Chapter 13

Shiinmaru-dono: Hiya! I'm back and completely high off sugar! I've no idea where Sho-dono is...#see giggling youko girl in skimpy outfit jumping up and down; in background, words that should never be repeated are shouted# Sooooooooooo, I'm gonna go find her so she can do the disclaimer! BYE-BYE!!!! #girl youko wanders off, skipping and humming some cheerful song#

Sho-dono: Hiya ppl my b-day is tomorrow so I'm being forced to work by my slave driver of a mother. What joy. Any way we do not own Arty in any way, shape, or form. #sees Shiinmaru-dono coming; turns and runs away#

Shiinmaru-dono: #captures Sho-dono# There you are! #squeals# You have to start the story, Sho-dono!! #squeezes tightly# Start typing, slave!

Sho-dono: I'm working on our other story right now.

Shiinmaru-dono: Too damn bad! #squeal# Write, slave, write! #gives bear hug#

Sho-dono: fine

Second period was hell for Artemis; they were given a pop quiz. Now, that's usually fine; he's a genius. Unfortunately, he was unconscious the day they covered what was on the quiz; thus, he missed not just one question, Artemis missed two questions. He was now on his way to A.P. Lit and he was in a horrible mood. Good news was that Liam was talking to him again. "My life is over." he groaned.

"Awww, poor little Arty," Liam crooned jokingly.

"O shut up. I have a perfect record to hold and that's not going to happen because of that test!" Artemis fumed as he stomped into English and continued to bang his head on the desk.

"Better stop that 'fore Teach comes in," the accented boy said right before Teach actually did walk in. Teach looked royally debauched; her mane was even more mussed than usually, her cheeks were flushed, and here clothes weren't quite on right. To put it bluntly: Teach looked like she had been thoroughly shagged right before class.

"POP QUIZ!" Teach shouted and, for once, no one had trouble understanding her accent. Artemis was gaping, then, trying to muffle his snickering; Liam was asking Artemis what was so funny when Teach brought his quiz up for him. Liam's quiz was in Braille and it reminded Artemis that no matter how much it seemed like Liam could see, that Liam was completely blind and would remain blind for the rest of his life.

Half-way through the quiz (long after the late bell had rung) Rei burst into the room. He did a quick sweep of the room, spotted Artemis in the only seat next to Liam, and snarled. "You…" he made to leap at Artemis but Teach, now freshly fixed up, grabbed the back of his cheongsam and stopped him.

"Don' ev'n think 'bout it, laddie," Teach snapped angrily and promptly sent him to a seat on the other side of the room. Artemis mouthed a 'thank you' and returned to the test he was determined to ace; he could not get anything other than absolute perfection. Unfortunately, Liam was being distracting; he had managed to get one of his hands and one of Artemis' hands underneath the table, and – oh! that felt nice – Liam was massaging Artemis' palm. "Liam!" Artemis hissed. "Stop doing that!"

Liam chuckled, "Stop doing what?" Pure evil hidden behind a façade of innocence; Artemis scowled and bit his lip to suppress a moan. Dear gods! That feels so good!

"You're evil, you know that, right?" Artemis whispered while attempting to take his hand back from Liam, who only held on tighter. "Liam, I have to finish the test." Liam reluctantly let his hand go and returned to his own test. Artemis smirked and quickly finished the test and turned it in to Teach. When he returned to his seat however he entwined his fingers with Liam's, "Happy now?"

"Not quite," Liam responded, "I'd be happier with a hug."

Artemis snorted, "Not in front of everyone; maybe in the locker room, but not now though." Liam's smile was breathtaking, his eyes were filled with an emotion unrecognizable to Artemis, but it made his heart flutter. Liam squeezed their entwined hands before returning to his test, leaving Artemis to his thoughts. Artemis' thoughts were troubled; he'd promised Liam that he could help get revenge on Rei, but then there was the matter of Holly to contemplate as well. He knew that (once she'd forgiven him) Holly would want to help with the revenge plan took, and the genius had this inkling that Liam and Holly would get along easily. Argh! Why are things always so difficult?! Artemis thought.

"'imes up!" Teach yelled, snapping Artemis out of his thoughts. Everyone (minus Artemis and Rei) rushed up to turn in their papers. Just as Liam and the rest of the class were returning to their seats the kid with the accent queried, "Is something burning?" The class started sniffing the air when the sprinkler systems turned on and soaked the entire room, the fire alarm ringing in the back.

BOOM! The earth quaked beneath Artemis' feat and he turned to see Liam frozen, a look a terror marring his face. "Get down!" Liam tackled Artemis down and covered with his body.

"Liam? Wha???" Artemis was confused and, for the first time, truly scared.

BOOM! CRASH! The class was screaming and – GRAAAAAAW! The cry wasn't human; it made Artemis want to run, it sent shivers down his spine, and made his bones ache.

"Shhh... Just keep quiet..." Liam carefully pulled Artemis and himself under the nearest desk.

The scent of burning increased and the sound of footsteps could now be heard. A deep THUD…THUD…THUD of something huge approaching. The door to the classroom was blasted in as a demon made of shadows and flames entered the room. Its horned head hit the ceiling when it tried to straighten. With slow precise movements the demon approached the desk that Liam and Artemis were hiding under.

"Close your eyes and hold your breath," Liam ordered softly.

Artemis complied without a word. When Liam was satisfied he crawled out from under the desk and stood to face the creature he knew to be a Shade. Shades were nasty creatures made up of pure rage and hate. For the creature to be this out of control, it must have been summoned by an amateur. Liam had an idea as to who was dumb enough to summon such a hateful monster. The thing about Shades was that they were originally humans who were consumed by their rage, jealousy, hatred, and anger; Shades were eternally in pain and killing them was not murder, but mercy in its kindest form. Goddess above, Liam was going to kill Rei for causing this! Summoning a Shade was forcing some poor, angry soul to lose all humanity and shuck off the morals keeping them from devouring their fellow man.

"Demon of hate be-gone; you are not wanted nor are you needed," Liam ordered, power resonating through his voice. The Shade shook its head and snorted in irritation, Liam was too weak to order it away. He would have to defeat it in battle before Artemis ran out of air. Else Artemis would become a Shade as well, and Liam was not going to let that happen. With a snarl he crouched and leapt at the Shade. Without even trying the Shade spun around and slammed its tail into Liam's stomach. The force of the strike sent him flying into Teach's desk. Teach who had been hiding popped her head from beneath the desk and yanked the now unconscious Liam to safety.

"Dumb laddie! Runnin' 'n ta battle wit ang'r 'n' exectin' ta win? I'll grab 'ur luv 'n' we'll leave t'is to Kisara," Teach reassured the unconscious Liam before going to fetch Artemis.

Shiinmaru-dono: I'm so evil. smirk I give you action and I leave you hanging. Makes you wonder what screwed me up so?

Sho-dono: You've always been screwed up. Hell u got thrown out of an insane asylum!! …now let go of me.

Shiinmaru-dono: Yes, but that is how long, not why. The question I asked was why. Any suggestions, Sho-dono? raises hand Before you ask; yes, I was thrown out of the insane asylum. No, it was not because they thought me sane; it was because they were afraid of me. Shiinmaru-dono out!