Rosario + Akatosh's Chosen
Chapter 7
"I thought we'd all agreed not to give in to that perv's demands!"
As Tsukune walked into the Nurse's Office, he set the steaming bowl of soup down, very much aware of the pair of pure amethyst eyes that had been tracking his movements since the moment he walked through the door.
"Tsukune?"
He turned around with a nervous chuckle. Maybe he had become somewhat desensitized to the fact that Kurumu was so beautiful, due to all the time that they had been spending together in the last couple of months, but as he looked at her, reclining on the Nurse's Office Cot and looking at him with a hard to read expression on her face, Tsukune suddenly felt his brain overheat.
"Tsukune, are you okay?"
He found himself smiling at the slight absurdity of Kurumu, who had been left with the School Nurse due to something called Youkai Exhaustion, asking him if he was okay. The humor helped him to finally overcome the sudden bout of shyness that had gripped him.
"Hiya, Kurumu."
Kurumu couldn't help but return his smile when she heard her own characteristic greeting turned back to her.
"What's in the bowl?"
"I know that you aren't actually sick, but I thought you might like some 'Chicken & Noodles' soup. Moka and Yukari helped to make it too."
"Thanks! But why aren't they here, too?"
"Moka had another one of her blackouts again. She's actually resting in a cot in the next room."
Kurumu rolled her eyes.
"Which would explain where Yukari is. Sometimes I wonder why she even bothers with all that tomato juice, it clearly doesn't do her much good."
"Kurumu?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry."
Kurumu could only cock her head to the side in confusion.
"Tsukune, what on earth could you possibly have to apologize for?"
"I don't really know. Nothing specific, I guess, it's just that I've been so caught up in my own problems recently and I haven't really been a very good friend these days."
Kurumu again rolled her eyes.
"Right. Like that time yesterday, when you went looking for me, because you were worried about my safety."
"How are you, by the way?"
"I'm just fine, Tsukune. Tell everybody that I said that I loved the soup. And, Tsukune, I'm sorry too."
"Sorry for what?"
"I, I..don't have the courage to tell you. You might end up hating me, and I don't think I could deal with that. Like, ever."
"O...kay?"
After Kurumu and Moka had recovered from their respective illnesses, the group returned to the task of normal school life. Tsukune, however, just couldn't seem to get comfortable and was always visibly on edge. Until one day Kurumu entered the Kendo club room with an announcement.
"Hiya, everybody!"
Everybody paused. It was usual to see Kurumu with such a determined look on her face.
"I've been thinking about how Tsukune still needs our help, and I think that I know a way to get Mr. Busdriver what he wants using my new Succubus powers."
Tsukune went from pale to bright red in seconds.
"Kurumu! I thought we'd all agreed not to give in to that perv's demands."
"But, Tsukune, we don't have a choice! We need this, you need this, and if there's anything that I can do to help you, you'd better believe that I'm going to do it."
"But, Kurumu, what if we get caught? Besides, don't you see that this isn't right?"
While Tsukune was trying to convince Kurumu to take the moral high ground, Moka sat silently with a thoughtful expression.
"Okay, I'm in. What do we do, Kurumu?"
Tsukune stared at his vampire friend in disbelief. Yukari stared in surprise a moment too, but was quick to align her opinion with her idol's.
Now seeing himself completely outvoted, Tsukune lowered his head and sighed in defeat.
After the sunset behind the perpetually overcast sky of Youkai Academy, Ms Nekonome walked alone, to the faculty car parking lot. Kurumu was shadowing her from above on her ebony black wings, while Tsukune and Moka were on the lookout for the other teachers. Due to Yukari's magic, the entire area was blanketed with a magic fog that dampened all sound.
As Ms. Nekonome reached into her purse to retrieve a set of car keys, Kurumu struck quickly. Calling on the Dream Magic that was a part of all Succubi, the environment began to quickly change dramatically. The car parking lot was suddenly replaced by a scene from a sunny summer day by a beautiful lake with crystal clear water and teeming with fish.
Unable to resist, Ms. Nekonome leapt into the waters of the lake and several moments later came crawling back out with a raw fish in her mouth and one in each hand. Quickly eating the raw fish with great relish, Ms. Nekonome patted her belly, now full of dream fish, and began striping off her dripping wet clothes. Peeling down to her birthday suit, she curled around into a ball and began to nap in the strong illusionary sunlight, purring loudly the whole time.
Kurumu waited a few more heartbeats to make sure that Ms. Nekonome was well and truly asleep before releasing her from the spell. The sunny summer day vanished as Kurumu fell to her knees, leaning against the side of a parked car for support, with sweat dripping down her face. Tsukune, who was holding a hand to his face to prevent any nosebleeds and trying very hard not to look at his completely naked home room teacher, rushed over to her to make sure she was okay.
"I'm fine, Tsukune. I knew that it would be a test of my powers, I just never realized how much harder it would be to use my magic on a women."
