Disclaimer: I don't own Rosario+Vampire, nor do I make any money from the writing of this story. Simple enough, ne? Just don't copy from this story and we're all good!
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V^^ Release ^^V
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He fell.
Their world turned red.
With the shock of what they had just seen still fresh in their systems, it was a tribute to their closeness that almost instantly they were all moving, desperately trying to reach the precipice that had just swallowed their friend whole. Kurumu already had her wings sprouted and was seconds away from taking off down after him when it hit her—when it hit them. A pillar of bloody light, so thick with power it looked as if they could reach out and touch it, shot out from the base of the cliff and into the heavens above, momentarily blinding the trio.
Then, then their world really did turn red.
The very atmosphere around them warped as the demonic energy surged, painting the stormy skies crimson and shading the rest of the surroundings with a likeness they had only seen happen in the case of one other. Sounds caught their ears, the flapping of hundreds of thousands of leathery wings, and before their eyes what seemed like millions of otherworldly bats flew downwards, rushing after the body they had seen fall not seconds earlier. The roiling waves of moving darkness, screeching insistently as they moved to their target, was unlike anything they had ever seen before. In a way, it was simply awe-inspiring.
What it meant though, they had no idea.
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Only one did. Gazing from his room atop the academy classrooms, a robed figure watched the beam of red energy piercing the tempestuous clouds with interest.
"So, you finally did it eh? It took you longer than I thought."
He chuckled darkly as he moved back to his desk. No doubt he would have to answer some questions soon. His little assistant had already taken off running the second she felt it.
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Everything quieted. For those few seconds after the bats had disappeared even the booming thunderheads above seemed frozen in time, though that might have also been because the trio was still momentarily deaf from the explosive shockwave the column of light had created when it appeared. For those ensuing moments there was nothing, no sound, no movement, it could be questioned if they were even breathing.
Power.
It came without warning, strong enough in its aura alone to have the three impressively powerful young women shivering against their will. It was a dark power, one that should have been frightening in its very inception, but there was something else there too. It wasn't the twisted, malicious energies released wildly by a ghoul of a vampire's blood origin; instead it was a pure, burning strength, one the likes of which they had only felt once before. They could only tremble, both shock and exhilaration mounting high in their bodies.
Underneath it all, beneath the terrifying demonic energy and the inherent fear that came with it…was a very familiar presence.
Time returned all at once, returning the scarlet world to normal and breaking the three out of the reverie that lasted only the length of a heartbeat. Then the screams started. It was from none of them, but the pain the voice was expressing was so great it could be heard even over the sounds of the storm, and it was coming from the water below. The power in the air fluctuated wildly, trying desperately to maintain its grandeur and hold off what was causing that pain, but soon sputtered and faltered regardless.
Able to move once more, the screams jolted the friends back to reality. They knew who the screams were coming from, the voice had been ingrained into their hearts for close to three years. Ashamed she had been stopped even though the red light would have surely harmed her, Kurumu quickly took to the skies and dove down to the rocks below.
Mizore and Yukari could do nothing but wait, as hard as it was, and what seemed like an eternity later the tiny succubus finally pulled herself and her precious cargo back over the edge. They couldn't help it. They stared.
Jagged arcs of bright white electricity were bouncing over a body that was achingly familiar and yet…startlingly alien at the same time. The white shirt common to every student of the academy was pasted to the pale figure it covered, made transparent by water and torn and bloody from the fall, though while they knew that was the case there were no actual wounds to be seen. Glistening wet hair shone like the precious metal it resembled in the flashes of lightning crackling in the dark clouds above, and the muscles hidden under the alabaster skin shook uncontrollably in the constant torture as his fingers clawed at the wet ground beneath him, in what was obviously a vain attempt to alleviate the suffering he was going through. Inhumanly sharp teeth ground together as he struggled to stifle the cries he wanted so desperately to make, and long fangs caught the light as he threw himself to the ground and writhed, trying without success to escape the pain.
"Do something!" Kurumu shouted frantically at her violet-haired companion. "Look at him! He's in pain!"
It didn't take long to realize what she wanted her to do once Mizore finally regained her higher brain functions. Too much time had been wasted already, so the snow woman quickly swiped a hand upwards, freezing the water on the ground and in the air into an icy alcove that protected them from the onslaught of nature around them, and the change was instantaneous. Finally free, the young man on the ground collapsed into a panting heap, forcing air into his lungs in large gulps while trying to regain his senses. Just like they thought, when his eyes opened they were not the honey-brown they were used to, rather they were bright red, and round, human pupils were nowhere to be found, replaced by their reptilian equivalent.
Tsukune Aono…had become a vampire.
"Are you alright, Tsukune?"
