Hiya!

Disclaimer: Butch Hartman owns Danny and all related characters. I own everything you don't recognize here. I also do not own the book Things Fall Apart.

Reviewer notes are at the end.

Enjoy.

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The Soul Sepulcher

-By Sholay

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Chapter 5—Quirks of Life

"Things Fall Apart! Mr. Fenton, what happened to your hand?"

Danny visibly shrank as the entire classroom's attention was suddenly drawn to his bruised wrist. Shoving his hand into his pocket, he tried to feign an unconcerned air.

"Oh it's not anything important, Mr. Lancer. A piece of granite must have clipped me while I was hiding from the ghost."

Mr. Lancer raised an eyebrow and Danny averted his eyes, mentally willing him to move on. 'It's not like he ever cared about what happened to me before, why does he have to start now, of all times?' the raven-haired teen had been more than a little surprised when his teacher had noticed the bruise, and had expressed concern about it… That was definitely new. He briefly wondered if Mr. Lancer was being overshadowed.

Fortunately, Mr. Lancer nodded then and looked away. Danny gave a small sigh. "Are you sure you don't need to visit the nurse's office, Mr. Fenton?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." Danny said nodding. The last thing he wanted was the nurse finding out something odd about his blood, or his healing rate… or his DNA in general.

"Very well, then do you have anything to present for the class?"

"Uhhh…" Danny suddenly remembered why he was standing in front of the class; he had gotten sidetracked by Mr. Lancer's sudden exclamation. A few sniggers came from the class behind him and Danny felt something whack him on the side of his head.

Looking down he saw a paper ball roll by, scribbled on the inside of it he could barely make out the words "FenToad Stinks!"

…Yeah, he didn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out who threw that.

Danny shifted slightly and watched, out of the corner of his eye, as Dash and Qwan high-fived each other proudly. The sniggering increased.

Mr. Lancer shot the class a disapproving frown as the noise level rose. "Quiet down people! We have important work to get done here!" Not a word was mentioned about the paper ball and the small bit of respect Mr. Lancer had build in Danny's mind when he'd asked about his wrist crumbled away.

'Typical. Favor the jocks and cheerleaders, as usual. What ever happened to the educator's impartiality?'

"Mr. Fenton!"

"Huh?" Danny looked up; he'd gotten lost in his thoughts again. He had to stop doing that.

"I asked if you have anything to present." Now Mr. Lancer was looking at him with his usual reproving frown and Danny let himself sink into his usual 'delinquent' act.

"I don't, sir." He turned his head to the side, not bothering to elaborate, what good would it do?

"Might I ask why, Mr. Fenton?" Mr. Lancer's question caught Danny off guard—once again, he hadn't expected the teacher to care—and for a second he scrambled for something to say. Nothing smart came to mind, so Danny resorted to the truth.

"I didn't have time, sir. I was supposed to be looking at Anthropology, but then I got locked in with that Ghost. There wasn't much left to study after it had finished there. Unless I wanted first hand experience of how the Aztec ruins became ruins." His voice twisted with irony at the end.

At least one snicker was drawn from the class by this comment. And Danny's mouth curved into a lopsided grin.

"I understand your point Mr. Fenton and I will therefore be allowing you a pass for this assignment. You may take your seat."

For a second, Mr. Lancer's words didn't register. In fact, the entire class went quiet with shock. 'Mr. Lancer was giving an excused for an assignment? That's impossible!' Danny was sure that he had been staring slack-jawed at his teacher for at least half a minute before Mr. Lancer gave him a small, tired smile.

"Contrary to what the student population may believe, I am actually willing to grant reprieves when the excuse is reasonable." Here he shot the class a sharp look. "Now, if you are sure that you do not wish to visit the nurse's office I urge you to please take you seat, Mr. Fenton. We still have a few presentations to get through."

Still in shock, Danny made his way back to his seat, where Tucker and Sam immediately sent him identical, incredulous, notes:

'I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU JUST GOT AWAY WITH THAT!'

But later, when a glowering Dash finished a less-than-stellar presentation and subsequently sent a vicious look in Danny's direction that promising violent retribution, Danny wondered if it really had been worth it.

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"FENTON YOU FREAK! GET BACK HERE SO I CAN GIVE YOU THE WAILING YOU DESERVE!"

Sprinting around yet another corner, Danny leapt clean over someone tying their shoe. He stumbled but, pushing off the floor with one hand, quickly caught himself and ran on.

"No-o thanks." He muttered to himself. Chancing a glance backward, he saw the hulking form of Dash come barreling around the corner, tossing both jocks and geeks aside in his warpath. "I like my internal organs where they are, thank you very much."

