Show Of Strength
Shuzen Kokoa was walking towards the Academy, coming from her room at the girl's dormitories, deep in thought. She was thinking not only about her sister as she usually did, but also that weird male, Aono Tsukune.
Her sister was a great, beautiful vampire, filled with the grace and talent that come along once in a billion. She was perfection, she was her penultimate goal...
So why did she stick around a letcherous pervert like Tsukune?
And he had the gall to deny his perversions! How dare he!
It's obvious that he is a pervert. After all, what normal guy would manage to get himself surrounded by a succubus, a yuki-onna and a vampire of her onee-sama's caliber and manage to not have them killing each other? And that was without taking all these fangirls into account.
All he had going for him was his blood! Admittedly it was damn good tasting blood, but that's all he had. Well, that and being able to transform into an insanely strong 8feet tall monstrocity with claws about as large as her, but she tried to ignore that part.
The point was, she didn't understand why someone, anyone,would like that guy!
Especially her wonderful older sister!
As if the humiliation of loosing all her power, grace and talent to a damnable seal and being forced to live with pink hair instead of her own lustrious, glorious silver... as if that wasn't enough, Kokoa couldn't understand why she would do that.
With that being her greeting that Aono guy with a hug and an 'itadakimasu' before sinking her fangs into his neck.
"I want a hug too..." Her whisper was like a whine and her poor pet bat tried to comfort her by hugging her cheek. She nodded thankfully to the bat before turning to her sister and sighing sadly.
Then Kokoa's world was sent askew. The blue-haired succubus, Kurono Kurumu she had heard her name was, body-tackled her sister away from Tsukune and hugged the boy to her absurdly large cleavage as if to comfort him.
"Moka! How dare you suck my Tsukune's blood first thing in the morning! Have you no shame!"
'Look who's talking about shame!' Wailed Kokoa, unwittingly mimicking Tsukune's thoughts who at the moment was trying to break free of the unusually strong grip of the succubus.
Then Kokoa smirked as she saw her sister get up and growl at the succubus. Finally, her sister's real power was going to reveal itself! She was going to beat that upstart weakling and show her the true horror that was a Vampire's strength! She was going to...
"Kurumu-chaaan!" Moka whined and proceeded to start one of the group's now patented childish brawls.
Kokoa couldn't escape the facefault. At least the Aono guy seemed to at least try to break them up. Humph, he must be a good actor, that must be how he snagged her sister.
The fight was abruptly broken by a pair of ice kunai being launched from a tree, where the yuki-onna could be seen shyly peeking out. "Cool it you two, it's too early in the morning and you're embarassing my future husband."
A pair of indignant cries of "Mizore-chan, that hurt!" and "Your husband? He's my Destined One!" broke out from the vampire and succubus respectively before the childish fight started again.
Tsukune sighed again before trying to break them up, but Kokoa could see none of last day's vigor or power in his motions.
Which, in her young mind, meant that he wasn't trying all that hard to break them up and was just using them to feed his sick perversions.
Finally having had enough she huffed and turned away, leaving behind a group of four people curiously looking at her and wondering why she was that upset.
Tsukune and Inner Moka were the only ones that had any inkling as to why that was so. From what little they had seen, Kokoa idolized her older sister, but not Moka. That meant that Kokoa only believed in Moka's 'perfection', which blinded her to her imperfections. Therefore, when presented with those same imperfections, she couldn't help but be infuriated.
They didn't realize it was something more than that; Kokoa had set Moka as her 'ideal' vampiric existence, everything she could ever hope to be. To see her acting in such a way, so different from the vampiric ideal she had thought her to be, shook the young girl's very foundations.
Simply put, the girl had too high expectations and couldn't take it when they weren't met. She couldn't understand how her sister could be so carefree and naive, not when she believed that she should be focused and controlled at all times. So, she chose to hate, rather than correct her views.
Vampiric Pride is a terrible thing to behold.
But the little girl didn't care about that, in fact she thought it was perfectly normal to feel that way. Why, it was that pervert Aono's fault that her wonderful sister had been reduced to a pink-haired naive fool.
Which means that the logical thing to do would be separating those two. To do that, the first thing she would have to do was observer her prey in its natural environment. Which meant following a disgruntled Tsukune throughout all his after-homeroom proceedures. And, after seeing how much time he had spent talking with people about non-sensical things, she could sympathize with his horror at having to do that every day for the rest of his school life.
Then things began to look up when he started heading back to the Academy's main buildings rather than his dorm, which meant he did more things, things that would be in the company of Moka and the others. Finally, the chance she was waiting for! The chance to find the group's weak spot and drive them apart, to save her sister from the embarassment she must definitely be feeling at being lumped together with those lesser monsters!
The vampire girl waited next to the door, waiting for her pet bat to come from its reconaissanse mission; namely what kind of place it was. Would be so uncool to enter a room and not even know what was going on inside. She smirked widely when her Kou-chan flapped next to her head and began screeching the answer.
"Eh? Newspaper Club? You're telling me that Nee-chan is in a newspaper club of all things? And even that Aono guy?"
More screeching.
"Well, then time to meet this 'newspaper club' that has such powerful members. It must have some sort of secret, there's no way to explain it!"
Tsukune's cousin would have loved to meet the girl, that's for sure.
