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^^ To Know A Vampire ^^V
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The true enormity of what he had gotten himself into didn't sink in to Tsukune Aono's mind until the damning sound of a great stone door closing hit his ears. Paradise stretched out before him; a huge, untamed wilderness home to the rarest—and in some cases fiercest—monsters to have ever walked the earth. His gut was doing somersaults and twisting in the most unpleasant of ways, yet he knew this needed to be done. He couldn't just be adequate with using the borrowed blood of his friends, he needed to be exactly like them. He needed to get to the point where he could summon bladed glaciers with a wave of his hand, like Mizore could. He needed to get to the point where he could cast a glance at a schoolyard full of people and have them all under his spell, like Kurumu could. The truth of the matter was he needed to be better than them, which was an impossible feat. It was in the journey for the impossible that would make him stronger, and that was all he wanted.
As much as it scared his human mindset, he knew he could only get so far with instruction, what he needed was real-life, truly real-life-threatening experience. He had the powers, he just needed to learn how to use them. It was something he couldn't do against the people he cared for more than anything. He needed enemies that weren't going to be afraid to try to kill him, that would force him to respond in kind. That would force him to grow.
He had felt something during his fight with Alexander, for the first time truly felt the moisture in the air around him. He had felt the molecules slow at his command, grow upon one another into the formations his mind created and fire at his opponent like they were comrades fighting a common enemy. Even now something else was constantly in his awareness, the crooning song of the animals and life around him. It was easy enough to block out, but the call was there, the energy he knew Ruby and Yukari could manipulate. If he was indeed capable of magic now it made him wish he had asked Ruby for some kind of notes, just for some basics to practice while he was training.
It couldn't really be called training though. It wasn't. Training was something done voluntarily under repeatable circumstances, a set plan designed with the purpose of improvement. What he was doing was not training, what he had in mind was something he knew he needed. What he was doing was surviving. There was no set plan; he had come to a monster's paradise to improve, yes, but not in any logical way. Though he had brought plenty of books—some for the next semester already—he planned on spending the majority of his time fighting, and if he wasn't, then he would be looking for fights. Truthfully, not having any food to speak of in an immediate sense terrified him, especially knowing where the food he would need would have to come from. He knew he would get over it, only looking at the situation from the start it appeared to be a daunting task. Which, it most likely was.
One thing he hadn't expected however was the smell of charcoal, easily explained when he looked around and saw the skeletal remains of what might have once been thriving plant life, burned away in a pattern that suggested a projectile-like explosion upon the door he had just exited from. While no mark scathed the surface, there was certainly evidence on the forest all around it. Looking to Rei, her morose expression as she surveyed the scene told him all he needed to know.
"Hey, don't worry about it," he soothed softly. "It'll grow back, better than before. This is only temporary."
She nodded mutely. "That I understand, nestling. Seeing this…the conditions of their creation merely gave me pause."
Comprehension came to him and he smiled whimsically. "Rei-chan, it's okay. You made it in time, there's no reason to dwell on it."
Another nod answered him, but her face was hidden from his view. "While I know that to be the truth, 'twas something I would rather not experience again."
"We're here now so you won't have to."
Her jaw tightened, and when she looked up at him he saw the same look of determination he had seen in his friends so many times before. "You are right, of course. 'Twill be my mission to make you recognized in this realm, even in your current form."
A nervous chuckle escaped him. "What…exactly do you mean by that?"
Reaching over, she pulled the pack heavy with books and other necessities from his hand like it weighed less than nothing. Shouldering it expertly she pointed to the horizon, where the peaks of a large mountain loomed in the distance. "Do you perceive the spires over yonder?" With a gulp, he nodded. "Good, then you know our next destination. 'Twas fortunate we set out when we did; if we encounter minimal resistance we should arrive by nightfall."
Tsukune gulped, willing down the unease that had taken residence in his heart. "You said something about…resistance?"
Her smile was entirely too unnerving. "In this form I do not inspire the same terror, as unlike you, my youki is almost solely concentrated in the growth and upkeep of my physical being, thus not flaring quite as theatrically as yours would. Sealed as you are the difference in external indicators between us is marginal, admittedly; however, this is my domain. For the ensuing trek I will be nothing but a shadow keeping you on the correct path, those taking offense to your presence will be yours to deal with. If you truly wish to grow stronger I will accommodate you, but 'twould be a mistake to believe me a gentle mistress."
Frost crawled up his fingertips as he gazed resolutely at the goal that seemed so far off. It fit his earlier thoughts perfectly. He couldn't back down now that he had been given his first challenge. He would get stronger, that he had sworn.
"Well what are we waiting for? We're wasting daylight."
