[Hi everyone. Hope you're all doing well today. I should say that this chapter includes what I consider to be one of the cringiest episodes of the anime for myself, that being for a number of reasons, but I thought I'd try it as an experiment. Let me know what you all think.
Right. Here we go.]
"OH MAN, WHAT DO I DOOO!"
"TSUKUNE, CALM DOWN! YOU CAN DO IT!"
Tsukune and Ethan were in the middle of a heated discussion where Tsukune was panicking to new levels and Ethan was trying to calm him, even resorting to slapping him across the face repeatedly.
"CALM! DOWN! CALM! DOWN! CALM! DOWN!" Ethan roared as he continued to smack him across the face. After one final smack, Tsukune stopped panicking.
"Wow. Thanks Ethan. I didn't think that could actually work." Tsukune said.
"I saw a documentary a while ago that proved that it could work." Ethan answered. "Oh, and Tsukune?"
"Yes?" the regular human asked. Low and behold, Ethan gave him one last smack across the face.
"WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR!?"
"Just making sure." Ethan answered to an enraged Tsukune.
"What are you two doing?"
The two friends turned to see Moka standing behind them with a bewildered look on her face. Tsukune laughed nervously while Ethan rolled her eyes.
"Tsukune's worried about the upcoming maths test coming up for the finals. I'm trying to calm him down." Ethan answered.
Moka then focused her attention on Tsukune, a look of worry appearing on her face. "Are you struggling?"
"Kind of. With all the crazy stuff we had to deal with I haven't had the time to study." Tsukune then gripped the sides of his head and began to look worried. "And if I don't pass my parents are going to cry their hearts out!"
"Tsukune, you're panicking again." Ethan stated as he raised his arm up again.
Seeing what he was about to do, Tsukune quickly held up his arms into the air. "I'm fine!" he quickly said.
Moka couldn't help but laugh at the antics of the two. When she recovered she pondered on an idea on how to help. Then, suddenly, it clicked. Looking back at Tsukune with a smile, she said. "Why don't we study together?" she said.
"…Really?" Tsukune asked. Ethan shook his head at how Tsukune's eyes were practically sparkling with anticipation.
"Yeah. I can help you understand the bits that you're having problems with." She replied.
"Oh thank you Moka. Thank you so much." Tsukune said as he proceeded to bow.
Moka blushed, now feeling happy that she is able to help Tsukune. "It's… it's no…"
Unfortunately for her, the moment ended when a familiar bluenette appeared out of nowhere and proceeded to hug Tsukune like her life depended on it.
"You're going to be STUDYING TOGETHER!?" she cried. She then looked over at Moka and gave her a stern glare. "There's no way I'm leaving you alone with her." She said harshly.
"I reckon it's more of a hazard leaving him with yourself, Kurumu." Ethan said as he pointed towards Tsukune's head. The girls looked down and saw that Tsukune wasn't moving.
"NOT AGAIN!" Kurumu screamed.
As if to respond, a water basin appeared over Kurumu's head and struck her hard. With Kurumu's grip released from Tsukune, Yukari jumped in and began shaking him herself. "Come on Tsukune! You can make it."
Suddenly, a kunai knife appeared and whizzed past Yukari's head, scaring the life out of her and causing her to topple over. Mizore popped out of a nearby bin and glared at the other girls. Before any of them could take any form of action, Ethan ignited his right hand and held it out.
"Do I need to remind yee lot to behave!?" he exclaimed angrily.
All the girls were silent for a moment before nodding in unison. Satisfied, Ethan extinguished his flames and went over to Tsukune and slapped him across the face again, waking him up.
"Wha-who-where?" he asked. He looked up and saw Ethan, then the girls, which helped him register what happened. "Oh man."
"I know." Ethan said as he helped Tsukune onto his feet. He looked over at the three more recent arrivals and glared at them. "What is up with you lot?" he asked them.
"We overheard your conversation about Tsukune and Moka studying together." Kurumu answered.
"We want to join!" Yukari continued.
"Please?" Mizore finished.
Moka smiled and clapped her hands together. "That's a great idea! With all of us together we can all help each other out." She said.
"I say that Kurumu would need the most help since most of her brains went to her chest." Yukari commented.
"What was that?" Kurumu asked angrily.
