Daemon Academy
Chapter Four: Worthless


A/N: By the way, if you couldn't already tell, the story focuses mainly on Viki, Damy, Mike, and Yuri. Also, Vincent has his moments, but…not enough for him to be called a "main character." Points of view and perspectives will switch between these four, so don't be surprised.

Also, in reply to KikyoRules (in case you're reading this), thank you. Whether you were meaning to be biting or not, I take all my reviews very seriously, and though I didn't quite like your first one, I do take all advice to heart. Concrete criticism is something I really admire, and though you tend to give yours in a rather harsh way, I listen to it and make changes accordingly to what I perceive to be reasonable. Thanks to all of my reviewers!


Viki giggled at Mike's mouthed words of "Oh. My. God" from across Miss X's room.

The class was currently being lectured by a multitude of rather haughty and boring teachers, and as it was, movement and/or speech coming from the students were strictly forbidden. All of the teachers were standing in a line near the door, hands behind their backs, matching each other in both pose and patience, though they quite apparently had a hell of a lot of freshman classes left to visit.

The man at the end of the line nearest to the door stepped forwards, scanning the class with his hazel eyes. A shock of spiked brown hair covered his head, making him seem much like a hedgehog or some kind of sand vermin. "Hello, I am the teacher of The Elements," he said with a clear, crisp voice that cut through the air like a sharpened blade. "Those of you who possess any elemental capabilities within you, namely demons and half-demons, will be in my class. Also, I am the Magical Theory teacher, which is a required class for all of you, so try as you might you will not escape my clutches." Some of the teachers chuckled at this, but the students stayed deathly quiet. "You may call me Bello," he continued, "but do not, I repeat do not, call me 'sir.' It makes me feel old." He nodded, smirked sideways, and then stepped back to his original spot.

Miss X waved for the next teacher to go on, and go on she did. The woman was the tallest of the group of instructors, standing at a staggering six-foot-five. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail (much like Miss X), though it was an auburn color. Pointed, overly-pierced ears seemed to twitch methodically as she spoke, and her grey eyes stayed fixed on the student at the very front of the classroom—an unlucky psychic. "I am Kiriana," she said, voice like daggers and commanding attention. "I'm the Battle Techniques teacher. This class is very much like your current PE class, though far more intense and…" she smirked, revealing slightly pointed teeth, "beneficial. Further more, I will teach you to wield a variety of weapons. You will learn complicated and intricate battle strategies, and for those of you who have so luckily inherited any certain innate, off-hand ability, you will also learn to use that ability to your advantage in a fight." She pursed her lips before smiling again without showing her teeth and stepped back, allowing for the next teacher to take her place.

Another woman approached the front of the classroom, sporting an average height and long black hair tied in a bun that seemed to latch on to one side of her head. Her eyes were deep brown—the same color as the small fox ears on her head. "I am Malina." She spoke with a soft voice, yet it was light and sounded as if it was hiding some secret yet to be revealed. "I teach the Art of Thievery, which is, yes, a class. With the humans and demons constantly bickering, it is an important skill. Especially should we have to somehow resort to guerilla tactics." Her bun quivered when she laughed softly into her fist. "Also, I will teach you to move with light feet and to maneuver gracefully whilst spying or performing other hidden-in-the-shadows techniques. Bear in mind that the class is not for everyone, and not everyone will pass." She wagged a thin, gloved finger. "In fact, I doubt more than two of you in here will make it. Should this be the case, you will take a Psychology class with me instead." She waited for any groans that might erupt from the group of kids, but none came, so she retreated to her original place.

