Between all the time that's past, the new manga chapters, and the requests I've gotten to continue this story, I'm not sure where to start. Over the last six months it's been, I've felt motivated to return to writing time and again. Sure it can be a chore, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. There were however a few major obstacles for continuing this.

1. I started 'Assassin' in the first place because I had lost a bet. The focus of the story, that being to add Akuha into the harem, was meant to be akin to an intentional 'troll fic', but then I would try to execute this crazy idea seriously, like as a challenge to figure out 'how this impossible scenario would fit together'. Oddly enough, things worked out fairly well and the fic got a lot of positive feedback. Still, continuing the story would mean facing a number of plot-holes I previously hoped I would never have to answer.

2. Worse than the first problem is how attitudes toward Akuha have changed. I started 'Assassin' back when Akuha was still widely 'liked' by fans. Yeah she was a brutal character, but she was also shown to have a conscious and she cared about her sisters. However, in the manga chapters released while I've been gone, she's committed some pretty horrendous acts, creating a very formidable hate-base against her that wasn't there before. In complete contrast to the manga, my fic's version of her is far less insensitive. I wouldn't say she's too 'out-of-character' though. It's more a case of the same character being put into very different circumstances and having made very different decisions before; decisions she had even greatly considered (not attacking Akasha). Without an obsession to deteriorate her mental state for seven years, she's grown to be much more sane and rational, but on the other hand, this is such a wide difference from canon that it may as well be considered 'out-of-character' anyways. The manga's Akuha has now practically been defined by how selfish and insecure she's become, and I'll admit, it makes for a good villain. Still, this is an alternate-universe fanfiction, and it's supposed to be a bit different from canon.

One other thing I feel I must mention. The topic came up in one of 'Assassin's' many author-notes sections, how the Black Devil's name is spelt; Akuha, Akua, Aqua, whatever. Fans still haven't really settled on which one it is, though 'Akuha' seems to be the least popular of the three. After dwelling on this dumb issue for a while, I decided I'm just going to stick with what I've been using since day one. We all know who's being mentioned anyways.

A lot of content has been cut from the final version. Kokoa and seven OCs have been dropped, as well as more than half the Kahlua scenes. The original plan for the story was just too overwhelming for me to write by myself anyways.

Remember: This is a hobby, you're not paying money for this, and if you don't like it you don't have to read it. Enjoy… or don't. That's up to you.

Akuha drew in the damp, cold air of the tomb-like underground. With every breath she could feel… smell… taste the people Alucard had eaten. Too many to count… too many to imagine. 20-foot-long blades lined the lipless mouth of the colossal abomination. The throat, the bloodshot tentacles, the skin masked beneath its countless shriveled spider legs; they all bore countless smaller mouths, some opened, some closed. Each one held thousands of jagged teeth that had chewed the traitors Judas, Brutus, and Cassius. Its presence was overwhelming, yet it was dead. It knew she was there, watching her without eyes, laughing at her with its severed tongue… the disgusting face beneath the beautiful vampire.

"Akuha." A voice echoed from the empty blackness.

Always looking down at the world and holding themselves higher; believing they were infallible and never admitting error; refusing to accept reality when they felt entitled to more; being possessed of the need to feel proud of themselves. They bore no trait more destructive, more disparaging than the belief that they were perfect.

Pride, the original and most vile of the seven deadly sins, ultimately the creator and cause of all the others. Pride had made their race into its plaything. It was arrogance, and ultimately pride that brought Lucifer's fall from grace, changing the archangel into a hideous beast, frozen mid-breast in the center of Hell. Were he as fair once as he now is foul, lifting his brow against his maker.

"You haven't changed…" said a hideous voice.

Akuha turned and found a robbed figure staring at her. She recognized his white, oval mask and the blood-like sludge that oozed from the five eye sockets and frozen smile.

"No matter how much you'd wish you could."

Akuha glared at him as if in a standoff.

The masked figure came closer, dangling a blackened necklace from the tips of his fingers. "I thought I'd hold onto this," he said impassively, "because I know how much you need it."

