Mate of Fate
Chapter 4: Settling in and the Rest
Now that Nicholas was in the Newspaper club and his idea had been given the approval needed, things were really starting to take off and go at a nice pace. A good thing to because with this being the last school year for Kurumu, her friends, Nicholas, and his friends, the testing was going to get harder and even though it wasn't the midterms yet, the scores so far had been posted on a bulletin board outside the academy so that all the third year students could see how they were doing so far and for a number it wasn't good. "No; I'm not looking!" one of the students stated.
Originally there had been 256 in this class but with the addition of Nicolas and his friends there were now a few more. Still it wasn't hard for him to find his name. Kurumu was standing next to him. "Not bad for me I guess," the male with long hair said.
"You certainly got higher than Tsukune," the succubus commented.
"Meh, it's not a competition." The long-haired male continued to look. "Seems Moka scored very high, 13th. And looks like Yukari scored the highest. No surprise there."
"It's just like you said my friend," went a new voice. Nicholas got a smile.
"So you've also decided to show up."
He and Kurumu turned and saw who had spoken. The speaker was a male who was even taller than Nicholas. Looking showed he had his one stud on each ear, was wearing a choker around his neck, and had spiked grey hair that was wild. His eye color was brown and looked powerful but a bit of a delinquent at the same time. Even so, this guy was getting quiet the admiring looks from many of the females here. "Hatsuharu," Nicholas replied and the two bumped fists.
"Well at least I see my studying isn't for nothing," the new person stated after finding his name as one of the top.
"Yeah you were one of the best out of us eight when it came to things like this."
The new guy then noticed Kurumu and Nicholas took notice. "Oh yeah, I'd like you to meet Kurumu; she's in some of my classes and the club I'm in."
"Charmed," Hatsuharu replied and he and the succubus did a small bow to greet. She was surprised that the guy seemed polite and even sounded wiser than he looked.
"Is this one of the new students who also came with you?" she asked the long-haired male.
"Yeah, he is. And he's a great guy."
"Let's see so that's…" Here Kurumu counted on her fingers really quickly. "So I've met four so far. Which leaves how many left?"
"There were eight of us in total if you count me."
"Will I meet them all?"
"Most likely," Nicholas replied.
"We're all one big group and have known each other for a long time," Hatsuharu added.
Kurumu figured at least the remaining three she had yet to meet would be those that would stick out. There was something about Nicholas and the rest who just had that ability. It was probably due to their looks and something more. But until then, she would keep an eye out for them. And now there were even bigger things to think about. "God I'm never going to remember this!" Michael exclaimed at one point during a break a bit later.
He, Nicholas, Mizore, and Kurumu were outside and were by a tree with the dead look as was the case with all of those things here. The male with spikey white hair was looking at some notes on a subject that was coming up for another test that was already approaching. "You're not the only one complaining," Nicholas replied. "I think we might have to form study groups despite passing the first thing."
"Hey, not a bad idea," Kurumu replied and then got a funny look as a bad memory crossed her mind. "I don't want a repeat like my first year…" By that, the succubus meant during her very first semester and had summer school. The only reason she had gotten out of that somewhat was due to being in the newspaper club.
"Well then, sounds like you maybe could do with some help then," went a different male voice.
Everyone jumped and looked up to see in a tree branch by them and someone sitting there on one of them. "What the hell are you doing up there?" Nicholas snapped with annoyance.
"Just hanging out," the figure replied and jumped down from his perch and landing neatly.
Kurumu got a good look at this person. He had yellow golden colored eyes and his hair had red with streaks of grey in it. Like Nicholas and the rest of his friends, this guy also naturally had the ability to stand out due to his looks. "Hey don't be like that to Ayame," Michael said to Nicholas. "You know how he gets."
"Yeah and you know how it sometimes get on my damn nerve," the said male grumbled.
"Aw come on, I'm not that bad!" Ayame stated with a grin, throwing and arm around the guy with long hair. The new guy then noticed Kurumu and Mizore.
"Another friend who came with you guys?" the succubus asked.
"Yeah, this is Ayame," Nicholas replied.
"A pleasure to meet you," the third male stated with a grin and put on a small bow of respect. "I've heard of you two from these guys."
Kurumu and Mizore gave Nicholas and Michael a look. The former shrugged. "Don't blame us, sometimes the rest of our friends ask a bit too many questions," he stated. "There wasn't much to tell."
The succubus and second female then turned to Ayame and introduced themselves. "Well I'm sure we'll see each other quite a bit," the guy with red hair said. "Well I would chat some more but I've got some other business. Later."
The small group watched him walk away. "Guess he's not bad," Mizore said.
"Sometimes he's overbearing and gets on my nerves," Nicholas commented. "But yeah, he's a loyal, good friend."
Kurumu in her head just counted. That meant there were two others left to meet that had come with the long-haired male. But she then smiled at Nicholas. "Well let's not worry about him; we've got other things to worry about," the succubus stated.
"Yeah," he replied. "Now, where were we?"
Luckily the studying began not long after that. And with the newspaper club, things were moving along just fine. Nicholas however was busy with another thing but he made no mention of it yet. However at one point during the newspaper club time while the group was busy Kurumu who was working next to Nicholas heard him humming. "Hey do you sing at all?" she then asked, because the succubus herself could sing to and was confident as well.
"Ah, you caught me doing so huh?" Nicholas replied. Before he could continue someone came into the room and a bit out of breath as if they had just ran to get here.
"Sorry, I'm late," the stated.
The long-haired male and the rest looked to see who it was. It was Moka's younger sister Kokoa. Nicholas didn't know this yet and was surprised that there was a member he hadn't met yet. "Who's this?" the guy asked Kurumu.
