CH. 74 - A Hands on Lesson

 As the small team bursts through the door with a rallied shout, multiple fleshrovers, looking like mutated forest animals, turn towards them. Phil instantly grabs onto one and bites its neck deeply before pulling its head off with a growl. Joseph blasts a few with his aim true as Vanessa delivers a few punches to one’s body, causing it to bleed before punching its head clean off.

 Touma grapples with a monstrous bear fleshrover before shouting and spinning around, slamming it onto the ground, slamming his foot down upon its head. Hikigaya kicks one in the stomach before slamming his fist against its head. He quickly turns around and is rammed by a different one using its antlers.

 Hikigaya grabs onto the antlers just in time to prevent being impaled but slides back from its strength. He struggles for a moment before flexing hard and snapping the antlers off. It kicks back with a screech in pain before Hikigaya lands a devastating blow to its body.

 Shiori flips over a deer monster charging her before slamming another’s head into the ground with her foot. She then spins and slams both of her fists into another, with the enchantment causing it to ignite in a green flame all over and collapse over. The deer one she jumped over turns around and charges her again but is stopped when she kicks it across the face, causing it to slam into the ground harshly. 

 “You guys are really good at this!” Vanessa shouts with a smile.

 “Like we said, not our first time fighting monsters.” Shiori says as she jumps back with Hikigaya right behind her. He nods with a determined smile. They continue this fight against the fleshrovers for a few moments more before the monsters suddenly begin to slowly fall back little by little, no longer charging mindlessly. 

 “Look, they’re retreating!” Vanessa points out. Joseph looks concerned.

 “No… they don’t behave like this…” he says, suspicious of the sudden withdrawal. Suddenly, there is a deep, loud roar echoing from the darkness of the forest. With heavy thumps, a much larger fleshrover steps out of the trees and brush. Joseph gets an intense look on his face. “It’s him.”

 This monster stands above the rest, even the mutated bear ones. It’s got large antlers and muscular limbs that look like multiple deer put together. The group all focus up as the Alpha Rover steps before them. He screeches an awful sound before charging them all.

 Hikigaya and Touma step forward and try to catch his antlers to stop him but are only being pushed back as he continues until he throws them both away, both of them hitting the ground hard. Joseph shoots him repeatedly, but even with the enchantment, the bullets only scratch his skin.

 Hikigaya quickly gets back up and jumps at him as Vanessa flips over the Alpha and slams her leg onto his head. She is shocked when she notices her kick is stopped by a large rhino horn. His tail then stretches out and slams her into the ground as Hikigaya strikes the alpha across the face, coating his fist in a spiky bone coating.

 The alpha staggers back and bleeds from his strike but quickly counters with a donkey kick at him. Hikigaya puts his arms up just in time but is sent flying back, tumbling across the ground. Touma then jumps at him from behind with an aggressive look before grabbing onto his large antlers and wrestling him down, slamming the alpha’s face into the dirt.

 Touma struggles to keep him down as the alpha pushes himself up. Before the alpha can get a good stance, Phil runs up to him and slams his fist into the alpha’s stomach, causing him to fall to his knees again and allowing Touma to maintain a good grip on him, keeping him down.

 The alpha screeches as Joseph runs up to them with an enchanted axe. He swings it above his head, preparing to remove the alpha’s head, but before he can strike, the alpha transforms into a large snake and quickly slips out of their hold. He whips Phil with his tail before spinning and turning into a bear. The alpha swings its beastly paw and smacks both Touma and Joseph away, causing Joseph to drop his axe a bit away from him. The alpha turns and looks at Joseph on the ground and begins stomping towards him. Joseph is shocked and begins scrambling on the ground towards his axe. The alpha lifts his arm up and prepares to kill Joseph, but before he can, Phil jumps on his back and yanks him back.

 “Do it!” Phil shouts as Joseph is stunned for a moment. He then snaps out of it, quickly grabs his axe and gets to his feet. He swings his arms up to strike down the alpha but is stopped when the alpha suddenly extends multiple jagged bone spikes out of his body, slashing Joseph’s side aggressively but also stabbing Phil multiple times throughout his body. Phil is stunned as Joseph falls back, gritting his teeth in pain. 

 “PHIL!!” Vanessa shouts in horror as the alpha slowly lifts his limp body off his back with the bones protruding from his back. The alpha turns his head in a grotesque way and looks at Phil for a moment before whipping him away and slamming his body into the tree.