She laughed. "Ironic that is, to be said by a vampire. You are born to darkness, no truer creature of the night there is than you. There will be times I shall call you to remember that, I assure you."
If he was bothered by her words he gave no sign of it, instead setting off into the forest before him. She smiled before she followed him.
V^^^V
Hours had passed since that time and Tsukune's shirt was soaked with sweat. He had refused to slow his pace even once, but things were catching up on him. Rei was somewhere in the trees around him, still in her human form to avoid warding off any predators, yet even with that he hadn't seen any sign of anything. At first he had been grateful for the mercy being shown him unknowingly, now was no such time. He was weakening; the need for fresh blood was taking over his thoughts, demanding his body be sustained. Not feeding from any of his family before he left had been a tactical mistake, one he was now paying dearly for.
The sky and the planets above were shifting in preparation for the oncoming blackness of night, turning trees and plants into gangly shadows and shifting noises that had his senses on high alert. It didn't matter, not then. Normally feeding every day was a luxury and he knew that, here he knew it would become a requirement. He couldn't afford to weaken in the environment surrounding him. He needed to be in top form; thirsty like he was, he was anything but. His eyes darted around at the slightest sound, his supernatural radar thrown out as far as he could. He wasn't afraid of what he would encounter, rather the opposite, searching stubbornly for his next meal without straying from the path of the ever-nearing mountains.
Wind came upon him out of the blue in a huge gale, so fast he barely had the time to jump when his senses screamed warning of the oncoming youki. He managed, and was glad he did because the wild grass under him had been shaved like a finely cut lawn. The next caught him unaware, shredding the bottom of his pants and sending him hissing to one knee, holding cuts that were very much there but not bleeding. It was an annoyance if ever there was one, thankfully without losing blood there was no chance of him weakening further. It left him to wonder if he was truly being attacked or just being pestered however.
The breeze picked up again and this time he didn't wait for it to enlarge, he jumped to the side at the first tickle of light in his radar, once again saving him from being hit. This continued twice more before the lack of food, his long trek, and now the invisible attackers snapped his fraying patience.
"You wanna attack me?! Fine! Attack me!" he bellowed, his arms already encased in ice.
When the wind came next snow came with it, thick fog congealing the air into soup, just as Mizore had taught him. He may not have been able to make huge icicles from nothing while he was sealed, but he knew enough to thicken the particles already in the air. At the earliest notice of those molecules being disturbed he tightened his hold, intent on freezing his opponent solid. It worked, as frightened yelps caught his ears soon later. Dispelling the fog at the same time as his transformation, he found his enemies in the form of a trio of large rodents with blades as claws. His ice hadn't had the effect he desired, likely because of the speed they had been moving at, but it froze enough of their bodies for them to be incapacitated.
"What the heck?"
"Kamaitachi," Rei answered as she jumped down from the tree nearest him, earning a flinch from her partner at the unexpectedness. "My cave is near. Sickle weasels do not stray far from mountains, and their determent played a part in the location I chose. The mountain of my nest is also home to their remaining numbers. 'Tis almost humorous; were they not prone to stem the bleeding of their victims you might have been in significantly more peril."
Tsukune rolled his eyes. "Yeah, funny funny, har har. Danger's fun, isn't it? If I wasn't here for things like this I would wonder why my familiar wants me to get hurt."
The bronze-skinned girl glared at him, hurt clear in her steel eyes. "Do not question my loyalty. 'Twas only due to your desire I stayed my talons. Making you stronger at the cost of your safety goes against everything I know as your partner and protector, but I will do it. I do not do things partly. A cruel mistress I may seem, but if ever your mortality was in jeopardy I did not believe you capable of managing I would be by your side in an instant. 'Twould do you well to remember that."
It occurred to him that his sarcasm was lost on her. Her speech suggested differently, but she was still very young and prone to misunderstandings, like the kind he had just instigated. "Rei-chan, wait! I'm sorry, I was being sarcastic. I didn't mean it seriously."
She rubbed her eyes, keeping him set in a skeptical glance. "Do not question my loyalty," she repeated with a sniffle, and he held her against him tightly.
"I said I'm sorry. I'm just really thirsty, and this hike hasn't exactly been a walk in the park either. I didn't mean to sound angry, I really didn't," he allayed quickly, and was relieved when she eventually relaxed into his hold, tightening her own around him.
"Facetiousness does not become you," she mumbled into his shoulder, and despite himself he laughed.
"So it would seem."
Escaping his arms, the young familiar smiled. "Your meal has been well-earned this night. Drink from them, then we will proceed. As punishment for your ill-placed humor, my consideration of offering you my blood to break your fast on the morrow has been rescinded, so take as much as you can. I would warn against killing any monster here, as they are all scarce in quantity, as you well know. The animals of the human world have been introduced for that purpose."
