(Kai POV – Yokai Academy, Class)
Just like that, a month passed relatively peacefully.
Day-to-day life settled into a comfortable rhythm, the biggest change being Kurumu, who'd taken to ambushing us at every conceivable opportunity. Between classes, at lunch, on the walk to the dorms, and seemingly materializing out of thin air the instant Moka and I had a moment alone. It should have been exhausting.
But it wasn't, for the most part. Largely because each ambush came bundled with a fresh batch of cookies, pastries, or some other confectionery she'd bake, all to impress me.
I was impressed. They were genuinely delicious, and I made sure to tell her so. And through it all, between the squabbling, competitive spirit, and my own gentle nudging, Moka and Kurumu had actually grown close. It'll be a long time before they admit it, but I believe they're friends now.
"Grrr… it's so not fair that you get to be in the same class as Kai, Moka!" Kurumu huffs as we reach the fork where we part ways.
"Hehe~" Moka giggles, hugging my arm and leaning into me with a small, smug smile. "I guess I just got lucky."
"Lucky, my foot! I'll switch classes if it's the last thing I do!" Kurumu declares, before turning to me, her glare melting instantly into a dazzling smile. "I'll see you at lunch, Kai! I made something special today~!"
And with a cheerful wave, she bounces off toward Class 1.
"You two are getting along well." I muse. It's a good thing for everyone.
"Mm. Kurumu's a lot nicer than I first thought." Moka admits, watching her go. "I guess I just needed time to get to know her properly." Then she pouts again, hugging my arm a bit tighter. "…But I really wish she'd stop trying to steal you away from me."
"Don't worry." I rest my free hand on her head, giving it a soft pat. "That's never going to happen."
Her face lights up as she smiles, which brightens the entire morning.
We make our way to class and settle into our seats. The room buzzes with the usual pre-lesson chatter, and with Ms. Nekonome not yet arrived, I take the chance to discreetly pull up my status panel.
Surviving Kurumu's attack had earned me a Bronze Trait Ticket, which I hadn't expected much from. And when I used it…
[Dullahan's Deception]
|Uncommon Trait|
["Don't lose your head!" No, but seriously, don't. Your head is now capable of freely detaching from your neck/torso while still remaining connected in a higher dimension, meaning you can still eat, speak, and breathe. This also has the effect of making decapitation useless against you.]
The ability isn't too bad… but is mostly useless, since I have no plans on ever letting anyone decapitate me.
'Still…' I muse, idly imagining a few scenarios where the ability might prove handy. 'Better to have and not need, than need and not have.'
Eventually, the bell rings, scattering my thoughts, and a moment later the classroom door slides open.
"Goooood morning, everyone~!" Ms. Nekonome sings as she strides in, as cheerful as ever, the very tip of her tail already poking out from beneath her skirt.
The chatter dies down as everyone takes their seats.
"As you all know…" She begins, clasping her hands together. "The purpose of this academy is to teach monsters how to coexist peacefully within human society!" She beams. "And today, we're taking that to the next level. Starting now… every one of you will be joining a club!"
Her passionate declaration is met with a wall of blank stares and a dead, ringing silence. Although, she doesn't seem to notice, or care.
"And there's no better way to understand the human heart than by participating in human sports and hobbies~!" She continues, turning to scrawl a cheerful diagram of various clubs and activities across the chalkboard. "And as a bonus, regular club activity will help you all maintain your human disguises! Holding your transformation steady through all kinds of situations is excellent practice!"
…Which would be a more convincing argument if her own tail weren't currently swishing back and forth behind her in plain view of the entire class.
One brave, or foolish, student near the front evidently thinks the same thing, and makes the fatal error of raising his hand to point it out.
"Sensei? Isn't your tail showing? Which club were you—" The words die in a shriek.
Within a moment, Ms. Nekonome's nails lengthen into claws, and the poor boy's face is left thoroughly rearranged, four neat red lines raked across it as he slumps over his desk, bleeding.
Yet, her bright smile never wavers.
"Now then~!" She chirps, as though nothing happened. "Are there any other questions?"
The silence that follows is absolute. Nobody even dares breathe too loudly anymore.
"Wonderful!" Ms. Nekonome claps her hands. "Then take a good look at the club list and pick whichever one suits you best! Oh, and you should all definitely come check out my Newspaper Club~!"
And with that, we're dismissed to go hunting for a club.
I glance at Moka, who looks excited at the prospect of picking a club.
Stepping out into the hallway, we're immediately met with chaos.
The corridor is packed wall to wall with students, lined on both sides by colourful booths and displays, each one hawking a different club. Banners hang from the ceiling, flyers are thrust into hands, and a dozen different upperclassmen shout over one another to be heard.
"There's quite a lot of them." I say, genuinely impressed by the variety.