And so, Kokoa took a deep breath and opened the door... To find the Newspaper Club members sprawled over their desks, mumbling things about how nice it felt to have their own classroom or how tired they were.
"Don't you guys even work?" The indignant cry made it out of her before she had time to control herself.
Kurumu looked at her strangely as she sat up from her place; lying unashamedly on the club table. "Ah, it's you Kokoa-san. What do you want this time? If you attack us again, I'm really going to punish you."
Her original goal forgotten at the insult that a lesser youkai could punish her, Kokoa's temper exploded. "Punish me? As if you can you weakling!"
"Weakling? I'll show you who's weak!" Said Kurumu, infuriated at being insulted in front of her Destined One. Especially by that brat.
All too eager to take the girl up on her offer, and vent some much needed frustration, Koka threw her right hand to the side, calling on her trusty bat to take its hammer form...
Only for Tsukune to appear between the two girls to stop them. "Would you stop it!"
Unfortunately, the hammer was in the air and with the distraction, Kokoa missed grabbing it, with the unfortunate yet comedic side effect of having it fall on her.
The sight made Kurumu break down in laughter while Moka fussed over her little sister.
"Oh god, Kokoa-chan! Are you alright?" The pink-haired girl tried to bring her sister back to the world of the conscious, more than a bit weirded out by the way Kokoa looked dazzedly at her and giggled something about 'onee-sama'. Wanting to make sure nothing was wrong with the girl, she turned to her male friend. "Tsukune-san, can't you do anything about it?"
Said boy sighed and pulled his sleeve up, revealing his right forearm. A moment of hard concentration after that and his left hand's pointer had turned into a long claw. It was a simple thing to make a small cut and bring his forearm in front the delirious girl so she could feed on his blood.
"Ahh... Tsukune-san's blood... I want it too..." Whined Moka with a look normally reserved for addicts having their fix hovering in front of their eyes yet too far away to take it.
"I still don't get what's so good about Tsukune's blood though..." Said Kurumu, looking at the vampire girl curiously. "I mean, I get it, you like it, but isn't it a bit much, even for you? I mean even Inner reacted rather weird to it... Hell, even Mizore said she wouldn't mind drinking it again... Which is kinda freaky since she isn't a vampire..."
Once the red-headed girl was back into action, and trying to get her sister to stop fussing over her, Tsukune turned to Kurumu. "Well, it's not just the taste. I did some tests with Ruby-san and the Exorcist. I can pass on a hint of my monster powers through my blood, but unlike most monsters this one doesn't have negative effects. On the other hand, the 'boost' doesn't last for more than a few seconds. It's probably because when my blood's power is activated, it burns away, loosing all its youki. We tested it and found that regardless of how much you drink, you can only have a small amount available to burn and it will last for a whole day. At least that way I can help you if you're wounded."
"Well it does sound rather useful, but I don't think I'm into the whole 'blood drinking' thing myself. If you want to drink me up though, I'm all for it!" She said, quickly recovering and proceeding to make him blush.
"I don't get it." Said Kokoa from the ground, having sat up with her sister's help. "What kind of monster are you? I know the boob-monster's a succubus, nee-chan's a vampire," Though she couldn't help but consider how much of a failure as a vampire she was in that form, a stark opposite from her true form. "and there's also a yuki-onna and a witch, but what are you?" Her voice was filled with suspicion that was not allayed in the slightest at the uncomfortable look that came over the group's faces.
And who could blame them? While more than the absolutely necessary number of people knew about Tsukune's powers, it was still a pretty well-kept secret in the school. Akuchi's were generally disliked and distrusted, believed to be mere bloodthirsty berserkers, being little more than demons in mortal flesh. It was certainly not an unjustified notion since many, if not most, Akuchi succumbed to their Inner Demons, but they were by far not the rule. In fact, it was the rejection itself that disheartened most and led them to their Fall. Unfortunately, with the rumours and beliefs repeatedly confirmed, even those who had not fallen were regarded as walking bombs and ostracized. Though there had not been an official Akuchi sighting in several hundred years, neither was willing to risk Tsukune being exposed, for fear of mass fear and hysteria. After all, some would say, a demonblooded draws power from demons, wouldn't that mean that they would be seeking a way to enhance their powers by shattering the seal that kept the Demons at bay? As foolish a notion as it were, more than a few would believe it and that alone would cause great chaos.
However, Kokoa didn't know that, so instead she took it the wrong way. She was ready to begin her accusations again when Yukari burst into the classroom, panting.
"Terrible news everyone! Some criminals have broken into the school! There have already been three students missing!"
To the group's surprise, Tsukune only nodded solemnly. "I know. The Headmaster told me. I've already notified Kuyou and his people are all searching for them. The announcement should come any second now."
Indeed it happened almost as if he had called. A woman's voice, who Tsukune and his friends recognized as Ruby, blared from various speakers. "Warning, warning. Unknown dangerous elements have broken into the school's grounds. They are armed, dangerous and already known murderers. All students are warned to avoid meeting unfamiliar people and remain in constant company of close friends and classmates. Do not leave the buildings for any reason. I repeat; stay in the buildings and do not pursue the criminals."
"Tsukune-san..." Said Moka, fearing that Tsukune could be called to assisst the Police, him being a Council member and a powerful Ayashi in his own right. But when she turned to him, she gawked.
