It's been three days since everyone heard Nathan's past. They've all been very kind and gracious to Nathan, the girls being more concerned with Nathan then with Tsukune lately. Since Yukari wasn't at school, the next day, Kurumu and Moka had recapped all of the day's events to her, including exposing Kotsubo, Nathan's bionic arm, and Nathan's tragic backstory. Yukari, similar to Moka and Kurumu, swelled up her eyes with tears and ran in the direction of Nathan, Mizore, and Tsukune, who were all currently passing out the newest issue of the newspaper.
"Teacher exposed! Find out what he did here, with the Yokai Times Newspaper! Courtesy of the newspaper club!" The three were shouting, handing out the newspapers to every student that walked passed. Nathan was about to grab a new stack of newspapers when Yukari jumped onto his back and cried into it.
"Nathan..! I'm sorry that you went through that..!" Yukari sobbed into the back of Nathan's cloak, snotting and dampening the fabric. Nathan anxiously laughed. He turned towards Mizore, giving her a look of plea, but she just smiled and looked away from him, walking over to the nearest student and handing her a newspaper. Nathan sighed out, and spoke over his shoulder to Yukari.
"Yukari, I appreciate the concern of your well-being, but can you get down please?" He felt Yukari nod her head, and release him from her clutches. She dropped down onto her feet, and looked up at the stature figure. He got down to Yukari's level, and looked at her, putting his hand out and onto her shoulder. He gave her a heartfelt smile, and wiped away her innocent tears.
"You know something, Yukari. You remind me a lot of her, Crystal." Nathan closed his eyes, and gave a soft, small smile. Yukari felt her heart skip a beat, as Nathan opened his eyes, and his emotions shone brightly through them, pain, suffering, joy, sadness, sorrow, and fear. His smile never faltered though. His gaze never once shook as he stared deeply at Yukari.
"You are a kind, sweet, innocent girl.. She would've been your age.. now.." Nathan choked up with his words, but swallowed his tears. He smiled much bigger. "I'm sure you two would've been great friends." Yukari burst into tears, and jumped onto Nathan's neck, hanging off it as he stood tall. He wrapped his arms around her, and embraced her softly. He hugged her for a minute, before releasing her back to the ground.
"Do you mind helping me with these newspapers?" Nathan asked Mizore, handing her a stack while grabbing one for himself. She nodded, wiping away her tears, and smiled. Nathan returned the gesture. "Good, try not to get any tears on them though, those don't go for much nowadays." He joked with her, chuckling to himself. She laughed with him and rushed to the nearest student she saw, graciously handing him a newspaper. Mizore then walked over to Nathan, pecking him on the cheek with a kiss.
"That was sweet, what you said to her." She uttered into his ear. His cheeks flushed with a pinkish tint. He rubbed his head and turned in away from Mizore. Mizore put her hand on his shoulder, and fondled it. "It's okay to show your feelings, I was taught by my friends to do it." Nathan turned to her, smiling. He leaned down, his lips spreading apart just barely. Mizore leaned in closer too, closing her eyes and waiting for their lips to connect. But they never did. She opened her eyes and heard a faint whisper in her ear.
"Look to your left.." Nathan whispered softly into her ear. She did as she was told, and turned to the left. In the distance, there was a large, redheaded figure, carrying two luggages and looked badly hurt. It was Kotsubo, and he was carrying his belongings and leaving the school. As he was walking, the students hurled insults at him, causing him to slouch down in shame whilst he made his exit. Mizore smiled and looked at Nathan. "Word got around fast, huh? I'm glad they finally took action against that perverted bastard." Mizore swore, taking Nathan aback.
"What a potty mouth my girlfriend has." Nathan put his hand to his face, mocking a surprised look. "We better clean that mouth of yours, and what better way than this.." Nathan kissed Mizore, licking her lips passionately, asking her for entrance. She obliged, and opened her mouth. Nathan instantly shot his tongue in, cleansing her mouth with his saliva. He then took his tongue back, and a trail of spit hung between their mouths.
"You feel pure, yet? Or do you need some more cleansing." Nathan smirked. Mizore smirked as well, reaching and grasping my Nathan's face, and shoving her tongue into his mouth. Nathan was actually surprised now, his eyes widening as he felt his girlfriend's tongue slip inside his mouth and do what he did to her. She ended it, kissing him on the lips, and grinned up at him.
"There. We are both even." She then walked away, handing out the rest of the newspaper. Nathan was dazed, nodding his head in his stunned state.
