Case #9-Zach Reaper vs School Administration

"Oooh…" groans some random student sitting at the lunch table across from us.

"What's the matter?" Asks his friend with a cocky smirk. "Failed again, eh?"

"I studied all night for the test!" Complaints to the first student. "And I still failed!"

"How'd that happen?" His friend asks.

"I don't know!" Replies the first student. "I studied everything and got 100's on all the practice exams! Yet, somehow, I still failed. It's like…I was cursed with bad luck!"

"Same here," sighs his friend. "Just this morning alone, I stepped on gum, lost my wallet, and a steel beam collapsed on me…"

"Yikes!" Shivers the first student.

"Yeah, bad stuff's been going on all over the school lately," replies his friend. "Such as-"

Evelyn, Raiden, and I raise an eyebrow as we eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Cursed, huh…that's gotta mean something…" Evelyn comments.

"A steel beam?!" Raiden cries. "How is he alive?!"

"Who studies all night for a test…?" I ask as I rub my chin.

"That's what piqued your interest?!" Evelyn snaps as she smacks the back of my noggin.

"Either way, that's some serious bad luck," I continue as I rub the back of my head. "One may even call it paranormal."

"P-paranormal…?" Raiden stammers.

"Dude, you're a Paranormal too," Evelyn sighs as she rubs her sore hand.

"Have you found your next target, Reaper?" A voice asks as our lunch table is surrounded by a cloud of smoke. When the smoke begins to fade, there stands Koga, who has every pair of eyes in the cafeteria glued on him.

"Stop doing that!" I snap as I cough and wave away the smoke. "The only attention that I want on me is for my dashing good looks, not for being some Supernatural freak!"

"A ninja always moves in the shadows," Koga replies. "Or the smoke."

"I don't even know if there is a case to be had here," I sigh with a shrug. "It's just some kids getting unlucky. That's all."

Our conversation is interrupted when we hear the two boys begin talking again.

"Maybe you should submit a request to that Reaper's Paranormal website?" Suggests the second guy. "Who knows? The Reaper may be able to solve whatever bad luck is plaguing this school."

"Yeah, good idea," the first guy replies as he whips out his phone and begins tapping away. A moment later, I feel a small vibration coming from my phone, so I whip it out with a sigh.

"Is that what I think it is?" Raiden asks.

"Definitely," Evelyn replies.

"Well, this is it," I sigh as I read the notification on my phone. "It looks like we got a job to do."

"Alright!" Evelyn cheers.

"Woah…one my first cases as an official member of the team, I hope I don't mess up…" Raiden trembles.

"What's the information on this case?" Koga asks.

"Well the request was just made by that guy over there," I begin to explain as I point to the first of the two students that we've been watching. "He wants us to investigate the school and figure out why everyone's been having such bad luck all of sudden, and-hey, wait! Why am I explaining this to you?"

"You may need my help for this mission," Koga suggests. "Stealth and investigation are my specialties."

"Since when did you join the team?" I grumble.

"I will never join your little merry band of criminals," Koga replies. "I only want to join you on this quest so that I can keep tabs on you. And when you least expect it…I STRIKE!" Shouts Koga as he grabs Evelyn's shoulders, causing her to scream before spinning around and smacking him.

"What was that for?!" She pants heavily.

"That was…a practical joke," Koga replies.

"Moving on, the guy over there wants me to meet him in the school after hours," I continue. "Well then…I guess we should go prepare."

***

And so, the school day came and passed. Just as always, Evelyn spent the rest of the day giggling to herself and kicking her feet in anticipation, unable to control her excitement. And as the sun sets once I've changed into my Reaper's Paranormal outfit, I head back to the school with Evelyn and Raiden in tow. Koga is nowhere in sight.

"Holy crap, he actually came!" Exclaims the student who made the request.

"Woah, he's real," replies his friend.

"So, you two made the request, eh?" I ask as I approach the school.

"Err…yeah!" Stammers the first dude.

"Hey, isn't that Evelyn?" The second guy asks as he elbows his friend in the ribs. "The cute student council chick?"

"Uhh…yeah, that's me," Evelyn replies with a bashful chuckle as she awkwardly rubs the back of her neck.

"Why are you here?" The first guy asks.

"I'm uhh…helping out the Reaper for a work study thing," Evelyn replies, causing the boys to shrug.

"And that kid in the blue cloak looks familiar too," the second guy says as he points to Raiden, causing the wizard to tense up nervously. "Have I seen you around school before?"

"Nope!" Raiden answers.

"Fair enough…"

"So, you two mind showing me around the school?" I ask.

"Well…" the first guy replies as he rubs the back of his neck. "I could but I got something to do all of a sudden, so…bye!"

And with that, the two guys run off.

"That's…suspicious…?" Evelyn asks.

"Not at all," a voice says as a cloud of smoke appears behind Evelyn, causing the girl to shriek and hop away. When the smoke clears, there Koga stands, with his arms crossed. "They were simply afraid by the lure of the paranormal, that in which they can't understand," Koga explains, before turning to face Evelyn. "You mean you couldn't smell the fear in their sweat and gaseous excretions?"

"No, I'm not a freak!" Evelyn snaps.

"Then why are you even here?" Koga sighs, before looking Evelyn up and down. "And…who are you again?"

Evelyn throws her hands in the hair with an annoyed grunt.

"Alright, let's head in, team," I sigh as I push the doors of the school open. "-And Koga."

"So, where do we even start?" Raiden answers once we enter the school.

"Can't say I have a clue," I say as I begin looking around.

"Hehehe,' Evelyn snickers as she taps her nose.

"What…are you doing…?" I ask.

"Oh, so you smelled their fear afterall?" Raiden asks.

"NO!" Evelyn snaps, before quickly reclaiming her composure. "I just so happen to know a thing or two about the bad luck going around in this school, and that it's happening-"

"-In the basement," Koga finishes, causing her to recoil.

"YOU STOLE MY LINE!" Evelyn snaps. "Thief! How did you know, anyway?!"

"It's common knowledge," Koga replies. "Bad luck stems from curses, and curses have a negative connotation to it, and so does the dark. And what places are dark? The basement, of course. Therefore, the bad luck circulating around their school must originate from the basement."

"What kind of grade-schooler logic is this?!" Evelyn snaps.

"Wait, Koga may have a point," I interrupt as I hold a hand up to Evelyn.

"He does?!" She cries.

"Let's check the basement," I order as I begin making my way downstairs, and I wave the team on as we do so.

Soon, we reach the basement door, but when I go to open it, I find that the door doesn't budge.

"It's locked," I say.

"Hold on, let me try," Evelyn replies as she pushes me out of the way.

"What are you going to do that I can't?" I ask as I raise an eyebrow at Evelyn, who attempts to pull the door open. It doesn't budge.

"It's locked," Evelyn says.

"Yeah, no shit?!" I cry.

"Hold on, I got this," Raiden says as he brandishes his wand. "I can finally be useful!"

"No," Koga says as he holds a hand out to Raiden, causing the wizard to pause.

"What's the problem?" Raiden asks.

"The basement must be locked for a reason," Koga replies. "We must enter stealthily. That is one of the first rules of being a ninja."

"Is that even a word?" Raiden asks.

"Well we're not ninja?!" Evelyn adds.

"Woah, woah, woah hold on," I reply. "All men love ninja."

Raiden nods fervently.

"There must be people behind this door," Koga continues as he presses an ear to it.

"No, they just lock the basement at night!" Evelyn replies.

"Stand back," Koga orders as he takes a step backwards, and we all do the same. "I'll get us through stealthily."

Swiftly, Koga brings up his knee and snap-kicks through the door, knocking it off of its hinges and causing it to crash to the ground with a mighty clang.

"HOW WAS THAT STEALTHY?!" Evelyn cries.

"Come, let's move out," Koga orders as he swiftly looks from right to left, before making his way down the basement stairs.

"Hey, I'm the leader!" I snap as I worm my way in front of Koga. "Plus, you're not even on the team!"

Raiden looks at Evelyn, shrugs, then follows after Koga and I. Evelyn looks to the ceiling and sighs, then does the same.

Once we make it into the basement, Koga brandishes a match and strikes it, engulfing the basement in a small golden glow.

"Alright, now where do we go from here?" Evelyn asks.

"Wasn't coming down here your idea?" Raiden asks with a small chuckle.

"No, it was Koga's," Evelyn replies as she crosses her arms and turns her nose away.

"Hold up, do you guys hear that?" I ask as I hold a finger up to shish my friends.

"I do," Koga answers.

"Do you?" Raiden asks as he peers at Evelyn.

"No clue," Evelyn replies. "I'm not weird like those two."

"Super-human Reaper hearing," I explain.

"Superhuman ninja hearing," Koga adds.

"What do you guys hear?" Raiden asks.

"I hear…chanting," I answer as I look back and forth between the dimly lit dungy, moist basement hallways. Very faint chanting," I continue as I turn and face the right side of the hallway. "Coming from this way." I begin steadily creeping down the hallway, and Evelyn, Raiden, and Koga follow after me.

As we make our way down the hallway, the chanting grows louder and louder, and when I turn a corner, I spot a group of three cloaked figures around what appears to be a bonfire with various ornaments surrounding it. In between their chants and prayers, the cloaked figures toss the ornaments into the fire.

"Shit!" I gasp as I duck behind the corner.

"What, what is it?!" Evelyn asks.

"Well…we found our targets," I reply. "And who's been causing all that bad luck to go about the school."

"Lemme see…" Evelyn mutters to herself as she pushes past me, and when she does, she lets out a small yelp as she stumbles backwards.

"Idiot!" I spit as I clamp a hand over Evelyn's mouth. "What if they found us out?!"

"Well it's too late for that," Koga replies, and Evelyn and I turn around again to peer at the three cloaked figures to see that they're staring intently at us. But now, we can see their faces.

"Huh?!" Evelyn replies. "Aren't those…our teachers?!"

"Is that Evelyn?!" One of the cloaked figures cries. "And the boy in the blue cloak looks familiar too! So does the one with the mask!"

"Him?" Koga and I simultaneously ask as we point to one another.

"The cool ninja!" The cloaked man cries.

"What…what are our teachers doing under here…?" Evelyn asks as she stumbles backwards.

"I'll tell you," I reply as a purple flame bursts around my right eye. "Soul Sigh!" I gaze at the three cloaked figures, where I see their name and species appear above their heads.

"Huh!" I cry.

"What, what is it?!" Evelyn asks as she frantically shakes my shoulders.

"These three…are orks!" I answer.

"Orks?" Raiden asks. "But they look so human."

"They're disguising themselves," I reply. "Orks take the form of humans and worm their way into human society to find jobs where they're surrounded by humans. They feed off of suffering, and use ancient rituals to increase the bad luck of the humans around them. The more suffering, the fatter they get."

"We spent decades trying to get this job!" One of the orcs shouts. "Research humans…social cues…the education system…you wouldn't believe how easy it was to get this job! But it was time consuming!"

"Wow, Zach, you know a lot about orks!" Raiden comments.

"I just memorized the encyclopedia," I reply.

"Easy, huh?" Koga asks.

"Yeah, I suppose it's a little too easy to become a teacher…" Raiden replies

"Our teachers…are doing this to us…?" Evelyn gasps. "This…is horrible!"

"Oh jeez…" I sigh as I shake my head. "Just another reason why I didn't want you to join me…"

"No…" Evelyn replies as a scowl washes across her face. "I'm glad you got to show me this, Zach!" She continues as she takes a step forward. "Because I'm the Student Council President and it's my job to protect this school from evil!"

"We'll see about that!" The orks roar, and their bodies begin to twist and contort, then rise into the air and expand. The orks' cloaks fall off and so does their skin, as it melts into a puddle on the ground, revealing their huge, towering green forms. The orks let out a growl.

Evelyn's eyes widen as she ducks behind me for cover. "I didn't mean that!" She squeaks. "I was just following the Reaper's orders, I'm sorry!"

"You punk…" I grumble.

"Oh…my…" Raiden squeaks as he peers up at the orks. "Those things…are huge!"

And then, with a roar, the orks charge, and as they do so, they begin levitating.

Raiden shrieks then ducks behind me for cover as well. "Should they be able to do that?!" He cires.

"N-no…" I answer.

"No?" Koga asks.

"Yeah, no, this kind of stuff that has been happening lately, where creatures have abilities that they shouldn't have," I reply. "But we don't have time to worry about this now! Raiden, you take the small one on the left!" I order as I draw my sickle-sword. "Koga…you take the one on the right!" I continue as I charge my target. "I'll take the one in the middle!"

"What do I do?" Evelyn calls to me.

"Try not to die!" I order, causing Evelyn to shiver.

"The small one?! The small one?!" Raiden cries. "That's the small one?!"

"This will be easy," Koga says to himself as he adjusts his mask.

With a roar, the largest ork swings its giant, meaty fist towards me, which I duck and slide across the ground to dodge. As I slide past the ork, I brandish my sickle- sword and slice the ork across the leg, causing it to let out a howl of pain as it drops to the ground on one knee. The ork then hops back up as it spins around and swings another fist towards me, but I backflip out of the way to dodge then twist into the air, spin-kicking the orge away then slicing it with my sickle-sword, causing it to stumble backwards.

Koga pulls out a scroll and unravels it, which then bursts into a cloud of smoke. When the smoke settles, Koga is wielding a giant metal shuriken. "Koga Clan's Secret Ninjutsu Technique #5698, Arekuruu Shuriken! Koga shouts as he flings the shuriken towards the ork with all of his might, causing the green beasts to howl in pain as it's slashed by Koga's attack.

"Raiden, aim for the legs!" I order as I continue battling it out with my ork. "Knock it off balance!"

