Chapter 3 – "I don't like flirty guys like you!"
"…and that's why you'll be required to join a club from here on out! Any questions, nya~?"
Tsukune had many questions. One being why the teachers thought this would help other youkai blend in better with humans when many of them (especially Nekonome-sensei) hardly passed as human. Another being what kinds of club activities this school would have in the first place. A third being whether or not this would help him pass as a youkai, or if he should just avoid them.
His train of thought was disrupted by the teacher scratching up a student's face for mocking her bad transformation skills (her cat tail was out again). He sighed. Well, here goes nothing…
Luckily for him, two events later occurred that gave him hope that this wouldn't end with him instantly being found out as human. One: Kurumu almost instantly found him at the club fair and latched onto his side. Two: Moka reached out to the duo there to offer up her friendship once more, if they would take her. They accepted her back into the fold without hesitation, and the group began looking for a club that would be a good fit for the three of them.
(Photography Club)
…all they wanted to do was take… interesting… pictures of Moka and Kurumu. They left this one behind, but Kurumu noted some of their ideas for her own personal use. Just in case…
(Chemistry Club)
Science wasn't a strong suit of either Tsukune or Kurumu, but Moka was interested so they gave it a try. Unfortunately, they were a bit too into the idea of "the school's best girl" Akashiya Moka joining their club and changed today's activity so that they were now making love potions.
Moka practically dragged Tsukune and Kurumu out of the room, profusely apologizing to them.
Incidentally, there used to be a general science club, but it was shut down for brewing alcohol.
(Swim Team)
The idea was immediately vetoed by Moka, as she explained that vampires couldn't swim properly. They didn't even bother trying it out and would never know the mess they evaded.
(Card Games Club)
They were riding on motorcycles. While playing card games.
…why!?
The bewildered trio passed on this one, with Kurumu wondering how they'd look clad in leather.
(Magic Club)
Even though witches existed, it seemed there were at least a few youkai interested in the stage trickery that humans passed off as magic. It was a fun past-time for them, and a potential profession for those who could make it work.
…unfortunately for the current president of the club, she had essentially zero talent and it showed most prominently. When the trio walked into the clubroom, pigeons were flying everywhere, cards and other props were littered on the floor, and the silver-haired girl was sitting on the floor crying while handcuffed and being consoled by some of the other members. One of them then came to the trio and said that this happened all the time, just so that they knew.
The trio discussed their newfound knowledge, wished the club president luck, and departed.
(Witchcraft Club)
Despite the name, they were open to non-witch members. Most youkai could learn a limited amount of innate magic related to their special abilities, and some managed to become skilled specialists and even generalists. Tsukune thought this would be perfect for self-defense, as hostile youkai would just assume that he was a male witch.
…unfortunately, an accident with one of the members led to Tsukune being knocked out by a falling washtub, leaving Kurumu and Moka to carry him to the infirmary once more.
They never returned to that club, but were eventually given an apology by that member.
(Cooking Club)
This was Kurumu's idea, looking to attract Tsukune even more by feeding him her special desserts. She definitely had no thoughts whatsoever about doing the same for Moka, nope.
In any case, Moka and Tsukune went along with the request despite not having much of an interest. But as it turned out, this was a competitive cooking club, and while Kurumu was able to keep up and turn out an excellent cake, Moka and Tsukune were left in the dust while being constantly berated for their failures as chefs.
Kurumu practically dragged Tsukune and Moka out of the room, profusely apologizing to them.
(Cross Country Team)
This one was suggested by Tsukune, who was always looking for ways to take his safety into his own hands, rather than leaving it all to Kurumu and Moka. He would have no hope in a fight from what he'd seen so far, but maybe he could become fast enough to run away and get help.
Everyone on the team was friendly enough, and so the trio hung around long enough to join them at one of their practice runs. The path took them through some of the creepy fog-infested woods Tsukune and Kurumu had chatted in not too long ago. Tsukune, being a vaguely fit person already, managed to survive the run, even with the scare at the end of most of the club members transforming to cheat their way through the final stretch and chasing him down. He gained a little bit of self-confidence from that moment… one that neither Moka or Kurumu saw as they gave up about half-way through, having resolved not to use their own powers to cheat.
The team captain almost managed to convince the trio to join anyway, but Kurumu and Moka held final sway. They parted ways with the club, wishing each other the best of luck.
(Karate Club)
They were flat-out rejected, especially Kurumu. No reason was given why.
(Pro Wrestling Club)
Only Moka was into it, mostly due to the other Moka. They moved on.
It was the same story for many of the other similar clubs, except for…
(Mixed Martial Arts Club)
Tsukune was hoping to learn some general fighting basics in case he had no choice but to fight.
Instead, this was one of the few clubs were students were not only allowed, but expected, to use their youkai powers to win fights. Anything goes was the rule. The other Moka might have liked the club, but even she didn't want to risk Tsukune's life so casually.
