Viviana Ingram Stress and Relief

Vivi looked back over her climax. It was maybe the third time, making small changes each time she read over it, but it still fucking sucked. She'd been hoping to find one thing she could fix that would instantly make it better, the one flaw holding it back. Maybe it was the kills, being a step down from what she'd pulled off in the science lab or even the pool. Or maybe it was the twist, trying too hard to be different in a genre that's already done it all.

Part of it was certainly her inexperience with writing horror, and writing in general, trying to take the things that look good in movies and just mashing them onto the page. If she was being honest, what she wanted to make was a movie rather than a book. But that seemed like so much extra work, work that she felt would be wasted when she never intended to actually release the thing. And at this point she'd already put so much work into the novel version that it would be an even bigger waste not to finish it. Not to mention the question of how she'd even get a cast and crew for it living at that godforsaken academy.

It was always the same internal questioning that always ended the same way. And between the mental debating and her literary frustrations, she was getting really pissed off. She'd come here to relieve some stress and was doing a terrible job of it. She closed her laptop and removed her earbuds, opting to worry about it some other time.

Vivi stretched and leaned back in her seat at the back of the cafe. In her lap was a newly-purchased stuffed polar bear she'd affectionately named Billy. She closed her eyes and tried to relax, holding Billy tight.

She heard someone come out of the bathroom and start complaining to her friend, sounding absolutely miserable. Vivi smiled. She'd talked shit to her friend about Vivi and Billy earlier, probably thinking she wouldn't hear them, or wouldn't understand them as a foreigner. The punishment was a quick scratch with her envenomed nails. Buckle up, bitch, she thought. Your night's just getting started.

Vivi stayed like that for a bit. She was successful in calming down, but she was also getting bored. It was almost sunset, so she figured she should start looking for some people to play with. She finished her coffee and got to work.

---

Anyone wandering the forest-side town that autumn night would be treated to quite the sight. A young woman strutting confidently about, dressed in business-like attire complete with a pencil skirt and a blazer. She had a pair of sunglasses atop her head, and a pair of high heels notably not on her feet.

They were being carried by the young man beside her, one of several in this girl's entourage. Each one was holding something, be it shopping bags, expensive sweets, or even a stuffed polar bear in one man's case. Whenever someone would stare or ask what was going on, the young woman would tell them to mind their own business or forget they saw anything. And most would obediently do just that.

"Fuck, I missed humans," said Vivi to one of her men, or rather the bear he was holding. "'New horizons' my ass, I don't know what mom sees in that stupid Youkai Realm." She spared a moment of pity for youkai like… Honda? Ganta? Kenta. Like Kenta who somehow hadn't enjoyed them like this. Just a moment of pity though, as she had better things to worry about. Like finding some good meat, her eyes peeled for something like a steakhouse or a barbeque.

"You look like you're having fun!"

Vivi's head whipped to the source of the voice suddenly beside her. It was a woman, slender and a good bit taller than her. She was very pretty actually, like a model. Vivi looked back at her boy collection and figured she could use some variety.

"Oh yeah, tons," Vivi answered with a smirk. "Why don't you join me? We'll have some fun together."

"Sure," the woman replied. "Where are we going?"

"Right now? To eat, but don't worry about where we go. Don't talk, either. You humans are a lot cuter with your mouths shut."

"Really? I think that depends on the person, myself."

Vivi raised an eyebrow. This happened sometimes, be it because her words were vague or the target had particularly strong willpower. The solution was to come on stronger, since the brainwashing came from her words. That was usually a bad idea in crowded places since it could give her away to people outside her range, but it just so happened that everyone around her already belonged to her.

She cleared her throat and looked the woman dead in the eyes. "I'm telling you to stop talking."

The woman stared back. That was the blank expression Vivi was used to seeing from these humans. But then the woman leaned in closer, her lips curling in a smirk of her own. "You're being rather rude, don't you think?"

Vivi backed away, ordering one of her men to get between her and this strange woman. She laughed, and gently pushed the man aside. Vivi was frozen in shock, completely forgetting to give him further orders.

