Welcome Home

Moka put on her best neutral expression as she tried to hide the nervousness and dread that she felt thanks to the presence of her imposing father. She walked over to a chair that was situated perpendicular to the couch in the living room and sat down, more towards the edge of the seat than to the backrest, indicating her anxiety. Sitting with her hands clasped together and resting on her lap, her posture was rigid and tense, mirroring how she was feeling inside.

The leader of the vampires sat back comfortably on the couch with his left arm draped over the top of the backrest and the other resting on his right thigh as he studied his pink-haired daughter, or at least her fake outer form. This outer form of her's resembled her mother so much, he could almost imagine that it was truly her sitting there before him instead of his young daughter. He eyed the silver Rosario that hung from a chain around her neck and wished that she did not have to conceal who she truly was: a powerful vampire. His true daughter had eyes as red as his and the same silvery hair, with a temperament similar to his.

There was an aroma about her, a similar one that he had initially smelled upon arriving at his daughter's home. It was distinctly human, and yet different somehow. It was a smell that vaguely prodded at his memory, a far-away memory that was so in the past that it was all but fogged up and he was unable to truly remember it. Yet he knew it was familiar to him somehow. He wondered if this was the same human that her daughter seemed to be quite fond of in her letters to him.

Though he despised humans, he had allowed his daughter free reign to go where she wished. That was what her mother had promised her after all, and with all that her mother had done for the vampire race, not to mention the fact that he loved both his former wife and his daughter, he could not deny her this wish to go out into the human world. Still, that did not mean he liked the idea of her spending time with these lowly beings.

He decided not to ask any questions since this whole "living in the human world" thing was coming to a close anyway. She was never going to live amongst these humans again, and though it pained him somewhat, he was actually glad he had a legitimate excuse to bring her back into the fold.

His blood red eyes met her emerald green ones and for the second time in only a matter of seconds he felt the slightest of pangs in his heart. How that woman had managed to truly get to his heart, he was not sure he would ever find out, but if any woman was to get his attention and affections, it would be Moka's mother, Akasha. He always tried to be fair to his children, to treat and love them all equally, but that simply did not work for Moka. Whenever he saw her, he was reminded of Akasha, and how special Moka truly was not only to him but to her, and even though he would not admit it outright, of all his children it was Moka who was his favorite.

Noticing that the teenage girl was fidgeting from the silence, Issa decided to finally get to the matter at hand and dismissed his straying thoughts.

"Now listen well, Moka. You have enjoyed some time now in the human world, and I have allowed you to follow your own path for as long as I could. However, my hands are now tied on this matter... I am truly sorry, my dear, but you need to come home," he stated simply, his voice hard and unbending.

Moka's eyes widened in disbelief, her hands tightening over themselves. This was completely unexpected news. She thought that her father had simply come by to visit her for her birthday once he was done with the meeting of elders. Now she knew the reason behind the Council of Elders convening: it was to force her father to bring her back to their world, or at least that's what she surmised. Her father would not force her to come back on his own volition, or at least she thought that, which meant that apparently the elders want her to return to the vampire world; where she could be watched and undoubtedly influenced as well.

"They can try..." Inner Moka growled in defiance at the thought of being influenced by the elder vampires.

"I can't... I can't go... this... this is... this can't be... What do we do?" she asked her inner self, pleading for a way out that maybe her inner self could find.

Unfortunately, there was no way around this problem, and both of them knew it. Inner Moka responded with distaste for not having any other options, "There's only one thing we CAN do at this time, and that is to obey."

"But I don't want to go back there... and... and Tsukune..." Outer Moka fought back tears.

There was a slight feeling of disdain from her inner self upon mentioning her only human friend. "He is a human. We have no need for him! We have no need for any humans other than to prey on them. We're vampires!" the Inner Moka said, although it was not with as much anger as she had hoped to convey her message with as even she admitted that he was unlike the other humans she had seen through Outer Moka's eyes and memories over the past few years.

