Disclaimer: I do not own R+V.

A/N: Okay so this chapter I will be using Kou-chan so I hope that I get the character right (to be honest I have only read the manga so I have no idea what his personality is supposed to be, so if it is OOC then don't flame me, please). Oh and this chapter starts of with a scene between Kurumu and Dragon. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 20

Kurumu was glad to be alive. She was really risking herself as she continually taunted Kokoa whenever she made a move (albeit clumsily) on Tsukune. This had become the succubus' amusement as she waited for them to decide upon their next move yet she also found that fearing for her life due to the red headed vampire's violent tendencies was the only fun she could have. Ruby was constantly out, Mizore was ignoring everyone as she messed around with her powers and the succubus was feeling quite left out.

"Kurumu do you think you could go pick up some supplies for us?" Ruby asked. It had been three days after Kokoa had woken back up and Kurumu had her first truly frightening chase from the vampire.

"What supplies?" Kurumu asked. She was both annoyed and pleased to have something to do away from the hotel.

"I need you to gather...well I mainly need you to gather these things for me" Ruby said as she handed Kurumu a list.

The succubus was curious about Ruby's reaction as she began the list. All it was were typical groceries and things that practically anyone would need (granted they had to be very frugal about spending. Ruby wasn't made of money after all). However when she reached the bottom of the list the succubus' eyes widened.

"There is now way in hell I am picking that up for you" Kurumu stated as she handed the list back to Ruby. "If you want that you have to get it yourself."

"But I'm so busy. I have to make sure that Kokoa's healing properly and don't have the time to leave at all today" Ruby whined. "Please, can't you do it?"

"Uh, well I'll gather the groceries, but for that last thing, you're on your own" Kurumu said as she grabbed the list back.

"Thank you" Ruby said before she stood up and left, once again cackling (that was really starting to get on Kurumu's nerves).

Satisfied that the witch gave her enough money, Kurumu left the hotel room and made her way outdoors. The day before she had talked with Tsukune about what she should do if she were to leave the building (she clearly remembered what had happened when they first met Ruby) and Tsukune suggested that he lend her one of his larger jackets (for some reason he packed a couple of them when leaving the school grounds). Kurumu was quite thankful for this, but once again had to run away from Kokoa as Tsukune tried to calm the vampire down.

Once outdoors, she followed the directions that Ruby had written out towards the local market. She had shopped for her mother a few times before, but never was she left alone like this to wander in a city. Arriving at the market she entered in and began to proceed through the shopping list.

Kokoa hated people seeing her body. She was small and not as curvaceous as most of the other girls. This left her with her biggest weakness (as she saw it) being self-conscious about her body. So when Ruby showed up to perform her check up, she immediately forced Tsukune out of the room and locked the door (stealing his key so that he couldn't return, not that she expected he would). Once that was done she knew that the next part would result in a scuffle. If Ruby needed her to show even a single bit of her body then she was going to have to fight for it.

As soon as Kokoa thought that she immediately decided against it and willingly removed her clothing. She didn't like the direction that thought was going and wanted it out of her head ASAP. Once she had finished stripping, Ruby cautiously approached her and waited for permission to check the vampire's body. Kokoa relented, but only barely. She rarely let anyone see her like this and it was uncomfortable. The witch finished her check-up as quickly as possible before telling the vampire she could once again get dressed.

"Why are you so worried about your body?" Ruby finally asked.

Kokoa tried to give the witch a glare to force her to leave, but it was unsuccessful. Sighing in defeat she decided that it was time to come clean about it.

"I'm just worried that I won't be attractive" she forced out as is she was trying to spit something out that just wouldn't leave her throat.

"That's what you're worried about?" Ruby asked.

"I don't have the breasts that Kurumu has or the curves that all of the rest of you seem too" Kokoa said still forcing herself to spit it out.

"If you're thinking that Tsukune wouldn't remain attracted to you then you're just being an idiot. Tsukune doesn't seem to care about body types, sure he probably finds plenty of attractive aspects in us all, but he chose you. If curves and breasts where his decision making tool then he would probably be with Kurumu right now" Ruby tried to comfort the vampire.

