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.
The words just keep coming… third chapter today!
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Tsukune stormed through the forest, a constant growl rumbling in his throat. Any branches unfortunate enough to be in his way were snapped off by his passage as he once again left Moka behind. He wanted to go back, but his pride would not allow it. Not even for her. What she had said was too much.
As he neared a lake, he noticed someone collapsed by it, groaning softly. Frowning, he strode over. "Are you alright?"
The girl looked up. Tsukune snorted to himself. Every girl in the school had at least a mildly good-looking disguise, and this girl was no exception. She was extremely beautiful, and if he hadn't already met Moka, Tsukune might have considered her the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. "Please help me… I started feeling ill so suddenly…"
He sighed, helping her up, and started to lead her to the infirmary. She leant against him more than he judged she really needed to, pushing herself up against him in an attempt to use her impressive figure to her advantage. "Tsukune… look at me…"
Hearing his name instantly put him on high alert. He didn't know her, so she shouldn't know his name. He carefully looked down at her, to find her large, round eyes staring up into his. The world seemed to shimmer. "I'm Kurono Kurumu. Please, be my friend?"
She suddenly found herself flying backwards, face stinging from the vicious slap Tsukune had given her. "How dare you try to charm me?! I am above and beyond you, little succubus. To borrow a phrase from a friend of mine… you should know your place!"
"Tsukune!"
At a shout from behind him, Tsukune turned, to find Moka running towards him. He quickly reined in his anger, holding it close, but it still threatened to get away from him at the memory of what she had said.
"Tsukune, I'm sorry!"
As she got closer, he could see tears running down her face, and suddenly the anger was gone. He smiled gently, and put a hand on her shoulder as she reached him. She looked at him anxiously.
"It's alright, Moka. We all say things we don't mean when we're angry."
With a happy cry, the pink-haired vampiress threw her arms around him. An angry yell from the floored succubus broke their hug. "So this is why you were able to resist my charm! Fine! I'll just have to work around it!"
With a growl, she stormed off. Moka looked at Tsukune. "Who was that?"
"A succubus. Kurono Kurumu, I think her name was. She tried to charm me... idiotic, but I have to admire her nerve."
He sighed. "But that's not important right now. Moka… I'm sorry for not telling you about my father earlier, but the way you reacted was exactly what I was afraid of. I didn't want to upset you…"
"Tsukune, don't you think it would upset me more that you kept something like that a secret than that a member of your family who you have no control over attacked a member of mine? I accept that your father hates vampires, but I want to trust you."
"You can trust me, Moka. If I wanted you dead, don't you think I'd have killed you when you first tried to drink my blood?"
Suddenly, the rosary clinked and moved slightly. What did he mean by 'friend'? I'm the one who says that.
Moka squawked in surprise, and Tsukune raised an eyebrow, looking down at the rosary. "What I meant, Silver, is that I consider you a friend. You are part of Moka, just as Pink is; you are both part of the same whole. I couldn't separate you with an axe. Pink is my friend, therefore you are too."
You can hear me?!
"You can hear her?!"
Both Mokas let out surprised exclamations at Tsukune's prompt response, and the rosary clinked again as the red gem moved to get a better view of him. He chuckled. "Yes, I can hear you. It's simple enough. The rosary seals Silver away by putting Pink over the top, so you share the same body, but the link between you is the rosary itself. I've seen and touched the thing, so I can link to it."
He glanced at the sun. "We've been out here too long. We should have been in class ages ago. Come on."
Wait, I want more of an explanation!
"Me too! Come to that, how is… Silver… even talking to me? She never could before!"
But Tsukune was already striding ahead.
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At lunch, Tsukune took a visit to the bathroom, leaving Moka alone in the corridor. As she was walking up and down, someone dropped from the banister of the stairs to land in front of her. All the nearby guys immediately descended into chaos, clamouring over her beauty.
"So, Akashiya Moka… according to the rumours, you're a vampire. I am the succubus Kurono Kurumu… and I have come to defeat you."
"What – wait, isn't revealing your monster form against the school rules?"
"I don't care! I can't stand it any more! You are an eyesore in the way of my plan!"
"…plan?"
"I am a succubus! I am going to have every male in this academy eating out of the palm of my hand! I should have done so already, but they're all dreaming about you instead of me! That's why I've decided that I'm going to prove I'm better than you… I'm going to steal Tsukune from you!"
"What?! Leave Tsukune out of it, he doesn't have anything to do with this!"
"Oh, but he does, little miss vampire. When I got close to him earlier… his scent was incredible. Even just the smell of him was overwhelming. I bet his blood is delicious… you're using him as food, aren't you? When I take him, you'll starve."
"No! I'm not using him! I'm-"
Footsteps from behind heralded Tsukune's approach. The crowd that had gathered to watch the two girls fight suddenly dispersed as they realized who was standing there, and noticed the expression on his face. "So, tell me, succubus… what exactly are you doing?"
Kurumu turned at his voice, launching herself at him, only to be caught one-handed by the hair and held dangling off the ground. "I'll ask again. What are you doing?"