He heard nothing but a garbled mess as his brain fought to work through the torrent of information it had been receiving. Something had changed, he could feel demonic energy swirling inside him; his, completely under his control. Then all he felt was pain, unbearable, all-consuming pain. It felt like he was being shot, hundreds of times, thousands of times, and it was all because of what he could now recognize had been raindrops. Each one was like a bullet, and the parts of his body immersed in the sea below felt like they were being burned off. If he had thought the initial aftereffect of Moka's blood slowly destroying his humanity during his first year was painful, this experience made that feel like a paper cut. It was like he had bit into a high voltage line in the middle of a thunderstorm and been struck by lightning, multiple times, all at once.
Is this what Moka-san went through when she saved me from the Swimming Club? Oh god…I deserved that slap even more than I thought…
But the fact that it was hurting so much meant…it had worked! Straining his uncooperative limbs to rise, he held his arm in front of his face. The alabaster flesh devoid of the Holy Lock looking back at him almost made him shout out in joy. He had been right! He may not be the most book-smart person alive, but he was very gifted when it came to practical applications. Though being out of the rain directly allowed him to breathe easier, his wet clothes caused constant pain and sapped what would have been incredible strength. He wasn't about to strip out of them, as much as he might want to. Present company being the reason.
"Tsukune…are you okay?"
His eyes just barely managed to focus in on Mizore hovering over him, Kurumu and Yukari right by her side. He took another deep breath in to answer them…and instantly regretted it. Their scents filled his senses, the rich, aromatic odor that honed him in instinctively to their heartbeats, pumping that luscious liquid through their bodies. Now that the pain had receded for the most part, he could focus on the other desire flooding through him. Thirst. He was so thirsty…so…thirsty…
The girls had been glad to see him returning to normal, or as normal as he could be called now, but when Mizore had called out to him and brought his attention to them, they could see the way his eyes glazed over. Bidden by a longing above his control he moved, and before they could do anything he had sunk his fangs into the snow woman's translucent skin.
A soundless scream came from her open mouth as her love-interest drank her lifeblood and her arms stretched to the sky, grasping at nothing before clasping to his back, not in an effort to push him away, but keep him near her. To the other two the blush that instantly appeared on their fellow female's face made their mouths dry, and the way her eyes were rolling back in her head didn't seem to be all from blood loss—her usually expressionless visage was twisted in joy even. She was shaking, her body trembling against his, and all the while she was showing no sign of discomfort or any real physical pain. They could practically see her breath in the air as she panted in what they could only describe as pleasure, but knew something was wrong when she finally slumped against him.
"Tsukune! Tsukune stop!" Kurumu shouted as she tried to forcefully remove him from her friend's neck. "Tsukune, you'll kill her!"
All at once it seemed sanity came back to the young man, because he pushed himself away in nothing short of horror. The taste, the taste had been indescribable. Her blood was so naturally cold it felt like he was drinking wine chilled to absolute perfection, an irresistible bouquet that lit up his senses, quenched the aridity scratching painfully against his throat. It had been so good, so good he had forgotten what he was doing. Looking down on her now he could already see the wounds closing up on her neck, but she was pale, so unnaturally pale, even for her. Why she looked so happy then he had no idea, but the only thing he could focus on was the weak rhythm of her heart, barely audible even to his ears.
"Oh god…what have I done?!"
Despite the situation, Yukari and Kurumu couldn't help but do a double-take. In light of his recent transfiguration even his voice was imbued heavily with power, just like Moka's, and it sounded amazing. Nonetheless, their attention was quickly brought back to their helpless friend, whose chest barely rose at all for her weak breaths.
I need to get her to the infirmary! The thought was there that he could try what Moka had done to him all those years ago, but he wasn't about to risk that. For one, he wasn't sure what vampire blood would do to someone already a monster. Second, he had no idea how.
Panic and anxiety gripped the young vampire. He had only wanted to be selfish once more, only wanted to see if it would work, he had never expected himself to be followed. He had become exactly what he wanted, and by doing so had nearly killed one of his closest friends. Some selfless person he turned out to be. He rose before he could even tell himself to, the continuous pain of his wet clothes all but completely disregarded. Mizore needed help, and by God he was going to get her to it.
"We're going! She can't stay here!"
Scooping her up in his arms, he was almost unsettled by how light she was in his grip, and he prayed it had to do with his newly-enhanced strength. Making sure she was comfortable against his chest and wouldn't be jarred by the speed he was about to take off at, Tsukune shot out of the icy cave, just barely able to feel the shock at how fast he had become even with the weakness of his body before the rain hit him again.
His whole body went rigid and he gasped in agony as he stumbled, holding the weak body in his arms against himself protectively. Dammit! Dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit! He had completely forgotten about the storm outside! No! I can't let this stop me! I can't! Willing his tortured body to move, he was barely able to make it back onto one knee. Move! The entirety of the pain threatened to block out rational thought once more, but he would have none of it. He used the pain to keep his focus, that single-minded desire to get up. Frost hung in the air as his anger grew, and so too did his breath grow more visible by the second. No, dammit, NO!
