A/N: Welcome back to the Call For Blood! Apologies, but you almost didn't get this chapter, as my laptop started acting up, so I had to reset it. Luckily, I saved all my stories, so the fanfics I stored on my laptop were saved. Now, I present to you Chapter 8- Class Trip. Enjoy!
Chapter 8- Class Trip
The day after the Calamity gained two victims, Adam and Yumi had toyed with the idea of staying off school, but they decided against it, as they'd have nothing to do otherwise. After they got changed into their uniforms, and Adam locked the door, Yumi was surprised to see Adam disappear round the side of the building, and go to his garage. "Huh?" she asked, before following the boy, finding him securing his bag to the side of his motorcycle. "What are you doing, Adam?" she asked, causing Adam to look up at her. "Getting to school quicker." He said, before picking up his helmet. "Adam, you know riding motorised vehicles to school is forbidden." She said, trying to deter him, but he scoffed, before saying, "At this stage Yumi, with how many people we've lost to this fucking Calamity, I really don't care for the rules at the present moment." He said, before holding out the spare helmet. "You coming?" he asked, before Yumi stared at the helmet for a couple seconds, sighed, and took it off of Adam, placing it on her head, as Adam took her bag and secured it to the bike alongside his own. "Are you sure you can get us there?" Yumi asked, before Adam smirked, climbed onto the bike, and started the engine. "What do you think?" he asked, before Yumi rolled her eyes, and pulled down her visor. Smirking, Adam pushed his own visor down, kicked the bike into action, then took off down the street, Yumi gripping him around the waist.
After a quick few minutes, Adam sped through the school gates, scaring a number of other students, before speeding across the grounds towards the area the Countermeasures group usually met at, before skidding to a stop, kicking up a large dust cloud. After Yumi climbed off the back of the bike, Izumi stormed up. "What the hell were you thinking, Adam?" she asked, as Adam pulled his helmet off and handed Yumi her bag. As he went to answer her, he saw that Miss Mikami was running up. "Mister Robertson, explain yourself. You know that riding motorised vehicles to school is forbidden." She said, before Adam scowled. "With all due respect, Miss Mikami, at this stage our class is at, I really don't give a damn about the rules right now." He said, stopping the bike's engine. Rubbing the bridge of her nose, Mikami asked, "And nothing I do can stop you?". Scowling, Adam asked, "What do you think?" Sighing, Miss Mikami said, "Fine. Go and secure it somewhere, then get to class.", before walking off. "Fair enough." Adam said, before he walked the bike round the back of the school building, where he encountered the PE teacher. After explaining the situation, the teacher allowed Adam to store the bike in an empty supply shed. After Adam had taken his bag off the bike and shut the doors, the teacher handed him a small key. "It's the key for this shed. No one uses this anymore. Your bike will be safe, Adam. You have my word." The teacher said, before Adam nodded and pocketed the key. "Right, I need to get to class." He said, taking his leave of the teacher. Running up the stairs, he entered Class 3-3 and headed to the Countermeasures group.
"So, Adam, Yukari told us you two had a falling out?" Izumi asked, as Adam sat down. Shooting an angry look to Yukari, Adam said, "Yeah, we had a bit of an argument. She decided until she's ready, she's going to live at her place, for now at least.", before looking to Yukari. "Right?" he asked, before the girl nodded. "Adam?" a voice asked, causing Adam to turn to Kazami. "We couldn't help but notice that you arrived to school with Yumi." He said, before Adam looked to the girl in question, who was staring at the blackboard, dead-eyed. "Yeah, I did. What of it?" he demanded, before Kazami's eyes narrowed. "Yukari moves out, and you almost immediately start walking to school with another girl. You do realise exactly what Yumi's most likely going through, right?" the boy demanded, before Adam slammed his fist into the desk. "I realise that, Kazami. I was with her when she saw what happened to her house. When her parents showed up, they told her that they couldn't afford to have her stay with them at a hotel. I offered to house her until they could afford to have her join them. That's it." He explained, before Kazami pushed his glasses up a bit. "So…no ulterior motives?" Izumi asked, causing Adam to shake his head. "You're starting to sound like a broken record, Izumi. You've asked me the exact same thing before." He said, leaning back in his chair. "Well, hardly any other way to ask the same question." She said, before Adam nodded. "I'll give you that one." He said, before looking out over the class.
