Foreword: When Halloween is around the corner, how does our main character enjoy such a spooky celebration? Read and find out in this side story
Not canon to original storyline.
Don't fear the Reaper
The month of October rolled around and soon it was close to the end of the semester in the IS Academy. A festive mood settled over the Academy as Halloween loomed closer, as shown by the spooky themed decoration that festooned any visible surface in the school.
In this special day, the rules that stipulated the compulsory wear of school uniforms was waived. With the dress code relaxed, many of the students wore Halloween costumes and started sharing spooky stories even when nighttime was still far away.
In Classroom 1-1, everyone was dressed in costumes of various figures and mythological monsters. Friends crowded around each other in small groups, marveling each other's costumes and chatting leisurely before classes began.
"Ne, ne, what do you think the guys' costume would be?"
"I don't know, but I can't wait seeing what the boys would be wearing!"
'Oh yeah, me too! Orimura-san's always dressed up so well, his costume must be quite awesome!"
A group of girls chatted animatedly, gushing about and wondering just what the Academy's only two boys would wear as Halloween costumes.
"Hmmm, it seems that the girls are a bit excited on how the boys would dress up."
Cecilia noted to herself, adjusting the large brimmed hat on her head. The Briton had eschewed her usual hair styling to wear her hair in a simple ponytail, allowing her to complete her witch outfit with a wide brimmed witches' hat.
"Of course, after all it's probably fun to imagine what Elliot and Ichika would dressed up as. I'm especially curious as to what Elliot would dress up as. He's quite tall so I think there's not a lot of choices for him."
Charlotte quipped good naturedly, the French blonde was dressed up in a traditional maid outfit. Her pedestrian outfit set off her cheery demeanor, making her look very bubbly and outgoing.
"Charlotte? Can you help me with the bandages on my back? It appears to be too tight for me to move comfortably."
Laura slowly shuffled forward, swathed head to toe in bandages. The short German had opted for dressing up as a mummy, though much to the horror of all of her friends she had initially wore nothing save for wrapping herself up in miles of bandages. After being persuaded to put on some clothes for decency sakes (And as a form of insurance should her costume unraveled itself.), the German had put on a pair of shorts along with a simple white shirt. Bits of silver thread peeked out beneath rounds of bandages that encased her head, her lone eye peeking out between the gaps left for her nose and her mouth.
Charlotte sighed, ambling over to the German representative candidate's side to lend her a hand.
"Alright Laura. Where is it that you felt too tight? Show me."
The German proceeded to turn around facing away Charlotte, showing her back to her. Before anyone could expect it, Laura had done away with her shirt, revealing her back swaddled in bandages.
"L-Laura!? Don't go taking off your clothes like that in public! Put your shirt back on!"
"What is wrong with this? I'm only removing my top, plus I am wearing something underneath it so there's no need to panic over this."
Charlotte just sighed, finding nothing to refute Laura's very logical argument. The French blonde worked on loosening Laura's bandages, rewrapping them so that the silverette could move more comfortably.
"What's taking those two so long? It's almost time for class and Ichika's still not here."
Rin piped in, the short girl dressed in a traditional Qing official outfit. A yellow paper talisman with inscriptions written in red ink was plastered to her forehead, though the talisman was thin enough as not to obscure her vision too much.
"He must've been sleeping in again. I thought I had woken him up before I left. He clearly lacks discipline after abandoning Kendo for so long."
Houki came up to the group, her every step accompanied by the soft ringing of bells. The shrine maiden had opted for a fox priestess outfit, her vulpine ears peeking out on top of her head. This was all finished by a traditional shrine maiden outfit that accentuated her busty figure, though the prim elegance brought forward by the outfit gave her a contrasting aura of innocence and sensuality.
The patter of footsteps from the corridor soon quelled all conversation within the classroom. Every one turned their gaze towards the door, waiting for the boys to arrive. Most especially affected were the group of representative candidates who were anticipating the arrival of their respective crushes and friends.
The footsteps echoed loudly in the hallway, eventually leading to the room. The younger Orimura stepped into the classroom with a cheery attitude, in contrast to his garish outfit that consisted of bolts attached to his temples and a stitch mark across his forehead.
