"What a mess," Amakusa snarled, pacing the length of his office. A knock sounded on the door. "Yes?" Amakusa answered, recovering his usual suave poise. "Ah, it's you, Akurei," The scaly vice-principal nodded a greeting. He looked as though he were grinning from ear to ear, but this was misleading; like most semi-reptilian life-forms, his facial expression was controlled largely by the shape of his jaw. "Who was behind that attack?" he asked. Amakusa pressed his lips together. "Knight School. Who else would be so... unsubtle as to use a purity grenade?" Akurei's eyes blinked twice, and the irises widened. "Already? They don't usually start their fooling around until later in the year." "They must have thought to catch us off-guard." "Looks to me like they succeeded," Akurei muttered under his breath. Amakusa looked at him sternly. Akurei's tongue flickered twice. "But," Akurei began after a short silence. "They'll be expecting us to reciprocate, won't they?" "That is true," Amakusa nodded. "Which is why we will not." "At least not directly, or immediately, eh?" Akurei finished. Amakusa smiled at him. It wasn't a nice smile, or a warm smile. It had elements of hatred in it, and rage, and even madness; but it also was a smile that expressed complete control. "Very good, Akurei. But not quite correct. I think that, this time, while we may not respond immediately, the leadership of Knight School should be very aware of the source of their--ah--misfortune." ********************************************************* Dark Heart High Netherworld Educational Institution for The Universal Propagation of Evil started by Mads ********************************************************* Part Seven: Explanations! by Lirazel ********************************************************* In the depths of Akurei's snake-like eyes, a red spark began to glow. "Really? That will be most enjoyable." Amakusa nodded curtly. "But first, we must make sure our school is secure. Do you have a damage report?" The right forepaw of the lizard man groped in a pocket, emerging with a pad of paper. "Well, Aug-sensei's inputs were badly damaged. He'll have to go for repairs. Be gone at least a week." "Hmmm, we'll have to divide his course load up. Maybe we'll have to take a class or two." "And Nurse Sybil seems to have gotten stuck in chibi mode." "Not surprising, really. It's her purest form." Both men gave subdued yet knowing chuckles. "She'll snap out of it." "A few students passed out, but most have recovered. Actually, more were hurt fleeing than were injured by the grenade itself. Quite a few bruises and scrapes. One of the zombies lost an arm and claims it isn't reattaching properly, but they're always rather fussy." He made a tick-mark with a claw against his list. "A few of the demonic spawn won't be able to return until all the remaining purity particles have been expunged. Allergies But the janitors are already swabbing all the corridors with Solution Number Five, so that should be taken care of... The two worst injuries seem to be Ki Tamaida, who stumbled and was caught by the nimbus, and Yuri Mikagami, who has a severely sprained ankle." "Really!" Amakusa's brows rose in surprise. "She didn't escape?" "Well, as to that, I gather there's been a certain amount of... comment among the students. Seems she tripped, and Ki was going back for her when the nimbus caught them both. She dragged him to safety, but seems to have worsened her own injury in the process." "She..." "That's right. She survived a purity grenade. Seems to have made her slightly nauseated, but that's it." "Hmmm." So, the little Yuri had, in fact, lied to that Maimsworth boy, as he, Amakusa, had suggested. Interesting. But why would Ki Tamaida go back for her? And why would she bother to save him? Amakusa stood in a brown study for a moment, until he saw Akurei glance over at the clock. "Well, no time to worry about that now. Anything else?" "A few doors broken off their hinges, tables torched, and so on. Oh, and three of our vampire lunch-ladies were reduced to piles of ash, but the cook has already reconstituted them." "Looks like we'll need to move up the monthly furniture replacement order. Which brings us to the next point. How, in the name of all that's Dark, did a Knight School saboteur get in here?" "Ah, well, aha..." Akurei was unexpectedly nervous. "Listen, you know how we installed that automated Virtue Sensing System last