Kuyo ground her teeth in anger.
As she sat at her desk in a section of the school sanctioned off for the Public Safety Committee, various thoughts ran through her head on how to deal with the blight upon the fibre of Yokai Academy's grounds.
That damnable Tsukune had just waltzed on in, by the Headmasters Invitation nonetheless, and was currently making a mockery of the institution she had spent years on strengthening. Every corner she had turned on that first day had the second, third and the wretched fourth year students talking about this human that was "walking free" under her rule.
An insolent second year attendee had the gall to disobey an order from her lackeys, but Kuyo was quick to make a scene of the young woman.
All the more and more she thought of this young man, the more and more her anger grew, until she took a deep breath and reigned in her monster energy. The guards stationed at the entrance to her office visibly relaxed and let out silent sighs.
The young, human boy was under the Headmaster's unofficial protection now. Although, that may have been an odd way of putting it. Rather, Kuyo was barred from pursuing and apprehending the student until she could find some other, non-violent grounds to apprehend him on.
Any rule-breaking or general rowdiness was her first governing factor in her first attempt to think over the situation, but her scouts had provided her with some unsavoury information.
The young Aono male had to have been the prime example of the model student. The reports from his scrap up (or lack thereof) with the brash Saizo had led Kuyo to believe so, anyway. But Kuyo was not one to think like a lowly human.
They were chaotic, they were constantly changing.
All it would take was time, and Kuyo could spring her trap.
All it would take was for the Yoko woman to wait.
(In Dorm Room 56A, hours later)
Tsukune tossed and turned in his sleep. A thin sheen of sweat blanketed him and audible, low moans could be heard from many rooms across – all emanating from his dorm room. Images of the women he had met flashed before his eyes unwaveringly, and the further his dream went on, the further he delved into madness.
"Oh, Tsukune…" Moaned Moka, her hair a mess and her neck being kissed tenderly and lovingly.
"Ah!" Squealed Tonko, straddling what Tsukune could only imagine was his own body.
"Don't stop, Tsukune!" Roared Saizo, looking back over her bare back to stare into Tsukune's eyes lustfully.
Needless to say, he was shocked, confused, and understandably aroused by the both conveniently and exasperatingly timed dream. But as his vision drifted to himself and all the other women he had met that day in precarious positions, the hotter he became, and the more he tried to rip his covers off in a bid to cool himself down, all still whilst dead asleep.
It was only till an image of Kurumu came to his mind did he stop and look, not caring about his body temperature. She held one finger pointed out at him, dressed in her uniform and had that smile that made Tsukune feel at pure peace.
She made the "come hither" motion in his direction and winked suggestively.
"Tsukune… Come here, big boy…" She cooed, which inadvertently shook Tsukune out of his dream.
He launched up from his comfortable bed and breathed in harshly, sweat matting his entire body, and his back wracking with pain. He grunted in exertion as an odd spasm ripped its way through his body. Tsukune let out a shrill scream of pain, feeling the skin of his back writhe unearthly.
"What- Gah! What the fuck is this?" He roared in sheer agony, falling off his bed onto the hard floor, barely able to keep himself up. The young human male propped himself up with a single, shaking arm and observed his limb.
He saw what he hoped was just muscle matter wriggling and writhing under his skin, and felt the urge to vomit in disgust. Another wave of pain jolted through his body, as he clenched his eyes shut and lost the strength in his arm. With a distinct lack of tact, he fell onto the floor again and let out a low growl of anguish.
After several minutes, the pain had finally subsided and Tsukune was able to think rationally and clearly. He took several deep and relaxing breaths, and carefully stood up, noting as he did that he felt light-headed. He took time to notice the hour it was, on the school-provided alarm clock.
'4AM… What the hell is going on with me?' Tsukune thought, looking at the clock and sighing woefully. Sure, maybe he could handle going to a school for supernatural beings that have secretly coexisted with humans for hundreds of years, maybe he could handle going to a school for girls.
Maybe, just maybe he could handle the constant looks of both affection and hate he'd received over the past twenty hours.
But the one thing he couldn't handle was the things that had been happening to him ever since he'd returned home on the last day of high school. His body changing, his inexplicable moments of sudden reflex and odd athleticism, and especially not the pain he had just been put under.
He needed some answers.
But from who? His parents? Maybe, but would they really have any answers?
His new friends? What would they know about his problem?
The Headmaster? God no, lest she uncover his secret. Though given his track record, Tsukune was sure of there to be some outside influence on his current survival record.
He shook his head in frustration. All he wanted to do was give up and drown in his sorrows in the fear of inevitable death, but he'd be damned before that happened. Tsukune shook his head and collapsed back onto his bed, instantly regretting that action as the sweat drenched sheets came into contact with his body.
He exclaimed in disgust before moving a pillow onto the floor and lying down on that instead, the coolness of the floor adjusting his body temperature to average levels once more.
"What the fuck is wrong with me?" Tsukune whispered to himself, unable to get to sleep despite his exhaustion.
"Yet unbeknownst to our protagonist, he was being watched that very night!" An impish and flamboyant bat spoke, hovering outside Tsukune's dormitory window, alongside someone else. Kurumu was hovering just outside Tsukune's window, out of his sight, watching him sleep just minutes ago.
'…I mean, it's not weird or anything. He is my Destined One, after all.' She reasoned with herself, sighing blissfully as Tsukune tossed and turned. As things started getting more violent and erratic, however, Kurumu began to get worried and flew swiftly to the entrance of the dormitory building, down hall, and up five floors to get to the entrance of his room.
Panting, she rapped on his door and ruffled her hair a little to make it appear as though she was merely sleeping, and heard the ruckus from a few rooms across. She cared deeply for her Destined One, despite the fact that they had only met a few hours ago.
"Tsukune? Are you alright, in there?" She asked, quiet enough not to wake the other residents. Kurumu heard a small groan before some stumbling and bumbling sounds. The door clicked and the locks were undone, as the door opened inwards to reveal the dishevelled looking human boy.
"Kurumu? W-What are you doing here?" Tsukune asked, covering his bare chest from her eyes, attempting to look at least halfway decent. Although he had to admit – seeing her beautiful face and hearing her voice calmed him down somewhat.
"I heard something coming from your room, and I thought you were hurt. Are you okay?" She asked him, which made Tsukune relax almost instinctively. Taking just a moment to analyse the situation, he found it odd that she made him feel this way, but attributed it to just having someone to talk about his problems with.
"I'm… fine, Kurumu. I just fell out of bed…" He lied, which made Kurumu's face contort in worry.
"That's not what happened, is it?" She asked, more caringly than accusingly. Tsukune sighed before shaking his head. Silently, he invited her into his dormitory, where they both took a seat on the edge of his bed. Kurumu was sitting a little close for Tsukune to call it platonic, but he didn't really care for courtesy at this point in the night.
"Tsukune, you know you can tell me anything, right?" She asked again, which made Tsukune feel a little odd. He'd have to ask her what the hell happened at her door, but he wanted to get some things off his chest, first.
"I don't know what's happening to me. I came to this school because I didn't make an effort where it counted in high school and now I'm paying the price by forcing myself to get some form of education here. Just today, I was kissed, I was almost murdered, and I'm pretty sure a lot of the women here want to eat or kill me. On top of that, my body has been giving me pains and aches every time I try to rest. My skin is visibly morphing and twisting and… Ugh… it makes me want to vomit every time I think about it." Tsukune said with one breath, sighing towards the end and propping his head up with his hands.
"I just want to give up now and cry until my eyes bleed. This was meant to be an easy, normal school for me to just breeze through." Tsukune admitted, which shocked Kurumu slightly. She put a hand on his shoulder to try and comfort him.
