Take What Is Yours
Ch 10 Three Simple Words
Aono Tsukune had never felt as sated or as satisfied as he did waking up that moment.
This moment was something he would have assumed what cats enjoyed after gorging themselves on milk and several canaries while enjoying a long nap in a padded chair by the fireplace. Slowly getting to his feet, he felt his bones pop back into place and tendons stretched out as he yawned. Rested, he felt whole and more at peace than he had in a long while.
Then he looked around.
Everywhere his eyes turned there were beautiful women lying there on the stone floor. It was something straight out of a historical depiction of a roman orgy or a porn flick for modern times. Like some kind of aftermath reality show of eroticism brought to life, everywhere he looked was a writhing testament to his virility and talents as a man. Here, there, and all about were women of breath taking beauty in all manner of undress laying crumpled with bewildered yet satisfied expressions on their flawless faces.
He had done this.
Snow Maidens, Yukki-onna, were panting or sighing as some still slept. They were creatures of legendary grace and beauty who had inspired Japanese poets and story tellers for countless generations. Each and every one of them was a priceless gem, and he'd had them. He'd consumed them one after the other, the way a hungry man might have gone through a gorging at a buffet after starving for years on end. They hadn't been people to him or individuals; they'd just been carnal toys: play things to satisfy his need for revenge. In one night, a dozen gorgeous women had all been his. It had been an experience most men would kill for, and very few would ever actually have. It was something Lord Akashiya experienced regularly, but that Tsukune had never thought or even wanted to happen to him.
Thinking back to his Academy days, four had seemed far too many and they were just very close friends at most.
He would like to say his darker inner voice had spurred him to act as such, but that would be a false hood. His desire was just to take Mizore, his friend, beloved, white as snow to the flower fields and give her a child, but his inner darkness was convincing and seductively whispered to him that he needed more, he deserved more, and…what was available to take was offered in abundance.
Who was he to deny them?
While the last bit of control was, ultimately, his, it had assured him that this was the reason they were here and that he was honoring them with not just a vampire's seed, but that of a friends to their people. They had come to this place for the sole purpose of becoming pregnant and he had ensured that each and every one of these fair maidens of the snow would carry his child.
Except for one.
Stirring at his feet a, winded voice from his last conquest spoke through a pair of bruised lips to catch his attention. "Tsukune…kun…"
Kneeling, he took Tsurara's hand into his own and traced his lips with her knuckles. "Yes, Tsurara-sama?"
Her elegant yukata was torn open at her front, barely held together at her waist by the loosened obi. The discarded panties were lying within hands reach. He vaguely remembered ripping them off with his bare hands, causing some chafe marks at her hip.
Beautiful smooth breasts were in plain view and he took an appreciative glance at them, then at the darker azure patch of pubic hair between her legs before focusing on her seeking gaze.
Oddly it was only now that he realized he was kneeling before her naked, and it made him self conscious.
Tsurara's eyes glanced down and her mouth twitched, as if to say that he had no problem being naked not so long ago.
"Still so formal with me, Tsukune-kun?" Tsurara's sly half smile and elegant voice reminded him of the first time they'd met. It had been at the cultural festival of the Academy during his first year. From the beginning he had thought her an elegant and graceful woman.
When he ravaged her she had maintained that statuesque image even through out her throes of ecstasy.
Reaching for the small pieces of underclothes with her fingers, dangling them between her and him, she teased him with a demure smile, "Really? I think it's safe to think we have evolved from you and I calling each other 'san', Tsukune-kun."
Tsukiune flinched.
That blatant and carefree honesty was a trait that Mizore shared with her mother and one that also reminded him of their first meeting.
"About that, I'm sorry." He mumbled. He spotted his clothes scattered on the floor behind him and hurriedly put them on.
Tsurara waited patiently as though this were somehow an ordinary event. When he was at last dressed, she spoke.
"Last night wasn't you. Was it, Tsukune?"
Tsukune shook his head looking shame faced.
"No it wasn't, Tsurara-chan."
He was reexamining the other snow maidens. There was even the tiniest bit of shock to see the results of his untold hours of play. There were bruises, scratches and even some blood. He really had just treated them all like his toys while using their purpose here for an excuse to be as relentless as possible to release his pent up aggressions.
