The following few days led up to the festival. It all had happened so fast, but the fruits of everyone's labor seemed to flourish. Even from a distance from the school, the signs and decorations, lights and displays were all visible. Students had begun going home and passing out tickets to friends and family. It looked like the festival was going to be a success once again.
Or so they thought.
Just as they had reached the metal gates of the school, Nora staggered backwards.
Teru immediately turned around. "What's wrong?"
She crouched to the ground, holding her nose in disgust. It was pure and utter distaste. "The school .. No, not the school .. the students .. they all reek." He looked around them, all of the people that passed by them, the ones that whispered at their close proximity, who eyed them ..
They all seemed fine to him.
"The stench smells so rotten!"
The last time she had smelled anything this bad was after the fresh turning of a new Wonder .. and in that situation it was Akane and Mitsuba. Mitsuba's was far worse .. considering he was dead.
But this wasn't the stench of a School Wonder .. but something else entirely.
To make it through the rest of the school day, she casted a quick spell to shut down her sense of smell, which in turn, messed with her taste. It annoyed her greatly, it also left her partially defenseless. Her sharp nose was how she picked up supernaturals or unusual things in the school .. but it was just so ridiculously unbearable to even inch a step closer into their building without vomiting.
"Teru what am I staring at?"
He smiled gleefully. "Well .. Before I knew, it had already been decided. It started off as a photo exhibit based around the everyday beauty in our day to day lives .."
"And as you can see .. we're just things of beauty, I suppose." It was clear that he was pleased with the venue. It was quite literally the size of one. It towered nearly the same height of the school shaped into a castle. It was split in half, one side was Teru's and the other side was her own. There were large cut out photos of them that were taken inconspicuously and some without their knowledge. Others were just photo shopped.
"Do you have no shame?" The witch grabbed the collar of his shirt.
They had prepared the grand spotlights along with fireworks as well. There were pictures of her eating, watering the plants with the garden club, even some taken while she was staring out the window ..
Dolls and small pillows were up for sale with pictures and poses of themselves plastered on them. It was so unsettling.
"Seeing as how a petition had gone around to keep it .. the principal had no choice."
"A petition?" She raised a brow.
He nodded his head. "It got two hundred signatures!"
Something irked her that he was in on this. "Hey .. aren't these the photos that you took of me?" Nora pointed. Teru only looked away, avoiding the death glare that was being thrown at him.
But he bent down a bit to her height with a cheeky grin. "I was just participating in the submissions. After all, you are the beauty in my day to day life."
"Don't think that cheap flirt will save you." Nora seethed. He only raised his hands in surrender as he always did, gently tugging her along. He was in the midst of doing rounds of every club, organization, booth and whatnot just to assure that everything went well. The culinary club was practically done and had given Nora a green light to do as she so pleased until festival day.
"It wasn't a flirt, just a truth is all."
The witch scoffed.
They made sure the entrance sign that read 'MILLENNIUM FESTIVAL' was securely bolted and held to the ground as it covered the gate of the school. All of the costumes were cleaned and in the shed for tomorrow's use. Balloons were currently being blown and inflated, tied together to create more decorations.
Every sign pole, lamp, pillar was decorated with stickers, garlands, lights, nothing was left untouched. They went around and did small things to help out, such as hang up a few things or hold a ladder here and there.
They received so much in return. Nora's arms were getting full.
Everyone knew how much the second year gem adored sweets .. so clubs had prepared them specifically for her visit. Especially the maid and butler café that was being hosted by the third-years.
When they entered the classroom, it was filled with a sweet aroma .. unfortunately, Nora couldn't smell it and it was only described to her by Teru.
While he talked with the executives of the operation, a green haired girl approached her. "Natsuki-kouhai."
"Ah, senpai, you look so pretty!" Nora awed at her costume that complimented the quiet features of Sakura rather well. It had green and pink accents to it to highlight her hair and the meaning behind her name. The crystalline brooch even caught her eye.
"You came here with the president today."
The two girls stared at him as the other one nodded. "He invited me to go around and see everyone's hard work. It was so tempting, so I decided why not?"
Sakura smiled at the raven haired girl. They always had a good relationship, it wasn't close, but it held no ill will. Although the third year was regretful that their relationship may soon change.
"I see .. Also, the club wanted to reward you with something special for your efforts in helping us." There was a folded up article handed to her as she unfurled it, revealing a maid costume that was slightly similar to her upperclassmen but instead it was more black than anything else.
"We heard about how the other clubs were preparing snacks and sweets already .. we wanted ours to be more memorable."
"Thank you for your help."