She gently lifted Vivi's chin with her long, thin fingers. "You didn't think you were the only youkai here, did you? Certainly looks that way, from the way you walked around town without a care in the world! I bet the others noticed you too, but it's no big deal unless it makes the humans panic so they probably didn't say anything."

"W-w-what do you want?" Vivi managed to stammer.

"Me? I already got what I want. And thank you very much for giving it to me!" She slid her fingers off of Vivi and took a step back. "I figured you were either a succubus or a lamia but I'm pretty sure it's the latter now. That means just whipping it out now's probably a bad move. I'll just try it out later though, I can't wait to see what I can do with a tail like that!"

"...Huh?"

"Oh, nothing," said the woman. She winked at Vivi and started walking away. "I wouldn't have minded hanging out, you know, but you don't seem like the social type. Good luck with whatever you plan on doing with all those guys!"

Vivi was frozen. Terrified, furious, confused, and humiliated. She looked back at her group of useless humans. Useless through no fault of their own, though Vivi would never admit that. She reflected on the day so far, at all the youkai probably watching her the whole time. She began to dread the next school day more than she already did.

Vivi clenched her fist and started taking deep breaths. She already lived in constant fear at the academy. This was supposed to be her chance to unwind, her self-care time. She wasn't going to let some smug bitch youkai take that from her. So she was going to just cool off and keep going with her little taste of freedom.

"You," Vivi pointed at one of her minions. "Go get a sewing kit." The guy dashed off on his mission. Vivi, meanwhile, snatched Billy from his keeper and searched for an abandoned alley to take him. He was still new to the family, but it seemed it was already time for Billy to do his duty.

​

Divine von Alter feat. Rin Wrangell

---

Whereas Rin still couldn't answer all his questions, some time spent thinking by himself made him better at explaining what his situation was. Not being used to write down notes or anything, he kept repeating words in his head for a while, scraping the bottom of the barrel that was his relatively limited vocabulary to find the best sounding ones and hoping not to forget them later.

Now, the question was who the Snowman would say all of those things to. He narrowed down his choices to Laguna, probably the classmate he was most in confidence with, or Karma, once again. She looked suddenly more approachable and wise… so to speak, after talking to her once. Or…

Divine! It had to be her. Plus, her behavior during their first lesson together only seemed to make her an even better choice. After walking aimlessly around the Academy, in search of her, Rin finally found Divine in the school grounds, and approached the girl with bright blue hair.

"Hey, Rin! Can I help you with something?" The blue haired woman asked the younger boy. Although her age and appearance wouldn't give away that she was supposed to be much older.

"Uhm, hello… yes." Rin hesitated, forgetting what he was about to say. "I-I talked with Karma before and… I don't know, it seems we're both out of place here."

Divine had a puzzled look written all over her face. "Huh? What do you mean out of place?" She asked with a confused smile. She did remember Karma being super angry at her for dousing her in water earlier this week and saying something strange about Youkai. "Could you explain?"

"I… uhm, I think… I'll try." Rin took a deep breath. "K-Karma seems to have lived like humans this whole time? She got in here and thought we are all monsters. And just w-wasn't feeling well about all that. As for me…" The Snowman shook his head. "E-everyone, not just Karma, knows a lot about humans and their lifestyle and all that. I don't. I don't even know what a phone is."

After a long, awkward pause, there still weren't that many words to choose from in Rin's mind. So, he just muttered: "What to do?"

Divine smiled warmly like she always did to reassure the young snowman. After, this wasn't the first time she had dealt with students like this. "Just relax. There's not much else you can do about it. It sometimes happens that youkai don't know much about humans. Watch them, study them and eventually live with them and coexist. That is what we're trying to teach you here." Divine explained. Though it has always juggled her mind that they were trying to teach these students to suppress their real identity in the human world. She knew it had it's reasons though.

Rin furrowed his brows. "W-watching humans?"

"Since it's weekend, now would be a good time to watch the humans in the town near the forest entry. Why don't you go there?"

"Well… sounds like it can help me with Karma and all but… I'll get spotted. I'm cold." He replies. "Not sure that's a good plan."

"Of course it is!" Divine clasped her hands. "If you feel uncomfortable going alone, I can always come with you. I will have to go as well anyway. My nephew and niece are coming over but they're late so they might be lost." She offered.