That wasn't him. He had NEVER been the sort of man to just use people, especially women.
Yet… it had been him.
The details were fuzzy but he couldn't pretend he had given himself up completely. At some point last night, he had made the deliberate decision to just do as he pleased and not care about anything else. There were circumstances, but it had been him.
"Why did you do this?" Tsurara asked simply. It was just a question with a gesture of her hand towards all of the female bodies about.
It was not a condemnation.
Why did I, he wondered. All he could think of was how much he'd wanted to sever the bonds he'd had with Moka.
At least, that was what his inner voice had told him. Everything had been offered to him on a silver platter, and he'd made the decision to take it without worrying about the consequences.
Opening his mouth, Tsukune had the reasons on the tip of his tongue to tell Tsurara about Moka's betrayal, about Gin's all too eager assistance, about those moments at the academy with Ruby and all the trials of putting his beloved Moka in the past and his decision to do what he could to help all of his friends in any way possible.
Yet…he kept quiet.
Mizore's soft panting was just a few yards to his right. The beautiful custom made yukata she was so proud of was now tangled into thread bare ribbons, just shredded and utterly ruined. One dainty slipper with its burgundy thick tie was untangled and discarded from her foot that was collapsed under her in an odd angled bend. The other was still on, but the straps were busted and it seemed curious as to how that could have remained on her foot.
Looking about, some of the other girls were in similar disarray. He hadn't been very patient last night.
"I needed to." Was the most honest answer he could think of.
Tsurara studied him for a long time, glancing at his left hand where a simple gold band was still present. On her own ring finger she wore one with a sapphire as was the custom among her people.
It was just like Mizore's.
While Tsukune had never witnessed a yukki onna wedding, he'd been told that there was no mention of fidelity or love. The vows instead focused on producing children and the responsibility of caring for them and their village.
The ceremony reflected the views of a race plagued by infertility and mired in a struggle against slow extinction.
Everyone who was paired off knew that, for the sake of their children, they would have to put up a civilized front and accept the hand delt to them. Yukki onna did not believe in divorce, individual happiness mattered little when set against the needs of the next generation. Most snow maidens endured their marriages as best they could for the sake of the children and the survival of their species.
Some of the pairing monsters they'd been forced to be bound to were less then desirable, like orcs, goblins, ogres, and other harbinger ayashi. Fortunately enough, if those male donors ever got out of hand enough to endanger the maiden or the children, then their life was forfeit.
A very lucky few managed to find love. Before they turned seventeen they were allowed to try and find their future husband. If a girl was fortunate enough to find someone she loved, would convince him with a formal invitation, kidnapping or freezing were considered acceptable, and brought to the village. The maidens who found their own husbands willing to give them a child without such measures taken and, even rarer still, where those men who would come seeking out a single yukki onna were the envy of every girl.
For the men being kidnapped or frozen was something of a mixed blessing.
They were very well treated but were essentially prisoners of the village and had no rights. They were given a beautiful wife and a home and all their wants were provided for. Their only responsibility was to be a proper husband and father. On the other hand they could never leave and never go home. Some of the men who were brought here by force were genuinely happy; others endured it as best they could.
A sparkling cage.
Tsurara had been one of those 'normal' snow women who didn't find love but was paired off with a snow boy who had been a decent friend to her in their past years at the Academy. Mizore had a chance and, for her, Tsukune had come of his own free will. With that in mind, he had also sought her out with a hunger she had never thought possible.
It was a story yukki-onna fairy tales were made of.
Leaning so knowingly close to her daughter's 'knight in shining armor', Tsurara would beat herself up for taking advantage of his invitation of lust, but in the meantime she decided not to not weigh his vague response. Instead, she chose to touch him and let him know it was enough and she enjoyed her time with him, however fleeting.
He was happy to see her, the mother. Those eyes of softest honey brown and the boy who had earned her daughter's trust was back with a vengeance.
While it had not been there hours ago, it was there now.
Did he regret his actions?
He returned her gesture with one of his own, a simple smile.
No, obviously not.
But there were still questions, and she could see he was troubled.