He seemed horrified at the thought. "I would never kill anything!"
A silver brow arched. "Truly? I sense you do indeed mean that. Interesting. Do you not eat the meat of the beasts of burden slain for your consumption when lifeblood is unavailable? Vampires such as yourself may be able to keep from slaying their prey when they feed, but a reputation from darker times precedes them. That is, to my understanding."
He chuckled mirthlessly. "I'm going to tell you a new story tonight, Rei-chan; would you like that?"
Her mood changed immediately to bright and excited in the blink of an eye. "What tonight? More of star-crossed lovers doomed to face oblivion? Or perhaps another tale of ill-fated vengeance destined to apocalyptic results?" Nodding animatedly, her expression turned thoughtful. "To be truthful, I would so prefer a joyful conclusion for once. Accounts of these tragedies are comedic, yet I find myself wary of wishing such an ending upon ourselves inadvertently by thinking so."
"No, tonight I'm going to start telling you a story that hasn't been finished yet: my story."
She stilled, new curiosity burning inside her. "Feed quickly then, I am eager to hear of the exploits of my partner before my existence."
"You won't believe your ears, I can guarantee that."
With three bodies to feed from—and no need to worry about causing pain in the process—he was able to replenish his strength to full with little difficulty. The weasels would be a bit lightheaded for a while, but otherwise he prided himself on his ability to not take more than he needed from any one source. Altogether he had still drunk a full body's worth, he was sure. Their trip was completed rather easily after that, though Tsukune's body ached in more than a few places despite his feeding. He turned away quickly when he saw Rei readying herself to shuck her t-shirt robe, almost relieved when he heard the gentle rumblings of enormous footsteps shake the gigantic cavern she had lead him to.
That new awareness tickled his ears again, the familiar tingle of a voice carried on the very wind, if not the wind itself, and this time he looked up sharply at what he heard there. It was weak, just as his sense was, or in all likelihood because his sense was. 'I am excited to hear your tale, nestling,' a burning voice spoke, vibrating through the breeze.
He stared at her dumbly for a few moments before blinking himself back to consciousness. "Now I get what Ruby meant when she said I'd understand you eventually anyways. You can't really talk talk in your true form, can you?"
Her head—nearly larger than he was by itself now—shook a negative. 'I am indeed incapable of your words through my throat. The elements are my voice, only those who can listen to them can hear me.'
"When you aren't human," he corrected, and she nodded.
'Precisely. I will likely have to return to it so I can watch over you unnoticed in the coming days, but let us leave our minds of such thoughts for now. If you are able, I would be inclined to hear the story of my unusual vampire partner.'
Tsukune laughed quietly. "Yeah, we haven't really gotten to know each other that well, have we? That's the other reason I thought this would be a good idea. Now let's see, how do I start?" His lips curled upwards as a thought hit him, and he settled down against one of the paws of the large white dragon.
"Once upon a time…one perfectly average, extraordinarily ordinary human accidentally enrolled in a school for monsters…"
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V^^^V
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"What do you think Tsukune's doing right now?"
The question, said amongst a roomful of females fitted in pajamas and sitting on futons and pillows, had been asked by the violet-eyed vision of eroticism, Kurumu Kurono. After a day of preparations and mock spars between those willing to learn from the black and white duet—as physical stamina wasn't exactly Ruby or Yukari's best point by any extension of the word—the six were settled comfortably in the elder mage's room. It was the largest after all. Being staff did have some perks.
Kokoa had taken nearly malicious glee in helping her sealed sister learn how to actually dodge and not just run or wait to be unsealed, and poor Moka was now nursing healing wounds under her new set of comfy pajamas. It hadn't been the first time she had been actively involved in something while conversing with the vampiress within, but it was the first time she had done so in the heat of battle. Then again, that first time the situation had been reversed and she was the one helping, not fighting. Being more of a pacifist herself she didn't like fighting, but she understood the point her other self had made. They had come so far already, she couldn't let it be her that screwed everything up when push came to shove. Not ever again.
Now that the adrenaline rush of the afternoon was over and she was actually allowed to think more than three seconds ahead, she realized she was wondering exactly the same thing as her succubus friend. "I don't know," she replied worriedly. "When he and Ura-chan trained she kept most of the monsters away with our youki alone…when she wanted to. They were there though, and now he's there with a seal even stronger than the Holy Lock…"
Her younger sister—who had been examining her hair in the wall-length mirror off to the side—sighed in frustration. "With a dragon that would sooner use the headmaster as a toothpick than let him die! Relax, jeez. I don't know what you're so worried about. Personally, I think it's great."
