My School Spirit

by Ravenhale1

This is the seventh installment of the AU recreation of Rosario Vampire told through Kurumu's POV. This story covers the second month of the second term (September 26th - October 31st, 2005), including second season's Chapters 23, 17.5, 15, 16, 25 & 24 before going back to cover the cultural festival craziness of first season's Chapters 29-38. Not strictly canon.

22. Beneath the Surface

"As always, boys first. If you want to run home, shower, change, whatever, let Mr. Maruyama know. We'll put your name in the excused absences since we are running late."

Under Ms. Hitori's prompting, Mr. Maruyama headed through the doorway into the Headmaster's closet with Koike and Kitajima waiting about a half minute each before crossing through. Miyamoto, Tsukune and Umizake were lined up to go next while Sabaku remained in the back.

"It's finally over."

Tokori stretched her arms over her head, uncaring how the skin tight suit betrayed her every curve.

"I certainly will be taking my time to get back. It's not my fault some people showed up late for training."

Hikari pouted at Nagisa's sly grin.

"We couldn't help that."

Tora sighed heavily.

"I can only hope that Ms. Nekonome doesn't have a serious lecture planned for us today."

Rubi sidled up next to Ms. Kiyomizu whom was holding a duffle bag linked to Yukari's pocket dimension. She had luckily learned how to access the pocket dimension earlier this weekend, allowing the others to pack up their gear and head out at the usual time. Having neither of her pupils present, Ms. Hitori had waited for the latecomers.

"I can't speak for other teachers, but I have an outline of what my students need to know for their next exam which I'd like to go over today."

Kurumu sighed, watching as the boys methodically waited for their turns to leave this wretched world behind. Ms. Kiyomizu drifted up to stand behind Sabaku with Rubi in tow. Lady Hineri and her sister lined up behind them. Deshi wandered over with her staff resting across her shoulders to claim the next spot.

"I feel like I need another weekend."

"It didn't sound like you had a busy weekend."

Kurumu pouted at Nagisa's smirk as Satsuki lined up behind Deshi.

"That's not the point."

As Rubi took her turn with the gate, Kokoa's crew gathered behind Satsuki. Kurumu nodded at Mizore whom was with Tora before glancing back at Yukari whom was clinging to Moka.

"I almost wish we hadn't stuffed our uniforms in Yukari's bag. Going home for a bath sounds nice."

"I thought you had a shower."

Kurumu elected not to respond to Nagisa's teasing, glancing at Yukari. The witch held the black bag she had used over the summer to carry her things. Knowing they would be late, Yukari had proposed packing their schoolbags, uniforms and lingerie for today to eliminate a trip back to their rooms. Since she was already in the suite, Kurumu had thrown one of Moka's uniforms and some lingerie into Yukari's bag.

"Maybe I should just stay home to avoid the trouble you've started with Amesuki."

"I have no issue telling everyone you're too lovesick to make it to school."

"You're making too much fuss over a guy I didn't even know about before the summer. At least Ushio has been my friend since day one."

"I could care less. Right now all I can think about is getting out of this sticky suit."

Kurumu sighed, shaking her head. She gestured at the line as Tora and Mizore drifted to take the spots behind Hotaru as Satsuki exited this dimension.

"We should get in line."

Tokori grunted in agreement, stepping ahead of them to claim the spot behind Mizore. Kurumu patiently waited her turn with each girl allowing at least a half minute to give the girl on the other side time to step clear of the gate.

Once Tokori crossed through ahead of her, Kurumu mentally counted all the way to sixty before she took that step through reality. She staggered on the other side, seizing the nearby shelf. She pulled herself away from the opening, shuffling her feet. Before this moment of vertigo caused by the time variation passed, Nagisa had joined them.

Tora had discarded her top and was rolling down her bottoms. Mizore struggled to get free of hers with her creamy breasts bared. Bright cherry nipples stood erect at the apex of those snowy globes of flesh. Moka stepped through the portal next, prompting the girls to drift closer to the open bathroom door.

Sharing a glance with Tokori, Kurumu smiled and grabbed at the hem of her top. She started pulling it up, feeling her breasts bounce free of their clingy confines. She wormed her head through the collar before sliding the garment down her arms and onto the floor.

"I'll need my clothes, Yukari. The lavender tank top and yellow sleep pant."

Yukari stumbled over to where Tora stood nude. The witch slipped free of her bag and knelt down in front of it. Opening the flap, she reached into the depths.

"You should bring your school things from here on out. Save you the trouble of washing pajamas you barely wear."

As Yukari handed Tora her pajamas, Ms. Hitori closed the door to paradise the moment she stepped through. The woman sighed, leaning against the shelving as Kurumu wiggled out of her snug bottoms.

"Not the most productive session. Ms. Antai still can't focus her powers in a precise manner and Ms. Akegawa spent almost half of it recovering from a vampire bite."

Nagisa giggled, slinging her top onto the floor at her feet.

"I'll say. Ms. Kurono spent the first part of it using her hands for a bra."

"I couldn't put my wings away until they healed. And these tops aren't wing friendly."

"Surprised that Ms. Kiyomizu didn't use that as an opportunity to teach you girls some healing."

"She thought about it but decided we should keep working on our projectiles. Kurumu still sucks at it even when she's in the lake."

Kurumu sighed, aware that the rest of the girls were doing much better than her.

"At least Mizore is having fun."

"The shirt Tora gave me."

Yukari pulled out a long white shirt bearing the kanji for Faith, Hope and Love scrawled down the center. Mizore took the shirt and pulled it over her frame. Grabbing her soiled garments, the snow girl exited the closet.

"Are you sure she didn't bring anything else?"

"That's what she showed up in last night. Nobody expected her and Rubi to be wearing nothing beneath their long shirts."

"My outfit, please. I had black leggings with my PSC outfit."

Living so far from school, Tokori had brought her outfit last night. As Yukari rummaged through the bag for Tokori's things, Moka eyed the doorway with interest while uncoiling the whip about her right thigh.

"She doesn't look like she was enjoying herself."

"She was laughing quite a bit out on the lake."

"Yea. You could tell when she was having too much fun. The water would start freezing over."

"I'll take that whip off your hands, Ms. Akashiya."

Kurumu felt the loss of power the moment Moka surrendered the whip to Ms. Hitori. The vampire fell to her knees as her silver hair rapidly blushed into a light pink. Moka panted with her hands on the floor.

"I also need my panties and bra."

"I don't know what those look like. You'll have to get them from Rubi. But before you go."

Yukari fished out a white bra and briefs from the bag. The bra had a red bow stitched between the small cups while the briefs had a similar red bow stitched in the front center hem. Yukari pulled out a peach bra and matching bikini cut panties next. The last set of lingerie Yukari retrieved from her magical bag was Kokoa's dark green velvet bra and matching bikini cut panties.

"Take these to Ms. Shuzen. This stuff belongs to her and her friends."

Shifting her clothes in her arms, Tokori gathered up all of the lingerie before heading into the next room.

"Our savior!"

"Shut up, you idiot."

Kurumu chuckled as she wandered over to Yukari. With her soiled outfit draped over her arm, she saw that Tokori had left her soiled outfit behind. Stepping around Yukari, she bent over to pick it up.

"Ms. Kurono teasing us with her sexy ass."

Tora chuckled at Nagisa's remark, fixing up the hem of her sleep pants. Leaning over with her rump to the wall, the sphinx snatched up her dirty clothes.

"I'm also going to head out now. See you later."

Kurumu murmured a farewell echoed by the other girls as Tora slipped out of the room.

"I'll take my clothes, Ms. Sendou."

"What did you have?"

"A camisole and shorts."

"Have I seen them before?"

"Uh… yea. I threw these on that day you guys barged into my room and we were all naked."

Kurumu chuckled, recalling that. Kokoa had wanted them to convince Nagisa to come back to school. With Yukari's perfect memory, the witch pulled out a cream camisole and beige shorts from the depths of her black bag.

"Thank you, Ms. Sendou."

"You should start getting dressed too, Ms. Sendou. I'll take those off your hands."

Kurumu nodded, handing off the soiled garments to Ms. Hitori as the woman passed by. Moka was topless and removing her bottoms while Nagisa pulled on her shorts over her toffee curls.

"You probably want your clothes."

Kurumu smiled softly as Yukari handed up her pine green lace bra with the paisley design. She took the bra and the mint green boyshorts with the white clover pattern. She promptly stepped into the panties while Yukari fetched a beige sweater vest, blouse and skirt from her bag.

"Just drop them on the floor."

Yukari acquiesced, reaching into the bag. As Kurumu slipped into her bra, the witch pulled out Moka's mint green lacy bra with the purple satin bow followed by Moka's mint green bikini cut panties.

"I have clothes for my Moka."

Moka finished wiggling out of her leggings seconds after Kurumu adjusted her breasts comfortably in her front clasp bra. The vampire smiled, gathering up her soiled outfit before approaching the witch whom had added a school jacket, blouse and skirt.

"Thanks, Yukari."