Kurumu had already grabbed the poor boy and smothered him in her chest. "Tsukune will protect me, I'm sure!"
That was stopped rather quickly when Mizore, who came from a ventilation shaft above them, threw a kunai at the succubus without warning or even greeting. "Why would he protect you? I am the future mother of his children." Then promptly making a chain made out of ice links complete with an icy weight on one end, she wrapped the makeshift kusari-gama around the boy's torso and began to lift him up. "Speaking of children come, my future husband. Our bed is ready."
The chain was cut as Kurumu lashed out with her dagger-esque nails and grabbed her Destined One. "As if! Tsukune would rather eat my home-made cookies! Right Tsukune? And there's so many ways to do it too, with whipped cream, chocolate," A low whisper in his ear. "Off my body..."
Hearing that, the poor boy turned beet red as his imagination was re-ignited. Truthfully though, who wouldn't?
Seeing him in danger of being 'corrupted' by the succubus' wiles, Yukari brandished her wand, making a basin hit Kurumu on the head. "Step away from Tsukune-san~desu! Only Moka-san may have him and then invite me to their shared bed!"
Kokoa couldn't really be blamed for begining to blush around these people. They were all sex-crazed! Either that Aono-guy was far better at corrupting them than she thought... or they were the ones that corrupted him! Her attention however was quickly diverted at Moka's scrunched up face. Misreading the emotions there to be a desire to uncover the criminals, she took her sister by the hand. "Come on nee-chan, if you stay here, your brain will rot!"
Surprised by that, Moka could only follow, leaving Tsukune behind in the 'tender mercies' of three rather hormonal girls.
Not that their playing lasted much after Moka left. They mostly did it for teasing and they all knew it, well except a blushing Tsukune. The poor boy was left to wonder how these three girls went from teasing to casually talking in under a second flat.
Walking down a corridor, Kokoa looked at her sister critically. "So what do you guys do over in that club anyway?"
"W-well... we just write news of the school usually... though most of the time we take part in the troubles and are forced to solve them..." Answered Moka, wondering about the sudden interest. Maybe her little sister wanted to join them? Could it mean that she and Kokoa-chan could have fun without worrying about her being attacked by her larger-than-life weapons?
Fat chance. "So you act like detectives or something? That's great! We can go capture the criminals!" She said happily. Finally, a chance to show her sister who she really was, remind her of the vampire she really was and tear her away from those pathetic weaklings!
"Kokoa-chan, I don't think that's a good idea..." Said Moka hesitantly. She couldn't help it; she was no fighter. And without Tsukune to release the fighter in her, then she would be unable to do anything...
"Eh, no worries, I'm here so it's alright." Said the ever-confident Kokoa, even though she had been badly beaten a day ago. "Besides, we'll just leave after finding the clues or something. Now come on, let's go, we need to find their lair!"
Apparently, the only knowledge Kokoa had about crimes and criminals was that bad guys have a lair that the good guys go to beat them.
She was about to be educated on the problems such assumptions create in a very harsh fashion.
Despite her small stature and young age however, Kokoa had a sharp mind, if one lacking a bit in the wisdom department. So, she dragged her older sister around campus, asking and looking and taking notes about where the attacks had happened. Then, after consulting a map of the school, conveniently taken from Ruby with a small white lie, she took a marker and circled the one location she was sure the culprits were.
"There! The attacks occured in approximately equal distance from that place. It's abandoned so there's no one in, making it an ideal hideout! Let's go nee-chan!"
And they were off, leaving the map on Ruby's office, there for the witch to find it.
It was only luck that made Yukari check her Know-Know-kun charms and see how Moka's paper began slowly turning darker and darker.
Fearing the worst, that Moka would be in danger, Tsukune, Kurumu, Yukari and Mizore quickly launched a search and rescue quest, asking everyone about the girl's location. Everyone said the same; Moka had been with Kokoa.
"That brat!" Raged Kurumu. "I can't believe it! She had the gall to come to us and take Moka so she could try to kill her again! Getting beaten up once wasn't enough for her? And with the criminals around, it could get worse!"
"Calm down Kurumu-chan." Said Tsukune. "First we should go to Ruby, Kuyou always has someone next to her for quick message transmission." He would know; he was the one that suggested such a tactic.
The group quickly made its way to Ruby's office, where they found the witch's desk empty but with a large map sprawled over it, a certain point in the Academy grounds marked with a red marker and the words 'Bad Guy Hideout!' under it.
Tsukune and the girls looked at each other carefully. "You don't think?"
"That idiot!" Mount Kurumu exploded again, her fiery temper taking over her mouth. "Is she stupid or what? Moka can't fight! Without you there, she can't even defend herself properly! And she is a little brat, even though she is a vampire. Against a trained killer, she's going to get slaightered! We need to save them!"
Tsukune wasted only enough time to memorize the map before turning to his friends. "You're right, let's go Kurumu, Mizore. We need to hurry."
"Hey, what about me~desu?" Cried out the little witch, hurt that they might be forgetting her.
