Troi Mikagami rumbled into his little girl's bedroom. The nebulous mass 
of shadow suspicious examined the room, red pinpricks shifting back and 
forth across the furniture. Troubled was the brow of Hellstorm.

	"I know you're here. We are beings, you and I, who understand the 
useless nature of hiding."

	There, under the bed. It called out to him, filled with bravado. 
Black fire rushed under the sheets, then pulled out a large, ornate 
hammer. Then Troi carefully rearranged Yuri's sheets so she wouldn't 
accuse him of anything, before he spun to face the living weapon.

	"What are you doing here? You know your kind isn't welcome in 
this house."

	A response hummed from the hammer, a woman's voice, steel without 
the benefit of silk. "Your daughter brought us here, Hellstorm. We 
enter with her boon."

	"That is inconsequential." Troi boiled. "I am master in this 
domain."

	"The laws of magic seem to disagree with you." The hammer 
chuckled. "Would you dare force against me?"

	Troi nodded. "If I must, I will force you from this home."

	"Your powers are legendary, Hellstorm. But so is your blood 
pressure. What can do you against the right arm of Justice 
Incarnate?"

+++

	The pit stank. Vapors of discomposing mass filled the space. Deep 
in this darkness, sights beyond human comprehension rotted and fell 
apart. 

	With a metallic "woosh", the darkness retreated before a circle 
of light.

	"It's been wonderful having you over. Maybe we'll run into each 
other during the apocalypse."

	A hammer dropped in. Its head landed dejectedly in coffee 
grounds and grapefruit skin.

	"Don't worry." Troi called down to it. "Pick-up is only two days 
away!"

	"Hellstorm!"

****************************************
Dark Heart High
Netherworld Educational Institution for the Universal Propagation of
Evil
Started by Mads
****************************************
Chapter Fifty-Two:  Afflictions!
Written by:  Nicholas Callahan
****************************************

Early morning sunlight filtered into the halls of Dark Heart High. And 
filtered is the most accurate term. Where Dark Heart High is concerned, 
sunlight faces UV filters, looming trees, looming architecture, 
dramatic cloud cover, and about two hundred giga-wammies of evil mojo. 
So, the sunlight that made it in was some hard-butt sunlight. The 
sunlight this morning was no exception.

	So tough was this sunlight, in fact, that it actually made it 
down into the basement, despite a dearth of windows and open doors. 
It's a bit of a shame that no one was down there on mornings such as 
this, since regular sunlight somehow muscling its way through concrete 
is quite a sight to behold. Well, no one except for a being who's seen 
sights that knock wonders such as that into a cocked hat.

	"Make way! For...the Magic Robot Ninja! Hey, ho! Hey, ho! Hey, 
ho! Magic Robot Ninja!"

	Ryuji posed his way down the hallway. Fresh from a meeting with 
Liza, his cyborg body snapped out a series of "cool ninja moves", as 
the kids would call them. Robotic muscles pumped under the preserved 
flesh of several unfortunate animals. When you've moved up from a 
former magical girl to a humanoid mechanized goat-demon-thingy, you've 
got to give your new skindrapes some playtime.

	"Zee-oow! He's the magic robot ninja! With magic robot ninja 
powers that are magical and robotic! He's do things that'll make you 
say 'wow' and 'is that robot ninja magic?'" Magic robot ninja theme 
song, breakdown! Boop-chicka boop-chicka boop-chicka! Magic robot ninja 
theme song! Boop-chicka boop-chicka boop-chic-" Chling. "Oh dragontu-"

	The sound that followed has no onomatopoeia. Five minutes later, 
Ryuji dragged his new body into the metal shop, complete with a leg 
leaking hydraulic fluid. Making his way over to the nearest 
workstation, he threw his leg up on the table and went about seeing 
what a screw-driver and some duct tape could do.

	"Stupid...stupid...We all say 'don't trust Liza'! We all tell 
each other not to trust Liza! And yet, Liza came along and mentioned a 
cyborg body and I nodded like a git! Stupid son of a...What the Hell is 
that thing?! Made in Hyperboria?! Does Hyperboria even have an 
economy?!"

	A girl sobbed.

	Ryuji blinked. "...Hello? Is anyone there?" The only answer he 
got was another sob.

	The demon finished his patch job and slid his appendage down to 
the floor. More sobs came, echoing from the depths of the shop. Looking 
around him, Ryuji couldn't see anybody. Gulping, he headed towards the 
sound.