Kurumu fished her arms through the sleeves of her blouse as Yukari pulled out her lime hipster panties with her lacy green bra. She promptly added her school blouse and jacket to her pile.

"Are all three of you wearing green lingerie today?"

"It's a silly thing Kurumu wants us to do."

Kurumu pouted at Nagisa's amused grin to Moka's answer.

"I didn't say Yukari had to do it. Or Kokoa for that matter."

"Maybe I'll get some different lingerie. I only own white, pink and black."

Yukari tugged on the hem of her top, exposing her perky nipples.

"I don't think we could coordinate that many girls at once."

"No kidding. We'd all have to live together."

Giggling, the undine headed for the door.

"I wasn't saying I would. See you later."

Finished with her buttons, Kurumu leaned over to pick up the skirt. Shaking it out, she stepped into the ring and pulled it up over her hips.

"I'll need my socks."

Yukari sounded an acknowledgment as she dropped her top beside her. The topless witch reached into the bag and pulled out a tied pair of cream socks. She tossed them at Kurumu's feet before getting up on her feet to tug down on the hem of her leggings.

Kurumu sighed at the sight of Yukari's creamy rump in front of her. Shaking her head, she fixed up her skirt before bending over for her socks.

"I wasted the whole day watching you guys shop and we didn't even go to Sports Station."

Yukari huffed as she wiggled one leg out of the clingy black fabric.

"You didn't have any money."

Kurumu pouted, pulling on her socks.

"I could have at least checked the prices for sports bras."

"Have you made a list of things you need?"

Kurumu sighed, picking up her beige sweater. Moka had already put on her lingerie and was slipping into her blouse. Taking in a deep breath, Kurumu pulled her sweater vest on.

"Not yet. But I have a good idea of what I need. Two sets of gym clothes. Two sports bras. Scissors. A sewing set."

"Sewing set? Why do you need that?"

Kurumu smoothed out her vest. Yukari fumbled with the hooks of her bra while Moka buttoned up.

"To make adjustments to my clothes or repairs. I used to have one. How do you think I altered my shorts to be tail friendly?"

"I wonder how much that costs."

"Well I'm not going to buy a sewing machine like Rubi did. But I do want an extension for my purse strap. And a little shaver."

Yukari frowned as she put on her blouse.

"Shaver? Like for crafts?"

"Personal hygiene, Yukari. Not that you have to worry about that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Kurumu smirked, tugging up her skirt with one hand and reaching under it with her other. She felt for the hem of her panties, tugging them down.

"For my wild bush. I need the shaver to shape my garden and scissors to trim these curls before they get too long. I can't have them poking through our tights."

"I have bush!"

Yukari abandoned her task to pull down her hipsters to betray the dark curls below her navel. Kurumu giggled, pulling her panties back up and letting her skirt fall back in place.

"Maybe you should shave them off."

"No way! This is proof that I'm a woman!"

Kurumu smirked, patting the witch on her head.

"Did you notice Rubi's patch is already growing back? And she had hers seared off only two months ago."

"Your point?"

"Your hair comes back darker and thicker."

Yukari huffed, fixing her panties before returning to the buttons on her blouse.

"I like to keep my curls soft and thin, thank you very much."

Chuckling, Kurumu gathered up Yukari's soiled garments while the witch finished buttoning up. She wandered into the next room, dumping the dirty clothes into the pile stacked on the washer.

Only Rubi and Ms. Hitori remained in the bathroom. The duffle bag was pushed up in the corner by the bedroom door. The teacher was tucking her long sleeved, lavender blouse into a pair of tan slacks. Rubi had on a school uniform and most likely was not wearing panties beneath that skirt.

"Everyone else gone?"

Rubi poked her head through the open bathroom door into the bedroom beyond.

"Seems so. They might be talking to the Headmaster though. I hear voices."

Ms. Hitori grabbed the whip at her side and started walking off.

"Come along, Ms. Toujou."

Kurumu felt little reason to accompany them. She leaned back against the washer machine, peering through the closet door. The witch was fixing up her skirt while Moka tugged on her socks.

"Should we take out our schoolbags now?"

"I'll take them out when I'm done getting dressed."

Kurumu nodded, thinking over the many conversations she had between her training sessions. The silver haired Moka had little trust for this Ms. Suukei character and was thankful that Kurumu had prevented her sister from running off to a potential fake father. She had even thrown out the possibility that her fake father might be a doppelganger, since they had seen how well those creatures could copy powers.

That sudden suggestion had much merit in Yukari's opinion. Both vampires rejected the idea that their father had been killed by such a lowly creature, but were willing to entertain the thought that he had come in contact with one which was now pretending to be him. Vampire pride restored, the theory of the fake father being a doppelganger relied on Ms. Suukei lying about her allegiances. Kurumu doubted a doppelganger could fool a succubus whom could discern the truth with a touch.

"Ready?"

Kurumu smiled, taking her schoolbag from Moka as the vampire pitched her dirty clothes into the pile. Slipping her head through the loop, she let the strap nestle between her breasts before pushing off from the washing machine.

Yukari settled in behind them as they exited the bathroom and crossed the bedroom. The witch sighed as the whining voice of Huang carried to them.

"What is that loser doing here?"

Huang was standing before the Headmaster's desk. He was dressed in the same attire as always, which had Kurumu wonder if he had several identical outfits or if he never washed his clothes.

"Ah. There they are."

The Headmaster chuckled, leaning forward on his elbows from where he was seated behind his desk. Ms. Hitori stood on his right with her arms crossed and Rubi in her shadow. The only others present in the room were Tsukune and Kitajima.

"What is this about?"

Tsukune chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. He was dressed in a white tee and black sleep pants while Kitajima sported the blue gi associated with the kendo club.

"I said he had to ask you."

"Ask us what?"

Huang chuckled haughtily, placing his hands on his hips.

"Allow me to train with you."

"No. Anything else?"

Kurumu had to giggle at Yukari's immediate response. Huang sighed dramatically, shaking his head.

"I understand your hesitance, Ms. Sendou."

"Any faster of a response would require breaking the laws of time."

"Then I must appeal to you, Ms. Akashiya. Allow me to train with you."

Kitajima snickered, shaking his head.

"You wouldn't last ten seconds against Ms. Akashiya."

"I assure you that I have more stamina than that."

Kurumu had to cover her smile, hoping she was not the only dirty mind in the room.

"I must politely decline your request, Mr. Huang. I don't think you could handle that training."

"Which is precisely why I need it! Like steel in the hands of a craftsman, beat me until I'm hard enough to be useful to you."

Kurumu took in a deep breath to avoid giggling. She smiled at Huang.

"I heard a rumor that you were going to join the kendo club."

"I have. As of last Friday, I am officially a member of their ranks."

"Then why don't you train with Mr. Kitajima?"

Huang scowled, thrusting a finger in their direction.

"Because I've been banished to after school detention for the remainder of the month. Club practice wraps up before I'm allowed to leave."

"He's lucky his application was approved. If I had been in charge of the club, I would have never allowed someone with such a perverse disposition to join our prestigious ranks."

"I was framed!"

Kurumu smirked, wondering if Kitajima was aware that his club president was the leader of one of the factions of the loli appreciation club.

"Why don't you ask one of the seniors to train with you?"

"What do you think I'm doing, Ms. Kurono?"

"My duty is to prepare the young PSC members for the impending threat to this school."

"But I'm in your club and will be helping with the security."

"Then I suggest you share a meal with the club and make friends. Maybe you can convince one of the other upperclassmen to have pity on your depraved soul."

Huang sighed heavily as the first bell sounded.

"I implore you to speak for me, Ms. Akashiya."

"You seem capable of speaking for yourself."

Huang chuckled at Yukari's prompt remark.

"I understand, Ms. Sendou. Truly I do. I've seen the box containing your training attire. No doubt upon seeing me in such a skin tight garment, you would be flooded with memories of this perfect physique you experienced thoroughly."

Yukari held her hand up with her middle finger pressed to her thumb.

"Huang. Bye."

With the snap of her finger, the foreigner was gone. The Headmaster chuckled as everyone else looked about in confusion.

"What happened to Mr. Huang?"

"He's in his natural environment. We have classes to get to."

Kurumu chuckled, following after the witch whom was making a brisk pace for the door. Tsukune hurried over to them with a frown.

"What was he talking about?"

"It's not important, Tsukune. But can I ask you for something?"

"Sure. What is it?"

Moka blushed as they exited the office.

"Well… I haven't had breakfast."

---

The bell sounded the end of the school day. Yukari pounded her piece of chalk against the board which had a list of items the class had felt they needed for their menu. It ranged from steak to sugar.

"This is on you, Mr. Senyou. We need a comprehensive list of prices for everything on the board."

"I got it. No worries."

The guy was writing in a notebook as Mrs. Sunao stood up from the chair behind the teacher's desk. The tiny teacher had on her textured gray blazer with the matching slacks this time. A soft yellow dress shirt was tucked in the slacks which were held up by a white belt with a silver buckle.

"That's all we have for the day. Dismiss the class, Ms. Sendou."

Yukari set the chalk down and hurried over to her front row desk.

