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^^ One Bite, Too Much ^^V
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She had never thought this day would come.
How was it possible that it had come to this? How, how could one human have affected her so much that her heart ached when he wasn't around? How had it come to pass that even she, who had once only slumbered within her seal, waked with seeing him the only thought in her head? How did he love her so much he had reached her even in the depths of the ice around her heart? How had she let him succeed? How on earth had she fallen in love with him?
Why did she rely on his continued existence with such force that seeing him in pain brought rage unlike anything she had ever known to her fists? Why, why did she offer her heritage, her power, her very pride, her blood to him? Why did the thought of him gone from her world shake her to the deepest depths of her supposedly stoic marrow? Why did he care about her so much? Why did she care about him so much? Why wouldn't he let her go even after everything she said to him, everything she continued to say to him? Why couldn't she let him go even after everything she had said to him, everything she continued to say to him? Why on earth had she fallen in love with him?
When had her nature, the bloodlust simmering ever-present in the source of her power, the liquid that she fed upon, taken a second seat to another emotion? When had she woken up and realized that if she couldn't see him there would be no point in getting out of bed? When had the rosary been removed and she had noticed for the first time that the throbbing within her heart was actually her own, and not her other self's? When, when oh when had it first occurred to her that he was everything she had ever wanted in a mate? When on earth had she fallen in love with him?
Where had the feeling begun? Where had that traitorous, irrational, unbelievable, glorious feeling come from? Where was it that her heart had begun beating in synchrony with another's, where the human had wormed his way so deep into her being that she thought of him even in the waking dreams of her seal? Where had the feared, hated, omniscient, omnipotent vampire disappeared to, and this heartsick fool taken her place? Where had her confidence gone, the convinced pride that dared anyone to stand in the face of her iron-clad logic? Where on earth had she first realized she had fallen in love with him?
What had sparked it? What unassuming feature could she, the ultimate of unreachable goals, have been so drawn to that she couldn't pull away? What even gave her the idea she could, if she wanted to? What was it that made this inexplicable, inescapable attraction to the human? What had made her take everything they had forged together over three years and crush it underfoot like a discarded cigarette? What had kept her from pleading for his mercy when he had in fact shown that he belonged at her side even more than before? What made her know the truth beyond all that? What on earth had made her know she had fallen in love with him?
Who could have thought she, the mighty vampire Moka Akashiya, would ever contemplate giving herself to him even if he lost? Who would have ever guessed that she, the emotionless, jaded vampiress, would ever contemplate losing just so she could give herself to him? Who on earth had done this to her? Who was this man that had stolen her heart from her even before she had realized she had given it to him first? Who, who on earth had made her fall in love with him?
It was a never-ending sea of questions, an eternity of second-guesses. There was always one truth, a singular reality that showed itself at the end of all of her queries.
She, the S-class super vampire Moka Akashiya, was in love with Tsukune Aono.
Perhaps she had been drawn to his fire, the burning desire within him to protect those he cared about. Maybe she had been ensorcelled by his naïve kindness, the one that made him trust even the evil vampiress that he had first so unknowingly released. He had been a human, one so ephemeral they lived but a short eighty years on average, but so willing to be her shield he had jumped into the embers of his very mortality to save her from Kuyou's fire. So worried was he about wounds that would heal in less than a day for her that he would place himself in the path of an enraged spider woman. He loved her so much that he would confess to her face his feelings, and just as simply pull off her rosary to know her true answer.
She was the quintessence of dichotomy, the woman who even in two was yet one, and even so, he loved both parts of her so much he differentiated not between either of them. In the race that had disgusted her she had found the one that loved her unconditionally, and yet that was all she gave him. Conditions. He who wanted to protect her so badly he would become a ghoul to defend her, he who loved her with everything his frail human shell could offer her, had been deemed insignificant.
But that hadn't been it. Her 'sentimental' side loved him, she knew that, and deep down she knew that part of the reason her other self even could love him so much was because she did too. There was no possible way to pinpoint an origin; they had been together so long things started evolving without her consent. Every moment with him became another moment she treasured, and every moment away became a moment she would as soon as rather forget. But it was never that easy; it couldn't be. Of course, she was to blame for that too.
As much as she wanted it to work out, just as she had in her nightmares so often, she had still chosen the path of the vampire to the path of the woman in love. As much as she wanted to cast off her birthright and be with him, it had still ended the same way. It still hadn't added up to her pride as a vampire.
No, it had.
It had, and that was what scared her so badly. She had wanted to grab his lapels and pull him to her lips so much that day he had confessed it had been an even battle with her pride. That, that had scared her. That she loved the former human in front of her enough to make her uncertain frightened her to the very core of her being, and in her fear she had chosen the route she knew best, the route she knew she should take. When it was over and she realized what she had done, she could only cry, cry and apologize. For the first time in her life Moka Akashiya had prayed, even though she had never believed in any kind of higher being than herself before that day.
And then, then everything had come tumbling down. The crumbling pedestal she had placed herself upon cracked from base to tip when she had walked into that hospital room and saw him, really saw him. It was then that she had realized the true depth of his love for her. That he would risk becoming a ghoul forevermore, that he would essentially kill himself, could he not prove himself worthy. That she had pushed the man who held her heart to place what remained of his humanity in jeopardy shook her to the foundations of her beliefs.
