Chapter 3

Hey guys, sorry about the lack of work. Just some college stuff. Wanted to get out a chapter for Christmas, but that fell through. Sorry

To reviewers:

Mastermind: I based that moment on the Waster Necromorphs, but thanks for reminding me about that. It's been a while since I last played that one.

Sabere Commander: Ease up there, man. It's frustrating me that I can't get these out faster for you guys. I'm doing what I can, but I like your enthusiasm.

Italicized words are thoughts… Just so you know

Paragraphs started with ~ are flashbacks. They'll be italicized throughout.

All characters and settings are the rightful property of their respective owners. I own nothing, and seek no financial gain.

"Get out of my head, GET OUT!" Shizuka shot up on her bed, a bit of her hair obscuring her eyes. She glanced at her clock.

It's only 2, nyah. The sun was still a long way from rising. Nobody should have been awake at this time, but the slamming of a door faulted her assumption. Nonetheless, she quickly dressed in some simple pajamas. If it was a student, she needed to help them.

She cautiously approached the door, her hair standing on end. Even with her enhanced hearing, she couldn't hear anything from the other side. She opened her door silently, and quickly glanced out.

"Nothing?" She looked at Isaac's door, hoping to see him pop his head out. Nothing happened, and that's when she saw the wood splinters from the door. The majority of the door was fine, but around the handle looked as if it was hit with a hammer. A lot of the splinters were flung towards her room.

Isaac must've been the one who did it. She tiptoed over, and gently knocked on the door. It opened slightly as she did.

Oh, the lock is broken.

"Hey, Isaac? You in there?" No reply. Her skin began to crawl as she realized how unnerving the school was at these hours. Nonetheless, she pushed the door open. Wood chips scraped against the ground as the door swung open, further alerting her.

"Isaac?" She gasped as the door revealed the sanctum of her co-worker. Everything was strewn about, like a small war had been fought. To add to the tension, an occasional flicker of light would briefly illuminate the room. In the flashes, she spotted papers that were strewn about, the table was upended, and a large metal desk was sparking. She spotted Isaac's bracelet hanging off the side of desk, but paid no mind to it.

One thing was for sure, he wasn't here.

"Oh, where could he be?" Quietly, she closed the door. As she stood outside the door for a moment, she noticed how some of the wood had been crushed under foot. Which were then followed by the occasional sprinkling of treated wood down the hall. Luckily, it could be followed fairly easily..

I could track him! I'd be like a cat detective, nyah! Her enthusiasm quickly dissipated again as she looked around.

"Why did it have to be so dark?" Of all the things she didn't have from being a Nekomusume, it had to be night vision.

A little bit later

Shizuka had been able to follow the scent to one of the side exits for the school, but after that, it'd gotten lost in all the other aromas from outside.Nonetheless, she had found boot tracks, and had begun following them.

"I'm not even sure these are Isaac's." Sadly, they were the only thing she could go on at the time. Something she noticed was that the prints weren't orderly, they zigzagged erratically through the woods. A few feet after the zigzagged prints began, something else got her attention, something that caused her to speed up.

Every other tree following the prints had blood on them, and it reeked. It smelled like human blood, but it was wrong. She couldn't place what made it so bad, but she didn't want to know. It reminded her of rot. Nonetheless, the trail led her to the lake on the outskirts of the school grounds.

"Why can't this just stop." Shizuka stopped as she heard Isaac. Glancing out from behind a tree, she spotted the man sitting at the lake. He was shaking, and apparently with the top half of his suit torn up. She was going to yell out to him, but stopped when she stepped a stick on the ground. Isaac snapped his head around, and she gasped.

His eyes were glowing. It wasn't a reflection, and it wasn't some trick of the eye. She could see his eyes glowing a sickly orange. He looked terrified, and almost feral. Various emotions played across the glowing orbs, before he turned to look at his hands again. That wasn't the only thing that was wrong with him. A large blade stuck out of his palm, covered in a bit of gore. It must've been almost two feet in length, and shaped like a scythe blade.

What happened to him? Against her lack of confidence, she called out.

"Isaac?"

Isaac

She was just standing there. Obviously terrified, but so was he. His whole body ached, especially his hands. The very objects that had wounded him so many times, were sprouting out of his hands. His own fucking hands.

"Get out of here, Shizuka." Every fiber of his being was trying to force back the infection, he didn't need someone to be the collateral damage. Least of all, Shizuka.

