(Tsukune's POV)
I didn't really sleep that much, apart from a short hour, that was all for tonight.
The ceiling was the same cracked plaster of my dorm room, while the window still had that gap where the frame didn't quite close. The Kuribohs were like ornaments on the bed as they piled at the foot of the bed, still warm, except for Sphere Kuriboh, he was a weird ball.
Then I felt the weight against my side and remembered.
Kurumu was still asleep, her head resting on my shoulder, one arm draped across my chest like she was afraid I'd disappear if she let go. Her hair was a mess, spread across the pillow in waves of blue, and her tail had curled around my leg at some point during the night. That wingless Kuriboh was on her chest, and lucky one, he rose and fell with each breath she took.
'That lucky little bastard.'
She looked peaceful, andI was glad I could be of any help with my presence.
Still in bed, I moved swiftly without disturbing her sleep since there were 1-2 hours before we actually started classes. Why rise this early? Because I have things to do outside of classes.
I slid out from under her arm, moving with the kind of slow, deliberate care I'd learned from sneaking past monsters in the forest. The mattress creaked once, and I froze, but she just murmured something unintelligible and rolled onto her side, clutching the pillow where my head had been.
'Phew, good. If she woke up, it would make things awkward for a while.'
I changed my clothes quietly, pulling on my uniform with practiced efficiency, and found myself watching her for a moment. With the moonlight having faded hours ago, replaced by the pale grey of early morning filtering through the curtains, her lips were parted slightly, her lashes dark against her cheeks.
Then I shifted my attention to the wingless Kuriboh, who was still enjoying the kind of experience that many would be jealous of—myself included. I sent him a telepathic message through the connection of Annihilation Maker, feeling the thread of awareness that linked us. He chirped sleepily, blinking at me with those big brown eyes.
'Shhh, keep your voice lower, Kuriboh, and just listen to me.'
I pressed a finger to my lips and it seemed to understand my intent.
'Make sure to watch over Kurumu while I am gone, and continue using your 'Guardian Presence' on her, she had a rough day yesterday. It is the least we can do to help her.'
Kuriboh just blinked once in acknowledgment, his small body settling back against her chest.
'Good.'
'I take my words back, you're a reliable, little creature.'
As for the other two Kuribohs—the winged one and the round one—I reached down and let my shadow ripple. They vanished into the darkness without a sound, returning to the storage of Annihilation Maker until I needed them again. And while I was at it, I reached deeper, pulling another creation from the depths of my shadow.
The Vampire Retainer emerged silently, its silver-and-black fur catching the dim light. It looked around, ears flattened, nose twitching, clearly confused that there were no enemies to fight, no one to tear apart. But then its eyes found me, and its tail gave a single, slow wag.
'Retainer, stay with her and protect her while I am away. If something happens, you come find me.'
The Retainer's tail wagged once. Then it settled at the foot of the bed, its massive form somehow folding into the shadows until it was barely visible. Its silver-and-black fur blended into the darkness, and its eyes—those patient, crimson eyes—never left Kurumu's sleeping form.
I checked my phone, but there were no messages from the outside world, nor missed calls. Just the screen glowing 6:47 AM in pale green letters.
I grabbed my jacket and slipped out the window.
The morning air was cold and sharp, carrying the scent of dew and the distant forest. The campus was mostly empty at this hour, just a few early risers heading toward the cafeteria or the training grounds, their voices muffled by the distance. I kept my head down and my pace steady, not wanting to draw attention.
The Newspaper Club room was in the old building on the ground floor, the one that always smelled like paper and dust and whatever catnip Shizuka-sensei was using to keep herself from napping on the job. This was the first time I'd come here before dawn, hoping to catch Gin alone and settle things without an audience.
I pushed open the door.
The room wasn't empty this time.
