Chapter 8
Mathematics, A Wizard, and A Vampire
Sometimes, most students at Yokai Academy like to help each other out with their school work, but at most times they prefer to study on their own. Today everyone was now gearing up for tutoring sessions. But none of them knew that Miss Ririko Kagome, the math teacher, had a very different way of helping her students achieve top scores on math tests. Whenever any of the boys saw her walking by, they would paralized in shock by her appearance, but they didn't know that she had any devious thoughts in her mind. It was until Yozora just pretty much kept to himself when the wind blew her slitted dress making most of the boys faint from a nosebleed.
"Can't these guys ever learn to keep their thoughts to themselves?" he asked himself.
Miss Ririko giggled when she heard that, but maintained her calming demeanor as she saw the wizard walking past her. A few hours later Miss Ririko was now talking about how to measure the area of the circle, and how to divide it.
"Consider it done," Yozora said as he was actually deathly serious about this math class.
Tsukune on the other hand was a bit anxious about math, but Moka saw that he was stressing out about it, when Miss Ririko asked him to solve the problem about the area of the circle. Poor Tsukune wasn't sure of how to solve it, which made everyone laugh at him, save for his friends.
"Geez Tsukune, next time you start zoning out on Miss Ririko, she's gonna be very disappointed in you," warned Yozora.
"Actually Mr. Ikeda, I couldn't have said it better myself. After all, we are nearing finals, and I need to make sure everyone focuses on their work, just like you are, my friend," Miss Ririko said proudly.
She immediately told everyone to start following Yozora's example, while poor Tsukune started having massive panic attacks hitting him harder than he had ever realized.
"Do I feel sorry for you, buddy," Yozora said, when the school bell rang, signaling everyone that it was the end of class.
On the school roof, Tsukune was in desperate need of tutoring, as he asked Moka for her help.
"So what if you're stumped on math, If you were in my shoes, Tsukune, you'd blaze through this test, and Miss Ririko would actually be in a satisfactory mood," Yozora said to him.
"I know that, Yozora! but it's taken all my energy just to get used to this school! And on top of that, with all these crazy mix-ups I keep getting dragged into, I've been far too distracted to study! Please help me you guys, I'm begging you here!" replied Tsukune who was still in a state of panic.
"Okay, okay, Moka can help you, but I'm gonna do some studying on my own until I get a solid 100% that'll put Miss Ririko in a satisfactory mood," Yozora said to them.
"Well, I just hope I can be enough help," Moka said to the wizard.
"Yeah, I kind of figured as much," replied Yozora, who was still adamant on his studies.
"But Yozora, You should help me too!" pleaded Tsukune.
"Urgh, there's just no arguing with you, is there?" the wizard muttered under his breath.
"Yozora, you don't want the other Moka putting you in your place now, do you?" warned Mizore from behind them.
"Roger that, Mizore," replied Yozora.
"Oh, hey Mizore," they said.
"Well, since you guys are gonna have a study session together, I guess I can pitch in, and help a little bit. So let's meet up in Moka's dormitory later tonight," said Yozora.
"Thank you, Yozora," Moka said sweetly, as she hugged him.
"Huh, I guess when you put that way, Moka can help me out with my math work, and anything else I need help with," added Tsukune who had just managed to calm down a bit from his panic-inducing headaches.
"And we'll make sure to do everything we can to help you get a good score on the final exam," said Moka, as she placed her hands upon his shoulders.
"Yeah, thanks guys," Tsukune said, as they all took each other's arms in their hands and formed a triangle.
"After all, it's like I always say: 'All for one and one for all.' You can count on me and Moka to make sure you do your best," Yozora said.
"And we'll be there for you too, Tsukune," added Kurumu.
"We always will be," finished Yukari, as she swooped down beside the succubus on her broomstick.
Tsukune turned to his friends and gave them all a thumbs up to let them know that he fully appreciated their support.
"Also, since Mizore wasn't at school for sometime, you think it'll be all right if she studies with us as well?" asked Yozora.
"Of course she can," replied Moka, with a cheerful smile.
"Thank you everyone, you guys are the best," Mizore said happily.
"Now let's hit the books!" Yozora said with his fist raised in the air.
"All right! Let's do it!" agreed the rest of his motley crew.
The study session was actually a great success as they all pitched in to do their very best on the final examination to prepare for the summer holidays. Yozora was now jotting down the notes with careful precision and planning as he listened intently to everyone's lectures about the various mathematics they spoke of. While the others seemed a tad bit distracted about what was really going on.
