Disclaimer: I don't own Rosario+Vampire, nor do I make any money from the writing of this story. Simple enough, ne? Just don't copy from this story and we're all good!

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V^^ To Enlist a Vampire - Pt. I ^^V

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Yesterday had been a day well spent in the mind of Ruby Toujou. True, Tsukune and Moka were absent for most of it making up for lost time, but in the end that had turned out to be a good thing, as the surprise they got when they finally showed up made the wait well worth it. It wasn't even much of a wait, seeing as every hour had been spent doing something during it. She, out of all of them, had been busier than the rest because of her well-honed ability with a sewing machine, and some customization had been necessary with a few of the items Rei had chosen from Yukari's wardrobe. None of which she would miss, naturally. As a dragon, Rei could hardly fathom parting with any item from what might be considered a hoard; that she was being allowed to take freely almost made her cry again. As such, she made sure that what she chose was easily replaceable or was one of many. As they had all assured her however, family took care of each other, it was as simple as that. Ruby had greatly enjoyed the challenge of making the old things into something new for the young dragon too, even if they would only last for a short period before she grew out of them. It would keep her skill sharp nonetheless.

It made her feel better about herself too. She had no illusions about her chances in front of a vampire, especially the vampires that Tsukune had fought only two short days ago. Still, she and Yukari had barely finished their first project in time to be of any use, and that had hurt their self-esteem more than anything. It didn't matter that the bracelets were the first of their kind and would likely never be recreated without their creators' notes, it didn't even matter that the notes themselves could be used as a master's thesis for either witch if they wanted to; what mattered was they hadn't been of any use whatsoever. Ruby allowed herself a sinister smile when she thought of that. They might not have been of any use that time, but every second longer they stayed on their wrists, they became better prepared for next time. She fully expected to be a front-line combatant, or at the very least a most useful support, when something happened again.

While their progress on their other prospective experiments was practically nonexistent, she now considered that a good thing. The hardest one currently had two successful archetypes that worked perfectly, but in all seriousness that was all she could consider them since she was now sure they could make them better. Eventually. Since Rei's gifts had been given, whole new worlds of possibilities had been opened up and the witches' ideas had moved into entirely different dimensions. In one case, literally.

That was for later, for now she had a very simple yet equally important idea she wanted to get completed, the earlier the better. Hence the reason why the headmaster's aide was once again in Mononoke Arcade, this time without anyone else.

She was sure Tsukune would like the idea. She sure did.

V^^^V

The man in question was still trying to reconcile the image walking beside him with what he had known ever since she came into his life. From the second he had been made aware that his newfound familiar was very much of the female persuasion, Tsukune had resigned himself to certain things, and that list had become much longer when it was revealed she could look every bit as human as he once was. To him it had never mattered what she wore, she exuded the same confidence regardless of whatever was used as clothing, though arguably buying her anything hadn't been worth it before they went to Paradise, when she spent more time in her natural form than she did in her human disguise. Give that confidence a more fitting packaging however…

When he saw her for the first time the evening before, he hadn't known what to say. It was most definitely Rei, her silver eyes and browned skin indicated that clearly, but he was suddenly struck with a consuming sense of shame when he thought of what she had been forced to wear for the past month. Even before then she had been content with nothing but a improvised robe in the form of an oversized shirt, but when she was actually given something to wear that fit and suited her…it was shown just how much of a woman she was growing into.

It was so simple too. One of Yukari's trademark capes had been sewn into what was effectively a long skirt, draped completely over one bronze leg and thus drawing attention to the side not nearly as covered, where instead of trying to force the article ill-fitted for such a design to work as would be considered proper, one edge had merely been attached to the hem, and left almost a whole side open to inspection. This was needed was she to maintain the mobility she was used to in her fighting, and also for ease of removal should the situation demand it, but he was eternally thankful for the form-fitting black shorts that side exposed. At least she had some modesty…or more likely had been forced to add them. Otherwise she had simply appropriated a standard-issue white blouse, cut off the sleeves, and kept enough buttons unfastened to keep her as comfortable as she had become accustomed to while wearing clothes, or perhaps not wearing, as the case may be. Between the shades of brown and whites that made up her image, the bright spot of color was a golden scarf folded loosely around her neck and into the gap of her shirt's collar. Her lack of shoes was clear but then again so was the reason for their absence: both her continuous growth and her obvious disdain of the things.

All of that was ornamentation compared the change most glaring to him. The choppy whitecaps of ashen locks that had long flowed back from her head had been cut, and cut drastically. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the uneven mop that now hung from her head, though in that apparent confusion laid carefully planned cuts that turned what might have been a mess into a fashionable style distinctly her own. This all led down to a ponytail that retained the full span of what it had gained over her growth spurt, and hung loosely to the back of her thighs. It was as unique as everything else about her, untamed yet refined. He was more than a bit upset he hadn't been able to do anything like it for her before then, and just to show how adept she had become at reading his facial expressions over their time alone, she called him on it.

"Tsukki, does my change in appearance bother you?"

The words jerked him out of his introspection, where he was then able to see the quiet insecurity held in the eyes looking at him. Again, he felt bad for even making her think such a thing. "N-No, Rei, nothing like that at all!"

"Then why do you look at me so? Is my presence disagreeable?"

That was something he wouldn't allow at all, so with both hands firmly on her shoulders he forced her to a stop. "Don't you ever, ever, think that. Understand?"

She could only nod as she felt her cheeks warm at the protectiveness in his tone. "Y-Yes. My apologies, Tsukki."

