A field of wildflowers, blue skies, and a picnic basket on a blanket carefully spread out on the ground in the middle of the field.
On the blanket beside the basket sits Moka. She beams up at me. "Ready to eat?"
"Of course." I hear myself say, sitting down across from her.
Moka's cooking usually leaves something to be desired, but the... fried chicken? is delicious.
"Hey, I want some too!" Kurumu is on my side, pressing into me suggestively. Well, just pressing into me.
"No! I made this for Tsukune!" Moka says in that grumpy way that makes her just that much cuter.
"We've got enough to share." I say, and sure enough, there's three baskets full to the brim with chicken. You know, maybe some balance would be better.
Suddenly, Ruby and Yukari swoop in and take a basket each. I try to leap after them, but Kurumu has a death grip on my arm.
"Oh no, it looks like they stole your food." Kurumu smirks. "Moka, quick! protect the chicken!"
Moka actually jumps to her feat and heads after them, a black cloud forming behind her.
"So," Purrs Kurumu. "Now that the distractions are gone..." She climbs on top on my prone form, playing with one shoulder on her dress so that is starts to slide down her arm.
I gulp nervously. She leans down, her face getting awfully close-
My alarm rings, jerking my eyes open to see the roof of my dorm room, and not the blue skies of what I quickly realize was a dream. I feel awfully heavy, for first thing in the morning.
"Rrrgh." A low growl comes from right beside me. "And it was just getting to the good part."
I look to my left. Rub my eyes. Look again.
Sitting with her elbows on the edge of the bed, chin resting on top and a cute scowl on her face, a pair of violet eyes is staring back at me. A black, furry spade dangles from a thin cord of muscle, drifting back and forth rhythmically, the other end dissapearing behind the girl's shoulder.
"Kuru...mu?" I mumble, throat suddenly dry.
"Good morning." She says, though she looks a little peeved. "Sweet dreams?"
"Huh? Yeah, I guess-"
She smirks. The black spade whips away from me and disappears behind her. She pulls herself into a standing position, which involves a lot of her body... gainaxing. I'm just glad she's put on clothes since last time I had seen her. "I'll make breakfast, you can sleep in." She says in a husky tone.
"Wait, what-" I try to sit up, but I find that I'm restricted on two fronts. On top of me is a curled up Mizore, somehow still sucking a lollipop in her sleep. On my right arm is... Moka? I can feel the blood rushing to my face, thanking whatever gods there are that everyone's fully clothed. I think I would panic otherwise. Maybe I'll still panic. I can feel soft bodes pressed against me, and that is very dangerous for a number of reasons.
"Er... Ruby?" I call out softly. "...Yukari? ...Kurumu?"
No answer. Okay, so I don't know where the witches are right now, but Kurumu should be able to hear me. After all, she had to have seen the other two on top of me. My door's still shredded, so Kurumu really doesn't have any excuse to not hear me.
I gently reach over and start prying Moka off of my right arm. She's very hesitant to let go, pulling my appendage closer every time I tug on it. My arm's entered some dangerous territory, so I close my eyes and try not to feel anything as I recover my my limb. I can't help feeling a bit sad as Moka's face contorts slightly.
That leaves Mizore. Now with both of my arms free, I start pushing her sideways, budging the other way to make room for her on the bed. When she's three-quarters off, her eyes blink open slowly. She looks over at me, her expression one of very mild surprise. "Morning." She hums softly.
"Good morning." I reply. "If it's not too much trouble, could you get off of me?"
She glances down, as if to confirm that I am indeed pinned beneath her. "Oh." She slide off, and sits up with her knees to the side.
Freed, I swing my legs off of the side of the bed to start my daily routine, only to have them hit something.
Correction: someone.
"Wha...? 'w much did I drink last night?" Ruby complains, holding her head in her hands as she blearily comes to her senses.
"...So, saying this room was mine was just to humor me, then?" I mutter to nobody in particular.
That is when Yukari crawled out from under the bed with a look of annoyance. I decided not to ask.
Kurumu's breakfast was a mixed blessing. On one hand, she had prepared pancakes so light they absorb syrup like a sponge. The taste was beyond compare, really. The mixed part came in the fact that I was unable to look at her: Not so much that she was always out of sight, but because every time I so much as glanced in her general direction, I was suddenly staring at myself, my face faintly reflected in a perfect sheet of ice.