Nora held the costume close to her chest with a hum. "So that's how it is .." Teru mused after hearing the story. They had to make a quick trip to the student council room again to stash away the snacks and goods they'd received.
The haunted house, sponsored by Tsuchigomori in his real supernatural form at first was a concern, but after everyone truly believed that it was his well made costume, they brushed it off. There were mirrors laid out and fake stones to line up the hallway that would be used for the haunted house.
Buckets of red paint were lined up, some of which were being used to replicate blood splatters on the wood.
Kou was going to be apart of the activity as well, dressed up as a zombie doctor. His costume was made by Nora, or she helped with the stitching at least since he was afraid of puncturing his finger using the sowing machine.
The ikemen club where most of the womanizers of the school dressed up nicely to serve juices for free was one of the places Teru was most weary about.
And it was down solely to one reason.
Nora had blinked once and one of her hands was being held in someone else's, her other hand was being massaged gently and in front of her, a male was knelt down on his knees to offer her a cup of juice. "Look at your beautiful skin .. This drink will aid with your complexion."
"And this beautiful silky black hair .."
"And those bright ruby eyes!"
They were much too close for her liking, but she smiled at them.
Teru's hand twitched toward his prayer beads, but he held himself back.
Everyone was always nice or kind to her, even those who envied her for being by the great Teru Minamoto's side, they just complimented eachother so well that no one openly protested. Nora was always gentle to others as well, even Natsuhiko or Akane. Of course some parts of her were just for show, but she enjoyed helping others for the most part.
The feeling of gratitude was nice.
"Everything seems like its in place .. I guess we're good to go now." Teru waved with his clipboard, gently grabbing Nora's wrist.
Nora didn't understand the concept of jealousy or envy. So whenever Natsuhiko brought up the topic of Teru .. she didn't get it.
It was another human thing.
She pretended like his outburst from a few nights ago hadn't occurred. They ended up voiding the contact anyways and hadn't told anyone yet, nor did they intend to.
Happiness was such a fleeting thing, it was also fickle. No one could be happy forever, that's just how it was.
And soon, the day of the festival had come.
Teru laid on the bed as he watched the witch brush through her hair. Surprisingly enough, this morning, Nora had to get to school before him .. but regardless, he tagged along.
"I think I'll tie my hair up today. It'd be bad if it got in the way."
Nora's typical hairstyle was leaving her long hair down and tying two small braided pieces back, tying it together with a ribbon.
"I'll do it." Teru extended his hand out to ask for the hair tie. She shrugged her shoulders and placed it into his grasp, standing in front of the mirror, watching him get up and begin brushing through the obsidian locks with his fingers. Meanwhile, the witch found a pair of gold earrings and a thin gold bracelet.
They instructed her to look a little more eye catching today for more sales. She alone would probably attract a bunch .. considering the face of their brand were dozens of pictures of her plastered all over the school.
The girl didn't know herself, but secretly, Teru had been snagging a few of the flyers.
He made sure to never forget the ribbon that Nora was known for having. It was a brilliant red that were just like her eyes.
Originally, it had come from a Christmas prank that Keiko played on Daisuke. She wrapped Nora carefully into a box with a ribbon around her neck like a collar and surprised him with the witch as a little scare. It did end up working and ever since then, Nora kept the ribbon as a memento.
"How do I look?" She grinned a bit.
The girl ended up using the maid costume that was given to her, minus the headband. Her garters were black with a lace outline and her dress was a light black fabric that made it easy to move around.
Teru let out an airy sigh. "What if other people fall in love with you, Nora?"
"Other people already are in love with me." After all, she had her own fan club in school.
The blonde placed a light kiss against her cheek before wrapping his arms around her. "You're not going to make me late, get off." She smacked his arm but he didn't relent. "I need to charge my energy for the day."
Ever since the witch stopped him from taking energy shots .. he'd been using her as a new replacement. Sometimes it was annoying .. but other times he needed it. Today would be a long day for him, after the festival they'd have to clean up, he'd have to debrief everything and if anything went wrong, they'd usually take the brunt of the blame.
"You worked hard." Nora pat the top of his head lightly. She could feel him chuckle a little, nodding his head like a child.
But the reason he worked so hard on it, staying back after school, coming the earliest before anyone else .. it was to assure that things went so well that when they could enjoy the festival together, Nora would have the best experience.
He wanted to see her smile earnestly.
"Here's one ticket for you, Princess and anyone you want to go with, okay? You remember the way to our school, right?" Nora handed the little girl a slip of paper as her eyes beamed.
They had caught her trying to nick the tickets from Kou's bag earlier but he needed them to give to other people.
