[ BOOK THREE ]
Ryan Mikaelson has spent his entire life hearing stories about his family and their past. The infamous Original family. The villains of the supernatural world. His world. But now, it's his turn to make his own mark.
Now a student at...
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CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Since When Do You Speak Japanese?
__________________
EXCITED SHOUTS and the crash of instruments filled the inside of high school's gymnasium. Ryan cringed when he approached its entrance. The sounds made his sensitive ears ring. Hope entered the crowded room before him and Alaric. Cheerleaders yelled as they shook black and red pompoms, while the band played an indistinguishable toon. A pep rally.
Not the best time for an Oni-possessed Rafael to go missing.
"Damn," Hope exclaimed as she glanced around the room, "I wonder if Raf already touched someone."
Ryan scoffed, taking in the scene of teenagers hoping around and shoving into one another. "I'll be surprised if he hasn't. Have you seen this place?"
"Yeah, just look for anyone acting strange or erratic," Alaric told them.
Just then, the members of the Mystic Falls football team gathered in a circle in the middle of the basketball court. They grabbed ahold of each other and started to chant, "Timberwolves! Timberwolves! Timberwolves!"
Hope blinked. "You mean besides the football team?"
Ryan sighed. "This is gonna suck."
Before they could say more, the new sheriff stepped in front of them. "There's a student that needs your help," she stated and motioned for them to follow her.
Ryan exchanged a look with his sister and former headmaster, spinning on his heel to go after the woman. They headed toward a corner of the gym where the locker-rooms were located. The noise from the pep rally faded as they entered the sweat-scented space. Ryan weaved through the metal lockers that held bags and other belongings. His gaze landed on someone sat at the end of a wooden bench with their head in their hands. Rafael.
Ryan slowed his pace, not knowing if the Oni was still inside him.
That thought failed to cross Hope's mind as she moved toward Rafael.
"Hope, wait. Don't touch him," Alaric warned her, but she ignored him and crouched in front of the boy.
Ryan eyed Rafael when Hope set a hand onto his knee. He did not feel anything that would lean toward a demon or dark magic presence. Although, he could never be too cautious.
"Raf?" Hope questioned the boy, forcing him to lift his head and look at her. "Hey. Oh, yeah. That's you, isn't it?"
Rafael took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah." He stared at Hope for a long moment, before he glanced to where Ryan and Alaric stood nearby. "Um – I wasn't in control back there."
"It's okay. I – I can help you," Hope tried to soothe him. "I – I just need to know if there's anyone that you've touched, or who might've touched you."
"Um," Rafael muttered, "I don't remember any of it."
Ryan released a long breath. "That's okay," he said, drawing the werewolf's attention to him. "We'll figure something out." He glanced to the man at his side, whose expression fell. "I hope."
_______
Once Rafael calmed down and regained his wits, Alaric thought the boy should head back to the Salvatore School to recuperate from the incident. Next, they set off to find the Oni. The thing was still on the loose, and they needed to locate it before someone ended up dead. Although, they did not make it far when Josie intercepted them in one of the hallways.
"Did you find Raf?" she questioned them.
"We sent him back to campus. The Oni wasn't in him, so it could be anywhere," Alaric told his daughter.
"I'll find it. As long as you convince Landon not to sacrifice himself to stop this thing," Josie exclaimed.
"No!" Hope voiced, a little too fast. Ryan, Josie, and Alaric's gazes snapped toward her. She blinked and shook her head. "Uh, no. He – he can't do that. I mean, we can't give the monster what it wants."
Ryan resisted the urge to snort. Smooth, Hope. Smooth.
"Especially when what it wants is my boyfriend," Josie clarified with a tinge to her voice. "Who's only doing this because he thinks that it's all his fault."
Ryan decided not to comment on it. If Josie wanted to be a jealous, rage monster, then she could. Hope could hold her own.
Alaric looked to his daughter with narrowed eyes. "Boyfriend?"
Hope ignored him and proposed, "why don't I talk some sense into him?" She pressed her lips together and nodded, heading for Alaric's office without anyone's approval. "Okay."
Ryan watched her disappear down the hallway, before he said, "and I'll go look for someone Hulking out as the Oni." He started through the school until a voice spoke behind him.
"I'll go, too," Josie stated and went after the Mikaelson boy. "To get my mind off my jealous tendencies," she quipped when she fell into step at his side.
Ryan turned a gave her a tight smile. "That's the spirit."
_______
The two supernatural teenagers were silent as they strode through hallways of the public school. Ryan did not particularly want to talk with the girl. Since he returned to Mystic Falls, everything seemed to change. Alaric was no longer his headmaster, no one remembered his sister, Lizzie managed to find herself in a stable state of mind, and Josie and Landon became a thing. Ryan failed to keep up with it all on most days. Now, he could not even talk to the girl who used to be his friend.
They walked on for a little while, before Josie broke the quiet between them. "I know you're hiding something," she voiced.
Ryan looked to her with a raised brow. "Okay. What am I hiding?"
"You've never mentioned a cousin before. Then, this girl shows up, whose apparently a witch and a werewolf," Josie exclaimed as they moved further down the halls.
Ryan scoffed. "I have cousins. You know, not all of my family are vampires."
Josie spun on her heel and came to a halt in front of him. "Really? Name another one."
