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"No reason? Then why the hell did that psychotic b***h hurt me?!" Samantha was very close to Heidi now, her shirt still raised with a hand. "All the proof in the world is right here! Do you think I went and bruised myself just to frame someone I hardly know?" She finally lowered her shirt and sweater, though kept her close proximity.

"Okay, so maybe I don't have any hard evidence that she has cards, or that she is that creature, but what makes you so sure she isn't? You said she stepped out for a moment, so she could have run off in that time! It just seems too damn suspicious...!"

Samantha sighed heavily, taking a few steps away from Heidi and folded her arms. "... I don't like any of this at all..."

Samantha didn't turn around, but merely flinched at Heidi's harsh words. What she said was true. The moment Samantha had entered the room, she had been looking for a fight... she could feel that now. She knew it was them. Again. Feeling the way she did now, it seemed quite possible that the beast was simply out of control of themselves...

"Y... You're right... Sorry, I don't know what I was thinking..." She sighed again, reaching up to and running her fingers through her hair. "I didn't mean to... talk about your friend like that. I... I guess I'm going crazy, too." Her voice was somber as she drew up her hood, hiding her most distinguishing feature. "Sorry, I'll see myself out... Sorry..."

"H-Hey, let go...!" Samantha exclaimed after being forcibly stopped. For a moment she struggled, but found that, aside from the intital tug, Heidi wasn't really holding her. She stopped to listen to what the girl had to say.

"Give in? What does that supposed to mean...?!" She finally pulled her arm free, "Tabitha isn't some kind of leader or martyr, and besides, even if she does try something stupid, there's plenty of us that won't let her get away with anything! Even if she has a giant attack mutt..."

"... Is it really a warning, or a threat? Ask yourself that, Heidi." She turned quickly, and just as quickly replaced her hood on her head and shouldered the door open. "Kazuko will know about this, Heidi! So expect to see me again!"

Samantha could have never expected the sudden attack, nor have prepared for it in any way. Before she could react, the smaller girl was quickly swept off her feet and rammed into the wall, gripped by Heidi's surprising strength. The pressure might have shattered her bones, had she not been augmented with magic herself. With her cheek against the wall, all Samantha could do was writhe and listen to Heidi's snarls.

"Heidi-- What--?!" was all she managed to growl out, before she was just as suddenly dropped, her body crumbling to the floor. She coughed and hesitantly pulled herself to her feet, staring after Heidi as her assailant apparently had a change of heart. Frightened and in shock, Samantha pressed herself up against the opposing wall, frozen, until Heidi slammed the door shut.

After she pulled enough of her senses back together, Samantha took off and ran down the hallway. She needed to reach Seijin and tell her what happened...

"Kazuko--!!" Samantha rushed into her teacher, grasping at her and hiding her face somewhere in her body. She paused for a moment, clinging to her, before slowly pulling away with tears in her eyes.

"K-Kazuko, Heidi-- I, I went to see her-- she-- she..!!" Samantha quickly wrapped her arms around Seijin's waist, like a child hiding from a bogeyman. "I... I went to check on her, a-and we got into a fight, and when I tried to leave, she-- she picked me up a-and smashed me into the wall! She was strong, really strong, I-I-I couldn't move at all..!!"

"I... I'm positive ei-either she, or Tabitha, h-have something to do with that monster...! I know it for sure now, Heidi has cards too, she must..! She was so strong, a-and she growled like, l-like...!"

Samantha wiped her eyes free of tears, her teacher and mother figure's warm reassurance having silenced her fears for the moment. She quickly followed after Seijin, and was more than a little surprised to find that she had hardly lost any of her agility or speed.

"But, Kazuko, your leg...! What if she turns into that monster again, and goes after you? You'll be..." She shook her head, trying to rid herself of thoughts most unpleasant. "Let's call Kazami, or Nora! I-I can help too, but I don't know how to control my power yet! And she's so strong...!"

"Please Kazuko," She ran in front of Seijin, in an attempt to halt her advance. "I don't want you to get any more hurt!"

"O-Okay! I'll do that--" Samantha plucked her phone from her pocket as she continued to follow Seijin back down the hall. They were already nearly there, and the young student spotted the door ajar the same moment her teacher had. She watched from the door as Seijin checked the dorm, coming up empty handed, and couldn't help but feel guilty that she may be the reason behind Heidi's escape.

"Ah... She couldn't have gotten far! And if she turned into that thing, it'll be even easier to track her!" Samantha turned and started to run down the hall, in the opposite direction from whence they came. "We just came from one direction, so she must have gone this way! Come on, we can still catch up with her!" In the rush, she pocketed her cell and broke into a full run, already knowing that Seijin would likely be able to keep up.

Samantha had already passed the door by the time it opened, its occupant stepping out. She heard the voice call out and stopped to turn. Her heart jumped when she saw who it was. "Kazuko, that's--!" She blurted out, unable to stop herself in time. Tabitha would see her for sure now.

But, standing where they were, both she and Seijin flanked her. If Tabitha made a move on either of them, the other could retaliate! ... But, Tabitha wasn't that stupid. She'd know when and how to paly her cards. If nothing else, her actions in the past few days taught Samantha that much.

"It's nothing that involves you!" She called out to her fellow student, shaking a fist at her. "C'mon, we gotta go! We have to find-- ...you know what!"