Wait. He glanced at his wrist. His lock wasn't there. Where could it be? Why is it off?

"No." Isaac shot the woman a look, but she stood firm.

"You need help."

"WELL, NO SHIT!" He had assumed she would have flinched, and backed off. In response, she only took a few steps forward. In a better state, he'd have a new respect for her.

"Friends help each other, don't they?" She was as stubborn as he was.

"Dammit." Stumbling, he picked himself off the ground.

I need to get the lock. Nausea kicked in, and Isaac found the ground racing to meet him again. Nonetheless, he was stopped about a foot away from the ground.

"You are heavy, you nyow that." That flubbing of the word sailed right over his head as he vomited.

"The Chairman just needs to fix it, right?"

"Ficsh hwat?" If he had been more astute at the moment, he would've noticed the taste of blood rising in his mouth.

"We have to go now."

"No, jusht go to my room. The lochk ish in there." Isaac glanced at her, and saw a hopeful smile. Obviously, she was freaking out, but putting up a front.

A sponge trying to be the rock...

"I know where it is! I'll go get it!" After setting Isaac down, she disappeared in a flash.

Isaac flipped over, staring blankly at the sky. The night was quiet, and had no loitering clouds to obstruct the stars. It might've been a peaceful moment, but the stars didn't give him solace. They were the shining reminders of the monsters that came from the inky blackness in between. The kind that fought him in body and mind now. He closed his eyes, and slowed his breathing down. He needed to calm down, which would hopefully help him.

"I GOT IT!" Using his good hand, he propped himself against a nearby tree. Shizuka had come barreling out of the tree line, completely bypassing him.

"I'm right here." He waved his hand. In a less dire situation, he would've laughed.

"Oh, right." She quickly ran over, and took a knee next to him. Isaac noticed that she wasn't passing the lock to him, and looked at her. It was obvious she was worried about him, but he could tell something else was bothering her.

"Here." The bracelet was quickly put back on, and slowly the blade receded back into his arm. The nausea also went away, and his mind cleared.

A few minutes passed as he let himself ease up, occasionally glancing at Shizuka.

"Thank you." She coughed nervously, and nodded in return. The woman kept staring at him though.

"Did the Necromorphs cause all of these?"

"Cause wh-" My scars.

"Most of them." He stood up shakily, and Shizuka did the same less shakily.

"Most of them? Something else attacked you?" He gave a curt nod, and spit out a wad of mucus and blood.

"Unitologists. Fanatics that believed the Markers to be divine objects."

"Oh… What's a Marker again?"

"I'll tell you some other time, okay? I'm tired." Isaac adjusted the top half of his suit, now resealed, and quickly refitted it.

"Okay. It's been a stressful morning already, meow."

"You have it easy."

Later that day

With all his faculties back in his control again, Isaac had slept fairly well after the incident. What irked him was that the lock hadn't been on him. It had to have been purposely removed. Fat chance he would let that happen again.

His first order of business was to repair the door, and upgrade the security to the best of his ability. If someone was trying to get him to turn, he'd need to catch them as soon as possible. They threatened every life on the planet by messing with him.

"Assholes won't get in now." The doorway had been reinforced with an internal tungsten frame, along with detonator mines placed into the wall's lining. The window received a similar treatment. One thing he was grateful of was that the school didn't have central heating, so no vents to deal with. Even though he was hell bent on upgrading security, he weaseled in an upgrade to the air conditioner. The Bench produced an abundance of heat when producing components.

After all that, he pulled up his RIG hologram. There was about a week before he began teaching.

Speaking of teaching, he had to get the materials for the class. In comparison, the classes were no doubt far behind what he was taught in his time.

I don't know where to pick up the stuff. Shizuka probably knows. A nervous sigh escaped him, still not absolutely at peace with walking the grounds. A few of the students gave him hungry glances, the kind he'd stared down for the last decade. The recent turn of events made him even more skittish than before. Still, they weren't a problem in comparison to his own brand of monster.

Luckily, someone happened to knock on his door. Shutting down the security as he did, Isaac released the door lock.

"Come in." His cutter lay trained on the door, and his Stasis emitter glowed faintly.

"Hey, Isaac. How nyah doin'?" As he had hoped, Shizuka was there. Her tendency to add "nyah" or "meow" to her sentences was growing on him, but it was still a bit irritating at times..

