AN: I think I forgot to mention it last chapter, but at this point it is strongly advised that you read the prequel to this, Liquid Heat. I don't think it is really required reading at this point, and it might never be, but at this point I am writing under the assumption that the material in the prequel has been read, so reading it could be handy.

Tsuji is a character that appears in two panels of the 10th volume. I don't think he shows up anywhere else, but I could be mistaken.

Day 6

"It's just not the same. If I didn't know better, I'd say you didn't want to fight me. That's not the right attitude at all, Senpai."

"I'm not like you, Tsukuyomi. Fighting like this isn't something I enjoy."

"…Right. You just want to protect her. You'd fight until your last breath to protect her, wouldn't you?"

"Of course!"

"So. Protect her from me!"

Tsukuyomi opened her eyes and reached for where her sword usually was, ready to launch an attack against Konoka. The girl wasn't her primary target, but if that's what it took to get Setsuna to act as she should, Tsukuyomi would be only too glad to spill every last drop of her dear Ojou-sama's blood. Besides, for intruding on their fight, the girl deserved every—

Wait.

Her sword wasn't there. Why wasn't her sword there?

Not again.

Tsukuyomi rolled over, blinking rapidly and reaching for her glasses. It was so blurry. The shadowy wall next to her bed almost looked like the stone that the ruins were made of. She could almost believe that she was still in the Magical World, and she couldn't have that. Too many distracting memories there. She did not like dwelling on things.

Especially things from happier times that she couldn't get back.

She put her glasses on and the world came back into focus.

The wall in front of her wasn't made of anything remotely close to stone. The small sliver of hope that she was somewhere pleasant withered and died. She was definitely at Mahora, and her weapons were definitely confiscated.

And in pieces, but that was less important. Even a broken blade would be welcome at this point. At least it was sharp.

She would need something sharp soon. Things were starting to unravel. She was waking up shivering in the middle of the night already—it was only going to get worse unless she found something to kill.

Humans were already ruled out. As well as a large number of woodland creatures that lived on campus. They were just too fast for Tsukuyomi as long as the Seal was in place. That left…

Well, there was no dealing with it until she got her hands on something sharp.

Tsukuyomi rubbed at her stomach self-consciously. If she had access to her ki, she wouldn't even need an object. She would only need her fingernails then.

But if she had access to her ki, this wouldn't be a problem in the first place. She could just go out and kill a student.

Only that would upset Setsuna. Upsetting Setsuna wasn't generally a problem but the kind of upset she'd be if Tsukuyomi killed someone while under her care would involve Tsukuyomi being unceremoniously kicked out of Mahora.

That was something to avoid for now. She liked being with Setsuna.

Even though the feeling was less than mutual.

Refusing to care much about that right now, Tsukuyomi glanced over at Setsuna's bed. If her senpai was awake, she might have a window of opportunity she could use to watch her train. The part of their arrangement that didn't allow Setsuna to leave Tsukuyomi alone meant that she couldn't go out in the morning and work off her frustration outside.

Because that was what she was doing. It made it that much more fun to watch.

But this morning the window was gone, and Setsuna was sitting on her nest meditating. Tsukuyomi slowed her breathing and stifled her groan of disappointment. Not that it wasn't enjoyable to feel Setsuna's ki taming itself, but she preferred to wake up earlier and watch it run free. It felt—happy, almost.

Like what she felt when she was dying and Setsuna was leaving alive.

What was it?

The one thing from the Magical World she couldn't help dwelling on.

What was that feeling?

"If you have time to stare at me, you should be getting ready for school."

She really woke up late today if Setsuna was already done. Or maybe having her awake was just too distracting for meditation. There was a happy thought.

"Do I really have to?"

Setsuna rolled her shoulders and hopped to her feet. The circles under her eyes were still there, but several shades lighter. It seemed like she was finally settling back into her normal routine. Konoka's little talk with her had done wonders.

Not thinking about that because it made her feel strange, Tsukuyomi sighed and rolled herself off the bed, casually undoing the top buttons on her shirt. "I like staring at you more than I like get getting dressed."