Tiara nodded her head enthusiastically. Although she was five, they'd already been sending her to get fresh produce every now and then nearby, and she'd already proven that supernaturals wouldn't be a problem for her. The little girl knew self defense rather well, due to being taught by her two doting older brothers.
"Be safe and have fun .. remember if anyone there tries to say anything bad to you, tell them that your older brother is the student council president." Teru warned her.
"Kay!"
She waved off the exorcist pair who left through the doorway, spending their Saturday morning at the school.
The festival itself didn't begin till ten in the morning. Everyone arrived hours before then to cook the food they needed to, pull out last minute decorations or interactive activities and planning for other outcomes and scenarios.
Everyone seemed so excited. The atmosphere was incredibly lively and it made her feel ecstatic, like bursting with energy.
"I want to see the first year's play on the Wizard of Oz! Then after that, probably the haunted house because Kou and then the food stalls .. there's so much to do .. Aoi even invited me to the garden club's greenhouse where they're making floral tea."
Watching her ramble half heartedly and care freely made him smile a bit as he placed a hand on her head, careful to not mess up her hair. "After I make my rounds with Aoi, I'll circle back around to get you."
The culinary club found it unfair to make Nora work the full day, even if she was the face of the brand. They had received a few volunteers to help them create shifts for the bake sale.
"Maybe I'll find you instead, who knows?" Nora hummed, sending him a side glance as she pursed her lips in slyness.
"Is that so?" He seemed to be contemplating the idea.
Nora only laughed, sparing a singular glance over her shoulder as she waved at him with a brilliant smile. He seemed pleased with how life had been going as of recent.
The witch had abandoned her thoughts of the future for a little while .. at least until after the festivities died down so she could do her own research more discreetly. But they weren't gone. Sometimes they inked around in the back of her mind.
However, today wasn't one of those days.
And as fate so had it ..
Natsuhiko's ikemen juice stand had been moved right next to the culinary club's baked goods.
But it only made sense considering that they were also a food stall.
"Natsuki-chan, you look .." He only trailed off, blowing a low whistle. Nora was in the middle of tying her low waisted apron. It was clear she was struggling a bit since the back was supposed to be tied into a large bow. The male chuckled and came over to help her a bit.
"Thank you." The witch replied simply, offering him a cake pop that he gratefully accepted.
Her upperclassman was dressed in a rather nice fitting tux. If she wasn't Nora and already had exposures to people with charms like that .. without a doubt she would've fallen to her knees. Natsuhiko was good looking, that was without a doubt.
But he was shrouded in something that she could never put her finger on.
He had his piercings in today, they were black and matched his black tie. Oddly enough, the pair standing next to each other complimented one another well in their monochrome schemes.
"I don't think I've ever seen you with your hair up .. you should do it more often." He leaned against the table as he spoke. Nora was one of his better conversation partners. She wasn't odd, like Mitsuba and Tsukasa, but she didn't push him away like Sakura, not like he minded that the emerald haired girl did so.
Getting reactions and expressions out of her were always so rewarding.
Nora just talked. That was it. She didn't question too far, and she was rather innocent, so it was fun to play around with the student council president's jealousy .. even if it sometimes got him a graze closer toward death.
It was clear that other people found her the same way. Sakura enjoyed her company, as did the infamous Akane Aoi, she knew everyone and was humble for the most part. Never assuming about someone's bad intentions toward her.
Even if he didn't want to be .. he was one of those people. The kind that had evil intentions.
But despite knowing about his womanizer habits, she never approached him with the intent of anything more than idle chatter, but she didn't push him away either, enjoying talking to people.
"I thought it'd look better with my earrings." Nora pointed at her lobes, but he had his eye on her watch. She always seemed to have it on, no matter what.
He had been in her void before and knew that she wasn't entirely human .. or as normal as she seemed. But they hadn't been able to exploit a weakness out of her yet — except one.
Teru Minamoto. But he was strong enough on his own to not even be near close to being considered a 'weakness'. There was also Kou, his younger brother .. but he was under the protection of several people, in addition to being from an exorcist family in general.
"Anyways .. if you get hungry, shoot me a text. I'll sneak you some desserts or snacks." Nora pressed a finger against her lip as to tell him to keep it a secret as he chuckled.
"You're way too trusting of people, Natsuki-chan." In a way .. he also wanted to see her composure fracture, just like whenever Sakura's stoic expression slipped and she let something short of hope come out.
What would Nora look like in despair?
Or grief?
"Really? Then I hope that you don't become someone who changes that." She gave him a smile.