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Two weeks later, not much has changed with the friend group. Mizore and Nathan are still a perfect couple, everyone is still sympathizing with Nathan, and nobody has bothered Tsukune since the Kotsubo incident ( With the exception of Moka asking for blood, but it's not as drawn out as it usually was ). Youkai Academy was still in need of a gym teacher, and the only substitute they have as of now is Ruby.
"It's a long story." She told the group as they came into gym class. In the background, Ruby was going on her tangent rant about how she acquired the substitute position while Mizore was talking with Nathan.
"Nathan," Mizore tugged on Nathan's cloak before he went into the boy's locker room. Nathan spinned around to peer at Mizore. Even after a month of dating Nathan, she was still nervous to ask him such simple questions. She twiddled her fingers as she kept her head down.
"I was wondering.. you know, with Thanksgiving coming up.. If you would like to join me and my family for it at our house..?" She kept her head down, afraid of the rejection to her question. Nathan just sat there silently, his face a blank slate. Mizore lifted her head up to meet his eyes. That's when he turned away from her, and responded to her.
"No, I don't want to." Mizore's heart dropped as he said this. She felt tears brimming in her eyes, as she almost fell to her knees. Before she did though, Nathan grasped her shoulders, and bore into her eyes with his, a smile plastering his face. "I don't want to, because I'm already coming." Mizore gawked up at him, her tears wasting away. He grinned at her, and pulled out a letter from her pocket. She took it and read it to herself.
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To Nathan:
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Yes, my husband and I would love to have you accompany us for this wonderful event. We are very excited to finally meet the man who stole our daughter's heart, and our soon to be son-in-law. Mizore will be most excited when she finds out about this. We will begin to prepare the bedroom, and have everything perfect for when the two of you arrive. And you will not have to worry about the wedding plans, I have taken the liberty to have already started prepping for that as well, but do tell me, what type of song would you want to be played during the ceremony? I do hope you tell me when you arrive. Anywho, I'll be sure to keep in touch with you and Mizore while we wait. See you soon.
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Sincerely,
Tsurara Shirayuki
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Mizore gapped when reading it, then stared at Nathan with a confused look. Nathan was just enjoying the moment, and the look on Mizore's face. "I took the opportunity to write to your mother, asking if I could be a part of your Thanksgiving dinner." Nathan explained to Mizore. Mizore glared at Nathan, and froze him in a block of ice.
"Don't scare me like that, you jerk." She walked away, as Nathan, still in the cube of ice grinned wider. He moved his arms violently, and shattered the ice encasing him. He then rushed over to Mizore, and gave her a kiss on the nose.
"I'll be sure to start packing and meet you in your dorm when I'm ready." He said to her, going back to the boy's locker room, and began changing. Mizore huffed as she crossed her arms, and marched over to the girl's locker room, dropping the temperature the moment she stepped in. As for Nathan, when the secret of his arm gone out to his friends, he decided that he doesn't have to continue hiding it out of fear of being rejected anymore. Originally, he would wait until everyone had left the locker room to change, but now, he would change amongst his peers, revealing his muscles and robotics to them.
"Hey, Nathan!" Tsukune walked over to him, in the process of changing his shirt. Nathan got his shirt on, and waved at him. "Hey Tsukune, what's up?" Tsukune got his shirt on, and began to blush a tiny bit. Instant red flags went off in Nathan's mind.
"Well.. There is someone I like.. And I don't know how to tell them I do.." Tsukune stuttered out, avoiding eye contact with Nathan. Nathan's face grew anxious, as he backed up one step. "I'm flattered Tsukune, but I am in a committed relationship. I'm not judging, I mean, I am quite the charmer." Nathan said to Tsukune. Instantly, Tsukune stared with horror as he waved his hands vehemently.
"No, no, no! I wasn't talking about you! I was talking about Kurumu!" Tsukune let slip. Nathan then looked at Tsukune with curiosity. "Kurumu?" Nathan asked puzzled. Tsukune nodded, confirming he was right. "I always thought you'd end up with Moka, honestly." Tsukune looked kinda ashamed.
"Moka is a great friend, and.. I did want to be with her.. But I think all we ever will be is friends." Tsukune shook his head, smiling. "And I'm Kurumu's Destined One, that's an honor I should hold, and appreciate." Nathan patted his shoulder. "I'm glad you appreciate that, but there is something that you should know as well." Nathan continued, "Being a succubus, she is now bonded to you, her life is now tethered onto your choices. It's amazing that you found your love for you, because that in itself just saved her life." Nathan said, closing his locker. Tsukune looked befuddled.
