I'm back with the next chapter! I think you should know before you read, I had to rewrite many things and huge chunks of the story. Also, to help you recreate the story better, here are some hints: Zenaku taunts the same way as Vergil and Nero. The rest is up to you. Without further ado, enjoy read and review!
Disclaimer: I don't own Rosario + Vampire, Devil May Cry and/or Ninja Gaiden! I only own the OCs I created, nothing else!
Demon Chronicles
Chapter 4:
"Heartless"
"Crime butchers innocence to secure a prize, and innocence struggles with all its might against the attempts of crime." Robespierre
A new day had begun.
The newspaper club was at the school entrance gate giving out the papers—or in today's particular case, the warnings. Behind and over them was a large billboard displaying 'Special issue today! Please read it!' Tsukune and the girls were giving them out with comments like "Please be careful." and "Keep your distance from this person."
The students who were reading the article were giving out comments among themselves. "Could he really be that dangerous?" a male student said while he was with his friends.
"Judging by the picture, he doesn't look like the friendly type." said a female student in a different group of peers.
"That's true. Also, this guy looks like quite a strong fighter." said another female student in another group of friends.
But just like there were comments in doubtful belief, there were also cocky comments, mostly from arrogant boys full of themselves. "This is bullshit. No one's so dangerous that they would publish a warning like this." one boy said while in the gym; his outfit showed that he was in the wrestling team.
"I don't believe he's that strong. I bet I could kick his ass!" another wrestler said in tone grandeur.
But just as the papers were being given out, many students were walking and talking through the dead forest path that connects the apartment complex to the academy. Suddenly, they began to gasp in awe at a tall male figure walking among and past them, unaware of the ghastly truth that surrounded this person.
"Look over there," a girl said.
"Is that the guy the news club was talking about?" said that girl's friend.
"He looks handsomely scary in that uniform…" a third girl said.
Zenaku was walking by, making his way through the dead forest path and towards the academy, passing any student in his way. The students who saw him walk by them got a slight sensation of fear the second they saw him, specially the males.
He was dressed almost exactly as a member of the Public Safety Commission—more precisely, Kuyou—which is likely why many if not all the students turned their attention to him, aside from getting scared the second they saw him. But there were some differences that set him apart of such organization. Like the colors; instead of the navy blue fabric from the PSC, it was made of a jet black denim-like material and instead of white stripes it had crimson ones. There was no band over his chest. His bladeless boots instead of formal shoes and a black belt with a demonic skull buckle. The coat was longer, reaching his ankles, had 2 coattails and a tall neck. He also was carrying a long object wrapped in a black cloth.
Zenaku didn't bother to look at them, so he was walked with his eyes closed. Stupid to many, and others expected him to trip and fall. But to him this was nothing special; yes, his eyes were closed and couldn't see the path normally, but he could sense the many monster auras that each and every student carried like small lights—they varied in size, big and small, which indicated their level of strength. Almost all were small so those were not high caliber monsters. He didn't have to worry about which direction to take either; the students' positions did that for him.
He then reached the gates and sensed many more students both at the entrance and inside the school. A group of freshman girls, unaware of the warning, saw Zenaku pass by and began commenting about him. "Wow. Look at that." Some girl whispered, pointing towards him. Zenaku didn't look at her, not even wanted to. He just continued walking. "He is handsome."
Another girl in a different group, who were in higher years, saw and did the same, also unaware of the warning. "Who's he? I've never seen him around before." Her friend said, in whispers, it wasn't hard for him to hear it though.
"Do you think he's new?" she asked. A glee like that of a hunter chasing a prey sparkled in her eye.
"Probably; if that's the case, I'll be the first to talk to him and so I'll be sure that he'll be mine." The girl began to step closer to him, waving her hand. She wasn't alone though; a group of roughly twenty other girls had the same objective and approached Zenaku. How troublesome.
"Good morning. Are you n-?" In a fraction of a second, Zenaku opened his eyes, turned to the girls and gave them a cold killer look, making them go silent and stop halfway with a terrified look on their face. The girls went back to their respective friends, hiding rapidly behind them. Zenaku walked away.
"That was scary." They all whispered as they hid behind their peers.
'Foolishness…' Zenaku thought, remembering a few hours back before entering the school grounds.
Flashback
It was breaking dawn. The sun was just starting to emerge on the horizon, slowly banishing away the night. Zenaku was standing with his dark sword on his right hand and on the other he was carrying a bundled-up item in his right hand about the same size and shape as his blade. Dressed in the uniform given to him by the chairman, he stood at the tip of the cliff where the News club rescued Mizore and became their new friend and comrade. His other attire and his backpack were hidden in a hollow tree near a lake.
The wind blew softly, caressing his face while his coattails fluttered lightly in the breeze's direction. His eyes kept a calm expression towards the twilight horizon as he formulated plans in his mind. As he was, he felt a new presence appear a few feet away from him. The exorcist appeared behind him without making any noise, his white robes also fluttering with the wind and his eyes set at the rising sun and the horizon. Still, Zenaku sensed him there and kept aware of his distance. "Did you have a good time while you were away?"
The man's calm tone was peculiar and almost annoying to Zenaku. "I found it worthwhile…" he looked down to his left hand, "…but what I did is none of your business." Zenaku's cold tone seemed as much a normal trait as the chairman's smile. The chairman then casually made his way closer to him.
The chairman walked up to Zenaku until he was a couple of steps from him. "I see. Well then, now I can do what I came here to do." The exorcist turned his eyes to the boy in black uniform. "I want you to remember that fights between students are tolerable inside the school grounds. But you can't kill any students. You may however kill any demons foreign to this school you may come across, like the ones you killed when you arrived."
'Quid pro quo, huh...' Zenaku stayed in his posture with his back towards the director for a couple of minutes. So far things seemed acceptable for the plans he had; he could stay there for the moment and all he asked in return was to kill demons. Something he found pretty much agreeable. The only thing he didn't like was that he tried to limit him by the condition about his students. So he thought up a way around.
After a moment he turned around to face the chairman. His expression was cold and serious, specially his eyes. "If that's the deal then I have a condition as well. I'm here for reasons which don't concern you or anybody else and I won't tolerate any of your students' insolences. Not a single one. If they dare cross me, I'll make it clear to them not to do it again my way." Zenaku emphasized the last part with a deadly tone.
The chairman was no stranger to these kinds of situations since he knew that many students—particularly Tsukune—were victims to bullies who always went as far as to try and kill. But that wasn't Tsukune's case so much anymore, since he made peace with some students and others were 'warned' by the True Moka and his friends, but there were still some who always tried. "Very well then. Hopefully you won't have to come to the edge of killing them. And one last thing," the chairman turned his eyes to the items on his hands, "Since you don't have an apartment yet, I'll have to ask you to give me your swords. I don't allow any kind of weapons in the academy. And don't worry; I'll take good care of them." The chairman extended his hands to receive said objects.
Zenaku frowned for a moment before lifting his right hand so that his sword would reach his gaze. He then glanced at the chairman and held his sword to him. The director was about to take it when the object in Zenaku's hand burst into black flames and after a couple of seconds, those very flames died in Zenaku's fist—the sword has been absorbed into his body. The chairman lowered his arms and widened his smile. "My sword is grasped by no one else but me. I won't let you or anyone else touch it, let alone this master blade. Not now, not ever." Zenaku said with a glare.
The chairman then understood what those swords really were. "As you wish, young warrior; I better get back, I have work to do and need to talk to the teachers in order to establish your alibi for being here." The chairman then snapped his fingers and someone appeared a second later; a witch named Ruby holding a small document. "The papers she holds will tell you everything you need to know about the academy. She will be your escort for today."
Ruby's first impression of Zenaku was that of a monster hunter, like the ones her master once told her about, when she managed to get a brief glimpse of the black sword that was in his hand. She managed to hide the fear in her by maintaining her composure but despite that, she didn't want to be near anyone who most likely seemed like a hunter, let alone be his escort. "Forget it. My legs are enough to get me there." Zenaku said as he started to walk past the chairman and took the papers Ruby held. She mentally counted her blessed luck and thanked the gods for what happened.
"How many do you possess?" the chairman asked and Zenaku stopped for a moments before realizing what the man in white meant.
"Seven." Zenaku answered and resumed his walking towards the school. But he didn't really leave; instead, he hid behind a tree and concealed his presence.
When Ruby didn't feel him near anymore, she asked the chairman, "Umm chairman, I don't mean to meddle in your business, but what exactly does Zenaku possess?"
The chairman stared into the partially illuminated sky Zenaku was viewing moments ago before answering. He turned around to look at Ruby, who was growing anxious for the answer she was about to receive, and smiled again; this time a broader smile. "He has some of the most powerful objects in the demon realm—objects that can only be harnessed by monsters of tremendous power and ranking likely greater than vampires; the Devil Arms."
Ruby then understood the calamitous power that Zenaku possessed. She was no ignorant to what the Devil Arms are in themselves: Demonic, living weapons that are commonly the manifestation of a defeated devil's soul or power. Most of the Devil Arms were born from greatly powerful demons like those that kept guard at a tower that linked the demonic domain to the human world in ancient times; a structure very well known in the monster and demon worlds. Temen-ni-gru, a great monument that once rose high above the clouds and reached deep into the bowels of the Earth, towards the Hell Gate and the Demon World; that particular subject was one of Ruby's favorites when she was under the protection of her master.
"Master, do you think Zenaku might have opened to the Gate?" Ruby's tone was full of concern.
"It's a possibility." The chairman answered. But he didn't tell her the whole truth. He then went deep in thought, remembering why he took in Zenaku and Kairi. He explained to his assistant that he visited a psychic monster that was a friend of his and gave him a piece of parchment, predicting a great battle that compromised the sake of both worlds and that the beginning would be unfolded at the academy followed by the birth of a demon of destruction. The psychic didn't say who, only that it would bring forth great chaos He dug into his pocket and felt that very paper of misfortune.
At first he was planning to fend off the menace with his own power and means, however he wasn't sure that he'd be able to do that and protect the students. But with Zenaku's arrival, he planned to keep him close so that he would aid him. However, after seeing that he was here for purposes of his own, it was pretty much certain he wouldn't stay long enough. He knew that even with the full power of his Judgment Cross, Zenaku stood a higher chance of overcoming him if he tried to force him—especially with seven Devil Arms at his disposal. So he took measures in case of such, but these would take time. All he could do was persuade him to stay, which would be rather easier said than done.
'You think so, huh? We'll see about that, old man.' Zenaku thought. He crumpled the papers and tossed them away before heading to the school. A few seconds after he left the spot, the crumpled paper caught fire and burned to ash.
End Flashback
The news club had given out all the copies to most of the students. Mizore, Yukari and Kurumu kept a copy for each of them that they would later mail to their own parents. Shortly after putting away the table and banner, they made their way inside the school halls.
Kairi was walking in the school halls along with the newspaper club, receiving compliments from the boys that caught a glimpse of her image and were melting because of her beauty; she was beginning to get used to them. This kept on until she came to a halt. "What's wrong, Kairi?" Tsukune asked. He looked to the front and saw why she stopped.