"Due to either incidents or people moving, we're down to less than half of our original number." He said, which was true, as most of the class had left Yomiyama after the death of Junta. Now, only 19 students, including Adam, were left. Sighing, Adam sat back up in his chair, and cracked his neck. "I'll talk to you guys later." He said, picking his bag up. "Right. See you later, Adam." Izumi said, before Adam nodded and headed over to Yumi, who was still looking dead-eyed at the blackboard. "Hey, Yumi." He said, jolting the girl out of her trance. "After school finishes, wait for me by the gate." He said, before the girl nodded. "Just…don't make me wait too long, alright?" she asked, before Adam smiled. "Sure thing." He said, before he went to his chair, sitting down just as Miss Mikami walked in. After making the class settle down, Mikami stood at the front of the room and said, "Attention class. I have some news.", causing the class to fall completely silent. "In a few weeks, we will be taking a class trip to pray at Yomiyama Shrine, and we will be staying at an inn for a couple of nights. I would like for everyone to take part in the trip. That includes you, Mister Robertson." She said, making Adam jerk his head up. "I know you come from a different country and culture, but I still wish for you to come on this trip." Mikami explained, before Adam nodded. "Sure, I'll be there." He said, before Mikami smiled and nodded. "Very well, now, onto other business. I believe you all know about the tragedies that happened last night." She said, before the class's eyes looked to Yumi, who they knew would certainly be affected by the deaths. "Quit staring, assholes." Adam thought to himself, clenching his fist, before Mikami cleared her throat. "We should pray that the souls of those involved can rest peacefully. Now, enough morbid talk. Please take out your books." She said, before the class complied, and started to get their books out. After opening his textbook, Adam silently tore a page out, and scribbled something down. When he was finished, he looked over to Kouichi's desk, where the boy in question was slowly working through the tasks. Scrunching the paper into a ball, Adam aimed at Kouichi's head, then pinged it, smiling as it bounced off the boy's head onto his desk. As Kouichi turned to face him, Adam nodded towards the paper. Unscrunching the ball, Kouichi read the note, before looking back up at Adam and nodding. Smiling, Adam looked at his books, before deciding to get to work.
After class ended, Adam walked out of the room, being shortly followed by Kouichi, Teshigawara, Mochizuki and Misaki. After the four walked round a little bit, they saw Adam leaning against a wall. Seeing them approaching, Adam pushed himself off the wall, before looking round, making sure they were alone. After he was satisfied, he asked, "Alright, spill. What did you find?" he asked, before Kouichi nodded. "We found a tape made by Matsunaga. More of a confession, honestly." He said, before Adam nodded. "Alright, did you find out anything useful?" he asked, before Misaki shook her head. "This idiot Teshigawara messed the tape up before we heard the whole thing." She said, causing Adam to round on Teshigawara, his face darkened with anger. "But, to save you the worry of having to pummel Teshigawara into the ground, I've got someone repairing the tape. It should be ready by the time the class trip comes around." Mochizuki spoke up, and Adam breathed to calm himself. "Alright then. When we get to the inn on this trip, we'll meet at one of our rooms, and listen to the rest of it." He said, before the four nodded. "What do we tell Izumi?" Kouichi asked, before Adam thought for a second. "Nothing. Until we find out what's on the tape, we keep this between us." He said, before he walked past them. "See you lot later." He said, before he took off round the corner, getting back into the class before the next lesson started.
Eventually, school ended for the day, and Adam walked round to the shed where his bike was, and after retrieving it, he drove to the front gate, where Yumi was waiting. After skidding to a stop, Adam held up her helmet. "M'lady." He said, as Yumi took the helmet and fastened it. "Flattery'll get you nowhere, Adam." She said, climbing on the back of the bike. "I wasn't trying to flatter you." He said, before driving off down the street. After they reached Adam's house, the two entered the living room, and Adam placed his bag on the coffee table, and flopped down onto the couch. "Can't be fucked doing anything for the rest of today." He said, causing Yumi to smile. "Well, we need to get some homework done, Adam." She said, causing her roommate to groan. "Shoot me now." He said, pushing himself up into a sitting position. "Alright then, let's get to work." He said, pulling his books out of his bag.
