The Gathering Storm

by samsationalization

It seems as though history is repeating itself. Time and time again, malevolent entities seek to destroy the delicate balance between the world of the living, the world of the dead, and the world of the monsters. Three unlikely heroes have been chosen to fend of the attacks. Will they be ready? Or will they fall like the others before? The storm is coming. Multiple pairings and OC.

5. Chapter 5: Flashback End

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Rosario+Vampire

Author's Notes: Here we are. Part 2. Because this is coming out sooner than I expected, I hope I can satisfy you guys. Reading the recent reviews, I think I can get my determination to back. To write that is. It's a good feeling. Whether or not the review is praise or criticism, someone took their time to read this disastrous story. I honestly, from the bottom of my heart, appreciate that. Thanks you all. Having nothing but a mere laptop, I can actually focus on writing. I guess it kind of was a blessing in disguise to have a somewhat ruined desktop. Now I can focus on writing. Well, here's what you came for. I may be an amateur but please enjoy. Reviews and PMs are appreciated.

Much love,

~SAYONARA~

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The headmaster sat quietly sat at his desk, contemplating over paperwork when he heard a knock at his office door. He silently stacked his papers and cleaned them off his desk before doing anything else. Straightening out his cloak sleeves, he motioned his doorman to answer the knock.

When the door opened, Oshiro stepped into the room, speed walking towards the Headmaster. His hair was rather messy, as if he had been running quite a bit. But that would explain why his face was red and heavy breathing.

"What is it, Mr. Oshiro?" The Headmaster said, folding his hands together. "Do you have anything for me?"

"We have managed to subdue all the commotion from the Auditorium Incident. We have also sprayed the modified Kikanshinki around the school grounds as well. Anyone who is awake right now should be falling asleep. When they awake up, they will not remember anything that happened today." Oshiro said, barely catching his breath. "Well… except for them…"

"Good, good." The Headmaster said, nodding in approval. "How long will it be until all the students regain consciousness?"

"Uh…" Oshiro began to say, quickly pulling out a packet of papers from his coat pocket and flipping through the pages, "They shall be waking up… approximately three days from today… A select number of people had been kept awake, excluding them. Would you like a list of their names, sir?"

"Yes, I would appreciate that very much." The Headmaster said. "Try to get the names in before evening."

"Will do, Headmaster." Oshiro said. "That is all there is to inform. Your plan had been executed flawlessly."

The Headmaster raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't know too much about it being flawless, but it worked. That's all that matters."

"You discredit yourself far too much sir. Be positive for once…" Oshiro said as he turned around to leave. But before he did, he stopped. Looking back at the headmaster, he said, "Oh, and Mr. Morioka said that he needed to speak with you, ASAP… and make that a large ASAP."

"Alright." The Headmaster said, "Did Ginei did what we had instructed him to do?"

Oshiro nodded. "He did it effortlessly. He has done well."

"Get Ginei and everyone else arranged in the underground chambers. I shall greet them myself down there." The Headmaster said, getting up to leave.

"Well, Mr. Morioka is already here." Oshiro said, wiping his glasses with his sleeve. "He's been waiting to speak with you for a while already."

"Well then, bring him in."

"Too late for that…" Oshiro sighed as he chuckled.

"Hey uncle," Ginei said, emerging from one of the many pillars in the room. "You busy?"

"I'll be on my way then." Oshiro said, giving the usual nod before leaving. "See you all downstairs."

Ginei waved him off as the Headmaster sat in his seat with a brief look of surprise on his face before composing himself back together. "Well, not at the moment… How long have you been there Gin?"

Ginei brought his hands to the back of his head as he walked nonchalantly towards the Headmaster's desk. "Long enough."

"Good." The Headmaster said, getting up to leave. "We can talk on the way down the chambers Gin. What you have to say better be good."

Ginei laughed as he trailed behind his uncle. "Hah. Uncle, when has it not been?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Are you alright Daisuke?" Ichigo asked. "You seem paler than usual…"

"I…" Daisuke began to say. "I-I am alright…"

For now…

Daisuke realized that the blood he had lost, giving it to Moka, must have been quite a lot. He had trouble walking and observing his environment. The loss of the blood and the lightheadedness had begun to take its toll on him. Ginei had told the group to stay on the second floors main hallway until further instructions. He had been gone for about five minutes already but Daisuke felt worse with each passing second. He leaned on the hallway wall to give himself some rest. There was little to no difference. His legs began to feel weak and he began to feel even weaker.

"What happened to you Daisuke?" Tsukune asked, concern written all over his face. "You are starting to look worse than Ichigo and me combined."