"What do you mean?" She asked him. He sighed and let his shoulders slump lowly.
"Kurumu, my dad isn't an ambassador for human-monster relations. I'm no-one special, and I'm here due to an act of God. The fact that I still haven't died yet also astounds me." He admitted fully, bearing his problems to the woman who had kissed him not three something hours ago. Tsukune forwent the support to his head, and let it hang limp from his neck, letting silent tears fall. Kurumu went around, facing him and brought his head up, before graciously catching his lips in a comforting kiss.
As they broke away, Tsukune was lost in shock. His gaze caught hers, and she smiled the most calming smile someone could give him. Kurumu lightly placed her hands on either side of his face.
"Take a deep breath, Tsukune." She requested of him, and he did, albeit with an embarrassing blush.
"Does that feel better?" She asked him, getting a slow nod as a response.
"Whenever I get stressed, or worked up, or worried, I take deep breaths to centre myself and to ground myself in reality. I know it seems like that this was some sick mistake, but trust me – us meeting each other, and being together, here and now, was something beautiful, orchestrated and set out by the Gods themselves." Kurumu said slowly and softly, allowing Tsukune to absorb each and every word in stride, as he took his levelling, deep breaths.
"H-how do you know this?" He asked her. Hell, day one for most regular people going to regular colleges wasn't nearly an eighth as exciting as Tsukune's first day at Yokai Academy. It ended with an unexpected kiss from one of the most gorgeous women he had seen, and he wanted to know just why.
"We succubi are creatures of love, above anything else. Sure, we're known for our promiscuity, but it's only because we consider sex the purest form of love there is. When we met, I knew there was an unspoken, unbreakable connection between us, and… This is me, expressing that love I feel for you… The love…" Kurumu began, drawing her lips closer to his once more, before saying one last thing.
"…That I hope you feel for me…" She continued, catching his lips in another sensual and above all, loving kiss. This time, however, Tsukune could no longer stand there, motionless and stoic. Her words struck a chord with him.
Suddenly, he didn't feel so alone in the daunting, overbearing Academy anymore. As Tsukune began to kiss Kurumu back, he began to feel safer and safer, despite the fact that he was in a girl's school for monsters.
For once, in a school setting at least, Tsukune began to feel nothing but accepted and even loved.
Even as they pulled apart from one another, Tsukune found his hands had made their way onto Kurumu's soft cheeks, as if part of him didn't want to let go of that brief moment of pure bliss. The teal haired beauty smiled coyly at her Destined One.
"You know, if you're still feeling bad, I can sleep here tonight." Kurumu offered him, making her Destined One blush profusely.
"Uh… Don't you think that's moving a little too fast, Kurumu? I-I-I mean, I think I like you, but it's a… bit early on in our relationship t-t-to…" Tsukune began, unable to continue. He was silenced by Kurumu planting a chaste kiss on his lips. As she pulled away, she made a small, sad smile.
"I know it must be tough for you, Tsukune, so I won't rush you into anything with me. I can set up a spare mattress on the floor next your bed." Kurumu reassured him. Tsukune smiled at her, still with a rose red blush on his face.
"I-I'd like that, Kurumu…" Tsukune said. The teal haired succubus smiled, before moving to the closet of Tsukune's room. He was about to question her on it, before he saw her pull out a spare, hidden mattress and bedding from behind a coat rack.
'Huh… Didn't know we had those…' Tsukune thought to himself, shaking his head and offering to help set the bed up.
(Minutes Later)
"Jeez, talk about the most platonic sleepover ever…" Nazo the bat droned, still, for some reason, hovering just outside Tsukune's window. Kurumu was on a comfortable bed on the floor beside Tsukune's, his own having cleared up enough for him to sleep on it. As Tsukune pulled of his plain white shirt, and threw it over the foot of his bed, he sighed, shifting the covers over himself.
He moved his gaze to Kurumu, who did the same to him and smiled. She held out her hand to him, and he grabbed it gently. The two fell asleep in dreamy bliss afterwards, Tsukune's dreams for once being calm and peaceful.
Never once did their hands separate, that night.
(In the morning)
Kurumu woke up at six thirty, naturally, to see her Destined One doing the exact same. Their gaze met each other's and a blush was shared between them as well when they still felt the contact of the others hand. Kurumu let go of Tsukune's hand to sashay towards him, and gave him a lingering, loving kiss.
She broke away, licking her lips, before moving to whisper in his ear.
"Hey… I know you don't want to rush things, but this is just my way of letting you know I'll always be there for you. I have to go get dressed now, so I'll meet up with you in homeroom later, okay?" She whispered, making Tsukune shiver, alongside the slight shock and arousal she had already given him with her morning peck.
"Y-y-yeah, that s-sounds great, Kurumu…" Tsukune said affectionately and shyly. Kurumu quickly folded up her bedding and put her bed away back in the spacious closet, leaving Tsukune to his own thoughts.
'She's so pretty, and she made me feel so… at peace. What… What is this?' Tsukune thought, as images of her kisses and signs affection flashed in his head. He sighed happily and got out of bed.
Although it still felt like he had something to fight, and live for, Tsukune couldn't help but smile.
'Maybe I'll shine up to this place. Doesn't seem all that bad…' He thought again, with a small smile.
Nevertheless, Tsukune took his time and got ready and tidy for his next day of classes. Reading over the sheet of paper he had magically received during orientation, he read that he had to be at homeroom by nine 'o clock, giving him plenty of time to get ready.
For this day, which he read to be "compulsory class introduction", he wore a pair of long, plain pants, and a simple white shirt and jacket combo. Tsukune made sure to keep his watch and phone on him, as well, before he exited his dormitory.
Well, "exit" is a stretch, really. Tsukune really just poked his head out of his door to see if anyone else was out. He only saw two or three girls, half of whom looked like they were looking out the hallway windows. Glad that not many people were around, Tsukune thought he might take a walk around and adapt himself to the school's grounds fully before going to class.
Thusly, he attempted to descend the stairs, only to accidentally bump into a very tall and imposing woman he could've mistaken for a teacher. He just assumed she wasn't due to her being in the dormitories, but she still looked scary, nonetheless. Her red eyes, contrasting with her lavender purple hair struck his soul in an eerie chord.
"Sorry about that, I was in kind of a rush." Tsukune apologised, putting his hands up defensively. The woman huffed and walked past him, stopping only a few steps away.
"Watch where you're going, weakling. Next time I might just burn you alive for crossing my path." The tall woman responded, continuing her walk up the stairs. Tsukune swallowed hard but remained calm as he went on down to the bottom floor.
Going outside and taking in the fresh morning air, Tsukune took a moment to ground himself, just as Kurumu had suggested. Anxiety wouldn't help during this time in school – no sir.
(From a great distance away)
The young witch yawned meekly and rubbed her eyes, sitting up and scarcely able to see out of her window. Yukari moved her glance to the room of the human she saw the night before, and noticed his bed was cleanly made and his room was bare.
"Huh? Where'd he go?" she asked herself out loud, looking around to the other rooms and finally to just outside the building itself. There she saw, barely able to recognise, a human male shape at the bottom of the building.
'I need to get down there quick!' Yukari thought to herself.
You see, Yukari was dropped off by her parents later on in the day before, and due to her young age and attending such a high level school, she was given a special orientation by the shady headmaster herself. Although she was given her homeroom number and whatnot, Yukari had little to no idea on how to navigate through the school area.
Thus, her chances of finding this human guy later on in the day would be significantly diminished compared to her opportunity now.