That night…
After wrapping up their homework, and having some dinner, Adam and Yumi had fallen asleep. Adam had crashed out on the couch, as he was used to, but his eyes flew open when he heard a small moan. "Please tell me that's not what I think that was." He thought to himself, as he stood up. Creeping over to his room, he cracked the door open slightly, and peeked in to see Yumi tossing and turning a lot. "Ayano, please, I didn't know. Please, just leave me alone!" Yumi yelled, causing Adam's eyes to widen. "Shit, she's having a nightmare. At least it's not what I thought it was." He thought to himself, before sighing. "I need to help her, if I can." He thought, before stepping quietly into the room. Kneeling down beside her, Adam gently shook her, saying "Yumi? Yumi? Yumi?", eventually rousing the girl from her nightmare. "Adam?" she asked quietly, before Adam smiled. "Yeah, I'm here." He said, before Yumi embraced him in tears. "I saw Ayano. She blamed me for what happened to her." She said, before Adam wrapped an arm round her, and pulled her off gently. "Yumi, look at me." He said, before Yumi looked up to face him. "You know Ayano wouldn't blame you for anything. The two of you were two of the most tightly-knit friends I've met." He said, before Yumi smiled. "I appreciate you saying that, Adam." She said, before blushing. "I speak the truth." He said, before he saw an empty cup on the bedside table. "You want me to make you something to drink?" he asked, before Yumi nodded. "Alright, I'll be back in a minute." He said, before picking up the cup and leaving the room. A few minutes later, he came back in, and passed the steaming cup over to her. As she slowly drank the tea Adam had made her, the boy himself sat on the end of the bed. After Yumi finished the tea, she placed the cup on the table. "Thanks for that, Adam." She said, before Adam smiled, and picked up the cup. "You think you can get back to sleep now?" Adam asked, before Yumi nodded, and Adam went to leave, but Yumi grabbed his arm. "Can you…stay with me?" she asked, before Adam blushed. "You sure?" he asked, before Yumi nodded. "Please. It'll make me feel safer." She said, making Adam sigh, before he nodded. "Alright, scooch over." He said, before Yumi moved over to the other side of the bed, allowing Adam to slide in beside her. After Adam pulled the covers over them, he lay down, and looked to Yumi. "C'mere." He said, allowing Yumi to cuddle up next to him. "You sure you're okay with this, Adam? I don't want to make you do anything you're not comfortable with." Yumi said, before Adam smirked. "Relax, I'm doing this because you're a friend in need. And I take care of my friends." He said, before Yumi smiled in return. "Thanks, Adam." She said, before she started to doze off. "No problem, Yumi." Adam thought to himself, before he fell asleep as well.
A few weeks later…
Adam and Yumi had attended school each day since that day, and soon enough, the day of the class trip arrived, a week into August. After Adam and Yumi had gotten dressed (Yumi dressing in a school uniform, and Adam dressing in a black t-shirt, tracksuit bottoms, hoodie, jacket, socks and shoes), they got onto Adam's bike and tore off down the street. After arriving at the building, they saw the class standing beside a bus, with Mr Chibiki and Miss Mikami accompanying them. "Seriously, Mister Robertson, I can't, in good faith, allow you to come on this trip dressed like that." Miss Mikami said, as Adam lifted his helmet off. "Well, sorry Miss, but I'm really not a fan of the uniform, so I'm going to wear this. You got a problem with that?" he asked, before Mikami glared at him. "Very well." She said, before Adam nodded and turned to Yumi. "Can you take the bus?" he asked, before Yumi looked at him confusingly. "I intend to get there before the bus. I'll be going faster than you're used to." He explained, before Yukari walked over and tapped Yumi on the shoulder. "You can stay with me. Nothing will happen to you." She said, before Yumi looked to Adam, who nodded. "Okay." She said, causing Yukari to smile, and look to Adam, who gestured for her to come over. "What's up?" she asked, walking over. "What's your angle, Yukari? What are you up to?" he asked her, before her face darkened. "I just want to help. That's all." She said, before walking off, and getting on the bus, Yumi following her. After the remainder of the class got on the bus, Miss Mikami went to get on, but Adam called her over. "Care to mark where this inn we're going to on this map, please?" he asked, pulling a folded map from inside his jacket, and unfolding it. "Yes, we're going…there." She said, getting out a pen and circling the specified area. "Okay, I'll see you lot there." Adam said, putting the map back into his pocket, having quickly worked out and memorised the fastest route. As he fastened the helmet onto his head, he saw Yumi looking at him out of a bus window. Winking at her, he shoved his visor down, before spinning the bike in a donut, and speeding off.
