It was Saturday evening, school would be starting again soon, much to the disappointment of many students. Some, however, weren't quite as disappointed. In fact, they were buzzing. Tsukune and the girls were looking forward to starting their jobs in the newspaper club, thinking that they can act like detectives. The excitement hadn't faded in the slightest.
Ethan had been the only one in the group who wasn't going overboard with excitement. He was looking forward to it, of course, but he had his mind on other issues at the moment.
While they had ceased for a while, the nightmares of the fire had returned with a vengeance. After he used so much of his power the other day, the flames had somehow triggered them. Perhaps the flames reminded him of the pain he felt that night. Whatever the reason, he couldn't get the memories out of his head.
Ethan sat on the roof of the boy's dorm, wearing a short-sleeved leather jacket that reached down to his rib cage, training shirt, tracksuit pants and sneakers, taking in as much of the air and quiet peace while he could. Since coming to Yokai academy, he learned to savor the time of peace he had, as there would be something to disrupt it later on. He was, however, noticing that sleep was starting to take him, much to his displeasure.
"Well… may as well get it over… over…" Ethan thought, unable to finish as he fell back into sleep.
…
Ethan was still traumatized after seeing the man crushed under the debris. Blood had seeped through the material, making its way over to the boy. Ethan quickly backed away from the blood, fear taking over. He was so afraid he didn't noticed that he accidentally got too close to a burning piece of wood and got his arm burnt.
Cried out in pain and moved away. Biting down on his lower lip, he fought back the pain and stood up. He looked around and, luckily, saw a doorway and ran as quickly as possible towards it. He saw that it lead to a hallway that didn't have too much flames in it. He ran like no tomorrow, hoping to get out.
He stopped when he heard someone screaming. He was debating whether or not to see what was going on. After a couple of seconds, he went against his better judgement and followed the screaming. He came across a dark room, untouched by the red sea of fire. He looked around and saw the outline of… something underneath more debris.
"Hey… hey, are you okay?" he asked.
The shape moved. Its head rose, revealing to be taller than anyone Ethan had seen enter the hotel.
It then let out an ear-piercing scream that terrified Ethan, causing the poor boy to scream in response.
….
Ethan shot up onto his feet, bellowing instinctively as he was still suffering from the shock of the nightmare. The flame gauntlets he created the other day had activated as than whirled his head from side to side, expecting danger to come.
He was still for a few more seconds before he calmed down. The gauntlets faded and Ethan wiped sweat from his brow. As he did so, he noticed something unusual. He placed a hand on his cheek and noticed a thin stream of moisture. He realized that he had been crying.
He sighed, surprised that he was so easily terrified. As he pondered on the dream, he couldn't help but focus on the creature that had screamed at him in his dream.
"What was that thing?" Ethan thought.
He looked around again and saw that it was night. Ethan pulled out his watch and saw that it was 4am. He rubbed his face, realizing he won't be going back to sleep anytime soon. As such, he jumped down from the roof, using his flames as a booster to slow down his fall.
He decided to walk around the campus, hoping it would clear his head. This idea was quickly shot down when he heard the sound of someone screaming. Reacting instinctively, he ran towards the source of the sound. The source, as it turned out, came from the girl's dormitory. At this, Ethan immediately cringed.
"I sure hope that no one will tear me to shreds for going near there." Ethan said to himself. When he arrived, he was quite surprised by what he saw. In front of the girls' dorms was a male student who was… two and a half feet, incredibly fat and wore a large pair of spectacles. The poor boy was covered in cosmetic powder and pieces of food. They were giving him awful verbal abuse, even Ethan wouldn't say what they were saying.
"PLEASE, LADIES, I'M JUST ASKING IF ANY OF YOU WISH TO PARTAKE IN A PLAY I'M WRITING! I KNOW IT'S ON TODAY AND IT'S A LITTLE LAST MINUTE, BUT PLEASE, WON'T YOU OBLIGE!?" the student said.
At that, the boy got more abuse and debris thrown at him. Left with no other option, he fled from the area. He seemed quite upset by his failure, as a number of tears started to pour down from his face. Ethan, after seeing all that happened, he weighed his options. For one thing, going straight over to the girls' dormitory this early in the morning and trying to talk to the girls wasn't the brightest idea. On the other hand, the guy looked desperate for some reason.