Oh, and she had her dorm room to herself, as the headmaster had sensed she wouldn't be getting along with many people during her time at the Academy.
So, she rushed herself, having a lightning fast shower, and messily brushing her hair before putting on her "normal" witch-like getup. After that, she bolted like a bat out of hell, barely noticing the time to only be quarter past seven in the morning.
A full hour and forty-five minutes before she had to be at her homeroom in Room 17.
(With Tsukune)
As he continued to take the deep and relaxing breaths, Tsukune noticed a stinging sensation in the back of his eyes. He closed them, and rubbed the exterior of his eyelids in a vain effort to alleviate the slowly increasing stinging sensation.
Just as he was about to let out a yell of pain, the stinging ceased and he warily opened his eyes again, the light blaring into his sight like a newborn seeing the world for the first time. He quickly blocked his sight again and hissed in pain.
"Agh! What the hell?" He exclaimed, feeling a slight headache coming on as well.
'Damn it. So much for the positive outlook I had earlier…' Tsukune thought bitterly, finally feeling the pain die down in his head as well. He let out a sigh of relief, and took one more deep breath before he decided to walk around.
(With Yukari)
There she was, mere meters away from him, running as fast as her little legs could carry her, but before she could reach him, she fell backwards on her rear, having ran into something.
Or, judging by the murderous glare she was now receiving, she had ran into someone.
"Curses… You annoying little upstart…" Mumbled the obviously tired woman. As she stood up, she loomed over Yukari menacingly, who had yet to stand up herself.
"How dare you run into me, odd thing? Why, I should annihilate you and reanimate you, then annihilate you again!" Yelled this odd woman, who had adorned herself with a layer of black clothing and skulls.
Tsukune turned his head around when he heard this, and looked on at the older woman who was about to strike a child. It took a moment for him to realise what was going on, but when reality hit him, Tsukune rushed to the little girl's aid and grabbed the aggressors arm.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Tsukune yelled to the tired, angry woman.
"I'm trying to exact my rightful revenge!" She yelled, trying to force her hand down upon Yukari. Tsukune's sudden burst of unnatural strength kicked in not soon after that, and she was unable to move her hand an inch.
"Bullshit you are! You can't just up and kill people for the tiniest things!" Tsukune roared, throwing her hand up and effectively tipping the woman off balance once more, causing her to fall backwards on her rear.
The gothic woman clenched her teeth and let out a snarl, before she stood up and breathed out sharply, and stormed away from the two. The very earth around her seemed to warp and decay with every stomp she took. The woman had the kind of look on her face that spelled wrath for any small animals that would dare cross her path.
It was perhaps the angriest Tsukune had ever seen a woman.
Well, the time his father tried to cook for the family after a triple-graveyard work shift served to enrage his mother to the same degree. It wasn't that the meal tasted bad or anything, it was the monster that had been formed in the kitchen afterwards that really set off his mother.
Ah, but as Tsukune looked at the young witch who was still sitting on her bottom on the ground, his thoughts drifted elsewhere, and he crouched down to help her up – being the kind soul he was. He saw she was crying, possibly because of shock, possibly because of some deep and hidden emotions that were brought up during the small scrap.
He put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, hey, it's okay. I've had a run in with a bully or two here myself. The important thing is to realise that they're all meanies who have no fun, and sometimes they want someone to take it out on." Tsukune joked, as he rubbed the young girls shoulder. She looked at him first with teary eyes, but then started to giggle, as she felt the sadness and shock wash away.
After a minute of bright, happy laughter, she hugged him tight.
"Thanks, mister. You really did save my life and all…" She said, getting help from Tsukune as she stood up from the ground, and dusted herself off. She looked to him with a look that plainly described and confusion.
"Hey, do the bullies bully you because you're male? Or are you just some half-monster male?" Yukari asked. Tsukune blanked for a moment before he casually answered.
'Wait… there are half-monster-men?' Tsukune thought in pausing.
"I'm definitely not a full-human, if that's what you're asking. Though to honest, I have no idea why. Maybe some of these joyless meanies just hate me because I have so much fun, and they're jealous!" Tsukune said, trying to play it off nonchalantly, which succeeded in making the young witch laugh, at least. After it died down again, she looked to him with a smile.
"Hey mister, would you like to be friends? Not many people like me here because I'm pretty much human. And I know you aren't a crazy gorgeous babe and whatnot, but I think we'd be great friends!" The girl said casually. Tsukune raised an eyebrow in sweet, pure confusion as to what she was saying, but smiled nonetheless.
"Sure, that'd be great. Only problem is, I don't know your name." Tsukune said, crouching down once more to meet the little witch's gaze. She smiled brightly at him, albeit with a little, tiny, tiny, tiny blush.
"I'm Yukari, mister. What's your name?" She asked him. Tsukune smiled as he held out his hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Yukari. My name is Tsukune." Tsukune said with a mock teacher's voice, which made Yukari giggle a little once more.
Maybe being friends with the little weirdo wouldn't be bad – who knew what could happen?
As the two walked on a bit, with the young male directing them toward the place they had lunch the day before, Yukari thought on some things about him.
'Hmm… He says he isn't fully human, but he's not carrying a wand like most witches do. Nor is he a pompous butthole… I think he might actually be fully human.' The childish witch thought, rubbing her chin with a hand which was supported with her other arm and all. As she continued to listen to Tsukune, she started liking him more and more, relating with him on issues she had faced growing up as a genius.
'…And he might not be a pretty girl, but he's still cute…' Yukari thought with a growing creepy smile that Tsukune either didn't see or plain just ignored out of safety for his own sanity. Tsukune shook his head to try and force the image out of his mind, and realised that they were closer to the spot than he had thought.
"Oh, we're coming up to it soon. Though I don't know who'd be up at this hour…" Tsukune said, guessing that Kurumu would be nearby, and maybe Moka would be awake, but not at the seating place.
In his thoughts, he was being honest to himself. He had no idea what times monster-girls went to bed or fell asleep, really. They probably didn't even have different bed times to most normal humans, save for the clearly nocturnal species Tsukune encountered on his way to the seating place, anyway.
As he turned the corner with his new odd companion however, Tsukune felt choked by the air almost.
He saw both Kurumu and Moka, but they seemed to be giving each other heated death glares.
"Uh… Hey, guys!" He greeted, noticing that Moka was eyeing him up like he was a meal.
'Oh God… Not her, too?' He asked himself mentally. The very first time he had seen her she looked pale and sick due to her skipping a feeding of blood – but now she looked perfectly fine, which made him question why she looked the way she did.
"Tsukune… I'm so sorry!" The pink haired beauty yelled as she launched herself at him, her head buried deep in his neck, her fangs piercing his skin. She firmly gripped him by his shoulders as Tsukune felt the similar feeling he had felt yesterday – a little, tiny prick of pain followed by an intense bout of pleasure. He had the decency to stifle his moans whereas Moka did not, no doubt maddening her other half. Minutes later, Moka began licking his wound lightly, making Tsukune's spine tingle.
"That's enough, you crazy vampire bitch!" Kurumu roared, grabbing Moka forcefully and prying her away from her Destined One, Moka appearing greatly stunned as she was thrown back. She didn't lose her balance however, and simply jumped back away from Kurumu.
She wiped the remnants of Tsukune's blood from her mouth and prepared to charge at Kurumu, who flared her own monster energy and extended her nails to their razor sharp forms – along with sprouting wings from her back. Tsukune was shocked – in absolute awe of the displays of power, but he didn't want any of his new friends getting hurt.
