My Devotion

by Ravenhale1

This is the third installment in the AU recreation of Rosario Vampire told through Kurumu's POV. This story starts around midterms and continues through the following month (June 4th - July 9th, 2005) to cover first season's Chapters 13-28 (though 18&19 happen first). Not strictly canon.

11. Sunflower Field

It had been a long time since Kurumu had been to the bus stop in front of the mountainside tunnel that served as the only known exit to Mononoke. Their last impromptu visit had been back when Tora had instructed Tsukune to leave Yokai academy and never return near the end of their third week of school. That felt so long ago.

Kurumu walked alongside Yukari, holding the girl's hand. The witch was grumpy about having to go and had been dragging her feet all morning. If Yukari had not woken up so early out of habit, her dallying might have caused them to miss the bus departure at nine.

As they came into the clearing with the large tree beside the cliff and the pumpkin scarecrow built over the academy sign, Kurumu noted most of their companions. Half looked like they were dressed for school while the rest were in different states of casual clothes.

Tsukune was hanging out with Kamitsuku, Tora and Moka. He was wearing a short sleeved black shirt over a white tee shirt. His green cargos were cinched at his waist by a narrow brown belt with a silver buckle. White sneakers with black lines adorned his feet.

Kamitsuku and Tora were both dressed in their school uniforms while Moka was sporting a lilac, long sleeved jacket that had a single button clasped between her breasts. This was worn over a matching lilac dress that hung down to her thighs with a white lace stitched to the hem about the bottom. She wore long, high heeled boots which shined like obsidian.

The bus had already pulled up to the stop. Kuroishi and Oyanagi were hoisting the luggage up into the back of the bus. The boy with the thick glasses had an unbuttoned, checkered shirt with long sleeves which was worn over a gray tee. The green and black fabric of the checkered shirt wagged loosely about his dingy gray jeans.

Oyanagi really should have not worn that pink shirt. It looked awkward with his green afro. And those lime green shorts… she felt sorry for whomever was going to end up paired with him. It was like he wanted to be shunned, even wearing argyle socks with open toed sandals.

It looked like Kana and Chouda had taken casual to the extreme. Chouda was wearing a long sleeved, white and pink hoodie with a center pocket open on both sides. It was such a long outfit hanging almost to her knees. It was difficult to say if she was wearing anything else other than her white flip flops.

Kana had a white tee and a tartan knit pant that alternated between pink, black and white. It was like she had crawled out of bed and thrown on a pair of black sneakers, figuring that was good enough.

Ms. Nekonome was standing at the open bus door with the two club presidents. Their teacher had a list and pointed the pen at their arrival. She made a couple marks on her pad and resumed talking with the juniors. She had a sleeveless, orange top over a camouflage shirt which was tucked in a black miniskirt.

Ginei had lush green, dress shirt which was buttoned up. His silver wolf pendant dangled on the outside of his shirt, having left the top button undone to widen his collar. He had left his shirt untucked, but he still had one of his hands thrust in the pocket of his black corduroys.

The film club president had donned a two tone cap while wearing a white crew tee with black, short sleeves. She had a white pair of track shorts with black stripes down the sides and a simple pair of white sneakers with black laces. Despite having short hair, the girl had tugged her unruly, reddish brown locks into two pigtails behind her ears.

It did look like they only ones they were missing was Uchiyama and Tamura. Kurumu wandered over to Tsukune, letting go of Yukari's hand so she could wave.

"Morning, Tsukune."

"Morning, Kurumu."

Kurumu smiled as the others acknowledged her and Yukari. She gestured at the white knapsack on Tsukune's back.

"When did you get that?"

"That's mine. Tsukune didn't feel comfortable bringing his duffle bag and it's not like we need all that much space for this trip."

Kamitsuku grinned, gesturing to their schoolbags.

"I'm guessing the two of you managed with those."

Kurumu smiled, reaching down to give Yukari's shoulder a squeeze. The witch huffed, moving over to Moka's side and giving the vampire a hug.

"What's wrong with her?"

"She's just frightened about being in a huge crowd. You guys know how much she hates walking in crowded hallways and never visits the cafeteria."

Tora frowned.

"Our group isn't bigger than a classroom size."

"I meant when we get to the place we're staying. She was whining about not coming at all last night when she realized it was in the capital of the prefecture."

Tora smiled, turning to Yukari.

"It will be fine, Yukari. Most humans are too self-absorbed to cause others trouble."

"I wish that were true. The humans from my junior high weren't very friendly."

"Moka, you're more likely to get hit on than bullied in your current state."

"I'm curious, Moka, but how were you not asked out? You were in a coed junior high, right?"

Moka nodded at Kamitsuku.

"I get that you might have been shunned by girls for talking about being a vampire, but you're a pretty girl. I can't believe all of the guys would have avoided you."

Moka sighed.

"I was asked out once during my eighth grade year."

Tora smirked.

"Turned him down."

"Yea. She said I had to and of course I had no interest in the boy."

Kurumu frowned.

"Didn't you at least offer to be friends?"

"I did, but he never talked to me again."

"That's normal, Kurumu. If a guy asks you out, you can't play the friend card unless you already are."

She supposed that made sense. She sighed.

"Still… only one guy. That's surprising."

"Well, there were rumors about me sacrificing small animals to demons. The girls hated me and the boys thought I was weird."

Yukari huffed.

"That sounds stupid."

"It was impossible. If any animal went missing it was blamed on me. Crazy vampire girl needs blood. It didn't help trying to explain how being a vampire worked, so I stopped trying. New kids would be told before I could do anything."

Tora nodded.

"It's typical isolation. The humans did the same with me because I was the smart girl that didn't like to talk with others. I had to transfer schools and when that failed, my parents moved to a different city."

"Why would you have to transfer schools for being smart?"

Tora paused with a glance at Kurumu.

"Rumors can ruin you. Humans are a bunch of sheep. They believe what is most convenient to believe, incapable of independent thought."

Tsukune sighed.

"I guess you guys were unlucky. I didn't notice anything like that happening in my school."

"It's not something you would notice unless it is happening to you."

A heavy silence settled on them. The sound of footsteps drew her attention to the trail and she saw that both Uchiyama and Tamura were approaching. Both were dressed in their school uniforms.

"Do we need to hand our luggage over to the boys at the back of the bus?"

Kamitsuku chuckled.

"I wouldn't bother if all you have is that bag. Those two tried bringing every piece of equipment the film club owns. I can't believe Ms. Sangi was cool with that."

"Moka and I both had a single suitcase. They're a bit bulky to squeeze beneath the bus seats so we just handed them over."

Kurumu waved as the last two boys came up to join them. Uchiyama had a red backpack while Tamura was carrying a green duffle bag on his shoulder.

"You're late."

Uchiyama grinned.

"Better than being early."

"Everyone! Listen up!"

The loud bellows drew their attention to a portly man of impressive girth. The gentlemen had a black bowler cap resting atop the sewage curls draped across his massive head. He wore a tweed jacket over a gray sweater that strained to confine his rolls of flesh. He waddled from the bus, his khakis miraculously held up by a thin black belt.

"There are sixteen of us on this trip, not counting our esteemed motorist. There shall be four groups, each lead by an advisor or a club president. Unfortunately none of us have convenient human forms of communication, so I want to know early on if changes must be made with the group assignments."

The large man pulled a white kerchief from his jacket pocket, wiping his furrowed brow.

"I am told that Mr. Yamabato and Mr. Oyanagi have cellphones. Therefore, the two film club groups shall be mine, with Mr. Yamabato, Mr. Tamura and Mr. Kuroishi. The other group shall be Ms. Sangi with Mr. Oyanagi, Mr. Uchiyama and Ms. Chouda."

He coughed, clearing his throat.

"Does anyone else in my club have a cellphone?"

There was a long pause and Kurumu glanced at the two boys.

"Neither of you guys have cellphones?"

"I'm from a village up in the mountains of Okayama. Our service would be pathetic."

Kamitsuku chuckled as Tamura shrugged indifferently.

"The two of you should exchange numbers with those that have phones in the newspaper club. That way if anything happens, each group can contact the other."

Tsukune shrugged with a glance at Kamitsuku.

"I already have his number."

Tora sighed, pulling a small, silver flip phone from her jacket pocket. It was similar to Tsukune's.

"I need to give both of you mine. I also have Kana's number in my contacts."

"Once we load up on the bus, we will be leaving the monster world. We will make a brief stop on the other side to confirm your phone services are working. You may have several missed calls and messages depending on what you told your friends and family before coming to Yokai."

Kurumu chuckled, wondering if that meant Tsukune would have a ton of messages the moment they popped out in the human world.

"After clearing that, it will be a two hour drive to the Morningside Overlook, where we shall be staying. We will have lunch at the nearby McDonalds, which might be a treat for some of you that haven't experienced the joys of bad human food."

Tsukune snickered as he shook his head.

"After that you shall have free time until eight. You are on your own for dinner, so hopefully you have brought money or someone in your group is generous. Women have bathing from eight to ten and men bathing shall be anything after that. Lights should be out by midnight and you will be sleeping in the room that is assigned to your group. Turning things over to you, Ms. Nekonome."

