CHAPTER 10

EXPOSED

Kurumu couldn't believe what she had just seen. How could someone like Corma threaten to kill someone so nonchalantly? I have to act like nothing is wrong! She thought to herself. Act natural, act natural… She kept chanting to herself as she slowly made her way down the stairs, not realizing that she was shaking. She opened the door to the dining hall and made her way inside and sat down, completely ignoring the odd stares of her hosts. As always with her rival, Moka broke the silence.

"Whats with the weird attitude, Kurumu?" She asked. "Did a boy turn you down?" She was surprised when Kurumu kept ignoring her and eating her food; normally insulting her with boys blew her up. A few minutes later, the awkwardness was still very apparent, and Moka couldn't take it anymore. "Kurumu, what's wrong?"

"Wrong? What's wrong? Nothing's wrong! Absolutely nothing! Everything's fine! What could be wrong? Hahahahahahahahahahaha!" Kurumu answered in a face that indicated that she was obviously freaked out. She started shoveling food in her mouth, and Moka stared at the blue-haired princess in a confused way. Koko rose suddenly and slammed her hands onto the table.

"This is too weird for me." She announced as if anyone cared. "I'm leaving." She stormed out of the room. Moka quickly forgot about about it and turned to the more important matter at hand.

"Seriously Kurumu. What's wrong?" Moka asked. Kurumu stopped acting crazy and scowled at Moka.

"What do you care?" Moka hesitated, not sure if she should go on. Then, she decided to go on.

"Well, just because we're rivals doesn't mean we aren't friends." Moka said, not making eye contact. Kurumu stared at her rival in awe. After a few moments of awkward silence, Kurumu spoke up.

"Well, I just saw something kind of disturbing…"

"What?"

"Well…"

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Moka was staring at Kurumu. She had just finished telling Moka what happened between Corma and Tsukune, and Moka was taken completely off guard. She shook her head, not willing to believe it.

"Are you sure? It just doesn't sound like Corma!" Moka said.

"I know it's hard to believe, but I'm telling you: Corma said that he was going to kill Tsukune!" Kurumu exclaimed. "What are we going to do?" Moka brought her hand to her forehead in worry; what WAS she going to do? She…loved Tsukune (she still had a hard time thinking about it) and didn't want him to get hurt, but Corma was her…

Wait…

What was Corma to Moka? He was her servant, sure, but was he something more? Moka reclined in her chair while rubbing her forehead; she needed to think about this.

…

…

…No.

No, he wasn't. Moka was sure of it. Sure he was her closest servant, but that didn't mean that he was her closest friend. He was a friend though, she couldn't deny that. She didn't really see him as anything else. He was her friend, but so was Tsukune. What was she supposed to do? The only thing that she could think of was to fire Corma, but she couldn't do that. Suddenly, she came up with an idea. She stood up, a confident smile on her face. Kurumu looked at her with a quizzical face.

"Follow me!" Moka answered the unasked question as she strolled out of the room while Kurumu followed suit. Moka quickly ended up in front of Tsukune's room. She knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Tsukune called out. Moka wasted no time in complying. Tsukune was sitting cross-legged on the bed with his lunch in his lap and an open book in front of him, and he was quite surprised when the two Princesses came into his room.

"Wha-"

"Tsukune!" Moka called out, pointing at him Phoenix-Wright style. "You are now my permanent personal servant, effective immediately!" Moka then pivoted and walked out of the room, head held high. Tsukune was left to stare at the spot that the princess had been in only moments before while Kurumu did the same. Moka walked down the hallway and out into the main hall, where she saw the very person that she was looking for standing in front of the doors to the dining hall. He called out when he saw her.

"Hello, Princess!" Corma called out. Moka narrowed her eyes and stopped in her tracks, former jubilance gone. This was the second part of her plan, but she wasn't sure if she could go through with it. But then Moka saw Kurumu and Tsukune enter the Main hall out of the corner of her eye, and at the sight of the boy who had stolen her heart, found her resolve.

"I know." Moka said through gritted teeth. Corma didn't need to ask what she knew; her look said it all.

"How?" was all he asked. Kurumu was suddenly fearful; what if Moka betrayed her?

"I have my ways." Moka answered. Kurumu let out the breath that she didn't know that she had been holding. "Why did you threaten to kill Tsukune?"

"That is no concern of yours, Princess."

"Yes it is!" Moka snapped. "I am going to keep Tsukune safe, no matter what!" Moka shouted out without thinking. When she realized what she said, she blushed furiously and tried not to let it show. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Tsukune sporting a blush as deep as hers was, and she could see Kurumu giggling a little despite the tension. She saw Corma's eyes flare and his body shudder with anger.

What in the world? Kurumu and Tsukune thought as they were buffeted with a powerful aura. It seemed to be emating from Corma, and even though his eyes were covered by his hair due to the tilt of his head, it was obvious that his lips were pulled back in a devious smirk, revealing his teeth.

His pointed teeth that looked an awful lot like fangs.

He lifted his head and exposed his now blood-red eyes.

His aura increased even more, rivaling Moka's even as she prepared for a fight.

No .Tsukune thought as he finally realized the truth. He can't be a…

"Vampire?"

"So he finally catches on!" Corma exclaimed, raising his arms in mock salute. Moka got into a fighting stance.

"Stay away from Tsukune, Corma!"

"Make me!" Corma shouted, doing the same.

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I feel as if this chapter wasn't as good as it could have been and that it didn't make much sense… Meh. Oh well. Next time: Moka vs. Corma!