	The girl floated in the air. Her form blurred in the air. Ryuji 
could barely make out that she was a human ghost, so twisted by pain 
and sorrow was her soul. On the floor was an intricate circle of 
symbols and loops. If Ryuji had capillaries, he would've paled in 
recognition of the spell.

	Falling to his knees, he tore the floor apart with his claws. The 
broken spell filled the air with sulfur and ozone. The girl's spirit 
sighed in relief as the magic let her go. The form stabilized into that 
of Lily Ringoshima, pretty and mangled as the day she was tortured to 
death. The ghost floated down to the floor, curled in the fetal 
position. Slowly, awareness returned and she looked Ryuji in the face.

	She screamed and ran, splashing against the mystical boundaries 
that kept her from moving on. That didn't stop the blood-soaked girl 
from trying to make herself as small as possible. Ryuji held his hands 
on, trying to assure her that he meant no harm. His new vessel wasn't 
opportune for this.

	He spoke slowly and gently. "It's all right. I'm not going to 
hurt you. I want to know who cast that spell."

	"Who...who are you?" Lily blubbered. "Why...why did you let me 
go? I thought you were all evil."

	"My name's Ryuji. Yes, I am evil." It seemed odd to assure 
someone of that. "It's just...I'm concerned with the spell. It's not a 
ritual to be used lightly. My people...we don't approve of its 
existence. Please, tell me who did it."

	Lily stopped curling over herself. "It was Akurei. He said it was 
my punishment, for staying on campus after six."

	"I see." Ryuji stared down at the broken circle in frustration. 
Racial pride said he should punish the use of such a spell, but the 
vice-principle was out of his league. He and Lily stood there in 
silence. 

	"Um...thank you."

	"Oh? Oh, yeah, you're welcome." Ryuji looked at the Lily for the 
first real time since he found her. She was cute, in the lacerated way. 
She seemed kinda pathetic there, all alone and scared and vulnerable. 
And her karma was...

	Ryuji got a crazy idea. He was, in the final analysis, a guy.

	"You know...if you really not happy here...maybe I could help you 
leave?"

	Lily leapt forward. She hovered a full two feet over Ryuji's 
head. "Really? Oh God, please! How? How do I leave?"

	Ryuji rubbed the back of his head. "I could let you into 
this body. You'd have to spend the day with me, but when I left this 
plane at night, you'd be expelled automatically into the ethereal 
realms. And that's about as good as passing on."

	"Sure! Fine!" Her joyful expression practically glowed. "Just 
tell me how to get in!"

	"Just grab on, that's all." Ryuji held his hand up to the ghost. 
The girl wasted no time grabbing at it. Instead of passing through, as 
usual, her palm smacked solidly against his. Time blinked and the ghost 
was no longer there.

	Ryuji jumped up and down in school-girl delight. "Oh, thank you, 
thank you, thank you, than-" The merkla stopped dead, then twitched. 
"I'd prefer if you'd not use my mouth. No, there's no problem. People 
might think it's weird, that's all. Hey, don't touch that!"

				*	*	*	*

Basic Villainy clicked with the sound of caulk on a blackboard. The 
entire class sat silently as Ms. Kurosawa put up the notes. Pencils and 
pens waltzed in reply across an army of notebooks. Serenity, that rare, 
evil kind, lay over the classroom.

	Then somebody threw a pebble at the window. It went largely 
unnoticed, but the second one caused some general blinking. The third 
one finally managed to turn a head. The fourth almost prompted a 
student to point it out to the teacher, before his survival instincts 
kicked in. The series of projectiles stopped after that. A few minutes 
later, a barrage of them clattered on the glass, transmitting an air of 
impatience.

	Very calmly, Ms. Kurosawa put down her chalk and walked over to 
the window. She threw it open, letting the warm fragrance of sugar and 
spice rush in and gag her pupils. The teacher stared incredulously into 
the courtyard (a full fifteen seconds, in fact) before she mustered her 
normal icy veneer again. "Can I help you girls?"

	Somebody said something from the outside. The students couldn't 
quite make it out.

	Kurosawa put her fists to her hips. "I hope you have a note, 
then. From both offices."

	"Special Fish Shine Dart!" A plastic spike shaped like a koi 
zipped into the room, stopping dead in Ms. Kurosawa's expert grasp. 
Around it, two little yellow slips were wrapped. The teacher examined 
them, then nodded officiously.

	"Ms. Mikagami, please come over." The brown-haired girl blinked. 
Kurosawa motioned to her. "You heard me. I'd like you to come here and 
take a look at the courtyard."

