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!

Tsukune didn't really approve of how Inner Moka completely threw off the little psychic's predictions (then again, she could be extremely harsh when she wanted to... he guessed he just let his guard down while she was being so pleasant), but it was only a mere splotch against the colorful time he had had with Inner Moka, and he wouldn't have it any other way. They were heading out down the southern main street, a little ways from the food court. The bus's next arrival time was coming up, and they had had enough, Tsukune especially; their purchases were light in weight, but Inner Moka hadn't had the opportunity to shop for herself for the last decade or so, hence the over-encumbered Tsukune. It made for an amusing sight, what with Inner Moka herself only carrying one tiny bag. The curious thing about it was he didn't know what was in it; after the psychic's place, she had bid him wait by one of the nearby newspaper stalls while she went to go get something. Her tone told him she didn't want him to know about it, but that was okay. It was probably something inconsequential.

Either way, the sun was going down, and it was time to go home. A theatrically panting Tsukune and Inner Moka emerged at the gate, looking for the bus stop. Moka headed to the place where they were dropped off and patiently waited for Tsukune, casting one eye back over her shoulder.

"Moka-sa... Moka-san! Wait up!" he called through a smile bigger than his face. Granted, he could carry the entire weight with one hand if the shape allowed, but he enjoyed making a big deal out of the rather large sack strapped to his back that held most of the items, and the other few bags in each arm. Inner Moka just shook her head (albeit with a small smile), and kept her gaze down the path. Luckily, the bus soon appeared from the trees, and the two boarded with some other people that had decided to leave.

While he let her get on, he tried to peek into the little bag she held at her other side, but he didn't expect a foot in his shin – followed by angry glares from further female passengers. Befuddled, he took it and got on last. There were mutters of "pervert" circulating around the back afterward, but he didn't hear it. The position, and the unfortunate location of the bag, led his gaze to dangerous territory, and the girls thought some much needed retribution necessary.

X-X

When they got back, they both decided to drop the shenanigans and just get their stuff into their respective rooms. After much hassle from the hall monitors in the girls' dorms, they went to the courtyard and sat on one of the benches. Tsukune was merely content, while Inner Moka was oddly reserved. A minute passed with him staring off into the ever dreary sky, and her contemplation going unheeded. Right before the moment became awkward, though, Inner Moka spoke up.

"Tsukune, I know what you're thinking, and it should stop now," she started. He stopped, stiff, but did not look at her. "Today was fun, it really was. But I've seen how you've been looking at me and my other self these past few weeks. I cannot allow this to go further. I-"

"Moka-san, what are you talking about?" She jumped, not in the least expecting him to interrupt her. Once the shock passed, pure anger coursed through her veins, ready to beat him down into the ground and beyond for this insolence. But when she whipped her fiery gaze to him, she stopped, surprised once again. He was looking at her with those cool, innocent eyes of his, under no pretense of what she was talking about, nor recognizing the vampiric rage boiling in her eyes. This is what stopped her short; she saw no insinuating feelings in those ever-familiar reptilian eyes, and knew there was no purpose to her carefully prepared lecture. It seems as if he were just bumbling along, going with her whims because he wanted to, not as a means to some nefarious or plotting end...

Her eyes widened imperceptibly, a revelation hitting her. He really did view her as nothing but his friend...! But does that mean...? Or does he...? She didn't know. Sometimes he really confused the hell out of her, and this was a doozy. A small and startled laugh escaped her, and she looked away. She could still feel his inquiring glance on her, and quelled it with a quiet "it's nothing." After a moment, she bid these alien feelings away and joined him in staring at the sky.

It was nice, this being together. Of course, being back on academy grounds, it couldn't last forever; Mizore had spied them returning, and fetched Kurumu immediately. Presently, they were watching the vampires from above, on the roof of the girls' dorm. The distance wasn't too long for their supernatural hearing, and they were getting more and more agitated with each passing moment – well, Kurumu was.

"Mizore, when are we going to stop them?!" she whispered vehemently. She didn't know why, but whenever those two got closer than they should, a bitter and nasty feeling erupted in her chest, making her want to break it up as soon as possible, and in the most obnoxious way.