"Not surprising since you've had it out for him since day one," Kurumu muttered sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. Thus, she was stunned when the junior actually looked ashamed of herself.
"I'll give you that one. Just because I refuse to fall to this 'disease' you all seem to have doesn't mean I hate him now though. I can respect how far he'll go to protect Onee-sama, but it's not like I need to love him or anything. He has all of you for that," the redhead responded matter-of-factly.
The succubus whistled. "I must really not give you enough credit. If you can take one of his bites and still say that you must be something else!"
Scarlet frosted the vampiress' cheeks momentarily. I said 'love.' 'Lust' is a completely different thing.
"Or the more likely possibility is she's just too stubborn to admit it," Mizore reasoned glibly, turning Kokoa into a blubbering mess of denials and death threats, all of which were promptly ignored by the women assembled in favor of continuing to watch her flustered tirade.
"Methinks the lady doth protest too much ~desu!" Yukari quoted sagely, only to be ruined by her trademark verbal tic.
"Come on, give the poor girl a break," Moka said, not without her own smile however. "I can't wait to meet the kind of guy that'll finally catch her heart."
For once, the redhead looked at the sealed form of her sister with actual gratitude. "…Thank you," she murmured softly, and the pink-haired woman smiled back.
"Love isn't something I'd joke about. Crushes and infatuations maybe, but when you meet that one…something's different. It might not start all at once, but there's something there that keeps you by their side. Before you know it stupid things start happening when you're around them, things you wouldn't do with anyone else, and wouldn't find funny with any other person. Then one day you wake up and realize you were wishing he'd be right beside you in bed, just so the first thing you could see would be his face as you start the day. Then when you do see him…the good dream becomes a better reality and nothing really matters anymore…" She sighed wistfully, her gaze a million miles away, as did the rest of the group. Even if Kokoa didn't love him, she wasn't about to deny that that sounded like a wonderful thing to experience.
"I wonder when that'll happen to me," the awakening vampiress pondered, longing plain in her voice. The base attraction she felt to Tsukune was nothing but her blood reacting to his formidable presence, she could only hope that was the case. She would find someone when the time was right, but that didn't make her stop praying that the right time would be now.
Yukari wasn't going to let her off that easily, and her ensuing grin was nothing if not unnerving. "What do you mean? You've already seen him in your dreams, haven't you?"
They had never seen her go so red so fast, from the tips of her toes to the very roots of her hair, and this time she could only mutter nonsensical ramblings before her brain finally caught up. "How the hell do you know about that?!" she shrieked in complete and utter embarrassment. When her brain caught up to that one, she slapped her hands over her mouth so quickly it would have left a bruise on any other person.
Ruby grinned, though she wasn't without empathy for the younger woman. "It would be hard for us not to know about it. We all had the same dream."
Kokoa's mouth flapped noiselessly, uncomprehending, before she saw the uncomfortable expression on the succubus of their group. Understanding hit the knowledgeable vampiress like a bucket of ice water, turning dark green irises blood red as her mortification and fury skyrocketed. It hadn't been a dream so much as it had been a shared incident. It was also the last thing the frustrated teen wanted to know.
"You! Are. Dead!"
It would be great motivation for the rest of the month, not to mention food for thought.
The words 'pillow fight' took on whole new meaning.
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V^^^V
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It had been very late in the evening when they had arrived at Rei's cave, yet with the onset of the storytelling time and fatigue were completely ignored. Tsukune simply talked, relaying his good and bad times at Youkai Academy to his familiar without once being interrupted. The silvery dragon laid in rapt attention to his account, only growling or whimpering quietly in key places where she could feel his anger or anguish not just in his voice, but in her heart as well. Try as he might to suggest otherwise, he was a very convincing speaker when he wanted to be. In places where his excitement shone she felt like she was right beside him in his joy, and where the depths of despair threatened to swallow him whole she couldn't resist nuzzling his cheek with her nose, to offer him comfort even in the past.
She was still young to the world, but not totally uninformed, especially when he took the time to explain the lives of regular people in the human world in their day and age when he noticed her confusion. Her instincts drew her to a wiser outlook naturally, yet some of the things he had gone through, a few by whom she knew he considered nothing less than mates in his heart, made her growl deep in her chest. She was glad her youth was different than other races, for if she ever acted like how his friends had at times she would sooner spend the rest of her nigh immortal life in her cave. Still, jealousy and love did strange things to all creatures, and she knew that, especially when combined. When the urge became stronger she knew one day she would fall prey to them as well, her blood had prepared her for that much.
When he drew to a close streams of sunlight were already crawling their way up the mouth of her home, hinting indisputably at how much time had passed. Luckily the depth of the cavern would succeed in holding off their advance any further, so the vampire currently yawning against her would be able to get some sleep—the vampire who was once human.
