FINALLY! This chapter was whooping me a new asshole with the way I was constantly going back and forth with Gin. Hopefully this characterization is a much more rounded character this time around. Hope you enjoy it!
Apologies for its rather shortish nature, been marking exams and decided to just release this after sitting on it for a week.
Fate/Clover is currently in production just going through many rewrites. Seriously, it's a great process but implementing my new practices that have been indulged in Kintsugi for Fate/Clover is proving to be more of a hassle, especially near its end.
Speaking of, Kintsugi is about 6000 plus words in. So, one or the other will be updated soon!
Supernatural Love: Chapter 4
The grass was non-existant, the sun a dreary star, and as far as the eye could see was gothic tombstones and bats...nothing but bats. Like seriously, the sheer number of bats that flew around every day was a concern. Was he going to get guano or something?
Yet, this sight was the sight that one Tsukune had been waking up to for the last few weeks. Bats and monsters galore. Still, it wasn't too bad. He woke up this morning ready for the day, making his way to the cafeteria. It was the weekend, and he wanted something filling, like he did for the last three Saturdays he'd been here. All in all, would be a normal day, save for a few things.
When he walked into the cafeteria, looking for some breakfast, he certainly wasn't expecting to see Moka beating the shit out of a couple of guys. There was barely anyone around, most preferring to spend their time in the amenities outside of the school. Still, Kurumu was there, watching it all. He blinked, finding his place beside Kurumu. She was busy sucking away at a lolipop. He gave a confused smile as she handed him a bagel.
"Wah?"
She smirked.
"You get the same thing every morning. Thought I'd save you time."
"Appreciate," he muttered, biting into his bagel. The cream cheese was out of this world, though the poor lady that manned the counter always blushed when he told her that.
He savored the flavor for a bit longer, before pointing at the savage beating before him. Was it strange that he was numb to it now.
"What did those idiots do? She's being brutal right now, and I've seen some stuff."
More than a few monsters duked it out in the halls...said fights were rarely pretty. Moka, for all her strength and desire to fight, was not someone that just lashed out at random or even that often for all the bloodlust she had. Kurumu scowled, her hair puffing up slightly like a cat. He ignored the urge to pet it, more concerned with her attitude.
"Meet our stalkers."
...
"...what?" he muttered darkly.
Kurumu's smirk grew larger.
"You heard right. One of them thought it was a great idea to take pictures of me, stripping."
"...which one?"
She just gave a lazy thumb to the left, showing a smoking puddle of green. He blinked.
"...did...is he dead?"
She shrugged, swishing her lolipop without a care.
"Freak deserved it. He tried to blackmail me with it too. Honestly, I would have left it alone with the perving. Set him straight, but mostly intact. The blackmail though?"
He didn't feel so comfortable 'leaving it alone' as she put it, but he kept his mouth such.
"That was different. So, I grabbed Moka for some extra muscle. One turned into two and two turned into three after we tracked them down this morning."
She gestured to the now barely recognizable people…monsters.
"These three have been taking pictures all week of various students. Me, Moka, even Yukari and the other younger witches."
...Oh...oh that was just nasty! What the fuck!?
"The headmaster allows this behavior!?"
Kurumu grinned.
"Who do you think brought the other two here after we tracked puddle over there?"
He knew the school was fast and loose with their rules, but this was a little much. Then again, monsters were basically walking weapons. Perhaps the age-old rule of fuck around and find out kept more order than the disorder it created.
Whatever sympathy he felt for the second boy Moka was thrashing withered away. The foolish grin they had on their faces were slowly morphing into terror. You could declare all you want that you want to be stepped on by your waifu until she breaks a foot up your ass.
CRUNCH!
...or breaks your spine.
"She's been doing this for a while I take it?"
"About thirty minutes or so. One of the pictures they had was of her, but really it was Yukari that threw her overboard, not that I'm complaining."
Amen to that. He turned, giving a pursed smile at the sight of the lunch lady happily burning the stockpile of photos.
"You sure that's all of them?"
Kurumu took out her lolipop, licking her lips. Was it getting hot in here?
"I charmed them, that's all they have."
Well ok than.
"Moka! You almost done?" asked Tsukune.
With a growl, and a flash of white in her hair, Moka turned to him. Her green eyes were slitted, like a cat, her fangs more pronounced. The veins on her hands bulged as her nails had become more clawed.
"Almost," she muttered, throwing one right out a window. The glass shattered, only for a strange green energy to appear and repair the glass. It obviously did nothing to save the student that was thrown. She picked up the last one by the throat.
"B-b-b-bite me, mommy!"
