"I don't know about this, Mirumoto-sensei," Setsuna 
said nervously, nibbling a fingernail and blushing. "What if 
someone walks in and sees us?"
	"Relax. The Mystery Club has this floor all to itself, 
remember?" He gently patted her hand, assuring her that: 
"There's nothing to worry about."
	"Well, if you're sure about that..."
	"Absolutely," Mirumoto leaned forward to kiss her. He 
was almost there when a knock came at the door.  He rose 
from his chair with a grunt of disappointment, but he 
quickly became excited when he realized who it must be. 
"Oho! That must be Ibuki, coming to join us! Wait here, 
Setsuna."
	"Yes, professor," she nodded as he bounded towards the 
room's only door, with rather amazing speed for a seventy-
three year old man.
	"Hehe! First Setsuna and now Ibuki! Starting the 
Mystery Club was the greatest idea I ever had!" He threw the 
door open in merriment, and stood there with closed eyes and 
a wide smile. "Ibukiiiiii!"
	"Hello, Mirumoto," came the response in a voice most 
definitely not Ibuki's. "It's been a long time."
	The professor opened his eyes in surprise, quickly 
changing horror as his gaze fell upon the beautiful woman 
with emerald eyes. "Lyss!"
	Quickly he backed off as she entered the room, the door 
slamming behind her on its own.  The room-- in fact, 
everything in the room was now covered in a deep reddish 
shade, including Setsuna.
	"Setsuna is her name, eh?"
	 "What are you doing here in my dream?" Mirumoto 
demanded. "What do you want?"
	"'What do I want?'" she repeated, with a chuckle. 
"Straight to the point, are you? Very well.  Initially, it 
was my intention to have you find someone for me, but I see 
that's already been done." 
	Mirumoto followed her eyes to Setsuna, frozen in place. 
"What do you want with her?"
	"You don't need to know that.  All you have to do is 
arrange a meeting between us."
	"I won't do it," Mirumoto said, trying to sound as calm 
as possible.
	The green eyes glared at him. "You owe me. Or have you 
forgotten?" Mirumoto remained silent as she continued. "I 
allow you to continue to slay our kind, but it would be an 
easy task for me to destroy you and your petty thugs.  And 
after you and the others were dead, the girl would be mine 
anyway."
	"We're not so weak that you could defeat us that 
easily."
	"Was that a threat? Well, then I'll make one of my 
own." The green eyes narrowed as she spoke. "Either you give 
her to me, or I will destroy everyone in this school."
	She chuckled humorlessly as she turned around and 
opened the door. "The choice is yours, Mirumoto."
	It slammed behind her, and immediately the room melted 
into nothingness, leaving the professor surrounded by 
darkness.

*

	Mirumoto woke up with a cry.  He knew it had all been a 
dream, but it had also been a frightening reality.

* * * *
Mystery Club
Part 7
"Indeed"
Created by Aaron Peori
This part by Brett Schimmel
* * * *

	This particular morning had turned out to be a good one 
for Junko.  Overnight several benches in the courtyard had 
been painted, and it was a simple matter of removing the 
"wet paint" signs from each one to ensure a humorous outcome 
later in the day.
	With another hour before students started to show up, 
the kitsune pondered what other pranks she could prepare as 
she wandered about.
	Her thoughts were interrupted as she passed the seminar 
room where the Supernatural Club had once met.  Inside stood 
a man, peering through a corner window.  
	No sooner did she notice the man than he turned to face 
her.  "Setting up traps for the unwary this morning, fox-
spirit?"
	Junko gasped in surprise.  How did he know she was a 
kitsune? How could he even see her?
	"You must be Junko," he said, approaching her calmly.  
He was a tall man, somewhere around his mid-thirties, and 
while he looked Japanese enough, he talked with a European 
accent.  His clothing consisted of a gray business suit, and 
he wore glasses, rounded like old spectacles.  "Kuroko told 
me about you."
	"You knew Kuroko?"
	"That's right.  My name is Nanatsuki.  Shiro Nanatsuki.  
I'm... shall we say, a sponsor for the Supernatural Club?" 
He stopped a foot away from her, hands in pockets.  Junko 
felt somewhat awkward, staring upwards at him. "Maybe you 
could explain some things to me, fox-spirit.  I haven't 
heard from Kuroko for some time now.  Why is that?"
	"Because she's dead."
	Nanatsuki drew back in surprise, his spectacles falling 
down his nose. "D... Dead? I didn't expect that.  It was the 
Mystery Club, wasn't it?"
	Junko shrugged. "Maybe. Who knows?"
	He pushed his odd glasses back into position.  "Of 
course it was them.  After all, that's what they do, right? 
They murder supernaturals."
	"Uh, yeah, whatever." the kitsune shrugged again, "I'm 
kinda busy now, so-"
	"Not so fast." Suddenly, he was holding her wrist.  
Junko blinked in surprise.  "Take me to this Mystery Club."
	"Uh, nobody knows where they are or who's a member.  
That's why they're called the Mystery Club.  Get it?"
	Nanatsuki tightened his grip, his face an angry scowl. 
"I am not in the mood for your jokes, fox-spirit.  Now, if 
you don't know where or who they are, find them!"
	"I'm not your slave." First 'those two' had tried to 
order her around, and now this stranger shows up from out of 
nowhere to try to force her to work for him.  Well, not this 
time. "Do you think I'm weak just because I'm a four-tail? 
I'll teach you that you can't order me around!"