Ethan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He then turned around and walked away from the group. Moka saw him leave and looked confused.
"Ethan? Don't you want to join?" she asked.
"No thanks. Rebecca helped me catch up already. Besides, I have somewhere else I need to be." He answered before walking off.
Kurumu folded her arms and glared at Ethan as he walked off. "What could he be doing that's more important than helping out his friend?"
Moka's face softened when she saw him walk off. After he told her about his dreams, she was concerned when he went off to do things on his own, especially after figuring out that it may have been a phoenix that was responsible. That, in itself was unusual, as they were usually peaceful creatures.
"I hope he's okay." She thought.
….
Ethan walked back over to the Cliffside where he would usually train to improve his abilities. He sat on the edge and stared out at the crimson waters. He was currently holding the staff that the chairman gave him a while ago. He held his hand over the seal, the one thing that was managing to hold back the staff's true power.
After seeing the dream of all his friends being engulfed in flame, and that one of the mystery figues turned out to be Mizore had him on edge. He was certain that something big was on its way, and he felt that he needed every option available to gain more power.
"I'll be ready." He said to himself.
"I'm sure you will."
In an instant, Ethan was on his feet and held the staff with both hands. He was now face to face with the hooded figure. Said figure gave Ethan a blade-like smile.
"Hello, Drake." The figure said.
"Cut the crap." Ethan said, clearly not happy with seeing the hooded figure. "What do you want? And don't give some kind of bullshit answer. I'll know."
The hooded figure looked at him with surprise under his hood. A second later, he placed his hands behind his head and stretched his back muscles. "Okay. To answer your question, I'm here to offer some assistance." He said. He pointed at the staff. "You want to be able to access the full potential of the staff, right?"
Ethan's eyes widened slightly after hearing the figure's words. "Why do you care?"
The hooded figure shrugged. "I don't know. Guess I need something to keep me entertained." He then observed the pentagram on the staff. "Did you know that the pentagram is actually a symbol of good? It's what makes it a good sealing symbol for forbidden power." He said.
"I know. It's an upside down one that represents evil, right? With the two points at the bottom pointing up."
The hooded figure was silent for a moment before smirking. "Well… someone's done their research."
"Ignorance may be bliss, but it can cause a lot more problems than we think." Ethan said back.
"Hmph. True that." He lowered his hand from his head and put them in his pockets. "We're getting a little side tracked here. My point is that if you want that power, you'll need that seal removed."
"I know." Ethan stated. "I discussed it with someone before… and I also agreed to keep the staff sealed."
"Fair enough I guess. You know what they say; 'Absolute power corrupts absolutely', right?" he said. His face then turned into a frown underneath the hood. "Just remember you're not going to be able to rely on your own power forever. Just wait and see." He said.
In a brief moment, a leaf blew past Ethan's eyes, covering his sight of the hooded figure. When the leaf passed, he was gone. Surprised, Ethan's eyes widened. He then glared where the hooded figure was standing and tightened his grip on the staff, which caused it to glow in response. Ethan looked back at the staff when he saw the light coming off of it.
"… Not today." He said as he put the staff back in the case.
….
Over in one of the vacant classrooms, Yukari was taking the lead in teaching Tsukune, Kurumu, Moka and Mizore one of the topics likely to come up on the test. Moka and Tsukune were able to keep up with the work, Kurumu was completely lost and Mizore was taking notes… which turned out to be Tsukune's name written out multiple times.
When they were finished, Moka looked over to Tsukune. "So, are you able to understand what was going on?" she asked.
"Yeah, everything's clear now. You guys sure know your stuff." Tsukune answered back.
"YEAH!? WELL I'M COMPLETELY LOST" Kurumu roared. She then clung on to Tsukune. "Please be my personal teacher, please."
"I see you guys got everything handled."
The group turned towards the doorway to see Ethan holding a duffel bag. He went over to an empty table and emptied the contents, revealing them to be various drinks and snacks.
"Wh… what's with all these?" Yukari asked.
"A gift from Rebecca and Ann. They heard about your study session and asked me to drop these off." Ethan answered.
"Oh, that's so nice." Moka said. "We'll have to thank them when we see them." She turned back to Tsukune. "Hey, Tsukune, would you like me to make a copy of my notes for you?"
"Oh, you don't have to do it out by hand, you can just photocopy it." Tsukune answered.
