Ruby sighed peacefully as she relaxed in the water, resting against the edge of the bath with Apoch and Astreal sitting at her sides. The three witches were enjoying the quiet moment in the morning while waiting for the other girls to join them. The area had been mostly cleaned up after Mizore and Arial's fight the other day, with the loose debris and damaged floor tiles having been taken care of by Fang Fang's housekeepers, while the large hole in the wall connecting to the boys' bath was covered by a large tarp with construction stickers lined around it. A few faint voices from the adjacent bath let the three witches know that some of the boys were in there as well, with Apoch and Astreal glancing to the tarp with curious eyes.
"Hopefully today we can enjoy our bath without any fights breaking out," Ruby said softly. Apoch and Astreal merely nodded while keeping their eyes on the tarp, both wondering if their boyfriends were in the other room now. Ruby glanced from one to the other then showed a curious smile.
"Now now ladies, don't tell me you're thinking about peeking at the boys," she said knowingly. The sisters jumped a bit then quickly looked down with closed eyes.
"Of course not," Apoch said quickly.
"Never crossed our mind," Astreal agreed with. Ruby nodded then glanced to the tarp with a smirk.
"I sure hope we can trust the boys not to peek, it would be so easy for them to just waltz on over there and look through the cracks to see us," she said casually. The sisters blinked then looked to the tarp timidly while slowly lowering themselves into the water, going down with the water coming up to their shoulders while Ruby giggled at them.
"Relax girls; I'm sure we can trust them. The only one who we would have had to worry about was Gin, but he's changed from being that peeping tom into someone with more character, like my Razico," she boasted. The sisters glanced to her with raised eyebrows as they sat back up in the water.
"Leon would never peek either, he's far too much of a gentleman to behave like that," Astreal assured.
"You're thinking of Render, your boyfriend would likely be peeking right now to catch a glimpse of your boobs," Apoch replied dryly. Astreal twitched at that then glared at her while Ruby watched with an amused smile.
"He would not; my boyfriend is a noble treasure hunter, besides between the two of us I do have the bigger bust size, if they were going to ogle any of us it would be me," Astreal quipped.
"Ok girls, calm down. I'd like to point out that next to Kurumu I do believe that I have the most attractive figure, but then again I do have a few more years on you in which I acquired this beauty, so it's nothing against you personally," Ruby said arrogantly while looking down and closing her eyes with a smug smile. The sisters looked to her with dull stares as the woman leaned back and looked up with a gentle smile on her face.
"Excuse me Ms. Ruby, but, who just lost their virginity yesterday?" Astreal accused dryly, with Ruby twitching at that.
"Yes, we've been further along with boys than you have, it's more than apparent that your few years on us accounts to nothing," Apoch quipped. Ruby glanced between them with discontent and growled with annoyance.
"Just because I saved myself for the right guy doesn't mean I'm any less attractive than you think, and you can see clear as day that I've got a more developed figure than you two, everyone can see that," she snapped before looking up with a snooty expression. Apoch and Astreal glanced to each other then to the witch with discontent.
"Dark was the right guy for me before he was killed in front of me," Apoch snapped, with Ruby glancing to her nervously.
"In our timeline Rason was the one for me, and I saved myself for him and only him," Astreal said looking down with a hurtful expression. Ruby looked to her with concern while Apoch narrowed her eyes at the woman.
"We haven't even slept with our new boyfriends yet, we've only been with Dark and Mr. Rason before in the past. How dare you speak like we sleep around with many more men like a succubus would," Apoch scolded. Ruby looked between them worriedly then shook her head.
"Wait, I didn't mean… I wasn't talking about…" she said with concern. Apoch and Astreal looked away with huffs and closed eyes while Ruby looked between them while trying to think of what to say. She then sighed and looked down at the water with saddened eyes as silence filled the room. After a while she nodded and closed her eyes.
"You're right, you both are," she said softly. The sisters glanced back to her as she kept her head hung low.
"You have been further along with boys than I, everybody has. But they were boys that you truly loved and had as your own. Everybody's had somebody, I was the last to actually find and be with a guy. Even Yukari managed to find somebody before I did," she said softly. Apoch and Astreal slowly looked back to her curiously as the elder witch sighed and shook her head.
"After Tsukune made his choice I didn't have anyone special, not for a long, long time. Moka had Tsukune, Kurumu and Mizore had Rason and Dark, Kokoa managed to find a boyfriend out of Gin, Yukari had Ahakon fall right onto her lap, and even you two had boyfriends before I did," she said with remorse.
"Ms. Ruby," Apoch and Astreal said softly as they looked back to her. The sisters looked to each other with worried eyes then back to the woman as they sat closer to her.
"But, if we were to be technical about it, us being with our old boyfriends never happened now," Apoch reasoned softly. Ruby smirked slightly and glanced between them.
"Still, even in this timeline you did have someone, you both had Ahakon as a boyfriend for a short while, everybody managed to find somebody but me," she said softly.
"I believe we won't be counting Mr. Ahakon in all this, if that's ok," Apoch said with a troubled expression.
"Yes, the sisters before us were hexed by his aura, so we'll just ignore that incident altogether and pretend that never happened," Astreal agreed with. Ruby nodded then looked down at the water with a gentle gaze.
"When I found Razico at first, I was soon separated from him, believing that I would never find him again. But then he found me, he came to my rescue and stayed with me after that. I finally found a man to be with, someone… made just for me. I could finally believe that… I was just as attractive and lucky as the rest of you girls," she said softly.
"Ms. Ruby, you are attractive," Apoch reassured gently.
"Yes, you're very beautiful," Astreal agreed. Ruby closed her eyes and leaned back against the edge of the bath.
"Tell me, in your old timeline, did I have anyone then?" she asked. Apoch and Astreal glanced to each other with worry then back to the witch.
"Well… no," Apoch said softly.
"We never saw anyone else around you Ms. Ruby," Astreal said shaking her head. Ruby nodded and looked up at the ceiling with a distant gaze.
"I wonder, is this the only world where I found somebody? I have Razico now, but… is this the only reality where I found somebody to be with? I just know Moka, Kurumu, Mizore, and hell, maybe even Yukari and Kokoa too, all found somebody in other worlds and realities, but did I? It took me forever to finally find that one special person, what if I'm the only Ruby out there that actually did?" she asked herself worriedly.
"That doesn't matter Ms. Ruby," Apoch said softly. Ruby looked to her with worried eyes as the witch smiled kindly and shook her head.
"What matters is that you do have Mr. Razico in this world, and as far as we're concerned, this world is the only world that matters," she reasoned.
"She's right, I'm sure other Ms. Rubys out there found somebody to be with in their own worlds, but all that matters is that you found somebody in this one," Astreal said in agreement. Ruby nodded and looked down with a gentle smile as she thought about her warlock that was in the bathing room next door.
"I suppose you're right, all that matters is this reality, and that I have Razico for real," she said softly. Apoch smiled and leaned back against the edge while looking towards the tarp.
"We all have boyfriends, treasure hunters even," she said with a giggle.