Following behind him was the hybrid. His usual fedora stood out as always. But much to the girls' chagrin, the blonde boy was dressed in his usual IS Academy uniform. While it was decent to look at, it was not what the denizens in class 1-1 had expected at all.
The previously lively classroom suddenly turned quiet as both boys stepped clear into view. Ichika looked around as he was caught off guard by the sudden silence, not knowing what had caused the change to his rowdy classmates.
"Um…. guys? What's wrong? Is my outfit that bad?"
Without warning, a chorus of disappointed wailing and chagrined shrieks flooded the classroom. Almost every girl wore dismayed expressions as they found their class representative and celebrity dressed in his usual clothes.
"Orimura-san's not wearing any costumes!"
"My fantasy, gone!"
"Uwaaa! God, you're so cruel to me!"
The two boys beheld the classroom with varied expressions. Ichika took in the chaotic state of the classroom with confusion, unable to understood the abrupt change to his classmates' attitude.
Meanwhile, the hybrid faced the chaos with a long-suffering resignation, long since used to the antics of his classmates and the Academy in general. He rolled his eyes as he mashed his palms to his ears trying to shut off the noise from hurting his ears, wincing as his eardrums rang when the noise was a bit too loud for his hands to block out.
The usual group of personal IS pilots gathered around the boys, with Houki and Rin swarming Ichika. The Europeans converged around Elliot as they examined the boys' outfits.
"Eh? Elliot dear, why aren't you dressed in a costume?"
Elliot gave a shrug to Cecilia, his demeanor nonchalant and indifferent.
"Just don't see a reason to. I mean…what's the appeal in dressing up in silly, flimsy costumes just for one day in order to have fun?"
Realizing just what the blonde boy had stated, a collection of groans went out around the group. The girls that were clamoring for his attention didn't expect that the quirky male was both too practical to a fault and quite the miser.
'Elliot…you don't celebrate Halloween? Not at all?"
Elliot just shook his head at Charlotte, confirming the answer she already knew.
"Not really. Most of my memories of Halloween are cold and hungry. Suffice to say, my childhood experiences have ruined Halloween for me."
All of the girls shared looks of pity with each other, regarding the blonde with some measure of sympathy. It was clear that the blonde didn't share the same sentiments with them when it came to festivals and celebrations.
"My god….I didn't know. Oh, you poor thing…."
Elliot gazed at Cecilia, perplexed by the pitying looks she sent his way. The maiden had walked up to him and grasped his right arm. Though instead of hugging it close to her chest, the girl had held onto his hand as her other arm came up to stroke his upper arm in a comforting manner. He wouldn't lie and say that it wasn't doing its job marvelously.
"Je suis désolé…you've really suffered a lot in your childhood Elliot. Come on, we'll show you how to enjoy Halloween after class."
Charlotte bounded up to him, grabbing his arm as she pulled him along to his seat. The action earned an undignified shout from Cecilia who was not happy at having her time with the hybrid cut short.
Elliot opted to just let Charlotte drag him along. As much as he knew the reasons behind the current festivities, he'd never saw a practical reason for indulging in it. Thus, he had chose not to dress in any outfits unlike his classmates.
But there was at least a good thing about Halloween, at least this year's celebrations. An opportunity to learn about something important had just opened up and he'd be a fool not to capitalize upon it.
Sitting by the desk while Charlotte explained to him why he should enjoy today's celebrations, he silently nodded his head to the girl in maid outfit and showed his attention to her. Inwardly, he smirked at his upcoming tests.
Elliot couldn't wait for nightfall to arrive. Tonight was bound to be quite…. enlightening and eye opening.
'Pilot, may I reiterate my stand that your intentions for your current actions are neither noble or wise. Should things go awry, you may find yourself in troubled waters with the elders of this institution.'
Elliot rolled his eyes, briefly acknowledging his partner's warning as he adjusted the floor length robe he was wearing. The AI's own concerns was already getting old after hearing it for the 2nd time around when he had revealed his idea to Hecate. Suffice to say, the AI was less than amused at his plan but nonetheless didn't stop him from carrying it out.
'Don't worry. It's not like I'm doing any significant and permanent damage to anyone or anything. Think about this as a little 'experiment' for the future.'
His flippant attitude apparently wasn't well received by his AI partner. A sense of disapproval radiated into his mind, followed by a bout of befuddlement that almost made his head spin. Shrugging it off, he fetched his 'belt' and fastened around his waist, accompanied by soft but dull clinking noises as he wrapped the end around the loop.
