In The Dead of Night
Chapter Two: Pink Haired Beauty
[Aono Residence, 8:30AM]
[Tsukune]
"Hurry up Tsukune!" His mother yelled as she prepared breakfast in a rush.
Tsukune sighed as he tried to cram all of his belongings into his bags and suitcase. "Coming mom!" Tsukune yelled back as he hefted his things out of his room and down the stairs.
Out of breath, Tsukune dropped his luggage and backpack in the living room before entering the kitchen to eat. "Hey honey." Tsukune's father greeted as he too entered the kitchen. His tie was undone and the top two buttons of his shirt were also undone.
"You're still not ready?" Kasumi asked, looking startled. "You're going to be late - Mr. Kiski will be here any minute!" She gasped as she looked at the time.
"Don't worry, Kasumi." Koji said as he fixed his tie. " Toshiro has everything under control. And besides, the bus that Tsukune's taking will be dropping him off at the airport two hours early!" He added.
Kasumi suddenly looked sad as she turned to Tsukune. "Oh~ why can't we take him to the airport?" She complained.
"Sweetheart, I have to go to work - and besides it's time we left Tsukune alone. He's an adult now and he's going off to a very prestigious school. We should feel lucky and proud!" Koji announced, thrusting his fist into the air.
Tsukune chuckled and played with his cereal while he ate. "Hehe, thanks dad."
"We are proud of you, Tsukune!" Kasumi said with a smile as she kissed him on the forehead.
"Ah! Okay mom, stop!" Tsukune cried as she continued to plant kisses on him.
Koji gasped suddenly and looked out the window. "I think Mr. Kiski is here!"
Koji and Kasumi went into overdrive mode and cleaned up the area while preparing a fresh cup of coffee for Mr. Kiski. As the coffee was being poured into a ceramic mug, the doorbell rang. "He's here!" Koji exclaimed excitedly.
Tsukune felt his hands grow clammy suddenly. His parents were pretty crazy, anyone could see that, and together in the same room was even worse. Tsukune swallowed hard and prayed that his parent's wouldn't embarrass him.
"Toshiro, it's good to see you!" Koji greeted with a smile, extending his hand out.
Toshiro Kiski had arrived at the Aono Residence in silver Mercedes GL SUV, and had parked in the driveway. "Koji, it's nice to see you as well." Toshiro greeted as he shook Koji's hand. "It's been a long time since I've been at your home." He added.
"Indeed it has." Koji replied. "Please, come in." He said, moving aside to allow Toshiro to enter his home.
But Toshiro shook his head. "Oh no, that's quite alright." He said, adjusting his glasses. "If it's alright you and Mrs. Aono, I'd like to take Tsukune to the airport - better to be early than late." He said with a chuckle.
Koji froze for a moment but then smiled. "O-of course - sweetie? Tsukune?" He yelled.
Tsukune, who had not moved from his seat at the table, got up and walked towards the door with his mother following closely behind him. "Yes?" Tsukune said to his father.
"Tsukune, this is Mr. Kiski. He's the gentleman who helped you get into Yokai Academy." Koji said proudly.
Tsukune swallowed hard and bowed his head slightly. "Hello Mr. Kisi, it's a pleasure to meet you!"
Toshiro laughed. "There's no need for such formalities, Tsukune." He said. "Please, call me Toshiro."
Tsukune stood up and looked at Toshiro with some surprise. "O-okay…Toshiro... " He mumbled. as he averted his eyes to the floor.
"Do you have all of your things?" Toshiro asked suddenly.
"Yeah, I'm all ready to go." Tsukune said, looking back at all of his things piled behind them on the floor.
"Great, then we should probably get going." Toshiro said as he glanced at his watch.
"Really? So soon?" Koji asked. "Won't you stay for coffee, or tea perhaps?" He offered.
Toshiro adjusted his glasses once more and waved his hand. "No no, that's quite alright. Besides, we wouldn't want Tsukune to miss his flight, would we? Traffic can get pretty hectic driving to LAX." He noted.
Koji sighed but nodded. "Of course," he looked at Tsukune and gave him a smile. "Well, son, it's finally time for you to leave us."
"I'll be back for winter break dad…" Tsukune replied with a mild groan as his father gave him a big hug. "Wait, are there even breaks at this weird school?" Tsukune suddenly thought to himself. "Do we get breaks?" Tsukune asked Toshiro as his dad let go.
"Of course." Toshiro began. "You will have both a winter and a summer vacation - "
"OH~ MY BABY BOY IS FINALLY GOING OFF TO HIGH SCHOOL!" Kasumi suddenly wailed.
"Why me?" Tsukune wondered as his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. His mother suddenly enveloped him in her arms.
"I'M GOING TO MISS YOU HONEY!" His mother cried.
"I'll miss you too, mom." Tsukune replied, patting his mother consolingly. To honest he was a little happy for a change of pace.
"We'd better get going." Toshiro said as he cleared his throat.