"The school doesn't have one, jack-ass." Ethan said.
"…Oh, right." Tsukune said.
"It's okay, I don't mind, as long as I'm able to help." Moka said.
Ethan shook his head. "Honestly, Moka, you're too nice for your own good."
….
Around an hour later, Moka had made full copies of her notes. She handed the booklet containing them to Tsukune, who couldn't be more grateful.
"Thanks Moka, you really helped a lot." Tsukune said.
"Oh, it's no bother really." She then turned to Ethan. "Would you like me to make you some notes as well?"
"I'm good, thanks." he sat down on the floor and looked through his bag and pulled out his sketchpad. He then took out a pencil and a rubber. He looked up to the other two. "In case, I'm working on another comic strip."
"What kind? Are you going to introduce more classics or do something new?"
Ethan smiled and tapped the bottom of the pencil on his lip. "I've an idea for an original. But…"
"Oh, staying late, are we?" came a voice from behind them.
Tsukune and Mizore jumped while Ethan remained motionless. The two that were frightened looked to see a woman with shoulder-length brown hair, round glasses and brown eyes. She wore a white shirt, a black skirt, leggings and high-heel shoes.
"Ms. Ririko." Ethan said out loud. She was one of the many teachers that Ethan couldn't stand in this school. The way she dressed was very… revealing, which made the pyromancer question if whether or not this school had a dress code for teachers. It was also rumored that, while she was a serious and passionate teacher, she would take it too seriously and conduct private tutoring sessions that were… controversial to say the least.
Ms. Ririko looked down at Ethan and smiled. "Good evening Mr. Drake" she then looked over to Tsukune and Moka. "My apologies for scaring you both. What has you all staying here so late? Club activities."
"What? Oh no, we were actually just finishing up a study session." Tsukune answered.
"Huh? Study session?" the teacher asked.
"That's right." Moka said.
"… I'm afraid I can't let you continue on like that." The teacher said.
At this, Tsukune and Moka looked at Ms Ririko with shock while Ethan looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. It was strange, especially since study group sessions would've been encouraged back in the human world, as well as by Ms Nekonome from time to time.
"Is there something wrong with students studying together?" Ethan asked with a bewildered look.
"I'm afraid there is." She said as she was adjusting her glasses. "Granted, while it's great to see that you're all making an effort, student's studying together is a bad idea because they end up goofing off and not get any work done."
"Wha? But we've got tons of work done! Tsukune's gotten so much better with my help."
"Your help?" Ms Ririko asked. She looked over to Ethan. "I thought that you would've helped to contribute more to the group. What did you do?"
At this, Ethan closed is sketchpad and stood up so that he could see the woman eye to eye. "I wasn't part of their study group. I was taking care of… personal matters." He said. as he spoke, he seemed a bit troubled, not unnoticed by Moka.
"I see. My apologies" The educator said. She then turned back to Tsukune. "Still, Mr. Aono. I would like for you to meet me tomorrow after school for some extra lessons, just to help with anything else you may be stuck on."
Moka suddenly looked a little hurt. Ms Ririko was basically undermining her efforts to help Tsukune. Ethan saw this and was doing his best to hold in his anger; there was a time and a place to beat doen people he didn't like, and this wasn't it… unfortunately.
"Um…" Tsukune wasn't sure as to whether or not that he should accept. He liked the idea of learning more for the test, but he didn't want to offend Moka.
"It… it's okay, Tsukune." Moka said.
Tsukune looked back at Moka, who was looking down and fidgeting with her hands. "What?"
"If it helps you with your studies… then you should go for it." She said. She seemed okay, but Tsukune and Ethan could tell otherwise.
"It's settled then. I will see you after school tomorrow." Ms Ririko. With that, she exited the room. Tsukune looked back to Moka and was going to ask if she was alright, but Moka was already exiting the room. Tsukune wasn't sure of what to make of it, while Ethan shook his head from frustration.
"This is not going to end well." Ethan thought.
….
After school the next day, Ethan was in the auditorium with Rodrigo. The drama club leader was working on an original piece for a play and he had asked Ethan to help him out. After half an hour of acting, Ethan called for a break.
"Oh, hath no stomach for thy tongue?" Rodrigo asked.