Shizuka-sensei was sitting at the main desk, buried under a mountain of paperwork that looked like it had been breeding overnight. Stacks of forms, budget proposals, and what looked like membership rosters were spread across every available surface, and her pen was moving with the kind of frantic energy that said she'd been at it for hours.
Her cat ears twitched as I entered, and she looked up with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Aono-kun." She set down her pen and folded her hands on the desk. "You're here early."
I paused in the doorway, my hand still on the handle. For a moment, I looked like I might turn and leave—the thought crossed my mind, quick and tempting. But then I stepped inside and closed the door behind me.
"I could say the same to you, Sensei."
"The paperwork doesn't do itself, unfortunately." She gestured at the stacks of papers with a sigh that seemed to come from somewhere deep in her soul. "The Student Council wants updated membership forms, budget proposals, and an activity report for the past month. All by Friday."
"It's that so?"
"Pretty much, this would be my morning routine."
I nodded, but my gaze was already sweeping the room, checking the corners, the shadows, the places where someone might hide. The filing cabinets, the space behind the door, the storage closet in the back. Gin wasn't here. Of course he wasn't. That would have been too easy.
"Sounds like fun."
"It's not." She set down her pen and studied me with those golden eyes, her tail stilling behind her. "Is everything alright, Aono-kun?"
I hesitated. The lie was right there, ready to be spoken—that I was fine, just tired, just wanted to check on the club. I had so many lies ready at hand, smooth and easy, the kind of excuses that rolled off the tongue without thought. But with Shizuka-sensei, I just couldn't bring myself to lie to her like this, not when it concerned the future of the club she'd dedicated herself to advising for so many generations.
Besides, she felt more like a mother than any teacher I'd ever had. She was the one who'd guided me when I was lost beyond belief in this madhouse called Yokai Academy, who'd given me advice on books to read in the library, who'd taught me how to handle certain troublesome teachers, who'd pointed me in the right directions more times than I could count.
She deserved better than a convenient excuse.
Shizuka sighed and leaned back in her chair, her ears drooping slightly. "Aono-kun, sit down. You're making me nervous."
She patted the chair next to her at the desk, and I went to take that seat, moving like a puppet whose strings had been cut. I let out a deep sigh, the kind that came from somewhere down in my chest, and stared at the window across the room.
"Aono-kun."
My posture was rigid, my eyes fixed on the window, watching the morning light creep across the courtyard, and in that moment of silence I just thought on what version to go about, the lite or heavy one.
Finally, I spoke. "Gin has been stalking Moka and Kurumu ever since they joined the club. He's been taking pictures of them without permission, watching them, making them uncomfortable. And it's not just them."
Her ears flattened. She'd suspected something like this, but hearing it confirmed made her stomach clench.
"What do you mean?"
"As I said, he's been persistent in his stalkings, and last night even harassed Kurumu-chan who was training behind the old building of the Club."
"What's more, there have been peeping incidents across the Academy. The Running Club, the Swimming Club, the Kendo Club, the Theater Club, even the Archery Club. Girls have reported feeling watched. Some of them mentioned seeing the flash of a camera."
Shizuka's expression darkened. The cheerful mask slipped, and underneath was something harder. Something that looked like a teacher who had seen too much and been forced to look away too many times.
Shizuka's hands tightened on the desk. "You're sure it's him?"
"I have no reason to lie on this. But, my investigation points to Gin, and I even have eyewitnesses who can vouch for the truth." I finally met her eyes, and there was something hard in my gaze, something that reminded her of the older students she'd known in her own school days, such as Issa Shuzen or Gyokuro Shuzen, once famous students of the Yokai Academy.
"Since he has a camera, and his hobbies are inclined in that direction, he wants to satisfy certain cravings."
"Besides, he has the motive."
"Motive?"
I pressed my lips into a thin line. "He wants what he can't have."
Shizuka was quiet for a long moment. She thought about Gin—the boy who'd been so eager, so passionate, so desperate to keep the club alive. She'd seen the way he looked at the girls, the way his eyes lingered a little too long, the way his smile didn't quite reach his eyes.
