Alright everyone so as you know I've been dealing with some stuff that's put me in the hospital more than once and many have decided to get on my ass for and now I'm back. While I have been away there has been plenty of time for me to think about how the story is going to go and I've opted to go the way of causing the Newspaper Club to be earth's saviors! Just like every other damn story out there. Whatever. Here's the next chapter.
A man robed in white and gold bowed down before the marbled staircase."My Lord, is it truly a wise decision to have him go there?"
"You dare question Him? What happened to your loyalty to both Him and his Cause?" Another robed man marched up aggressively, indignant that He would be questioned.
"I ask because while this could be the cause of great peace this could also lead to utter calamity!"
A bright light suddenly shone down, silencing the two.
"The seals are weakening and our powers are growing, coming back to us." Said a creature shrouded in darkness, waves of dark red energy pulsating off him as he looked down at his hand, clenching it.
"Calm down Z'm, we will have our chance soon. Just slow down brother." Another darkened being said, reclining on his seat.
Z'm smashed his hand into the table he and seven others sat before. "You're always so slow 'Zlm'ym, constantly being so fucking lazy! Nothing will get done unless we take action!"
Before 'Zlm'ym could retaliate, darkness poured out of the creature seated at the head of the table, instantly quelling the fight between Z'm and 'Zlm'ym.
"Maz o'kul da zi karash. Tor'rok ni kil a gul."
"Mmm are you sure Master?" A seductive figure walked up to the darkened head of the table, hips swaying as she draped herself over the head.
"Tehl dai tok!"
"Yes, my Master." The seven other figures simultaneously replied and bowed their heads.
Back in the hospital, Kurumu fidgeted in the chair next to Tsukune's bed. She was happy beyond description, but there was something bothering her. Something very specific and worrying to the busty succubus. Yes, he had agreed to be her Destined One. Yes, he was all hers. In theory.
But was he still able to remove Moka's seal?
If he could, that meant he cared about the vampire as much as he did her, if not more. And that scared Kurumu. It scared her so much to not be her Destined One's most precious person. If it was Tsukune, it was possible. He was loyal and faithful, and cared about his friends to the utmost degree...
Kurumu looked up with determination in her eyes. There was really only one way she could find out the truth. Getting up, she placed a quick kiss on her sleeping Destined One's forehead and with the promise of returning soon, she headed out.
She walked out of the hospital and quickly made her way to the Newspaper Club. As she opened the door to the clubroom, she saw everyone working hard on the newspaper. Or rather, that's what she expected to see. Instead, just about everyone in there was worrying themselves over Tsukune's condition, with the exception of Gin, who was snickering while reviewing the photos on his camera. Kurumu sighed. She just knew that everyone was going to question her about Tsukune's condition.
Yukari's head snapped up at the sound of door closing and rushed to Kurumu. "Empty head!" she exclaimed with joy, for despite all their fighting, the tiny witch still cared for the succubus as well as everyone else in their circle of friends. She hugged the blue haired girl tightly and looked up at her. "How's Tsukune doing?"
The succubus smiled. "He's asleep and fine. But there's something I have to be sure of.." she trailed off at the end of her sentence, glancing over at Moka.
Moka looked back at her with confusion written plainly on her face. Was it something she did or said? The rosario lit up as Inner Moka talked to her. She wants to see if Tsukune can still remove this accursed seal. Outer Moka's brow scrunched up in confusion. Why would she want to see if he can? She could hear her inner self sighing. The seal was made so only certain people could remove it. Tsukune could remove it because he cared so deeply for us. But if he's her Destined One and she's his Key, in theory he shouldn't be able to remove our seal anymore. How do you think it would affect her if he was still able to take the seal off?
Outer Moka looked up at her friend sadly, finally understanding her distress and her concern. Despite the cold front her Inner self put up, she was surprisingly sensitive and emotional. Outer Moka stood and walked to the concerned succubus and hugged her. After a minute of holding each other, she stepped back. "Whenever Tsukune's awake and you're ready we can do this. Ura-chan would like to know as well."
Kurumu smiled at her friend. She could see why Tsukune was originally so close to the vampire now that jealousy wasn't clouding her view. Moka was so caring and understanding and kind that it made it a little difficult not to want to be with her.
In The Hospital
When Kurumu left, Tamel materialized in the room and looked at his champion. So many similarities and yet so many differences between them. The power he wielded would be both a curse and blessing to him, as so many gifts were. The god glanced out the window, nervousness quelling his usually energetic demeanor. Something was coming. Something powerful, and dangerous. A creature that could be the harbinger of a war beyond anything this world had ever experienced.
"So you feel it too old friend?" He seemingly asked nothing, before Uven stepped forward out of the shadows.
"Yes. I feel it. The fabric of the world does not flow with this creature. It avoids it, bowing to it in a way I have not seen before." The God of Death replied, looking out the window as well, "It will make it's way to this school. It is seemingly drawn here, just as your power was drawn to the boy. Something about this place attracts it."
"Could it have something like the boy's Key here? Calling to it?"
Uven nodded. "That is possible. It is not unheard of for creatures to subconsciously be drawn to their soulmates. Nor is it unheard of for them to be drawn to a mutual location."
As they stood there, feeling the world talk to them, Tamel looked back to the bedridden boy. "We must meet him. The Keeper will know what is to be done."
Uven grimaced. The Keeper. A physical incarnation of fate, of destiny. He saw all possibilities that could ever happen. And know more of what was happening than he ever let on.
Tamel stood there, seriousness etched on his usually grinning face. "You must awaken soon my elemental. You must all prepare for the coming storm, for it shall fall upon mortals to defend themselves. As we said, we cannot overly interfere with the affairs of this world. We can simply try to help and watch."
