Sat. finally back with a new chapter. The last few months have been a little crazy, but things should fall back into some consistent chaos I can keep up with. To recap, a new E-Shifter has popped out of nowhere. That alone will cause so much havoc. Time is closing in on the party and the spring dance. Let's see what will happen today! I own nothing familiar.
Chapter Fourteen: Trying to be Normal
Kaitlin
Anger and annoyance doesn't cover how I feel towards Aido right now. Even a few days after his announcement of our relationship, I'm still annoyed. How in the hell could he do that to me? Does he not get that, oh I don't know, fan people will now plot my murder? He's starting to fall under the stereotype for blondes, as much as I don't wanna say it. In reality, it's the embarrassment he caused that still prods my anger. Not even the pointless death glares I receive from some of the other Day Students annoys me as much as his actions. That's pride for you. My pen thumps against the desk where the supplies check list sits in front of me.
We've decided to host the party on Wednesday and to cancel all meetings for the first week of vacation. After that, all meetings will resume the normal schedule. The students were happy for this either way. I've already gone over this list six times. There really isn't any point. Checking and organizing this thing is my excuse to not see Aido. The truth as to why I'm avoiding him is because I don't know how to act. This type of…involvement is something none of us have done before. I've never felt like such an awkward teenager in my life! And I must say that I hate it with a passion.
With an aggravated sigh, I drop my head on the desk with a loud thump. Ow. How nonsensical is this? Here I am with the information that another E-Shifter has made contact with us and I'm worrying about how to act around a boy instead of another that is like me. Is this what's it's like to be like a teen? To worry about sillier, smaller things that will most likely last a few months and lose almost all concentration on the important things, like, I don't know, the guys that still want to either kill us or use us to kill other things? If so, teenagers are stupid. It's nearly seven at night. Angelica could be talking to the loose E-Shifter, whose name is Inacio, right about now…I think. Apparently, he does the smart thing and visits at night. Then again, he could have been scared off for a little while, but he won't leave. I know he doesn't have it in him to leave for so many reasons. Hell, if I was in his position, I wouldn't leave either. My alarm clock buzzes, letting me know that I have fifteen minutes to find Aido before his classes start.
I leave with a sigh, and drop the finished list on Rena's bed. She is over with Ana and Sarah right now, working on some fliers to post around school. After locking my door, I head out to the classrooms. After wandering around for a few minutes in the growing darkness, I catch sight of the blonde vampire near some cloistered woods that have been isolated on campus. I think this is where we first met, actually. Sure wouldn't be surprising if it was. He has his blazer undone and watches some to his right. With another shaky sigh, I walk up to him and smile.
"I thought that mindless staring was meant for the classrooms?"
He looks at me and smiles.
"I was actually noticing that Yuuki is over there doing her usual rounds," he responds, "Which means that Zero isn't far behind."
"Then we had better hide, or else I'll get sent back to my room," I comment with a grin and lead the way into the small patch of woods, "Though, I don't really think I need any type of protection around here, especially from vampires."
"Oh really," he muses, placing his head on mine while we walk, "What lies and slander you speak."
"When I say vampires, I mean the smart ones that know to leave me alone. You just won't leave and now you've tied yourself to me even more. How unfortunate for you," I tease my grin widening.
"Hmm, such a travesty you play."
I don't know how long this banter will continue. For now, it is a form of defense since I don't know what else to say. Surprisingly, the conversation continues easily. I talk about some of the places I've been to, mostly the ones where we didn't have to fight and he tells me about some numerous pranks he's pulled over the years. This must be the "getting to know each other" stage. It's so strange. Before I couldn't stand him and in a way, I still can't. Somewhere in the middle of all this, I found that I want his annoyance there; that, despite all plausible logic, I need his annoying and full-of-himself attitude. I have absolutely no idea why. Perhaps biology is telling me that I want someone of the opposite gender around me and he just happens to be the one I've had the most contact with at the moment that I don't quite want to kill.
"You seem distracted."
I glance up too quickly. That motion no doubt affirmed that I am a bit distracted. To brush off my last action, I shrug.
