Die: Hi there! I know Cali usually updates this with me, but since she's currently unconscious now and we meant to get this up yesturday...
Chazz: So you're just putting this up now?
Bastion: Where the hell are your manners?
Zane: Likely in the same place where she threw the T rating for next chapter...
Die: Shut up you three!
Jaden: This chapter has a few concepts borrowed from Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged GX, which neither of these two morons own.
Die: Hey!
Syrus: They also don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, in case you haven't already figured that out.
Die: Urf, frig you guys! Just get out of here...
Chapter Two: Holy Lesson
"Ooooh, a cat!" Jaden squealed at breakfast, darting over to the grumpy tom and away from a groggy Syrus.
"I wouldn't pet it if I were you," Bastion warned. "Pharaoh has a reputation for being rather… vicious."
Cienna walked in looking tired and running her fingers though her hair. She paused at the sight of Jaden and the cat, but shook her head and kept walking towards the food. She passed by, offering a suggestion. "You might want to be careful with Pharaoh, Jaden. I've heard bad things about that cat."
"Aw, but it's just a cat, what harm could it do?" he asked, reaching out, only to yelp and retreat, clutching his hand with blood dripping through his fingers. "WHAT THE HELL? THAT HELLCAT NEARLY RIPPED MY HAND OFF!" The hellcat in question merely yawned at him, quietly licking at its paw.
She rolled her eyes, obviously in a rather cranky mood. "I warned you. And I assume I'm not the only one." She grabbed a tray from the table and snagged a bowl of fruit, shooting him a tired glance. "Now if you're going to insist on being an idiot, can you at least do it while I'm feeding myself?"
He grinned cheekily at her. "You say that as if I have conscious control over my special brand of stupidity."
"Fine." She rolled her eyes, giving him another tired glance. "Please stay quiet until I've gotten some food into my body. Just a few bites. Please Jaden."
He stuck his tongue out at her, choosing to cling onto Syrus's hand instead. "Fine. Be that way. I'll just do something else."
She sighed thankfully, grabbing a plate of pancakes, a can of cherry coke, and dropping her food on the table. She cracked the soda open, took a sip, popped a bite of pancake into her mouth, and looked at Jaden expectantly. "Feel free to annoy me now."
"Um," Syrus interrupted, "he's already asleep again."
Bastion rolled his eyes, quietly munching on his toast and content to remain in the background for once.
"So," she looked at Bastion. "Have a roommate?"
He shook his head, still chewing.
"I still need to meet my roommate," She muttered, taking another sip of soda.
"Huh? You didn't go back to your room last night?"
"Where were you then?" Syrus asked curiously.
"CHICKEN STRIPS!" Jaden shouted, sitting up randomly.
After yet another eye roll, she shrugged. "I had things to deal with. Never got around to going to my room." She threw a look at Jaden. "Hence the cherry coke."
His green eyes went wide. "You have chicken strips? Do you have Cheetos too?" Everyone else at the table looked at him like he was crazy, and he shot them all a wide grin in return.
"As a matter of fact," she returned good naturedly, digging in her purse. "I do." She threw a bag of Cheetos at him and turned back to her pancakes.
"CHEETOS!" he cried, happily opening the bag and devouring them heartily.
"Hey," Syrus murmured, looking shyly at his cereal, "is there any particular reason why Zane is staring at you?" Bastion shot him a strange look but said nothing, his mouth still full.
Cienna looked in the direction of the dark-haired male, offering raised eyebrows. He smiled crookedly at her, using a single finger to indicate that he wanted her to come over to him. She shrugged, throwing a look at the boys at the table. "Be right back, I guess." She stood, striding towards Zane with a mild smile. "Yes?"
"Do you still want to talk to Chazz?" he asked, his mercury eyes serious.
