In contrast to the usually positive and sparkly radiant energy from the student council president and the grouchy, grumpy witch, today, their roles were switched. Teru had an aura around him that screamed death as his hair was sticking out in all sorts of places and his skin was a rather ghastly pale. His hand was scribbling across the paper, barley making it recognizable as his signature.
Nora was rejuvenated from the long, long sleep she had gotten that had pulled her through the patrol without a single complaint. Teru's chin was rested atop the palm of his hand as Nora stared at him. "Teru .. are you sick?" She asked the male with a raised brow as he perked up at the mention of his name.
A blank, sheepish smile was on his face as he blinked, allowing the question to register with a delay. "Ah. No, just .. sleepy." He lied terribly as the witch narrowed her eyes at him. "If you say so .." She wasn't one to pry, if Teru was sick, he wouldn't last through the day and she would expect him to pass out sooner or later.
When that time came around, it would give her a golden opportunity to tease him. So she left it be.
Akane however, decided it would be a great opportunity to tease the agitated president, thus resulting in the boy hung upside down from the ceiling as Nora smiled. His words had become incoherent jumbles as the blood rushed to his head. "Teru .. he's going to pass out." Nora deadpanned.
The president looked up with a hum. "Did you say something, Nora?" The witch shook her head.
Heading to her next class as she turned the corner, the witch let out a yelp as her books and bag went dropping to the floor with a thud. Before she could make contact with the ground as well, a hand snaked around her waist and kept her on her feet, thankfully as she slowly opened her eyes.
"Ah! I'm sorry, Natsuhiko!" Nora nearly stammered as her fellow second-year, Hyuuga Natsuhiko scratched the back of his head with a grin. Disheveled red hair as well as black and dark grey eyes, also considered rather good looking as he helped her pick up her belongings off of the floor.
"It's no worries. I suppose that was my fault anyways, Natsuki-chan~" He winked as she only smiled back.
"I haven't seen you around ever since that one incident when you had tried to hug Sakura-senpai and slipped, falling down the stairs. How was your head after that accident?" Nora asked genuinely as she referred to their green haired upperclassmen. She too, was rather pretty but known for her outwardly cold demeanor and quietness.
Natsuhiko chuckled. "It helps me sleep better at night knowing that the beautiful lotus flower of our year was worried about me~" The male dramatized as Nora only rolled her eyes jokingly. They weren't the closest of friends, but the two didn't dislike one another either, having home economics together in their first year.
He was a rather reckless individual who particularly is shown not using his brain most of the time, considering there was a time he was bleeding from his head and still smiling sheepishly, also causing a fire in the home-economics room while trying to bake something for the third year, Sakura Nanamine.
"Speaking of which, how are you and Sakura-senpai?" Nora asked as the male handed her books back to her in which she had gratefully bowed her head. At the mention of the petite emerald haired girl, he sighed dreamily. "She's as cold as ever .. But I'm sure it's a sign of her love!" He held up a thumbs up.
In translation : Nothing has changed and she still thinks hes annoying.
"On the topic .. It's rare to see you without the President. Usually, I'm not even able to get close to you because of him." Natsuhiko sighed in exasperation as the witch tilted her head in curiosity. "Really? Do you feel neglected Natsuhiko? You did take my phone last year and exchanged our numbers." Nora said, taking another jab at him as he scratched the back of his head nervously.
"Ah but I can't give you flowers through a phone, now can I?" He saluted with two fingers and a tongue sticking out playfully as the witch never failed to be amused by his simple minded antics.
He was a big flirt, leaving many of the first, second and third years weary about him, considering how many girls he had seduced with his little tricks. Pulling the ivory white flower out of thin air, Natsuhiko placed the blossomed camellia flower onto the witch's stack of books as she blinked. "Pretty.." She drawled.
"I found it in the garden, thinking of you, and I had a feeling that I would bump into you today, Natsuki-chan. Almost as if fate .. No-- I can't betray Sakura!" As if he were having an internal conflict inside his very empty head, Nora stared at the flower, taking a moment to identify it. "A white camellia."
He snapped out of his daze with a smirk. "Bingo! Do you know what they symbolize?"
Nora, not being very fluent in the language of flowers, shook her head as Natsuhiko grinned, leaning closer to her. "They symbolize adoration for people very well liked! People such as yourself, Natsuki-chan~ I'm surprised you haven't gotten many." The crimson haired second-year blinked in surprise.
