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Rosario + Vampire: Angel of Death
Chapter 14
Youkai Academy. Morning.
The roar of student voices welcomed Haru as he entered the Academy's main building, nearly exhausted from his recent flight.
It had been a month since he and the rest of Youkai Academy's Newspaper Club returned from their trek into the human world. A month since they saved the humans from destruction in the shape of man-eating plant monsters led by a vengeful witch named O-Yukata. A month since they saved their new ally, Rubi, from her master's demise. They had brought her back to the monster world, and left her in the care of the school hospital.
She had regained consciousness two weeks after, her mind blurred from the events from before, yet knew something was different. The group informed her about how things changed for the better back in the human world, how a group of activists, led by the two human women that Yukari saved, managed to cause the cancellation of turning her home, the Witch's Hill, into a giant junkyard. That instead, it would be preserved, unchanging for much longer, into a place of peace. Rubi smiled after hearing about it, but then found herself burdened by the death of her former master, one who she wanted to change for the better. Since then, she went through treatment in order to help her overcome the loss. But even when one of the club members inquired, no answers were given.
Haru could feel her pain. Despite hiding it from the others, he knew what Rubi went through, and seeing her go through with what she had to now gave him more motivation to see his goal completed than before. It angered him that he couldn't help her, but he knew that it was a battle Rubi had to go through alone.
He shouldered his concealed sword as he walked through the crowds of students, making his way to the Newspaper Club meeting room. Since the school year was about to resume after summer break, things had to go back to what they were before. Which meant the Newspaper Club had to go through with the assignment given to them at the beginning: Go to the human world and describe what they saw.
As he walked to the classroom door, he immediately heard yelling from the other side. He slid the door open, just to see what he hoped never to see.
Tsukune was pale, paler than he had ever been since he got into the monster academy.
Haru shook his head. Dear God, what did Moka do now? he thought.
He turned to see Moka and Kurumu locked in conversation about the former feeding on Tsukune's blood all the time, and how it annoyed the latter beyond extent.
"I know you're a vampire and all," Kurumu said, grabbing Moka's hair, "but that doesn't give you a reason to drink his blood, especially this early in the morning! I swear, if Tsukune dies from lack of blood, I'm going to kill you."
Moka squirmed, half in embarrassment, half in pain. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I just got so thirsty, that's all…"
Yukari noticed Haru, who sat down, and covered her nose. "Oh, God, Haru-san! Why do you smell like the inside of a gym locker?!"
Haru looked up, wiping off the sweat from his neck with a spare towel he left earlier. "Sorry about that. I just got back from some exercising, and I didn't have time to go to my room and change."
Tsukune looked at him as the angel picked up the bag he left with the towel and change out of his sweat-drenched shirt to his uniform. "Exercise? For what?"
Haru placed some deodorant on him, and buttoned his shirt over a drenched sleeveless shirt. "Well, seeing as how we keep getting into fights with others back to back, I thought it best to train myself just in case the cycle repeats itself."
"Ah. Okay." Tsukune rubbed his head, still mostly confused.
Haru looked away, knowing that it wasn't the truth. After he found out that both Moka and her true self finally trusted him, after close to six months, he resolved to prepare himself for the day he would take her life. All he had to do now was catch her at a time she would be alone, unleash her true form, and kill her then. Only problem was, she was never alone. Every time he thought he had the chance, it was ruined by either Yukari wanting to play with her, or Tsukune trying to keep her company. Since then, he made sure not to leave his skills to rust, and trained his flight time and his swordplay everyday before and after school. This was made easier when Nekonome-sensei, after informing him that his grades were doing excellent and showing no signs of dropping, gave him the choice to have fewer classes that didn't involve anything not related to basic studies.
As he straightened his tie, he noticed Tsukune tell Moka that he was okay, and that he had no problem with her drinking his blood. "Besides," he continued, "We still have these newspapers that we made during the summer sitting around. Let's go and pass them out now. After all, school is about to start, so we need to hurry to the grounds."
Haru agreed. "Seeing as how the PSC's are no longer a threat, we should have no problems with getting these newspapers in the hands of students."
