The search for Chris had been going on for two days with no leads. Despite Scott and his pack scouring every corner of Beacon Hills, tracking his scent and even using Lydia's banshee abilities to sense anything related to death, they found nothing.
Inside the pack house, tension hung in the air. Allison paced back and forth in the living room, while Scott leaned against the couch, deep in thought. Isaac and Erica sat on the stairs, Stiles tapped anxiously at his phone, and Malia looked irritated by the lack of action. In the kitchen, Boyd focused on cooking, though his mind was clearly elsewhere.
Just then, Noah's voice entered their minds.
[We have a situation. A bad one.]
Stiles immediately responded telepathically. [Dad, what happened?]
Noah let out a heavy sigh. [A bus had its brakes cut and lost control. It crashed into several cars before slamming into a building. A lot of people are injured, but… thankfully, there are no fatalities. We checked the bus, and it wasn't an accident. The bus was sabotaged.]
Stiles' expression darkened. "The Nogitsune. That bastard did it."
Scott said. "We need to split up. The Nogitsune is feeding on pain, and there's no better place for that than the hospital."
Isaac, Erica, Boyd, Scott, and Allison headed to the hospital to look for the Nogitsune, while Lydia, Stiles, and Malia went to investigate the crash site, hoping to find clues about the trickster spirit's next move.
---
When Lydia, Stiles, and Malia arrived at the wreckage, the scene was pure chaos. Police officers directed traffic while paramedics tended to the injured. Glass littered the pavement, smoke still rose from the wrecked cars, and sirens blared in the background.
Lydia closed her eyes, trying to focus.
Stiles watched her anxiously. "Anything?"
Lydia shook her head. "No, I don't feel anything."
Malia took a deep breath, her nose twitching. "Chris was definitely here. I caught his scent."
Following the trail, Malia led them away from the crash site, but after a while, she suddenly stopped, her frustration evident. "Damn it. I lost his scent."
Stiles sniffed the air as well, then shook his head. "Yeah… me too."
Malia said. "We were too late."
Just as they were about to leave, Lydia walked up to the damaged bus and placed her hand against it. The moment her fingers touched the metal, she froze, her eyes widening as she stared blankly at the bus.
Stiles said. "She saw something."
Lydia suddenly snapped out of her trance, gasping for breath.
Malia stepped closer. "What did you see?"
Lydia swallowed hard. "A flash of the lacrosse bleachers exploding. Metal twisting. Flames rising. People screaming."
Stiles' eyes widened. "The Nogitsune… he's going to attack the lacrosse field."
Without hesitation, Stiles, Lydia, and Malia rushed toward the lacrosse field.
---
Meanwhile, Scott and the others searched the hospital, but there was no sign of the Nogitsune.
---
Back to Stiles' group, The moment they arrived to the Lacrosse Field, Malia took a deep breath, her sharp senses picking up something familiar. "Chris was here. Recently."
Following the scent, they soon stumbled upon a set of explosives rigged beneath the bleachers.
"Oh, shit." Stiles breathed. "The Nogitsune was going to kill a lot of students with this."
Wasting no time, Stiles reached out telepathically to his father. [Dad, we found a bomb at the lacrosse field.]
Noah's response was instant. [On our way.]
Within minutes, Noah and Parrish arrived.
Parrish immediately got to work, carefully dismantling the bomb.
After he finished, Lydia placed her hand on the now-disabled explosive, hoping for another vision.
The moment her fingers grazed it, her body stiffened. A new vision surged through her mind.
She saw a hospital room. A waiting area. Nurses rushing. People crying out in pain. And then, another bomb.
Lydia gasped, snapping back to reality. "There's another bomb." She said. "At the hospital."
Stiles said. "Scott and the others are still there, we need to tell them to look for it."
---
Scott and his team received Lydia's message and immediately sprang into action, using their enhanced senses to search for the bomb.
It was Allison who caught her father's scent and followed it, leading her straight to the hidden explosive, tucked beneath a nurse's station, out of sight.
She quickly called Scott and the others, watching over the bomb until Parrish arrived.
Once again, Parrish carefully dismantled the device. This time, when Lydia touched it, no visions came.
After that, the pack gathered outside the hospital.
Scott said. "We'll stay here for a while, in case the Nogitsune came back here."