The shortest of the teachers stepped forwards, her bobbed brown hair nodding and bouncing in time with her full frame. Soft, cozy brown eyes sent heartfelt greetings to the students, and she began to talk in a voice only befitting of perhaps a naïve and untrained human. In fact, many students began to wonder whether or not she was a human. "My name is Aramana. I teach the Art of Alchemy. Alchemy is a challenging class, in which it challenges both your stamina and your brainpower. You must be comfortable with both algebraic equations and scientific statistics…"

A sharp object jutted into Yuri's shoulder blade from behind her as the teacher droned on, and she turned around, scowling. Nathan, a snake-like demon with both Magic and Psychosis abilities held a pencil guiltily. He grinned at her when she hissed, "What the hell do you want?"

He shrugged. "Just bored. Wanted to see how you'd respond to a little poke." As if for emphasis, he poked her again, this time with the eraser tip.

Yuri grabbed the pencil from him, snapping it in half and tossing it onto his desk, where it rolled onto his lap. "That's how I'd respond," she said, sneering at him. "Now stop touching me." She turned around, only to hear a sarcastic "Yes, ma'am," in the form of a mutter from behind her. She just shifted in her seat and stared ahead as two more teachers stepped up.

The last two were at the end of the line. One was a woman with mid-length black hair and green eyes, and the other was a man with long dark brown hair drawn into a low ponytail and blue eyes. "Trinia, here," the woman said.

The man just nodded. "Kain."

"We are the teachers of Alter-Amend," Trinia went on. "In other words, we teach you to meld into your demonic or psychosis-applied states. Now, don't go walking into the class thinking you'll be able to change with just one lesson, because you won't. In fact, you'd be a genius child if you could change within two years."

"I teach Sundry-Amend," the man said, "which is basically an 'other' class for those of you who aren't demon, or aren't fully demonic. Half-demons, and those with applied psychosis—known more commonly as sub-humans—will attend my class."

"And that means demons will attend mine," Trinia said, crossing her arms over her blue blouse. "I only have time for a brief break-down of the situation concerning sub-humans and demons. Basically, both categories have forms that can be initiated during certain circumstances. These forms enable to possessor to increase their abilities fivefold, and also enable them to sustain far worse damage without dying or getting seriously injured. Obviously, demonic forms will last longer than half-demon forms, and Psychosis-applied forms will last much longer than demonic, half-demon, and witch/wizard forms." She raised a hand to silence the barrage of oncoming questions. "BUT—! We will get into that when I see you in my class." She looked to Miss X, smirked, and then allowed the woman to take her stand.

Miss X cleared her throat. "Congratulations, everyone, on your new teachers. I trust you'll be able to stay alive during the course of their classes. This ridiculous schedule, in case you were wondering, will only last until your second year, where you'll be able to choose your preferred classes based on your strengths and weaknesses." She sighed, as if wishing her next statement weren't true. "I am the teacher of the Art of Personification, for all you sub-humans, but I really don't want to get into that now." She stepped away from the front of her desk, revealing a stack of what seemed to be note-cards. "These are your new schedules, which will be put into effect starting tomorrow." Chairs began to squeal as students rushed to obtain their classes and compare with friends, but she silenced them with a hiss of "Wait! After you obtain your schedule, stop in at the school library to pick up your textbooks and other necessary items. Afterwards…you can all go home."

Mike and Vincent's shouts of glee and utter elation could be heard across the Pacific Ocean.

---

"We have…all of the same classes together?" Raphael asked in a confused tone, rubbing the back of his neck as he examined him and his roommates' schedules.

They were all sitting in the courtyard in front of the cafeteria, sorting out their plans as they rested on a picnic table. The schedules were laid out before Raphael, and he scanned each one with a scrutinizing closeness.

"Well, this might work to our benefit," Nix chimed in, pulling his schedule away and holding the white, square piece of cardboard in his hands. "It seems as though they're putting together all of the classes. So we'll have aboutseventykids per class, at least, if they're going by grade."

Mike gaped, tearing his schedule off the table and staring at it. "All of the freshmen will be together?"

"That's what it looks like," the raccoon boy replied. "But this school's pretty small, so it might not bee too bad."

"This is complete and utter bullshit," Yuri declared, closing her eyes and leaning back. "How in the hell are we supposed to learn any battle techniques with that many damn kids in each class?"

