Gabriel stood at the entrance of the dead forest, bags in hand, hesitant to proceed further. Taking a deep breath he started to walk into the dark forest, clutching his bags tightly. As he walked he took note of his surroundings.
"Jeez it's like walking through a Halloween attraction, creepy dead forest, bats because why not, and headstones of course. Thanks, Mother, couldn't have picked a normal school back home." He remarked, trying to play off his obvious fear. A feeling that would only be amplified as he heard a strange sound somewhere off in the distance and the only thing Gabriel could say to himself as his pace quickened was, "Nope nope nope nope nope nope nope! Absolutely not, not getting murdered by demons today."
The sound grew louder and louder until Gabriel could no longer take it and he spun around to confront whatever was the source of the sound only to be met by a cheerful voice calling out from overhead, "It's just me. A bat! Whee!" Gabriel chuckled at his paranoia and turned around to continue on his way until his newfound relief was crushed by a sudden realization that a bat just talked, along with a bike crashing full-force into his back sending him and his mystery assailant tumbling to the ground.
"Mother of god what was that? An SUV, if I'm not dead or paralyzed I'll definitely start praying again." Gabriel thought as he was reeling from the impact.
Fortunately, he was able to push himself up from the ground, planting his hand on something soft and warm. He was initially confused at what he was touching until he heard the cry of a very feminine voice and immediately looked up to see his hand planted firmly on the thigh of a pink-haired girl who locked eyes with Gabriel. He was stunned by her beauty, her emerald green eyes were entrancing so much sohe forgot where his hand was until the girl sheepishly broke the stare by looking down to her leg where this stranger had planted his hand so firmly. Gabriel immediately recoiled retreating away from her, his face flush with embarrassment.
"I am so sorry that was an accident, I'm not a pervert I swear!" Gabriel exclaimed in panic, but his panic was broken as he noticed a small amount of blood trickling from his forehead. The girl produced a white handkerchief and immediately hurried to Gabriel.
"Oh no you're bleeding." The girl said in a soft sweet voice. He looked at this strange girl and found a certain comfort in her concern for a stranger's well-being.
"I must've cut it when we fell, I'm sure it's nothing. Are you alright though? What happened?" Gabriel asked concernedly.
The girl wiped the blood clean and hid her eyes from Gabriel, "I'm so sorry, I got dizzy and lost control of my bike." Her apology trailed off as she took a faint smell of the handkerchief. "This scent...I shouldn't" The girl mumbled as Gabriel looked at her, visibly confused at her behavior.
Curious as to what she was talking about he sniffed the air and got a whiff of the lovely scent of her hair, he couldn't identify the scent but he found it very appealing.
"I'm sorry I can't help myself, because I'm a vampire!" The girl says and she quickly grabs Gabriel's face and bites down on his neck.
Instinctively, he panicked but the lack of pain calmed his nerves and before long the girl pulled herself away from his neck.
"His blood makes me feel so strange, but it's so intoxicating." The girl thought as she sealed the puncture wounds, making the bite look like a love bite.
"Did...Did you just bite me?!" Gabriel asked, clearly baffled by what just happened. The girl looked down sheepishly.
"I'm sorry, I smelled your blood and I couldn't help myself. Please don't be mad." The girl said apologetically.
"Well it doesn't look like you tore open my neck and tried to kill me, but you still have some explaining to do." Gabriel sighed looking at the girl looked up clearly overjoyed that Gabriel forgave her.
"Really? You're not mad?" She asked in astonishment, Gabriel rubbed his neck where she bit him and looked back at her.
"Mad? No. Confused as hell? Well, put me down for a yes on that one." He responded matter-of-factually.
"I did say I was a vampire, didn't I?" The girl asked to reaffirm what she said. Hearing her say that, Gabriel immediately looked her dead in the eyes.
"Vampire? You meant that?" Gabriel asked in response. The girl looked back with slightly downcast eyes.
"Do you have a problem with vampires?" She asked in a sorrowful tone. Gabriel noticed the obvious hurt in her eyes so he put a hand on her shoulder gently to reassure her.
"No no I don't have a problem with vampires. So long as they're more careful with their bikes and watch where they aim those fangs of theirs next time." He replied quickly. The girl looked absolutely elated and tackled Gabriel, holding him in a tight embrace.
