Chapter 13

Sweets

"Your morning reports, sir."

The man sitting behind the desk looked up from his steaming cup of tea, glancing at the suited man standing across from him, who bowed deeply as he presented the thick sheath of papers to his superior. Straightening in his seat, his eyes traveled down to the reports before closing as he took another long drink of the tea, and the man standing waited patiently for his master to finish his indulgence before getting down to business. After a long moment, the tea cup was lowered to the table, and a hand reached across the desk to take up the stack of papers.

"So, what news of Aono?" the man asked, his eyes dancing over each sheet in turn, some being quickly discarded while others were preserved for later consideration. The other man tensed at this question, but his superior did not seem to notice his discomfort. Biting down on a sigh, he glanced down at the other folder he held, opening it to the latest additions.

"We've received the reports from both Michael and Gabriel," he said with deliberate calmness. "But I'm afraid that things are not going quite as well as I might have hoped…"

Behind his desk, the Headmaster of Yokai Academy sat back in his seat, dropping the reports he had been scanning onto his desk. His eyes glinted beneath his cowl as he studied the man standing before him. Though that man wore the typical elongated black attire of the Headmaster's personal guardians, in this darkened office he did not wear the sunglasses that had become part of their uniform, and in the candlelight his eyes glinted golden, a shade not far removed from the hair that draped down his back. His face was different than the roughly-hewn features of many of the Headmaster's protectors, with high cheekbones that made him seem almost elfin. Other than this, there was little to distinguish him from the other guardians, which was how they both preferred it; that way, no one else knew that this man was the commander of the Headmaster's elite guardians.

"Oh?" The Headmaster smiled dangerously. "Bad news, then?"

"Ah, not exactly…" Sighing, he pressed on. "Michael reports that they were discovered by two of the girls, the succubus and yuki-onna, although he suggests that they may have been able to reassure and placate them. He also apologizes for what he calls 'an unacceptable lapse in his ability to maintain proper cover and procedural distancing from his assigned targets.' Beyond that, there is no sign of Thanatos or Fairy Tale, so their mission continues to be largely unhindered." He paused, hoping that his master would not ask any further questions.

"And Gabriel's report?"

Silence fell over the two as the Headmaster's guardian considered the best way to handle this inevitable disaster. Finally, he decided that a direct approach might spare him much of the embarrassment. He reached into the folder and drew out the report in question, stiffly presenting it to the Headmaster, who glanced over the succinct document.

Zack –

Went to the fair today to watch over the kids. Lots of fun, you should try it sometime. Tried the cotton candy, it was excellent. Give my regards to the boss.

~Gabriel

The office was silent for a long moment, and even the normally implacable guardian began to sweat slightly as the Headmaster continued to stare intently at the report. Finally, the Headmaster leaned back in his seat, templing his fingers before him. "Ah. So, all is normal, then. Am I right, 'Zack?'"

The Headmaster was impressed by how well his guardian managed to hide his wince at the truncation of his name. "Yes, sir, you could say that." In the comfort of his own mind, Zack once again began to compose the lecture that he would give Gabriel when he returned; it would be a lengthy one, even compared to the last few that Gabriel had received.

"Very good, then." The Headmaster waved his hand dismissively as he glanced back down at the other papers. "Ruby shall be here soon with the school's reports."

"Yes, sir." The guardian bowed deeply, turning to take his leave. As he reached for the door, however, the Headmaster's voice drew him up short.

"Please keep me informed, however," the cowled man commented softly. "After all, he has already arrived."

Zack's head turned to glance back at the headmaster as his golden eyes widened. After a long moment, he nodded. "Yes, sir. We will be on full alert." Moments later, the door closed behind him, and the Headmaster was left to his reading.

Minutes later, a knock at the door presaged Ruby's arrival, the witch bearing an intimidating stack of papers in her arms. Smiling nervously, she approached the desk and lowered the reports onto it delicately. The Headmaster glanced up at her, smiling eerily. "Good morning, Ruby. I trust it finds you well?"