Needless to say, Mizore had joined us for breakfast. For whatever reason, she doesn't want me to look at the succubus.
Moka isn't being spared the view, and she's blushing profusely. Maybe I should be glad for Mizore's help?
Ruby passed back out in my room, mumbling about Venus fly traps, and Yukari is back in her room in a huff.
None of Mizore's methods stop sound, though, and the room is dominated by the sounds of Kurumu cursing as she attempts to get past Mizore's barriers. Moka is still blushing too hard to make conversation, since she can't even meet my eyes.
Mmm... pancakes.
I mentally consult my itinerary. I only have one class today, precalc I at one o' clock. That gives me plenty of time to get ready... Maybe I should repair my door. As it stands, I'm not going to get much privacy without one.
"Mizore, if you don't stop that right now-" The rest of Kurumu's threat is cut off with a thud and a slam that sounded disturbingly like someone slipping and falling to the ground.
"Er, Kurumu? Are you okay?" I ask tentatively.
Moka peeks around the latest ice wall and her blush renews. "Yes, she's alright."
Red spikes pop through the ice wall, and claws scrape through the ice, carving swathes out of the barricades, which reform as soon as the claws vacate the area.
Something I hadn't been expected was for Mizore and Kurumu to already know each other. They went to the same high school, up north by a good bit. This is the only real monster college, so there's lots of people who already know each other. These two seem to either be very good friends or rivals of some sort.
I turn to Mizore, who was eating bites of pancake around her lollipop. "Mizore, aren't we supposed to... not use our powers?" I ask.
She blinks. "Good point." The ice that had been chilling the room melts away, leaving no sign of it's presence. Well, at least there wasn't any flooding from all that ice.
"No no, put the ice back!" Moka pleads. "Tsukune, don't look!"
Somehow, I knew. I knew before she stepped up behind me and pressed her assets into the back of my head. "So," Begins Kurumu, who doesn't appear to be wearing anything but an apron, judging by feel. "Say we go take a shower?"
"Er... I have to... go... buy a door." I manage to get out. Ahead of me is a door. If I focus on the door, to the exclusion of all else-
Ruby stumbles out of my room, for some reason lacking most of her clothes. Sure, she's still technically decent, but unless they make black lace bikinis I'm pretty sure she's not really dressed for public.
I close my eyes and consider asking to be transferred to a different dorm room. This one is unsafe.
I managed to get out of the kitchen without either a nosebleed or getting hit like the main character in a love comedy, grabbing a set of clothes on the way to the shower. After very carefully verifying that nobody's in the bathroom I step in and take a quick shower. The quicker the better, I tell myself.
Something I notice though, is two faint marks on my arm. they look like freckles, but I'm not sure when they showed up. As far as I can tell, they weren't there yesterday. Maybe I just didn't notice? It seems really unlikely, but I suppose it could happen. Maybe Kurumu marked me... The thought sends shivers down my spine despite the hot water.
Okay, so witches, snow women and succubi are real things. I need to do some real research on those three when I get the chance. There's a library on campus, so I should probably start there. I climb out of the shower, grabbing the towel proffered to me. I dry myself, pull on my clothes, and nod to Mizore-
"Okay, I know for a fact I locked the door. How did you get in here?" I ask with resignation.
She just shrugs, the stem of her ever-present lollipop moving from one side of her mouth to another.
Obtaining a new door was a lot easier than I had initially anticipated. Apparently, a lot of monsters not used to having to behave like humans destroy doors, furniture, walls, plumbing, etc every year, to the point that have repairmen and a hardware department store right off of campus. They added the cost of the door to my tuition bill, which I was unhappy about until I remembered that I wasn't paying for college, they were paying my way. It's a nice feeling, scholarships.
Mizore followed me around to pick out the new door, and I'm glad she did. She made sure I picked one resistant to being sliced apart. I suppose it says something that there are armor ratings on each of the doors, ranging from non-corrosive to stop acidic creates to some sort of tough material designed to be claw resistant. Succubus claws are quite high on that scale, too, so I had to get myself something that wouldn't look strange in front of a vault, I think.
After shopping for a door, I decide to walk around campus a bit more. I find a nice place on one of the few green patches of lawn the campus has laid down to make the place more friendly and sit down, watching the students go by to all of their different affairs. Mizore is sat down few feet behind and to the left of me, sitting in the shade, but as close to me as she can be without leaving said shade.
