"Good job, Ms. Umigame."

Ms. Kuwabara smiled brightly as the stocky girl sat down upon completion of her reading. The teacher had on a chocolate frock with puffy short sleeves and a notched neckline. Vibrant carnation pink curls spilled down her shoulders, reaching the middle of her back. Her frock was crimped about her thin waist, transitioning into pleats which came down to her ankles.

"That concludes my lecture today. With exams coming soon, I am inviting all of my students to visit me with any questions you might have concerning the vocabulary."

"Visit you? Like in the teachers' lounge?"

Ms. Kuwabara laughed at Madosuki's confused expression.

"Of course not. That would be quite troublesome. I shall be available in the dining hall until five for these next two weeks. I hope you all make good use of the rest of your day."

The woman tucked her portfolio beneath her arm and started for the door which Kagami had left open after her prompt departure. Nomura paused, allowing Ms. Kuwabara to leave before her.

"Comparing her English lecture to Mr. Nagamushi's is like night and day."

Kurumu smirked at Juri as they both stuffed their worksheets into their schoolbags.

"I know. Even if he offered to help out, he'd probably insist on saying everything in English."

"Do you think we can request homeroom teachers?"

Juri giggled at Satsuki's query.

"I doubt they would allow that."

"I'm being serious. Does anyone know whom the other second year English instructors are?"

Kurumu paused for a moment, trying to recall the names as she closed up her schoolbag.

"That would be Mrs. Unsei and Mr. Kamihara. I have no idea if either of them prefer the immersion crap Mr. Nagamushi is so fond of."

"I know that my grade will improve under Ms. Kuwabara. Maybe my Aunt can pull some strings for me."

"Put in a word for me."

Kurumu grinned at Juri's remark, getting up on her feet. She hauled her schoolbag up over her head, guiding the strap to rest in the valley between her breasts.

"Me too. What do you think, Nerume?"

Nerume covered a yawn as she staggered upright, using the wall for support.

"Think I'm hungry."

"We should put our things away quickly and have a light lunch."

Kurumu frowned at Kumiko's declaration.

"It's not like we need to get there early."

Satsuki huffed, draping an arm around Nerume as the girl stumbled against her side.

"Or needs to come with."

"Nonsense. She's requesting the assistance of two members of the PSC to investigate a matter for Mr. Morioka. I need to be certain that something sketchy is not transpiring."

"It's newspaper club nonsense."

"Which Kurumu was supposed to have no further business with."

Kurumu sighed, glancing at Juri.

"That's why I asked Nerume and Tora to tag along. Hopefully one of them can write this article."

"Which translates to not needing you butting in. Go fawn over your sister like you normally do."

"Are you trying to pick a fight?"

"It's fine, Satsuki. I don't mind if she comes with us."

"I mind if she's going to order us around like soldiers."

"I'm only protecting the image of the PSC. I worry that Ms. Nazohashi might be too lenient in a matter concerning Mr. Morioka."

"Well I'm heading to lunch. See you tomorrow."

Kurumu murmured a farewell to Juri as the sprite took off. Most of their classmates had vacated the room with only Yaisoku and Yukari lingering. Yukari was fixated on writing on the back of her worksheet, creating sample sentences with the new vocabulary. She had no interest in getting involved in Ginei's nonsense. Yaisoku smiled at Kurumu, adjusting the strap of her schoolbag upon her shoulder.

"You can argue over this stuff on your way to Mononoke. We should go."

Kurumu followed after the jorougumo girls, quickly crossing the room. Tora and Mizore were waiting in the hall. This was no surprise considering how fast Mrs. Sunao had wrapped up her lecture today. More often than not, Kurumu's group was the last to leave the dormitory.

"How long have you been waiting?"

Tora shrugged at Kurumu as they walked down the hall together, passing by empty study rooms.

"A minute or two. The girls living on the higher floors are probably not back down in the lobby yet."

"Did you put your schoolbag away already?"

"I live on the second floor, Kurumu. That takes no time when you're not waiting on an elevator."

"Kumiko insists on coming with us."

"We're not friends, Ms. Kurono. You should address me politely."

"Your sister is Lady Hineri. Would you prefer little Hineri?"

Yaisoku giggled as Kumiko scowled.

"Hineri would be more appropriate."

Kurumu smirked as they entered the main lobby. On the left were the two elevators and the door to the only stair. Juri and the gorgon cousins lingered by the elevators. The rest of their classmates presumably had already gone upstairs to their rooms.

"Fine. But I'm eating with Kokoa's friends today so I'm not sticking around here."

"Then I shall have my lunch with Ms. Unari."

Satsuki snorted as she guided Nerume over to the girls waiting on the elevators.

"Whatever suits you. Are you joining us?"

Yaisoku shrugged as she sauntered over to their classmates with Kumiko.

"Maybe. I might have lunch with Netsuki and Haruhi."

"Is Yukari coming?"

The silver haired vampire was leaning against the shoe lockers which flanked the large genkan on their right. Kurumu strolled over to where her loafers rested, stepping down into them.

"You know how Yukari is. She's still in the room waiting for the crowd to disperse."

"Crowd? It's just a few of her classmates."

Kurumu shrugged as Tora fetched her shoes from her assigned locker near Moka.

"I'm leaving Mizore with you."

"I'm eating with Nerume."

Kurumu frowned as Mizore slipped into her shoes.

"You're not coming with us to Mononoke."

"I know that."

"Well you're not going home alone."

"I'll be fine, Kurumu. I'll see you later tonight."

Kurumu took a reluctant step towards the main entrance door as the other girls filed into the elevator.

"You better. You're not supposed to be alone for long."

"I'm joining you for lunch. Walk with me, Kurumu."

Tora closed up her shoe locker, strolling over to the main door. She waved her lunch card which triggered the sensor to open the door. Intrigued, Kurumu followed the sphinx outside into the mild afternoon.

"Any particular reason you want to hang out with Kokoa's friends?"

"I had a few things I wanted to discuss before we head to Mononoke."

They crossed the clearing which surrounded the seven story dormitory, starting down the path through the forest which would lead them to the dining hall.

"Well I'm fine with the company. It will be nice to not be the only girl at the table eating my lunch."

"I doubt that Ms. Shuzen and her friends are finished with their meal. They were putting on their shoes when I went upstairs to put away my things."

"Maybe not all of them but more than half of them will be."

"It's not like we have to hurry to Mononoke for Senior. You can take your time to eat and socialize."

"You know… I understand Machida's point about changing how we do lunch. Yea, it might suck to not have the same lunch hour as your friends but it's not like you can socialize when you spend half of your lunch hour in a line. You would have to deliberately get in line together."

"My only concern with his proposal would be how it impacts some clubs. The PSC is not the only club that tries to have lunch together. Ms. Shuzen's fencing club comes to mind."

"Which Kokoa never had a positive thing to say about. All of her seniors have fourth period gym so she always felt out of place."

"This wasn't what I planned to discuss with you."

"Yea. I'm sorry. What's on your mind?"

Tora regarded Kurumu with mild disappointment in her jade eyes. She shook her head slightly before turning her attention back to the trail.

"I'm curious what you were thinking when you decided to pose nude for Ms. Uboku."

Kurumu winced at the statement. That felt like a rhetorical question.

"Did Mizore tell you about that?"

"More or less. I always have a hard time telling if she is joking about something. But since Ms. Touzoku claimed to have seen some of your provocative sketches, you clearly caved under peer pressure."

Kurumu frowned, wondering why Iko was already showing her drawings to other girls.

"Well she said that the funds would go to the school trip."

"That trip better be free for you."

"Aren't school trips free anyways?"

"No. There usually is a participation fee."

"But I thought that the school paid for it."

"Human schools don't. The student council allocates funds for every club and the next cultural festival. They won't have enough to pay for this trip entirely. The remaining balance will be divided among the number of students planning to attend."

"Yea but Iko promised that her profits would go to the trip."

"It won't be enough, Kurumu. We are talking about a trip for over two hundred students. How many dirty comics do you think she'd have to sell to afford transportation, lodging and activities for three or four days for a group that size?"

"Do you think I should just ask Iko for the profits?"

"I think you should ask her not to sell pornographic material of your body. But as that seems unlikely to happen, you may as well get the profits yourself."

"It would be nice not to have to ask Kokoa and Moka for money."

"This is not permission for you to start a questionable career. That topic aside, I'm going to ask you this directly and hope for an honest answer. Is Ms. Shirayuki pregnant?"

Kurumu grimaced, uncertain how she should respond. Even if Tora was oblivious to her guilty reaction, Kurumu sucked at blatant deception.

"In our last club meeting, Senior asked why Ms. Shirayuki was quitting the club since her stories do have a following. The only thing everyone could agree upon was that she was raped."

Kurumu wondered why the others had not mentioned this yesterday before she headed out to the track practice. Harassing her over her impulsive decision to pose nude was not more important.

"We told you that she was raped by Lord Fujisaki."

"Tsukune wasn't aware of you having Ms. Shirayuki healed by Ms. Kiyomizu."

Kurumu scowled at the mention of Tsukune.

"Because he's an idiot. He was in the room when we asked the Headmaster for permission for that."

"He asked if that healing was for the baby."

Kurumu grimaced as the one major bend in this trail came into sight.

"What did Moka say?"

"She tried to accuse Tsukune of making a poor joke but the way he played it off was unbelievable. Kana teased him over abandoning his baby momma at the altar and everyone got quiet."

"He broke her heart! She begged him to marry her and he wouldn't say yes. Then she got raped and she tried to kill herself."

"It's his child, isn't it?"

The calm question drenched the fire of her anger.

"Did Ginei think that?"

"Senior changed the subject since it was clear that nobody wanted to discuss it further. I can't say what Kana or Ms. Genzouyaki thinks about the situation, but it was obvious that the others already knew."

Kurumu sighed. She owed Nerume an explanation. She would have to save that for a time when the two of them were alone, seeing no reason to share this with Satsuki and Kumiko.

"Is the child also yours?"

The moment her eyes met Tora's, Kurumu knew there was no use denying it. She sighed again.

"That morning before Ginei's birthday party. You know how I get when I have that stuff in my system."

"I'm aware. Something did feel off about your claim that your new boyfriend helped relieve you of that."

