An empty tunnel hid under the red sky at Yokai Academy. The dark wind rustled, stirring the long-dead trees that were all around. Suddenly, the low hum of a bus slowly rattled through the tunnel. The headlights of the rickety bus slowly came into view, followed by the rest of the vehicle. The bus slowly came to a full stop and the doors opened. A beautiful, slim, teenage girl stepped off of the bus. She shook her head, clearing sleep from her eyes.
"Thank you." the girl said.
The bus driver, whose face was hidden under an everlasting shadow, gave the girl a toothy grin.
"Be careful at this school, young lady. There are some good eggs here, but not everyone you meet here is trustworthy." he said ominously.
"That's fine. Neither am I." the girl said, winking.
The bus driver chuckled and closed the doors of the bus, driving off. The girl took out a mirror and touched up her hair, then walked up the path toward the school.
Tsukune Aono walked peacefully up the walkway toward the school. Before he could walk for very long, he heard the familiar raw squeal:
"TSUUUUUKUUUUUNEEEEE!!!!!"
'Who is it first?' Tsukune thought.
His question was answered when he felt a small pinch in his neck. The small pinch turned into an icy-cold chill down his spine as blood was forcefully sucked from his veins.
"Moka-san! You know I don't like that! The least you could do is give me a little warning."
"I did. You didn't hear me scream your name just now? Everyone else did." Moka said, removing her fangs from Tsukune's neck.
Her lips left blood-red lipstick on Tsukune's neck. As Tsukune rubbed his neck, he felt something soft and plushy rub against his chest.
"Oh, Tsukune!" a sweet voice said.
The cheeky blue-haired girl moved closer to Tsukune, pushing her breasts deeper into his chest.
"Kurumu, you've been trying that for months and it won't work on me n-"
Tsukune stopped short as Kurumu moved closer, her breasts now squeezing tightly against him. A feeling of gaiety and bliss fell over him. Tsukune half-closed his eyes and hung his head. It conveniently fell into Kurumu's bust.
"I knew you'd see it my way."
Moka pulled Kurumu away, making Tsukune fall flat on his face in the hard, stony pavement.
"It's not fair that you're a succubus. Your charm puts me at a disadvantage." Moka protested.
"It's not my fault if Tsukune knows who his destined one is."
As Tsukune started to rise, he felt someone jump on his back, knocking him to the ground again.
"Tsukune-kun! It's been ages since I've last seen you!" Yukari said.
"I saw you yesterday!" Tsukune grunted, using all of his strength to rise, pushing Yukari off of his back.
"I have got to find more guy friends!"
Tsukune ran toward the doors of the school, his feminine posse following closely behind. When he threw the doors open, he heard a thud and someone hitting the ground. He moved the door to see who he hit. Tsukune's lavender-haired friend was lying, dazed in front of him.
"Mizore, are you okay?" Tsukune asked, holding his breath.
He sighed in relief as Mizore rose to her feet, rubbing the red bump on her head and wheezing weakly. Tsukune noticed that Mizore didn't have her mint lollipop in her mouth.
"Uh, where's your-" Tsukune stopped when his friend tried to clear her throat.
She gagged a couple of times, then the stick of the mint lollipop emerged from her throat. Tsukune gasped, realizing that she was choking. He got behind her and wrapped his hands around Mizore's waist. He pulled his arms back, making her gag even more. The lollipop slowly emerged and flew from Mizore's mouth into her hand. She panted hard. Once she regained her composure, she put the lollipop back in her mouth.
"Ew! Is that sanitary?" Kurumu asked wrinkling her nose.
Mizore shrugged. "It tastes the same to me."
Suddenly, the homeroom bell rung. "Better get to class!" Tsukune said, running toward his homeroom. Moka, Kurumu, and Mizore followed him.
The group of four entered their classroom and took their seats.
"Well, I'm glad you decided to show up today. You three girls aren't still harassing Tsukune, are you?" the teacher, Ms. Nekonome teased.
"Yes!" Tsukune yelled.
Ms. Nekonome chuckled. "Well, before we move on to anything else, I'd like to introduce a new student to the classroom. Her name is Seiteki Debiru. Hm? Where is she?"
"I'm here! I'm here!" said a beautiful voice from the hall.
A blonde girl slid in, panting. "I'm sorry I'm late. I got lost in the woods."