"That's right, even though our boyfriends specialize in different magic, they all have the same goal of seeking lost and rare treasure in the world," Astreal said leaning back as well. The three witches looked to each other and laughed a bit. From the doorway Yukari and Kyouko walked into the room, both clad with only towels as the young witch took off her hat and tossed it over to the side.
"Hey, good morning," Kyouko said with a small smile.
"What are you three laughing about?" Yukari asked as she took off her towel and got into the bath.
"Just how we all ended up with treasure hunters for boyfriends, who would have thought?" Ruby said with a shrug. Yukari looked at her puzzled then down in thought.
"I thought Razico was a thief," she said simply, with Ruby twitching at that.
"He's a treasure hunter!" Ruby yelled out at her. Yukari smiled nervously and leaned back in the bath while some laughter was heard from the bathing room next to them.
"Sounds like they're talking about you Razico old buddy," Render's voice called out playfully.
"Shut up Render," Razico snapped back.
Ruby growled then sat back in the bath as she tried to calm herself.
"He's a treasure hunter just like Render and Leon, he only ever stole from the school so he would get caught and be brought to me. He was only trying to get closer to me Yukari, he even admitted it himself," she stated firmly. Yukari nodded slowly then shrugged.
"Could have fooled me with all the stuff he kept stealing," she said simply.
"He wasn't stealing anything!" Ruby shouted out.
"Oh yes he was," Rason's voice called out from the other room.
"I put everything back didn't I? I never meant to keep any of it!" Razico shouted out.
"Could have fooled us," Ahakon called out, followed by more laughter being heard from the other boys. Ruby growled and thrashed about slightly while Kyouko laughed weakly and got into the bath next to Yukari.
"Well, he seems like a noble guy to me," Kyouko reasoned with a shrug. Ruby grunted and sat back against the bath's edge with annoyance.
"That's because he is, he's not a thief," she stated firmly. Yukari looked up in thought for a moment then back to Ruby.
"But wait, wasn't he at Fairy Tale's HQ that one night to steal-"
"HE'S NOT A THIEF!" Ruby yelled out, her voice echoing throughout the room as all the girls looked at her with a jump. From the other bath room more laughter was heard from those who weren't warlocks while Yukari smiled nervously and nodded while shaking her hands in front of her.
"Ok, he's not a thief, we believe you," she said quickly. Ruby growled then looked down while trying to calm herself as Apoch and Astreal looked to Kyouko with weak smiles and shrugs.
"So, um, how are you doing Ms. Kyouko?" Apoch asked with a shrug.
"I'm sitting in a bath with four witches, never thought I'd be doing this in all my life," Kyouko said with a small laugh and smile. The others looked to her with slight smiles as the human glanced around at them with a nervous smile.
"Um, that's not being offensive to call you witches, right?" she asked.
"No, don't worry about it Kyouko, we are witches after all," Ruby said with a shrug. Kyouko nodded with a weak smile.
"Ok, sorry, I just didn't want to say the wrong thing, I'm kind of new to the whole monster etiquette," she reasoned.
"Don't worry, just treat us how you would with your friends Kyouko, there's no real trick here to talking to us," Ruby said with a slight giggle.
"Yes, don't feel bad for calling us witches when speaking about us," Apoch and Astreal said together.
"That reminds me, how come Ceal just calls us witches? We do have names, doesn't he know that by now?" Yukari asked confusedly.
"I'm not sure, he only seems to call Ms. Falla and Ms. Complica by their names, and now Ms. Luna too," Apoch said looking up curiously.
"Maybe it's a dragon slayer thing, he calls our boyfriends 'hunters', I guess because they're treasure hunters," Ruby reasoned.
"So he refers to others by what they are or do, but not by what they're named?" Yukari asked.
"Seems like it, it may just be his way," Ruby said with a shrug.
"It may be his way, but it's starting to become bothersome, it's like he treats us as lesser beings like Mr. Hex does," Apoch said with annoyance.
"Not to mention that he always has that cold personality, even after he's shown he does have a heart to us. Even Mr. Dark isn't so cold and distant from us," Astreal mentioned.
"I don't believe he does it to be condescending towards us, like Fang Fang explained before dragon slayers have a high code of honor. You've seen the way he protects Falla and Complica, and even helped you two when he wasn't obligated to in any way. He is a nice guy; he just doesn't want it to be seen so openly. I mean, he can't actually say he loves Falla to her until he's ready to marry her, sounds like their social interaction is a bit different than ours," Ruby reasoned thoughtfully.
"I suppose that's true," Apoch said looking down.
"If it wasn't for him we wouldn't be alive now," Astreal said softly.
"I don't think any of us would be. You two, Falla, even myself, we would have died back in the human world without his help," Kyouko said in agreement. Yukari nodded slowly then glanced to the girls with a shrug.
"His necro pet still gives me the shivers just seeing it though," she said with a weak smile. The other girls laughed a bit and nodded in agreement.
"Yes, when we first saw his pet we were a bit frightened as well," Apoch admitted.
"Still gives me the shivers just remembering how those tentacles felt against my skin," Astreal said with a shudder. The other girls shuddered at the thought as well as they remembered the feeling of the necro demon when they touched it, either voluntarily or involuntarily.
From the doorway Luna, Falla, and Complica came in clad only in their towels, the sisters looking around at the bathing room then to the others with smiles.
"Good morning everybody," Luna said kindly.
"Good morning. Um, what's wrong with Complica?" Kyouko asked as the group saw that Complica had been crying recently, the young girl having a few tears in her eyes while she was smiling sadly at them. Complica jumped a bit then looked down while rubbing her eyes.
"I… um…" she said softly. Ruby showed a sympathetic smile and shook her head slowly.
"Oh dear, was there another accident?" she asked. Falla looked to Complica and held her close with one arm.
"Just a small one, but its ok, we all needed a bath this morning anyway," she said gently.
"Accident?" Kyouko asked.
"Complica sometimes has an… accident when sleeping," Luna said gently. Complica wiped her eyes then looked to Kyouko with a worried smile and shrug. Kyouko tilted her head slightly then smiled curiously at the young girl.
"I used to have those too when I was growing up, to be honest I never thought of monsters having the same problem," she said with a shrug.
"You wet the bed when you were young too?" Complica asked. Kyouko rubbed the back of her head with a weak smile and nodded.
"Well, I'm not going to lie and say I didn't, but we really don't need to go into details about that," she said with a nervous laugh at the end. Complica looked at her curiously then to Falla as the elder sister nodded at her.
"You see, you're not the only one to have that kind of problem, its ok," she said kindly. Complica smiled a little and nodded then looked down timidly as Luna smiled at her sisters. Luna then blinked before suddenly rushing over and hugging her two sisters with a twisted smile.
"I LOVE MY SISTERS SO MUCH! HAHAHAHAHA!" she screamed out, with Falla and Complica looking to her with surprise as the other girls stared with wide eyes. After a moment of maniacal laughter Luna stopped in place then slowly backed up from the two stunned girls with a horrified expression.
"Oh… oh god, I'm so sorry," she said holding her hands to her mouth. Silence filled the room along with the adjacent boys' bath as everybody had heard Luna's extremely loud declaration.
