Suri and her gang have a talk. Bakugou is crankier than usual. Suri gets a much needed distraction. New friends are made but not til after a good old fashioned brawl.
The weekend following the meeting from hell was exhausting.
Her mentors said that they were thinking Gemini was targeting her directly, which already raised the anxiety level.
Then there was visiting Dai in the hospital.
He and Ryo had tried to step in to fight Gemini when she attacked. That resulted in Ryo getting a nasty claw trail down his entire right arm while Dai, on the other hand, ended up getting cut up pretty badly and hadn't had the strength to shift afterwards. It meant he was recovering human slow and was covered head to toe in multiple lacerations and had damage to a lot of muscle tissue. He might eventually recover completely but there was the chance that the damage done could be permanent. The possibility of permanent muscle and nerve damage also meant that Suri got an earful from Dai's boyfriend.
The fact that Suri and Gemini went toe to toe and Suri managed to walk away hadn't been a secret among any non-humans. It helped fuel the rumors that, perhaps, the two were friends. It also meant that the pard was especially mad at her and their Hyo-Ra for letting Suri hang around for so long. So long it resulted in the deaths of Issie Nakamoto, better known as Uncle Issie and Grandma Kuroyashi's third in command, Sakura Kikuichi, Grandma's second in command, and her son Yosuke.
Suri had never been a fan of the Kikuichi's but to know that they were dead now hurt. Especially since the last time she'd really seen or spoken to either of them was the time that she punched Sakura in the face and when she and Yosuke had fought. It left a bitter taste in her mouth.
But Grandma's pard wasn't the only clan angry with Suri.
Gemini had been brazen enough to attack the compound while Grandma was having a meeting with Rukia and Vaz. It took the combined efforts of the three of them, Yukari, the guard duty surrounding the wolf queen and leopard king, and Grandma's frontline to make her retreat. In the end, of the four guards that had come with them, three were dead, and the fourth was in the hospital in the same shape Dai was.
What made everything worse?
Gemini had come through Suri's window.
Six dead after breaking in through Suri's window, and then five more dead not even 48 hours later at the apartment massacre. Gemini was a busy girl and all of the fingers were getting pointed in Suri's direction. It helped to reignite the doubts and self loathing Suri had about her role and responsibility of Gemini's appearance in the first place. Even when it didn't make sense and more signs pointed towards the hyena woman just being bat shit crazy, Suri either was or wanted to take the blame.
And, of course, she refused to let Mina and Tooru cheer her up.
The two of them decided to work on Izuku first and try to cheer him up first. A less stressed out and more chipper Izuku would be hard to resist. And if it became a three on one assault? Suri would have no chance. She'd have to give into her three lovers and she would.
Eventually.
And then came lunch time on Monday. Suri was already just poking at her food and not really eating anything which was making everyone at the table a little uncomfortable. She had been so out of it she hadn't heard anyone talking to her or addressing her. And they'd been trying to get her attention for some minutes now. Eventually, even Atiena had had enough of the sulking and took control of their shared mind and body, forcing Suri to sit back and take some time to rest. Her human counterpart hadn't even noticed that she'd been placed inside their mind forest when Atiena took on human form in the real world. While everyone at the table overcame their shock of the sudden shift in appearance in front of them, Atiena made sure to get some food into her and Suri's body.
"My apologies, my loves," Atiena finally said after she cleared her throat from finally getting some food in her. Her eyes made sure that Tooru, Mina, and Izuku could see the remorse in her before she continued. "I should have taken control a long time ago so we didn't worry you more than you already are."
"You're okay, babe," Mina said, offering a small smile.
"Is Suri okay?" Tooru asked next.
"She will be," Atiena nodded. She went to pick up more food with her chopsticks and then paused, staring at their food before sighing and letting out a soft explanation. "The massacre at the apartment we found and have been investigating. It was Gemini's doing. And… there's more. It's not just Gemini, it's everything, and it's been eating at Suri and I both."
"Gemini's back?" Izuku looked up from his food with wide eyes. In fact, everyone at the table held the same scared, shocked expression but it had been the greenette who'd said what everyone didn't want to say. "W-Why? What's she doing? And why'd she kill five people?"
"Eleven," Atiena corrected solemnly. "She attacked the compound the night before. Grandma lost her second and third in command, another of her leopards, and three guards that were accompanying the leaders she was meeting with were also killed. And… that's not the worst of it, I'm afraid."
"What's worse than her murdering eleven people?" Kirishima whisper screamed as he leaned closer so no one else but those at the table heard him.
Atiena stabbed at her food for a second or two before she looked up and turned her gaze towards Izuku. It had taken so much prying but eventually they had found out that he'd been beating himself up so much because he felt he was unable to save a child. The child, Eri, had clung to him, scared out of her mind and had been desperate to escape and be saved. But, in the end, she returned back to Kai Chisaki; her father and the leader of the Shie Hassaikai better known as Overhaul.
Suri had been able to rescue the dryad girl but...
"At the apartment we found a young girl," Atiena began explaining and caught everyone's attention immediately. "She was meant to be collected by Gemini, meant to be taken somewhere and… most likely sold into servitude."
The table went dead silent at that revelation.
"Kusano, the girl we rescued, is a dryad. They're a race of fairy type fae that live in the mountains and around forests, which is where they draw they're magic from. They're shy, and passive until they feel threatened then they can become extremely dangerous. That is, unless you take them away from their lands. All she could do was to hide herself so she wasn't taken and, as a result, Gemini went ballistic," Atiena continued and then sighed with a defeated look in her eyes. "Her murder spree and the increase in missing children are related. She's targeting powerful wereanimals and fae. And once she's defeated the clans' most powerful, she takes the children as a reward to be sold off to… who knows."
"And now she's here?" Tooru asked quietly, knowing she didn't want an answer to that question but needed one anyway.
"Yes."
"So she attacked grandma and," Mina asked, her words trailing off at the end.
"There's been at least three wereleopard children reported missing since the attack on the compound," Atiena answered solemnly. "It's too close to home to be a coincidence and I'm afraid she's calling me out directly now."
Everyone's faces dropped with fear and watched as Atiena gripped her chopsticks hard enough that they snapped in her hands. The beast woman's eyes filled with anger and everyone knew what was brewing in her head. They were about to voice their displeasure and dismay at the idea of anything Atiena was about to say when they heard a loud clanking sound at their table and looked up to find Bakugou there. His eyes were filled with just as much anger and rage as he sat the rest of his lunch down with annoyance and then roughly plopped himself into their booth beside Kirishima. He looked up at Atiena and trained his eyes on hers for a moment in angered silence.
"Where's Mohawk at?" Bakugou growled as his eyes narrowed at Atiena.
"Resting," Atiena replied, never letting her eyes leave his own and trying to hide the fact she was impressed with him. He'd noticed that it wasn't Suri in control at the moment..
"Bring her out, we need to talk," he responded in annoyance.
"I can answer you just as well," Atiena scoffed. "You know that."
"Fine," he bit back and then let his eyes trail over everyone at the table. "Since everyone already knows your secret or whatever and I figure it's your kind of bullshit anyway. I need to know why that bitch is in my dreams."
Atiena, Izuku, Mina, and Tooru froze at the mention of dreams and it seemed like even Kirishima had some sort of reaction to the mention of it as well. The brief, uncomfortable silence was all that the explosion user needed.
"Fuck, it is some of your kind of bullshit," he grumbled. "How the hell do I make 'em go away?"
"I don't know," Atiena answered, looking away from him and down to her food.
"Don't give me that bullshit, how do I get her out of my head?"
"I. Don't. Know," Atiena growled back slowly, emphasizing every word.
"Tell me now, or I'm going to blast your damn face off," Bakugou sneered in response, getting more belligerent with each exchange.