"Yes, of course." Kasumi said as she left go of Tsukune. "Do you have everything? Toothbrush? Underwear?"
"Yes mom, I've got everything!" Tsukune replied, sounding annoyed.
"What about your ticket?" Kasumi asked suddenly.
"I've got that right here." Toshiro replied as he patted a pocket on his suit.
They loaded Tsukune's things into Toshiro's SUV and Tsukune gave one finally goodbye to his parents before entering the vehicle with Toshiro. He pulled out of the driveway, and it was at that moment that Tsukune knew everything was about to change.
It had been about fifteen minutes since they had left and Toshiro's phone suddenly buzzed. He glanced at the message and gave a sigh. "I'm sorry, Tsukune, but something has come up and I can't take you to the airport." He stated.
Tsukune looked worried. "Okay, so what now?" He asked, not wanting to miss his flight.
"Don't worry, I'll take you a bus stop - I've arranged for some transportation." Toshiro replied as he quickly sent a text, impressively, with one hand and without taking his eyes even once off the road.
Tsukune sighed in relief. At least there was a backup plan. The bus stop was completely empty when they arrived. Toshiro parked in the seemingly abandoned lot and got out of the car.
Tsukune hesitantly unbuckled his seatbelt and got out, following Toshiro to the back of the SUV. "The bus will be here soon Tsukune, don't worry." He said, noticing Tsukune's look of concern. "And don't be alarmed if there is no one else on the bus - it's a sort of like a private transportation." He explained.
"Wow." Tsukune replied. He was not used to such special treatment, especially from a man he hardly knew. "Thank you for everything you've done for me...Toshiro." Tsukune said, giving the man a smile.
"Don't thank me yet." Toshiro replied with a strange grin. "Wait until you get to the academy." He said before unloading the last of Tsukune's things and getting back into the driver seat.
"Wait, what do you mean?" Tsukune asked quickly.
"Don't worry, Tsukune, you'll do just fine." Toshiro said before leaving Tsukune alone at the bus stop. As Toshiro had said a bus soon arrived at the parking lot. It looked like an old, broken down yellow school bus.
It stopped before Tsukune and the doors opened up to reveal a man wearing a blue uniform and brimmed cap that had a thin red band lining just above the brim. The brim of the drivers cap had cast a dark shadow over his face that made his eyes appear to glow oddly as two bright orbs."Hey kid, are you Tsukune Aono?" The man asked as he smoked on a cigar.
Tsukune nodded hesitantly. Was this guy sane? "Yeah, I need to get to the airport - I just enrolled in Yokai Academy in London." He explained.
The bus driver perked up at the sound of 'Yokai' and immediately stepped of the bus to get a better look at Tsukune.
Tsukune backed up instinctively as he approached him. "Yokai Academy, huh?" He repeated, stroking his chin with his free hand. "You don't look like one of them, interesting that you got accepted…" He said aloud.
"I-I'm sorry, but what do you mean?" Tsukune asked, wondering if he meant that Tsukune wasn't one of those smart kids.
"Ehh, whatever." The bus driver said as he began to load Tsukune's things into the bus. "I'm sure you'll do just fine." He said before getting back into the bus. "Come on now, you don't want to be late do you?"
"N-No sir!" Tsukune replied as he hurried onto the bus. He maneuvered through the center aisle to the middle of the bus and took a seat.
"Alright, Yokai Academy; here we come!" The bus driver said, giving an ominous laugh before closing the doors and leaving the empty lot. Tsukune was relieved finally be on his way to the airport, when he suddenly realized they were going on the opposite direction.
"Umm, e-excuse me but the airport is that way…" Tsukune said, looking ahead at the driver.
"Don't worry, kid," The driver began to say, giving that same creepy laugh. "I know what I'm doing." He said before ashing his cigar. "You might want to buckle up." He warned as he turned down a street where a dark tunnel loomed ahead.
"Why, what's going on?" Tsukune asked as he looked around his seat for a belt, but there was none. "Great, now i'm going to die on a bus before I even make it to school with a lunatic driver!"
As the bus got closer to the tunnel Tsukune looked through, fully expecting to see cars driving and the opening on the other side; but he saw neither.
Tsukune's phone suddenly rang and he looked down to see the name Kyouko flash across the display. Tsukune sighed and answered the call, "Hey Kyouko, what's up?"
"Oh my God Tsukune why didn't you tell me you got into high school?" Kyouko exclaimed. Kyouko was Tsukune's older cousin, but he tended to think of her as his older sister since she was practically over all the time and even had an annoying nickname for him; tsuki.
"Sorry," Tsukune replied. "It kinda just happened…" He said, not really understanding the full situation himself.
"Well I did some digging into this 'Yokai Academy' and surprisingly I could hardly find anything about it! But I was able to find out something interesting that I think you're going to want to hear - and maybe even change your mind about going."
"What?" Tsukune asked, now listening intently.
