Tasked with the responsibility of investigating the case of the seven missing female students by the Headmaster, the Hunter made his return to the Academy on the next Monday. This task had lead him to the Art Building, which as the name implies, was the building where the subjects of art were taught, and built separately from the main campus building, making it a location ripe for disappearances.
And one of the faculty members teaching the arts curriculum was Hitomi Ishigami, the main suspect for the disappearances of the seven students.
The building itself was of considerable size, a double story building with numerous rooms filled with supplies for artistry. All rooms were filled with classes from varying year levels with varying types of art related skills being taught. But at the current moment, the Hunter made his way to Hitomi's class. Once arrived, the Hunter opened the classroom door and entered, yet surprisingly little attention was paid to him. The majority of the female students were closely gathered around Hitomi, while the male students were closely gazing at the female students.
"Mr. Syn!" A familiar female voice called out moments after his entry, turning his attention to the source of the voice.
"It is becoming quite coincidental to encounter another, Miss Akashiya." The Hunter responded.
How strange, with the knowledge of Moka coming to his defense in testimony towards the Headmaster during the five day absence for his actions against Tadashi, made the Hunter strangely feel a sense of gratitude towards the vampiress.
"Are you feeling better?" Moka asked with worry. "Miss Nekonome said you became sick."
"My health has improved significantly." The Hunter answered, continuing with the lie of omission that he had been afflicted with an illness. "Although I believed it would be best to be cautious, thus I plan to take another day of rest today."
"Then does it mean you'll be teaching again tomorrow?"
"I shall return to my teaching duties the next day."
"That's good!" Moka cheered. "Mr. Maki looked like he was stressing out from overwork."
"Ah, it was Mr. Maki who was my substitute?" The Hunter asked. "I must give him my gratitude on another time."
"But what brings you here to the Art Building Mr. Syn?" Moka asked in curiosity. "Since you didn't come to teach our class today."
"The Headmaster recommended I take up a past-time to calm my mind." The Hunter replied as a cover for his true objective, to investigate Hitomi and her possible involvement in the missing students case. "Thus before I return to my duties, I believed partaking in contemporary arts would be a suitable usage of my time."
"Then I hope you'll have a fun time! Right now Miss Ishigami is teaching us how to paint."
The Hunter raised an eyebrow at Moka's statement, glancing at the ever so popular Hitomi, still crowded by female students, and back to Moka. Not exactly 'teaching' now, was she?
"A-anyways! The theme for the month is 'What's Important To You'." Moka stated, pointing towards the front of the classroom.
Glancing at the direction pointed by Moka, there was indeed a sign stating the theme of the month.
'This Month's Theme: What's Important To You?'
With the theme in mind, the Hunter gazed inquisitively at Moka as he held his chin in thought.
"I-is there something on my face?" Moka asked with concerned stutter upon noticing the Hunter's continued glance at her direction, placing a hand upon her face.
"Is your painting of Mr. Aono?"
Moka stuttered at the response. "H-how did you figure that out?"
The reaction was more than enough to confirm the assumption, eliciting a light humorous chuckle from the Hunter. "I had a inkling of a guess."
"It's because Tsukune's celebrating his birthday next week." Moka responded, deciding it best to explain.
The Hunter nodded at the explanation, it would certainly explain the reason for Moka to paint a portrait of the male teenager, despite the latter's lack of distinctive characteristics, so much so that only now did he realise Tsukune was also attending the class at the very moment. Romance amongst adolescents within this waking world was quite a strange thing to comprehend, after numerous observations of young couples forming amongst the student body near spontaneously.
"I presume it will be a celebratory gift. On the topic of birth dates, I recall yours to be the eighth of last month Miss Akashiya." [A.N. May 8th is Moka's birthday.]
"It was my sweet sixteenth!" Moka exclaimed with slight excitement, possibly to lead the conversation to a different topic not regarding Tsukune.
The Hunter raised an eyebrow at the sudden shift in excitement. Although he recalled a few students becoming gleeful at the thought of celebrating their sixteenth year of life, the reasoning of its importance escapes him.
"But how did you know my birthday?" Moka asked in a puzzled tone. "I don't think I've told you before Mr. Syn."
"I had examined your student profile, for I intend to offer a gift to you." The Hunter begun while rummaging through one of his numerous pockets, pulling out a small keepsake box slight decorated with hints of rare metals on its exterior and offering it to Moka. "Rather unfortunately, it had already passed by the time I became aware of it."
"... M-mr. Syn!" Moka cried in a stutter as she eyed the keepsake box.