"Yep. Fairly fed up." Ethan said bluntly.
Rodrigo pouted in response. He went over to a table that had a lot of water bottles and fruit on it. When Ethan saw the fruit, he looked confused. "What's with the fruit? Aren't you more of a burger and chips kind of guy?"
Rodrigo looked at him in confusion. "Chips? You mean fries?"
"Yeah, they're called chips over in most of Europe." Ethan explained, which caused Rodrigo to raise his eyebrows with realisation.
"I see. Well, to answer your question, I decided to try and lose a bit of weight for this play, due to the part I need to play wouldn't require a fat piece of lard like me."
"Right you are." Ethan said.
"Hey!" Rodrigo yelled, causing Ethan to laugh at his anger. When he calmed down, Rodrigo noticed to Ethan was a little distracted. "Are you alright Ethan?"
Ethan looked back at his dramatic friend for a moment. He then sighed and shook his head. "Not really. There was a bit on an issue yesterday and now I don't know how it's going to end. I'm not even sure about how to help fix it."
"… Maybe you're overthinking it."
"What?" Ethan asked.
Rodrigo took a bite out of an apple, which caused him to gag. When he managed to swallow the healthy food, he continued with what he was saying. "You seem to be thinking of multiple ways to fix your current dilemma. Why don't you just to stick to your usual method." He suggested.
"Because my method involves pummeling them into the ground. And this particular problem could get me expelled if I do." Ethan explained. Seeing how he could trust Rodrigo, he decided to tell him. "It involves… Ms Ririko."
"Ah… she has one of your friends ensnared in a private lesson, eh?" the actor asked.
Ethan nodded. "Yeah. The real problem though is that she undermined Moka's ability to help Tsukune with his studies. And damn she can tutor."
Rodrigo was silent for a moment, trying to come up with a solution. However, in the end, all he could do is shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sorry, dear pyromancer, I'm afraid I have no answers for you. Unlike the classic sidekick in a hero's story, I cannot be of aid." He then said.
Ethan shook his head slightly and grinned. "No, it's okay. To be honest, it felt good just to get it off my chest." He picked up his bag and smirked at
"Anytime." Rodrigo said. He then decided to get back to learning his lines.
…
Ethan went all over the school looking for Moka and Tsukune. During his mini-journey, he came across something unusual. A lot of the boys in the school seemed a little… disconnected from reality, so to speak. They wouldn't be paying attention to what was going around them, their eyes didn't seem in focus and, strangely, were muttering something under their breath. He was slightly curious about what it was, but he was a bit too concerned about his friends.
He thought about his dramatic friend's words and, as much as he appreciated his friend's words, he wasn't going to just stand by. He would, however, need to come up with a new solution to this problem.
""How do I solve this issue." Ethan said to himself.
His train of thought was interrupted when he heard the sound of an argument. He paced over to the source and, unsurprisingly, he found that it was Kurumu and Yukari who were arguing. However, he saw that this time Kurumu had tied up the young witch and was dragging her, despite the witch's protests.
Sighing, the pyrokinetic decided to walk over to see what was going on, despite his better judgement. "Hey! What are you two doing?" he asked them.
"This little runt's gonna help me study for the test." Kurumu answered.
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "I thought you already went through a study session with the rest of the group."
"Kurumu still couldn't get it, so she's roping me into helping her study. LITERALLY!" Yukari said, clearly annoyed about being tied up, as she should be.
The succubus walked on, dragging poor Yukari with her. Ethan walked up beside her, mainly because he was still confused on some parts. "How could you not have gotten better after that session? Even Mizore has got the hang of it now after that."
"THAT'S WHAT I ASKED HER!" Yukari yelled.
"I just can't take in information as well as others." Kurumu explained.
Ethan raised his eyebrows in understanding, as he sometimes had the same problem. "Well, in that case, I know a few tricks that could help you remember the stuff you learn." He said, feeling a small bit of sympathy for her.
Kurumu looked towards Ethan with starry eyes, a sudden shining hope clear in her eyes. "OH THANK YOU!"
"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SOMETHING EARLIER!?" Yukari yelled, seeing how she could've gotten out of being kidnapped sooner.
Before anyone else could say anything, Kurumu bumped into someone and fell onto her backside, releasing her grip on Yukari's leash and granted the young witch the time to hide behind Ethan. When all looked to see that who it was she bumped into, they found that it was Tsukune.
"Oh, Tsukune. Sorry about that." Kurumu said.
The boy wasn't listening to her. Instead, he was mumbling something to himself. Kurumu looked at him in confusion, Yukari was trying to figure out what Tsukune was saying, but Ethan wore a stern frown.
"Uh, Tsukune? Are you okay?" Kurumu asked.
Yukari suddenly perked up when she realised what it was he was saying. "No way! He's reciting advanced mathematical problems. Even we haven't covered that kind of stuff yet."
Ethan looked at the young witch with a look of surprise. "Really? Are you sure?"
Yukari nodded. Ethan looked back at the boy with a more serious expression. "Well, in that case, the guys in school have been getting a lot smarter recently."
"What do you mean?" Kurumu asked.
"All the other guys around school have been acting the same way. So either they've been studying real hard or-"
"Someone's causing trouble again." Yukari said.
They all looked towards Tsukune again, who was still going over the difficult mathematics. After a moment, Ethan's eyes suddenly widened. He then made a sinister looking smile and his eyes looked cold and calculating. "I knew it."
The tone of voice he used caused the girls to shiver where they stood. "What… um… do you mean?" Yukari managed to say.
"Keep an eye on Tsukune, would you?" he asked as he walked off. "I need to have a little conversation with a certain maths teacher."
As he walked off, both Kurumu and Yukari, the latter managing to wriggle her way out of the rope, looked like they had seen a ghost. When something like this was to occur, he would lose his temper and try to hit the source of the problem… literally. However, now he's going to try and… talk?
"Did he actually mean he's just going to talk?" Kurumu asked.
"I hope not." Yukari answered. "I'm scared." She then admitted.
…..
Moka walked down the corridor holding a new notebook. In it were some new notes that she had written that may be of use to Tsukune. She didn't know how Ms Ririko would react if she were caught, but she just wanted to help her friend.
"I hope he likes it." She thought as she looked down at the ground while walking.
"Keep your head up while walking!" someone said,
Moka jumped up from the sudden sound and looked in front of her to see Ethan. He seemed unusually calm today, which seemed slightly unusual, but she didn't think much of it. "Oh, hi Ethan. How are you?" she asked politely.
"To sum it up, I'm pissed." Ethan said. he then looked at the notebook she was holding. Pointing at it, he asked "What's with the book?"
"Oh, it's filled with more notes that could help Tsukune. I know what Ms Ririko said, but-"
"Let me stop you there." Ethan said, holding up his hand. "Don't listen to what she said girl. You helped Tsukune a great deal, I could see it. After saying what she said, see just doesn't realise that you're as talented as you are at tutoring."
At this, Moka was quite surprised. She had never received such a compliment before. "Wow… thank you, Ethan." She said, her spirits now lifted again form his words.
"Think nothing of it, I say it as it is. Also…" he rubbed the back of his head. "I kind of owed you anyway."
At this, Moka raised an eyebrow. "You 'owed' me?"
"You helped me with the stress I've been having with my dreams. I know it doesn't seem like a lot, but I appreciate it. Really."
When Moka heard him mention the dreams, she suddenly remembered what she wanted to tell him about the creature he saw. However, now that she had the opportunity, she was a bit hesitant. She knew that he would appreciate any information, even if it was a dead end, but she didn't feel comfortable sending him on a wild goose chase.
"Moka?" Ethan looked at her with a confused expression. "You okay?"
Moka was brought out of her thoughts and shook her head slightly. After a brief moment of extra silence, Moka made her decision. "I'm fine. But there's something important I need to tell you."
"Fair enough." Ethan said. He then pointed behind her. "But tell me as we walk. I have someone I need to talk to."
"Oh, you do? Well then, I-"
"Oh no you don't. I want to hear what you said. Tell me as we head there." Ethan butted in, soon walking off as he finished speaking. Moka was surprised at how fast he was walking. She struggled to keep up with him at first, but she soon matched his pace. She was now curious as to what had him walking so fast.
"Who exactly are you wanting to talk to that has you walking so fast?" the vampiress asked.
"Ms Ririko herself." Ethan answered simply.
"Huh? Why?" Moka asked.