The bus entered the tunnel and suddenly Tsukune felt as though he was being pulled apart.
"Yo-i Acad- is a - " Kyouko tried to say, but the tunnel was cutting off the reception.
"Kyouko? Kyouko!" Tsukune yelled, but the call got disconnected. "Stupid reception." Tsukune growled.
Everything around him suddenly stretched and contorted until the very end of the bus had entered the tunnel. Then, without warning, the bus short forward with incredible speed.
Tsukune could suddenly see a light at the end and had never felt so relieved as he hung onto the backrest of the seat in front of him for dear life.
The bus came to a screeching hault. "You're lucky, that was one of my smoothest rides ever!" He commented with a chuckle.
"Where are we?!" Tsukune asked in shock as he looked out the window. To his right was nothing but a large expanse of water and to his left was a forest; beyond which he could see tall square buildings.
"Yokai Academy - you did say you were a student, didn't you?" The bus driver asked as he got out.
"Y-yeah...I just enrolled…" Tsukune replied, wondering if there was some confusion or miscommunication.
"Hehe...well just be careful - this place can get pretty scary." The bus driver said as he unloaded Tsukune's things. "Oh, and don't worry someone will come by and get all of things. The school entrance is just through the woods, there's a path so don't worry you won't get lost."
"Why would it be scary?" Tsukune asked with a frown. Although, to be honest the whole area appeared spooky.
"Didn't they tell you?" The bus driver asked as he got back into the bus. "Yokai Academy is a school for monsters." He replied offhandedly.
Tsukune froze then, hoping that he had been joking. "Hehe, are the students really that bad here?" Tsukune asked with an awkward chuckle; assuming that when he had said 'monsters' he meant that the students were just really bad behaved and spoiled brats.
"Oh yeah, it can get pretty rough here so stay on your guard. I'll be back in one month in case you need anything, that is if you live that long…HAHAHA-AHAHA!" THe bus driver laughed as he closed the door and speed off back through the tunnel. There was a bright flash as the bus entered the tunnel and then it disappeared completely.
Tsukune stood rooted to the ground, his eyes transfixed on the tunnel where the bus had just disappeared. "What the hell is going on?!" Tsukune thought, completely baffled. He quickly pulled out his phone to call his parents, but to his amazement he found that his phone wasn't getting any signal. In fact, his phone read no signal at the upper right hand corner where his signal bars would normally be.
"Seriously?!" Tsukune groaned. He sighed and looked at his things and grew even more concerned. Should he leave and take the bus drivers advice and leave his things? He couldn't just stand here forever…
Tsukune reluctantly grabbed what he could and began to walk down the path that led through the woods. "Okay, okay, don't freak out Tsukune." He said, trying to calm himself down as he entered the woods.
"I just need to find someone who's in charge and get this whole mess sorted out. I probably just took the wrong bus...yeah...and this must be a different Yokai Academy." But even as he thought this Tsukue knew how crazy it sounded. A different Yokai Academy? He didn't even know this Yokai had existed.
As Tsukune traveled further through the woods he got the strange feeling like he was being watched. The forest grew dark and eery, and Tsukune began to walk faster. Suddenly he heard the faint sound of something jingling in the distance behind him. Ignoring the sound, Tsukune focused on what he would do when he found an adult to clear up his situation. "I'll just have to go back home and tell dad that he really messed up this time."
The jingling sound grew louder and Tsukune was about to turn around when something hard and pointy struck him in the back.
Tsukune cried out and toppled to the ground and his things flew everywhere. "Ouch, hey watch where you're go - " Tsukune began to say, but was interrupted when he when he saw who had hit him; it was a young girl with strikingly pink hair and bright green eyes. Her complexion was slightly fair, but Tsukue had immediately become transfixed with her beauty and had forgotten that she even his him.
"Ouch...oh my gosh I'm so sorry!" The girl said as she sat up on her knees. She wore a short, dark green striped skirt and a lighter green top. Tsukune found himself staring at her curvy figure and eyes stopped at her noticeable cleavage where a victorian-style cross hung. There was a bike sitting beside her and Tsukune now realized what had hit him.
"N-no, it's alright." Tsukune replied, but even as he said this he noticed the cuts and scrapes on his arm.
"No, it's not alright!" The girl replied vehemently. "I-I wasn't looking where I was going! Actually...-I-I'm anemic so I guess I got kinda dizzy." She replied.
"Really, It's alright." Tsukune replied as he stood up and brushed himself off. He then extended his hand out to her and she looked at it with some surprise.
"T-thank you." She said, accepting his hand. "My name is Moka, Moka Akashya." She said with a smile.
"I'm Tsukune Aono, it's nice to meet you." Tsukune replied, feeling strangely excited that he was here. Maybe this place wasn't as bad as it seemed...
[A.N.] So sorry for the long wait everyone, and thanks for all the reviews/favorites/follows. I really appreciate all the support!