Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to R+V.
Special Thanks to Touhoufanatic for being the beta for my work. If you're a fan of Zero no Tsukaima or Madoka, he's got some great fics going.
Chapter 3
"Kokoa-chan, are you alright?" a confused Kurumu questioned her friend.
Sighing, the redheaded vampiress lay her head down upon the table. It had been a very long three days since her confrontation with Tsukune over Kurumu. She hadn't really spoken with him since then, but she knew that he had been watching her. At least, his Yuki-Onna friend had been.
She shuddered at the thought of the icy woman. Something about her made Kokoa uncomfortable. Actually, a lot about her made the vampiress uncomfortable. Pushing that thought aside, Kokoa focused back on her real issue; her sister.
As a great surprise to her, Kokoa had caught sight of her beloved older sister numerous times over the past three days. However, every time that she had tried to go and confront her, she found that her sister would easily outmaneuver her and disappear.
"Onee-sama, why," a muffled groan escaped her mouth, catching Kurumu's attention.
"Onee-sama… You have an older sister?" the succubus questioned, catching Kokoa's comment.
"Yes, and she's been here for a year already."
Kurumu's eyes widened as she heard that. There was only one girl who could meet that description; Moka Akashiya. Bristling at the thought, Kurumu forced herself to prevent her reaction from becoming too noticeable. She didn't want to offend her new friend.
"So, you haven't been able to see her?" Kurumu asked.
"Yes…" Kokoa moaned out. "She seems to be avoiding me. Why would she do that?"
Kurumu had to bite her tongue so she didn't respond. From what she knew of the older vampiress, she seemed to be very jealous of Kokoa's position as Tsukune's master. Though, at the time, she didn't know that Kokoa was Tsukune's master.
"Maybe she's just not ready to see you," Kurumu offered.
The idea had crossed Kokoa's mind. However, she had decided against it. Moka would never be unprepared for something like that. She would be primed and ready for any occurrence. Much like a proper vampire heiress would. Her older sister had to be avoiding her.
'Maybe I can get Tsukune's help,' she thought.
Shaking her head, the young vampiress resolved to do it herself. She did not need Tsukune's assistance with everything she did. Especially when speaking with someone from her own family. Standing up suddenly, she barely registered Kurumu's startled appearance.
"I'm going to go track down my sister and force her to greet me!" Kokoa declared loudly, not realizing that she had suddenly drawn a lot more attention than she intended too.
"Kokoa-chan, you may want to calm down. People are beginning to stare," the succubus warned as she took in the stares of the other students.
Immediately clamming up, Kokoa returned to her seat and attempted to be as inconspicuous as possible. A pink blush began to spread across her cheeks as she felt a wave of embarrassment come over her. She still wanted to go and meet with her sister; however, maybe she'd do it a bit more subtly.
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"Tsukune-kun, we need to speak," the voice of Kazuki Sakata followed the brunette's retreating form.
Knowing exactly what the Student Council President wanted to talk about, the younger teen decided to just keep walking.
"Hey, get back here!"
Picking up his pace, Tsukune hoped that he would be able to get out of the building and into an open area soon. He didn't want to be cornered by Kazuki. Being indoors immediately put him at a disadvantage. Unable to push himself to his fullest, Tsukune could easily be overtaken by the president.
"Aha! I've got you now," Kazuki cheered, startling Tsukune out of his thoughts.
Finding himself at the end of a corridor, the teen swore under his breath. He had approached one of the locked exits. These doors were magically bound, only unlocking when they were needed. It was an impressive bit of sealing magic on the chairman's part. However, right now it wasn't doing anything to benefit Tsukune.
"What is it Kazuki-kun?" he finally asked, sighing as turned to face the other teen.
"What's this I hear about you and Kurono-san getting into another row? Did you really pick another fight with the succubus?"
These were the exact questions that Tsukune was hoping to avoid. Discussing what had happened was not something he wanted to do with the president. Despite their close friendship, they both understood their positions at the school. He was the leader of the student council and had a job to report and to supervise any major clashes that arose. Tsukune was just a servant for one of the Shuzen household's four heirs.
"It wasn't as bad as you've probably heard," Tsukune began, hoping to talk his way out of this issue.