*

	"Ibuki, wait up!" Setsuna called between breaths as her 
sempai gained more and more ground.  Waking up this early to 
run around the campus was not what her ideal morning was 
like. "Ibuki!"
	"Keep lagging behind like that and you'll never be able 
to defend yourself," the older girl called over her 
shoulder.  Nevertheless she slowed to a stop and waited for 
her.	Setsuna leaned against the side of the nearest 
building, panting. "Is... this... necessary?"
	"Well, yeah.  I mean, you said you wanted a self-
defense lesson, didn't you?"
	"What does waking up at the crack of dawn have to do 
with self defense?" Setsuna asked, wiping her forehead with 
the sleeve of the dogi that Ibuki had borrowed from the Judo 
Club for her. "Are you telling me when I see a paranormal, 
all I can do is run away?"
	Ibuki chuckled. "No, I'm saying teaching you any 
fighting skills would be useless if your body wasn't in 
shape to perform them.  And let's face it Setsuna, you could 
really use the workout."
	"Hey! What are you implying?!"
	Ibuki grinned, choosing to ignore her.  She moved to 
Setsuna's side to give her a friendly pat on the back. "Come 
on, let's get back to tra-"
	Setsuna screamed as she flew a full foot forward before 
crashing to the ground.  Ibuki gasped, quickly rushing to 
her side.  "Oh no! Setsuna, are you alright? I'm so sorry!"
	"I'm fine." Setsuna grimaced, rubbing a small lump on 
her head as she rose.  "What did you do?"
	"I- I don't know! I barely touched you and-" her eyes 
went wide as she realized what must have happened. "A 
paranormal must be around here!" She was about to help 
Setsuna get to her feet, but stopped, afraid she might hurt 
the younger girl more. "Setsuna, stay on your guard."
	"Right," she said as she rose.  Her body tensed as she 
scanned the surrounding area.
	Without warning, a body crashed through a second story 
window of the building Setsuna had leaned against and landed 
next to them.
	"Junko!" Setsuna's eyes widened as she recognized the 
figure.  The kitsune lay motionless on the ground, blood 
flowing from wounds caused by broken glass.  "Ibuki, call an 
ambulance!"
	"No, wait!" Ibuki pointed.  Unconscious, Junko had 
begun to lose her human form; already her tails were 
visible.
	"What should we do?"
	"Take her to the campus medical center.  It's early, so 
you should be able to find an empty room pretty easily."
	"What about you? Don't tell me you're-"
	"Going in alone?" Ibuki finished for her, half-smiling. 
"Don't worry about me.  I can take care of myself."
	"Okay, but be careful," Setsuna said, picking up Junko 
and heading for the medical center.  Ibuki wasted no time in 
sprinting to the building's nearest entrance.
	Inside, it was silent.  If any students or professors 
were around, they showed no signs of it. 'Good,' Ibuki 
thought as she ran for the nearest stairwell, 'That'll make 
things easier.'
	Before she could reach the door to the stairs, it was 
opened by a tall man with unusual glasses.  Ibuki noticed 
him in time to slow her speed, but failed to come to a halt 
before colliding with him.  She staggered back a bit, her 
knees giving way.
	"Ow!" she muttered from a sitting position. 
	"I'm terribly sorry!" The man offered a hand. "Here, 
let me help you up."
	"Thanks," Ibuki said, accepting.
	"Sorry about that," he apologized again, "but you 
shouldn't be running through the halls like that."
	"Yes, you're right," Ibuki bowed politely, keeping her 
eyes on him cautiously. "Excuse me, I'm in a hurry," she 
explained as she walked quickly towards the stairs.  The man 
shrugged, and continued on his way.
	Ibuki waited until he was out of sight, then tapped the 
railing of the stairs with her finger.  It bent inwards.  
'Just as I suspected,' she thought as she hurried after him. 
'He has to be the paranormal.  He was able to stay on his 
feet when we collided.  If my power was active, then there's 
no other explanation.'
	She caught up with him just outside of the entrance to 
the building. "Just a minute."
	"Yes?" he asked, turning innocently.
	"Do you enjoy throwing girls through windows?"
	"Excuse me? I don't know what you're talking about."
	"I'll bet you don't!" Ibuki shouted, rushing towards 
him.  She jumped as she approached, attacking with a 
roundhouse kick aimed for his neck.  Nanatsuki made no 
effort to dodge, and Ibuki smiled confidently as her heel 
connected with his neck.
	Or so she expected.  Behind the spectacles, Nanatsuki's 
eyes transformed into deep blue pools, emitting small wisps 
of swirling mist the same color.  Ibuki found her entire 
body frozen in mid air, her foot hovering an inch above its 
target.
	"So you're a friend of that girl, I take it?  Hmm... 
you don't seem to be one of our kind."
	Ibuki tried to respond, but was unable to manage more 
than a strangled gasp.
	"Listen very carefully, mortal.  I'm somewhat busy 
today, so you can keep your petty life.  You're going to 
forget you ever saw me.  Not that anyone would believe you 
anyway."
	His eyes widened suddenly.  Ibuki was thrown through 
the air, hitting the ground rather hard.  By the time she 
managed to stagger to her feet, Nanatsuki was gone.