Aono Tsukune may have been gloriously sated, but he was not happy.
"She always felt guilty, Tsukune."
The young shinso vampire turned to his eldest snow maiden lover with his brow pinched.
"It's silly to say this, but she didn't enjoy being with her husband on her wedding night and she almost didn't want to hold her first child. I had to scold her some but she eventually let enough of you go in her own way to do what was needed. It was for the good of our people as well as herself, Tsukune."
Tsukune licked his lips and nodded. "I wish I had been there for her more. I have been very unfair to all of my friends, Tsurara-chan. I hope to fix what I can with what time I have."
Tilting her head at him, her mane of light lavender hair cascaded gorgeously to the side. "Tsukune, no one will fault you for following your own heart. Had you given Mizore a child back then, would you have left Moka for my little girl?"
His mouth moved but he really didn't know what to say. "Probably not, but I think she would have liked to have been closer with me. I think she deserved that."
Nodding at his honest response, Tsurara winced as she attempted to settle on her hip and face him.
"There is something you should know, Tsukune, because you will have a lot to answer for last night."
Looking around, he knew that was an understatement.
"We Yukki-onna are not happy with the way things are." Tsurara spoke past him, looking beyond her own years and through the eyes of her own people. "However, considering the circumstances we have no choice but to endure. Given our situation and its limitations we have a very short time to seek out our own happiness. For us the greater good must come before all else. For humans sacrificing yourself for the sake of love is a noble gesture. To us, Yukki onna, it's one selfishness; putting your own needs before those of all the others." Tsurara shrugged. "I suppose that's part of what makes us monsters in the eyes of humans."
Holding her hand, Tsukune sat next to her and was a little surprised to feel her lean against him.
It was cute if not a little weird.
This was still Mizore's mother.
"I don't see you as monsters."
"Don't lie, Tsukune," She chuckled and brought her finger to his lips to not speak. "From the day we've tried to kidnap you and with every failed attempt at Mizore's hands, there is no way you could possibly see what we do as normal. I've been to the human world longer then you've been alive. I can say with a certainty that your kind would see what we do as monstrous."
It was true, yet he couldn't help give her a shy lopsided grin.
"That's true," Tsukune admitted. "But remember I've had time to live in your world just as you have lived in mine." To reinforce this point he jangled the Rosario he wore on his right wrist. "I suppose if I had gone to a regular High School and had a regular life you, Mizore, and the others would all terrify me. I was lucky though; I got to meet all of you and under the bits and pieces of your world and your way. By doing this, I got the chance to live in a much larger world than I deserved. I think I'll take the good with the bad, Tsurara-chan. Even if I have almost lost my life more then I could count, I wouldn't take anything back."
Her pretty azure blue eyes sparkled and he couldn't help but lean forward towards her.
"Anything…"
And he kissed her.
It was the way she responded to him, the way her hand curled into the back of his hair and her eyes closed tight that, told him these would be cherished memories.
It made him happy.
When they parted there were signs of regret and understood acceptance.
"My people have a different moral code." She lifted her hand to show him her ring, "I am still bound to another. Mizore's father will know what has happened as well as Mizore's husband."
Nodding, Tsukune knew that they would but, simply didn't care.
A nettling thought was tickling the back of his mind.
"How will your husband take this and how will Mizore's?"
"Mizore may be able to get away with the Priestess's will being enforced to be intimate with you as well as these other maidens, Tsukune. I will not."
The mere thought he was about to break up a loving marriage came to mind and it almost made him sick.
"Tell him I forced you and you tried to stop me."
"I could," Tsurara's eyes squinted playfully, obviously considering how close to the truth it really was, "but we are not liars, Tsukune. You offered and I accepted, despite my better judgement. I do not expect you to become one who is used to making up false reasons when there isn't one. Please tell me you're not going to start that habit, are you?"
With that little bit of a scolding, he realized she had a point.
Tsurara decided it was time to look beyond her own selfish pleasures and move onto what was important.
"Go to my daughter, Tsukune."
"Tsurara-chan?"
"She has been pining for you for years and loves you, Tsukune. She will put the village's needs before her own, so I can tell you with all sincerity that if you were to leave and never come back it would be well within your rights, however," She took his hand and interlaced it with her own, "It would break my daughter's heart."
