(Newspaper Club)

Tsukune: (Come to think of it, there's not really a sense of changing seasons here, is there? It's kind of late to realize this now, but this academy really is sealed off from the human world isn't it?) He looks out through the window of the clubroom in deep thought as dark, heavy clouds hang over the academy sky.

Moka: "Tsukune, what's wrong? You're spacing out. Only two more days until the newspaper is printed. It's a lot of work, but let's do our best, ok!"

Tsukune: "Oh sorry, my mind was just somewhere else for a second."

Moka: "I understand. It's hard to suddenly have this deadline when your birthday is just recently."

They then go back to work as the newspaper club starts setting up their next article concerning the incident with Ishigami and the missing girls. They all sit at their desks together as each of them quietly works on the assignments handed to them from Ginei, who was sitting at his desk, reading a newspaper and sipping a cup of coffee.

Kurumu: "I can't take this anymore. It's finally Saturday and we're all packed in here, it's so unfair." She stretches her arms up in the air, tired from all the work and stress put to them for the newspaper.

Yukari: "It's true, we're just like a mangaka being chased by a deadline. And we're not even getting paid! How are you holding up Natsu?" She looks to see him lying his head on the desk, fast asleep from all the work on his part.

Yukari: "What the-?! He's asleep already!"

Kurumu: "Well that's not fair! How come he gets to snooze around while we work!"

Ginei: "Stop being babies!" He roars across the room, surprising everybody and waking Natsu up from his slumber. "The incident with the art teacher that's gonna be all over the front page was two days ago, Thursday! Ain't no one gonna call us a newspaper if there ain't no reporting immediately on her. I'll listen to your sob stories after you make the deadline."

Moka: "Then would you please help us out instead of relaxing over there drinking coffee!" She roars back to Ginei continuing to read the last article of the newspaper.

Yukari: "He's letting it go to his head like a manga editor."

Tsukune: "Huh? What does the newspaper have to do with manga?"

Natsu then feels a tug from his shirt pulling him closer to Kurumu as she hugs him around his waist.

Kurumu: "Well I don't care what I'm doing as long as I'm with you, Natsu!"

Natsu then starts to form a sort of blush from his face now. The other times that Kurumu has hugged him from affection, he has thought of it as a friendly gesture, but now they are starting to feel different from usual. From outside the building, a strange figure sits above a tree branch with a camera in hand, peeping at the newspaper club, specifically at Kurumu.

?: "...Uhuhu, there you are my beloved one. Ahhh! You're so cute! Just watching you like this isn't enough, I can't take it anymore. Just you wait! Soon I'll be holding you in MY arms!" he quietly chuckles, waiting for his plans to finally unfold.

Nekonome: "Is everybody working hard? I brought snacks!" She comes into the clubroom, checking in on the progress with a bag in hand.

Ginei: "Nekonome sensei, welcome!"

Nekonome: "Well, is everyone working hard?" She looks at the table and doesn't get a response from them. "It doesn't even look like I need to ask, does it?"

Moka: "There are a lot of cuts and a lot of pages, it's a lot of work."

Nekonome: "Well come on, eat the snacks and cheer up, ok?" She hands them a plastic bag filled with raw fish.

Tsukune: "Sensei!? This fish is raw…"

Nekonome: "It's delicious that way!" Tsukune, Moka and Yukari look in silence to wonder how they would eat raw fish. Natsu then grabs a fish and starts to blow flames on the fish, cooking it well done. He eats the fish until there's nothing left but its head and bones.

Natsu: "You guys want some too? These fish taste pretty good." He smiles while picking his teeth with his nails.

Tsukune: "Cooked or not, I'm not just gonna eat a whole fish like that!?"

Yukari: "He ate it whole, scales and all! Scary!"

Nekonome: "Oh yeah, Kurumu. This letter was dropped in front of the classroom." She hands her a letter with the inscription 'To my beloved Kurumu. -Nagare'.

Kurumu: "Letter?" She looks at the writing in the front and slightly blushes, realizing that it was a love letter.

