Kurumu groaned as a small hand gripped her shoulder and shook her. Her mind struggled to hold onto the vestiges of a dream she could not comprehend. Indistinct, meaningless images flitted through her mind as she felt this overwhelming sense of warmth and comfort surrounding her. She wanted to stay within this emotion.
That warmth diminished as a sheet was drawn back. The small hand moved back to her shoulder to jostle her again as fingers poked her cheek. Kurumu shifted with a whimper, aware that a warm body was pressed up against her back with an arm draped over her side. Her eyelids fluttered open as she took a deep breath, noting the witch kneeling beside her.
"Hey."
Kurumu smiled warmly.
"Hey."
"I see Tsukune didn't make it home last night."
Kurumu halfheartedly reached up for the girl. The witch deftly scooted back, crossing her arms about her chest. The girl was dressed for school, though without her hat and cape.
"Did you do it?"
Kurumu stuck her tongue out. Scooting forward and shifting onto her back, she glanced at him. He was so cute. His lips were slightly parted as he breathed softly. His right hand was lax against his chest while his other now rested below her breasts. She absently lowered her hands to touch his, caressing for a moment before slipping out of his grasp. He rolled slightly forward, nuzzling his cheek against the pillow.
Turning with her back to Yukari, she got up on her knees as she drew the blanket back in place. She sighed, stretching her arms up over her head. Her body felt flush and there was this uncomfortable sensation between her thighs.
"I need to shower."
"Well, did you?"
Kurumu smirked, glancing over her shoulder at the imp. She had such an innocent look in her soft, brown eyes. Getting up on her feet with a bit of a stagger, she tousled the girl's hair before setting off towards the bathroom.
"Let me wake up Tsukune. It'll freak him out if you do it."
"Okay. I have breakfast ready for you guys."
Kurumu paused at the bathroom door, smiling at Yukari as the girl retreated to her suite.
"So you knew he spent the night?"
"I suspected he would."
Kurumu smirked, shaking her head as she entered the bathroom. With her hand lingering on the door, she shut it as she turned and sat down on the toilet. She yawned as she let her hands fall in her lap. She winced at the momentary sting, running a hand through her hair as she emptied her bladder.
She felt different. It was not good or bad. Just different. She still worried about how things would turn out in the long run. Despite all his reassurances of acceptance, she remained a danger to his physical health. She sighed, wondering if this was all a big mistake.
Awkward was the best word to describe the sex from last night. All the fumbling, lack of eye contact and limitations on kissing diminished the experience. While they had shared some moments of pure bliss and had continued well past the point of exhaustion, she felt there had been a lack of intimacy. It was like Tsukune was having sex with some other girl.
Flushing the toilet, she pulled herself up by the sink to regard her reflection. This young girl staring back at her with those lavender eyes was a woman. She touched the cool surface, noting that there were no marks on her smooth skin despite all of his suckling. Her natural healing was too much to carry signs of his love. She sighed in disappointment.
Leaning back to get a fuller view of her body, she let her hands drift to her navel. She absently rubbed upwards, wondering if she should feel something. They had foregone protection, since he had felt uncomfortable about bringing condoms to the pool and had not had a chance to revisit his room. While her body felt flush, she wondered if that was due to sleeping against him naked for hours.
She pushed aside the worry of her body not responding to him. This was not something she should be concerned with as a first year in high school. They could wait until after graduation to confirm if this was an issue they should address.
"Believe in him, Kurumu. He promised he would accept it all."
She tugged open the shower door and hopped inside. The nice thing about having her own restroom was that she could leave her shower things in here all the time. She spun the chrome dial that released the water and shivered as the chilly water struck upon her skin. She turned about in the small space as her body quickly adjusted to the rising temperature.
Seizing her peach scented shampoo, she squeezed a tiny bit into her palm. She quickly worked it into her locks till the suds crept down her forehead into her eyebrows. Wiping it aside with the back of her hand, she grabbed her cherry red loofa and her bodywash. She squirted the matching scented soap generously before scrubbing it into a lather upon her breasts. Her nipples were a little tender but did not need any serious attention.
She would have to work harder on her studies. English might be useless, but it was a grade she needed to get into a college. Then again, colleges mostly cared about her ability to pass the national exam. She wondered if Yukari would know what was on that test. It would not matter how good her grades were if she could not pass that.
Eighty. She should strive for eighty. There was no way she had scored that high in English but that should be her goal here on out. No more of this hoping to pass. That should be a given.
It was difficult to keep a lather up in such a small space. The water was pushing it off as quickly as she could scrub her limbs and torso. Squirting another gob, she scrubbed her nethers and inner thighs.
She needed a bucket. With a bucket, she could fill it and douse her nethers better than relying on rivulets of water to end up where she wanted them. Turning into the spray, she backed as much as she could while cupping her palms at her thighs. It worked. Sort of. Eventually. She needed a bucket, though those spray wands usually equipped with the tubs would be even better. A bath would be glorious.
She ducked her hair back in to rinse the shampoo out. She sighed at how quickly this cleared up due to her short hair. She missed her hair. Stupid Hiboshi and her dumb fire. She supposed the girl getting her clock wound back five years was worse. Grabbing up her conditioner bottle, she still hated how that whole mess had turned out. Sure, Hiboshi was kind of nicer to her now and had bought Yukari a few things. Seemed a small pittance for what each of them had lost.
Kurumu sighed. On a whim she eased her tail out and guided it in front of her. She stroked the length of it a couple times, which felt no different than rubbing her arm. She shrugged, reaching down to grab her loofa and scrub the tail properly with the soap that remained in it.
She wondered if an undine was the only race safe to carry her baby. Technically she knew some girls she could ask if this was her only option. That gorgeous Okimune from choir whom Ginei admired was an undine from Kamitsuku's junior high. She remembered another one was from the track team in class five and there was one in her home economics class. The other two she had forgotten.
She angled the spade tip towards her, unfolding the petals. She shivered as flecks of water struck upon the sensitive stigma. She wondered if she should clean this. When she used it for her dream world, it would clean itself of the reddish fluids in a day or two. She had no idea how. It just did.
Taking a breath, she decided to clean the petals with her fingers and water. It was probably pointless, but she never did this and it bothered her to think this would be pressed against a girl's special place. It felt wrong to leave it dirty. Assuming it was dirty. It was not like she needed it clean now.
Figuring she had spent enough time being an idiot, she closed up her spade and ducked her head back in the water to rinse out the conditioner. As she scrubbed her hair, she drew her tail back in. Once it felt like only water was running down her cheeks, she cut the flow off and exited the shower.
Kurumu had stacked her few, weathered black towels on top of the toilet's tank. It certainly was nice to have such a convenient place to put these things. The toilets on campus were consistently this kind. Her few adventures in Mononoke had reminded her that many places used the floor ones which were little more than a trough built in the floor.
Grabbing up a towel, she promptly dried her locks. She turned the towel upon her arms and torso before descending her legs. Mostly dry, she dropped it on the floor and mopped up the water that had pooled about her feet. Flashing her reflection a grin, she slipped out into her main room.
