My Fresh Start

by Ravenhale1

This is the ninth installment of the AU recreation of Rosario Vampire told through Kurumu's POV. This story covers the time after the snow village trip up to second term exams (November 25th - December 12th, 2005). Not strictly canon.

11. Revised History

"Could you get the door?"

Kurumu sighed, glancing at Kokoa whom was dressed for school with the sleeveless sweater vest. She had just fetched this brat some karashi. She wanted to enjoy her omurice while it was still warm.

"It won't be anybody important."

"It will be bothersome if they keep knocking."

Hikari yawned, holding the back of her hand in front of her mouth. Her other hand held her chopsticks over her plate which had three or four bites left. The salamander was still wearing the faded pink tee and baby blue cotton shorts she had slept in.

The firm knock sounded again.

"I'll get it."

Kurumu smiled graciously at Mizore before she stuffed the first morsel into her mouth. The snow girl was wearing her white, silky camisole and matching shorts which was paler than her skin. Getting up on her feet, Mizore tiptoed around Hikari before prancing over to the door.

"You're supposed to be the servant here."

Kurumu swallowed her morsel, ignoring Kokoa's criticism. She had already bathed her spoiled mistress whom had insisted upon Kurumu wearing her maid attire today. While Kurumu had slaved away at the stove, Kokoa had finished reading the last of the Bleach volumes. She had even demanded for Kurumu to fetch the table from beneath the bed.

"I think this breakfast is delicious."

Kurumu sounded an acknowledgment as she chewed her next morsel. Kokoa scoffed, seizing another morsel in her chopsticks.

"Anybody could make a passable meal with the quality of ingredients we bought last night."

"We're not interested."

A familiar laugh answered Mizore's cold greeting.

"I have business with Ms. Kurono."

Mizore retreated from the door, allowing Tashikana to enter the suite. He was dressed in custom male attire with his green jacket closed and a red tie fixed at his collar. His schoolbag rested upon his right hip, hanging by its strap upon his right shoulder.

"What do you want?"

"To accompany you to the school. You have club paperwork to fill out."

Kurumu mulled that over as she stuffed another morsel into her mouth. Ms. Takaku had said something similar to Shikichi last night. She swallowed her food down, unable to savor the taste.

"If you haven't noticed, I'm not dressed."

Tashikana chuckled, leaning on his left arm which he had placed atop the half wall.

"That is a delightful outfit you have on. I should get one for Keito."

"Don't you have exams?"

"It's not quite seven fifteen, Ms. Shuzen. I have plenty of time."

Mizore sauntered towards the table, making a shooing gesture at him.

"Go bully the woman you blackmailed into a relationship."

"You're just jealous that worked for him."

Mizore paused at Kokoa's comment, cocking her head. She placed her hands on her belly.

"No. I'm grateful that I have a better father for my baby."

Kurumu snickered around another mouthful. She wanted to comment about Tashikana being lucky that Lady Hineri lacked an alternative father figure. But she valued the taste of her breakfast more, chewing it thoroughly as Mizore sat back down at their table with her back to the couch.

"Shirayuki is right. Go pester your girlfriend. Hikari can't get dressed with you hanging around."

Kurumu pouted as she seized up another morsel.

"I have to get dressed too."

"And have to do dishes. You should pick another day when she isn't so far behind in her chores."

Hikari giggled, reaching over the table to seize Kokoa's plate and chopsticks.

"I can do the dishes."

"That's her job."

Hikari clucked her tongue as she stacked Kokoa's dishes on top of her own.

"Don't be silly. It's not like taking my blood last night rendered me helpless."

Kokoa sighed as Kurumu stuffed her mouth with the last large morsel on her plate.

"Fine. But you are returning those Bleach volumes to Zukkutani for me."

Kurumu nodded while chewing. She swallowed her mouthful down, picking up her plate to scoot the leftover bits into a pile.

"If I may ask, where did you acquire such an outfit?"

Kokoa leaned back on her right palm, gesturing at Kurumu as she shoveled the leftovers into her mouth.

"That is standard maid attire of the Shuzen household. Only Lady Rena, our seamstress, is authorized to make such attire."

"Pity. I would enjoy teasing my beloved in that getup."

Kurumu handed her plate and chopsticks to Hikari, swallowing the last vestiges of her breakfast down.

"Thanks, Hikari. I'll dress quickly and get rid of this clown."

Hikari giggled as Kurumu pushed up onto her feet. She sashayed over to the closet, aware that he was watching her every move. It was surprising how intrigued he was considering this outfit was only snug about her bosom. This long sleeved, black dress billowed out at her hips and the crimson apron was not the least bit flattering. But she did prefer this one over the clingy one since the fabric breathed.

She slipped into the closet, pulling the door shut as she turned on the light. She tugged the dress up by its stretchy, pleated collar, pulling it over her head. Grabbing the fabric upon her back, she continued pulling it up, exposing her legs, navel and breasts before her head was finally free. The dress hung by the weight of the coarse apron as she tugged at the hem of her sleeves, freeing one arm and then the other. Standing nude in the closet, she shook the garment out before fetching a hanger. She slipped the hanger through the collar and into each sleeve before putting it back up next to her other maid outfit.

It was pink day. She padded over to her lingerie pile, grabbing her lavender boyshorts with the white dot pattern and the lacy pink hem. She stepped one leg through and then the other, pulling the soft fabric up over her womanly curls which matched the color of her hair. She fixed the hem about her waist.

She fetched her mauve strapless which she had acquired to go with these boyshorts. Like the black strapless, this thing pulled on like a tube top with some semblance of support. She tucked her tits into the preformed cups as best she could before grabbing her socks.

It had been after ten when they had arrived home. The stop by the theater and the grocery store had taken more time than any of them had expected. Kaimura had been gorgeous in that black dress, even if it had been as simple as the white sundress she had worn to Kiki's birthday party. Their friend from track had missed the dress formal memo, sticking with a gray corduroy tank top and black denim jeans.

With her socks and skirt on, Kurumu grabbed a blouse off a hanger. As she slipped her arms into the sleeves, she wondered if she should wear the sweater vest or the jacket. It was more a matter of if she wanted the convenience of pockets. She slowly buttoned up, deciding on the jacket.

Kokoa had taken Hikari's blood which had wiped the poor girl out. Those two had turned in within a half hour of Kurumu putting away the groceries. Kurumu had fallen asleep, holding Mizore while listening to music. The Wonderful Life album had better songs than the other album which had the Kurumi song.

Kurumu slipped her arms into the sleeves of a jacket, leaving it open. She sauntered over to the door, opening it and turning off the light. She smiled at Hikari whom was already washing dishes.

"Thanks again."

Hikari laughed, making a shooing gesture with the sponge. Kurumu pranced over to Moka's desk, picking up her journal. She opened the small compartment and fetched her amethyst studs. Setting her journal aside, she quickly put her earrings in. The right lobe always gave her more trouble since the hole would heal overnight.

"I'm serious. You should have picked another day."

Tashikana chuckled as Kurumu finished up her earrings.

"If I'm late to my first exam, it will be my problem. They'll start without me."

Kurumu smiled apologetically as she hurried over to her schoolbag. She knelt down, tugging her bag open. Her purse was already inside so she only had to add the five Bleach volumes.

Seconds later, she closed up her schoolbag and hauled it up onto her shoulder. She got back up on her feet, lifting the strap over her head to rest it on her other shoulder. She fixed the strap into the valley of her breasts, tugging the end of her jacket free to hang over her bag.

"Back up so I can get my shoes."

Tashikana retreated from the suite, holding the door open. Kurumu shuffled over to the entryway, slipping her feet into her loafers.

"One of you want to lock up?"

"I will."

Kurumu smiled at Mizore's response. She turned to wave as she drifted out of the suite.

"I'll see you at lunch."

Kurumu closed the door, trusting Mizore would lock it. With a deep breath, she started walking away.

"So have you been allowed to see Lady Hineri since your little scheme?"

"I spent a few hours with her yesterday."

Kurumu nodded, absently rummaging through her schoolbag for her purse. She was mildly curious about the time, not wanting to jog but worried that she might have to.

"I see that you're wearing your jacket today."

"Congratulations. You passed the vision test."

He chuckled as she pulled out her phone. She flipped it open, noting it was almost seven thirty. They would get to the school before eight but there was no way she would get back to Baratoge in time for her first period.

"And you have a phone."

"That's two for two."

"I never had you pegged to be strong in the art of sarcasm."

Kurumu smirked, holding her phone up at him as they sauntered down the trail through the woods stretching away from the commissary.

"Blame Mizore. She's an expert."

She snapped a picture of him.

"Did you just take a picture of me?"

"Mhm. I wonder how I should caption it. Shady guy whom coerced me into taking over his club."

"I heard that more phones were coming out with a camera function. Maybe I should get one."

"Yea. But you'll need an external memory card or you will run out of memory fast. The phones don't have much on their own. The card I got can hold about a hundred fifty pictures at max resolution."

"Do you like taking pictures?"

"Yea. I've almost taken three hundred since the summer. I bet my mother would have taken that many if she could have. I have three whole photo albums of her high school years in my apartment."

"Following in your mother's footsteps."

Kurumu snorted as they neared the point where the trails to the suites combined. A trio of senior guys were ahead of them, taking the combined trail. She stuffed her phone back inside her purse.

"I don't want to hear that from the guy whom pleaded with me to join my mother's old club, making it sound like I'd be a horrible person if I let it shut down."

"My apologies, Ms. Kurono. I am truly grateful for this."

Kurumu drawled out an affirmative as they turned to their right, following the combined trail that the other seniors were taking. They walked a short distance in silence.

"I didn't see Ms. Akashiya. Was she spending the night with a friend?"

"Nope. She was kidnapped by bandits."

"I suppose that is possible with how often she gets into trouble."

Kurumu sighed at his merry disposition, unsure what sort of conversation he wanted to have. Her only real interest in him was his relationship with Lady Hineri and it sounded like he had no news to share.

"The newspaper club had a sleepover last night so she's with Ms. Hajihachi. They were going to finish up their articles for their last paper of the calendar year."

"Makes sense. I must admit that I was surprised that you would quit that club."

"Doubt it's that surprising. I was mostly in that club to be with Tsukune."

"I suppose it would be difficult to stay in close company with a guy you were crushing on."

Kurumu mildly wondered how much Tashikana knew about the situation. He had not been part of her mass charm. Either he knew the truth and was playing ignorant or he genuinely had no clue about how real her relationship with Tsukune had been.

"Yea. Ginei isn't easy to be around either."

"Oh? Did that rascal toy with your heart?"

Kurumu smirked, sensing this jerk would be just as intolerable if she spent too much time around him.

"Just so you know, I'm going to prefer the choir. I don't have to deal with any guys in that club."

"That seems like a strange thing for a succubus to say."

"Probably because you don't understand how a succubus works. While my body requires male attention, I can get all I need from one guy. I don't need to be the object of every pervert's wet dream."

"Mr. Amesuki is a lucky man."