"What the hell's going on here?!" He asked loudly, getting in the middle of the two so they wouldn't be encouraged to charge at one another. He turned his gaze to Moka who instantly blushed a blood red and averted her gaze away from him. He then looked at Kurumu, who did just the same.
Tsukune's look of anger didn't help them speak, either.
"I-i-it's… nothing, Tsukune." Moka said meekly, feeling Tsukune's furious gaze bear down on her.
"Oh yeah, no. It's nothing that made you two look like you were about to kill each other. It's also nothing that made Moka want to immediately suck my blood when she's clearly had her morning meal. Are we going to resolve this like adults or are we going to pretend like it never happened and act like children?" Tsukune asked the two seriously, who still remained quiet despite his questioning.
Tsukune took a deep, deep breath and breathed out, calming himself.
"Fine, then. Guys, this is Yukari. Yukari, that's Kurumu, and that's Moka." Tsukune said, introducing the young witch who was at first hiding behind his legs when she saw the two about to fight, but was now in front of him, stunned at their beauty. Tsukune felt the anger leave his system as the humour of Yukari's face then calmed him down.
Yukari then greeted the two by herself, keeping her affection for both under wraps at that moment. Time passed soon for the small group as their numbers expanded, with Tonko, Shijimi, Sumae, and Kurumu's friend Kendra showing up and chatting the morning away pleasantly.
It was calm, and it was serene.
A pleasant experience for Tsukune where he could forget that he was in a school for monsters for a few hours.
At ten to nine, however, the bell rang for students to arrive to homeroom, and so the morning shuffle that the pupils would soon become accustomed to began, with students shuffling awkwardly and Tsukune once more trying to blend in with the crowd of tired teenagers.
'Ah well, if I've survived this far, I may as well keep trying.' Tsukune thought to himself as he and the others neared Room 17 for homeroom. When he noticed that Kurumu and Yukari were still following him and Moka, he looked to them questioningly.
"Are you guys in Room 17 for homeroom as well?" Tsukune asked them, with excited nods as his response. He smiled back to them brightly, excited at the prospect of having more friends in his morning class, and hopefully others.
They all sat down quietly, and saw their teacher Shizuka Nekonome standing up front, with a smug smile on her face and a thick stack of half-shredded papers on her desk, organised oddly. Moka and Tsukune took up their usual seats next to one another, Yukari managed to catch the seat behind him, and Yukari was able to take the seat beside Moka.
"Good morning, class! Today's going to be great, and you want to know why?" She asked the class, who responded with a chorus of fumbling murmurs and whispers.
"Because I actually got my notes down correctly before I got here! So, today is compulsory class introduction day, where you'll attend your first classes of the year." She began, handing a stack of files to a student to handout to the rest of the class. As Tsukune received his and thanked the girl who gave it to him, he looked down at the paper, not noticing the woman's light blush.
"As you can all see, there are four classes you must attend during your tenure at Yokai Academy, and they are Mathematics, English, Human/Monster Relations, and Gym. If you're wondering about geography or history, those are covered in basics in Human/Monster Relations – which I teach." Miss Nekonome continued, as Tsukune peered down further along the page.
"Our timetable here consists of two alternating weeks of five days, comprised of seven periods. These periods go for forty-five minutes, and you're given a recess of twenty minutes between third and fourth, and a lunch break of forty minutes between fifth and sixth. After seventh period is the end of the day." The cat-woman went on, allowing her students to process the information easily. She was glad she had gotten the notes from the headmaster down properly this time, as well.
After the students were done looking at their timetables, Shizuka got another student to hand out small maps of the school, while she continued to explain.
"Alright… Now to actually understand the timetable… You'll see it's separated into little grids that are different for most students, with columns and rows depicting the day and period. There are little boxes that have the details of your class in them." She continued, seeing that all of her homeroom class had the maps on their tables.
"The first section says the class name, the second the teacher you'll have for that period, and the third says what room you're in for that class. The maps here are to give you the general layout of the school, and where to go for what class." Said their teacher. Tsukune noticed on his timetable that he had Maths in period 1, English period 3, Human/Monster Relations period 4, and finally Gym period 6.
"Oh and the blank spaces in the timetable denote free periods. Today, you can spend those periods doing anything you want again, but you have to show up for the next class on time, alright?" She informed them, thinking that was all she needed to inform them about. Thusly, she sat down and brought out her container of raw fish, waiting for the bell to ring and letting her students absorb the meagre knowledge she had bestowed upon them.
While she was doing that, Tsukune was looking over his classes once more – trying to identify what teachers he had. For Maths, it read "R. Kagome", for English, "A. Kawa", for Human/Monster Relations, "S. Nekonome", and for Gym "T. Taiso".
'At least I know one teacher there, that's good… I'll see what the others have.' The young human thought to himself, turning around to face Kurumu, who was deep in concentration with her timetable.
"Hey, what teachers do you have, Kurumu?" Tsukune asked her. The succubus looked at him with a loving smile that made Tsukune's heart skip a beat, before looking back down at her paper.
"Let me see… Miss Kagome, Miss Kawa, Miss Taiso, and Miss Nekonome. You?" She informed him, making him smile back at her brightly as well.
"Yeah. It's going to be a great year, huh?" He said, thinking his chances of survival weren't that bad anymore. Kurumu's smile did that weird thing where it put him at ease, and made him forget his troubles.
"It certainly will be, Tsukune." Kurumu said dreamily.
Tsukune also checked with Moka and Yukari – and indeed – they were in the same classes with one another.
The bell rang a shrill ring, and the students once more shuffled disinterestedly to their first classes of the day. For Tsukune and his gang, it was their mathematics class with one Ririko Kagome.
When they first saw her, the whole freshman class was stunned. Miss Kagome was only two belts and a whip away from a local BDSM convention. She had brown hair, wore glasses and a button up collared white shirt that showed a little too much cleavage.
And from what the students could see, she also looked like a hardass.
"Sit down, everyone. I am your mathematics teacher, Ririko Kagome. I have but one rule here, and that is to listen to me for every second you are in this class. I am the only person you can learn proper mathematics from, and as such, if I catch you swapping study notes in or out of class, I will punish you. Do I make myself clear?" She asked the class, gaining silent nods in affirmation.
"Good, now, your syllabus consists of a twelve point grading, devised by…" She began, but as she went on, Tsukune lost interest and zoned out, seeing as no actual work was going to be done that lesson, anyway.
Whilst pretending to listen intently, Tsukune thought about Kurumu, and the other girls he'd met.
'What was that tingling sensation? The butterflies? Is this part of what I was feeling before? Kurumu said she loved me, but why? What makes me so special? How does she know she loves me?' Were the various questions running through his head. He thought on asking Kurumu during one of his free periods, however, just to clear things up.
Hell, Tsukune wasn't even sure of his own feelings for Kurumu, or the girls. Sure, he found them all strikingly attractive – there was no doubt there. And they were all lovely people to be around when they weren't fighting, that much was true, too.
Tsukune would be lying to himself if he said he couldn't imagine him being with any girl there and living happily after high-school. Even he could see some of the girls had strong feelings for him.
Like, feelings that were way too strong to have for a guy on the first or second day of school.
But, the question he kept asking himself, why me?
Every other school he had been to, he was treated like a fly on the wall, save for when someone needed something from him.
He dragged his thoughts away from that, however, as he heard the school bell ring, signifying the end of period one. Tsukune's first free period was up next, so he thought he might use it by talking to Kurumu.
As they exited the classroom, Tsukune pulled Kurumu aside from Moka and Yukari.
"You guys go ahead to the spot we picked out yesterday, I've got to talk to Kurumu. We'll meet up with you two soon." Tsukune instructed, leaving little room for argument. After seeing the near brawl between Kurumu and Moka, he didn't want to risk having them attack each other again, so he resorted to separating them as quickly as possible.
