Chapter 11

Fair Play

"What's next?"

Tsukune chuckled as he fought to regain his balance, the ground seeming to spin with the speed of the teacup ride they had just left. He turned to face Moka, but managed to stumble into her in the process as she, too, lost her balance. The two succeeded in holding themselves and each other upright long enough for the dizziness to fade, smiling and laughing all the while.

"Maybe we overdid the spinning just a bit," Tsukune admitted, motioning back towards the ride. Moka smiled brightly as she nodded, but immediately raised a hand to her head, the rapid motion upsetting her regained balance. "Are you alright?"
The vampire replied with a devious grin. "I will be after we get on that!" Tsukune followed her pointing finger towards the next ride in line, a towering roller coaster. Managing not to swallow too loudly, he nodded in acquiescence, his good humor overcoming his nervousness.

"Okay, then, let's do it!" The pair marched arm in arm towards the looming track, laughing all the while. Such was their good humor that they didn't notice the shadows in the nearby bushes, nor did they hear the deep growling emanating from the foliage.

"I can't take this anymore!"

Mizore sighed deeply as she glanced at her partner in crime, motioning with one hand to hush the succubus. "Quiet, you don't want them to hear us; we'd never hear the end of it. As long as they don't know we're here, we can always manage to interrupt them somehow, but the second they find us, we'll be in trouble."

Kurumu pouted in the direction of the couple, the bush in front of her trembling in her grasp. "It's not fair! That should be me!" she lamented loudly, too distraught to notice Mizore rolling her eyes beside her. Fuming, she turned her anger on the only available target. "Why did you bring me here to see this?" she demanded, glaring at the snow maiden.

"Because you asked me to," Mizore pointed out coldly, but Kurumu paid her logic no mind, already peering through the bush again towards the roller coaster. The snow maiden sighed again, resisting the urge to leave her comrade frozen in a block of ice. Bringing Kurumu along had certainly made things more difficult, since the succubus was not quite as gifted in the arts of stealth as Mizore. And, anyways, Mizore grumbled as she crept through the foliage to find a better vantage point, it was Kurumu's fault that she had decided to tail Moka and Tsukune on their date. After all, were it not for her friend's less-than-discrete questions, Mizore never would have been ordered to sabotage the other girls' dates with Tsukune… not that Kurumu needed to know that, however.

Mizore clenched her teeth as she watched the roller coaster rise on its track towards the summit. If it weren't for Kurumu, then she wouldn't have gotten involved. No matter now, however. Mizore knew what had to be done. Still, watching the ride bearing her friends plummet, the ice maiden thought back to the events that had led her and Kurumu to stalk Moka and Tsukune on what was supposed to be private time together. If it hadn't been for that phone call…

"Morning, Tsukune!"

"Good morning!" Tsukune smiled groggily at Kurumu and Mizore, rubbing the corner of his eyes. Mizore offered him a slight smile before turning back to the computer she was sitting at, while Kurumu's attention stayed locked on the television before her. Tsukune stood there for a long moment watching the succubus: she was dressed in exercise clothes, and was apparently mimicking the movements of dancers on whatever she was watching. The music coming from the television was fast-paced and catchy, and as Kurumu sang into an invisible microphone Tsukune paused to listen.

"…Umarekawatte amai yume sotto irodoritai no…"

Finally, Tsukune glanced around the room, searching for the missing member of their group. "Where's Moka?"

"She's been getting ready for your date for the past hour. It won't be that long till Mr. Cooper gets here to pick you two up," Mizore noted, raising her voice over the sound of the video Kurumu was dancing to. "I'm surprised that you haven't been getting ready yourself… not that you have to get dressed up special, or anything." Her grin did little to chill him in the face of his own icy terror.

"It's that late already? Oh no!" Tsukune turned and sprinted back towards the stairs, Mizore watching him with a wry smile. Shaking her head, the snow maiden turned back to the computer, trying her hardest to ignore her friend's bouncing dance and over-enthusiastic attempts at singing along.

"…Umarekawatte amai yume sotto irodoru MY LOVE hora sekai wa kawaru…"

Kurumu panted as the song came to a close, wiping sweat from her brow. She swiped up the remote control and paused the video, dropping it onto the table she had moved to clear a space as she walked towards the kitchen. "I'm going to get something to drink; you want anything?"

"I'll be in there in a minute anyways. Thanks, though," Mizore commented, focused on the screen before her.

Kurumu shrugged indifferently as she left the room, walking past the stairs and into the dining area. As she moved towards the refrigerator, the phone rang, and, eager to sate her curiosity, she picked it up. "Hello?"

