Shade and a Vampire Chapter 21
WOOOOOO! 100 reviews! I would like to thank… Well, everyone, really. So, yeah. THANK YOU! Especially you. Yes you. You, with the funny hair. Just kidding. It's awesome. Now, to the main event!
By the way, do I have to keep putting in these disclaimers? Or can I stop? I keep forgetting…
Disclaimer: I do not own Rosario+Vampire.
The members of Happy Ending were enjoying something that they had not experienced for quite some time. Security. For years they had been nothing but a flimsy door between them and complete annihilation, and now, they had the luxury of a cloaking shield that completely concealed them from the outside world. They were celebrating the only way soldiers know how. By getting as drunk as possible, as fast as possible.
And despite not having drunk anything alcoholic except fermented fruit juice and breadcrumbs for over a decade, the Ex-students were with them. Getting drunk even faster.
"Aww, pleash? One more?" slurred Yukari.
"I think you've had enough already, kid." Laughed Kurumu, who was handling it the best.
"Oh, go on. Let her have another. Might teach her a lesson in the morning." Said Mizore, gesturing with a glass full of ice. She wobbled a bit on her chair, and clutched at the bar for stability. "What do you think, Moka?" Outer Moka looked up from her own glass of red liquor, to her friends, then smiled.
"Why not?" I'll get them. Want a refill, Mizore?" She took the empty glass from the swaying snow fairy and sizzled witch and walked, a little unsteadily, down the bar to the bartender. She glanced around the room as she did so. It was softly lit, and filled with people, all talking and drinking and fighting and laughing with each other. It felt nice. She had been fortunate enough not to have experienced the horrors of prison herself, but the memories still tugged at the edges of her mind. This felt… better. While three of her friends sat behind her, others were scattered around the bar. Haiji and Gin were in a shot contest with a few soldiers, taking time between shots to discuss the merits of certain types of women. It was already quite heated. Ruby was flirting with someone, and Koko was completely sloshed, yelling at subordinates and falling over, much to their amusement.
She reached the other end of the bar, where the bartender was. He had his back turned, cleaning a glass. Somehow he had managed to get hold of a suit for the occasion, but Moka's already slightly-drunk mind paid it no attention. "Excuse me? Have you got any scotch left?" The bartender turned round, and Moka nearly fell over. It was Shade.
"Certainly, madam. For the ladies over there, I assume?" Moka looked at him in disbelief, then nodded slightly. He took the glasses and filled them, sliding them down the bar to their recipients. Mizore and Yukari immediately started, but Kurumu looked up. She gave another surprised look, then smiled and shook her head, turning a watchful eye back on the young witch. Shade laughed and turned back to Moka.
"Enjoying yourself?"
"Maybe. Okay, yes. A lot."
"Glad to hear it. Appreciation is always appreciated." Moka glared at him jokingly, making him chuckle again. He put down the glass he had been cleaning. Moka looked at it for a little while.
"Why are you doing all this?" Shade raised an eyebrow.
"Didn't I just tell you?"
"No, not that. I mean… Why do all this? If you're so powerful, why not just march on the castle and kill the king yourself?" Shade frowned for a fraction of a second, then regained his normal wry smile.
"I don't hear you complaining."
"That wasn't an answer." Inner Moka's voice reverberated from the Rosario, the crimson gem glowing. Shade snorted.
"I don't think I have to." Outer Moka looked at him, amazed yet again.
"You can…"
"Hear her? Yes. And a lot more than that, I assure you." He looked at her face, still holding that contortion of alarm. "My, my. You mortals are simply adorable."
"Say that to my face."
"This is your face. And damn adorable it is too." Outer Moka blushed. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a drunken shout from halfway down the bar.
"More shots!"
"Just a second, my dear Mokas." Shade said. He went over to the shot contest to administer to them. Neither Moka said anything for a moment .
"…Some nerve… Wait, how did he know our name? Outer? Outer!"
The current controller of the body had been staring down the bar at Shade. She jolted upright at the sound of her other self's voice.
"Wha- Yes!"
"What were you doing?"
"Nothing…"
"You were staring at him! Don't tell me you're…"
"No! No… It's just…" She was interrupted by the sound of Gin hitting the opposite wall. Shade walked nonchalantly back to Moka, in the sudden complete silence.
"Idiot thought I was female." He explained. Both Mokas laughed.
The pervasive noise resumed, and neither person spoke for a while.