Kurumu smiled softly, feeling disappointed with her weekend. Though she had spent hours with Nijiro, they had not shared a single moment alone. Nothing but polite kisses and tame cuddling.

"He is. And he prefers me being in a club with only girls."

"I have to wonder if your club has any rules about that. Last I checked, the choir elective was open to both girls and boys."

Kurumu was aware of that. Noboru was one of two first year guys in the choir class, the other being Tomisaki from class three.

"Well if any stupid boys join the choir for naughty reasons, I'll charm them away."

"Abusing your powers on a fellow student."

"Only if the faculty figures it out."

Tashikana chuckled as they turned left at the end of this trail, following the other third years. They walked another good stretch of trail in silence. The woods on the left started to thin out as they neared the pond where Kurumu had first made contact with Tsukune so many months ago.

"It would be nice if the school repairs were finished when we get back from break."

"Yea. I think I speak for every first year that having classes in the tiny study rooms sucks."

"I thought you enjoyed being close to your friends."

"Cramming more than twenty girls into a room for five hours with the intent of learning is not going to be fun even if I'm with friends."

"I'm just giving you a hard time."

Kurumu huffed, in no mood to respond. They were already at the point where the trail split up. The path veering off to the left ended on the bicycle path which ran from the school all the way to the hospital in Mononoke. They kept to the trail on the right, following the other seniors.

"There was a rumor floating around last week that winter break might be extended."

"I haven't heard anything about that."

"Just speculation among the seniors but Ms. Okumura and Ms. Senda have both confirmed it is possible."

Kurumu nodded at his mention of his homeroom teacher and the science teacher whom was his club advisor. She briefly wondered if both ladies would attend Ms. Nekonome's wedding, though that was not nearly as important as what a longer break might mean for her friends.

"How long did they think the break would get extended?"

"That depends on whom you ask. Some of my peers are joking about not having to come back until the graduation ceremony. Others are thinking it might go until the school repairs are finished."

"But the Headmaster told us that would be early February."

"It's a rumor, Ms. Kurono. It's quite possible that none of this will happen with the Headmaster stepping down over the break."

Kurumu pouted as they drew closer to the point where they had handed out papers to the entire school. She could see the start of the partial perimeter wall through the thinning trees.

"That stuff is pretty important to someone like me. What am I supposed to do with a longer break?"

"I'm not unaffected by this, Ms. Kurono. Most seniors planning to take the college entrance exam are worrying over how this will work since the exams are in January."

"I thought you weren't going to college."

"My parents don't know that. I plan to use the exam as my excuse for spending the winter break here."

"Ms. Kurono!"

Kurumu grimaced at the familiar voice. Down the trail beyond the trio of third years she spied Huang Fang, dressed in his usual attire. She often wondered if he owned any other clothes since it always was that long white coat with the black, mandarin collar and black slacks. The coat was held together with toggles down the front center. The young man with the long, braided mane of hair waved and trotted towards them with a bright smile.

"I'm sure that the school will bring the third years back in time for their college entrance exams."

"The entrance exams aren't given here, Ms. Kurono. Normally the third years whom plan to take the exam get on a bus and we are taken to one of the human facilities administering the exam."

"Ms. Kurono!"

"Friend of yours?"

"Pretend we don't see him."

Huang gasped, stopping in his tracks. To Tashikana's credit, he kept up his stride as they walked by the nuisance without a greeting.

"That's cold! I need your assistance, Ms. Kurono."

Kurumu sighed as Huang fell in step with her. She had half a mind to start jogging but she knew this fool could easily match her pace.

"What do you want?"

"It has come to my attention that you are a very popular girl."

Kurumu gasped as they passed by the first of the four boards where the exam results would be posted. Other than the first time back in April when the first years had taken the assessments, Kurumu's name had yet to be on any of these boards. Only the top hundred students of each grade had their results posted while the bottom thirty had the misfortune of getting posted on the board of shame.

"I had no idea. Thank you for telling me that."

Tashikana snickered, shaking his head as they passed by the other boards.

"You're welcome. I was hoping that you could use your influence to help me impress a young woman."

"As funny as that might be, I'm not going to help you torment Yukari."

"While I know that the lovely Ms. Sendou is enamored with my manliness, I must disappoint her. The young lady I require your assistance with is at an age appropriate for my affections."

Kurumu felt even more annoyed with his cheerful optimism as they passed through the open gate. The main entrance of Yokai Academy was a short walk up a slight incline. It had been weeks since she had been through those doors.

"What poor girl has captured your interest?"

"That is part of the issue. I don't know her name. But I do know that she has a sister whom is almost identical to her in every regard. I saw the two together at our last school assembly."

Tashikana chuckled, quickening his step to reach the doors ahead of them.

"There are several sisters on campus, including the two related to Ms. Kurono. She joined the choir to be with her big sister."

"But I thought Ms. Kurono was an only child."

Kurumu smirked at the grinning third year as he opened the door.

"He's talking about Ms. Odayakana and Ms. Okimune. And I'm not related to those cousins."

Kurumu entered the main school foyer, noting that the shoe lockers had been removed, leaving a wide open genkan. Some pairs of shoes where lined up at the edge which must belong to the teachers in the lounge since none of the students would bother leaving theirs here. There was no way of getting to the open sections of the school from here due to the temporary barricades.

As Kurumu drifted over to the edge of the genkan to remove her shoes, she noticed that the two doors to the school store were both boarded up. The wall was fully repaired with a fresh coat of paint. Actually the whole chamber had been painted, making it look much cleaner. But the chamber felt empty without the grand stair or the large chandelier. There were no apparent means of getting up to the second floor.

"You'll have to tell us more about these sisters."

Kurumu smiled at Tashikana's comment as he stopped beside her to remove his shoes.

"They are very short in stature, perhaps no taller than Ms. Kurono."

"Would you say that they have a wealth of personality?"

Kurumu swatted Tashikana's arm when he made a curving gesture in front of his chest.

"Don't be a creep."

"It's important for a girl to have personality."

"I wholeheartedly agree."

Kurumu pouted as she matched Tashikana's slow pace to a door on their right which opened into the teacher's lounge. The other door for the lounge was boarded up but it looked like the bathrooms further down were accessible.

"He's talking about breasts. He isn't the first dummy to joke about breast size being personality."

"Sadly I can't claim that these girls are even close to your mature shape. If anything, they are closer to Ms. Sendou's physique."

Tashikana snickered, pausing at the door. He grinned at them.

"That rules out the Tadayo and Umou sisters. I hope that you're not one of those 'flat is justice' types."

Huang frowned, sharing in Kurumu's confusion.

"What does that mean?"

"Just some nonsense the loli appreciation degenerates like to say in defense of their pedophilia. You do seem to be interested in Ms. Sendou."

"I merely acknowledge her infatuation with me."

"Yet confess the girl that you have a crush on is similar in physique."

"I can't explain why I feel so drawn to this girl. But she is beautiful. Like an angel."

"Might this be the Akebara sisters?"

Huang shook his head vehemently as Tashikana opened the door. Huang entered the lounge first.

"No, Ms. Kurono. As a member of the kendo club, I'm quite familiar with those two."

Kurumu had forgotten about him joining the kendo club which shared the same building as the fencing club. She drifted into the lounge, mulling over other possible sisters when she stopped in surprise.

Standing in the corner of the room in front of a mahogany desk was Umizake.

Umizake Aoi was a tall young man with a tangled mess of inky black locks. He was wearing the standard black jacket and slacks of the PSC. The woman seated on the other side of the desk was Mrs. Hagimoto whom usually was in the admissions office up on the second floor. She must have been relocated here to handle her daily duties. The large woman was wearing a brown blouse with a black cardigan over it.

"I present to you our new club president."

Kurumu tore her gaze away from Umizake. Tashikana gestured at her while standing beside his advisor. Mrs. Senda Shiki was seated in a brand new chair with rich black cushions in front of a brand new white shelf supported between brand new gray partitions. A cursory glance revealed that all of the partitions, desks and chairs in the lounge had been replaced. The walls were freshly painted and the floor had new tiles. Since Mrs. Senda was in this first spot near the door, it looked like they had kept the same layout.

The teacher stood up with a grin. Mrs. Senda had been the broadcasting club president when mommy had attended Yokai. She had short, dull black hair which was cut across her brow. Rectangular glasses rested upon her freckled nose. She was wearing a long sleeved, white dress shirt and a tight black skirt which hugged her calves.

"So I've been told. I regret not attending the assembly. I heard that you were quite entertaining."

Kurumu smiled slightly, wanting desperately to talk to Umizake.

"I understand that I need to fill out some paperwork."

"That you do. And you should be hurrying to your exams. Ms. Okumura already is in the library."

"Of course. I shall leave you to this."

"One more thing. I was told this morning that the PA system will be upgraded."

Tashikana paused at the door, grinning wide.

"That's awesome. Will they be replacing everything in the broadcasting room? It got trashed."

"They will fix what they can. Now go."

Tashikana nodded, slipping out of the room.

"I heard that the winter break might get extended."

Mrs. Senda chuckled, sitting back down. She turned in her swivel chair, leaning down to pull out the drawer of a beige filing cabinet beneath the shelf.

"Nobody knows the details, Ms. Kurono. The new Headmaster will have the final say."

As the teacher rummaged through the drawers, Kurumu let her attention return to Umizake. Mrs. Hagimoto was handing the young man some paperwork, likely talking in her usual bored monotone. Most of her curly dark hair was pulled back into a messy bun though a few free strands plagued her massive brow. A tiny pair of oval glasses rested on her bulbous nose.

"Why are you still here, Mr. Huang? I thought you were going to the dorms with your sister."

"I had business with Ms. Kurono so I took a different path."

Mrs. Senda sounded an acknowledgment as she straightened up with a sheet in hand. She snatched a clear mechanical pencil off her desk, turning in her seat to present both to Kurumu.

"What kind of business would that be?"

Kurumu smirked, taking the sheet and paper.

"He wants me to ruin a girl's life."

"Ms. Kurono jests. I only asked of her to help me identify a young woman whom has caught my eye and to introduce me to her."

Kurumu smirked, stepping closer to Mrs. Senda so she could set the paper down on her shelf. Looking over the form, she noticed that it was a request to make a club.

"Is this the right form?"

"Mhm. As the new club president, you are reapplying for your club's official status. You'll need to list all of your club members and your advisor."

Kurumu laughed nervously as she started filling out her name in the club president spot.

"I can't say that I know the full names of the girls in the club. I remember that we have Yamane and the Gyozoku sisters, but I don't know any of their first names or how they spell their surnames."

"I can fill that part out for you."

"Good. Because I don't even know how to spell Tashikana's name. Is this good enough?"

Mrs. Senda took the sheet from her, glancing it over.

"I think so. I can also fill out the purpose and goals of your club if you don't object."

"I honestly have no idea what I would even write."

"Much like your mother."