"We won't," she whispered, inaudible to normal human ears. When Kurumu moved to respond, "Not yet, at least. Let's see what happens." She herself was interestingly intrigued in the interaction, and was anticipating either a fight or a gooey making out session. Either way was fine with her, just as long as it was passionate.

The succubus wasn't happy with letting this intimate scene go on any longer than it had to, but she admired the yuki-onna's patience, so she attempted to match up to her stoic virtue. Down below, Tsukune's ears pricked the slightest bit, prompting Mizore to put a kunai, however miniscule, in her forehead.

"I'm a bit thirsty. Would you like something to drink, Moka-san?" Tsukune asked her.

"Yes, the usual," came her curt reply. He got up to head over to one of the vending machines by the dorm wall and get some tomato juice. The timing was just about perfect for her. She quickly got up herself, and with a quick and frighteningly fast kick to the nearby tree, felled the spies from their stoop. Inner Moka's cruel smile told them when they looked up that she had knew the entire time that they were stalking them. Tsukune walked back, and was surprised to see his other two friends lying on the ground with Inner Moka looming over them. By this point, he was used to seeing the unexpected, so he merely sighed and went to get two more for the new arrivals.

"So, to whom do I have the pleasure of thanking for intruding on my alone time with Tsukune – with my foot?" Her eyes were benign, but the way her lip was twitching every now and then bode unfathomable danger. Mizore, ever calm, simply stood and stared lackadaisically into the vampire's eyes, with no ready or reasonable rebuke apparent. Kurumu, however, was a different story.

"Is there something wrong with watching my friend? Or are you jealous of a little competition?" The succubus' bravado was admirable, but all the bravado in the world wouldn't help against the fury bespoken from the vein now pulsing steadily above her brow.

"Really, Moka-san, there's no need to hurt them," Tsukune intervened, trying to be the mediator. "It was just for fun, and there was no real harm in it." He tried using one of his appealing smiles to alleviate the mood.

Inner Moka was merely amused at Tsukune's rather mild attempt at referee, but this was an incident out of his jurisdiction. A quick smash on Kurumu and Mizore's heads put them in their place for the time being. "Tsukune, don't you think you should put your seal back on? It is against the rules to be in vampire form on campus."

Seeing his eyes widen in sudden realization really was priceless, and his scurrying actions even more so as he flew about, looking for the bracer. Anyway, it was late, so she went over to him and stopped his fluttering to give him a quick hug before she went up to her room. Some meditation was required after a day like this. Inner Moka was almost around the corner when she decided to take a look back. What she saw, however, was not Tsukune still bustling around while those two bimbos looked on; it was, in fact, something seemingly out of a dream. There he stood, a vampire, and a yuki-onna's aura was emanating from what should be a normal secondhand bloodsucker. The aspect that drove the whole scene home was his eyes; even with the distance, her supernatural vision was able to spot the ring of purple surrounding crimson globes. She knew what the purple meant; bright, ice blue had penetrated the irises, mixing with his normal red to create that ethereal purple. However, none of that explained the icy aura surrounding him. Apparently, he had resorted to feeling for the bracer with the ambient water vapor, a trick Mizore had shown them all a couple of weeks back while looking for her notebook (it was actually her diary). It involved feeling for an object with the water molecules, then freezing said object when found. The sound made ought to reveal the sneaky item's location, and was relatively accurate, as long as the user's hearing was sharp. Inner Moka knew what it was after she saw the fog around the entire courtyard; her knowledge was reaffirmed when the telltale tinkle of instantly formed ice came from under the bench where they were sitting. Apparently he had shoved some books underneath when they sat down, and the bracer along with it.

Her brow knit dangerously as she turned to continue on her way. This was not normal vampiric behavior at all, and he would have some explaining to do tomorrow. She was tired after perusing the lowly back-street market they called a shopping mall, and it was time to rest.

X-X

After Inner Moka had left, presumably to get some rest, the Duet merely talked with Tsukune a bit, completely ignoring his cryokinesis, and commented on his trip with the ever-intemperate vampiress. He tried to keep as much from them as possible, as much for his sake as hers, and was barely successful in warding off their probing questions. Finally, though, his defensive laughing kept them at bay, and they wished each other good night. Unbeknownst to any of them, though, a certain S-class monster with eerily glowing red eyes was watching the three of them from atop the roof of the dorm. The vein pulsing above her eyebrow wasn't as intense as before, but it was still there, beating steadily. Vampires were skilled climbers – they had to be, if they were to hunt their prey effectively – and it was a favored method of spying for the predator of the night if she wanted to look on undetected.

