Disclaimer: I do not own Rosario + Vampire

Chapter 3: To Find New Strength

Tsukune was in no hurry to leave the room he had awoken in to catch up to his strange new drifter of a companion. He dragged hesitantly out towards the coral light of a semi-demolished pass. The scent of spring nature with a hint of sweetening filled his nostrils.

He squinted while trying to adjust to the outside world, having reclined in a dark cavern for Kami knows how long. There he spotted the black stain upon the earth, the stranger, protruding ridiculously blatant to the amazing colors all around. The colors in the soil were stunning formations of red and brown, the sky all around them was littered with bright purple stars, making the sun stand out with its diametric rays of hot-colored light.

…Or should he say suns.

There was more than one great globe of light filling the sky. The orange one seemed the closest, so its little wonder why that was the light that had caught Tsukune's eyes first. Yet beyond the horizon, a scarlet slither with extraterrestrial stars, he saw a deep-cool blue sun sitting way out yonder, almost lined up perfectly with the dust trails of space.

Just by staring at it, Tsukune felt a chill shoot through his body like a lance. It was as if the temperature just came and went.

He pushed that feeling aside though, knowing that there were worse possible things to be afraid of now that he blurted that he was a ghoul.

Despite the darkness of the sky above, the land before and around him was perfectly lit up and distinguishable. Some of the plants growing around were the healthiest color of green; others were bright red. As he could see, there was a trail the color of Mars behind the shrouded creature. The view of the land beyond was indescribably beautiful. The trees stretching for miles down below had the most stunning mixture of spring, summer, and autumn leaves.

Tsukune was aware that he was nearing the inky black cloak, so he slowed to a complete stop next to it with his tail between his legs, peering out just barely enough to catch a glimpse of the tattered and twisted shape facing the rural and idyllic lands beyond. The sight was breathtaking.

Remaining completely silent, the three of them, Tsukune heard the loud, audible sounds of the tall creature breathing in and out in a blood-curdling echo. There was silence for several moments.

"…So." Tsukune started, not appreciating the tension. But he was smart enough not to bring monster classes into the subject too. "I noticed two suns here…wherever we are, and where that blue sun is sitting on the horizon," he pointed up to it, unaware that the hood had turned to leer intently at the holy limiter that was dangling from his wrist instead. "It looks just to the point where it could be a sunrise or a sunset." The tall hood of the towering figure next to him slowly creaked towards him, producing the sound of ice crackling. Tsukune felt his heart beat faster. "So which is it?" He asked timidly, but nonetheless. "Morning…or evening?"

A bright gemmed golden eye, lacking any pupil, peered stilly at him through the slender gap of the ebony cowl. The bat, Selzix, decided to get up off of the shoulder and flutter about while answering, "It's morning, yosomono-kun. While you took your time getting out here, Master explained to me that you've been dormant for almost half a week!"

Tsukune completely forgot about any possible trouble he might be in. There were more…important things to worry about. "H-half a week?!" He spat out, gripping his hair in a panic and scrambling around the site like a crazed gerbil without a wheel. "I need to get back to the academy if it's been almost a week! The others'll worry for me, and my grade – oh my gr- oh my grade- the grade – I'm in a tight spot as it is!!"

"Woah, woah, slow down there, kid! You can't go anywhere near an urban place if you're a ghoul."

Tsukune would have protested to the statement, but first decided to take a different approach. "Wait, aren't you…afraid of me?"

The bat shrugged. "Meh, you don't look too threatening. So long as you're not hungry, I suppose that –"

"I am hungry!" He comically lashed out, completely outraged at the statement, "I keep trying to tell you that you took my meal! If I hadn't eaten in half a week, it does no wonder to why my stomach's about to digest itself!"

The black bat sweat-dropped in alarm, "Oh well why didn't you mention, chuu…" He mumbled quietly as he fluttered back off-screen.

"Have I seriously, I mean, was I really out for…half a week?"

"Aye, thou were. Thy body served no pleasantries whilst being switched over to a different realm. However, being that as a ghoul, thy ground shouldeth stood firmer by means of sufferance. The undead are typically…better-rounded for that sort of feat. Even the ghouls. But fear not for the element of Time. For you see, time passes exceptionally faster in this dimension than in the one that thou may already know."

"You said that I was out for half a week, then does that mean half a week in this particular time zone?"

"Aye."

Tsukune heaved a great breath of relief. "Then what about my school's time zone? How long has it been?"

"…In contrast between that particular realm and this one…a day and a half. Six months in twelve -- that is the ratio of time between thy world and ours. That is why we have only two seasons and six months; three months in a season. That is how the timetable is assembled to keep in the flow with thine."

Tsukune had a stern expression about being given this information. 'So in other words, time here passes twice as fast as in the Youkai Academy. I really got mixed into it big, this time!'