"He did in a way. I charmed him into bringing Mizore to me."

"What do you plan to do?"

Kurumu paused, wondering if she should share all of their plans.

"You do know that Ms. Kiyomizu's healing of that baby would kill its soul, right?"

"I vaguely recall that being a concern with having her heal Ms. Genzouyaki. Something about never quite knowing what the cost would be upon the other soul."

"Mrs. Shuzen said that we could save this baby by putting Hatsue into her."

"Hatsue?"

"That's the real name of the tsukumogami. We didn't make everyone aware of that."

Tora pondered this for a long moment.

"You're making the outer Moka into your baby?"

"She needed her own body, Tora. This might be the only chance we have. And according to Mrs. Shuzen, Mizore was going to miscarry if we didn't do things this way."

"And everyone is on board with this?"

Kurumu hesitated a moment but realized Tora could not be asking for Tsukune's sake here.

"Yea. Moka, Yukari and even Rubi. That's why we're keeping a close eye on Mizore."

"I think you two are crazy to have a child at your age. I'm guessing that you don't plan to have Tsukune be this baby's father."

"Yea. After what he did. It's difficult to be around him and not get mad."

"Ms. Shirayuki knew that he had no intentions of marrying her."

"She was only in the club because she hoped that he might change his mind."

"I suppose her quitting isn't a surprise. I heard from Suzume that your tryout for track was a bust."

Kurumu snickered, noting the Kurai dining hall through the thinning woods. Half of the building was an elliptical shape made from dark panes of glass held in a metal lattice while the other half was a drab, rectangular structure.

"It seems that I'm not cut out for any club which involves physical activity. Coach Kibashiro criticized my ability to run, jump and throw. That pretty much rules out softball and volleyball. Not that I was thinking about giving either of those teams a try."

"I'm sure that you could manage as a cheerleader."

"I'd never hear the end of it if I actually joined the club Ginei suggested."

"What about fencing or tennis?"

"I can't be in Kokoa's club. She'd expect me to be good. And I have a feeling that Hiboshi would treat me just as bad in tennis."

They emerged from the forest, adjusting their course to take them directly to a door.

"While I understand your reluctance to join gymnastics, maybe you should. You get along with all of those girls and I doubt that would change if Mr. Amesuki broke up with you over your poor decision to prostitute your body for dirty comics."

"Gee thanks."

"Have you considered joining Ms. Shirayuki's drama club?"

"I wouldn't dare steal her spotlight. They want her to be the leading lady of Sleeping Beauty when the school is repaired."

"Won't she look pregnant when that finally happens?"

"That's their problem."

"It's a thought. You could also try Ms. Genzouyaki's astronomy club."

"I plan to go to Nerume's club meeting tomorrow. Hey. Maybe if I keep my grades up, I could join the PSC to be with you and Tokori."

Tora snorted at Kurumu's grin, stepping forward to grab the handle of the door. She tugged it open which brought forth the sounds of many conversations.

"I doubt the PSC will consider you after your modeling debut."

"I only need an eighty percentile average. Mr. Koike even asked if I would be interested."

"Mr. Koike isn't in charge. Mr. Sabaku would never approve your application."

Kurumu smirked as she entered the noisy dining hall, well aware of how that gruff second year thought about her. While she probably could get into the club through Ms. Kiyomizu, she doubted that she would want to deal with Sabaku's attitude towards her any more than she had to.

"I was only toying with the idea."

She strolled across the dining hall, noting some of the groups as she passed. Asuka's lunch group which would include Suzume and Hatoko was not far from the door they had entered. Only Kazehana, Michiko and Kiki were present at the moment. The others were either in line or still on the way to the dining hall.

"I know that you have offers though. I've seen other students approach you during lunch."

Kurumu offered a wave to the undines whom ate with Manami. Watakoma Tarumi was the tiny girl with the indigo bangs which were braided with beads. She was Manami's best friend from Aranami, was in class seven and had joined the gymnastics club. The hazel eyed blond whom was getting up was Yarimizu Eika. Her sandy tresses were pulled back in a tail which favored the right side while her bangs were swept left. She was Utsumi's friend from Umishiro, was in class six and had joined the literature club.

"Most are halfhearted offers though I've had my share of weird ones. Some random guy from class four asked if I would join the English club. I hate English."

"That's the price of your fame."

Kurumu shivered as they continued across the seating area. Many guys had noticed her and were letting their fantasies run wild. This happened every time she entered a large room with guys which felt nice but also annoying. She tried not to enjoy it too much, thinking that would be like cheating on Nijiro.

Kurumu smiled upon seeing Bouzuki Kanari. The choir girl with creamy blond, curled bangs was with two other girls from the choir. Both of those girls had black hair which hung lower than the bench they were seated upon. The shorter girl was Yokumoto Toshiko whom was in class five with Kanari. The other girl was Akushita Natsume from class six whom had gone to junior high in Chirasu. The quiet Yokumoto was from Aserutani while Kanari was one of the rare students whom had only attended human schools up to this point. The small harpy was quite different from her friends from Hankyouta.

"Choir is looking to be an attractive option."

"Choir? I wasn't aware that interested you."

"It was the second club I did an article for. While I can't say that I know the third years, I'm very familiar with the rest of the group."

"You should go for it then."

"Maybe. But the choir room is in a section of the school that has been closed. I don't even know if the choir is having meetings."

"They need to have one to pick their next president. I could ask Ms. Chousei about her club activities."

Chousei was one of the two choir girls in Tora's homeroom.

"That would be nice. She's probably easier to talk to than Natsudera."

"I honestly forgot that Ms. Natsudera was in the choir."

They lined up behind three familiar boys from class seven. Tanboshi Aku was the stocky boy with the curly dark hair and beady eyes. He lived next to Tsukune and was on the judo team. He had attended the junior high in Akichi of the Yuzawa region.

These other two were kappas from Sawamura. The taller, obese guy with greasy, black, shoulder length hair was Nakamura from the wrestling club. His cousin was one of the second year teachers. The skinnier guy with the curly brown hair was Takoshine Koma. He was in the arcade club and had an obnoxious obsession for Moka.

"Ms. Kurono?"

Kurumu smirked at Yarimizu as the girl came over to join them.

"Were you following us?"

"Yea. I needed to ask you something."

"I don't mean to sound rude, but I doubt that Kurumu would join your literature club."

Yarimizu paused a moment before laughing. She shook her head at Tora.

"Not that. She already declined our offer last week."

"Because Ms. Bakudai despises me."

"That's not true."

"She's never made me feel welcome in the library."

"What did you expect her to do?"

"Not glaring at me would be nice."

"I'm sure that you were just imagining that."

Kurumu doubted that. She shuffled towards the serving line at the slow, methodical pace she had come to expect. She noticed Akari's lunch group which sat near the center of the dining area. The okami was with Nikki and Kiba. Nozomi was currently absent.

Kokoa's table was not far from theirs. The vampire was seated in the middle of her friends with her back to Kurumu. On Kokoa's right was Nagisa and Ishiko while Hikari and Hotaru were on her left. None of the girls were finished with their meals.

Across the table from Hikari was Kaimura Yuko. Kaimura was a salamander from Moegara and had dark red tresses which spilled down her back. She was in the karaoke club. Next to Kaimura was a small, buxom girl with vibrant, maroon hair which hung below the bench she was seated upon. That was Akiyama Ume. Both of those girls were in class eight with Hotaru and Hikari.

"Did you speak with Yamabato?"

Kurumu winced, noting that Takoshine and Tanboshi perked up at the mention of their friend. Yamabato Kamitsuku lived on Tsukune's floor in the room next to the exterior stair. He was in class three and had joined the film club. Since his parents were an undine and a mermaid, he had been classified as a kappa, which made him an outcast in the predominately undine community of Umishiro.

"This isn't the best place to talk about this."

"He left another poem in my shoe locker this morning. That's six since the festival."

Tanboshi snickered, shaking his head.

"I can't imagine him the sort to write poetry."

"Who are you?"

"Hold on. Just to be clear, this is Mr. Yamabato from my class."

Yarimizu frowned at Tora.

"I doubt that there is another Yamabato in this school."

"Why do you think he's sending a scrawny thing like you poetry?"

Yarimizu puffed up indignantly at Tanboshi's inquiry.

"Because he had a huge crush on me in junior high. I don't know why he insists on bothering me when I made it very clear that I don't see him that way."

"Same. He should focus his efforts on a real woman."

"I am a real woman."

"Not compared to Kurono."

"That is hardly a fair comparison, Mr. Tanboshi."

"No offense, Ms. Nazohashi, but I don't see why this girl insists that my friend is harassing her when it's probably a prank. Everybody knows that guys can't get inside Baratoge."

"I've asked my friends. It's been weeks and none of them will take credit for it."

"Maybe they haven't tired of their joke."

Yarimizu sighed, relaxing her shoulders. She fidgeted with her hands.

"Look. Yamabato is the only guy whom would do this. He used to buy gifts for me on my birthday. He even got a bracelet for me last Christmas. And that was after I turned him down."

"Did he buy you something for your last birthday?"

"No. That was over the summer. He asked me out the day I turned fifteen. I-"

Yarimizu paused, wringing her hands.

"We couldn't be friends after that. He wouldn't take back the ring he bought for my birthday so I had to throw it away. Then things just got creepy between us."

"What was creepy about it?"

"You don't give a Christmas gift to a girl whom isn't interested in you."

"What do you expect Kurono to do about it?"

Yarimizu sighed at Tanboshi as she slowly moved with them towards the shelves of packaged entrées.

"I was hoping that she could talk him out of this."

"Done. I'll convince him to chase after a real woman."

"That's not nice."

"Do you have the poem on you?"

"No. Why?"

"Because that could be fun. I'm also curious how bad this poetry is."

Kurumu chuckled, having seen the letter from last Thursday.

"It's very cheesy. If a girl is doing this as a prank, there is no way that she could have kept a straight face while writing that stuff."

"In his defense, love can blind you from seeing how embarrassing your behavior is."

Tanboshi snorted at Takoshine.

"You must always be in love."

"Unfortunately true. I've seen that my queen has returned to her silvery haired look. It pains me to ask this, but could you convince her to join one of our gaming sessions?"