spring?" "You mean the one your nephew's company was selling?" "Umm, yeah, that one. Seems to have had a small software problem. I've got a team working on it already." Akurei's blink rate had gotten much faster. Amakusa was grinning again, and the room was getting perceptibly colder. "If they can't get it right within an hour or two, we'll switch to back-up." "You're sure you can get the hellhounds disenchanted without killing them this time?" "Aw, c'mon, boss." Akurei spread the claws on the paw that was not holding the notebook, and shrugged. "We only lost one hellhound. And it was a great object lesson for the Nonphysical Physics class." The two administrators locked eyes again, then Amakusa sighed, and looked away. Feeble as Akurei was at times, he was a competent second, and Amakusa was not ready to replace him-- yet. "Listen, why don't you get Nurse Sybil to help you pack Aug for his little vacation? Maybe you can persuade her that there are more... useful forms than chibi." The red spark in Akurei's eyes expanded, and Amakusa smirked internally. Lizardmen. Even if you can't read their faces, you can usually tell what they're thinking. "Hai!" Akurei thrust his notebook back in its pocket and turned for the door. As it shut behind him, Amakusa sighed. Now for the part of the job he hated, that every principal hated, whether they worked at Dark Heart High, or Knight School, or even the Median School for the Absolutely Average. For Amakusa, however, this part of his job was tinged with both curiosity and even a little fear. He had to call the Mikagami household and announce that Yuri was hurt. ^_v ^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v Ki Tamaida of the Steel Thorn Clan would never have admitted it, but he was... confused. He'd nearly gotten himself killed, and for what? The insignificant life of a girl so far removed from evil that she was able to survive a purity grenade. Such creatures were only valuable as fodder. It was impossible that what Midori said could be true. He couldn't possibly be beginning to care about this-- this-- child. She was part of his plan. Nothing more. On the other hand, it was curious that such a person should even be admitted to Dark Heart High. Ki had heard the various rumors about Yuri Mikagami, and had even witnessed a few incidents himself. The absolutely resplendent bitch-laugh in Basic Villainy. The way she had handled the combat instructor. The way in which, whenever there was trouble, she was mysteriously uninvolved. Even the way in which Balabalalde, of all people, seemed to regard her as a... friend. This merited further research. Thus it was that when a huge black SUV pulled up to the front of Dark Heart High, where the carpenters were busily hanging a new, solid-steel door, Ki was lurking in a side hallway. He was sill a little dizzy, but he firmly thrust any feelings of weakness aside. It helped that the janitors were applying Solution Number Five (the most innocuous ingredient of which was asafoetida) with a liberal hand. From Ki's vantage point, he could see both the entrance and the door to the school office. The woman who walked past him was a complete surprise. Mrs. Mikagami had a round, "bubble" hair-do, carefully groomed; well-controlled but not stiff, and held out of her eyes by a pink scarf, worn as a head-band. She was a petite lady, and her bright pink business suit with black accents was strictly tailored. The shine on her black pumps matched the shine on her hand-bag, and her lipstick and eye-shadow matched the pink of her scarf and suit. A wedding ring and a charm bracelet were her only jewelry. As she clicked past, Ki saw that, under an anxious frown, Yuri's mother was undeniably... cute. Perky, even. "Yuri! What happened!" "Oh, hi, Mom. Where's Dad?" "Out in the car. He was too upset to come in. You know what can happen when he gets upset. But what's going on here?" "Umm, well, you see..." As Yuri began explaining, Ki stopped listening and started thinking. There was no way, *no way* that a human female like Mrs. Mikagami could ever be the mother of a student at Dark Heart High. And yet, here Yuri was. Which might mean... Ki crept towards the doorway, evading the carpenters as only the Steel Thorn clan could. Inside the cab of the SUV, he could see a vaguely roiling shape. Certainly, not a human shape. But they were coming out... "I can't possibly convey to you how sorry we are, Mikagami-san. We