"Stand. Bow. Dismissed."

Mrs. Sunao tucked her portfolio beneath her arm and headed for the door. Wanibuchi got to it first, drawing it open for the teacher.

"Mr. Hisakata and Mr. Tandoku are on cleanup duty today. I'll handle the board."

"Wait. I need to finish writing the list."

Yukari huffed as she walked back up to the board as their lingering classmates put away their things into their schoolbags. The trio in the back had already left and so had Yakihara and Wanibuchi.

"Then I suggest you hurry."

"Don't break my balls."

Kurumu giggled, relaxing in her seat. A slender hand tapped her shoulder and she shared a grin with Juri.

"Our little Yukari is all grown up now. She's a real leader now."

Abe snickered, shaking his head as he stood up while slinging up his schoolbag.

"She's always been a bossy babe."

"Did you just call an eleven year old a babe?"

"You said she was all grown up."

Kumiko snorted, getting up from her desk with a shake of her head.

"The lengths perverts use to justify their deviance."

"That's note."

"Note?"

Ichida chuckled, standing up with his schoolbag hanging by the strap upon his shoulder.

"Defamation or slander. He said it wrong."

"Yea. That's what I meant."

"Stick with words you know, Mr. Abe. See you tomorrow, ladies."

Kurumu smiled as more of their classmates departed for their clubs. She leaned over to tug her schoolbag off the hooks on the side of her desk. Pulling the bag into her lap, she smiled back at Juri.

"Don't you have club today?"

"We're meeting up, but I'm in no rush to get there."

"You can come to my club meeting if you want."

"Sure. I doubt our club is doing anything for the cultural festival. This meeting today is probably just for us to confirm that we won't."

Kurumu nodded, slipping out of her seat and hefting her schoolbag up.

"Yea. We're only printing out the fliers for the festival."

"Says the girl that spent her lunch hour with the fencing club."

"I had to finish their interviews."

Juri drawled out an acknowledgment as they shouldered their bags.

"Yukari. We're heading over to class three."

"I'll be there whenever this dummy finishes writing this list."

"I won't take too long, Ms. Sendou. But I can't stop till you're satisfied."

"I'll be satisfied when you're finished."

"A perfect attitude for a perfect wife."

Kurumu chuckled, shaking her head as she followed Juri to the back of the classroom.

"Ms. Amesuki was really sweet."

Kurumu's amusement fled under the memory of her awkward gym hour. Their group had played the other first year group in a brief, ten minute soccer game so that there was enough time for the older students to play their own games. That had been a lot of time sitting on the sidelines with a chatty undine enamored with the idea of being close friends.

"You didn't help at all."

"I think it's better than Mr. Aono."

Kurumu sighed as they left the classroom. In seconds, they were through the open door to class three.

"Kurumu!"

Kurumu flinched from the booming greeting. Ushio grinned, closing in on her. The large Tamaishi hovered close by.

"I have good news."

Before Kurumu could respond, Juri draped an arm over her shoulder and leaned in close.

"Kurumu might be spoken for."

Ushio chuckled, waving a hand dismissively.

"Aono doesn't count. I got a letter from my mother."

Kurumu frowned up at his wide grin.

"There's no way she said yes."

"She said she wants to meet you."

Kurumu shared a glance with Juri. Slipping her arm off Kurumu's shoulders, Juri shrugged.

"I guess I'm fine with that."

Ushio chuckled, touching his chin with a thick finger.

"How about another kiss to celebrate?"

Most of the students were gone with only Hatoko and Suzume making the rounds with the broom and dustpan. Tora was up at the board, cleaning it off. Tomisaki was hanging around at his desk, chatting with Chousei and Natsudera while Hedoyami slowly made his way to the open front door.

"No kiss but I'll give you a hug."

"I won't say no to that."

Kurumu stepped in to wrap her arms about the big guy's torso. He was too thick to get her arms all the way around. She pressed her cheek to his shirt, breathing him in as his hands gently patted her back.

"A soft girl for a hard man."

She sighed, backing out of his loose grip as he chuckled.

"Is your soccer team doing anything for the cultural festival?"

"Nope. Mr. Hirata doesn't want us on the field for practice or doing anything soccer related until the festival is done."

"Yea. He wants us to focus on our homeroom activities."

Kurumu smirked, noting Tomisaki and the two choir girls had taken off.

"How involved are you two in this goldfish scoop?"

"The shop boys are going to put together the tank."

"You are? How?"

Ushio chuckled, stalking by her for the door.

"We'll think of something. See you tomorrow, Kurumu."

Kurumu frowned, watching the two big guys depart. She recalled that the shop was mostly carpentry. Was it possible to make a tank out of wood without it leaking?

"Dating Amesuki's brother has to be better than that."

Kurumu coughed up a laugh, shaking her head.

"Where did that come from?"

"I saw you checking out his ass."

Kurumu blushed, having no idea if she had been looking at that or not.

"I was not."

Juri drawled out another disbelieving syllable as she adjusted her bag on her shoulder and started down the aisle towards the front. Kurumu whimpered following after the girl.

"I'm serious, Juri. I'm not thinking of any guys."

"I guess that's better than you thinking of Mr. Aono."

Kurumu halted halfway down the aisle to smile at the pair sweeping the floor in the next aisle over.

"I thought you two were on cleanup duty last Friday."

Suzume smiled at her, pausing her progress. Hatoko huffed, crossing her arms while holding the dustpan.

"It's Tora's day and Mr. Aono is her partner. He left for his festival committee stuff at the end of class."

"No reason for us to do this."

"Tora asked us to."

"Could says no."

"Did you see the dress Suzume bought yesterday?"

"Why care bout that?"

"I showed it to Kiki. She loved it."

"Sweep the floor, dammit! Not wants being here all days!"

"Sorry, Kurumu. She's in a mood."

Kurumu hurried over to Juri whom waited for her at the end of the aisle. The sprite shook her head.

"I'll never understand why those girls put up with her. Ms. Hanetsume is always bad tempered."

Kurumu smiled, doubting she could explain it. She nodded at Tora whom had finished her task and was placing the eraser on the silver ledge at the bottom of the board.

"Hey Tora. Where's Mizore?"

"Where do you think? That girl would follow Tsukune into the bathroom if he let her."

Kurumu smiled softly as she glanced at the open doors.

"Well… Tsukune's vulnerable. Moka took some blood and there might be somebody on the committee out to get him."

"What's this about?"

"People don't like Tsukune, Ms. Morisato. We heard a rumor that someone on the festival committee might try to cause him harm."

"That's kind of odd since the festival committee wasn't announced until this morning."

"The committee was decided on Saturday. We heard about this yesterday."

"How serious is this?"

"Too vague to fret over. We have no reason to think this person would attack Tsukune right away. But you know how Ms. Shirayuki is."

"Yea. That girl is as bad as Kurumu, acting like her whole world revolves around the guy."

"I'm not like that."

Tora smiled softly, nodding at Kurumu.

"I saw you chatting with Coach Takaku in gym. Arranging things for your fencing article?"

"I needed some excuse to get away from Amesuki."

"It's your fault for flirting with her brother."

Kurumu pouted at Tora.

"That's not true. If that was flirting, then I'm flirting with every person I interview for an article."

"But you're not doing an article for the math club."

"Kurumu. I have some friends for you."

Turning at the sound of Kana's playful tone, Kurumu contained her dismay as the blond walked in with Amesuki and her friend, Watakoma. The smaller girl from Kana's homeroom had her indigo bangs braided while the rest of her tresses brushed her shoulders. Moka smiled apologetically, following the trio of girls over to Kurumu.

"Hello again, Ms. Kurono."

"Hey, Ms. Amesuki. And Ms. Watakoma."

"Hi. Are you dating her brother now?"

Kurumu flinched as Amesuki blushed. Tora smirked, glancing away as Juri giggled.

"I told you she wasn't, Tarumi."

"But that would be so cool."

"Well, yea, but it's him. You know how stiff my brother is."

Kurumu held a finger up at Kana's smirk.

"I told you in gym that this all started because your brother's name got thrown out as someone I could date. I haven't decided if I should be dating anyone right now."

"Can't you date anybody?"

Juri giggled, placing a hand on Kurumu's shoulder.

"Undines are more resistant to her kisses which can cause some guys to get addicted to it. Since she likes to kiss, she would prefer dating an undine."

"If you don't like her brother, you could always date mine."

"Your brother is four years younger than us."

"Maybe she likes younger guys."

The amused looks from Kana and Juri could kill her right now.

"No. I'm good. Don't you two have gymnastics practice?"

"It's a Monday."

"Yea, but maybe you were supposed to meet up and decide if you would do something for the festival."

"I don't think we have a meeting."

"Yea. Where would we meet? Where we have practice?"

Juri giggled as she slipped between the girls.

"Well I'm going to run off to mine. Let me know if you want to shop the grade schools for boyfriends."

"Gee. Thanks."

"They could have a meeting. Michiko did leave with Kiki and Ishiko."

Moka's input was hardly helpful since Michiko could have simply gone home for the day.