The young vampire sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. It was just supposed to be a short stop to the Arcade to pick up what he wanted; she had come along because she liked the idea he had for around their cave. He wasn't going to keep her out of it when it involved her so heavily. For the others it was to be a surprise, one they deserved after the one they had given him yesterday. "Listen Rei, it's just…I mean look at you! You spend a day with the girls and you look…l-l-look…" He blushed when she started smirking at his stuttering, and scowled jokingly. "Fine, you look good, alright?! A day and they manage to throw together something that looks so right on you, and I had more than a month and I gave you boxers and a damn t-shirt! I know you would have grown out of it when you jumped the age gap, and I know you'll grow out of this too, but still!"

By the time he was done, her expression held nothing but warmth. "You silly, silly man; are you jealous?"

Tsukune sputtered indignantly until he actually thought about what he had said. With a huff he crossed his arms over his chest and did his best not to sulk. "Okay, I guess I do sound pretty jealous." A pale eyebrow quirked skywards. "Okay, I guess I am pretty jealous. I'm happy for you, and you look wonderful, I just feel like I should have done more for you."

She laughed. "More than making sure I was warm and fed when I lacked the skill to do so myself? More than making sure I had a place to stay and hunt when I became too big for you to care for? More than spending an entire month with me and only me, even when that meant your treasures were left unguarded? Would you care to explain just how you could have done anything more? As was explained to me so plainly, you are a male, these things are expected to be beyond your range of expertise."

He glowered sullenly, which only made her laugh again as she grabbed his hand.

"Worry not, my friend. Let us be off; what you hope to accomplish needs time, so we must not tarry long."

"How can she make it seem like it's my fault we're not going as quickly as we could when it was…?"

His mutters to the empty air went ignored if anyone heard them.

V^^^V

It had been a fun endeavor despite whatever musings might have gone on during which. With the spells he had learned—or created—what he had set out to do had been easily done, or more accurately, started. He had spent as long as he could there before his pre-appointed meeting time with the headmaster, so he wasn't sure of how much progress there would be. Rei's effect on environments was well-known, yet not, at the same time. The mechanics were, and he guessed always would be, impossible to figure out, but that was fine with him. All he needed was for it to work. He had tried to add to that result, if he even could, but with that it was hard to tell if there would be anything that came from it. Clearly what he thought didn't have any consequence on trying, since his beloved familiar had been most expressive with her excitement when he voiced his idea.

So they simply sat, gazing out at what they had made. They had kept a thin grove of trees to encircle the entrance to their home in Paradise, but with magic and dragonfire they had made a great clearing right after. Even if they didn't have a reason, the incineration of the mass undergrowth and vegetation would allow for newer life to gain purchase, not to mention the nutrients added to the fertile soil as the dragon herself tilled the land with her massive talons. While Rei had felt remorse for the devastation she had caused by the portal, this time the destruction of the old was to herald new birth, and that was something that had her tie to nature singing. It was with that tie that she knew what they were adding would have no adverse effect on the alien environment of the different dimension, otherwise she would have never permitted it. By the time they were ready to begin their plan, no farmer could have asked for better dirt.

Both dragon and vampire just sunned themselves, lying satisfied at the edge of their clearing after it was all said and done. Tsukune was almost sorry Yukari and Ruby were missing what was going on, for in the resonating magic the choir of nature had grown to a fever pitch. Blood shared between partners sang an unmistakable duet amongst the rest, courting the others to their cause, and as the young man laid atop his friend's enormous back, he felt like he could reach out and touch the formless musicians dancing behind his closed eyes.

V^^^V

Elsewhere, a certain emerald-eyed beauty and her ethereal counterpart looked around sharply. If they didn't know any better, both would swear some part of them felt like it was…singing.

V^^^V

Tsukune was on an incomparable high as he walked to the headmaster's office. That had been exactly what he needed before going to face whatever Fate planned to screw him over the table with next. Before he even knocked on the elaborate doors, the Dark Lord's unassumingly powerful voice called him in, which didn't even gain a cringe under Tsukune's happy mood.

That, and his whole body, froze when he saw someone already standing beside the Exorcist. Pale blond hair, vulpine features, and those two, oh so unforgettable spots above the nose. Unexpectedly his mind was assaulted with the smell of burnt flesh, of screams of pain and pleas for mercy. His vision tinged red at the sudden bloodlust than enveloped him, and if he could have ever forgiven himself he might have given in. As it was, the only thing that kept him from turning right back around and walking out of that room was the fact that Kuyou would never be caught dead in a skirt, and the figure by the priest was very much a girl.

Tense as steel, the vampire strode forward, his face now a mask of barely-collected confusion. "I'm sorry Headmaster, I didn't realize you had an earlier appointment." His eyes shifted to the obvious relation to Kuyou, where in better light he could see she looked hardly over fifteen. A First Year. Her demeanor reminded him acutely of her older lookalike, and that did nothing to improve his opinion of her.

Of course, the older man just chuckled good-naturedly. "Ah, and the final guest arrives, right on time. No, Tsukune-kun, this fine young lady is here for the same reason you are."

Both looked understandably shocked at that, but the girl clearly more than him. "Y-You mean the person…"

The board chairman nodded. "One of them, yes. Now, as you are no doubt aware, the council and I have chosen to reinstitute the Public Safety Commission. Several things went wrong last time, the worst of which was it regrettably went unchecked due to flagrant fear-mongering. The school's rules are there for a reason, and while some can be handled by teachers, it's also for the best that fellow students hold themselves accountable. For one reason in particular the Student Police will be reformed at the beginning of this term, but with it there are going to be some changes. Most notably, the reason you both were called here at the same time. Go ahead, introduce yourselves."

