"My name is Celeste Winters. I look forward to our time together." Even as she finished her self introduction, she couldn't help but wonder exactly how things had come to this. Kyoko still had that look of absolute satisfaction clear on her face as she stood beside Celeste, holding a mirror in plain sight of the other members, to prove her earlier statement; with the other eight members of the club all assembled in the room, with wildly varying reactions.
"I don't know if I find it harder to believe vampires exist or that Kyoko was right." Ayano and Yui were standing off to the side, holding a conversation in hushed tones; unaware of the fact that Celeste's hearing was more than sharp enough to hear them clear as day.
"I actually had the exact same reaction. I only suggested she try the trick with the mirror because her original plan was to go find holy water, and 'accidentally' spill it on Celeste." According to what she'd been told on the way here, the three girls were apparently dating one another; but they didn't seem to think very highly of Kyoko.
"Himawari, Himawari; she's really a vampire! That's so cool!" Sakurako's reaction was exceptionally similar to Kyoko's, her own eyes sparkling with admiration as she gazed at Celeste. She wasn't sure if she was all that comfortable being admired for being a vampire.
"Calm down. Even if she is a vampire, she's a normal student like any of us." Himawari had a much more composed reaction, but she couldn't really hide the uncertainty that was so clearly visible in her eyes. Her gaze moved back to the mirror three or four times, as if to confirm that it wasn't some sort of trick or optical illusion.
"Hey, Kyoko-senpai. You didn't blackmail her into joining did you? Or did you just not tell her that we're only officially recognized as the Manga Club?" Chinatsu was only being half serious, but she was closer to the mark than she realized. Kyoko had promised not to reveal Celeste's secret to anyone other than her fellow club members, only to immediately suggest Celeste join the club. Kyoko simply thought it would be more fun for everyone to have the vampire join the club, but Celeste had (at least partially) perceived it as a veiled threat.
"Rude! Of course I told her that we were actually the Reformed Amusement Club, and I would never blackmail anyone other than Yui and Ayano." Temporary silence fell over the room as Kyoko found herself on the receiving end of glares from both of her girlfriends. Chinatsu shook her head, turning back to face Akari.
"What do you think about this?"
"I'm always happy to make new friends, and it's nice that the club has another member. As for the fact that she's a vampire..." She had no trouble believing it, she just didn't really know how she felt about it. "Well, as long as she doesn't try to drink anything of mine, I don't think the fact that she's a vampire is really all that important." Akari met Celeste's eyes as she said that, and despite the fact that her expression was the same warm smile as before, something in her eyes terrified Celeste; and every single one of the vampire's instincts told her never to cross Akari.
"I think I'd probably find it harder to believe, but we've experienced weirder in our own lives. I mean, I know that we all just sort of agreed we'd never speak of it again, but there were definitely some inconsistencies with time back when we were in middle school. We all know that school trip happened twice, yet we all just sort of ignore it." Chizuru had been speaking with Chitose about her thoughts on the issue, but about halfway through her sister's rant, Chitose had stopped paying attention to start fantasizing after Akari and Celeste's stare down.
"Ehehe…" Even as Chitose held her glasses away from her face, blood dripping from her nose, none of the others seemed to be all that concerned; aside from Akari, who offered her a box tissues.
"She really does get bloody noses when she removes her glasses..." So far, everything Kyoko told Celeste had turned out to be true, but she looked more than a little concerned as she looked at Chitose. "...isn't that a really big deal? There's no way that can be healthy." She was too busy worrying to let the blood bother her.
"I'm fine." Satisfied, Chitose replaced her glasses as she took the tissues from Akari, cleaning up. "It happens all the time. I actually start to feel dizzy if I go too long without a nose bleed." Chitose had meant to reassure Celeste, but the vampire only displayed more concern, unsure of how to feel about this.
"Now that first impressions are out of the way…" Chizuru stood up as she gathered her things. "...I have to head out for the day. I have a decision to make." Even as the other girls said their farewells, Celeste was focused pretty much solely on Akari, seeming to reach a certain conclusion.
"I think I'm starting to understand just what Kyoko meant about your presence." Celeste had thought it was odd that Kyoko had claimed her presence was weak. From the moment the vampire had stepped into the room, Akari's presence had been overwhelming; but it was only now that she seemed to understand it.
"What about what I said?"
"Akari's presence isn't weak. It's overwhelming. Or at the very least, it's overwhelming to me. I noticed it before when she introduced herself, and the fact that she's marked Chinatsu makes it all the more obvious; but her lack of presence is due to her overwhelming presence." She found herself faced with quite a few confused looks, but she was expecting that. "Let me put that another way. Akari's lack of presence is born from her predatory nature. She's not unlike a vampire in that respect; we are predators, but we're indistinguishable from our prey. We look like you, and the predatory auras we give off can't be sensed by humans."
