by greed, the beast lunged forward, hoping to sink its teeth into the knight to get enough energy to both weaken the knight and strengthen itself.

Its answer was the shield ramming itself into the beast's face.

Sent stumbling back, the beast could not prevent the spear from puncturing its skull.

The battle was finished. The knight had won. The beast was dead.

And so too, came the spoils.

The knight felt the new energy within the beast. As it traveled up the spear, the knight grew stronger, and, yet, calmer. Realizing the effects, the knight knew what needed to be done. The energy must be collected and given to its species.

And, then, the war against humanity could continue at last.