Pondering on it a little longer, Ethan made a decision. He followed the student, staying hidden in case any of the girls saw him. Luckily, it didn't take long for Ethan to catch up, as the other student wasn't in the best shape. He still seemed pretty upset.
"Hey, y'alright?" Ethan asked.
The other student turned around. As he did, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw that it was Ethan. After nearly pummeling all the bad eyes that came near him, he was something to be feared by villain and innocent alike.
"OH PLEEEASE DON'T HURT ME!" the student yelled.
Before he could say anything else, Ethan clamped his hand over the student mouth, out of wanting to keep the noise down and because the screaming was giving Ethan a headache. "Talk normally or I WILL tear your tongue out. Understand?" Ethan asked.
The student nodded. Ethan lowered his hand and scanned the boy once more. "Now, tell me why you were stupid enough to go to the girls' dorms this early in the morning? At all even?"
"Oh, I know it was incredibly foolish of me, but I needed to act quickly. You see, my name is Rodrigo Diablo, a second year student and president of the drama club. We had organised to put on a production of the human story 'Julius Caesar', but the actors for Mark Antony and Calphurnia fell ill. I thought I would ask the first year girls if they would like to play the part… but as you can see, it failed miserably."
"I keep telling you, how you fecking did it was a crap idea." Ethan said.
"If it's alright with you, can you cease with the cursing for a bit?" Rodrigo asked.
Ethan rolled his eyes before replying. "Alright, fine. So, this play of yours is on tomorrow, right?"
"Yes Mr Drake. Do you happen to know anyone who would be interested?"
Going against his better judgement and deciding to help him (since he really seemed like he needed assistance) Ethan decided to sit on the ground and rest his head on his right hand, much to the confusion of Rodrigo. He closed his eyes as he tried to remember something. He remembered someone saying that they loved Shakespeare and they know all the plays off by heart. He tried hard to remember who it was.
"Um… Mr. Drake? Are you alright?" the fat student asked.
"Yeah. Just give me a se…" before Ethan had finished, he remembered who the person in question was, and smacked himself in the forehead for not remembering sooner. "Son of a biscuit!" Ethan said, keeping in mind how Rodrigo doesn't like cursing.
"What is it?" Rodrigo asked.
Ethan turned to him and gave him a devilish smile. "I've got the perfect woman for you."
…..
"YAAAAAAAAY!" Moka screamed.
After Ethan agreed to help Rodrigo, Ethan thought Moka would be interested in taking part in the play. Even though her time in the human world wasn't the best, she found solace in Shakespeare's plays, finding them mesmerizing and addicting. She couldn't get enough of it and, as such, has memorised all of the plays.
He found her, as well as Kurumu and Yukari, out in the plaza. Moka was wearing a white t-shirt and denim jeans with a pair of sandals. Kurumu was wearing a long-sleeved v-neck shirt, slacks and sandals as well. Yukari wore a red sundress, running shoes, but kept her witch hat. Ethan guessed they decided to let loose since it was the weekend. When he offered the part to Moka she couldn't hold in her excitement.
"I never saw any of this guy's work before. Is it good?" Kurumu asked.
At that, a water basin appeared over Kurumu's head and slammed down on her. Yukari smiled. "It's only one of the most amazing classical tales of conspiracy, deceit and honour, etc. And with Moka involved, its quality shall reach new heights." The young witch said.
"Oh, Ethan, thank you so much. How can I repay you?" Moka said, clearly on board for the idea.
"You don't have to, we're friends, remember? Although… if you want to thank someone, thank the kid who had that flu for the past week, he accidentally gave it the actors." Ethan said.
"Actors… plural?" Yukari asked.
"The actor for Mark Antony is out of action as well. I was going to ask Tsukune if he wants a stab at it." Ethan explained.
"Heh, stab, good one." Yukari commented.
"Oh, that would be adorable." Kurumu said, imagining Tsukune wearing roman centurion armor and carrying her in a wedding dress.