"But do not fret," The whisper continued. "Though thou shall exist by the rules of the fabric of time hither, thy age shall progress naturally, for thou art not of this place. Or doth age really concern thee, being as thou is?"

"Ah, yeah, that's a relief. Listen, you told me this place was called 'Paradise', right? Just…what sort of a place is it? I mean it couldn't really be the Paradise paradise, am I right? If that were the case, I would have to be dead."

"Who is to say that thou hath not departed long ago? Thou art a ghoul, lest you not forget."

Tsukune quickly realized that this whole ghoul charade might not turn out in his worst favor after all. What if this guy were a real ghoul? He seemed to be speaking casually to him in spite of the fact that Tsukune had told him about it. Maybe he should play with it a bit longer.

"Ah, yeah, of course, what am I saying?" He said in his best joking manner. "I just meant that am I…dead dead? You know, the kind of dead where you don't get up and start lurching around? I guess what I'm trying to ask is, have I been killed a second time?"

The person seemed to contemplate his question. "I see it no good to speak otherwise. Perhaps thou needeth find out for thyself. Either dead…or…'dead' dead, thou shall have the rest of thy afterlife to find out."

"And what about you?" He asked. "Pardon, but I've already given my own name, as common courtesy spells. Do you have a name, or do you just go by Death here, or…"

The black shape scoffed in humor. "Call me what thou may. Grim Reaper, Shinigami, Giltinė, Angel of Death, simply Death if you must. Make a selection, though if none satisfy thee, then simply advert my name as Garan."

Tsukune looked up at him. Smiling that he was opening up but a little, Tsukune stated happily, "Garan. Alright, I got it. Thank you."

The creature eyed his behavior suspiciously. "Let us make haste. We must return before nightfall, lest the Ones Beneath the Hills haveth their way."

Tsukune's smile went away at the warning. "The ones beneath the…"

"Oh!! Pay no attention to that little name, yosomono!" Selzix frantically rushed to cut him off by flying right in front of his face, blocking his whole view. "That's simply a, uh…a line that he was quoting from a book! Yes, that'll do! It's an expression that means to wait too long results in only, um, vain expiration. That is what it means, chuu."

Tsukune crinkled his forehead with chagrin while the bat fluttered over to Garan. He tried to whisper so that Tsukune couldn't hear. "What in the Mercy of Mary are you going on about talking about the strays to a guy we barely know? Master, this is advised against!"

A draped sleeve came up in front of him, and the small mammal instantly hushed up. "Nay…" His line of sight never left the shirtless boy in front of him. "…I will entrust in him. 'Twas no being, man nor monster, that I could personally confide in for eons. He may in turn prove beneficial. Only a touch in the right direction, 'tis all it takes, and he may even go so far as to help us in the upcoming belligerency."

"Th-that's just it!" He whispered hastily back. "The war starts very, very soon, Garan-sama! We need more able bodied soldiers to work with than just this…primitive flesh-eater! It is true that ghouls are ferocious, but they're slow-moving and unpredictable, and they only ever work well when they ambush or attack in packs! You can't make us go through with the likes of them, can you? I mean…" The bat turned and narrowed his beady eyes on Tsukune, whose spirits were becoming downed from being left out yet again from another conversation. "…what if he turns out to be like one of them? The Ones Beneath the Hills, chuu?" He finished whispering even more confidential than before.

"See in his eyes. What eyes! They hold naught of happiness, but nor wrath, either. He saves no bloodthirsty dagger for plunging our hearts, nor did teeth bore for our throats. He is utterly weak. Feeble. Infirm. Insubstantial…"

"Oii…insubstantial…" The small glasslike bat looked woozy. "Garan no Danna uses such big words…"

"He seeks to do us no harm. Teaching this young boy to become strong means to raise a great lion from a cub. What looks innocent becomes deadly later."

"Who are you referring to now?" Selzix asked, entertained by the fact that there appeared to be a similarity. "That boy…or yourself?"

A long draw of breath echoing in and out was the answer. They both turned back to watch Tsukune continue to fidget with the wait. As they continued to watch, he let his mind wander with his eyes to a tiny black butterfly fluttering around him with treacherous barb-like wings. He really did look like some innocent little animal that was just introduced to the wilderness out of the den.

Then, the Master turned back hastily to his smaller companion, as if he were in a huge rush. "How indeed doth a king raise his army? By letting the children of his kingdom grow into fine young men to which shall be trained into ferocious manslayers. 'Tis the way of war. Nigh, I see that the time has come for this young child to stop being a child, and to open up to a reality entirely different." They continued watching, Selzix perched on Garan's shoulder, the horned butterfly atop Tsukune's shoulder. It was almost a type of symbolism reflecting how very much alike the two might appear. The shroud repeated, "Thou hath seen his eyes. What eyes. Hast thou ever seen such melancholy? His heart strucketh by grief's hammer, his shards lay in the unforgiving dust; laid to waste by a heinous act. …Yet he is so very strong at keeping such misery confidential to his own self."