"What dreams is he referring to, if I may?" Shiozaki asked innocently and unknowingly stepping into a potential minefield.
"Shared dreams," Atiena answered.
"That Gemini bitch is in my dreams," Bakugou answered at the exact same time.
"It's just like at the start of the year where all you damn extras were in them," he added with a humphed growl of displeasure.
Atiena's eyes went wide and her skin paled at the revelation before she slowly looked from one of her mates and friends to the other. The reaction this time made Kirishima look away nervously from everyone and tried to hide his blush from his girlfriend.
"Oh god," Tooru whined softly. "You mean I was in your guys' dreams too?"
"Yeah," Bakugou growled.
"Maybe," Kirishima answered sheepishly.
"Eijirou," Shiozaki asked cautiously. "What dreams are they referring to? And why would they be… oh…"
The reactions from everyone and her voicing it in the open made everything fall into place for the vine girl. The reaction next was her cheeks going dark red and her vines tightening behind her head. The reaction made Kirishima yelp and he quickly turned to his girlfriend and bowed himself, clasping his hands together tightly and begging her forgiveness.
"Ibara," he pleaded. "I promise, I haven't dreamt of anyone else since I met you. I haven't had anything like that with anyone other than you for a long time. You're the only one I dream about, I promise. Please forgive me!"
Before Shiozaki could do anything, Mina leaned forward with shock. It didn't help that she was possibly digging a deeper grave for Kirishima.
"Wait, so you were dreaming about us too? But you haven't in a long time," Mina asked quickly, hoping to get answers before Shiozaki strangled the redhead. "When did they stop?"
"I-I um… y-yeah, I did. But! I-I haven't!"
"Spit it out already, Shitty Hair!"
"Not since the Sports Festival!"
Bakugou paused and looked curiously at his best friend for a moment and then back to the Suri Squad. Then his eyes trained on Shiozaki who looked away nervously because of the sudden heavy eye contact with Bakugou. The realization also fell onto Tooru who's eyes went wide as she replayed the timeline of that weekend in her head. Then she slowly looked up to her beast girl girlfriend.
"W-When we… our first kiss."
That quick realization made Atiena remember what Grandma Kuroyashi had said when Suri had told the old leopard queen about her dreams. It reminded her of what the dreams had helped signify at the time and what they could have possibly meant. Then another thought crossed her mind as well. Something that, if she was right, would mean Bakugou was fucked more ways to Sunday than they'd originally thought.
"E-F-M-S," Atiena sighed and laid back into her seat, turning her gaze to stare up at the ceiling.
"Huh?" Everyone turned confused glances to the beast girl.
"There's a lesson taught to us when we are cubs," Atiena explained and then began to recite the lesson. "Our beasts are an extension of ourselves. They are the most primal and powerful versions of who we are. And just like we need to eat, sleep, and maintain our human sides, so must we maintain the needs of our beast to ensure the balance within ourselves. Only in that balance of man and beast can we house a sound soul. A sound shared soul can only reside in one that takes care of the needs of both beast and man. So, in short, we need to feed."
"So fuckin eat already," Bakugou scoffed, making a pointed glare at her tray.
"He's got a point," Izuku said quietly. "You've barely touched your lunch today."
"It's more than that, babe," Atiena groaned. "I feed off of the most primal of instincts. E-F-F-S, the version I prefer, is basically... Eat. Fight. Fuck. Sleep."
"Stop speaking in riddles you dumb animal."
Atiena gave Bakugou a growl and an angry glare at the remark and then rolled her eyes as she continued to voice her thoughts on what was brewing in her head.
"I think it was me more than anything. I was coming into power quite rapidly when school first started and, while Suri was doing well to feed most of my needs, there was one need that wasn't being filled. Aside from that we were looking for acceptance and a pack of our own to make a home out of so I believe that the dreams are a mix of two things."
"What two things?" Izuku asked in everyone's stead.
"Bonding, in an emotional, metaphysical, and physical sense. Our power was looking for people who would be more than just friends or classmates for a fleeting amount of time. We were looking for lifelong bonds and… well… mates."
"Wait," Kirishima said quickly, his eyes widening and quickly darting between the established foursome. "So does that mean I have to, ya know? Even though I'm, like, ya know," he stumbled and quickly motioned back and forth between him and Shiozaki.
"No," Atiena smiled and chuckled as she began shaking her head. A gesture that made Kiri sigh and let out a whoosh of relief. "Truthfully, Kiri, and no offense, but I haven't wanted you in such a way since... well, the Sports Festival. To be honest, you've become a brother to us and neither Suri and I are into the… sweet home Alabama romances"
"Tch, that's stupid as hell you damn dopey ass losers," Bakugou rolled his eyes. "What the hell does the E-M-F-whatever have to do with that?"
"The dreams got worse and I grew in power faster than expected because she wasn't feeding all my needs and I was forcing my hand. We were eating plenty. We were damn sure sleeping plenty enough. We were fighting and getting our fill on blood and violence more than enough between the sparring at the wereleopard gym and here at school. Which leaves," Atiena sighed and took a deep breath. "One need unattended to."
"So the dreams were to," Izuku started slowly after a long pause of silence.
"Coax Suri into getting her little dry spell taken care of," Atiena admitted and her cheeks went rosy from embarrassment. "She hadn't been able to sate that particular hunger since coming to Japan. And by the time the USJ incident rolled around I was… a bit needy."
"Tch," Bakugou scoffed and clicked his tongue. "So what? Why does she need me then?"
"The point is, Bakugou," Atiena continued. "The shared dreams are, I think, a way of bonding. All of us had the shared dreams because Suri and I were attracted to most everyone in class and it put out a call. Since becoming official with Mina and Tooru, and later Izuku, it's only us that continue to have shared dreams. I'm tied to them now in more than just a physical sense and it's more than just the lovey dovey finishing each other's sentences kind of thing. If I'm right about this particular theory, I've gotten stronger over the past couple of months because of them and I'll continue to get stronger because having them tied to me means we share energy. Me getting stronger means they get stronger. We share thoughts, emotions, dreams, and, like, if it gets stronger we wouldn't even have to physically talk to each other. Like we'd never leave each other's sides because of the bond we'd share. And honestly, wherever they go..."
Atiena began to smile wide at the thought. The thought of being so in tune and in love with each other that nothing could keep her from them. Then that thought took a sinister turn. And it must have translated to everyone at the table because the look of happiness and butterflies that her mates had went fluttering out the door. It was Izuku that finally answered and he looked up at Bakugou with terror in his eyes.
"You'd find us."
What had been a lovey dovey thought of don't worry my loves, wherever you go I will always be with you was now a resounding you can't escape me, my love followed by a sickening laugh. That knowledge took the thought of having a stalker to a whole other level of terror and it made Bakugou's face drain with color. It was weird to see him scared but they knew it was for a good reason because by now, more than just Izuku had noticed the mark. The scar hadn't escaped the gaze of the explosion user's best friend who was now looking at Atiena with a what the fuck do we do look in his eyes.
And Atiena didn't have an answer to that question at all.
"Kuroyashi," came a brooding, dark voice from near their table behind Bakugou.
"We have a few people who would like to meet you," came a second voice beside him in a ghostly monotone voice.
Everyone looked up to see Tokoyami and Yanagi standing there like a visual representation of yin and yang. Tokoyami with his black as night, raven appearance and Yanagi with her pale, ghostly white hair and skin next to him. There was the quick distraction of the idea that they'd make a cute couple but then they continued when they saw Atiena look up.
"Who would that be," Atiena asked after a long pause and a quick clearing of her throat.
"Ashido said you were in search of a witch," Yanagi answered evenly.
Atiena quickly looked at Mina who sheepishly smiled and sunk into her seat a little bit. Suri and Atiena hadn't known the pinkette had gone out looking for a witch for her. Of course, if it had been during the last week or so, they probably hadn't been all there enough to notice. Mina, for her part, looked like she had messed up and done something wrong but Atiena quickly fixed that by hugging the girl tightly and whispering her appreciation into her ear.
