Name: Mystery Club Genre: Modern Horror Size: ~75k (file attached) Status: 100% completed and edited --------------- Epsilon You are not alone. You've tried to tell people but they won't believe you. You've tried to prove it but you can't. You can hardly believe it yourself. Yet you know the things are out there, just under the surface of the world. Maybe you caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of your eye, and then it was gone. Maybe you passed by a shadow with a chill wind and you could see no end to it. Maybe you've heard their ragged breathing and felt hot breath on your neck at night, only to find nothing was there. Maybe a friend has gone missing, or started acting strange. Maybe it's your family. Maybe it's your children. No one would believe you. You've tried to tell them that monsters exist but they won't believe you. We do. You are not alone. We can help. -Advertisement Found on Telephone Pole; Tokyo, Japan C&A Productions Presents A work of Improfanfiction Mystery Club "You are not alone." Part 1 By: Aaron Peori ********************************************************************** "Great, it's raining," Yohko sighed as the door to the library swung open. Indeed it was raining out there, a hard, miserable sort of rain that seemed to wash all life from the world. The quad was empty, and even the lights of the lampposts along the walks seemed muted and shallow under that oppressive downpour. In the distance Setsuna could barely make out the silhouettes of buildings that marked the end of the campus. "Well, kid," Yohko said and patted her companion on the arm. "See you later." Setsuna looked up and blinked as the older student ran into the rain accompanied by a dull "pop" as her umbrella opened. The nimble figure of her one friend at the college disappeared into the rain; her feet dodging treacherous puddles and tiny rivers with ease. It was then that Setsuna realized she herself had no umbrella. Which was just her luck anyway. Swallowing a few choice words about that, the freshman dashed into the rain. She pulled her blazer up over her head, hoping to stop at least some of the water from running down her new dress and ruining it. It was a futile effort, for moments later her decidedly less than nimble legs betrayed her and she plunged headlong into a muddy puddle. For a moment she tasted filth and thought she was going to drown, then rationality returned. She got up, brushing a few locks of what she liked to call ebony hair off her face. She was now thoroughly soaked and her dress was ruined. This time she didn't bother to stifle her cursing as she raised herself to her feet. "Ah!" she grimaced as her weight bore down on her left foot. She looked down and sure enough she could see the nicely purpling bruise forming on her ankle. She drew in her breath in a sharp hiss then forced herself to ignore the pain. She checked her watch but couldn't make out the dial because the lens had cracked and water had seeped underneath. She couldn't afford to sit here and sulk however. She was getting more drenched by the moment and she was in a hurry besides. Forcing herself to move as fast as she could (which amounted to a slow amble) she moved toward the end of the quad and the currently invisible fence which separated the campus from the rest of Tokyo. The journey to the gate was without incident and she moved out into the streets. They were deserted but that wasn't uncommon for this part of the city at this time of night, especially with the weather being what it was. She moved herself along the street until the bus stop came into view... and saw the bus pulling away. "No, wait!" Setsuna yelled and tried her best to run after it. She got maybe five feet before tumbling over into yet another puddle. This one was in the harsh concrete instead of the forgiving mud, however. She pushed herself onto her knees and watched as the bus faded into the darkness. "No..." She felt a sob in her voice as the realization that the last bus had left her behind in the pouring rain hit her. It almost felt like the water was slowly draining away her energy now. "I will not cry! I will not cry!" she told herself harshly and forced herself to her feet. She briefly considered the cellphone in her backpack. She could call her father. He would send a car right away, maybe be here in fifteen minutes at the most. Then she would be out of the rain... and back at her old house. And she would hear the lectures about how she should just give up on this whole nonsense, and how she was disappointing the family and all those slightly hurt expressions. No, she wouldn't call her father. This was just yet another one of life's little challenges and if she proved she could handle it, then maybe she would do okay on her own after all. With renewed vigor she started to walk to her place. It was over an hour's walk, and by the time she got home she would probably be drenched but that wasn't about to get her down! Resolve alone could only last so long however. About a half-hour later, as her clothes plastered themselves to her almost childish frame and her hair hung on her head like a lead weight and her injured ankle throbbed numbly through the cold and the wet, she began to reconsider. "Little girl..." She started, her eyes snapping left and right across the deserted street. All the buildings around here were dark, their windows empty. She could have sworn she had heard a voice but, after a few moments figured her mind was probably playing tricks on her. She began walking again, this time whistling an old melody her mother had used to put her to sleep when she was but a child. Back before her mother had... no, best not think of that. "Little girl, why are you sad?" Okay, there was no doubting it this time. She had heard a voice and from nearby, too. Yet, nobody was out here. Granted, she couldn't see more than fifteen feet in any direction, but that voice had sounded like it had come from just behind her. The first hints of panic began to bubble up out of her unconscious. She stayed still, her eyes wandering the area for a few minutes as the rain tried to mercilessly pound her down. Finally she moved on, but her eyes scanned back and forth. "Little girl, don't go away. I want to share something with you." She bolted, her mind unable to form any other options. She managed to move at a good clip for a while, but eventually her injury betrayed her again and she felt her legs go out from under her. Desperately she tried to roll with the fall, like they had taught her at Judo class. She managed to keep herself from taking any more damage but found herself rolled up against the fence at edge of a canal. The water below churned and roared as the weeping sky filled it almost to overflowing. She could feel the occasional slap as the water lapped over the side. She sat like that for awhile, feeling like a cornered animal. Her breath came in short, shallow gasps and her heart raced at a mile a minute. Vision of perverts and psychos filled her head. Her eyes scanned back and forth, desperately searching for some clue as to where the voice might be. There! Out of the corner of her eye on the left. She turned but saw nothing more than the rain and darkness. "Hello little girl." She turned with a frightened shriek and saw him. He crouched by her right side; his lean, almost skeletal frame silhouetted by the street lamp. He looked, for all the world like a sarariman in a cheap business suit. That is, if one didn't look at his eyes. They seemed to shimmer with an internal light, and were slitted like a cats. Both were pale green and had a haunted, hungry look to them. She found herself backing away instinctively. "Don't be afraid..." he said in a voice like ominous shadows. His hand gently but firmly grasped her elbow and prevented her escape. Her throat was dry and she swore she wasn't breathing. "I won't hurt you little girl. I only want to share something with you..." he smiled like a skull, all teeth and no feeling. "I have a very special gift to give you. You will live forever..." His voice was droning, almost hypnotic and she got the impression that he was expecting her to become drowsy. She didn't feel the least bit drowsy however, and how she was supposed to be calming down now of all times was beyond her. Still she faked it, not wanting to play her hand too soon. The realization that she was reacting differently than he expected gave her a kind of inner strength she knew she'd need. "Yes," he hissed as she lidded her eyes and nodded her head. "That's it, go to sleep. Don't be afraid, just be calm and when you wake up you'll be a whole new woman." He waited until she had closed her eyes entirely and then his fingers cupped her chin and raised her face up to his. He squeezed her cheeks, forcing her mouth open and leaned his own head down toward her. She forced herself not to panic even as she desperately tried to remember her self defense training. Then she felt the man pause, and heard the most unusual noise. It was like someone trying to drink the last remaining drops out of a glass through a straw. She opened her eyes a crack and saw him with his mouth in the most ridiculous position she had ever seen. And he appeared to be desperately trying to suck in something... His eyes took on a confused look and Setsuna knew now was her chance. With a fierce yell, she smashed her elbow into his throat. The man gasped and fell back, letting go of her arm. Adrenaline helping her ignore the pain, she took to her feet and fired off a swift kick to the man's crotch before sprinting down the street. He keeled over in pain and she felt a smirk of triumph on her face as she began to put distance between them. Then she heard him dragging himself to his feet and with a roar coming after her. She refused to panic and moved as fast as she could. Then she remembered to scream for help. "I COMMAND you! Stop!" If he thought she was going to listen to him, then he was either insane or stupid. Probably