The butterfly, bearing its malevolent mixture of bright red and darkest black colors with the patterns of a stain glass window, fluttered from the blade of Tsukune's bare shoulder up to the tip of his nose, where it sat and perched for a while. He was a bit surprised at first, but the tiny legs of the butterfly tickled him, and he ultimately sneezed the insect off of his face.

"He could be the one…"

It fluttered up towards the painted sky while everyone looked up to watch it go.

Before tending back to Tsukune, he finished speaking to the mammal with one last thing. "For now, I feel that he must get stronger. I have strong belief that he desires strength, and strength is what he hast come for."

The cape ambled towards Tsukune with the cold mist carrying behind, and a group of bright red and blue flowers withered mysteriously as he strode by. Tsukune, snuffling his nose, looked shiny-eyed up at him.

"Ummm…am I in trouble?" He asked it as innocently as he looked. He didn't know who to trust. At this point in time, how did he know they weren't conspiring against him?

"…Wait hither."

The boy reached out to answer, but the rags had already begun drifting down the incredibly steep red dust path, ahead into the wilderness below. His ebony clothes soon disappeared into the shadows of the canopy, leaving Tsukune and Selzix on the high lookout of the ruined temple.

Selzix flapped his lengthy wings in such a way that the rays of the orange and blue suns alike reflected off and through the black shining bat as if he were made of luster. He carefully and steadily landed on top of Tsukune's bear shoulder and curled up into roosting position. The wings tucked in nicely and neatly, he continued to watch him with his beady red eyes.

"Ah, he left me again…"

"Yosomonooooooooooo-kun," the bat beckoned softly over next to him, making the name itself drag on and the suffix –kun at the end come short. The boy turned his head curiously to meet up with the tiny bat's face.

"You don't have to keep calling me yosomono. It's Tsukune. Aono Tsukune."

The creature took a moment to configure the detail to his memory. After a moment, "Yosomono-kun, keep in mind that this is my first time speaking with…what you are…-heck I didn't even know that ghouls could talk until today, so even though your brain might not pick up, before you go on ahead after my master, I should give you a tiny notice."

Tsukune ignored the small 'brain' comment, believing that it was not entirely deliberate for insult, but also because he didn't necessarily go into the category of what he was critiquing. "Hm?"

"That man that's accompanying you is a very great being. His name is Garandou the Tragic. He once was a missionary that originated from a place called Salem. Rrrringabell?" He trilled.

Tsukune pressed a finger to his chin and gave it a little thought. He turned back to the Geography class that he attended in the Human World for a while, and he commemorated some if not most of the capitals in the U.S. to memory. One of the capitals was Salem.

"Hmmm…Salem, Oregon, U.S.A. Sound about right?"

The bat smiled festively and nodded his head rapidly several times to signify his answer. "Correct! Pretty sharp thinking for a corpse! Surprisingly articulate too! Chuu!"

"Well what the heck is he doing way out here?"

"Well, uhh," he didn't look at all too confident in telling him exactly how his master managed to wind up in another realm so far away from his homeland. "…You'll just have to ask him yourself. It's really not my place."

"Wait – that bleak form of a shadow? He was once a priest?"

The bat's charisma instantly jumped a whole level. "And a damn good priest for a while! As the legend goes, he once exercised a demon from a young maiden himself at the age of twelve, chuu!"

"Wow…"

"Yeah he was the good guy for a while, but," The bats face instantly gloomed down to seriousness, "don't take his previous occupation and accomplishments to heart too heavily. He is not at all what he once seemed…"

Tsukune looked at him a bit funny. "Well I did gather that around the fifth second I spent with him, although the creeping whispers that he keeps communicating with misled me a little for his alignment with God…"

"Then maybe it's for the best that you don't antagonize his cruel nature." The way he was saying it, Tsukune never would've imagined that a chibi figure could speak so…darkly. "You think that death is the worst thing the world has to offer? Peh. Here, in the very corner of the universe, the edge of the cosmos… You still have fear to learn. He may be old…but he knows all too well how a mind works -- how a soul…works. He instills fear in the hearts of all things…"

There was a low moan emulating darkly from the pitch black darkness of the wooded area below. The rustling of leaves. The snapping of a twig. Something was down there. Something was moving.

Selzix was whispering silently to him now, and Tsukune could fear the cold breath coming into his ear. "Man and witch and vampire…" Tsukune cringed at the last name. "None can truly be called innocent in his eyes. Not truly. He knows the sins of the world…and he breaks them with no remorse. That to you is my warning."

Tsukune's fearful trance never left the clearing of trees way down below where the being had disappeared to. "I consider myself warned…and I'll be careful."

