"Gah!" Tsukune said as he sprung forward and twisted himself mid air to face the newcomer. He landed with a soft thud across the lake. His feet skidding in the mud a bit. His eyes scanned the area for threats, only to see an old woman. No, wait. His eyes itched and he blinked. It was a toddler. But his eyes couldn't focus on the details and now it was a girl in her teens. Tsukune looked away.

Looking at whatever it was hurt! His eyes flicked up to his HP bar, and he was intrigued to see it hadn't dropped. By this point, he had begun to associate pain with lost HP. But no, it sat full.

"Oops! Sorry about that! I forgot what plane I was on. Let me try to..hrm" the voice that actually sounded like several voices layered over one another became that of a preteen girl. Just a bit younger than Yukari. "There we go. Try looking now, I've stabilized my form." Tsukune hesitantly allowed his eyes to flick her way. Thankfully, they didn't hurt anymore, and he could observe her.

The first thing he noticed was her hair. It was a bright red that, literally, burned in the darkness of the night. Yet despite its evanescence, it didn't illuminate anything around it. She was dressed in an oversized green coat, with what looked like fishnet underneath. Her eyes were heterochromatic, and burned in blue and emerald light.

She sat in the spot he had been sitting, staring up at him non threateningly.

To say Tsukune was bewildered would be an understatement.

"Who…are you?" He asked finally, breaking the silence in which her floating inflamed hair was the only motion.

Her response was to shake her head. "Spoilers! Tsukune! Spoilers! Though, I suppose a name must be given. It wouldn't be proper for you to refer to I as 'You' for the remainder of our talks. I suppose you may call me…" She placed a finger on her lip as her head tilted back and forth. Bobbing from side to side as it danced to a tune only she could hear. "Ah! I know! Call me, D!" Then she giggled. Like it was an inside joke.

Tsukune didn't feel threatened by this girl, especially as she had remained where she was in his old sitting position. "D? Just the letter?" He asked, and she nodded energetically. "Alright then, D." Seeing no immediate threat, he sat down across the lake from her. "Right. D. Ok. How can I help you?" For some unknown reason, that caused the girl to giggle fiercely.

"No! No! No! You don't help me! I help you!" She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. As if she had just informed him that water was wet.

His brows narrowed in confusion. "Ok. Then, how will you help me." Because honestly, even with his new and improved stats, this conversation was hurting his head.

"It's not what I will do, Tsukune. It's what I have done!" She giggled and swayed from side to side. Her hair swirled above her as it followed behind in a mesmerizing pattern.

He shook his head as he drew his attention away from it. "I don't understand, D. How have you helped me? Who are you? And what do you want?"

The somewhat spacy girl focused. A small and sly grin spread across her face. "I do this out of defiance, you know?" She whispered in a conspiratory voice, her hand placed to the side of her mouth like she was telling a secret that only Tsukune should hear. "My oldest brother is such a bore sometimes. Always focusing on the hard facts. The paths things must follow. He could never appreciate what I am. He's too cold and aloof."

None of that had answered any of his questions, so he asked another, hoping that by following this strange child's line of thought he might gain some insight into what she was talking about. "And, what are you?" He asked, hoping he wouldn't regret the answer. This thing in the shape of a girl gave off a presence that made him feel puny. Like the first time he had seen the ocean.

There was a vastness to her that could swallow him with its unknowable depths. Dragging him down into a dark place unknown to any sentient being. And all the while, in the infinite vastness, she would never even notice his plight. He would be as a grain of sand carried away by the current. At least, that's what his virgining senses to the supernatural told him.

The girl gave the definition of a cheshire grin. As if she could read his thoughts, and perhaps she could. "You needn't fear me Tsukune. I am you." She saw his confused expression and snickered. "But I'm not just you. I am everything! Every person in this world! In this entire omniverse! I am all that can be, and especially all that might never be! I am the what if's! I am everything never said! Every concept not thought of! Every page of an unwritten book! But most importantly for you!" Her cyan and emerald eyes crinkled in a sort of delirious delight."I am your benefactor!"