Noah nodded. "Alright. Parrish and I will head back to work. If we find anything about Chris, I'll let you know."
---
The Next Day
The Nogitsune seethed with frustration. Everything had been planned so perfectly, the bus sabotage, the bomb at the lacrosse field, the bomb at the hospital. He should have been feasting on chaos, drowning in the agony of the town.
But the two bombs hadn't gone off.
"Damn it." He muttered, fists clenched. "How did they find them?"
He had expected some resistance, but not this level of efficiency. They had dismantled his fun before it even started.
His fingers twitched in irritation, veins bulging in his hands. 'At least I managed to gain some strength from the bus accident.' He thought. 'But if I want to get my hands on Noshiko's tails… the Oni will be a problem. I'm not strong enough to fight them yet.'
A cruel smile stretched across his lips as he picked up two pistols, loading them with precision before sliding them into a holster.
"Time to pay Noshiko's husband a visit."
---
Beacon Hills High School
The cafeteria buzzed with students eating and chatting.
Scott sat with Allison, Stiles, Malia, Lydia, Isaac, Erica, Boyd, and Kira.
Then suddenly, Scott froze. His head snapped toward the hallway.
Isaac furrowed his brow. "Guys… do you feel that?"
Lydia's expression darkened. "Something evil just entered the school."
Stiles said. "The Nogitsune."
Scott pushed his chair back, standing. "Let's go, I think he's going after Kira's dad."
---
The Nogitsune strode confidently down the empty hallways, heading straight for Ken Yukimura's classroom.
But when he stepped inside, he was surprised.
Ken wasn't alone.
Kira, Scott and his pack sat casually at the desks, waiting for him.
The Nogitsune tilted his head, smirking. "Well… this is unexpected."
Stiles leaned back, arms crossed. "You finally decided to show up, Fox."
The Nogitsune feigned confusion. "What do you mean, kid?"
Stiles rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. Drop the act. Playing dumb won't save you."
The Nogitsune shrugged. "I really don't know what you're talking about."
Allison's eyes glowed red. Her voice was ice-cold. "Enough. We know you're the Nogitsune. So why don't you get out of my dad, and I promise I'll make your death quick and painless."
The Nogitsune chuckled. "Tempting… but I think not."
Slowly, he reached into his jacket, fingers wrapping around one of the pistols. "Here's how this is going to work." He said, smirking.
"You're going to help me get Noshiko's tails… or I'll kill Chris. It's as simple as that."
The pack didn't even flinch.
Scott simply said. "Lydia."
Lydia grinned.
The Nogitsune frowned. Then, before he could react, Lydia vanished from her chair.
In a blur of movement, she appeared beside him. And her talons slashed across his arm.
The Nogitsune stumbled back, eyes widening.
At first, he thought it was just a regular scratch.
Then his legs gave out.
He crashed to the floor, his body going completely numb.
Panic surged through him. He tried to move, tried to stand, but he couldn't even move a finger.
His gaze snapped up to Lydia, realization dawning on his face. "You… you're a Kanima?"
Lydia said. "Nope. But that's Kanima venom I just injected you with."
The Nogitsune's expression twisted with fury. "Damn it."
Scott stood over him now, looking down at him. "Let's take him to the ranch and deal with him there."
The Nogitsune snarled. "You're making a mistake. If you harm me, you harm Chris too."
Allison stepped closer, her voice cold. "We're not going to harm you. We're going to kill you. Going after my dad was your biggest mistake."
The Nogitsune smirked. "Killing me means killing your dad. Besides, you can't kill me. I'm a thousand-year-old, immortal Kitsune."
Allison's lips curled into a dangerous smile. "You know, for a creature known for its cleverness… you made a terrible mistake."
The Nogitsune narrowed his eyes. "What mistake?"
Lydia crouched beside him, her voice teasing. "You have no idea what we are and what we're capable of, do you? You didn't fully take control of Chris, you didn't read his memories, did you?"
Her smirk widened. "Because if you had… you would've run from Beacon Hills a long time ago."
Stiles grinned. "Or crawled back into the Nemeton and slept for another thousand years."
Scott said. "Alright, enough talking. Let's go."
As the pack carried Chris out of the school, Ken grabbed his phone and quickly dialed Noshiko.
Then, without hesitation, he and Kira followed them.
To be continued… 😊