Ice shot up around them, crystals of solid water so tall they dwarfed the trees as the sharp prisms stretched to join each other at their zenith, creating a hallway in the middle of the forest. He looked down on the woman in his arms in amazement. Is she trying to protect me even when unconscious? He really didn't deserve friends like this.
Adrenaline forced his muscles to cooperate, and the pull of gravity became lighter as he felt someone help him up. To the side, Kurumu nodded gravely, though in truth she was trying to stop from staring at the clear blue covering that had birthed itself seemingly of its own volition. With a serious nod back, Kurumu and Yukari had no other warning before he took off again, so fast within moments he was almost out of their sight. The sharp hallway of ice extended as he went, feeding off the abundant rainwater and soaked ground, keeping him from the ill-effects of the purifying liquid.
Prior to making chase, the two shared a significant look, both thinking the same thing:
Where had the ice come from?
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Tsukune didn't care. He just ran.
He ran faster than he ever had in his entire life, faster than he had ever been capable of going his entire life. The ice kept pace miraculously, warping the images of the trees and gravestones he was passing through their watery glass. Finally after what seemed like ages the academy's hospital annex came into view, but to his intense irritation it seemed students and staff alike had collected outside, likely wondering what the explosion of light had been earlier.
Running as he was on instinct and adrenaline, he had no patience for those in front of him. He knew he was probably overreacting, but he wasn't about to let anything worse happen to Mizore. He was tired, he was in pain, and he was in a hurry. Baring his fearsome teeth, he snarled, though many had already turned his way at the sight of the rapidly growing ice formation coming towards them. "Get the HELL out of my way!"
The ice surged in response, shooting forward in razor-sharp icicles that stopped just short of the crowd, parting them instantly. He used the ramp the ice had created for a springboard, shooting himself out of the protective hall and over the gathering. His fangs punctured his lower lip as he muffled the cry he instinctively wanted to make at being out in the rain for even the one second he had, but quickly his fall had taken him through the doors of the annex and out of the storm.
He slipped as his wet shoes caught the waxed tile but as he was there was no pain he couldn't deal with, and even in his state he was able to roll to keep the woman in his arms from being injured. Slick shoes resulted in sliding to a stop at the front desk, and the nurse behind the counter just stared at him as he panted in exertion. She couldn't be blamed for doing so; she wasn't the only one. With wet silver hair that shone under the florescent lights of the hospital laying in disarray on his head, water and electricity dripping from powerful contours revealed in excruciating detail under his soaked clothes, and those features themselves slowly being highlighted by an angry red aura that was gradually gaining strength, he looked absolutely demonic. His equally fierce red eyes closed in on her, and she backed away unwittingly as that angry supernatural power flared to life despite its obvious weakness.
"What are you sitting around for?! She needs help!" The trance was broken and doctors came from everywhere, to which he readily released her onto their stretcher before she was taken away. "She'll probably need a blood transfusion!" he called after them, and saw one of them nod in understanding, grimly looking at what had likely caused her need of that transfusion.
The crowd once outside had for the most part rushed in after him, wondering who, and what it was that had done everything they had just witnessed. Flashes of wine-colored eyes and gleaming silver hair was all they had seen before the person had leaped clear over them in one jump. They didn't dare approach him now, they could see how unsteady and irritable his youki was visibly. If he was what they thought he was, he could tear them apart with his bare hands.
Then he looked back at the nurse that still seemed frozen in place and grinned one of his familiar grins, one many of the Third Years had seen countless times before, if not just from a distance. They couldn't believe it. Had the rumors really been…true?
"Well, that was eventful."
Everything caught up with him at once, the pain, the exhaustion, the anxiety, and soon his beautiful crimson eyes rolled back in his head as he slumped to the floor unconscious.
Kurumu, Yukari, and the new addition of Ruby pushed their way through the crowd just in time to see Tsukune being wheeled off.
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Moka Akashiya walked silently through the uniform white halls, trying to bring as little attention to herself as possible. After over a week of not drinking Tsukune's blood she had had to resort to going back to blood packs to keep herself conscious in class. The thirst was still there though, which made the stress eating away at her health all the worse. She preferred that though, she had no reason to look healthier than she felt inside.
Unlike usual the hospital was rather full, though not of patients. People still waited, clustered in groups and murmuring amongst themselves, though naturally many stopped and turned as they watched her walk by. Whispers of 'amazing' and 'vampire' caught her ears more than once, and she started in surprise.
Vampire?! How do they know!?