Tsukune nodded, and picked up a box of newspapers to carry out, Haru following suit.
The girls stood where they were, surprised. "Guess Tsukune's more determined than before," Yukari said. "I think he's finally getting used to this school."
"Yeah," Kurumu said, "And Haru-san seems to be quite the big brother to him, huh?"
Moka let out a small smile. "I suppose so." she said. "Do you think it's because of what happened in the human world?"
Kurumu shrugged, picking up another box full of newspapers. "Maybe. Who knows? A lot has changed since then."
Moka nodded, and left the room with Yukari, a warmth of happiness in her heart.
Youkai Academy Grounds.
As if someone cast a spell that repeated events past, there was once again a giant crowd surrounding the Newspaper Club's paper stand.
And quite a crowd there was. Students, flocking from all over the grounds, huddled around the place, awaiting the newspapers handed to them by the Club's beautiful members. The boys stayed back behind the table, setting out newspapers for the girls and other students to pick up.
Tsukune could hear, amongst the chatter of students, the surprise in the voices of some who found out about their travels to the human world. Thankfully, the papers left out the events that transpired on the Witch's Hill, and only talked about various interviews from actual humans regarding different subjects.
Haru looked around to see the human smile, asking him what was so amusing.
"It's just," Tsukune said, "I can't believe it's been a whole month since we got back from the human world. What happened with Rubi-san, her master, everything. But for us, ever since that day, we found out how deep the boundaries between the humans and the witches are, and how important their coexistence is. It's made me realize that in the end, I've gotta work hard too. I want to be able to stay here with my own ability. I can't always rely on you and Moka-san and the others all the time."
Haru grunted. "It's true. There comes a time when you need to find the strength to defend what you believe in, and to depend on yourself for strength as much as you depend on us to help. A man should always have the strength to repay his debts, no matter the cost. We helped you before, and there will come a time that you have the strength to help us back."
Tsukune nodded, continuing to pass out papers to students and his friends left and right.
Not long after, the crowd cleared out, and only the Newspaper Club stood nearby, Tsukune clutching the last empty box, holding it upside down to see dust fall to the ground.
Kurumu, in her happiness, grabbed hold of Tsukune, and hugged him tightly, despite Moka's attempts to get her off of him. "Yay!" she said, "The issue's a big hit!"
"Well, duh," Yukari said, "We pretty much cleared through all the boxes full of them. Guess our hard work has paid off, huh?"
Moka let go of Kurumu, and looked away. She then quickly turned around in excitement; her face showing the sign that she had an idea. "Hey, how about we go and celebrate? A party for the successful result of the Newspaper Club's summer issue."
Tsukune agreed. "Great idea, Moka-san!" he said.
Haru nodded. "Yeah, Moka-san. Not bad."
"A party?" Kurumu said, "Why not hold it right after school? We'll have everyone bring something to the party and have a great time!"
Haru shrugged. "Dunno what I can bring to the table. I was never a good cook and I have no idea where to get food from anywhere outside of the cafeteria."
"Oh, I'm sure you'll be fine." Moka said to him. "Maybe you can try and bring drinks from the vending machines."
Haru looked away. "Well, I guess I could…" he muttered.
Tsukune looked at the girls. "Should we tell Gin-sempai? Maybe he wants to be apart of this?"
Kurumu shook her head. "Nah, that thing might be off to flirt right now. And with another woman, I don't think we need him."
Yukari nodded. "He's the enemy of all women!" she exclaimed.
Tsukune looked away, blushing. "Yeah, I guess you're all right…"
Moka looked at Tsukune while he conversed with the others. Tsukune, she thought. I feel so much better now. There's been a lot going on and I was worried, but seeing be so energetic, maybe we can all live off happily together again.
Tsukune noticed her absent involvement. "Moka-san? What's wrong?" he asked.
Moka blushed. "Oh, um… It's nothing! I was just thinking, that's all."
Shortly after, Haru felt a presence appear from behind the others. Then a voice spoke up. "You guys are so weird," it said, the voice coming from a woman, "The Newspaper Club seems to get along together pretty well."