It was slowly becoming quite a common event for Moka to cry out his name, the Hunter had realised. Were his actions truly that much of a surprise in this waking world?
"I can't possibly accept this!" Moka continued, alternating her attention between his gift and her peers, who were still mainly associating themselves with Hitomi and not giving the two any attention.
"I insist Miss Akashiya, you have testified to the Headmaster on my behalf after my... outburst." The Hunter stated. Even on the possibility he may be accused of favouritism, the Hunter felt it was something he must gift. "Think of it as gratitude for your effort, my burdens have lessened significantly so because of your concern for my well-being as of late. This is the least I can do."
After hearing Syn-sensei's sincere words and reasoning, it was becoming increasingly harder for Moka to reject her supposed birthday present. With slight reluctance, Moka took the offered box from Syn-sensei's hand, examining it.
"Can I open it now?" Moka asked.
It was clearly a jewelry box of some sorts judging by the exterior design and shape, but what type of jewelry it stored inside she didn't know.
"If you wish." Syn-sensei answered without urgency.
With slight caution, Moka slowly lifted the lid of the box. Revealing inside of the box, was a pair of earrings comprising of silver, with a circular design and decorated with a large pink gem fitted into the center, reminiscing of Moka's and Moka's hair colour respectively.
"...! It's beautiful..." Moka said out loud, before noticing the unmissable detail. "Wait... is this silver?"
Syn-sensei nodded. "I do recall the conversation we had a while ago. However, I presumed since your Rosary was also comprised of silver. It did not affect you."
A somewhat reasonable explanation. Yet Moka couldn't help but still be cautious, poking one of the earrings out of caution, and to her surprise did not suffer from any side-effects from exposure to the silver.
"But isn't wearing jewelry forbidden on campus?"
"Rules regarding jewelry do exist. However, academic rules dictate as long as extravagance is not blatant, it is suitable to be worn on campus grounds." Syn-sensei stated. "Your Rosary would be closer to the threshold."
Moka nodded in understanding, just one more question left that she needed to ask. "But where did you buy it Mr. Syn? I don't think Mononoke Arcade has any jewelry shops."
"I crafted them personally." Syn-sensei answered nonchalantly.
"W-what?!" Moka shouted at the response, alternating glances between Syn-sensei and the earrings. "Y-you made these?!"
Syn-sensei nodded again as if it wasn't a big deal.
"M-mr. Syn! Then that makes it even harder to accept!"
"I understand the concerns and implications you may be imagining. But Miss Akashiya, these was crafted to express my gratitude in mind, mere store-bought items would not have been satisfactory to serve both as a gift and as my expression of gratitude. Although if it still remains unsatisfactory, I shall take them back."
Moka had no other words to respond. It was the first in a very long time that Moka had ever received a present, much less a hand-crafted one, for her birthday (even if it already passed over a month ago), being unable to remember the first ten years of her life meant she wasn't sure if she had celebrated her birthday before the empty ten year gap in her memory, at least her adoptive father celebrated her birthday. But at the moment, what mattered was now, because not even Tsukune remembered her birthday, but a teacher whose face she still hasn't yet seen did. [A.N. Didn't see shit about Moka's birthday being celebrated in the manga even though she's the FL, especially at the point in the series, while Tsukune kept whining about wanting to celebrate his own birthday with Moka.]
"Then I'll treasure them..." Moka finally let out, returning to admiring at the craftsmanship of the earrings, now knowing it was Syn-sensei's personal creation. One thought went through Moka's mind after a few moments passed. Syn-sensei was an enigmatic man, maybe even more so than the Headmaster was, because even though she frequently in the two months, Moka still didn't know much about him. And so Moka decided to ask, "What about you Mr. Syn?"
Syn-sensei raised an eyebrow at her question. "What of me, Miss Akashiya?"
"Your birthday!" Moka shouted optimistically. "When is your birthday Mr. Syn?"
"... My birth date?" Syn-sensei asked in slight surprise. "Is there a reason for your knowing?"
"You know mine, so shouldn't I know yours too?"
"... I suppose that is reasonable..."
Moka waited in anticipation for Syn-sensei to tell her his birthday, so that maybe she could return with a present of her own when his birthday came. But his answer never came, only was she met with silence. Syn-sensei made a complicated expression of confusion the further the silence went. It was like the troubled expression Syn-sensei had shown back then during the first day of class, when Moka had asked if he had a last name in what seemed all so long ago now, as if he couldn't recall that important detail. Now he was making the same expression.
"I... cannot recall..." Syn-sensei finally admitted. "... It seems to escape my mind."
