The Witch and the Zodiac | Kyo

Chapter 3- Bad Feeling

"Ah, man, I can't believe it's almost spring break already." Arisa Uotani stretched her arms above her head as she walked, yawning slightly. "I haven't even had time to make any plans yet."

"My parents were discussing the possibility of us going to Hakone, although they haven't decided yet." Hanajima added quietly, holding her hand close to her mouth in thought. "Truthfully, I'm hoping that they decide against it."

"Huh? Why?" Arisa crossed her arms behind her head and blinked at her. "Hot springs are always great when it's cooler out."

"That's true, but I think I'd rather go with you and Tohru instead." Hanajima answered.

"Well, I guess I'd agree with you on that." Arisa shrugged. "But it's also important to spend time with your family, right?"

"Perhaps." Hanajima smiled faintly and they turned to step into the classroom.

"Speaking of Tohru..." Arisa grinned and raised her head above her head to wave. "Tohru!"

The brunette turned from her conversation with Yuki and smiled broadly, waving back.

"Hana-chan! Uo-chan!"

They approached and she hugged each of them.

"You're here earlier than usual." Arisa looked over at Tohru's desk, where a textbook lay open.

Tohru nodded. "Yuki's helping me with some last-minute studying for the test today, so..."

Yuki smiled and acknowledged the girls. "Although, I don't think you need my help. You seem to know it well enough on your own."

Tohru blushed slightly and waved her hands. "W-Well! I just want to study as much as I can so that I don't fall behind again..."

"You're such a good girl, Tohru." Arisa patted her head. "You're always giving everything your all."

"That's our Tohru." Hanajima slid an arm around Tohru, tilting her head slightly until theirs touched. "You make us so proud."

"You guys are always weird, acting like her parents like that." Kyo muttered under his breath, leaning back in his chair with his feet resting on the desk.

"Eh, what's that, carrot-head?" Arisa's eye twitched and she narrowed her gaze at him.

"What?!" Kyo shot her a glare, sitting straight up in his seat and slamming his hands against the desk. "Say that to my face, you damn punk!"

"I already did, Kyon-Kyon." Arisa smirked slightly, putting her hands on her hips as she leaned forward to tease him. "But if you insist, I'll do it again."

"You wanna fight?!" He stood and clenched his teeth.

"H-H-Hey! Please don't fight!" Tohru stood between them, her hands out. "It's not nice for friends to fight, and we're at school..."

"Friend?" Kyo pointed at Arisa. "I'm not her friend!"

Tohru met his eyes and he blinked, then let out a hot breath before he sat down heavily in his chair, crossing his arms as he looked away and grumbled.

"I'm not going to waste my time with this right now anyway..."

"Sorry." Tohru apologized to her friend.

"What's his problem?" Arisa frowned slightly and gestured to the orange-haired Sohma.

"Ignore him." Yuki smiled faintly, though his voice was cold. "He's been in an especially bad mood today for some reason. Don't bother wasting your effort trying to figure him out."

Kyo twitched slightly in irritation at the comment, but only gripped his arms tightly and scowled as he glanced out the window. "I just have this bad feeling..."

Yuki sighed softly, still faintly smiling as he shrugged. "Or so he's been saying."

"Come to think of it..." Hanajima touched her chin. "I have been feeling some ominous waves ever since this morning. I didn't think much of it, but if you're also sensing it, then it must mean something troubling."

"You sense something as well?" Yuki lowered his eyes slightly in thought. "That's odd."

"So you'll believe her and not me?!" Kyo snapped at Yuki, slamming his hands down again.

"Yes." Yuki met his eyes coldly and maintained an unblinking hard stare before they looked away at the same time.

"Oh!" Tohru held her water bottle away from her, looking down at where it had spilled onto her shirt. "Oh no." She stood, covering her shirt with her hands. "I'll have to go dry it off now."

Arisa looked at the clock. "Homeroom is about to start."

"I'll just dry off in the bathroom really quick." Tohru smiled. "I'll be back before the bell."

"Do you want us to go with you?" Hanajima asked.

"No, that's alright. It won't take long." Tohru shook her head, then quickly left the room and walked down the hall toward the bathroom with a small sigh. "I've been so clumsy today. I wonder if that's a bad sign?"

A loud crack echoed through the hall, followed by a concussive boom and Tohru jumped. Several screams came from the bathroom as several girls ran out.

"What's going on in—"

Tohru ran inside the bathroom, her eyes widening as she saw the walls and floor cracked, the stalls smashed and splintered, and water spraying onto the floor. In the back, in the epicenter of the destruction, sat a beautiful girl her own age. Her long hair covered most of her body, but she sat dazed, and was wounded in several places and bleeding.

"Oh!"

The girl blinked and made contact with her, her own eyes widening slightly.

"She's hurt! I should get help!"

She turned around and hurried out of thebathroom, bumping into a panicked Arisa and Hanajima.

"Tohru! What was that sound?" Arisa looked around, noticing the water spilling out of the bathroom and beginning to trickle down the hallway. "Did someone blow up a toilet as a prank?"

"U-Um...!" Tohru took their hands to pull them inside. "T-There's a girl!"

"Tohru, what's going on?" Arisa asked, her own eyes growing wide as she stared at the strange girl and frowned. "Hey! Who are you and what are you doing, wrecking our bathroom and scaring Tohru?!"

Hanajima winced and pressed her hand to her temple. "There are terribly dark waves here..."

The mystery girl waved one of her hands, and instantly vanished before their eyes.

"S-She's disappeared!" Tohru paled and looked around. "I-Impossible!"

"H-Hey, are you alright?" Arisa put a hand on Hanajima's shoulder, and she shook her head.

"All of a sudden... the dark waves... the pressure is overwhelming. I feel sick..."

"Dammit!" Arisa put her arm around her friend, leading her out of the bathroom. "Let's get you to the nurse."

Tohru nodded, following them out. "But... that girl. Where did she go?"

"We'll worry about that later. But she'll have hell to pay from me." Arisa scowled. "Blowing up the bathroom like that and hurting Hana-chan like this."

"We don't even know if she's the one behind it, so we shouldn't be too hasty." Tohru looked down slightly as she helped guide Hanajima. "Maybe she was hurt by accident when it happened."

"Well, she'd better have a damn good explanation." Arisa grumbled and looked at Hanajima, whose eyes were half-closed in pain as she nearly fainted. "She's never been like this before."

"Oh!" Tohru squeaked.

"What?" Arisa looked at her.

"I thought I saw..." Tohru pressed her lips together. "...It must have just been my imagination, then, but I thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye."