The morning edition of the Newspaper Club's latest release had barely hit the courtyard before the first scream echoed through the halls.
Tsukune stood by the window of the club room, watching the chaos unfold below. Students clustered around the bulletin boards, their faces cycling through shock, disgust, and something that looked like vindication. The article had landed like a bomb wrapped in newsprint.
Yukari sat at her desk, her wand still glowing faintly from the duplication spell she had spent the past hour maintaining. Dozens of newspapers, each one identical, each one carrying the headline that would ruin Gin Morioka's reputation forever, were scattered across the table. Her cheeks were flushed with exhaustion, but her eyes sparkled with pride.
"I never knew magic could be used for something so… practical," she said, watching as a Vampire Familiar grabbed a stack and flew out the window.
"Magic is a tool," Tsukune said, not turning from the window. "It is only as good or as evil as the person using it. And right now, it is delivering sweet, sweet justice."
Kurumu leaned against the wall, her tail swishing lazily. "How many copies did we print?"
"Around five hundred," Tsukune said. "All of my Vampire Familiars are handling the distribution. We even got a few yen coins from students who wanted their own copy. Enough to buy snacks and juice for the week."
Outer Moka looked up from her notebook, her expression troubled. "Do you think we went too far? Gin‑senpai is already being punished. This article feels like we are kicking him while he is down."
Tsukune finally turned. His face was calm, unreadable. "He took hundreds of upskirt photos. He harassed girls across multiple clubs. He kidnapped you. A little public shaming is the least he deserves. Besides," he added, "he agreed to this. It was part of his penance."
"It's not like he agreed," Kurumu snorted. "You gave him no choice."
"Same thing," said Tsukune as he waved his hand dismissively at Kurumu.
From the corner of the room, Gin let out a low moan. He was curled up in his chair, his face buried in his hands, his shoulders shaking. He had not said a word since the first batch of newspapers had gone out. He looked like a man attending his own funeral.
The only sound was his own whisper of doom as he chewed nervously on his thumbnail, a nervous habit he had not displayed since childhood.
"I am going to die," he muttered, his voice muffled by his hands. "I am dead. So dead! Why did I agree to confess?"
He rocked back and forth, his chair creaking in protest.
"Stupid me?" He slapped his own cheek, then flinched. "If only there wasn't that bug… Urghh, sorry, sorry. I will not think bad about you again."
His eyes darted to Tsukune, then away, as if he expected the Blood Oath Keeper to punish him for the mere thought of defiance, but he could see only Tsukune's crimson gaze looking down at him with coldness and indifference to his fate.
Yukari glanced at him, then back at Tsukune. "Will he be okay?"
"Probably not," Tsukune said. "But he will survive whatever 'fate' will throw at him. Werewolves are a resilient bunch."
The door to the club room burst open. A girl with tears streaming down her face stood in the doorway, waving a crumpled newspaper.
"Is it true?" she demanded. "Is Gin‑senpai really the one who took those pictures of me in the locker room?"
Tsukune nodded. "Every word."
She crumpled the paper tighter, her knuckles white.
She took a step toward Gin, her hands trembling with a mixture of rage and disgust. She had admired him from a distance, had thought him handsome and charming, had even entertained fantasies of him noticing her. Now all she saw was a deranged pervert.
"You," she hissed. "You are disgusting."
She opened her mouth to say more, but Gin was already moving. He scrambled out of his chair and bolted for the door, shoving past her in his desperation to escape. His partial werewolf form flickered, muscles swelling, claws extending, as he fled into the hallway.
The angry girl cursed, then turned and stormed after him, her voice echoing off the walls. "I am going to kill him!"
A chorus of similar shouts rose from the courtyard.
Kurumu grinned, taking a lot of satisfaction in seeing how the castle of cards was collapsing on top of Gin's head. "And so it begins. If he gets beaten badly enough, I might consider not bullying him too much in the future."
Outer Moka sighed, her hand resting on the rosary at her chest. "I still feel bad for him. No one deserves to be hunted like an animal."
"He brought it on himself," Kurumu said.
"That does not make it right."
Yukari, who had been watching the exchange with wide eyes, finally spoke. Her voice was hesitant, concerned. "Is he really that bad? I have not met him before today. He seemed quiet. Sad, even."
Tsukune turned to her, his expression softening just a fraction. "From your perspective you might think we're harsh, even going as far as calling it selling him out for some clout. But it is undeniable that he took pictures of girls without their permission, I got all the evidence collected."
"Also, that's just the tip of the iceberg, apart from hurting Kurumu, kidnapping Moka, stalking them and being a pervert in general. He is now paying for his crimes, so don't waste your energy by sympathizing with him, Yukari-chan."
"Save it for people who truly deserve it."