both, she amended. Still it wouldn't make much difference pretty soon, her voice had already groan hoarse from shouting and she was beginning to slow as the pain in her leg grew worse with each step. She could hear him catching up with her, his footsteps came in staccato bursts and when she dared a brief glimpse behind she saw him dashing along much faster than any human should have possibly been able to... "Get down." If he thought... no wait, that was a new voice. She turned to look in front of her and there, standing in the rain and just coming into view was a man. He wore a raincoat which obscured his form and the shadows of his hood kept his face hidden. He was holding something in both hands and had it pointed at her. She couldn't quite make it out in the rain and... oh wait, it was a crossbow. A crossbow? "Down!" the man with the crossbow shouted impatiently and the rational part of her mind caught the implications of that. She dove, taking the fall as best she could. There was a metallic twang, a high-pitched whistle and a meaty thunk all following each other so close it felt like the same sound. Setsuna rolled and saw her assailant standing in the street with a crossbow bolt sticking out of his chest and a bemused expression on his face. What she saw next was simply impossible. The man reached up with one hand, grasped the bolt and calmly tore it free like someone might remove a splinter. No blood flowed from his wound, which was invisible save for the hole in his cheap suit. "Shit, missed the heart..." her savior cursed and pulled another bolt from under his raincoat. He stuck it in his teeth and quickly began to recock the crossbow. "Foolish boy," the man laughed. "I am immortal, you can not kill me." "Maybe he can't, but I can." Yet another figure emerged from the rain. This was a woman, dressed in a black garment which stuck to her flesh like a second skin due to the rain. She was lithe and chesty, and her mischievous gray eyes danced in her healthy face. She had pale green hair that hung to the small of her back in a shapeless lump, again probably due to the rain. "Sorry I'm late Mitsu-chan," the newcomer said in a vibrant voice. "I had trouble tracking you in this rain." The man glared at the new girl and Setsuna got a good look at his face for the first time. It was cool and pale, with deep green eyes and a delicate, almost ephemeral quality that Setsuna found hard to categorize. <He's gorgeous!> she thought to herself. Then she was distracted by the other man's harsh laughter again. He stepped forward and sneered at the other woman. "I would like to see you try, mortal..." He laughed again, and was thus taken totally off guard when the woman slammed her elbow into his gut and smashed his chin with the ball of her wrist. He flew back almost ten feet before crashing into the wire fence which guarded the canal. His impact distorted and snapped it, but wasn't strong enough to push him through. The man roared and seemed to... change. It was like the rain washed away his regular face and underneath was some hideous demonic visage. It was all teeth and glowing eyes and rotting flesh. Setsuna gave another shriek as she backed up. She felt her back brush up against her savior's legs and looked up to see him still cocking his crossbow with a frown of concentration on his face. As far as she could tell, he didn't even realize she was there anymore. But she had to admit, it was probably hard to concentrate on anything else, what with the battle going on not ten feet away. The creature moved so fast Setsuna could barely follow it. Long talons had replaced fingers and the thing clawed at the girl. But she moved equally fast, her movements fluid and flawless as she neatly sidestepped the attack. Then there was a blur of movement, and several loud cracks. The creature went flying again, this time away from the canal and into the middle of the street. It hissed and stood up, but approached the green-haired girl more cautiously this time. Setsuna risked missing something and looked up to see the man trying to draw a bead on the monster. Then Setsuna looked back... and was simply amazed. The two were moving so fast that Setsuna couldn't even see the individual blows anymore. Both appeared equally matched, the creature's mindless ferocity keeping pace with the woman's elegant skill. Setsuna had once heard martial arts described as a ballet, a beautiful dance, but if this was a dance then Setsuna would rather sit this one out. The two spun and slashed and punched and kicked at each other, every blow missing by millimeters or deflected at the last possible instant. There was no beauty in it however, it was feral and vicious. This was a battle to the death, and no quarter was asked for, or given. Finally it seemed the woman gained the upper hand. The creature was strangely lethargic at points and finally she found an opening. With deceptive ease she spun around behind it and held its arms in a vicious lock. "Now Mitsurugi!" she yelled and forced the creature to face her partner. The pale man calmly raised his crossbow and drew a bead on the thing... And with a hiss it was gone. The woman blinked as she realized she was holding nothing more than an empty sleeve of the things cheap suit. The rest of the suit fell to the ground, only just now did Setsuna see that it was dry, but that wouldn't last long. She looked around but could see no sign of the beast. "It's gone," the man (Mitsurugi? Why was that name familiar?) intoned calmly. "We're finished here." It was only when he moved away that Setsuna realized she had been leaning against him for support. She fell to the ground in an undignified heap and felt her head hit the pavement. "Ow," Setsuna muttered and sat up as best she could. The woman seemed to have accepted what the man had said without question and was talking with him not a few feet away. Finally she turned and looked at Setsuna, as if just realizing she was there. "Are you okay?" she asked. "I think so..." Setsuna replied with a quaver in her voice. "You're very lucky," the man informed her with cold indifference. He had wandered over to the gutter, apparently in search of the crossbow bolt the creature had thrown away. He grunted at the torrent of water and turned away with a shake of his head. "I am not so lucky. Mirumoto will never agree to pay for that." "What was that thing?" Setsuna asked shortly. For some reason she couldn't stop her hands from shaking. She thrust them into her blazer's pockets to conceal that. "A vampire," the woman responded. "Actually its a Kuei-jin," the man felt the need to point out. "One of several types of vampiric beings, except this one feeds on the breath of its victims. It's related to the Gaki and the Nosferatu, perhaps a crossbreed. Yet due to its lack of sexual reproduction this seems unlikely..." "You lost me Mitsu-chan," the woman said with a blank expression. "Do not call me Mitsu-chan." "Ah," Setsuna nodded and stood up. "It was only a monster from my worst nightmares. Okay, I can deal with that." And then she fainted. *** She woke up the next morning and her first thought was that she had obviously had too much to drink because this hangover was killing her. Then she remembered that she didn't drink. Then she remembered that she hadn't eaten since noon yesterday. She kicked off the covers and sat up. Stretching her entire body into a yawn that utterly failed to make her less tired she stood up. That's when a flash of pain shot up her leg like a bolt of lightning. Memory returned with pain and she sat down on her bed with a long exhale. Could she have dreamed to whole thing? It seemed unlikely, given the evidence her leg offered her. Yet, if it wasn't a dream how had she ended up back in bed... she quickly checked herself and confirmed that she was indeed in her nightclothes. It was so surreal... monsters didn't exist, after all. That's when she saw it, lying on her nightstand right next to her alarm clock. It was a little card, like those businessmen might hand out to potential clients. One the top were some simple words. "Mystery Club," she read them out loud. She picked up the card and flipped it over. There was a phone number and beneath that another phrase. "You are not alone." This was really starting to freak her out. She looked around on her nightstand to see if anything else had been left by the two "Mystery" people. She even checked under her alarm clock, but to no avail. Wait, the alarm clock? "Oh god!" she moaned. "I'm late for class!" *** Fugahoka Technical University was one of those anomalies that pop up every now and then in the world. Unlike most universities in the area it was dirt cheap to attend, but was known as the single hardest university to pass the entrance exams for. Given its reputation for poor faculty, excessive class size and general lack of any academic standing whatsoever, one would think it would be deserted. Such was not the case. Every morning thousands of students entered through the only gates and filed to classes. At the noon meal it was almost impossible to find a seat, so hard in fact that many students choose to eat their meals outside. Thus it was that Setsuna and Yohko found themselves sitting on a bench in the middle of the quad, sharing a single bought lunch between them. The weather at least had improved since yesterday, since the sun was out in full force now. Of course, the quad was still one giant mudpit crisscrossed by concrete walkways at the moment. If Setsuna had to guess she'd say it would be several days before the place even resembled dry again. "So," Yohko said as she snatched a takoyaki off the end of its stick, "What's with the limp?" "Huh?" Setsuna replied intelligently. She had been drifting in and out for the past few minutes, Yohko observed to herself silently. Her mind was obviously concerned with something, but what that something was Yohko hadn't the foggiest. Normally Setsuna was shy and withdrawn but she wasn't the