Benefactor? What was-

Admin privileges accepted: Admin has entered the chat. / This isn't a very difficult thing to guess, Tsukune. /

His eyes widened as text popped up in front of his face. A sort of chat box appeared. Then he put two and two together, and his eyes focused through the translucent box and onto the girl grinning across from him.

"You're…the system." He summarized.

She jumped up into the air in a sort of manic glee. "Yep! Pretty cool right! I got the idea after hanging out with a Dream in his library!"

Tsukune frowned at the introduction of a new person. "Dream?"

The girl stopped her manic dancing, a look of horror on her face. "Oops." She said slowly. She waved him off. "Just, forget I said anything about that. This is too far along the edge of the omniverse for that to matter. But, it does give me a chance to talk about something else. You remember that dream stone?"

Tsukune nodded as the full scope of these revelations sank in. He wasn't even sure what an 'Omniverse' was.

The girl sat down mid air, before she began to slowly spin while facing him. "Yeah! I got that from him! Or, I guess I borrowed it. And have no intention of returning it. But anyway," her multicolored eyes narrowed and she took on an expression like the cat that ate the canary. "Did you enjoy the sneak peak?"

He didn't know what she was…and then he remembered. In the dream…there had been that woman. Moka's mom. "What was…" But he stopped as she was suddenly in front of him, her finger on his lip ensuring his silence. Her narrowed eyes opened up a bit as she stared mirthfully.

"Spoilers…Tsukune. Spoilers. Don't worry. You have big things ahead of you! A big story! Filled with adventures and friends and lovers and betrayals! It'll be so much fun!" She squealed happily while clutching her hands to her chest. She definitely reminded him of Yukari. Minus the whole horny preteen part. Tsukune shuddered at the thought. Though, Yukari had been a lot more reserved after that incident with the PSC. Meanwhile, the…god? He felt that word wasn't a good enough description. As if it just wasn't good enough to encapsulate all of the being before him was. Yet he had no alternative. Anyway, she continued talking. Ignorant, or more likely just ignoring his internal dialogue.

"And I'll be watching! And even my other siblings might be watching! Oh, just not...not her. I'll make sure she never finds you. Oh, I just can't wait! But also…" her excited ramblings stopped as she stared at him. Her eyes narrowed. "Why haven't you tried out your new race yet? The vampire one? Don't you know you're getting it early this time?"

He had no idea what she meant by 'getting it early.' or 'this time.' but he had a fairly good reason for now just swapping his race.

"Oh, well. If I changed from being an infernal to being a vampire, it would bring down the wrong sort of attention."

But it seemed like that explanation wasn't good enough, because she shook her head at that. "No, no, no! That just won't do! Tsukune, you have to grow! You've reached the end of your current form of power. It's time to move on!" Her lips formed a smooth line as she contemplated the situation. Then she smiled. "I know! I'll make a deal with you. I'll give you a challenge! And if you do it, I'll update the system!"

She clapped her hands, coming to a decision. A box appeared in front of Tsukune.

Administrator privileges accessed. Quest alert!: Custom Quest(Name pending) [Success Conditions: Get all {Race[Vampire]} Skills to 25/100 by {168:00} REWARD: System Update:1.1.0 [Failure Conditions: {Race[Vampire]} Skills do NOT reach 25/100 after {168:00} hours. [Penalties:User profile deletion.

His eyes widened at the usual text box. User profile deletion? Wait! Did that mean he'd lose access to the system?

"Indeed it does Tsukune." D explained, her face showing something other than a grin or smile for the first time in this conversation. In fact, she looked deadly serious. It was a face that didn't suit her. "The system demands growth, Tsukune. You need to understand that. This world I've made is dangerous. It's a fusion of so many dangerous and beautiful things! But if you aren't willing to grow, then you won't ever be able to see them."

Tsukune was on the verge of Hyperventilating. Already the clock was starting to tick down. It hadn't even been 30 seconds yet, but it was going down. That clock was like a rope around his neck growing tighter with every second. His increased INT told him that he had exactly one week, starting at 5 am on a Tuesday, to grind up his skills.

"Don't worry Tsukune." D reassured, for all that it mattered. "If you put your mind to it, I have no doubt you could get this done easily! And when you do, because I'm sure you'll succeed, I'll be there with an update to your system! And I'll make sure to include a guide for all those pesky systems you missed. See ya then!" Then she faded into nothing as motes of light. They dispersed into the night leaving him under the light of the moon.