In the daylight, and now that I'm looking for it, I can see that some of the student are acting strangely. One older boy with a bandana sits down on the ground and scratches behind his ear with his leg, which none of the surrounding students seem to notice. Off on the other side of the green, two blue lizard-people stop basking in the sun as the bell strikes ten, morphing into human form and presumably heading for class.
It's a nice clear day today. I'm glad I got the chance to stay outside for some time. I lie down in the soft grass, letting the sun warm my skin.
"Hot." Mizore eventually says, after fidgeting more and more for over an hour in silence. I turn around and look at her. She's wearing what looks like used to be a hoodie, but she chopped off the shoulders. Gods know how the thing stays on her. Well... I guess a quick glance down would answer my question.
"Yeah, maybe you shouldn't wear sweaters in September. It's too hot for that, still." I concede.
She shakes her head. "Need lollipop."
Lollipop? I glance at her mouth, which is missing it's usual white stem poking out from between her lips. "...How is a lollipop going to cool you down?" I ask.
"Special."
"Special?"
She nods. "Special."
I look at her for a second more. "So... where can you get some?"
"Student center." Mizore says, pointing to said building.
"Go ahead." I say. "I'll still be here when you get back."
I close my eyes again.
Two hands grab my shoulders, and I open my eyes back up to find a trembling Mizore. "C-Come with."
Okay. I sit up and move back the the shade, which comes to a massive relief to the snow woman beside me. I guide her through a roundabout path through the shade and a few buildings to get back to the campus center. Mizore is sweating buckets, and I'm almost drenched myself from mere contact.
Mizore zips into the building ahead of me, and by the time I'm inside she's already bought herself a few lollipops and stuffed one in her mouth. She's no longer shaking or sweating, that's good. As she notices me, she smiles.
Call me crazy, but she just doesn't look right without the white stem poking out from her mouth now that I've gotten used to it.
I glance at my watch, and realize I really should be heading for class. I wait for Mizore to catch back up with me, and start walking to the math building.
On the way, she offers me a lollipop. A fresh one, still in it's wrapper.
Why not? I accept to candy from Mizore, unwrap it, and stick in in my mouth.
My whole body starts to freeze from the inside out. I feel like I just went out into a snowstorm in my underwear! With one trembling hand I pull the lollipop out of my mouth. "Ah! C-cold!" I mutter, staring at the blue sphere on the end of the stick.
"Special." Mizore says again.
I offer the pop back to her, and she considers it for a minute before she pops it into her mouth next to the one she was already sucking on, a pleased look on her face.
Calc was, predictably, a bore. At least, the lesson was. Lots of notation, jotting things down in a notebook, and ignoring the clacking of Mizore's teeth on her lollipop. The teacher is interesting at least, an older woman who seems to be confused as to whether her jobs is that of a teacher or a prostitute. I don't think half of the students in her class paid attention to the lecture, but rather the way she kept wrapping her legs around each other.
Well, with that class over, I can head back to my dorm room and start unpacking.
Predictably, Mizore follows me into our common room. The only other person inside is Ruby.
"Hey! They delivered your door." Ruby points to a tall box propped against the wall.
"Great. I'll get that in right now." I look around warily. "Where's Moka and Kurumu?"
Ruby waves her hand dismissively. "They're in class."
"Ah, that's great. Can you help me install this door?"
Ruby shakes her head. "I'm about to head out myself, but Yukari should be around."
"Eh."
"Oh, don't be like that. She's just young, she'll figure it out eventually." Ruby grabs a black purse off the table. "Well, I'm out. Have fun installing that thing."
"Yeah, see you around."
She leaves and I look from the door to my door frame and back. Okay, so how do I set this up?
Attempting to move the door quickly proves useless. The damn thing must weigh a hundred pounds. I consider tipping it over and sliding it over, but before I can actually put my plan into action, Mizore steps up to the door and lifts it up with apparent ease. She then proceeds to move it to rest right next to my door frame.
"Thanks, Mizore."
She shifts her lollipop around her mouth happily.
"Now, I just need to remove it from the cardboard, and mount it."
Mizore's wrists suddenly sprout great claws of ice, sending a chill down my spine for more than one reason. She then lunges forwards and slashes at the cardboard.