(Light Music Club)
None of them knew how to play an instrument, and so Kurumu's attempt to woo Tsukune with the power of music was ended before it could even begin.
(Taiko Club)
Moka and Tsukune took to the drumming style and exercise regimen easily, but Kurumu wasn't terribly interested in learning how to play. Or in running a marathon every week as exercise.
(Debate Club)
Too much petty squabbling.
(Literature Club)
The trio wasn't sure what they were expecting, but it certainly wasn't poetry writing. None of them had any particular talent for or desire to write poems, so they passed this one by.
(Library Club)
Unlike the so-called literature club, this club hung out in the library and focused on reading and discussing books. It would also mark the first time Moka would meet Gakutorou, and she reacted about the same way everyone else did when they met him – screaming and hiding behind something. At this point, the friendly ghost was used to it and hardly reacted at all, instead greeting Tsukune and Kurumu and congratulating them for repairing their friendship with Moka.
Moka returned with a profuse apology, and the trio befriended the small club and joined them in a reading session. One with dark hair covering half her face was reading a travelogue to her blonde friend. One sucking on a lollipop was reading a romance novel while sitting under a table. The three of them ended up reading different books and relaxing individually…
…which was fine, but they wanted to do activities together in a more active club and departed with the bibliophiles on good terms.
(Gardening Club)
This should have been an easy choice. As it turned out, Moka had a bit of a green thumb. Kurumu wanted to grow flowers as gifts for Tsukune, and Tsukune was interested in learning about youkai plants. He definitely did not also want to grow flowers for Kurumu as gifts. Not at all. So all of them had motivation to join the club, and had good rapport with the members.
There was just one little problem…
Many of the plants were meat-eating, and particularly hungered for human flesh. As such, they kept trying to eat Tsukune. The trio bid the club farewell before either they pieced together the truth or Kurumu started tearing apart all the hostile plants and alienating the club members.
(Manga Club)
Turns out this was a club for making manga, not reading it… None of them were into that.
(Anime Club)
The club had already fractured over whether Moka or Kurumu were 'best girl' before they even knew the club existed. Things got even worse when the trio turned up for a group meeting. If only someone had warned them… The trio ran off just before the 'waifu war' turned physical.
(Youkai-Human Friendship Club)
This club was never that popular, and the current head of the Public Safety Commission essentially killed it when he found out about it. The former club president could only offer the trio a sincere apology. He didn't want to stick out his neck again. Not after what happened to the rest of his members… They decided not to risk it and thanked him for the warning.
And so on, and so on…
Many days passed without them joining a club, eventually drawing the notice of Tsukune and Moka's homeroom teacher, Nekonome-sensei. As it turned out, they were the only ones from her class who hadn't joined a club yet. Tsukune decided not to ask how Saizou had joined a club despite being absent from school and instead wondered if the teacher could help them.
"Hmmmm… what if you all joined my club, nya~? I'm the adviser for the Newspaper Club! But no one has joined, so we'll get shut down... you'll help me out, right, nya~?" Her tail was out again, swishing back and forth slowly, eagerly awaiting their answer.
The trio talked it over. None of them could say they were incredibly interested in joining such a club, but… maybe it could be interesting. It was an opportunity for them to work together. Moka could better befriend the other two. Kurumu could get closer to Tsukune. Tsukune could get to know the other students, and also get closer to Kurumu if he wanted that, he supposed.
When they agreed to join, Nekonome's tail began waving in agitated excitement and she welcomed them warmly. Maybe now, her precious club could finally get back on its feet…
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…is something the matter, nya~?"
The trio looked around at the empty classroom and then at each other. Tsukune spoke up first, wondering who else was in the club. When Nekonome pointed out it would just be them and one more, they could only speculate about who that one other (presumably the president) could be.
Then said person walked in the room.
"Excuse me! Sorry for being late…"
He, a black-haired and green-eyed man wearing a red headband, wolf's head necklace, and the typical school uniform, entered carrying two bouquets – one of red roses and one of yellow roses. He projected a beaming smile directly at Moka and Kurumu. "Pleased to meet you both… and to you as well, I suppose," he added once he noticed Tsukune's presence. "I'm Morioka Ginei, but you can just call me Gin… or your sempai, hahaha~. I hope you don't mind that I stopped to get these gifts."
He offered Moka the bouquet of red roses, practically shoving them into her hands. "For you, my dear beautiful new club member~! I look forward to getting to know you better…"
He offered Kurumu the bouquet of yellow roses, but she was hiding behind Tsukune so he let the guy take them. "And these are for you… I'm sure you'll find that these flowers suit you lovely ladies, hahaha~. Now then, perhaps we should get started with club activities?" He turned to Nekonome, who was gathering her belongings and preparing to leave the classroom.
"Of course! You can ask Gin-kun anything you want about the club, as he's the only 3rd year member, nya~. Sorry for having to leave, but I have a staff meeting. Go be friends now, nya~!"
With that she departed and left the students alone.