"Ah, yes…" Ruby fidgeted, not stepping away from the Headmaster, who chose to ignore her anxiety. After a nervous several moments, she mustered the courage to ask what was on her mind. "Ah, I was wondering how Tsukune is-"

"He's doing well, no doubt," the Headmaster interjected, scanning over one of the myriad reports that she had delivered. "I'll be sure to let you know if I hear anything bad from his end."

Her face falling, Ruby nodded and stepped away from the desk, already dreading Yukari's inevitable barrage of questions that she would have no answer for. As she approached the door, however, the Headmaster spoke up suddenly.

"Ruby?" She whirled, staring at his half-smile and all-but-glowing eyes. "After the restoration of the school, all of the equipment salvaged from the school festival was stored in the basements, correct?"

"Ah, yes, sir," she managed, utterly confused.

"Good," he purred, leaning back in his chair. His smile lowered, and he nodded gravely to her. "I have decided, then." He intentionally allowed the silence to hang in the air until he was satisfied.

"I would like some cotton candy. I leave that to you."

Minutes later, as Ruby walked towards the school's basements, her head spinning from her boss's strange request, the Headmaster glanced at Gabriel's report again and began to chuckle. His other guardians had never gained the wisdom that Gabriel had; even the most important duties must be punctuated with occasional laughter. It just so happened that, at least to his own perspective, the Headmaster was far better at that than most, and the dark laughter echoing through the halls of Yokai Academy served as proof.

"You're going to get fat, eating those for breakfast."

Kurumu twitched at those words, her eyes narrowing as she slid the tray of cookies into the oven. Closing the door, she turned to face Mizore, placing her hands on her hips as she scowled at the ice maiden, who was leaning against the kitchen's wall. "I'll have you know that I've already had breakfast; I was up at least an hour before you. And anyways, these aren't just for me." She smiled triumphantly, turning to claim two glasses from a nearby cabinet. "I intend to share them with Tsukune."

"So you're trying to make him fat?" Kurumu sighed in defeat at that question, setting a timer and walking past Mizore towards the common room. The snow maiden trailed behind her, too bored to relinquish her only source of amusement just yet. As the two stepped into the room, Kurumu made her way towards the area she had cleared in front of the television as Mizore plopped onto the couch. The succubus began to stretch, preparing for her morning exercise. The dance video she had brought from the Academy was definitely coming in handy, especially in the quieter hours of the morning. This day, Tsukune was the only one still in bed, but a rift had quickly formed between the other three girls. Moka had faced her inescapable interrogation with courage, but after she had blushed crimson at the mere mention of the word 'kiss' Mizore and Kurumu had gotten decidedly more hostile, and finally she had retreated to her room to study. Mizore, too, seemed particularly agitated, sniping occasionally at Kurumu for want of a better target. Yesterday's date had all of them on edge, and it was likely that each of them were afraid of how Tsukune's attitudes towards them might have changed. Only time could tell that, but since Tsukune had yet to emerge from his room, they were all growing impatient. Kurumu, however, had no intent to try waking him up herself; the last time she had done so, she had been exiled to the grocery store while the other two got Tsukune to themselves, and she had no desire to repeat that scenario.

Mizore watched as Kurumu pressed play on her video and began dancing along. After a minute passed, she leaned back and stared up at the ceiling, trying to will Tsukune to come downstairs. When that failed, she turned back to Kurumu. "Y'know, you might not have to do that every morning if you laid off the cookies."

Kurumu faltered in her routine, but quickly recovered. "And are those suckers you constantly eat sugar-free?" she demanded, sniffing loudly. She smiled darkly and glanced back at Mizore. "Anyways, I prefer to think of this exercise as helping me getting ready for when Tsukune chooses me. When that day comes, I'll need the stamina."

Mizore scowled in response, but Kurumu's competitive attitude quickly rubbed off on her, and her frown shifted into a predatory grin. "Oh? Too bad for you his next date will be the last; why would he need to go out with you when I've won his heart?"