"So, is everybody getting what they know about the various forms of mathematics?" asked Yozora as he arrived some time after his little break.
"Of course, thanks to you and Moka, I finally do. I'm just happy to have Moka tutoring me. She's a first rate tutor," answered Tsukune.
"Please, I am not," said Moka blushing at the compliment.
"Hey, it's cool, Moka. But, some of the others are having a bit of a tough time trying to understand it fully," Yozora replied as he looked to the others.
"You're not wrong there, Yozora. But if it's all right I was wondering if you and Yukari could help me and Mizore out a bit," suggested Kururmu.
"As you wish, O' Eye in the Sky," Yozora replied in a chivalrous tone.
But Mizore was still confused about the intervals and intervals. But Yozora explained it carefully to her in full detail, which did make Yukari seem very relieved that her friend was there to back her up. The study session continued a bit more smoothly, and Tsukune was very happy to know that Moka took some incredibly detailed notes on her notebook.
"We can thank Yozora and Yukari for helping us out a bit, they are pretty unique, but I can trust them to watch your back as a true master and apprentice would for all of us, But if you want I'd be able to copy a set of notes for you and everyone else," said Moka.
"Thank you Moka," replied Tsukune.
"Yeah, with you around, we'll do whatever helps us do our best in the finals," added Yozora.
Kurumu, Yukari, Mizore also nodded in agreement, and even placed their hands in the center to let them know they'd always be there for each other in the toughest of times. By the time school was over, the five friends swore that they would see each other again, tomorrow for their study session. But Yozora raised his hand.
"If it's all right, I was wondering if you could pass me one of the copies of the notes you wrote down tomorrow," the wizard said to her.
"Of course, Yozora. I'd be happy to give you a copy of my notes," she said.
"Oh, why hello Mr. Aono, and Mr. Ikeda," came Miss Ririko's voice from nearby.
"Hey, what's up?" replied Yozora.
"Why are you here so late, a club?" she asked.
"Actually, we were gonna hit the sack, and start double-timing on our studies, individually," Yozora said, but what Moka and Tsukune didn't know was that he was actually lying to her.
"Ah, excellent work, Mr. Ikeda. Though I'm a bit surprised that you're doing a study session on your own with no help," replied Miss Ririko, who was able to buy the Yozora's lie so easily.
"What the heck is he doing, Moka?" Tsukune whispered into her ear.
"I don't know Tsukune, but he might be making sure that our cover is blown," Moka replied in a low whisper.
"In any case, We'll be ready for the final exam, and do our very best to pass it," Yozora said with a fiery glint of determination in his eyes.
"Then I wish you and your friends the best of luck. In the meantime, I would recommend that you two follow Yozora's example of having a studious mind," Miss Ririko said.
"Yes ma'am," replied Moka and Tsukune.
The three of them were relieved as Miss Ririko left them alone.
"That was a bit too close," sighed Tsukune.
"Yeah, I'm starting to get some bad vibes from Miss Ririko. I think she might be hiding a dark secret from us," said Yozora, who now had a dark glare in his eyes.
"You don't think she'd-" gasped Moka.
"Actually, you may be right. I'll ask some of the teachers to keep an eye on Miss Ririko so that she doesn't get carried away in her tutoring sessions tomorrow," Yozora said to them as he grabbed his bag and headed back to his dormitory.
The next morning, Yozora walked down the hallways until he spotted Miss Nekonome passing by.
"Excuse me, Miss Nekonome," he said.
"Oh, good morning, Mr. Ikeda," she said in her cheery tone.
"I don't wanna disrupt our schedule, but I got a feeling that Miss Ririko might be doing something a bit shady in her tutoring sessions. Do you think you and the rest of the staff can be sure she doesn't get carried away?" asked Yozora.
"Of course we can, we'll be sure that she doesn't get carried away in her tutoring sessions," Miss Nekonome said happily.
"Great, thanks for pitching in. I'll see you in class," the wizard said as they shook hands and went their separate ways.
By the time he reached the club room, Yozora told them that he had given Miss Nekonome the go ahead to ensure that Miss Ririko would be under careful surveillance from the other teachers.
"Phew, at least now we can all study together. Most of the other students told me about her. They said that she gets a bit overboard with her career as a math teacher," said Kurumu.
"So in your personalized opinion, she lets her work get to her own head," replied Yozora.
"I'm afraid so," agreed the succubus.
The rest of the club members gasped in shock.
"There's also something else to know about her. Most of the other guys won't even take their eyes off of her for even a single minute," Yozora said darkly.