"Luna?" Kyouko asked worriedly.
"Is she ok in there?" Rason's voice called out from the other room. Luna looked down while holding her hands to her face as Falla smiled gently at her.
"It's ok, she just had a little slip of the mind," she called out.
"Sister, are you ok?" Complica asked. Luna peeked to her through her fingers and nodded then looked to the other girls.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't… I didn't mean to…" she said shakily.
"Its fine Luna, we understand, you can't quite control your own mind just yet," Ruby said gently.
"Yeah, we've seen you do worse than that when you first came to Yokai Academy, don't worry about it," Yukari said with a giggle. Luna again hid herself behind her hands while Complica looked to the young witch curiously.
"What else did she do before?" she asked.
"If you're talking about eating her bed and pillow while she sleeps, she's still doing that," Falla commented.
"Falla!" Luna whined loudly while shaking her head. Falla smiled nervously at her then shrugged at the others.
"Not that we're judging you, really, I'm just saying," she reasoned quickly.
"Eating her bed and pillow?" Kyouko asked. Luna huffed then looked to her with a flustered expression.
"I can't help it ok? I get hungry," she said before looking down with a blush. Kyouko looked at her curiously then to Falla who showed a weak smile still.
"It's just a little quirk she has, nothing to get worked up over, right Luna?" Falla said looking to Luna with a hopeful smile. Luna glanced to her then looked back down again with a troubled expression. Complica took hold of Luna's hand with a small smile, the elder sister looking to her as the young girl nodded.
"It's ok, I've never judged you for how you are," she said softly, with Luna giving her a small smile from that.
"Thank you Complica," she said softly. Kyouko nodded slowly then pointed from one sister to the other.
"So she ate stuff her in sleep and Complica had accidents in her sleep, so then did anything happen to you in your sleep Falla?" she asked. Falla looked to her with a weak smile and shook her head.
"No, I've never done anything in my sleep before," she answered.
"She was the only one of us who wasn't broken," Complica said looking to Falla with a saddened expression. Luna glanced to Falla with a raised eyebrow and shook her head.
"I wouldn't say that Complica, we had our nighttime problems, but I distinctly remember both of us being on father's good side nearly all the time," she said knowingly. Falla twitched a bit then glanced to her with a nervous smile.
"Gee, and she wasn't? I'm shocked," Ruby said with a smirk. Falla smiled weakly at her and rubbed the back of her head while Luna crossed her arms and shook her head.
"Nope, in fact if memory serves she got a spanking from father on a regular basis for her behavior," she said. Falla jumped then looked away with a blush as the other girls watched her curiously.
"You mean when she was younger she got spankings from her dad?" Kyouko asked.
"No Kyouko, I mean she got spankings from our father all the time, right up until the end of our kingdom," Luna said with a smirk.
"Luna!" Falla cried out at her. Complica looked at Falla curiously then nodded.
"Oh yeah, it was almost every day with her," she said simply.
"They don't need to be hearing this, and it wasn't every day with me!" Falla whined.
"I said almost every day," Complica said with a shrug.
"Your dad gave you spankings at your age?" Kyouko asked curiously. Falla nervously stammered some form of response while Luna giggled a bit.
"Father was always a strict king with our rules and laws, and public punishment was something that he did to those that acted out against our laws," Luna said, with Falla turning red and looking down with embarrassment.
"Luna, enough already," she said through bared teeth while glancing to her sister.
"Public punishment?" Apoch and Astreal asked. Falla cringed then looked to Luna with desperation while the elder sister nodded.
"A spanking in front of the royal court would have been a good deterrent for us not to act out. I'm not going to lie and say I've never had that done to me, once was enough, I learned my lesson and never again questioned father's judgment, but Falla however, well…" Luna said with a shrug.
"C'mon, haven't I suffered enough by now?" Falla whined.
"You got a spanking in front of everybody at your home when you misbehaved?" Kyouko asked with wonder. Falla jumped a bit then looked to her nervously.
"Um… well…" she squeaked out.
"Nearly every day," Complica said with a nod.
"She never seemed to learn her lesson," Luna added with a smirk.
"For crying out loud, that wasn't me! I mean, yes, that was me, but that wasn't… me!" Falla cried out with embarrassment.
"Your father gave you public spankings in front of everybody at your age?" Yukari asked with a giggle.
"He sure did, in fact now that I think about it, I had to go through that only once, and Complica never did. Falla was the one that had to get her punishment from father nearly every day," Luna mentioned with a shrug. Falla whined loudly again and looked to Luna with watery eyes.
"Quit being so cruel to me sister, seriously, I'm not that bitch who was so mean to you before," she said sadly. Luna smiled amusedly and shook her head.
"I know you're not. The old Falla would have never been so kind to Complica after she wet the bed, or I when I ate the bed, but you were. The way you held Complica this morning and comforted her, I know for a fact you're not the same girl who got into trouble so much when we lived at home. I'm just evening the score here by pointing out that all of us had problems during our lives, in a way you were just as broken as we were," she reasoned calmly. Falla sighed and looked down in defeat before Complica held her hand, with the elder sister glancing to her with worried eyes.
"You can't say you never judged me before, I know you had to have, that line won't work with me," Falla said softly.
"No, but I did always hope there was a good soul in you before, every day. Whenever you were getting punished in front of everybody I felt sorry for you, and hoped that one day you would learn to be good. I'm glad that you did change, you're a much better person now," Complica said gently. Falla smiled softly at her then knelt down and held her close while closing her eyes.
"Thank you Complica, thank you," she said softly. She then glanced to the other girls worriedly as they smiled gently at her.
"Hey, I met the old you, she was a real bitch. I'm not comparing her to you in any way, you're the far better version in every way," Kyouko said shaking her head.
"Yes, the you as you are now would have been a great princess of your land back in your old home, I doubt you would have received any more such punishments as you are now," Ruby reassured.
"The old you never learned her lesson, but you did. That's all that matters," Apoch and Astreal said together.
"How do you two always say stuff together like that?" Complica asked looking to them. Before she could get an answer Luna quickly knelt down and hugged her two sisters close again.
"I LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH! EVEN MORE THAN COOKIES! HAHAHAHAHA!" she laughed as the girls once again looked to her with surprise. After a while of laughing out of control Luna stopped then slowly looked to her sisters with a growing expression of despair.
"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to… ruin the moment," she said softly. Falla laughed then held her close while Complica smiled amusedly at her sister.
"Don't worry about it Luna, we love you more than cookies too," Falla said before laughing with a kind smile. Complica giggled and held them both while Luna had a small smile on her face as she laughed weakly.
"It's nice to see them all getting along together," Apoch said softly.
"Yes, a shame it took so long for it to happen," Astreal commented. Ruby nodded then looked down while closing her eyes and relaxing.
"At least now they can spend some time together as real sisters," she said calmly. Kyouko smiled at the sisters then leaned back in the bath.
"Hey, hop on in and enjoy the bath with us you three, you don't have to stand there all morning you know," she said waving them over.
"Yeah, hurry up before Kokoa gets here, I don't mind the herbal baths so much but I like this much better," Yukari added with a relaxing sigh.
