Could someone please answer the question at the top of Chapter 3?


Moka was slumped up against the wall at the bottom of the stairs.

"How stupid could I be? I didn't tell him what happened because I was afraid of this happening."

Wiping her eyes she stood up while unconsciously grasping the rosary around her neck like it was a comfort item.

"Perhaps the difference between humans and vampires is too great to overcome. Maybe that's why it won't work out between us?"

As Moka started to walk, the rosary in her hand suddenly twitched. In surprise she let go, allowing the silvery, metallic object to dangle upwards in mid air, defying gravity. The red gem in the centre lit up, taking on the very appearance of Inner Moka's iris with a slit pupil running through the centre.

"Wait a sec," a voice spoke in Moka's ear to her astonishment. "Tsukune said he thought he would become a vampire didn't he? You both have misunderstood the situation."

Still upset, Outer Moka asked, "What exactly do you mean?"

The chain connected to the rosary clattered irritably as the voice gave a sigh. Before Inner Moka could explain there was a tremor from above which shook chips of plaster and dust off the ceiling. Moka felt her stomach twist as she remembered the steroid pumping jock she'd passed on the way down. Since there weren't any more floors between her and the roof it could only mean that Tsukune and that guy were alone up there.


Upstairs Tsukune scrabbled away as the concrete split beneath his feet again as Chopper pulled his fist from the crater he'd left in the ground. The Professional Wrestling Club member had undergone his own transformation, revealing his true form. Twice as high, his bicepts about the same diameter as Tsukune's waist with short horns out of his temple, spines down his back and primal facial features. Tsukune immediately recalled the Bite Sized Monster Dictionary entry on trolls. He'd gotten the dictionary memorised unlike most of his math and scientific formulas. It was the unfortunate reality for him as the sole human that identifying the potential threats at Youkai took priority over schoolwork sometimes.

Apparently the pitch of Chopper's voice was inversely proportional to his muscle size. This was all to a menacing effect as he commanded Tsukune to change into his true form and to fight seriously. Chopper smashed the ground again, right where Tsukune stood a moment earlier. The terrified boy scrabbled out of the way, buffeted by the shockwave immediately afterwards.

"What on earth are you doing?" asked Chopper incredulously. "I think I'm almost insulted. I've shown you my full form. Why aren't you fighting?"

Tsukune crouched a safe distance away, his hands covering his head protectively as he sucked in concrete dust laden air in a panic. Automatically his adrenal glands were pumping out the stress hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine which increased his heart and lung rates as well as encouraging the liver and muscles to break down glycogen into glucose while inhibiting the pancreatic release of insulin. Thanks to Tsukune's unusually accelerated appetite and metabolism over the past week, there was an abundance of blood sugar at the end of this process, ready to be utilised for the energy intensive tasks of fight or flight. Unfortunately in his mind, the choice of fight or flight was no choice at all, being helplessly marooned on the roof of a school building.

"Come on! Show me your true form! Fight back!" Chopper growled, storming forward with his fists almost dragging on the ground like an ape as Tsukune cowered before him.

At that moment the door slammed open and Moka rushed out, shouting, "Tsukune! What's going on here?"

Tsukune and Chopper both turned around at once. As the former called out her name, the troll reached out with surprising speed and grabbed Moka around the waist with a single hand. The vampire girl screamed and battied her fists against Chopper's fingers which tightened until Moka felt like insides were being compressed by corset.

"So you're his girlfriend huh?" asked the troll, looking from Moka to Tsukune. "Ok Aono-san. I'm getting tired of this, as are you I'm sure. If you don't want to take this fight seriously here's the incentive."

Chopper then snapped the fingers of his other hand, right in front of Tsukune's nose and adding, "I can break her neck, just like that. Well? If you don't want that to happen, reveal your true form and fight!"

Shocked and outraged, Tsukune shouted, "What? Stop this!"

"Then stop me with force why don't you? If you do nothing I'll break her neck. Don't think I won't," the troll wrestler sneered and tightened his grip, making Moka squirm even more.