Kurumu: (A love letter? Who's this Nagare? And why now…) She opens the envelope to see a couple of dirty pictures of herself from specific angles and a message. The message reads 'If you don't want these pictures to become public, come alone to the "Monster Tree" in the main schoolyard. -Nagare'.

Kurumu: (What's going on, aren't these dirty pictures, meaning this is really a blackmail letter!?) Kurumu quickly hides the letter and pictures in the supply box in front of her out of instinct.

Natsu: "Hey Kurumu, you want some fish? I cooked it myself! Ms. Nekonome knows how to pick some tasty fish." He suddenly comes behind Kurumu, which scares her and slaps the cooked fish out of his hand. "I take it you're not a big fan of fish, huh?"

Kurumu: "N-no, it's just… I kinda remembered I have to do something so I'll be taking off right now, ok!? Take care of the rest for me!" She heads towards the exits, waving goodbye to the other members of the club.

Moka: "Wait… The deadline… Kurumu?"

(The Monster Tree)

Kurumu finally arrives at one of Yokai Academy's landmarks, the monster tree, which is an abnormally large tree with an amonous face at the base of it. The hidden figure watches Kurumu arrive near the tree as he reveals himself, still sitting on one of the tree branches.

?: "Hey, I've been waiting for you!" Kurumu hears the voice and looks up from the tree to see another student with a plain white shirt, a photographer's camera around his neck, and his hair combed down parting in the middle, covering his eyes. "So you saw those pictures and my letter… I'm glad! Long time no see, eh Kurumu?"

Kurumu: "Who are you? And what do you want!? Calling me all the way out here with all those dirty pictures!" Before the student could answer her, he gets off the branch and slides down on the tree to the ground.

?: "I took really cute pictures of you, right? I really like them, my best work yet!" He bends over and holds onto his knees, panting from exhaustion from climbing down the tree.

Kurumu: (Ugh, what's with this guy? He's all slimey with sweat or something, it's a little scary. Did he really get all winded just from climbing down?)

Nagare: "I'm Kanou Nagare. Don't you remember, it was right after we started school? I asked if I could take some pictures of you, and you agreed. You said that if I took a really pretty picture of you, you'll let me go out with you! After that, I realized that our meeting was fate, that it was meant to be!" He exclaimed this to Kurumu as she stood there dumbfounded, not recalling the event that he explained to her.

Kurumu: (... I don't remember at all… I guess I talked to a lot of guys in order to compete with Moka before I met the others.)

Nagare: "I've been waiting all this time ever since then! Go on a date with me right now, just like you promised Kurumu. Unless you want those 'pictures' to be shown to the whole school?" Kurumu had no other choice, as she didn't want those photos to be public, and decided to accept the Photographer's request she had 'supposedly' promised him.

(Newspaper Clubroom)

Tsukune: "... Kurumu isn't coming back, is she?" he bluntly says as he watches the time go by on the clock on the wall.

Yukari: "And why should she? All she ever did was complain about how much work there was to do. The only reason why she did join was to get closer to Natsu, not caring about the club at all."

Tsukune: (Says the one who complained most of the time! You sure can be harsh.)

Moka: "...You know, I wonder if Kurumu really cares about the Newspaper Club."

Tsukune: "Hm? What do you mean by that Moka?"

Moka: "What I mean is… Kurumu is here because she likes Natsu, right? And maybe the truth is that she doesn't think of any of us as friends. Because going off like that at such a busy time for everyone earlier is really strange, even for her!" The whole club becomes silent as they focus on Moka's reason, thinking that she may be right, and that Kurumu had no sympathy for them. Tsukune suddenly breaks the silence as he nervously laughs it off.

Tsukune: "What are you talking about! We have always been getting along well, right!?" Tsukune immediately felt the glares of Natsu, Yukari, and Ginei, not fully convinced of his comment to Moka.

Tsukune: "Look, I'm sure Kurumu had to do something important today, so that's probably all it is, right?" The club, still not convinced of Tsukune proving Kurumu's innocence, goes right back to working on the newspaper, with or without Kurumu's help. Natsu can't help but think that there might be more to Kurumu's absence than just running an errand, and of these strange feelings he's been noticing lately.

(The Monster Tree)

Kurumu: "H-hey, what is all this? Why do I have to change into gym shorts for a date? Let alone another school's uniform!?"

