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CAPOW OAV by Dare Cheung THE ALTERNATE EPISODE Note: the entire cast of characters are intentionally written OOC         Kimiko dodged his strike quickly, spinning on her heel and delivering her own kick. The man fell back onto the ground, dazed. Another man tried to put Kimiko in a lock. She arched her head back violently, hitting him hard in the face. He stumbled back. She elbowed him in the stomach, gave a reverse uppercut to his bent over face and ran him into the wall.         From the corner of her eye, she spotted the first man reach into his vest. As he pulled out his gun, Kimiko drew hers and fired. The man's gun flew from his hand and he pulled back in pain. She advanced calmly, gun aimed directly at his chest.         "Any last words, scumbag," Kimiko asked.         The man's expression showed no fear. Instead, there was a blank look on his face as he said, "Please translate the sentence."         "Huh?"         "SOUICHI!"         Kimiko raised her head off the desk. She rubbed her eyes. Oh no! She fell asleep again. She looked to Gauss-sensei, who was staring at her angrily.         "Souichi! Translate the sentence on page 15!"         "Anoo..." she stammered and flipped open her English-Japanese reader. The sentence in the middle of the page read, in Japanese, 'Please open the window.' Her mind raced to figure out the English equivalents. "Anoo.. purease puruttinu the art-a, no?" She looked to Hikaru Chisa, her best friend, who was shaking her head and stifling a giggle. Kimiko glowered at her.         "Souichi! You were sleeping in class again." Gauss-sensei was not asking. "I want you in detention after class. Understood?"         Kimiko's heart sank. "Hai, sensei."         Suddenly the bell rang, indicating the class was over. The various students got up from their desks and began filing out of class, chatting with neighbors and friends. Kimiko slumped her head on the desk and sighed.         "Tsk tsk, daydreaming again, Kimi-chan?" Hikaru asked, hands folded over her textbook.         "Ah Hikaru, you know how boring Gauss-sensei's class is," she replied, after seeing Talon Gauss leave. She got up slowly, stretching.         "So, were you dreaming about him?"         Kimiko blinked and hit her playfully with the english reader. "No you baka! I wasn't dreaming of him." Her eyes went a little distant at the mention of 'him'. "Actually, I dreamt I was this international spy and I was about to eliminate this evil terrorist that was planning to destroy the world."         Hikaru gave her a look. "You have the strangest dreams, Kimi-chan." She looked out the window with a determined mark in her eyes. "One day, I'm going to become a famous singer. I'll end all wars and conflict with my beautiful voice and a well-written song."         "Ne, I think you watch too much anime," Kimiko commented. She glanced at her watch. "NANI! I'm late for homeroom!! JA NE!" She sped out of the class, leaving behind a small trail of dust. Hikaru sweatdropped. ---         The trail of dust and debris ended at room B1-2, in the second level of Jinnohara academy. Kimiko panted hard, trying to catch her breath when she noticed Elyssa and HIM. Her face went red.         "Ahlen-sempai," Elyssa said in an almost lyrical voice. She batted her eyelashes girlishly as she brushed up to his side. "I made you a terrific lunch today, won't you join me? Ne? Ne?"         Ahlen gulped, unsure what to say. Abruptly, he was jerked in the other direction by Kimiko. "Ahlen-sempai is having lunch with me!" Kimiko growled at Elyssa. "Ne, sempai?" she looked up into his eyes, hers filled with little hearts.         Ahlen was about to speak when he was grabbed by Elyssa again. "Hey you! I asked him first!"         "Well, maybe he doesn't want to!" Kimiko yelled, pulling Ahlen back the other way.         "Why don't you let him choose?!" replied Elyssa, grabbing him back. Ahlen stepped out from between the two as they closed in on each other, fists tightly clenched at their sides and electricity flying from their eyes.         "Ohayo, onii-chan," a girl's voice said as she walked by. She gave Ahlen an innocent kiss on the cheek and continued to her desk. Ahlen watched her all the way to her seat. Kimiko and Elyssa noticed this too and they sidestepped to one side simultaneously.         "Ne, I hate it when she does that!" Elyssa asked behind her hand.         "I think it's sick, his own sister too! Who does she think she is?" Kimiko whispered back.         "Sister, hah! They don't even look alike!"         "Hey, why are we whispering?" asked a third voice. They looked down to see Madoka-sensei and sweat dropped. They retreated back to their desks behind Ahlen's.         