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Yumi sighed when it appeared like Sorina didn't take her advice, but before she could say anything more the student left. "Poor girl... She shouldn't play this game..." Yumi said, quietly to herself.

She then began to ponder the idea of playing this game for love, but before she could delve deeper into the idea, Reimu spoke to her, telling her that she hoped Yumi wouldn't get involved in this game. Yumi shook her head. "Believe me,I could care less." She told the student in red and white. "And not to seem random, but what are your plans for the future now that we have a fair idea of what these cards do?" She asked Reimu. "Do you... plan on playing this game once more?"



Byakuren listened to what Nahumar said about the cards. He still seemed to believed that the game was more important than anything else. As the delinquent left, he whispered in Byakuren's ear a strange message, but before Byakuren could say anything he left.

Hana then asked Byakuren if she was okay, to which she responded with a nod. Hana then attempted to destroy her card, only to have it mend itself. Hana then asked if either her or Hazumi wanted it, since she and Nahumar lived in the same apartment. Begrudgingly, Byakuren answered. "If it will help keep you safe, then I will hold on to it for you, Hana." She told her friend. "And also, if you ever need anything feel free to come to me, alright? Oh, and here," Byakuren reached into her pocket, pulled out a pen and paper, and wrote a number on it. "You can call me on my cellphone too, if you need me, alright?" She gave Hana a warm smile. "Please don't lose hope in your brother too, Hana, he'll need help to recover from this more than ever."

Hazumi told her to watch her back, to which Byakuren responded with, "I will. And you be careful too, please."



Rose was surprised by Lucy's accusation that Youki had something to do with the cards. She gave some sort of comic book theory to try and back up her beliefs. Maria told him Lucy was joking, and he seemed to ignore the accusations anyway. He also said that he felt like he had a ghost following him around. "Maybe you do..." Rose said, quietly. "Maybe you do have a ghost following you..." She looked away, embarrassed by what she had just said.

She then looked to her cards and wondered if their names meant something. "Youki... what do your cards say?" She asked the kendo student.

"Thank you Byakuren." Hana handed her friend the card which did not seem to be bound by the owner like the rest.
"I know my brother more than anyone. He is not the kind to ever harm me. Granted he always taunts and gives me a playful punch but that was not my normal brother. He was more beast like."
_______
The next day, the students awoke to see the television report this...
"Late last night, a gang fight happened in a parking lot between two academy kids. One has been identified as First Year Nue Houjuu but the other has yet to be known. Local eye witnesses claimed a 'Man shrouded in black' was responsible for the attack. Further testaments claimed the two were firing dodgeball sized orbs at one another. It did not harm the area but it did leave one wall with a minor fracture. Possibly due to Miss Houjuu's attack. When asked, the First Year simply shrieked as if frightened by something. The police are looking into the mystery man's motives and what connections he had with the student."
Since then, the school was abuzz with the assault. The card game was still a mystery at least. Even now, Nahumar was curious as to who would do such a thing. Ignorant to what he did.

It wasn't until lunchtime when Nahumar had the chance to rest on the benches. Sorina managed to prepare a lunch for her and Nahumar as she approached him.
"Nahumar. I hope you are hungry." she happily said. Nahumar blinked and sat up.
"Oh. You shouldn't of. I mean, I love your cooking but you do this all the time." Deep down he knew Sorina liked him a lot, but never in love territory. As the two would share a lunch however, from far away, Hana watched and monitored her brother from a tree.
"What's the deal with my brother? Last night he assaulted someone, then tried to harm me...now he is normal? He has to be hiding something...Even looking through his room I found nothing that would make him evil. I just have to keep an eye on him." Hana whispered as she watched the two eat...making her stomach growl.
"Sorina's cooking...If my brother loves it more than mine then I should get to know her better."

"Did you hear? apparently the people who saw the attacks are considered insane."
"Let me guess...that Nue girl went in way over her head?"
"Rumor has it, one of the delinquents did it."
"Sometimes...I dream of Cheese."
The classrooms were all talking about the news now.

"Sorina. Why do you cook food for me so much?"
"Umm-I-i just need to work on my skills...and I thought you would be the best cause you are hard to please? Or so i thought?"
Nahumar chuckled lightly.
"So just because I was a delinquent you assumed that I would be hard to please? Sorina, you are just too funny."
"Damnit brother! I know you are hiding something from me! Quit acting like that!" She was very out of place with the binoculars and position in the tree. Even one of her classmates looked worried.
"Hana...We got class soon."

