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.

Good grief! My fifth chapter in one day!

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As dawn broke, Tsukune considered what he knew of the Newspaper Club, which was very little. He'd heard that almost nobody wanted to join it, partly because of the fact that it was run by Sensei Nekonome, who was known for being crazy even by the standards of Youkai Academy, but also because of the Public Safety Commission. He was on firmer ground with them – his father had researched them before sending him here, and said that it seemed like an excellent organization for him to join. By this, of course, he meant that it was corrupt and effectively just another gang, except one that wielded authority. The old Newspaper Club had published some rather unflattering material about the PSC, and the crackdown had been hard.

His father had wanted him to join the PSC as soon as he arrived, but Tsukune didn't want to place himself under the authority of another unless he absolutely had to. The teachers were bad enough, but thugs and bullies? Never. If he ever joined the PSC, it would be as a coup of authority from its leader.

With a sigh, he got out of bed and prepared for his first day at the club, turning the shower up as hot as it would go. As a Red Dragon, no amount of heat could harm him, but an unfortunate side-effect of this resilience was that even the hottest shower felt barely lukewarm. He wished that, just once, he could really enjoy a hot shower.

#~#~#~#

The morning went predictably. Kurumu grabbed him and tried to pull him into her chest. Moka and Kurumu had their usual stare-off. What he hadn't been expecting was that they would be the only members of the Newspaper Club. He knew it was unpopular, but not that much. Moka was similarly put out. "Sensei… are we the only members of this club?"

The cat youkai smiled. "Don't be silly! See, here he comes now, the other member!"

A tall guy came in through the door. His long, unkempt black hair was held back by a band, and a camera was slung around his neck. Two bouquets of roses were in his hands. Tsukune growled softly as he recognized Morioka Ginei, one of the biggest perverts at the Academy. The sleazy smile he wore as he introduced himself only confirmed Tsukune's opinion. "Greetings. I'm the president of this club, second-year Morioka Ginei. You can call me Gin, or even Gin-chan if you like."

Nekonome looked at the clock and squeaked. "I have to go! Bye now! Make friends with your senpai, okay?"

Looking at the closing door, Grin grinned. He sauntered towards Moka and Kurumu, and was about to offer them the flowers when Tsukune snapped his fingers and burnt the bouquets to ashes.

"Let me finish that introduction for you. Morioka Ginei, Youkai Academy's biggest pervert and playboy. I suggest you keep your disgusting habits, and especially your camera, away from my friends."

The cocky attitude wavered under Tsukune's cold glare. "Whoa, dude, lighten up. A guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do, you know?"

Gin's comment only made the temperature in the room drop further. Tsukune let out a full-on growl, and Gin, even in human form, felt his fur stand on end. Every single one of his instincts was telling him, as loud as they could, that this guy was bad news. "Let me make this clear, Morioka. If I find you indulging your perversion on my friends, so much as once, you will wish you hadn't, werewolf or not."

Tsukune had to admit, he felt a little sorry for the guy. To be so thoroughly shot down before he'd even got started, and to have his monster form exposed so easily, had to be disheartening. He was surprised at how quickly Gin perked up, but the reason became clear soon enough…

#~#~#~#

"Higher, Moka. Kurumu, you too. We want maximum visibility for those posters."

After talking for about five minutes, and actually giving a pretty good speech, he had ruined it with the simple pair of sentences "Just messing with you! Let's have some fun without all the strict talk" before proceeding to instruct the girls to climb up on some desks and put club posters up on the walls. For some reason, he kept telling them to go higher. Both the girls were now on tiptoes.

Gin had a suspicious smirk on his face as he casually sat back on his haunches. After a moment, he glanced up at the girls, watching them. Tsukune frowned as the older boy's smile widened. As he traced Gin's line of sight, he realized what was going on.

"Morioka, you disgusting excuse for a monster, I know exactly what you're doing and if you don't stop it I will put you in the hospital!"

He hadn't meant to put his youkai into the shout, but he'd been so angry that it flared up without his conscious direction. The pressure of his presence hammered into the werewolf and sent him cringing back.

"Sorry! Sorry! I'm sorry!"

His head was dipped, and from the movement of his muscles, his ears would be down if he were in werewolf form. Tsukune grinned at his submission. Moka and Kurumu turned in shock, staring at the pair of them. "Tsukune? What's going on?" "Yeah, what's he doing that's got you so angry?"

Tsukune growled as he struggled to control his temper and to keep his dragon form in check. If he lost control here, he'd demolish the school.

"That pervert was looking up your skirts. That's the reason he had you putting the posters up so high. I'd be punching him now, but I thought you might want to do it yourself."

Kurumu snarled, sharp nails extending, as Moka gasped and went red. The succubus advanced threateningly on the werewolf, who cowered back, still filled with fear by the horrible presence emanating from Tsukune. Moka was so embarrassed she didn't know where to look, and her hands were clamped down on her skirt so hard it was a surprise she hadn't ripped it.