"Don't worry about me Tsukune! Just run while you can!" Moka made a tremendous effort to call out. "I'll be ok, even if my neck's broken."

Tsukune listened and stood very still, watching her as his fists tightened.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't understand how you felt earlier. For what it's worth, even if you hate me, I love you Tsukune," Moka continued, her eyes tearing up.

Both Tsukune and Chopper had expressions of disbelief and shock on their faces upon hearing this. The latter snarled and pinched Moka's neck between his thumb and middle finger.

"You keep quiet there!" snapped the troll, "No need for you to encourage him to run now."

At that moment Tsukune flung himself at Chopper with a howl, grabbing onto the arm which held Moka and clinging on as tightly as possible. Moka shouted out his name, urging him to get away.

"All this time it has always been Moka-san who saved me. Because I'm human I'm no match against anyone at Youkai. I'm so weak I can't even protect myself." That was the single rational thought that connected in Tsukune's relegated prefrontal cortex as he squeezed Chopper's arm between both of his own; hanging on for dear life as the troll swung around in alarm.

"No! Moka-san! You're just as important to me! If protecting you means I have to become a vampire I'll gladly accept it!" the boy shouted, much to Moka's astonishment.

Unbeknownst to the two of them, there was something bugging Chopper. For some reason the previously weak and cowardly kid clinging to his arm was applying some serious pressure, much like the handshake earlier. With a grunt he reached around with his free hand while flinging his burdened arm, throwing Tsukune away. He hit the ground a short distance away, cutting the back of his head and drawing blood.

Smugly, the troll dropped Moka away, saying, "So you've finally come to your senses. You don't seem like much but there's something there alright. You ready for this shit?" He took up a fighting stance again. Hesitatingly, Tsukune assumed his own stance, his brain desperately readjusting to the new set of circumstances.

"Ok so I have vampire blood in my system which gave me the power to defeat Kuyou. Hence this guy should be a pushover." Sweat trickled down his face, the dirty droplets of concrete dust and grime terminated at his chin where they rapidly dripped. "Come on! How can I utilise it?" He cast his mind back to a chemistry experiment involving the curdling of milk with rennin enzyme. "Shit. Do I need a catalyst for it? Wait a sec, Moka-san keeps her powers under control with the rosary. That means if it stays off then her vampiric powers will always be manifest. What am I missing?"


"The subject must be able to control his or her own strength right?"

"Yes, we've got a whole variety of algorithms and protocols to ensure things don't get out of hand."

"If they fail?"

"In that event, physical therapy and calcium channel antagonists are our best bet."

"Calcium blockers will increase the chance of cardiac arrhythmia and hypertension if you're not careful. Worst case we're talking about the increased chance of an MI."

"I'm better than careful. If we don't proceed with that line of treatment you're looking at convulsions and paralysis."


The rosary chimed again. "That boy doesn't know what he's talking about. Now listen to me very carefully. There's no time to waste, get over to him NOW."

Quickly, Moka leapt up and rushed over to Tsukune who was trying to put on a brave face as he stared back at Chopper. The troll raised a hand beckoned arrogantly for the first strike from the boy.

"What! Are you serious? Again?" Moka whispered in reply to her Inner self when she came right next to Tsukune who didn't notice her approach.

"Absolutely, otherwise Tsukune-san will perish in the attempt," was the answer.

Immediately Moka reached out, grabbing Tsukune from the side and drawing his neck right up to her open mouth, fangs extended. Ignoring the greasy, gritty taste of his sweat slicked skin, Moka bit down. A second before her fangs pierced the skin; out of the corner of her eyes she caught the wound on the back of Tsukune's head which had already sealed itself up. In the heat of the moment only one person took notice.

Rolling his eyes at this latest interference and at the end of his patience, Chopper slammed the ground, generating a shockwave which roared towards the couple. There was an explosion which engulfed them followed by a cloud of dust, obscuring the troll's view of them.

"Just what on earth are you two doing? I've about had it! This is just insulting! Ready or not, you're going to get what's coming Aono Tsukune!" roared Chopper, waiting for the dust to dissipate.