Viki had a troubled look on her face as she stood and shoved her own schedule into her skirt pocket. She glanced to Damy, who smiled, and then to Raphael and Trista who wore the same look as she. Tuki's voice startled her out of her thoughts:

"Anyway, we should go and get our books from the library before it closes. We've been out here waiting for hours."

All walked forwards, but Viki lagged behind, tugging on Raphael and Trista's collars for them to do the same.

"Viki?" Raphael asked, cocking his head to the side at the same time that Trista fell in step with the girl. "What's wrong?"

"It's just…this whole schedule business." She stared at the ground as they walked and talked in quiet tones, furrowing her brow. "It seems…odd."

Trista shrugged. "Maybe they're just trying something new? Who knows?"

"If they wanted to try something new, why didn't they put it into effect as soon as school started, and not the week after the first day?"

"You've got a point," Raphael mused. "And looking at our classes...well, I've read up my fair share on these subjects, and they are difficult. If I didn't know any better I'd almost say they were training us for something."

Viki's head snapped up and she watched as Raphael bit his lip. "What do you—?"

"Viki, Raph, Tuki!" Damy's laughing voice rang out over the grounds. "What're you guys doing all the way back there?" He waved a hand to indicate that they catch up.

"Ah…right! Coming!" Viki called back, also waving.

Trista shook her head, putting a gentle hand on Viki's arm. "You shouldn't worry so much, Viki. Maybe I'm being hypocritical saying this, but you really should take it easy."

Raphael agreed, quickening his pace so as to catch up to his roommates up ahead. "For once, I think that the best course of action for this situation would be to just lay back and 'go with the flow,' so to speak."

Viki sighed. "Yeah. I think all this stress that's been put on me is just…grating down on me finally.

Trista laughed. "Well, come on. I think I can already see Mike fuming."

---

The library incident had been a fairly short one, with them walking into the building smelling of old spices and candles, picking their appointed books off the shelf, and then checking them out. Heavy text weighed them all down, causing several of the weaker roomies to shift the books in their arms, alternating between carrying them on their hip, head, against their chest, and even on their shoulders. Although they had been so kindly bestowed with the gift of several textbooks, there was a slight perk. The day was a clear and breezy one, with leaves rustling along the ground as they walked and people taking a walk or jog waving at them as they passed.

Finally, Damy was the one who decided to break the strangely comforting silence. "So what'd everyone think of our teachers?"

"They're kind of weird," Yuri replied, scrunching her nose in disgust and skillfully preventing her Battle Techniques book from falling off of the stack.

"But I'm sure we'll learn lots from them," Tuki said, smiling.

"Yeah, I'm kind of excited, to tell the truth," Viki added, trying her best to keep a positive attitude despite the nagging feelings of despair in her gut.

Yuri scoffed. "It figures the teacher's pet would be excited about something like this.

The succubus girl shrugged. "I think you're just jealous."

"What? Why would I be jealous of you?"

"Hey!" Damy barked, stepping beside Yuri and standing to his fullest height. Even when doing this, he was only minutely taller than the cat demon. "That's enough; knock it off, you two. We don't need any fighting right now."

"Easy for you to say…" Mike muttered. "I'd snap too if I heard a comment like that."

"What'd you say, dog-bastard?" Yuri hissed, shooting a glare at Mike.

Mike just gave her one right back. "I said that you're a dumbass, cat-bitch." He snorted. "You're not the only one who can make up names, here."

Yuri looked a little taken aback for a moment, but after an intense round of everyone staring at her, she made her way down the rest of the walkway home in a full run after yelling for Mike to shove his little comments in a very inappropriate place.

Raphael sighed and looked to Mike. "If you're going to live here, you should at least try to get along with her, you know."

"Although I do heartily agree, I have to commend him on using his sharp wit and tongue rather than rushing blindly into it," Vincent commented, smirking. "It amused me."