"Yeah," Atiena answered again once she'd reassured her girlfriend. "I am. I'm hoping to consecrate some land as a home base here."
"As it would seem, when Yanagi and I asked about witches in our occult club we attend together we were approached by several members of the group," Tokoyami explained.
"Okay," Atiena said cautiously. "And what makes you think they're legit?"
Tokoyami and Yanagi both nodded and the slightest of smiles curled on both of their mouths - which was odd coming from Tokoyami's beak.
"Because," Yanagi started.
"They asked if it had to do with the Little Queen in 1-A," Tokoyami finished.
Atiena's eyes widened and she couldn't help but begin to smile at the revelation. A witch, maybe even two or three were here at UA and they were asking about her. They wanted to meet, and hopefully help. The dread of Gemini being near or closing in sunk into the depths of Suri and Atiena's shared mind and was replaced by eagerness. Eagerness to finally secure a place of power, finally getting a true home base for her tiny little pack. Eagerness for a distraction from all the bullshit that was going on at the moment.
"When can I meet them?" Atiena answered.
"Tonight at midnight," Yanagi answered. "They said you'd know the place."
"Oh... Well, I guess I have a late date tonight."
Thank the fucking gods for distractions.
The date wasn't so much of a date.
No, it was more like an AA meeting where everyone sits in a circle, introduces themselves and then the room fills with the awkward drone of response. It was like being around a non-existent campfire waiting for someone, anyone, to just start talking and rip the band-aid off of the awkward uneasiness. Uneasiness because it wasn't just Suri and one or two people she was meeting. No, the entire damn occult club and then some showed up.
The only saving grace had been that one of the new people in attendance was a second year who's Quirk wasn't much different from Kamui Woods. His skin was similar to Kusano's in that it was an odd tone of green and brown and had patches where, instead of skin, it was bark. He'd used his Quirk as everyone arrived to manipulate the trees around the clearing to detach into chairs woven from branches.
It had been handy to say the least.
Suri opted for the stone perch at the head of the clearing that overlooked the entire space and served as both a dramatic centerpiece and her throne. It was there for her as it was so why not use it? Was it a little arrogant on her part? Maybe, but she didn't care at the moment. So there she sat, arms folded over one knee to support her chin while her other leg hung over the side and idly swung back and forth with her eyes scanning over everyone in attendance.
Below her perch to her right was Izuku, Tooru, and Mina, who'd insisted on breaking curfew to make sure Suri would be safe. It was a viable excuse unlike Kirishima, Shiozaki, Yanagi, and Tokoyami who'd simply just wanted to come. Most curiously was the fact that she could scent Bakugou who wasn't in the clearing but most definitely wasn't in his dorm sleeping like he had thought to have been. Inside the circle facing towards Suri was UA's supposed occult club, composed of six students ranging from first to third years, and then another six students, one of which was Yutogame, the dragon girl from the entrance exams. It was apparent that word had gotten out among the friends of those in the occult club and wanted to come see real life wereanimals. Fuck, where they in for a treat tonight.
As it turned out, two members of the occult club and two of the second group of six, were an independent coven on the UA campus. The coven were now seated front and center before Suri with a mix of delight, nervousness, and indifference towards her.
"Well," Suri finally broke the silence. "Y'all wanted to meet me. So… ta da~"
"It's a bigger audience than we expected for sure," laughed one of the coven members. Her hearty laugh was accompanied by her playfully jabbing at the girl next to her who rolled her eyes and snickered in return. "But it's all good, homie."
"What she means is," the second girl continued, throwing as much sass and attitude back at the first. "This was supposed to be a private get together but my sister here can't keep her damn mouth shut most of the time."
Suri quirked an eyebrow at the comment and smirked at the two witches. The two of them sat in the center of the circle in front of Suri and she marveled at the twins. Because of course they were twins. Both girls were tall with long legs and lightly tanned skin and dark, midnight purple hair. The first sister, the more laid back of the two, had her hair shaved on both sides above her ears before letting it fall behind her head in a shower of long, wild curls. In complete contrast, her sister beside her had her hair straightened to her shoulders with her bangs tucked backwards by her glasses. The curls helped to highlight the first sister's icy blueish-grey eyes as opposed to her twin who had ocean blue eyes that shimmered in the moonlight.
Aside from the hair, it was obvious that the first sister was built like she hit the gym daily and prominently displayed her lean, muscular frame. What curves she would have had was on display with her twin who was curvaceous enough for the both of them and did nothing to hide the plentiful amounts of thighs, hips, and cleavage she had to offer. The twin with the curls wore tight black leggings that disappeared under a pair of loose black jersey shorts and a pair of untied and heavily worn black combat boots. Her upper half was adorned in a purple and black striped cropped tank top that showed off the abs she'd been working hard on and then a loose black leather jacket that was well worn on top of that. Her twin on the other hand wore a pair of black heeled boots, fishnet leggings that hugged her legs tight and disappeared into a short black pleated skirt. Instead of a crop top she wore a dark red tank top with an oversized skull printed in black and a matching bra that amplified her cleavage. It was one that Suri both appreciated and wanted to know where she bought it so she could have one herself.
On either side of them were two more girls who couldn't have been more opposite if they tried. On Suri's left of the twins was another tall - taller than the twins and Suri even - slender girl that looked as tightly wound as Iida. In fact, it was a lot like looking at Iida with the aura of complete professionalism and eager to please the authority attitude around her. But, just like the twins were dressed to the nines in differing shades of gothic attire, she was an all business sort of goth. She'd traded her UA uniform for an all black secretary style skirt and a matching black blouse so she looked extremely dark and professional, even going as far having heavy eyeshadow, mascara, and even dark lipstick. In fact, the only color present on her were her eyes and hair which were both a rich golden orange in color. Her eyes were like looking at a pair of twin suns burning brightly, promising warmth and life... or a fiery death.
The thing that stood out most to Suri, aside from her hair and her eyes, was the fact that she could feel lycanthropic energy radiating from her. As for the flavor of animal? She knew the humid tropical jungle cat scent well from being long time friends with Mercedes; Dante's girlfriend and resident weretiger of the pack in Salt Lake. Her being a shifter made the fact that she'd come barefoot to this meeting make sense. Suri was currently barefoot as well.
On the opposite side of her and the twins, and most opposite of all of them was the fourth witch in the coven who seemed to jump and shrink in on herself at any sort of attention. She was massively skittish and nervous, eyeing everyone and everything like they were a potential threat. Especially Suri. Her doeish eyes and her deer in the headlights expression was made even more so with her large round rimmed glasses. Of course she'd gotten this jumpy when Suri had spooked her upon arrival where she'd been hyperfocused on the runes carved into the stone perch. She had been like Izuku in that sense and had been writing a novel's worth of notes on the carvings. Outside of her jumpy, mouse-like demeanor, she'd been completely opposite of the other three members of her coven because of her bright pink and white striped lolita dress. The only traces of the black, goth or alternative aesthetic to her at all, was the black waist belt and oversized bow on her front, the black and pink bows securing her poofy, curled pigtails, and the black heeled pumps on her feet.
As Suri looked her over, she mentally noted that she was still dressed to the nines in gothic attire, she was just a certain kind of goth. She was an honest to the gods pastel goth girl.
And to top off her being the complete opposite of the three other members of her coven? Where the twins were relatively tall, and the weretiger was taller than them; she was short. Shorter than Tooru even, who was barely reaching five feet tall herself. And where one twin had all of the curves for the two sisters, this girl had enough curves for her, the weretiger, and then some. The dress she was wearing was having a harder time keeping her girls in check than the twin in the tank top was with hers. Suri couldn't help but smirk with glee at the epitome of short stack sitting just a few feet away from her and happily soaked up the eye candy on display.
