Chapter 9

Subtraction and Addition

Even though the lich known as Death was defeated and his army routed, the few surviving accounts of that battle tend to suggest that he may have survived the battle, a notion that seems more likely when one considers the fact that Death would probably not have chosen to bring his phylactery, his sole weakness, into a major battle. Despite this, however, that climatic battle was the final recorded appearance of Death and his generals. It is possible that the wound dealt to him by the Lux Aeterna was grievous enough to allow one of his erstwhile allies to later overwhelm and destroy him, or perhaps one of his myriad enemies located his phylactery and destroyed it without claiming credit for the act. It has also been suggested that, following his first major defeat, Death may have chosen to seek further power, only to be consumed when his experiments failed. In any case, the end of Death's nihilistic quest undoubtedly spared the lives of uncountable inhabitants of-

"This doesn't make any sense."

Tsukune lowered the book he had been reading, glancing across the table to where Mizore was sitting, the violet-haired girl staring with furrowed brows at the book sitting before her. Though it was upside down, he could see the various numbers and charts that littered its pages; math, then. It wasn't necessarily one of his best subjects, though thanks to the, ah, enthusiastic efforts of Ms. Ririko, he had started scoring higher than many of his classmates. Moka was certainly better at math than he, but Mizore, on the other hand…

"Here, let me look at it," Moka offered. Mizore offered Tsukune a petulant glance before grudgingly offering the book and her own work to Moka, who scanned over it quickly. "Ah, here's the problem. You need to…"

Tsukune tried to turn back to his own reading, but found it hard to focus upon the text. So far, the trio had been studying for quite some time, and he and Moka had already managed to complete all of their assignments, save Tsukune's additional readings ordered by the Headmaster. Moka had decided to forge ahead and begin work on what she had guessed would be the next day's work; since it was too early yet to check the Hellmaw for their new assignments, they couldn't be certain what would be due the next night. When Tsukune had complimented her on her enthusiasm, she had blushed slightly and reminded him that she, or rather they, would be busy the next day. He had stared blankly for only a moment before he realized that she was referencing their scheduled date, and it had taken an icy stare from Mizore to cool his own burning cheeks as he dove back into the book he was holding.

Mizore, on the other hand, was having some trouble finishing her work. Though she was interested in literary studies, more quantitative subjects proved to be her bane. Tsukune had noticed in the past that both Mizore and Kurumu tended to beg a lot of their work off of Yukari, but since the witch was still at the school, they would be denied their usual escape. Copying from Moka would perhaps be another option, but for some reason Mizore hadn't resorted to that yet. That left doing it the old-fashioned way, which had resulted in a great deal of sighs and grumbles from across the table.

"Would any of you like something to drink? Some water, perhaps, or soda?" offered a voice from the door that led into the stairway. Mrs. Cooper peeked her head into the room, scanning the three teens. When they had settled down to study, she had made numerous appearances, each visit punctuated by a tenuous excuse, but as she realized that the 'studying' they had in mind involved books and paper and nothing else, her attention had veered towards other areas of the house. Tsukune dared to hope that his studiousness would go a long way towards convincing her that he wasn't the nefarious, lusty beast she obviously had envisioned him to be, but he wasn't quite ready to bet on having her trust just yet.

"Oh, yes, please… soda for me, if you don't mind," Moka answered, and the other two consented as well. Moments later, two glasses of ice water and one glass of soda found themselves before the studying teens, and Mrs. Cooper excused herself, content enough in her supervision to leave them alone for a while longer. Each of them turned back to their own work, but mere moments later Mizore found herself stumped once again. As she frowned down at the textbook, she resisted the urge to ask for help again; since Moka was sitting closer to her, and since Tsukune seemed to be lost in the book he was holding, it was obvious who would volunteer to help, and it wouldn't be the person she wanted. Perhaps she could change things to her favor, however…

Beside her, Moka lifted her glass to take a drink, raising it to her lips and tilting it upwards. When nothing flowed into her mouth, she tilted it further, looking into the glass at the still ice cubes, beginning to notice the thin film of ice that had formed over the top of the soda, sealing it in the bottom of the glass. Suddenly the thin sheet of ice gave way, and the liquid quickly escaped the sharply tilted glass, flowing immediately out onto Moka. At their friend's startled cry, both Tsukune and Mizore turned to her, surprise on both of their faces, if genuine on only one. Moka spluttered, wiping at her drenched top and blinking cold liquid out of her eyes.