"Jesus, lady I forgive you then you're gonna try to crush me with a bear hug." Gabriel thought as he felt himself being crushed .She released him and props herself above him with her arms and looked down at Gabriel, her face beaming with delight.
"In that case why don't be friends, I don't have any here yet." She said excitedly, Gabriel hadn't noticed it until now but the girl was wearing a school uniform that was similar in color, he also noticed her skirt and the noticeably shortness of it.
"If this is their school uniform I wonder what the gym uniforms look like." He thought in disbelief.
The two sat up and the girl noticed a pamphlet on the ground next to their crash site which she picked up. "You're a first year too? Maybe we'll be put in the same class, that'd be nice wouldn't it?" She suggested with a cheerful smile.
Gabriel smiled in return, dusting himself off, "I could always use someone to endure the hardships of freshman life with." He replied, the girl absolutely giddy with the thought of having a new friend.
"Oh, I'm Moka Akashiya by the way. What's your name?" She introduced her as.
"Gabriel Morris, pleasure to meet you." He said helping Moka to her feet as he stood up.,
"Morris? You're not from Japan, are you? Where are you from?" Moka asked with a puzzled look.
"I'm from the U.S., I've traveled a very long way to get run over and make friends with you." Gabriel joked, straightening out his back. He elicited a small giggle from Moka.
"You certainly did. Well, I should get going. The entrance ceremony should be starting soon. You should hurry too if you don't want to be late. Bye Gabriel, I hope I see you again soon" She said bowing to Gabriel as she picked up her bike and rode off. Gabriel watches her and sees her skirt lift up in the wind.
"See that's what I was afraid of. Whatever, just grab your shit Gabriel and get moving." He said to himself as he collected his bag and began walking towards the school.
Two people stand over a table with an aged picture of a gothic looking building, "Are you serious? My sister sent him there? What was she thinking?" A woman said frantically.
"That is something you may have to ask her yourself, seek your sister out and she will lead you to the boy. Do whatever it takes to ensure he remains oblivious to his true nature. We need to secure the vessel before his power awakens" A man said, handing the picture to the woman. "We don't have much time, get to Japan as soon as possible." The man urgently ordered.
The woman brushed her blonde hair out of her face and took the picture from the man, "I'll be on the first plane out."She said as she quickly left the room they were in.
Gabriel sat in his new homeroom clearly bored and mumbled to himself, "Geez that ceremony was a drag." He commented with a sigh.
"I hear you, man, they just love to keep talking." A teen next to him with piercings said reciprocating Gabriel's exasperation.
"It's not so much that, it's just that I was not a fan of the choice of seats. Sitting that long in a folding chair is not very comfortable." Gabriel said, looking at him, to which the teen simply nodded.
A medium height woman wearing eyeglasses, a short skirt, and a very cheerful smile walked in holding a clipboard.
"Hello, class. I am your homeroom instructor, Shizuka Nekonome. It is a pleasure to meet all of you." The teacher said in a tone as cheerful as her smile.
Gabriel was glad to see such a friendly face after all of the events of the day. She wrote her name on the board and set down her clipboard on the podium situated in the front of the class.
"To start us off then, as you know Yokai Academy is a very special academy as it is an academy exclusively for monsters. Given that, it is about time we go over some ground rules." Ms. Nekonome said writing three rules on the board.
After hearing that so casually Gabriel immediately begins to panic in his head, "Woah, hold up did she say monsters? Moka said she was a vampire. I thought she was just messing with me. Just play it cool, Gabriel." Gabriel swallowed hard as thought and tried to hide his panic.
"Yokai Academy is a school meant for teaching monsters how to coexist with humans out in their world. So that brings us to rule number one." said tapping on the board with a wooden pointer, "No revealing your true form to another student." She explained looking at everybody. Gabriel looked around at the other students and wondered just what monstrous forms they were hiding. "Rule two. No turning into your true form on campus grounds except for special circumstances." She continued, Gabriel began to clutch the front of his desk. "Rule three. No going to the human world unless it is a supervised field trip. Rule four is meant for those special occasions. While in the human world, there is to be no revealing of your true form. No exceptions, got it?" said, sticking her pointer out at the class for emphasis.