For a second, nothing appears to happen. Then, the cardboard split in dozens of places and falls to the floor, leaving a pristine metal door.
"...Thanks, Mizore."
She beams with pride.
"What's all the ruckus?" Yukari comes out from Ruby's room and looks at the both of us. "Can't you two be quieter? I'm working on something."
"I'm sorry to disturb you." I say apologetically. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you working on?"
Yukari's face instantly lights up. "Yeah! I'm working on a new potion. It combines Amethyst and Garnet powder with some rotroot and a pinch of sulpher to make... well, I don't know yet, but it's probably going to be exciting!"
"...Is it alright to be so lackadaisical about brewing potion?" I wonder aloud.
Yukari puffs her cheeks out. "Of course it is, but only because I'm a genius." She pulls herself up straighter. "I'm great at making potions! That's why I was allowed to come here without passing the entrance exam."
Wow, this kid's smarter than me. "That's great! So, what do you think it will do when it's done?"
"Well, rotroot generally makes someone sick, and amethyst is an amplifier. The sulpher and the garnet will allow the potion's effects to last longer without diluting it's power. However, some ingredients act different in each other's presence, and will do odd things."
As yukari finishes explaining, a small boom makes my ears pop and kicks up all the dust in the common room. "...Like explode?"
"...Yeah." Yukari deflates. "I can't seem to get the correct amount of stirring into the potion. Too much and it explodes on the spot. Too little and the ingredients will separate."
I give her a thumbs up. "Good luck on figuring it out."
She smiles back at me. "I will!" Then she notices the door. "Succubus proofing the door? Smart. Otherwise, she'll wring you out in the night."
"Yeah." I look back at the empty doorframe. "I'm still kind of worried about how nonchalant everyone is about it though. The store clerk didn't bat an eye when I said I was anti-succubusing my room. Heck, he even said good luck!'"
Yukari smirks and waves her wand around a bit. Suddenly, the door leaps from it's resting place and aligns itself with the doorframe. The screws fly into the air and drill themselves into the frame, and before I knew it the door was fully attached to the wall. I test it a few times, opening it and shutting it and testing the deadbolt key.
"Wow!" I turn to Yukari. "How did you do that?"
"Magic! It's what separates us witches from you common folk." She turns up her nose with pride. "And I'm better at magic that other witches, which make me super special!"
Ah, she seems really hard to handle. "I can see that. Thank you for fixing my door."
Mizore steps up next to me, but keeps her eyes fixed on Yukari. One hand is set in front of me to hold me back.
Yukari looks Mizore up and down, as if seeing her for the first time. "Huh. This is the ice lady Auntie Ruby mentioned? You don't look that impressive."
From her voluminous sleeves, Mizore's hands suddenly get encased in ice, the the effect of giving her giant icy claws. "Loud." She mumbles, just loud enough that I can hear her. "Annoying."
"Well, I have better things to do with my time than talk with you idiots." Yukari turns on her heel. "I have potions to brew."
Mizore watches the young girl until she disappears inside of Ruby's room and closes the door before finally letting her ice claws melt.
"Er, thanks Mizore, but I don't think I needed defending." I say to the light purple mop of hair in front of me. She turns and her eyes fix on mine. "I mean, she's young. She'll figure out that such behavior won't get her far fairly quickly."
"Okay." Mizore relaxes a bit.
I turn back to my new door. It's a shiny blueish-gray, and it looks really out of place. In fact, now that I think about it, the wall is probably weaker than the door. I wouldn't want to actually mention that around Kurumu, but it's probably true. I head into my room and start unpacking the rest of my clothes and stuff into the dresser.
Predictably, The ice woman follows me in and takes a significant interest in my things. I handed her one of my shirts since she was so absorbed with looking at it, and she then refused to look away or let go of the shirt until I had finished unpacking my clothes. I grab my toiletries and deposit them in the shelf reserved by my toothbrush and paste. despite myself, I smile to myself. I'm starting to warm up to this. It's so weird to live with other people after living with your family your whole life.
When I walk back into my room, Mizore was no longer looking at my shirt in her hands. No, she's wearing it instead, and still staring down at it.
"Uh, Mizore?"
She looks up at me and smiles slightly. "Cool."
I can feel my face heat up. "Uh, yeah. Um. I-if you want, you can keep it?"