Satisfied that nothing out of the ordinary had passed between them, she headed back over the shingles to her side of the dorm, and lowered herself into her window. She would think about this in the morning, when she were more rested.

Tsukune lay in his bed, hands behind his head. The day had gone exceptionally well, and he wouldn't have traded it for anything in the world. The memories of the trip would never leave his mind, no matter what happened. There were still plenty of questions though; he never seemed to be in a shortage of those, for some reason. A good one was what the hell was in that little bag? Possibilities had been circulating in his mind ever since she had shown up with it. He let it go, for now; there were more important things to think about than some trivial trinket. Like how would Inner Moka react to his ice powers? Tsukune had never heard of a vampire manipulating ice, and it surely didn't make sense, since ice was basically solid water... The look she had given him when he went to find his bracer surely didn't bode well, either. He hoped the fallout wouldn't be too bad... Either way, it probably wouldn't be too bad, and his happy thoughts wouldn't be ruined by thinking about the future.

He got up to get ready for bed, seeing no sense in staying up much longer. All was well, his belly was full, and tomorrow showed moderate promise. He changed into his pajamas and went to brush his teeth, mind far away. Almost halfway through the cycle, Tsukune heard a knock on his door, followed by a vague voice that he couldn't make out. He finished up with his teeth and called out to the visitor, wondering who the heck would want to visit him at a time like this.

As soon as the knob was free of the latch, the door was kicked into his face, stumbling him. Dazed, Tsukune tried to look through his blurry eyes to make out the assailant.

"You again," he growled, staring viciously at the figure in front of him. Moburu tried to glare down at him, even though the two were now about the same height.

"Yes, me again. I'm not very happy about being thrashed by a lowlife vampire. Especially since it wasn't even you doing it. Don't narrow your eyes at me; you know yourself that you weren't normal after I nearly beat you to death." His cockiness and composure only served to make him more annoying, and quite frankly, Tsukune wasn't happy about it.

"Get out of here, you monster. I don't want you here." Each word was carefully enunciated, with barely restrained anger coursing through it.

"Oh? You going to make me, boy? That's right! You can't. So don't waste your breath."

"How did you even get in here, Moburu? Only students are allowed to enter Youkai," Tsukune asked. He genuinely was curious; the beast looked much older than a teenager, and he surely didn't act like it. The fact that his details were almost blatantly faked didn't help his case, either.

"Haven't figured it out yet, huh? What do they teach you here? Basic calligraphy? I'm a doppelganger, you fool. I copy the abilities and strength of those I come into contact with. You may be wondering why I didn't copy your shape; it's because vampires are so much weaker than the demons you find in the real Underworld, not like these pansies you call monsters at this school." With that, he drove a foot into Tsukune's chest, much like the first time, sending the vampire out the window (he was lucky it was open; there was no way he could afford a replacement) and into the courtyard. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt anywhere near the first time he had been kicked... The back of Tsukune's mind was curious as to what exactly that meant.

Either way, he had no time to dwell on it. The prick that called himself Moburu was already landing in front of him. To the shape-shifter's surprise, however, Tsukune was already on his feet, and was about to deactivate the seal.

"What happened to your hair, boy? I thought real vampires had silver hair!" As he finished the jest, he darted forward to take Tsukune down with a driving fist, and then to repeat last time's events. Moburu's eyes widened, though, when a flash of red and silver erupted from the boy, and he was no longer in sight. Moburu stopped the attack, looking around for the troublesome kid.

"Happy now? I'm all gussied up," said a voice from behind. Moburu lashed out at the voice's location, hoping to catch him by surprise.

To his dismay, the doppelganger hit nothing but air, and Tsukune was a good distance away, mocking him with his carefree expression. "You were not this strong when I fought you before! What the hell happened?!" he roared. The telltale signs of the different... thing that had kicked his ass before was not here, so he should be able to deal with the kid... but why wasn't he able to?

"You do know I wasn't a full vampire yet, right?"