Akuha felt herself slowly reach for the piece of onyx. How strongly she still wished to return to the old, to take back what the necklace once meant to her, and to take the Shinso's power by any means necessary. She would become like the incomprehensible monster buried in this glacial crypt, just as she told Moka she would.

"What a fitting place for a traitor," the mask hissed, "to be locked away with Dis himself."

Akuha felt an immense pain as her arms and legs ripped open, her purity of form being discarded for the power she desired. Her body mutated, coming apart and back together to resemble her grandfather. Massive blades replaced her fangs and countless rows of teeth grew all over her body. She felt herself being frozen up to the waist.

"Ah…" A rush of maroon sludge leaked from the Masked King's bloodshot, swelling eyes. "What a beautiful sight you've become."

XXX

Grassy Plain – Tent

"Gah!" Akuha awoke to feel her own teeth driven into her right arm. She had been gnawing on it shortly before awaking. She pulled her bloodied arm from her mouth and let a moment pass to collect herself. "Holy hell that dream was weird…" She looked around the small tent for the digital clock she had brought. It was 6:31 AM, just twenty-nine minutes before the time she had set the ringer for. She grabbed one of the dozens of first-aid kits next to her sleeping bag and pulled out a bandage roller.

XXX

At exactly 7 AM, Tsukune climbed out of his tent dressed in a tracksuit. Aside from his and Akuha's tents in the far corner of the field, this place was mostly open and barren, surrounded with a forest of leafless trees.

Akuha was already awake and waiting, sitting on a lone stool-sized boulder at the other side of the field, wearing her usual black combat outfit.

Only yesterday night, Tsukune had asked Akuha to train him, to give him the strength and teach him the skills he needed to rescue Moka. Given their tight schedule and fresh start, they had to start right away. He walked over the grass towards his instructor, brooding over what severe and unimaginable training he may have to go through. "No, Moka needs me," he tried to push himself, "I have to give this my all."

Akuha had her arms crossed, keeping a stern look as Tsukune came up to her. "I hope you know what you're in for, Tsuk." She brushed her hair, revealing bandages on her arm ending halfway up her finger. "I don't plan on going easy on you."

"What happened to your arm, Akuha?"

"Worry about your own health." Akuha said softly, "Did you get plenty of rest?"

"Well, not really." Tsukune looked in the direction of the academy. "The dorms aren't that far away, why can't I just sleep there?" He pointed his index finger up in enthusiasm. "Getting here from there would even be a good warm-up each morning!"

Akuha hazily shrugged. "If we're to get results from a single week of training, you'll need to be here full time; no distractions. Back when I first started, I literally had to move into the dojo I attended."

"What about food? You're not going to starve me as part of your training too?"

Akuha grinned. "Na, of course not." she said laughing, "I've instructed Kurumu to bring over a meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday. They'll be fruits, vegetables, whole-grains, and proper amounts of meat. A good diet always helps."

Tsukune sighed in relief. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. "No sweets I take it?"

"Fruits are sweet enough." Akuha stood up. "In a nutshell, any time you're not eating or sleeping, you'll be training. Nothing else, no breaks, nadda."

"I didn't expect any less." Tsukune rubbed his hands together eagerly, "So, after we're done with breakfast, what awesome techniques are you going to teach me first?"

XXX

Strength

"How does this teach me martial arts?" Tsukune bellowed in agony.

Akuha sat on the grass with her back against the rock, closely reading a book she had brought with her. "We have to bulk you up first."

Tsukune stood there with massive boulders roped to his arms, legs, and back. His limbs were already shaking like jelly just trying to hold them. "But why can't we mix it up a little? Like going back-and-forth between techniques and all this weight lifting?"

Akuha turned a page of her book. "If your build were to drastically change, you'd practically have to relearn everything all over again. These techniques wouldn't be much good to you as you are anyways."

Tsukune's limbs rattled. "Did you do anything like this when you started Kung Fu?" he squeaked.

"I sharpened my senses, exercised, and stretched for six months straight before I was taught anything." Akuha said, still staring at her book. "We're short on time though, so your training will have to be much more extreme."

Tsukune moaned loudly. "Aren't I already strong enough with my ghoul powers?"