"Herbal baths?" Kyouko asked.
"Kokoa's a vampire, she and Moka have to put special herbs in the water to purify it otherwise water would harm them," Ruby explained.
"Yeah, water is just as harmful to vampires as the human stories tell about them," Yukari said with a nod. Kyouko looked at the water curiously as the three chronofly sisters dropped their towels and walked over to the bath. Complica giggled and jumped in while Luna and Falla sat down next to Kyouko with relaxed smiles. The two elder sisters laid back and rested against the edge of the bath before Complica made her way over and sat close next to Luna, snuggling up against her with the elder sister putting her arm around the young girl's back and wings.
"So, if Moka or Kokoa jumped into the water like this… that would hurt them?" Kyouko asked.
"If they jumped into a bath of normal water it would do more than hurt them. Prolonged exposure to unpurified water would be lethal to them," Apoch said cautiously. Kyouko jumped a bit and looked to her worriedly.
"But what about when it rains, it rained at Yokai Academy didn't it?" she asked.
"Yes, and during that time an umbrella would be an absolute necessity for them, however during most rainstorms Moka and Kokoa remained in their dorm rooms for safety," Ruby answered. Kyouko nodded then looked at the woman curiously.
"But witches are fine in water," she pointed out.
"Of course we are, why wouldn't we be?" Ruby asked. Kyouko looked around at the four witches with a puzzled expression.
"Because I always thought that water would cause them to melt," she said. Ruby looked at her with bewilderment then to Apoch and Astreal.
"Yeah, I'm still lost as to how all these stories about us came to be," she said shaking her head.
"They got the part about vampires and water right, no idea where they're getting the rest of it from," Yukari said with puzzlement. All the girls looked to Kyouko as she glanced around with a nervous smile.
"Hey, don't look at me, I didn't come up with the stories, I just read about them," she said with a shrug.
"Just out of curiosity, what else have humans been saying about us witches?" Ruby asked with a raised eyebrow. Kyouko laughed nervously and looked up while rubbing the back of her head.
"Well… that you kept black cats as pets-"
"I'm allergic to cats," Ruby mentioned, with the girls looking to her curiously.
"You are?" Yukari asked.
"What about Ms. Nekonome?" Apoch and Astreal asked together as they tilted their heads in sync with each other.
"Doesn't anybody else notice them doing that?" Complica asked, pointing to the witch sisters with a curious expression. Nobody responded to her as Ruby shrugged while looking at Yukari.
"I wasn't allergic to her, but if a household cat comes near me I tend to sneeze a lot, doesn't do well for my sinuses," she admitted. Kyouko looked at her puzzled then counted to two on her fingers which she held up.
"Um, and that you rode brooms to fly around on," she said, with the witches looking to her with confusion.
"Brooms?" Yukari asked.
"Brooms don't fly, what… how would we even ride them?" Ruby asked shaking her head.
"That doesn't make any sense," Apoch and Astreal said together, both shaking their heads in perfect unison.
"They're even shaking their heads at the same time, isn't that weird?" Complica asked looking to her sisters, both of the elder chronoflies still just watching Kyouko as if they couldn't hear their younger sister's question. Kyouko smiled weakly and looked down at the water.
"That's just what the stories say, that and you kidnapped children and ate them," she said with a small shrug.
"What?" the four witches exclaimed with a jump.
"Ate them?" Luna asked looking to Falla with bewilderment. Falla just shrugged as she watched Kyouko with a raised eyebrow.
"That's disgusting, why would we wish to eat human beings? That's so gross," Apoch and Astreal said with disgusted faces, again both in perfect sync. Complica just looked from them to everybody else with a curious eye as nobody seemed to react to the sisters again.
"Ok, seriously, who is spreading this crap about us? Because if we ever do get the peace treaty reinstated I want that human to publicly announce that he's full of horseshit," Ruby said with discontent.
"Who eats children? That's just horrible no matter how you look at it," Yukari said shaking her head with a disgusted expression. Kyouko looked around at the girls worriedly then shook her hands in front of her.
"I'm not saying any of this to piss you off, it's just… what the stories say about witches," she reasoned.
"Yeah, we're getting that straightened out right away once all of this is over with," Ruby said looking up with annoyance.
"How horrible, saying such disgusting and vile things about us like that, I don't think I've ever heard of a single witch doing such a revolting act once in my entire life," Apoch and Astreal said together with disturbed expressions.
"Really? How come I'm the only one who notices this?" Complica asked looking around at everybody, again not getting any reaction from anyone.
"What else have they been saying about us monsters?" Yukari asked curiously. Kyouko looked down in thought then shrugged.
"Um, well I always heard that you had to kill a werewolf with a silver bullet, is that true?" she asked looking to the others.
"A silver bullet?" Ruby asked with a small dry laugh.
"Yeah, that would kill Gin alright, although a normal bullet would work just as well," Falla said shaking her head.
"A rather expensive way of killing a werewolf, but yeah, that would do the trick I guess," Luna said with a shrug. Kyouko looked around at the girls then smiled weakly.
"That's just how I heard to kill them, the same as… well, driving a wooden stake through a vampire's heart to kill them," she admitted. The other girls just stared at her as if they heard wrong.
"A wooden stake through the heart?" Ruby questioned.
"Is that not true? Wouldn't that kill them?" Kyouko asked.
"Yeah, Moka and Kokoa would die from that, who wouldn't?" Yukari said shaking her head.
"That's just barbaric actually," Luna said with a disturbed expression.
"Just who is making these tales up about us anyway?" Apoch and Astreal asked together as they struck the same inquisitive expression.
"Seriously, it's like there's a mirror between them, doesn't anybody else notice this?" Complica asked while looking around with disbelief, again not getting a reaction out of anyone.
Kyouko smiled nervously and shook her head as all eyes were on her.
"I don't know, these are just stories that kids grew up with, adults never believed in monsters anyway, these were all just fantasy tales, nothing more to them," she reasoned.
From the side of the room Kurumu and Ran walked in, both clad in only towels while they were talking to each other. The siren still had her glasses on which she took off for a moment to wipe off the steam that built up on them while Kurumu seemed to be laughing about something as she glanced back to the doorway. Ruby looked to them then to Kyouko.
"What about a succubus and siren?" she asked. Kurumu and Ran looked to her curiously as they approached the bath upon hearing that.
"What about us?" Kurumu asked as they dropped their towels. Kyouko looked between the two girls as everybody was watching her again.
"Um, which one is the succubus?" she asked.
"I am, what are you girls talking about?" Kurumu asked as she got into the bath next to Astreal.
"We're finding out just what humans have been saying about us in their world. So far their view on monsters is grossly exaggerated," Ruby said as the girls watched Kyouko. The human smiled weakly then looked at Kurumu who was watching her curiously.
"So, what do humans say about us?" Kurumu asked leaning back in the bath as Ran got into the water and sat next to Complica. Kyouko looked down in thought then back to Kurumu with a shrug.
"Just that they're supposedly beautiful looking women who seduce men and drain the life out of them," she answered. Kurumu just stared at her for a moment then smiled curiously.
