Kazeyama: Shiawase Twilight 7

Naoki twitched and took a step backwards, his hands reaching for his short swords that he had sneaked in on his person. The thing was crawling towards them and Moritani-kun was scrambling atop a desk. He could hear his heart hammering against his chest. If it had only been a person not some sort of deformed monster. He couldn't help the shudder that passed through him and he reached into one of his pockets, pulling out a very small ninja throwing knife, a kunai.

"Moritani-kun... I'm going to say that the talisman isn't in here. And you are going to agree with me." Naoki growled softly, taking another step back before he deftly flicked the knife from his fingers and at the creature. While the knife was traveling it's split second distance, Naoki Mori was grabbing Mafuyu Moritani off the desk and tossing him over his shoulder. Much like a sack of potatoes.

There was a noise of pain and anger as the knife sunk home in the creatures hand, nailing it to the floor.

Naoki winced as he slammed the door shut behind them, barreling into the hallway, kicking up dust behind him in massive storm. Suddenly in front of them there was a hand. A ghostly, see-through, piss your pants scary hand. Less scary than the creature though, Naoki thought to himself and followed it as it zoomed away. After all, not all spirits were evil and they surely had to find the others! Down the stairs he went, nearly tripping. Only his catlike reflexes saved him and his 'passenger' from being spilled all over the floor and getting their necks broken. "Ah... where did it go?" He said righting himself and letting Mafuyu down to the creaking floorboards once they had settled on the bottom floor.

"Moritani-kun... Sorry about that. But I honestly didn't think I'd be useful." He gave a wide smile and winked behind his goggles. "Maybe the others have found something. Ah! And there's the hand again!" Naoki quickly took Mafuyu's hand and dragged him down the other hall with the hand pointing the direction.

Soon enough, Naoki had found the others. He gave a wave and a smile. "Hello again everyone~"
 
Kenta applauded as Ame used her powers to shove the desk with her mind. It scraped along the floor loudly with an uncomfortable scraping noise. Before he could make sure they were cautious in entering Arikado charged past him and into the office. Kenta was hardly two steps behind, moving in right after. What greeted him visually was something he wasn't prepared for. The room was covered in splashes of blood and hanging from the ceiling were dismembered hands of all shapes and sizes. Kenta stumbled back against the wall, his hand covering his mouth to muffle his shocked scream.

As his eyes darted about he could tell that some of the hands were rotting and putrefying but even worse were the ones that looked to be fresh, trickles of blood draining down them, dripping from the tips of the fingers. The smell alone was horrid, it was any wonder he hadn't smelled it from the hallway. He forced himself to tear his gaze away from the horrific hands and scanned the room, it was mostly empty, save for some old desks, including the one Ame had moved, as well as a paper fluttering in the breeze, which was strange considering the window was on the far wall and the paper was closer to him, on the wall that should be the outside wall. He shook the thought for a moment and pushed himself away from the wall he was leaning on and stooped down next to the paper to investigate, the only sound he could hear were the breathing of the classmates.
 
Watching Ame use her powers so effortlessly, Kaelyn was just a little jealous though mostly he admired her control. He had strength, no doubt about that, but absolutely no control over it. The teachers did their best to help him in theory but no one could ever really be around him while he was actually practicing.

Peeking over Kenta's shoulder, Kaelyn gazed into yet another dark room. The only thing he could see was Yuki standing in the dim light that fell through the doorway. When nothing attacked he furrowed his brow and followed Kenta into the room to stand next to Yuki. Being this close to the mysterious boy in the group, Kaelyn could feel just a little chill wafting from Yuki's body and wondered if that boy was cursed or maybe not even human at all. Either way, he wasn't afraid of Yuki, just curious about him. "I wonder how that desk got pushed up against the door..." he muttered as his thoughts turned back to their task of finding the talisman. It was almost as if something were trying to keep them out...or something else trapped within. He could hear a new voice outside the room but he was far too concerned with his current surroundings. Something felt terribly off about this place and once he actually stepped away from his distracting thoughts for a moment he realized what was causing such a horrible feeling deep in his gut.

Kaelyn stood stunned for a moment, staring from blood splatter to rotting hand until he'd swept the entire room. Something like this seemed so horrifying, it couldn't possibly be real. An illusion? But the smell is awful... He couldn't bring himself to move from that spot; his legs were completely numb, as if Yuki had frozen them. Something landed on his shoulder and he jerked his head to inspect it right away, reaching a hand up to touch two fingers to the dark droplet. He rubbed the fingers against his thumb and cringed. The blood dripping from that sick hand collage on the ceiling certainly felt real under his fingertips and for the second time in a week Kaelyn wished he'd taken to carrying his bow and arrows around with him.