Nagare: "It's a pretend photo shoot! Ohh Kurumu, you look really good in those!" He starts frantically taking pictures from various angles, commenting on each photo taken.

Kurumu: "This isn't what I meant by a date! Stop acting like a-"

Nagare: "Oh, are you sure you should be talking to me like that? You should know, I have this special ability of finding out what a girl's secrets are. And I know a lot about you Kurumu! For example…" He leans towards Kurumu to tell her what he knows, only for her to be amazed by how much he knows, even to the tiniest detail, calling him a pervert. "Maybe I'll just tell ev-er-y-thing to the others in the Newspaper Club, hmmm?"

Kurumu: "Why do you know about the others!? Stop… anyone but them."

Nagare: "Then how about we do this cosplay!" He whips out a bag that contains several clothing outfits, and the first one he takes out is a revealing maid outfit. But Kurumu reluctantly takes the outfit and heads to a little storage cabin next to the monster tree to change.

Kurumu: (This guy sucks, he's taking this too far. But I can't use my powers to control his mind and make him forget about this. I promised myself I'd stop doing those awful kinds of things after I met Natsu and the others. But what should I do, knowing everyone is working so hard for the club while I'm doing this!?) She contemplates her actions as unforgivable as she gets her maid outfit ready and heads out the door for another dirty photoshoot.

(Hallway)

The crescent moon lights up the night sky as Kurumu heads back to the Newspaper Club after Nagare finally lets her go for the day, having to change into 12 different outfits for him. Kurumu arrives at the front door of the Club and opens it, feeling a gush of angry aura escaping the room, and seeing the others staring at her with fury.

Kurumu: (They're pissed, they're all really pissed at me! I'm gonna get yelled at!) She flinches in fear from the incoming storm of anger coming at her, but doesn't know when it's coming.

Moka: "Welcome back Kurumu, you're late. Well, we're just about to finish up work for today. We decided to work hard and finish up the rest tomorrow, so you can leave too." After Moka finishes, the rest of the members walk right past her and leave the clubroom, not uttering a word or scolding Kurumu for being late.

Kurumu: "Too… Late." she then realizes that she was alone in the clubroom, complete silence with just her and her thoughts alone. She quietly walks to her seat on the group of desks she was sitting before, looking down at her unfinished part of the work.

Kurumu: (I used to be stuck up and made men into my slaves, since I was treated so special. At the time I never had a real friend, so I thought that didn't really matter. Yeah… I'm sure I'm paying now for how selfish and stupid I was back then!) Kurumu starts to tear up, realizing that she was about to lose the only friends she had ever made in her life.

Kurumu: "I've got to apologise to them before it's too late!"

Nagare: "Hu hu hu hu! Hey, what's wrong Kurumu?" Kurumu turns around and jerks up from her seat, seeing him by the doorway out of breath and sweaty again. "Well, today was real fun, wasn't it? And I was thinking, how about we have some more fun tomorrow, just you and me?"

Kurumu: "What are you doing here, Nagare? And there is no tomorrow, the date was just supposed to be only today."

Nagare: "That's a real cold tone you're talking right now, should I just show them the pictures we took today then?"

Kurumu: "What, no!? You told me that you wouldn't show them to anyone, you promised!"

Nagare: "Then we'll have some more fun tomorrow then, right!? I'm not going to let you slip away from me, you are mine!" he grins at her, exposing his long, flat teeth and gums.

Kurumu: "No… Any time but tomorrow! Stop following me!" she backed away slowly and then dashed to the other door, exiting the clubroom as she shut the door behind her. Nagare looks around in the clubroom and notices the drafts of the newspaper on the desks and picks it up.

Nagare: "Hmmm, what do we have here? A half finished newspaper. Looks like a child made this, but it's nice!"

(Newspaper Clubroom)

Moka: "Kyaa! They're gone!? The drafts we had half finished yesterday… They're all gone!"

Tsukune: "Whaaaaat!?" Everyone stares cluelessly at the desks as the drafts are nowhere to be found.

Ginei: "That's crazy… Who would steal a half finished draft of the newspaper!?"