"Tsukune Aono," the former human said briskly with a rigid bow.

"Like anyone at this school doesn't know who you are," she replied sarcastically, but in a show of a markedly different characteristic than Kuyou, she smiled as well. Not a large smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Noriko Myobu; please take care of me, Senpai." This was, naturally, completed with a small curtsy. Tsukune found himself genuinely smiling back, although cautiously.

Getting back to the topic, he turned to the grinning seal master. "So what does this have to do with the Student Police?"

"For the rest of the year, the board and I have agreed to install a…mentorship program, if you will, into the Safety Commission. Just to be clear, we hope it to be a more focused and effective version of the senpai-kohai dichotomy. Third Year mentors, with Second and First Year probationary members. Third Years with recommendations from the staff will be put into the force, conduct-permitting. Of course, I will be the one to ultimately approve all these selections. The younger students then have a chance to learn under their seniors on a near individual basis; again, conduct-permitting. Some may even choose to take more than one under their wing; the choice is yours. Another bonus is that the Commission will be twice as large as before for a time, yet still only wield the power of half. Any kind of disciplinary action the younger members choose to mete out will have to be approved by a mentor, and anything that both agree merits something above, and including, a one-day in-school suspension will have to be approved by myself or a staff member I've appointed in my absence."

"So basically you've neutered the Student Police as an autonomous entity, but agree to the concept of students keeping other students in line," the blond stated primly.

"When the alternative is having powerful egomaniacs run rampant through the school doing whatever they damn well please, from locking students up, destroying clubs, and hospitalizing whoever speak against them, I'd say that's exactly what it needs," the brown-eyed teen countered frigidly, and the underclassman stepped back unwittingly at the audible venom in his voice.

"I take it you had the pleasure of meeting my cousin during his time here?"

That confirmed what he had thought from the beginning, and the memories she was bringing back were things he would rather leave behind. "…You could say he was a very important part in making me who I am today."

The headmaster coughed to hide his short chuckle. "Kuyou-kun was a black mark on the program I hope you will be able to redeem, Noriko-chan. Make no mistake, he was an excellent student and a powerful youkai, but his flaws impacted the whole academy badly. There will be times when you will need to end situations forcefully, but not all, and the use of force will be carefully monitored this time. I'm not condemning your group to be ineffectual punching-bags for the masses, every one of you has been chosen for your behavior during first term and your power level. Both were required to be selected. We won't have you be intimidated, but we won't have you intimidating either. Again, common sense must be used to determine the situation. If intimidation solves a potentially dangerous problem peacefully, so be it; if you intimidate for the sake of intimidating or to coerce, you can count on there being penalties."

Tsukune grinned. "Sounds good…and long overdue. Why now?"

"A safety precaution, as it was originally meant to be. We want this year's school festival to be safe."

The bombshell's effect wasn't lessened at all, despite its casual admittance.

The vampire eyed his—surely insane—headmaster warily. "I'm pretty sure we don't have any rare sentient artifacts on the loose this year…" In the background, Lilith stuck her tongue out at him. "…but in case you forgot about what happened just this week…"

"Did I forget to mention the second most important function of the Student Police is to help keep the students they represent safe? You would be well within your rights to physically engage any threat to the student body, and if you were injured in the process they could and would be prosecuted. You are, literally, the police force of this school, and the first line of defense after the teachers." He could practically see the wheels turning in the ex-human's head, and suppressed a smile.

"So…if, say just hypothetically, 'people' came to remove a student from the grounds illegally and against their will, I could put them in their place without worrying about consequences on my end? I'd get help even?"

When the Exorcist nodded, Tsukune's grin gained a decidedly malevolent taint.

"Where do I sign?"

V^^^V

"So I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess you're a youko," the young man stated offhandedly as he and his newly assigned charge walked aimlessly through the forest surrounding the academy. Sure she might not have been outright placed with him, but the Exorcist could be subtle when he wanted to. More often than not that just meant there was a bigger shock down the road.

The poor girl startled terribly, her unruffled appearance now thoroughly replaced with surprise. "How do you know that?!" she cried, but her Third Year minder simply glanced sidelong at her.

"You told me yourself Kuyou's your cousin. If it was left up to me I would have guessed sister instead, so I'd say it's a pretty good bet you're a youko like him."

Noriko stared at him, and surprise no longer did her expression justice. Whether this was from what he knew or that he hadn't added a suffix to her cousin's name was indecipherable. "But how do you—" She didn't trail off, her mouth actually snapped shut with an audible click as her mind made the links. "You saw him." It wasn't a question.

Tsukune's resulting laugh was bitter and mirthless, so unlike the rumors she had heard and what she had seen from afar. She was nothing if not observant, and one of the school's recurring pieces of gossip was what the Newspaper Club routinely got up to. Naturally this lead to some curiosity from the aristocratic First Year, though she did nothing other than study their group whenever they were around where she already was. She may not have sought them out, but it was clear to see with even limited surveillance that the only man among them was everything the rumors said and more. A laugh like that then was enough to get the teenage girl a bit worried, despite her upbringing. It sounded wrong coming from him, but when she looked in his eyes she could see it was founded. Well founded.

With a resigned sigh he leaned back against the nearest tree, sliding to the ground with a thousand-yard stare that gazed out over the odd ocean near the bus stop. He motioned to the tree next to his and she got the hint clearly enough to join him, though she sat as impeccably as she dressed, unlike his careless disregard. His time immersed in nature had taught him one of the greatest joys was relaxing in its care, so he didn't bother holding himself at attention when little else surrounded him but it. He couldn't blame her for how she acted; if everyone could see what he had been taught to see, they would never look down on witches ever again. He hoped he would be around to see that day.