The woods below howled and moaned, instilling a malevolence, and fear swept Tsukune once more as he saw a long, huge jet of cursed black spew forth from the clearing where the man had left them and shoot straight up the hill after them. It was coming in too fast to side step, and Tsukune shut his eyes tight, fearing that it would ram right into him. The dark storm sped up through the path like a freight train, kicking red dust everywhere, and right before it hit Tsukune, the devastating whirlwind…stopped.

Tsukune opened his eyes fearfully, and was met up by a terrifying face glaring hatefully at him with razor sharp fangs bared.

"AH!" Tsukune staggered backwards into the ground with shock. But when he looked back up, he recognized the scaled beast that was served for him no more than half an hour ago. Holding it forward to him with the hands of a skeleton was the hooded entity of Garan.

"A, uh, another one of those larval guys?" He asked after catching his breath.

The hood did not spare him a single glance. It was completely facing the ground, but he had both great sleeves of arms outstretched to the nerve-wracked student with his meal.

"Even ghouls must feed, or they wane in strength and flesh eventually. 'Tis no small child of a morsel, but let it be enough."

Tsukune got up to examine it for a while and found that there were conveniently no spines. This man, Garan, had taken it upon himself to remove the life threats all over again, despite thinking that he is that undead monster, ghoul, who would be otherwise insusceptible.

He didn't know how to approach a guy who he just received such a hefty warning about, so he simply spoke with what was on his mind.

"I…dunno what to say." Tsukune choked out.

"O for the Glory of Heaven, say nothing, child. Only take the damned fish." The hollow voice reeked with impatience. He was already growing tired with his guest's naïve quality.

Tsukune did as he was told, letting out a sheepish chuckle. Taking it steady with both hands around the slender body, he looked back up to the tall figure. "Where do you keep finding these?" He asked inquisitively. Again the refreshing scent of quality sushi rounded about his nose, even managing to cover over the sweet fragrance of the nature around them.

"The River. North of hither, about two hours' ride."

He watched with some faint traces of amusement as Tsukune leered conspicuously at the small mammal resting on his shoulder, daring him to steal his food out from under him a second time. The bat fidgeted nervously over his tense expression, and Tsukune jumped right in to his first bite.

The creature wasn't fit to fulfill an entire course meal, that was certain, but one bite out of the fine smelling fish, and Tsukune really did feel like he was thrown into Heaven. It tasted wonderfully, like a mixture of chicken and shrimp, seasoned to absolute perfection. He could feel the tanginess and mild spiciness alike tingle every bud in his mouth as he let the first bite slide down his throat.

This was when his strange companion seized the moment to inform him, "However, we are not departing by ride now, art we, though?"

Tsukune gagged on the pieces of his meal. "Wha-hut!" He crackled with a mixture of effort and bewilderment. "C-can't this wait until after I finish eating??"

"Follow. With haste, and make ready. Thy story begins nigh, Aono Tsukune."

The still shirtless student looked down at his food, which glared back up at him. Sinking another quick bite into the side before running to catch up with the shrinking black shape, he shouted for him.

"Hey! Questions! I have questions that I want to ask you!"

Garan reared his form around and peered back at him as he hustled over. He waited until Tsukune came to a complete stop before him and answered, "I did not live to answer questions in my first life; I certainly do not feel to begin nigh."

Tsukune's head lowered, and he tried forcing a smile. "Ooh…okay."

"You gotta understand Tsukune-kun," The boy's mood lifted a bit at hearing the bat actually use his name this time, "Garan-sama is a strong silent type. I've never ever heard him speak this much before, and frankly, I think he's starting to wear down just because of it!"

The black robe seemed to take chagrin at what his tiny servant was rambling about, so he added, "But perhaps…if 'tis only few instead of many…"

Hell that was good enough for our Tsukune. Clapping his hands zealously together once, he quickly ascended to his lively personality. "Okay, okay," he went off like an excited little child taking an extreme interest to something, "first off, how in the world did you manage to snatch this fish, that is, if you said the river was so far away?"

Garandou answered the question with the sophisticated pose of a college teacher answering his students during a lecture. "'Theoretically, that creature thou holdeth being a fish is not entirely exact, and how I managed to retrieve it in such short span of time…"

Tsukune leaned in closer to him, his eyes brimming with curiosity. It would be so cool to learn what it was and if he could possibly do it too. From what Selzix explained, this guy really was something else. Just the ominous aura surrounding his figure was proof of that.

Garan waited for the anxiety to build in his already-pupil just a bit longer before concluding with a hidden grin, "I suppose I am just simply awesome like that, am I not?"

That answer to Tsukune was a shock to the balls with a kettle prod. That had to be the first joke he had heard him make, and appearance alone, that took him completely by surprise.

With a dropped jaw and a long moment of speechlessness, he concluded his amazement with active hand gestures. "You are the strangest priest I have ever met."

