Chapter 1: Time for School

~A Few Weeks Ago~

Danny slowly and carefully opened the door, plastic bags in hand. He slowly slipped off his shoes as he entered the darkened apartment, careful to not make a noise. As he slipped into the kitchen he left the bags on the tiny table and slowly crept out of the room.

Okay, he thought, Maybe she hasn't noticed yet. Maybe I can still get to my-.

The lights clicked on, forcing the boy to freeze.

Crap.

Turning his head slowly, he saw a short haired figure standing across from him. She stood a few inches shy of his height at 5'6", her short brown hair combed neat and straight, and her piercing green eyes stared daggers into his very being, filling him with fear. She stood with her right hand on her hip and her left on the light switch. Her snow white face displayed a look that seemed to be a mixture of anger and distress on her face. She spoke softly, "What took you so long, Danny?"

"Uh…" The frightened teen stuttered, hiding his hands in his jacket pockets. "Well, you see, Vii… There was this really long line in the store, and-."

"Yeah, uh huh," She nodded her head, clearly not buying anything he was about to say. "Show me your hands."

"… No."

"Daniel Martinez, show me your hands!"

"No."

Vii stood there, eyeing the bags. She noticed the handles of the bags had a significant amount of blood on them. Shaking her head, she took a wooden staff leaning on the wall and pointing it right at Daniel's feet, causing blue crystals to form where his feet were and immobilizing him. Stepping quickly towards the teen, she pulled one of the hands roughly out of its pocket home to reveal the hand was smeared with blood.

"Daniel!" she exclaimed, "I thought you promised me you'd stop this!" Daniel said nothing, instead looking down at the hand, almost mesmerized. Vii groaned and tapped the crystals holding his feet with the staff, causing them to shatter like glass. "I saw on the news. They said no one saw you at the moment." She got up to his face and forced his gaze into her eyes. "Did you leave any traces to the apartment?"

"I…" Daniel placed his right hand on his head, closing his eyes. "I don't think so… Unless… He did something…" A shiver ran down his spine, causing a twitch in his neck and left hand. Vii noticed and took his hand, stroking it lightly. "Shhhh… It's okay… You're not in trouble…" she whispered, causing the boy to breathe slowly and wrap his arms around the witch.

"Thanks, Vii," he muttered. "Let's eat."

As the two sat in front of the TV, each with a small bowl of various food items in hand, Daniel looked down at the floor forlornly. Noticing this, Vii swallowed her food and asked, "What's wrong, Danny? You haven't even touched your food."

Danny, at first, said nothing but looked at the bowl, taking a chunk of meat and chewing it slowly. "…" He swallowed and took a breath before looking straight ahead and saying, "I found a way for us to finish our education."

Shocked, Vii coughed up her dinner and looked at her self-adopted brother, saying, "Wh-What?! Are you serious?! Where?"

Danny reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple pieces of folded paper. Unfolding them, he revealed a couple of fliers that doubled as application forms. Taking one, the young witch smiled and hugged Danny. "This is great!" she exclaimed. "Where did you get these?"

"Well…" he hesitated. "A couple minutes after I… did the deed, I came across this strange priest guy. He looked at me with these… glaring, creepy eyes. He then gave me these sheets and told me to go."

Vii was at a loss for words. Hearing this story it almost sounded like this was a trap, and yet… This could be her one chance to stay in a school without getting driven out. Looking back at the flier, she saw the name of the school was "Yōkai Private Academy." Grabbing her staff and striking it on the ground, she created a transparent orb and placed the paper under it.

"Translation orb?" her brother questioned. "Why? We can already read this stuff."

"I'm trying to translate 'Yōkai'…" she muttered as she stared at the paper from under the orb. After a few moments of her eyes darting across the page, she shattered the orb, causing it to vanish into a cerulean cloud of ether.

"It translates to 'Monster,'" she concluded. "Seems a bit… Obvious."

"Yeah, but it might be the only chance we got, sis."

"…" She sighed. "Fine. Let's fill these out, mail them in, and get some rest."

"Fine," Danny replied, eyeing his unfinished meal. "But… Let's finish dinner first."

Vii rolled her eyes and smiled. "Fine."

~That Night~

Danny lied on the couch, looking up at the white, cracked ceiling. The apartment was quiet, so quiet that he could hear his heartbeat. As he focused on the heartbeat, he started to hear a faint whisper. He diverted his focus on the faded whispers, letting out the quietest of sighs, and finally speaking.

"Silence, spirit that which is bound to my soul."

