The bell rang for break, and Keith slowly made his way down to the school fountain. If Amber wants to see me, then it must be something bad. Keith thought to himself as he walked down the flights of stairs towards the first floor of the school building, Was it because of what happened before class? Or is this because of Kamui? Keith walked out of the school building and into the school square where the school fountain stood, majestically under the warm glow of the morning sun. Amber sat at the edge of the fountain staring down nervously at her hands.
"Uh, Amber?" Keith spoke up.
"Oh, fox kid, you're here," Amber said calmly turning towards Keith, "Good, now we can talk."
"So, what's up?" Keith asked, shocked by Amber's unusually calm demeanor.
"Come to the occult club after school," Amber said plainly, "There's someone that wants to see you."
A shiver ran down Keith's spine as Amber finished her sentence, "Someone that wants to see me?"
"Yeah," Amber said looking away from Keith and back at the birds in the nearby tree, "She said something bad will happen if you don't."
"B-But-" Keith began.
"Listen, fox boy," Amber suddenly said angrily, "You already dragged me into this, so you're gonna have to get me out of it. Either you're going that club after school, or I'm dragging you there myself. Now, what's it going to be?"
"H-Huh?" Where did all this anger come from? Keith thought frantically, What did she mean when she said she was dragged into this? What is "this"?
"Well?" Amber growled.
"Yeah! Sure! I'll go," Keith blurted in a panic.
"Good. Then I guess we're done here." Amber replied aggressively before heading back inside the school building. Keith stood alone for a while before going to his next period class.
The day passed quickly, and finally it was time for martial arts class, the final class of the day. Keith didn't really feel like sparring, so he just sat at the corner of the room watching as the other students practiced their martial arts. Maybe… Maybe I shouldn't go to the occult club after school. Keith thought to himself, What if Amber's setting me up for something? And this Kamui character just sound like an accident waiting to happen. It's just too risky. Maybe, I'll just head home after class. It's not like Amber will know. Just as Keith finished his thought, he spotted Ethan approaching him with a worried expression.
"Hey, Keith," Ethan said, "Mind if we talk for a bit outside of class?"
"Sure," Keith replied following Ethan through the crowd of sparring students. As soon as the two got out of the classroom, Ethan slid the classroom door closed behind them and stood in silence.
"So, uh, what's up?" Keith asked with his hands casually in his pockets, "Is something wrong?"
Ethan said nothing. Instead, Ethan held firmly onto Keith's shoulders and proceeded to lock lips with him. Keith stared wide-eyed as Ethan sank deeper into the kiss before softening his grip on Keith's shoulders and pulling away.
"W-Why?" Keith stammered.
"A-Ask Kamui!" Ethan blurted with a flushed red face, "S-She'll be waiting for you in the o-occult club room. Just go there and ask her!"
Ethan bolted down the halls and disappeared out of the school building leaving behind a dumbstruck Keith.
"Huh?" Keith finally uttered.
The end of school bell finally rang, and students began flooding out of the classrooms and towards the main entrance. Keith stood silently in the stream of students like a pebble in a flowing river, until finally the school was almost completely empty of students. Finally, Keith turned towards the occult club room, and took a step forward. He wasn't sure of what horrors awaited him inside the room, but he knew he would get no answers from running away. Who is this Kamui person? Keith thought worrily to himself, And how is she making Amber and Ethan do these things? Suddenly, Keith felt a gentle tug on his jacket. Turning around, Keith came face to face with Eden.
"Oh, h-hi, Eden." Keith greeted hesitantly. Is Eden going to be part of this too? Keith thought.
"H-Hi, Keith," Eden said shyly, "Are you heading to the occult club?"
"Y-Yeah," Keith replied. Eden is definitely a part of this. Well, that makes everyone I know so far.
"Oh, good," Eden said stepping in front of Keith, "I'm actually heading there myself. Wanna walk together?"
"S-Sure thing," Keith answered, "But, um, did Kamui sent you?"
"Maybe," Eden answered, "So, can we get going now?"
Keith nodded before following Eden down the halls and towards a dark corner of the school. Keith felt the air sink and the sunlight from the windows become dimmed by the shade of the trees outside.
