The area surrounding Yokai Academy was the standard fare for a school of monsters. Rotting forests, swampy bogs, barren plains, rocky cliffsides, and creepy pathways lined with skulls and tombstones. The sky above had a few clouds rolling gently by as the sun shined down on the day, and a bat was flying franticly through the woods as fast as he could. Not that bats were uncommon in this place, they were quite literally everywhere. This one however was special as it was no ordinary bat.
He was a gift to a young vampire, the daughter of a great dark lord in the monster realm. The bat was of a unique kind as he could not only talk but shape shift to assist his mistress with whatever she may need done. As it turned out his primary focus became that of weaponry, though he never complained. He was just thankful she wasn't using him for any kind of sensual needs, although the thought did cross his mind from time to time. The bat, which went by the name of Kou, was ordered to obey his mistress at all times, and he did his best to do so. After she left for a journey with her older sister the bat had desperately tried to catch up with her, the poor flyer always arriving too late as the group moved from one location to another. He did however finally catch up to her as she had arrived back at Yokai Academy. The servant was overjoyed that his mistress was alive and well, and was highly curious as to what transpired in his absence. And what a tale she had to tell too, everything from action, romance, death, and flat-out miracles.
However one detail of her trip caused quite a stir with the bat. Kokoa revealed that she had evoked the Eia Dreahl with her older sister Moka in a bet to see who could be Tsukune's mate. To the younger vampire's dismay she lost the bet and was forever barred from becoming Tsukune's mate under penalty of death. The vampire had treaded closely to crossing the line in her travels, however due to the ghoul manipulating Tsukune from within, the group had tolerated and forgiven her for her mistakes. She had even devoted her life to the boy as atonement for what she had caused. The girl was on the road to recovery and reclaiming her vampire pride as she learned the error of her ways.
Until the ghoul took over from within her, a spirit that was left with the vampire after the dark being tricked her into finishing the transfusion. The dark spirit not only tried to kill the group and release the ghoul from Tsukune's body by destroying the Holy Lock, but the dark energy also manifested a darker side of Kokoa, much as Tsukune had a darker side as well. But Kokoa's dark side didn't want to kill or destroy; it only wanted to mate with Tsukune, to make him hers.
And it succeeded.
"KOU!" Kokoa screamed out as she and Moka were running through the woods. They were both franticly searching for the bat before it got away to tell their father of what Kokoa had done.
"Kou come back! We need to explain!" Moka shouted as they weaved into the forest.
"Oh no no no no no! I'm so dead! Literally!" Kokoa cried out with fright.
"We'll find him, don't give up. Remember father relocated. Even if Kou does leave the grounds completely he won't find father back where the castle used to be," Moka said as they looked around quickly.
"He'll find father, he always does!" the redhead said with fear as she trembled.
Over the forest two winged flyers were soaring around and scanning the trees closely. They had taken to the air to cover more ground, yet finding the bat was still proving to be difficult.
"This is crazy, how are we supposed to find a bat here? And a specific one at that!" Rason said as they swooped down and started to circle around the forest.
"I have no idea, just keep looking for anything. If we don't find that bat soon Kokoa's going to get the axe," Kurumu said worriedly.
"Dammit, there has to be some way to draw him out. There's not telling which way he even went," Rason said as he looked around franticly. The surrounding woods encompassed most of the view and finding a single bat was like finding a needle in a haystack.
Down in the forest on another side of the academy two figures were darting through the trees with ease and grace. Dark was looking around as he leapt from tree to tree, moving quietly and quickly all while listening to hardcore metal from his player. Right behind him Mizore moved equally as well through the trees, the stalker girl used to moving quickly and quietly in her time at the academy when she used to chase after Tsukune. They looked around for any movement or sign of the bat, but were met with no such luck.
In another direction away from the academy Tsukune and Felucia were running through a swampy area, the two sticking to the solid ground and looking around carefully.
"This is crazy, how did I get stuck with you anyway?" Felucia barked out as the two jumped over logs and darted around trees with haste.
"What's wrong with me? Besides, Dark and Mizore left before we even decided on who was going where, that and we have no idea which way they went," Tsukune said as they kept moving.
"This sucks, that slushy gets all the time with Dark. What about me?" Felucia whined as they came to a clearing and looked around quickly.