Gin stood behind the teacher's desk and addressed the trio, who were now sitting down. "So, first of all, welcome to the Newspaper Club! Our responsibility is publishing the school newspaper, as you probably expected. Our activities are investigating academy happenings, writing snippets and articles on them, and putting them in the paper. Beyond that, we have free reign over its design, what gets published and so on…"
He leaned forward, smirking at them. "I won't lie. We'll be put in danger time and time again for the sake of reporting. You better prepare yourselves; this won't be an easy ride…"
Moka turned to Tsukune and Kurumu and whispered to them. "Maybe he's someone we can depend on after all…" The other two nodded, now inclined to take Gin more seriously.
Gin then broke the mood by laughing, saying he was messing with them, and that they'd start off easy before doing any actual investigations. He handed Kurumu and Moka a few poster ads and told them to go put them up on the classroom walls. The ad alerted students that a new edition of the newspaper was on the way and that they were looking for hot rumors and stories to report about. Tsukune went to assist the short Kurumu in this task, leaving a hesitant Moka with Gin.
Kurumu pulled over a chair so that Tsukune could better reach the high places Gin had asked them to reach. More specifically, asked her to reach, but… well... it's not like she was entirely opposed to Tsukune seeing her panties, but there was a time and place for that sort of thing. Not with this obvious flimsy pretext. Hopefully, Moka had realized what the man's plan was and…
Kurumu thought about it for a second and then facepalmed.
Tsukune paused in putting up posters and turned to Kurumu. "Kurumu-chan? What's the…" Then he just happened to notice what a certain sempai was doing on the other side of the classroom. "Huh!? Gin-sempai, what are you…!? Ahh!" Tsukune, shocked, lost his balance, and fell out of the chair, conveniently onto Kurumu ("I'll catch you, Tsukune-kun~!").
By the time Moka had turned around due to the commotion, there was no way to tell that Gin had been trying to peep up her skirt. Kurumu and Tsukune were lying in a pile on the ground, poster ads haphazardly spread around them, and Gin was already on the scene asking if the two were okay. He had reached out a hand to Kurumu, but the succubus slapped it away.
After checking that Tsukune was okay, she stood up and confronted Gin, pointing an accusing finger and glare at him. "I'm on to your game, Gin-sempai! I don't like flirty guys like you! Just now, you were trying to look up Moka's skirt weren't you? Guys like you are just the…!"
Gin interrupted her before things could get out of his control. "Whoa whoa whoa… looking up an underclassman's skirt? Come on, do you really think I'm so uncool? I wouldn't do that… Tsukune-kun, you didn't see anything did you?"
Tsukune gave Gin a confused look. "Eh? But that's definitely what it looked like…"
Gin shook his head, doing his best not to look obviously guilty. "I assure you, you're both seeing things. I was just making sure my dear Moka-chan over here doesn't fall over or drop anything… but if it'll re-assure you, I'll switch with you, Kurumu-chan. Sound fair?"
Kurumu frowned, but ultimately accepted the switch.
She started talking to Moka about her prior experiences with guys like Gin and things to watch out for. Moka was confused but ultimately expressed thanks for the tips. Meanwhile, Gin was trying to convince Tsukune to help him out with seducing Moka, but the guy wasn't interested in playing ball. If anything, Tsukune was trying to warn him against doing such a thing.
Fine then. He'd do this his own way.
Morioka Ginei was in his final year at Youkai Academy. He'd been many things – a common delinquent, an underling of Otonashi San, and a man unable to stop their club from having been destroyed by the Public Safety Commission – but one thing that was a constant for him was his demeanor towards girls. Well, most girls. San had been the sole exception so far. All other girls he deemed beautiful and available were fair game for flirtation.
A rumor had already spread about Kurumu and Tsukune being lovey-dovey, which was only intensified when she made the odd choice for a succubus to stop hitting on other guys too. Gin couldn't say he was too interested in her, but after meeting her, he felt justified in his choice to focus on Akashiya Moka. And as for her… she was an enigma.
An apparently mild-mannered girl, she had the ability to transform into a so-called "super vampire", a menacing presence upon the world. An already pretty cute, if a little plain, girl in his eyes, her other form was said to be more alluring, more breathtaking, more commanding. He hadn't witnessed that transformation himself, but the spinning rumor mill had him curious.
There had a be a way for him to witness her beauty and power…
According to the school's rumors, that transformation was linked to the rosary she always wore. If so, it was just a matter of putting her in a situation where she would need to remove it…
Hmm… perhaps… it was time to send his underlings out for some journalistic exercises?
Luckily for him, he wouldn't have to make anything up to get Kurumu and Tsukune out of his hair. The opportunity came straight to them, in the form of an envelope.