It seemed love was blooming between the two at the moment.

Yumi awoke in her room, staring at the ceiling, her long, black, silky hair askew. She sat up, her sheets rolling off of her as she did. Her hair was messy, but not too much so. She looked over to her bedside table and saw a picture she had of her and her crush together. Her face turned red as she remembered when it was taken. She also remembered what Reimu said about the delinquent and the love-struck girl and how someone should stop others from going around and harming people needlessly. Yumi hadn't thought of it that way, but it did seem logical to her that the girl might just try to play this game to impress that delinquent. The student said she wanted to protect herself, but she couldn't help but think that "making him proud" would not just involve protecting ones self, actually less so.

Yumi didn't have classes in the morning, so she was able to stay in as long as she liked. She did, however, run a club at school, an astrology club. But they usually only gathered in the afternoons to discuss when their next outing should be. Yumi kicked her feet off her bed and proceeded to stand up and stretch. She went to the washroom and began to brush her long, black hair. Once that was complete, her hair looking nice and clean (she should wear it down more often) she proceeded to braid it, tying it with a red ribbon at the end.

((**Cute/funny little pointless part with Yumi. Includes what could be considered sexual content, so beware!!**))
Yumi looked down at herself, still wearing her pink night gown, and placed her hands on her chest. She still felt like and ironing board. There was nothing down there. She looked behind her and saw two mid sized towels. She made sure that no one was there, even though no one lived with her, closed the bathroom door, and proceeded to stuff one of the towels under her gown and against her chest. She did the same with the other towel and then looked in the mirror. Yumi looked like she had a nice pair, almost rivaling that of that student that had graduated a few years ago, known for her bust, Mizuki. She had remembered rumors about Mizuki, one saying that she actually got hired as a teacher at their school and went by the name of Ms. Machiko. She didn't have any classes with a Ms. Machiko, so she didn't know if it was true or not. Yumi, forgetting about her towel bust, went into the kitchen and began to prepare herself some lunch.



Rose, as well as the rest of her class, were released for lunch. "Gee, the homeroom teacher sure is a hit with the class." Rose said to herself, quietly. "And not just boys, but even some girls. Strange." Rose could easily be seen as a sheltered person right now. She shrugged at her last thought and said, "Well, I guess I like her too, so I can't really complain." She gasped as she realized that she had left her backpack in the classroom. Again! Rose had walked down a flight of stairs already and was halfway down another. She turned on the spot, took one step forward, caught her foot on the step, and landed on the stairs. She quickly stood up again and bolted up the stairs towards her last class.

Rose ran to the door to find her teacher lifting up the backpack with a curious look. "Ms. Machiko!" She called, running in and standing in front of the teacher.

"Oh, Rose Verte, is this your backpack?" Ms. Machiko asked, jokingly as she handed it to the girl with a smile.

Rose smiled, with and awkward laugh, and said, "Heheh... Yep. thanks." She told her homeroom teacher. She bowed to her and then left the classroom, running towards the exit of the school.

Ms. Machiko couldn't help but feel something was... off about that girl and her backpack. But, she had bigger things to worry about and proceeded to leave the school too, to visit a "friend" elsewhere.

Rose ran out of the school and looked around for a place to eat lunch. She then Maria eating her lunch under some tress. "Maria!" She called and she ran over to the kendo student, tripping just as she came up to her and landing in front of her. She straightened herself up, sitting in front of Maria now, grass in her hair. She smiled and said, "How are you today?"



Byakuren sat in the cafeteria, looking at the gate card Hana had given her. She couldn't help but wonder if these cards were really worth fighting over. She still believed no, so she put the card back in with the rest of her cards and put them away in her bag. As she did, one of her cards fell to the floor. Byakuren noticed it and picked it up to look at it and put it away with the others. It was a pretty one, adorn with hoops of different colored talismans and a sort of seal behind them that had four lotus blossoms on it. It was called Flying Bowl "Legendary Flying Saucer", which, much like the night before, with Hana, made her wonder why her cards were like this? She sighed, put her cards away, and began to eat her lunch, which did not include meats of any sort in it, seeing as she was a vegetarian.