She'd hoped it was just awkwardness, just a boy who didn't know how to interact with people.
But she'd been wrong before. And the cost of being wrong this time could be a devastating PR disaster that might end with the Newspaper Club being shut down.
"I'll look into it," she said finally, her voice firmer than I'd expected. "I'll talk to the other club advisors, see if they've heard anything. And I'll have a conversation with Gin."
I shook my head. "He won't listen. He'll just deny it."
"Then I'll keep talking until he does." Her voice was unwavering. "I'm not going to let him destroy this club that can bring hopes to so many lost students. This club offers the perfect chance for us Yokai to interact with humans without hostilities."
I studied her for a moment, my expression softening just slightly. "You really care about this place, don't you?"
"I care about the students." She reached across the desk and placed her hand over mine. "All of them. Even the ones who make mistakes."
"Until I have proof," she continued, "until I can take this to the Headmaster, I need you to be careful. Don't confront him alone. Don't do anything reckless. Afterall, he is an S-Class Werewolf himself. Fighting will only get both of you hurt, and I'd rather not see both of my precious students, bloodied and wounded."
My jaw tightened. "Sensei—"
"Promise me, Aono-kun."
The words hung in the air between us, heavy and expectant. She was watching me, waiting, hoping that I would give her what she needed—the reassurance that I wouldn't do anything stupid, that I'd let the adults handle it, that I'd be a good student and follow the rules.
But I couldn't.
My eyes shifted to crimson, the brown bleeding away like sunrise giving way to blood. My fangs lengthened, pressing against my lower lip, and I felt the familiar cold settle into my bones. The transformation was partial, just enough to remind her—and myself—what I was.
"No."
The word came out flat, hard, final. I met her golden eyes with my crimson ones, and I didn't look away.
"I can't promise that, Sensei. Not when he's already made his move. You teachers sometimes turn a blind eye to bullying because you have other things to worry about, I understand that, but us students, we can just take things directly into our hands."
"Since he doesn't understand what 'NO' means, I will beat it into his own thick, dog skull."
Shizuka's hand tightened on mine, but she didn't pull away. Her ears were flat against her head, her tail still, her expression was that of understanding.
"Aono-kun—"
"If he comes for them again, I will not stop myself until this is sorted out. And I won't hold back either."
After staring into my eyes with that motherly worry, finally, she sighed, a long, heavy sound that seemed to drain the tension from her shoulders. Her hand slipped away from mine, and she leaned back in her chair, her ears still flat but her tail starting to twitch again.
"You know, for that scared, timid boy from the beginning of the school year, you've grown so quickly."
"Sigh, you're going to be the death of me, Aono-kun."
"... I guess."
She almost smiled. Almost, but the worry still remained. Watching me with those golden cat eyes of hers, in the end, she sighed.
"Just... be careful and don't do something you'll regret later on. If things go really bad, I will have your back when Headmaster Mikogami summons you for explanations."
I stood, the chair scraping against the floor. My gaze fixed on the window across the room and I could see students starting to appear, their voices carrying through the open window.
I turned toward the door.
"Aono-kun."
I looked back.
"Thank you. For telling me."
I nodded once, then slipped out the door without another word, leaving her alone with her thoughts and the growing sense that something terrible was coming.
While walking the long corridor toward the main building, with my hands shoved deep into my pockets, I couldn't help but think about Shizuka-sensei.
'She's a good teacher.But she's a pacifist. And pacifists don't stop wolves.'
'They just hope the wolves don't bite.'
Through the bond, I checked on the Retainer. He was still guarding Kurumu from her shadow, faithful to his assigned duty.
---
Since Gin wasn't taking care of his Club President duties—leaving everything to pile up on Shizuka-sensei's desk like some kind of paperwork avalanche—I decided to search for him somewhere else. His classroom, specifically.