"You also seem a little worried about something," he says with a grin and leans closer to me, "Care to tell?"
"Not…really. I'm not the overly sharing type," I mutter back, not trying to hide my awkwardness. Which makes me wonder why the conversation, until this point, as been really easygoing. Though, I'm pretty sure that I can't get out of this questioning. My mouth has a damned mind of its own.
"Come on, I don't really know that much about you," he continues with a fake pouty face, "Why would you feel uncomfortable and distracted."
"…'Cause," I reply looking the other way and crossing my arms. My reasoning is flawless.
A chilled finger slips under my chin and he makes me look at him. He better not try that hypnotic shit with me. I will beat the unholy out of him.
"Please."
My gut clenches from the gently tone he used and I can feel my stubbornness wavering. I try to look away but he doesn't let me.
"Did you know that you are the first guy I kissed?"
Where in the hell did that come from? I sounded like a middle schooler regurgitating a fact for school. Aido is so surprised that he drops his hand. I immediately turn the other way to try and block out my own stupidity. When he doesn't say anything, I feel more words pressing my throat, wanting out.
"I don't―I don't know how to act like this. Not in this kind of contact. This isn't my element and I…have no idea what I'm supposed to do or how to handle it. I―ugh."
I slap a hand to my forehead and consider walking away. It's the only thing that makes sense right now. But since I really don't know if that's what I'm supposed to do, I stand waiting for him to say something. If he doesn't, I will leave. Two arms intertwine on my crossed arms.
"I suppose I am a very lucky man, then, to get your first kiss," he mummers softly, leaning his head on my shoulder, "As for not knowing how to act, I will let you know if you're doing something away from the normal code."
He chuckles in my ear, but I take some relief from his light, sarcastic comment. He most likely will let me know. Cold lips brush my cheek and Aido whispers a good-bye. If I was a regular human, I would have thought he vanished. Cool air still hovers over the small clearing and my clothes. With a small bit of annoyance, I head back to the dorms, uncaring if the two prefects find me.
It's party time! Huzzah! We decided that the party for the club should start at seven and end around ten to midnight. Cross was more than happy to hear about a party, despite the late hour we wanted to have it at. Kiryuu tried to have us reschedule for the daytime instead, but Ana shot him down by saying that is keeping away from the normal stereotype that most humans have about "grown-up" parties. Parties begin in the early to middle evening and end late. Cross took Ana's side (ha!) and would have Kiryuu complete the usual circuit around the school while Yuuki would supervise the party, aka watch out for vampiric party-crashers or anything else that might attack the school. She is there really to only sound the alarm to Cross and Kiryuu. Personally, they need more people to protect this school than just two, but oh well. Not my job, not my problem.
At first, we thought to have this party as a sock hop, but tossed that idea out the window. Some days before we posted the fliers, we had no idea how to protect the floor from people's shoes. Then we did some random searching in a store closet we missed when we first cleaned this place. After breaking the door down, we found lots of spiders, random mates, extra gym clothes and one very large floor protecting mat for the whole gym floor. To make a long, disgusting, dust bunny filled story short, the mat was in one piece and usable. In the end of it, we put a sign on the door saying welcome to the party and it's their choice if they want to remove their shoes. Some ensembles of clothes just don't work without the shoes to go with them, so they decided to give the students a choice. The girls and I have been setting up the Fight Hall for a while now. It'll be easier if we just get ready in the changing room after. The main reason for this: I've already spilt some chip dip on my shirt and I have no idea how that happened. Yay for klutziness. For some reason, I'm only accident prone around food. It's very strange.
The Hall wasn't able to get decorated with store bought decorations. We didn't have the money for it and the food was provided from the allowance of the kids' parents. Personally, I don't think it's necessary to have a lot décor. The sky is clear and it's a full moon, which can be used for ambiance. Instead, we found small battery powered lanterns that usually used for emergencies. Thankfully, Ana and I usually have large supplies of batteries for some of our game systems. Gameboys need double a batteries and that's what these lanterns take. Sarah has a home economics class and they are dealing with sowing for the moment. She was able to get different colors of sheer fabric, so we covered the lanterns with them and placed them all over the floor. Moonlit party! There is something oddly cliché about this. When we're done, we all stand at the entrance.