"Yukari-chan..." Said Tsukune, turning to her and crouching down to her level. "You need to stay here and tell Ruby-san and Kuyou where to find us. Also, you're the only one with Know-know-kun. With Ruby-san you'll be able to follow us much better, not to mention the two of you can cast much more powerful spells than you alone. That place is an underground maze, I've got a map or two of it stored in the council room, but other than that, if we have to fight, it will be too close. You won't have time to cast your magic. With Ruby-san it would be different, but someone has to be here to tell her. It's also a very important job. Now, remember; after she comes, take her to the council's meeting room. I'll have a map of that place on the table. Take it and come with help, probably a few doctors too."
The little witch nodded understanding. She did understand her importance, but that didn't mean she liked having to stay back. With Ruby-san to help her though, she'd be much better help than alone, that much she knew.
Leaving the little girl behind them, Kurumu and Mizore ran next to Tsukune. When he took the wrong turn to a dead end in a corridor they looked rather surprised. "Tsukune, where are you going? That's the wrong way..." Said Kurumu.
The boy chukled. "Not really. There's a shortcut only Council and Police members can use. You're with me now though, so it's alright." At a wave of his hand a part of the wall was sucked in and moved to the side, opening a way into a large, dark corridor lined with torches. Mizore looked approvingly as well as almost as if in reaction to a challenge. She'd have to learn to open them as well! Think of all the nice places to sta-, err follo-, err watch over Tsukune.
Two girls and a boy quickly went into the corridor, heading for the only place with full maps of the place, even the hidden areas.
In another part of the school, Koka and Moka walked around the underground maze of the abandoned part of the campus, the darkness, stale stench of mold and cold surrounding them.
The youngest was chatting up the eldest, reminding her about the times they had fought in the past and how lonely it had become since she left, how boring it was. The eldest however... was creeped. She couldn't help it; it was a crepy place and this time they weren't waiting for the bad guys to come to them, they were going right into their lair!
"Anyway, and then you... Wait did you hear that?" Said the little girl suddenly, turning back where they came from. "I'm sure I heard something... Alright, sis, here!" She said and had her bat turn into a baseball bat, complete with spikes and nails. "Use Kou-chan, I can still fight even without him."
"Eeeh? Me? W-w-why?"
"Come on nee-chan! You're a vampire, act the part! Besides, with your real personality being sealed, you can't fight like you used to. Don't worry, I'll give you the openings, just smash as hard as you can!"
"A-Alright..." She was not convinced, but she still took up the offereed weapon and hid behind a pillar, ready to smash her weapon on whoever came from there.
No one did; they were behind them.
Kokoa's internal youki radar warned of that fact approximately less than a quarter of a second before a fist as large as her smashed on her torso and threw her on a wall.
"Kokoa-chan!" Screamed Moka as she let the weapon go and went to her little sister, a little sister that had blood dripping from one side of her mouth and probably also had more than a couple broken ribs.
"I-Idiot..." Said the wounded girl. "W-why did you drop Kou-chan?"
It didn't make sense to Moka until she realized that the enemy was undefeated and lurking over her. Turning to see it, she gulped.
It was a minotaur. An extremely large specimen too. It towered over her so much that it had to lean forward to move and even then its horns only barely didn't scrape the ceiling. At least now she knew why they had been found out that fast; minotaurs were magically gifted in wandering around labyrinths and mazes, despite their otherwise highly reduced mental abilities.
As if that wasn't bad enough, the monster had friends. Two shadowy figures flanked it, the smiles on their faces being much less than friendly.
"Well, well, what do we have here, a pair of rats? They seem tasty too." The grin while one of them said it left little doubt that he meant it literally. "Luckily, we need one of them. Un-luckily, we don't need the other. So, what are we going to do?"
Moka looked at her sister and then at the attackers. As things were, they couldn't win. Tsukune wasn't there to remove her Rosario and Kokoa was wounded. She couldn't fight. Holding back her tears she got up and bowed her head. "P-Please... t-t-take Kokoa-chan as your prisoner... Just d-d-don't hurt her..."
From her place on the ground, the girl in question looked on stunned and more than a bit hurt. Her sister was giving her away to them? Why would she do that? Why would she betray her like that?
"Oh, aren't you the brave one. But no. We're taking you, you seem much more like the girl to listen to our commands. Tauros... you may eat the other one." Replied the leader, making the minotaur grin maliciously and Moka get between the monster and its food.
"No! Please! D-don't eat her! E-Eat me, just spare Kokoa-chan! Please, spare my sister!"
Then Kokoa's world broke to pieces. Moka, her sister but not onee-sama, wasn't betraying her by handing her over, but trying to protect her. She was willing to let herself get eaten just to give her a chance to survive, buy some time for someone to come for them.
"Hehehe, who do you think we are girl? We don't give a crap. Now go to sleep!" And then Moka's world turned black as she was struck on the back of her head, knocking her out cold.
Kokoa watched in horror as her sister fell like a sack of potatoes and was dragged away, leaving her with the minotaur licking his chops.
"N-no way... this is how I die? I... I don't want to die!" Her courage gone, Kokoa closed her eyes as she waited for the end.
A pair of brown eyes closed in focus and there was the soft sound of metal cracking. When they snapped open, they were blood red and youki burst from the wielder.
A step became a leap and, as strength was increased tremendously, the walker became a blur.
A blur that blazed in front of the minotaur, picking up its prey as it ran.
Realizing that something was wrong, especially considering how the new youki was just like her onee-sama's, Kokoa opened her eyes...