The short red-haired teacher jumped up to her desk and sat down, one leg crossed over the other. "All right class, I'd like to introduce a new transfer student." A student, male, presented himself before the class. His head was lowered. "This is Dachend Yajin," Madoka-sensei indicated.         Dachend raised his head. Everyone gasped. The students began whispering. "Is that his eyes?" "Where are his pupils?" "He looks scary."         The bell rang and the short homeroom period was over. Ahlen rose and began to leave the classroom. Elyssa and Kimiko intercepted him immediately, walking behind on either side. Then, they each felt an arm around their shoulders. "Ah, my two goddesses," Susano-sempai announced. "You two will be joining me for lunch, ne?"         "I'd rather be dead," Kimiko answered. Elyssa just turned her face away.         "Ooh, playing hard to get," Susano said. "I like that."         "How about if you like this?" responded Kimiko with a stomp on his foot. The girls walked away as Susano hopped on one leg, holding his injured foot. The two students beside him tried not to laugh.         "What are you looking at?!" he contested. They apologized immediately. Susano looked around and glimpsed Dachend. "Hey, that's the new guy, right?"         "Hai, Susano-sama," one of the students replied.         He cracked his knuckles. "I think the new guy should be shown how things work here. C'mon, let's go." The two students followed him down the hallway. ---         Down in the dark recesses of Jinnohara academy, a light appeared from nowhere, illuminating the boiler room. A single green splotch appeared over the boiler and began to emit a pulsing glow. Within minutes it began to multiply. ---         Dachend grimaced in pain as Susano's fist hit his stomach while two students were holding his arms back. "Listen new guy," Susano said, "I'm the boss around here, so whatever I say goes. Got it?" He emphasized the last point with another jab. Dachend looked up weakly. "Hey, what's with your eyes, you some kind of freak?"         "Hey, leave him alone!" a voice ordered. An older student came rushing in and knocked down the two that were holding Dachend. He went face-to-face with Susano. "Go pick on someone else."         Neither blinked for a moment but Susano decided to back off. He lowered his head and brushed back his hair. "Careful who you're messing with. I've got friends, even in the upper years." He nodded to his two goons and they left.         The blond haired student knelt by Dachend. "Hey, are you okay?"         "Ugh, I think so," Dachend moaned, clutching his stomach. The student pulled out a water bottle and offered it to him. "Thanks."         "No problem," the student said. "What's your name?"         "Dachend Yajin," Dachend said. "I'm new here," he decided to add.         The student smiled warmly. "I figured as much. Susano's got some sort of thing with new students. He's got to establish his 'turf' so to speak." He offered his hand. "Dachend huh? Strange name. My name's Dracho. Dracho'xian."         Dachend took his hand and Dracho'xian pulled him upright. "Uh, you don't seem frightened by them," Dachend asked.         Dracho'xian laughed. "Susano? They're a bunch of assholes." Dachend winced at his language. Dracho smiled and took a seat on the grass beside him. "Stick with me and you'll be fine." He paused. "Say, have you joined any clubs yet?"         The pupil-less student shook his head. "Umm no," he muttered under his breath.         "Great! I know what you need. I'm in the aikido club, why don't you sign up and we can train together. It's great for building self-confidence. No offence, Dachend, but you don't strike me as the kind of guy that has much self-confidence."         "Umm.. well, I guess," he muttered shyly. "I mean, at least other people would stop picking on me."         Dracho'xian stared at Dachend's eyes for a second. "I understand. That's why you transferred here?" he probed. "Always getting picked on because you look different?" Dachend nodded reluctantly.         They both got up, Dracho'xian giving him a hardy slap on the back. "Don't worry Dachend, one day you'll be super-confident. I can just see it now." He moved his hands in a grand gesture. "One day, you'll be so confident, heck, people'll think you're one arrogant asshole!" Dracho'xian grinned wickedly. Dachend chuckled a little. As they walked off together, Draco'xian continued, "You know my dream? I dream I'm a dashing samurai, skilled in the art of sword fighting..." ---         The gym room was cool as the girls filed out of the change rooms. They were dressed in regular exercise clothes, tight shorts and a plain white t-shirt. They organized quickly in their home formation before a tall and foreboding gym teacher, Ryan-sensei. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses and he gritted a plastic whistle in his mouth. There were rumors that he had gone through several whistles because he practically chewed on them. Ryan-sensei held a volleyball under his arm and a clipboard in the other. He scanned up and down the rows while he took attendance.         Kimiko rubbed her chilly thighs. Elyssa leaned over to her. "Hey, I heard you got into detention," she whispered with grin. "I guess you won't be free to watch Ahlen tonight, ne?" She laughed mockingly at her.         "Au Yeung!" Ryan snapped. "What's so funny?"         "Nothing, sensei!" Elyssa responded quickly.         "Nothing? All right, give me 3 laps around the gym then! MOVE!"         It was Kimiko's turn to laugh.         "Souichi Kimiko! You can join her too if you think it's so funny." Kimiko facefaulted. "Anyone else find anything funny?" The other girls remained perfectly motionless. Ryan-sensei grinned.         The two girls ran their three laps, almost making a contest out of it. As they raced, they began pushing and shoving at each other. Elyssa tried to trip Kimiko but she deftly danced out of the way. Kimiko attempted to push Elyssa into the wall but Elyssa sped ahead and Kimiko nearly slammed into it herself. After three short laps, they returned to their places, neither claiming much victory.         Ryan-sensei tossed the volleyball into the air a few times. "Alright ladies, the game is dodge ball. Rows 1 and 3 will play against rows 2 and 4." He blew his whistle and they immediately stood to attention. "Alright, get into your teams!" ---         Elyssa Au Yeung stared down her mortal enemy. It was only she and Kimiko left in the match. All the others had been eliminated. Now it was time for some serious hurting, she decided. Elyssa clutched the ball in her hand and ran hard towards the line separating the playing field. Kimiko stood ready, not moving. If she could catch the ball, Elyssa would be eliminated. But Elyssa would make sure that wouldn't happen.         She twisted back her torso and whipped the ball. Kimiko blinked and decided she couldn't catch it and narrowly jumped out of the way. She retrieved the ball and bounced it a few times strongly. She palmed the ball with both hands, took a running start and leapt into the air. From a few feet above, she launched the ball down wards at Elyssa.         Elyssa stood steadfast as the ball came hurtling at her. She clenched her eyes as the ball impacted her chest. Reflexively she closed her arms around it quickly. She felt herself fly back a little and she landed on her butt. Opening her eyes slowly, she saw a shocked Kimiko and a white ball clutched loosely in her arms. She won.         Her teammates gathered around her and cheered for winning the game. The other girls consoled Kimiko with a pat on the back, mutterings of "It's only a game" and "Great job" were passed to her. However, Kimiko took the loss harshly and glared at her opponent who was now sticking her tongue at her and pulling down an eyelid.         The shrill from Ryan-sensei's tooth-marked whistle immediately sent the girls back to their rows. "Good job rows 2 and 4. Okay ladies, hit the showers! Class is over!" The girls raced back to the changeroom. ---         Jinnnohara academy had built the boys and girls change rooms right next to each other so they could share plumbing. Susano took this layout to his advantage as he pried back one of the loose bricks near the top of the wall partitioning the showers. The ladder he was on wobbled slightly.         "Hey, you bakas!" he yelled. "Keep it steady down there!"         "Hai, Susano-sama," his two lackeys responded as they held the ladder straight for him.         He got his fingers around the seams of the brick and pulled it out. Light crept through as he peered into the other change room. He could hear the running water of the showers and voices of the girls as they washed off their sweaty bodies. "Where are you, my bathing goddesses?" he asked himself, looking for Kimiko and Elyssa. The ladder wobbled a bit more. "Hey I said keep it steady!"         "Susano-san," a voice said. Susano blinked. That didn't sound like one of his guys. He looked down to see a dark glassed teacher with a whistle around his neck. "Susano-san, what are we doing up there, hmm?"         Ryan kicked the ladder and it toppled down, sending Susano flying. Ryan walked over to his flattened body. "I think you and your friends should stick around after school. For DETENTION!" He blew into his whistle. "DISMISSED!" Susano and his friends scrambled out of the boys changeroom.         