He didn't answer but instead laughed lightly.
Their conversation came to an end with the bell sounded out.
"IT IS NOW 10 A.M. LET THE FESTIVITIES FOR THE 113th ANNUAL MILLENNIUM FESTIVAL .. BEGIN!"
The last day of the festival that was now open to the entirety of the public .. had commenced. There were hundreds of people, maybe even a thousand, after all, they invited the whole community, distributing tickets to the temples, churches, nearby restaurants, supermarkets and everything.
"Cheesecakes, come get your cheesecakes!"
"We have samples of your favorite kinds of fruit juices!"
"Takoyaki, freshly made right here, right now!"
"Come share some anmitsu!"
"You can customize your drink however you want!"
There was a line that wrapped around the whole tent for their mini bakery. The culinary students were rushing in and out of the tent delivering more and more of the jiggly cheesecakes that were always the best seller. "Another cheesecake please!" Nora shouted.
Some of the people that visited seemed to have hearts for eyes as she had to repeat herself several times asking them for the proper change.
Nora was given a witch hat last minute that sat lightly on top of her head. They wanted her to be a witch that would cast spells for their customers .. and certainly, it garnered a lot of attention.
Her crescent moon wand would light up as she chanted good-luck spells. "Ah, what did you want me to write on your cake?"
Nora bent over a little, while looking up at the male guest. "Can I have your signature please!"
Despite the odd request, the girl didn't even hesitate as she swirled her name on the top of the small cake. She even drew a small bear and some hearts on the edges, which seemed to make him more grateful.
"We hope you enjoy the rest of the festival!"
The president of the club placed a hand on her shoulder, alerting her as she turned around. "You're a huge hit, Natsuki-san!"
Nora only giggled. "It's all thanks to your advertising, really. And of course, your baked goods." With so many other people here to dilute the awful stench, Nora could finally bear going to school without casting the spell that temporarily hindered her sense of smell.
In turn, she was finally able to enjoy food and the scent of other foods.
So all in all, she was in an extremely pleasant mood.
But there was something that tickled her nerves.
The fact that the stench was the strongest whenever she was by Natsuhiko. But it didn't originate from him. He just seemed to be in contact with the person who it came from.
The person he'd been with all morning leading up to the festival had to have been Sakura.
But she didn't smell a single thing from her senpai .. which was even more alarming.
Every human had a scent. Be it natural or artificial. Sakura didn't smell like anything.
"Please make a wish, and I do hope it comes true!" She held up a cupcake with a lit candle for the little girl who was in her mom's arms.
When the candle was blown out, she was thrilled to see if her wish would come true some day. "Can I tell you my wish?"
Nora only smiled, shaking her head. "They say that if you tell someone your wish .. It won't come true!" The brunette pouted.
Her mother only laughed. "It's alright, Sakuya. Say thank you to the pretty miss!"
"Thank you miss witch! Bye-bye!" It was nice to be a witch that was loved and cared about, rather than feared. But she knew the reaction wouldn't be the same if she were a black cat.
Even if witches or most of them didn't use wands or wear silly hats like these, Nora enjoyed these stereotypes. They were extremely kid friendly and were light hearted.
Of course, Nora remained disliking children and babies .. but there were exceptions. Her perspective was changed after having to raise Tiara. For the most part, the girl was an eccentric child, she was odd in many ways more than one, but also easy to take care of since after a while she wanted to take care of herself.
"Senpai! I didn't know you were in the culinary club!" The familiar voice seemed to peek her attention as her face brightened. "Yashiro, Kou! And .. you two.." She didn't seem as enthusiastic at the sight of Hanako and Mitsuba, but their expressions were the same as her own. Even though they were scared of her .. it wasn't nearly to the extent of Teru.
"As long as you're having fun and not causing us trouble anymore, No.7, then I'll pretend as though I hadn't seen you two." Nora only had a gentle smile on her face.
He nodded his head bashfully, still remembering how he had burned her arm.
"Actually, I'm not in the culinary club .. Kou would know .. But I'm just helping them out a bit!" The junior-high student who was still dressed as a doctor had picked up one of the packs of cookies that had a drawing of her labeled on the packaging. "Wow .. It actually looks pretty realistic .. Even your venue .."
The mention of the venue brought her dread. "That thing .."
"Look how adorable the dolls are!" Yashiro held them up for her senpai to see.
"By chance .. will you do me a favor and burn it?" The witch had asked so sweetly that the girl thought she misheard and tilted her head in confusion.
"Akane-senpai told me that they used quite a bit of their monthly budget to commission those, including merchandise." Kou recalled.