A moment later, Mizore wandered into the kitchen. "Who was it?" she asked, but hesitated when she saw the look on Kurumu's face. The succubus wore an expression of deadly fright, eyes wide as she trembled slightly. Swallowing loudly, Kurumu drug the phone away from her ear and thrust it towards Mizore, looking away from it pointedly.

"It's for you…"

Mizore paused for a second, terrified of what might be on the other end of the line. Finally she gathered the resolve to face her fate, and took the receiver from Kurumu's quaking hand. Staring at it for just a second, she finally raised it to her head and pressed it to her ear. "H-Hello?"

"Mi…zo…re…!"

Mizore stifled a groan as she lowered the phone slightly, grimacing at it. She glanced at the receiver and wasn't surprised to see the ice that had begun to form over the earpiece. Mustering her courage again, she lifted it again and spoke soothingly into it, hoping to avoid, as much as possible, the wrath of the terrible being on the other end.

"Hello, mom…"

"Mizore, what is going on?! I just got a call from Ageha Kurono, gloating about how it would be no time before Kurumu was making her contribution to the survival of the succubus race! She said that her daughter spoke to her last night about kissing Tsukune, and she said that it was time for you to start looking for a new boyfriend! I don't know what's going on there, Mizore, but it sounds to me like you're not acting the way I've taught you to! If I find out that-"

"I don't know what's going on either, mother," Mizore spoke calmly, her eyes focused on Kurumu with all the intensity of a fanatic sniper, "but I can assure you, Kurumu has not, and will not be, kissing Tsukune any time soon. Nor, for that matter, do I have any intention of letting her claim him as her boyfriend, or letting Moka do so either, for that matter. He will be mine, I promise you that."

Kurumu blushed brightly, waving her hand in front of her dismissively. "I'll leave you two to talk; I've just remembered something I needed to do upstairs." She hastily fled the room, Mizore's hand missing her shirt by a hair. The snow maiden glared in her direction as her mother ranted at her from the phone, unwilling to accept her daughter's assurances.

"Mizore, you know that our own race is dwindling, and it's up to you to find a husband before you get too old! Now, I trusted you when you said that you-"

"I know, mother," Mizore grumbled, leaning against the wall and rolling her eyes towards the ceiling above.

"But, beyond that, you know that if you don't get Tsukune for yourself, you won't be happy! You made that point very clearly. If one of the other girls is succeeding in winning him, you should know what you stand to lose!"

"I know, mother." This time, the words were free of her earlier sardonic exasperation, but instead weighted with a painful gravity.

"So, you need to be doing whatever it takes to win him! Better to regret the methods when you're happy with him, than to cling to your pride and be alone! If you need help, I would be glad to come there and-"

"No, no, no, that won't be necessary, mother. I can take care of things myself. As a matter of fact," Mizore paused, resigning herself to what might come from her next words, "you should know that I will be going on a date with Tsukune on the day after tomorrow."

Silence gripped the phone for an eternal moment, and when Tsurara Shirayuki next spoke, her voice was free of her earlier anger, but instead cloaked with a silken guile. "Is that so?" she purred, like a cat sitting before a slow, fat mouse. "Tell me more about this date…"

By the time that Mizore hung up the phone, Moka and Tsukune had left, waving their goodbyes to her as they walked out with Mr. Cooper. After she replaced the receiver, she stared at it for a long moment, setting her jaw. Her mother was skilled in the arts of interrogation, that was for certain; Mizore had been forced to admit that her date was not the only one Tsukune would be going on. And with that knowledge had come orders from Tsurara, orders to do whatever it would take… Finally, Mizore turned to face Kurumu, who had returned to stand behind her, timidly awaiting her inevitable comeuppance. To the succubus' surprise, Mizore didn't show any signs of anger, only steely determination. "I'm going out," Mizore proclaimed, walking past Kurumu towards the stairs, intending to change clothes before she left.

"Where are you going?" Kurumu asked, confused.

"I'm going to make sure that Tsukune and Moka don't get too close on their date. She has a head start on us, so it's only fair that I make certain she doesn't take advantage of that."

The succubus paused, not quite agreeing with Mizore's logic but not willing to call her on it either. "Well, if you're going, can I come too?" she asked suddenly, following the snow maiden up the stairs.

Mizore whirled to face her, a blizzard raging in her eyes. After a long moment, she smiled, baring her teeth. "I'll call a cab, you find the address."

Kurumu answered with a smile of her own, and the pair headed into their rooms to prepare for their amorous espionage.

