The anguished cries of the freshman student body was music to Amakusa's 
ears. And so, once they'd settled down enough, he repeated his announcement. 
"Your shop class final exam has been pushed up a week in response to a 
request from Darker Heart University. As such, tomorrow, you will not be 
attending regular classes. Instead, you will meet at the Official Dark Heart 
High Forest of Eternal Despair at nine AM sharp. Anyone failing this will 
find themselves with a suspension from the school, complete with the 
inability to take next week's final exams. You will be left back a grade as 
a consequence, of course. Oh, and the name of the game will be survival...so 
it would be best if you prepared yourselves with a good nights sleep. 
Further instructions will be given at the time of the exam, and no earlier. 
You are all dismissed back to your classes." With a flourish, Amakusa 
stepped off the stage.

Akurei stepped in behind Amakusa as they made their way towards the main 
office. "Are you sure this is wise? We could be potentially ending up with 
fewer students alive than usual..."

Amakusa sneered. "The way it's always been done here at Dark Heart High was 
to have the strong continue on and the weak perish. The student body has 
some...exceptionally talented students this year. They are in no danger."

"How can they be in no danger?" Akurei snapped. "They're going to be going 
up against DHU students! I hear that some are especially vicious this year."

Amakusa nodded. "I'm well aware of what may go on tomorrow. And yet...if 
what I'm thinking comes to pass..."

Akurei faltered a step. This was all Amakusa's plan? So what was all that 
about a request from the university?

Amakusa paused and growled menacingly. "I don't like losing one of my 
students to Evil Tech..."

********

Dark Heart High
Netherworlds Educational Institution For The
Universal Propagation of Evil

Started by Mads
This Chapter by: Smlee

Chapter Fifty-four: Examinations!

********

Yuri made sure that she was up bright and early. Well...less she made sure 
and more she'd asked Amy to sleep over and make sure she got up on time. The 
sad thing was that with all the last minute projects for various classes she 
had to work on, getting a lot of sleep was out of the question. Even Amy, 
who was normally bright and chipper in the mornings, looked out of it.

The two were greeted by Yuri's mother and grandmother on their way out the 
door. "Good luck!" They both yelled in unison.

Amy and Yuri ate a hurried breakfast on the way, one unable to kick that 
habit after ditching her old magical girl training, the other just really 
really slow to get out of bed.

Amy munched a piece of toast and spoke out of the corner of her mouth. "So 
what do you suppose this exam is all about? Shop class and survival training 
don't really go together...do they?"

Yuri shrugged, munching her own piece of toast and giving a last minute look 
over her notes.

"Come to think of it," Amy continued her questioning, "What does it have to 
do with Darker Heart University?"

Yuri gestured towards the ominous forest growing visible on the horizon. 
"We'll find out soon enough."

********

Bala's feet dragged along the ground as he slowly trudged his way towards 
the testing grounds. He hadn't gotten a wink of sleep last night, nor, he 
guessed, was he going to get any tonight either. He blinked as the sun 
peeked out from behind a building and shifted his gaze down to Leilei. She 
was skipping cheerfully ahead, last night holding no difficulties in her 
sleep. Bala couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen to Leilei 
after today. She'd been with him practically his entire life...but soon 
there might not be any more need for her services. Yes, it all hinged on 
what was to take place today. Bala picked up his pace as he regained his 
determination. Today was the day everything would change.

As soon as he'd caught up, Leilei pulled a licorice out from her bag and 
offered it up to Bala. "Want one?"

Bala blinked at the girl.

Leilei's smile broadened as she took a bite of the licorice. "Don't look so 
glum. Whatever happens will happen. Even if you don't need me around 
anymore, I'll still be here for you. Now how about that piggy-back ride I 
wanted?"

Bala sighed and dipped down. Leilei's hands closed about his neck, and he 
stood up again. Leilei giggled with glee.

Bala continued to march towards the exam. Leilei was right. There was no 
time to worry about anything today. The exam had to be his focus. Anything 
else...would have to wait for later.

********

Yasuko found herself walking with Craig this morning. Even though she was 
freaked out (although she didn't show it) there was something about Craig's 
complete lack of emotional distancing that put her at ease. Then again, why 
was Craig this nervous? Admittedly, they didn't know what they were getting 
into, but it couldn't be anything extremely hard...she and Craig had at 
least done decently well in shop class.

Craig, feeling it was a good time to explain, spoke up in a quavering voice. 
"Mordred. My brother. He's taking the exam with us."

Yasuko's heart (if she had one) would have skipped a beat. "What did you 
say?"

"University students. They're going to be taking the exam with us. Why? I 
have no idea. But...neither does my brother."

Yasuko idly hovered down the street as she pondered this new development. So 
that was what Amakusa had meant yesterday when he said it was at the request 
of DHU. But why? To what end? There was only one possible answer.

Craig nodded as he saw the light of realization hit Yasuko's face. 
"Survival. It can only really mean one thing."

Yasuko kicked Craig in the shin. "You stupid brat! I was trying to get less 
worried about the exam!"

Craig shrugged, the shin kick having bounced off an armored plate and not 
affecting him at all. "At least now you won't be as surprised when we get 
there."

Yasuko half-heartedly threw a rock at Craig's head.

********

Ryuji strode confidently down the street. Last night, he and Lily had 
discussed options on how to get closer to Yasuko. It was decided that Ryuji 
would ask to see her notes, then work his way from there. He quickly stepped 
behind the corner once he heard Yasuko's voice. It was getting closer. And 
closer...and...who was she talking to?

Ryuji peeked out and spotted Yasuko, practically arm in arm with Craig, 
chatting up a storm. He ducked his head back around the corner.

"No...it can't be...Craig? Could it be possible?" Ryuji whispered aloud.

"Ah, but it can." Yasuko's voice startled Ryuji from his thoughts.

Ryuji spun around, a grin on his face...then it fell as he noted that this 
particular Yasuko was wearing a sailor uniform. He waved a hand 
dismissively. "Get lost Lily. What are you doing here anyways? Don't you 
have classes?"

Lily pouted cutely. "Aww...but the kids there are mean to me! I don't 
exactly fit in there anymore. Besides, I'm supposed to be helping you get 
your hands on Yasuko, aren't I? Ryuji? Hello...?"

Ryuji's mind was currently elsewhere, the overwhelming cuteness of Lily in 
Yasuko's body having been the cause. Ryuji coughed as he snapped back to 
reality.

"Just go. If Yasuko catches you with me here...well...I'd hate to think what 
my chances would be." Ryuji spun Lily around and gave her a pat on her rear, 
pushing her away and copping a feel at the same time.

"But...but...but..." Lily sputtered, trying to come up with an excuse to 
stick around. "What if she doesn't see me with you?"

Ryuji stared at Lily as if she was crazy. "It may have worked before, but 
it's kind of hard to hide a flesh and blood body..."

"Well...I've been playing around with this body a bit. And I think I can 
do...this!" A cloud of smoke concealed Lily, and when it cleared, a 
bat-winged pendant lay on the ground.

Ryuji was slow to pick it up, as his mind had slipped off for a bit after 
Lily had said she'd been playing around with the body. "What did you do?"

"I changed into a pendant! Wear me, and I'll be able to help you out without 
Yasuko noticing!" And indeed, Lily's voice was coming from the pendant.

Ryuji sighed and hung the pendant around his neck.