"Which one do you think we should join?" Moka asks, sticking close to my side so the crowd doesn't sweep us apart.
I already have an answer in mind.
'All things considered, the Newspaper Club is the obvious pick.' I muse. 'It's small, low-key, and once we deal with Gin, it's basically our own private club.'
"Let's just take a look around first, see if anything catches our eye." I suggest. "I've got one in mind already, but maybe we'll stumble onto something better."
"Mm, sure! Let's do that." Moka beams, clearly pleased to be deciding together.
'It's not about the destination, but the journey.' I think sagely. 'And why would I pass up a date?'
We start drifting through the crowd, and then a particular booth catches my eye, and an idea forms.
"Oh, actually… there's one I definitely want to check out." I add, keeping my tone light.
"Which one?" She tilts her head up at me curiously.
"The Swimming Club."
Moka freezes mid-step.
"Oh… um… that's…" Her cheerful expression flickers, eyes darting away from mine. "I-I think… maybe it's a little too soon to decide on something like that…" She tries to paste her smile back on, but she can't fool me.
'Hehe… you asked for this, Moka~.' Without a word, I reach out and pinch both her cheeks, stretching them gently as a grin spreads across my face.
"Mmgh—?! Kya—!" she squeals.
"Is that so?" I ask, narrowing my eyes in mock suspicion. "Now, correct me if I'm wrong… but isn't water extremely dangerous for vampires?"
Moka goes very still in my grip.
"You don't want to go anywhere near that club." I continue, releasing her cheeks. "But instead of just saying so, you were going to pretend you're fine and go along with it anyway." I let my expression fall, putting on my most wounded look. "I'm hurt, Moka. Am I so unreliable that you can't tell me when something bothers you?"
"N-No! That's not—!" She panics instantly, hands flying up. "I-I wasn't trying to lie, I swear! I just…" Her voice drops, small and earnest. "…I just wanted to be in the same club as you. So I thought… if it was important to you, I could put up with a little water…"
Her logic makes my chest ache.
The reason is extremely stupid. Vampires can't just "put up" with water. It'd kill them if exposed for long enough.
'I'm extremely touched she'd make such a big sacrifice to be with me.' I think fondly. 'But I need to get rid of her self-sacrificial mindset.'
It's part of what makes Moka so adorable… but it's something I can't allow.
My teasing melts away entirely.
"Moka." I say gently, resting both hands on her shoulders. "Listen to me, okay? I'd never make you choose between being near me and being safe." Her eyes widen slightly.
"Most people don't even know water weakens vampires." I go on, my voice gravely serious. "Which means if you stay quiet about it, one day I might lead you somewhere dangerous without realizing, and you'd get hurt because I didn't know any better. I'd never forgive myself for that." I squeeze her shoulders. "So promise me. If something ever makes you uncomfortable, or puts you at risk… just tell me. No matter how small, or even if it's something I want."
Moka stares up at me, her green eyes shimmering. Then she nods firmly.
"I promise." She says softly. "I'll tell you next time."
"Good." I smile, ruffling her hair. "Above everything else, I like you, Moka. So prioritise yourself first."
She leans into the touch, then peeks up at me, a hint of hopefulness creeping into her voice. "So… that means we don't have to go to the Swimming Club after all?"
"Oh, we're still going." I say confidently, and her face crumples, the picture of pure betrayal, and I can't help but laugh.
"Wha—! But you just said—!"
"I said I wouldn't make you go anywhere dangerous." I correct her, still chuckling. "I never said I wasn't going. And don't worry… I'm not joining that club."
"Then… why go at all?" She blinks up at me, thoroughly confused.
"Let's just say…" I begin walking, gently tugging Moka along by the hand. "This last month hasn't had anything exciting happen. It's time to stretch my muscles."
"Eh…?" Moka hurries to keep pace. "What does that mean? What are you going to do?"
I glance back at her with a grin that's equal parts cheerful and menacing.
"Isn't it obvious?" I say. "I'm going to go beat some people up."
Moka's worried expression returns instantly.
(Tamao Ichinose – Yokai Academy, Hallway)
'Finally… there he is.' I spot him through the churning crowd—Kai Hino—and my pulse quickens at once.
I'd heard the rumours. The boy who beat Saizo. The boy who tamed that wild succubus. I'd come to see for myself whether he was worth the trouble.
But none of that mattered much to me. The thing I've desired finally reaches me… his scent.
'…Oh.' I gasp, my breath catching in my throat, and for a moment, every thought in my head dissolves into white static. It's rich, warm, dense and impossibly sweet, rolling off him in waves, and the instant it touches my senses my mouth floods with want. My whole body aches toward it, toward him, like a current pulling me out to sea.
I've fed on hundreds of boys. I know what life force smells like, but… I have never smelled anything like this.
'What… what is he?' I swallow hard, forcing my expression back under control before the hunger shows on my face. 'How can he smell even better than humans? His life force seems almost inextinguishable.'