Uchiyama chuckled.

"Tough break for you two. Sounds like you get to spend the night with old man Umatobi."

Kamitsuku shrugged as he tapped on the keys of his phone while looking at Tora's screen. The top half of his phone could swivel and flip about a circular base.

"At least he's more hygienic than Gomitsuro."

"Okay. I understand that Mr. Aono, Ms. Zukkutani and Ms. Nazohashi are the ones with phones in my group. So… I think you're already swapping numbers."

Kana giggled as she wandered over to the group with her tiny, black flip phone. The stocky Oyanagi was also headed their way.

"Anyways, our two groups will be Mr. Morioka with Ms. Zukkutani, Ms. Nazohashi and Ms. Akashiya. I will have the other group with Ms. Sendou, Ms. Kurono and Mr. Aono."

Kurumu smirked, thinking this meant she would be sleeping in the same room as Tsukune.

"I'm surprised they let me be in Tsukune's group."

Tora sighed.

"I told Ginei to put Tsukune with us but he must have decided to take Kana instead. I wonder why."

"You wanted Tsukune in your group?"

"For Moka."

Kamitsuku chuckled.

"Seems wrong with Kurumu being his girlfriend."

"There's a reason and it has nothing to do with girlfriends."

Kurumu smiled, aware that this was probably because of Tsukune's ability to remove Moka's rosary. It did make sense to keep the two together but it looked like Ginei had something else in mind.

"It's about time we head out so everyone get up on the bus."

"Hold up, Teacher. I haven't exchanged numbers with anyone yet."

"Please do so, Mr. Oyanagi. Everyone else, start loading up."

Kurumu noted Mr. Umatobi was the first to get on the bus, the vehicle dipping with his weight. He shuffled up the stairs and down the aisle to the far back end. She had a feeling he was going to be sitting by himself.

"Who's sitting by who?"

Tsukune shrugged as he typed numbers while looking at Oyanagi's phone which resembled a camera.

"I know the others were talking about that but I didn't hear the results."

"I bet Yukari wants to sit with Moka."

"Moka's sitting with me."

Kana did not look up as she hovered next to Kamitsuku, adding his number to her flip phone. Moka smiled softly as she patted the side of Yukari's head as best she could without disturbing the hat.

"Yea, we talked about that before you guys got here."

"I suppose Yukari could sit with us. She might be tiny enough to fit in our seat."

"Or I could sit in his lap."

Tsukune chuckled as he put away his phone.

"I can't imagine that being comfortable."

"Hurry up. Everyone's on board but you guys."

Kurumu looked up at the smirk on Ginei's face. She had not noticed the departure of Uchiyama and Tamura. The only two film club members not on the bus were Oyanagi and Kamitsuku. Holding her hand out to Yukari, she nodded at the bus.

"Come with me, Yukari."

Yukari reluctantly gave up her hold on Moka to take Kurumu's hand. They quickly walked over to the bus, the others slowly following. Kurumu returned Ginei's grin as Yukari stepped up the first stair.

"Surprised you didn't hop on with Sangi."

"I'm sitting with Tsukune."

She regarded his grin suspiciously.

"What are you plotting?"

"You'll see."

Kurumu sighed. She doubted Ginei would do anything too bad, but it was still annoying. She grabbed the black handle mounted on the side of the opening and pulled herself up onto the first stair. She hopped up the next two to be in the aisle behind Yukari. The witch was frowning with a familiar pair of purple pentagram glasses perched on her nose. She removed them, forcing a smile at Kurumu before wandering over to an empty seat.

"What's wrong?"

"Magic canceler. I suspected as much when Tora's spell was broken. This bus has a magic canceler."

The bus driver chuckled, glancing over his shoulder. He tapped the end of his cigar in a smoldering ash tray before placing the cigar back in his lips. His dark moustache flexed with his wide grin.

"Correct, young Sendou. It breaks active spells but for some reason has no impact on that seal. There's something special about it."

Kurumu frowned at the gesture to Moka whom had boarded the bus behind her.

"Does this mean the spells in Yukari's brooch are gone?"

The driver chuckled.

"Not at all. She'll find everything works when she's back off the bus."

Ms. Nekonome, whom was seated in the first row on the right side, gestured down the aisle.

"Take a seat, Ms. Kurono. The others are trying to get on."

Kurumu smiled apologetically to Kana and Moka whom were lingering on the steps below her. She walked down the aisle and slipped into the seat Yukari had taken.

"It's a strong magic canceler to undo the spirit spell of a sphinx. I'm fascinated that it has no impact on Moka's seal. I had suspicions this morning that it might at least suppress it."

"Were you hoping we would enjoy our comfy little trip with the silver haired Moka?"

"I was hoping to stay home."

Kurumu chuckled, shaking her head as Kana slipped around Moka to take the window seat. Moka sat down across the aisle from Kurumu. Kamitsuku and Oyanagi walked by, ignoring the unoccupied seats behind Moka for ones further back. There was plenty of room on the bus considering there were ten or so rows of seats. Looking back, only Sangi and Chouda were together while the rest of the film club sat by themselves. She supposed sitting alone was normal for most boys.

The bus driver cackled as he pulled the lever to close the door.

"I see you're still in one piece. Are you still sure about not going home?"

Tsukune paused in the aisle to regard the driver. Ginei lingered behind him, grabbing the chrome shaft at the top of the fluted stairs. Tora had slipped in the front seat with Ms. Nekonome. Tsukune laughed nervously as he settled in the front seat across from Tora.

"I had my reasons."

"But since you stayed you've had trouble dealing with the faculty and nearly died at the hands of the school security. Was that really worth it?"

Tsukune glanced at Kurumu and smirked. His eyes promptly swept across the others as he turned to the driver while sitting down next to the window.

"I think it was."

Ginei chuckled, quickly taking his seat and leaving one foot out in the aisle.

"Would you really take this boy home if he wanted?"

"Of course I would. I do feel a little responsible for bringing the young man here, despite knowing the hardships he might encounter."

Kurumu frowned.

"Are you saying you're part of this plan between Moka's mother and the Headmaster?"

He grinned wide.

"I wouldn't say that. I'm just the driver."

Kurumu rolled her eyes. Clearly this was another one of those that got their jollies off from withholding information. She hated these games.

"Now if everyone would sit down, we can start this voyage."

Kurumu sighed, slumping back in her seat as the bus roared to life. The driver rolled forward, turning the wheel till they crossed the road. He stopped, swung the wheel in the other direction and backed up. He did this two more times till the bus was facing the tunnel.

"There's something else that's special about this bus. You see that tunnel there is linked and this vessel can navigate those connections. It's what you might call a fourth dimensional route."

Yukari perked up.

"Fourth dimension? As in we shall be traveling through time?"

"No, my child. The spirit is as intangible as time. The spirit is regarded as the fourth dimension."

"By who?"

The driver chuckled as the bus picked up speed, approaching the tunnel. He shifted gears as they were about to enter into that maw of blackness.

"I hope you're not afraid of the dark. Once we enter this tunnel you can say goodbye to the monster world and hello to the world of humans."

Kurumu smiled, grabbing Yukari's hand and giving it a squeeze as darkness enveloped them. There was nothing to see outside the windows and she could barely see Yukari sitting beside her. The witch shifted in closer, leaning against her side.

It felt like a long time passed. It was enough that she considered starting up a conversation despite her inability to see Moka across the aisle. But then a light materialized at the end of the tunnel and it drew closer. The darkness beyond the windows relented, allowing her to see red reflectors glistening from the headlights. She smiled at Yukari's nervous expression, giving her hand another squeeze.

The bus entered the daylight. They were in a wooded area. A person on a small motorbike was driving on their right towards the tunnel they had exited. They passed by as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Where are we?"

The bus driver chuckled as the continued down the winding road. The right side of the road was shored up with cobblestones on one of the bends. The trees on the left side opened up to a grassy hill which they drove around on a wide arc. Yellow signs with black arrows guided them onwards.

Passing the hill, the road was shored up on both sides for a short bit before crossing a stretch of road with iron bars on the sides. It might have been a creek below them that they could not see with all the foliage. On the other side of this, the road was shored up on the left side again and there was a sign facing the other direction on the right side.

Kurumu thought about turning around and looking at it when she saw another sign down the road on the left side. It was a blue sign that indicated Kawakami to the left and Minamimaki to the right. They were still in Japan.

The scenery on the right opened up to a view of houses. They were coming down a hill and there was another road below them on the right. She could see the sign for a gas station and could tell that their road would turn and end on this lower road.

"I will be stopping at the gas station to confirm we are where we should be. Once everyone is ready, we shall continue."

The bus pulled to a stop at the intersection. Rows of vending machines stood proudly on the right side corner. The driver made a wide right and promptly pulled in at the nearby Idemitsu gas station with the logo of a red woman in a red circle. Setting the vehicle in park, the bus lowered and he opened the door. Chuckling the driver exited in a puff of smoke.

Several chimes sounded and Tora regarded her phone. Kurumu pulled herself up by the back of the seat and noted that Tsukune was also regarding his phone. Kana was doing the same.

"Messages from your parents?"