Moka tried to reason with her inner self, "But he's my friend! I can't just leave like this... not after..."

"I honestly don't care if we stayed or if we left, but Father has spoken. The elders have spoken. We cannot go against their will," Inner Moka replied. Incurring the wrath of not only her father but the rest of the elders would be the last thing they would want to do.

Issa Shuzen spoke again when he realized that his daughter was not going to say anything anytime soon, breaking Moka from her inner dialogue. "You will return with me at once, Moka, and I will enroll you as soon as possible at Yokai Academy. So go pack your things." He had expected her to argue and fight, perhaps even physically, against this unexpected turn of events, so he was definitely surprised that she was not as combative as he figured she might be.

That statement made her nearly fall forward out of her seat. "N-Now? We're leaving now?" she asked in bewilderment. She had been hoping that she would at least have time to say goodbye to the one human who finally liked her. "But papa..."

"But? It seems you think that there is room for discussion. Well, let me tell you now that there will be no discussion here," Issa said matter-of-factly, not budging an inch. For him it was better to get this over with quickly. "Now go and get your things. Do not make me repeat myself again, Moka."

His pink-haired daughter stood immediately at that threat, her chair sliding backwards about an inch or two. She openly glared at him through teary green eyes before storming up to her room, her footsteps heavy with anger and frustration.

Issa sighed tiredly, rubbing his temples with his gloved hands. That had gone better than expected and he was grateful for it; eventually, she will get over it and move on from this. Now all he had to do was enroll her in Yokai and then he could finally start focusing his efforts on getting back at Zatula for forcing him to do this to his beloved daughter. Actually, the mere fact that he dared to challenge his authority and power by enacting a plan to force him to do something he did not want to do was more than enough of a reason to retaliate against the elder vampire. But he needed to be quiet about it so as to not attract the attention of the other elders and ignite a civil war.

-xxxxxx-

Moka couldn't believe it. Couldn't believe that this was real. She was stuffing all her belongings into her bags, everything fuzzy because of the tears that welled up in her eyes and trickled down her cheeks. Even the light in her room seemed darker than she remembered it to be. Sniffling, she could not help but hate her father at that moment. And the elders too. Just when it finally seemed like she might be able to live happily and normally out in this world, they drag her back to the world she left behind.

It was her birthday too! And her father had not even greeted her. How could he be so cold? She thought that he truly loved her, but going through with this on her birthday made her doubt that. What had she done to deserve this? Why couldn't things simply go the way she wanted?

"Pull yourself together, Moka!" growled her inner self with mild annoyance.

She did not respond to the inner voice as she continued to pack, her room becoming barer by the minute as her bags filled.

"You know how father feels about us and our wishes, so you know that he must truly be forced to do this," the inner voice continued, "Knowing him, he's probably hatching a plan to set things right and get back at the elders for pushing him to do something he did not want."

Moka stopped packing and sat down on the edge of her bed, wiping away what tears she could with the back of her hands.

"You really think so?"

Inner Moka responded immediately and firmly, "I know so."

Still sniffling, her body racked with sobs every now and then, she tried to calm herself by controlling her breathing and willing her tears to stop. Finally, after a few minutes, she was able to breathe normally and managed to stop crying. While she still felt terrible, she at least could function a little better and that allowed her to think and quickly come up with a plan to communicate with Tsukune what had happened.

-xxxxxx-

Tsukune was grinning like he had received his Christmas presents early when he walked through the front door of his home. Delicious aromas from the food his mother was cooking wafted through the air and greeted him as he entered, and for the first time he acknowledged his hunger as his stomach grumbled. The door shutting behind him, he walked over to the dining room and sat down at his usual spot on the table.

His mother took a good look at him over the kitchen counter that separated the kitchen from the dining room and she noted the smile on his face and the far away look in his eyes, as if he were reliving some moment in his mind. She had a good feeling what may have caused her son's joy, and she was truly happy for him. Why he came home earlier than expected, she did not know and she was actually rather curious about that.