Yukari nodded slowly, though her brow remained furrowed.
The chase lasted for the better part of an hour.
Gin, despite his injuries and his broken spirit, proved to be surprisingly fleet of foot. He darted through hallways, slid under closing doors, and even attempted to hide in a supply closet, only to be flushed out by a group of second‑year girls armed with brooms and murderous intent.
Tsukune watched from a rooftop overlooking the main courtyard, his arms crossed, his expression neutral. He had brought popcorn for the occasion, and three Kuribohs of different shapes were scattered around him, their fluffy bodies quivering with excitement.
The winged Kuriboh perched on his shoulder, chirping softly. The round, spiky one rolled back and forth like a distracted marble. The smallest, most ordinary Kuriboh sat on his knee, its big brown eyes fixed on the chase below.
Tsukune held out a piece of popcorn to the winged Kuriboh. "Want some, buddy?"
It chirped and nibbled at the snack, its tiny wings fluttering.
Kurumu sat beside him, munching happily from her own handful. "You know, watching a man's life fall apart has never been so entertaining."
"Glad to be of service."
Outer Moka was also on the rooftop, but she could only bring herself to peek over the ledge as she watched the man's life fall apart in front of her eyes. Her expression was troubled, caught between her innate compassion and the knowledge of what Gin had done. She did not cheer when he stumbled. She did not laugh when he was cornered. She simply watched, her hand still on the rosary.
Yukari was not focused much on the chase. Instead, she watched with keen interest the fluffy creatures brought out from Tsukune's shadow. Without a doubt, there was something magical about those creatures. They radiated a warmth that had nothing to do with temperature, a kind of innocent joy that made her forget, for a moment, the violence unfolding below.
"What are they?" she asked, reaching out to pet the ordinary Kuriboh.
"Kuribohs," Tsukune said. "Guardian spirits I have created using my special ability. They are harmless for the most part, but if they are angered, they can pack a great punch and let's say they can make for nice fireworks."
The Kuriboh nuzzled her palm, and she giggled.
"There he goes," Kurumu said, pointing as Gin burst out of the gymnasium, his shirt torn, his face pale.
"He is too fast for those girls." Tsukune admitted.
"Not fast enough. Watch, she is about to strike him down," said Kurumu, pointing at a flying figure holding onto a fully extended bow.
The figure was Haru, the Alpha Harpy. Her silhouette was unmistakable: broad white wings, elegant even in stillness, and a posture that radiated lethal precision. She hovered high above the courtyard, the afternoon sun catching the tips of her feathers, her golden eyes fixed on Gin like a hawk tracking a mouse.
She drew the bowstring back to her cheek, the wooden limbs groaning under the tension. Then she released all the tension she drew.
The shockwave was palpable even from the rooftop. A funnel of compressed air exploded from the bow, and the arrow screamed toward Gin, invisible and deadly. He must have sensed it, because he twisted at the last moment, his body swelling, fur sprouting, jaws elongating. His werewolf form erupted in a flash of silver and rage, and he threw himself to the side.
The arrow missed his chest by inches, carving a trench in the cobblestone where he had been standing.
"That arrow could have one-shot him. I think." remarked Tsukune as he followed the figure of the Valkyrie Harpy in all of her icy splendor.
Gin did not linger in his transformed state. He shrank back to human size almost instantly, his clothes hanging in tatters, his breath ragged. The Academy rules were clear: revealing one's yokai form outside of designated areas or self‑defense was grounds for expulsion.
He was already on thin ice. He could not risk breaking another rule.
Then Haru dropped from the sky, creating another shockwave.
Haru landed in front of Gin with a grace that belied her size. Her white wings spread wide, blocking his escape.
Her silver hair, unbound, caught the sunlight and seemed to glow. She stood with her white tank top under a cropped hoodie with feathered trim, torn denim jeans hugging her pronounced hips.
Her golden eyes blazed with cold fury, and the bow in her hand seemed to release a lot of Yoki.
"You," she said, her voice flat, "I finally found out who was the rat spying on my club. It was you, perverted dog all along."
It was not a question.
Gin skidded to a halt, his hands raised. "Haru‑senpai! I can explain!"
"You took pictures of my girls," she said, maintaining her voice flat. "There is nothing to explain."
She drew her bow again and quickly released the arrow. It was not a normal arrow. It was made of condensed wind, visible only as a shimmer in the air, and it struck Gin in the shoulder with enough force to spin him around. He crashed into a flower bed, sending petals and dirt flying.
"My shoulder!" he howled.
Haru notched another arrow. "If this was for spying on my Archery Club girls. You better remember this one! This is for trying to peek at my body while I was changing into my archery gear!"
Before she could loose it, a booming laugh echoed across the courtyard.
"Hold on, Haru‑chan! Save some for me!"