"Y-your… who?" Rin whispered, still awkwardly grimacing. "Nevermind… I'll come with you!" He then declared, trying to turn his smile from forced to more genuine. "I'm not sure… if this will help me get along with the other Yokai or Karma but I guess I can try it out."

"Then let me grab my bag and let's go!" Divine put her thumbs up before leaving shortly and coming back with a small purse holding her important woman things.

"That was… pretty fast!" Rin nodded as his teacher came back into the room. "But… wait, uhm… do I need anything important to visit the city?"

"You don't. Maybe a phone would be okay but you don't have one, do you?" Divine asked the younger student.

"Nope! But…" Rin recalled the moments he spent inside the plane that brought him to the Academy. "I'll still need a moment to get a few things in my room." Just a few minutes later, the Snowman was back with his red coat and a small backpack. Inside there was just some water and food, but it should've still been more than enough.

"A-alright, let's just go and get it over with…" Rin grimaced, facing towards Divine and trying to never lose sight of her from that moment onwards.

"I'll lead the way." Said Divine with a bright smile across her tiny soft pink lips.

And that's how the two ended up travelling to the outskirts of the Aokigahara forest bordering the small town that Divine often visited in her time off. She looked around to see if she could catch a glimpse of her niece and nephew but unfortunately did not see a sign of them. "Where would you like to go first? Have you ever visited a human town before?" Divine asked the younger student that tagged along.

Rin looked all around him with curiosity. "I think I did! But it was nothing like this. In fact, there were no humans." He sighed. It wasn't just that, of course: Alaskan mining outposts and Japanese residential towns wouldn't have much in common to begin with, as the whole environment, weather, and culture was miles apart. If this is the kind of place Karma and the others were from, then it was no surprise he felt so different.

"Is… this the kinda place where Karma and the others come from? It looks like another world. What do people even do here, how do they get food, how do they pass the time…?"

Divine smiled. "People do all kinds of things here. They come here to shop, to relax, to interact or to…" Divine stopped for a second. "Fall in love…" She finished rather sadly. For a few seconds she was quiet but she regained her cheerful self rather quickly for the sake of her student. "Anyway, there's a lot of things to do here. They got super delicious treats here too! What would you like to do first?"

"I… I don't really know where to begin!" Rin admitted, chuckling. "So… I'll trust you on this. Let's check that place out!"



"That is… way too many choices! I can't believe it. What are they even made of…" Rin was thinking aloud as he gushed at all the sweets on display. Well, his favorite of them all - the lollipop - didn't seem to be available, but even if it was, ordering one when there was so much other, better-looking stuff felt wrong.

"Well, do you have any suggestions? What would you pick, Divine?" The Snowman asked, still rather overwhelmed. "In any case… I have to admit, not making my own food is still something I'm not used to."

"I just can't leave this place without at least this!" The blue haired woman picked up a heart-shaped box with a red satin ribbon decorating it. It contained a chocolate form that one would call "truffle chocolate". The very sight seemed to make the woman happy. Her youthful appearance would make anyone forget she was a teacher, even for just a moment.

"I would also suggest these bon-bons! They're very good!" She showed a box to Rin.

"Looks like I'll be trying those out, then!" Rin smiled, slowly getting more at ease. "About that box though… can I ask… what will you do with it?"

"Oh! Those are present boxes. They're meant as gifts. I sometimes "gift" myself these though haha." Divine responded with a radiant yet cheeky smile as she rubbed the back of her head. "Maybe you can bring some along as gifts for classmates you really like?" She winked at the younger boy.

"Gifts, uh?" Rin let out a chuckle. "I think I know some people who would like this…"

"Then let's buy a few! I'm actually going to get some as well!" Divine started grabbing a few boxes and walked over towards the counter. She looked back at Rin and gave him a grin. "These aren't all for me, I promise."

"Oh, a-alright! But I will need…" Rin stops for a moment. "How much?"

Money management surely was not something he would get along with. He knew the basics of it but that was all theory, because he had never bought anything on his own. Basically, he didn't know the value of things, or the value of each coin. Not to mention that the numbers were all different depending on the country.