Zenaku was standing on the other side of the hall—his hands in his pockets, a cold stare on his eyes—about ten feet away from them. Unlike Kairi, who received comments on her beauty and charisma, Zenaku received comments of fear and the frightening appearance he projected. Rumors of whether the warnings about him being true could be heard back and forth his way. The news club got a particularly unpleasant flashback when they saw him; his very silhouette reminded them of the one demon that brought Tsukune on the brink of death.
On behalf of this, Zenaku gave an intimidating look to his left then his right. This made the students grow quiet and those who met his blood gaze in the eye took one or two steps back in fear.
Kairi's face grew with delight when she saw her rescuer standing in front of her. She approached him and said, "How nice to see you again, Zenaku. You look great in this attire." He looked at the girl and only a small grin was shown in his face.
"Ditto." He said. He looked around and saw envious stares from the males towards Kairi and himself. "It would appear you've come to blend in quite well." He said mildly.
Zenaku then saw a newspaper in the hands of a student girl with his picture and a 'BEWARE' headline above it. "So…you chose to warn the entire academy about me." Zenaku gave a slight chuckle, which made the club and everyone there a little nervous. "It sort of takes out the fun of doing it myself, not to mention it being a pointless attempt to stop the foreseeable."
Kairi's face got wiped of its joy and replaced with concern. "It was all my idea, Zenaku." The club got stunned by her.
'Kairi…' Moka thought in response to witnessing her actions.
"We did this so the students wouldn't have to suffer the same fate from that day." She grabbed his right hand and brought them to her chest. She looked at him with pleading eyes eyes. "Please Zenaku, I implore you to not kill anyone."
As this happened, every boy was dying of envy. "I can't believe she's holding his hand like that!" a boy said gnawing at his shirt.
"I wish I could kick that guy's ass, but judging from his appearance and if the warning about him is true, then I would be in for a shitload of hurt." said another boy.
Zenaku stayed silent for a few seconds, always maintaining eye contact with Kairi. He then realized this moment as the perfect opportunity to try and find what he wants from her. "I'll tell you what: I won't hurt them if they don't give me a reason to do so. When that happens, I'll warn them once like I warned the succubus; If they don't surrender by then I'll kill them, no questions asked. All of that in exchange for the answers I seek from you. That's my offer. Do you accept?" Kurumu frowned when she heard him use her as an example of torture.
Kairi wanted to adjust things so that no one would be killed, but realized that Zenaku wouldn't budge. "I accept." She answered in a low tone. Zenaku resumed his walking, passing by Kairi and the news club. He personally found the deal troublesome, since he believed warnings to be pointless, but the girl wouldn't have accepted if he made a different deal; he'd just have to keep up his words.
Just as he was turning around the corner, a scream was heard. "KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Zenaku turned his head towards the source of the scream. What he saw made his eyes grow with disgust.
Kairi was being held by the throat by a tall brown-haired student. "Let her go, Saizou!" Moka demanded.
Saizou responded. "Like hell I am. This girl is far more attractive than you all and I'm sure I'll have a great time with her when I'm through with her."
Kurumu then extended her claws and threatened, "You bastard! Let her go or else!"
"Or else what? You can't transform in school grounds. And without transforming you can't fight." Saizou replied calm and confident that they wouldn't attack. The girls knew he was right and held back. Tsukune grew mad and charged at him but was punched back in line. Saizou lifted Kairi against the wall and said "You and I are going to have some fun. And when I'm done with you, I'll kill you." He said this with sick twisted lust in his eyes. She tried to break free from his grasp but to no avail.
"Let her go." a voice with a dark tone sounded out from a distance, obtaining everyone's attention.
Tsukune turned to see who it was and exclaimed "Zenaku!"
He started to walk towards them in a calm but menacing way. Saizou looked at him and said almost mockingly "Who the fuck do you think you are to tell me what to do?" Zenaku stopped a couple feet away with a deathly glare aimed at Saizou. True, the orc may be taller, but paled in comparison to the dread Zenaku inspired.
"Release her. Now..." Zenaku warned Saizou again, this time with an even more menacing tone. "...Or else." His eyes gleamed with a ghastly spark.
Everyone backed away as much as they could from the now upset Zenaku, especially due to the anger and bloodlust irradiating in his gaze. If Zenaku was scary at first glimpse, the disposition he was in could've made the devil himself cry.
Saizou felt his soul leave his body as the fear gripped his heart and throat. He started acting cocky in order to dissimulate. "Bring it." Saizou taunted.
Zenaku grinned in a sinister manner and chuckled slightly, "Kairi, just so we're clear, I'm keeping my end of the deal." Zenaku was going to enjoy this. He placed the bundled object inside his coat and got ready to crush the foolish monster.
"Don't take me lightly, you fucker!" Saizou shouted as he threw a fist that landed right in Zenaku's forehead, but the latter didn't budge an inch, which earned Zenaku many gasps of awe from everyone.
Zenaku drew an evil grin on his face, which made Saizou grow terrified. "My turn." He then grabbed the attacking arm and twisted it with enough force to break it. In response to the pain, Saizou dropped Kairi as he gave out an ear-splitting cry of agony, and kneeled on the floor holding his busted arm.
Saizou felt the excruciating pain spread take over all his senses and as he held his injured arm, he felt something wet. The bone had emerged from his skin and the blood started pouring out of his sleeve. "Don't get too comfortable…" Zenaku spoke malevolently, grabbing him by the shirt collar and pulling him up. Zenaku saw his eyes filled with horror, and at this, he grinned with the gleam of wickedness. "…we've only just begun." Everyone gasped in shock and horror as they witnessed the male's cruelty, but none was more afraid than Saizou, who became a victim of his own challenge.
Zenaku then took him by the hair and hit him dead in the face with the knee. Because of such impact, Saizou started to bleed heavily from the nose and mouth. As if to multiply his pain, he slammed his face on the wall, leaving small cracks and some blood on it and let him fall limply on the floor. But he didn't stop at that; after those torturous actions, Zenaku began to pummel his body with a volley of punches and kicks.
The students, scared of interfering in the conflict started shouting things like "That's enough!", "He's had it!", "You're going to kill him!" but Zenaku paid no mind to them.
Tsukune and the girls knew better than anyone not to get in Zenaku's way, so the boy yelled "Don't kill him! Please!" but was ignored. Zenaku grabbed Saizou by the throat, lifted him with ease and started to strangle him. Saizou tried to break free with the little strength he could summon. No use. Zenaku only tightened his grip.
Kairi got up weakened, then walked up to Zenaku and fell on his back, her body pressed against his back. "If you kill him I'll give you nothing, regardless of the deal." Kairi whispered to his ear. Zenaku turned his head to meet Kairi's amethyst gaze. Unbelievable, a little girl was blackmailing a deadly murderer.
"In that case I'll slaughter everyone, starting with you." Zenaku responded in a semi-growling, but whispering tone, but Kairi never backed down.
"Kill me, and you'll kill the only possible answers you were looking for, losing them forever." Zenaku's gaze glowed with a furious gleam and was forced to spare the scum in his hand. However, he smiled within him. He had come across monsters with an insatiable lust and knew this guy would try to obtain Kairi sooner or later—soon more than anything, and causing his death would be enjoyable.
Still feigning his frustration, he responded. "Fine then, but if I see him again, he's dead." Kairi nodded as she got off him, regaining her standing posture.
Zenaku let go of Saizou who fell limply on the floor; the immediate area was stained with his blood and many were already grossed out. Zenaku crouched next to Saizou, pulled up his head by the hair and said to him with death in his voice, "Listen carefully because I'll only say this once: Lay one finger on her again, I'll make sure you die without even knowing what happened. Do you understand?" Saizou replied with a weak nodding of his head. "Good."
Zenaku released his grip on him and stepped on his balls and twisted his foot on them, obtaining an agonized groan from Saizou. "Let that be a lasting reminder of this." Then he turned to face the trembling crowd and raised his voice. "This goes to all of you! Provoke me or try any weird acts on her and you're as good as dead."
Zenaku then turned to Kairi, who was shocked at what she had just seen, "You better put a bandage on that bleeding heart of yours. It's a lure for troubles like this."
Tsukune got upset for his comment at her and spat out, "At least she has a heart, not like you."
When Zenaku heard this, he scoffed and walked up to him and got in his face, overshadowing him. "Yes. I have no heart. But unlike you, I have the power to defeat and annihilate my enemies; I don't rely on girls or anyone else to fight my battles and I never will. That's one of the biggest differences between us, you pathetic weakling."
These words were spoken in a raw shredding tone that hit Tsukune hard, bringing to his mind a true fact: he had never been able to fight like the True Moka or the other girls against those who tried to take him down or kill him; at least not in a way that meant the risk of losing control of his actions and converting to his ghoul nature or when he depended on Moka's blood to fight. Zenaku's penetrating mind and brutal acerbic tone proved to be a cruel feat of his.
The girls were about to charge at the dark warrior but Tsukune stopped them. Zenaku scoffed at his actions, and then turned to Kairi as she turned to look at him "We'll meet at the rooftop when the bell rings." Kairi nodded nervously in response.
The school bell rang and everyone rushed to their respective classrooms whereas Saizou was taken to the nursery unconscious and bloody. Kairi was about to leave as well, but instead of that, she approached Zenaku, who was standing in the middle of the now empty hall. "Um, do you know where your class is?" she asked.
"Yeaj, I do; I just love to stand here like an idiot who doesn't know where is what." he responded sarcastically.
Kairi wanted to laugh at that but didn't as she knew what he meant. She put aside the sharp edge of his response and tried to help him out. "Well, do you know the room number?" she asked and got a response.
"I think it was 301 or something like that. *" Zenaku gave a sigh and then commented, "I certainly don't see the point of taking classes or even going to school. I'm a warrior, not a student."
Hearing this, Kairi tried to counter his words and, with strangely found joy, she said "Um, well, look at it this way. You've trained your body so much, it's fit for countless battles. You can train your mind here to improve your knowledge. After all, power is not the only thing that the strongest warriors must possess, right?" she finished with a childish giggle.
Zenaku sweat-dropped and raised an eyebrow; after two seconds, he responded, "That has got to be the stupidest reason you could've ever given me…" that part made her fall out of her joy and tilt a little. "…but I guess you're right. Power is not the only strength. I'll bite this time, see what happens. Can't be anymore boring than this school."
Kairi quickly jumped with joy and shouted "Great!"
I'm already starting to regret what I said. "Ok, calm down. And speaking of classrooms, do you even know where that particular one is?" Zenaku asked.
"Yes! It's my classroom!" Kairi answered, again with a childish smile.
Zenaku only lifted an eyebrow from his dull expression. Just my luck…
"Come on! We have to be there quickly!" The purple-haired girl exclaimed as she hugged his left arm and guided him to the classroom. The boys who saw them pass by like this were shitting their pants and tearing their shirts to shreds due to jealousy. Zenaku was a little impressed at this particular girl. He was sure that Kairi knew he could kill her at any moment's notice; yet here she was, treating him like a normal friend.
Tsukune, Moka and the others were inside their classroom talking about their new task for the newspaper club when a guy talking to his friends made them go silent.
"Exactly, it appears that there is a new student in this classroom." A boy with green hair and strange haircut said. His friends looked at him, dumbfounded.
"Just beginning the second semester?" a guy with purple hair said, arching his brushy eyebrows. "It's strange that a new student gets transferred this time of the year."
"Do you think is a girl?" a dark blue haired boy asked.