She crushed his throat, a look of disgust on her face. The face of the young man morphed into a lizard-like creature, the squawking he produced a loud and sheer cry. He to was thrown aside and out of the window.
Moka flicked her hair, the scowl she had growing deeper.
"Disgusting," she uttered.
"If you're done dominating some randoms, I'm heading over to the club to meet with Gin."
What a way to start a Saturday morning. Moka was more sarcastic than he thought though. She sent a sneer his way, her eyes shining a crimson for a brief moment.
"Careful with your tongue, or you'll be the one dominated in a minute!"
He blinked, Kurumu blinked, and finally Moka. Slowly her face started to get enflamed, her hair losing the bits of white that had bled through. Kurumu snickered as the boy just laughed.
"STOP IT!" moaned Moka, "it sounded better in my head!"
"Sorry," grinned Tsukune, "good to have you back. Anyway, off to Gin's?"
She nodded, too embarrassed to say anything more.
"You almost done that bagel?" asked Kurumu.
He chewed the last of it, chugging some of the water he brought with him.
"Yea, why-MPH!"
"Hold this for me," muttered Kurumu with a sultry smirk.
His brain fell flat, not a single thought echoing at the taste of Kurumu's lolipop, a tart raspberry blue with a strange inexplicable aftertaste. Kurumu started texting on a phone she had, tapping away for a moment. Moka, was stupefied. A moment later Kurumu pull the lolipop out, putting it into her own mouth.
"Thanks," she whispered walking down the hallway ahead of them.
"...I..."
CAPCHU!
The soft feel of Moka's lips on his neck shattered him out of his revelry, only to toss him directly into another. He stiffened, feeling the way she dragged her tongue on the injury she left.
She had a darker expression, but she merely huffed. He blinked, turning down the hallway. He locked eyes with one of the few janitorial staff he'd met, a larger lady. She was on the tubbier side of things, but her arm made him sweat manly tears at the sheer muscle.
"...Nice," she grinned, a thumbs up sent his way.
"I'm dead aren't I?" he muttered.
"Oh boy, you're screwed beyond measure."
She snickered, moving ahead to presumably clean up what remained of whatever that goop had once been, who it once been. They say high intensity environments breed high intensity emotions, but this was getting ridiculous.
He shook his head, moving to catch up.
While he did though, Moka was interrogating her...friend?
"Was that really necessary? And how do you have a phone!? How does it even work!" she whispered, blushing.
"What? Just some innocent fun, and my little secret."
Kurumu, for all her ditzy behavior, wouldn't keep the idea of a usable cellphone away from him. He doubted it was as simple as it looked…that reminded him, he needed to call home soon. Moka glared at her, but fizzled slightly at the haughty expression she wore. It was like it was judging her.
"I find this rich coming from the girl that staked her claim not moments after. Did you really have to bite him? Like that?"
She blushed harder. She even looked away as Kurumu gripped her hand slightly, rubbing her knuckles. Moka jerked back, feeling her face light up at the succubus' laughter.
"Man, you really can't flirt worth a damn, can you?" sighed Kurumu.
Moka looked away. She knew, just by instinct and smell, that the succubus was nowhere near relaxed as she might have appeared. She was jealous of the skill, if she was honest.
"I'll teach you a few tricks," she whispered, a grin growing, "let's see if we can't make that boy explode, hmm?"
She turned to her, her face relaxing in the shock of the absurdity.
"But...why?"
Kurumu blinked. A salacious grin, filled with all the honesty one could muster formed. The mirth in her eyes is a decadent display, even to Moka.
"Because it's fun! Besides, he tries so hard to be a stoic badboy, it's hilarious watching him turn to mush. Though...I guess you might be right, it's a little soon to be ramping the flirting that far."
Tsukune resisted the urge to say anything, the very fact he could hear them obviously a part of their machinations. Or, at least he thought so. The truth was that their conversation was a little too engrossing for them, the girls desperately hoping he heard none of what they said. Thankfully, the door to the newspaper club was close at hand. As Kurumu opened the door, she felt her brow twitch at the sight of Gin, snoring away at the desk. They all knew the side effects of his meds, but seriously?
"WAKE UP!"
The man didn't even flinch, but his eyes did open. His snoring stopped halfway as he looked up.
"That time already?"
Without a thought, he tossed them a few files he had in a drawer.
"Your stories for the day. See what you can dig up. We'll meet tomorrow."
That was the normal routine. Get a "case" get some info, and Gin would compile it for the Newspaper release. They've had a single release so far, one that was unfortunately not very popular. But still, better here than in the FE Club. Yet, for the weeks that Gin had given them their tasks…this was the first time he stood up. He cracked his back and rolled his neck. He looked between them all, before smiling at the other boy.