Nonko Arahabaki, the S‑tier Oni and president of the Kendo Club, strode onto the scene. She wore her kendo uniform, a shinai resting on her shoulder, another arm holding a large bottle of sake, and a grin that could only be described as sadistic. Her green eyes gleamed with anticipation.
"Gin‑kun, Gin‑kun," she said, twirling her sake bottle before passing it to her other hand. "You have been a very bad boy. Peeping on my girls? Taking pictures of them changing? That is not very nice."
Gin tried to crawl away. "Nonko‑senpai, please, I was just—"
She swung, not the sake bottle, that was precious energy to her as an Oni. It was the shinai as it whistled through the air and smacked him across the backside with a crack that echoed across the courtyard. Gin yelped and scrambled forward.
"That is for the Kendo Club," Nonko said cheerfully. "And this—"
She swung again, hitting his other cheek.
"—is for making me waste my afternoon chasing you."
Gin whimpered. "I said I was sorry!"
"Sorry does not unsee my girls in their underwear."
From above, a small figure circled like a vulture. Papi, the young harpy, let out a gleeful shriek. "Papi wants to play too!"
She tucked her wings and dove, releasing a handful of acorns directly onto Gin's head. They bounced off his skull with a series of rapid thunks.
"Ow! Ow! What is wrong with you people?"
"Papi is helping!" the harpy chirped, pulling up at the last moment and flapping back into the air.
Then the presidents stepped back, their immediate vengeance satisfied. But the crowd of ordinary club members did not disperse. They surged forward, a wave of righteous fury, and Gin's screams echoed across the courtyard as they swarmed him.
"That is for my locker room!"
"This is for my senpai who cried because of you!"
"And this is just because you are creepy!"
Tsukune watched from the rooftop, his expression unchanged. Kurumu stopped munching and tilted her head.
"You know," she said thoughtfully, "I used to think you were soft since you're too nice at times. But watching you stand there while a mob beats a man bloody… maybe I misjudged you."
Tsukune glanced at her. "I am not soft. I am practical. We have released to the Yokai Academy the truth of Gin's misdemeanors as anyone should have done it if they had the power and evidence. If he is paying the price of his mistakes and is getting crushed by all the girls in the Academy, I am all for it."
"This is how this world works in the first place. Law of the fittest at its core."
"Harsh."
"I would say, realistic. But I agree with either forms"
Kurumu was quiet for a moment, then shrugged. "Fair enough."
The beatdown continued for another minute before the girls finally dispersed, leaving Gin curled in a fetal position, groaning. His face was covered in dirt and small bruises. He looked like he had been run over by a stampede.
Then another figure emerged from the crowd.
Tamao Ichinose, the mermaid president, walked with measured steps, her golden eyes fixed on Gin. Her long turquoise hair swayed with each movement, catching the light like sea foam.
The Academy uniform did little to hide the generous curves of her figure, the mature charm that made her a target of envy among the girls and desire among the boys. In her hand, she carried a trident, its bronze tines gleaming.
Gin's face went pale. "Tamao‑san. I did not… I never…"
"You never what?" Tamao's voice was cold, controlled. She stopped a few feet away, the trident's tip pointing at the ground. "You never took pictures of my mermaids? If not for the article and the evidence posted in it, I would have failed to catch such a pervert. All the nude photos you took. And who knows how long you have been watching us?"
Her grip tightened on the trident. "You made them feel unsafe in their own club. The least I can do as their club president is to deliver your punishment."
She raised the trident. Gin whimpered.
The blow did not come. Instead, Tamao's golden eyes flickered toward the rooftop where Tsukune stood. She felt it then, the pressure of his Yoki, even from a distance. It had grown. Stronger than when they had fought. Stronger than she had expected. Her expression flickered, and in that moment while angered by Gin's idiotic face, she lessened the pressure of her own Yoki.
'The gap is widening,' she thought. 'He is leaving us behind. Maybe I wasn't wrong for allying with Aono Tsukune.'
She turned back to Gin and brought the flat of the trident's shaft down across his back. Not hard enough to break bone, but enough to leave a welt.
"That is for my club."
She turned and walked away, her trident resting on her shoulder, her turquoise hair flowing behind her.
Kurumu nudged Tsukune. "She was looking at you. Is there anything between you two? Afterall, after battles and sweat there's always honey to be shared."
Tsukune did not answer immediately. He watched Tamao disappear into the crowd, then said, "There's nothing between us aside from our pact. You've been present last time, so you tell me, if there's something between me and Ichinose-senpai."
"From your tone, I take that there's nothing as of now."
"Give me a break. She was just measuring the distance."
"Between what?"
"Between where she is and where I am going."
Kurumu frowned, not understanding, but she did not push.