*

	Junko lay still, breathing but otherwise unmoving, in 
the bed.  Setsuna watched her with a worried look.  She had 
bandaged the kitsune's wounds as best she could, but without 
knowing much about first aid, all she could do was wait.  
Wait and hope.
	Akumu burst through the door. "Setsuna! I got here as 
fast as I could.  How is she?"
	"She doesn't seem seriously injured, but I don't know.  
What should I do?"
	"Calm down.  She's a kitsune.  She'll be fine."
	"Are you sure?" Setsuna asked. "I'm worried about her."
	"Well, if you want I could see what she's dreaming 
about.  Maybe that will help?"
	"I guess it could, but..."
	"Alright, I'll get to it.  You wait outside."
	"Huh?" Setsuna gave him a questioning look. "Why?"
	"Er..." He chuckled, scratching behind his head "Uh... 
When I do it, it isn't pretty to watch, so..." 
	"What do you mean? You didn't do anything unusual when 
you tried it on me before in the library.  Of course, it 
didn't work then, but..."
	"Exactly.  Besides, it works differently on other 
supernaturals," he chuckled some more as her ushered her 
towards the door.  "Trust me, it's best if you didn't 
watch."
	"Um... Okay..." Setsuna reluctantly agreed. "I'll wait 
outside until you're done, I guess."
	"It shouldn't take long," he assured her as he shut the 
door.  He leaned against in and sighed.  Then went to the 
side of Junko's bed. "Okay, she's gone.  You can stop faking 
it now."
	The kitsune opened one eye, looking about, making sure 
they were alone.  Then she sat up. "Whew! I was afraid she'd 
never leave."
	"Junko, is this another one of your pranks? I think 
you've gone a little too far this time."
	She shook her head rapidly. "No! It's not! There was 
this guy in the old Supernatural Club's meeting room.  A 
supernatural, I think.  He had these weird blue eyes.  Well, 
not always blue but they turned blue when he picked me up 
and threw me out the window, only he didn't pick me up, but 
something threw me, and-"
	"Slow down!" Akumu said in frustration. "Now this 
person -"
	"He said his name was Shiro Nanatsuki."
	"Okay, this Nanatsuki.  Why did he do this? Did you 
pull one of your tricks on him?"
	"No! He started it! He attacked me when I told him I 
didn't know anything about the Mystery Club."
	"He was after them?"
	"Yeah.  He told me to take him to them after I told him 
they were responsible for killing Kuroko."
	"Kuroko?" Strange... Kuroko had never said anything to 
him about this guy before...
	"Akumu, be careful.  I think he might come after you 
next."
	"Hmm... Maybe," Akumu said absently. "In any event, why 
did you pretend to be asleep when Setsuna was here?"
	"'Cause I don't like her," Junko said as though stating 
the obvious.
	"But she treated your wounds and brought you here."
	"Some treatment.  She stuck a few bandages on.  Anyone 
could do that.  And you know my wounds aren't all that 
serious."
	"Even still, she was genuinely worried about you."
	"I don't care.  If she and the rest of the Mystery Club 
are intent on stopping me from setting traps, then I can see 
we won't become friends."