Nora's reason and rationality slowly began to dwindle the more she heard about the monstrosity. "Oh really?"
"Hey .. I think you're going to get your brother killed." The boy in the pink hair whispered to Kou.
The blonde immediately covered his mouth.
"Well .. I think we'll take two cheesecakes and a blessing then!" Yashiro came to the rescue, pulling out her wallet, but Nora instead just gave them the cheesecakes and put her two hands on each of their heads.
They were surprised but allowed it to happen. The two apparitions watched in curiosity. "Then .. I hope you two make good choices and have fun today! Spend your time together wisely." She slipped the pair of Wonders two bags of cookies.
"Shouldn't you be trying to exorcise us?" Hanako had spoken up before they walked away.
"Well, previously, Teru and I had a contract that I'm supposed to help him with exorcisms. That contract is gone now. Of course, if he still wants to exorcise you all, I wouldn't mind helping .. after all, what you did that day was nothing short of chaos, No.7. But .. if you protect Kou and Yashiro .. then even I'll turn a blind eye sometimes."
"Making mistakes is apart of growing up and getting stronger."
He hesitated in saying something else, and left it on that note, floating away with the three who waited for him patiently.
A supernatural that clung on so desperately to being alive and having such attachments to the nearshore ..
Nora would like to see where her mistake would take her .. and how far her error would blur her lines of judgement.
But today was a joyous day, who was she to spoil that?
Natsuhiko left his eyes glued onto the seventeen year old girl.
The mysterious flower of the school. The camellia.
Hours had passed and the amount of people didn't even begin to die down. Nobody minded waiting in long lines because each of the students accommodated the wait time with samples or conversation, even doing balloon animals and passing out brochures.
It was the hit of the town so far.
Even when she was repeatedly to take a break, Nora didn't relent, insisting that she could keep going for a while longer. Eventually, everyone else except for her had already rotated out.
"Miss witch can you cast a spell on me too?"
She wore her smile again turning around. "Of course I can!"
There were all sorts of screams from the tent. All of the girls stopped what they were doing and turned around, even the guys .. "Ah."
"Minamoto-kun came to see Natsuki-chan!"
He had caused a ruckus .. and he didn't have a single care in the world, placing some yen onto the tray as he picked up a dorayaki. "I heard that you all were doing good-luck spells .. So I thought I'd come see what it was all about."
"Unless .. I can't get one?"
Immediately, the upperclassmen grabbed Nora and dragged her to the front. "Of course you can have one!"
"In fact, you can even have Natsuki-chan! She's been doing such a wonderful job and it's just around the time for her to switch off now!"
The girl had already been working overtime because so many people wanted her to be the one to do the spells. "Wait, but —"
"You can't leave the student council president waiting! Go and have fun!"
She was practically shoved out of the tent. The hat was taken off of her head, the apron had been tugged off and they kicked her out with a drink in hand so that she wouldn't get dehydrated.
How thoughtful.
"I didn't think you were so eager to go on our date .. going so far as to work overtime~" Teru teased her. Nora only let out a sigh, scratching the back of her head sheepishly. "I felt bad, leaving them with such a long line .."
Teru himself had also just finished his rounds with Akane who went off to spend the rest of his free time in the garden club green house where his lover was.
"What about my spell that I was promised?" He had his arms folded behind his back as he grinned.
"A spell, huh.." Nora muttered. "Let me think for a little while .. I wanna come up with something special." The witch mumbled. She seemed to actually be thinking hard about it. He chuckled, feeling a bit lighter that she was putting so much thought into it.
As the pair walked away, Natsuhiko shot her a glance.
She couldn't quite decipher what kind of emotions were behind it because she herself wasn't good at things like that.
"Come play Russian Roulette takoyaki!" It was one of the fourth years, and it was rather easy to tell since their features looked so mature. They waved for the pair to come. Nora looked at the sign uneasily.
"Let's go, Nora~" He ushered deviously. Nora didn't like spicy foods .. Teru very well knew that. But he thought it'd be fun to see how well they'd do.
In a game against luck ..
"Ha .. Actually, my stomach isn't feeling very well .." The blonde uttered nervously.
The fourth year with the microphone dressed in a ring man costume had only bellowed loudly. "DO I HEAR SOMEONE WITH A TAKE BACK?"
Nora held back a laugh as she watched his pleading expression.
"I suppose it would be a bad example .."Teru begrudgingly dropped the ball into his mouth, retaining a calm expression, shooting the crowd a warm smile.
"AND THE STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT DOES IT AGAIN!"
