Golden tentacles moved from my hand slowly stacking coins. I stretched one tentacle out across my dresser and it broke apart. Phantom pains gave me migraines. These tiny golden limbs stretched and gathered yen coins and sorted them. With my eyes closed, I felt the bumps for a 100 yen. From there, I organized the coins by their value.
My alarm went off and the coins tumbled to the floor. I needed to work on my focus. A single distraction could prove fatal.
I let out a sigh and looked at my family photo. In the photo it was just dad, mom, and myself. Letting out a sigh, I opened my suitcase and pulled out a photo taken later. It included my younger brother and my stepmother. Another photo contained my mother, stepfather, and my half-brother. I looked at them and saw myself. My hair was a wreck and I had bags under my eyes. A Gameboy was shoved in my pocket.
I turned on the bathroom light to take a look at myself. Moka's fang marks had vanished. My hair was disheveled from the constant flow of aura. There was a frown set on my face like I've never been happy. I tried smiling but only a grimace graced my reflections face.
Today was club day. I sat in homeroom. Kurono hugged Tsukune shoving him into her breasts. He struggled trying to hide his boner while a few of the other men glared in envy. Moka had no eyes for me she only looked at Tsukune and Kurono in her own envy. Maybe she was blackout drunk from last night.
I could always just kill the boy. That thought flashed again as it did every time. It would be easy. I could extend some aura and put a vessel in his brain. He'd slowly hemorrhage and die in hours. I shook my head at my own boyhood fantasies. If they ever found out I'd always wonder if they were plotting something.
At the moment it wasn't worth it. A cruel thought came to mind. I could do something a bit less intense. In order to pull it off I'd need to refresh my anatomy.
Crowds of monsters filled the halls of career day. I took a sedate pace while Tsukune continued to look back at me with mixed emotions. "Hey buddy you don't like that punk either do you. A bunch of us were thinking of ganging up on him. Then we'll have Moka and Kurono to ourselves. You in?" The guy said. A small smile graced my lips.
"Let's meet up in one of the abandoned classrooms and plan." I suggested.
"What's your name friend?" The jealous monster asked.
"It's better if no one knows each other. Easier to deny that way." A grin spread across my face. I looked at Tsukune and frowned.
The classroom was packed with students. Some were second and third year. They were discussing what they would do with Moka after they got her. "First I'm going to violate her with my wart covered cock and then I'm taking her ass. Then I'll return to her cunt." I turned to my coconspirator.
"Is this everyone?" I asked.
"Yes, impressive isn't it. After the punk beat Saizo, I was worried we'd never get a chance at her." I turned and delivered a devastating punch. The monster never had a chance to transform. He was out of it in an instant.
I proceeded to punch and kick the monsters around me. Only a few managed to transform before I was on them. I punched a minotaur knocking his breath away before using his body as a weapon against the rest. When the dust cleared, I counted around eighty monsters. None were stronger than Saizo.
I sighed and returned to the hall.
Hey, come join the swim team. You look like you'd make a great addition." She felt peppy and bursting with happiness. My lips twitched into something resembling a smile.
"Alright, I'll be there." I said. She nodded and continued inviting people. I moved about the different clubs.
"You should join the power lifting club. We'll make a man out of you." Several weights covered the stand each heavier than the last. On the rubber mat was a set of dumbbells each weighing 500kilograms. One of the larger guys in the crowd walked up and tried to lift them but couldn't. Then a smaller monster wearing the power lifting logo picked them up easily. "Do you see if you work hard even a shrimp like me can be strong."
I walked over and picked up one of the weights. A 300kilo dumbbell was nothing to my aura. It wasn't just muscle that powered me. The stronger the body used by aura the easier aura could be used. I lowered the help I received from my aura until it was mostly me lifting the weight. This was just the kind of workout I needed.
"Looks like that guy is hooked already." One of the club members said.
A burly guy nearly eight feet tall stepped up. If this guy wasn't a giant, I'd eat my shoes. He looked down at me with appraising eyes. He nodded his head and grinned. He held out his hand and smiled. "I'm Ren son of Roku, I'm captain of the power lifting club. You seem to like our equipment. Those 300kilos are a lot for someone your size. I'm not sensing any yoki so its muscle. How much do you weigh?" Ren looked me up and down like a piece of meat.
"I'm Morpheus son of Seto. My dad had a thing for Greek culture. I weight about 60kilos. How are you managing to curl 300 kilos? They should toss you around." Ren asked.