Forcing his legs to move, the siren made his way over to Kenta and inspected the paper alongside the boy. "What is it?" he whispered, his sense of danger escalating in the uneasy silence.
 
Ame blushed and nervously fiddled with her hair as Kenta applauded, cheeks reddening even more after hearing Yuki's two small words of praise. She hadn't even noticed him or his partner arrive so it must have been when she was focusing. But even more important than that, she'd actually managed to be useful to to her classmates, even if it was only a little, she felt quite satisfied with that.

She looked up from under her hair and found Yuki had already disappeared into the room, with Kenta and Kaelyn not far behind. The hand led them all here, so the talisman was probably in there, right? She tried to tell herself they'd certainly find it here and be able to leave, that it was not some kind of trap laid out by evil spirits. But that was hard to believe after she stepped inside to help and saw for herself the state of the room. The blood splatters, the hands hanging from the ceiling, some fresher than others and still dripping blood. The other's had already continued with the search... but she couldn't, being there made her gag, especially when the smell hit. He backed from the room, shaking a head as she moved to lean on the wall outside. She panted, attempting to calm her panicked mind as she sunk to the floor.
 
Kotaro waited as Ame and some of the others entered the room she had almost effortlessly cleared the way into. He had yet to see his partner's powers put to use, and now that he had, he was fairly impressed. So far, his spirit lights had only been useful for lighting their way through the shadowy passages of this old building, and there was no way he could ever have used them as effectively as Ame had just used her powers. He had hoped his ability to commune with spirits would be useful on this mission, but so far none of the ghosts that inhabited this place had reached out to him, except for that mysterious message on the chalkboard. He still wasn't sure what it meant. It was understandalbe that the spirits needed help, but what exactly was holding them here? What could possibly be threatening to them now that they had moved beyond the realm of the living.

Tearing himself away from his troubled thoughts, Kotaro followed the others into the previously blocked room. For a moment he wondered why no one was talking and was puzzled by the fact that they were all staring at the ceiling. When he directed his own gaze to where they were looking, however, he understood the reason for their silence. He gasped in horror at the sight of all the hands suspended from the ceiling. Some were rotted and withered to the point of being almost skeletal, but others still had flesh and were dripping what appeared to be fresh blood down onto the floor below. Kotaro gagged, partly from disgust but also because of the overwhelmingly putrid scent that had suddenly assaulted his nostrils. He averted his gaze, choosing instead to look down at the floor, although it was hard to find a spot that wasn't covered with a thick splatter of blood.

He now knew why the spirits upstairs had reached out to him for help. Something terrible had happened here, and it was most likely the reason the ghosts in this place could not move on to the afterlife. Knowing it was his duty to help them do so in any way he could, Kotaro steeled his nerves, drew in a deep breath between clenched teeth, and walked over to where Kenta and Kaelyn were apparently examining something. He would wait for them to say what it was, hoping that it might provide a helpful clue as to how they could resolve whatever terrible conflict had held the lost souls of the deceased trapped here for so long.
 

The room smelled heavy with the scent of blood, which was all Yukisa needed to establish that it wasn't an illusion. Morbid curiosity prickled in her mind but she tried to quash the idea. It was a disturbing one at the very least, but her curiosity got the better of her and she stood on tiptoe to brush her fingers against those of the disembodied hand. She had to reach up and stretch, her eyes scrunched tightly closed. Finally, though, her fingers made contact.

The effect was instantaneous and Yukisa swayed to the side, unsure of whether she wanted to hold her head or her stomach. Her mind darted through images of ruptured blood vessels, the heart beating furiously, lungs gasping for air.... Her stomach lurched uncomfortably remembering it. The owner of this hand was certainly dead, she thought, her head swimming. She looked around, hoping no one noticed her actions and she skittered closer to Yuki, nervous about the energies of the room. These hands were a terrifying omen, to say the least. What could the possibly be here for, after all? What purpose could this possibly serve?

Realizing what she had done and scolding herself for her fear, Yukisa drifted a little bit away from Yuki and a little closer to another of the students, the one who had spiritual energies in dealing with the monster who'd attacked and who at least seemed remotely capable of attacking something paranormal effectively. She hated to admit that she was afraid but there was nothing else for it.

"Wha... why would these hands be here?"
​
 
Mafuyu didn't know what to think, exactly, about being picked up and carted around on another guy's shoulder. It had happened too fast for him to react, though, and so he was left stammering and snapping as Naoki put him down. "Just- Just warn me next time! Jeez! I'm not a sack of potatoes!"

