Janice smiled and was about to introduce herself, when two more joined them on the beach, but her attention was focused on the man before her, with black hair and red eyes. His eyes were red like the color of the sea. The color of blood. Her heart beat faster out of excitement and a little bit of fear. These people were way more interesting than any previous schoolmates she had in the past. Her eyes went to the boy standing beside him, a thin yet toned guy with blue hair. Dyed perhaps? She thought the color was odd but it did suit him in an odd way. The most obvious feature of the blue haired boy, however, was that he looked exhausted.<br/><br/>"Morning." She said, "I'm Janice. Can I bother som..." she stopped when she heard footsteps in the sand behind her and she turned to see what the thought of as the personification of Yin and Yang. two boys, one dark and dreary looking, the other bright and bubbly. The boy with white hair beamed and made a little of her worry go away.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">"Hello, my name is Charon, and this is my cousin Eurydiss. Are you also students of Yokai academy?"</span><br/><br/>"Yes! I'm just looking for the place." Janice said.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">"Yesâ€¦ Yokaiâ€¦ there is no more class for the breast of the- rest of the day," Kal was blushing intensely at this point. "Pardon me."</span>The red eyed boy said awkwardly. Janice didn't even hear his mistake and smiled back at him, the blue haired boy stepped forward, his eyes to the cliff above.<br/><br/>"You guys here that?" he asked. There was a sudden roar, and Nydran saw Ziel, his classmate flying over the side of the cliff and into the water. Then, a monster followed him over, a Cyclops if Nydran saw correctly. It was a quick battle, ending in the death of the cyclops. It was a pity since a student was killed, but he was at least glad he wasn't involved. It was Charon who spoke first.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">"I wonder who that was," he said to himself. Charon looked to the frozen section of water. "I also wonder how long it will take that to thaw." He turned to Eurydiss. "Eury, you saw that right? He was strong was he not?" Charon laughed lightly. "I am not sure that I could beat him in a straight up fight." Eury kicked the sand again, "Nope, you probably couldn't." Charon nodded, "Yes, that is what I said." Eury looked out at the ocean. "I might like to try sometime though," Charon smiled, "I would not stop you, but if you were to die I would never forgive you, Eury."</span><br/><br/>They were acting like it was no big deal but Nydran's heart was beating faster from slight panic. He would never see this kind of thing in a Human school. As they all stared at the ice now floating in the red ocean, Nydran noticed Janice began to sway on her feet. Standing beside her, he was able to grab her arm before her knees buckled and started to shake.<br/><br/>"You alright, Janice?" he asked, "You look as if you haven't seen a monster before."<br/><br/>"A what?" she asked with a squeak.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">"The school is through those woods, is it not?" "Probably," said Eurydiss. "That is the way the road goes." Charon turned to the other people on the beach. "Well in that case, I suppose we will be going now." He looked to the girl with the duffel bag. "You still have your belongings with you. Why do you not come with us to the academy so you can put them away?" Eury looked up, "Charon, you're not thinking..." said Eury trying to keep his eyes off the girl's enormous chest. Charon tilted his head, "Eh? I am not thinking what, Eury?" Eurydiss' eyebrow twitched. /He doesn't notice,/ Eury thought in disbelief.<br/><br/>Charon continued to look confused. "Oh, never mind," said Eury, blushing. "Well all right," said Charon. "How about you come with us?" he said to the girl. "We have just arrived as well." Charon smiled a completely innocent and friendly smile, "Why not?"</span><br/><br/>Janice started to panic. She had no idea what was going on and the blue haired boy had a tight grip on her arm so she couldn't run even if she wanted to. Granted he was helping her stand because her damn legs wouldn't listen to her after what she had just seen. All she could do was nod slightly.<br/><br/>"I'll come with you." Nydran said, "You look like you could use a hand." he turned to Kal behind him, "Kal, you coming too or would you rather some peace and quiet here?"<br/><br/>They made their way up the path to the road, then began walking towards the school. Nydran carried the girl's duffle bag on his shoulder, while she slung her arm around it as well, supporting her as she walked. She looked terrified beyond belief and Nydran's mind swam as they walked, focused on her scent, the smell of strawberry perfume, and the overpowering sensation of her ample bosom pressed to his side. He tried to be mature about it, but as a guy the disrespectful thoughts were in the back of his mind, where he hoped they would stay. Right now, there was something more important at hand.