"This looks good," Angelica says with crossed arms and a grin, "The students that are in charge of the DJ system should be here about fifteen minutes before seven, so everything is done."
"Everything, but us," Sarah says, pulling on her old, stained t-shirt, "Now we dedicate thirty minutes to fixing ourselves up."
"And every last one of you needs it," Ana comments in a flat voice.
Aw, that's harsh. After a few more moments of silence, we all start laughing.
"Tonight will be fun," Rena decides as we walk into the changing room.
"It'll be something," Angelica mutters.
I just shake my head. She always says something like this before anything fun or weird happens. After a few years, one kind of gets used to it. Besides, it'd be wrong if something didn't happen that wasn't according to the general schedule. I open my locker and pull out my dark blue skirt and my dark yellow top with random white silhouettes of birds on them. I have a white tank top to go underneath it, since the yellow top is more like a hoodie. I place my dark blue flats on the bench in the middle of the rows of lockers.
Ana is dressed and done before any of us. She never wears makeup (she says it's kind of stupid because it wipes off so easily) and the only thing she has for jewelry, besides her usual silver hoop earrings, is a small band of black ribbon on her neck. It amazes me that she is able to make jeans look dressed up. She has her usual jeans on, her usual black studded belt and her shirt is made of a thin, off-white lace that buttons up all the way. She put some of her hair up in a small ponytail, but it's mainly for effect than purpose.
"You, my friend, are ridiculously lucky," I comment to Ana as she walks by.
"Why is that," she asks, looping her thumbs in her front pockets.
"'Cause you can pull off jeans in any setting. That is not fair," I mutter back, pulling my hoodie over my head, "You're a butt for it."
She simply shrugs and helps Rena tie the back of her black and purple-flowered dress. Rena is one of the few of us that can comfortably wear heels. She pulls on purple heels and braids the sides of her hair. She ties them to the back of her head, letting the tight braids come together.
"We might have some party guests arriving early," Angelica says, leaning on a wall of lockers, "A number of them seemed eager to come here. Yuuki is supposed to be here in ten."
I shrug and continue to adjust my skirt. We made a deal with Cross that Yuuki would supervise. He wanted Kiryuu to be here, but we told him that it would be better for the E to make the rounds since he was faster than Yuuki. The tall girl rubs her hands on her black slacks and pulls the shoulders of her draped red shirt down. Oh, she's decided to expose the tattoo on her left shoulder. The darker ink swirls around in a circle and in the center is a Sanskrit symbol with a large drop of liquid coming off of the end of the character. She still hasn't told me what the letter means.
"If they do, they'll have to wait," I mummer, "But will we have a particular visitor tonight?"
"Shouldn't," she replies, "I told him the other night that I won't be able to talk to him, but I would leave some food out for him on the sill."
"Did you leave your window opened?"
"Only enough for him to get the food," she says with a small frown, "I rigged my window so it wouldn't open or close anymore than that. The space can only fit a hand through and the stuff blocking it is way out of reach."
"It would suck immensely if the Night Class found out about him," Sarah says on the other side of the locker wall.
"It would suck if anyone, but us knows about him," I comment, "We can only hope that no one will find out."
"Or to try and create some kind of truce with the person that found out," she continues, walking around the wall in her loose red skirt, high black boots and plain black shirt, "aka, blackmailing them or us."
Too true. But our luck is horrible and I know that this secrecy won't last that long. It never has. With a puff of annoyance, I try to brush my hair down a bit before the party starts.
The music blast out in deep pumps. The party is nearly done and everything has gone well. We're almost out of food and drinks, so we won't have to worry about finding people take it with them. For the last hour or so, the students have been using a karaoke machine someone brought with them. What is it with the eastern side of the world and karaoke? So far, about five students have tried to convince me to sing something. I told them I sound like a drunken crow when I sing and that fighting is my thing.