"I'm also worried that if we're together he'd be viewed as a pedophile due to my size" Kokoa's face went red with embarrassment as she said that.

Ruby began to laugh at that. She never expected the red headed vampire to worry about something as trivial as that.

"Kokoa you're nearly sixteen years old. You still have a lot of time to grow so don't worry about that" Ruby said as she continued to chuckle. "If that was a real issue then I would have been one of the first to reprimand Tsukune. Heck if he had chosen Yukari I would have had to have kept the two separated for about another seven years or so before I let anything happen."

"Thanks" Kokoa mumbled humbled by the fact that she actually managed to discuss some of her fears with another being.

"No problem. Now just show him how much you care" Ruby said with a wide grin.

Kokoa nodded as she made her way to the door and opened it. Smiling she swung her foot out, connecting with what must have been a sleeping Tsukune.

"Wake up, we have to get outside if you want to spar again today" she said with a smile.

Kurumu was busy gathering the requested items that Ruby had on the list (avoiding looking at the last item) and was proving to be quite successful.

'At least this gave me something to do' she thought as she checked off the second to last of the normal items on the list.

"You're not actually going to pick up the last item are you?" a familiar male voice questioned from behind the succubus.

Kurumu yelped in shock as she was broken from her thoughts. Turning around she saw Dragon standing behind her.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded as he reached over her head to grab a package of batter.

"Well, I'm here to gather some things I need to be able to cook myself nutritious meals" Dragon answered her with a smirk.

"No I mean why are you talking with me?" Kurumu asked defensively.

Dragon let out an irritated sigh as he answered. "I needed the product that was on this shelf, you just so happened to be here at the same time."

Kurumu relaxed slightly, but she wasn't going to relax completely. After all this man was an agent of Fairy Tale.

"And to answer that unasked question I am not a Fairy Tale operative" Dragon said, freaking Kurumu out. "I use that as a cover to travel wherever I want."

"Uh huh, sure you do" Kurumu replied before returning to look at her list.

"By the way...that final item, its not something that you would purchase...is it?" Dragon asked a hint of nervousness in his voice.

Kurumu looked at him for a moment before deciding that it would be alright to answer. "No, this is something Ruby wanted me to pick up."

"Oh, that's just wonderful" Dragon said, just a bit too loud. "Well I've got to go...I'll probably see you again somewhere along the line."

And with a wave he was gone. That left Kurumu once again alone to finish her shopping. Glancing down into the basket and taking count of what was in there, she was surprised to see that the last (non-Ruby) item was in there.

'When?' was the question that popped into her mind, but then she concluded that Dragon somehow must've had it with him and dropped it off. Why? She didn't know, but at that moment she could care less as it finally allowed her to return back to the hotel.

Tsukune and Kokoa had a long sparring session. Actually it devolved from being truly sparring to a shameless flirting session about halfway through. Kokoa didn't mind in the slightest at this change, especially after her talk with Ruby earlier in the day. After they split up so that Tsukune could shower, Kokoa was taken surprise by a knocking on her window.

'What could that be?' she pondered as she approached the window.

Just as she opened it, her bat familiar immediately rushed into her arms snuggling his face into her breasts.

"Kou-chan?" Kokoa questioned as she pulled the bat away from her.

"Mistress Kokoa. I'm so glad to see you" the bat said as tears filled his eyes. "I thought you were lost forever."

"Kou-chan, enough. Where the hell have you been all this time?" Kokoa asked, a slight tinge of anger in her voice as she held the bat at arms distance.

"I was beckoned back home" Kou answered honestly. "When you were nowhere to be found I was expected to return to Count Shuzen."

Kokoa let out a slight growl. She had always believed that Kou-chan was hers specifically, but this bit of information seemed to change things greatly. Her father seemed to control everything in her life.

"Mistress Kokoa, do you perchance know of the existence of a book by a Professor Van Helsing?" Kou asked.

Kokoa's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why would you need to know that?"

Kou continued to watch his mistress carefully, he knew that if he said anything incorrectly he could end up in a heap of shit, but he also knew that there were ways for him to get what he wanted, especially now.