Kurumu smiled softly for a moment. Then she shuddered as she felt Umizake's eyes upon her. She looked over her shoulder, glimpsing the coldness in his steel blue eyes as he approached. Something felt wrong as his eyes averted. Like he was angry. It made her greeting die before reaching her lips.

"Will you be attending Shizuka's wedding?"

Kurumu forced a smile, looking back at the teacher as Umizake strode out of the room behind her.

"Yes. Satsuki said that we could stay with Ms. Nekonome's mother."

"Silly woman. She could have mentioned that over drinks."

"You'll be there too?"

"Of course. I'm even bringing my two girls and husband whom I haven't seen since before the whole cultural festival mess."

Her smile was more genuine as she thought of Mrs. Senda's family.

"I would like to meet them."

The science teacher laughed, shooing them towards the door.

"You two probably should run along. You're going to miss half of your first period at this rate."

"Yea. Won't I need to turn that in to the new student council on Saturday?"

"I'll have Mr. Tashikana bring you a copy. Have a good day, Ms. Kurono."

Kurumu felt there was more she should talk about but she wanted to catch up with Umizake and ask how he was. She wandered out into the main room, unsure why he had felt so distant.

"About those sisters…"

Kurumu laughed, remembering this idiot was still following her. She shook her head, taking decisive steps towards the genkan to retrieve her shoes.

"I have no clue whom you are asking about. Maybe you saw the Anagume sisters? I'm sure that they'll be at the wedding I was just talking about."

"Do they have beautiful white hair that seems to have a natural glow about it?"

Kurumu frowned, slipping her feet into her loafers. The first girl that came to mind with glowing white hair was Honemoto from Moka's classroom. But that girl was one of the tallest girls in their grade.

"No. Those two are dark haired. Can you tell me anything else about these two?"

Huang nodded as they walked briskly towards the main door.

"I know it sounds silly, but it was nostalgic seeing the two. Like I had seen them somewhere before."

He paused, opening the door for her. She strolled out first.

"Like a dream of sorts. Though for some reason the two were naked."

Kurumu laughed as they made their way to the front school gate.

"That sounds more perverse than silly."

"It's the truth. I don't know why but I have this image of those two naked. The younger sister held me close and whispered sweet things to me until I fell asleep."

Kurumu staggered a step upon realizing whom these sisters were. Huang reached for her but she quickly pulled away with a shake of her head. Fussing with the strap of her schoolbag, she started down the trail to their right, walking away from the school.

"Are you okay, Ms. Kurono?"

She knew the sisters he was obsessing over. It was the Hitsuji girls. The older sister was in Kyuushutsu's class and had been mixed up in that nude utopia that fool had been running. Kurumu had never asked how the younger sister got involved.

"Please don't think poorly of me. I'm only being honest with how I feel. If you can help me find these girls, I would be in your debt."

Kurumu sighed, wondering if she should tell him or not. Somehow this fool was recalling something he should have no memory of.

"Do you have memories of other naked girls?"

"Memories? I uh… suppose there was the time we showered together."

Kurumu resisted the urge to swat the blushing boy in the back of the head.

"I should have erased your memory of that."

"Please don't take away one of the few joys in my life!"

Kurumu sighed, aware that this idiot had seen a bunch of girls in different stages of undress in the locker room that day he had swapped places with Yukari.

"The girls you are thinking about are Hitsuji Chiyu and her older sister, Ryomi. They weren't in our gym period, so there's no reason for you to have memories of those two naked."

"I can't explain it, Ms. Kurono. It's just this strange feeling I had when I saw the two sisters together."

Passing by the school boards, Kurumu realized that she was never going to catch up to Umizake. She quickened her pace, planning to blame their lateness if Huang asked.

"I'm going to see those two at their club meeting after classes tomorrow."

"Could I accompany you?"

"No. I will ask them if they want to meet you first."

She continued walking at a brisk pace, pushing her breasts to diminish their jiggle with her hand holding her schoolbag strap. It took less than a minute to reach the end of the perimeter wall where the trail started to curve south into thicker forest.

"Could you tell me more about these sisters?"

"I don't know much about them myself. They live in one of the double suites below mine. Ryomi was in Ginei's homeroom last year and is in Miyamoto's homeroom this year. Chiyu is in class ten. They went to the junior high in Uchimori and they have the power to put people to sleep."

"Do you think the Hitsuji sisters invaded my dreams?"

She knew by the blush on his face that he was thinking lewd things. Her first instinct was to deny that possibility, but she honestly was clueless what other powers those two might possess. It might explain why he had this image of them being naked.

"I wouldn't think those two would do that. They seemed like sweet girls."

"Yes, yes. Of course those two are pure, innocent angels."

The gleam in his eyes and excitement in his voice said otherwise. Nobody could possibly be that happy over proper behavior. Only guys would get thrilled with the concept of being molested in their dreams.

Her heart skipped a beat when she finally saw Umizake further down the trail. He was roughly at the point where the two trails converged.

"I need to have a chat with Mr. Umizake. Try not to say anything stupid."

She immediately kicked up into a job which Huang effortlessly matched.

"Mr. Umizake! Ms. Kurono wants a word with you!"

Kurumu sighed at this dummy's shout. But it did cause Umizake to stop in his tracks. The young man turned stiffly to confront them as they crossed the remaining distance.

"What could you possibly want?"

The curtness and ire in his voice startled Kurumu. She slowed her pace, stopping an arm's length from him. His eyes were averted and his posture was defensive. She swallowed nervously.

"I was hoping that you were okay."

"No thanks to you."

Kurumu shivered from the emotion pouring out from him. Was this hatred?

"What's wrong?"

Umizake let out a short, empty laugh.

"What's wrong? You know what's wrong."

"I'm sorry about your father."

"You should be."

Kurumu swallowed nervously. She clenched her fist, wanting to reach out to him.

"If there's anything I can do to help."

"Help? Like you helped the murderer of my father escape Yukimura?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"Umizake. None of us could have stopped him."

"Maybe not when it happened, but you should have turned that murderer in. There's no excuse for it."

"We told Mrs. Shuzen what happened. That's all we can do."

"And you think that will help? I'm well aware that Mr. Aono is some pet project of the Shuzen Estate. The likelihood of me seeing justice for my father is almost nonexistent with vampires in charge of Fairy Tale."

Kurumu was at a loss.

"What does Tsukune have to do with this?"

"Everything!"

The fierceness in his voice frightened Kurumu. She staggered back in disbelief, shaking her head. Umizake trembled with fury as he struggled to regain his composure.

"I understand that Mr. Aono loses control of himself. Going berserk is not a choice he makes. But excuses won't bring my father back."

"Mr. Aono killed your father?"

Kurumu shook her head at Huang's confusion, mustering the courage to step closer to Umizake.

"That's not what happened. Fujisaki killed your father."

"Don't blame him for Mr. Aono's crimes."

Kurumu's anger flared up at this insanity. She stepped in, wagging a finger at his scowl.

"Bullshit! Fujisaki raped Mizore and killed your father. I was there!"

"Just because he raped Mizore doesn't make him a murderer."

That statement left Kurumu reeling. Her anger dissipated as quickly as it had surfaced in this confusion.

"What the hell do you think happened?!"

"Mr. Aono went berserk after Lord Fujisaki confessed to raping Mizore. He killed my father and the snow priestess before escaping the temple."

None of this made sense.

"But you were there! You saw what really happened!"

"I was knocked out the moment Mr. Aono went berserk. And I left with my distraught mother before Mr. Aono set fire to the Fairy Tale building, murdering hundreds of Yukimura citizens."

Kurumu shook her head in disbelief. It was true that Umizake had left before Kahlua did the things he was accusing Tsukune of.

"Who the hell told you that shit?"

"Ms. Mawari Michi. She attended my father's funeral and explained everything."

Her first instinct was to accuse Ms. Mawari of tampering with his memory. But none of this made sense. Ms. Mawari had fled from Fujisaki. Why would she spread these lies?

"I understand that you have feelings for Mr. Aono. That you would justify helping him. But I can't do this. I can't live on the same floor as a guy that accidentally killed my father. I can't."

Kurumu looked up in concern.

"Are you dropping out?"

"I acquired some forms to request for a room transfer. If our parents agree, we can start living together."

The relief she felt at this statement was overwhelming. This was good for Mizore. She reached out to Umizake, grabbing his arm.

"I'm glad you still love her. But please believe me. Tsukune is innocent."

Before he could pull away, she thrust the memory of the death of his father into his consciousness. The moment Fujisaki admitted how he had always liked Umizake's father with that tone of regret before blasting the angry father into pieces. How the blood sprayed across the snow priestess and Umizake's mother. And how Umizake cried out in anger, rising to avenge his father.

Kurumu was shoved forcefully away. She stumbled over her feet, falling flat on her ass. She whimpered as she looked up at the wide eyed Umizake. He touched the spot on his arm she had been holding.

"What was that?"

"It's what happened, Umizake. It wasn't Tsukune."

Umizake staggered back a step, lifting a hand to his temple.

"How do you have such a clear memory of that?"

Kurumu felt the weight of loss upon her heart. Tears threatened the corners of her eyes.

"Because I was there. You were there."

"I don't remember. My father was angry at Lord Fujisaki when Ms. Mawari confirmed the rape. The snow priestess was crying as my father yelled at them both. And then… nothing. I was in our room inside the temple, helping my mother recover from the shock of it all."

Kurumu knew those were genuine memories. At that time, Ms. Juunan had been posing as Ms. Mawari. She could not recall if Umizake had ever been told otherwise.

"I don't know why, but it's possible that Ms. Mawari changed your memory. You said that she was at your funeral. She could have done that."

Umizake shook his head, retreating back a step.

"No. I knew that Mr. Aono killed my father before the viewing. I didn't see Ms. Mawari until the funeral. She only confirmed what I already knew."

Kurumu swallowed, thinking about how Ms. Shikaru had confronted Lord Chiki.

"She could have met you before the viewing and erased your memory of that encounter. My kind can be really scary when they want to be."

Umizake continued to shake his head. He turned his back on them, striding away.

"I have to go. Don't follow me."

Kurumu watched him retreat, feeling uneasy about this. She had no idea why Ms. Mawari would do this. Why pardon Fujisaki of one crime and not the other? Why blame everything else on Tsukune?

"Ms. Kurono?"

Kurumu managed a smile, taking the hand Huang was offering. He helped her get to her feet. Once upright, she let go of him to pat the dirt off her skirt.

"For what it is worth, I prefer your version of the truth."

"Because it is the truth."

Huang chuckled nervously, falling in step with her as they resumed walking down the trail.

"Of course. Mr. Aono would never randomly kill a bunch of innocent people."

Kurumu sighed, knowing that the claim of Tsukune going berserk would be believable to many of their classmates. It would not be the first time Tsukune had gone on a mindless killing spree.

"I need to get to the bottom of this. That means I'm going to have to check in Mr. Umizake's head to see what is going on."

"Speaking of Mr. Umizake, he did request that we not follow him."

Kurumu snorted, adjusting the strap back to the perfect place between her breasts.