"Huh?!" Moburu couldn't believe this; that would mean...

"Yeah. I was recently changed when you decided to barge in and try to kill me." Tsukune's face was serious, but his tone was lax, as if he were talking to a random stranger on the street. This only served to make Moburu angrier, for some reason. Youki began to emanate from the man, marking his fury.

"I will not be bested by a boy!" he yelled, and charged Tsukune once again. Tsukune could easily track his movements; apparently, the long training sessions with Inner Moka were paying off. That, and he was definitely a lot stronger than the first time this jerk had fought him. Speaking of which, a spinning backhand punch flew his way, aiming right for his face. Out of reaction more than decision, he caught the obtrusive arm with his right hand, stopping the attacker in his place. Growling like an animal, Moburu viciously swung his other fist underhand to put it between Tsukune's ribs, but he caught that with his other hand, too. Oddly enough, Moburu resorted to purely overpowering him, struggling to put him down.

Well I can play that game too, Tsukune thought. He channeled his youki into his calves and arms, matching the attacker bit for bit. Now it was a pure struggle to see who was stronger; but to Tsukune, it didn't seem anywhere near as serious nor intense as the first time. Was the imposter really this weak? Or had he gotten that much stronger? He didn't know, and cared even less. He was tired of this bullshit; fighting nearly every day for apparently no reason was beginning to wear on his nerves. He put more juice into his limbs, meaning to end it quickly.

What he didn't expect was a low blow to his shin, just after applying more of himself. Once down, the coward launched a kick right into his face, sending him through the bench he had sat on not too long ago. Tsukune's anger sparked; now Moburu was just playing dirty. Fine, then. If he wanted to get beat down, he would get it. With an outburst of his aura, he practically flew toward the doppelganger, and drove a powerful knee right into his abdomen before he could react. The recovery, power up, and charge had all happened in seconds; Moburu simply couldn't react to that kind of speed.

"What... happened...? How... are you... so strong...?" he spat out in between coughs. He wasn't done yet, but already he was hurting, and that didn't bode well, if the kid's power was anything to go by.

Tsukune smirked, before a mask of melancholy overcame his pale face. "Vampires are not monsters to be tested, as you just found out. I am only second-born, after all. If you think I'm strong, go and pick a fight with Moka-san. The pink-haired one you took down earlier? She's a thousand times stronger than me." And that means I may never earn her respect...

Moburu grimaced, then stood. Apparently he was done, if he couldn't outmatch Tsukune's full strength. It was fine by him, so long as the little bastard didn't pull any more tricks. The man's red eyes searched Tsukune's, then he said, "Fine. You have bested me. But don't think I'll take you down someday in the future. After all, you are not the strongest youkai in this realm, not by a long shot. Until then, just watch your back." With that, he turned and walked away in the direction of the school, a little stiffness in his stride.

His last remark sparked a reaction in Tsukune's brain, but he couldn't remember what it was, let alone decipher what it meant. It was familiar... yet not, at the same time. He would have to think on it another time, then; it was late and... judging by the looks of the courtyard (and his dirty clothes), he would have to do some answering tomorrow. With a sigh, he cleaned up what he could and returned to his room, and threw the pajamas into the wastebasket. They were no longer able to function as clothes, seeing as they had huge gashes in the back and sides. Which reminded him of the scratches on his own back; he felt for them with his fingers, and was surprised to feel nothing but uninterrupted new skin. Vampiric healing really was a marvel to behold...

With that, he fell straight onto his bed, and drifted off to sleep almost immediately. Dreams would not leave him alone, but at least they were normal, human dreams instead of the morbid ones he had had earlier.

X-X

The next morning, all four of the group awoke around the same time, glad that they at least had one more day before being forced to return to their classes. It was a wonderfully bland day, as it always was, and full of opportunity. Well, that was Kurumu's thoughts before she met up with Mizore. The snow girl always seemed to mellow her out, and at least calm the more obnoxious antics she thought up.

Tsukune and Moka got up the same way, ironically enough. Roll out of bed, brush teeth, make oneself presentable, head out the door with a determined attitude and a smile. Before long, all four were present and accounted for in their usual meeting spot up the road from the academy. Kurumu, as usual, proverbially exploded onto a meek Tsukune, before being torn off by the other two.

