Disclaimer:I do not own Rosario + Vampire. I do, however, own the specific type of dragon that I am using in this story, my OC (Tsukune's dragon father), as well as the plot elements that I haven't taken from R+V.

I'm on a roll! Two chapters in a day!

#~#~#~#

As Tsukune flew over the dead forest, he wondered at the absence of the joy he usually derived from flight. Moka's call haunted his mind as he travelled ever further from her. He mused over the strange sort of pain he was feeling. It wasn't physical, which was what threw him. He'd only ever really had experience with physical pain. This new sort was something in his heart, something he couldn't pin down and flush out with a focused flow of youkai like the other type. He considered it, and found that it swelled significantly when he thought of Moka.

So, he didn't want to leave. But why? Logically, he should distance himself from her. She was sealed, so her vampire powers were useless. He had no reason to want her around, and yet he did. Just being near her made him feel happy, another foreign idea. He had only ever derived happiness from the satisfaction of a lesson learnt, a spell cast, a technique mastered. That and planning how he would take over the world.

He was still wondering when he heard her scream.

#~#~#~#

A few minutes earlier

Moka stood there, stunned, watching him fly away, out of her life. Even though she'd finally made a friend… thought she'd made a friend… he was gone. And it was her that had driven him away with her thoughtless comments about dragons. She realized that she was so far over the line that she couldn't even see it. What right did she have to make such statements when people said the same thing about vampires?

Her self-loathing only intensified as she thought about what she'd done. As he slowly shrank into the distance, she shook herself into action and rocketed down the stairs from the roof, sprinting as fast as she could into the forest, trying to catch up with him. She was almost within sight of the bus stop when a foot came from nowhere and tripped her up. A beefy guy stood over her, looking a lot like Saizou, though with browner hair. He smirked, and licked his lips.

"My brother was right… you're a pretty one. Pity he's in hospital… oh well. I saw your 'friend' fly over a minute or two ago. He'll be gone now… so I can have you all to myself."

He licked his lips again, and then a shudder ran through his whole body. The school uniform split as his youkai nature pushed to the fore.

"Ahh… I can't stop myself now. No way to stay in human form. I'm going to enjoy this little violation of the school rules."

As he moved towards her, prehensile tongue squirming in anticipation, Moka screamed.

#~#~#~#

The sight of an orc standing over Moka was enough to drive Tsukune into a rage. All his pent-up frustration over his own nature, the years of solitude, the hatred of his kind and, most of all, having to leave Moka went into one devastating punch. The orc's shoulder exploded in a burst of gore as Tsukune's fist ploughed through muscle and ligament, bone and cartilage, and exited the other side near-instantly.

The remnants of an arm hit the ground as Saizou's brother let out a scream, his orcish nature shutting off the pain receptors as he descended into a bezerk fury, even as Moka stared in shock at Tsukune.

"I'll have that girl if I have to kill her!"

He lunged for Moka. Tsukune did the same, reaching out to grab her and pull her to safety. A loose chunk of earth caught his foot, and he stumbled slightly, enough for him to miscalculate the grab. His left hand shoved Moka's shoulder, knocking her out of the way. That was good, but his right hand was not so lucky. His fingers caught in the chain of the rosary.

Clink.

A moment of dead silence filled the air as Moka looked at Tsukune, Tsukune looked at the rosary in his hand, and the orc looked uncomprehendingly at the pair of them. Then all hell broke loose as a blast of youkai filled the air. Moka's hair turned silver, her eyes red with slit pupils, and her fangs extended. She became slightly taller and a little more full-figured, but it was her power that really caught Tsukune's eye. She was stronger than a lot of his teachers, which he hadn't been expecting.

The vampiress eyed the orc with a contemptuous expression.

"Attacking me with this degree of power... you should know your place!"

A brutal kick sent the orc tumbling, crashing through several trees. Tsukune raised an eyebrow as he stood, brushing himself off.

"A low-class monster like you, who has nothing to show for his size, doesn't even make a decent opponent, let alone a good one."

"Well… that was mildly impressive, I'll admit. A word of advice, though. Your guard was poor. An experienced combatant would have gone under the kick and taken out your supporting leg."

The vampiress turned to him with a slightly shocked expression on her face.

"You criticize my skills? How dare you?! I am far more powerful than-"

Tsukune snorted and flared his youkai, power flowing through him like a searchlight to Moka's candle. The silver-haired vampiress choked on her words and fell to her knees as if she'd been punched in the gut.

"I am Aono Tsukune, Red Dragon, son of One-Eyed Aono Hiroto. My power easily outmatches yours. I assume you've been asleep for most of the time you were sealed – you were sleeping when I saw you, anyway – but I'll tell you this: despite the fact that I am a dragon, I consider your outer self a friend, and I believe she thinks the same of me. I would ask that, for her sake, you at least try to get along with me, even if you don't wish to."

He stepped forward and offered his hand to help her up. The vampiress ignored it and staggered to her feet under her own power, but eyed him with a new measure of respect.