"Tsukune? What's this about?" Kurumu asked, a little worried and excited. Tsukune looked around himself before putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Do you want to take a walk? I have some things I want to know about you…" Tsukune suggested.
Kurumu shrugged her shoulders confusedly.
"Sure, I guess." She answered, slightly flattered that her Destined One was starting to take interest in her a little more. So the two walked on and on, until they found a relatively secluded spot, away from the riff-raff of chitter-chatter of a student body. They ended up going to just outside the school grounds, and travelling a little into the dead forest.
Tsukune took several deep breaths, thinking on his choice of words, and finally stared Kurumu straight in the eyes.
"Kurumu… You told me last night that… You… You loved me?" Tsukune asked her simply, to start. Kurumu brought a hand to rest her chin on as she went deep into thought.
"Well, not in those words, but yes. Why?" She asked back, blushing ever so slightly at the thought. Tsukune sighed, and she saw his shoulders slump noticeably.
"K-K-Kurumu… How can you be sure of your feelings towards me? How do you know you love me?" He asked her seriously. Kurumu saw the emotion in his eyes. It was an odd mix of fear and hope – a feeling she had been all too familiar with.
She sighed deeply as well and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"I'm a succubus, Tsukune. All succubi are born with being able to sense who their loved ones, their Destined Ones truly are. A Destined One is a person a succubus spends their entire life with because they love one another. All succubi are born with this gift from the gods in being able to tell who our partners are simply by a feeling of pure happiness brought on by our first meeting." Kurumu explained to him, noticing that he was bringing his head up to face her. She then seized the moment and stole a short, sweet kiss from his lips.
"Simply put, no matter what, I'll love you Tsukune. You are the man I'm in love with. I love you, and I don't care if you feel the same way about me just yet. I understand things must be tough for you, I really do, so I won't rush you into anything, even if you don't want to be in a relationship with me at all…" Kurumu said, looking downtrodden towards the end of her statement.
And there it was.
Tsukune knew what he had to do. Here was this beautiful woman who cared enough to comfort him in the middle of the night, and actually tell him that everything was going to be okay. He had only known her for sixteen hours at the most, and already, for some unnatural reason, he felt close to her.
Closer to her than he had felt towards anyone else in his entire life.
So, he repaid her in kind by taking her by surprise. Tsukune softly grabbed her cheeks and planted his own lingering kiss on her lips. Yes, it was moving a little fast for him, and maybe he wanted things to slow down, but now he had to make her feel like everything was alright in the world, for her.
And from Kurumu's stunned perspective, even though she didn't believe in the whole "relationship affection equality" business, she enjoyed the kiss way too much to care about any of her problems, if only for that split second.
Tsukune broke away from the kiss not too long after, and looked deeply into Kurumu's eyes.
"Well… I'm not sure of my feelings for you yet, b-b-but I do like you, Kurumu. A lot, actually… Uh… Would you like to go out on a date with me soon so we can get to know each other better?" He asked her, and after he did her face lit up brighter than the sun with the beautiful smile she gave him.
"Really? I-I-I mean, of course, I'd love to, Tsukune!" Kurumu practically yelled, throwing herself in his arms and giving him a mighty hug, to which Tsukune reciprocated. Tsukune couldn't stop smiling to himself after he asked her, and decided to stay in the embrace for a while.
"How does tomorrow night sound, then?" Tsukune asked her.
"That sounds lovely. Come on, the others are probably waiting up for us." Kurumu said, sadly breaking away from the hug and walking back to the school with her Destined One beside her. They held each other's hands as they did the night before and walked on peacefully out of the forest.
(The seating place)
So they returned back to Moka and Yukari, who looked like they were in the middle of a thought provoking, intelligent discussion.
"So that's how vampires bathe! I've wondered for years on how the old ones don't stink up their huge palaces!" Yukari said, honestly enlightened and surprised. Moka nodded and giggled at the odd way of putting it.
"Yep, that's how it's done. Vampires are weaker in water, so we have to treat our baths and water supplies before we clean ourselves in it." The pink haired vampire said, not noticing that a smiling Kurumu and Tsukune were nearby, listening in.
"Oh, hi you two! What did you get up to while we were waiting?" Yukari asked them, making both Kurumu and Tsukune's smiles grow considerably.
"It was nothing, Yukari, just grown-up stuff." Kurumu teased playfully. Yukari frowned, and crossed her arms over her chest angrily.
"So… What class do we have next?" Moka asked, having laughed silently at Yukari's exasperated expression. Tsukune withdrew the folded up timetable from his jacket pocket and read it carefully.
"English, in room… 22…" Answered Tsukune, as he walked away, with the girls in tow to the next room their class was in. Just as they arrived to the room, which wasn't far away from their home room, the shrill school bell sounded again.
But as the bell sounded, the door swung open carefree and out popped the head of an English teacher. She had pale skin with a hue closer to blue than anything else, and she had stunning bright silver hair.
"You guys are here on time. I like that." She said, in a neutral tone of voice, before looking around the hallway and noticing no other students were even close to her class at the time. The teacher then slowly turned her head to face Tsukune, Kurumu, Moka, and Yukari.
"Come on in, and take your seats." The teacher said calmly. So the quartet did just that and took seats in a tight formation, similar to their seating plan in their homeroom. Soon afterwards, the rest of the students started to pour in and Tsukune recognised Shijimi walking in.
When she met his gaze, a deep blush enveloped her cheeks and she took one of the vacant seats next to him meekly.
"Hi, Shijimi." He whispered to her simply.
"H-h-hey…" She whispered back to him, her emotions being so erratic that for a moment, her antennae appeared, poking out of her head. The rubbed against one another before Shijimi noticed and desperately tried reigning in her emotions.
'What the hell...' Tsukune thought to himself as he looked on at the sight in awe.
Shijimi blushed a deep red and began trying to avoid Tsukune's gaze as much as possible. Tsukune, sensing her discomfort, leant in and tried to reassure her.
"Hey, if it's any consolation, they're very pretty." He said, complimenting her curly butterfly-like antennae. That's when Shijimi reached her limit and fainted, much to Tsukune's shock.
"Oh- Uh… Shit. That's…" Tsukune began to stammer, looking around, seeing if anyone else saw what just happened. Not a soul seemed to be looking in his direction at that moment, so he made sure that the young bug-woman was actually alive and sighed in relief when he affirmed that she was indeed.
That was when he saw the last student come in, and sit right in front of him, taking up the only remaining free seat around him. Saizo placed her books on the large table in front of her and turned around covertly to talk to Tsukune.
And by the look on her face, it wasn't about how much she loved the fine arts, or experimental forms of music.
"I'm coming after you, Aono. Be wary. Be very, very wary…" She warned him, turning her gaze back to front. Tsukune leant in behind her, confused more than anything else.
"What?"
"I said yesterday's fight was a damn fluke and now, I'm coming after you this afternoon for a rematch." Saizo snarled back at him, keeping her gaze ahead.
"Why do you want to fight me at all? What did I do to piss you off?" Tsukune asked her, noticing that the teacher up front was getting her role marked and her hand-outs ready.
"Because you annoy me, runt. You shouldn't even be here…" She answered him darkly.
"How!? I've been here for one day, and I've only spoken like, twenty words to you, tops!"
"Because you're human. You're blight on an otherwise perfect and strong group of monster-women." Saizo answered, clearly wanting to end the conversation there. Tsukune leant back in his seat and sighed, whilst rubbing his temples deeply.
"Tsukune Aono." The pale teacher called out softly.