Tsukune was still resting in the center, though he had turned on his back. His chest rose slowly with each breath. Kurumu regarded her closet door a moment but felt his presence was much more enticing. She padded across the room to kneel down beside him. She regarded his soft features, adorable and relaxed. Leaning in, she brushed her thumb across his lips as she cupped his cheek.
Tugging back the blanket to bare his chest all the way down to the start of indecency, Kurumu eased herself over his belly. She felt him stir as she regarded his chest, her hands placed on either side of his head upon the pillow. Lowering down on him, she kissed his neck and shoulders, feeling his warmth between her thighs.
His lust stirred and fixated upon her. His arms moved to embrace her, hands drifting down her back. He took in a deep breath, causing him to yawn as he drew one hand back up between her shoulders.
"Kurumu."
She murmured in acknowledgement as she pressed against him. She kept her gaze on his body, kissing his warm skin gently as she scooted down so she was straddled about his waist. She reached behind her, fumbling for the blanket. Finding it, she tugged it back over her nude body.
"What time is it?"
She breathed in deep as she snuggled up against him.
"Morning."
He took in a deep breath, squeezing her in his arms.
"You smell good."
"I showered."
"Can we have sex?"
She giggled, nuzzling her cheek against her chest. She felt his hands drift down her sides about the curves of her hips to squeeze her butt.
"Yukari is awake."
"Really?"
Kurumu nodded against him, not feeling the urgency to move. She could sense he was interested in continuing their antics from last night. She knew she was quite accessible and ready for him to fulfill such a desire, though she was content to simply rest in his arms.
"We should get dressed."
"Just a little longer."
"The door is open. She could walk in at any moment."
Kurumu smiled, aware that he was trying to convince himself. She could tell he really wanted more. If she scooted back, she knew he would let her. All she had to do was lift up and sit back.
"We have a blanket."
"It's not muffled at all when the door is open."
Kurumu giggled, glancing back at the door. She rolled off of him, taking the blanket with her. Tsukune had a moment of panic, covering himself with his hand. He rolled away from her on his side and got on his feet, darting over to the open bathroom door.
"Tsukune."
He paused, holding the door with one foot in the room as he glanced over his shoulder. His eyes glazed over under her charm, forcing her to look away till the odd moment passed.
"If it's no trouble, you could spend more nights here."
She could feel him looking at her with desire. Demurely keeping her eyes averted, she stood up and opened the sheet wide for him to see her. He lingered for a long moment, enjoying the view.
"I hope my mother can forgive me."
She pouted as he suddenly closed the door. A moment later she heard a strong stream hitting the puddle in the toilet, causing her to chuckle. Shaking her head, she turned about and snapped the blanket over her bedding. Kneeling down, she folded up the warm fabric into her arms.
These had just been washed. Still, she loved this smell. There was something strong about his scent that she could not quite place. It was more pungent and intoxicating than her own. She had a feeling it would be difficult to sleep at night if she did not wash this sex out.
Hauling the bedding up in her arms, she heard the shower start as she wandered over to her closet. She tugged the door open, slipping inside the small space. Stepping up on the lower shelf, she shoved her futon back in its place before selecting her blouse and skirt for the day.
She felt like wearing her fitted green jacket today. She wanted to look proper and serious when she got her exam results. Setting these things aside, she fished out a bra and tugged that over, using the last hooks on the band to give more space in the cups. She wondered if she should get more bras. These were already more than a year old.
As she buttoned up her blouse, she was curious how long he would have lasted with her on top. She suspected it would have only taken a couple minutes. Neither of them were that used to sex. They could have gotten away with it, assuming they could keep their voices down. It still hurt, but she had not cried last night. Tugging on her jacket, she wondered how long it would take for her to get used to it.
Grabbing her skirt, she paused a moment thinking about which panties she wanted. Being sore it was probably best to grab a simple white pair. She should save her sexier things for the field trip. The thongs could allow for some exciting chances. She did have two of them, as well as two cute boyshorts. Four day trip with four sexy panties. It was like destiny.
Fixing up her skirt and tucking her blouse in, she grabbed a simple pair of white cottons and some socks. She smirked as she heard the water cut off. Exiting the closet, she wandered over to the discarded swimsuit near the kitchen counter. Tsukune's borrowed trunks were also nearby. Leaving her panties and socks on the counter, she picked up the suits and ducked back in the closet to pitch the garments into her black, wicker hamper.
Tsukune stepped out of the bathroom, cinching a towel about his waist. He smiled in her direction before striding purposefully towards the foyer where his bag of clothes rested.
"Hey, Tsukune."
She smiled, turning her back to him as she leaned on the counter. Shifting her feet apart, she held up her panties. His reaction felt so delicious as he lingered by the half wall.
"Put those on."
"You put them on."
He nervously chuckled as he bent down to pick up his things.
"I think I'll stick with my clothes."
Setting her panties back on the counter, she lowered her head to rest upon her forearms.
"Put them on me."
"I'd rather not."
"You don't want me wearing panties to school today?"
He sighed, draping the towel over his shoulder. Walking around the half wall, he was holding her schoolbag and shoes in one hand while gripping his bag of clothes in the other. He had slipped on his navy boxers which clearly approved of her antics. He set her things down beside her panties.
"I want you to stop tormenting me. I'm sure she can hear us."
"She's old enough to understand what we did."
"That doesn't mean I want her to hear it."
Kurumu smiled, grabbing her panties and holding them up again.
"Put them on."
"Too awkward to explain if she walks in."
She pouted, dropping them back on the counter.
"Fine, I won't wear them."
He sighed.
"Get up and close your eyes."
"Hmm?"
"Straighten up and close your eyes."
She frowned, lifting up from the counter. Relaxing her shoulders, she closed her eyes. Hands touched her shoulders, turning her towards him. She grinned, about to say something when his lips pressed against hers. She stiffened, reflexively reaching up to push him back by the shoulders, but he held tight to hers. She glanced up at him.
"Keep them closed."
She flinched, shutting her eyes before she saw his.
"We can't."
"Trust me."
She bit her lip as she felt him press in again, this time his lips touching her forehead. She sighed, scolding herself for her concern. It was not like he had pushed his tongue in her mouth. She should have relaxed and trusted him to kiss her safely.
"I'm sorry."
He chuckled, letting her go.
"For what?"
She shrugged, opening her eyes.
"I love you."
His hand patted her head.
"I'm going to go get dressed. Be merciful to me and put those on."
She smirked.
"Oh? Are you going to do something to me if I don't?"
He sighed.
"I'd tell Ms. Nekonome that you're running around without underwear."
"No, you wouldn't."
"Well I can't do something you want. Then you'd never put them on."
She smirked, wondering if he really would tell a teacher. Snatching up her panties, she deftly stepped into them and tugged them up beneath her skirt. Fluffing her skirt back in place, she crossed her arms below her breasts.
"Happy?"
He smiled in relief, patting her head again before stalking off. He tugged open the closet door, ducking inside and closing the door behind him.
She sighed, grabbing her things off the counter and crossing the room. She wondered why he had not dressed in the main room as she stepped through the magical opening. Maybe he wanted to rummage through her clothes. She wished she had prettier things for him to admire in there. He had seen most of her wardrobe by now and it was not that glamorous.