"Tsukune… please put me down… this hurts! I was only talking to her…"
With a snort, he lowered her to the floor, only to find himself instantly grabbed in a tight hug by the girl. Once again, she tried to use her figure to the fullest advantage, pressing herself against him. Moka was looking more agitated by the second. "Tsukune, please get away from that succubus! She'll eat you alive!"
Turning his head to look at her, he raised an eyebrow. "You drink my blood, don't you? I fail to see much difference."
As soon as he said it, Tsukune knew he'd made a serious mistake. Moka looked hurt, tears welling up, and after a moment, she ran off crying. Kurumu cheered and danced. "Yahoo! I won, I won!"
Tsukune cursed himself with every expletive he knew. He had committed the single stupidest act of his entire life. Lost in a private world of anger and self-loathing, he barely noticed when Kurumu grabbed his arm and started dragging him away from the main hallways. He only came back to himself when he realized he was in her room, being shoved down onto the bed. The succubus giggled.
"Now, I can complete my victory! I'll make you mine, and crush that vampire once and for all!"
Climbing over the top of him, she leant in, getting closer and closer. Tsukune was numb; he couldn't quite believe what was happening. Just as the succubus's lips were about to touch his, everything came back in a rush. With a roar, he shoved her off him and surged to his feet. When he started to shout, his furious youkai burned in every word "How dare you?! You pathetic creature! Count yourself lucky I have more important things to attend to, or I would kill you, here and now, and make no mistake – it would not be quick."
Exiting the room, he slammed the door behind him.
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Moka sat on the steps where she had last had a quiet moment with Tsukune. She'd managed to stop crying, but she knew it would take very little to set her off again. "I wonder… what am I to Tsukune? Do I really just want his blood?"
The sound of flapping wings interrupted her thoughts. From above, the succubus divebombed down on her, claws outstretched. "You damned vampire! Even when he's lost you, he won't betray you! I'm going to kill you!"
Moka screamed, and barely managed to dodge the furious attack. Kurumu didn't let up, slashing viciously with her claws and opening up numerous cuts and gashes. She had Moka backed up against a tree and was winding up for a finishing strike when a terrifying roar stopped her dead in her tracks.
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A few minutes earlier
Tsukune sprinted at motorway speeds as he searched for Moka. He didn't know where she was, but he intended to find out, and do the best he could to repair the damage he had caused. So far, his search had proved fruitless, but he was quickly narrowing it down. A thought struck him – could she be at their spot outside that classroom?
As he approached it, a scream confirmed his fears, and he rounded the corner to find Kurumu attacking Moka. He pulled on his youkai and released a little of his dragon form with a roar.
Now, he stood at around eight feet tall, thick musculature rippling under shining red scales. Wide, yellowy-beige armour bands covered his chest and belly. Claws adorned his hands and his teeth were sharp and pointed, clearly visible along the side of his dragonlike muzzle. Huge wings sprouted from his shoulderblades, and a spined tail from the base of his spine. His legs were jointed like a dragon's, with an extra, back-hinged secondary knee, and his feet had a prehensile digit each. It was a strange beauty – inhuman, but undeniable.
"Get away from her."
The boiling youkai that cascaded off him was more than enough to convince Kurumu that it was a fight she couldn't win. She backed away quickly. Tsukune strode over to Moka and healed her with a spell and a flick of his fingers, then put his hand to the rosary.
"Moka, I'm sorry. I'll talk to you in a minute. Silver… I thought you might like to do this yourself, since you were the one she attacked."
With that, he pulled the cross from Moka's neck and shrank back to human form. As he did so, Silver Moka emerged, her presence not anywhere near Tsukune's but still far more than most youkai could bring to bear. She smiled, nodded her thanks to Tsukune, and then charged the succubus.
"Silver, perhaps not too…"
Kurumu tried to block, but the kick sent her through several trees and landed her up against the trunk of an especially large one, bleeding and battered. Silver stalked forwards, a predatory grin on her face.
"…hard. Alright, that's enough."
The vampiress frowned as Tsukune stepped between the two women. "She attacked me! She deserves much more! I am going to rip her wings and tail off so she can never fly again!"
Behind him, Kurumu started crying. Tsukune snorted. "And then what? Will you mutilate everyone that crosses you? I don't think that's a route you want to go down. Besides… Kurumu is only doing what's expected of her. She's a succubus, isn't she? Succubi are supposed to enslave men. I don't think she's actually a bad person."
The crying was replaced by a gasp. Silver snorted. "Fine. But I'll warn you… if you ever dare say something like what you did to the other me again, I will find a way to kill you."
Tsukune nodded. "I will deserve it."
Clipping the rosary back into place, Silver fell forwards into Tsukune's arms, changing back into the pink-haired version of herself. A moment later, she tensed and looked up. Her eyes were still full of hurt and sadness, but there was hope too. Tsukune cleared his throat awkwardly. "Moka… what I said was wrong, in both senses of that phrase. I should never have said that to you, and also… there is a big difference between her trying to draw on me and you drinking my blood."
He stopped, collecting himself for a moment, before bringing one hand up to his neck and drawing aside his collar. "The difference is… I'm more than willing to give you my blood."
Tilting his head sideways to expose his neck, he eyed her worriedly. She stared back with shining eyes. "Tsukune…"
As she buried her fangs into his neck, he reflected that it was a small price to pay for her friendship.