A man could only avoid responsibility for so long before someone came looking.
I didn't know the exact location of his classroom, but after asking around for a bit, I found it. I at least knew his class name: 2-D. That was enough.
The first upperclassman I approached was a tall, lanky guy with glasses that made his eyes look twice their actual size. He was leaning against the wall near the stairwell, scrolling through his phone with the kind of bored expression that said he'd rather be anywhere else.
"Excuse me," I said, keeping my voice casual. "I'm looking for Class 2-D."
He glanced up, gave me a once-over, and grunted. "First-year?"
"Yeah."
"Figures." He jerked his thumb toward the east wing. "Down that hall, the third door on the left. Can't miss it."
The second student I asked was a girl with short brown hair and a stack of books balanced precariously in her arms. She was hurrying down the hallway like she was late for something, and I had to step in front of her to get her attention.
"Sorry," I said, raising my hands in apology. "Quick question. Where's Class 2-D?"
She blinked at me, then smiled. "Oh, you're looking for the second-year wing? It's just past the water fountain. You'll see a set of doors with frosted glass. That's it."
"Thanks."
"No problem." She shifted her books and added, "You here to see someone specific?"
"Just looking for a friend," I lied.
She nodded and hurried off, leaving me alone in the hallway with my thoughts and the growing sense that I was wasting my time.
The second-year wing was tucked away in a part of the campus I rarely visited, and the building was older than the first-year facilities, with narrower hallways that smelled like old wood and chalk dust.
The doors looked like they'd been painted over so many times that the original wood grain had completely disappeared beneath layers of beige and cream, and the windows set into each door were small, barely big enough to peek through.
I walked past a few classrooms, glancing through each window, scanning the faces inside. Students were scattered across the desks—some chatting, some staring at their phones, a few actually reading textbooks like the model students they probably weren't.
But there was no sign of Gin.
'So he's skipping classes to fuel his hobbies,' I thought, my jaw tightening. 'What an annoying fuck. Why isn't this like those Korean manhwas where I can just find the bully on my first attempt and beat the shit out of him?'
'Instead, he seemed to be avoiding me intentionally.'
Every place I looked, every corner I turned, he was conspicuously absent. It was like he knew I was coming and had decided to make this as difficult as possible.
'Fine. If you want to play it like that, I can be patient too. I'll just use Kazemaru, Gorou, and Bunta-kun to spread some dirt on Gin.'
'I'm sure he'll be thrilled about the newfound fame.'
'Nonko-san would love to crush your head for peeping on the girls in the Kendo Club that came to complain about being watched.'
I was about to turn and leave when I noticed a figure by the window. She was sitting with her back to the wall, one leg crossed over the other, the picture of effortless elegance. Long black hair spilled over her shoulders like silk, and her dark eyes—onyx, sharp, intelligent—were watching me with open interest.
Chizuru Minamoto with the allure of a Heroine.
'Wait a minute,' I thought, freezing mid-step. 'Is this hot babe in the same class as that stupid dog?'
I glanced around the room again, half-jokingly expecting to see Gin hiding under a desk or something, but no. Just Chizuru, sitting there with the temperament of a noblewoman surveying her subjects, and a few other students who were pointedly not looking in her direction.
'Urgh. Now that I see her, I think I forgot to do something after the end of the Club Festival.'
The realization hit me like a brick to the face.
'Right. I forgot to message her or call her. That's a grade-A douchebag move.'
'But hey, maybe she's into douchebags. I am one, kinda. Just not the type to stick his dick in any moving hole that presents itself.'
I started calculating the fastest route to the door, keeping my movements casual, my expression neutral. If I could just slip out before she noticed me, I could pretend I'd never been here. It was a coward's move, sure, but sometimes cowardice was the better part of valor.
But I'd lost that chance when our eyes met.