"That would be lovely." Moka said, a similar fantasy manifesting in her mind.
"Hang on." Ethan said abruptly. The girls stopped daydreaming immediately. "I know it would be appealing to you girls to see the eejit in character, but we should ask if he wants to do it first."
"Awww." All the girls said, afraid that he might not be interested.
"Hey, guys!" came a familiar voice.
The group turned and saw Tsukune making his way over. Before he could say anything else, Kurumu zoomed towards him and shoved his head into her chest, much to the other girls shock and Ethan's amusement. "I'm telling you, those girls will be the death of him some day." Ethan muttered to himself.
"Kurumu! Let him go!" Moka said.
"Why should I?" Kurumu asked.
Ethan went up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. She looked to him, where she saw him point towards his chest. She looked and saw that Tsukune wasn't moving.
"TSUKUNE!" Kurumu roared, horrified at the fact she nearly killed her beloved. The other girls were terrified as well, screaming at Tsukune to try and stay alive. Ethan just started at the scene, deciding what to make of it.
"Well… it wouldn't be the worst way to die." Ethan thought. He decided to wait until Tsukune was away from the girls before springing the offer. He quickly felt a chill go down his spine. He motioned his eyes around, wondering what's causing him to feel this way.
"If it's another retard trying to take over the school again… actually, let them try." Ethan thought, a sadistic smile forming on his face as he did.
As the scene continued to play out, none were aware that they were being watched by a couple of figures in the shadows of a couple of trees.
….
The stage was set, the props were ready, the actors were fired up for the performance, and the audience were just as excited. Many of them hadn't heard of the play before, and were interested to see what it would be like. Some weren't as enthusiastic, but were willing to try it all the same.
However, the one who was most excited out of all this was Moka. When she auditioned for the part of Calphurnia, she nailed the part. After that, news of Moka being in the play spread like wildfire, which is part of the reason for the huge crowd present.
Ethan was backstage, lying on a mattress and resting while Tsukune went back over his lines. After Tsukune was brought back to the realm of the living, Ethan offered him the part. He was unsure at first, but he changed his mind after Ethan mentioned Moka would be performing as well. As a result, Tsukune was on board, which caused Ethan to hold back a chuckle.
Fortunately, Tsukune and Ethan both studied Julius Caesar as part of a project back in middle school. Neither thought it would come in handy until now.
"So mixed in him that Nature might stand up and say to the word…"This was a man". Tsukune recited.
When he had finished, Ethan sat up and smiled at Tsukune and gave him a small applause. "Man, if you're not ready, then I don't know what you are."
"Thanks Ethan." Tsukune said, seemingly proud at having gotten the lines memorized again. Although, he had a nagging feeling in his stomach. Ethan noticed.
"Y'alright?" he asked.
"Well… I think things might be going a little too well. What if something happens during the play?"
Ethan made a fist and formed a flame gauntlet around said fist. "That's what security is for." Ethan replied with a grin. He extinguished the flames, then his face became serious. "Don't tell anyone this, but I think someone was watching us earlier today. They might be up to something."
Tsukune's brow rose with surprise. "What do we do?"
Ethan stayed silent for a moment, formulating a plan. He sighed briefly before answering. "Just play out things as normal and let me handle whatever comes. But. If you notice something unusual, give me a signal."
"What signal?" Tsukune asked.
"Blink really quickly, I'll see it."
Tsukune nodded in agreement. As soon as he did, the actors went backstage and the lights dimmed on the stage. Ethan looked out and saw Rodrigo, wearing a toga, saying a few words.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you all for coming here this evening. Tonight, you will bear witness to one of the greatest tales of the human world, and I dare say a particular favourite of our actors. Now, I shall finish with my annoying speech-" he said, the last part being something to get the crowd to laugh, which succeeded "- and say, enjoy 'Julius Caesar' by William Shakespeare!"
With that, he went backstage to where the actors were, taking a seat beside Ethan as the first scene commenced.
….
"What mean you, Caesar? Think you walk forth? You shall not stir out of your house today." Moka said, showing true emotion and talent as she played her part. The audience and the actors alike were in complete awe.