After quickly grabbing Ms Nekonome's panties, the group fled in silence, each with a red face.
Tsukune couldn't help but grin as the school bus engine came to life. With a sudden jolt, the vehicle pulled out of the school parking lot. With a few elaborate hand motions the Busdriver steered the bus away from Youkai Academy.
The scenery began to blur as they picked up speed and headed for the tunnel that separated the Academy from the world of men. Using arcane methods known only to himself, the Busdriver drove down the tunnel, emerging into a land of wild beauty.
The bus drove down an ancient snow-covered road. They began to decelerate as they approached a long abandoned stone tower. Tsukune, along with Kurumu, Moka, and Yukari, stood and collected their things. Beyond the simple description of "a land of snowy mountains", he had no idea what to expect and so had packed several sets of his Youkai Academy Winter Uniforms, some freeze-dried noodles, flashlights, and waterproof matches.
"Now, be on your toes out here, kids. This place is filled with dangers beyond anything you can image. When you've finished your business, then come back to this tower, and I'll come to pick you up."
Tsukune scratched his head in confusion.
"How will you know when we come back?"
"He he he. Oh, I'll know, I'll know. Don't you bother about that, kiddo. Good luck, Dragonborn."
Tsukune's jaw dropped in surprise.
"H-How? How did you know about that?!"
The Busdriver only replied with laughter as he shut the Bus door and drove away.
Tsukune looked about at the surrounding wilderness with equal parts fear and excitement. As the quartet of teens began to head into the snowy woods, they were enveloped by the sounds of an ancient forest that haven't seen the touch of human hands for over a thousand years. But the tranquil moment was brutally shattered by the sound of wolves sprinting through the woods towards the travelers.
Tsukune couldn't believe his senses, as wolves the size of horses lunged from an overhanging ledge above the game trail that the group had been traveling down. Calling on his training, Tsukune's sword was out in seconds. The wolf darting down at him sprinted forward and tackled Tsukune, using its mass to send him crashing to the ground. A second wolf darted forward to take advantage of Tsukune's moment of vulnerability, but at the last second Moka ran forward and kicked the wolf with enough momentum to send the wolf crashing into a tree with a loud crack. As Tsukune quickly jumped back up, the first wolf lunged again, but was stopped by nightmarish roots growing from the ground.
As Tsukune stood with his sword in hand, he looked down at the wolf that was now helpless due Kurumu's Succubus powers. His first instinct was to release the wolf, to let it run back into the woods. But as he looked down into the beast's eyes, he saw only hunger and predatory instinct. With a sudden flash of insight, Tsukune realized that these creatures would never see him or his friends as anything other than food.
Taking a calming moment to harden his heart, Tsukune suddenly plunged the sword through the wolf's eye and into its brain, killing it instantly. Tsukune felt his hands suddenly shake as the adrenaline of the sudden fight or flight situation vanished. He began to look out at the woods with new eyes. He'd never taken the time to consider how safe he was, surrounded by all the comforts and laws of civilization.
But now, the realization was sinking in that all the protections that he had taken for granted his entire life had been striped away. The land of Mereth was wild, beautiful, primal, and totally uncivilized. Even Youkai Academy, with all its dangers, cloaked itself in a thin facade of civilization. But, from here on out, Tsukune would have to depend on his sword skills just to stay alive. And the help of his beautiful companions.
'And Yukari too, I guess.'
As he continued to walk towards the far off snow-covered mountains in the distance, Tsukune looked over at his companions. Moka was just fine, the vampire seemed to have a limitless supply of stamina. Kurumu was growing visibly tired, likely due to her use of her Youkai against the wolves that periodically hunted them. Yukari, also, despite her venomous protests to the contrary, was clearly on her last legs.
"We need to take a break. I think I see some ruins over that way, let's head inside and start a fire."
The wolves gave the ruins a wide berth and the group was able to set up a proper camp. Tsukune collected firewood, while Moka kept an eye out for trouble. Kurumu melted snow in a pot over the fire pit so the group could eat a quick meal of noodles. Yukari leaned against the crude wall of their shelter and quickly fell asleep. After the quick meal it was decided by everyone that Yukari needed more rest, so the group prepared their camp to be a bit more permanent.
With a start Tsukune suddenly sat up from where he had nodded off, starting at the now dying embers.
He wasn't quite sure what had woken him, but his instincts were telling him that he needed to get up. As he habitually checked the condition of his sword, he suddenly noticed a large crack in one of the walls of the ruins that made their shelter. What separated this crack from many others like it was that a shaft of light was shining out from behind the wall.
After a few experimental kicks, the rest of the crumbling wall fell to pieces, revealing a tunnel constructed from stone and choked with tree roots. By this time, everyone else had awoken and turned to watch as Tsukune peered down into the ancient passage. Tsukune still felt a strange impulse to delve down into the earth and explore. As he began to hesitantly step down the tunnel the others quickly followed after.