"You're gonna owe me some ice cream after this." Lily said jokingly.

"Get me together with Yasuko and I'll make it a double scoop." Ryuji 
returned, absentmindedly.

"Deal."

********

"Listen well, because I'm only going to say this once." Shark Eye launched 
into his pre-exam explanation speech. "The exam will be conducted in groups 
of three. You heard me. This is done to balance out the sides. After all, 
there are only really one or two amongst you who may be able to stand up 
against a university student alone. Also, as you may recall from your months 
of training in shop class, I've had you working in groups. We don't get into 
single person made traps until next year. So really...it's only common 
sense."

"Now. I'd like for everyone to form up into groups of three. Take fifteen 
minutes, and choose carefully. Your partners may very well make the 
difference between you passing or failing the exam. Or even living through 
it. And yes, that means that some of you may very well not leave with your 
lives intact." Shark Eye flipped over an hourglass. "Now go!"

Students scrambled left and right searching for the right partner. Many 
flocked to Bala first, as his reputation had preceded him. Conversely, 
everyone seemed to be avoiding Yuri, as her reputation had also preceded 
her. That, and Amy was already by her side, throwing a threatening glare at 
anyone who came near.

Bala shoved a group of students out of his way, and sprinted up beside Yuri, 
casting back a glare at Amy. But they both knew that Yuri stood the best 
chance of succeeding with them both on her team.

"Go find Yasuko!" Lily prompted Ryuji. "This is the perfect opportunity. 
You'll just need to 'lose' your teammate for a few minutes, and bam! She's 
yours."

Ryuji nodded, and pretended to wander about, when in fact his target was 
Yasuko, who stood a short distance away. Less than a minute later, he 
clamped his hand down on her shoulder. "Hey, Yasuko..."

Yasuko turned around, and Craig walked out beside her.

"...uh...that is..." Ryuji's resolve began to crumble. A pinch from the 
pendant on his neck reminded him to keep at it. He opened his mouth to speak 
again when...

Craig extended his hand. "Ryuji! You wanna work with us? You were one of the 
top students in the shop class, right?"

Ryuji blinked. "Us?"

Craig indicated Yasuko. "We partnered up already."

Ryuji scratched his head. Why would Yasuko want to team up with Craig of all 
people? Unless...she really was...? No. It was impossible. But he had to 
make sure. Besides. It'd be easy enough to ditch Craig.

Ryuji took Craig's hand. "Sure. Why not?"

********

Shark Eye finished noting down the last group and sounded a horn he was 
carrying to signify he was starting his explanation once more. "Ok. You've 
all partnered off. Now I'll tell you what this exam is about exactly. It'll 
last for four hours, and only four hours. For the first two hours, you 
freshmen will be allowed into the forest, where you will use any and all 
materials available to you to create and set traps. And that's the easy 
part. Once those initial two hours have finished, the university students, 
for whom this is also an exam, will be allowed into the forest. Their task 
is to bypass your traps and hunt you students down. If you can survive for 
two hours, you pass, no questions asked. If you do not survive the entire 
two hours, and do not get yourself killed, you will be marked on how long 
you lasted, and the effectiveness of your traps. The only way you are going 
to get killed here is if you're a fool who hasn't been paying attention in 
class. Or if the university student hunting you is particularly vicious. 
Either way, the point is to survive. The exam will start at noon, so you 
have the next two and a half hours to spend any way you'd like. Maybe you'll 
want to go meet the university students. They're situated about a half hour 
walk around the forest to the east. Until then...dismissed!"

The students began to disperse. Shark Eye walked up to Bala. "You'll be able 
to take your servant there into the forest with you. Just make sure she 
doesn't assist you in any way, be it physically, or through advice. Have her 
only perform her normal duties, and you'll be fine. Us teachers will be 
watching you, so don't think you'll be able to get away with anything."

Bala nodded once and Shark Eye walked off to another student.

Yuri wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Whew. I thought he was going to 
yell at us or something."

Amy frowned and furrowed her brow, obviously deep in thought.

Yuri looked concernedly upon her friend. "Something wrong?"

Amy grasped at Yuri's shirt. "Shark Eye...is expecting students to die? This 
is...barbaric..."

Yuri pried Amy's hand off and held it. "Amy. This is an evil school. What 
did you expect? An ice cream eating contest?"

Amy blushed. "No...but..."

"Don't worry. I'll be fine." Yuri said confidently. "After all. I've got you 
and Bala with me. When have you two ever let me down?"

"...I suppose..." Amy fingered her rifle, reassuring herself that she was 
indeed protected.

"Besides...I've got something I've been saving for just such an occasion..." 
Yuri cryptically spoke.

"Oh?"

Yuri nodded and held up her sword. "See? I've been practicing lately, and 
I've learned a bit about what this sword can do."

Amy's hand unconsciously dropped to her belt. Once, she would have found her 
own magical girl sword holstered there, but now there was..."Oh!"

Yuri jumped at Amy's sudden exclamation. "What? What?"

Amy slid an exquisitely decorated scimitar out of its sheath at her belt and 
examined it. "Where did this come from?" She questioned aloud.

Leilei popped up in front of Amy's face. "I put it there!"

Amy blinked. She had put in on without her noticing?

"I'm not exactly sure what powers, if any, it has...I just found it lying 
about at home, and thought you could use some extra protection. After all, 
your rifle's a long range weapon." Leilei's grin threatened to engulf her 
face.

Amy sheathed it, and dropped her hand onto Leilei's head. She ruffled 
Leilei's hair. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

Leilei's hand darted into her bag and pulled out another licorice. "Want 
one?"

********

Craig, Yasuko and Ryuji found themselves wandering over to where the 
university students were camped out. Well...at least that's what Ryuji 
thought.

"We're almost there." Yasuko spoke softly.

Craig gave a slight nod.

"Don't screw up." Yasuko spoke, slightly louder, and much more menacingly.

Craig sighed, and gave another nod.

"Guys? We're wandering dangerously close to where Shark Eye said we'd find 
the university students..." Ryuji observed.

"Yeah, so?" Craig grunted.

"...Personally, I don't want anything to happen before the exam even starts. 
Let's go back." Ryuji took Yasuko's arm and tugged.

Yasuko whapped him in the head with a well placed wing hit.

"We're just going to go see Craig's brother. He's a university student." 
Yasuko explained.

Ryuji nodded with understanding. So that must be the reason Yasuko was with 
Craig. Because he had something many other students didn't. A way to cut a 
deal with the university students. Ryuji breathed a sigh of relief.

"Craig! Yasuko!" Mordred's cheery voice wafted over as the trio stepped into 
view of the university camp.

Craig strode up calmly, clenching his fists occasionally. He was determined 
to finish his business, and get the heck out of there. The stares they were 
getting from the other students didn't help his resolve much.

"It's been ages! I must say, Yasuko, you look more ravishing than I 
remember." Mordred placed his lips upon Yasuko's hand, and she acted all 
shyly, as she'd practiced many times before throughout the years of her 
life.

Craig prodded his brother. "All right, enough of that. We came to talk to 
you."

Yasuko bapped Craig over the head. "Craig! Be more polite! He is your better 
after all."

Craig rolled his eyes.

Mordred laughed. "There's just something about you two that reminds me of an 
old married couple."

Seconds later, Mordred found himself knocked flat, the victim of a female's 
righteous anger. "Never say that again." Yasuko coldly warned the elder 
Maimsworth.