The rumors concerning her true form had been all but completely verified, but that was old news, there was no reason for it to be brought up again. Ever since she had met Tsukune, people had focused less on her true nature and more on who she was. The ice formations gradually melting outside the hospital had offset her though as she had walked indoors. She had waited until the storm had passed, because even with an umbrella the winds would have made short work of sending her to her knees. Mizore was never frugal with her use of her abilities should the situation demand it, but she had never seen anything like what was melting outside.
For some reason she was still on edge. For a solitary second it had felt like Tsukune had released his ghoul nature, but it came and went so quickly she had written it off as the stress getting to her. If that wasn't enough, she soon felt a huge burst of demonic energy, and then almost as soon as it had come it too had flickered into nothingness. It made no sense. She had felt the youki of most of the higher class monsters in the school, but nothing came close to what she felt from that one for the few seconds she had been able to sense it. Only hers did it justice.
Fool me once… she thought tiredly as she searched the halls. Once was explainable as being overtired, but twice, especially as strong as the second had been, meant something had to be going on. The energy of her friends could be felt easily, they were so agitated feeling their youki was nothing to her. She couldn't feel Tsukune though, and though that made her feel better in some small way because it hurt so much to look at him, part of her wished frantically that he was there.
After rounding yet another corner and finding more groups huddled together, whispering towards a certain door, she knew she had found them. Normally she wouldn't have bothered looking for them, the pain in her chest wanted nothing to remind herself of what her other self had so idiotically thrown away, but she needed to. With all the commotion earlier she found herself searching their energies out instantly, and to her horror they were in the hospital annex. The memories of the last time she had been in that place made her sick to her stomach. Even then, her vampire self had turned him away.
Looking at the door in question, where the stares were directed and her friends' youki was located, her eyes widened. That other power was there too, warm in its very presence, and growing significantly stronger. It was the nameplate that caught her off guard, sending both her and her inner self reeling.
It was marked simply 'Shirayuki, Mizore. Aono, Tsukune.'
Two of her friends had been hospitalized? Not only that, but he was there, right behind the door, the one she had no right entering. As much as it hurt, as much as her heart clenched the closer her hand got to the handle, she had to see. She had to make sure he was okay, at the very least.
Three heads looked up when the door opened, and quickly turned back when they realized who it was. Her gaze saddened. They had every right to feel angry with her, hell, she was angry with herself. The room itself was dark, only one lamp giving meager light to the surroundings, but then again both occupants of the room were unconscious. Taking a look around the room for who she desired to see she noticed Mizore under the covers on a bed, looking paler than normal even for her. She seemed to be regaining strength quickly, and a packet of blood was hanging from the nearby stand alongside her intravenous. Had she been injured so grievously she needed a transfusion? Then where were all the bandages?
A glance to the side, and her heart stopped.
Fear gripped her, clutched her heart in its cold embrace and squeezed. Even the vampire within her, silent and broken since her dismissal of Tsukune's confession, felt genuine fear for one of the handful of times in her life. The hair had caught her notice first, bright strands of precious metal shimmering like soft velvet down his head, leading her to now pale, ivory skin. Silver eyebrows floated peacefully over his closed eyelids, and she had no doubt as to what she would see behind them were they open. The power she had felt, the calm, kind aura beneath the demonic energy that rivalled her own…had been Tsukune.
She collapsed to her knees, relief and resentment burning for dominance inside her. Inner Moka was simply dumbstruck, for the very first time in her life absolutely speechless.
It's…it's not…possible…
She had to deny it, had to reject this ultimate irony in front of her. Barely two weeks earlier had she not ripped his heart from his body, crushed her own feelings for the man beneath her despicably fastidious pride…and for what? For what?! For him to show her he really had been everything she had ever needed in the end.
Hot tears burned her face as fresh disgust at herself ate away at her insides. "What happened?"
Kurumu turned to her then, not bothering to hide the revulsion she felt at the vampire's presence. "Tsukune tore off the Holy Lock and threw himself off a cliff in the middle of a thunderstorm," she hissed.
Moka's eyes, if it was possible, went even wider. "W-What?!"
The succubus stalked towards her, wrenching her up from the ground by the collar and holding her in her piercing amethyst glare. "I can only imagine what you said to him, but I never thought it would come to this. Watching you two slump through these past few days was painful, but it had honestly never crossed my mind that you would go that far. Do you have any idea what it was like, watching him tear that lock off? Could you possibly imagine seeing him fall backwards towards what you could only think was his death?!"
Neither Moka could say anything, but the look on her face said it all. She could imagine it, and it made her stomach drop into her shoes. The violet eyes glaring at her softened in sadness, and another piece of Moka's heart broke at the look in them.