At the club meeting, he was teaching the trio about formatting and about the typical layout of the paper. Namely that because they had free reign over its design, it had no typical layout, each successive year modifying the one left behind. They were discussing what changes the new members would want to make when Nekonome walked in with snacks (raw fish…) for the group and said envelope for…
"Eh? It's for me?" asked Kurumu. She took it out of her sensei's hands and read the outside. "To my beloved…!? Oh no! Tsukune-kun, this isn't what it looks like, I swear! I can explain!" She promptly tackle-hugged an already-prepared Tsukune and started rambling out apologies for having charmed others previously, explanations about how she wasn't using her powers on anyone, and context regarding stalkers in the past who had sent similar letters to her. All of this while she was crying in his arms as he re-assured her that he would support her.
The other two were glad that Tsukune managed to get some meaning out of that, because they had no context for anything she had just said and could barely parse it anyway.
Kurumu had left the envelope on the desk, and Gin picked it up and examined it. Sure enough, it was sent by someone named "Nagare" to his "beloved Kurumu-chan". He rubbed it a bit and felt that it contained multiple slips of something. Letters? Photos? Only way to know was to open it.
Tsukune released a now soothed but still misty-eyed Kurumu, and she took it out of Gin's hands. He alerted her about his findings and suggested she be careful when opening it. He also asked if she knew who this guy was, but she didn't recognize his name at all.
He stroked his chin. "Hmmm… Curious. Well, as the Newspaper Club, incidents like this are what we're supposed to investigate. Kurumu-chan, do you want to take the lead? I'm sure Tsukune-kun won't mind helping you either, right?"
The two looked at each other, looked back at Gin, and accepted the mission.
"I'm surprised you accepted those terms, Kurumu-chan…"
"Hm? What do you mean, Tsukune-kun?"
The two were outside wandering the school grounds, looking for the location "Nagare" had indicated in the letter her left along with the many, many pictures of Kurumu in… compromising positions. Seriously, stalking Kurumu had to be all this guy did to get some of those! At least, that's what Kurumu claimed since she refused to let Tsukune see them. When she opened the envelope at a point when the two of them were alone, as soon as she pulled out one of the pictures, she immediately went bright red and shoved his face into her chest and demanded he not look at the rest. And they started with one of her in a locker room, in a state of undress…
Tsukune shook his head. He needed to focus. Now was not the time for fantasizing about…
"Well, if we're doing this, that leaves Gin-sempai alone with Moka-san, right? And you were concerned about him… he gives me an odd vibe too, and he can't take a hint either…"
Kurumu nodded. "Yes, yes, indeed, Tsukune-kun! Gin-sempai is no good like that, even if he is a good club sempai! But I gave Moka-san some tips, so she should be all right. Anyway, it's not like she's a pushover. Her current form is almost as strong as the other one; she just hates fighting, remember?"
"Oh yeah, right." She had mentioned that at some point while they were searching for clubs. And demonstrated it by casually uprooting a tree and planting it somewhere else, upsetting the spirit dwelling inside of it. Moka had apologized and offered to care for that tree as penance.
"Come to think of it, why does she have two personalities anyway? From what I read, the rosary is just supposed to seal abilities and strength. Do you think she already had them?"
Kurumu put a finger on her chin. "So… you think she's two people in one?"
Tsukune shrugged. "Who knows? She doesn't…"
"Hm… I think… oh, we're here." They were behind one of the gyms, looking for the shed marked in the clearing indicated in the hand-drawn map Kurumu had been given along with the letter. It was a good distance away from most other buildings, clearly meant to give her no way of calling for help or escaping from this person's grasp. They didn't know exactly what this person had planned; the letter only demanded that she appear at a certain time 'or else'.
Tsukune turned to Kurumu. "So what's the…" He paused, noticing that there were now two Kurumus. He blinked and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things, while the two Kurumus chuckled and latched themselves to his sides.
"Do you see…"
"…something you like?"
"Or maybe…"
"…someone~?"
Face bright red, he changed the subject by asking what she was doing. She explained, "it's my illusion power, hahahahaha~!" Only one of the two were real, the false one created by her ability to alter the perceptions of others. Tsukune had read of this succubus power, but was quickly realizing and appreciating the differences between knowing that something is possible and seeing someone to do it. Even he couldn't tell the two apart. It wasn't until he noticed the fake lacked a shadow that he knew which one was the illusory body.
"Mhm! So I'll have to be careful about that… it's almost time, so this me will go and wait!"
The fake Kurumu went into the clearing and leaned against a tree while Tsukune and the real Kurumu hid somewhere nearby. They didn't have to wait long until their culprit appeared – a sickly-looking young boy with wild unkempt hair covering his face and old-school camera in hand. The boy introduced himself as Nagare to the fake Kurumu, who asked what he wanted.
"Have you forgotten me so easily, my dear lady? This wasn't that long ago… I asked you if you wanted flattering pictures, and you said I could take you on a date if I took good ones. Well, how am I supposed to take those pictures if you suddenly disappear on me!? I don't know what you see in that Aono guy, and I don't care! We had a deal, so I'm making you stick to it! Now then… if you'll follow me, I have some garments prepared for our photo session, hehehehe…"
The boy led the fake Kurumu away, while the real Kurumu hid her face in Tsukune's chest.