 Joseph opens his eyes and sees the alpha staring at him before jetting out a bone spike his way. He is stunned by the sudden actions and cannot dodge in time as it flies at his face. Suddenly, Hikigaya dashes in the way and crushes the bone spike under his fist, saving Joseph with not a moment left to spare.

 “I’m not gonna fail to protect someone, never again.” Hikigaya says with an aggressive look and tone. The alpha is shocked by his speed and strength, but before he can react, he is struck under the chin with a heavy enchanted punch by Shiori. He is thrown into the air a bit as Shiori jumps up and kicks off the air to create tremendous speed and kicks his head downward, crushing his head into the dirt.

 She then lifts his leg to slam back down against his head, but he quickly grabs her leg, swings her around and slams her into the ground, hard. She rolls a bit, reeling from the attack as the alpha props himself up, struggling, when he is suddenly met by a heavy punch to the face.

 Touma then continues his assault and delivers multiple punches to its head and body. After being pushed back by the assault for a moment, and finding room to counter, the alpha quickly transforms his arm into the body of a snake and whips Touma across the face. This causes him to stumble over for only a second, but he quickly collects himself and goes to keep attacking but suddenly stops when he sees Hikigaya standing before him with a pained look. Everyone gasps in shock at the sight before them when Hikigaya gets up from the ground and dashes his way shouting.

 “Don’t stop! That’s not me!” Hikigaya shouts desperately.

 The alpha, transformed as Hikigaya, then looks at him running their way and smirks, grabbing his wrist before spinning around quickly, causing everyone watching to lose track of the real Hikigaya. They stop and stumble a bit, dizzy, before focusing and pointing at each other.

 “Get him, that’s the alpha!” Both Hikigayas shout at the same time in the same voice. Touma sweats as he stares at the two before him. He then quickly pulls back and makes a decision, punching one of them in the face. Hikigaya hits the ground hard on his back before sitting up with a pained and offended look.

 “Ow dude! I said hit the alpha, not me!” Hikigaya shouts as the alpha smirks and strikes Touma across the face before grabbing Hikigaya and spinning together once again. The others try to keep track this time but are still uncertain as Touma focuses again.

 “I think it’s the one on the right!” Vanessa shouts. Touma follows and swings hard, hitting Hikigaya across the face once again. Hikigaya flips over before hitting the ground. He sits up angrily.

 “Would you stop!? This isn’t working!” Hikigaya shouts as the alpha cackles, kicking Touma in the stomach with a donkey kick before lunging at Hikigaya to repeat the process. The others watch as Vanessa looks worried.

 “I can’t tell which is the real one…” she says with a sweat. Touma looks distraught as Shiori watches from behind with concern on her face.

 ‘He’s right, this isn’t working. We need a way to tell the real Hikigaya from the fake without hurting him..!’ Shiori thinks for a moment before suddenly getting an idea with a blush on her cheeks. As Touma stands unsure who to strike and as both Hikigayas shout at each other, Shiori lifts her hands to her mouth, cupping around it, before speaking loudly and clearly.

“Hikigaya!” Shiori shouts. Everyone turns and looks at her in surprise, including both Hikigayas. Shiori pauses for a moment as she stares directly at him with her eyes shining and a blush on her face. “I love you!” Shiori says boldly.

 Touma blushes for her as the other two smirk. Both Hikigayas stand there for a moment before reacting totally differently.

 “W-w-what?? Shiori! Why would you say something like that right now!” One Hikigaya reacts, blushing intensely while getting very embarrassed while the other, reacting at the exact same time, speaks calmly.

 “I love you too.” He says with a smile.

 Suddenly, Shiori comes flying their way and stomps her foot down before slamming her enchanted fist into the face of the calm reaction Hikigaya. She sends him flying as he tumbles across the ground a few times, but as soon as he comes to a stop, he holds his face where she struck him and starts screeching an inhuman sound. As it does, his body transforms back into a different human’s, though still very deformed. Hikigaya smiles at her proudly.

 “Good job, Shiori! You got him!” Hikigaya says. Shiori turns and smiles at him with a blush and a nod. They then look over at the alpha on the ground as he squirms and yells while holding his head. They pause for a moment but step forward to finish him off, but are suddenly stopped.

 “Wait.” Vanessa says while stepping past them. They look at her confused as she snaps her fingers, her hand enchanting. She steps towards the alpha as he almost sounds like he’s choking, arching his back off the ground with a strain.

 She then places her hand on his head and begins to burn his head with the enchantment except this time, no real burns appear. He screams and shakes for a moment until she stops, pulling her hand back. His head smokes a bit as he slowly begins to relax and the shocked look on his face calms down. As if experiencing a moment of clarity, his eyes roll from the back of his head forward. He looks around before landing on Vanessa, crouching down before him with a cold stare.