"Here." He answered stressfully.
'I do not need this. Every time something good happens, something terrible or foreboding happens to coincide with it.' The young Aono thought. However, he shook his head out of those negative thoughts and took deep breaths, like Kurumu taught him to.
English was not what he expected. There was a lot more talking about human culture and media than what his high school English classes taught him.
It was better than he expected, probably.
But time went on, and soon it was time for recess. Shijimi re-awakened at the sound of the school bell and shocked herself awake, still feeling a little embarrassed. The group left the classroom gingerly and thanked their teacher, who gingerly waved a hand in their direction.
(Seconds later)
Kurumu thoroughly enjoyed the time she spent at recess. It gave her time to talk to the newest member of their continuously growing friend circle. Although there was certainly some distrust amongst a lot of them, namely between the Lizard Women and Yukari, there was an odd thing she couldn't quite pick that bound them together in some way.
With a shrug, she moved her thoughts onto the little witch. While Kurumu could see why so many more "pompous" monsters would hate her guts, she could sympathise with Yukari on a much closer level than anyone else.
Always moving to different schools with her parents up until father's death made her the "outcast" many, many more times than she cared for. After a while, she stopped caring and just started being that awkward girl who would play pranks that no-one would get the humour of.
So yes, she had a lot in common with the young sorcerer, and she would do her best to make her feel welcome in their little group of friends.
Still, she wasn't as nearly as friendly to the pink haired vampire.
Students getting caught between their occasional death glares would feel an odd sense of dread, and usually quick moved on from their spot.
It was primarily a class squabble to begin with. Kurumu already had little trust or compassion for Moka when she figured out swiftly that she was a vampire. And even after they chatted for a bit, Kurumu began to sense a bubbling hatred underneath Moka's sickly sweet persona.
She had no idea where it came from, but Kurumu knew when to distance herself from someone when the mood got sour.
Thus what led to their death staring. And Kurumu could only assume that Moka went for Tsukune's neck to mark territory or something.
That was when it clicked for the teal-haired Succubus.
'Does she like him? That would explain why she blushes around him all the tim- Oh damn I feel stupid. Of course she likes him! Well, there's no way she's getting her hands on my Destined One, that's for sure!' Kurumu thought to herself, already plotting an evil scheme to thwart the even eviller vampire's attempt on Tsukune.
Still, Kurumu held off on her no doubt diabolical scheme, and resorted instead to talking to her new companion. Kurumu crouched down to be eye-level with the childish witch and tapped on her shoulder, as she stared around nervously to find someone to talk to.
"Hey, Yukari. I don't think we were actually properly introduced yet. As Tsukune told you, I'm Kurumu." She said warmly, smiling at Yukari, who nervously smiled back. She had her hands behind her back and was rolling back and forth on her feet.
"H-h-h-h-hi, Kurumu!" Yukari greeted back fretfully, which made Kurumu giggle.
"You know, I don't think you guys even told me how you met!" Kurumu said through laughter, trying to break the ice with the odd witch. Yukari's expression turned thoughtful, before she beamed at the young succubus.
"Well, I was feeling really alone and sad last night, and before I went to bed, I saw him there. I thought that if he's a guy in a school full of girls, then he might be as hated as me, and maybe we could be friends! So, I went to meet him early on this morning, but I accidentally ran into this mean tramp who tried to kill me! But Tsukune saw it and defended me, and made me feel a whole lot better!" Yukari explained, slowly getting more and more excited as she recounted the story back to Kurumu, who smiled proudly at it.
"Well, sounds like Tsukune's a pretty brave guy to stand up for someone like that. Why'd the girl try to kill you?" Kurumu asked.
"He sure was! I think I'm going to make him my boyfriend one day! Oh, and she must've been a Lich or something. Those girls can get real mad, real easy." Yukari explained, slowly getting more and more comfortable talking to Kurumu.
"Oh yeah, I've heard of a Lich's temper, and… Wait, did you say you were going to make Tsukune your boyfriend?" Kurumu asked the young witch, a face of disbelief growing on her face. Yukari smiled brightly at Kurumu, with the tiniest of blushes on her round face.
"Yep! I'll do my best to make you two my boyfriend and girlfriend!" Yukari said, with her chest puffed full of pride and her voice full of conviction. Kurumu just raised an eyebrow in confusion.
Meanwhile, Tsukune was making pleasant conversation with the three Saurian women he had met yesterday, who all looked pleased with him. The obvious leader of their group had striking green hair, and a stern but cute face with deep brown eyes. The two other saurian women behind her had licks of lime and red hair amidst green as well, and seemed almost similar to the centre woman in terms of looks.
There was that relentless fluttery feeling in his stomach as he talked to them, but he managed to ignore it for the most part.
"Nice goin' on that fight the other day, Tsukune. Heck, we might even have to challenge you to a scrap-up, huh? Maybe you could show us how strong humans really are!" The lead lizard-woman spoke. Tsukune chuckled, and rubbed the back of his head with his hand.
'Wait, they don't mean…' He began to think to himself, catching their underlying tone.
"Oh, I don't know, I'm still pretty tired from yesterday and all, remember, I had to carry Saizo back to the infirmary! Maybe some other time, yeah?" The young human male asked them, to which he got displeased grunts.
"Oh, fine. But we're challenging you to a spar tomorrow, keep that in mind!" The head lizard-woman spoke. Tsukune then realised he hadn't learnt her, or her counterpart's names. He laughed a little awkwardly.
"Uh, sorry. I don't think I caught your names…"
"I'm Kyoryu, and these two are my triplet sisters, Miryu and Akaryu." Kyoryu informed him, pointing the girl with the lime hair first, and red second, smiling at Tsukune and showing her rows of sharp teeth. They heard the bell ring incessantly and cursed it's timing, but before Tsukune left, Miryu pulled him over and whispered quietly into his ear.
"I wouldn't waste my time on that witch if I were you. Think of finding yourself some more… "real" women, and talk to us later…" She hissed silently, licking his earlobe with her elongated, forked tongue. Tsukune shivered in pleasure but reigned himself in and swallowed hard, before nodding monotonously and moving on.
Well, it looked like it was time for some Human/Monster Relations with Miss Nekonome, anyway.
(In Room 17 Again)
The cat-woman clapped her hands together excitedly and let her long tail swish behind her energetically.
All in suspense of getting her homeroom class to teach. She was a woman who wasn't openly welcome to change as much as others, that was true.
Alas, as the students poured in and took their previously assigned seats, and as she began to teach and teach all she knew about human culture and how monsters should normally react to it, she was proud of herself in drawing over seven eighths of the class's attention.
The only problem she saw was with the surprise human exchange student, who looked a little worried. She then also saw Saizo making threats via eye contact, and connected the dots easily.
So, the class ended, and as the students poured out, she held Tsukune back for just a moment.
"Is something the matter?" She asked him, making him sit down on a table top and looking as comforting and open as she could to him.
"No, miss. Everything's fine." He lied, with note on how her eyes opened and narrowed their feline gaze on him. He swallowed a lump in his throat silently, and she caught on, but sighed, putting on her dreaded serious tone for just that moment longer.
"Listen, Tsukune, if you're ever in danger, don't be afraid to call out for my help. I'm more deadly than I look!" She said, with a smile at the end, which made Tsukune smile a little too. There was something inviting and warming about her that made him feel alright again.
"Th-thanks, miss…" He said, walking away from her and out of the classroom.
"Bye, Tsukune. Have a good day, okay?" She requested, knowing that he probably couldn't hear her.
It was the thought that counted, anyway.