A good shake of his head cleared his mind, and just to make sure he spared another look to his side, where Noriko was indeed still sitting, raptly focused on him. It was almost cute. Fifteen seemed like decades ago to him now and he was only eighteen bloody years old. "I'll be honest, I don't know what a mentor's supposed to do other than lead by example, and let's face it, as much as I might try not to, I've broken a lot of rules since I came here. Not all by choice, mind you," he added with a chuckle at her scandalized look, "but things keep happening beyond my control that tend to force the issue. Take how I know about Kuyou, for example. I know he's a youko because he tried to kill me and all my friends in the Newspaper Club in my first year."

Composed as she was, the blond was nearly stuttering trying to decipher any hidden meaning behind that. "B-But why?" If she wanted to say anything else, it was lost in her voiceless mouth. Judging from her face however, the other question she was dying to ask had to be, 'and how did you survive?'

Then she remembered who she was talking to.

"It doesn't matter now." He fought the rueful smile that wanted to form on his lips. Ain't that the truth? "It happened, we beat him, end of story. He was so far gone in his version of 'justice' he could do no wrong. He was law, or at least that's what he deluded himself into thinking. I know we have our hands full in a school full of monsters, but he simply added to the problem by locking people up at the smallest infraction. Yes, we're monsters; yes, some of us have different urges than humans, so some things might lead to the occasional mistake, and there—now I don't know how much respect you have for him, so I'm sorry but I'm just going to come right out and say it—Kuyou was a moron."

Her eyes hardened, not that he had expected anything less, and he shrugged. "Force and fear get you nowhere. The resentment was building up, it was common sense that as soon as someone strong enough came around something was going to happen. Especially if he was his regular charming self around them." Grudgingly, a snort of laughter came from the girl. "See? You do have some idea about what I mean. He wasn't fair. It's idealistic to always be fair in every situation, but hey, that's what ideals are for, right? He didn't even try. He was an overpowered, conceited little kid with delusions of grandeur, and the worst thing was because he was that powerful he was put in a position of authority. He thought he held life and death in his hands, and because he had the power to dish it out, he thought it was his right. Heck, he may still think that for all I know. What I do know is he never tried anything again after he was shown he wasn't the biggest fish in the food chain. It may sound hypocritical, but there's a difference between what he did and what we were forced to do."

She was quiet for a long time after that, but he was content to let her think through it. God only knew how many times he had been sent to the roof of the school just to try and make sense of the things that had gone on in his life that particular week, or day, or hour. With a family like his, hectic tended to be their normal. Not that they minded. They were there to help each other through things. He wasn't sure if she had any friends close enough for that, so he would sit and wait, enjoying the silence and crashing waves below.

"Why did you tell me this?" she asked, nearly inaudible.

He had asked himself that same question. "Because the second I saw you I flashbacked to Kuyou. There are still people here that remember him and what he did; they're in my year, but they're here. You've got the rest of this year to make sure that when you're mostly on your own next year, everyone can form their own opinion of you, not Kuyou's cousin. When we all graduate you'll be given a pretty much clean slate, but I'd guess another reason for assigning Third Years to the new group is that we all know what the old one acted like, and to protect you from any that still have something against it." Which, now that he thought about it, was probably the reason they had been told to meet at the same time. "I don't want you to make the same mistakes Kuyou did, and if that needs me to tell you straight up that your cousin was a prick of the highest order, well, I'll do it. You may not like me for it, but I'm sure out of everyone in the new Commission, you'll have the hardest time being accepted by the upperclassmen. I'm simply telling you why."

She laughed hollowly. "You know, when I was approached for this I was ecstatic. My aunt and uncle were so proud of Kuyou-san when he became head of the Student Police. Walking around school with respect as a firstie like him became my dream; when I heard it had been dismantled I was devastated. To be honest, I even contemplated joining the Newspaper Club, because aside from what I wanted, you guys seemed to have a lot of the school's respect already. It wouldn't surprise me if the rest of your club was asked to be mentors too, if they haven't been before now."

Tsukune stiffened when he realized the truth in what she said. That seemed exactly like something the Exorcist would do. He smacked the back of his head into the tree and laughed at the absurdity of the thought. The one group more involved in every kind of trouble at Youkai Academy also had the biggest chance of guiding those chosen to stop it. It made a twisted kind of sense.

"Are you okay?"

He waved her off as he wiped his eyes. "I'm…I'm fine," he chuckled. "I can actually see that happening, that's all."

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't think it was possible," she replied crossly.

"And I wouldn't have laughed if I didn't believe you." Slackening back to the tree, he tried to figure out what to do. They had been encouraged to get to know each other before they were plunged into the deep end when school resumed, and he knew it was important. At least they were getting somewhere, but that was negligible. "It might still be a good thing, you know; joining the Newspaper Club, that is. It'd be nice to get some new blood into the club for a little while, and this whole thing would make an interesting article, wouldn't it?"

"But wouldn't that be a conflict of interest? Law and media and all that? What if everyone worries about censorship?" The only indication of his offense was the tightening of his jaw, but that alone was enough to make her shudder when his gaze locked on hers.

"Kuyou tried, and succeeded, for far too long. Our old club leader Gin lost his whole club to that idiot simply because they tried to speak out, and he almost lost us too. We stopped him then, I'll make it perfectly clear I'd quit the Student Police before I allowed anything to influence the Newspaper Club; actually, make that any club. I can guarantee if any of my friends are chosen for this experiment, they'll say the same thing."