Ethan took the liberty of explaining what he saw with a number of the boys in school. He then told her of the status that Tsukune was in and how he certainly wasn't like that before going to one of her study sessions. Moka had a look of concern.
"Are you sure you want to confront her about this? She isn't one of the other student's she's a teacher." Moka said.
"We took down that sick-o of a gym teacher, remember?" he looked on with his eyes narrowing by the second. "Besides, there isn't one person in this school who should get away with trying to mess with the school. "And if there is… I'll make sure they'll stop."
Moka looked at him again, only this time with a mix of fear and admiration for his commitment to protect the school. A thought suddenly occurred to her. "What approach are you going to use again?"
"I'm going to have a peaceful conversation with her to see what I can get." He started. He would've continued, only to see an astonished look on the pinkette's face. "What? I can be nice."
"Yes, but… you don't do it very often." She answered back.
"… Okay I see you're point. Just thought I'd try something different since, like you said, it's a teacher this time, not a student. Unless I catch her in the act of something, I'll hold off." He said. They make their way through the corridors more quickly now that Moka was up to speed on what was going on. As they moved, however, a thought entered Ethan's mind. Looking back at his vampiric friend, he asked "By the way, what was it you wanted to say earlier?"
"I, uh… I forgot." Moka said. She didn't really forget, but now wasn't the time to bring up the Phoenix.
"Okay then." Ethan said, not bothering to ponder on it if it couldn't be helped.
…..
A few minutes later, they finally reached Ms Ririko's office. Moka looked a little nervous, as she wasn't looking forward to what this conversation could lead to, but Ethan remained calm. He was about to knock on the door when he suddenly froze, a look of surprise appearing on his face.
"Are you okay Ethan?" Moka asked.
Ethan's nose twitched for a moment before he spoke. "Do you smell… incense?"
Moka paused for a moment to try and pick up the scent he was on about. After she caught the scent, they both kept sniffing until they were up gainst the door. At this, Ethan pulled back and held onto his nose tightly.
"For feck's sake! It smells like someone set a hippy on fire!" he yelled.
After taking in a few breaths of fresh air from a nearby window, Moka looked at the door, surprised at the strong smell. "Well… it's not a pleasant smell, I'll admit that."
"… You don't think there's an actual fire in there, do you?" Ethan asked.
"I, uh…" Moka started.
"Me too, probable cause." Ethan said. he stepped back and his right fist glowed with a golden aura.
"Uh, Ethan, I'm not sure-" before she could finish, Ethan had already hurled his fist at the door, obliterating it. He would've used his flames, but he didn't think it necessary. When the door was on the ground, however, both the fire user and the vampiress were surprised by what they were seeing.
They saw Ms Ririko, who was wearing some kind of lingerie and held a riding crop in her hand, on the ground and apparently straddling a male student. At this, Moka was appalled, while Ethan looked absolutely stunned.
"What the feck?" Ethan managed to say. It wasn't often that he was shocked seeing something, but he found something that, at long last, managed to accomplish such a feet.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"Moka roared.
At this, the teacher turned around and had a look of pure anger in her eyes. "How DARE you interrupt this study session!" she roared. She got back onto her feet, kicking the male student to one side. As she did, the bottom half of her body suddenly morphed. Her legs fused together, changing colour, becoming scaly and grew longer. When she was finished, she looked like a cross between a woman and a giant snake.
Ethan came out of his daze and saw the new form of the teacher. "Well I'll be damned. This explains a lot. You're a Lamia, aren't you?"
Moka had heard of this race before. They are a race of female monsters that had the upper body of a woman and the lower of a snake. They were said to have the power to control minds, which would explain what was going on with the male students.
Ethan summoned his flame gauntlets and smirked at the inappropriately dressed teacher. "Looks like this teacher's making an army of mindless nerds that she can 'play' with, so to speak."
Moka glared at the teacher with a surprising level of anger that wouldn't normally be present. "How can you take advantage of student's like that!?" she roared.
"I have a responsibility to educate my students. How I do it doesn't matter so long as i get results. Thanks to me, they know even the most difficult mathematical formulas that others can only dream of?"
"Christ. She's just like that looney actor who tried to wreck Rodrigo's play." Ethan said out loud.