"We're known to be beautiful to all of mankind? Well that doesn't sound so bad," she said with a laugh. Kyouko looked at her carefully then raised an eyebrow.
"And the part about draining the life out of men?" she asked cautiously. Kurumu looked up thoughtfully as she leaned back in the bath.
"Well, we could suck the life right out of men for energy, though to be honest I don't think I'll ever be doing that. I love Rason, I couldn't bear the thought of draining his life away and killing him, that's probably something others do when they don't find their Destined One or if they're just bitches I guess," she reasoned casually.
"Wait, what do you mean you could, how?" Yukari asked. Kurumu looked to her then smirked with a shrug.
"We're love demon's Yukari, during sex I could drain all of a man's energy while we're joined together if I had a mind to," she explained. Yukari stared at her with wide eyes as did the other girls.
"You mean… that you could actually kill a man having sex with him?" Luna asked carefully. Kurumu laughed weakly and nodded.
"Well, I could, but like I said I would never do that to Rason, and since he's the only guy I'm ever going to be with I won't be killing anyone with my hips," she reasoned. She then looked around to see everybody just staring at her.
"What?" Kurumu asked simply.
"Didn't know about that little detail," Ruby said shaking her head.
"Oh my," Apoch and Astreal said with nervous eyes. Kurumu looked around at them then sighed with annoyance.
"C'mon you guys, it's not like we do that to men all that much anymore. Like I said the succubus would have to be a bitch to want to kill the guy for no reason, I don't think my mother ever killed a single man she's been with just like I never intended to when trying to find my Destined One. We may be demons who prey on men but we're classier than doing something as dark as that," she assured with a confident nod. The other girls glanced to each other then shrugged.
"I guess we shouldn't be completely surprised, they do charm and steal away men by the handful if given the chance," Ruby reasoned.
"Yeah, Kurumu was trying to do just that when Tsukune and Moka first met her, she was just charming boys left and right without a care at the academy," Yukari pointed out. Kurumu groaned and looked up with closed eyes.
"You're just never going to let that go are you? I said I was sorry, I was just doing what we do to find our Destined Ones, and just to be clear I wasn't going to kill any of them if they weren't the ones for me either," she asserted.
"You tried to charm and steal boys away by the handful at your school?" Kyouko asked. Kurumu looked to her with a playful smile and a wink.
"Hey, we gotta find a boyfriend somehow right?" she said with a giggle. Kyouko smiled weakly and nodded then glanced to the other girls.
"Not going to lie, if I could do that to get a boyfriend I would have as well," she said with a laugh. The other girls smiled amusedly at her before Ran looked at the girl curiously.
"Um, so what about sirens? What do humans say about us?" Ran asked. Kyouko glanced to her then up in thought.
"Well, they're supposedly beautiful women with voices that could charm and draw men to them, but were considered dangerous as they would lead men towards danger," she explained.
"Towards danger?" Ran asked worriedly. Kyouko nodded and looked to her with a serious expression.
"It's said that they would lure sailors with their beautiful voices, right towards jagged rocks and watch the men crash and drown in the sea," she explained. Ran looked at her worriedly then shook her head.
"I appreciate the beautiful women aspect of that story, but I'm going to have to disagree with the trying to kill humans part," she said with concern.
"Humans really think we're out to get them, don't they?" Ruby said with a raised eyebrow.
"Again, I didn't make this stuff up, it's just what I've been told since I was young," Kyouko defended with while raising her hands up slightly.
"We're going to have to get all of that sorted out if peace does become a possibility between our races again, we may be monsters but we're really not as bad as these stories portray us as," Luna said looking down with concern. Falla nodded and glanced to her.
"It's a good thing humans didn't know about us at all, who knows what twisted tales they would have come up with for us," she mentioned. Kyouko looked around at seeing the other girls having troubled expressions.
"Hey, I know you're not bad, and I'm positive other humans still believe you're good monsters as well, don't let this get to you. Besides these are just fantasy stories told to children, they can't be taken seriously," she pointed out hopefully. The girls looked to her with concern as she smiled and shook her head.
"I trust every single one of you with my life, you may be monsters but you're not evil in the least, all we have to do is show the world that you're the good guys and the rest will work itself out," she reassured. The other girls gave her small smiles as they appreciated her vote of confidence in them.
"Here's hoping all humans are as open-minded as you are Kyouko," Kurumu said leaning back and breathing out softly.
"Yes, it means so much that you have such faith in us Ms. Kyouko," Apoch and Astreal said together in perfect sync.
"So nobody else notices them doing that, it's really just me?" Complica asked looking around, seeing nobody reacting to neither her nor the witch sisters. She shook her head with disbelief then looked to seeing Sun walking into the room, the siren wearing her bathrobe with her sketchpad clipped to her side. Her hair was flowing freely behind her while she had a saddened expression on her face, the girl looking down and walking a bit slower than usual.
"Sun," Complica called out with a wave. The others looked to seeing the siren glancing up to the girls then smiling a bit at Complica as she walked over to the edge of the bath.
"Good morning Sun, did you sleep well?" Ruby asked. Sun looked to her with a small smile then wrote something down on her pad to show the girls.
Yes, and good morning to you all as well.
"You ok Sun? You seem a little down, is something wrong?" Kurumu asked knowingly. Sun glanced to her with annoyance then wrote down something else to show her.
I'm alright, nothing's wrong.
Kurumu smirked then looked to the doorway, with Sun turning her head to seeing Kokoa walking into the bathing room. She had a pink towel clad around her, her hair flowing freely down to her shoulders, was carrying a small tin kettle, and had a blissful smile on her face as she walked slightly off-balance.
"Good morning Kokoa. Um, are you ok?" Yukari asked. Kokoa nodded with a happy sigh as she walked over towards the bath's edge, with Sun crossing her arms and watching the vampire with a bit of spite.
"She's still alive," Ran said softly with wonder.
"Still alive?" Luna asked looking to her.
"Wow Kokoa, you look out of it. You and Gin have a little fun this morning?" Kurumu said while holding her arms back behind her head. Kokoa smirked and looked to her while holding a hand to her hip.
"What's it to you if we did?" she asked with an arrogant tone.
"Nothing, I'm just saying you look really happy and really out of your senses, just wondering if we have Gin to blame for that," Kurumu said with a giggle. Kokoa chuckled then glanced to Sun with a dull expression, the silent siren standing next to her and watching the vampire with discontent.
"What are you looking at?" Kokoa snapped as she dropped her towel with a scowl at the siren. Sun narrowed her eyes as her lips flinched a bit with her scowl. Kurumu looked between the two then up with a thoughtful expression.
"You know, come to think of it, did anyone else hear a wolf's howl this morning? I could have sworn I heard a wolf howling earlier," she said simply.
"Is that what that was? I heard something earlier, I thought it was one of Fang Fang's guard dogs," Kyouko said curiously. Kurumu giggled and looked to Kokoa with a knowing smile.
"Maybe that's what it was. Still, it sounded pretty familiar. Was that Gin I heard or was it just a dog?" she asked. Kokoa gave a dull smile to that then knelt down and opened her kettle which had some green liquid and small green leaves set inside.
