Trouble 9-part 3(Mutou Hikaru)

Yuuya anxiously glanced at the door. It's been an hour, and Ren still hasn't come back. He felt worried. The entire time, Yuuya had been fidgeting and acting like a scalding cat- restless and distressed.

The baldy, no, Teacher Sawaki, their History teacher, is seriously lecturing them about their next week's monthly exam. He had been preaching for over 30 minutes, and almost all students inside the classroom incessantly yawned, could barely open their eyes.

The one who seemed to listen attentively is actually staring blankly at the teacher while their minds wandered to who know nowhere. And, the nervous Yuuya didn't focus his attention on the teacher either. He is acting suspiciously, and the twin notices his strangeness.

The twin in front exchanged a glance. Their eyes somehow landed on the empty seat of Hazama Ren and then discreetly returned to the pale face of Yuuya. They both tacitly nodded their head as a flash of realization crossed their eyes.

After their break ended, the twin had actually asked Yuuya about Ren's whereabouts. Yuuya said nothing and fiercely glared at them, expressing, "Mind your own business."

Not wanting to make him angry, they reluctantly let go of this question.

When the teacher asked Yuuya about his missing deskmate, Yuuya informed him that Ren was sick and resting in the infirmary due to stomachache. Of course, the teacher believed it, and soon, he forgot about the matter. However, the twin did not buy such an incredulous lie.

Ren was brimming with energy just before they parted from the school cafeteria. He seemed eager about something, although there's a hint of anxiousness stirring within those silver eyes.

Nevertheless, the twin unceasingly roasted Yuuya, coaxing and persuading him to tell them the truth. Yet, Yuuya adamantly repeated the same excuse with quivering eyes. He also let out a dry laugh and tried very hard to dismiss the twin's probing gazes.

Actually, as his friend who spent three years together, they were familiar with his habit and tic.

When Yuuya tells a lie, his eyes quiver, and he will never look straight at the person in front of him as if he has a guilty conscience. He also will subconsciously scratch his nape and awkwardly laugh. They could coerce him, patiently guide the truth from his mouth, yet neither Tomoya nor Mahiru was willing to receive Yuuya's admonishment later on.

The twin only pursed their lips and continuously observed their friend's odd behavior.

Yuuya felt like he was sitting on a hash of needles. He felt uncomfortable.

Damn it, Ren. You said you would go for only ten minutes. Almost an hour passed, and you still not returned? What happened? Is his life in danger? Don't tell me that he had become the victim of the strange disappearance case? What should I do? That kid seemed proud and haughty before he went, so he thought Ren actually knew what he was doing. He must have a thorough preparation. Right? No one was stupid enough to blindly charge into an enemy(?) camp, even if he's a bit skeptical with Ren.

Yuuya pinched his temples in distress. Oh, my god. Please come back soon.

A scream suddenly rang in the classroom, interrupting the teacher's boring speech. A girl stood in disbelief as she pointed at the outside of the window. Her finger is trembling.

"There's a smoke! The school is on fire!"

The rest of the students blankly looked at each other. The words barely descended inside their muddleheaded brains(due to the lengthy speech that could even lull a baby to sleep soundlessly). Their expressions were hinting the same thing, "What nonsense is this girl spouting? Can't you see everyone is bored to death? Why would you want to crack such a heavy joke in the middle of nowhere?"

The girl is disappointed with her classmates' insipid reactions. She angrily jabbed the air, saying, "I'm not joking. Look! The black smoke is evaporating in the air!"

Once she finished her sentence, coincidentally, the fire alarm reverberated across the school, followed by an announcement. And, from a distance, the blaring emergency signal of firetruck resounding, making the tranquility of the school's atmosphere crack and nervousness aroused within every students' hearts. They finally realized the severity of the situation that they thought of as a joke just a while ago.

However, the familiar voice of someone who informed them of the reason for the sudden announcement swiftly calmed everyone's anxious expressions. Seichirou's casual tone presided over it, said, "The Black Forest behind the school's building is burning. The students are advised to regroup at the assembly point in an orderly manner. Do follow the procedure during our fire exercise meeting calmly. There's no need to panic. The fire is within control, and if you guys obediently followed my instruction, no one would get injured over nothing. Class Representatives, please do your job properly and lead your classmates through their evacuation routes. Thank you."

Yuuya sat rigidly in his seat. He seemed to be in a bewildered state. The Dark Forest is burning? Didn't Ren enter that forest an hour ago? How could-

"Yuu. Let's go." Tomoya poked his friend's cheek.

Yuuya snapped back from his stupor. He dumbly stared at the twin.

"Huh?"

"You had been acting weird since our break." Tomoya's eyebrows wrinkled in displeasure. "What are you hiding?"

Mahiru propped his chin over his twin's shoulder. His eyes are shining with indescribable glints. One eyebrow rose, implicitly expressed, "I know you're hiding something from us."

"Yeah. How strange. Even the new kid is missing. And, how come the forbidden forest unexpectedly got caught in the fire? Is this a coincidence or...?"

Yuuya nervously shifted his gazes.