'Invoking fear within the hearts of youngsters just for the sake of curiosity is neither insignificant nor temporary harm. If you have such a pressing need to sate your curiosity for the sake of knowledge, surely there must be more decent means to achieve your goals.'
The plastic mask that sat on the table in the empty storage room soon found itself in his hands. Elliot put on the mask, checking his own reflection in a dusty mirror stored in the room. Seeing nothing out of place, he pulled his hood up to partially shroud the creepy mask he wore.
'Hecate, like the old saying goes, 'Nothing risked, nothing gained'. If I want to know how well this strategy works, I must test this out in as realistic of a condition as possible. Anything more ethical or decent might just take too long. I won't go too far with my antics, I promise.'
Hecate said nothing more but the feeling of resignation that snuck into his mind told him that she had enough of trying to convince him otherwise. As much as he was grateful for her understanding, part of him felt a bit guilty for giving more trouble to his partner.
But what he was about to do did pertained to his future fate. He wasn't going to try something novel when he's fighting for his life. If he wanted to know if his plan would work, he must find out now rather than later when the stakes were higher.
Finishing with dressing himself up, Elliot checked his outfit in a dusty mirror. And to be honest, he almost didn't recognize himself under that getup.
'Wow, this would probably work. Now I just need to play this right and see how well this idea works.'
Grinning underneath the unsettling mask, Elliot turned towards the door and picked up the object laying just beside the door. Resting the long implement on his shoulder, he exited the room, being careful to make sure no one saw him.
'Right…time to find out how this works.'
His figure shimmered then disappeared into thin air as Artemis' Shroud activated. The long hallway was once again devoid of any people, returning to its quiet state.
Though if anyone was around and could hear it, they would've noticed a soft patter of footfalls travelling down the empty hallway, accompanied by a dull clinking of metal that travelled down the hallway.
Cecilia currently was having a bad day. After a rather frustrating and disappointing morning, the only thing she could think of was something to relieve her stress and unwind for the night. Fortunately, she had something suitable in mind that would do just both marvellously.
She knew that at this time no one would be in the bathhouse. So she had fetched her clothes and her toiletries in hopes of getting a nice hot soak before going to bed. It had been a long time since she had enjoyed a nice bath ever since she had returned back to the Academy so she wanted to savour this as much as she could.
True to her expectations the bathhouse was vacant, leaving her as the only person around. If not for the size of the room and the Far East decor, she would've thought she was back at her mansion taking a soak in her luxurious bathroom while enjoying a glass of fine wine. Perks of being the head of the prestigious Alcott family.
Sighing in bliss, Cecilia slowly sat down into the warm water, the soothing heat worked its way into her muscles and she could felt the day's tensions melted away. The experience would've been the pinnacle of enjoyment had the bathwater scented with rose petals and a glass of wine close by but she can't be picky here.
Sinking down deeper into the water, the British noblewoman stewed on the day's events. She had held high hopes in finding out just what Elliot dear would look in his costume, hoping to find him look dashing in a well put together outfit. He would've looked rather splendid dressed up as Count Dracula or something of that nature, instead of not joining in on the fun out of sheer practicality.
Though Cecilia wasn't particularly bothered by his refusal to join in Halloween festivities. The direct statement of his reason for doing so echoed within her, its terrible meaning all too clear to be mistaken as anything else. Sympathy welled within her on his horrid childhood that made hers looked like a utopian paradise.
"…Elliot dear…you poor thing…."
The Briton sighed heavily in despondence, feeling terrible for the gold eyed blonde. Never had she could've imagined that the outstanding male had such a horrible past as to strip away from him any meaning out of such typical celebrations that others took for granted. It was another stark realization just how far apart they were from their respective environments.
But that didn't dissuade her. The weight of his horrid childhood only served to starkly highlight his exceptional qualities, making him seem like a prince. A scarred prince but a prince nonetheless. To know there were people who went through so much yet still kept their heads up served to impress and humble Cecilia, which also drove her admiration and attraction towards the mysterious blonde to greater heights.
Rising out of the pool, the Briton wrapped her towel around her and padded to the changing rooms. She threw on her favourite bathrobe and got busy drying her flowing blonde locks. Various ideas kept her mentally occupied as she worked the towel in her hands.