Her smile widens slightly and she hugs herself, a content smile on her face. My god, she's adorable. Like a puppy, but even cuter. I step up and sit down on the edge of my bed next to her. "So, I hear you and Kurumu are friends."
Mizore nods, her eyes opening back up and she fixes me with her stare. "Schooled together."
"That's great, that you have a friend from long ago."
"You do to." Mizore points to a picture I had unpacked; one from two years ago, Moka and I at an amusement park. Moka likes thrill rides, and I'm more of a Ferris wheel type of guy, which goes as well for me as you'd expect. The picture in question is from the top of a loop on one of those crazy coasters. Moka looks excited, I look terrified. "Moka."
"Ah, well..." I scratch my chin. "I would have agreed with you, but she's... I don't know who she is."
Mizore frowns at me. "Moka."
"Yes, I know her name. I mean, I didn't know monsters existed until recently, but I've been hanging out with her for years. I know she didn't really have a choice but to keep it from me, but I still feel a bit betrayed, you know?"
The lollipop rolls in Mizores mouth. "Yes." She thinks for a second more. "Should forgive anyway."
I smile wanly. "Yeah, I know. I don't blame her but it's hard to immediately trust her again."
Mizore nods. Then she points to herself, then me. "Friends."
"You're in my room, wearing my shirt." I point out. "If we weren't friends, I'd be calling the police."
She smiles broad enough that I can see the lollipop past her teeth. "Good luck with that."
Dinner is a nice affair. I had time to prepare something more substantial than pasta, so I made a casserole.
I'm quite proud of my cooking, and judging by how Mizore actually managed to pry her eyes from me for five seconds to stare at the dish, I gather it smells good to the others as well.
Moka and Ruby had returned, and they're both practically drooling in anticipation. Still no sign of Yukari aside from the occasional explosion.
"How much longer?" Moka asks.
"Three minutes." I say, checking the oven timer. "How was your class?"
"It was okay." Moka says. "The teacher is hot, but he smells like he lost a fight with a bog."
"Oh, you mean Dr. Sosi? Yeah, he's a literal swamp monster." Ruby says. "From what I remember of the guy, he's happily married to a frog woman."
That mental image though. A frog wearing a bridal veil, and a random tree in the swamp dressed in a tuxedo.
Before I can actually put my thoughts to words, the oven timer rings and I turn back to get the casserole out.
I place it at the table and place the hotpad gloved to the side. Moka had already started scooping out a portion onto her plate.
The front door bursts open and in comes an exhausted Kurumu. She perks up a bit when she smells the food, but she still looks like she just got out of a battle. "Hey~ I'm home."
"Welcome back." I call. "Food's on the table."
"Great! I'll be there once I wash this layer of slime off."
Despite myself, I look down at her clean clothes. Definitely not like last time she need to wash off a layer of slime.
She notices my glance and laughs weakly. "Not real slime, just slimy looks. I'm going to take a shower."
I think it says something that she didn't ask me to join her. Not sure what, but it says something.
I sit down with the three others and eat, a pleasant chatter rising up between Ruby and Moka about how different classes get started, with Mizore occasionally adding in a word. I ate in silence, preferring to just listen to the flow of words around me.
"Hey, Tsukune, you listening?"
Or, maybe I should pay attention. I look up from my food and at Ruby. "I'm sorry, what?"
"I asked what your plans for the weekend are. I'm headed to the city to go get some more exotic things I need for my magic and I figured you munchkins would like to tag along."
"Sure." I shrug. "Why not?" Moka looks happy, and Mizore looks thoughtful.
Kurumu comes out of the shower fully clothed and plops down in the last seat at the table. "I really, really hate CS 115." She complains as she scoops some food out of it's tray.
"Which class is that?" I ask.
"Coding for beginners." She says. "Buncha loser virgins in that class. None of them, not even the teacher, would stop looking at me with-" She shudders and stops talking.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Hey, eat something and forget about it." I say, trying desperately to take her mind of what was probably a bad experience.
Kurumu forks some of the meal into her mouth and I can see the stress release from her face. I can't help but smile at the sight.
After dinner, I sit down and pull out the homework I had been assigned already. My pencil moves quickly as I spit out the answers to the simple word problems Miss Nekonome had assigned.
"Man, that was good." Kurumu flops down on the couch next to me, then lays her head down on my shoulder. I can feel my spine stiffen at the contact. "It's so nice to be clean and well fed."