The particular comment seemed to have gotten to her, as her face was filled with even more anger. "HOW DARE YOU!" she roared as she launched her tail at Ethan. However, Ethan saw something like this coming, which is why he chose the gauntlets. He raised a hand up and grabbed a hold of the end, just inches away from his face.
His grip on the tail tightened, and the fire from his gauntlet were becoming hotter by the second. As they did, Ms Ririko howled in agony as her tail was being singed in seconds.
"LET ME GO!" she roared as she tried to pull the tail back.
"If you insist." Ethan said. he used his free hand to ignite part of the tail and released his grip. As he did, the force of tail being pulled by its owner sent it flying back towards her and struck her square in the face, the flames catching onto her hair. As she screamed, Ethan looked down and saw that the student was starting to regain proper consciousness. He guessed as long as the Lamia could keep her concentration, she can continue to control her victims. Moka noticed this as well. She turned to Ethan.
"We need to beat her now! it's the only way to free the students!" she said.
"It's like you read my mind." Ethan said. After adjusting the collar on his shirt, he slowly walked over towards the teacher, intending to finish this as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the teacher regained her composure and stared at the pryokinetic, oddly enough with her hair still intact and her face covered in soot, with killer intent.
"You will not get in the way of me imparting important life knowledge to the next generation!" she roared. She picked up a vial of a strange green liquid and threw it directly at Ethan. Upon impact, it cracked and covered Ethan in a flurry of green, volatile flames. Moka rushed in to help him, only for the teacher's snaked tail to wrap around her and pull her to the Lamia's side.
"Watch… just watch what happens when those who get in my way." She said calmly, followed by a maniacal laugh. Worry and dread filled her mind as she watched the flames burn where Ethan had been standing. She was about to call out to him when, surprisingly, he heard a small snicker from the flames. This also caused the Ms Ririko to stop laughing.
"Boy, whatever these flames are…" The flames quickly changed from green to orange, and they soon became a lot less volatile, as if they were becoming controlled. In another instant, the flames disappeared, revealing Ethan with his arms outstretched and his eyes glowing once more. However, what was quite different was that his flames were now scarlet. "They sure can fill a guy up!" he exclaimed.
"What… what is this!?" Ms Ririko demanded.
"It's quite simple, actually." All turned to see Mizore standing outside the door with her ice claws ready. However, with the heightened temperature, she wasn't holding up very well. "Like me, Ethan can control his natural element. However, where he lacks full control, he can absorb fire more naturally and easily compared to others. The fire that you used, whatever was in it, added to his strength."
Ethan flexed his fingers for a moment. He then looked over at Mizore and motioned his head towards Moka. Seeing what he was trying to say, Mizore managed to form some ice kunai and threw them into the tail that trapped Moka. With that, the young vampiress sprinted out of the room, rescuing the now unconscious male student. Ethan stayed firmly where he was, his eyes and flames respectively becoming brighter.
Moka looked back at her friend with confusion. "What's going on?" she asked out loud.
"I think we may need to close the door." Mizore said, slowly closing the door behind Moka.
With the door closed, Ethan's flames further intensified, causing the room temperature to rise quickly. The serpent, not caring about the heat, reading herself for another attack. "What? You think that with those flames you can you beat me?"
Ethan remained silent. This caused the teacher to look slightly irritated. "Answer me!" she exclaimed. Instead of an answer, Ethan looked down at his feet and widened the distance between them, apparently trying to give himself more support for something. As he wasn't concentrating on the teacher, she was becoming further angered. "ANSWER ME, DAMN IT!"
Ethan brought his gaze back to the teacher, a dark smirk appearing on his face. This caused the teacher to shiver slightly.
"Ms Ririko… for taking advantage of Yokai Academy students in such a manner… I'm going to teach you a lesson you'll never forget." Ethan said, his voice echoing as he spoke. With that, he looked up toward the ceiling and all the flames covering his body traveled up to his mouth. After he had gathered enough, her looked at the teacher and roared.
"rrrRRRRAAAAAAAAGH!"
A pillar of fire erupted from his mouth and shot Ms Ririko. However, the force of the attack was so strong that the flames shot out from the room and went through every part of the building that was in its way. When it eventually burst through the school, it continued on, a massive column of fire burning brightly and shocking all the students and teachers in the school. Luckily, the attack had only hit the intended target.