Mordred cackled. "So anyways, shall we get down to business? I assume this 
visit isn't just for you to get a glimpse of my handsome face again."

Craig took a deep breath. "We'd like for you to keep yourself and the other 
university students away from us. Can you do that for us?"

Mordred pondered. "What's in it for me?"

Yasuko stepped forwards and ran a hand sensually down Mordred's cheek. "I'll 
give you myself for a week."

Ryuji's eyes flared, and he began to summon his hellfire...before recalling 
he needed his body in one piece. It didn't mean that he still wasn't angry. 
After all. One week with this chump would mean one week more he'd have to 
wait before getting his hands on Yasuko. Ryuji unclenched his fists and 
tuned back into reality, where Mordred had obviously accepted the deal, and 
was currently taking a bit of an advance.

After a long minute, Yasuko broke their kiss and pushed Mordred back. 
"That's enough for now. You just hold up your end of the bargain, and you'll 
get a lot more..." Yasuko finished, licking her lips.

"I'll be looking forwards to our time together." With a flourish, Mordred 
walked off.

Yasuko stood still for a long moment, a feral grin locked onto her face. 
When Mordred had walked out of sight, she spun around and wiped her lips. 
"Uh. Disgusting. Mordred has to be one of the only men I've met who I never 
want to bed again."

Craig put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Just remember that you're 
doing it for the greater evil."

Ryuji pried Craig's hand loose. "Let's head back to the freshman camp. 
There's something...foul in the air here."

Craig took a tentative sniff of the air. "I don't smell anything."

Ryuji glared at Craig before taking up Yasuko's arm and leading her away.

Craig threw his own glare at Ryuji's back. There was something...unsettling 
about him. "He better not cost us this exam." Craig muttered.

********

Shark Eye raised his hand. "And...start!" He brought it sweeping down again. 
Students rushed past him, into the forest, each group separating and 
immediately starting the hunt for trap worthy materials.

Yuri stood before the first trees, shivering slightly. It wasn't that she 
was afraid of entering or anything...it was a sudden gust of wind that 
brought upon her shivers. She couldn't help but think of the breeze as the 
winds of change, a symbol that whatever happened within would have lasting 
effects on her and her friends. She turned around and looked Yasuko square 
in the eyes, Yasuko having also paused at the entrance. Yuri's hand moved 
forwards and took up Yasuko's in a handshake. "Whatever happens today 
Yasuko...I'd just like to tell you...good luck. And thank you."

Yasuko blinked in surprise. "Thank you? Whatever for?"

Yuri's eyes teared up. "If it wasn't for your teasing early in the first 
semester, I don't think I'd have ever learned enough to make it this far, 
let alone defend myself at this school. I...just felt I needed to thank you. 
You've been a good friend, and I hope it stays that way."

Yasuko froze a moment, before the corners of her mouth turned up slightly. 
She forcefully yanked her hand out from Yuri's grip. "You really are an 
idiot, aren't you? Craig? Ryuji? Let's go. Oh and Amy? Don't die. I intend 
to beat you the next time we play chess."

"Good luck!" Yuri called after the group as they entered.

Amy's hand clamped down onto Yuri's shoulder. "We should get going to. We're 
going to need those supplies if we want to survive."

Yuri wiped the tears in her eyes that had not fallen yet. "Sure thing."

Amy and Yuri walked into the forest, arm in arm. Bala shuffled behind. 
Leilei readjusted the bag on her shoulder and followed.

Shark Eye sighed. When would the students ever learn?

********

Mordred slid down the tree and sat next to Sei. "Hey, you look troubled 
about something."

Sei barely acknowledged Mordred's presence and fell back into his thoughts. 
He was currently pondering the events of yesterday. He'd managed to track 
the dagger given to his brother back to its source...

********

	Far away from campus, the remaining Doombringer brother gazed up at the 
imposing office building that stood before him. Seichorou the Ninth examined 
the paper in front of him once again. Though the location seemed 
implausible, the source that had given him this address was reliable.  He 
shrugged his shoulders and walked through one of the many sets of glass 
doors. He was greeted by a scene of tasteful opulence. The reception area 
was around the size of a football field and decorated with works of art that 
would have been reserved for the presidential suite in most places. It was 
well lit, much to the gratitude of the exotic plants that hung artfully 
arranged from wall hooks on the airy columns. Sei took a moment to consider 
this aesthetic masterpiece. Then he marched up grimly to the reception desk 
and glared at the blue-haired receptionist there.

	"May I help you?" she asked, not bothering to cease filing her nails.

	"I have an appointment."

	"What is your name?"

	"I believe Tanaka-san is expecting me."

	"Ah yes, you would be related to the charity case. Am I to assume you're as 
oafish as your brother?"

	Seichorou scowled, raising a hand menacingly.  "Are you going to let me 
through?"

	The receptionist sighed, reached over and touched a button. As though 
summoned from nowhere, a battalion of concealed guns sprouted up from 
nowhere. By their exotic appearance, subtle humming noises, and the military 
grade power cables supplying them, it was blatantly obvious that they were 
capable of reducing even the most potent of beings to dust in short order.

	Doombringer looked around, performed some simple calculations, and smiled. 
He quickly jerked his hand upwards and blasted away the artillery with a 
well aimed gout of fire. Sei lowered his hand. "Could you direct me to his 
office, please?"

	"Third elevator from the left."

	As Sei crossed the massive hall, he stopped, turned around and raised his 
hand again. Another gout of fire, and the secretary was dust.

	The elevator that Seichorou stepped into was as richly appointed as the 
rest of the building. He stepped in, momentarily puzzled at the lack of a 
set of buttons to press, but ceased worrying as the elevator doors closed, 
and it started to rise of its own accord, trying to ignore the muzak 
rendition of "Fly Me to the Moon" that had started playing with the 
elevator's motion. The elevator slowed to a stop, opening directly into an 
office that seemed to occupy the entire floor of the building. Across a 
veritable lake of plush deep red carpeting say a desk of polished mahogany. 
A brown leather chair, framed against a bay window, faced away from the rest 
of the room, its occupant concealed behind it.

	"Ah, Seichorou-kun.  How nice of you to come. I trust the trip out here 
wasn't too stressful?" spoke the man behind the chair, in a voice that 
dripped with sarcasm.

	"Tanaka-san. I understand you were the one who gave the dagger to my 
brother."

	"Ah yes. I assume you want to know the whys? I'd have been more inclined to 
tell you if you hadn't fried my secretary."

	Seichorou lunged forwards and pulled Tanaka from his chair by his shirt 
collar. "You just tell me what I need to know, and I'll let you live. I know 
all the details of your little meeting with my brother. I know you gave him 
the dagger. What I don't know, is who it is you're working for. There's no 
way you'd have given away a dagger like that freely."

	"Hmmm? A lot smarter than you look, aren't you? A lot smarter than your 
brother at least. Let me go, and I'll tell you."

	Sei carefully set Tanaka in the chair. "Talk."

	Tanaka took a minute to fix his rumpled clothing before talking. "My 
employer requested I tell you two things. One. Sometimes, things are just as 
they appear to be. Two. The person in question you are looking for is a 
small girl, with pink hair and an affinity for sweets. My employer didn't 
leave her name, but this was the description she told me to relate to you. 
Said you were a smart lad, and you'd be able to figure it out."