Moka: "What are we going to do? We won't make it in time if we do it all over again."

Yukari: "Wahh! My data in my laptop was even deleted! My backup disk is gone too… and on top of that, they read my diary! And even worse, the keyboard is all slimy like there were slugs crawling on it."

Kurumu: "Slimy?" (It's him…! It's clearly evident that he was the only one in here other than me last night. This is just more blackmail towards me, making me do as he says by stealing those drafts.) Natsu then noticed how Kurumu was worried about the mysterious slime on the laptop and the missing drafts. Ginei quickly slams on his desk with both hands, which grabs everyone's attention.

Ginei: "Darn it, there's nothing we can do! We don't have the time to search for the thief now, all we can do now is start from the beginning again! It doesn't matter if there's not much on each page, just do something!"

Natsu: "Some director you are." He bluntly commented which everyone then turned to him.

Ginei: "What was that?!" He gives Natsu a nasty glare.

Natsu: "How could you expect us to start from the beginning when the deadline is tomorrow, it's impossible! Might as well just give them a blank sheet of paper, because that's basically what we're about to do!"

Ginei: "If you have an idea, then by all means, tell us what it is."

Natsu then folds his arms and closes his eyes, thinking of a plan of action.

Natsu: "Hmm… I got nothing." A sweat drops on everyone's face as this was to be expected from Natsu.

Kurumu: "Umm, everyone… I'm sorry to do this right now, but I'm going to skip the club today."

Moka: "Why, what's going on Kurumu?" She moves anxiously towards Kurumu.

Kurumu: "... It's just that I…!" she stops her explanation when she sees Natsu smelling near her neck. "W-what the heck are you doing!" She moves away from him defensively.

Natsu: "You know, you've been unusually silent from all of this? And we've noticed that you've been acting strange for the past few days, leaving for the whole day?" Kurumu defensively looks to the side and holds her hands to her back.

Kurumu: "I don't know what you're talking about? I just have something to do today, that's all."

Moka: "I knew it, you're still just the same uptight girl that only thinks of herself while everyone else is having a hard time, Don't you even care about us, your friends?!"

Kurumu anxiously looks at them, trying her best not to involve others in the mess she's done to them, but gives off a look of disdain towards them

Kurumu: (...I can't. I don't know what he'd do with the drafts if I told them the truth.) "I don't have to deal with this, I'm going." She then starts to head out the door, but is stopped by Moka.

Moka: "Kurumu… I thought you were different, but in the end you don't even think of us as friends, do you! If that's how it is, then leave the newspaper club and don't come back!"

Kurumu stands idle for a couple seconds before finally heading out the door, leaving everyone in silence.

(Monster Tree)

Kurumu silently marches to the monster tree, knowing full well that Nagare will be there as well. Each step she takes, more determined than the last, with her head low as she heads towards Nagare, standing in front of the tree. Nagare smiles devilishly as he notices Kurumu coming closer to him, sitting on his favorite branch on the tree.

Nagare: "Hey, so you did come. I had a feeling you would, Kurumu. Is this what you're looking for?" he pulls out the drafts and the data disk, as well as a small lighter from his pocket as Kurumu lifts her head and looks at him with a cold, malicious look.

Nagare: "Well, in any case, this newspaper sure is boring. The writing is very childish, and don't you think I'd be a better choice to take the pictures? This thing might as well be better burnt into ashes!" He flicks the lighter and holds the flame close to the drafts. "Well, what're you gonna do, Kurumu? If you want to protect these, then do what I say for today."

Kurumu: "Don't burn them… please. Those are very important to the people I care about! And no matter what you do, I'll never forgive you for burning them!"

Kurumu looks at him with determination while tears run down her face, making Nagare shocked by her sudden rebellion.

Nagare: "What, are you defying me? You're going to go against the likes of me"

Nagare's skin starts to ooze off slime around his body as he descends down from the tree. Two tentacle-like holes start to form from Nagare's neck and begin to release a purplish gas.

Nagare: "I'm a monster as well you know, I don't have to take this! I didn't want to use it, but I've prepared a trump card to play."