She thought for a moment, smiling as she came to an answer. "It's probably something I should do…"
"Come here then," he said, spreading his arms and wings wide and gesturing to his lap. The blush from the night before returned, rising up her neck to her face as she sat down. Instantly, the inky black of his feathers enshrouded her completely, his arms coming around on either side to continue calmly eating his omlette. "Relax," he whispered gently. "This way, he won't be able to see you until he's already here, and I doubt he'll leave and make a scene about it."
Still bright red at the concept of the space she was entrapped in, she nodded. "Okay."
Almost as an afterthought, Jaden paused in his devouring of his crunchy cheesy breakfast. "Hey, where'd Cienna go?"
Syrus gave him a look that screamed 'You're an idiot.' "You're an idiot, Jaden."
He pouted. "I can't help it, I just don't pay attention to things when I'm eating Cheetos. They're the food of Heaven!"
Syrus sighed, shaking his head and returning to his cereal.
Chazz groaned, flexing his wings imposingly. He hated being late for breakfast, it meant he never got the really bloody sausages. Sighing as he snatched one of the few plates that were left, he stomped over to the table he and Zane usually sat at, only to frown when he saw what was awaiting him. "What are you doing here?" he hissed, absently stabbing a sausage with his fork.
She eyed the sausage. "I'm here to talk to you, actually."
He sighed, nibbling on the end. "About what?"
"Yesterday." She stated it so simply, it was like nothing had gone on, though she still had the pink tint to her arms and legs to prove something had.
"Look, as I so elegantly informed Zane last night, that conversation is not up for discussion. So if that's all you came here for, I suggest you get off of my roommate now and go back to your loser friends."
"Look, you eloquent asshole, I know round-about what happened yesterday, and if you want to be left alone that's fine with me. But if you want some answers, you might want to stop being someone I want to leave in a pit of boiling lava." Her tawny eyes flashed dangerously.
He grinned darkly, flashing her just a hint of the fangs he'd had yesterday in an idle threat. "You know, I've always heard Hawaii is nice this time of year."
"Fine." She shrugged indifferently, brushing Zane's wings softly. "But just so you know, those feelings that come up when you see him? They're not going anywhere, no matter how much you try not to feel that way."
The appendages instantly swept away, letting her out of the "cage" she'd been in. "I don't feel that way about him!" Chazz hissed, the fangs not the least bit disguised now, his black eyes flashing dangerously. "It's just hormones!"
She laughed, absently running a hand through Zane's feathers. She replied in a sing-songy voice. "That's what you think."
"It is!" he insisted, stabbing through the plate with his fork and embedding the metal more than a few inches into the table. Closing his eyes for a moment to regain his composure, he calmly stated, "Look, could you please leave now? I would like to be able to eat the remainder of my breakfast in peace so that I can have time to take a shower before I go to class."
"Sure." Her smile held a minorly wicked glint. "Just remember what I said."
"Yeah, sure, whatever," he grouched, waving his hand away as he wrenched his fork from the table and speared another one of his cylindrical meats.
With a mild smile in Zane's direction and another run of her fingers through his feathers, Cienna headed towards her abandoned pancakes.
"You've got to stop letting her do that, Zane, otherwise you'll end up sleeping with her like you did Alexis," Chazz remarked dryly.
"… Shut up."
"Hey," Syrus said when he saw their friend was coming back, "you okay?"
She smiled and stabbed another piece of pancake on her fork. "Fine. Why?"
"My… I mean, I've heard that Zane can be rather mean." Beside him, Jaden poked forlornly at the empty Cheetos bag, the crackling rather rapidly getting on Bastion's nerves, not that he'd admit to it of course.
"He's not too bad." She replied, leaning down to her purse and digging out another bag of Cheetos. She threw them at Jaden again. "Eat up, Kid."
"CHEETOS!" He ripped open the bag, spilling the puffs everywhere. His eyes went wide. "NO! MY CHEETOS!"
"GODS JADEN, THE WORLD DOES NOT REVOLVE AROUND CHEETOS!" Bastion yelled, finally losing his temper and stalking off with another piece of toast, muttering curses under his breath all the way out of the main hall.
"What's his problem?" the brunet asked innocently, blinking green eyes.