It wasn't long before the group encountered the first of the ruins many protectors, a kind of zombie dressed in old rusted armor and wielding equally rusty weapons that dispute their initial variety had all degraded to little more than metal clubs. These zombies were not what Tsukune had expected based on the various monster movies he'd seen. Rather than mindless, shambling, and cannibalistic corpses, these zombies were clearly intelligent and spoke to each other with a series of growls, moans, and the occasional word, spoken in some strange unknown language. Despite this clear intelligence, the zombies showed absolutely no desire to parley as every single one attacked on sight and to the death.
Tsukune was never more grateful for his friends support as the combats down in the oddly well illuminated ruins were quick and dirty. Moka, who was quick to exchange her golf club for one of the rusty weapons from the zombies, was merciless, using her inhuman strength and speed to quickly destroy any zombie that got too close to Yukari. The young witch, who was of no real use in actual combat, proved her worth with several spells that allowed the party to effortlessly bypass traps and locked doors. Kurumu, when she realized just how many zombies where protecting the area, began trying to conserve her Youkai reserves and mostly relied on her Demonclaws. Tsukune himself, was unstoppable after the first time he used his Firebreath shout and quickly discovered that the zombies were especially vulnerable to flame.
After a seemingly endless maze of tunnels and chambers, the team finally came to the end of the twisting ruins. It was an enormous chamber that was surrounded by glistening subterranean waterfalls. Tsukune was stunned to see sunlight being reflected down from the ceiling, surprised to realize that they must have spent the entire night down in the depths of the earth. As the group walked further into the chambers they crossed a stone bridge that extended over a huge chasm , into which disappeared all the falling water, combining all the waterfalls into a massive and deafening singular waterfall beneath them. Across from the bridge was a raised platform that ended with a carved stone wall. A relief of an enormous dragon's head glaring down upon them, as if in warning, was carved above a series of strange characters that stretched across the entire wall. Tsukune was instantly reminded of the various runes that had been created by Alekis, back at Youkai Academy.
Tsukune began to hear a sound that was both alien and familiar at the same time, the sound of men rhythmically chanting in a strange tongue. As if in a dream, he felt himself walking forward, pulled to a specific section of the wall. A single character stood out from all the rest and Tsukune found himself whispering in a hushed tone.
'Klo.'
Tsukune didn't really understand what it meant, unlike the other times, he felt no real spiritual connection to the strange word, but he instinctively realised that it had to be connected to his ability to shout.
As soon as this thought crossed his mind, he found himself suddenly startled by a loud crash. As one the group turned toward the sound of the noise, an ancient stone coffin, whose lid had just been sent tumbling heavily to the ground. The occupant of the coffin was quick to stand up and prepare itself for combat. It was a zombie, but unlike all the others of its ilk that the teens had encountered so far, this foe was armed with a polished and razor-sharp axe made of a greenish metal that was covered in small glowing blood-red runes along its edge.
'Tiid!'
Tsukune didn't know what that axe was going to do, and he didn't want to find out. Using his now inhuman speed, he suddenly flowed forward and struck the undead monster with all his might. The zombie was sent staggering back from the unexpected attack, but was able to parry the weight of the blow at the last moment, turning a potentially lethal swing into a painful but survivable hit.
"Lights, Flare and Dazzle! Judgement, Cloud and Frazzle!"
Yukari's spells had little effect, other than annoying the zombie, but that was intentional, as it turned its attention to the little witch and was attacked by Kurumu and Moka. The zombie had already been sent reeling backwards towards the edge of the stone platform by Tsukune's attack. In a pile all three suddenly went sailing over the edge and into the darkness and rushing waters below.
For a few heartbeats, Tsukune and Yukari stared in horrified silence, untill the sound of flapping wings was suddenly heard over the sound of the crashing waterfalls. Tsukune breathed a sigh of relief as Kurumu came flying up from the depths with a wide smile on her face. Moka was grinning as well as she hefted her prize, the green axe that the zombie had carried moments ago.
Overcome with emotion, Tsukune suddenly rushed forward to sweep both girls up into a fierce hug.
Neither Moka nor Kurumu seemed to particularly mind.
Before they left the ruins the group helped themselves to the content of a locked chest that Yukari had spotted that had been hidden away in a recess behind the stone coffin. Along with several hundred tarnished and unidentifiable coins, they found a bows with a matching quiver of steel arrows and a glowing stone the size of Tsukune's fist. As Kurumu helped herself to the weapon, Tsukune picked up the stone to gaze at it curiously.
It was oddly warm to the touch. Tsukune, who was just about to offer the stone to Yukari, was shocked to suddenly hear a voice echo loudly in his ears.
"AT LONG LAST, A MORTAL HAND TOUCHES THE BEACON..."
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Not even a single guess? (sigh) I guess the question was too hard. The land of 'Mereth' means 'The land of Elves'. Here's something a little easier. The question for this chapter is, "Who or what controls the beacon that Tsukune now possesses?"