"It might have been Gin, he does like to howl for me after all," she said nonchalantly as she stirred the leaves inside the kettle.
"Just like you do for him?" Kurumu asked slyly. Kokoa blinked and stopped her stirring, then looked to Kurumu with a careful eye. All the girls were watching Kokoa curiously as the vampire glanced around at them before looking back to Kurumu.
"What do you mean by that?" she asked.
"You know I gotta say it's so cute the way you howl for him, doesn't sound anything like a werewolf's but I guess it's the thought that counts, right?" Kurumu said with a shrug. Kokoa looked at her cautiously then jumped with surprise.
"Wha… what the hell? Were you spying on us this morning?" she demanded with a glare and bared teeth.
"You were howling for Gin?" Ruby asked with a curious smile. Kokoa looked around at the girls then to Kurumu with frustration as the succubus laughed a bit and nodded.
"We managed to catch the whole show, bravo by the way, I'm surprised a girl your size was able to handle something of that size while he was in his werewolf form," she said with a smirk. Kokoa turned a deep shade of crimson as the girls looked to her with wonder while Sun continued to scowl at the vampire.
"What's she talking about?" Complica asked before Luna quickly covered the young girl's ears and held her close.
"Wait, you mean you two were doing it… when he was in his werewolf form?" Yukari asked carefully.
"Um, doesn't he grow to like three times his size when he changes into that form?" Luna asked worriedly while Complica was looking up at her curiously as she couldn't hear anything.
"Holy shit, she was actually able to do it with him like that?" Falla said while looking at Kokoa with wide eyes. Kokoa stammered something nervously then looked at Kurumu with a twitch and glare again.
"Wait, we? Just who all was spying on us when we were in our room?" she demanded loudly. The girls looked to Kurumu as she glanced to Ran, the siren then smiling nervously and looking at Kokoa with worried eyes as everybody looked to her.
"Ran? You were watching that too?" Ruby asked.
"It wasn't what I was expecting to see to be honest, and quite frankly I'm still not sure how Kokoa was able to survive such a… vigorous session with Gin when he was like that," Ran reasoned shakily. The girls all looked to Kokoa as she fumed with anger and embarrassment.
"Why the hell were you two watching us? What kind of sick perverts are you?" Kokoa demanded.
"You just had sex with a large werewolf, and we're the perverts?" Kurumu said with a laugh. Kokoa growled furiously as her skin started to give off a haze, the group then watching her cautiously as she glared at Kurumu with fire in her eyes.
"I hope you both enjoyed the show, because when I get my hands on you…" she growled as the group watched her worriedly. Kurumu smiled nervously then quickly pointed to Sun.
"Hey, if you should be mad at anybody be mad at her, she was the one spying on you two to begin with. Ran and I only did so to find out what she was looking at, and let's be honest, seeing you actually being able to do that with Gin was just so strange we couldn't look away. We're innocent, she's the guilty person here," she pleaded quickly. Kokoa blinked then looked to Sun as the siren took a step back away from her with a cautious expression.
"What? You were watching me and my boyfriend HAVING SEX THIS MORNING?" she yelled out with fury.
"Wait, what?" Gin's voice called out from the other room.
"Does anybody else feel a murderous vampire aura rising from the other room, or is it just me?" Rason called out worriedly.
Kokoa growled furiously as Sun took a step away from her towards the doorway while watching the vampire with worried eyes.
"You were spying on my boyfriend, after he slept with me, while he had sex with me, you wretched little bitch, just who do you think you are?" Kokoa yelled out with anger as a small flame flared along her thigh.
"Why is Kokoa looking at Sun like that?" Complica asked nervously as Luna continued to hold her hands over the young girl's ears while keeping her close.
"Kokoa… please don't use your overcharge in here, Fang Fang won't appreciate more damage being done to his home," Ruby pleaded nervously.
"Too late, she started it," Yukari said nervously.
"Um, why does she look like she's about to catch on fire?" Kyouko asked.
"Because she is about to catch on fire," Falla warned. Kyouko glanced to her then back to Kokoa.
"Ok. Next stupid question, why is she about to catch on fire?" she asked nervously.
"Long story short, Kokoa can accelerate her monster energy and go supernova on anyone she hates," Yukari said with a nervous tremble. Kyouko blinked then shook her head while scooting as far back in the bath as she could.
"And just what does that mean?" she asked with fright.
"This is going to be very, very, very painful," Apoch and Astreal said shaking their heads.
Kokoa glared at Sun as her monster energy multiplied rapidly, the wet floor beneath her feet giving off steam as she clenched her fists with anger.
"You have some nerve peeping on us when we're in the middle of making love with each other. You just don't get the hint do you, none of this is clicking for you is it? Gin's MY mate! He's MY love! If anyone deserves to be his girlfriend its ME!" she yelled out with anger. Sun stood her ground with all the courage she could gather then wrote down something to show the vampire.
You don't deserve Gin at all.
Kokoa looked at the pad with wide eyes then glared at the siren with incredible fury as the other girls watched with worried eyes.
From the doorway Felucia walked into the room, clad in only a towel that she had wrapped around her figure while her glowing bracelet of light was on her wrist. The demon flicked her green hair behind her as she stretched out her other arm with a relaxed smile.
"Ok girls, I don't know about you but I'm ready to get wet if you know what I mean," she said with a small laugh at the end.
Kokoa let out a loud roar then dashed towards Sun in the blink of an eye, sending a punch right to the siren's face that hit with a powerful strike. Sun's world went completely black instantly as she was rocketed back at high speed towards Felucia, the demon then seeing the siren flying towards her after a loud bang was heard. Sun slammed into Felucia and sent them both rocketing back out of the room, into the hallway, then through the adjacent wall and into a storeroom filled with boxes and cleaning supplies. The two girls crashed into the room as the other girls in the bath stood up and watched with stunned expressions.
"Sun!" Complica cried out.
"Felucia!" Ran cried out.
"Forget about her, she's fine, what about Sun?" Ruby shouted out.
From the destroyed storeroom Felucia slowly stood up and pushed aside broken boxes and debris while having a dazed expression.
"Oh c'mon, that was just a joke, no need to get so touchy about it," she whined as she rubbed her head. She then looked down and jumped with a scream as she saw Sun lying at her feet, the siren out cold with blood dripping from her mouth while a large bruise was on her cheek.
"Sun? Holy fuck, what the hell happened to you?" Felucia cried out as she quickly lifted the siren up into her arms. Sun didn't respond or even move in the slightest, the girl having lost total consciousness from the hit to her face. Felucia then looked ahead to see Kokoa walking towards them with a heavy glare, haze seen coming off her naked body while flames were seen licking off her shoulders. The vampire growled heavily as her aura continued to rise higher.
"Kokoa? Hey, what's going on, why did you just hit her like that?" Felucia demanded. Kokoa yelled out with anger and dashed toward them, with Felucia blinking before turning around and quickly charging through the door into another hall as fast as she could. Her towel snagged on the broken doorframe while she ran by, the girl then sprinting down the hallway naked with Sun in her arms while Kokoa quickly gave chase after them. The other girls watched them vanish from the view through the hole in the wall then looked to each other.