The teen next Gabriel leans back in his chair, "What's the point of these rules, teach. If we run into a human why not just eat em. That's what I'd do." The teen said casually extending his tongue like a snake. Ms. Nekonome picked up her clipboard and looked at her seating chart.
"And you are? Ah, Saizo Komiya. Well as you know the academy is surrounded by a magic barrier that separates us from the human world. If a human were to somehow get past, they would be killed immediately so there's no chance of running into a human here." Ms. Nekonome explained.
"Say what you want but I swear I've been smelling a human this whole time." Saizo grumbled glaring at . Gabriel froze up as he felt danger mounting second by second when suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by the class door opening abruptly and a familiar voice entering his ears.
"Sorry I'm late, I got lost." The voice said panting, the guys in the class all gawk at the figure that just entered the room. Nekonome again looked at her seating chart.
"You must be Moka Akashiya, I'm Miss Nekonome. It's a pleasure to meet you, we've only just started. Why don't you go take a seat behind Mr. Morris." said, pointing towards Gabriel. Moka's eyes lit up as she saw Gabriel and she darted over locking him in another bear hug.
"Oh my god we're in the same class, I'm so happy!" Moka exclaimed excitedly. Gabriel strained to breathe as he patted her on the back.
" I'm...so...excited." Gabriel managed to force out while noticing all the guys shooting jealous glares at him like they were trying to kill him with just a look. He met eyes with Saizo whose gaze seemed the most malicious of all.
The rest of the class proceeded as normal, Gabriel set at ease with Moka's presence. The bell rang and they headed out of the class, Moka clinging to Gabriel's arm, dragging him down the hall and outside to the vending machine. The two retrieved their beverages, Moka a tomato juice, and Gabriel a coffee. They sat next to each on a bench and Gabriel looked over at Moka enjoying her juice and couldn't help but smile.
"I tell you, I was a bit nervous at first but having a vampire bodyguard really helps put me at ease." Gabriel said somewhat relieved, Moka giggled in response.
"You're so silly, you." She playfully shoved Gabriel which sent him flying from the bench and into the wall with a great force great enough to knock the wind out of him. She immediately rushed over to help him up, "I'm so sorry, are you okay? I didn't mean to." Moka said apologetically.
"It's fine, whew you laid me out. Remind me never to get on your bad side." Gabriel said, stretching his neck. The two shared a small laugh that was interrupted by a voice that immediately sent chills down Gabriel's spine.
"Hey Baby. What are you doing hanging with this pipsqueak? Why don't ditch this runt and hang out with a real man." The voice said two looked over to see Saizo leaning against the vending machine. The teen exuded an aura of arrogance and malice and his stare obviously perverse as it was fixed squarely on Moka.
This angered Gabriel to where he overcame his intimidation and stepped up to Saizo. "Why don't you leave her alone? She ain't interested in you, creep." Gabriel spat, getting in Saizo's face.
Saizo immediately grabbed Gabriel by the tie and lifted him up, choking him while slamming him into the vending machine causing cans to spill out everywhere.
"Say that again runt I'll pop your head clean off." Saizo said as he choked Gabriel. who responded in a choked voice.
"Piss...off...you...creepy...bastard." Gabriel sputtered out glaring at Saizo
Saizo growled slightly in aggravation which Gabriel returned with a slight grin. Moka rushed over and pulled on Gabriel.
"Let him go, Saizo. I don't want to hang out with you, I can't stand bullies." Moka said, still tugging on Gabriel to get him free. Saizo dropped Gabriel, who fell onto the ground, and glared at both of them.
"Pshh, whatever. Keep the runt, hotness. You'll come around." Saizo said dismissively, now free Moka and Gabriel quickly walked back into the building. "You'll see." He said as he crushed a can of tomato juice with his long tongue.
Gabriel rubbed his neck as he leaned on a railing on top of the roof. Not even one day in as he's already been run over, choked out, and found out he's going to a school for monsters.
"That was scary, huh?" Moka said while standing next to him swaying side to side while she looked over at Gabriel.
"Definitely not what I wanted to happen on the first day." He said, turning his head and meeting her gaze. She looked away from him with a slight blush on her cheeks
"Thank you for standing up for me like that. You really didn't have to do that." She said with a sheepish smile.
"Course I did, you and me gotta stick together. I won't let creeps like that ogle you like a piece of meat." Gabriel said half smiling at her.