Kurumu shook her head, her attention focused back on the screen. "If you're so focused on your date, why haven't you been working on your homework like Moka did?"

Mizore glanced at the heaps of books beside the nearby table and blanched. Truth be told, she had forgotten about the homework, but, beyond that, she had no intent on trying to bluff her way through it without someone to pester for help, and Moka was firmly entrenched in her own room. That left Tsukune, and-

"Mornin'," offered a somewhat groggy voice from the room's entrance. Both girls whirled to face Tsukune, a move that nearly sent Kurumu sprawling to the ground. He smiled at them, still blinking the sleep out of his eyes. "I'm sorry, I slept way too late. I-"

"Good morning!" Kurumu sprinted towards Tsukune and launched herself at him, burying his face in her chest as per her usual greeting. Tsukune's exhaustion cost him his stability, however, and he fell backwards, Kurumu clutching to him all the way down. Ignoring his groans, Kurumu nuzzled his face against her, tightening her arms around his head and her legs against his sides. Mizore stood from the couch and stalked towards the succubus, ready to unleash her wrath and save the suffocating Tsukune, but she was spared the effort as a loud chime erupted from the kitchen. "The cookies!" Kurumu gasped, releasing Tsukune's head to fall back against the floor. "Wait there, I'll be right back!" she promised, standing and dashing towards the kitchen.

After panting for long enough for the black specks to fade out of his vision, Tsukune accepted Mizore's proffered hand, the snow maiden helping him regain his feet. She smiled up at him, but her easy happiness quickly faded, and the two stared at each other with haunted expressions, neither certain how to face each other after they remembered the note Mizore had composed for him the previous evening. She watched him carefully, her heart falling; she had gone too far, and may have brought on that which she feared the most. He would reject her, he had already chosen-

Her eyes widened in shock as he swiftly stepped towards her, his arms wrapping around her and pulling her to him. It took her several seconds to respond to the hug, finally slipping her own arms around his back and lowering her face onto his shoulder. To Mizore, the moment lasted an eternity and at the same time was too short to have happened at all.

"Thank you," Tsukune murmured into her ear, and then his embrace loosened. Mizore grudgingly let go as well, stepping back and inspecting the sad smile upon his face. Without another word, he nodded and turned away, walking back towards the staircase. Mizore watched him go, not entirely certain what he had been offering gratitude for, but warmed by his embrace nonetheless.

"Alright, Tsukune, I made these special for you, and… Tsukune?" Kurumu glanced around the room, then to the plate of warm cookies she held, before glancing at Mizore. Her eyes hardened as she saw the blush on the snow maiden's face. "Something wrong? You're bright red."

"Oh! It's, ah, it's too warm in here, that's what it is… I'll just go adjust the air conditioning!" Mizore hastily turned away from the succubus and retreated towards the thermostat.

"You've turned it down twice today already!" Kurumu shouted, but the warm, inviting cookies she held quickly reclaimed her attention. "Tsukune! Come back!" she wailed, carrying her precious cargo towards the staircase, implacably intent upon sharing the fruits of her efforts with her beloved.

Though none of them noticed it, they each felt better already, less tense and afraid. Another day had come, and it wasn't too unlike the ones that had come before it. Their happiness, their world, had not ended.

Phylacteries are united in purpose, but disparate in most other characteristics. In order to transform the base item into a phylactery, rituals must be enacted to imbue it with the necessary magical attributes and to bond the soul of the prospective lich to its future home. Typically, a phylactery is created from a physically sturdy object, in order to preserve it better, though often extra rituals help insure that it will not atrophy, physically or magically, over time.