"Ah… I'll help you." Divine said and lightly pushed him towards the counter along with her.

With the both of them paying their snacks and presents, they headed out of the store. Only for Rin to be dragged into a new one shortly after. The two of them shopped for a while and Divine tried to show as many of the human traditions and knick-knacks as she could before the two of them headed back to the academy.

… Both of them dragged along quite a few bags back.

Two birds and a fox.

---

Still asleep, no signs of waking yet. Kyosei stared at Laguna's snoozing face for an entire minute, his own ear and nose twitching as he recalled the dream he'd had. His roommate had been talked into a massive prank spree by a trio of manipulative students who convinced her none of it was mean and it had ended in her nearly drowning him. One single tail arched around his hip and loomed over the mermaid. After a brief hesitation the tail sank down and poked Laguna's nose…..and nothing happened, really. She just wiggled her nose and frowned for a moment. Kyosei matched that frown and wrinkled his brow, he'd need a bit more effort to get his vengeance.

The three tails remaining behind the youko's back alternately writhed and flicked in frustration, nervousness and curiosity but the tool of his 'prank' remained perfectly focused. Now the tailtip began to gently sway back and forth across Laguna's nose, mercilessly tickling the sniffer until she grumbled and softly swatted at it. Kyosei couldn't hold in the giggle. At last, revenge for his dreamt up mistreatment! She was squirming now, he let out a tiny quiet 'evil' cackle only for Laguna to mumble something and lazily wrap her arms around his tail. Kyosei's eyes bulged and he made a desperate scramble away only to fumble and flop pathetically to the floor.

Laguna rolled over onto her side and very slowly opened one eye part way. "Kyo? What are you doing on the floor. "Nothing, go back to sleep." He grumbled in defeat, laying the same tail that had been trying to pull a joke on her moments ago across her face. The warm floof and calming scent had her back out in moments.

---

Ok so the petty vengeance was a failed and paltry attempt, but it was Saturday, dammit. Saturday means fun! Adventure! One must take advantage of every day off from school! Or so Kyosei's mother had told him, at least. That's why he'd decided to visit the town near Youkai Academy. It had been several years since he visited a human settlement, he wasn't as mischievous as when he was a kit but surely he could find some entertainment there. It really didn't take long for him to get there and once he did he immediately began to wander around, examining every curiosity and interesting sight that caught his eye.

The second Kyosei was distracted by a scent that seemingly was coming from a small ramen shop , he managed to bump into a relatively slender boy with green hair, dropping him to the floor. "Ouch…" The green haired lad rubbed his back. "Noel! Are you okay!?" A girl with green hair immediately tended to him. The two teenagers looked very similar, so much that it was obvious that they were siblings. They looked so similar in fact, they could very well have the same face. "Look out where you're going!" The girl immediately snarled at Kyosei. "I'm okay Sophia… Help me get up." the boy whose name was Noel spoke to his sister who then helped him back on his feet.

"Oh, oh no! I'm so sorry!" Kyosei exclaimed, wishing he'd been fast enough to help the boy up himself. "Sorry I just..smelled some really good ramen and turned too fast, then… My nose is very sensitive and sometimes it feels like it takes over my higher brain functions…Did you scrape anything?" When he asked the question Kyosei was already examining this Noel person, looking way too closely at his face, then his arms, then his legs. "I carry medicine with me whenever I'm out and about, and I found some good herbs on the way here, I can make it better if you're hurt at all!" The worry on his face was blown out of proportion and he could feel a twinge in the top of his head. His ears were trying very hard to pop out and flatten themselves in shame and concern, it took all of his self control to keep his appearance purely human.

"I'm okay, really…" Noel spoke shyly, rubbing the back of his head. His sister was the complete opposite and seemed enthusiastic, as if she had forgotten that her brother was pushed to the floor only moments ago. "Medicine? Good herbs? Wow you really are prepared!" Sophia clasped her hands together and was almost in Kyosei's face with her curiosity. "Are you from around here? You don't sound like you're from around here." She asked, taking a step back and resting her chin on the back of her hand while her elbow rested on her other arm.