"Moka's younger sister," the succubus replied.
"Wait, I didn't know she had a sister."
Kokoa then noticed him. "Who's this?" she asked her sister but by the tone it was a bit of looking down at Nicholas and being a bit smug and snobby.
"A new member," Moka replied with her smile.
Kokoa didn't even give Nicholas a second glance and took a seat. But the long-haired male frowned with slight anger in his eyes. "Is she always like this?" he whispered to Kurumu. Just then the male's phone went off and the guy brought it out. Nicholas answered it with the rest looking on. Even Kokoa glanced but pretended not to.
"Yeah?" the male answered. He paused and listened. "One moment." Nicholas held the phone to his chest so he could talk to the rest.
"Sorry but I have a bit of urgent business," the male with glasses stated. "I'll make up the work missed if I can't make it back in time." He then left in a hurry.
"Wonder what that's about?" Fang Fang asked. He was here and also a member.
"Who knows?" Yukari replied. "But he's been reliable and hard working so far, so I think it's okay if Nicholas takes care of what needs to be done."
"Just as long as it doesn't become a bad hobbit," Kokoa stated with a frown.
Nicholas in the meantime had his phone up to his ear outside the door. "So what is it?" he asked. The guy paused and heard the reply. "Really? I see." There was another pause. "Well all the same keep an eye out." The person on the other end spoke. "Yeah hopefully this time things won't be a problem. If they are, we'll just deal with it. Talk to you soon."
Nicholas hung up the phone and returned to where the others were. "What was it?" Kurumu asked.
"Oh, nothing to be worried about," the long-haired male replied.
With the club now in full swing for Nicholas, Kurumu, and the rest, the days began to go by quickly. Luckily the studying went very well and thanks to that everyone passed the next tests. And thanks to that they knew when the semester one before summer would happen, the group would know what to do to pass and be free for summer. "That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Michael stated after he, Nicholas, Kurumu, and Mizore had finished checking the scores.
"Well we did have others to help," the long-haired male replied. "But I imagine it's only going to get harder."
"How could it get much harder?" the succubus asked him.
"It usually does with stuff like this to see what we're made of," Nicholas answered. "But I know we'll all graduate and pass any test just fine."
"He's right, I've got a good feeling about this," Michael commented.
"You always were like that; no surprise there Michael," went a new voice.
The group of four turned to look that there were two others here. One had tanned skin and teal colored hair that spiked out in the back. His eyes were dark, almost black in color, and carried warmth and fun in them. The other was even darker in the tan by a few shades. However his hair was blue, a dark blue, and had eyes to match. The bangs for him fell onto the right side of his face so only the left eye was exposed. While both were wearing the standard male uniform, the other difference was that the first appeared to be full of light and laughter, the second appeared to be bored and unemotional with what was going on. Kurumu knew in an instant these two were the last of Nicholas's friends. "I was wondering when you two would show up," the long-haired male stated with a grin.
The one with teal hair grinned. "It took a bit to get Takeshi out of bed," he said,
"Feh, you know how I am about mornings Kabu," the blue haired male grumbled.
The two new ones then turned their attention to Kurumu and Mizore. "Oh hey there, I don't think we've met," Kabu stated with a grin.
"I suppose it's nice to meet you," Takeshi replied with a frown.
"Hey, be nicer," Nicholas told him a bit sternly.
The succubus and Yuki-Onna looked at Michael. "Don't mind him," the guy with white hair replied. "Part of his job it be a grumpy complaining bastard."
"Whatever," Takeshi stated after let out a humph. This made the other guys chuckle.
"Well I am Kabu, it's certainly a pleasure to meet you two," the male with teal hair said and did a small bow of respect to the females.
"So are you one of the new students who have come with Nicholas?" Kurumu asked.
"We are." The succubus did a quick calculation in her head.
"Seems I've met them all now," she told Nicholas.
"Yeah that's all of them who came with me," he replied with a grin. "And the best group of friends I could ask for. Well that is until I met you and yours."
"You consider us friends?" Mizore asked.
"Yeah and that goes for me to!" Michael stated with a grin, giving the Yuki-Onna a friendly tap with his elbow on her left arm. This caught her a little off guard but then actually gave a small smile. This made the female confused but Mizore didn't have much to dwell on that because Nicholas then spoke up.
"Well then, how about the rest of your friends meet mine at some point?" he said. "It seems only fair I think."
"Sounds like a blast!" Kabu replied.
"Guess I may as well do so," Takeshi replied with a sigh.
So the two males who had already eaten lunch with Tsukune and those guys asked and talked about it. He and the rest were for it. Nicholas then contacted the rest of his friends and it was decided upon. Since it would be such a large group, Nicholas, Kurumu, Tsukune, and Moka arrived first to pull in some extra chairs and tables together at the location. "There I think that should be good enough," the male with long brown hair said when that was finished.
"Not a moment too soon, look who's coming," the female vampire stated while looking up and pointing.
"That was fast," Kurumu commented seeing everyone coming.
The two groups were now here and introductions were done. It turned out that there was at least one person someone else could relate to. Nicholas was pleased by this from just observing and smiled to see the connections and bonds being formed. "So… a success?" Kurumu asked the long-haired male since she was sitting next to him.
"Yeah," he replied. "I think this could be the start of something new for all of us."
"Yeah. I think you're right." The group continued to eat and talk. It was a wonderful time and now that they all knew each other, the bonds and friendships could begin to form. However things would get even more fun very soon. And nobody at this time would realize just how needed these friendships and bonds would come in handy and be needed in the future.