"Yea. We had no idea that I would have no service. It's mostly April stuff before I could let them know about the issue."

Ginei chuckled.

"They really should have mentioned that in the flier. The administration assumes that most students understand what it means to be within a spiritual barrier."

Tora smiled softly, regarding her phone.

"I also have April messages from my father. My mother must have not explained the barrier well."

Ginei slugged Tsukune's shoulder.

"Call your mother."

"What?"

"She's at home right now, right? Call her."

Tsukune regarded his phone in shock. Shaking his head, he pressed a few buttons and pressed his phone to his ear.

"What should I say?"

"You told her about the trip, right? Just say you're in Yamanashi and will call her once we reach the inn."

"Are we in Yamanashi?"

Ginei shrugged at her.

"I'm calling my mom."

Kurumu smiled at Kana's declaration. She glanced at Tora.

"Going to call your stay at home dad?"

Tora clutched her phone to her breast, shaking her head.

"I don't think I should."

"Hey, hello. Mother."

Tsukune laughed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yea, it's me. It's okay. I am in Yamanashi and wanted to call."

He paused.

"Uh, well… we left earlier than I thought."

He brought the phone down and sighed.

"Ginei. There's no way we should be in Yamanashi leaving from Niigata. I told her we were leaving around nine and it's only been about a half hour."

"How was I supposed to know you told her the time of departure?"

Kurumu grinned, holding her hand out to Tsukune.

"Let me."

Tsukune frowned, handing her the phone. Smiling she brought the phone up to her ear.

"Tsukune? Are you there?"

"Hello. Um… I'm Kurono Kurumu. I'm Tsukune's girlfriend."

Ginei laughed loudly as Tsukune went pale. She was struck by a small backhand as Yukari pouted at her. Kurumu shrugged as the woman on the other end made slight noises that hardly qualified as a response.

"Um… Mrs. Aono. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, dear. That's… news. How long have you been dating my son?"

"I guess that depends on perspective. I'd say two months but realistically it's only been a couple weeks."

"Oh… I see. You've liked him for some time."

"Yea. He did mention me, right?"

"What was your name again?"

"Kurono. Kurono Kurumu."

"You must be one of the girls in his club."

Kurumu frowned, holding her hand out at Tsukune and shaking her head. She had no intention of giving him his phone back.

"Well our club is mostly girls with the exception of one other guy. I would hope he had said something that would set me apart."

"Forgive me, but I only have so much information about you girls."

"He said he would worry you if he told you too much about us."

The mother sighed.

"The only ones I was not worried about were the comic girl and the little prodigy. I can't help worrying that my son might misbehave with the amount of freedom allowed him."

Kurumu smiled, thinking how naughty they had been last night.

"Well our house mother would never allow any boys to spend the night in the girls' dorm."

"That was suspiciously specific. Have you spent the night with my son in his dorm?"

Kurumu paused, realizing her error.

"Uh… would you like to speak with Yukari? Yea, you would."

She promptly thrust the phone at the witch, not having heard the woman's response.

"What am I supposed to say to her?"

"Tsukune, what is your mother's number?"

Tsukune glanced at Tora, whom was aiming her phone at him.

"Why do you want that?"

"After Kurumu's outburst, I imagine your mother would feel better if she had some pictures of the club. I assume she has a cellphone."

"I don't remember the cell numbers of my parents. Only the landline."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Aono. I… um… I'm Sendou Yukari?"

"Tsukune, I think you should smile and not look like you've been caught committing a crime."

Ginei took a heavy, calming breath, smacking his chest as he leaned back in the seat.

"All right, Tsukune. Get in and have a picture with your president."

"It is rough being away from home, but the club feels a lot like family. Kurumu means well, but she's a big dummy."

Ginei had pulled Tsukune in and flashed a wide grin and a victory sign at Tora, whom snapped a couple pictures. Tora got up from her seat and gestured for Kurumu to do the same.

"Ask for her number, Ms. Sendou. Tell her I will be sending some pictures of the club to her."

"She has spent the night with him, but so has Tora and Moka."

Tsukune blanched.

"Don't tell her that!"

Kurumu smiled apologetically as she slipped out of her seat.

"You two get up and have your picture taken with Kurumu."

"Speaking of pictures, have you sent anything to your parents yet?"

"Tora is not the least bit interested in Tsukune. I can promise you that much."

Tsukune sighed as he got up with Ginei to stand in the aisle beside her. Kurumu smirked as Ginei slung an arm over her shoulder, pulling her into his side while doing the same to Tsukune. Tora took a couple pictures with that pose.

"What about the polaroid Kamitsuku took?"

"I kept that one. Since you stopped pestering me about sending pictures, I forgot about it."

Ginei smirked at her obvious disappointment.

"She wants to talk with you, Ms. Nazohashi."

"What for?"

Yukari shrugged, holding the phone out. Sighing, Tora handed her phone over to Ginei before slipping around Kurumu to retrieve the offering.

"Mrs. Aono? Yes, this is Nazohashi Tora."

Ginei smiled, gesturing at Kurumu with the camera.

"How about I take some pictures of the two of you?"

"There was an issue with your son's door not locking, so we spent the night with him out of concern. Some of the boys on campus like to cause your son trouble and we were worried about leaving him in such a vulnerable position."

"You are making things worse."

Kurumu stepped in and pulled Tsukune's hand together at her belly to keep him calm. She smiled as Ginei leveled the phone at them. Tsukune felt so tense against her.

"You should be smiling with a pretty girl in your arms."

"Hard to smile when my reputation is being murdered on the phone."

"Your son is well behaved. I wish I could say the same about other members of our club."

Kurumu giggled, certain she was not the only one criticized with that comment. With a shrug, Ginei started to take some pictures. She wondered if any of those shots had a genuine smile from Tsukune.

"Can I have your cell number? I want to send you pictures of the group. Pen?"

Tora gestured at Moka, whom fished a pen out of her purse. Pinching the phone against her shoulder, Tora jotted down some numbers on her palm.

Kurumu sighed, squeezing his hands.

"Relax, Tsukune. Your mother isn't falling apart."

"I doubt she's thrilled being told I had girls sleeping in my room."

"Yea, but we never did anything."

"I wouldn't say we did nothing."

"Smile, you two."

Kurumu giggled, taking a deep breath and pressing his hands firmly to her. She rolled her head to the side, resting against his shoulder. She heard a couple more clicks as Ginei captured this moment.

"Tora. You should be in a few shots. Yukari too."

"Hold for a moment, Mrs. Aono. They are wanting to include me in some of the pictures I send you."

Ms. Nekonome laughed.

"Dear me, I didn't suspect things would turn out like this. You realize our driver has returned."

The man chuckled at the base of the stairs, puffing away at his cigar. He waved a newspaper at them dismissively.

"Don't mind me. We are where we wanted to be, so there's no hurry."

"Thank you for your patience, Mr. Nurari."

Ginei waved for them to get in close, Tora politely hovering on her right side while Yukari pressed in on the left. He took a couple more snaps.

Kurumu glanced over at Moka, sitting quietly with her hands in her lap. Kana was on the phone, chatting with her mother.

"Moka, come join us."

Ginei chuckled, gesturing to the vampire.

"Kana, get up. You can have your picture taken."

"I could take a group picture for you, Mr. Morioka."

"Might be a little crowded for a bus, but sure."

Ginei handed the phone to Ms. Nekonome as he squeezed in next to Tora. Moka had gotten up from her seat to hover behind Yukari next to Tsukune. Kana hung up her phone and stepped in beside Moka.

"You should also send these photos to the others with phones."

"That would exceed my data plan, Ms. Nekonome. I'm going to send a select few to Mrs. Aono and download the rest to a laptop later."

The teacher smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry. Not familiar with the cellphone industry."

Ginei chuckled and squeezed Tora to make her yelp. Their teacher took a few shots of them. Shaking her head, Tora pressed Tsukune's phone back to her ear.

"Sorry, about that, Mrs. Aono. The other boy in our group is not behaved at all. Would you like to talk with Ms. Akashiya?"

Moka bit her lower lip as the group started to disperse. Smiling, Kurumu pulled Yukari in close.

"I… if he doesn't mind."

Tsukune sighed.

"At this point it would be odd if you didn't."

"Yes, that would be the other girl whom has slept with your son."

Tora did not wait for a response, promptly handing his phone over to the vampire. She held her hand out to Ms. Nekonome, taking her phone back. Turning about, Tora aimed her phone and snapped a couple shots of Kurumu holding Yukari.

"Hello. I'm Akashiya Moka."

Moka sighed.

"Yes. I understand. It was just sleeping. Honest. We also have sleepovers with Yukari."

Moka winced.

"I know that's different. I'm sorry."

"Is she scolding you?"

Moka smiled meekly at Kurumu.

"I want you to know how much fun it has been to have your son in our school. He's an important friend of mine, but he's just a friend. I'm sorry."

"Kurumu, scoot back in with Moka. I want the three of you."

Moka smiled as Kurumu pressed in on her right side. Holding the phone to her right ear, she let her other arm drape over Yukari's shoulder in a similar manner to Kurumu. Tora's phone clicked twice.

