Chapter 10: The Spell in Ruby

At the seaside house, Misaki was getting irritable. News had reached her of two of her Master's agents who were killed by what appeared to be snakebites and poison. What was more was that, if she was hearing things right, then Tsukune now knew that he was to be used in a ritual. Reflections emanating from a pool of water in one of the basins showed Tsukune and his friends discussing how he could possibly be used in a ritual, and a mention of some brat they called 'the Snake Child'.

Whatever this 'Snake Child' was, if it became trouble, she would have to dispose of it. At least Sora was there throughout the day to make food and prepare drinks, so the day was nowhere near frustrating as it could have been. Now it was night, Sora was fast asleep, although she could swear that part of his snores sounded like hissing. She was just lying in her bed, when she felt a tingling of her skin. From the sounds of it, Ruby was activating her magic to keep outsiders away. At least there was someone like her that she could depend on, Misaki thought.

She got up from her bed the next morning, just as the sun was starting to peer over the horizon, and proceeded to walk onto the balcony. The ocean began forming pictures, and those images streamed into her mind.

There was the succubus, Kurono Kurumu, in those images, and she, along with the yuki-onna Shirayuki Mizore and Aono Tsukune, were up early and talking.

"Come on, Tsukune," Kurumu moaned. "Show us what you really look like under that human mask."

"Must I?" Tsukune also moaned.

"Yes, you must," Mizore stated. "Everyone aside from you has revealed their true nature, except for you who continues to act like a human. Take off your mask."

"I am not wearing any mask. This is my true nature."

"No!" Kurumu gasped, turned to Mizore, then shrieked "No! It can't be! Tsukune's a human?!"

Misaki's eyes opened suddenly, to discover that it was actually still dark. She could also sense the energy of a witch; it made her wand vibrate and her skin tingle. Taking a look outside the beach house door, she felt it come from the direction of the sunflower field. Was Ruby fighting? Why did she need that much power? Surely a few intruders shouldn't…

Realizing something, Misaki ran back inside and stared into a basin of water. She had to focus… who was Ruby fighting? The waters began reflecting green hanabake plants attacking a purple-haired yuki-onna, a teal-haired succubus, a short, brunette witch and the silver-haired vampire Akashiya Moka. If those four were there, it had to mean that Aono Tsukune was around there as well. Those four soon found themselves trapped in a giant ball of vines, and Tsukune came into view, asking Ruby who she worked for. However, when she responded that she was working for Oyakata, and he retorted that Oyakata was dead, it triggered a magic that Misaki implanted in her just in case someone caught onto the act she displayed. Now, Ruby began using a forbidden magic to fuse herself with one of the larger plants, with Misaki's magic driving her mad with fury at the thought of Oyakata being dead.

All of this, while the magics and defenses were working out as planned, were concerning to Misaki. She gave Ruby that power, that powerful madness, so that she could defend the beach house in case larger groups of humans became suspicious and invaded, in addition to being able to uphold the illusion of Oyakata's good health, not so that she could undo their work in preparing a suitable host for the ritual to bring her Lord into the world.

Misaki had to find some way to get a message to Ruby to keep Tsukune and Moka alive. At this current stage, though, she couldn't find any way to get to Ruby in time, or without excessive amounts of force to leash her, and with her sudden appearance when they suspect a ritual involving him, it would be all too easy for them to identify her as the culprit.

It was tough, but for now, there was nothing she could do. A few minutes later, there was an explosion as Ruby's wand was destroyed, and the blinding light forced Misaki to empty the basin over the edge of the balcony. Why did things have to get troublesome now? With Ruby very likely dead and gone, the hanabake were going to be pacified and one major layer of defense against prying eyes lost.

How to deal with this problem? Maybe one step at a time, and she was actually very tired. The sun was starting to rise, and it would be then that she would go sleep. She wouldn't be able to think of anything concrete if she could barely function, so just as the light came over the horizon, dreams came over her body.

When she awoke again, Sora was sitting by her bedside. Once she had him get her something to drink, she filled the basin she had with water again, but this time, the shadow of her younger sister came into view.

"Rin," Misaki spoke.

"Misa-chan? That you?" came Rin's response.

"I think Tsukune may be going back to the yokai world sometime today."

"Awww, just when I was beginning to enjoy some time to myself. How you holding up?"

"Badly. Our main line of defense on this side is gone."

"You mean that someone took over Oya-chan's field?"

"Oyakata was dead, but the last guardian of the field has been killed. The plants there are useless to us now. There's something else, though, and you need to be more careful than ever!"

"Why so serious, Misa-chan?"

"Because, Rin, somehow Tsukune knows he is the subject of a ritual."

"So, in other words, mission scrubbed?"

"No. From what I was able to observe, the only thing he knows about the ritual is that he is the subject of it. You just need to be even more careful not to let anything slip."

"How could he have found out about it though? The only ones who knew were us."

"And Sora. Maybe he somehow managed to get word to Tsukune's party while my back was turned."

"You're being paranoid, Misa-chan. Sora-kun isn't the type to turn against us from what I remember of him. As long as someone keeps him company, he'll be fine. Besides, he's been there the whole time, hasn't he?"

"Except for when I've had to meet with my Master's agents, yes."

"Where does he go then?"

"I don't know. Just to play in the dirt around here, I think."

"Misa-chan, you can't tell me that you are shutting him out of the family business. You don't know what could happen. Besides, he needs company."

"I doubt it, actually. In the last few months, he's become somewhat… more obedient and less annoying."

"All the same, toss him a ball every once in a while!"

"Enough about Sora. What's been happening at Yokai?"

"There's talk of some super newspaper, the Yokai Square, or some such. I've also noticed a slight increase in MIBs."

"Men in black, eh? Keep an eye on them. If they're the Public Safety Commission, be extra careful, and I may need you to take steps to silence them should they become a problem."

"Got it, Misa-chan. If that's all, say hi to Sora from me, and like I said earlier, toss him a ball or listen to his story every once in a while. Although he's not one of us, he's… well… still one of us, still family."

"Fine, Rin. Goodbye."

The image in the water faded into nothing at that point, after which she turned to Sora.

"You want to go for a walk?"

"Missaki-Onee-chan?"

"I figured I know the area a lot better than you. Maybe I could point out some places of interest you can go if I need to send you away from the house. There are also some aesthetically pleasing scenic routes."

"I'd like that, yes please, Onee-chan."

As Misaki and Sora walked out the door, they turned to explore, unaware that a pair of eyes was watching them…