Disclaimer: I do not own Rosario + Vampire, nor do I make any money from the writing of this story. Just don't copy from this and I won't have to hunt you down!

Author's Notes: Yeah... seems like my story's failing as my first attempt at fiction. So, after a few more chapters, monitoring response, I'll either put this one on hiatus and start the new one I've thought up – no spoilers – or continue this one, depending on what you guys want. And maybe I'll return to this if I feel it necessary. Well, here's my latest chapter for your thoughts. Either way, always enjoy the pure happiness that is reading. Sincerely, Vincent.

It turned out that Tsukune's vampiric healing had done a better job than they had originally thought, especially Tsukune, and when the group made it to the infirmary they kicked him out with a complimentary blood bag to accelerate the healing. Even as they went off to their dorms, his chest already felt almost fully recuperated. He was mystified, but gratified, as well. It wasn't every day that what once would have been a month or more in the hospital was just a couple of hours and some food.

The next day, a rested Tsukune (without the damn dreams, for once) and the gang met up before homeroom, starting their little routine squabble before heading to class. It seemed as if everything was going to be as normal as it could possibly get, except for Tsukune's frighteningly drastic change in appearance. All of them thought better of him for it, but it still sent the other freshman on edge, seeing as even though his aura had a mild benevolence to it, he was still an S-class vampire and therefore one not to be trusted. A certain pair of eyes watched him specifically (well, gave him more or less attention than the girls), tracking his path and how he went about his day.

Later, Tsukune and Moka were walking along, sipping tomato juice as they went. The day seemed pretty normal, except for a few challenges by other brave freshman, but all was well. That, of course, changed when a handsome and tall upper classman walked up to them, brandishing a bouquet of flowers.

"Why, hello there, Akashiya-san, Aono-san," he said, flashing his teeth and putting a cool gaze on Moka. "My name is Morioka Ginei, and I am honored to be in your presence. Please, accept these flowers that I hand-picked for you." Moka took them, albeit only out of courtesy, while a small tic mark had appeared on Tsukune's eyebrow. "Would you care to sit with me for lunch today? Say, on the rooftop?" Laying on the charm even more, his eyes almost doubled in size and he couldn't show more teeth if he had a mouth full of them.

"I... I-," Moka stuttered, unsure how to respond.

"No thank you, senpai," Tsukune interrupted, menace barely veiled underneath the polite statement. At his intervention, Ginei's glowing smile chilled and his gaze turned condescending as his eyes went to Tsukune's. "Moka-san already has many friends that are counting on her to keep them company at our table." As an afterthought, he added, "But you may join, if you wish. There is... always room for more."

Caught in a corner, Ginei put his flashy smile on display once again, kindly thanking him and retreating to a nearby bathroom. Moka was stunned (while an irate Inner Moka fumed over Tsukune's assumptions, regardless of how true they were), but Tsukune was still frustrated over the deal. "Tsukune, who was that? I haven't seen him anywhere before," Moka asked.

"I think that was the school's newspaper club president," he replied, albeit with that underlying anger still laced through his voice. Apparently he didn't like random strangers being so brash with his Moka-san. "But I don't like the look of him. Sorry if I was a little rude."

Moka wasn't in the least offended, but they did head to the roof as Ginei had suggested, wanting to see how it was to eat up there. Besides, Mizore and Kurumu were nowhere to be seen. Mizore was understandable, but Kurumu too... something was a little odd. The two didn't care for it at the moment, so they simply ate their meal, staring over the railing at the vast expanse of dead forest. To the left, they could see the odd red sea, going out for kilometers on end. To the right, they could see the tunnel where the bus driver came and went.

"It sure is a beautiful sight, huh?" Tsukune commented absentmindedly. He was staring off at the sea, seemingly entranced by the undulating water. Moka peeked at him through her peripheral vision, wondering what was on his mind. Even now, she was enrapt by the way the sun shone off his now silver hair, and how it appeared to be flowing aluminum when the breeze took it. He was never this serious, and it cast a mysterious aura on the normally kind and gentle boy. He had gone through so much in so little time, from nearly being killed to becoming a vampire. She wondered about how they themselves were going along, and how both Kurumu and Mizore both vie for his attention every day. It seems that, the more time that passes, the more enrapt the three were with the boy whose name was Tsukune. Even through his ghoulish stage, he had tried his very best to maintain that ironclad calm, and it very rarely showed cracks. But it was showing now, in the (seemingly) absence of everyone else. He was more relaxed around her, as she had noted many times, and it brought his guard down.