The low table had been tugged over to the center of Yukari's suite. The witch had set out three plates of omelet, rice and sausage. Each golden omelet was dressed up with ketchup hearts while the sausages had been shaped and cut in an unusual manner. Setting her school bag down, Kurumu knelt beside the plate on her right.
Yukari was standing on a step stool attending the dishes in the sink. Her white satchel rested on the counter next to her. The little witch hummed a tune as she turned the skillet over in her hands, scrubbing the surface with a green scouring ball.
"Tsukune will be joining us soon."
Yukari paused, glancing over her shoulder. The witch shrugged, turning her attention back to her chore.
"Did you put that cake slice in your satchel?"
"Yes. I wasn't kidding about being able to hear the two of you flirting."
Kurumu absently touched the chopsticks beside her plate. She noted the sausages had been cut so that one end bulged wider than the other. The rest of the sausage had been fluted much like a column.
"I'm sorry. Was it embarrassing?"
"It's after six thirty."
Kurumu smiled as the girl moved to place the skillet in the dishwasher. She supposed time would be Yukari's primary concern.
"You're not upset?"
"Why would I be?"
Yukari pulled out another pan and added it to the dishwasher. She returned to the sink, pulling the plug and setting it on the counter. She started wiping the sink as it drained.
"I know you probably don't have either of your brain cells working after last night, but do try to think."
"Hey."
Yukari finished up with the sink, hopping down from the stool. The witch opened the cabinet below the sink and tucked the stool away. Drying her hands off on a small, brown rag, she turned and wandered over to the plate across the table from Kurumu. Kneeling down, she smirked at her.
"I considered sneaking in, but suspected you would sense me even through invisibility."
"Morning, Yukari."
Tsukune walked through the magical opening in the same tee shirt and jeans he had worn over to the pool. He knelt down at the remaining spot, setting his shoes beside him.
"Morning, Tsukune."
"Well, I'm glad you didn't sneak in. I don't want you seeing me having sex."
Yukari shrugged as she picked up her chopsticks.
"It's not like I haven't seen it before. My parents had sex all the time. If Father didn't have fertility issues, I would have been a big sister by now."
Tsukune sighed, shaking his head as he cut his omelet with his chopsticks.
"You're really something, Yukari."
"I'm a genius."
Kurumu smirked, seizing one of the sausages and holding it up. She had a suspicion what the witch had been going for.
"You're a pervert. How much time did it take to make these little wieners?"
"I was bored and thought to do something different."
Plopping it in her mouth, Kurumu chewed it down while shaking her head.
"I think the two of you behave a lot like sisters."
"I don't see how anyone could conclude the two of us being related."
He chuckled as he picked up a piece of omelet.
"I don't mean the way you look physically. It's the way you both look out for each other."
Kurumu smirked.
"She watches Moka much more than me."
"That's different. Moka is more like a crush."
Yukari smiled, stowing a sausage into her mouth. Chewing slowly, she regarded him.
"She's not a crush. She shall be my lover."
He grinned as he picked up one of the sausages.
"How does that work? Do you plan to become a vampire?"
"No need to. A lover is a lover. Vampires only fuss over pairing when children are possible."
Kurumu smirked.
"But Moka might want to marry another vampire. What then?"
"I will be whatever she asks me to be. Are you not the same with Tsukune?"
Kurumu supposed that was true. Picking up the last of her sausages, she wagged it.
"Does this mean you've lost interest in Tsukune?"
Yukari shrugged with a glance at him.
"I imagine he sees me as a little sister. I'm not interested in being a little sister."
"But you don't mind being my little sister?"
"I have to allow you that privilege. Without your superior age, beauty is the only value you have."
She sighed. If she had not devoured all her sausages, she would have tossed one at the little brat.
"Kurumu has a lot of heart. She's friendly to everyone in a way that I can only hope to match."
Kurumu blushed, pawing at her omelet.
"I'm not that great. You're very kind to people too."
"Not like you are. I would never chase someone down to make them a friend. I'm not that outgoing."
Kurumu shrugged, not feeling special for doing something so poorly. The whole mess with Mizore was not something she would call a success.
"I don't feel that great of a friend. I barely speak with half the girls when school ends."
"You talk with everyone, Kurumu."
"Not really."
"In between classes, she is always up and talking with one or two of the girls. Mostly Ms. Unari, but often with Ms. Morisato, Ms. Hineri and Ms. Hazumi."
"She is? You didn't talk that much with the girls in our class."
Kurumu sighed.
"It's different. I had Moka and you to talk with so I didn't feel the need to do much else. In this new class I sit by Kumiko and Juri so it's easy to include them when I get up to talk to Satsuki."
"Don't you talk with Yukari?"
"I do, though it's better if I can get her to join a conversation with others."
Yukari sighed, shaking her head.
"We need to hurry and finish breakfast. You still have to get dressed for school."
Tsukune chuckled, stowing away the last of his sausages. Kurumu grinned as she flipped open her schoolbag to take out a couple things. She slipped her watch on, noting it was nearly seven. She wrapped her purple lace ribbon about her wrist below the watch.
"Sorry we're making you so late."
"It's okay. I guess one day of leaving the dishes unfinished won't be too bothersome."
"Oh? You're not kicking us out to do your dishes?"
"No. I'm walking to school with you."
Kurumu smirked as she seized a healthy portion of her remaining omelet.
"Aw, that's so sweet."
"I just want you to be present when you see my name at the top of the score board."
Kurumu shook her head, finishing her meal in silence.
Kurumu flopped into the desk that had been drawn up beside the one Yukari sat in, still miffed about the exam results. It was not that surprising that her name had not been on one of the boards this morning. Three boards had been dedicated to displaying the top hundred students of each grade. The last board had been used to display the bottom thirty of each grade.
Her disappointment surfaced when the exams had been handed out after attendance. One point below passing. Sure, even if she had gotten that point, she probably should take the retest since a fifty was pathetic, but fuck you English. Angrily she tugged the top off the periwinkle bento left on her desk.
She had talked with Ms. Nekonome before her fourth period lecture, confirming she could still go on the trip. She would have to stay late and take the retest tonight instead of going to club. Ms. Nekonome would oversee and grade her test on the spot. The big issue was that she would have no real time to study for this, but Satsuki had already helped point out some of her errors during the science lab. Kurumu knew she could pass it the next time around. Maybe not with an eighty, but she felt confident she could pull a sixty.
"Don't worry, Kurumu. I'm sure you will do fine on your retest."
She managed a smile at him, wondering why this desk arrangement was the norm. Sure, it was nice that Mizore was sitting close to him so that the reclusive girl could feel more like part of the group, but she wished the girl would swap seats with her. This was her former desk after all.
Picking up her chopsticks, she poked at her meal. She had only spoken a few words with Nerume before her friends had hurried off to the lunch line. That silly goof had also bombed her English exam but had managed four points higher than Kurumu's overall score. She was a little worried that she would turn out to be the dumbest one of their study group.
A lot of her friends had placed in the top hundred. Naturally Yukari had placed first, though not with a perfect score. She had been docked in her science lab for lack of group participation or some other such nonsense. Yukari had sulked all third period about it, accusing her lab partners of not at least pretending to look engaged. Both guys had politely shook off her pouting.
