Chapter 2
The Seal of Screaming
Not far from where Tsukune was being mobbed by a swarm of his classmates, one of his friends was dealing with an assault of her own.
"No, Moka, you can't leave me!"
"I won't let you take my Big Sis away!"
Moka Akashiya looked down in distress at the two younger girls who had attached themselves to her waist. Neither Yukari Sendo nor her sister Kokoa Shuzen had reacted well to the news that she and her friends had been ordered to leave Yokai Academy for a while, especially since they would not be allowed to come. The Headmaster had been rather adamant on that point; he had suggested that they may be putting their friends at risk of being targeted by Mori Retsu, and that the potential for discovery in the human world would only increase for every other person that was sent there. The last point certainly made sense, as Moka could remember what had happened when she and the other girls had visited Tsukune's home in the real world during one of their breaks and had destroyed a nearby playground during their usual arguing over Tsukune. She knew that it could only be worse, bringing along someone as… energetic… as her younger sister Kokoa, who had a penchant for swinging around massive maces without considering the collateral damage.
Still, she wasn't happy that their group was going to be missing several of its key members. Yukari in particular had been with her and Tsukune since soon after she had arrived at Yokai Academy, and despite the younger girl's over-enthusiastic declarations of love for both her and Tsukune, and occasionally rather illicit notions of how to act on her amorous feelings, Moka had come to see her as one of her dearest friends. Kokoa, too, had earned a place among them, albeit reluctantly; her fondness for Moka's sealed personality knew no bounds, and despite her distaste for the other Moka she had joined their group in order to stay by her sister's side. That was why Moka gently patted both of them, reluctant to be parted from them as well.
Her other friends did not seem to share the same level of concern for the younger girls, or at least chose not to show it. Kurumu Kurono sighed loudly and dusted her hands off after she dropped another box on the pile they had made outside the girl's dorms. "Don't worry about it, you two. We'll take good care of her… and Tsukune."
"Especially Tsukune," came the quiet murmur from behind the blue-haired succubus as Mizore Shirayuki dropped her duffel bag on the ground beside Kurumu's mound of boxes. The violet-haired yuki-onna gave Kurumu a chilling smile, which the succubus returned whole-heartedly. Moka shivered at the intent in their eyes.
"You see! You have to take me with you! It's for your protection!" Yukari wailed, clutching to her tightly. "You just don't know what that big-boobed monster and the stalker will do to you to get to Tsukune."
Moka blushed as she considered Yukari's concerns. Not long ago, she may have had to seriously consider that notion; neither Mizore nor Kurumu had shown any hesitation at having her detained in some manner if it meant they could enjoy a few moments alone with Tsukune, moments which they rarely wasted before trying to seduce him. Now, however…
Things had changed after the battle against Mori Retsu. In order to gain the energy he needed to regain his physical form, the monster had manipulated all of them, hoping to feed off of their negative emotions. To that end, he had pointed out that the constant bickering between the three girls, and the deep fears they all had concerning Tsukune's feelings towards them, would inevitably result in his resurrection. Moka suspected his warning had been a deliberate attempt to make the girls bring the matter to an immediate, demoralizing resolution, which undoubtedly would have given Mori Retsu much of the energy he needed to begin reconstituting himself.
Ultimately, though, it hadn't quite worked like that. Instead, after Tsukune had declared he would rather leave the school than be responsible for the pain his choice would cause, the girls had decided to find an alternate solution. In the hopes of allowing their romantic conflict to play out with the least amount of heartbreak, the three of them had agreed to a pact of limited non-interference and cooperation. Since Tsukune had admitted that he did have romantic feelings for all of them, such a path would allow each of them to develop their relationship with him without having to compete constantly with the other girls, or at least that was the idea. That way, when the day did come that Tsukune had to make his choice, each girl would know that they had gotten a fair shot at winning him, and perhaps their friendships could survive, no matter who Tsukune chose to stay with him.