Golden light lightly circled my body. "I can use this to anchor myself." I said. The light died down as quickly as it emerged.
"Impressive, alright you're in the club as a full member. We're going to use you to shatter the low weight records of Yokai academy." I nodded and placed the weights back.
"Alright, I need the exercise consider me in. Does this mean I can't join other clubs as well?" I asked.
"What are you trying to run for the student council as well?" Ren asked. He chuckled to himself.
"I'm not such a popular guy. I'd like to have as much fun as possible. Would you be offended if I joined the swim club as well?" The powerlifting captain froze for a second.
"Look bud the swim club isn't somewhere you want to be. They lure young first years to the club to drain a portion of their life force. We keep it a secret to weed out the idiots here." I let out a laugh after I heard it.
"I thought one of them was interested in me too. I guess I'm one of those idiots too." I turned back to the giant and signed my name on his clipboard. "I'll be sure to show up after school. I'm not going to lie. I don't require sleep and I'll work myself all night if you let me. I can't wait for the club."
"Why are you heading for the swim club still?" Ren asked.
"There is a girl I like who likes another guy. I heard him ask her to join the swim club." I said.
"Why don't you just kill the idiot and take her?" Ren asked.
"I could easily but it feels like betrayal. He's her first friend here. If I killed him, she might never forgive me." I said.
"Get out of here. What are you guys doing listening in on our private conversation? Do you have what it takes to join our club? Come on lift some weights show me you've got gumption." Ren roared at the crowd.
"Wait, I'm not even in the club." One of the by standards said.
"Tough, you've been drafted. Drop and give me two thousand." The giant yelled.
I made my way to the swimming club just as Tsukune jumped in. One of the mermaids waved at me when I arrived. "Hey Morpheus, right, we're in the same year. Do you want to swim with me?" A weak mental prob bounced off my shield.
"Moka you look uncomfortable, lets get out of here." That was an understatement. She was terrified of the water.
"What about Tsukune? He really wanted to swim with me." Moka asked. I watched the water for signs of the big reveal. Once that happened, she'd jump in to save him. I knew it and whatever happened when she hit water would happen. I didn't know if it was a phobia or something to do with her physiology.
I held my hand out to her. She looked at it as if it were a viper stared at her necklace then back at Tsukune. "What's going on? Stop, someone help me please." One of the students yelled as his lifeforce was sucked away. I sighed and snatched Moka up before she could jump in and save him.
"I'll handle it." I said. I floated up and made my way over the pool. The mermaids started leaping from the water gaining more air each time.
"We'll get you Morpheus and drag you in. The water is a mermaid's home field." I pointed my finger down and fired a thin blast of aura. They continued to leap at me gaining less air each time. The water was sloshing everywhere and most of the student have already escaped. Tsukune took off Moka's Rosary and she made her way near the pool. A smirk on her face.
I glided over to her. "It's true that in the water a mermaid might be formidable. Pools have drains. This is an old school pool. It has a solid drain on the bottom." The pool was under ten feet. They resembled dolphins swimming in a kiddie pool at sea world. They even had the sad eyes I remembered.
"It's a shame, I don't have a can of sardines." Inner Moka raised a silver eyebrow. "I bet I could make them do tricks." She smirked and turned back to the sinking water level. "Why don't they give up? Their only advantage is gone." I asked her.
"Their pride as mermaids won't allow them to surrender while there is still water. It's a similar pride that won't let you give up on my outer self." Moka said.
"You taught me quite a bit about using aura in our last clash. I'd love another lesson." I said.
She narrowed her red eyes into slits. "Know your place." She brought her aura empowered leg down I brought my arms up to block it. Just before the blow met my guard, she swiveled twisting and launching her other leg to my side. My aura tossed me back just enough for her kick to tag my barrier. Part of my barrier broke off before new aura filled in the gaps.
A smile spread across my face as I began to get more control. I stabbed my foot into the concrete, kicked off, and golden aura pushed me faster. Just before a devastating kick landed, aura pushed my body aside.
"This keeps getting better and better. Moka show me what you've got. Don't hold back." I cried as I delivered punched her crush guard. She used the momentum to turn her body. I caught a gleam light up her eyes.
Her blows rained down with feints sprinkled in. My steps shattered the ground as I parried her blows. One blow to her stomach had her spitting blood and back flipping away. She was tricky, I punched only for my fist to cleave through an after image. A powerful blow caught me in the back after that. My barrier shattered and her kick hit me hard. Aura flipped me and I landed on my feet.