"That would be great; another cute girl for us." The three of them had a dreamy face. They looked alike, like they were brothers or at least the same raze of monsters.
"Even though we already have a lot of cute girls, one more wouldn't harm." The green haired guy spoke.
"And if it is a boy?" asked the one with blue hair.
"Well, we'll take care of him so that he doesn't steal our women." The green haired guy said evilly. The other two began to laugh, darkly.
Tsukune knew those guys. They were three of the bullies that terrified the school. He had already had troubles with them; they were very jealous of any guy that had any kind of relationship with a girl, and he was always surrounded by five of them. The only things that restrained those three for breaking all his bones were the famous reputations and power of Mizore, Kurumu, Yukari and specially Kokoa and Moka, whose strength was very well known inside the academy. About three days ago, they tried to take Kairi for themselves but failed and got their asses kicked by the True Moka.
Tsukune looked to the girls that were sitting around him. "Do you think that they were talking about Zenaku?" he asked. Moka, Kurumu, Yukari and Mizore looked at him during a moment before they all nodded lightly.
"It's the most probable." Kurumu said crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't think we should bother with those guys. Let's let them find out the painful truth about Zenaku by themselves. It's not like we didn't try to warn everyone."
Then Tsukune and the others quieted down as Nekonome-sensei entered the room and started to pass list in class with her usual feline joy. She then reached Kairi's name and called it "Matsuzuki. Kairi Matsuzuki? Where could she be? I just saw her moments ago." Kairi then walked in.
"Here I am! I'm so sorry, I was bringing someone here." She panted slightly and bowed in apology for being tardy.
"Oh, that's ok. And who did you bring with you?" asked the cat woman.
Kairi walked to the door, opened it and said "You can come in!" She stepped aside and everyone got anxious to see who it could be. Many boys expected a cute girl. Their hopes were not met.
Zenaku walked in and everyone gave out short gasps of astonishment as well as some comments. "Oh no! It's that guy that nearly killed Saizou!" whispered a boy.
"How can she be so calm around him?" whispered another boy.
"What do you think he's carrying?" A girl asked her friend.
Nekonome-sensei acted no different from her students. Her ears fell down as she saw the image of the one who the news club posted a warning of. Every student held their breaths until Zenaku reached the center of the class' front and stopped there, facing everyone. This brought most if not all the students the fearsome memory of the time Kuyou walked into the room.
The teacher asked in a scared tone "Um…who are you?" Zenaku turned to look at her and she whimpered in fear.
"Zenaku Hayabusa. Apparently I'm enlisted here." he responded in an emotionless cold tone. His red eyes scanned every face inside the room, making a shiver go down through some girls' spines that had yet to know about the warning, sending blood to their cheeks and making them blush.
Almost all the guys were frightened by his eyes' coldness. Zenaku narrowed his eyes when saw Tsukune and his 'sluts' as he classified them in his mind.
The three guys who were attempting to beat him cowered in fear as well, "Maybe we should do it tonight when he's off guard." Said the green haired boy to his friends and they all nodded in agreement.
Regaining her composure, Miss Nekonome looked on her list. "Oh, mister Hayabusa, yes, here you are. The chairman told me about you. Class!" she summoned the students' attention. "This young man here is Zenaku Hayabusa. I'm hoping all of you read the special edition by the news club, but hopefully you will have nothing to worry about. He is our new academy protector!"
Everyone gasped in amusement to the cat woman's statement, especially Tsukune and the others. Zenaku slightly slid his eyes to the teacher and lifted an eyebrow, '…I'm a what?' Zenaku then remembered that part of his conversation with the chairman. Sweet merciful crap…
The cat woman calmed the students and said "Let me explain: Recently, vicious demons have been appearing on the school grounds that could be compromising our safety. That's why Zenaku's here, to kill those demons and ensure our safety. The chairman has issued only one explicitly strict order to both students and teachers in the school: No one must ever provoke Zenaku in any way whatsoever. If you do, you stand alone against the consequences and the chairman won't be responsible for whatever happens to you." The students then started to whisper to each other.
"Do you think the chairman had something to do with Zenaku being here?" whispered Moka to Tsukune,
"I truly don't know but in this school anything's possible."
Kurumu heard them and intervened. "Do you think Zenaku will stay true to his agreement with Kairi? I understand what he did to Saizou, but I don't know if it'll stop there."
To this, Mizore responded, "We can only wait and see what happens." The group agreed and turned their attention back at Zenaku.
"Um, why were you absent last week?" the cat-woman asked.
Zenaku only replied "Personal matters."
The cat demon then looked at the clothed object on Zenaku's grasp, "Could you tell me what is that you're carrying?"
Zenaku gave her a cold piercing glare that made her quiver in fear. "It doesn't concern you." He retorted.
"Um, go ahead and grab a-" Nekonome sensei then pointed to a seat.
"Excuse me." Zenaku interrupted the feline as he abruptly walked out the door. Kairi tried to stop him but was met with a 'don't stop me' gesture.
When he was out, he slammed the door shut. Kairi was about to go after him when suddenly an intense and long shout was heard all over the school and scared some birds from the nearby trees.
"!"
Though this startled every student in the school, Kairi put a silly smile on her face, 'Oh, that…'
The chairman heard this and said to himself "hehe…things are going to get very interesting…"
Zenaku re-entered the room taking a deep breath and running a hand through his hair as he regained his cool. He saw everyone looking at him with expressions of awkwardness. "I'm cool. Now, shall we begin?" he said as he passed through the students and grabbed a seat next to Kairi's left, placing the bundle on his left side. Classes commenced.
The first period passed rather quickly and Zenaku found himself more bored rather than bothered by this waste of time. But remembering Kairi's words, he concluded he could at least learn something while he was here. 'Power is not the only thing that the strongest warriors must posses.' Zenaku thought as he looked through the window, and then turned to the book in front of him.
After history class with Nekonome-sensei they had math class with Ririko-sensei. The woman was quite attractive and Zenaku noted that some of the students were afraid of her. He thought it would be ridiculous to adopt the same sensation of fear as the other students. At any rate, if she were to give him a hard time, he would deal with her.
Her class offered no interest to him so he turned his eyes to the window and the view outside. The lamia saw this as she was speaking out a problem, which sounded difficult. "Now, who should I pick to answer this?" she pondered as she saw the class. As usual, Yukari's hand was standing above alone. Ririko saw this but instead chose to give it to someone else.
She called Zenaku's name but he didn't respond. This popped a vein in her head and flung a square to him. Effortlessly, Zenaku caught it using two fingers without taking his eyes from the window. "What?" he asked bluntly.
"Would you please answer the problem I just announced?" she said flamboyantly.
After two seconds, Zenaku said "8.743. Satisfied?" Ririko looked on her notes and saw his answer was right. When she announced this, everyone got startled. Most of the class there took him for a merciless executioner, the rest only as a scary person, both statements being accurate. Even Yukari was impressed.
Zenaku then flung back the square, which stabbed the blackboard, scaring the teacher. "My, you're very smart. How about you take some of my private advanced lessons?" she said seductively as she passed a hand over her breasts. This particular sentence is what made every male student cringe, for they knew what she did when she was alone with a student.
"How about no?" he said with a sharp tone. She simply nodded in agreement and continued her class until it ended. Next came another session with the cat woman.
When lunch break was announced by the bell, everyone quickly left the room. Nekonome-sensei waved everyone off and when she turned her eyes to the room, she saw Zenaku in his seat tilted back with his legs on the desk and eyes closed. She felt awkward and chose to break the silence. "Um, are you ok?"
Zenaku stayed silent for two seconds, then got up with an indifferent expression and grabbed the clothed object, took off the cover and revealed a katana with a white handle, gold ornaments and details and a black sheath. 'Ah, Yamato…' Zenaku thought as he grinned at its sight.
"Zenaku, no weapons of any kind are allowed within the school!" the cat woman protested. Zenaku shot her a cold stare to shut her up.
"I know that. Close the door." She did as she was told. Zenaku then held out Yamato in front of him.
Nekonome-sensei kept staring at the sword and Zenaku until the sword started to shine in a blazing white radiance that glowed brightly through the window. When the light was gone, Zenaku then looked at his hand and swore to himself in his mind he would always protect it until it was given to its respective owner. He then took the cloth that covered the blade, put it in his pocket and went to the door.
Nekonome-sensei didn't know what had happened to the sword or Zenaku. When she was about to ask, Zenaku was in front of her right by the door. "Speak to absolutely no one about what you just saw." She nodded in agreement. "By the way, your class is boring."
These words made the cat teacher grew paler than white before falling into a deep depression. 'That was cruel…' she thought. Zenaku simply walked out of the room and into the halls, eyes and comments whispering as he passed by. Everything was calm until a loud ruckus came his way.
Moka was running scared through the school halls and students while Kokoa was chasing her viciously with a war hammer in her hands. "Come here, sister! Let's fight!" yelled the vampire.
Moka responded as she kept running "No! I don't want to fight you! Just leave me alone and get away from me!" Kokoa, as expected, only kept chasing her despite her sister's pleas, smashing away any unfortunate students that got caught in her path.
What happened was that while Moka and her friends were eating lunch in the cafeteria, Kokoa stormed in and challenged her to fight…again. She jumped at her, hammer in hand, and smashed the table along with everyone's food. Moka started to run away and told her friends not to worry, that she would be back soon. And so the chase was on, like a hound and a fox.
It was more than evident to the entire school by now that Kokoa would never rest until she got what she wanted: Her true sister back. The invincible True Moka. The kind vampire just kept running.
Kokoa had stumbled upon something hard, which stopped her on her tracks. She fell on the floor and rubbed her butt giving out an 'ow' as she got up. "Hey! Get out of my way if you know what's good for you, ya-" she was cut off when she saw a tall, intimidating figure.
When Moka noticed her sister wasn't chasing her anymore, she turned back to see what had happened. "Oh, God! Run Kokoa, Get away from him!" Moka yelled the moment she saw that her sister had stumbled on Zenaku as his icy gaze met her sister's.
"Why should I fear him? It's he who has to fear me and run away!" Kokoa shouted as she swung her hammer at his head. Zenaku simply sidestepped to his right and grasped the hammer firmly before it hit the floor. He quickly yanked it out of her hands and the hammer turned back into a bat. "Lady Kokoa, help me!" the bat was then thrown out the window, shattering it while the bat crashed on a far tree out for the count.
"What the-" Kokoa was left with fear trying to overcome her pride. "Alright then, try this!" she spun and launched a kick aimed at his ribs. He wasted no time to grab her leg with his left hand in its path, not letting go.
"You certainly are a pain in the ass." Zenaku's eyes gave out a cold gleam which made Kokoa gasp in awe, "I think I'll have to take you down a couple notches." He finished with an evil grin. Kokoa tried to free her leg from his grasp but was useless; his grip was a deadlock. He pulled slightly to make her fall on the floor.
"Zenaku, please don't hurt her!" Moka begged as she pulled the arm he was using to restrain her sister. Zenaku simply switched her leg to his other hand and grabbed Moka with the other by the neck.
"Stay out of this." He said and pushed her away, her back skidding against the floor as she landed. She stopped when she hit her head on a far wall. The impact force was such that she fell unconscious.
Seeing this, Kokoa was left with shock on her face and exclaimed, "Damn you!"
