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"R-right!" Nora quickly went to try and lift Seijin's legs. The teacher grimaced a bit, but it quieted as the student shifted her grip and had a good hold on her feet. She gravely followed Yuuka, and turned perhaps a shade paler at her warning.

Once inside she quickly set Seijin down and ran, ripping the sheet from the bed (and the sleeping figure!) and returned to the unconscious woman. Her bangs would turn white and eyes blue as she wrapped the leg and began applying careful pressure to the wound. "Yuuka! Hurry up, or she will bleed out-"

It was hard to see out of her droplet stained glasses so she took them off her face and threw them onto the bed. "Come on teacher, wake up-"

Nora's pale face nodded, moving back as Yuuka finished tending to the other teacher's wound. Now that the bleeding had been slowed if not stopped by Yuuka's intervention, the baseball player's attention went to Samantha.

Her first instinct was to grab Seijin's bat that was laying to her side. She gripped it tightly, till she saw it was just Samantha, the one short girl about her age. The one girl with cards. The last fact made her keep the bat in her hand, "Kazuko go attacked by something." Remembering that, she stood, peeked to both sides of the hallway and closed the door, making sure to lock it all the way. "You know anything? She was outside with her leg to shreds!"

"Say, would you mind sitting in a chair? I think its best if we put Seijin in her bed." Nora moved back to the teacher's side,'nodding at Yuuka and slidding her hands under the unconscious wolf's body. Easily picking Seijin up, Nora carried her over to the bed, cradling the teacher close, "She needs to rest. And replace all the blood she lost. We don't know what got her, and we want to know as badly as you do. It almost killed her and she is of the most skilled fighters in campus. Whatever attacked her is deadly dangerous, and it needs to be stopped."

Nora set Seijin down on her bed, resting her down slowly and carefully. The student also wiped her hands onto her hoodie and retrieved her glasses from the bed before turning to face Yuuka. "Alright, I will go out and look. If I don't find anything I will come back and keep guard. Whatever this thing is , I bet I can break its neck off with my hands."

Nora got out of the way so Yuuka may move closer to Seijin, rolling her sleeves as she did so. She would pick up the bat and put on her glasses before moving to the door,"I'll be back in a bit, I have my phone with me , Yuuka, just ring me if you need me ,okay?"
---

Noraneko had flicked her hood on, and she was walking with Samantha flanking her side. She tried to keep an eye on the shorter girl, since she wasn't sure what she had been doing in Seijin's dorm and that placed her as a suspect.

The black haired teen had Seijin's bat in a fist ready to swing should it be necessary. "Look, we just need to take a look and see if there is any clues as to what happened. We know it dragged Seijin down the hallway from the drops of blood but it has to have gone somewhere right?" The rain continued to peeterpatter on the concrete. By now it had washed away all of the blood the teacher had shade and any traces with it. "That thing couldn't have gone far. . ."

"What's up with you? Why were you in Seijin's room, uh?" The baseball player tried to make idle conversation. She herself was on edge.

--

At last coming to, Seijin stirred, her wolven ear flicking before her eyes opened groggily and dazed. Her throat felt dry, her limbs weak, and her body numb. For a minutes or so all she could do was stare at the ceiling, trying to recall what had happened, and how she had ended here.

Looking to the right she saw Yuuka, whatever words her colleague had said before that point fell to dead ears. Her senses back, she could finally speak once more," Yuuka- What happened?... Am I in my room?" Her fingers grazed her thigh very gently, and she could feel the rough bandages. She sighed relieved, "Thank you so much, I was afraid I was going to bleed out...."

"Is anyone hurt? Did you guys find that... that monster?"

"Ah I see, you just happened to be there when this all went down uh...?" Nora said idly. She too tried not to let the paranoia fro, the environment get to her. She kept aware of what was immediately around her, trying to pick whatever the aggressor had sloppily left behind. Eventually it was her turn to answer Samantha, and a rather dangerous question too.

"She is a friend of the family. She was my tutor when we were neighbors way back before she went to college. It was luck to meet again, so my father had her over to chat when Seijin called and she asked me to drive her over on my brother's bike," Nora answered. Only half a lie, really! "I think we won't find much, and this looks like a strong storm..." The classic talk about the weather. Shame on her!