He turned his head to the side in somewhat of a shrug of agreement.

"Nigh that appellations hath been accounted for, walk with me. Speak of thyself. The road ahead be not so dreary for two wanderers that share words with one another."

He the tattered shape turned and ambled down the path in that haunting glide that he always seemed to use. Another brilliant flash of light came into Tsukune's eyes briefly, causing him to flinch in retaliation. It appeared to be the metal that Garan wore beneath his sooty garments that gave way to the suns rays for a small instance when the rags wavered.

Tsukune's charming brown eyes watched him move ever deeper into the noiseless canopy of the grove beyond. Then, and only then, he silently followed. He had to.

His bare back, carrying the now sealed wounds of his terrifying encounter with a beautiful female vampire, was the last to disappear into the darkness of the wilderness.

"Aaarrgh!!" Kurumu shrieked her thoughts out while grabbing at her beautiful naturally blue hair. "This is horrible! Screw one day's absence, Tsukune has never done…th-this to us before!"

The other girls looked over at her, each with their very own expressions of worriment. But what the succubus was doing was stretching it a bit too seriously.

"Chill out," Mizore spoke in her ice-cool tone. "Just because Tsukune's been gone for two days doesn't mean you're never going to see him again."

The class session with Shizuka had just ended, and now everyone had started their way to Kagome Ririko the lamia for their daily migraines of 'healthy' mathematic injection. And that's no exaggeration.

"How do we know – I mean for sure?? He could've been picked off, or made off with some other ayashi chick, or…or…!!"

"Eaten," Yukari announced seemingly enthusiastic, "don't leave out the possibility of being eaten."

"Aaaaaaiiiiiiieee!!"

Mizore ignored her petty squeals. "After Moka thrashed him, he escaped somewhere into the dead-wooded area, we all know that much. I've already searched for hours yesterday looking for a trace. Anyone else?"

The rest responded to the yuki onna with nods, but uncertainty with them. Kurumu, although her eyes were still comically drenched with tears, did the same. It went without saying that each of the girls did more than their fair share of searching desperately for the boy they all adore, and all hunts turned out fruitless. It was as if he had…vanished off of the academy.

Moka, who was with them, would not turn her chin from the ground. Guilt continued to build on her like never felt before. For the past day and a half, she had gone completely silent, devoid of any presence around her, only thinking of what she would say to him when she saw him again.

Yet somehow in the grief of it all, she still managed to work out a question. "He couldn't have…I mean…" She pressed her two index fingers together in a fidgety gesture. "He wouldn't have…left Youkai Academy to go back to his home…could he?"

They all looked at her. "Well if that were the case, he would've hitched a ride by bus to get to the Human Realm." Kurumu began a paced stride to the door. "After school, I'll find the Bus Driver and ask him about it. The rest of you continue scouting the wilderness, and not just the wilderness, the academy too. In fact, Yukari, you take the school grounds since…for some reason, you seem to like it so much…"

The witch prodigy leapt up once while throwing her fist in the air. "Okay! Thank you, desu~!"

The succubus turned to the girl next to her. "Mizore, you ought to ask around the dorm rooms. See if any of the other boys have seen Tsukune the past day."

"Okay."

Both the witch and snow spirit took their leave without another word. They all knew what they were assigned. Even though Kurumu typically flunked most of her school grades, she was a great tactician when it came to something or someone she considered important.

She was about to leave along with them, but Moka reached out to her and hesitantly asked, "Um…Kurumu. What should I do?" The young succubus peered scornfully at her from over her shoulder, facing away with her arms folded. How dare she would request such a thing.

Moka recognized the intensity, but her radiating green eyes held theirs. "…Anything I can do to help?"

Kurono let her glare settle from her mystic eyes a bit longer before speaking.

"No one hurts Tsukune." Her breath was colder than Mizore's.

The vampire could feel herself quiver. Out of most of the group, Kurumu was the one who most frequently demonstrated her feelings for Tsukune through her actual emotions. That meant that she was more passionate, more protective, more everything. And as she had spoken in a vow earlier times before, she would 'never forgive anything that hurts Tsukune.'

"You hurt Tsukune," she said again. "Because of you, my Destined One has gone missing. He could be in danger. I don't care if you knew what you were doing or not…"

Moka closed her eyes fast, but then burst out, "We've been through this before! What happened to Tsukune was what the other me should deem happen. If you wish to complain further, simply have the rosary removed and share your upset feelings with her firsthand!"

"But if I wanted to do such a thing, wouldn't Tsukune need to be here in order for that to happen?"

Akashiya fell into silence again. It was a fair point. The only people around that could do such a thing as to remove her Rosario without harming her was Tsukune…and her father. Just the tiniest flicker of memory of him made a chill run deep through her. There was a reason why Inner Moka approved of his character more than she particularly did. His power was legendary. His cruelty, even more so.

