Case #8-Zach Reaper vs the Return of Hanzo Koga

The day after Zach and co return home,

The school day starts off as smooth as ever. I get to class, snooze during first person, sleep during second period, and nap during third period (I'm tired from the Landow Village Case, lay off!). Of course, every teacher is on my ass at this point for A, taking a week off of school. B, not doing any of my homework (not just from this week, but in general). And C, I have to make up all the tests that I missed. By fourth period, I am no longer able to ignore my nagging teachers, so I'm forced to stay awake. Maybe we should have taken this case after midterm season…

As for Evelyn and Raiden, they're fine. Raiden, of course, got in trouble as well, but while my teachers were pissed at me because they expected this behavior, with Raiden -who's a huge nerd with great grades- they were more so shocked and disappointed. So they went more lenient on him. Evely is in trouble too, especially since she's the student council president. The principal gave Evelyn a long-winded speech about how as president, it's her job to set an example for the students, and if the student council president slacks off then everyone will, she needs at least a ninety-five average to keep her position, and yada yada. You get the idea. Needless to say, I'm the only one who really got in trouble, I was given a week of detention, or however long it takes me to make up all my assignments.

Crimson's fine, too. She skips class a lot and plays the whole "mysterious aloof new-girl role," so none of the teachers really care. The students seem to care more than they do, and a rumor has spread that Crimson skipped for the week in order to recover from an injury that she sustained while fighting against a rival biker gang…or something like that. Despite her supernatural healing speed, Crimson still does look beat up, so I guess I can't blame them for thinking that something happened. Evelyn and Raiden are in terrible shape too, they look like they were caught up in a minefield (which they practically were) and after being poisoned not just once, but twice, I'm in rough shape as well. I've got the shits.

"So you're really not going to detention?" Evelyn asks.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Raiden shudders. "You could get expelled."

"Meh, they don't actually expel students unless you assault a teacher," I reply. "All they'll do is give me a slap on the wrist and even more detention for me to not go too."

"Even so, you-" Crimson begins to say, but she's interrupted.

"YO-HOO, Raiden!" A voice calls, and the four of us turn to where we heard the voice. And when we see who called Raiden, our eyes widen, because there stands Circe, strutting over to us in a stylized school uniform with a rather short skirt and open dress shirt with a loose tie. Hanging from her ears are large, crescent moon-shaped earrings. She's wearing the same toxic green tights as always. All the guys -and a few girls- gawk as Circe passes by.

"C-CIRCE?!" Raiden cries.

"What are you doing here?!" Evelyn exclaims.

"God damn, what are you doing here…?" I ask with a smirk as I look Circe up and down.

"As I said, I wanted to start experiencing more of life now that I'm free from that worn-out cabin," Circe explains as she plops down next to Raiden and crosses her legs, then throws an arm around Raiden. I swear that I can see all the dues in the cafeteria glaring at Raiden, who tenses up uncomfortably. "Sooo…I figured that I'd start off by seeing what you guys do all day-go to school!"

"Tell me about it," I grumble. "It's all I do…"

"You spend more time taking cases than you do studying," Evelyn replies with an awkward chuckle.

"Um, Circe, why is your skirt so…short?" Raiden asks with a blush.

"Why?" Circe asks as she turns to Raiden and winks. "Cause it's cute! I don't know why everyone is staring at me, though…"

"It's because you're hot!" Evelyn replies as she brushes her hair back. "Like Crimson and I."

"Don't flatter yourself too much," I reply, earning me a glare from Evelyn.

"Speaking of which, why are you here, too?" I ask as I turn to face Crimson.

"It's so that if anything occurs, I'm right here to support you if the need arises," Crimson replies.

"Oh, that was actually really…nice," I smile.

"So Circe, where are you even staying?" Evelyn asks the witch.

"Oh, I'm staying with Crimson!" Circe replies. "Her apartment is small and we have to share a room, but it's a lot better than my little cabin!"

"She's the worst roommate…" Circe sighs. "I have to pay all the rent, Circe spends so much money on weird ingredients for her spells so the apartment reeks, and on top of that, she spent an hour in the bathroom this morning doing her make-up."

"Hey, you told me that you'd love the company!" Circe snaps as she bangs her hands on the table.

"I didn't realize that my company would be so smelly!" Crimson snaps back. "But I'm happy to have a friend staying with me. Afterall, I experienced no comradery in my life up until this point. My dad rarely praised us, and my sisters' idea of fun was to try and kill one another."

