"An actual fight for Tsukune's affection… I should have known this day would come eventually." said Ruby.

"It doesn't matter." said Kurumu "We all know in the end the winner will be me!"

"No, it will be me!" said Mizore.

"You're all wrong, it will be me!" said Yukari.

"STOP!!!"

The others all stopped and looked at Moka.

"Take a step back and look at this mess for just a second! Do you realize what we're even doing here?!"

"We're arguing over which of us will win Demona's little game and Tsukune in the process."

"No you're not! You're arguing over how badly you all want to die! Not only will Demona probably win, at this rate maybe Tsukune would be better off with her!"

The others were shocked by this statement.

"Mizore, I know you're shy, you've haven't had much luck with love, and that a teacher almost took advantage of you before, but the fact that you tried to commit suicide once over a forced kiss, singlehandedly bolted you to the top of the list of the most pathetic people I have ever met in my entire life! Kurumu, you try to force Tsukune to have intercourse with you every chance you get! Flashing, trying to suffocating him with your breasts, barging in on him when he's in the shower, uninvited, in his own home! You take whore to a whole new level! Yukari, you're so far in the closet you've long since missed the gate to Narnia! No! Don't even laugh Ruby! Who the hell did you learn about pleasure from?! Fester Addams?! Now that you all know how truly stupid you are, we can start to realize that there are two ways this can end, and that's either with the five of us in caskets, or working together as a team to take out this biggest threat to anyone's desire to be with Tsukune, and that is Demona!"

"Call me a whore?!" said Kurumu.

"Actually she had a point…" said Yukari "Several points."

"Yes, Demona has all our powers, I don't think any one of us can take her down alone." said Ruby.

"But she specifically said that she would be facing us one at a time."

"Hmm… One on one, one at a time… Yep, I have a plan." said Ruby.

"I've slept for so long… But how long… There's no time here… nothing but blackness… and pain… I'm aware… but I'm immobile… I don't even know if I'm alive… or if I'm dead."

"No Tsukune Aono… You're not dead… You're just undergoing the metamorphosis… I know because I too once went through it."

"Who are you?"

"A super ghoul… like you will soon be… I am long since dead… but my spirit can still commune with you in spirit… I knew one day some one would arise to become my successor."

"But why me?"

"Oh it's always been you Tsukune Aono… It's been there ever since you were just an egg in your mother's womb… And it wasn't a mistake that you got into Yokai Academy… It was destiny… so that Moka could inject her precious blood into you and plant the seed… In a way I'm giving it to you as a gift… So that you can have the one thing I never had… I didn't think a human like you could have lasted as long as you have in the world of monsters… But I guarantee you wouldn't have lasted much longer… Plus… there is one thing about vampires you don't know…"

"And what is that?"

"I'll tell you another time, but I guarantee you'll thank me for the gift I am giving you when you do find out."

Tsukune wondered how this could possibly be called a gift. All his senses were shot, but he could still feel pain. He could try to scream but no sound ever came out of his mouth. He tried to open his eyes, but he was blind. The only thing he could ever hear was the voice of Udar, who communicated with him telepathically. He wasn't sure how much longer he could go through this, but since all time here merged into a steady blur of nothing it didn't matter, because there was no way of knowing how much longer this would last.

"Moka…" he told himself "Do it for Moka…"

"So Ruby… are you going to share with us how you plan on taking down Demona?" asked Kurumu.

"Oh I don't plan on taking her down at all."

"I'm not following you."

"Look its simple. Moka is right about Demona being our biggest threat. First we all agree that this tournament means nothing, we take care of Demona, and we go back to fighting over Tsukune later."

"Hmm… I like it!" said Kurumu.

"Me too." replied Mizore.

"But how do you propose that we take care of Demona?" asked Yukari "She has all our powers and then some!"

"Once again, simple. She said we would all face her one at a time. Moka goes last because she's our best fighter. We fight her first and tire her out, all the while Moka will watch how Demona fights and finds a way to beat her."

"Are you willing to take that chance?" asked Moka "She said you lose whenever you land outside the ring, give up, or die, with the emphasis on die."

"It's a risk we'll have to take for Tsukune's sake." said Mizore "Besides, we have few options."

"There's still one more matter." said Yukari "What did she mean when she said she wanted us to dress for the tournament?"

"It's a personal joke." said Moka "She's saying that if we're all going down then we might as well go down in style."

"Well whatever it is, Demona's made it a rule."

"You know what this means?" said Kurumu.

"No…"

"That's right… SUIT UP!!!"

(To be continued)