Disclaimer – I don't own anything from the Rosario + Vampire anime/manga. All I own are my characters and plot twists.
'Talking'
"Thinking"
*expression*
Flashback
Techniques
Chapter 3 – What's mine is not yours
Tsukune awoke with a jolt, before wincing in pain.
'You shouldn't move just yet, you fractured a lot of ribs and they are still healing.' Said a dull voice to his right.
A quick glance revealed the voice belonged to Mizore, who was sitting beside him. Taking the time to assess himself, Tsukune looked down at his abdomen and saw it wrapped in bandages. His ribs were also very tender, as even placing his hand against them, caused him some discomfort.
'So you finally woke up. I suppose eighteen hours is good for a human though. On the other hand, a youkai would have been up and about in only a couple.' Commented Ophiuchus.
'So what happened?' Asked Tsukune, struggling to sit up.
'I think that is what both of us want to know as well. Somehow, if Mizore is to be believed, you forced your aggressor out of their monster form. Care to explain how you did that?' Asked Ophiuchus.
'I did what?' Gasped Tsukune in surprise.
'So it wasn't voluntary… that complicates things.' Muttered Ophiuchus.
'Well, in any case, go to class. No monster should be out of commission for more than a day, after something so mild as a few cracked ribs. If you don't want to arouse any suspicion, I suggest you act as though you are completely fine.' Said Ophiuchus.
Tsukune and Mizore were then ushered out of the medical bay and started to walk to their classroom.
'Mizore, do you know what happened back then?' Asked Tsukune curiously.
Mizore rolled the lollipop in her mouth from side to side a few times, before taking it out.
'No idea.' Said Mizore, before plopping the treat back into her mouth.
Tsukune let out a small sigh of disappointment at this. After a few minutes, the group had reached their homeroom again. Entering, Mizore quickly slunk away to her desk, while Tsukune slowly followed. Tsukune had been out so long, that it was now a new day and class had yet to start for the morning. Sitting down slowly, Tsukune exhaled in relief. Both Saizou and Moka had yet to arrive, giving Tsukune some time to think.
"So he thinks I'm a weak monster now. I suppose that is better than him thinking I'm human, but how am I going to keep his attention off me? Then there is her as well. She heard I was human as well and I don't think she changed her mind like Saizou. What did I get myself into?" Thought Tsukune tiredly.
After a few minutes had passed, Saizou arrived. He quickly locked eyes with Tsukune, who met his gaze with his one open eye.
"Don't back down, if you flinch, he will start thinking you are human again." Thought Tsukune to himself, trying to not flinch, at the hard gaze Saizou was giving him.
After what felt like hours to Tsukune, but was in actual fact ten seconds, Saizou gave a small scoff and made his way to his seat, ignoring Tsukune. Tsukune held in his sigh of relief, not wanting to give anything away, but also, because there was another person he needed to not be suspicious of him. Time passed by slowly, but in a few short minutes, everyone had arrived, including the teacher, however, Moka had still not arrived. Just before the lesson was about to start, she burst into the room and muttered a quick apology, before going to her desk, right behind Tsukune. Much to Tsukune's relief though, the girl didn't eyeball him and class proceeded normally.
This time, when lunchtime came by, Tsukune felt significantly more comfortable. No one had glared at him in class and his ribs were feeling a lot better. Gathering his things before preparing to head out, Tsukune noticed Mizore idly watching him.
'Mizore, do you know where the cafeteria is?' Asked Tsukune, only for the girl to nod, before standing up.
Tsukune took the hint and followed Mizore. After a short walk, the duo reached their goal. Luckily for Tsukune, the food was normal and not some freaky monster concoction.
'How are you feeling, Tsukune?' Asked Mizore, once Tsukune had finished eating.
'A lot better actually, my ribs feel, well, sort of numbed.' Answered Tsukune, holding his spoon to his mouth in thought.
'That's a common effect of receiving blood from a Snow Woman.' Said Mizore, with a nod.
'Really? Wait, when did I get blood from a Snow Woman?' Asked Tsukune.
'I needed to give you some. You had lost quite a bit of blood.' Explained Mizore.