Kurumu smirked at Takoshine, shaking her head.

"I doubt that Moka has any intentions of swinging by your room again."

"But I was as accommodating as any host could hope to be."

Yarimizu sighed dramatically, drawing attention back to her.

"I suppose that I don't care exactly how this stops."

"I'll do it tonight if you give me the poems."

Kurumu snickered, shaking her head. She felt bad for Kamitsuku.

"Have mercy on him."

"Mercy between friends? Never. Did you have anything else?"

"No. I'll go get those poems."

Kurumu chuckled as the undine hurried off.

"Do I want to know what you plan to do?"

"Probably not. Do you have any idea why he was crushing on that twig?"

"She isn't that scrawny."

Tora nodded as they finally reached the cart with trays which preceding the food shelves.

"I agree. I'd say that she probably is more developed than I am."

"Yea, but you're a naturally tanned girl with dark hair. That girl looks like a foreigner."

"She's an undine, you dope. Many of those girls have a foreign look to them."

"And I think kappa girls are more womanly."

"Well they certainly are rounder."

Nakamura chortled at Takoshine's remark.

"A lady needs padding for some pounding."

Kurumu blushed, glancing at Tora. The sphinx rolled her eyes with a shake of her head.

"I don't know if you boys noticed, but Ms. Yarimizu does have some resemblance to Mrs. Yamabato."

Tanboshi chuckled as he grabbed a tray and started to look over the boxed entrées.

"That is a good point, Ms. Nazohashi. We could tease him over being a momma's boy."

"That wasn't my goal. I'm saying that people tend to look for qualities of their parents in their partners."

"Are you saying that Ginei is like your father?"

Tora blushed at Kurumu. She huffed, taking a tray and swatting Kurumu in the face with it.

"I never said that I was interested in Senior as a life partner."

Kurumu giggled as she took her own tray, following the kappas alongside the shelves laden with meals.

"I know. I know. But you shouldn't forget that Kamitsuku grew up in that town. He's more familiar with undine girls than kappa girls."

"How utterly tragic. Most undine girls won't even look at a kappa boy."

"Which is why it is our duty to put him on the right path. One with curves instead of straight lines."

Kurumu smirked, shaking her head as she perused her lunch options. Black markings identified what was stored in each white container. She grabbed a box of katsudon.

"Will you be going to Ms. Nekonome's wedding?"

"I don't think that I can. If I leave the barrier on Friday night, I can't get back here to take my bus home."

"Kana said the same thing yesterday. Can't your mother arrange a flight for you?"

Tora sighed as she grabbed a box of pork gyozo and rice. They both added cups of miso soup to their trays before moving to the line for the register. As the three boys were grabbing multiple entrées, they reached the register line first.

"Honestly, I'm thinking about staying here for winter break."

"What? Why?"

"Because this summer reminded me how difficult it was to be around Dad."

Kurumu nodded, understanding the situation. On her twelfth birthday, Tora had eaten her father's soul, turning him into a mindless puppet. Her mother had done something that night which had sort of put her father back in place, but it was a version of Tora's father from eight years prior to the incident. Tora was too afraid to ask her mother if this new father was just a better made puppet.

"Won't you be lonely staying here?"

"Not really. Ms. Hanetsume and Ms. Hineri will both remain here over the break. And I can always hang out with Ms. Meirowasa."

"Actually, Tokori plans to leave Mononoke with Mikomi and her family. You could always come with us."

"I am not interested in going to Hong Kong."

Kurumu laughed, shaking her head as they neared the woman working the register.

"Not many of us are. That became a trip just for repairing the rosary. Only Yukari and Moka are going."

"Really? Then what are you planning to do for winter break?"

"Right now it looks like I'm sticking with Kokoa. I might be allowed to hang out with Mizore if her family plans don't conflict with Kokoa's plans."

"I think I'll have to pass. Staying here would avoid me getting dragged into any more political killings."

"I feel the same way but Kokoa insists that I come along to at least have her mother determine if I will survive that operation on my heart."

"How has your heart been?"

Kurumu smiled softly as the guy ahead of her stepped up to the register to hand over his things. There were enough males lusting for her body at this moment that she really had to feel for her heart to notice the dull ache. It only bothered her when her thoughts focused on Tsukune.

"Better than before."

Kurumu pointed at the poster framed in glass mounted on the side of the wall of the theater. The poster had a young boy with glasses standing next to girl wearing a coat over a pink blouse. Off to the other side of the bespectacled boy was another young man with reddish hair which covered one of his eyes. Two other young men stood further behind the girl and another person whom might have been a girl stood off to the side of the reddish haired kid. A swirl of white mist served as the backdrop.

"They should have done this for Star Wars."

"They put out a sign for Star Wars."

Kurumu pouted at the smirking sphinx.

"I meant releasing the movie before the break. It's not like anyone would have failed their exams by missing a few hours of study time."

"But then you would have been deprived of a movie date with your mother."

"It's not like the movie was the best part of that day. I honestly preferred the aquarium."

"Guess that explains why you're dating a fish."

Kurumu stuck her tongue out at Satsuki whom lingered beside Nerume in front of the theater entrance. The theater was located in a part of Mononoke which mostly consisted of vacant buildings. Both of the two story buildings across the street from the theater had a bunch of windows boarded up. The black building on the street corner had a central raised porch preceding a set of glass double doors. The doors to the other structure had a sheath of wood nailed down over it.

"Is that Harry Potter series any good?"

Tora snorted out a laugh. Kumiko huffed, turning on Satsuki.

"You can't be serious."

"I'm seriously asking."

"Have you not seen any of the movies?"

"My family didn't go to the theater."

"Neither does mine."

Kurumu nodded at Nerume's remark.

"I hadn't seen any of them until recently. Kokoa has all three movies on DVD."

"Didn't you go see movies with your mother on a regular basis?"

Kurumu shrugged at Tora.

"We did but I don't recall our theater showing Harry Potter."

"But it was very popular. I can't imagine any theater not carrying a high dollar franchise."

"Well we cut back on our theater outings after the last Star Wars movie. For the rest of my junior high, the only movies that I recall seeing were the two Lord of the Rings movies which came out near the end of my seventh and eighth grade years."

"But the first two Harry Potter movies came out during the winter breaks of our sixth and seventh grade years. I watched both of them with my sister."

Kurumu smirked at Kumiko, wondering if Aranoiji had a theater of if this had been in Watasora.

"I didn't think you'd be a fan of the series."

"It's a popular series. I find it hard to believe that you had never heard of it before this year."

"I knew it existed. My peers in junior high told me it was a show for kids."

"If your peers knew about it, then it must have been playing in your theater."

Kurumu sighed at Tora's remark.

"I had a painful growth spurt after my thirteenth birthday. I shot up several bra sizes which drew a lot of unwanted attention from the boys and much hatred from the girls. I shied away from everyone, dressing up in whatever I could wear from my mother's closet since it was baggy and would conceal my figure."

She paused, sighing again.

"And that is a bad thing to do as a succubus. I literally collapsed the week of winter exams because I was starving myself from the male attention my body requires. What movies were playing in the theater at that time was the farthest thing from my mind."

An uncomfortable silence settled over the group, though it lasted only for a few seconds.

"Do I need to watch the first three movies to understand this new one?"

Tora chuckled at Nerume's question.

"I think that would be best."

"Sawayaka has a DVD player. I'll ask Meirowasa if they have these movies. We could watch them this weekend if they're cool with a sleepover."

"What's with the extra ladies?"

Kurumu grinned at Ginei's remark, suddenly feeling his halfhearted lust. The young man stalked towards them with one hand stuffed in his jacket pocket and the other resting at his side. His jacket was open and the top buttons of his school shirt undone to give visibility to his wolf head pendant. A black bandana held back his dark bangs.

He was accompanied by two familiar students. The girl with the shoulder length, jet black hair was one of the second years from the swimming club. The tall, skinny guy with the short, dark hair was Ashimizu, president of the bowling club.

"I wasn't comfortable showing up by myself so I asked these three to tag along. Kumiko is here because she wants to be."

"That's Hineri to you."

"I guess I don't mind some PSC involvement. It makes things look good and proper."

"I'm curious what these things are which had you cancel our meeting today."

Ginei chuckled, coming to a stop by Tora and patting her on the shoulder.

"You'll see soon enough. So what's the little cutie doing here?"

Nerume grinned with a blush.

"Kurumu asked me to write this article for her since you haven't assigned one to me."

"Desperately trying to foil my plans of dragging her back into the club. I should have expected no less from a woman spurned."

"I guess I am. I hope that neither of you mind about me not writing this article for you."

The mermaid glanced at the bowling club president whom shrugged at her look. The girl turned her misty blue eyes upon Kurumu.

"I didn't ask for an article."

"Well I did but I didn't request Ms. Kurono to write it."

Kurumu whirled on Ginei, wagging her finger.

"You said that your client specifically requested me."

"That's in the past, Kurumu. Right now we need to focus on this rescue mission."

"Rescue mission?"

"My club had a meeting last weekend to decide whom would be our next leader. They also revealed to us the location of that merman they've been breeding."

"And since Niiya still hasn't had her first ovulation, they picked the other girl."

Niiya scowled at Ginei's amusement.

"This isn't about their choice of president. There was no good reason for a bunch of my friends to be slaughtered last year. It's all because of that damn merman. We have to get rid of him."

"Is this a rescue mission or not?"

Ginei chuckled, nodding at Satsuki.

"It is. We need to break this guy out of the city pool."

Kurumu perked up at the remark. She gestured towards the intersection from which this trio had arrived. On the corner across the street from the theater was a large building. Some of the building was single story while most of the portion flanking the theater was two story.

"Do you mean that community center which was closed down years ago?"

"That's the one."

"It's long overdue that we expose Tamao for the crimes she committed against the girls from last year."

Kurumu smiled softly at Ashimizu's statement.

"You know that Rei's death wasn't her fault."

"Who told you about Rei?"

Kurumu paused a moment before remembering that she had been posing as Hajihachi when she had learned about Ashimizu's issues with the swimming club.

"I heard that Ichinose allowed several first years to be killed, but it was the third years that did it."