"I guess if you two want to hang out, that's cool, but I want to check on Tsukune after our club meeting."

"Aren't you done with that guy?"

Kurumu smiled softly at Watakoma.

"He's still my friend."

"Such dedication from the young ladies of my club. Is this new members I see?"

Ginei strolled in through the back, holding Hajihachi by the hand. He had a broad grin and a crimson bandana holding back his bangs today. The top three buttons of his shirt were left undone to display his silver wolf head pendant.

"Don't be dumb. Those two are girls from Chiku's club."

Ginei chuckled, tugging his girlfriend along as he made his way to them.

"Of course I recognize these two girls from the traumatic night of my wrongful arrest. The images of their faces filled with concern for my safety is etched deep into my heart."

"Cut the crap, Ginei. What do you got for us?"

Ginei chuckled, coming to a stop by Kana. He pulled Hajihachi to his side, slipping his arm around her.

"Nothing much at this time. We can't do the fliers until we have a working schedule. They won't have that ready for us until next Monday."

"So… what do you want us to do this week?"

"Someone can start working on the designs for the fliers. That might take one or two of us. The rest of us can sit back and work on our homeroom projects until the festival committee hands off the schedule to us. Then I'll need a couple of extra hands to handle the printing of those fliers."

"I'd like to do the flier designs."

"Don't you have a homeroom to manage?"

Moka pouted at his remark.

"It's not like they need that much from me to run a palm reading booth. I feel like Mr. Kishita is better at keeping the others focused than I am."

"It's too early to be thinking like that."

"Yea, Tora's right. Don't give up."

"I'm not giving up. But I feel like I can't do anything in there. The guys put too much pressure on me."

"How so?"

Moka fidgeted with her fingers.

"Scheduling for instance. We were talking about shifts and it was like everyone wanted to know when I was working so that they could be with me. If not for Mr. Kishita, we would have lost the whole hour without getting anything done."

"Well if you want the design, then you can have it. But I want Kana to help you with it."

"You can count on me."

"Thank you, Ginei."

Ginei took in a deep breath, rubbing Hajihachi's shoulder.

"I heard class three is doing Ms. Nekonome's goldfish scoop again. That was what she had Lady Otonashi do back when she was a first year."

Tora smirked, nodding.

"We still have no idea how she plans to get us the goldfish. As far as I know, there aren't any pet shops in Mononoke to get them from."

"This isn't her first time. Knowing Ms. Nekonome, she'll pick them up in the human world this weekend."

"Well other than that, we have a few boys talking about how they will make the tank and there's some discussion on dividing up the workload. Nothing too difficult."

Watakoma sighed heavily.

"I wish my class was doing something that easy. They wanted to do a café."

"We're still trying to figure out what we're allowed to do for a haunted house. Mr. Nagamushi said we can't be flashing our true forms so we've got to make a bunch of costumes and decorations. So much more work than what we thought it would be."

"The most fun ideas often are. I'm lucky our class wants to see the twins do their crazy voodoo stuff. Sounds like it will be as easy as running a palm reading booth."

Moka pouted at Ginei's grin.

"We still have to decorate the classroom. We have to set a mood."

"I think the twins know how to set a creepy atmosphere."

"I'm finally free of that idiot."

Kurumu chuckled as Yukari bounded into the room with her schoolbag in her arms. Suzume passed behind her, carrying the broom and dustpan to the closet while Hatoko took up a post at the door.

"You're just in time. We were about to discuss what our next articles will be."

Ginei smirked as the witch stopped shy of Hajihachi.

"I suppose you girls can get started on your next articles if you think you have the time."

"Kurumu has already knocked out the interviews for the fencing club."

"Mhm. And I arranged pictures with Coach Takaku for Wednesday in their training hall. Are you wanting to be part of that?"

"I'll think I'll pass that one off to Mitsuki. I'd rather not cross paths with Imi right now."

"Oh? Did you do something?"

"Not that I'm aware of. But she might think I'm up to something if I show up with a camera."

"Ginei was planning to do an article or two on the cultural festival itself. I'll be helping him with that while we try to coordinate a meeting between our families."

"I don't know if my parents are coming."

"You promised my mother."

"I said I'd try. My old man might not want any part of this."

Kurumu smiled softly, gesturing at Amesuki.

"We did have an idea of writing about their new gymnastics instructor and wrapping that into an article about the dance club."

"And there's the math club Mr. Amesuki is in."

"I'm going to cut you off there, Moka. Nobody will want to read an article about a bunch of nerds."

"My brother isn't a nerd."

"No math club article. But after what happened with Ms. Rin, it would be nice to tell everyone about the fate of their club. Maybe even mention how the PSC is being handled by Ms. Kiyomizu now."

"That's a solid direction for Moka."

"Yea. And I'm sure you'll be fine if I keep up with my comics and Ms. Shirayuki does her stories."

"Of course. Where is the little ice maiden?"

Tora snorted with a shake of her head.

"Where do you think? She's keeping Tsukune safe."

"Safe? When has that stalker ever came to the rescue?"

Kurumu could think of a few times Mizore had stepped in but Yukari would probably refute them.

"Things are different now, Yukari. She's been training with Ms. Kiyomizu."

"I heard that Ms. Kiyomizu is cool. My cousin has her for English."

"Why is Ms. Shirayuki training with her?"

Kurumu grinned at the undine pair.

"Ms. Kiyomizu has experience that could help Mizore use her powers better."

"Things don't change that fast, Kurumu. She's a selfish coward."

Ginei chuckled, detaching from Hajihachi to pat Yukari's head.

"Not everyone has your ruthless killer instincts."

"Don't touch me."

Ginei withdrew his hand with a rueful grin.

"If you or Tora have ideas for the next paper, you're free to work on them if you have the time. While Mika and I will be doing articles about the cultural festival, I doubt we can release a paper right after it like we did for Sports Day."

"We can't call ourselves reporters if we wait too long."

Ginei chuckled at Tora's sarcasm.

"Too true. We have to get this next paper out by the tenth. The deadline to register for the student council elections is the eleventh with the candidates being announced on the fourteenth. We can't be releasing a paper about the cultural festival with the elections being the most important news."

"I guess this means I won't be writing an article for your campaign."

"Mika pointed out that it would be best to release the next paper after the election is over. That way the newspaper club can't be accused of having a conflict of interest. I hope you aren't too disappointed?"

"Not at all, Senior."

Kurumu smirked, shaking her head.

"When in December is the student council election?"

"Usually it's held on the first weekend of December."

"They have us come in on a weekend?"

"On a Saturday morning. The candidates give their final speeches and the elections are held on the spot. The winner is announced whom gives one more speech before the event wraps up. Last year the whole process took about three hours. We were back to the dining hall in time for lunch."

"I think I'll do an article about the Headmaster's resignation."

Yukari's declaration caught Ginei by surprise.

"The Headmaster is resigning?"

"About time that creepy guy retires."

"Yea. He should have been charged with murder over what happened to Aoi."

"Quiet, ladies. Judging by the looks of most of my club, this isn't news."

Kurumu shared a glance with Tora whom nodded.

"We heard about it over the weekend. The Fairy Tale commander of our region had a meeting with the Headmaster in which he demanded for the Headmaster's resignation."

"And since he mentioned that my Grandfather might take his place, it makes sense that I do the article."

Ginei stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"Sounds good to me. If you can get the Headmaster on board with it, I'll let you handle it."

"I'll do what I can but I do have a café to manage."

"Of course. Well I don't have anything else to say for now. I'll let you girls run off to any other plans you might have for your limited free time."

"I'm mildly curious what plans your homeroom has for the festival, Ms. Hajihachi."

Mika smiled at Tora as Ginei draped his arms about her once again.

"We're hosting competitive mahjong."

"Have to give Machida credit there. It takes balls to convince Kousuke to ignore blatant gambling."

"He had a good argument. And Mr. Koike will be more involved in overall security."

"I'm guessing Mr. Machida must be good at this game."

"He does have his own set."

"I'm certain most guys do."

Mika paused with a frown. As she glanced back at Ginei, he leaned in to whisper in her ear. She sighed, rolling her amethyst eyes.

"I was talking about tiles, you perv."

He chuckled, kissing her cheek and giving her a squeeze. Tora sighed heavily, walking over to the teacher's desk. She grabbed up her schoolbag from the chair, hanging it by the strap upon her shoulder.

"I'll be heading home now."

Kurumu nodded as she adjusted her own schoolbag strap.

"Yea. I'll go check up on Tsukune. Anyone want to come with me?"

"That boy should be able to take care of himself."

"Yea, Ms. Kurono. You could hang out with us."

"I'll tell you more about her brother. His brain isn't the only thing that's big."

A wide eyed Amesuki swatted her friend's shoulder.

"Shut up!"

Kurumu cringed under the amused expression Ginei favored her.

"It's just rumors, Ginei."

"I can't tell you much about Mr. Amesuki other than he was the manager for Ms. Houkai's homeroom last year. The twins were in that homeroom and Kaiketsu had him in his gym group."

"I don't need your help getting to know this guy."

"Anybody coming with? I'd rather not walk home alone."