Another bout of silence sprouted while she processed that, more than a little shocked that he would turn down what she had dreamed of so easily. That just drove home what she was really getting into, and she smiled sadly. "I had wondered why I got weird looks from some of the seniors. Nothing that ever came to blows, not yet, but will that change when I show up in uniform?"

"It might," Tsukune answered bluntly, and her head whipped up so fast he was sure he heard her neck crack. He offered a reassuring smile before continuing, "When I first saw you in the headmaster's office, I was two steps away from…yeah, well…let's just say it would have hurt. It took me a couple of seconds to notice you weren't Kuyou. Before now I didn't even notice you, but this'll put you front and center, so you're gonna have to give the rest of the seniors those few seconds too."

She bristled like a disgruntled cat, sneering derisively down on him with the full force of her admittedly large youki behind it. "So you're saying I should just lie back and take it like a good girl? I'm not my cousin, and I'll prove that to anyone who thinks otherwise!"

Her supernatural power was certainly above what most of the students had, especially freshmen, but compared to what he had faced it felt like a child's temper tantrum. As he rose he shook his head incredulously, only smirking when her teeth barred and she pushed out more at him. "Which'll prove you're not like Kuyou? Taking their criticism gracefully, or lashing out?"

The struggle to hold on to her anger was visible in the twitches of her facial muscles, yet soon enough she deflated like a spent balloon. No words were necessary.

"Don't worry," he soothed sympathetically. "If anyone does try anything, you won't need to defend yourself. We take care of our friends."

Warring between confusion and relief, she struck quite the picture, most of all when he compared it to Kuyou. If there was ever a chance for the school to attain true justice, not the kind her relative had tried to impose, with the right guidance he felt her year could find it, if she was anything to go by. This was adolescent uncertainty at its finest, before things had a chance to solidify…or skew. Had Kuyou ever been like this? Had he ever questioned his course? What made him do what he did, or had he always been like that? With Noriko, he saw the chance for a disgraced organization to be respected again. That is, if they did things right of course.

For now, she was only a perplexed young teen, whose only question was, "Who's 'we?'"

His smile was soft and welcoming, as if he hadn't even felt the malicious intent in the youki that had borne down on him.

"I think it's time you were formally introduced to the Newspaper Club."

He led the way.

She felt compelled to follow.

.

V^^^V

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Evangeline Valentine was stalking through the illustrious manor where she lived with her husband, her blood-mate, remembering the night before. Once, lifetimes ago it seemed, finding someone who could accept her wholly had been something she had cried herself to sleep at night thinking about. She had come a long way from that misguided little girl, fed lies and mistruths, far too trusting for her own good. She had finally found him, she had known it from the second she saw how he responded to her. He wasn't like the others; even if she hadn't been as adept at reading people by that time as she was, even if she didn't have an unfair advantage in that department already, she had known.

Oh she had longed to tell him everything, but the sad truth was mates could leave each other. She couldn't afford that, not with her secrets. After so many years together she knew she would say yes if he asked for more, to finally tell those last omissions keeping them from truly becoming one, but she had to be patient. That wasn't to say that she didn't feel awful for keeping them from him for so long, and was in fact hoping to cement their relationship eternally before she bared her most shameful past to him, so, against her better instincts and all her fear, she had told him.

Drunk on his love and buzzed with pleasure, it had torn her heart to stay his mouth just as he neared her neck. There was nothing else she could do though, it had to be done. Just like his confession earlier in the night, hers was just as important. She would never be able to live with herself if she tied him to a bond he didn't want, regardless of what he might have said beforehand. He had been stunned, as expected; he had never thought of just why she could be harder to ruffle than his mother, and the longer her admission hung in the air, the more her fear grew. Tears grew with it, streaked her alabaster skin and streamed down as she moved to dart from the bed and away from his life. It would hurt, it would hurt more than anything ever had before, but she would do it. Anything to preserve her happy memories of their years together.

An iron grip had secured itself around her arm before she could even leave the comfort of the covers, where she was then thrown bodily to her back and fangs were in her throat. His fangs, Vincent's fangs. She just cried harder, now tears of joy as she clasped him to her as hard as she could. The rest of the night was a blur of joined flesh and shared blood, and when they finally allowed themselves to rest they were closer than they had ever been.

Then he woke up screaming, sweat-slicked and pale. She had never been more terrified, thinking he had regretted his decision, and his words certainly didn't make her feel any better. When he fainted he had slumped into her instinctively—a great relief for the agitated vampiress—in desperate need of comfort, of her. Normally so contained and subtle, his aura had been fluxing around her with every breath he took, but more concerning was how his unconscious body was shaking spasmodically as she held him. It was like he had been dipped in water and held there. As a matter of fact, it was exactly like how he had returned home earlier, only fresher.

After hours of him showing no signs of waking, his eyes had finally opened, haunted by visions she could only imagine. His weak smile had probably been meant to be heartening but it wasn't, his whispered "I love you" did a bit more, and after he had assured her he would be alright on his own he had actually left the room, citing his need to think alone for a little while.

She had given him that—she knew they would talk about it later—but now the day was well underway and, quite simply, she needed to be with him. Despite what they had done, her soul felt exposed in a way she had never felt. Having carried her past with her all her life, learned the best way to survive was keeping her cards close to her chest, said past the most important of which, she had never told anyone. Anyone. Those that did find out were only the opponents she had needed everything for, and needless to say they didn't survive the encounter. It had been a long, long time since she needed everything she had to offer too, though nowadays she tended to avoid the ones where she would. They were few in number, true, but deadly all the same.