Kyosei tilted his head. "No, I'm not from around here. I suppose I'd be from a more rural area in the countryside. I used to visit towns like this a lot but in recent years I've been more reclusive. He felt his ears aching desperately to twitch at her invasion of his space, but he'd been no better only moments ago. "Noel and Sophia, was it? It's nice to meet you, my name is Kyosei."

"Kyosei, huh? So you do have a japanese name!" Sophia waved her finger around and playfully winked before resting her hand on her heart and bowing. "Sophia de la Rey, at your service. This here is Noel, my younger brother." At that moment. Noel bowed as well. "Noel de la Rey. She calls me younger brother but she's merely 2 minutes older." He gently spoke. "As you can guess from our names, we're not from around here as well."

"Yes, my parents are originally from Japan." Kyosei explained. "They have their own way of doing things so I can't say I was raised totally Japanese, but I have been taught many Japanese customs like tea ceremonies and such… and now I'm back to go to school here as well after being away for some time." He tilted his head at the twins and smiled curiously. "Where are you two from?"

The twins glanced at each other and nodded before turning their faces to their new acquaintance. "We're from Korea. Our mother is Korean but our father is from France." Sophia explained but had a sad expression that she tried to hide with a smile while doing so. Noel rested his hand on her tiny shoulders in an attempt to comfort her. "We lost them a long time ago. We're taking care of each other now." Noel said. Sophia sighed and sprung up. "Anyway! What school are you attending? There are not many schools in this area." her curiosity showing.

The disguised Youko blanched immediately. "O-Oh it's...just a little place, neither here nor there… It uh… It's more like a social thing to try and help me get more used to interacting with people again. Too much time in the boonies, you know., I'm not supposed to tell anybody about it because they don't want people who aren't part of the classes wandering in and disrupting things. It's a very delicate curriculum."

Sophia raised an eyebrow at the very dodgy answer the boy in front of her was giving. It was obvious he was trying to hide something. She shook her head and returned to the situation with a lovely smile spreading across her lips. "Well, now that we're here anyway, let's go eat some ramen!" The girl suggested. Noel seemed to be internally panicking at the thought. "U-Uh Sophia? L-Let's not bother him too much, shall we…?" He tried to convince her but she wouldn't budge. "How about it, Kyosei? Weren't you enchanted by the scent?"

Kyosei smiled. "Why, yes, I was. It was the very smell that distracted me so thoroughly I bumped into poor Noel. I have to watch out more in the future. It's been a long time since I had a bowl of good ramen, I think that's an excellent idea." He didn't have a lot of pocket money but some ramen wouldn't break the bank.

"Excellent!" Sophia called out. She walked towards either of the boys and held her arms intertwined with theirs to pull them along. "Let's go!"

Once inside what seemed like a small ramen shop on the outside, inside was a bit more spacious than one would suggest. Everything was made from wood and the chairs at the bar had red leather cushions on them, as did all the other chairs. Sophia picked a table near the window and sat down, Noël sighing at his defeat and sitting down right next to them while Kyosei sat in front of them. Almost immediately a young japanese man with dark brown hair arrived at their table. "Good evening. Here are the menu cards. Would you like something to drink in the meantime?" He asked, laying three menu cards in front of them and resting his eyes on Sophia. "I'd like a Calpis soda!" Sophia spoke dignified and grabbed the card. The man didn't seem to be writing anything down though. He stared at the girl, seemingly being captivated. It wasn't until Noël coughed and spoke out his order that was the same as his sister that the young man started to write down the orders. "T-Two Calpis Soda then… and you sir?" He turned to Kyosei.

These two sure stand out, don't they? Once again Kyosei felt his ears twitching and was glad they couldn't be seen. "I would like some green tea, please." He dipped his head and smiled softly with his eyes closed. "With some mint, if you have any." Human body language is so much more subtle that he now felt like he truly understood why his family always knew what each other were thinking implicitly and most people had to read deeper with each other. He picked up the menu in front of him and began to peruse it, thinking maybe the next time he saw his mother he'd see if maybe he could actually lie to her successfully while in his human form.