Timeskip: Next Morning
Tsukune had woken up late that night and was permitted to leave the hospital and return to his room for the remainder of the night, where he simply meditated and sought to learn more about his powers, talking with Tamel within his mind. His eyes opened a couple minutes before his alarm went off. After getting dressed he headed down to meet up with everyone before going to first period, everything the same, with the small exception of him holding Kurumu's hand, which was lost on none of his harem.
Despite this they all kept smiles and cheer with them, refusing to dampen anyone's spirits. As the end of the day drew near however, Kurumu become increasingly nervous which was noticed instantly by Tsukune.
He pulled her aside before the last period of the day.
"Kurumu, what's bothering you?"
She glanced away. "Nothing's bothering me. I have my Destined One finally. I'm happy now." she replied, examining a particularly interesting tile near her feet.
Tsukune sighed. "Kurumu, did you think I wouldn't notice, or that I couldn't feel your nervousness?"
At that Kurumu's eyes snapped up. Feel?
"Yes feel." Her Destined One replied to her unasked question. "This... link that connects us, whether it's because I'm your Destined One or because you're my Key, allows me to somewhat get a reading on how you are. I'm not entirely sure how it works but Tamel told me that he experienced something similar when he had his Key. It took him a while to figure out what it was a link but then again, he didn't exactly have a mentor helping him out." Tsukune scratched the back of his head, not sure if he would piss off the god by telling Kurumu about his personal experiences and life.
Kurumu, to say the least, was shocked. He noticed she was worried and wanted to help her. She could almost feel her heart swell with even more love for this wonderful man. She hugged him tightly, surprising him for a second before he returned the action. They held each other for a minute before she backed off.
"We need to talk to Moka during club." She said.
Timeskip: After school at Club
Tsukune and Kurumu were the last two to make it to the clubroom. When they entered, Yukari and Mizore were arguing about how to arrange the articles for the next issue and Moka was sipping from a bottle filled with blood. She didn't drink from Tsukune anymore, partially because Kurumu would be slightly miffed at the intimate gesture and partially because they didn't know how the Chaotic blood would react with the vampire. And as Tamel said, they all highly doubted that even vampiric teeth could manage to pierce Tsukune's skin now that it was infused with Chaos, making it a near impenetrable defense.
Kurumu looked at Moka awkwardly. This was as good of a time as any to see if he could remove the vampire's seal. Moka noticed this and looked down sadly. If he could no longer remove the seal, then Ura-chan would be trapped in her prison, cursed to only watch the world, unable to interact with it or anyone. Moka stood up and quietly whispered to Kurumu that she would wait in the graveyard and left the room. Mizore, Yukari, and even Tsukune looked at Kurumu in confusion.
"What was that about desu?" Yukari asked.
"Well..." Kurumu went into an explanation of her fear of Tsukune removing the rosario, and how she wanted to know for sure if he could still remove it.
Tsukune realized his Key's fears and hugged her, whispering in her ear, "Even if I can still remove it, you are the most precious person in my life now. And you will be for as long as I exist." She blushed and smiled slightly at this. They stood there together for another minute before they started out the door towards the graveyard.
At The Graveyard
Moka sat on a tombstone, tears running silently down her face. Oh how she wished she had acted on her feelings sooner. Maybe things wouldn't have turned out this way, maybe Ura-chan wouldn't be condemned to a purgatory for eternity. Maybe she wouldn't have to be alone forever. But she hadn't, and now all hope for the two of them seemed lost. Ura Moka didn't tell her softer side to man up, or to stop crying, for she too felt the weight of an eternity alone pressing down on her. At least her outer self could be with people as friends. She was trapped in an infinite abyss, cold and alone.
The both of them were so wrapped up in their life dilemma that neither noticed the lone student walking up the path while focusing intently on a small list in his hands, muttering obscenities beneath his breath. He was slightly taller than the average student, coming in at approximately 6'1" tall, straight brown hair outlining his face. Nothing about him was particularly outstanding. If anything, it was almost extraordinary how normal he looked. He wasn't very muscular, nor did he appear overly frail. Fat would never be a term used to describe him, although neither would skinny. He was relatively lanky and had a ring on his right hand, the most distinguishing aspect of him. It was made of silver and steel, with a fleur de lis on the top within a shield with two swords wrapping around his finger.
The new student swore silently to himself, stomping off the side of the road as the slip of paper escaped his grasp and ran off into the woods across from the graveyard, just in time for him to disappear from the sight of Tsukune and Kurumu as they walked down the road towards Moka and the graveyard.
Moka looked up at the pair with watery eyes. She didn't want Ura-chan to be trapped in her endless abyss. While she watched the approaching duo, Inner Moka lamented.
Why?
Why did she have to be the one left alone, trapped and secluded from the world. Despite everything she said, there were times that she enjoyed being around everyone, their reckless antics and carefree abandon helped make everything seem so much brighter than her life with her family. Maybe if I had been more open, more… approachable with that silly human boy, this would never had happened. Or if only he had left the school when he first let me out! Then none of this would have come to pass. I wouldn't be hurting and he wouldn't be leaving me and I wouldn't feel this goddamned pain! Despite all her anger, her sadness eclipsed everything else to her, leaving her with one final thought as the Champion of Chaos and his Key made the last couple steps towards her.
I don't want to be alone…
Alright everyone sorry for the delay! This has been a long time in the making and while I know that this chapter isn't the longest in the world, it is all setting up for some utterly insane stuff that is soon to come. Who is the new student? What will happen to the Newspaper Club? Will Yukari ever be the meat in that delicious vampire sandwich?!
Stay tuned to find out.