They had rejoined the others, just in time to walk into the room covered in carnage and severed hands. Mafuyu's face turned ashen as the copper tang of blood filled his nose, and he nearly backed right back out the door. Instead, he bumped into Kotaro, swearing under his breath and shooting a quick glance up at the much taller upperclassman. The gore was much worse than anything he'd ever seen, and his skin was crawling from the supernatural aura that hung thick in the air.

And then, from behind him, he could hear sharp nails scraping against the wooden floor, echoing in the hallway. Along with a chillingly familiar voice.

"Soooo huuuuungry... Soooo long. Come back..."

Oh, fuck!The thing from the classroom was headed their way. "Um. Guys. I think we should keep moving, unless we want Creepy Crawly back there to sneak up on us."

 
Ignoring the voices of his classmates and friends beside him, Kenta slowly pushed on the wall panel, feeling it slide away rather easily. It was strange, from what he had seen on the outside it should've been allowing sunlight through, instead he could smell another, more potent odor coming in on the breeze from the crack between the wall and whatever was behind it.

"Get back you guys." Kenta said, holding his sleeve up to his nose to fight away the smell that would probably come through the new entryway. Though Mafuyu's words weren't lost to him he looked at him as he drew his katana, "Close the door and hold it shut as long as you can, if my suspicions are correct whatever is behind this door will have the amulet and we won't want to stick around after that." He nodded, making sure everyone was away and hacked in an X across the wood panel that he had pushed against only moments ago, taking care not to accidentally cut down any of the hands he sheathed his blade. The wooden panel that he had just cut crumpled outwards and behind that was the rotting corpse of a man, maggots crawled about his naked form, at least it looked like a man to Kenta, the tender parts of the distinctly human form were rotted away, consumed by the fly larvae or possibly something else.

Again, Kenta was on the verge of puking. No, not this time, this time he was going to. He quickly rushed to an open corner with a little less than blood than the others and wretched a couple of times, puking from the smell and the visual. One thing did stand out though, resting just next to the body was the talisman, bright red with the characters for "success" on it. Kenta frantically pointed at it as he heard the scratching and the cooing from the creature behind the door, the one that had chased the last two into this room. Hopefully somebody would be brave enough to grab it, or at least scared enough of the creature to go. As he finished puking, he wiped his mouth on his sleeve and held the other back to his nose, drawing his sword once again. It seemed this new creature might need a little persuading to leave.
 
Though he'd heard one of the students mention a creature out in the hallway, Kaelyn was far more interested in what Kenta had discovered. And just as the other had directed, Kaelyn took a few steps backwards to give the boy room, his face slowly twisting with disgust as the corpse was uncovered. It was only a few seconds extra before the smell hit Kaelyn, nearly swiping his legs from underneath him even though he was starting to get used to the stink of the severed hands. This smell was far worse; not even the incident from his past could compare to this rotting, putrid air.

Hearing the creature scratching and pounding on the door, the young siren knew they couldn't afford to waste any time, and since Kenta had migrated to a corner to regurgitate his breakfast, Kaelyn was now the closest person to the body and the talisman resting beside it. "I'll get it," he voiced out loud, surprised at his own words for a second before he clenched his jaw to steel himself.

Quickly, so he had no chance to hesitate, Kaelyn took the three large strides between himself and the corpse, holding his breath so he wouldn't pass out from the intense ordor. His hand shook as he reached toward the talisman, his gaze flicking up to what was left of the man's face. Fingertips a hair's length away, he suddenly remembered the hands hanging above...and how some where fresh. Then he thought about just what he was doing and his innards turned stone cold as if he'd swallowed a huge chunk of ice.

The creature outside thumped loudly on the door this time, startling Kaelyn, and as he glanced over his shoulder, his fingertips accidentally brushed the talisman. Instantly, the corpse's hand shot up and grabbed him, wrapping bony, slimy fingers around his thin wrist. Kaelyn whirled around again, staring wide-eyed at the corpse as it leaned forward and gave an unearthly shriek right in his face. Heart leaping up in his throat, Kaelyn found himself speechless, unable to use his power. Nevertheless, he did the unlikely and slid his arm deeper into the corpse's grip, grabbing the talisman before yanking his arm back in an attempt to break free.

No such luck.
 
As much as Yuki loved attention, he had decided to play it cool after entering the room so quickly. Especially when Yukisa placed herself so close to his side once more. It went without saying that he got the impression she was warming up to him ever so slightly. Until she went off to stand by someone else of course. That student who could talk to spirits or at least act as their medium in one way or another.


Nothing inside this room felt dangerous to him at all. . . just slightly grotesque. Even then it was really only gross by human standards. Demons often considered imagery of this sort more in line with interior decorating. Why else would so many unholy lairs be covered in blood and body parts? Unsurprisingly, the Ice Demon among the students felt much the same way. For this reason he appeared utterly cold and unfeeling to the horror right before their eyes.

