Disclaimer: I do not own Rosario + Vampire, or any of the characters that are native to that universe. I only own the characters that I created specifically for this fanfic. :)

Rosario + Vampire: Concerto of Shadows

Chapter 6-The Raven Lords

Yokai Academy Clinic, Five Months before

"They are tougher then you give them credit for, Rylan! They managed to hold out against a pair of the Sentinels! That was even with Mizore and Kurumu basically out of commission!"

"I understand that, Beloved! I just still think at least one of us should be watching over them at all times!"

Tsukune groaned lightly as he slowly came to. He heard Sensei Sakura and Rylan as they quietly argued nearby. His ears also discerned the faint dulcet tones of The Moonlight Sonata as it quietly played somewhere. It brought a painful smile from him as he slowly opened his eyes. He loved that particular piece, as he liked to listen to it when he was upset or worried. Tsukune blinked a few times as the room swam into focus.

In a chair next to Tsukune's bed sat a visibly worried Moka. Her rosary was back on, and inner Moka was 'asleep' again. When she saw that Tsukune opened his eyes, she smiled warmly at him. "Hey, Tsukune! Glad to see you are back with us! We were worried about you!"

Rylan and Sakura ceased their argument, and stood next to Moka. They both looked down at Tsukune with big smiles. Tsukune noticed that Sensei Rylan had a couple of small bandages, but otherwise was in decent shape. The vampire grinned. "I'm proud of all of you. Those abominations are extremely difficult for even the most powerful creatures like Sakura and I to take on successfully. The fact that all of you managed to survive that encounter says many things about your collective strength of will."

Tsukune smiled weakly. "I didn't really do that much, sensei. I was basically nothing more than a monster's well practiced punching bag."

Rylan fingered one of his bandages and grimaced painfully. "Yeah, I completely understand that one, Tsukune. At least you did it with style, though!"

Tsukune laughed weakly, then coughed. His sides still ached and throbbed with every breath he took. It worried him that he couldn't really feel his arm that was broken during the fight. His worry must have showed, since Sakura reached down and gently moved a clump of unruly hair out of his face. "You will be fine, Tsukune. It is true that you were in horrible shape when we brought you in here. However, that special blood that pumps through your veins now is helping to heal you very quickly."

Tsukune grimaced, then lightly touched Sakura's hand. "Sensei? Just who are you and Rylan, really? I know that I don't have a lot of experience in the monster world, but both of you seem to be unusually powerful monsters even in this school!"

Sakura lightly took Tsukune's hand and squeezed it gently before she released it. She stepped back and stood next to Rylan. She gave him a questioning look, and he sighed loudly. Rylan ran a hand through his raven colored hair. "All right, all right. After yesterday, I would say you have earned the right to know everything about the truth that we can tell you." He glanced up at Sakura. "Beloved, could you go collect Yukari from her class? I think she deserves to hear this, too."

Sakura nodded as she left the room. Rylan glanced over toward the other occupied beds. He smirked. "Alright Kurumu, Mizore. You both can quit faking that you're asleep and can come over here and join us. You obviously deserve to be in on this conversation, too."

Kurumu pulled her sheet back and sat up. "How did you know we were awake?"

Rylan grinned broadly and rolled his eyes with good humor. Mizore was already up, but she was really unsteady on her feet. With some effort, she managed to make it to an unoccupied chair and heavily sat down. Kurumu looked at her worriedly. "Hey, snow skank! Are you feeling okay?"

Mizore grimaced before she gave the succubus an annoyed look. "Of course I am. I always move around like I just took several shots of tequila."

Kurumu looked at her for a moment before she shrugged and gave up. She got up from the bed and stretched. She pulled up a chair beside Tsukune's bed and sat gently on it. She looked up at Rylan and smirked. "So, you are finally going to come clean, huh?"

The Yokai security vampire sighed unhappily. "Well, you will hear the truth. I don't know if there is that much that is 'clean' about it though." He briefly made eye contact with each one of them. "I just hope that you don't think less of Sakura and myself when you hear this. We are genuinely fond of all of you, and that is the truth."

XXX

Yukari was quite surprised when Sensei Asaka came and collected her from class. She followed her with some hesitation, but she relaxed when she saw that the elder vampire led her toward the Yokai clinic. She grinned brightly when she saw that Tsukune was awake. Much to her delight, everyone was gathered there and apparently waited for her. Her smile faltered some when she saw how serious they looked, though. What on earth could be going on?

Rylan smiled at Yukari. "Good Morning, little one." He gestured toward everyone. "Both Sakura and I reluctantly agreed it was time to tell you all the truth of what is going behind the scenes. After that skirmish with the Oni Sentinels yesterday, you deserve to know everything."