Moka and Daisuke briefly exchanged glances before he said anything else. Moka shook her head subtly. Daisuke sighed. Looking up at Tsukune he said, "I'll tell you later… I'm trying not to focus on this too much…"

"Okay then…" Tsukune said, shrugging. "But it looks like you definitely need some rest… Just saying…"

"You could say that again…" Daisuke said, sighing. "All of us do… and it's still only the first day…"

Tsukune sat down on the floor against the wall as he was dozing on and off by the passing second. Ichigo leaned on the wall next to Moka, arms crossed and eyes closed. His face had a hard expression on it, as if he was deep within thought. The same expression also rested on Moka's face as she stared at the wall, unblinking. Everyone was on edge at the moment.

"Ah, there you guys are." A familiar voice said. "I've been looking for you guys… Ginei explained the directions pretty roughly… But no matter."

Daisuke looked up and saw that the voice came from the man that stopped the fight between Midou and him earlier. His name was… Oshiro was it? Mr. Oshiro?

"Oh, it's you…" Ichigo said, barely moving his head to face the teacher. "What happened to that Gin guy?"

"Well, to make matters simpler, he is already waiting for you guys downstairs." Oshiro said, "C'mon, I'll lead you there. It isn't too far but the way down is… a bit complex… Now, if you'll follow me…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Are you going to tell him?" Moka asked Ichigo in a quiet voice as they walked down the unwinding steps of the underground section of the school. It was dark and large down here. The passage was lit by several burning torches. Their footsteps echoed as they stepped further down to the specified location. "Or more importantly, both of them?"

"About what?" Ichigo asked, glancing briefly at Moka.

Moka sighed as she stopped walking momentarily. She made Ichigo stop with her. She needed some distance to talk so that the others could not here them conversing. About five to six steps would be enough. She brought her mouth close to his ear. "You know exactly what I am talking about."

Ichigo raised his eyebrow as he looked up briefly to see if anybody other than Moka was paying attention to him. There wasn't anyone else. He sighed. "Why don't we just leave this at 'I got defeated by Saizou.'"

Moka glared at Ichigo. "Don't you think at least Tsukune deserves to know the truth? He thought you died when you got in the way between him and Saizou…"

"Well, I almost did die…" Ichigo said in defense. "But I have my reasons…"

Moka shook her head. "You are missing the point here Ichigo. Even I don't understand why you did what you did earlier… You even lied to Daisuke about what happened…" She paused for a moment. "And now you are telling me you have reasons? It just doesn't make any sense to me Ichigo."

Ichigo didn't say anything. He simply stood there, gazing into Moka's eyes, unblinking.

"Ichigo, I know you are strong. I can feel the energy you emit. You even had a chance at killing Saizou… Why didn't you? All you did was-"

"I did what I did because I couldn't bring myself to kill that boy." Ichigo said turning away. "Yeah, sure he is one hell of a monster and is a threat. But I couldn't."

Moka folded her arms and asked, "Why? Why couldn't you kill that scum?"

Ichigo made a sound. Moka stared at him. Soon, she found out that Ichigo was chuckling. Tilting her head, she asked, "What's so funny?"

Amidst the soft laughter, Ichigo managed to say, "You sound just like Zangetsu…"

"What?" Moka said, startled. "Who's Zangetsu?"

Ichigo patted his backside. Smirking, he said to Moka, "He is my Zanpaku-to… or my sword in simpler terms…"

"You give your swords names?... Soul Reapers are so weird…" Moka said, shaking her head. "Anyway, what did he say?"

Ichigo looked a bit awestruck for a moment at Moka's explanation for Zangestu's name. But he quickly shifted his attention to her question. Clearing his throat, he said, "Zangetsu told me to kill him as well. And no. I am not the one who gave him this name. Zanpaku-tos are special in the fact that they have a spirit of their own. A spirit that is parallel to the spirit of the wielder."

"Huh…" Moka said. "So your own sword told you to kill him and yet you defied him? How rude…"

"Zangetsu told me that I had the opportunity to strike since Saizou's attention was on you guys. I had the element of surprise. With any one of my attacks, I could have easily killed Saizou with ease."

"Then why didn't you?" Moka asked, her voice climbing higher. "Then we wouldn't be having this conversation right now… and this situation wouldn't be so complicated."

"… Killing others isn't the way I do things… No way." Ichigo said solemnly.

"What?! Why?! With a monstrous strength like yours you coul-"

"Because I haven't killed anyone before. Nor will I be eager to do so." Ichigo said adamantly. "When the time comes, maybe but now… Now isn't the time. Not yet."

"I find that quite hard to believe Ichigo…" Moka said. "But I'll trust that logic of yours… for now… But are you sure you aren't going to tell the others?"

Ichigo nodded silently.

Moka then sighed as she walked on. She then suddenly stopped. She looked back at Ichigo. "Why did you protect me back there?"