Tsukune shook his head. "That's why I came back, Tsurara-chan. I am not leaving any of my friends behind anymore. I was wrong to do that. I want to set things right."
Content with his answer, she gave him her best smile.
"I will look forward to seeing you again then, Tsukune."
Swallowing, he saw her eyes held a promise that seemed to surpass a normal maternal instinct.
"Uh, when you say 'seeing me again', how do you mean it?"
Eyes twinkling mischievously she kissed him light on his lips and whispered in his ear, her fingers turned to small ice claws and scratched his back enough to emphasize her words.
"How, indeed."
One more kiss, one more breath shared between improper company of mother to her daughter's intended lover and no words could express what they should or should not be feeling.
Tsurara decided to tidy up what was left to be with a few choice words. "It would probably be best if you left relatively soon, Tsukune. There will be a lot to answer to and a lot of husbands and other family members who won't be happy with you taking advantage of our ways like this. Also, I am not sure you are aware but we may have visitors soon and they won't take what you have done here lightly."
Tsukune blinked.
"Weren't all the girls here prepared to get pregnant?"
"Well of course," Tsurara told him with an obvious patience. "When it requires a special donor we bring them here to this medical facility where the 'donation' can be taken and the women implanted. Their appointment was supposed to be in about an hour or so. Of course, should someone wish to do it the old fashion way it is their choice."
"Implanted?" Tsukune said dully.
Tsurara shrugged. "We prefer things to happen naturally, but the snow maiden requires outside assistance then we make certain it succeeds through artificial insemination. The chances of pregnancy have been proven to be more affective and percentages of conception are greater."
"Wait!" Tsukune gripped Tsurara's arm and gawked at her, "Are you saying Gin and Mizore were never going to…"
He left what was understood unsaid.
"Of course not," Tsurara said, clucking her tongue at him as if scolding him. "My daughter's feelings for that mongrel are borderline hostile. Not to mention, she is married woman after all. Mind you, you were the exception. The only exception, Tsukune."
Funny how the Snow Priestess left that little detail out. Tsukune pondered, then, thinking down the road of another stray thought, he suddenly burst out laughing.
Tsurara was startled, but curiously tugged at his arm. "Tsukune?"
"Sorry, sorry," he wiped a tear from an eye, waving away her concern with his hand. "I just suddenly pictured Gin showing up here and being handed a naughty magazine and a plastic cup."
Tsurara folded her arms at him and clucked her tongue. She would hope her lover and daughter's future baby's father would view their ways with a bit more respect.
Realizing her scowl and disapproving raise of eyebrow, he apologized and decided to get back on topic of the snow maiden's present's family, friends, and lovers potential disapproval of his methods to produce offspring the old fashion way.
"I don't want to fight with any one of your people."
"As I said, Tsukune, not everyone will understand or accept what has happened. You have done your part, but that doesn't mean there won't be hard feelings. Especially when the way you 'expressed' yourself would be considered barbaric and…immodest. Most will accept what you've done, but these are married women. Most husbands, like my own or Mizore-chan's were not bound by love. There is a chance some of them have."
His fists clenched and one thing he said came back to haunt him.
It just doesn't matter now.
"Good." Tsurara pulled the yukata together at her front, "I see you are thinking about this and you're not going to scurry away now that you've had your fun. I'm glad."
"I'm going to take responsibility for my actions, Tsurara."
"Hmm," She hummed in approval at him and, it scared him back to his young teenage core like it did when he was in the Academy, he remembered how much he respected the monster she was. "Then be prepared to do so, Tsukune-kun. We will look forward to seeing you."
Sharing one last kiss, he was surprised to hear a voice behind him.
"Tsukune?"
Turning around, Mizore had her eyes opened and looking at him with curiosity. Tsurara gestured in a way that said, 'Responsibility calls.'
With hurried steps, Tsukune came to her and sat himself close by. "Mizore-chan."
Reaching down, he was a bit startled to see her flinch at him.
Was she scared of him?
He went to ask why, but he didn't realize it would have been a foolish question. Just looking at the marks on her, the bruising on her gorgeous skin and the scrapes along the soft cheeks of her face, his answers were as clear in her physical appearance as it was in her emotional one.
