Help... She was in a field of flowers outside of the school picking roses, though somewhere inside she knew that no such field existed. Nor were there roses blooming anywhere nearby, being that it was the middle of winter. She was picking the roses to take to Mitsurugi in the hospital, even though he had been discharged a few days ago. She thought it would be a nice gesture. Help me... She looked up, frowned. Had she heard something? She shrugged and bent back down towards the flowers, but they had turned gray, and slowly melted into a fog. Please help... The sun melted into the sky, which slowly turned gray, mingling with the gray fog until she was surrounded on all sides. The flowers dropped from her numb fingers, dissolving into dust before they could hit the ground, if it was still there. She couldn't breathe, wrapped in a smothering blanket, drowning.... Help me Setsuna...... Setsuna exploded into consciousness with a strangled gasp, for a moment thinking that she still couldn't breathe. She inhaled deeply, letting the somewhat dusty but cool air of her apartment calm her strained nerves. She could almost hear the faint echo of whomever had been calling her in her dream, a somewhat familiar, but implacable voice. At least Treasa hadn't made an appearance to taunt her, the fourth night in a row. Still, it had been somewhat of an odd dream. She briefly wondered if she should tell Mirumoto about it before sinking back into the whirlpool of sleep. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Mystery Club - Part 11 "From Inside The Darkness" Created by Aaron Peori This part by Lady Brick ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Despite the gray darkness of the pre-dawn sky, the young man crouched behind the dumpster clung to the dark glasses on his face like a life preserver. He glanced around frantically, only relaxing a notch when a blond woman in a sleek white suit stepped smoothly into view. "Where have you been?" he hissed. His voice, barely recognizable as Akumu's, was petulant with anger and fear. "Those fools almost killed me! If I hadn't left a part of my essence in this baku before that..." He took a deep breath. "I'm not even strong enough to keep him down completely. I think he managed to get to the dreamscape earlier. And I can't even hide this!" He whipped off his glasses, revealing eyes glowing with a steady blue light. Hikaru gave the possessed man a look of scorn. "You failed, Nanatsuki. You may have paid me to help back there, but I am working for someone much higher up now, someone who has little use for those who can't pull their own weight." She fingered a silver pendent that hung at her throat, set with a blood-red stone. "Either you take care of that Setsuna girl, and soon, or you are on your own." "But..." Nanatsuki gestured to his face. Hikaru sighed, exasperated, and muttered a few words in a language that made the air tremble. The blue glow vanished. "Now go. And remember to leave Mitsurugi alone." Nanatsuki nodded hastily and scuttled out of the alley, heading back towards campus. Hikaru watched him leave, and then strode swiftly in the opposite direction. She had important work to do, for one who paid much better than the fallen parasite. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* "No, I don't really remember anything. It's kind of like when you have one of those dreams, and when you wake up, it's like you almost know what happened, but you just can't remember it... you know what I mean?" Mirumoto nodded to Junko, who sat in front of his desk. The other members of the Mystery Club were sprawled about his office. Setsuna was rather surprised that Junko had been willing to speak to them about what had happened during her possession. The kitsune had become even cockier over the last few days, if that were possible. She seemed particularly proud that it was by her hand that Nanatsuki had been brought down. Yet she apparently felt some sort of gratitude towards the group, if she was willing to speak to them. "Is there anything else helpful that you could tell us?" Mirumoto looked over some notes he had taken. He had become surprisingly serious as of late. Junko frowned, twisting one of her tails thoughtfully. "Well, when he was in that other guy's body, before he possessed me, he said something about being a sponsor of the Supernatural Club, the group Kuroko was president of before you killed her. And he was surprised she was dead." "Supernatural