"He just wants to spend time with his girlfriend. He still hangs out with all of us as friends, he's not abandoning you or anything like that," Tsukune reassured. Felucia looked to him then down with sorrow.
"It's just not fair. I want to spend time with him, but I can't get any alone time with him at all," she said softly. Tsukune looked to her with a curious glance, the demon sniffling as she looked around with a saddened expression.
"C'mon, we can search this way," the boy said as he looked towards the trees nearby. The demon nodded and started to run that way before Tsukune grabbed her hand and stopped her, the girl looking back to him curiously.
"Hey, don't forget Dark is your friend. He wouldn't want to do anything to hurt you, none of us would," he said gently. The girl looked at him for a moment then yanked her hand away with a scoff.
"Don't come on to me now, you already have two vampires you can have your way with. I belong to Dark only!" she scolded sternly. The boy looked at her with a startled expression and raised a finger to try to speak.
"Besides…" she said softly as she looked away, the boy looking at her curiously.
"He's the only one I could ever love. My place is by his side no matter what, I… I can't imagine being anywhere else," she said gently. Tsukune looked at her with wonder then up. He gasped and pointed upward.
"Bat!" he cried out, the two looking up to see a bat flying overhead away from the academy.
"Is it him?" Felucia asked out loud.
"Only one way to find out," Tsukune said as they chased after it through the trees.
Back at the academy gates a mage was looking around worriedly.
"This is just great, one day here and all hell breaks loose. I get the feeling staying here will be just as dangerous as fighting Fairy Tale," Ahakon muttered as he looked around carefully. The boy wouldn't be able to keep up with the others, so he opted to remain at the academy until they returned. After a few minutes of pacing back and forth he looked back to the building.
"Maybe I should get the others. They could help us search faster," he said with a nod. He ran back into the school and down the halls, running towards the damaged part of the school in search of the others. He ran around a corner and stopped with a curious glance around the area.
"Where is everybody? It's so quiet here. Ruby? Yukari? Apoch? Astreal?" he called out. All throughout the damaged corridors and hallways was silence and darkness, the place still in ruin and falling apart around him.
"Just great, everybody is missing now. What else could go wrong?" he muttered. From behind him a purple glow started to fill the hallway. The boy slowly looked back as he felt a strong aura building behind him. He blinked then looked down the hallway with wide eyes.
Kou was flying above the trees with haste, franticly flapping his wings as he tried to get away from the academy and towards the castle of the dark lord that he served. The castle was far off in the vampire world, and the bat had to travel towards the tunnel that connected Yokai Academy to the other worlds quickly as he had dire news to report to his lord.
"Ms. Kokoa! How could you? WEEEE!" he cried out as he flew towards the tunnel far off and across from the forests.
"I can't believe you would betray your vampire laws like that, how could you?" he squeaked out as he flew above the trees with haste. He suddenly felt a vampiric surge of power behind him, the bat looking back to seeing Tsukune shooting through the trees down below and looking up at him with crimson eyes.
"Oh holy crap!" Kou yelled out as he flew away as fast as he could. Tsukune dashed through the forest and jumped up, the vampire power infused boy leaping from tree branch to branch as he climbed up higher towards the flyer.
"Get back here!" he yelled out as he leapt up into the air. Kou squeaked out and flashed a bright red, the bat suddenly shooting off into many identical flyers. The dozens of bats scattered as Tsukune reached out and caught one in his hand. He landed back down as Felucia caught up to him, the boy looking around in the sky intently.
"Did you get him?" the doll demon asked as she looked around. The boy shook his head and showed the girl his empty hand, the illusion having disappeared on his way down to the ground.
"No, he's using trickery to elude us. He could be any one of those bats up there," he said as he pointed to the large group of bats looking to him with arrogant grins.
"You won't keep me from delivering news of Ms. Kokoa's betrayal to her father. WEEE!" a copy yelled out as the group started to fly away.
"Dammit stop Kou, you don't understand!" Tsukune yelled out as he started chasing them again. Felucia grabbed a rock and threw it at high speed at the group of bats, the stone striking one and going through it as it exploded into a black smoke cloud.
"Hey watch it, we don't want to kill him!" Tsukune called back to the demon. The girl blinked and growled as she started chasing after him.
"What's the big deal? He's trying to get his master killed anyway!" she hollered as they chased after the swarm of bat clones.
