The Gates of Chaos

by AnimeMaster24

After Alucard's defeat, remnants of Fairy Tale join with rogue Angels and Devils to plunge the world back into chaos. Amidst the tragedy, Tsukune meets Issei Hyoudou, a boy with a harem of his own, who turns out to share more with him than they could imagine. Can these unlikely friends help each other sort out their feelings and protect the ones they love? TsukuneXHarem IsseiXHarem

2. Those Who Smite the Wicked

Chapter 2: Those Who Smite the Wicked

Disclaimer: I do not own Rosario + Vampire or High School DXD. This story is made purely for fun, not profit.

Having officially graduated from Youkai Academy the previous year, Ling-Ling had chosen to stick around out of her own interest, something that had not sat well with the administration. When they initially refused her request, Ruby proposed the elder Huang sibling be allowed to remain as a peacekeeper, resulting in the creation of a new campus security team composed mostly of school alumni and staff. She and her Jiang Shi army were currently tasked with acting as peacekeepers and caretakers of the school grounds, effectively replacing the corrupt Public Safety Commission that was disbanded two years before.

While the undead woman clearly enjoyed watching the messes made by Tsukune's harem, she spent most of her time keeping an eye out for assassins sent to collect the bounty on the young man's head. Her Jiang Shi servants were stiff limbed due to post-burial decay, but the nature of their existence made them strong, tireless, and fast, allowing them to detect and subdue any intruder while keeping the school under constant watch.

Ling-Ling plopped herself down on the couch positioned against the wall of the security team's main office. The shrine-like building had previously been home to the fox demon Kuyou and his Yakuza-like police force. It was abandoned until the end of last year when Ling-Ling had been granted the property as a base of operations. Since then she had personally remodeled the interior to resemble her family's Chinese style mansion back home. The sparse rooms ere now adorned with more comfortable furnishings, and the doctrines of the Public Safety Commission had been torn from the walls and replaced by decorative artifacts from the Huang Estate.

The zombified woman stretched her rigid body against the full length of the couch in an attempt to loosen her limbs, carelessly thumbing through a book from one of the many shelves. Being dead had some advantages, but she missed the sensation of touch, and the feel of a living pulse within her body. The only thing that truly remained alive was her mind, which is why she often busied herself by reading. Learning new things was one of the few things she could do in order to invoke some type of self-improvement, since her body had long become a walking corpse that no longer aged.

A knock on the door focused her attention back to the present, followed by the entrance of a face she had come to know quite well in the past year or so. Standing tall and muscular, Haiji Miyamoto had been captain of the Karate Club before his graduation last year, and now served Youkai Academy as a member of the peacekeeping force. Despite his usually high spirits and excitable personality, he seemed oddly stone-faced for the moment, something that did not sit quite right with the female Jiang Shi.

Ling-Ling leaned forward with a cheerful expression, placing her long sleeves together and bowing like a monk. "I'm most pleased you saw fit to grace me with your presence today, Mr. Miyamoto. By any chance, are you hassling the school's ladies, again?"

"Save it! I came here to tell ya that there's a serious situation on campus right now."

The elder Huang sibling sat up a little straighter, though her expression did not change. "Don't tell me you were attacked while peeping on the first-year students. This would be the third time this month, would it not?"

"Not this time, dead lady... We got bigger problems!" Haiji clenched his fists, looking as though he were about to punch someone else. "While me and the boys were doing the morning rounds, we found the bodies of three female students on the edge of the northern woods." he cringed with a hesitant scowl. "Don't know much else, but it looked like they'd been dead for at least an hour."

The security chief sat up a little straighter, all signs of humor having vanished from her visage. "Hmmm... You're serious, aren't you?"

"I wouldn't kid about something like this." the Tengu Demon scowled at the thought of what he saw, the images of the students' lacerated remains flashing in front of his eyes for a second.

The female zombie sitting across from him blinked once in response to the news, but it was clear that her own experiences with death had left her numb to even the most morbid experiences. "I see." she paused thoughtfully, giving him another opening that he did not immediately oblige. "What else can you tell me about the incident."

"Didn't recognize the victims, but it looks like whoever did the deed caught 'em completely off guard. No big sign of a struggle, and they weren't even in monster form when we got there."

"So, it was a clean death, then?" she paused dreamily for a moment, as if she found the prospect almost disappointing. "Unlike the prolonged sickness that took my life, of course... Bless them, having been given the gift of a swift demise."

The bird man's shoulders stiffened, once again uncertain how to deal with the undead. "Focus, will ya!" he barked in her face, causing the woman to blink absent-mindedly.

Ling-Ling turned to face her visitor, now ready to give the news her undivided attention. "Right then... By any chance, is there hope that one of the victims survived?"

"Not unless the poor kids can speak without a pulse." he grunted dismally. While the karate practitioner was known for his lolita complex, he also held a genuine affection for the young, something that many members of his species were known for. His anger at the culprit of this crime was apparent in every word he spoke.

Despite her seeming lack of attachment to the world around her, the zombie girl sensed his feelings. "Very well. Did you collect the bodies of the three students?"

"They were in really bad shape, overall... I ain't an expert, but it looked like someone brutalized the dead and mutilated the bodies for fun. We're just lucky those girls were carrying some kinda school identification, or it might've been harder to figure out who they were."

"I suppose this rules out resurrecting them as Jiang Shi." she muttered to herself, knowing that severe dismemberment would render the process less effective. Sensing his impatience, she quickly decided to refocus on the tragedy itself. "Still, it seems you were able to discern quite a bit from the condition of the remains. How exactly did you make these conclusions?"

"More of a gut feeling to me, though none of them were in their monster forms, so I don't think there was much of a fight. You might wanna take a look at 'em yourself. Maybe the medics downstairs managed to find out more than we did."

The elder Huang sibling hopped to her feet in a manner most indicative of her species before changing her movement to a slow walk. Despite it being easier for her to hop around like a normal Jiang Shi, she retained some semblance of joint movement due to her great grandfather's expertise in creating zombies. While she relied on jumping motions for fast movement, Ling-Ling still preferred to walk when she was able, as it made her feel more like the person she had been before dying. Behind her, the Tengu followed a step behind her, despite having just come from that direction. He had no desire to see the young students' bodies again.

Ling-Ling stepped into the room with an unusually grim look, her eyes widening ever so slightly in response to what waited within. She clapped her hands twice, prompting the aids to excuse themselves from the room. While the security force itself was known for its large percentage of Jiang Shi, the clinical staff were all living monsters. In human form, the head doctor was rather ordinary in appearance, having a thick brown beard and short hair, his white coat and tools indicating his position as the outpost's lead physician. The doctor acknowledged his visitors with a small nod as they approached.

"I've come to inspect the bodies of the deceased." she greeted, causing the man to step aside.

The medical professional solemnly reviewed the notes on his clipboard as he moved to the other side of the operation table, holding a hand out to stop her from moving the sheets. "It will do you little good, Chief Huang. They are beyond our help."

Haiji turned his back to the Jiang Shi, quietly taking a post outside the door. "Didn't I just get through saying the same thing? There no point disturbing the dead."

"You think I am unaware of these things? After all, I'm already dead." Ling-Ling reached up as if to remove her head, though she stopped after considering the severity of the situation in the eyes of ordinary people. "I only wish to assess their conditions for myself."

She took the edge of the sheet and tugged, revealing the naked body of a young girl. The victim bore a slight resemblance to Kokoa in terms of build and height, although her bust was slightly larger, and her hair a mundane brown opposed to the Shuzen vampire's fiery locks. While her eyes were empty and lifeless, her expression spoke of shock more than pain, indicating that her death had been sudden and unexpected. Ling-Ling ran a cold hand down the still-warm corpse, fingering several of the wounds as she traced the cuts and mutilations. The lacerations were numerous, which struck the trio as odd, considering how precise the kill had been.

The Tengu man turned his head away, choosing to stare at the wall across the room instead. "So, what's the verdict?"

"This girl was lucky in comparison to her companions... One was missing several organs, and the other was barely recognizable." the doctor added, apparently sharing the sentiments completely. "Were it not for school issued identification, it would have been difficult."