"No."

"But my strength is roughly equal to Inner Moka's."

Akuha sighed. "Okay, I'll explain…" She closed her book and looked over at Tsukune. "A vampire's blood can convert demonic energy into raw strength, but a better muscle structure allows you to use a lot more of it, and more efficiently. You've been on par with Moka in terms of sheer strength only because men naturally have more muscle mass than women. Just imagine the strength you could muster with the physique of an athlete."

"I think I get it." Tsukune's arms started to falter.

"Even so, you never want to enter a fight with a body that's out of shape." Akuha opened her book and went back to reading. "Even with all the martial arts knowledge in the world, you wouldn't last. I sure didn't back when I was stuck in Yukari's body. I kept getting tired and was too stiff for half the attacks I tried."

"How much longer do I need to keep this up?"

"Just ten more minutes." Akuha blinked and turned the page.

"Arrrrrgggghhhhhh… my limbs are gonna pop off!"

"I've heard lots of people say that, but it doesn't happen much."

"Much? You mean it at least has happened before?"

"Uh…" Akuha glanced at Tsukune nervously. "Is this a good time to tell you that only nine of the fifty-five disciples at the dojo graduated?"

"Yikes, you mean they all dropped out?"

"No, they uh…" Akuha made a grim look, "… sort of died."

"What!" Tsukune fell face-first into the ground with a massive boulder on his back.

"Tsukune!"

XXX

Flexibility

Tsukune slowly stood up. He squatted up and down to check for injury. "You'd make a good doctor or nurse." He was completely fixed up; not a single bone was out of place.

Akuha stood a few feet away with a soccer ball under her arm. "I studied orthopedics under a couple of doctors. There's a lot of broken bones in my profession."

Tsukune shook his head. Did Akuha know anything that wasn't somehow related to assassinating people?

Akuha chucked the soccer ball up and down. "This next exercise will focus on flexibility, afterwards we'll move onto perception."

"And what comes after that?" Tsukune asked.

"We'll start over and cycle through these three categories for the rest of the day, and over the next four days. I'll start showing you some techniques on our last two before the week is up."

"Why a week?"

"Because I know where Moka will be within a week."

Tsukune just looked at her.

"You can worry about that later. For now…" Akuha spun the soccer ball on the tip of her finger. "Focus on taking this from me." It didn't sound like she was joking.

Tsukune studied the soccer ball. It seemed ordinary, but how could a game of keep-away improve his flexibility? "Whatever. You're the teacher." He ran at Akuha, only to seemingly fly through her and fumble into the grass. "Huh?" He got up and charged her again, but she seemed completely intangible. "Hey, you're using the Jigen-Tou, aren't you?"

"Nope." Akuha said an inch behind him, "It's just a simple stepping maneuver."

Tsukune tried yet again, paying close attention to his instructor. "Stepping…" As his hand nearly reached the soccer ball, Akuha placed her right foot forward, pivoting her left foot to the right. Her upper body remained motionless as she stepped around Tsukune, forming the illusion that she were still standing there. Her upper body finally moved at the last moment. "Woah," Tsukune stopped where he was, "that's a neat trick."

"I'll teach you it when you're ready." Akuha held the ball forward. "But first things first."

Tsukune sighed. Hopefully this would make sense to him soon.

XXX

Over the next thirty minutes, the only thing Tsukune had been doing was aimlessly chasing Akuha all over the field. She frequently told him to keep trying as long as he still had the energy to, but this unusual 'test' of hers, or what Tsukune assumed to be one, was utterly impossible.

"I can't do this!" Tsukune panted as he pursued. He was dripping with sweat. "Isn't there a better way to 'make me stronger'?"

"Running faster!"

Tsukune groaned loudly.

Akuha hopped backwards while still facing him. "Look, I'm not a Dark Lord with magic spells that instantly make you stronger. We're doing things the old fashion way. You won't have anything to show if you don't push yourself."

Tsukune suddenly collapsed facedown in exhaustion.

"Tsuk?" Akuha tossed the soccer ball aside and knelt down next to him. "Too tired to stand?"