The words sounded awkward coming from her throat, so long confined within the labyrinth of her heart. She, the dreaded Dark Evangel, had stuttered, squeaked, and otherwise come completely undone as she told her lover and chosen mate her best-kept secret. The lightness she experienced when he finally knew, and accepted her, was immensely freeing, but with it came a disconcerting feeling of…uncertainty. She didn't like it, and if there was anything she was vocal about, it was things she didn't like.

So there she was, stalking through her home, trying to find her wayward blood-mate. Well, if she was really looking she could find him pretty quickly, but the mindless search was keeping her mind occupied and let her think things over. Normally she would do that in the library, but right then she just needed to be moving.

When she started paying attention to her surroundings again she noticed she was in the training wing, which earned a well-practiced eye-roll. It figured if her feet had been told not to go to their first hardwired destination, they would choose the second as their alternative. The smell of blood and sweat was always an undertone to the air here, never completely eliminated regardless of the effort the servants put into cleaning it, and she knew instinctively he was close. Advancing carefully at the sound of furious swordplay, she had good reason to be stunned when she saw Vincent's younger brother sparring with his mother.

It had been a long time since she had seen Ivy out to play, so to speak. Regal in posture, how she held herself barely looked like it could be considered a stance, yet the evidence was irrefutable. Blunt steel sword gripped loosely by her side, she kept her body at an angle that gave the smallest possible target to her opponent, however the weapon wasn't in front of her like most would think, instead held behind, away from her foe. While this would usually indicate a favor to evasion over brute force, it couldn't be forgotten that she was a vampire, equally suited to both.

Even though Ivy was tall for a woman, Alexander was taller, but as she watched Eva couldn't help but feel that Ivy was still the taller of the two. Their exchange was mesmerizing. There was no argument against Alex's lifelong training, but when that was compared to one whose life encompassed his a good dozen times over it was almost pitiful. There wasn't so much as a mark on her, nor was her breathing even remotely ragged. She weaved through his every stroke with expert grace, all the while offering a continuous commentary on what he could improve on and what he was doing wrong before she exploded into action, demonstrating each point with painful precision.

More surprising to her was Alexander's reaction to this. He had always been hotheaded and easy to goad into his bloodlust, here he was visibly restraining himself from reacting in haste, and dutifully nodded to his mother's criticisms. It was such a profound change from what she was used to she almost didn't notice that Vincent's youki was in the room as well. Looking up, she smirked when she saw an arm dangling over the side of one of the hefty wood trusses that supported the roof of the large dojo. A hop had her balancing mere feet away from him, and with the ease of a cat she slinked down to lay in his open arms.

"Hey handsome," she whispered, relishing in the renewed sense of surety as his hold tightened around her.

"Hey yourself, beautiful," he replied quietly. He was looking much healthier than he had that morning, but he sounded lost.

With his chin resting comfortably on her head, she had to lean up to cup his face so he would look at her, only concern in the soft touch. "Come on baby, are you going to tell me what's wrong? I can't help if you don't."

He sighed deeply as they relaxed back into the timber. "You remember what I said young Moka's blood-mate did to me?" She hummed her assent. "I know I said they were memories, but last night they actually felt like them. I felt pain the first time, random…flashes… But last night…I was him. I felt his fear, his conviction, his sorrow and weakness, I felt it. I…was it."

Evangeline mimicked his sigh, silently glad it wasn't what the dark side of her wanted to think. Still, she had the answer to his unspoken question. "Your mind was overwhelmed with thirst and the need for rest when you came home. You still had nightmares, but it wasn't that bad because your subconscious was still focused on healing you. Yesterday your body had mostly recuperated, so your mind finally had time to address its wounds. The sleeping mind is much more vulnerable than when it's awake."

His mild grunt told her he had thought as much, and they returned to listening to the din of fighting below them until something occurred to her.

"What about the boya?" She felt him go rigid beneath her, and just as suddenly the noise provided for the background stopped.

"What about Alexander?" the unmistakable voice of Isabella Valentine hissed, loud enough for them to hear even in the open rafters.

They both knew a summons when they heard one, so Vincent rolled off the thick beam, effortlessly moving his wife into a better position in his arms to land with nary a sound. Eva gave him an incredulous look but he looked entirely unrepentant, or did until he schooled his features and faced his mother and brother.

"You did tell her, right?" he asked Alex. His little brother had of course forfeited his privilege as topmost suitor after his failure, but no one would come after him for that. His hotheadedness had actually been a good thing for once, since he hadn't told anyone. That burden fell to Vincent. Regret had been boiling in his gut all day, for he didn't know what would come of what he had done. With the suspicion he now had, how it would affect the other party involved tore at him. Some relief was found when his younger sibling nodded. At least he wouldn't have to retell the tale. "Have you had any strange dreams lately?"

The byplay of emotions that crossed the young vampire's eyes would have been entertaining had the pain not been so evident. "Not as bad as before, but yes."

Evangeline's eyebrow rose quizzically. Vincent's get worse, but his get better? That doesn't make any sense, he hasn't conditioned his mind near as much as Vincent has. It should be the other way around. Her husband was obviously thinking along the same lines, but just as quickly something changed, for his expression morphed to one of contemplation rather than confusion.

"Just…out of curiosity, what did you experience?"

"Like you don't know!" Alexander snapped.

Vincent didn't flinch. "Humor me."

When the anger bled out of him, he was left looking wan and exhausted. "Pain. Lots of pain. I think I saw an Ogre… Fire. Slashes. They kept getting blurrier. Just lots of pain, pain and heartache."

Everyone in the room noticed how pale his elder brother had gone. "No…no sense of breaking?" he murmured unsteadily, deathly quiet. "No cliff? No falling?"