"Looks like things in here got out of hand."

Not to mention a touch disrespectful.

Commenting under his breath with such a devil-may-care attitude and a smirk to match made it clear that Arikado was the last one out of them all who would allow himself to turn chicken. Disappointment resounded in the sigh which followed Kenta's rather unceremonious puking off in the corner. Paler than snow, a hand came up to wave away the unseen stench of not only the vomit but the room itself. It filled his nostrils and those anyone who stood close enough to him with that wintery scent of fresh fallen snow.

And then the siren had to go get himself in trouble.

Looks like he could really use a hand.

Yuki did little to hide his complete ease with the dire situation at hand while approaching the student in peril. In fact he hummed an old song from the western hemisphere under his breath. Just because some creature was trying to beat down the door didn't mean they would all die. . . just the weak ones. Plus Arikado would doubtlessly do his best to protect the female students of the class. After all for an adolescent Demon those were the most important ones to rescue from peril and whatnot.

Finally the Ice Demon was so close to Kaelyn that he actually leaned in and started singing it out loud. Sure enough it was in tune and some of the others would probably recognize it. But on the other hand a few liberties had been taken with lyrics as so to make it fit the current situation. Obviously he was getting a kick out of this whole scene.

"Who took the talisman from the. . . rotting corpse? Kaelyn took the talisman from the rotting corpse!"

Gently, but without warning, a chilly hand cupped Kaelyn's chin as the Ice Demon continued to sing. Meanwhile his other icy hand came to rest on the hand of the rather disgusting corpse which held the siren hostage. Every second that passed meant the decaying hand was getting colder until the point of freezing solid. Which would make it quite brittle even for a supernatural limb animated from beyond the grave. For the next few words of the song he moved the other's jaw with his hand in a rather cheesy way of making it look like the poor student in peril was actually playing along with his song.

All of it was just a distraction from his rescue.

"Who? Me?"

"Yes, you!"

"Couldn't be!"

"Then WHO?!"

Right as Yuki blurted out 'WHO?!', the Ice Demon utilized his demonic strength to create enough of a force to completely shatter the rotting corpse's hand into tiny pieces. Now Kaelyn was free from the ordeal with minimal psychological trauma! Probably only a few visits to the psychotherapist at most. Although now the others might start to question Arikado's sanity in the face of death itself.

But the results were UNQUESTIONABLE!

 
Naoki had looked up after sitting Mafuyu down. He didn't even bother with answering the boy. No. He was too busy staring ceilingward in horror. Oh he was a ninja, definitely but this? This was so far out of his league he didn't even know what to do. Things were spinning out of control; at least until the boy... Yuki? Yuki started to help Kaelyn from the corpse that had grabbed him. Kenta had already thrown up in the corner even. Naoki was sorely put not to join him. Supernataral things certainly weren't his forte!

He knew he had to do something though! The creature that had followed them was scratching at the door and rattling it in it's frame. Won't be long until it's in here too and Yuki probably can't handle two creatures... whatever he did. And Kenta. Kenta has a sword but against a creature like that. Of course Naoki hadn't been there the first day to see Kenta's heroic efforts against that monster. No. He had to go on his gut feelings and his guts were rolling rather unsteadily at the moment. What can I do? What can I do.... I have to do something! I'm better than this He thought angrily at himself, angry that he wasn't as fast as his brother or sister. I'm younger though. I can do this.

Naoki considered for a moment more before pulling out a few of his ever constant throwing knives and pinning the classroom door shut so the creature could rattle away all it wanted. It obviously wasn't strong enough to bust down the sturdy door. There. Now what. Escape. Of course. An escape route. Windows. "I'm getting us out of here." The green haired boy said determinedly, more determinedly than he felt for sure.

The first board broke easily enough. One swift very high kick had it broken in half. Another kick had a second board broken and hanging down. He pried them off with some effort. "Window is almost open guys..." It didn't take too long to get the window open and bright sunlight streaming into the desecrated space. "Girls first, come on come on!" He held his hands out to the nearest girl so he could lower them out the window. It wasn't a long fall but Naoki was polite.

Most of the time.
 
Kotaro stared in shock and horror at the corpse Kenta had uncovered behind the wall. After seeing the multitude of severed hands that decorated the room, he couldn't have imagined a worse sight, yet there it was. He turned his head away, preferring to spare himself from being mortified even more. He still heard Kenta vomiting in the corner, however, a sound that almost prompted him to do the same. He didn't look back until he heard Kaelyn's startled cry, and then he saw that the rotting cadaver had sprung upon him in a sickening mockery of liveliness. As if that wasn't distressing enough, Kotaro soon also heard the sounds of another creature outside trying to get into the room. It appeared they all were now caught between two equally horrifying monstrosities with nowhere to run.