'Don't worry though, Snow Woman blood is almost like a universal blood type, considering how we take our husbands from many different species.' Added Mizore, calming Tsukune down, before he could panic.
'Oh… thanks a lot then I guess.' Said Tsukune, scratching the back of his head.
Mizore simply nodded at this, before tensing up.
'Um, excuse me, can I sit with you?' Asked a timid voice to their left.
Turning to the sound of the voice, Tsukune stiffened up as well, when he saw it was Moka asking to sit next to them.
'What do you want?' Asked Mizore coldly.
'I-I just wanted to talk about what happened yesterday.' Said Moka submissively, not expecting such a response.
Tsukune couldn't muster up the confidence to speak and let Mizore do the talking.
'Nothing happened yesterday, pretend like you heard nothing and don't say anything to anyone and we won't have any problems.' Said Mizore.
Moka flinched at this, giving a shaky nod.
'Okay… I'm sorry though, for what happened and for jumping to conclusions. It wasn't fair to treat you like that.' Said Moka, turning to face Tsukune.
Tsukune struggled with himself for a bit. On the one hand, it was her fault that he had nearly been crushed, on the other hand, everyone deserved a second chance… plus she was pretty.
'You can sit with us if you'd like.' Said Tsukune hesitantly.
Mizore swivelled her gaze from the pink haired girl, to the boy in front of her, silently expressing her disproval for the idea.
'Thank you.' Beamed Moka, sitting down beside Tsukune.
The rest of the lunch break was rather tense, with Mizore sending occasional glares at Moka and Tsukune being extremely hesitant to do anything, but Moka seemed to be happy just sitting there, drinking tomato juice of all things. As the bell signalling class was to start soon rang, Moka stood up, thanked them for lunch and quickly left, having felt at least some of the discomfort among the two.
'Why did you let her sit with us?' Asked Mizore, rounding on Tsukune quickly.
'I… I don't know, I just felt it was the right thing to do.' Answered Tsukune nervously.
Mizore's glare softened slightly and she rolled the lollipop in her mouth in thought.
'You know you need to be careful, right? Saizou isn't an odd one out, I am. Almost every monster here would want to kill you if they knew the truth.' Said Mizore quietly.
'I know… but wouldn't hiding be suspicious too? I mean, what monster would be scared of all others?' Pointed out Tsukune.
'I suppose that is a valid point. That being said, you don't need to get the whole place to know about you. As long as you don't do anything to attract attention and as long as you don't make people suspicious of you, you will be able to survive.' Said Mizore.
'Do you think there is anything I should do then?' Asked Tsukune.
'You should avoid Moka Akashiya. Lots of people in the school are interested in her, Saizou yesterday was just one example.' Said Mizore.
Tsukune gave a hesitant nod at this, before standing up.
'I guess we better go to class too.' Said Tsukune, with Mizore giving a small nod and following his lead.
As the two left, they missed a pair of purple eyes scrutinising them.
-line break-
For the rest of the day, Tsukune was on edge once more, feeling as though someone was watching him again. The only problem this time, was he couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. It wasn't Saizou though and Tsukune was pretty sure it wasn't Moka either, but he couldn't be sure. Once the classes had finished for the day, Tsukune let out a defeated sigh. He hadn't been able to figure out who had been watching him and had only needlessly stressed himself out.
'Mizore, do you know where the dorms are?' Asked Tsukune, only now realising he had never actually seen them.
Mizore nodded, before walking off. Falling into a comfortable silence, the two walked side by side.
'Did you notice someone watching me in class?' Asked Tsukune, breaking the silence.
'No, but I did feel something strange.' Said Mizore.
'Do you think it was Saizou or Moka?' Asked Tsukune.
'No, I was watching them.' Said Mizore quickly, shooting down Tsukune's proposal.
'Who else could be watching me then?' Muttered Tsukune in worry.
'Don't worry, Tsukune. I'll protect you if it is a threat, but don't show any fear.' Said Mizore, trying to assuage Tsukune's fears.
'I guess.' Mumbled Tsukune uncertainly.
'Here are the dorms, that is the female side and that is the male side, we aren't allowed to have boys in the female dorms, the reverse is true for the male dorms. Be careful in there.' Said Mizore, before walking off to the left.