"How did you manage to spill your drink?" Mizore inquired, nearly keeping her satisfaction out of her voice. "You'd better go change shirts and dry off."

Moka managed an offended glare in Mizore's direction, but the chill from her soaked clothes kept her from pursuing her suspicions just yet. She quickly stood and rushed out of the room, determined to be back before Mizore could take advantage of the situation. Surely, though, with Mrs. Cooper in the house, even Mizore wouldn't… Moka increased her pace, all but sprinting to her bedroom. If anyone would, it would be Mizore.

"Hey, Tsukune, could you help me with this one?" The question came just as Moka's footsteps sounded on the upper floor.

"Hm? Oh, sure. Let me see it." Mizore came around the table, holding the textbook before her. As Tsukune leaned over the table, scanning the problem that Mizore had indicated, he struggled to remember it. He had completed it earlier, but it was one of the trickier ones, he recalled. "Ah, there's the problem. You have to…" He paused, suddenly conscious of the fact that her hand was resting on his shoulder as she leaned down to watch him work. "Ah, well, first you substitute this variable for…" He shivered as Mizore leaned lower, feeling her breath play across his ear. "You, ah, have to…" He could feel how close her lips were to his ear, all but touching-

"Did someone spill something?" Tsukune jumped as Mrs. Cooper rushed into the room, staring at her with eyes too wide and full of guilt. Mrs. Cooper's pace slowed as she neared them, looking suspiciously between Tsukune and Mizore, who was standing a safe couple of feet away, looking entirely innocent. Her eyes narrowed as she bent over the table, mutely drying the soda that had splashed away from Moka. With that done, she straightened and looked directly at Tsukune. "Just be careful," she instructed, motioning towards his full glass of water, which was almost certainly not what she was referring to. Warning dispensed, she left the room with the soaked towels in hand and a dangerous gleam in her eyes.

The room was silent for just a moment as Tsukune stared down at the math book, his mind on a different problem altogether. Finally he glanced at Mizore, and, without completely knowing why, asked the obvious: "You had something to do with Moka spilling that, didn't you?"

"Yes." Mizore stared into Tsukune's eyes, her gaze free of remorse, only a determination that was somehow both frightening and alluring.

"But, why?" He glanced down at the math book, and then back to her, already knowing the answer to his question.

"This is a war." The snow maiden smiled, but there was sadness in her expression. "Just because things seem more peaceful, you shouldn't think that the problem has gone away. Let me ask you this: Do you intend to marry all three of us?"

It was Tsukune's turn to splutter. "Of-of course not! There's no way that would work, and how would I explain it to my family, or…"

For a fleeting moment, it seemed that a shadow of disappointment passed over Mizore's face, but instantly she reclaimed her unyielding determination. She paused as she pulled her sucker out of her mouth, lowering it away from her face. "Well, then, there's your reason. Even though we have a truce and rules and plans for each of us to have time with you," her voice hinted towards her contempt for certain aspects of the arrangement, "the end goal of this whole deal is for one of us to have you. You are too important to us for any of us to give up easily… or to play fair." Mizore smiled, and her eyes froze Tsukune in place as her face drew closer to his. "I care about you a lot, Tsukune. I love you. And I won't lose you, not even to them." His gaze escaped her stare only to fall upon her lips. "I will win, if you give me the chance."

Mizore's spell over Tsukune was broken as Moka's feet thundered down the stairs, and the snow maiden retreated back to her seat, looking dutifully at her notebook. She realized a moment too late that she had left her textbook in front of Tsukune, and winced as Moka circled the table and took her place between them. Her caution proved useless as the vampire immediately noticed the book and the fact that Tsukune looked uncomfortable, not quite meeting her eyes. Moka's jaw tightened as she cleared her throat, judging her words carefully. "Done with your math homework already, Mizore?