(Newspaper Clubroom)

After Kurumu's intervention, the gang goes back to work on a fresh newspaper draft from scratch, not talking among themselves from Kurumu's sudden departure. Natsu breaks the long silence by jolting up from his seat, gaining the group's attention towards him.

Natsu: "I… I'm going to look for Kurumu, no matter what you guys think."

Moka: "B-but you can't! If you leave at this point, then the newspaper really will miss the deadline!"

Natsu: "But…"

Moka: "Please… Let's just concentrate on this now. Why don't we all just do what we can before the deadline?" Moka's plea falls on deaf ears as Natsu walks past her.

Ginai: "So, you're not committed to this club, eh?"

Natsu: "It's not that at all, it's the opposite. Because at this point, it doesn't matter if we hand out a new, finished copy. It matters that the newspaper is created by all of us together, even Kurumu. And besides, I can't shake the feeling that there's something else bothering her…"

Yukari: "Oh my! Hey everyone, I found something awful! When I was looking for some clues about the draft, I found this in the toolbox." She holds up the blackmail letter that Kurumu received from Nagare, but Natsu snatches it from Yukari.

Natsu opens the envelope that Kurumu was so eager to hide from the club, and reads the letter that Nagare wrote. Then he notices the 'pictures' with the letter as he stares blankly at them for what seems like minutes.

Tsukune: "What does it say, Natsu?"

The club waits for his response as they notice a sudden change in Natsu's demeanor. He crushes the envelope with his hand and burns it to ash, erasing the evidence from within.

Tsukune: "Natsu?!" He exclaimed while Natsu dashed towards the exit and to the supposed meeting location.

Natsu: (That bastard's gonna pay!)

(Monster Tree)

Kurumu: "Kyaaa!" She screams as Nagare grabs a handful of her breast as she slaps it away from her.

Nagare: "Mmm, soft! What's wrong, what happened to your fiery spirit?" As Kurumu backs away from Nagare, she loses her balance and falls on her butt, her back to the gym storage next to the tree.

Kurumu: "Huh? Wh-what is this!?" (What's going on!? My body is getting weak all of a sudden!) She then notices the strange tubes coming out of Nagare's neck, leaking some sort of gas.

Kurumu: (Poison gas!? It's him, he's the one releasing the gas! I can't inhale… I'll end up completely paralyzed if he keeps this up.) She covers her face with her hand and reaches for the doorknob to open the door, and slams the door behind her, locking it from the inside.

Nagare: "Ufufu… It looks like you've come to realize my power. And now you can't run anymore!"

Kurumu falls to the ground and presses her back against the door, trying to catch her breath and coming up with a plan to deal with Nagare by herself.

Kurumu: (Ugh, that creep! I'm definitely not going to let myself lose to him! I've got to stall for some time and wait for a counter attack, I've only got one chance.)

Nagare: "That's so cute! Hiding in the gym storeroom! Could it be you're inviting me in?" Kurumu looks down and sees Nagare in a slug-like form, crawling in from under the door, slowly entering the storeroom. Kurumu quickly limps away from the door as Nagare grins from his arrival.

Kurumu: "Wah! What the hell is wrong with your body!?"

Nagare: "Uhee… it's nice, isn't it? Don't you know a slug's body can go through the smallest of cracks? I am a slug monster, after all! And thanks to that, I can sneak into the girls' room, and find out all their secrets and weaknesses!"

Kurumu: "H-how many times have you done this kind of horrible thing to girls before?"

Nagare: "You know, I don't remember! But you're by far the best prey I've ever had, Kurumu!" His true form finally enters the storeroom, becoming a humongus slug monster, covered in slime and his eyes bulging out attached to an antenni. "Well then… Let's take lots of dirty photos tonight!" He moves closer to Kurumu and reaches for her with his slimy tentacle-like arm.

Kurumu: (N-no, I don't have any more energy! But I gotta beat him! I've gotta get the drafts back!) With no more energy to retaliate, Kurumu screams at the top of her lungs as a last resort, hoping that someone will hear her cry for help.

The door of the sports shed swings wide open as Natsu kicks it down, making Nargare turn his head to see him looming over the entrance. Nagare immediately frowns from the persistence of Natsu stopping him, as Natsu walks closer to them with complete silence and a dooming glare.