"What was your overall score, Kurumu?"
Kurumu sighed. She was the only one here that did not have her score posted. Moka had passed Tora by a single point with both girls sneaking into the top ten. Deshi had scored another point lower, falling from second to eleventh. The foreigner had shrugged it off, admitting her Japanese was not as good as her English and that both tests were much more difficult than the assessments.
"Three eighty one."
"That's probably good."
Kurumu snorted as she took her first mouthful of her meal. She noted the sausages in the bento boxes had not been prettied up like the ones from this morning.
"Three fifty three was the score of Ms. Gizamimi from class ten, the first name on the shame board."
Kurumu shrugged, unsure if Yukari's comment was meant as an insult. She had known several of the names on the shame board, which actually had been thirty two instead of thirty. Ms. Onishi, Gizamimi and Ikatsuki from the cheerleader squad all had the same score. Kubo, the girl that was nice to Kana, had also been near the top of that list. So had Yano and Tamaishi from the soccer club. That other soccer boy, Nishimura, and his girlfriend, Tategami, had both been included. The local Miki kid was the other boy from their class on the list. That Aoki idiot from Tsukune's birthday party had been on it. So had the Unabara twins. Surprisingly, Aoki had scored lower than them and had placed in the bottom five along with poor little Sakamori. That silly girl had a meager three twenty six, the second lowest score. Knowing that little optimist, she was probably content with not scoring the lowest. That honor belonged to some Okamoto kid from class six.
"In contrast, Mr. Yakihara from our class placed hundredth with four fourteen. She is closer to the bottom of the class than the top."
Kurumu sighed, aware that Yakihara was the guy with the pompadour that she had initially been paired up with for science lab before trading places with Wanibuchi. While Yukari had criticized the lizard boy for having poor grades for a class representative, he had also scored in the top hundred again.
"I'm sure she improved since her last test."
"I know you have. Ninetieth place with a score of four eighteen."
Tsukune smiled.
"I studied hard for that."
"Indeed. Ninety four of the top hundred remained the same. You are one of the six to sneak in."
Kurumu was aware of three of the others. Tokori had scored two points higher than Tsukune while Tobuyoku had been two points lower. Tobuyoku had narrowly missed the top hundred after the assessment, so it was not some huge upset that she displaced someone. The third was that Fukai girl that used to be her neighbor. According to Yukari, that girl had jumped from two hundred eleventh to seventy fourth, which was the highest rank change of their grade.
Surprisingly Dangai had the highest score of their study group and Yukari had confirmed the girl had been that high ranked to begin with. The country girl had racked up a four thirty two for fifty second.
Tsukune chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.
"I'm glad you approve."
"I find it interesting that all but five of the top fifty remained the same. At least we know the assessment is a good measure of what to expect from other students when it comes to exams."
At the moment, Kurumu was only worried that she had the lowest score of her study group. She would ask Asuka and Taijin about their grades in home economics and try to steal away to talk with Hanetsume about hers during gym. Then again, Asuka might know Hanetsume's and Honda's scores if they compare scores during lunch. Asuka was the competitive type.
She sighed, supposing it would not be that big of a deal if she was the lowest score. She knew she had not bested Satsuki. That girl had been so thrilled about her score being four points over the eighty percent mark. If she had not scored a sixty one in her English, she might have had a chance to place in the top hundred.
That really only left Goto and Kakeru. To be fair, she was more interested in hearing about how that double date went than what their exam scores were.
She realized Yukari was still talking about exam scores and the distribution of smart and dumb kids in each of the classes. She tuned most of it out as she picked away at her meal. She supposed it was interesting that class six had five on the bottom board and five on the top board, the highest and lowest respectively. Apparently Ms. Nekonome's class had the highest in the top hundred with more than half the class while only having one in the bottom board. Yukari did clarify that nine of those fourteen were in the bottom fifty of the hundred, so it did look more evenly spread when you only compared top fifty with bottom thirty. According to Yukari, class twelve and class eight were tied for second worst, while class three was best with classes one and two tied for second best academically.
"All I know is I'm the closest to Mr. Aono."
Kurumu perked up at Mizore's remark. She recalled Mizore had scored one more point than Tsukune and had ended up one place higher than him.
"Are those fighting words?"
A slight smile touched Mizore's lips as she pulled an empty spoon from her mouth. She shrugged as she scooped up another glob of vanilla to stuff in her mouth.
"How did your day go after leaving the pool?"
Mizore had turned the spoon over in her mouth as she suckled it.
"Fine."
"Nerume said the two of you were together till dinner and that she got to visit your suite."
Mizore shrugged.
"What did you guys do?"
Mizore doled out two mouthfuls of ice cream before deigning to answer.
"She listened to music while I read books."
Kurumu sighed. That sounded similar to when Kana had been with Yukari.
"What kind of music do you listen to, Shirayuki?"
She shrugged, letting her spoon rest in her half liter.
"Dir En Grey. That kind of stuff."
Tsukune nodded.
"I have their album, Gauze, back at home."
"That was the first one I was given."
Kurumu smiled softly, wondering if this was the CD Umizake had given her years ago.
"Is this loud, angry music?"
Tsukune chuckled.
"Depends on the song. Some are. Some are more like the other stuff I brought."
"How many albums do you have, Mizore?"
"All four from Dir En Grey and both from Nightmare. I also have a couple EPs from Maximum."
"That's a heavy lineup. I've heard of those bands but can't say I've listened to them."
"Nightmare is good. I bought their first album with New Year's money and my mother gave me the second for my birthday."
Kurumu grinned, pawing at the remnants of her meal. She had eaten most of it without noticing.
"What do you like about that music?"
Mizore shrugged.
"I find it relaxing."
Yukari closed up her bento and crossed her arms about her chest.
"You mentioned books. What were you reading?"
Mizore paused, regarding the witch.
"I like to read stuff from Otsuichi and Ito Junji but the library doesn't have these things."
Tsukune arched a brow.
"You're into horror?"
"I suppose."
"If the library doesn't have it, then what have you been reading?"
"Whatever Ms. Bakudai suggested."
Yukari smirked.
"I wonder if she suggests the same material to everyone."
Mizore shrugged, scraping the bottom of her liter for another spoonful. As she lifted the spoon to her lips, Nerume and Satsuki slipped through the front door of the classroom with trays in hand. They both steadily crossed the room, Satsuki's wide grin demanding attention. The smug girl slapped her tray down on the desk in front of Kurumu, grabbing up a nearby chair and pulling it over to sit. Nerume hovered nearby, indecisive of how she should join them.
"Don't know if you told your man, but he's looking at the newest member of the PSC."
Kurumu leaned back in her seat with a smirk.
"Have you even applied yet?"
"You heard Deshi. All I have to do is fill out an application and leave it on Ms. Yoshino's desk in the lounge. You're coming with me when I'm done with lunch."
"I suppose I can if it means I won't be late for fifth period."
Satsuki snorted as Nerume set her tray down on Mizore's desk. The girl knelt down, bumping into Satsuki's chair. Satsuki frowned at Nerume, whom was much too tiny for what she was trying to do. Nerume sighed, getting back up to fetch a chair.