"Oh no…"
"Kurumu-chan… how many other boys did you flirt with?"
"…a lot… not all of them were like this though, I swear!"
Tsukune sighed. He supposed he should just get used to this and expect it to happen again. "We should probably follow the other you so we can see what's happening."
"…Tsukune-kun… Do you want to see me in strange outfits that badly?"
He blushed. "Not what I meant!" he said in a harsh whisper. But that at least got a chuckle out of her, and the two changed locations.
Nagare had brought the fake Kurumu behind the shed, where he had left an assortment of fetish and cosplay outfits. He was attempting to cajole her into changing into changing into one of them with no success, and he was getting quite angry. Eventually, he snapped and partially transformed into what appeared to be a slug, and spewed a cloud of gas at the illusionary body.
"Hehehehe… how do you like that? Now that you're paralyzed by my gas, you have no choice but to submit! So, let's start with the one-piece swimsuit and work of our way from there…"
A distance away, Tsukune was alerting Kurumu about what little he knew about slug youkai. They were quite weak physically, but made up for it by spewing various types of toxic gas and being unpleasant to be around. This guy must specialize in a paralyzing agent. But if they didn't breathe it in, they'd be fine. They started coming up with a plan, but with no one else nearby…
"Hm!? Is someone there!?"
…even the otherwise occupied Nagare would hear something carry through the air.
He walked towards where he thought the noise was coming from, and was surprised to see Aono Tsukune with what looked like a golf club suddenly lunge at him from behind a tree. Nagare barely dodged it. The guy swung again, and missed again. And he turned one of his eyestalks to see another Tsukune waiting with a net some distance away.
He had also noticed the two were wearing mouth masks.
This was a trap!? Using my dear Kurumu-chan like this… how dare he! I'll show him!
Nagare smirked. Tsukune must not have known that a simple mouth mask wouldn't be enough. He let loose a burst of gas that covered the two but left the more distant Kurumu alone. They promptly fell over, immobilized. Nagare went over to the Tsukune with the net, and kicked him as hard as he could in the side. The pained grunt he heard was soothing to his soul.
"You fool. Hahaha~! Now I can just get rid of you and she'll be all mine to do with as I please." As a slug youkai, he had no offensive potential – only his specialized gasses. So he went to search for a decent-sized rock… ah. That one would do. He walked with stone in hand and an evil grin on his face towards a terrified Tsukune. "Say goodbye~!"
But before he could attack, he felt an ominous and menacing aura suddenly arise from all around him. It surrounded him, enveloped him, swallowed him whole. All he could feel was fear. He dropped the stone and it fell harmlessly on the ground. He watched as the trees around him suddenly came alive, their roots and branches writhing with malice and driving him away from the helpless boy. But he couldn't move fast enough, and they struck at him. He dodged but…
…the outcome was far worse, as he suddenly found himself being sliced up by razor winds.
No!
He struggled to regain focus.
It was not winds, but claws… no, nails… nails on the hands of… his dear Kurumu-chan!
He lay in a pool of his own blood, under the malevolent and wrathful gaze of the succubus. Too weakened to move or attack, he could only beg for mercy.
Kurumu growled out her next words. "Mercy!? For you!? The one who would have made me your plaything? The one who so casually wanted to kill my love Tsukune!?" She walked towards him. "I want nothing more than to kill you where you lay, you worthless slug!" She stood next to Nagare, gazing balefully down upon him with eyes that were now blood red. "Do you understand!? Each moment I haven't killed you yet is the closest you will ever get to mercy from me. Your dreams of me will be transformed into nightmares where you cower and flee from my sight. And if I hear that you're stalking another girl or you even think of taking it out on my Tsukune, I will…!"
She stopped ranting, not because she was out of things to say, but because Nagare had already passed out. He'd likely bleed out and die if left without medical care.
Suddenly feeling drained, her eyes went back to normal. She looked upon what she had done while in her enraged state. Nagare was a bloody mess, and Tsukune gazed upon her with eyes full of fear. Deeply saddened, she carried Tsukune and dragged Nagare to the infirmary.
"I'm a stupid dumb idiot~!" yelled Kurumu into a pillow. Ever since the incident with Nagare, she had been evading Tsukune as much as possible. She was absent from lunch and avoided interacting with him at the Newspaper Club. And whenever he approached her, she grew flustered, made up some convincing (to her) excuse, and ran away. She sighed. She felt like just couldn't face him. Not now that she had felt and seen his fear, had it aimed right at her.
Someone put a hand on her shoulder. She looked back – it was Akashiya Moka. The only good thing Kurumu could say that came out of this was that now she was closer friends with the vampire. After leaving Tsukune and Nagare in the infirmary a few days ago, she ran to Moka's dorm room in tears and told her everything that had happened. She was leaning into that touch now as the vampire spoke, at the same time massaging Kurumu's shoulders.