"You won't stop me!" the group said in unison as they squeaked triumphantly.
"Sounds like a challenge to me," a boy's voice called out from behind them. The group looked back to see Kurumu and Rason flying towards them with narrowed eyes. The bats squeaked and scattered as the two flew through the group and picked out two of them. The bats laughed then vanished into a cloud of black smoke as the others scattered about.
"C'mon, we have to find the real one quick!" Kurumu shouted out as they circled back and started to chase after a few. Some of the bats continued their trip across the forest with Tsukune and Felucia in hot pursuit while the others started to dive down into the tress to elude the flyers chasing them.
"Stop this Kou, this isn't funny!" Rason yelled as he flew towards a few bats only to have them zigzag around the trees effortlessly. With his larger wingspan he was having more trouble staying on their tail, unlike his girlfriend who was flying through the trees nimbly and with grace. She grabbed two more, the bats laughing and poofing into nothingness while the girl growled and looked around with a glare.
"Dammit all, quit your hiding you lousy bat!" she roared out in frustration. Rason shot back into the air and caught another, the bat also vanishing after a laugh at the angel.
"This is going to be a problem," he said as he looked down to see the many bats flying around in the trees. Kurumu darted around a tree and missed catching another as the bats squeaked and laughed while flying around wildly.
"Grr, you're just pissing us off now!" the succubus yelled out as she glared around at the swarm of bats.
"Hahaha, you won't stop me! WEEE!" the bats cheered out in unison.
"Kou stop!" Kokoa yelled out as she and Moka dashed through the trees and caught two of the flyers. They looked at them in surprise as the bats laughed and stuck their tongues out at them, and then vanished into a puff of black smoke.
"What? Illusions?" Moka said as she looked around worriedly.
"Dammit Kou! Listen to me!" Kokoa shouted out as she looked around with frustration.
"There's too many of them! How can we find the original?" Kurumu called down to the vampires as she grabbed another in midair, the bat again vanishing after a cackle at the girl.
"I don't know, they all look exactly the same!" Moka called out as she chased after two more, the bats swooping up towards the trees out of her reach. One of them flew into the grip of Rason and promptly vanished as the angel flew by the trees.
"This is crazy, how do we know the real Kou is even in this mess?" Rason called down to his friends.
"Just grab them quickly, hopefully Tsukune and Felucia will sort out the other group," Kurumu said as she swooped by and grabbed another fake bat. The group scrambled in the forest to try to catch all the nimble flyers, each bat they caught laughing and vanishing after a moment. As they franticly tried to catch all the copies that flew around them in circles Tsukune and Felucia were chasing after another group that continued their flight towards the tunnels far off near the mountainside.
"Kou stop, you don't understand!" Tsukune yelled out as he jumped up from tree to tree once again. He leapt into the air and reached out for the bats, the group scattering and diving down into the forest to weave around the trees. The boy growled in frustration and landed back down, the two continuing their pursuit. Felucia swiped up another rock and threw it towards the bats, the speeding projectile flying through a bat causing it to vanish in a cloud of black smoke.
"Felucia stop! You're going to kill the real Kou!" Tsukune cried out as the demon swiped up another rock and threw it at the group.
"If he's the servant of that kid, I'm sure he's plenty durable," she scoffed as the rock struck through another bat causing it to vanish as well.
The bats started to scatter around the forest area as the two gave chase to any nearby. The bats weaved around the trees and flew up near the branches to stay out of reach while their chasers jumped around the trees to grab them. Each one they nabbed laughed and vanished, the two looking around with frustration.
"Hahaha, you won't stop me! WEEE!" the bats cheered out. Suddenly a few ice kunai flew out of the trees nearby and swiped near a few of the bats, the unlucky targets getting pinned to the trees with a blade on each side of their bodies. They squeaked out in fear as Mizore was seen up in a tree looking around, the girl having three more blades ready between her fingers as she held her fist up. She flung them out with precision at another cluster, the blades picking two more out and sticking them to the trees. The trapped flyers laughed and vanished as Mizore dropped down next to the surprised Tsukune and Felucia.
"I vaguely recall telling that girl that chasing after you was a mistake," she muttered as she looked around calmly. Tsukune rubbed the back of his head and chuckled nervously as Felucia glanced around carefully.
"Where's Dark?" Felucia asked. The snow maiden glanced to her then gazed around again.