	Sei nodded. So that's how it was. "My thanks. You've been quite helpful."

	"Always a pleasure doing business. But you know...this information didn't 
come cheaply. I'd like to request a favor of you..."

	Sei raised his hand. Tanaka dove behind his desk. A few tense moments 
passed, and the elevator doors swooshed open, then shut again. A few more 
moments of silence, and Tanaka took the chance to peek out from underneath 
his desk. Seichorou was nowhere in sight. He'd gone.

	Tanaka sighed in relief. Doombringer flames were not to be trifled with. He 
reached inside his pocket and withdrew a handkerchief. He wiped away the 
sweat on his forehead before dropping the cloth in shock. He stared down at 
the sword currently sticking out from his chest. Blood bubbled into his 
mouth and he coughed his last before slumping over onto the desk.

	Midori withdrew her blade and wiped it clean on Tanaka's suit jacket. "Why 
am I stuck doing all the grunt work? Sei's going to pay for all this when 
it's over." A pain in her chest reminded her once more who exactly was 
holding her leash. "Once I'm free, he is so dead."

********

	It all made a strange sort of sense in a way. The pieces all dropped into 
place once he'd gotten that final piece yesterday. A pink haired kid close 
to him could only be that kid that was a servant to Bala. And if she was the 
one making the deal, it would have been on Bala's orders. What exactly had 
happened the day of the sport meet? Bala had killed his biggest rival, and 
unsealed his complete power. It was all a setup. But then, why had Bala 
turned up again later, more heavily sealed than ever? Although, if unsealing 
himself to deal with Sakazashi was his only intention originally anyways, it 
began to make sense again. But still...there was a nagging feeling that he 
was still missing something in the bigger picture here. The only way he was 
going to find out for sure was to confront Bala outright. And this exam was 
going to deliver to him the perfect opportunity.

	Sei leaned over a bit to whisper in Mordred's ear. "I want Bala. Be a chum 
and get the other students to leave him to me?"

	Mordred grinned. "Want a bit of a challenge, eh?" Mordred shifted his axe. 
"Ok. But you do something for me. Stay away from Craig."

	Sei cocked an eyebrow. "You want him for yourself?"

	Mordred's eyes flashed with a tinge of insanity. "Lets just say that 
brother's been a bit of a disappointment."

********

	Amy grumbled as she made another loop with the rope. "You know, at my old 
school, we never used to build deathtraps. And now here I am, building one 
for the team because I've got better marks in shop class. Magical girls 
aren't supposed to be known for co-ordination you know."

	Yuri grinned. "Aww, fess up already Amy. You like this stuff. The thrill of 
the hunt and all that."

	Amy paused. "So now I'm a predator instead of the prey. I suppose you're 
right. It's certainly been an interesting year for me."

	Yuri pulled back another branch and tied it down. "By the way Amy...you've 
never really been clear on why exactly you came to Dark Heart. You claim you 
couldn't go back, but I've gotten to know Magical Girl nature the past 
while. They'd have forgotten about anything if you'd given em a week and a 
bowl of ice cream."

	"I...I...just didn't feel I belonged there anymore." Amy admitted to 
herself. "I wasn't as 'pure' and 'innocent' as I once was."

	"But why's that? You're just as pure hearted as you were when I met you 
that day."

	Amy shook her head. "I haven't told you this before...heck, I haven't even 
told my mother. But I can feel it. A darkness. In my heart. Its there to 
stay I'm afraid, and I'm almost sure that is what's been holding me back 
from my old Magical Girl transformation. You cannot possibly know how many 
times in the night I'd be unable to sleep and lay awake, clutching my amulet 
and muttering my transformation phrase." Amy's eyes began to shimmer with 
withheld tears.

	Yuri stopped what she was doing and stepped over to Amy, sweeping her into 
a hug. "Amy...I never knew..."

	A kiss stopped any more words from leaving her mouth. Yuri, too shocked to 
do anything, didn't fight back against Amy's embrace. A minute passed. Then 
almost a second before Yuri pulled back, gasping for air.

	Amy's tears flowed unrestrained down her cheeks. "I love you Yuri! From the 
moment I met you! That's why I didn't go back. That's why I didn't leave! I 
wanted to be by your side. Forever."

	Yuri sat down, her head churning out thoughts a mile a minute.

	And from the shadows of the forest, Bala slowly set down the log he'd been 
hauling. A low growl emitted from within his bandages. Leilei put a 
restraining hand upon his leg, and pointed to something within her bag. Bala 
took a deep breath, and slowly forced his anger away. It was things like 
this that made what he was going to do a lot more necessary.

********

	Yasuko helped Craig and Ryuji put together their assortment of traps. That 
is to say, she was ordering them around.

	Craig grumbled. "Why are we bothering to do this? Mordred's keeping the 
university students away from us."

	Yasuko laughed as if Craig had said something funny. "Don't you think the 
teachers would find it suspicious if we didn't make any?"

	Craig muttered. "I suppose...but why aren't you helping at all?"

	"Because I'm the leader, dummy. Now get to work. You don't see Ryuji 
wasting all his time and energy complaining."

	Craig sighed. "If he's not complaining, what the heck is he talking to 
himself about?"

	Ryuji looked up from the log he'd been cutting down to size. He'd been so 
engrossed in his conversation with Lily, he hadn't noticed Craig looking at 
him. Ryuji turned back to his log. "It's nothing, Craig. I'm just reciting 
the stuff we learned in class."

	"Does that really help?" Craig queried.

	Ryuji shook his head. "Not in the slightest. But I'm doing it anyways."

	Craig eyed Ryuji suspiciously. "Whatever you say...psycho."

	Ryuji's eyes flared with hellfire. "What did you say, mortal?"

	Yasuko fluttered down between the two. "Boys, boys. Stop arguing. We're a 
team, and we need to work together. After I pass this exam, you can kill 
eachother for all I care."

	Craig swore under his breath and resumed his work on the trap.

	Ryuji began to talk with Lily again. "Once we're done here, I'll have two 
hours to ditch Craig and hook up with Yasuko. I hope you know what you're 
doing..."

********

	Yuri, Amy, and Bala continued their work quietly. Yuri and Amy didn't look 
at each other once. Before they knew it though, a chime sounded, ringing 
loud and clear throughout the forest.

	"Time's up." Leilei stated unnecessarily.

	Yuri stood first. "We'll have to get to cover. If we aren't spotted, we'll 
have no need to use our traps right away. Or Bala." She added thoughtfully 
to the end, knowing full well of Bala's power scale.

	Amy stood and nodded. "I agree."

	Yuri and Amy stood still for another moment before blushing and turning 
away from eachother. Bala stalked off towards the tree he'd hollowed out 
earlier for just such a use. Leilei skipped off behind him.

	It was a short few minutes later that a scream pierced the silence from 
nearby.

	Yuri shuddered. "That sounded like Sondack."

	Two more short cries pierced the air. "And there go his two teammates." 
Leilei added.

	"You think...they were killed?" Yuri asked.

	Leilei nodded. "The university students were asked to detain and not 
kill...but accidents happen."

	Yuri shuddered again, her mind bringing up images of herself lying cold 
upon the ground, her head laying several feet away.

	Another short while passed. Yuri yawned with boredom. She took a look at 
her watch. They'd survived near half an hour already. Things were going 
well.