"Like that matters."
"I'd rather not be late for the class I failed."
"As if being there is going to change anything. You'd be better off skipping the hour with me and studying for your retake."
That did sound more promising than sitting through a lecture she would not understand. Nerume had taken a seat next to Mizore, smiling at them before turning her attention to her meal.
"I'll skip if Yukari joins us."
"Don't include me in your delinquency."
"As if you need to attend that class. You had a perfect score."
"Yea, we could look at your test and try memorizing your answers."
Yukari giggled, covering her mouth.
"As if you could fit that much between your two brain cells."
"I need to retake that test too. Could I join you guys?"
"You have science next."
"So?"
"Don't you dare abandon Hanetsume with Hedoyami. That's cruel."
Nerume smiled softly, picking a huge swath of noodles up.
"Okay, I won't."
She stuffed the noodles in her mouth, leaning protectively over her tray.
"You should check with Hanetsume and Kakeru about how they did on their exams. I know those two were in Saturday school with us."
The girl made a soft sound of agreement as Satsuki gestured at Kurumu with her chopsticks while chewing away at her lunch.
"I wonder if we can convince Mr. Hakuru to give us one of Yukari's lab partners. She doesn't need both of them and we could use the help."
Yukari huffed.
"I'd give you both of them if I could."
"We'll take the smarter one."
Kurumu smiled with a trace of sadness over their inability to keep Kinzoku at Yokai.
"Which one's the smarter one?"
Yukari sighed, shaking her head.
"Mr. Senyou was listed in the top hundred. I swear you girls aren't very perceptive."
Satsuki scowled, wagging her chopsticks.
"Not all of us can memorize the boards, short stuff."
"It's not that hard to notice which ones are from your class."
"It didn't list names by class. Just their scores and rank. You're the brain child that remembers what classes everyone is in from the assessments."
Kurumu reached over to pat Satsuki's tray. Having the girl's attention, she glanced over at Moka.
"Hey… how did Komiya behave today? Did he give you guys any trouble?"
Tsukune sighed heavily, sharing a glance with Moka. He shrugged.
"He made a fuss about me being the class manager and scoffed at the notion of me being a vampire."
"He also decided to sit in that desk."
Kurumu grimaced, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.
"You should have said that first. I would have rather used Takurami's desk."
"Sorry. I didn't think about it."
Moka shuddered.
"He spent most of the time leering at Tora. It was creepy."
"He called her a dog of the council and that she should… well… he was crude towards her."
"Why would he do that?"
Kurumu wondered if this was similar to the time Tokori had been called a dog for joining the PSC.
"It's probably because of her PSC jacket. There's a lot of bad blood between monstrels and the PSC."
Satsuki snorted.
"Then he can go fuck himself."
Kurumu chuckled as Yukari smirked.
"Eloquently put, Ms. Unari."
"I'm serious. Asshole had a choice to sit in the front but decides to sit next to her. Fucker should have been expelled if he's going to start shit over a jacket."
"I'm sure it's more than just the jacket. She was involved in the mess that got him suspended."
"From what I was told, she just happened to be there. I'm telling you if this bastard causes me grief because I wear a jacket, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind."
"Perhaps you should save your enthusiastic righteousness for after getting in the PSC."
Satsuki waved her off.
"I'm practically a member. I'm telling you by the time you get back from your field trip, I'll be wearing one of those black jackets."
Tsukune sighed, leaning back in his chair.
"Do you think you could fight this guy?"
"Huh?"
"Fight him. I know you're a neko girl. He's a monstrel. Can you fight him?"
Satsuki frowned.
"Didn't have you pegged as a might makes right sort."
"I'm not, but Komiya is. I've known his type. I would avoid them in school, but he's got it in his head that I'm responsible for his misfortune. I'm thrilled that we're heading out on this trip to give me more time to think about how I'm going to negotiate with this guy."
Moka smiled softly.
"And hopefully he will settle down with us all being gone for a week."
Satsuki picked at her food.
"Should we have Tokori talk with this guy? Maybe he'll listen to a fellow monstrel."
Kurumu sighed.
"That didn't go over well with Miki when she told him about being in the PSC. They probably look at her like she's some kind of traitor."
"Miki? From our class?"
"Mhm."
"Didn't know he was a monstrel. Guess that explains why he's an idiot."
Agitated, Satsuki scratched her sienna locks.
"Well this shit needs to grow the fuck up and get over it. That bastard Kuyo is gone. I mean, that's what happened, right? He's the one that was killing a bunch of monstrels over the past decade?"
Kurumu smiled, aware that the truth about the monstrel killings and the PSC was buried in rumors. The newspaper club honestly did not know what files Lady Hineri had turned over that destroyed the PSC.
"Well, whatever was going on should have stopped."
"So they should get over it. There's nothing more for them to do here. We don't make the laws for Fairy Tale. The monstrels' fight is with the older generation of pure blood bastards that think they're special."
Tsukune sighed.
"If only telling him that would work. He would just get mad and take it out on us."
Satsuki dropped her chopsticks on her tray.
"I'm done eating. Let's go fill out a form."
Nerume glanced up from her meal as Kurumu scooted out of this chair.
"Wait. I wanted to go with you guys."
Satsuki paused, gripping the back of her chair.
"You're not even close to being done."
"I don't need to eat it all."
Satsuki snorted, getting up and returning the chair to Takurami's desk.
"Take my tray back to the cafeteria."
"No, I'm coming with you guys."
Nerume set her food aside and got out of her chair. She quickly grabbed Satsuki by the sleeve, though the taller girl tugged her arm away. Pouting, Nerume fell in step as Satsuki walked to the back of the class to join Kurumu.
"What should we do about the trays? You can't leave them here."
"I got them."
Kurumu smiled at him.
"Thank you."
The other girls echoed her thanks before they all started for the back door. Nerume quickly caught her up by her left sleeve, leaning in against her while Satsuki thrust her hands in the pockets of her slacks. They strode out into the hallway, turning right towards the front of the school.
"I'm starting to wonder if it's more appropriate to say Moka's famous than popular."
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, people know her, but it's not like she's super chatty with anyone. She barely said anything at all. Some days ago you were talking about a popularity poll and I think you would straight up crush her."
Kurumu chuckled.
"Moka's popular."
"Oh, no doubt that people know her. But knowing her and thinking she's better than you is different."
"Are you guys going to do a popularity poll?"
"I haven't heard Ginei say anything about it these past couple weeks. It's all been planning Tsukune's birthday and this field trip. I suppose I should remind him during the trip."
"It would be neat to see whom other students think are important to know. I don't really know any of the upperclassmen."
"You have some in your astronomy club."
"I don't really talk with them."
"You don't really talk with anyone in your club."
"They don't do anything when I do show up."
Kurumu smirked.
"You should start going to your club meetings. I hear they can kick you out if you don't show up and that will get you in trouble."
"But I can't go. I have to watch after Mizore this week."
Kurumu smiled as they neared the end of the hall and angled left towards the main entrance.
"She said all you did was listen to her music."
"I tried talking but I didn't know what I should talk about."