Setsuna's eyes drifted down for a moment before she realized what she was looking at and spun around quickly enough to give Negi a run for his money. Her neck was bright red. Tsukuyomi laughed and removed her shirt completely.

"There's really no need to be shy, Senpai. You've seen much more of my skin than—"

"That was in the middle of a battle!" Setsuna cried out, just stopping herself from turning back around. "And it only happened because you refuse to wear reasonable clothing!"

Well that was rather unnecessarily rude. "You aren't really in a good position to be pointing fingers. Until our last battle, you could have passed yourself off as a maid café employee." Tsukuyomi hoped Setsuna would bring up what prompted the switch. That incident had proven to be fuel for many of her fantasies.

Setsuna didn't, though. She just kept her back turned while her neck slowly darkened. Tsukuyomi had to laugh again while she rifled through the locked boxes under the bed to find her supply of school uniforms. Her senpai was so cute.

"Could you hurry up?"

"We aren't going to be late." Ah, there they were. How did everything get so scrambled under the bed when she was the only one who ever moved anything down there? Maybe their absent roommate had something to do with it.

"That's not what I'm worried about," Setsuna mumbled.

Tsukuyomi pulled her head out from under the bed and started slipping her uniform on. "Could it be that you're uneasy around me when I'm undressed, Setsuna-senpai?" she purred.

"That's not it!" the horribly blushing swordswoman practically shouted. It was a good thing their room was soundproofed. Otherwise they'd be attracting all sorts of attention from their hyperactive classmates. The two mini-ninjas in particular.

Tsukuyomi looked over her shoulder at her Senpai. Besides her bright red flesh, Setsuna's hands were balled into tight fists and she was looking down at the floor.

"You're not being very honest, are you Senpai?"

Setsuna's head jerked slightly to the side, but she managed to keep herself from looking at Tsukuyomi, much to the girl's disappointment. She could see a muscle in Setsuna's jaw twitching. Then, as if calling back her earlier meditation, Setsuna's body relaxed and she breathed out steadily. She turned around, and though her face was still very red, she met Tsukuyomi's eyes without any trouble.

It probably helped that Tsukuyomi had managed to dress herself completely—even dealing with her tie—while her senpai's back was turned, but it was still very impressive to see how much control Setsuna could have over herself. Baiting her really was more difficult when she wasn't a threat Setsuna had to acknowledge.

"If you're okay without any breakfast, it's time to go."

No it wasn't, it was about thirty minutes too soon for it to be time to go, but Tsukuyomi let it go. Getting on Setsuna's nerves this early wouldn't accomplish anything. Right now, even the slightest touch was wearing on her self-control. If Setsuna snapped and actually started a fight, she wouldn't be in any condition to enjoy it properly. Now, if she could only use her ki, this would be a perfect—

Have to wait until class for that sort of thinking.

Besides, leaving early and arriving on time meant that Konoka and the princess couldn't tag along, which they'd taken to doing the last few days.

Since spending any amount of time in Konoka's presence was, for some reason, more annoying than Tsukuyomi found tolerable, she didn't mind going out of her way to avoid her Senpai's—partner.

"I never eat breakfast, Senpai, you know that."

Setsuna didn't say anything in response; she just opened the door and stared at Tsukuyomi with a stubbornly impassive look on her face—which would have been more impressive but not as cute without the blush—waiting for her to leave the room.

Tsukuyomi snickered and walked out, carefully avoiding brushing against Setsuna.

They walked down the hall in relatively peaceful, if a little tense, silence for several minutes before Tsukuyomi decided that Setsuna was once again composed enough to play with a little more.

"I suppose since you're not completely human, you can get away with it every once in a while."

"Get away with what?"

"Not being honest."

Walking across campus, it became all too apparent how early they were. The entire campus had less people than ten people walking around at this hour—and that included the teachers. Almost anyone who had anything to do with the school started dashing towards whatever building they needed to be five minutes before classes started.

It was awkward, Setsuna thought, but it was still better than staying in their room and trying to avoid eye contact without looking evasive. She was better at avoiding people when she wasn't forced into sustained close contact with them. At least outside there was moderately fascinating scenery she could pretend to be interested in.