"Don't show fear." Chanted Tsukune to himself, even as he approached the terrifying building, filled with terrifying monsters.
Eventually finding his room, Tsukune collapsed on his bed. After a minute, Tsukune lifted his head out of the pillow and turned on his side, a puzzled look on his face. A quick pat of his ribs revealed them to be completely healed.
'Wow, they really healed fast.' Muttered Tsukune in awe.
"Is the difference between monsters and humans really this big? Just a bit of Youkai blood and I can heal injuries, which would normally take weeks, if not months to years to heal, all within a few hours." Thought Tsukune.
"If they are this much stronger than us though, why do they hate us so much?" Questioned Tsukune to himself, before pulling himself up and heading to the bathroom, stripping out of his uniform on the way.
Looking at his ribs and the tight bandages around them, Tsukune went back to his bag and grabbed a pair of scissors, before cutting away at them. The unblemished skin underneath was definitely not what Tsukune expected to see. Patting them down, he noticed that his torso felt a bit cold to the touch.
'Weird.' Muttered Tsukune, before grabbing his pyjamas and crawling into bed.
'Tomorrow, I'll deal with this *yawn* tomorrow.' Muttered Tsukune, before falling asleep.
-line break-
When Tsukune awoke the next morning, he marvelled at how he felt. Not only was he in no pain, but he felt better than ever. With more of a spring to his step, he got dressed and prepare to set out, even giving nods of acknowledgment, to the monsters who shared the same dorm as him, before stepping outside. Looking back, Tsukune was still a little creeped out by the dorms, but a quick shake of his head allowed him to ignore it and he started to walk off, weaving around the tombstones and gnarled trees.
'S-someone… help me please.' Said an unfamiliar voice to Tsukune.
Turning around, Tsukune spotted a girl, who seemed to have fallen over, resting on her knees, with one hand pushing her off the ground.
'Please lend me a hand… I just suddenly started feeling ill.' Pleaded the girl.
As Tsukune approached her, he was able to get a better look at her features. She had light blue hair and deep purple eyes. Her hair was tied back with a small headband, decorated with a star on the left of it. She was also not wearing the typical uniform of Youkai Academy, donning a plain long-sleeved white shirt with a red bow tie, over which she wore a pale yellow coloured vest. She also wore a light brown checkered skirt like Mizore, in addition to white leg warmers and plain black dress shoes.
Tsukune crouched down to help her up, allowing him to see her most distinctive feature: her huge breasts.
'Thank you very much, I've always had a weak body, my… my… chest… my chest just starts hurting all of a sudden… hold me tight like this.' Requested the girl weakly.
"Weak? Compared to a human, she could probably overpower dozens of them…" Thought Tsukune in disbelief, before he stiffened.
'My chest feels like it's going to burst!' Exclaimed the girl, pressing her chest into Tsukune.
Tsukune instantly gained a massive blush. Being as average as he was, he had never had a girlfriend, or in fact, regular physical contact with a girl his age, barring his cousin and she most certainly never did anything like this to him.
"They're big and soft." Thought Tsukune in embarrassment, but even he couldn't lie to himself and say he didn't enjoy it.
'Hey, look into my eyes Tsukune.' Requested the girl.
Tsukune did as he was asked and looked into the girl's purple eyes.
'I'm Kurumu Kurono. Please be a good friend to me, ok?' Said the girl softly.
"Wow… beautiful… what pretty eyes." Thought Tsukune, almost as though he was in a trance, before he sobered slightly.
"Wait… this feeling… it is like yesterday." Thought Tsukune, trying to resist the fog clouding his mind.
"How is he still resisting me?" Thought Kurumu in annoyance, but not letting any of it show on the outside.
"Is it because one of his eyes is closed?" Thought Kurumu, before deciding to take action.
'Tsukune, what's wrong, does your eye hurt?' Asked Kurumu in concern, bringing her left hand up towards his right eye.
'W-wait.' Struggled Tsukune, only for it to be futile, as he couldn't move for some reason.
'Don't worry, I won't hurt you.' Said Kurumu, softly caressing Tsukune's closed eye with her smooth fingers, before lifting the upper eyelid.