“Let the other fleshrovers go or I’ll kill you then all of them.” Vanessa says with a dark tone.

 The alpha, now appearing as if understanding her words, fear struck deep within him, screeches loudly as all the fleshrovers around perk up. Their eyes glow a bright red before their bodies follow. They each begin floating in the air as their bodies slowly return human before fading away in bright energy to the sky, leaving behind only small glowing orbs of varying colors before those too fade off into lingering energy. The group watches with wide eyes as these victims of the curse are released from their torment and allowed to pass on the way they so desired. Vanessa stands up with a sigh as Joseph limps towards her.

 “Here.” He hands her some chains as she restrains the corrupt man. He has a defeated look as his senses return more and more. He keeps his head down as they look at him.

 “What's gonna happen to him?” Shiori asks.

 “This man got away with his crimes generations ago. Cursing those poor people, making them feast on flesh they couldn’t choose. It’s about time he pay for his crimes and the victims' families get some closure.” Joseph says. The cursed man hangs his head low in defeat as Vanessa gets a concerned look and rushes over to the tree where Phil sits weakly.

 “Phil!” she calls out, gently placing his face in her hand as he smiles.

 “I feel… cold.” Phil says weakly. He bleeds from his wounds badly as a bit of blood drips from his mouth.

 “Stay awake.” Vanessa says with a gentle look.

 “At least we did it, right?” Phil asks. Vanessa pauses for a moment before smiling softly.

 “Yeah. We did.” she responds.

 “Good…” Phil says with a soft smile before his last breath leaves his lips. The others look down with sadness as Hikigaya clenches his fist tightly, a deeply upset look on his face. Vanessa lowers her head as she stands up before lifting her hand open as if waiting to catch something. Joseph then tosses her a large piece of raw meat, which she catches before crouching back down at Phil. She begins shoving the meat down Phil’s throat as he gags and chokes.

 “Stop being so dramatic and eat.” Vanessa says as Phil coughs, shoving her back, trying to catch his breath.

 “*cough choke* Stop for a second and I will!” He shouts angrily at her before grabbing the meat, chomping it down and swallowing, letting out a satisfied sigh. He licks his lips as his wounds begin to heal rapidly. The others stare at him, shocked for a moment, before getting upset.

 “Why’d you make us think you died?!” Hikigaya shouts as Phil laughs, standing up with Vanessa’s help.

 “Haha! Fleshrovers don’t actually need human flesh, any flesh will do, and we can’t be killed unless by their enchantment or having our heads ripped off. I couldn’t help myself!” He says with a laugh as Vanessa smiles happily. The others sigh as they all head back into the main house to tell the rest. Phil opens the door and enters first, only to be met by a shoe slamming into his nose. Suddenly, multiple objects are thrown at him as he covers himself.

 “Ouch! Wait, wait, I’m not evil!” Phil shouts in defense. They stop as Lucy holds a chair and Ryuji holds a full table over his head. They put them down with embarrassed looks.

 “Whoops. Sorry!” Lucy apologizes. Phil then enters the house as the others follow. Piper rushes towards Vanessa and Joseph and hugs them tightly before pulling back a bit.

 “Did you do it?” She asks softly. Joseph gives her a smile and a nod.

 “Yes, we did.” he says. Tears start to form in her eyes as she smiles, clutching her chest as this intense sense of relief rushes over her. Chizuru then jumps on Shiori as the rest of the class checks on Touma and Hikigaya.

 “That was so scary! Why do you guys keep getting involved in these things?!” she shouts while crying. Haru sighs in relief with an extremely worried look.

 “I’m so glad you guys are okay.” Haru says softly.

 “You guys are totally insane. If I didn’t know you were already crazy, I’d think you were crazy.” Airi says as Daiki sweats at her words.

 “How well spoken...” he says.

 “You guys are so awesome! Like real superheroes!” Alice cheers as Kuzan gives them a thumbs up.

 “Way cool.” he says with a smile. The class laughs, and some even cry as the adrenaline of the situation finally starts to wear off. Suiyoubi then looks at Touma with a soft look.

"Touma, how were you able to go out there and fight those monsters? You're usually so anxious." she asks. Touma looks surprised by her question before smiling shyly.

"W-well, I work at a logging factory for my dad from time to time. S-so you tend to encounter forest animals when out there, it wasn't so d-different for me.. And.. my friends needed my strength. I couldn't let them down." he says back to her. She stares at him for a moment before smiling warmly. The three kids who stepped up smile and look at the class softly as they take in the compassionate feelings of their friends expressing their relief they're safe.