	Yuri dumbly obeyed. Out there, spread out in the courtyard of 
Dark Heart High, stood an army of magical girls. Over their costumes, 
they all wore some variant of the Sakura Arts uniform. They stood in 
formation, a misplaced air of gravity hovering over them. The head of 
the column, who looked like an upperclassman, stepped forward to 
address Yuri.

	"Yuri Mikagami?"

	"...Yes...?"

	The girl pulled out a stack of papers and read from them. "It has 
been recently affirmed that position of the Sakura Arts High School 
administration concerning you, Ms. Yuri Mikagami, has been out-of-place 
and unwarranted. So, we, the representatives of the Sakura Arts student 
body, stand before you to offer a public apology."

	All of the girls bowed. A chorus of voices resounded. "We 
apologize!"

	Behind them, a banner sprang up. The paper read "We're very 
sorry, Ms. Yuri!" Some joker had also put a "wai" in the corner.

	Yuri could only stare. Her mind did backflips of joy and 
handstands of confusion and summarily threw its out-of-practice back 
out. Yuri glanced around nervously. "Thanks, I think...but...why isn't 
anybody trying to kill you?"

	The leader smiled confidently. "We called ahead."

	Somewhere, Principle Amakusa chuckled to himself. More so than 
usual.

				*	*	*	*

For all of a teacher's best efforts, sometimes there just isn't enough 
material to teach. He or she or it just doesn't have any option but let 
the students have a few precious minutes to themselves, to chat and gab 
and swap answers and make indecent suggestions about each other's 
significant others. Now was such a time, as Mr. Hastur figured that any 
more of The King In Yellow and he'd have to clean drool of his floor. A 
cut cleaning budget could be a real bitch.

	Ryuji slouched over his in seat, head in his arms. The merkla 
sighed heavily and tried to review his notes. The invisible magic girl 
on his back just wouldn't let it be so.

	"-I mean, I know this is an evil school and all, but the stuff is 
just so boring! Who were the aklo any way? If they were so smart, what 
I want to know is why'd they let themselves all die out."

	"I already told you." Ryuji silently mumbled. "The High God Shub 
Niggurath devoured them because their high priest wouldn't stop making 
'Shubby-chan' jokes. It happens to ancient civilizations more than you 
think."

	"Whatever." The spirit of Lily slipped through his body and 
draped down on the floor, legs bent Indian-style. "You don't have to 
get bent out of shape over it. I was just curious."

	Ryuji remembered a few choice incantations for expelling spirits 
into limbo. Not that he'd use them. He wasn't that kind of evil, he 
kept telling himself, because "wimp" was not a term he preferred to 
contemplate. Especially not after what Ki did to him yesterday. That 
made his need for a new body all the more pressing.

	Not feeling at his best, Ryuji twisted around and stared across 
the room. Lily noticed it and looked through the desks. In the row 
nearest to the door, a buxom dark-haired girl leaned back in her desk, 
idly flapping the tiny bat wings on her head. 

	Lily could taste gossip in the hair. "Who's that?"

	"Yasuko." Ryuji let slip.

	"Oh?" Lily smiled playfully. She held a fist in front of Ryuji's 
face, extending her pinky. "Are you two good friends? Doesn't look like 
you're on the best of terms, there."

	Ryuji reminded himself why he shouldn't do good deeds. Then he 
ignored her.

	"Aw, I'm sorry." Lily stood up and patted his back. "Forget about 
her, eh? If you're looking for a cute girl, I'm right here! And I'm 
bigger than her anyway."

	Mercifully, the bell rang. That's why Ryuji didn't put his head 
through the desk.

				*	*	*	*

"Do you love me?"

	Kashin fell off his guard for a second. Then he broke into 
raucous laughter. "Do I love you? What kind of question is that?"

	Tokiko silently stared him in the eyes. Sunglasses off, she was 
able to pull a full-on hurt puppy dog routine. The lines of her face 
radiated an immature worry and concern. This was a girl who really 
didn't like having someone laugh at that question. Then, just a little 
bit, the corners of her mouth twitched up.

	Kashin laughed all the more loudly. Her gave her a quick pecked 
to the nose, then pulled out of their embrace. "That was a good one! I 
almost thought you were serious!"

	Tokiko let a relaxed smirk fall into place. She reached under her 
much-rumpled shirt and re-hooked her bra. "What can I say? I've been 
practicing."

	Kashin pulled his armor back over his shoulders. Men of lesser 
breeds would have winced as he tightened the straps over some recently 
scratched areas. He still had a case of the chuckles. "You? And me? 
Love?" He broke into a fresh wave of laughter again.