"You could roll with simple things like favorite colors and stuff."
"White."
Satsuki snorted.
"White? Really? Moody girl like her strikes me as one that would say black."
"I don't know if she was joking. It's just what she told me."
Satsuki sighed.
"Just talk randomly like you always do. If you start grilling her with questions, it will end up more like an interrogation than casual conversation."
Nerume grinned.
"Maybe we should get a desk with a lamp and I should shine it in her face."
"Give it up, frosty. We know the truth. You're walking on thin ice."
"If you can't tell us where you were last night, it's going to be a one way ticket to the freezer."
"What are you two talking about?"
"Her room is a freezer. I guess that isn't much of a threat."
"Maybe say she'll spend the night with the fishies in the cold, dark depths of the sea."
Kurumu chuckled.
"You two need to work on your cold puns."
"We're just trying to break the ice."
"Just stop. The only thing you need to do is keep her from being alone."
"You can be lonely while with other people."
"That's different. You've read her diary so you know the sort of things she might do if she really gets depressed. She has it stuck in her head that she's not meant to be happy because it only hurts people."
Satsuki shrugged as they walked into the large foyer. They drifted towards the top of the winding staircase that would take them down to the lower level.
"Can't help that she's crazy. That's why I want nothing to do with this."
Kurumu smirked as they started down the stairs.
"You'll make a fine PSC member. You should mention your look the other way mentality as one of your useful assets."
"Fuck off."
"I don't mind trying to do this on my own. It was awkward but I think she doesn't hate me."
Satsuki snorted.
"I wouldn't let you do it at all if I thought she would hurt you."
"You would help her?"
"No. That's dumb. I don't want to talk about Shirayuki right now."
Kurumu frowned.
"Why not?"
"Because I'm more curious how things went with you. Did you do anything after the party?"
Kurumu smiled coyly.
"Maybe. Yukari treated us to a dinner."
"You two went to the brat's suite? That's lame."
"I don't have money, Satsuki. I was lucky Yukari treated us to a nice meal."
Satsuki paused at the bottom of the stairs.
"She is good at cooking. Still… it's not like you could do anything in your room with an eleven year old hanging around."
Kurumu smirked, crossing her arms about her chest.
"You still did? What if she had opened that magic door in the middle of it?"
"I don't think he was worried about that. He really wanted his present."
Nerume let go of her arm to step in and hug her side fully. The small girl nuzzled her cheek against Kurumu's shoulder as she sighed.
"I'm so happy for you."
Satsuki cocked her head with a smirk.
"I hope this means you'll stop worrying about how much he loves you."
Kurumu shifted in Nerume's grasp so she could comfortably free her arms. She rubbed the back of the girl's head.
"Now I have new worries about if my body will react to him. If it doesn't, I'm scared to tell him that we might not be compatible."
"Adopt."
She frowned at Satsuki.
"Adopt. If you can't have kids with him, then adopt. Humans do it all the time."
"I don't know. I feel like that would be unfair to him."
Nerume pulled away, shaking her head.
"No, don't do that. Don't give up."
Kurumu smiled, caressing the kirin's hair.
"I won't. I don't even know how my body will react or if I need to do it more times for it to react. I'm just worried. I'm not giving up."
"So how was it?"
"Sex?"
"Mhm."
Kurumu smiled, glancing across the room at the door to the teachers' lounge.
"I'm not used to it. Some things were nice and others were… uncomfortable."
"Was he as big as he was in the dream?"
Kurumu smirked, offering a shrug.
"Well, you do seem to be able to walk so it must not be."
Kurumu laughed, shaking her head.
"Drop it, silly girl. Let's not discuss the size of her boyfriend."
Nerume released Kurumu but held her hand as they followed after Satsuki.
"My sister said it took her a while to like it."
Satsuki slid open the lounge door and walked inside. Nerume wisely dropped the conversation as they stepped inside the room full of teachers. Aware that Ms. Yoshino was Ginei's homeroom teacher and that he was in class twelve, Kurumu gestured at the middle aisle for Satsuki to head down.
Not every teacher ate in the lounge. Some ate with their clubs while others ate together in different locations. There was probably a little more than a third of the teachers here, given how many empty desks they walked by.
None of the second year science teachers were present. The first teachers they came across was Ms. Nakamura and this carnation pink haired woman with full, vibrant curls that hung past her shoulders. Nakamura was in a long sleeved, navy jacket over a bright blue blouse and matching navy pencil skirt. The other woman had a frilly, lime blouse and a long, black skirt that hung to her ankles.
Across from them was a burly man with sludge black hair trimmed like a bowl in front but tapered in the back into a stringy rat tail. He had a striped, brown and white polo which was tucked into his chino khakis. The man glanced up at them with blood red eyes.
"Ladies?"
Kurumu offered a simple smile as they walked by. She heard the man inquire if they were first years to the women, which Ms. Nakamura confirmed.
They walked by another trio of men. The short, pudgy guy with the wavy chestnut hair sat next to a slimmer teacher with slate black hair done in a crew cut. The men paid them no mind as they passed, chatting with the tall, slender man across the aisle with the long, russet ponytail.
Kurumu sighed, realizing the only other woman teacher in this aisle was Mrs. Itou, seated at the last desk on the left side. The older woman had a stiff, white jacket over a lavender blouse and a grey skirt. She looked up from her book to regard them with mild interest.
A slim man with ink black hair that was jagged and unruly sat beside her, his attention fixated on his lunch. Across the aisle was a short, stocky man with thick, marble like hair. That really was the only way to describe the way his hair was a mix of black and grey. He tapped away on the keys of his laptop, glancing up at them for a moment before returning to his work. Both men were decked in black business suits and slacks, looking more like office workers than teachers.
Satsuki paused, turning about and shrugged.
"Which one is her desk?"
"May I help you, young ladies?"
Kurumu smiled, turning to regard the teacher with the crew cut. He wore a short sleeved dress shirt that was silky and silver. He had not bothered tucking it in his khakis, likely because it was too short.
"Yes. We were looking for Ms. Yoshino."
The man gestured at the vacant desk between him and the jagged haired teacher that remained intent on his meal.
"She's probably off somewhere with Ms. Rin enjoying their lunch."
The tall man with the ponytail snickered, drawing an admonishing look from the crew cut teacher.
"Is there something that you required from her?"
Satsuki stepped around Kurumu and thumbed her chest.
"I'm a first year student, Unari Satsuki from class two. I was told the PSC requires an eighty percent overall score to be a member. I met their requirements, so I wanted to apply for her club."
The man smiled, looking over them.
"Are all of you planning on joining?"
"Naw, not these two idiots. They both failed the English exam."
"Gee, thanks, Satsuki."
The tall man perked up. He grabbed the hems of his frilly pink shirt that had the top half buttons unfastened to bare his hairy chest. His long legs were swathed in cream white leggings.
"That's no good. I know English may not be the most interesting of classes, but the humans are pushing this requirement to have a passable understanding to attend university."
The crew cut man chuckled, gesturing across the aisle.
"This is Mr. Kamihara Chie, second year English instructor and homeroom teacher for class eleven. I am Hiramatsu Henji, second year math instructor and homeroom teacher for class ten. And the big man here is Mr. Ishihara Shun, second year history instructor and homeroom teacher for class eight."