"Unless you plan on walking through the woods, this is the way back to the dorms."

Embarrassed, Huang kept quiet for the rest of their walk together.

---

"If you have any questions regarding the material, I will be available in the dining hall until six."

Ms. Kuwabara was flaunting those sexy shoulders of hers in a sleeveless garnet blouse with large golden buttons. A wispy brown cardigan was draped over her shoulders to adhere to school guidelines but the seductive teacher was not fooling anyone. That long brown skirt of hers teased onlookers with the hint of womanly curves beneath that voluminous fabric.

"I hope you all have a lovely day."

Kagami was on her feet instantly, hauling her schoolbag up on her shoulder as she opened the door. The harpy ducked out into the hallway as the other students quickly put away their things.

"Before you go, I need to know what you plan to do to Mr. Umizake."

Kurumu stuffed her worksheet into her schoolbag, offering a smile at Kumiko's stern look.

"Obviously she has to fix his memory."

Kumiko turned a scowl upon Yukari whom was not even attempting to pack up.

"Using your powers on another student is against school rules."

"We can't have him attacking Tsukune over a misunderstanding."

Juri stood up, resting her schoolbag strap on her shoulder.

"But it didn't sound like this Mawari woman would actually mess with his head. He might be doing this himself. Some people do that when they can't accept the truth."

"Why he is blaming Tsukune isn't important. If he attacks Tsukune, that's not good for Tsukune or him."

Kumiko huffed, getting to her feet which prompted Yaisoku to do the same.

"Rules are rules. This isn't even a regular student you are talking about. He's a member of the PSC."

The moment Kurumu stood up she was caught in a gentle embrace from Manami. She laughed, timidly returning the gesture the best she could since the girl had hugged her side.

"I'll be fine, Manami."

Manami nodded, backing up as she released Kurumu.

"Just be careful."

"I will. Good luck with your boyfriend, Utsumi."

Utsumi blushed, grabbing Manami by the sleeve of her jacket.

"We're barely friends! Sheesh! Can't believe you told the whole class."

Kurumu giggled as Utsumi steered Manami away. Satsuki huffed, helping Nerume stand upright.

"As long as she doesn't erase his memory, it should be fine. Nobody in their right mind would believe that Aono slaughtered hundreds of people."

"You can't couch for his behavior in a berserk state."

Yaisoku nodded at Kumiko's rebuttal.

"Yea. He killed half a dozen monstrel boys earlier this year."

"Boys that aggravated the situation. He's never burned down a building with hundreds of people inside."

"There's a first time for everything, Ms. Morisato."

Kurumu sighed, watching Nerume slump against Satsuki for support.

"It was hours between the encounter with Fujisaki and the burning building. Even Umizake is going to admit to that. In what reality does Rubi, Yukari and I leave him in a berserk state for hours?"

"Don't waste your breath, Kurumu. If they want to believe that Tsukune is a mass murderer, logic won't sway them. They'll make something stupid up, like we couldn't find him, even though I have a spell that can track him. They'll just keep making excuses because they don't want to admit that they're wrong."

Kumiko grimaced at Yukari's words.

"I wasn't there, Sendou."

"And I was. Ask anyone else whom was there and they'll tell you that Umizake is full of shit."

Yaisoku placed a hand on Kumiko's shoulder but she immediately pulled away.

"If you're going to break the rules, take Ms. Nazohashi with you."

"What for?"

Kumiko scowled at Satsuki.

"Because she's a member of the PSC. I'd suggest you if you were remotely reliable."

Satsuki snorted, tugging on Nerume as she started for the door.

"Whatever. We should head to lunch."

"Food sounds nice."

"Pick up your feet, dummy."

"Can I eat with Mizore today?"

Kurumu fell in step with Juri, easily passing by the shambling duo. Kumiko and Yaisoku were almost to the door while Yukari remained seated without any interest of leaving.

"I don't see why not. The table Juri and Kana share has several open spaces."

"Yea. We have enough room even if Iko joins us."

Kurumu smirked as they exited the study room. They started down the hall to the left. Tora was with Mizore, walking towards them from the lobby.

"There you are, Ms. Nazohashi. Do you have anything planned for this evening?"

Like Satsuki and Kumiko, Tora was wearing the short sleeved jacket outfit that the girls had acquired after Lady Hineri had taken over the PSC. Tora and Mizore paused, allowing Kumiko and Yaisoku to reach them before turning to join their walk to the main lobby.

"Just studying. I might go to the student council meeting for our paper approval."

"If you can avoid your club activity, I would prefer you to watch over Ms. Kurono. She is planning to use her powers against Mr. Umizake."

Mizore perked up.

"Aoi is here?"

"Ms. Kurono bumped into him this morning."

"Why does she need to use her powers against him?"

Kurumu sighed as they entered the lobby. Manami and Utsumi were still here, waiting for an elevator. Moka was also present, leaning against the shoe lockers with her arms crossed.

"Because he seems to genuinely believe that Tsukune killed his father."

Most of their group came to a stop while Yaisoku drifted over to join the two undines. Tora frowned as Mizore shook her head.

"That's not what happened."

"So I've been told, Ms. Shirayuki. That's why I want Ms. Nazohashi to watch over this… process. It will look better if a member of the PSC is present for this assault."

"I'm not assaulting anyone."

"Kumiko."

Yaisoku gestured at them as Manami and Utsumi entered the elevator. Kumiko nodded, taking a hesitant step towards her friend.

"Will you do this, Ms. Nazohashi?"

"I'm fine with it."

"Thank you, Ms. Nazohashi. Good luck."

"I'll take your bag upstairs to my room if you have your lunch card and keys on you."

Nerume slipped her schoolbag off her shoulder, handing it over to Satsuki.

"They're in my jacket pocket."

"You coming, Morisato?"

"Naw. I'll carry my bag with me to lunch today."

"Suit yourself."

Satsuki ducked into the elevator, prompting Yaisoku to move aside to allow the door to close.

"What's this about Kurumu assaulting someone?"

Kurumu laughed, shaking her head at Moka. She drifted over to the genkan, stepping down into her shoes. Mizore did the same beside her while Tora, Nerume and Juri moved to their lockers which were next to where Moka was leaning.

"I saw Umizake this morning. He might have had his memory altered."

"Altered? By whom?"

"That's the strange part. According to him, Ms. Mawari attended his father's funeral. Short of Fujisaki kidnapping her daughter again, I can't fathom why she would make him think that Tsukune had killed his father and hundreds of others in Yukimura."

"And apparently I'm supposed to watch over Kurumu as she fixes his memory tonight."

Moka chuckled as Tora slipped on her shoes.

"I gathered that much."

"I asked Yukari to go to your club meeting with the student council. Do you think you could go with her?"

"I suppose that I could do that."

"Good. If you guys can, I'd like you to convince Ginei to print your paper tonight."

"Tonight? But we aren't handing out the papers tomorrow morning."

"I was thinking that this visit with Umizake will work out much better without Tsukune in the dorm."

Tora snorted, drifting over to the door which prompted Kurumu to head that way. Mizore followed on her heels as Juri sauntered over to Tora's side. Nerume was finally closing up her shoe locker.

"You are presuming that the new student council will approve our paper."

"When have they ever rejected a paper?"

"It's a different student council. There is also the matter of getting access to the manga club building. I'm sure that Senior has already arranged something with Mr. Hanabi. And as a third year, Mr. Hanabi might be reluctant to help us tonight when he has important exams tomorrow morning."

Kurumu sighed, turning pleading eyes upon Moka.

"Can you at least convince Tsukune to attend the student council meeting? I really don't want Tsukune in the dorm and we shouldn't leave Umizake like this for too long."

"I'll take care of it. Stop throwing your powers at me."

Kurumu frowned at Moka, faltering back a step.

"Was I?"

"Do it again and I'll make a snack out of you. Now go."

Juri giggled, holding her card up to prompt the doors to open. They shared a quick farewell, exiting the dorm. Kurumu smiled softly, falling in step with Juri and Tora. Nerume was boldly clinging to Mizore's side, trailing behind them as they started down the path cutting through the woods.

"I want to see Aoi."

"I doubt that we'll see him at lunch. He's probably keeping a low profile."

"What makes you say that?"

Kurumu shrugged at Tora.

"Just what I would do if I was pissed at someone and didn't want to see them. That's why I have to fix him as quickly as possible. He'll probably blow up at Tsukune if he hasn't already."

"Does he still want me?"

"He asked the school for permission to move in with you."

"That's not what I said, Nerume. He was at school to make a room transfer request. I don't know what that all entails but it sounded like he needed parental consent."

"How will the school know if they have parental consent or not?"

"They have forms, Tora."

"Which can be forged. It's one thing if the form is for getting a job but an entirely different thing when the form is allowing sexual behavior. It still frightens me over how close Yukari was to getting married."

"That whole matter still blows my mind. The fact that she signed it. I almost felt bad for her. She seemed so disappointed over that Huang fellow not signing it."

Kurumu smirked at Juri's comment, knowing that Yukari had been furious over Huang trying to marry her. Most of their classmates still had no clue that the two had swapped bodies.

"The point is that the school should require the parents' presence for such a serious matter."

"But his father is dead."

Tora sighed at Nerume's prompt remark.

"It's just… too young. They're too young to be married."

"It's an arranged marriage, Tora. Her mother was married as a first year."

"I'm fine with it if he wants to move in with me."

"You are not in the right state of mind. A month ago you would have refused such an arrangement."

"I was being childish."

"If they turn in forms, the school should be fine with it."

"Yea. The school can't be held responsible for forgeries."

Tora laughed at Juri's addition.

"I guess from a legal standpoint, they'd be absolved if the forgery isn't blatant."

Kurumu smiled, glancing back at the two walking so close.

"I'm glad that you came around. Both you and Satsuki weren't fond of Umizake."

"I still think he's a scary guy. But if Mizore wants him, I'll support her choice."

Mizore sighed softly, leaning her head against Nerume's.

"I want to see him."

"We can have lunch with him tomorrow. After Kurumu fixes him."

"I suppose since I'm tagging along on this adventure, I can tell him which lunch table the PSC uses."

"Thanks, Tora."

Tora shivered at Mizore's gratitude.

"On another note, are you relying on the newspaper being printed tonight or do you want to do this during their meeting with the student council? I'm only asking because I know you don't want Ms. Shirayuki to be by herself."

"It's no big deal if she's alone."

"Her condition is delicate, Ms. Morisato."

"But she was healed almost two weeks ago. She should be physically fine, right?"

"I'll go with her to her drama club meeting."

"Thanks, Nerume. Tora is right. I shouldn't count on the club being able to print the paper tonight."

"That's what I was thinking. I'll meet you at the dorm around five."

The group fell into silence, reaching the one major bend in this trail without saying a word.

"I wish we had gone to see the movie last weekend."

Kurumu laughed at Juri's random remark.

"I can't believe you spent your whole weekend in your room."

"That was yesterday. I was out with the archery club on Saturday."

"That hardly counts since you didn't leave the campus."