	Tokiko let disdain flicker out of the corner of her eye. She 
picked her coat off of the athletic mats where she had thrown it. 
"Okay. It's not that funny."

	"You're right. You're right." There was a heavy click as Kashin 
put his sword back in place. As he headed for the door, he turned back 
and winked sarcastically to the girl. "I'll see you after 
school...love."

	Tokiko watched his retreating form. Her smirk died an inglorious 
death. She pulled out her Ingram Mac-10 and checked the ammo. Content 
with that, she slide her sunglasses back into place. "I wouldn't miss 
it for the world...love."

	Then the storage room was empty.

				*	*	*	*

Midori slipped into the office of the principle. It took all of her 
focus not to hyperventilate. The events of late had emphasized how all-
powerful she wasn't, and Hamaji Amakusa was the last person you faced 
with this in mind. At least she knew what exactly she was looking for; 
she had gotten a good look at the knife in question at the sports 
festival.

	Taking one calming breath after another, Midori started to run 
her hands over the wall. Her lips murmured the words of power. She had 
the familiar feeling of subtle magic coursing through her, a circuit of 
ticklish static that ran through her arm, across the wall, and back 
into her body. She kept her senses open for that maniac moment, when 
the spell would intersect with another and her entire body would twitch 
like a dowsing rod. A little here, a little there, almost, almost...was 
that...?

	"Good morning, Ms. Tamaida."

	Midori's nerves shot off like the strings of a violin. She spun 
in place, her mind reeling with fright. She was already concocting 
half-plans to steer the principle's anger towards Seicheirou. Then she 
noticed it was Ki.

	The boy leaned against the wall, looking genuinely exhausted. A 
sad mock-up smile lay over his face. His hand, fingers to his forehead, 
concealed his eyes. He body shook suddenly, a quick, violent gasp. As 
Midori quelled her anger, it occurred to her that he had meant to 
scoff.

	"You really are done for, aren't you, Midori? You didn't even 
notice your own cousin entering the room."

	Midori adjusted her sleeve. "I've been under some stress lately. 
Thanks to you, I might add. Now wipe that smirk off your blood-flushed 
face and help me look. I think Amakusa has that dagger in here and-"

	"The dagger?" Ki twisted a lock of hair in his fingers.

	"The dagger Sakazashi tried to kill mummy-boy with." Midori 
twisted her lips around. "I need to find it, for Seicheirou. He'll kill 
me if I don't get it for him. So, now would be the time to repay your 
nice cousin for all the shit I've pulled you out of."

	Ki scoffed again. "I thought Seicheirou had some modicum of 
style. He's as unimaginative as his brother."

	"Will you can it?" In two curt steps, Midori crossed the space 
between them. She impatiently yanked his hand away, staring him full in 
the face. "This is no time for a temper tantrum, Ki! I will not die 
for...you..."

	Midori stepped back in surprise. Disgust filled her. She couldn't 
believe that this was Ki. Ki merited some respect. But this boy...Ki 
would never do that, even with a heart. He wasn't that weak, that 
pathetic. He still had a full command of his senses. He would never 
cry.

	Ki wiped a bit of moisture from his red-soaked eyes. "It seems 
like the harder I try, the worse it is. I tell myself not to and they 
just roll out faster. I force her out of my mind and she comes back 
even more beautiful than before. I can't fight it, Midori. I can't 
fight it at all."

	The boy fell down to the floor, sobs overtaking him. Midori 
wondered how many times this day alone that made. She hand fell to her 
sword. "It's gotten worse. When did it get this extreme?"

	"Yesterday, I saw you. So worked up, so sloppy, so nervous...I 
knew, I just knew, what Seicheirou did to you. I realized how far we 
had fallen, how little control we had left. It just came to me, this 
sense of nothingness. All I've been able to think about is all the 
things I could've done right." He looked up at her. Even in the flow of 
tears, that smirk had returned. "I thought about what our kids would 
look like, mine and Tomoyo's. It just jumped in there. I hate kids!"

	Midori felt the reassuring cold wash over her. With instinctive 
speed, she drew her blade and sliced down at Ki's neck. The boy 
scrambled away, falling over in the effort. Midori's tip lay half an 
inch in the floor.

	"So sloppy, Midori. You attacked like you were honor-bound."

	The girl snapped her tip up, ripping it from the carpet. The 
blade sailed through the air, aimed for Ki's head. Ki flattened against 
the floor and brought his hand up, catching the flat of the blade 
against his palm and his neck. Midori snarled. "What are you going to 
do, Ki?! What are you planning to do?!"