"I told you once before I'd never forgive you if you hurt Tsukune, didn't I?" she whispered through tears. "But I kept forgiving you, over and over again no matter how many times you brushed him off when he went to you instead of me. I thought of you like a sister I'd never had, even your inner self always came to our rescue when we needed it. You were an important friend, someone I'd trust my life to." The use of past-tense stabbed the pink-haired young woman with every passing word, and soon enough the purple orbs had returned to their hard stare. "But when I saw Tsukune fall from that cliff, I knew there was something that for all of your differences, all your self-proclaimed separateness from your inner self, there was something you shared with the vampire inside you. Your wishy-washy feelings never fail to hurt Tsukune."
It felt like she had been shot in the heart with a blessed bullet. Both her and the red-eyed vampire within her, as much as she wanted to, even growled at the succubus for the insult to her, could say nothing. She was absolutely right. She had been offered everything she had ever wanted, ever needed, and because of her pride she had thrown it away. She loved him so much, but never enough, not even enough to overcome her own damn ego.
Kurumu looked back when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and Ruby stood behind her, pity deep in her eyes. "That's enough, Kurumu-chan."
She bristled as a fury that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up spiked through her. "NO! It's not enough! She never gets it through her head! If she loved Tsukune then she'd love him dammit, not keep hurting him and making those that really did love him see him like this!"
For all her vaunted superiority, even Inner Moka's face was warped in sorrow. The succubus was as dumb as a brick when it came to schoolwork, but when it came to matters of the heart she was quite possibly the wisest person she knew. Only someone like her would be able to strip away her pride and plunge the—bitter, painful, all-too-real—truth right into her vulnerable core in one sentence.
The vampire did the only thing she could think of.
All three of them, Yukari, Ruby, and Kurumu most of all, backed away in shock at what they were seeing. Moka Akashiya…begging. On her hands and knees, the pink-haired young woman set her forehead to the ground in front of them as the tremors from her sobs shook her body. After a stunned silence, Moka looked up at them all, her swollen eyes out of place on her majestic face.
"Please, Kurumu-san, please forgive me just one more time," she rasped hoarsely. "I've told myself to get away from all of you so many times, how undeserving I am, how much danger I put you in by being around you, but I can't. You're my first friends. My best friends. My family. No matter how many times I say I can't stand to hurt Tsukune, by trying to protect him I always do exactly that!
"Though faint, I share all of my other self's memories and all of her feelings. We love him, we honestly do, but please, please, you have to understand; our world isn't a place where we can bring anyone but our equal. Vampires take their mates very seriously, and she's been taught ever since she was young not to accept anyone who can't show us our place. You're all long-lived, even Yukari-san and Ruby-san will probably live well past one hundred, but you aren't immortal like me…" she looked to the side sadly, her throat bobbing at the lump of emotion in her esophagus, "…like Tsukune. Please, please understand where we're coming from. Please, if you ever thought of me as your sister, I'm begging you to forgive me!"
She set her face back on the floor, awaiting their answer.
Though the words coming from her own body's mouth made Inner Moka cringe, she knew how much the people in front of her mattered to her sentimental side. There was only one person in the room she truly loved, and for that person she would swallow the disgrace of this act and humble herself before them. It was no less than he deserved after what she had done to him.
For the longest time there was silence, the tension in the room so thick it could be a meal in itself. The shivering body of the sobbing vampire then felt lithe hands place themselves on her shoulders before she found herself pulled up off the ground, staring wide-eyed into the tearful orbs of her would-be sister. The smaller woman shocked her seconds later by pulling her into a warm embrace, and Moka's sobs reached new heights as she collapsed into her friend, clasping to her back like she was a lifeline. The succubus allowed the tears to run their course, sweeping her gentle hands through her friend's lengthy hair while she wept into her sweater. When the heart-wrenching sobs finally subsided into hiccupped sniffles, she broke the silence.
"I never want to hear you call me –san again, you got that?" The woman in her arms laughed unwittingly, nodding happily into the fabric. "I swear I'm too soft sometimes, but I guess I can't stay mad at my family."
"Kurumu-chan…"
"Moka-saaaaaaan, waaaaaaaah!" Yukari cried as she launched herself into her friend's stomach, great, heavy tears falling from the witch's face. Moka smiled tenderly as her and Kurumu's positions were reversed; now it was her turn to do the comforting. Another hand was put on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Ruby smiling at her gently. A simple nod was all the response needed.
"I guess I can forgive you," a voice muttered through a yawn, and they all looked up in surprise to see Mizore stretching her arms with a cute sigh. "I may not forgive you for waking me up though; I was having such a nice dream…" She looked down on herself with a cringe, eyeing the hospital gown in distaste. "It's better than wet clothes, but could they have at least tried to get something my size?"
Kurumu smiled shrewdly. "Seems like you're back to normal, stalker-girl."
The snow woman smiled back as she reached over her intravenous for the lollipop on her nightstand. "I could say the same, you big-breasted moron." She frowned adorably. "I really wasn't joking though, it was a great dream…"
"Probably because of what happened to put you to sleep!" Yukari announced happily as she nestled in Moka's warmth. "You looked like you were having an org—!" The blue-haired succubus hastily slapped her hands over the girl's mouth, blushing madly.