The portly teacher bowed his head politely. His moss green polo strained to confine his barrel chest.
"Ms. Yoshino keeps the forms here."
They turned as Mrs. Itou rummaged through some stacks of paper on the vacant desk. The dingy white haired woman with the curtain like bangs pulled out a clipped set of papers from the stack and set it aside before putting everything back in place.
"Thank you Mrs. Itou."
The older woman regarded her watch.
"The lunch hour is almost over. I suspect Ms. Yoshino will not be returning to her desk till sixth period."
Kurumu pulled a form from the clipped stack, handing it over to Satsuki. She grabbed another form, glancing it over. It was not the same as the generic application form she had filled out for the newspaper club. This sheet had questions like are you in another club and if so, which ones. It also clearly identified at the top of the form that this was for joining the PSC.
"Can I fill this out now and leave it here?"
"It would be best if you directly handed it to Ms. Yoshino or the club president, Ms. Hineri."
Kurumu smiled, handing Nerume the form. The kirin frowned in confusion.
"I hear you are the advisor for the sewing club."
"I am, and I am about to leave. I suggest you do the same."
The woman curtly turned about and walked over to her desk, her low heels clipping upon the floor. She grabbed up her portfolio and headed off for the door that emptied into the shoe cubby area.
Mr. Hiramatsu chuckled at the gruff departure.
"Don't mind her, young ladies. Mrs. Itou has a busy schedule, having to shoulder Ms. Kagome's vacancy as well as handle her cultural elective. It's a long day for her and Ms. Sano."
Kurumu smiled, aware that Ms. Sano had been the one to pick up Ms. Ishigami's classes.
"I wonder when Ms. Kagome will be returning. She was more fun than Mrs. Itou."
Sighing, Kurumu grabbed Nerume by the hand and started back up the aisle.
"I have a crazy thought, Nerume. Do you think you could get Mizore to fill that out?"
The girl stumbled at first but quickly matched her stride. Nerume frowned again, glancing at the form.
"Why would she want to join the PSC?"
Satsuki chuckled.
"As if they would take her. I bet they wouldn't."
"I don't know. I'm worried her drama club might boot her out for not attending."
"I could help her attend. Maybe I could join the drama club."
"Sure, if you want, but I'm just echoing a suggestion Tora made last week. Even if she starts attending, the drama club president might kick her out simply because of her reputation. Tora seems to think the PSC won't be as picky, provided she attends."
Satsuki huffed as they walked out of the teachers' lounge.
"Join the drama club first. No reason to have Shirayuki sign up for the PSC right now."
"She can be in both."
"Then have her join your newspaper club."
Kurumu sighed.
"I don't know if she would. That would mean being in the same club as Moka and Yukari."
Satsuki shrugged as the first bell sounded.
"I don't really care. So shall we study in the library or go to class?"
Kurumu gestured at the stairs.
"I don't think studying will work without our exams or Yukari. We have to head to class first."
As they started up the stairs, she remembered protesting Tora's suggestion on the basis that Mizore knew Umizake was part of the PSC. But she could not recall if she had actually told Mizore this. She was so bad at remembering what she had told other people. It was possible Mizore knew even if she had not told the girl. She sighed.
"Just have her fill the form out for me, Nerume."
Kurumu smiled, stepping in to hug the confused girl as they reached the top of the stairs.
"Get with Tora and have Mizore look at the form. The worst that happens is she refuses."
"You still hung up on that? Sheesh. Fine, I'll help with that. I still don't think they'll take her."
Kurumu chuckled, thankful for her reluctant agreement.
Kurumu pressed the doorbell, sounding off the little bird in Yukari's suite to announce her presence. It was almost nine and she still had to pack for this trip. She figured she could squeeze four days of clothes into her schoolbag if she stuck with only the school blouses and skirts. Shorts would be better, but two of hers had holes in the back. She could bring her other two shorts, which would take less room.
If only she had packed this morning, she might have been able to convince Tsukune to let her spend the night in his room. She sighed, still squirmy from the little bit of teasing in his room after dinner. She wanted more. She wanted to enjoy feeling him inside her. She believed Nerume's sister was right about it being something she would get used to, and that would only happen if they kept having sex.
Asuka had been fairly glib about test scores in home economics. Asuka had pulled a four o eight while Taijin had a three ninety four. Honda had narrowly missed the top hundred with a four thirteen while the crass Hanetsume had picked up a three eighty two, one meager point higher than Kurumu.
She supposed she would have to wait until after the trip to hear about Kakeru's double date and exam score. She felt like she was going to miss out on so much at school, but this trip was time with Tsukune in the human world. She wanted to know if the draw she felt towards Tsukune was unique and not some generic pull she would feel from any human male.
Satsuki had been talking with Tora when Kurumu had left with Ms. Nekonome to take her retest in the disciplinary room. She hoped they could convince Mizore to join the PSC. It would be a chance for the girl to properly meet her fiancé and maybe work something out between them. That certainly had to be the more mature approach than Mizore's offer of the three of them running away together.
Kurumu had taken the retest with that short Tamura boy from the film club. She had improved to a sixty four on her retake. Leaving the classroom, Tsukune had surprised her with an offer to walk her to the dining hall. Despite the presence of Tamura, Tsukune had held her hand the whole way as they chatted with him. It had been comforting. He was finally confident enough to show their relationship.
The pale grey haired Tamura Shigo was a mujina boy from Myoko. He had a childhood friend, Korizuku Hideki, whom was also in class twelve and had joined the computer club. Unlike Tamura, his friend was outgoing, athletic and smart, having placed in the top fifty both times. When asked about having any interest in Dakuhime, he quickly assessed his friend was better for her and that he was fine being friends. He seemed unaware if Dakuhime and his friend had ever spoken beyond casual greetings.
Kurumu wondered how many people assumed the worst and used that reasoning to not bother trying. While she could not say she felt strongly about Dakuhime dating Tamura, she had her suspicions that Dakuhime would not reject him. She wondered if she should visit that girl after the trip and at least mention this Korizuku guy to hear her opinion.
She was about to push the doorbell a second time when she heard the deadbolt draw back. She grinned as Yukari pulled the door open. The witch had already dressed down for the evening, wearing her silky white chemise with the panda heads. She huffed, stepping aside and gesturing for her to enter.
"I can tell you passed."
"Of course."
Kurumu strolled into the apartment, stepping out of her shoes as Yukari shut and locked the door.
"I hoped you would fail and spare me the trouble of going on this suicide trip."
Kurumu chuckled, crossing the room. She tapped the silver box on the wall, causing it to hum alive. The wall steadily pulled apart.
"Suicide trip? What are you worried about now?"
Yukari walked to the center of the room, crossing her arms about her torso.
"It's not safe. We shouldn't go."
Kurumu shook her at this nonsense. With the doorway clear, she ducked through the opening and crossed her room to her closet.
"Have you packed yet?"
"No. There's no reason for me to."
"Pack your things, silly girl."
Kurumu stepped inside her closet, leaving the door open. She turned on the overhead light by its pull string, since it was much too dark to see without the main room lights on. Flipping open her schoolbag, she realized there was not much for her to take out. She rarely carried her textbooks to school and she might need her club notebook since she still had to write her cheerleader article.
Setting her schoolbag aside, she knelt down and rummaged through her shelves for panties, bras and socks. She sighed. All but one of her bras were white and beige. She stuffed four of these boring things into her schoolbag along with the two thongs, one black and one red. She added four pairs of socks.
"Kurumu. Listen to me."
Yukari had followed into her room and was holding her closet door.
"Oh, right. I'm an idiot."
"Huh?"
"I only need to pack three days. We'll be wearing the fourth."
Kurumu tugged out a pair of socks for tomorrow along with her black bra and the black boyshorts with the white hearts. She stuffed the lavender boyshorts with the white dots in her schoolbag before adding the denim shorts that weren't modified.
"That bed in breakfast that we will be staying at is in Kofu."
Kurumu shrugged, selecting the navy, cotton shorts that she had yet to wear since coming to Yokai. She wondered if these things still fit. She tossed it in before grabbing one of her school skirts and stuffing it in her bag. She could easily get three school blouses in here, thinking her tank tops might be a bit much for the human world. Maybe if she had better bras she could risk it.
"Kofu is the capital of Yamanashi Prefecture. This isn't in Hokuto like you said."
"I only remember the haunted field is in the Hokuto district. I never asked where we were staying."
"Well that's kind of important, Kurumu."
"I wasn't part of the planning for this trip, Yukari. I don't know anything about Yamanashi."
"We're talking about a major city about six times the populace of Hokuto. The chances of something going wrong and being noticed is drastically higher. It's complete foolishness to go on this trip."
Kurumu got up and worked some blouses off their hangers before folding them up and adding them to the growing bulge in her schoolbag. The skirt and denim shorts took more room than these thin blouses. She would be fine, though she probably would not be able to take much personal care items. She had kept her hair brush in the bottom of her bag after that odd incident where none of them had one and had to borrow Deshi's heirloom brush.
"You're just getting cold feet, Yukari. We'll have two teachers with us. Everything's going to be fine."
Kurumu closed up her schoolbag, figuring that was good enough for packing. She tossed her extra blouse on top of it before slipping out of her jacket. She dropped it in her wicker basket.
"It's not cold feet. It's common sense. Ms. Nekonome has more true form slips than most students."
"So we'll put her in a long dress and have her keep her tail out."
Kurumu wiggled out of her skirt, letting it fall to her feet.
"If you have your tail out, it's much easier to secure it than trying to not have an accident. She can hold it down with a garter belt or something."
Yukari paused as Kurumu stepped out of her skirt and tossed it into the hamper. The little witch shook her head.
"But you don't have any dresses."
"I'm not going to have an accident."
"You don't know that."
"I've been suppressing my form for as long as I've known how to. It was not something I was proud to show to my classmates."
"But this is different. You'll be around humans. Thousands of humans. They won't make fun of you. They'll throw you in a van and take you off to some place to dissect you."
Finished with unbuttoning her blouse, Kurumu slipped the garment off and dropped it in the hamper.
"You're worrying over nothing. I'm not going to have an accident."
"You haven't been around humans in years, Kurumu. Ginei, Tora, Kana… they've all lived with humans during their junior high years. You don't have the experience."
Kurumu frowned as she unhooked her bra.
"Wait. Are you saying that I'm a liability for this trip?"
"No, I'm saying you are the most in danger. And I want you to stay behind with me."
Kurumu scowled as she dropped her bra in the hamper.
"That's not very fair. It's not like the film club members have any human world experience."
"I don't care about the film club members. That's their problem."
Kurumu sighed, rolling her eyes as she grabbed her blue, corduroy tank top from the folded pile of shirts that she kept in one of the shelf compartments. She tugged it over her head, pulling it down to her hips.
"Go pack your things, Yukari. You have to come."
"I have no intentions of going."
"You promised to do the main article about the haunted field."
"Morioka can manage that story without me."
Picking up her schoolbag, Kurumu reached up and turned off the light. She gathered up her things for tomorrow morning, cradling them in her arms as she headed out into her main room. Light filtered in through the opening between the suites.
"I'm sleeping with you tonight."
"Okay."
"And you're packing your things now."
"Use those two brain cells, Kurumu! There's no reason at all for you to go. You've done your articles and I really don't care if your body reacts to every human on the planet. The letter already answered the important question. If you keep having sex with him, you'll find out if you can have babies with him."
Kurumu shook her head as she stepped through the opening. She walked over to Yukari's bed, dropping her things on the floor.
"Kurumu!"
"Have you told anyone else that you're not going?"
Yukari paused. She reached up to touch the silver box, causing the doorway to close.
"No."
"You can't do that, Yukari. I can't do that."
"You could tell everyone that you didn't pass your test."
"Ms. Nekonome gave me the test. Tsukune walked me home and had dinner with me."
"Say you were worried about Shirayuki putting a hole in one of your friends."
"She's not going to do that."
"Claim morning sickness."
Kurumu chuckled.
"I don't think that happens that quick, Yukari."
Yukari wrung her hands with a frustrated sigh.
"I don't care what you tell them. I don't want to go and I don't want you to go."
There was a slight whimper to her words.
"Don't you start whining like a baby. You know, you should go."
"This is dumb, Kurumu. Nobody at Yokai cares about a haunted field in the human world. This is stupid."
"But you agreed to write the article for Ginei. You can't back out without telling him."
"I could write something else."
"It's too late for that, Yukari. Seriously, what were you thinking?"
Yukari fidgeted.
"I wanted to talk to you first."
"You could have waited with Tsukune. You could have told all of us with Ms. Nekonome."
"Why would I bother doing that? I only need to convince you to be smart."
Kurumu sighed, sitting heavily on the end of the bed.
"You have to come, Yukari. If you're worried about me, we can partner up."
"That doesn't solve anything."
"You could make me invisible if I have an accident."
Yukari bit her lip.
"I don't want to go."
"Yukari."
"There's too many people. Way too many."
The way her voice broke tugged on Kurumu's heart.
"Yukari, it'll be fine."
"No. That's too much. Humans don't like witches and there's too many in a city that big."
"You'll just turn invisible if anything happens. They'll be too confused to understand."
"Really?"
"Of course. Magic and monsters are fiction. If anything happened, they'd doubt it before believing it."
"Turn invisible."
She sighed.
"Why are you so dumb?"
Kurumu rolled her eyes at the weak insult.
"What's wrong now? Isn't that a simple solution?"
"It is. I still hate you for being dumb."
Kurumu sighed, flopping back on the bed.
"Go pack. Then you can turn off the lights and we can sleep."
Yukari let out a heavy, resigned breath. Her footsteps retreated.
"Fine, but if you do anything to me in my sleep, I'm holding you responsible."
Kurumu snorted, annoyed that the witch had brought that up again.
"Well if I do start squirming, don't take that as permission to molest me."
"I won't."
Snatching up a pillow, she rolled on her side to face the wall. She sighed, closing her eyes. She relaxed, feeling comfortable for a short moment.
"I have to pee."