"Looking for the bat of course," she replied with her same tone.
"There's so many of them, we need to find the real one fast," Tsukune said with worry. The bats circled around above them and laughed at the trio.
"We told you! You won't stop… what? Holy crap!" the bats said in surprise before they all vanished into a cloud of smoke. The group looked around curiously then to each other.
"What happened?" Felucia asked.
"They all disappeared. How?" Tsukune asked as he scanned the sky. Mizore looked to the side and smiled softly.
"That's my beloved," she said softly to herself. The group looked over to see Dark walking towards them with a struggling bat in his hand. The boy had the same expression as always while the bat's was of fear.
"Alright Dark!" Felucia cheered out with a jump.
"You got him! But how? They were everywhere, how did you find the real one?" Tsukune said in amazement. Dark glanced to him then looked behind.
"I just watched for the single bat to fly towards the tunnels. Why would the original stay with the decoys?" he said simply. The group blinked and looked to the bat as it squeaked and thrashed about in his grip.
"You know, being a decoy for our missions so many times before, you'd think I would have thought of that," Felucia said flatly as she raised an eyebrow at the bat.
"Let me go! Let me go this instant!" Kou cried out as he struggled. Dark tightened his grip causing the bat to squeak and freeze in place.
"First I die, then I nearly get burned to a crisp, and now you have me chasing a bat. Never dull around you guys indeed," Dark said flatly as he started walking back towards the academy. Mizore smiled and walked up next to him while Felucia and Tsukune watched them with wonder.
"How… how does he do that anyway?" Tsukune asked curiously.
"What? Be the hero? That's just Dark," Felucia said dreamily. The girl giggled and ran after the couple as Tsukune just blinked in wonder.
"Seriously, it's just uncanny," he said softly to himself as he looked around. He shrugged then chased after them as well.
Elsewhere in the forest a group of monsters were looking around in surprise. The dozens of bats that were swarming around them had suddenly vanished into small clouds of smoke. The group looked around with confusion while Kokoa trembled and dropped to the ground on her knees.
"Oh no… now where is he? He probably got out, he left the academy grounds! I'm dead!" Kokoa cried out as she started to shake with fear.
"We don't know that Kokoa, calm down," Moka said worriedly.
"Even if he did Moka's father isn't where he last was, Kou won't find him," Kurumu added as she looked around cautiously.
"He'll find father, he always does!" the redhead cried out as she looked up with a devastated expression.
"Kokoa, we'll figure something out, I won't let them kill you for this," Moka said as she walked up to the young vampire, the redhead looking up with tears starting to come out. She looked down and closed her eyes as she sniffled.
"No amount of servitude can atone for this. I've gone back on the vampire law…" she said with sorrow.
"It wasn't your choice Kokoa, that ghoul used you like it did Tsukune. The law can't really count that, can it?" Rason asked worriedly.
"I'm afraid so. Technically it was Kokoa who mated with Tsukune; it was her darker desire to do so. She may not have truly wanted to do the act, but she did mate with him," Moka said remorsefully.
"There's no saving me. Who am I kidding? Even if I do catch Kou father will find out eventually. I'm beyond saving," Kokoa said softly to herself.
"Kokoa don't speak like that, there must be some way-" Moka started before the redhead shouted up at her.
"Enough! You can't stop this… nobody can. It's over," she said as she looked down in defeat.
"Pathetic," a voice said from behind. The group looked over to see Dark, Mizore, Felucia, and Tsukune walking towards them from the woods. They saw a bat struggling in the shadow demon's grip and jumped in surprise.
"You found him!" Kurumu called out. They walked over to the surprised group and held the bat out for Kokoa to take.
"Kou…" Kokoa said softly. The bat hissed at her as it tried to free himself.
"How could you Ms. Kokoa? How could you betray your laws?" Kou squeaked out as it thrashed about in the boy's grip.
"It wasn't her fault Kou. Tell him Kokoa," Tsukune said worriedly. The vampire looked at the bat then down in sorrow.
"It's no use Tsukune. Whether I was in control or not I violated the pact. I can't escape this," she said remorsefully.
"What? You mean you had us chasing after this bat for nothing?" Felucia barked out. She instantly hit the ground with an ice kunai jammed into her skull. Mizore lowered her hand and kept her eyes on the redhead who started to tremble.