'I…Words fail to describe…'
He smiled tiredly at her as he patted her paw before stretching with a groan. Making his way to his overfull pack he pulled the rolled up blanket from the top and snuck out a pillow. "I know this is technically cheating but I wasn't going to go for a month without a pillow or blanket. I couldn't care less about making a tent or something, but I'm not going without these things."
Despite herself she coughed out a smoky chuckle, amused at his blatant disregard of her words. 'Indeed. Sleep well, nestling. My queries shall be postponed until we are rested.'
The feeling that kindled inside her when he set himself up next to her constantly heated body in the groove that served as her bed was impossible to explain. She knew he was seeking out her warmth, but nonetheless she never failed to be surprised by the trust he put in people. What passed for a smile on her scaled face drew on her lips as the soft breathing of sleep started from him almost instantly. With a pleased grunt she curled up tighter, content to join him in slumber.
The days would pass quickly, and they had much they needed to learn, both about themselves and each other.
V^^^V
While one had gone to sleep barely an hour earlier, others were already waking up. Characterized by a light coating of feathers, cotton, and overall disarray, the room just went to show what happened when six monsters—or four and two boundary beings—went at it with pillows. Ruby was the first to wake, as her day usually started earlier than most, and she groaned when she saw the state of her room. Having been too tired to do anything about it the night before, the damage was glaring in the light of day. They had a lot of work to do. The causes of the mess would be cleaning her room before they resumed training, she would see to that. At least her large desk off to the side had escaped harm. Her books, sewing machine, and alchemic components were compiled there. Had they come to see damage, not even Moka's super vampire self would have escaped unscathed. Masochist or not, she was quite proficient in inflicting pain as well.
Her muscles protested mightily as she righted herself in bed and the poor witch groaned again, this time for a much more physical reason. She was a fearsome force with her magic and transformations, yet without those she was nothing more than a regular human woman. She had gotten in the habit of carrying at least one of her accessories with her at all times, however the fact remained were she to be deprived of them in battle she would be nothing more than cannon fodder. She was never totally defenseless, she had more than enough training using her wings and other forms to understand how to move—and fight, more or less—but only a fool turned away a chance for improvement when it was offered to them. Mizore and Kurumu were incredible. Apart they were both high-class monsters with abilities no one in their right mind wanted to get on the wrong side of, together they were a force few were capable of handling. Period.
She may lack the demonic strength inherent in her friends' bodies, but she was no pushover. If nothing else the training would serve to build her natural awareness to the energies she controlled, and that was never a bad thing. While Yukari was a genius with a grasp on metaphysical theories that she had taken years longer to understand, the fact remained she was years younger as well, her body less capable of some of the feats her magic bestowed upon her. The workouts they were enduring would do nothing but help her, so she was more than willing to put up with the aching of her muscles.
She had spent enough time, maybe even too much time reading and studying; she needed to start putting into practice what she had learned. The knowledge only went to waste if she wasn't able to use it practically. The headmaster had helped her there, she knew that. If not for all the running around she did on a regular basis she would be significantly weaker, and his demand on her continued studies as requisite for her position was a higher education than she could get anywhere else, especially orphaned and penniless as she had been when she was brought to the academy. He had all but outright told her so. She was forever in his debt, but there was still one creditor that held more claim to her. He would always come first in her heart, regardless of duty.
Speaking of which, she had something she needed to give him. It wasn't terribly important, or at least it didn't need to be done right away. She couldn't let the others on to her plan so soon after he had left anyways. She could only imagine what he had gone through already, and how much stronger he would be when they saw him next. In all honesty she knew the Test had been a last resort, but it was either that or cover him in crosses. Without the Artifact sealed amidst the links it would be significantly weaker, but it would have served its purpose regardless. No vampire could resist the holy power of crosses, especially in numbers. If anything, the Test gave him more access to his abilities than seventy-seven seals would have otherwise, and if not for that he probably wouldn't have survived his encounter with Alexander. The strength of some youkai always amazed her. To think some would even be able to stand under so much constraint was amazing enough, to know most underwent it voluntarily more so.
Summer vacation had started at last but they had a plan they needed to stick to. Yukari was more adept at animating inorganic objects than her, but that didn't mean she didn't know how to do it. With a wave of her wand the feathers in the room came to life, set to do her bidding, where she let them loose on the unsuspecting bodies of her sleeping friends. Disgruntled slaps came from them at first, then slowly the laughter and squirming started, before finally they were all giggling uproariously and wide awake, begging for mercy.
"Up and at'em everyone! Another day's begun, and we can start by cleaning my room!"
There were five simultaneous groans. They knew they deserved it, but that certainly didn't make them like it.