"Then... what about your age?" Moka asked instead, it was possible after all for some people to not know their birthday, but age was something else entirely which shouldn't be easily forgotten.
"My age..." Syn-sensei took another moment to sort out his thoughts, the same troubled expression again appearing. "... That I also cannot remember concretely..."
Although Syn-sensei's current reaction to his lost memories now were not as severe as hers was, Moka could not help but wonder if Syn-sensei had forgotten for a long time.
"I apologise, Miss Akashiya." Syn-sensei apologised with a bow.
"N-no!" Moka tried to reassure with hand waves. "I-it wasn't that important!"
The atmosphere quickly became awkward, Moka begun to pray internally for the situation to resolve itself.
"Oh?" Ishigami-sensei spoke. "What an unexpected visitor~."
"Oh?" Hitomi spoke, as she made her way to the Hunter and Moka's current position. "What an unexpected visitor~. What brings you here, Syn?"
"I am merely visiting for today, Miss Ishigami." The Hunter responded to his colleague. "As I have told Miss Akashiya earlier, I intend to see contemporary arts and the curriculum taught on campus."
"Oh? And how has it been so far~?" Hitomi asked, shooting a glance at Moka.
"It seems students are more preoccupied with distracting themselves from partaking in the arts." The Hunter sent a glance at the surrounding students, whose attention were focused now to both him and Hitomi.
Hitomi made a light laugh at the Hunter's mention of the female students' lack of participation in the arts. "Why don't you also paint while you're here? Who knows, everyone might paint if you show them how~."
There was little sign of alarm so far in the Hunter's investigation, as well as from Hitomi's current demeanor and offer. Asides from Hitomi's great popularity amongst the female student body, likely because of her tomboyish personality, there were little hints which would indicate Hitomi Ishigami was responsible for the disappearances of the seven missing students. Except strangely, the Hunter felt he could smell a faint scent of stone in a room amongst the scent of painting supplies upon entry, despite the class currently taught was with paints and not sculptures, yet was unable to identify the source.
"Then I shall partake." The Hunter accepted the offer regardless, to continue with the charade of experimenting with past time activities. Glancing around the room for an empty canvas, the Hunter headed to the corner, where a blank horizontal canvas awaited, alongside an abundance of paints in various colours.
'What is of importance to me?' The Hunter mentally questioned while picking up a brush.
It took only one minute of conscious thought before the Hunter's mind fell into a deep trance, and his hands begun to move quickly throughout the canvas without pause. Even though his stature meant it would have been uncomfortable to paint effectively, it did not deter his trance-like state from continuing to paint. Alternating between the painting utensils at his disposal at intervals, such as thin brushes, thick brushes, palette knife, etc.
And within a mere ten minutes, the Hunter finally lowered his hand without even sparing a glance to admire his work, turning away from it. The Hunter though, noticed the students were sending their attention at his way, even the female students gathered around Hitomi were no longer focused on the Arts Teacher.
"My apologies Miss Ishigami, I must have prolonged my welcome." The Hunter said apologetically, under the assumption they have finally become uncomfortable with his presence.
"No, it's not because of you." Hitomi stated. "It's what you painted."
"...? My painting?" The Hunter asked in slight confusion, turning his attention to his painting. Upon sight, he finally understood the shift in emotions elicited by the students.
It was a painting of the Dream along with the Doll, painted in acrylic with refined colour blending and techniques applied on the canvas, the Doll was painted in her full likeness in an undisturbed, yet tranquil sleep-like state before the familiar building of the Workshop, holding a resting expression while adorning the hair ornament he had given her.
A reoccurring motif of lilies and lumenflowers decorated throughout the painting where flora may naturally be grown. Both flora having been associated with his mentor, Gehrman, and senior apprentice, Lady Maria, respectively. A fitting thing as the latter served as the basis for the Doll.
Even with the somewhat roughness of the surrounding details due to the haste he painted, the feelings of serenity, and longing within the painting could be felt. The Hunter swore he could hear a few students weeping, as if strong emotions had swelled within as they observed his painting.
How strange, the Hunter could not recall ever possessing skill in artistry, and at the speed he had finished the painting process would be considered abnormal. But he could only wonder with his continued observation of his painting... was the state of affair of the Doll and the Dream intact from his prolonged exodus from the Dream...?
The ten minutes of silence as Syn-sensei focused on his painting was a mesmerising sight to behold for Moka to say the least. With purposeful strokes of the brush meticulously spread all around the canvas forming into a painting. And the final result...
It was... breath-taking...
The expression that a picture being worth a thousand words was not enough to describe the painting, Moka believed. But just like Syn-sensei with his gift in maths, it appeared as if he also didn't know about his painting ability Moka noticed, judging by his attention focused upon his painting, especially at the sleeping woman.