The snow maiden's eyes widened as she struggled to come up with an answer, but she was rescued by the sound of a key scraping into the lock of the front door. "Hey, I'm back! Come help us unload all this stuff!" Kurumu yelled into the house, Mr. Cooper walking in behind her and moving towards the kitchen, hefting heavy bags of groceries.

Tsukune dropped the Headmaster's book onto the table and offered the others a tenuous smile as he stood up. "The list was pretty long, so there will be a lot to unload. We'd better help." Taking advantage of the opportunity for a hasty retreat, he left the room. Moka glared dubiously at Mizore on last time before following after him.

Mizore waited for a moment as the others moved towards the kitchen to help unpack the groceries, taking her time in standing. When everyone's backs were turned, she rescued her math book from Tsukune's side of the table and deposited it next to her notebook, contemptuously letting it close in the process. Before she left the table, however, a whim inspired her to scratch out her own equation in the margins of her homework: 3 – 1 = 1 + 1.

Mizore allowed herself a victorious grin. Perhaps she was getting better at math after all.

"I'll be back down in a few minutes. I just need to finish unpacking something real quick," Kurumu lied as she made her way up the stairs, holding tightly to her two secrets. With the groceries unpacked, the others had decided to return to their work in the common room, but Kurumu had something else to take care of. She hadn't even greeted Tsukune in her customary manner, though Mrs. Cooper's presence and the two items she had hidden in her clothes had much to do with that. Instead, she was mentally preparing herself for what would come next, the search for the answer that could either save or condemn her.

She shut the door to her room tightly, leaning against it for a moment as she pulled the magazine from the waistband of her pants. She smiled triumphantly at it for just a moment before discarding it, tossing it onto the heap of clutter beside the bed. She would hide it better later; first came the other matter. To that end, she drew the cell phone from her pocket, flipping it open and searching her memory for the number.

Acquiring the privacy that she required had been a concern for her, since the Resting Place's phone was in the kitchen, but fortunately she noticed that Mr. Cooper carried a cell phone. She had asked him to borrow it, and he had agreed, consenting to stay at the house for a little bit until she was finished with it. She didn't intend for this to be a long conversation… as a matter of fact, the shorter, the better, and probably less painful and embarrassing. Kurumu sighed as her call rang several times, until finally someone answered.

"Hello, mom? It's me." Kurumu winced at her mother's enthusiastic greeting. "Yes, yes, I'm fine… yes, the place we're staying at is nice, and comfortable…" Kurumu had called her mother from the academy to announce the Headmaster's orders, but hadn't spoken to her since, and was now dealing with her mother's inevitable curiousity. As she mechanically answered the barrage of questions, she picked up the magazine and slid it under a pile of stuffed animals, adding a few more to the heap just to be certain.

"Listen… the main reason I'm calling is… I have a question." When Ageha had lapsed into a waiting silence, Kurumu took a deep breath, steeling herself for the results of her query. "I know that when we succubi kiss a man, he falls under our power. But… is there any way we can, I don't know… not do that? I mean, not take control of him, or whatever?"

There was a long silence over the phone line. "Well… why would you want that?" Ageha Kurono demanded, quite confused by her daughter's question. "I mean, it makes the whole thing so much simpler, and quicker, and even a little more-"

"I just don't want that to happen!"

Again, a long silence, but this one was filled with the quiet of a growing predatory grin on the other end of the line. "So, does this mean you've given up on Aono? Have you found someone else?"

"No!"

"Then you've finally pried him away from that vampire! Good for you!" Ageha crowed, cheering loud enough to force Kurumu to pull the phone away from her ear.

"Please, can't you just answer the question?" Kurumu begged, trying to cut through her mother's maniacal laughter. Finally Ageha composed herself enough to speak, only to instantly crush Kurumu's hopes.

"Of course not. That power is what defines us as succubi, and there's no real reason for us to be able to turn that off." Ageha paused for a long moment, straining to hear what she thought was a sob. "Although…"

"Yes?" The word was stained with desperation.

