Mate of Fate
Chapter 7: New Face and Trouble
The next morning came in and everyone rose up ready for whatever it would bring. Of course the first item of business was Shizuka arriving to see how everyone was doing but to also assign some work for the newspaper club. "It's up to you guys to create something for the school when we get back!" she stated with a grin.
That teacher had left the club members with the task and found them gathered around a large table starting the process just like as if they were back at the academy. A few of those that had come with Nicholas at the beginning of the school year offered to help which the club accepted. "Do we really have to work on this?" Kokoa grumbled. "It's vacation."
Nicholas rolled his eyes with annoyance. "Why don't you quit your bitching and moaning?" he muttered under his breath. It was too low for the vampire to hear.
"I never knew this much would go into a newspaper," Michael in the meantime stated as he was one of those helping the club. "It's a lot of work."
At that moment Takeshi came into the room looking a bit disappointed. "And here I thought it was all going to be just fun," the guy with blue hair said. Everyone in the club and those helping looked up to see him leaning against one of the door frames that was an entrance here.
"Can't be helped," Nicholas told him. "I have my duties to the club after all."
"You want to help?" Tsukune asked Takeshi.
"Nah, it's not my thing."
"Well you don't have to wait for us," Michael told Takeshi. "You can go out on your own since it's summer vacation."
"You know what? I think I'll do that. Good luck on this."
The blue-haired male left and stepped out into the bright, hot sun. It was another perfect day for summer. Takeshi breathed in deeply, smelling the salt water and sand. "This is the life," he said softly, the ocean and beach being one of the few places in the world the male truly felt at home.
Takeshi decided to walk along the water's edge where the waves lapped at the sandy beach. Only his footprints followed him as the guy walked with hands in the pockets of his shorts. Perhaps besides walking the guy might find something interesting like a shell or stone to take back to the academy and placed in his room as a bit of decoration. His eyes gazed out over the sand and water knowing that when graduating he would definitely come back here as a way to celebrate. Maybe even living here or at least have a place near a body of water. Suddenly Takeshi stumbled as he ran into a rock of some kind and almost fell over. "Shit!" he cursed and managed to regain his balance.
The blue-haired male then saw he was by a section of the beach he hadn't been to yet. In the time since Moka and those guys had come here, some large rocks had been placed here to add a place to visit but to also create some tide pools as a point of interest. Takeshi got a smile as he could tell what these were having studied up on these things in his free time and decided to take a closer look. "Wonder what's been washed in since last night?" the guy wondered in his head.
Takeshi made it to these tide pools and took a look in the biggest one. He saw a wonderful display of sea plants and small ocean animals had made their home in here. The male could also tell they were healthy and thriving. Just then his ears picked up a different noise, one that wasn't caused by the lapping waves. "That's odd…" Takeshi stated and listened closer. It sound like a woman from the pitch of what sounded like short, shallow breaths.
The blue-haired male followed the sound to find the source and it was coming from behind one of the larger rocks here. Due to the position of the sun it was casting a shadow over the body that was making noses. It showed whoever it was alive but clearly in discomfort and would be in a worst situation if something wasn't done fast. Then Takeshi got a real good look at her. "Wait, she's…" the male whispered.
It wasn't a human but definitely a female humanoid like being due to her curves and shape being that of a female. She was curled up into a ball with her arms and legs tightly close to her body. Takeshi saw she had light grey colored hair that went to her upper back and water droplets clung to her skin. The female also had pointed ears like an elf, with her upper body being tan like in color, a dull one to the point of being white, and the rest of her body seemed to be covered up by a substance that made her seem she was wearing some kind of swim diving suit that was a strange green yellow like color. This was matched by the same color the ears had and part of this suit like skin went to her upper arms to resemble some kind of fins. "I don't believe it…" Takeshi thought in his head.
He slowly reached out and his finger made contact. Her skin felt wet but like it was drying out and was slightly slimly from some kind of mucus being produced to try to keep her body moist and wet. The female's gasp took on a higher note and the blue-haired male pulled back as she flipped over on her other side, but also somewhat in a kneeling position. Now Takeshi could see her feet were black in color forming some kind of shoes or boots. But this new rapid breathing didn't stop and looking showed this female was really struggling as she couldn't get out of this position. There was only one thing that could be done. Takeshi grabbed her in his arms and turned her face up. The female still continued to struggle like she was having a nightmare or stroke. Now he got a look at her face which had four red markings, one on each upper eye lid and one on each lower lid. There was a darker red mark in the center of the bridge of her nose which matched the marking on the top of her head where there was no hair. Right in the center was a round spot colored white with a dark spot colored grey in the middle. Takeshi also saw the tops of her hands were the same black color on her feet and her fingernails were dark magenta in color. Finally what covered her breasts was some furry pink like substance that acted a bit like a bikini top. Takeshi closed his eyes and concentrated, his hands glowing with a blue colored light, light in color than his hair. Whatever the male did worked because her thrashing ceased and her breathing became much easier. Thanks to this, Takeshi was able to now get a really good look at her. The female's eyes then opened weakly and he saw her eye color was exactly the same color as the marking for her eye lids. "Water…" she gasped.
Takeshi knew what he had to do and picked her up in his arms. The guy was strong enough to do so and this female was light. His hands kept glowing as the male hurried back to where the others were. Takeshi entered and burst into the room where the others were by flinging the door open with his foot. It was such a crash and loud noise, everyone working on the newspaper jumped badly. "What the hell?!" Michael exclaimed but then everyone here saw Takeshi carrying the female who had drifted to unconsciousness.
