"Well I suppose that will be enough for today," Moka announced.

"Thank goodness," Tsukune muttered as he pulled himself battered and bloody up from the ground.

She waited patiently. "You have learned the basics fairly well in these six weeks. You should be able to protect yourself now."

The fall semester would begin in a couple of days and the campus would suddenly be full of monsters again. Tsukune was both pleased and a little sorry about that. On the one hand Yukari would be back and it would be good to have more people around to talk to and do things with.

On the other hand, despite the pain of training he'd had Moka all to himself this whole time. When she wasn't beating the hell out of him she was actually pleasant to be with. Along with teaching him to fight she'd taken the opportunity to teach him other skills she felt a familiar should have. She taught him proper etiquette while attending a formal dinner party. She taught him how to brew and serve the perfect cup of tea. She taught him sewing and other basics of clothing maintenance. And best of all she had taught him to dance.

In the empty lounge of the girls' dorm they had pushed all the tables and chairs against the wall and he had gotten to dance with her. The waltz, the tango, and other formal dances. He would hold her hand and place his other hand on her hip and together they would move in time to the music. For those times she was his partner and it almost felt as though they were together as equals. They were short and pleasant moments when he was allowed to pretend there was more between him than there was.

He knew better than to ever mention what he was thinking as he knew her response would be swift and violent.

"Does that mean you'll stop training me once the semester starts?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course not," she replied. "While we obviously won't have this sort of time I still intend to give you further training. You know the basics only; there are advanced moves, combinations, different techniques and fighting styles. I still have a great deal to teach you."

"But why bother Moka-sama? I mean if I'm strong enough now to defend myself why keep training me? It's not like I'll ever be as strong as you are in a fight."

"That goes without saying," she answered. "You will never possess more than a fraction of my power."

"Then what's the point of you giving me more training Moka-sama?"

"The point is for you to be as strong as possible," she said firmly. "Just because you will never be able to match me in battle is no reason not to continue to strive to be the best you possibly can. Also the better you are at fighting the better you will do against more powerful enemies. Raw power by itself is meaningless without the skill to use it! That is why I was trained from almost the time I could walk how to fight. In battle it's not strength that counts most but intelligence and the ability to take advantage of an enemy's weakness. Remember, greater skill can always over come greater strength!"

He grinned as he followed her back towards the dorms. "Does that include a vampire's strength?"

She looked back at him and gave a slight nod. "Of course, that is why I work so hard to maintain my skill level. Someone who has both great strength and great skill has very little to fear."

XXXXXXXXXX

The next day was Sunday and the last day before the start of the second semester.

Moka handed him thirty thousand yen. "Go and enjoy yourself," she told him.

XXXXXXXXXX

That morning he went out to the bike racks in front of the girls' dorm.

Mizore was there waiting on him, she had a bike of her own at her side. "Good morning Tsukune," she said shyly with her eyes looking down.

"Good morning Mizore," he said with enthusiasm. "Thanks for doing this with me. Things are always a lot more fun when you can do them with a friend."

"It's no problem," she told him softly. "I'm glad you invited me to come with you. It… it means a lot to me." She looked up at his face and dug her foot into the soft ground.

"Well hopefully it should be fun," he unlocked his bike and got on it. "Have you ever been to Mononoke Arcade?"

"No," she answered quietly.

"Well you should really like it they have everything there. Come on let's go!"

She fell in beside him as they both pedaled away from the dorm and up the road towards the tunnel that could lead anywhere. As soon as they entered Tsukune worked the basic spell Moka had taught him to turn the tunnel into a dimensional bridge connecting to all other tunnels.

After a short while the tow of them exited into Mononoke Arcade.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Look out for that zombie!" Tsukune shouted over the din.

"I see him," Mizore answered calmly and clicked down on her trigger. A couple of the 'shots' hit home and there were spurts of blackish blood and meat before the zombie fell.

There was no chance to relax as more of the undead came forward. Tsukune had a huge grin plastered on his face and his trigger finger was in constant motion as he jerks and twisted with each new enemy. He was obviously enjoying himself.