It was then that Yuki stepped forward to assist Kaelyn. Unbelievably, it seemed he was singing a joyful little ditty to himself as he froze the reanimated corpse's arm, which he then shattered. Kotaro was a bit puzzled by Yuki's blithe antics in the face of such danger, but he couldn't deny that they were effective. Not questioning where Yuki might have drawn such strength from, Kotaro was merely relieved that he had managed to free Kaelyn from the creature's grasp. Still, the undead corpse presented a threat to the others in the room, even if it was now minus one arm. In the meantime, Naoki had secured the door and improvised an exit, providing the students a route of escape from the creature outside.

Assuming the female students would do as Naoki had asked and make their way outside, Kotaro decided he would do what he could to help buy the others some time to do the same. Summoning a small group of his spirit servants to his side, he directed the hovering lights at the creature. Focusing his powers through them, he tried to make contact with whatever consciousness might be possessed by the thing. Hopefully, if he could open a line of communication with the soul of the person the creature had once been, he could calm it and persuade it not to attack them.

He quickly found out that the creature had no interest in communicating, however. The lights circled the corpse for a moment, and it seemed to notice their presence despite the fact its eye sockets were now vacant, visibly settling down and ceasing to pursue the studetns. Just as Kotaro prepared to try to speak to it, the creature suddenly stirred and with a a thrash of its arms swept the fireflies from the air. Its decayed mouth stretched wide and a chilling, rattling rasping emanated from it. Kotaro felt the creature's rage piercing his mental defenses and stumbled for a brief moment, taken aback by the intensity of its reaction to his attempt at communication. This thing did not want to achieve peaceful rest. All it wanted was blood and revenge.
 

Though the window had been opened, a route for the escape of the students, it felt wrong to leave the boys here. She was torn, though, because she wasn't entirely sure that she could be very useful at all. The thumping and rattling of the creature behind the door alarmed her but the door now seemed to be even more difficult for the monster to break down. Turning her attention to Kotaro and the corpse, she looked in time to see him stumble away from the vengeful spirit.

Kaelyn had been freed by Yuki, who was certainly holding up his promise of protecting quite well. Reaching an arm out to Kaelyn, Yukisa's attention honed in without meaning to on the scratches left by the corpse. There were germs there, something she thought apt to refer to as a "crypt rot" since she hadn't seen it before. Already, however, white blood cells were mobilizing to combat this and she could tell already that the germs were no match for the body. Glancing around, she realized that it would be vital for him not to be exposed to any more of the germs since his body would already handle the ones inside him but more perhaps would be a different case. They were out of bandages though. In her mind's eye, Yukisa could see the thin layer of cells broken that were offering an entrance to pesky germs. She visualized the skin mending, utilizing a layer of skin cells that was undamaged to seal the wound.

To her surprise, Kaelyn's wound followed her instructions exactly. Next to where the cut had been was a pink patch of skin where the outermost layer of cells was missing, though the lower layer still remained in tact. Pulling away from Kaelyn, surprised in what she had wrought, she stumbled backwards. The talisman was obtained, the students had survived, and now there was an escape route. All that was left was ushering everyone out.

"C'mon, get the talisman out of here, maybe it will calm the spirits!" The first statement was directed to Kaelyn. The second, to Kotaro "These spirits aren't exactly the chatty sort it seems, they're not listening..." and finally "Thanks, Yuki. Looks like I really didn't have enough faith in you. But it's better if we go now, we don't know how many spirits are just dying for the chance to gang up on us and trap us with them as well." Her pun, no matter how awful, was a source of personal amusement.
​
 
Like a child fighting with another over a toy, the toy being Kaelyn's one hand, the young siren struggled and leaned back, away from smell of the rotting corpse only to be hit with the rank scent from the hanging hands instead. The inital shock of the corpse suddenly coming to life wore off quickly and Kaelyn calmed down a great deal, his head clearing with each passing second. Narrowing his eyes, Kaelyn lifted one leg and planted his foot against the corpse, surprised at how solid it was and how easily it resisted his attempt to use leverage to break free.

And then Yuki's voice cut through to Kaelyn; he'd been so deep in concentration that he hadn't heard it right away. But now that he realized just how close Yuki was, Kaelyn supposed his sudden calm was due to the cold, yet soothing hand upon his chin. An icy peacefulness spread in every direction from Yuki's gentle touch, reaching to every corner of Kaelyn's body and snubbing out the fire better known as 'adrenaline'. It was a strange, distorting feeling, as if he'd had a little too much to drink. And while the frost-gifted boy was busy making a light joke of the situation by moving Kaelyn's mouth like a puppet, Kaelyn almost wished the moment wouldn't end so that Yuki wouldn't take back that small but curious bit of physical contact they shared.