"I probably have, but sometimes they go missing and I never get a chance to really admire them." The ravenette said honestly. "I wonder .." Natsuhiko chuckled.
Suddenly, it was like they were back in reality as Nora looked around and realized that they had been standing in the middle of the hallway chatting away. Natsuhiko also seemed to take note of this as he shoved his hands into his pocket. "Any longer and we may cause quite a devious rumor, don't you think so, Natsuki?" He asked as she nodded her head.
"It's about time I head to class anyways." Nora didn't want to be late. "Of course, I wouldn't want any rumors spreading about us to my dear Sakura! Although it doesn't sound too bad. The President might just have my head though .." The boy muttered the last part, making it inaudible to Nora as he waved, taking off as she returned the small gesture.
-
Nora sat in class, dully as she twirled a strand of her obsidian locks around her index finger with a sigh. The Mokke were surrounding her, some on her chair, others on her notebook and desk as they braided her hair.
Although she had immediately stiffened when she felt the presence of a supernatural. A wild rampant one, and it was right next to Kou. Or rather, Kou was right next to it .. along with Hanako and another apparition.
She had become fidgety. Her fingers tapped impatiently on the pages of her notebook as her ruby eyes couldn't take themselves off of the clock. Kou was an exorcist, and she had some level of confidence that Hanako would protect him, but at the same time. Hanako was the one who had killed a living human being and pointed the tip of his knife at Kou.
Kou was the one who had grown soft, rendering himself incapable of exorcising an apparition.
Magically, she couldn't teleport herself outside of class with human eyes all around. And this teacher was rather annoying about leaving to the bathroom. Meaning one thing. She would have to wait.
-
Something was already wrong when Nora had gotten home and the scent of food didn't hit her nose. There was no presence of the boy in the kitchen. Immediately, she had ditched her bag and shoes as Teru watched her run upstairs to Kou's bedroom where she had immediately knocked on the door.
There was no answer as the witch had simply walked in. Kou was on the bed, curled up in his own ball as his sniffles and sobs echoed out quietly. Pictures were sprawled all over his bed and a yearbook sat wide open on the floor. "Kou .." Nora called out softly, as though she were speaking to a delicate child.
He immediately stopped crying as he shot up, wiping his eyes, although the hot stream of tears wouldn't stop. "N-Nora-nee! What are you doing here?" Kou asked as he tried to pretend that the witch hadn't just caught him crying.
"That supernatural today." Those were the only words that were needed as Kou clenched his fists, balling them up in anger as he hit his bed repeatedly. "Mitsuba .." Guilt, sorrow, anger, regret, they all hit him like a truck as Nora closed the door behind her, sitting on his bed as she pat his head.
"I-I couldn't do anything!" Kou shouted. Nora had no idea who Mitsuba was, perhaps she did but didn't know his name. But all she knew was that the young boy needed some comfort. Much to his surprise when Nora wrapped her arms around his shoulder, cradling his head into her chest as he stopped sniffling for a moment.
"Nora-nee .." His eyes softened again as he began his fit of tears.
Just up until the point when Kou had cried himself to sleep, despite it only being six o'clock, she laid him to rest on his bed, pulling the blankets over his tense frame as she closed the door shut behind her where a certain blonde was waiting out in the hall, leaning against the wall. "We'll be having left overs for dinner. Kou looks tired." Nora said simply.
Teru nodded wordlessly staring at the door.
"You didn't take a nap?" The witch questioned as she dumped the soup into their stainless steel pot as Teru watched her from the stool set by the kitchen counter. "Why would I need one?" He asked with an eerily bright smile. "Because you're sick." The female retorted bluntly.
He figured that she remembered absolutely nothing from last night, considering her drowsy state. "Says who?"
"Says your sluggish reflexes." Nora said before tossing a jellybean at his forehead that hit him square in the face, bouncing off and into the trashcan. "You shouldn't play with your food, Nora." Teru lightly reprimanded as though avoiding the fact that she was indeed correct with her accusation.
"Let me solo the patrol tonight. Stay in and rest or else I'll snitch on you to Princess." Teru wasn't the only one with threats in the house as he hung his head low at the ultimatum with a sigh. "No."
Nora blinked and stared at him. "I'll be fine."