((We probably won't be seeing Mizuki/Ms. Machiko again for some time, and she will most likely not be playing the card game (Even though she may have cards)))

((to get it moving))
Hana looked down at Lucy for a moment.
"I am not watching for aliens. I am monitoring my brothe- oh crap!" Hana only looked away for a moment to realize that Nahumar already took off as Sorina was walking this way. She wiggled out of the tree, falling in a bush nearby that broke her fall.
"You have to excuse me! I have to-" But a teacher managed to grab her by the collar.
"Miss Anali! Return to your class right now! Your lunch time ended five minutes ago!" the teacher announced as she hauled her away, flailing like an idiot. Sorina noticed this and wondered what was going on. She asked Lucy who was nearby.
"What was she doing to get her in trouble this time?" she asked the general people there with the box in her arms.

Nahumar slinked away in this time with Sorina's card in his hand. He knew she would keep it around and after sneaking into a darker area of the school, he looked over it.
"I can't let her keep it...It's far too powerful for that moron to keep. I also have not found out where the other two are. That girl was just talking s**t when she knew of the cards." He hid the card in his pocket as he walked down the halls of the school to skip class. As he passed the Cafeteria entrance, a sharp spike of power hit his nerve.
"Hana's card is there?" He thought as he opened the door to see the room filled with students. Then he instantly noticed Byakuren. He instatnly changed his mood with the people around to approach her. He knew she saw him last night with his sister so he downplayed the event but more so turning that encounter as an excuse to speak to her.
"Hey Hijiri." He called out in a neutral tone with a smile on his face. Some of the kids started to create a rumor.
"My sister was talking a lot about you last night and I finally get to see you. I am her older brother." He played off last night and pretend to have no knowlege of the incident with a hand out to shake her hand. He wanted that card any way possible.

Hana on the other hand managed to sneak out and noticed Nahumar with Byakuren in the lunch room. She wanted to burst in and attack him but then it would attract more unwanted attention. She had to watch from the sidelines for the moment and prayed nothing happened.

Yumi heard knocking at her front door and before she knew it, Maruno had entered. Maruno began laughing when she saw Yumi, but before Yumi could even ask, she looked down and realized she still had her towels in her night gown. Her face turned bright red and her eyes widened as she held in a scream. She reached into her shirt and quickly wrenched out her towels, throwing them behind her. Maruno pointed out that she looked like Ms. Machiko and Yumi made a manetal note that Ms. Machiko was indeed a real teacher. As Maruno told her about the day and how she should join an athletic group, Yumi sighed. "I know you're right, Maruno," Yumi began, "but I just don't know what to choose, and besides, I'm not much of the sports type. (And you know I won't grow >x<)" Yumi began to make her way to her bedroom, so she told Maruno, "I'll be one minute, so make yourself comfortable, okay?" And with that, she disappeared into her bedroom, the door closing behind her.

Once inside, Yumi threw herself down on her bed and mentally scolded herself for letting Maruno see her like that. After a few seconds, she began to get dressed.

In the kitchen area of Yumi's apartment, the toaster, which Yumi had poked some bread into, popped up with a "ching" sound and the toast landed on her counter.



Byakuren looked up from her lunch to see Nahumar, the delinquent from before. He acted like they had never met before, even though she had just seen him last night. "I'm sorry?" Byakuren asked him. "Finally we met yesterday night, Nahumar." Byakuren told him. She then gave an annoyed look as she added, "And I must say, you acted very strange, to say the least." She picked up a piece of lettuce with her fork as she finished and poke it into her mouth. She chewed it and swallowed it before saying, "If you are here about those cards then you can forget it, I still have no intentions on playing this game, whatever it is." Byakuren said, placing her fork on the table. "But, if you're here so that we can get off on the right foot then I'll accept your handshake." She said, her expression changing from annoyed to her usual happy smile. Byakuren gripped Nahumar's hand and shook it.

"Hana has not told me much about you, Nahumar." Byakuren told the delinquent. "So, would you mind telling me about yourself?"



Rose gave an awkward laugh as Maria asked how she was after her little fall. "Heheh... I'm fine, it wasn't too bad, really." Rose told Maria. Rose swung her backpack around so that it landed in front of her. She unzipped it and began to rumage through it for her lunch when she stopped. "Maria?" She began. "I wanted to thank you and Lucy for letting me go with you guys last night." She told her, still looking down at her backpack. "I haven't really gotten close to anyone before, I've usually just stayed to myself and let other people do what they want to. But..." Rose felt a warm feeling building up in her chest as she continued. "When you invited me to come along with you guys last night, I felt... well, happy, I guess. I had never gone with anyone other than my family to see my old city before." Rose wasn't even looking for her lunch anymore, she was just telling Maria how she felt now. She finally looked away from her backpack and at Maria. "I really liked it, Maria, and I can't thank you enough for including me. It made me feel like I was important to someone." Rose told the kendo captain. She held a warm smile on her face and then began to look for her lunch once more, forgetting that it wasn't in the main compartment, but in the middle one.