"I'm a disgrace... I've lost my pride and honor, and violated a sacred vampire law. What's become of me… what happened to me?" Kokoa cried out.
"Ms. Kokoa you are not my mistress anymore, just wait until your father hears about your betrayal." Kou squeaked out. Dark growled and tightened his grip around the bat, the flyer gasping with surprise. The boy then brought the frightened bat up to his eye line and glared at it.
"Listen up bat, if she dies now, Tsukune will follow shortly afterward. Then, seeing as how I'll be in a foul mood, you might just follow them as well," he said with a cold voice. The bat looked at him with fright as the group looked to him with wonder.
"Dark…" Kokoa said softly. Moka looked at the demon with wonder then to Tsukune.
'He knows Kokoa's debt to Tsukune is the only leverage he has to keep him alive. Mizore was right, he really is trying to save him.'
"But… but…" Kou stammered out.
"Kokoa, repeat the rules you both agreed to," Dark said in a commanding voice. Kokoa jumped slightly then looked up in thought.
"Well, we agreed that the first girl to get Tsukune to have a nosebleed wins the right to have him as her mate, and whichever one of us lost would forfeit the right to be with him," she said as she looked to her sister.
"Yeah, and Ms. Moka won that pact!" Kou shouted out.
"Not quite," Dark said with a glance to Moka. The group looked to him puzzled as Kou squeaked out in annoyance.
"What do you mean? Ms. Moka won by the terms set forth!" Kou cried out.
"Technically, Inner Moka won that bet," Dark said with a smirk at the bat. Kou stopped and looked to him with confusion as the group turned to Moka, the vampire thinking about that comment.
"Well, yeah, but she's still my big sister even then. What's your point?" Kokoa asked out loud. Dark shook his head and looked to the bat who was staring at him cautiously.
"Tsukune's relationship is a unique case. He's dating two girls in one. They may share the same body, but they have separate personalities and thoughts. So in a way, she's two different girls," Dark said with a glance to the pink haired vampire.
"But… what does that have to do with the pact?" Moka asked curiously.
"Inner Moka won the bet. But you mated with him, did you not Moka?" Dark asked simply. The vampire blinked then nodded slowly.
"Well yeah… so?" she asked. Mizore thought about it then jumped at the realization.
"Moka, the bet was that whoever won the pact would be the only one to be his mate. That means that only your other self would be allowed to mate with him," she said softly. The group blinked and looked to Moka with surprise. She looked down to her rosary with wide eyes.
"But… then that means…" she said shakily.
"You violated the pact as well Moka. You broke the law," Dark said flatly. The group jumped in shock as Moka looked at her rosary with surprise.
"What? I broke it too? Is… is that true?" she said with fright.
'Hmm, I guess if you want to be technical about it…'
'But we're the same!'
'In certain ways yes… but in this case…'
"Big sis… is that… true?" Kokoa asked with wide eyes.
"What are you trying to do man? You're going to get them both killed!" Rason cried out. Dark smirked then looked to the bat as the familiar eyed the pink haired vampire.
"Well, so be it. You both violated the law! Wait until your father hears about this!" Kou squeaked out.
"So what? You can't kill her," Dark said simply. All eyes turned to him as he glanced to Moka with a smirk.
"If you kill that version of Moka, then the inner one dies as well. But she's done no wrong, so you can't kill her for this," Dark said as he eyed the rosary. Everybody fell silent as they tried to wrap their heads around this.
"But… then what happens now?" Kurumu asked confused.
"The pact they made is flawed. There cannot be a true winner since Moka is a unique case," Mizore said with a soft smile.
"Flawed?" Kokoa asked softly as she looked up at the shadow demon. He nodded then looked to the bat with a blank expression as always.
"Yes, flawed. Therefore it is not a real pact, and is void," Dark said as he let the bat go. Kou fluttered in front of Kokoa as he looked between the vampire sisters with confusion.
"Then… that means…" Moka said softly.
"Nobody is going to be executed," Dark said simply as the bat landed on the ground and looked down in deep thought.
"Moka?" Tsukune asked curiously. The pink haired vampire was thinking about it again and again.
'It... it does make sense.'
'Clever loophole Dark, I'm impressed.'
'Why didn't he mention that from the start when you won the pact back in the village?'
'Probably in hopes the pact would keep Kokoa in her place.'
