NEPHILIM

Philippians 4:13

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

"Alright, time's up," Okumura-sensei announced. "Please flip your worksheets over and pass them around. That's enough for today. Tomorrow, get up at 6 o'clock, and we'll do the answers to our question and answer session for one hour before attending school."
Rin stood up shakily and trudged towards the door. "I'm just gonna go ... get some air ..."
"Yeah, go cool down ..." Ryuji said, mild concern in his eyes.
"Paku! Let's go take a bath!" Izumo suggested.
"Okay."
"A bath? I'll come too!" Moriyama added, eagerly following after them.
Kachina stretched and laid back on the cool wood floor with a soft groan while Shima tried to convince his fellow guys to peep on the girls during their bath. Then she felt that twinge, which she'd started paying more attention to since the leaper incident. Maybe it was just her intuition or it might even be some kind of spirit trying to tell her, warn her of something but she felt ... off. What's about to happen? She was so consumed by her thoughts and concerns that she didn't quite hear Shima's question.
"What about you, Kachina?"
"Huh?"
"Aren't you going to take a bath with the others?" He gave a perverted grin and she scoffed.
"Nah, güey, nah. But I still stand a much better chance of seeing what's under Shiemi's kimono than you do." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and the boys stared at her speechless. Chills crept up her spine and she sat up, turning towards the doorway with trepidation. The air shifted. She stood up and uttered words that were not her own. It was almost as though she was under water; she couldn't determine what she was saying, only felt the vibration in her chest from a deep, commanding voice.
A collective bloodcurdling scream from down the corridor was the first sound she heard when her hearing returned. After a stumble, she caught herself on the door jamb and raced towards the bathroom, pulling her knife out of her hoodie pocket.
Bursting into the room, she found Noriko collapsed on the floor with severe burns on her arm and face and Shiemi hovered over her, treating her wounds. Izumi cowered behind the lockers, having a meltdown and Rin was currently struggling to fight off a ghoul. Kachina muttered "Tawa", her knife erupting into flames, and charged towards the demon, plunging the blade into its face. The fetid odor of burning flesh wafted into her nose and she nearly gagged. The demon took the opportunity to fling her into the wall and she let out a whimper as shards of tile toppled onto her back, shredding and bruising her skin.
Perhaps she was dazed but she swore she heard gunshots and glass breaking. She glanced up and sure enough, Okumura-sensei stood there, holding a handgun, but the ghoul was gone, having presumably escaped through the high window. He ran over to Noriko to check that her wounds had been treated correctly and Ryuji and Shima helped Kachina up from the rubble.
"You alright?" Ryuji asked.
"Mostly. Anyone see my knife?" She asked as she scanned the floor. "Oh. Nevermind." It's still embedded in that ghoul's eye socket. "Guess I'll have to make another one."
Kachina sat on a bench while Okumura-sensei tended to her wounds and she grimaced with every stitch. She'd always hated needles but she couldn't look away. In a way, she was glad she didn't need blood to summon her familiars.
It was a quiet walk to her room, aided by Ryuji and a shirtless Rin. When she reached her door, she muttered a 'thank you' and skulked inside. She couldn't help but be disappointed in herself. How could I fail? I should've anticipated its actions. Done something ... anything. Now I'm just a liability.

The next morning, Kachina struggled to get out of bed. Her body simply refused to move and her eyes teared up. So weak.
After a few minutes, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in!" She called out. Okumura-sensei entered.
"How are you feeling this morning, Takame-san?"
"I'll live but I'm too sore to move, unfortunately." He didn't seem too surprised and checked my wounds.
"You can stay here and rest for today. I'll bring your homework when we return."
"Thank you." He turned to leave but paused, glancing back at her.
"Do you mind if I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"How did you know the girls were in danger?" She thought back to last night.
"I'm not sure. I suppose it was a gut feeling."
"I see." His eyes showed disbelief and she didn't blame him. But apparently, it was enough for him to leave.