"Was that on purpose?" She turned her head.

"Was what on purpose?"

"Nothing, nothing. So, what do you need?" The woman shrugged, and shifted to her other foot.

"Is something wrong, Shizuka?" An epiphany must of struck her, because her eyes lit up.

"Nope, just wanted to give you something!" A file was passed to him. It mainly contained test scores, along with other academic related materials. Isaac had been rather absorbed in reading what the students obtained, when Shizuka popped up with a resounding "OH", nearly causing Isaac to grab his cutter.

"The Chairman said to give that to you, and to talk to you about the clubs at the school! I hope you'll join my club!" She glanced at the file.

"Oh, the file is the curriculum you'll be teaching, and a list of your students, meow."

"I got that much from what I read, and what about your club?" Her already giddy attitude heightened, and that is when Isaac got worried.

"Is it a Sushi club, because if it is, I don't think I can handle raw meat anytime soon?" He'd seen plenty of his own the previous night.

"No, but that is a great idea, nyah. I run the Yokai Academy Newspaper Club, a few students work on various articles for the monthly school paper." Isaac swore he saw a glint in her eye.

"What do you do in there if the students write? Plus, I'm not much of a writer. I was an engineer, before everything else happened."

"Well…" An overly thoughtful expression descended on her face.

She must be racking her brain for a reason.

"How about…" She switched to her other foot.

Still thinking

"I give up." Slumping over in defeat, Shizuka added an even more pathetic sigh. Isaac inwardly chuckled, a rare occurrence.

"I'll see what it's like. I doubt any other club will have me, unless it's for dinner." The folder was thrown onto the bed.

"WHAT!" Shizuka had a look of shock that worried him.

"What?"

"You have a sense of humor, nyah?" Oh...

"Oh…" He didn't fault her on that reaction.

"So, ready to go?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

Newspaper room

As they approached the room, Isaac heard chattering.

They sound excited…

"One thing, Isaac." Both adults stopped at the door with a slightly confused Isaac. She was unusually serious.

"You'll know some of these students." Both of them slipped into the room, and Isaac's heart found its way into his throat.

"Oh no." Tsukune and the pink-haired girl were sitting in a circle with some others, and both of their eyes widened at the sight of Isaac.

"Hey, everyone. We have a prospective sponsor for the class." All the students quieted, and directed their attention to Isaac. The rest of them he'd seen around the campus, mostly fawning over the kid.

"Hello, I'm Isaac Clarke. Arithmetic teacher."

"You smell like decay." The person that spoke was a tall student, black haired, and had an air of confidence.

Highschool pretty boy, huh. Bet he's a prick. Would not be surprised. Glad to see that it wasn't just my time plagued with them.

"Quiet, Perv." Blue haired girl, quick to the insults. The group quieted after that.

"So, Mr. Clarke is going to shadow the class for today to see if he would like to join us. I hope you all leave a better impression than Ginei did. See nyah in a bit!" Shizuka suddenly ducked out of the room, leaving Isaac with the class.

"So… What are you guys up to?" He swung his arms, knowing full well how awkward it was in the room.

"What type of monster are you?" Girl with witch hat, looks too young for high school. Likely the smart one of the group.

"How about you guys introduce yourself, before I get to that."

"Tsukune Aono, I am a Ghoul."

"I'm Moka Akashiya, I am a Vampire. Good to see you are okay."

"I'm Kurumu Kurono. Succubus, and Tsukune's beloved." Blue haired one. Really likes that Tsukune kid.

"Yukari Sendo. I'm a Witch, and number one in the school's academic grading."

"Mizore Shirayuki. Yuki-onna and stalker." Lavender haired girl. Another fan of Tsukune, if I were a betting man.

"Ginei Morioka. Werewolf, and I think it's your turn to tell us." This kid needs some damn manners. He felt old just thinking that, because his father told him something similar when he was young. Younger than these kids.

"Necromorph-Human Hybrid." Blank stares was what he got in return.

"Half Alien." A round of "Oh"s followed.

"Wait, aliens exist?" He was already dreading this.

An hour later

Shizuka made the conscious effort to return to the class as slow as possible, although her very own curiosity egged her on. She already knew that Isaac didn't much care for Ginei, but all the other kids should be fine. Right?

As usual, some cynical thoughts weeded their way into her head. She may be the avatar of cheer, but it was the only part of herself she wanted others to see. Pushing away memories that were akin to nightmares, she livened up her pace. She needed cheer, any amount will do.

