Chaos.  Destruction.  Death and decay.

And that was just the first half of the programme.

Craig was determined to make it a night to remember, and it showed in
the lavish preparation that he was making his housefolk spend on his
upcoming party.  Nevermind that only a handful of people were invited.
Nevermind that they weren't really celebrating anything, just the
miraculous defeat of one of the deadliest foes Dark Heart high had ever
faced... and especially his very own significant involvement in it.

It was going to be... *his* night.

And for Craig Maimsworth, nothing would ever be able to spoil what
would become... THE CROWNING MOMENT OF HIS ENTIRE FRESHMAN YEAR.

Maybe he would even get to score.

Feeling generally pleasant and pleased with himself, the armoured
knight idly sorted through the mail Klein had fetched for him.  It was
good reading practice, and maybe he'd already won an opportunity for a
chance to be eligible to win a shot at bagging a thousand dollars.

Darkness knew he had before.

Most were simply junk mail, and these he discarded by reflex, almost
unconsciously selecting only the ones with return addresses he knew.
And then the sight of what was written on one of the envelopes made him
stop cold.

He read it again.  And then he read it again.  Not quite sure he was
reading it right, Craig held the letter up at a different angle.  Nope,
still no go.  It said what he'd thought it'd said.

"There's only one thing TO do now," Craig decided, sure at the moment
that no matter what he did, he'd be reading the envelope the same.

"Klein, could you read what it says on this envelope here?"

The aged magistrate took the piece of paper from his charge, adjusted
his pince nez and gave the envelope a quick scanning glance before
blinking and then rereading what he saw.

"Why, Master Maimsworth!" Klein exclaimed, a large smile on his lips.
"This IS a pleasant surprise!"

"HAH!  I KNEW it!" Craig crowed triumphantly.  He indicated the letter
with great gusto.  "That's from the caterers, isn't it?  The ambrosia
WILL come through after all, won't it?"

"Oh, *better*, Master Maimsworth!" Klein said, reaching for the letter
opener lying on his study desk.  "It's from Darker Heart University!...
and you DO know what that means, don't you?"

Craig deadpanned.  "It's NOT from the caterers?"

"No."

"It's not from the vet?  About our land dragon's colds?"

"Ummm... no.  It's from *Darker Heart*," Klein said with emphasis.

"I don't understand," Craig said obstinately.  "Maybe you're not
reading it right."

"I am quite certainly reading it right," Klein sniffed as he plucked
the contents from the envelope, unfolded it and then began to peruse it
with some air of appraisal.  "It says here that the college is having
their semestral break these next two weeks, and--"

"NO-- don't read that, Klein!" Craig ordered shrilly, pointing at the
letter as if it spelled the doom of the universe.  "Rip it up or
something!  BURN IT!  Get rid of it, and maybe *HE* won't come!"

"Surely you're overreacting, Master Craig," Klein chided the youth as
he returned to his reading.  "Now, as I was saying, it says here that
Darker Heart is closed for the break-"

"No," Craig swallowed, backing away from the desk, face twitching with
profound dread.  "NO..."

"-and most of the students have gone home for the vacation," the
magistrate went on.  "Why, Master Maimsworth!  Look!  He sent us a
letter-"

"NO," Craig said more firmly, by this time already at the door to
Klein's musty office.

"-and he says that he's coming over to stay for the duration of his
break!" Klein finished happily.  "Oh, Master Maimsworth!  He'll be here
just in time for the festivities!  This news certainly gives us all the
more reason to celebra--"  He looked up.

Craig had already taken off, a crazed look of denial on his face, hands
clapped over his ears in an attempt to shut out the revelation in the
faint hope that, if he didn't hear it, it wouldn't be real.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO--" he shrieked as he tore through the castle
halls, for once not noticing the finery he'd dressed the walls in.

                           *** *** *** ***

           *********************************************

                           Dark Heart High

              Netherworld Educational Institution for
                 The Universal Propagation of Evil
                           started by Mads

*********************************************
Part Forty-One: Visitations!
by Mads
*********************************************

           *********************************************

                           *** *** *** ***

"You *insect*," Yuri hissed at the small, pink-haired girl.  "You
little meddling *brat*!"

"No..." Leilei murmured in dismay, shaking her head as she regarded
the older girl before her.

Yuri's face was scrunched up in a snarl, her white teeth showed, and
she tipped herself on her toes just the slightest bit to loom over the
smaller girl, green eyes blazing, chestnut hair bobbing in time to her
soft shaking.

"I'LL KILL YOU!!!" Yuri spat venomously.

"NO!!!" Leilei cried and smacked Yuri T'glath Mikagami one on the head
with a large folded paper fan.

*FWAPP!!!*

"Ow!" Yuri yelped, instinctively reaching up to shield her head from
more blows.  "That stung!  What was THAT for!?"

"Yuri-chan," Leilei said sweetly, her dangerous blue eyes and twitching
eyebrow belying the tone of her voice, "you do NOT contract EVERY
muscle on your face when you glower-- you should be trying to make me
die of fright, NOT hysterics!"

Yuri slumped down on her seat, a defeated pout on her lips.

"Well I thought it would look more threatening," she sniffed sulkily.

"More constipated is what you looked like," Leilei sighed, scratching
her head with a small hand.  "There's an *art* to intimidation, Yuri...
You're going to have to do better than that if you want your
schoolmates to stop bothering you."  She lowered the large paper fan
she held in her palm and replaced it with a glass of ice cream soda,
taking a sip of the cold drink.