When she thought of Tsukune, she had to wonder if she had ever wanted something with such desperation that she had been willing to basically kill herself for it. When she thought of that, she realized she had. She had wanted friends. She hadn't wanted to be alone anymore; the thought of immortality by herself scared her. It had been then that she had all but killed herself, and accepted the holy cross that sealed her away. The dual personality had been unexpected, but not totally unwelcome. Had she kept her usual persona in a sealed form she would have been killed even by a lesser monster for her usual mannerisms.
Then came along perfectly average, extraordinarily ordinary Tsukune Aono…and suddenly Moka Akashiya wasn't so alone anymore.
Though beyond trivial at this point, the first time she had tasted his blood she had become hopelessly addicted. When she had first bitten his feeble human neck the vampire within her had stirred, and a bond had been formed, however unintentionally. She had never expected to see the light of day again, resigned herself to a life within a seal, but once more the weak human had shaken her heart. The only greater pain she had ever experienced than watching him get tossed around like a rag doll by their various opponents…had been doing it herself. The day he had become a ghoul, her heart had bled. Before that however, he had surprised her by being able to remove her seal in the first place.
Removing her seal exposed him to both sides of her. He was under no illusions of who she was, and she knew he didn't love her just because of the pink-haired, emerald-eyed vision of beauty that had taken her place. He had told her over and over that she was just as important to him as her cute and kind opposite, and in a way that had been what had started it all, what had made her hatred lessen for the instant his love needed to sneak into her heart. She had let her guard down for one second, and the seemingly 'weak' and 'insignificant' human had wormed his way into her very essence. From there the crack just kept getting wider with every moment she spent around him, every new thing she learned about him, until she at last grasped the authenticity of the naïve genuineness behind everything he was. As he had proven time and again, with that, he had achieved the impossible.
The human she had met on the very first day of high school had used the blood that had become his own and changed. Transfigured. Ascended. He had taken his willpower and the incredible strength of his naïve kindness and forged it into a vampire unlike anything she had ever met. He was a vampire who didn't want to cause pain with his bites, so instead he caused pleasure. He was a vampire who didn't want to fight, so instead he used his inhumanly sharp fangs to smile. He was a vampire who wouldn't lift a finger at an insult to most any aspect of his being, but insult his friends and Hell paled in comparison.
And he was a vampire who had taken away her last reason to deny him.
Her pride trembled in fear within her, for now every path available to her had become one that required the denial of its existence. There was no safe way to go about regaining what she wanted, needed, without its sacrifice, but once again she had chosen what she had thought was the safest route. A challenge. A challenge was safe, it was recognized universally; it was something that necessitated she bow should she be defeated, but it also allowed her to fight back. It granted her the ability to keep her pride and give it away with good reason. When it all boiled down, even then she would have to admit her wrongs once it was all done. It was the fighting chance she needed, the option that would placate her pride enough to tolerate her going through with possibly having to forfeit it.
She knew if she didn't, she would forever lose the only one that ever loved her, truly loved her. The stares of men and their hormonal attraction to her made her sick, the worthlessness of such transient feelings. What she desired was one who saw past everything, and she hated herself because she had found him, and still pushed him away. She couldn't, wouldn't, not any longer. There were others vying for his affection, and truthfully that didn't really bother her anymore. Vampires were immortal beings, it went without saying that they usually catered to more than one lover over the course of their lives. She herself had step-siblings. That wasn't what bothered her, it was that she might not be one of them that scared her. She knew what she had done to him, but she had to try.
That morning she had exhausted most of her supply of blood-packs, just to make sure she was at full strength for what was to come. She wasn't about to ask Tsukune if she could suck his blood after all, not with what she was going to ask him after. She had discarded the notion of wearing the school uniform, or anything with a skirt. She held the aura of a queen, but she wasn't about to knowingly walk into a battle in a dress. More often than not she had to fight in them because the battles came so quickly there was no other choice. She wasn't about to make the same mistake when she knew this would be, without a doubt, the hardest battle she had ever fought.
Listening to the hard soles of the leather boots she had chosen clack on the ground was extremely satisfying, but the stares that were once more sent her way were met with nothing but cold indifference and near unbridled rage. There was only one man she wanted looking at her like that, and she felt fear prickle up in her stomach when she saw the look in his eyes. Just as she was doing, he was staring right back at her, gazing intensely into her equally red eyes. No longer was the love she had seen so often in his warm eyes alone, no, now there was another emotion there as well, one she knew very well.
Anger.
The urge to wince was almost overpowering, but she held it at bay. She deserved every bit of his anger, in fact she would need to exploit it if she wanted him to fight her seriously. She needed to see the true extent of his new power, if he really could fight her on even ground. Then, finally, finally she would be able to discard the pride that had plagued her for so long.
Stopping in front of them, she could see the looks of confusion and fear on her other friends' faces. Ruby was the only one among them that still looked like she had any idea of what was going on, and after yesterday, Moka was inclined to believe she actually did. Kokoa was merely in shock, but she didn't have time to deal with her right now. Now she had to focus all of her attention on him, he deserved that, that and so much more.
"Come Tsukune, I have one more thing to teach you."
One more thing. Just one.