She finally decided to ask him, "You're home early, dear. How did your day go?"

Tsukune, still grinning madly, let out a contented sigh. "It went well, mom." Very well.

"That's good to hear," she replied, a little upset that he didn't elaborate more. No matter, she would get the details out of him sooner or later. "So why are you back early?"

"Oh, she said she was feeling really tired and wanted to go to sleep early tonight. That's all." And she kissed me! I actually kissed a pretty girl!

"I see." It was taking every ounce of self-control that she had to keep her from pressing him further. She wanted him to enjoy this moment without badgering him for all the tiny details after all. "Well, dinner will be ready soon. Your father should be home any minute now, too!"

"Mmmm..." was all her son said as he continued to stare off into space, his thoughts elsewhere.

So wrapped up in his thoughts was Tsukune that he failed to notice that his father had returned home, even going so far as to rub his son's head a little along with a greeting. When the young Aono did not reply, the patriarch looked to his wife with a questioning glance and was beckoned over to the kitchen.

Kissing his wife in greeting, he asked, "Something happen to the boy?" He began stroking his goatee with concern and glanced over to his son.

Kasumi let out a short laugh, "Oh, something happened alright. Our baby boy is in love, Tetsuo."

"In love, hmm?" There was some more goatee-stroking from the elder male of the family.

"Yes. He has grown to like this girl at school, and he just spent most of today with her because it was her birthday."

Tetsuo slowly smiled as he hugged his wife from behind, eliciting a short cry of surprise from the woman. "Well, good for him! I think I was about his age when I went on my first date. The first of many loves..."

"Oh? Many, huh? Please do remind me of how you were such a player in high school," there was a slight edge in her voice as she said that as she gave him a pointed look.

"But the last love was the best, of course!" he said quickly. "You know what they say, right? Save the best for last. hehe!" he began rubbing her upper back slightly in an attempt to appease her.

Kasumi nodded slowly, pretending to be skeptical. "Mhmmm."

"I mean, you know, none of them were as special as you, Kasumi my love. You know that right, beautiful? Right, my one and only?" He was sweating a little.

She gave him a smirk but avoided answering his question. "Dinner time!"

-xxxxxx-

The front door was open by the time Moka made it downstairs with her school suitcase and a small backpack of her most prized possessions. Her other luggage remained upstairs in her room, all packed and ready to go.

Her father stood just outside the door and watched her as she came close. "Are you ready to go, Moka?"

She had a strong urge to tell him that she did not want to go and thus she was not ready to go, but she held her tongue with the help of her inner self. A simple nod was all she responded with and he seemed to be fine with that.

"Very well. Grok! Get your worthless hide over here," he barked towards the black limousine parked right outside. The sound of scurrying feet could be heard as a short figure came into view and stopped at the bottom of the steps to the front door.

The thing had dull, grayish skin that was taut over its muscles and the creature seemed to be barely alive. He had jet black eyes that looked at the Vampire Lord's feet the whole time. "You called, my Lord Shuzen?" Its voice was rough, almost raspy, as if forced through a barely flexible throat.

"Get my daughter's things from her room and put it in the limo," ordered Moka's father.

Grok immediately bowed and scurried up the stairs to get her bags, Moka moving to the side to allow the creature to pass.

"Come, Moka." The tall Vampire Lord spun on his heel, cloak billowing about him, and made his way to the limousine.

She followed, getting in after him and closing the door, leaving the two of them in silence in the passenger compartment of the limo. The seats were of fine leather and were very comfortable, and the temperature was cool and refreshing thanks to the air conditioning of the vehicle. Through the tinted windows, Moka watched Grok handle her luggage with ease; the creature walked around, carrying all the luggages at once seemingly with no effort and quickly placed them into the trunk of the stretch limo.