It was a quaint enough scene-- the cake shop was empty except for the
two young ladies occupying one of the windowside tables, the lights
off, the day not having progressed enough into the evening to justify
artificial illumination.  The result was a muted glow imbued on the
small cafe's stained glass shop window by the orange afternoon sun
outside.  The pale pastel swirlings of red, pink and a soft green,
combined with the wafting aromas from the confections kitchen served to
provide the two with a relaxing sanctuary in which to get away from the
bustle of city life.

"They still make excellent mixes here," Leilei confirmed to herself,
licking her straw.  "Good thing they didn't close down for good."

Yuri saw her small companion start to pick the fan up again.

"Aw, Lei-chan," Yuri said with a grimace, eying the stiff paper item.
"Do we have to?"

"Yes, we agreed on this already," Leilei reminded her, tone and facial
expression that of a patient and kindly old teacher.  "Now, come on,
don't dawdle-- let's start off again with a growl.  Say 'grrr'."

"Oh, okay," Yuri mumbled with another pout, getting off her seat.  She
cleared her throat before beginning.  "Grrr."

"No, no, NO!" Leilei chided her.  "With more feeling!  GRR!"

"Grr!"

"Louder!"

"GRR!"

"What are you, a puppy?  SCARE me!"

"GRRRRRRRRR!"

A head popped out from the door behind the unmanned counter.

"Anything the matter back there?" a concerned voice yelled out in a
curious tenor.

"We're okay, thank you!" Leilei shouted out a reply.  When the man was
gone she turned back to her erstwhile pupil.  "Not bad, not bad.  At
least it got Wakaba to notice.  Now, let's try working on your speech."

"But--"

"No BUTS," Leilei hushed her with a peculiarly motherly strictness.
"Begin," she ordered.

Yuri rolled her eyes and worked the much-practiced words over in her
head again and then let them out in a monotone.

"Justwhodoyouthinkyou'redealingwith,slime?Don'tyouknowme?I'mYuriT'glath
Mikagami,daughteroftheHellstorm,freshmanstudentofDarkHeartHighclass1A-"

"NO!" Leilei barked, in her exasperation forgetting to bop Yuri on the
head with the fan and instead just flapping it around in consternation.
"FEEL it, Yuri!  How in the WORLD are you going to stare down ANYONE
like that!?  Come on!  BE it!  You defeated an entire Sakura Art
fencing team!  You got through a Blood Duel with the *principal* alive!
You had a hand in the defeat of Melvin, and you *successfully* managed
to infiltrate AND steal information from Knight School!  You have the
rumoured favor of Amakusa himself, and the friendship of Balabalalde of
the Wargmere-Agherukk, the one who whupped Sakazashi's butt!  Don't you
think it's time to capitalize on all that?  You could be one of the
scariest students Dark Heart's ever had, only if you could just look
and sound the part!  NOW GET TO IT!"

At this, Yuri plopped back down on her seat, head lowered, eyes hidden
by her overhanging bangs.  The expression on her face was unreadable,
and the shadows concealed most of the upper half of her head.

"Whassamatter?" Leilei jeered.  "Tired already?  Get up!"

There was no response or sign that the high school girl had even heard
her.

Leilei finally blinked with some concern.  She stepped a little closer.

"Yuri?"

"Just who do you think you are?" Yuri muttered in a dead voice, posture
unchanging.  "How come you're always giving me orders like this?"

Leilei sighed.  "Yuri, I just--"

"Do you have ANY idea exactly what I've been through!?" Yuri spat in a
near-shriek, suddenly looking up to pin Leilei with her emerald eyes.
"What kind of hardships I've had to smile through!?  It's not even the
end of the first semester yet and ALREADY I've killed someone, and
several others are dead BECAUSE of me!  Can you imagine what that must
be like for me!?  Can you even *begin* to understand exactly what it's
turned me into!?  CAN YOU!!?"

She had crossed the floor and was gripping a frightened Leilei by the
shoulders, not shaking her, but seeming to, as the high school girl
was apparently trembling with emotion.

Yuri leaned in even closer, eyes smoldering.

"Uhbb, uhmmm, I..." Leilei choked, licking her lips, finding that
they'd gone dry.  "I..."

There was a silent pause.

"So, how was *that*?" Yuri smiled and cocked her head slightly to the
side, the room suddenly brighter at the change of expression.  "Was I
alright?"

Leilei blinked up at her friend incredulously, the corner of her mouth
twitching.

"HEY!  You guys SURE you alright back there!?"

"We're fine!" Yuri called out cheerily, letting go of Leilei and then
returning to her seat.  She tilted to the side a bit to take a short
sip from her own ice cream soda.

After a moment's thought, Leilei shook her head clear and smiled back.
"Not bad... You might be improving after all.  Needs work, though," she
winked.

Yuri made face and then used her straw to stir her treat about in its
glass listlessly.  "Do you really think I'll be bothered less if I act
this way?"

"You're nice, Yuri, and that's a creep magnet," Leilei said matter-of-
factly, popping one of the small cakes on a plate before her into her
mouth.  "Intimidation is the key-- if you start acting real scary now,
you'll be creep-free in no time!  Or at least, you simply won't get any
more than you already have..."

"I suuuuure hope so," Yuri exhaled, taking a cake herself, biting into
the strawberry-flavored sweet and then giggling.