"Hey man, lets switch it up today."
He grabbed Tsukune lightly by the shoulder, grinning at the two ladies.
"Yea, why not! Tsukune will be with me today, I can help him out for a bit this time around, get some time on my feet."
Kurumu scoffed. Gin ignored the openly worried expression Moka carried.
"That won't be necessary. Bro time can wait until after-"
She opened her file and narrowed her eyes.
"…Oh."
"Yup."
A quizzical glance at her and Kurumu spilled.
"Someone's stealing the panties in the female dormitories. AGAIN"
The severe stupefied expression made her laugh.
"Yea yea I get it, need the girls to handle this one. What, too chicken to do it yourself Gin?"
He grinned.
"Nah. I'd enjoy the situation a little too much. More a lover than a fighter…I know my vices, best to avoid them for my sake and theirs."
Ah, that. It was quickly apparent that Gin was no mere prevent, but a super prevent of the highest order, A gallant prevent even. He had flirted with Kurumu and Moka once each, pretty heavily. But Tsukune had to admit, he earned his respect with the way it stopped the moment they ceased reciprocating. Kurumu said nothing else, but a left with a small smile, Moka bowing to them before following her.
The werewolf plucked the file from the human's hands, leafing through it.
"A few students have gone missing lately. We'll be interviewing and following some leads I've found."
Wait, what!?
"What? Isn't that something that should be dealt with by the headmaster?"
Gin shrugged.
"Kind of."
"What do you mean kind of!?"
He gestured for him to follow. He did, but was a little confused why they were going near a window.
"You didn't an-"
It felt like the world had twisted on itself and shat him back out like an angry turd. When his vision stopped spinning they were in front of the gymnasium. His stomach screamed at him to throw up, but he managed to keep it down.
"….ooooooh," he groaned.
Gin scratched his cheek.
"Shit. Usually, I control myself a little better than that. Sorry bro, close to a full moon, so I'll be a little ramped up the next few days."
He placed his hand on his back, and to Tsukune's shock he felt his naesua basically disappear…along with several bruises that had accumulated over the last week of close calls.
"…wow?" he stated, "I feel great! What did you do?"
He smiled, showing a clawed and slightly furred hand. What had once been relatively normal had now become muscular with several veins, the muscles in the wrist visible and defined. A row of fur wrapped around his arm, mostly around the elbows and back of his hands.
"Werewolf trick. We can take the pain of others and shoulder it."
Gin shrugged.
"Usually just something that can be done between pack mates but, well I'm a different breed."
He snorted.
"Literally."
A right, True Alpha. He still didn't really understand the entirety of that significance, but he at least understood the importance of it.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it. Now, normally missing students isn't a major concern. We got quite a few who hibernate for a time. So, some students missing out of the blue wouldn't sound the alarms. But I know for a fact that Janea is a dryad and she's been a no show for two weeks now. Headmaster is tied up with the whole Witch Hunt debacle, so admittedly this is not something he can shoulder right now."
Seemed like excuses to him, but then again the headmaster was justy one man…monster…whatever. There was probably only so much that could be done at a time.
The hibernation bit didn't make any sense to Tsukune, but if it was normal he could see why students may ignore it. After all, to the average student the identity of what sort of monster you were hidden, due to the function of the school overall. Gin became more animated as he woke up even more. He pulled out a sheet of paper from his pockets, rubbing his jaw.
"Hmm…we should talk to Desiree first."
He whistled. He elbowed the human boy lightly, chuckling.
"She's exactly like her name might suggest. Ah…hell of a gal. She'll help us, if she can."
The gym was massive, in a literal sense. It was also magic ally enchanted, which to Tsukune was just the right amount of crazy to be outrageously awesome. As they entered the relatively normal building, the inside of it expanded enormously. Multiple students in human guises were working out. Some were on the second floor, using machines, others in the pool in the back room.
Some were running on strange wide treadmills. Some students bore a pass around their arms, showing an exemption from the human guise rule. These were mostly for giants or centaurs, creatures that could really only work out in their natural forms.
"Wow," he muttered.
"Never been?"
He shook his head.
"No. I've heard this place was massive though. Apparently, we have a fitness test of some sort of next week right?"
Regardless of the electives chosen, all participated in the fitness tests. The gimmick was that it was done entirely in human guises. To his knowledge, it was a lot more difficult to exert your strength in such a state than it seemed.
Gin walked through the room, and the gym became…quiet. Most looked away, unable to handle the pressure. Gin exerted nothing, but for those that could sense the yokai of other monsters…well anyone would be nervous of the immense energy that was tightly bound…especially when it was leaking however slightly with the influence of the moon. Still, there were those that stood beyond such concerns.