"Yes…" She said quietly.

"Face it, Moka. Whatever that other you does, you do too. The blame is both Mokas' to share, so take responsibility! Until you do so and until we find Tsukune…I'll not forgive you."

She turned and started towards the door, preparing to leave again.

Moka looked away and mumbled something inaudibly.

"…I didn't ask for you to forgive me…"

Kurumu instantly halted at the doorway and a dark aura seemed to rise up slowly all around her. Apparently the 'something' wasn't inaudible enough.

The timid vampire watched before her as the other girl walked up to the point where she was two inches away, eyelevel. Feeling her heart pound her chest mercilessly, Moka shut her eyes tight, fearing for something terrible, but when she finally opened them again, Kurumu was still there, just staring back at her.

From out of nowhere, she smirked.

"If you really want to find Tsukune," she started calmly, but her voice let her know how hard she was trying to keep her attitude under control, "then go search the woods again. If you find him by any chance – any chance, let me know immediately."

Moka swallowed and nodded. What choice did she have? What she had defended before remained the truth – she wasn't like Inner Moka. She couldn't deliver kicks that could send people flying for meters before they hit ground again. Not like her. For now, in order to survive, she would have to stay on the fury's good side – and that translated into staying out of her way.

Deep down though, she knew that all Kurumu was doing was caring for him. It was all for him. And Moka knew she would do the same…at least half of her did.

Turning back to face into the hallway, Kurumu backed up a bit when she noticed that Yukari and Mizore had returned, side by side.

Not seizing a moment, the snow enchantress stated nonchalantly, "It looks like the search will have to be delayed for a little while."

The succubus pouted and threw her hands to her hips. "What? And why is that?"

"We have a problem."

"Well, what is it?"

The two responded by side stepping the door to make way for a third person.

Even as that person stepped in, Moka felt her heart stop, her body stiffen, and her skin lose color. She recognized the person instantly. And this could not be happening.

As the newcomer brushed her anime-style pigtails consisting of shining red hair over, a familiar bat roosted comfortably at her shoulder.

Taking a seemingly polite and innocent bow in respect, she stated simply one thing with a cute smile on her face.

"Found you. Big sister."

Through all of the early morning and most of the afternoon in the world known as Paradise, the hike to the River was long and drawn-out, and the place that they were traveling through, what Garan and Selzix had respectfully called the Forest, made the gnarled, dead woods back near the Youkai Academy seem like nothing more than a harmless public park after all. Tsukune was moved again and again by ominous moans from the dark way off the path the settled on, the eerie rustle of leaves and snapping of twigs, the tearing of tree bark, and the unshakeable feeling that something was always following them – always watching. Yet when asked, his elder guide had assured that nothing around them could do anything – so long as everyone stayed on the path. Even so, if Tsukune never left Master Garandou's side, there was no telling what was dumb enough to even try. The wanderer always seemed to carry this…aura around him.

Tsukune and his two companions also shared some small but efficient conversations with each other, although as to be expected, they did have their silent intermissions. Garan was definitely the silent-type of a character, although the first impression he made did not make him out to seem so. But Tsukune did get a few of his questions out and most of them answered.

For instance, when he asked more about Paradise, Selzix had told him that there where in fact several different realms with the same name, and that the one that they situated in was the most hazardous out of all of them. Though none of them could really be called safe, he stated that this place was so dangerous because it was a swirling mixture of terrifying landmarks from other realms glued together – including some from the Human World.

Apparently the lovely forest that they where now striding across was originally a piece of something called the Forbidden Forest, a large dark forest serving as a barrier for a famous school for magic and wizardry. When Tsukune turned to Garan to ask if there were any witches that went there, he silently confirmed it.

'Maybe Yukari-chan or Ruby-san knows about it.' He thought.

After brushing along through the stony trail towards a place definitely brighter than the area they were now leaving behind, Tsukune wiped his forehead with his hand.

"Whew! I'm beat. How long has it been?"

"'bout five hours' hike in Outworld time, Tsukune-kun." The Selzix answered, roosting calmly on Garan with his wings folded around himself.

"I know I might've already asked this, but why exactly a river?"

The older traveler peered with a sharp golden eye out from underneath his hood. For a moment he stopped his supernatural glide and Tsukune heard the sound of metal greaves clang abruptly against the soil of the earth.

Now on his feet, he turned to the boy and replied in his reverberating whisper, "Tell me child, who is she?"

Tsukune recoiled oddly at the question.

"Who?"

"Thou jests no one but his own good name. That Moka girl."

Tsukune smiled sheepishly at why his love interest was being thrown into the matter, not to mention sort of interrupting his own question, but after having been told so much, he may as well not discredit his companion's curiosity.