Tsukune looked up at his top left corner of vision. The clock was there, ticking down.

Tsukune let out a deep and suffering sigh. It took a few moments to process what had just happened.

After a few minutes, he had collected his thoughts enough to take note of his situation.

He had met the, once again he struggled for a word that would describe the thing. He felt God wasn't enough. He pulled a note out of that old man, Odin's playbook. He had met the Outer Being who granted him, a former human, the system.

She had given him a Quest, and it now occurred to him that she most likely gave him all of his quests, and this quest was to get his Vampire skills to 25/100 each.

Those skills were Shadow possession, Blood for Blood, and Syphon. Each currently sat at 0/100 due to him being an Infernal. Race skills didn't level up if you weren't that race.

A game plan would need to be made. Blood for Blood would probably be the easiest to 'Grind' as the game guilds he had bought for his handheld called it. He could just spend a day at the hospital wing volunteering to heal people. It was Yokai Academy, so there was always someone hurt enough to be hospitalized. And once his HP ran low, he could just take a nap.

The annoying ones would be Shadow Possession and Syphon. Both were very MP intensive, and while he had that in spades, both required a target. In Syphon's it would be useful to have a willing target.

He grit his teeth. There wasn't really a way around it. He was probably going to have to tell Moka about the System. She was going to notice him being a vampire immediately. Kurumu too. And if he was telling those two, he might as well tell Yukari.

He sighed again, this time with frustration rather than . His hand ran down his face. This was turning into a whole thing. Standing up to dust himself off, he wondered about the best way to do this. The morning sun was just creating over the horizon line. Dawn was breaking.

He stood up and dusted the dirt off his pants. In truth, he was still covered in the dirt and ash of last night. And his nose picked up the smell of alcohol on himself. If he could smell it off himself, he guess he probably reeked.

First thing was first. A shower and a change of clothes. That was the priority. Everything else could come after that.

Mind made up, he headed towards the dorms to make the most of the early morning hot water.

Some time under the shower head was a great way to clear his head. He made sure to enjoy the most of it. Pretty soon, he would have to go a week without it.

Water was such an odd weakness, he pondered. Why? He knew that Moka bathed. She must have a method of some sort. Otherwise he wouldn't smell her strawberry shampoo every time he offered her his blood. Plus, Moka was always clean. Even more so than himself, and he showered just about everyday now .

He wondered if the inner Moka would even be able to help him. As far as he could tell, she didn't have any of the abilities he had. Just an insane brute strength. He winced from phantom pain that spread through him. And some truly incredible technique.

A grin tugged at his face when he thought about all the thigh shots he had seen on her very impressive legs. And there was the fact that more often than not, her clothes were destroyed in the fighting.

A natural reaction began to form, and Tsukune decided that now was the time to get out.

He didn't have time for that. First thing was first, he needed to get dressed and meet up with Moka. Explain the situation. Then, this afternoon, he would volunteer at the hospital. It was a plan, however shaky.

He went through the dorm halls dressed in nothing but a towel. His bare feet drifted over the carpet. It was only now that students began waking up and entering the halls. A few greeted him, and he greeted back. He couldn't exactly wave, seeing as one hand held his towel shut, and the other had his dirty clothes. But it was good to socialize outside his friend group.

The boys of the dorm were a slow lot to wake. Usually, he only saw the tail end of the mass migration. Lots of Yokai lost their ability to hide while sleeping, and reverted to their true forms. So even among these early risers, he had to dodge the occasional wing, talon, or tail.

When he finally got back to his room, it took genuine effort not to just say "Fuck it" and go to bed. But, he needed to get ahead of everything. He didn't have time to just laze about. Not while he risked losing the System.

If he lost the System, he would revert to being human. Disregarding the fact that he would be prey in a school full of predators, he had also…grown used to the power. He…liked it. Really liked it. To the point where he didn't think he could live without it.

The towel dropped and he looked at himself in the full length mirror that came with the dorm room.