"Well, you can't stop the magic, but there's a way for him to be immune to its power." Ageha chuckled as she heard her daughter trip over her words as she tried to demand more information. "However, it's kinda… tricky."

"Please!"

"Well, the one thing that will make the magic not work is… redundancy. If he already loves you, and I do mean romantically loves you, then the magic won't take hold, since there's no need for it. Of course, it can't just be puppy love either, but I can't really describe the boundaries for you. No one has done that much research into it, honestly…"

"…I see."

"Anyways, glad to be of help! If you need anything else, be sure to call!" Ageha exclaimed, smiling broadly. Perhaps this would give her daughter the push that she needed…

"Thanks, mom. Bye…"

As, almost a country away, Kurumu collapsed back onto her bed and stared sightlessly at the ceiling above, Ageha snapped her own cell phone shut and smiled brightly at it. So, her daughter was finally getting far enough along to be worried about kissing… how cute. Hopefully that meant that she and Tsukune were progressing; Ageha absolutely shuddered at the notion of being called 'grandmother,' but it would be nice to know that Kurumu would someday soon be making her contribution to the survival of their race. And, if her daughter proved just as hesitant there as she had elsewhere, Ageha had far more advice and experience to offer, whether Kurumu wanted it or not.

She hesitated for just a moment, glancing back down at her phone. There was one more important thing about kissing… but surely her daughter knew that. She was a succubus, and she had to know what that meant! Then again, her daughter had proven decidedly shy about exercising her powers, and very reticent in learning about them…

Ageha Kurono shrugged, slipping the phone into her purse. Oh well, surely it would work out somehow. She had faith in her daughter.

In her bed in the Resting Place, Kurumu would have to disagree with her mother's confidence in her. Love… real love. If he didn't love her, then… She couldn't do it now, but how would she know when to do it? And how could she resist the urge to try? If she was too eager, then she would lose him, but if he did love her, then that kiss would be the beginning of their life together. She had to be patient, and careful, but it would be possible… someday.

Kurumu stared resentfully at the pile of stuffed animals, under which the Five Secrets lurked. It had seemed so simple before, when she had hoped there would be a miraculous solution. Now, she knew the secret that wasn't printed in the magazine: a kiss without love could ruin dreams. She forced herself to her feet, staggering towards the door to take Mr. Cooper's phone back to its owner. Behind her, the magazine waited, holding its useless knowledge, biding its time.

Maybe someday. But not today.

Author's Note: Allow me to begin by saying this: 'I'm sorry! Mea culpa!' Ah, my first failure at meeting my self-imposed deadlines, and by a whole week (and five hours) to boot. I can, of course, offer a plethora of excuses: I've endured/enjoyed/experienced, in the past two weeks, a graduation, a bachelor's party (not mine; I offer a brief salute to the silent reader who is responsible for that rather amusing trip), a rather nasty cold, a two-hour trip for a doctor's visit (not for myself, which is almost regrettable, since it might have answered the cold), and Christmas. A rather full schedule that was not conducive to writing, I must say, but that doesn't change the fact that my backside bears the print of my own boot- well, flipflop, actually. One should stop wearing those in December, especially when it snows, but perhaps that explains my cold.

On to the story. Spoiler warning, although a remarkably mild one. While I had originally planned to progress straight from this into the first date, I begin to fear that my tale may be… dragging a bit. I am prone to more action-filled stories; romantic comedy and tension is, lamentably, a new experience, and one to which I may not be naturally predisposed. So, I've decided to mix things up just a little bit with the next chapter: a little bit more of Tsukune and Co., and a little more with this tale's primary villain. That should be enough of a breather to prepare me for the initial date, which I hope to polish up nicely. That's the great thing about Thanatos… he is just creepy enough to keep you on your toes. Not much of a conversationalist, though…

Anyways, again, my apologies, and gratitude. I shall endeavor to be more prompt with the next release, despite the wedding and all of that hubbub. And, after that, the job hunt truly begins… bah! That's yet to come; before that, I shall write!

And before that… I sleep.

~Wynn Pendragon