Looking dejectedly at the floor, Moka says, "It's just... whenever I or my friends really needed you, you've always been there for us. So... it bothers me that it seems like nobody ever really tries to be there for you, just to be there."
...if you're honest with yourself, then you can't at all say it's a bad feeling to have a friend express their concern for you. And while Mizore's devotion is without question, she still expects you to return her feelings. And you do, in a lot of ways, but.... but....
Good grief...
You stare down at the arm Moka was clamping down on just moments ago, and at the sad young woman standing across from you.
Sad on your behalf.
Part of you can't help but wonder... if this might be what having a little sister is like.
A fit of whimsy strikes you, and you elect to follow through on it.
With the very arm she'd been restraining you by a moment ago, you reach up and pat her head... before going a step further and ruffling her hair, just for shits and giggles.
"Hey--!"
"Thanks... But let's find Tsukune first."
As you remove your hand, Moka stares at you for a moment, before she makes a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. "...yeah, senpai, you're right. Finding Tsukune should come first."
She makes eye contact with you again, and you can see a hint of her earlier steel in that gaze. "Just don't think I'm forgetting about your situation either, okay?"
You nod, and as she turns to look back down the corridor, you look back on what she said earlier and realize that she probably thought you were just passing by the rooms instead of checking them. "He isn't in any of these rooms," you decide to explain.
Moka stops, and slowly turns back to look at you again. "...you never even opened the doors to look," she astutely points out. "How would you know?"
It suddenly occurs to you: you don't think she, or any of your Newspaper friends actually, know about your Stand. You certainly don't recall ever having spoken about it except with Mizore, the old man, or that Avdol guy over the phone.
But even so, time may still be of the essence. Better skip the details and just give her the important bits. "I have a Stand with superhuman senses, and I can use it to quickly investigate a room without having to enter it myself."
Moka closes her eyes, and while you're no expert lip-reader, she seems to be counting to ten. "Of course," she says apparently more to herself than to you. "Why wouldn't senpai just randomly happen to have the exact psychic powers that make our job only slightly easier?"
....is Moka calling you a weirdo? Because it sounds like Moka's calling you a weirdo, which only goes to illustrate how utterly ridiculous she's being. Coming from, of all people, an artisanal prodigy vampire girl with split personalities, no self-esteem, and all of her relationship issues?
She's the bizarre one, not you.
Of course, you don't realize yet that it runs in the family.
"So if you've already confirmed that he's not in this hallway," Moka begins, "then your Stand does make this go a lot faster."
Cupping her chin in her hand, her eyes narrow in concern as she continues. "On the other hand, Youkai Academy is still a pretty big school, so it could still be a long time before we manage to find out where he is, even if Tsukune's in our half of the campus to begin with --"
[ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS,] you both hear from the school's public address system.
"That's Ms. Kagome speaking," you observe. As is usually the case when math isn't involved, she sounds clinical and detached.
[THE STUDENT PROTECTION COMMITTEE HAS REQUESTED AN ASSEMBLY IN THE FRONT COURTYARD IN TEN MINUTES, FOR THE PUBLIC TRIAL AND PROBABLE EXECUTION OF A SUSPECTED HUMAN INFILTRATOR.]
Moka grimaces, but tries to cover it up with a grin. "Well, at least we know where to look next, right?"
[EVERYBODY, PLEASE SHOW UP SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY MORE CASUALTIES THAN WE ABSOLUTELY NEED TO, MEOW?]
At least Ms. Nekonome seems distressed over the idea of any students dying. One concerned teacher is better than none, you guess.
It seems that the SPC will be holding a 'public trial' in the front courtyard, and if they intend to execute him on the spot then it's likely that Tsukune will be on hand for rescuing.
On the other hand: if he's likely to be physically present, and it sounds like most of if not the entire SPC will be there, then that also makes him a hostage. Going in half-cocked is almost undoubtedly a recipe for disaster.
What will be your approach?
[]Gather your friends together, and coordinate a plan in the brief time you have to work with.
[]Go quietly, and focus on keeping your underclassmen from doing something stupid before the time is right.
[]Out yourself as a human in an attempt to take the focus off of Tsukune, and then fight your way out of the situation alone if you have to.