"Hey guys," he said, greeting each of them. His eyes lingered on Moka's for a split second longer than the others, but no one noticed. "How's it going?"

"Pretty well, if you ask me! So what're we doing today?" said Kurumu.

"Well... don't you think it would be nice to get some breakfast first?" Moka's voice always seemed to come in as if it were from a quiet radio riddled with static. As it were, however, it was always a reasonable and logistic approach, no matter the circumstance. It made her all the more endearing, seeing as the cuteness outweighed the seriousness. It was when her Inner self came out that it became unsettling. Debonair and serious made for quite an intimidating combo.

"Yeah, that actually sounds pretty good," Mizore chimed in. She never cared much for whatever shenanigans the others got into, but she liked to see what happened afterward. Such as whatever was planned for today. Besides, food was pretty much a necessity after just waking up.

The others agreed, and went to go get some breakfast at the academy. Afterward, it would be more training, since there was nothing better to do, and no one wanted to do homework on a free day like this. As they were walking there, Tsukune couldn't help but feel eyes on the back of his head, even though they were all walking pretty much side by side. He didn't know it was Moka (or rather, Inner Moka from within the rosary); she had not forgotten his little show of cryokinesis last night, and she knew all about his conversation with her other self after they had gotten back. He ignored the feeling, sensing no danger in it, and continued on.

Inner Moka meant to take full advantage of his naivete when they started training; she was genuinely curious about his peculiar new ability, and wanted to explore it for all it was worth. That, and figure out how the hell he had managed to procure it... however, she was genuinely pleased that he had at least grown stronger over the past week. Secondhand vampire or not, he would make the powerful race proud given enough time. Which led to thoughts about the hundred fights he's been in... if he doesn't watch his back, he might get killed before he could reach his full potential.

A smirk took place on her phantom face. That, she figured, was the reason she was here, then. Tsukune had unleashed her true form, and she guessed it were only right to repay him by making him strong enough to handle his own. It may hurt, both in ego and physically, but it would be best for him.

They had arrived at their usual training spot, and quickly started their normal stretching routines. Two cyclones of youki and five minutes later, the group began their katas with Inner Moka at the lead. She had already been taught as a young girl, and put herself above training at present. It didn't matter if it were for sport or otherwise to her; her prowess could fell an entire army, and hence there was no need to train, because then it would just be an insult. Of course, it was still amusing to oversee how clumsy the others' form was, and that made the warm-up all the more enjoyable. That, and the drill-sergeant role...

"Straight! Hook! Uppercut! Turn, kick! All right, finish with a jab! Jeez, keep it together, Kurumu! Full power ushiro-geri in unison! No, no, no, it has to be harmonic...! If there were enemies behind you three one of you would be mincemeat for sure. Repeat...!" She loved her role, she really did. It truly let her be how she was before she came to this blasted school.

After ten minutes, and high hostility, they quit with the warming up and moved on to the real training. Inner Moka sent the duo off to practice their team techniques, while she called Tsukune over to have a private chat on the edge of the circle.

"Kurumu, does it ever occur to you that Tsukune-kun and Moka-sama spend a little too much time together?" whispered Mizore as the two walked further away. Seeing as it was hard enough to hear the yuki-onna's voice at normal volume, Kurumu had to strain to make out most of the words.

"Yeah, I kinda noticed that, too... it's getting out of hand! We need to do something..." Mizore rolled her eyes, weary of the drama that was bound to come. She liked Kurumu for her sincerity and passion, but sometimes it was a bit over the top. She herself never endorsed the million crazy schemes the succubus thought up, but it was amusing to hear them all the same. Amusing, but then she had to moderate them or stop the girl altogether. But she liked Kurumu, so she kept her around.

"Maybe, but not right now. Moka-sama can destroy us with a flick of her finger, and you know it. We'll have to wait for later." Kurumu knew she was right, but the disappointment was palpable.

"You're right... but I want free reign when it comes time to planning," she acquiesced.

"Tsukune, I know you're hiding something."

"What...? What are you talking about, Moka-san?"

"I saw what you did last night, Tsukune. Don't pretend to hide it."

"M-Moka-san...? Wh-What did you see...?"

"Don't play idiot with me! I saw you use ice to find your seal!"

