Sorry about the late update; I had a crazy week with homework, projects, and various other things that made me delay the writing process. Sorry.

This chapter feels kind of rushed, but I couldn't think of anything else.

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10 YEARS OLD

The bell rang on the last class of the school day, and Tsukune quickly gathered up his things and shoved them into his backpack. He leapt out of his seat and was halfway to the door before he was stopped by the voice of his friend.

"Tsukune, wait up!" Tsukune looked behind him and saw his friend Kurumu still sitting at her desk, struggling to clean up. Tsukune waited anxiously for a few minutes for Kurumu to reach him, and then continued walking, albeit at a much slower pace. "So, where are you off to in such a hurry?" Kurumu asked.

"Moka's coming over today!" Tsukune cheered happily. Kurumu rolled her eyes.

"Of course…Old Moka." Kurumu said with a smile.

"She's real!" Tsukune exclaimed, as he did every time someone openly doubted the existence of Tsukune's vampire friend, the one that only showed herself to Tsukune. "She's just really shy, and doesn't trust humans!"

"Then why does she trust you?" Kurumu countered, always enjoying some light arguing.

"Because…because…" Tsukune faltered at Kurumu's question. Why did Moka trust him above all the other humans? Sure, they had met when they were six, and had been having secret meetings at Tsukune's house ever since, but… Why? He would have to ask when he got home.

Tsukune and Kurumu continued arguing and making small talk until they got to Tsukune's house. "Goodbye, Kurumu! See you tomorrow!" The raven-haired boy said as he strolled p the walkway. Kurumu returned his farewell, but couldn't resist adding one last little jab.

"Say hello to Moka for me!"

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Moka instantly smelled Tsukune's distinct scent when he entered the house. She waited in his room, as she did whenever she visited, while Tsukune gave the usual greetings to his parents and fed them the usual BS about having a ton of homework. Moka allowed a small smile as she considered how things came to this. After making the pinkie promise with Tsukune, Moka had found a way to sneak out of her house and come to the human world. She had been doing so ever since, and tried to visit Tsukune at least once a month. Moka had been lucky so far in the fact that her parents hadn't found out, but it was getting harder and harder to sneak out…

Moka's musings were cut short by Tsukune opening the door and entering his room. Throwing his backpack down, Tsukune instantly donned a smile when he saw that his best friend was perched on his bed.

"Moka!" Tsukune said happily, making sure to keep his voice down so that his parents wouldn't hear him.

"Hello, Tsukune." Moka replied. She hopped off the bed and plodded over to him, and the two shared a hug. Moka had become much more comfortable with Tsukune since their first meeting, even more so than with her own family, which had never been the closest. Well, except for Kokoa, but Moka didn't really categorize 'beating the crap out of each other' under sisterly affection.

The duo let go of each other and sat down on the carpet. Tsukune asked about the monster world, and Moka asked about the human world. In other words, they made small talk. There was no need to say anything else; both knew the other well enough to read between the lines of dialogue.

"How's Kokoa doing?" Tsukune asked. Do you two still fight all the time?

"Same as always." Moka replied with a shrug. Yes, but I always win. "How's school?"

"No different." I'm still getting C's.

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Moka glanced at the clock and frowned when she saw that it was time to go. She hated leaving; she loved hanging out with Tsukune! She didn't ever want to go! But, if she stayed any longer, Moka's parents would be sure to find her and then who knows what they would do? So, dejectedly, Moka got up from her cross-legged position on the floor.

"Time to go?" Tsukune asked.

"Yes." Moka replied simply. She turned towards the window, but before she could do anything else, Tsukune stopped her.

"Wait, Moka! I almost forgot to ask you!" He exclaimed. Moka turned, once again facing Tsukune.

"Hm? What is it?"

"Why do you trust me?" Tsukune asked. Moka turned red, not expecting Tsukune to ask such a strange question.

"Why do you want to know?" Moka countered, doing her best to simultaneously dodge the question and hide her blush. Tsukune, also sporting a blush, had suddenly found something incredibly interesting on the wall.

"Well…you know…its like; you said that you didn't really trust humans, so…I was wondering… what makes me different?" Tsukune stuttered out.

Moka thought about the question before she answered; she didn't want to answer wrong and loose her best friend.

"I don't know." Moka finally said. She saw Tsukune deflate and quickly spoke up once more. "I don't mean that in a bad way; I just don't know exactly why I trust you so much."

"What does that mean?" Tsukune asked, clearly confused.

"Yes, it's true that I don't really trust humans." Moka started. "Most of them just give me this…bad vibe, if you know what I mean." Tsukune nodded, understanding. "But, you…I don't know. When I'm around you, I feel, safe, I guess. And happy." Moka's blush deepened with every word. She was still not facing Tsukune, but when she heard no response from him for at least a minute, Moka spared a quick glance and was startled to see the beginnings of tears at the corner of Tsukune's eyes. She quickly turned and faced her friend head-on. Had she done something wrong? "Tsukune, I didn't mean to-"Moka was cut off by Tsukune suddenly hugging her.

"Thank you." Tsukune whispered. "That means a lot to me." They stayed that way for a few minutes, then Tsukune finally let go of the surprised Moka, his eyes still a tad red from his tears of happiness.

"I have to go." Moka said as she once more turned towards the window.

"Goodbye." Tsukune said.

"Goodbye." Moka responded.

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Moka crawled into her bedroom through the window, silently congratulating herself on once again being able to sneak in and out of her house undetected, and still feeling slightly giddy form Tsukune's meaningful hug. Moka closed the window behind her and pivoted when her room became awash with artificial light. Blinking a few times to get used to the brightness once more, Moka found a sight that make her blood run cold standing in front of her.

"Where were you, Moka?" Her father asked. He was clearly not happy.