"So, you didn't threaten her?" Kazuki asked a tired look upon his face.
"Okay, so it's exactly how you've heard, but I've already been reprimanded properly by Kokoa-hime," Tsukune replied quickly.
"I've heard that as well. Sorry Tsukune-kun, you know the protocol though. If someone comes to me with a complaint about actions taken by any student, I have to set an investigation up. Be glad Kuyou didn't hear about this one. It could've been disastrous for you."
At the mention of the Yoko, the two teens shuddered. The very thought of how gleeful he'd be at leading another, this time completely legal, investigation into Tsukune's actions was terrifying.
"And I greatly appreciate the fact that it is you Kazuki-kun. Just don't worry; Kokoa-hime has made it explicitly clear what would happen to me if I were to do anything to Kurono."
The frustrated sigh that followed his statement was not missed by the president. However, out of respect for his younger friend, he decided to leave it alone. There was more going on with this situation, but it was not his place to interfere, as much as he wanted to look out for his little brother-figure.
"Is there anything else, or am I free to leave?" Tsukune asked, breaking Kazuki out of his thoughts.
"No, that's everything; at least, for now. If this year is anything like last year, I'm going to be expecting to have a few more conversations like this with you." This last comment was said with a mischievous grin.
Noticing the grin, Tsukune felt one spread over his own face. Giving a respectful bow, he excused himself from Kazuki's presence and walked towards an unlocked exit. There were a couple of errands he needed to run before the daylight ran out.
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Coming to a stop in front of the female Student Council dorms, Kokoa steeled herself for the encounter she was going to set up. Due to her position as Vice-President of the Yokai Academy Student Council, Moka was granted a lavish dorm room within the council compound; one of thirteen districts of the massive school grounds.
Stepping up to the doorway, Kokoa put on a brave face. She wasn't sure what, if any, resistance she would face inside the lobby. Her own dorm mother was a terrifying young woman. At least, her bondage fetish made her so. Pushing that thought out of her mind, she pushed open the door to the dorm.
"Hello, and what can I do for you today?" a friendly male voice asked.
Placing their attention on the speaker, the two girls let out a gasp of surprise as they took in his appearance. He looked very feminine; with a long dark ponytail and a soft face, it would be very easy to confuse him for the fairer sex. His voice was a dead giveaway though. It was deep enough to paint him as male, even if his features screamed otherwise.
"I'm looking for my sister."
Kokoa's blunt statement elicited a chuckle from the teen. Grinning widely, and inadvertently causing a gasp to leave Kurumu's lips, he bowed before her.
"Ah, you're the Vice-President's sister, are you not?" he asked, receiving a nod from Kokoa. "Well, she's currently out at the moment, said something about making sure that you couldn't find her. However, for aniki's master, I'd be more than willing to let you know that she headed to the shopping district."
Winking at the two of them, he waved farewell, moving towards the door that the girls had come from. Once he had left, the one thought that had crossed between the two girls' minds became voiced.
"How does he know Tsukune-kun?"
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Standing outside the girl's dorms, Tsukune tried to make himself look as inconspicuous as possible. While he was a normal sight for many of the second and third year girls, after all Mizore lived in these dorms, the first years could prove troublesome. And trouble was not what he needed right now, even though it would probably get him his meeting with the dorm mother sooner, rather than later.
'Where is she?' he pondered, glancing at his watch.
He had already been waiting here for twenty minutes. She was already ten minutes late and pushing it. If it wasn't for the fact that she had claimed that this meeting was urgent, he probably would've left. Mizore hadn't made her presence known to him for the past two days and when she did things like that, he began to worry. It would be a better usage of his time to go looking for her.
"Oh, thank you for waiting Tsukune-chan. I'm so sorry for making you wait!" a female voice called out to him. "I had to deal with a little catfight… literally."
Grinning, he knew he should've expected something like that. She would never make him wait too long purposefully. Unless he had pissed her off. Something he was sure he hadn't done yet, this year.
"No worries Ruby-san. Now what was it that was so urgent?" he inquired.
"Oh, that," she began sheepishly. "I just wanted to see you."