"I'm glad he spoke so highly of me. He did well on his exams, placing in the top hundred."

Tora waved them off, turning her camera to take a couple pictures of Kana making goofy faces. Ginei was lingering beside her, gripping the chrome post.

"Kurumu is a sweet girl. She loves him. We all do."

Moka laughed softly.

"I will try. Thank you."

Moka smiled, handing the phone back to Tsukune. Returning the smile, he brought the phone to his ear.

"Yea? I'm sorry. I know I should have said something."

He nodded, moving away from them to take his seat back at the window.

"I know Moka's mother came once, but I think she's a friend with the Headmaster. I don't think I will be able to see you guys until summer break."

"Everyone, please return to your seats. We should get going."

The driver walked up the stairs as Tora and Ginei took their seats across the aisle. Tora held her right palm up and started punching numbers on her phone. Letting her fingers trail on Yukari's shoulders as the witch walked around her to slip back in their seat, Kurumu smiled at Moka.

"What did she say to you?"

Moka waited for Kana to return to the window seat before sitting down.

"She was upset because Tsukune spoke of me as being a model student and I behaved inappropriately. She said I should know better."

Kurumu sighed, taking her seat.

"Makes me wonder how much he said about me."

Moka smiled without comment.

"Yes, I will be sure to call you after dinner tonight. Love you too. Bye."

Tsukune sighed heavily, dropping his phone in his lap.

"That was a disaster."

Ginei laughed as the driver put the bus in gear. They pulled away from the gas station and started down the road. Kana was on her phone again.

"Hey teacher. My cousin wants to know when we will be arriving."

The driver chuckled.

"Tell your cousin we will be arriving around noon. I don't want to push this bus too hard and we do have a place to visit before getting there."

Ms. Nekonome perked up.

"Another stop?"

"I suggested we visit your haunted hill before lunch. Mr. Umatobi agreed it would be a good idea to know where it is in relation to where we will be staying."

Ginei slugged Tsukune's shoulder.

"I'm proud of you, kid."

"Huh?"

"You didn't start bawling like a baby at the sound of your mother's voice. Now the real test will be how you handle it when you go home for the summer."

"I'm not going to start crying."

Ginei smirked.

"You think that, but it hits you hard when you walk through that door. I didn't write a single letter to my parents my first term and I refused to read the ones my mother sent. Part of that had to do with my friend getting killed so early in the first term, but I was also pretty angry at my old man."

Ginei smiled softly as the bus continued down this road with houses on either side.

"I never cried about his death, but I cried when my mother hugged me. It was this realization of what I had lost coming to Yokai. Not just my friend, but my family as well. Getting my ass back on the bus was so hard, since I didn't exactly feel a whole lot of people at Yokai would care one way or another if I came back. Helps that the old man had no interest sheltering a bum."

Kurumu chuckled.

"Well, we're all glad you did stick with Yokai, even if you are a pain in the ass."

"Okay, I sent your mother five pictures. One with Ginei, one with Kurumu, one partial group shot and the whole group shot. The last was of Kurumu, Yukari and Moka. Sound good?"

"How does the one with Kurumu look?"

"Like you're a couple."

Tsukune sighed.

"I guess it is better if she's only worried about one girl."

Kurumu smiled, glancing out the windows. It was so pretty with wooded hillsides in both directions while the houses flanked the road of this small valley. She reached over to rub Yukari's back.

"See. This place looks nice."

"It's okay."

"There's nothing to worry about."

"We haven't seen the city yet."

"Don't be so pessimistic. It can't be that bad."

Yukari leaned against her side. She took a deep breath and relaxed.

Kurumu smiled, as the bus turned left and started up a small road on the other side of the wooded hill that had been on their left. What little room that was available looked like it was being used for farming instead of housing. It truly looked like a peaceful environment.

"Nothing to worry about at all."

---

After a long drive of meandering through the countryside, the bus turned left and started up a road that cut through more farm land. It was nine after eleven and they would be arriving at the haunted hill soon. Kurumu had a feeling this whole thing was going to turn out to be a hoax.

She could not fathom what Yukari was so worried about. The whole trip had been nothing but small communities and crop fields. They had followed that winding road through one tunnel before it emptied out in a wide open area that was predominately agriculture. Eventually they went through a town, but it went back to farm and then back to winding road through the wilderness. That certainly was not some horrible crime against nature going on. Kana was taking pictures, saying how pretty the countryside was.

About thirty some minutes ago they had left that road and driven through a small community of homes which were pretty close together. That might have been a few minutes of drive before they turned and headed back out into the countryside. They had crossed a wide bridge and went through another long tunnel before winding their way back into farm land.

This was country. There was no other way of looking at it. Sure, they were less than an hour away from this scary, human city, but she had seen no signs of this place. It was too far away from the road to see.

She honestly had no clue if they were in Hokuto district. Kana said this haunted hill was not far from the sunflower field of Akeno. They were leaving the farms behind with trees and foliage on both sides of the road. Patches of the road were so busted up that it could hardly be considered two lanes.

"How much further is this?"

"We're almost there, little lady. It's slightly off the beaten path."

She wondered if that meant they would be driving this bus off the road. That did not sound like a smart thing to do when heading up into the wooded hillside. The road finally gave up being two lanes as it trudged deeper into the wilderness. There was a sign for CamPica Akeno off to the left, but they turned up this narrow, winding road on the right. She was unsure if this dirt path could be called a road.

It was a good couple minutes before this path intersected another winding road that at least resembled two lanes. They turned right and continued for another couple minutes before they came upon a huge field of sunflowers on the left after crossing a bridge. The road continued to meander about the hillside, but the driver eased off the shoulder and put the vehicle in park.

"This is the place."

He pulled the black lever to open the door. Getting up, he tucked the newspaper in his arm and tapped his cigar in the tray one more time before heading down the stairs. Stepping out of the bus, he gestured back to them.

"Have a look around."

Ginei chuckled, springing to his feet in the aisle.

"I don't know about haunted hills, but I'm not staying cooped up in this bus for another minute."

He swung about the chrome post and hopped down the stairs out of the bus. Tora and Tsukune followed after him with notably less enthusiasm.

Kurumu shook Yukari's side, the girl sighing.

"I don't want to."

"I wasn't sure you were awake."

"I'm not sleeping."

Kurumu smiled at Moka whom was allowing Ms. Nekonome to get up and out before heading down the aisle. Kana was frowning at her phone.

"It's just a field of sunflowers. Let's stretch our legs."

"I don't have service here."

Kana glanced up to the film club boys whom had come up to their seats.

"What about you two?"

Oyanagi glanced at his phone and shook his head. Kamitsuku shrugged.

"Samsung says this thing is top of the line but I think my parents should have got me a different New Year's gift. This phone is garbage."

"That's because Samsung has no business making phones. My Sony Ericsson is top of the line."

Kana shrugged, tucking her flip phone in a pocket of her tartan knit pant.

"Phone manufacturer has nothing to do with having service. The network probably doesn't have any towers in the area."

"Could you move along, Ms. Zukkutani? My club would like to exit the vehicle."

Kana nodded, turning about and heading down the aisle with Oyanagi and Kamitsuku on her heels.

"Isn't that a Panasonic?"

"Mhm."

"Have they even released a phone this year?"

"Heard they might be pulling out of the industry."

"So should Samsung. I'm telling you. Sony is the only company that can do this right."

Kurumu smiled as the trio exited the bus with Uchiyama and Tamura following on their heels.

"You two should get up."

Kurumu glanced up at Sangi.

"Don't worry, we will."

"Kuroishi, you don't need the camcorder."

"I shall decide what the camcorder needs."

"That makes… nevermind."

Sangi shook her head, guiding the quiet Chouda to move on ahead of her. Kuroishi came up next to Kurumu, holding the camcorder up on his shoulder with his hand through a black, velcro grip.

"Young ladies, please get up."

Mr. Umatobi waved a large, meaty hand at them.

"Come on, Yukari. Everyone is getting off."

Yukari sighed as Kurumu slipped out into the aisle. The witch took Kurumu's offered hand and they slowly made their way around the chrome post and down the three deep stairs. Letting Kuroishi wander away from the bus first, Kurumu stepped down and let Yukari's hand go so the girl could get down with less trouble.

Kurumu offered her hand, but Yukari wandered towards the flowers. It was an impressive sight. That field of tulips before the cliff back at Yokai was small scale compared to this. She could see a long way up the hillside and it was nothing but flowers. It was hard to believe that this was a natural thing since most of the hillsides about them were covered in trees and green foliage.

The group had already spread out quite a bit when the bus groaned under Mr. Umatobi's weight. The bus sighed when the massive man finally stepped out.

"Reminding all that we are only here for a few minutes to appreciate the setting for our project. No getting carried away since we are expected at our destination in less than an hour. Stretch your legs and relieve yourselves. I doubt there are any facilities to do such and we won't be making any more stops."

Ginei snickered as Kurumu walked by him.

"That's one way to upset ghosts. Show up uninvited and piss on their flowers."

Kurumu shook her head as she moved over to join Kana.

"So this is the haunted hill."

"The locals call it Witch's Hill."

