The next day, Maka and Soul were waiting outside the city for their friends to arrive. The bitter taste of defeat still burned in their mouths. Only one thing filled their thoughts as they waited impatiently for their friends: revenge. They wanted revenge against that vampire that had flattened, rolled up and tossed them aside so easily. The next time they fought, they were going to go all out.
"Where the hell is everybody?" Soul asked, "We've been waiting for hours."
"Yo!"
They turned to see their friend Black Star and his partner Tsubaki approaching them.
"I hear you got into some trouble last night," Black Star told them, "I guess I got to bail you out again."
"We're very sorry to keep you waiting," Tsubaki apologized, "I hope we haven't caused too much trouble."
"Don't worry," Maka told them, "Kid and Crona aren't here yet either. But why aren't you two with them?"
"Oh, that?" Black Star asked, "We were just on an extracurricular assignment a little while ago."
"Really?" Soul asked, "Well, did you bag a soul or two?"
"Uh huh," he answered, "And guess what: that means I just got soul number ninety-nine!"
"Wow, really?" Maka remarked, "That's wonderful! That means that you're just one step away from becoming a Death Scythe, Tsubaki!"
"I know," she answered, "Black Star is really good with collecting souls when he puts his mind to it."
"Now all I got to do," Black Star added, "Is take the soul of a witch, and Tsubaki will become a Death Scythe. And that's exactly what we're going to do once I save your sorry butts."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," a voice from behind him said.
Everyone looked to see their friends approaching them: Death the Kid with his partners Liz and Patty Thompson, and Crona with his partner Ragnarok sticking out of his back.
"Hi guys," Maka told them, "I'm glad you guys could make it."
"Sorry we're late, Maka," Crona told her, "We kind of got lost on the way here."
"We gave the map to Kid," Ragnarok explained, "And that idiot won't look at it because it 'isn't symmetrical'."
"Yes, well anyway," Kid said, desperate to change the subject, "We need to focus on the task at hand. A witch on her own is bad enough, but if she's really being protected by a group of monsters - which includes a vampire - then this could very well be an unwinnable fight."
"You should do it, big sis," Patty told her sister, "You could beat those monsters easily."
"No way, Patty," Liz responded, "I could never take on those scary monsters. And will you tell me how you got me to agree to go on this suicide mission in the first place?!"
"I believe," Kid answered, "That you're exact words were, 'I'm not going to let you leave me alone with those scary monsters on the loose.'"
Liz didn't have a response for that one.
"As I was saying," he continued, "We can't rush into this blindly. If we're dealing with a vampire here, this is going to be a tough fight."
"I know," Maka concurred, "We need a plan. We'll have to strike them when they least expect it to catch them off guard. I doubt we'll be able to win against a whole army of monsters, but if we could divide and conquer…"
She drifted off mid-sentence. She spotted a familiar black cat wearing a hat walking towards them. The cat saw them, and ran towards them excitedly.
"There you guys are," the cat said, "I've been looking all over for you."
"Blair?" Maka asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you guys," she answered, "I heard you were going to fight some tough monsters, so I decided to come and help."
"Well, sorry to disappoint," Soul told her, "But I think we've already employed all the muscle we're going to need for this job."
"Damn straight," Black Star supported, "So just go ahead and go back home, cat. We don't need you here."
"Well, can I at least stay and watch?" Blair insisted, "I've come all this way, I should at least be able to see you win."
"I don't know," Maka said, "We're dealing with some pretty tough opponent's here. You'll probably just end up getting hurt."
"But don't you remember how I beat you the first time we met?" she countered, "I'm a lot stronger than I look you know."
The gang walked off with Blair close to their heels, knowing that there was no reasoning with her.
A few days passed since Ruby was attacked. The rest of the Newspaper Club had been on guard ever since then, keeping lookout at all times. Eventually, it came time for them to finally return to Yokai Academy. They had never been more relieved to go back to school before. All they had to do now was to wait for their teacher – who they had not seen since the first day – to come back with the bus.
"Where the hell is our teacher?!" Kurumu asked, "I want to get back to school as soon as we can!"
"You know," Yukari laughed, "I never imagined those words would ever come out of your mouth, Kurumu."
"Well, can you blame me?" she retorted, "We've been on edge since day one, so we haven't had the chance to relax like we planned to. I just want this crappy trip to be over."
"My, Kurumu," Yukari added, "I didn't realize how immature you were."
"Actually, the only immature one here is you," Kurumu said patting Yukari's flat chest, "Get my drift Pancakes?"
"Well, excuse me for being four years younger!" she yelled, "And there's much more to being mature than that!"
"Calm down, guys," Tsukune told them, "Let's not get into a fight now. We're almost at the end of this trip."
"Do you want me to cool their heads off?" Mizore asked.