Angelica and Sarah are dancing with Yuuki to a random Japanese pop song that some kid should not be singing. He isn't very good at all, but at least he has the guts to get up there and do it. After he's done, a girl goes up and tries to sing some random song in English. Also a bad idea. I can't understand anything she's saying. I laugh a bit and sip some Coke. Some people are trying to convince Ana to sing something in English. They've tried with all of us, but her.
Ana may seem like a cold, hard-ass, but she is really sweet and caring. Even from over here by the food, I can see her resolve failing her. I grin and shake my head. She's such a sucker sometimes. They push her to the guy in charge of managing the karaoke stuff and they "help" her pick a song. The group fusses around her as Ana just hands the DJ a title she wrote down on the request paper, effectively ending the argument the students started. The title pops up by the time she gets up on stage. She may have been suckered to doing this, but she will do her own song. "Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse. Good choice.
She winces, but sings it anyway. The students go nuts. Well, at least she can sing to save her life. And I can understand it. Huzzah! Sarah and Rena jump up with her and start sing with her. The three sway side to side with the beat. Ana stops for a moment, but just for a syllable. She glances at me and then to the door. What? I put my drink down and walk to the door. The door easily opens and I slip out for a moment. The area is splashed with a silvery grey. After the blood foxes attacked, I've been a little wary of the woods around this area. So far, everything looks clear. Wait, there. Telepathy powers to the left. Kuran. He walks out of nothing in a white button up shirt and dark slacks.
"Here to crash?" I bite out.
"No. There is hostile activity around the campus," he calmly replies, "I must speak with Rose-san."
"And to check up on Yuuki," I dryly add, "To keep face around the students, tell me what's happening and I will tell her."
He doesn't move for a moment, giving me a would-be glare and my lips tighten.
"Do you really want them to get suspicious? They know that if Ana is worried about something, it will most likely involve something big. Give the humans a little more credit with that. They have that instinct left over."
"There are blood foxes attacking. They have surrounded the school and are moving on campus as we speak," he relays.
"That doesn't make sense," I reply instantly, "They have an incredible fear of being out in the open. Are you sure?"
"They have moved out," he insists, "Please tell Ms. Rose that she needs to do what she thinks is best for the Day Class and to keep Yuuki safe."
"Will the Night Class handle them?"
"Possibly."
He leaves without another word and the woods look a bit more dangerous now. That could mean no even if he didn't say it. On the other hand, it could mean yes, but I doubt it. I return to the party after locking the door. Shit, this doesn't make sense. What would drive them out of the woods? What could? Even if the entire forest was on fire and burning them, blood foxes would not leave. Even with the large amount of vampires here, the foxes aren't stupid creatures (when it comes to hunting). By the time I reach Ana, I've gathered all the girls and Yuuki. With a motion of my hand, we go into the office. We make it seem like we're getting more food out, which we do need to do. I shut the door and the sound is muffled to where we can actually talk to each other.
"Some shit is going down," I say, "Shit that doesn't make sense."
"Explain," Ana says, sorting out sodas.
"Kuran just found me outside, though I know you know that, Ana. He said that blood foxes have surrounded the school and are leaving the woods. He said that they're hostile and he wants us to protect Yuuki and to do what is best to keep the Day Students safe."
"What about the Night Class?" Rena asks, putting a large bag of chips on the desk.
"He said that they could 'possibly' take care of the foxes," I spit out. What an ass.
"We have to help the other students," Yuuki says, clenching her fists, "We could split up and someone could stay here to watch these students."
"Yes, but I'm more worried about what provoked them out," Sarah mutters, "We need to think about this first."
"Well, Kiryuu is already on his way over here with no hostiles following," Ana comments, "But we need to look at these damn things to see what's going on."
"Do they really not leave the woods?" the prefect asks.
"Never in any record have they," I reply, "and we've studied records from the B.C.E. periods to modern activities. Something is very wrong."
"I will have to leave," Angelica says and no one stops her from leaving. She's going to protect Inacio. Hopefully, nothing will impede her or attack.
Yuuki looks like she wants to ask why she is leaving, but is handed food trays instead. We fix the food table up and Ana nods to me to get the front door. I open it and Kiryuu looks angrier than usual. I let him in with no hesitance. We walk over to where the girls and Yuuki are and the two prefects talk for a while (more like Yuuki yammering to the silverhead) and Kiryuu begins to talk to Ana. She holds up a hand to prevent him from talking and she looks to the door. Are they already here?