"Speaking of creeps," Leilei began mischievously, leaning over closer
conspiratorially.  "How'd that little date with Tamaida go?"

"I-it wasn't a *date*!" Yuri protested with a sudden blush.  She stared
down at her wringing hands in embarrassment.  "It was just... a simple
dinner, that's all."

"His treat?" Leilei inquired, an eyebrow raised.

"His treat," Yuri said almost inaudibly.

Leilei grinned evilly from beside Yuri, tossing a pinkish cake up and
down as she looked at her.  "Okay.  So you two went to dinner, ALONE,
fancy restaurant, his treat.  Not a date.  Okay."

"Well, it WASN'T!" Yuri wailed.

"Okay, okay, okay!  I said okay!" Leilei laughed, holding both palms up
in mock surrender.  "Anyway, what happened, huh?  I won't ask you why
you said 'yes', but I want *details*, girl!"

"Well..." Yuri started, poking a finger at one of her snacks.

The cake shop was a cozy little place, wedged in between an ancient-
looking Chinese herb store and a small aquarium fish shop.  Outside,
traffic was sparse, as the street was a narrow stretch rolling
downhill.  The cake shop so small so as to really be just a large alley
with a roof.  A bike boy delivering pizza barely even glanced at it.  A
couple of minis putputted by serenely, keeping well below the speed
limit.

Leilei deadpanned, accidentally squishing a strawberry cake with a
finger.  "That's IT?  That's all you did?"

"Well what did you expect!?" Yuri demanded, raising an eyebrow at her
little conversation partner.  "I'm not even entirely sure WHY I went
out with him.  We just... talked.  About school.  and stuff."

"And he didn't ask you out again?"

"Actually, he asked me whether I wanted to go with him to that party
Craig's supposed to be throwing," Yuri explained, touching the tips of
her finger to each other, pursing her lips absently.  "Well, not that
I *want* to go *with* him, but... you know... I was invited anyway...
so..."

"You said 'yes' again," Leilei finished for her, eyes half-lidded.

Yuri sighed.

"He must be using some kind of potion on you," Leilei concluded,
chewing idly on a bite of cake.  It was made so that the soft, moist
cake had a core of strawberry preserve.  "Probably something in an
aerosol... maybe his cologne or in a something in a small, concealed
atomizer."

Yuri just sighed again.

"At this point... I wouldn't be surprised," she said resignedly.

The two sighed simultaneously after that, both rolling the last two
cakes with their fingers in exactly the same way.

                           *** *** *** ***

Khaki.

He was actually wearing *khaki*.

"Like the sweater?" Ki asked amiably as he approached, an easy smile on
his face.  He wasn't even twitching very much this time.  The pretense
only got easier with time, Ki had found out.

"Oh, it's... very nice," Yuri searched for a quick compliment, finally
managing to tear her eyes from the youth's upper garb.

The two stood before a gigantic wrought-iron gate painted a sleek jet
black.  At the very center was a large stylized 'M', the letter
superimposed with the crossed symbols of a jagged war sword and a
Battle-axe.  On the pillar supporting two of the gate's axles was a
small doorbell, complete with the cute little 'o/~' musical symbol on
the button.  An intercom speaker and mic was embedded above it.

Ki looked behind Yuri, and when he saw no one, put on an inquisitive
look.  "Where's your little friend, Leilei?"

"She couldn't make it," Yuri explained, brushing at her skirt a little
absently.  When that didn't make her feel more comfortable, she fiddled
with her loose, white blouse.  Something was funny about the air again.
"Something about having to assist with the final adjustments on Bala's
seals and whatnot."  She sighed.  "And, apparently, Bala's been
grounded for a while."

"Too bad," Ki lied, smiling a little more broadly.  That took care of
two major distractions.  "Are you alone?  Is Angeleye--"

"I'm right here," came the slightly sullen female voice from underneath
the shadows of one of the trees lining the walk before the Maimsworth
walls.  Amy emerged from her partial concealment, a wry smile on her
lips.  "Or didn't you notice me?" she asked.

"--going to be coming out from under that tree anytime soon?" Ki
finished, still smiling, never once taking her eyes off Yuri.  Beaming,
he turned to finally take notice of Amy.  "Trying to mask your aura was
a nice touch."

Amy appeared to detect the faint odor of the light cologne he was
wearing, but she made no comment.  Her body language proclaimed her
thoughts well enough: That won't work, not today-- I got to her first.

"Practice makes perfect," Amy said smoothly, returning the smile and
sidling up to Yuri's side, eyes sending out another message entirely.

*When I've taken care of the Balabalalde problem, you're next.*

The scion of the Steel Thorn nodded, but whether in agreement to the
proverb quoted, or in acknowledgement of the challenge issued, no one
could say.

"My, but isn't it getting hot around here?" a high falsetto cut into
the gathering like a knife.  Everyone turned to espy the simply clad
form of a young woman approaching them from further down the walkway.

"Don't you start anything without me now," Yasuko purred, for a moment
acting quite out of synch with the plain, unremarkable clothes she had
on-- white slacks, white undershirt and a yellow button sweater with
a smiley button on its right breast.

Yasuko skidded to a stop upon seeing Ki, however.  She looked the boy
up and down repeatedly for a few moments.

"Like the sweater?" Ki shot at her.

"Doesn't suit you at all," Yasuko sniffed.