"Wait, what-" Nicholas began.
"We need a tub with water for her, she need to be hydrated," Takeshi stated, cutting him off. By this point his hands had stopped glowing.
The long-haired male nodded, an air of business seemed to pop around him as the guy with glasses could also see this new being was in trouble despite Takeshi helping her. "Come on, I'm going to need a couple extra hands," he told the rest working on the newspaper with him. "We could do with a break anyways and she needs our help."
The rest of the club members and those helping them all nodded as this clearly was an emergency. Luckily Gin and San were here in the building and able to get a tub ready with water. Takeshi laid the female in his arms into it and this new person sunk in like a block of ice. But quickly it showed that it was needed. Her body became fully relaxed and her breathing became that of one who was asleep. "There, that's better," Takeshi said. "She should be fine now as long as we let her get some rest."
"So what happened? Where did she come from?" Ayame asked.
"I found her washed up on the shore nearby. There was nothing else to identify her; no message, or anything like that."
"So we have one of those situations," Kabu stated with a roll of his eyes. "You know the kind you see and read about in stories; typical."
"Still… she's not human," Tsukune said. The rest of the newspaper club was able to get a good look at her through the doorway with curiosity. "She's probably a Yokai. But she's not a mermaid." The former human knew all too well how those looked like from his first year at the academy.
"She doesn't seem to be a Chimara or Monstrel," Moka added. "If she was the first she'd be like Kiria and for the second like Kusabi." Those names caused a moment for those that had encountered them to think back quickly. It was no surprise as the latter had first caused Tsukune to descend into becoming a Ghoul. But the former had a lot more history with the newspaper club during their first and then second year. Even now he was still somewhere out there and leading a new and differently reformed Fairy Tale with Tsukune as their number one target to kill.
Nicholas's words made these guys then come back to the present. "She's neither of those things," he said. "I know what we have in front of us."
"Oh? How can you tell?" Fang Fang asked.
The long-haired male pointed to the ruin like jewelry that he wore. "With this," he answered. "This isn't just another fancy thing or cool trinket to wear. It's got a few practical uses. And one of them is it allows me to sense and identify if I'm in front of a Yokai or human. And right now we have the former. But it can't tell me how strong the Yokai is though."
"Really?" Kurumu asked, intrigued by this.
"Yeah, and allow let me show you what else this ruin necklace of mine can do."
Nicholas closed his eyes and let out a breath. His charm began to glow with a green light which then flashed for a brief second. What then materialized appeared to be a book like object that became solid. It was half yellow and white in color the other being red and black. On the cover at the top was a ruby like gem and at the bottom was a gold white like gem. It then opened up after two latches, one on the top and bottom, unclasped. The book then grew in size as the pages flipped opened to the right page until it was a size where everyone could see. And there on the left was the information and on the right was a picture of a being that looked very similar to the female in the tub. "What is that?" Yukari asked with interest.
"This is a tome of all the Yokai that have existed in this world both in the past and today," Nicholas explained. "My ruin charm holds it inside when not in use so I can show to others. So with this, plus what I mentioned earlier, I can be a little more prepared with fighting despite how each Yokai in here only has a brief entry which is more than enough to help."
"Wow, that's amazing!" the witch stated.
"Glad you think so. Now than it looks like we have a Lereid with us."
Everyone took a look at the information. It was a brief summary that went as followed; A Lereid is a water type Yokai that is neither a Mermaid or Sea Nymph, but rather both. Friendly and helpful to those that have good intent, they are still capable of fighting. Nobody knows the origin of how they were born; speculations from mating between the two species to other theories are debated.
Once everyone had read this passage, the book disappeared and went back into Nicholas's necklace. "Well that's great, but that still doesn't answer where she came from or why she was washed up on the beach," Kabu pointed out.
"I'm sure once she wakes up she can tell us; at least hopefully she will," Nicholas said.
"Well one of us should stay with her until she does," Moka suggested. San volunteered to do so and the rest left the siren with this new Yokai.
It was a good thing someone stayed with this Lereid because soon she did come to conscious and slowly opened her eyes. "Mmm…?" she mumbled.
The noise was heard by San who was sitting in a chair right by the tub and saw the first female was awake. The Lereid slowly rose up from where she had been in the tub to sit, water droplets running down the part of the body that was now out of the liquid. "Oh, you're awake," San said with a smile.
The other female looked to see the Siren and then at her surroundings. "Where… where am I…?" the Lereid asked.
"You're safe now." San then went on to explain how Takeshi found the Lereid and brought her here.
"Yes… I do remember a bit now," the female in the tub said. "I remember briefly waking and seeing a male face. Was that him?" The siren nodded in response.
"So is there anything I can get you now or do you wish to rest some more?"
"I think I would like to thank him who brought me here," the Lereid replied and slowly began to rise up.
"Hey, are you okay to get up?" San asked, a little worried.
"Yeah, I'm fine. See?" The siren was able to see the first female actual stand up, water droplets running down her body and glistening from the liquid.
"Well okay, but you might want to dry off." The former was handed a towel and the wet female wrapped herself up, loving the warmth of it.
The two females then went to where those in the newspaper club were back at work. But they stopped seeing the Lereid and Siren enter. "Oh, she's awake," Ruby stated.