Key one being their first witness, or so Tsukune assumed. They rose up the stairs, the brown-haired lad getting a pen and pad ready, Gin still relaxed and smiling away. At the apex of the stairs was a beautiful woman. She was a match for Moka and Kurumu easily, her skin darker than others Tsukune had seen in his life.
She wore a typical athletic attire, a sports bra and black leggings. Her chest was bountiful\, but he kept his eyes up as best he could.
Gin…well.
"Desiree," he smiled, his eyes downwards.
To his immense shock, Gin's flagrent staring was not meant with a slap but instead with an almost purr like growl.
"Gin," she drawled, "it's been too long. I think I might know what you're here for? Another round-"
His smile was sad as he locked eyes with her. It was instant, the way their flirting cooled, a concerned look growing on her face.
"Business than…this is about Janea?"
Gin moved off the stairs, gesturing for thgem to follow him to one of the tables kept in the eastern corner of the second floor. Not many would be able to over hear their conversation, drowned in the noises of the gym.
"I couldn't find her anywhere Desiree. I've checked every nook and cranny of this school. There are a few places her scent just abruptly stops, which isn't natural. When's the last time you saw her? Any leads could narrow down my search and save some time."
Desiree scrunched her nose, looking to the side.
"You're more than fast enough to just check all of them."
A crooked smile formed.
"You know why I can't."
"Kuyo, that bastard."
The two nodded, but Tsukune decided to remove the name from the notes. Seemed to be personal history.
"I know she was visiting the art room often. She really liked talking to Ms. Ishigami."
Looking from his notes, Tsukune couldn't help himself.
"She's the art teacher, right?"
Desiree turned to him, her eyes shining slightly. She blinked, but a growl from Gin made her smile turn wide.
"That's right cutie!"
He stared at her. It was definitely a pet name she gave him…he hated it. Beautiful as she was…he hated it. Sher just chuckled at the frown he made, turning to her….well Tsukune wasn't quite sure what to call them.
"That's the last I heard of her. Ms. Ishigami might know more."
Gin sacratched his chin, looking out the gym window.
"She was close to Ms. Ishigami, right? Something about being from the same homeland?"
The conversation devolved a bit from there.
"Strange," thought Tsukune looking at his notes, "everything I'm looking at here seems to indicate that the art teacher was the last to see this girl…but Gin was already looking for her. Why did he need to come here? There's no chance that he doesn't already know all of this."
Call it a gut feeling, maybe even human instinct, but Tsukune felt there was more her than what Gin was sharing.
"Alright bro let's go talk to Ms. Ishigami. Start making a list of questions and be ready to hammer her with them."
Gin had proven himself a friend, at least for now, but even so the human teenager couldn't keep it in forever. He waited until they had left the facility and was walking down the now familiar yet eerie paths of the school's open courtyards.
As usual, there was nary a soul to be found. A fact attributed to the club activities at this time.
"You already knew all this," said Tsukune out of the blue.
Gin stopped moving. Yet, even as the werewolf turned to him, eyes turned wolf-like, he felt no danger. Instead, a large toothy grin spread on Gin's face.
"So, you picked up on that."
"Of course I did. You're lazy but thorough. There's no way you'd miss that sort of connection."
Gin chuckled.
"Must be doing something right if my juniors say stuff like this! Yea, I'll be straight with you. I knew. Let's just say there is some…extenuating circumstances. If I want to investigate and resolve something like this, I'd need an extensive list of proof if I want to keep certain…parties off my ass so to speak. I'd rather not bore you with the details."
The look he got from Gin was quite clear and it wasn't boredom that kept the older student's mouth shut. Tsukune was not the brightest bulb to ever be lit but he wasn't that stupid.
"So, we needed proof…no you needed justification. Is one witness really enough…no you already got everything else you need didn't you."
The werewolf shrugged. But the large smile stayed even as they approached the art facilities. Entering the building was simple, Gin even smiling and flirting with some of the students and faculty he came across. However, when Tsukune went to the reception desk, Gin grabbed him by the shoulder. They had only just entered the atrium.
"Woah there. No need to let Ishigami know we're here. I can smell her from here."
…why did Tsukune suddenly have the feeling he wasn't here to 'help'. Gin needed him, but it wasn't for assisting him in an investigation. He led him to a door; the teacher's name embolden above. Gin opened the door without a sound, revealing a room filled with incredibly detailed statues…but all of them grotesque in their appearance….all of them marred by an exquisite display of utter terror.