Seeing Moka's utter discomfort allowed Tsukune to rein himself in, pulling his youkai back. He hurried over to Moka. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, blushing even more. "It's just so embarrassing…"

Yelps began to sound from across the room as Kurumu laid into Gin. The werewolf tried to get to the door, but was blocked by the succubus's wings extending. Paying them little more attention than a glance, he turned back to Moka. "I understand. I don't think there's much I can do, but I'll certainly be keeping a very close eye on Gin in the future."

He glared at the werewolf, who was bleeding from several nasty cuts as Kurumu stomped back towards Tsukune, huffing to herself in indignation. "I can't believe his nerve. Thanks for catching him, Tsukune!"

Moka smiled. "Yes, thank you Tsukune. I have to say, the way you scared him was pretty impressive. If I didn't know you were on my side, I'd have been terrified."

Tsukune chuckled ruefully. "Well, that will be a small comfort when all the new rumours start going around."

#~#~#~#

By the next day, as Tsukune had predicted, rumours were abound about why there had been such a huge surge of youkai. Somebody had seen Gin running away, trailing blood, and pretty soon there were stories about an epic battle between Tsukune and the werewolf. People speculated wildly as to what his true form was. He heard some pretty funny ideas, but his nervousness grew quickly, because Kurumu was watching him with narrowed eyes every time she heard someone mention his true form.

At break, she managed to get him away from Moka by the simple expedient of dragging him away while the vampiress was in the toilet. When she had him alone, she backed him up to a wall and stared at him with a determined expression. "Alright, what are you? There's all this speculation about your true form, and then I remembered when you stopped me killing Moka the other day… you changed back so quickly that I'd almost forgotten, but…"

Tsukune blew out a breath. He'd been afraid of that. A quick scan of the area with his youkai confirmed that they were alone. He knew he'd have to tell her eventually, so he decided to simply get it out of the way. "Kurumu… I'm a dragon."

"What?!"

"I'm a dragon. A Red Dragon, to be precise. The strongest kind. That's how I was able to resist your charm, how I nearly killed Saizou with just a flick, how I can use my youkai as I do… well, you haven't seen much of that yet, but if I ever get the chance to do some magic, I think you'll be impressed."

He sighed. "That is, if you decide to stick around. Nobody else did, at least until I met Moka."

The succubus snorted. "Please. Don't you think I know what it is to be discriminated against? 'Oh, she's a succubus, she's just an object there for the taking.' 'Oh, it's what she does, she won't mind if I take what I want'. The number of times people have held my nature against me, what right do I have to judge you? I admit I'm shocked, but then I suppose dragons have to go to school somewhere."

Tsukune let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, and swept Kurumu up in a hug. The gesture surprised him as much as it did her, and all he could think was 'What am I doing?'. However, he quickly recognized the same thing that had happened with Moka. He'd made another friend. He sighed inwardly. Two was still manageable.

"Tsukune…"

He realized that he was still hugging Kurumu, and that Moka had tracked them down. Letting go of her hurriedly, he straightened his blazer with an awkward cough.

"Ahh… Moka. If you're wondering about… the hug… I just told Kurumu what I am. She decided to stay."

The vampiress blinked in surprise. "Really? You trust her that much?"

I agree with Pink. I don't think that was wise.

Tsukune groaned softly. "Look. Kurumu is my friend. Much to my surprise, she has remained so even after knowing that I'm a dragon. As far as I'm concerned, that proves I was right to trust her. If you don't like that, please feel free to watch her. I can't stop you."

He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. "If you'll excuse me, Gin wanted to meet me about now. Alone, for some reason."

"But Tsukune-"

"You know you can't trust-"

Tsukune cut them off with a raised hand. "What can he really do to me? He might be S-class, but I'm a dragon. I'll be fine."

#~#~#~#

"So, Gin, what was it you wanted? And why are we in this alley?"

The werewolf smiled, toying with his camera. "Just take a look through that window."

Tsukune glanced towards the opening in question. His sharp hearing easily picked up the sounds of chattering girls and rustling fabric coming through it. He chuckled lightly. "And get myself in trouble for peeping? Get you off the hook and me onto it? I don't think so. Instead… I think I'll expose you for what you are."

A flash of motion, so fast that he blurred, took Tsukune behind the werewolf. His fingers targeted exactly the right spot, as he had been trained, and as he had practised so many times. Gin blinked in surprise, then collapsed unconscious. Pulling out a pen and some paper, Tsukune started writing.

#~#~#~#

By lunch, the rumour was all over the Academy. Morioka Ginei had been found, unconscious, in the alley behind the girl's changing rooms with a note taped to his forehead after a mysterious knock on the window. Nobody had been seen anywhere near the area, and it was a mystery how it had happened, but the fact remained that it had. The note, more than anything, had been the cause of the excitement.

Girls of Youkai: my apologies for the unscrupulous behaviour of this felon. I noticed him entering this alley and followed him, to find that his intent was to spy upon your changing area. I rendered him incapable of doing so. Feel free to exact whatever revenge you wish.

-T

This mysterious 'T' person was quickly lauded as a hero, though there were some who questioned what he had really been doing in the alley. By the time Gin woke up, the damage was done, and irrevocably so. Everyone knew he was a pervert, and everyone was on their guard around him. He quickly kindled a burning hatred for Aono Tsukune.

Somehow, he would have revenge, and if it involved his little girlfriends, then so much the better.