Now they should be up every hour (except between the hours of US Eastern 01:00 and 04:00 cause that's when I sleep). Enjoy the chapter, yeah?
The entire group gasped in shock at what Ura had just done, but then they realized that the monsters were still sporting heads, albeit smaller than the initial ones. Tsukune groaned as Kuyou, Miyabi and Kiria appeared, laughing boisterously as the group calmed down. Ura and Gin both scoffed at the pair and crossed their arms, Ura cocking her hip as Omote moved closer to her.
"Geeze, you guys are so immature." Ura told them, rolling her eyes as Omote slowed her breathing.
"Hey, it was funny!" Kuyou snickered, moving closer and throwing his arm around Keito's shoulders. "Seeing you guys scream like little girls is hilarious."
"I agree." Kiria chortled.
"Besides," Miyabi went on. "Maybe we wanted to join the party."
"Really?" Tsukune asked hopefully.
"No!" Kuyou snorted, the trio breaking out into laughter once more.
"Hey, where's Saizo?" Kiria inquired glancing around.
"Probably chickened out." Kuyou grinned. "Come on, let's go get our clothes."
The entire group followed the trio to a room not far down the hall. Opening the door, Kuyou's smile fell and he gave a shout of horror. Moving to the door, Miyabi, Kiria and Tsukune all gave an identical shout.
Against the opposite wall stood Saizo, stark naked. His mouth hung open with blood dripping from the large cavern. His eye sockets were empty, the blood dripping from them slowly and falling into his obviously broken jaw. The large puddle of blood on the floor was due, most likely, to the fact that Saizo's chest had been skinned, the flaps being held open by his own hands, his heart and lungs clearly visible. Behind him, they could see something long and bright pink hanging from the apex of his legs. Ura quickly covered Omote's eyes as Ruby did the same with Yukari.
"Is he…?" Fang-Fang stared wide-eyed at the corpse, unable to finish the question.
"W-what's going on?" Kurumu demanded fearfully. "How did this happen?"
"Who cares, we need to call the police." Mizore turned to Tsukune to see the ghoul boy already racing for a phone in the hallway. Dialing the number, he waited for someone to pick up.
Across town, the police station was full of the sound of ringing, officers answering the phone as quickly as the receptionists and secretaries. The chief of police answered the phone and Tsukune breathed a sigh of relief.
"Yes, is this the police station?"
"Who is this?"
"Tsukune Aono, sir."
"Yes, what's the problem?"
"Our friend... he was murdered."
"Can you explain what happened?"
"He… his tongue has been ripped out and… and his chest was skinned… and his eyes are gone."
"Alright then, I presume this is at your house?"
"Yes sir."
"Good. We'll get a location and I'll send the first free unit over. Stay put and stay close to anyone that's with you, understood?"
"Y-yes sir."
"It's not likely the murderer is still there, but I want all of you to carry a weapon."
"Understood."
"Good, we'll be there as soon as is possible, Mr. Aono." The line went dead and Tsukune turned to the others. Keito was clutching Kuyou and Omote and Ura were huddled together with the Shuzens, Kurumu and Mizore. Kiria, Hokuto, Ginei, Haiji, Fang-Fang and Xia-Ling had made a protective circle around Routier, San, Ruby and Yukari.
"The officer said that it's likely the murderer is still here." he told them, his voice shaking slightly. "And that we should stay together and carry weapons just in case."
As soon as he said that, almost everyone took out their own forms of a weapon; Kurumu's nails grew several inches, Mizore formed several ice knives, Yukari took out some iron tarot cards, Ruby had a few feather-shaped knives, Kuyou formed a fireball, Aqua moved into a fighting stance, Kokoa hefted a morning star that her ever-present pet bat turned into, Gin partially transformed into a wolf, San closed her notebook and lowered her hands, Haiji got his fists ready, Keito spat silky thread from her mouth in the form of a rope, Hokuto transformed his arm into a strange-looking weapon, Kiria's arm elongated into a strange-looking sword, Kahlua's arm transformed into several bat wings, Xia-Ling and Fang-Fang took out their separate swords, Routier pulled out a miniature chainsaw and Miyabi grew several long tentacles from underneath of his overcoat.
Tsukune noticed that Omote and Ura simply moved closer together, neither having a weapon of their own. Not liking the thought of Omote being defenseless, Tsukune ripped off one of his sharp blade-like appendages on his arm and handed it to the pink-haired girl. "Here, this should suffice."