The rest of us shudder.

"Everytime we hear more about your sisters…I feel worse and worse for you," Evelyn sighs.

Just then, our conversation is interrupted when a cloud of smoke rushes in, engulfing the entire lunch table.

"Wh-what's happening?!" Circe stammers, in between coughing.

"No way, is that…?" I cough as I wipe away the smoke.

Eventually, the smoke subsides, and there stands Koga, wearing his ninja outfit instead of his school uniform, crouched on the table in front of me and pressing a knife to my throat.

"So we meet again, Reaper," Koga sneers.

"Koga!" I cheer. "For a moment there, I thought you were dead!"

Koga is still covered in bandages and bruises, so much so that instead of a shirt, Koga just wears bandages. Even one of Koga's eyes is bandaged up, and his non knife- wielding arm is in a cast.

"On second thought…you don't look so good," I add.

"Hey there, you look happy that Koga's back, Zach," Evelyn teases with a smirk.

"Of course I'm not," I spit. "I'm just glad I didn't cause his demise."

"That's preposterous, Reper," Koga replies as he retracts the knife away from my throat and hops down from the table. "As a ninja of the Koga Clan, I've trained my body to have supernatural recovery speeds. I'm perfectly f-" Koga is cut off when he lets out a violent cough, followed by a spurt of blood that shows behind his mask.

Koga swiftly reaches into his pocket and draws a small white pellet which he throws to the ground, which explodes into a cloud of smoke. When the smoke subsides, there stands a proud Koga with his arms crossed, wearing a fresh new mask.

"What Was that for?" I ask.

"A ninja never reveals his identity," Koga replies.

"Can you even…train your recovery speed…?" Evelyn asks.

Koga then takes a moment to survey everyone sitting at the lunch table. "The Reaper and the wizard…" Koga mutters to himself. "One…two…three…" Koga pauses as his eyes widen. "YOU HAVE THREE NEW MEMBERS?!" Koga cries. "AND THEY'RE ALL FEMALES?! VERY ATTRACTIVE FEMALES?!"

"THREE?!" Evelyn cries. "YOU KNOW ME! BUT THANKS FOR THE COMPLIMENT!"

"Oh, that's right!" Raiden chimes in. "Koga was gone while both Circe and Crimson joined the team!"

Koga's eyes then widen even further as he lays eyes on Crimson and Circe. Crimson raises an eyebrow at Koga, Circe waves.

Swiftly, Koga draws a knife then crouches down and slides backwards across the floor away from Crimson And Circe.

"Look out, Reaper, the Devil is here!" Koga shouts. "Back for more, huh? I shall get my revenge and slay you now!"

"No, Koga," I sigh. "Crimson is one of us now."

"Oh, I see," Koga replies as he stands up and sheaths his knife. "Why?"

"Long story," I answered.

"You should have seen it, Koga!" Evelyn chimes in with a cocky giggle. "Zach gave this whole speech about how we should trust and accept Crimson, because she was only being manipulated by her father, and how she reminds Zach of himself, and how she doesn't want to be evil, and-"

"Will you shut up?" I hiss through grit teeth, interrupting Evelyn as a blush creeps across my face.

Koga is silent. "Who are you again?" He asks Evelyn.

"WILL YOU STOP WITH THAT?!" Evelyn snaps.

"Then what is the deal with this big-breasted woman?" Koga asks as he walks over to us again.

"Big breas-WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!" Circe snaps as she jumps out of her seat

"Don't worry, Circe," Crimson replies. "That was a compliment."

"Oh, in that case-" Circe smiles as she sits back down and flips her hair.

"That doesn't make it any better?!" Raiden says in an exasperated cry.

"This is Circe," I explain. "A witch who can brew poisonous spells. While you were gone, we went on a case to break her curse and free her from a village located in the West Woods."

"I see," Koga replies, taking in all this new information a little too quickly.

"Woah, so is Koga a member of the team?" Circe asks as sparkles light up in her eyes. "He's a ninja…so cool!"

"He is not a member of the team!"

 "I am not a member of this team!"

Koga and I simultaneously cry.

"I am a ninja from the Koga Clan who was assigned to assassinate the Reaper and claim his bounty from the Supernatural Investigators," Koga explains. "And yes, I am, in fact, very cool."

"Bounty?" CIrce asks. "Why do you have a bounty?" Circe then gasps. "Did I team up with the bad guys?!" She cries.

"I'm not a bad guy!" I snap, then sigh.