Zenaku glanced at her with heartless viciousness and simply said four words, "Now it's your turn." The color washed away from her face as fear took over her. He swiftly pulled her around him in order to gain impulse and just as quickly swung her forward, slamming her full back on a wall and cracking it. Kokoa gave a sharp yelp of pain and spat some blood. As if that was not enough, Zenaku used the momentum to pull her again and crash her full front on the floor, leaving similar cracks on the tiles.
Kokoa couldn't believe what was happening; she was being thrown around like a rag doll. Even her sister's kicks were a mere tickle compared to what he was doing to her. His mercilessness was beyond from even that of her beloved relative. Zenaku then grabbed her by the neck, bringing her a mere breath away from his face. "Try that on me again and you'll be pushing daisies." That being said, he threw her body away, landing near the unconscious Moka.
Due to the noise caused by the recent brutal events, many students gathered near that spot in a matter of short minutes. Little before the first students got there Zenaku heard their voices and footsteps. Uncaring for the comments the students would surely start to spread around once they arrived, he calmly started to calmly walk away in order to meet his issues at the rooftop.
When they arrived, the boys and girls were stricken with impression and staggered at the sight of their idol beaten, unconscious and lying helpless on the floor. A boy then approached, "Oh my god! Goddess Moka!"
Another boy next to him said "Who could do something like this?" Two boys and two girls picked up Moka and Kokoa and rushed them to the academy's hospital.
"I swear I'll kill whoever did this to them!" exclaimed a boy in anger as he held up his fist and a few others joined his sentiment in agreement.
Suddenly a girl saw Zenaku walking from the scene, "Hey you!"
Zenaku halted his steps and turned to look at the girl with an expression of ice. "Did you do this to Moka and Kokoa?" As the girl said this, everyone there turned their attention to him and leered at him in anger.
"So what if I did?" Zenaku responded in a cold tone without caring for their reactions.
A boy grew enraged and pointed at his target. "You fucking bastard, how could you do this to her?"
Zenaku scoffed in a sardonic manner to such reaction, "What makes you think I care?"
This response made the boy charge at him in fury, "I'll rip you to shreds!" yelled the male and two others followed him with the same objective.
"Come and try it." Zenaku calmly said as he glanced at the trio approach him. When they were close enough, the first male threw a punch but Zenaku dodged it easily by crouching. Then, at quicksilver speed, he sweep-kicked that boy and while he was fumbling in the air Zenaku grabbed him by a leg, quickly got up, gave a slight grunt and, in a spinning motion, threw the boy against the other two males with enough force to push them all he way back to the crowd falling limply and in excruciating pain.
"You soulless fiend! How can you be so cruel?" a girl in blonde hair yelled at him.
"Because I can and I am." Zenaku's cold tone and heartless expression only frightened her. She and all those around her at the moment could not understand how someone could act with such levels of cruelty and show no emotions, care or remorse. Zenaku then turned around to leave the rage-boiling students and made his way to the rooftop.
Kairi was on the rooftop like Zenaku had asked of her. Three other boys accompanied her to that place, chatting with her in the hopes of convincing her to go out on a date with them. It was the same trio that had conspired to attack Zenaku. As they were doing this, the four of them heard the door near them creak open. The three boys suddenly grew annoyed when they saw it was Zenaku who had arrived.
"You three, leave now" Zenaku pointed to the three males; "Kairi, you and I have things to discuss."
Zenaku's commanding tone was ignored by the boys' arrogance, "Oh yeah? Well if you want us out of here, you'll have to force us." a boy said in a boastful manner.
"Gladly. Let's rock." The evil in Zenaku's tone made the boys grow in fear and their faces grow pale. Zenaku cracked his knuckles and approached them ready to pummel them.
"STOP!" Kairi ran to intercept Zenaku and made him stop halfway from the three males with her arms extended both ways. "Guys, please do as he says. What he does to his opponents and enemies I wish to no one." The boys then shrugged the fear from their bodies and slowly made their way out of the rooftop. "Zenaku, please stop your violence." Kairi begged to her dark savior.
The male trio passed by them and as they did, one of them murmured something as he got close to Zenaku, "I bet you're no tougher than me."
Unbeknownst to that boy, Zenaku did hear him and as quick as lightning seized him by the throat, choking him. "No one in this school is stronger than me." With that said, he threw the boy straight into the wall where the door was.
The other boys immediate rushed to help him, "You asshole! You'll pay for this!" said one of the boys as they all left the rooftop.
"Zenaku, you lied to me!" Kairi shouted as she gripped Zenaku's shoulders, "You said you wouldn't harm anyone! You could've killed him!"
Zenaku gave a small chuckle and responded with a grin, "Au contraire, kid. I never promised I wouldn't harm anyone. I said I would kill them after warning them, but I never said I would use words to warn them every time. And no one has been killed…yet." Zenaku's clarification made Kairi's face grew in astonishment. "So you see Kairi, I have kept my end of the deal. Very soon I'll get yours; make no mistake of that."
Once again Zenaku's proved to be right. Indeed, no one has been killed yet, just warned, in a way, as he promised. Kairi had no choice but to accept the hard truth and reality. "If that's how it is, then I want you to promise not to hurt anyone unless they attack you first and warn them only with words!" Kairi demanded from Zenaku to change the deal.
He couldn't help but laugh sardonically at her words. When he stopped, he turned to Kairi, "You demand more from me when you have nothing else to offer? I agreed to the first promise in exchange from the answers I want from you. But other than that, you have nothing else I desire. So I will not accept." Kairi slowly brought her arms around her chest and was trembling with sadness and shock; her vision got cloudy as tears started to pile up in her eyes. Was it really impossible to stop the violence between Zenaku and those who dare attack him?
I guess I won't be able to get anything out of her in her current state. Damn, what a waste of time… Zenaku thought as he analyzed Kairi's state of mind. He gave a short sigh then walked to the door and left the rooftop. When he reached the halls, he was met with a mix of scared glares, angry leers, and confused eyes from those who still didn't know why he was feared and hated.
"WAIT!" A sudden shout was heard in the hall that caught everyone's attention. Zenaku turned to see Kairi with a tired appearance for running down the stairs to catch up with Zenaku. Kairi raised her face so her amethyst eyes would meet Zenaku's deadly blood rubies. 'Gotta hand it to her, she's stubborn and persistent…' Zenaku thought as he saw her approach him.
"You want something in exchange for the deal? Fine, I'll give you anything you want from me. Name it, it's yours. Absolutely anything you desire." Kairi spoke these words in a tone impregnated with blind desperation and as she did, she drew closer to the male dressed in darkness.
The numerous boys and girls witnessing what was going on at that very time and place could not believe the unfolding events. Kairi, one of the school's hottest, sexiest, cutest girls was offering anything from her entire self to Zenaku, the most feared, loathed and most powerful male in the school yet. Zenaku raised a hand and gently placed it right under her chin, his thumb gracing her lips "You are pure, kind and warm; a true element of light. Sadly, other than the answers, you don't have anything I want or need."
Kairi shed a tear that managed to make it all the way down her left cheek. "And what is it that you want?" Kairi whispered these words in a broken tone; and her tone was low, as if it was only for Zenaku to hear.
Zenaku then slowly drew his face close to hers with her lips a mere breath away from his. Kairi's breathing turned to short silent gasps in response for the anxiety coursing her body as well as Zenaku being less than an inch from her. She couldn't help the feeling of being overwhelmed by his eyes— those deep crimson pools of bloody mystery and bloodlust marked with a black line that whispered many forms of ambiguity. Zenaku shifted to her right ear and whispered three words. Three simple words to anyone else, but these particular words echoed in the heart and mind of Kairi for what seemed like an eternity in an instant.
"Power… I want the ultimate power."
Zenaku broke apart when he revealed his ultimate goal to the currently fragile Kairi, and then turned to leave. Kairi didn't know whether Zenaku was toying or tormenting her with enigmatic riddles and mortal actions. But it didn't matter to her; she was willing stop Zenaku's warpath even if it killed her. Seeing him a short distance away, she immediately ran towards him and wrapped her arms around his torso. "If I could give you that or something better…would you accept?"
Zenaku scoffed and turned his body still caught in her embrace to look at her eyes, "You have nothing better than the ultimate power. Or the power I seek."
Kairi's strength was growing weaker due to the anguish, feeling her arms slowly sliding of his body. "But what if?"
Zenaku was starting to get frustrated by her persistent determination, so he chose to give her some sense of hope that would keep away her pleas at least for a while. "If you actually had something better than the ultimate power, I would grant you one wish. Only one, but it can be anything as long as it's within my reach."
As Zenaku said this, he saw a few streams of tears on her face and gently wiped them away. "Go to your friends." Kairi chose to heed his words. Letting go of his body, she made her way to the news room with doubt and sadness tormenting her mind and heart.
As she went out of sight when turning a corner, Zenaku started to walk in the opposite direction. "Hey, asshole!" A student shouted the moment Zenaku took his third step, stopped and turned who had insulted him. "It's time for payback. You'll pay for what you did to Moka, Kokoa and my friends!"
Zenaku smirked for a second and sardonically replied, "Yeah right, you and what army?"
Suddenly a large number of boys and girls crowded the hall and shouted in unison "THIS ARMY!"
Zenaku raised an eyebrow in slight amusement. 'Well, well, well. Now they come in packs… this could be fun.' He thought sinisterly as he moved his left leg behind his right leg, then swept his right arm by his leg, held it towards the crowd and waved it in a taunting manner and then bowed mockingly. "Shall we dance?" The entire student mob charged at him shouting and roaring.
Kairi arrived at the room where Kurumu, Tsukune, Yukari and Mizore were. She slid open the door and caught everyone's attention. "Kairi!" greeted Yukari but her cheer changed to caring curiosity when she noticed sadness and gloomy eyes, "Hey, what's wrong?"
Kairi took a seat offered by Yukari and answered, "I'm fine, I just…"
Kurumu grabbed a chair and sat next to the latter. "Just what?"
Kairi went to the windows and saw some P.E. students outside, "I just wish I knew a way to stop Zenaku's violence." she said in a low volume. Everyone in the room then thought up the same thing, then neared her to try and get a better handle on things.
Yukari closed in on her left, "What do you mean by stopping his violence?"
Kairi's hand rose up to touch the glass and slowly slid down. "Zenaku only agreed to the deal in exchange for some answers he wants from me. But it seems he created a loophole."
Tsukune then took place to talk, "A loophole?"
Kairi turned around but kept her eyes down. "A while ago on the rooftop, Zenaku nearly killed three boys who defied him. I managed to stop them from fighting but because one of them made a comment, he hurt another student. And the worst part is that all he's done is within the range of the deal. I tried to modify the deal but he said I had nothing else he wanted."
"Oh, man. Guess the warning was a hopeless attempt. Instead we made things worse because everyone's trying to show off by challenging Zenaku." Tsukune said after realizing the situation they had just created.
"And that's not all." Everyone turned to hear Mizore, "If this goes on, all Zenaku has to do is keep his word, and half the academy will be annihilated in a couple of days." Everyone there was now cursing the idea of making a warning about Zenaku; and the students were the ones who were going to pay the price for their mistake.
Then, Kairi made a shocking confession, "At this point, I'm willing to give him anything he wants, if it'll make him stop—my heart, my soul, my body, my entire self…anything."