'Perhaps I could ask him out on a date someday soon. I must expose Elliot dear to the joys and luxuries of society so he could learn how to enjoy himself again. It wouldn't simply do to have him devoid of knowledge in pleasure and enjoyment.'
Just then, an odd noise broke Cecilia out of her fantasy. She stilled as she listened more attentively, curious as to the odd occurrence at this time of hour.
It was a series of dull clinking coming from the outside. The noise came intermittently, punctuated by a very brief period of silence before it occurred again. The odd clinking continued, getting increasingly louder as Cecilia pinpointed the source close to the door of the bath house then it slowly faded into muted quietness.
The Briton chalked up the noise as the maintenance staff doing their rounds. Shrugging her shoulders, Cecilia turned back to drying her hair.
Within the changing room, faint brushing sounds filled the place as Cecilia worked out tangled ends with a comb. The disturbance outside of the bath house had ceased, making the Briton assume that who or what was making the noise had moved on.
Cecilia sighed in comfort, the relaxing sensation of the bath still hung over her. She set her brush then went over to the locker to grab her nightwear.
Just as her hand reached her locker, the odd noise pierced her ears once again. Only this time the sound was a lot louder and closer, its cadence increased to a rapid pace that sounded like many small dense objects knocking against one another.
Cecilia couldn't repress her curiosity at the weird sound. Wrapping her bathrobe around herself, she got up and moved out of the room to investigate what caused the noise.
The door slid open, revealing a steam filled bath room devoid of people. Cecilia roamed her gaze throughout the room, finding nothing odd that could explain the strange occurrence. The noise had seemingly ceased with shocking suddenness, leaving the large room quiet eerily quiet. The tomb-like atmosphere unnerved Cecilia, who couldn't help but call out in the wide space.
"Who's there? Hello? Whatever tricks you girls are playing, this is not funny."
As if to answer her question, the heavy rattling noise resumed. But unlike when she first heard it, the sound was clear and distinct. And very loud.
And she could hear it a few feet right in front of her.
Now Cecilia was positively spooked by the unexplainable occurrence. Try as she might, the Briton was unable to understood how the sound originated from where she heard it. The room didn't have anything that could remotely produced that distinctive noise and there was no one around. Everything simply didn't made any sense.
A twinge of fear began to sprout and take root in Cecilia's heart. An atheist as she was, she held her doubts on the idea of the supernatural and spirits in general. But now her own doubts on the idea seemed more legitimate at this moment, which made her fear grew even worse.
The fear that coursed through her compelled Cecilia to made for the exit. The Briton rapidly padded towards the door while clutching her bathrobe collar tightly, hoping she could get away from there.
The door opened to a pitch-black hallway, with not even a trace of light from the expansive windows that dotted the spacious corridor. Only the light spilling from the bath house through the wide-open door which she stood within gave whatever limited illumination in the inky blackness.
The rattling noise suddenly erupted from behind her, loud and erratic. It was as if numerous heavy objects were being shaken rather violently, as if the sound itself could convey a sense of anger. The jarring sound startled the already wound-up representative candidate. Cecilia gave a small shriek as she darted out from the door and bolted down the hallway, not daring to look back.
Much to her terror, the sound still persisted behind her. Instead of a continuous rattling, the noise now morphed into occasional bouts of clinking in a rapid intermittent fashion, resounding very close behind her. The paranormal phenomenon seemed to follow her no matter how far she ran.
The sounds of her heart hammering madly and the patter of her bare feet on the metal floor were the only things that she could hear as Cecilia kept running, hoping to outrun whatever invisible being that pursued after her. Through the darkness she ran, accidentally knocking her shoulders against the walls as she stumbled to get away from the bathhouse and whatever that caused the terrifying noise. Only after a while she stopped, her fatigue trumping over her instinctive urge to continue running.
The Briton panted tiredly, feeling nauseous from all the running. She could feel her heart beating away as if it was going to jump out of her chest, the sticky feeling of sweat clinging to her skin. All of her bodily sensations were secondary as Cecilia strained her ears, turning her head to took in her surroundings.