And then sniffed again.

She regarded Ki with a puzzled frown.

"What kind of HORRENDOUS cologne are you wearing?" she scoffed, making
a face at the aroma wafting from the young man.

Without waiting for an answer, the she-demon turned to stare down
haughtily at Yuri.  "Alright, let's go in-- I'm starving," she ordered,
ignoring the way Ki stared at her murderously.

"Hold on," Amy told the succubus, stepping forwards.  "Shouldn't there
be more of us?  I thought Craig invited quite a few people to this."

Yasuko chuckled at this, a hand to her mouth.

"Ohohohoho," she laughed derisively, eying Amy with a snide smirk.
"I'm sure that if you ask them, they'll say that they had homework to
do, or that they weren't feeling well, or that they had an errand to
run in Pandemonium, or some such other excuse.  Haven't you heard the
grapevine this week?  NOBODY is coming to Craig's party except us."

"W-why is that?" Yuri blinked curiously.

"The guest list isn't exactly a secret," Yasuko went on further to
explain, seeming to enjoy the attention she was being given as the
moment's source of news.  "The moment people found out that Mikagami,
Tamaida, Angeleye and Wareme were on it, everyone wanted out."

"But... why?" Yuri asked again, even more puzzled than ever.

"That combination of names hasn't exactly proven healthy for much of
anyone nowadays," Ki said thoughtfully, guessing rightly at what
Yasuko's answer would be.  "And what with the small Mandy and Melvin
incident..."

Yuri blushed furiously at this and refused to meet anyone else's eyes.

"... I wouldn't be surprised at all if the students around us have
suddenly developed a certain allergy for social gatherings," Ki said in
ending, a small grin on his face.

"Exactly," Yasuko nodded.  "We're bad news."

"All a matter of unfortunate circumstance," Amy said in Yuri's defense,
stepping closer so as to be able to hold the reddening girl by the
shoulders protectively.  "She never wanted any of it to happen."

Yasuko shrugged.  "Not saying she did, not saying she didn't.  Now
let's go in- I'm starving."

By some kind of mutual agreement, it was Yuri who stepped up to the
doorbell to ring the chime.  After a moment, an old voice demanded to
know who wished to inflict themselves upon the august family of the
Maimsworth.

"Uhm... it's just me, sir, Mikagami, Yuri," Yuri said meekly up into
the speaker piece of the intercom.  "Ummm, there're others here, too...
Ki Tamaida, Amy Angeleye, Yasuko Ware--"

"Go away at once!" the intercom commanded shrilly, startling Yuri a
step backwards.  "You must all leave the premises at once.  The ga--"

Yasuko shoved Yuri aside and brought her face up really close to the
speaker.  "Perhaps you didn't hear me the first time," she said into
the piece quite annoyedly and irrationally.  "*I'M STARVING*!!!"

There were a few moments of silence and then the shuffling sounds of
someone who was maybe picking himself up from the floor.  Shortly:

"Oh, fine... can't let the unicorn cutlets go to waste."

There was a loud buzz and then the gates swung apart mechanically to
admit the small party waiting before it.  In a short row, they all
stepped inside simultaneously to begin strolling down the rolling road
they found themselves on towards the olden castle sitting below the
hill, surrounded by oaks, birches and other trees.

"Don't you think it's ridiculous to own this much property in Tokyo?"
Yasuko asked idly as they four began the short trek to Craig's house.

                           *** *** *** ***

"I DO sincerely apologize for being so rude," Klein began to say as the
four teens got near the front steps leading up to the castle's huge
main doors.  "But I was given *specific* orders by the master Craig.
I'm sorry if this seems strange, but please just follow me to the back
entrance and I'll have the servants attend to you immediately for your
meal.  But once you're done, I have to ask you to please leave at on--"

"What in the DARKNESS are you talking about, old timer?" Yasuko angrily
demanded, certainly much more relaxed regarding her role this weekend.
"Do we look like bums to you!?  We're here for a PARTY, not a handout!"

"PLEASE, mistress, keep your voice down," the aged magistrate implored
the irate succubus.  "The master Craig is close by, and--"

"YOU!  Get out!  All of you!!!  Out NOW!" came a familiar raspy voice.

"Oh, dear," Klein whimpered, vanishing into the background.

Craig, arrayed in full black armour, stomped up to Ki, the tallest of
the new arrivals and stared him squarely in the face.

"I thought I told you guys that the party was cancelled!?" the knight
errant roared into Tamaida's face, what could be seen of his face red
with anger.

"You told us no such thing," Ki said disgustedly, pushing the fuming
knight away from his personal space bubble.

"Yes I did!" Craig screeched indignantly.  He turned to stare at Yuri.
"Didn't I?"

Yuri shrugged.  "*I* didn't know anything."

Amy: "So far as I knew it, it was all set to go."

Yasuko: "I.  AM.  STARVING."

Craig scritched at his head with a finger in befuddlement.

"Then what happened to the stuff I sent through the mail?" he wondered.

                           *** *** *** ***

"Oh, NO!  The party's been cancelled!  Now I don't know what to do
today!"

"The *fuck* you talking about?  You ain't been invited to no party!"

"Really?"

"Really."

"Oh.  Well, okay then.  That's coo'.  I didn't have a thing to wear
anyway..."