The new female looked and saw while this group seemed nice, none of them were the male she had briefly seen before being brought here. "Hello," the Lereid said pleasantly.
The club members stopped working seeing her up. "Are you well to be walking about like this?" Michael asked, surprised this female was already after having been rescued.
"Yes, I feel much better now after being brought here. I wish to thank the one who found me."
"Yeah, I can get him here," Nicholas stated and brought out his phone. The male began to text Takeshi and sent the message. "He should be here in a bit."
"Thank you," the Lereid said to him. "Oh before I forget, I am Liliana Mutio. It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you to," Tsukune replied and everyone introduced themselves.
Just as the last one said their name, Takeshi appeared in the doorway. "So, I heard you're awake," the male with blue hair stated to Liliana. Her back was to him so the guy had yet to see her face.
The Lereid heard Takeshi and turned to look at him with her red colored eyes. "Oh? Are you…?" she began before pausing.
Meanwhile his eyebrow that could be seen for the one eye slightly went up. Seeing the Lereid like this was very different from before. Liliana got a happy smile and the next thing everyone knew she had approach the guy who had brought her here and they were closely face to face with each other. The guy took an automatic step back but the female didn't seem to notice. "Oh thank you so much for rescuing me!" the Lereid exclaimed happily with a big smile and her eyes closed.
"Uh, yeah, too close," Takeshi stated as he was the kind of person who wasn't all about being close in personal space unless dating a female.
"Oh, sorry, I am, aren't I?" Liliana replied and got to a more comfortable space between them after stepping back a step or two. "That better?"
"Yeah, much." The guy then rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "And… yeah, no prob with bringing you here…" Takeshi being not quite as social as the others in the group due to his personality could feel a bit awkward when taking thanks to that.
"Well now that we've met, mind telling us how you got washed up near here?" Yukari then asked Liliana.
The female's face then faltered a little. "I was running; running away…"
"From what?"
"From some bad people." Here Liliana's face fell like she was trying not to cry.
"Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean…" began the female witch but the Lereid shook her head to show it was okay. Everyone else looked to her with small, worried sad looks. Even Takeshi was to despite not being as social.
"It's okay, you didn't know." The new female then looked up at them. "Why they captured me I still don't know but… they made mention of using something from me. I do remember a number of tests and blood draws. But they were anything but fun…"
Takeshi at that moment felt a similar feeling in his body like what had happened with Nicholas and Michael. This surprised the blue-haired male and he wondered why he would feel this way after just meeting Liliana. "Well don't worry, you'll be safe from them with us," Nicholas told her. "A large group like us should be able to do the job well."
"Thank you," she replied with thankfulness.
At that moment, the rest who were in this building came into the room as they heard the talking, The situation was explained and more introductions happened. By this point, the ones in the newspaper club had done a good amount of work for today so that meant it was time for fun. "So what shall we do this time?" Moka asked everyone.
"I saw a volleyball area on this beach," Michael spoke up. "Anyone up for a game?"
The large group after getting changed made it to where the game would be played. Not everyone would but it was still fun to watch those that did. Takeshi was one of those who didn't as he was more content to watch for a bit. However Liliana, to his surprise and a bit of annoyance, stayed by his side under the shade of a large umbrella the group had set up before the game had started. There were a couple more that had been borrowed like last time and for those who didn't want to play. "Don't you have anything else better to do like play a game with them?" the blue-haired male grumbled at one point to the Lereid.
She looked to him with an innocent, but happy smile with her eyes closed. "Oh come on Takeshi," the female replied. "I'm just sitting here and I feel safer next to you."
"Hmph," he grunted in response and looked the other way with his arms and legs crossed.
"Oh come on Mr. Grumpy, would you rather be by yourself?"
Takeshi made no response but shrugged instead. Liliana looked at him and couldn't help but smile. "Well… I still am grateful to you for finding me and bringing me to the shack here. I could have died if it weren't for that."
Just then Ruby and Hatsuharu came up to these two. "Sorry to interrupt but we were thinking of getting something to drink," the second male told them. "The others asked us to get them something so if you do to, better state it now."
"I could use one actually," Takeshi replied and stood up. "I'll come with you two."
"Oh?" Ruby asked and looked to Liliana and then back at the blue-haired male. "But won't she be lonely without you?"
He glared at the witch with annoyance. "Well I can come to," the Lereid suggested with hope.
"Actually that might not be the best of ideas," the male next to Ruby said. "The only reason why is well… You're not exactly looking human like. You did say that you had escaped from some bad people so keeping a low profile would be better."
"Oh… yeah I guess that would be best," Liliana replied, looking a bit sad but got it.
"Don't worry, we won't be long. And I'm sure we can teach you how to take a more human like form while you stick with us."
The Lereid got a happy smile at that and watched the three walk away. Meanwhile with those at the volleyball area it was currently Ayame, Akito, and Kureno going up against Nicholas, Kurumu, and Michael while the rest were watching. Even though the succubus had never played sand volleyball, she was a quick learner and able to keep up. "Great move last time," the white haired male told the other two before the ball was about to be served again.
"Yep, now you ready to get that final point?" Nicholas replied, looking at his team with a grin. Since there were others who wanted a turn, the goal was to get three points and then switch.
"Let's do it!" Kurumu stated.
The game quickly wrapped up and the succubus's side ended up winning. But it was all in good fun. Then the two teams switched out with the others who wanted a turn and found them resting with Nicholas and Kurumu sharing an umbrella. Like the last time this and couple of others had been borrowed from Marin again. "That was fun," the female said with a smile.