"Quick, they're heading to the next ride!" Kurumu whispered urgently, motioning away from the roller coaster. Mizore shook herself free from her reminiscing, searching for her friends. She smiled as she found them, walking together towards another ride. She squinted as she tried to make out where their path would be taking them: was that a boat ride, of some sort? There was a lake of dingy water, and a fake mountainside, and a cave, and a sign… what did it say?

Lover's Tunnel. Mizore's heart plummeted, and she turned to look at Kurumu, who wore an identical expression of horror and despair. The pair turned their gazes back towards the couple, and noted with growing panic the way that Tsukune was uncomfortably scratching his head, the way that Moka was facing away from him with a blush that was visible even at this distance, and the fact that they were still walking towards the boat ride.

"We have to follow them," Kurumu stated matter-of-factly, and Mizore nodded hurriedly. The pair slipped out of the bushes, staying just far enough behind Moka and Tsukune to not be noticed. As the couple spoke to the man running the ride and stepped into the boat, their pursuers waited, unconsciously allowing another couple to slip in front of them in the line. As Moka and Tsukune's boat slipped into the darkness of the Lover's Tunnel, Mizore and Kurumu claimed a boat of their own, and set off in less-than-speedy pursuit, the man running the ride watching them with a bemused and somewhat curious expression.

At the edges of the path nearby, two men watched them enter the cave. One turned to the other, shaking his head in mocking weariness. "You've got to be kidding me."

The dark-haired man crossed his arms before him, staring into the darkness. "You didn't have to accept this mission, you know."

The blond watcher chuckled, adjusting the sunglasses he wore. "I thought taking care of these kids would be nothing. I should have known better."

"If it was nothing, then we wouldn't have been the ones chosen to do this." The dark-haired man started walking towards the ride's exit, leaving his partner to trail behind him.

"Yeah, it's such a shame that we're so damned good at what we do," the blond man commented, shrugging in mocking resignation. Together, the two men walked off, determined to do their duty… no matter what that might entail.

Once inside the tunnel, Kurumu and Mizore wasted no time in catching up to their friends, though they found that the boat they had been provided with didn't make for the fastest of chases. Instead, they abandoned that vehicle in favor of more natural methods: Kurumu took wing, carefully hovering just above the boat, while Mizore stepped out onto the water, which instantly froze in small foot-sized platforms beneath her feet. Together they made their way forward, past the very stunned couple that had passed them in line, towards Tsukune and Moka's boat. As they drew closer, Kurumu picked up speed, noticing how closely her friends sat together. As she watched, Tsukune turned to look at Moka, and the vampire lifted her face towards him. Kurumu gasped in horror as they drew closer, and-

Mizore hurried towards her friends, but a grunt from above her drew her attention upward. She didn't have time to dodge as Kurumu, dazed from a sudden collision with a dip in the roof of the cave, fell towards the water. The succubus landed squarely atop Mizore, and together the pair fell back into the water. Moments later, when the next boat brought the surprised human couple past them, Mizore and Kurumu were sitting up in the shallow water, berating each other loudly and trying their hardest to force each other's head into the murk.

Meanwhile, Moka and Tsukune stepped out of the boat ride, thanking the man operating it. As they walked away from the tunnel, Moka glanced at Tsukune with a shy blush. "Thanks for that."

Tsukune smiled weakly, trying to force his now-anemic body to keep up. "No problem; I'd figured you would be getting hungry by now." He rubbed the twin wounds in his neck as he glanced around them. "So, what ride is next?"

The man running the Lover's Tunnel stared in confusion at the empty boat as it exited the tunnel, but his questions were answered when the bedraggled pair of girls waded into view. "Hey, you're not supposed to go swimming in that water!"

"Tell me about it," Kurumu grumbled as Mizore offered a falsified explanation to the man as they climbed free of the water. His suspicions somewhat allayed, he allowed the two to escape, and together they made their way away from the tunnel. As they stepped back onto the main path, Kurumu was torn between searching for Tsukune and wringing her clothes dry. "So, Mizore, do you see them? I don't-"

"Quiet!" Mizore hissed, yanking Kurumu into the bushes. The succubus was too surprised to say anything, but moments later she regained her composure, leaning close to her friend with anger in her voice.

"First that horrible water, and now I have leaves down my shirt. What is the matter?" she demanded in a low voice.

"Those two men, there… they've been following Tsukune and Moka ever since we got here," Mizore noted sharply, motioning towards a couple of men in dark shirts and jeans who were nonchalantly walking in the direction that their friends had gone. "Something's up."

"What?! I didn't see them!" Kurumu said, not noticing her friends frustrated shrug. The succubus watched them for a moment before gritting her teeth. "It's almost dark, and they're still wearing sunglasses. And their clothes almost match. Following Tsukune and Moka? Seems suspicious enough to me."