Mike shrugged. "I didn't feel like hearing her mouth today. If I kept baiting her all she would've done was demand to fight me, I would've had to set my books down, and then it would've gotten damned messy." He pouted up towards the sky. "Besides…I feel lazy today."

Damy laughed. "So you've some brains in there, after all?" He nudged Mike with his elbow. "I guess I can forgive you for the bone in the hallway for that one."

Mike blushed. "I told you, that was an accident!"

---

The morning after went as most morning's had, with Yuri sulking in her cupboard, Nix cooking, and the other occupants of the house going about their early business. But for some reason or another, the raccoon boy was having a particularly bad time making breakfast. Every piece of bacon sizzled much too long, every egg broke as he attempted to flip it, and every orange squirted juice in his eye.

Finally, a few choice members decided to help to poor guy out.

"Uh…thanks for helping today, guys," Nix said, meekly preparing another round of bacon for the frying pan.

Mike grunted as he expertly flipped an egg with the pan, not even touching a spatula. "It's not that I want to help you, I just don't want my house burnt down or have to eat crispy food. Or both."

"Gee, thanks…"

"Well, you do tend to burn things a lot in the mornings," Damy mused, pulling some fruit from the fridge.

"Hey!" Nix said, trying to defend himself. "You try cooking every meal for nine people every day! It's not as easy as it looks."

"Well, so far you've burnt at least one item in all of our meals," Damy replied, setting the fruit on the counter so that the twins could begin to slice them.

"I'm just nervous about school…" Nix muttered.

Mike let out a sharp, bark-like laugh and flipped the egg onto a plate, then cracked another one with one hand. "Why should you be nervous about school?"

"Because! I need to get good grades to get into a good business college!"

"Humph. It figures I'd be slapped into a house with a bunch of geeky nerdlingers."

A laugh came from behind the cupboard as Yuri exited, being drawn out by the smell of food. "Geeky nerdlingers? Did you just make that word up?"

Mike pouted. "So what if I did? At least I'm a little bit creative, unlike you!"

"Is that the best comeback you can come up with?

Growing enraged, Mike slammed the pan onto the stove, making sparks from the metal-on-metal friction and causing the fire to jump and hiss over and above the food. "Why do you insist on constantly fucking with me? Do you get some sick satisfaction from this shit?"

Yuri narrowed her already cat-like eyes. "I fuck with you because you're a worthless, filthy dog."

"God DAMMIT!" he yelled, clenching his fists and stalking out of the kitchen. He narrowly missed running head-on into Viki as he passed, and when they bumped together momentarily he quickly muttered an apology and proceeded to stomp up the stairs.

"W…what's wrong with Mike?" Viki asked as she entered the kitchen, looking back over her shoulder as he disappeared up onto the stairs.

Yuri scoffed, avoiding contact with everyone. She was still, quite apparently, sore from events of the day before. "Just leave him alone and don't worry about it. Dogs are a conniving, bastard race, and no one can ever predict them." She picked something out from under her nail and scowled. "They're dangerous. I have half a mind to demand he be evicted."

"But…why?" Viki asked, furrowing her brow and staring at the doorway Mike had earlier stormed through. "I understand that cat and dog demons aren't supposed to get along—it's against their primal nature and all—but neither of you are worthless."

"It's a long story," Yuri said back, turning to look away from the succubus girl. "The history of cat and dog demons goes back hundreds of thousands of years, to even before humans were the dominant race."

"Wow, tell us more about this," Damy commented, now interested in the two girls' conversation. "What do you mean humans weren't always the dominant race?"

"No," Yuri snapped, getting tired of the questions. "It's not something sub-humans need to know, and all the demons that know of it should just forget it." She whirled around to glare at all of them. "Whatever past events depicted in the human history books is what you are all meant to believe and know, and anything else is completely none of your business."

Viki's expression had gone dark, her pupils quickly flashing an inky black as Damy tried to sway Yuri once more. "But can't you tell us? Your friends?"