Moka was shocked at what she heard from the wizard. But, knowing Kurumu, she was furious about it, until Yozora placed his hand upon the succubus' shoulder.
"I know what you mean, Yozora. But still, being cautious is probably the only good idea I've got right now," she admitted.
Yukari was about to say otherwise about Kurumu's appearance, when she suddenly remembered what the succubus said about her growing up into a beautiful young woman in the future, which Moka and Mizore wholeheartedly agreed on. Afterwards the matter was fully settled with the two-love rivals deciding to shake hands on it.
"Hey, Tsukune. I know you're not sure about Miss Ririko's tutoring sessions, but it'll be better than taking make-up classes to fix up your grades before the summer break starts," said Yukari.
"Wait a second, I almost forgot about that. I'm gonna give it my all in these finals in either our study sessions, or in a tutoring session with Miss Ririko! Just you wait, I'll do my best like nobody ever would!" Tsukune cried out, now filled to the brim with motivation.
"We'll be cheering for you with our hearts Tsukune! Good luck," said his friends.
"Then, once we hit the beach, we'll share food, drinks, play some ball games, and even go to the summer festival," added Yozora.
"You've been planning ahead for our future, haven't you?" asked Kurumu.
"Yeah, consider those plans approved by yours truly," said Mizore.
By the time Tsukune had entered the room where the tutoring session began, there stood Miss Ririko, dressed in what looked like a dominatrix's outfit.
"Ah Tsukune, I've been waiting for you," she said in a seductive tone.
Tsukune was shocked to see this different side of his math teacher fully revealed in its entirety.
"Having heard your friends give you some serious motivation, I have to agree with them. However, you're pretty much stuck with me until then, so focus up or face the consequences!" she said firmly.
Despite this, Tsukune had no choice but to obey, until he felt something on his head, draining him of his emotions and filling him with mathematical knowledge, causing him to scream in unrelenting agony, while MIss Ririko laughed maniacally at what she saw.
"Let's begin our tutoring session!" she shouted loudly.
In her dormitory, Moka was busily copying down the notes she had written to help her friends study, while Yozora was on standby.
"Hey, Yozora, I hope that tutoring session is helping Tsukune," she said.
"Don't worry about him, the motivation we gave him will allow him to pass with flying colors," the wizard assured the vampiress.
"But still, As far as I can help him out, I guess this is it," Moka said sadly as she continued to write down the notes in her notebook.
"Well, I'm gonna hit the sack. We got a big study session tomorrow, and I don't intend to miss it," Yozora said.
"Okay, good night Yozora," she said.
"I'll see you all tomorrow morning," replied the wizard as he went back to his room.
The next day, everyone was now returning from gym class as they talked to each other about the finals. Yozora and Kurumu even asked Yukari if they could help each other out until they bumped into Tsukune. But Yozora sensed something was wrong with him. He couldn't sense any emotional response from him, as he started talking about the many different forms of math in a robotic tone.
"What the hell is wrong with him?" Yozora asked the succubus and the sorceress.
"I don't know, but the look in your eyes is scaring me, Yozora," replied Kurumu.
"It's almost like he's reciting the many forms of math from memory," Yukari chimed in, but she did see the look of suspicion in the wizard's eyes as he watched Tsukune walking away to Miss Ririko's sessions.
Moka was a bit nervous, but then she heard Tsukune walking towards her and emerged to greet him.
"Listen, I know that tutoring you is something that Miss Ririko doesn't want any students to do, but-" she said.
"Hold on Moka! We better keep our distance from him so as not to make Miss Ririko disappointed!" called Yozora, as he ran towards them in his usual school clothes.
Moka was a bit confused, until she felt Yozora grab her arm and drag her away from him at breakneck speed.
"What are you talking about!?" gasped Moka.
But the wizard quickly darted down another corner so as to avoid Miss Ririko's dark glare.
"Please, Yozora, I don't why you're acting this way!" she said in desperation.
"I know Miss Ririko. She doesn't give a damn about what becomes of those who go to her for tutoring," he told her in a serious tone.
"What!?" cried Moka.
"I know because I asked Miss Nekonome to let the other staff know what she's capable of doing to her students. That's why she thinks study sessions are just not the right way of doing things. But this kind of crap is just crossing the line," he answered her in a dark tone.
"I couldn't have said it better myself," agreed Mizore, who dropped down from a vent so that she could listen in on their conversation.
"Miss Ririko is the enemy of all students. She wants to make them be emotionless shells of themselves so that she can make them her obedient slaves," the snow angel said with an angry glare in her eyes.
"But, it can't be, it just can't," Moka said near tears.