"I'm so glad I met you. I used to be so lonely before. I wish I had a friend like you while I was growing up. Most kids made fun of me for my looks." Moka said, turning towards Gabriel beaming with joy.
"Well those kids were stupid. But, I've been meaning to ask. You don't really look like a vampire, what's up with that?" Gabriel asked, leaning against the railing while turning to face her..
"Well not now but look." Moka began to explain, putting her hands on her chest and spreading her cleavage apart. Gabriel looked for a split second but quickly looked away, blushing
"Uh, at what?" Gabriel quickly said, trying to look everywhere else but at Moka which made her smile slightly.
"At the rosary on my neck, silly. What did you think I was talking about?" She teased Gabriel then looked at the large silver rosary on her chest. It had a red stone in the middle and hung from a short chain. "If I were to take this off I would transform into my true form. A powerful and scary vampire. I can't take it off myself." Moka continued, Gabriel looked her in the eyes and saw brief flashes of crimson eyes and bared fangs which startled him a bit. "Gabriel?" She asked inquisitively.
He shook his head and smiled again, "It's nothing. Just trying to imagine how someone like you could ever be scary." Gabriel said, which caused Moka to blush and lightly nudge his arm.
"Aw, stop it you." Moka said playfully. Gabriel turned and leaned forward on the railing again, looking out towards the setting sun.
"So, I wanted to ask. What do you think about humans? Little off topic but since the point of this place is to teach monster-human coexistence I'd like to hear your two cents on humans." Gabriel asked bracing himself for her answer but still hoped for the best. Moka's expression turned downcast as she looked down over the railing.
"Well, I can't say I like humans very much. I think I hate them for how they treated me all throughout my life." Moka said solemnly, Gabriel took her words like a dagger to the heart and she looked at him concerned. "Gabriel, is something wrong?" She asked worriedly.
"Hypothetically, if I were a human. Would you hate me or would you still be my friend." Gabriel asked in response with a more down worried tone. Moka tried to put on a smile and cheerful tone but Gabriel's face remained somber.
"Gabriel, you're being silly again. There's no way you're human because no human could have gotten in here." Moka said, trying to reassure him. Gabriel's grip on the railing tighteeds and Moka looks even more concerned as this sudden shift frightened her, "Gabriel?" She asked, looking at his face.
"Moka, I am a human." Gabriel said with all the joy leaving his expression. Moka immediately retreating from him and her face switching to that of fear.
"Impossible, no human could have gotten in here. You're lying, you have to be. You can't be a human." Moka pleaded, hoping it was a bad joke.
He stepped towards her, his voice dripping with venom. "Well sorry to break it to you but there's a bona-fide human being standing right in front of you. Seeing as you hate us so much, maybe I should have just left you with Saizo." The moment Gabriel finished speaking he Immediately regretted it and it flashed over his face as he saw the shock and hurt in Moka's eyes. He couldn't look at her and he immediately turned away, "I have to go. It was a mistake coming here. Don't follow me." He hissed.
He immediately took off down the stairs, quickly walking through halls, everyone looking at him perplexed about his somber face and quick pace. All Gabriel could think of was that he was surrounded by hundreds of monsters and the only one who wanted to be his friend he had just said some so awful
"I wouldn't be surprised if she despises me after what I just said." He thought to himself as he headed outside and back through the forest. "Where the hell is the bus stop?" He said out loud frantically trying to find a familiar path.
Moka ran outside looking for Gabriel, she needed to say something but she was so shocked before that she couldn't find the words. Thinking of where he might be headed she followed him towards the forest. Worriedly looking for any sign of her friend, she was surprised when suddenly Saizo emerged from behind a tree grabbing Moka's shoulder tightly as she ran past.
"Hey, what's the rush, hot stuff?" Saizo said with the same arrogant tone as before. Moka simply looked at him in disgust and shrugged his hand off.
"I don't have time to talk to you, I'm busy now." Moka said quickly trying to get away.
Saizo laughed menacingly, "Well baby, you better make time. Cause school is out and I want to play. Shame there ain't no one out here to get in my way, hot stuff." He began to expand in size causing his shirt to rip and tear to tatters. He towered over Moka and loomed over her as she let out a loud scream, Saizo laughing with malicious intent.