When she thought about how much he had went through for the sake of them, she just smiled to herself, amazed that a human could bear so much and remain happy. Their reverie was broken by Tsukune's rumbling stomach, making the moment awkward. Moka just blushed while Tsukune fumbled around. He had stopped eating in his intense thoughts, and physical food was not enough to sustain a vampire. He finally pulled the blood bag out of his blazer pocket, warmed by his own body heat.

"Tsukune-san, do you regret coming here?" came Moka's query out of the blue.

When she saw his jaw stiffen ever so slightly, she instantly, regretted asking. But she did not expect a laugh.

"Well, that's a hard question to answer, Moka-san," he started. "At first, my only thoughts were about getting transfer papers to go to a normal human school. But when I met you," he said, noticing Moka's downcast eyes, "everything became so much better. I could manage classes much better without fear, and I finally felt like I could make it here. After all, if I had made friends with one of them, not all of them could be bad, right?" A melancholic smile had formed on his face. And for the first time, she noticed the planes of his face were also much more defined. But it was not just the transformation that had caused those lines running throughout his not-so-boyish face. "When Saizou first attacked me, I didn't know what to think. Would I die? Barely escape with my life? Or worse, be discovered? I didn't know. But when you ran down that hill to get to my side, I knew, no, felt that everything would be all right, and that it wouldn't matter if I wasn't good enough to do anything against even one of the weaker monsters. I have to admit, the other Moka-san scared the living hell out of me at first, but I was dazed, close to passing out, and didn't know who she was. I was a frail human, groping to stay alive, and the thought of real monsters fighting me and for me was worse than going to any sort of prison. But..." Inner Moka had listened to all of this, feeling sympathy at first and then becoming wary, angry even, when he mentioned the fight with Saizou. Moka only kept listening intently. "Now I know that Inner Moka-sama... Outer Moka-san... it makes no difference. When your other self saved me from that beast, I knew that Moka-san was Moka-san, no Inner or Outer. I care for both equally, and I would do anything to protect them."

Inner Moka's eyes went wide with shock, completely taken aback that he would say such a thing. Her eyes softened, not entirely against the idea that this human – no, a vampire – would care for her so deeply as to protect her against all circumstances. Outer Moka just smiled warmly, touched that her best friend would proffer his feelings so openly to her. And still he continued. "But when the ghoul started rearing its ugly head, I didn't know what to do. Its voice was so maddening, so rampant and angry that it took all I had to stop myself from doing something rash. Even Mizore and Kurumu couldn't break the overwhelming static of the ghoul's rants. You three are my only friends in a whole school who would be eager to beat me down just for what I look like and who I am, and I couldn't break the ghoul's hold over me. When that jerk, Moburu, attacked me, I was too angry, too weak, to do anything but take his assault and give in to the ghoul's demands. I probably would have died if I hadn't, anyway – In fact, I think I did die, just for a few seconds – so what else did I have to lose? I was beaten, tired, and under constant duress from a monster within my own soul. And when I lost control, when the animal I had become was finally released, I was powerless to stop it. I was bound by restraints of my own machinations. The only thing, I think, that kept it from harming anyone other than Moburu was my ingrained desire to keep you three safe. It would cause me pain of untold measure if I had been the one to harm any of you."

When the last word escaped his mouth, a single tear formed on his cheek, thick, but lone. It swelled, then made a quick track down the rest of his face. Moka hadn't known just how deeply he hated himself for what had happened to him. It probably wasn't even in him to blame her for injecting too much blood into him at once. It just wasn't his nature. She slowly reached over and wiped away the singular tear, surprising him. When he turned his head to look at her for the first time since his spiel, she just smiled a warm smile and silently urged him to go on.

"And when Kurumu used her powers to help me escape from the ghoul's imprisonment, I was so... grateful, that I didn't know how to thank her. I still don't know how to thank her. She was the one who saved me from destroying the whole school, and I am completely in debt to her." Little did he know both the succubus and the snow woman were both watching him from the inner railing, barely poking their heads over the side. They were standing on a platform of ice that Mizore had made. Forming your own steps had its advantages, especially when it came to stalking.