Because, fuck, was that eye candy delicious.
"Private affair or not," Suri shrugged after a moment or two. "I'm thankful that you wanted to meet. I had been planning on seeking out a coven sooner rather than later but with the provisional exam and now work studies, I haven't had the time to reach out. I really appreciate Tokoyami and Yanagi for going out on a limb for me when they didn't have to."
"Honestly, love," the straight haired twin grinned. "You've been reaching out for a while now."
"Seriously dude," her twin chuckled. "You blasted Hanashita here the first week of school so we've felt you around for a hot minute."
"I-I um I-I was i-in the hallway d-during the e-evacuation," the shy girl, Hanashita, stuttered sheepishly. "I-I um... I-I was one of the ones on the ground when y-you stopped the stampede."
"And you didn't do much to hide yourself after that during the Sports Festival either," the tall orange haired girl stated in a stiff, accusatory tone.
"Shit, um... first, I guess, sorry about flooring you that day, Hanashita," Suri gave the shy girl an apologetic smile. "And yeah, I've never been subtle. It's one of my flaws," Suri laughed, and then as if to prove a point, she stretched her neck and stood up. She pushed her hands onto her hips and stood on the stone throne with a confident smile as she looked out over the circle of people around her.
"Let's get the formalities out of the way. I'm Suri Kuroyashi, hero name; Wild Eyes, and I'm a hybrid lycanthrope. I'm class representative or, as I've been referred to, the Queen of Class 1-A. I am the daughter of US pro hero Alpha, the former Ulfric of the Aspen Throne Clan, and the granddaughter of Lady Kuroyashi, retired pro hero Lady Whiplash and Hyo-Ra of the Black Pool Clan. And, once this place has been consecrated, I will be Lupra of a clan all my own."
The twins smirked at each other and then turned their attention back to Suri and began playfully clapping like they were applauding her. Hanashita, unsure of what to do, jumped when the clapping started and then nervously joined in. The weretiger stayed sitting with her arms crossed tight across her breasts and rolled her eyes at Suri's display. Everyone else just looked confused and bewildered by the entire thing.
Of the two twins, the one with the straight hair decided to pull rank and stepped up from their seats and strode towards the foot of the perch. She craned her neck but grinned all the same as she curtsied in front of Suri and blew a kiss to the beast girl.
"My name is Ryuko Takemura," she introduced herself. "Second year in the business and management course here at UA, Class I-2. My Quirk, or rather, my magic, is elemental in nature, meaning most of my spellwork and personal magic revolves around being able to manipulate the elements. Water is my highest affinity. Pleasure to meet you, love."
Ryuko looked happy and prideful standing there in front of Suri after introducing herself. That was until her twin slid up beside her and perched her elbow on her sister's shoulder and used her as a post to lean on with a nonchalant grin. Ryuko grumbled and glared at her twin as she shrugged off the deadly eye contact and looked up at Suri instead.
"What's up, I'm Saito Takemura," she said in a carefree yet confident tone. "Class 2-H in the support department. Was in the business course last year but transferred over this year. Wasn't really me, ya know? Anyway, yeah, my magic is elemental too but more shadows and light and stuff like that. It's kinda hard to explain so, like, whatever."
"That's right, you're the one Power Loader had me talk to a couple weeks ago," Tooru spoke up, now recognizing Saito. Her fingers dragged over the thin bracelet on her wrist and she let a happy grin cross her face. "I never got to properly thank you for this by the way."
"Not a problem at all, sis. Glad you like it," Saito grinned wide, giving Tooru a small salute.
"I-I umm… I-I'm Chibi Hanashita," the sheepish girl formally introduced herself. She came to stand with the twins next to Ryuko and bowed herself at the hip at a ninety degree angle before popping back up quickly and fidgeting nervously. "I-I'm a first year. I-'m in class 1-C in the general studies course. A-And if we're discussing magic I umm I-I specialize in rune magic and complex word spells."
Suri nodded towards Chibi after she finished her introduction. The ease Suri was having with everyone so far was seeming to help her as time went on. She could see the nerves and skittish nature of the girl slowly drain away and there seemed to be some hope of a few full sentences in her future. Then the fourth member of the coven came to stand next to Saito and the air about her made Chibi shrink once again mostly because she was now doing little to hide the presence of the beast lurking inside her.
"My name is Taiga Mutekabe of the Hamamatsu Ambush. I'm a weretiger, as you've clearly deciphered, and I'm the heiress of Byakko International," the fourth and tallest member of the coven stated proudly. She pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose, making them glint in the moonlight much like Iida did from time to time. And the more she stood there, the more Suri saw it; she was Iida if he had tits, golden orange hair, and had a tiger living inside of him. "I'm class representative of Class I-3 of the business and management course and I'm the best this school has to offer academics wise. As for my grimoire, since we seem to be disclosing that information, I am highly proficient in trap and barrier magic."
With all four of the witches introduced, Suri hopped down off of her perch to stand in front of them. She bowed her head in respect and gave each of them an award winning smile of appreciation. Even if Mutekabe seemed to begrudgingly accept it. Still, despite the cold stare from her golden eyes and the aura of her tiger testing Atiena, Suri gave her her respect. She could be a bitch all she wanted and Suri could sink to that level but right now, she didn't want that. No, she wanted everything fine and dandy.
"Okay," Suri let out a big breath of relief as her eyes passed from one witch to the next. "So how do we do this? I asked my dad and grandmother about consecrating a place of power and they both said that a coven would know what to do. Apparently each coven does it differently so there's not really a concrete practice and all. So… where do we start?"
"Oh, love," Ryuko smiled and reached out, taking Suri's hands in hers. It was an intimate gesture because the witch happily laced her fingers in Suri's and the beast girl couldn't help but get drawn in by her. Really, Suri couldn't help herself because the girl was gorgeous as hell and the shimmering blue of her eyes seemed to put her into a happy trance. Of course, that was a trap. "It's not gonna be that easy, babe."
"H-Huh? Wait, what?"
"Nah, sis," Saito chuckled and leaned on her sister again with a wide grin of delight. "Like we know you're strong and you got some good magic on you. But we're not just gonna offer our services all for free, ya know?"
"It may not be the full moon," Mutekabe smirked. "But we're going to have ourselves a little Lupanar tonight. And, as you know, you will need to be challenged for the right power."
Suri's eyes went wide in shock for a few seconds before dipping into a hard scowl. She went from surprised and bewildered to outright furious in a matter of a blink of an eye and let that anger boil to the surface of her skin. She pushed her energy outwards at the coven and scowled hard at them. She briefly heard Tooru behind her asking what was happening and was about to ignore her girlfriend when a large paw wrapped around her. Inside her mind forest Atiena snickered and grinned with delight as she pulled Suri back to her in a sort of guy hug.
"Oh these girls are delightful," Atiena chuckled.
"The fuck you mean?" Suri spat back. "This is our place of power. We've already laid claim we just need to do the ritual and it's done."
"Suri," Atiena rolled her eyes and smirked. "Our pack as it stands has no other shifters, correct?"
"Yeah."
"So no one could challenge us even if they wanted to?"
"I mean, they could. But no, not really."
"We need shifters to start a true clan, do we not? And right now, I sense four lycanthropes including our tiger friend here."
"And so?"
"Why would they follow us if we haven't proven ourselves?
"..."
"..."
"Ugh! Fine... Why do you gotta be so logical all the time?" Suri grumbled up at her beast and gave the creature a full, bratty pout.
"Because I don't get as distracted as you do," Atiena chuckled. "Case in point; why don't you go ahead and tell Ryuko and Chibi that they have wonderful racks. You know, since you've been staring at their tits this whole time and all."