'That or…'
'He just didn't care…'
She looked up around at the group and nodded with a soft smile.
"It makes sense. The law can't kill the winner, and in this case that's my inner self," she said gently. All eyes turned to Kokoa who was looking at her sister with surprise.
"So… I'm not in trouble? Really?" she asked worriedly. She looked down to her pet bat who leapt into the air and flew around her.
"Ms. Kokoa, you're not in danger after all! I'm so relieved! WEEE!" he cried out joyously. The vampire blinked then grabbed the bat with one hand, the girl's eyes narrowed at the now frightened flyer.
"Kou…" she growled as her aura around her started to rise. The bat squeaked in fear as Kokoa glared at him.
"You were going to have me killed! What kind of servant are you anyway? I told you to stop and you didn't listen! What the hell?" she roared as she started shaking the bat furiously in her grip. The group watched with blank expression as she pounded the bat into the ground a few times, making several cracks and stress marks on impact, then shook him violently again.
"Um… Kokoa? Is that really necessary?" Moka asked with a worried smile.
"You're going to pay for this Kou, mark my words!" Kokoa yelled at the fearful bat.
"Kokoa stop this now," Tsukune said out loud. The vampire instantly halted and looked to him with wonder.
"Wow, that actually worked," Rason said in amazement.
"Tsukune?" Kokoa asked curiously.
"Stop treating him that way. He was just doing what he had to under orders, just like you keep saying you want to do. You can't be mad at him for doing as he was told," Tsukune said sternly. The young vampire nodded timidly then looked down. The bat squirmed out of her grip then flew in front of Tsukune.
"How dare you speak to Ms. Kokoa that way, she is still a proud noble vampire!" the bat squeaked out.
"Oh really," Kurumu said dryly. Kokoa looked at the bat then down with shame. After a moment she clenched her fists then looked up at the bat with discontent.
"Stop Kou!" she yelled, the bat turning to her in fear.
"Tsukune is my master now, remember? You will treat him with respect," she said sternly as she got back on her feet and glared at the bat with her arms crossed before her.
"But… Ms. Kokoa!" the bat squealed.
"No buts!" Kokoa roared out. The bat nodded slowly then flew over onto her shoulder. Moka walked over and looked at her sister with relief and a small smile. Kokoa glanced to her then down with a gentle expression.
"If… if that's ok with you still Tsukune," she said worriedly. The boy looked at her with a gentle smile and nodded.
"If that's what must be done, then I'll help you reclaim your pride Kokoa," he said kindly. The young vampire looked to him with a bright smile.
"Thank you master," she said happily.
"Kokoa…" Moka said with a dull smile. Kokoa flinched then nodded.
"I mean… Tsukune," she said softly. She blinked then grabbed the bat from her shoulder with a curious glare.
"Kou, I need you to find father for me," she ordered sternly. The group looked at her with surprise.
"Um, I thought you didn't want that bat to find him," Felucia said with confusion. Kokoa looked around in the sky then back to the bat.
"Listen up Kou. Find father and find out what happened with Fairy Tale. We need to know what he did about them and where he is now," the vampire said in a bossy tone. The bat looked at her curiously then around.
"Where he is now? WEE?" he asked puzzled.
"Fairy Tale found where our home was, and you know father…" Moka said with a weak smile. The bat thought about that for a moment then jumped a bit. The dark lord was known to completely demolish his fortress if the secret location was found out, a strange quirk about him as no other vampire lord or dark lord had that habit.
"Oh no, my favorite comics were still in there. Oh no," Kou said as he started crying.
"Forget your stupid comics, find father quickly and see what happened with Fairy Tale!" Kokoa barked out. The bat nodded fearfully then took off into the sky. The group watched him fly over the forest away from the academy.
"Can he really find your father?" Tsukune asked curiously.
"He should be able to sense out his owner's location. That's how he managed to tail after me," Kokoa said proudly.
"Yeah… but he got lost in the human world… for days," Rason pointed out. Kokoa staggered at that then looked up with worried eyes.
"Well… he should be able to find father… I hope," she said nervously.
"I'm sure he will. I just hope he brings back good news," Moka said softly. Kurumu sighed with relief and walked over to Rason, the girl's wings and tail retracting as she gently held onto his arm.
"Can we go back now? This morning has been hell," she said tiredly. Mizore smiled softly and held onto her demon's arm.