Haiji had discovered the third victim before finding the others, which was part of the reason why his normally brash demeanor seemed oddly shaken. "What kinda messed up psycho would've done something like this? Reminds me of that stuff we saw up on the Floating Garden!"

Ling-Ling fell silent for a moment, quietly piecing the puzzle together in her mind. "Whoever did this was clearly a sadist."

The medic adjusted the collar of his jacket with care. "What led you to that conclusion?"

She pulled back the sheet to reveal several stab wounds that seemed oddly cleaner than the wild gashes that covered most of the corpse. "Take a look at these cuts... Each of these marks were precise, aimed at piercing a vital spot to disable the victim." The female zombie moved her hand across the skin. "I imagine the remaining wounds were inflicted beforehand with the single-minded purpose of causing pain and suffering."

"Do you think an unbalanced student was the cause of this killing?" the doctor asked, taking a moment top re-evaluate the situation.

Ling-Ling carefully ran a finger over some strange burn marks on the surface of the skin. "I found this perplexing. It is almost as if the attacker struck with a burning sword, yet I find that impractical."

"Maybe the sick bastard tried to burn the remains when he was done?" Haiji suggested, shifting uneasily as he leaned against the wall.

The doctor shared her sense of confusion. "And yet no other part of the victim was burned?"

"While it may sound quite strange at first, I see little other explanation but the use of magic. The scorched flesh on this girl's body only aligns with the gashes left behind by the murderer's weapon. Were she burned with fire or heat, it would have been more widespread."

"Doesn't matter who did it or how it was done! First thing we gotta do is warn the other students that there's a psycho on the loose. Then we have to get the kids to safety and hunt down whoever's responsible." The karate practitioner's mouth twisted into a scowl. "Ruby and the others also need to know what's going on, too."

"While I agree we should warn the Shuzen Family and my brother's friends, it may not be wise to make a spectacle of this situation quite yet."

Haiji turned around to face her, looking impatient. "Are you saying we just sit here and wait for this guy to pick off more of our kids?"

"It might cause panic among the student body if this incident becomes public knowledge too quickly. Not to mention the commotion would tip off the perpetrator." She paused to think for a moment, her carefree composure evaporating for a second or two. The dead woman closed her eyes in thought before responding. "At the very least, I am certain this murder was not an isolated incident."

The doctor looked as though he had a breakthrough, reaching into his pocket to retrieve a small ring-like trinket. "I almost forgot, ma'am! We discovered this object nearby during our initial inspection of the victims' bodies." he held out his hand, allowing her to take it from him. "We were unable to identity what it was."

Ling-Ling took the metal bracelet in her fingers, turning it over with a critical eye. Several runes were carved into the surface of the object, though they were written in letters rather than kanji. It took her a minute to recognize the language as an ancient form of Latin, and a moment longer to piece together the translation in her mind. She had learned many things having Touhou Fuhai as a grandfather, including different branches of mysticism that were used in a variety of cultures. Although the actual writing meant little to her, she vaguely recognized it as a prayer used by the disciples of God-fearing religious groups.

Having a very limited sensation of touch left in her deceased body, it took the Jiang Shi several seconds to notice the painful searing sensation in her hand, the smell of burning flesh tipping her off instead. She dropped the ring immediately, recoiling in pain as the sensation finally kicked in, her brittle fingers flexing almost as if she were having a harder time moving them than usual. After regaining her bearings, she noticed that one of the paper sutras attached to her outfit had partially disintegrated.

"Something spook you?" Haiji asked, his eyes settling on the circular scorch mark on her palm. His curiosity piqued, he bent over to retrieve the fallen object.

"Do not touch it." She made a snatching motion with her good hand, seizing hold of his wrist with a warning look.

The third member of their team humbled himself with a small bow. "I should have warned you... The object seems to release a form of heat when exposed to bare flesh." the doctor apologized, his own expression matching that of the Tengu man. "Do you recognize what it is?"

"Not specifically, but I have heard tell of similar items from my great grandfather." She hesitated for a second before retrieving a surgical tool from the nearby table, using the metal instrument to hold up the ring without touching it. "This object is a holy relic blessed by divinities. Items such as these were used as focusing objects for exorcisms and other rituals meant to repel the wicked."

The karate user tilted his head in her general direction. "Looks like that thing figured out your true nature, pretty quick."

"By saying this talisman repels the wicked... I meant that it causes harm to any power source not of human of divine origin."

"Is that why one of your papers burned up?" Haiji asked bluntly, noticing one of the partially-destroyed sutras barely clinging to the side of her dress.

"Divine relics like this bracelet are used to erase energy exuded by creatures such as monsters and devils." She felt part of her body grow numb, the affects of her reanimation clearly affected by the incident. "Likewise if we touch a blessed object, it will naturally reject us."

The muscular fighter appeared disturbed by her words. "If Youkai can't even touch those things, than our culprit couldn't have been a student. Whoever did this to those girls probably wasn't even a monster, meaning it was..."

"An intruder..." she finished for him, stroking her chin thoughtfully. "While I'm not entirely certain, this appears to be our most likely conclusion."

"Which is why we gotta round up the troops and launch an all-out search for the culprit." He called over his shoulder, having already turned to leave.

"Do not be so hasty." she warned, only for her cries to fall on deaf ears. The Tengu had already bolted from the room, passing into the corridor beyond with amazing speed. "Impatient, are we?" she muttered amusedly, easily catching up to him with a few stiff hopping motions. To a stranger she would have looked awkward, jumping in a way that made little use of her joints, yet she found it easier to keep up with the super-fast birdman by doing so.

She propelled herself into the air, landing directly in front of him. "First we need to formulate a proper response. It's true I may be dead, but the rest of you are decidedly not, nor do I think it wise to hasten your demise."

Haiji stopped suddenly, causing her to stumble mid-jump. "Forget that! I'm going into the field to find whoever did this myself. Are you suggesting I can't?"

"You are very capable; Gin tells me that you and he were the ones who took down that Fairy Tale base. During that incident you were the aggressors, however our position is reversed this time, and the situation more complicated due to the large civilian presence."

"We can't just stand here and do nothing... I'm going now, unless you have a better plan."

She sighed bemusedly, despite breathing not being a necessity for her. "If you must do something, I suggest you make use of those wings to reach the school and deliver this news to the others. Once they formulate a plan to address the situation further, I need you to relay the information to the remaining units in the field and myself."

"Sheesh, and now you're using me as a messenger crow." he groaned, this blatant sarcasm acting as his acceptance of the role.

"If your desire is to protect the children, then you would do better by making the most of your talents."

He turned to leave, only for her to shove a wrapped up piece of surgical cloth into his hands. "What!? You want me to play delivery boy, too?"

"Don't be so simple-minded... I have a feeling that our friends at the school will also find this discovery to be quite illuminating."

"Talking in riddles again, huh? This is a serious situation." he accepted the item, gently pulling the cloth aside to reveal a familiar talisman.

"Make certain you take this evidence directly to Ruby and Lord Shuzen. Oh yes... And do keep that nasty thing hidden until you reach them, would you?" she spoke calmly as ever, again looking strangely carefree in the face of such negative sentiments. "Don't want it ending up in the wrong hands now, do we?"

"Yeah, you don't have to tell me twice." he answered warily, his eyes instinctively moving to the package as he felt a mild heat flaring up through the several layers of cloth.

Turning his back to her, the Tengu spared a moment to concentrate his full monster energy, a small aura flashing about seconds before he vanished in a blur of wind. Several familiar feathers remaining floating in the air where he was standing moments ago, but his body had completely vanished from sight. Ling-Ling caught one of the feathers in her hand and smiled, glad that he was the one who had given her the report. The lolicon was a strong asset to the team, despite his rather irritating habit of smothering children, and spying on the academy's female population. As if following his lead, Ling-Ling spun around and broke into a rapid frog hop, determined to do her own part in protecting her brother and his classmates.

Meanwhile...

Having just been released from class, most of the students were wandering around campus or heading back to the dormitories to relax. After school activities were a big part of life at Youkai Academy, and this was no exception for the members of the famous newspaper crew, rumored to be the strongest fighters on campus despite none of them being a part of the more action-oriented clubs. The actions of Moka Akashiya and Tsukune Aono had become legendary across campus, though at the same time it intimidated possible recruits for their club, leaving the Youkai Gazette in the hands of a their small circle of friends.