V^^^V
The air in the schoolyard crackled with power as the two vampires stared each other down, and the other students could only look on with amazed expressions. Many of the people who had seen Moka's inner form had already graduated, and the tales of her exploits were nothing but whispers and rumors to the second and first years. No one could believe a kind woman like that was actually an S-class super vampire.
Which begged the question: who then, was this woman?
Upon hearing his next statement, the vampiress nearly smiled. With any luck, that would come later.
After Tsukune finally recovered from his own sentence, he resumed his stare, however questioning it may be at this time. "Where are we going?"
The ice in his voice solidified her resolve. She could do this, he was in a perfect state for it. All she needed to do was prod it a bit. "Where we always train. As I said, I have one more thing to teach you. Be sure you're at full strength, I won't hold anything back today." He looked worried for a fraction of a second, but quickly smiled as he was known to do so often. Her heart twisted in her at the familiar action, but she made no outward indication of the act.
Turning to look at Mizore and Kurumu, the two simply smiled before flicking their hair to the side, wordlessly granting their consent. Moka couldn't help but grit her teeth when she saw the look of disappointment on the snow woman's face when Tsukune plunged his teeth into the succubus' neck, but even she was startled when seconds later he pulled the ice maiden to him and repeated the process. The cold grip of unease was gaining ground now. She had never faced a vampire with the ability they had labeled 'ketsueki karite,' and the challenge was something she welcomed, but he had just fed from the strongest succubus and snow woman of their generation. She could practically see the power infuse him as his thirst was quenched momentarily, and she gripped Belmont tighter.
"Just like old times, eh Moka-san?"
The urge to soften her gaze towards him pounded at her conscience. How he could still sound so trusting even though she had meant every word with no amount of humor made her taste bile. Just this once, she would make him fight her seriously. She would hurt him one more time, the last time, just to make sure. She could only hope Kurumu could forgive her.
Shrugging apathetically, she said, "Follow me." When the others started following as well, she cast her hard scarlet eyes on them all, and they froze. "He is to come alone. You will know where to go soon enough."
They could only watch as the two silver-haired beings walked off, through the parting crowd towards where they knew the door to Paradise awaited. It was truly startling how much power they exuded, and it was no wonder why the students split as they did for them. Right then, it was all they could do to stay upright, they were sure. Some of the younger students were trembling openly even, unable to contain themselves under the oppressive youki the two vampires were radiating.
Kurumu made to follow them anyways, but Ruby stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "I don't get it, why do we have to wait here?! Why did Inner Moka just show up like this? Why now?!"
Ruby just looked right past her to the retreating forms of the two powerful beings. "Because she has to. I think we may not have to worry about Tsukune-san being challenged anymore."
Mizore cocked an eyebrow. "Why?"
It was then they noticed that Ruby's hands were shaking, though they could tell she was trying impressively to stop them from doing so. She balled them into fists as she hardened her expression. "Because we're about to be shown what a true challenge is to a vampire."
Then they understood.
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V^^^V
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Tsukune stretched systematically as he had before all of their previous training sessions, and Moka had to admire the way his muscles flexed beneath his clothing as he did so. He had shrugged off his uniform's green blazer, and had rolled up the sleeves on his white button-up as he prepared. His body showed off his power far more than hers did, but that was what made hers all the more surprising. She could appreciate the tone of his body, while not so much that they bulged unpleasantly, just enough that they were defined without a shadow of a doubt.
Unwittingly, she licked her lips.
"Not that I'm against skipping school to be with you, but what's this really about?"
Her eyes hardened again as she stepped forward fearlessly, grabbing his hand and forcefully bringing it up to her chest. Before he knew what she had made him do, her rosary was in his hand. Grabbing it in the hand that held Belmont, she threw both it and the cross off to the side carelessly as she stared him down.
Her face warped as her regular battle scowl appeared, and just like that she had jumped up and whirled around, sending a kick so powerful at his head he would have normally flown back hundreds of feet. To her immense surprise, the ground buckled beneath them when her leg connected with both of his arms instead of its target, and the ensuing force shattered the ground he was holding his place on. There were few beings in the entire world that could take one of her blows, least of all without moving at all. Glaring into his wide eyes, she hissed menacingly.
"Today we fight. Your only power was that which my blood gave you, but you took it one step further. You wanted to go back to the human world so much, yet still you did this. You're a hypocrite, Tsukune. You're no vampire, and today I'll prove it."
She needed to get him angry; the words made her sick to her stomach, but she needed to get him angry. The disbelief and hurt that crossed his face made her flinch mentally, but she couldn't show it. The challenge had begun.
"W-What are you saying, Moka-san?! I don't understand!"
She twirled her foot away from him to jump up into another combo using her other leg, and once again he surprised her by instinctively moving back, impressively avoiding each of the strikes that held enough force to shatter stone. Left and right he weaved, just like she had taught him, and instead of risking getting hit by any of her blows even with just a parry, he narrowly avoided them completely. She couldn't remember the last time she had faced someone that had been able to do that outside of a select few, Gin being one.
"You don't need to understand! You just need to fight, fight with everything you have! Prove me wrong!"