"Not everyone has money to burn in town. I will have to beg Miho to pay for my movie ticket."

"Do you think they have weekday showings?"

Kurumu frowned, glancing back at Nerume.

"They probably do. Why?"

"Because I didn't get to see the movie either."

"Did you get around to watching the first three?"

Nerume nodded, shuffling alongside Mizore.

"We watched them after Satsuki got back from work on Saturday night."

"I didn't realize you had the movies."

"She spent the night with Ms. Sawayaka, Ms. Morisato. Ms. Sawayaka has the three movies."

"Yea. Those movies were long. We were up until three the next morning."

Juri giggled, shaking her head.

"Ms. Unari must have been very tired for work that day."

"Yea. She works most of the weekend so I was hoping that we could watch it on a weekday instead."

"Why don't you just go with Ms. Kakeru?"

Nerume smiled softly at Juri.

"Chisa saw the movie with her boyfriend after lunch on Saturday."

"Well if Miho is up for it, we could join you."

"Unless the movie times are drastically different, you guys should be able to catch a weekday movie. If you left after lunch, you'd be in town around three. As long as the movie isn't after five, you should be able to get back to the dorms in time for dinner."

Juri snickered at Kurumu.

"I wasn't thinking about doing this today. We should wait until after exams."

"That would be wise. If you wait until next Tuesday, you'll have plenty of free time."

Nerume sighed at Tora's comment.

"I suppose that we should wait until next week."

"Did you see the movie?"

"Since someone canceled our flying session, I went with Ms. Tobuyoku and Ms. Honda that morning."

"I didn't cancel your flying session. I only said that I wasn't going to be there."

"Was it any good?"

"It was definitely worth watching. If you liked the others, you won't be disappointed."

Kurumu grinned as she saw the dining hall through the thinning forest. She quickened her pace.

"Well the first thing I'm doing is heading straight to our table."

"Why?"

Kurumu chuckled at Juri's confusion. She gave her schoolbag a shake.

"Because I have a bunch of manga volumes stuffed in my bag and I don't want to carry this with me through the lunch line."

They all shared a laugh.

---

Kurumu sucked in a deep breath, taking the last step up onto the fourth floor landing flanking Chikara. The framing about the glass door was newer than the surrounding structure, due to an angry kitsune tearing through it earlier this school year. A card reader was mounted by the frame which would release the magnetic lock. Since they lacked a first year boy's lunch card, they would have to hope one of the residents would open the door for them.

Kurumu flashed Tora a nervous smile as they came to a stop in front of the glass door. It was a little after five. The sky had darkened with some stars already making their presence known. A chilly breeze tickled her bare calves.

"Ready?"

Tora nodded, knocking firmly on the glass door. Tanboshi poked his head out of a room several doors down the corridor. The stocky young man was still wearing his school shirt and slacks while holding his Nintendo DS. He shuffled down the hall with an impassive look.

"Here's to hoping that he's actually in his room."

Tora was right. This whole thing hinged upon Umizake actually being here. But Kurumu could not imagine him being anywhere else. Like she had guessed, he had never shown up for lunch.

Tanboshi grabbed the door, pushing it open. He stood in a manner to prevent their entry.

"You have some nerve showing your face around here."

"Evening, Mr. Tanboshi."

"Evening, Ms. Nazohashi. I can't let this troublemaker pass. Not after all the grief she put poor Kamitsuku through over that twig of a girl."

Kurumu was unsure if she was supposed to laugh or be angry with that accusation. She stepped up to the bulky boy, wagging her finger.

"I don't want to hear that from you. You boys tortured him more than anything I did."

"What happens in the dorm, stays in the dorm. We don't go around embarrassing a friend in public."

"We are here to see Mr. Umizake."

Tanboshi frowned, cocking his head at Tora.

"Mr. Umizake? He's not here."

"Do you know where he is?"

"Still taking care of his mother from what I understand."

"I saw him this morning, Aku. He has to be here."

"Just like you saw Kamitsuku write those awful letters?"

"What do you want from me?"

"I'll take a titty fuck and we'll call it even."

"Mr. Tanboshi. Have you seen Mr. Umizake?"

"Nope. Are you sure it was him and not another case of mistaken identity."

"What's going on?"

Kurumu felt much relief as Kamitsuku came trotting down the hall. Considering his dorm room 425 was next to the doorway on their right, he had either been in the bathroom or had been hanging out in the same room Tanboshi had walked from. She would bet that these idiots were playing video games in Takoshine's room 418 again.

"Aku is giving me a hard time."

"It'll only be hard for a minute. Maybe two."

"Mr. Tanboshi."

Tanboshi smirked at Tora's reproachful tone. The stocky boy stepped aside, still holding the door open while clutching his DS against his broad chest.

"These two say they're here to see Mr. Umizake."

Kamitsuku frowned, stopping in front of the door to Kinusawa's room 423.

"Mr. Umizake? Is he back?"

"I swear you boys are clueless."

"He might be staying somewhere else."

Kurumu shook her head at Tora, stalking by Tanboshi into the hallway beyond.

"No. He has to be here. He wouldn't make such a fuss about living here if he had somewhere else."

"Maybe he has a hotel room."

Kurumu grimaced at how easily Tora presented an alternative.

"Can we at least check his room?"

"I suppose you can if Kamitsuku is cool with it."

"Why does my opinion matter here?"

"Because supposedly I've committed a grave sin against you and need to give titty fucks for forgiveness."

"Well I won't pass up a titty fuck."

Kurumu swatted his arm with the back of her hand.

"This is why I can't have guy friends. Come on, Tora. I know which room he is in."

Tora hurried over to join Kurumu. They walked quickly down the hall, Kurumu glancing inside Takoshine's room as they passed by it. Takoshine, Kinusawa and Machida were playing that racing game again.

The next room over belonged to Hisakata from her homeroom. Umizake was in 414 across the hall from the entrance into their bathrooms. It only took seconds to arrive at his door but before she could knock, the door to 412 opened and a familiar young man strolled out.

"Here is the guilty party."

Numasaki Fumio frowned at her, slowly closing his door.

"Ms. Kurono?"

Kurumu turned and gestured at the two boys whom had leisurely followed her.

"If you're wanting to haze the guy responsible for all those silly letters, this is the author."

"Ooo, sorry mate. Rotten timing."

Tanboshi glanced at Kamitsuku.

"Are you saying it was this guy?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"If you had bothered taking your new girlfriend out on a date over the weekend, I might have hesitated to out you for your crimes."

Numasaki waved his hands defensively with alarm in his mint eyes.

"I don't have a girlfriend."

"Did you two break up already?"

Numasaki winced at Kamitsuku's genuine question.

"It's complicated."

"Utsumi is a sweet girl. I'm not a violent man but I will throw you out your window."

"I'm going to need some explanations here."

Kurumu giggled at Tanboshi's lazy tone.

"It's not that hard to figure out. Numasaki has a cousin our age. He asked her to put his silly love letters into the shoe locker of Utsumi."

"Only his cousin didn't know which girl was which and put them in Yarimizu's locker instead."

Kurumu smiled as Kamitsuku effortlessly supported the ruse that Yarimizu had created that night at the volleyball game to protect Utsumi from the actual truth.

"And you know this Utsumi girl?"

"She's Yarimizu's best friend. Absolute sweetheart though she has a big brother complex."

Tanboshi nodded thoughtfully. He made a familiar gesture.

"How's her personality?"

"Could you not?"

"About the same as Yarimizu's."

Kurumu sighed with a slight shake of her head. These boys.

"You need to take that girl out on a date before this brute steals her away."

"I think there's no need to rush."

"At least arrange a study date with her."

Kurumu grinned at Tora's suggestion.

"Yea. Exams are coming up."

"I supposed I could do that. Now if you'll excuse me-"

"Where are you headed?"

Numasaki smiled nervously at Tanboshi whom had barred his passage.

"Just the bathroom."

"I could give you a hand."

Numasaki fidgeted, looking at Kurumu for help.

"That's right! You have Umizake in your class. Did you see him today?"

"I, uh… yes. He was in class today."

Kurumu turned a triumphant grin upon the two clueless boys.

"See! I told you that he was back at school."

"That guy always has kept to himself."

Kamitsuku nodded, waving a dismissive hand.

"Yea. I just said that I hadn't seen him. Maybe he's in a hotel."

Numasaki chuckled like he was trying to hide something. He gestured at Umizake's door.

"I don't know if he's still here, but he came straight to his room after class. If he ran off to a hotel, he must have done it while I was at lunch."

"Thanks, Numasaki. Good luck in the bathroom."

Numasaki winced, taking tentative steps around Tanboshi. Tanboshi grinned maliciously, gesturing for him to go right ahead.

"After you."

"Um… if you need to go there are plenty of stalls."

"Don't worry about me, Mr. Numasaki. I'll take care of my business."

Numasaki shuddered as he entered the bathroom. Tanboshi chuckled, holding his DS out to Kamitsuku.

"This might take a few."

Tora shook her head as Tanboshi sauntered into the restroom.

"So uncivilized."

"Yea. Boys can be so cruel to each other."

"Are girls any different?"

Kurumu smirked, knowing most of her junior high experience suggested girls were worse. She knocked on Umizake's door.

"Open up, Umizake. I've got Tora with me. We need to talk."

They waited for several seconds with only the sound of excessive water running in the bathroom. She was tempted to ask what Tanboshi was doing but Numasaki was an undine. If this hazing involved water, it would be more of a nuisance than an actual threat.

Kurumu sighed in relief upon hearing the deadbolt pull back. Umizake drew back the door, regarding her with cold, blue eyes. He was dressed down in a pair of black boxers and a faded blue tee.

"I have nothing to say to you. Evening, Ms. Nazohashi."

"Kurumu wants to show you what happened."

"I know what happened. You weren't there."

"I wasn't but everyone says you are wrong about what happened. Including Ms. Shirayuki."

Umizake flinched, glancing down at the floor.

"Kurono has been in contact with them all. She could have messed with all of their heads."

"I'm not even dating him. Why would I go through all that trouble?"

"Because you still love him. And you don't want any harm to befall him."

"I'm going to need some understanding here."

Tora turned to Kamitsuku while gesturing at Umizake.

"Mr. Umizake is under the impression that Tsukune murdered his father."

Kamitsuku chuckled with a grin. His expression changed when he met Umizake's gaze.

"Are you serious?"

"It's not a joke. Mr. Aono went berserk and killed hundreds of people in Yukimura, including my father and the snow priestess."

"That's insane."

"Yes. And now she's planning to wipe my memory of it to protect him."

"Can she really protect him if your mother knows about it?"

Umizake paused at Tora's simple question.

"Mr. Aono is protected by the Shuzen Estate."

"So you believe that the president will send someone to your home and alter your mother's memories? Isn't that what Kurumu is already trying to tell you has happened?"

Umizake touched his head, retreating back a step which opened his door further. Kurumu could see inside his room, noting that he had the school issued futon spread out in the center of the small space.