By contrast Mizore was standing stock still. She took deliberate aim each time before pulling the trigger and destroying another of the endless horde of undead. She glanced over at Tsukune and wondered why he found this so much fun. She had never been in an arcade before and it would never occur to her to spend her time playing, 'Zombie Annihilation!' She really didn't get the appeal, but if Tsukune was enjoying himself she was happy.

XXXXXXXXXX

Following the time in the arcade they hit a bunch of shops. Tsukune bought a few manga, a new pair of sneakers, and a watch. Though he kept asking her if she wanted to get anything Mizore politely assured him she was fine.

Tsukune took her to a pasta place where they sat down to have lunch. "Are you sure you don't want to buy anything Mizore? I mean I thought girls all loved to shop."

"It's fine Tsukune, I'm just glad to be doing something with you." Her alabaster features darkened a little and she stared down at her food. "I… I've never had a boy ask me out before." She said in a barely audible voice.

"What was that?" He hadn't quite heard her.

"Nothing," she said softly.

He shrugged and started attacking his plate some more. The food at school was okay, but it was really nice to have something different. Mizore ate her food slowly and with care. She didn't mind at all that Tsukune was digging in but she didn't want him to see her in any way that wasn't lady like.

"Hey Mizore, after we eat do you want to see a movie?"

"A… movie?"

He nodded. "This place has a movie theater and they're playing a brand new Hollywood release I want to see. You interested?"

"Su… sure Tsukune." The idea of sitting alone with him in a darkened theater made her feel nervous, but also excited. It was just like a real date.

XXXXXXXXXX

There was a large crowd besieging the entrance to the theater and he was worried he and Mizore might be separated. Without thinking about it he grabbed Mizore's hand to keep them from getting split up. Back in his middle school days the idea of grabbing a girl's hand would have panicked him and seemed like a huge deal. After months of seeing a certain girl naked every morning and scrubbing her back just holding someone's hands didn't fill him with terror anymore.

For Mizore the gesture was something completely different. Without asking or explaining himself she had felt him take possessive hold of her. He was guiding her through the crowd and expecting him to follow. For someone as shy and introverted as her it was a very powerful act and one that made her heart race. The feel of his warm hand holding hers was enough to give her a warm secure feeling she'd never felt before.

Inside the theater Tsukune paid for their tickets and got them some popcorn and sodas. The theater was packed and the film wound up being a big budget action flick filled with car chases and gun fights and explosions. She barely noticed.

As soon as they sat down she snuggled up close to him and rested her head on his shoulder. Tsukune was surprised at first, but decided not to say anything if this made her comfortable. For Mizore it was almost perfect.

XXXXXXXXXX

After the movie they decided to call it a day.

"You sure you don't want to do any shopping before we go?"

Mizore shook her head. "No Tsukune, I don't need to buy anything. Just spending this day with you was enough to make it terrific. Could… could we do this again some time?"

He nodded immediately. "Sure, but it may need to wait for awhile since school is starting up."

She nodded. "That's fine; there are lots of things we can do together."

"Yeah, maybe next Sunday you me and Yukari can all do something."

A small frown appeared. "Who is Yukari?"

"Oh she's a witch and another of my close friends. I bet you'd really like her, the more friends you have together the more fun you have. Don't you think?" Tsukune smiled at her.

"Su… sure."

He stopped on the way to their bikes. "Oh give me just a minute I want to get something."

She stopped in the street and watched as he hurried into a flower shop. When he came out again he had a dozen snow white lilies.

"Oh Tsukune they're beautiful!" Mizore gasped. "What a lovely romantic gesture! Are they for me?"

Looking embarrassed he shook his head. "Ah, actually, these are for Moka."

Mizore blinked at him in surprise. "For Moka?"

"Yeah, she loves lilies."

"I see," Mizore answered quietly.

"If you'd like I'll get you some too."

She shook her head. "No, that's all right. I'm more than happy with what you gave me today." She stared at him intently. "I am a good friend to you right?"

"A really good friend!"

"I see," she said quietly.

She didn't say anything more on the way back. But she had thought playing through her head.