Somehow, "THIS MEANS .. NATSUKI NORA IS THE WINNER!" The girl hadn't even gotten a single spicy one. She was rewarded with a card to stash in to the boys volleyball club later that week.
After they had walked away from the crowd, Teru stuck his tongue out, placing a hand on her shoulder for support as he coughed. Nora immediately handed him her drink as he practically finished the whole thing. "Spicy?"
"Spicier than the time Kou had accidentally mixed the wrong peppers together into the curry—" His mouth was on fire.
Nora gave him a lollipop to have it cool down a bit. "I tried swallowing it whole but they coated the whole outside in the pepper flakes."
The boys volleyball club knew exactly what they were doing. She let out a giggle. "This is a first for you, losing in a game of luck? That's unheard of."
"And you were the one who wanted to play the game in the first place!" Nora only kept laughing. They ended up going to a bubble tea stall to get him a milk tea to try and neutralize the spice, which it did end up helping as he breathed a sigh of relief.
He obviously handled his spice extremely well, in fact, he loved most foods and most cuisines .. but at some point his spice tolerance was capped, and that was far beyond his limit.
Thinking about it now .. Nora might've actually killed him if she lost.
They went around to photo booths and took dozens of photos together, some of which they dressed up. They were the photographer favorites, being asked to do dozens of poses in a number of outfits prepared for them in different themes and time periods.
Eventually for their last photo, Nora sat in the chair in front of the green screen in a kimono that was sloppily put on but even with such little effort, it accentuated her beauty well enough that the make up crew put minimal highlighting cosmetics onto her skin to make it a little brighter for the camera flash.
Teru was left standing, leaning over her as they smiled.
After a few flashes, the pair went over to the camera to see the photos. "I'll edit these as soon as possible and get them to you .. please come by the end of the week!"
They were just about to change back into their clothing when they were told to just keep the costumes as they were going to be donated at the end of the day anyways. Gratefully, the pair accepted.
Nora stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes twinkled as she pointed. "Teru, Teru! They have cotton candy!" He looked up and saw the stall that she was talking about, apparently she overlooked it before, but the smell caught her nose.
There were many flavor options but she opted for watermelon, and before pulling out her wallet, Teru had already done so first, putting down three hundred yen onto the tray.
That was how the witch found herself with such a large flower of stringy, fluffy sugar in her hands. It was much larger than usual .. it was probably the Natsuki treatment.
He watched as the witch practically inhaled it.
It was so sweet it made her smile.
She tore off a rather large chunk and held it up to the boy who accepted it from her fingers. "Did they make the sugar mix themselves?" He licked his lips. She nodded her head. "The science club helped them out a bit. They used a dehydrating machine and incorporated other watermelon candies."
"Ah! Since we're nearby, can we go to the greenhouse? Aoi just texted me about it." The two girls had been talking a bit more recently. Although Akane invited her to go around the festival with him, since she was such an integral part of the garden club, it wasn't right for her to just leave to go have fun, but she had already ended up going around yesterday with Yashiro.
"We can go wherever you want, Nora."
The pair were welcomed greatly as they walked through the doors, getting lead to a simple two person table in the corner.
Teru had actually swung by the greenhouse earlier, although not to harass Aoi this time, but to pick up his favor he'd called in for saving her.
While Nora was talking to Yamabuki, Teru's azure eyes seemed to gravitate toward her.
A violet haired girl quietly walked up to their table to set down a teapot and two teacups. "You don't make yourself very vigilant, Minamoto-senpai." She whispered.
Teru only smiled as he always did. "There's no need to be vigilant when it comes to Nora. I have nothing to hide."
"You're shameless, aren't you?~"
"I hear that a lot actually, but can't you say the same for my vice president?"
They went back and forth at the vicious remarks until Nora had returned back to the table after seeing the teapot was there now.
The exorcists admired the beautiful blossomed hibiscus flower in the pot. They were given two, one was that and the other was a chrysanthemum tea— something that was served on that night they did fireworks at the Minamoto home.
They didn't order anything themselves, but instead received recommendations from Aoi who said she would prepare their tea herself. Apparently she also had a sharp memory.
"Are you having fun, Nora?" The male had asked as she took her eyes away from the window and back onto him.
Not even having to think about it, "I am!" It was followed by one of her little mischievous giggles. "I also like that everyone else is having fun and that your hard work paid off .. and that right now .. your guard is down!" He hadn't even noticed until she pointed it out.
But Nora always did pick up on his smaller habits. The way he would twitch, and which one of his veins would seem to nearly burst whenever he had a seething rage .. even down to his sleep.