Her scarlet blush caused Tsukune to chuckle. Ruby was a strange one, he had quickly learned that, but he enjoyed being around her all the same. The witch was one of his closest friends. She was also one of the only people who he could discuss his limited memories of human culture with. Having spent the early years of her life in human culture herself, she was able to identify with his sudden change in upbringing.
"Well, you've seen me, is there anything else I can do for you?" he winked at her as he spoke, causing her blush to darken.
Laughing, the witch shook her head, but did place a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
"I've met your master. She's a fiery one, isn't she?"
"That's putting it nicely," Tsukune replied, his face seemingly tearing apart as he grinned. "I'm assuming you put her in her place though?"
Blushing again, Ruby tried to discreetly look away. This was all the confirmation Tsukune needed though, as his grin turned into a wicked smirk.
"She caught you, didn't she?" he inquired.
Looking away innocently, Ruby tried to hide her ever darkening blush, but knew that it would prove futile. Tsukune had a certain way of knowing how she was reacting. Neither of them knew how – at least, Tsukune wasn't saying anything about how – and yet, it always helped to perk her up; knowing that Tsukune could read her that well.
In this case though, she wished he couldn't. Her bondage fantasies were not something that she needed the entire academy knowing about. However, that didn't stop her from indulging in self-pleasure when the desire arose. It was one of these moments that the young vampiress had stumbled upon.
"Yes," she finally managed to squeak out, earning a chuckle from Tsukune.
"Well, that would definitely have been a shock for her. Other than that, she's not proving too difficult to deal with, is she?"
"Not at all, she's a real sweetheart, especially while she's with Kurono-san," Ruby answered.
The mere mention on the succubus however, sparked a dark look to cross Tsukune's eyes. He tried to push it aside before it could be noticed, yet Ruby caught sight of it before it could be hidden.
"Don't go trying to ruin anything here Tsukune-kun. I know that you and Kurono-san don't get along; especially after what she tried to do to Shirayuki-san. However, she's getting along wonderfully with your master."
Tsukune scowled fiercely at the thought.
"She's planning something. That's why I keep such an eye on her. Kurono nearly took Mizore-chan last year. I'm not going allow her to attempt to take Kokoa-hime as well."
Ruby let out an elongated sigh. She knew it was her fault for mentioning the succubus, but there was nothing she could do about it now. However, she did know one thing that could take him off of the topic.
"Has Akashiya-san spoken with her sister yet?" she asked, attempting to change the conversation.
An even darker look spread over Tsukune's face, making it clear what the answer would be.
"No, she hasn't. Despite the fact that the contest for inheritance doesn't start until Kokoa is out of high school, she has decided that it would be for the best that they don't interact," Tsukune responded. "I knew that the rivalry would start during the next year, but I didn't expect her to take it so far, so soon."
Ruby's eyes widened at the revelation. It was a known fact that vampire families held competitions between their daughters for the right to be the new family head. She also knew that the competition reached its fiercest as soon as the youngest was of age; which in this case was seventeen-years-old.
"So, do you think your master will be able to get a hold of her sister? Or do you advise against it?"
"I've been in talks with Moka for the past couple of days. She's resistant, but I think I'm close to breaking her down," offered Tsukune.
Ruby frowned as she listened to what he said. Moka was a very pushy young woman. Taking a moment to compose her thoughts, the witch decided upon what to ask.
"What do you have to do for her?"
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Crimson eyes watched as Kokoa and the succubus wandered out of the dormitory. Frustration painted the vampiress' face as she loudly lamented some event or another. From her position, Moka could only assume what her younger sister was talking about.
"Soon enough, sister dear, you'll be able to see that your knight in shining armour isn't as pure as you think."
End Chapter 3
A/N: And that is Chapter 3. I've spent a lot of time working on this chapter. As this entire fic is a passion project for me (I've been planning it out for three years now), I want to make sure everything flows as perfectly as possible. With all the setup needed for the meat of the story, these chapters are pivotal. I hope that you readers enjoy them. And if you have any questions or comments, leave a review or PM me. I'm more than willing to chat about my stories. Anyways, until next time,
Nanashi Wanderer
P.S. A big thanks to everyone who has followed this fic and put it in their favorites. Those help me remember that there's more interest than a review count may suggest. And that makes me more encouraged to write more for those followers.