"Thank you for your concern about my sleeping self. I would like the rosary back… I haven't awoken in a while and I'm still tired, but before I go… what do you mean, when you saw me?"

Tsukune handed over the rosary, and considered his answer.

"Earlier, when I examined the rosary up close, I had a look at it in the magical spectrum, and I saw you overlaid on Moka… pink-haired Moka, that is. You had your eyes shut, so I assumed you were sleeping."

She frowned.

"I see. Well, I'll have to ask you to take care of my other self. She's rather sentimental. It would break her heart if you left, you know. I need blood, so I suppose I don't want you to go either… though I could take it from another."

Tsukune grinned.

"But how? You need me to let you out, because Pink can't do it herself, and I doubt you could convince her to attack anyone, even if she could find someone weak enough to overpower without your strength."

The vampiress gave him a look that suggested she was trying to decide whether or not to hit him, but simply sighed and reattached the rosary. Her appearance shifted back to pink-haired Outer Moka, who collapsed into Tsukune. He was so surprised he barely managed to catch her. Despite her apparent unconsciousness, she frowned and murmured:

"Tsukune… don't go…"

He shook his head with a weary smile as he gave in to the fact that he truly did care about Moka, that he considered her a real friend and that he wouldn't be able to bring himself to leave her.

"It's alright, Moka… I'm not going anywhere."

She sighed contentedly and relaxed into his arms. Picking her up, he began the walk back to the dorms.

#~#~#~#

By the next morning, the school was full of rumours about what had happened. Everyone knew that Aono Tsukune had practically killed Saizou with just a flick, and that he'd threatened a painful death if anything happened to Moka, but what had passed in the woods was a subject of much wilder speculation. The more sensitive among the students had felt Moka's unsealing, but everyone had noticed the wave of youkai Tsukune had released. The stories ran from the silly, like Tsukune having become enlightened, to the preposterous, such as his ascension to godhood.

Brushing off the muttering with an amused snort, he continued walking to school. A commotion quickly arose as Moka came along the path; as usual, all the boys were gaping at her. Watching their infatuation with a grin, he waved at his friend, who immediately grabbed his arm, as she did every morning, and started pulling him along. Tsukune revelled in the feel of all the death glares on his back. As Silver Moka said… they should know their place.

#~#~#~#

At break, the two of them sat on the steps of an outlying classroom, a rare deserted spot. It was all the harder to find a quiet moment now that Tsukune was known as a force to be reckoned with, because not only did they have to deal with Moka's fanclub, Tsukune was attracting challengers left, right and centre. He had already been in two fights. The first had been easy; he had simply backhanded the boy through a window. The second was a little harder, as his foe was extraordinarily agile, but a chaining spell soon solved that, fixing the girl in place for a blurringly fast barrage of punches that left her unconscious.

Now that they had found an empty spot, they could relax for a while. Moka fidgeted uncomfortably for a moment before turning to Tsukune.

"Tsukune… I realize it must be hard, being a dragon… I suppose I kind of know how it feels, being a vampire… but I'll be there if there's anything I can do. You came back for me, after all…"

She blushed a little. Tsukune smiled.

"I'll bear it in mind. And… of course I came back for you. You're my friend, even if we are members of the two most hated species on the planet, not counting humans."

He raised an eyebrow with a sarcastic grin. Moka scowled and punched him on the arm. Unthinkable that he would let her get away with it… but he did. Once again he realized just how badly he'd let his guard down. Oh well. There was nothing he could do about it.

"Moka… I need to tell you something. I already told Silver, but I don't think she picked up on it…"

"Silver?"

"The other Moka. You know, silver hair? That's why I call her Silver. I can't call both of you Moka, it would be too confusing. Anyway… you know you said your father was nearly killed by a dragon?"

Moka suddenly looked unsure, leaning back slightly as if getting ready to run.

"Well… that was my father. One-Eyed Aono Hiroto. He hates vampires with a passion."

The pink-haired vampiress stared at him in shock.

"Tsukune… why would you keep that from me?! Your father nearly kills mine, and you don't tell me along with letting me know you're a dragon? How could you keep that a secret? I thought you trusted me!"

"Moka, I do trust you, but this is the exact reaction I was afraid of-"

"Of course it is! Your family attacked mine! How am I supposed to believe that you don't mean me any harm? For all I know, your father sent you here to kill me!"

Tsukune stared at her in disbelief.

"I came back to save you. I threatened Saizou to keep him away from you. I stayed because you were my friend. Everything I have done here has been for you. And you dare accuse me like that?!"

Both of them were standing now, and Tsukune was growling deep in his chest. With a snarl of frustration, he turned and strode away.

"Very well! If you are so set on my being your enemy, I will accede!"

And with that, he was gone around a corner, leaving Moka standing alone. Her shock ebbed and she realized what she'd done. She'd driven him away again, the second time in only two days.

"Tsukune… come back…"