Once it had cleared it he could see Tsukune on his back. Two fine parallel gashes on his neck indicated where Moka's fangs had dragged across when they were hit by the shockwave as she was flung away too. She was sprawled a fair distance away, groggily getting to her feet and spitting out a gob of her own blood.

"Damn, only a fraction of the blood volume I intended got transfused. We won't get another chance to give Tsukune-san more now," Inner Moka growled in frustration. "Fortunately we still have enough to try ag-"

Both Mokas stared at Tsukune who was undergoing his transformation again as he slowly got to his feet. Once again a vampiric aura surrounded him as his eyes shone bright crimson and his pupils narrowed into slits. His hair had gone pale as well just like Inner Moka.


"Be on the lookout for rejection. Arrhythmia or bleeding from the orifices means it's too late. Usually intramuscular pain, quite often around the chest is a good indicator."


Tsukune was doubled over one hand clutching his left arm and the other over his chest. His pupils dilated madly, the colour of his irises faded slightly and his hair started darkening. The pain which wracked his body was comparable to being rolled forcefully onto a glass littered pavement over and over again. There was that and the sensation that something was creeping about in his arms, legs and all over his body, under his skin to all depths.

"Shit. This wasn't meant to happen. There's no way he could transform with that little blood. Yet it still happened but it looks like he's fighting it. Or something inside him is fighting it," Inner Moka commented.

"I don't know what's going on in your head and your body and at this point I'm past caring," snarled Chopper, rounding on Tsukune who was by then on all fours. "Time to end this." He brought his hand down in a karate chop.

Just then Tsukune looked up and blocked the hand. He was now back in semi-vampire mode, his face blank but eyes ablaze. Both Mokas sighed in relief.

"Tsukune, understand that while you are infused with my blood you will become a vampire until all available supernatural energy is consumed," Inner Moka's voice spoke to him through the blood which coursed in his veins. "You are a temporary vampire for but a few moments…"

Tsukune shifted his grip on the troll's hand and squeezed, feeling the enormous bundles of muscles and ligaments distort and snap beneath his hand. Chopper bellowed in pain, suddenly paralysed by this unnatural display of strength.

"What is this power? So this is the person who defeated Kuyou!" cried the troll, trying to raise his other arm.

The leathery skin beneath Tsukune's fingers tore and blood started to seep out, eliciting another agonised howl from Chopper. With a shout, Tsukune pivoted, grabbed hold of the troll with his other hand and threw him over his shoulder, sending him headfirst into the safety rails along the roof's edge.

"I didn't think I could have underestimated Aono-san this badly," was the last thought that raced through Chopper's mind before it all went dark.

"Good luck finding your teeth," Inner Moka commented lightly while Outer Moka gaped at the sight. "Anyways Tsukune you should now understand that you're only borrowing my powers to fight. After this you'll revert back to a normal human. You're foolish if you believe that a vampire's powers could be obtained that easily. Don't get too ahead of yourself now. You're still a trivial human. Know your place Tsukune. And don't use big words on Omote-san. It upsets her and pisses me off quite frankly."


"You're shitting me doc. Artificial vampires right?"


Tsukune's eyes shot open. Behind Moka's concerned face he could see the sky which was mostly fine except for a wispy layer of cirrus clouds.

"Are you ok?"

Moka took a step back, allowing Tsukune to sit up. They were in the school courtyard. In the distance in the front they could see the smashed remains of a section of safety railing. Already there was a paramedic crew retrieving a badly concussed Chopper from the wreckage.

"Chopper crash site huh?" commented Tsukune, causing Moka to stifle a chuckle behind a fist.

He could vaguely remember some of the events. A little like a dream which was difficult to recall. Even the cold, firm but comforting voice of Inner Moka he could recall.

Slowly he turned around and said apologetically, "Moka-san… You can suck my blood if you want."

"What Tsukune?" Moka stared back in astonishment.

He rubbed the back of his head and went on, "I know I've said some very hurtful things to you. I'm really sorry for all that. I just want to make up for it all. I'll try not to make you worry so much and I'll try and get stronger. Oh and I won't use big words to put you down kay?" He sounded truly regretful for the last one."