Club?" Mitsurugi frowned. He tapped his lightly bandaged left hand on his knee. The right one was encased in a heavy cast. "I wasn't aware such a club existed." Ibuki snickered. "Geez Mitsu-chan, and here I thought you knew everything." "Don't call me Mitsu-chan." Junko shrugged. "Well, it pretty much fell apart after Kuroko died. Can I go now?" Mirumoto nodded and the kitsune scampered out, slamming the door behind her. Setsuna winced, rubbing her ringing ears. "So, that Nanatsuki thing was connected to Kuroko somehow, enough that it would come here looking for her, maybe after not hearing from her," Ibuki mused. "So what did he want at the school?" "Well, Akumu called and asked me to meet him at the library later... I could ask him if he knows anything. Kuroko was his best friend." "That would be excellent, Setsuna. If no one has anything to else to say, I guess that is it for now." The others milled around for a moment before shuffling towards the door, unused to such an official dismissal. Mirumoto sighed and began shuffling through his stack of notes. "So where's your girlfriend?" Mirumoto started, looked up. He hadn't noticed that Ibuki was still there. "First of all, Lyss is my wife. And secondly, she is sleeping at the apartment we rented on Tuesday." For once, Ibuki was startled into a brief silence; both by Mirumoto's tone and the fact his eyes were squarely on hers, and not on her chest. She finally found her voice. "So do you have any idea what is going on?" "Something doesn't quite add up. I can't figure out why a parasitic mist demon would be interested in anything or anyone at this school. And there have been too many other odd things recently... that woman on the Night of a Thousand Ghosts, the pendant the lampir had, Treasa reappearing..." The professor sighed and rubbed his nose. "I don't know what is going on, but I don't like it." "Well, I hope someone figures it out soon." Ibuki turned to leave, then paused. "Can we really trust Lyss?" "I'd trust her with my life." His voice was as solid as granite. "That's great old man, but it isn't just your life you're putting in her hands. I hope you're right about this." She turned and walked out, still amazed at the calm and business-like man that had replaced the lecherous professor. If she had seen what he was staring at when she was exiting, Ibuki might have been less impressed. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Struggling with her oversized sketchpad, Setsuna reached the third floor of the library and scanned the area for Akumu. He wasn't hard to find, being the only person other person in this section, and seated at the center table. With a harried smile, Setsuna walked over to join him. "You're lucky that things are still so chaotic in class with them trying to get a full-time professor," Setsuna commented as she unloaded her belongings and sat down. "Otherwise, with all the classes you've been missing, they might have failed you." Akumu shrugged carelessly, his eyes never leaving her. "Things have been pretty crazy lately." "That's for sure." Setsuna began pulling papers from her book bag. "Hey, we were just talking to Junko earlier... she mentioned that that Nanatsuki thing came here looking for Kuroko. Do you know how she might have known him?" Akumu's eyes widened, then narrowed. "I really wouldn't know. Kuroko was my best friend, but she kept a lot of things hidden from everyone. And it's not like I can really go ask her, now can I?" Setsuna flinched. "I'm sorry." "Well, it isn't easy to lose a best friend." "Yes, I know...." Setsuna bit her lip. Akumu caught her expression, his face softening a bit. "Look, I'm sorry... I just haven't been... quite myself lately." He offered her a tentative smile. Setsuna struggled to return it. "Look, maybe I should just leave you the notes for the assignments." She tried in vain to keep her voice from shaking. "No, wait Setsuna-san... look, I'm sorry. Things have just been really hard." He gave her a pleading look. "Please don't go." Setsuna sighed and settled back into her seat. "Okay, I guess. I think I understand. Things have been hard for me too recently. This whole Mystery Club thing just keeps getting crazier and crazier." "Well, don't worry Setsuna-san. We're friends, right? I'm sure we can get through all this stuff together." Setsuna gave Akumu an odd look. "I guess so... are you feeling alright? You're being a little... odd." Akumu shrugged and