"Yeeek, no, don't do it!" Kurumu squealed, "You'll just freeze us solid!"
"Hey, wait a minute Mizore," Moka interrupted, "Weren't you supposed to be on lookout?"
"Don't worry about that," she assured her, "I've got ice crystals floating in the air around us for half a mile in each direction. I can use these to get a feel of what's going on around us at all times. If anyone's gonna come here, I'll know about it no matter how well they keep hidden."
"Wow, you can do that?" Moka asked, "That's amazing. Now we'll know if we're about to be attacked here."
"It won't do any good," Ruby told them. She gazed up at the moon with apprehension.
"What do you mean?" Moka asked.
"Even if we know they're coming," she explained, "We won't be able to win in a fight. Yukari and I Looked at them through a crystal ball, and we both sensed some kind of great power in those two. Not only that, but they've called in reinforcements, so there's more of them. I doubt that we'll have a chance against them."
"Don't worry about that," Gin assured her, "With two S-class monsters here, they won't stand a chance. I'll take care of them. I won't let anything hurt Moka!"
With that, Gin wrapped his arms around Moka and tried to kiss her. She struggled to keep away from his lips. Before he could do anything, Mizore showed up, froze him, and dragged him away.
"Anyway," Moka said once everything calmed down, "Gin's right. With all of us together, there's nothing we can't face. The seven of us working together can take on anything."
"She's right, Ruby," Tsukune added, "We're not going to let anything happen to you. We'll protect you."
"Oh, Tsukune!" Kurumu squealed, burying his face in her chest, "Will you be my protector too?"
Before Tsukune could suffocate, Mizore froze Kurumu and dragged her away.
"Hey, what the hell was that for Stalker Girl?!" Kurumu said once she broke free, grabbing the collar of Mizore's shirt.
"I thought that you needed to cool off," she answered calmly.
"Oh, yeah?" Kurumu asked, "Do you want to start with me? I'll shred you into ice cubes!"
"Heads up," Mizore said, turning her attention towards the forest, "We've got company."
Everyone turned towards where Mizore indicated. They heard rustling coming from the bushes. Mizore shot an icicle in the direction of the noise. Black Star leapt out of the bushes to avoid being hit. When they realized their cover was blown, the rest of the meisters emerged from the forest.
"Damn it," Black Star cursed, "How did they know we were here?"
"So much for the element of surprise," Kid observed, "But we're here anyway. We'll have to fight our way through with force."
"Are these the monsters you were telling us about Maka?" Crona asked.
"Apparently so," she answered, "That girl with the long dress is the witch. I have a feeling that the others will try to protect her, so we'll have to deal with them first."
"Do you have any idea what their true forms might be?" Kid asked.
"The girl with the pink hair is the vampire," Maka told them, "So leave her to me. As for the rest, it's hard for me to identify them, since I haven't seen too many different monsters before… but wait! It looks like there's another witch amongst them."
"What? Really?" Black Star asked, "Which one is it?"
"The little one," she said pointing at Yukari, "She's the witch."
"Oh, no," Moka said, "Now they're coming after Yukari too."
"Fine, let them try," Kurumu growled, "If they want to get to Ruby or Yukari, they're gonna have to get through me first."
"Kurumu…" Yukari started.
"That makes two of us," Gin added, "Anyone who wants to hurt a member of my club is going to get hurt."
"Same here," Mizore concurred, "We can't let them get past us."
"I agree," Moka told them, "If we have to fight, then we're going to have to work together to protect them."
As both sides prepared to rush into battle, they heard someone else approaching. They all turned to see Ms. Nekonome approaching with a big basket of fish.
"Sorry I'm late everybody," she called out, "But look at all this yummy fish I brought."
"Ms. Nekonome," Tsukune shouted, "You were supposed to bring the bus with you!"
"Oops," she mewed, "Sorry everyone. I guess I got a little sidetracked."
"Shizuka?" Blair said emerging from the trees, "Is that you?"
Ms. Nekonome looked at the cat who transformed into her human form.
"Oh my gosh!" she gushed, dropping her basket of fish, "Blair!"
The two catgirls ran towards each other and embraced each other in a big hug.
"It's been so long," Blair told her, "I haven't seen you since high school."
"I know," Nekonome replied, "I've missed you so much. How have you been?"
Both sides of the fight stared at the two cats with confusion on their faces.
"Um, Blair?" Maka started, "What's going on?"
"Who is this girl Ms. Nekonome?" Tsukune asked.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Blair said turning to her friends, "This is Shizuka Nekonome, my best friend from high school. Shizuka, this is Maka, Black Star, Kid and Crona. I met them when I moved to Death City."
"And these," Nekonome gestured towards her students, "are the members of my Newspaper Club: Tsukune, Moka, Kurumu, Yukari, Gin, Mizore and Ruby. Guys, this is my old friend Blair Gatojo. We've known each other since we were kittens."