daydreamy type. Yohko really hoped that she wasn't suffering from SSDL syndrome (Shoujo Schoolgirl Daydream Love for the uninformed). "What was that?" "The limp?" Yohko pointed her unadorned stick at the other girls leg. She was wearing long socks this morning but that could barely contain the ugly purple blotch on her calf. "Did you get that last night?" "Oh yeah," Setsuna pulled out a small card and began to fiddle with it. "I slipped on the way home last night, made me miss my bus." "That had to suck," Yohko sympathized. "Why don't you get a room at the dorm? It's much closer than the boarding house you live in." "I told you before Yohko," Setsuna rolled her eyes. "I can't afford to stay at the dorm. The only reason I can afford to stay at the boarding house is because Mirameshi-san lets me pay half-rent because I do the laundry." "You could always stay at my room," Yohko added suggestively and leaned against her friend. "I won't even make you pay half-rent." "Yohko!" Setsuna laughed, like a angel would. Yohko wished Setsuna would laugh more often, instead of being so serious all the time. "You barely have enough room in that closet for -your- bed." <And yet again she misses the point,> Yohko sighed and sat back. She plucked the last takoyaki ball out of the bento, after making sure Setsuna wasn't interested and popped it into her mouth. Yohko wished Setsuna would lighten up sometimes, give in and live dangerously for once. But, all the time, the girl acted like she was being appraised for a job every instant. If she just had more confidence in herself she would really go far. Especially with her charm. Oh, Setsuna wasn't ugly, but not especially pretty either. She'd probably clean up very nice, and look much better if she wore fashionable clothes instead of the same school blazer and cheap dresses all the time. Her real strength lied in her winning personality and quiet charisma. If she weren't so shy, she would have a lot more friends. <Good luck telling her that though,> Yohko grumbled. "Yohko?" "Uh wha?" Yohko replied. She realized she'd drifted off herself and silently thanked the gods of irony for that one. "What is it, Setsuna?" "Have you ever heard of Mystery Club?" "Mystery Club..." Yohko drew a blank for a few moments and then it dawned on her. "Oh yeah, that's one of the local college groups, like the debate team or the animation society. I saw them on the list when I went to sign up for the nature club. I think it has something to do with police novels. Why? You interested in joining?" Yohko hoped so, at least it would be the start of a social life. It would mean progress on one of Yohko's many SIPs (Setsuna Improvement Programs, natch). And if one of them was working, then maybe another would start any day now... "No, no!" Setsuna answered too quickly. "I was just curious is all. I think one of their members helped me last night and I never got a chance to thank him..." "Oh," Yohko said, slightly crestfallen. She looked down at her watch and cursed silently. "I have to go to my next class, Setsuna. Why don't we meet again at the library this afternoon. I'll see what I can dig up about these people." "Thank you," Setsuna smiled and placed a hand on Yohko's wrist. It was like the girl poured warm sunlight into her and Yohko felt a goofy smile emerge on her features. "You're a real friend." "I... yeah," Yohko stood up and walked away quickly, taking deep breaths and wishing she had time for a cold shower before class. Oh this was just getting to be too hard, something had to be done about this whole thing before long. *** Setsuna spent the rest of the day in a sort of half daze. She meandered from class to class without really being aware of what she was doing. She even managed to totally missed her advanced chemistry class because she totally forgot about it. The problem, she had to admit, was that she was slightly scared. She couldn't help but look around her and feel even more like an outsider than normal. Sometimes she swore she saw people with cat-slitted eyes looking at her. It made concentrating on school work difficult at best. Finally she decided to make her way over to the library early. She skipped her last course but that was only her token arts course and missing one or two of those couldn't have that much of an impact on her grade. Could it? She chastised herself for being paranoid and wandered into the back of the library. She moved past the rows and rows of books, broken only ever now and then by a computer terminal, and reflected. Setsuna was actually given to self-reflection quite a bit actually. Although others might have called it more a form of self-pity. Still, one turned out that way when one had the same kind of life as her. Setsuna hadn't exactly had a hard life really. In fact, as the only child of her wealthy family one could almost say she was spoiled. Or her family had tried to spoil her at the very least. From day one little Setsuna had developed an independent streak. One that only grew bigger when her mother died of cancer when she was only four years old. Her father had wanted her to grow up a proper Japanese girl, but Setsuna had refused his help. She had insisted on going to private schools and earning her own spending money. Her family had been disappointed in her but they had thought it was just a phase. It turned out not to be, and Setsuna had gone through most of her life trying to forge her own identity. The problem was that most of the kids at her old schools used to treat her different because her father was rich. And the teachers seemed almost afraid of her, cowed by her father's reputation into not treating her the same way they would other children. It was infuriating to the young woman. She wanted so desperately not to be seen as just her father's daughter, to make a name for herself but was defeated at every turn. Even self-employment flopped. While she could get any job she quickly found out she was only being hired because of her family's influence. Then had come something of a falling out. When Setsuna had finally graduated high school she insisted on going to university and paying for herself. She even insisted on moving to Tokyo so she could get as far away from her family as possible. She deliberately hid her identity as best she could and got into the only school she could both afford and pass the entrance exams to. She didn't care if she had practically no free time because of the dual concerns of study and work, she was finally making it on her own. She would finally forge her own world. And then something like this happened, and you wondered if it was such a good thing to be on your own in the world after all. She was so caught up in brooding that she almost missed him. He was leaned over a textbook on one of the box-like study desks found within the depths of the library. She paused, trying to remember where exactly it was she had seen this boy before. Then he turned slightly to retrieve a folder of notes from his briefcase and she remembered. It was the same man from last night, the one with the soft, almost effeminate, features and the strange deep green eyes. She felt her pulse quicken as she tried to force her mind to decide what to do. He was so gorgeous, why would he even be interested in talking to a frumpy girl like Setsuna? No, she had to force herself to think. This isn't about romance (that was an option she would explore later). This was about the incident last night. If she didn't get some sort of closure on it she knew she'd probably spend the rest of her life jumping at shadows. The worst part was, she would never know if she was fully justified in doing so. "Excuse me." She was dismayed and surprised by the sound of her own voice. She sounded like a penetant at one of those western churches. She was also surprised that while she was debating it in her head she had walked all the way over to stand right next to him. He didn't seem to mind. In fact, he didn't seem to notice. His brow was cutely curled up in concentration and he was tapping a pen on top of a sheet filled with arcane figures and equations that she thought were related to finance. "Excuse me," she said again, louder this time. Again he didn't seem to notice. "Excuse me!" she exclaimed while leaning over next to his ear. He paused, his head slowly swiveled to pierce her with his emerald eyes, like frozen ponds. He studied her for a moment, obviously not recognizing her and then turned back to his work. She flushed, realizing he had probably been waiting for her to say something and she had blown it like some frivolous school girl. She was nineteen years old, she shouldn't have this much problem with guys. So why did she feel so much like running all the way back to her place and trying to hide under her covers from the shame? "Uh, sir..." she gulped in air. It was hard to breathe for some reason. "I believe we've met before..." "I don't think so," he deadpanned. He smirked and quickly began to jot down extra figures on the sheet. Apparently satisfied with his work he shuffled his papers, bringing a new one to the surface. "Actually we have," she reached down and found the courage to speak from somewhere. She noticed as she continued that it got easier, as long as she didn't leave any significant pauses. "We met last night. I was being chased by some sort of monster thing and you showed up with this girl and chased it off somehow. Then I fainted and I woke up this morning and I was cleaned up and dressed in my nightclothes. I found some sort of card and I was wondering what all this is about." "Ah," he turned and squinted his eyes slightly. On anybody else the expression might have been comical, on him it was just intense. "I see, I didn't recognize you without the mud all over your face." She flushed again at that. So much for first impressions. "Don't worry, we won't charge you for it. We only issue bills to contracted customers." He turned back to his figures. "Consider last night a freebie." "Huh?" she