Kana brightened up, thumbing back at the open front door.

"Sure. But I'll need to swing by band to let my other friends know."

Kurumu murmured a farewell as Tora took off with Kana. She turned a smile on Moka.

"What about you, Moka?"

Moka's forced smile gave the answer before she spoke.

"I don't think so. Shirayuki was upset with me at lunch for taking his blood. I'd rather not."

Ginei chuckled, gesturing at her.

"I'd offer but I'm more intrigued with your new love interest. I think I'll stop by the choir room and pay Hitsumi a visit. She might have some insight."

Kurumu pouted at him.

"Please don't."

"And I think Mr. Uzushio from my homeroom was in Kaiketsu's homeroom last year."

"I know Mr. Uzushio."

"Yea. He went to junior high with us."

Kurumu whimpered at the glint in Ginei's good eye.

"I've barely talked with this guy, Ginei."

Hajihachi snatched up Ginei's hand and smiled at Kurumu.

"We'll just ask her opinion of him, Ms. Kurono. Though I'm sure that his sister would know him best."

Kurumu sulked at everyone pushing her towards a guy she barely knew.

"Can't I just go check on Tsukune? He's weak right now since Moka took his blood."

"It's fine that you don't want to give up, Ms. Kurono. I didn't give up on this scumbag even though so many of my friends told me that I should."

Kurumu was unsure if that was supposed to encourage her or not.

"I guess I'll head off then."

"We'll walk with you at least part of the way."

Kurumu nodded as she headed for the front door. The undine girls fell in step with her while Moka and Yukari walked behind them. Ginei and Hajihachi took off in the other direction the moment they left the classroom. There were not that many students milling about the halls.

"Are there other guys we might know that you're thinking about dating?"

Kurumu smiled as they made their way down the hallway, passing by the open doors to her homeroom.

"I'm not seriously interested in any of the undine guys I know about. The first one that came to mind was Mr. Shiname, but I know the girl he likes. I hope he gets the courage to ask her out because she's already told me that she would say yes if he did."

"Oh my God! She'll be so happy!"

"But it might be too soon. She might say no if he asks her right now."

Kurumu frowned at the pair.

"No. I just talked to her a few weeks ago and she sounded like she would say yes."

"But won't she need more time to get over Aoi's death?"

"This isn't one of the girls on his tennis team."

Both girls nodded thoughtfully as they veered off to the left into the next corridor.

"Is it that Sadou club president whom you were rumored to be related to?"

"No. It's not her."

"Could you tell us?"

They steadily approached the main foyer, walking by the door to the broadcasting room.

"Maybe you can ask Mr. Shiname."

"No way!"

"That would be too embarrassing."

"Well I can't tell you. I see how fast rumors get around this school."

They entered the open chamber, closing in on the top of the stair.

"Maybe you could tell him to ask this girl out?"

"That would be nice of you. I'm sure that would make this lucky girl happy."

Kurumu mulled that over as they descended the stairs. It had worked out for Yougan and Ikatsuki.

"I suppose I could visit with Nagisa at one of her practices this week and have a word with him."

"Cool. Were there other guys? Like Mr. Uzushio?"

"Not really. I know about Mr. Uzushio and two other guys from band, but I'm not interested in any of them. Yukari reminded me about your brother but I doubted he would want a girl like me if he was worried about your actions damaging his reputation."

"I'm sorry about making you think that. He's not the easiest person to live with, but that's because I'm a useless sister. He wouldn't treat you the same way."

Kurumu frowned as they arrived at the bottom of the stairs.

"Is he mean to you?"

"No, no! Not at all!"

"More like they barely interact. See you at the door."

Kurumu accompanied Amesuki to their aisle while Watakoma drifted off to her own. Stepped down at the start of the aisles, they continued over to their cubbies. Kurumu removed her slippers, nodding at Yukari whom arrived a few seconds later.

"Are you going with Kurumu, Ms. Amesuki?"

Amesuki shook her head as she fetched her shoes from her cubby.

"I'll just head home with Tarumi. We probably should swing by the junior dorms to see if we do have practice or a meeting."

Kurumu paused after putting on her loafers. She smiled at the girl while putting away her slippers.

"We'll talk again tomorrow in gym. Manami."

The girl blushed at the sound of her name, clutching her schoolbag strap.

"Please give him a chance. I'm sure he'd be nicer with you as his girlfriend."

"I won't ignore him if he talks to me."

"I'll convince him to ask you out. I promise."

Kurumu sighed as the girl scurried away, wondering if this was wrong.

"You shouldn't be alone with Tsukune. Make sure that you find Shirayuki first."

Kurumu smirked as Yukari exchanged her shoes with her slippers.

"Yes, Mother. I'll behave myself."

"I think Mr. Amesuki could be good for you. He's smart, ambitious and well mannered."

"It's not like I love this guy."

Yukari sighed, shaking her head. She started walking down the aisle, prompting Kurumu to follow.

"He's not Tsukune. We both know that. But if you want to date someone right now, Mr. Amesuki is a good prospect with the potential for long term."

They turned at the end of the aisle, heading for the main entrance. Moka lingered at the door.

"You could come with me."

"I'd rather have some alone time with my Moka. It seldom happens these days."

Kurumu chuckled as they headed out into the afternoon. Without further comment, they quickly crossed the space between the entrance and the front gate. Exchanging curt farewells, Kurumu took off alone, following the trail to the east. The perimeter wall stood taller than her while the forest encroached upon the smooth trail on her right.

Kurumu wondered what she should say to Tsukune when she saw him. She hoped he would not shy away with reasons of not being able to be alone with her. They had barely talked since she had shown him mommy's butsudan last Thursday.

It felt odd that the rumor of her interest in Amesuki's brother was spreading more rapidly than the fact that her mother was dead. Or maybe that was only a skewed perception of reality. Very few would want to talk to her about a dead parent while teasing her about a potential love interest was harmless.

Kurumu had a few more girls she wanted to show mommy's butsudan to. Mostly the girls from Asuka's and Akari's lunch groups. Maybe also Nomura and Kazehana if they happened to be around.

The perimeter wall ended a few meters shy of where the path cut diagonally through the woods. The grass betrayed a worn path from this point back up to the door by the stairway near the third year wing. A short ways down the narrow trail, Kurumu saw that the perimeter wall resumed on the left side.

As she started down the narrow but level trail, she wondered if there had been plans at some point to clear this forest out on the left for the school. This perimeter wall was unfinished in several places.

She started softly singing the melody of Sakura Drops from her Utada CD. The words tugged at her heart in a soft, melancholy way. She would persevere and hope that this would be her last heartbreak.

"Koi o shite. Owari o tsuge. Chikau. Koto wa. Kore ga saigo no heartbreak. Sakura sae. Kaze no naka de. Yurete. Yagate. Hana o sakasu yo."

Kurumu jumped with a slight cry at the sudden appearance of Mizore. Her heart pounded rapidly as she touched her hand to her breast, shaking her head.

"Don't do that."

"I had to silence your song before you killed someone."

"There was nothing wrong with my song."

"Nails across a chalkboard has more musical value."

Kurumu huffed, continuing down the trail with her hand against her schoolbag at her side.

"Says the girl that listens to guys screaming in guttural and incomprehensible lyrics."

After a hesitant moment, Mizore walked after her.

"Better than listening to 'oh, woe is me' or 'I'm so in love'. Girl pop is a waste of brain cells."

"I thought you were watching over Tsukune."

"They wouldn't let me watch the meeting despite my warning."

"Warning? What did you say?"

"I told them about the spy in their ranks."

"That was dumb. You might provoke the spy to act."

Mizore grabbed her by the shoulder, forcing her to stop.

"The meeting just ended."

"How do you know that?"

Mizore pointed down the trail.

"Ice clone watching the building. I guess I don't have time."

"Time for what?"

Mizore let go of her and resumed walking down the trail.

"Getting our schoolbags. I was thinking I would surprise Tsukune."

Kurumu nodded thoughtfully, toying with her strap between her breasts.

"I should have brought them for you guys."

"It's okay. You're not his girlfriend."

"Neither are you."

Mizore cocked her head.

"Some guy is following Tsukune. They're heading this way."

"Which guy?"

"They all look the same."

"No they don't."

"Damn. I've been spotted."

Kurumu looked about nervously.

"Spotted? I don't sense anybody here."

"My clone. Be quiet. I need to speak with her."

Kurumu pouted as they walked for almost a whole minute in silence. She kept glancing at Mizore, hoping the girl would give her some sign. They were walking alongside another long stretch of perimeter wall.

"Mizore?"

"What?"

"Don't what me. What's going on?"

"Mr. Kaneshiro is lecturing me about respecting the privacy of other students. I'm politely listening to it."

"What about Tsukune?"

"I imagine he is still coming this way with that other kid since he didn't have a schoolbag either. Most of the other committee members left in the other direction."

A loud cry cut through the air that made her heart quicken.

"Was that Tsukune?!"

"From over there."

Kurumu darted through a break in the perimeter wall. There were no trees but the grass reached her waist. She did her best to pick through the overgrown stretch of field.