"Now that I'm a vampire, I don't know how to break it to my family – what would they say? I'm a monster out of legend – and I'm one of the most powerful monsters here. What do you do with all that power? What is it for? Does the school really have to be so barbaric as to establish dominance by physical violence? Anyway, that's a lot of I don't knows, and I intend to figure out a good deal of them before the semester ends."

He turned his ruby eyes to her emerald ones, searching them for something. Reprieve? Acceptance? Something else? She didn't know. But he wasn't finished yet. "As to your question, I ultimately don't regret coming here. Not one bit. For if I hadn't, I wouldn't have met you, Moka-san. Or Mizore-san, or Kurumu-san, or any of the weird teachers here, or the headmaster. And for that, Moka-san, I wouldn't trade it for the last bit of humanity in my body."

The finisher left her, and their stalkers, speechless, and ultimately endeared by his heartfelt speech. Moka slowly, even more so than before, wrapped her arms around Tsukune's statuesque form, offering her feelings through the comforting embrace. He stiffened, predictably, becoming totally rigid, but after a moment or two he merely melted into her. Realizing his place, though, he put an arm around her as well, two friends offering their warmth and strength through simple contact. After another moment or two, Moka motioned for Tsukune to remove her rosary, as her Inner self wanted to speak to her. The resulting explosion of supernatural energy accidentally blew Tsukune over, but he was fine. Even sitting down, she was regal and debonair in all aspects, seeming to look down on Tsukune even though he was of the same race as she.

After a second or two of staring into his similar snake-like ruby orbs, her gaze softened more than it ever had before. Tsukune was apprehensive at first, as Inner Moka never showed signs of letting her guard down. "Come here, Tsukune," she said softly, that underlay of authority still running lightly through her voice. Hesitant at first, but fearful of retribution, he slowly sidled over to sit right beside her. Before he knew it, a pale and (seemingly) delicate hand came to rest on top of his. A quick jerk of his head brought his eyes to meet hers, an unspoken question ringing in the deep ruby irises, one that she read, and answered, perfectly. She took it further, bringing up her other arm and lifting the first to cautiously (and nervously?) wrap her arms around Tsukune's rigid form. He had no idea what to expect, and being hugged by Inner Moka was definitely not what he had thought would happen. His own arms tentatively placed themselves on her own back, holding her flush against his muscular torso. They could each feel the intensity of their auras, and how they seemed to fit with each other as two pieces of a puzzle would.

"She loves you, you know," came her near-silent remark. She was still unsure of how to go about such an intimate display of comfort. Tsukune stiffened once again. He didn't specifically know who she was talking about, until she clarified; "When she first met you, she was ecstatic to find her first friend that didn't shun her for what she was. She was only a lonely girl looking for someone who could understand her. And when you came along, a weak and bumbling human, who would she find but the one person who would accept her among the first race to ostracize her. For that, Tsukune, I thank you. And now that you're a vampire..." she didn't finish. She simply didn't know how to. To remark on Omote's feelings were child's play; to openly admit her own, regardless of the only recipients being her only friends (yes, she had already noticed them after their youki flared slightly in response to their hug). She wasn't raised to be a normal Japanese girl; she was raised as a regal and powerful vampire, one to be respected above all else, and nothing more. For this Aono boy to disregard all of that and accept her for her... well, she didn't know how to handle it. So she left the sentence unfinished, and was content in squeezing him a little tighter. Normally her unthoughtful squeeze could've easily fractured his back, but now that he was a vampire it felt as normal as a girl's hug should be.

"I think I love you too, Moka-san," came an even softer reply. He was initially terrified of what her response would be, and rightly so. She had went rigid as soon as the word "love" had left his mouth. A sharp crack was kept at bay, though, when he continued. "Inner Moka-san, Outer Moka-san, they are both Moka-san to me, and I care for Moka-san so deeply that I wouldn't know what to do if I lost her. Please, you must understand. I care for you so much." He was physically trembling now. "And to think... to think that I could've hurt any of you... that I possibly may still hurt you... I hate myself for it. For succumbing to that evil... it's almost like having your core values stripped from your psyche and thrown into your face..."