"This is Yokai Academy. We are supposed to be learning about how to behave like human beings for the purpose of blending in. Allowing the deaths of half a dozen first years should not have been tolerated."

"Then why didn't you report it?"

Ashimizu sneered at Tora.

"I did report Rei's disappearance but the faculty won't prolong an investigation for a missing person for more than a month. And Kuyo couldn't care less about the fate of a mermaid."

"None of us dared say anything about the weeding process with Ms. Sukasu in charge. We were just thankful to be alive. Even Ms. Amekoshi was scared of her."

"When Asari finally told me the truth about Rei's fate, she promised that she would do anything for me if I agreed to keep silent. I was so mad. I should have taken her up on that offer, since it didn't matter at that point. Even if I had told the faculty, there was no physical evidence of the crime. It's not like they didn't know what happened. Five other girls went missing at the same time."

"If you had told anyone, Ms. Sukasu might have had Ms. Kakisuna killed."

Ashimizu scowled at Niiya.

"I still blame Tamao. She's an Ichinose. She could have stood up for Rei and Koe."

"You weren't there. The third years were in the pool with us first years while the second years were with Ms. Amekoshi. The third years just started killing us. No warning. Kaede jumped in to help us."

"Ms. Oda from my homeroom?"

"They would have killed all three of us but Tamari came to our rescue. We killed two of Ms. Sukasu's lackeys. That's why they left us alone."

Ashimizu nodded with a contemplative look.

"I always thought Ms. Oda was too smart to be a mermaid."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Most of the smart mermaids are like Tamao. Cruel, cunning and cowardly. Ms. Oda has always been more aloof. Like most undines. It's hard to imagine her fighting someone to the death."

"Most of us have blood on our hands. You won't live otherwise."

"Why did she let Tamao take over the club?"

"Kaede has never been interested in being in charge. And Tamari only follows Kaede's lead."

"While this information is fascinating, we should stick with facts that are relevant to the article that Ms. Genzouyaki is supposed to write. How was Senior made aware of this situation?"

"I told him about it yesterday morning before classes."

Tora nodded, gesturing at the bowling club president.

"And how did you get involved in this?"

"I approached Mr. Morioka a little more than a week ago concerning the absence of Asari. I noticed that she was not attending classes. Uku would only tell me that Asari was staying home."

"Uku?"

"Ms. Kuraboshi. She lives with Tamao but is in Asari's homeroom. I tried checking the suite Asari shares with Unagi but nobody was home. Then I noticed that Unagi was also missing classes."

"I took time off my busy campaign to check the attendance habits of the swimming club seniors. The only three whom regularly attend classes are Ms. Ichinose, Ms. Oda and Ms. Kuraboshi. The others are frequently absent."

"Because they are tending to the young and keeping an eye on their merman hostage."

"The young? Are you saying that these girls have babies?"

Niiya nodded at Tora's confused remark.

"Almost all of our seniors last year graduated with at least three kids."

"Even with spotty attendance, I think the faculty would notice a few pregnant girls."

Ashimizu shook his head at Kumiko.

"You don't understand how things work for mermaids. They could have dozens of babies in the course of a year if they get enough life energy. That's why they have that whole weeding out process. This world would become overpopulated with mermaids if they didn't."

"They should have less babies if they are concerned with the number."

"It's not the number that they are concerned with, Ms. Nazohashi. It is a matter of strength and intelligence. If you have a shit ton of kids, you know that your strong and smart ones will survive."

"But many die. That can't be good on the survivors."

"It's not so traumatic when it happens all of the time. I had to kill one of my sisters because she wanted to kill me. You get used to it."

"Your mother should have stopped that."

"She encouraged it. I had several sisters but most were killed before we were given names."

"Given names? You aren't given names after birth?"

"No. We normally don't name children before they reach school age. It's not so bad after that but some of the more vicious girls will continue the killing up into junior high. Often over the dumbest things. It's hard to look at any of them as friends. Hard to trust anyone. We had known Ms. Sukasu and her friends for years. That's why their sudden decision to kill us all at once caught everyone by surprise."

"Is this something I should put in the article?"

"No. We are getting sidetracked again."

"None of this explains why the faculty hasn't noticed these girls being perpetually pregnant."

Niiya laughed at Kumiko. She shook her head, placing a hand on her belly.

"We don't carry our babies inside our bodies. That abandoned community building has a heated pool which is perfect for incubating fertilized eggs. My seniors have had access to that merman for months. It wouldn't surprise me if each one of them has several babies in there."

"So those girls have been skipping school to have sex?"

Niiya blushed at Satsuki's amused remark.

"It's not the way you are thinking. Mermen are dangerous creatures. It's safer to bring him the eggs and hope that he fertilizes them. Most of the time he just eats them."

"Sounds similar to how tengu operate. Physical sex is not required."

"That is correct, Ms. Nazohashi. I guess if you're bold you could do it the mammal way but I doubt any of my seniors are risking that."

"So there will be girls in there whom will not be happy about this rescue attempt."

"That's right, Tora. Which is why I'm not too upset about the extra help. We could be dealing with up to six mermaids in there. If they are in water, we will have a hard time subduing them."

"But it won't be against the toughest of the lot. Tamao, Uku and Ms. Oda won't be here for hours."

Kurumu frowned at Ashimizu's remark.

"Wait. You're a senior. How did you get here so early?"

Ashimizu cocked his head, regarding her like she had said something silly.

"I'm skipping my afternoon classes, Ms. Kurono."

Kurumu blushed, realizing that should have been obvious.

"If we are finished here, I suggest that we get started with this rescue."

It was not a long walk to their destination. The sign at the corner identified the abandoned structure as the Mononoke community center. The place was almost as long as the theater. Every door and window facing the street was boarded up.

"How do we get inside?"

"Narumi said that the girls use a service door in the alleyway."

"Which we won't bother with."

Kurumu frowned at Ginei as he walked purposefully towards the front door beneath an overhang.

"Are you worried about it being guarded?"

"Even if it was, it's not like a mermaid out of water would be a threat."

Ginei clucked his tongue at Kumiko as he came to a stop at the double door. The glass had been broken out but the boards covering across the frame were spaced close enough to prevent anyone from easy entry. It was impossible to see anything meaningful inside that darkness.

"The same could be said about the front entrance. But there is no reason for us to skulk about the back when we can enter through the front like good members of society."

Tora snorted, shaking her head.

"Good members of society don't break into abandoned buildings."

"And making a big show about it would only alert the girls inside."

Ginei waved a dismissive hand at Kumiko as everyone gathered about the entrance.

"We are rescuing a guy so there is no need for concern. I save my dramatic entrances for the ladies."

"I suppose we could remove some of these boards quietly."

"No need. Could you let us inside, Darling?"

There was the sound of a lock turning and the left door was pushed out. Kurumu frowned in confusion as Ginei stepped up to grab the door, pulling it further open.

"Wasn't that boarded up?"

Ginei chuckled, caressing the smooth cut of the boards nailed to the door frame.

"I swung by this place last night and had this taken care of. Short of one of the mermaids actually using the front door, they won't realize that it has been compromised."

"I take it that you recruited Ms. Zanzou."

"Last night she helped me get a layout of the place. She agreed to meet us here."

"Ladies first."

With a huff at Ashimizu's remark, Kumiko crossed the broken threshold. Kurumu shared a glance with Tora before heading into the darkness next. Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the dim interior as she wandered further inside to make room for the others. Noting a wall lined with shelves in front of her, she turned to her right. She stumbled against a rise, realizing it was the end of the genkan.

"Oh sweet Jesus!"

Tora's startled remark drew Kurumu's attention to a shadowy presence lurking near the information desk in the middle of this room. The short figure was garbed in a hooded, sleeveless garment which fell down to the floor like a gown. Thin, pale arms came down in the front with tiny hands clasped about a rod. Following this rod to the side revealed that it was actually the haft of a scythe. Kurumu's heart tightened with sudden concern.

"Ms. Zanzou?"

"Ms. Kurono."

Kurumu let out a laugh of relief at the figure's response. She shook her head, wandering over to the eccentric girl.

"Why are you dressed like that?"

"I thought it would be intimidating."

"You certainly have achieved that."

"Is that a dress my darling is wearing?"

Zanzou whipped her scythe out with alarming speed in response to Ginei's amused remark. The main door closed behind the grinning werewolf, deepening the darkness in the room.

"This is standard reaper attire."

"Where did you get it from?"

"The better question is why did she get it."

Zanzou brought the scythe up to rest the haft against her shoulder.

"Cultural festival. My classmate, Mr. Mu, proposed having me play as a reaper in our version of Romeo and Juliet. They removed the role after I acquired the outfit."

Ginei strolled over to the small girl's side.

"How many girls are currently guarding this place?"

"Six. Three in the large pool area. Two with our target objective in the adjacent multipurpose room. The last one is in the small pool tending to the young."

"I'm assuming that they don't have any surprises for us like guns or weapons."

"They are all naked, Sir."

"Excellent work. Stay here and make sure that nobody comes in."

"If the two of you were able to infiltrate this place last night, why didn't you rescue this guy yesterday?"

"Tora, Tora. It wouldn't be much of a story if I did this on my own. While I admit that this was a last ditch attempt to get Kurumu back in the club, I'm also counting on Kurumu to use her mind powers to keep that merman complacent with his rescue."

Kurumu frowned, recalling the incident in Okinawa.

"But my charm doesn't work on mindless beasts."

"It's not like mermen are mindless. Uneducated is the more appropriate word."

Kurumu sighed, hoping he was correct with that assessment. Thinking more about that incident, she realized that she had not even tried to use her charm.

"I guess I can try."

"Good. I don't want any casualties. That would look bad for my campaign."

"Asking how many thongs I own isn't much better."

"That's an important question, Niiya. I can't be pushing for a dress code change if the average girl lacks appropriate attire."

Kurumu could only shake her head at his stupidity.

"Which will never happen when one of your proposed enforcers would never wear a thong. Last I heard, Zanzou doesn't wear girly undergarments."

"Or anything at all for that matter."

Ginei snickered at Tora's addition.

"There's nothing manlier than a sumo thong."

"Though difficult to find in my size, Sir. The clerk at Sports Station laughed at my request."