Looking around, Ryan decided he was finally alone. Quickly, he grabbed the fallen ladder and propped it back up right. Climbing up, he grinned as he went to take a look for himself at the girl's change room. He chewed on his whistle as he lifted up his sunglasses. He saw some movement. He leaned up a bit more, trying to get a better angle on the girl's bodies.         The ladder teetered slightly. Ryan looked down to see the base leg snap in half. The entire wooden frame collapsed and the hentai gym-teacher came down with it. "Itai..." he groaned on the cold stone floor. ---         Elyssa rinsed the shampoo from her hair. "Ne, Kimiko, did you hear something?"         "What? No, I didn't," she replied stiffly, still bitter over her loss.         Elyssa shrugged and reached for the soap but Kimiko grabbed it first. "Hey!" The other girls screamed as the war continued in the showers. ---         The last bell of the day rang at 3:15pm. The chatter of students at Jinnohara academy was enough indication that school was over for yet another day. For a few, it might going home to relax and start on homework. For the rest, it meant two things: clubs or detention.         For Kimiko, it was the latter. She strolled into the familiar detention room (which was really just a classroom) and saw the familiar set of faces. The teacher on detention duty, Namida-sensei walked in just as glumly. Neither teachers or students wanted to be in detention.         "All right you know the drill. Present ID, sign the sheet with your name, number and which teacher sent you here." She watched as each student showed their card and signed the sheet. After all the students had signed it, she took it back to his seat. She almost chuckled and remarked in a dull voice, "I see we have students from both Ryan-sensei and Gauss-sensei. That's two for two today." She sat down at the front desk, put her feet up and pulled out a newspaper from her briefcase.         Kimiko stared out the window. In the courtyard outside she could make out the aikido club practicing their drills. She sighed. A group of students had gathered on the lawn to watch them practice. Mostly girls. She was supposed to be there too, watching Ahlen. At least Elyssa was tied up in a tennis match, so neither had the upper hand this time.         A piece of crumpled paper landed in front of her. She opened it and read the note. "Turn around," it said. She did. A grinning Susano-sempai was waving at her. She frowned and whipped the note back at him. ---         "Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Dachend meekly, holding the wooden practice sword.         "Aw c'mon Dachend! It's easy. Besides, aikido builds character." Dracho'xian grinned, resting the sword on his shoulder. He pointed to Ahlen, at the front of the group. "See that guy? That's Ahlen-san. He's the captain of the aikido club."         "That means he's the best?"         "Well, not necessarily. He's got a lot of leadership so that's why he was chosen as captain. Well, that and the fact nobody has beaten him once. You know what I hear though? He's quite the ladies man. He's got two separate girls chasing after him and he doesn't do a thing. Oh and his sister! She acts like his lover or something. That's pretty sick huh?"         "I guess," Dachend responded.         "Dachend, Dachend, Dachend," the blond student chided. "C'mon don't you have an opinion on it?"         "I dunno."         "Mou! Anyway, the way I see it, either he's a real idiot when it comes to girls or he's playing innocent just to spur them all on. Pretty diabolical, ja?"         "All right Dachend," a voice called out. It was Ahlen. He almost jumped at his name. "Since you're new here, you can spar with me."         Dachend gulped. He looked to Dracho'xian for guidance but just got a wink for reassurance.         "Remember everything I told you!"         The new student nodded and took his place before Ahlen, whose sword was already raised. The arbiter of the match raised his hand and lowered it. "BEGIN!" ---         Elyssa picked at the strings on her racquet, straightening them out. She stretched a little, pulling her limbs and loosening her muscles. She smoothed out her plain white tennis skirt and adjusted her headband. She stood for a few moments, feeling out the wind. Pretty calm today, she remarked. Tossing the ball up into the air, she arched back and rotated her arm around her body, letting the momentum swing through the serve. The ball landed perfectly in the other box.         "All warmed up yet?" Rekishi-sempai asked. He was the captain of the tennis team, and rather handsome but Elyssa already had her eyes set on Ahlen. Besides, she knew Rekishi already had a girlfriend.         "Hai, sempai," she said.         He checked his clipboard. "Okay, today you're facing, anoo.. ah here it is. Lyta."         