"Not that I know of," Alex replied. Any further thought on the matter only caused the throbbing in his head to intensify, and that discomfort didn't go ignored.

"Boya, sit down," Eva commanded forcefully, and now all attention was on her. When he only kept looking at her, she yelled, "Now!" Any traces of humor, even the dark kind she preferred in her usual sarcasm was gone, in fact her piercing red glare was exceptionally intense. He complied immediately. Kneeling across from him, she sliced both her index fingers with her fangs and pressed them against his temples.

"What are you doing?" Isabella inquired. She understood the seriousness her daughter-in-law was trying to convey, but in all her life she had never seen what was being done.

"I'm testing him for any kind of interference. Now please, I need silence."

The blood was mostly for show, but it did have a purpose besides the aid it was to have a medium between them. Youki was notoriously hard to track, and while every race could feel it on some level, only vampires could claim to be able to sense its presence in a person deliberately. Magic in any sense was even worse because one could never be sure what kind was being used, though the one true magic, that used by witches and wizards, trumped them all when it came to sheer diversity.

Opening herself to the flow was as natural to her as breathing, regardless of how many years had passed, and as she closed her eyes and released the threshold on her internal radar, the world around her changed. With a mental incantation used more out of habit than necessity, her eyes shot open and pinned to his, freezing him in place as her perception altered once again. No longer was she looking at his physical body, she had transcended that, and she didn't like what she saw.

His aura was tainted with shreds of another's, which she knew was what had been forced on him previously. Inexperience was evident; the schoolboy had simply smashed through his mind's natural defenses and plunged a prearranged package of misery straight into it. There was little question to why it hurt so much, but as she looked closer she felt it lead to fragments of another magic, embedded far deeper than the last. It almost couldn't be distinguished at all, since it had been used solely in warping a single area of his psyche. If she had checked any later even the markings of change would have dissolved, leaving only what had been done with no one the wiser. This was intricate and without a doubt intentional, and she briefly wondered just how much of his month away had been spent unconscious with pounding headaches. She had seen this kind of thing before, in a time better left to the annals of history. This was the downright erasure of something, protected from even connecting with other memory clues by threat of elimination. He was mentally incapable of linking one dot to another if it involved what had been erased, and judging by how the block was already expunging more of the newer fragments, the conclusion was obvious.

Whatever it was Vincent suspected, Alexander had already known once before, and for that someone had went in and ripped it right from his mind.

She tried to look closer, maybe get an impression, but the misshapen section flared at the sensed intrusion. With the shared connection they were holding she was blasted back like she had been physically struck, and with the return to real time she was left gasping as Alex twisted around on the ground clasping his head, trying without success not to scream. Vincent was instantly at his wife's side and Isabella by her youngest son's, but all they could do was watch until the two settled down.

The first thing Eva did was rub her forehead and bite back a few choice curses. "Well shit, boya, when you decide to piss people off you sure don't do things halfway," she groaned.

Had he been able to speak he might have defended himself. As it was, he just gave her the finger and went back to being a puddle on the floor as Ivy raised his head into her lap.

Vincent copied his mother, staring down in concern at his lover. "What do you mean?"

"He," she jeered, "managed to not only find, but offend, a Nightwalker."

The hush that fell over the room proved they all knew what could have come from that. It wasn't what a Nightwalker-class could do physically, even though if they had reached that level they were well beyond their kin; it was what they could do to their opponents' minds.

"But how?" her husband asked. "I'll admit the boy's illusions were powerful, but a Nightwalker?"

She shook her head. "Not him; what I found was done earlier. There were still remnants of the technique he used on you the other day, but some were being destroyed by one that had already been there. Best I can tell: boya over there found out something he shouldn't, and the Nightwalker tore it out of him. Been having headaches recently, boya? You think of something and your brain just throbs?"

Ashen, the young man nodded.

"Yeah, that means you were thinking too close to remembering what you forgot. Whoever it was made sure that if you tried it would hurt. It's a small discrepancy in your aura, so small I might not have noticed if it hadn't been taking care of the newer ones, but it was done by a pro. Only a Nightwalker could have done that."

Ivy's probing cerulean gaze turned introspective. "You said it was done earlier? Would a month suffice?"

"There were still traces, so I'd say that sounds about right."

Vincent hummed thoughtfully. "So that means you met it at the Academy. I wasn't aware any of the staff were succubae or incubi, though there were those rather amusing rumors about Kagome Liliko. So that means…a student?" He vaguely felt the shock numb his lungs as the image of his brother prone on the ground, held down by fingers of crystal and foot-long nails, flashed before his eyes. "It was her," he wheezed breathily. How he had missed the association before when the blue-haired teen looked like she had all but walked right out of a fantasy he would never know. "He had two of the Shuzen sisters, a couple of witches, a snow woman, and a Nightwalker on the sidelines, and he chose to fight us with only his Familiar why?"

"…He was proving himself," his mother whispered in awe. "Alexander, you said he released Moka Shuzen's seal and put it back without her doing anything, correct?" At his confirmation, she smiled whimsically. "He was proving himself. The blood-mate of a Shuzen couldn't allow her to think he would let her take care of all the problems that came from her choice. He was showing he could protect her too."

The universe of Vincent Valentine blackened at its edges. He could feel it encroaching as his breathing quickened dangerously, and only Evangeline's worried touch kept him from hyperventilating. Why? Because it all made sense.

Proving himself.

Confess what I've become.

Protecting his family.