are taking steps to improve security in the future, and I can assure you and the Gen--" "Please, Principal Amakusa. My husband doesn't care to have his former rank mentioned." Mrs. Mikagami was helping Yuri out the door. "And I do understand how a school rivalry can sometimes get out of hand. We'll take Yuri to the doctor, but I'm sure she'll be fine." She offered him a bright smile, and Midori was surprised to see him flinch. Around Mrs. Mikagami's head was the barest suggestion of-- sparkles? "Yuri-chan! Wait!" Leilei and Balabalalde came out the door, Leilei running, Balabalalde moving at his usual deceptively slow pace. "Your books!" Yuri was sitting in the body of the SUV by this time, in the back seat near the door. She leaned down and grabbed the book-bag. "Oh, thanks, you guys! Hey, could you come over after school and tell me what I've missed?" "Sure!" said Leilei. Balabalalde blinked twice, then regarded Yuri solemnly from his one un-bandaged eye. Yuri winked at him. Mrs. Mikagami smiled at them approvingly, closed the door, climbed into the passenger seat, and the SUV drove off, Yuri waving from the window. Ki decided that Yuri Mikagami merited a little after-school attention. There was a mystery here. ^_v ^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v "But--I don't understand..." "There's nothing for you to understand. I will take Yuri's assignment over to her today, and you two can do it tomorrow." "But why?" Leilei's voice was almost whiney in its insistence. "Because--" Ki paused and thought. True, he was holding Leilei at knifepoint. There was no reason why he really had to give an explanation. But Balabalalde was glaring at him, and there was no need to make more enemies than he had to, at least at the moment. And if he was clever, he could achieve his purpose and do something about the developing relationship between Balabalalde and Yuri... He allowed her eyes to shift to one side. "I need to thank her." "What for?" Leilei was clearly astounded. She knew a bit about the Steel Thorn clan, and gratitude definitely was not one of the clan virtues. "For-- ah-- rescuing me." "Ohhhhh!" Ki flinched internally, as Leilei's face lit up with comprehension. "Sure, we'll let you take Yuri-chan her assignments, if that's the way you feel. Right, Bala-kun?" What could be seen of Balabalalde's eyebrow still wore a frown, but it was one more of puzzlement than anger. Finally, he blinked. "Wai!" Leilei handed Ki a fat envelope. "Here. There's a Basic Villainy study sheet, and a chapter to read in Immaterial Science I, and an algebra review, and some Latin verbs to conjugate. Tell Yuri-chan they have to be memorized before Kanno-sensei can start that class on Elementary Chanting. Oh, and Amakusa- sensei's taking over Dark History for the present, but you can tell her all about that." Ki returned his knife to its thigh-sheaf and looked into the envelope. "What're all these brochures?" "Well, Yuri-chan seems to have talked to an awful lot of club recruiters. People have been handing me brochures all day. Hey, that's right, make sure to tell her that Bala-kun made the soccer team!" Ki looked at Balabalalde and smirked. "Was there any doubt? We all remember you in Junior High, Bala-kun." A faint blush was discernable at the top of Balabalalde's cheek-bone. "I'll be sure to tell her." He bowed to the odd pair and disappeared around a corner. "Now I wonder what that was really about?" mused Leilei aloud. "You never can be sure with the Steel Thorn clan." She looked at Balabalalde, who stared at her thoughtfully. "We'd better warn Yuri-chan when we see her tomorrow." ^_v ^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v "So, Yuri-chan... what do your parents do?" Ki and Yuri were sitting in the Mikagami's too-perfect living- room. Decorated in tones of blue and gold, with little red pillows on sofa and chairs and cheerful flower-prints on the walls, the only way to describe it was, well, ordinary. Ki was, if anything, more confused than ever. The swirling mass of darkness that had opened the door to him had probed what felt like the bottom of his soul with one glare from its glowing, spinning orbs--if, that is, he'd had a soul. Then, the head- shaped area had nodded once. "Steel Thorn clan, I see." "Ha-hai. I brought Yuri her assignments." Ki had rarely felt so awkward. "Well, well." The voice dripped sarcasm. "Do come in. Yuri's in the living-room, to your