His eyes looked over his body. It was…perfect. Too perfect. His muscles were toned to perfection, with just enough fat to not look strange. He was a lot broader than when he had started. No doubt due to his strength stat. His skin was…tanner than what it used to be. As a typical Japanese male, he hadn't been very tan, but he also hadn't been pale. The infernal race was almost…reddish.

Then he pulled up the system Status screen. With a thought, he changed his race from Infernal to Vampire.

Warning! Administrator has temporarily disabled access to [Race change] function. Restriction will remain in effect until Quest (Name pending) has been completed. Changing race from {Race:Infernal} {Race:Vampire} will disable racial traits: [The Devil in I] [Devilish Charm] [Infernal Flight] [Blood & Fire]

[Race change] Function will remain locked until prerequisite custom quest (Name pending) has been completed.

Continue? Y/N

He formed his resolve. That was …that was a lot to lose. The flight especially. He…really liked it. But he pressed yes anyway.

Because to do otherwise would be to lose it forever. He was only parting with it for a short time. That's what he told himself.

He watched himself shift in the mirror. His shoulders…shrank. For lack of a better term. All of his bulk did. Yet despite that, he felt his muscles…compact? He didn't know the exact term. But they gained a…spring-like feeling. Like they were absolutely filled with potential energy.

His hair had also darkened over the course of the last few months. He hadn't even noticed, seeing as it was down past his neck now. But as an infernal, it had been a dark brown. Almost back. But now it lightened to an almost blonde.

The fangs were the same, more or less. That much he expected. A bit shaper, and surprisingly more sensitive when he poked at them. They seemed to have their own tactile nerves similar to a fingernail.

But what caught his attention more than anything else were his eyes. They were Slitted like a cat's. Like Moka's. When he tried to focus on them, he found they did something strange. His vision…narrowed. For lack of a better word. But, the parts he could see …deepened. By a lot. He could absorb so much more information like-he gasped in fright when he saw his eyes in the mirror.

He calmed when he saw it was nothing. His eyes. They had startled him. When he had focused on the details around him, they had contracted to narrow lines. "Just like Moka." He whispered to himself. The inner Moka's eyes had done that too, he remembered. Often when she was looking at something with focus. He hadn't known what she was seeing, or why. Not until now. It allowed him to understand her a bit better. He eased his focus and his vision widened again. And with it came a feeling that the world around him was…blurry.

He was seeing 20/20, but he now understood a form of detail he'd never experienced before. A few seconds passed and the feeling faded.

His skin had paled dramatically. Combined with his much slimmer frame and red eyes, he could almost be mistaken for an anemic albino.

He began dressing, running into a new problem. None of his uniforms fit. They hung off of him loose. Thankfully, far in the back of his drawer, he found one of his original uniforms from when the year started. The shirt and pants were a bit tight, and the blazer was basically unusable. Far too tight. But the shirt and pants would get him through the day.

Even slim as he was, he had filled out more than the tiny twig he had arrived as. It was a bit of a cheat, if he was being honest. Where most would have to put in an exorbitant amount of effort to achieve his physique, all he had done was dump a few points into STR and DEX.

Finished admitting himself, he made up a game plan to figure out how to convince Moka to help him. And probably explain the System to her. He winced at the thought. Maybe he could just…lie? A little?

He sighed. There was absolutely no possible way this would go well.

Moka

She was getting worried. Tsukune hadn't returned to class yesterday after their visit to the headmaster. And he couldn't be found even after classes ended. Moka had been so worried that she had enlisted an equally worried Kurumu to check his dorm room from the window. Moka had simply ignored that Kurumu didn't need directions to find which specific room was Tsukune's. That's how worried she was. And that worrying had only increased when Kurumu flew back and explained that his room was empty.

They went through club as normal, beginning work on a special edition article that would explain the sudden disappearance of the PSC and their leader.

Right now, it wasn't well known what had happened over the weekend. Just that the PSC building had collapsed and a large portion of the forest around the school had been burned down. As well as the death of Kuyou, the 'Gilded Tyrant' as they were dubbing him.

Yukari remained subdued, and would become twitchy when not in the direct line of sight of either herself or Kurumu. Thankfully, the only class they were apart from was homeroom.