Ichigo gave a quick glance at her. "Because I thought you were in danger…"

Moka gave a soft smile, despite her frightening exterior. "Baka… I am a vampire… I can handle myself… And about your swor- I mean, Zanpaku-to…"

Ichigo shrugged. "It broke probably because I was fighting against it… and because of Saizou's attack…" Ichigo briefly rubbed his chest where his supposed scar was supposed to be. "It'll fix… just give it time."

Moka raised her eyebrow yet again. "Fight… Fighting against it? Your sword? How?"

Ichigo sighed. "Back when I was in the Soul Society to rescue a friend, I came across a rather eccentric Soul Reaper Captain. He lived for the exhilaration of the fight and he loved it. He would be what you call THE monster of the Gotei 13. But he had one slight problem. Although he was a Soul Reaper, he didn't know the name of his Zanpaku-to nor did he fight with it. The spirit energy of both the sword and the wielder must be in unison if they wish to tap into insurmountable power of a true Soul Reaper. The longer you fight parallel to one another, the weaker your Zanpaku-to becomes. And to this day, that Captain has not yet achieved the act of conversing with his Zanpaku-to."

"So, you are basically saying that your Zanpaku-to broke because you fought against it?..." Moka said, thinking. "I mean with spirit energy like yours that is actually quite plausible…"

Ichigo shrugged again. "Believe what you want, what has happened has happened."

"You are one weird Shinigami Ichigo Kurosaki…" Moka said with her piercing gaze.

Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"But I like that in you." Moka said, adding a warm, subtle smile.

Ichigo's face briefly turned red. "Eh-er, whatever. Let's get going. We might be falling behind a little too much."

"Remind me next time to take some blood from you." Moka said with a naughty grin.

"Okay I will- WHAT?! HEY!"

Moka laughed. "Heh. Relax Ichigo. I was only joking…"

Not… heh…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"There you guys are…" Ginei said, "I thought you guys lost your way following Toshikazu-san over here."

"Hey."

The group had walked into a very warmly lit lounge. There were several couches with velvet cushions near the fire place and bookshelf that was several feet adjacent to the fireplace. This was the meeting place suggested by Ginei. Ginei was leaning on the couch with a glass of water in his hand. It appeared as if he had been waiting for some time. Ginei chuckled as he drank the glass of water he had in his hands. Wiping his mouth, he looked at Oshiro. "I was only joking Toshikazu-san. No hard feelings?"

Sighing, Oshrio said, "It's MR. Oshiro to you, Second Year student. Get it right."

Ginei rolled his eyes. "Yeah whatever… anyway, thanks Toshikazu-san, I'll see you later."

Oshiro nodded as he quietly made his way to the door. He waved good-bye to everyone before his departure. After he left, the group sat down on the couches. Daisuke laid Mizore down by herself on one whole couch. She was still burning up from the bad fever. Her situation looked rather grim. Daisuke sat by her head, putting the ice from his Zanpaku-to on her forehead. He looked at Ginei who seemed rather undisturbed.

"So what do we do now?" Daisuke asked.

"Well… we can wait…" Ginei said, inexpressively. "Or we can try something ourselves which I doubt will do any good…"

Daisuke stood up and marched over to Ginei. He stared directly into Ginei's eyes. "Stop messing around. I am being serious right now. Mizore's life is in danger at the moment."

"Well," Ginei said, squinting, "I can sure as hell see that. Thanks for telling me."

Daisuke jabbed Ginei in the chest with his index finger. "I said stop messing around." Daisuke said behind clenched teeth.

"Or what?" Ginei asked, unfazed.

Daisuke gripped Ginei by his shirt collar. Although Daisuke was nearly a head shorter than Ginei, he stood his ground adamantly. Daisuke's gaze pierced Ginei's. Daisuke said, "You said you will help us! You said you will give us options to help Mizore!"

"Daisuke…" Tsukune said, "Stop getting so worked up…"

"How can you not be?!" Daisuke exclaimed. "If we don't do something, Mizore will die!"

Daisuke's group didn't say a word. Tsukune shut up quite quickly after Daisuke said that. Ichigo crossed his arms as he sat on the couch, thinking. Moka sat upright, her hand to her mouth, also thinking. Daisuke groaned. "We have to do something!"

Ginei sighed, frustrated. Ginei grabbed Daisuke's hand and threw it off of him. He stretched out his neck and straightened out the collar of his shirt. He said something under his breath. He then resumed eye contact with Daisuke. "That is why we wait."

"What the hell is going to come out from us just waiting?! You said you will help us! You said you will help Mizore!"