"Who's the person sleeping here Mr. Syn?" Moka asked, snapping Syn-sensei out of his train of thought, as she pointed towards the beautiful sleeping woman in the painting.
"... A friend." Syn-sensei finally answered solemnly, a strange thing for Moka to notice. "One I have not seen in a long time."
"Maybe you can visit her when the holidays come?" Moka suggested.
"... Unfortunately, she is inaccessible at this moment." Syn-sensei replied cryptically.
The feeling of longing from Syn-sensei when he returned to the observation of his painting also did not go unnoticed by Moka after he answered. Strangely, seeing Syn-sensei like this has elicited an unknown emotion within Moka, unknowingly causing her to grip the keepsake box she was gifted tightly.
Silence befell again, creating another awkward silence, with none being able to speak another word.
"Sensei! I'm skipping Gym Class to have fun with you!" An intruding female student from another class, with short green hair and two distinctive hair accessories for her side-bangs and adorning her sports uniform, suddenly declared as she made her entrance into the room from the window, and catching all their attention.
"Oh, you!" Ishigami-sensei exclaimed in notice of the new arrival.
With little evidence found of Hitomi's involvement in the disappearances of the missing students, the Hunter decided it best to cease investigative matters until further leads appear. Of course, he could continue his investigations within the Art Building, but it would come at the cost of potentially arousing Hitomi's suspicions from his continued visits.
Days has passed with little progress done on the investigation as he returned to resume his teaching role. Until eventually, another female student has gone missing, one which the Hunter recognised. It was the short-haired student with the twin hair accessories who had skipped classes to associate herself with Hitomi.
The circumstantial evidence was now more than enough for the Hunter to instigate his suspicions. And so as the school day concluded, the Hunter began his march to the Art Building.
It was always quite a struggle for Moka to juggle her timetable between her Club activities, her studies to maintain her grades, and her daily life after classes. But adding in her temporary modeling role for Ishigami-sensei brought Moka more loss of time, yet Moka persevered and managed since it allowed Moka more time to access the Art Building and finish her painting. At the moment, Moka was heading to the Art Building for another after-school modeling session, but her mind wondered to a single thought.
Moka felt there was more than let on when Syn-sensei told her that he was only curious about experimenting with art a few days prior. But what it was escaped Moka's mind. Syn-sensei was truly an enigma she didn't understand, maybe even more so than the Headmaster was, because even though she frequently in the two months, Moka still didn't know much about him. But strangely, Moka wanted to understand him.
Even though one side of him seemed to be accustomed to violence, given the state he left Tadashi and his two friends. Another side of him was surprisingly gentle, showing wisdom beyond his years (assuming that Syn-sensei was not that far from her in age) and knowledge with an equal sense for artistry. The earrings she received as a present was still one of the best gifts she received even though it wasn't needed of him. Even Syn-sensei himself seemed surprised of his apparent talents in those fields (although watching Syn-sensei painting such a meaningfully beautiful painting in only the span of ten minutes threw a wrench in Moka's confidence).
And the growing list of things Moka noticing Syn-sensei seemed to have forgotten was now beginning to expand. It shouldn't be that common for someone to not know both their birthday and their age, and even their skills. Yet Moka knew Syn-sensei sincerely did not know. It was a strange thing to comprehend for Moka, she didn't think it would've been possible for anyone to be unable to remember what should've been obvious details, unless of course they were suffering from amnesia. But Syn-sensei didn't show any signs of someone suffering from any forms of amnesia she had read about.
It was definitely not anterograde amnesia [A.N. Can't form new memories after a certain event] because Syn-sensei could still learn new things. It could be retrograde amnesia [A.N. Forgetting everything before a certain event] Syn-sensei was suffering?
Although Syn-sensei's prowess with maths contradict the recorded case files Moka had read about from those suffering from retrograde amnesia only being able to recall general knowledge. Maybe it was a very specific form of dissociative amnesia [A.N. Forgets personal information; important information about yourself, family, friends, etc] that Syn-sensei is suffering from which caused him to forget important details about himself?
... Like she does.
It was strange for Moka to notice how much Syn-sensei was like her. She could still remember her beloved mother's sudden disappearance six years ago, and an unexplainable gap in her memories before her mother disappeared, which had left her unstable for a time being and suddenly adopted by a pastor, taking on even his surname, Akashiya. But it was because of the efforts of her adoptive father that she managed to calm down. But enough of that for now, Moka felt she should just continue with her obligation to being Ishigami-sensei's model before Tsukune's birthday comes.