…Even if it was painfully obvious that Tsukuyomi knew exactly what she was doing.

Somehow, it didn't seem right that someone so mentally unhinged could be so observant.

Knowing that Tsukuyomi probably wouldn't be so observant of anyone else did not help.

"Do we know him?"

Setsuna snapped her head back at her charge. "Know who?"

Tsukuyomi pointed over to the lone dark figure on campus that was dashing towards them. It looked to be a male teenager—possibly several years older than them. He was waving a wooden sword above his head. "Him."

"Sakurazaki-kun!"

She knew that voice from somewhere… Setsuna's eyes widened as recognition set in and she stepped in front of Tsukuyomi. "Don't forget what the headmaster told you," she muttered.

"He said a lot, you know."

"Tsukuyomi..." Setsuna didn't get a chance to finish her warning before the figure got within hearing distance. He came to a halt several feet away, bent over, breathing hard and using his sword as a crutch.

"Sakurazaki-kun, finally!"

Setsuna smiled awkwardly at the kendō captain. "Uh… good morning Captain Tsuji. Is there something wrong?" Had he finally noticed that she was no longer part of the club and decided to make a scene over it?

After she'd been informed that Tsukuyomi was going to be joining Mahora as a student, Setsuna made the decision to abandon all extra-curricular activities in order to better keep an eye on her. Thankfully, when she made quitting the kendō club official, the team captain hadn't been around. She thought that she'd gotten out of dealing with him, but maybe she didn't give his determination enough credit.

Tsuji straightened himself and looked sharply at her. "Well besides your sudden abandonment of our club—is this her?" His gaze shifted over to Tsukuyomi. "This is your kohai?"

Oh no.

"Ah, Captain Tsuji—"

"That's right," Tsukuyomi said sweetly, smiling endearingly at the older boy. The look sent shivers down Setsuna's spine, and she had to fight back the instincts telling her to run as far away as possible.

Tsuji did not seem to have the same problem. He clicked his feet together and bowed to Tsukuyomi.

"Please join the kendō club!"

"She can't!" Setsuna objected. Tsuji looked up at her, a perplexed frown on his face.

"And why not, Sakurazaki-kun? If she's your kohai, there shouldn't be any problem, and since you've left, we have a spot open that she'd be more than welcome to take. And besides that, it isn't your place to answer for her."

Setsuna vowed to never leave for class early again. She was left scrambling for an answer while Tsukuyomi just smiled at her and pretended to be distracted by a passing butterfly.

"Well, you see, ah, she just transferred here, and it's really more important for her to adjust to her new lifestyle than it is for her to join any clubs. And her parents want her to avoid any violent activities, so I don't think it would work out anyway."

Tsuji's expression darkened. "I was under the impression that you are both intimately familiar with a certain style of martial arts. If that is the case, why would her parent object to—?"

"I really don't know, but they have a problem with it, so she can't join." Setsuna rubbed the back of her neck, more than a little embarrassed out how absurd her lies sounded. And who had told him about their swordsmanship style? There was no good reason for a mundane to be aware of the Shinmeiryuu arts even if he didn't have a name for it.

The kendo captain's scowl deepened. "Her parents wouldn't have to know—"

Tsukuyomi sighed dramatically, drawing Tsuji's attention away from arguing the point with Setsuna. Her smile was disturbingly bright. "I'm sorry to say it, but due to my own personal preferences, I was forced to kill my parents a long time ago. I've been told that that sort of behavior isn't appreciated here, so—"

"Sorry Captain Tsuji, but we really have to go," Setsuna broke in quickly. "Come on Tsukuyomi, we don't want to be late for class."

With anyone else, possibly even Konoka, Setsuna would have reached out and dragged them away from the stunned kendo captain. But since it was Tsukuyomi in this situation, she just looked at the other girl significantly and started walking away as quickly as possible.

True to her expectations, Tsukuyomi followed without any hesitation, maybe only stopping to wink at Tsuji.

Setsuna didn't look at Tsukuyomi. She was feeling lightheaded, and looking at the content, smiling blonde would only make it worse. This wasn't like the embarrassment from earlier. It was closer to the way she'd felt seconds before passing out in Eishun's arms three weeks ago.