                           *** *** *** ***

"Well, it doesn't matter," Craig said, shaking his head and then
glowering at the four before him.  "I say the party's been cancelled
and you'd all better get out of here RIGHT NOW."

"What's this all about, Craig?" Yuri inquired with genuine concern.
"Maybe we can help."

Craig began to shake his head more vehemently at this, dirty blonde
hair whipping about.  "No!  You don't understand... it's--"

"Why, CRAIG!  You didn't tell me you were having guests over today!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO--" Craig groaned, not even making the least attempt
to hide his chagrin, the black knight falling on his knees and cursing
the heavens.

A man was standing in between the tall front doors, leaning on the
frame.  The wood and marble seemed barely able to support his weight,
for he appeared to be wearing a larger, differently styled version of
Craig's own armour.  The head topping it also had shaggy yellow hair,
but at least the iron collar had an opening this time so that the face
within could be seen.

It was smiling.

For a moment, Yuri mistook the gleam in his eye as insanity.  And then,
she saw that it was merely a trick of the light and shook her head.  He
seemed perfectly friendly.  The insanity was an illusion.

Grinning widely, the big man stepped down to shake the four erstwhile
party guests' hands one by one.

"Greetings," he greeted, "I'm Craig's older brother, Mordred the
second.  I'd say call me 'Mor', but then I'd never get a moment's
rest!"  Short laugh.  "So just 'Dread' for short."

Yuri liked him almost on the spot, and noted that he wore no gauntlet.
His hand was warm and firm and strong-- brotherly.

"Yuri," she beamed up friendlily.  "Yuri Mikagami."

"Tamaida, Ki," Ki provided, taking Mordred's hand.

"Amy Angeleye," Amy said cordially when it was her turn.  "Will you let
us in now?  Our friend over here's kinda--"

Whatever description she was about to add was lost in her surprised
yelp as she flew violently to the sidelines as a high-speed body
abruptly smashed against her, bouncing her away, and displacing her
from her earlier coordinates.

Yasuko looked up shyly at the man, a long finger to her lower lip.
She presented her hand with a petiteness that was almost believable.
"Wareme.  Yasuko Wareme."

She shuffled a bit on her loafers, completely in accordance with the
demands of her role.

Mordred raised an eyebrow.  "And a pleasure it is to meet you, Yasuko,"
he said.  He turned to Craig.  "Well, don't just kneel there-- let's
all go in and get at the food!  I just *knew* that all that stuff was
there for something..."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO--" Craig went on moaning, even as he
was left alone before his front porch by everyone else after a few
minutes of waiting.

The land dragon, resplendent in its emerald green scales ambled by,
saw its master, sniffed at his armour, licked it once and then went on
on its merry way.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO--"

                           *** *** *** ***

"AHAHAHAHA!  DID he, really!?"

"Uh-huh, uh-huh," Yuri nodded as she tried to stifle a giggle.  "It's
the truth!"

"You used *death traps*?" Mordred asked of his brother with some wonder
in his voice.  "No way!"

Yasuko chuckled demurely and raised a scolding finger at the older
black knight.  "Now, now-- *I* used death traps, too."

"AH, but YOU are beautiful, and are excused from such minor
shortcomings," Mordred said gallantly, waggling a finger in turn.  "My
dear brother, on the other hand, will need the beauty he can get."

Another round of appreciative laughter at this.  Craig simply made
faces at them from his place, arms folded, head lowered in deep angst
while leaning against the wall by himself.

"BLARGH," he said.

Mordred had turned out to be quite the host, it appeared.  The man
simply had a talent for entertaining his guests, so that Yuri, and
maybe even the other three seemed to be genuinely enjoying his company.
Particularly, he had a penchant for the art of telling tales.

"... and then the whole thing went 'BOOM' all around us," Mordred
ended his story, gesturing with his splayed fingers to demonstrate the
explosion.  "MAN, you should have seen the look on old Baba's face in
class the next day when she saw what we did to it."

"Do you play a lot of pranks in college, too, Mordred-sempai?" Yasuko
asked in a gushy voice, making everyone unsure as to whether her
adoration was real or faked.

"Oh, hell, no," the knight said, taking a bite out of his roast
hippogryph sandwich.  "All we do is study, study, study, have an exam,
and then study some more.  And that's not even graduate school yet..."

They were all in the den, a warm fire crackling in the sizable
fireplace.  Above it was mounted a preserved lion's head trophy that
had fangs the size of a healthy adult male's forearm each.  Below that,
in the master easy chair sat Mordred, a small table with entrees on
them before him.  Yasuko sat by his feet, legs folded, her figure half-
reclining on the floor.  Yuri was on the couch, sipping at a cold,
sweet drink that Klein had described as 'diluted nectar'.  What kind of
flower produced THIS, Yuri wondered a little woozily.

Ki raised a glass to Craig from his place leaning against another
table.  "My compliments.  I actually seem to be enjoying myself in this
little party of yours."

"What're you talking about?" Craig asked sulkily.  "I had to take all
the balloons down, and the disco ball, and the bunting, and the--"

"My point exactly," Ki smirked, downing his drink in a single gulp.

"BLARGH," Craig opined and returned to watching the dancing flames.

"Why do you hate your brother so much anyway," Yuri asked, some good-
natured joshing in her voice.  "He seems like a pretty cool guy."

Craig took a deep breath.  "Ever seen a man in armour given an atomic
wedgie?"

"..." said Ki.

"I... didn't even know that was possible," Amy said.