He tried to fight back, but it was even worse than his first attempts during his second year. They were wary punches that were afraid to take her seriously, the blows of a man that didn't want to hurt the one he loved. She made no such effort to avoid them like he had hers, she smashed them away from herself in disgust with such force that his body was jerked from side to side whenever she did.
They were relentless; two fully powered vampires that healed almost as quickly as they were injured. Even fighting as half-heartedly as he was he was putting up more of a fight than anything ever had before, and she was mildly impressed, though more thoroughly revolted. He still wasn't taking her seriously. He still wasn't fighting her with the strength he needed to make a vampire like her admit his power.
Her next series of punches caught him unaware, and saliva flew from his mouth as she rained blows onto his unprotected abdomen. With another spin she launched her foot into him again, and this time it stuck its intended target perfectly, violently slamming itself into his stomach with no force withheld. He was blasted away from her with the roar of a firing cannon, and his body left shattered trees in its wake as the sound of wet coughing permeated the air. Her demonic aura flared around her as she took off after him, but stopped cold when she saw him hacking out blood onto the ground.
Tsukune!
Cold fear settled inside her when she saw the sharp branch impaled completely through his right side, and the chill quickly crept through her entire body when he glared up at her, his reptilian pupils whisper-thin.
She's…she's really serious! She's really…trying to…kill me! Grasping painfully at the object embedded through him, he screamed as he pulled the branch from his body, once more relegated to his hands and knees as he coughed up blood. A haze of bloodlust was settling over him, every shard of anger he had ever held towards Moka rising up in betrayed fury. Heal…heal!
A screech from above caught their attention, and he looked up to see a wyvern circling above, likely investigating the commotion. His body reverted to autopilot, his instincts crying out just one word: survive.
Moka didn't like where this turn of events was heading, but when she saw his youki flare she knew something was going to happen. Right away he leaped into one of the nearby trees, rocketing himself towards the black dragon like a frenzied predator. The blow he delivered to the scaled lizard could be felt even from where she was, and even as the two fell from the sky, she saw him sink his fangs into the unprotected underside of its soft throat. The monster shook in its assailant's hold, unable to break free, and soon plummeted into the ground with a huge explosion of dirt and sediment.
She watched in terror as he continued his feast, and the gaping wound in his back slowly healed until nothing but perfect ivory flesh remained. Vampires healed extremely quickly, but she had never seen a wound like that heal so perfectly so fast. It was a good thing the beast was so much larger than he was, because the amount of blood he could drink was nowhere near enough to kill it. The world would sorely miss even one wyvern. He turned to look at her sharply, his bloody lips curled up over his sharp fangs in nothing short of animalistic rage as he let out a scream of triumph so bestial she could hardly believe it had come from him.
With a disgusted grunt he tore his bloodied and ruined shirt from his body, using what remained of the white garment to wipe his face before he used it to bandage the dragon's neck. When his eyes closed in on her again there was nothing but fury in them, and she took a step back against her will. His powerful muscles rippled in feral indignation, and had that look not been directed at her she would have appreciated the view of his half-naked self.
He felt betrayed in a way he never had before. They had never fought like this, not in this sense. Now all the blood he had within him was screaming one thing, coiling his rage into one compressed mass of inhuman resentment that scorched through his entire body.
Make. Her. Pay.
The typhoon of red energy caught her off guard, a vortex of swirling power that radiated solely from her opponent as otherworldly bats flew wildly in the untamed display of pure demonic energy. Her hair flailed madly in the wind the energy was creating, and for once she felt sweat trickle down her neck. It had been so long since she had faced an opponent like this, so long since she had actually felt fear.
Blazing crimson eyes were one of the few things that could be seen from within the storm of churning strength, and the energy cast his scars into eerie luminescence that stood out brightly on the shadowy backdrop of his body. The lethal fangs exposed threateningly from under his lips suddenly looked that much deadlier, and in that moment he didn't look like a vampire. In that moment it didn't feel like she was standing before Tsukune, or even a Sage of Blood. In that moment it felt like she was standing in front of a Dark Lord.
"Do you know how long I've known you, Moka-san?" The air trembled with every word he spoke, and his bright red eyes raged angrily. She returned to her fighting stance and just like that the tempest of energy disappeared…then with no warning she was doubled over his knee, the one that had just been pounded into her stomach with enough force to send spittle flying from her mouth. She hobbled away from him, gasping desperately, but no sooner had she done that had he disappeared again. This time appearing behind her, she just barely had time to face him before his fist connected with her face and sent her sprawling.
Forcing her youki to the surface, she rebounded quickly, vanishing just as he had done and sending a hard kick straight at his seemingly unprotected head from behind. The reverberation of impact was like an explosion, but to her surprise she saw his arms once more holding her off in a cross-guard made for accepting harsh blows like kicks.
"Do you know how many times I've seen you fight?" Her eyes widened when his right hand closed in over her ankle and gripped it so hard she winced. "Lesson one: you always aim for the head if you can."
Her sense of equilibrium was skewed hopelessly when he turned and pulled, the furious flame of his youki still flashing frighteningly around him. With her still caught in his grip as she was, she found herself flung over him with the strength only a vampire could muster. She impacted the ground so hard blood shot from her mouth, but he was nowhere near done yet. He smashed her around like she was a doll in his grip, flinging her into the terrain with the force only a vampire's spurned love could give it. She had wrapped into herself as tightly as she could, hoping to lessen the injury by making sure none of her body parts were flung away from her body when she hit the ground. That certainly didn't lessen the pain. He spun one last time—still carrying her body in one hand like it was nothing—before launching her into the other side of the forest like a discus, sending her flying through even more trees than she had him.