	"Tell mother. There's no chance to win. We can only lose with 
grace."

	Midori's mind boggled.

	"I'm sorry. But, at least, in Hell I'll know where my pain comes 
from."

	"You treacherous bastard!" Midori kicked him in the face, 
splattering his nose. She stood over him, katana above her head. "I'm 
in this because of you and you want out?! Oh, trust me, you'll know 
exactly what Hell's like!"

	"I'm sure he will, Ms. Tamaida. But I do not appreciate the 
damage to my carpet."

	The details of Midori's escape are immaterial. Safe to say, it 
broke a window, some tree branches, and a lot of pride. She didn't 
realize no one pursued her until she was half a mile away.

				*	*	*	*

Listen to the doorbell ring. Open the door. Greet cheerfully. Try not 
to break into tears.

	Mrs. Mikagami enjoyed the benefit of copious willpower.

	"Hello, Hoshiko. It's good to see you again."

	"Hello, mother."

	"Hello, Troi."

	"Hello, Mrs. Ibuki."

	"And Yuri! My, how you've grown! I haven't seen you since you 
were five years old! How are you, dear?"

	"I'm good, grandma. It's nice to see you."

	The elder Ibuki stepped through the doorway, forcing the rest of 
the family back. Her kindly face, finely aged, beamed under curly white 
hair. Sparkling blue eyes danced as she hugged Yuri, then turned to 
give a tentative embrace to her daughter. She gave Troi a nod. He 
returned it.

	Mrs. Mikagami continued the ceremony. "This is unexpected, 
mother. Why did you decide to pay us a visit?"

	Mrs. Ibuki smiled again and placed a hand of Yuri's shoulder. 
"I'm getting old, dear. I thought, maybe, it's time to see my family 
again. To touch base on some things. To clear some things up."

	"I see." Mrs. Mikagami's smile tightened. "Yuri, Troi, could you 
take mother's bags up to the guestroom? I think I'll get her some 
coffee."

	Mrs. Ibuki nodded with approval. "Thank you, dear. That would be 
wonderful."

	As the successive matriarchs moved to the kitchen, Yuri and her 
father went out to the driveway, where Mrs. Ibuki 's car and luggage 
awaited. Yuri grabbed a pair of suitcases, while Troi sighed and heaved 
up the elephant trunk.

	"Of course she brought the sacred armor." He mumbled to himself. 
"Can't go anywhere without the sacred armor, can she?"

	Yuri giggled at her dad's semi-plight and proceeded into the 
house. As she made her way to stair, she couldn't help but overhear the 
discussion in the kitchen. Those who live in suburban houses should 
avoid furtive arguments.

	"-on't hear of it! I need to be here!" Yuri picked out her 
grandmother's voice, obvious from its unfamiliar tone.

	"Why? You didn't feel like being here for the rest of her life. 
I'd say we've done fine without you." That was her mother's voice, 
wedge somewhere between raging anger and icy contempt.

	"So, you're saying she's completely evil?" Her grandmother 
sounded amused.

	"Yes, of course. She's cheerful and polite, but that doesn't keep 
her from being evil. She's done very well at Dark Heart and she's 
killed a number of magical girls, I might add." Yuri blinked at that. 
Her mom sounded...not proud, but satisfied at that.

	Someone slurped her coffee. "I hope you're right. She seems like 
such a nice girl, I'd hate to bind her. But still, I think I'll observe 
her for a while."

	"A very short while." Yuri's mom clipped out.

	"Yuri? What are you doing?"

	Yuri jumped at her dad's voice. She smiled nervously. "Grandma 
really does pack heavy. I was just resting."

	"Whatever, kiddo. C'mon, keep it moving." Her father nudged her 
shoulder, prompting her forward. And coming between her and kitchen 
door. Yuri acquiesced, moving up the stairs. Her dad followed, lugging 
her burden.

	"Hey, dad, I was thinking." Yuri ventured the first question that 
came to mind. "Is it possible for someone to born neutral or something 
like that? Like how some people are born good and some are born evil?"

	Troi blinked. "That's an odd question."

	"We're studying magical alignment in alchemy." Or, at least they 
did, a month ago.

	"Geez, I'm really the last person to ask, Yuri." The two of them 
reached the upstairs hallway by now. They turned into the guestroom, 
which doubled as a family computer room. "But I don't really think so. 
Neutrality is just a fancy way of saying you're not doing anything. 
Even people who say they seek 'balance' are good or evil to some 
extent."