"Tsukune…"

He looked up to see Moka staring intensely at him with teary eyes. To his alarm, though he was half expecting it, she threw herself at him in joy. Then came the bite.

As Moka drank ravenously, she tasted something funny yet mildly familiar.


One and a half year old Moka regurgitated the funny tasting formula back in the face of the doctor who sat in front of the high chair. Immediately after she upended the two handled cup with the lid which had a small protruding aperture for drinking or sticking straws into.

"Oh my gosh!" Moka's mother, Akasha Bloodriver was out of her chair at the dining table and was wiping young Moka's face with the bib around her neck. "Oh Moka-chan. Did it really taste that bad?"

As the doctor, a pale, thin, balding human, wiped his face clean with a handkerchief, Akasha turned to him and bowed, saying, "I'm so sorry Dr Chandonne. Should I send for a spare change of clothes?"

"No that won't be necessary. It was expected here of young Moka-san here I guess. I'll have to be on my way very soon anyway," the doctor forced a smile and scribbled something in his notebook, muttering, "I guess she finds the taste of perflurocarbons disagreeable."

Moka glared at him from her high chair. The doctor looked up, for a moment their eyes made contact before he quickly looked back down at his notebook, all the while unable to repress the urge to shudder. Once he was done, Dr Chandonne and Akasha conversed for a while but Moka couldn't understand a word they were saying. Insistently she called out for her mother who excused herself from the conversation and lifted her out of the chair and into her arms. At that moment the high double doors to the dining room swung open and Moka's father, Issa Shuzen entered.

"Akasha-san, Moka-san," he acknowledged his wife and third born with smile before noticing the doctor who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

"Ah, Patrice!" he exclaimed almost jovially but his eyes were anything but as he approached the doctor.

As Moka was carried out of the room she looked over her mother's shoulder and saw the doctor and her father sit down at the dining table. They were conversing in French, though she didn't know a word of it she had a feeling something serious was going on.


On the other side of the world, an email arrived on the workstation belonging to Special Agent Madison. He looked up from his paperwork and recognised the green triangle insignia in the title. Quickly he turned around to see if anyone else was looking into his cubicle before he accessed the password protected file. It was another transmission with the exactly the same characteristics of the last, only a week ago. Immediately he jotted down the most important figures on display before deleting the file and the email. Next he made sure no one was looking again as he opened up a dusty old folder from his desk safe. It took a good fifteen minutes, running down the list of figures, comparing it with those he'd just jotted down. Finally, he came across a matching number which he cross referenced with the figures from the transmission from last week. It was a match too. As his eyes started to roam horizontally, looking for a name, he jumped at the sound of someone knocking on the side of the office cubicle.

"Hey Randall. The newbie, Linda just turned 25 over the weekend you know?"

A swarthy man in glasses with a shiny shaved head stood at the entrance in rolled up sleeves and a loosely done tie. The Secret Service ID around his neck said, Vincent Gomez Madison immediately shut the folder and swivelled about in his chair to face his old friend and former case partner.

"Oh, I'd totally forgotten Vince. Did I miss the party?" he asked, getting up and grasping his friend's hand.

"They're just about to cut the cake now. If you're fast enough you might get a slice," answered Gomez with a grin. "Linda's hubby is one hell of a baker."

"I'll pass on that, at the very least I'll have to forgo the icing," thought Madison a little regretfully before changing the subject, "They're getting younger each year aren't they?"

Gomez chuckled as he led the way through the maze of cubicles, most of which were empty. "You still hold the record though; if you survive long enough you'll probably make it as the longest serving agent here."

Madison fought down the urge to snort. "If only you knew Gomez."

As they started up the stairs, he couldn't help but feel a little anxious about leaving the folder lying there on his desk. There was also the matter of putting a name to that number as well.


A couple of weeks later, Tsukune and Moka were sitting in a bare tree by the bus stop at the front of the school. Adjacent to the cliffs overlooking a surreal, lifeless pink sea, there was a mountain with a tunnel in the side which served as a channel between the school and the outside world.