Everyone wanted to find the answer to her torment, but they didn't know where to start. It was a fact that some students sopped being violent because they found something that they wanted or needed. Some others were just bloodthirsty demons. "Kairi, I don't think you have to go so far." Mizore said to serene Kairi's torment, and also tried to discover what was that Zenaku wanted from her. " you said that he wants something from you. What is it?"
"He wants some answers from me. But the truth is I don't know what they may be."
"I see. Did he by any chance say what he was looking for?" Mizore said in an attempt to find easement for her friend.
"He wants the ultimate power; to be the strongest." Kairi revealed Zenaku's objective to the people in the room at that time. When she managed to tuck in her sadness, she added one more statement.
"He did say something else, though." Everyone leaned closer to hear her, since it could be a key to stopping Zenaku, "He said that if I could get him that power or something better, he would grant me one wish that was within his reach. Anything within that reach, but just one thing."
The sadness in Kairi still held on to her expression. Yukari then approached her and tried to relief her from her sorrow. "It may be a spark of hope, Kairi." She started to rub her back to give her some comfort. "I don't mean to be a buzz kill, but it's going to be almost impossible to find something that someone as Zenaku would consider as the 'ultimate power'. Nevertheless, it's not impossible." She affirmed the last part with a giggling smile, which eased Kairi from her sadness and relieving her of it, for now she had a new objective: to find the ultimate power and give it to Zenaku in order to stop his violence.
Just in that second, Ruby stormed into the room, "Tsukune, you better get to the hospital right away, Moka's been attacked!" Everyone rushed out of the room to get to the hospital fast. Kairi was the last to leave but was stopped by Ruby holding her by the shoulder, "Kairi, the chairman wishes to talk to you. He says it's important." So they did; Tsukune, Kurumu, Yukari and Mizore went to check up on Moka while Kairi went to see what the chairman had to say to her.
Many boys and girls were groaning and moaning in pain. Many had black eyes, huge bruises by the hundreds; others had broken arms, legs or other body parts, while most of the girls and some boys were knocked out. There were injuries of many kinds, but a common one in all of them was bleeds of all proportions and sizes. The walls had impact holes on them, the floors were cracked and most windows were shattered.
"Well, that's a let down. And to think I was hoping for a bit more than just a few kicks and screams…" Zenaku said in a sardonic tone as he stood in the center of a carpet of fallen students, getting some blood off his coat. He then crouched next to a female student, poked an injury right above her left breast with his right index finger and dipped it in blood while getting a pained whimper from her. He went to a wall and wrote something on it. The blood had run down in little sharp points beneath each letter, giving it a grotesque look.
When he finished, he dipped his finger again in the same wound but this time he ate the blood around it. Zenaku then grasped that particular girl's face and met her face with his, "Your blood is certainly tasty. By the way, I hope we can all do this again sometime soon. And tell them all that they've been warned." Zenaku let go of her face, got up and left the place chuckling in an evil tone.
Two girls arrived at the aftermath a few minutes after Zenaku left. Startled, one of them went to get some help while the other went to check up on a girl bleeding from her nose and other parts when she saw a bloody message written on a nearby wall.
Cleanup on aisle 3.'
Tsukune, Yukari, Kurumu and Mizore arrived at the hospital, asked for Moka's room and went straight to it. When they entered the room they saw Moka in one of the three beds inside the room by a window. She was dressed with a bandage only on the part of her forehead and next to her was a nurse, most likely to check up on her. On another bed next to the door was someone else, but were unable to recognize the person mainly because the latter was practically mummified and some bloodstains leaked trough the material, with the legs and one arm in casts.
Moka's friends approached her bed surrounding every side, Tsukune and Kurumu on the right and Mizore and Yukari on the left right next to the nurse who was wiping some sweat off her face with a cloth. Said nurse noticed the worry in their faces and lightened their burden, "Your friend doesn't have any injuries, she's just unconscious. The one who got it worst was another girl who came here with her." She pointed at the person they saw by the door.
"Umm, can you tell us who she is?" Yukari asked.
The nurse went to that girl's bed, picked up the chart and read the name. "Kokoa Shuzen." The foursome around Moka's bed gasped in surprise when they heard that name. It was usually Kokoa who would sometimes put students, but they were surprised to see someone had turned the tables so badly to her.
"No doubt about it. This has 'Zenaku' written all over it." Mizore said in a low tone, which got everyone's attention.
"I'd bet money on it. But what I don't understand is why he hurt Moka." Tsukune said as a response to Mizore's question.
"Maybe he didn't intend to do so. Remember what the nurse said, she wasn't hurt, just unconscious. That must mean that Zenaku's original target may've been someone else, even Kokoa." The young witch commented.
"Hmm. Knowing Kokoa, it wouldn't surprise me if Zenaku actually did that. She must have attacked him and I probably wouldn't even blame him for fighting back." The cerulean-haired succubus added in a confident voice as she crossed her arms under her chest.
"And since Moka has a very innocent and protective nature, she must have tried to protect her; so Zenaku must've knocked her out in order to keep her out of the way." The lavender-haired snow maiden added to the theory, while taking out a fresh lollipop out of her pocket to replace the already finished one out of her mouth. "Maybe he does have some reputation underneath all that malice."
Tsukune cursed himself for not being there to protect his friend, clenching his fist. "I swear I will teach Zenaku a lesson." He spoke in anger.
Suddenly, something grabbed his arm. "Don't do that, Tsukune. What they just said is true."
Everyone gasped when they saw Moka woken up. "Moka, thank god you're ok!" Tsukune said when he leaned over her friend, as did everyone else. Moka then sat up on the bed while the others sat on the edges.
"What did Zenaku do to you?" Yukari asked.
"Nothing really; Kokoa was trying to make me fight her as usual, when she stumbled across Zenaku and tried to attack him. I begged him not to hurt her but he pushed me away and I went unconscious. Next thing I know, I woke up in here with you guys." the sakura-haired vampire explained.
Tsukune gave a frustrated sigh then scratched his head. "I'm really confused about Zenaku right now."
Kurumu got up and sat next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Why do you say that?"
Everyone's attention was then put on the male. "I don't know what to think of him. By letting Moka go unharmed, he showed to be someone of his word. But he's as cruel and heartless as the devil himself if not more."
Kairi arrived at the chairman's office accompanied by Ruby, who was in front of her.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice. Tell me, how it is going for you with the news club and the school?" the chairman said with his elbows rested on his desk, his hands finger-crossed and in front of his mouth, partially concealing a devious smile.
"The school is great. Everyone is very nice and the news club gives me lots of fun." Kairi responded trying to fake gladness behind a smile.
"And what can you tell me about Zenaku?" the exorcist unknowingly tapped into thin ice, which made Kairi's smile fall apart.
"He's very aggressive towards the other students. He's quite the warrior he claims to be." Kairi raised her hands and fiddled with her index fingers and continued. "I made him accept a bargain. He wouldn't kill anyone without warning them and in exchange I would give him answers to his questions. But even with the warning headlines we passed out to the students through the papers, they still challenge him to fight." Sadness threatened to break through her facade, but she did her best to keep them inside. "He's still hostile to the others and shows no mercy. The worst part is that he's not breaking his promise, even when he hurts someone to the brink of death. I tried to change the bargain but he refused because apparently I have nothing else he wants from me."
"Hmm, I see." The chairman responded after hearing her story, not that he was oblivious to the rest, since he saw everything trough his crystal ball. "Let me ask you this. Would you be willing to do anything to stop or at least control his violent behavior?" the chairman tempted her as his smile broadened.
"Yes." Kairi answered without thinking twice about it.
"Even if it meant offering your entire self - body, heart and soul?" the chairman wanted to see if she truly meant her previous answer.
Kairi didn't answer as fast this time now. It bewildered her what the chairman just said. "What do you mean by that?"
"Very well, then." The director chuckled before getting up and approaching a bookshelf. He pulled out a thick black book. "I am well aware of what Zenaku has been doing today—quite a rather heroic act he did for you against Saizou. That boy was truly planning to desecrate and kill you." Kairi was taken aback a little. She didn't expect the truth from that event to be such.
"Moving on, this particular book was given to me by one of the Hell Kings that helps protect the school. It's about demonic restrictions and sealing spells. I've been combing through it and found only one spell that might be able to subdue Zenaku." The chairman placed the thick book on his desk, opened at the section that showed the spell he was talking about. It portrayed an intricate and elaborate magic seal pattern with many different symbols in and around it. On its center were two tribal dragons in the shape of a laid-down eight, each dragon biting the other's tail.
The chairman sat in his executive chair. "Since Zenaku appears to be a monster of high rank, there's only a handful of spells that are appropriate. But when I checked the description, it was a very long shot for them to work—they only seal strength and might change the personality, but killer instincts seem to root in his primal nature and that's out of range. So it all narrowed down to this spell. This one is known as the Twin Dragon Submission Seal. This spell is usually used only on monsters that have a high potential of risk." Kairi swallowed as she took in the details of what seemed like a backup plan. She made sure to pay her uttermost attention and remember everything the exorcist explained – every little detail, every condition, every requirement, everything.
"If it works and it's done correctly, most of the target's strength and freedom will be in control of the caster's will. This means that you will be able to decide when Zenaku gets to kill his opponent or not, among some other things. The downside of it is that Zenaku will also have control over you –your actions, your body, possibly complete control over you because of his tremendous force, hence its name."
Kairi's mind started to het filled with hesitant thoughts. Would she truly be willing to sacrifice herself to restrain Zenaku, the cause of so much fear and hurt in the school and her two-time rescuer? She decided to brush away such doubts for some other time and spoke up. "How do cast it?"
"In order to perform this spell, you must give away the purity of your body to Zenaku and. When you have done so, you must leave a mark on the area where his heart is and on his neck. It's also complicated, because this can only be done in one of two conditions. The first condition is that you must be stronger than him at that moment. The other one is that he must accept after fully knowing what you're going to do. Additionally, if you two have at least one thing exactly in common, like an item, the seal will be reinforced using this as a connection between the two of you."
Kairi brought a hand to her chest and gripped the amulet under her shirt. So, if I succeed on this, the two of us would be in control of one another… "Is there anything else I need to know about the spell?" Kairi asked.
"Only one more thing. There is the risk that, even when properly performed, the seal may not work properly, or even at all." The chairman said.
"Why's that?"
"Zenaku's case is very tricky, manly because of two reasons. The first is that while Zenaku was gone, he gathered some dark items of great power. He won't give them up since they enhance his abilities to extraordinary levels." As if things weren't bad enough already, Kairi's hope for getting the ultimate power was growing further and further away.
"The second reason is that Zenaku's soul is corrupted by a lust for power. If Zenaku keeps gathering more demonic influence into him, his soul will be completely consumed, his heart will be forever lost and he will become a great threat, leaving me no other choice than to destroy him." Kairi was struck when she heard that last part. As much as she wanted to stop Zenaku, she didn't want him dead.
"How can I eliminate that risk?" her tone grew from worry to anxiety.
"You can't; that's one of the main reasons why I'm telling you all about this. For this spell to have the highest chance of success, a pure and innocent sacrifice is needed, such as yourself. So then, are you still willing to go through with it."
This was it. The bridge of no return. If she chose to move forward, she would have a chance to overpower Zenaku. If she chose the opposite, things would remain the same and everything would be left at the hands of fate, but most of all, Zenaku. A stunning response echoed in the room, "Yes, I'll do it."