V^^^V
Cleaning and breakfast later, the group saw themselves outside, away from the dorms and buildings of the school layout. They wanted privacy after all. Mizore and Kurumu had easily noticed the discomfort displayed by the witches and were now helping them perform various stretches to help in flexibility and ease pain. They knew the boundary beings didn't have the same potency of youkai healing, but their muscles would still heal far faster than a regular human's would. It was in the tearing and reformation of the muscles that grew mass, so they would give them time to heal and work on more strength training the next day. There were plenty of other things to do in the meantime.
And for the second day in a row, Moka Akashiya found herself staring down her younger half-sister, Kou perched comfortably on her shoulder. Even before her hair had started changing she was a difficult opponent who thrived in battle, knowing her power was only growing while she herself had to remain sealed was not a comforting thought.
Focus, Omote, remember what I told you yesterday. If she doesn't come at us with intent, you won't grow, her inner self spoke confidently through their link.
But you saw what happened! Maybe I'm just not cut out for this!
You are a vampire! the sealed being roared, causing her outer self to flinch. Knowing this, the white-haired woman softened her tone. We are one, Omote. In this, we have to be. Without me we aren't going to be able to win the coming fights, not with Tsukune sealed. Without you, I'm lost anyway. You need to be able to read blows and incapacitate attackers, however momentary it may be. Your strength isn't so insignificant that you would lose to a lesser monster if you actually tried, but if you can learn how to move and where to hit, you might be able to hold your own for a little while should worst come to worst. Any time is better than no time at all.
The pacifist sighed. She knew she was right. If it came down to protecting the ones she loved or upholding her antiviolence ways and watching them get slaughtered, she would choose fighting no matter what. At the next encounter a stronger vampire might come, and maybe, just maybe with every single one of them—including Kokoa—they might be able to triumph without her or Tsukune's help. They needed her there and she knew it. It was all meaningless if something happened to any of them, and thinking something wouldn't if she wasn't there was just wishful thinking at this point.
All right, let's do this.
She took the stance she had been taught the previous day, already feeling the familiarity in her body. Her muscles remembered what they had done, even if it was under a different personality. She just needed to learn how to use it. With a quick critique by her inner self, she nodded to Kokoa, who smiled a bit too threateningly.
Just like that they were moving, dizzying directions being shouted over the din of impacts by the true vampire within. Her body knew what to do before she did, instantly reacting to the commands she needed to follow to keep it alive. It was extremely hard to focus on the two things at once, the visual input of what she knew she was seeing and what she wanted to do instinctively, and instead having to follow the words being forced directly into her brain. Ducking under the huge mace directed at her head she jumped back at her inner's order, already twisting to lunge around the new crater formed when the weapon struck dirt and stuck.
Index knuckle out! Support it properly; we don't want to break our fingers going for the pressure points! She did as she was told, going over all the cluster areas her younger sister and her seal-bound self had drilled into her the day prior as she did. If you can't reach the throat go for the arms on a weapon-user! Take out their ability to use their weapon and you've gained a huge advantage!
Jumping to the side to avoid another swing, she leaped over the subsequent one, slamming her fist down into the open thigh of her sister. The younger woman gasped brokenly as her leg gave out on her but that was all the time Moka needed, quickly sending two more to her left and right biceps respectively. Drunk on adrenaline and reacting purely on instinct and the vampiress' commands, she was all but unaware of Kokoa dropping her familiar as her arms momentarily went numb with pain, dropping all guard to her chest and allowing a powerful strike right under her developing breasts to her solar plexus. She was thrown back by the force, landing gasping for breath as she let her regeneration heal the trembling of her muscles. Pressure point strikes were just as effective on vampires as any other humanoid monster, but they still took less time to heal. They were useful, but hardly an effective way to win a fight unless it was done by another vampire with the force needed to truly incapacitate.
Moka was panting in exertion as Kokoa picked herself up from the ground and rubbed the smarting sinew of her body, nearly good as new, but the look she set on her older sister was one of growing respect.
"Nice. Very nice, Onee-chan. Keep this up and I might actually have to reevaluate what I think of you." It was as close to a compliment as she was going to get from Kokoa. Picking up Kou, the vampiress changed him into something more durable. While not what she was used to, it would help her sister gain experience and that was all that mattered. "Now, again!"
The pink-haired woman groaned, but took up her stance.
A defeat: "Again!"
A victory: "Again!"
On and on it went, until dry clothes were soaked with sweat, long hair laid limp against her back, and the sun had almost made a full pass through the sky. Every single time the result was the same. "Again!"
She had been right, she definitely wasn't going to like the next month very much. Though it went against her normally kind personality, she took comfort in knowing whatever she was going through, Tsukune was going through something twice as bad.