"You know… I'm really nervous about this. I mean, last year I was still in middle school amongst humans. I don't really want to those memories to overshadow what's to come. If you know what I mean," admitted Moka, swinging her legs from the branch on which she perched.

Before Tsukune could answer, Moka said cheerfully, "But as long as I'm with you it should all be fine. So I'll be relying on you Tsukune-san."

She leaned in close, close enough for Tsukune to smell her hair.

"Smells like ginger."

"Moka-san…"

The boy couldn't help but look down as Moka closed in. They both gulped and blushed before someone loudly interrupted.

"No! I don't wanna go!" Yukari complained loudly as she was dragged over to the bus stop by Kurumu. "I don't wanna go to the stupid world of humans."

It was then that they spotted Tsukune and Moka .

"Oh what's this? Tsukune and Moka sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G," sang the witch.

The succubus shut her up before she got to the baby in the carriage.

"What are you two doing up there anyway?" asked Kurumu, hoping that they certainly weren't about to do what the lyrics of the song described.

"Nothing, we were just waiting for you," said Tsukune, climbing down.

"Was something going on just then?" asked Moka who'd followed him down. "Yukari-chan seemed upset then."

"Well I met her on the way here and then she changed her mind about going and started to whine," replied Kurumu, gesturing at the witch.

"Why? What's wrong?" asked Tsukune, behind over so he could see eye to eye with Yukari who looked thoroughly downcast.

Kurumu interjected, "Maybe it's because she's never been there before. She's such a baby so I'm not surprised she wimped out."

"I don't expect someone who lacks two brain cells to rub together to understand!" Yukari retorted angrily, drawing her wand.

"What was that you little brat! Why don't we see who comes out with more brain cells at the end of-" Kurumu's reply was cut short when a brass pan fell out of the sky and hit her on the head.

Moka quickly intervened, getting between the two feuding females, "Hey both of you calm down! The bus is almost here!"

Everyone turned and watched as the bus pulled up and came to a halt. Tsukune spotted Shizuka in the window behind the Bus Driver, a creepy monotonous, cigar smoking man with shadowy eyes. Looking around, the only person who appeared to be missing was Ginei, the Newspaper Club president. Kurumu explained that he would have to attend summer school due to his subpar results from the last semester tests.

"Speaking of which, I crammed everything in the first few days just to be here," said the succubus to Tsukune as she stowed her luggage in the compartment at the side of the bus.

As the boy stepped onto the bus he couldn't help but think, "It should all work out. I've always dreamt of being able to return to the human world after enrolling here. This will just be a fun summer vacation just like any other."

The Bus Driver spoke up as he passed, "Quite an eventful semester you've had this year. Fending off upperclassmen and tangling with the Public Safety Commission. Had enough of the academy? Aono-san?"

"Huh? How did you know all that?" asked Tsukune, stopping and twisting around.

The Driver chuckled, taking a pull from his cigar. "You could say that I bear a little responsibility in bringing you here. Hence, I have a vested interest you see…"

Tsukune stared hard at him before he gasped in recognition, "I remember you. You drove me here on Day 1!"

"Long time no see kid," the Driver replied, waving a white gloved hand sardonically before adding, "I believe the nature of the students has rubbed off on you. Everyone who enters is never the same when they leave. That or they never come out."

He started up and engine and steered the bus into the tunnel while explaining, "There are tunnels like these all over the world which link to one another. Some call it a 4th dimensional network. That's also why mysterious events in the human world like disappearances or sightings of strange creatures are more likely to occur around tunnels. That and the fact that most people are creeped out by them and prefer to traverse safely in vehicles."

Everyone else in the bus looked thoroughly creeped out at the Driver's monologue. That and the seemingly impenetrable darkness that engulfed the vehicle in the tunnel.

"At the end of this tunnel we'll exit the supernatural world of the Youkai. Beyond is the human world. I hope you're all ready," said the Driver as a light appeared at the end of the tunnel.


MI = Myocardial Infarction = Heart Attack