"She's this…girl that I know. The very first girl that I met when I came to Youkai Academy. She's…unique."

"'Twas that she was unimpressed by thy less standardized ability as an ayashi? I watch that school well. Being as a ghoul thou shouldeth naught be welcome in the company of monsters that are bred knowing humanity. Yet as a ghoul, doth thou enfold such sensibility as amorousness?"

"Uh, speaking with such a sophisticated tongue I have no idea what Garan-san is hinting at." He shrugged hopelessly.

The dark bat recognized his cue and sped up in front of him.

"The first thing he asks is 'Is she a girl that didn't come to recognize Tsukune as a mate because of Tsukune's lower than average ability in terms of speed and wit,'" Tsukune's colors were changing rapidly on hearing how his dilemma with Moka was being conveyed. "The second thing Garan-sama says besides being familiar with your school translates to 'Because Tsukune's a ghoul, wouldn't Tsukune be shunned as a monster even in the monster academy because other ayashi are for the most part more civilized in their nature,'"

"Oh, w-well I…"

"And the last part translates to 'Being a ghoul and lacking a fully intact conscience, does Tsukune still really feel such earthly bindings such as the emotion of love?'"

Garan saw that the boy was far too entangled in bafflement to respond using words, so he went along and added, "Did thou ever imagine perhaps that there might be such a way as to make the very shadows of the green earth rise to make themselves known to the ones they long for but doth long naught for them in return? To gain strength and ability to compete for the interest of the ones they adore so?"

"You're saying that the reason I wish to become stronger is to impress Moka-san? That's true for some of the case, but not entirely…" He put his hand on his bare chest over where his gaping scar was. "I want to…be able to…protect Moka-san."

After staring in his glistening eyes for a moment's reprieve, Garan concluded simply, "Then get stronger. Find new strength. This shall help thee to do so."

"What? The marathon?"

"Nay…observe…witness… 'Tis just yonder this small hill. The River."

The inky black sleeve with wrinkles of dead moss motioned over in a straight branch towards the direction leading out of the misty woods, guided by the beautiful colored lights of the day. Tsukune's eyes were entranced by their beauty, and he ambled on ahead towards it. Nearing the end, he hopped the tiny slope and his bare feet hit loose gravel. There was a great clearing of trees.

He let out a small 'whoa' at a great stream drifting calmly one direction and continuing down the other in a steady current. The water looked to be about ankle deep, because he could see the bigger rocks touching just below the surface. The multiple suns touching down made just the most enchanting thing an artist could possibly capture on a painting, with the colors of dawn and dusk sweeping along in reflection.

The others soon caught up with him and came up to his side to look on at the breathtaking natural wonder.

"It's so pretty…" Tsukune let the words leak out.

"Aye. Indeed it is."

"But listen, Tsukune-kun. The reason we're here is not to admire the scenery, chuu!"

He looked curiously at the two dark-dressers. "Then why? Why bring me here?"

"Well, this is the place where Master caught the Lochstress young for you and me. Tell me kid, when you ate such a tiny morsel – such a tiny vessel of an organism, how did you feel?"

Tsukune thought back and remembered. "I felt great. I must've been in such miserable shape when I woke up, having not eaten anything for such a long time, but the second I swallowed that small fish, I felt empowered. My body felt like it could keep working forever."

"Well, that's because the larval forms of Lochstress have a special pheromone in their bodies that contains Vitamins A, B, C, D, E, and K, all in one chemical! And to top it all off, they provide a special stimulant that gives off a Youkai energy boost! Isn't that so amazing! No matter if you're living or dead, the organisms of this realm always serve a special use to you, chuu!"

"I see! Such amazing traits in the animals here!"

"Also," Garan added, "The water that I hath used to revive thee in thy conditions derived exclusively from this very body of water, altered by mine powers to make thy blood work faster, so is to heal thy wounds hastier. It is, true enough, the same water that such treacherous yet miraculous creatures grow and live in."

Tsukune's eyes fluttered with enlightenment. "I see. That must be the reason you brought me here. To teach me how to hunt my own meals without managing to harm myself."

Selzix was about to respond, but a tremendous rumble knocked him off of his balance in mid-flight. The entire river seemed to jump up in a big ripple, and a great rush of the water came from upstream. As they all watched, a terrible looking sea monster swam in vicious strokes around a group of trees, knocking all of them out and sending the logs washing down the river with it.

Tsukune's eyes dilated to olives, and he quickly turned and hauled ass to make way for the huge marine organism splashing its way to their location. Everyone backed up to a safe distance, and when they looked back, a young man was riding the top of the aqua-colored scaled beast. His grip was wrenched tightly around its throat, avoiding the sharp spines of its fins.

The shady elder near Tsukune gave no surprised reaction.