"Is there something wrong, Senpai?"

"You're supposed to be behaving yourself, not traumatizing other students," Setsuna blurted out, saying the first thing she could think of that didn't have anything to do with her imagining the people she was starting to think were Tsukuyomi's first victims.

"He's the one who brought it up. I was just being honest."

Setsuna stopped.

"Senpai?"

"So you really killed them?"

"Does that surprise you?" Tsukuyomi sounded puzzled. "You know I've killed people before."

Setsuna turned around and stared at Tsukuyomi, taking in her guileless expression and the genuine confusion in her eyes. She looked impossibly innocent, and Setsuna felt just a little sick imagining a younger version of the blonde slicing her progenitors to pieces.

"They were your parents."

Tsukuyomi looked even more confused. "So?"

"So…" Setsuna thought of Negi, still searching for any clue that might lead to his father's whereabouts. And Konoka loved her father more than anyone else in the world.

Setsuna never knew her own parents. By the time she was old enough to remember anything, they were long gone. But she knew what it felt like to want one. She saw the way Konoka clung to Eishun, and anyone could see how badly Negi wanted his dad back.

It was important, wasn't it? Having a parent?

"Doesn't that matter?"

Tsukuyomi blinked. "No, not really."

Setsuna stared at the oblivious girl in front of her for a few more seconds. Then she shook herself and returned to walking to their classroom as quickly as possible, Tsukuyomi trailing behind her.

Tsukuyomi tapped her dull pencil against the paper, blocking Negi's voice out and trying to remember all of the things she'd ever heard about the Ouroboros Seal. So far she had a pretty complete list, but she felt like she was forgetting something important about why it wasn't used very often.

Oh well. It probably had something to do with treating prisoners humanely. Tsukuyomi wasn't too concerned with details like that; she knew the Seal was unfair, but told her nothing about how to break it.

The rest of the list probably wasn't very helpful either, but she couldn't be positive that all the points were useless.

Tsukuyomi put her head down on the desk and rolled her pencil across its surface. So much for taking advantage of Setsuna's inattentiveness. To get anything out of her remembered information, she'd probably have to spend hours staring at it.

That would definitely get her noticed. Even if Setsuna was developing the bad habit of paying no attention to her during classes, the princess would see.

Really, Tsukuyomi didn't know what was bothering Asuna so much. Wouldn't it make more sense for the princess to feel uneasy around the person who had temporarily stolen her identity? Outside of the Gateport incident, Tsukuyomi was sure she'd never touched a single hair on the princess' head. Fate complained whenever she got too close.

Admittedly, that might have had more to do with him keeping the princess' dangerous talent in mind than—

Could that work?

Tsukuyomi glanced at the small drawing of the Ouroboros Seal that she'd made on the top of the page. She traced the area on her stomach where the Seal had been pushed into her body.

The princess' power didn't reach far enough to inadvertently break it. Otherwise the many times she'd felt the need to manhandle Tsukuyomi would have disrupted the Seal.

And maybe she didn't have enough power to either. By now, the Seal wasn't just a seal, it was the sum of every ounce of magical energy in Tsukuyomi's body. If Asuna's Magic Cancel was capable of canceling that much power, at the very least she'd cause any mage she touched a considerable amount of pain.

Since that didn't happen, it probably wouldn't—

Her artifact has the ability.

Tsukuyomi's eyes widened. That would work, wouldn't it? Asuna's power couldn't penetrate the Seal, but if the Seal was physically sliced by the ability, there would be enough of a break in the energy supporting the Seal that it would fall apart.

It would have to be done carefully though. The princess' sword was still a sword, even if it did have special abilities of its own backing it. With the Seal being at the very core of her being, there was a good chance that she would bleed out before getting to use her power.

Or Asuna might miss.

That was another problem then. Tsukuyomi would have to guide the sword without the princess knowing about her plan. If she knew the plan, she would never use anything besides her fists, and while that could be satisfyingly painful, that wasn't the point.

She'd have to be very angry to bring it out at all.

…I can do that, can't I?