Gabriel stopped in his tracks once he heard the scream and a laugh soon after, "That laugh, on, Moka, I'm coming." Gabriel said, resolute to save Moka. He dropped his bag and sprinted back towards the scream. Upon arriving he saw Moka slumped against a tree, covered in saliva with a long tongue wrapped around her leg.
"Moka!" Gabriel exclaims in horror and anger as he clenched his fist tightly and looked up at the towering figure. The gargantuan figure turned towards Gabriel, his tongue uncoiling itself from Moka.
"Well well well, if it ain't the runt. Come to save your girlfriend? Good luck with that shrimp, I'm an orc and I'm about to tear you apart and have some fun with that hot piece of ass." Saizo said grinning through sharp teeth. Planting his feet Gabriel threw off his jacket and tie before rolling up his sleeves.
"I don't care what the fuck you are. You're just a piece of shit that needs to get cleaned up." Gabriel spat, his blood now boiling.
"Piece of shit? You got balls I'll give you that, runt. You're the one about to be a stain on the ground." Saizo laughed menacingly while cracking his knuckles.
"Big talk but I ain't seeing you do shit but attack defenseless girls. Come on, bitch." Gabriel taunted confidently which drove Saizo into a rage.
Saizo slammed his large clawed hand down into the ground which Gabriel dodged by jumping out of the way. Moka woke up to see Gabriel confronting the massive orc. Swipe after swipe Gabriel barely managing to dodge.
"Where the hell is this coming from. Why am I fighting this huge monster?" Gabriel thought to himself Seeing an opening where Saizo has his head close to the ground, he drives his knee into his nose causing the orc to backpedal. Gabriel then grabs a large branch that had nearly broken off from where Moka has been slumped and slammed down with all his might onto Saizo's head
"You bastard, that actually hurt." Saizo's nose began to bleed from where Gabriel had kneed him. Recoiling, he backhanded Gabriel which hit him square in the chest, sending him to back and to the ground. Moka covered her mouth in shock and horror as she watched Gabriel take a hit like that. Gabriel struggled to all fours panting hard and holding his chest, he looked at Saizo who was recovering from the blow to the face.
"Moka now! Get behind me! Hurry! I'm going to distract him, you need to go! " Gabriel ordered, Moka quickly rushed past Saizo and stood behind Gabriel.
"Gabriel, we should run while he's dazed." Moka pleaded, Gabriel turning to her and smirking weakly.
"Hey, we'll be fine. Trust me. I'll keep you-" Gabriel started to say as Moka looked past him and yelled out for him to watch out.
Gabriel turned only to get slammed in the side by a swipe from Saizo which sent him flying towards a hill which he began to tumble down roughly. Still reeling from the blow the chest every impact as he fell hurt more and more.
"Serves you right, runt." Saizo spat as Moka hurried down the hill to Gabriel who was trying to pick himself up after landing flat on his stomach.
"Son of a bitch sucker punched me." Gabriel growled, his face covered in blood and scratches and as he tried to stand again he fell to the ground again too battered to stand.
"Gabriel, this is all my fault. I'm so sorry. I should have told you I don't care that you're human." Moka said regretfully, tears streaking down her cheeks while holding Gabriel in her arms.
"You're still the only friend I've ever had and I don't want to let you go." Moka tearfully said, clutching Gabriel. Not long after Saizo came barrelling down the hill after the two.
"All this friend shit is making me sick." Saizo grumbled as he landed with a loud impact.
"Moka, stay back. I want you to get out of here. I never should have said those things, I don't care if he is bigger and stronger than me I'll kill the bastard for hurting you" Gabriel snarled as he shakily stood up and tried to raise his fist. He spit out a bit of blood and glared at Saizo who was slowly approaching.
"No! I won't leave you!" Moka said, stepping in front of Gabriel.
Gabriel tried to take a step forward and began to fall over again, Moka reached for him but instead of her hand Gabriel found his hand on her rosary and as he fell he pulled it from the necklace.
"My rosary, it came off!" Moka exclaimed in shock. A bright light emitted from Moka and it blinded both Gabriel and Saizo. Her entire body begins to change, her breasts and hips begin to grow, her hair changes to a silver, and her eyes become crimson red. Gabriel looking on quickly collapsed to the ground, his vision and consciousness starting to fade.