smiled at the confused girl. "It's been an odd day." Unbeknownst to Setsuna, his hand crept towards his own backpack, which was leaning against his chair. "Setsuna!" Startled, Setsuna whirled, almost falling off of her chair. Mitsurugi stood at the top of the stairway, breathing slightly, his eyes darting right and left. "There's a paranormal in here somewhere." "Akumu's here," Setsuna told him. "No, there's another-" Mitsurugi broke off, his eyes widening. He desperately lunged forward. "What-" A line of fire suddenly burned its way down her side. With a choked cry, she stumbled forward, into Mitsurugi. He pushed her behind him, none too gently. She landed in a sitting position, wincing as she connected with the floor. A cruelly grinning Akumu advanced on Mitsurugi with glittering knife stained with blood... *her* blood, Setsuna realized. She gingerly touched her right side. There was a shallow gash that twisted towards her back, bleeding sluggishly. It hurt terribly, but didn't look to serious. "Trying to play the hero again Taro-kun?" Akumu sneered, a crazed look in his eyes. "We both know how well it worked the last time." Mitsurugi flinched at the comment. Akumu, apparently expecting that, lashed out with the blade. Mitsurugi barely dodged, the sharp metal slicing through his sleeve. He fumbled for his crossbow, grasping it awkwardly in his left hand. It was loaded, but it would be difficult to reload with only one functional hand. His one shot would have to count. Akumu faltered a bit when he saw the weapon, but quickly returned to his cocky grin. "Do you still have the nightmares about her, Taro-kun? All the blood, her getting ripped apart? No, I forgot, you didn't see that, did you. Just ran as soon as she started screaming 'Help me Mitsu-chan!'" Help me Setsuna... Setsuna jerked her head upright. She knew the voice in her dream had sounded familiar... It had been Akumu. She saw Mitsurugi raise the crossbow, take aim. She saw Akumu's eyes narrowing. She scrambled to her feet, and heedless of any danger, threw herself at Mitsurugi, dragging him down just as he fired. The bolt went high, shattering one of the lights. She gasped as her side twisted painfully. Mitsurugi grunted as the two of them hit the floor. "Don't hurt him, that's not really him!" Setsuna gasped, struggling to untangle herself from Mitsurugi. He just grunted, trying to move enough to get his weight off of his broken hand. Setsuna was suddenly pulled into the air by invisible hands. Twisting her head, she saw mist spilling from Akumu's eyes, which were now glowing bright blue. She struggled uselessly. Akumu, or rather Nanatsuki, calmly walked up to her, allowing his telekinetic grip to drop her to the floor. He grabbed her hair with his free hand, placing the knife's blade at her throat. Setsuna froze immediately. "Looks like I don't kill as easily as you thought," the mihstu-possesed boy laughed, watching Mitsurugi regain his feet, clutching his unloaded crossbow. "I'm surprised you haven't run away yet. I'm sorry to disappoint you Setsuna-san, if you are expecting your little crush here to rescue you. He hasn't been too good at that in the past." "Damnit, let her go," Mitsurugi growled ineffectively. "Or you'll do what?" Nanatsuki sneered. "Really, 'Mitsu-chan', idle threats don't do anyone any good. And poor Setsuna-san here, what have you gotten her into? I bet you didn't even let her know the dangers when you got her to join your little club. Like the fact that it had a body count." "Wha... what?" Setsuna stammered, trying not to move. She remembered Mirumoto had said something about another Mystery Club member... "Oh, you didn't tell her about Koine? Such a lovely girl she was, and very dedicated to ridding the world of us horrible paranormals." He twitched the knife, eliciting a small cry from Setsuna as it almost punctured the skin. "She and 'Mitsu-chan' were on a scouting mission to investigate some sort of paranormal disturbance, but little did they know that those particular paranormals had a price on their heads for stealing some very valuable arcane artifacts. And an assassin who happens to be a close associate of mine, Dairoba Hikaru, was filling the contract." Mitsurugi growled at the name, his grip on the crossbow tightening. Nanatsuki laughed at his impotent fury, and Setsuna felt what remained of his telekinetic grip falter a bit. "To make a long story short, Hikaru-san doesn't leave survivors. And