The chairman's smile broadened to the point of nearly splitting up his head off. "Very well then, I wish you the best of luck. Take the book so you can study it on a deeper level. You may leave now; you have a class to attend in a few minutes." The chairman instructed the student to leave and so Kairi did.
"Are you sure about all that, master?" Ruby asked almost bluntly to the exorcist.
"Truthfully, no. All I can hope right now is that things work out well. If she remains as committed as she showed me now, I have no doubt she'll find a way." the chairman answered with a glint of half-baked hope. "But there are bigger things going on." The director then handed Ruby an ancient-looking piece of parchment, the very same given to him by his psychic friend. "Though Zenaku's actions are not a troublesome subject yet, what's written there resembles the circumstances Zenaku first came here." Ruby then read the note.
"… He will come forth in a rain of blood
Spreading terror with its merciless wings,
With dark truth it shall impale embodied desire;
Overwhelming evil's stronghold, a corrupt soul shall become whole,
To beckon forth the ultimate fate,
Ash, fire and blood shall cover the agonizing world… "
Ruby's face turned to an alarmed expression and a scared gasp. "The first line seems to describe how Zenaku came to arrive." The chairman responded to her pupil's reaction.
"Chairman, is it possible that this prophecy will become a reality?"
"I don't know, Ruby. I don't know."
Kairi had reached the door to her classroom a minute before recess was over when she noticed Zenaku arriving. "Oh, Zenaku…" she sulked when she was overshadowed by his figure. Surprisingly, he brushes his hand her cheek. He brought up her eyes to encounter his. "It's not over yet."
She didn't know what he meant with those four words. Was he manipulating her yet again for twisted desire? Or was he signaling some kind of fore-coming hope? Whichever the answer was, she didn't know.
They both entered the classroom, Kairi first. "Oh, hi guys." The cat woman teacher greeted them. Zenaku then noticed that the room was half full, including Kairi's news club. Maybe some of the punks I beat up early were from this class. Oh well. Zenaku thought plainly.
"Hey guys, do you know what happened to the other students?" Shizuka asked.
Kairi responded with a shoulder shrug while Zenaku said, "I'm not their mother, so why should I care for them?" The teacher shriveled at his cold tone. Both of them sat down in their seats and Nekonome-sensei started her class.
Classes for the day had ended. Tsukune and the others returned later to school to explain their teacher what had happened and why they were absent. The school hospital had its hands full as the injured students, courtesy of Zenaku, arrived to get treated. The day turned to night with a full moon adorning the star blanket.
Zenaku was sitting by the lake dressed in his previous clothes and Yamato resting on his shoulder, recapping some of Kairi's words. 'What if I were to give you something better…?' Zenaku spat on the ground with his eyes furrowed. "Stupid girl. As if you could possibly give me something better than the ultimate power?" Zenaku spoke to himself as he stared at the trembling reflection of the waxing moon in the lake.
The bushes started to rustle and Zenaku took Yamato's hilt in his right hand, adopting a battle stance. The rustling stopped and nothing appeared. Still Zenaku could tell he was being watched by someone. "So you think you're really tough and handsome, huh?" A green-haired guy said, accompanied by his two friends. It was the very same trio that was planning to attack him earlier that day.
Zenaku furrowed his eyebrows, not even turning to look at the faces of the three inferior monsters that were standing in front of him. "I don't know about handsome, but I sure am the strongest. Now leave." He ordered. The three students looked at each other and laughed.
"I don't think you understand." The red haired said cynically.
"We really have enough with Tsukune." The blue haired said. Great spasms began to run through their bodies.
"So we're going to take care of that face of yours so that you can't be a threat anymore." The green haired said as its voice grew dark and monstrous.
The three boys transformed revealing their true identity. Their bodies grew larger and their skins took the color of their hair. Their muscles grew, their clothes were torn off. Zenaku turned around to see he was now in front of three Onis*. (A/N: Oni = Japanese Ogre.)
"Prepare to die, Zenaku!" The green Oni said, threatening. He was the biggest of the three.
Zenaku raised an unsheathed Yamato to the demon trio. 'Fools…' he thought, looking up to the faces of his opponents.
The three Onis lunged towards the dark slayer, roaring with fury. Zenaku leapt towards his three giant aggressors, sword ready. Just one move was made, which was all what was required. Zenaku rested Yamato on his shoulders as soon as he landed while the ogres landed at the edge of the lake, the latter raised a small cloud of dust and water.
"He he, you missed." Said the green Oni as the three of them turned around, meeting Zenaku's back. They raised their claws ready to strike again.
Zenaku grinned evilly, "Did I?", and then he twirled the dark sword before sheathing it. An inch before Yamato was fully in, Zenaku clashed the guard and the scabbard mouth, creating a dim but long cling sound.
The second this happened, the Oni's bodies started to fall apart with a final groan from them, the falling pieces meeting the lake shore. Zenaku had just killed three giant Onis with a simple move of his sword. "You're the ones who missed. Nothing can escape the Rapid Slash. Weak and fragile scumbags." The lake started to grow a dreadful crimson with the spilling blood of the carcasses.
A calm clapping sound was heard a few seconds after, and Zenaku turned to see at the top of a tall dead tree. He saw a sensual woman dressed in dark red leather and dark brown hair. When she finished, she spoke looking down at him. "You've certainly become stronger Zenaku."
The warrior then frowned at her sight and took a commanding tone. "Who the hell are you?" The woman placed her hand on the middle of her chest as a dramatic gesture.
"Oh Zenaku, it saddens me to know you forgot about me. Let me reintroduce myself, my name is Elizabeth, I'm one of the Greater Fiends of the Legion of Doom." Zenaku chuckled sardonically at her introduction.
Her name awoke wrath deep within him, but didn't show on his face or voice, "Legion of Doom? Sorry, I've been so caught up traveling I must've missed the memo."
He answered in a calm tone that twisted a vein in the female fiend. "That's a shame. Well then, I wish I could stay and chic-chat with you some more, but I have chaos to spread, lives to take. Though I guarantee you, we'll meet again."
Elizabeth snapped her fingers and a huge magic circle appeared on the ground while the ground started to quake. A huge creature emerged from it, making Zenaku jump back to a strategic position. The creature had a reddish octopus-like shape, two tentacles on its left and right, a massive number of closed eyes surrounding the center part and the inferior part was like snail legs. Six short thick tentacles, each with a spike at the tip, were at the top of what seemed its mouth.
"Zenaku, meet Hydracubus. Hope you guys have tons of fun." Elizabeth said before she disappeared with an evil laugh.
Zenaku withdrew Yamato back into his body and summoned Sounga from a large bundle of black flames that surged from his right palm and unsheathed it. "I'm pretty sure it's going to be to die for." Zenaku said with a grin, flicking Yamato from its sheath as he charged at Hydracubus, who lashed out its tentacles at him.
Kairi was in her room, dressed in simple black sleepwear and her hair down. She was sitting up on her bed leaned back against the wall and reading the book the chairman had given to her to further analyze the sealing spell.
Her room was next to Moka's and had very simple items like a standard size bed, white sheets with purple butterflies on them and a black pillow, a normal desk with her books and supplies neatly organized, among many other things she had.
She was debating inwardly to cast the spell on Zenaku, but at the same time she doubted herself. She knew he would never agree to the spell if she asked him, far less overpower him. It seemed she was in a hole she couldn't climb out of. She kept trying to figure out a way to make the spell work. She begged for a solution, she's got it. Not a very fitting one, although at the moment it was the only one that had a chance of working, but at a high price.
Was she truly willing to sacrifice herself for the wellbeing of others?
She closed the book and put it away in her nightstand. She decided to use the spell as a last resort, on a time when nothing or no one could stop Zenaku. But something inside her made her have faith in him; faith that he could change him for the better, for it was this very faith that rewarded her with the current spell. Perhaps he'll come around on his own… This train of thought led her to remember something about the time when both of them were in the chairman's office; something she left out from the story she told her club.
Flashback
They stood quietly close to each other for a moment, his left hand taking hold of her chin and her body frozen by his glance. He knew this.
Unknown to her, Zenaku thought of something as he looked at her face, but most specifically, her lips. They were perfectly curved and flawless, their color was vivid red like the blood that covered his clothes, but above all descriptive terms there could exist, one word seemed to fit the whole picture: innocent. And yet, they gave a very inviting aspect, like the bee and the flower. 'Let's play a little…' Zenaku thought as he premeditated his next course of action.
Kairi gasped when the hand that held her chin traveled by her jaw, his rough fingers caressing her porcelain skin, and descended down her neck, giving her a spine chill that shook her body. His hand stopped once it reached her left shoulder, then his other hand began to move upward and she felt a finger gracing her hand, then her wrist, her forearm, and so forth until it stopped on her right shoulder. Followed by this was his face as it came near hers, which made her eyes widen. She felt him too close and she was scared of this, but at the same time something was sprouting inside her, something she felt for the first time.
Lust.
She felt confused at herself for having such a sensation, especially with someone as pernicious as him. But these caused the stirring of other emotions that made her see him as manly, alluring and enthralling. Even the scent of blood couldn't snap her out of these throes of twisted bliss. Contact was made when his forehead came in touch with hers, then slowly the tip of her nose felt his. But ever so closer was his closed mouth, with lips dry and pale as his skin.
The desirous feeling in her heart beat harder and harder with each passing second, making time slow down when his eyes where little over two centimeters apart. But even at that distance they were drilling deeper and deeper into her being. She felt invaded on unimaginable levels, and yet she was aroused by this, craving more each second.
Her lips became vaguely humid as they parted a little in anticipation to his, her eyelids came down gradually until the lower half of her eyes was just visible. Her hands rose and bit by bit they made their way to his upper back. She felt herself at his mercy, like sickness unto death; but at the same time she felt vigorously alive.
The stage when her emotions begin to stir came when she finally felt his lips gracing against hers; her breathing became short. Zenaku could taste every breath of air that came out of her mouth and into his; it tasted sweet to him and her lips felt soft, warm and comfortable. She felt incredibly tempted to just move forwards a few inches and close the remaining space in a full kiss, but she couldn't find the will to do so. The beatings from her heart turned to poundings as tidal waves of pleasure were flooding her system and drowned every ounce of sanity in her.
Zenaku then moved his mouth to the right side of her jaw and went lower, reaching the neck. His breath breezed over her delicate skin, sending an overflowing rush of ecstasy to her entire system, which, as a result, became swallowed up by it. Warmth began to spread from her core to every cell in her body, starting with her chest and neck. He felt this change of temperature and knew exactly how she was feeling, because this is exactly what he wanted to cause in her: arousal. He smiled within him as he reached his goal. He had her into a stage that could come to be known as awakening, and right now she was at the brink of being completely consumed by it.
She then felt a sharp but short pain, which made her close her eyes for a moment; Zenaku bit her at the neck with little force in order to inflame her current state even further. After moving away from her neck and positioning his head to get a straight look at her face, he saw that her cheeks were madly red, her eyes looked glassy and partially shut; her breathing was short and timed and her body was slightly warmer, Zenaku confirmed as his hands gave him this bit of info.
