The Foolhardies 225 Old School

I found it odd that Dawn's unit on the other side of the line had also been recalled the same as us. And it made me wonder if something big was also happening on the side of the Sunspire Dominion. 

Now, while my unit made its way back to Hoodwink during the next four nights, I spent those same four days managing my class' big activity for the school festival. 

"Sorry!" one of my female classmates yelled as she'd nearly bumped into Rufus who was walking with a stack of papers in his hands that might as well have been a pillar made of paper. "I d-didn't see you there, vice-prez!" 

"No problem, Julie," he waved her concern away with a pearly white smile. 

The very next second, Rufus dumped the pile of papers on my desk. 

"Here," he said. 

"Here, what?" I asked in confusion. 

"Safety permit, construction permit, school night activity permit, and a bunch of other permits you'll need to bring the wrestling match to life," Rufus explained. 

"Thanks," I eyed the stack of papers with some unease. "I think…"

Rufus crashed onto the seat next to mine and then sighed in such a heavy way that I felt kind of sorry for the guy. 

"You okay, dude?" I asked. "Because you look like shit…"

"Did the bags under my eyes give me away?" Rufus chuckled softly. "Yeah… I'm just tired. I'm on too many committees at the moment… and I haven't really gotten much sleep…"

"Overworking yourself, huh?" I asked concerned. 

I knew what it was like to overwork. Hell, I've been doing it every day since I arrived in the Fayne. 

"I'll be fine…" he insisted. "Once I'm able to sleep again…"

"Wait… you haven't been sleeping?" I asked. 

No wonder he looked like a zombie. The handsome guy I've known since middle school never had sunken cheeks like the one he sported now. 

Rufus hesitated, but seeing the sincerity in my eyes, he whispered, "Y-yeah… been having nightmares…"

"What kind of nightmares?" I asked curiously. 

"Kid's stuff really…" he replied with a sigh. "Monsters from old fairy tales…"

My brow furrowed. 

Nightmares, monsters, and fairy tales in the same sentence was not something I wanted to hear in daylight. However, before I could question him further, Julie, the Korean girl who'd avoided colliding with Rufus asked me to check the delivery details on the ring we were borrowing from her uncle's boxing gym. 

"Sorry, man," I said as I got up. "We'll talk later, yeah?" 

"Yeah, sure," Rufus smiled wanly. "Hey, Dean…"

I paused and glanced over my shoulder. "Yeah?"

"I hear we're doing a royal rumble style match… that's cool!" Rufus sent me the thumbs up. 

"Dude, it's super cool," I returned his thumbs-up, and then I walked away while thinking I would send Arah to chat up Rufus so she can ask him about these nightmares he was having. It was probably nothing, but better safe than sorry later. 

After school, Arah, Ty and I were making our way home when we were forced to stop near the entrance to the school for a crowd of students had gathered just inside the gate. And they were all noticeably uneasy. 

"What's going on?" Ty asked the first kid we reached. 

"There's a group of strange dudes hanging outside the gate," a brown-haired boy with freckles on his nose replied. "We think they're some kind of gang… they didn't listen when campus security asked them to go away…" 

"Looks like they're waiting to gang up on someone," the kid next to him added. "Sh*t, wouldn't want to be whoever it is…" 

I checked my watch. It was half-past five and the sun hadn't set yet. So whatever this is might not be at all related to me and my friends. I hoped. 

"Let's go," I said. "We can't be here when the sun sets…" 

The three of us pushed our way through the crowd, who, after finally noticing someone was brave enough to step out of the safety of the school and into whatever trouble lay beyond, parted for us like we were Moses and they were the Red Sea. 

"Um, everyone's looking at us…" Ty whispered. 

"Just keep walking, Tyberius," Arah instructed. "We'll be out of here soon… Oh no…"

Arah's words mirrored the panic I felt inside for now I knew for sure that this incident was in fact related to us. 

Unfortunately, they saw me at the same time as we noticed them. 

About two dozen grown men all in different kinds of civilian clothes formed two neat lines that began from outside the school gate to the black van idling on the side of the road. 

They all bowed respectfully toward me right after they opened up a path to let me and my friends through.

"I'm going to kill him," I whispered. 

"Dude, isn't that Jensen waiting by the car…" Ty realized. 

"Those idiots…" I growled. "This isn't some kind of old school gang war movie..."

Arah could only shake her head. "Talk about conspicuous…" 

As Jensen opened the car door for me, he sent me an apologetic smile. 

"It's not on you, Jensen," I pointed to the individual sitting cozily in the back seat. "It's on him… how did they even let you out of the hospital?"

"I broke out," Azuma chuckled which caused him to cough afterward. 

"Why?" was all I could ask Azuma after Arah, Ty, and I were safely seated inside the van and the driver had started the engine.

He coughed. Then he coughed some more. And only after he was done with his fit did he pass me the manila folder in his hand. 

I opened it and found several photos of men and women I'd never seen before. All of them were human. 

"Who are they?" I asked. 

"Viseres of the Scarlet Moon," Azuma answered. 

My eyes narrowed after I heard his answer. "How do you know this?" 

"Some of the people in those photos are viseres who followed Ardeen Spellweaver after the fall of the Magesong Clan," Azuma explained. He coughed once, then he continued with, "Some of them are still on my contact list… and they were nice enough to warn me about what's been happening in your school." 

That's when I noticed that the photos taken had been taken at a specific place — Midtown High. 

I passed Arah the ones I'd already finished looking at while taking mental notes on the composition. Most of the photos had been taken inside campus grounds while these Scarlet Moon lackeys roamed my school during the day.

"That's what the show of force was for," Arah guessed. "To point out to our enemies that Midtown High is under our protection…" 

Azuma nodded. 

"So did the Yakuza thing work?" Ty asked. 

Arah shook her head. "Probably not… It'll only make them more cautious… but at least they won't be moving as freely as before and now we know what they look like…"

Azuma nodded in agreement. "Whoever it is they're after… let's not make it easy for them."

The second to the last photo in the folder was a scene in the student council's office. 

The visere in the photo — a woman in a neat business suit — was talking to the president, but Rufus and the other members of the council could be seen in the shot too. 

I passed the folder to Arah. "Order the guys in your unit to roam outside campus starting tomorrow… I want them to grab one of the guys in the photos if they ever show up near Midtown High again. It's about time we get some answers for ourselves."

"Do you want them roughed up?" Azuma asked.

"Just enough to spill the beans," I answered. "You handle this personally, Azuma… I've got to focus on the other thing…" 

"Ah, Darah's coming tonight, isn't she," he replied. 

"Yeah," I sighed. "It's going to be hectic in Hoodwink tonight…" 

Chapter end