Hellhound At Supernatural Academy-Chapter 47: A Message

After parting ways with Maimai, I confronted the person who had been tailing us from a distance. She was not far from where I stood, sitting on a bench as if she had always been there. When she noticed me approaching, she hurriedly pulled out her phone and began fiddling with it.

I casually sat down beside her without saying a word.

"Maimai looked unhappy. Did you break her heart?" she finally spoke after a while of us sitting in silence.

"What are you doing here, Sarah?"

"Nothing much, just waiting for a friend," she replied, trying to sound casual, but I could see the smirk on her face.

"You were at the café we just left. Were you waiting for a friend there too?"

"Really?! You were there too!! I didn’t know that."

What was she playing at? What could she possibly gain from following me?

"Tell me the truth, Sarah. Why were you following me?"

She let out a sigh. "I couldn’t help it. Knowing you were going out with her made me so jealous. Before I knew it, I was at the café Maimai told me you guys were going to meet up."

"I asked for the truth. We both know that’s not it. You’re hiding something."

"No, I’m not! I’m telling you the truth. Is it so hard to accept that I have feelings for you? If it’s Finn you’re worried about, I’ll just break up with him."

"No need. In fact, if you ever decide to break up with Finn, consider our partnership over."

"W-What?! Why?"

"Because I don’t trust you, and Finn acts as the perfect barrier between us. With him around, you have no choice but to keep a certain distance from me unless you want your reputation to be spoiled. Right now, you’re getting special treatment because of our partnership, but once I figure out what you’re up to, I’ll treat you no differently than anyone else."

Her expression completely changed and I saw a glimmer of her true self. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Tsk. You’re no different from them. You’ll just use me and then toss me away like garbage, acting like I’m the bad guy."

"Right now, I’m the one being used, and I have no idea who’s pulling the strings. Did I somehow manage to make another enemy?" She kept her head down, not even looking at me. "I’ll see you at school," I said, getting up from the bench.

After my conversation with Sarah, I returned to my dorm room. I opened the door to find Amelia sprawled out on my bed, apparently asleep. No matter how many times I told her she wasn’t welcome in my room, she never seemed to get the message.

Maybe I should try a different approach. You see, your skin contains mechanoreceptors that respond to touch, pressure, and vibration. Areas like your sides have a high concentration of these nerve endings, which send electrical signals to your brain when touched.

Tickling, often seen as playful, can also be used for more sinister purposes—like dealing with someone who constantly invades your personal space uninvited.

Amelia was sleeping peacefully, her chest rising and falling with each breath, her body curled around my pillow—violating it. I crept closer, grabbed her by the side, and began my merciless assault.

Frightened, she let out a loud screech that nearly shattered my eardrums. My ears rang with tinnitus.

"Sin!! What are you doing?" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet on my bed, her face as red as ever.

"What are you doing? I told you to stop taking naps on my bed."

"Oh, I wanted to talk to you, but you were gone. I decided to wait, but I must’ve fallen asleep. Regardless, you have no right to tickle me while I’m sleeping."

"Then sleep in your own room, and you wouldn’t have to worry about anyone tickling you. Anyway, what did you want to talk about?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Katherine wanted to ask if you’re willing to meet with her."

"That’s sudden. What brought that on? Did you speak to her about me?"

"No, she just asked me to pass on the message."

"I didn’t know you two were close enough to meet up on weekends," I said, a little suspicious.

"Oh, it wasn’t today; it was at school."

At school? Something didn’t feel right.

"When exactly did she ask you to pass on this message?"

"Hmmm... I think it was the day you came back to school."

"Hold on a second. That was Monday? You got a message for me on Monday and decided to wait until the weekend to tell me?!"

"Relax, jeez... I forgot about it until a while ago."

"You don’t forget messages like that, especially when it concerns the safety of your own class."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but I don’t really concern myself with class politics. I told her it would be best if she told you herself, but she wouldn’t listen. She was all high-strung about it."

"Do you have her number?"

"Yeah, I think so. Why?"

"Give it to me."

After collecting Katherine’s number from Amelia, I immediately messaged her to set a date for us to meet. We eventually decided to meet on Monday after school. I was curious about what she wanted to discuss—was it about her brother or about Liam?

"You’re really planning to meet with her?" Amelia asked.

What the hell was she still doing in my room?

"What, don’t you want me to meet with her? You know, you never asked me about what happened during the special training regimen. I know you must have heard Katherine’s version of events."

"I told you, I’m not interested in school politics. But if you’re asking for my opinion, I’d say what Katherine said was true—you did attack them with the intention of seriously injuring them."

"And yet here you are, lying in my bed without a care in the world."

"Don’t say it like that; you make it sound so dirty," she pouted. "Anyway, now that I’ve delivered the message, I’m heading back to my dorm room. But I’ll be back for dinner, so make sure you cook something good, okay?" She said giving me a wink.

On Monday after school, I had my meeting with Katherine. We met in an empty classroom. I arrived a little late, but she was already there.

"Sorry for keeping you," I apologized.

"It’s fine. Let’s get this over with."

I noticed her attitude hadn’t changed much. She was just as charming as ever, but a bit more wary of me, speaking from a distance.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked.

"It’s about my brother. I’ve seen the two of you together, and I was wondering what that’s about."

"Nothing much. We’re just friends."

Katherine gave me a skeptical look, as if she couldn’t believe what I said.

"You’re friends with my brother? Why? He’s not the type to make friends easily."

"I don’t know what to tell you. We just became friends. You know, your brother doesn’t talk much about you. Are you two close?"

"That’s none of your business," she snapped, her face clearly displeased.

I could tell there was a complicated story between her and her brother, and it seemed like an emotional topic for her.

"My brother acknowledges you," she said solemnly. "After our fight, even I know how capable you are."

"You’re not a bad fighter yourself. You’re highly skilled and come up with good strategies. The problem is that you get flustered whenever things don’t go your way. If you work on that, you’ll be fine."

"W-Why are you helping me after everything you’ve done? Are you trying to make amends? If that’s the case, then help me. Help me get stronger so I can prove myself to my brother," she said, stepping closer. Something felt off; I could see the desperation in her eyes. This girl, who normally kept a wall between herself and others, was laying herself bare. Was her brother’s approval really that important to her?

"You’ve got it all wrong. I’m not trying to make amends; in fact, I have nothing to make amends for. I was just offering some free advice as a way to be kind."

"Regardless, will you help me? Get stronger, I mean."

"What would I gain from this arrangement? You don’t think I’ll help you without getting anything in return, do you?"

"If you’re implying that I should betray Liam, then forget it."

"I wasn’t suggesting you do anything like that."

"Then what do you want?"

"I can’t really think of anything right now. Let’s just say you’ll owe me a favor."

"I think I have a right to know what this favor will be."

"I just told you, I can’t think of anything right now."

"Fine, then let’s set some boundaries. I won’t do anything to betray Liam or my classmates, and I also won’t do anything sexual."

"Okay, that should be fine."

"Alright then, we have a deal. You’ll train me until I’ve earned my brother’s respect," she said, holding out her hand for a handshake. Funnily enough, it was the same arm I had dislocated. I felt like it meant something, as if she was saying, "I trust you." What a strange girl. I grabbed her extended arm and shook it.