"That's right, since Circe was locked away all her life, she doesn't know much about the world," Raiden says. "We should explain everything to her.

"Though I didn't know much about the Supernatural Investigators until I joined Zach, either," Crimson adds.

"Neither did I," Evelyn chimes in.

"Well of course you didn't, why would you?" Crimson asks. "You didn't even know that Zach was Reaper until, like, a month ago. Much less the Supernatural Investigators"

"I know," Evelyn replies as she rolls her eyes.

"The Supernatural Investigators are the bad guys, and Koga is too…sort of…" I explain. "Well…actually they are the good guys, but since they're trying to kill me, they're our enemies. You see, the Supernatural Investigators hunt and kill every supernatural creature that they come across in order to protect human civilization, even if those creatures are good guys, like us. So while they are the people who protect the peace, even though we pretty much do the same, they see us as enemies so they try to kill us. And as a Reaper…I have the highest bounty on my head."

"Uh-huh," CIrce replies, seeming bored by my long explanation

"Actually, Zach, I have some news," Crimson interrupts as she raises a hand.

"What's up?" I ask.

"I regret to inform you that now…I have a higher bounty," Crimson replies. "At least, that's what I overheard from the Supernatural Investigators.

I'm silent.

"I suppose it's because I was a larger threat during our battle due to all of the property damage I caused," Crimson explains. "And also, you were fighting alongside the Supernatural Investigators."

I stare at the ground, defeated.

"My bounty…was one of the few things that I had going for me…" I sob.

"YOU'RE UPSET ABOUT THAT?!" Evelyn cries.

"So do you guys have allies all across the world that I don't know about," Circe excitedly asks as she claps her hands together. "I can't wait to meet them!"

"No," I sigh. "Only Koga."

"Oh…" Circe replies as she lowers her hands and frowns. "Lame."

"LAME?!" Koga recoils.

"Say, how about we ditch this joint and take up a case?" I ask as I stand up and stretch. "As a celebration for the whole gang getting back together.

Evelyn and Raiden glare at me. "What?" I ask.

"YOU WANT TO SKIP CLASS AFTER WE JUST MISSED AN ENTIRE WEEK OF SCHOOL?!" They boom, causing me to plug up my ears and roll my eyes.

"Nerds," I scowl.

"Skipping is a gateway drug, Reaper," Koga replies. "When I would miss one of my Koga-Clan Ninja training lessons, the punishment was one whole month without food as well as thirty-thousand push-ups a day. I would imagine that the same goes for your school, no?"

"Hey, that's what I said!" Crimson exclaims.

"It seems we have much in common, Devil Girl," Koga replies, and I swear I can't see him smiling behind his mask with the way his cheeks raise up.

Circe lets out a hearty laugh.

"What's so funny?" I ask.

"Nothing, it's just…you guys are such a lively group!" Circe answers as she flashes me a beaming smile. "I've never experienced this before!"

"Yeah," I replied with a small smile. "We are."

***

"Ooohhh…I'm so excited for my first case as a member of Reaper's Paranormal!" Circe squeals. -quite literally- trembling in excitement as the five of us exit school. "Hmm?" Circe then asks as she looks around. "Where's Koga?"

"Judging based on prior experience, Koga will most likely just…teleport in once the case begins," Evelyn sighs.

"So what do we have today?" Raiden asks with a smile as he peers up at me.

"Some chuck is bitchin' cause mysterious holes keep showing up in her backyard," I explain. "It's annoying, because people keep mistaking harmless breaks from hooligan teenagers as paranormal activity, but whatever, I need the cash."

"Judging from the last time you thought something was a prank, we were attacked by a mob of mannequins," Crimson replies.

"No thanks to you," I sigh.

"Alright, let's go!" Circe cheers.

"Nuh-uh!" I reply as I hold up a finger. "First, we gotta show you the ropes!"

Circe blinks. "What ropes?"

***

"Woahhhh…!" Circe marvels as the five of us enter El Coffee Cafe, the usual cafe that I go to when researching cases and work.

"Hey, Zach!" The main barista calls to me as the bell above the door chimes as the five of us enter. "Woah, you keep on attracting more girls, huh?"

"You know it," I reply as I wink at the cute barista.

"What is this place?" Circe asks as she looks around, sparkles in her eyes. "It smells…amazing!"

I open my mouth to answer, but before I can say anything, Circe takes off to one of the customers' tables.

