A direct confrontation was inevitable, really. Both of them knew it. They both knew that the other was up to something, and that they were both fully aware of that fact. Mizore the Yuki-onna, Kurumu the Succubus, both of them were far too smart and far too capable to ignore the inevitable, and so -
"Hrm, one moment, I think we're going to need more paper," Kurumu chirped, rising to her feet. "Mizore, let me show you where the storage cupboard is!"
"Ah, thank you very much."
If anyone knew what to look for between these two they would see sparks flying. They both knew full well that this wasn't going to be a friendly little chat. And so, off they went to a side room where all the paper, folders and ink were stored for club use. A rather more spacious location than one might imagine - though the clubrooms had all been designed bearing in mind that nobody knew which room would be used for what purpose, and so the storage was a bit more than usual.
Kurumu held the door open for her adversary and led her inside with a smile that was practically made of daggers. Mizore returned one of her own. The two went inside. Kurumu checked the door. As this room doubled as a dark room the seals on the door were snug. It wouldn't do if you spoiled the film by letting in light, now would it? That had the side effect of muffling noise within the room quite a bit. Not soundproof by any means, but effective enough that someone could not listen from outside.
"Why Mizore, it's such a pleasure seeing you again," Kurumu chirped. "Still on your hunt for the one and only man you can manage?"
"Right back at you," Mizore replied. She tilted her head a little, almost letting it rest upon her shoulder. A cutesy affectation that made her seem more innocent than she truly was. "Are you still unsatisfied with the notion of a single man? You need several to satisfy you?"
"All that brain and so little ambition," Kurumu tutted.
"All that brain, and so little self control," Mizore countered.
They could go on like this for hours. In fact, they had done. Mocking each other like, going back and forth. Mizore mocking Kurumu for her lust driven schemes driving her to have a harem bigger than she could possibly realistically make full use of. Kurumu mocking Mizore for being willing to settle for a single solitary man - and being so exacting in her specifications that she had yet to find one.
Ying and yang, as they say. Opposite to one another in every meaningful way, yet also similar as well if you tilted your perspective just so. One would think that they would not cross paths often enough to consider each other bitter rivals. Yet here they were. Yet again, dancing this merry dance.
"Judging from the manner in which you were draped to him, Tsukune is your target this time," Kurumu said. "No doubt you intend to make a deal of some sort with me - Tsukune in exchange for staying out of your way."
"And you, no doubt, shall insist upon hogging him all to yourself," Mizore replied. Mocking her by mimicking Kurumu's body language. The cheeky little - "Truly, the greed and lust of a succubus knows no bounds. You have to have it all, or having nothing at all. A compromise would be more intelligent, don't you think? Much less risky to your overall plans."
"Tsukune is a vital aspect of what I'm doing," Kurumu admitted, though with great reluctance. That did spike Mizore's interests somewhat. "I'm going to have him all to myself. Got it?"
In response to this, the air in the room became a touch colder. As well, Kurumu stared Mizore in the eyes, letting the radiance of her charm wash out over her rival. It wouldn't be extremely effective at first, but... But staring into Mizore's eyes, Kurumu could see something shining back at her. A reflection of snow and ice. Mizore was wearing contact lenses made of a thin layer of ice! She was deliberately distorting the charm effect!
On top of that, little flecks of snow began to fall within the room in a most peculiar pattern, placing greater emphasis on Mizore's figure. The light sparkling, flashing. An attempt to hypnotise her. Placing her into a vulnerable, sleepy state of mind.
"A new technique?" Kurumu asked, gesting to the snow around them. "Very good, very clever. It must take a lot of precise calculations to achieve the desired effect."
Aha, there we go. A touch of confusion fell onto that pretty little face. A furrowed brow! Pretending to be figuring it out, or genuinely stumped? Either way, Kurumu was chalking that one up as a win.
"You're using an illusion," Mizore said. "To throw off my calculations, you are making it appear as though you are standing somewhere other than you actually are."
Sarcastic applause, well done, well done. Like this, the two of them were functionally immune to one another's hypnotic abilities - at least for the time being. Kurumu was certain she could figure out a way around Mizore's little trick there. Regular contact lenses and glasses didn't really protect much from a charm, so there's likely an imperfection within the ice. Crystals or something. Creating a distortion that was quite deliberately throwing everything off.
Bah! How annoying!
"Based on how we've been behaving so far, neither of us is going to out the other - purely out of self interest." Kurumu said.
"But of course," Mizore said. "How is it put, he said she said? Any evidence you could use against me could likely also be used against you. Is that all you wished to speak of? I thought these points were rather obvious. A truce, a stalemate, with the winner being given the opportunity to ride Tsukune like the hot little stud that he is."
"Actually, there is one other potential issue we need to discuss," Kurumu said. "I've been trying to keep out of the way of the Disciplinary Committee so far. They don't seem like the part to, pardon me for being crass, fuck around. I'm aware their leader is a rather powerful S-Class, and lust does not seem to be on any of their agendas. Not a boyfriend or girlfriend among them."
"Ah, the same group that dismantled the newspaper club last year?" Mizore asked. "If you've been avoiding them so far, then provoking them with the newspaper club is..." She trailed off. "I see. You're going to use the club to build up a large enough following that you can overwhelm them with sheer strength of numbers."
"They're a threat to both our plans," Kurumu said. "In point of fact, they're a direct threat to both of us. Sooner or later they're going to poke their noses into our business, find out what we're doing - or get on the trail of finding out - and then we'll have that little hellstorm climbing up our rather splendid - in my case perfect - butts."
"Aw, a compliment?" Mizore pouted. "Are you sure my snow had no effect on you at all?"
A worrying thought. Kurumu would have to devise a good way to check on that, and develop a more certain long term defense while figuring out how to deal with Mizore. None of which would be easy as it was essentially a hypno-arm's race. Still, if hse was planning to turn all of the hot boys and girls of the school into her personal harem, Mizore was an absolute must. She wasn't as outright hot as herself or Moka, or even in the top five. But definitely in the top ten.
Anyway, that was all she actually wanted to talk with Mizore about... But she was going to stall the bitch anyway. With a little, aha, negotiation for staying out of each other's way. Hammer out the details of what they were and weren't allowed to do in their upcoming 'game'.
Why would she waste time like that? Why else? To keep Mizore focused on her while her other plans went ahead.
Go back - Go to the parent episode.
Mon Apr 18 22:27:01 2022