Tuesday (11/11/XX) 10:00PM
Kazu picked me up from my house and gave me an enchanted bracelet similar to the candy that Nikolas used. No one would be able to hear, see, or sense me except Kazu.
"How do you like our sports clothes?" Kazu grinned, putting on the evergreen-colored hood of his tracksuit.
He wore a tracksuit jacket that had black sleeves with two white stripes running down from his shoulders to the cuffs, while the rest of the jacket was green. His track pants were green with the same white striped pattern.
I swayed my head. "Looks like a sports uniform."
The werewolf pouted, purposely whining. "I don't look cool?"
"Fine," I pulled his hood down over his face, "You look cool."
He chuckled and I joined him.
His ears perked up. "Acchan let's hurry! The festival will start soon!" He abruptly pulled my wrist and zoomed toward the school grounds.
We reached the back of the school where there was a vast grassy field, covered by students wearing different colored tracksuits. It looked like bunches of flowers on a grassy plain. Although the skies were pitch black, lanterns were floating in the sky that illuminated the field.
Kazu dragged me onto the crowded field where his class was clustered. All of the students were now facing in the direction of a loud voice. I turned to where everyone was facing and it was Headmaster Selena.
I tugged on the end of Kazu’s trackshirt. “Kazu, what is this event for anyway?” I whispered.
“It’s a sports event that’s held the night before we have a blood moon, it’s called the Scarlet Moon Festival.”
“A blood moon?” I furrowed my brows. “You mean a lunar eclipse?”
“Yes, whatever that is!”
“The class that wins the competition will have the honor of adorning the trophy in their homeroom.” The Headmaster’s powerful voice echoed throughout the field. “With that, we will begin the night with…”
“Oh! The games are going to start soon, I suggest you stand on the sidelines so you can watch.” I nodded as he pointed to the walls. “Cheer me on, alright?” Kazu grinned widely with his pearl-white fangs.
The students started to move away from the center as the landscape appeared to transform. I stood against the wall that separated the field from the school buildings while the students started to go to their respective places.
Students prepared for games I was used to on a sports day like tug of war and a relay race, but there were many that I had never seen before. There was a flying obstacle course, dodgeball with eyeballs, mountain climbing, and excavating the ground to find as many skulls within a time limit.
A group of students wearing navy blue and yellow tracksuits were playing a game that seemed like parkour. The first class to have everyone complete the parkour course would continue to the next game.
I clapped when someone would flawlessly go through the course and winced when someone would fall flat onto the ground. The Citrine class was in the lead because someone from the Sapphire class kept missing his step at the last moment. I looked to see who would go after the fumbling boy and I almost gasped.
Nikolas had his golden hair pulled back in a loose half-up half-down hairstyle with his bangs still covering his forehead. He tilted his head to the side which made his hair partially cover his eyelids. This new ponytail style made him even more attractive than he was.
I slapped my cheeks with both of my hands to compose myself. I looked up and saw Nikolas effortlessly leap onto ascending stone pillars. He jumped from one moving platform to another, gracefully landing each time. The vampire pushed off the platform and calmly ducked to avoid a spinning pole. All of his classmates enthusiastically cheered seeing how quickly he was going through the course. The final part was a self-collapsing bridge. I held my breath as Nikolas dashed across with no fear. With a high jump, his two feet landed perfectly in the center of the final platform.
I exhaled and smiled.
The students who already completed the course went up to Nikolas to congratulate him. He went through the parkour so quickly, that his class caught up with the opposing class. In the end, Nikolas’s team finished three seconds before the yellow class.
Nikolas and his class walked further into the field to go onto the next game, so I couldn’t watch him from where I was. Kazu’s class was coming in my direction so I decided to watch him for the time being.
-
Kazu defeatedly crouched next to me, his ears and tail pointing down.
“It’s alright, Kazu. Your class made it very far.” I patted the top of his head as he let out a long sigh.
“At least Niky’s class made it to the finals.” Kazu put his chin down on his arm.
A skeleton stood beside the Headmaster, both of them in front of a large golden trophy that resembled a torch with a full moon in the middle of the flames, literal flames.
“The last portion of the Scarlet Moon Festival will be…” Headmaster Selena snapped her fingers, instantly transforming the field into a luscious forest. “Capture the Egg.”
The other classes were sitting in rows of seats, almost as if we were in a stadium. The sounds of the students rustling and chatting was reverberating in the air. The navy blue and red teams were teleported to the opposite side of the field. There was one egg on each end, placed upon a tree where it was burrowed in a nest.
“The first team to bring the other team’s egg to their base wins.” The skeleton announced. “However, if you break your egg or the other class’s egg, you will automatically lose. At the chime of the bell, the final game will commence.”
It became pin-drop silent. All of the students held their breath in fear they would miss the signal. The Headmaster and Skeleton were purposefully waiting to build up the pressure. The tension between the two teams was growing as all of the students stood frozen in place. I could see Nikolas’s still, looming figure within the forest amongst his classmates.
A faint breeze traveled through the air right as the sound of the bell disturbed the silence of the night.