Kurumu stepped over to Ginei, grabbing him by the jacket as she gestured at Zanzou.

"You are not putting that poor girl in a sumo thong."

"I am not a poor girl."

Kurumu sighed at Zanzou's quick response. Letting go of Ginei's jacket, she shook her head at his grin.

"Are you even trying to win this election?"

"Of course I am."

"I think it's hilarious. Most of my club favors his platform."

Satsuki snorted at Ashimizu's statement.

"Not surprising. Your bowling club is a bunch of perverts."

"We should not squander or time in here."

"Quite true, little Hineri. Follow me."

Kurumu fell in step behind Tora and Kumiko as Ginei stalked over to the door behind the information desk on their left. He grabbed the inset, drawing the door open and turning to face them with a grin.

"I hope none of you ladies mind if we cut through the boys' locker room."

Kumiko snorted, passing into the adjacent room without hesitation. Kurumu absently grabbed Tora by the arm as she stepped into the deeper darkness beyond the threshold. This was almost as bad as the darkness she had encountered inside the abandoned prison.

"We should have brought flashlights."

The room suddenly lit up, revealing a wall in the center of this space with a counter lined with sinks built up against one side of it. She glanced over her shoulder to see Ginei's smirk as he stepped away from a light switch near the door.

"It's not like this place doesn't have power."

The walls and ceiling tiles were painted a pastel blue while the floor consisted of gray tiles. Shower stalls lined the wall on the right while the left wall had three toilet stalls and three urinals. After the urinals was the only other door leading out of this space. The far wall had two alcoves lined with metal lockers.

Kumiko paused at the other door, glancing back at them as she placed her hand in the inset.

"Everyone ready?"

"That's the weight room, little Hineri."

Kumiko blushed at Ginei's amused remark. She drew the door open, favoring him a scowl before walking into the adjacent chamber.

"I don't know the layout of this place."

Ginei chuckled, trotting by them to catch up to the girl. He promptly flicked on the lights after passing through the opening.

"Let Niiya and me do most of the talking."

The next space felt more like two rooms. The part they first entered had a lower ceiling with a double door on their right and a sliding door on their left. Three empty vending machines stood between the door they had come through and the other sliding door.

The larger portion of this room with the high ceiling was mostly barren. A few benches and weights were scattered about the room, somewhat confirming Ginei's remark about the usage of this room. The only other things of note were the two sliding doors at the far end of this room. Ginei was pointedly making his way to the door on the left with Kumiko at his side.

Ginei paused at the door, gesturing for Niiya. The mermaid and Ashimizu quickened their pace to join the werewolf. Still clinging to Tora's arm, Kurumu slowed her step. As her heart fluttered with anxiety, she favored a glance back at Satsuki and Nerume to confirm that they were still here. She smiled nervously which Nerume mirrored as the others entered the room.

The first thing Kurumu noticed about the natatorium was the lack of darkness. Skylights were spaced in the steel rafters with four to a row and at least six columns. Her eyes trailed down the beige painted concrete walls, locating an emergency exit at the far corner which faced the theater. At that far end of the pool were three diving boards. The middle one was elevated up several meters on a steel platform while the other two were not much higher than the concrete about the pool. Dark tiles were curved about the pool's edge. Metal ladders were mounted to both sides near the far corners of the pool.

"Why are you with a bunch of outsiders?"

The speaker was treading water in the middle of the pool. The girl had dark, murky hair which came down to her jawline and wrapped about her head in a nearly perfect line. This was one of the seniors whom had assaulted Moka at the beginning of the school year.

The speaker was with two other girls whom had also been part of that altercation. One had dark, messy hair with a reddish hue which was a little longer than the speaker's. The last girl had long tresses which trailed behind her like an oil slick. Her black bangs were pulled into two tails which framed her thin face.

"Um… Mr. Ashimizu was worried about Ms. Kakisuna."

The speaker glanced at the senior whom stood beside Niiya at the side of the pool. Her dark eyes turned upon Ginei and the rest of the group.

"What's your excuse for the rest of these trespassers?"

Kumiko huffed, stepping forward and crossing her arms.

"This is public property. And as members of the PSC, we have the right to investigate any disturbances brought to our attention."

"We are causing no trouble here, Ms. PSC. Leave this place."

"Yea. This pool is ours now!"

Ginei chuckled at the messy haired girl's remark.

"Just because a building is abandoned doesn't mean you have the right to claim it as your own. You need to ask permission from the town elders."

"Why does this matter to you, Morioka?"

"A story. Just think about it. Your club could rally support to reopen this facility. It would greatly improve the swimming club's relationship with the school and community."

Kurumu perked up at his statement. That did sound promising though she had no idea what it would take. And this was a big pool. It had to be larger than the one on the school grounds.

"A relationship that your club ruined."

"My club did nothing to yours. We even gave you an article."

"Ms. Kurono was there. She and that bitch Akashiya scared every guy away from our pool."

Kurumu frowned at the first girl's accusation.

"Huh? You assaulted a bunch of first year guys."

The one with the long bangs drifted closer to the side.

"It only hurts the first few times. Ms. Akashiya broke things up before we could give those boys the pleasure that brings them back. The only thing your club's article did was make a few boys from our junior high take pity on us and occasionally stop by to donate some life essence to our cause."

"Yea, and Tamao gives us last picks when it comes to essence. I only have two minnows while all the girls from Tamari have four."

"Asari has four babies?"

Attention shifted to Ashimizu whom staggered back in shock. The trio of mermaids shared a look before the first speaker turned a grin on the guy.

"That's right. You came to see her."

"Y-yes, Ms. Amekaba. Asari hasn't been at school since the festival."

"That's awfully sweet of you to worry about her."

"We'll let you see her if you give us some life essence."

"Kobito!"

The messy haired girl frowned at the one with the long bangs.

"What?! You were thinking it too."

"No I wasn't."

"But I want another baby."

Amekaba rolled her eyes.

"Oh, shut up. It's not like she's a hostage."

"Yea. What if she complains to Tamao about it?"

"Well I was, uh… joking. Yea. It was a joke."

Amekaba snickered, shaking her head.

"Ms. Kakisuna is in the heated pool on the other side of that room you came from."

"She's watching over the minnows so try not to do anything that might scare them."

"It would also be sweet of you to give her some of your life essence while in there."

Ashimizu chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck as he retreated a step.

"I suppose I could do that for Asari."

"Aw. She's so lucky."

"Oh, hush. It will make the water nice for all of the minnows."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

Satsuki let out an inarticulate comment as the girl with the long bangs lifted out of the water. Her hands rested upon the water's surface like it was solid as she cocked her head with an inviting smile. Her bared, creamy breasts lacked nipples.

"No, Ms. Ikekawa. I think I can manage on my own."

"Trying to seduce him."

"No, I'm not. I was thinking if Ms. Kakisuna is taking his life essence, she might want someone to watch over the minnows."

"You're not going anywhere, Chozame. Tamao told the three of us stay in this pool so that is what we do. If Ms. Kakisuna wants help, she can come ask for it herself."

"But Mino-"

"No buts. Run along, Mr. Ashimizu. I sense that we have other matters to discuss with this crowd."

Ashimizu chuckled, retreating another step. He patted Ginei on the shoulder.

"Good luck."

Ginei nodded with a smirk before the senior took off. Ikekawa lifted up further, revealing her legs were fused together in a fish tail. She lacked a belly button but there was a hole further down her pale torso. Kurumu blushed, thinking she knew what that was as the girl turned on her side to lay atop the water like it was a solid surface.

"So you want to write another story on us. What kind of story are you planning?"

"That depends on you, Ms. Amekaba. Do you want a story about your club properly restoring this facility or will it be a story about your misuse of public property?"

"We're not doing anything wrong."

"If nothing was wrong, the PSC would not have been requested to be involved."

Amekaba scowled at Kumiko.

"The PSC has a history of making up issues to do as they please."

Ginei chuckled, stepping to the edge and holding a hand towards Kumiko in a manner to ward her off.

"No reason to start a fight. I'm sure that they will do the right thing."

Ikekawa sighed in her sprawled state.

"You're wasting your time. Tamao makes all of the important decisions for this club."

"Yea. Mino is too scared to do anything on her own."

"Shut up, you bitch."

"Girls, girls. No need to fight."

"We're not fighting. This is normal."

Ginei chuckled at Ikekawa's casual dismissal of the situation.

"You know I've never seen a mermaid's true anatomy before. My interactions with Niiya have all been in her human form."

"Why is that relevant?"

Ginei grinned at Niiya's puzzled expression.

"I was simply admiring Ms. Ikekawa's body. I noticed those ample breasts of hers don't have nipples."

The trio of girls in the water giggled. Ikekawa rolled over onto her belly and smirked at him.

"Naughty dog."

"Come over so I can have a closer look."

Ikekawa snickered at his beckoning gesture. She glanced back at her two companions, getting a shrug from Amekaba and a forked tongue stuck out from the other. With a shake of her head, she returned her attention to the grinning werewolf.

"What's in it for me?"

"I'll give you some life essence."

"Don't you have a girlfriend?"

Ginei snorted, slipping out of his jacket. He folded it up and handed it off to Niiya.

"It's not like I'm proposing sex here. Niiya can vouch for how good my life essence is."

Niiya blushed as Ginei started rolling back the sleeve on his left arm. The mermaid clutched his jacket tighter to her chest.

"Yea. His essence is very rich and tasty. You won't be disappointed."

"Well if he doesn't mind."

Ikekawa fell through the water's surface, zipping over to the edge of the pool with a strong swish of her tail. Ginei chuckled, getting down on one knee as he presented his left arm over the water. The mermaid lifted up from the water, timidly taking hold of his arm.

"Be gentle though. And try not to leave any marks."

Ikekawa pouted as her face contorted to reveal her fangs. Fins sprouted from where her ears would have been and lined the back side of her arms.

"I'll try my best."

The girl closed her mint green eyes as she sunk her fangs into his forearm. Ginei winced, bringing his right arm around to grab the mermaid by her shoulder and pull her closer to him. Ikekawa made a soft moan, not resisting his touch.

"Chozame. Let up for a moment. It will be better if you do the inside of my arm."