********

	Ryuji tapped his foot impatiently. He desperately wanted to be rid of 
Craig's mindless prattling sometime soon, but it was not to be. Yasuko had 
fallen asleep nearing the end of the prep period, and she'd been sleeping 
almost an hour now. The time for his action was dwindling to nothing. And it 
wasn't making him happy.

	"You know..." Lily began, her boredom having outgrown her common sense. 
"You wouldn't be in such a mess if you just gave up on her. What's her 
appeal anyways? There's nothing there. Literally."

	Ryuji brought a hand to his chest and gave Lily a squeeze. "Shut up. I'll 
have you know that Yasuko is the only person who's ever agreed to go out 
with me. Even if it was only that one time. Even if I did mess up badly. 
She's had time to get over it though. And now I want her back. So you can 
just take your comments and shove em."

	Lily said something, but Ryuji couldn't hear it. "Eh?"

	"Oh? Nothing. I said nothing." Lily couldn't exactly tell Ryuji that she'd 
agree to go out with him...he had never asked after all. And it was rule 
number one in Magical Girl love that you had to worship the guy from afar 
for a while before making any concrete moves. For some reason, that was just 
how it worked out most of the time. Of course, she wasn't exactly a magical 
girl anymore anyways...but still...

	"Oh? So this is where you've been hiding yourselves?" Mordred's voice 
grabbed Ryuji's attention. "Not a very good hiding spot I might add."

	Ryuji eyed Mordred. "How'd you get past the traps?"

	Mordred cackled. "You think those minor traps can stop me? Stop any of us 
for that matter? No."

	"Then wha...?"

	Mordred cackled again. "Survival. The first half of the test was your shop 
exam. The second half? Just to see who makes it to the second year. Or 
didn't you know that Dark Heart has a tradition of only advancing the 
strong?"

	"..."

	Craig, who'd remained silent to this point, spoke up. "You held up your end 
of the bargain though, brother?"

	"Oh sure! Would I let my little brother down? I kept the other university 
students off your backs." Mordred's hand twitched closer to his axe.

	Craig pondered Mordred's words and actions. Then he noted the gleam of 
insanity in his eyes. "Lemme guess. One week isn't enough."

	Mordred swung loose his axe swiftly. "Bingo!"

	Craig drew his sword. "Ryuji. Go wake Yasuko. Then go prep some of the 
traps. Mordred couldn't possibly have gotten them all."

	Mordred lazily gave his axe a test swing, and then shifted it to the other 
hand. "I'm disappointed in you, brother. And to uphold the traditions of 
Dark Heart, I will slaughter you weaklings. For only the strong deserve to 
proceed to the next stage."

	Mordred brought his axe crashing downwards onto Craig's head, intending to 
cleave it in half. Craig scrambled out of the way in the nick of time.

	Craig thumbed the release on his armor, intending to shed the heavy 
shielding. It would all be over in one blow anyways, and he much preferred 
the extra mobility. Unfortunately for him, he was a step too slow. The axe 
quickly descended, promising a quick death. Craig feebly tried to get his 
sword into a defense position.

	A few moments later, it was over. And Craig, surprisingly, was still alive. 
A drop of blood hit his face as he looked up to see the axe lodged deep 
within a bat wing attached to Yasuko. Yasuko gritted her teeth so as not to 
yell out in pain. "Hurry up you idiot!" She yelled to Craig.

	Craig quickly shed the extra pounds as Yasuko grappled with Mordred, 
keeping him occupied, and keeping him from retrieving his axe. Ryuji ran 
back onto the field of battle and held up three fingers. Craig took that to 
mean that they had three traps left. It should be just enough. But Yasuko, 
having been asleep, didn't know where they were to lure Mordred towards. So 
it was up to the men to take over now.

	Craig ran towards Mordred quickly, and drove him back from Yasuko with a 
quick slash to the eyes that didn't connect. "Fall back, Yasuko! Me and 
Ryuji'll take it from here."

	With a surprising amount of dexterity for a man in armor, Mordred dove for 
his axe, picked it up, and rolled to his feet. "Brother, brother, brother. 
What makes you think you have any chance of doing anything to me? I've seen 
your marks. You must be the worst student in the school."

	Craig muttered and swung his sword, his blow easily deflected by the axe. 
"This is all your fault you know."

	Mordred leapt over Craig and took a swing at his backside. Craig parried in 
time, the blow numbing his arm, but he was still able to cling tightly to 
his sword. "Oh? My fault you say?"

	Craig dodged another swing and stabbed at the unprotected neck of Mordred. 
He dodged easily. "Yes. All your fault. I hated living in your shadow. 
Always being compared to you. Always being pushed to become as good as you. 
But I knew I couldn't do it. So I just gave up. Became the class clown. At 
least that was something I was good at."

	Mordred somersaulted backwards and tossed a dagger he'd whipped off his 
belt at Craig's leg, intending to pin it. "So you want to be a clown? If I'd 
have known that, I would have killed you long ago."

	Craig blocked with his own dagger before whipping it after Mordred. "I'm a 
dark knight. Like my father before me. And his father before him. That's all 
I was taught. All I used to know. But I bet you don't know this, brother. 
Much like you've taken up the axe, I've also acquired some new weaponry."

	The dagger whizzed past Mordred's ear, taking off some of his hair's split 
ends. "Oh? You look to have your sword, and your throwing knives. What else 
is it you possess?"

	Craig grinned. He pulled a dagger from his boot and hurled it at Mordred. 
Mordred sidestepped the projectile, and it thunked into the tree behind him. 
"Ha! That was it? That was your 'new' weapon? A dagger?"  Mordred pried the 
dagger loose and clutched it in his hand. "Then with this weapon, you will 
die."

	Craig cackled, much like his brother had earlier. "You'd think so, eh?" 
Craig moved a hand down to the pommel of his sword and depressed a hidden 
button. The dagger detonated in Mordred's hand. "You live too much in the 
past, brother, and that is your weakness. Technology is the future. And I 
know that now."

	Mordred's mad laugh echoed from within the cloud of smoke left after the 
explosion. "You really think something like that's going to stop me?"

	"No. That was just a distraction. But this might." Ryuji quietly severed a 
rope tied to the tree next to him. A log swooped down and hit Mordred in the 
midsection, clearing him from the smoke and tossing him into the air.

	Yasuko caught him in mid-flight. "Hello Mordred. Did you miss me?"

	Mordred, slightly blackened after the explosion, and with a cracked rib or 
two after taking the log to the chest, just cackled.

	Yasuko flew higher and higher, before she dropped Mordred in exhaustion. 
Mordred had a long trip to the ground.

	When Mordred came to, he was bound, and Craig had his sword at Mordred's 
neck. "Brother? Guess I'm not as invincible as I thought I was."

	Craig depressed another button in his sword and hit Mordred across the jaw 
with the flat of the blade. Electricity jolted Mordred fully awake, and gave 
him more pains to deal with.

	"Brother? The game is over. You can untie me now. It was all just a little 
game. You know how I like to play these games. Brother?"

	"Begging for your life is not the honorable thing to do." Craig deadpanned, 
he then brought his sword down and cleaved open Mordred's throat.

	"...Nasty Craig." Yasuko muttered. "Couldn't you have been any cleaner?"