Elyssa nearly fumbled on her serve. She took a look at the clipboard. Lyta Fireheart vs. Elyssa Au Yeung. She grinned to herself. She would rout her opponent and she'd feel definitely good about it. ---         Tick. Tick. Tick. The sound of the second hand moving on the clock was all Kimiko could focus on. The green-haired teacher, Namida-sensei was either asleep or reading the same page over and over. Several of the students had gathered into groups to chat instead of remaining quiet as was the rule for detention. She looked out the window again to see the students cheering on the two combatants. Was that Ahlen?         A figure blocked her view. She didn't have to look up to know it was Susano-sempai.         "Ah Kimiko-chan," he declared. "It's rather miraculous destiny that we end up in detention together, don't you think?"         She turned to face the other way. "I think it's more like life's little tortures."         Susano hopped over the desk to her other side. "C'mon Kimiko-chan, don't deny how you feel about me. Is it Elyssa that's bothering you? I'm perfectly fine with both of you, ne?" He raised an eyebrow to emphasize his point.         She rolled her eyes upwards and turned back the other way. She noticed now that the group of students in the aikido club had all gathered around the two people in the middle. What happened? She got up to take a closer look. Namida-sensei cleared her throat.         "Excuse me, you two? Please return to your desks." She didn't even wait for an acknowledgement before returning to the newspaper. The students returned to their desks. Kimiko stared at the clock again, waiting for the seconds to tick by so she could leave.         Suddenly everything around them exploded. ---         "HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!" Dracho'xian swore in amazement. "OH MY GOD! You know how amazing you were?!" He was practically prancing over Dachend.         The new transfer student was standing over a defeated Ahlen, who showed an similar shock on his face. So did Dachend.         Ahlen got up slowly, his pride a little hurt from the loss. He had yet to meet his match in aikido until today. He gave Dachend a deep bow and presented him his sword, lying flat on both hands. "Dachend-san, if you wish, you can claim captainship of the aikido club."         Dachend stood motionless, his mind raced unsure what to do. "Umm.. n-no.. no thanks." He turned down the offer and walked away. Dracho'xian chased after him.         "WHAT? Are you nuts! Did you see how good you fought? I mean, I thought Ahlen was good but you're ten times better than him!"         "I don't think I'm ready for that kind of responsibility, I'm sure Ahlen-san makes a great captain for the club."         Dracho'xian slapped his forehead. "Aw man, we really need a little assertiveness 101 training here."         The pupil-less student shrugged then forced a grin. "Well, even if I did kick his butt."         Dracho'xian laughed heartily and gave him a friendly punch. "Hehehe. that's the spirit!"         Suddenly, a loud explosion knocked them to the ground. ---         Elyssa wiped the sweat from her brow. She had taken the first set 6-4 and lost the second set 3-6. Now, she was serving up 6-5 in the third yet she was facing two break points. She swallowed hard. Damn, Lyta was better than she imagined. She would be lucky to come out with a victory.         She bounced the yellow tennis ball a few times before readying her serve. Arching back, she tried for serve out wide. She hadn't done one in a while and hoped to catch Lyta off guard. If she could pull it off without faulting. She tossed the ball up and delivered.         "FAULT!"         Elyssa cursed. She gave Rekishi-sempai a look. He shrugged. Elyssa bit her lip and took out another ball. Now she had to get it in the box, nothing fancy. She served straight this time.         Lyta grunted as she returned the serve down to the middle of the baseline. They exchanged several forehands before Elyssa decided to switch to a backhand slice. The ball curved low on the bounce and Lyta scrambled to reach it before it hit the ground again. She barely got it back over the net. Elyssa took the opportunity to send a passing shot down the left-hand side. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lyta stretch out and volley it back the other way. The angle of her racquet sent the ball at an obscure direction away from Elyssa. Her reflexes started towards it but she knew she could't reach it. She let go and watched the ball land in and then out of the court.         "Game, Fireheart. 6 games all, third set. Lyta will serve first in the tiebreak."         