The jaws of every guy in the room dropped to the ground.
"So beautiful!"
"An angel has fallen from heaven!" some were saying.
One boy grimaced with envy.
"If I know any hot girls at this school, by the end of the day, she'll have made friends with…"
"Tsukune…"
The name echoed throughout the classroom.
"Welcome! I believe there's a desk next to Tsukune. You may sit there if you like."
Seiteki bowed. "Thank you, sensei."
Seiteki took a seat next to Tsukune. Ms. Nekonome was about to finish her lesson when another teacher entered.
"Ms. Nekonome, the Chairman would like to see you right away."
The cat-lady nodded and exited the room.
"You may talk quietly until I get back or until the bell rings, whichever comes first."
The room was quiet and teacherless. After a second or so, people began whispering to each other, making glances toward Seiteki, who seemed solely focused on Tsukune. Seiteki leaned over to Tsukune's desk and sniffed his shoulder.
"Uh, do you want something?" Tsukune asked, feeling uncomfortable.
Seiteki didn't respond and continued sniffing Tsukune's chest, arms and face. "I know your scent. You're a human, aren't you?" Seiteki whispered quietly, squinting her eyes.
Tsukune whispered as well. "Please, don't tell anyone about it. It's a secret."
"It's okay. My lips are sealed." Seiteki made a locking motion with her hand against her lips.
"And since I exposed you, I should probably explain who I am. I'm a kitsune."
"You're a fox demon?" Mizore asked, her attention peaked.
Seiteki nodded. "And I like your scent, Tsukune."
Seiteki batted her eyelashes flirtatiously at him.
"Be careful, Tsukune. Kitsune are notorious mischief-makers ." Moka said suspiciously.
Seiteki wagged a finger at her. "That's the biggest stereotype about kitsune. We make mischief, yes. But we also make faithful companions, friends, wives, lovers…"
Seiteki slowed down to sound suggestive on the last two lines, especially the last one.
"Man-stealers." Kurumu said enviously.
Seiteki giggled lightly, which made all of the boys in the room sigh with bliss.
"Her laugh makes my heart sing." one boy whispered dreamily.
"We're rarely known for that. I didn't know that Tsukune was your boyfriend."
"Well…he's not…exactly." Kurumu blushed in embarrassment.
"Do you even have a girlfriend, Tsukune?" Seiteki asked.
"Uh…" was all Tsukune could say.
Seiteki leaned in closer. "Do you…want one?"
Seiteki slowly puckered her lips. Every boy in the room was gawking, their eyes wide and their jaws on the floor. Moka quickly pulled Tsukune away before Seiteki could plant one on him.
"I told you. Kitsune only live to cause trouble. Their kisses give bad luck. She doesn't like you, Tsukune. She only wants to see you cringe in misery." Moka scowled at Seiteki, who looked sad and heartbroken.
"I've never had a real love before. Tsukune is the closest one. Everyone whom I loved has either ran away from me or tried to hurt me, fearing my 'charms'. Tsukune's the second boy I've met who hasn't reacted negatively toward me yet."
A tear fell from Seiteki's eye and she rose, heading toward the door.
"And by the way, that's another stereotype. Kitsune kisses grant good fortune." Seiteki then left.
Several boys rose from their seats and followed Seiteki.
"Wait!"
"I need a kiss!"
"Give me one!"
Only a couple of boys were left. Tsukune frowned at Moka. "Why did you do that, Moka-san?" "She's lying. That's another kitsune trait. They're notorious liars. Plus she tried to kiss you!" "Well, what if she isn't lying? Have you thought of an excuse for that? Besides, I wasn't going to let her. I was going to stop her and let her down gently."
Moka was silent, her eyes lowered.
"You're not jealous, are you? Like you were with Kurumu?" Tsukune prodded.
Kurumu snuffed. "If anyone should be jealous, it should be me. She has everything I have, but more. She has slightly bigger, rounder boobs, a shorter skirt, a thinner waist, a cuter butt. The only thing she doesn't have that's mine is the power of suggestion. Right, Tsukune?"
Kurumu pressed her breasts against Tsukune's back, sending him into spasms of bliss again.
Moka pushed her away. "I'm sorry, Tsukune."
Tsukune didn't say anything.