To see herself carried in the arms of the most unexpected person; Aono Tsukune. An Aono Tsukune with blood-red eyes, elongated fangs and a youki that was terribly familiar to the little girl. A vampire's youki.
"Rangh... RAAARGH!" Howled the minotaur, more than a bit annoyed at its meal being stolen and charged the calm boy in front of him.
And why shouldn't he be calm? His opponent might be a minotaur, but his best friend was a Super Vampire and his trainer had been a four-tailed Youko. Not to mention the high he was on from accessing the vampiric power that was sealed away by the seal. It really helped put things into perspective. A perspective that let him know just how superior he was to the monster. Tsukune turned his reptilian eyes to the charging beast and snarled, an instinctive challenge at his attacker. He made the first step to attack, but before he could charge back, two shapes came from the minotaur's sides and attacked, one high and the other low.
"Gee Tsukune, you should let us fight sometimes too."
"You're not the only one who trained the last six months."
Mizore and Kurumu stood battle-ready, their true forms revealed, on the left and right of a quite surprised Tsukune. He knew he should stop being surprised, but he couldn't be really blamed about it now, could he?
"So, partner," Said the succubus. "how do we do it?"
"Hmm... I propose that." Replied the yuki-onna.
"My feelings exactly! Let's go!"
Then both of them charged the minotaur, their paths making them come so close that their limbs were tangled. Then they began attacking.
A left swipe followed by a kick followed by a punch, followed by another kick and then a trip before coming in for another swipe.
It was relentless, constant and so fast. Kurumu was quick to say it.
"Well, he's slow isn't he Mizore?"
"That or we trained at much higher speeds. What with Gin being a werewolf and all."
"True, true..." They were discussing with a calm as if they were talking about the weather or what colors they liked or what kind of music they listened. "Now, let's go for the grand finale!"
Before Tsukune's and Kokoa's stunned eyes, the two very different girls adopted a near identical stance and spoke in stereo. Kokoa could swear that even their heartbeats were the same.
"Black and White Duet; Frozen Moon Tango!"
With motions reminiscent of the well-known dance style, Kurumu and Mizore proceeded to lay the pain on the minotaur.
Kicks deceptively gentle battered his form and claws that seemed far slower than they really were left wide gouges on its torso. There was even a moon covered in mystical ice hovering above them, Kurumu's illusion magic Tsukune knew.
In some part of his mind, the part of him that held all his understanding of combat, he couldn't help but think that their dance was not made for two, but for three.
Still, even to Kokoa's eyes it was breathtaking. Being who she was, she didn't need a demonic half to tell her how to fight, her own combat instincts were sharp and her talent in the field of combat was so great she didn't need a teacher in order to learn how to do it. So, that is why she could see something very scary; either of the two could have beaten the minotaur on their own, with not nearly as much trouble as one might expect.
The fact that they, despite being 'low ranked Ayashi' could beat someone that even her would have trouble fighting... it made the little girl realize just how small she was in the grand scheme of things. Of course, it also made her realize that if these two, a succubus and a yuki-onna, could fight on par with a minotaur... then how much potential did she have?
So lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice Tsukune putting her down until his arm was offered along with his blood. As much as the vampire girl hated to do it, she bit into the arm and drew upon the natural regenerative properties it had, mending her broken bones.
"So, who's the weakling, chibi?" Snarked Kurumu playfully at the girl.
"We might not have strong bodies, but we weren't going to let Tsukune get so far ahead of us. We had to try and get stronger too. Six months. For six months, Gin-senpai trained us. We might be weaker Ayashi, but we're stronger fighters. We have something to fight for." It was stated factually by Mizore, who, like her partner, had leaned over the girl, looking her in the eyes. She took the glare with a stride, mostly because she could see the beginings of an apology somewhere in there.
"You're not just good fighters, Mizore-chan, Kurumu-chan, you're also great people. But you should have left me to do the fighting, I don't want you to be in danger..."
"We know." Reassured him Kurumu, her head on the crook of his neck as her body was pressed on his back. "We know, but we're proud too. Can't have you doing all the work now." Then her voice turned low and husky, a whisper calling to his most carnal instincts. "You know... there's more to our duets than just combat..." She blew hot air to the junction of his neck and secretly cheered at the way he shivered, feeling his body temperature skyrocket. "Something to think about." And then she sauntered off, knowing his eyes were glued on her swaying form, high-fiving the other part of her duet.
Tsukune gulped. As much as he might try to deny it, he was extremely attracted to the girls, and who wouldn't to tell the truth. Each and everyone of them was kind, caring, fun to be around and very beautiful. Any man would be happy to have one of them by his side. Any man he corrected himself. Not a half-man like himself, not a cursed existence like his own. So why, why did it hurt him so much to have to push them back, to have to let go of them? Why was it that the mere thought of them being in another's arms brought such unholy rage to him that he could feel even his Inner Demon become silent in a fury much greater than its own?
With an admirable force of will, something gained after many fights with his own demons, Tsukune tore his thoughts away from those thoughts. He was nothing but their guardian, their friend, the one to protect them when all else would fail. He was not who they were meant to be with. He could not bring that burden upon them. He could not risk being with any of them as more than just friends, not when he could loose control and hurt them. He couldn't allow that to happen. He wouldn't.