Kurumu Kuruno kicked back in her chair, placing both feet on the surface of Gin's old editor's desk. Since the werewolf had graduated the previous year, she had taken up his role as the club president, a job none of the others had been particularly interested in. Since the group usually worked together on making decisions, the position was mostly filled for show, although it had allowed her to incorporate an exclusive column dedicated to her culinary expertise. As a talented cook and aspiring future wife, she specialized in home economics and homemaking, one of the few things she was better at than her friends.

Tsukune set down last week's issue of the paper, wracking his brain for inspiration. "So, what do you guys think we should do for this week's addition?"

Kokoa lowered a magazine she was reading. "Maybe an article about how to fight using different kinds of weapons. My buddy Ko can transform into all of them, and I can demonstrate."

"Lame!" Kurumu shot back, earning a glare from the group's youngest vampire.

"If you're so damned smart, why don't you think of something?" the redhead grimaced, looking as though her patience had already reached its end.

Mizore popped up beside her, causing the younger girl to jump as she seemingly materialized out of thin air. "How about a column on stalking without getting caught?" the purple-haired girl proposed in her signature monotone, earning a collective sigh from the group.

"You always say that, Mizore... No one wants to read about your unhealthy obsessions." Yukari argued, seemingly speaking for the others.

"I was thinking it would be more of an instructional article where I reveal my techniques for hiding in plain sight while avoiding wandering eyes." she cocked her head the side innocently, looking as though she was spacing out. "Last year there were a few people trying to stalk me while I was watching Tsukune, but they were doing a rather poor job of it."

Kurumu leaned forward irritably. "And how would you know that?"

"If they had been good at it, I would've had a harder time noticing."

The male vampire leaned in, looking slightly uncomfortable. "You don't still do that, do you, Mizore?"

"So what if I do? You are my future husband." she answered vacantly.

"Excuse me!" Moka loomed over them, her expression an odd mixture of her usual irritation and her pink-haired self's bashful side.

"Never mind! Mizore's constantly rambling about making babies! I mean, she does it every day for crying out loud." the succubus protested, causing the vampire to relax a little. "After all, we're supposed to be talking about the newspaper. This isn't time for us to argue about who gets to marry my Tsukune?"

"Your Tsukune!?" Yukari jumped up, locking eyes with their self-proclaimed leader.

"You'd think I'd be used to this kind of stuff after a year." Fang-Fang sighed, gently wrapping a hand around the witch's shoulder and guiding her back into a chair. "While I envied Tsukune at fist, these past months make me wonder if having a harem is really worth it."

"How many times do I have to say, they're not a harem!" Tsukune shouted, causing an outbreak of bickering directed towards him. It soon broke out into another argument about who he 'belonged' too, much to the poor man's dismay.

The Yasha sitting beside him couldn't help but pity his only male friend. "I may have given up on having you join the Huang Family, but despite what you may think, it would certainly have its perks. After all, Polygamy is always an option in the monster world."

Tsukune eyed the remainder of his still bickering friends for a moment and exhaled deeply before turning letting his mind wander. It was definitely something he had considered in the recent months he had spent at the academy. It was clear that they all truly cared for him, but at the same time, he wasn't sure if he could love all of them with the same level of devotion as he did with Moka. Not only did Moka oppose the idea, but her father had personally lived this lifestyle once before, and knew the power of a woman's scorn. It had been one of the warnings given to Tsukune by the Shuzen Clan's patriarch.

"You okay there, buddy?" Fang-Fang waved a hand in front of his face.

The male Shinso shook his head to clear it. "Polygamy isn't something to be taken lightly. Not that I've ever seriously considered it." he added the last part rather hastily, earning a disbelieving yet respectful nod from his male friend.

"You could live a wonderful happy life with all of these girls." the Yasha protested. His eyes settled on the youngest of the flock for a second, causing a blush to grace his feminine features. "Any reason why you're so against giving them what they want?"

"Because... ... ... It wouldn't make everyone happy." he hesitated for another moment, his teeth grinding together uncomfortably. "It's really not about what I want, either. The truth is, they all deserve more than I can give them as I am now."

The Huang Family's heir considered his friend's words in silence, still unsure how to respond. He had never had experienced the kind of devotion from a girl that Tsukune knew all too well, nor had he even held hands with one. It was rather embarrassing to admit, but even with his position and notoriety in the underground, he had always been too awkward and nervous around woman to deal with them in the romantic sense. His sister often teased him about this, though he had never really discussed this problem with other people, mostly because he never had any friends to ask for advice before.

"I guess I really don't understand." he admitted, running a hand through his long dark hair.

Tsukune responded with a good-natured, yet exasperated smile. "I don't think anyone would unless they had to live through it." he found himself gazing off at nothing again.

The mob leader let out a small chuckle, mostly at his own expense. "As the heir to the Huang Family, one would almost expect me to have had similar experiences."

"Most guys would beg for something like this to happen to them, but I doubt any of those dudes really had any clue how hard it is... At the same time, I can't say I regret coming here."

"I don't either!" Fang-Fang replied confidently, earning a curious look from his one-man audience. "Even though my reasons aren't exactly the same as yours... You folks in the Newspaper Club were the first friends I've ever had. Even before they considered me a real friend, I was grateful to have someone around who treated me like a normal person, even if they didn't like me."

"Well you sorta weirded me out with that offer to join your family... That is, before I realized you were trying to recruit me into a gang." the new vampire let out an awkward yet nostalgic chuckle. "At the time, everyone thought you were coming onto me."

The kung-fu user shot up, looking suddenly embarrassed. "Do I seriously look like that kind of guy to you!?" He took Tsukune's silence as an affirmative before drooping his head shamefully.

"Yeah, really sorry about that." the older boy apologized, earning a small nod.

"It's okay. Wouldn't be the first time someone made a comment about my appearance. Ling-Ling used to do it all the time when we were kids. I assume most people we knew back then were too afraid of insulting the first son of the Huang Family to say anything." he crumpled slightly before smiling again. "No big deal. It's still nice to have friends who aren't afraid to speak candidly around me."

"Yeah, this school certainly has a way of bringing people together. Even if you have to get into mortal danger before realizing how important you've really become to each other."

Fang-Fang remembered his battles with Fairy Tail. "Can't argue with that..."

Meanwhile Tsukune found himself reminiscing to all of the students that attacked him in his Freshman year, and how the girls had always saved his life. He began to remember the faces of every enemy he had fought since being revived by Moka's blood; from the bout with the Fox Demon Kuyou to the final battle with Alucard. These battles not only tested his will to live, but also the bonds of friendship that existed between himself and those he valued most. It was almost a living Hell, yet even looking back on so much pain and suffering, he would never change his decision to stay at Youkai Academy. It and the monster world were now his home.

Before the conversation could continue, Moka suddenly appeared in front of them, a triumphant smile on her face. "After much deliberation, the others and I came to an agreement of sorts."

"What now!?" Tsukune began, his face dropping when he saw the trio standing behind her with fresh lumps on their heads. He eyed each one of the girls before let out an awkward sigh. "Oh, so it was that kind of agreement. You guys really should find a less violent way to talk."

"Tell that to Moka." Mizore spoke up, taking a moment to retract one of her ice claws.

"You were in that scrap too, y'know?" Yukari stated flatly, casually turning her wand into a small hammer. She bent over and began chipping away at the ice encasing her left leg, breaking herself free with a well-placed smash. "To think after all this time we're still at this."

"If you guys would just buzz off, we wouldn't be." Kurumu retrieved a piece of discarded ice from the floor and pressed it against the crown of her head to numb the soreness.

The silver-haired beauty shook her head as if dismissing her rivals before taking charge of the situation. "Regardless we've decided to call a temporary truce until the end of this semester."

While Tsukune looked somewhat relieved by the news, a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach told him otherwise. "What do you mean by that?"

The succubus relaxed her posture before following the female vampire's lead. "Since you originally fell in love with the Outer Moka, Little Miss Ice Queen agreed to give us all a chance to prove that she's the best one for you."