For a moment, nothing happened. Her expression was calm, almost cold, like she was assessing me from a distance, deciding whether I was worth her time. Then something shifted. Her lips curved into a smile—slow, deliberate, dangerous—and she rose from her seat with the fluid grace of someone who knew exactly how to make an entrance.
She crossed the room without hurry, her hips swaying just enough to draw the eye, and by the time she reached me, she'd already claimed my arm like it belonged to her.
"Tsukune-kun." Her voice was warm, amused, and far too intimate for a school hallway. "What a pleasant surprise~. I was starting to think you'd forgotten about me."
"I've been busy." The excuse sounded weak even to my own ears.
"Busy." She repeated the word like it was a flavor she was testing, rolling it around on her tongue. "Two weeks, Tsukune-kun~. Not a single message. I was beginning to think I'd imagined giving you my number."
I pulled out my phone, unlocked it, and typed out a quick message with my thumb, keeping my expression neutral.
[Hey, Chizuru-senpai. Sorry for the delay. Been busy with club stuff.]
I hit send.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and a genuine laugh escaped her. The tension in her shoulders eased slightly, and she tucked the phone away without responding, her dark eyes still fixed on me.
"So," she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "How have you been, Tsukune-kun? I heard about the mermaid incident. The whole Academy has been buzzing about it. You defeated Tamao Ichinose, didn't you? That's impressive for a first-year."
"Lucky, mostly." I shrugged, trying to play it off. "She underestimated me."
"I doubt that." Chizuru's gaze was sharp, knowing. "Ichinose-san isn't the type to underestimate anyone. She's too paranoid for that. You must have done something to catch her off guard."
I didn't respond, and I also didn't want to. If by chance I said more, god knows she might figure out that I have a Sacred Gear and that I am somehow a human, half one if you could count it as such.
She was too perceptive, just like a fox trying to scheme against someone.
She studied me for a moment and I think she could feel my increased yoki and stats as an S-Class Kitsune, then smiled again, softer this time. "You've been training, haven't you? I can see it in the way you carry yourself. You're more confident in yourself. "
"Ara, ara~ I like the dangerous ones."
"Is that a compliment?"
"Take it however you like."
She let the words hang in the air, her fingers still resting on my arm, and for a moment, I forgot why I was here. Her perfume was distracting, something floral and expensive that made me think of gardens and moonlight and things I shouldn't be thinking about in the middle of a school hallway.
Then she tucked her phone away, and her dark eyes stayed on me, sharp and assessing.
"So," she said, tilting her head. "What brings you to our humble building? Looking for someone?"
"Yeah, I've been searching for Gin-senpai all morning. I need to talk with him about some club business. It's about a new topic for the next release—the ghost peeping on girls."
"You're looking for that idiot mad dog?" Her nose wrinkled slightly with disgust, and for a moment, the elegant mask slipped. "He's not here. Probably off taking pictures somewhere, or maybe doing something unpleasant in the bathroom, for all I care. He could just slip off and shove his head into the toilet."
'Charming. You have one cookie dough for being awesome.'
She tilted her head, studying me with those dark, perceptive eyes. "Still, something tells me that you're not here for club business, though."
Before I could respond, a blur of motion caught my eye. A figure launched itself from across the room—small, slender, moving with the kind of energy that seemed to vibrate through the air.
It was Tōma Sakura, the president of the Theatre Club, the one who could make me shudder for no reason, and I just now realized that he was in the same class as Gin.
What a small world indeed.
"Tsukune-kun!"
He was on me before I could react, his hands wrapping around my forearm, his face beaming up at me with an intensity that was almost unsettling.
He'd modified his uniform—looser sleeves, an open collar, a stage-ready scarf. His hair fell in soft waves, and his lashes were long enough to cast shadows. If I didn't know better, I'd swear he was a girl.