"I need to see if there is something influencing them," I hear Ana say, "But I'm a bit worried to."
"I will go."
"And get eaten?" she retorts, "No, you're at least taking different ammunition."
"Come with me, Kiryuu," I say and pull him by the sleeve into the office.
"Regular bullets won't kill them, but they will slow them down long enough for give you some important seconds or minutes, depending on how well your aim is. Please, let me see your weapon."
With hesitance, he hands over his silver handgun. It's attached to a chain inside his jacket pocket. Not a bad idea. Damn, my caliber doesn't match his. I give him his gun back with a sigh.
"I don't want to do this, but we're short on time." I pull Artemis from my left leg holster and empty the clip. These bullets were made for vampires. I take another clip from the holster and load it in, cocking it. Artemis still has the silencer on it. This bites big.
"Here, it has twelve rounds, so be careful with how many bullets you use on a target. I don't have another clip of regular bullets on me," I inform him while handing my weapon over, "Artemis has a bit of a kick to her, but she'll serve you well enough for tonight."
"Why do you have a gun?" he asks in a dangerously low voice.
"Why do you, dipshit?" I snap back. This is not the time or the place, "Take the damn thing and go."
He takes my weapon with a somewhat shocked face, but nods nonetheless. The E leaves the office and I rub my face. So much for a regular night. I really think Angelica jinxes us or something. Every time she says something like she did before the party started, something annoying and dangerous happens. I'm totally blaming her for this crap. The girls are sitting in some of the chairs we set out and Rena is trying to calm Yuuki down while she watches Kiryuu leave.
"Hunter activity?" I ask Sarah in English.
"That's the only thing I can think of," she says with a huff, "Those jerks just don't have lives, do they?"
"No doubt they would lose them if we weren't found in something that resembled one piece."
After a few minutes, Ana rises to leave outside and Sarah locks the door discreetly. That wasn't really needed because she opens the door right after locking it. She and Kiryuu come in and stalk for the food table. She is holding something. I can't remember Ana looking so angry before. I can almost feel her energy spiking off of her. A black strap of some sort is in her hand. Rena takes it from her and gasps, dropping it on the floor like its hot metal. I pick it up. Oh my God.
Images of rusty chains and thick cuts fill my mind. I feel myself hyperventilating, but control it. After so long, this thing can still do this to me. PTSD for you, I guess. This…this is something that was used on us. A mind-controller collar. The shorter version is called the M.C.C. There is no doubt that the Hunters are getting desperate. Seeing this…reminds me how cruel some people can be to other creatures.
"What is it?" Kiryuu asks.
"A device able to control any living or undead creatures," Rena whispers, holding her arms to her chest as though injured, "It causes the wearer to obey any order and the wearer is put in such pain that the only way to get rid of it would be to obey. They usually make the wearing insane."
Something wet touches my cheeks. I must be crying. It must be from too many bad memories being repressed. Not now. Perhaps later I will cry, but not now.
"This was on a blood fox," Ana says in a grated voice, "It has a camcorder on it. They must be looking for us and used these creatures as easy workers. God damn bastards."
Her fist snaps the device from me, clenching it with her white hand. The M.C.C.s were supposed to be banned from any form of activity…at least, after we were reined in and brought to obedience. It seemed as though we looked to human to the Hunters and thought it cruel only after we were subjected to it. Plastic and metal crunches. Ana's hand is still shaking and small slivers of blood drip onto the floor. Where I start to cry, she gets angry. Is that what it takes to make a leader? To get angry before you get sad so you can use that emotion to your advantage? I don't know. That must be why I'm not in charge.
"Kiryuu," she says in a low voice, "Shoot the collars off. When they aren't working anymore, the blood foxes will run back to the woods. Yuuki, find Kuran and tell him to follow the same order as Kiryuu if he chooses to help."
"I'm not letting her outside alone with these things wandering," he spits at her.
"Don't worry," I say, wiping my face, "They won't touch her. I will go with her."