(In their free period, and during lunch…)
After going back to their usual seating spot, Tsukune spent the majority of his time getting to know Yukari. From what she told him, he gathered that she was indeed a genius, but had to be introduced to the school a little later than everyone else, for obvious reasons.
In Tsukune's gatherings, he determined that Yukari, when being herself and not worrying about what anyone thought of her, was a bubbly ball of excitement and energy, and an odd insight into things he hadn't thought of before in depth.
After he had finished talking to her, Kurumu grabbed his attention and made some small talk with him. As they got to know one another – with Kurumu finding out that Tsukune's school life before wasn't that great, and with Tsukune finding out that Kurumu's father died when she was only five, the young, soon-to-be couple felt their connection deepen that little bit extra.
And when Kurumu started to tear up at recalling her father's sudden death, Tsukune embraced her in a sympathetic hug and held her until she felt alright once more.
Well, after Kurumu settled down, she edged him to stay in the comfortable embrace for just a little longer, anyway.
She had him in her hold, with her head resting in the nape of his neck. Kurumu breathed in his wonderful human scent, and sighed in pleasure. Tsukune felt his spine tingle at his close contact with whom he could've probably considered his girlfriend at this point.
"I can't wait for tomorrow night, Tsukune…" Kurumu breathed hotly into his ear as she broke away from his hold, already missing his warmth and his distinct scent.
"Me too, Kurumu…" Tsukune drawled back, with a wink sent her way.
And the bell tolled once more…
(Gym Class)
The group made their way to the gymnasium which Tsukune had already seen in his orientation to the school. He found that he still got many, many odd looks from the other students that hadn't seen him before, but he did his best to ignore them and move on.
Tsukune noticed that Sumae was in this class of his, and gave her a friendly wave.
The hall was a massive place filled with equipment of all kinds. Weights, aerobics courses and mats of every type were laid down around the titanic hall. The group of students that arrived saw a woman running around the track in the centre of the room on all fours, like a dog would.
When the dog-woman caught sight of the arriving students, she immediately ran towards them and halted herself before colliding into one of the girls.
"Hi! I'm your PE teacher, Miss Taiso! Before we start this class, everyone get changed into your gym clothes!" The energetic canine woman ordered her students, pointing her clawed finger over to the locker rooms to the side of the building.
As the girls cleared away quickly, they left only one person in their dust:
Tsukune, who stood as still and as straight as a pylon, not moving even an inch.
"Ah, you must be the Aono boy sent here to test out our curriculum, huh?" The dog girl asked as she got close to Tsukune and began to sniff him with an odd smile on her face.
"Y-yep, th-that's me." Tsukune replied stoically. Miss Taiso backed away from him and looked at him oddly.
"Then why are you standing out here? Go in and get dressed quickly. We have only a single lesson today, and I want to get as much in as possible!" The dog-woman responded.
Tsukune's throat locked up at the thought.
'Does she mean to go in and get dressed in the girl's lockers?' He asked himself silently. He pointed over the room with a questioning look on his face, to which his PE teacher nodded energetically. Tsukune sighed in disbelief, but slowly awkwardly shuffled to the room, hoping he wouldn't be killed by the enraged student body.
So, in an attempt to preserve his innocence, he rushed into the dressing room with his arm covering his eyes, just enough so that he was still able to see the floor. He rushed passed the girls and to a secluded section of the dressing rooms, before sighing and slumping against the wall.
He then found a basket with a pair of brand new shorts and a collared shirt for him to wear.
Making sure no-one was watching, Tsukune grabbed the articales of clothing from the basket and quickly got undressed down to his underpants, but paused briefly when he heard complete silence, followed by some small mutterings, and a low whistle.
There, he saw almost all of the girls in his class staring at his firmly toned chest and impressive body, to which Tsukune immediately blushed a bright red, before swiftly covering himself.
"Hey! I gave you guys the same privacy, so quit staring at me!" Tsukune demanded, getting a chorus of a saddened "aww…" in response. All the girls stepped away from their hiding spots and continued to get dressed, leaving Kurumu looking at Tsukune.
"You should learn to enjoy the attention more, Tsukune. And you shouldn't be hiding your body…" Kurumu said to him, sultrily eyeing him up as she neared him. Tsukune gulped hard and backed up a bit from Kurumu, until his back hit the wall. Kurumu traced a slender finger from the bottom of his abdominals to the top of his chest, which made him shiver in delight.
Kurumu then neared her lips to his and lightly kissed him. She broke away from the short kiss and smiled at him lovingly.
"You're… You're pretty beautiful, Tsukune. I don't mind if you show off your body around me a little more next time we… "accidentally" see you like that." Kurumu whispered in his ear, before lightly nibbling on his ear lobe. Tsukune let out a low moan before noticing Kurumu was only in her undergarments.
"Th-th-thanks, Kurumu… I'll… I'll keep that in mind for next time." Tsukune said humorously, before smiling at her the same way she did to him. Kurumu placed one more quick kiss on his lips before moving away to get dressed once more.
So, Tsukune got dressed with a few minutes to spare and walked out of the dressing rooms, calmly keeping his gaze averted from the various women still getting dressed.
(A few minutes later)
Miss Taiso was with the majority of the class, doing some stretches and lunges, and instructing her students to do the same.
Tsukune was also able to notice the girls all wearing traditional bloomers, which tortured him to no end.
"Alright, students, we will be running this track for twenty laps as our warm-up, then doing two-hundred jumping jacks, and finally two-hundred push-ups to get our bodies in the right set for this year. Alright, we start now!" Their teacher yelled, speeding off onto the track and beginning her run at an insane pace. The students were absolutely floored even comprehending the speed, but nonetheless attempted to keep up with their teacher.
But slowly, one-by-one, the girls dropped off, with only five people remaining during the jumping jacks and push-ups.
Tsukune, Saizo, Kurumu, Moka, and a girl whom Tsukune barely recognised as Akaryu were the only students remaining doing the exercises, leaving the rest of the class exhausted, collapsed on the floor and panting heavily.
As the reached number one-hundred in the jumping jacks, Saizo fell on the ground out of exhaustion and let out a loud groan. After number two-hundred was reached, Kurumu fell flat on her bottom, before lying down and breathing hard, her body drenched in sweat.
As they moved onto push-ups, with Miss Taiso leading the class still, Moka quickly dropped out after number twenty, feeling as if as though she wouldn't be able to move her arms for a good time after that.
Finally, it was down to Akaryu and Tsukune performing the last fifty push-ups alongside their teacher, who was shouting encouraging and positive words at them.
At number one-hundred and ninety, Akaryu's arms gave out and she yelled in pain for a brief moment before almost fainting due to her exhaustion.
At two hundred push-ups done, Tsukune gave out a loud grunt and stood up shakily, panting and heaving heavily. He saw Miss Taiso grinning at him wildly and looked at her with a questioning look.
"Well done, Tsukune! You completed the warm up routine for this course!" Miss Taiso said, pulling him into an odd hug that Tsukune really didn't have the muscle energy to respond to.
"That was only the WARM UP COURSE?!" Shouted a disbelieving Yukari from her prone position on the ground.
"Yep! Now, all of you, take showers! We have… seven minutes until the end of the lesson!" The dog-woman yelled in response. The exhausted students groggily stood up and shuffled awkwardly into the dressing rooms once more.
(Back in the changing rooms)
Tsukune looked on at the showers in disbelief. He thought he was at least going to have some privacy at this place, but all it turned out be was a wall of shower faucets without any stall walls to hide behind.
'What kind of school doesn't have private stalls these days?' Tsukune thought to himself dejectedly, before he decided to act quickly and have a small shower before the rest of the girls even got into the massive area.