Though her blood was making short work of the blunt-force injuries she had incurred, she wasn't totally recovered when he appeared before her again. He was fast, faster than she had ever taught him. She forced her youki higher, relishing in the fierce combat that had even managed to injure her. Twisting on her arms, she sent her leg flying at him from an angle impossible for any man, but somehow he had been ready for that as well, and caught it in both his hands as the ground was torn asunder behind him. The two superpowers struggled against each other, both of their muscles shaking in effort.
"Lesson two: when injured, you'll put nearly all of your strength into one blow to try and incapacitate your opponent as quickly as possible."
Again, her eyes widened. He really did know how she fought, he hadn't been bluffing. Worse of all, he could combat it.
"Lesson three: never get cocky when a fight hasn't finished yet!" Flinging her other leg to his other side, she firmly gripped him between her powerful legs and twisted, hammering his head into the ground as hard as she could from the position she was in. Jumping back before he had a chance to retaliate, she took the moment to allow herself more time to heal and re-enter her stance.
Just as she knew he would do, when the dust settled he had already pulled himself back to his feet, and was in fact cracking his neck in amusement. She saw the splotchy bruises on his skin already healing, and she clenched her fangs. It had been a long time since she had fought someone on the same level as herself; even Kahlua used blades when fighting seriously. To a vampire, blades were very hazardous because cuts made them lose blood. With both herself and Tsukune being blunt-force fighters, the fight had already been drawn out far longer than anything else she had faced before. They stared each other down fiercely, his fangs just as eager as hers.
All of a sudden ice shot up from the ground and skewered her from every angle, pushing through muscle and bone like it was nothing. There had been no way to prepare, no warning, no time to respond, and she couldn't hold back the wail of agony that tore from her throat as the solidified water impaled her in place. The pain of her body-heat melting the ice into water in her wounds made her gasp in torment, and she bit her lip hard enough to draw blood to keep from crying out any more.
In a flash, everything vanished. She collapsed to the ground like a broken puppet, but no pain met her landing. She looked around herself frantically in shock, running her hands all over her body, and yet felt no wounds. The answer that bolted through her had her every muscle tensing, and she looked up hesitantly to see Tsukune still in the same place he had been previously, his pale lips pulled up into a smile of sick accomplishment.
An…an illusion, she realized in disbelief. An illusion strong enough to make me feel pain! It…it felt so real I could even feel the ice melting in me! She quickly closed her eyes as she jumped to her feet lest she get caught again, instinctively sending out her inborn youki detector to keep him in her senses.
"I thought you wanted me to fight you seriously. You won't last long with your eyes closed."
They did indeed open wide at those words but he was already in front of her, his middle finger flexed and held in place by his thumb. Seeing it so close to her forehead, her eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare."
The grin he gave that time was nothing if not menacing. "Payback sucks, doesn't it?"
The flick of his finger caught her dead in the middle of her forehead, and the sound that boomed forth was like that of their earlier blows. The resulting thrust sent her backwards like a bullet, and her body cracked sickeningly against one of the opposing trees. Slumping down to her feet, she willed her eyes to focus in on him. She could feel herself weakening, feel the thirst taking hold again in the desire to regain her strength. Above all it seemed her muscles were still not fully convinced they hadn't been run through like meat on a pike, and that was making it even harder to move than it would have been had she just been thirsty.
The fight took on new ferocity, both vampires hungry for blood in more than one sense.
It was instinct versus instinct, the two immortals shooting their limbs at each other so quickly it looked like a dance; a terrible, deadly dance. Moka was an immovable wall in the form of fluid motion, her dodges done with impossible flexibility yet still capable of dealing blows just as powerful as his even from the seemingly awkward positions. Tsukune was unstoppable force, no longer afraid to push her strikes away from him with ones of his own before responding in kind. Standing in place, neither gaining nor giving ground, the hard earth under them creaked and broke with every new assault that was blocked.
No monster in the protected realm dared interfere with the fight of the two S-class youkai, no matter how rare or how powerful they were. The very atmosphere was quaking in response to the intense power both were glowing with, and the bloodlust radiating just as assuredly kept a wide berth between themselves and the demons sharing their dimension. The wyvern had been unlucky, and even though most of them were mindless beasts, they still had no desire to meet the same fate.
The half-naked man and the woman whose clothes were ripped and scuffed by then continued, thoughtless of the possible interruptions. There was only one thing they could think about: their fight. When Tsukune jumped away from her she gladly took the breaths she could gather, but then he shot his arms forward and real ice rocketed towards her. She didn't even know if he was using them consciously; he was just fighting as hard as he could and his powers were responding accordingly.
She danced between the enormous arcs of crystalline water sent her way and slowly made her way back to him, catching him unaware in a kick that shattered through his latest column of ice and launched him into the air. She jumped up after him, not about to let the chance pass her by, but she hadn't expected to hear him start laughing.
"Lesson four: you can't fly. The air isn't your domain."