	"Well, what if someone was equally good and evil? Perfectly 
split." Yuri put the suitcases on the bed. "I guess...if their parents 
were on two different sides and..." Yuri felt her lack of subtlety like 
a brick wall.

	Troi noisily dropped the trunk. "You heard what the two of them 
are talking about in there, didn't you?"

	Yuri nodded.

	"Yuri..." Troi sat on the bed and motioned Yuri to do the same. 
"Your mother and your grandmother don't get along that well. She's 
always been against the two of us getting married, obviously. And now, 
she's got these ideas and theories about you."

	Yuri felt worry in her gut. "Like what?"

	"Like I said, no one can be born neutral. So, your grandmother 
thinks that you're some kind of third option. Not good or evil, but 
definitely not neutral."

	Yuri racked her brain. "Something along the lines of order and 
chaos?"

	"No, not those either." Speaking of which, he silently added, I 
hope you don't miss that hammer. "Some completely undefined. And that 
scares her. Honestly, if I believed a word of it, it would scare me, 
too."

	"But I'm not, right? I'm not really anything special, right?"

	"You're special, but of course you're not some kind of freak." 
Troi kissed her on the head. "You're old fashioned evil, straight to 
the core."

	Yuri stared at the floor. That didn't make her feel any better.
 
				*	*	*	*

The Unbidden was well pleased. The merkla had done well. Before it was 
spread out the materials of its rage and vindication. With these files 
and papers, their Texas Instruments prepared for battle, The Future  
Accountant's Club would make Dark Heart High itself tremble. Well, 
except for that one thing...

	"?merkla, what's with the girL"

	"Oh, don't mind me! I'm just with Ryu-chan for the day! I'll be 
gone tomorrow!" Lily laughed nervously and crouched even lower behind 
Ryuji. "He's scary, Ryu-chan..."

	Ryuji had become particular adept with a goat's head over the 
day. He could already deadpan like a pro. "Upperclassman, this is Lily 
Ringoshima. She's the ghost that been haunted the metal shop. We're 
sharing the same body right now."

	The Unbidden's tendrils swirled around the pair. Ryuji sighed to 
himself, waiting for his upperclassman to get back to business. Lily 
tried to pull down a skirt that wasn't there. Finally, the elderich 
teenager pulled back. "...merkla, I didn't not have much hope for you, 
buT !your upperclassman is very proud of yoU"

	Metal rang as Ryuji smacked his forehead. Lily just bounced up 
and hugged the merkla. "I know! Ryu-chan is so nice! You must be a 
great role model for him!"

	"?nicE"

	"Yup! He helped me escape that room for no reason at all!"

	"That must be true." Ryuji muttered to him. "Any reason I might 
have had went the snowball's path to Hell by now."

	Lily leaned down on his shoulder. "What was that, Ryu-chan?"

	"Can we just get back to business? Upperclassman?" Ryuji pleaded.

	The Unbidden pointed to Lily. "?are you sure she won't telL"

	Ryuji raised his hand. "She'll be passed on by sunset. And nobody 
will think to ask her about us." Lily nodded vigorously.

	".fine, fineE" The Unbidden built his voice up. "!then behold, 
our plan of revengE .the papers I asked you to obtain contain the stock 
information for the endowments from which Dark Heart High draws its 
fundS .by subtly manipulating the economy through careful buying and 
selling, calculated to alter investor confidence, we shall decimate 
these stockS .the budget for the school shall nosedive, driving the 
more heavily-funded clubs loW !and among the first to be cut, the 
fencing cluB"

	The Unbidden commenced in a bit of maniacal laughter, driving 
Lily to redouble her efforts to hide. Ryuji scratched his chin.

	"Won't this take a ridiculously long time?"

	".don't get smart with me, taxi caB"

				*	*	*	*

Keiko Tamaida looked down on her son. Ki knelt on both knees before 
her, a bandage covering where Midori had kicked his nose in. The room 
around them, bare floors, bare walls, study lock, was one of the many 
windowless secure locations in the Tamaida mansion. This meeting, above 
all else, called for protection from enemy sights.

	"I'm not mad, Ki. I'm disappointed."

	Ki winced, but he did not respond. He would speak when asked to.

	Keiko continued. "If everything you've told me is the truth, then 
you and Midori have been sloppy to a degree unbefitting the Steel Thorn 
Clan. And now...you with a heart and guilt-ridden over some bimbo; 
Midori out of our influence, possibly under the complete control of 
this Seicheirou the Ninth. This is unacceptable."

	Her voice was clipped, sharpened. These weren't just idle musing, 
but finalized truths. Keiko paced around her son with a predatory ease. 
Ki felt his finger twitch. It had been so long since he mastered his 
body, this motion now held an alien familiarity.