"Oh, it is," Craig assured them, eyes half-lidded.  "And then he can
get... creative..."

"So, Dread-sempai," Amy began from her place beside Yuri,  as if to
change the subject.  "What course would you advise us to take if we
ever do manage to get into Darker Heart?"

"Hmmm-- that's a toughie," Mordred admitted, rubbing at his chin.  "I'd
have to get to know you a little better to decide properly, but off the
top of my head..."

He pointed at Ki, who raised at eyebrow.

"I'd say he majors in Apocalypse... or Empire, just like me," Mordred
said with some certainty, a grin on his lips.  "He has the look."

"I haven't given it much thought," Ki said.  "But it's a possibility.."

"Ne, I have a question," Yuri said, actually raising her hand.  When
Mordred acknowledged her, she put her hand down and looked meekly at
him.  "What was Principal Amakusa like during your time?"

"OH, Amakusa," Mordred breathed with a mixture of admiration, weariness
and reminiscence.  "Yeah... old Hamaji... You watch out for him-- he's
a slave driver."

"Is he usually all that interested in his freshmen students?" Yuri
asked, lowering her eyes.

Mordred blinked a few moments before coming up with an answer.  "Hmm...
now that you mention it, he HAS been acting a little peculiar lately.
Wanna know what I think?"

When his audience nodded, he went on:

"I don't suppose you've heard *everything* there is to know about your
old principal, is there?  No, of course you haven't.  He's the
nastiest, meanest, most powerful sumvitch you ever saw, and there's no
exaggeration in that.  The Education Board has legal power to veto him
and maybe even replace him, sure, but all the members combined wouldn't
come to a fifth of what he's got in store.  Yup.  He's quite a number
a'ight."

"How'd he do in Darker Heart, d'you know?"

"Top of his class, honors.  The works.  He was something.

"Anyway, following an act like that is damn hard, so he had to start
scouting out his replacement early-- I heard that he started right
after I graduated.  If what I heard is all true, then his methods've
changed a lot since he was just supervising the school.  Did you know
that the casualty rate's risen 100% ever since he started looking?"

The four shook their heads, and when sufficient time had passed for
the information to be digested, Mordred continued.

"I hear things about Dark Heart High now, and from what I've gathered,
you folks have had a LOT of activity up there lately, EVEN for Dark
Heart."  He paused a bit to take a sip from his drink.  "Believe me, I
know.  And I think I know why.  He's getting annoyed.

"He no longer utilizes general ploys to net in a candidate-- he selects
them now, and then hammers on them until he makes them or breaks them.
He's taking an active part in shaping his prospectives now, instead of
passively waiting and selecting someone he deemed appropriate.  If he
gets what he wants, the student chosen will receive special lessons all
the rest of his or her high school tenure, and be made to take up
Evil Instruction as a degree in addition to anything else he or she
might want to take.  A principal can't simply be taken from the
faculty.  A proper one is *bred* from high school up."

There was a meditative silence at this, and only the snapping and
crackling of the burning logs could be heard.

"So... he's looking for his successor," Ki murmured.  "I see."

"I seriously question his taste," Yasuko frowned, throwing a quick
glance at Yuri before returning to her fond regard of Mordred's boot.

"Thank you very much, Mordred-sempai," Yuri said gratefully in a low
voice.  "But I think you're wrong about one thing..."

"Oh?" Mordred smirked, an eyebrow raised.  "And what's that?"

Yuri lowered her eyes, and managed a small laugh.  "Well... I hate to
say this, but I really don't think Amakusa-sensei is as powerful as you
make him out to be..."

"I mean, yeah, sure, he's strong," Amy interjected, apparently having
had the same thoughts.  "But he can't be THAT strong.  I mean, look--
he needed help fighting Melvin Mikagami, didn't he?"

"Oh, the Mikagami incident," Mordred sneered.  "Melvin was a jealous
malcontent.  Did you know that he was rejected five times as a
professor in Darker Heart?  The old fool couldn't harm Amakusa if he
tried a thousand lifetimes."

"But why did Principal Amakusa need assistance in subduing this 'old
fool'," Ki asked impertinently, dropping the facade of his 'normalcy'
for a few seconds.  "If Melvin was so pathetic, why was he known as
'the Enemy'?"

"It was a *joke* title," Mordred barked annoyedly.  "He went about
harassing the schools for a teaching position-- he never got one, and
he wasn't very graceful about it either."

"But you have to admit, Melvin might have grown stronger over time,"
Yasuko reasoned, stroking Mordred's leg with a finger.  "Or maybe that
Amakusa-sensei's just grown weaker over time... it's possible.  I mean,
why *else* would he ask for help?  Why else couldn't he do it himself?"

"..."  Mordred lowered his head, eyes contemplating something.  "So you
really think that, eh?"

Yuri looked at him apologetically.  "Well... he *did* send Bala back
home as if it weren't very hard... but, you know.  He just doesn't
strike us as all that."

"Balabalalde, yes he has potential," Mordred was muttering as he got up
from his seat, a peculiar expression on his face.  He started dragging
his feet towards one of the walls where a gigantic battle axe was
hanging.  "But a mere child to Amakusa..."

"AND," Amy started triumphantly.  "Yuri-chan DEFEATED Amakusa in a
Blood Duel!  Where's your all-powerful principal now?"

"Amy!"

"But it's the truth," Amy protested.