But Yozora pulled her towards him in a gentle hug.
"I know, that's why we're gonna have Mizore observe her every movement from the shadows," said Yozora.
"You can count on me, Moka!" she said with a fierce flare of determination in her voice, as she saluted them like a soldier.
Everyday and night, Mizore made sure to observe Miss Ririko's movements while being careful not to draw the ire of her wrath. Elsewhere, Moka made sure to make copies of her notes so that it would help Kurumu, Yukari, Gin, and Yozora achieve top grades in their finals. But no matter she tried to help them, a nagging feeling in her head told her that Tsukune had already given up on their study sessions together, which did make the wizard place his hand on the vampiress's shoulder to let her know that she wasn't the only one who was concerned about Tsukune.
Later the next day, Tsukune was in Miss Ririko's classroom as he wrote down everything he knew from memory, but there was something that made him start to think about Moka and the rest of his friends which infuriated the math teacher to no end.
"How dare you! You are the student! I am the Teacher! You will obey my every command! And you will follow my orders to the letter!" she shouted, as she struck him with her bullwhip to make him bend to her will.
The sounds of Tsukune's screams soon reached Moka and Yozora's ears, making them rush to the rescue. Once they arrived at the classroom, they blasted the door right off its hinges, and saw Miss Ririko undulating with pleasure at what she was doing with Tsukune.
"Miss Ririko, this stops, right now! You will let go of Tsukune, or you will be prepared for unforeseen consequences from your actions!" Yozora said as he had his wand pointed at her.
"You! How dare you interrupt my tutoring session!" she snapped in shock and rage.
Moka saw that her lower body looked very much like a snake's body, and was shocked to discover that she was indeed a lamia, and was using a flower-like appendage on the tip of her tail to inject her knowledge into Tsukune while draining his emotions through the use of pain. Suddenly, Mizore dropped down from the ceiling and fired several ice crystals at her from the sleeves of her sweater, as if she had miniature gatling-guns up her sleeves. Angered by what was going on, Miss Ririko attempted to attack Moka in revenge, but Yozora stopped her by redirecting the attack towards a wall in her classroom, which created a hole in it.
"The only reason I have at this school is to educate students to become successful in Math! How is it that you were able to find out about my tutoring sessions that easily!?" she demanded.
"Simple, you only care about one thing, and that's yourself," Yozora answered her in a serious tone.
"LIAR! You will not interfere in Tsukune's study session anymore!" she screamed loudly.
"That's a load of crap!" burst out Mizore, and she blew icy cold air from her mouth which made the lamia flinch.
But Miss Ririko lashed out at the snow angel with her tail and struck her hard on her chest, that she was sent flying into the hall and crashed into the wall. Then she sent candles right at the door that prevented her from coming back inside to help them.
"That's IT!" screamed Yozora, and he summoned forth the ice blade Mizore gave to him from before.
"You're gonna pay for hurting my friendly snow angel!" he said furiously, as his mismatched eyes started to glow with red and blue flames inside of them.
But Moka quickly seized the advantage and flung her notes right to Tsukune, snapping him out of his trance. He turned to see Yozora and Miss Ririko in a high noon situation with their weapons at their side.
"Tsukune, it's time to bring the other Moka into the field," he called to his friend.
"Right!" said Tsukune, and managed to remove the rosary in a single swift movement.
A blast of crimson light sent Miss Ririko flying back as a swarm of spectral bats surrounded Moka making her look like a specter. When they parted there stood her silver-haired Incarnation.
"What you call educational guidance is nothing more than a dungeon of despair!" she said venomously.
"And because of that, your narcissism has caused you to let your duty as a teacher get to your head. So how about we give you a much more suitable punishment for your crimes?" added Yozora.
Moka smirked at the wizard's words, and delivered a powerful kick that sent her crashing out of her classroom, and onto the field. But she quickly recovered from the kick and glared at them just as Kurumu, Yukari, and Gin arrived on the scene.
"Enough! You will all obey me! Or you will be expelled!" shrieked Miss Ririko.
"Oh, give me a break," Yozora said from behind on a large box of gym supplies.
"What was that you performed?" asked Yukari.
"If you want to know, it's called teleportation magic," Yozora said casually.
"I never knew you could do that," said Gin.
"I'll be sure to teach Yukari how to use that ability at a later time," Yozora said.
"If brute force will not work, then you can face expulsion!" she snapped, enraged at Yozora's power.
"Oh, but you are a failure to your students," Moka said as she emerged from the dark room.
"What are you saying!?" hissed Miss Ririko.