"Alright, I will be back with your order." The young man shot one last glance at Sophia before he went back to the kitchen but seemed rather surprised when seeing Kyosei's dark orange hair that progressively becomes lighter orange at the tips. Like fire. The ramen shop seems to be having rather odd guests today.

"You seem to be distracting them again." Noël told his sister without bothering as much as to look at her. "Of course we stand out dear brother. We're Korean-French. We look like tourists here. Besides, it's not just us." Sophia replied and shot a glance to the boy. "I-I don't think… No matter…" Noël soon gave up but Sophia could hardly contain her giggling. It didn't take long for the waiter to return with their drinks. "So Kyosei, what brought you to town today?" Sophia asked their new friend in front of them gleeing from pure curiosity.

"Curiosity more than anything else." Kyosei began frankly. "My school is strictly boarding-only and I've been in there the past few days. I really just wanted to see the town and spend some time outside of school. I'm not a very social person so people watching and plant-tending are much more my speed, and even I can only spend so much time in a greenhouse before I get antsy." He sipped his tea, revelling in the relaxing coolness the mint added to it. His breath always smelled of mint but now with his tea each sigh of contentment he let out spread the scent and a cooling sensation over the table.

"French and Korean, hmm? That's an interesting split of ancestry. I certainly understand being looked at strangely, even if it's to a lesser extent. Most people assume my hair is dyed thanks to the strange colors but it really is just the colors of both of my parents blending together… even if it's in an abnormal way." He blinked when it struck him how much he was talking with these two and he wondered what was making him so vocal, but shrugged it off after a moment and another sip. "Why did the two of you choose today to visit, if I may ask?".

Suddenly, it was quiet. Noël and Sophia broke the silence at the same time. "Shopping!" Yelled Sophia. "Searching for a school!" Said Noël at the same time, making the two of them look at each other before turning their gaze back to Kyosei. "S-Shopping for school supplies while searching for a school…" Sophia said with a sheepish laugh, wondering if their new friend would fall for that.

Curiouser and curiouser. "And what school might that be?" Kyosei asked, having a harder and harder time fully maintaining his human form. "Is there anything special about it? Perhaps we're future schoolmates?"

Noël was no longer able to hide his discomfort with lying. He never really understood why it came so naturally to Sophia. "I-I don't think so." He answered. His twin-sister was looking rather worried as well. "Iiiittt's somewhere andddd… our cousin is employed there so we came to visit." Sophia gave Kyosei the best smile that she could give. "Anyhow, I'm sure we'll find it." Sophia tried to wave her worries away but then Noël opened his mouth again. "Yeah it's not in a forest or anything!" As Noël spoke, Sophia facepalmed. Her brother was a terrible liar.

So many questions ran through Kyosei's head in a blur so rapid and frantic that his eyes darted around and one of his ears actually popped out for a split second before disappearing again. Finally, he stopped, took a deep breath and tipped the teacup to his mouth again. After an abnormally long sip he inhaled through his nose and looked at the twins, eyes calm. "What is your cousin's name? Perhaps I know them?"

"I-I'm sure you don't know them." Noël said scratching his chin and wondering if he was going crazy. Did Kyosei have non human ears for a split second? When he opened his mouth again, his sister jumped in and slammed at the table. "Food! What kind of ramen are you getting Kyosei? I'm totally going for the Shoyu ramen! I wonder if I can get an extra egg with that…"

"I enjoy the pork-bone tonkatsu the most, myself." Kyosei explained. "And I also like to have an extra egg or two." He smiled at her with his eyes closed before giving himself a moment with a bit more tea. "You know, my school happens to have co-ed dorms, I think it would be quite a nice place for you two." Kyosei sniffed for a few moments, trying to look like he was enjoying the scents of food in the air - which he certainly was - but what he was really after was more subtle. He hoped to really peg down the scent of the twins, perhaps he might recognize it - or at least realize if it wasn't quite human.

It was silent for a while. Everyone was anxious and nervous at the table, until the waiter came back to retrieve their orders for the ramen. Noël and Sophia both ordered a Shoyu ramen with an extra egg while Kyosei ordered his pork-bone tonkatsu ramen but as soon as the waiter left, the awkward silence returned. It was then that Sophia got annoyed and leaned in towards Kyosei, holding a hand next to her mouth to whisper. "Do you perhaps attend Youkai Academy?" Sophia boldly asked.