"Witch's hill? You never mentioned this having to do with a witch."

"It's just a local legend. For all my visits to my cousin's place, I had never heard of it. My cousin says the story is so vague that it could have actually happened anywhere. But you know how things go. Strange things happen and they have to explain it somehow."

The bus driver chuckled as he walked over and thrust his paper at Tsukune.

"It's bad enough that it has reached the local news. Whatever is going on, it might be best if someone were to figure this out before things get out of hand."

Tsukune frowned, taking the paper as Moka wandered over to him.

"Are you saying you want us to investigate this?"

The driver grinned.

"You are the newspaper club."

Ginei laughed, slipping by the driver to snatch the paper from Tsukune's hands. He promptly fluffed the paper out and scanned the contents. Kurumu tugged on Kana's sleeve, pulling the girl with her as she moved to join their group. Yukari had lost interest in the flowers and was also moving to join them.

Before the group could fully assemble, Ginei folded up the paper and handed it back to Tsukune.

"Can't say I'm all that impressed with these reporters. So eighteen people have gone missing in this area since they started construction on the road after the New Year holiday."

"That is correct."

Tsukune regarded the flowers nervously.

"And they haven't found them?"

The driver laughed, holding his arms out wide.

"This a large area with lots of places for a human to disappear."

"That's like three to four people a month."

"That's why the construction was halted at the start of the school year. Most of the missing people are road workers and they did try to find them. After a month of finding nothing, my cousin says the project has been put on hold indefinitely until at least a body is found. The public outcry of unsafe working conditions is too much."

Kurumu gestured at the flower field.

"It's just a bunch of flowers. I get why you can't find someone in this huge forest around us, but the flower field should have been easy to search."

"Nothing was found in the flower field."

"Then why is this field considered haunted?"

Kana frowned.

"Because it shouldn't be here. There's no reason for this field to be here. The developers were thrilled to find it because it's much easier to level a flower field than a bunch of trees. They were planning to put some kind of resort here, but they needed this road to be finished."

"Seemed easy enough to get here by bus."

The driver chuckled.

"One way roads up a mountainside are fine when nobody else is using them."

"You have to understand that this road wasn't here a year ago. The only thing up here was hiking trails and this place was discovered by helicopters flying by."

Yukari tugged on Kana's shirt.

"You said it was called Witch's Hill. Why?"

Kana shrugged.

"Like I said, it's a vague story. Basically a coven of witches once owned this land and it was sacred to them for some reason or another. They would kill anybody that set foot on it, turning them into sunflowers. Two of the witches were killed some way or another and the last vanished, promising vengeance upon the humans for striking down her sisters and corrupting her land."

Yukari huffed, fixing her hat.

"How old is the legend?"

"Centuries."

"Witches don't live for centuries."

"Well, they claim this witch is stealing the bodies of young women."

"Preposterous."

The driver chuckled.

"Don't be so dismissive, little one. You know this is possible."

Yukari huffed again, rolling her eyes.

"It's a temporary solution. She'd die with her next body."

"Assuming the body is human."

Yukari paused.

"That's forbidden."

"And yet may be the case."

Yukari scowled.

"This is all based on a false premise. What evidence is there that any of this is the work of a witch?"

"There isn't any. It's just what the locals say."

"Well pardon me for not believing the locals."

Kurumu chuckled as Sangi wandered over to join them.

"What are you guys all talking about?"

"Witch's Hill."

"Witch's Hill, huh? Is that what we're calling this?"

"It's newspaper club stuff. Our bright and genius Yukari has agreed to do our headline article and it turns out that this place is called Witch's Hill by the locals. A lucky break if you ask me."

Sangi snorted, fiddling with the bill of her cap.

"I wouldn't brag about luck if it's about witches. That's just trouble all around."

Yukari scowled, crossing her arms about her chest.

"What have you guys been up to?"

"Oyanagi and Kuroishi are bickering over where it would be best to shoot our haunted film. I'd love it if I could borrow one of your girls because I'm not comfortable being the actress for this stuff."

Ginei chuckled, crossing his arms about his chest.

"Why don't you use Ms. Chouda?"

"You're not serious, right? I don't know if you've noticed, but she's not all there. It's a rare occurrence to hear her say anything."

"Make it a silent film."

Sangi rolled her eyes at his suggestion.

"You're assuming that we can get her to follow a script."

"Do the part, Mitsuki. It's not going to kill you."

Sangi chuckled, shaking her head.

"Nobody cares about a tomboy. Let me have Akashiya. Everybody would love to see her die."

Yukari huffed as others chuckled.

"That's rude."

"She's a pretty girl and that's perfect for a scary film. What do you say, Ms. Akashiya? Could you help our club out?"

"I guess since I don't really have anything else to do."

Yukari held her hands up in an x.

"Declined. You can't have my Moka until I decide it's safe."

"Safe? It's a haunted hill. As in people get scared and run away."

Kana laughed softly.

"No, not quite. There's been quite a few disappearances."

"What?"

Kurumu sighed, glancing at Ginei.

"I don't know if Ginei knew, but some people have vanished from this area since the start of the year. Kana just felt like letting us know that now."

Kana frowned.

"I thought I told him. Maybe I didn't. I'm sorry, I really thought I did."

Ginei chuckled, shaking his head.

"You might have. I don't remember. I latched on to you saying the place was haunted because that sounded like an amazing story to cover."

Yukari shook her head.

"I swear our club is full of idiots."

"But you don't believe the story of Witch's Hill anyways."

"I don't believe you can blame a witch for eighteen people vanishing without some proof."

"Eighteen? Holy shit, eighteen! Why are we here?!"

Ginei chuckled, holding a hand up at Sangi.

"Calm down, Mitsuki."

Sangi turned about and pointed at the bus.

"Everybody get back on the bus!"

She stalked off towards the frowning boys whom regarded her inquisitive stares.

"Don't ask. Get on the bus. If you have to pee, go on the other side of the bus so I don't have to see it."

Ginei sighed, stuffing a hand in a pocket as he regarded the retreating brunette.

"That's a tad bit of an overreaction."

Tsukune was still regarding the flowers with concern.

"Feels like a normal reaction to me."

"Where's your sense of adventure?"

"I left mine on the bus."

Tsukune decisively started for the bus with Moka and Kana quickly following suit. Kurumu took Yukari's hand and with a couple steps inspired Ginei to join them. She saw that Tora was already at the bus, likely having not strayed far from the vehicle. Ms. Nekonome was leaning on the bus next to Tora as the Tamura boy clambered up the steps.

"What do you mean she's gone?"

Sangi had gone over to the boys that were lingering at the start of the flower field. With a glance at Uchiyama, Kamitsuku shrugged at her inquiry.

"As in not present."

"If she had to pee, she's not going to do it around us."

Sangi sighed.

"Just get on the bus."

Ginei tapped Kurumu on the shoulder and nodded in Sangi's direction. Glancing at Yukari, she smiled and veered off to follow their club president. Yukari frowned, but followed along.

"What's wrong?"

Sangi groaned with frustration. She gestured out to the flower field.

"I don't know where Chouda is. I thought Uchiyama had her, but he let her wander off."

"Everyone back on the bus! We should not dally any longer."

Mr. Umatobi walked out of the forest, fumbling with his belt about his gigantic britches. Sangi grimaced, covering her face, though Kurumu felt it was too late to unsee that. She favored Moka a piteous look as the vampire joined them with Tsukune.

"Chouda's missing."

"The little senior girl?"

"She's not that little, Moka. She's taller than Kurumu."

Sangi fiddled with her braid behind her ear.

"I'm going to look for her."

"Oh, ho. Are you sure about that?"

The driver grinned as he tapped the end of his cigar to cause a tuft of ash to flutter to the ground.

"She might have already been spirited away."

"She may be a pain, but I can't leave her wandering about."

"I understand that but we have a schedule to keep. If anyone wants to look for this girl, they'll have to wait for me to come back and get them."

Kurumu frowned.

"You seriously would abandon her here?"

"Would you seriously let her search for her senior alone?"

Yukari snorted.

"Oh, so abandoning two students up here isn't good enough for you. How many must you leave behind to feel like a mature adult?"

"Yukari."

"No, I'm serious. While I don't particularly care about Ms. Chouda, it bothers me that this man is playing on your kindness with no intent to show some of his own. I don't feel it's safe here."

The driver grinned broadly.

"So what do you suggest, little witch?"

"I say we all get back on the bus, including Ms. Sangi, and leave."

Sangi's lower jaw trembled.

"I see you have a heartless child, Ginei. I'll talk to you later."

Straightening her cap, Sangi stalked off into the sunflowers.

After a tense pause and losing sight of the brunette, Ginei sighed, rubbing his bandana.

"You four stay put. I'm going to go with the driver and we'll talk with the rest of the club and decide what we're going to do."

Tsukune frowned.

"Why do you want us to stay here?"

"Because I don't want to leave Mitsuki behind and I have a feeling that if all of us go to the bus, that's exactly what will happen."

"I don't want to stay here."

Ginei angrily thrust a finger at Yukari.