"It was only in your father's request. If he doesn't receive an answer then he doesn't receive an answer" Kou answered, his tone changing dramatically.

"My father doesn't let anything he requests go without an answer at the very least" Kokoa replied, shifting her position into a more defensive one.

"Kokoa why do you try to defend yourself, I'm not going to cause any trouble" Kou said, dropping the title from Kokoa's name.

"What are you trying to do you damn bat" Kokoa growled.

Her familiar had always been odd. She had known that for a few years now, but she never put any thought into what that could mean.

"All I'm trying to say is this..." Kou answered as he began chanting.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kokoa screamed as her mind fought to stay conscious.

"What needs to be done for the survival of your species" Kou muttered once he had finished chanting. "Now Kokoa I need you to fetch me the book."

The vampire struggled to ignore his demand, but in the end was unable to and proceeded to her shared room. Upon entering she tried to clear her head, but the spell was too powerful for her. Instead she continued the order that had been given to her.

'How dare Kou-chan use that sort of spell on me' Kokoa thought as she struggled to prevent herself from grabbing the book.

This proved highly unsuccessful as the book soon ended up in the vampire's hand and was being carried towards her waiting familiar.

"Thank you Kokoa, now I need you to return with me. Your father wishes to see you" Kou stated.

"I...I can't" Kokoa managed to say, despite the hold the spell continued to have on her.

"And why can't you return with me?" Kou asked, his voice taking on a sultry tone.

"I don't belong under my father anymore. I bested Moka and now I will stay here with Tsukune" the answer flowed swiftly from Kokoa.

"So there's now way I can convince you to come back with me?" Kou asked.

"Absolutely not, I am staying here with Tsukune" Kokoa answered willingly again.

Kou swore, but instead of pressing the issue grabbed the book and started to fly away. Deciding against immediately leaving he took a look back at his former mistress and let a bizarre smirk adorn his batty features.

"At least they'll soon find out that you're the traitor who caused what's coming up" Kou said maliciously before flying off, breaking the control the spell had on Kokoa.

Said vampire collapsed to the floor of the room as she watched her familiar disappear. Anger and the primal rage that most vampires carried within them started to bubble up inside her as she watched the window.

Ruby had felt the youki build and then disperse a few minutes earlier. It was clear that something had cast a spell and it definitely wasn't her. Worrying that Moka and Yukari could be trying something again Ruby decided to make sure that the others were still safe.

Kurumu had only arrived back a short bit earlier and was arguing already with Mizore. That assured Ruby that those two were unaffected by whatever had currently happened. Next was Tsukune. If she remembered correctly he would probably be somewhere on the ground floor of the hotel as that was where he usually was after sparring with Kokoa for a few hours.

On her way down Ruby passed by Kokoa, but didn't think anything of it at that moment. That turned out to be her biggest mistake, seeing as once she found Tsukune she could tell that the spell had not been from Yukari.

"Ruby what's wrong?" Tsukune asked when he saw the panicked look on his friend's face.

"A spell was cast in the vicinity. I don't know what it was for or who it was cast on, but that's what I'm currently trying to figure out" Ruby answered.

"Would you like some..." before Tsukune could finish offering his help, he felt Kokoa's youki spike dramatically. "I have to go. Kokoa's youki just flared and I think something may have happened."

Tsukune excused himself upon saying that and raced back up the stairs (with his enhanced speed it was a lot quicker than the elevator). Rushing to his shared room he opened the door to find Kokoa on the ground, pounding it with her fist.

"Kokoa, calm down" Tsukune said as he approached her.

"Dammit, why'd I let it happen? Stupid Kou-chan, stupid me!" her screams continued to rock the room as she refused to calm down.

"Kokoa just calm down and tell me what happened" Tsukune beckoned.

He still didn't get any answer from her as she continued to rage. Deciding that there was nothing else he could do Tsukune let out a sigh and went to the sink in the room's small bathroom.

"Kokoa if you don't stop raging now, I swear that I will dump a bucket of purified water on you" he said as a cringe spread across his face, he really did not like threatening her.