"Friends?" she replied, squinting in disgust. "When have I ever said that any of you were my friends?" The shocked looks of all in the kitchen seemed to do nothing to her composure as she continued on, arms folded. "And no, I will not explain it. What happened back then is a burden for demons who know of it as it is. It was our misfortune, not anyone else's to deal with. So just…drop it."

Viki opened her mouth as if to argue, but Damy put his hand on her shoulder, whispering "Let's just leave her alone."

Yuri began to scoop food into separate platters, and moved to put them on the table, satisfied that the conversation had finally fizzled out.

"Somebody go and get Mike," Nix said softly, breaking a very awkward silence. "Breakfast is ready."

Damy nodded and left, motioning for Viki to follow so that no more arguments would surface. Together they went and fetched Mike, their footsteps almost hollow as they climbed up the stairs.

---

The walk to school was unsurprisingly silent, with Tuki and Trista wondering what had gone on in their brief absence that morning and the others absorbed in their thoughts. They began to approach the school soon, though, and Vincent decided to speak. "Hey, Nix, what's our first class?"

"Battle Techniques in the gymnasium for two hours," Nix said, reading off of his schedule.

"Damn! Two hours?" Mike whined, adjusting his backpack straps a little tighter so it hugged his back tightly.

"Oh, stop your sniveling," Yuri said, frowning. "A little exercise couldn't hurt. Especially not in your case."

"Just because you're a cat, that doesn't mean you're any stronger than I am!" Mike shouted.

Raphael growled softly and slapped a palm to his head wearily.

"Right, sure," Yuri replied. "Dogs are supposed to be the servants of all the demons, and you know that. You're just as unworthy as your father, and his father before him."

"You spoiled fucking whore. How would you know anything? Did daddy teach you all you know? Huh? Did he touch you at night, too?" Mike's voice sounded murderous, and he smirked devilishly. "Did you have fun sucking daddy's d—"

"MIKE!" Vincent shouted, shoving the dog demon back a few steps. "That's ENOUGH!"

Yuri was breathing raggedly now, her hands clenched into tight fists. "At least I had a family. How'd you like living on the streets all your life? I bet the dinner cockroaches tasted delicious, didn't they?"

"Yuri!" It was Trista who yelled this time. "Don't say things like that!"

"That's right, cat-bitch, just roll in your arrogance. I bet your parents are real fucking proud," Mike said, waving a disregarding hand her way.

"Stop talking about my parents! I don't give a damn what they think of me!" Yuri said, shouting after Mike's retreating form. When he didn't reply, she decided to take an alternate route to school and branched off from the group at the fork in the park sidewalk.

When the others arrived at the gym, Yuri was already there, sitting at the very top of the indoor bleachers, leaning against a wall. They, too, took their seats at the bottom of the bleachers just in time for the bell to give out a shrill ring as students rushed to try and sneak in unnoticed.

Their teacher, Ms. Kiriana, stood in the back surrounded by various weapons. "Alright," she said in her booming voice, "now that everyone is here, we can begin! There's a pile of training sticks on the ground over there, now I need all of you to grab one and then crowd around me."

The students filtered off of the stands, grabbing their own stick and then doing as she said. Once they were finished, Ms. Kiriana spoke once more. "We will use these sticks during class. When they are not in use, they will be placed in your locker carefully, which you will be assigned shortly. Now, through that door…" she pointed to a door on the far right, "is the classroom, which an hour studying various weapon types and battle tactics. Through these two doors to the left," she pointed to those, also, "are the locker rooms for you all to change into proper clothing for the day. Now, let's all go into the classroom first." She walked to the door on the right, opened it, and motioned for the students to file in.

It was a large classroom with about eighty-something desks and a large wall-to-wall blackboard. Intricate patterns and writings littered its otherwise pristine black surface, and several students marveled at it. Soon, though, they found their way to some desks.