It doesn't matter. Whatever he is, I have to have him.
I smooth my features into my most charming smile and glide toward him, hips swaying, sarong drifting around my legs. My shirt hangs open over my swimsuit, enough to draw the eye without being too revealing… and I know exactly how I look. As a mermaid, beauty is the least of the gifts the sea gave me.
And there, clinging to his arm like a barnacle, is her. Moka Akashiya. The little pink-haired vampire everyone won't stop fawning over.
'Hmph. A vampire who can't even touch water.' I nearly laugh. 'How useless.'
"…I wonder if they even have a swimming club here." Kai is saying to her, and hearing that, I feel like I could sing.
"Oh, but we do~." I cut in smoothly, and his eyes turn to me. I extend a graceful hand. "Tamao Ichinose. President of the Swimming Club. Forgive me, I couldn't help but overhear." I let my smile deepen, warm and inviting. "You're more than welcome to come join us. The water's wonderful."
Up close, his scent is almost overwhelming. It takes everything I have not to lean in and breathe him in like a drowning woman.
"Really?" He glances at Moka, who's gone tense and pale beside him, eyes flicking nervously to the word water.
'Oh, she's terrified.' Delight curls through me. 'I wonder, is she more scared of the water, or that I'll take him from her?'
But it's quite convenient for me. Because that's precisely what I intend to do.
I step in closer still, resting my hand lightly on his shoulder, letting my fingers linger.
"Right now, our little club is all girls~" I murmur, my voice dropping low and sweet. "We'd take such good care of you."
"Me! Me! I'll join!" A boy from the gathering crowd bursts out, hand shooting into the air, eyes glazed and fixed on me.
"Me too!"
"I-I love swimming!"
The others tumble over each other to volunteer, a dozen eager faces, flushed and grinning.
'So easy.' I don't even spare them a glance. Pathetic, witless things, they'd follow me straight off a cliff if I smiled.
Utterly foolish of them to assume they're guests… they're a meal.
But none of them, not one, smells even a fraction as intoxicating as the boy in front of me. Next to him, they're scraps, while he's the feast.
"Moka." Kai turns to her first, to my faint irritation. "What do you think?"
"S-Sure…" She says, her voice small and reluctant. "If… if that's what you want…"
'Spineless.' I keep my gentle smile fixed in place even as I sneer internally. 'But it makes things easier.'
"Wonderful! Then it's settled. Everyone's welcome~!" I announce brightly, turning on my heel. "Follow me, this way!"
I lead them through the halls, my flock trailing eagerly behind, and before long the air turns humid and the smell of chlorine rises to greet us.
The pool spreads out before us, vast and glittering blue under the afternoon light, my fellow club members already arranged along its edge in their swimsuits, giving lovely, hungry smiles.
I stop at the water's edge and, with a flourish, let my sarong and shirt fall away.
"Welcome," I purr, spreading my arms wide, "to the Yokai Academy Swimming Club~!"
"OOOOH!"
"Y-Yes!"
The boys erupt, cheering and shoving, eyes roving greedily over me and my sisters.
"Don't be shy, everybody in!" One of my girls calls sweetly. "We've got swimsuits for all of you, right through there~!"
The effect is instant. They stampede toward the changing rooms, nearly trampling each other in their hurry, and moments later come flooding back to throw themselves into the pool, splashing and laughing as my club members slip in among them, none the wiser to the danger.
'Perfect.' I watch the water churn, satisfaction humming through me. 'Right where I want them.'
My gaze slides back to Kai. He murmurs something to Moka, then, finally, leaves her side and turns toward the changing rooms to fetch a swimsuit of his own.
My heart leaps.
'Come, then.' I run my tongue slowly across my lips, watching him go, every fibre of me trembling with anticipation. After all this time… I've finally found something worth savouring. 'Now jump in the water~'
*********
A/N: Hello Everyone! How are you all? If you've enjoyed the chapter and book thus far, please consider leaving me some comments, reviews, or power stones. It really helps the book out.
So a month has passed (canon, and not just me time skipping for the sake of it). I wonder what Kai's done during that time. Finally pulled something terrible, although better than worse, given it was a bronze ticket.
There isn't much to say in this chapter, but Kai's logic. He ain't no hero, worry not. Why else would he go beat up people? Tickets! I considered him going around beating up each club🤣, but thought that'd be too much. The school probably wouldn't care, but still, it's unprovoked. Besides, a big fish is coming up soon (it'd be a fun pin, if the fish I'm talking about are the upcoming fish, but unfortunately it's not. I'm a bit saddened by the missed opportunity), so no worries.
You can also read 7 chapter ahead and support me at [email protected]/AMV_WEAKLY
Anyway, that's all from me. Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter, and have a wonderful rest of your day/night😁