So, he took his hand from Kokoa, knowing his blood wouldn't heal her fully but also using that as an excuse. He needed to vent some steam and he knew that the intruders were more than one, the Headmaster had told him so. They would do.
"Kurumu-chan, Mizore-chan, take care of Kokoa. I'll find Moka and deal with the other intruders."
"W-wait!" Said Kokoa. "When.. when you find them... I want you to kill them! They... they took my sister away when she tried to defend me. They hit her from behind like cowards!"
She couldn't see it, but his eyes glowed red when Tsukune heard that Moka was hit. His voice was gravely and Kokoa couldn't help but smirk as she realzed just what she had released against those who hurt her sister. "Done."
With that he began walking down a passage, leaving Kurumu and Mizore to look sadly towards the way he went before turning to Kokoa. The little girl couldn't understand what he was, what he had to go through. That's why they couldn't blame her for making things worse than they already were. They would have to explain to her at some point, but just how they would get on doing that, they had no idea.
Walking down the dark corridors, Tsukune glared at the darkness, his instincts strung high. He felt like something was watching him, but he couldn't pinpoint where.
Actually, something was watching him, two somethings. A pink-haired girl and a man grinning like a lunatic as he licked his knives with too much intent.
"Tsukune-san..."
"Oh, so that's his name?" Came the lunatic's voice. "Don't worry, it'll be over soon. The boss is very strong. Exactly as strong as his enemies, y'see. That's why he's so scary. He can just up and take all your powers!" He chukled, perhaps enjoying the feeling of an unknown horror he had set upon the girl.
But she wasn't making that face of terror because of not knowing what the 'boss' was, she had received enough clues for her Inner self to figure it out. And that's exactly why she was so terrified. If that guy took on Tsukune's form, he would also take on all his powers. And all his instincts.
Ghoul blood-thirst and Demonic personality included in one, family-sized, package.
"Oh no, please! Y-your boss is a Doppelganger, right?" She said, gaining some small sense of victory the way the other guy looked surprised. "Then please stop him! Whatever he does, he must not take Tsukune-san's form! Believe me, if he does it, something terrible is going to happen!"
"Something terrible you say? Then all the better!" The insane, lop-sided grin made the girl realize that these guys were probably not just murderers, but also quite insane. "The boss is going to become even stronger and I'll be able to make even more connections with my babies!" He said, waving his knives around wildly. "Now shut up! I want to see what's happening! Look, they're ready to meet!"
And through the shikigami's projected imaging, Moka saw the group's boss walking towards an unwitting Tsukune. She only whispered her friend's name, hoping that her fears wouldn't be realized.
The warrior sealed within her, the undefeatable Super Vampire, however wasn't quite satisfied with praying. Unlike her pink-haired counterpart, she wasn't content on waiting. So, using the rosary as a communication device, she began to speak with her container, though she herself watched with no small amount of dislike at the scene. One could even say she felt some form of sadness or horror at what was about to happen, but she would vigorously, and possibly violently as well, deny it.
Because she knew what was going to happen. Both sides of Moka saw Tsukune charge the outlaw's boss as he came from the shadows, not waiting for even a second once he realized that the shape in front of him wasn't Moka. So, he moved with great speed and grabbed the newcomer by the throat, raised him in the air and slammed him on the wall, making him cough.
Moka couldn't hear what the boss said, but Tsukune could and he was quite surprised.
"Whoah, you're strong and fast. Nice. I want to be just like you!" With that, the man grabbed Tsukune's hand and his own face, youki-born light erupting around them, temporarily blinding Tsukune.
When the light died down... there was a second Tsukune there, wearing the man's clothes. "Well... hehe... I was wrong... you're much, much stronger than what I... W-wha... what's... No! No! NO! STOP! Make it stop! NOO! MY! MY HEAD! A-AR-GH-RAAARGH!"
And before three very surprised and two very fearful sets of eyes, the second Tsukune began mutating before their very eyes, his form exploding with muscle and sharp bones, his vile youki making the entire underground maze shake with power and malice. It roared and not one of them could see even a shred of intellect behind its blood-red eyes.
Inner Moka decided they had to act. "Omote! We have to help Tsukune! Now!"
But her Outer shell just shrinked away from the image, her hands on her head, shaking with fear. "How? How can we help him? He's not here to free us! I... There's nothing I can do!"
The red-eyed part of herself snarled, making her shiver. "Are you saying we should leave him to die? Or become like that? Get up Omote! Fight!"
The whisper came from Moka's lips unbidden, unable to even communicate with her other side mentally and having to do so verbally. "But I'm not like you Omote... I.. I can't fight... I'm not strong, or fast and I don't even know how to do it... I'm weak..."
"SILENCE! You're me, aren't you? Even though I'm sealed, you have my body! Use it! You have my youki! My blood! My Pride! Call it out! Feel the power in your own blood and free it! The power in Tsukune's blood you drank today!" She roared at her outer self, shocking her with the power within her. "I'll tell you what to do, but your instincts are better guides in fighting than any advice. Bring them out, the combat fury that burns within you! Unleash it! Fight Omote! For once in your life, FIGHT!"
