As the sole human in a school full of monsters, Tsukune Aono was in a state of - not panic exactly, more like heightened awareness of the danger he was in. It was hard to remember sometimes. Every student and teacher around him was some kind of monster, many of whom wouldn't hesitate to do something horrible to him if they ever found out what he really was.
That sort of situation had resulted in his keen observing of the people around him. Was that nervous twitch some kind of clue about what kind of monster they were? How about the odd shape of their nose? Or the colour of their eyes? Now, he was trying very hard to avoid prejudice, but it was kind of inevitable in a situation like this where his very survival might be at stake. Sure, he'd met several genuinely nice monsters but also some really nasty pieces of work.
Which might explain why he was extremely hesitant to ask what the hell Gin was up to.
What he was doing in a quite literal sense was spinning around the newspaper clubroom with his arms outstretched while the other members of the club looked on in total bafflement. Sashaying and swaying around to a silent beat.
"He's dancing," Kurumu whispered in his ear, leaning in such a way that her breasts just so happened to rub against Tsukune's upper arm. Hold on, huh? Had Kurumu read his mind...? "No silly, by this point I can guess what you're thinking by looking at your handsome face."
Oh. That was... almost more worrying than mind reading in its own way.
"So, why is he dancing?" Tsukune asked.
"He's dancing because he felt like it, silly boy!" Gin remarked, giving them a picture perfect pirouette. "He also has excellent hearing, so please don't try to gossip about him behind his back."
Okay then. So, why did he 'feel like' dancing all of a sudden? It wasn't some weird perverted trick or anything like that. He was the one dancing, and the girls were all giving him some distance. Maybe he was under some kind of monster's influence, compelling him to dance against his will? Or maybe his emotions were being manipulated in some way?
Whatever the case may be, Mizore plasted some ice underneath his feet and brought the impromptu dancing to a close.
"We have work to do," Mizore coldly stated. "There is no time for your silly behaviour at the moment."
"Ahahaha! I did get a little carried away there!" Gin laughed. "Alright, alright. Let's see what kind of news stories we can put together today, shall we?"
At last, Gin stepped up to the desk and leaned on it, trying his hardest to look cool. He had his serious face on now. It was time for them to get down to business.
"To start with, the most serious rumours that need to be investigated," Gin said. "This is likely to be our leading item, so I'll be taking the lead alongside any volunteers."
"I'll volunteer," Moka said, raising her hand in the air. Huh? That's really strange too. Since when did Moka like hanging out with Gin? "Um... Someone needs to keep an eye on you, because you've been acting so strange lately."
"If that's the reason you want to give out loud," Gin said, brushing his hair back to look cool. "In any event. There are rumours that someone has been breaking into the boy's dorms. Different rooms have had random items taken. A comb, a pillow, a baseball, a chess piece. All sorts of strange things have been going missing without a trace of evidence to point at the culprit. My theory is that some lovesick girl can't figure out where I'm sleeping and - "
He ate a snowball to the face just then. Made by Mizore and thrown with pinpoint accuracy by Kurumu. Those two worked really well together when the mood took them, such a scary combination!
"Ahem! I've also received word that a member of the baking club is receiving an award as their recipe book is being published in the human world. Of course, the faculty is a little concerned about the outside attention this might bring to the school... But from the sounds of things they've already smoothed it over behind the scenes. Tsukune, you're always good with the girls. How about you and -"
"I'll go with him!" Kokoa snootily intruded, throwing the door aside to scowl in at him. "Someone needs to keep an eye on him."
"Eh? Shouldn't Gin be the one you're more worried about?" Tsukune asked. "He's the one heading up an investigation with Moka..."
“I don’t care about pinky, it isn’t like my real sister could lose to someone like that. Besides which, I'm still not convinced of the reason you're able to remove that accursed Rosario. I will have your secrets lay bare before me!”
Gin coughed. "I suppose that leaves Yukari, Kurumu and Mizore with the last news item. The seven mysteries of Yokai Academy."
Wow. Even a school for monsters can have seven mysteries? Amazing! Tsukune sat up now, at full attention. What on earth could they be?