*

	"Glowing blue eyes?" Mirumoto asked later that day in 
the club room as Ibuki reported her encounter with Shiro 
Nanatsuki to him and Mitsurugi.
	"Yeah, with some sort of telekinetic power.  I didn't 
recognize the type of paranormal," Ibuki reported, "But he 
didn't seem to be affected by my enhanced strength at all."
	"Perhaps he's immune.  After all, many paranormals can 
only be killed with a certain substance-"
	"Sapphire," Mirumoto interrupted. "At least, if he's 
what I think he is.  This could be a problem.  It may take a 
while to get sapphire weapons, not to mention expenses.  
Just a single sapphire-headed quarrel for Mitsurugi's 
crossbow will probably cost a fortune."
	"Well, it looks like our resident Kitsune is feeling 
better," Setsuna interrupted as she entered the room, an 
irritated look across her face. "I went to check up on her 
after class, and she vanished."
	"It doesn't matter," Mitsurugi said.
	"Eh?" Setsuna looked puzzled. "But she might know 
something."
	"If Mirumoto-sensei is correct, then he already knows 
what the paranormal is and how to kill it."
	"But don't you want to know what his intentions are? Or 
why he targeted Junko specifically?"
	"It's a Northern-European parasitic mist-like creature 
which first steals the body of a host and then lives off the 
bone marrow of its victims," Mirumoto explained. "Whatever 
reason it may have had for attacking Junko doesn't matter.  
Eventually it will need to eat again.  We need to stop it 
before then, and before it changes hosts."
	Setsuna tried not to visualize.  "If you say so, but I 
still think we should talk to Junko."
	"Well, until we get the sapphire weapons, we can't do 
anything anyway." Ibuki rose and headed for the door. "Looks 
like we'll just have to wait."
	Wordlessly, Mitsurugi rose and followed her.
	"Just a minute, Setsuna," Mirumoto said as she turned 
to leave with them. "Remember the kappa incident we dealt 
with 
not long ago?"
	"What about it?"
	Mirumoto handed her a check made out to the Mystery 
Club, given to them by their last client.  "Do an old man a 
favor and cash this in, alright? We'll need the money for 
the sapphire weapons."
	Setsuna sighed as she accepted it.  Why is it that she 
always gets stuck with these jobs?
	Mirumoto smiled warmly as he watched her exit, but the 
expression vanished as he buried his head in his hands, 
wondering if he had truly made the right decision.

*

	Unseen by the few people traveling down the road, a 
woman hopped from streetlight to streetlight, vanishing as 
she leapt, and reappearing just before she landed, following 
the student closely.
	Lyss smiled to herself. 'This time, Treasa, it is I who 
shall be one step ahead of you.'