While Mizore kept her face neutrally aloof, her eyes were wide with suspicion and her lips quivered, lollipop-less, in caution.
How could he blame her?
His young stalker/admirer had trusted him to be caressingly gentle with her as he had always been with his wife. Mizore was on the receiving end of an onslaught of negative emotions, used and nearly discarded to blunt his pain of revenge and betrayal.
She needed answers.
"I'm not going to hurt you, Mizore."
He reached for her.
"You already did, Tsukune."
Lowering his arms, he realized he had not only disappointed her but took advantage of her trust. She was going to do what she did best: let him know it.
He had no defense and it was punctuated more so when he saw her unconsciously pull the remains of her yukata over herself with one hand, trying to keep what little modesty she could muster after giving herself so willing to him…
…and seemingly regret it.
"Why?"
How could he tell her? After he was done treating her like a sexual punching bag, he had glazed over like some transitional 'thing' and moved on to the next conquest.
It sounded vaguely familiar…
"I can't tell you." Was his answer, as he looked away guiltily.
Mizore's perceptive pupilless eyes were haunting and relentless to pick her friend apart with a stalker's mentality he was only all too familiar with.
"This has to do with Moka, doesn't it?" She wasn't asking.
It was only fair for him to nod. He knew his friend could attach everything in his life from the time she met him to the time she left his wedding reception, thick with a child in her belly and a marriage vow spoken in her mind.
She watched him now and waited.
Mizore was one of the few girls he had known that was always underestimated in her own ways. She was knowledgeable through watching, silent and studious of people and their ways. Rooted from her extremely shy nature, she was able to understand people through silent shifts of body language and subtle ticks and gestures.
There was nothing subtle about Aono Tsukune's senseless abuse of her.
As he sat there next to her, being appraised by his friend and would be mother to his first child, everything he did to her begin to weigh on him. She wouldn't turn away. Her eyes, those haunting, judging eyes kept staring at him, waiting for him to explain in more detail why and what he did to her and for it to make sense to her.
"Mizore-chan, I'm-"
"You hurt me," She shifted her yukata closer to her breasts and curled her legs together jerkily and away from him. "I never thought you would hurt me, Tsukune."
The accusation in her frowning lips and narrowed eyes speared him physically.
He wanted to tell her now. She deserved it and yet he couldn't find it in him to do so.
"I'm sorry, Mizore." It was the only thing he could do was put his face on the floor and bow.
How could he explain the Shinso blood and its affects on him? How could she understand that he was still aching from being dead and then brought back to life? How could he explain that he was in a rush to take her from Gin? How could he explain-
"I forgive you, Tsukune." She reached out and placed her gentle hand on his head.
It was a simple gesture, but he was already beginning to feel a mountainous roll of guilt start to build in him and then disappear like mist. Before it began to tear into his human soul, she was already there to sooth it, giving him a smile and letting what was special in her as his friend mend what was breaking.
"But…" He felt he owed her so much more still…
"You will explain it to me in time." Mizore demanded in her quiet lilt.
Realizing she was, again, not asking, he simply nodded. "I will."
"You will go back home and either fix what has happened to you and her, Tsukune, or you will do what is needed to make a proper man of yourself and then come back to me."
"I will."
"You will also take responsibility for tonight for not just my self but for all the other Yukki-onna's present. Not just for their bodies but for their hearts and the families they represent."
"I will."
Smiling at him, she simply nodded. Letting her hand slip to allow her pretty yukata to fall, her breasts were again beautifully exposed for him to see as well as the neat patch of lavender pubic hair.
"Lastly, you will visit me and make love to me like you should have."
And they held each other.
Breathing him in, this was how she had wanted to be with him and he had, should have been with her those hours ago.
"We are friends Tsukune, however I am a woman who has missed you and loved you with all my heart. I know that part of you that did this to me last night was barely there, so whatever you need to do to expel that presence, do so, and don't bring it into my body again. I will be very disappointed in you if you do."
He mumbled a sincere apology, but was surprised to see her reach over and kiss him.
Touching her like this, tasting her and the soft spring water like flavor of her lips, he could only nod again that he would.