When the attack finally faded, Ethan's flames returned to their original color and Ms Ririko was standing where she was. However, just the whites of her eyes were showing and she was muttering something to herself.
"Lesson learned?" Ethan asked.
"Yes sir." She said before falling onto her back and falling unconscious.
Ethan placed his hand over his mouth, remembering the amount of power that had been unleashed from that attack. But that wasn't the main concern that the pyromancer had. He grinned and clenched his fist in a victorious fashion. "Finally! I was able to breathe fire!" he said, overjoyed that he managed to accomplish something he had only done once before and without knowing it. A sudden knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts.
"IS it safe to come in?" Moka asked.
"Yep, c'mon." Ethan said.
The door opened and the girls, along with the boy victim who seemed to have regained control of himself, looked in and saw both Ms Ririko and the destruction that Ethan had caused. The girls sweat dropped and the boy with pure petrification.
"Whoa… now that guy's a monster." He said. When Ethan made eye-contact with him, the boy panicked and ran away from the area. As he did, Ethan laughed hysterically for a monet before turning his attention to the girls.
"I went a little overboard, didn't I?"
"A little." Moka admitted.
"I don't see the problem with it." Mizore stated, prompting a look f confusion from Moka.
Ethan flexed his fingers and proceeded to walk out of the room. "C'mon, we ought to check how Tsukune is now." he said. "Besides… we still have a test to study for."
….
A week later, everyone had heard about what had happened with Ms Ririko. However, the story got twisted and, somehow, Mizore and Moka were given credit for taking her down with Ethan as their side-kick. Ethan didn't mind in the slightest, as it took most of the attention off of him, but Mizore and Moka weren't happy with the extra attention.
Meanwhile, all the boys had been freed from Ms Ririko's control. Ethan's attack made sure of that. However, much to the victims' horror, all the knowledge that she had injected into their heads was completely wiped away. As such, Yukari took the liberty of helping them out, thinking it would be great for publicity, and Tsukune, who had taken it the worst, got help from Moka. Thankfully, all had gotten decent scores, so there were no worries.
As of now, Tsukune, Moka and Ethan were all walking together, with Tsukune and Moka doing most of the talking.
"Seriously, Moka, I can't thank you enough. Without you I never would've passed. I'm sorry that I turned you down before and hurt your feelings." Tsukune said.
Moka smiled gleefully at him and giggled. "Don't worry about it Tsukune. I was happy to help. It was the least I could do since you're my friend and…"
"…and?" Tsukune asked.
However, he soon regretted asking when Moka latched onto him and began drinking his blood again.
"AAAAAHH!" Tsukune screamed.
"Guess she also her way of saying thanks for letting you act as her personal blood supply." Ethan butted in.
When she was finished, Tsukune was lying on the ground with very little consciousness. Sighing at his friend, he picked him up and hoisted him onto his shoulders. "One of these days, Moka, you're going to have to find a new source." He said to Moka.
"Oh, but he's just so yummy." Moka defended.
Ethan chuckled t his friend's comment. When he was finished however, a thought occurred to him. "Hey, Moka. You wanted to talk about something earlier. What was it?"
At this, the vampiress froze. "Oh… I, uh…"
"If you're going to say that you've forgotten, don't. I know you weren't honest the last time you said it." He stated, causing Moka to blush. "No need to get embarrassed, but I'd rather that you just tell me what's up."
After hearing Ethan saying that, and seeing the seriousness in his face, she sighed in defeat, knowing there was no way out.
"Okay… it's just… I think I know what the monster you came across in the hotel was."
At this, Ethan's eyes widened in shock. So much so that he lost his grip on Tsukune and let him fall onto the ground. He rushed up to Moka and grabbed her arms, not to tightly, but it still surprised the vampiress.
"Tell me everything." Ethan demanded.
[Alright, I'm wrapping it up for now. Let me tell you, I wasn't sure about writing this episode since it was about Ms Ririko's… controversial study sessions, but it wasn't too nad in the end I think. Also I thought it would be a good opportunity to bring back the breath attack that showed he had fire based abilities. Anyway, before I head off, just want to say that I hope you're all having a good day and I'll see you next time. Peace.
P.S. Some of the stuff I wrote had references from other media. If you want, you check to see if you can pick them out and I'll tell you which ones they were in the next chapter. See you all later.]