Moka eyes Kurumu for a minute, then goes back to her own homework.
"Well, I'm glad you're feeling better."
Kurumu nods, rubbing her cheek on my shoulder. "I am!"
Moka puts down her book and glares at Kurumu. "Hey, why don't you get off of Tsukune?"
Kurumu smirks at Moka without moving her head. "Why don't you make me?"
"Wait, both of you, there's no need to fight." I say, hoping to head off any further hostilities.
"Of course not. After all, Tsukune is going to marry me and we're going to eat casserole every night." Kurumu taunts Moka.
"No, he's not. He doesn't even know you." Moka says, her face getting a little scary. Is that shadows forming behind her. "I've been his friend for three years before now, you're just some random stranger."
"Aw, but we look so good together!" She swings her leg up and wraps her hands around me neck, hiking herself up onto my lap. "Don't you agree, Tsukune?"
"Ah..." I look at the girl in my lap. "Well, I don't really know you that well yet, so..."
Kurumu purses her lips into a pout. "Fiiine." She lets go of me and goes back to sitting right next to me. Her face splits into a mischievous grin and she leans right up to my ear. "I guess I'll just have to show you all of me, so you can know me very, very well."
Her breath on my ear causes me to shiver.
Moka's forehead pops a vein, and she scoops up her homework. "I'll be in my room." She sounds angry.
Once she leaves however Kurumu suddenly becomes serious. "You've known each other for a long time, huh?"
"Haha, yeah. She's been a really good friend to me."
"I wonder." Kurumu flops over sideways and puts her head in my lap. I'm wearing shorts, so I can feel her hair on my skin. "I mean, she's one of us. A monster. She's probably been using you as a food source."
"Huh? Moka? No, I think I would have noticed getting eaten."
Kurumu shakes her head, and her hair makes an... interesting feeling on my legs. "Lots of us don't eat people physically, like I told you before. For instance, a lot of monsters actually get hungry for fear. They have to scare people to get their fill. Sure some monsters just like to eat people, but those guys tend not to do well in society."
"...I can imagine." I laugh nervously.
"Relax. I don't get off from fear or anything like that. I don't eat humans either." Kurumu smirks up to me. "Us succubi get our kicks from Testosterone. When humans produce testoterone, a bunch of it gets dumped out through your sweat. That scent alone can revitalize a succubus from near death." Her smirk grows wider. "You've been a great source of food."
I'm sure my face is red. The fact that this is probably feeding her isn't helping me calm down any. "I, uh, you're welcome?"
She finally sits back up. "Yeah, thanks." Her grin fades some. "Thanks for not freaking out. I lost a few friends in the when I told them what I was and how I feed."
"I thought you didn't hang out with humans?"
Her smile grows bitter. "Yeah, well, succubi aren't exactly the most liked monster race either. I'm gonna go to bed, and leave you to your homework."
"Okay." I look up at her, and have to stop from stopping to gaze at her chest. At least I understand why she's ridiculously attractive now. "Goodnight."
Once she's gone, I look down. Down, boy. No monster for you.
Snoring.
Not mine.
I wake up, and it's still dark out. A quick glance at my alarm clock shows it's three AM.
My eyes take some time to focus in the low light, but I finally see that my door is still standing. The door is still locked, and so is the window. I pull the covers back to reveal a mop of purple hair, and the white stem of a lollipop poking from her lips.
Mizore? How did she get in here? ...Isn't bad for her to under a blanket in this heat?
I place a hand on her forehead, but she doesn't seem to be too warm. In fact, she feels freezing. If she was a normal human, I'd be suspicious that this was a corpse. She's clearly not, as she snores like a chainsaw.
Her eyes slowly open and she looks around in all directions before finally looking at me. "Morning?"
"No, not morning. What are you doing here?"
She looks down at herself, dressed in a t-shirt (wait, isn't that mine?) and some shorts. "Sleeping." She looks back at me and smiles with confidence.
I rest my face in my hands. "No, I mean, why are you sleeping here?"
She tilts her head and swishes the lollipop around a bit. "More comfortable than the floor."
"...Do you not have your own bed?"
She shakes her head, which... doesn't actually answer my question. No, she doesn't have a bed, or No, she does?
I pinch the bridge of my nose. "Uhg. I'm going to get myself a glass of water."