Speaking of Tsukune, he had also been persistent to talk to her throughout the week, almost as if he thought she didn't know his birthday was coming up. Although Kurumu continued to interrupt Tsukune before he could tell her what she probably already knew.
Coincidentally, Moka saw Tsukune talking with Ishigami-sensei upon her entry in the Art Room. Tsukune soon begun to bombard Moka with questions, ranging from what she had been doing for the past week to why she has been avoiding him.
Moka recalled her conversation with Syn-sensei during the Clubs Day Festival to heart, taking the advice of better communication to lessen the chances of causing unnecessary conflicts. After all, Tsukune's portrait should still be a secret from him until his birthday came, although it does make Moka wonder whether Syn-sensei was psychic since he figured out she was painting Tsukune's portrait almost immediately. Moka took a small breath, and finally she engaged in conversation, explaining to Tsukune in better detail of what she was doing with Ishigami-sensei (without revealing Tsukune's portrait of course).
"Could you really be a nude model for Ishigami-sen-?"
"I'm not being a nude model for Ishigami-sensei!" Moka shouted, cutting Tsukune off mid-question. Nevermind, Moka changed her mind about being more communicative. It was disturbing for Tsukune to even think she was being a nude model for Ishigami-sensei. How was it that Syn-sensei understood her more than Tsukune did? [A.N. Best little detail for me is that Tsukune actually asked this.]
Moka could only shout at Tsukune in embarrassment because of the assumption of her being a nude model, causing the later to shout back at her and ran off. Although moments after Tsukune ran off, Ishigami-sensei made her attack on Moka, transforming her hair into snake-like tendrils.
"Ishigami-sensei?!" Moka shouted, backing away from Ishigami-sensei's snakes. "Your hair's like snakes! What's going on?!"
"You see~ Tsukune saw a little too much." Ishigami-sensei explained. "So I'll be ending our time early."
Ishigami-sensei launched her snakes to attack Moka, sending Moka through a hidden wall.
Regaining her vision and awoken by the sounds of crying, Moka noticed she was within a hidden room beyond the wall, and within the hidden room were statues. These statues were crying, as if they were alive. How did she not at the very least hear the crying during the week she stayed after classes to work on her portrait?
Moka felt her hand growing numb, as if it was becoming stone. Glancing at her hand, it was indeed transitioning to stone.
Ishigami-sensei revealed to Moka her true form, revealing that she was a Medusa, a half-snake woman who could turn people into stone. It did not take long for Moka to make the connection between the statues and Ishigami-sensei, that the latter was responsible for the disappearances of the eight missing students, who were all the crying statues. Ishigami-sensei confirmed Moka's suspicions, declaring her intention to also turn Moka into one of her 'masterpieces', as she sent her snakes to entrap Moka, rendering her immobile and afflicting additional bites.
Moka made the realisation that Ishigami-sensei held a twisted sense of 'beauty', as Ishigami explained the statues were still alive, unable to eat, unable to die, only able to cry. Moka made a desperate struggle, crying out for help before Ishigami-sensei could fully petrify her.
"Ah, this was where the missing students were."
"Wha-?" Ishigami-sensei questioned. Yet before either Moka or Ishigami-sensei could even notice, her snakes which bounded Moka were immediately cut off, eliciting a painful scream. Ishigami-sensei's sensitivity and senses as a half-snake which should've allowed her to notice incoming intruders without issue, did not matter.
"Are you faring well, Miss Akashiya?" Syn-sensei asked Moka, using his weapon onto the snake bindings as he ignored all the swearing and curses thrown his way by Ishigami-sensei for cutting her snakes.
Moka glanced down at the weapons Syn-sensei was using to cut Ishigami-sensei's snakes. In both his hands, Syn-sensei was wielding palette knives.
Seven tearful statues in one room, and the eighth statue of the most recently missing student with the double hair accessories, found placed within the locker. It did not take long for the correlation between Hitomi's abilities of turning one into stone, and the number of missing students becoming stone. It was now definitive evidence for the Hunter to reach a solid conclusion.
Hitomi Ishigami was indeed responsible for eight missing students.
But for now, what was more important at the current moment, was the well-being of the sole non-petrified student, who had been assaulted by his colleague.
"Are you faring well, Miss Akashiya?" The Hunter asked, not acknowledging the curses thrown his way by his colleague for cutting off her snakes. "It appears happenstances continue to bring us into troublesome situations."
Moka nodded slightly at the question.
"But..." Moka showed the Hunter her hand in reluctance, showing to the Hunter that she was in the process of becoming stone, becoming like the statues within the room.