The woman he assumed was Ishigami turned to look at them. Strangely she was quite common. Not ugly by any imagination but compared to the other species he had come across she was…normal. In a strange way it was more of a comfort than he expected.
"You don't belong here," she scowled, "this room is for faculty and enrolled students only."
She clicked her tongue.
"Don't get cute and tell me you're an enrolled student anyway, we both know what I mean. What do you want?"
Gin's voice was quiet as it snaked around Tsukune's ear.
"Pretend you're into the art or something. Go near the third door on the far right of the room."
Whatever this way, Tsukune wasn't going to argue. The flow of their conversation wasn't that important to him, mainly because the art that the saw ranged from utterly horrible to otherworldly in their beauty. He felt especially drawn to the figure that was hidden by a drape of cloth, right around where Gin said.
He was respectful, keeping his hands to himself…until he turned to see Gin gesturing for him to rip the cloth with his hand behind his back.
"What the hell did I get myself into?" he thought.
Still…whatever this was seemed important, so he ripped it off as quick as he could. Revealed beneath it was a girl, a stone statue that seemed crafted with divine skill. Her face was only slightly turning to horror, the position she held clad in the school's uniform seemed…demure to him.
This…this was art…and yet there was something unsettling about it. This statue and the others…they all seemed so real.
"Janea," whispered Gin.
Ishigami's face snarled as her hair began to whip into a frenzy of snakes.
"THAT WAS YOUR LAS-GRK!"
Gin's arm lashed out with enough pressure to make Tskune's ears pop. The blast of pressure displaced his hair, and to his eyes it was if Ishigami just appeared in the wall, blood leaking from her mouth.
Sigils on Gin's arms glowed and fizzled out, a smirk on his face.
"HA! Knew that would work!"
The fur on his arm was more defined, and the pressure of his power weighed even on Tsukune's weaker senses.
"…Alright, what the hell man! What is going on?"
Gin rubbed the back of his head. He moved towards Ishigami, grabbing one of the still writhing snakes in his grip. He held out a bottle, milking the fangs of the snake and producing a strange jade liquid of some sort.
Poison was his first thought. He did this for a time, but answered him as he worked.
"Sorry about all this. I figured this out a while ago, but the headmaster can't arrest Ishigami at the moment, the litigation is still going. Not to mention that bastard Kuyou isn't doing anything about her. Besides, even if they were able to get involved, I wanted to beat her ass myself. Janea's a sweet girl, awesome cook. Doesn't deserve to be frozen like this."
He stood, stomping his foot into the medusa's head for extra measure.
"…than…are the runes a part of you or something?"
Gin scowled.
"Not at all. I had these branded on me a while ago. I…got involved in something and suffered the consequences for it. After the dust settled that bastard Kuyou put this on me."
The mention of the man's name seemed to bring strange sigils along Gin's arm back to life.
"Kuyou?"
He grunted.
"Our grand leader, our head officer for the Public Safety Commision."
He snorted.
"Bunch of crap honestly. It's just a networking organization for the children of the higher ups. Monster politics you wouldn't understand."
Before Tsukune could speak to that, Gin began smearing some of the liquid on the stone statue of Janea. Her form fractured as the stone began to fall off in flakes.
"So, not a good dude?" muttered Tsukune.
"No," Gin sighed, "far from it. If there is anyone to avoid in this school it would be him…unfortunately avoiding him is almost impossible."
Gin grinned.
"But that doesn't matter. Ancient history. Thanks to you, I was able to dispense some justice my girl here. I don 't get many oppritunities to bypass his silly rune stuff. Can't block off my powers for self defense, but that craft douche is smart. Have to wear these for another year, but it will be more bearable with you around, just in case."
"…so why me?"
Gin grinned.
"I need a witness basically. Someone to see my progress and a way to verify that I'm not simply acting on just my own merit!"
Ignoring the insane compelxzity of spellwork that would imply, there was a far more pressing matter.
"That…sounds incredibly dumb."
Gin laughed, grabbing him by the shoulder after he lied the nymph on the ground, asleep.
"It sure is! Just a weird power play, probably experimenting or something, not that it matters to me anymore! With you here that won't be a problem anymore."
"What? How?"
"Because it's impossible for you to be on the list man! Kuyou can't add your Yokai to the system the same way, not with the headmaster keeping your human origins underwraps!"
"….What.."
Gin turned to him and instantly lost his expression.
"…oops."
-Chapter End-
Shorter than I like, but I felt this was a better place to end it than earlier. Trying something new here, cutting the trims and experimenting with word choice.
Trying to step out of my comfort zone here and try new things. I still look at this and feel…something off with it all, but I've held onto this for a month and a half so, here you are! Any feedback is appreciated!