	Like his finger, his mind snapped back to the subject of Tomoyo. 
The worst part of it, the thing that tortured Ki the most, was that he 
knew that girl was nothing like how he remembered her. It wasn't that 
he had truly lost anything; it was that his heart worried that it might 
have, could have, possibly lost something infinitely precious. This new 
Ki was so starved for affection, so devoid of fulfillment, even the 
most insignificant gesture held mountains of meaning. It was pathetic.

	He realized his mother had stopped pacing. "You're letting your 
mind wander. I can see you have no intention of resuming your training, 
if you neglect it so. Tell me, am I right?"

	Ki set his eyes down. "I understand that I must die. I ask for 
seppuku."

	"This is a time appropriate for death." Keiko brushed his hair 
back. "This Seicheirou, he will be dead by morning. The insult he's 
given us can not be excused. Let him boast as much as he wants, he is 
still a child to us and he has neither the skill nor the power to live 
against the masters of the Steel Thorn. Midori...we shall see. She has 
already slipped away, for all we know. It may be too much trouble to 
find her she's smart enough to stay low. For a long time."

	Ki's voice cracked. "May I have seppuku?"

	Keiko backhanded him. He spilled across the floor from the 
unexpected force of the blow. His bandages broke apart as he wound 
reopened. Keiko flexed her knuckles. "I did not ask for your requests. 
Keep your tongue. I have a bit of parting advice for you, Ki. To 
manipulate is not to place your hand in every scheme, controversy, and 
contention that may cross your path. To manipulate is to sit and wait, 
to ignore all these things until they concern you. What will a high 
school ally gain you? Three years of a stroked ego, then nothing. Pick 
your battles more carefully, Ki. This Yuri girl has been a waste of 
your time and now your premature downfall, more from your own stupidity 
than any actions of her own. She opened a weakness in you and now 
hostile forces have turned that individual weakness into a clan-wide 
wound."

	"Parting?" Ki's eyes widened. "Does that mean, I am disowned?"

	"Not merely disowned." Keiko turned her back. "Cast aside and 
buried. You are our shame. Killing you would be acknowledging you. We 
will give you some money, each month, including tuition for your new 
school."

	Ki stood up. He tasted a rivet of blood as it crossed his lips. 
"New school?"

	"Yes. You have been transferred to Tokyo Evil Technical 
Institute."

	"May I pack my things, now?" Ki couldn't think of anything else 
to say. It all happened so fast.

	"You have nothing here. Those are Ki Tamaida's things."

	"But..."

	"Leave this place, Nobu Masaki. Your heart will be happier 
elsewhere."

				*	*	*	*

Violet Ringoshima stalked through her recently emptied house. First her 
daughter, then her job, then her collection...She had nothing. Her life 
was over now. She could do nothing.

	Somebody knocked at the door. Composing herself, the woman went 
to answer. Standing on her doorstop was Princess Cherry Cherry Bang 
Bang, street clothes version.

	"Hello, Sakura."

	The girl bowed. "Good evening, Mrs. Ringoshima."

	"Please, come in." Violet stood aside, motioning for Sakura to 
enter. As the girl passed by, Violet noted the overnight bag that she 
carried. Curious, that. "Have you thought about what I said to you?"

	"Yes, I have, Mrs. Ringoshima." She dropped the bag on the floor. 
She turned to Violent, smiling. "You really an airhead."

	Violet's hand twitched. "That's...not the response I expect."

	"Of course it isn't." Sakura turned to face the former educator, 
arms crossed. "You still think that all anybody needs is some passion 
and their power is infinite. I prefer to stay a pragmatist."

	"You think you're too weak to face, Yuri?"

	"Yes. Exactly." Sakura shook her head. "Because Yuri has managed, 
both intentionally and inadvertently, to kill a number of our best 
students. I will not fall to overconfidence."

	Violet walked past her, into the kitchen. "Then why come to me? 
I'm practically useless now."

	Sakura picked up her bag and followed. "I disagree. For years, if 
the recent rumors are correct, you've been hoarding magical artifacts. 
It takes a certain amount of resource and wit to obtain such an 
interesting collection. Highly trained magi have done less."

	"Do you want a soda?"

	"No, thank you." Sakura continued. "My point is, you have gotten 
your feet wet in a lot of mystical lore. Cults, prophesies, 
legends...any artifact can be associated with thousands of these. You 
might know where to start."