What the hell is wrong with me? These kind of feelings are weird!

Not to mention completely out of place in the midst of all that was happening. Jarred back to reality when he was suddenly broken free, Kaelyn pushed away from the corpse with his foot and backed up swiftly, shoving Yuki as he did so. Of course the rotting man decided it was best to follow, clawing and crawling himself forward. Suddenly finding his voice again Kaelyn took a deep breath, ready to tell the others to cover their ears but another classmate stepped forward to take care of the problem. Kotaro, a young man with the usefulness of controlling spirits. Kaelyn admired him as he did for the rest of his classmates here with him on this mission.

Leaving Kotaro to deal with the creature, Kaelyn turned around and faced Yuki. Though his body still felt cold from the other's touch, a bit of warmth showed on his cheeks. "M-merci... Arikado-san," he mumbled and hurried away. He grouped with the others near an open window and was about to help one of the girls out the window when he felt someone touch his arm. It was Yukisa and at first Kaelyn was confused about just what she was doing until he noticed feeling was returning to his body and his wrist was stinging something fierce. Glancing down, he watched with amazement as the nasty scratches on his wrist, courtesy of the corpse, diminished into nothing but tender pink lines and patches.

He opened his mouth, even if he wasn't sure what to say, but Yukisa cut him off at once. It was her words that had Kaelyn realize his injured hand was still tightly clutching the talisman. He gave a brisk nod and quickly climbed through the open window, landing easily on the other side. Though he wouldn't leave, not without everyone else. Tucking the talisman into his jacket pocket, he offered his uninjured hand to the next person through. With him and that ninja guy shepherding the group, he hoped they could easily escape the old school.
 
Rather than getting upset about not saving the day all by himself just to show off for the girls, which one might expect, the Demon appeared rather pleased on the outside. No one had died yet. Always a plus in most people's books. On top of that, his fellow students were contributing to their own success rather than compounding toward a combined failure.

Well at least they're not ALL damsels in distress.



Yuki's thoughts then turned to the shove he had recieved just a few moments ago from the Siren and smiled. It had barely even made him budge a millimeter. But what kind of Demon would he be if mere mortals could knock him off balance with their bare hands? Kaelyn's reaction to his chilling touch however, gained a whole train of thought complete with an interesting deduction. Blushes had a wide variety of emotions which could cause them, but the one that boy had on his cheeks while thanking him came from something the Ice Demon easily recognized.

Upon hearing Yukisa's deadly pun however, Yuki could not turn down the chance to reply while wearing a cheery smirk.

"Oh Hayau-San, would it kill you to stay and find out?"

Despite the fact others were already escaping the room, he felt the need to at least defeat the undead creature that was actually in the room. Especially since it rejected peaceful spiritual negotiations with Kotaro. Not that the guy probably couldn't handle it. . . but it would be smarter to save the Medium's strength up for something completely ethereal. The type of spirits which could not be harmed by physical means. Unlike the undead creature which suddenly found itself engaged in combat.

Frost flowed freely from just one of Yuki's hands right at the animated corpse's legs as he focused on immobilizing it for good. After all, keeping one hand behind his back was only fair against a handicapped opponent. Even if he had been the handicapp-er. Next he aimed an arctic blast straight at the skull itself. Now all that unholy racket would cease coming from it's decayed maw. Quickly, the snowy-haired youth moved within striking distance to finish it off without any fear whatsoever.

"Dem bones, dem bones. . . dem dancing bones."



Crouching down with a cold-hearted look in his icy eyes, his hand rested on the floor before his leg arced out in a sweeping kick to shatter any hopes this undead creature had of joining the track team post-mortem. Everything from below the hips was lost as frozen chunks of thigh, kneecap, shin, and foot bounced off the nearby wall before falling to the ground. Right at that moment the legless torso fell frozen face first into the classroom floor. But that wasn't the end of it. Just using the momentum from his kick, Arikado quickly stood up into a 360 turn which brought him around for the perfect chance to stomp right down on the skull and shatter it into shards that slid along the floor.

"Doin' the skeleton dance."

 
Kenta was one of the last ones out the window, he wanted to make sure that some of the less combat ready students had made their exit before he did, after all, besides the one with...whatever that dagger looking thing was, it seemed he was the only one with an actual weapon. The door that the creature was rattling outside was screaming and it sounded like it had given up and he could faintly hear the claws clatter down the hallway and away from the blocked door. It was a relief of sorts to hear that, and with Yuki taking care of their undead menace it seemed like a good a time as any to gather everyone and hand over the talisman to Principal Ikawa.