"Might as well," she said simply. She glanced to Kokoa with a blank stare as the vampire kept looking around in the air where her bat flew out of sight. Kokoa blinked and looked over to the snow woman with a worried expression.
"Kokoa, remember what I warned you about at the hotel?" Mizore asked with a raised eyebrow. The vampire jumped at that and looked down with remorse.
"Yes," she said softly. The snow girl stared at her for a moment then downward as she closed her eyes.
"I think I need a different maid of honor," she said flatly. Kokoa jumped at that and looked to Mizore with wide eyes.
"What? No, please! I'm trying to make things right again, honest!" she cried out. Felucia looked at the redhead and smirked.
"I'd be glad to do the honors if you need somebody more loyal," she said arrogantly. Mizore glanced to her then back to Kokoa.
"Just one more chance, please!" Kokoa whined with her hands held together. The snow girl sighed and looked away.
"Fine, your last chance. No more screw ups," she said coldly. The vampire nodded and looked down with worry while Felucia scowled at the redhead.
"C'mon you guys, let's put this behind us already," Tsukune said with a worried smile. Moka nodded and walked over to him, the vampire holding his arm tightly with a loving embrace.
"Tsukune's right. We're all good friends, let's just start our return to school on good terms, ok?" she asked kindly.
"I suppose we can provided some people stay away from my boyfriend," Mizore said coolly as she threw another ice kunai to the doll demon who was standing very close to Dark. Felucia dropped to the ground and twitched while Dark just glanced to her then to his girlfriend. She blinked and smiled lovingly at him while removing her lollipop.
"Mine," she said softly as she looked into his eyes. He smiled softly and nodded, the girl sighing happily and putting the candy back into her mouth.
"Well let's go my dear. I need to get a new pair of shirts… again," Rason said with a laugh as he looked to his girl. Kurumu smiled up at him playfully then eyed his chest.
"No… you're fine," she said with a purr. The angel chuckled as he rubbed his head and looked up with a slight blush. She giggled and jumped into a fierce hug with the boy. The group watched as she went into another love filled tangent as the angel thrashed slightly in her grip, the boy's face lodged into her chest again. A few minutes later he went limp and collapsed, the girl blinking then looking down with wide eyes.
"I wonder if he'll survive the school year," Tsukune asked curiously as Kurumu tried to shake the unconscious angel back to reality with a frightened expression. The group looked at Rason curiously and nodded, everybody wondering the same thing. After Rason regained his senses and Felucia had jumped back to her feet and whined about Mizore keeping Dark to herself, the group started to walk back towards the academy. Moka held onto her boyfriend's arm tightly, happy that everybody was ok again and she could resume enjoying having Tsukune as her mate. There was no vampire pact binding them together now, but that didn't matter. The two were in love, and Kokoa had come to fully accept this. The redhead walked behind Tsukune with a soft smile and a calm stride. She was determined to keep Tsukune as her friend no matter what, and the first step to her recovery was to follow his command to reclaim her pride. She blinked then looked down with a blush as a thought crossed her mind.
'Tsukune… was my first after all. I guess if anybody were to be my first, I would have wanted it to be him.'
By a strange twist of fate she had the honor of claiming Tsukune to be her first time, and remain friends with him and everybody else. Granted she didn't enjoy the actual act as she was forced into it by her darker self, but the thought that her first belonged to him was a bit comforting. She giggled then continued walking behind the couple, ready to prove herself to both of them.
"Ok, I guess we'll get cleaned up then meet you all at the gymnasium," Rason said as they approached the academy building and the path toward the dorm buildings.
"Hey, where's Ahakon?" Moka asked curiously.
"Maybe he left to find the others," Tsukune said as he looked around.
Suddenly the area around them shook violently as a large explosion echoed out from inside the academy. Part of the section near the damaged wing blasted out in a fierce explosion as dust and debris shot away wildly.
"What the hell?" Rason yelled out.
"Will this crap ever stop?" Kurumu groaned out loudly.
"Now what's going on?" Kokoa barked out as she regained her balance.
Out from the front entrance four figures were seen exiting the building with haste.
"Is that…" Moka said, squinting her eyes to make them out. The group watched Ahakon and Gin run towards them, the senior student carrying two wounded witch sisters in both his arms over his shoulders.