"Ye… yeah." Tsukune panted wildly. "I give up, I can't catch you. I doubt I could if I tried for the rest of my life!"

"It was meant to be impossible, Tsuk." Akuha put Tsukune's arm over her shoulder and helped him up. "Sorry, but you wouldn't have pushed yourself if you knew this was only to wear you out."

"Just to make me tired?" Tsukune sounded disappointed. "Couldn't that have been done just by running laps around the school or this field?"

Akuha began to walk him towards the tents. "It could, but it's better to avoid running around on autopilot. You need to be thinking about every movement your body makes. Being focused on a goal or objective can help." She set Tsukune down.

Tsukune knelt on the grass as Akuha searched through her tent. "I get that now," Tsukune said, "but what does cardiovascular endurance have to do with flexibility?"

"Questions, questions…" Akuha pulled out two steel javelins from the tent and made her way back to Tsukune. "I'll just say this…" She stabbed both javelins more than halfway into the ground. "Muscles stretch far better, and are less likely to rip, when they're warm."

Tsukune took note of distance between each pole and gulped. Something told him this was gonna hurt. Akuha picked him up and moved him towards the poles. "Yoooooooooouch!" he shrieked, being pushed into a perfect 180 degree split. His ankles pressed against each poll. "Arrrrrrgghh!"

Akuha pressed her back against Tsukune's. "You think this is bad? You don't even want to know what I had to go through."

Kurumu and Mizore stepped into the field with picnic baskets under their arms. They came to a halt, speechless at what they were watching. "Ugh…" the Yuki-onna began to murmur, "it looks more like she's torturing him rather than training him."

"No pain no gain right?" Kurumu said, unsure of herself, "Akuha better not kill him before this is over…" she murmured maliciously.

XXX

Lunch Time

The four of them each sat on a picnic blanket, enjoying the home-cooked meal Kurumu had made for them. 'Great' didn't even begin to describe her cooking. Each of the girls made laid-back small talk as they ate. Tsukune however was too drained for chatter, instead devouring all the nutritious food he could see.

"Uhm," Kurumu began, "what do you mean when you keep mentioning 'framework'?"

"Think of it like this." Akuha swallowed the salmon she was chewing. "Let's say you wanted to build a house, shed, mansion… whatever. Before you add in the walls, carpeting, or furniture, you need to build the framework for the house first, and a larger home requires larger framework, right?"

Mizore nodded. "So you're increasing Tsukune's potential as a fighter before teaching him to become a fighter."

"It's what I had to suffer through back in the day." Akuha began to dig into some fried rice. "Strength and flexibility are mandatory when learning martial arts."

"Well, we can see by the way you fight that it got results." Kurumu helped herself to some fruits. Akuha had forbidden any cookies or sweets, so it was the sweetest food she could have in these fields. "Tsukune?" She noticed how viciously Tsukune ate. "Don't eat so fast, you're gonna choke."

Tsukune chewed through a chicken leg, not like an animal, but just very quickly. "I can't help it. I've never been this hungry in my life!"

"You'll need the energy." Akuha told him, "Just chew your food. Your training will continue regardless if you have a stomach ache."

"Isn't it unhealthy to run around right after a meal?" Kurumu asked, "He'd throw up if he exercised after eating so much."

"That's why the next session will focus on perception, a workout for the mind and senses." Akuha glanced at her student without moving her head. "His physically body won't have to move too much, so it's the closest thing he'll have to a 'break'."

"What are you planning for him after that?"

"We'll go between strength and flexibility exercises for the next five hours, have dinner, work on perception again, and then repeat the former until ten o'clock."

Kurumu stared without a word. "Tsukune," she began, "are you sure you want to put yourself through all of this?"

Tsukune stopped eating for a moment. "Of course I am." His shoulders sunk. "These new enemies are far stronger than anything we've faced before. Kuyou, Hokuto, Alistair… those guys were choir boys compared to those Minotaur things we saw yesterday." He made a dreadful look at the clouds above them. "I don't really have a choice."

Akuha could tell Moka was on his mind. He would do anything for her, anything for her sealed side anyways. Kurumu lightly tapped Akuha's shoulder. "Hmm?"