"Thank you Arikado-San, for the timely rescue." Kenta frowned, he hadn't appreciated the joking and when Yukisa joined in he let out a groan and rolled his eyes. The rest of his classmates had clambered out of the window finally and he gathered them together, he was still a bit pale and his hands were a little shakey and uneasy still. "Let's just take the amulet to Ikawa-Sensei and get on with our lives." Kenta took another glance at the now open window with a shiver and turned on his heel, heading back towards the buildings just down the road, adjusting the katana on his hip.
 
The ray of light that appeared in the room courtesy of Naoki was a welcomed sight. As ready as Ame was to escape the living nightmare that was the old school, she refused to be so low as to jump outside without making sure her classmate were safe. Not that there was a lot she could do, but she focused on the door, ready to hold it steady in case the monster outside managed to break it down. Naoki's kunai appeared to do a good job of holding it steady though.

A somewhat relieving although disturbing sight was Yuki subdueing the revived corpse with ease. With such power he could of easily taken care of the other monster had he needed to. Again, she found herself envying her roommate's overflowing confidence.

With the ghoul in pieces and the monster in the hall seemingly giving up, Ame escaped through the window with the others, hesitating only slightly at the jump down. Outside it was gruesomely clear, the dark spots on her uniform, blood from the disembodied hands and dust from everywhere else in the school... she'd never felt so dirty. But she could bathe once back in the dorms, and clothes could be washed, but what she'd seen couldn't so easily be forgotten, the scenes lingered, appearing behind eyelids when she blinked. She'd never seen so much blood, "Nn- ow," she muttered as they walked but tried not to bring too much attention fo herself. That thought brought on a particularly bad headache, like something in her head was rapping against her skull. She felt a sense of deja vu for a moment but mentally shrugged it off as she walked with the others.
 
The students had found themselves worn out and tired from their haunting experience in the old school building but, as promised, Asahina-Sensei was there to take care of them when they returned. Taking the amulet from them Kenta was sure that all of his fellow classmates could feel a sense of relief that washed over all of them.

Kenta found it strange, however, that there were no explanations, no nothing to tell them what the amulet was for, and why did Ikawa-Sensei want it? How did he even know about it? Of course, it seemed that this was standard fare here at Kazeyama. He wouldn't question it just like he hadn't questioned that creature attack on the first day. He knew that there were strange things in this world and it seemed that Kazeyama was just a nexus for them to interact in this world.

As the days passed the troubled thoughts settled and Kenta went back to focusing on his classwork. It was still a school after all, and if he had any hopes of going to Kazeyama University he'd have to still study hard. However, it seemed that whatever forces that worked at Kazeyama had other plans for the class of 3-S, however this one wasn't a bad idea, at least in Kenta's eyes.

"Class, in a few short minutes we will be releasing you back to your dorms where you will drop off your books and other school work things and change out of your uniforms and into your street clothing! We are taking a special trip off campus to the Onsen on the other side of Kazeyama Lake! Now, for those of you who do not know, Kazeyama Onsen is famous for it's medicinal and helpful properties but seeing as Kazeyama lake is so large it will take us about an hour on the bus from here. So, without further ado, please, hurry to your dorms and get ready to go to the Onsen!" Aoi-Sensei seemed genuinely excited, something that made Kenta feel more comfortable with this trip. He didn't waste any time getting up and heading out the door to the dorms. Now what would he bring, he wondered if the onsen was formal or not, would he need a yukata or would they supply one? So many questions so little time. As he stepped out the door he heard Aoi-Sensei remind them that they would meet at the bus station just by the entrance to Kazeyama's campus and that they could take the train there. Excited, Kenta rushed to the dorms!
 
What to pack was a good question indeed. Staring at his dresser from where he sat on the edge of his bed, Kaelyn chewed nervously on a thumbnail while he attempted to consider which out of all of the possible types of Onsen his class would visit. He didn't want to pack too much and end up with heavy luggage but at the same time, he didn't want to be the only one without the proper items and clothes.

Already, he could hear his mother's naggy tone in the back of his mind. If she were there, she would have ignored his question and instead she would have slapped his hand away from his face and scolded him for doing something that, in her opinion, only neanderthals did. She really was no help at all, that prissy woman, but he stopped his nervous habit at once and instead rested his hands in his lap.