"So, we have the rest of the year to convince you that one of us is a better fit for you than Moka." the snow woman added.

Yukari kicked her legs back and forth playfully, a nervous blush reaching her cheeks. "After graduation we'll ask you for an answer. That is, after we've all had our last chance. This way it's a fair fight until the end!"

The male vampire stammered for a moment, glancing over at Fang-Fang for help, who casually brushed him off by staring intently in the other direction. So much for bros sticking together! he thought bitterly, nervously turning his head to face the girls again. They seemed strangely unified on this time, possibly a result of their years arguing amongst each other over this same topic.

"Moka!?" he muttered nervously, earning a rather confident wink from his girlfriend.

"Can't say I was too into it, but they all seemed pretty confident, and I admire that quality in any worthy opponent." She leaned against the wall and folded her arms with a cool-headed smile. "They just want me to let them keep trying until the end of the school year, that is, without me beating them up every afternoon."

He leaned in with a panicked expression. "Are you absolutely sure letting them come at me is the best option?" he spoke into her ear.

Her response was a small peck on the cheek, leaving behind a burning sensation where her lips touched his skin. "It's not them... I have confidence in you." she whispered back, pulling away slowly before addressing the group. "Not to mention, I know the rest of you won't do anything naughty, per the second half of out agreement."

"Yeah yeah, we remember the rules!" Kurumu waved her rival's warning aside with a sense of boundless confidence.

Fang-Fang quietly watched as they began discussing the deal, gently nudging his friend on the shoulder. "Good luck with that, Mr. Aono."

"Thanks..." the upperclassman murmured, looking like someone had cancelled his birthday.

He glanced up to see Moka detailing punishments to the others for any "breach of contract", yet despite all of the complications, the others seemed happy she agreed to it. Tsukune was much less certain if this would cause him any further romantic problems, but latched onto the hope that everything would turn out fine like it always did. Moka was right about one thing, though; the time really was drawing closer to when he would have to hurt the feelings of those people closest to him. Strangely the others seemed unusually optimistic despite his engagement. He understood why Moka was confident, but somehow dreaded having to address the state of his remaining friends once this truce ended.

"Guys... Is this really a good idea." Tsukune questioned with a slight wince, his signs of worry being quickly detected by the others.

"Don't worry, Tsukune. This outcome's been a long time coming." the Yuki-onna replied in a muffled voice, shifting her lollipop from one side of her mouth to the other while speaking. "As for me, I'll be just fine no matter what happens in the end."

Kurumu pumped his fist challengingly. "I may not have won the first round, but to a succubus, winning is what really matters. Working hard and finishing strong is the best way to go about doing these kinds of things!'

"Is that your take on life, or how you plan on approaching sex." Yukari snickered, only to be grabbed from behind and forced into a violent headlock.

"You've got a dirty mind of such a mouthy brat... Well allow me to grind it all out of you!" the blue-haired ayashi ground her knuckles against the younger girls skull, eliciting a few cries of pain and a weak struggle. "Give it up yet, shrimp!"

"Take this, dairy cow!" Yukari waved her wand, causing a giant washtub to collide with her captor's head, ground them both. Collapsing under the weight of the older girl, the witch found herself gasping for air beneath a pair of giant breasts. "Mmmmppphhh... Gerroff!" she screamed, waved her arms frantically.

"Get out of there, you little brat!" The succubus blushed profusely as she pried herself free.

Tsukune couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed by their antics, but it was nothing compared to what he had seen in the past few years. Moka stepped forward to separate the two, but the group's attention was quickly stolen away by a loud slam. The door fell off its hinges and collided with the tile floor, revealing the familiar face of Gin's Morioka's best friend. Haiji Miyamoto lowered his foot and entered the room, only to be greeted by a flying desk thrown by the Newspaper Club's youngest vampire.

"What the Hell do you want, loli freak!?" Kokoa scowled irritably, none too pleased by the presence of her least favorite ally.

The Tengu blushed as his eyes settled onto the orange-haired girl. "C'mon, do you really think I'm that depraved?" he began bashfully, only to receive a heavy textbook to the face. Despite the rather violent reactions from his favorite student, the blow seemed to have brought him back to his senses. "Oops! Sorry about that. Ruby sent me down here to collect you guys."

"What does she need? Did something bad happen?" Kurumu blurted out, her previous bickering with the others all but forgotten.

The others all stood up, but the karate expert shook his head. "Not everyone..." he pointed to the Shinso couple. "Just you two!"

"Of course..." Tsukune exhaled, not surprised in the least that he was being called out again.

Moka glanced over at her boyfriend with a confused expression before facing their unwanted guest. "Care to explain why, or do we have to guess?"

"They told me not to say anything... I was just ordered to bring you guys to the Headmaster's office. Normally I would take care of the problems on campus alone, but bishie-boy's sister told me she'd saw my ass in half if I came back without ya!"

The younger Huang sibling took a moment to realize he was being labeled before expressing his annoyance. Although the context was more important to him now. "Wait! Ling-Ling sent you!?"

"Yup! She even had me bring along some babysitters to make sure no one stepped out of line." Haiji moved aside to reveal four Jiang Shi that had accompanied him as escorts. "So, you guys coming, or not?"

Moka paused for a moment with a rational sense of calm. "It must be something important if this joker was forced to fetch both of us." She noticed the bird man's insulted look, but continued speaking as if she had not. "So, shall we?"

Don't see how we have much of a choice." he replied with a spark of humor, knowing full well that either of them could probably demolish the zombies if they really wanted to.

The Shinso couple walked side-by-side in between two-person rows of Jiang Shi with Haiji leading the march. Being all too familiar with their destination, Tsukune felt much more at ease than most students who were called to the Chairman's study, especially since he was more or less part of the school administration as opposed to an ordinary student who would be receiving severe disciplinary actions. Since Mikogami had rarely spoken to any of his students in the past, it was rare for anyone to be granted an audience.

Upon arrival, the karate user opened the door for them to enter before following them in, leaving the guards behind as he locked the door. Ruby sat behind the desk with an uncharacteristically tense expression, leaving her friends at a loss for words. Haiji took a seat in a large armchair positioned against the wall, looking rather indifferent to the proceedings. While Tsukune was calmly wondering why they were called here, Moka's suspicion had regressed her into state of aloof behavior more like that of her old self, the pink tinges in her hair doing little to hide this more intense part of her personality.

Despite this, her next words were undoubtedly more indicative of her combined personalities. "You dragged us here in the middle of something very important... Now tell us what's going on!"

"I'm sure she was just getting to that." Tsukune placed a hand on her shoulder, causing his future wife to calm down significantly. The feeling of her muscles relaxing beneath his touch filled him with relief, allowing him to assess the situation for himself. "She's right, though... Haiji sounded like he was a little shaken, which was a rarity for him."

Ruby let out a long draft as if she had been holding her breath. "The reason I called you both here this afternoon is because the school is in the middle of a very dangerous situation. Likewise it's important that two of our strongest students be alerted of the dangers immediately." Her eyes settled on the male vampire. "As the future owner and administrator of this institution, it is a responsibility you will have to become accustomed to sooner or later."

"Just get on with it!" the Tengu interjected, earning a disapproving frown from the witch.

She folded her hands on the headmaster's desk, seemingly ignoring his outburst. "A few hours ago, Mr. Miyamoto's security team discovered the dead bodies of three students on the edge of the school campus. Each bore wounds from a bladed weapon, and the last victim was completely unrecognizable save for the identification provided by her student card which was found on her person after the incident."

Haiji folded his arms, his expression becoming grim. "Your buddy's dead sister seems to think that the culprit was some kind of assassin sent here from the outside world. It makes sense, considering the stuff she managed to figure out just from inspecting the bodies."

The male Shinso stepped forward aggressively at this. "Wait a minute!? I thought Master Shuzen said that the assassins would be coming for me!" The boy felt his hands cringe violently, his gaze wandering to the floor as if someone had punched him in the stomach. "Are you saying that this happened to innocent people because the killer was looking for me?"

"Of course not!" Ruby shot a rather irritated look at the insensitive bird man.