Is what he had said, moments before he passed out halfway through their patrol as he began to stumble backward. Nora caught him as he leaned against her woozily. "Moron." The witch had hit him over the head with her hand fan, but it was unsure if he could even feel it at that point. He let out a light chuckle before she felt him completely go limp.
The reason she had wanted him to stay home was for this very exact reason. She hated hauling home a near six foot tall giant who was much, much heavier than her. Because unlike herself, when and if she passed out, she could revert herself into a cat. However Teru was a giant. Twice her strength and height.
Thankfully, being gifted with magic running through her veins, she was able to temporarily convert his weight light enough to that of a child's so that she could drag him along with her.
The school week was dragging on long and difficult, much to her dismay. And the elders were becoming more than bothersome as they all stared at her, obviously suspicious since Teru was out cold on her shoulder as she stood there. "What are you all standing there for? Get it moving so I can finish the patrol already." She spat bitterly at them all.
They flinched as she cracked her hand fan open. "And Teru?" One of them had spoken up for the rest as she glanced at the middle aged man. "Asleep. He's sick, but stubborn. I'm not sure I was supposed to tell you all that though." Nora cracked her neck in contempt, throwing a talisman at an apparition crawling on the lamppost.
"Of course .. She cursed him." One of them muttered. She heard him quite clearly though as he immediately stiffened at her scarlet orbs that glinted dangerously, flickering with a killing calm that ate his soul alive. "Did you say something?"
She was met with silence as she turned around. "I thought so." The witch was intolerable to them, just as they were intolerable to her. One of them grabbed her wrist as she was yanked backward. "Hold it, witch."
Nora turned around with a sigh. Of course, when Teru wasn't around, all of the clan elders liked to bully her quite a bit. Although she put up a bit of a hostile verbal fight. "I don't take orders from you." Nora yanked her arm back as she continued walking, readjusting Teru on her shoulder as one of them let out a growl.
The witch felt something wet touch her skin and douse her hair. It was purified water. "Are you done? I thought we made it clear that there was no need for an ablution or a purification ritual." Nora spoke monotonously, her patience growing thin as they all stared at her either with disgust, hatred, clenched teeth or all of the above.
However, they only added more fuel to the flame as a sacred sutra was immediately planted onto her back, stinging her quite a bit as they activated it. "Do you want to die?"
"Silence, witch." The oldest of them all, as well as the same old man years ago whom had requested to kill her, had tossed a handful of salt at her as she covered her face. "Stupid hypocritical lying humans." Nora muttered beneath her breath. In all honesty, she just wanted to get Teru home so that they could sleep.
"You're a treacherous leach clinging onto the Minamoto family and their heir. You've already cursed them and brainwashed their minds to think of you as an innocent house pet that they decided to keep." His words pierced her as he walked closer. "You've tainted and seduced their eldest son, you've brain washed the youngest and the eldest daughter, you've fooled Lady Keiko and Lord Daisuke, but you will not fool us."
"You're a foul stray. A dirty witch that they picked up from the streets. You are not a human, you are not a Minamoto whom we serve, you are nothing. You're an ominous murderous demon that has no place in a family of exorcists whose futures you taint, lingering on and refusing to let go like the stubborn abandoned Nora you are. A stray." He continued his onslaught of insults as Nora stayed quiet.
The only thing that was ringing in her mind was the fact that she wanted to kill everyone here, but then her yukata would get dirty, and Teru would be a hassle to clean up after he awoke.
"I'm not a demon. I'm a witch, so get it right." The seventeen year old corrected.
"I believe it is about time that we put you back into your rightful place, stray." He spoke the words mockingly as they all surrounded her. This was the stance of an ablution. A cleansing for sinners, murderers, those who have done wrong things.
"Now tell me, why should a human like you, have the authority and right to judge a witch like me?" Nora stood up, brushing one of her ebony drenched locks around her shoulder. "If you won't finish this patrol, I will. I have someone to take home and to take care of and go to school the next morning because unlike all of you old geezers sitting on your asses all day and uncapable of exorcising a single apparition yourself, I have had great patience."
"And now, it is all gone." With a strong gust of wind, Nora snapped her fingers and they all disappeared, leaving silence. Her long raven locks that cascaded down her back continued to drip purified water as the witch sighed.
"I hate humans."