"You're the spy!"

Kurumu heard that clearly which was followed by another scream for help. In seconds, she emerged from the brush into a leveled field. The debris of a knocked down building was strewn about in tall grass off to her left with the perimeter wall on her right. The black dirt looked like it had been freshly tilled. She wondered if someone was growing a garden here.

"Tsukune?! Tsukune?!"

Mizore bounded out of the woods, panting heavily as she came to a stop. The snow girl doubled over with her hands on her hips as she slowly started to move again.

"Warn me. Next time."

"This is an emergency, Mizore. You don't walk to someone screaming for help."

"Kurumu. Might. More control. Still. Not an athlete."

Kurumu shook her head as she wandered further into the tilled field.

"I know that was his voice."

"Yea. Heard it too. Student council. Coming."

Kurumu turned about sharply as Mizore stepped into the freshly disturbed dirt.

"You saw the guy Tsukune was with. You could describe him to the student council."

"Sure. But wh-"

Mizore let out a startled yelp as the ground gave way beneath her. Kurumu's heart lurched in her chest as she darted over to her friend. She was almost to the sinking snow girl when the ground gave way beneath her. Her left leg went clean through to the knee, causing her to cry out with alarm. Grabbing the dirt, she pushed up but her leg would not budge. It was like something had a vice grip on her ankle.

"Too bad. You know too much."

Kurumu turned her head as a monstrous figure pushed out of the fresh dirt meters away from them. The face was stretched back in a wide grin with the eyes elongated below a shock of sandy blond hair. The noodle shaped head lifted higher.

"Can't have you tattling on me after I killed Mr. Aono."

Kurumu's heart twisted as she felt something tug harder on her leg. She whimpered from the discomfort in her groin since her other knee was on firmer soil. She pushed hard with her palms, frantically trying to diminish the strain.

"Please! Stop!"

"Be crushed with your crush."

A gout of blood splashed the dirt as an icy javelin pierced their adversary. The spray of blood crystalized instantly as the beast howled in agony.

"Bitch!"

Mizore was pulled out of Kurumu's sight, causing the trajectory of a second spear to be too high to hit their antagonist.

"Mizore!"

"That… hurt… die… die… die…"

He wheezed and panted with a bloody froth in his teeth. He tugged on her ankle, but it was weak. She surmised that he had used all of his strength to deal with Mizore. She held herself up firmly, focusing her thoughts on her ankle.

"It's over. Ueshiba Mizuki."

She probably could break free of his hold but she wanted this connection. He could not kill her in his current state. She pushed into his mind, perusing his latest memories. She shivered at a familiar face.

"You spoke with Yoshii Kiria yesterday."

His hand released her immediately. His pained eyes filled in terror.

"Have… to flee…"

"Where is he?"

In desperation, the spy slipped into the dirt out of sight. Whimpering at the lost opportunity, Kurumu pawed frantically at the dirt. She needed to get herself up and rescue her two friends. But she had no idea where Ueshiba had taken Tsukune. He could be anywhere in this field.

"Help us!"

A huge explosion of dirt answered her cry. She reflexively shielded her face as soil was thrown all about her. She felt a surge of power flooding out from the center of the eruption as the dust settled.

Lowering her arms, she witnessed Tsukune standing tall in a crater at least three meters deep. He stared impassively at the writhing creature in his hands. It flailed against him, striking weakly with its many limbs. Tsukune's fist tightened about its throat.

"Worm."

"Tsukune! Stop!"

But he kept squeezing. Kurumu finally managed to free her leg. She took off at a spring, tripping instantly over her feet. Pitching her schoolbag aside, she picked herself back up and bolted for the crater. She hopped down, sliding to where he stood.

"Stop it! Please!"

Ueshiba had gone limp in his grasp.

"I will never forgive those that hurt my friends."

Kurumu slapped him across his face. He staggered for a moment, letting go of Ueshiba. The spy fell unconscious at their feet as Tsukune stared into her eyes with confusion.

"Kurumu?"

"Yes, you dummy."

His eyes filled with panic.

"Mizore!"

He dashed by her, crawling up the side of the crater. Kurumu hesitated a moment to regard Ueshiba's still body before following after Tsukune. By the time she got out of the crater, Tsukune was already at the spot where Mizore had vanished and was digging frantically.

"Be okay. Be safe. Be okay."

Her thoughts echoed his cries. Kurumu hurried over to join his efforts. In seconds they found her hand. Tsukune grabbed her by the wrist and got his feet under him. Lifting and straightening up, he hauled Mizore's head and upper torso out of the loose soil. Her other arm was limp at her side.

"Can you heal her?"

Kurumu shook her head dumbly as Tsukune sprawled the limp girl across the dirt. Her heart started to tighten at the sight. Mizore looked dead. Like a body in a casket.

"Kurumu!"

"I can't."

As she started to sob, Tsukune leaned in close to Mizore. His cheek was almost pressed to her lips. He trembled as he tentatively touched the swell of Mizore's bosom.

"Not breathing."

Tsukune opened Mizore's mouth and scooped out two wads of dirt with his fingers. He lifted her up on her side, resting her against his knees as he patted her back and scooped out more dirt.

"She can't be dead. She can't."

Tsukune rolled the girl onto her back. He pinched her nostrils and pressed his lips against hers. He blew, causing a slight rise in Mizore's chest.

Kurumu shivered as she watched in horror. This could not be happening. Mizore could not have been buried for that long. How many seconds had passed? It felt like it had taken forever to free her leg but it could not have been that long. Could it?

Tsukune was pushing on Mizore's chest below her bosom. He then moved back to press his lips against hers. After a couple of seconds, he moved back to push on her chest.

Kurumu's heart relaxed at the slight groan. Tsukune clearly missed it as he went right back to Mizore's lips. The girl's body notably tensed up, her hands balling into fists. When Tsukune lifted up from her, she let out a loud, pronounced cough.

"Oh, thank goodness."

Tsukune sighed with relief as Mizore started coughing more naturally. The snow girl turned on her side, suddenly retching a gob of dirt and bile. She groaned, making a look of disgust as she shifted away from the grimy puddle.

"Mizore. Are you okay?"

Kurumu crawled over to Mizore, helping the girl sit up as Tsukune fell back in the dirt, panting heavily. Mizore leaned against her, trembling.

"I didn't get tongue."

Kurumu coughed up a laugh, shaking her head as she rubbed the girl's arm.

"Be happy with what you got."

"Mr. Aono! Ms. Shirayuki!"

Kaneshiro arrived seconds later with the rest of the members of the student council. He looked about in awe before his eyes met hers.

"What happened?"

"We found your mole. It was Ueshiba."

"That thing is Mr. Ueshiba?"

Kurumu nodded as Utsutei picked his way down into the crater.

"Yes. He was in his true form when he attacked us."

Utsutei knelt down beside Ueshiba as the other student council members remained at the top with Kaneshiro. Okumatsu wrung his hands nervously as Komeichi peered down at Utsutei with concern.

"Is he dead?"

"Hopefully not. We need to know whom he is working for and what they plan to do."

"He has a heartbeat. But it's faint."

"Go get the school nurse and some members of the faculty right away. We can't let Mr. Ueshiba die."

Komeichi and Okumatsu scurried away to do his bidding.

"It's hard to imagine he was the spy. Mr. Ueshiba was has been a class manager since he was a first year."

"Indeed. I was more suspect of some of the less involved members I had picked for the committee. To think that someone like Mr. Ueshiba was working for the enemy."

"Well he was eager to volunteer for it."

Kaneshiro sighed heavily, walking slowly to join them.

"My apologies for not arriving sooner. When Ms. Shirayuki's ice clone fell apart, we had to calm poor Ms. Komeichi down. She mistakenly believed that Ms. Shirayuki had suddenly died."

Kurumu smiled softly, giving Mizore a squeeze.

"She almost did. Tsukune's quick thinking brought her back to us."

"Snow white has to wake up when her prince kisses her."

Kaneshiro chuckled heartily.

"Indeed she must. And how is the prince faring?"

Kurumu glanced at Tsukune whom looked to be sleeping.

"Tired. He used a lot of power to get out of this."

"We saw that. I'm sorry we could not get here faster, but we had no idea where to go."

"We don't need more excuses."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Kurono. But I do feel that I have failed in my responsibility to the safety of my colleagues. I never believed that anyone joining my committee would do so at the risk of their own lives."

"Maybe you shouldn't send his friends away. If Mizore had been with him from the start, this wouldn't have happened."

Kaneshiro chuckled at her reproach, adjusting his glasses.

"Rules are rules, Ms. Kurono. I couldn't let her show up at our first meeting unannounced. Her little declaration put the group into a panic. We barely could talk about anything but security."

"You're far too attached to the rules, Mr. Kaneshiro."

"I do apologize. I have no issue with friends waiting outside. In fact, I might recommend it going forward. If Mr. Ueshiba has allies, they might try to attack the other members of the festival committee. It would be best if none of my people are vulnerable to attack."

"I agree. I'll visit each of the committee members tonight and inform them of the new policy. We won't get anything done if someone starts attacking our committee."