Seeing his building anxiety, the silver-haired woman sitting beside him grasped her boyfriend's shaking hand in her own, giving it a gentle squeeze. "You did nothing wrong, Tsukune. The one who preyed upon those unfortunate students is the true source of this evil." She then turned to Haiji with a most discerning look. "Perhaps you would care to enlighten us. Tell me, how did Chief Huang reach such a conclusion?"

"There were a lot of details I didn't care much to listen to, but she had her reasons." he added, looking as though he were anxious for the meeting to end.

Tsukune noticed the Tengu's increasing restlessness, having already sensed his senpai's desire to catch the culprit personally. Rethinking the circumstances again, he remembered the numerous bounty posters he had seen before. "It's not like people working for Fairy Tail wouldn't recognize my face... Why would someone attack randomly like that."

"Perhaps it wasn't an outsider, then." Moka spoke up, thinking back with disgust to her first on-campus fight with the brutish Saizou. "Students on the campus are known to settle disagreements in a rather unruly manner. Even some staff members have done so in the past."

Haiji noticed the similarities to his conversation with Ling-Ling earlier, prompting him to turn to the interim headmistress to hurry along the briefing. "Just show it to 'em, already."

Realizing the urgency of their situation, the older witch unraveled the cloth on her desk, revealing the silver bracelet they had discovered near the scene of attack. When no one spoke up, she decided to address the issue directly. "This piece of evidence found nearby is proof that the attacker could not have been someone from this school."

"Why is that?" Tsukune reached down to touch it, only to feel a violent burning sensation course through his hand. He recoiled quickly, looking taken aback by the jolt of immense pain. "Ouch! I wasn't expecting that!"

Moka took a look at the burn on his hand, her eyes narrowing as they settled on the metallic object sitting on Ruby's desk. "The only kind of power capable of harming a vampire like that comes from holy magic... That bracelet is of divine origin!"

Her boyfriend glanced over at the object, this time with a critical eye. "What do you mean?"

Ruby gently picked up the object using the cloth before placing it into a metallic box she had taken from Mikogami's magic stores. It would contain the energies within, eventually dispelling the divine blessing so they could properly dispose of the nuisance. The witch looked up at her guests and exhaled deeply. "She means it was forged by the disciples of God..."

"You mean the Church!?" Tsukune blinked, only now realizing that no one within the monster world had ever spoken about such things until this point.

Moka seemed to sense his surprise, and chose to explain herself. "In medieval times, beings such as monsters were originally persecuted by those who followed the beliefs of the Christian God. These humans believed that we were unholy creatures who would eventually rise up and attack them, and to this end, weapons imbued with holy power were utilized to slay us."

"You mean it's all real!?" Tsukune muttered, looking slightly confused. Despite having been immersed in supernatural events these past years, he had never given the idea of a higher power all that much thought. "All that stuff about God is true?"

His girlfriend prodded him on the head. "Don't ask me, I'm a vampire... Though I believe every major belief system in this world has a source, whether it be Earthly or something stronger."

"Mikogami once told me that Alucard's desire to destroy humanity emerged when his peaceful kingdom of monsters was laid waste by humans under the banner of the Church." The temporary headmistress explained somberly. "You have already seen the strength of the First Ancestor with your own eyes. Mere humans could never have accomplished this without support from a higher power, no matter how large their numbers."

Haiji opened an eye at this, revealing that the bull-headed karate master had been listening the entire time. "Wait, are you saying the entire church is the enemy!?"

"Not likely..." a hoarse voice replied from the shadows, causing everyone to glance around for the source. Most of them recognized the tone all too well, and were relatively unsurprised to see the Bus Driver leaned against the half-open door. "Good day to you, Miss Toujou."

"You as well, Lord Nurari." Ruby replied, bowing her head in respect.

The mysterious Youkai slowly navigated his way through the room, scheming eyes hidden by the brim of his hat. Upon reaching the vampire couple, he extended a hand to the boy, causing Tsukune to hesitate before accepting the gesture. "Has Issa been training you well?"

"I've still got a few minor aches and pains from our morning session, but he says I'm doing better than before."

"Good... Very good... ..." Nurari responded, earning an uneasy smile from his young benefactor.

Being the less intimidated of the two, Moka was more forward than her companions. "I have to say, I was surprised when my father told me who you really were." she knew he preferred not to speak of this, but the man couldn't help but grin at her audacity. "To think, the ancient King of the Ayashi spends his time driving a school bus and smoking cigars."

"I see you take after your father, Miss Akashiya." he added in turn, letting out a hoarse chuckle that used to creep her out. "Though, I take your words as a great compliment."

"As do I, yours." she answered in a similar tone, watching as he approached the desk.

When he said nothing to further his previous thought, Ruby instinctively found herself pressing the issue, albeit with a nervous twitch in her left eye. "May I ask why you disagree?"

"The answer to that is simple..." The Bus Driver turned slightly so that he was facing the entire group. He took a moment to adjust his cufflinks, the silence maddening for the others. Despite that, he seemed to be rather enjoying himself. "The Archangel Michael is an old acquaintance of mine from way back. I know for a fact that a saint like him would never provoke an attack on the innocent, no matter what race or belief."

Tsukune seemed to choke on his tongue at this, having been hit with another surprise. "You actually know an angel!?"

"Not just any angel... The Commander-in-Chief of Heaven." Nurari replied nonchalantly, his words even causing the stoic Moka to shift uneasily. "When you've lived as long as I have, there's few important people you don't know."

"How come no one here ever mentioned the existence of angels?" the brown-haired boy asked.

Moka clicked her heels against the tile floor. "The same reasons most humans don't have much to say about ancient history. The old conflicts between Angels, Devils, Humans, Ayashi, Dragons, and Deities are a thing of the far-off past. After the wars ended, the supernatural worlds became estranged from human society."

"Not to mention we haven't had any formal contact with them for years." the Bus Driver added with a shrug. "There's an unspoken truce between most groups not to tamper with the affairs of the others, made easier by the fact that monsters freely roam the Earth, while most other factions have their own realms."

"Our reactions with humans and a desire to avoid revealing our existences is one of the few things that bid the supernatural worlds together." the female vampire explained.

"Hence the creation of the Great Barrier and other means of concealment created to hide. Even witches who could pass themselves off as ordinary humans we were often treated as outcasts." Ruby leaned over, poking him in the forehead with a finger. "You should've learned about all this in monster history class, Tsukune!"

The boy wracked his brain for a moment, inwardly slapping himself as the gears began turning in his head. "I guess with all that stuff that happened last year, I missed more class than I thought."

"And it seems you didn't pay much attention when you were there." Ruby lifted a folder from her desk, showing the room his records. "Seems like history was one of your worst subjects."

"I'm sure you could blame distraction, seeing how all four of us sat next to you that semester." Moka added.

Haiji stood up, having lost whatever patience he had left. "While we'd love to hear more about your boyfriend, some of us would rather be stomping the kidneys out of the guy who hurt those kids."

"Quite right!" Ruby looked as if she had suddenly been doused with cold water, having been shamefully caught up in the history lesson like the others. "Lord Nurari... I assume you are up to speed on the situation."

The Bus Driver nodded in agreement, two eerie glowing eyes peeking out from underneath his hat. "That Huang girl and her zombies found me when I reached the borders, so I know the basics." Seeing her expectant stare, he reluctantly decided to help them out this time. "Holy weapons like the one you discovered aren't only used by Heaven's followers, but also those who have fallen from grace. The wicked are equally capable of wielding them, so long as they still possess a divine aura."

"That could explain why the attacker mutilated those victims so thoroughly." Haiji shoved his fist through the wall.

The temporary headmistress frowned. "Must you always be so bull-headed, Mr. Miyamoto?"

"I know for a fact that some of these self-righteous fallen ones are just as evil as Fairy Tale." the former monster king explained without acknowledging the disruption, his expression becoming inscrutable. "You may want to hurry the verdict along. Even with the Jiang Shi looking for the perpetrator, we could still be in for another blood bath before this day's over."

Ruby's grip tightened around her wand, her own patience wavering. "You're right!" she shook her head, having never understood the responsibility of her current position more clearly than this very moment. "Haiji, tell Ling-Ling to rally the troops and transport all students back to their designated dormitories. Divide the forces into two parties: You party are tasked with leading the search while her denomination will protect our students."