 As the class talks, trying to come down from this stressful and scary situation, Sugawara notices Phil and begins to stare at him. After a moment, Phil notices Sugawara’s gaze and gets nervous, looking away with a sweat. Sugawara then gets a look of realization with wide eyes.

 “You were the body I saw Joseph dragging earlier!” Sugawara shouts. Everyone stops and looks at them before Joseph speaks up as Piper bandages his injuries.

 “Oh, right. You see, Phil here was out doing some chores earlier. We don’t like to let people see him as he can be a little scary to some folks, but when I went to check on him, he was passed out in the barn with a bad case of heat exhaustion so I had to drag him back into the freezer to cool down.” Joseph says with a smile as Piper sighs and shakes her head. Shiori looks at Phil.

 “Do Fleshrovers need to stay cool?” She asks.

 “Huh? Oh no, I just can’t stand the heat. Haha!” Phil responds while laughing confidently. Shiori sweats at his silly response.

 “Alright, it’s been a long night, so all of y’all get cleaned up and back to your rooms.” Piper says, standing up with her hands on her hips. The class nods and does what they’re told. Vanessa escorts them to their rooms, but when they get to Sugawara and Haru’s room, Sugawara gets a confused look.

 “I just realized that only our room was locked. Why is that?” He asks Vanessa. She smiles softly before answering.

 “I knew you were getting suspicious, so I thought to take some extra precautions to keep you inside and away from danger. That didn’t seem to stop you, though.” She says with a smile as they enter their room. As they get into bed, Vanessa then notices the lock on the door handle is broken.

 “Huh? I didn’t know you were so strong. Don’t worry, we’ll fix it up.” Vanessa says with a smile before closing the door. Sugawara looks at the broken lock with a confused look.

 “But I went through the window..” He says softly before turning around to look at Haru. Haru looks surprised before he quickly rolls over so his back is facing Sugawara, blushing in embarrassment.

 “I heard you scream…” Haru mumbles softly. Sugawara looks at Haru for a moment before smiling warmly and blushing. Sugawara cuddles against Haru’s back and smiles happily.

 “I love you, Haru.” Sugawara whispers. Haru smiles a bit as they eventually drift off to sleep after this crazy night.

 Come the next morning, the class is up early, changed and given breakfast before their bus arrives to take them back home. 

 “Now I hope you kids learned something interesting to take back home with ya.” Piper says with a smile. The class sweats at her words.

 ‘I think we learned more than intended…’ they all think together. Sugawara shyly approaches Joseph, who looks surprised.

 “I’m really sorry for… you know, accusing you guys of being cannibals and such…” Sugawara says. Joseph gives him a soft smile before crouching down in front of him.

 “Don’t worry about it, kiddo. You were only looking out for your friends. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, you’re smart. Don’t let your mistakes weaken your resolve.” Joseph encourages as Sugawara gives him a warm smile in response.

 Soon, the class packs up their belongings and gathers out front of the property, prepared to leave as their bus arrives. They all wave to the farmers one last time as Joseph, Piper, Vanessa and even Phil all wave the kids off, watching as they load onto the bus and slowly drive away. After a soft exhale from Vanessa, Joseph looks at his daughter.

 “Thank you, Vanni, for coming down and helping us with the kids.” He says happily.

 “It really means a lot to us, sweetheart.” Piper adds. Vanessa smiles warmly.

 “Of course, you’re my parents. I wouldn’t hesitate to come help you guys.” Vanessa says with a smile. She looks back at the farm and sighs a bit with a melancholic look. “I do miss this place from time to time.” She says softly. Piper and Joseph look at each other for a moment with smiles on their faces before nodding a bit.

 “Then why don’t you take a part of it with you?” Joseph says. Vanessa looks at them confused as they nod their heads in a direction past her. She turns around and looks at Phil, who is not listening at all, surprised as they all stare at him.

 “What?” he asks. Vanessa stares with widening eyes as she looks back at her parents.

“You think he’s ready?” She asks.

 “Yes. You two grew up together, and we think it’s time he leaves to go see the world too.” Piper says. Phil gets a big, excited smile on his face hearing her words.

 “Woah! Really?! I can go with her??” he asks excitedly.

 “Only if she’ll take you in. You’re certainly not ready to go on yer own.” Joseph says, sweating a bit. Suddenly, Phil grabs Vanessa’s shoulders and turns her around to face him. He takes her hands in his and gets down on his knees with excitement pouring out of him.