Deep down, Moka had dark doubts about that last bit, and a fear that perhaps all of them getting even more attached to Tsukune could have exactly the opposite effect to what they were hoping, and she wondered if the other two girls felt the same. Still, the tension that had built up over the two years that they had been at Yokai Academy needed to be dispelled somehow if they were to continue enjoying the life that they had, and this had been the most expedient solution. Plus, none of the girls would complain about the chance to get some time alone with Tsukune, even if they had to forget that their rivals were enjoying the same thing.
Moka shivered as she remembered the hungry smiles that Kurumu and Mizore had shared. Perhaps the non-interference shouldn't be so 'limited' after all…
"You're bringing too much." Moka turned to see Mizore staring at the piles of boxes Kurumu had left on the ground outside the girls' dorms. "What is all this junk?" The snow maiden bent down, pulling one of the boxes open.
"No, don't!" Freed from its restraints, the box flew open, and a small fluffy object exploded into the air, rebounding off of Mizore's face. As the snow girl stumbled back, more of the objects, which Moka now realized were stuffed animals, began to pour over the top of the opened box. Kurumu looked at them despairingly, stooping to pick up the ones that had fallen to the ground. "You don't know how hard it was to get them all in there."
"Why are you bringing all of this stuff?" Mizore demanded, rubbing at her forehead. "We're only going to be there for a few weeks at most, and we don't even know how much room we will have when we get there. We'll probably be close enough to a store to buy anything you would need, anyways."
"You don't know that." Kurumu refuted her opponent's logic by sniffing loudly and turning away from her, straining as she shoved the last of the stuffed animals back into its position and started forcing the box's lid closed. "It would be just like that creepy man to send us to the middle of nowhere and expect for us to fend for ourselves. Then we'll see who is prepared."
"Fine. You can keep all your stuffed animals. I'll just sleep with Tsukune instead."
"You! I'll never let-"
Moka looked away from the pair, patting Yukari on the head with one hand and fending off Kokoa's vain attempts to remove her rosario with the other. As she turned, she noticed several figures making their way towards them. Her expression brightened as she recognized them, and she started running their way despite the two girls still latched to her side. Those impediments served to slow her, however, and she was quickly passed by Kurumu and Mizore, who were similarly aimed at the figure in the middle, who was being supported, almost dragged, by the man at his side.
"Tsukune!"
Bruised and battered, Tsukune's head groggily raised as he willed his eyes to clear enough to register the forms moving to him. Familiarity provided him the answers he needed as the first girl launched herself at him, flinging arms and legs around him as she collided with him with enough force to send them both to the ground. At his side, Gin moved away enough to avoid being caught up in the tangle of bodies, glowering down at Tsukune through Kurumu, who was forcefully cradling his head to her chest despite Ms. Nekonome's protestations from beside her. Tsukune's pained moans were muffled by the skin that surrounded him, so it was only when Kurumu noticed the slight trickle of blood coming from Tsukune's scalp that she pulled away with a loud cry. "What happened to you, Tsukune?"
"Just some farewell roughhousing that got out of hand," Gin offered, beaming despite the suspicious stares that all the other girls, Ms. Nekonome included, were offering him. The upperclassman turned his toothy smile down towards Tsukune. "They were sad to see him escape- I mean, leave."
A loud clang presaged Kurumu's dazed slump to the ground, the metal washbucket that had materialized above her head landing beside her. Yukari shoved the succubus to the side, already pulling forth a container of salve as she looked over Tsukune's injuries. "He's hurt pretty badly! You didn't have anything to do with this, did you, Gin?"