"Kurono-san… relax… I'm sure if you talk it out with Aono-kun, it'll be fine… he's a human, remember? Of course, he'll be shocked to see how brutal youkai fights can be. He's not used to that kind of violence. Humans hide it by forcing it only on certain groups of people."
"I know that but…" Kurumu began, glancing back at Moka despondently, "…I can't help but feel that… I ruined things between us… things that were going so well… I think he was starting to…" She stopped, turned away, and then kept speaking. "I don't know what to say… and I don't know where that came from either." That malevolent force that burst out from within her…
She never realized she could feel such hatred, and never wanted to again. And it was all because of that slug, daring to try and kill her precious… She shook her head, dispelling that thought.
Moka made an inquisitive noise, but Kurumu didn't open up. Moka moved down to Kurumu's back, kneading out the tension, and said thus: "Just tell the truth… it worked for him, right?"
Kurumu moaned under the attention of Moka's deft hands. "I guess… I don't know… but I have no choice I suppose…" She grunted in frustration, and then took both her hands and clapped her face. "OK! I'll do it when I'm ready… No, first chance I get! For sure! Definitely!"
Moka chuckled as Kurumu continued to psych herself up.
The two then went on to discuss other matters – classwork (Kurumu was still no good at math despite Moka's help), hobbies (Moka agreed to teach Kurumu some of her massage techniques), family (Moka had recently received a call from her younger sister; the family was doing well), ideas for the upcoming break (relaxing in the human world), and so on. During this, Moka brought up that she had received a similar letter as Kurumu's but from an anonymous different person and with no pictures. It contained one demand – that Moka meet the person on the roof of a certain building on the upcoming night of the full moon.
"Morioka-sempai offered to help me investigate but… I'd rather have you by my side," said Moka, who was now being massaged by Kurumu. The succubus was an eager student for a pleased teacher. "Ummm… if you want to, of course. You don't have to…"
"No problem! I'd love to help you," said the grateful succubus.
Moka smiled. "Thank you, Kurono-san. Here's my idea…" And so, the discussion continued.
Eventually, that day came. Moka went up to the roof alone. Kurumu hung back nearby.
And as for Tsukune…
He couldn't help but worry about them despite his own vulnerability, and followed them in secret. He couldn't stop thinking about what had happened that day with Nagare.
Foolishness. Failure. Fear.
All his fault.
Since recovering, he'd wanted to apologize to Kurumu for his mistakes, but she kept avoiding him. Well, it's not like he should've expected anything else given how he reacted to her sudden bloodlust. But still, he didn't want to lose her friendship over this. Not when he was…
He shook his head, and looked around the corner from his vantage point behind one of the school buildings. Kurumu was on the roof of one of the dorms nearby, evidently keeping an eye on Moka. The vampire had been summoned there for an unknown purpose by an unknown agent. He didn't know what their plan was, but trusted the two of them to handle it. He was just going to wait there for them to finish. Maybe run and grab help if things got out of hand.
He turned away and sighed, feeling like he was totally useless to his friends.
"Tsukune-kun… stalking people… is no good~!"
He was so thoroughly in his own head that he hardly noticed Kurumu sneak up behind him. Surprised, he gave a little shout and fell over. Kurumu laughed a bit, and helped him up.
Tsukune noticed that she didn't hang onto him like usual. She looked away, flustered. He did the same, fidgeting with his pockets. They occasionally exchanged glances and then looked away. Suddenly, now that they were right in front of each other, neither seemed to know what to do.
"Kurumu-chan." "Tsukune-kun."
The two spoke at the same time, looking dead on at each other with some newfound measure of resolution. Sensing each other's intentions, they spoke at the same time once more.
"I'm sorry."
They blinked at each other, both looking confused.
"…I know why I'm apologizing, but why are you?" asked Tsukune. "None of that stuff would have happened if it wasn't for my plan."
"That's not the point, Tsukune-kun. You're not a youkai. I shouldn't have let you do that, not by yourself," countered Kurumu. "I don't need to move to use my illusions, so…"
…I know that's true but… "Even so, I wouldn't have just let you put yourself in danger," he added. "It doesn't matter if I'm a human and you're a youkai. You're my friend, and I…"
He hesitated, but wasn't sure why. Was there something else he wanted to say? Something… it eluded him. "…I want to be able to help you. The same way you've been helping me survive."
Kurumu smiled at him. "Thanks, Tsukune-kun~! I appreciate it… but…" She drew near to him, and took his arm in hers as she kept going. "You already are helping us, silly~!"
Before he could ask what she meant by that, they heard a familiar scream coming from the rooftops. It was following by savage howling.
Concerned, Kurumu grabbed Tsukune and they took flight. When they arrived on the rooftops, they found Gin transformed into the form of a werewolf and attacking Moka. Yet it was clear that he was playing with her. He was pulling his punches, aiming to just barely miss, and demanding that she transform into her other form.