Ms. Kiriana briefly exited the classroom, but when she returned she was wheeling in a huge rack holding a vast multitude of weapons of every shape and size. She pulled an axe from the rack and grinned as she stood at the front of the class. "This is an axe, as many of you can tell. It's extremely heavy, but deals a hefty and effective blow, if wielded properly. Not many survive a direct hit from an axe." She put the axe back and pulled out a sword. "This is called a sword, though this one is specifically a broadsword. There are many variations of the sword, this being the most common along with the katana. Many of you will be best suited to this weapon." She replaced that and pulled out an enormous bow. At her students' shocked faces she laughed. "Not expecting a bow to be quite this big, eh? Well, it is. The bows you see in videogames and movies are basically lies. Anyway, everyone will get one of these as a long-range weapon, as it is silent for the most part, and ridiculously light." For emphasis, she tossed it in the air and caught it again with one hand. "See? Well, that's the basics for today's lesson, I think, so we'll exercise freely for the rest of the period. Go into the locker room sorting by gender, find the locker with your name on it, and then change into the complimentary workout suit. We took your dimensions from your physical, but if there's any problem with the suit, come see me afterwards. Meet me on the bleachers in fifteen." She nodded and waved for her students to leave.

They all rushed to change and find their lockers, which was no easy task, but when fifteen minutes later rolled around, everyone was finished with no problems.

Viki sat down next to Damy, and Vincent sat next to her. Their workout uniforms were shorts of a spandex, stretchy sort of material and a plain grey cotton shirt. Vincent nudged Viki softly with his elbow. "Hey, Viki."

"Hm?"

"I think there's a problem with my suit."

"Oh?" She turned to face him all the way and smiled, pushing some hair from her face. "You should go talk to Ms. Kiriana, then. What's wrong with it?"

"Well…" he smirked deviously and rolled up his shirt a little. "It's a bit tight in the groin area."

Damy reached over Viki to whack Vincent on his head. "You're such a lecherous little shit, you know that?"

Vincent laughed and watched Viki cover her face with a blush. "I know, huh? You don't have to tell me twice!"

Ms. Kiriana cleared her throat and silenced the huge class. "Okay, everyone, let's go outside. We've got an hour and a half to work out, so meet me at the track."

Once at the track, she informed them to get in three straight lines, one behind the other. "Right, now stretch! Touch your toes! Good! Now sit down and bring your heel up to hook around your neck!"

Mike and every other guy in the class struggled with this, wincing and groaning in pain. Growing frustrated, the dog boy let his leg fall to hit the dirt. "Ah, this doesn't work for guys!"

"Keep trying!" Ms. Kiriana said happily, smirking.

"But I can't! And besides, my…" he fumbled with a word that wouldn't get him in trouble, "sexual organs are getting in the way." Laughs erupted from the class at this, and he just shrugged. "What? It's true!"

Ms. Kiriana just laughed and told him to try again. "Practice makes perfect!"

Yuri scoffed. "What's the matter, dog-bastard? Havin' trouble? I told you you were too fat!" She couldn't resist a good taunting.

Mike just laughed, though. "It ain't my fault you're so…flexible."

Yuri growled and took a dive at him. "I'll show you flexible!" She was caught by the tail, though, and yelped, turning to see Ms. Kiriana frowning.

"Alright, Miss Ottirin," the gym instructor said, pointing towards the track. "Go run for the rest of the period. Now! Run! Fast!"

Yuri shot a dark scowl at Mike and walk past him. As she did, he whispered, "Ooh, daddy, my leg doesn't bend that way!" in a high voice and rubbed his own body while making girly noises. The cat demon ran at this, kicking dirt in the boy's face.

---

Walking home that day produced several moans and groans from the group as the nine of them complained about each of their classes, but more specifically Battle Techniques.

"Man, all these classes suck," Mike grumbled.

"I hope things get easier," Raphael said in a sigh. "Otherwise I don't think I'll be able to keep up with all this."