______

"It's hard to be sure....it was all so fast, such a blur, so sudden," Seijin cringed at the memory of impacting either the ceiling or the wall. One of the wolven ears flicked before she could continue, "It was huge, strong. It looked like, well I cannot say. Orangy eyes, a wolf like head, its legs looked almost humanoid, but is built was more like a bears. Large, made for power. It had solid black fur. Had it not been for my ability, I would not be able to say even that. It smacked me with a huge claw and when I was falling it caught me in its jaws; the teeth were sharp, and I suppose they resembled more a sort of wild canine, matching the snout and ears. I am surprised it did not rip my leg off, but it dragged me down the hallway and flicked me out in front of it."

"I remember hitting the concrete and that beast pressing me down across the torso with a claw... but then, it seemed to look to the side. It snarled at me and left. I cannot say who, but it seemed to be going to someone. I blacked out for a bit, then woke up thinking that I had my phone to call you."

"That is all I can say, Yuuka," the teacher finished sighing deeply.

"Yeah, I was lucky to have someone as smart and kind as Yuuka growing up," Nora half smiled to herself as she admitted to admiring Yuuka so fully. However, the baseball player had to agree with Samantha about them needing to focus on whatever may still be on the prowl.

"You see, a while back, an incident like this happened. But then, there was a reason; a way to some paradise dimension. Its hard to describe how the cards connected to that land, or why, but it caused a huge ruckus. Many people lost it, Including..." Nora sighed," Including Yuuka and my best friend, Hazumi Koudo. When it all calmed down, my cards acted up.... Others had the same instances, and for some reason there has been many people being affected now."

"Changes like this," She pointed at her bangs and then at Samantha's hair,"Only happened within the duel ring. That is, when both card holders agree to a fight. Its all silly really- like a card game. Suddenly, we are all experiencing things like this outside, in the real world.. New cards appeared too. So now we got things like little Dog eating teachers and scaring fine folk."

"There is many like you, Samantha, and there is many losing it worse than you. I think this monster is just another card holder, and their game just turned horrible."

________

"It is very likely that this beast is in fact another student suffering of her card's effect. If you can, tell Mo to keep in mind this is likely another student, and that he should try to limit the force user," Seijin allowed Yuuka to tuck her in. The blood loss, she just realized, had made her extremely cold. "Luckily for me, my changes were just this and my hair whitening a bit more. It is a bit of annoyance to have such keen hearing, smelling, and a tail that seems to move on its own, but I have to say I got off easy as far as this went." She sighed once more as Yuuka spoke of her condition," We will see indeed. Ah Yuuka, you see that cane? In the little umbrella pot next to the door?" The teacher nodded to what she spoke off,"As Soon as I can I will get up, even if I need that, but for the while, Mo has my bat and you may borrow that."

Should Yuuka take the cane she would notice it was a bit heavy with some sort of creature's head crafted at its hilt. "You will see the little emblem underneath the crafted handle, press it and pull the handle."

"If it was that simple," Nora sighed,"Many times whatever the cards stir doesn't want help, but the real person, the one you know, does. That's what happened with Yuuka. Her cards wanted to take it all for themselves, it wasn't my Yuuka, it was just, ... whatever personality those cards possessed, didn't want me close. It took much insisting and a bloody fight to get her to snap out of it." She watched as Samantha's eyes lit with some sort of rage.

"That is what I am trying to say, Samantha," She stopped them both standing in front of the shorter girl," This monster could be like you and me, and simply be scared of what is going on. Before we go and attack them and persecute them, we need to see what is wrong with them. If we let them become to enthralled in it then they will be beyond repair; then you can think of putting it in its place." She looked around them before saying," Don't become as bad as what we hunt."

"I have felt it to, the urge to hurt someone, but it isn't something nice." Noraneko walked up to a tree , drew back a hand and punched it. Her fist had such power she didn't knock it down, so much as split it where her bone hit the trunk. Slowly the tree fell over. "The trick is not letting revenge and anger drive you to do things. You can let the rage make you stronger when they have you cornered. "

______

Seijin chuckled at Yuuka," If a sword won't suffice, I have plently of umbrellas and parasols, and maybe a shovel. Mr. Mo took my bat." The teacher though, willingly took her cane, nodding,"I suppose I will be the one who will need it soon enough, mh?"