"Fuck you," Suri snickered and rolled her eyes again.
"Hey, the offer's always on the table," Atiena shrugged and then pushed Suri forward, forcing her out of their shared mindscape.
When Suri's eyes flickered back into reality, she saw one of the witches in question already in front of her, idly waving her hand in front of her eyes. Like they had been trying to get an answer from her and Suri had blanked out. Because she sort of had. And of course, coming out of her haze Suri did exactly what her beast had accused her of and stared full on at Ryuko's cleavage and then felt the touch of Mina and Tooru on either side of her.
"Yup, she's back," Mina snickered and leaned into Suri playfully.
"Interesting," Ryuko said, her voice thick with curiosity. "I've never seen a shifter do that before."
Even Mutekabe seemed fascinated by the ordeal of Suri going from pissed off and wafting furious lycanthropic energy to calm and subdued. Didn't all shifters have a mindscape to talk to their beasts freely? Or did everyone else just hear a second voice in their head?
"Yeah," Tooru said, helping to bring Suri out of her trance a little faster. "It can get confusing sometimes but once you get used to it, it's kinda cool. Atiena's become... sort of like another girlfriend for us."
"Atiena, huh?" Saito said, tapping her lip in curiosity. "Feel like I've heard that name before."
"I know I have," said one of the others in attendance and Suri felt a flicker of heat coming from him as he stepped forward.
He came with the familiar scent of fur and evergreens and his eyes were already rolling to beast as he made his way towards the coven. What sparked Atiena's own attention was not only that he'd heard her namesake before but the amount of power flowing around him as he stepped closer. He was tall, with a lean build and sunkissed skin and a sort of ruggedness to him that put him in the handsome category. He stood out most against the other students there, more than just because he was the only one who wore a pair of baggy camouflage cargo shorts. His top was a black t-shirt, with a white skull face and the word Misfits scrawled in white, with the sleeves cut off so it exposed his nicely toned arms and shoulders. Suri had seen the same shirt before in Dante's collection. The low cut of it highlighted the top of his pectoral muscles and his neck which was adorned with a pentagram necklace hanging from it. His eyes shimmered in the light, the black of his sclera making the whiskey amber of his eyes stand out like gold. They were like her dad's in the way that no matter which form he took, they were always wolven in shape and color. In a similar fashion to the twins and Suri herself, the sides of his head were shaved, leaving a strip of medium length black and auburn hair slicked back with gel. The hair style, the eyebrow piercing, and his pierced ears only served to add more notches for him to the handsomeness scale.
It made Suri really want to see Izuku with a couple of piercings and her mind manufactured an image of a goth or metalhead version of her emerald prince. To say the mental image was drool inducing, was a drastic understatement.
No, Suri! Down girl!
His feet trudged barefoot through the long grass that had been laid flat from all of the traffic towards Ryuko who he came to wrap himself around. He smirked as he draped his arms over her shoulders, an act that lowered himself enough to be eye level with Suri herself. It was both a gesture of respect and a dick move because his expression said he was partially mocking her in a way.
It made it clear he was ready for a fight if the opportunity arose.
"Babe, be nice," Ryuko giggled and eyed the boy leaning on her.
"I am," he scoffed in return and narrowed his eyes.
Suri simply smirked and gave a half chuckle to the display before crossing her arms over her breasts and giving him a confident glare. She did nothing to hide the fact she was sizing him up and let her energy flick against his own, drawing a low growl from his throat.
"So you're challenging me for my title huh, wolf boy?" Suri grinned wide, baring fangs at him.
"Name's Pazuzu, sweetheart," he chuckled in response. "I'm a first year in Class H over in the Support course. I helped Mei with your upgrades a couple weeks ago."
"Pazuzu, huh? Like, as in the demon prince of the underworld?" Suri let her brow rise in interest as she continued eyeing up the werewolf in front of her. Shiozaki not far behind the group crossed herself and shuddered from the mention of the demonic reference. "And you're gonna be the one to challenge me?"
"One of them," he snickered back.
That answer made Suri's eyes widen and she started looking around the group again. She let her nose flare and brought her energy to the surface, letting it flow from her and fill the clearing with warm power. It touched everyone and most everyone reacted to it in some way but, aside from Pazuzu and Mutekabe, three others let their eyes roll to beast. Their own power whipped at Suri's and it made her curl her lip in a playful grin. Her nose told her that, of the three other shifters, the group had two leopards, and a fox.
The thought crossed her mind that the three might have been some of the ones affected by Koda's call during the mid term exams. If they were and Grandma Kuroyashi had attended to them, then shouldn't Pazuzu and Mutekabe have been attended to as well?
"Five on one, huh?" Suri grinned wide and let her power begin to rise even more, making it prickle and dance across her skin like a warm electric breeze.
The action made all five shifters shudder and all of them growled in response to Suri's energy. She looked into Ryuko's eyes, meeting them with a gaze that was no longer flirtatious and playful, and then gave each member of the coven the same confident glare. It was then that she channeled her dad and grandmother. She was remembering how they always started the celebration of the full moon, and turned to everyone, outstretched her arms and put on a joyous smile and boisterous voice that filled the clearing. If they wanted to have a Lupanar then she was going to damn well give them one.
"My brothers and sisters! We congregate under the light of the goddess this night for celebration. It's not a full moon tonight but by the gods let's make it feel that way," Suri grinned, striding around the circle of guests and letting the night air and excitement of it all fill her with confidence. "We gather to meet and make new friends and to celebrate our bonds with the friends and lovers we know and seek to make them stronger. In this place we seek refuge and comfort. In this place we seek to build our clan and grow as a family. And in this place we seek guidance from our gods, the spirits and power of the four elements, our mother earth, and the ones who came before us. Tonight we celebrate the beginning of this pack of ours and ask the blessing of the gods and our ancestors. So shall they hear us, so shall we continue forward with their guidance. So let's fuckin' make 'em hear us!"
With that Suri howled into the night, ignoring how ridiculous it might have seemed. The howl was echoed around her with Pazuzu, Mutekabe, and the other shifters who were all now seemingly happy and excited after the address. To add to making the gesture less awkward was the fact that Izuku, Mina, Tooru, Kirishima, and the coven joined in with them. In the end, half of the group in attendance howled with Suri and everyone's spirits seemed to be lifted. The awkwardness of everything seemed like it was dissipating even more as time and watching Suri's display went on. That was until Suri addressed the crowd again and it reminded everyone of what was going on.
"Tonight we address the leadership of this new clan," Suri vaulted herself onto the stone perch and stood at its edge, elevating herself to her self appointed position of heir apparent. "This ground was once consecrated to my father and he's passed it on to me. The coven here wishes to test me to see if I'm worthy of being gifted the power this throne will give me. And I'm okay with that," Suri grinned wide and clouds passed by the moon, making the light in the clearing flicker. "To those who wish to challenge me, do so with a warning. You are not battling me alone. You're challenging," Suri stepped forward as a dark cloud passed the moon, plunging the clearing into pure darkness for only a second. When the light returned, it was no longer Suri standing in front of them, but Atiena herself. The beast gave them a playful grin as she looked down at everyone's faces filled with shock and awe, and chuckled. "Me."
Atiena watched the shifters below her, seeing the three that hadn't introduced themselves yet falter at the sudden, smooth change. Like they hadn't just been taken aback by watching a person shift into another person completely. They however, quickly steeled themselves when they realized they were being watched and stepped forward, more into the circle, and came to stand behind Pazuzu and Mutekabe. Atiena then turned her gaze back to the twins and gave them a playful smirk.
"Ladies, if I may," she said with a calm and sort of elegant tone. "I'd like to determine who of the five should be granted the challenge to power. Unless you think five on one is a realistic proposition. If they were to win, who would be oathed to the throne? Would we continue until only one remained or is there a ritual to create a council?"