Tsukune sweat-dropped, relieved it wasn't as bad as he thought. It could have been a lot worse... he sighed, then said, "Moka-san, I wasn't trying to hide that. I didn't think it was that big of a deal."

A small tic mark appeared above her brow, twitching sporadically. Tsukune's eyes widened, wary of that tic mark. When it appeared, there was hell to pay, and usually for the person closest to her. Person in question being: him. "Tsukune," she forced through clenched teeth, the canines painfully visible to the world, "Vampires do not use ice. Vampires cannot use ice. So tell me; how in the hell are you able to manipulate ice?!"

Tsukune uttered a small 'eep' sound, fearful for his well-being, but otherwise kept his ground. Speaking of ground, he had to tread carefully. Inner Moka hadn't told him much about vampires except their history and some techniques, so he didn't know whether or not some actions were permissible or unacceptable. It was a dangerous thing not to keep up to date, but between studies, fights, and how busy he was kept in his free time by the combined might of the three girls, he didn't have a chance to get to trivial things such as vampire etiquette.

In hindsight, he should have told her about it nonetheless, regardless of whether he was a proper vampire or not. But, seeing as he didn't, he couldn't do anything about it but endure the upcoming onslaught. He tried to lighten the situation with a joke; "Come on, Moka-san! It's not like it's the most important thing right now, right? What with studies... and training... and... and..." His voice trailed off when he saw that it was doing nothing but making her angrier, and so he tried changing track.

"It's not a big deal, right? I'm sure you could do it too, if you drank some of Mizore's blood..." After he saw Inner Moka completely freeze, he stopped trying to talk his way out of it altogether. He had never seen her this way, and he decided to wait it out in case things became painfully dangerous.

Luckily for her, Tsukune wasn't very adept (yet) at all with reading her thoughts and emotions, especially her emotions. She had not froze in a bad way; she had, in fact, froze because she had never even considered consuming the blood of another youkai. She had always been told that humans and humans alone were the food that fueled a vampire's body, that their blood was the only thing truly capable of keeping the naturally parasitic race alive. Sure, every consequential living being possessed the life-sustaining liquid, but there was never the thought that others, too, could provide the same purpose with their own sustenance. Then again, human blood was the purest kind that vampires could acquire, technically; vampires were once human, after all. Human blood is the best because it is the ancestral source of a vampire's power and heritage, and without it, the race would degenerate into subhuman monsters incapable of rational thought or action.

This led to another thought; youkai possess the ability to assume human forms, and to do so, must have a trace of true humanity somewhere in the depths of their inhuman cores, right? So, in containing a nuance of humanity, a vampire could technically still feed from a fellow youkai and attain the same purpose. However, one had to account for the unnatural power within the blood as well; while not solely based in the blood as vampires are, youkai draw some of their supernatural power from their lifeblood, and ingesting it could have some... interesting side effects. What those are, exactly, remains to be seen. It seems to have manifested in Tsukune as an absorption, of sorts... strictly speaking, his digestive tract was unable to do anything with the supernatural energy other than utilize it for external use in its base form. Usually digested blood is converted directly to physical augmented power (the extreme strength that is unique to the powerful race), but in this case it was left untouched and channeled through his natural youki stores as...

Cryokinesis. Inner Moka's eyes widened, revelation finally dawning on them. Finally at ease from the puzzle that had plagued her for the past twenty four hours, she was more relaxed in this moment than she had been for a long, long time. Soon after, though (and a timid question about her well being from a fearful Tsukune), her ingrained vampire pride demanded that she test her newfound theory out... through force. Regaining her normal composure, Inner Moka stood erect, brushed a stray lock out of her face, and smiled her trademark cynical smile, eliciting another sweat drop from Tsukune.

"Tsukune. I believe we should begin practicing. There has been enough talk for a training session already."

Author's Notes: Man, I haven't written a chapter for this poor, neglected story for over a month. Ridiculous. I didn't even get my groove back until page 8 of this chapter. Even more ridiculous. Rest assured, though, I will now update more frequently as per my old schedule. I know I promised a triple-the-length chapter this time, too, but it simply wouldn't happen, for the reason above. Oh well, it'll come eventually. Until then, readers! Vincent.