Inner Moka could hear his near silent sobs, wracking his now powerful frame. Her eyes were wide with shock; Tsukune never cried. Not even when he had been beaten to a pulp by Moburu, nor nearly eviscerated by the lycan. "Tsukune..."

Mizore and Kurumu had decided to abandon their hiding spot, quickly making their way over to the crying Tsukune and the dumbstruck Inner Moka. The wild youki fluctuations going on around Tsukune were plenty indication of how he was feeling. The two silently offered their own warmth, equally embracing the other two within caring arms, forming a group hug that was comforting and relaxing at the same time. Tsukune felt at peace, even though he was breaking down. His family were here. Moka, his love, Mizore, his ever-supportive stoic stalker, and Kurumu, the most emotionally sensitive of the four. These were what made up their camaraderie, and it would not break for anything, be it monster, enemy, or whatever else dare encounter the friends whose bonds were forged through trial upon trial. And it had only been a few weeks.

X-X

Honestly, he felt like shit.

Moburu Kobayashi lay on a hospital bed, intravenous tubes running amok through his systems. What looked like morphine and some sort of medicine were being pumped into him through many of the various tubes all over his body. After his hefty defeat at the hands of Ghoul Tsukune, he had been unceremoniously dropped off in the school's infirmary, humiliated and broken. His back wound could still be felt considerably even through what must have been liters of morphine. The boy had done considerable damage to one of the best fighters of his family, even though he didn't unleash his true form. A feat not to be taken lightly, especially if all his attacks were brushed aside like feathers caressing his opponent's skin.

Still, he had to get out of here. Nothing could be accomplished lying in a bed. So, that left little choice but to heal himself the old fashioned way. Pooling a ball of his own demonic energy onto his chest, he gathered a significant amount until he deemed it enough and dispersed it through his chest. The demon energy carried a healing element to it, and any of his cells charged with it would regenerate nearly as fast a vampire's. Within an hour, he was fully recuperated, but tired, so he lay there, waiting until he was at full strength to tackle the problems mounted against him. He truly hadn't expected an alternate form to fight him, especially one with such power. Either way, he would wait, watch, and study his adversary until he was sure he could eliminate the boy with little trouble. Sure, the first attempt had been a reckless blowout, one of the most unprofessional works he had ever done. Seriously, who called running into the group, arms blazing, stealth? He had underestimated his opponent, plain and simple. Well, no more. He would do this the correct way, and Tsukune Aono would face his wrath, or he would die trying.

X-X

Aono Tsukune, the headmaster would like to see you in his office immediately at your convenience, the kanji read. Another request from Mikogami, it seemed. It was to be expected, after waltzing around as a vampire for the past half month or so. Tsukune and the gang had continued their school year as normal, going through fights at least every three days because of Tsukune's unrestrained power and trying to earn decent marks in all of their classes. Surprisingly, Tsukune had gotten much better at the subjects, and had co-taught the other two with Moka to help them in their cause. Over all, their entire group had prospered from coming to terms with their circumstances, and the general student populace around them knew it. Whenever they passed the four, it always seemed as if they were sending out a message that said, "If you mess with one of us, prepare to bring down hell upon yourself." Within the first half of the semester alone they had already made waves within the school, garnering attention from the staff (and the Student Police Committee, among others) and Mikogami himself. Two more weeks of rigorous training had left Tsukune, as well as Mizore and Kurumu, trained and ready to handle anything. The latter two, seeing Moka and Tsukune already making an excellent pair going at each other, decided to pair up, wanting to test how they could combine their strengths. When they brought the matter to Tsukune a week in, he eagerly accepted the idea and helped them practice various techniques to further their prowess. Within the last few days, they had grown remarkably closer to each other and have gone to calling themselves "The Black and White Duet," because of Mizore's white ice and Kurumu's black magics. Tsukune himself had advanced quickly, honing his already fine tuned battle instincts, as well as sharpening his reaction time. Once, he and Inner Moka had had a test of pure, raw power; they had decided to fully channel their power into their aura, trying to get them to see just how high their threshold was. Only a minute in, all movement had stopped as the two stood across from each other with two meters in between, their auras roaring around them. Agreeing on a gradual start, they had started off slow, then built with energy as each second passed. Tsukune admirably kept pace, dwarfing both Mizore's and Kurumu's in the two S-class cyclones of power. When they had reached the point where their ambient energy had started crumbling the ground around their feet and huge gusts of wind shook the far off trees, Tsukune's progress slowed, then halted. Inner Moka's kept on climbing steadily. It seemed as if there were no end to her power. After a minute, though, she had made her point and began the process of returning to normal. After all, maintaining that level of youki output was exceptionally draining, even for a vampire. Tsukune was left panting, while Inner Moka only had a sheen of sweat to account for her efforts. Seeing this, Tsukune vowed to get strong enough to match her someday, whatever the cost.