Kurumu took in a steadying breath.

"It's Yoshii Kiria. He's here."

Kaneshiro regarded her warily.

"Are you certain?"

"Yes. I saw it clearly. Ueshiba met with Yoshii yesterday."

"If you knew this information, why did you not tell us sooner?"

Kurumu smiled up at his frustrated expression.

"I didn't know until I touched him. I peeked inside his mind. I saw Yoshii accost Ueshiba in Mononoke. He doesn't know where Yoshii is staying, but he might know what he is planning. Ueshiba let go of me the moment he realized I was reading his memories."

Kaneshiro nodded thoughtfully.

"Then it might not be safe to take Mr. Ueshiba to the hospital. We shall leave him in Ms. Tsumugi's care."

"Can Ms. Kurono read his mind now?"

"No. He has to be conscious."

"All the more reason to leave him in the infirmary. We can bring Ms. Kurono to him quicker."

"Kaneshiro."

Tsukune lifted up his hand. Kaneshiro promptly knelt down beside Tsukune, taking his hand.

"Yes. What is it Mr. Aono?"

"Don't let him win. We can bring peace to this school."

"Of course, Mr. Aono. Nothing would make me more satisfied than to finally see a change at this school."

"Good. Think. I'll rest now."

Kaneshiro smiled warmly as Tsukune closed his eyes once again.

"You won't be doing that if you play by the rules."

Kaneshiro chuckled, getting back up on his feet.

"You are correct, Ms. Kurono. But until the time is right, we must properly play our parts."

As he stalked off, Kurumu wondered if she would ever understand that guy.

---

October 17th

I know it's been less than two weeks since my last letter, but I want to get one last message in before the cultural festival. That and I can't sleep in this crummy world where it's always day.

I'm a total airhead. I forgot about saving you a copy of the paper. Luckily Tora has a copy of the paper on her thumb drive and our student council president allowed me to print one up before our training.

I don't have your letter with me, but I know that you were confused about our training. I know you were upset about me keeping secrets, but I might have forgotten to tell you a few things. It wasn't intentional.

We are training because Yoshii Kiria has returned to Mononoke to kidnap Moka. At least I'm certain that is why he is here. He had to have known the leader of the killers was dead, so it's not like he's here to let that guy out of the Headmaster's barrier.

I'm sure I've told you about this guy before but I don't know how much I've said. Part of that is because I don't know everything about this guy. Mikomi's father told us all about how Yoshii has been trying to have the Headmaster killed for years. He's a real bad guy and now he wants to kidnap Moka because Lord Fujisaki needs her to resurrect a monster that tried to conquer all of Japan over a century ago.

I can't remember if I told you about Lord Fujisaki or not. The first time I saw this guy was inside Yoshii's mind. The first time I actually met him was over the summer. He is the man Moka's sister married and he is the vice president of Fairy Tale. He's also the guy that told me I didn't care about my mother because I survived her death. I think he's planning to overthrow Moka's mother soon. He already has several region commanders loyal to him, including Moka's father.

Or should I say someone claiming to be Moka's father. Remember how that leader of the killer could change his body to imitate others. Well Moka threw it out there that this guy claiming to be her dad might actually be one of these doppelganger creatures, since they can also imitate powers.

So yea. That's why we're training. We have to be able to defend ourselves from Lord Fujisaki's scheming.

The Headmaster has us in this world that he can access through a door in his closet. Time moves much faster in this place. An hour in the normal world is exactly four hours in here. So ever since last Tuesday night, we've been training in this secret world with a few teachers that can help us mature our natural abilities. He wanted us to do it in here since we might cause too much damage in the real world.

I'm mostly training with Ms. Kiyomizu whom is a third year English teacher. She's a skilled water user and is the new advisor for the PSC now that Ms. Yoshino resigned. The only thing I want to learn from her is how to heal others. We haven't done that lesson yet because she wants us to be able to attack with water. The rest of my group is so much better than me at this, likely because I'm not even half undine.

I'm training with Tokori, Umizake, Mizore and Taniguchi. Taniguchi Nagisa is one of Kokoa's friends whom she drinks blood from. She's a full blood undine. I don't recall if you know that Tokori's mother is an inugami and the father that left them is an undine. But even as a half undine, Tokori was able to patch me up when Mizore almost killed me way back in May during home economics.

Mizore has improved drastically over these last few days. I wouldn't say she's stronger than Umizake, but they can't land attacks on each other. He disperses her ice daggers instantaneously and she puffs his water bullets into snowflakes almost as fast. It's sometimes too quick for me to see what is going on.

Mizore can regulate her temperature much better than before, rarely passing out from the heat. She learned how to do this when I linked her mind with Ms. Kiyomizu's.

I'm unsure how to explain what Ms. Kiyomizu is. In some ways, she's like Ms. Hitori in that she's some eternal being that has lived for many centuries. But it's different for her. A phoenix is reborn over and over but always has the same body. This leviathan that she calls herself changes bodies each time it dies. In the short time I was in her head, I saw some of her memories as a yuki'onna in Mizore's village and as a young kappa boy in Hong Kong.

I can speak Cantonese because of this. Mizore was with me when I was experiencing the childhood of this kappa, so she can speak it too though she doesn't find it as amusing as I do. It's interesting because I can now hold conversations with Deshi in her native tongue. She's also in here because Lady Hineri felt that the whole PSC could use some training.

I'm taking pictures of the other girls in the camp so you can see these sexy outfits we have to wear in here. The boys have them too and it leaves so little to the imagination. We decided to have two camps, since most of the girls are uncomfortable with the idea of sleeping in these suits with guys nearby. I don't blame anyone. I don't want to see Tsukune's massive erection more than I have to.

I sometimes train with Miyamoto, whom spends most of his time with Tora and Satsuki. I'm actually really good at karate now, though I kind of cheated. After hearing about what I did for Mizore, Kokoa demanded that I link minds with Miyamoto so that she could learn karate quickly.

I spent a year inside his memories and learned some painful things about him which I don't feel right about sharing. I was able to shield Kokoa from the most heartbreaking parts, but she isn't oblivious to what had happened. This was his whole drive to becoming so good at karate.

I will label these pictures so you can know these girls. Kokoa has three other girls she takes blood from. Antai Hotaru and Akegawa Hikari are both from class eight. They are in the gymnastics club. Hotaru is a sylph while Hikari is a salamander. Since their powers are wind and fire, they are training with Ms. Hitori.

Kokoa's last girl is Fukai Ishiko. She's a gnome from Moka's new homeroom. She used to be my neighbor in the dorms. She spends most of her time training with Mr. Maruyama. He's the last of the teachers helping us out and is in charge of the boys' camp. I haven't interacted with him since the first night.

Rubi is here too, but she spends all of her time in the male camp as their designated healer while Yukari is our healer. Rubi is giving blood to Tsukune to help him recover from an attack that happened today.

Mizore has told you about giving her blood to Tsukune, right? Or maybe I did? Well if I didn't explain this before, Tsukune is struggling with the vampire blood Moka gave him. The Headmaster put on that holy lock to suppress his blood much like how the rosary works for Moka. He also instructed Tsukune to take Mizore's blood to dilute the vampire blood which he has been doing for at least two months now.

I suppose I should explain the attack of today. A succubus whom works closely with Moka's father came last weekend with the intent of forcing Moka and her sister to withdraw from Yokai Academy. She told us about there being a spy on the festival committee and said it would be safer for the sisters to live with their father. I don't know if she's an enemy, but if Moka's father is a doppelganger, she most certainly is.

Right before she had to leave, she tried to charm Kokoa into leaving. I had to grab Kokoa and fly away but she charmed Hotaru, Hikari and Suzume to chase after us. We had to knock some sense into them. It's scary to fight your friends, knowing they are under the influence of someone else. I'm glad that nobody got hurt. When we told her over the phone that her attempt failed, she gave up and wished us luck.

I know it sounds like she's an enemy, but she did say that people have different agendas. In her story, Moka's father is working with Lord Fujisaki out of necessity. It would be nice if we could believe her, but that means Ms. Shuzen isn't as good as we think she is. I'm hesitant to believe that.

Have I told you about Akua? The oldest daughter of the Shuzen family? She was trained as an assassin in China. Under Lord Fujisaki's orders, she tried to kill Moka's birth mother six years ago.

In truth, I suspect Lord Fujisaki did this because he wanted to use Akua to revive Alucard. Alucard is that beast that tried to conquer Japan. When Akua attacked, the beast woke up. It ate Moka's birth mother and the rosary was placed on Moka to put the beast to sleep.

This is how Moka became sealed and why we have two different Mokas. We have the vampire Moka and the seal Moka. The vampire Moka is the silver haired one while the pink haired one is the seal. We recently determined that the seal was a tsukumogami with its own distinct soul. Yukari also learned a forbidden spell from the Headmaster that can move the soul of the seal into another body. So if we ever come across a living body which lacks a soul, we can separate the two Mokas.