"Err…I'll try…" Raiden nervously replies as he pulls out his spell book. Raiden begins flipping through the pages of his spell book, but is interrupted when the ground quakes, and Raiden looks up to see that the trembling ground was caused by the mighty stomp of his work. "Oh jeez, oh jeez!" Raiden panics as he begins frantically flipping through the pages of his spell book. The ork roars as it charges Raiden. "Ah-ha, there it is!" Raiden exclaims as he finally stops on a specific page. Raiden then turns to face the ork, as he begins waving his wand through the air. "Gravitas Ventus!" Raiden shouts as he fires off a small gust of wind out of his wand, which doesn't even phase the ork. "Shoot!" Raiden quips.

The work continues charging Raiden, and once it's in front of him, it launches a mighty fist outwards, slamming it into Raiden's gut and sending the wizard flying backwards, vomiting out a glob of phlegm as he does so.

"Shit, Raiden!" I cry as my ork lands a punch on me due to my distraction.

"Don't worry, I got 'em!" Evelyn shouts as she positions herself behind Raiden. Raiden continues flying backwards, and as he begins to lose altitude, Evelyn attempts to catch him, but instead, the force of the ork's punch causes Raiden to slam into Evelyn, which then sends the two flying into the wall behind them.

"Jeez…" I sigh as I facepalm, before spinning around and slashing my ork "You know, Koga, maybe I do need you after all."

"Don't worry, Zach, I'm still up!" Raiden cries as he jumps up to his feet and begins stumbling around in a daze. Evelyn is still down.

"Raiden, prepare a lightning spell!" I order as I slash my ork opponent. "Koga and I will take care of these three!"

"Team up?" Koga asks as he smashes his bo-staff into an ork, before dodging an attack from a second ork. "With you, Reaper? My target?"

"What else are we doing now?!" I snap before slashing my ork then dodging their counter attack,

"We are fighting two opponents next to one another," Koga explains as he flings a shuriken at two orks. "That's different from us teaming up."

"If we don't team up and I die here, then you can't collect my bounty," I reply, causing Koga to perk up.

"Reaper, duck!" Koga orders as he flings a giant shuriken my way. I duck under Koga's spinning star, which then slashes the orc that was charging me from behind.

"Koga!" I shout as I begin running towards the ninja. Swiftly, Koga stuck both hands out as I jump into the air, allowing me to use his hands as a springboard (and then his head, but judging by Koga's annoyed expression, that wasn't warranted) so I can leap over the orks.

"Soul Hunter!" I shout as I raise my sickle-sword high into the air above my head, which begins brimming with purple energy. I then swing my sickle-sword downwards, slashing the two orcs and wrapping them up in a burst of fiery purple energy.

As for Raiden, he begins flipping through his spell book before stopping on a specific page. Raiden then aims his wand at the three orcs and waves it through the air as it crackles with blue electricity. "Fulminis Ure!" Raiden shouts as a blue bolt of lightning blasts out of his wand, shocking the three orks who howl in pain.

"Soul Harvest!" I shout as my entire body begins to glow a dim blue color as I plunge my hand into one of the orcs' chest. "Your soul is mine, bitch!" I roar as I rip my hand out of the ork, yanking its soul out in the process, before crashing to the ground and turning into dust. I slip the soul into my messenger bag.

"Oh no, did I do that?!" Raiden yelps.

"Nah, don't worry," I reply as I crouch down before the ash piles. "It's just what happens to orks' bodies when they die. "Their body loses stability since they're constantly swapping out between human and monster forms, which causes them to not be able to hold their form after death."

"Where are they?!" A voice cries, and I turn around to where I heard the voice, seeing Evelyn hop to her feet and wander back and forth in a daze. "Let me at 'em, let me at 'em!"

Ignoring Evelyn, I turn around and face the ash pile again.

"As much as I hate to admit it, we make a good team, Reaper," Koga replies.

"Meh, you were the only fighter here I could use as a springboard," I reply, causing Koga to growl at me.

"So is our job here down?" Raiden asks. "Should we call up our clients?"

"Yeah," I reply as I stand up. I then walk over to a corner of the basement and pick up a broom and dust pan. "But first…we ought to clean up."

***

"I don't think they're coming, Zach," Evelyn says as she pats me on the back.

"Ooooh…" I groan. "But this is like…five jobs in a row now that I haven't gotten paid! First the chickens, then the locker room, then the haunted house, the spiders, and now this!"

"So…four jobs!" Raiden corrects.

"We called our clients two hours ago, and they never replied," Evelyn continues. "Koga's already left, and we should go home too. It's late."

"Yeah…" I sigh as I pick myself off of the ground. "Let's go home…moneyless…"

***

Of course, the random disappearance did cause quite the uproar around town, but it settled down soon after once the three were replaced. They weren't human, so no townsfolk were there to mourn, anyway. And their disappearance was never traced back to me, so meh, all's well that ends well.

First the elf, then the spider, and now…the orks?

What could this mean…?