"DANNY! WATCH OUT!"

"Huh?" Startled Danny spun his head back forward just in time to see the garbage pail directly in his path.

It was a split second decision: hit or go intangible?

"Aw, this is gonna hurt—!"

With a yelp, Danny threw his arms over his head and ploughed straight into the can. A loud crash echoed around the hall as the pail overturned with the sound of ringing metal. Danny was momentarily air-born as he toppled over the round can. A collective wince went through the watching crowd as Danny fell painfully into the heap of trash, landing hard in a tangle of limbs and half-eaten remnants of lunch.

"DANNY!"

He groaned, raised his left hand to his head and shook it to clear the cobwebs. Shifting, random pieces of paper and old crumbs of food fell off his shoulders and head in a shower. Reaching up, Danny gingerly removed a banana peel from his shirt. A shadow fell over him and he blinked, looking up to see who it was. He grinned.

"Hey Jazz, didja get the number of that ghost-bus?" His older sister looked down at him with a soft smile. Bending forward, long red hair cascading over her shoulders, she offered him a hand. At first Danny went to reach up with his right hand, but a dull pain reminded him of that day's events and instead he grabbed her wrist with his left hand, stumbling to his feet. When Jazz saw this, she shot him a concerned glance, but he sent her a warning look in return.

"FENTON!"

With a startled glance Danny's head snapped up to see Dash, puffing, but no less angry, advancing slowly toward him. Danny stepped forward. Lightly, he touched his right shoulder, noticing with some satisfaction that the pain was at least significantly less than earlier that day. It was bearable enough for him to take another hit there, if need be. Preternatural healing came in handy every now and again. As he moved, he subtly he maneuvered himself in front of Jazz. In response, she sent him a long look as his back was suddenly facing her.

"Fenton, I am going to cream you!" Dash cracked his knuckles menacingly as he advanced and Jazz watched with alarm as Danny just stood there, too proud to even back away. She saw his shoulders tense and she realized with a jolt that he was just going to take the beating.

Thinking quickly, she stepped lightly around Danny just before Dash could do anything. She ignored the narrow look Danny sent her: a clear, 'what are you doing?', and held out her palm to Dash.

"Hey, hands off the little brother, ok? Remember, I'm tutoring you next Friday!" The threat in her tone was so clear, not even Dash could have missed it. And indeed, after a moment of thought, Dash rocked backwards on his heels, a sneer on his face.

"Fine then." He said, then his eyes shifted past Jazz to Danny. "Your sister saved you this time Fen-turd. But she ain't gonna always be there to protect your freaky ass. So you better watch yours…" Suddenly his eyes shifted back to Jazz and she was disgusted to see his eyes move up and down her body. "…And I'll be watching hers."

She could practically feel Danny bristle behind her. "Why you—!"

"Danny, Danny!" She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "Stop, you can't start a fight here!"

"You can't just let him get away with that!" Was Danny's shocked response as he stared up at her in disbelief.

"Not now Danny." It was her turn to send him a warning look. Luckily, Danny got the point and backed off. His scowl was dark, and she saw his eyes spark with something that most definitely not human.

"Danny." She hissed and he grunted, looking away and blinking. However, though the ethereal, radioactive green faded from his eyes, they still seemed to be unusually brilliant, almost disconcerting. Jazz paused momentarily, regarding her little brother silently. She couldn't remember her brother ever having such an intense stare.

Deciding to let it be for now, she looked back, only to see Dash leaning sideways against the lockers: arms crossed and a smug grin plastered across his thick features.

"We'll be in touch Fenton." He said. "And I'll be seeing you, babe." He added to Jazz, throwing her a lewd wink before turning, jerking his jacket up around his shoulders and striding away.

Jazz turned back to her fuming brother.

"How dare he say that about you! I'm gonna—"

"You're going to what, Danny?" She sighed. "You can't start a fight; you know Dash's athletic status makes him practically untouchable. You'll get suspended, or worse. You can't afford to have your grades get any lower."

"I know!" Danny shook his head, throwing up a hand in frustration. Then he looked back up at her. "But I won't let him say stuff like that about you! Listen, if he ever, ever, tries anything, and I mean anything, Jazz, then you tell me and I'll make sure he won't be able to see straight for a week." He didn't even have to yell, the conviction in his voice rung clearer than any bell.

"Danny…" She couldn't stop a small smile from forming on her face; her little brother was so sweet, being all protective of her! "You don't even bother to protect yourself. I can take care of myself, you don't have to—"

"You're my sister, Jazz. That's what brothers do." He crossed his arms and looked away, his tone was final.