"What do I keep telling you about talking about things like that?!"
Mizore's face on the other hand, lit up in an expression that clearly said, 'oh yeaaahh, I forgot about that!'
Kurumu saw the look on her face, and her mouth dropped. "W-Wait…did you?"
Full lips lengthened through the lollipop in her mouth just enough for the others to notice. "I'll never tell."
It looked like the violet-eyed monster of the night was restraining herself from tackling someone already in a hospital bed and wiping that smug look right off her face. Moka just looked between the three in confusion. "Would someone mind explaining to me what happened?"
The succubus sobered at that. "Whatever made him do it is in the past now, but Tsukune obviously hadn't thought of what would happen if it actually worked, which he must of thought it would. He's lucky we followed him. Even if he turned, he had thrown himself into the sea in the middle of a thunderstorm." She saw the terror that swept uninhibitedly through Moka at that. "Yeah, you of all people can understand. It might have been okay had he been able to pull himself out of the water, but water was falling from everywhere. No need to elaborate on that." The vampire's skin was an almost sickly green color just at the thought. "I hauled him up, and after Mizore made us a shelter, we finally saw what had happened to him. You can see that for yourself, and I don't understand it any more than you do. After he had calmed down some he looked fine, but when it looked like he was going to answer us his eyes just kind of…glazed."
Inner Moka winced. She knew what had happened. The thirst had taken hold.
Yukari jumped front and center unexpectedly. "Next thing we know he's latched to Mizore-san's neck, and she's all…" She mimicked the previous actions of the snow woman, gaping her mouth and twitching with a look of absolute rapture on her face, panting heavy breaths that showed she had entirely too much practice with acting such a scene. Ruby and Moka's entire bodies turned a deep scarlet at the implications, but Mizore's smirk had yet to fade.
"Don't look so damn smug! He could have killed you had he held on any longer!" Kurumu shouted irritably.
The other woman simply shrugged. "I would have died happy."
Now three bodies had turned completely red.
Turning to Moka, the blunette shook her comically in mock-despair. "How do you explain that, huh?! Looking at you and Tsukune I thought it was supposed to hurt!"
Moka coughed in embarrassment. "R-Remember how I said vampires are creatures of vanity back in our second year, the reason why our transformation into animals is a lost art?" The girls nodded. "I-It was more c-common in male vampires, b-but…what's m-more vain than knowing a woman will…will feel…pleasure…when you bite them? I-It is p-pretty uncommon n-nowadays though, what with all the blood packs." The look on her face when she saw her friends' expressions was priceless. "S-Stop drooling!"
The dazed look had yet to weaken on Ruby. "It certainly would be useful when they're hungry… What woman would deny that?" No hands were raised—not even Moka's—that was painfully obvious, and the looks returned.
Then something hit the only conscious vampire in the room. "But wait, if he fed from Mizore-chan until she was unconscious, who made the ice I saw on the way here?"
Both Yukari and Kurumu looked down, abashed. "We…have no idea. Tsukune was in such a blind rage to get Mizore to help he picked her up and jumped right back into the rain." The emerald-eyed beauty's open-mouthed stare resumed. "Yeah, I know. Smart, huh? It didn't go over well in any case, but right after that the ice just kinda shot up from nowhere! You weren't still conscious, were you?" the busty succubus asked her bedridden companion.
At that, Mizore simply shook her head, a look equal to Moka's now present on her face. Said vampire paled when her inner self spoke up, identical disbelief coating her powerful voice. "It can't be…"
She was nearly blasted back by the simultaneous, "WHAT?" from her friends.
"A Chi no Kenja…in this day and age…?" It was a good thing Kokoa wasn't there, she would have fainted.
Ever the child genius, the only thirteen-year old among them spoke up, as pale as her beloved vampires. "Are you serious ~desu?! Tsukune-san's a Blood Sage?"
She was soon being strangled by the ever-irritable succubus. "Quit hogging all the info to yourselves! What's a Blood Sage?!"
Moka licked her dry lips. "It…it's a title only ancient vampires have now. It was more common during the warring eras when they faced plenty of youkai as well as humans. You all know a vampire's primary ability is turning their aura to power, and our strength comes from our blood, right?" Another synchronized nod. "Well, a Chi no Kenja, or Blood Sage, is a vampire who's developed the ability to turn the blood of their monster victims into their own power for a short period of time before it's digested." The implications of that were lost on none of them. "The skill itself they employ we call 'ketsueki karite,' as they essentially 'borrow' the power in the blood of their prey. Naturally, it doesn't really have any effect if the monster they drink from is just raw muscle power, but those particularly skilled in magic or elementally gifted can have devastating effects. Imagine Kuyou's fire with a well-fed vampire's strength behind it."
