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Xiu took care to be very, very gentle this time, even if it meant that the process was an incredibly slow one. She continued to apologize for each strike, feeling so guilty and yet so determined at the same time. What she was doing filled her with mixed feelings--it felt so disrespectful, but what they were doing was also their attempt at ensuring that Red got the burial that she deserved.

That was the only thought that kept Xiu going.

[ Attempt 2, Roll 2 ]

Gradually, as she worked, her apologies changed into something else. Thank you for being our professor, Xiu thought as she brought the stone down again, Thank you for protecting us. There was so much to be grateful for, and this felt like the last time that the baku could actually tell her these things.

Finally, the small piece of the back plate broke away into her hand. Placing it down on her lap, Xiu emitted a choked sob as she raised her hand to swipe at her eyes.

"Thank you, professor Red."

[ Attempt 2, Roll 3 -- SUCCESS -- Back plate ]

Mitsu shifted her head as Shun climbed off, tiredly watching where the reaper was going. At least he wasn't straying far. She watched after his movements wondering how long it would be before he was back to normal. As far as she could tell he really couldn't see or hear. He hadn't responded to her questions and it didn't seem like he knew where he was going.

Not wanting him to venture on his own Mitsu soon found herself shifting back to her smaller student form. At the moment it didn't even seem to matter to the lycan that she wasn't really dressed thanks to the previous area's shenanigans, she would worry about walking around in nothing but her bra and panties later.

Once back to her student form Mitsu slowly pushed herself up, it was difficult to move and despite how hard the ground was she wanted nothing more than to lay down and sleep. Unsteadily back on her feet Mitsu made her way toward Shun and back toward the skull. Gently she reached to take his hand not wanting to be separated. They were already apart from their other friends and she didn't want to be left alone.

Once she was close to the skull again Mitsu decided to try once more to take a piece of the stone. It...just didn't feel right leaving Red in this place, the Professor had tried to help them in her own odd way and in the end had used up her energy to create a barrier for them. The least they could do was take her home.

It was hard to sit there and accept it but Damien wasn't going to deny the facts. Red was gone and they were at the moment stranded. Everyone was taking pieces and he found it hard to break the last bit of their teacher, and hero to keep even for good intentions. However his blurry eyes watched on as the ghost dog Tybalt places a pin down, then Bul and soon after with Amrita, Natalia, Shehk and Remi's had a spot next to them.



It was heartwarming and still ever so sad, how many students were really touched by what had happened. "Instead of taking something, I think i'll leave something behind too." he said softly and placed one of his pins next to the others. It was quickly becoming quite the collection. "We'll find the others, they'll be somewhere Bul." He told the half beast reassuringly, no longer even phased by his friends nudity. "And we're going to get out of here somehow, even if we have to break down the walls to do so."

Junko was hiding. Well, sort of. Her hair was unmoving, curtaining around her and almost completely covering her like a Woedog...which would be a fitting name for how she was feeling. She was on her knees leaning forward so her forehead was pressed against the ground, her fists clenched tightly and sitting on either side of her head. For the most part the ghoul was quiet save for the occasional shudder of her shoulders and a quiet sob. She didn't even notice when the barrier walls fell and the other students began to try and collect themselves...and Red.

She heard the smacks. The cracks. The pops of something..being forced to break off. What was that? What were people doing? Junko slowly lifted her head enough to peer through her hair and watch everyone go about...collecting pieces of Red. Collecting themselves. But more importantly...

They were breaking off pieces of Red.

"Wh..what are you..." Xiu broke off a piece of Red's back and her eyes widened. They were breaking her. "Stop it...stop.." Her voice came out in a hoarse whisper, barely able to get the words out. She didn't see it as bringing Red home, not yet. All she saw was they were chipping away at her remains...like scavengers. They were desecrating what was left of her body. What? They couldn't have a chance at her before and now they wanted one...?! Junko's body trembled as she slowly rose to her feet, stepping on her own hair and falling forward again with a wince. ********. Ow. That one part of her hair moved so she could try standing again, stumbling toward the large skull and putting her hands on it. They couldn't die. They were Halloween. Red was Halloween, too. She couldn't die. She couldn't die. She couldn't. Die. Junko sank to her knees again, her arms against Red's skull and one of her fists slamming against it a moment. "It's not fair..." She whimpered, looking up as Damien approached and placed his pin on her skull. But it wasn't just him...Tybalt, Bul, Amrita, Shehk, Remi...even Whisper...they'd all done the same thing.