The long-haired male saw it and couldn't help but think how lovely Kurumu looked when she did that. He blushed but was able to say something in return. "Yeah, it was," the male agreed.
She then looked to him. "So, will you guys do something tonight like last one for us?" Kurumu asked.
"Oh yeah, definitely." Nicholas looked back at those playing. "Ain't no way we're finished yet showing you and the rest what we can do with those things."
"Well maybe I could a little bit to."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"Well I am a confident singer," the succubus answered.
"Oh really?" Nicholas replied, now interested. "Maybe tonight you can show me a bit of that."
"Sure, I can to show what I can do."
Just then an exclamation of victory caused these two to look and see who had won the next round. And soon those with the drinks delivered them successfully. That meant it was time for a break and during it, Liliana brought up of finding a time to teach her how to take a more human like form. "Sure, we can definitely help you with that," Nicholas told the Lereid. "It'll be a great skill to have."
The rest of the time on the beach went by but ended a little earlier as not only would the training for that would begin but also because this time a couple more thing had to be set up before dinner. This time the one to help prepare dinner were Akito and Kureno as the food would be made differently rather than on the grill like last time. But while waiting Nicholas and a couple of his friends took a little time to talk to Liliana to set up a time to begin teaching her to take on a more human form the next day. That was arranged and not long after that, the food was ready. "This looks good!" Liliana stated with a happy smile before taking a bite.
Takeshi couldn't help but glance at her every now and then. It left him annoyed and confused. Luckily he was able to distract himself at points by talking to some of the other guys in figuring out what the plans for the next day would be. Since there were humans who lived by, it was decided that some would take a look around and explore that area. Most on board with that were those in the newspaper club as it would help with the articles that would be distributed in that when they got back to the academy. This did however make some wonder what would happen for the Lereid they had met. Would she stay behind here and would she be alright? Or would Liliana come back with them? Nobody asked these questions out loud and instead began socializing with the new female even more. However, the real fun would begin after the food was consumed. "Alright Gin, let's bring that out," Nicholas told the male werewolf having talked about the idea for fun tonight with the second male.
The latter was gone for a few moments and came back wheeling something in on a table with wheels. "Oh no, don't tell me," Ayame began with a grin as he and the rest saw what it was.
"Yep, ain't nothing like a little karaoke during the summer!" Nicholas replied with a matching smile. The machine for it was turned on.
"Oh wow, I want to try this!" Kurumu stated happily, almost bouncing up and down with excitement.
The male with long-haired couldn't help but chuckle. "Well then, let's get it set up and then you can go first."
The succubus then selected the song as soon as the machine was ready to go. And when Kurumu began to sing, Nicholas once again blushed feeling something else as he heard this female's voice. "Damn, she wasn't kidding about being able to sing," he thought in his head.
The others looked on, just as impressed but those who already knew Kurumu could sing. When the song was over, the female turned to look at the rest and some of them gave her an applause. "That sounded wonderful!" Akito stated.
"You sounded just as good as us," Michael added.
"Thanks," the female replied and then looked to Nicholas, waiting for his opinion.
The guy was able to come back to the present and cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah you were great, really," he stated.
"Here, your turn," Kurumu then said with a smile, happy for some reason he thought that of her.
"Hey Nicholas, maybe you should see if the song Baka Mitai is on there," Ayame then stated with a grin.
The long-haired male and the rest who had come with him to first enroll in the academy all groaned and covered their eyes with one hand. "God damn it, Ayame," Nicholas growled. "I am not, I repeat, not singing that song that's all over the place online. You know that."
"Just a joke, jeez."
Those from the newspaper club and the Lereid looked to the rest with questioning looks. "Don't ask, I'll explain later," Nicholas told them.
He then turned to the screen to select a different song. "Let's see… no, not that one…" the guy with glasses mumbled. "No… nah… Ah; here we go!"
It began and like always, Nicholas sounded amazing. Kurumu could see from the way the male closed his eyes and his smile he loved to sing like her. The other were entertained and when Nicholas was finished, he also got an applause. "So who's next?" the male with long hair asked.
A few more then took a turn with the rest of the time passing in a blaze of music and fun. Sometimes two took a turn to do a duo with the singing. However, things were about to take a turn in terms of interest and with problems. It all started the next morning. This time because Liliana needed to be shown how to take a more human form, the Newspaper club didn't work for as long as when she had first arrived. It was okay anyways as there wasn't as much to do for the paper. A few in the group were with the new female to instruct her and the rest were busy doing their own thing. "Now then, here's how you can look more human like," Nicholas said to the Lereid as he was going to help her as well.
The instructions began and while it wasn't easy, Liliana was determined to succeed. In the meantime, some in the group wanted to do a little exploring in the place that surrounded this beach area. Sure, they had a little during last year, but that had been mostly due to problems. So it would be nice to explore without hostility. "Want to come with me?" Yukari asked Fang Fang as the female witch was one of those who wished to do this.
"Sure, sounds fun," he replied.
"I'm for some exploring to," Ruby added.
Those guys then left and some time passed with practicing with the Lereid. Her human form wasn't there yet, but Liliana showed she was a quick learner. "Okay, I think we can take a break now," Nicholas stated. "You're getting it, but we have a bit to still go."
"I can't wait for this!" she stated happily with her smile and eyes closed.