Cienna gave him an appraising look before shaking her head and returning to her pancakes, devouring them hungrily. Her mind was elsewhere.
Chazz felt a little better now that he had some bloody meat in his stomach. Hey, it wasn't his fault that his demon genes ended up manifesting more like a vampire than anything! However, the satisfaction that flowed through him screeched to a halt at the forbidding scent he knew so well and a growl slipped from between his teeth. Of course he would have to be here to ruin the mood. Diving forward around the corner, he threw the other male against the wall, ebony orbs meeting with slate-gray ones. "Why the hell do you keep doing this to me?" he hissed in an undertone, fangs clashing harshly against his lip. "Do you have any idea what you're doing just by being here?"
"What are you talking about, I haven't done anything to you!" Bastion protested, his fingers scrabbling at the hand on his throat, his white wings straining against his jacket and his control to push themselves from where they were folded up against his shoulder blades. Chazz didn't reply, instead sinking his teeth into the unprotected side of Bastion's neck, causing the angel to cry out.
Zane rounded the corner, eyes widening in surprise at the scene before him. More frustrated than anything else, he grabbed Chazz by the collar and yanked him away from the angel. "What the hell Chazz?"
The vampire-demon merely snarled, his chin covered in crimson while Bastion clutched at his neck, eyes wide.
The sound of footsteps filled the silence as Cienna rounded the same corner, but instead of surprise, she hissed. "Dammit, really? This effing early?" She eyed Zane's grip on the vampiric male. "You got him?" Zane nodded, fingers tightening around the collar of the other male. Cienna made her way to Bastion, hand gentle on his arm. "How hard did he bite?"
"Hard enough to break the skin," Zane answered, glaring down at Chazz, who stared back defiantly, unrepentant.
She reached for Bastion's wrist, tugging on it so his hand would fall away from the bite. She eyed the bite critically, fingers reaching up to wipe away the blood smeared around the wound. He winced, his wings shifting agitatedly beneath his yellow jacket, but allowed her inspection.
"Sorry." She murmured, standing on her toes to get a better view of the puncture marks. "C'mon, I'll help you clean this up." She reached for his hand, moving it back over the wound.
Zane waited until they were gone before rounding on his fellow demon. "What the hell were you thinking?" he growled, mercury eyes flashing angrily. "You could have killed someone!"
Chazz smirked. "That's what I was aiming for, Truesdale."
Zane let out a slow growl, tugging on his roommate's collar. "To hell with this." He proceeded to drag the other boy towards their dorm room.
"Yay, I can get a shower before I go to class. That was what I was going to do before I scented him, you know," the Princeton informed him snarkily. "Thanks."
Zane rolled his eyes, biting off bitterly. "Sure. Anytime."
"Why does he hate me so much, Cienna?" Bastion asked when they got to his room. "I mean, I haven't even done anything to him and he's tried to kill me three times already!"
"Oh, but you have." She muttered, grabbing the wet washcloth from the counter. "You just don't know it."
"Why is it that you know and I don't?" he grumbled.
"Knowing things like that run in the family, Bastion. You'd be surprised what I know about people." She gently set the washcloth against the boy's neck, rubbing away the blood.
"Oh? Like what?"
"Syrus and Zane are brothers. The infamous Truesdale brothers… or at least, infamous in some regions…"
"What the hell?" he blurted. "Syrus is related to that bastard?"
"That 'bastard' saved your life, y'know." She offered almost absently, pulling the washcloth away from his neck to dab it in warm water again. "I would have been too late."
"Yeah, well, he's still a bastard," he grumbled. "And why the hell is that Chazz kid so pissed at me?"
She sighed, setting the washcloth down and leaning against the counter with her hands on either side. "It's not really within my boundaries to tell you that, Bastion."
"Why the hell not? It's my right to know why the hell some asshole wants to kill me!"
"I know." She replied, amends in her eyes. "But it's not within my ability to tell you. There are rules to knowing what I do."