Tsukune and the rest turned around, somewhat surprised at what they saw.
The voice came from a girl, a possible student, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere. She had long, purple hair, a white sweater with a wide neck with blue sleeves over a black tank top, a silver necklace, a short skirt, pink and violet stockings, and she seemed to be sucking on a lollipop. She had a cold air around her, as if being near her would ward off any company.
"You guys get along so well," she repeated, "I don't really understand that kind of stuff…"
Tsukune looked confused. "Umm…"
"Who are you, exactly?" Haru asked.
The girl ignored the angel, and walked up to Tsukune, getting close.
Tsukune's eyes widened. "Uh… What are you…"
The girl looked at him for a minute, and then smiled. "So," she said, "you're Tsukune-kun. You're cuter that I expected."
Tsukune blushed. "Huh?"
The girl then turned away, and grabbed the last newspaper that Tsukune intended to hang up in the classroom. She left, leaving everyone in a state of confusion.
"The hell was that about?" Haru said.
Moka turned to face Tsukune. "Do you know her from somewhere?" she asked.
Tsukune waved his hands defensively. "No! I've never met her in my life!"
"Where did she come from?" Kurumu asked. "She just came out of nowhere…"
Moka brushed it off. "Well, anyway, we should focus on that party after school. I'm sure it was nothing…"
As soon as she said that, the bell rung, signaling the beginning of a new school day. The group separated to their first class, rushing in to make it in time.
Youkai Academy. Room 1-3.
So far, everything went as it had before. Tsukune, Moka, Haru, and the other students sat by as Nekonome-sensei went on with business as usual.
Suddenly, she changed the subject. "Our first agenda for today is selecting our class leader. In other words, we'll be electing our class manager."
Tsukune felt bummed. Cla… Class Manager?! he thought. When was this decided?!
"During the second semester," Nekonome-sensei continued, "we have things like the school fair that needs to be planned out. Class Manager will be one person, as will be the Vice Manager, and the Secretary will be two people instead of one. Now, does anyone have a candidate suggestion?"
Haru rested his head on a propped-up arm. Hmph, he thought. As usual, Nekonome-sensei's all too sudden. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Moka got nominated as head honcho, and me as VM. Maybe it can give me the chance I need. Haru looked away, giving out a small, unnoticeable smirk. Yeah, right. Like that would happen. I'd probably end up not being a candidate for anything there. So much for wishful thinking…
All of a sudden, a familiar voice spoke up. "Hey, teacher." it said.
Nekonome-sensei looked up, and was shocked. "Oh, my!"
Haru turned around, and felt his heart fill with dread as he saw the purple-haired girl stand up from her seat. "I think Tsukune-kun would make a good manager." she said.
Now Haru was shocked. Her?! he thought. What the hell is she doing here? She's a student of this class?
Tsukune's face deadpanned. "Wha?!" he said.
Shirayuki-san! Nekonome-sensei thought. She finally showed up. I was worried when she didn't come to school during the first semester… I guess she's okay now...
She then spoke up. "So, would you like to be manager, Tsukune-kun?"
Tsukune stood up. "Of course not, why me?!"
He suddenly noticed that everyone, with the exception of Moka and Haru, was clapping for him, showing their approval of the nomination.
Tsukune was frantic. "Why are you all clapping!? Stop! I'm not doing it! I'm not the type of guy for this, why can't somebody else… are you guys even listening?!"
It didn't matter. The class was abrupt with cheer that by the time class ended, Tsukune was taken out of the room with Haru and Moka in tow, face redder than blood and shaking in embarrassment.
Moka spoke up. "Congratulations on becoming Class Manager, Tsukune!" she said.
"Yeah, I was really surprised," Haru said. "I figured either Moka-san or myself would be nominated for the job, but I guess Tsukune's more popular than I thought…"
"I said it before, I won't do it!" Tsukune said, still quivering in rage. "Besides, Nekonome-sensei said that we'll do another vote tomorrow for the Class Manager!"