Taken aback by the force and urgency in the silver-haired woman's voice Moka tried to do it. She didn't believe she could do it though. She wasn't as beautiful, or as graceful, or as powerful as her Inner form. She was nowhere near as confident. She was just Moka, Outer Moka, she was pretty but not beautiful, she was smart but not a genius. But, for the sake of her friend, she had to do it. So she did, she focused hard into the raw power that coursed in her veins.
It came so faint at first, so faint she would have missed it and given up had it not been for the constant encouragement by her Inner self. But the call came stronger and stronger, a warmth, a source of power that flowed within every bit of herself, giving life and strength to her body.
Another pulse of power. This one different, but also similar, no it was familiar. She could feel it. It pooled around the center of her body, her stomach, awaiting the release of the power caged within.
"My body," She thought, called to herself, begged herself. "My blood, my power... I beg you... help me... just this one, make me strong!"
It answered. It swelled within her until it could no longer be held back and exploded from with her in a torrent of blood-red youki. Red blood rushed from her stomach and entered her blood stream lending her stolen power, power that she would fight, if in another body. Tsukune's strength. She could feel his instincts infuse her body and, for only a second, she saw herself with claws instead of hands, sharpened bony armor formed around her. The image faded so fast like it was an illusion, but the focus she had gained, that single-minded focus she felt rising from within her, telling her where and how to hit the one in front of her didn't fade. They howled at her, telling her to move.
She did. Her legs coiled from underneath her and she sprang forward. She spun in mid-air and violently smashed her heel at the one who was supposed to be guarding her, straight into the middle of his surprised face when he turned to see what his captive was doing.
"Well, you can do it when you want. Admirable release, by the way. Very good for your first time. You lack my potency, but it was quite good none-the-less. Now cut these ropes and go to Tsukune."
Outer Moka, still reeling from the sheer violence of the blood she had released within her, not to mention the fact that she had actually hurt someone, willingly at that even, nodded and took the man's knives, using one of them to cut the ropes. The others would be used to point the way. Someone should come to pick him up really.
Kokoa, Mizore and Kurumu were just ready to go after Tsukune, assured by the orange-haired girl of the group that something was wrong and that she was well enough to fight, when a wall exploded.
From the cloud of dust two monsters came out. Two identical, terribly familiar in shape, monsters.
For poor Kokoa it was more shocking, because seeing them brought back memories when one of them stood over her, ready to kill her.
They clawed and bit at each other, lashed out with their tails and tried to kill the other in a frenzy that left the girls reeling. Youki burst from them and their red eyes were almost blurs at the speed they were moving to bite the other while dodging getting bitten back. Gouts of acid were launched around haphazardly and the onlooking girls quickly took shelter, lest they be caught.
With a roar, one of them was kicked off the other, sent tumbling through the air and more than one pillar.
"Oh god, Tsukune!" Both members of the Black and White Duet said with fear in their voice.
"Tsukune? How do you know which one's Aono?" Said Kokoa, drawing a look of pained understanding.
"Because we know who he is. We don't need anything to tell us who he is. We love him. We could never confuse him, no matter what." Said Mizore and those words struck the girl harder than even the minotaur did. Because that could mean that her sister had feelings for this man as well. Which could mean that...
Her thoughts were stopped cold when the downed one howled in pain at being bitten by the standing monster. It clawed and shook its head, trying to shake off the one trying to kill him, but he couldn't.
Then Kokoa realized she was alone behind that cover. The succubus and yuki-onna pair, seeing their beloved hurt like that leapt at his attacker, trying to stop him. A lashing tail stopped them, sending them careening into a wall.
If Tsukune hadn't seen red at that moment, then he did right then.
It was bad enough that his Inner Demon was mocking him, telling him what a superior warrior the other one was, how good he felt to truly fight through the other one, how he would enjoy raping his friends before destroying their minds and desecrating them in the most horrifying ways imaginable... But to see the other hit them with its tail, his tail... That brought on a whole new level of fury to him.
For once, Tsukune agreed with his demon. Kill.
The Divine lock on his arm rattled dangerously as several links cracked and broke, allowing Tsukune access to more of his power, and his demon much more leeway.
The explosion of power caught the other one unaware and the claw that lashed out struck home, tossing him back where they came from. Tsukune fell on all fours like an animal before leaping after him, claws, fangs and tail extended to tear and rip, pierce and stab, kill and destroy.
The two demons rolled around, biting furiously, spraying vile blood everywhere.
Through that chaos, Kokoa realized that she really was just a kid after all. She was a vampire, a proud Ayashi however and refused to let that deter her. Kou-chan transformed into a weird, long polearm with a hook on one end, though she made sure to tell the bat to keep it blunt. With that, she reached out to the hurt Kurumu and pulled her behind cover, quickly doing the same for Mizore. The girls were arranged in a non-painful position in short order, letting their innate healing abilities do their work.
"Come on you weakling, fight! Fight me! You've released so much of your power and that is all you can do? Pathetic!" Said Tsukune's demon through its other body, even if that is only how Tsukune saw it. "First I'm going to kill the little brat. Then I'm going to enjoy impregnating the succubus whore and her slut of a yuki-onna friend. Then... then I'm going to find that bitch, Moka, and make her beg for me! I'm going to make a great slave out of her! I'm going to break her mind and body, I'm going to make her nothing but a puppet worshipping me, her Lord and Master! Then I'm going to visit our dear parents and show them their son's true face! Don't you think it will be hilarious? How dear old mother will gape at us, with father dying on our jaws? How little old Kyou-chan will beg for mercy, believing her stupid, little, weak brother will come to save her? And it's all your fault! Because you're so pathetically weak! You're nothing! Just like Moka; I'm your true self, sealed away by that pathetic chain! You're so pathetically weak you can't even convince yourself to do anything!"
