Tsukune's eyes snapped open. Where am I? He asked himself, seeing as he was floating in nothingness it seemed pertinent to wonder. I'm probably inside my head again.
"Hello young Elemental."
Tsukune's eyes narrowed at the voice. Without looking behind him he knew who that voice belonged to. "You." He growled as he turned, facing the man behind him.
Uven stood before him, his tattered cloak waving gently as it floated with him. The God of Death's face was unreadable, a mask of calm, with his hands clasped behind his back.
If looks could kill Tsukune would have murdered Uven a hundred times over, and he would have if he could get to the god.
Seeing the look in Tsukune's eyes Uven slowly raised his hands in front of him. "Look, Tsukune, wait there-"
"You hurt her."
"I-"
"You betrayed us!"
"Will you ju-"
"WE TRUSTED YOU!" Tsukune's voice was a roar, anger and the promise of pain ringing in it.
"Goddammit I didn't do-"
He is lying to us! He wants to weasel out of his wrongdoings!
Uven cocked his head. "Who was that?"
"You- wait, what?" Tsukune paused, wondering who Uven was referring to.
He seeks to distract us! We need to crush him before he hurts her again! Tsukune's eyes narrowed once again. His counterpart was right. The man before then was a deceiver, a trickster, a liar.
"That voice, it's… inside you?" Uven looked closer at Tsukune, like a professor would look at a particularly complex problem, trying to solve it.
He… hears me?
"You hear him?"
Uven nodded. "Yes. As I informed your vampire friend earlier, there are many things I can and cannot do in this world, but hearing that voice is one of the things I can indeed do."
Seemingly without a call or motion, Tamel suddenly appeared next to Uven. He surprised Tsukune by not saying anything crude or vulgar, or by distracting from the issue at hand. Even Uven was taken aback by what the God of Chaos did next.
He bowed deeply to Tsukune.
Tsukune stared in shock. This was unexpected at the least. And while Tsukune was in shock, Uven was stupefied. Tamel never bowed to anyone. Not kings or rulers or even the past gods themselves could make him lower his head. Yet here he was, bowing to a creature not even a billionth of his age.
"I am deeply sorry Tsukune for deceiving you as we have, and for hurting your key. I know the rage and pain it causes to see her hurt, but we needed to know now, and in a somewhat controlled environment. Imagine the devastation you could have caused if this happened elsewhere. This was my plan and I take all the responsibility for it. Please understand our intentions." He finished solemnly, head still bowed, facing his feet.
Tsukune paused, realizing the truth in his words. What would have happened if something like Witch's Knoll occurred once again? If he had seen Kurumu hurt in the human world. Nothing would have stopped him, and he would have revealed the existence of Yokai to the entire human world. Tsukune looked down at his master. "I understand. And I forgive you. But I have a question."
Raising his head, Tamel asked, "And what might that be?"
"Kurumu was hurt by your creature," Tsukune said, pointing at Uven.
"My Shade yes." He affirmed, nodding.
Tsukune's face turned to one of confusion. "Then why was it that when she came up to me at the end, she was fine? I saw the blood, I heard her scream! It was no illusion."
Tamel giggled. "Well it was and it wasn't. It was, however, very sneaky and tricky."
Uven continued for his partner, "Right. The whole plan was to get you into a controlled environment which in this case was the Dimensional Room, and whip you into a frenzy."
"At which point, you would stop reacting to what your powers were telling you and what you sensed, leaving you more vulnerable to visual deception."
"My Shades are powerful creatures. Through physical contact they created an exact copy of each of your friends, clones if you will, sustained through their magic."
"And once you saw your key get hurt, it would trigger the series of events that played out. Though," Tamel continued, a hand going to his chin, "you were never supposed to go into your full Elemental form."
Tsukune looked at his hands. There was, he admitted to himself, an ever so slight tugging at the side of his mind during the fight that something was off. But he ignored it at the time. Then he shook his head. "Wait I wasn't supposed to go into full Elemental form? What do you mean? I mean I realize I changed when Kurumu was so small and standing on my finger but what do you mean I wasn't supposed to?"