	Craig shrugged. "My brother...he used to be one of a kind. His technique 
was superb. I could honestly say he was a better man than I. And then he 
changed. Took up the axe and dropped the sword. He'd become insane at 
points. Do you know how many deaths we had to cover up because of him? I 
say, good riddance to bad rubbish." Craig reached down and removed Mordred's 
signet ring from his finger. "I will hold on to this though, in memory of 
the man he once was."

	Ryuji nodded. It was the honorable thing to do, after all. "More 
importantly...do you think he told the other students to stay away from us?"

	Yasuko and Craig looked at eachother, and then hopped up and down 
excitedly. "We passed! We passed!"

	Ryuji gave a sigh of relief. Then a pinch from his neck reminded him of 
what else he'd wanted to do today. "Yasuko...I'd like to talk with you. 
Alone."

********

	"Run!" Yuri yelled as she took her own advice.

	All their carefully laid traps had been taken down...by Seichorou the 
Ninth, Doombringer. To that end, he'd lit an entire section of the forest on 
fire. It was not only Sei, but this fire, that was driving them away. The 
thick black smoke made it hard to see, but moments ago, she had seen Leilei 
scooped up by Sei, and held aloft. His hand, ablaze with the destructive 
powers of his clan, pointed directly at her. Then the smoke concealed them. 
Leilei had screamed. A bright pyre had lit. And all Yuri could think as she 
ran was that her friend was dead.

	"There is no escape from Doombringer justice, Bala! I will make you beg to 
die." Sei yelled out, before chasing after the nearest warm body, who just 
happened to be Amy.

	Yuri skidded to a halt a few meters away, realizing that Sei had not gone 
after her. A rustle in the bushes, and out stepped Bala. So he wasn't after 
Bala either. The only one left was Amy. After quickly explaining the 
situation to Bala, they were sprinting back towards what could very well be 
their doom.

********

	"My, the fireworks are spectacular today, are they not, Midori?" Amakusa 
asked his companion, the rogue Steel Thorn.

	"They're only going to get better from here. Thank you for breaking the 
spell principal. Sei is sure not to notice, now that he'd occupied." Midori 
gave a slight bow before leaping into the trees, heading towards the fire.

	"Like I said Midori, I don't like losing one of my most promising students. 
Sorry to say that it isn't you." Amakusa spoke to nobody in particular.

********

	Amy dangled above the chasm precariously, a long drop awaiting her if Sei 
was to loosen his choke hold.

	"Any moment now, your 'friends' will come to save the day. And then I will 
kill you all. One by one. I'll have to save Bala for last though. I have 
some questions that need answering."

	Amy replied with a "Gack" as her windpipe was crushed a little more.

	And suddenly, there was a second Amy.

	Sei blinked in surprise a second before the other Amy (who was free from 
his grip) dashed in with her scimitar drawn. A gash across his hand awarded 
Sei's blocking efforts. He yelled out in pain, dropping the other, now 
unconscious, Amy. Amy number two caught Amy number one and managed to haul 
her back onto land before being picked up herself and strangled. The 
unconscious Amy was accidentally kicked by the other Amy's flailing legs, 
and she rolled off to the side, into a tall patch of weeds.

	Yuri and Bala burst onto the scene. Yuri dashed in low, and Bala went high. 
A tackle to the knees, and Sei toppled. Bala broke Sei's grip on Amy and 
hauled her away from the edge.

	"You." Sei growled as he got up.

	"Me." Yuri dropped into a fencing stance.

	"Since you volunteer, you die first." Sei held up his hand.

	Yuri caught Sei off guard by dashing in close and aiming a stab at his 
throat. Sei moved, and the sword nicked his shoulder instead. Sei roared and 
brought his hand around to fire at Yuri. His arm was caught by Bala. Sei 
snickered and lit Bala's wrappings on fire.

	Yuri, knowing full well that Bala would be all right, slipped off to check 
on Amy. She was still alive, but barely able to catch a breath, and unable 
to move. Amy motioned Yuri to get closer so she could hear what she had to 
say.

"Sei...he...want...s...Bala...for...kill...brother...he's...confused...make 
him...make him...see the truth..." Amy rasped.

	"Truth? What truth?" Yuri asked.

	Amy tried to speak again, but broke out in a fit of coughs as she tried to 
catch her breath again.

	Yuri stood up, and looked over to the two sparring titans. The truth, huh? 
What was the truth?

	Bala's crushing fist met squarely with Sei's own. A shockwave shattered a 
nearby tree.

	"Heh. I haven't had this much of a workout in a while. Too bad I'm going to 
have to finish this to learn the truth." Sei grinned. His foot snaked out, 
and tripped Bala. He brought his fist straight down onto Bala's head. A 
crack echoed throughout the forest.

	Sei shook Bala. "Still conscious? I've got questions that need answering."

	Then, a sword stabbed through his side. Sei howled in pain.

	"Leave him alone." Yuri said in her most commanding voice, hoping that he 
didn't notice that she was scared out of her wits.

	Sei dropped Bala and barked out a laugh. "I like you kid. You got spunk. 
But that's all you got."

	Sei quickly opened his fist and sent a wave of fire out at Yuri. Yuri held 
up her sword in a desperate attempt to block it. And then Sei burned. Sei 
quickly stopped, dropped, and rolled, putting out the fire. What had 
happened? She'd somehow turned his own power back on him? Impossible.

	Another slice tore off a piece of his ear. "Agh! I'm going to kill you!" He 
found himself yelling.

	Sei took a gash to the chest as he stood. He ignored the pain. Sei reached 
out and grabbed the sword, the edge digging deep into his palm. He ignored 
the burning sensation, but had enough mind to recognize the pain as being 
from a purity weapon. Where the hell did she get a purity weapon from? And 
how in the hell was she able to use it? Sei quickly disarmed Yuri and threw 
the weapon out into the underbrush. "You fought well. But not well enough. 
Maybe I'll have a little fun with you before I kill you?" Sei ripped off 
Yuri's skirt. Yuri screamed.

	"Awww come on! This part won't hurt...much..." Sei taunted the helpless 
Yuri. Then he found himself reeling. Yuri was yanked violently from his 
grasp. Sei spun, and came face to face with Bala.

	"Ahh! You're awake! Time for round two, huh?"

	Round two lasted for all of a minute. Sei lay broken and bloodied on the 
ground, after learning the pain a man in love could dish out.

********

	"Why don't you just finish me?" Sei spat out through his broken jaw. "Kill 
me like you killed my brother."

	Yuri thought she caught the gist of what he'd said. Broken jaws make it 
hard to talk.

	Bala shook his head.

	"Bala doesn't kill...anymore." Yuri explained.

	Sei blinked.

	"That day...the day your brother died...he just pushed Bala over the edge. 
I know saying 'I'm sorry' won't bring him back...but I know that's what Bala 
wants to say to you."

	Sei growled. "What was your game then? Why give my brother the dagger?"

	Yuri scratched her head. "Dagger? Oh! That's right! Sakazashi used a dagger 
in that fight, didn't he?"

	Bala nodded.

	"But I don't understand what you mean by us giving it to him."

	"You had Leilei set up the trade. I've got evidence. You wanted to take out 
your biggest rival, right?"