"Well I'm starved. Let's get some food."
Meanwhile with those who had gone to explore the surrounding area had made it and split into their smaller groups. Ruby and Hatsuharu had found a little charming street corner to start with. "This is nice," the female witch said to the male with her.
"Yeah, maybe we can all come here," the guy with grey hair commented.
Just then the two heard what sounded like voices. Normally both of them wouldn't have paid much attention but among the mumbling, they heard the name Liliana. "Wait…" Hatsuharu whispered and jerked his head to the side where the voices were coming from to Ruby.
The two looked around the corner and took a peek to see two figures partially obscured by shadows. "You mean you still haven't found Liliana?" one of them asked and they didn't sound happy.
"No," the other replied. "The bitch managed to escape our grasp."
"Just make sure you find her. Got it?"
The male and witch who were spying saw these two individuals head out. "That didn't sound good," Ruby whispered.
"Yeah, I've got a bad feeling about this," Hatsuharu said. He looked up and back towards the direction where the rest and Lereid were staying at. "I think we'd better head back and fast. I'll see if I can get in contact with Yukari and Fang Fang after I do so for the others first."
"By phone?" the witch asked.
"Even better. Just leave it to me."
Meanwhile with the others at the place they were staying at were minding their own business when suddenly they felt something like a presence in the air. "Hey, do you guys feel that?" Kurumu asked.
"Yeah, what is it?" Mizore asked.
Just then they heard the sound of Hatsuharu's voice coming in. It sounded a bit like he was speaking into their minds and his voice echoed a bit. "Hey guys!" went the male. He had a bit of urgency in his voice and was a bit loud.
Everyone jumped. "Damn man, next time go easy on the volume of your voice!" Nicholas snapped in response.
"Wait, how the hell is he talking to us?" Tsukune asked.
"I'll explain later," went the said male's voice. It was like he was there in the room and could hear them. "Just listen, there might be trouble headed your way." Hatsuharu then went on to say what he and Ruby had heard.
As soon as that got out, Liliana became very frightened and took some steps back into a wall. "No… how did they…?" she whispered, her arms wrapping around her body.
For some reason Takeshi felt something in his body. It was hard to explain as he looked to the Lereid, but it was a feeling to protect her. "Wait, what the hell is wrong with me?" the blue-haired male thought in his head.
Just then the group heard Marin's voice. "Can I help you two? Are you staying for the night?"
"Shit," Nicholas snarled through his teeth and ran along with a couple of the others to the entrance of this place.
"Wait, Nicholas?" Kurumu asked, confused.
The long-haired male and those with him had hardly made it to the entrance when suddenly a noise was heard like some kind of explosion. Gin was seen being sent flying back by some kind of attack. San on the other hand was shielding Marin. The rest heard the noise. "What was that?" Kokoa asked.
"Well now, what do we have here?" went a female voice. The way it sounded was dangerous, yet the kind to be alluring and sexy.
"Seems there's more here," went a male voice that while sounding calm, carried a hint of danger to not mess with whoever it was.
The ones who the voices belonged to stepped out. One was indeed female who had long white hair that was a bit wild and wearing normal clothes that were the same color. The other was a male with dark colored skin and clothes that were more punk like. However what began to give them away even more were her grey colored eyes and his black ones that showed they were definitely not human. "Wait… who in the hell…?" Michael asked, frowning.
"So there you are Liliana," the female stated. The Lereid got even more frightened. "You're coming with us."
"These two…" Mocha said and the group began to move to defend the female.
"Oh you know what?" the male stated, noticing this. "We don't need any of you here."
Faster than a blink of an eye, this person moved with something. The power from this being was strong and could be felt. "What the hell…?!" Akito exclaimed, trying to shield herself as did most of the others.
It seemed to last forever before those in the group were able to look up. "Damn, looks like I got scratched a little," Kureno muttered, clutching his left arm where it was clearly bleeding.
"That was a warning," the enemy stated, his voice now starting to sound distorted and the sound of cracking bones and spikes emerging could also be heard. "The next attack will go through your heads!"
"Or perhaps…" the female said and the group felt a burst of monstrous energy from her to. "I will shattered them with my voice!"
Looking showed the male and female had changed. The latter's hair had become wreathed and a wild tangle strewn about. Her skin had become the same color, her grey colored eyes burning with power. The clothing had become more ragged and torn like that fluttered and streamed around her body. The other being had gone through a much different change. His ears had become very pointed like his teeth. The nose had become goblin like but the biggest change was the skin had turned to a dark grey and white like combination. Spikes had emerged from his head, arms, legs, and he had even grown a spiked tail. The guy's hands had even become clawed to. "What… what are we even facing?" Tsukune asked.
"Trouble is what," went the voice of Nicholas. He and those that had answered the door stumbled into the room, shaken and still a bit hurt. "I never thought we'd have to face against something like this; a Banshee and a Barbed Devil. Talk about a royal pain in the ass with that combination."
In that moment somehow those in the group were given a brief description in their minds on what they were dealing with from the same book that Nicholas had shown. For the female it went as followed: The Banshee is a Yokai from Ireland and a female spirit who heralds the death of a family member usually by wailing, shrieking, or kneeling. A spiteful creature, they sometimes are formed from the spirit of a female elf.
Then the group got the small bit of info for the male then went as followed: The Barbed Devil is a Yokai of unbridled greed and desire. Their gleaming eyes are ever watchful for objects and creatures it might claim for itself. They welcome any chance to fight when victory promises reward.