As he pointed an arm at her oncoming form, she quickly realized the error in judgment. There was no way for her to dodge in the air, and she just barely managed to minimize the damage from the sizeable chunk of ice that was soon fired at her by twisting at the right time. It did push her back even if it hadn't hurt her all that much, and she was in no position to land correctly by the time she hit the ground. Tsukune hadn't really fared any better as he rolled gracelessly to a stop, but unlike her he had still managed to get a hit in, and he wasn't running on empty.
The two silver-haired beings pushed themselves to their feet tiredly, almost completely spent. Tsukune had exhausted Mizore and Kurumu's powers after their uses, because much of it and the wyvern's blood had gone to healing the grievous wound at the beginning of the fight. Moka on the other hand was running on nothing but determination, too far gone to consider letting him win by this time.
They panted heavily as they stared each other down once more, willing their tired bodies upright. Moka faltered and fell back to one knee, gasping helplessly, staring wide-eyed at Tsukune. I…I can't get up.
The man in question stumbled towards her with purpose, his steps gaining strength the longer they had to heal, before at last he stood before her victoriously. She had no strength left to resist when he grabbed the empty chain of her choker and forced her up to his level, so close their lips were but a breath apart. His hard red eyes softened as he stared into her stunned counterparts, and for the first time in a long while he gave her a loving smile.
"Is that good enough, Moka-san?"
That was all it took.
She clasped her arms behind his neck and pushed their faces together with more force than she knew she had left in her, not the least bit bothered by the heavy tears falling from her closed eyes. They were tears for a pride held too long, for a love too long denied. They were tears for a man that didn't deserve what she had done to him, and for a wrong that had finally been made right. The two vampires kissed with years of bottled up passion, all their fury and resentment spent. As weak as she was she couldn't do anything when he took over her mouth, and she eagerly allowed his tongue entry as she tilted her head to grant him better access. Their tongues traced each other's fangs hungrily, charting the unknown with heated abandon.
His hand trailed softly to the small of her back and moved her against him, and they both groaned in appreciation of the further contact while the hand on her choker glided to the space between her shoulder-blades. Though their bodies were exhausted and their healing capabilities working overtime on the lack of blood, they could still revel in the firm, warm softness of the other pressing against them.
She gasped and chuckled in her sensuous voice when they stumbled back into a tree trunk, and silently they rested their foreheads together. Their deep breaths splashed against their skin, and the two pairs of scarlet eyes simply gazed into each other, transfixed.
"Whoa…"
There was no helping it, she smiled. That certainly summed it up nicely. She had never known the innocent Tsukune could even conceive of kissing like that. When she finally had enough strength to speak again, she looked away. "I won't mince words, Tsukune; I've been nothing but a contradictory bitch to you. I do love you, I loved you even before you became a vampire…but…but I couldn't… I was…I was so…"
He smiled softly as he took in something no one ever had: the vampire Moka Akashiya, unable to speak properly. He gently grabbed her downcast head and coerced it back up to him, and when it was, he recaptured her lips. This one was much softer, chaste, almost hesitant, and when he pulled away tears were once again gathering in her beautiful red eyes.
"You were scared," he whispered tenderly as he caressed his hand down the side of her dirty face. It wasn't a question.
She nodded into his hand in shame, affectionately nuzzling the warmth closer as her tears streaked the dirt down her cheeks. "I was terrified. I'm a vampire, a proud, powerful, Super Vampire, but in that moment I felt like a little girl. You…I wanted you so badly, but I knew I shouldn't. I…I didn't know what to do. I suppose you could say my blood won by default, and I regretted it every second afterwards." She rubbed her wet eyes for emphasis. "Look at me; look what you've done to me, Tsukune. Before you confessed I had never cried, now I can't stop…"
A playful smile tugged at his lips as he leaned forward and kissed the tearstains, regardless of her grubby skin. "Both of us have never been able to make anything easy. Even proud, powerful, Super Vampires can make mistakes."
She chuckled reluctantly and nodded as she moved her head to rest on his shoulder. For once she wasn't even searching for blood, now she just wanted to be close to him. As thirsty as she was, as tired as she was, she wasn't about to ruin this moment. When he started stroking her long silver hair her whole body warmed, and for once, everything was right in her world.
"I did make a mistake, Tsukune. I made many, many mistakes. The biggest mistake of all was thinking you weren't my equal. You are far more than my equal, you always have been. Now it's just more literal." The words came freely, her pride gone and forgotten. The only thing that existed in that moment was them.
He held her closer, burning the feeling of her body in his arms into his memory. This had always been his dream, and finally it was coming true. "And now, I can finally protect you, all of you. You have no idea how long I've wanted to hold you like this."
"Never be afraid to again."
Emboldened, he kissed her neck lovingly, and just like with her, it wasn't for blood. It was a comforting gesture, and another one of the things he had always wanted to do. Just being able to kiss her sent him on a high that was beyond words, and he couldn't wait to do it more.
Moka chuckled again as her skin thrummed where his lips had touched, eager for more of his lips…and for his fangs. "I'm too weak for that right now. Give me some time and I'll gladly offer you my neck…" She leaned up to his ear, and relished in the shiver she felt go through him when her breath splayed upon it. "…and so much more."