They all shivered.
"It makes sense…" Ruby said after a while, and was unperturbed by the looks the others shot her. "Hey! It does! Tsukune-san was human, but he was constantly forced to rely on the strength of vampire blood to survive! Now that he's turned into a full vampire, it doesn't seem too unlikely that he'd start doing that to any other blood he consumed, does it?" She was promptly tackled to the ground by an ecstatic Yukari, muttering something about 'smart witches.'
"How long do you think he'll be out for? It's getting pretty late," Mizore questioned after a quick look out the window.
Kurumu rolled her eyes. "This from the person who not six hours ago was barely breathing."
"I don't think you have to worry about that, do they, Tsukune-kun?"
They all jumped in surprise. Turning around, they found the school board chairman, the Exorcist, right behind them, smiling that same dark smile he always wore.
"M-Master! W-When did you get here?!" Ruby cried.
"Oh, I've been here for a while. I did you a favor and sent those other children back to their rooms on my way here. My my, do you certainly know how to cause a stir, Tsukune-kun."
The fact that he was talking to someone who was unconscious had them swivelling back in an instant, and soon they saw the pale eyelids of the newly-born vampire open sleepily. "I have to admit it does seem like one of the few talents I have."
Both Mokas were rocked to their core the second his new voice escaped his lips. It was the same one they knew before, the kind, gentle, low tenor of the man they loved, but suffused so heavily with supernatural strength it made his every word ring in their ears. It was unlike anything she had ever heard before, and the fact that it was coming from Tsukune affected her even greater than it would have otherwise. A piece of her died every time she noticed something that had changed about him, though nothing had changed at all, not really. She had just been too blind to see.
Ruby, Kurumu, and Yukari however, they did the exact opposite of turning introspective like Moka had done. The three females launched themselves at the man of their affections, and it was a good thing he wasn't wounded physically and only exhausted, because he would have been in significantly more pain had that been the case. It had happened once before after all. This time he was ready for it at least, and besides being tired he felt better than he ever had in his life, a fact made all the more prominent when he saw his new skin again.
The question came in stereo. "When did you wake up?!"
"I started hearing mumbling about 'Blood Sage' and 'ketsu kari-something-or-other.' I just wanted to go back to sleep!" He sighed as he adjusted his position in bed, trying to get himself into a less embarrassing position between the three young women around him. "Can I get some water or something? I'm really thirsty." The incredulous stares of those around him brought him back to his new reality, and also what he was truly thirsty for. "Oh, right. Water: bad. That'll take some getting used to."
"Indeed it will," the Exorcist chuckled. "Allow me to congratulate you on your new life; you make a fine vampire if I do say so myself."
"B-But Master!" his assistant exclaimed in confusion. "Wasn't the Holy Lock supposed to keep his vampire blood in check?!"
That same dark chuckle came from the hooded man. "The Holy Lock—"
"Worked exactly like it should have, didn't it?" Tsukune interrupted boldly, glaring at the man who had sealed his ghoul nature.
A wide grin stretched over the parts of his face they could see, and his strange eyes shone brighter. "Ah, figured it out did we?"
"Not entirely, but I can guess the pieces I don't know."
"B-But this doesn't make any sense! T-This…this…" Moka cried, pointing a finger behind her at Tsukune's resting form, "shouldn't be possible!"
"Come now child, did you really believe Tsukune-kun over there was the first human to have extended contact with a vampire? As much as your ancestors loved war, even the most bloodthirsty of species has its oddities. Eventually even the immortal get tired of fighting a never-ending battle. The legend of vampirism in humans in the first place came about because of the contact between them.
"They got tired, they sought new things, some even fell in love. What you did to Tsukune-kun was by no means the first time something like that had been done. Usually it was stretched out, sometimes over weeks, sometimes over months, depending on how well the body took to the supernatural energy it could even take years. Then again, they usually didn't manage to mortally wound themselves at every confrontation." Tsukune's pale skin colored at the sarcastic tone of the Exorcist's voice. He knew without doubt that was directed at him. "Of course, things went wrong in some cases, and the body degenerated into a ghoul. The Holy Lock was made not as a seal, but as a filter to allow the body to get used to the intense youki it would soon depend on to live."
"That still doesn't make any sense!"
They all cringed at the seemingly omniscient look he set on the pink-haired vampire. "Would you mind telling me what happened to Hokuto Kaneshiro?" All at once, anyone who had been having trouble following the conversation instantly understood. "The very fact that he was able to regain his human form is solely because of the lock's existence. He had already gotten used to his youki enough to safely break the seal, the only reason for his monstrous form was the hybrid blood within him. Granted, there were still ill-effects while the lock was in place, but that soon became pointless after it was removed and he was allowed full access to his powers.