"I wish every day could be this hectic but peaceful .. I wish you could let your guard down everyday too, Teru." Nora reached across the table for his hand as their fingers intertwined loosely.
"Sometimes, I'm a little worried that you work too hard." She admitted to him.
He was a bit bewildered that she began rambling. Of all things, how she felt. He was glad.
"Is that why you laze around?" Teru raised a brow.
Nora stuck her tongue out unapologetically. "Well now that the contract is gone .. there's no need for me to worry about you working me to the bone anymore."
Even though it was tiring .. all of their late night exorcism runs .. a part of him liked them. It was a period they had to themselves. Knowing that his siblings were asleep and that the rest of the world was as well, it was just them. They could talk just to talk and no one would begrudge them for it.
He would carry home the sleeping cat, or fall asleep at the dinner table with his chopsticks in hand in front of the witch who never said a word or berated him for it and merely took him to bed and tucked him in like a child.
They would eat ice cream on the bench together, talking about crows or the supernatural they'd just exorcised.
The night was theirs. Just like how the moon was his.
"Aren't you being too harsh?"
She shook her head. "You would drop me in freezing cold water, make me get swallowed by apparitions, captured by thei—" she was cut off when he slapped a hand over her mouth.
"I think you've made your point.."
Nora laughed at his realization that her grudges against him were remembered.
"But it's alright. I won't laze around anymore .. as long as you stop being reckless and hard headed." She poked his forehead as his eyes fluttered.
"I really do want to live .. I just can't do that without you. So treasure your life a little more. Kou and Tiara might not need you anymore — but I do."
"To me, Teru, you're as important as the sun." His skin that was warm conflicted with her own dead cold one.
She wanted to keep watching Teru, to see what kind of radiant light he would become at the end. To see how many people and how many lives he would touch and save.
He melted into the palm of her hand.
His precious witch.
"I already told you, didn't I? That I wouldn't leave you alone .. I know you get lonely, Nora."
"I think you're being delusional again, Teru." The girl lightly hit him over the head as he chuckled.
Nora was the loneliest person he knew. She wasn't entirely human and not entirely supernatural. Life disagreed with her and death rejected her. All she could do for the span of time that she was alive .. was to aimlessly float around in a void and fluctuate between the far shore and the near shore.
And despite how old she really was, after several centuries .. she still remained and behaved like a teenager.
"Am I now?"
"You always are." She retorted.
They had ended up finishing both pots and bidding farewell to the gardening club. There was a bit of time left until the play so until then, Teru wanted to go to the haunted house to see Kou in action, and then Nora wanted to try the checkerboard cookies from the maid and butler cafe.
As they hit the second floor of the building, Teru's eyes grew wide. Not because of the other people .. but because of the trickle of crimson blood that trailed out of the witch's nose.
At that same moment, she seemed to be hit with a smell that nearly made her hurl. It was stronger, much stronger this time.
Quickly casting the spell once again that prevented her from using one of her senses .. her brows furrowed. "Nora?"
"Teru .. something's wrong."
When it came to Nora's instincts on supernaturals .. she was never wrong.
"President? Senpai?" The familiar face that turned at their sudden presence. Akane approached the pair, noticing that Nora's nose was bleeding just seconds ago, he was surprised and quickly got out a napkin, handing it to her.
In that moment there was a sudden racket in the halls. People who were just idly walking around had begun to swarm in one area.
"Huh? What's going o—" Before Akane could go check, Nora grabbed his wrist and shook her head.
Neither of the two boys understood what was happening.
"There's .. a supernatural .. is it? No .. not one, there's so many of them, why are there so many?"
Nora's eyes widened. "It's the students."
Before any of them could react, the screaming had begun. Akane snapped his head back, tearing off his glasses .. but he didn't even need to.
Whatever those creatures were, apparition, supernatural, human .. everyone else could see them as well.
The former neck of a female student had elongated by several dozen feet, taking on the form of a large compiled branch of pink cherry blossom petals with a large mouth that uttered grotesque words. It had branches for arms that whipped around like vines, capturing students in its wake.
There were screams from every classroom, more and more began to deform themselves and pop up.
Akane got out his stopwatch but the witch eased him to put it down. "There's too many of them to carelessly stop time right now, save it. Those are still students .. subdue them carefully."
"Evacuate everyone you can."
The captured students began to get suffocated in petals.
Akane split off from the exorcist pair. "Take the stairs and elevator! Come this way!"
The roots and vines enraptured the walls of the school, cracking them and all.
Nora snapped her fingers as golden chains began to deflect the vines that snapped at them. She used them to tear the unconscious students out and set them to the side.
The creature let out a deafening roar.