"I can kind of understand the logic behind that, but what was it that led you to reach this conclusion?" As Ayano spoke up, Sakurako and Kyoko were both still clearly trying to wrap their heads around just what that was supposed to mean.
"The terrifying glare Akari gave me during my introduction. Ignoring the fact that it's basically impossible for me to feed from Chinatsu, I genuinely believe Akari would kill me if I ever tried to."
"What do you mean by that?" Chinatsu herself spoke up, unsure how she felt about the idea that Celeste couldn't feed from her; concerned for a moment that something might be wrong with her.
"Usually, vampires mark prey they're particularly fond of, and it becomes impossible for any other vampire to feed off of someone who's been marked. I've never tried it myself, but from what I've been told; it's like trying to feed off of someone who's at the bottom of a lake of consecrated garlic. I had no idea it was even possible for a human to do it, but for all intents and purposes, Chinatsu's been marked by Akari." She hesitated with her next words, but decided to say them all the same. "Don't take this the wrong way, but the very idea of feeding from you; and by extension, Akari, is revolting."
"What do you mean when you say it extends to me?" Neither of the girls in question seemed to mind Celeste's choice of words, but Akari was more than a little curious.
"I mean that Chinatsu's practically drowning in your scent." The others all looked more than a little surprised at this revelation, turning to focus on Akari and Chinatsu.
"Oh ho? Does this mean what I think it does? Did the two of you finally start going out? And if you did, when was that?" There was a certain knowing grin on Kyoko's face as she voiced her thought process aloud.
"They're our friends, Kyoko. They don't need to tell us anything they don't want to, and even if they did, they can only answer one question at a time." Yui let out a rather exasperated sigh as she reminded Kyoko of the concept of restraint; with Ayano coiling her arms around her girlfriend from behind, resting her head on Kyoko's shoulder and speaking up shortly after Yui.
"I certainly agree with Yui. You don't need to tell us anything you don't want to, but at the very least, tell us this much; you two have started dating, correct?" Ayano tightened her grasp on Kyoko's form as she spoke up, enjoying the warmth provided by their contact.
"Well…" Akari hesitated as she glanced at Chinatsu, almost as if she were seeking confirmation from the younger girl.
"It really is surprising that you can still act this timid. Whenever you're in the mood, you get so aggressive you may as well be a different person." Chinatsu was purposely making it sound as if she were annoyed, but the expression on her face made it obvious that couldn't be further from the truth as she moved to stand at Akari's side, taking her hand and interlacing their fingers. "Yes. Akari and I have started dating."
"I knew it! Didn't I tell you, Himawari?" Sakurako was practically bouncing with excitement as she said this.
"Yes, yes; but why are you saying it like you're proving me wrong? I agreed with you. Anyone could tell Akari's in love with Chinatsu, it was practically written on her face; and that was before she started getting all possessive." Himawari said this so bluntly that Akari was visibly shocked, having been under the impression that she was doing a decent job of hiding it.
"Was it really that obvious?" As she posed the question, Akari's voice was just barely audible, the timid side of her personality still on full display.
"Himawari's right. Even without including your hyper possessive behavior over the past month, it's pretty obvious. Your gaze lingers whenever you look over Chinatsu, and when you think no one else is paying attention, you-" Chitose was cut off mid sentence as Akari clasped her hands over the other girl's mouth.
"I get it! You don't need to say anymore." Akari's face was flushed bright red, ensuring that Chitose had no intention of continuing her earlier thought process as the redhead released her, shying away from the spotlight.
"All teasing aside, and I know I speak for every single one of us when I say this, we're happy for you. Both of you." Yui wrapped her arms around Ayano from behind as she spoke, the three girls comfortable with their all too familiar chain embrace. It wasn't all that unusual for them to end up in this position, so they were used to it.
"It hasn't even been a full fifteen minutes since you learned that supernatural creatures exist and you've already moved on to the topic of romance." Celeste was having trouble accepting the fact that not one of the nine girls to discover the truth of her identity seemed to care about it. "I'm pretty sure normal people would panic if they found out something that shattered the foundation of everything they know."
"Ignoring Akari's menacing undertones, she had a point earlier. The fact that you just happen to be a vampire doesn't really change anything. You're just another girl." Kyoko paused to consider something, leaning back against both of her girlfriends before she spoke up again. "Actually, that's not quite right. You are one of us now, and because of that, we don't really care if you have fangs and a taste for blood."
"Well, what do you know? Even Kyoko-senpai can make a good point every once in a while." Even Chinatsu seemed impressed by that, with Himawari speaking up after the pinkette.
"Admittedly, Kyoko-senpai's point would probably be a bit more meaningful if Celeste hadn't literally only just joined us, but she's right all the same."
"You really are all weirdos." Yet all the same, Celeste felt relieved, the hint of a smile noticeable in her expression. "Which is a pretty lucky break for me, all things considered. I can't remember anything that happened before I was reborn as a vampire, so for all intents and purposes, you all are the first friends I've ever made. Given the special circumstances my condition demands, I wasn't really expecting to make any friends."