"What do you mean 'saved her life'?" Nathan carried on explaining. "Well, you see,
succubi try to find their lifelong partner, claiming them to be their Destined One. Once they claim someone as that, there is no really going back. She picked you to be her Destined One, so now she will be yours eternally." Nathan said to Tsukune. "And since you are her Destined One, that means whatever you choose to be with her, partner or friend, is a choice of life or death." Nathan said, pausing to let it sink in. "Any succubus will ultimately die whenever they are rejected by their Destined One, having no other reason to live. Their bodies will die out, and all vital signs will be lost." Nathan finished. "But there isn't any reason to worry about that, now is there. You want to be with her, so you go get her." Nathan cheered Tsukune on, walking out of the locker room and into the gym, leaving Tsukune behind. Tsukune caught up with him, his face full of fear and worry.
"Hey guys!" Kurumu ran over to Tsukune and Nathan, squeezing Nathan in a bear hug. Nathan pat Kurumu's back, as she let go, just for Yukari to jump onto him.
"Hi, Nathan!" She excitedly cried out, hanging off his neck. Nathan grinned as he hugged Yukari back, "Hey Yukari." She laughed as he let her down. Tsukune sat there awkwardly as he waved to the girls, who didn't pay attention to him. Nathan took note of this, and, being the bro he was, whispered into Kurumu's ear. Her face lit up, as she stared at Nathan.
"Really?!" She blurted out. Nathan nodded, and winked at Tsukune. Kurumu faced Tsukune quickly, and jumped onto his face, smothering him with her cleavage. "Oh, of course I will Tsukune! I'd love to!" She began to suffocate him, causing him to flail his arms around.
"Okay, down Kurumu, down." Nathan pried Kurumu off of Tsukune, letting Tsukune breathe heavily. "Sorry, I got too excited." Kurumu blushed, and then walked over to Tsukune, giving him a normal hug. Mizore walked over to Nathan, and looked at Kurumu and Tsukune.
"What did you say to her?" Mizore asked Nathan. Nathan pulled Mizore's lollipop from her mouth, and stuck it in his own. "Your Destined One accepts, and wants to date you." Nathan replied, looking at Kurumu kissing Tsukune's face all over. Mizore pulled out another lollipop and replaced the one Nathan took.
"That's wonderful news." Mizore said in a monotone voice. Nathan stared off at her, "You sure sound happy." Nathan snickered, causing Mizore to freeze him again. "I am happy for them. Even though we do fight a lot, I don't want anything bad to happen to Kurumu, especially dying from a broken heart." Mizore said, looking in their direction as Nathan broke out the block of ice for the second time.
"Anyways, we need to start packing. We leave at 4." Mizore said to Nathan, walking away from him as he tried to catch up to her, only to slip on ice that spawned beneath his feet.
"Hey! That's not fair! Mizore!" Nathan screeched at her, falling onto his face multiple times. Mizore giggled as she turned to see him fall on his face again. Then, she ran off to her dorm room, creating another ten feet of ice for Nathan to slip on.
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In her dorm room, Mizore was packing her backpack with very full items. She rummaged through her drawers, and pulled out a couple things. She pulled out a bag of mint lollipops, a notebook, and a picture frame. In the frame, it was of Nathan and Mizore. Nathan was standing behind Mizore, holding her waist, and resting his chin on her left shoulder. Mizore was holding his head using her left hand, and with her right hand, held the arms holding her waist. They were staring into the camera, Nathan giving a toothy smile, while she smiled gently. Mizore placed the frame into her backpack, along with the other things. Once that was done, she sat on her bed, and waited patiently for Nathan to arrive.
Mizore laid down on her bed, facing the ceiling as she stared at the clock on her desk. 3:50 was the time. She shut her eyes, and groaned. He is running late. She got up, and grabbed her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder and walked to the entrance of her dorm. Ready to exit, she opened the door and walked into the hallway. She looked both directions, checking for any sign of Nathan. There was no sign of her boyfriend. She gave out a disappointed sigh, and shut her door. As she walked down the hall, she heard a door behind her open. She turned to see who walked out, and saw Nathan, exiting her room.
"Hey, leaving without me?" He grinned at her, carrying a suitcase and backpack with him. She glared at him, smacking him in the head. He stumbled back, holding the spot she smacked. "I deserve that." Mizore nodded, walking the opposite way of him. He caught up with her and the two went in the direction of the bus stop.