"...!" It was an unfavorable scenario, despite arriving as soon as he possibly could upon notice of the disappearance of the eighth missing student, he had been too late to prevent Moka from petrification. But a hypothesis quickly formed in the Hunter's mind, if the cause of the petrification were to fall, then potentially the petrification would also wear off. There was little time for thoughts, it was time to deal with Hitomi now regardless. And so the Hunter rushed towards Hitomi, palette knives in hands.
"You fucker!" Hitomi screamed in blind rage, so much so that she cursed at the Hunter in her native language and launching additional snakes at rapid speed. "How dare you cut my hair!"
The palette knives the Hunter had earlier grabbed on his way as a means of self-defense, its non-sharp blades meant it should have never meant it be used as a lethal weapon, as to be expected from a tool used solely for mixing and applying paints for usage in contemporary arts, its blades blunted to ensure a clean cut was not feasible. Yet in the hands of the Hunter, they acted as proper knives, cleanly slicing through the Hitomi's snake-like hair as he had done earlier.
The Hunter's numerous confrontation with snakes in the woods leading towards Byrgenwerth meant he accumulated experience to dealing with serpents. Although... a beast whom utilised snakes as a means of offense. He nearly admitted to possessing a hint of disappointment for the lacking diversity of beasts in this new waking world, had it not been for the petrification effects.
And so, the Hunter slowly begun to fall deep into his element.
It had quickly become a cycle, Hitomi would send her snakes within a blind rage in an attempt to petrify the Hunter, whom would react by cutting the snakes, and leading to further curses from the former, as the gap rapidly begun to close. Even though the Hunter had grown considerable mass and height than what he was accustomed to during his venture in Yharnam, which also caused his reach and running speed to significantly extend. Tadashi and his two subordinates were not suitable hunts to force the Hunter to bring him into his element, not allowing him top experience a hunt with his new-found body. But Hitomi was, causing his high adaptability to allow him to quickly become accustomed to the differences in perception.
Admittedly, it would have been more convenient to bring along his Evelyn, yet the firepower it possessed made him retract this thought, since his objective was to not kill Hitomi, only to capture her. For now, the Hunter must press on to deal a strike upon Hitomi to render her incapable of retaliation, which he so far has done with resounding success as he progressed ever closer to the Medusa, until...
"MOKA!" A voice shouted, catching the attention of all three present.
It was Tsukune, who immediately begun rushing to Moka's side with disregard to his own safety, to the unexpected surprise of both Moka and the Hunter. Yet the arrival of the unexpected intruder had given Hitomi the distraction she needed to turn the tides to her advantage, sending her snakes at the reckless student.
And so the Hunter threw himself into harm's way in an attempt to shield Tsukune from Hitomi's snakes and its petrifying effects, slicing the snakes sent at Tsukune's direction. In response, Hitomi would alternately send her hair towards Moka to force the Hunter to also alternate protection target. The agility of the snakes sprouted from Hitomi's hair were also far more agile than to the snakes from that forest, although not as abundant, was still numerous enough to force the Hunter on his toes regardless of the amount he sliced. The disadvantages were set against him, of having to alternate between shielding a reckless liability and an endangered student with ill-suited weaponry, against an aggressive hostile with the means to divide and conquer and a potent bite.
By the Gods, why must now of all times did Tsukune have to become a liability?
The Hunter was certain he would have already incapacitated Hitomi had it not been for the sudden intrusion. Eventually, the Hunter had been bit on his left upper arm, where he lacked the provided protection from his gauntlets. The fangs of the snakes deep enough to puncture through his coat and draw blood.
"Mr. Syn!" Moka cried out while the Hunter was bit.
The Hunter hardly reacted to the laceration of the bite, having admittedly experiencing far worse bites from far more dangerous beasts, nor did he react to the ensuing petrification effects, despite noticing his left arm slowly becoming numb. Another issue on the other hand was of major concern to the Hunter, the snakes that had bitten him begun to hiss in excruciating pain as they released their fangs on him near immediately. Although their pain had been short-lived, as the Hunter would immediately cut the snake from an excessively long length and detach them from Hitomi without hesitation and eliciting more painful screams from the Medusa, with the hope of preventing the side-effects of his blood from occurring.
And even then, despite his best attempt, Tsukune had been bit regardless. More snakes quickly begun to follow with their bites into Tsukune, rapidly exacerbating his petrification process. Yet at the very least, Tsukune had managed to remove the Rosary from Moka before setting into stone. The removal of the Rosary, as is routine, released a burst of power from Moka, and the emergence of Moka commenced.