apparently Koine even tried to interrupt her while she was at work, a rather unfortunate error on her part. And Taro here? He heard her screams, and ran. Didn't even try to help her. All he cared about was saving his own skin apparently. Had nightmares about it for months, even got this baku here to help with that. Of course, he swore to avenge Koine, but it seems he hasn't tried very hard to fulfill his oath. Perhaps he's heard that Hikaru is actually looking forward to meeting him? That she, in fact, was the one who saved his life here a few weeks ago?" Several things happened at once. With a roar of anger, Mitsurugi whipped his arm back as if to throw the crossbow. In either surprise or in preparation to attack Mitsurugi, Nanatsuki allowed his mental grip on Setsuna to fade completely. Setsuna, her arms now free, reached up with both hands and grabbed Akumu's arm, wrenching the knife away from her throat. A massive telekinetic blast threw Mitsurugi across the room, even as Nanatsuki screamed as Setsuna's skin touching Akumu's threatened his control over the baku. The knife clattered to the ground. Setsuna threw her weight against him, knocking the two of them to the floor. Remembering how she had been able to free Junko, she firmly gripped both his arms, and with only the slightest hesitation, leaned over and kissed him full on the lips. Nanatsuki shrieked as he was expelled from Akumu's body. The rising mist coalesced into a vague shape that barely resembled the mihstu's near-solid form from before. He drifted away from the pair, unsure of what to do. Setsuna stood a bit shakily, glaring at the cloud. Mitsurugi had also reappeared, and was struggling to reload his crossbow. Nanatsuki shifted in what appeared to be a nervous manner. "Having trouble, Shiro dear?" The mist shifted as a blond woman in white blurred into existence behind it. "Hikaru-san, thank goodness-" Whatever else Nanatsuki intended to say was cut off into a bloodcurdling scream as Hikaru, now merely a white blur, spun and slashed with a silver blade edged with sapphire blue. Nanatsuki seemed to implode with a shrill cry, then dissipated completely, leaving behind a smiling and completely unruffled Hikaru. "And that is the price of failure, Shiro," she murmured, pulling a handkerchief from her sleeve and wiping the knife blade clean. She looked up to see that Mitsurugi has wordlessly loaded the crossbow and had it pointed straight at Hikaru's heart. The assassin laughed lightly. "Now, now Mitsu-chan, this isn't the time or the place. We'll settle this later, in a much more... intimate environment." Before he could fire, Hikaru had disappeared. Setsuna, who had been frozen since the woman's appearance, shook herself and checked on Akumu. He was sprawled out, unconscious, but seemed fine otherwise. She looked up at Mitsurugi, who had yet to lower his crossbow from the empty space in front of him. His face was blank. "Mitsurugi-san?" she ventured hesitantly. He turned towards her. "Don't call me..." He trailed off hollowly, perhaps finally hearing what she had really said. His eyes met hers briefly. They seemed empty, completely empty. Without a word, he turned and walked to the stairs, leaving behind an equally silent Setsuna. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Author Notes: I can't believe I pulled this off in two days. Even with an extension until Wed, I wasn't going to be able to write until Sunday night due to conflicts. I considered skipping, but didn't want to with it having been so long since a part was written. Also, being the self-proclaimed Plot Queen/Demon, I just had to 'fix' all the little plot inconsistencies/loose threads/stuff that had been ignored forever. It is just what I do ^_^ And I think I did it sufficiently. Or, rather, I hope ^_^;; This MC was a very different one then when I wrote my first part. Back then, there was basically no overarching plot, and now there is a metric ton of it (I think a metric ton is bigger than an English one, if I am wrong, then switch it) I'm not sure which was harder to write, but I think this was the better part of the two. Anyway, thanks to Brett for letting me bounce ideas off of him, and for him and Myth and Lady Chaos for prereading. And the Setsuna/Akumu kiss is dedicated to Lady Chaos, who said she liked my last part because Akumu was in it ^_^ Comments and such can be sent to lady_brick@yahoo.com And post some waiwai reviews on the message board too!