left. I'll make you some tea in a little while." And the flickering shadows had moved down the hall towards the back of the house. Since then, Ki had been enduring tortures of a different kind. Delivering the assignments to Yuri, explaining why he had brought them instead of Leilei and Bala, and listening to Yuri chatter about her friends, the soccer team, clubs, classes, etc., had been like being nibbled to death by ducks. His own share of the conversation had been in fits and starts, since anything he said seemed to set Yuri chattering on a new subject. Surprisingly, Yuri had taken his every statement at face value. She had even blushed when he thanked her. And she certainly was talking too fast. But at last, Ki had brought the conversation around to what was now driving him nearly nuts with curiosity. "Well..." Yuri blushed gently. This had always been hard to explain before. "My dad, he kinda works from home. You know, makes a lot of phone calls, goes to an occasional business meeting. Sometimes he's really busy, but other times, things are quieter. He owns the business, and he worked really hard building it up. He used to be away a lot, when I was little, but now he mostly manages other people who do the actual work." Yuri giggled suddenly. "It's so funny when he has business meetings at the house. They talk this strange business lingo." Her voice became both louder and deeper. "And now, my loyal minions, you shall march forth and destroy our enemies! Remember, leverage and collaboration are everything!" Ki looked a little blank. "Your dad runs minions from out of the house?" "Well, sure. He has the basement fixed up for an office, with a flaming pit over the furnace for tossing in the disloyal and everything. Sometimes I earn extra money by helping with the filing." "Err... Does his business have a name?" "Yeah, but it's silly; 'Hellstorm Limited.' My mom's told him and told him, if he really wants to grow, he needs to change it to something like THM Associates, or even iHell if he wants to be modern. But my dad's a real traditionalist. He wants me to go into the business with him when I'm done with school, but-- I don't know..." Yuri stopped talking and looked at Ki, who was frowning absently. "I remember hearing about a General Hellstorm..." Yuri beamed. "That's him, all right! He used to be military, before he met my mom." "Her smile grew even warmer. "Ki-san, you're the very first person my own age I've ever met who's heard of my dad! He'll be so pleased. Just wait till I tell him when he brings the tea." "Ummm... Yeah, that's great. Unfortunately, I can't stay too much longer today." Ki was pretty sure he wanted to know a lot more about Hellstorm Mikagami before he stayed to tea--including what the usual diet of someone named "Hellstorm" was. "And your mom--you said she works too?" "Oh, she's a human resources consultant." Ki's imagination showed him the undeniably human Mrs. Mikagami in a spotlessly neat office, with a window overlooking some trees... and, doubtless, a picture of Yuri on the desk. "Consultant?" "Yeah. Companies hire her when they need to lay off people. She manages the layoff process, then leaves. It's hard. Sometimes people get really mad. But someone has to do it, and it pays well. And she gets to feel like she's really helping companies. You know, weeding out the window-gazers, and the people who aren't team players and all that." Ki's imagination replaced the spotless office with a roomful of stunned-looking men in suits, listening to the relentlessly perky woman in pink as she mouthed platitudes about "not a dismissal, but an opportunity", and so on. He shivered. "Ki-san! You're cold!." Before he could stop her, Yuri stood and hopped past the coffee-table to where he was sitting, a light cotton, cherry-red throw in her hand. "Here..." She held out the thing with such an expression of concern that Ki, giving an internal shrug, reached for it. Unfortunately, at that moment Yuri lost her balance. With a faint "Eep!" she fell towards Ki, who caught her upper arm with his outstretched hand. This caused her to spin towards him and sit down abruptly on the couch, nearly on top of him, with his arm reaching across her body... For a long moment, Yuri's brown eyes stared into Ki's grey ones. Her face flushed red, and she struggled to sit upright. "Oh, I'm so sorry! Are you OK? I'm so clumsy..." Ki's hand was still gripping her upper arm. "Ummmm... you