Sorina looked at Lucy and blinked at the statement of Hana being jealous.
"Hana would never be jealous of me-" she was silent upon hearing the bit about being Nahumar's Girlfriend.
"No no! I-i am just a good friend of his, that's all." as horrible as it was, she was trying her best to hold her feelings back for the moment.
"Still. I am just glad Nahumar protects me. I am always so shy around guys and I am not too well with speaking to others often." her smile said it all. She liked him a lot.

Nahumar sat beside Byakuren as he told more about himself.
"Well Hana and I live in the same dorm usually. I do laze off of school and find myself just enjoying life." His conversation turned awkward for a moment. The entire room seemed to not even hear what he said as he leaned closer to her ear.
"You have the Autumn Gate in your possession. The Winter Gate is reacting to it as we speak. After school, I challenge you to a Spellcard Duel in the back. Be there..." His voice more deep and menacing. When he pulled back, his tone and attitude changed normally.
"Hana hates it when I tell her greatest secret to others. Use it to your advantage next time she tries to-" and from the entrance, Hana burst in. She charged over to Nahumar and tackled him to the ground. She pulled on his shirt collar and shook him up.
"Don't harm Hijiri!" The other kids were shocked to see this sight, even getting some security to force her off of Nahumar. She was acting violent lately since last night. Nahumar slowly sat up, coughing a bit.
"What's her deal..." Nahumar seemed weak on air but the sudden glare to Byakuren said it all. He was faking his ignorance to everyone to protect the secret of the cards and keep it all under wraps.

Only when the commotion calmed down did he tell Byakuren something...
"Remember. After school in the back. The bet is your gate against mine. If you are smart you will come." He left the cafeteria and headed back down to the courtyard area. Ignoring Sorina's presence and just trying to relax. Upon passing a certain Red and White clothed student, he felt something different. The air around her seemed more noticeable. Possibly due to the Winter Gate that he held onto. He passed by her without giving a glance but in his wake, he questioned the energy she had. Was it truly unique or just another level?
Nahumar managed to slip away for the time until school would end. During his absence, Nahumar felt a struggle within himself that he managed to control without anyone finding out.

Meanwhile at the office, Hana was shuffling through her cards and felt disappointed that she could not stop Nahumar earlier.
"Nahumar said he would fight Hijiri after school with the card. If my brother was the one who really did attack that girl, then she is in trouble." Hana was determined to find the two at one point and help Byakuren then and there.

As Maruno went on about Yumi and sports, Yumi slipped on her clothes and was about to open the door when Maruno told her about how she liked to run. Yumi's mind was quickly bombarded with images of Maruno running. Yumi's face turned red and she could feel a nosebleed coming on. Yumi quickly threw herself on her bed once more and emitted a high pitched noise as she fought to remove the images from her head. She lifted her head from her pillow to see two red marks on it where her nose had been and she quickly threw her pillow in the closet and closed it before Maruno could see. She then proceeded to grab a tissue and whip her nose of the blood. "My body is... okay, I guess." Yumi finally said to Maruno. "...And... jogging is pretty simple..."



Rose felt happy that there were people as nice as Maria and Lucy here. When Maria asked her what she was looking for, Rose answered, "Well, I'm trying to find my lunch, but I don't know where it could be." She said. Her stomach then made a small growl and Rose wrapped her arms around her mid-section. "Ahh, where is it." Rose asked. Her backpack then tipped over and a clang noise was heard from it. Rose looked at it, picked it up and gasped. "OH!! It's in another compartment." She then opened the compartment and found her lunch to be inside. She then gave an awkward giggle as she proceeded to opened up the metal container.



Byakuren listened as Nahmar told her about himself, but things quickly changed back to being about the card game. Byakuren gave an annoyed look as Nahumar went on about the card that Hana had given her, challenging her to a "Spellcard Duel" at the back of the school. He then seemingly returned to his former state of calm, when suddenly Hana leaped on him. Byakuren gasped as this happened, but soon after it was over Nahumar reminded her of his challenge and left. "Poor boy," Byakuren said to herself. "He's addicted to that game and needs help." She really didn't know about these cards and assumed they were just some strange fad that wasn't as popular as other games. With that, Byakuren packed up her lunch and left the cafeteria.