Far ahead of them, Tsukune and Moka paused, discussing their next stop. Noticing this, the two men ducked into the eating area of a closed booth, casually hiding themselves from view. Mizore and Kurumu exchanged glances at this, their fears confirmed.

"Why don't we ask them about it ourselves?"

"You know, it's pretty hard to blend in like this."

The dark-haired man glared at his partner, not yet ready to glance around the side of the building they were using for cover. Getting spotted now would make things more difficult. "As long as they don't see us, we'll be fine. Anyways, those two are my concern; what about your own responsibilities?"

"Ah, those two girls are two wrapped up in that guy to pay attention to anything else. I'm sure that they'd walk right past us now without even thinking about it. Don't worry, I'll make sure they're taken care of later." The blond man nudged his partner. "So, is it clear yet?"

"Not by a long shot." The cold voice made him glance toward the nearby bushes, and at the girl stepping out of them, a thin blade of ice held between her fingers. Ice spread from the ground, encasing his feet. Beside him, his partner turned to face Mizore, but thick vines of darkness erupted from the ground around him, binding his arms to his sides and holding him place. That didn't stop him from glaring at the other man, however, as Kurumu also stepped free of the bushes.

"Nice work," he growled, and the blond man chuckled, grinning with only the barest sign of shame.

"You two had better start talking. Why are you following Tsukune and Moka? What did you mean when you said we would be 'taken care of'? Who sent you here?" Kurumu's nails lengthened sharply, and she took a threatening step towards the two men.

"Whoa, nice tricks! What, is this a movie or something?" The blond man gasped, but the frowns on the faces of the two girls made it apparent that his own acting wasn't sufficient to fool them. He gave his partner a slight shrug. "Hey, it was worth a shot."

"Tell us! Are you Fairy Tale, or is someone else after Tsukune? Start talking, or we'll-"

"We don't have time for this." The dark-haired man flexed, and the girls stared in awe as Kurumu's illusionary vines began to creak and part.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Mizore turned to look at the other man as her ice shattered, but he was gone. "Funny how you'll have plenty of time to yell later, though."

"Mizore, take that one, I'll-" Kurumu gasped as the dark-haired man lunged forward, grabbing her wrist and pulling her off-balance. She slashed at him with her other hand, but the swing lacked power and he managed to block it, quickly grabbing her other wrist.

"Please stop fighting," the voice behind Mizore suggested calmly. "I'm much fonder of talking things over."

"We won't let you hurt them," Kurumu snarled, lashing out with a kick in the hopes of making the man release her hands. He took in on his hip, his face showing no sign of pain and his grip not weakening. Mizore took this as her cue to lash out also, her frozen claws slicing an arc around her as she turned to face the voice. To her surprise, the man was gone, standing a few feet away and to the side.

"Aw, geez, you've gotten caught twice in two days; what's Zack gonna say when he hears about this?" the blond man commented to his partner, seemingly not paying attention to the enraged snow maiden bearing down at him. At the last moment he dodged aside, Mizore's icy claws nearly bisecting him.

"This is your fault," the other man commented, his voice even despite Kurumu's repeated kicks. Taking advantage of her weak balance, he stepped around her, twisting her arms behind her back. This earned him little respite, as Kurumu now turned her attention to stomping on his feet.

"Yeah, right, figures you'd say that." The blond man dodged another swing at the last moment, his speed still surprising Mizore. "Ease up, ladies; we'll talk." He stopped, raising his hands in surrender, smiling ingratiatingly at Mizore, who responded with a glare even as she halted her attacks.

"Talk fast," Kurumu growled as the other man released her, glaring murder at both men.

The two men exchanged glances, the dark-haired one staidly disapproving while the other shrugged helplessly. Finally the blond man spoke up. "We were sent by the Hell- ah, Headmaster, that is, to keep an eye on you all. Think of us as babysit- I mean, bodyguards." He gave the impassive girls a bright smile. "You should be happy; we're two of the leaders of the Headmaster's personal guardians."

Kurumu was not impressed. "Sure. Except that there's no reason that we would need bodyguards here; we're in the human world now, and the only bad guy after us is trapped in the Academy. Try it again; who are you?"

"Well, specifically, I'm Gabe, and this gloomy fellow here is Mike. But what I said was the truth. We're the Headmaster's own bodyguards, sent to make sure you all stay out of trouble. He's especially fond of you, y'know?"

"Right. And even if that is true, why should we trust you?" Mizore demanded.

"We were sent by the Hell-King. You should trust him, at least," the one introduced as Mike suggested.