He glowered at her. "Fine. But if I die, I'm gonna be pissed."
She watched him curiously for a moment, a smirk arriving on her face. "Y'know, that sounds like something Jaden would say." She reached up to fiddle with her earring absently again.
"Syrus, I'm bored," Jaden whined, leaning his head against the other boy's arm.
Syrus gave him a rather aggravated look. "And?"
"Where's Cienna and Bastion? And more importantly, when the hell do we get out of school?"
"Jaden, it hasn't even started yet!"
"…"
Syrus sighed, something everyone around Jaden seemed to do frequently. "You're going to make the teachers hate us, aren't you?"
He pouted, his green eyes sparkling. "It's not my fault all their talking puts me to sleep!"
Syrus couldn't help but smile at how adorable Jaden looked. "You could at least try to stay awake."
"But it's so hard!" he complained.
"Well if you want to graduate, it's kind of necessary." The blue-haired boy replied with a small laugh.
"Yeah, but you'll let me cheat off you, right Syrus?" He turned his green eyes up to his highest degree of pleading, the Mega-Chibi-Eyes-of-Doom level.
Syrus gulped. "Um… I—well—I guess so."
"Yay!" Jaden hugged him tightly, his wings coming out to wrap around him too. "I love you, Syrus!" he cooed happily, bouncing back down after a moment.
Syrus flushed bright pink, staring at the ground. What is up with Jaden's touchy-feely crap?
"Hey look, it's Cienna and Bastion! HI GUYS! WE SAVED YOU A SEAT!" the brunet called, waving madly from where they sat and getting quite a few angry glares from some last-minute studiers.
Cienna rolled her eyes, pulling her blonde hair into a slick ponytail and plopping down in the seat next to the loud brunette. "Do me a favor and take it down a notch, Kid." Unfortunately, by that point, he was already asleep on his mathbook. The girl—one of the few in the room—sighed and pulled her books from her bag. "Christ Almighty, Kid." She threw a glance at Bastion. "Sit down. He won't bug you in class. He doesn't want to make a scene."
Hesitantly, he sat down, throwing a glance over his shoulder at Chazz's higher perch, the demon smirking a fanged grin at him in a warning before turning his attention to the man who stepped through the door.
Professor Banner smiled at the class. "Hello children." Pharaoh yawned, leaping down from Banner's arms and trotting through the aisles, pausing at the feet of the blonde girl.
She glanced down at it, offering a raised eyebrow and hesitant hands. She scooped it up when it didn't attack her and settled it in her lap. She scratched it behind its ear, "Hello Pharaoh."
"Kitty!" Jaden yelled, reaching down only to get scratched across the palm again. "OH WHY THE HELL DOES IT KEEP ON DOING THAT?" he screeched, clutching his bleeding hand to his red jacket and hiding behind Syrus.
"Pharaoh hates you. Most people, in fact." Cienna replied absently, used to Jaden's outbursts. She continued to doodle on the edge of her notes.
Crocodile tears appeared in the brunet's eyes. "Why don't you love me, Cienna!" he wailed, burrowing his face into Syrus's crimson-colored jacket shoulder.
"For God's sake, Jaden." She groaned. "I have no control over the actions of this cat."
Professor Banner cleared his throat then. "Um, can we get on with class now?"
The blonde girl nodded. "Of course. I apologize for Jaden's outburst. His idiocy is astounding sometimes."
"Hey!" he protested, continuing to use Syrus as a living shield.
Bastion thought Why the hell am I friends with these losers again?
The girl at his side shot him a look as if she had an idea what he was thinking. "Jaden's not actually as stupid as he acts." The response that should have been coming from the brunet was absent, for the child was already asleep again, this time on Syrus's shoulder.
And so class continued.
Zane didn't bother with lunch, like Chazz, and so the pair just stayed behind in the classroom, discussing politics with each other. Jaden, of course, woke up and dragged them all to the dining hall again, saying something about wanting more Cheetos and chicken wings with hot sauce, Bastion following behind only because he'd rather not be left alone with a vengeful demon.