So the task of deciding was left up to him, as it should be, he reminded himself. He was nearly seventeen and it was high time he stopped looking to others for all of the answers, especially for something so trivial. Besides, when had he ever been so uptight and nervous about all of the little things? Never! He was acting strange! Maybe it was because he didn't want to seem foolish in front of a certain classmate? Most definitely. Kaelyn's face flushed just at the thought of having to take his shirt off in front of someone else. Standing out was such a terrible feeling but he hoped the soothing effects of either the springs or the baths would help him find his former mellow self.

Since the first day of the semester, Kaelyn hadn't had a calm day yet. He'd been so very much unlike himself, worrying, nervous, even talking a little with others. His mother would be estatic to learn that he'd been unable to blend into the background this year. Sighing at that thought, he pushed himself to his feet and grabbed up his iPod from his nightstand. When the headphones were secure over his ears and playing one of his favorite Bleach theme songs, he set to work packing the essentials. When he was done, he glanced up to see if his roommate was even still there.

Mori Naoki, Kaelyn had to admit, was a colorful character and not just because of his hair. He seemed constantly happy, and to Kaelyn's distress, very talkative and friendly. He also had what the siren liked to call "deafstep", never really making any noise when coming and going regardless of creaky floorboards, as if the people around him were completely and utterly deaf. It was a bit unsettling how easily Naoki could sneak up on him, though so far the boy had yet to do something that cruel to Kaelyn.

No, he just enjoys hanging out on the dresser and using the window more than the door, Kaelyn thought with a bit of a smile, spotting Naoki over on his side of the dorm room, packing as well. "Want to head out to the bus together?" Kaelyn asked softly, pulling his headphones from his ears and letting them hang around his neck.
 

Upon returning from the haunted school difficult decisions had to be made. Yuki really only had one objective in mind. Namely just how exactly to use the fact Asahina-sensei was taking care of the students to his advantage toward the goal of getting some alone time with the voluptuous woman. Every time his mind put together a scheme to seduce her. . . some other student or staff member always seemed to walk into the room. It seemed nearly impossible to catch the woman alone. Patience was all he could really rely on for an oppertunity. A seductive gaze here and long stare there from the Ice Demon kept going Asahina-Sensei's way inbetween classes on the sly. Just like a true forbidden romance, Yuki would show his attraction in ways that only she would notice.

Resorting to stalking her was always an option. . . but far too creepy a one for his tastes. Demons with his type of quirks always wanted the object of their desire to submit willingly. Thrill of the chase and all that jazz. Luckily he wasn't the type of supernatural monster the Japanese kept making that stuff called hentai about.

Therefore he spent the last couple of days trying his best to at least somewhat blend in with the human students. Eccentricity was such a debilitating condition for people without dump trucks full of money. But when the field trip was announced, especially the location, Yuki burned up on the inside while to those around him it looked quite the opposite. Cold and detached appeared to be his only reaction to the entire ordeal. Even if it did mean seeing his classmates in less clothing than usual. Ice Demons did not particularly enjoy warm locations. But more importantly, the second he stepped into the waters they would either cool down suspiciously or even completely freeze over. Then his cover would be totally blown.

Still, Yuki walked quickly back to the room he shared with Ame.

Most of what he felt was necessary to go on a field trip was packed within a minute or two.

Dufflebag full of clothes? Check.

Plastic baggie with personal hygiene stuff? Check.

Chainsaw? Check.

. . . Wait how did THAT get in here? OH YEAH! Hahahaha. . . YOU get back in your hiding spot mister before anyone sees you and gets the wrong idea. Or the RIGHT idea.

Chuckling to himself, the Ice Demon suddenly thought of a trick to play on the suspecting Ame. Indeed the girl was likely suspecting. . . of him at least. Mostly since she was intelligent enough to pick up on the fact that her roommate was a prankster and no longer remain the unsuspecting Ame. After about a week or two of living together his mischievous tendencies were quite obvious. Yet interestingly enough she had not applied or petitioned for another roommate. Perhaps it was the fact that none of his pranks were actually harmful or the fact he always made up for them within twenty-four hours.

Yuki entered the bathroom, utilizing his powers to create a perfect likeness of himself in the form of an ice sculpture inside the shower. He knew that Ame would be arriving within a minute or so which meant he had to work fast to make the prank work. Turning on the hot water along with just the right sequence of bathroom lights to give his frozen doppelganger a silohuette in case she opened the bathroom door. Steam caused by the warm water hitting the ice sculpture created just enough distortion to make the illusion work.

Quickly, he rushed into her room with his clean set of casual clothes and started to change out of his uniform. Listening for her arrival by means of when the door opened an closed, Yuki plotted to have her walk in somewhere around him being shirtless in his jeans or in his snowflake pattern boxers. Every bit of this solely for the purpose of seeing the look on her face.

Ame was certainly going to be in for quite a surprise!
 
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