"What in Hades is this extraordinary power...?!" Hitomi questioned in shock as she watched Moka break through her remaining bindings with brute strength alone.
Moka stood next to the Hunter after she broke free from her bindings, poising to fight Hitomi alongside him.
"We better take care of her before we turn to stone." Moka stated to the Hunter. "I feel the petrification accelerating."
The Hunter kept his silence, only brandishing the two palette knives as a response. Time was indeed not on their side, or else the petrification would finally become set in stone. Although, the Hunter knew Moka had little need for protection from him, unlike a certain liability. With the reassurance in mind, the Hunter rushed at Hitomi without caution.
"You think you two can catch me?!" Hitomi shouted, unleashing all her remaining snakes at the Hunter. "I'd like to see you try before you both turn to stone!"
Without any worry, the Hunter effortlessly weaving through the incoming snakes as he made his way to Hitomi. These snakes were caught and held in place by Moka, and in one swift pull, forced the Medusa to fall onto the ground.
"Grah! You bitch!" Hitomi shouted at Moka.
"Learn your place." Moka responded without concern, still holding the snakes in place.
Taking advantage of the optimal situation created by Moka, the Hunter threw the palette knife held with his left hand before his left arm completed the petrification process towards Hitomi, the Medusa had great difficulties trying to avoid the knife because of Moka still holding her snakes. The distraction was the vital moment the Hunter needed to lay the foundations to attain victory with little bloodshed. Using the remaining palette knife, the Hunter cleanly sliced the remainders of Hitomi's snakes deep through the roots themselves. Once again causing Hitomi to wallow in pain, throwing out curses at the Hunter without regard.
The Hunter rushed to place Hitomi into a choke-hold with his non-petrified arm. It would have proved effortless to choke Hitomi in his current position at that very moment, yet the Hunter knew he had to control himself, unless another bout of madness may take hold of him by the mere sound of prey suffocating by his hands. The blood from cutting up the roots of the snakes, which having healed the lacerations on his left upper arm despite the petrification, was alone enough to nearly send his instincts to hunt.
This time, it would be Moka who took the opportunity to take advantage of the situation and leapt into the air, poising to strike with her petrified foot onto Hitomi's head, an audible crack could be heard upon contact as blood begun to spurt from the blunt force.
"How does the weight of your stone feel?" Moka asked with a sense of irony, despite her kick would have at minimum had rendered Hitomi into a coma.
The Hunter release his grasp on Hitomi upon noticing the Medusa slumping onto his arm, allowing her to drop face first onto the ground. Upon Hitomi's defeat, the petrification had indeed become undone, feeling his left arm quickly becoming unpetrified.
"Your strength is a sight to behold, Miss Akashiya." The Hunter praised while shaking his arm, both from the petrification wearing off and from the aftershock of Moka's strike. Experiencing the strength of a vampiress firsthand indirectly through Hitomi was quite an experience, having only been an observer during the times Moka would emerge. Yet to imagine such strength within a compact frame was quite unimaginable for the Hunter.
"Hmrp." Moka scoffed at the praise. "And you have very good timing."
"Adaptability is a necessary skill to practise. One must always be prepared to face any scenari-." The Hunter cut himself off mid-conversation, as one thought quickly came into the Hunter's mind, if the petrification afflicted on both him and Moka was wearing off, then...
The Hunter quickly turned his attention to the seven missing students, and indeed their petrification was also wearing off. Out of the seven petrified female students within the room, the one in most danger was the one placed seating atop the cabinet. With great urgency, the Hunter ran to the student, and he caught the student mid-fall before she landed upon her head. Such a fall would have been fatal had it landed.
Although in his haste to save the student, the Hunter failed to account for the lack of clothing by the missing students. Their well-developed figures and beauty were made bare before him as their petrification fully wore off. Why in the world did Hitomi strip the students of their clothing, the Hunter could not help but wonder a question he felt he did not want answered.
In a slight fluster, the Hunter removed his coat to cover up the modesty of the student currently within his arms before laying her on the floor. And with quick haste, the Hunter left the hidden room, bringing forth curtains before the doorway.
"May you cover up your peers, Miss Akashiya?" The Hunter asked the only conscious female on site, deciding it best to not enter for the sake preserving what little was left of the missing female students' purity.
"Didn't expect you to be so innocent." Moka responded, taking the curtains from the Hunter's hands.
"It would not bode well to their marital eligibility should their modesty continue to be exposed to the opposite gender."
"How old-fashioned of you." Moka teased. She made her way to each unconscious female student, wrapping each with a curtain. "I'm done."