Nagare: "It-it's you! Don't you dare come any closer!" He proclaimed as Natsu stopped and looked at Kurumu and then stared down Nagare. The slug was trembling where he stood as he felt Natsu's power that kept increasing by the second.

Natsu: "I found the letter that you gave to Kurumu. How you blackmailed her for your own sick, perverted fantasy from those photos!"

Nagare: "I said stay away!" He attempts to slap Natsu away, but Natsu jumps back and out of the shed as Nagare continues to attack him, forgetting about Kurumu. "Her beauty is unmatched, like a princess. Why do you even care what happens to her?!"

Natsu: "She's… special to me, alright."

Nagare: "You know, I was thinking of making Moka my next target. And just think, I get to have Moka and Kurumu at the same time. But you're in my way!" He then puffs the gas towards him, suddenly falling to their hands and knees from its effects. "Uheeheeheehee!" Kurumu makes her way out of the shack as she limps to the doorway and sees Natsu on his hands and knees at the mercy of the perverted slug.

Natsu: (What's going on? This gas… I can't move!)

Nagare: "Uheehe-hm? What's this? You can still move?" They witness Natsu trembling as he slowly stands up from the ground, wrapping his scarf around his face to block the gas.

Natsu: "You're gonna need more than a cheap tactic like that to take me down!" He dashes towards Nagare and punches him, only for Natsu's fist to slip past Nagare's body, the slime on his body redirecting the punch. Natsu grows restless as he only has little time before the gas overcomes him and throws a combo of punches and kicks, all the while Nagare laughs at his failed attempts. Natsu then jumps away from Nagare and takes off his scarf, inhaling greatly to prepare for his signature attack.

Kurumu: "Natsu, stop! You'll burn the draft if you set off the gas!"

Natsu: "What!?"

Nagare: "She's right. This gas of mine, along with daining your power every second, is very flammable. One spark of yours would set the whole area in flames. And the mucus around my body protects me from your flames, so you'll be only burning yourselves, along with that sorry excuse of a newspaper!"

Nagare quickly lifts Natsu up from his leg and swings him to the shack, his back crashing against the wall and creating a hole of broken rubble.

Kurumu: "Natsu! Dammit, he's too strong! We can't beat him like this!"

Natsu: "You're wrong Kurumu." Natsu frees himself from the rubble and stands out of the hole of the shack. "He's not remotely stronger than any of us, he's just using his powers to his advantage. He outsmarted us! People like him that don't fight fair are just fighting dirty."

Nagare: "Uheehaha! Now that the entertainment is finished, time for the grand finale!" his slimy fingers start to make their way towards the fallen Natsu, still wearing the same toothy grin on his face. Nagare is soon interrupted and stops his assault when suddenly, the ground slowly begins to shake underneath him.

Nagare: "Huh!? What is this rumbling?"

Kurumu: "...Stop it! Don't you dare hurt him anymore!"

Natsu: "Kurumu?"

Kurumu hunches over and begins to transform into her succubus form, emitting more energy around her body. As Nagare blankly stares at Kurumu transform, she looks back at him with anger and tears in her eyes. Tree roots begin erupting from the ground around Nagare, all homing in on him. Nagare tries to make his escape but is quickly overwhelmed by the number of tree roots surrounding him.

Nagare: "The tree roots are attacking! Why is this happening?!"

Kurumu: "If you're going to fight using cheap tricks… then so will I! If you so much as touch him, you'll regret it forever!"

Nagare: "N-no way! Is this a dream?"

Nagare and the others stare in awe as the monster tree begins to move at Kurumu's command. The monster tree's branches envelope tighten around Nagare's neck, ceasing the poison gas from his tubes. Kurumu tries to tighten the branch and possibly make him pass out, but the effects of the gas begin to weaken her, slightly loosening the branch's grip.

Natsu: "Kurumu! I have an idea, just keep him still!" (Come on body… don't fail me now!) Natsu gets up on his feet and quickly summons his wings and claws and flies towards Nagare, still at the mercy of the tree roots. As a last-ditch effort, Nagare extends his fingers hoping to stop the duo, one hand towards Kurumu and the other towards Natsu.

