Yokai Academy » Places

         

One moment she was being yanked towards the beast of a boy by his tongue, and the next, there was a swish of air and an arm wound around her waist. She was torn from the grip of the boy’s tongue, and despite her pounding head, could recognize that it was Werner who had helped hr – who wasn’t Werner. Yet he was. He was, but he wasn’t. He was, but he wasn’t. He was, but he wasn’t. The throbbing intensified as she attempted to mull over what was happening, and when he placed her on the ground, she crossed her legs and lifted her hands to grab either side of her head. It felt as though it was going to split apart. She lowered on hand and dimly noted the blood that was smeared across the tips of her fingers, which all seemed to be doubled in numbers.

Suzu looked up in time to see Werner slam into the boy, who went flying backwards in much the fashion of a man who was head-butted by a bull, and dropped to the ground. He went still, his tongue lolled out in a disgusting and pathetic fashion, and for a moment, she feared that he was dead. But then he twitched like a dying fly, and she felt relief beyond any that she had ever felt before. At least Werner wouldn’t be in too much trouble – Hell, it was doubtful that he’d be in any at all, seeing as he was defending her from the boy, who had attacked her first.

She couldn’t find the strength to move and avoid Werner’s hands, whom had plucked up her weak body and clutched her to his chest. She grimaced at the jostling as it caused the throbbing in her head to intensify, and had no choice but to grip the front of his shirt and allow him to carry her.

The sudden shot upwards stunned her, and she drew in a quick breath, her eyes shutting tightly.

[color=]Don’t look down, don’t look down, don’t look down … Aw, Hell, I’m going to die. I’m going to die![/color]

She didn’t die, of course, but was more than happy when she was returned to solid ground instead of hovering in the air – which hadn’t surprised her in the least, after all that had just happened. Why would it? A fatty teenage boy had tried to eat her, and she had watched one of the first people that she had met at this school turn into some sort of mutant bat-thingy that could do God-knew what.

She’d be more surprised if anything managed to surprise her at this point.

For several moments, Suzu chose to lie on the stone bench that Werner had placed her on, attempting to push down the pain in her head and to sort through everything that had just occurred. Finally, she pushed herself up, first onto her elbows, and then completely straight. She swung her legs over the side of the bench and folded her hands on her lap, her head slightly bowed.

“I guess that I probably shouldn’t have wandered away from you,” she said dryly, an attempt at a joke. She was quiet for a few more moments, and when she spoken again, her voice was slightly choked, as though she were crying.

“The funny thing is, is that this place is better than my house. I’ve been here for little more than five minutes, and some thing has already tried to eat me. The first person I met turned out to be some weird bat-thing that could fly, and … Well, actually, that’s pretty much it, other than having to ride with a creepy bus driver that I swear was going to rape me. But the point is, it’s kind of pathetic when I think about it,” she said with a sigh. She lifted her head to look up at him, her expression showing how incredibly tired she was. “So, can you explain to me what’s going on here?” she asked quietly.