"I don't care what you want. And you don't seem to care what anyone else wants, so I don't want to hear about that being unfair. You stay here and do your article that you promised me."

"We arrived at a sunflower field that was haunted by human stupidity. The end."

Ginei shook his head as he walked off towards the bus. The driver chuckled and followed.

"Do you think Ms. Chouda got spirited away?"

Kurumu smiled at Moka.

"I don't think so. I've seen that girl wander around during several of my articles. This is normal for her."

"What do you think they'll decide to do?"

Kurumu shrugged, regarding the group about the bus. It looked like all the film club boys had boarded up and presumably so had Tora. The driver and the teachers were talking with Kana and Ginei.

"That driver would willingly leave all of us. I don't trust him."

Kurumu sighed, taking in a deep breath. She watched as Kana and Ginei made several gestures at the bus and then the field. After a couple minutes, Mr. Umatobi waddled up on the bus. The driver grinned at them, making an odd salute before turning and clambering up the steps. After some more chatter, Kana entered the bus and the door closed. The bus roared to life.

"See. It was simply a matter of how many he wanted to leave behind."

Kurumu managed a smile at Yukari's grim remark.

"He left Ms. Nekonome and Ginei."

"Wonderful. I feel so much safer."

Tsukune chuckled nervously as Ginei made his way over to them. The bus drove off back in the direction it came while Ms. Nekonome lingered by the road.

"So what's the news?"

Ginei shrugged once he arrived.

"Sure you could guess. He's going to drop the rest of them off at the Morningside Overlook. Kana's cousin will help them settle in and guide them to that McDonalds they were talking about. Meanwhile the driver will turn about and come get us."

Kurumu gestured at Ms. Nekonome.

"So what's she doing?"

"She's going to stay at the road since none of us have phones and that's the best place to be found."

"I have a phone."

"Do you have service?"

Tsukune pulled his silver flip phone out of his pocket, regarding the screen. He sighed.

"No."

"Okay. So none of us have phones. What was that?"

Kurumu frowned at Ginei's sudden tenseness.

"What?"

Ginei held a hand up to his lips. His eyes went distant as if he was deeply contemplating something.

"Ginei?"

"Something groaning. Hard to hear over you guys breathing. You have your whistle?"

Moka nodded.

"I'm going to hang out with Ms. Nekonome. I'm worried that I can't leave anyone alone, including her. Stay as a group. Look for Mitsuki and Chouda."

Tsukune regarded Ginei incredulously.

"Out in the field?"

"Yes."

"I object."

"Can it, short stuff. If you hadn't mouthed off, I might have looked for Chouda by myself."

"You should have spoken up."

"Yes, I apologize that I lacked the foresight that you would say something so insensitive."

"Ginei, stop. Yukari has been on edge about this trip."

"That's no excuse."

"Well changing her article from a haunted hill to a missing persons investigation is a big deal."

Kurumu gestured at the field.

"The only reason why we're still here is because we're missing someone."

"I get that, but that doesn't mean we start suggesting leaving people behind. Find Mitsuki and Chouda and then we can discuss what we want to do about Yukari's article."

"Why don't you go look for them, and we can stay with Ms. Nekonome."

Ginei cocked his head at the little witch.

"Let's just say I feel better about the four of you coming across something and blowing a whistle for my help, than me wandering around by myself, stumbling into trouble with no means of getting help."

Moka nodded.

"He's right, Yukari. She also agrees with him."

Yukari sighed, tugging her hand away from Kurumu.

"Stupid. I didn't even want to come on this trip."

"You know what to do, Moka. And if it's really bad, Tsukune knows what to do."

Kurumu chuckled, supposing Ginei did have good points. As long as they stuck together, they should be fine. She absently reached up to fiddle with her top button.

"Should I fly? I might be able to find them faster."

Ginei clenched his jaw and wagged a fist indecisively. After a pause, he shook his head.

"I don't think you should. There's a lot of things that could be going on here and some might not be kind to other monsters."

"You're insinuating a witch is responsible."

"It's the only story we have right now. If it is a witch, she's not going to roll out the carpet for other monsters. She might worry you're an agent of Fairy Tale investigating the disappearances."

Kurumu sighed.

"I just want to find them as fast as possible."

"You know that theory would apply for any number of rogue monsters killing humans over territory. I would argue that other monsters are more likely to attack than a witch."

"Whatever, kid. Get going and good luck."

Ginei turned about and jogged off. Yukari sighed, stalking off into the flowers.

"This is dumb. She gets upset that I suggest leaving an idiot behind, so she walks off by herself like the first idiot. Let's not address that being the issue of why we were missing someone in the first place."

"Yukari."

"So now we have to pay for her mistakes. Perish the thought that we would hold anyone responsible for their own stupidity."

Kurumu followed through the sunflowers, careful to keep Yukari in sight. She glanced back to confirm Moka and Tsukune were on her heels.

"Didn't you suggest Ginei to go out here by himself?"

"Ginei has a better sense of smell and hearing. He would find them more reliably than us."

"Well… Sangi might be able to find Chouda."

"I have no idea what they are. They could be a couple useless nukekubi for all I know."

Kurumu smiled, supposing that was true. From what she understood, the only thing a nukekubi could do was take off their head.

"I honestly have half a mind to burn this whole field to the ground. That would flush out any angry spirit that is causing this mess."

"That's a terrible idea, Yukari."

"Is it, Tsukune? This creature might have killed eighteen humans. Do you want to side with it?"

Tsukune looked about nervously.

"Well, no, but that doesn't mean you burn the place down. If a man commits a murder, you don't set his house on fire."

There was a low growl somewhere off to the right. Kurumu glanced, noting the sunflowers shifting.

"Did you hear that?"

There was an earthy thud and the sunflowers bobbed and wagged despite there being no wind. Another growl sounded off, this time closer.

"What is that?"

"Is it a wild animal?"

"There's a shed over there! Maybe Sangi and Chouda fled there for safety!"

Kurumu glanced in the direction Tsukune was pointing. She grabbed Yukari's hand, the girl regarding the sunflowers. The witch was not moving.

"Yukari!"

Kurumu tugged and started running, aware that Tsukune and Moka were already doing the same. Yukari fell after stumbling, being dragged. Kurumu whirled about and picked up the girl, tucking her against her side as she ran for the wooden shack as fast as she could.

Tsukune's long legs helped him get to the shack first, though Moka was not far behind him. They threw open the door and gestured for Kurumu to hurry. She could hear the growling behind her, but it seemed no closer than before. She did not want to stop and find out why it had given up pursuit.

Crossing the threshold, Tsukune slammed the door shut and dropped a bracing bar down. He pressed his back to the door, panting heavily.

"What the hell was that?"

"I don't know. Someone picked me up before I could see it."

"Yukari, that thing was too low. It would have been on top of us before we could see it."

"I have protective spells, Kurumu. I would have been fine."

"I was able to grab you without harm."

"The spell is smart enough to know harmful intent, Kurumu."

"I dragged you."

"Not the same as an intent to harm. Whatever that was, it would not have been able to hurt me."

Kurumu rolled her eyes.

"I'm glad you were confident in your safety."

"Do you think that could be the work of a witch?"

Yukari glared at Tsukune, causing him to wilt against the door. She huffed, turning up her nose.

"Could have been a wild boar."

"Boars don't sound like… whatever that was."

"Are you an expert on boars, Tsukune?"

"Not really."

"All of you need to stop with this suspicion of witches. It's annoying."

Kurumu nodded.

"It's true. A lot of nature spirits could influence wild animals to attack. When Ginei first mentioned this place being haunted, I was thinking it could be pixies."

Moka frowned.

"You mean like Ms. Chousei?"

"Yea. I would have also thought dryads, but Kana was the one whom brought this place up. I would figure her cousin would know if it was a dryad responsible for it."

"Exactly. There are dozens of spirits capable of causing humans to disappear. I don't think whomever is responsible for this will think twice about adding some non-humans to that list."

Kurumu sighed.

"Well… we have to go back out there."

"Are you crazy?!"

"Tsukune. We're supposed to find Sangi and Chouda. A quick look about confirms they are not in here."

That was obvious. This small structure was an empty room that lacked a floor. The broken shelves were empty and the only useful thing in the room was a table with benches about it. This looked more like a temporary lodge for campers than anything else.

Moka reached inside her jacket and pulled the whistle out from an interior pocket. The vampire clutched it to her chest as she looked nervously to the door.

"It's not safe for Tsukune to go back outside. We should have left him with Ginei."

Tsukune shook his head.

"No way. You need me to remove your -"

"No. You know that's not true, Tsukune. I don't need my rosary removed to be useful."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"I'm going to call Ginei to come get him and then we can resume our search."

"No. There's only two of us that can heal Tsukune if harm befalls him. My magic and your blood. He has to be with one of us."

"My blood could kill him."

"All the more reason that he has to stay with me."

Kurumu frowned.

"So what is it that you plan to do? Are you wanting Tsukune to leave this room?"

"No. I am thinking about waiting for someone to come get us. I imagine the bus will return around one at which point we can use Moka's whistle, assuming Ginei has not been spirited away."

"What?"