A moment later and the creature was in the driver's seat and her father told Grok to drive home. The limo began to pull away from the place she considered home for a while now and she watched as it faded from view with her arms crossed over her chest as she felt twin emotions of resentment and frustration well up in her. Fighting back another urge to cry, she snuck a glance at her father.

Issa Shuzen sat with his arms crossed over his shoulders as well, sitting up straight with proper posture and yet also somewhat relaxed. His eyes were closed and he looked rather peaceful, actually, though inside he was far from peaceful. He knew that she would not forgive him anytime soon for bringing her back to their world like this. Having lived for so long, and for much of it as a leader, he knew that this was the price to be paid to do the right thing. Sometimes the right decision is never easy, but someone has to make it and push through with it, particularly when vampires were concerned.

Both passengers remained quiet throughout the car ride, with the younger of the two not having anything to say to her father while the older simply understood that he would be getting the silent treatment or something close to it for a short while. His daughter would come around with time and understand his position on the matter.

The limo traveled through the small streets of the neighborhood and through to the wider main avenues before finally making it onto the highway. It drove around like any other vehicle on the road, garnering little attention beyond the fact that it was a limo and those were uncommonly spotted on the roads. At one point however, the limo entered into a tunnel on the highway at high speed and never emerged from the other side.

Moka had seen it before when she was younger, the traveling in-between dimensions through the various magical tunnels that connected them. All around the limo was darkness and yet at the same time there was a faint light of rolling energy all around the tunnel; it almost seemed like the tunnel itself was alive. After some amount of time, Moka was not sure exactly how long they traveled in there, they finally exited out of the tunnel and onto a dirt road in a wooded area.

There was a fog that hung close to the ground, making it difficult to see farther than twenty feet ahead. As they continued to wind their way through the woods, the fog lessened, until finally up ahead she spotted a giant shadow rising up above the fog.

Situated on a large hill, on the edge of a cliff, was a grand castle that towered over the surrounding lands. It was a magnificent structure to behold for anyone other than those who were in the limo, who were already accustomed to the sight of the massive stone structure. Upon closer inspection, it looked very ancient, with many cracks in the stone and various vines sprawled across the faces of its mighty walls. It was not so much that it looked in disrepair, but simply that it had stood for many centuries.

Issa finally stirred, his eyes fluttering open to reveal fiercely red pupils. They would be arriving at the central courtyard soon, he noted, so he reached out and patted the top of his daughter's left hand, the gesture making her pull her hand away from him as she leveled a steady glare at him.

"Before I forget, Moka, I want to wish you a happy birthday. I'm sorry that it had to be this way today, but... Ask for something and, if I may, I shall grant it."

"I want to go home."

The elder vampire frowned ever so slightly. "But you are going home."

"I want to go back to my home in the human world," she corrected, unflinching.

Issa continued to look at his daughter, who still glared at him, and said, "You know I cannot allow that, Moka."

The pink-haired teenager looked away, huffing. Her arms tightened around her. What she wanted was something he would not give her, and she had no interest in anything else at the moment so she had nothing else to say to him. Her inner self stayed silent.

Slowing down, the limo rolled around the circular central courtyard and came to a halt before a wide stone staircase that led to the massive, wooden front doors. Blood-red banners hung down the equally massive stone pillars that framed the doors. On the ground, running from the bottom of the steps to the massive doors was a deep red carpet that matched the banners.

Grok had scurried around the limo and opened the passenger-side door closest to the stairs, letting Moka and her father out.

Pink hair swaying as a breeze picked up in the courtyard, Moka glanced up and took in the sight of a home she had not seen for some time. One that she did not expect to be coming back to in such a manner. She clutched her suitcase close to her chest.

From behind her, Issa Shuzen spoke, "Welcome home, Moka."

Author's notes: And here's another chapter. Somewhat short, I know... sorry it's taken so long to update. Busy would be an insufficient description of my life as of late, but rest assured I have a lot more time in the near future and will be updating quicker.