"Bout time!" he declared loudly, transforming and crashing through the back window of the office in a flurry of feathers. The remaining residents shielded their eyes, the vampire's muttering their disapproval as a gust of wind from the opening chilled them to the core.

"The kid's got guts, if nothing else. Too bad he had to make a mess." Nurari muttered with an amused smirk.

The witch turned to her friends. "I would like to request that you both join the efforts in keeping the residents under control as they proceed back to their dorms. When the announcement is made over the intercom, there may be violence triggered by fear."

"I'll do what I can!" Tsukune nodded resolutely, giving her a playful salute.

"Before I agree do anything, perhaps you could tell me one thing I would like to know."

Ruby returned to her seat behind the desk before addressing the request with a formal nod. "What would that be, Miss Akashiya?"

To her surprise, the vampire suddenly looked concerned rather than demanding. "Where is my father in the midst of all this chaos?"

"Master Shuzen is currently out on important business per the request of Lord Nurari. I regret to see we have no other information on the subject."

"Maybe the source would care to explain?" Moka turned around accusingly, only to find the Bus Driver had left in the confusion. "Well that figures."

Tsukune stepped into her line of sight, his expression serious as ever. "Never mind him... We've got a job to do!"

"Right!" she nodded sternly, the couple leaving the office behind with their hands laced as one.

Ruby watched them leave without another word, the tiniest bit of her wishing that she had been the one heading off into battle while holding the hand of the man she loved. Instead, it was Moka who always stood by his side. She was more accepting of it than the others, having had come to an understanding during a conversation with Mizore the previous year. What really bothered her now was the idea of sitting in an office while her friends were on the front lines. Another side-effect of being in charge was never placing herself in immediate danger unless forced to. She waited another minute or so before pressing the button on her desk, activating the PA system.

"Attention students and staff of Youkai Academy... We have a code red emergency... ... I repeat, a code red emergency!" she announced, her words causing the all daily routine to come to an abrupt standstill. "Those of you wandering campus, calmly return to your assigned dormitories immediately and do not leave until further notice! All staff members convene in the teacher's lounge; security personnel will be present to explain the situation!"

Outside of the school, several students quickened their pace to return to their living quarters, some confused by the sudden warning, while the more rebellious ones were more irritated that no more information was given. While several were more determined to find out the source of the problem, they were quickly seized by Jiang Shi and taken in by force. Ruby watched this from the window of the headmaster's study for a moment before closing the windows once more, gently collapsing in her seat with a worried sigh.

Several Minutes Later...

As the chaos grew, a familiar quartet of students found themselves hiding behind a bush, watching curiously as school personnel herded students back into their living quarters. While most of their classmates seemed highly concerned by the sudden announcement, they were so accustomed to situations like this that it seemed almost laughable in comparison. Facing off against the Division Leaders of Fairy Tale had numbed them to such fears.

"Ouch! Stop using me as a stool!" Yukari whined, cringing as the larger girl's knee pressed into her spine.

Kurumu peaked over the top of the bush, ignoring her friend's protect as she kneeled harder still. "I should have know something like this was about to happen, with Moka and my Tsukune being called out by the administration!"

The watched intently as a pair of Ling-Ling's zombie henchmen grabbed a delinquent student by the arms and dragged him back towards the dormitories. Several other students could be seen proceeding in that direction to, under the watchful eye of the security forces, who lined the path to the residential area in an attempt to keep order. Anyone who proceeded too slowly was hurried along by the zombie police. Tsukune's friends panicked slightly as the roving guards began searching for stragglers, only breathing once they had passed onto the next area.

Mizore pushed her succubus friend down from behind so that she could see. "Those Jiang Shi seemed pretty intent on getting us to go home. Must be something serious..."

"If you two morons keep talking so loudly, they'll find us!" the witch lost her patience, pushing past the other two with as much force as she could muster. "I'm still wondering why they didn't call for us, too." She picked a branch out of her hair only to be interrupted by a muffled groan from the man they were all sitting on top of.

The youngest Huang sibling had never imagined behind trapped underneath three beautiful girls would be so painful before being used as a sprawled out cushion. "Why did I have to be the one on the bottom?" he wheezed, earning an apologetic look from his friends. "You're crushing me!"

"Oops, sorry about that." Mizore scooted over, the others two following her lead.

The succubus absent-mindedly placed a finger to her lower lip. "You know? Come to think of it, I kinda forget he was even there."

"You know, I did too!" Yukari chimed in happily, causing their male friend to turn humorously pale at her their callousness.

Fang-Fang slumped with tears in his eyes, blue worry lines covering the upper half of his face. "I'm not that useless, am I?" he protested, only to collapse when none of the girls bothered to comfort him. "My only real friend is Tsukune!"

"Save it for later, you big baby." the blue-haired temptress prodded him, earning murmurs of agreement from the other two. She peaked out of the large bush a third time, looking back and forth carefully before stepping out. "Looks like the security team finished chasing off the students in this area. I guess we can get out of this bush."

The plant rustled violently as the others jumped into the open, Mizore half-dragging a depressed Fang-Fang. "It sucks that our friends left us out of this." the ice-user drawled, her furrowed brow at odds with her soft monotone.

"I don't know about that... You're making it sound pretty harsh." the youngest of the group shrugged innocently. "Maybe they had their reasons?"

Kurumu took the lead of the group as they began marching in no particular direction, her stride stiff and irate. "Gimme a break, Yukari! We helped them save the world last year, and yet they're lumping us in with the rest of these panicking brats. How insulting is that!?"

The Huang heir appeared fully recovered, now walking on his own two legs. "You know, maybe they're just worried about putting us in danger? Needless to say, none of us would be alive if it hadn't been for Tsukune and Moka."

"Not to mention the Three Dark Lords were really the ones that saved the day." Yukari added, her brief expression of agreement earning a cold scowl from their blue-haired friend.

"It just annoys me that they think we need to be protected." Kurumu's mannerisms changed suddenly, now matching those of a wounded animal. She grasped her heart with a hurt look, taking a moment to compose herself before turning back to the others. "I mean, don't they even need us, anymore?"

Her gentle words resonated with the others, who were soon wearing similar expressions of betrayal and rejection. Whether they wanted to admit it or not, their monster abilities would never match those of the Shinso power shared by Tsukune and Moka. The two vampires seemed like the perfect match now more than ever, not only in terms of power, but also the very nature of their existences. The girls had always known this, but it still felt horrible to hear it being said out loud by the person who seemed like the most dedicated and persistent of them all.

The circle of friends were pulled from their depressing reverie as a bladed weapon sliced through Mizore's pale stomach, her eyes widening with shock as the lollipop slid from her mouth. The scene froze as she recoiled violently, each of her friends wearing looks of horror as the snow woman's body fell aside to reveal an unfamiliar figure garbed in black. The man withdrew his weapon with a sickening expression, licking the blood from the side of the blade with a sadistic grin more chilling than anything they had seen before.

"It's not good for little girls to stay outside in the middle of an emergency." he greeted a little too cheerfully.

Their attacker was roughly Tsukune's height with shoulder-length white hair forming curtains on both sides to reveal his face, his beady red eyes alive with madness as a look of utter thrill and elation tugged at the corners of his mouth. Her wore a black jacket with a gold trim and high collar, the front open to reveal pure white dress garments matching his pale complexion. Despite his rather unbalanced mannerisms, the man appeared clean and well-dressed, his clothes being unusually clean and free of blood.

"Mizore!" Yukari screamed hysterically, running forward to help her friend.

The assailant anticipated this, pulling his hand out of his jacket to reveal a gun. "Not so fast, kid!" he screamed, firing several bullets in her direction.

Kurumu sprouted wings, tackling the young witch with enough force to push her out of the line of fire, only to receive a bullet in the leg. She screamed in pain, but managed to stay airborne while maneuvering around the incoming projectiles. Even among her kind, the blue-haired temptress was fast in the air, having trained rigorously for so long to surpass Moka during the previous year that she had pushed herself further than any of her friends had expected was possible for a fledgling ayashi.

"You monster!" She hissed through grit teeth, her glare only bringing a hysteric smile to the enemy's face.