"I'm saying that I agree with Tsukune. It's crazy to go outside and look for those two. I can easily defend this location and keep everyone here safe until the bus arrives."

Kurumu snorted.

"And what if the bus doesn't come?"

"And how does that scenario encourage me to find the others?"

Kurumu grimaced.

"You know what, Yukari. Why don't you make a fucking doorway and go back to Yokai? Watch how many of us are willing to go back with you."

Yukari looked up at her with a slight waver in her brown eyes. Her lower lip trembled.

"Why bother with that when I can simply go home?"

"So do it."

"I never wanted to come here. You insisted that I had to."

"So go. You'll be safe at home and maybe we find the other two. What happens, happens, right?"

"Kurumu, stop it."

Kurumu rolled her eyes at the vampire.

"So are you going to go with her?"

"You know I can't."

"What about you, Tsukune? She's offering you a ticket to safety. All you have to do is stop caring about two people we know."

"Kurumu, you know it's not safe for him! If I make that doorway, you damn well better not judge him for coming with me!"

"I couldn't."

Yukari sighed. Shaking her head, she walked over to the wall. She touched it and looked back at them.

"Fine. I don't care if any of you come with me."

Her arm passed through the wall and she turned away from them.

"But I can keep the three of you safe in here."

The witch stepped out of the room and a hum sounded throughout the structure. Kurumu frowned, exchanged confused looks with Moka and Tsukune.

After a long moment, Tsukune shook his head.

"We should go after her."

He turned about and lifted the bar from its place. He grabbed the knob but the door would not pull in. He struggled, groaning as he tugged on the door, going so far as to put a foot up on the jamb.

"You have to be kidding me."

Kurumu walked up to the wall, touching it. It felt like wood. Letting her fingers lengthen to talons, she jammed them into the wall but she squealed in pain the moment the tips hit the unyielding surface. It hurt so much. It felt like she had broken her fingers as she nursed her hands to her chest.

Moka kicked at the floor, notably unable to pick up any of the dirt. The vampire sighed, crossing her arms about her waist.

"Good going, Kurumu. Looks like we can't leave this room until Yukari lets us."

Kurumu sighed, unbuttoning her blouse. She knew it was a long shot, but she had to check the roof.

---

Morningside Overlook was a three story building with a first floor that included a small kitchen, a large multipurpose room for dining, and a changing room for an indoor bath. The upper floors had three guest rooms each for visitors. Two of these were being used by the family that owned the establishment, with Kana's cousin having one room while her parents had the other. The other four rooms were rented out to them, so there would be no other guests in the establishment during their stay. This made arranging the bath hours simple enough to avoid mixed bathing.

The spell holding them in the shack had been strong enough to prevent Ginei from getting them out when Moka had called him with the whistle. Laughing at their plight, he had heard something and left them to investigate. Before he had come back, the spell barrier vanished. Unsure of what they should do, they had waited outside the shack for Ginei to return.

The club presidents had returned, each holding a girl in their arms. Sangi had spoken highly of Yukari, thankful that the girl had shown up and killed all the plant beasts that had attacked her and Chouda. They had walked down to the road to join Ms. Nekonome and waited patiently for the bus to return.

While seeing the bus drive up the road a little after one had been the most relieving thing she had felt in several hours, it still bothered her how aloof the driver had reacted. He had laughed about them all getting out in one piece and how Tsukune looked none the worse for the wear. It was like the jerk had wanted one of them to get hurt.

The forty minute drive back to the bed and breakfast had been eerily quiet. Kurumu had held Yukari's head in her lap while she sat next to the window. Sangi was doing the same with Chouda in the seat across the aisle. Moka sat up with Ms. Nekonome while Tsukune and Ginei kept their original seat.

Tsukune had called Tora the moment he had service, letting the others know that everyone was safe and that they would be arriving around two. Tora and Kana were at the inn while the rest of the group were out exploring the city. The two that were supposed to be in Sangi's group were with Kana's cousin.

They passed through two more tunnels, the driver commenting that these were much too short to be used by his bus. He chuckled about only long, dark tunnels could be linked as they passed through the second of these shortcuts through the countryside.

Not long after this the right side view opened up and she could see a large, sprawling urban area off in the distance. There were still up in the hills and country, but she could sense why Yukari would worry about being in such an environment. It looked full. There was houses and buildings everywhere. They ducked back in the countryside for a few minutes before returning to this distant view of the city off to the right. And then it was back to the countryside. It was like this chosen path was a deliberate tease of there being a city without them ever seeming to get closer to it.

They had made a sharp turn and had driven along a ravine a good few minutes with no sign of the city. They crossed a bridge and some houses had come up on the right side. Kurumu had thought nothing of it and then there were houses everywhere. The last six or so minutes of the drive was so congested with buildings that the bus barely could fit down the hot springs drive that cut through the structures.

The two young ladies had slept through the whole trip and had been carried up to their respective rooms. Apparently Mr. Umatobi's group had claimed the vacant room on the second floor, forcing everyone else to be on the top floor. That was fine with Kurumu, since the view from the roof balcony was spectacular. Kana had proudly pointed out Mount Fuji in the blurry distance.

Tora had cast a few healing spells which helped both girls regain consciousness. Yukari had been notably shaken and had adamantly refused to set foot outside of the inn. Kana had been eager to get out and had convinced Ginei to take his group for a simple walk about the neighborhood. She reminded them that dinner was to be their own responsibility, which prompted Ms. Nekonome to head out with Mr. Nurari, Sangi and Chouda. Moka had eventually returned around six thirty with some ramen takeout she had acquired at one of the local restaurants so that they did not starve.

To pass some time, Tsukune had called his mother again around four, confirming whom was in the pictures he had sent. He had apologized again about not explaining his relationship and talked a good half hour or so about what he had been doing in school and club.

He had given the phone to Yukari, whom spent a good few minutes bragging about how she was the top student of her grade. She confessed having a small crush on Tsukune but that she loved Moka much more and that Kurumu was a silly airhead that had a cup size that exceeded her brain cell count.

When Kurumu got her few minutes she had simply asked if it would be okay to visit over the summer break. His mother had been fine with that idea but was concerned with her getting carried away in young love and that she was too pretty of a girl for her poor son to resist. She was to behave herself and limit her time alone with Tsukune. Kurumu sighed, picking at the last of her noodles. While that sounded right, she disliked the thought of being distant from him.

None of the film club or their teachers had returned, though Mr. Umatobi had said that they would have free time till eight. Kurumu grabbed her empty carton and got up.

"I want a bath."

"Our bath time doesn't start for at least another hour."

Kurumu shrugged at Moka. Though Moka's group was assigned to the adjacent room, they had all squeezed in Kurumu's room for the time being. Ginei was relaxing with his eyes closed in the far corner of the room while Kana was on her belly on the floor, doodling on her drawing pad. The others were lounging about in similar fashion.

"That's the dedicated hour for girls. I think anyone can use the bath prior to it."

"Saedi's parents are out on a date tonight so you don't have to worry about any unknown guys walking in. It's their Tuesday night tradition."

"Tuesday night tradition?"

Kana glanced up from her drawing pad.

"A weekly date night. They met on a Tuesday and have been doing this for over twenty years."

Kurumu smiled. She had met Saedi's parents briefly upon arrival. Just like Kana's family, the father was a simple human. He had graying black hair with a full beard and moustache. The large gentlemen had been very hospitable and jovial. His dryad wife stood a whole head shorter than him, with long, greenish blond hair that she whitened to avoid talk among the neighbors. He had met her on a camping trip in the wilderness and was passing her off as a foreigner.

Amusingly, the two cousins were related by their fathers. The two men were cousins, making the two dryad girls cousins removed, or whatever it was this was called. Saedi had graduated high school this year and was taking the year off to help her parents around the inn before applying at a college. It was her intent to take over the inn, but she wanted an official degree in hospitality and tourism.

"You want to bathe with me, Tsukune?"

Tsukune chuckled, shaking his head as he held up his empty ramen carton to her. She took it without much thought.

"I distinctly recall my mother telling you to behave."

Kurumu frowned.

"She doesn't have to know."

"She didn't have to know about a bunch of girls sleeping with me, but here we are."

Pouting, Kurumu walked over to Yukari and held her hand down to the girl whom was nestled in Moka's lap. Yukari glanced at her and handed over her empty carton.

"I wasn't asking for your garbage."

"I want to bathe with Moka."

Moka smiled softly, brushing her fingers through Yukari's fine, black locks.

"We can all bathe together."

Tora set down that book she had been reading at Tsukune's birthday party and stood up. She stretched her arms over her head and let out a deep breath.

"Kurumu's got built in pervert sensors to keep Ginei and other boys in check. Hopefully she would warn us about Tsukune as I'm not interested in him seeing me naked."

"I'm not going to peep on you girls!"

Kana set her drawing pad down.

"Sure, I'm in."

"Then let's go."

Moka extracted herself from Yukari, helping the witch up as she stood. Kana closed up her laptop and picked herself up off the floor.

"There's a wastebasket in the bathroom if you don't want to carry all that downstairs."