	Violet flopped down in a chair. She felt uneasy, with Sakura 
still standing. She motioned for the girl to sit, but the girl refused. 
Violet asked her the obvious question. "Start what?"

	"If there isn't a cult devoted to her, a prophecy concerning her, 
or a legend about Yuri Mikagami, there ought to be." Genuine fear 
passed over Sakura's face. "She's not normal, not even by our 
standards. If there isn't some scrap of information about what she is, 
then she might just be invincible."

	Violet sighed. "What's the bag for, Sakura?"

	"Mother didn't want me to come here. Do you mind if I use Lily's 
room?"

				*	*	*	*

Ryuji firmly locked the door behind him. The crypt was sparse, cold, 
and airtight. The perfect place to store a corpse. Satisfied that the 
door was secured, he went to lay down and leave his body. Now, more 
than ever, he enjoyed thoughts of his own twenty-three dimensional bed.

	"You've been really nice to me today, Ryu-chan. I just don't know 
how to thank you."

	Twenty-three dimensions. Soft covers. And no Lily Ringoshima. 
"Oh, it's quite fine, Lily. Just make sure you get all the way to 
Heaven. I mean, really deep in there. Point of no return, in fact."

	"You're so sweet, Ryu-chan. Really, I never would have thought a 
demon could be like you." Lily smiled softly and hugged him, a warm 
embrace. He was about to yell at her, tell her off, kick her out for 
good. He really was, too, except that Lily cut him off. "There's just 
so much I regret, people I wish I could talk to again...my mom, girls I 
want to apologize to, girls I want to cut down...so much left undone."

	Aw, let her go in peace, you dunce. Ryuji knew that one day, he 
would find that little voice and blast it seven generations down the 
line. "Well, I hear Heaven's nice and all. I'm sure you'll be just fi-"

	"I got it!" Lily broke off the hug. "Do I really have cross over? 
Maybe I could stay with you! Then I could take care of everything!"

	"Oh no!" Burn and die, little voice. "There's is no way that's 
happening! You are not carting around in my head while you do your 
unfinished business! I've got my own life!"

	"But, Ryu-chan..." Not-really-tears welled up in Lily's eyes.

	"Nope! Forget it!" Ryuji remained obstinate. "Just one spirit is 
getting this body! Now, get ready, because you are going to meet your 
maker."

	"Yasuko?" Lily asked coyly. "Are you worried what she would 
think?"

	Ryuji paused. "Wha-uha-now?"

	Lily glomped him again. "I can be your matchmaker! That would pay 
my keep, right? You'd want me around then, right?"

	Ryuji's mind ran over this. A magical girl as a romantic advisor? 
It wouldn't exactly be the best way to win Yasuko's heart. In fact, it 
might do more harm than good. But, still, what good was he doing on his 
own?

	Strangely, it didn't sound that crazy. Ryuji, in the final 
analysis, was a guy.

-------------------------------

*Author's Notes*

This chapter is an excellent example of how to get blood from a stone. 
Okay, so my writer's block wasn't that bad, but I did go over schedule 
and I apologize to my poor pre-readers for sending a rough draft to 
them with little time left to work in. Certain scenes just refused to 
'click' (as you may notice).

	Just to clear things up, 'Tokyo Evil Technical Institute' is 
supposed to be long hand for Evil Tech.

	I want to thank my pre-readers: Bradley Wilton, Jinx, and The 
Apprentice. 

	Any reviews or commentary, constructive or destructive, is very 
much welcome. I could give you the jazz about wanting to improve my 
writing, but honest reason is that I'm a major attention whore.

	-Nicholas Callahan (cruton@juno.com), 4/13/03

-------------------------------

Akurai flexed his recently freed muscles. Metal skin screamed over his 
gargantuan biceps. It felt good, he reflected, to be back in business.

	Amakusa leaned against his desk. The office had long since been 
cleaned up from Midori's little escapade. "You look better, Akurai."

	"I feel better. With the new head and all." The reptile grinned. 
"I don't even begrudge Angeleye the head shot."

	"It was a good shot, you have to admit." Amakusa shrugged. "She's 
got talent."

	"That she does." Akurai scratched his chin. "Hamaji, in that 
regeneration chamber, I got to thinking. For a Japanese school, we 
follow a very-much western model of education. That seems a bit 
strange."

	"You know, Akurai, that's a very good point." Amakusa nodded 
sagely.

	Then Amakusa laughed.

	And Akurai laughed.

	And Amakusa laughed.

	And Akurai laughed.

	And Amakusa laughed.

	And Akurai burst into a pillar of ebony flame.

	"Never make it again."