"Woah, what 'cha got there?" Circe asks as she takes a seat next to an elderly pair of customers, causing them to recoil and exchange nervous glances. "Look's good!" Circe exclaims as she grabs a fork and takes a mighty bite out of the chocolate cake."

"WOAH!" Circe yelps as her eyes widen. "It's…so good…so creamy…" Circe mumbles out in between giant bites of food as she slumps downwards in her seat, slinking into pure bliss. "I love dessert…"

"Zach…" the barista growls.

"Heh heh…sorry…" I apologize with a nervous chuckle. My scowl then quickly fades as I rush over to Circe. "Circe, you can't just do that!" I say as I grab Circe under her arms and rag her away from the take. The elderly couple quickly scramble out.

"Thank you, come again!" The barista calls to them with a nervous chuckle, followed by a sigh.

"Aww…why not?" Circe wines as she longingly stares at the cake. "I just wanted them to share a piece, it looked so good! I read a book on how to make friends, and in it, it told me that sharing is caring!"

"Circe, I think that book is for children…" I marvel.

"No one taught me how to read!" Circe wines as she stomps her foot like a toddler.

"How is she going to survive high school?" Crimson sighs as she pinches the bridge of her nose. Raiden shrugs in response.

"High school is pretty easy for hot girls," Evelyn replies. "Life in general is."

"I must admit as well, this place does smell rather tasty," Crimson smiles as she trolls over to Circe and I.

"Oh, that's right!" Evelyn chimes in. "We haven't stopped by here since Crimson joined the team! Only you, me, Raiden, and Koga have been here!"

"What do you do here?" Circe asks with a smile.

"Evelyn does her job as our secretary and researches the case that we take for the day," I explain. "But, usually people order coffee and desserts…like that couple you scared off…"

"DESSERTS?!" Circe exclaims as sparkles light up in her eyes.

"I must admit, I am interested in trying coffee. I have been ever since I saw that my apartment came with a coffee maker," Crimson replies. "What kind of coffee do you usually order, Zach?"

"Oh, I don't drink coffee," I reply as I sheepishly rub the back of my head. "So I just get a hot chocolate when it's cold, a lemonade when it's warm."

"I just get a latte!" Evelyn chimes in. "With pistachio syrup!"

"I don't drink coffee either," Raiden adds. "It's too bitter. So I just copy whatever Zach gets."

"Koga gets fruity drinks with extra whipped cream," I snicker.

"Alright!" Crimson booms as she spins to face the barista as fire lights up in her eyes.

"Oh no…" I squeak under my breath.

"HUMAN SERVANT-" Crimson booms as she aims a finger at the barista, causing her to flinch in fear. "MAKE US TWO PISTACHIO LATTES, TWO HOT CHOCOLATES, AND-"

"A chocolate cake!" Circe happily cheers as she shoves the cake that the elderly couple had left behind into her puffed-out cheeks.

"A CHOCOLATE CAKE!" Crimson finishes.

"Y-yes, ma'am!" The barista stammers as she gets back to work.

"Crismon, that's not how you order," I sigh as I take a step towards the counter. "Follow me. You too, Circe."

"Y-yes, sir," Crimson stammers as she joins me next to the counter. Circe grumpily puts down the cake as she joins me as well.

"I can't believe Zach has to teach Circe and Crimson how to be human!" Raiden laughs.

"Hello, miss, you look beautiful today!" I begin to say, causing the barista to pause the letter that she's making, ansd blush and smile.

Crimson and Circe exchange awkward glances. "Hello, miss, you look beautiful today…" they mutter.

"Now, wanna give me your number-" I begin to say, but I'm interutped when Evelyn wacks me in the back of my head.

Crimson And Circe exchange nervous glances again. "Now, wanna gi-" they begin to say, but Evelny cuts them off too.

"CRIMSON, CIRCE, DON'T COPY HIM!" She snaps. "I'll do it!" Evelyn says with an annoyed huff as she marches over to the counter.

"I would like too pistachio lattes, two hot chocolates, and a chocolate cake, please," she says.

"I would like too many pistachio lattes, two hot chocolates, and a chocolate cake, please," Crimson and Circe robotically repeat.

"Coming right up!" The barista replies with a smile as she gets back to work.

"And that's how it's done!" Evelyn says with a proud smirk as she nods and crosses her arms.

"And that's how-" Crimson and Circe begin to say.

"YOU CAN STOP COPYING ME!" Evelyn snaps.

"Owww…" I groan as I rub the back of my head. "I was just joking when I asked for her number!" I say. "She already gave it to me."

Evelyn sighs