In fact, when they distracted the two by calling out to Moka, that was the first time he had actually landed a blow – a kick that sent her reeling towards the two of them. She crash-landed just in front of them. They rushed to help her up as Gin howled in frustration.
"Come on, Moka-chan! Transform already! I want to fight your more alluring other side~!"
Tsukune blinked. "That's what this is about? Fighting?"
Kurumu shook her head. "It's not that simple. Moka-san, do you want to explain?"
Moka thanked them for their help and stood on her own. She explained what led to this point. Kurumu and Moka made a plan to investigate the anonymous giver of the letter on their own, as Kurumu was avoiding Tsukune and Moka was avoiding Gin. (Kurumu pointed out that these were for very different reasons). Moka was on the rooftop seemingly alone when Gin showed up, wondering if she had found the culprit. An illusionary Kurumu then popped up and accused Gin of being the culprit, which he naturally denied. But then he started aggressively flirting with Moka and trying to forcefully remove her rosary. When the two girls stood up to him, he responded by attacking them, dissolving the illusion and forcing Moka to go on the defensive.
"I see… in other words… Gin-sempai is a masochist!" declared Tsukune.
The others stared at him in confusion (with a bit of amusement mixed in for Kurumu).
Tsukune blushed in embarrassment. "What? I mean, you all know what the other Moka-san did to that guy, right? She knocked him out with one kick! Who'd want to fight someone like that?"
Gin laughed. "Hahahaha… Tsukune-kun… a weakling like you wouldn't get it. The rush and the thrill of a good fight… I've been missing it for a good long while. You should know that even though I said I was messing with you all, I wasn't kidding when I said you might end up in danger for the sake of reporting. We used to be the beacon of truth at this Academy, and had to fight in order to shine that light on all its corners. And you've learned that the hard way."
Kurumu frowned and glared at Gin. He ignored her and continued.
"But now we just report on trivial rumors! It's boring… so when someone as interesting as a so-called 'super-vampire' arrives, of course I'm going to use my full power as a journalist and go investigate! Especially when that 'super-vampire' might be as alluring as what I've heard…"
Moka stepped forward. "Is that really what you want, Morioka-sempai? To see her?"
In truth, she could feel an intense burning sensation coming from the rosary that started the moment Gin transformed. Since the day she first had the rosary pulled off by Tsukune, she was able to communicate with the other her through it. Eventually, she learned to transform at will by doing the same. The two had quite distinct personalities – while one loved peace, the other craved battle; one was meek, the other was menacing; and so on. She could tell the other her wanted this fight. She put a hand on her rosary, and ripped it clean off.
In a flash of blinding light, she transformed into…
"Oh my… seems like a little lost puppy has come out to play… I hope you can satisfy me."
Gin smirked. Despite her cool demeanor, he could see the excitement in the silver-haired Moka's red eyes. The same was shining in his. "I should be saying that to you! You're more beautiful than I thought, but let's see if your strength matches up. It's the night of a full moon, after all~!"
Before any of them could ask what he meant, he vanished.
He then re-appeared beside Moka and she barely dodged his onslaught of rapid punches. His momentum carried them away from Kurumu and Tsukune and towards the center of the rooftop. This gave them more space to work with.
The differences between how they fought couldn't be clearer. Gin used his overwhelming speed to keep Moka on evasion and defense, meaning that whenever she had the chance to strike, she ended up missing and breaking something instead. Each time this happened, she grew more and more frustrated, and threw out more and more wild attacks to try and intercept the werewolf.
But to no avail.
And the cycle continued, on and on, over and over, until she took advantage of one critical moment. Gin had thrown out a punch at the same time as Moka. Her overwhelming power won out, knocking him off-balance. She followed through and delivered a second, more powerful, punch into Gin's stomach, and then kicked him in the face. Launched with great force, he crashed through the fence encircling the roof and fell down to the ground.
Moka smirked. She was breathing heavily from exertion, but the few of his blows that did land didn't do much damage to her or her clothing. She chuckled. "What a fool… I hope you've realized your place, Gin-sempai… it won't do for me to be with a weakling like you."
She took out the rosary from her pocket, and transformed back into the usual Moka.
Kurumu flew over to grab her before she could collapse onto the hard roof.
"Thanks, Kurono-san… We should grab Morioka-sempai too."
Kurumu and Tsukune both agreed to this. Tsukune also noted that their commotion had alerted some people that something was going on, as he noticed some lights turning on in nearby buildings. Kurumu carried the three of them down from the rooftop, and together they swiftly recovered the unconscious Gin and dragged him off to his dorm room while escaping all notice.
Or at least, that's what they thought…
Even without a stay in the infirmary, Gin recovered quickly. After skipping classes, he returned to the club classroom at the end of the day. Unlike normal, he was the first to arrive. Also unlike normal, he was the only one there. He sat down and waited for a while, but no one came.