He nearly choked on nothing but air. His blush didn't need to be seen by her, she could feel the intense heat overtaking his flesh perfectly from where she was. He squirmed uneasily as his pants suddenly felt two sizes smaller than they should have been, and he heard the vampiress in his arms take in a sharp breath.
Well now, he can react like a regular male, she thought approvingly, her own heat growing by the second. He made the move to get away from her, but she clasped her arms around his waist forcefully, smashing herself back into him and forcing his pelvis back against her. The throaty purr that issued from between her full lips when that happened only made it worse, and she nipped at his neck seductively.
"I wouldn't move if I were you. The Exorcist placed shikigami all around Paradise to watch our battle. Who knows if they're still watching."
Tsukune went rigid in a whole different way that time. "Y-You mean…"
"No one will ever challenge you again, not after they've seen what you're truly capable of."
Regret clouded his features, and he hugged her again, his arousal all but forgotten. "I'm sorry about that, Moka-san. Some part of me knew what you wanted, but I was just so…angry. I…I did so many things that…"
She smiled softly. "You did exactly what you should have. I'll be honest, I feel like I've been run over by a steamroller…repeatedly…but I've never felt better in my life. My heart is finally clear."
A quiet whine escaped him. "You're really not making this any easier."
At that her smile turned rueful, and though she was having trouble staying upright as it was, she still managed to find the strength to roll her hips into his. His face burned and he shuddered with a groan that set her core on fire. How she wished she had more strength, because as she was she could do nothing more, though truthfully she was contemplating ripping off her pants and allowing him to take her right against the tree. By that point she wanted him so badly it just wasn't fair that she couldn't.
Her eyes widened considerably when Tsukune yanked her arms away from him and pinned them above her head, to the trunk of the tree. Keeping the rest of her in place by stepping powerfully against her legs and waist, she gulped unconsciously when she saw his absolutely blazing crimson eyes.
"Even I have my limits." He dragged his fangs over her exposed neck tauntingly, not enough to break skin, just enough to drive her crazy. She nearly whimpered as her hands flexed spasmodically, but she wasn't strong enough to push his hands away and pull him closer. That gave his brain time to catch up, and he panted against the hollow of her collarbone as he struggled to regain control of himself. By then he had realized his instincts were taking over again, and though the desire was overwhelming, it wasn't something he wanted them to lose in the middle of a forest in an alternate realm. "We should go, Moka-san."
The groan of disappointment was almost too much to hold back, but she did. If there was anything she understood, it was Tsukune. It wasn't the time for that. Yet.
"Moka," she replied warmly.
He gave her a confused look as he let go of her arms and stepped away from her. "Pardon?"
"Moka. No more –san, no more honorifics. I'm Moka to you now."
If it was possible, he blushed more from that statement than all of her previous teasing. "M-Moka…." he said hesitantly, trying the feel of it on his tongue. He found he liked it quite a bit, and before she could respond he had pulled her to him again, dominating her mouth in a commanding kiss that eliminated any thought of thirst from her mind. When he pulled away it was her that was left dazed, and he just smiled lovingly again. "Moka," he repeated, stronger that time.
She smiled lazily. She had never known he could make her tingle just by saying her name, and without the constant suffix he added to her moniker it was made even more prominent. Leaning up to his ear once more, she whispered, "You better remember that. I'll have you saying it a lot." She gasped when he unexpectedly nipped playfully at her earlobe, the one so close to his mouth.
"Who says you won't be screaming mine?"
She was sure even her other self was now staring open-mouthed at her fellow vampire. For a small while she was simply thunderstruck, but soon a grin of absolutely evil proportions had taken its place on her full lips. Her Tsukune was gaining a backbone. "Consider the challenge taken."
He chuckled hotly. "Hold that thought. We have to get out of here first, and if what you said is true, there'll be some explaining to do. But, it did give me an idea to one of our problems."
Carefully lowering her down to sit against the tree, he noticed the odd way she was looking at him. "What do you mean?"
"Sit tight, I'm going on a little…spy hunt. We should get some blood in you, and I happen to know your flavor of choice. I'm just going to restock."
One of her pale eyebrows rose in confusion, but no sooner had that happened had he already taken off, searching for who-knows-what. Unbeknownst to her, he soon found one of what he was looking for in one of the nearby trees. Typical, he supposed, since they were supposed to be keeping an eye on them for the duration of that fight. It was a good thing they couldn't get sound too, otherwise he'd die of embarrassment. Looking down on the skittish creature as it in turn looked up at him with its wide eye, he smiled an almost menacingly amused grin.
"I'm sorry, we are currently experiencing some technical difficulties. Please stand by."
The last thing the shikigami saw before it faded to unconsciousness was Tsukune's fangs closing in on it.
.
V^^^V
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The entire school sat in shock in the gymnasium, absolute silence reigning supreme as one by one the angles of viewpoint were discovered and devoured. The fight they had just witnessed wasn't that of two young adults; what had started out as an all-out dominance by the long-haired female had quickly turned into a massacre of vampiric proportions.
They hadn't even been there, all they could do was see it, but somehow they could feel the power imposed in every image. There were two real monsters among them, demons to be more precise. That Tsukune could do that was frightening enough, that the woman could survive it almost more so.