"Well, it seems you liked that, eh." Zenaku said. Kairi nodded barely. Something inside her then began to inspire a feeling of trust towards him, needles to mention what he made her go through just now, which left her craving for more. She drew an innocent smile on her face and let go of him, and sat that his eyes, along with his attention, turned to the office entrance.
End Flashback
She felt something pulling her out of her thoughts until her mind was pitch black. Then the voice inside her spoke again, "Now's not the time to surf your dreams. Look to the lake."
After hearing it, she felt a strange pressure in her stomach. "I have a bad feeling about what it said." A crashing sound made her hurry to look out the window and after a second, she located the lake. She saw a huge monster near the lake area swinging its tentacles wildly at something. She kept looking and saw Zenaku facing the huge monster, fighting it.
"ZENAKU!" she screamed in panic. Though she knew he was very strong, she didn't think he could defeat something that was four stories tall.
A minute later, Moka stormed into her room, "Kairi, what's wrong?"
Kairi then dragged the vampire to the window so she could see what was happening. "It's Zenaku! He's being attacked!"
Moka grew in panic as well. "Quickly, we must gather the others! Together along with Zenaku we'll defeat that monster."
And so they did. Going room by room, floor by floor, gathering all the news club members. They then exited the building to aid Zenaku.
A huge tentacle swept down towards Zenaku, taking down trees and all in path. Zenaku dodged it skillfully by jumping high and landing away from Hydracubus' reach. "Blunt attacks like that are useless!" Zenaku ran towards the demon, dodging a tentacle the latter lashed out his way. He jumped towards the tentacles at high speed and slashed off its arms. The fiend gave a shrieking screech, twisting in pain while the tentacles fell near it, dissolving into large pools of blood.
The fiend opened the eyes around its body and Zenaku saw this as a chance to inflict massive damage. He charged again at Hydracubus and lashed out Sounga in a storming barrage of swings, thrusts and slashes, creating massive cuts and bleeds all around the monster's body, making it shriek and twist in pain again. "Is that all you got? What a letdown!" He said cockily. The fiend regained its posture, closed its eyes and two new tentacles appeared.
"Tough guy, huh…" Zenaku ran around the fiend, dodging once again the tentacle sweeps, and attacked the eyes again. The impact didn't damage Hydracubus; it was like a rock hitting a concrete wall. Zenaku jumped back to a strategic position over a tree. This might take a little while.
"Zenaku!" the mentioned male turned to a road to see Kairi running to the battle with the news club behind her.
"Stay out of this!" Zenaku commanded as he jumped from the tree, which was sequentially crushed down by the octopus monster. Hydracubus saw the group and threw its tentacles at them, but missed as they managed to evade the attack in time. Kurumu was airborne and lashed out at the giant enemy with her nails extended.
Idiot. Zenaku saw her and jumped a great height towards her direction. When he was close enough, he kicked her in the stomach, sending her away from the demon's tentacle coming at her. The succubus landed near Yukari, holding her abdomen in pain. The witch yelled angrily at Zenaku, "Why the hell did you do that? She was just trying to help you!"
The latter landed about ten feet in front of the group, his back towards them. "Sorry, but this is no place for little girls. This monster is mine; if you chose to meddle I won't be responsible if I accidentally kill you." Hydracubus launched another sweep attack at them. Zenaku and everyone else, except Moka and Tsukune, managed to dodge in time. The pair barely managed to jump away of a falling tree.
As they landed, Tsukune had accidentally pulled of Moka's Rosario, unleashing her true self in a spectacle of purple light and flooding demonic aura. Zenaku turned to see the origin of the flash and saw Moka looking much more mature and sensually deadly—eyes like his, her hair as silver as the moon and immense demonic aura that could almost match his own.
"Hmm, you got a trick up your sleeve." he commented in a sly tone, seeing what had had caught his interest.
Moka saw the battle situations, warmed up with some stretches and replied in a dark voice. "This is just a taste. You and I have scores to settle, Zenaku."
The latter jumped away from another sweep of tentacles and answered back. "As appealing as it sounds fighting you now, I have other things to kill." The fiend then started to spit out huge balls of acid towards Zenaku and the others forcing them to scatter.
"Bad case of stomach reflux, huh." Zenaku shouted daringly as he ran around Zenaku and slashed off the tentacles yet again, spreading blood near Kairi and her friends but this time one didn't dissolve. Though chopping of its limbs gives me time, it won't kill it. It's time to finish this game. Zenaku thought as he analyzed the fiend that currently was attacking Tsukune and the others, who were also holding their ground.
He didn't notice that a severed tentacle was making its way behind him about to blindside him. "Watch out!" Kairi saw this, so she ran and pushed Zenaku away, but as a consequence, she got trapped by the piece of flesh. Hydracubus then extended its new arms at the trapped Kairi and brought her to its mouth. Kairi screamed in terror as this happened and she was swallowed by the giant octopus demon. "KAIRI!" her friend yelled in horror as they saw what had happened.
"Goddamm it!" Zenaku exclaimed at what she did and moved in to try and save her. He approached the monster and got in front of it to summon its attention, "Hey, asshole! You had lunch, how about dessert?" Hydracubus trapped Zenaku and devoured him as well.
What are you up to? Moka thought as she saw his unexpected actions. The monster shot out a screeching roar and targeted the news club as next on the menu, swinging its tentacles in a threatening manner.
"Everyone get ready! Tsukune, go find a safe spot!" Moka commanded to the others as Tsukune went to protect himself behind a tree. Moka took a fighting position, Kurumu extended her claws and rose in mid-air, Mizore readied her ice claws and Yukari prepared her tarot cards. The coming fiend was now at a dangerously close distance, when it suddenly started to twitch and groan in pain, stopping in its tracks. Everyone was wondering what was happening, when a sudden echoing shout was heard from within the demon.
"WIND BLADE REVOLUTION!"
Hydracubus started to inflate more and more, until it was beyond resistance and something started to pierce out of the giant from many different places. It was a countless number of crescent-shaped blades made of wind and many more started erupting out, splashing and casting blood as they emerged. The blades started to surround and strike the demon, trapping it in a deathly cyclone, cutting and slashing every piece of flesh they came across.
The fiend exploding and the blades disappeared time, sending torrents of blood and guts to the immediate and nearby areas. The group started to approach the carcass when, halfway there, something exploded out of it and rose high into the night sky. Halfway up, it spread a pair of huge bat-like wings. It stopped once it was high enough to become a fear-inducing silhouette of evil, scaring everyone who saw it, except Moka.
The vampire focused her sight to see who or what it was. When she realized it was Zenaku, she smirked lightly. 'Impressive…' She could hear the flapping his wing would do every ten seconds or so. She also noticed that he was cradling something, or rather someone, in his arms – an unconscious Kairi.
Zenaku then descended abruptly into the blood-stained lake and submerged the girl in his arms into the water to wash away the blood on her; just as quickly he pulled her out and flapped his wings one last time before touching the ground on the other side of the lake from where Moka and the others were. Moka told everyone to get there quickly, and they did.
When they arrived, they saw Zenaku laying Kairi down on the ground, the male completely covered in the demon's blood. Everyone was left with their mouths and eyes wide open as they admired Zenaku's wings. They were about three times their proportional size, black with red sails and seemed very strong and powerful.
Zenaku's wings shrunk down till they returned inside his body, then he got on his knees and started breathing heavily. Kairi awoke and saw Zenaku in his current state, "Zenaku, are you ok?"
She was answered by fierce leering eyes, which made her gasp in fear and flinch back. "What part of 'stay out of this' did you not understand?" He responded between breaths.
Kairi's expression turned to one of depression. "I'm sorry, I… I just wanted to help you." Her voice was breaking up and her eyes announced tears.
"Hey what's wrong with you? She saved your sorry ass!" Kurumu erupted when she heard him say such cold words and was answered with a 'shut your trap' glance from Zenaku. He then formulated in his mind that it wouldn't be right to make her feel as the guilty one on this case. After all, she somewhat protected him with that stunt she pulled off.
Groaning, he sat on the ground and tried to console her as best as he could. "Ah…don't worry about it now. Besides, I said I would protect you no matter what, remember?" He wiped off a tear on her cheek. "You did ok, kid."
Hearing these words made Kairi smile and launched herself towards Zenaku and embraced him by the neck, making him stumble and knocking him on his elbows. She met his eyes once again being a breath away from them, "Thank you very much, Zenaku. Once again I owe you my life."
She rested her face on his shoulder. Zenaku was feeling something strange as Kairi's warmth invaded his body. His eyes had a surprised look to them. As far as he could remember, it's been far too long since someone embraced him the way Kairi was doing so now, let alone experience a comfortable soothing sensation such at this.
After a while, Zenaku gently pushed Kairi off him and turned his face away. "Umm, that wasn't necessary." He said in a low tone. In that moment, Kairi could've sworn on all that is holy and unholy that she saw a tiny blush on his face.
All of a sudden, Zenaku started to cry out loudly in pain and started to grip his chest with his left arm while his right arm was supporting him. Kairi and the others got scared of this and tried to help him, "Zenaku, what happening to you?" Kairi asked in panic when a couple of pained grunts escaped Zenaku. Then, just as abruptly, a bright white-blue light surged from under his right hand which made everyone, except Kairi, back away a few steps.
When the luminosity died down, they saw a white katana in a black sheath gripped tightly by the dark slayer. "Zenaku…what's that? Kairi asked in shocked amusement. "Yamato, a powerful dark blade from Hell; It seems I'm not yet fit to carry it within me like Sounga." At the sound of that, Kairi's mind then shot back to what the chairman said about Zenaku taking a lot of darkness within him.
Feeling better, he got up and rested the sheathed sword on his right shoulder as he swept his hair back with his free hand. He saw everyone with open mouths and took a chance to make fun of them, "If you keep it open long enough, birds will make their nests there." All mouths were sealed shut.
Moka then spoke up. "You can manipulate wind?"
Zenaku answered with a penetrating glare. "Among other things, yes."
The silver-haired woman brushed back a strand of hair. "Well, I'll say this for you. You're certainly very strong." She smiled slyly, and then her tone abruptly changed to a menacing one accompanied by a leer. "But mark my words. Very soon, I'll make you pay for what you did to me and my sister."
Zenaku chuckled sinisterly and answered, "Anytime, anywhere."
A slight shingling sound managed to reach Kairi's ears and she turned to check her savior's chest. Suddenly, she saw something cling out of his shirt collar. That particular item made her face grow in mayor amazement as she recognized it. "Oh. My. GOD! That amulet!" Kairi yelled when she saw that Zenaku carried an exact amulet like hers, except his was made of black steel with a dark ruby in it.
"What about it, kid?" Zenaku said, wondering what she was so excited about.
"Where did you get that?" Kairi's excitement was on overdrive at this point.
"It was given to me by my mother and Sounga belonged to my father." He summoned the mentioned sword to his left hand in a surge of black fire that scared Kairi a little. "And now it's torn to ribbons." He said as he saw the many holes and rips it had.
A slight draft made Kairi start to tremble due to the early dive. Zenaku saw this and planted both Yamato and Sounga firmly on the ground, took of his coat which was dryer than her clothes (and the blood had already dried up) revealing his crimson vest and black muscleshirt, and gave it to her to cover herself from the cold. "Thank you, it helps a lot. Your coat is really nice and beautiful." She said with a warm smile as she admired his coat, disregarding the stench of blood it carried.