"Listen," Kurumu whispered, "it's Tsukune's decision if he wants to become stronger, but if anything happens to him-"

"Relax," Akuha whispered back, "I'll try not to cripple him for life." The fate of those she trained with came to mind. "Or killed…" she muttered to herself.

XXX

Perception

Tsukune inspected the blindfold in his hand. The illustration of a Chinese dragon among the clouds ran across the blue, smooth silk. It was a fine piece of work.

"Call me old fashion," Akuha said behind him, "but I've kept that blindfold as a souvenir ever since I left the dojo."

"It's a bit fancy for something we're gonna use for training."

"Yeah, it's an antique too, but it's protected by enchantments so it doesn't rip or tear easily." Akuha sounding like she was lifting something heavy as she spoke. "Putting it on will disable both sight and hearing."

Tsukune nodded. "Seems useful for practicing energy detection."

"We're going to start small though, so don't put it on just yet." Later, balancing a bucket of water on the head would be involved.

Tsukune pocketed the blindfold as Akuha dumped a massive pile of rocks onto the ground. "Uhm… what are those for?"

Akuha tossed a rock up and caught it. "It's nothing complicated. I'm just gonna throw these at you from every direction, and you'll have to hit them out of the air with your eyes closed."

"Ah…" It didn't sound quite as bad as the last exercise. "Okay then."

Kurumu ran up to them. "Hold it! Hold it!" She came to the foot of the rock pile. "Akuha, this is dangerous!"

Akuha shrugged. "It's better than throwing knives and arrows."

Kurumu inspected some of the rocks. Some of them looked a bit sharp. "You said you weren't gonna kill him."

"Rocks won't kill someone with ghoul powers. Besides, all of the school's sports equipment was lost in the fire, save for one soccer ball. What else would we use?"

Kurumu pondered for a moment. "I'll be right back!" She turned and began to run towards the school. "Just don't start until I get back, 'oh guru of martial arts'!"

XXX

While his eyes were closed, Tsukune punched and chopped snowballs out of the air as Akuha threw them.

"You're getting this one down fast." Akuha zoomed around Tsukune in circles, instantly stopping to throw another snowball and then moving again. "Remember, a vampire's sense of energy is no less important than his strength, speed, or healing factor. Personally I think it's our most important ability, even if it's always overlooked." She changed directions, threw the snowballs at random, and occasionally made a throwing motion without letting go of one. "Know that we can sense more than just an opponent's energy, but their killing-intent as well. You can read their thoughts and foresee their next move, making it easier to counter…" she stopped for a moment and shrugged, "uh… their next move."

"Moka may have mentioned a thing or two about that." Tsukune said, slapping a few more snowballs with his eyes closed. "She said it's why her battles often end in less than a minute; always three steps ahead of 'em."

"It's why no one should fight any vampire head-on. Unless of course you are one yourself."

"Yeah," Kurumu murmured, "me and Mizore had to learn that the hard way." Mizore squatted down with both knees to her chest, holding a water hose and freezing the water as it came out, creating a mound of snow in front of her. Kurumu steadily scraped snow from the pile with her gloved hands and molded snowball after snowball for Akuha to use. This was the first, and likely the only exercise Tsukune initially did well at. In fact it seemed almost fun.

"Alistair's detection ability was so enhanced that he could literally download knowledge from others. Not having eyes wouldn't matter to someone like that." Akuha came to a stop. "Hmm… Alistair." She thought for a moment. "That reminds me, I got something to take care of tomorrow."

"I thought we'd be training be training all day every day."

"It'll be for the duration of your lunch break." Akuha tossed another snowball, hitting Tsukune's wrist at an angle and ricocheting right into Kurumu's face, knocking her down.

"Sorry!" Tsukune and Akuha said at once.

XXX

The Headmaster's Office

The door creaked open as Ruby slowly entered. While the rest of the building was burnt and charred, only this room was completely untouched. It was up to debate whether the room was protected by magic or if the headmaster had cast a few restoration spells.

"I see you're feeling a little better, Ruby." The Headmaster said, seated at his desk in the shadows. A pair of glowing eyes was all one could see under his hood.