Ginei face palmed himself, rubbing his temples. "You need to calm down and stop acting out on impulse. I never said that I would be the one to help you guys. I said that I would get help for you guys. And you Daisuke, need to seriously calm your ass down before I get mad."

"Well, I am already mad." Daisuke said, glaring at Ginei.

"Good for you." Ginei said, drinking his water again. "Now we wait."

"Wait for who exactly?!" Daisuke exclaimed. The others nodded in agreement.

"For me."

Daisuke turned to see a hooded man standing by the doorway. His cloak had intricate designs and embroideries on them. It was quite an exquisite robe and cloak. On the hood of the man's cloak, rested the crest of an eagle or some bird of the sort. Daisuke then realized he recognized this man from somewhere! But where?

Where did I see this guy before?... C'mon think…

Ginei looked back at the man. "Oh, so you are finally back uncle. I was beginning to get worried that you got lost…"

"Me, get lost in my own home? Please… I know these grounds like the palm of my hand."

"I could second that Uncle." Ginei said. "But I think now isn't the time to be messing around. Our friend here is quite aggravated at the moment." Ginei gave a look to Daisuke but Daisuke was already too deep in thought of trying to figure out where he saw this man before.

"Aye, Ginei…" The hooded man said. He turned and faced the group. "Greetings new Freshmen, I am the Headmaster of Youkai Academy. I welcome you to your new school year here."

The group remained silent. Ginei sighed. "So much for an entrance uncle…"

Headmaster? Daisuke thought. I heard that word being spoken around at the Orphanage... Jean often said that word during the times I would snoop around in his office's ventilation systems… Wait a minute… White cloak and hood. Decorated cloak and robe. Eagle insignia… I saw this man briefly at…

"I believe you and I already unofficially met before Mr. Shirai." The Headmaster said. "Although it was brief."

Daisuke looked at the Headmaster's face and saw the two glowing eyes. He said in a low voice. "You were there. At the orphanage."

The Headmaster nodded. He turned to face the group again. "Ginei here has already explained the situation for me. The Yuki-Onna, Ms. Shirayuki is burning up with a fever. Ginei, if you may, could you describe the specifics to the people who may not know exactly what our situation is?"

"Gladly uncle." Ginei said, clearing his throat. "As you can tell, Mizore here is burning up with a fever. From my early observation during the Auditorium Incident, I saw Mizore evading a Monstrel. Based off of what the monstrel had said, he said that he created some sort of toxin or serum and had shot it into Mizore's bloodstream with a very fine and thin dart. The toxin attacked her immune system severely before it began to take effect. Although her immune system worked hard trying to fight off the foreign invaders, the hotter her body temperature grew in effort to fight the virus, the weaker she became. The poison itself is not too deadly on regular monsters but it is fatal to the Yuki-Onna…"

"But how?" Moka asked.

"The monstrel was a very observant opponent. He figured out that Mizore was a Yuki-Onna and shot her with the poison-filled dart. He probably found out through observation that his poison would be the best at fighting Mizore." Daisuke answered.

Ginei nodded. "That could be the case and is plausible. But enough about theories of who did what. We have a way to treat her."

"What is it?" The group asked simultaneously.

"We'll keep the process under the wraps for now. But what we do need is the blood of a male Snow Person. And that would be where you come into play Daisuke."

Everyone shifted their eyes towards Daisuke. He panned his eyes across all of his friends' faces. "Wait a damn minute."

"We can either extract the blood that was harvest by Moka earlier," Gin continued, "or we can use our IV tubes and other equipment to get the blood out of you… Or we could get Moka to bite you again…"

Daisuke saw Moka's mischievous face as she licked her lips, still staring at Daisuke. He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He felt the chills go down his spine.

"Uh-uh… I think I will go with the medical equipment…" Daisuke said weakly, averting Moka's deathly gaze. Daisuke thought that he heard Moka slightly growl. He scooted away from her a couple centimeters on the couch.

"Medical equipment it is…" Ginei said. "Alright then, that settles it. Ichigo, carry Mizore and follow the Headmaster. Daisuke, you come with me. The rest of you, Oshiro will take you back up to the ground level. If you need to, he will also accompany in taking you guys to the infirmary. You guys look like you all need the rest. So with that said, let's get moving."

They all nodded. Ichigo exchanged glances with Moka for a brief moment. They exchanged some words. Ichigo and Moka both ended up smiling. Then Ichigo put Mizore on his back and carried her. He followed the Headmaster out of the lounge and into a medical bay beyond the corridors. Daisuke quickly followed Ginei into the opposite room from the lounge to extract his blood. The only people that were left in the lounge were Tsukune and Moka. Oshiro would be coming shortly.

"Moka?" Tsukune asked.

"Mm?" She replied.

"So you are a vampire huh…" Tsukune said. "I heard what Ginei said."