Ethan, however, was half asleep as the play was currently in the second act. Shortly after the play started, he immediately remembered how bored he was when he read over the play. While he respected the work and how well received it was, as well as being very supportive to Moka and all she does, it was of little interest to the fire user.
If it wasn't for the nightmares, he would've allowed himself to fall asleep; unfortunately, after the last one with the beast, he was traumatized into not sleeping. Still, he was curious about what the creature actually was.
"What the hell was that thing?" Ethan muttered to himself, the image returning to him.
Suddenly, the same chill he got was sent down through his spine again. He looked around and saw two of the actors conversing in a corner. One of them handed the other an object wrapped in cloth quickly trying to make sure no one saw. Ethan, being slightly sharper about matters like this, noticed the object. The receiver then briskly walked away through a back exit to the outside.
Ethan quickly looked back to the stage, seeing all was in order at the moment. He then turned to Rodrigo, who was still sitting beside Ethan and completely focused on the play. Ethan nudged the smaller student, catching his attention.
"Rodrigo, I need a favor." Ethan whispered, to which Rodrigo nodded in response. "Tsukune and I think something bad is going to happen again. If Tsukune notices something, he'll be blinking really fast. Check out to see what the problem is. Got it?"
Rodrigo then looked deadly serious. "If anyone thinks they can get away with destroying the hard work the actors put into all this, then they will be very disappointed. You need not fear, Mr. Drake, whatever happens, I shall prevent it."
Ethan smiled at his determination and passion. "Good, I'll be back in a bit, need to check something." He said before taking off after the other student.
…
The student was outside, holding the mystery object in his hand. When he was sure that he was alone, he found a nearby tree and hid behind it. He sat on his backside and unraveled the wrapping to reveal the hidden object was a knife. He smiled as his eyes met the dreaded object.
"They won't even see what's coming." He muttered to himself.
Then, without warning, he felt the back of his head being held in a grip as tight as a vice, and then said head was thrusted towards the ground, releasing his grip on the knife. He tried to get himself back up, but whatever was pushing him down wouldn't release. This caused a small bit of panic to set in, which only intensified when a bright light appeared at the right side of his face… which was starting to burn the side of his face.
"Who won't see… what… happen?" came an ironically chilling voice.
The actor recognized the voice immediately. The grip on the back of his head loosened, allowing him to look up to see who it was. He suddenly looked pale as he saw the infamous Ethan Drake, his eyes practically burning into his own.
"Let me GO!" the actor demanded.
"Sure… after you tell me what you are up to." Ethan replied, pulling back his fist and shoving the actor's head back into the ground. "And if I don't like what I hear, I promise you you won't be able to eat solid food again." He threatened.
The actor was silent for a moment, but then smiled and pushed himself upwards with great strength. Surprised, Ethan quickly rolled back, igniting both his arms as he readied for a fight.
"You will not get away with our plan." The actor said.
"…" Ethan stayed silent. The actor cackled with delight.
"What's this? Is the fearsome Drake afraid of me now? I'm not surprised, after all, those rumors seem like they were falls, you look like you can't even face off a-"
"Quit talking." Ethan said before he built up energy beneath his feet and zooming forwards, choosing to enhance his flames and give the opponent a strong uppercut. The student was sent flying up into the air screaming. Ethan watched him looked into the air for a moment before he turned his attention to the knife the student had held. He walked over and picked it up by the handle. He examined the blade, wandering what a single knife could do. After a moment however, he noticed something. He felt the edge of the blade… which led him to flicking the blade, causing it to wobble.
It was a rubber knife.
The student landed back on the ground, creating a crater in the ground. When the dust settled, the student seemed to be in great pain. His jaw seemed irregularly shaped. He certainly won't be eating solid food for a while. However, he tried his best to speak.
"Please… please… don't… hurt me." He managed to say.
Ethan looked at him with a stern expression. "Then tell me what you were planning to do with a rubber knife." He demanded.
"Nothing… they aren't… the ones… you… should…" before he could say any more, the pain became too much and started bawling with pain. Ethan went back to looking at the knife, wondering what he was talking about.