"Indeed, It has been passed down from father to son in my family; sadly for my father he only had daughters, and so it turned into handing it to the eldest. We have all been instructed in the art of sword figthing; something we as he Kazuko have kept since Feudal Japan," the teacher chuckle," But I rant, a history lesson is not what we need, far less from an Math Teacher!"

"It's more than that Sammy, I lost to my own cards, not long ago. Yuuka had to defeat me this time around, and god, was I in bad shape," Nora sighed," It doesn't matter what amount power you have, it is about how you deal with it. We may have raw power, but it doesn't make us strong." The baseball player gave up on it and turned to problem at hand, raising an eye brow as Samantha mentioned someone else around. She pushed her glasses, focusing on the shape coming around. "Oh , hey, its Tabitha, the girl from the basketball team-"

It occurred to Okashii that this girl had cards, and from Samantha's expressions, the little one had issues with her. Nora's bat crossed over Samantha's chest, to half stop her from probably lunging at Tabitha. "Hang on. We don't want to scare her off if she is a suspect. Let's talk to her, then settle whatever you got against her, got it? She is our only lead."

By then Tabitha had come up to them, across the tree Noraneko had just upturned. "The storm doesn't seem that severe," she would say, hands in her pants pocket, she herself had a hoodie up, covering from the rain," Did you et another game suspension, Okashii?"
"Something like that, Tabby Cat," Nora scoffed, "Fancy seeing you here, we are looking for a stray animal. Recon you've seen somethin' out here, why else would you be out here?"
"The role of Sherlock Holmes doesn't fit a boorish creature as yourself," Tabitha sneered, "I have to give you props for bringing your own Watson to the game." She looked intensely at Samantha, "Did I not warn you to stay out of my way, Snow White?

Noraneko began to tense, but she'd allow the two to speak, her knuckles turned white around the bat's handle. Her orange eyes peeked down at Samantha, keeping careful watch; all that stopped immediate conflict was the tree she had knocked down.

____

"I recommend to not take that for granted, " Seijin placed the cane next to her in bed, "In the art of war, the grandest master pieces are those that are not foreseen by its audience, or obscenely obvious at least, " The teacher paused momentarily, letting her own words ring in her head, a hand still over the cane, her fingers idly tapped it. "Expecting the unexpected is how victory is attained; Pawns, Kings, Knights, the involved become that. We have been declared war upon, Yuuka," Seijin said staring up at the ceiling lost in thought.

Momentarily her mindless staring stopped as her eyes filled with realization, "The aggressive decks have decided to break out. Whatever it is they want alludes me, but we are the only thing standing in their way of taking over the school," the wolf turned to Yuuka, "Anyone holding cards has become contested ground. The cards have decided to act up, people like Maria and Samantha are in a precarious balance between themselves and the personality of the cards; these people want to push people into the personalities!" Suddenly she pushed herself to sit, taking her cane to limp her way ver to a white board hung to the wall adjacent of her desk. Leaned heavily on the cane, she bit the cap off a marker and began writing feverishly.

"I wasn't killed because I was used to intimidate. Samantha, Maria, Lucille, Olivia, aaah-- Who else- Noraneko, Farona, Karine, aah-.... Haylee! Una and and Yasmine- Heidi , Esmeralda, the exchange student and - Tabitha-..... " She stopped staring at her list," Tabitha, she. She is the leader." She circled the name, "Farona and Karine are working with her. I went to talk to her and she threatened me, she must have been who is holding the beast by a leash!"

"Maria, Samantha, Heidi, they are all in precarious balances- Their cards are not stable. Maria , she just grew wings. They ripped out of her back," Seijin dropped the marker on the desk, before , exhausted by her outburst she sat heavily at her desk's chair,a hand cradling her injured leg," Tabitha wanted to make a point. She has the power to attack anyone, even me, and have them killed if she wished it so. She wants control of the school. She wants the power it has, and the way she will do that is through the students-"