blinked. "What are you talking about?" "That isn't why you came to me?" "Well no," she shifted nervously as he looked at her again. "Then what, pray tell, do you want exactly?" "I want to know what happened to me last night..." He raised an eyebrow and a look of understanding seemed to cross his features. "Oh, I get it," he rolled his eyes. "You don't have to worry. Ibuki-san took you home and cleaned you up and put you to bed. I had nothing to do with it at all, so you won't have to worry about me doing anything perverted." She almost fell over as she lost her balance. Her cheeks felt like someone was applying an acetylene torch to them. She tried to speak but what came out of her mouth more resembled some ancient caveman dialect than Japanese. Finally she discovered her voice again. "That isn't what I was worried about at all!" she corrected him, a bit too loudly. A student from further up the aisle leaned out of her box and glared at the two of them. "I meant what was with that... that thing last night," she asked in a much lower voice. "I thought I explained that to you last night," he replied. "It was a Kuei-jin, a physical manifested spirit energy devouring vampiric creature with traits of the more common eastern gaki and the western nosferatu..." "Woah," she put up her hand and felt confusion well up inside her. "I mean, what was it. Do those things really exist? Was it a monster?" "Monster is a term we don't like to use," he explained. "It was a paranormal entity. One of many that inhabit our world and live just beyond the scope of human perception." "Para... normal?" He sighed. "If you really wish to find out more about this I suggest you go see Professor Mirumoto, he's the real expert and can probably explain the phenomena much better than I can." "I remember that name," she said slowly. "Didn't you mention it last night?" "Yes," he nodded. He shuffled through his papers until he found a blank piece. He then proceeded to write down a room number and what looked like hour notations. "This is his office and hours. If you're lucky he will actually be there instead of off cobbling together another nonsense gizmo or sleeping in his car." She wasn't quite sure how to respond to that so instead she merely took the slip of paper when he offered it. Something else was nagging her however, and when she reached into her pocket she remembered what it was. "What is Mystery Club?" she said as she took the card out of her pocket. "Mirumoto's pet project," he replied and glanced at the watch on his wrist. It read six o'clock. "I have to go. Find professor Mirumoto, he can answer any questions which you might have." He quickly packed his papers away and stood up, obviously intending a rapid exit. "Wait," she said as she followed him. "I still have more questions..." "I already told you how to answer them." "Won't you at least tell me your name?" He paused and turned to face her. "Mitsurugi Taro," he informed her crisply. "I'm Fume Setsuna..." she began. "Fume Akira's daughter?" he asked. "Of Fume Industrial Robotics?" "Uh yes," she blinked. "How did you know?" "Family resemblance plus the name," he started to leave. "Good day Fume-san." "Wait..." she began but noticed he had disappeared around the corner already. Damn, that could have gone better. And it wasn't exactly reassuring either. She held up the piece of paper and noticed that the next office hour wouldn't occur until tomorrow. Sighing with frustration she began to make her way towards the front of the library. *** Yohko didn't notice the beautiful man as he brushed by her and out the doors without pause. She did, however, notice the girl who exited the shelves shortly after him and began to look around as if lost. "There you are, Setsuna!" Yohko shouted then paused and looked around in embarrassment as the entire library seemed to stare at her. She forced herself to smile and wave at everyone as if this was great fun and they all returned to their studies. She dashed over to where Setsuna stood waiting for her. "Sorry I'm late," Setsuna apologized. "I got a little distracted back there." "Oh no big worry," Yohko shook her head. "I only got here myself a few minutes ago. I was going to apologize for being late to you, actually." "What for?" Setsuna seemed perplexed. "Well," Yohko shifted her foot nervously. "The girls over at the Nature Club have some sort of party or something planned for tonight and they wanted me to help. What with me being the vice-president and all." "Oh, one of those," Setsuna chuckled and lead the two of them over to a nearby desk so they could sit. "Those people are always throwing parties, you wonder how they got any work done about the environment in all that." "Eh heh," Yohko forced a chuckle. "Well, the environment isn't the only thing the girls in the club get together for." "Oh," Setsuna said with that endearing little innocent expression she used. "What else would a Nature Club get together for?" Yohko sighed, remembering how dense Setsuna was and decided to drop it. Well, that part of it anyway. "Say do you want to go with me?" "Oh, no. I'm sorry but I have a lot of work I have to do this evening..." she seemed distant, much like earlier at lunch. Yohko tried to hide her disappointment, probably without much success, but Setsuna didn't pick up on it. What kind of clues was Yohko going to have to drop here? Show up in Setsuna's room naked? No, Setsuna would probably just assume that Yohko had gotten all her clothes dirty and need to ask her to do the laundry. One of these days she was going to force Setsuna to someplace private where they could have a long (and hopefully intimate) conversation with each other. Hey, a girl could dream, couldn't she? "So when is this party?" Setsuna asked as she pulled out her Chemistry book and began to flip it to the proper page. Chemistry was the one course Setsuna and Yohko shared. As such, Yohko had gone out of her way to convince Setsuna she was a good tutor so the two could spend more time together. "Oh," Yohko checked her watch and blanched visibly. "It's in fifteen minutes!" "Wow," Setsuna blinked. "Shouldn't you get going then?" "I wouldn't want to leave you in the lurch like this," Yohko backpedaled. She had really been counting on convincing Setsuna to go but the young woman knew when Setsuna was too serious about work to be dragged away from it. Unfortunately that happened to be most of the time. "What with the big mid-term next week and all..." "Don't worry about it, Yohko," Setsuna smiled and Yohko felt her knees go weak. "I think I have most of it now. I can probably just drill here by myself. I could also use the time to finish my physics projects too." "Why do you have to be so nice, Setsuna?" Yohko almost whined. Setsuna just gave her a strange look. Yohko blushed and started to her feet, not sure if they would support her weight at the moment but needing a few minutes to rethink everything. "I'll catch you tomorrow at lunch then?" "Yes," Setsuna replied as she stared down at her textbook, obviously lost. Yohko paused to just look at her for a moment then turned away and began to walk towards the door. "Yohko!" Setsuna said suddenly and Yohko turned as if someone had shot at her. "Uh," Setsuna looked slightly embarrassed. "I forgot to ask, did you find out anything about Mystery Club?" "Not really," Yohko stepped over to her again. "I learned that they exist, but there was no information on what they do or how to join. It was actually rather strange. You wouldn't think things would be so hush-hush about a student activity like that..." she trailed off. "Uh," Setsuna paused. "What about a guy named Mitsurugi Taro, have you ever heard of him?" "Mitsurugi..." Yohko paused. The name was familiar, now where had she heard it before. Then it came to her in a flash. "You don't mean ICEHEART TARO?!?" Everyone in the library turned towards her again, this time with much more stern expressions on their faces. Yohko almost felt her legs give way but forced herself to remain standing. Eventually everyone apparently decided there would either be no more shenanigans or that Yohko had suffered enough and went back to their own lives. Setsuna waited until no one was looking before speaking again. "Iceheart Taro? What does that mean?" "He's only been declared the number one enemy of women on campus!" Yohko hissed to her. "He's left a string of broken hearts behind him longer than the great wall of china!" "Wow," Setsuna blinked. "Is he really that much of a gigilo?" "Well no," Yohko forced herself to amend. "It's not that, but almost every woman on campus has asked him out and he shot them all down. It was cruel, like he didn't even care that he was breaking their poor hearts." Yohko smirked. She would never have to worry about being shot down by a man at least. That would just be too embarrassing. "So what's his story?" Setsuna asked. "Is he, like, engaged since birth to someone he doesn't like or has he had a bad experience with a woman or what?" Yohko didn't like the way this was going at all. Still, Setsuna was her friend first. "Nobody knows," she whispered conspiratorially. "You know what I think. I think he's gay." Setsuna looked at her for a moment and then laughed softly into her hand. "Yohko, that's silly," she said. "I've met the guy and I think I, of all people, could tell if he was gay!" This time Yohko's legs did fail her. *** Yohko never made it home from the party that evening. Perhaps if she hadn't been paying attention instead of brooding about what she had dubbed the SMNBG crisis (Setsuna Might Not Be Gay, obviously) she might have. Then again, when the creature snatched her from the shadows it moved much faster than she could even see, so maybe not. It held her struggling form tightly, its clammy flesh covering her mouth. "Be calm, child..." the creature said and looked into the girls eyes. Immediately the young woman's struggles ceased. Her eyes seemed to glaze over and her body went partially