"No no no! Unlike you ugly bitches I'm 100% human, albeit a very exceptional one at that!" he wagged his finger mockingly, taking a second to reload his revolver before getting it kicked out of his hand. He recoiled his arm with a violent scowl. "No fair attacking from behind! You could have damaged my precious fingers, and it would've been all your fault for ruining something so important with your filthy monster feet!"

Fang-Fang caught up to the killer with a burst of speed, delivering a series of quick jabbing movements. "This is what you get for letting your guard down!"

The man dodged the first few strikes with ease before realizing that each consecutive strike was coming faster that the previous one. After a second longer, he was pushed back by a blow to the stomach, the sensation of pain sinking in as the Chinese martial artist struck a pair of pressure points and finished the combo with a kick to the face. Fang-Fang lowered his foot as he watched the man fly through the air only to collide violently with the dirt moments later. The man proved surprising agile, having righted himself in mid-air so that he would land safely on his feet. He cringed slightly while skidding to a halt, his ankles buckling dangerous under the force of his landing.

"What... the... ... HELL!" the assassin screamed wildly, a trickle of blood landing on his hand from the cut on his face. "You ruined my beautiful face, you disgusting three-eyed freak!"

The Yasha just now realized that his true nature had been revealed in the clash, but was more worried about what had happened to his friends. Looking over his shoulder, he noticed that Yukari was tending to Mizore's wounds, the latter of whom was lying passed out beside her. Kurumu looked positively livid as she stepped past her friends, her wings and tail visible as she joined Fang-Fang on the front lines. He felt her killing intent and stepped aside fearfully, having rarely seen such fury from the Newspaper Club's girls.

"Well, it looks like chesty wants a piece of me now." the man announced with a mocking bow, reaching into his jacket to produce a European-style long sword. "Don't worry! I'll make sure to give those exploding titties a good feel before slicing them into bits!"

"You sick bastard! Think you can go around butchering innocent people like animals!?" Her form seemed to grow with her anger, the succubus's monster aura flashing as the landscape around her began to warp. She snapped her wrists like an angry crow flexing its talons, her knife-like claws quickly sliding into place. "I'll kill you... ... ..." she seethed, her eyes blazing with pure rage. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

Kurumu darted around wildly, causing the world around her to blur as she reduced a nearby tree to logs. Her opponent looked mildly impressed by the display as he sidestepped the falling trunk, using his weapon to parry her raking claws as she moved within striking distance. He thrust the end of the blade beneath her guard, but the blue-haired succubus seemingly disappeared as she shot into the sky, dive bombing him from the opposite direction with a quick flying slash. To her surprise, the assassin blocked her nails with the side of his blade, the cringe-worthy sound of grinding metal filling her ears.

"Been a while since someone's gotten the best of Freed Sellzen!" the man cackled boisterously, his long tongue hanging out of his mouth in an inappropriate manner.

"I won't let you get away with this!" she screamed in his face, quickly lashing out from the side with her remaining claw.

The psychotic killer slid a dagger into his hand from the cuff of his sleeve, using it to block her second claw. "Nice one, but now it's my turn!" he declared in a sing-song voice that made her stomach lurch.

Both fighters were seemingly remained deadlocked for a moment before the assassin's blade's began to glow a bright gold color, a similar expression appearing on Kurumu's face as the two blades sliced through her large nails, forming an x-shaped slash which sliced through her clothing, leaving two long diagonal slashes across the front of her now-exposed body. Her body fell in a graceful arch towards the hard dirt ground, only to be cushioned by a wall of expanding ice which grew rapidly as if to devour the attacker. The man named Freed jumped back to avoid getting caught, looking up to see that his first target was sitting up, her hand extended to attack even though she was barely conscious.

"Two down, two to go!"

Fang-Fang kicked the ice to free the succubus, taking her injured form in his arm before jumping to safety. "Don't worry, I've got you!"

"Thanks..." she replied weakly, a sharp intake of breath telling them that she was done fighting for the moment.

"Uh..." Mizore groaned, falling back into the young witch's arms. She had exerted what little strength she had remaining to save her friend's life.

The Huang Family's heir placed his friend next to the snow woman, rolling up his sleeves while refusing to take his eyes off the enemy. "How are they doing?" he said out of the corner of his mouth, no even bothering to look back.

Yukari gave her wand a few miserable shakes and broke down, tears silently streaming down her face. "I can bandage their injuries, but for some reason my healing magic's not working like it usually does."

"Well of course it won't..." Their attacker bore down on them, waving his head back in forth as if he were moving it to the rhythm of a children's song. Seeing their looks of horror, he decided to rub salt into the wounds. "I was a top exorcist back in the day... My weapons are holy relics! Did you honestly think impure creatures like yourselves could possibly violate the divine will with your petty magic!"

The genius witch looked suddenly more frightened than sad, although both emotions soon turned to anger. "That man is a rogue priest!"

"A servant of the Church!?" Fang-Fang reiterated, his body tensing up.

"You might say I used to be, but it's more accurate to say I never was!" Freed Sellzen threw both arms in the air like a madman, the afternoon sun on his face looking oddly sinister. "I never killed on behalf of God or that bastard Saint Michael. I do it because it's fuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnn!"

"These religious freaks... ... ... It was people like him that persecuted my people." Yukari found herself remembering the stories her mother had told to her when she was younger.

The rogue exorcist anticipated her discomfort and quickly preyed upon it. "Looks like we have a little witch in our midst." He put on a false look of understanding. "You poor little thing... Rejected by God and hated by the monster world. Don't worry, I'll send you to join your ancestors soon enough!

Fang-Fang stood protectively in front of her as the opponent charged, looking shocked when another shape seemed to collide with the insane priest, sending him crashing hard into one of the many tombstones littered around Youkai Academy Campus. Tsukune took a moment to remove the ring on his finger, revealing his true appearance and red eyes. The male Shinso casually wiped the sweat from his forehead before turning to face the others, his casual smile wavering as he realized the true severity of the situation.

"Damn, I arrived too late." he cursed himself, the sight of his injured companions resonating deep within his soul. He turned to face the man he had just struck, who was still trying to stand in the wake of his unexpected body slam. "I'm gonna assume you're the jerk who's been hurting innocent students on campus?"

"You're telling me a campus of horrific monsters disguised as humans is innocent. Compared to them, I'm practically a saint!"

The new vampire sniffed the air with his enhanced senses, his red slit eyes widening slightly in surprise. "So it is true... You are a human."

"That's right, kiddo! I've only been cleansing the Earth of its impurities. If God were still around, he'd probably thank me on bended knee." Freed announced, his composure slipping as he grasped his injured chest in pain. Despite this brief show of vulnerability, the madman suddenly looked as though he had just remembering something very important. "Hey kid! Would your name happen to be Tsukune Aono?"

"Yeah..." the young man took a step towards his opponent, fangs bared in anger.

"Oh good!" Freed pulled a wanted poster out with the boy's face printed on it. " Lucky me, to think my target would just happen to reveal himself just when those whores were starting to bore me to death."

"Fairy Tale sent you, didn't they!?" Tsukune swung his arm outwards, forcing the man to dodge the swing.

"I'm really not at liberty to say anything else." With a quick motion, the assassin sheathed both of his current weapons, withdrawing two curved dual swords from his jacket. "I hope you don't mind if I make this quick. There's so many sexy monster bitches in this school that I'm dying to kill, and you don't look nearly as fun!"

"You've done enough damage for today." a female voice rang out, closely followed by the arrival of Moka Akashiya. She ignored the intruder and turned to face her boyfriend. "I'll go out on a limb and say this is the guy we're looking for?"

"More playmates are here, and this one's a lot nicer than the others I sliced apart."

Tsukune took a step to the left to shield her in case the enemy charged, but the silver-haired beauty seemed uninterested in him for the moment. She instead turned to Fang-Fang and Yukari, both of which were having trouble keeping their injured friends alive. Behind them, the clash between vampire and exorcist had began in force, but Tsukune was predictably faster and stronger than the opponent, forcing their enemy onto the defensive immediately. Having much more stamina than more other creatures, vampires could literally keep going forever so long as they managed to avoid taking major injuries.

"Aren't you going to help Tsukune?" Yukari questioned worriedly.