And not only has his overall combat skills improved; Inner Moka's Training of Doom (as the poor boy had come to call it) had enhanced his youki channeling ability, as well as sharpened his eyesight and hearing, taking full advantage of his readily available raw potential. Inner Moka deemed him to be powerful, certainly above most of the vampire clans' members, but not nearly enough to stand a chance against the lesser lords and the ruling family, the Shuzens. Of course, they were all still a bit unrefined, but with summer break fast approaching, they were sure to make enviable progress in the coming months. Inner Moka didn't tell Tsukune this, but she had noticed when she had driven him to his limit sometimes, she could see a nearly invisible taint of black on the edge of his ambient aura, reminiscent of the ghoul. It worried her, but he had shown no signs of its influence, and trusted him and Kurumu to have destroyed it for good.

Moburu had long since healed, and truly went the undercover route, posing as a student to keep an eye on the ever-changing boy. He had been able to transfer into at least two of his classes, much to the gang's distress, but he tried nothing else. They attributed it to his hefty defeat at the hands of Tsukune.

Ginei had come to pester Moka just about every day now, telling her that she ought to spend her time with people who were not so flashy and debonair as Tsukune was. Predictably, Moka was put off, while Tsukune simply butted him out of the way in as tact a move as possible. He was becoming quite a nuisance to the both of them, and Tsukune seemed to be having the limits of his kind nature tested again and again.

Kurumu, of course, knew about this, and was none too happy about it.

"Just who the hell does this guy think he is?!" she snapped. "Coming on to Moka like that! Sure, he's got some good looks... but he's more lecherous than an old coot ambling the streets!" Her eyes had narrowed, a now familiar look of seriousness plastered onto her pretty face.

"It's okay, honestly!" Moka said, waving her hands and trying to calm her down. "Tsukune-san here keeps him away! Isn't that right, Tsukune-san?"

The boy had predictably rubbed the back of his head, unsure of how to respond. Mizore chose that moment to speak, saying how she always seems to notice him walking around with a camera near the girls' dorms. Everyone sweat dropped, still unused to Mizore's bluntness. Tsukune just smiled, and continued on as normal.

That was a couple of days ago, though, and this letter was here, now, and demanding his presence. Truthfully, Headmaster Mikogami scared the living hell out of him, but a summons was not to be ignored. So, in between classes, he left to go to the office. And, of course, it was a creepy as it was the first time, especially the headmaster just... sitting there, peering at him from under his priestly hood with those glowing eyes. A vampire he may be, but he was not immune to the odd man.

"Why hello again, Aono-kun. Having fun, are we?" Mikogami stated calmly, that ever present smile that said I know more than you ever will and I enjoy it immensely on his face.

"Y-yes sir. I have made quite a few friends here, and I quite like it."

"That's good to hear, son. But the problem is, you can't just go prancing around campus unsealed. Do you know how much more work you gave the nurses these past few weeks?" Tsukune bowed his head guiltily. He had honestly lost track of all the thick headed freshman who had challenged him, the unsealed vampire, for the last two weeks and efficiently sent them to the infirmary, but with no broken bones. It wasn't his fault, anyway! They were the ones who challenged him!