"It's normal to have spots in your memory."

"What kind of spots?"

"Moments without clarity. I can't remember what I was thinking. The context of conversations."

"Some people can block out trauma, but I've never been so blessed. I feel like I would never be able to forgive myself if I let myself forget the lives I've taken."

"I don't need to be forgiven, Ms. Nazohashi."

Kurumu stepped in, shaking her head.

"This isn't about forgiveness. This is about pain. And loss. You saw your father die. You weren't knocked out. You saw it happen. Either you are refusing to see it, or someone made you blind."

There was a heavy moment of silence.

Then the squishing sounds heralded the arrival of Numasaki. The young man shuffled out into the hall with his school clothes drenched. His head was hung low in defeat. Tanboshi stalked out a few seconds later, thoroughly soaked. He chuckled heartily, holding his hand out.

"That was fun. What did I miss?"

Kamitsuku snickered, returning the DS as Numasaki shuffled into his room.

"Get changed, moron."

Tanboshi continued to chuckle as he walked away. Tora gestured at Umizake's room.

"We should take this discussion into your room."

Umizake sighed, stepping fully aside to allow them entry. Kurumu wandered in first, noting the layout of his room was the same as Tsukune's. The small alcove was on her left and so was his closet. A black varnished writing desk was pushed against the alcove. Books were stacked on the alcove shelf while the surface of his desk had a silver laptop and portraits of his family. A square backed chair matching the desk was pushed up against it with the white cushioned seat below the desk.

Resting on the floor beside the desk was a CD tower with at least a dozen CDs stacked on top of it. His schoolbag leaned against the speaker. The rest of his belongings were presumably in the closet.

"Do you mind if I join this?"

"Yes. We should have someone watching over us."

Kurumu frowned at Tora's response to Kamitsuku.

"But you're the one watching over this."

"No. I was asked to watch over what you are doing. That means I have to see what you show him."

Kurumu frowned as Umizake closed the door behind Kamitsuku. He turned the deadbolt.

"That makes sense, though it also means that she can tamper with your memories."

"Kurumu has had plenty of opportunities to do as she pleases with me and she has never taken away the most difficult things I have experienced. You simply will have to trust that she's not smart enough to use her powers in an effective, malicious way."

Kurumu pouted as Kamitsuku chuckled.

"That's not very nice."

"But true. What exactly do you plan to show him?"

Kurumu smiled at Umizake as he took a seat beside his futon. He was sitting cross legged in boxers but she had seen him in skin tight clothing during their training sessions. This was tame in comparison.

"I was thinking to show him what I saw that day. My memories. I want to look through his, but I have no intentions of changing anything. He will have both memories when I'm done. Mine and his."

"May we sit?"

Umizake nodded at Tora, gesturing for them to do so. Tora knelt down on his right while Kurumu took a spot across the futon from them. She absently fixed the hem of her skirt which now bared her knees.

"Will I be able to see his memories?"

Kurumu bit her lip, wondering if she could do that.

"Maybe. You'd have to be able to split up your consciousness. I don't know if I can do that for you."

Tora nodded with a contemplative look.

"I suppose seeing what you show him will have to be enough."

"How long will this take?"

Kurumu smiled up at Kamitsuku and she offered a shrug.

"Unsure. I have to sift through almost three weeks of his memories to pinpoint what happened. That might take an hour."

"How much of your memories do you plan to show us?"

"I probably only need to show you that day."

"That's like hours to your weeks."

"If I need more time, I'll show you more of my memories from the trip. I should be working much faster since I'm looking for something specific."

"Sounds acceptable. I presume that we must hold hands like you did with Mr. Miyamoto and Ms. Shuzen when you taught her karate."

Kurumu grinned at Tora's remark. The sphinx had been the one protecting them during that. She gladly took Tora's right hand in her left, offering her right hand to Umizake.

"That will work. I'll take you into his head first. You need to think back to that day. It will make it much easier on me if I have a clear starting point."

Umizake sighed, taking her hand after taking Tora's.

"I'm reluctant to trust you. Effective or not, you could rewrite our history believing it will help you."

Kurumu squeezed his hand.

"You have to trust me at some point. I only want what is best for Mizore."

"Don't make me regret this."

Kurumu closed her eyes, focusing on her grip to Tora. Her mind reached out into the darkness and she was greeted by two images of Tora. She faltered for a moment but quickly realized the truth.

"Hello."

Kurumu smiled, seeing the two aspects of Tora through two different perspectives. One was the Tora she knew from school. The other was the capricious child whom had murdered several of Tora's classmates.

"So which one of you is coming with me into his memories?"

"I want to know what it's like to have big boobies!"

"No. You can go with her into his memories."

"Yuck! I don't want to be a guy!"

"Either you help me with this or I lock you out. It's not important for me to witness Kurumu's search."

"You always make me do the things you don't want to do."

Kurumu laughed, holding tight to the thin wrist of the younger Tora.

"Come with me, Toramo."

"Ugh. Don't encourage her with that name."

The imp cackled in glee as Kurumu tugged both entities with her.

"I'm Toramo. Toramo. Toramo."

Kurumu pulled the pair inside the waiting awareness of Umizake. As she had hoped, he was exactly where she had asked him to be. Entering the snow priestess's chambers and demanding to know why Tsukune was on trial. The part of her holding Tora stood up inside this memory, grabbing hold of him the moment he knelt down beside Mizore. She yanked him into her perspective. She gave him her memory.

In Umizake's perspective, he suddenly blacked out in the middle of the argument between his father and Fujisaki. When he came to, he was in the room of the temple being cared for by Fujisaki. There was no conversation. No sound. No thought. It was eerie. He blacked out again.

The next point of awareness had him looking after his mother. There were clips of clarity but most of it was devoid of context. No sound. No thought. Only actions.

Umizake was not an only child.

In the scattered bits of thoughts throughout the day, she picked up that he had one brother and two sisters. All were older than him. He had no idea what he would tell them. Ame was the only one he had seen this year. She was in her third year at Waseda University, studying to be a lawyer. She had swung by during spring break, celebrating her April birthday a few weeks early and wishing Aoi the best of luck at thawing the frigid heart of his fiancée. His memory within the memory was of such a beautiful, smiling girl with boyish cut indigo hair.

Fujisaki appeared again, discussing the moving of his father's body. Parts of the exchange were missing. It felt broken and disjointed. Like a report with parts of it being crossed out. It was not that Umizake was missing his memories. It was that he was missing all of the context.

Kurumu reached the point when he was walking to the car with his mother that night. Only he was not being accompanied by Kurumu and Tsukune. They had been replaced with the likenesses of Ms. Mawari and Fujisaki. The deviation in reality was so real. Everything she recalled doing, this image of Ms. Mawari was doing in the outfit the older succubus had worn in the snow priestess's chambers. Kurumu was genuinely amazed that a succubus could do something like this.

Umizake went through the motions that she had seen. But just as the rest of the day, there were blanks in context. She heard none of the conversation. Only moments of clarity. Holding Mizore close. Kissing her and then being scolded by Ms. Mawari into doing it again. Being told by Mizore's mother that he had to come back to celebrate Mizore's birthday.

They had all forgotten his birthday was yesterday.

Kurumu experienced an immense feeling of guilt, realizing their oversight. Umizake's birthday had been the day of the flower offering ceremony. Nobody had said a thing about it.

As Umizake drove home, he had memories of his birthday and how he had spent it with his parents. He had been told that Mizore was sick and would miss the ceremony so he did not have to be there. He felt depressed that none of his classmates had acknowledged his birthday when they had a chance. It was not like he had kept it secret from everyone.

Umizake arrived in Shitamizumi late that night. They lived in a four bedroom estate on the outskirts of town. Three of the bedrooms were upstairs. His bedroom was the only one downstairs, though it could have been an office. It was a big house. An empty house. A lonely house.

His older brother, Asatsuyu, had his own room which had been vacant ever since he had moved out to live with his fiancée. His sisters had shared the other upstairs room but Ame had been living on campus ever since her graduation in 2003. The same year Asatsuya had moved out.

Mikoto. He had not seen her in over six years. His father had turned her out after she had married that okami. He had never met his nephew, Minato, whom would be six now. How would he tell them? Did mom even have their contact information? Would they even want to come?

Friday was a blur. Mom did not have Mikoto's number so he could only reach out to Ame and Asatsuya. He had to leave the barrier around Shitamizumi to use Mom's cell phone. He left a message on Ame's phone. Asatsuya asked him to call back after work hours. His older brother worked for his wife's father in Hong Kong. Lei was her name and she was of their kind. She was an elegant, soft spoken young woman.

Like the day before, there were many moments without sound or thought. Just actions without any context. Like watching a movie without sound or captions. The moments of clarity helped but there was nothing identifying the murderer of his father.

He spoke with Asatsuya that night while sitting in the car outside of Shitamizumi. The conversation was broken and incomplete. Details about father's death were brief with no clear responses from Asatsuya. Asatsuya would come once Aoi had firm plans for the funeral. He would bring his family.

They talked about how long it had been since Asatsuya had seen his parents. The last time had been September sixth of 2004 at the airport. Almost a whole month after Setsuna's birth. Their only child. He had graduated from Hokkaido University with a business degree earlier that year.

He also asked about Aoi's engagement. Asatsuya was aware that it had been moved to winter break and was concerned if this would change things. Aoi told his brother that it would at least be pushed back to next summer, which had been the original plan.

Asatsuya was also in an arranged marriage. It was the result of Mikoto's spontaneous marriage to an okami whom had never been introduced to their parents. Lei had been found for Asatsuya that summer after he had graduated high school. Lei was only three years and two months older than Aoi.

On Saturday Aoi destroyed his room with the golf clubs Fujisaki had bought him for his eleventh birthday. To Aoi, the man was only an associate of father. The rage was broken and a jangled mess of thoughts and emotions. Fujisaki had raped his fiancée because she was carrying Aono's child.

Mrs. Shuzen visited them early Sunday morning. She had brought Father's body. What was left of it. Mother had broken down upon seeing it. Like many other conversations, much of the context was lost. Moments of clarity included Mrs. Shuzen's promise that they would have justice in the High Court. She needed their testimony. She would do all in her power to bring Fujisaki down.

He tried reaching out to Ame again, leaving another message. He called his brother again, letting him know about the body and the state their mother was in. Asatsuya told him the steps he would need to take in regards to arranging the funeral and viewing. He would have to make the calls tomorrow.

Monday. A trip to the funeral home and several phone calls outside of the barrier. Still no luck with Ame. No way of contacting Mikoto. Asatsuya suggested asking the local Fairy Tale office for help. They did have names. Mikoto and Kenta Ashigaru.

He made some arrangements with the local funeral home whom took father's body. He was hesitant to set dates for the funeral and viewing. Mom was still out of it and two of his siblings were unreachable. She would need to pay for the funeral home services.

Tuesday he paid a visit to the Fairy Tale office. Everyone offered their condolences. This was the place father had spent most of his time. They took his information about Mikoto's family and promised to reach out to the other Fairy Tale prefectural offices. They promised to find his sister.