Silence. Ordinarily such a lack of noise wouldn't be a cause for concern but the darkness and her own still roiling emotions made such a quiet atmosphere almost terrifying in its emptiness. While it was unsettling, Cecilia couldn't care for much as she tried to catch her breath.
"…huff….huff…. My God, that was terrifying…"
Peering down, Cecilia examined herself. Only did she realized that she had ran out of the bathhouse in a less than decent state of dress. Dressed in nothing but a thin nightgown and a bathrobe, it provided very little insulation from the Fall chill.
Chagrined and uncomfortable at her very drafty attire, Cecilia rose and instinctively headed back to the bathhouse to get changed, but the sudden realization came to her what had drove her out of it and she stilled.
There was no clear way of knowing whatever that caused the noise was still there. Cecilia was by now convinced that it was a restless ghost that haunted the bathhouse and it was angry at her intruding upon its abode. That stopped her from going back to the bathhouse to retrieve her clothes and opt to simply return to her room instead.
But if she chose to return to her room, she run the risk of having her improper state of attire seen by other girls. It wouldn't be far from likely that some of the more mean-spirited girls would spread rumour about her state and inevitably it would reach the ears of her dear Elliot.
No. She can't let that happen. If such a new of her deplorable state reached her beloved's ears, it would spoil his attitude towards her. She'd rather suffer pain than to lose Elliot's affection towards her just because she was afraid of some ghost.
Cecilia mustered her courage, rising up and approached the corner. She gazed out back towards where she came from, finding the moon's faint glow dimly illuminating the empty hallway. Then she froze.
Under the light from outside spilling in from the windows, a shrouded figure travelled languidly down the corridor, a large black cloak covered the being head to toe. A faint clinking noise came from the figure as it echoed down the hallway. The figure was carrying a long object in its right hand, though Cecilia couldn't make out what it was.
As the figure got closer, she could clearly make out some distinctive features on the being and a bolt of sheer terror engulfed her. She could tell what the figure was carrying in its hand and Cecilia shook terribly in her hiding place, fear had robbed her ability to act.
The long object in the figure's skeletal hand was unmistakably a long scythe, its curved blade pointed behind it. The cloak was tattered and worn, holes and rips decorated the large garment. A length of rusted chain was wrapped around its waist as an improvised belt, clinking softly as it moved.
Cecilia darted behind the wall, scared out of her wits as she tried to calm herself down. Out of all the things she had expected, she didn't thought she would encounter an ethereal being infamous in European history out in Japan of all places and during Halloween night no less.
"…G-Grim…Reaper…"
Realizing she had squeaked out without thinking, her hands flew to her mouth in some futile hope that the being didn't hear her. Her legs felt like jelly as she slid down the wall, not daring to move a muscle. Her mind scrambled to comprehend just how something so nonsensical could occur tonight.
How in the world a preternatural being appear in the technological hotbed that was the IS Academy of all places and she had the terrible misfortune of witnessing it? A figure of such terrible omen usually preceded a calamity and it happened to her. A thought suddenly intruded upon her and Cecilia felt her body turned clammy, grappling with a terrible realization that came to her.
Before their last day together, Cecilia recalled her mother complaining of a nightmare she had the night before. When she asked her what it was, Cecilia couldn't believe her ears.
Her mother recounted her dream in vivid detail, saying that she was pursued by a hooded figure as she ran away. Yet no matter how fast or how far she ran, the figure eventually caught up to her. Cradling her in its arms, her mother said she could see a skeletal face underneath the tattered hood. That was what she saw before the figure laid its hand on her sight and she jolted awake from the nightmare.
At that time, Cecilia was deeply worried for her mother's sake. In her usual fashion, the prim woman simply patted her head and reassured her that it was nothing, that it was stress that caused the nightmare. She then left the house for business reasons and that was the last time Cecilia saw her parents alive again.
And now it had happened to her. The figure which had foretold her parents' death had appeared in front of her. The fear that overwhelmed her now became a deluge of terror, bringing her own fears back to the surface.
"…Oh my God….I don't want to die…..I don't want to die…."
The terrified Briton now devolved into a shivering mess, muttering incoherently in desperate prayer. She huddled into a ball as the sound of chains rustling got closer and closer. Cecilia wrenched her eyes shut, mentally praying that the harbinger of death would pass by without noticing her.
One second passed by. Then two. Cecilia didn't know how long had passed before silence enveloped her surroundings once again. Tentatively she opened her eyes, unfurling from her ball posture.