Cienna pulled herself from her grip, "I left my purse in the room. I'll be back in a minute."
"Okay," Jaden chirped, dragging Syrus closer.
"Hurry back," Bastion urged, clearly not wanting to be left alone with the perky brunet for an extended period of time.
"I'll be back as quick as I can." She called in return. She turned and made her way towards the classroom, sitting beside Zane and beginning to run her fingers though his feathers without a word between them. He leaned into the touch, carrying on his conversation and ignoring the glare Chazz shot them both. Cienna smiled at Chazz, rather than ignore the glare, saying pleasantly. "Hello Chazz."
He didn't respond, merely ignoring her since by this point, only he and Zane lingered in the room, a normal occurrence for the two blue-jacketed demons. Unsurprised, she turned her full attention to Zane's wings, running both hands through the downy appendages. "So, how's Jagger and Slade?" he asked, turning the conversation to more personal topics.
Chazz shrugged. "Fine, I guess. They're up to their usual stuff."
Zane nodded. "Unsurprising. They do realize they'll need more help to take over the world, right?"
He waved his hand as if to sweep the matter away underneath a rug. "They want my help for them, and they already have business and politics firmly under their grasp."
"What do they expect you to do?"
He shrugged. "Gain the support of all the demons, enslave the half-breeds, get the angels to fall… all the usual stuff."
Cienna flinched at the part about half-breeds, fingers pausing in a particular sensitive spot on Zane's wing. His wing moved against her fingers, silently pleading for her to continue as he shot her a glance over his shoulder. She nodded apologetically, returning to her task, albeit a bit more hesitantly. Chazz's off-the-cuff comment about half-breeds legitimately bothered her, no matter her actual species. "Of course, I don't plan on actually listening to those bastards, even if they are my brothers."
Still concerned, she continued with her task, that is, until Jaden arrived. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked. "If you were that keen to stroke someone's wings, you could've done mine."
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "Shut up Jaden."
"I never knew you hated me so muuuuuuuch!" he cried, running off to go use Syrus as a pillow and an outlet for his mood swings.
She sighed, giving Zane a look. "I should probably go make sure he doesn't cry on Syrus too much. I'm damn tired of his mood-swings."
"Why the hell do you always use me as a pillow?" Syrus complained as Jaden fell asleep yet again on his shoulder.
Cienna walked in, took a look at Jaden and growled. "Damn you Jaden!"
Bastion sighed. "Is this normal for him?" he asked, nibbling on some cheese and crackers.
"Ugh." She threw herself down beside him looking like she was going to stab someone. "Yes. It is."
"If you were doing something important, you can go back to it. I'm pretty sure Jaden won't notice."
"No point now." She growled, grabbing Hershey's bar from her bag and nibbling on it.
He shrugged. "So, what were you doing?"
She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Nothing that important, I guess."
"Uh huh, sure." Syrus sounded convinced.
She looked up from her chocolate. "Yes, Syrus?"
"Nothing, nothing." He shifted, having to hurriedly support Jaden to prevent the taller boy from falling onto the table. "So, did you get your purse?"
"Yeah." She lifted it, showing them. "And if you have something on your mind, I'd honestly rather you say it. Honesty is the best policy, as they say."
"I have nothing to say, nope nothing, I'm good!"
She eyed him for a moment. "We have to work on your confidence, Kid."
"I'M NOT A KID, I'M FIFTEEN!"
"And your anger issues." She added absently.
Bastion sighed, getting up. "Well, since I'd rather not be part of this argument, I'm going to get back to class."
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Cienna replied, trying to keep a straight face, but having a slightly sing-songy note to her voice.
"And why not?"
"Because Chazz and Zane are in there." She said matter-of-factly. "And I'm pretty sure none of us want a repeat of this morning." She eyed the bandage on his neck as evidence.
He shuddered lightly but firmed his shoulders. "Well, I'm going to have to be left alone with them at some point. Besides, Zane should be able to keep him in line."