Moka sighed. Well you are slow… "Yeah. I am a vampire. Does that change the way you feel for her?"

"Who?" Tsukune asked.

"The other Moka. Tsukune, I can tell you are fonder of her than you are of me."

"What? What makes you say that?" Tsukune exclaimed.

"It doesn't matter to me Tsukune. You can say what you want."

Tsukune was silent. "So you are saying that there are two Mokas… Which is the real one?"

Moka shrugged. "That's for you to decide. Anyway, you have something that belongs to me."

"What?" Tsukune asked. He then put his hand in his pants pocket and pulled out a silver cross with a red gem studded in the middle of it. "Oh… right."

Tsukune handed it back to her. Moka thanked him. As she brought the rosary close to her neck, she stopped. She looked at Tsukune. "Tsukune, before anything else. You should know something."

"What?"

"This Moka, not the other," Moka began to say. Tsukune listened intently. "Longs for another."

As the rosary came in contact with her chain, she smiled a soft smile. She mouthed the words good bye to Tsukune. There was a blinding light as Moka was enveloped in it. When Tsukune reopened his eyes, he saw that Moka had returned to her original form. Her pink hair and slightly tanned skin tone returned. A bruise from Saizou remained on her arm. Her uniform was a bit torn after all. She had her eyes closed. She was sleeping. Tsukune sighed. He quickly got Moka onto his back as he made his way to the door.

The other Moka said that she longs for someone else. Not me… I guess… But what about this Moka? Who does she desire?...

Oshiro opened the door from the other side and was a bit surprised to see Tsukune standing directly in the door way when it opened. Recomposing himself, Oshiro led Tsukune back up to the ground floor. Tsukune looked at Moka who was sleeping peacefully on his back despite the injuries she sustained earlier. He sighed too.

Well, I guess I got all year to find out…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

PRESENT DAY…

"… Basically, afterwards, they extracted some more blood from me, and they used it on you during the surgical procedures. Short to the point, it was a success and that's why you are still alive."

Mizore embraced Daisuke. She then spoke in low voice. "Thank you Daisuke."

Daisuke shook his head as he got up from the bed to stretch his limbs. He went to the window to look outside. It was the early morning and the sun was beginning to rise. The breeze was easy and calm. It was going to be a beautiful new day. He looked back at Mizore, the bags under his eyes seemed less bigger than before. He said, "Don't be thanking me. You should be thanking the Headmaster, Ginei, and everyone else. All I did was donate blood. They were the real heroes."

Mizore sat quietly on the bed. She raised an eyebrow and looked at Daisuke. "Just who the heck is this Ginei guy?"

"That would be me!" Ginei said through the open window. Ginei made his way in carefully and quietly through the window. He landed on the floor softly with his two feet. In his hands were a bundle of white flowers. "Sorry to pop in unannounced… But I heard you woke up."

"Oh?" Mizore said, curious. "Who told you?"

"Your friends," Ginei said. "They are a great bunch. Especially this one right here."

He grabbed Daisuke's head with his arms and gave him a noggin. Daisuke jokingly cried out for mercy. Mizore giggled. In the end, all three were laughing gleefully. Ginei straightened himself out as he made his way to Mizore's bedside with his flowers. He put the white flowers in the vacant vase on the night table. He looked at Mizore.

"These were for you. They have the message saying to 'get well'" Ginei said. "Special delivery." He whispered into Mizore's ear.

"Aww." Mizore said. "How sweet… Thanks…"

Ginei shrugged his shoulders. "Don't thank me… Thank yours truly… with a big heart as well…"

"Yours… truly…?" Mizore looked at Daisuke. "Did you..?"

Daisuke grinned subtly. "Well, I wanted to give you something to tell you to get better by… and your name is also closely sounding to a flower I know… So I asked Gin over here to acquire some from me…"

"Thanks Daisuke." Mizore said, looking at the flower vase. "Thanks for caring."

"That's what friends do, right?"

"Friends…?" Mizore said.

"Well, yeah!" Daisuke said.

"Sorry… I am clueless with these things… I don't have many friends…" Mizore said, looking at her hands glumly.

"What are you talking about, Mizore?" Daisuke said. "You've got us."

"Huh?" Mizore looked up and saw that Ichigo, Moka, Tsukune, Daisuke, and Ginei were all standing in front of her. They all smiled at her. Some of them had injuries. Others seemed greatly tired yet they were all here, for her.

"We're your friends, aren't we?" Tsukune said, smiling. "Isn't it right for friends to look after one another?"

"To protect one another." Ichigo added.

"And care for each other." Moka added cheerfully with a smile.

"I-I…" Mizore said, choking on her words.

"We're all here for you. Don't you ever worry about being alone. We're all here for you."