"I think what Tsukune wants to say is that you shouldn't be apologizing to him, you should apologize to Seiteki." Mizore said.
Moka nodded. Suddenly, the bell rung.
"I'm going to go talk to Seiteki right now." Moka said, rising from her seat and exiting the door.
After searching the halls for a minute or so, she found Seiteki, surrounded by boys, not paying them any mind. Moka walked up to her.
"Seiteki?"
The boys surrounding her looked warily at Moka, then moved a little to let her get closer.
"What do you want? Come to spread MORE rumors about me?"
"Rumors? What rumors?"
"A couple of girls a second ago asked me if I really killed the ones I loved like a black widow. They told me that YOU were the one who told them."
The boys around Seiteki gasped and stared wide-eyed at Moka, who was wide-eyed herself.
"What?! I never spread any rumors."
"A likely story. I'm leaving. I don't want to be graced by your presence any longer."
Seiteki walked away, her boy trail following. Moka sighed and went her own way.
After a couple of more classes, Moka went to the restroom. When she came out of her stall, she saw Seiteki doing her makeup in the mirror.
"Seiteki!" Moka said, walking up to her.
"I swear, I never started any rumor about you. Please believe me!" Moka said, bowing in apology.
"Oh, I believe you. And I know you didn't spread the rumors."
"So, you forgive me?"
"Let me finish. I know you didn't spread the rumors, because I'M the one who made them up in the first place."
"What?! Why would you start a rumor about yourself?" Moka asked, shocked.
Seiteki chuckled. "Two reasons. One: to get everyone in the school to like me. Two: to get everyone in the school to hate YOU." Moka gasped at Seiteki's sudden hostility. "Why? What do you have against me?"
"I'm not done! Everything you claimed about me is true: the malevolent mischief, the bad luck smooches. Everything except the claim that I want to see Tsukune in misery. It's the exact opposite actually. I WANT Tsukune, if you know what I mean, and you're in the way of that, which I don't get at all. Tsukune doesn't even have a girlfriend, which means he's not dating you, yet you cling to him like a Velcro rag doll. I'm here to pull you off and take Tsukune for myself, and there's nothing you can do about it."
Suddenly, two more girls entered the restroom. Seiteki gasped, watering her eyes. "How could you say something like that, Moka. All I wanted to do was be your friend and you reward that by calling me a skank?! Why do you have to be so mean?!"
Seiteki ran out of the bathroom, crocodile tears falling from her eyes. The two girls scowled at Moka as she stood, flabbergasted. Outside the bathroom, Seiteki stopped her tears, snickering evilly.
"What's the problem, Moka? Is what Seiteki saying true?" Tsukune asked Moka. Seiteki was beside Tsukune, fake sniffling.
"No! I never said any of those things. Seiteki is lying! She told me herself that she was lying."
Tsukune, who was confused, looked toward Seiteki.
"I don't know what she's talking about. The only words I hear out of her mouth are lies and insults toward me. This HAS to be the worst school ever!"
Seiteki began to fake-cry and leaned on Tsukune.
"Moka, apologize to Seiteki." "What?! I didn't do anything!"
"Come on, Moka. You're not like this. Just apologize so we can all be friends."
Moka sighed, lowering her eyes. "Fine. I'm sorry."
"Thanks, Moka." Tsukune gave Moka a hug.
Seiteki's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. When Tsukune released Moka and went off to his next class, Seiteki made a fox-like growl at Moka.
"Guess what, you little tramp? Tsukune is still on my side and he'll always be." Moka said proudly.
"Actually, I don't think so. Has Tsukune ever kissed you? Be honest." Moka feared what was coming next.
"No, why?" "Oh, it's nothing. When I met Tsukune, after you 'called me a slut', he was so sympathetic of me. He kissed me, right here." Seiteki pointed to her cheek. Moka was red-mad now.
"No he didn't! And I know he didn't!"
"You can believe what you want to believe, but I know what I saw, and felt." Seiteki said, softly touching her cheek where she claimed Tsukune had kissed her.
"Why, you-" "Go ahead. Hit me. Slap me across the face as hard as you can. You'd better make it worth it, because as soon as you do, everyone here's going to hate you and Tsukune is never going to talk to you again. That's a guarantee. You'll have done my job for me."
Moka relaxed herself.