Failing to reach Ame again, he called the University directly. After hours of back and forth with clueless staff, he learned from her residence hall that Ame was not in her dorm room and her neighbors had not seen her in months. She was supposedly living with her boyfriend, whomever that was.

The last lady he spoke with was Ame's classmate but she refused to help him. She doubted his identity and questioned his reasoning to speak with Ame. He had to admit to their father recently passing away for this lady to at least promise to have Ame contact him before hanging up on him.

Wednesday was the first time he got Mom out of the house. She paid for the services at the funeral home. They pushed for setting a date which had turned into a heated argument. He finally conceded to a Thursday viewing next week with the funeral set on the following day. That was the longest they were willing to hold his father's remains.

He passed the news to Asatsuya that night. His brother thanked him for delaying it as long as he could, promising he would book a flight for next week. He got to hear his baby niece gurgle on the phone. It had been a solitary gram of happiness in this awful week.

A young blond woman of the local Fairy Tale office stopped by on Friday morning. They had found one Ashigaru family with a Mikoto and Kenta on record whom were living in Aokigahara of the Yamanashi prefecture. Aoi requested the officer send the couple an urgent message concerning his father's passing. His message included the location of the funeral home and the dates of services.

He left another futile message in Ame's voicemail and tried calling the University again. For some reason they gave him to that unhelpful lady again. She told him to stop harassing Ame, claiming that if Ame had wanted to chat with him she would call. She hung up on him again.

It was late that night when he finally got a call from Ame on an unfamiliar number. His sister was frantic, asking if Dad was actually dead. He was so frustrated and unloaded upon her. Why did it take a whole week to answer her phone? Where had she been all this time? How she was lucky he was in this fucking car in the middle of a cold December night, avoiding being at home with their despondent mother.

Ame rambled out apologies, trying to explain her situation. Masahiro, a former boyfriend, was stalking her these last six weeks. She had been living with him since May but was now staying with a friend off campus, explaining why her neighbors had not seen her outside of shared classes. She was presently in a bar with her friends. Reina had just told her about him trying to contact her. Reina had suspected that he was one of Masahiro's friends.

His emotions retreated into a sea of apathy as he told her not to fret over this. He told her to enjoy her time with her friends. They would have the services without her. He hung up on her without giving her any details of the funeral. She tried calling back but he let it go to voicemail.

He stayed inside the barrier the whole weekend, not bothering to contact his siblings. Mom was doing better so he spent most of his time with her. There were still many spots of broken clarity. Memories without emotions, sound or thoughts. Tsukune only crossed his mind in context of being the true father to Mizore's baby. Aoi was angry about that.

It was after taking Mom out to lunch on Monday when he finally left the barrier to check his mother's phone. There were dozens of messages from Ame and two from Asatsuya. The messages from Asatsuya were brief and informative. When his flights were and where he would be staying. He wanted Aoi to call him back and confirm that everything was okay and if he had any luck contacting their siblings.

Ame. Those messages made him question if he was good person. The tomboy he had grown up with had broken down. Each message had become more desperate. Begging for forgiveness. Some were nothing but her crying. She pleaded for him to call her back. He honestly had nothing he wanted to say.

He called her first, asking if this was a good time. Ame immediately started bawling so he hung up. When she called him back with tearful apologies, he begged her to stop since he could not talk to her if she carried on like that. Once she calmed down, he gave her the details about the funeral and asked what she planned to do. She admitted she had already requested time off from school. He asked if skipping school would be okay and she reminded him that Dad died. Their teachers would let them grieve.

He told her about Asatsuya's travel plans which made Ame worry about Mom. He tried to reassure her that things were okay but she insisted that one of them had to watch over Mom. At least for a month or two. Aoi offered to do it himself. Ame reminded him that he has a fiancée to look after. She had nobody.

Ame promised to get on the first train to Hokkaido. She would leave him a message when she boarded the train with her expected arrival time. He promised to pick her up at the station in Kitami.

With that finished, he called his brother and shared the news about Ame and Mikoto. His brother was glad that Ame would come but was unsure if she should skip her winter exams. Aoi asked if he should stay behind instead which had Asatsuya conclude that they should discuss this after the funeral.

Not much happened on Tuesday. The breaks of sound and thought persisted. Aoi called his sister around five since he had not seen a message from her. She admitted she had to smooth some things over with the University but was on her way. Her train would leave at eight and she would be at Kitami station by five. It was almost a whole day trip with a six hour layover in Aomori so he better be nice to her.

And then it finally happened on Wednesday.

On the way back home after lunch with his mother, they had a serious discussion about how he needed to handle himself when he returned to Yokai Academy. He was not to interact with Aono and to let the High Court handle this matter. He seethed as he drove his mother home, doubting that Mrs. Shuzen would bring Tsukune to justice. She had only been interested in dealing with her political rival.

The memory of the lunch had been devoid of thoughts and sound just like so many other memories had been. She had seen no signs of Ms. Mawari. It had been a normal lunch at Mom's favorite restaurant. They knew all of the waitresses. But the moment he got into the car, he had been filled with anger.

The restaurant was the point of contact but had nothing useful for Kurumu. No suspects. It was as she had feared. The succubus had walked in, changed their memories and walked out. The time on the car revealed he had spent an extra hour in the restaurant but Umizake had thought nothing of it.

"Aoi!"

Ame waved, walking off the train while pulling her black luggage on its rollers behind her. Three and a half years ago, Aoi had been the same height as her spunky sister. One hundred seventy centimeters. On her last visit, Ame had joked about how she had become his little sister. She had expressive, blue eyes and her hair was just as boyish as Aoi remembered.

"Mom was much better at lunch. You might not need to stay."

"Nonsense. Let's go to the car. It is too cold to chat out here."

Kurumu stuffed her hands back into her coat pockets, feeling for the keys to the car. It was not a long walk from the station to the parking lot.

"How was the trip?"

"Awful. I haven't slept yesterday."

"I thought you had a six hour layover."

"A young woman can't sleep in a train station. Have some sense."

Aoi pushed the fab in her pocket, causing the trunk of their silver sedan to pop up. She wandered over to the back, pushing the trunk the rest of the way up and gesturing for the luggage.

"Is Asa coming over tonight?"

Aoi shook his head, taking the luggage from his sister and stowing it away. Kurumu closed up the trunk, pulling the keys out of her pocket as she wandered over to the driver's door.

"No. His flight won't land until tomorrow morning. They're staying in that hotel."

Ame laughed when Kurumu pointed at the tall building across the street from the train station.

"Seriously? What's wrong with his room?"

Aoi smiled thinly, pressing the button to unlock the car doors. Ame promptly opened the passenger side door, slipping inside. Kurumu opened the driver's door, settling down behind the wheel.

"I didn't question his decision to not sleep in the house."

"Well I'm staying in my room."

Aoi closed the door, pushing the key into the ignition and turning the car on. He put the car in reverse and eased back to clear the cars parked beside them. Shifting the car back to drive, Kurumu coasted to the end of the lot, turning onto a one way road which ended at highway 39. She turned right.

"How are things going with your girlfriend?"

"Better than yours. Whom was this Masahiro guy?"

Ame sighed, leaning back in her seat.

"Some guy that worked in a coffee shop that I frequented."

"And you moved in with him?"

"Not right away. We actually were dating last summer. I've known him since May of last year."

"Did you tell Mom and Dad?"

"Fuck no. I saw what Dad did with Mikoto."

"That was different. She married an okami without saying anything to anyone."

"I knew that she had a boyfriend."

"And you didn't tell anyone?"

Ame huffed at his tone.

"Mom also knew. We just didn't know that Kenta was an okami. We both thought he was human."

Kurumu was surprised that Mom and Ame had known about Kenta. Aoi had some memories of that time but most of his vivid emotions were about her new arranged marriage to some snow girl she had never met. Mikoto was so much older than Aoi. A few months more than a decade. The only thing she recalled about Mikoto was all of the fighting she did with Dad.

"Was this Masahiro guy human?"

"Does it matter?"

"Dad wouldn't have been upset over a human guy."

"It doesn't matter. Dad is gone and so is that jerk."

"Did he find out what you are?"

Ame groaned, scooting away from Aoi.

"We lived together for five months. What do you think?"

Kurumu glanced over her sister, thinking how this strange coffee shop guy had violated Ame. She felt a mixture of anger and jealousy.

"I think you need to inform Fairy Tale if he had a problem with the truth."

"I don't want him dead. Just to leave me alone."

"Did he break up with you because of your true form?"

"That was part of it."

"Does he have evidence?"

"No, thank God. He threatened to get some which is why that prick has been stalking me. The campus police already know to bounce him if he sets foot on school grounds. That helps me attend class with some measure of safety. He's already been arrested once for trespassing."

"Has he been trying to turn your friends against you?"

"Yea but nobody believes him. I'm staying with Momo until this whole thing blows over. He never met her and has no clue where she lives."

"I still think you should take this matter to Fairy Tale."

"I just told you-"

Aoi seethed in fury, thinking about Fujisaki and Aono. This stalker guy was just as bad.

"He wants you dead, Ame. Don't you understand that? He wants to expose you so that other humans will kill you."

"No. It's not like that."

"What other reason is there for him to threaten you with that?"

There was a heavy silence as the car left the town. The darkness of the countryside closed in.

"Can we not talk about this?"

"Nothing else needs to be said."

"You still haven't told me about your girlfriend."

Knowing Aono was the father of the child infuriated Aoi. But that baby would be hers.

"She's pregnant."

"Pregnant?!"

"Yes. I found out on my birthday."

Ame laughed pleasantly, punching Kurumu's arm.

"Look at you. I knew you could bring that girl around if you tried."

"Lord Fujisaki raped her when he found out."

"What?!"

"Yea. Mizore was joking about the father being someone else. Lord Fujisaki had this weird idea that if he raped my fiancée that he would make her miscarry."

"Okay that's pretty crazy but why would your girl joke about that?"

"That's just a thing that she does to make this other friend of hers squirm. Nobody ever takes her seriously but Lord Fujisaki didn't know her well enough."

"Is the kid yours?"

"Yes. Aono said he never had sex with her."

"Of course he would say that."

"It doesn't matter, Ame. Aono lost control and killed Dad. Part of me thinks he did it to get his hands on Lord Fujisaki. No. I'm actually sure that's what it was. He also killed the snow priestess because she told Lord Fujisaki to rape Mizore."

Ame nodded slowly, letting out a lazy whistle.

"Okay. That's pretty fucked up."

"Mrs. Shuzen stopped by with Dad's body, promising that the High Court would handle this."

"Does Asa know?"

Aoi paused, trying to recall if he had spoken to Asatsuya about this. They had talked several times but he could not recall if this had come up. There were so many moments where she had no idea what they had talked about at all.

"This isn't something to say over the phone."

"Makes sense. Where's your girl now?"

"She went back to school. With Aono."

"With Aono? Was anybody arrested?"