Five people however, though they were shaking the same way, had much different reasons behind it.
"O…Onee-sama…lost…" Kokoa gaped in utter disbelief.
Those two words summarized a mass of feelings, from all of them. Watching Tsukune speared through by a tree branch had had many of them crying out in fear, but what happened afterwards had quickly turned them mute in astonishment. They had never seen him fight with such ferocity, such power, and they had never seen Moka's vampire self get defeated, let alone so thoroughly they actually felt sorry for her.
And of course, then they quickly began feeling like voyeurs. To see the two so heatedly tangled in each other's arms brought a flame of jealousy to their hearts, but more than that even it brought a flame of a whole different sort to their bodies, one very, very contradictory to jealousy. The urge to fidget was irresistible, but they managed somehow. It wasn't long after all the other students emptied out of the auditorium on shaky legs, muttering amongst themselves. They hadn't even noticed the assembly had ended.
Imagine the group's surprise when the shikigami up front sprang to life again, and this time the image was moving down a hallway. It would have been confusing, had the image not moved, and looked down on a beautiful woman currently taking up residence in the origin's arms. It was then they realized Tsukune had unknowingly activated the shikigami's power within him, but when they saw the silver-haired Moka smile softly before re-resting her head against his shoulder, their mouths dropped.
"Did I just see what I think I just saw?" Kurumu asked, askance.
Kokoa's unconscious form pretty much confirmed it.
One of the side doors opened, and in walked the two in question. Sure enough, Moka was cradled in his arms, though looking at her they could see why. Tsukune was still shirtless, but his pants were torn and dirty. Moka's clothes on the other hand appeared as though they were barely staying together, and what was exposed of her skin looked just as filthy. It looked like they had been through a war, which was a rather apt description when they thought about it.
"Tsukune!" Four voices cried in unison.
He smiled as they approached, and though Moka was feeling slightly self-conscious of her position, she had to admit it was a good way to rub things in. She was sure she wouldn't be alone for long, after all. Nonetheless, she didn't like looking weak in front of anyone but him, and she moved until he was forced to let her stand on her own two feet again.
"Are you okay?" Yukari asked worriedly, and he simply grinned.
"As soon as the adrenaline wears off I think I'll be in some trouble. I've healed a lot, but damn I'm really starting to hurt. I was going to take us straight to the hospital, but I felt you guys here so I thought we could use the company. I don't know if I'll pass out on my feet on the way there," he joked lightly.
"You were amazing, Tsukune-san! I've never seen anything like it!" Ruby proclaimed excitedly, and he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.
"When I think back on it now, I have a hard time believing I was able to do all that to Moka-sa—" He was stopped rather abruptly by said vampire's sudden glare, and he coughed nervously. "I-I mean…Moka. It feels kind of surreal."
The disappearance of the honorific was lost on none of them, and the open-mouthed stares resumed. The vampire merely smiled unassumingly as she cradled Belmont, her rosary back in place. Needless to say she was quickly knocked off-kilter when Mizore lackadaisically removed the lollipop from her mouth, before just as calmly reaching forward and pulling Tsukune down to her lips. The red-eyed male groaned when her cold tongue pushed into the confines of his mouth, and just like he had thought, she was absolutely amazing with her tongue. Where she learned that he had no idea.
Frosty breath floated from his mouth when she pulled away and Tsukune gasped, letting free the chilly air from his lungs. "Oh…wow…" he croaked dizzily, though he didn't quite understand what had just happened.
"It's Mizore from now on, got that?"
Even Inner Moka had to applaud her sudden bout of confidence. So, they did see what happened after.
Not about to be outdone, in fact rather miffed she was left out in the first place, Kurumu quickly jumped into his arms and claimed his mouth heatedly. If he had been close to recovering before, that was certainly discarded in a hurry. If he thought Mizore's tongue was talented, Kurumu did things to his mouth that short-circuited what was left cognizant in his brain. When she pulled away, he was far less steady on his feet than he had been before.
"Gah…"
"You're calling me Kurumu then too!"
He could only nod numbly. When he finally felt somewhat sober again he gulped, not sure of what to make of what had just happened in the last five minutes. That would be all the time he was going to be given however, because Ruby's rapidly flushing form wasn't about to be denied any longer. He was knocked clear off his feet when she jumped into his arms, and before he knew it she had captured his lips. Beyond help by this point, he could only kiss back. She jumped off him just as quickly as she had onto him, and smiled happily as she blushed with a sheepish expression that totally belied what she had just done so brazenly.
"I-If Tsukune-san would call me Ruby…"
Aforementioned man could barely form any words by then, but he still managed to get his tired body to its feet again. When Yukari jumped into the air his eyes went to twice their natural size, but thankfully Kurumu quickly grabbed the airborne witch and held her back.
"Waaaah! I want to be called by my name too ~desuuu! Why can't I get a kiss ~desu?!"
Kurumu smiled smugly as she put a hand a good foot over the witch's head, right at the top of her own forehead.
"You must be at least this tall to ride."
Pushed to his limits, a choked sound came from the back of his throat, and the inevitable happened soon after.
Tsukune fainted immediately.
V^^^V
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Author's Notes: Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or just want to talk, send me a line. I wouldn't object to you filling in that review box either.
'Til next time!
Sabr