<br/><br/>Lowering his voice, he whispered to Janice, "Are you really going to be alright?"<br/><br/>"I...I don't know." she muttered, "What happened back there? Did I really see what I thought I saw? Am I going crazy?!"<br/><br/>"You saw a fight between two monsters, perhaps more up on the cliff." He said quietly, "Haven't you ever seen another monster before?"<br/><br/>"A m-monster?" she stammered, her legs buckling once more and Nydran strained to keep her upright, "There are real live monster's here?!"<br/><br/>"Shhh!" Nydran hushed her, "Yes. Yokai High school is a school for monsters. Everyone here is a monster. Aren't you one too? Why else would you come?" Nydran heard her stop breathing and stopped. Tears were streaming down her face. She sank to her knees and shook as she cried, Nydran kneeled beside her, waving for the rest to move on.<br/><br/>"She's just a little homesick." he said to the group, "I'll make sure she gets there. Go on ahead." He waited for them to move on and turned back to Janice, who was now cowering away from him.<br/><br/>"You're all Monsters? You're lying! There are no such thing!" she said, her voice unable to make much more than a whisper, "I can't be here. I need to go home. It's not safe." She hugged into her knees, not caring that Nydran could see under her skirt. She was scared, "It's all a lie! Or a really bad dream! That's right! I'm still on the bus on the way to school! I just fell asleep!"<br/><br/>"No, it's not a dream." Nydran said, putting a hand on her shoulder, but she swatted it away.<br/><br/>"Stay away! You're a monster too! You want to eat me or something!" she cried.<br/><br/>"No, I'm not the kind that eats Humans." he said, "I lived in your world for most of my life. I lived in Florida with my parents. They own an aquarium. I'm a Merman. It's probably why I smell like the ocean."<br/><br/>"You don't look like a Mermaid!" she snapped. Nydran sighed.<br/><br/>"My Sister and Mother are Mermaids, I'm a Merman. Same species I suppose. All monsters attending this school are required to stay in a Human form. It's so we can learn about Humans and co-exist with them." he paused for a moment, then added, "You're really a Human, aren't you?" He had to confirm it.<br/><br/>Janice nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. Nydran sighed and looked around nervously, his hand over his mouth.<br/><br/>"Okay, this is fine. You're going to be alright. Just don't let anyone know, alright?" he said.<br/><br/>"I want to go home." She said.<br/><br/>"And it would probably be best if you did and forget about this place, but that bus driver only comes around once a month." he said, "Like it or not, you're here for a month at least. It would probably be best to play the part and pretend to be a monster. For your safety."<br/><br/>"Why?"<br/><br/>"Human's aren't allowed in the Monster realm. They're supposed to be killed on sight." he said.<br/><br/>"So why haven't you killed me yet?" she whimpered.<br/><br/>"Why would I kill an innocent?" he asked, "I don't want to kill anyone. I only eat fish mostly and sometimes I feel bad killing those." He smiled trying to reassure her and offered his hand, "Don't worry. I'll keep your secret. Just make sure you don't tell anyone that you're Human. There's a rule here that you're supposed to keep your true identity a secret anyway, so everyone expects you to keep it a secret anyway."<br/><br/>"Didn't you just break that rule?" she asked, taking his hand and standing up, Nydran chuckled, lifting her bag to his shoulder once more.<br/><br/>"I suppose. But I'm keeping your secret, you'll keep mine." he said, "I'm Nydran by the way."<br/><br/>"Janice." she said as she started walking beside him again, "You look exhausted."<br/><br/>"Long trip here. Haven't slept since I left Florida and the plane ride was way too long."<br/><br/>"Ah I see." she said, forcing a smile. She decided to give this place a chance, regardless, vowing to be very careful. Nydran seemed nice enough and she thought she could trust him, but she didn't really have a choice. He was the only one who could help her if she got in trouble right now. Then there was the other guy he was with on the beach. There was something about his smoldering red eyes that she couldn't get out of her mind. It was like they could see into her soul.<br/><br/>For now, she followed Nydran to the school, tentatively crossing the threshold of the ominous gate overhead, then she stared upwards at the architecture of the building, like something out of a Halloween movie, or designed by Tim Burton, or at least his brother...<br/><br/>Nydran led her into the school and to the homeroom class, where he saw Celeste still at her desk, her dog sitting nearby.<br/><br/>"Morning, Miss Celeste. We have a straggler for our class that missed the assignment." Nydran said, "This is Janice." Janice stepped up to her and bowed.<br/><br/>"It's nice to meet you. I'm Janice Carter." she said, "Sorry I'm late. I misunderstood the time on the letter. The bus driver said to tell you he said it was alright."