Mikogami read his silent expression like a picture book and went on. "In any case, it is against the school rules to remain in your true form, and thus I have crafted you a sealing component, seeing as you lack the resources required to acquire or make one yourself." Reaching under his desk, he brought up a bracer that looked to be straight out of the Italian Renaissance. But when he turned it over to reveal the small, silver holy cross with an obsidian gem embedded in the underside, it all made sense to him. It was a fashionable alternative to Moka's own rosary, but still served the same purpose. The only problem was, the three medium sized leather clasps on the side weren't exactly easy to remove in a hurry, until the Exorcist explained; "Don't worry about physically removing it; I knew a bracer could be... cumbersome to remove, so I enchanted the inner side of the leather to read your youki flow and react accordingly. If you draw too much, your true form will reveal itself, as the enchantment will let the energy bypass the seal. But if you draw too much too quickly... the bracer itself will act as a dam to restrict the overflow so the cross won't break. A handsome work of craftsmanship, if I say so myself. Here, try it on." He offered the bracer to Tsukune, careful not to touch the inside, and encouraged him to put it on. Tsukune pulled back his sleeve and laid the side of his arm on the inner portion. As soon as his skin made contact, the rosary started glowing slightly while his skin started to heat up. "I didn't touch the inside because it will automatically calibrate to your unique youki signature as soon as it comes into contact with it. Also clever, if I do say so myself. Which I do." He was being an egotistical bastard today, but Tsukune just brushed it off. One clasp, nothing. Two clasps, and he definitely felt something going on. Three clasps... a wrenching feeling wreaked havoc on his gut, as it seemed the warmth from his very veins drained into the powerful limiter on his arm. The skin around the bracer started bleeding a healthy tan, and the horrible feeling in his gut worsened. He fell to his knees, unused to the feeling of being held back. Bit by bit, his entire body bled into the normal tan it was before, as his eyes reverted to their normal chocolate brown and his hair returned to the less uniform brown it was when he first arrived at the school. When he was offered a mirror, he was stunned to see the original meek boy staring at him from the glass. Well, not too meek. His physique was much less defined, but he was no weakling any longer. He guessed at his current level of strength, he could put up a fight, but wouldn't be able to do much damage to more serious adversaries.

"I would be careful with that, if I were you," the Exorcist remarked. "That wasn't cheap to make, and I will not provide you another should it break. If you need to unleash your inner demon, please try and remove it first. This isn't my first attempt, but it's definitely not the most refined. You are dismissed." He started chuckling a little, still proud of his handiwork, as he waved a hand in a "shoo" gesture, those creepy glowing eyes seeming to bore into his back all the way. "Oh, and Tsukune-kun?" He turned, wary of what the creepy man might say next. "That wasn't free. You owe me a favor."

X-X

Of course, the girls were all extremely surprised to see Tsukune as he had been when they first met him walking down the aisle of desks as he returned to math class. Thankfully, no one tracked him with their curious eyes when he entered as they had before when he was unsealed. He was glad that he wasn't paid any undue attention. Maybe he could go a week without getting into a dozen fights because of a few knuckleheads wanting to prove their might. The girls, Kurumu especially, starting whispering excitedly, curious as to how he had reverted to normal. Explanations were in order, and he would give them a good one when lunch came around.

The rest of the class and the next one passed in relative unease, as they were all eager to be let in on the phenomenon and Tsukune was eager to show them his new piece of apparel. But Gin, who was in their last class before lunch, got to him first. "Hey, Tsukune, what's with the new look? Got bored of the attention you were getting?" He was standing next to Tsukune's desk, having appeared next to him before he could avert the nasty situation. You could say Gin was a little jealous, seeing as a good deal of girls that the sophomore regularly spied on had fawned over the unsealed vampire. "Either way, you should stop by the back of the boys' dorms tonight. I have something important I need to show you." And with that, he left, presumably to go to the bathroom. Before he could think about what Ginei had just said, the bell rang, signaling that lunch had started. Confused, he and the girls just headed to the cafeteria as if nothing had happened. After all, there were more important matters to attend to.

"So what's the deal, huh? You're all... human looking, again!" Kurumu gushed as she commented on Tsukune's reverted appearance.

"Well, you see... when the headmaster called me down, he gave me this bracer..." he slides up his sleeve to show off the new item, "that seals my powers. Kind of like Moka-san's, here, but I can release my true self at will. All I have to do is call upon my energy in a controlled manner and I will be released. Want to see after school?"

Moka was regretful that he had to be sealed, but she knew it was for the best. In contrast, however, Mizore and Kurumu (although liking the look of the brown leather bracer) hated it. He honestly looked much sexier to them in his full vampiric glory.