"Hmm." Ethan said, as he contemplated different ideas. Then, his head shot up as an idea formed in his head. "Oh, fffff…" he said as he realized what was going on. He then shot back inside, literally, to try and stop what was going on.
…
"For I am as Constant as the Northern Star!" bellowed the actor for Julius Caesar.
Moka had finished her part as Calphurnia, having enjoyed it nearly as much as the audience, who enjoyed her performance. Moka was now watching the play with great enthusiasm, with Rodrigo sitting beside her as he also watched the play with great glee.
"Oh, this is going fantastically! I do hope the audience are just as appreciative." He said.
Moka looked at him with a kind smile. "Oh, they are. I think they all came for me, but now they seem to enjoy the show." She looked back at the stage, waiting for the main event of the play. No matter how many times she readied herself or read the play, this part always scared her. The assassination of Caesar.
"True, but it was quite a help all the same. You are truly a marvelous actress." Rodrigo replied.
"Thank you, Rodrigo." Moka said, blushing from the compliment.
Soon after, they turned back towards the play. However, before they could enjoy anymore, Moka something unusual. One of the rubber knives that were showed in the actor's hand. What was troubling was that the knife shouldn't be shining so much in the light.
"Speak, hands for ME!" roared said actor as he raised the knife.
Moka gasped as she saw the knife raised into the air. She was about to move when, much to the surprise of everyone present, the stage had suddenly caught flame, which spread surprisingly quickly. The audience quickly panicked and made a quick dash for the exit.
The actor with the knife was briefly distracted. A figure shot from backstage and elbowed the actor in the center of his back. He dropped the knife, which prompted the figure to spin around and grab the fallen knife before shooting up into the rafters. The actor got back on his feet and looked around angrily.
"WHO DARES INTERUPT ME!" he cried.
"The guy who's planning on preventing murder." Came a voice that Moka, and Tsukune, who was resting on the same mattress Ethan used, recognized.
"ETHAN!?" they yelled simultaneously.
Ethan dropped down from the rafters and landed with a roll. With a click of his fingers, the flames were immediately extinguished.
"To all those remaining, we had ourselves a real-life conspiracy. The guys playing the conspirators purposefully got their parts so that they could take out the other actors!" Ethan explained.
"HUH!?" Rodrigo said, clearly confused.
Ethan quickly regarded him before turning back to the actor. "I know, I don't really know why they'd bother either." He glared at the actor. "How about filling us in?"
The actor glared back at Ethan. "Do you know how hard we had to work to get as good as we are? We spent hundreds of days trying to perfect our craft, and yet people who are 'naturally talented' come in and take the center stage for themselves, like we never existed. We will not stand for it any longer!"
Ethan's look slowly morphed from being angry to confused. "Seriously? You'd kill people because of pitiful jealously? Christ, you fuckers are sick."
At this, the actor immediately snapped at that comment. "HOW DARE YOU!" He said. His body suddenly began to shift in multiple places, before spikes burst from multiple areas and he began to grow in size. Also, his neck began to grow, becoming serpent like and his eyes becoming yellow with black slits for pupils.
Ethan, Moka, Rodrigo and Tsukune all watched as the transformation continued. When it was finished, the actor's main body had become that of a giant lion, only with scales instead of fur, and the long neck connected to a giant serpent head, which had a green gas emitting from its mouth as it breathed out.
Ethan glared at the creature, but also sported a smile. "This is new." He simply said.
"HYDRA!" Rodrigo roared. The poor person was unable to move any part of his body expect for his mouth, which he used to pray for any miracle that would save him.
The hydra heard him scream and looked at him, before it shot its head towards him. Ethan saw this and used his powers to dash ahead of the lizard. When he was at the right distance, Ethan held out his hands and waited for the hydra to impact. The creature had its mouth open, massive fangs bearing down on him.
However, Ethan was ready, and when the creature struck Ethan, the latter latched onto its fangs and had had him restrained. The creature was surprised that Ethan had it by the fangs, and now, for some reason, it couldn't pull away.
"Sucks to be you, huh?" Ethan asked the actor-turned-hydra.
"Nice one, Ethan." Tsukune exclaimed. He then looked around, hoping to find something to fight back with.