Moka took a moment to watch the one-sided battle before smiling. "He's doing just fine. It's you guys I'm worried about, right now." she reached down, pulling Kurumu's body onto her back. "Fang-Fang... Grab Mizore and follow me to the headmaster's office. Ruby might have something that can overcome the affects of that priest's holy swords."

"Right!" the Yasha sunk to one knee before pulling the injured snow-woman onto his back.

The genius witch was reluctant to let her friends leave her care, but quickly decided that her older counterpart was more likely to know what to do in this situation. "What about me?" she asked the elder vampire.

"Stay here and keep an eye on Tsukune. If anything happens to him, I'm confident you can handle it."

Despite having overcome some of her less flattering habits, Yukari felt somewhat touched that Moka had the confidence to entrust Tsukune to her. "I won't let you down!"

Tsukune watched the others head to safety, his moment of distraction allowing his opponent to slash away at his face. Using some of the steps he learned from Issa in their lessons, he managed to dodge by gently bouncing his feet, centering his gravity as he shunted backwards. He leaned back as the blade came inches from slicing into his face maneuvering around the insane exorcist, only to cringe in pain as he felt a small cut right beneath his eye. He had received must worse in sparring matches with Moka's father, but what unnerved him the most is that the wound did not immediately heal.

"Even with that wretched Shinso blood, you'll find my holy sword still packs a nasty sting. It's a real 'screw you' to all of those ayashi and devils that defy me!"

The human-turned-vampire regained his previous stance, acknowledging that it had been his fault for allowing the opponent to come so close. The fight would have been over if he hadn't been worried about being touched by the priest's holy weapons, and his opponent had capitalized on this by keeping him at bay with wild swordplay and unpredictable movements. Feeling the intensifying pain in his face, it would appear he had made a wise choice. After a moment, the pain subsided somewhat, although his cut still bled profusely. Truthfully he had never fought a human before, and was trying to avoid killing this one.

Freed opened his mouth to jeer once more only to realize the boy had taken on the offensive again. "There you go, getting angry over what happened to those two whores!"

"Take that back!" Tsukune demanded, his anger causing him to receive a cut on the arm.

This only further incensed the mad exorcist. "See what I mean... Vampire or not, you're nothing but a little lovesick bitch who follows his dick right into the lion's den!" He laughed before whipping a glass vial at his opponent.

While the young vampire was uncertain what to think, the flask contained what appeared to be pure water, a substance most harmful to vampires. Nevertheless, he had learned that the active Shinso blood made him largely resistant to that particular vampire weakness. However, the resulting pain that followed was of an intensity that made him question the reliability of his own experiences. Tsukune felt a horrible burning sensation as the vial shattered, drenching his face with what felt like corrosive acid. His body released a burst of monster energy that seared the places where the liquid touched, his face now red and smoking with horrible pain.

"Being touched by Holy Water is like jumping into a tank of burning oil to a vampire." Freed kicked the boy in the stomach as he crouched in agony, raising his swords to deliver a finishing blow. "It's sad someone tough as you was too afraid to go in for the kill. If ya had, I might've been dead by now!"

The insane priest prepared to bring down his blades, but found himself completely covered by a large swarm of angry bees, all of which were rapidly stinging every inch of his body they could reach. He screeched in pain, letting loose a string of expletives before releasing a blast of burning light from his blades, the insect that plagued him falling out of the air as if they had been suddenly doused with a lethal poison. A second later, large spiders began emerging from the ground at his feet, their venomous fangs sinking into his ankles. He cursed glancing around wildly, the man's eyes settling on a certain genius.

"Forgot about me, huh stupid?" Yukari Sendo pulled her eyelid down in a childlike manner, sticking her tongue out. "Maybe you brought the stuff to fight a vampire, but it looks like you weren't prepared to fight a witch!"

"You rotten little cock-sucker, I'll kill you first!" Freed whipped out a dagger from his coat and tossed it at her full force, looking morbid.

The little witch raised her wand in a futile attempt to stop the knife, but her efforts proved unnecessary. A torrent of wind filled the area, changing the trajectory of the weapon so that it landed several meters to her right.

"Don't even think about it, douche bag!" Haiji Miyamoto descended on the scene, having saved Yukari with one of his powerful wind storms. He landed beside the young witch, several bird-like features retracting into his human body as he returned to his original form. "No one hurts my kids while I'm around."

"You wanna die too, bird man!?" the exorcist braced himself as his jacket billowed in the wind, raising his swords menacingly.

For once, the karate master dismissed the idea, despite having wanted nothing more than to do so since he heard about the intruder. "I was hoping to be the one to kick your ass, but I arrived a little late... Looks like this one's ought of my hands."

"What do you..." Freed Sellzen began, the words getting caught in his throat as a certain vampire appeared in front of him. Tsukune had taken his friends' distraction as cue to incapacitate the madman by seizing his arms. Due to the immense strength of the vampire, he had no way to break free. "You little shit stain! How did you recover so quickly."

"The Shinso blood helped repair the damage, even if it still hurts like Hell to move!" the young vampire grit his teeth in anger before tightening his grip around the other man's wrists.

He dropped both swords, the weapons falling uselessly to the ground. "Fuck you, kid!"

"You are done here!" Tsukune shouted, wrenching the man's arms apart and thrust his head forward with excessive force, head butting the captive madman with as much strength as he could muster.

"Argh, you bastard!" Freed fell backwards on the ground, his eyes rolling back into his head as his body grew limp and crumpled beneath the attack, hitting the ground with a loud thud.

When the man did not rise again, Yukari ran over to Tsukune's side and wrapped her arms around him in a show of thanks, the older boy gradually returning the gesture. He had come close to losing the fight due to hesitation and a desire not to kill another human, but even as one of the strongest monsters in existence, he found himself thanking a friend for saving him once more. It was nostalgic, like they had come full circle after all this time. It was even clearer now than usual why the group ha stayed so close the past few years; They needed each other, and in a spot where one person might struggle, another would be able to cover that weakness.

"Looks like you did a number of this freak. That headbutt was legit!" Haiji walked over to the assassin's unconscious form, giving him a single kick to the groin to ensure that he was out of it before reaching down to arrest him.

"Don't touch him!" Yukari separated from her crush before pulling back the exorcist's long coat, revealing several blessed objects among the weapons they had already seen.

Tsukune wrapped them up, carefully setting them down. "Make sure he's not carrying anything else dangerous on him. These Church relics are like poison to us."

The Tengu looked annoyed that anyone would need so many gimmicks to fight, but understood the dangers they presented. Once Yukari had removed any potentially dangerous items from the man's prone form, Haiji placed a pair of thick steel shackles around his arms and legs, heaving the man over his shoulder like a sack of garbage. Upon noticing that his younger companions weren't following him, the bird man turned around to find them eying the relics they confiscated.

"I'll transport our buddy here to the security force's dungeon for safekeeping." he stated, looking suddenly unsure. "So, how do you plan on collecting the evidence?"

Uncertain himself, the male Shinso turned to his long-time friend. "Hey Yukari, can you safely handle the weapons without touching them?"

She wracked her mind for a moment, and a few waves of her wand later they had a solution. A large monster spider summoned by Yukari carried the evidence inside the large golden washtub she had strapped to its back, a few seals placed around the container preventing its contents from causing them any more trouble. While it looked rather ridiculous to the average bystander, it was probably the safest way for them to accomplish the task.

As they walked away from the scene, another figure watched from the shadows of the forest, his eyes narrowing in discontent. After watching for a moment longer, he vanished in a flash of fire, leaving behind nothing but ashes in his wake.

NOTE TO READERS: Sorry if you were waiting to see Issei and his group, but the focus on them will happen later when events on both fronts begin to lead the parties involved into the crossroads. Right now the trouble's just started brewing on Youkai Academy campus, but when things get out of hand, they will be forced to go to the front lines once again. Let's just say that Tsukune's next trip to the human world will be a very interesting one.

Still contemplating on whether or not to continue this, but it seems I have a sufficient amount of support this far. If you liked something or have any questions or comments, please review. It's true that fanfiction is a labor of love, but support helps immensely, especially since the muse seems to die down the longer I work on any story.