"Get back! Quick!" Gin yelled out as another explosion blasted out from behind them, the front entrance of the academy detonating with a loud bang and a fierce shockwave. The group was knocked back by the wave of power as the four monsters were thrown towards them. They collapsed down just as the group managed to get back up.
"Gin! Ahakon! What happened?" Moka asked worriedly. Ahakon was looking at the sisters with wide eyes, the two girls bruised and groaning as they lay there.
"Are they ok?" Kurumu asked as she and Mizore ran over to them.
"We barely got them out in time," Gin said as he caught his breath. Ahakon ran over to the sisters and looked at them with worried eyes.
"What happened to them?" Mizore asked as she tried to wake up Apoch.
"Astreal? Astreal!" Kurumu cried out as she tried to move the blonde haired witch. Moka looked at the four then towards the academy.
'Do you feel that?'
'That monster aura… it's enormous…'
"Apoch! Astreal!" Ahakon cried out with fear.
"Ahakon what happened to them?" Kurumu asked as she looked over their wounds. The sisters were struggling to move as they stirred slightly.
"Where's Ruby and Yukari?" Tsukune called out looking around the damaged school.
"Oh crap, are they still in there?" Rason said as he arched his wings back. Another explosion rang out from inside the school, this time dust and debris shooting out the entrance at the same time. A body was seen flying out from the chaos and tumbled into a wicked roll towards the group. As it collapsed down in front of them the group stared with surprise.
"Ruby!" Moka cried out. The witch lay there battered and bruised as her wand was held tightly in her grip. She was struggling to move as her body trembled in pain.
Moka and Tsukune ran over and helped the wounded witch sit up, the girl flinching in pain.
"Ruby! What happened, are you ok?" Tsukune asked worriedly. The witch twitched at that then looked at the boy weakly.
"Do I look ok?" she snapped. The boy staggered at that slightly then helped the witch back to her feet.
"Ruby what's going on? Why is everybody hurt?" Moka asked worriedly. The witch looked over to the billowing clouds by the school's entrance and growled, struggling to stay standing.
"She's gone crazy! You have to stop her!" Ahakon cried out as he looked back to the chaos with a frustrated glare.
"Who's gone crazy?" Felucia asked out loud.
Then they felt it, a strong wave of monster energy. It rippled along the ground and washed over the group, everybody looking over to the smoke cloud with caution. Dark slowly grabbed his earbuds and put them in his pocket, in doing so Mizore and Felucia looked at him with worried eyes.
'Headphones off…'
'We have a serious problem…'
"What… what is that?" Tsukune asked as he felt the power resonate around him. From the clouds of smoke and haze a purple glow started to shine, the light seeming to come closer from inside the building.
"She's gone off the deep end, she tried to kill us," Gin said with worry as he got into a defensive position. Ahakon watched with fright and anger then raised his hands towards the purplish glow. Mizore and Kurumu stood in front of the wounded witch sisters and readied themselves as well; nails extending out and frozen claws forming. Dark and Rason watched the smoke with a careful eye as the glow got brighter.
"What… what is that power?" Moka said worriedly as they felt the aura grow larger in front of them.
Out from the smoke a figure walked towards the group. She was dressed in a witch's outfit complete with a witch's hat. She held a wand in her hand tightly, the purple and reddish glow emanating from it causing small sparks and electrical arcs around it. Her eyes were set in a cold glare as they glowed with a soft purple. Her aura radiated around her, the little girl's power far exceeding anything that has been seen before from her. Her cape flowed gently behind her as she walked towards the group slowly.
"Yukari?" Tsukune said in surprise. The girl growled then held her wand out toward the group with one hand. The stick started to glow brightly and hum as her power was focused towards the end of it.
"What is she doing?" Kurumu yelled out in fright. The little girl's monster energy skyrocketed around her as the ground around the witch cracked apart from the pressure.
"Her power… where is she getting it from?" Mizore said in wonder as the group backed up.
"Yukari? What are you doing? Stop!" Kokoa yelled out.
"You… you will all…" the young witch growled with hatred as her eyes flashed red then purple. Her power built up in the wand as it started to glow brightly and tremble.
"She's gone mad…" Ruby breathed out as the group watched the young witch with surprise. Yukari screamed out as a blast fired out from her wand, a massive purple and red projectile that raced towards the group at high speed.
"DIE!"