The result incantation suddenly had his body begin to twitch and spasm, his mind flooding with thoughts and memories that were not his own. Thoughts of a being standing on a mountain, a village below releasing screams of fear and anguish. A single word ran through his mind as he heard the screams and the loud roars that sound like a combination of a bug's wings and a horses' powerful gallop in his ears: Destroy.

Destroy.

DESTROY.

DESTROY.

DESTROY.

Danny's eyes shot open, his mind feeling like it was on fire. Stumbling off the couch, he dragged his body into the bathroom and turned on the lights. He turned on the sink and began to pour water on his face and head. He did this several times before he felt the slightest bit of relief from his pain. As he looked up, he saw in the mirror a disfigured face staring back at him. Right before he passed out, he saw the face give a twisted grin.

~Present Day~

The two sat in the bus, Danny clutching a Gameboy in his hands, and Vii looking ahead to the only other passenger in the bus, a black haired teenager gazing out the window. She kept her gaze in silence, eyes moving rapidly but remaining locked within the vicinity of the boy. Although he didn't keep his eyes off the screen, Danny knew somehow that his adopted sis was staring, and it was kind of creeping him out.

"You gonna keep staring at the guy?" he whispered as he managed to get a full Tetris.

"It's the other student on board," she whispered back. "There's something wrong with him."

"What? Like mental problem? Is he psychotic?"

"No, my scans say he is no yōkai. No Western monster, nothing…"

"So what, he's human?"

"Yeah."

"Big deal," Danny said, turning off the game and still maintaining that hushed tone. "I mean, I'm still one myself, just with something special in me."

"But this one has nothing. He's fully human."

Danny finally realized what she was talking about. Upon looking at the student himself, he took in a deep breath. His nostrils flared and snorted. The scent was sweet, like candy. Danny licked his teeth as his mouth salivated. Suddenly, he came across with a wooden staff to the top of his head.

"No." Vii whispered.

The demonic teen huffed, grinding his teeth but keeping his eyes on the student ahead of them. Suddenly, they entered a tunnel that felt surreal, to put it in simple words. Soon, the bus stopped aside a ledge leading to a forest of dead trees. All three of the students exited the bus, Vii looking in awe, Danny looking with neutrality, and the third with absolute fear. "Good luck, you three," the bus driver chuckled in a disturbing and spine-chilling voice. "Find your friends, reach for your dreams, and most of all…" The driver's gaze turned to Danny. "Beware your inner demons."

The third student looked ahead at the ledge in utter fear. "That's our school?!" He said, his voice sounding more and more panicked. "No no no! I want to go back! Staying home is better than this!"

"Dude, it's too late," Danny muttered in a monotone voice. "He already left."

"What?!" The student looked back to see that it was true: The bus was no longer beside them, replaced by a wide empty space. He was on the verge of freaking out when a hand was placed on his shoulder. He turned his head and saw Vii looking at him. "Don't worry. I know it's scary, but things may get better. After all, Ба́бушка гада́ла, на́двое сказа́ла."

The teen looked confused until Danny said, "It's Russian. Its direct translation is 'Grandma was telling fortune telling, she said two things,' but it means 'No one knows for certain.'"

"Oh…" He looked down, processing everything. Vii, thinking she made him more confused, inquired, "What's your name, by the way?"

"Oh, it's uh… Tsukune Aono."

Vii gave a sweet smile. "Hello, Tsukune. My name is Vii. That's my brother, Danny." Tsukune looked at Danny, who was looking on at the ledge at the ocean, taking deep breaths. "Uhhh… Hi," Tsukune said, giving a small wave. Danny said nothing, making Vii shout, "Danny! Be polite!" Danny blinked and shook his head, looking back at the two. "I'm sorry, I was distracted. Name's Danny, uhh… Tsu… Kune, right?"

Tsukune nodded. "Okay." Vii clapped her hands. "Well, we should probably go. We're going to miss orientation." With that, the three walked on into the forest.

As they silently walked on, Tsukune finally spoke. "Is it okay if I ask you two a question?"

Danny shrugged while Vii nodded, saying, "Sure. Go ahead."

"Where are you both from? You both don't seem to have typical Japanese names."

Vii smiled. "Perceptive. No, we're not from Japan. I was from Russia, and Danny was from America."

"But… I thought you said you two were siblings…?"

"We're adopted," Danny inferred.

Tsukune looked at the two and things seemed to make most sense at that point. Suddenly, they heard a girl shout, "Look out!", causing Danny to instinctively tackle Vii to the ground. Tsukune's reaction time was too slow though, as the tire of a bike slammed into his face, knocking both him and the rider to the ground. Danny coughed as the dust got into his throat, and wheezed, "Everyone okay?..."