"You sure you want to go through that? I was kind of thinking that Tsukune would make a good class manager." the vampire said.
"Moka-san, didn't you forget something?" Tsukune whispered to her. "Did you forget that I'm the only human in this 'Ayashi school' here?"
"Oh, relax." Haru said. "Didn't you say that you decided that you would stay in this school with your own strength? You plan to no longer rely on Moka-san and the others like before, right? Well, don't you think that being Class Manager will help in some way?"
"No!" Tsukune said. "I meant getting stronger to the point where I could fight my own battles! Not become some leader of sorts!"
Moka, not privy to the conversation between the boys, spoke up. "Hey, why don't we buy some snacks right now? You know, for the party after school?"
Tsukune's face deadpanned. Haru turned away. "Yeah, sure, why not? All this arguing is making my head hurt anyway."
Along with Moka, Haru dragged a fuming Tsukune to a nearby snack stand, only for him to leave, still angry. But none of them knew of the ominous figure following their every move.
Youkai Academy Campus Store.
Moka found herself, once again, left alone to her thoughts. She couldn't believe that, despite recent news, Tsukune was not as festive as she was. She had hoped that being with her would cheer him up, but once they reached the store, he ran off, still mad about earlier.
And so it was, as Moka picked up various sweets from the shelves in front of her, while Haru went to purchase some drinks, that she felt a sense of guilt about Tsukune. It had only been several minutes since he left, and so far, each passing second brought her down more and more.
Why was he so angry? Moka thought. I was really hoping that he could have fun just as we did before; I even went on a date with him to buy some food for the Club's party. Maybe with all that's happened, he's wrapped his mind on being different than he was before. What if… what if he decides to no longer be friends with me and the others? I don't know what I would do should that happen…
She suddenly heard her name called out, and turned to see Haru walk towards her, in each hand a few bags of soda cans.
"You almost ready?" he asked. "I got as many drinks as I could get, hopefully this would be enough for the…" He noticed Moka's lack of focus. "Something wrong, Moka-san?"
Moka shook her head. "No. Well…" She looked away, her face changing from sadness to surprise. She grabbed Haru's jacket, and pulled him and herself back behind the wall leading outside.
Haru blushed. "What are you- Hey! What's the big deal?"
Moka held a finger to her lips, motioning him to be quiet, then pointed towards outside. Haru turned his head, and widened his eyes in disbelief.
Tsukune was outside, the purple-haired girl holding onto his arms.
Haru was speechless. "The hell?" he whispered.
Without noticing the two in the store, Tsukune stopped at a nearby stand, the purple-haired girl admiring the food on display.
Not long after he left Haru and Moka, Tsukune walked away, hoping to give himself some distance from the two. He then found himself in contact with the girl from earlier, introducing herself as Mizore Shirayuki. She called Tsukune her "favorite", and proceeded to hold onto him everywhere he went, giving him an uncomfortable feeling throughout, unaware of what to do to get rid of her.
And here they were now, acting like an estranged couple, Tsukune trying to keep a great distance from this girl, while Shirayuki did exactly the opposite.
"I…" she said, catching Tsukune's attention, "I didn't go to most of the first semester until now, mainly because I couldn't get along with people. But, every day, I looked forward for Nekonome-sensei to drop by my dorm room and bring me a copy of the school's newspapers. The stories, the photos, they were great. But, despite that, there was one thing that stood out from the rest: you. All of the stories you did spoke to me, as if you knew who I was and were speaking to me directly. That's why..." She turned to face him, her white cheeks turning a shade of red, "that's why I'm your number 1 fan."
Tsukune was surprised. Moka, from afar, was shocked. Haru gritted his teeth. Dammit, he thought, not again…
Shirayuki then pulled out a notebook from her sweater. "Check this out. I made a scrap book out of all the newspapers you've written." She handed it to Tsukune, who took hold of it, smiling.
Okay, focus, Tsukune, he thought. Ever since Shirayuki-san laid eyes on you, she's caused you trouble left and right. But, then again, maybe she's not so bad… maybe she's just an everyday fan of sorts…
"Uh, thanks." Tsukune said, cracking open the book, "this is a great scrap book. I do appreciate your work-."