can let go now?" Ki's mind was in a whirl. This could *not* be happening! There was no room for feelings like this in his life. There should have been no possibility of such feelings. His clan had taken care of that. He released Yuri's arm slowly, and rose to his feet. She remained on the couch. He stared down at her woodenly. He would not reveal what he was feeling, would not give her that advantage over him. He had to get away, get his feelings under control, reconsider his position... "Sorry. It was my fault. And I really have to go. Oh, Amakusa- sensei is replacing Aug-sensei for a while. He says to tell you that he's getting us a new book. Someone will bring it over." Ki made for the door. Now Yuri was confused. Why was he in such a hurry? Had her clumsiness made him angry? "Are you sure you don't want to wait for the tea?" "No-no, I have to get along. Quite a ways to my house. See you in school!" And with that, Ki strode rapidly out the door, just as a dank mist rolling along the floor heralded the return of Yuri's father with the tea-things. ^_v ^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v Dinner that evening was nigiri sushi. Troi Mikagami was very particular about the fish for his sushi, so it wasn't often that Mrs. Mikagami found some fresh enough to satisfy him. On this occasion he was less displeased than usual, as most of his servings were still gasping and flapping. Yuri and her mother had the same, only less active. The swirling mass of dark energies had to concentrate a little harder than usual to consume his share of the tasty morsels. The family shared a laugh as Yuri caught an escaping shrimp with her chopsticks and tossed it into her father's hastily-formed maw. Troi listened carefully, though, as Yuri chatted with her mother about school. The boringness of Aug-sensei (well he remembered it!), the different topics in Basic Villainy, the odd behavior of the gym instructor, and the approaching Weird Science Fair were reviewed. Mrs. Mikagami teased Yuri gently about her visitor, teasing that Yuri responded to with giggles. Troi allowed a small, dark pit of gloating to develop in the deepest recesses of his exceptionally dark mind. His little girl, toying with the affections of a boy from the Steel Thorn clan! This was what he had hoped for; nay, dreamed of. Finally, extruding some shells and bones into a neat pile on his plate, he shaped an inner vacuole to manipulate the air, and spoke. "That all sounds most appropriate, Yuri. I'm only sorry that your mishap will probably keep you out of most athletics for a while. It's important to be well-rounded." "Hai, papa. But I'm thinking of signing up for the Fencing Club. They need an equipment manager, and I could do that while my leg improves." A small grunt of approval came from the murky depths. "And have you decided what other clubs you want to join?" Yuri and her mother exchanged glances, eyes twinkling. "What's this? What's this? The women of my own family conspiring behind my back?" "Oh, come on, Daddy!" Yuri giggled. "I thought about what you said, and decided that you were right-- I shouldn't try to do too much my first year. So, I talked it over with mom, and she helped me make a really good choice." A wave of darkness seemed to flow around the edge of the table and over Mrs. Mikagami's shoulder. "And what might that be?" said Troi, as his fire-red orbs glared into the eyes of his mate. "Something that will help Yuri whether she chooses to join you in the family business or strike out on her own," Mrs. Mikagami said, patting the darkness fondly. She and Yuri looked at each other, grinned, and chanted in unison: "Future Accountants Club!" ^_v ^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v^_v Wai! Eeeeviilll Accounting! (I hope Nightguard reads this!) Please note that no new characters were introduced. So far, we are doing a really good job of avoiding character creep, and it would be good to keep it that way. I suspect the Future Accountants Club will be mostly geeky boy zombies, who will one and all fall in love with Yuri and form a posse for her further adventures, but that's up to other writers. And I have great hopes for Utena-style fencing meets! Many thanks to Sharyna for writing a scene, discussing possible traits for Yuri's mom, pre-reading, and making a crucial character suggestion. You go, girl! ^_^ And extra cookies to whomever spots the ObEscaflowne reference.