Tsukune himself watched in awe as, with the might of a titan, the bare-backed stranger rode the entire thing into the river bank. There was a humungous splash and the splitting of stones with its skull. However, the beast was not finished yet.

Rearing up on its hind legs, the giant made a furious lunge with its body and the person it was fighting threw his arms forward and stopped its entire body from gaining ground. Then, with a sharp strike, he knocked the whole thing back by its orange belly into the rocky wall behind the river.

Showing no emotion, no fatigue, the long-haired figure started towards it again, first ambling slow, like a zombie, but quickly accelerated through the water, then made a great lunge at it for the finisher.

The monster caught onto him with its two front fins, and with the help of its poisonous spines, it sliced into each an arm and a leg, and held him practically on a fork.

Tsukune started to run out to assist the young man, but a long sleeve draped in his path to stop his approach.

"Shouldn't we be helping him? That guy's in trouble! He'll be ripped apart if we don't do something!"

"Wait. And watch."

He grunted in response to the command, but did as he was told.

The lone figure hanging by a pike suddenly burst out with a great deal of aggression, breaking all of the spines holding him up off the monster. He quickly caught the shallow water ground and seemed to completely disregard the pain of the lances of Lochstress venom boring into his limbs and side. Red ink seeped down into the river, and the river brawl between the two continued.

Unknown to either, Selzix fluttered up beside the hood and muttered, "Have you ever seen one of them so strong…let alone so fast?? It's terrifying! There's just one of them, and he's dealing with a Lochstress juvenile all on his own!"

"Aye…he is a strange one. Different from the others indeed."

The man leapt up and grabbed the beast by its jaw, and several golden razor-sharp teeth quivered to snap him. Yet the human figure, which was easily ten times smaller, hoisted a jaw supporting a whole row of teeth one way, and using the other arm, the opposite way, and with the combined pressure asserted and a thunderous crack, the creatures jaw split asunder. Blood spewed forth, completely covering the young man in its thick crimson fluids, and the muscles and tissue of its mouth protruded wide out.

The marine beast continued to swing its massive paws and fins around in the hope of knocking the barbarian off, but alas, all it could do was gurgle on its own blood. The man held on. Then, with a finishing touch, he bent down to the throat of the fish-like head and took a great bite into it. Along with it came this sound, like biting into an juicy apple. The struggle of the great titan only made his teeth sink deeper, and in the end, its thrashing gradually died down…along with the rest of it.

Tsukune was appalled. There was absolutely no way any human he knew could accomplish a feat quite like that. The thing looked like it could completely crush his opponent by sitting on him, yet it was he itself that lay motionless underneath its blood-soaked victor. The water of the stream now ran red of its blood and his.

As they continued to watch, the voracious man continued to eat away at the meat of a well-earned, well-deserved meal. Everyone could hear the vile tearing and shredding of heavy meats; the disgusting weeding sound of veins and arteries being pulled loose, the squishing of blood and organs becoming undone. The carnivorous being wasted no great time to pick out the delicacies of his gore feast. That was that.

"This, child, is the reason we cometh to the River." Garan explained.

"Huh? Just what do you expect me to do with him?!" He stammered.

"Thou art a ghoul, yes? Then shouldeth thee be already acquainted with natural instinct? Thy prime lesson in strength begins nigh. In order to find food, sometimes 'tis necessary to seek out the prey of another of your kind… Yet in thy race, there be residents that reject the means of humanity indefinitely. They are outcasts, even to others in their own primitive race."

His eyes widened with horror. "Y-you don't mean…this guy is…"

He looked back. The native had already made his way to the torso of the demon, ripping its way through the bowels and entrails like an animal himself. Tsukune could hear the small whimpers and moans as he ravenously dug into his prey in the middle of the river.

For a brief instance, the young man stopped and leered aimlessly back towards Tsukune, who froze with fear. For what he saw through the bloodshed half enveloping the stranger's otherwise handsome face was a pair of lifeless eyes with reddish coloration and a long black streak running down the side of his face. The mark of a beast, defined not by mere appearance, but by unrelenting savagery.

Only after Tsukune had gotten a good look at his face, the other human-like creature continued feeding on the reserves of the carcass in front of him.

The innocent student was so focused on the ongoing matter before his very eyes that he didn't immediately notice the draped cowl of ebony turned to face him, and somehow, he could imagine the face with a look of amusement underneath. "Thy conjecture doth thee much justice, child." He whispered. "I do very much take to only the grandest delectation in starting off all of mine lessons with a test. I findeth it to be the most…effective approach."

Moving to face back at the scene in the center of the river, the crouched position of the human creature rose slowly up from its feeding spot to reveal a mindless, lingering hunched position.

Tsukune still had the twisted madness of the two burning eyes searing in his mind, even as his guide spoke.

"…Thou shall combat a stray ghoul."

A/N: Hahh...I have worked exceptionally hard on this chapter, so be nice to me!