"Th-thank you guys…" Mizore said, tears rolling down her cheeks. She wiped them with her sleeve. "I'm sorry… I-I don't even know what to say…"

Daisuke shook his head, smiling. "Don't be. Now rest up. You will be here for one more day before leaving to go to your dormitory. The Headmaster got a special room for you. I'll come back in a few hours to check in on you."

"Nah Daisuke," Tsukune said, "I'll do it. You look like you need some rest too."

"Look who is talking. You aren't any better than me." Daisuke said, chuckling.

"Ah, it's alright." Tsukune said. "Take it easy. I've got this."

"I'll stay here with you too Tsukune." Moka said.

"You guys sure?" Daisuke asked. Tsukune and Moka nodded.

Daisuke shrugged his shoulders. "Fine then. Have it your way." He looked back at Mizore who was getting ready to doze off. "I'll see you later."

"Okay Daisuke…" Mizore said, dreamily. "See you…"

The group then began to walk out of the room. Daisuke was about to walk out and when he was stopped by Ginei. Daisuke asked him what was up. Ginei looked around to see if anyone could eavesdrop on him. He looked back at Mizore and saw that she was fast asleep. He sighed.

"So what is it?" Daisuke asked.

"Well, if you want to know my opinion on that display you guys put on earlier," Ginei began to say, "It was so corny and stereotypical-anime style, I almost burst out laughing. That's the first thing I wanted to say."

"Oh, alright then." Daisuke said, unbothered. "What else do you need to talk with me about?"

Ginei looked around one more time. He looked out the windows as well. He saw no one. His face turned serious and he spoke in a low voice, "It's about the Auditorium Incident."

Daisuke became instantly alarmed. "What about it? Did anyone find out about my identity?"

Ginei shook his head. "The school authoritarians already took care of that issue… but there is something else."

"What?"

"That day, Saizou and the skinhead…" Ginei began. "You know how they were causing a ruckus before you fought them?"

Daisuke thought for a moment. "Come to think of it, yeah… they were… they beat up some poor kid for some money… how is that kid doing anyway? What's his name… Toru?"

"That is also a problem." Ginei said. "I asked the others to describe him for me and such. I went snooping around. After all my research, I find out that nobody named Toru attends our academy."

Daisuke's eyes grew wide. "What?!" Ginei motioned him to get quiet. Daisuke muttered under his breath. "How is that possible?"

Ginei sighed. "Your guess is as good as mine… I don't know either…"

The two stood there silently. Daisuke looked back up at Ginei. "Something about this is suspicious…" Daisuke scratched his head. "This all smells fishy… like it was all staged…"

Ginei looked directly up and into Daisuke's eyes. "That was exactly was I was thinking earlier as well. And I got the evidence to back it up. The Headmaster authorized interrogation of both Saizou Komiya and the skinhead."

"Did you get his name?" Daisuke asked. "I am curious on what it is."

Ginei shrugged. "He sure as hell ain't Japanese… or Korean… He's a western folk… however…"

"What the compass tells me is arbitrary, I could care less, what is his name?"

"His name is Japanese." Ginei said. "It's Makoto… no surname."

Daisuke raised an eyebrow. "Well… that was anticlimactic… except for the no last name part… So he is practically a mutt…"

"Half-American and Half-Japanese… yet no last name. Yeah, your speculation on him being a 'mutt' is correct."

"Anyway," Daisuke said, waving his hand, "Back to the interrogation."

"Right, although these two had mildly different stories about the entire event…"

"Yeah? Go on…"

"There was one thing that was common," Ginei said. "It was the fact that someone told them to do it. That's as far as I could go without breaking their mental state. I used some powerful chemicals to utilize and threaten them with…"

"Oh shiiiii-"

"Yeah… It was some serious crap I had to deal with… I don't wanna meddle in the Public Safety Committee's jobs but this was vital information I acquired."

"So… can we pin this guy?" Daisuke asked. "Can we find out who and where he is?"

"I've got even better news." Ginei said. "The two boys confessed that the man was a person who works at this school. Obviously, from my choice of words, he is male."

"Huh… that shortens the search to… a couple hundred people?" Daisuke said sarcastically. "What if the guy already left, Gin?"

Ginei shook his head. "Daisuke. In all my years of doing this line of investigating, when someone leaves on no notice after some event like this, their alibi is rock solid. We can predominantly assume that the person who left without any notice and specifically after the event had taken place is our prime suspect. Whoever planned this was smart enough to give away their position in this school to his proxies. He would have known that if he left, we would have tracked him down in no time flat. He is still on campus. I know it."

"Alright then. How do we get close to this guy?" Daisuke asked.