Junko hiccuped and actually smiled. "That's sweet." She whispered, patting herself down a minute until she found where she'd tucked away her own pin. She pulled herself up to stand again, picking at a loose piece of stone until it popped out. There was a space just big enough to inset her pin.



She rubbed at face and sniffed, leaning her weight into the skull before moving close enough to press a sweet kiss against the stone skull, between what had been Red's eyes. "Rest in piece, Red. You'll always be an important part of the lives you touched." She pet the top of the skull a moment before pushing away, looking upon the skull with blurred vision. No. No. She wanted to see it. She rubbed at her eyes and turned away, trying to push away as many tears as she physically could until she turned back to look upon the giant skeleton that was left in the ash.

...The ash. Could she keep that instead of a part of the...late...werewolf's skeleton? It was less destructive to take, but the only problem was she had nothing to carry it in. "I'm so sorry, Red." Junko muttered, lifting her hand away from the skull.

Junko forced herself to turn away from the skull only to watch as Shun embraced Mitsu and held her. Her heart throbbed painfully at the sight, lifting her own arms enough to hug herself and hide in her hair better. Seiji wasn't here to do that for her. Where was he? She looked all around to see if perhaps she had just missed him in the chaos of the battle. He wasn't here. She needed him. Where was he? He was always here when she needed him...

She swallowed hard and looked back at the skull again. As much as it pained her...somehow keeping a piece of Red with her seemed like an increasingly pleasant idea. She couldn't protect her in life, none of them could, but they could protect and preserve as much of her as they could in death. It was better than just abandoning her here. Lost, forgotten. It wasn't a fate suitable for their gym teacher.

And so Junko picked up a nearby rock, one small enough to be held in her hand, and turned to Red's remains again. "Forgive me.." She whispered to her before setting to work trying to chip away at a part of her horn.

((Attempt 1, roll 1 - Horn))

Shehk rested her hand on the skull, even as pieces were chipped away. She was guilty of stealing a piece herself, even if in her case it was off of the already broken off horn, yet...the humans too had scavanged pieces out of the ashes. Their 'trophies', more or less. Humans needed trophies, Shehk considered what she'd been doing as a 'memento'..sort of. There was a certain purpose to what she'd done, but still, she couldn't help but look into that enormous eye. Enormous..and empty. It made her heart break just a little bit.

It probably wasn't a sentiment she shared alone either. She held her own piece of the werewolf in one hand, pressed against her chest.

After a moment, she began to hum. It was a slightly (very) out of tune melody, but anybody who (attempted to) listened for a few second could eventually decipher what it was and join in if they so wished. They'd yelled it out so many times in battle, it only made sense that the same song that had roused the werewolf from her insanity would also be shared as a parting sentiment.

At least one of many.

The horn disintegrated and Junko looked startled, even more so when there was suddenly an arm around her shoulders pulling her against a body. A warm body...not a cold, stone skull or a bonfire or a mirror or a reflection or a friendly helpful cube that only she could hear. She looked up to see who was holding her, glowing green eyes visible through lifeless black hair. Oh...Bul. Junko's jaw trembled as she whimpered and threw her arms around the boil, burying her face into his chest. Er...his bare chest? Whatever. Seiji lost his shirt all the time. It must have been a boil thing. She continued to cling desperately to the boil, needing some kind of physical contact that wasn't..being burned alive or hit. No more pain. No more pain. No more pain.

As he released her she sniffled and leaned back against the skull again, rubbing the corners of her eyes again. "Th-thank you, Bul." She mumbled gratefully, giving him a small smile. A single part of her hair near her bangs twitched, but other than that her hair remained limp and just hung around her body. She blinked and looked up when she heard humming, first from Shehk and then from Damien. She listened quietly until she figured it out, smiling a little more as she joined in with the humming. "It's our town, everybody scream~." She sang quietly, her voice hushed and hoarse still from her shouting. She tried chipping away at a piece of horn again.

((Attempt 2, roll 1 -- Horn))

She had stayed put for the time being just enjoying the fact that in a way she could relax for a moment and not worry about a sudden oncoming attack or something horrible happening to someone else nearby. As others came to chip off pieces or to leave their respects she watched them. Lattice witnessed a few of them leaving their pins behind. Summoning her own to her free hand she rubbed her thumb over the surface of it. Take a part of the professor home and leave a piece of herself behind she could see the logic in it.

Moving closer to the skull again she placed her pin down on a part that wasn't being chipped at or was at little risk of being moved.

With that done she walked away from it a bit and just listened as others hummed or sang. Lattice didn't have it in her to sing right now but she would listen quietly.