"Ah, stop complaining. Today was a breeze!" Yuri said, folding her hands behind her head.

"Fucking show off," Mike muttered under his breath.

Yuri was about to give a smart-alecky retort, but Viki cut her off at the jump, saying "God, what is wrong with you two? You've been fighting all day!"

"He's dirty, mangy street dog!" Yuri yelled.

"And she's a stuck-up, incest cat!" Mike shot back, glaring sparks at the cat girl.

"Well, you know what?" Viki said, sounding far past the point of pissed, "if you're going to kill each other, just get it the hell over with now, because I can't stand much more of this! You're driving me—and the rest of us—completely insane!"

Yuri stared at the girl, scowling. "What would you know? You're just a lowly little sub-human. Maybe if you studied demons a little more instead of kissing the teachers' asses so much, you'd find out why I hate him so much."

Viki took a step towards Yuri, putting a threatening fist up. "So, what, first you fuck with Mike and now you fuck with me? You know, I think you want an ass-kicking!"

"Bring it on, you freak! I'll deliver anything you throw at me back threefold!"

"You want to test that theory? Fine by me; I'd love to send your fucking ass back to Vietnam where you belong!"

"WHAT? I'm not fucking Vietnamese, I'm from France you dumb-shit!"

"Could've fooled me!"

"That's it!" Yuri lunged at Viki, who dodged and began to collect energy into her hands, her eyes once more leaking to a deep, swirling black.

"Viki, NO!" Damy yelled, pulling his best friend back by the back of her shirt. The girl stumbled back into his chest, her eyes returning to a crystal blue, and the energy that had once formed a ball in her hand now dissipating away.

Yuri turned, watching Viki with a shocked expression. She straightened and her look changed from surprised to slightly hurt. "Were you…were you really going to hit me with one of those energy balls?"

Viki frowned. "Of course I was! You threatened and insulted me! What was I supposed to do? Sit back and take it?" She snorted softly. "I don't think so."

Yuri scanned the slightly shorter girl's face for any signs that she was joking or slowly lightening up, but saw nothing, so she darted down the path and away from the group of people.

Viki turned away, to look at Mike, who couldn't believe what he was seeing. His look was one that teetered between utter elation and complete astonishment. Finally, after a moment, he grabbed her in a tight, bone-crushing hug and howled with delighted laughter.

Viki stared up at him, unable to react.

"YES!" Mike shouted, turning her around in his embrace and laughing harder this time. "God, Viki, that was brilliant!"

Damy frowned. "Whoa, Mike, what're you doing?"

Viki was blushing dark as Mike let her go, smiling and still holding onto her upper arms. "Mike, what…?"

He laughed again and whooped. "You sure stepped up to her! Man, I think I'm in love with you!"

"WHAT?" Viki and Damy shouted at the same time.

Mike released her and rubbed the back of his neck, smiling shyly. "It was just a figure of speech."

Vincent laughed and pulled everyone into one big group hug. "Here's to not taking shit from anyone!"

Damy quickly pulled out of it, though. "Hey, come on, this is no time for jokes. Yuri seemed pretty pissed, and this fight going on between her and Mike almost got Viki hurt."

Raphael nodded. "Yes. Viki, I think it'd be in your best interest if you just stayed out of it for now."

"But I wasn't interfering with that, I was defending the sub-humans. She said some terrible things about us," Viki replied, frowning as they continued their walk home.

"Still…" Tuki said. "If you would've fought Yuri, I don't know what would've happened! You're both so headstrong and stubborn."

Viki blushed. "I…I'm not headstrong!"

Mike just laughed and rubbed the top of her head. "All that aside, I don't think I've ever felt so proud in my life. Good job, kid."

"Ah…kid?! But I'm the same age as you!" Viki shouted, looking up at the taller, mahogany-haired boy

Everyone but Damy chuckled at this, if only weakly. The psychic only stared at Mike with sharp light brown eyes.