Before any more arguments can break out, I grab Yuuki by her arm and leave the party to the dangerous area. I have her in front of me, leading to where Kuran is supposed to be. I know that I can't engage in any fights due to the possibility that the Hunters will use the blood foxes as mobile cameras. If they see me…
"Stay with me," I say and speed up a bit, leading her to the back end of the Night Class gates, now that I can see them.
"H-how are w-we supposed t-to get in there n-now," Yuuki huffs, leaning on her knees.
I wait for her to catch her breath and gage the wall. It's only fifty feet or so, so jumping it won't be that much of a problem. Glancing around the area, I don't see anything that might be troublesome.
"Are you afraid of heights?"
"No, not really," she replies hesitantly.
"Good, now hold on," I says and grab her by her waist. What a bad day to wear a skirt.
I jump and when we're about fifteen feet up, she starts to scream so I clamp her mouth shut with my hand, feeling her breath and voice vibrate my skin. Instead of waiting on the top of the wall, I flip in the air and go over it with Yuuki screaming in my hand all the way. She's a level A? We land with her nearly in my lap and I wait for her to stop shaking. I don't think Kuran will be happy with me, but he can suck it.
"Sorry, but we really don't have time to take the long way. Time is really important right now," I mutter, pulling her with me again, "You can yell at me later, if you like."
We rush up in the shadows, dodging any light from the moon. It's a low possibility that the blood foxes could have infiltrated this section, but a possibility is still a possibility. Finally, the front door of the Moon Dorms comes up and I immediately bang on the door, Yuuki huffing behind me. Someone answers it, a guy I don't know, and I shove him away from the doorway and enter the over extravagant dorm. Kuran comes to greet me. It seems that he decided to bring in most of the coven since a good deal of the Night Class is here. Instead of walking to me, he takes Yuuki and it's only now do I notice how frazzled and pale she looks. I mutter a sorry to her with a wince and Aido comes to me with a worried look.
"We have a problem," I say before Aido could start, "The reason why the blood foxes are out and running loose is due to a device that is used only by the Hunters. There is a possibility that they can monitor who the foxes engage with those things on, so the girls and I can't take these things out."
"Is there some central command for these things?" he asks, rubbing his forehead.
"They're wireless, so I don't know," I mutter with annoyance, "I've been out of the Hunters for too long, so I really have no fucking idea. I can't believe…that they're―"
My fist clenches and my energy starts to spike a bit. With a calming breath, I look up to Kuran and prepare to make an appeal for the Night Class to take these creatures out.
"Kuran. If the collars are removed, the foxes will run back to the woods," I start, talking to his back while he kneels in front of Yuuki, "I would rather not cut more losses in a dying species than necessary, but it is your choice. Sadly, you're the one calling most of the shots tonight."
He stands and walks over to me, coming very close to intimidate me. I look up defiantly, refusing to be scared or whipped by someone who doesn't hold any power over me.
"You should be more careful with her," he says, his body radiating coldness.
"We had no time and I gave her a warning, the most I could do at the time. She wanted to come here and I wasn't going to let her go outside alone with these things running around. And I am sorry for rushing her around, but there was little choice," I counter, "Would you have rather me given out position away for more Hunters to invade here? And don't say it's our fault they're here. You know that we're not the only reason why they're here…I don't think you will tell me what you will do about this."
With that wonderful amount of statements procured to all the vampires here, I turn to leave, shaking my head. In hindsight, coming here alone might not have been the best idea whether Yuuki was with me nor not. Too late now. I fling the front doors opened without any word from any of them. Technically, Kiryuu can take care of the foxes. At least, I hope he can. Nothing I can do about it at this moment and I've done all I can. With a huff, I start to the left and almost get back to the wall when a cold hand snaps on my wrist. On reflex, my hand hikes the skirt to reach Apollo. I almost remove my gun completely until I see its Aido.
"Haven't you learned to not sneak up on me?" I ask rhetorically quirking an eye brow up, "Especially with what's going on right now."
"I wanted to make sure you were alright," he mummers, uncharacteristically quiet and a bit timid.