"By training to keep the strain on the Holy Lock to a minimum, Tsukune-kun here was putting the full force of his youki back into his body, condensing it into himself rather than letting the lock diffuse it. By doing this of his own will, he was readying his body for the explosion of demonic energy that happens during the unsealing of a vampire. His ghoul state was nothing more than an interim existence between the two."
As much as it involved him, Tsukune was having a hard time focusing on the conversation. With the three bodies huddled so closely beside him, arms even draped over his shoulders for the most part, he found himself gravitating towards their necks. He snapped back as if slapped when he realized what he was doing, but trying to listen in soon became an exercise in futility. He had already figured out most of what was being explained anyway.
How long was I out? My throat feels like sandpaper… Each of the women around him had a different scent, and even with that his eyes trailed to Mizore as well, her taste still fresh in his mind. His Adam's apple bobbed heavily as he fought the urge, his bright red eyes closing in on their throats against his will. They smelled…delicious.
Yeah, just a bit of—NO! Bad Tsukune! Bad! He mentally slapped himself a few times. Would it always be this hard to control?
Kurumu flinched inadvertently and looked back at him when she felt sharp points scrape against her flesh, and Tsukune pushed himself back with a hand over his mouth, absolutely horrified. "I…I'm tho thorry."
The Exorcist merely chuckled. "It appears any further explanation will have to wait for later, our fledgling seems to be thirsty. Now that I have a feel for your new youki, Tsukune-kun, come to my office in one week; I will have a rosary ready for you. We can't very well have you breaking the school transformation law without warrant."
Of all the reactions, Tsukune looked rightfully relieved, and removed his hand from his mouth carefully. "T-Thank you."
An ominous chuckle was his only answer as the board chairman excused himself from the room, leaving the six in silence once more.
"That was as sufficiently creepy as always," the blue-haired woman said with a grimace. "But enough of that! Tsukune's thirsty, isn't he?" She batted her eyelashes as she pressed her bosom against him suggestively, and Tsukune saw red, just barely restraining himself from throwing her to the bed and ravaging her neck. As hard as it was, he refrained for the moment, eyes suddenly locked on the emerald gaze he had avoided for the past two weeks.
Moka was having trouble breathing under the intense crimson stare of what had been her best friend. Where once she had seen everything: hope, love, kindness, now she only saw something akin to sadness—resignation. He knew he had done everything within his power to be what she needed, now the ball was in her court. He wasn't about to approach her again, she knew that much. The pieces of her heart throbbed brokenly within her, and even the vampire within didn't have the strength to hold his gaze.
Two words broke her, just like she had done to him so knowingly days earlier. "Come on," he said, gesturing to himself with his head, exposing his neck openly. They were the last words she deserved, the last words she had ever expected him to say. "I know it can't have been easy. Don't give me any nonsense about not drinking from fellow vampires; it was fine while I was a ghoul, it should be fine now. Just drink, you look like you're going to faint any second."
Why did he always have to be so kind to her? Why couldn't he hate her like she wanted him to so badly? Why did he have to understand her so intimately? She could do nothing but smile and nod gratefully with wet eyes before throwing herself into his arms and sinking her fangs into his neck, endlessly repeating the words I'm sorry in her mind.
She had never tasted anything so rich, so powerful and warm. It flowed down her throat like a drug, even more addictive than his human blood had been. She hated herself more with each drop that she drank, given irrefutable evidence of his quality. He wasn't her equal, he was far, far more. He smiled at her when she was done, and it hurt even more then. She didn't deserve his love, and yet she knew it was hers, if she could only bring herself to tell him. She couldn't, at least not now. She had to make amends first.
Leaving the bed, she walked to the door with a heavy heart. "…Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow…all right?"
It was nice to know they had a tomorrow together, time to heal the wounds of the past and build a future. He nodded wordlessly, that same understanding smile still on his face.
Kurumu turned to him with a pout, but said nothing. "My turn now?"
Inwardly he rolled his eyes. He couldn't quite understand why she was so eager to have him drink her blood. Whenever Moka did it was actually quite painful. Nonetheless, that thirst had become too much to ignore anymore, and he greedily sunk his fangs into her flesh, unnoticing of the way she went rigid the moment they pierced her skin.
The girls watched the expression of the succubus morph in the pleasure her race was associated with as her tail and wings appeared of their own will, shivering in absolute joy. It looked like every muscle she had was trembling in bliss, and the incarnation of Lust itself looked even closer to that description than ever before. When at last he pulled away, she slumped against him in a boneless heap, panting wildly.
"I think I just lost my virginity!" she gasped heatedly.
Tsukune fainted immediately.
V^^^V
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Author's Notes: Well, here's the second chapter! Love the reviews, I hope you still find the story worthy of them! Not much to say this time other than thanking all my reviewers, and hope earnestly I get more!
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!