The girl made a slight sound before releasing his arm with a gasp. She let him adjust her position which was nearly an embrace at this point. She immediately clamped down again when he prompted her.

"So lucky."

Amekaba snorted at Kobito.

"Whatever. You have your answers. If you have an issue with us being here, you'll have to take it up with Tamao. Once those two are finished, you can leave."

Ginei chuckled, running his fingers through the hair of the mermaid feasting on his arm.

"No need to rush. We can always wait here for Ms. Ichinose."

"Suit yourselves. What time is it anyways?"

"Around three. I'm intrigued with the lack of nipples. How do you nurse your babies?"

"Why do you care?"

Niiya laughed nervously at Amekaba's response to Ginei.

"Um… well… the young either feed off themselves or life essence."

"Themselves?"

"We have a lot of babies at once. We let them trim their own numbers until we have an amount we feel comfortable raising with our life essence."

"How do you give them life essence?"

Ikekawa made a sensual moan, causing Niiya to blush deeper.

"It's just something we radiate from our pores. We radiate more when we have more. It makes the water taste nice to the young and other mermaids."

"So what are the breasts for?"

"Air bladders."

Ginei chuckled at Niiya's answer. He grabbed hold of Ikekawa and lifted her higher.

"Come with me, Chozame. This isn't that comfortable."

Kurumu smirked as the mermaid allowed him to pull her out of the pool. As he dragged her away from the pool, Tora walked over to Niiya and held out her hand.

"I'll take the jacket. Some of us aren't comfortable being around a naked girl."

"Hey! Hold up!"

Tora ignored Amekaba's protests as she accepted the jacket from Niiya. The sphinx strolled over to Ginei whom now was seated on the floor with a nude mermaid in his arms. Ikekawa had a dazed look in her eyes as she held his bitten arm to her breasts. Her head moved slightly as he ran his fingers through her hair. The girl made no protest as Tora knelt down and draped the jacket over her.

"That looks much more intimate than you should be with her."

"Hey! Put Chozame back in the pool!"

Kumiko snorted as Amekaba swam over to the edge, wagging her finger at them.

"There is no issue here."

"You need to leave now!"

"Can mermaids increase the size of their breasts?"

"What?!"

Ginei grinned at Amekaba while patting Ikekawa's head.

"It's like a muscle, right? She must do more breathing exercises than you."

"That's not how it works."

"Work with me, Niiya."

Niiya frowned, glancing at the flustered Amekaba.

"I suppose it might work like that. It's not like I've ever tried doing breathing exercises."

"Don't let that idiot tell you how our bodies work."

"Yea. If anything, stronger muscles would make smaller breasts."

Amekaba whirled about in the water.

"Don't you start talking nonsense."

"But it sounds right. You always brag about being the strongest. It must be why yours are so small."

"I'm not flat!"

"Let me be the judge of that."

Amekaba turned about with flush cheeks to face his smug expression.

"No way!"

"Why be modest at this point? It's not like we can't see the truth."

"Shut it, you PSC flunkie."

Kumiko smirked, cupping herself.

"I don't even think of myself as that endowed, but I think I have you beat."

"I'm not flat!"

The girl thrust herself up out of the water to prove her point and was instantly struck with a wad of white goo in her toned chest. The girl touched the wad with confusion.

"Too easy."

Kumiko hauled on her web, yanking the perplexed Amekaba out of the pool. Satsuki immediately rushed over to assist Kumiko's efforts of dragging the startled mermaid away from the water.

"Invaders!"

Kobito slashed at the water, sending a huge wave towards the two captives. Niiya hopped up to intercept the water, causing it to disperse. Kobito regarded her junior in disbelief.

"But why?"

"Because this has to stop."

Niiya dove into the pool, speeding towards Kobito with a large wave. Kobito snarled, pushing back the wave with ease. They grasped hands and started to struggle, taking the fight beneath the surface.

"So… what do we do?"

Kurumu shrugged at Nerume. Kumiko was wrapping the swearing Amekaba up in a wad of goo while Ginei continued to caress the dazed Ikekawa.

"Your blood can't possibly be that good."

Ginei smirked at Kurumu's remark which also drew Tora's interest.

"It's life essence."

"But Ms. Niiya took your essence. She didn't become this docile."

Ginei paused, clearly indecisive about answering. Kumiko finished her task with a final wad in Amekaba's mouth to silence her profanities.

"Do I need to bind that girl or will she remain like that?"

"It's a little drug I picked up from Shimasaki. I knew we had to get them out of the water and figured I could use my life essence as bait. Niiya knew about my plan."

"And this drug has no effect on you?"

Ginei chuckled at Tora as Kurumu remembered whom Shimasaki was. That was the kappa boy from Ginei's homeroom whom was in the chemistry club.

"I just smeared it on my arm a few minutes ago. It shouldn't be strong enough to work through the skin. But you probably should tie her up since I have no idea how long this drug will last."

"Hand her over then."

Ginei nodded, easing Ikekawa into Kumiko's arms. The girl started pulling wads of webbing out of her mouth, slicing them off with her fangs. She proceeded to wrap these sticky cords about Ikekawa's wrists.

"Are we supposed to help Ms. Niiya?"

Ginei chuckled at Tora's inquiry as he got to his feet.

"I'd like to but I don't know how. While I might be able to run across the water, yanking a mermaid out of her element is very difficult. I won't have any leverage. I'll just end up in the pool."

Kurumu had tried to pull Ichinose out of the club's pool but the captain had weighed herself down. She wondered if this would be any different. Supposing there was only one way to find out, Kurumu grabbed the hem of her sweater vest and pulled it up over her head.

"What are you doing?"

Kurumu pitched her vest aside, pulling her blouse free of the hem of her skirt.

"I'm going to fly out there and try to grab her."

"You are way too quick to take off your clothes."

Kurumu pouted at Tora as she steadily unbuttoned her blouse, revealing her pine green, lace bra with the paisley design.

"We can't just leave Niiya here to handle this on her own."

"I agree. Good luck out there."

Kurumu continued to pout at Ginei's grin and thumbs up. Shaking her head, she slipped out of her blouse and folded it up before handing it off to Tora.

"This is why I'm quitting this club."

"Don't be like that."

"What do you want us to do?"

As Ginei turned to address the clueless Satsuki and Nerume, Kurumu eased her chiropteran wings out. She flexed them, knowing she would have to be careful. While this room was big, it was still indoors.

"I think you two can watch over the captives while we handle things in the next room."

Kurumu hopped up with a strong beat of her wings which sent her several meters into the air. She had to quickly adjust her ascent to avoid striking the steel joists, angling her wings as needed. She circled about the struggle going on in the middle of the pool. Blood stained the waters as the mermaids snapped fangs and slashed talons at each other in close quarters. The many rends in Niiya's clothing gave Kurumu the impression that Niiya was losing.

Taking in a calming breath, Kurumu dove down. With the pair focused on each other, she doubted either was controlling the water. She reached out her palms, knowing that the moment she touched them she would have to will them apart. Hopefully some wind from her speed would help cover any shortcomings with her water manipulation skills.

She hit the water hard, forcing it aside as she desired. Both mermaids looked up in surprise as Kurumu's hands grabbed one of Kobito's arms. Kurumu smashed her wings down, striking the water. She shot up with the startled mermaid before the girl could even think to alter her weight. The girl screamed in terror, swiping at Kurumu with talons which lacerated her arm. Kurumu nearly dropped the girl from the sudden pain, but pumped her wings to carry her captive around towards the smug Ginei.

There was not much space between the wall and the pool's edge where Ginei and the others were. Kurumu dropped the girl into Ginei's arms as she passed by, angling her wings to slow her speed. There was more room on this other ledge which faced the main entrance. She whipped her wings up the moment she was clear of the water, causing her to plummet. She hit the ground at nearly a sprint. Her momentum carried her to the concrete wall which she caught with her hands.

"You okay over there?"

Kurumu laughed, pushing off the wall and twirling about on her heel. She grinned, giving a thumbs up.

"Get your hands off-"

Kobito's protest was cut off when Kumiko stuffed a wad of goo into her mouth. The girl screamed around the gag as Kumiko resumed her task of tying the girl up in a body bag of webbing much like she had done to the first troublesome girl. Nerume was seated nearby with Ikekawa's head in her lap while Satsuki watched over the process with a smirk. Kumiko had been less thorough with Ikekawa's bindings, only securing her arms tightly to her torso.

"Are you okay?"

Tora leaned over, offering a hand to Niiya. The mermaid took the hand, crawling up over the ledge and promptly sitting down. Her school blouse and skirt were ruined and she was bleeding profusely from several gashes in her side, arms and legs. She wavered like someone on the verge of passing out.

"Ms. Niiya?"

The girl snapped out of her daze, shaking her head.

"Just need a moment to heal."

"Don't heal."

"Are you serious?!"

Ginei held a hand up at Tora's sharp remark as he walked over to the pair.

"How we handle the next pair might be easier with her injured. We can pretend like she's a hostage."

"That might work with Tamari."

"That's at least a start. Now get up."

Ginei reached down and hauled Niiya off her butt. The girl staggered onto her feet, relying on Ginei for support. Tora glowered at him.

"You just want to feel her body against yours."

"Would you rather I dropped her?"

"Let me support her."

"I think this works better with a male villain. Come along, Kurumu. We'll need your charm."

Tucking her wings to her side, Kurumu stalked towards the others. There were two other sliding doors which served this room. One was on the wall she had caught herself on which likely went back to the main entrance. The other was on the same wall as the sliding door they had opened to enter this room, further down the chamber.

"Hold on. I'm coming with."

Kurumu paused as Kumiko finished wrapping another string about the squirming Kobito. She tore the webbing off and patted it against the rest of the binding. She pushed herself up and prompted Kurumu to resume. Ginei and the others were patiently waiting at the other door.

"I thought Zanzou said this next room is a multipurpose room. Won't these two be out of water?"

Ginei chuckled as they neared, shaking his head.

"It is a multipurpose room. They have a pool beneath a retractable floor. It's not as big of a pool as this one but it's still bigger than the one Ashimizu went to."

Kurumu was curious how that even worked as Ginei drew open the door. Holding Niiya to his side, he strolled into the next room with Tora in his wake.