"I'm cool with a test," Saito answered with a shrug. "What are you gonna do?"
"Let's just say," Atiena flexed and began stretching her human form, easing the tension from her muscles. "We've come a long way since that first week of school."
With that, Atiena hopped off of the stone perch again and walked to the far end of the clearing. She was still in perfect view of everyone in attendance, but out of the way enough that she wouldn't potentially hurt anyone either. The shifters followed her and all six of them came to a stop in a semi-circle in front of Atiena and waited for whatever the beast woman was going to do. Everyone watched as she took in a deep breath and raised her palms to her sides and then balled her hands into tight fists. When she balled her fists, she brought that prickling electricity of power and energy to the surface again and let it dance wildly around her, arcing off of her skin and the ground around her. It pulsed every few seconds like a thudding heartbeat, loud enough everyone in the clearing could hear it as it sent soft tremors into the ground at her feet. The air pressure began to rise and the air grew hot and thick with lycanthropic power and then filled with the low rumbling growl reverberating in Atiena's throat.
"Submit," Atiena growled and narrowed her eyes.
She watched as the fox shifter stumbled a step backwards before catching himself and one of the leopards was trying hard to not let himself stumble either. Pazuzu, Mutekabe, and the female leopard next to them still stood easy but their eyes twitched from the uncomfortable pressure around them.
"You didn't say please," Pazuzu chuckled, and gave Atiena the most sarcastic tone and glare that he had to offer.
"Oh, my bad," Atiena snickered and then let her gaze soften back into seriousness. "Submit," she growled out again and then gave them a wide playful smile as another hard pulse of energy hit them like a small wave in the ocean. "Please."
The wave pushed the fox shifter back and floored him completely, laying him out onto his back. Beside him the male leopard stumbled a few steps before falling to one knee. The two of them cringed hard at the electric wind radiating from Atiena as it smacked and whipped against their flesh before the pressure grew too great for them and they withdrew themselves. Her attention turned back up towards the three still standing and she let another wave of energy hit them, marveling at their stern and steady gazes. Her respect for Pazuzu, Mutekabe, and this nameless wereleopard - that she'd vaguely recognized from her grandmother's lupanars - grew that much more. She nodded with approval before curbing her power and let them settle back into themselves.
"Good, you three have passed the first test," Atiena said with a pleased, kind tone.
"First test," the girl asked, half chuckling like Atiena had made a dumb joke.
"That was Suri's energy alone, not mine," Atiena grinned while Suri hummed happily inside their shared mind forest.
The revelation made the three of them look at each other with a mixture of pleasant surprise, satisfaction, and a hint of fear for what might be coming. Inside their mind forest, Suri came to stand with Atiena and leaned herself back against the fluff of the beast's chest and they stood as one. The action hit the three with another pulse of energy that was harder and larger than before, which made the leopard girl stumble backwards. That was when Atiena and Suri let their energy pool and pulse outwards from them in a massive wave of electric wind and energy that hit the three shifters in front of her like a brick wall. This time, the leopard girl came crashing down and both Mutekabe and Pazuzu stumbled backwards, with both of them coming dangerously close to falling to their knees in the grass.
"W-What is that?" Hanashita quivered nervously. "I-It feels l-like that day during the evacuation but… b-but stronger."
"It's the Wave of Domination," Tooru answered, rubbing her arms like she was freezing cold.
The two of them weren't the only ones rubbing themselves like they were trying to get warm or were hit with a scalding mist. Almost every single person in the group was feeling something, even from a few meters away. Izuku for his effort had his eyes glued to the entire situation as he took mental notes and watched in awe and intrigue. If he had had his notebook, his hand would be scribbling away a hundred miles a second.
Pazuzu for his effort let a growl below from his chest and he looked up at Atiena with pure defiance. His need for a fight was at the forefront and he let his own wolven energy boil to the surface to let it smack against the wave that was hitting him. It made Atiena think better of him even more and she focused the next pulsing attack directly at him and she watched as he nearly buckled but forced himself to stay standing as much as possible. Mutekabe beside him gave out and fell to her knees, leaving the werewolf the only one able to stay upright in the end.
"So," Atiena narrowed her eyes at him with a grin. "Do you still want to continue?"
"Hell yeah, I do," he snarled back and grinned with glee.
"How many forms do you have?" Atiena questioned.
"Selective transformation, first stage, beast man, and wolf," he answered, finally standing himself back upright completely and cupping his chin to stretch his neck muscles.
The answer of selective transformation made the beast woman's brows raise and her lips purse in approval. It was a feat even she hadn't accomplished as of yet. Selective transformation was usually a sign of a wereanimal who was destined to be clan leader or just ridiculously powerful. It made her wonder why he hadn't been in the hero course. She looked at him more consideringly and then back to the crowd.
"Pick your form," Atiena answered and then walked back towards the front of the stone perch where the coven was still standing. Mutekabe wasn't far behind her as she rejoined her fellow witches as Atiena looked them over again. Then she gave another considerate look towards Ryuko and smiled softly. "I hereby accept the challenge of power."
As soon as the words left her mouth she felt a wave of heat press against her skin and felt the wolven energy prickle and spark against her own. When she looked back over she found Pazuzu in beast man form, stalking back towards her on digitigrade legs and massive wolven paws. He was now covered in a layer of glossy black, grey, and dark brown fur, standing a few inches taller than he had been before. He was far more muscular and built in this form and the short coat of fur helped with the definition in his chest, abs, and arms. His ears had lengthened to a tapered, wolven or eleven kind of shape, his fangs had lengthened, now peeking out from his lips, and his claws had grown in considerable length as well. Most curiously was the fact that he carried the shorts, tank top, and necklace he had been wearing in one of his large paws. Atiena looked back at the small crowd and then back to the nude wolfman, snickered softly, and turned around towards her mates. They'd noticed too, especially when he handed Ryuko his clothing and she took it happily before leaning up on her tiptoes to kiss him. His beast man form had the same subtle changes that Suri and Atiena's own change came with; a more defined jawline and cheeks, upturned lips, and the half snout the nasal cavity reshaped itself to.
All in all, if you were handsome or pretty before the change, you still stayed that way. And Pazuzu? Well he was still pretty damn handsome in that regard.
"Y'all will have to get used to casual nudity around lycanthropes. Just a forewarning," Atiena chuckled as she eyed everyone in the group. Most of whom were still stunned by the wolfman standing in front of them to hear her though. She then quickly began stripping, letting the cool night air bathe her skin as her shorts, cami, bra, and underwear were placed into Tooru's hands. She looked at her girlfriends and their boyfriend one last time before shifting completely, taking her own beastwoman form in front of them and leaving the crowd stunned for a second time. She gave the three of them each quick kisses before smiling at them. "My first challenge as queen. Wish me luck, my loves."
"Just be careful," Mina whined softly and gave the beast woman a concerned look.
"When am I not?" Atiena grinned.
The three of them gave her a stern look which clearly rebuked her statement and she rolled her eyes in response, giggling happily until she turned back to face her opponent. They sized each other up once again, looking each other up and down. Neither of which cared that the other might have been thinking of other things they could be doing instead of fighting. They were distracted when Saito came up between them and held up a metal box and it took Pazuzu to realize what he was looking at and recognize what it was.
"Oh, shit, yeah," he said, quickly clearing his throat and speaking in a deeper and raspier version of his human voice. "I remembered you making a request form for these at the first of the year but, with all of Mei's shit, the form got lost. Figured we could test these out."