Kurumu nodded as she walked over to the door and slid it open. She stepped out into the hall, turning to the left. Cradling the empty cartons to her chest, she walked a few paces down the hall to the sliding panel for the bathroom. She pushed it open, quickly noting the large wastebasket tucked underneath the wall mounted sink. Tossing the cartons away, she closed up the door and continued down the hall.

The hallway for this inn wrapped about the floors. If she had gone right, she would have walked by the other two rooms before turning up a short flight of steps with the hallway continuing down the flank of the farthest guest room. There was a door at the end which opened into the stairway that went up to the roof balcony.

She reached the end of the hall, turning left and stepping down a short flight of steps. This new hall stretched the width of the building with a couple short flights of steps which would bring them down to the second level. Turning left again at the end of this descent, she started across the long, level hall that flanked the rooms of the second floor.

The side stair hallway that took them down to the first level emptied out in the genkan next to the main entrance of the bed and breakfast. A wraparound service counter was on Kurumu's left with the cherry stained, double doors on her right. A shoe rack flanked the double doors for the guests. Behind the enclosed counter was a door that went into the main office.

Stepping up from the genkan, Kurumu walked around by the office and counter, ignoring the large open room on her right that stretched the entire length of the building. This was their multipurpose room, though mostly used as a dining hall. It had no furnishings or electronics.

There was a door on the left that opened into the office and swivel, saloon door that opened into the small kitchen. Walking by both, Kurumu started down the small hall that divided the bathhouse portion of the establishment. There were gender specific restrooms on the left and a beaded curtain hanging over the large opening on the right. Kurumu stepped through the wooden beads, glancing back to confirm the others were not far behind.

The narrow passage beyond was lit up by hanging, paper lanterns. The wall in front of her was lined with shelves which had baskets placed atop folded robes. Pulling out a basket, she set it at her feet as she started to undress.

The wall was not continuous on this side of the curtain. Both ends opened to allow passage to the next chamber, which was an enclosed bath. Originally it had been an open air bath, but a few years ago Saedi's parents had decided to close it in for the sake of privacy. It also allowed their services to be year round for the winter months and the rainy season, which it currently was. It had rained for about two hours a little after three and she could hear that it was drizzling again.

"Hey, Moka."

The vampire glanced up while folding her lilac jacket and placing it neatly in her basket.

"Does the rain bother you?"

Moka shuddered a moment, sighing as she tugged her dress over her head.

"It's not the first time I've been caught out in the rain."

Yukari frowned, unbuttoning her blouse next to Moka.

"Were you okay?"

"We had to take cover while Ginei fetched us some umbrellas. I'm curious what happened on the hill."

Kurumu glanced at Moka before shrugging at Tora.

"Yukari thought it best to lock Tsukune up in a secure location and left us with him for his protection."

"Moka said you upset Yukari so she locked you up to handle the situation by herself."

"That sounds the same to me."

"Did you guys confirm if this is the work of a witch?"

Yukari sighed as she folded her blouse up and put it in her basket.

"There is no reason to assume this is the work of a witch. Those creatures that attacked us could be controlled by several species, yours included."

Kurumu smiled, unhooking her bra and dropping it among her other things.

"Sangi said they were man eating plants and that they tried to eat you."

"They were garigari. Primitive monsters with little purpose beyond feeding off any living animals that stray across their path. I handled them with ease."

Kurumu chuckled as she loosened her skirt.

"That's not what Sangi said. One practically ate you before you could do anything."

Yukari sighed again, her shoulders slumping.

"I hesitated. When I came across those two and saw Chouda was in the grasp of something, I felt the urge to run away. I realized I had no idea what I was up against and that it could be more powerful than me if two of our seniors could do nothing against it."

Kurumu smiled softly, placing the last of her things in the basket and returning it to the shelf. She pulled out the towel that was beneath the robe, holding it to her breast.

"Sangi was freaked out. She said the things that attacked you had no minds so her powers as a kakuen were useless. I guess her skills come from being able to read her opponent and react accordingly."

Yukari paused, nodding as she grabbed her towel.

"That does explain her trouble. You know a kakuen is best at running away. She's even more reckless than I accused her of."

Moka frowned as she held her towel to her breasts.

"Are you still upset with Ms. Sangi?"

"Confused. Her actions are completely against the nature of a kakuen."

Kurumu smiled, noting Kana was heading off through the opening on their right. Gesturing for Tora whom had just grabbed her towel, Kurumu moved to follow the blond.

"She was looking out for her senior. It's not against her nature."

"How do you guys do it?"

"Do what?"

"I just know if it had been Moka or you… either of you would have immediately helped. The creature would have had no time to grab you, let alone put you in its mouth."

Kurumu shrugged as she walked around the corner. The room beyond was tiled completely. The bath was huge. Wooden buckets flanked the open pool of steaming water. Kana folded her towel and placed it in one of the buckets before sitting down on the edge and placing her feet in. The blond smiled over her shoulder, pushing off the lip and turning as she sank into the water.

"It's really hot, but it's nice."

Moka laughed softly.

"I'm only going to hang out by the edge. I can't get in."

Kurumu grinned at the vampire as they reached the edge of the pool. Kurumu knelt down and folded up her towel to place it in the bucket next to Kana's while Moka sat down beside her.

"I was starting to wonder why you were stripping."

"I didn't want to decline bathing with Yukari."

Yukari sighed, stepping around Moka and plopping her nude body in Moka's lap.

"You guys are blowing off my appreciation for your recklessness."

Tora chuckled, tousling Yukari's hair as she knelt down beside them.

"I would also hesitate, Yukari. It's just a matter of upbringing."

"Upbringing?"

Tora smiled as she reached up to loosen the braids in her hair.

"You were raised to think you were the best thing in the world, correct?"

"I guess."

"So why would it be natural for you to sacrifice yourself for another?"

Kurumu paused, weighing that assessment. For some reason she thought of Hiboshi, angrily shouting at Tsukune to value his own life.

"That might be true, Tora, but I still feel Ms. Sangi thinks poorly of me due to my hesitation."

"Yukari. She knows that you saved her."

Yukari sighed.

"I saved myself. Those things turned on me for some reason. There's no telling how long I would have hesitated if they had left me alone."

Kana splashed a gout of water up at Kurumu, causing Moka to flinch.

"Oh, sorry. But come on. Get in the bath. No point brooding about something that didn't happen."

"You don't understand. If something happens again, I might hesitate and someone will get hurt. I can't keep ignoring this."

"It's not a flaw, Yukari. It's something you work around. You don't see me trying to be a hero."

Kurumu smiled, aware that Tora was still fiddling with her hair. Crawling over to the edge, Kurumu swung her legs into the steaming pool and shivered. It was lovely. Scooting off, she turned as her body plunged into the water and this hot blanket wrapped about her. She lifted her elbows back up to rest on the lip, pressing her breasts against the tiled bath.

"With all respect, Tora, a sphinx's strength lies in defense. Heroics from you would require a situation that caters to that strength."

"And it seems to me that your strength is intelligence and analysis. Nobody is asking you to be the reckless hero that charges in without a thought for your own safety."

Yukari glared at Kurumu.

"Tell that to her. She was all gung ho about getting us killed in the sunflower field."

Kurumu sighed.

"I had to do something, Yukari. The only plans you were giving involved hiding or running away."

Moka squeezed Yukari against her bare chest.

"She's right, Yukari. We wanted to save everyone."

Yukari pouted, though with quite a healthy blush on her cheeks.

"I don't get it. It's not like Ms. Sangi or Ms. Chouda are close friends. They didn't lift a finger to help us when we had trouble with the PSC. These people don't care about us."

Tora paused her work on the braids on the other side of her head.

"I see your point. Friendships are rarely equal, Yukari. There will always be one side that benefits more than the other."

Kana lifted herself up on the edge so that only her waist below was submerged.

"I'll tell you something else that's rarely equal. Breasts. I swear my left is a B while my right is an A. It makes finding comfortable bras impossible."

Tora smirked at the dryad groping herself.

"It's called padding."

"Yukari, please come out to the city with us tomorrow."

Yukari bit the corner of her lip as Kana settled back down on her elbows.

"Why?"

"Because I want to show you the city."

"You're a dryad. Why do you care about the city?"

"I care about my father and this is the world he came from. We might be living in the country now but he grew up in this city with Saedi's father."

"That has nothing to do with me."

"But you're my friend. And you must be a little interested in the humans that make these books and comics you spend all your time reading."

Yukari sighed, relaxing back in Moka's arms.

"It's the school year."

Tora fluffed her hair that was finally free of her braids. The tan girl crawled over to the edge and slipped into the water to join them.

"That should mean most people will be in school or at work."

Kurumu smiled at Yukari.

"Does that mean you will allow Tsukune and me to tour the city with Kana tomorrow?"

"It'll be fun, Yukari. We can all stay together."

"That's not fair, Moka. You're holding me naked and asking me to do something."

The accusation caused the vampire to blush. She promptly let go and turned her head aside.

"Then get in the water and I will ask you then."

Yukari sighed.

"I don't like it, but I'll go. It's better than going back to the hill and investigating if there was anyone controlling those mindless beasts."

Kurumu chuckled. Even if that was meant to be Yukari's article, she had to agree.