So, he managed to find himself a towel to use, and hung it on a nearby rack for use later.
As the girls started to pour in, noticing Tsukune looking away from them, the steam built up, and Tsukune breathed a sigh of relief that most of his body was hidden from view. That didn't stop the girls sneaking a peek of him every now and then, however.
Kurumu saw his shyness, having taken the shower next to his, and decided to playfully tease him a little.
"Oh Tsukune?" She asked him sensually. Tsukune moved his head cautiously to look over to her, and noticed that steam had risen high enough.
"Y-y-yeah, Kurumu?"
"Could you please wash my back? I'm finding it hard to reach after all that exercise I did…" She teased him, thinking he wouldn't take her seriously. Tsukune nodded and grabbed a bar of soap from an indent in the wall.
"Sure…" He responded, shocking Kurumu slightly. He went behind her and rubbed the soap into her back slowly, staying around her shoulders more than anything else – in his personal attempt to avoid any more hijinks for the rest of the day.
Kurumu felt his strong hands slowly trace up and down her back slowly and sensually, and quietly moaned to herself, whilst slowly and shakily washing her hair, and trying to act normal.
As Tsukune noticed Kurumu's quiet moans, his movements became a little more erratic and shaky, until finally, the bar of soap slipped from his grip, and landed in front of Kurumu.
That gave her an idea, another idea to tease Tsukune again.
"Oh, don't worry about that, Tsukune, just let me pick it up…" She said hotly, bending over and keeping her gaze on Tsukune.
Now, you can't really blame a man for being in a position such as Tsukune in that moment, for doing what he did, but you can judge him if you want.
He couldn't stop himself from sneaking a peek of Kurumu's own body, and when his eyes travelled lower, an image was forever burned into his mind. If he didn't like the school, and what changes had happened to his life before, he sure as hell loved them now.
Well, that was the last thought going through his head before he fainted, anyway.
(Some minutes later)
He was having another one of those dreams again. Where he would sweat, toss and turn in bed, and eventually see images of himself… enjoying his time with the women he had met throughout his two days at Yokai Academy.
Images, of Kyoryu, Miryu, and Akaryu resting against his chest as they slept peacefully, of Moka silently sucking on his neck as they both rested, and even some of Sumae holding him as he slept, on her chest, filled his mind unwaveringly.
And then, there was the image of Kurumu again, with her finger crooked in a "come hither" motion, beckoning him towards him.
"K-Kurumu…" Tsukune moaned in his sleep, before groggily opening his eyes. He noticed three things.
Number one – that he was wearing some clothes.
Number two – that he was in his own bed.
And number three – he was not alone.
At the foot of his bed sat Kurumu, Moka, Yukari, and Sumae, who all appeared to be blushing just as much as he was. Tsukune decided to ignore what he just mumbled in half sleepiness, and to continue on.
"Hey, guys… What happened?" Tsukune asked drowsily. He felt a numb pain at the back of his head, but thought nothing of it. He then looked down and realised that Kurumu was holding his hand, and that his legs were propped up on something.
"Well, you fainted after gym class and almost hit your head pretty hard, Tsukune." Kurumu began, looking to Sumae, who sighed and smiled at Tsukune, noticing that he was alright.
"I caught you and we got you dressed, before taking you here to recuperate. I propped your feet up so that blood would rush back to your head, but it seemed that you were going to be fine, anyway." She said, blushing a deep red.
"Wait… you guys dressed me? And didn't take me to the infirmary?" Tsukune asked, not sounding like he wanted to blame them, rather, just out of pure confusion. Yukari perked up to answer the question.
"Yep! We saw everything, Tsukune! And no, we did take you there first, but the nurses said you were going to be okay – so we brought you back here…" Yukari said, with a smile of her own.
"So- Wait… Everything?!" Tsukune asked loudly, suddenly very alert. The girls looked away, blushing a mad red, before Moka gave him a furtive glance back.
"Yeah. Everything." She confirmed. Tsukune shook his head and sighed deeply.
"It's really pretty." Yukari said with a perverted smile on her face, which made Tsukune look horrified for a moment. He sighed once more and laid back in his bed, with Kurumu still holding his hand.
"This is just too much…" He sighed.
"What is, Tsukune?" Sumae asked him, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Tsukune looked at her dejectedly, before looking back at Kurumu, who nodded towards him with a supportive smile.
"I… haven't been feeling well. Ever since I arrived in this place, I've had all sorts of aches, pains, and random muscle spasms. On top of that, my eyes start to sting every once in a while, and I've had headaches periodically every hour or so." Tsukune admitted in one big confession, omitting that he was also having a struggle with both the looks of interest and pure hate he was getting. The girls looked perplexed for a moment before Yukari answered him.
"It's too varied to be something you caught when it's only been two days here, so maybe it's something hereditary?" Yukari suggested, with the others agreeing silently.
"That seems the most likely reason. Maybe you should call your parents, Tsukune?" Moka suggested to him. Tsukune thought on it before nodding to them.
"Yeah. I'll do that tonight, and I'll see what they'll say." Tsukune said. He looked around the room and saw that a clock was hanging up on the wall, which said three 'o' clock.
"I really appreciate what you guys did for me… Thanks. I guess I owe you now, huh?" Tsukune half-joked, which made the girls laugh a bit.
(A few hours later)
Night had come, Tsukune had gotten some food from the dining hall and ate it with Kurumu, Yukari, Moka, Shijimi, Sumae, Tonko, and a bleary looking Moira, Patty and Kendra, who sat as far away from his as she could.
After his meal, he went back to his dorm room and took off his jacket and shoes, before lying down on the bed, and pulling his phone out.
He dialled his father's phone number and sighed, mentally preparing himself for what could his dad could possibly tell him.
(Back at the Aono's)
Koji felt his phone vibrate as he worked at his desk, and saw the caller ID, before answering quickly.
"Hey, Tsukune." The businessman began with a smile.
"Hey, dad. Can I talk to about something?" Tsukune asked, comforted by his father's voice.
"…Yeah, of course. What is it?"
"Dad, I'm not going to waste any time. Do we have a family history of disease or something?" Tsukune asked his father quickly. Koji took a minute to absorb the question before he ruffled his hair and sighed.
"Not that I'm aware of, son. Why are you asking? Are you feeling alright?" He asked, his tone turning serious swiftly.
"…N-no, I'm not feeling alright. Ever since I got to this place, I've been feeling terrible. I've had headaches, eye pain, shoulder pain, of all things, and at times I think I could see and feel the muscle under my skin moving…" Tsukune explained, getting a stunned silence from Koji as a first response.
"Dad? You still there?" Tsukune asked again.
"Tsukune… Have you met many girls at your school yet? I mean, besides that one you told me and your mother about last night?" Koji asked, his tone completely and deadly serious. Tsukune was taken aback by the question, but responded nonetheless.
"…Yeah, dad. Why?"
"Listen, and this might sound a little odd, but have you been having dreams about these girls? As in, vividly realistic, and sometimes erratic dreams? Ones that you remember every detail of?" Koji continued to ask, as if interrogating someone.
"H-how did you know?" Tsukune asked, getting increasingly worried. Koji sighed audibly away from his phone.
"Tsukune… I have something to tell you. These are all symptoms of an unnatural maturation present only in a certain type of human that hasn't existed in over twenty thousand years."
"Dad? What the hell are you trying to say?!" Tsukune asked, nearly yelling over the phone.
Koji took his glasses off for some kind of dramatic effect.
"You're maturing into an incubus, Tsukune." Tsukune's father said, sitting back in his chair and running a hand through his messy hair.