Only after Moka called out her completion did the Hunter re-enter the hidden room.
"Perhaps you may also assist me in bringing the unconscious to the infirmary, Miss Akashiya?" The Hunter requested, leaning down to carry one of the students within his arms.
Upon Syn-sensei's request, both Moka and he made their way back and forth between the Infirmary and the Arts Building, bringing an unconscious female student along for each trip to lay them down to rest onto an infirmary bed.
"I give my gratitude for the assistance, Miss Akashiya." Syn-sensei thanked, observing to assure the health of the eight female students were stable.
Moka didn't respond to the gratitude, keeping her silence. Throughout these trips between the infirmary and the Art Building, Moka held many inquisitive thoughts regarding Syn-sensei just like Moka did, but there's one thing she wanted an answer.
"Is something the matter?" Syn-sensei asked, noting the uncharacteristic silence from Moka.
"What happened back then?" Moka asked in return.
"..." Syn-sensei did not reply to the question. After all, it was quite obvious that Moka was referring to his shameful 'outburst'.
"It's not like you to be so wild." Moka pressed on.
Even while being a passive observer sealed behind the Rosary, Moka made the conclusion from what she's seen so far that Syn-sensei was someone of rational thought. Despite that, he acted so erratically so as to nearly send three students to an early grave. Moka could still recall the day where she had to stop him from before he reached the point of no return, even if to save Yukari from being eaten alive, the excessiveness shown was unwarranted after the three were unable to retaliate.
"... There is little need for your knowing." Syn-sensei finally answered.
"Don't avoid the question." Moka replied. "You told my other self to be more communicative with each other, yet here you are keeping secrets."
"... I suppose I have. Although, I shall remain secretive and not disclose what had occurred." Syn-sensei said with firm resolve.
Moka kept her silence, closely examining Syn-sensei. Noting hid intent to keep what happened unexplained, Moka could only sigh. "If you plan to keep it a secret, then can you at least explain why did you come to the Art Building a few days ago? It's strange you also arrived as you did when that snake attacked. Saying you want to experience art isn't acceptable for an excuse this time."
"In that regard, the Headmaster requested that I was to find the culprit of the missing students." Syn-sensei answered. "Although, it concerns me to know some of my colleagues may be willing to commit such atrocities, going to far as to use their innate abilities for their own goals."
Speaking of 'innate abilities', one common thing which was most noticeable to Moka was that Syn-sensei still did not transform to his youkai form, especially despite transforming may have brought the tide to his favour. She could still smell the intoxicating blood from his left upper arm where he had been bit, albeit strangely not as potently as before.
Still, it was strange how Ishigami-sensei's snakes recoiled in pain upon biting Syn-sensei, and how excessively the latter sliced the snake which bit him afterwards.
"Then what do you plan to do with the case solved?"
"For now, I shall bring Miss Ishigami to the Headmaster." Syn-sensei stated while grabbing Ishigami-sensei by the collar of her coat, dragging her to the door of the infirmary. "It is time she received her punishment for the endangerment of innocent lives."
"Do you still plan to keep what happened in the dark?" Moka called out before Syn-sensei made his exit. "My other self's worried about you, yet you won't tell us even though it might let us understand you."
"... For both our sakes, it would be best to not be in the know. Secrets are at times best kept hidden." Syn-sensei stated. "Have a good night, Miss Akashiya."
Moka watched Syn-sensei drag Ishigami-sensei out of the infirmary, her mind processing everything which transpired so far, and one thought firmly came to her mind. At the very least, Moka was absolutely certain Syn-sensei was someone who would worry for well-being the innocent, given the actions he took in the situations he involved himself in.
Personally incapacitating Saizou when her other self was attacked by the latter. Fishing out the male students out of the pool when the mermaids sucked their vitality dry. Brutalising Tadashi and his two friends to save Yukari especially. Now this situation to resolve and save the missing students despite the endangerment to his own life in the process.
But it was because of his tendency to remain reserved and keep his anonymity that rumours of him were still rampant throughout Youkai Academy, despite his surprising concern for the sake of the innocents. Yet he took them all in stride, not even attempt to remedy them.
His avoidance now was especially an issue, leaving Moka and Moka with little options with what they were given. What could they do to help Syn-sensei, when the man himself chooses not to tell them anything?
And a quick thought came to Moka's mind. It would be hard not to notice Ishigami-sensei, who was a teacher, has gone missing after what happened today, because of her great popularity with the female student body. And Syn-sensei, another teacher, personally went out of his way to save the missing students.
An idea popped into Moka's head, one which she would be sure to write for her other self.