"You came to visit! I knew you would remember my invitation, right?" His eyes were wide, sparkling, and his grip on my arm was surprisingly strong for someone so slender. "You don't know how much the Theater Club has missed you—"
"Toma-kun." Chizuru's voice was sweet, but there was an edge underneath it, sharp as a blade. "Personal space."
Toma-chan ignored her completely, his attention fixed entirely on me. His fingers traced the lines of my forearm with the kind of reverence usually reserved for works of art, and I could feel him mapping the muscles beneath my sleeve, cataloging every ridge and contour.
The moment he touched me, I was left in a confused state. I can say he looked better than most girls from the Academy. Aside from having a flat chest (which was normal for guys), his butt-cheeks were pronounced, and I noticed that since our first encounter.
His touch was light, almost delicate, but there was something about the way he lingered that made my skin prickle and I got goosebumps all over again
"Wowww." His voice was breathy, almost reverent. "You've been working out since our unfortunate separation. Bellissimo."
"Your muscles are even more defined than before. The way the light catches the contours of your—" He trailed off, his fingers sliding up to my bicep, squeezing experimentally. "Oh my. Oh my, my, my."
I stood there, frozen, not sure whether to be amused or alarmed. Toma-chan's face was flushed, his lips parted, and his breathing had gone slightly shallow.
He was studying my arm like it was a masterpiece he wanted to paint, and the way he was touching me—lingering, appreciative, almost possessive—was starting to draw stares from the other students in the classroom.
A few of them were whispering behind their hands, their eyes wide. I caught snippets of conversation—"Is that the first-year from the Newspaper Club?" and "What is Toma-kun doing?" and "Is he... is he blushing?"
'Yeah Sherlock, this trap is into me…', I thought, my eyes twitching. 'He's blushing. He's definitely blushing like a girl. Fuck me sideway, how did I got myself such an admirer?'
'Are the Charms of a Vampire really that OP?'
Toma-chan's fingers moved higher, tracing the curve of my shoulder, and I could feel the heat of his palm through the fabric of my shirt. His eyes were half-lidded, and there was a dreamy quality to his expression that made me want to take a step back. Or maybe run.
'Yeah, I should run… but if I run now, I can say goodbye to any great relations with the Theatre Club.'
'Adios to my New ANTI-THESIS.'
"You know, Tsukune-kun," he murmured, his voice dropping to something almost intimate, "I've been thinking about you a lot lately. You have a natural stage presence. Ohh, and to tell you a little secret… "
He got on his toes, trying to reach my ear, but he couldn't quite make it. I'm not that tall—but compared to East Asians, you could say I was above-average thanks to my growth spurt since embracing Vampirism.
But Toma-chan was built like a porcelain doll, delicate and small, and the height difference was just enough to be awkward.
He stretched, wobbled, and made a little frustrated sound in the back of his throat.
Curiously—like any simple-minded animal drawn to a strange noise—I crouched down.
Big mistake.
His lips brushed against my ear, warm and soft, and his voice dropped to a whisper that seemed to resonate inside my skull.
"It's intoxicating."
'Intoxicating?'
He pressed closer, his chest nearly brushing against mine, and I caught a whiff of his perfume—something sweet, floral, almost cloying. His lips were parted, and I could see the tip of his tongue darting out to wet them.
I pushed him a little bit, just enough to create some space, but it felt like he was made of something amorphous—like a slime or a shadow—and he just flowed around my attempt, slipping back into my personal space like he belonged there.
What the—
"I've been working on a new production," he continued, his fingers now tracing the line of my collarbone through my shirt. "A tragedy. Forbidden love, betrayal, passion. And I think... I think you'd be perfect for the lead."
His hand slid down to my chest, resting over my heart, and he looked up at me through those impossibly long lashes.
'Urghh, you damned trap. If you weren't cute, you would be the first Yokai I would've drained of blood.'
"Would you like to come by the theater sometime? I could give you a private tour. Show you the costumes. Maybe... help you try on a few."