On her approach to the room, she caught the sound of laughter emanating from within. She stopped a few feet away, and just listened.

"So, during my time in college, my roommate decided that he would take his father's personal ship on a joyride, and take it over to the Red-light district on the other side of the planet. Now, his name was Jeff… So, Jeff is able to get to the dock where his father holds the ship, and being the good student that I am, I follow while pleading him not to do this. Completely ignoring me, he jumps in. As soon as the door closed, I remembered that he had failed his piloting test multiple times. So, he's an unqualified and excited pilot in a heavy traffic area. Well, luckily for everyone, the ship had an innovative steering mechanism. This meant that not only was he a horrible pilot, but he was using a completely different system. As soon as he fired up the engines, he pulled back.

Now, normal systems were in the standard configuration where you pull back to raise the nose. This design moved the ship the exact same way as the wheel was moved. So, the whole ship jumped straight back, and all I hear is the muddled yowl from inside." A cough finally broke up Isaac's story, and Shizuka chose that time to enter the room.

"What are you guys up to, nyah?" Isaac had taken up a chair with the circle of students, and all had grins on their faces.

"Mr. Clarke was just telling us some stories from when he was around our age".

"Dang, he's only brooding around me. Why do you guys get the funny stories, and I only get the sad ones?"

"I'll tell you some later, plus, I think I've done as much story telling as I care to do". The man stood up, and glanced at Shizuka.

"Now, where did you run off to?" The students followed in asking, but she just shook off the question. Isaac glanced at his suit, just as beeping began to emanate. He cut it short.

"Finally." He glanced around. "I've got some work to do, so I'll take my leave." He excused himself, and made his way out.

"Alright everyone, that's enough for today. Enjoy the rest of your day!" She waited for the students to exit, before locking up the room, and followed Isaac. He was nearly jogging to his room.

"What's the big deal?"

"I used up the majority of my resources fixing up my room and equipment, so I put the rest into building a scavenger bot. I have to restock."

"You are happy for that?"

"Those bots are one of the reasons I'm still alive, so it's like meeting an old friend again." Waving his hand over the door, slight mechanical whirring could be heard from inside. The door swung open, and Isaac quickly slipped in.

"Uh, should I wait here? Or what?"

"I'm going to be out for a while. It's up to you."

"Alright, I'm going to get food. I guess I'll see you later."

"See ya, Shizuka." Leaving him to his devices, Shizuka made her way to the staff lounge.

Isaac

Returning at night, Isaac had come back with a decent amount of low grade ores. Various amounts of copper, iron, zinc, and other deposits made up the cargo for the bot. Isaac hadn't expected much from the area.

I guess the lake may have some hidden pieces of Tau Volantis there, natural or not. That'll be tomorrow. The sun had long set, so the academy and the surrounding grounds took on a strange air. It felt extremely desolate, almost as much as the Ishimura. Each window, an eye for this archaic institution to examine him.

Nonetheless, he entered the building. As he expected, there was no one else walking the halls, no one to make any noises besides him. This meant that every footfall echoed down corridors, and right back at him. He found himself getting lost in thought, and absorbed into nightmares of the Ishimura.

~ All he could see where the aiming lasers for the cutter. Hell of a time for the flashlight to give out, was what he would say he if felt like speaking. Those monsters had forced him into this hallway after batting at him with their blades, luckily, they failed to follow.

"Or chose not to." Isaac spun around, cutter lightly scraping the nearby wall. The voice had come from behind him, but nobody stood there. Then the scraping came.

All around him, the walls cackled a symphony of shearing metal combined with the percussion of bursting vents. The twisted monsters from before arrived en masse from the surrounding vents, threatening to overwhelm him. As with the last few encounters, he aimed at their joints. All he could hope for, was that Nicole was safe from these things. If she was, the sooner he found her, the better.

"Isaac? Isaac, are you okay?"

"Nicole? Where are you?"~

"Isaac, who's Nicole? What are you doing out here?" Isaac glanced around again, where the metal corridors of the Ishimura gave way to the drywall of Yokai Academy. Where a Slasher stood in his memory, stood Shizuka. Unlike the normally cheery Shizuka, her hair was askew and she wore a robe. It must've been later than what he thought.

"Ugh." He pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head as he did. It'd been a while since he last lost himself in thought. During that episode, he must've traveled down to the infirmary.