She took out a sutra and muttered an incantation as a surge of light seemed to overtake the thing. The student, back in his normal form had been caught by a gentle air before hitting the ground softly.
There was another scream that echoed out as Teru and Nora rushed into the maid and butler cafe room where a girl was cornered. "N-Natsuki-kouhai, President!"
"M-Mi-Minami .. She—!" The witch leapt in front of her senpai, holding down the deformed student with binding chains as Teru, still having his sheathed katana, carefully sent a bolt of spiritual energy through her core as she fell to the ground. The flowers seemed to retract but the blossoms were still everywhere.
"Looks like we made it in time.." He lightly smiled.
"Senpai .. I need you to go to the emergency exit. Akane should be there to direct you." Nora pleaded, and without wasting a single beat, she nodded her head, running out the door.
Teru crouched down to the unconscious Minami. "These flower petals seem to be to blame. We could go dispose of them .. but that'll take too much time .. and not knowing how many students have been affected .."
"Just who would do something like this?"
The petal was pink .. it wasn't cherry blossom season so there was no reason as to why a supernatural of that kind should suddenly pop up.
"The courtyard and the front are full of them .." Teru watched as everyone fled, the creatures were able to grab a few escapees that screamed for help. From the window, Nora's eyes narrowed as her snap echoed in the room, chaining down each of the monsters to the floor, giving enough time for the students to wiggle out.
There was something that clicked in her head.
"Why didn't I realize this sooner..?"
Teru cocked his head in confusion.
"Teru .. did you see Sakura-senpai run out of the room at all?" Since she had bright green hair .. It was difficult to not notice her. He shook his head.
"Sakura petals in autumn?"
Nora thought back a bit. "Crap."
He watched the witch run out of the room as he followed her to where Akane was. She grabbed his collar in a hurry. "Akane! That day — when Natsuhiko approached you and we pulled that crane off of you .. were you also in charge of cleaning the clocks that day as well?"
He was startled, but began counting backwards on the days and nodded his head. "Y-Yeah .. why?"
Nora turned around to Teru. "It's Natsuhiko and Sakura .. and that apparition they're working with."
How could they do this on such an important day .. when there were so many innocent civilians here? She didn't take them as the type to drag and use normal humans as collateral damage.
"The clock .. The clock, Akane!" Nora shouted.
She was so frantic that it worried the two. Immediately, Nora had torn off her wrist watch and leapt through a door .. and then she was gone.
The smell of blood .. fresh blood at that.
"HEY, HAVE YOU HEARD THE RUMOR? THE ONE ABOUT THE HUMAN THAT WONT DIE NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES HE GETS KILLED?"
"THEY SAY THE BLOOD THAT RUNS THROUGH HIS VEINS IS EXTREMELY POISONOUS TO SUPERNATURALS."
"AS SOON AS ONE TOUCHES IT .. THEIR BODY INSTANTLY WITHERS AWAY."
"THE ONE THAT CONTROLS TIME WITHIN THE SCHOOL .. THE CLOCK KEEPERS' CLOCK."
"Have you heard the rumor, Natsuki-chan?" He turned around with a chuckle, being faced with his kouhai. She was panting and her hair was disheveled, and most of all .. her face, her expression.
"It's not like I expected much out of you, Natsuhiko-senpai. I didn't care if you were a good person or not .."
"But .. what the hell .. have you done?"
It was rage.
The blood that trickled from his palms created a puddle on the ground as he looked away from her. It was his blood .. That had begun to swirl around the cogs of the clock that slowly began to move once more again.
The golden chains wrapped around him as Nora cut the palm of her hand, squeezing it on the floor.
"It won't work." He bluntly told the girl. But she shook her head.
"HAVE YOU HEARD THE RUMOR OF THE ONE THAT CONTROLS TIME WITHIN THE SCHOOL? THEY SAY—" A sudden force repelled the witch backwards as she skidded across the floor.
She couldn't change the rumor.
For some reason .. his blood overpowered her own.
The witch got up, wiping her nose that had begun to bleed again. "You shouldn't even be able to see supernaturals in the first place, but I didn't question it. I didn't question a lot of things you did — I've been cautious .. but it was my fault. I should've known."
"You humans .. really are the worst."
The day had been going well .. she was happy. Why did everything have to be ruined just at the drop of a hat? Everyone was enjoying themselves .. and no matter how bad she was at reading emotions, there was no misconception of that.
The sun rose, the sky was blue, the trees were kissed by the breath of fall.
She had been too soft lately.
If she had just acted quicker .. it could have been prevented. The pandemonium that would soon come.