"We're here," Eden said as she slowly slid open the club room door. Keith walked inside first and began looking around the room. The club room was about the size of a normal classroom, maybe a bit smaller, and partially lit by a single candle in the center of the room. Eden entered the room as well and closed the door behind her quietly.
"Hello, I've been expecting you," a voice emerge from the shadows along with a figure dressed in black, "Welcome to the occult club."
"Hi, Kamui," Eden said as she took a seat on the rug in front of the candle, "You mind telling us why you need Keith now?"
"Of course, but first," Kamui turned to Keith who stood quivering by the door, "Why don't you have a seat, Keith?"
"O-Oh, okay," Keith answered as he slowly sat down next to Eden. This doesn't feel right. What's happening? Keith thought to himself as Kamui quietly stared at him.
"Good. Now as for the reason I brought Keith here…" Kamui took out a small, empty vial and held it out in front of Keith, "I need a couple strands of hair from your tail."
Keith's heart sank. What? What's she going to do with my hair? What's going to happen to me?
"Oh, don't worry. Nothing will happen to you," Kamui immediately answered, "I don't plan to use your own fur to harm you. It's just, fox fur is a rather rare ingredient around here, and I need it for a certain… concoction."
"W-What?" Keith stammered. Did I say that out loud?
"No, you didn't." Kamui answered once more, "But I can still hear you."
"H-Huh?! N-No way!" Keith exclaimed in shock, "H-How?"
"Simple," Kamui answered, "I can read your mind.'
Keith was speechless. Read my mind? How? How can you read somebody's mind?
"Is that really so strange?" Kamui asked with a devilish smile, "The students at this school can have animal ears and fling people around like they're nothing, but you think mind-reading powers are strange. You must be joking."
Keith said nothing. Instead he thought back to the other students in his class and their powers. I guess that's not so strange after all, Keith thought.
"Good. I'm glad you finally understand. Now then, the hair?" Kamui requested once more, holding the vial up to Keith who sat still, "I promise nothing bad will happen to you."
"But wait," Keith said suddenly, "Then how'd you get Amber and the others to do what you want? Can you control minds too?"
"Oh, no. I just blackmailed them with their own thoughts," Kamui said plainly, "Now then?"
Keith took a deep breath before plucking a couple strands of hair out of his tail and dropping them into Kamui's vial.
"Excellent," Kamui grinned, taking the vial and slipping it back into her bag, "This will do just fine."
"C-Can I go now?" Keith asked as the room began to feel much colder.
"Of course. I wouldn't want you to be around while I brew the concoction anyways," Kamui said coldly.
Keith and Eden got up from the carpet and quickly walked out of the room. Keith and Eden stood in the halls for a while, speechless and unmoving, until Eden finally spoke up.
"Hey, Keith. There's something I need to tell you," Eden turned around scanning the empty halls before turning back to Keith, "Keith, you know Ethan, right?"
"Yeah?" Keith replied.
"Well," Eden closed her eyes as a gentle veil of crystal blue light covered her body like a blanket of mist. Keith stood mortified as Eden's figure began to change within the veil of light. Her shoulder broaden, her hair shortened, and her figure grew in height. Finally, the light vanished and the new figure standing before Keith spoke, "I'm Ethan."
"Wha…" Keith could hardly believe it. His first two friends were actually one person!
"I wanted to tell you sooner," Ethan tried to explain, "B-But, then Kamui got to me first and threatened to tell you my secret. And I wanted to be the one to tell you. And things just got so complicated. And please don't tell anybody."
"I-I won't, But, Ethan, why?" The thought of having superpowers no longer surprised Keith, but something in him couldn't understand why Ethan had done this.
"W-Well, don't judge me, but I kinda wanted to see what being a girl was like. So I used my transformation powers to turn into one. But then I got really into it, and accidentally created a double life. And now I kinda don't want to get rid of Eden. And-" Ethan took a deep breath before being interrupted by Keith.
"Ethan, Ethan. Dude, it's okay," Keith said holding him up by the shoulders, "You don't have to keep explaining. I get it."
"Really?" Ethan said timidly.
"Yeah, dude," Keith replied reassuringly, "I get you. Don't worry about."
"Ah, thank goodness. You're the best," Ethan sighed as the two began walking down the halls towards the school's entrance, "Can we forget about the kiss from before though?"
"Already did," Keith quickly replied as they reached the school courtyard, marking the end of the second day of school.