"Well… Uven can tell you better than I. I'm the crashy smashy guy. He's just the smart one." Tamel said, laughing and receiving a powerful kick to the groin that sent him spinning into the nothingness, swearing profusely in pain. Tsukune chuckled at the two. It was a hilarious dynamic that he found utterly amusing.
"Yes yes quite funny isn't it." Uven said dryly. "He thinks it is just hilarious to push me, so I get him back. Back when we were mortal, these kind of interactions usually resulted in a brawl between us that more often than not levelled the town we were in at the time.
Now, as for what happened…"
In Yokai Academy Hospital
Tsukune lay in bed, his hair still a sterling silver and muscles sharp and defined beneath his shirt and sheets. Kurumu was the only one in the room with him, sitting in a chair next to him smiling sadly. She was so utterly happy he had chosen her to be his, but it hurt to see her happiness cause her friends pain. Kurumu jumped in her chair Tamel dropped into the room from nothing, landing on his back with a string of swears pouring from his mouth, muttering about still needing something.
The god straightened up and cracked his neck before turning to the succubus and her Destined One. "So you're his key. Huh. Interesting."
"What's so interesting about me being his key? Is it cuz of what I am? Do Chaos Elementals only go for the powerful ones?" She said, a tad defensive of her standing with her Tsukune.
Tamel laughed. "Oh no no no. Not that. And there's nothing saying a Chaos Elemental with only go for the strong chicks. No it's just gonna be interesting to see how this changes you little succubus."
Kurumu froze, staring at Tamel. "Changes… me?"
"Yup. Since the key, you, is attached to Tsukune by his energies, they choose the most suitable person for the job through things I just don't understand, it is going to make you better suited to be around and deal with him. So it could do a mess of things. Make you stronger, taller, more square, I don't fuckin' know But it will most likely cause you to be immortal." He said, glancing at Tsukune.
If her jaw could fall off, it would have been on the ground right then. Immortal? "But succubae aren't immortal!"
"I know. He's changing you. Didn't you hear me? Yeesh. He lives forever and he would never be able to take you dying on him, so you'll live with him. It's not like your life is tied to his or somethin' like that. If he dies you'll still live. And while you're immortal that doesn't necessarily mean you're invulnerable. That would require either MAJOR amounts of energy cloaking you at all times or rewriting your base genetics to the point where it would probably interfere with who you are. So you'll probably live forever and have a crazy regeneration factor, like you saw when he pulled the arrow out of his chest yesterday." He finished, pointing at Tsukune.
Kurumu stared at the god. She could barely believe her ears. Succubae lived longer than most creatures, the oldest of her kind currently was over 750 years old, but was nearing the end of her lifespan. Most succubae died from sickness or from having their hearts broken once their destined ones died. Could I live through seeing my mom and auntie die? As I just live on with Tsukune?
Tamel watched her as he guessed what was going on through her mind. Immortality always seems so utterly amazing to those who are mortal, however it is no blessing once one thinks about it. Outlasting all of your family and loved ones is a curse unless they too can stand the test of time. It wasn't for the weak of spirit or faint of heart. However this might only be the beginning of the changes that would affect the young succubus. It was a good thing she was so devoted to the young Elemental. These changes could break someone's mind if they didn't have something to ground themselves on.
As Tsukune lay in the infirmary, his powers coalesced around his key, beginning to work the changes upon her that would help her fit Tsukune better. Slowly, the power of Chaos flowed into her cells, permeating her entire being and changing her as the god said it would.
A shift in the atmosphere caught the attention of both Kurumu and Tamel. They turned, in time to watch the silver in Tsukune's hair gradually bleed out as it returned to its original black colouration. His muscles stayed in a heightened state, not bulging, but condensed and solid beneath his white hospital shirt. Kurumu gently reached up to his face, caressing it lovingly as he slept. Tamel smiled, remembering his own key and the times they shared together.
In the Headmaster's Office
The Headmaster rested his elbows on his desk and laced his fingers together, looking out from beneath his hood with his ever present glowing eyes. The girls of the Newspaper Club were sitting in front of him, excluding Kurumu who was still with her beloved, and the God of Death was standing at the window, facing out over the school grounds.