Suddenly, the windows from the school building exploded outwards, interrupting the match. ---         Kimiko picked herself off the floor. She found small cuts across her arms and legs. She felt her face and was relieved to find no blood. She looked around. The classroom was a mess. A third of the inner wall was missing, leaving debris all over the floor. Several students were unconscious, including Samui-sensei. She saw Susano-sempai stirring. Darn, too bad it hadn't killed him, she mused darkly.         Rushing over to his side, she turned him over. His eyes fluttered before regaining consciousness. He tried to focus. "Oh, am I in heaven?" He tried to stroke her cheek.         She batted his arm away. "No, but you're gonna be in hell if you don't get up!"         "Oww.." he said, getting up slowly. Then he noticed the debris. "What happened?!"         Kimiko put his arm over her shoulder and helped him limp out of the classroom. They walked down the hall stopped at the sight of what was staring back at them. Kimiko screamed. ---         "What the hell?!" Dracho'xian cursed as he picked himself up. A moment earlier he saw the windows blow out of the classrooms. He looked around to see the other boys had been knocked to the ground as well. He helped Dachend up.         "What was that?" Dachend asked.         Suddenly, the doors burst open and something hideous emerged. Actually, many things hideous. They were green with fangs and tentacled hands. Several of the students screamed and ran off. A few that were unlucky enough to be caught instantly fell unconscious. A blue nimbus surrounded each figure that caught a student.         "They look like demons," Dachend breathed, "and they're sucking their energy!"         "C'mon, let's get outta here!"         Dachend heaved his wooden sword. "We can't. We gotta do something."         "Great time to build some self-confidence!" Dracho'xian responded sarcastically.         Several monsters were approaching on Ahlen, who was scrambling away as best he could. A few green tentacles shot out and he dodged them, somehow. Dachend raised his sword and rushed one of them, sending a strike downwards as hard as he could.         The monster he attacked howled in pain. "Ahlen-san, use your sword!" Dachend yelled.         Ahlen rolled over to his left and grabbed a nearby practice sword. He raced towards one of the monsters and, at his speed, impaled it painfully. It howled before turning to green dust. The particles blew away in the wind. ---         Lyta let the ball drop as the explosion caught their attention. Everyone's eyes turned back to the school to see what was the matter. Then came the terrified screams. They were ugly and a lot of them. Green with long, tentacle like hands, came rushing into the tennis courts. The students ran. A few of them were wrapped up and collapsed after their energy had been drained.         Elyssa fled away from one, but another three were approaching and there was no other exits to the tennis court. She stumbled into Lyta who was holding her tennis racquet protectively.         "Just before we die," Elyssa stammered, "I just want to know, do you like Ahlen?"         Lyta blinked. "Of course, he's my onii-chan." She felt angry, but she didn't know why. "And I won't let these monsters hurt him." Letting the racquet fall to the ground, she raised her hands instinctively. A ball of energy and fire formed from nowhere between her palms. A word rose forth from her mind. "FIREBALL!"         The ball of fire flew from her hands and engulfed two of the monsters. The remaining two lunged with their tentacles, one grabbing Elyssa, the other missing Lyta. Elyssa shrieked as she felt the energy being drained from her body.         Lyta reacted quickly. Again, she felt energy form in her hands and unleashed another attack. A different one this time. "FLAME ARROW!" she yelled as two fiery projectiles impacted both monsters. They incinerated immediately and reduced to dust.         She checked on Elyssa who was still conscious but weak. Grabbing her arm, she helped her up and they began to limp back to the school. ---         Kimiko screamed as the monster grabbed at them. One tentacle latched onto Susano. Within seconds, he slumped back into unconsciousness as his energy was drained. Kimiko backtracked into the classroom. The monster lumbered around the corner and peered at her from the hole in the wall. She looked around desperately, there was no exit. The drop from the window would probably break her neck.         The monster tore through the wall and growled at her. She gasped as another tentacle shot out. Dodging it with remarkable speed, she kicked a desk and it slid at the monster, knocking it down. Kimiko looked around frantically for anything that could be used as a weapon. A shiny metal object caught her eye.         