"I have to ask you something, though."
"Yes, Mizore-chan?"
"Did you have to sleep with my mother?"
"Aaah," He reached up and scratched the back of his head. "It was a sort of…well…"
Those pupilless eyes were as astute as a forensic scientists microscope and he knew he was being put on a slide to be viewed.
"Did you feel that way about her when you first saw her or was the part of you that was unleashed upon us responsible?"
Clenching his fists, he knew he would regret lying to her, so the truth was best answer, least he hurt her trust in him again.
"I can only say that if you were hard to resist because of how I always treasured you, Mizore-chan, can you see how difficult it was for me when she is the woman who you reflect? Especially with this other side of me that I am having a hard time repressing?"
She looked as if she would have had a lollipop in her mouth she would be flicking it about now.
"That is a horrible answer, Tsukune."
He winced at her words.
"Your mother looked like she…well…wanted to know what it was like, Mizore-chan. I still had so much…I don't know. Desire?" he sighed in frustration, "That part of me that just unleashed itself and I wanted to give her what she was quietly asking for. I swear to you, I didn't force her."
Now, Mizore nodded.
"We are not a well loved race, Tsukune and it is even rarer that we find someone who will give us affection that is not normally demanded. We have to be this way, so when someone offers us these aware but considerate of our feelings, then we have to decide to accept them or refuse them."
Tsukune nodded.
"You do remember that I was almost raped before, don't you?"
A pulse in Tsukune's heart thrummed like a bass drum being struck.
Kotsubo Okuto was who she was talking about. The physical education teacher had been someone she had confessed to liking and had tried to force her to have sex.
What was the difference between him and Tsukune at this moment?
"The difference," Mizore could tell what he was thinking, "was that I allowed you to do this to me and," she weighed her words carefully, as if giving him a final sentence…
Tsukune properly held his breath, afraid of what she would say.
,"I still wanted you, Tsukune."
He exhaled thankfully, ready to tell her so.
She snapped her head back away from him, pointedly letting him know the allowance she was giving him wasn't costless.
"Don't get me wrong, when you come to me again," She rose a finger for him to see how serious she was, "you will come to me as you are now and properly. I will not accept that other side of you again. Do you understand?"
Tsukune was nodding in earnest.
Now it was her turn to give him a pretty smile and hold him close to her breasts and he took all of her in with his strong arms.
"I really have missed you, Tsukune," She murmured to her friend, holding him tightly and hoping to express how much so through her hug.
He was about to express his own heartfelt confession when he saw her waiting for him outside the door of Maiden's hall.
"Priestess," His voice reflected his trepidation.
Mizore and whatever lucid snow maiden fumbled as well as they could to their knees in awed reverence.
She still had that same omniscient smile, her twin pools of ice burg blue riveted on him. "Well done, Tsukune,"
Her smooth slippers padded ascross the hall, taking no notice of those bodies that were deferred to her or those staring up at the ceiling in rapturous wonderment of their time with Tsukune.
When she stood before him, she waited.
It was as if she was waiting for him to do something and it occurred to him that he may be presenting himself rudely for now bowing.
Looking around at the others and then realizing he was in her dimension, it would be only proper.
He kneeled.
She laughed.
While she may be beautiful, it was not a pleasant sound. Tsukune figured she probably didn't do that often.
By the way the other snow maidens who he was mimicking start to glance at each other in uncertainty, he was sure he was right to be cautious.
Looking uncomfortable, he had to ask, "Did I do something wrong?"
Tilting her head to the side, her fringes of her head piece followed her movement in ripples.
"Why do you kneel to me?"
To Tsukune, it seemed obvious. "This is your realm. I am a visitor and you have complete authority here. It would be rude."
"This is why we need you, Tsukune," She reached down and, to the amazement of the other snow maidens conscious, touched his arm to help him stand. "No vampire, except for Akasha Bloodriver, has ever bowed to someone who was not a vampire and was a creature of their lesser power. Only she has done so out of polite courtesy instead of actual acknowledgment. You kneeled to me. By doing so, that would show that I am not only your equal, but that I am greater then you. Do you really see yourself as such?"
"I don't know."