The two cats resumed their catching up blissfully unaware of what was going on around them.
"Hey," Mizore interrupted, "Not to break up a reunion here, but aren't we in the middle of a fight?"
"Yeah, that's right!" Black Star yelled, "You're not getting away that easily!"
"Come on guys," Maka told her friends, "Let's take care of these guys."
The four meisters rushed forward into battle.
"Tsukune," Moka said, "Take Yukari and Ruby and get them to safety."
"Uh, right," he answered as he led the two witches away from the fight.
"Everyone," she continued, "We can't let them get any farther than this. We have to protect our friends."
"Oh, don't worry," Kurumu answered, "They're not going to lay a finger on them as long as I can help it."
The four remaining monsters ran up to meet their opposition. Both sides branched off into four fights: Maka vs. Moka, Black Star vs. Kurumu, Kid vs. Gin and Crona vs. Mizore.
"Come on now," Black Star said, "I can't fight a girl."
"Good, then this'll be fun," Kurumu told him as her razor-sharp nails elongated to full length and her bat-like wings emerged from her back.
"Whoa!" Black Star yelled as he dove out of the way of Kurumu's attack, "What the hell was that?"
"Careful, Black Star," Tsubaki said from inside her weapon form, "That girl is a succubus, and a strong one too. You'll need to be careful not to get hit by her attacks."
"All right," he answered, "But if we can't attack her back, we can't go after the witches. We'll need to hit her while she's still in the air. Tsubaki, Shuriken Mode!"
Tsubaki transformed into her large throwing star form. Black Star threw her as hard as he could at Kurumu. She dodged the attack easily and swooped down for another strike.
"Is that all you got?" she taunted, "This is going to be too easy. You're not even trying, are you?"
"Don't underestimate me," Black Star growled, "Tsubaki, Kusarigama Mode!"
While Kurumu was busy toying with Black Star, Kid and Gin were busy sizing each other up.
"You know," Gin told him, "The moon sure is pretty tonight. It may only be a half-moon, but it'll do."
"The moon?" Kid asked, "Oh, so I take it that you must be a werewolf, based on the shape of your soul."
"Sure am," he answered, "We're second only to vampires in terms of skill and power. But when it comes to speed, we're unbeatable."
And with that, Gin transformed into his true form. His hands morphed into sharp claws, his face elongated to a muzzle, and his body sprouted fur all over. Once his transformation was complete, he let loose a terrifying howl.
"You're not going any further," he told Kid in a distorted voice.
"That's what you think," Kid responded, "Ready girls?"
"Okay!" Patty cheered from in her weapon form.
"Uh… 'kay," Liz said reluctantly.
Kid aimed his twin pistols at a fast-approaching Gin and fired. Gin disappeared before the shot could reach him.
"Hey," he taunted from a tree behind Kid, "What are you aiming at? I'm over here."
"Damn," Kid cursed, "I didn't even see him move. So this is the true power of a werewolf."
As Kid struggled against Gin, on the other end of the battlefield, Crona and Mizore stood facing off against each other. An icy aura surrounded Mizore as claws made of ice grew around her hands.
"What's the matter?" she asked Crona who was trembling, "You've never seen a snow woman before?"
"No, it's not that," he blushed, "It's just that I've never met anyone as pretty as you."
Mizore gasped as color filled her cheeks. She smiled at him.
"I appreciate the compliment," she told him, "And you're not half-bad looking yourself. Still, I can't let you guys hurt my friends. Sorry about this."
She fired an icicle from her hands at Crona. Instead of impaling him, however, the icicle shattered on impact. Black blood dripped from the spot where the icicle had hit.
"What… what is that?" Mizore asked, "Black… blood?"
"Crona," Ragnarok told his meister, "Get your head in the game. I hardened the blood in your chest to keep you from getting killed. If it weren't for me and my black blood, you'd be dead right now."
"Yeah, right, sorry," he apologized.
"Now I see," Mizore observed, "His blood hardens to become a shield. My ice attacks are completely useless on this guy. But I should still be able to freeze him no matter how hard his blood is."
Before Mizore could formulate her battle strategy, she heard Moka's cries of distress from the far end of the battlefield. Everyone turned from their own fights to watch Maka pressing hard against Moka with attack after attack from her scythe. Moka was doing everything she could to avoid being hit, but she couldn't hold up much longer.
"Nice going, Maka," Soul told his partner, "You've got to keep pressuring her to keep her from using her powers. We need to finish her off before she transforms."
"Yeah, I know that," she answered, "We have to make this a quick fight if we're going to beat her."
Maka sped up the frequency of her attacks to push Moka back where she wanted her. All that Moka could do now was dodge and back away. As she did so, the rosary on her chest started glowing.
"You idiot!" her inner self told her, "What were you thinking? You know you can't fight an opponent like this by yourself. You're going to get us both killed."