I swear I saw hearts in his eyes.
Behind him, Chizuru's flames flickered back to life, and the temperature in the hallway dropped several degrees.
"Toma-kun." Her voice was icy. "I said back off."
Toma-chan looked up, saw the fireballs forming in her palms, and grinned and chuckled a bit, like he hadn't noticed the danger.
"Oh, Chizuru-san, you don't need to be jealous." He waved a dismissive hand, completely oblivious to the fact that she was literally on fire. "There are already two girls chasing Tsukune-kun, you know. The whole first year is talking about it. Our club members have even proposed a drama based on the situation."
Chizuru's flames sputtered. "A drama?"
"Yes! A love triangle—no, a love square! It would be magnificent!" Toma-chan's eyes sparkled with genuine excitement. "Tsukune-kun, you would play yourself, of course. And maybe Moka-san and Kurumu-san would agree to play themselves? It would be so authentic!"
I turned my arm into mist, as I gently extracted my arm from his grip before he could start measuring my inseam. Still, my display of the Wealth of Power ability which allowed me to shapeshift has not gone unnoticed.
"Oh," he breathed. "That's new."
I reformed my arm a few inches away, flexing my fingers to make sure everything was still attached. "Yeah. It's a thing I can do now."
"Fascinating." Toma-chan's eyes sparkled. "The theatrical possibilities are endless. Could you do that on stage? Imagine the special effects—"
"No," I said flatly.
"But—"
"No."
He pouted, but I could tell he was already planning something in that obsessive little head of his.
"I'm just here to find Gin-senpai. Club resources. Nothing exciting."
Toma-chan's face fell for a moment, the light dimming in his eyes, but then it brightened again, even more intense than before.
"But when you're done with club business, you'll come by the Theater Club, won't you?" He clasped his hands together, his expression pleading, and leaned in close enough that I could count his lashes.
"We have new costumes. I could help you try them on. I've been studying anatomy—for artistic purposes, of course—and I think I've finally figured out how to accentuate your best features."
'That's exactly what I'm afraid of. I don't know if you're trolling me or are just too passionate about Stage Acting.'
Chizuru's eyes narrowed. The flames around her hands had died down, but her expression was still cold, her gaze fixed on Toma-chan like she was calculating the most efficient way to remove him from the equation.
"If you're looking to beat that stinky dog," she said, her voice dropping to something almost conspiratorial, "I could lend a hand. For a favor, of course."
I didn't like the sound of that. Favors were costly and could backfire in my face.
"I can handle it myself."
"I'm sure you can." She stepped closer, close enough that I could smell her perfume again—something floral, expensive, intoxicating. "But offers like mine don't come often, Tsukune-kun. Think about it."
Toma-chan, completely oblivious to the tension, was still chattering about theater productions and lighting designs and how Tsukune's "tragic hero aesthetic" would be perfect for their spring showcase. I nodded along, said something about being busy, and started backing toward the door.
"Wait, Tsukune-kun!" Toma-chan reached for my arm again, his fingers brushing against my sleeve. "You promise you'll visit? I'll be waiting. I'll always be waiting."
'Yamero! Look around you degenerate freak, your classmates all think you're in love with me or something. Urghh, all the rumors that will start after this visit will give me a headache.'
The bell rang.
'Phew, saved by the bell…'
"I have to go."
"Of course." Chizuru's smile was knowing, almost predatory. "We'll talk soon, Tsukune-kun. Don't make me wait another two weeks."
I was out the door before she could say anything else, Toma-chan's enthusiastic waving following me down the hallway like a persistent ghost.
"Come back soon!" he called after me, his voice echoing off the walls. "I'll have the costumes ready!"
'Nooo! Leave me alone you little beast! You'll just harass me and I fear I will start enjoying the touches.'
That was too close, I thought, heading toward the stairs. And now I have to deal with Chizuru again.
'Great.'
'From worse to worse.'