Yukari looked worried, but felt better when Sakura pulled up a chair for her. She obediently sat down, and intently watched the pair of elder vampires. They kept glancing at each other, hoping that the other would start the conversation off. Everyone turned and looked at Kurumu when she sighed loudly in frustration.

"Come on you two! Out with it! What were those horrible things that we fought against yesterday? What was with your appearance, Sensei?"

Rylan chuckled as he ran a hand through his hair again. "Well, I guess I get to start this off. As expected, Kurumu, you are quite the impatient one! My apologies on dragging this out, this is privileged information that is not to be disclosed to anyone. It must stay within the walls of this office. There is not anyone here on staff, save for the Director that truly knows who we really are and what is going on."

Sakura gazed intently at Moka. "Moka, have you ever heard of an organization called the Night Raven Council?"

Moka chewed her lip and looked pensive. After a moment, she shook her head lightly. "I may have heard that name somewhere before, but I can't place exactly where it could have been."

Rylan smiled gently. "There is a good reason for that, Moka. We prefer to keep to the shadows, since it usually attracts less attention. With most respects, the Night Raven Council is the largest governing body here in the monster world. It mostly deals with creating, interpreting, and enforcing the laws that govern the monster world. The decisions made in the Council are binding and affect everyone who is here in the monster world."

Tsukune felt something click into place. "So, it works kind of like the way we run the student council here at Yokai Academy?"

Rylan grinned and winked. "Yeah, that is a rather simplistic way of looking at it. That is a rather reasonable comparison, Tsukune. Yes, it can be thought of that way. Of course, the main difference is that decisions and rules decided within the Council send ripples throughout the monster world. There are even occasions where it sometimes extends outside our realm and into the human world."

Sakura noticed Tsukune grimaced a few times with pain. She went to her desk and grabbed a thermos of tea and a clean cup. As she walked over to them again, she opened the thermos and poured some of the tea into the cup. She gently handed it to Moka, and Sakura gestured it toward Tsukune. Moka handed it to Tsukune who took it with his good hand. The elder vampire smiled at him. "Drink that, Tsukune. It will help with the pain."

Tsukune nodded and took a sip. He grimaced a little at the taste, but took another cautious sip. He then looked up at the elder vampires. "You were saying?"

Sakura nodded. "The Council was formed by representatives of the most powerful creatures in our world well over a millennium ago. There were great upheavals and chaos in both worlds during that era. It took quite a while, but eventually those in the monster world respected the authority of the Council and what we represented. One of our first official acts was to commission the creation of the great barrier that separated the monster world from the human one. It was meant to ease tensions, and allowed for protection of both parties."

"Those of us that are on the Council have been extended powers above and beyond any of the other agencies within the monster world. We were the ones that extended the olive branch of peace toward the humans and their version of the Council. The Illuminati were not happy at first with us, but after all the bloodshed they learned eventually that it was better this way."

Rylan scratched the back of his head. "While the separation of the worlds has worked rather well, there have been…occasional problems. Even though both worlds are supposed to be kept separate, there was a special concession made. It was the necessary allowance of an always available connection between the two worlds. A bridge of sorts, if you would."

Tsukune's eyes brightened in recognition. "That strange tunnel that I traveled through to get here to Yokai Academy! So that means that the bus driver…"

Rylan nodded. "Yes. He is one of our agents of the Council. As is the Director of this very academy." He glanced meaningfully at Moka. "As is Issa Shuzen."

Moka gasped in shock. "My father?"

Sakura smiled. "The very one. The Dark Lords function as a kind of intelligence group for the Council. They are our eyes and ears out in the both the monster and human worlds. They are the visible extensions of the Council."

Kurumu looked uncomfortable. "So, you use them as your spies?"

Rylan nodded once, though he lightly frowned. "In a matter of speaking. They keep an eye on things, but normally don't intercede unless the situation warrants a necessary response. As powerful as the Night Raven Council is, we do not know everything all the time." He now smirked. "Despite what rumors and whispers circulated have implied."

Tsukune shook his head. "This is all intently fascinating, but what does all of this have to do with me? Why were those things so intent on capturing me? What could I have done that angered someone so much?"

Sakura formally bright expression now turned dark. "The agenda within the Council is not always harmonious, Tsukune. From its founding, there are those that serve on the Council that want humans dead or subjected to our rule. They have thankfully been in the minority for a long time. The problem is that their strength has gained a more serious following with the defection of two of the Raven Lords to their cause."