"The doctor said I'd make a full recovery." Ruby lightly touched the wound on her torso. Bandages covered it beneath her handmade dress. "Eventually…" She struggled to keep herself standing, using her magic wand as a cane.

"Sit." The Headmaster lifted his palm towards a chair before his desk.

Ruby bowed and took a seat. "I was wondering some things about the attack on Frelijord." Ruby tried to be as unprovoking as possible. "You know, the city you were at when the school was on fire."

"Did Akuha put you up to this?"

"Yeah…" Ruby had gotten used to how all-knowing Mikogami was. "She's going to be busy for a while, so she can't really ask you herself. Not to mention I'm a bit curious too."

"Very well." The Headmaster placed his elbows on the table and clasped his hands. "What is it you wish to know?"

"You mentioned something earlier about some artifacts being stolen."

"You wish to know what they were." The Headmaster slowly grabbed an exquisite vial from the corner of his desk. It was wrapped in solid gold just below the rim, barring an emerald with two golden wings sprouting from each side of it. What appeared to be water was all that was inside.

"What is that?" Ruby suddenly felt an overpowering blast of magical energy the moment Mikogami pulled the cork off. Visually the 'water' remained the same, but the discharge of energy it gave was unlike anything she'd ever felt. "Holy! What is that?"

"Long ago, Orion the hunter was mistakenly killed by his love, Artemis. Stricken with grief over her love's death, she carried Orion's body high into the sky on her silver moon chariot. She left him in the darkest place in the heavens where he would shine the brightest." The Headmaster raised his arm, careful not to spill the vial. "These are the very tears that Artemis had shed. It's what I used to heal Akuha so quickly when I returned."

Ruby's eyes widened. "The tears of a god?" She couldn't believe what she was looking at. "Even a god's piss has unrivaled magical properties!"

"No doubt you're aware that the Greek gods were wiped out centuries ago." The Headmaster stuck the cork back into the vial and closed it. "However, much of what they left behind still remains. Tears they shed, jewelry they wore, dinner plates they ate off of…" He smiled under his hood. "Their weapons and armor. These relics have since been scattered throughout the world."

"You don't mean to tell me that Fairy Tale has…"

"The purpose of the siege was to draw attention from a covert raid on the city's underground vaults." Mikogami's expression darkened. "These vaults contained god relics that the city's government had horded and stashed away."

"How many were there? What did they take?"

"Among the seven relics, I managed to recover all but one." Mikogami set the vial back onto his desk. "Five have been returned to the Frelijord vaults, one is right here on this desk, but the one Fairy Tale took…" He lowered his head in despair. "It was a gauntlet made for Aries himself, the god of war."

"I never read anything about him having a special glove or gauntlet."

"He died shortly after its creation, he never wore it, but its power cannot be denied."

"Do you know what it does?"

"The only person to ever try it on died because he was deemed 'unworthy'. It has merely been said that it would grant great power." For the first time Ruby had ever seen, Mikogami seemed uneasy. "However, each of these artifacts radiates vast amounts of energy. Not even one of the other artifacts gave off half the amount that the gauntlet did."

XXX

Grassy Plain – Night

Though Tsukune mildly enjoyed the brief perception sessions, all the rest of the time he had to endure the most vicious, agonizing, unbearable exercises he could ever… still couldn't imagine. Most of them didn't make any sense to him, and it felt more like Akuha was torturing him rather than making him stronger.

After 14 hours of this hell, Tsukune finally collapsed onto his sleeping bag. He had never felt so tired in his life, and was probably going to lose consciousness before he fell asleep. His body didn't exactly feel sore; he couldn't feel his body. "One day… that's one day down and a whole week to go."

"Get plenty of shut-eye, Tsuk." Akuha said from her tent nearby, "We're waking up extra early tomorrow, and we're getting right to work."

Tsukune let out a loud, lengthy moan.

"Hey, believe it or not I had it far worse, and I was only six years old at the time."

Tsukune didn't make any reply. He was already either asleep or out cold.

XXX

To be continued in next chapter…

The image serving as the 'book cover' will often change in relevance to the most recent chapter.