"I don't think you ever told us your name." said Moka. Shade put a hand to his head, giving an apologetic smile.
"Shade, milady." There was a bump as Yukari fell to the floor on the other side of the room, unconscious. Moka smiled.
"I better go." Shade nodded, and picked up another glass. As Outer Moka walked back to help her friend, her inner self was screaming at her.
"WHAT WAS THAT? WAS THAT FLIRTING!? WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? DO YOU THINK…"
"…Shut up." Whispered Outer. Inner was silent for a moment.
"…What?"
"Look, do you think Tsukune would have wanted you to mope over him for years like you did? I'm just being mature…" More silence from Inner.
"…" Outer Moka sighed.
"I'm sorry… It's just… Look, I meant what I said. But it's not your fault."
"I hardly had any time with him…" Inner's voice sounded on the verge of tears. Outer reached the comatose Yukari, and helped Kurumu lift her.
"I know." Outer thought, so Kurumu wouldn't hear. "We'll talk about this later. Look, don't get me wrong, I loved Tsukune just as much as you did." Inner said nothing. "…We're still going to avenge the hell out of him, though." Outer felt Inner smile.
They carried Yukari off to the dorms.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Far away, the floating fortress that had housed the greatest evil in the world a decade ago was still serving it's purpose. It was flying level with the clouds, hovering like an eye over it's ruler's dominion. The Masked King sat in his throne room, gloomily lit by a few smoky braziers, and awaiting news of the resistance headquarters that they had managed to acquire information of from some civilians.
A small man entered the room, visibly shaking. The king's head moved almost imperceptibly to face the man.
"S-s-sire…" the man stuttered.
"Yes…" hissed the king.
"The rebels that were hiding in New Tokyo…" The man looked at the king. The mask looked coldly back at him. "They…escaped." The king remained motionless. "And… burned a whole battalion alive… There are rumours of the man who sprung the prisoners from hellhole helped them escape." The king sighed and adjusted himself in his seat.
"Go, before I lose my temper." The man nodded appreciatively, and turned to run out of the room. The king held out a hand. "Too late." A blast of energy erupted from his palm, smashing into the man's back, sending him flying through the massive metal doors and into the wall of the corridor. Another soldier rushed up and closed the doors, then began carrying the wounded soldier to a medical bay. The king lowered his hand, and settled back into his throne. The man would live. These men were playthings, but not exactly expendable. He just needed a climate of fear, nothing else. Better to have them terrified, with hope that things would be alright, than have them sink into despair and pledge their lives to taking him down.
He raised himself from the chair and walked over to a wall, bones creaking.
"This body is getting old…" He thought. He then punched a massive hole in the wall, opening a window to the outside sky, and took some small coins out of his pocket. He began dropping them idly onto the villages below. Soon he tired of that, and waved his hand at the hole, letting the bricks reassemble themselves. He sat in his throne again, and picked up a paper and pen. He wrote:
Dear Issa Shuzen,
I regret to inform you that you must be relocated to the Desert Fortress outside New Tokyo. Your daughters will strike there first. Do not disappoint me.
He did not sign the letter. He rang a bell, and a soldier came in to collect the letter, bowing very low.
Once the man left, he sat and waited. More news would come. He was looking forward to it.
First of all, let me apologise for how short this chapter is. I just don't know what else to put in here. All the other 'arcs' are busy doing plot-related things right now, so please don't flame me for it.
Also, please don't flame me for the flirting thing. If it distresses you, just stare at the summary box. It should make you feel better.
Furthermore, I should let you know that I'm not going to respond to any more "Shade is Tsukune" posts. Admittedly, that used to be the case, but then I realised that it was way too obvious and majorly overhauled the plot. You guys can think whatever you want to.
Shout outs!
Hyrulesman: Anno? I'm going to assume you mean Aono, as in Tsukune. Yep, eventually.
Rebecca. .902: That is deeply flattering, but I can name a lot of authors that are a lot better than I am. I tried looking for your profile to have a look at your story, but it didn't come up on the search. Sorry about that.
ZyiareHelsing: You're welcome! (Hmmm… Déjà vu…) :)
The Crimson Harbinger: Thank you. That means a lot. (Wow, that looks sarcastic when written down. It's not meant to be. Thanks!"
: Uh… I didn't know a shade was a real mythological creature. I thought I made it up. So, yeah, don't expect it to be rooted in Norse/grerek myths. It's pretty much all made up.
Okay, see y'all next time!