limp. "I know you," it informed her. "I saw you talking with the girl at lunch today, the girl that got away from me." Its voice took on a hard edge. "No creature has ever resisted me before. NO creature can resist my Kiss..." He licked his lips. "And I will prove it girl... with your help. Yes, yes we both shall prove it I think." He leaned his head towards her. "Now open your mouth little girl, and taste my Kiss..." Yohko didn't scream. Not that she could have if she even wanted to, all things considered. *** Setsuna managed to catch the last bus home this time. It was much more pleasant than having to walk home, even if it wasn't raining this evening. She didn't even see the place where the incident had occurred last night either, having dozed off somewhere before then. She did almost miss her stop, but thankfully the man who drove this bus was so used to her he knew where she got off. She thanked him for waking her up and walked the short distance to the boarding house. The place was at the bottom of a small hill, perfectly placed so that the rising sun warmed it and the shade cooled it in the afternoon. It wasn't much of a place to look at, two stories and built like a box. The yard was so small you could lay down and put your hands on the wall of the house and your feet on the fence. And still be unable to stretch all the way. Still it was a cozy place and Setsuna felt oddly attached to it at times. It was probably because this was the first place where she had lived on -her- money and where no one cared about who her father was. As she entered she noticed the gate and front door were unlocked. That was unusual... even in a small suburb of Tokyo like this it was best to keep your doors locked at night. Then again, maybe the landlady just forgot. Setsuna dismissed it from her mind and walked up to the second floor room she called her own. Her one safe haven from all the insanities of college life. Of course, she could be wrong. Setsuna stared at the scene in her room and stood so still that one might guess she thought it would go away if she just didn't react to it for long enough. The figure on her bed raised herself up lazily, stretching and smiling indulgently as the leather outfit, which failed to leave much to the imagination, strained over her figure. She tossed her brown hair with a flick of her head, removing the bangs from her eyes and looked at Setsuna with a hungry little smirk. "Yohko," Setsuna finally managed to say. "Is there, uh, something you want to tell me?" "Well," Yohko turned her head to look at the ceiling. Her voice was... different, more throaty. She took her good time replying, her only action a steady deep breathing. Setsuna began to feel slightly uncomfortable, like she had walked in on a couple, or something. "There's a lot of things I've been meaning to tell you for a long time now, Setsuna-chan." She looked at the other girl and patted the bed. "Why don't you come sit down and we can... discuss them at our leisure." "I, uh, have to be, that is, I need to..." Setsuna sighed and gave up. Might as well discover what all this nonsense was about. Probably some sort of practical joke. When Setsuna sat down Yohko looked away, her eyes staring at something out the window. The two were almost touching and Setsuna could smell the oily leather. "Yohko?" "Setsuna..." the other girl moved so fast Setsuna could barely follow it. Before she realized what was happening she was pressed tightly against her friend and was being squeezed against the wall. It wasn't that she was being hurt, just that she found it a little hard to move. Especially not without bringing much more of herself in contact with Yohko than she probably wanted to. And was Yohko... writhing? That was the only word Setsuna could think of to describe the way her friend was rubbing herself against her. Yohko's head rested on her shoulder and Setsuna had to cough to get some of the hairs out of her mouth. "Setsuna I'm so hungry..." "I don't have much in the fridge but you can take what you want..." "No," Yohko's arms moved and Setsuna saw her slip the school blazer off Setsuna's body. "I mean hungry in another way." Setsuna was stunned, not quite sure what to think. This had to be some sort of weird dream. Yohko wasn't... this was... She struggled to prevent her brain from locking up. "Setsuna-chan," Yohko said as her arms wrapped around behind the other girl and began to pull them closer. "You don't know how long I have wanted this, how many times I have watched you and felt my body ache because it couldn't touch yours like it is now." Setsuna felt her fiddling with something back there and realized that the other girl was removing Setsuna's bra. In one of those strange revelations she realized that Yohko wasn't wearing a bra at the moment either. "Yohko," Setsuna said and heard a lot more pleading in her voice than she would have liked. "Please stop this... the joke has gone too far. Tell your friends at the nature club we had a big laugh but come on," her voice trailed off as Yohko leaned back, tossing her head backward so Setsuna could only catch a momentary glimpse of her face. It was enough to know something was wrong with it, but Setsuna couldn't fathom what. Then she felt the blouse she was wearing be slipped over her head and understood why Yohko had leaned back. "Yohko," she didn't bother trying to hid the pleading now. She tried to cover herself as best she could. "Why are you doing this?" "Because," Yohko leaned forward and looked Setsuna directly in the eyes before finishing, "I'm a whole new girl now." Her eyes were slitted like a cats. Setsuna felt her hand reach out and clasp her... and she screamed. Moments later Setsuna was on the floor, scrambling to get the the door. She didn't quite remember what had happened, or how she had got here. All she knew was that she had to get away. She stood up and half-ran, half-jumped to the door. Her hands clasped around the handle and then she felt some terrible force pull them away. She looked down to see Yohko's fingers wrapped around her forearm, Yohko herself stood on the bed and hissed at her. Wait, Yohko's fingers were around her arm, and Yohko was standing on the bed. All the way across the room on the bed. Her mind tried to add two plus two, came up with the inverse square root of negative fifty and she screamed again. "Get OFF!" she yelled, or something very near it, she wasn't sure what. It was then that Yohko screamed as if burned and snapped her hand back. The fingers which had stretched out like whips snapped back to normal size like one of those measuring tapes carpenters use. Setsuna didn't bother trying to figure out why that had happened, she just opened the door and bolted. She took the steps down two at a time and almost made it to the outside door. She was screaming like a banshee and that might explain why Yakaze-san stepped out into the hall. The two collided and went down in a tangle of limbs. Then there was a solid whump as something landed after leaping all the way down the stairs. Setsuna tried to pull Yakaze-san off her but the man outweighed her by a good two-hundred pounds and seemed to be dazed. She looked towards the door and could have sworn she saw it vibrate, like something was smashing into it from outside. Then Yohko was upon them. She still had her human face on, which made the polite little smile she gave Setsuna as she lifted Yakaze-san off her and casually snapped his neck like a chicken-bone all the more disturbing. "Now where was I?" she said with that same deep throaty voice. Setsuna backed up, scampering along until her back came in contact with the wall. Yohko walked forward calmly, her leather outfit catching the glow from Yakaze-san's room and sending dull light over her form. She tossed the body behind her and moaned, clutching herself as she writhed in place for a moment. "Don't worry Setsuna-chan, this will be over in a moment and then we can be together..." Setsuna screamed again, her mind seemed unable to grasp this. It just couldn't be happening, her mind explained rationally. People don't just suddenly become... that. And they certainly don't get strong enough to lift a 300-pound man off the floor and casually snap his neck when they do. At least, if they did there wouldn't be as many homophobes in the world. Then another noise cut through her fear, the solid thunk of something striking wood. Setsuna looked over just in time to see the door snap off its hinges. Dust and wood-chips flew into the room and after them came a man. It was Mitsurugi, his black outfit making him seem to melt out of the night outside. He raised the crossbow in his hands and Setsuna saw that it was tipped with a green head of some kind. There was a snap and Setsuna tried to follow the flight of the quarrel but only managed to see the shaft sticking out of Yohko's arm. The girl had apparently raised it to ward off the bolt, which was just touching the edge of her leather suit over her heart. Smoke seemed to flow out of her arm like blood. "Run!" Mitsurugi yelled at her and started to pick her up with one hand. Setsuna didn't think, she just ran. Soon enough they were outside and exiting the gate. Setsuna noticed the tiny motorscooter parked in front of the gate and then felt Mitsurugi force her onto it. "Drive!" he yelled again as he began to recock the old-fashioned weapon. Setsuna didn't dare pause to think and instead simply gripped the steering yoke and pressed the gas. The scooter seemed to try and shoot out from underneath her but friction kept her in place. She looked back over her shoulder and saw Mitsurugi perched precariously on the edge of the seat, trying to not fall off and hold his crossbow at the same time. He looked at her with those deep indifferent eyes and spoke much too calmly. "Next time, wait until we have our helmets on please." Then Yohko came out of the house. She didn't even bother with the door, the wall nearest them buckled and exploded outward in a shower