Advent

1

Friday 1st December 2017

Nemesis looked up at the office in front of her, hesitating slightly to open the door. She didn't really want this job, but it was the best she could find for someone with her set of skills. She went into the office, looking at the man sat at the desk.
"Ah, you must be Tekitai-san, right?" He asked, standing up and extending his hand to her. She shook his hand, and they both sat back down.
"Yes, that's me." She gave him a small smile. He nodded his head, typing into his computer in silence for a few minutes before looking at her again.
"You'll be working personally for my daughter. You may leave and go to her room now, third door on the left." He said, dismissing her. She got up and went where he told her, ready to start her job.

Light bled through the crack in the curtain of Oka's bedroom as she slept in between Budo and Osoro, her boyfriend and girlfriend. Snuggled up at the end of the bed was Shadow, Oka's kitten. None of them wanted to move, but they had to go to school. At least Christmas break was coming up soon, and they could stay and snuggle all they wanted. Osoro woke up first, shaking Budo's shoulder until he was awake. Once he had woken up, she gently woke up Oka.
"Morning..." Oka murmured as she opened her eyes and looked up at Osoro and Budo. She kissed Osoro's cheek, then Budo's. Both of them kissed her cheeks, making her giggle.
"Come on, let's get ready to go." Budo sighed, getting out of the warm bed. "We can go and get breakfast together. My treat." He smiled a little. The girls got out of the bed and began getting ready for the day.

As they sat in the cafe they saw a familiar face walking past. Oka tapped on the window to get his attention. He waved at her before heading inside to join them.
"Hi Taro." Oka grinned. He smiled and sat down at the table.
"I'm here too!" Hanako pouted as she dragged over a chair and sat at the table with them. Taro laughed and ruffled her hair, picking up a menu.
"Have you guys ordered yet?" Taro asked, glancing at the others. They shook their heads, looking at the menus themselves. A friendly waitress and over to the table, taking their order. As the waitress walked away with their order, a text message appeared on Taro's phone. He read it, and smiled. Hanako peeked over his shoulder, giggling.
"He's texting his girlfriend." Hanako said loudly, still giggling. Taro pushed her face lightly, blushing slightly. Clearly he was embarrassed. The other three didn't mind, as they already knew about his girlfriend.
"Leave him, Hanako." Budo said to her. She rolled her eyes, frowning.
"Okay..."

Info-chan sat in her office in the info club room, playing on her phone. She occasionally texted her boyfriend, smiling when he texted back. They had been together for a while, and she had never been happier. As she sat at her desk, she received a message on her 'work' phone. She had two, one for business and one personal. She picked up the 'work' phone and read the message.
???: I need a tranquilliser and needle as soon as possible.
Info-chan: The earliest I can get that to you is Monday at 6:30. Is that okay?
???: Sure. Can you meet me at the abandoned restaurant in Sisuta town?
Info-chan: Okay. See you then.
She was slightly concerned. The messenger's ID was hidden, meaning the message had to have come from someone outside the school. A former student, maybe? She could only guess and find out on Monday.

The school day passed in a blur of Christmas songs and pinch-punch first of the month jokes. That didn't deter Oka from her nightly routine of trying to summon a demon with the rest of the club members. Daku was out sick, but she had a ritual she could still do with the others. She set up alone, following the exact instructions the book in her arm detailed. She couldn't get a thing wrong. She didn't notice Shin entering the room. They still didn't have a very good relationship after he had betrayed her by helping Ayano, who was attempting to murder her or scare her into committing suicide. Thankfully she was in prison now, she couldn't harm her now. Eventually she was done and ready to start the ritual. She handed out the cloaks, leaving Daku's in the box where she stored them.
"You guys ready?" She asked anxiously as they took their places around the ritual circle. Once she was assured everyone was ready, she began. She silently whispered a protection spell to herself that should protect her from being possessed by any demon should she successfully summon one. She assumed the others had done the same, but they hadn't. They didn't believe they would summon a demon, and only tried the rituals with her because they didn't want to upset her. That was now practically a death wish thanks to Osoro, Oka's girlfriend. She started the ritual, strongly believing it had a chance of working. The others joined without such optimism. As she shouted the last words of the ritual, the lights dropped. They were thrown into pitch blackness before the candles relit, making the room red. Suddenly Oka was thrown back against the wall, falling unconscious as her body hit the floor. Everything happened in such a blur that nobody knew what had happened by the time the lights came back on.

Budo knocked on the club room door. The time was now 6pm, and he had planned to walk home with Oka. Shin opened the door, letting him in. Oka was still unconscious, and the rest of the club members had moved her to the centre of the room and created a pillow for her to rest her head on out of their cloaks.
"Oh my god what happened?" He asked worriedly, going to her and sitting down by her head.
"I don't know. We were doing a ritual and it went dark. Next we all knew she was unconscious by the wall." Shin frowned. Budo nodded his head, picking up her bag and putting it over his shoulder before carefully picking her up.
"Thanks for taking care of her. I'll take her home now." Budo told the group, carrying her out of the room. Shin sighed as he watched them leave, going to help the others clear the room.

The dark haired girl laughed to herself as she felt the cold winter air on her. It felt good to be free again.
"Life sentence my ass." She laughed darkly, continuing to walk to her base. The one place she had where she didn't risk being caught. She had heard her beloved had been taken from her, and was now on a mission to kill the temptress who stole him and claim him back as her own. "I'll see you soon, Senpai."