She stared at him and then shrugged. "Depends on how angry you make him."
"I haven't done anything to make him angry."
"That you're aware of." She replied, taking another bite out of her chocolate. Her free hand lifted to play with one of her piercings—a sure-fire sign that she was either thinking about something or frustrated.
His eyebrows rose, but he turned his back anyway. "Well then, I guess I'll just have to live with it."
She sighed, "Be careful Bastion, Zane and I won't always be around to save your ass."
Chazz's eyes narrowed when the door opened and Bastion stepped into the room, but the hand already winding into his collar held him back. He shot Zane a glare, so caught up in communicating his anger at being held back that he didn't notice the approach of his worst enemy until the yellow jacket was directly before his black eyes. "Listen, Chazz, I think we got off on the wrong foot." He held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Bastion Misawa, it's nice to meet you, Chazz Princeton."
The demon stared at the pro-offered hand for a long moment then threw his head back and laughed cruelly. "Oh Bastion," he chuckled, his eyes gleaming and his fangs teasing his lips as his tongue sensually swept across the pink expanse, "you have no idea how good your blood tasted."
Zane jerked on the back of his collar, glaring at his roommate silently. Chazz smirked at him, his ebony eyes daring the other demon to do something about it. Zane gave him a firm jerk back. "Not here, Chazz. Class'll start again in a few minutes."
The very tip of one of his fangs slipped past his lip. "You say that as if you expect it to make a difference."
"Do you really want to make a scene?"
He pretended to think about it. "If I can taste some more of Misawa's blood, I think I could live with the momentary disgrace."
Cienna appeared in the doorway, her purse over her shoulder and a still sleeping Jaden in her arms. Her eyes landed on the scene before her and she sighed. "Really, Chazz? Really?" With a frown, she set Jaden in his seat, dropped her purse on the table, and returned. "If you're trying to deny the feelings you supposedly don't have, this isn't the best way to do that."
The demon smirked at her, somehow managing to look smug dangling a few inches from the floor. "I never said I wanted him, just his blood."
"Wait?" Bastion yelped, "What the hell?"
Cienna laughed harshly. "We both know that demons on the more vampiric side of things see drinking blood as a more… sensual act."
Bastion yelled another "What the hell?"
His smirk grew. "I've managed to drink Zane's here without having sex with him. I have exceptional self-control."
"But with that kind of connection, it won't last long." She smirked back. "It never does…" Her smirk turned into an almost fond smile before she caught herself and her smirk returned.
"So… you're saying it's only a matter of time until I have sex with Zane?"
At this, both Truesdales' faces turned bright red, Syrus having just come in with a bag of Cheetos.
Cienna laughed again, effectively covering her fight with the bile that threatened to rise at the demon's words. "I wasn't referring to Zane at all, though if you feel like going there, that's your deal. I was referring to Bastion."
"Once again, what the hell?"
Chazz waved away her words. "Your concerns have been dully noted."
She rolled her eyes and grabbed Bastion by the arm. "I've warned you. My job's done."
"What the hell are you all talking about?" Bastion asked, glaring at the two of them.
"An excellent question, Mister Misawa," Professor Banner stated, Pharaoh jumping down from his arms and sauntering over to Cienna.
"CHEETOS!" Jaden yelled, snatching the bag from Syrus's hands before he sighted the poor tomcat. "KITTY!"
"Jaden, don't-" Syrus began, but he was already too late.
"WHY THE HELL DOES THAT CAT ALWAYS DO THAT?"
Zane: Please remember that the next time you see this story, it WILL be rated M.
Bastion: Who's fault is it that it's put that way?
Syrus: Die.
Bastion: ... I meant the character...
Jaden: Chazz.
Bastion: What the hell?
Chazz: *blushes* Reviews will be greeted with... um... Cheetos?
Die: Yay for getting along!
Chazz: I'M GONNA KILL YOU! *lunges for Die*
Die: HOLY CRAP! *runs off* Until next time!