of debris and the lithe form came hurtling out. She cleared the not-inconsiderable fence with one leap and landed in the middle of the street. Seeing the two getting away she roared, an inhuman sound of pure malice and now her face -did- change, becoming something twisted and filled with a giant toothy maw. "You can't have her you bastard!" Yohko screamed and Setsuna nearly cried because the voice was still hers. It was warped by her new mouth, but it was Yohko's voice. "She's mine, you hear me!? Mine!" Then it was coming after them, and Setsuna had never seen anything move that fast. It was actually gaining on them... "Fume-san!" Mitsurugi looked around and barked, "Look at the roa..." He was too late and the scooter smashed into a curb and both of them went flying. Setsuna almost thought she felt the world go still for a moment as the vertigo of freefall overwhelmed her sense. Then harsh reality returned as she smashed into the soft loam of someone's yard. It was still muddy from yesterday's storm and she could feel it spatter down on her. She tried to clear her vision but saw only black spots for a few seconds. When her eyes cleared she almost wished they hadn't. Mitsurugi had landed on the concrete not ten feet away but looked in much worse shape. He was rolling onto his front and she could see that the back of his shirt was torn open and blood seemed to flow out of every inch of skin he had. Realistically she knew that was impossible, but then again so were people who could jump twenty feet and outrun cars. Then Yohko appeared. She came out of nowhere and smashed her foot into his chest. The force of the blow lifted him up and threw him almost a dozen feet before he landed back on the concrete. He lay very, very still at that point. A hard lump formed in Setsuna's throat and she forced herself to sit up. This, unfortunately, brought her to Yohko's attention. Watching someone's face reform out of monster's wasn't really all that weird anymore somehow. The girl Setsuna had known for the past six months walked forward. Well, strutted also may be more like it. She smiled at Setsuna and reached down to grab her. Setsuna tried to pull away but could hardly move, much less escape. She felt the cold, clammy hand grasp her neck (how did she not notice the cold before?). Yohko smiled as Setsuna tried to scream but couldn't force the air out. All she managed was a small whistle. "I'm sick of being interrupted," Yohko said and winked with her cat-like eyes. "Just relax and this will all be over in a moment." And then she kissed her. It was like someone had shoved her face onto a corpse. She could feel the deathly cold lips press firmly against hers, but more than that she could feel Yohko breathing. It wasn't pleasant and from the strange sounds Yohko was making Setsuna almost got the impression she was trying to... trying to... suck her breath out? Yohko stopped and looked up, her eyes showing surprise. "That isn't possible," Yohko said. "He told me nobody could resist that..." "Kiya!" Setsuna only saw a blur and only heard a meaty smack. Then Yohko was off her. She drew in air greedily, trying to soothe her burning lungs. She looked up and saw... Ibuki? It was the girl from last night, except she was wearing a different outfit (this one clung to her body like a second skin but was NOT wet) and her hair had obviously been dried and allowed to spring out to its natural fullness. It was more like a mane than a hairstyle actually. "Bitch!" Yohko roared and launched herself at the newcomer. But she was waiting for her, and the girl did something. It was hard to see it, something involving her hands and then Yohko was flying again. This time she crashed into a telephone poll with nearly enough force to snap it in twain. And it was concrete. The girl turned to face the monster in front of her and smiled. Her voice came out cool and confident. "You're new at this," she said and casually clasped her hands behind her back. "I'll give you fair warning. I'm Kusanagi Ibuki, heir to the Kusanagi school of demon-slaying. And I'm more than a match for you." Setsuna saw her do something with her wrist and a small sparkling green dagger dropped into her palm. It was out of Yohko's view however. "We'll see!" the creature roared and ran at Ibuki again. This time its fingers elongated into deadly talons and it slashed wildly with them, obviously counting on raw ferocity to win the battle. Ibuki was apparently much more skilled than that, as she careful weaved between the slashes and spun around behind the thing. It paused, having lost track of her somehow during the exchange. The it looked down at the dagger-handle sticking neatly out of its chest. The girl screamed, her hands clutching at the knife but unable to get a grip. Black smoke seemed to hiss out from around the hilt and Setsuna could see more of it drifting off the rest of her body. She turned her head to her friend in life and looked like she was trying to say something. Whatever it was never got out as the thing screamed and disintegrated into black mist that was stirred by the wind until it was no more. Ibuki walked over to Mitsurugi and began to check him over. "Are you hurt?" she asked him. "No..." he replied with a soft wheeze. "I actually enjoy this sort of thing." "Hah!" the girl patted him on the back, eliciting a yelp of pain. "You're a lot tougher than you look, Mitsu-chan! My training must be paying off!" "Don't..." he coughed, "Call me Mitsu-chan." She began to struggle with him, obviously trying to pick him up. She turned toward Setsuna. "Hey," she called, "Wanna give me a hand with this rich-girl?" "But," Setsuna stood up, not sure how much her brain could take. "I thought... you threw her like a rag-doll..." "Well of course I did!" Ibuki rolled her eyes as if Setsuna had just proudly proclaimed one equals one. "But she isn't -here- anymore so I can't do it now, can I? Sheesh..." "I..." Setsuna felt that questions were perhaps best left for later. She decided to help now and the two of them picked up Mitsurugi and helped him over into a car parked near-by, apparently Ibuki's. "Is he going to be all right?" "Yeah," Ibuki drawled. "He's had worse than this. He should be fine in a few days. Only had the wind knocked out of him." "Oh good," Setsuna blinked. "Uh, can I ask what's going on?" "Sure," Ibuki said as she closed to door on Mitsurugi. "You can come with us back to the office if you want. Somehow I don't think it's a coincidence that you got attacked by two demons in a row." "Oh." Setsuna was trying very hard not to think about that. "That's great." "You might want to put some clothes on though," Ibuki pointed out as she walked around the car. "You'll catch cold." It was only then that Setsuna remembered she wasn't wearing a top. In her defense however, it had been a rather hectic day. *** Unseen by any of them, a creature sat perched atop the boarding house which had just witnessed quite a few strange things this night. It held a simple key in its hand and twirled the item back and forth as it watched the girls drive off in the small sportscar. It smiled and leapt forward, landing easily on the next roof over and began to keep pace, at a discreet distance. *** Mirumoto-sensei turned out to be a 73 year old man with fraying white hair and a short white beard. His heavily wrinkled face held two strangely youthful pale brown eyes. He was dressed in a threadbare coat and pants and his frail arms poked out of his cuffs like absurd toys. He seemed very interested in Setsuna, once the full story of her encounter with Yohko had been outlined. She now sat on his desk (wearing a shirt borrowed from Ibuki and much too... low cut for her tastes) while he examined her. Ibuki was nearby, applying the last of the bandages to Mitsurugi's back. The room itself was small and messy, on the second floor of the science building. "All done Mitsu-chan," she declared. "Don't call me Mitsu-chan," he replied automatically. "So have you learned anything, Mirumoto-sensei?" "Hmm?" the old man paused while patting down Setsuna's back. She was at the moment feeling sort of pleasantly numb, a side-effect of the morphine Ibuki had given her. It turned out that the girl was studying to be a nurse, specializing in physical recuperation. "Well I've discovered some very fascinating things..." he said as he bobbed around to the front of the desk. Setsuna was struck by the almost comical way he resembled a chicken. "You say she was immune to the Kuei-jin's attack?" "I didn't say that," Ibuki drawled. "I said that the thing looked like it was trying to suck her face off when I arrived and was stunned by something." "That was the creature's attack," Mitsurugi pointed out. "The Kuei-jin steal the life force of their victims by drawing out the targets breath and swallowing it. They then turn that into paranormal energy, which they can blow back into the mouth of their victim to create another Kuei-jin." (That must have been what happened to Yohko) Setsuna thought and fought down a sob. "You're a regular encyclopedia, Mitsu-chan." He only glared at her in response. "Well," the old man said as he leaned in closer to Setsuna and patted her along the shoulders. "This is very fascinating, I must say most unique." "Well," Ibuki rolled her eyes. "What's your theory on this one, old man?" "My theory," he paused and looked up at the ceiling. "Why I have no theory at all. Nothing like this has ever occurred before." Setsuna almost slipped off the desk, but managed to catch herself in time. "Then what were you doing there?" Ibuki growled. "That?" Mirumoto-sensei bobbed his head. "Oh its not every day I get to touch such a lovely young..." He never finished, his head rocking to the side as Ibuki roundhoused him. The girl grabbed him by the lapels and drew his face up to hers, which meant pulling him nearly a foot off the floor. "Listen, you old pervert," she growled, "What have I told you about feeling up women?" "You must be fast of