She nods and pulls the blanket back over her head.
"I didn't say you could stay." I grumble under my breath. Instead of pressing the issue, I head to the kitchen and pour myself a glass of water.
What happened to my life? I got thrown into this crazy world all at once... Monsters! What the hell! How... how can these exist without the general public knowing about it? They obviously live among us, given Moka's been hanging out with me for three years, but with all the new technology, wouldn't at least some pictures surface? This entire thing is absurd!
Not to mention that I'm basically lunch around here. Succubi eat my sweat. Some other things eat my fear, and still others want to eat my flesh. I need to get out of here as soon as I can. I mean, my parents will be disappointed, but i'll take that over being dead any day.
I'm roused from my thoughts by Moka. She exits her room and smiles when she sees me. "Hey, Tsukune." She whispers. "You're thirsty too?"
"Er, yeah." I hold the glass up. "Just about done."
"Um..." She fidgets for a bit. "Can we talk for a minute?"
Sigh. "Sure."
"I-I'm sorry for lying to you. You know, about me being a monster." She starts worrying her pajamas. "We can't really just tell anyone about it. I wanted to, believe me, but if I did I'd get moved far away." She sits down at the table and stares at it. "When you told me you were having a hard time getting into college, I asked dad if he could get you into Raakshas with me, and he talked with the president."
"Ah. So that's why the interview was so lame."
"Uh huh." She looks about ready to collapse in on herself. "I'm sorry for interfering."
"No, well, I'm thankful you've been trying so hard for my sake." I rub the back of my head. "Honestly, the whole monster thing is hard to process, but I think I'll make it if I try."
Her face lifts. "Really?"
I have to smile back. "Really. Hey, all I need to do is use that soap to make me smell less human and I'll be set."
"Bleh." Moka frowns. "That stuff smells nasty. Probably not to you, but it will to me." She grabs one of her biceps and tenses her arm. "Instead, I'll protect you!"
"Heh. I guess I'll be in your care then." I set my glass down and get another from the cupboard. After filling it with water, I set it down in front of Moka. "You said you were thirsty."
"Haha, yeah." She sips at the water, "Um, don't you want to know what I am? I've been hiding it form you for a long time."
"Well, yes, but I figure you'll tell me when you want to." I shrug. "I figure as long as you aren't eating me I'll be fine."
She laughs, but I notice it's a tiny bit hollow. "Right, no eating you. But your skin smells so delicious!" She licks her lips dramatically. "Please, just one bite?
There's the regular old Moka back. Teasing, playful. "Maybe, if you ask nicely." I smirk.
She turns her eyes up at me. "Please?"
I offer my forearm, expecting her to bite me playfully.
Instead, her eyes glaze over and I feel her teeth sink in and puncture the flesh on my arm. "OW!" I try to shake my arm out of her mouth, but her grip is too strong.
After a moment, her eyes return to normal and she realizes what she's doing. She immediately stretches out her jaw, revealing four elongated canines. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I didn't- I wasn't going to actually-"
My arm starts to go numb and the bleeding stops, which is odd for wounds that big. "W-I didn't expect you to actually bite!"
"I wasn't planning on it either!" Tears form in her eyes. "I... I..."
"What are you two doing?" Ruby's sleepy voice comes form her doorway. "You're way too loud for Three AM." THen she notices the blood still pooling on the table and dripping from Moka's fangs. "...Um, Tsukune, do I have to save you from being eaten?"
"I... Don't think so?" After all, I've stopped bleeding and Moka's at the verge of tears.
"Alright. Shut up and go to bed. I'm tired." Ruby closes her door behind her.
"S-Sorry." Moka's pulled her knees to her chest and is rocking back and forth. "I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to."
"Hey, hey, it's alright. I'm not dead, you didn't eat me." I place one of my hands carefully on each of her shoulders. When she doesn't immediately jerk away, I continue. "You okay?"
"I'll... I'll be alright." Moka stands up. "Sorry, but I'm going to go back to bed."
As I'm left all alone in the kitchen, I look at the abandoned glass on the table. Yeah, this place is dangerous. Yet, I don't want to leave.
Kurumu comes out of her room, in her nightie again. "Tsukune? What are you doing up?"
"Oh, just feeding Moka." I say nonchalantly. "By the way, she's not a fear type."