Later on, she would come to realize just how much of an understatement that had been.
V^^^V
Tsukune awoke with a start at the end of another strange dream, which once again quickly eluded his memory and faded to oblivion. At least he was rested. When his eyes adjusted to the pitch darkness around him—that took hardly any time at all, he noted—he saw the wall beside him was moving. That was when he realized the wall beside him wasn't a wall, but the side of Rei's enormous torso. She was almost the size of the school's bus by now, and to think she could become larger still was mind-boggling. He rested his hand against a warm scale, heated from the inside by fire just a breath away, and as he did that the large reptile sighed sleepily. Grunting unexpectedly, the silver-white dragon shuffled away and stretched like an oversized cat. Light glinted from the massive teeth in her equally large maw as she yawned widely, and flame burst from her nostrils as she cleared her throat.
It was the earth beneath him that resonated this time, and from its solid foundation her sophisticated voice rumbled into existence. ''Tis good to see you again, nestling; did you sleep well?'
"Very," he replied contently as he stretched as well. With a quick look around, and out the mouth of the cave, he put his face in his hand. "And…it's night. Well, that's just great. There goes my sleep schedule."
She chuckled throatily, which sounded more like an earthquake than an actual laugh. ''Tis good a time as any to hone your instincts. Night is your true realm; we should work to exploit it. If you can hunt at night, your skill during the day will only prosper.'
"Key word being 'if,'" he clarified with a whine. Leaving for a moment to relieve himself, he returned to find her back in her human form, thankfully with her huge t-shirt already on. "So, what's the plan for tonight then?"
"I would like to discuss you, if I may be so bold," she responded simply as she plopped herself down on his blanket, where he followed.
"Go ahead. I told you everything for a reason. We can't be partners if you don't know who I am."
Rei smiled appreciatively. "So 'tis true you were once merely human? No more than a boy cast here unwittingly by his parents?"
"That about sums it up," he answered softly as he rubbed the back of his neck.
Clear awe was in her eyes, joined by a laugh he had rarely heard in her human form. "I must confess: I have underestimated you, and your instincts. I did not think it possible being I above all know the strength of your blood through our pact. You, a mere human, survived through an academy full of monsters, that being the least of your accomplishments with a den of women willing to protect you, and you them. I felt the intensity of your feelings through your blood, just as my mother did. Now the reason is apparent. 'Tis little wonder why I would feel drawn to you."
There was only one response to that. "Huh?"
She grinned at his confusion. "Do not concern yourself any further, nestling; 'tis unimportant in the grander scheme of things."
"Now I have a question for you," Tsukune countered instantly. "Why do you call me 'nestling' all the time? I thought I was the older one here."
That rare laugh reverberated through the expansive cave, dark and sensuous even in a childlike tone. "As I told our treasures: my race does not stay your definition of 'children' for long. Be that as it may, while in the safety of the nest there is no more fierce a protector in any realm than a mother dragon. You, who are so small yet so gallant, are worth no less to me than my own nestlings should that day come."
He didn't know what to say to that. To know he was so important to her as to be compared to something like that was incredible, but also incredibly confusing. "Now don't get mad at me for what I'm about to say next, okay Rei-chan?" Perplexed, the dark-skinned child nodded her agreement. "Don't you feel…I don't know…forced to feel like that? I mean I 'knocked up,' as in literally beat the daylights out of your mom, and she repays me by giving me you? You're the first of your kind in…in hundreds of years! Some idiotic moves on my part and suddenly I've got one of the most…mythical creatures in existence as my familiar? Don't you feel like I've taken away your freedom?"
She stared at him for a long time after that, blinking dazedly, before falling over backwards and howling in laughter. This was one thing he had never, ever, seen before, and whenever he thought she was done she would look back at him and start laughing again. As she finally sat back up, wiping her eyes of the tears that had grown in the action, she couldn't help but chuckle again. "Oh, Tsukki, you do so amaze me. This was a factor in that inexplicable magnetism. My mother did not give me to you, I chose you. You would never consider me a servant, nor would you expect me to think you my master. I have felt your heart, Tsukune Aono, and I wished to be a part of it. True, you did fulfill the conditions as set by most Familiar codes, but had I not chosen you, you would have received one of my purely instinctive wyvern cousins. I was…am in no way forced to be with you. The choice was mine to make; never shall I regret it."
Stunned into silence once more, when he did speak again it wasn't what she thought he would comment on. "I'm not even going to ask why you chose to call me Tsukki the first time you say my name. Really, of all the things…Kyou-chan's going to kill me," he griped as he shook his head in his hands.