The box opened to reveal a series of caps of various shapes and tips inside, two sets of each type, which came out to three styles in total. Atiena stared in amazement for a long moment before reaching in to inspect the tips closely. It was the support item that Recovery Girl had recommended all the way back in the Entrance Exams for covering lycanthrope claws. When her dad started out, he dipped his claws in hot wax or liquid rubber. Now she had options. There were a set that were still sharp but, because they weren't lycanthrope claws or made of silver, they'd cut and hurt like all hell but they'd heal quickly. Another set that covered the claws were rubber caps rounded out enough to basically be fingertips. And finally a third set that were similar to the first but were dull rubber coated claws so they kept the same effect of having claws for show.
"Which do you prefer? Or have you tested them out?" Atiena asked curiously.
"I've tested all of them. And preference," he answered, proud of the creations in the box and then looked down at Atiena with a devious smirk. "How sore do you wanna be in the morning?"
"Depends," Atiena answered back with her own cocky grin. "Think you can hurt me, baby boy?"
Pazuzu grinned wide, reached into the box and pulled on the strings that each set of fake claws were attached to revealing a sort of glove like device. He'd pulled out the blade type claw set. Atiena watched him pull the glove brace onto his hand and strap it on, the back of the glove attached she watched as the tips fake tips suctioned themselves onto his real claws and fingertips, securing them to his hand. Atiena quickly followed suit and had a moment to marvel at the design and functionality of the devices before flexing her hands.
The flexing made it apparent they fit perfectly and would function just as proficient as her real claws would. Using these in a fight against a super villain would decrease any possibility of her passing her lycanthropy to them. She needed them added to her hero suit immediately.
Once both of them had the fake claws attached and secured on their hands they walked back into the clearing a little farther from the rest of the crowd. They began circling each other, staring one another down and sizing each other up for real this time. As they circled they heard Tooru ask a question and both of them paused for a moment cause it really had been a good question.
"So… how does this start? Do we have one of us just say go or do they just start whenever?"
"I'm good with a ref if you are," the wolf man shrugged and looked back at the group.
Atiena looked from Pazuzu to the group and let her eyes fall onto the pale skin and iridescent green hair that was her invisible girlfriend and smiled. She blew the girl a kiss before answering her with a warm smile that was full of affection.
"Go ahead, baby girl. I wouldn't mind you doing the honors."
"Oh!" Tooru eeped and jumped as the answer came from Atiena, accidentally hitting the button on her bracelet. Her sudden invisibility hid everything from those around her except for the beast woman who saw her obviously blushing like crazy. "Okay then! Ready. ... Begin!"
As soon as Tooru gave the go ahead, Atiena and Pazuzu went at each other and the clearing filled with the feral roars of the two lycanthropes. Their match started with them grappling; Atiena and Pazuzu lacing their fingers and pressing their palms together as they pushed at one another. Their muscles rippled and both of them snarled at each other as they squared up and tested each other's strength, both of them teetering back and forth in a tug of war of will. Pazuzu planted his feet and used his height to an advantage as he pushed hard, forcing the girl back a couple steps. His victory in that regard was short lived however, as Atiena let a growl rumble in her throat and she stomped back towards him, forcing Pazuzu back to where the two of them had started their match.
This went on for several long moments.
With them seeming to get nowhere with the grappling bout, being nearly matched in strength, Atiena changed tactics. When Pazuzu pushed forward again, she let him. With his momentum making him move forward faster than he intended, Atiena jumped and curled into him. She tucked herself under the larger wolf man and then bounced up, jamming her shoulders into his midsection and threw him over her.
The victory with that move however, was short lived and he rolled himself back to his feet in one swift movement after his back hit the ground. Once his feet hit the grass he turned and lunged himself in a quick, long line of beast and muscle and landed the first strike of the match on Atiena. The beast woman hissed because whether it was metal claws or not, three giant cuts across her chest above her breasts still fucking hurt like hell. She groaned and watched the first droplets of blood begin to trickle down from the wounds and then snarled at the wolf man who was coming at her again. This time she avoided his attack and ducked down out of his reach and raked four claws against his stomach as he rushed past her. The wounds were deep and he groaned out in pain as he came to a stop and looked down to inspect himself.
"Not bad, sweetie," he chuckled and brought his fists up into a boxing position. "Been a while since I've been opened up."
"Oh honey, we're just getting started," Atiena snickered back and then sprung herself towards him in a flash of speed.
The blinding fast attack resulted in another set of claw marks appearing across the other side of his midsection and Pazuzu grunted as he was opened up again. He cursed under his breath at the matching pair of marks and watched as Atiena began moving faster around him. Just as a shimmering image of her fluttered away from a spot where she'd been standing she appeared behind him. The result wasn't what Atiena had expected though and as she appeared so did Pazuzu's fist as it railed her across the cheek and sent her flying across the clearing.
Atiena grumbled as she pulled herself up and narrowed her eyes at the wolf man who gave her a confident grin. He had been one of the only ones ever to counter her speed like that and in the next moment she was made to realize why. The grinning wolf man then disappeared from the clearing in a blink of an eye only to reappear above her, coming down from the sky like a meteor. The beast woman had to roll out of the way fast and narrowly avoided the axe handle slam that rocked the ground where she'd been crouching a mere second ago. He brought his fists up from the ground and he disappeared again and she sensed him coming in from behind her. As soon as he reappeared again Atiena rolled, spinning on her heels and then launching a hard right, roundhouse kick at him. Her large paw connected with the side of his head and launched him back towards the stone perch.
Pazuzu was left dazed for a few seconds with a loud ringing in his ears as he came to a stop at the base of the massive stone. When his vision cleared it was in time to see Atiena coming at him in a zigzag pattern before getting a rake of her claws across his face. The jerking of his head gave way to Atiena then getting a handful of his hair and slamming him to the ground on his chest. With him down on the ground, Atiena pinned him, clutching his hair and the back of his neck with one hand and digging her right knee into the center of his back.
"Bow to me," Atiena ordered with a low growl.
"I ain't done yet," Pazuzu snarled and the energy that was filled with his rage and determination exploded. The concussive shockwave of it not only launched him off the ground enough to be able to stand but threw Atiena a few feet as well. Atiena looked at him with a mix of shock and pleasant surprise, which only served to make him give her a mischievous smirk. "You thought you were the only one who could do that trick? Hah! Gotta try harder than that."
"You calling your queen a one trick pony?" Atiena feigned disgust. "Shame on you."
"My queen's gotta do better," Pazuzu grinned and then swiped his tongue over his fangs in a playful, but also suggestive manner. "Especially since you're gonna be calling me Ulfric."
Atiena narrowed her eyes at him and dashed forward and Pazuzu readied himself for her. When she got in close he lunged forward with both arms, either trying to trap her into a bear hug or cross swipe her with his claws. Whichever it was never landed as Atiena went to the ground, baseball sliding between his legs and slashing at the back of both of his thighs as she came through. The pain and being cut at the back of his legs dropped him to his knees as he snarled in anguish. The pain only skyrocketed as Atiena wrapped herself around him in one quick movement, putting him into a headlock with one arm and bending him backwards on his knees. She sat on the back of his legs where she'd cut him, wrapped her legs around his waist, and pulled him backwards before plunging her fangs hard and deep into his shoulder.
With him pulled back and strained he let out a snarling howl into the night from pain but still struggled against her. Even as the copper candied flavor of his blood poured into her mouth and down her throat, he resisted. Atiena drank him down, savored the taste and had to stifle a moan from how wonderful his flavor was. More than the flavor she tasted the pure power he had to him and knew just how incredible of a werewolf he was and still could be.
Not that she was going to drain him and drink him dry. Though it was incredibly tempting because of how delicious he tasted.
"Bow. To. Me," she growled against his flesh, the rumbling of it filling her throat and the clearing with the menacing sound. It was enough to make more than a few people gasp in fear.
"Sit on my face about it," he sneered back with a coy grin.
He still had fight in him, even under the amount of pain he was enduring. It made Atiena's respect for the wolf grow even more and she couldn't help but smile at the resolve. Still, she needed to win this fight. She tightened her grip on him but before she could let her power come to the surface in another Wave of Domination, he overpowered her.