"Oh no…" Apoch and Astreal said together.
"Well, Sun's dead," Kurumu said with a shrug.
"What is going on over there?" Razico called out from the other bathing room.
"Is bath time over again?" Render called out tiredly.
"Unfortunately. Hurry, get dressed and for god's sake stop Kokoa from killing Sun," Ruby called out before the girls scrambled to get out of the bath. The chronofly sisters remained in the water as the other girls raced to grab their towels and leave, the three sisters then looking to each other as everybody else left. Luna removed her hands from Complica's head as the young girl looked at her with worried eyes.
"What happened to Sun is she ok why did Kokoa attack her like that why are they fighting is Sun ok please tell me she's ok," Complica said anxiously. Luna and Falla looked to each other then to the open hole in the wall that Sun had crashed through earlier.
"I don't know about you, but I feel like Sun had that coming," Falla said with a shrug.
Running down a hallway inside the building Felucia was carrying Sun in her arms while passing a few guards here and there, the men stopping and staring with surprise at seeing the naked girl carrying the unconscious girl away from the raging naked girl who was catching up to them.
"What the hell is wrong with you this time Kokoa? For fuck's sake calm down!" Felucia yelled out as she looked back to seeing the redhead closing the distance with murder in her eyes. Small flames were flaring off of the vampire's arms and legs as her movements became faster by the moment. Felucia shook her head and looked back ahead while trying to keep Kokoa from murdering the unconscious siren in her arms.
"You seriously have an anger problem Kokoa, you need professional help!" she yelled out.
Elsewhere in the building Arial and Mizore were standing outside in a hallway next to their bathing room, the two snow girls waiting for the interior and water to be cooled down by Fang Fang's assistants. Both snow girls were clad in only towels, with Arial's coming up to her chest and being ripped slightly behind her from her wings scraping against the fabric. They were each leaning against the wall near the doorway into the bath, both remaining silent while Mizore was trying to think of what to say to the temperamental angel. Arial kept looking down at the ground with closed eyes, obviously not wishing to speak to the snow maiden next to her, and was wearing her earbuds while holding the mp3 player that Dark had given her. Mizore had her arms crossed and was glancing from Arial back to the ground as she thought about how to get the angel to like her more.
"So… Arial," Mizore started. She looked to see Arial still listening to her music and ignoring her. After a moment Mizore carefully tapped on the snow angel's shoulder, the girl then peeking to her with a dull glance.
"What?" Arial growled around her lollipop. Mizore took out her lollipop, as she didn't want Arial to mishear her like Dark would, and then smiled slightly.
"I was wondering, do you have any brothers or sisters?" she asked. Arial just continued to glance at her with a cold stare, remaining silent as Mizore started to feel more uneasy. The snow maiden smiled nervously as she tried to keep the conversation going.
"I mean, did you have any back when you were alive? I was an only child myself," she said with a small shrug. Arial still just glanced to her with a cold eye while remaining quiet, with Mizore feeling like she was not making much progress in getting the girl to like her.
"Just… thought I'd ask," Mizore said looking back down with worry as she put her lollipop back in her mouth. Arial scoffed then looked down as she clicked a few buttons on her player to change the song. Mizore remained silent as she thought about what to say next, contemplating one topic then another, none of which seemed to be any better icebreakers for her and Arial. After a while she blinked then glanced to Arial again. She tapped the snow girl on the shoulder, the young angel letting out an annoyed growl before glaring at her. Mizore removed her lollipop while looking at the girl with a gentle expression.
"Tell me, what was Dark like when you first saw him?" she asked. Arial looked at her carefully as the snow maiden slowly slumped down against the wall and sat on the floor next to her.
"When he came to the academy, he was always so quiet, so distant, a little hard to talk to. What was he like when he came to our village?" she asked. Arial looked at her with a bit of wonder as Mizore gave a slight smile at her.
"You were the first one of all of us to see him, to see what he was like when he became a good soul. Please, I've always wondered what he was like back then," Mizore said softly. Arial looked down as she clicked a button on her player, slowly taking out her earbuds as she showed a gentle expression as well.
"He was cold… distant," she said softly. Mizore watched her curiously, seeing that this was a topic that Arial would jump on. Arial closed her eyes and shook her head slowly.
"He was in pain, being used by his master to kill so many people. He didn't show it, he didn't show any emotion, but I could tell, he wasn't happy," she said softly. Mizore nodded slowly as she listened to the snow angel, her words seeming to convey some pain as well as she remembered that fateful night.
"When he killed my parents, I was outside near the window, watching as he… cut them down while he was invisible. When he reappeared and walked outside… I saw his face; he didn't seem to care at all about what he just did. He didn't show anger, fear, sorrow, regret, excitement, nothing. He seemed so empty, like he was hiding everything he felt," Arial said softly. She paused for a moment then looked down at the floor with gentle eyes.
"But when he looked at me, talked to me, told me that he didn't feel anything for what he was doing, I understood. He was being used, didn't know what he was doing, didn't know he was being bad, just doing what his master told him to. I felt sorry for him, all that blood on his hands, and he couldn't help it," she said sadly. Mizore looked down with remorse, knowing how Dark hated being used as a weapon of war. Arial sniffled and looked to the snow girl with saddened eyes.
"When he was told to kill me, I saw it, clear as day. He didn't want to, he didn't want to hurt me, it was hurting him to carry out that order," she said, with Mizore then looking to her with wonder. Arial looked down and held a hand over her heart.
"He looked like he was about to cry, he was in so much pain. I knew he wasn't evil, I knew that all that he had done wasn't his fault. So I did the only thing I could do, I told him it was ok, that I didn't hate him for what he was doing. I let him know, that he wasn't evil, to help him feel better," she said softly. Mizore watched Arial with wonder as the snow angel then looked ahead with a focused gaze.
"After he wounded me, all that pain, all that anger in him, it came out. I watched him as he killed his master, he made that evil man pay for what he made Dark do. I knew he was a good soul; I wanted him to be happy after suffering so much. So while he was tearing that asshole apart I crawled over to the glowing bracelet the wizard used to control him. And before I died, I wished for him to be free, to live and be happy," she said softly. Mizore nodded slowly then stood back up next to the angel.
"And so your son was born," she said softly. Arial looked up to her curiously as the snow maiden smiled gently down at her.
"I see my prayers were well placed after all," she said kindly.
"Prayers?" Arial asked. Mizore nodded and rested her hand on the snow angel's shoulder.
"My prayers to you," she said softly. Arial looked at her with wonder as Mizore smiled kindly at her.
"You weren't just Dark's angel, you were mine as well. I prayed at night to you, thanking you for all that you did. If it wasn't for you, I never would have met him; I wouldn't have Dark in my life at all. And it's all because of you that I could be with him," she said softly. Arial looked to the girl's hand then up to her curiously as the snow maiden smiled at her. After a moment Arial scoffed and swatted Mizore's hand off of her.
"He's not in your life, and like hell you can be with him," she snapped, with Mizore looking at her with surprise as the snow angel glared at her.