His expression soured when he peered into the book. It was articles crammed with comments and strange words written on it that was so unreadable it looked like the ink actually sank into the paper.
"So," Shirayuki said, "What do you think? I wrote a lot about my thoughts of each paper in there."
Tsukune's face deadpanned. "Y-Your thoughts!? THESE are all your thoughts!?"
Shirayuki nodded. "Yeah. Like I said, I really enjoyed the columns that you wrote. It was always from a weak or shy person's point of view, which I really understood." She tilted her head to the side, and crossed her legs. "Your personality," she continued, "and way of thinking are really similar to my own, that I felt we were… connected. Like me, you're also a loner. I could tell…"
Tsukune looked at her, dropping his disgusted expression. "Shirayuki-san…" he said.
Nearby, Moka looked away, shaking. Haru looked at Tsukune, who left with Shirayuki, and then looked at Moka when he felt her cling to his shirt, lightly sobbing. Haru looked away, trying to hide his expression of revolt.
Boy's Bathroom. Not long after.
Haru splashed cold water on his face, leaving the faucet on full blast. After the close moment between the two, Haru and Moka walked back to the Newspaper Club classroom, the latter saying nothing throughout the walk. Once they set down the refreshments, Haru left to give her some space, and to also reaffirm his motives.
Something about Moka being so close to the angel tugged something within him. Something made him feel sorry for the vampire, and he was irate for it. He looked up, seeing his reflection in the mirror, and stared at it for minutes without end.
Finally, he spoke up. "Dammit, fool," he said to the man in front of him, "you can't go off and be like that out of nowhere. You recently found out that you were close to exacting vengeance on those bastards for the past, and here you are now, having pity for one at this moment. You can't let yourself be caught up in this emotional crap that goes on every day of Tsukune's life here. All that matters is what you set out to do, that's it. You have no time to feel sorry for your enemies."
He kept staring at his reflection for a minute, then picked up his bag and left. As he walked to the classroom door, he heard a shattering sound from within the room. Thinking something had happened, he got close to the door, punched a small hole in the door with his finger, and peeked in.
What he saw shocked him to his core.
The girl from earlier, Shirayuki, had Moka on the teacher's desk, her hands around the vampire's neck.
But what surprised him the most was that something was off about the girl's head. It looked disfigured and discolored, and then it hit him.
The purple-haired girl, who was with Tsukune, was a snow fairy.
The girl did not flinch. "Sorry, but you didn't really hurt me. This is just my ice puppet. The real me is with Tsukune right about now."
Moka gasped for air, still trying to make sense of what was going on.
The puppet raised one arm, still holding the vampire down, and her free hand formed an icy blade. "The time has come, Akashiya Moka. Please die already, so that I can deliver my true feelings to Tsukune much easily now." She lowered the blade, and thrust it at Moka's chest.
Moka closed her eyes, her thoughts filled about Tsukune.
Suddenly, she felt the puppet shake, and as she opened her eyes, she was shocked to see Haru's masamune blade slice off the arm, and the puppet's head. The rest crumbled into a heap of ice, then melted into a puddle of water.
Moka got up, coughing. "H-Haru-san?"
Haru lowered his blade, and sheathed it. "Moka-san. What happened? Where did she come from?"
Moka shook her head. "I-I don't know. I was resting for a second, hoping to see Tsukune, and suddenly, I saw her in the doorway, and she… she tried to kill me."
Haru looked at the puddle where the remains of the puppet were. Suddenly, Kurumu and Yukari appeared behind him, each carrying food in their hands.
"What happened?" Yukari asked. "Is Moka-san okay?"
"I'm fine, Yukari-chan," Moka said, rubbing her throat. "But, we need to find Tsukune right now! He may be in danger!"
Kurumu noticed the puddle next to the teacher's desk. "What's with the puddle here? Something bad happen?"
"It was Shirayuki." Haru said, turning around. "The girl with the purple hair from this morning. She sent an ice clone of sorts here and tried to kill Moka-san. I managed to defeat it just in time."