The second entry disappeared from the minds of the group and they glared in anger at the enemies. "I don't care either way what you two are, you're not even going to touch her," Takeshi declared and stepped forward, cracking his knuckles.
Liliana looked to the blue-haired male. Despite the danger and how scared the Lereid felt, in that moment she blushed slightly looking at Takeshi, her heart and soul touched. "Takeshi…" the female whispered, looking to him with wonder.
"Then you will be the first to fall!" the barbed devil snarled and moved again. From his tail and arms spikes were shot out at Takeshi.
The said guy moved and from his hands actual water came out in the form of high pressure bullets that were launched at the incoming projectiles. This not only stopped them but also sprayed some water outward. "What the hell?!" the banshee exclaimed.
Tsukune and the rest who had met the blue haired male this year looked to the guy in surprise. "A Yokai that uses water…" the former male human said.
"That all you got?" Takeshi asked the enemy, taunting them.
"Now you're dead!" the banshee shrieked and launched a soundwave from her mouth, one so powerful that anything that was made of glass nearby shattered.
Nicholas moved with a shot and from his hands what a shrieking sound, wind came out. This disrupted the sound wave the banshee was using as sound traveled on waves through the air. The long-haired male jumped and landed in front of the others with a glare at the enemy who stopped her attack. "What…?" began the barbed devil with his tail swishing back and forth.
"I'm surprised you don't know," Nicholas shot back with a smirk. "It's all on the wind and I can stop her attack." He appeared to be back to normal again.
"A Yokai that uses wind…" Kurumu whispered as the guy with glasses had never hinted at what he could do.
"Try stopping this then!" the barbed devil snarled and snapped the fingers on his right hand. Doing so caused fire to burst into existence.
Michael in one fluid motion moved and brought out what looked like spikes of ices. These became some kind of sword with the weapon at the ready. The guy swung his ice sword when closed enough and the barbed devil was forced to block the move instead of launching the fire. "I don't think so," the white haired male stated calmly, even though his eyes were ones of concentration and determination.
"When the hell was he so fast?" Tsukune whispered, shocked like some of the others in the group.
The Barbed Devil's tail moved and Michael was forced to jump back. He was just a bit too slow and did get hit and began to bleed from the cut. "Damn, he got me," the guy grumbled.
The banshee smirked and began to glow. Some of the others noticed but Nicholas and those that had come with him knew what she was up to. "Shit, don't look at her!" Akito exclaimed.
"Too late!" the enemy female stated. The light coming from her then took an unholy look and shown out brightly.
"I… I can't move…" Moka thought in her head. Almost everyone else was thinking the same thing. The feeling was like being paralyzed with terror and what a banshee could do to their victims.
"Now you die!" the barbed devil snarled and prepared his attack.
"Shit… move damn it!" Nicholas stated through clenched teeth. He and some of the others were trying to fight this influence off.
Suddenly the male opponent felt someone tap them on the shoulder. It was Gin. "Hey," the male werewolf stated before slugging the enemy right in the face with all his might. The barbed devil went flying into the banshee, both crashing into a wall and the effects of her left the group.
"Hey, you're alright!" Nicholas told him with a grin. San was here and supporting Marin. The female human was injured but nothing life threatening or serious.
"Yeah, somehow," Gin replied.
Suddenly there was a flash and intense heat of fire causing everyone to jump and look to see the opponents were slowly rising up. "Damn you…" the barbed devil snarled.
Looking showed this guy had fully turned into his monster form revealing a devil like face. His eyes blazed with anger. "Damn you all; I'll kill you with my bare hands!" the enemy shouted.
"We need back up," the banshee said dangerously and threw something into the air with her right hand.
"What the hell?!" Ayame asked.
Suddenly something came out at high speeds and whatever the attack was hit Nicholas and those that had come with him in the knees so they dropped like sacks of bricks. "AGHHH! FUUUUCKKK!" the male with long hair shouted at something like that was going to hurt like hell.
"Damn, we let our guard down," Michael mumbled before his face hit the floor.
"Nicholas! You guys!" Kurumu exclaimed.
"Let's see how you fare after some of you can't move!" the banshee stated with an evil cackle.
A small group of humanoid like creatures began to emerge out of some kind of portal that had come from the object the enemy had thrown. They were cackling evilly. "It's one headache after another," went a different voice.
The group looked to see Hatsuharu, Ruby, Fang Fang, and Yukari had made it and the guy with grey colored hair had spoken. "Looks like we made it in time," Ruby stated.
"You guys okay?" the male with grey hair asked.
"Who the hell are you?" the barbed devil snarled. "More maggots to squish?"
"Just a few heroes who came in the nick of time," Hatsuharu shot back with a smirk.
"Never mind that, we've got some enemies to deal with," Fang Fang stated. He ended up bringing out the coins the male wielded in battle, the items becoming the signature sword.
"Yeah and it looks like we have to deal with a whole pack of Goblins," Hatsuharu said. "Talk about a pain…"
The image of the book once again came into the group's head. It flipped open to the page of the monster which went as followed: Goblins are small, humanoid Yokai that are black hearted. They make their homes in dismal places. Usually weak individually, they gather in large numbers to torment others.
Looking showed on their right wrists had some kind of shooter that shot bolts. And these had been impaled into Nicholas and those that had been hit had gone very deep. "Ruby, can you heal any of them?" Hatsuharu asked the witch with black hair. "I would but I don't have that power."