"The Blood Duel," Mordred coughed in a kind of bemused chuckle.  "The
'entertainment' provision... a superfluous obligation added to the
charter to provide a legal means to dispose of unwanteds, directly test
potentials, but mostly to provide some amusement to the masses.  A
farce.  A joke."

He took the axe by a handle that was as twice thick as his arm and
thrice as long.  The wicked blade alone looked to be 500 pounds or
more, but he held the weapon easily, in addition to his armour,
swinging the thing lazily as he tested its handling.

"AMY, LOOK OUT!" Yuri screamed just in time as the humongous black axe
blade swung down, slicing the couch in two and obliterating most of the
floor underneath it.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Amy screamed as Mordred followed the
blow up with a sideswipe, nearly beheading the highschool girl.

"Sorry, friend..." Ki said to Mordred's back, drawing his blade.  "That
won't do at all."

Mordred turned just in time to meet Ki's eyes, and what the swordsman
saw made him blanch.  The black knight's eyes had acquired an intense,
INSANE quality to them, a psychotic gleam that should have been
IMPOSSIBLE to miss... but miss it they did, and the detail transformed
his formerly serene face, making it a terror mask of horrible fear.

In that instant that Ki took to pause, Mordred had moved with such
incomprehensible speed so as to swing the bladed part against him in a
wide, almost inescapable arc.

Ki had raised his sword just in time.

There was a 'CHING!' sound of metal against metal as black axe met
black sword, but in the end, the Tamaida was flung backwards into the
wall, making an unsightly crater in the polished wood, even as Mordred
was moving to start another move.

"YOU BRASH UPSTARTS!" he was roaring, "IMPUDENT CHILDREN!!!  MAYBE
BEING DEAD WILL IMPROVE YOUR KNOWLEDGE."

Yasuko had rolled away and was flinging spells at the changed man.
They didn't seem to be affecting him much.

"AMATEURS," he spat, raising his lethal weapon once again for a strike
at Yasuko.  She dodged just in time to avoid joining the exploding
rubble from the floor.

The only one who seemed calm all throughout the incident was Craig,
who simply leant on against his wall, seemingly lost in thought.  Small
rocks and pebbles bounced off his armour as he watched the fire
unconcernedly.

"IGNORANT PUSTULES WHO DON'T RESPECT THEIR ELDERS!" Mordred raged,
aiming another swing at Yuri, seemingly oblivious to the minor spell
pelting Amy was giving him.  Given the circumstances, it was *all* she
could do.  The blow totaled the bookshelf and pages came flying down
everywhere, fluttering about in the churned air.

Mordred moved with demonic speed, and, though had recovered just in
time to block another axe swing for Yuri, the blow was more than strong
enough to jerk the sword from Ki's viselike grip, making the weapon
clatter to the ground, and Ki slammed onto the very same wooden panels.

Mordred swung down with all his might at Ki, even as Yuri stood under
the curve path, hand stretched sidewards to protect the downed warrior.

"Stop!" Yuri commanded.

The axe stopped an inch's breadth from her nose.

Mordred pulled the axe away and tossed it over his shoulder casually.
Yasuko had to get out of the way, or she'd have risked getting crushed
like a watermelon.

"That... is why they call me Dread," Mordred supplied, eyes serious
again, and quite rational.

"What was *that* all about?" Amy asked, getting up from the halfsprawl
one of Mordred's blows had forced her into.

"Could you have defeated me if I'd tried to kill you?" Mordred asked,
taking his seat, which was, miraculously enough, unharmed throughout
the performance.  "Fighting together, could you have beaten me?"

"Well..."

"NO, you couldn't have-- I am a student of DARKER HEART UNIVERSITY,"
Mordred snarled, his former lunatic eyes returning.  "YOU four are mere
DARK HEART HIGH brats."  He turned to Ki.

"Whatever it is you're planning to get, you're not going to get it like
that," the college man admonished the younger boy, eyes narrow.  "Why
do you deny your nature?  Why do you go slow, and with deceit that you
weren't designed for?  Re-evaluate your strategy."

He turned to Amy.

"Wondering why you weren't able to read my aura, Angeleye?  Child's
play.  You haven't even BEGUN your second semester yet-- think you can
probe into a GRADUATE'S psychic field?  I think not."

He turned to Yuri.

"And *YOU*!..."

Yuri gulped and took a step backwards.

"You think you DEFEATED the principal?  You think he actually NEEDED
help from a bunch of washed out graduates to beat an even bigger
failure?  THINK-- how can all this be possible if he truly IS as
powerful as I say he is?"

"Well... I... uhmm," Yuri started, nervousness confounding her tongue,
her new fear of Craig's brother incapacitating her even more.

"HOW!?" Mordred demanded savagely, standing up again, hands clenched
into hard fists as he towered over a scared Yuri.  "HOW IS ALL THIS
POSSIBLE!??"

In her moment of terror, a face flashed through Yuri's mind... the
gentle face of Balabalalde unwrapped...

And then a realization.

Unwrapped.

Wrapped.

Bandages.

Ofuda.

She opened her eyes and met Mordred's confidence in her stare.

"He had seals," Yuri said with conviction.  "His power was sealed."

The tall man calmed down considerably at this and regarded Yuri with a
new respect.  "Yes, sealed.  Though not in any way your feeble little
gropings can ever hope to detect.  He could have incinerated Melvin
with a finger, he could take Knight School on alone in a heartbeat...
make no mistake-- Hamaji Amakusa is yours, and my PRINCIPAL."