Byakuren looked around as she walked, her minding thinking of what to do about Nahumar. She did have volunteer work planned out for later that day to help those in need, but Nahumar seemed pretty serious. As she walked she noticed a certain girl in red and white. One of those two love birds she met yesterday. "Hey, Reimu!" Byakuren called to the girl. She noticed she was with two others, one of which she had also met yesterday. She ran over to their table. "Hello, Reimu, and hello to you two as well." Byakuren greeted. "What are you all talking about over here?" She asked them. "And if you don't mind me asking, have any of you heard any strange rumors lately or something along those lines? You know, like, about some sort of game or something." Byakuren said to them. "What I'm hearing is starting to worry me." She added.

Sorina blushed and felt so embarrassed about it. She did like the idea of Nahumar always watching her, but she felt that she didn't want to rely on him all the time.
"I am not fond of others too much. I don't have too many likes and I tend to be boring. At least when I first met him and Hana." and when Lucy told her name-
"Oh! How incredibly rude on my part. I am Sorina. It is very nice to meet you as well Lucy." she shook her hand lightly and without any trouble. Her smile so warm to see, though faint.
"Still, I worry about Nahumar. He may be a delinquent but he would never harm someone ever. He would rather help those who can't fight or should not be picked on than steal like other delinquents. He reminds me of a fallen hero of sorts..." She thought about it for the time...

After some time being talked to, Hana was released from the office and forced to finish her school activities. Her mind was elsewhere, worried not only for Byakuren but Sorina. She knew Nahumar well, and with the way he was acting...it was like he was an entirely different person.
"I hope he is safe..."

((The Following may seem graphic in the eyes of those who deem it such. Read with caution...))
At Nahumar and Hana's apartment, it was a mess. the coffee table was cracked, the mirror was smashed into pieces. It was like a struggle happened. In the Bathroom, Nahumar looked at himself in the mirror. A closer examination showed that in his eyes, he was changing. His skin up to his neck started to turn a darker shade of shadow black. He could feel the pain of something growing from his back. As if hearing every bone bend and break he noticed two small tendons burst from his back.
"What is all this..." he tried to keep his eyes focused. They too changed into a more bright yellow hue.
It was apparent that with his laid back attitude and neutrality, it was far too easy to give into 'It'.
"I..I feel, Different. I feel like....I could take on anyone." His voice started to decline in a more deep and sinister tone once more. Nahumar tried to force this out of him, but it was far too late.
"...I thought they were fake. Legends...Myths...But what I am seeing is real." His sanity dwindled. His mind loosing to It....
"Youkai. Spirits. Monsters. I am one such being...I can feel as if the card itself gives power." He looked at the gate card in his possession.
"The land is called...Gensokyo. And whoever opens the door will be the one to own it." His smile turned to a grin with pointed teeth.
"NO! I can't...Will not loose-" Nahumar looked around the bathroom before stumbling into the kitchen. He grabbed one of the tendons and kept it still on the counter.
"You will not have my body!" Nahumar took a knife and looked at the tendon that struggled. With one swing, he lopped it off, causing black colored blood to ooze out. Though it was not without one factor...
"GAHHHHHH!" The pain surged to Nahumar, as if it was always apart of him. The bleeding was only short as it grew back. The tendon turned into a small eye, then it grinned before biting his hand to release it.
"What-"

"If you mind keeping a secret from everyone..."

"Sorina."

"The truth is..."

Nahumar slowly started to loose consciousness.

"I love Nahumar, and I plan to tell him after school."

All he could remember was a vague memory of his sister and Sorina as his body stopped and frozen on the floor. After a short while, he rose back up with a yawn.
"Finally. It was annoying to stay in that body for long, but it's official. The cards have appeared and the game is afoot. I will own the gate and with it, Gensokyo and it's power. The old legends foretold of a land that lived paralleled to ours. One where magic and fantasy is real. In order to enter, one must obtain the four season gates and find that who was appointed to be it's guardian. Only by defeating the guardian will the door be opened and the power come to whoever owns the gates." He started spewing nonsense, but was it the same Nahumar? He looked over at the picture of him and Hana, then the one with Sorina.
"The fool really thought he could keep his own life like this?" Nahumar just laughed, but stopped.
"That's right, I need to fight that Hijiri girl after school. No problem." Nahumar grabbed a large back coat with a hood to wear. His tendons managed to poke through the back and conceal his presence in daylight for the meantime before taking a break in the darkest area of the school.
The birth of the true Nahumar is now. The manipulator of Fear.