To both of their surprise, a bright light flashed as Tsukune's eye was opened, causing Kurumu to recoil and Tsukune to stumble. Tsukune quickly shut his eye once Kurumu had backed off him, but not before seeing a glimpse of her true form.
'Wings, claws and a tail… large chest… are you a Succubus?' Asked Tsukune.
'I am actually and I'm going to make you my love slave.' Answered Kurumu, slightly surprised he had deduced her true form.
"How did he see my true form though?" Thought Kurumu in surprise, knowing she hadn't released her wings, claws or tail.
'Sorry, a friend is one thing, but I'm not going to be someone's slave.' Said Tsukune, before deciding to cut his losses and run.
Kurumu simply watched him go, perfectly assured of her victory.
'Oh, you will be, no man will escape my charms.' Whispered Kurumu confidently.
A short distance away, a man who possessed eyes that glowed like Tsukune's right, took a puff of his cigar.
'So I guess he did suffer a few side effects, I just wonder if they will be permanent. After all, Youkai Academy is a scary place and he will probably need help.' Thought the bus driver, who had brought Tsukune from the human world to here, before walking off.
-line break-
Tsukune had somehow managed to make it to the academy after that, his newfound confidence at his quick healing evaporated.
'It's just one thing after the other in this place.' Groaned Tsukune.
'What's wrong?' Asked Mizore, popping up behind Tsukune and startling him.
'Mizore, you scared me.' Said Tsukune, placing his hand over his chest.
'What happened?' Asked Mizore again.
'I don't know. I found someone who looked hurt on the way here and went to help her up.' Started Tsukune.
'Her?' Asked Mizore, her left eyebrow twitching in slight annoyance.
'Yeah, she said her name was Kurumu Kurono, but I think she tried to do something to me. I was frozen for a while, er, not in ice, but I couldn't move for some reason… after that though, she tried to open my right eye and I felt whatever was holding me in place break and I managed to get away. I saw her true form though and she confirmed it when I asked.' Said Tsukune quickly, recalling the events in vivid detail.
'What was she?' Asked Mizore calmly.
'A Succubus.' Said Tsukune, causing the temperature to drop slightly around the pair.
'Morning Tsukune, morning Mizore.' Greeted Moka, approaching the pair, not noticing the frosty atmosphere Mizore was giving off.
'Uh, morning Moka.' Said Tsukune uncertainly.
Mizore didn't respond to the greeting, her mind currently churning with a multitude of rapid thoughts.
'There you are Moka Akashiya.' Said Kurumu, as she hopped down from the barrier, of a long set of stairs, much to the delight of the nearby male students.
'Oh look, Tsukune is here too.' Added Kurumu, sounding quite pleased.
'Who are you?' Asked Moka.
'I am the Succubus, Kurumu Kurono and I… have come to defeat you.' Said Kurumu.
'Wait a minute, isn't it against the school rules to give away your true form?' Asked Moka worriedly.
'I can't stand it anymore! You're the biggest eyesore in the way of my great plan!' Exclaimed Kurumu, pointing her right index finger at the startled pink haired girl.
'Pla-plan?' Mumbled Moka in confusion, only for Kurumu to laugh softly.
'Yes, my plan to make every member of the student body at this academy, become my slaves. The Youkai Academy Harem Transformation Plan.' Declared Kurumu.
'My plan was perfect! I should have had every guy at the academy a slave to my beauty from the start! However! Moka Akashiya, the guys at this academy are dreaming about you rather than me! I'm not letting you get away with this; I could never lose in a battle of feminine charm!' Exclaimed Kurumu, getting right up into Moka's face.
'That's why I've decided, to prove I can defeat you, I'll show you I'm better than you… by stealing Tsukune Aono from you!' Declared Kurumu.
'I think I've heard enough, find someone else.' Said Mizore, speaking up for the first time, since the Succubus had made her appearance.
Kurumu, for the first time, turned to face the Snow Woman. A quick scrutinising glance led her to scoff.
'Hmm, Mizore Shirayuki, well, I suppose I should have expected something like this from a Snow Woman, or at least, if the rumours are to be believed. After all, I knew it from the moment we were close earlier… Tsukune has a really good scent, just like a human! Snow Woman have a habit of kidnapping humans to be their husbands, due to their low birth rate after all.' Proclaimed Kurumu, causing murmurs to make their way through the crowd that was watching.
