Nabi's voice was cold and sharp. "Where are the children?"
Miss Kasiba adjusted her glasses, her expression calm, almost bored. "Children? You'll have to be more specific. I see hundreds of them every week."
Hayato clenched his jaw. "Don't play dumb."
Kasiba tilted her head, the faintest smile tugging at her lips. "So serious. But if you want answers… perhaps you'll have to dig a little deeper."
Nabi's eyes narrowed, frost starting to bloom at her fingertips. "Then I'll force it out of you."
"Oh?" Kasiba purred. "Is that so?"
Hayato felt it then, something crawling at the edges of his mind, like strings being pulled taut inside his skull. His chest tightened, his wings twitched without his command, and sweat pricked at his neck.
Kasiba's gaze flicked toward him, her lips curling. "Boy. Get ready to attack her."
Before he could even fight it, light surged into his hand. The shotgun manifested in a crackle of energy, only this time, it wasn't aimed at Kasiba. His arms jerked against his will, the barrel swinging toward Nabi.
Above him, a ghostly black line shimmered into existence, tethering his head to Kasiba's fingers like a puppet's string.
Hayato's teeth ground together as he strained, his whole body trembling. No… don't…
Kasiba licked her lips slowly, savoring his struggle.
Hayato's voice cracked as he fought against himself. "N-Nabi… I… can't—control—"
Nabi's eyes widened, panic breaking through her icy composure. "Witch! Stop this! Right now!"
The barrel of Hayato's shotgun steadied on her chest, his finger trembling over the trigger. Kasiba's fingers twitched, and the ghostly string above Hayato's head pulsed.
"Fire, shoot her." she commanded.
Hayato groaned, his arms jerking as he fought it, the shotgun barrel veering just barely away from Nabi. His finger trembled over the trigger, but it didn't pull.
Kasiba's smile curved lazily. "How unfortunate… It seems you don't lust after me enough."
Nabi's eyes narrowed, frost spiraling faintly around her hands. "What's going on?"
Kasiba licked her lips. "It's simple. Any man who desires me—who lets his lust slip through—becomes my puppet. I pull the strings. Their will bends to mine. I am the puppeteer."
Hayato clenched his teeth, sweat dripping as his body quivered under the unseen strings. Nabi stepped forward, her voice sharp. "Hayato, snap out of it! You can't be horny for a woman who literally kills children!"
"I-I'm trying!" Hayato groaned, his knees buckling as he fought the pull. "It's just—she's too attractive!"
"Focus!" Nabi snapped.
Hayato squeezed his eyes shut, forcing himself to imagine Kasiba as evil, monstrous, cackling over children's souls. For a second, it worked until…
"Open your eyes" she purred.
He opened his eyes and saw her watching him, lips curling as she dragged her tongue slowly across them.
His face went crimson. "Dammit—it doesn't work if she keeps doing that! "
Kasiba chuckled, her tone smooth as silk. "See? So easy. Young men are delightfully simple to manipulate."
The ghostly strings tightened, making Hayato stagger closer, his shotgun shaking in his grip.
Nabi's eyes hardened, her blizzard spiraling in her palms. "It doesn't matter. Even if I have to put him down with you—I'm not letting you leave this room."
Kasiba tilted her head, her glasses glinting as her smile sharpened. "Oh? And what if…" She tapped a finger against her chin theatrically. "…I told every boy in this school to kill themselves? What then?"
The words hung heavy, venom seeping into the silence.
Nabi froze, her breath catching, the blizzard at her fingertips faltering for the first time.
Kasiba's sly smile widened as she adjusted her glasses with one elegant finger. "I must say… I'm impressed. A girl like you, managing to track me down."
Her eyes flicked between Nabi and Hayato, lingering just long enough to make the moment feel sharp. "So it was the two of you who dealt with Yúzé. I should have known. What an annoyance."
She gave a small, amused sigh, almost theatrical. "But it hardly matters. I've already gathered everything I need for my plan. His failure is irrelevant now."
Nabi stepped forward, frost curling off her hands in frustration, her gaze like shards of ice. "Your plans end here."
Kasiba chuckled, a sultry note in her voice. "Such conviction… But why waste it? You have potential, girl. Strength. Beauty. Cleverness. Why don't you stop fighting me and become something greater? Join me. Become a demon, and I'll make sure the men of this world kneel before us."
Nabi's eyes narrowed, her voice like steel. "When hell freezes over."
Kasiba's gaze dropped to the frost spiraling out from Nabi's boots, dancing across the floor. Her lips curved into a wicked grin.
"Oh? From the look of things…" She licked her lips slowly, savoring the tension. "…it seems you already have the power to do exactly that."
Kasiba's fingers twitched, and the ghostly strings above Hayato shimmered back into view.
"Restrain her," she purred.
Hayato's body lurched forward against his will. His shotgun fizzled out of existence, dissolving into sparks. In its place, a rope dart materialized in his hand. His jaw clenched, sweat dripping down his temple as he fought to resist. "N-Nabi—I'm sorry… I can't—"
Nabi stood her ground, her hands losing its frost. She didn't want to use her powers. Her icy-blue eyes stayed fixed on his trembling figure.
"Hayato…"
"I'm sorry!" he shouted again, his voice cracking as the rope dart whipped to life in his hands. His every movement screamed reluctance, his teeth gritted as he tried to dig his heels into the floor.
Kasiba leaned lazily against her desk, arms folded, watching them like a queen observing a game. Her smirk was sharp, her voice dripping with amusement. "Oh, don't apologize, boy. Fight for your new mistress."
The ghostly strings above Hayato's head tightened.
He exhaled sharply, muscles locking into combat stance, rope dart poised.
The tension in the room was suffocating. Nabi braced, Hayato torn between will and compulsion, Kasiba smiling like a puppeteer ready to watch her marionettes clash as Hayato lunged into forced action.