As for Yumi, she was sat next to Yukari on the bus, and after Adam disappeared, she just stared up at the sky. As the bus slowly started to pull out of the grounds, she felt Yukari spin to face her. "Yumi, may I ask you something?" Yukari asked, before Yumi nodded. "Exactly how close are you to Adam?" she asked, before Yumi sighed. "Why, you jealous?" she replied, before Yukari's eyes flashed in anger, before she loosened up. "No. I just want to give you a warning." She said, causing Yumi to turn to her in anger. "Which is?" she demanded, before Yukari said, "Adam, don't get me wrong, he's brilliant, but… he's like fire. Stand too close and you'll end up getting burnt.", causing Yumi's face to darken. "You're telling me to be careful? Adam's a good man. He saved your life, after all." She spat, before Yukari nodded. "He did, but let's just say, there is a reason I moved out." She said, causing Yumi to look at her in confusion. "What are you talking about?" she asked, before Yukari sighed. "Let's just say, Adam has a dark side. If you want to know more, ask Adam when we get to the inn." She said, before Yumi nodded, and the two fell silent for the rest of the drive over to the inn.
After the bus arrived at the inn, and the students disembarked, they saw Adam sitting on his bike outside, clearly having been waiting for them. Climbing off the bike, he walked over to the class, where Miss Mikami said, "Okay, just a warning, even though we're not in the class, you're still representing the school, and any action that makes the school or class look bad will be reprimanded." She said, looking over the class. "Okay, let's go." She said, but Mochizuki held up a camera. "I think we should get a class picture. If that's okay, Miss?" he asked, before Mikami nodded. After a couple of minutes, the class had assembled, and so Mochizuki could be in a picture, they took two photos. Afterwards, they entered the inn, and were introduced to the two innkeepers, Kensaku and Keiko Numata, who revealed that they were in fact the grandparents of Ikuo Takabayashi. After the class paid them their condolences, Adam stepped up. "No offense, but is there anywhere I can store my bike? I don't like the idea of leaving it out there." He said, before Kensaku nodded, and asked Adam to follow him, and showed him a shed he could keep his bike in. "Thank you." Adam said, bowing to the man, who simply held up a hand. "Anything to help out a classmate of my late grandson. Now, dinner will be served soon. I'd place your belongings in your room." The old man said, before Adam nodded, and followed him back inside. After placing his stuff in his room, he went downstairs, and joined the rest of his class in the dining room, with Adam joining Kouichi, Misaki, Teshigawara and Mochizuki at their table. For most of the meal, the room was deathly silent, but Adam noticed that Izumi kept fixing Misaki with a glare. Eventually, she stood straight up, catching the attention of everyone in the room.