The other maiden's gasped. For him to say that he was, indeed, her equal was a show of challenge.
It made her nod.
"Priestess-sama, please forgive him! He doesn't-" Mizore was already staggering to get to her superior, but the Priestess already had her hand up.
"There are things happening, Hutaro Mizore that you don't understand. I asked him a question and he spoke honestly. That is all I ask."
Mizore reached out her hand to him and he took it, though she stayed on her knees while he stood.
Nodding, the Priestess clasped her hands and spoke. "From this moment forth, Aono Tsukune and Hutaro Mizore, I see the bond between you two and will forever expect Tsukune and Mizore to be the other's hand in our fate."
"Priestess!" Mizore spoke loudly, but it still had not stopped her from the ceremony taking place.
"With the witnesses present, here and now, know that Aono Tsukune has taken a snow maiden to be a part of her tribe. Since she is already married, I can not grant your name to her, but I will have it known that her duty to you is that of a liaison between your clans and the Snow People. Do you accept?"
Mizore's breath caught in her chest. Looking around, she saw those that were still astute looking back at her, nodding.
Even her mother.
Turning to Tsukune, she saw that he was just as blind sided as she was. "What does this mean, Mizore-chan?"
"It means, you are seen as our protector and speak for us against those that are in your clan. Basically, we defer to you as we would the Priestess, but she is seen above you in authority." Tsurara spoke from behind them.
Tsukune spun his head owlishly, "I…I can't accept this."
Everyone frowned, Mizore looked up and gripped his hand tightly, "Tsukune, you don't understand! This is considered a great honor to us! To dismiss it is a huge insult!"
"No, Mizore-chan, I can't accept this because…because I'm not worthy of it. This is too important. I'm…I'm just me."
"Do you wish to protect Mizore and our people, Tsukune?" The Priestess seemed to dissolve from in front of him and appear like a glaring beast of menace.
"Of course!"
"Do you see what you have done to the women here? They are to carry on your legacy! You are now father to thirteen children to be and now you feel you are unworthy of them? Speak, Aono Tsukune, because you certainly didn't stop letting these women know they were your articles for amusement."
Tsukune realized, in her own way, the Snow Priestess was asking him the same things Mizore was just not so long ago. Even then, he still couldn't conceive the idea of him being a father now and that his actions were producing such an incredible result.
Still, as he said before, there were consequences he would have to answer for and repercussions would be waiting for him in his future.
"I may not feel worthy of this position, but I see your reasoning."
Turning on his heel to look at the other women splayed out about the floor, he bowed to them all. "I will be responsible for you all as I will be for Mizore. I accept."
He didn't see the Priestess's hand touch his shoulder, but he felt her power flow into him, giving a part of herself that made him feel connected to her and then…
…all the snow maidens turned their heads to him as if 'seeing' him for the first time.
…to them.
"We are now your people just like they are yours, Aono Tsukune. Lift your head and embrace me."
The snow priestess's fingers wrapped her long sleeves around him. Holding her close, he could smell something that was remarkably close to snow and ice.
Like spring water frozen.
It made him smile, but then a sound of someone turning the knob to the door across from him as it unlatched.
A tall, lean man with a black shirt, a head ban holding a mop of dark hair in place, gave everyone a wolfish grin that showed off his pearly white teeth, cheerfully greeting his spectators with his playful brown eyes.
"Sorry about the delay, Ladies! There was some kind of animal scare or another at the bus station, but the Wolfman is here to play! Where's Mizore? Daddy's got a huuuuuuge package for you!"
Morioka Gin greeted everyone with an easy going grin…
The Snow Priestess dissolved from her feet to her head as fast as snow taking flight in a gale, taking her new guardian with her.
…and caught Aono Tsukune's eyes.
The Priestess felt Tsukune's body snarl at Gin, lunging at him with a might that uncoiled his body like a taunt spring released. She had caught him in her spell just in time to dissolve both of them from the very air and shifted his physical body into that of powdery white snow.
Wisping past Gin like a brief blizzard, the priestess and Tsukune were gone
Falling on his ass with the glaring afterimage of Aono Tsukune's promise of murder and death, Gin could help but express himself with three simple words.
"What the Fuck!"