Gin shivered as he felt the heated stares he was receiving. "Of course not! I take care of everyone in my Newspaper Club!" He glanced down at Tsukune with a bladed smile. "Especially those who leave me without half my workers just before a big issue is supposed to be coming out, even though he would probably be the best person to write the front page article because it all happened to him. And those who always seem to get all the girls without any good reason, and-" He turned to notice some of the girls in question crowding around him, murder in their eyes. "Ah…"
Moments later, as Ms. Nekonome tried to pull the girls off of Gin, struggling the hardest with Kokoa, who seemed to have joined in on the assault on the upperclassman merely for the fun of it, Yukari was a few steps away tending to other priorities. "…and don't let them catch you or Moka alone, either. You never know what those two will do to either of you, and if you do know, then you should know that I get to do those things to you first!" Yukari beamed down at the barely-conscious Tsukune, rubbing some of the salve she had pulled from her cloak onto another of the boy's myriad wounds. "And, if I can find out where they're sending you, I'll see if I can't sneak out to join you. Someone has to protect you, and-"
"Sorry, Yukari, but no one will be allowed to go to them," came a quiet, regretful voice from nearby. "Headmaster's orders."
The young witch looked up, her eyes widening as she saw the other woman that had walked up to their group. Abandoning her half-finished ministrations of Tsukune's wounds, Yukari stood and dashed over to the woman, throwing her arms around her waist in a powerful hug. "Ruby!"
The older witch, only a few years more mature than Tsukune and his friends and already an assistant to the school's Headmaster, smiled gently down at Yukari before turning a nervous eye back to Tsukune. "But don't worry about him," she offered resolutely, dispelling her own anxiety. "The Headmaster has already seen it fit to offer him added protection."
"Protection?" Mizore, smiling contentedly as she walked away from the punishment that she and the others had just finished doling out to the groaning, twitching Gin, blinked in confusion at that notion. "Why would he need that?"
Ruby blushed brilliantly as the other girls walked up to her, leaving Ms. Nekonome to tend to the supine werewolf. "Because those who have his best interest at heart aren't allowed to go with him." Ruby reached into the envelope she was carrying, pulling forth a thick, long piece of paper. "Which is why we're sending this with you!" The witch smiled in dark triumph at Kurumu and Mizore, proudly displaying the paper before her.
"A seal?" All of the girls stared in confusion at the slip of paper, which bore what appeared to be arcane scribblings across its surface. "What does it do?"
"This is the Seal of Screaming." Ruby looked around, trying to find something to demonstrate it on. "Usually this is used on doors, but Yukari, would you help me show how it works?" When the younger witch nodded nervously, Ruby instructed her to hold her hands out, flat and pressed side-by-side. When she had done so, Ruby laid the seal across the backs of Yukari's hands, and the paper instantly adhered to the skin it touched. "Now, imagine her hands are a door and the doorframe. If she opens the door from inside, nothing happens." Yukari lifted one hand away from the other, and the seal pulled free from the other hand with barely any resistance. Ruby nodded, and Yukari put her hands back together, the seal reaffixing itself without being prompted. "However, if someone tries to get in from the outside… Kurumu, would you try to take the seal off of Yukari's hands?"
Swallowing loudly, Kurumu stepped up to Yukari, nervously reaching out to grab one corner of the seal. Ruby quickly covered her ears, and the other girls who were watching followed suit. Glancing back at them apprehensively, Kurumu winced and tugged hard at the seal.
Tsukune's eyes shot open as a piercing scream ripped him from the fog of unconsciousness. Sitting up weakly and clutching his pounding skull, he turned as motion from the corner of his eye caught his attention. Not far away, in the direction of that unceasing sound, his friends were flinching away from Kurumu, who was frantically waving a piece of paper that was clinging to her fingers. Her lips were moving, but he couldn't hear her until the screaming suddenly stopped. "-do I do? How do you turn it off?" In the sudden silence, Kurumu stopped waving her hand, staring in fear at the innocuous slip of paper.
"Ruby, why do we need that thing?" Mizore demanded.
The witch grinned slyly at Tsukune as he staggered up to their group. "It's simple. The house you will be sharing has individual bedrooms. This means that Tsukune will be sleeping alone… and since you three have an interest in making sure that the other two don't break that rule, this seal will make sure it stays that way." Blushing, Tsukune offered her a confused but grateful smile. "And that means that those of us who can't be there can rest easy, also." Ruby took the seal from Kurumu, who watched it as if it were coiled viper, and offered it to Moka. Once the vampire took the piece of paper, Ruby stepped up to Tsukune, looking into his eyes intently. Without a word, she hugged him tightly, and despite a twinge of pain from his bruises Tsukune returned the embrace for a moment.