Kurumu was also acting flighty. Moka had explained the interaction with the headmaster as best she could, and Kurumu brought up the worrying thought that Tsukune might have been expelled.

Moka didn't know what she would do if that was the case. Tsukune had been her first friend. Ever. And, even if it bore no precedence on the current matter, his blood was super yummy.

So it was as she was looking around anxiously near their groups usual meeting spot, her attention was drawn to a voice from above.

"Pst! Moka!" It whispered loudly. Moka looked up to see…

"Tsukune?" She asked dumbfounded. It looked like Tsukune. It Sounded like Tsukune. But it most certainly was not. Tsukune. Tsukune wasn't a vampire.

"Who are you?" Her voice asked with a dangerous edge. Someone was impersonating Tsukune. Her body became like a spring, muscles coiling up in tension. Upon her chest, the eye of the rosary lit up and a slit formed. It seemed her inner self had noticed her distress and was awoken to observe.

The impersonator in the tree drew back in a very Tsukune like manor. His eyes widened in shock and he gave a very convincing effort to look like he nearly fell out of the tree. Just like Tsukune would.

"h-huh? Wait! Moka it's me! Tsukune!" She growled and sprung forward to punch the tree. She might now have any of the technique or finesse of her inner self, but she was a vampire with an impressive pedigree. The tree splintered under the force of her strike, causing wood to explode outwards from the point of collision. The tree fell and the imposter was forced to land on the ground.

She didn't hesitate to throw a messy knife hand at its face. It was a clumsy jab, but for anything under a B-rank in speed it would appear as a blur. The imposter's eyes went wide as he tilted his head out of the way. "Whoa! Moka! Would you-"

She didn't let that stop her as she threw forward her other hand into a horizontal knife slash. This time he didn't dodge fast enough and her hand cut a line across his blocking arm as he retreated a step.

A thin line of blood ran down his front from his arm and through his fingers. She went in for an uppercut with the full intention of taking whoever this was's head off, but he surprised her when he countered by grabbing her wrist and twisting it. He used her moment and sloppy posture to place her in a position where he was to her back. Her arm locked against her spine painfully.

"What has gotten into you! Calm down! It's me! Tsukune!" She snarled like an animal in response. Slamming her head back, she felt the satisfying feeling of a nose being flattened against the back of her skull. For the first time in this fight, she felt her inner self approve.

He released her and stumbled back, allowing her to take a firm grip of his arm that he had extended in a faux gesture of surrender, and pulled violently.

This vampire impostor must have had an impressive bloodline because she saw that his nose had already healed itself. But that didn't stop her from pulling his arm out of the socket. He cursed something fierce, and in a way that did remind her of Tsukune. Clearly this imposter had studied his target's behaviors. Just not his monster race. A foolish mistake that not even an amateur should make.

The imposter must be well conditioned, because after cursing he went about resetting his arm. She bolted in while his other arm was busy, directing a jab to his ribs. She expected him to fly away from the force, but he grabbed her wrist in a blur of movement that even she struggled to follow. She was jerked off balance and before she knew it she had been grappled to the ground while he held her arms behind her. She snarled and spit like an animal, but he didn't relent.

"Stop it! Hey! What has-You know what, I have a better idea." It said in his voice!

He shifted her arms so he could hold them both in one hand as he straddled on top of her. Her skirt rode up from all the movement and she felt a breeze run over her bottom. She snarled and fought back even more as its hands reached to her front! This pervert was going to molest her! And they would do so while dressed up in the skin of Tsukune! But her fighting and thrashing didn't stop his hand from grappling blindly at her breasts, until it landed on her rosary.

A soft *clink* was heard, and her last thought before she faded away was 'Wait, what?'

Power exploded outward and Tsukune quickly got off the vampire's back as the transformation took place. What the hell was that?! It's like she went feral?

Some sort of reaction to his vampire form, perhaps? Maybe Vampires were territorial, and reacted like cats when another entered their territory. If that were the case, he could only pray to any gods listening that the Inner Moka could control such a reaction.

The transformation finished, he watched the silver-haired Moka stand up with all the grace and elegance she was known for. He was prepared to flee when she turned and locked ruby eyes with him.