Kurumu snorted loudly. "Yeah, right."

This drew the dark-haired man up short. "But, he's the Hell-King. Why wouldn't you trust him?"

"That creepy old man? Every time we see him, he gets us into more trouble. Something tells me that, if you're here, he's done it again."

"But… he's the Hell-King!"

Gabe made a throat-slashing wave with his hand towards the girls. "He's not going to get it, so you might as well give up. Trust me." The blond man offered the girls a winning smile. "How about this, then? Since we're just supposed to be invisible protectors anyways, how about one of us gives you a ride home, and you forget you ever saw us? You can ask all the questions you want on the way, even." His partner gave him a sharp glare at this, but Gabe pressed on. "Or… we could pull Tsukune and Moka over, and explain the whole thing to them, too. How would you like that?"

Kurumu and Mizore exchanged blank glances at this. "No, let's go with the first option," Mizore concluded, realizing what would happen if Moka found them at the amusement park. "Do you have any proof, though, that you're who you say you are?"

"Oh, yeah, school IDs and credit cards and everything. He'll show them to you on the way to the car," Gabe said, walking to his partner and clapping him on the back. The other three stared at him in surprise, but he only shrugged. "I didn't say who would be driving you, did I? I'm sure he'll answer all your questions just fine." His partner stared at him silently, finally nodding in acquiescence.

Minutes later, as Michael led the girls towards the exit of the park, Gabe stared solemnly into the growing darkness. He glanced in the direction that Tsukune and Moka had walked, his eyes roaming over the rides and booths as he struggled to make his decision. Finally, he started walking, his eyes narrowed in determination.

"Cotton candy this time," he mused gravely, stepping into the crowd as he drew his wallet from his pocket.

All around him, the lights of the amusement park flickered on as darkness lowered over the town. Some distance away, Tsukune and Moka climbed the short ramp leading up to their final ride for their night, the Ferris Wheel that stood proudly above most of the other rides. Blissfully unaware of what had happened, they smiled at each other and took their seats, waiting for their turn to be lifted into the heavens.

Author's Note: …Or Sunday. I said maybe Monday; this is close, eh? In any case, consider this an example, by which you can offer your own opinions. The question is this: is it better for me to release as I finish (within at least a week and a half), and thus be more productive overall, or is it better that I follow a schedule, and thus give you a regular time by which you can expect the next installment? Please, feel free to chime in in your reviews; this is not, might I add, a cunning ploy to get even more reviews. Certainly not.

Ah, I finally get to show off two of my favorite original side characters. Well, Michael has been in a previous chapter, The Five Secrets, but not as himself, exactly. Gabe, however, is one of my favorite new toys. If you can't guess by now, the Headmaster's/Hell-King's guardians are a tad more important in this tale, and will have occasional roles throughout the rest of the stuff to come. Forgive me, but it works better if I can occasionally shift to another viewpoint, lest the romantic center of this story become too… bland. Variety, as they say, is the spice of life.

(Cough) Oh, and a pre-emptive answer to a problem within my story (totally not a cop-out): the reason that Moka got on a ride that was surrounded by water was that the reason that water weakens vampires is its purificating quality. The water in question here, however, was not so… pure. Thus, she felt more safe in getting onto the ride, since you're not supposed to get wet on it anyways… though perhaps no one told Kurumu and Mizore that.

Oh, quick citation: lyrics came from muha0770's posting of the song in question on Youtube; as for what song, well, that's a secret.

Anyways, next chapter is the conclusion of the date, focusing on Moka and Tsukune (who got less screen time than they deserved in this chapter, but, I'll be honest, it's bloody hard for me to write so much of Outer Moka). That should be up… well, that just depends, really, but three to seven days from now; that's the range I'm aiming for. I have to have a few days to reap some reviews before I post the next chapter, even if I finish it tomorrow night. I'm greedy like that.

Ah, and to answer a few things from said reviews: Appreciative Fan, you can post stories by signing up to FFN via the button in the upper right corner; should you have further questions, you can then ask me via personal messages. Ben Revell, you can find out about Mori Retsu in the previous story, Out of Nightmares; just go through my profile. And to my other reviewers, who did not ask questions (as well as the aforementioned two): thanks for taking the time to comment! My inbox has been quite full, and that makes me quite happy (which is partially what led to me hammering this chapter out early). See, I said long ago that I would write faster if fed enough reviews; I now prove my honesty!

But, anyways, enough writing for one day. Now to relax, and allow more ideas to seep in so that I might get the next chapter up and running. Now to let my fingers rest; I've been at this for hours now.

Now, to sleep.

~Wynn Pendragon