"Danny," She said again, reaching up to squeeze his shoulder. But whatever she was going to say fled her mind when he flinched, just slightly, under her touch. "Danny! Are you hurt? That's the second time you've favored your right arm."

" 'S nothing," he mumbled, thrusting his hands deep into his pockets and not meeting her eyes. Jazz spotted the lie immediately; her brother was a terrible liar. "Ghost attack at the museum 's all."

Jazz opened her mouth to say something more, when someone interrupted her.

"Hey Danny! There you are! Are you ok? I heard Dash was chasing you down the halls again."

Danny looked up. "Oh, hey Val, yeah, I'm fine. Jazz saved me. Otherwise I'd've probably been a goner." He gave his friend a small self-deprecating smile, jerking a thumb in Jazz's direction; and Jazz wondered, as she always did, how he could possibly be so humble all the time.

Valerie came closer. Her long, curly ponytail bounced as she moved and deep forest green eyes shined with concern. "Are you sure? Especially after what happened at the museum, with your hand hurt and all."

Jazz shot Danny a sharp look, but he just blushed and rubbed the back of his neck—with his left hand, Jazz noted. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine! Honestly, you guys are too nosey, it's nothing."

"Uh-huh," Valerie raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Look, lunch is almost over and I gotta go do something. I'll talk to you guys later, 'kay?" Danny smiled then quickly bowed out of the conversation and walked away. Neither girl missed how suddenly he left.

"Huh," Valerie said thoughtfully. Jazz sent her a questioning look. "No, it's just that… If I didn't know him any better I'd say he was hiding something."

"Yeah, heh heh…" Jazz gave a nervous laugh.

"But c'mon, this is Danny we're talking about." Valerie watched Danny's retreating form and gave a fond grin as she saw him nearly trip over his own feet. "He so guileless, he could be Clark Kent." She laughed. "What do you think, Jazz? Is your brother the next Superman in disguise?"

Jazz too, was watching Danny. But unlike Valerie, she had been watching Danny's hands as he tripped. For a split second, as he had steadied himself, she'd seen his hand pass over the handle of a locker. Now as he walked away, the locker door opened and a small boy stepped out shakily. He looked at the lock in confusion, but then a relieved smile broke out on his face as he reveled in his reclaimed freedom.

"Yeah…" She said absently. "Superman…"

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To Be Continued…

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Hmm… Not a lot of action, but lots of character interaction, some development. Hope you liked!

Wow! So many reviews! Thanks to all of you!

sciencefreak330: The image which Danny saw in the window was, well… I can't really say, but it definitely wasn't anything good… Danny's got some trouble ahead of him!

Quick-demon:Hi! Thanks for reviewing! I really enjoyed reading your speculations, but you probably know that I can't tell you if you're right or not! Sorry! XD But regardless, I hope you liked the chapter!

onlyreviews:Heya! Glad you like it so far! It just looks like the mysteries are piling up, doesn't it? Poor Danny (evil grin). Thanks for the review, hope you liked the chappie!

Soulcat56:Hee hee! Really? It was scary? Thanks! I tried hard on that, but I wasn't sure if I managed to do it properly XD. Did you like this chapter? It wasn't as scary, but I had fun writing it (Danny, Danny, always getting into trouble XP).

Thunderstorm101: The only thing I have to say is that I'm a sucker for happy endings. There! Not saying any more! (zips lips) XD.

mutantlover09:Ok! I will never answer or question another one of your questions with a question… Or will I? XD I'm really glad you liked the last chapter, I was worried that I didn't quite manage to make it scary enough, since it was so far from anything I'd written before… Anyway, all your questions will be answered… eventually :) It might take awhile, but I don't want to rush it too much. There will be lots of mystery and action to keep you interested though!

ArmoredSoul:He he dreamstalking indeed! And the story's only just begun, what else is Danny in for?

Akia Starfrost: Hiya! Thanks for the review, and for all the comments. I wanted to try something creepy and mysterious, since I've never done anything like that before (I fall more easily into Drama/Angst, unfortunately XD). One thing though is that Danny assumes that Ahriman is something from Asian mythology, merely because the couple in the room were Asian. However, whether it actually IS Asian… is another matter altogether. But you said you knew about Asian religions? Could you maybe tell me a little about them (East Asian in particular)? I know Buddhism exists in China and there are four mythological Gods in Japanese culture … but anymore than that eludes me. I really do want to find out though, so anything you can tell me will be helpful! Thanks!

Flashx11: Glad you liked it! And here's the update, hope you enjoyed it too!

Adio!