'How much of an inferior Succubus you must be then, since Tsukune broke your magic, when you tried to make him your slave.' Countered Mizore, getting the murmurs to die out.
'That was a surprise! I didn't expect him to be able to fight back in any way, so I wasn't putting my all into it. Human or not, no one can resist the charms of a Succubus.' Huffed Kurumu.
'In any case, Tsukune isn't yours, or Moka's. If the two of you want to settle things between each other, then go ahead, but I won't let you hurt Tsukune.' Said Mizore, causing the temperature to drop even further around them.
'Oh, so you want to get in the way of my plan as well? That's fine, you might be attractive for a Snow Woman, but you are no match for a Succubus like me.' Said Kurumu haughtily.
'Why are you trying to make every boy here your slave anyway?' Asked Tsukune.
'Oh, I knew you couldn't really break my charm, could you, Tsukune.' Said Kurumu, turning her gaze onto Tsukune.
'Why are you doing this?' Asked Tsukune again.
'It's simple. Us Succubi seek a destined encounter among the men we tempt. In order to keep our small species from dying out, we must carefully pick just one man, from out of many, to be our Destined One.' Explained Kurumu.
'Then why would you go around trying to start competitions with others? Why not check if someone is your Destined One and then if they aren't, let them go? Why do you have to enslave everyone?' Asked Tsukune.
'That's what all Succubus do.' Defended Kurumu.
'So? You're not like all the other Succubus are you? You could have just used your powers to hypnotise everyone, but instead you're focusing on other girls, trying to make sure you're unchallenged. You don't really want to hypnotise everyone; you just want to find your Destined One. Isn't that right?' Said Tsukune calmly.
"Where the hell did all of that come from?" Thought Tsukune internally.
'I… I don't know.' Mumbled Kurumu, at a loss for how to respond to that.
Despite his better judgement, which was telling him not to get too close to the girl that could hypnotise him, Tsukune walked up to Kurumu, placing his hands on her shoulders and causing her to look up at him.
'You're just trying to do what you think you need to, even if you don't agree with it. You should do what you think you should do; not what others expect you to do.' Said Tsukune warmly, causing Kurumu to look down.
'You're right. I'll let everyone I hypnotised go.' Said Kurumu, before all the men behind her, who had been controlled by her powers, felt their senses return to them.
'See, you're a good person Kurumu, you don't need to use tricks to find your Destined One.' Said Tsukune, relieved that he had managed to avoid a confrontation, which would have definitely brought into question just how human he was.
'You're right because I've decided something.' Said Kurumu, before looking up at Tsukune again.
'I've decided that you are my Destined One, Tsukune!' Exclaimed Kurumu, leaping to hug Tsukune, only for a kunai made of ice to slam into her forehead, causing her to fall to her knees.
'Find someone else.' Said Mizore, before dragging Tsukune away.
'I won't lose to you Snow Woman!' Declared Kurumu angrily, before turning to face Moka.
'Or you, Moka Akashiya.' Huffed Kurumu, before walking off.
'But I didn't do anything.' Mumbled Moka.
-line break-
'Tsukune, I thought we said you were going to try and avoid attracting attention to yourself.' Said Mizore.
'What did I do?' Asked Tsukune in genuine confusion.
Mizore stopped dragging Tsukune and gave him a look that confused him.
'If that is the way things are going to be, I'm going to need to train you. If you are going to make a habit of getting into trouble, you better be able to defend yourself.' Said Mizore.
'Huh? What do you mean?' Asked Tsukune, as Mizore let go of him and backed away.
'Your first lesson starts now, Tsukune.' Said Mizore, causing a kunai made out of ice to form in her hand.
'Dodge.' Said Mizore, before throwing the object, at a panicked Tsukune.
'Wait, Mizore, can't we talk about this?' Asked Tsukune, as he narrowly ducked under the projectile launched at him.
'No.' Said Mizore, before throwing another ice kunai at Tsukune.
"What did I do to deserve this?" Cried Tsukune in tears.