"Hmph! I thought so. Tsukune, wait up!" Seiteki ran off, calling for Tsukune in a singsong voice, her short skirt going up and down as she ran.
Moka sighed, defeated, and slowly walked to her next class.
At lunch period, Moka sat quietly as the rest of her friends talked. Seiteki had worked her way to their table.
"I came from a human school in Japan. I was very popular there." she was saying to her friends.
"Almost every boy there liked me." Seiteki's eyes became sad for a moment.
"Almost? I had assumed that a pretty girl like you would get every guy in the world to like you." Kurumu said, smiling painfully.
"There was one guy at my old school who happened to have a small harem follow him around. Sort of similar to you, Tsukune." Seiteki winked at him, then winked mischievously at Moka.
"One of his lady-friends didn't like me very much. She tried to convince her friend to not like me, either, but he kept on me. He ended up becoming my boyfriend. He loved me. Every day, I would give him two kisses, the second was to reverse the ba-, I mean to increase the amount of good luck my kisses give. When I was happy, he would hug me tight and make me happier. When I was sad, he would cuddle me and make me feel better. When I was angry at someone or about something, he would always hold me close until I wasn't angry anymore. Then…one night…"
Seiteki trailed off, coming to a sore subject. Moka's interest was now perked.
"What happened?" she asked. "I made a mistake. He invited me to his house to study when his parents weren't home, we trailed off our subject, started kissing, and then we began…undressing. I don't want to talk much about it, but it was a terrible mistake that made his lady-friend furious. The next day after our affair, when she found out, she lost her sanity and tried to kill me. THIS is my punishment for screwing around without thinking, no pun intended."
Seiteki lifted a small tuft of her hair and revealed an ugly scar right on her temple. It was blotchy and red, as opposed to her crisp brown skin tone.
"And to make it even worse, I retaliated. I didn't kill her, but I did smack the pretty right off of her face, which wasn't hard, since there wasn't much there to begin with."
"Ouch." Yukari said. Seiteki continued.
"She got expelled and arrested for attempted murder. I was suspended. No one ever found out about my affair. My boyfriend broke up with me, which completely shattered my heart. I did give him a goodbye kiss. For good luck. I didn't kiss him twice that time, though."
"That's so sad." Mizore said.
"Yeah. I'm tired of sad memories. Let's move on to a happier subject."
"Are you and Moka friends now?" Tsukune asked.
Seiteki and Moka locked eyes, the sparks flying between them almost becoming visible.
"We sure are. After we talked it out, she admitted to being jealous because she thought that you liked me better than her."
Moka's jaw dropped in surprise.
"What gave you that idea, Moka-san?" Moka opened her mouth to speak, but Seiteki spoke for her.
"Well, it was probably because of my improper advances on you, sniffing your clothing, using provocative compliments toward you, asking you out when she clearly has feelings for you, and so on, which I apologize for. It also may have been because of the little 'present' you gave me."
Moka's jaw dropped even further.
"Present?" Tsukune asked, horribly confused. "What present? You mean the rice cake I gave you?"
Seiteki twitched her eye, glancing at Moka, who had furled her eyebrows.
"Yeah. Yeah, the rice cake. Let's go with that." Seiteki shook her head, embarrassed.
"Wait a second. Moka, you…you have feelings for me?" Tsukune asked, confused to no extent.
Just as Moka was about to answer, the bell ending lunch period rang. "Well, we'd better get to homeroom. I'll talk to you later, Tsukune."
Moka stood and began to walk toward the doors of the school. Seiteki caught up and walked beside her. "You dirty little liar. I knew Tsukune would never kiss you."
"Whatever. That was just a bait to get you to hit me. You'd better cherish the favor I just gave you, 'cause it's the last one. From here on, we're enemies again. You can fight, struggle, defend yourself, do whatever you want, but the end result will still be the same. I've never lost a competition when it comes to guys, in fact, I've never lost a competition, period."
"There's always a first time for everything." Moka said.
"Thew's awlways a fiwst time fow evwyting." Seiteki mocked Moka.
"Using words and cheap tricks won't help you in this fight, so you can kiss my-"
Seiteki stopped short as she slammed into the side of the school, falling down the steps. She shook the stars from her eyes and glowered up at Moka, who was making no attempt to hide her giggles. She turned and entered, leaving Seiteki behind her.