He sighed. Well, he'd sure blown it this time.
Now that he was sitting down and thinking about it, there were better ways that he could have gone about things. Maybe started off by trying to befriend Moka and get to know her better. Maybe by being more upfront earlier about wanting to fight her other half. Maybe tell them all about how this was his last shot at breathing life in this club, the gift his sempai had left for him. But none of that mattered now.
Hopefully, they wouldn't spread any rumors and he could…
His train of thought was interrupted by that trio entering the club room. He stared at them for a moment in shock, but quickly went back to his normal demeanor. "Well, well, took you long enough to get here! For a second, I was worried you'd run off on me. But I should've known that you-"
"Morioka-sempai."
Moka interrupted him. All three of them had serious looks on their faces.
"We've come to an agreement. We've decided to give you another chance. But… that depends on you. I want you to stop with all the… well, you know… the flirting and stuff. I really don't like it and it makes me not want to be around you. The other me says I should just beat you up if you do anything like that again, but I'd rather do things this way. So… do you accept?"
Gin frowned. Sure, he wanted them back, but… he was the upperclassman here! He should be making demands of them, not the other way around. But as soon as he said as much, Moka sighed in disappointment and the three of them started to walk out of the room in unison.
"Hold on a second! I was just uh… kidding, yeah! Hahaha! I accept, of course!" Please don't leave, I'm begging you is what was left unsaid. Didn't need to go that far, he hoped. For him to go that far just to keep Moka around… he needed to re-think what he was doing, for sure.
In any case, it looked he had saved his precious club. The trio agreed to work under him again. Moka mentioned that despite mocking him and calling him a weakling, the other her wouldn't mind fighting him again. He was the best challenge she'd had so far at the Academy…
He accepted.
But before he could get too excited, the door opened again, and in stepped…
"Ah yes, of course you'd end up with these three troublemakers, Morioka Ginei."
…a man with long blond hair, pointy ears, and an all-black uniform. He was attended by several others in similar uniforms, but they hung back outside the clubroom. There was no way to tell if they simply expected nothing to happen or were hoping something would get started and wanted to watch the carnage… or maybe join in.
"Hey now, Kuyou, what's that supposed to mean? I don't go looking for trouble, it…"
"…just finds you, yes, yes, I've heard your excuses before," interrupted Kuyou. "Well then, I'll just get to business. The less time I have to spend in your mangy presence the better."
Kuyou ignored Gin's grumbling and gazed down upon the trio of Moka, Tsukune, and Kurumu. "Good day to you three. I am Kuyou, head of the Public Safety Commission. As you should be aware, it is our duty to keep this Academy safe and maintain the peace. We do this by containing any potential sources of unrest, such as your club president over there. And you, Akashiya Moka, have gained our attention. As you are now, you are no concern. But your other side…"
Moka gulped. She nodded, understanding the implied threat. So did her other side, and she felt a desire to fight coming from her rosary. But this wasn't a good time or the right person to fight.
Kuyou nodded. "Excellent. I'm glad you understand. Unlike your dog of a sempai, you seem to have a good head on your shoulders. Now, let's make sure it stays that way, shall we? Don't let us catch you causing any more trouble. The same goes for you as well, Kurono Kurumu and Aono Tsukune. Understand?"
He waited for them to agree before he continued. "I'll let you three off easy since this is your first year, but no more acting out from now on. Otherwise, you will be subject to punishments of our choice ranging from suspension to expulsion depending on how we feel. You will comply."
Not waiting for their response, he departed from the room, reminding Gin to keep their arrangement in mind before publishing any materials for the next newspaper. Gin flippantly agreed as the Commission members left.
Tsukune, not realizing he had been holding his breath, exhaled and started breathing normally. He was relieved to see that Kurumu and Moka felt the same. He looked at Gin, who was now busy gathering and setting up club materials. "Gin-sempai, what was that all about?"
"Oh, him? Mr. 'You will comply'? That's Kuyou. He's been the head of the Commission for the past year and stayed on I suppose. He, like every other head, is basically a thug who does what he wants while acting like everything he does is just. He's awful. One time, some random human got lost in the nearby woods and wandered onto the campus… Kuyou had the poor sucker crucified and burned alive. And he'll even torture, extort, and blackmail other youkai! He and his group drove out all the other members of this club after we got it in our heads to criticize them."
Tsukune was trying very hard not to faint from sheer horror after the mention of the murdered human. "O-oh, I see… s-so we shouldn't get involved with them, and everything will be f-fine, right?" He could feel his dreams of finishing high school alive fading before his eyes. Kurumu leaned him into her side to show her support, for which he was more than grateful.
"Yeah, pretty much. We just pay their bribe and have them OK whatever we print. It's not ideal, but there's nothing we can do about it… but enough negative talk! Let's get to work, shall we?"
The room was setup, and so another meeting of the Newspaper Club began, but with a new context that made it feel like it was their first meeting as a more unified club.