hand?" She dropped him and stalked to the other side of the room, muttering in disgust. "How rude," he declared firmly from the floor. "You just watch I don't send you packing, girl!" "You going to fire me?" she smirked. "I'd like to see Mitsu-chan last five minutes out there without me to back him up." "Do not call me Mitsu-chan," Mitsurugi reacted on instinct. "Mirumoto-sensei, I think this is fairly serious. Whatever the creature that attacked her wants seems to be centered on this girl. She has some strange power and that might be why it sent a minion to attack her." "She was not a minion!" Setsuna yelled, causing everyone to look at her strangely. Setsuna forced herself to stop shaking. "She was my best... my only friend." "Oh, you poor thing," Ibuki started over. "Get back!" Setsuna shrieked. "You killed her! You killed Yohko!" "She did not," Mitsurugi interposed himself between the two. "What she killed was a paranormal that was using your friend as a host. The beast which transformed her killed her." "What are you talking about?!" Setsuna knew she sounded strung out but didn't care. "This is crazy, I don't even know what a paranormal is! Monsters don't exist! They can't exist!" "I had trouble accepting it at first too," Mitsurugi replied calmly and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Of course I had a harder time denying it than you do. Most people ignore the creatures that lurk in the dark places, just out of sight because its easier for them that way. They live in the sunlight and they don't want to know what happens at night. I didn't have any choice, I can't help but see them. You can either accept it or go crazy, the choice is yours." Setsuna didn't realize she was crying until she tasted the tears on her lips. She chocked back another sob and forced herself to sit up straight. "What are these things?" "They are paranormals," Mirumoto-sensei told her with a soft voice. "Creatures that exist outside our laws of physics. They come in every form imaginable, undead, shapeshifters, aliens, talking animals, ghosts..." he trailed off. "We can't prove they exist, so nobody really believes us. But that's the point of this club, the Mystery Club. We hunt down the paranormals and try to document them, study them, gather proof that they exist. Once we have that we can go public and the world can really rid itself of them." "But," Setsuna paused. "You didn't try to study Yohko, or that one last night." "We don't always have that luxury," Ibuki shrugged. "Some paranormals aren't hostile, but most are. We try to protect people from them. Sometimes we do it for free, most of the time people from all over the city hire us out to deal with their ghosts and goblins." "This isn't making any sense..." Setsuna moaned. "It's all very simple," Mirumoto-sensei disagreed. "The paranormal exist and we hire ourselves out to deal with it, at the same time we try to gather proof that it exists. Solid proof. Of course, I'd be an idiot to just send out anyone to deal with this, most people are no match for a Paranormal." "Most people?" Setsuna paused. "You mean, like what Ibuki-san did? Fighting them and all?" "Uh-huh," Mirumoto-sensei nodded. "That's it exactly. Ibuki here is a darling, the last of her bloodline I believe. The people in her family are like paranormal energy sponges, whenever they're near one they can gain the ability to move faster, be stronger and all that. It's really quite impressive. Too bad it doesn't work if there is no paranormal around." "Hey," Ibuki disagreed. "I don't think I'd always want to be running around breaking things by mistake and all. It's hard enough not to hurt people by mistake now." "Yes dear," Mirumoto-sensei winked. Ibuki muttered something under her breath and turned away. "Young Taro here can sense them, like a sixth sense. No paranormal can hide itself from him and he can sometimes feel them all the way across the city." "You're psychic?" Setsuna blinked. "It's overrated," Mitsurugi shrugged. "I can't read thoughts or move rocks or even bend spoons. I just know the paranormal is around. Of course, it would help if my gift were more reliable instead of just working whenever it felt like it." "So you sensed I was in danger and came to rescue me," Setsuna smiled. Mitsurugi coughed. "Nothing so altruistic I'm afraid. Once Mirumoto-sensei heard you were rich he sent me to try and get you to pay for services rendered..." Ibuki smacked Mirumoto who protested innocence. This went on for a few more moments until the room quieted down again. "And you my dear," the professor said with a simple nod. "Appear to be a very strange specimen. Nobody has ever been recorded who was immune to paranormal ability..." "Wait!" Mitsurugi sat bolt upright. "There's something coming... fast! Everyone dow..." Setsuna was moving even before he finished his first word. She slipped around and ducked behind the desk. Thus it was she didn't see the window which opened out onto the quad explode inward. Nor did she see the grotesque thing that came in. "Dammit!" Ibuki yelled and there was a rapid series of smacks and thuds, then Setsuna saw the girl go flying up and over the desk to impact with the wall. The force of her strike was enough to cause the wall to crack but it did not give way. "Come out, little girl," the thing hissed. "I know you are here, and this time I am ready for your protectors!" Setsuna didn't pause, she bolted. Her mad dash for the door was cut short when she felt something cold and sticky wrap around her waist. She looked down and back to see the thing's tongue lolling out of its mouth and twined firmly around her midsection. Mitsurugi was propped against the wall, obviously dazed, and Mirumoto was cowering behind a filing cabinet. "Get OFF!" Setsuna yelled at it. The creature seemed to roar, and flinched back. It's form seemed to dissolve and suddenly it was back to the same man she had met on the street last night. (Oh god, it felt like a hundred years, not one day!) The thing seemed surprised and perplexed by this... and thus was caught off-gaurd when Ibuki leaped over the desk and dropkicked it out the window. "Oh my," Mirumoto said calmly. "That was rather unexpected." "Stay here," Ibuki ordered them and pulled out the same jeweled green dagger as before, then leapt out the window. Setsuna ran over and looked out, watching as the creature and the young woman began to battle. The thing seemed much faster tonight, and was easily keeping pace with her. Soon the battle was moving so fast Setsuna could only make out glimpses of it. A moment of slow movement as the two reeled from blows or shifted tactics. "What's that dagger she's using?" Setsuna asked and turned to see Mirumoto heading out of the room. "Hey, where are you going?" "One question at a time!" he complained. "The dagger is jade, the only thing that can kill a Kuei-jin, and then only if put in the heart. I am going to get the equipment to record this. This is the opportunity of a lifetime!" Setsuna resisted the urge to chase him down and pound some sense into him as he dashed out. Instead she moved over to Mitsurugi and leaned down next to him. "Are you okay, Mitsurugi?" "I will live Fume-san," he stated clearly despite the way his eyes were unfocused. "I fear I shall be of little help in the battle however." "I..." Deep down inside herself Setsuna felt something snap. This monster, this thing had ruined her life. It had driven her to the point of paranoia, killed her best friend... no, worse, turned her best friend into some -thing-. And now it was trying to kill the only people who had helped her. No, she wasn't about to let it push her around anymore! "Where did you put your crossbow?" "My..." he paused. "In the next room, on the desk. The quarrels are next to it." She got up to leave. "Fume-san?" She paused. "Try not to hit Kusanagi-san by mistake." She grinned and ran out of the room. *** By the time Setsuna got down the the first floor and out of the building the battle had moved. It didn't take long to spot however, as streetlamps didn't normally go flying fifty feet straight up. The run down to the street was torture on her wounded leg however and she was just thankful it hadn't moved on when she got there either. She was very lucky in fact, because she got there just as a pause had developed in the battle. Ibuki was standing ten meters from the beast, breathing deep and slow to recover her strength. The beast, thankfully, wasn't doing much better. It was holding one of its arms, from which a greasy black smoke was pouring. Setsuna concealed herself as best she could behind a bench. "You are very good girl," the thing said. "I don't know how you can fight me to a standstill and yet you have." "Hah!" Ibuki gave him a thumbs-down. "I'm the heir to the Kusanagi school of demon slaying. I'm as strong as my opponent in every battle. That way the battle always goes to the most skilled fighter." "Ah but the race does not always go to the swift," it said,"Or the battle to the strong... In fact, sometimes to battle goes to the one with the advantage. And I have a very special advantage." It stared at her, grinning maliciously. "What's that?" Ibuki smiled cockily and met the creature stare for stare. "I can control your mind..." it hissed. Ibuki blinked then cursed and tried to move her eyes... but too late. "Hold right there!" it hissed and Ibuki stopped as if frozen. "You will do exactly as I say... and do nothing to defend yourself." From the look on Ibuki's face she didn't like that in the least, still she wasn't moving. "Foolish human," it hissed as it moved forward, always making sure to keep eyecontact. "You may be strong, but your mind is weak as a child's. I will show you true power..." Twang-zip-thunk! The monster roared, throwing back its head in rage and clutching at the crossbow bolt burred in its back. Once its eyes were off her Ibuki was moving again. She pivoted and somehow drove the sole of her foot into the chin of the beast from