Beyond these core facts, the true nature of any given phylactery tends to depend heavily upon its creator. For example, the base item used can have a strong effect on a lich's powers and survivability. Many prefer to use items that are already magically powerful, bolstering their own might without the need to restore to lengthy and expensive preparations; this can, however, have potentially disastrous effects in the case of items already imbued with a soul. This rare but noteworthy occurrence often happens in the case of an unmanifested lich's phylactery, in which a defeated lich lacks the strength to regain physical form, but stays within its phylactery until the potent magical artifact is used by another for the same purpose, resulting in a devastating spiritual clash and the potential rebirth of the unmanifested lich.

Another type of object used as the base for a phylactery is commonly-found items that do not attract unwanted attention. Without the means of detecting its magical signature, these relics are far harder to discover, and thus the lich bound to it tends to escape total destruction. Given a lich's unnatural longevity, however, the archaic appearance of a once-common object, along with the lich's obsessive protectiveness of it, tend to reveal these items for what they are.

A final, special type of phylactery is that known as an 'immortal phylactery,' due to its unique purpose. Among some of the earliest of phylacteries, and reportedly the type crafted by the first lich, these relics are specially saturated with a certain emotion. These emotions are often the primary sentiment that is driving its owner to attempt to achieve immortality, such as a desire for vengeance or greater wealth. While the humanity of most liches tend to fade after they become undead, thus gradually removing their ability to feel any strong emotion, immortal phylacteries preserve their specific emotion and reinforce this attribute in their owner, enabling them to maintain some semblance of normal emotional capacity and, it is rumored, the ability to attain even greater power.

The next important fact about phylacteries is-

"Tsukune…!"

Shaking his head in an attempt to recover from his broken concentration, Tsukune glanced up at Kurumu, the source of the voice that had interrupted his reading. She held before her a textbook and wore a helpless expression, communicating exactly what she desired of him. Sighing, he nodded, letting the Headmaster's tome drop onto the couch beside him; it would be nice to take a break from his extra homework, especially since he was having trouble understanding why any of this information could possibly be as important as the Headmaster had let on. He had surmised that it was likely tied to Mori Retsu, but in their last meeting with the head of Yokai Academy they had been told that they wouldn't be able to return until Retsu's phylactery was found, so why would he need to know about this stuff? But, then again, did that mean that Mori Retsu was a lich? Or perhaps one of those unmanifested liches, since he didn't have a stable physical form…

"This one here," Kurumu pointed out, again pulling Tsukune away from his thoughts. He scanned the page before him, glancing over to Kurumu's notebook in order to retrace her steps.

"Ah, here's your problem…" He lowered the book to the table, shifting his crumb-strewn plate and emptied glass towards Mizore and Moka's; he had greatly appreciated the cookies that Kurumu had baked for them, but hadn't quite understood her mournful expression when he had offered to get the glasses and plates for Moka and Mizore.

Minutes later, with Kurumu's confidence restored enough for her to face her homework alone, Tsukune leaned back on the couch, his fingers brushing the tome but not yet taking it up. He glanced over at Mizore and Moka, who were both focused on the same problem. Moka felt his gaze, however, and looked up at him, smiling brightly in his direction. He happily returned the smile, another of his worries momentarily banished. The previous day had proven to be quite… eventful, and he was glad that everything seemed to have stabilized afterwards. He winced inwardly as he imagined what the day could have looked like, had he gone forward with his intent to choose Moka.

His tortured thoughts the previous night had not changed his feelings towards Moka; he knew that he loved her, first and foremost. The time he had spent with her yesterday, with both sides of her personality, would no doubt prove to be one of his most treasured memories. He looked forward to the time when he would get to experience something like that with her once again, and prayed it would come soon.

Despite that, he had realized how unfair he was being. During the fight with Mori Retsu, he had seen that his feelings for Kurumu and Mizore ran deeper than he had realized, and he could still remember the soul-crushing emptiness he had felt when they had announced their surrender in the fight for his affection. Now, things had returned to the way they once were, with the other girls being all but pushed to the sides of his heart by Moka, and their date had only exacerbated that. But that wasn't what they had all agreed to; the girls had come to their agreement based on the notion that they would each be given a fair chance to win him over, and he had been failing at his responsibility to offer them that chance.