Omote glanced at it fearfully before handing it to Ura with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Tsukune, but I don't use weapons."
"She leaves that to me." Ura said dismissively, hefting the blade-like appendage in her hand and eyeing Tsukune sternly.
Tsukune took a step back as he saw something flash within the red eyes staring at him, but shook it off. "Alright, we should probably be heading to the kitchen for dinner. I'll have the cook make something light just in case."
"Tsukune, where is your bathroom?" Kuyou asked.
"Actually, it's down the hall we're going near." Tsukune told him. "I'll point it out to you when we pass it."
"Thanks."
The group followed Tsukune through the hallways, looking around every corner in case the murderer was still within the building. Heading down the long hallway, Tsukune glanced back at Kuyou. "Bathroom's right there."
"Be careful." Keito told him.
"Hm, you know I'll burn someone to a crisp before they ever touch me." Kuyou pecked her lips before breaking from the rest of the group, heading in the direction Tsukune had pointed out to him. The rest of the group continued on after their host, arriving in a large banquet hall decorated in red. Several small chandeliers hung from the ceiling, their candles providing the light for the meal, much to Ura's relief. The long table was already adorned with heaping platters of steaming vegetables, pastries and fruits.
"Hey Cook!" Tsukune called. "Where's the meat?"
"I'm not certain." Cook shrugged. "I have a new volunteer working on the meat right now so it should be out soon. In the meantime, feel free to sample the rest of the food."
The teens all dug into the delicacies along the table with vigor, feeling their stomachs rumble as they did so. The fruits were attacked first as were the pastries and Tsukune engaged Omote in conversation before Kurumu and Ruby moved over to his sides, pushing Omote closer to Ura. The pinkette noticed that her sister was sitting a little further away from the others and decided to keep her company.
...
Kuyou exited the bathroom and spotted someone walking along the hallway nearby. Following the person, he saw a flash of silver and grinned. Moving quickly to catch up, he trailed the figure into something that looked like a dungeon. There were several white-clad people in the room so Kuyou assumed that it was the kitchen. Glancing around, he saw the figure kneeling near one of the large ovens and he moved over to stand beside them.
"Funny seeing you without-." Before he could finish, the figure leaped up, knife in hand and moved closer. Kuyou took a step back, feeling the heat of the fire in the oven beginning to grow in temperature.
"You may want to rethink this." he sneered, a fireball appearing in his hand. The figure stared at him blankly before grabbing a nearby pitcher of water and dumping it over his head. Steam rose from the fox-boy's body and he took another step back as the person advanced, grabbing an apple as they did so.
"Going to snack while you're killing me?" Kuyou snickered despite his sticky situation. The figure shook their head and pointed to him. Kuyou raised an eyebrow before he realized what the person meant. His eyes widened as the red eyes drew closer.
...
Omote reached for a brownie, but gave a soft cry when Ura slapped her hand. "Don't even think about getting chocolate." The silver-haired girl said. "I want to get some sleep tonight. Try the rolled up fruit things instead." The pinkette nodded and grabbed a long piece of reddish fruit treats.
Minutes passed and the meat was still not brought out. In order to preserve their appetites, the teenagers began talking more than eating, Aqua and Kokoa getting into an argument over whether or not chocolate was better than gummy worms.
"Cook?" Tsukune glanced at the snake-like woman.
"Allow me to go check what is taking so long." Cook excused herself, her reptilian eyes surveying the kitchen. Glancing at the oven, she noticed that there was something cooking inside. Pulling it out, she passed it off to someone passing through the shadows nearby.
"You! Have this cut open, chopped up and put on a platter. Those teenagers want some meat to chew on." The figure nodded, red eyes narrowed at the large hunk of meat. Cook watched the figure calmly and noticed that they looked vaguely familiar. When the figure was finished dissecting and preparing the platter, Cook thrust the platter to a passing serving boy.
"The meat has arrived!" Cook called to the teens as the serving boy followed her out and brought out a large plate filled with assorted cooked meats. "Careful, not all of the body parts have been emptied. Eat at your own risk.
The group happily dug into the meat presented to them, Kokoa and Aqua fighting over a particularly large fleshy piece. Keito stabbed at a very round piece and a whitish yellow liquid spilled from inside, running along the plate. The spider-girl cocked her head and licked at the liquid, being instantly reminded of Kuyou during their time alone earlier. Omote grabbed the heart and Ura speared the liver. The two girls glanced at each other in distaste and switched, chewing happily at their trade.