"I'd love to see how it works, Tsukune-kun," Mizore said, her always soft voice making itself known. Moka voiced her desire to see it in action as well, and Kurumu just wanted to tag along to enjoy the ride. She personally didn't care for the thing if it meant Tsukune couldn't be a vampire all the time, but when he explained that he had to wear it or basically be expelled, her rebuttals were cut short.

In the last class, Moburu was curious as to how Tsukune had taken the appearance of a human form, but let it go. He couldn't do anything about it at the moment. He'd follow him after school.

X-X

After an hour of messing with flutes for no foreseeable reason, the final bell eventually rang, dismissing students for the day. The gang walked out the front gate, talking amicably and commenting on the various events of the day. They waited patiently for him to show them how his bracer works, but he seemed hesitant to start. Eventually, he stopped, with the girls gathering round.

"You guys might want to back up for this," he warned. "I don't exactly know how this works. Luckily my training with Inner Moka has helped me with youki channeling. Okay, here goes..." He held his arm up, revealing the brown bracer, the silver cross facing him. He stood erect, other arm to the side and feet spaced, rigid as he searched for the demonic energy within himself. He felt it, deep within his core – it seemed to originate from his heart, oddly enough. Reaching down to expand that feeling of energy, he forced it to bend to his will, bringing forth an inkling of energy. It wasn't enough to bypass the seal yet, so he kept going. The more he drew, the hotter the cross got, and he was panting now. Almost there...

It appeared as if he couldn't draw any more from within himself lest he tire himself out when he felt a give in the seal. It felt like the chains of a large and intricate lock were unraveling around his body, with the thickest of the coils resting on his arm where the bracer was. To an amazed Moka, Mizore, and Kurumu, a whirlwind was slowly taking form around Tsukune's feet. They could see the faint twinges of youki appearing around him, reminiscent of his true vampire aura. And then the whole thing yielded with sudden force; the dam had been opened in Tsukune's core, and the energy flowed freely. It seemed that the enchantment on the bracer had a limit he would have to draw to breach it, but when he did, it formed a layer of energy between himself and the actual limiter using the youki he had brought forth. Clever bastard.

The resulting explosion of Tsukune's true aura was similar to Inner Moka's, but nowhere near as grand. Chocolate eyes twisted into red and slitted reptilian orbs, and brown, unkempt hair flowed with new energy as it bled a gleaming silver. His skin pallor drained into itself, leaving his skin looking like ivory.

"Well great, the Exorcist forgot to tell me how to reseal myself," Tsukune sighed after a moment of reveling in his unrestrained energy. It felt like the rush you got from drinking a half gallon of soda, but felt pure and never went away. But it was all for naught if he couldn't reverse the process and appear human. He didn't particularly feel like figuring out how right away, anyway, so he bid his friends goodbye and left for the boys' dorms, wary of what Ginei had wanted to show him. His instincts were telling him it could be nothing good.

He made it behind the dorms, but the upper classman was nowhere to be found. A sigh escaping him, he sat on a nearby dead tree stump and decided to wait for him. He didn't know it would be hours before Morioka finally showed up. By that time, the bright red moon had nearly fully risen in the sky, providing plenty of light to see by.

"Well well. I honestly didn't expect you to wait for me. How kind. Then again, everyone knows that's your thing." Ginei Morioka appeared from behind the vampire, a smirk playing across his face.

"What took you so long?!" Tsukune snapped. He was all right with waiting a bit, but hours?! It was freaking ridiculous!

"Oh, I had business to take care of. It's of no importance to you, though. Ever since you started flashing your youki like it was nothing, my girls have been drooling over you like a piece of meat. It is completely unacceptable! And for that, you must pay..."

Bells were going off in Tsukune's head by this point. True to form, the sophomore had hunched over, fur starting to sprout from his back. Within seconds, he had transformed into a towering wolf with a hairstyle similar to his human form's gelled do. But this was no lycan. This guy was shorter, but his skin was pale, nowhere near the dark skin of the other wolf demon he had fought. He also seemed to glow in the pale moonlight. That could only mean one thing; this was a true werewolf, an S-class monster every bit as powerful as a vampire.

A/N: Oh, and two words hinting at next chapter; Majin Form. Food for thought. Either way, I hope you enjoyed my story so far. PM me if you have any questions as to where I'm taking this or why I wrote something a certain way. Addio, my friends. Vincent.