Standard disclaimers apply
The rest of winter vacation went by quickly, much to Izumiko and Miyuki's relief. Unlike their summer break, both teenagers couldn't wait to return to Hojo Academy. Being at the Tamakura shrine left far too much time for both of them to get lost in their internal musings.
Unfortunately, returning from vacation had the ill effect of causing the boys on campus to forget the Kawaguchi incident. However, with Miyuki now shadowing Izumiko, boys were not as willing to be so bold. Between his thinly veiled promises of physical harm and/or public humiliation for flirting with another girl when they were known to be in a relationship, Izumiko was able to study in relative peace. It was in this manner that January and February went, giving way to March and the beginning of the spring thaw. As Izumiko, Honoka and Mayura were once again enjoying some girl time, Manatsu and Miyuki were approached by someone completely unexpected.
"What do you want Takayanagi?" Miyuki's voice called out to the approaching fellow second year, venom clear in his voice for the onmyoji priest.
"Wow Sagara; any would think that you don't like me?" Manatsu huffed at Takayanagi's usual arrogant attitude.
"Maybe it has something to do with you cursing Suzahara? I'm Shinko's roommate and friends with Suzahara since she's my sister's roommate . . . and I can safely say that the best way to piss off Shinko is to manipulate Suzahara." Takayanagi scoffed before commenting in a mockingly arrogant tone his opinion on the matter.
"Please; everyone on campus knows that trying to hurt or actually hurting Suzahara is asking for Sagara's wrath. How about asking an real question; like why I would bother to seek you two out?" Manatsu, seeing Miyuki's stony, silent glare, took the initiative.
"Alright; I'll bite. Why did you want to talk to us?" Takayanagi, taking this as permission to sit, pulled himself a chair to join the boys' lunchroom table.
"It's about something strange going on at Hojo. At first, I thought I was imagining the strange sensations I kept getting whenever I was around other boys around campus. But that all changed when I noticed a disturbing pattern accompanying the strange sensations."
"And this is important to us how?" Miyuki spoke up, his venom tempered with a bit of impatience at Takayanagi's habit of taking forever to get to the point.
"Because if I'm right, someone has been using some kind of experimental curse to force the boys on campus to harass Suzahara." Miyuki stood abruptly, phone in hand as he started to run to the cafeteria's exit.
"Shinko!" Manatsu called out to his roommate; "Where are you going?" Miyuki turned to face his friend before exiting.
"I'm going to talk to Dad and call a meeting! Be sure to bring Takayanagi!" Both boys stood in stunned silence as Miyuki all but transported from the cafeteria in the direction of the infirmary.
Yukimasa was in the middle of filing some papers on recent patients in the infirmary when Miyuki ran into the room. The elder Sagara jumped at his son's frantic entrance but calmed down when he saw who his enthusiastic visitor was.
"If you missed me that much Miyuki, there's a wonderful invention called a cell phone. It's supposed to be faster than running you know." Miyuki ignored his father's barb as he sat down on a bed in the infirmary, waiting to catch his breath.
"You won't be laughing when you hear what Takayanagi just told me." Yukimasa's face immediately became like a stone, not unlike Miyuki's when he heard or wanted to say something serious.
"What did the onmyoji priest tell you?" As Miyuki explained what Takayanagi had noticed and the pattern he'd just realized, as well as what he suspected this meant, Yukimasa's gaze became harder and graver. This development just complicated everything.