I threw myself at her. When she maneuvered to kick me, I swerved midair and delivered a ground to chin elbow strike. She'd already vanished, and I twisted around a dashing knee. If it hit my barrier and ribcage would have shattered. "No stop fighting." Tsukune yelled.
I raised an eyebrow. "This wasn't a fight. You were teaching me how to really use aura." My blood was pumping, and I didn't want to stop. This was a shining light in my life.
"I demand payment for your lesson. My outer self is too weak to enjoy you, but I'm not." This certainly was the right time to strike. For all I knew she was playing me. What if she was? She grabbed ahold of my shoulder and ribs and moved closer. Her white hair hid her face. Just before her fangs would have sank into me, I heard a click. Her eyes widened and she glared at Tsukune. Outer Moka let go and pushed away from me. She quickly moved the Tsukune's side.
"Morpheus, I can't believe you. You knew Tsukune was in danger and tried to keep me from protecting him." Kurnono glared at me while Tsukune kept silent. He was shaking and beads of sweat fell down his face.
"Just because I won't kill him doesn't mean I must save him." I pointed at him. Golden light threatened to release from my finger tip. It would be easy to kill him here and now. Outer Moka would hate me and Kurono would swear some ridiculous blood feud. I let the light fade from my fingertip.
"Eventually, a monster will come along too powerful for even inner Moka to handle. What will you do then Tsukune? Will you ask them to die shielding you?" I said.
"That isn't going to happen. Your anger is misplaced. I want to be friends with Tsukune more than I want to be friends with you. If there is anyone you should be angry at its me." Outer Moka declared.
"I don't think inner Moka agrees. I'll see you in home room." I said.
"What does she matter? Tsukune is the one who decides whether she comes out or not. If he was gone, you'd never see her again." Kurono said.
A grin lit my face and I laughed. It was the funniest thing I've ever heard. My aura erupted as my laughed echoed off the walls. I shook my head as tears ran down my cheeks.
"Does blood go to those fun bags instead of your brain?" I opened my mouth preparing to explain then shut it. They had no clue of the extent of my power. "I'll leave you in the dark."
"You failed to remove my rosary." Moka said. I shook my head as I left. I could remove it, I knew I would figure it out. It was sympathetic in nature. With a bit of scanning with my aura, it wasn't hard to read the criteria. Love, only someone who didn't wish or knew they could never harm Moka could remove the rosary. Anyone who could never hurt another wasn't real. Emotions were chaotic. I'll undoubtedly hurt Moka it was in my nature. That's the difference between Tsukune and I. One of us lived in a fantasy. Or it could be the fact that I no longer function like a human. My body is a machine that runs off aura a substance that is alien to the Rosary. It detected me as an emotionless object.
"Yea why don't you try it and prove you aren't as good as my destined one." Kurono shouted. I raised an eyebrow and thought. What if I bottled up my aura as much as possible? Would it be enough to let the rosary sense my intent?
I turned and stepped forward. It was like holding my breath. I pushed it all down. Even my aura didn't escape my body. I reached forward and pulled gently. The rosary slipped off. Outer Moka gasped before I put it back on. The transformation stopped.
Golden aura flooded my system again and I turned to leave. "Wait how, you couldn't before?" Tsukune shouted. This had really been the perfect time to strike. I turned to see doubt in Moka's eyes.
"My power hides my intentions." I saw real terror in Tsukune's eyes. He felt scared for his life. "Moka won't abandon you yet. The only one who can destroy your friendship is you." I said.
"What did Tsukune ever do to you? Why do you hate my destined one?" Kurono demanded.
"We both want Moka. This is how things are." I said.
Was this the turning point? I was more certain than ever outer Moka was a façade. She was a program. Why was she in place? Was there any bleed over? Did that change the way I felt?
No, I still loved the empathetic Moka who cared deeply for two dumb humans. Maybe I was a fool worse than Tsukune. Most of the clubs were closed.
I made my way to homeroom.
I could just sit in my desk and wait for tomorrow. The first powerlifting club meeting wasn't for a few days. I wouldn't be able to use the gym until then. I saw a clipboard with no names on it. That cub had meetings on days different from powerlifting. I signed up and left the classroom.
Author's note: Hey I like how this chapter turned out tell me what you think with a review.