On and on the voice went, naming and damning Tsukune with every word, breaking his confidence to pieces. He was ready to give in, when Moka came running in the room, frantic.
Ignoring the danger of doing so, Moka leapt between the two fighting monsters, over the downed Tsukune and under the demon ready to deliver the finishing blow.
The Rosario drew Tsukune's eyes and his fangs grabbed the silver cross, pulling it free.
The possessed criminal boss wasn't that annoyed when the girl leapt in front of him. More blood. More food. So he brought his claw down to smash her.
A hand met that blow just as silver hair now adorned the girl's head, complete with blood-red, reptilian eyes. She snarled at him, her youki making a visible pillar of power around her.
Under the girl, Tsukune's world went black as he lost his fight to stay conscious.
Moka gazed at his form, rapidly covered with clothes but not quickly enough to hide the numerous scars and bleeding wounds. It was a weird look. Kokoa would have been shell-shocked had she seen it.
It was a pained and yet adoring look.
But then it turned to absolutely furious as her eyes turned the one to hurt her friend, Tsukune. One part of him even called him her Tsukune, but she focused on the fight.
She smirked but it wasn't nice. It was vicious and hateful as she pushed back the demon and leapt away from him, her quick motions drawing the attention of the feral monster, away from Tsukune's vulnerable form.
"You know..." She began and there was a lot of fury in her voice. "When Tsukune became an Akuchi, I was almost frightened. No matter what I did, the shame of that fear still lingers on me. I couldn't even fight him to beat it out of me. Thank you." Her fanged smile barely concealed her snarl. "For giving me the chance to fight him without danger to himself."
Kokoa was the only one conscious to hear all the words her sister said. She was also the only one to see her fight.
She swore off pissing her older sister after that.
She now knew how much Moka held back in fights. She now knew just how powerful her older sister could really be. She now knew that if she did anything to hurt her friends, there would be not enough bits of her to identify her as a living being.
In that fight, Moka didn't hold back at all. Attack after attack, all perfect and stringed together in a perfect combo of raw destruction rained on the Akuchi.
It met that and gave back just as much, clawing, biting, lashing out at her.
Moka would never have it any other way. She was happy, in a way. There was much resentment to be unloaded upon the one to hurt her friends. There was much anger and much fury to vent. Not to mention the thrill of a hard life-and-death fight.
When the fight haze would leave her, Inner Moka would realize that, although her negative feelings about Tsukune had left her, the others hadn't. One would think that killing one who looks just like the one you have come to care for as more than a friend would be enough to kill your feelings about them. It didn't work. If anything, it made the contrast even greater, between her prideful anger and growing feelings.
When Kurumu and Mizore woke up, still in that dark, damp dungeon, they saw Inner Moka released, still slamming her fists on the downed form of their beloved, but they knew it wasn't Tsukune. They could tell, even beyond seeing him, beaten and bloodied next to them, they could always tell it wasn't him that was being so viciously slammed.
The murderer was clearly unconscious, if not dead, by that point, but Moka did not relent at all. She slammed her fists again and again on the unmoving form, turning flesh into gore and bones to dust.
It was only when Kurumu hugged her from behind that she stopped.
Then, as if realizing what she was doing, Moka got up and left, wordlessly, off into one of the corridors. Mizore and Kokoa made to go after her, but Kurumu stopped them.
"Don't, she needs this." She said wisely.
She was the only one to see Moka's face as she struck her enemy. The only one to see that it wasn't only drops of blood marring her cheeks. She knew what Moka was feeling at that moment and she knew there was only one way for the girl to take it out of her system, but to do that she had to be alone. Truly, pride was a terribly thing. Fear, realization of one's mortality was even greater.
In the other side of the maze, the knife-user of the criminal group was creeping out of one of the exits. When his eyes met boots, next to his hands as he tried to crawl out of an opening, he looked up to see a man in white robes with a none-too-happy expression on his face.
"Hello there. I'm Mikogami, Headmaster of Youkai Gakuen and lord of this dimension. You must be the one to kill three of my students." The way that was said made the criminal gulp in abject terror. "I do not like anyone hurting my students, you can imagine what I believe about actually killing and eating them." Then the expression turned absolutely furious and an unbelievable source of power exploded from the man. It wasn't youki; it was sheer, raw power, unseen, intangible but there all the same. The criminal whimpered. "Also, did I mention I'm one of the three Dark Lords?"
The screams that came from there were the perfect cover to the sounds of a girl crying in the darkness.
A/N: And here's the next one! Rapid-fire Chapter-writing Mode!
You might come to see a few typos such as missing letters this time, don't worry; I've kinda ruined my laptop's keyboard these days with how much I write.
Couldn't be happier about it!
Anyway, please read and review.
Today, on this 9/6/2012, I, Soulblazer87, do hereby leave this site, possibly forever.
I shall not update this, or any other story.
I shall leave them on, however. Should you desire to follow my stories, do so in my new site of residence: www dot yourfanfiction dot com.