Yukari's eyes widened. "Ice?" she asked.
Haru nodded. "Yeah. I think she's a snow fairy. It's something like Kuyou's true form, only a lot different. She must've seen Moka as a threat and wanted her gone." He then noticed Yukari's face turn pale. "What? What is it?"
Yukari looked at the others. "Well, it's this story I heard, but sometime at the beginning of the first semester, a stalker girl proposed to a teacher she liked. But he turned her down, and she in return turned him into ice!"
Moka gasped. "You don't think-."
Haru looked away. "It makes sense. Shirayuki must have feelings for Tsukune, and wants him for herself. We have to stop her. Now!"
The girls agreed, dropped what they had onto nearby desks, and with Haru and Moka, raced outside to find their friend.
Youkai Academy Grounds. Desolate Swamp. Afternoon.
Tsukune couldn't move.
It had only been several minutes since he and Shirayuki left the school and went deep into the grounds, stopping at a nearby swamp. What proceeded then was a typical stone-skipping-over-the-water moment, as Shirayuki tried to have fun with Tsukune, but he was not interested. Despite trying to leave without hurting her feelings, all Tsukune thought about was being with his friends, especially Moka.
Somehow getting a hint, Shirayuki's joyful expression dropped, as did the temperature around them. Suddenly, the swamp froze, and the girl swiped an ice claw at him, causing Tsukune to run across the frozen waters, only to slip and fall. Shirayuki snapped her fingers, and right next to him appeared an icy statue that looked just like her. As Tsukune tried to get up and escape, a hand popped out from the ice floor and grabbed hold of him. It then proceeded to slowly cover his leg, and then his body, with ice.
Tsukune screamed for help. The ice fairy walked towards him. "If I freeze you," she said, "then you won't go anywhere right? If I do this you'll be mine forever."
Tsukune's eyes widened as he felt his body temperature drop. Shirayuki raised a hand a little above her head. "Tsukune," she continued, "We've met each other because it was our destiny. We met because the both of us are loners. We can understand each other better than anyone else, and we have the power to warm each other's cold hearts. That's why, Tsukune," She placed a claw on his cheek, "You're the only one for me. Will you please be mine?"
Tsukune shook his head. "You're wrong! I'm not alone at all! I just-." He then realized what he said earlier to Moka and Haru, about how he wanted to be by himself and learn to stand on his own two feet. He remembered making the claim to them that they didn't understand his desire, and how Moka seemed different afterwards. He then realized how true Shirayuki's words were, and kept quiet.
I'm such an idiot, he thought. Why did I say something like that to you? The only reason I got through everything since I got here was because everyone helped me along the way. I was capable to do everything here, all because I wasn't alone…
The ice began to spread through his chest, and reached his head. Oh, God, he thought, it's so cold. I feel numb.
As the ice slowly covered his face, his last thoughts were of Moka, and how he wanted to apologize for everything in front of her…
Suddenly, he heard a voice from far away. He slowly looked up, breaking the fragile ice, and could make out someone calling out his name.
"Tsukune!" a woman's voice shouted.
Shirayuki looked up, shocked. "No way," she said, "How did you…?"
In the sky was Moka, being carried by Kurumu in her succubus form.
Shirayuki was upset. "How?! My clone should've killed you by now!"
Still flying, Kurumu smiled. "Well, she would be, if not for our resident swordsman." she stated.
Shirayuki grew angry, forcing giant ice spikes to appear and try to hit the girls. "Stay out of my way!" she shouted.
Weaving out of the spikes' path, Kurumu tried to regain control of her flight, but ended up crashing herself and Moka onto Tsukune, breaking him free from his icy prison.
Shirayuki looked back at the crash site. Damn them! she thought. How did they dodge my attacks? Grr, it doesn't matter. Once I have them back on the icy floor, I can end them and get back my Tsu-. Just then, a thought popped up. Wait a second, they said swordsman? Who's their swordsman?