Anyways, back to Akua. I met her at a secret facility where Mrs. Shuzen is keeping Alucard. So here's the thing. Moka's father tried to accuse his wife of reviving Alucard. Which is nonsense. Mrs. Shuzen has had Moka and Alucard for years. If reviving Alucard was her goal, she could have done it. Maybe she has a different goal that she isn't telling us about, but it certainly isn't to let Alucard destroy the world.

I still haven't talked about today's attack. The spy we were warned about tried to kill Tsukune today. He almost killed Mizore after she speared him. He pulled her into the ground and she suffocated. Tsukune had to use mouth to mouth to get her breathing again. She's acting like it was a real kiss.

When he was trying to pull me under, I peeked into his mind and saw a brief meeting of him with Yoshii. So I know that the enemy is here. Our student council president, Kaneshiro, was watching over the spy when I checked the infirmary before we started our training tonight. He hopes he can use me to find out more information about the threat when the spy wakes up.

I hope that explains why we are training.

As for normal stuff, I can't say that there's much. It's only been two weeks with midterms and Sports Day being the main events. I scored a 405 on my exams. I know you did poorly so I won't say much else about the exams. I'm just happy that you're still in school and haven't been thrown out into the streets.

The weekend of Sports Day was busy. Sakamori is gone. Her mother came to pick her up after the Friday exams. She's not transferring schools. She's just dropping out since her grades are so poor. She was last on the board of shame again. And her mother doesn't think it's safe for her to be here. I have her address back in Moka's suite on a business card Sakamori's mother gave me. I'm scared to write to her.

I feel like it's my fault. Those killers were here to deliver me a message. I know it wasn't their only task, but it feels that way. It's my fault Mizumi Aoi died. It's my fault Hinoko was tortured and raped. It was my fault she tried to kill herself. Sure. I know it's not really my fault. But it feels that way.

That Friday night when Sakamori left, Ms. Ohno paid me a visit. She came to officially break the news of mommy's death. She also brought me a yunomi for Tottori and Yamanashi. Remember my trip to Kofu after Tsukune's birthday? That's Yamanashi prefecture. And Tottori is where I came from. So now I have a yunomi for every prefecture I've set foot in. Well, all but one. I don't have Kagoshima which is where the funeral for that succubus was being held.

We had a viewing on Saturday. Since there were several students with family over for Sports Day, there were more people at the viewing than I expected. Two of my classmates showed up. Morisato Juri and Hazumi Furiko. Their fathers know my mother but they are older so they didn't know her that well.

I knew Irewata Haruhi would be there. Her mother is close friends with Ms. Nekonome. Of course Ms. Nekonome was there with Coach Yaisoku, Mrs. Sunao and Mrs. Senda of the broadcasting club. Ginei's science teacher, Ms. Yumeito, was also there. She was the valedictorian of mommy's grade. And Mrs. Unsei came with her whole family.

The Anagume family was also there. I don't think Kosame from class five said a thing the whole day. She spent most of her time clinging to her older sister's side. I don't know if you remember the older girl but she was the small girl on the cheerleader squad. Yukari just reminded me that her name is Arukune. I keep forgetting that but she is a year older than us and I never see her around. Their uncle is one of Ms. Nekonome's friends. That's also part of why Hazumi and Juri were there. Juri's father is cousins with another one of Ms. Nekonome's friends and Hazumi's father is cousins with Irewata's father.

There were three other students present at the viewing. Yamadachi from class seven, Uboku from class ten and Kagami from class four. I doubt you would know the first two but you might know Kagami. She was in our gym class so you probably saw her.

Yamadachi's mother shared homeroom with my mother during her second year. Uboku's mother was a year older but shared home economics class with mommy and Mizore's mother. Kagami's mother was a first year when mommy was a senior but had joined mommy's broadcasting club.

Oh, yea. Mommy was in the broadcasting club. I might not have mentioned that. That's how Mrs. Senda knew her. Mizore's mother was also in the club and so was Anagume's uncle.

Everybody was so nice to me. I got lots of gifts for mommy's butsudan and a frame for her picture. Two of the mothers bought me clothes. It was a nice day and Ms. Ohno left that night.

The following day I was supposed to go out with Moka and Suzume. Instead Mizore woke me up for an impromptu date with Umizake and Tsukune to impress her mother. She had told her mother that I had stolen her fiancé and that she was dating Tsukune. It was an awkward day to say the least.

Umizake is scary good at golf. Since I lost, I owe him a favor of sorts. He hasn't said what that is but he did promise he wouldn't have me do anything indecent. I wonder if he's forgotten about it.

We bumped into Ginei after seeing a movie. He was with Hajihachi and her family. She has twin sisters that are only twelve years old but taller than me. Her mother was very standoffish with Ginei. He didn't tease me as much as I thought he would but I that was because he knew about mommy being dead.

At the end of the date, Mizore's mother told us that she doubted we were a couple. She also let us know that Mizore and Umizake were going to get married over winter break.

I know that sounds ominous, but we got lucky with Huang being an idiot. He made a bet that if his team had more points than ours on Sports Day, Tsukune would have to join the mafia. But if Tsukune's team won, Huang would have to take us to Hong Kong over winter break. If we do this right, Mizore will miss her unwanted wedding.

I won't go into too many details about Sports Day. You can read the paper about Ginei's heroic team winning the thing. Our group got third overall while Huang's was eighth. Kokoa was bawling about her group taking dead last after she had won her event.

Kokoa and I were in the same event but on different teams. We were doing the cavalry battle, which has three girls holding up a rider. Kokoa was a rider with Nagisa and two of Nagisa's friends as their base. Yukari was our rider and my other partners was Kagami and Irewata. It was surprisingly a lot of fun.

We eliminated Nemoto's team which included Ontoriki and Niwa from the Sadou club. Ontoriki is friends with Kagami. Since Ontoriki and I were the centers, we were the ones locking arms. Ontoriki was way stronger than I expected. I guess harpies have a lot of arm strength, which explains why the softball team has so many as pitchers. She pushed me over which nearly got us eliminated. But Yukari snatched up Niwa's hat and was able to stay up with the other two girls.

We technically eliminated Chouda's group. Chouda Sumire is the girl Yukari saved in Kofu whom lived next door to her in the suites. She swapped suites with her this term so there would be more room for Yukari to live with Rubi. Since she loves Yukari so much, she gave Yukari her hat.

Kokoa's group bowled us over to eliminate us. It came down to Kokoa's group and Kosai's group. Kosai Mirai is the fencing club captain. I might have mentioned Kokoa joining their club. It was a dramatic showdown with Kokoa coming out on top.

I should mention that I'm doing the fencing club article next. I've done all of their interviews and have their pictures scheduled for Wednesday. So I've got a head start on the next paper which Ginei wants out by the tenth of next month. I'll also be doing articles for the kendo and karate clubs.

There's some drama going on between Kagami and Hatoko. It should be between Kagami and Michiko, since it's about those two being half-sisters. We found this out after mommy's viewing that Kagami's dad is also Michiko's dad. He knocked up Kagami's mother before graduation and then went home and married this other girl and started a family. Hatoko has been on a rampage ever since, hurting Kagami's mother and Kagami. Michiko is trying to stay neutral in this affair, saying it's got nothing to do with her.

Since you're probably curious about my love life, I'll admit that I kissed Ushio on Sports Day and his mother will meet me at the festival. I'm not interested in him being a boyfriend, but if his mother is okay with it, I suppose I could give it a try. It feels safer than this other guy everyone is trying to push on me.

The other guy is Amesuki Nijiro, the second year manager for class eleven. His sister is on the gymnastics team and is in class four. He's an undine and a top five student. I met him at the last Saturday meeting and he seemed like a nice guy. He has a clear plan for his career. And he doesn't tower over me like Ushio does. The guy is closer to Tsukune's height and build, though he's blond and blue eyed like his sister. I won't say he's girly like Heniki but it's not exactly a manly look.

To be blunt, I'm not attracted to him. I'm not attracted to Ushio either. It's hard to feel attracted to other guys when I get wet at the thought of Tsukune deciding that he'd rather want a sure thing than some chance at a Moka that might not exist. Even if I started dating another guy, I know I'd drop my panties if Tsukune asked me to. It's pathetic. I know.

The Headmaster specifically recommended Tsukune to be assigned to the festival committee, wanting us to have an inside look on anyone whom might try to sabotage the festival. I wonder if the Headmaster knew about the spy beforehand and is just toying with us. I certainly won't be sad when he's gone.

This isn't official news, but the Headmaster is being forced to retire. Yukari will be writing the article about it since her grandfather is one of the potential candidates to take over as Headmaster.

Can't say that much else is going on. I say this after writing so much, but a bunch of that was catching you up with stuff that has nothing to do with the last two weeks.

Mizore doesn't know if she could take you in, but she thinks you could live in my suite. It's not like I'm ever in it and I could get you a copy of my key. So you do have a place to stay.

I want you to find a way to come to the cultural festival. I'd prefer that over a letter saying you couldn't make it. I haven't heard back from Ms. Kiyoshi, so I'll write her again.

No hugs and kisses this time. You have to come here and get them yourself.

See you soon.