"Leave it to me," she replied with a smile and the four wings that usually came out when Ruby fought appeared.
"I don't know what you're planning but we won't let you!" the banshee shrieked, sending a soundwave of her scream at the four.
Now it was San's turn. The female Siren's mouth opened and her song came forth. It sounded beautiful, like an angel singing. "Wait… this woman can't be…" the barbed devil growled.
"She's stopping my song!" the banshee shrieked and increased the power of hers but San responded back. Both soundwave like attacks collided and burst. More glass began to shatter sending shards of it flying in all directions.
"Look out!" Kabu stated. Even though he had been impaled it wasn't as bad like with Nicholas who was being sat up by Kurumu while this was going on.
Luckily with some help from the newspaper club, none of the deadly shards caused further injury. "Damn it, who thought we'd have to deal with a Siren to!" the barbed devil snarled.
The sound attacks stopped and looking showed those that had been impaled by the goblin attacks were now standing with assistance. "Heh, looks like you guys made it in time," Nicholas stated while Kurumu was helping him stand up. "Still it seems I need more training." Looking showed the bolts that had impaled him and the others had been taken out but there was blood where the wounds had been made.
"Impossible! You should still be down!" the banshee exclaimed. The goblins that had been summoned took a step back, now uncertain.
"Yeah, well it'll take more than that to keep us down." Looking showed, and to the shock of everyone else, that the wounds that had been received began to heal and close up.
"The wounds are healing," Tsukune whispered. "Like with Alucard when we fought him."
The ones that had been injured took a step, and while a bit shaky, were able to do so as their bodies healed. It would still take some seconds as this wasn't instantaneous healing. "FIRE!" the barbed devil shouted at the goblins.
The third type of enemy fired the bolts from their weapons. The one who had given the ordered also used his barbs to attack as well. "GO TO HELL!" the banshee wailed and shot another shriek at the group.
Now was the time to counter. Kurumu was able to move because Nicholas no longer needed her help. The succubus's wings and claws came out while Mizore's hands turned into the clawed ice ones used for battle. San began to sing again while Fang Fang drew his coins to form the sword he wielded in battle. The result was the projectiles were stopped. "No way… what the fuck…?" the male enemy whispered.
Then it was their turn to attack. And it didn't take much for the goblins to all be beaten down but not fully killed. "You guys are not getting your hands on Liliana," Takeshi stated. "This won't end any way where you come out on top."
Nicholas cracked his knuckles, now able to full stand as he and those that could heal from the wounds were ready. "Now, let's end this," the male said, glaring with hatred at the remaining two enemies who now took a step back.
The guy with long hair moved as he was ending this and his friend with blue hair was joining in. "DIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!" the banshee screamed and sent her most powerful attack at the two while the barbed devil launched the biggest fire attack he could at them two.
The two from the academy who were attacking had their right fists at the ready and gathering their energy and power to attack. Nicholas had what looked like wind surrounding his fist while Takeshi had water. They met the enemy attacks and there was a surge of power that not only could be felt but was seen as it cracked the floor and walls of this place. Pieces of these then began to fly everywhere. "Watch it!" Ayame exclaimed as the group could only stand back and watch with anticipation and holding their breath least they get caught up in this final attack.
"TCH!" Nicholas snarled through gritted teeth.
"Ungh!" Takeshi grunted.
"FAAAAALLLLL!" the banshee shrieked.
Looking showed wounds were beginning to appear on Nicholas as his skin was starting to be torn apart by the sonic attack. Takeshi was also starting to get burns. Both of their clothes were either being torn asunder or burnt away. "Not yet!" the male with blue hair thought in his head. "I'm not going to fall because of this!"
He and the long-haired guy with glasses gathered more power, even if the process was agonizing and fighting through this attack. The four still seemed to be at a stalemate. Then, it happened; the ones fighting from the academy, bit by bit, began to break through. "WHAT?!" the barbed devil exclaimed, his eyes going wide with shock as did the female enemy.
"YOU LOSE!" Nicholas exclaimed as he and his friend fully broke through. Their fists collided on target and hard with each enemy. Blood came out of the mouths of the banshee and barbed devil. They were sent flying and ran into one of the walls with a nasty crack and thud. It was not known if they were dead, but either way the fight was over.
The long-haired guy and Takeshi were both breathing hard, their bodies still showing they had taken damage. "He did it…" Liliana whispered. "Takeshi and Nicholas won…"
The two guys turned to look at the rest. "You okay?" the one with glasses asked.
"I think so," Moka replied softly. The Lereid slowly walked up to Takeshi. Looking showed him and Nicholas had taken quiet a toll from that attack.
"Damn, they hit harder than I thought," the guy with blue hair grumbled. He appeared to be in physical pain.
"Are… you okay?" Liliana whispered.
"Yeah; just give me a moment." Looking showed the wounds he had gotten were starting to heal over along with the ones Nicholas had. "There, I'll be good as new in no time at all. I've dealt with worse."
"So… what do we do with them?" Kabu asked, referring to the enemies who were all knocked out or injured.
Luckily Nuari and Shizuka did come by who were able to take the defeated enemies away. "They shouldn't be troubling you anymore," the bus driver stated. "Although… What will you do now with your new friend?"
"How in the hell…?" began Takeshi, in shock that someone like the former would already know about the Lereid.