Yukari was the first to break the silence. "So he's really an elemental? No kidding?"
Without turning, Uven answered her, "Indeed he is. Quite honestly, he is easily one of the most powerful creatures alive. Even more so than you Headmaster." He finished, gesturing to the Headmaster himself.
Inner Moka scoffed. Sure. That kid is less powerful than the stupid succubus he fell for.
Uven turned, his face shrouded in shadow, looking directly at Outer Moka, who eeped and looked down. "He is infinitely more powerful than that succubus and exponentially more powerful than you little vampire."
Moka mumbled unintelligibly, most likely apologizing for her other personality. Uven sighed, and looked towards the Headmaster, who nodded knowingly before reaching into his desk and tossing the young vampire the Whip of Belmont. Dark energies swirled as ethereal bats swarmed around Moka, her hair changing from pink to silver and power flowing through her body. She sighed and opened her eyes, her slitted blood red eyes going over the god for the first time, examining and judging him. Even despite seeing the power both he and her friend wielded, her vampire pride would never truly let her admit that she was inferior to either of them.
Uven sighed. This was the arrogance born from being told from childhood that you're superior to everything else. He hated conceited brats such as the one before him. After so many millennia of dealing with his partner, patience was something he was well known for. But this was not a time for patience, he was fed up with letting people be so damn high and mighty.
The god of death growled, a low rumbling that made the very air tremble, his power leaking out from him, a shroud of darkness flowing off his body and encompassing the entire room. Uven kept his emotions in check and didn't allow anyone other than the 16 year old vampire in the room to feel the terror his power could instill. Inner Moka's eyes went wide, and in a heartbeat she leapt out of the chair and into the most defensive stance the Newspaper Club had ever seen her in. Uven's eyes, so often shrouded in the shadow of his hood, began to glow with what could only be described and a bright darkness, making him even more sinister.
"You arrogant little girl. Even after seeing the might of your so called friend, you still refuse to admit the truth. Vampires are one of the most powerful in existence, but the Eight will always be infinitely more powerful than you could ever imagine." He said, dark energies infusing his voice, making it rumble and command attention. Inner Moka felt something she hadn't felt in years. Something she only ever felt after angering her father.
She felt fear.
The cold tendrils of fear constricted around her chest, making her breathing shallow and her heartbeat race frantically. Her eyes widened as Uven slowly and deliberately walked towards her. Before she was even aware of what she had done, she found herself backed up against the wall of the Headmaster's office. The God of Death put his face barely two inches away from hers, staring straight into her eyes. He scoffed.
"You are powerful. But you are not strong. No." Uven stated softly, his voice still infused with power, "Even as a human, your friend was always stronger than you were. Remember this young one, strength and power are two similar but very different things." He turned and walked back to the Headmaster's desk, drawing his power back into himself and allowing everyone in the room to breathe a sigh of relief.
Inner Moka stood where she had backed into the wall, still processing the sheer and utter terror that had gripped her. The power of the god before her was staggering. And his words echoed in her head. Strength? Power? She had always been told that she was strong, stronger than anyone in the school, with the exception of the Headmaster himself, so what did this person before her mean by this?
She jumped at the feel of someone gently wrapping their arms around her. Looking down she saw Yukari hugging her waist, not being as perverted as she usually was. Just trying to comfort her vampiric friend.
Inner Moka stared at the young witch wrapped around her waist, the gears turning in her head. Uven watched, smiling to himself. The vampire may hold some degree of animosity towards himself, but in the end that was a small price for opening an immortal's mind. Despite his cold exterior, Uven cared a great deal for the minds of every other creature that existed.
Despite this moment, the slight smile on Uven's shrouded face slowly faded away. He sensed that something was changing, the fabric of the universe was shifting and changing. Something was coming, something dangerous that he and the god of Chaos would be unable to interfere with. These children would soon have to protect their world. With their own lives if necessary.
Hey everybody. Sorry about the shorter chapter. This chapter was already partially written before I ended up in the hospital and I wrapped it up to prepare for future chapters. The story is gonna take some major league turns and new paths.
You are not prepared.