"I've had them for a long time." Zenaku commented, and then placed Sounga on his hip.
Away from them, Tsukune and the others were impressed at how the both of them engaged on a normal conversation. Moka thought it was one of Kairi's virtues. She could talk with anyone as if it were a good friend, even to Zenaku. She then picked up her Rosario and changed back to normal.
"Anyway kid, why did you want to know about my amulet?" Zenaku asked, getting back to the point.
"Because I have one that look almost exactly like yours." Kairi pulled out hers from under her shirt and indeed, it was almost an exact duplicate to his except hers was silver and his was black, this made Zenaku's eyes slightly widen in amusement. When the two amulets were close to each other, the gems started to glow in a bright red gleam.
Tsukune and the others approached as they saw the light. "That's a pretty amulet you have, Kairi. But why does he have one just like yours?" the little witch asked.
"Your guess is as good as mine. I always thought my amulet was unique." Kairi answered and turned her gaze to glance at Zenaku's eyes, who simply shrugged.
"Why don't you stop playing games and show yourself, old man. I know you're here." Zenaku shouted, confusing everyone.
"Impressive feat of you to have noticed; and this is most interesting." Everyone turned to see the chairman coming out of the dead woods along with Ruby. "Zenaku, I must ask you not to kill anymore students."
The dark slayer simply scoffed at him. "I told you, old man. I won't tolerate any of your students' insolences."
Kairi grew alarmed. "W…what does he mean, Zenaku?" the latter pointed to a shore of the lake and Kairi and the others saw sliced up corpses of at least three students.
"Who were they?" Tsukune asked.
"Just some pathetic assholes that wanted me dead; I simply returned the favor." He finished with a grin as he picked up his swords, setting Sounga on the left side of his waist and resting Yamato on his right shoulder. Tsukune then remembered the previous boys in his classroom.
"But you promised to warn them first!" Kairi shouted.
"He did, Kairi. He ordered them to leave but they chose to attack nonetheless." The chairman said with a smile. Kairi couldn't protest if he kept his part of the promise, much less when the chairman backed it up. "I also came here because I just got my suspicions confirmed." the chairman added as he walked among his students, checking up on Kairi and Zenaku.
"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" The chairman smirked deviously.
"The two of you are dragons."
Everyone, especially the two witches there grew astonished, "The amulets that you possess were carried by the strongest monsters, even stronger than vampires; dragons."
The gem in Moka's Rosario shined, displaying a red slit eye and the vampire within her commented in her mind 'That would explain his strength and most of his abilities. But dragons were famous for being honorable and majestic, not bloodlust and evil…'
The chairman then approached Kairi. "Let me see your amulet." The chairman instructed Kairi and she compiled. The exorcist examined her amulet on all sides and moved on to the next one, "Now yours, Zenaku." The chairman extended his hand to reach for his amulet.
Zenaku, as he saw his actions, slapped away his hand, drew out Yamato and held it at his throat. "Keep your hands to yourself old man, unless you want to lose them." His tone was menacing and his sneer was killer. "Zenaku, don't!" Kairi said as she grabbed the arm that carried Yamato.
"How dare you disrespect my master!" Ruby erupted furiously at what she saw, bringing out her wings ready to strike.
"Ruby, that's enough!" The chairman halted her actions with his commanding tone. "I understand and accept the hint; his amulet is too important to him." The witch withdrew her wings but kept an angry stare whereas Zenaku sheathed the dark blade. Kairi, still holding his arm, was about to say something but chose to remain silent.
"Your amulet has indentations on the back, doesn't it?" asked the chairman with his hands behind his back.
Kairi nodded whilst he responded coldly "So what if it does?" which only made the chairman's smile widen slightly.
"That's a method the dragons once used to join a couple for life. Since they were more intertwined with fate, the amulets each dragon carried would only shine when close to the amulet of their soul mate. The indentations are meant to unite the amulets together as a symbol of unity and love."
Kairi's face brightened when she heard this. She had come across her destined one. The girls gathered around her, complementing her for the great news. Moka, Kurumu, Yukari and Mizore were always competing against each other to win Tsukune's heart and Kairi already had a destined one.
"What a crock." Zenaku broke the joyful atmosphere with a disparaging tone. "Soul mates… Unity… Love? That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard. It's so useless it would only get in the way." Everyone was astonished by the contemptuous manner and cold-bloodedness Zenaku was taking towards the amulet's revelation, especially Kairi.
"Well, I leave such judgments to you. I just came to inform you of what I discovered and to thank you for killing that demon." The chairman said with a relaxed voice as if nothing had happened. "As a reward for such, I want you to accept this." The chairman dug into a pocket in his garbs, pulled out an object and tossed it to Zenaku.
The later caught it, maintaining an indifferent expression. He opened his hand to see what he received, "A key to what?"
The chairman's eyes gave an eerie gleam and pointed to the student apartment complex. "Your new apartment. I had it built while you were gone; I made sure to put all the commodities you might like, but everything's pretty basic. In addition, it's out of reach to the entire building, so only you can get to it. I took this measure because I don't want a higher body count; three students are too much."
Zenaku shrugged as he saw the apartment on the roof of the building. "Like I said before, old man, that's up to them. If they attack, I'll respond."
Zenaku absorbed the sword on his waist, keeping Yamato resting on his right shoulder and started to walk towards his new apartment. "Zenaku…?" a soft voice stopped his steps. He turned to see Kairi with shock printed on her expression, "Do you truly…not believe in love?" his eyes narrowed.
Zenaku sighed in frustration, "Does everyone have a hearing problem or what? I said that love sounds useless to me. But truth be told, I practically forgot what it means." Though her face was cleared of sorrow, her expression seemed dazed. How could anyone forget what love means?
"One thing I'm sure of is that love is not what those broads do with that weakling." Zenaku said as he pointed to Tsukune and his peers.
Hearing Zenaku's words, Kurumu retorted back, "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Zenaku scoffed at her reaction. He found her to be pathetically predictable and easy to get on her nerves, like a moth to the flame.
"Ok then, I'll spell it out for you. The snow woman only seems to crave him so she can get knocked up," Mizore bit her candy at his remark.
"The witch appears to only aim to get herself in a threesome with the boy and the vampire," Yukari sneered while Moka and Tsukune blushed madly.
"The succubus gives the impression to simply want to fuck him every chance she can get." Kurumu snarled at his words.
"And the vampire…I'd say that what she may lack in covetousness she compensates with an intense desire to drain him dry of his blood." Moka turned to stone at what he said and poked her index fingers.
The four girls wanted to beat the living daylights out of him, for piercing them deep to the core with, as much as they hated is, shameful truth. They restrained themselves for two main reasons. First, how could they deny it? It was true that they did that most if not all the time, but only to show love in the way they know best. Second and most obvious, Zenaku could take on all of them at once.
"How dare you say such horrible things!" Tsukune erupted for what had been done to his friends.
"You Tsukune are the worst and most pathetic one of all!" Zenaku leered at him deridingly, which made him freeze. "Even though you're aware that you must choose one of them, you sugar-coat it by saying you don't know who to choose as a pretext. But I can see the truth in your eyes: you want to keep them all for your self, like a harem. How pathetic can you get?"
Both he and the girls were shaken by the statement Zenaku had made. Though they had already discussed the matter of who gets to be Tsukune's lover (which always led to no conclusion), it did leave some doubts about why he wasn't showing special attention to one of them. Yet again, the truth pierced Tsukune's heart like rusted daggers. The male tried to argue against his words, "And how can you prove that you're telling the truth?"
Zenaku expected this. "For starters, if you truly believed I was lying, you would've attacked me the second I said that, despite the difference in power. Second, I finished what I had to do a couple of days early, so I got back here to analyze everyday life in this place. But what I saw of you was pretty much what I just said." Zenaku proved.
This proved Kairi's suspicions to be right, someone was watching her; Zenaku. "And you Kairi, do you know what love is?" Zenaku inquired to the mentioned female, his gaze glancing at her being. "I…I can't explain it in words. Only in actions can I hope to do so." she said with a weak smile.
Zenaku turned towards the building, "See you next time." Zenaku went to the only standing tree which was in fact the one that hid his suitcase and backpack. He took the items and sauntered away, carrying his master's blade on his right hand, to his new resting place. So he's planning to fight me soon, huh. Very well, more fun for tomorrow… Zenaku thought as he still felt the presence of someone watching everything; he counted only one. He decided he would deal with him later.
Back with Kairi, Kurumu came close to her and asked with a puzzled mind. "Why would you even bother to try teaching that heartless idiot about love?"
Kairi gripped the bloody jacket as she watched him vanish into the shadow of night and replied, "He isn't heartless. He just doesn't know he can feel so much more, like friendship and joy rather than bloodlust and wrath—or even worse, nothing at all." Kurumu was even more puzzled now.
Moka then joined them. "What makes you say that?"
Kairi's eyes were shining with faith as she turned to face them both. "If he was truly heartless, he would've destroyed that monster with me inside it, instead of bothering to rescue me from its bowels; not only that, the entire school would be dead by now."
"Ruby, no matter how much it boils you, you must never try to fight him. He's far too strong for you or any student to defeat." The chairman advised Ruby to keep her from becoming the next casualty.
She bowed her head as an apologetic gesture. "Yes, master."
She then noticed the chairman in a guessing posture. "What's wrong, master?" She received her answer almost immediately.
"There's something different about Zenaku and Kairi. They may be dragons but I can't help but feel something else in them."
Ruby then approached the chairman. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"With Kairi, one can feel a holy aura of sorts, like that of an angel. But with Zenaku, it's extremely evil, like that of a devil. The two of them are definitely more than ordinary dragons."
Far away from the lake, Elizabeth stood at the top of a tall tree, having seen everything that happened. She was holding a black sphere glowing with dark energy in her left hand. "Very impressive, Zenaku's grown quite a lot since the last time we met."
A voice came from the sphere and replied to her comment. "Indeed. The greater his strength becomes, the more glorious our master shall return." The voice sounded like that of an elder man.
Elizabeth then replied, "Yes, and with the power of the Devil Arms I procured, we should have no problem capturing Zenaku." She chuckled evilly at the end of her statement.
"Come back, Elizabeth. Zedonious will proceed to attack on the next assault." Elizabeth complied, but before she made a last statement.
"Yes. At least Zedonious will make things more interesting, unlike Alexei and those feeble Shadow fiends he sent last time." She was enveloped in a red flash and disappeared.
The bus driver arrived at the outskirts of Youkai Academy. "Here we are." A tall man in a red long coat, white hair and a broadsword on his back descended and stretched his arms upward. "Man, my ass was starting to grow roots from all that sitting."
Ten seconds later, a teenager boy with the same white hair, a blue coat and a sword on his back with a different design came out of the bus along with a brown haired girl in a white dress. "Can't you do something else than complain?" he commented in a frustrated tone.
A minute later, two beautiful women came out. One had long blonde hair, was wearing a black corset and black leather pants, and carried two large black pistols. The other was dressed in white very short shorts and a blouse opened enough to reveal her cleavage. She was carrying a bazooka and ammo magazines on the right side of her hips along with a submachine gun and a pistol.
"Good luck to you all. He is very powerful." The bus driver said as he shut the doors closed and returned back to the tunnel.
"Well guys, looks like this is going to be one hell of a party." The man in red said with a grin as they all started to walk to the Academy.