"Ticked off, yes, but fine otherwise," I respond, holstering Apollo to my leg again, "Why?"
"Well…I know this is going to sound silly and a little redundant, but," he says, rubbing his neck, "I…don't want…you to get…hurt."
…Huh?
What does he mean by that? He can't be serious with that statement. Oh, when did my mouth start flopping like a fish? A well of laughter boils in my throat, but I don't think this is something I should laugh at.
"You should be more concern with your safety. After all, blood foxes like vampires as prey," I counter with a nervous laugh, "Though, since you're a higher level than what they're used to, plus you're surrounded by your coven, you don't really need to worry about it."
I turn to walk away again, but he doesn't let go of my arm. With a shake of my head, I turn to face him with my head down and take the initiative to hug him. He stiffens from some surprise, but returns the hug with more enthusiasm than I started it with. I suppose somewhere in his icy, vampire mind, I'm still seen as a human, despite my abilities. Go figure. Pushing him away slightly, I move his bright bangs, ignoring his confused face, and reach up to lightly kiss him on the forehead. Sometimes I forget that he has a lower body temperature than mine, but it's something I really don't mind.
"Promise, I'll be fine," I say with a grin, "I have to go, though."
"I believe that Kaname-sama will take care of these foxes," he mummers, not quiet letting me go, "If what you say is true, we should be able to prevent deaths on either side."
I nod and grin wider, ruffling his bangs. Before he tries to make me stay, I bolt off towards the same wall Yuuki and I jumped over a little bit ago, hidden in thick shadows. Was that something people are supposed to do? Hug and all that mess? I wonder if I did the whole comforting thing right. I'm not really the best person to do that. Lord knows how awkward I feel right now. It's odd having someone worry about me that am not one of the girls. Without hesitance, I bound over the wall and land on top of it to survey the immediate area. Noticing that there are no visible threats, I drop off the way and land silently. A metal hammer is cocked near my head. Kiryuu looks at me with sheer shock as he lowers my firearm. Guess I didn't see him. I move to stand and look around at the same time. If he's here, there might be some foxes running around. That would be very bad right now.
"What's your current situation?" I ask. Might as well get a good report.
"I have removed the collars from three of them without killing them," he responds, looking at our area, "You were right. When those collars were taken off, they had a look of absolute terror and ran for the nearest woods."
"Good. I think Kuran will help us now that Yuuki is safely in his hands. He owes it not only to us, but to Cross and the students to help out," I respond, noticing Kiryuu's grimace. He doesn't want Yuuki to be with Kuran or he doesn't want Kuran to help out? I'll bet money on the previous.
"Take care," I say, turning to where the Fight Hall is. "I need to get back to the students' party before anyone starts to ask why I'm gone."
With waiting for a reply, I dash off; taking the same shadowy route I did before, only faster now that I don't have Yuuki with me. I arrive back at the buzzing party with no incidences and take a moment to breathe before going back into the party. Reentering the loud and cheerful place, I scan for Ana and the others. Luckily, they haven't moved from the food table. I walk back over there and wave at Sarah, who waves back.
"Report," Ana says in English.
"Well," I say, pouring myself some Spite, "I brought Yuuki there with no problems. I don't know if Kuran will help, but Aido says there is a large possibility that he will. I told Kuran how to take care of these little beasts without killing them. I also ran into Kiryuu. He said that he took care of three of them with no casualties."
"Good," Ana says with a thoughtful face.
"On a random note," I quickly put in, "Kiryuu wasn't very pleased to know that Yuuki is with Kuran and I'm sure he doesn't want her around Kuran."
Ana hums a little at it and undoubtedly stores the information away for something else.
"We got a call from Angelica," Rena says, chewing on a chip, "She said she found him and convinced him to let her stay with him until this whole thing blows over."
"That's good," I comment, "Do you know where she found him?"
"She wouldn't say," Sarah fills in, "We think that if she relayed that type of information around him, he'd freak and run for it. She told us everything in Japanese so he would understand since he can't speak English."
"Always thinking," I mummer with a smirk. All that is left to do is to wait.