"Dark's my son, he's not for you at all!" she shouted out.
"But… but…" Mizore stuttered as she shook her head.
"I didn't die so you two could be together, I didn't wish for my son to live just so he could marry some worthless snow girl like you! Dark needs a proper girl as his wife, someone who's loyal, brave, smart, and badass, and that's not you!" Arial shouted out before looking away and putting her earbuds back in. Mizore stared at her with disbelief as she trembled a bit with frustration.
'You've got to be kidding me, that was our moment together, we were bonding for crying out loud! What the hell is this bitch's problem?'
Before Mizore could yell out in frustration the hallway rumbled a bit, with the two girls looking over to seeing an explosion erupting through a wall further away from them. From debris Felucia stumbled out then started running towards the snow girls before Kokoa blasted through the broken opening behind her, the vampire having fire flaring around her as she let out a feral roar.
"What is going on now?" Mizore asked tiredly.
"Sun!" Arial cried out as she saw the wounded siren being carried by the naked doll demon. Felucia looked back to seeing Kokoa charging her with a wild roar then to the snow girls as she ran as fast as she could.
"Watch out, she's gone postal again!" she cried out as she ran past the snow girls. Mizore looked to seeing the vampire running towards them, with fire flaring around the girl's naked body while her footsteps caused the floor to sizzle and burn from the touch.
"Wait, stop Kokoa! You can't go near Arial like that!" she yelled out. She looked to Arial, then without wasting a moment grabbed her then jumped them into the doorway of the bathing room, with Arial thrashing around and yelling at her as the two girls tumbled to the ground.
"What's the big idea? Let me go!" Arial yelled out.
Kokoa ran by the doorway, the ground around her heating up as fire flared along her footsteps. As she did Arial grabbed Mizore's hair and yanked on it, causing the snow maiden to yell and grab her head while the snow angel scrambled away from her. Arial ran out into the hall and looked over to see Kokoa dashing towards Felucia with fire flaring around her. Felucia screamed and darted to the side as Kokoa's kick swung by, the searing heat from it burning Felucia's shoulder slightly as the demon staggered to the side. Kokoa landed back down then jumped towards the girls again with another kick, with Felucia throwing herself and Sun backwards with all her might to doge it. Kokoa's strike hit the wall and demolished it into rubble as Felucia and Sun tumbled back onto the floor.
"Holy shit Kokoa, calm the fuck down! Are you crazy?" Felucia cried out as she tried to lift Sun back up and scurry away from the vampire. Kokoa growled furiously as flames flared around her, her hair flowing freely with the fires burning all around her skin. Felucia stared at the vampire with worried eyes then shook her head.
"Yeah, you're definitely crazy," she said shakily. Kokoa roared and dashed towards them, with Felucia screaming and trying to shield Sun with her body as she turned her back to the raging vampire. Suddenly a blast of arctic wind blew overhead, with the ceiling freezing solid with icicles jettisoning down through the ice. The frozen torrent flew up along the ceiling of the hall over Felucia and Sun then crashed down and flash froze the hallway along with Kokoa, the vampire freezing in place as she turned to ice. Felucia shivered then looked back with surprise as Mizore stumbled out into the hallway while rubbing her head. The two girls saw Kokoa frozen in place with ice built up around her legs, the vampire's expression of sheer fury held in place by the ice while even a few of the flames that had flared along her back had turned into frozen icicles. Felucia blinked then looked over to seeing Arial having one hand outstretched with a focused expression, the girl's towel being held up with one hand still as the girl's wings were arched back behind her.
"Damn…" Felucia said softly. Mizore stared at the snow angel with wonder as the young girl lowered her stance then looked to Sun with worried eyes.
"Sun!" she cried out running over to her. Felucia got back onto her feet while holding the siren in her arms and looked back to Kokoa who wasn't moving or making a sound. Correction, a low growl was heard in the ice as the vampire was frozen in place.
"You need to chill out Kokoa," Felucia said while shaking her head. She looked back down to Sun as Arial rushed over and looked over the unconscious siren.
"Oh my god, is she ok? What happened?" Arial asked desperately.
"Kokoa went nuts again, not sure why," Felucia said with a shrug. Arial nodded and looked to Felucia with adoring eyes.
"Thank you so much for saving her Felucia, you're the greatest," she said gratefully. Felucia blinked then looked to Arial with a nervous smile.
"What? No, I'm… really not," she said shaking her head.
"You saved Sun's life, thank you so much," Arial said before hugging her. Felucia glanced to Mizore with a nervous smile, the snow maiden staring at the sight with disbelief.
"Um… glad to help?" Felucia said worriedly.
"What? I saved your life just now!" Mizore yelled out. Arial looked back to her with a scowl while holding onto Felucia.
"All you did was throw me onto the ground. I could have handled that vampire on my own," she snapped.
"Are you kidding me? She would have melted you if she came even close to you! Dammit, I saved your stupid soul's existence just now!" Mizore yelled out. She then dropped to the ground with an ice kunai in her head, the snow girl grabbing it with a painful shout while Arial looked up to Felucia with one arm outstretched from her throw.
"You really are something Felucia, you're going to make a perfect wife for my son," she said before hugging the demon. Felucia looked at her worriedly then to Mizore who was rolling around while holding her forehead with a frustrated yell.
"Crap," she muttered quietly.
Arial then started pulling on her arm and leading her down the hallway while looking at Sun with worried eyes.
"C'mon, we need to get her to the infirmary right away, c'mon!" she said quickly. Felucia looked back to Mizore with worried eyes then to the angel as she was led away, with Mizore then stumbling to her feet while holding her head with a frustrated growl.
"I take it back, my prayers were not well placed at all," she cursed as she held her forehead with a cringe. From nearby Ruby, Apoch, Astreal, and Kurumu came running up to her while still wearing their towels from the bath.
"Mizore, hey, have you seen-" Ruby started before they saw Kokoa frozen in place.
"Ah, never mind," Ruby said dryly.
"Wow, she's frozen solid," Apoch and Astreal said looking at the frozen vampire with wonder.
"I'll say, did you do this frosty?" Kurumu asked looking around at the hallway and seeing ice everywhere. Mizore growled then grabbed Kurumu by the front of the towel and yanked her closer, glaring at the succubus who looked at her nervously.
"Who set her off?" Mizore demanded while pointing back to Kokoa.
"W-What?" Kurumu stammered.
"I said who set her off and started this whole thing?" Mizore demanded with anger. Ruby glanced to Kurumu and crossed her arms with a dull expression.
"Kurumu did," she said plainly. Kurumu looked to her worriedly then to Mizore who was glaring at her with rage.
"Um… something wrong Mizore?" Kurumu asked with a nervous smile.
WHAM!
Mizore stormed away while growling and muttering something, leaving the three witches standing over Kurumu who was lying face first on the ground with a large lump on her head.
"Oh dear," Apoch said softly as they watched Kurumu twitch slightly on the ground.
"Today is going to be another one of those days, isn't it?" Astreal said looking back over to Kokoa who was still frozen in her stance. Ruby sighed and nodded as she looked down to Kurumu.
"As if that should surprise us at this point."