	Yuri puzzled out his latest set of words and responded. "No idea what 
you're talking about, really. Maybe this is what you're all confused about? 
Amy told me that you were confused about something and needed to be told the 
truth. And the truth is, we had nothing to do with Sakazashi acquiring that 
dagger. The only reason he fought Bala was because he saw Bala as his 
biggest rival. Eliminating him would have solidified his reputation as the 
school's badass. That's the only reason Sakazashi fought. He was stupid. You 
should know your own brother. That's him in a nutshell. I know Bala. He'd 
never purposely do anything like that."

	"But it just doesn't add up..." Sei mumbled.

	Yuri and Bala turned to leave. "People should be by later to get you. We 
should run. Your fires attract a lot of attention."

	Yuri helped Amy up. With the support, she was able to move, but she was 
still gasping for air occasionally. She'd probably have to go to the nurse's 
office later to be patched up. Come to think of it, they all would. Yuri 
shuddered at the thought of going there again.

	Yuri suddenly remembered something. She handed Amy over to Bala, and then 
walked back to Sei with a purpose. "And this is for Leilei. Bastard." Yuri 
kicked Sei in his already injured ribs. A satisfying crunch sounded as 
another of his ribs broke.

********

	"Yes, Ryuji? What is it?" Yasuko queried.

	"Well...you see...Yasuko..." Ryuji stuttered. A pinch from the Lily pendant 
got him back on track. "Remember that date we had a while back...?"

	Yasuko frowned. "Unfortunately."

	"Well...Wanna go out again?" Ryuji finally finished.

	"..."

	"You don't?" Ryuji asked, unable to keep the disappointment from his voice.

	Yasuko nervously looked around. She didn't really feel like crushing his 
hopes, especially after what they'd just accomplished together. "I would 
love to Ryuji...but the truth is...I have a boyfriend already." There. 
That'd be the perfect answer to keep him away.

	"I knew it!" Ryuji yelled angrily. "How long have you and Craig been going 
out?"

	Yasuko blinked. "Craig?" Yasuko was about to correct Ryuji, until she 
realized that nobody else would go along with the charade as easily as he. 
"Why...we've just started to go out."

	Ryuji pounded his fist into the side of the tree. "Craig...he will die for 
this offence...." He muttered.

	"Eh? What was that?" Yasuko asked.

	"Hm? Nothing. Just talking to myself again."

********

	Bala shifted his gaze to the side. There, he spied an empty clearing, where 
the sun was streaming down just right...somehow fitting for what he was 
about to do. Bala tapped Yuri on the shoulder to command her attention, lay 
Amy down, and pointed off to the side. He walked into the clearing.

	Yuri followed, not quite sure what was going on.

	Bala stopped in the middle, and waited for Yuri to catch up. Once she made 
it there, he gently took her hand, got down on one knee, looked up at Yuri 
and blinked.

	Time seemed to slow as they stood there, unmoving, Bala blinking up at 
Yuri, as if he had something important to say. A gust of wind passed by, 
tossing around Yuri's hair and rattling Bala's chains.

	"Aaaahhhh! Sorry I'm late!"

	Yuri spun around. "Leilei? You're alive!"

	"Like I'd die and miss this!" Leilei dashed into the clearing and began to 
unwrap Bala's face.

	"Umm...Leilei? What's going on?" Yuri asked, confused. She'd never seen 
Leilei unwrap Bala for any reason except the bathroom and that sports meet 
before.

	Leilei took a step back when her work was finished. She pressed something 
into the hand Bala wasn't using to hold Yuri's hand. Then Leilei walked off 
to the sidelines.

	"Yuri." Bala tested his voice.

	"What?" Yuri spoke a bit nervously.

	Bala slid a ring onto Yuri's hand. "Marry me."

	A gust of wind blew by, ruffling more hair.

	"What?" Yuri yelled, in complete shock.

	Bala blinked.

	"This...this...this...is all happening too fast...what...I don't...why..."

	"Yuri!" Amy yelled as she dashed in from the forest.

	"Amy! Thank god! Help!" Yuri exclaimed in relief.

	Bala blinked. Why was she so happy to see Amy interrupt them? Why was she 
asking for Amy's help? Was it...because of what happened earlier?

	"Bala, you have to understand. You can't marry Yuri." Explained Amy.

	"Yeah...can't marry." Yuri repeated.

	"She's already dating me." Amy finished.

	"Yeah, I'm already dating...huh?" Yuri turned to Amy, confused.

	Bala's eyes lit up with fury. So that was it. Yuri had been playing with 
his emotions the whole time. Bala stood up.

	"Ow! Bala! You're crushing my wrist!" Yuri yelped in pain as Bala's grip 
tightened.

	Bala spun around, his hand still clutching Yuri's tightly. A pop sounded 
from Yuri's shoulder as her arm was yanked from its socket.

	"Ahhh!" Yuri yelled out louder. Bala let go.

	Amy aimed Mistypuff at Bala's head. "Step away from her. You monster."

	Amy was right. He was a monster. Monsters were not meant to be loved. Or 
love. Bala began to stomp away from Yuri and Amy.

	"Wait! Bala!" Yuri yelled out.

	Bala turned around and glared menacingly at Yuri. Yuri broke down in tears.

	A mewling from his feet caught his attention, and he looked downwards. 
Somehow or another, a cat had made its way into the forest, and was 
currently huddling at his feet. Bala hated cats.

	Yuri bawled even harder as Bala punted the kitten into orbit.

	Bala reached up to his ear and removed the cat earring he'd been wearing 
for so long, he'd almost forgotten it was there. He paused a moment, 
remembering how Yuri had given it to him, before tossing it with all his 
strength to the north.

	Leilei was hiding behind a tree. Bala motioned towards her. "Come."

	Leilei sadly shuffled in line behind Bala. Bala ran off towards the nearest 
exit to the forest. Leilei lingered behind a moment.

	"He loved you, you know. I tried to tell him that asking you to marry him 
would be taking it too fast. But with Ki out of the picture, he figured that 
it was the best time to get you, and keep you. And now...I'll try to calm 
him down. Explain to him again that it was too fast. But Yuri...it was your 
responsibility to tell him straight if you loved him or not. And I think 
you'd better find the answer before the next time you meet. Or else..." 
Leilei explained. Then she threw Amy a glare. "I wouldn't get too involved 
if I were you. Bala...might get nasty."

	Leilei dashed off after Bala.

	Yuri held her injured arm, and stared down at the ring Bala had placed on 
her finger. What had happened? Weren't they just good friends?

	Amy smiled. Things couldn't have gone better. A small part in the back of 
her mind told her of her good half reawakening where they'd unknowingly left 
her, tangled in the weeds. Wouldn't she be surprised that her evil side had 
opened the door wide open for theirs' and Yuri's love?

********

	Sei struggled into a sitting position, using the tree behind him as a 
support. And he let out a raspy breath. He hurt. A lot. But he'd live 
through it. And Bala? Sei would have his revenge. Or would he? Sei found 
himself more confused than before. Something about the way Yuri had spoken 
had touched a part of Sei's heart, and he found himself believing her words. 
But if Bala hadn't set up everything...who did?

	"Awww. Poor Sei. Looks like that hurts." Midori dropped down from her perch 
in the trees.

	Sei growled at Midori. He reached up to clasp the pendant that was the foci 
of his spell on Midori...only to find it cracked. Sei's eyes widened.

	Midori slowly slid her sword out. "You finally noticed, eh? I went to 
Amakusa earlier. He broke the spell you put on me. You were too busy to 
notice. I've been thinking about killing you, you know. Many different ways, 
each more painful than the last. But in the end, seeing you all broken and 
battered...I think I'll just give you a nice, quick death. For old times 
sake, if nothing else."