"No you won't" Kokoa said as she finally stopped raging. "I know that you would never do something like that."

Tsukune smiled as she finally spoke calmly. He was glad that she had stopped her outburst and would now talk properly with him.

"What happened then?" he asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it right now" Kokoa said sullenly. "All that I will say is we lost the book."

Tsukune's expression remained calm and kind as he pulled Kokoa into an embrace.

"Well then, we'll just have to get it back" Tsukune said.

"I think it's too late for that" Kokoa mumbled as she tried to settle into the embrace.

Ruby spotted the bat in the distance, as well as the book within its grasp.

"So Kou is taking that book back to Shuzen, can't really say I'm surprised" Ruby muttered. "However I better get it back before Dragon finds out."

Rushing out of the hotel, Ruby gave chase to the little bat. Much to her dismay the bat proved to be too far away as she could not manage to catch up with him. Swearing foully the witch returned to the hotel, angrier than anyone had ever seen her before.

"So we lost the first true round of the game. Shit!" she mumbled as she ascended the stairs.

As she reached the top she could see that Kurumu and Mizore were waiting outside of Kokoa and Tsukune's room.

"I can hear crying" Mizore said as soon as Ruby approached them.

"So, Kokoa was used" Ruby accidentally said out loud.

"What are you talking about?" Kurumu immediately asked.

"We lost the book" Ruby answered swiftly. "It's being taken to Count Shuzen...in other words we lost the game."

"As such as penalty must be paid...don't you think?" a silky smooth voice stated out of nowhere.

The three girls immediately turned around to find a silver haired man standing there. He looked a lot like a vampire, but did not give off the menacing air that Moka and (sometimes) Kokoa did.

"So which one of you is willing to sacrifice yourselves to the game?" he asked again. "After all I am the Gamemaster."

The three girls prepared themselves for an attack. Instead of an attack immediately coming a large smirk appeared on the Gamemaster's face before he raised his left arm and a massive amount of energy began to form in it.

"How are Tsukune and Kokoa not hearing us?" Kurumu asked as she made ready to dodge the attack.

"They can't hear you because I've sealed off this small space" the Gamemaster answered. "In other words, you're all dead."

Ruby grit her teeth. She never actually expected to encounter the Gamemaster, let alone have to face even the smallest amount of his power. She especially wasn't ready to die. There was someone she still needed to protect.

Just as she thought that, a flurry of cherry blossoms appeared in between her and the Gamemaster. Looking up at the source a large grin spread across her face. There in front of her was exactly who she was hoping for. With an odachi slung across his shoulders he could easily be seen as cocky, yet completely ready for battle.

"Well I didn't expect to see you here so soon. Were you just waiting for the book to be stolen?"

The question was left hanging in the air as the Gamemaster began to flip out.

"How, how the hell can there be two of you?" the Gamemaster shouted.

"I really don't know" the newcomer said cockily. "All I do know is that this is an unfair punishment. Don't you think so?"

Ruby smiled excitedly. As the man discarded the sheath of his odachi he moved into a preparatory stance.

"Let's dance!"

End Chapter 20

A/N: Okay so that was Chapter 20 (making this definitely the longest story I have written, and I still won't be done for a while though the finale will start in about four or five chapters possibly more). I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will be answering some lingering questions soon (maybe...heheheh). Well I will just say that the next chapter will focus primarily on the fight between Dragon and the Gamemaster (as well as Ruby, Kurumu and Mizore included). Then I'll move back into story development before having Tsukune and Dragon fight each other. Anyways I once again hope that you enjoyed this chapter and please look forward to the next. Please review (if it suits your fancy) and until next time,

Nanashi Wanderer

Okay so I decided to answer some questions from a few reviews. So let's get on with it.

ren: Possibly (okay probably, but I doubt it will bump the rating up). I'm not really sure that I can write a lemon so I'm going to try and if it doesn't work (descriptively) it will just be alluded to.

Nghtwng77: Yes the original Mizore's death does play a part in some of the later parts (it may even be brought up next chapter during Dragon's fight with the GM).

Well that's it for the questions (this time). I will definitely answer any more I receive in any other reviews.