"You mean the cloak and parasol? That's not that weird compared to Nishigaki-sensei. It's only thanks to Sakurako-sama's generous advice that she hasn't leveled the campus, after all."
"Really? Referring to yourself as Sakurako-sama?" Himawari's gaze was more than a little judgemental. "It's been awhile since you last did that."
"It's only because it's been so long that I thought I would give it another try." Sakurako flashed a cheeky grin as she rubbed the back of her head. "It's not terrible, but I definitely prefer the way it sounds coming from you."
"Ah, Mistress Akari's starting to have an influence on her." Kyoko only really meant it as a joke, but Sakurako genuinely seemed to consider it, prompting Himawari to speak up.
"Kyoko-senpai, could you please refrain from encouraging her?" Before Kyoko had a chance to respond, Himawari turned her attention back to Sakurako as she flicked her girlfriend in the forehead. "As for you, I've already said that we're definitely not doing that."
"Yea, but if I keep suggesting it you might change your mind." She didn't seem at all bothered by the flick, which made sense considering Himawari hadn't actually been trying to hurt the blond.
"Kyoko was a bit vague when I asked this question earlier, but what does this club actually do?"
"Most of the time, we pretty much just sorta hang out in the room; with everyone sort of doing their own thing. Occasionally, everyone will get dragged into an activity at Kyoko's suggestion." Chitose paused, feeling as if she were forgetting something important, before seeming to realize what it was. "We also very rarely do actually work on manga. Kyoko draws Mirakurun doujinshi, and nearly all of us assist her; since our club's continued existence relies on Kyoko's results."
"Nearly all? Why only nearly?"
"Well…" Ayano started to answer the vampire's question, only to hesitate as she glanced over at Chinatsu, who was still very much unaware of the fact that her art was nightmare fuel to everyone else. "...it's complicated."
Taking the hint, Celeste decided not to push the issue any further.
"..." What are these blueprints for? Matsumoto was helping Nishigaki-sensei sort through the mess of failed experiments and scrapped materials that was her off-campus workshop. After she blew up the literature clubroom yesterday, Azumi had made it abundantly clear that even if she was the club advisor, she was forbidden from entering the clubroom for the duration of her ban from the science lab.
"Hm?" Turning to look at the blueprints in question, there was a surprised look on Nishigaki-sensei's face. "These are for a time machine, or at least they were supposed to be, but when I built it; all it really did was sort of cause time to jump back a bit, so I scrapped the idea. I thought the blueprints were destroyed when the device exploded, but I guess they didn't."
"..." That sounds like a much bigger deal than you're giving it credit for. The near silent girl had a point. After all, even flawed time travel was still time travel.
"Maybe, but it doesn't really matter." Nishigaki-sensei tossed the damaged remains of a machine into the pile of scrap. "Eventually, I had an idea on how I could not only improve the device, but get it working as intended; only when I rebuilt it, I couldn't even replicate the results of the original experiment."
"..." Wait, that one year the second years went on their school trip twice; that was because of your device? Matsumoto had spent a lot of time trying to convince herself that incident never really happened, despite the physical evidence of both the souvenirs.
"I can't answer with complete confidence, but it most likely was. After all, in addition to that trip happening twice; that particular year seemed unusually long." She paused to examine another one of her old devices, before adding it to the pile of stuff that wasn't scrap, yet. "So unless there was another reason for that little inconsistency with time, my device was probably responsible."
"..." What if it was magic? The quiet girl was joking, and wasn't expecting the response she got.
"It is a possibility. After all, magic is nothing more than a force we can't comprehend with our current understanding of science."
"..." Nana, you believe in magic?
"A certain writer reached three conclusions in regards to science, which are considered laws. The first and second laws establish that nothing is impossible. The third establishes that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic; so I suppose I do believe in magic." She paused, hesitating as she considered what she felt she had to say next, before going through with it. "Matsumoto, we've talked about this before, you can't keep calling me Nana."
"..." We have talked about it before, and I thought I made my feelings on the matter clear back then. I accepted that I'd have to wait because there was no way you could return the feelings of a middle schooler, and I accepted that you still couldn't return the feelings of a high schooler, and next year when you tell me you can't return the feelings of a university student, I'll still accept it.
"Matsumoto…"
"..." Calling you by your first name is the only matter I've ever been selfish about before, and after being patient with you for so long, I deserve at least that much. Having apparently reached the limits of her tolerance, she stood up and shook her head as she turned to leave without another word.
"I know…" Nishigaki-sensei finally spoke up, long after Matsumoto was gone, letting out a rather frustrated sigh as she looked around the cluttered workshop. "She always just goes along with whatever I do, even when we both know it'll end with a bang. I'm all too aware of the fact that Matsumoto has been unbelievably patient with me." But I can't possibly act on feelings of love for one of my students, even if I so desperately want to.
By the end of the day, the workshop didn't really look any cleaner than before.