"I know what you're thinking, Tsukune! Don't interfere!" Ethan roared.
"Just let me find a blade or something!" Tsukune replied.
"And get into trouble by killing a student? Ha! Besides, it's too risky with this particular creature." Ethan said.
When he finished, the Hydra breathed out a large amount of the gas onto Ethan. As he did, Ethan became incredibly sleepy. He lost his grip on the creature's fangs, allowing it to pull back and raise its head high into the air. It readied itself to slam down on Ethan, thinking it would kill him. When it was ready, it came down and struck Ethan hard, obliterating the stage.
Tsukune ran to Moka and shielded her from the debris by hugging her and facing his back to the incoming projectiles. However, while the objects were heard coming their way, Tsukune heard them hit something else. He turned and was surprised to see what looked like a blue blob of slime shielding them both from the debris.
"What the…" Tsukune started.
The blob turned around, showing Rodrigo's, now blue, head looking down at them.
"Are you both okay?" he asked.
"Yes, thank you." Moka said. "Are you… an Aqua beast?"
"A what?" Tsukune asked.
"An Aqua beast. We have the ability to morph our bodies into water and change our shape, as well as being able to capture anything and anyone with our bodies." He said, pointing to the debris now floating in his body.
They Hydra behind them laughed. They all turned towards it, to which the creature started to leer at them. "If you think this will be enough to stop me, then you are foolish. If the mighty Ethan Drake couldn't stop me, what makes you think you can!?" it asked.
"You wrecked the play, destroying everyone's hard work." Rodrigo growled, becoming angrier by the second. "Yes, there are talented actors, but what you don't know is that every, single person worked just as hard to make this play a success, work that you wasted." Rodrigo's form immediately changed. When it was finished changing, it was a water replica of the hydra, only with red, glowing, furious eyes.
"YOU WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH DESTROYING THE EFFORT THEY ALL PUT INTO THIS!" he roared.
With that, Rodrigo elongated its neck and reached for his opponent's neck, which he bit into. This caused the enemy to cry in agony. He tried to escape, but it was too painful to move.
"Let's see you try to do something now!" Rodrigo cried. As soon as he finished speaking, the temperature of the room began to rise very quickly. Realsing what was going on, Moka and Tsukune quickly changed their glances to where Ethan was slammed into the ground.
"What do you think he'll do this time?" Tsukune asked Moka, sweat building up from nerves rather than from the heat.
His question was soon answered when a pillar of flame shot up from beneath the ground, turning into a massive trail as it began to zoom towards Rodrigo and the actor. Rodrigo saw this and let go of the Hydra, reverting to his regular form, evading just before the pillar to it collided with the foe. The Hydra slid back, crashing into the wall behind it. The creature was now outside, shaking off debris that had fallen on it.
The pillar had stopped moving after collided with the hydra, but when it was back up again, it made its way to the Hydra. However, instead of crashing into the creature, the pillar circled around it. It did so multiple times, eventually becoming a blur as it turned into a spinning inferno.
A ball of flame blasted out from the inferno, landing straight in front of it. The flames faded and revealed it to be Ethan. He wore a wide smile and cruel eyes as he stared at his handy work. He let out a small chuckle.
"Looks like I'm getting better at this." Ethan said to himself.
A few seconds later, the Hydra tried to burst out of the fire, but only got a severe burn on its nose as soon as it touched the flames. Ethan summoned fire in his hands and built up concentrated them into small, but bright spheres.
"Time to try something new." Ethan said to himself.
With all his strength, he threw the condensed balls at the Hydra, quickly running back into the building for cover. When he saw Moka, Tsukune and Rodrigo, he panicked.
"GET DOWN!" he roared as he blasted towards them, knocking them down. A second later, there was a large explosion that created a blinding light that they all shielded their eyes from. The light lasted for ten seconds exactly, to which Ethan shot back up and ran outside to check the damage.
He was met with a large crater and the actor in his human form within it, covered in ash and burns as he was groaning in pain.
"I… can't believe I lost." He managed to say.