"Oh! I'm so sorry! H-Here…"

Danny looked at Vii. "Did… Did you say that, sis?"

"No, I didn't." Vii sat up and the two looked at the location of the bike crash to see a girl with long, pink hair and an academy uniform had fallen on top of Tsukune. The two were so close, the pink haired girl embracing him, and- oh, wait. She was biting his neck. While Danny was rubbing his eyes, trying to process what was happening, Vii watched, eyes filling with small boxes before blinking. "Moka Akashiya. Pureblood vampire."

"Oh," the soul bound teen muttered apathetically as he stood and watched Tsukune freak out. "Should… Should we worry about this, Vii?"

Vii, however, was watching this scene in amusement and the slightest hint of glee. "No. Let's keep it like that."

"Sis… He's losing quite a bit of blood."

"It'll heal up."

"Vii."

Danny's final call to her snapped the teen witch out of her giddy mood. His voice had not only lowered in pitch, but the voice had sounded dual-natured as if his voice was speaking in unison with a deeper, more aggressive tone. Turning her head, she saw that Danny's right eye had become extremely bloodshot, the veins spreading around the eye giving it the appearance that it was completely red. The iris had shrunk to a pinprick for a few moments before it began to dilate further and further.

"Alright, alright!" Vii quietly shouted, "You made your point!" With that, Vii made her way to the still panicking Tsukune and brushed her fingers against the wound on his neck.

"AAAAAAA- Huh?" he blinked and saw that he was no longer bleeding. The blood had been cleaned from the neck bite, which had been resealed. At first, he wanted to panic some more because he had realized that Vii was some sort of monster as well. However, when he looked into her eyes, he felt calmed in a sea of crystalline blue that passed through his body. She smiled warmly and said, "Better?"

Tsukune nodded.

"Good," she said, letting out a sigh and looking at Moka and Danny, who was shaking his head vigorously, trying to regain control. "We should head to orientation. We'll catch up with you in a moment." The two smiled and headed off, oblivious to the beast that was consuming Danny. Vii quickly moved to her brother and tapped his head lightly. "Brother, do you require assistance?"

At that moment, the teen's eyes shot open, his pupils dilating and covering the whites of his eyes. His teeth had sharpened to a point where it could easily tear through flesh and shone as if they were composed of white metal. "Sorry, sweet. Danny's been a bit inconvenienced for a bit," this new being said with a deep, gravelly voice that mixed itself with Danny's voice. Vii quickly stood straight and, although she was slightly afraid for both her brother and herself, spoke in a cold, stern tone, "Master. It appears you've grown stronger."

"Yes," the Master said, leaning in and rubbing her cheek lightly with his hand. "This new diet I'm on has worked wonders…" He suddenly gripped the face of his servant, his own dropping to a very serious growl. "But it seems the two of you wish to keep my feed away from me. You want to bring me to my knees."

"Mmm… Mmm…" Vii quickly squirmed out of his grip and said in a shaky voice, "We chose to come here because it is where we belong." Vii stood her ground, staring Master dead in his eyes. "You forced us to run for ages, leaving us without a home and giving us a scattered education. We're coming here to live amongst our kind, learn, and be done with it."

The Master huffed through his nostrils, looking onward at the dead forest. Vii continued, "If you try to leave, I will no longer offer you protection. I know you're still not powerful enough to be on your own." The Master's right eye blinked, interested in the ultimatum brought on by his servant. He turned to her and said, "If that is what you desire, than I suppose I can comply. However," he turned and gave a small smirk, "You will not prevent me from engaging in altercations. I will settle my own fights." Vii stopped and pondered the notion. This felt like a trick of some kind, as he usually always had her handle most tasks, especially fighting. Plus, she knew that the number of human victims he had claimed was well under what he actually needed to be at full power. What was his angle…? She thought. After a few moments, she nodded.

"Very well. I accept." The two shook hands, a red-blue stream of ether connecting and sealing their deal.

"Excellent. I will give control back to my host. Just remember…" He leaned in and smiled a toothy grin. "I'm watching."

At that moment, Danny's body hit the ground as it went limp, Danny landing on his hands and knees. He struggled to stay conscious long enough for Vii to cast a spell. At that moment, he heard her say, "Spirai Envigora," and he felt the energy return to him, giving him the strength to pick himself up. After a few seconds, he looked around frantically for the others, then back at Vii, who had an expression that displayed a bit of concern. "Oh crap, please don't tell me I killed someone."

"No, no. You didn't kill anyone, but…"

"… But?"

Vii bit her lip. "We need to talk really quick."