There was nothing. Peeking out of the corner she found a vacant hallway greeting her, the Grim Reaper had disappeared. She remained at her spot, not believing what she's just witnessed.
After a while, Cecilia gingerly got up and stepped out onto the intersection. Seeing nothing was amiss, she slowly stepped along while using the wall as support.
A faint rustling echoed from behind her, freezing her in her tracks. Cecilia felt goosebumps on her body as a bolt of fear shot up her spine. Mentally, she hoped what she had feared wasn't happening now as she craned her head around.
The Briton almost passed out as she met what was behind her. The Grim Reaper had appeared behind her, its imposing stature set off its already horrifying appearance. The scythe was clutched in its hand upright like the spear of a wary sentinel, ready to be used at a moment's notice.
The preternatural being raised its left hand, the skeletal appendage held up as it was helping her up. Its hooded face shrouded behind shadow was staring right at her as it approached her.
The darkened hallways of the ISA suddenly filled with a blood chilling scream. The terror laced within the voice had drawn the attention of every denizen in the Academy, sending chills down everyone's spine as they dreaded what could've caused that sound. Girls burst out of their rooms in their sleepwear to find out what had happened. Things didn't settle down until the teachers came to restore order in the dorms and everyone went back to sleep, hoping to put the terrifying episode behind them.
"Hey, did you hear that scream last night?"
"Yeah, yeah. I wonder who's shrieking like that…. I almost fell out of my bed when I heard that."
A gaggle of girls gathered together in Class 1-1, chatting in hushed and worried tones as they discussed on previous night's events. Similar discussions were going around the girls within the classroom, everyone weighing in with their opinions on the what could possibly be the cause of last night's disturbance.
Ichika sauntered into class with his book bag slung over his shoulder, looking unbothered by the heavy atmosphere within the room. The jovial boy didn't noticed something was amiss one of them pointed out Ichika's presence.
"Hey guys, what's with the tense mood?"
"Orimura-kun, do you hear the scream last night? It sounds like someone was getting killed, like in a horror movie."
"Um, no? I was asleep at that time so I didn't hear anything. What happened?"
A collective shudder went through the girls as their classmate recounted the night's incident. Ichika's eyes got wider as he listened to the account, scarcely believing his own ears.
"Well…could it be someone screaming because they got scared? Yesterday's Halloween so I think some girls may have got scared from hearing ghost stories?"
"But that sound came from the showers. And everyone had said no one was there last night."
Ichika tilted his head, curiosity leaked out of muddy red pools.
"I don't know. Maybe someone heard wrong and said it was a ghost?"
Seeing the boy's earnest expression, some of the girls sighed resignedly. Those who held other opinions didn't have the heart to refute Ichika's suggestion, not knowing how to get across to him just how improbable his guess was.
The bell struck seven times, indicating it was time for classes to begin. Ichika was about to move to his desk when he realized something was amiss.
Searching the room, he found there was a person who was missing from the roster of girls in class 1-1. The familiar silhouette of his brother was nowhere to be found.
"Hey, did anyone know where Elliot is? Classes are about to begin but he's not here."
The honest question drew everyone's attention to the issue at hand. All of the girls searched the room, finally landing their gazes at the empty seat of the fedora wearing boy.
"Eh… that's weird. Wasn't Orimura-san's usually here quite early?"
"Yeah….this is probably the first time's he's late. I wonder what's up with him?"
The girls quickly speculated on the hybrid's absence, stirring up the classroom into a healthy banter. The arrival of Maya soon quelled the chatter as the assistant teacher took the podium.
"Morning class. Due to certain matters, Orimura-sensei and Orimura-san will not be in class for the first subject. I will be taking over in the meantime, so please open your textbooks."
The class was curious as to what the teacher meant, but soon everyone settled back down and prepared themselves for the lessons ahead.
Ichika turned to his right, looking at Elliot's empty seat. The absence of the blonde felt very foreign to him, as if he was missing an important part of himself.
'…I hope Elliot's ok.'
"…One….hundred and…two…"
Elliot wheezed out, straining against gravity as he pushed off of the ground. His arms were about to fall off after the 50th rep, now it was toast as he grunted.
"Louder, Orimura-kun. If I don't hear it, you have to do that rep again."