Natsu and Kurumu: "Take this!"

Natsu swiftly scratches the tentacles along with the side of Nagare's torso, with Kurumu scratching the other side forming an x, blood immediately gushing out from the wound, and Nagare screaming in pain from the attack. They both slide across the ground with little energy left in their body from the final attack, and Nagare is released from the branches and falls over defeated as well. The branches then start to evaporate to thin air from the illusion wearing off, as Kurumu notices the bag that Nagare had always carried around.

Kurumu: "I… I finally got them back. What matters… to me!" She retrieves the newspaper draft from Nagare's backpack lying beside the tree and holds them close to her chest with a gleeful smile and shortness of breath. Kurumu then looks to Natsu who is brushing himself off from the debris and walks towards him.

Kurumu: "Thanks for rescuing me, I don't know what would've happened if you didn't come."

Natsu: "No worries, I'm just glad I made it in time. You're not hurt, are you?"

Kurumu: "N-no, I'm fine. Just a little drained from the gas." The blush on her cheeks starts to spread around her face as she prepares herself. "Hey… was that true? Earlier you said that I was… special to you?"

Natsu: "Oh… so you heard that." Natsu was taken aback as he too grew a small blush, making a bashful face away from Kurumu. The both of them stood in silence for a few seconds until Natsu spoke up again. "Lately, I have been having these feelings, and then those feelings turned into needs."

Kurumu: "Needs? What kind of needs?"

Natsu: "The need to… protect you. To be around you, and to rely on you. This feeling… to keep you safe from everyone else. I don't know what this feeling is, but I feel so warm inside, you know."

Kurumu: "..."

Natsu: "Anyway, let's start heading back to the clu-hmm!?"

Just as Natsu turned to walk back, Kurumu cupped his face with both hands and finally kissed the person she had truly loved for so long. Natsu's eyes were opened in shock as Kurumu pulled away and looked lovingly into his eyes.

Kurumu: "Those feelings… It's because you finally love me back. You don't know how happy this makes me, really. I'm glad that I chose you to be my fated one."

Natsu: "...I'm glad too." He pulls Kurumu close as her head rests on his chest, her body held tightly to his body as well. It felt as if the whole world around them had frozen and it was just the two of them together.

Kurumu: "Now, let's try this one… more… time…" She looks up and slowly inches her lips onto Natsu's as he too makes the same motion, ever so lightly closing their eyes.

Tsukune: *clears throat*

Moka: "We're not interrupting anything, are we?"

Natsu and Kurumu quickly opened their eyes and turned to see the two looking away bashfully out of respect and privacy. Natsu then releases Kurumu from his embrace and looks away from each other with their faces beet red. Kurumu then shakes herself mentally and makes her way to Moka and hands her the drafts and bows in apology.

Kurumu: "Moka… I'm sorry for not telling you guys and dragging you down from helping with the deadline. And if there's any way I can make it up to you... may I come back to the newspaper club?"

Tsukune: "What are you talking about Kurumu?"

Kurumu: "Huh? But I…"

Moka: "Yeah, we've got to hurry or we won't make the deadline. A lot has happened but let's keep on working hard together, ok!"

Kurumu wasn't sure how to respond on how they were happy to accept her back after all that had happened. She slowly lifts her head up and smiles gleefully once again.

Kurumu: "...Ok!"

(Newspaper Clubroom)

Early Monday morning had arrived as Nekonome made her way to the newspaper clubroom to check on the progress of the newspaper.

Nekonome: "Everyone! The deadline has arrived! Is the newspaper finished?" She walks into the clubroom to see the group sitting on their desks, sleeping peacefully after all their hard work. She then finds the newspaper draft on the desks to see that it was completely finished to her astonishment.

Nekonome: (It looks like they are a close-knit group after all!) "Good work everyone! Rest up and leave the rest to me."

Nekonome exits the classroom and closes the door behind her, leaving the clubroom in its well-deserved slumber. Kurumu starts to mumble something in her sleep as small tears escape from her eyes.

Kurumu: (Natsu… Everyone… Thank you.)