Pazuzu reached back with his hands and grabbed at Atiena, grabbing her thighs tight on either side of him and lifted her. It moved her center of gravity and was enough for him to jerk backwards and roll himself in a movement that slammed the beast woman into the ground behind them. The force of it, her head smacking with a meaty thud against the ground, made Atiena see stars and her ears filled with an intense ringing and the sound of pumping blood. When her vision cleared enough to make out a figure above her she barely had time to react and brought her forearms up to shield herself. Her arms began to sting from the series of hard hits that rained down on her before she finally saw the wolf man clearly. That was in time for one of his big paws to grab Atiena's forearms and pin them above her head and then she felt the crushing weight of him coming down on her. The next blow was a hard knee to the sternum that took her breath away, making her gasp and cough for air only to be rocked with a hard smack to her cheek and she felt the sting of claws racking across her face.
Before she could recover from the hit and as she felt the blood trickling down her face she found a hand around her throat. He squeezed, not enough to cause damage or really restrict airflow but put pressure to let her know who was in control of the moment.
"Submit," he growled in a hushed, low tone.
Atiena didn't answer and blinked rapidly to try and truly clear her vision faster. The words had been distant and muffled like listening to voices behind a tin wall but she heard him clearly the second time he repeated those words. The beast woman narrowed her eyes at him and simply growled back in response instead of speaking. That response earned his grip around her throat to tighten.
"Bow to me, Atiena, Suri," he growled again.
The fact that he'd used both names showed how much respect Pazuzu had for the beast woman below him. Even though it was a fight for power and control, the two of them truly did have the other's respect and adoration. It was clear Pazuzu would make a fine Beta in their growing pack. That decision was settled as long as she remained queen.
Without a word, Atiena drew all of her and Suri's combined energy to her core and let it boil with anger, rage, and pure will of defiance before letting it pop. It pushed Pazuzu back from the brunt force of the wave of power that hit upwards at him. Forced him up enough that she was able to bring her legs up and counter his weight on top of her. She pushed and then kicked her legs outward, which took the wolf man above her completely off his feet and left him at the mercy of her and gravity. She jerked her hands from his grip and used them to place him above her enough that she was able to quickly draw her knees and force them into his gut. The entire forceful motion flipped him head over heels and onto his back while she rolled herself back onto her feet.
For the next few moments, after Pazuzu recovered, the two went at each other and went blow for blow, punching, clawing, and kicking one another. It was a brutal display that neither backed down from until they were both heavily panting and covered in blood. Both their own, and each other's. It was after another volley of brutal attacks that they began circling each other, like they were boxers in a ring, waiting for who would strike next. It made Pazuzu grin again and lick his lips as he eyed Atiena again. The gesture may have seemed lewd but in reality it had been to clear some of the blood from his lips and mouth so he could talk without splattering everywhere.
"You're good," he chuckled. "You're really damn good. But here's the thing; I haven't seen what sets you apart. You're hot, you're strong, and you've got fight but you and I both know Ulfrics, Lupas, Hyo-Gus, Hyo-Ras, Rexes, they've all got something that demands respect from the clan. My Ulfric and your dad and crazy fuckin' intimidating. That Lupa in Shinjuku, she's crazy intimidating and ruthless. Your grandma, shit, she just feels dangerous when I've met her before. You? What can you do that they can't? What makes you just as dangerous? Tell me why I should follow you, princess."
Atiena let a grin curl onto her lips and flashed fangs at him. Then she started laughing softly, which took the werewolf off guard for a moment before she stopped, took a deep breath, and then gave him the best, gentle expression she could. The sudden change in demeanor served to confuse Pazuzu and then shock and fear washed over his face because, at that moment, Atiena disappeared. She suddenly reappeared behind him and then she was gone again, and then again, and again, until he was seeing mirages of the beast woman. In the next moment everyone was staring at a dozen Atienas slowly circling and smiling at Pazuzu with him alone in the middle of them all. His senses were going crazy because he was trying to find the fake Atiena but was realizing, all of them were real and all of them were looking at him like he was a toddler who'd made an adorable mistake.
"Oh, sweet, little boy," all of them chimed sweetly around him. "I may not be as intimidating as my dad, or have the stockpile of power my grandma does, but I do have one thing that I'm better at. And you're looking at it."
Then the hits started coming.
Pazuzu was rocked forward, then back, and side to side, as Atiena attacked him from every which way sporadically. It was enough to draw him off balance and left him without a counter. And it showed him what she could truly do.
"So you're fast," Pazuzu grunted as he recovered from one of the many hits and clawings he was taking. "That doesn't mean much. Just means you're trickier to handle. It's kinda hot."
There was a chorus of laughs and giggles, which sent chills down everyone's spines from how creepy it had sounded. And how creepy it was to see ten to twelve Atiena's happily pummeling a single werewolf between them.
"Flattered, I assure you. But baby, you made one mistake that probably cost you a date."
"Oh? And what's that?"
"I'm not a princess," Atiena growled with a sinister grin and then the group collapsed in on Pazuzu, and he was railed with a dozen attacks all at once.
The series of them whirled him around before he was sent flying into the air with a powerful uppercut that left him airborne for a few seconds. As he began returning to the earth he found a hand around his throat helping him land, or rather crash, into the ground. Atiena quite literally chokeslammed him into the earth hard enough to create an impact crater a couple feet deep. It took his breath away and left his head swimming on the edge of consciousness. When his vision and hearing began to come back from that hazy stars and white noise his eyes found Atiena standing above him. Her arms were crossed tight over her breasts and her feet planted on either side of his chest as she looked down with him.
"I'm a queen," she said with a satisfied growl before letting herself drop.
She drove all of her weight into his chest as she sat on him and watched him hack and cough as the air was forced from his lungs once again. She couldn't help but smile and giggle as he attempted to struggle and then flopped back and let out a deep, haggard sigh as he relented. She watched him with a grin and then leaned forward and planted a hand on his collarbone as she looked down into his eyes.
"Do you submit?"
"Yeah," he groaned out and laid his head back, staring up into the stars. "Fuck it, I give."
"Good boy," Atiena chuckled and leaned up again, this time playfully ruffling his hair and messing up the work that either he or Ryuko had put into it.
With that, she stood and looked at the awaiting crowd with a confident smile before cocking her hip and placing her hands on them. Not that she was trying to be overly cocky with her victory or anything. More than that though, she'd had fun. Fun that she could honestly get used to if things continued to go the way they were. It really did remind her of the fun that she'd had during Lupanars with the pack in Salt Lake City and here in Japan. And to that, she purred happily and eyed everyone.
"Any other challengers to take my throne as queen?" she offered up with delight.
When she was met with silence, she nodded, and began striding towards Ryuko, Saito, Chibi, and Taiga. As she walked, she relented and shelved her energy and, just like she'd appeared in a smooth, sudden shift, she did so back. Atiena had started that few meter stride towards the coven but it was a nude and bloody Suri that came to a stop in front of them. Bloody with only small remnants of where Pazuzu had clawed the hell out of her. It gave everyone a perfect display of the healing capabilities of her kind and they all stared in awe from it. Though there were plenty of other reasons to be staring, none of which Suri cared about.
"Congratulations on your victory, Kuroyashi," Ryuko applauded sweetly before her, and the rest of the coven bowed their heads to her. In unison the four of them drew a five point star on their chests before making eye contact with Suri again. "In honor of your successful rite of power we will continue as promised and pledge our allegiance to you. We will not only consecrate the land as yours to build the base for our clan but we will also offer our services in any way you see fit. Do you have any questions for us, our queen?"
The way the word rolled off of Ryuko's tongue made Suri shiver with delight and excitement and it made her all the more eager for what was to come next.
"Just one. When do we start?"