Chapter 19. Monja.

Warning: Language

Putting on his tailcoat and hat, the chancellor informed the girl that he had to leave for a while to announce the cram school students' test results. He invited her to relax within his home and to have a bath. Then, he let her know that he would have his staff lay out fresh clothing for her, so she should get dressed, and he would be back for her soon.

After he departed, the girl did as he said. She was sore and tired already, and a bath sounded wonderful; however, she wasn't expecting the tub to be three times the size of a normal one, or for it to be jetted. The thing was like a big, bubbly hot tub, and she couldn't get over how someone could use something like it as a daily convenience and not as something to splurge on – like going to the local pool and sitting in the public hot tubs. She and her family only did that a couple times a year.

Toweling off her hair, she walked out into the room which she had woken up in that morning, titled as a guest room by the director, only to see that the maids had already made the bed and folded the linens crisply. Laying on the bed, placed neatly and fanned out for presentation, was a long silk organza dress with a deep neckline and an open, crossed back. She let the thin, translucent fabric flow through her fingers as she admired the craftsmanship of the Italian dress. Dropping the towel from around her body, she held it up to her frame and inspected herself in the mirror as the fabric draped over her. She eagerly threw it over her head, pulling the short opaque slip down her hips and letting the rest of the silk drape down to the floor. It fit her almost perfectly; the bust wasn't too large or too tight, the slip hugged her curves just right, while the thin translucent material gathered around her chest and hung loosely from her waist. Placing her foot into one of the heels left by the bed, she marveled at how the combination accentuated her legs by giving the slight hint of a peep, making one beg to see more.

"He's got good taste," she mumbled, turning around to assess the fit from the back, eyeing her exposed, angular shoulders with approval.

Once she was almost done drying her hair in the bathroom, she heard the main doors open and close. Thinking that the headmaster might be back, she rushed to finish applying a tolerable amount of makeup; something she usually ended up skipping, besides perhaps a coat of mascara to highlight her long lashes. The dress was rather intoxicating, and she wanted a complete look.

Satisfied, she went out into the living area to look for Johann, the sounds of her heels echoing throughout the halls. Realizing that he was nowhere to be found, she headed up the stairs for his room, where she nearly walked in on him changing. Gasping, she jumped back out into the hall and slammed her back against the wall, face red as a traffic light. He definitely didn't have a shirt on, that was for sure, but she didn't linger long enough to see if he was still wearing any pants. Holy shit, holy shit, she thought repeatedly.

A strong chuckle sounded from the room. "A little eager, are we?" he roared as he changed.

Her face continued to boil. Why the hell would he leave his door wide open while he was changing, she screamed internally. Not that she was opposed to seeing him undressed per-say, but this incident caught her way too off guard. Wrong timing.

"Come in here, little flower," the headmasters voice said artfully.

She gulped. Oh dear god. Hesitantly, she peeked around the doorway, scared of what she might find. Instead of what she thought could have been him sprawled out on the bed awaiting her entry, Johann stood tying his yukata around his waist. Letting out a sigh of nervous relief, she stepped into the room where he waited for her with his intense green eyes. "How do I look?" she asked with a broken smile as he looked her up and down.

He met her, pulling her close by the waist. "Absolutely, irrevocably beautiful," he said in a hushed, labored tone as he moved in closer, resting a hand on the side of her face. Her heart began to thump in her chest and she closed her eyes as his lips grazed against her own, only to be shut down when he placed a tender kiss on her cheek. "I have a surprise," he said as he pulled away from the rather frustrated girl. "Come."


The limo stopped outside of an older, open shop, where the girl could see her cram school classmates sitting and talking at one of the tables. Monja! Without a word, she darted from the vehicle to her friends, almost falling as she latched her arms around Rin, Yukio, and Shiemi.

"There you are!" Shiemi gasped. "Where have you been?!"

"We've been worried about you!" Rin beamed.

"We only heard word that you were injured during the test," Suguro said, folding his arms together. "We didn't even know how badly."

"Were you in the hospital, too?" someone asked.

"Are you okay?!" someone else shouted.

"I've been at headmaster Fausts' mansion, I suppose he was taking care of my wounds?" her voiced raised with an uncertain nuance. Feeling the questioning eyes upon her, she decided to continue. "Apparently, I was out cold. I didn't wake up until this morning." Yukio got up from the table and sauntered off somewhere.

Shiemi reached over and squeezed the girl's neck tight within her arms. "I'm so happy you're okay!"

"What the hell happened to you?" Rin asked blatantly, raising a brow. "How did you get hurt? I thought Yukio was taking you somewhere or something."

Her face grew a bit more serious. "He did. He took me to the cafeteria, and then left me there, locking the door behind him. That's when I got attacked." Everyone's inquisitive expressions were fixated on the girl, since this was the first time they were hearing any sort of details of her excursion. Noticing their fishing mannerisms, prompting her to give more details, she carried on. "A huge ghoul attacked me. I could tell by the smell, the thing was awful."

"Damn, I know!" Rin spat, a heat rising in his veins as he looked over at his younger brother, standing outside the building with Mephisto. How could he just leave her, she couldn't even see demons unless they wanted to be seen by her, he grumbled to himself.

"I did everything I could think of, but it wasn't enough. I got hit, and I guess I passed out. All I remember was Fenrir tearing the ghoul to shreds, and then waking up in headmaster Faust's mansion."

"So, Fenrir saved you?" Shiemi asked sweetly. "He must be a good demon, then."

The girl eyed her, cautiously thinking over her words. "How did you guys do? I heard two more ghouls had attacked the dormitory."

"Little Shiemi here shielded everyone, while Bon and Miwa recited whatever versus they had memorized," Shima said, patting a blushing, bubbly Shiemi on the head. "Izumo and I fought the ghoul off the best we could until Bon finally killed it."

The girl congratulated everyone for their valiant efforts in defeating the demon, impressed by their awesome skills. She didn't have nearly as many verses memorized as the aspiring Arias, and Shiemi's greenman proved again and again to be very useful in so many different situations. "What about Rin?" she asked.

Hearing his name, Rin snapped back into the conversation, eyes meeting the girl's.

"The bozo apparently went off and killed the ghoul all by himself," Izumo stated with her nose in the air, letting him know she didn't believe him one bit.

Drawing their attention to the hooded boy and the kid with the puppet sitting in the corner of the shop, the girl asked doubtfully: "And those two?"

"They basically did exactly as they're doing now – nothing," Suguro hissed.

Shiemi began toying with the thin fabric on the girl's dress. "Where did you get his dress? It's beautiful!"

Her face grew red hot. "Oh, uh, well – Sir Faust had it set it out for me to wear today."

The boy in the black hoodie abruptly stopped playing his handheld game, almost dropping it to his lap.


"You shouldn't have interfered by leaving her that gun," Mephisto spoke lowly, cooling himself from the summer heat with a paper fan.

Yukio stared off into the distance with an unyielding expression. "She could have died."

"I had everything under control. Though I was quite pleasantly surprised to see that she summoned Fenrir without having to draw any blood," his lips coiled to expose his fangs as he spoke. "I had a rather interesting talk with him before sending him back to Gehenna."

"What are your plans, Pheles?" Yukio questioned, shooting a piercing gaze over to the director. Mephisto casually met his eye for a moment while he continued to wave his fan.

"I do apologize for Noihaus' behavior. I never dreamed that he would act out such a personal vendetta," he finally said, peering up at the young teacher under sly lids with a sharp look. "I'll make sure it never happens again."