The twin's fervent gazes bore into the back of his head. He wanted to stab their eyes, so they stopped looking at him.

"The three of you!" Their class leader's voice rang across the almost empty classroom. He approached them hastily and ushered the remaining students to move. "Hurry up! We need to go to the assembly point right now."

"Oh. That's right. We need to go." Yuuya hopped up from his seat and scampered behind their class leader. He disregarded the twin's fierce glare and rushed outside.

"Makihara!" The class leader once again yelled their name.

"Coming." Mahiru shrugged his shoulders and pushed his older brother to move forward. "Come on, Tomo. We need to go."

Tomoya's unconcealed dissatisfaction marred across his handsome face. He snorted in response.

"That's brat is bold enough to ignore my question." He pouted.

"Yes, yes. We could talk later. Hurry up and walk." Mahiru appeased him.

"Hmph." Tomoya reluctantly dragged by his twin.

-------

The two culprits who caused the fire inside the forest are currently hiding from the probing gazes of the onlookers.

They are sitting with their legs stretched forward, behind a storage building, heaving out a relieved breath.

Their faces were full of smoke, and specks of dirt covered their bodies. Their school's uniforms are in tatters. Their messy and disheveled state would undoubtedly arouse pity from the others. They looked like that they had been escaping from a dire and dangerous situation, which was true.

Beside Ren laid a fluffy ball, resembled a sticky dumpling. That dumpling affectionately rubbed its flurry head around its owner's leg. Its contented purring echoed in the background as Ren rhythmically scratched Tabby's chin and sometimes under his belly only to tease the lazy cat. Then, Tabby will yowl in vexation.

Tabby's fur is full of haze. A patch of its fur is dyed black, and its majestic look is unrecognizable. The cat looked miserable.

"Thanks, Tabby," Ren said in a grateful tone. "You saved our lives today."

Tabby meowed in response. The smugness within its coquettish tone had evidently seeped out from its body.

"Okay. I will give you a sumptuous treat later."

"Meow~"

"Okay, okay. I promised. Don't worry."

Tabby blinked its eyes adorably. As it is satisfied with Ren's answer, Tabby proceeds to lick its dirty fur. It needs to cleanse its sloven furs and make them shine and sparkle. It detests filth as much as those gut-wrenching ghouls.

Hikaru dumbly stared at the human and cat's interaction.

"You could understand him." The words were blurted out as a statement and not a question. "Is that thing really a cat? How could he..."

Ren admonished him immediately.

"Tabby is a living being, not merely a thing!"

Tabby also followed suit, yowled in annoyance at the poor usage of Hikaru's word.

Hikaru shrunk his neck. He gulped down his saliva as two beads of mismatched eyes stared at him with a malicious look.

"Fine. Just what is the identity of that cat?"

Hikaru's mind flew back to the chaotic escape they made a while ago. They ran away with the help of the cat. The cat majestically emerged inside the sealed forest and crushed a bunch of staggering ghouls with a single swipe of its tiny paw. Hikaru's jaw dropped in astonishment. That cat seemed harmless and adorable.

However, that cat is not an ordinary cat. It can transform into a humongous tiger! And that cat can even fly! Its wings energetically flapped, soared above the sky. They bolted out from the melee of the ghouls, just barely escaping their siege. And, that cat could spit out blue fire from its mouth. Yes. The culprit who burned down half of the Black Forest is actually this tiny dumpling! The scorching fire blew toward the ghouls swallowing them to crips. Not even a trace of ash was left. Those countless walking corpses were obliterated in a blink of an eye.

Who will believe such an unbelievable thing? Not even he would dare to believe it had he not experienced it himself.

Ren tilted his head. He pondered for a while.

"My contracted familiar. Tabby is one of my guardians."

"Why a cat?"

"Well, I cannot keep a huge tiger inside my house. My neighbor will file a complaint."

"Rather than complaining, they will get shocked. No, such a terrifying beast, if a burglar trespassed your house, I'm afraid, he will not stay alive until tomorrow."

"Tabby will not transform without my permission. Tabby's life had linked to mine. To transform into this deathly beast, it needs an enormous amount of spiritual energy from its master. If its master is weakening to the point of half-dead, then the contracted beast could only stay in the ordinary animal form or get back to the beast realm until their master recovered."

"Your life is linked? Then, if Tabby gets injured, will you also..."

Ren nodded his head.

"Precisely. However, if I am injured, the wound would not affect Tabby. Tabby just sapped out of energy."

Hikaru meticulously checked their conditions.

None of them had injuries on their bodies which is fortunate for them. Seeing too much blood is bad for their eyes. Although Hikaru picked fights every day, he only bruised his opponent. He did not deliberately wound them up until blood carelessly spilled.

This time, they got lucky. There are no injuries despite the deadly situation just now. Or else, how could they explain such a doubtful situation to the infirmary doctor? The doctor might even suspect that the one who did such a nasty thing in the forest was them if they appeared like this.

Thank goodness. And Hikaru genuinely hopes that he will never experience such a terrifying event ever again. Once was enough for him.