Mizore cocked her head. "Who are these actual 'Raven Lords' that you speak of?"

Rylan played with the rosary seal that dangled off his wrist bracelet. "We that make up the Raven Lords are the most senior members of the Night Raven Council. There are a total of ten Raven Lords that lead the Council." He glanced over at Sakura who briefly smiled at him. "Sakura and I are the two most senior Raven Lords on the Council. We are the ones that are the loudest proponents for peaceful coexistence with humanity. We are loudly opposed on this point of view by a Raven Lord named William Burnhart. He and his mate, Lady Mizuki, want the destruction and subjugation of humanity."

Tsukune chewed his lip in thought. "Those are two diametrically opposed points of view."

Sakura snorted loudly. "Yeah, no kidding. He wasn't this bad until his daughter was murdered in the human world several centuries ago."

Tsukune's eyes widened. "His daughter was murdered? In the human world? Why?"

Rylan looked away for a moment, a light blush touched his cheeks. "It was my fault it happened. I didn't watch out for her as I should have. I didn't keep her desires and, uh, 'appetites' under tight enough control."

Kurumu looked puzzled. "What do you mean, sensei?"

The Yokai security vampire grimaced. "Even as a vampire, she was considered to be rather bloodthirsty by others of us. She set herself up as a noble woman in the human world. When Countess Elizabeth decided that she rather not keep her last name of 'Burnhart', she decided to have it changed to Bathory."

Tsukune's jaw dropped. He remembered that name even from history in the human world. "Elizabeth Bathory? The 'Bloody Countess' of Hungary?"

Sakura grimaced. "Oh yeah, they were the one and the same."

Tsukune whistled. "No wonder Lord Burnhart hates humans so much." He glanced up at Rylan. "Is that why he hates me so much? Just because I happen to be a human here at Yokai Academy?"

Rylan shook his head. "No Tsukune, I am afraid that it runs much deeper than that. He believes that humans are beneath vampires in the social order, that they are nothing more than trash or scum. He was both shocked and appalled when you stood up to Dark Lord Shuzen to get the rosary for Moka."

Tsukune's eyes lowered to the sheet on his bed. "So he heard about that." He said quietly.

The elder vampire chuckled darkly. "Everyone within the monster world heard about it, Tsukune." He glanced at the boy for a moment. "I admit that I was quite surprised when I found out, but I couldn't help but smile."

Tsukune looked up. "Why would you smile about that?"

Rylan shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing in particular. Maybe the fact that a human had the balls to do something that most monsters wouldn't have tried. Perhaps it was the fact that one of our extended family had returned to the beginning."

The former human gazed at Rylan. "What do you mean, sensei? What do you mean 'extended family' returned to the beginning?"

Sakura grinned at Tsukune. "Tsukune, haven't you ever wondered why you have so much appeal here in the monster world? You have quite the collection after you: a vampire, snow woman, succubus, and a witch. It hadn't struck you the least bit odd that not long after you had blood given to you by a vampire that you suddenly developed powers that were nearly on equal standing with a vampire lord?"

Tsukune chewed his lip in thought. "Well, I have been rather surprised by my abilities." He gulped what was left of his tea, and grimaced. Moka reached for the cup and he handed it to her. "Thank you, Moka." He briefly smiled at her before he turned back to Sakura. "Since you seem to know, please tell me."

Rylan coughed discreetly against the back of his hand. "You know that Sakura and I have a daughter, correct?"

Tsukune nodded. "I believe I may have heard that somewhere, yes. What does that have to do with me?"

Ryland grinned. "I think you will know of her rather well. Her name at birth was Haruna Asaka. When she came of age, she decided that she wanted to explore the human world for a while. We gave her our blessing, and she departed soon after. We didn't hear much from her for a few years, until we received a special letter from her."

Sakura face palmed. "You couldn't imagine our surprise when she told us that she had fallen in love when she was there in the human world. It wasn't just that she fell in love, but was already married by the time the letter finally reached us here."

Kurumu blinked. "Wow. That sounds like something I would choose if I wanted to do something that I didn't want my mother to object to."

Rylan scratched the back of his head. "Well, you aren't too far off, Kurumu. You see, when the letter was finally delivered to us, there had already been a name change."

Tsukune shook his head. "So her name changed, what is the big deal with it?"

Rylan chuckled and grinned brightly. "Let me put it this way, Tsukune. Her name is Haruna Aono. Does the name sound rather familiar?"

Despite the pain of his injuries, Tsukune sat bolt-upright in the bed. His eyes were wide with apparent recognition. "You mean she is my great-grandmother?"