He slumped down back in his chair, a tired look on his face.  "Not
even our faculty heads or even the DEAN at Darker Heart comes close.
Yeah... Amakusa's once in a millennium.  A word of advice-- watch out
for some of the faculty... they're sealed, too."

"Who?" Yasuko asked.

"Kurosawa-sensei.  Truncheon.  Akurei's worth ignoring, he's minor."

He sat up straight to peer at Yuri seriously.

"Everything else that happens to you this schoolyear is a distraction,"
he told her, gripping the armrests of the easy chair tightly.  "If you
feel that he's singled you out as a candidate, do your damndest to
conform to his standard, or you die.  It's that simple.  Make it your
final goal to prove to him once and for all that you were worthy of
his attention, and worthy of much more besides."

"H-how do I do that?" Yuri managed through a constricted throat.

"Dark Heart High and Darker Heart has always been a hierarchy of
violence," Mordred reminded her.  "It's simple..."

He blinked not once when he said what he did next.

"You must destroy Hamaji Amakusa."

Ki deadpanned and then turned to Craig, who was picking at his ear with
his small finger.

"I think," the Tamaida began, rubbing at his back.  "I now understand
better why you hate your brother so much."

                           *** *** *** ***

"Destroying his corporeal body would only inconvenience him," Mordred
explained as he received his snack from Klein (thank you).  "BUT, it
will convince him that you have the- pardon the expression- balls to
take over his job."

"T-thank you for everything, Mordred-sempai," Yuri thanked the older
student, though with a shaky smile.  "I really appreciate it."

The small gathering turned at the intrusion upon them by a single
figure silhouetted by the open den doors.

"Why didn't anyone tell me that there was a party in here?  I feel so
invisible."

"Ah!  Everybody, meet my batchmate in my Empire degree," Mordred said
with relish, standing up to introduce his friend.  "Everyone say hello
to Seichorou the Ninth."

A younger man in bright robes stepped into the light, dark eyes aglow
with power.  He grinned at the high school students in the room.

"Call me Sei."

                           *** *** *** ***

Author's Notes:

I wrote 10k of this in five days.  The rest, I did in the last five
hours.  Oi gevult.

DHH, The Impro lacks DIRECTION.  It's been all about Yuri, Bala, Ki,
Leilei, Yasuko, Amy and Amakusa running about doing things more or less
in character, but never actually doing ANYTHING.  Hopefully, I have set
the foundations for a track for DHH to follow if it is to come at all
to any sensible conclusion.  Not to say that the ending's been decided.
I've only set about indicating a general direction DHH may be led to
go.  Specific implementation is, of course, left entirely to the future
authors.

The destruction of Hamaji Amakusa.  That should be a good enough goal
to aim for, don't you think?  Graduation is out of the question.  NO
ONE will sit through four year's worth of DHH.  Early graduation is
even worse.  It's a copout.  Until I get data/arguments to the
contrary, the demise of Hamaji Amakusa is the way to go.

Lafing Cat-- Is he powerful enough for you now?

Oh, and, please, please, please--

LEILEI IS NOT LUMI-CHAN.

Who in the **** gave her sugar addiction anyway?  Okay, so that wasn't
really all that bad but did everyone HAVE to go and suddenly make it
the defining quality of her character?  Have I not portrayed her as
a useful, intelligent friend often enough?  Must I visit your homes
wielding pointy sticks!!? =p

A few tips... take care not to treat Amakusa's seals lightly-- they are
MAJOR plot points.  I'd really prefer it if he relegated himself to the
background after this, as he was MEANT to do even after PART ONE.  He's
done enough.  Now he must watch and wait.

AND-- do NOT make Yuri start making attempts at Amakusa's life.  It's a
LONG TERM plan, and a direction the plot could take.  Everything is
secondary to her pursuit of good grades and the struggle with her
emotions and life in general.

Please feel free to use Mordred the Second as a character... but
strictly for advisory roles.  He owes no one anything.  He is TRYING
to get a break from studying.  Keep that in mind.

Hope you enjoyed this installment.  Get ready for chapter 42.

Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou to Anna for prereading
when I stumbled incoherent and rambling into chat asking for last
minute help.  You are truly the ImproMom. *_*

Thanks to Sharyna for prereading!

11/22/02

                           *** *** *** ***

The Maimsworth was right.

Slow wouldn't do... slow wouldn't do at all.

But Yuri had to be the key.  Yuri's heart WAS the key.

If he managed to open his heart to Yuri...

He would be able to destroy it forever.

                           *** *** *** ***

Bala looked into the mirror.

He had an extra layer of special bandages, a double roll of chains.

More potent ofuda kept his power at bay, and holding runes had been
etched into every link of his steel bonds.

His ankles had been manacled together with another length of chain.
Dragging on the chain was an attached iron ball.

Bala kicked the mirror to pieces.

                           *** *** *** ***

"... and as for *YOU*!!!"

"*EEEEP*!" Yasuko yelped in a decidedly un-succubus-like manner at
Mordred's call.  She turned to him, eyebrow twitching.  She'd hoped
that he'd forgotten all about her.  "Y-yes?"

"I have something to say to you as well," the Maimsworth rumbled.

"H-hai?"

"You free next Saturday night?"

"Eh???"

                           *** *** *** ***