"No. But that baby is mine, Ame. I'll tell brother and Mikoto the same thing. If she shows up."

"Well your girl better marry you. Is that still happening over winter break?"

"Obviously not. I'm thinking we put things back to next summer like originally planned."

"Won't she be super pregnant then?"

"Maybe next winter break then. She was never in a hurry to get married."

"Tell me that you at least had sex with this girl."

Aoi smiled softly, recalling a conversation they had after Ame's high school graduation.

"Why? Are you offering to take my virginity again?"

Ame huffed, turning her nose up.

"That offer was only good while I still had mine."

They shared a laugh, driving through the night in silence for almost a whole minute.

"She's wasted on you."

"You can tell her that at our wedding."

"No way. I'll tell her to take super good care of you."

Thinking she had spent enough time in this moment, Kurumu pushed to the end of the drive. Aoi woke Mom up from her nap so that she could have a chat with Ame. It was about an hour of catching up with Ame confessing her relationship problems. After Ame finally crashed out, Mom shared a few words with Aoi before turning in. She agreed that Fairy Tale should handle that mess.

It was a good night of sleep followed by Ame proving she had zero kitchen skills the next morning. Aoi teased her over her cooking being the reason her boyfriend dumped her. She confessed that there was a long list of things Masahiro had grown tired of, including her laziness and her being a complete slob.

They had met Asatsuya's family at Mom's favorite restaurant for lunch. He pulled Asatsuya aside, telling him about Aono and Fujisaki. Asatsuya was confused and was under the impression that Fujisaki was both a rapist and a murderer. Umizake corrected the misunderstanding and explained the situation with his pregnant fiancée. His brother would support him whether he decided to marry the girl or not.

The viewing was held Thursday night. More than half of the people in attendance were part of Fairy Tale. Since Dad's body was not something to be looked upon, it was an empty casket with a picture of him in his Fairy Tale uniform. The whole process was nothing but an empty gesture. Most of these people had already offered their condolences.

"Is that you, Ame?"

Aoi paused next to their silver sedan in the parking lot outside of the funeral home. Ame was on the other side of the car. They both looked at the speaker.

It was a woman whom was standing with two kids. A thin little girl with pigtails was clinging to her thigh while a chubby boy held her right hand. All three were wearing black coats. The woman had wavy, indigo locks which were pinned up in a ball to the back left side of her head. Standing slightly off to the side of them was a burly, grizzled man. His dark hair was a shaggy mess.

"Mikoto?"

The woman smiled at Ame, letting go of the boy's hand.

"I'm sorry that we're late. Renting a car is impossible for us and taking a cab to a place that doesn't exist can be complicated."

The burly man placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, pushing him forward. He flashed a snaggletooth grin as he steered the boy towards the sedan.

"Umizake Ame. I never did have the pleasure of meeting you. I'm Ashigaru Kenta and this is my boy, Minato. The little one wrapped about her mum's leg is Midori."

Mikoto laughed, petting her daughter's head.

"She's only three and very shy."

Ame hopped over to the father, bowing her head slightly.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Mr. Ashigaru. That's our brother, Aoi. Mother and big brother are still inside."

Aoi snapped out of the surprise of discovering that he had a second niece.

"Yea. Mom wanted me to warm the car up first."

"My lord, Aoi. You got so tall."

Ame laughed at Mikoto's comment, turning and gesturing at him.

"Yea. He's actually taller than Asa."

Mikoto shuffled over to the car with her daughter clinging to her.

"Thank you, Aoi. Thank you for reaching out to us."

"Yea. I was thinking you wouldn't come."

The burly guy chuckled, betraying his snaggletooth grin.

"Couldn't come was more likely. This was quite the expensive trip."

"They don't need to know that."

"I can't work and watch these two on my own so we needed to scrounge up the money for three tickets. But since we couldn't afford three round trips, I figured we may as well make it four one way."

"You can't go back home?"

"Unfortunately not. I was hoping that Mom might need my help."

"Well that works out in our favor."

Aoi frowned at Ame's declaration.

"What does?"

"Mikoto looking after Mom. Since you're so obsessed with me going back to school."

"It's our exams. And we don't know if Mom wants to take Mikoto's family in."

"It's not like Kenta quit his job. We might need to borrow some money to ship him back home but I can stay here with the kids until Mom is okay."

"That's not a bad arrangement, Aoi."

Aoi sighed, doubting her opinion mattered. Kurumu opened the car door, leaning in to push the key into the ignition. He started up the car, turning on the heater.

"That's up to Mom. Don't expect Asatsuya to be fine with this."

"I bet that boy ended up in an office."

Aoi straightened up, regarding Kenta's feral grin.

"Yes. In Hong Kong."

"Hong Kong?"

"And he's married to a lovely girl younger than me. Come inside with me."

Ame gestured for the family to follow. Mikoto nodded at Aoi before departing.

"Go with your mother."

Minato scurried to his mother's side as Aoi's two sisters ascended the steps preceding the funeral home. In moments the two of them were alone in the chilly parking lot.

"Why didn't you go inside?"

"That's family stuff. I have no right."

Kurumu knew so little about this man before her. Only what his parents had told him.

"How much older than my sister are you?"

Kenta chuckled, favoring him that feral grin.

"Seven years, seven months and seven days. The luck of the Gods."

"Why did you marry my sister?"

"Have you seen your sister? She's gorgeous."

Aoi rolled his eyes, not caring for that answer. This man had taken their sister away.

"She quit college for you."

"It was a waste of her time. She was barely passing her classes."

"Why did you move so far away? Her home was here. Her family was here."

"Her idea, boy. Not mine. Most of my family is in Sougen. I wanted to stay. But she was tired of fighting with her parents."

"The only fighting she did with Dad was before you."

Kenta snickered, shaking his head.

"You are clueless. Midori was born in Sougen. We didn't move to Aokigahara until it was clear that your dad wanted nothing to do with us. I have extended family there. Good folks."

"My father was a good man."

"He was the Region Commander of Hokkaido. I understood it. Your sister understood it. It shouldn't be that hard for you to understand it. If your father had been… less important. Maybe things would have turned out differently. Having a daughter with monstrel kids was a disgrace for a man in his position."

"Kenta."

Kenta turned a feral grin upon Asatsuya. Kurumu's older brother walked at a steady pace from the funeral home to confront their sister's husband.

"Asatsuya! Heard you got yourself a pretty wife."

Asatsuya smirked, stopping short of the burly man. Kenta was slightly shorter but it was not nearly so obvious with how stout Kenta was.

"I guess that is one thing we have in common."

"Nice one. When did you run off to Hong Kong?"

"Over a year ago. When did you move from Hokkaido? Aoi had a devil of a time finding you two."

"Summer of 2002."

"I tried looking you guys up when I moved in with my fiancée."

"When did you get married?"

"July eleventh, 2003."

"Guess you had a short engagement like us."

"Actually no. I didn't want to tell Mikoto that I got engaged to a girl five years younger than me."

"Sly dog."

"You're the only dog here."

"Are you two friends?"

Asatsuya snorted and Kenta chuckled.

"I was going to school in Sapporo. Occasionally I would visit Mikoto in Sougen."

"Occasionally being the correct word. Sounds like it took you months to realize that we were gone."

"It's not like I wanted to be around you. And that third year of college was horrible."

"Yea, yea. Do you want to get drinks or do you need permission from your wife."

"After the funeral, Kenta. We can get soused after the funeral."

The next day was the funeral. She was looking for one person in particular. Sure enough, Ms. Mawari had attended the service. The succubus stood out from the crowd, wearing a pristine white suit, blouse and white slacks. She offered condolences to his mother and the family.

Aoi's attention often drifted to her presence, having little to do with sexual interest. He wanted to ask her questions. But he was caught up in the funeral procedure. The ashes and the urn. All of this had to be handled before he could speak with the lady in white. He had to chase her down as she made her way to her car after the service was over.

"Ms. Mawari."

The succubus paused, turning to regard him.

"Mr. Umizake."

"What will happen to Lord Fujisaki?"

"Are you seeking justice?"

"Of course I want justice. He should not get away with what he did."

"Rape is not a serious crime in our world, Mr. Umizake."

"And what about Aono?"

"I only came to offer condolences for your father. It sounds like you don't want that."

"Accident or not, these things can't go unpunished."

Ms. Mawari sighed, relaxing her shoulders.

"Hundreds of people died in Yukimura. Do you think Mr. Aono's life will pay for that?"

"Hundreds? What are you talking about?"

"The Fairy Tale building in Yukimura was burned down. Hundreds of lives lost. Do you honestly believe that killing one young man will make that better?"

"But we can't do nothing."

"I'm not asking you to do nothing. I'm asking you to forgive."

Aoi laughed in disbelief.

"Forgive? Are you serious?"

"Forgiveness is for your sake, Mr. Umizake. Don't harm, Mr. Aono. And don't chase after Lord Fujisaki. This is for your sake."

And Kurumu shuddered when those eyes looked directly into her consciousness.

"And he won't remember this. I don't know if this will be Ms. Kurono or another one of my sisters. But this message is for you."

The world faded to black, leaving only this image of Ms. Mawari in white attire.

"I tried to do as Mrs. Shuzen asked. I wanted to play along. For Issa's sake. But when I went to Yukimura to cover the mistakes of her daughter, an agent of the devil was waiting."

And Kurumu knew. Though this looked like Ms. Mawari, the person whom had left her this message was Suukei Miryou.

"The snow priestess was dead. I was given new orders. I covered Ms. Kahlua's sins, offering Mr. Aono as the sacrifice. The people of Yukimura cry out for his blood. For justice. How lost the flock is. None desire mercy until it is for themselves."

Kurumu wanted to call out to this woman. But this was a memory. There was no reaching her.

"Ms. Kurono. My sisters. Run from this evil. Your wings aren't broken like mine. Fly far, far away. I will leave my fate in God's hands. Judgment day is coming."

Kurumu snapped out of the darkness, losing her hold on Umizake's mind. She staggered back, squeezing the hands in hers. She was once again in his room. Her throat felt dry, making it difficult to swallow.

"You okay?"

Kurumu shivered, glancing up at Kamitsuku. He was leaning against the closed door.

"Yea. How long was I out?"

"Over an hour. Fifteen, twenty minutes past. Give or take."

Kurumu nodded, letting go of Umizake's hand. He remained still with his eyes closed. Tora was staring at the floor with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Tora. Are you okay?"

The sphinx glanced up at her. She licked her lips and sniffled. Tora let go of Umizake's hand, rubbing the back of her hand against her eyes.

"No. I miss my real father. And that woman in his head. I'm scared."

Kurumu shivered, feeling the same way. The message from Suukei terrified her.

"Is he going to be okay?"

"Yea. He might need another moment or two to recover. It was his head we were in."

"What should we do?"

Kurumu had no answers for Tora. Her efforts tonight would hopefully fix Umizake but there was a whole world outside of Mononoke being misled. Those problems were beyond her control.

"One thing at a time, Tora. One thing at a time."