She stared for several minutes looking over his form. Her eyes often flicking from his face to the rosary. Then, her posture relaxed, and his did as well. It seemed his gamble paid off. The inner Moka was capable of ignoring whatever instinctual reaction vampires had to one another.

"Tsukune." Moka addressed him as her eyebrow quirked. "I require an explanation. Now." She sounded calm, but her words and demeanor told him that he would be eating teeth if he didn't explain himself. And so, he did. In the most rambly explanation possible. He explained how he used to be human until he was given the system by an outer god. How it had used the blood Moka had given him to make him a vampire form he could use. He also explained how he didn't know who gave him the system until this morning, and that the outer god had given him a task to become proficient in this form or lose access to the system entirely.

He didn't bother with things like the stats or traits. Just the basics of the system that made him stronger.

Throughout his incoherent rambles, Moka had remained standing. Her brow remained quirked.

When he was finished, she sauntered over to his panting form. Not because he was physically exerted, but rather due to a sort of deep mental exertion. He knew he sounded crazy. It was insane and he would readily admit that. But it was the truth.

She stopped with about a half foot between them, her eyes still staring holes into his own. Her hand went up to his shoulder and he winced expecting pain. Only for it to just rest there.

"I believe you." Was all she said.

Tsukune blinked, not expecting those words. "You do?" Man, he felt stupid. He in no way expected to hear those words.

Moka nodded. "I do. It's far too much of a foolish tale for any spy or imposter to use as a cover. And were you actually an imposter, you would likely at least attempt to emulate the race of the one you're masquerading as. I would expect a Devil, or perhaps an Incubus. But not even the most green of infiltrators would come as a vampire of all things. To say nothing of the laughable odds of finding a pure-blooded vampire such as yourself or I to entertain the idea. So, simply put, I believe you. It also explains many things."

He smiled a happy smile happy to have cleared that up with the girl. Honestly, what happened next was sort of on him. He shouldn't have closed his eyes on her when he knew she was still angry. Especially when she knew the limits of his regeneration. Because the moment he lost line of sight, she planted her fist into his sternum.

Tsukune's eyes bulged and he doubled over Moka's shoulder. He grasped onto her reflexively to keep himself from falling to his knees. He tried to ask why, but all he could manage was to gurgle and groan in pain.

Moka stood there like a statue, eyes never leaving his hunched form. "But just because I believe does not mean I forgive you.

Honestly, the nerve you have. To place not just your hands upon my body and flesh, after I had informed you of the consequences. But to also have the sheer entitlement to push me into the ground and mount me like a beast? Unforgivable." She spat out coldly. And in retrospect, perhaps he could have been a bit less handsy. But come on! How was any of that his fault? If anything, he felt this was on the other Moka. But as he couldn't speak, he couldn't voice his complaints. And also she would probably just hit him again if he tried.

So his response was to whine pathetically as he hung off her. That blow had taken half his HP. She hadn't held back at all. It was a miracle that he didn't have a hole out his back, because his insides were soup. He doubted any organs had survived, and as he leaned his full weight against her, he felt as the cracks along his vertebrae sealed closed uncomfortably.

She at least afforded him the mercy of not falling to the ground. Her body was a literal pillar that held him up as his insides reformed. It was all he could do not to foam at the mouth.

"I assume my message has been received?" She asked him as the last of his ribs reset.

Tsukune coughed pathetically. He took a deep breath so he could answer. "Yup." He wheezed. "Loud and clear. Won't happen again." He didn't point out how the Pink Moka had attacked him first. Nor how he had been forced to subdue her or she would have done her best to kill him. He said nothing. Because Moka didn't care about that. In her eyes, he had crossed a line. And currently she held all the power. Plus he needed her help.

"Good. Come then, we've much to speak of and any later and I shall be late for class." She grabbed him by his school tie and began dragging him forward. He was forced to follow lest he tear his last remaining good tie.

"Wait, we?" He said as he stumbled along like a dog on a leash.

A/N Well that was a bit harsh, even for our prickly vampire. I wonder why she was so hostile? There's probably something deeper going on there.

Perhaps a POV could enlighten us to the inner workings of Moka's mind.