This door had opened in the center of this room. The structure overhead was the same as it had been in the natatorium. Skylights provided enough natural light to diminish the darkness. Two double doors were along the wall on the right, though the handles suggested they pulled open. That meant they were not emergency exits like the double door at the far corner on the right which clearly pushed out.

The room looked empty as they walked further in. Her footsteps sounded hollow upon the floor which drew her attention down. Then she noticed the break in the floor.

"Well what do we have here?"

Ginei came to the edge, holding Niiya close. Beyond him was a perfect square in the floor which was easily the size of a school classroom. Roughly a meter below them was the water. In the center of this pool was a steel mesh cage within which a hideous creature was confined. This bipedal beast had webbed hands and feet. The beast croaked at them with a gaping maw lined with sharp fangs.

"What have you done to Miyoshi?!"

Two familiar girls flanked the cage. The speaker was from Kurumu's gym class. She always looked upset about something. She had fine, lavender tresses pulled back into twin tails at the nape of her neck. Her short bangs were pushed back with a pink coral hairband as she glared at them with fierce aquamarine eyes. The other girl Kurumu often saw in Ichinose's company. She had frothy white tresses braided in beads. Her pink eyes flickered with fear.

Ginei laughed heartily as he clutched Niiya tighter in an embrace that made the mermaid groan.

"Whatever I pleased. If you two don't get out of the water, I'm going to fillet this fish in front of you."

"What happened to the other girls?"

"Does it matter? The PSC is taking that merman into protective custody."

Niiya whimpered as Ginei twisted her arm.

"Just do as he says, Tamari. It's not worth it."

Tamari huffed in disgust, swimming away from the cage.

"Uzukawa!"

"Fuck off. It's not like we still need this guy."

"But the younger girls-"

"Miyoshi and the twins still can't make eggs and Fujinuma has a boyfriend. I'm not fighting over this."

Tamari shot up out of the water to place her hands on the floor. As she lifted herself further up, her fish tail split, forming into legs. She clambered up onto her new knees as her derriere filled out to a plumper, human appearance. By the time she was on her feet, it was impossible to tell that she had not been human seconds ago. Even her perky, small breasts had nipples now.

"Tamao won't be happy about this."

"I don't give a shit about her happiness. So what do you want me to do now?"

"Hold your hands out so we can tie you up proper."

Tamari glanced at Kumiko as the PSC girl pulled a sticky thread out of her mouth. Her expression soured.

"That's just gross."

"I'm not the one involved in gang raping that caged beast."

Tamari huffed, presenting her wrists to Kumiko.

"It was never my idea. But Kaede said that we may as well since having babies is important."

Tora shook her head in disbelief as Kumiko wrapped the webbing tightly about Tamari's wrists.

"I will never understand the girls of other species."

"Don't you want to be a mother?"

"Not if it means keeping your mate in a prison."

"Every species does it. They just call it marriage."

Ginei snickered, drawing a glare from Tora.

"Since agreeing with you might get me more daggers of death, I'll just keep quiet. You've served us well, Niiya. Into the drink with you."

Ginei shoved Niiya over the edge, causing the girl to cry out before hitting the water. Tamari regarded him with wide eyes as he turned his smug grin upon her.

"You just shoved her into the pool."

"She needs the water to heal."

"Are you a-"

Tamari cut back her words as she suddenly understood the situation. For the first time Kurumu could recall, this girl's thin lips turned up into a snarky smile.

"You dick. She was in on this. Miyoshi was never cool with what happened. And since she can't have kids yet, she's never seen the benefit of keeping this guy around."

"And you did?"

"I already said that was never my call. You're pretty dumb for a smart girl."

Ginei chuckled, gesturing for the door.

"Now, now, ladies. You can take your argument to the other room. I still have one more girl to convince that leaving is the best option for her."

Tamari snorted as she stalked off towards the open door with her hands bound.

"Good luck with that. Kaishita is mentally challenged."

"Your grades aren't much better than mine!"

"Yea, yea. I have no idea what you plan to do with that wild beast. He'll probably try to kill you all the moment you let him out of that cage."

"Let us worry about that. Go with her, Tora."

Tora sighed, jogging off to catch up with Tamari before the girl left the room. Attention shifted to the nervous white haired girl remaining in the pool. The beast in the cage was croaking loudly, banging against the mesh. Niiya drifted closer to the cage.

"Now then. Ms. Kaishita. I think it would be best for everyone if you willingly left the pool."

Kaishita wrung her hands against her breasts, shaking her head at his declaration.

"I can't do that. Tamao said we have to keep this guy secure in his cage."

A sphere of compressed water smashed against the side of Kaishita's head. She glanced at the merman to receive another one to the face. She smacked the water surface, causing a small wave to surge about the unruly beast.

"Stop that, you stupid thing. It's not like you can hurt me with water."

"Get out of the pool before we make you."

"You can't get down to me without entering the water."

Kurumu thumbed over her shoulder.

"I have wings."

Kaishita paused, glancing at Niiya whom was cautiously drawing closer.

"I'll anchor myself. Even with Ms. Niiya's help, you won't be able to take me out of this pool."

"Then I guess I'll have to kill you."

Kaishita locked eyes with Niiya.

"You can't. That's why Ms. Uzukawa and Ms. Oda had to rescue you. You're no good at killing."

"Neither are you."

"I'm not the one making threats. I'll hold out until Tamao comes for me."

"We just dispatched three mermaids in their environment in a matter of minutes."

"You must have tricked them. Like you did to Uzukawa."

"Do you really think my injuries were self-inflicted? I personally fought with Ms. Himizu."

"Big deal. Nobody likes that big mouth. That's why she lives alone."

"I will fight you if I must."

"Did you kill Ms. Himizu? Because that's what it will take."

There was an uneasy pause which was broken by a water sphere to the side of Kaishita's head. She whined at the angry merman, splashing water at him.

"This is dumb. It will be hours before Ms. Ichinose comes to your rescue. We are leaving here with this breeding horse of yours one way or another."

"It almost sounds like you care about rescuing this guy."

Kumiko growled at Ginei's amusement.

"I just want to be done with this."

"Give us the key, Ms. Kaishita. You can tell Tamao that you lost the fight."

"Are you dumb? As if Tamao would leave the key with us."

An idea popped in Kurumu's head. She flicked her hand, causing her fingers to lengthen into talons.

"I have a set of keys right here. You might want to get out of the water. I'm about to cut this guy loose."

Niiya's eyes widened.

"Are you serious?"

"Yep. We'll see if she wants to stay in the water with an angry merman."

Kurumu hopped up with a bat of her wings, launching into the air. She worked her wings to move her about the confines of this room which was roughly the size of gymnasium, trying to judge the best approach to get down at the mesh of that cage. It was thankfully a bit higher than the water surface which would make this easier.

"Don't do it!"

A wall of water splashed up to intercept her which she effortlessly sped through. She swiped her hands down as she passed by the cage, feeling the jarring impact upon her wrists as her talons sliced through the mesh steel. She cried out in pain as she shot by, almost failing to bank away from the wall. She shook her hands though the gesture did little to help with the pain.

As she circled about the room, she wondered if her talons could break. She had sliced through all sorts of materials from trees to concrete with them, though it never felt pleasant. The ache this time was all the way down to her elbows. She hoped it would not take too many more passes.

Ginei helped Niiya out of the pool as Kurumu mentally prepared for the next approach. Kaishita cried out in alarm, throwing up another useless water barrier which Kurumu easily passed through. Her talons hit the top of the mesh cage again, filling the room with a grating sound. She whimpered as she sped away.

"Stop! Please!"

"You might want to get out of the water before your boyfriend eats you in a way that doesn't feel good."

Kurumu sulked at his amusement over the situation. This hurt. The captive merman mush have sensed a weakness in the cage. The beast was banging against the top of the cage, causing it to bend and distort. Maybe in another pass she would have slashed it up enough for him to break free.

Speeding towards the cage, she saw that Kaishita had accepted the futility of her position. The mermaid scrambled for the edge of the pool as Kurumu swept across the top of the cage once more. The beast howled in anger, shooting her with water spheres which smashed against her back and butt. She dimly registered this impact through the agony in her arms.

"You're all crazy!"

The merman continued to pound on the roof of his cell as Kumiko started tying Kaishita up. It looked busted up enough for him to break out on his own. Clutching her throbbing arms to her bosom, Kurumu circled about to where the others were. Angling her wings up, she dropped down on her feet.

"Nice work."

Kurumu willed her wings back into her body. Her talons hurt too much to even try drawing them in.

"I want to go home now."

"Not just yet. You need to charm this guy into behaving."

With a deafening roar, the merman busted free. He climbed out of the jagged hole he had made, ignoring the tears this made in his flesh. He immediately pitched back into the water.

"What's he doing?"

"Healing. And then he'll kill anyone that tries to take him out of the pool."

"He won't be killing anyone unless I let Niiya toss you in there."

Kaishita's eyes widened in alarm at his threat.

"You wouldn't do that, right?"

"This isn't the old PSC, you ditz. Be grateful."

Kumiko grabbed the girl by the hair and started walking away. Kaishita whined with her arms pinned to her sides, trying not to lose her footing as the pair made their way to the door.

"Time to work your magic, Kurumu."

Kurumu whimpered from the jolt of pain caused by him patting her shoulder. She scowled at him, rubbing her palms against her aching arms.

"Give me a moment. I've had to yank one mermaid out of a pool and break a steel cage for you."

"Well this was the only task I brought you here for. You did those other things on your own initiative."

Kurumu shook her head, doubling down on her justification to quit this lousy club. She stalked closer to the edge of the pool to stand next to Niiya. The angry merman swim in circles about his cage. The beast occasionally hit the steel and this was not by accident. It was venting it's frustration at anything it could.

"Hopefully he has enough of a mind to recognize you were trying to help him."

Ginei chuckled at Niiya's remark, coming over to rest a hand on her shoulder.

"I think he understands that much. He shot Ms. Kaishita several times but never at us."

As if to diminish Ginei's words, a water sphere smacked him dead center of the chest. The werewolf sighed, withdrawing his hand.

"You were fine with us killing this thing, right?"

"We get down to the water this way."