"Don't ask how he knows, he just does," Tsukune whispered.
"Well she still needs to be taught how to have a more human disguise," Nicholas said. "We're not finished with those lessons yet. Plus, we still have some time left for this vacation of summer right?" He looked to Liliana. "I think she should stick with us till then."
The Lereid got a sad look. "But… what about when that time's up?" she asked. "I…" The female glanced at Takeshi, the look in her eyes like she didn't want him to leave and not go without her.
Some noticed and were able to guess what was going on like Ruby. "Well, why don't I talk some things over with the right person?" the witch suggested with a smile. "It should work so you can come back with us to the academy."
Liliana's eyes filled up with tears of happiness and blinked them away. "How wonderful!" Kurumu exclaimed with a smile. It's going to be great!"
"You'll like it I'm sure," Tsukune added.
"Then I guess we've got another friend to our large group for real," Nicholas said with a grin. Takeshi tried to act like he was indifferent but inside he felt happy for some reason.
The bodies of the defeated enemy were taken away and even though there was a mess from the fight, that could be taken care of later Marin. But it was here Nicholas explained how those that had been out were able to contact the ones at the inn. The long-haired male and those that had arrived at the academy with him pulled out so kind of small metal object. Looking showed it was made of some kind of black metal and had some of the same sharp points as the metal object that was around Nicholas's neck. However, the design of this one was very different. For one thing the main body was at an angle, close to 90 degrees. There were two rounded pieces of metal in the inner part of the open area that connected the top and bottom. And at each of the ends were curved sections of metal, one at the top being somewhat c shaped, the one at the point where the angel began looking like the short part of a check mark, and the final one being a simple curve. "So this little thing is it and how he contacted us?" Kokoa asked, as the vampire held one in her right palm despite trying to act like she wasn't interested.
"Yeah, it's a communication ruin," Nicholas explained. "With it we can contact each other and those nearby over great distances. We've tested it and believe we can be anywhere on the planet and still make contact with someone that has one. Think of it as like some magical, high powered phone."
"Sounds handy," Yukari commented while also looking at another of these ruins herself.
"It is. However we're not sure though if they can be used in different dimension. Theory says it's possible, but we haven't had a chance to test it out yet."
"Are there more of these things?" Fang Fang then asked.
"Oh yeah. But that will have to wait another time."
It then came time to enjoy the rest of the vacation time here. And thanks to what happened, the newspaper club had articles ready for the rest of the school when they returned. Shizuka was pleased and happy by all their hard work and even Gin chipped in to help put the finishing touches on those. In the meantime, Liliana's training with taking a human form went well and it wasn't long before the Lereid had her human looking form. The only thing that stayed the same were her eye and hair color, plus the length of the latter. She was looking forward to going to the academy and starting. A few in the group thought it might be because of Takeshi since they caught Liliana often looking at the blue-haired guy with a dreaming, happy smile. But when asked, she would blush red and quickly change the subject. The time went by fast and then it became the last night which started with a campfire and fireworks or rather firecrackers and sparklers. Unlike the last time there was no shooting at anyone although that story was told much to the amusement of those who hadn't heard. But to everyone's surprise, Haiju ended up showing up, the Crow Tengu, Gin's best friend, and to the shock of Nicholas and those that had come with him, Kokoa's boyfriend. Well, that last part might have been not quite as true. It turned out neither knew what it meant to date as it was explained all they did was brawl in order to get stronger. But Haiju had been passing by and decided to drop in as he also knew San very well.
"Well… they certainly make for an interesting combination," Akito said to her boyfriend Kureno after learning about Haku and Kokoa while glancing at the latter.
"Well he does generally seem interested in her," Kureno commented. "Kokoa might look like a child, but she's definitely older in more ways than one."
"Yeah… but romantic ain't one of them," Nicholas added in a whisper. "I think at some point someone's going to have to tell them what dating really means." He then grinned. "But on the bright side at least we might get to see some amusing brawling between them."
While there was no brawling tonight, the food was good. Especially when Michael ended up freezing the watermelon slices with his power of ice. "Mmmmm, just like Sherbet!" Kabu said after biting into a slice.
"I'll try one," Hatsuharu spoke up.
Once the slices had been consumed, Michael brought out his guitar again for singing to happen again. There was something about having an acoustic one around a campfire that just felt right. Once again Mizore looked at the white-haired male playing more than she should have like Kurumu did with Nicolas singing even if the succubus did join in. "Wow, that sounded good," Haiju stated. "How'd you get so good?"
"A lot of hard work and practice," Nicholas replied. "We've always loved performing since we were little, but we found which instrument we liked to play the most around the ages of 11 and 12. I was more for singing. We may not be taking it to a professional level, but as a passion, we can perform at a decent level."
"So you practice every day?" Kurumu asked.
"Pretty much. It's the only way to keep our skill level up or get better."
Not too much longer after that, it was time to sleep. The ones heading back to the academy were seen off by Gin, San, Marin, and Haiju as the former were pilling onto the bus. "This was really good for us," Moka said as they saw the four waving goodbye.
"I say we should come back once we all graduate and see them again," Nicholas added. "But for now, it's time to start a new time at the academy."
"I'm looking forward to this," Liliana commented with a smile. The group heading back began to wave goodbye to those that had hosted them. The latter was doing the same thing with smiles. It had been a fun time mostly despite the troubles. But now it was time to continue at the academy and deal with whatever would happen for the group there.