"Well, this academy, despite all the other exceptions, does not allow the students to meddle about in teachers' businesses and daily lives." Ginei said. "We won't be able to snoop around for teacher information on our time…"

"Then how do we find this guy?" Daisuke asked.

"Heh." Ginei smirked. "That's why I am the president of the Newspapers Club."

Daisuke's eyes lit up. "Of course!" Daisuke almost burst out laughing. "All we need to do is use your club and take advantage of its resources!"

"And luckily this year, a lot of new teachers came in. Interviewing them, while secretly snooping around in their rooms and lounges will be a perfect plan. It is a lucky break for us."

"Do you want me to explain this to the rest of the group?" Daisuke asked.

"Nah…" Ginei said, shaking his head. "I'll do it myself before club rush next week. But before that, don't say a word about what we just discussed, got it?"

Daisuke did a mock salute to Ginei. "Got it. Where you off to now Gin?"

"Oh ho, so now you are calling me Gin?" Ginei said, smirking. "Nice."

"Eh… Whatever." Daisuke said. "But where you going… with your camera…?"

"Oh you know… the usual spying…" Ginei said.

Daisuke face palmed himself. "Don't tell me… The girls' locker room?"

"Hey," Ginei said gleefully. "Jackpot tonight. The girls will be heading to the Spa section of the school. I could get some good shots… want me to send you some?"

Daisuke made a big X with his arms. "How about no."

"Have it your way then…" Ginei said, beginning to climb out the window. "Are you sure? You might regret this later…"

"I am absolutely positively undoubtedly certainly unquestionably sure about my decision. Now shoo. Go on."

Ginei winked. "Hahaha… See you around Daisuke."

"Hey... but before you go..." Daisuke began to say.

"What's up?" Ginei asked, halfway out the window.

"I-I..." Daisuke said. "I... just wanted to apologize for a couple days earlier... I shouldn't have behaved like that down in the chambers..."

Ginei laughed as he ran his hand through Daisuke's silver-white hair. "It's alright..." He smirked. "Happens to the best of us."

"Heh," Daisuke said. "I guess you are right..."

"Well." Ginei said. "I'll get going... Don't wanna miss any good opportunities now do I?"

"You are such a pervert Gin." Daisuke said shaking his head. "Such a shame."

"Whatever Daisuke. Catch you later." Ginei said.

"Mmm." Daisuke waved good-bye to Ginei as he jumped out the window and onto a nearby balcony. In no time, Ginei was out of sight.

Daisuke sighed. After the big commotion caused by the Auditorium Incident, he was getting himself into another problem. But this was his problem. The person who told Saizou and Makoto to attack was at fault for causing all of this. Of course it was his problem. And he was going to get to the bottom of this one way or another. And with the resources present at the Newspaper Club, he could also research on the student Daichi Shirai. For the past few days, he realized that the name was passed around like some ghost story or legend. Daisuke managed to garner together that Daichi was some sort of prodigy at this academy. He was a genius and cunning warrior as well. He never revealed his true form because he always fought with a sword. Then one day, he vanished. He simply disappeared. No one knew what happened to him and no one knew where he went. Daisuke remembered what Moka had said to him. It must have had to do something with the Kage no Sekai Incident. The literal translation meant Shadow World. Whatever it was, it caused the disappearance of Daichi. And allegedly, the academy had recovered the corpse of Daichi and buried it with official honors on the school grounds, thus the grave was there. But that wasn't enough information. If it meant to discover someone who might have been related to him, Daisuke knew he was going to find out no matter what. Daisuke sighed, as he stretched out his back. He stood up from his chair and began to head to the door. He stopped in the doorway. He looked back at Mizore. She was fast asleep. Daisuke smiled. Mizore looked so cute when she was asleep.

Actually she looks cute all the time…

Daisuke went over to her bedside and stood there silently. He brought his face close to hers. He had a momentary thought. He wanted to kiss her for some reason. He had never done it before. But something made him want to… But he shook the thought away from his mind. His rubbed Mizore's soft face with hands as he sighed contently. After all those years in the orphanage, it was good to have people he could talk to, to relate to, to be intimate with. He smiled as he made his way towards the door. Daisuke let out a breath as he gripped the door handle and opened the door to leave. Upon opening the door, he walked out quickly as he was on his way back to his dormitory. But as he left the infirmary, a voice called to him.

"Hey you, smartass…" The voice said. "Look at me when I am talking to you."

Daisuke stopped. He recognized this voice. It belonged to a certain student that almost tried to kill him before school even started for the orientation. It was Midou.

He was leaning on the wall with a cigarette in his mouth. His long light gray hair neatly gelled to one side He glared at Daisuke with a dirty look, Daisuke returned the expression. He wanted to break the silence.

"You know, smoking kills you."