*
	The sun had gone down.  It was late.  How'd it get so 
late so soon? Setsuna sighed.  The line at the bank had been 
long.  She probably shouldn't have stopped for supper 
afterwards.  As she hurried along the sidewalk, she wondered 
if Mirumoto-sensei would even still be waiting after all 
this time had gone by.  Of course he would.  He needed the 
money as soon as possible for the sapphire weapons, right?
	The gates were still open when she arrived, so that 
meant someone must still be there, most likely Mirumoto-
sensei.  The school was as empty as it had been early that 
morning, not surprising for this time of day.  Setsuna 
rushed towards the club room, wanting to give the Professor 
the money so she could head home.
	"What's your hurry, child?"
	Setsuna whirled in surprise, screaming as she found 
herself face to face with Treasa!... No, not Treasa.  Her 
eyes were green, and her foreign face slightly different.  
But still, she gave off the same feeling Setsuna had gotten 
whenever she woke from a dream involving Treasa.
	"Who are you?" she asked, trying not to sound scared as 
she backed away.  She failed miserably.
	The woman chuckled out loud as she approached, her icy 
stare piercing Setsuna's heart. "Don't worry, I won't hurt 
you, child.  I just want you to come with me." 
	She expected the girl to halt in her tracks.  Instead, 
Setsuna turned and ran.  Lyss recovered from her surprise 
quickly, and began pursuit.  'I see why you're so interested 
in her now, Treasa.  Well, if I can't have her, neither 
shall you."
	Setsuna made it to the club building with a fairly good 
lead.  She ran up two flights of stairs, and then another 
from a different set, stopping in a hallway on the third 
floor to catch her breath.
	She looked down both corridors.  Good, no sign.  If she 
could just make it to the tenth floor...
	The window in front of her suddenly shattered inward.  
Lyss landed in a crouching position, smiling victoriously.  
Setsuna screamed and tried to run away, but the woman was 
quicker, catching her by the back of her neck.
	"Remember what I said about not hurting you?" she said 
as she turned the girl around. "I lied."
	Setsuna gasped for air as she was lifted off the 
ground, frantically pulling at Lyss's hand as it closed 
around her throat. "Think of it as a favor, child; now you 
won't have to worry about Treasa anymore."
	The green-eyed woman giggled evilly at her futile 
attempts.  Her struggles were becoming weaker.  She couldn't 
even muster enough strength to lift her arms high enough 
anymore. 
	Setsuna's life flashed before her eyes as her body went 
limp.  She knew she was going to die.
	Suddenly there was a thunderous sound, and she could 
breathe again.  She lay on the floor, coughing.  A few feet 
from her the green-eyed woman was standing hunched over, 
grasping a bleeding wrist with one hand.
	And down the hall was Mirumoto-sensei, pointing a 
smoking revolver towards the older woman.
	"Mirumoto, what do you think you're doing?" Lyss 
shouted at him. 
	He responded by firing again, striking her in the 
shoulder. "I won't let you harm her anymore, Lyss."
	"Do you realize what you're doing? You owe me! If you 
do this, I will slay everyone in this entire school! Every 
last student!"
	"What you will do is leave immediately.  These bullets 
might not be able to kill you, but they sure hurt, don't 
they?"
	"Then so be it," she muttered. "You've sealed your 
fate, Mirumoto." She raised her other hand, and thrust it at 
Setsuna. "Starting with this one!"
	Mirumoto reaction was slow. He watched horrified as 
Lyss's long nails moved swiftly towards Setsuna's neck.  He 
aimed and fired, but knew he would be too late.
	It didn't matter.  Lyss cried in pain as she gripped a 
crossbow bolt that had pierced the palm of her hand.  She 
turned towards her assailant.  Mitsurugi stood at the other 
end of the hall, already reloading.
	"I'll make you regret this, Mirumoto," she swore as she 
backed away. "Everyone here will die! Everyone!"
	She laughed evilly as she jumped backwards, out the 
very window she had entered from.
	"I had a feeling something was going to happen here.  
Fume-san, are you alright?" Mitsurugi asked, helping her to 
her feet.
	"I think so.  Who was that?"
	"Her name is Lyss, a vampire with some sort of 
connection to Treasa," Mirumoto explained as he scanned the 
ground below the broken window.  He saw no sign of the 
woman.
	"You seem to know her very well," Mitsurugi pointed 
out, the tone of his voice somewhat angered.
	"It's a long story."
	"Can she really kill everyone in the school?" Setsuna 
asked.
	"I won't let her.  I... The Mystery Club will do 
everything in its power to protect the school from her.  
Paranormals like her are the reason the club exists in the 
first place."

***

Author's notes:

Well, here's my Mystery Club part.  I have to admit it was a 
little difficult getting started, but once I did I had a 
blast writing it.  I hope I managed to present a good 
continuing story without tying future authors down too much.

A few quick notes:

1. Mirumoto & Lyss's relationship: 
Mirumoto hasn't really done much since the Mystery Clubs 
conception, and I wanted to make it seem like he was in the 
story for more than giving advice to the members on 
paranormals or chasing girls.  I figured giving him ties to 
a villain might make for an interesting twist.

2. Lyss's powers:
...are not the same as Treasa's.  That's why she couldn't 
harm Mirumoto in his dreams or hypnotize him into doing what 
she wanted.

3. Shiro Nanatsuki:
Wasn't originally going to make him a lasting villain, but 
he sorta developed that way :P .


Thanks to Falcon for pre-reading.  I hope you enjoyed my 
part!

Brett Schimmel
vortex@drexel.edu