"Because even though most students may goof off on their study sessions, they will always find a way to persevere when they work together. And that's a fact that you fail to understand, Snake-eyes. But more importantly, I lied to you about how my friends and I would be studying for finals on our own instead of together," Yozora said ominously.
"You cursed fools!" she screamed in unrelenting anger.
"I tried to warn you, but you brought this upon yourself," he said in much more foreboding tone, as he produced his wand in his left hand, making the lamia afraid of him.
"No! Don't do it! I promise to be better than this!" Miss Ririko cried out in fear.
But it was too late, Yozora summoned forth thousands of flaming spheres from his wand, and made them surround the Lamia. The heat was almost too much for her to bear. He then extended his arm out and waved his wand in a quick motion, sending the flaming spheres scattering and exploding around her. Great walls of fire suddenly began to surround her as Yukari saw what was going on. She'd never seen Yozora acting like this before.
"What's gotten into him!?" Kurumu called to Tsukune, as she carried him to safety.
"I don't know, Kurumu! It's like he's stooped to her level of madness!" he replied, as he was set down on a tree that was a safe distance from the fire.
Mizore, who had recovered from getting knocked out, had managed to rush outside to see huge walls of fire surrounding the math teacher, and producing thick black smoke that rose up into the air.
"No more, Mr. Ikeda! I swear I'll apologize to the students for my behavior! Just stop it! I can't take it anymore!" she cried out as the flames scorched her from all over.
Yukari couldn't bear to see Miss Ririko in unrelenting agony from the flames. She looked up at the young sorcerer with pleading eyes as tears of sorrow rolled down her cheeks.
"Yozora! You can stop now!" she called to him.
Yozora then looked at what he had done. He could see Miss Ririko was in terrible pain from the flames that were affecting her, and was now disturbed by what he'd done.
"Mizore! Douse the flames with your ice magic!" he called to the snow angel.
"Roger!" Mizore called back to him.
Quickly he jumped off the box, motioned for Moka and the others to get as far away from the fire as they could, as he and Mizore combined their mastery of fire and ice to create a rainstorm that put out the fire. Elsewhere Tsukune looked at Moka as they ran.
"What's gonna happen to Miss Ririko?" he asked.
"She's already learned her place, but Yozora took it too far!" answered Kurumu.
All the teachers stood before Miss Ririko with a look of disappointment in their eyes. Quickly the lamia reverted back to human form, and bowed her head in shame.
"Miss Ririko! I suggest you come with us!" Miss Nekonome said furiously to her.
"Yes ma'am," Miss Ririko said with her head hung in shame.
The next afternoon, everyone was back to studying together. But this time a substitute teacher was filling in Miss Ririko's role as math instructor. But this time, Tsukune was more relaxed than he was before as he remembered the notes Moka showed him from yesterday. When finals were done, Tsukune, Moka, and Yozora were walking together outside on the school grounds, when Moka asked how he'd done.
"Well, regardless of what grade I've got, all I can say is that I gave it all I got," Tsukune said with a confident smile.
"That's good to hear." Yozora said in a somber tone.
"What's wrong Yozora?" asked Moka.
"I don't know, but when your other-self, Mizore, and I were putting a stop to Miss Ririko's twisted plans of forcing knowledge into Tsukune's mind, I lost myself to anger. It nearly made me kill her in cold blood, and I would have become much worse than she was," he explained.
"Well what matters is that we all did our best thanks to Moka. So don't let those feelings of regret weigh you down. What matters is that we all did our best in making sure that we all pulled through together," Tsukune assured him.
"But more importantly, you warned Miss Nekonome about your suspicions about her, and that's something we appreciate about you," added Moka, as she smiled at him.
This cheered Yozora up a bit, making him smile back at her. His mismatched eyes meeting her emerald green eyes.
"Yeah, well most of us will be ready for the summer holidays soon. I'm guessing Kurumu's gonna have to go to summer school to do make-up classes so that she can join us later. But I did tell her that failure is a far greater teacher than everything else in the world, no matter what you are," Yozora said to his companions.
In the club room, Kurumu was still a bit sad that she wouldn't be able to join her friends for summer vacation, but she was happy to have Yozora telling her to do her best to bring her grade back up to a satisfactory result.
"Thank you Yozora, for having Kurumu's back," the witchling said in a quiet tone, but she was still a bit disturbed by what Yozora had done to Miss Ririko.
"Don't forget Kurumu, we'll be cheering you on with our hearts," Mizore assured her.
"Well, at least with you guys here in spirit, I've got nothing to worry about," replied the succubus, as she hugged her friends.