beneath. The things mouth snapped shut and it flew up a good twenty meters before crashing to the earth meters away. "Thank you Mitsu-chan!" Ibuki smiled. "You're welcome Ibuki-san!" Setsuna called. Ibuki stared at her for a second and then laughed. "Okay," she said, "So you're a pretty good shot." "Uh, actually I was aiming for his head..." Ibuki laughed even harder. "You," the creatures voice brought them both back to the present. "You girl," the thing growled. "I've had enough of you... I'll kill you now!" It roared and suddenly long and exceedingly sharp talons were hurtling towards her like missiles. Setsuna yelled and dove for cover but probably wouldn't have made it had Ibuki not intercepted the talons. She threw her knife and it spun through the extending claws like a lawnmower through grass. The thing roared and pulled back then jumped at Ibuki and once again the fight was on. Setsuna scrambled to her feet again and looked around. Spotting the dagger she dashed over and picked it up off the sidewalk. She watched in fascination for a moment as the ends of the talons dissolved in to black smoke, but then forced herself to concentrate on the matter at hand. The problem was that she could barely follow the matter at hand, much less effect it. The two fighters moved so fast that Setsuna couldn't tell which was where at any given point, and throwing herself into the battle was only likely to get her killed. But without the knife, Ibuki had no way of finishing off the beast. Eventually this took its toll. The creature, realizing the martial artist was unarmed went on the offensive and cared little for defense. While Ibuki was able to get in a few choice hits, nothing slowed it down for long and soon she was sent flying into the school gate. The force of the blow bent the metal bars and Ibuki herself dropped to the ground, obviously dazed. The creature began to prep itself for a final strike. Setsuna acted, not sure if her gambit would work but having no better plan. Madly she ran and placed herself between Ibuki and the monster. It paused upon seeing her and laughed. "What do you expect to do little girl?" "You don't scare me anymore!" she yelled, hiding the dagger in her sleeve. She stared at it, as if daring the thing to attack. She hoped she didn't look as nervous as she felt. "I'll get you, for what you did to Yohko!" The creature stared back at her, its slitted eyes finding and catching hers. She saw it smile. "Foolish girl," it said, "You will soon learn to call me master. Come... come to me..." Setsuna gulped and forced her legs to move forward. The thing was like a living nightmare, all distorted flesh and a charnel odor seemed to pour out of it. Every instinct in her body told her to run, to scream, to get away. She ignored them and continued to walk, trying her best to affect a surprised and reluctant expression. She kept her eyes on its, that helped a little, when she didn't have to see its entire body. "Yes little girl," it hissed. "I knew nothing could resist my power. Come to me and I will give you my Kiss, my Kiss of death..." She came closer until she was sure that the reek and the horror would overwhelm her but she kept going. She vaguely heard Ibuki getting up behind her and trying to yell something at her. Setsuna resisted to urge to look away, to check and see if the other girl was alright. She had to keep up this charade, if she broke it she was dead. Finally the thing was within striking distance. It hissed and reached out, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her close. "Now child," it said and opened its mouth wide. "Come to m-urk!" Setsuna leapt away as the beast began to thrash. She rolled and came to a stop two meters away. She looked up and saw it clutching futilely at the small hilt buried in its chest. Like Yohko before it, black smoke poured out of the monster. Finally it raised its head and screamed, a primal terror-filled scream. Then it was gone, dissolved into mist and blown away by the wind. There was a soft clink as the dagger struck the pavement. "Whoa," Ibuki said as she walked up beside Setsuna. "That took guts." She rubbed Setsuna on the head. "You're okay in my book, rich-girl." "Thanks," Setsuna said and felt a warm sort of tingle in her chest. It took her a moment to realize that she was happy. Despite all the horror and the pain and the loss, she was happy. Happy to be alive, happy to have finished this and happy... to have found something. Something special. Later, she would grieve, but for now she allowed herself to be happy. "Wait, wait!" a small voice called and they turned to see Mirumoto-sensei wobbling out of the gate. He carried what looked like every type of electronic equipment that had ever been invented. From camcorders to things with graphs to things with screens that showed everything in shades of green. "Wait for me..." he paused as he looked around. "Where did it go?" "We killed it," Ibuki said simply. "You... killed it?" He looked at her sternly. "Couldn't you have waited another five minutes before killing it? I mean, really!" Setsuna laughed, and soon after Ibuki joined in. *** Dealing with the police the next day was surprisingly easy. Despite the strangeness of the crime that had occurred and the circumstances of Yakaze-san's death they didn't seem to take much convincing to leave. All they needed to do was talk with Mirumoto-sensei and exchange knowing looks before climbing back in their policecar and driving off. "Is it always that way?" Setsuna asked. "Usually," Mitsurugi was helping her move his dented up scooter off the road and getting it back onto the sidewalk. "The police and the school know that Mirumoto-sensei is doing important work, they just sort of let him do it. They don't want to admit he's right, but they know that there are things they can't deal with so they let us do our work. As long as he doesn't get too out of line, that is." "I see," she grunted as they set the scooter down. "So did you give any thoughts to Mirumoto-sensei's offer?" She paused. She had given it a great deal of thought. It meant she would probably be encountering more of those things, those paranormals. But then, it also meant that she would be her own person. If she did this, and she saved people and proved that the paranormal did exist then she would be famous. She would be known as something other than Fume Akira's daughter. And it also served as extra credit towards her degree, as well as getting paid whenever they did a contract. Which could mean she might be able to quit her horrid job at the fast-food joint. (Not to mention), she thought as she looked at Mitsurugi and sighed, (That I'll actually have friends and not be as much of an outsider.) "Yes," she said finally. "I'll do it. I'll join the club." "A decision many would question, Fume-san," Mitsurugi said simply. "Yet it is your decision and in the long run I think a good one." "Thank you, Mitsurugi," she nodded. "Oh, and one other thing." "Yes?" "Call me Setsuna." He blinked but shrugged and nodded. "As you wish Setsuna-san." (Oh yes,) she thought, (Maybe some real new friends.) <Beginning> ********************************************************************** Author's Notes: Well, there it is. This is my "serious" entry into the Second Coming Sweeps and the one I personally hope wins. If you find yourself torn between this and Magical Princess... Bob? then may I please plead that you vote for this one (or both, both is also good ^_^). Some general comments are in order. First on the length, I know some of you may remember me posting about how the ideal starter length was from 40-60k and with that I still agree. However there was simply too much plot, characterization and world-building for me to do in this starter to get it all in under this length (I had to cut some scenes actually). Hopefully if you read all the way through it you won't consider it too long. Also I stayed under my self-imposed 80k limit. Secondly some of my pre-readers raised comments about the setting, specifically the fact that it is set at a university. Typically anime is set at a high school. However, this is because the target audience is also likely to be in high school (or junior high). This fic is targeted at a more mature audience (ie, middle-college, like myself) and so I set it at the appropriate venue. Also it was neccesary for some of the quirks of Setsuna's character, specifically her rebellion against her father. I find it hard to picture a high school student going out to live on her own like Setsuna did. Thirdly on the concept of entrance exams. If you are not familiar with them an entrance exam is a test issued by a university in Japan, only students who can pass the exam are allowed to attend. This is why studying hard is so important in Japan, as the best universities always have the most difficult exams. For more info on this check out the early issues of Maison Ikkuko. Finally the nature of this story. I won't make suggestions on how I think it should go, but I would like to note that the "powers" of the three members of the Club are limited, so keep that in mind. Also note that I inserted some references to popular Japanese folklore in their names, I did this on purpose to suggest a connection. Now I'd like to thank all my pre-readers for their extensive commentary and editing. Without them, this would be a much more sloppy and incoherent piece (which boogles the mind, I know). They are, in no particular order: Lady Chaos Steven Scougall Mark Poa David H. Siegel Daniel K. Bradford and Jesse Ellman I thank you all, and they deserve at least a tenth of the credit for this piece... Comments? Criticism? Flames? I'm open to any feedback whether this wins or not. E-mail them to me at tzubi@ns.sympatico.ca or post them to the Improfanfic Message Board. Note that I do not go to the Chat Room, so I will not be found there if you wish to comment. Nor am I on any of the mailing lists. Thank you for reading. ------------- Epsilon