 “Oh, please, please, Vanessa! I’m ready, I swear!” he begs. She stares into his large eyes as she blushes a bit and smiles.

 “Of course.” She says happily. Phil lets her go and jumps with joy.

 “Alright! I can’t wait to see what the city is like!” he cheers before looking at Vanessa with a warm look. “Thank you, Vanessa.” He says with a smile. She blushes and nods happily as Joseph and Piper smile warmly at their daughter.

 On the bus ride home, Alice looks out the window as the trees and fields pass by with Suiyoubi sitting next to her. She sits with her bag in her lap and a soft smile on her face as she enjoys the ride when her bag starts to move around a bit before Mormo pops his head out.

 “Hey goth-head, you okay?” he asks. Suiyoubi looks at him confused.

 “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” she asks back. Mormo looks away as he responds.

“Oh, you know, no reason. I just heard a lot of commotion last night and just… wanted to check up on ya.” He says quietly. She smiles warmly at his words.

 “I appreciate your concern.” She says softly. Mormo blushes a bit while crossing his arms.

 “Yeah, well don’t get used to it. It just would be a real hassle if you died or somethin’ and there was no one left to take care of me. This bear body can be real fragile sometimes, ya know? If I had my real body, I would’ve been able to handle those monsters no problem!” Mormo claims boldly, putting his stuffed bear fists up and punching the air a couple times as Suiyoubi giggles.

 In another seat, Shiori sits up as her eyes droop a little and her body wobbles occasionally, starting to get pretty sleepy. She fights it off as Hikigaya looks out the window with a soft look. He thinks about the night before coming to a particular part.

“Hikigaya!.. I love you!”

 He hears Shiori say again in his mind. He blushes a bit and looks rather flustered before deciding to speak to her, looking at her after looking out the window.

 “Hey, Shiori?” He says. Without letting him notice her sleepiness, she looks at him, acknowledging him. “Last night, when you… said what you said.. how did you know it was me? The real me.” He asks softly. Shiori looks at him a little, her sleepiness still present as she thinks before answering.

 “I~ didn’t.” She says. Hikigaya sweats at her reaction.

 “Really?.. why am I not surprised?..” he asks rhetorically. Shiori giggles as she looks forward with a smile on her face.

 “I figured if I guessed wrong, you’d forgive me for hitting you.” She says happily as Hikigaya sighs. But then she keeps speaking. “As for your reaction… yours was a much more Hikigaya reaction than his.” She says with a big smile at him. Hikigaya blushes a little at her, looking at her smiling at him, shining brightly in his eyes.

‘So cute.’ He thinks as Shiori yawns a bit. Then, without hesitation or restraint, she scoots closer to him on their seat and lies on him, cuddling up to him, getting comfortable. Hikigaya blushes more as he looks a little nervous.

 “Still, with what we did afterwards, I’m beat.” Shiori says openly as she closes her eyes. Hikigaya blushes even more as he freaks out.

 Everyone turns their heads towards them, Lucy looking over the back of her seat at them, Touma blushing at their words behind them and Alice with a big smile from across the aisle. Opening one eye at them all staring, Shiori smirks. “Just kidding.” She teases. Hikigaya sighs as the others look disappointed. Chizuru huffs as she pouts, crossing her arms.

 “So mean. She knows how interested we are in them. She’s not even lying either…” Chizuru pouts as Touma looks at her. Shiori breathes softly as she slowly falls asleep on Hikigaya’s shoulder. He softly looks at her, still blushing.

 ‘So cute.’ He thinks again as Ryuji props himself over the chair in front of them and looks back at Hikigaya. 

 “Hey Hikigaya. I’ve been wondering, are you still looking that cloud girl?” He asks softly as to not disturb Shiori. Hikigaya is a bit surprised by his question and thinks for a moment before answering honestly. 

 “Yeah, I think so. I’d still like to meet her again, my first friend. I just wish I could remember what happened to her. It’d also be much easier if I could remember what she looks like…” Hikigaya thinks for a moment and remembers her smile, her nose and some of her hair but not her eyes. He then looks down at Shiori and stares at her for a moment. ‘She almost looks like…’ He thinks before shaking his head gently. “No way. That’d be too weird.” He says as Ryuji smiles.

 “We’ll still help you look for her. I’m sure we’ll find her, eventually.” He says before sitting back down next to Lucy, who looks at him smiling.  

 “It might not be as weird as he thinks..” She whispers as Ryuji nods. Shiori continues to sleep the entire ride home.