"The first rumour... is the self-cleaning blackboard of Class 3-C! Every night, even if the room is locked tight as a drum the blackboard is wiped completely clean no matter what was written on it!"
C-Couldn't that be a ghost? How was that a mystery?!
"The second mystery is the singing voice in the music classroom at midnight. It's said to cast an evil spell on anyone who hears it - ensuring that the day after is full of accidents!"
Isn't that because they didn't get enough sleep the night before?
"The third mystery is the haunted toilet! In the ladies restroom is a toilet that makes an unholy gurgling sound when it's flushed!"
Bad plumbing!
"The fourth mystery is the unnatural footprints left on the athletics court every third wednesday of the month."
That's a monster student or faculty member using the facilities to train! Which, they probably shouldn't be doing at night but there it is!
"The fifth mystery is the paintings that change location at random points of time!"
A custodian trying out different looks for the school's art!
"The sixth mystery is the unidentified nurse who only appears when students are using the infirmary to play truant."
That one... Is actually kind of concerning and should probably be investigated by the staff instead of the student newspaper club.
"And the seventh mystery. The most mysterious of them all..." Gin leaned forward, his face set in a mask of complete seriousness. The rest of the club leaned in to hear him, the girls in particular seeming enthralled at what it could be. "Because the seventh mystery... Is what the seventh mystery is in the first place."
The girls gasped while Tsukune fell off his chair.
"How mysterious!" Moka said.
"You can't get much more mysterious than that," Kurumu agreed.
"Even my bones feel the chill," Mizore shuddered.
"Don't worry! My genius and magic will unravel these mysteries!" Yukari nodded.
Monsters... Really aren't like regular people are they? Oh well! At least this seemed like a pretty straightforward day, as far as it went as the newspaper club of Yokai Academy.
<hr>
Gin stretched out his arms and tried to hide his smirk as best as he could. His plan was really starting to come together now. Have fun with Kokoa, little Tsukune. Soon enough he'd have the level upper on her before she even knew it, and then the fun could really begin.
"Ah, excuse me!" Moka said. That is to say, Outer Moka. The gentle one who would not kick his ass if he did something silly. "The other Moka wanted to ask what that was about earlier on?"
"Oh, that?" Gin shrugged. "I was merely improving my dancing and stamina skills with this handy device. See?"
Indeed he was. Stamina and dancing, both had gained a few levels from his little performance earlier on. Moka snatched it out of his hands to look through the others. Heh. As if he'd let one of the five active skills be something lewd. Besides which that girl didn't know half of the things Gin knew about the little device now.
Funny little thing about 'understanding' something. While his level of understanding had gone back down to 25 for the time being, he had already written out a pretty comprehensive manual in advance to, shall we say, facilitate his ability to retain that knowledge. That's how he'd learned of ways to hide skills that were loaded into the device without actually losing the experience points. They were still there, and he knew how to summon them out. When he needed them. Moka seemed convinced that everything was above board and handed it back.
"So... What were you planning to do about Kokoa?" Moka asked. "I don't want her harassing Tsukune either."
"My plan is simplicity itself," Gin gave a flourish and a bow. "I'll get her a cute boyfriend. Not me!" He added that last part quickly on realising how it sounded. "She's far too high maintenance for my tastes, even though she definitely meets my other standards... No, no. My plan is to use this little device to make myself a better interviewer. Then, I'll start acting as a matchmaker under your careful supervision."
The above was, of course, bullshit. Carefully tailored and practised bullshit. Oh, sure. A cute boy would definitely distract a cute girl (and vice versa) but his plans were a bit more involved than merely setting up the little sister. He was going to use his advanced knowledge of this marvelous device to set up a chain of perverted events right under Moka's nose.
But first thing's first. He had to level up a few skills. Might as well use this investigation to get some experience.
- Inner Moka is still suspicious of Gin's intentions.
- Inner Moka is totally fooled by Gin's intentions.
- Yukari, Kurumu and Mizore investigate some school mysteries, encounter the losers Gin beat up earlier.
- Tsukune and Kokoa discover the girl they're investigating has a Level Upper.
- Something else
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