"Hey Cook?" Tsukune called, picking at something resembling a stomach. "What is this?"
"I don't know." Cook shrugged. "I just found it in the oven. But we'll know when the head comes out. Here it comes now!"
They all paused as the head was presented on a platter and laid before them. There was a pregnant silence as they all looked at their food. All at once, Keito screamed, dropping the very round piece she had been chewing, Aqua and Kokoa stared at the now vaguely familiar flesh they had been fighting over and Fang-Fang stopped Xia-Ling from choking on one particular kidney piece. On the platter before them was Kuyou's head, scorched and burned, but still recognizable. His mouth was holding a caramelized apple and his eyes had been gouged from their sockets much the same as Saizo's. Tsukune leaped to his feet as most everyone hid behind him.
Cook called for one of the servants to contact the police as quickly as possible. As the servant rushed off, the teenagers tried to control themselves and calm down. "What's going on here?" Miyabi demanded of Tsukune, lifting the boy off his feet. "What are you getting at, Aono?"
"I don't know what's happening either!" Tsukune choked out, glaring at the dark-haired man.
"Stop!" Kurumu shouted, slamming her shoulder into Miyabi's chest and making him let go of the younger boy. "We have to get out of here; it's obvious the murderer is still here and has no intention of stopping."
"I agree." Ura nodded, looking for any means of escape.
"Let's go." Tsukune said. "Before the house shuts down."
"What do you mean, shuts down?" Kokoa asked as they all raced for the nearest door.
"I mean, as soon as eight o'clock hits, the house shuts itself down and closes all exits and entrances."
"Then let's get the hell outta here!" Ruby shrieked, running for the door. Following her lead, the rest of the teens rushed for the exit that was just within reach. Just as they were about to get to the door, Ruby, Kiria and Xia-Ling all tripped over a small rope set up near the door, causing everyone else to bump into them as well. Before their eyes, the house began shutting down, closing all of the doors, slamming bars down over the windows and closing the basement exit.
All of the teens watched in horror as the door before their eyes had a large metal slab close against it, shutting them off from the outside.
"Oh shit." Mizore stated, voicing what was all on their minds.
"How the hell are we supposed to survive now?" Miyabi asked hollowly.
"We need to stay together." Tsukune told them all, hefting another blade-like appendage from his arm.
"Are you insane?" Keito demanded, moving close to him as her eyes shone in anger. "Someone's killing people inside your house and all you can say is for us to stay together? He killed my boyfriend!"
"Whoa, how do you know it's a he?" Kurumu asked, pulling the purple-haired girl away from Tsukune.
"Well, unless you have any proof it's a girl I'm calling it a guy. After all, no girl could take out Kuyou!"
Tsukune watched as Omote and Ura shared a glance and wondered what was going on between the two sisters. Ura stepped forward and cleared her throat. "Maybe we should stick together as Tsukune said." She agreed. "We'll be more likely to take out the murderer if we're in a larger group."
"Oh what would you know about sticking together, Ghost?" Keito snapped. "You probably wouldn't even see the knife coming at you!"
Ura's eyes narrowed and her hand twitched toward the blade Tsukune had given to Omote. The name still haunted her from childhood. Ghost! Ghost! Run away! Ghost! Ghost! Don't come to play! Ura grit her teeth against the memories, red eyes glaring down at the ground for a moment. Taking a deep breath, her eyes cooled. "Fine then, why don't we all split up to our rooms?" she sneered.
"Now you want us to split up?" Keito scoffed. "Make up your mind, Red-Eye." Ura's nostrils flared and she turned away, shaking her head. Aqua leaped forward and snapped her hand across Keito's cheek.
"She's trying to figure out a way to keep us all safe." The Chinese girl hissed. "You're just being a difficult brat because you no longer have a boyfriend."
Keito glared at the middle Shuzen and turned on her heel, walking over to stand beside Miyabi and Kiria.
"Now that we have that settled," Tsukune said slowly, trying to ease the tension between the two groups. "Maybe we should head back to the sitting room so that we can stay together while trying to relax."
Everyone followed the ghoul-boy back to the sitting room, their bodies on edge as they wondered what they would do if the murderer attacked them all at once. As the group traveled, large red eyes watched from the shadows, cocking slightly and trailing after the group. Hm, I wonder what will happen next. This is definitely more interesting than I thought this weekend would go.
Ah, how I love writing for you guys. Sorry it takes so long to write out one chapter, but a girl can try, right? Now, I shall leave you to write the next chapter and you shall review, yeah? ;-)