At that there was a loud thump from one of Kyosei's tails appearing underneath the table and smacking into it before disappearing again. In that short moment the twins felt the soft warm fluff brush their legs and the youko couldn't stop his eyes from lighting up with the promise of sated curiosity. "Yes, is it the one you're looking for?!" He leaned forward, eyes twinkling with intrigue. "You aren't human, are you? Please tell me you're not-I'm in so much trouble if you are."

Sophia sat back in her chair and chuckled, chuckled until it evolved into an uncontrollable laughter. "S-Sister! Please contain yourself! People are staring at us!" Noël tried to calm her down. It's as the brother said, everyone inside the shop was now staring at them. It wasn't until Sophia stared back at them and slowly calmed her laughter into just a quiet giggle. "I mean… What are the odds? We bump into someone and they happen to not be human at all. It's almost too perfect to be true." While her giggle was still evident, she seemed a bit upset at that moment before returning to her usual bubbly self. She made wing signs with her hand towards Youkai, hopefully giving him a clue at their non-human identity.

"Wings?" Kyosei muttered, tilting his head. He tapped his chin and stared at the table as if the entire world had disappeared around him, totally absorbed into finding the answer. "Harpies? No, they're known for kidnapping people, not enchanting them. Dragons aren't around anymore…" His eyes widened and he leaned back in his chair as if preparing to flee. "You aren't a succubus and an incubus, are you?!" Though he exclaimed such frightened words, he at least had the sense to keep his voice low enough not to travel beyond the table.

Sophia and Noël glanced at each other for a moment before turning their faces back at the surprised fox in front of them. "... No. Oh god no." Noël spoke in disgust. How did he even come to that conclusion?

"We're Sirens." Sophia said quietly. "You know what Sirens are?"

"I thought Sirens were aquatic Youkai?" Kyosei queried. "I haven't actually spent much time around other Youkai or even in the youkai realm aside from my parents' home, you see…" He looked embarrassed. "Even though I've spent a lot of time around humans I guess you could say I'm very sheltered."

"It's okay. Siren are winged Youkai. We have a pair of wings and our voice is our strength. We have a couple of other powers but we're basically singing birds." Noël explained while Sophia nodded excitedly. "What are you, Kyosei?"

His eyes crinkled at the edges of a vulpine smile. "Would you look at that, my tea cooled while we were speaking." He raised his cup at the tips of all his fingers and before their eyes it began to steam again as the smell of mint overtook the table and filled them with a coolness that starkly contrasted the warmth around him. "I am a Youko." He explained with a tone of mischief, the pupils that bored into the twins changing from circular voids to vertical slits as his smile widened to show his pointed teeth.

Noël hastily looked around hoping that no one had seen that. Not long after, Sophia gave him a soft smack against the back of his head. "You're obvious, stop that." She told him, not letting her gaze wander away from their newly acquired Youko friend. "That's so cool! I once had a Yok-" before the girl could finish her sentence, the waiter had returned with their ramen orders. They had to drop the subject for a little bit until the man left. All the waiter saw in the end was the young man with the long hair smiling with his mouth and eyes closed at his two new friends over his cup of tea.

"Thank you very much, sir." Kyosei dipped his head in gratitude when his bowl was placed before him, nose wiggling in delight at the scent emanating from its contents.

The waiter left with Noël taking a better look at Kyosei. "Now that you say it… you do look like you could be one." the boy said. "All that aside, you said you attend Youkai Academy right? Would you happen to know an individual going by the name Solomeya?"

"I've only ever heard that name as the name of a character from a show I once watched." Kyosei explained before tilting his head. "Why, do you have a friend or relative at school by that name?"

Noël and Sophia glanced at each other. They shrugged and sighed, taking it one shortly before returning their gazes back to the fox boy in front of them


"Ah… Don't worry about it." Sophia replied with a sheepish grin.

The three kids enjoyed their food and talked some more. From outside the restaurant a man wearing sunglasses and a black fedora stared at the three kids sitting by the window. He stood there for a while longer… then he smirked and headed off.