Kurumu gestured at the rugged series of ledges which created a natural path down the side of this cliff. The other first year girls stood further out in this clearing near the cliff's edge overlooking the ocean. The stars were already peeking out through the darkening horizon as the sun had set easily a half hour ago during their walk home.

"That is heike boshi and that one there is paroshion. This bright one is tenrousei. These three stars are called the winter triangle."

Satsuki swatted Nerume in the back of the head.

"We're not here to look at stars."

Nerume pouted, rubbing her head as Kumiko stalked away from the others. The jorougumo gestured at the trail as she neared.

"I see no reason for all of us to go down to the water."

"But you insisted on coming along."

Kumiko scowled at Ginei's amusement.

"I wanted to make sure he was released as promised. We can watch that from up here."

"And here I thought I had been to every place on this island."

Kurumu wagged a finger in Ginei's direction as she wandered over to the edge.

"And you better not come back here. If I get one complaint from Manami's friends about a lecher spying on them while they are skinny dipping, I'm going to erase your memory of this place."

Ginei chuckled, holding his hands up defensively as Kurumu hopped down to the first ledge.

"You already claimed that Hitsumi never joins them. That removes my biggest temptation."

"Her presence should not be the deciding factor of whether or not you behave like a decent person."

"Ms. Okimune has a boyfriend now. It's horrible that you would even consider peeping on her."

Ginei turned his grin upon Niiya. He snickered, gesturing to the figure standing behind the mermaid. The merman remained docile under Kurumu's charm to follow Niiya wherever she went.

"Looking isn't touching. I'd still peep on you despite your new boyfriend."

"He isn't my boyfriend!"

Kurumu giggled as she hopped down to the next ledge, touching the rocky cliff at her side. She glanced back to confirm that Ginei had dropped down to the first ledge.

"Will it be okay to release this guy here? Won't he attack Ms. Amesuki and her friends?"

Niiya shook her head at Tora's concerns as the sphinx came over to join them.

"They are undines. Mermen know to avoid creatures stronger than them. I doubt he'll stay in this place long since their scent will identify this spot as their territory."

"It's not like the barrier gives him much choice. He can only go so far."

"This is the best we can do."

"Are you coming down with us, Tora?"

"I agree with Ms. Hineri that it isn't necessary. Hurry up and get this over with so we can go to dinner."

Kurumu snorted as she eased down to the next ledge which thankfully did not require both feet leaving the trail like the last two drops.

"I'm in no hurry to make dinner for Milady."

"And I still think this is a bad idea. We should turn him over to the faculty."

"If the school wasn't in such a state of disarray, I would agree with that course of action. As is, I plan to report that we had to dispose of him. The PSC wouldn't be charged with murder in this situation."

"You are relying on Ms. Genzouyaki to write a misleading article about this."

"She can write the truth and little Hineri can report her version of the situation. It wouldn't be the first time the PSC lied about something."

Kurumu snickered at his remark as she hopped down to another ledge. She only had a couple more to go before she was on the rocky shore preceding the water.

"I'm trying to protect this brute."

"They won't come after him, Ms. Hineri. They have their babies. And I'm confident that I can talk the younger girls out of looking for him."

Niiya ended her statement with a hop down to the first ledge. The charmed merman waddled over to the edge, preparing to follow.

"Watch your step."

"I think he's too busy watching your body."

"Because he's charmed!"

"Admit it. You like the attention."

"Shut up, you dumb dog."

Kurumu giggled as she descended the last ledge. She strolled across the rocks, turning about to regard the others on the uneven path. Ginei was most of the way down with the other two still near the top.

"I know I charmed him to follow you but you were flustered for most of the walk."

Niiya pouted as she eased down to the next ledge.

"It's overbearing to have a guy regard you so intensely. My skirt and blouse barely have enough fabric to stay on my body. It makes me squeamish, thinking about how the others had babies with him."

Ginei snickered as he jumped down, skipping the last ledge entirely. He hit the rocks with a hop, turning about to flash the mermaid his grin.

"I think you mean jealous."

"Fuck off. You can forget having my thanks or my vote, you ass."

"That's okay. I'm sure I've won over Ashimizu and his bowling club."

Kurumu smirked at his remark.

"Do you think Ashimizu is still at the pool?"

"Possibly. A couple hours of sex isn't difficult to do."

Kurumu swatted his arm with the back of her hand.

"Hush. He's making love to a girl he always had some feelings for."

"He's definitely getting some feelings in now."

Kurumu sighed, watching Niiya help the big brute down to the ledge she was on.

"You shouldn't treat sex like a joke. It's something precious two people share."

"And you should know that sex and love are different things."

"They don't have to be."

Ginei grinned at her, reaching out to brush the back of his fingers against her cheek.

"I'm free after this."

Kurumu rolled her eyes, turning away from him.

"I feel sorry for Mika."

"Don't. I'll have her moaning for puppies before this night is over."

Leaving this club was definitely the right call.

"Niiya. Will this guy be lonely?"

Niiya blushed as she assisted the merman down to the last ledge before the bottom. She shook her head emphatically as she shuffled over to the edge.

"Mermen tend to be solitary creatures."

"Really? We saw a whole horde of them in Okinawa."

Niiya hopped down, turning her back to them. She held her hands up to the merman.

"That's unusual. They are fiercely territorial, more likely to kill each other than work together."

The merman dove into Niiya's arms, causing the smaller girl to stagger back. Once she was steady, she detached herself from the brute's thick arms and turned back to face them.

"It would take a strong common enemy or some sort of mind control for that to happen."

Kurumu nodded, unsure if Kamiya had admitted to controlling the beasts or not.

"It's good that they are solitary though. These guys are much stronger than us. It's difficult for two girls to subdue one of these guys. You have to hope he's in a breeding mood or you can get him interested."

"If two naked girls crossed my path, I would be down for a threesome."

Kurumu swatted his side with a shake of her head.

"These guys often kill mermaids."

"Yea. You'll know in a few seconds if he wants to kill or breed. And if it is breeding he wants, it's safer to just let that happen than to risk changing his primitive mind. Not pleasant but better than being eaten."

"Mika enjoys being eaten."

Kurumu sighed, walking out into the water. Water sloshed up over her shoes and socks.

"I wish you had stayed up there with the others."

Niiya chuckled nervously, leading the lumbering beast into the water.

"I agree. Will he stop following me soon?"

"I probably will have to change his charm."

Niiya turned about as a wave of water sloshed up over her thighs. The frayed remnants of her skirt parted just enough to momentarily reveal the white briefs beneath.

"He won't hurt me when you do, right?"

"I'll be sure to keep him amorous of you."

Niiya pouted as she touched the gently passing waves with her hands.

"You don't need to leave him like that. It's not like I want to see him again."

Kurumu grinned, touching the leathery hide of the merman's arm. The beast turned its bulbous head to regard her with huge black eyes. Forcing a smile, Kurumu pushed the thought of freedom upon the creature. It was free to swim in these waters and would not harm the pretty girl he had been following.

The sudden backhand to her head knocked Kurumu into the water. Her rump hit the jagged rocks hard as the waves surged up to the bottom swell of her breasts. Several girls cried out in alarm as the merman sloshed through the water towards Niiya whom retreated with panic in her eyes.

"What did you do?!"

Kurumu was still dazed from the strike to fully comprehend the situation. The merman snatched Niiya by the hair when the girl tried to dive into the water, hauling her back to him. His other hand grabbed the hem of her tattered skirt, tearing what little fabric was holding it on.

Ginei appeared, striking the beast with enough force to knock it off its feet. It pitched to the side but kept hold of its victim, yanking Niiya down by her waist. The mermaid fell down into a seated position as the water churned about her.

"Niiya!"

Ginei grabbed for the mermaid's hand and the girl screamed. She snatched his hand with both of hers as she started to bob up and down in the water.

Kurumu was confused as she staggered upright. Ginei was straining as he tried to pull Niiya free from the submerged merman's grasp. Her panicked screams quickly became labored whimpers. That was not the sound of a girl dying. Kurumu sloshed towards the spectacle, knowing she had to stop it.

But then the churning water stopped with Niiya letting out a piteous whimper.

"It's inside me."

Ginei fell back into the water when Niiya was released. With her hands held firmly, the mermaid fell on top of Ginei, driving the werewolf beneath the surface. There was a sudden surge of water speeding out towards the horizon, marking the merman's departure.

"Are you okay?"

Kurumu pushed through the shallow waves to join the pair. Ginei lifted out of the water, holding Niiya close as the shivering girl wrapped her arms about him. Her butt wiggled as she pressed her thighs together, rubbing her cheek against his soaked jacket.

"I feel funny."

"What did you tell that creature to do?"

Kurumu shook her head at his accusation.

"He wasn't supposed to harm her. I never told him to rape her."

"I guess rape doesn't fall under his definition of harm."

Kurumu pouted, knowing that had not been her intention at all. She gingerly touched Niiya's shoulder.

"Does it hurt?"

"I don't know. It's twitching. Something inside me."

"Probably in shock. But since it was so quick, you won't be sore like Mika was the next day."

"Ginei!"

"You know I'm right. That was quick. Less than a minute."

"Oh! I need- oh!"

Niiya stumbled in his arms and her legs started to fuse together. Ginei staggered under her shift of weight, lowering her to the water as her fish tail fully formed.

"Niiya! What's happening?"

The girl let out a huge sigh of relief as a stream of white spheres started popping out the hole where her legs had fused together. Kurumu blushed, glancing aside as the girl panted sensually.

"Oh, so good."

Ginei snickered, holding the mermaid close to him.

"You should not sound this satisfied with what just happened."

"Like I'm floating."

"Kurumu! Senior! Is everything okay down there?!"

Kurumu felt so embarrassed. She had no idea what she should tell Tora and the others.

"It's fine, Tora. Niiya will need a moment to recover from this sexual assault."

Kurumu flinched at his casual explanation.

"Sexual assault?!"

"It's not my fault! I told him not to harm her!"

"I'm a mommy now."

Kurumu's shoulders sank at Niiya's tone. Ginei chuckled, caressing the girl's cheek

"Shall we tell the others that she's happy about it?"

"Fuck off, Ginei. I'm going home."

Stalking out of the water, Kurumu hoped she would find her new club soon.