"Thanks for your support, Ruby. And for the help you gave us before, when we were dealing with Mori Retsu. I never got the chance to thank you for that." Tsukune chuckled as Ruby's embrace lingered for a long moment. "We all appreciate what you do for us."
"O.K., that's enough, let go of him!" Kurumu ordered, dragging the protesting Ruby away from Tsukune. "We need to start carrying our stuff to the cliff where we'll be getting on the bus, and it doesn't look like Tsukune has even packed yet!"
"She's worried about getting to the bus on time, but then she intends to carry all of her stuff all the way to the cliff? How many trips will that take?" Mizore noted, glancing over at Moka, who answered with a shrug.
"I'm not helping her," Kokoa sniffed loudly, crossing her arms.
"I'll help Tsukune pack!" Yukari declared.
Kurumu froze as she heard them, letting go of Ruby, who pointedly stepped away. The succubus slowly glanced back towards Gin, who was still lying in a heap. Her gaze shifted to Moka, who was deliberately looking away. Finally she turned to Tsukune, who was staring off into the distance as he tried to will himself not to fall over, his head still spinning from the damage that had been inflicted upon it by the crowd of his peers.
Tsukune blinked as he felt two hands take one of his own, and looked down to see Kurumu lifting it up to her face. He shivered as he felt her lips softly brush one of his knuckles, and she stared up him with eyes that seemed impossibly wide. "You'll help me, won't you, Tsukune? You wouldn't make me carry all of those boxes by myself, would you? It will be easy, if we work together."
Tsukune tried to look away, but couldn't. Finally, he sighed, his head dropping. "Sure. I'll be back as soon as I pack."
Mizore grumbled under her breath as she watched Kurumu hug Tsukune enthusiastically. "It seems she has figured out that she doesn't need the power of Allure to control him."
"When we first met her, she wanted to enslave all the boys at Yokai Academy. Now, it looks like she's finally getting the hang of it, at least with him." Moka frowned in their direction before shaking her head and turning towards the dorms. "Come on, let's finish getting our stuff ready, so we can get to the bus. The sooner we leave, the sooner we get there." She glanced back towards Tsukune, who was making his way back towards the boys' dorms, and couldn't restrain a slight smile.
As the four parted ways, it was obvious that they were all thinking roughly the same thing. Though they would miss their other friends, it was hard to restrain their enthusiasm and curiosity about what it would be like when they arrived in the human world, and the opportunities this trip would provide them to examine the changing dynamic between them. Since they would be mostly freed from the demands and restraints of the academy, they would have plenty of time to enjoy themselves, and since they would be in the human world they wouldn't have to worry as much about the dangers offered by their monstrous classmates.
With all that considered, what could possibly go wrong?
Author's Note: Yeah, you can expect that final question to be answered early in the next chapter. Like, in the title, perhaps. Time to shift perspectives (and villains)…
Thank you all for your kind reviews thus far; it's been nice to have a good reason to keep checking my inbox every day. It's amazing what my plot hook has accomplished; I can only hope that my readership continues to grow, since you'll never hear me complain about too many readers (and certainly not too many reviewers!).
On a less happy note, I have to admit that my writing has not been coming as smoothly as I had hoped; work has had me overwhelmed, and I've only managed to hammer out a paragraph every now and then. I've finished chapter 3, and the fourth is in its final stages, so hopefully things will pick up and I can get back to reaching for my goal of being four chapters ahead of publication. I've been indulging in a side project with Love Hina as a means of bolstering my writing mojo; here's hoping that works.
In any case, thank you all again for reading, and I shall see you again, I hope, in a week. Wish me luck!
~Wynn 'To sleep or to write, that is the question' Pendragon