"My great-grandmother lived to be a thousand years old." Midou retorted.

"Smoking?"

"Minding her own damn business. Now quit trying to be funny, jackass."

Daisuke shut-up. He glared at Midou, waiting for him to speak. However, Midou continued playing around with his burning cigarette. With his two fingers, he burned out the burning end by simply touching it. Daisuke couldn't wait anymore for this prick to start talking.

"So why the hell did you stop me?" Daisuke said. "You are wasting my time."

Midou didn't say anything.

"You know what? That's it, I am leaving." Daisuke said. "Think of something to say before you stop anyone… baka…"

As Daisuke walked away, Midou spoke, "Stay away from Mizore."

Daisuke didn't turn around. "I am afraid you are in no position to tell me to do ANYTHING asshole. So stop wasting my time."

"This is my final warning. Stay away from Mizore or else."

Daisuke turned around and glared at Midou. "Or else what?!"

Midou scoffed. "I'll tell everything I just overheard from your conversation with Morioka to the Public Safety Committee. As you know, they are just looking for ways to shut down the Newspaper Club…"

"Wh-why?!" Daisuke asked. "What did the club do?"

"Ask your Club President." Midou scoffed. "And not only that, I will tell the Public Safety Committee who you are…"

"Soul Reaper."

Daisuke was alarmed. He thought that everyone in the school had forgotten about who he was. But it seems that that was not the case. He silently cursed under his breath. Clenching his fist, he walked up to Midou. "How do you know?"

Midou chuckled. "That's for me to know and you to find out… So what are you going to do? Are you going to stay with Mizore and create another incident at the Academy? Or are you going to do what is best for you and your friends?"

Daisuke stood still, head hung down. He cursed silently. He wanted to fight Midou right here, right now. But he was in no position to do so. He was recuperating from blood loss, he had no energy to be cuffing fists with someone who was nearly two times his size. Behind clenched teeth, he said, "How will I know you will keep your promise?"

"Hell, you fall fast." Midou said, grinning. "I thought that you would at least put up a fight."

"Shut up and tell me what you are proposing." Daisuke said, fists and teeth clenched.

"Haha, you are no fun, you little insect." Midou said still chuckling.

Midou raised his hand pulled off a blue diamond studded gold ring from his right index finger. He flicked it to Daisuke. Daisuke caught it with one hand. He opened his hand and saw that it was a genuinely expensive ring… but what was the sentimental cost?

"What does this ring mean to you?" Daisuke asked, still looking at the ring.

"It is my great-grandmother's. This is my token to you, telling you that I will keep my word." Midou said, frowning a little bit. "And I hope that you will do the same… For her sake."

Daisuke muttered under his breath. He turned around and began to walk down the hallway, ring clenched in his hand. He pocketed the ring and continued walking.

"So is it a deal then?" Midou called out.

"What choice do I have?" Daisuke muttered to him.

"None. That's the whole point," Midou said, smiling devilishly. "See you around, punk."

"And one more thing." Midou said. "I have my eye on you. I have eyes everywhere in this school. Don't assume that I don't know where you are."

Midou pushed himself off the wall and walked down the hallway and downstairs, disappearing from view. When Midou was gone, Daisuke rubbed his temples with his fingers. He could not believe what was going on. All he wanted to was to lead a normal life at this academy with his friends without being held captive from some outside force. Daisuke pulled the ring out of his pocket. He flicked it up and caught it back in his hand. He closed his eyes, sighing. His mind was cluttered with thousands of thoughts and questions that he needed to be answered. The only problem was that there was no clear answer. All beat-around-the-bush solutions. Each of them had no bad outcome but had no good consequences either. Daisuke felt like he had just fallen into a bottomless pit, anticipating to hit the bottom at breakneck speed but the bottom was never coming. Daisuke opened his eyes. Clenching the ring in his fist, his gaze became fierce as a fire was ignited inside of him.

He would get even with that bastard Midou.

He would do whatever it took if it meant eliminating that scum from the face of this earth.

All he needed was time and a place.

That's all it took.

Sadistic thoughts ran through his mind. He ignored those psychotic ideas, knowing they weren't right. He would strike when the time was right and the pain would be real on an incalculable level, both physically and emotionally. The time would eventually come.

All he really needed to do… was to wait.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

(A/N): Dun dun dun! Daisuke is taking a dark turn. But who wouldn't after something like this were to happen to them? Also, it seems that Inner Moka and Outer Moka desire different people. Who could they be? Wait until the next chapter… and the chapter after that… and so on… Anyway, I was able to push myself consistently with your guys' support. It helps. I hope to continue writing continuously and consistently. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I had writing it.

Thanks for reading, stay tuned!

Much love,

~SAYONARA~