"Are you okay? I heard your stomping from down the hall."

"Fine, I'm fine. I just got lost in my head."

"So…" Isaac glanced at the woman, and felt that something else was different. He just couldn't place it.

"Who's Nicole? Girlfriend? Wife? Sister?"

"My ex. She, ugh, died during the first outbreak." Shizuka sighed.

"I'm sorry I asked. You were just saying her name, when I found you." That's when Isaac noticed what else was different with the woman. Her eyes were aglow, blue cat's eyes in the dark of the hall. It was strangely comforting, as well as breathtaking. She was standing there. She wasn't wearing her glasses, too. He was struck dumb in that moment.

"What's wrong?" She crooked her head to the right.

"Nothing." Dammit, focus.

"Nothing's wrong. What are you doing up?" She smiled rather sheepishly.

"I don't know. I had a hard time falling asleep, so I went to get some milk." Her ears drooped, rustling her hair, and causing her bangs to fall in front of her eyes.

"I think we are out, though. Which is nyat good." Isaac chuckled at her little pun, and shifted the bot to his other hand. She smiled, and shifted to her other foot.

"So, how was your night, so far?"

Strangely better, now.

"It's been fine. Nothing unusual, or problematic." Both of them stood silent in the hall for a moment, drinking in the silence that engulfed them.

"Hey, Isaac? Are you going to head to your room?"

"Yeah. We should head back." Walking back was another quiet affair, where Isaac kept glancing at Shizuka. Once or twice, he swore she was looking at him as well.

They arrived at their respective rooms soon after.

"Have a good night, Isaac."

"You too, Shizuka."

"And Isaac?"

"Yeah?" Isaac noticed that she was about to say something, but stopped herself.

"Just… Sleep well, okay?"

"Yeah, I will." Both of them entered their rooms. Isaac quietly deposited the bot into the Bench, and removed his armor.

This isn't going to get any easier around her, isn't it? As he expected (And secretly hoped), nobody responded to his thought. Collapsing onto his cot, he quickly settled in and drifted into a silent slumber. A thankfully undisturbed dream.

The following day, Isaac left his room fairly early. Instead of staying with the bot, he decided to leave it to its own device. He had its guidance system pinged to return to the Bench as the old ones had done. He had a feeling that the lake would hold a few supplies that he had glanced over when he dived in.

Shortly after, he returned to his room, where a box waited for him. It was marked with his name and the word "Clothes". A gift from the Chairman, he supposed. The box was filled with various styles of clothing, seemingly capable of holding a lot more than what it should.

It seems bigger on the inside… He grabbed a set of jeans, t-shirt, and a flannel long sleeve. Using a few materials, he made a small skeletonized gauntlet for his TK and Stasis modules. He also recreated the mask from the Hacker schematic he saved from Titan. It folded into a scaled down model of the RIG interface, which he planned to use as his attendance and grading system. Lastly, he made a small magnetic strip to hold his cutter. As much as he trusted a few of the kids and one faculty member here, the majority of the populace were still monsters to him. Not yet people in his eyes.

He felt vulnerable wearing this, but he knew what the Chairman meant by giving him the clothes. Isaac needed to show that he was comfortable with the people around here, a sign of mutual trust. It would take a while before he actually feels that way. Luckily, they forgot to supply shoes, so he attached his boots.

I can still stomp things, if it came down to it. Isaac opened the door to his room, only to be greeted by Shizuka. She was dressed in her normal teaching attire, something Isaac seemed to appreciate more than usual. Her face was tinged red, and she didn't initiate any eye contact.

"What's u-" Before he continued, Shizuka had cut him off with a kiss. He didn't know when she left, or how long he stood there in stunned silence, but he found himself missing it already.

God dammit…

So, here is chapter 3. Hope you guys enjoyed it. I feel this version is a bit more mature, (a.e. MUCH more), than the original. Along with a bit better pacing, I didn't give these two proper time to get to know each other. Hell, Chapter 3 of my old one already had them getting steamy. This one, they are already feeling things, but not really acting on it. I reckon next chapter will have them dealing with them a bit more.

Also, if you feel so inclined, take some time to read the Rosario + Vampire manga. It finished up last year, and it isn't just fan service. The latter half really drops off the panty shots and silliness for a darker tone. It's a great read.

See ya next chapter, guys. Nemesis out.