"…. One hundred and two…."
The hybrid dipped down, feeling the weight on his back threatened to make him lose his strength and crash to the ground.
Around him, an assembly of teachers came to gawk over the humiliating spectacle taking place within the staff room. Elliot was mortified that he had to do something so embarrassing in full view of a gaggle of females who found him the most interesting thing to focus at right now.
Chifuyu was sitting on top of him, her arms and legs crossed as he did pushups on the floor. The woman held a very annoyed expression as she sat on top of him.
'Goddamn it…. Just my luck that they would go and check the cameras and Chifuyu put two and two together quick. How the hell did she figure out it was me?'
Elliot was not happy to be caught. After his shenanigans on Halloween night, it didn't took long before Chifuyu suspected he had a hand in causing Cecilia breaking down in fear. The woman interrogated him and he laid out the whole matter, not wanting to lie to her.
And it got him into very hot water with the woman and a very humiliating punishment. Chifuyu knew just what buttons to push to make him fear what laid in store but it was when he had to undergo the sentence was he regretted pulling off that little test.
"Don't be thinking about anything else, Orimura-san. You know full well what you did to deserve this."
"….For causing you more work?"
In response, Chifuyu smacked the back of his head. The hit almost caused him to gave out under the fatigue and the impact.
"That's not the main point, you rascal. Did you forget what you've done to Alcott? It took a long time before we could calm her down, no thanks to your 'handiwork'."
Elliot huffed, bending his arms as he dipped down. Sweat dripped down his forehead and matted his hair, causing it to clung to his skin.
"…I knew it…. you're grumpy because I caused trouble for you…"
The hybrid could hear Chifuyu sighed in fatigue but the woman had yet to berate or hit him. At least that was a good sign that he was right with his guess.
"Sometimes, I hate that you're not a gullible as Ichika. Your intelligence really can be quite scary."
Elliot shrugged, or as well as anyone could doing weighted pushups with another person sitting on them.
"…I don't have to have smarts to know what you're thinking….just be perceptive enough to spot your body language."
The hybrid was not prepared when a sharp jolting pain came from his back. Elliot could felt his skin being pinched forcefully through his clothes in vice- like grip.
"Don't get too conceited, you dumb idiot. Finish your punishment and get back to class. I find you doing this again, you'll regret being born and your IS isn't going to protect you. Do you understand?"
"Crystal, ma'am."
Elliot quickly pumped out reps, despite the pain and fatigue suffusing his body. As much as he wanted to keel over, he knew it was not possible with Hecate running in the background.
One thing he knew for certain, even the Grim Reaper paled in its terror compared to the death incarnate that was a very annoyed and pissed off Chifuyu Orimura. There was no way he would do something so whimsical like this ever again if this was what it led to.
Author's note: Happy Halloween, everybody! This idea of a side story has been sitting for about 4 months already and only recently am I able to put the finishing touches to it and push it out before Halloween. Hope you guys who plan to enjoy this holiday get some fun times in just this month. Now to the reviews.
Hello, makotoxvalerie. Welcome to my story and thanks for commenting.
Regarding your opinions on why Elliot and Madoka go well together, I'd say you got most of it right. Though I wouldn't necessarily call Elliot an evil person, rather he's more like someone who has quite a flexible morality. To put it short, he's not black or white, he's what he needs to be in the situation that calls for the best approach.
Though I am curious as to why you find the ships you mention interesting. Shoot me a PM or leave another review what makes Elliot so attractive to ship with those girls like Madoka or Tatenashi. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.
Hello Guest. I'm glad that you're enjoying the last chapter. For the ships, I'd suggest you keep an eye out on the main story. Who knows, it might just go your way.
Greetings, fazleyeram91. I hope you enjoy the side stories of IS: TLS and its quirky main character. Thank you for your appreciation and for finding my stories enjoyable. Stick around for more stories and new chapters in the main story. I am far from done and I am not planning on stopping.
Guys, tell me why you find particular pairings interesting and suggestions on how to implement them. If I find your ideas good, I will find a way to weave them into the canon story. If you guys have any ideas, don't hesitate on leaving a review or a PM. Thanks!
With that out of the way, hope you guys have a happy Halloween and good fortunes in the coming years. This is OtherJAckK, signing off.