And so, he had spent some time analyzing his feelings for his two other friends, removing Moka from his perspective for at least the moment. He was attracted to both of them, he knew, both emotionally and physically. Kurumu was energetic, and had always impressed him with her ability to be completely open and honest about how she felt. She was indomitable in whatever she put her heart to, but was too honorable to take what she wanted unfairly, and he deeply respected that. Mizore, on the other hand, occasionally tended to be ruthless, but he knew that her coldness was usually just a veneer over her insecurities. She excited him, somewhat similarly to Inner Moka, and her insight into matters proved her maturity. Plus, when she had first met him she had spoken of a bond between them, a shared perspective on the world, and in the time they had spent together he had realized the veracity of what she had said.

He did care for them both, and despite his own anxiety and the disapproving phantoms that he imagined circling around him (taking the forms of his mother, his cousin, and Mrs. Cooper), he was forced to admit that his affection for them transcended that of friendship. He could love either of them, and now it fell unto him to relinquish control and see what could happen, in the face of his better judgment. Only then could he say that he had upheld his end of the bargain fairly… wherever he stood at the end.

And that process would begin the next day. Tsukune looked across the table at Mizore, who had thrown all her efforts into getting her work done for the following day. Tomorrow would be their date, and he would have to approach it with an open mind, and a willingness to accept whatever happened. The thought scared him, but he had a responsibility to her… and to himself.

Mizore glanced up from her paper, blinking as she noticed him staring in her direction. Shaking his head, he offered her an embarrassed grin, and she smiled brightly in response before returning to her homework with even greater vigor. He picked up the tome, forcing himself back into it; he needed to be done, so he would be free the next day.

Perhaps, in the end, this would make his decision all the more difficult and painful. But, he had to recognize that he had hurt them, too, and only through this could he offer them his atonement. Perhaps, somehow, they would all find happiness this way, or at least satisfaction. No matter what, Tsukune vowed, he wouldn't allow their friendships to crumble, especially not because of him.

No, he would not allow anything to come between them.

Author's Note: We have a more subdued chapter this time, I'll yield, but an important one in several respects. One might imagine that finding peace between the girls would be the main impediment towards a harem ending, but personally I see Tsukune as the greatest problem, and changing his mind will take some time. Thus, some development for him while we wait for the next date, and while Thanatos plods his way towards his dark objectives…

I also admit that the section from the tome may be a tad dry, but not without purpose; it fits the academic tone set in the earlier sections, and it enabled me to slip in a few key bits of info amidst the rest. I would say that there won't be a test later, but for Tsukune, at least, there will be. And for you, well… I had given some thought to a quiz of sorts over these tales, perhaps via one of FFN's forum-doohickeys (I make my old computer science teachers proud), with questions ranging from the easy to the absurd. However, the lack of any real prizes makes that idea mostly moot, but, hey, still fun for me to imagine as I type away at this. I am easily amused, and curious as to whether certain subtle hints have been noticed…

Ah, but next chapter… Time for the date with Mizore. I had originally foreseen a smaller section for that event, only one chapter, but I begin to doubt that is possible now. Sigh, this story balloons even further; I've begun to place my not-quite-conservative guess at the final numbers of chapters at 40. Still, there's a lot that I'm looking forward to soon to come, this next chapter a fine example.

On the personal front, I offer forewarning that while I aim for the next chapter to be out three days from now, but the next one may be a little more delayed. I will be returning home for a few days for a job interview… for a job that won't be open until this fall. And, for that matter, a job that is, ah, a tad intimidating… My mantra has been 'No one can do as much damage as a teacher who doesn't want to teach.' God save me from becoming just that…

Ah, I sound as anxious and confused as my characters. Writing is escapism! And so it will be for me over the next few days, as it has been for a while thus far. But, enough for one night. Time for some escapism of the MMO variety, and then…

I sleep.

~Wynn P.