…If I had to be a man of ice and snow…

…If I had to be a man of smoke and mirrors…

…If I had to be the result of the most unholy union imaginable…

…If I had to be everything I ever was and everything I ever despised…

Showing them…

You wanted to see more of what I could do? Take a look.

Showing himself…

Moka…do you trust me enough to put this back on?

He could.

I am what I need to be hers already, I just need to take that last step.

He wasn't what he was.

BREAKING.

He had gone beyond that.

DYING.

He was…

…So…thirsty…

He was…

"The resilience of a vampire is legendary, is it not? Surely you would know that?"

He was…

…Tsukune Aono, and I have to confess, I'm going to enjoy this far, far more than I should.

And he had been…stumbling towards him, clutching his neck.

He had been stumbling towards him, and clutching his neck.

Vincent tried very hard not to think about what that meant, but it was no use. He may have been under a rather severe handicap…but so had Tsukune.

Tsukune Aono was a vampire…and he had fought two others while under a full-fledged rosary!

He wasn't the only one that had a sudden epiphany. "Wait, you said he had a snow woman with him? Still at the academy? Unmarried?" Ivy put forth importunately, clearly expecting an immediate response.

"Now that you mention it," Alex began, "she certainly seemed like a Third Year, but her loyalty was firmly in the hands of that group. I had beaten Tsukune to a bloody pulp the first time and they were all right by him as soon as they saw. When Lady Shuzen was unsealed…she said something… What was it…?" His already pale skin soon matched his brother's, and when he finally spoke his voice was choked and strained, positively fearful of the implications. "I…I remember now. She said…she was going to enjoy watching someone called Kurumu take a memory from me, but she wanted me to keep this one. She said she belonged to a new Clan now."

Ivy laughed humorlessly. "Moka Akashiya indeed. If she really has consummated a blood-bond with her chosen mate, she's stated beyond doubt she won't be used. To claim a new clanship even…"

Unlike the others, Eva was not unaware of just how ill her husband was looking with each passing word. As strength returned to her limbs she was up quickly, steadying him against the drowsy sways of lightheadedness. "Vincent…? Vin, honey, what's wrong?"

The room was spinning, that's what was wrong. "What if…" he croaked, then tried to wet his abruptly dry lips, "what if she had reason to?"

Slit pupils practically disintegrated into their crimson surroundings, which showed just how plainly she understood what he was trying to say. Isabella looked similarly disarmed, however Alexander again appeared as though his head was trying to implode on him. She staggered in place, quite a feat considering she was on her knees holding him, and inhaled sharply when all the pieces jumbling about her mind fell into position.

"Who…did you say he had with him again?"

He blinked, uncertain as to where she was going. "Two I can name: Moka and Kokoa Shuzen. According to Alex, the Nightwalker is apparently named Kurumu, and I couldn't tell you the name of the snow wo—" What she was getting at hit him like a bucket of cold water. "No. No no-no-no-no-no-no-no."

"You said it yourself: he used the illusions of a succubus; an honest-to-God snow transformation; the magic of a witch, and healed like a vampire. What else could he be?"

Try as she might to digest this information, the famed Ivy Valentine couldn't help but feel like a youngling even after over two centuries of life. Another mirthless laugh forced itself from deep in her chest as she shook her head in amazement. "Tsukune Aono. I remember where I heard that name now. He, along with Moka Shuzen and this little group of friends, infiltrated the hidden realm of the snow people to save one of their own. They are what defeated Kahlua Shuzen's placement as an enforcer during their dispute with Fairy Tale. Later he alone was said to have destroyed an entire yakuza organization that had also been under the control of Fairy Tale. The name never meant much to anyone since young Moka's was always there before it."

"There's a good explanation for that," the youngest Valentine claimed dryly. "You weren't there when he released her seal. You can't measure that amount of power! The first time I met her she destroyed me without the slightest effort; this last time she didn't do anything, she just stood there, and it felt like I was standing in the eye of a hurricane! It's like she gets stronger just by breathing! Anyone who's been in her presence when she's who she was meant to be wouldn't think about some boy in the background."

She shot him a withering glare that had the desired effect, on both her sons. "This family owes both of them a great debt; either one could have ended your lives at any time and been perfectly within their rights for threatening their bond. Why you chose to continue when she even suggested they might be blood-bound is beyond me. Alexander I might understand; you, Vincent, I'm at a loss to explain. Consider yourselves lucky they decided to spare you, and not once, but twice. Before she was sealed and disappeared, Miss Shuzen's strength was almost fit for legend; I've never had any thoughts to the contrary. It's the boy that troubles me. How could we only be learning of the existence of such a powerful youkai now? Surely a vampire of his caliber would have been known before now."

Her oldest son started chuckling helplessly. "'If I had to be everything I ever was and everything I ever despised…'" he recited. Again, what he had first dismissed as mere words was found to hold so much more when put in the proper context. He wanted to be sick. He really, really did. "It felt like every piece of him was breaking down, like he was cracking into millions of shards that could never be repaired. When the pain ended he met Death, only a new life of bloodlust was there to greet him back. The reason we haven't heard of something of his caliber before now is because there wasn't something of his caliber before now."

Evangeline could only stare. No, not that. Please, not that. Please tell me he isn't…

"Tsukune Aono may be a vampire, he may even be the first vampire since the Elders to unlock the 'blood borrowing' skill and become a Blood Sage…" He shared an aggrieved look with his lover until guilt lowered his eyes. "…but he wasn't born that way."

Her fingers dug grooves into the floor.

Damn it.

V^^^V

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Author's Notes: Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or just want to talk, send me a line. I wouldn't object to you filling in that review box either.

'Til next time!

Sabr