"Miss Mikami, I would like to say something." Izumi stated, causing Mikami to look shocked for a moment, before she nodded. "Thank you." Izumi said, before she turned to the class. "I want to apologise to you all. I took on the Head of Countermeasures position, because no one else would volunteer, and tried to keep most, if not all the class safe and alive. But the Countermeasures we put into place failed. I want to apologise for my failure in my position. We've lost a lot of good people to the Calamity this year, and I can't say how sorry I am for my failure. But I also want to point your attention to someone who's stayed silent since the first incident this year." She said, before turning to the table Adam was sitting at. "Misaki." She said, causing the girl in question to turn to her slowly. "Even after being made existent again, she hasn't said so much as a word, let alone an apology, on the deaths." Izumi continued, before glaring back at Misaki, who got to her feet and turned to her. "Would it make any difference?" Misaki asked, before Izumi's face blanched. "What did you say?" she demanded, before Misaki repeated, "Would apologising make any difference? If you wish me to, I will apologise.", before Adam said, "Don't you dare, Misaki. You've got nothing to apologise for.", but Misaki bowed to Izumi and said, "I'm sorry." After she straightened up, Adam noticed that many members of the class were glaring at her. "Izumi's right." One boy in the class spoke up, causing a few heads to turn to him. "If you had stayed non-existent, we wouldn't be in this mess!" another boy said, causing Adam to rise from his seat. "Hey, relax, mate." He said, before another voice, a girl's this time, said, "In fact, it was Sakakibara who started talking to Misaki, and broke the rules. We should be blaming him for this!", causing Teshigawara to stand up in a rage. "Look, Sakakibara had nothing to do with what happened to the other people in the class. He didn't know about the Calamity, because no one told him about it!" he said, before the room erupted in a massive argument. Adam tried to diffuse the situation, but he saw that no one was listening, being too engrossed in their argument. Groaning, he pulled up his sleeve slightly, and fiddled with the Hidden Blade slightly, before raising his arm, and firing, causing a loud "BANG!" to occur, and everyone turned to him.
"FINGERS ON LIPS!" Adam yelled, putting a finger on his own lips to emphasise how serious he was. As he slowly looked round the room, each person copied his actions, putting their fingers on their lips. Looking to Miss Mikami, Adam raised his eyebrows, and she slowly did the same. "Good, now listen up. Yes, I understand we're all in a tense situation right now, but if we start arguing amongst ourselves, we're fucked. Now, once I lower my hand, you can all talk again, but don't get back into this argument." He said, before he turned to Izumi. "Akazawa, I understand your anger towards Misaki, but don't hold her responsible for what's happened to the class. The countermeasure had a chance of failing, you know that." He said, before Izumi looked at the table she was sitting at. Turning to Kouichi, he said, "Can you take Misaki back upstairs?", before Kouichi nodded. As the two got to the door, Takako decided to speak up. "What gives you the authority to order us around?" she demanded, before Adam spun to her. "You want to know what makes me have the authority? Alright." He said, before he spun to the class. "I'm the serial killer from a few months ago. I'm an Assassin, sent to this city to make a new branch of my Brotherhood." He admitted, to the class's shock. Turning back to Takako, he said, "You want to take this to a higher authority, Takako? Well guess what, there isn't one. It starts, and stops, with me. So, I don't care what you think, but there are 3 simple steps to not pissing me off, which is the only way you'll make it through tonight. And they are: 1, You might want to listen to what I have to say, 2, Sit your ass back down, and 3, SHUT THE FUCK UP!" he ranted, before Takako slowly sat back down.
"Good, now, anyone got a mobile?" Adam asked the class, before Teshigawara held up a hand. "Hand it over." He ordered, before Teshigawara complied. "You're hardly going to get a signal. We're in the middle of the mountains." Izumi said, before Adam chuckled, as he pulled the back off the phone. "Oh, just you watch me!" he said, placing a small chip into the back of the phone, before replacing the back, and starting to dial a number. "Now, everyone, shut it. Got an important number to remember, very important number." He said, pressing call. Placing the phone to his ear, he heard, "Dominic's Pizza Delivery, how can we help you?", causing him to groan, before hanging up. "And again!" he said, starting to dial again, before slapping himself on the head. "Seven-six, not six-seven." He said, before calling the new number. As it dialled, he walked out the room, but not before saying, "Everyone, chill." Closing the door, he put the phone against his ear and said…
"This is Robertson, reporting in. Get me the Mentor."
A/N: And I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I actually feel sorry for my laptop's keyboard, as my fingers were literally flying across the keys writing this at such a speed, I could hear my laptop saying, "Please, have mercy!" Anyway, I''ll see you lot next chapter, in Chapter 9- Fire. Madman out!