She then felt a powerful aura appear from behind, and got down just in time for Haru to miss his sword swipe from the air. He landed close to the snow fairy, pointing his blade at her.
"So," he said without blinking, "we meet again. How quaint."
Shirayuki fumed. "You? You stopped my clone? Why?!"
Haru didn't budge. "Because you tried to kill Moka," he said, "and that is not your right."
Shirayuki raised her hands in the air, bringing out four giant ice walls surrounding Haru. He looked around in surprise, and somehow dropped his sword when the ice quickly sealed him in a dome of ice.
Shirayuki smiled. Good, she thought. Now that he's taken came of, I can get back to-.
Her expression changed when suddenly, the dome burst wide open, Haru bringing his fist and wings through the thick sheet of ice.
Shirayuki stumbled back. "Wh-what?!" she said. "How did you… What ARE you?!"
Haru looked at her, picking up his masamune with his shoe, and holding it in his attack position. "I'm an angel. What else?" he said.
He lunged at the snow fairy, who quickly blocked the attack with her ice claws. He then flipped over her head, and attack from behind, which led to no avail, as the girl was fast on her feet and blocked each blow.
Holding back the long blade, Haru held back on forcing her to the ground on her knees. "I couldn't help but overhear," he said, catching Shirayuki's attention, "your little conversation with Tsukune, talking about how the both of you are loners? About wanting to warm up his cold heart? I'll admit, the idiot makes his mistakes when it comes to friends and all that, but he's nowhere near a loner. The only one who has a cold heart," he got close to her, so close she could see the relentless flames of battle in his eye, "would probably be me."
Shirayuki gathered up her strength, and forced Haru back. She pointed her claws at him. "You're wrong!" she said. "I know Tsukune-kun. He's like me all the way! Nothing you can say will change that!"
Haru stood there, raising his sword, and then put it down slowly. "I'm done." He said.
Shirayuki was surprised. "What?"
Haru turned away. "I don't like fighting against women, so I'll leave you in the capable hands of someone who has no problem at all with it."
The snow fairy was confused. What is he getting at?
Suddenly, a burst of light erupted from behind her, causing her to turn around and shield her eyes.
"Wh-What is this?!" she cried out.
While Haru distracted her, Tsukune, after recovering from the crash, managed to pull off Moka's rosario, unleashing her true form. And in her place, was the mighty vampire.
The snow fairy was startled. No way, she thought. Her aura, it's-it's so strong! What is she?
The vampire opened her eyes, and looked at the girl in front of her. Shirayuki, in her haste ran up to Other Moka, and lunged at her with an ice claw. "You're so annoying, why can't you just die already?!"
As casually as she could be, Other Moka dodged the attack, and countered with a powerful kick to the midsection of the snow fairy, sending her crashing towards nearby trees.
Tsukune stood up, shocked. He could hear Shirayuki's voice from where she crashed, signaling that she was okay.
He walked up to Other Moka, who didn't seem to pay attention to him at all. "Thank you, Moka-san. You've saved me yet again." He looked away. "I… I just want to apologize, I…"
The vampire looked back at the human in front of her. "It's good that you want to be strong and do everything by yourself," she said, catching Tsukune's attention, "but never forget: the other Moka was as lonely as you were until she met you and Haru-san. You're helping her as much as she helps you. That's what friends are for, right?"
Tsukune looked on, a heavy burden lifting from his shoulders.
Haru walked up, his sword resting on his shoulder. "Yeah," he said, "you know how I was agreeing with you about getting stronger, but if it means dragging even more people into your life and making it more dangerous, then perhaps you should go back to how you were."
Tsukune rubbed his head. "I suppose so."
As he was welcomed by Kurumu and Yukari, who reached the swamp just then, Haru stood back and surveyed the area. See? he thought. This is why you shouldn't try to get too close to the enemy. You'll get too attached and you'll have second thoughts about revenge. You have to distance yourself from them a little now; otherwise all these years of training will be for nothing. He then looked around to see Shirayuki had disappeared, possibly during the conversation between the three earlier. He shrugged it off, and with the others, returned to the Academy.
To be continued…