It lay a few feet from Samui-sensei's open briefcase. It looked oddly like a gun but it looked a lot more futuristic from some science-fiction anime. She picked it up slowly but quickened as she realized the monster was getting back up. She aimed and squeezed the trigger uncertainly. Click. Nothing happened. The monster was back on its feet and quite angry.         Kimiko squeezed the trigger faster this time. Click. Click. Click. Nothing happened. She fumbled with the gun in her hand as the monster started towards her, growling. She felt her finger flip a switch and she tried firing again. It emitted a burst of light that went straight through the monster's chest. It howled in pain before turning into dust.         Racing back into the hallway, she spied more green monsters coming her way. She fired without hesitation, her aim true and deadly. The monsters disintegrated into dust.         Footsteps behind her caught her ear. She turned around and aimed. Ahlen, Dachend and an older student all froze and dropped their wooden swords. "Don't shoot!" Dracho'xian shouted. "We surrender!"         Kimiko exhaled and lowered her arms. She heard a voice yell out behind her and saw Lyta drag in a weak Elyssa. She raced over to the two, helping Elyssa. "You okay?"         Susano stirred once more. Apparently he had not been fully drained like the other victims. Dachend marched over to him as he was trying to get up. He felt Dachend grab him by the collar.         "Ohayo, Susano, remember me? I'm the new fucking kid!" He hit Susano squarely in the jaw, who promptly slumped back to the floor.         Dracho'xian gave him a thumbs up and said to Ahlen, "I'm helping him find his own self-confidence."         "Seems like it's working," Ahlen agreed.         The girls rejoined the boys. "Where'd you get the neat gun?" Dracho'xian asked Kimiko.         She shrugged. "I found it near Namida-sensei's briefcase. Why would she be carrying it though? And it looks weird."         "Namida-sensei's a new teacher here," Elyssa said, regaining a bit more of her strength. "I don't think we really know anything about her."         "I think she's the least of our worries," Dracho'xian said. "What are those monsters and where did they come from?"         "They come from another dimension," a voice said. They turned to see a weary Samui stagger through the battered doorway of the classroom. "They've manifested your basement boiler room as their energy source. If we destroy that, we can destroy them all."         "How do you know all this?" Ahlen asked suspiciously.         "Let's say I work for some government organization," Samui lied. The expression on their faces told her they didn't believe her. "All right, I saw it in some anime! But it's true! I was down in the boiler room earlier and there was some strange thing growing in there. We have to destroy it."         "Wait, wait," Elyssa said. "Why the heck are we going to risk our necks to stop this thing?"         "We have to," Namida-sensai said. "C'mon it'll be just like in that anime what's it called? Oh, I forgot, but we'll be heroes!" Her expression became more serious. "Besides, we have to or else they'll attack people in the city."         "Not to mention they trashed our school!" added Dracho'xian with a bit of perk in his voice. "C'mon, let's go!" He led the way with Dachend and Ahlen following close behind. Lyta followed after her brother.         Kimiko lingered, still helping with Elyssa. She paused and handed the weapon back to Samui. "Explain this?"         "I dunno, I picked it up at an anime convention. Looks like a real weapon doesn't it?"         She sighed. "Namida-sensei?" Kimiko asked, "Please talk to my friend, Hikaru Chisa, if we ever get out of this alive. I think you two would have lots to discuss." ---         The boiler room was located in the basement of Jinnohara academy. The students engaged in several more monsters along the way. The boys used their wooden swords quickly and efficiently, dispatching the monsters as they went. Occasionally, Lyta let fly some more fire magic, much to the amazement of the boys, especially Ahlen. Namida-sensei helped Elyssa as Kimiko brought up the rear, shooting anything that emerged behind them.         The final door to the boiler was blocked by the slumped body of the english teacher, Gauss-sensei. Broken glass lay crumpled beside his bloodied head. Samui picked him up gingerly. He awoke.         "Oh, my head," he groaned. "Samui-san," he said. "We got to get the students out of the building. There's something evil in there, something monstrous."         "Shhh.." she whispered. "We're going to get rid of it."         They hauled open the boiler room doors and stood in awe. A large green mass was sitting on top of the four boilers that heated the school. It pulsed disgustingly, emanating blue light from it's slimy body. "We've got to destroy it," said Namida-sensei.         "How?" Dachend asked.         "Let me try," Kimiko volunteered. She brought the gun and aimed quickly. She released the trigger a few times, the bursts of light impacting the green mass. It did little visible damage.         "Uh, we're going to be a while if we keep that up," Elyssa observed gravely.         A throng of growls was heard down the hall. "I think it just got some reinforcements," Ahlen noticed.         Kimiko kept firing but Lyta put a hand on her arm. "I've got a better idea. Onii-chan, lend me your sword."         Ahlen gave it to her without question. Meanwhile, more monsters were emerging from the shadows of the basement hallways. Kimiko turned her aim on them instead. "Hurry up, Lyta-san!"         Lyta closed her eyes. She had no idea where this was coming from or if it would work. But deep in her heart, she knew it was the only chance they had to destroy this...this whatever it was. One final tap into her energy reserve and she channeled it into the wooden sword. "Spirits of magic, elements of fire, heed my call; With your eternal power, bind thyself to my blade; Together, smite down those who would stand in my path; And burn them in my fiery inferno ... FLAME SLAVE!"         She flung the massive build up of energy that latched itself onto the blade of the sword in a downward swing. It arced out and blasted into the green pulsating mass. The monsters the rest of the group was fighting began to scream in pain and fell to their knees. They changed back to dust. But the dark green mass began to pulse faster and faster.         "Uh oh, I think we better get out of here," Namida-sensei declared. She helped Elyssa up. Ahlen picked up his weakened sister while Dachend and Dracho'xian lifted up Gauss-sensei. Kimiko lingered a moment after the rest of the students left. The green mass was contracting violently.         They raced from the under halls of Jinnohara basement. Elyssa stumbled a little and Kimiko helped her back up with an assuring smile. They fled up the stairs to the first floor when the loud explosion knocked them to the ground. Dust and smoke filled the air and they coughed trying to clear their lungs. Eventually it settled and all remained quiet.         They went outside to where the air was cleaner. Various students lay unconscious around the buildings. Piles of dust flew through the air, the remnants of the strange monsters that had attacked them. All the windows of the building had been shattered and a large smoking cloud was coming from the eastern end of the building where the gym and boiler room was.         "I guess there's no school tomorrow," chuckled Kimiko. Her mind immediately began formulating. "Ne, Ahlen, why don't we go to the mall tomorrow?"         "Hey! No fair!" Elyssa had her hands on her hips.         "Anoo.. " Ahlen said softly. "Maybe we can all go together." He helped his sister up and she gave him a nod.         Kimiko glared at Elyssa. She glared back. "Alright," Elyssa agreed. As Ahlen and Lyta walked further away, Elyssa turned to her rival. "Uh.. I just want to thank you, Kimiko-chan."         She blinked. "For what?"         "For helping me get out down there."         "Like I was really going to leave you behind. Don't be silly, Elyssa-chan!"         The stared for a moment. "Did you just realize we called each other like that?"         Kimiko blushed. "I guess, we're sort of friends, right?" Elyssa nodded and they hugged. They let go and Elyssa adjusted her headband, dirty from the dust and smoke, and smiled. Kimiko smiled back.         "Kimiko-chan," Elyssa called out softly. "There's something I want to tell you. You know how we always fight over Ahlen?" Kimiko nodded. "Well, I think I do it more cuz I like competing with you."         "Huh? What are you saying?"         "Well," Elyssa looked away and brushed her tennis skirt. "I think that I like having your attention. Oh gee, now you think I'm sort of ecchi girl who's all screwed up--" Her eyes widened as Kimiko put a finger over her lips and winked.         "It's okay, Elyssa-chan."         "It is?" Elyssa breathed.         "I think I knew."         "When?"         "When you grabbed me in the shower today." She smiled.         "I DID NOT GRAB YOU IN THE SHOWER!"         "YOU DID TOO! WHEN YOU JUMPED ON ME!"         Dracho'xian loomed over the two. "I think I'm going to have a nosebleed," he declared.         The two girls sweatdropped and scurried after Ahlen, pushing and shoving each other still. Dracho'xian decided they would always be like that. He looked to Dachend who was staring at the ruined school. "So Dachend, guess school's out huh?" He put a friendly hand on Dachend's shoulder. "Now, tell me.. how many swear words do you know?" [THE END?]