"But still," Outer Moka answered, "I have to protect them. I have to protect Tsukune!"
"…You really love that idiot, don't you?" Inner Moka sighed, "I swear, both of you are morons."
Soon, Moka had been backed up too far, and the next slash knocked her on her backside. She looked up at Maka who was readying her final strike.
"We've got her now, Soul," Maka told him, "It's over!"
Before the scythe could reach Moka, Tsukune dove in and pushed her out of the way, resulting in a huge gash in his back.
"Tsukune?!" Moka gasped, "What… What are you…?"
"I couldn't leave you like this," he answered arduously, "I had to make sure you were all right."
A tear fell down Moka's cheek as Tsukune ripped the rosary from her chest. Light flashed as Moka underwent her transformation.
"The vampire is unleashing her true power now," Kid observed, "We're in trouble now."
"All right, Moka!" Kurumu cheered, "Take care of these jerks!"
"Trying to do too much as usual," Inner Moka told Tsukune, "You're a fool; you and my other half. Still, you saved my ass, so thanks for that."
"Damn," Soul cursed, "We're too late. Now we have to deal with a full vampire."
"At least this time," Maka observed, "We've seen how she fights once before, so we're a little more prepared."
"But still," he continued, "What can we do against an opponent like this?"
"Well," Maka mused, "There's one thing we can try."
"You're right. There's always that."
Maka swung her scythe over her head and took her stance.
"Let's go: Soul Resonance!" Soul and Maka said in unison.
Power surged from meister to weapon and back again. Their souls grew in power until Soul's blade began to glow and changed shape.
"Do you really think," Moka laughed, "That an attack like that will work on me?"
"We'll just have to see, won't we?" Maka asked, "Witch Hunter!"
Maka rushed at Moka with her powered-up scythe. Moka answered the attack with a powerful kick. The two attacks met and locked up. But even with the new power coursing through Soul's blade, Moka was still more powerful, knocking meister and weapon several feet away."
"Damn it," Soul yelled, "It's still not enough!"
"Then we'll have to step it up a notch," Maka told him, "We need to increase our resonance rate!"
Even more power surged through the two as their souls were pushed to the limit.
"Don't waste your time," Moka told them, "No matter how strong it is, a Witch Hunter technique isn't enough to beat me."
"That's why," Maka answered, "We're not using Witch Hunter."
"What?!"
Soul's blade grew even larger and changed shape to become more angular. The amount of power radiating from the new attack astounded everyone present.
"What is that?" Gin asked.
"Genie Hunter!" Maka called out as she rushed at Moka.
Moka blocked the attack, but was pushed back by the force of the blow. She struggled to push back the new attack.
"Get 'em, Maka!" Black Star yelled.
"You can do it, Moka!" Kurumu shouted.
Despite giving everything she had, Moka was eventually bested by the attack and was thrown flying back with a long gash across her chest. She slammed into a tree near the road and crumpled onto the ground.
"She did it," Crona smiled.
"No way," Mizore breathed, "She beat Moka?"
Moka coughed up blood as Maka approached her for the final blow.
"So foolish…" Moka puffed as she struggled to get back on her feet.
"Now," Maka began, "Where's the witch?"
Moka simply glared up at Maka without saying anything. Maka readied her finishing blow. But before she could attack, she sensed another soul approaching them at high speed. She turned just in time to see a girl with bright orange hair and a pet bat crash into her with a bike. Maka was knocked down and Genie Hunter was broken.
"What the hell…?" Moka began.
"Big sister!" Kokoa Shuzen squealed when she saw Moka.
Before Moka could say anything, Kokoa hugged her sister tightly. Moka let out a cry of pain in spite of herself. Kokoa noticed the wound that her older sister had sustained.
"Big sister," she said, "You're hurt. What happened to you?"
Kokoa turned towards Maka who was just now getting up.
"You're responsible," Kokoa growled, "I'll kill you!"
"What's with this girl?" Soul asked, "She's giving off some seriously wicked power."
"It looks like she's another vampire," Maka answered, "She's not as powerful as the other one, but she's a lot more aggressive. She may even be more dangerous than the first one."
"No, Kokoa," Moka told her sister, "She could kill you with one shot!"
"Don't worry, big sis," she answered, "She's not going to live long enough for that. Kou buddy, transform!"
"Right away, Miss Kokoa, whee!" the bat said.
Kokoa squeezed the bat until he transformed into a giant mace. She readied herself to rush at her opponent. Before either opponent could move, they felt the ground start to rumble. Soon, a bus appeared and flew over their heads, landing on the other side of the road before skidding to a halt. The doors opened up, and the Yokai Academy bus driver sat at the wheel with a cigar in his mouth.
"Looks like you kids got into a little trouble," he said, "Need a lift?"