"M..oka." Gabriel muttered as she looked at the battered teen on the ground scowling as she looked at Saizo who is now backing up and is clearly intimidated by the sudden change.
"That hair and those eyes! No way, you can't seriously be a vampire! Hey, calm down, man. If you can take her down just imagine the mad respect I would get." Saizo said trying to encourage himself.
Moka spoke in a deeper, more aggressive voice, "Beat me. You're as delusional as you are perverted." Moka taunted, but her attention was drawn to Gabriel who was again struggling to get up.
"Moka I told you to go…..this bastard is mine." Gabriel said weakly through gritted teeth, trying his best to support his weight.
"This boy is a tough one, I'll give him that." She thought to herself walking towards the frightened orc.
Saizo briefly overcame his fear, charging her trying to blitz Moka before she could react. Moka barely reacted as she knew to expect such a brutish and simple strategy from an oaf like Saizo. The idea he would even consider defeating was a possibility was laughable to her.
"I think someone needs to learn their place!" She yelled as she quickly turned her attention back to Saizo who was almost on top of her now and planted a kick square to his side sending him careening into the hill, knocking him unconscious in a single swift blow. With Saizo decisively defeated she turned her gaze to Gabriel who managed to weakly rise to his feet.
"Hey Moka...hey good job, I softened him up for you,right? Say, did you do something with your everything?" Gabriel said as he fell forward, unconscious. Moka caught him and held his head in her bosom, smiling slightly.
Gabriel woke up slowly, his head resting on Moka's lap. She looked down at him with tears in her eyes, "Hey, you. That was a boneheaded thing to do." Moka teased tearfully.
"Hey now, none of that. We won, didn't we? How long was I out?" Gabriel said weakly, reaching up and wiping the tears from Moka's eyes.
"You were out for about 30 minutes, I was afraid you wouldn't wake up. I was so scared" Moka lamented, holding his head to her chest. As she released her hold on his head Gabriel managed to sit up on his own.
"You sat there and looked after me until I woke up? Moka you didn't need to do that, you should have just gone to get help." Gabriel said, looking at Moka who's gaze was fixed down and the ground.
"I know, I just wanted to be sure you'd be okay. I didn't want to leave you alone." Moka said sorrowfully, Gabriel brought her into an embrace as tight as he could manage which caught Moka by surprise. She smiled and held him gently so as to not hurt him.
"Thank you for saving my ass Moka." Gabriel said simply, Moka simply shook her head.
"I should thank you for coming back to save me, you fought to save me despite being just human." Moka retorted, holding back tears. Gabriel pulled away and looked her in the eyes.
"You would have done the same for me. We gotta look out for each other right?" Gabriel said, smiling weakly at her. She smiled in return and the two got up and saw Saizo passed out on the side of the hill. Gabriel clutched his sides and walked over. He kicked him in the ribs, winced in pain as he did so.
"Asshole, ow." Gabriel spat while Moka hurried over and helped support two of them slowly walked back towards the school. While walking they pass the bus stop and Gabriel points to it.
"Look I found the bus stop." He said, twirling his finger around in the air, "Yaaaaaay." He said sarcastically before recoiling in pain.
"Careful, Gabriel. Let's hurry to the infirmary." Moka advised worriedly, Gabriel glanced at Moka.
"Mind if I take a sick day tomorrow? I'm gonna feel this welcome for the next few mornings to come." He weakly said jokingly, the two chuckle as they walk into the forest.
"Ow." Gabriel winced.
"Gabriel I said be careful!" Moka exclaimed.
A blonde woman sits aboard an airplane rubbing her temples as a baby wails a few aisles away. She pulls a picture from her pocket and looks at it, there are 3 people and a baby in the picture and she stares intently at it. "Don't you just love kids? Can't wait to hear all about yours, Sister." She said to herself, placing the picture back in her pocket.
Author's Note
Any new readers, this is the author of the original Rebirth series (That I definitely didn't abandon for 3 years with word). I lost the login for my original account so I am revising previous chapters and reuploading them. Anyone who read my original series, hi thank you for reading again, hopefully these revisions make for a better reading experience. I won't get into why I abandoned the series but I do plan to continue past where we left off and have newest chapter done. I have plans for the series far into the future and look forward to working on this again.