	Sei bowed his head. So...this was the end, was it? Not at Bala's hands, but 
the hands of the one he loved? Then, Sei remembered something. And laughed.

	"What's so funny? You are going to die, you know." Midori brought up her 
blade to strike.

	"I might have loved you once..." Sei stated.

	"Really now? That's a surprise. And this curse was how you repaid me for 
that year I spent by your side?"

	"I said might have." Sei's voice took on a hard edge. His hand whipped up, 
faster than he'd ever moved before, and the raging fires of the Doombringer 
clan engulfed Midori. Once his work was complete, Sei's hand dropped, and he 
slumped over, wracked with coughs.

	Sei's eyes shut tightly, and he found himself nearly biting off his tongue 
to keep the pain from overwhelming him. The last effort had nearly sent him 
spiraling into unconsciousness. The sound of sword scraping against rock 
forced him to wake once more. His eyes snapped open, looking for the new 
threat.

	A small, pink haired girl stood before him. His vision blurred slightly, 
but he was still able to distinguish the form. He chuckled quietly to 
himself and then whispered. "So this is what you meant by things being just 
as they appear to be."

	"This sword belongs to Midori. I kill you with this, she looks like the 
killer. And you've taken care of the rest of the evidence for me. My 
thanks." The pink haired girl gutted Sei, and then shoved the sword through 
his chest.

	"And how sweet it is, now that I, Selune the Thirteenth, am eldest, dear 
brother." She looked down upon the smoldering remains of Midori. "I pity 
you, girl. You'll go down in history as the one to start the war between our 
clans. But in the end, I suppose you got off easy. I intend to make sure we 
have fun with the rest of your family..."

	A rustle from the side caught Selune's attention. She quickly stepped over 
and pulled Amy from within the weeds.

	"Senpai! Senpai! Are you all right?" Selune queried.

	Amy blinked at the unfamiliar face.

	"Ah! I'm sorry. I should introduce myself. My name is Selune the 
Thirteenth, Doombringer. I'll be starting at Dark Heart High next year. As 
for today...my brother is dead. Did you see anything?"

	Amy blinked again. "Wha...?"

	"Did you see who killed my brother? Seichorou the Ninth? I came looking for 
him when he didn't return after the exam's end."

	"The exam...is over?" Amy asked, still trying to get her bearings.

	"Ah! You have a nasty bump on your head! And what are these marks on your 
throat? Was my brother playing rough again? I better take you to the first 
aid station." Selune grinned. The girl hadn't seen anything. That was good.

	"Thank...you..." Amy passed out once more.

	Selune paused a moment before leaving, if only to let out an evil bitch 
laugh, as all villainesses were bound to do.

********

	A few weeks passed. Things had changed around Dark Heart's halls.

	Bala had appeared the next day, completely unbound once more (except for 
that final seal...), and without Leilei. He beat up two students who'd 
glanced at him during homeroom. And that was only the beginning. By the end 
of the exams, he'd solidified his new reputation as a bully on campus. No 
one seemed ready to challenge him for the title.

	Yasuko had convinced Craig to act as her boyfriend in front of Ryuji once, 
up on the rooftop of the school. She was sure they'd be alone. 
Unfortunately, the next day found Liza selling a video of Yasuko and Craig's 
act and the story of their hidden love spread school wide.

	War had been declared between the Steel Thorns and the Doombringers on news 
of Seichorou's death, and the subsequent retrieval of evidence collected by 
Selune from within his apartments. The Steel Thorns denied all involvement, 
but their plea of innocence fell upon deaf ears. Ki found himself reinstated 
as a member of the Steel Thorns in an effort to get every able bodied man 
ready to fight. He finished up the year at Evil Tech though.

	Lily, having lost her place in Sakura Arts and being convinced that Ryuji 
was her only friend in the whole world, chose to transfer into Dark Heart. 
She would have to start off as a freshman next year, as it was too late for 
her to start now.

	Amy's two halves met up again, and fought. Once they were back together 
though, Amy asked Yuri out on a date. Surprisingly, she accepted. Yet, when 
asked about the ring on her finger, she'd always change the subject.

	And Amakusa laughed. And laughed. Akurei couldn't help but feel unnerved.

********

Author notes:

Fifty-four chapters. Dark Heart High is a monster. From research, I'd 
figured out that they were deep into the second semester. How deep? Who the 
heck knows? Time flows in weird ways in DHH. So...between all the Magical 
Girl attacks, can you blame Yuri and friends for not mentioning the 
impending exams till now? :P

Those wacky Doombringers. I really hated it when Sakazashi died. I had 
wanted to do a story on him. Had to toss it out for obvious reasons. Then 
Sei came around. I thought he was a cool replacement...at first. Then he did 
all this stupid junk. So I finished him. And I brought an end to this 'who 
killed Sakazashi' arc that's been running for a while. Simple answer, sister 
did it. When you're evil, you're evil. What other explanation can there be? 
She wanted to be the elder (And thereby inherit the clans, or some such...) 
And now, I've set up the Steel Thorns to take the fall. So what does this 
war mean for them? Probably lots of assassins being thrown at eachother, 
that's for sure.

That wacky Bala. He's always overreacting to everything. Bala seems to have 
cast out his friendships and loves...for now. I hope it stays that way for a 
while. More dramatic. Yuri's hung onto the ring he gave her though. So 
there's gotta be something left there. In my mind, once Bala and Yuri 
finally get together, Dark Heart High will have come to an end. This 
evolution in their relationship has gotta be a step in the right direction. 
Bala's admitted his feelings. Now it's up to Yuri to choose.

I've put Craig and Yasuko together. Even if they don't want to be. Who knows 
where it'll lead to? Fun, I bet.

I've also, strangely, put Yuri and Amy together. Future authors are free to 
push this relationship as far as they'd like it to go. Ki's coming back 
though. I like him. He's a fun character to write. I'm kinda sad he was 
yanked out of the story right before I got to my part. I had nothing to 
really write about his exploits at Evil Tech. I wanted to write some kind of 
a section where he realized that emotions can be not only a weakness, but a 
strength, but it didn't fit well with the rest of the story.

And so, we head into a bold new year for the DHHers. Or the vacation. 
Whichever the next author feels like writing.

Oh, and just for the record, I don't much like Mordred. So having Craig kill 
him was the nifty thing to do.

Thanks go to everyone who helped me with ideas and research. Thanks to 
Lafing Cat for agreeing to letting me use a portion of DHH #38 for the Sei 
visiting Tanaka part. Thanks also to Lawrence Chu for giving me an extra one 
and a half days on top of my regular extension, and Doublemint (being the 
next author up) for agreeing to let him.

Monday, May 5, 2003
(Yeah, its one and a half days late, but when you're changing this much 
about the story, wouldn't you want to take your time?)

********

	"Bye mom! Bye dad! Bye grandma! I'm going out on a date!" Yuri yelled and 
rushed out the door.

	The eldest Ibuki walked up to the door to close it behind the hurried teen. 
She spied Yuri and Amy walk away, hand in hand. She quietly shut the door 
and turned to the dark mass behind her. "You do know your daughter is dating 
that girl?"

	A tear flowed from the red pinpoints that were Troi's eyes. "My little 
baby's all grown up."