Ethan gave him a cocky smile. "Cry Havoc, and let lose the dogs of war. Only they won't always work in your favour." He said before turning back and making his way to his friends. They all looked in amazement at what he had done.
"What was that?" Tsukune asked.
Ethan shrugged his shoulders. "I can control fire, remember? The key is having the imagination to use it. A wall of flames crashing into enemies, flame grenades, etc." he said casually.
"My, my, you are a truly formidable warrior, Mr. Drake." Rodrigo commented.
"I could say the same of you. Didn't know your kind were that powerful." Ethan replied.
"With all the mayhem here in the academy, it's good to practice every now and then." Rodrigo said.
Before they could speak any further, there was a huge applause from outside one of the doors. It opened immediately, revealing the entire audience from the show, with Yukari holding a mirror. She turned it around and revealed that it had showed all that had happened in the theater.
"Quite a fine performance from everyone, I must say." Yukari said.
Moka, Tsukune and Rodrigo all looked dumbfounded, but Ethan clicked his fingers and summoned a small flame. "If anyone talks about what happened here, I will personally incinerate you." He threatened, causing the crowd to sweat with fear and nodding.
Satisfied, Ethan extinguished the flame and the crowd ran for their lives. Only Yukari and Kurumu, the latter having been trampled on as she was in the middle of the flustered crowd.
"That hurt…" Kurumu whined.
""I told you to hang out at the front." Yukari said.
Moka turned to Rodrigo and bowed to him. "I'm so sorry things didn't turn out as expected." She said.
"Oh, no need to apologize. It wasn't your fault. Besides, I have yet to experience a performance where we don't run into some kind of problem." He said.
"Problem? WE nearly got killed!" Tsukune cried.
"And that's different to every other day… how?" Ethan joked.
Tsukune remained silent, prompting everyone else to laugh.
…
Due to the extensive damage done to the school last night, it had to be closed for a few extra days. The actor who had caused all of this was suspended, making sure that he wouldn't cause any more harm to the other students for a while, at least.
Fortunately, while many had seen Rodrigo's water form, everyone stayed silent so as to protect him, having gotten a great deal of respect after they all saw how he could handle himself in a fight. In fact, there were a lot more women going over to him and asking for auditions for any upcoming plays, many giving him flirtatious winks, resulting with him either blushing or fainting.
Meanwhile, Ethan and the crew all decided to use the extra day to relax, hanging out by the cliffs in their weekend gear. They all just sat by the edge and stared out into the crimson sea.
"Are there any other red seas in the Yokai world?" Tsukune asked.
"There are tons, I think. Noe of them are nearly as nice as this one, though." Yukari answered.
"Nice" Ethan thought. He then shook his head and continued to look out to the water.
They stayed silent for another moment before Moka broke the silence. "Does anybody think about what we might do after school?"
"Scientist for me." Yukari answered again.
"Uh… haven't a clue." Tsukune said honestly.
"… Manga artist." Ethan said.
"Wow, nice." Kurumu said. She then looked at Tsukune and, with a cunning look in her eye, leapt onto him and began her usual routine with trying to seduce him. "I know I'll be Tsukune's wife in the future." She said happily.
"Like hell! Tsukune doesn't belong to you!" Yukari yelled, jumping onto Kurumu's head, trying to free him.
Ethan shook his head at the display, reminding himself how those women would be the death of him. He took in a deep breath before saying "Three… two… one."
"TSUKUNE IS MINE!" Moka roared before latching herself onto Tsukune once again draining him dry of blood.
Ethan raised his arms into the air and slowly lowered them as he said "And… scene."
[There we go, another chapter down, many more to go. Let me tell you, while I enjoy writing these stories, it's difficult trying to find the time to do them. Still, it hasn't deterred me before, and nor shall it in the future.
Just to let you all know, the story will go back on track to the original story, just thought I'd try something different here. I was debating whether or not for the characters to be fighting in this one, but I thought, ah, no need to change a good thing. Hope everyone liked Rodrigo, a character I had planned out for a while. Thought it would add something new to the story.
Well, that's all from me for the moment. If anyone has anything to say, whether it be a compliment or if you want to rant about things you didn't like, feel free to do so. See you later]