All of the students were well hidden in the forest, so I couldn't see what was happening.
"Kazu, I'm going to go closer."
Kazu's eyes widened. "What?! Are you crazy?" He whispered feverishly, grabbing my sleeve.
"No one can see me, right? I'll be fine."
The werewolf shook his head vigorously. "Yes, but that's a huge risk."
"A risk I'm willing to take. I don't have eyesight like you, I can't see anything that's happening."
Defeatedly, Kazu's ears flattened onto his head. "Alright, but don't go too close."
I waved him away and walked down onto the field. I decided to stay ten steps away from the forest, a safe enough distance where I could still see and hear all of the students.
Half of the students had the same idea of rushing to grab the egg while others decided to protect their base. It was entertaining to see the students fall into traps set down by the opposite team or get tackled by their opponents. Only those who were swift and keen enough managed to avoid them.
While everyone was busy fighting one another, Nikolas and his classmate stealthily made it to the other side.
“Nikolas, you’re faster than me, so you should take the egg.” She pointed to the ember red egg in the tree. “I'll stall for time. Make sure to wear this.” The girl handed him something.
Nikolas nodded and placed it in his ears.
She stepped out of the bushes and revealed herself to the Jasper team. There were six of them guarding the egg. Right as they were about to attack, a melody escaped from her mouth. I covered my ears and saw the red team fail to do the same. It was already too late. The students swayed, fighting to stay awake, but their limp bodies collapsed onto the ground.
“Thanks, Aurora.” Nikolas ran up the tree and successfully grabbed the egg.
“Team Sapphire has taken Team Jasper’s egg!” The skeleton tensely declared.
“Hurry! My spell won’t last for long!” Aurora warned as the fallen students started to rustle awake. “The others should be ahead.”
Nikolas gave a knowing look and disappeared into the depths of the forest.
He is just too cool… I thought to myself.
His classmates started to distract the Jasper team students to let Nikolas through. Nikolas was halfway to his base, dashing through the depths of the forest, when he abruptly came to a halt.
"Well if it isn't the prissy show-off of Takuya High."
Nikolas, holding the egg in his left arm, stood there in silence.
I inched closer to get a better look at the opponent and saw it was another vampire. He circled Nikolas, eyeing him up and down. Nikolas watched, unamused.
“What? No ‘Hello’? No ‘Hey Zaros?’” Zaros mocked with a petulant expression.
Nikolas clenched his jaw and tilted his head to the side.
Zaros scoffed in disdain. “You know,” the vampire grimaced. “You seem a bit different.”
“How so?” Nikolas raised his brow.
He chuckled while leaning forward. He spoke quietly, but loudly enough for me to hear. “Reiko told me about your pet.”
Nikolas’s facial expression darkened.
The vampire laughed in response. “How unexpected of the straight-laced Nikolas! Even the heartthrob of Takuya High can’t suppress his satiation.” He sniffed the air. “You can smell human on-”
My heart dropped as I saw Nikolas pin the boy to the ground, strangling the breath out of him. The other vampire struggled to remove his hand, but Nikolas’s grip was too strong. His eyes widened in fear as he looked up at the glowering vampire.
"NIKOLAS WATCH OUT!" I desperately screamed at the top of my lungs.
Nikolas’s head jolted up and he saw a gargoyle flying from above. He rolled to the side avoiding his opponent's claws, and ran with the egg. Zaros dusted himself off and started to chase him down. The gargoyle snarled and followed suit, maliciously flapping his wings.
This was the perfect opportunity for Nikolas to run away, but now there were more students on him.
"Nikolas, pass the egg!"
The vampire spun his head and saw his classmate running right next to him. Nikolas tossed the egg to his classmate and it landed right in the palms of his hands. His wings flapped, sending several feathers afloat in the air.
“Team Sapphire is close to their home base! Will they win the game?” The skeleton’s bones were shaking as he hollered with all of his might.
I clapped happily as I watched Nikolas’s teammate soar to the home base. I could see red tracksuits trying to shoot the Strix down with rocks, but the student effortlessly avoided all of the projectiles.
I took a glance at Nikolas and saw his forehead wrinkled in concern. A glimmer of fear was seen in his eyes as he called out to his classmate, but it was too late.
A student dropped down from the tree and fell onto the strix leading the two of them to plummet to the ground. Nikolas grabbed onto his bangs while letting out a sigh. His classmate rolled over to show a broken egg.
“A devastating ending for Team Sapphire! With a broken egg, Team Jasper wins this year’s Scarlet Moon Festival!"
The forest dissipated, teleporting the red team to a stage where they could receive their trophy. Zaros and the gargoyle raised the trophy above their heads and the crowd cheered for their victory.
Students began flooding down to the winning team, overwhelming me in a sea of people. I tried my best to navigate through the crowd, but I became part of the horde and could no longer push my way through. The sound of my heartbeat in my ears throbbed painfully, thinking that I would be drowned by the crowd.
I felt something grab my hand, pulling me against the current. I didn't question the authority of the person holding my hand and let them drag me far away as the sound of students became faint.148Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWYwZ33c904