Time passes slowly for us, but the students are having fun with little to no acknowledgement of the activities outside. Ana took the broken collar to the office and no doubt put it somewhere safe until we show it to Cross. We're gonna have to show it to him whether we want to or not. It's getting closer to midnight and the other students are beginning to wind down. Perhaps it's time to send them back to their dorms.
"Attention everyone."
My head snaps towards the karaoke stand where Ana holds a microphone and waits for people to settle down.
"First, I would like to thank all of you for your efforts in this wonderful party. All of you deserve it after all the hard work you put into the fighting club. Without the students, it wouldn't be here. Secondly, the party will end in ten minutes and there will be instructions on how all of you will reach the dorm rooms. Thanks and continue to enjoy the last few minutes of the party."
She leaves the mic and comes back to where we are. Ana relays that we'll leave the machine up for another few minutes, so at least one or two more songs can get squeezed in. I guess we'll have to come up with some type of escort system. As far as I can tell, the students haven't noticed the commotion going on all over the campus, which isn't very surprising. Sarah has been watching the kids for a while now; though they don't notice it, and she hasn't really reacted in the usual ways she would when trying to control emotions. In fact, she seems very calm despite her vigilante appearance.
"Alright, since we're down one person, this will be done in two large groups," Ana starts without looking at any of us, "I want all of our cell phones at the ready in case anyone has to divert from the main route. Since we're trying to blend in here, we'll have to take the most opened and straightest path back to the dorms. I'm unsure as to whether we need to escort them to their proper sections."
"I think so," Rena comments, "If only to make sure the boys and girls go to their sides of the dorms. Perhaps we should wait in the main hallways of each and have Ana contact us if any foxes decide to take a tour of the living areas."
"That sounds good to me. I have a feeling that you'd want to go first, Ana," Sarah chimes in, still watching the students.
"Yes, I want Kaitlin to go with me and you and Rena to go together. I would rather not split us up, but this is the safest and fastest way to do this," the redhead replies and takes a swig of soda, "We can't draw weapons either; at least until the proper situation is handed to us or we find a way to make it proper."
"As in, the students are out of the way and the visual recording devices are inactive?" I pipe in while cleaning up the food table. We're most likely going to have to send some of this food and drink back with the students. Maybe we should just leave it here and have it as snacks later on during the year.
"Yup."
Some other students start to help me clean up the tables and some take the food and sodas into the office. Pretty soon, the table is collapsed and gingerly shoved into the office, where it was originally leaning up against a wall. The lights are turned on and the damage isn't too bad. Some trash and soda cups are piled in random corners, but nothing a few people in each area won't be able to clear in a few minutes, if less. Once the place is clean and the mats put away, we gather the tired students.
"Alright, here's how this is going to work," the redhead starts, looking over the crowd of students, "Headmaster Cross wants us to escort all of you back to the dorms. Usually we would have the prefects to help us with this, but they were called away to do something else. Therefore, it's imperative that you listen and stay alert. We will split everyone in two groups. The first group will come with Kaitlin and I and the second will go with Sarah and Rena. While traveling, I want as little noise as possible. We don't want to attract some animals that live in the patches of woods around here. The group needs to stay tight and between one of each of us. I also want people to partner up, two to two. We'll take the largest and most open path to the dorms. Any questions?"
"What's with the precautions?" one kids pipes up.
"Think about why we're not allowed after a certain time at night," Sarah replies, "There are wild foxes and possibly larger animals that live in the woods and are more active at night. We could accidentally wander into their territory and cause some kind of conflict. I don't know about you guys, but I would rather not get into a fight with a wild animal. Since the prefects aren't here, we'll have to do their job without them."
Even though we were gonna do it anyway. With no further questions, the kids split into two groups and Sarah evens out their numbers. I take a head count while Ana opens the door and checks to see if anything she can't sense is outside. Rena gives out four flashlights. I really don't want to use these, but we have to blend in. The one time I don't wanna be normal. We're lucky that the number of people here is thirty-three, though it would be better if it were thirty to have an even numbered group. Either way, we take two extra. Ana heads our group and I take the back. Guess there's nothing else to do but hope and start out.