Rei cocked her head to the side worriedly. "You are speaking of your cousin, correct? The very one who brought the Lilith Mirror to your school?" He nodded. "She addresses you as Tsukki as well?"
He sighed again. "Ever since we were kids."
"Truly she must have seen your true worth even as a human," she concluded softly, and he looked up sharply, bewilderment all over his face. She smiled adoringly. "If I am to understand these languages correctly, your name is most commonly interpreted as a chicken dish, is that not so?"
"I guess even when I was born my parents thought I was pretty ordinary," he quipped back with a grin. "Then again, with how much Moka loves to drink my blood, maybe they just thought I looked tasty." They both had to share a laugh at the truth in the otherwise joking statement.
"I prefer to think they thought you as something otherworldly," the dragon replied gently as she scooted closer to continue, "A melody from the moon; a gift from above. Tsukki suits you nicely. It eliminates all misreading."
One of his characteristic smiles broke over his face. "You're really making me feel like a heel for choosing something as cliché as Rei for someone as unbelievable as you."
She smiled back. "If 'twill soothe your conscience, allow me to say I quite like it. To be called beautiful in my very name is wonderful. I shall strive to live up to it."
"I'm sure you will." Clapping his hands together, the young man returned to his feet. "I think we've spent enough time talking now, don't you? Let's get this show on the road!"
Her smile widened. "It is agreed. Since your skill over water was dominant the eve past, I restrict you to your illusions to incapacitate your prey on this night."
The color drained from his face, but he squared his jaw and nodded. There was no improvement without restriction. This was necessary.
V^^^V
When he was human, being alone in the dark in a place such as Paradise would have had him jumping at his own shadow. Of course, that would have implied he could see his shadow, and right then that wasn't possible. It was almost completely pitch black since it was overcast above, blocking the light of whichever stars the strange realm might have been privy to. As he walked deeper and deeper into the wilderness, he wondered vaguely if he should be more intimidated of his task than he currently was. Rei had been right. Though his heart rate was higher than it normally would have been, he wasn't afraid. Maybe had his sight been the only thing he could rely on he might have been, with a sonar-like youki detector built into his very being he wasn't at all.
Some part of him did indeed revel in the darkness surrounding him, just as Rei had suggested. It was like his eyes were made to see in the inky vastness. If his blood gave her as much of an insight into him as he thought it did, it wasn't very surprising that she knew more about his self as a vampire than he did. She was much more suited to unravel the mysteries tied into vague instincts than he was. If not for his enhanced abilities, he still thought himself human. It was strange. Time and again he had sworn he understood what he was and what he wasn't, yet the only difference between vampires and humans were their powers and life-spans. In the end, it all came down to choice.
Did he have it in him to abandon what was left of his humanity? To that extent, what was left of his humanity? He was the same as he had always been; a bit more backbone maybe, but having strength like a vampire's tended to add to the confidence level. Even humans hunted when they were hungry, it had been how they had survived before they domesticated animals, built farms and raised their own cattle to sustain their existence. Was being a vampire really so different?
He was lying to himself. There was one thing different, one thing he had felt acutely as a ghoul. Tapped into the most primal, deepest desires of the vampire race, he had come to understand one thing: a vampire's fury. Anger would do it injustice, bloodlust was more appropriate. Being a creature that drank blood, one would think it meant merely a craving for the life-giving liquid that ran through every man, woman, and child on the earth. They would be wrong. He had little doubt that should a vampire want to, he or she could level a city and still not be satisfied with the amount of death and bloodshed. Fortunately, over time they had become a more sophisticated race, believing themselves—and possibly rightly so—above even the highest nobility in humanity. He would never wish a vampire's wrath on anyone, but he had seen it done a few times in the past. Alexander was lucky to escape with his life. He knew he wasn't above it either. If he didn't love Moka as much as he did he could have continued their fight, her challenge of dominance. Had he given in completely to the blind rage consuming him, demanding vengeance, he shuddered when he thought of what he could have done to her.
Rei understood that, so did Kokoa, so did his vampiric goddess, and so did the headmaster. They understood the survival instinct buried deep under his meek, kind heart. If he wanted to command the fear he knew he would need to stand up to the vampire suitors and whatnot that would doubtlessly come for his family, he needed to be able to control that instinct, just like he had done as a ghoul. Every time Rei set a goal out for him here, that was what he knew she was aiming for. She wanted to see him fight, really fight. That was the true reason he was in Paradise. Down under everything he would learn and needed to learn, the possibility of that happening was why he was here. Moka could, and had, evoked something very similar in the past, but he refused to rise to that again. Never to her, never to his family.
But Tsukune Aono did understand that he would need to, eventually. To face down what he needed to for them in his current state, he needed that extra edge.
Regrettably, he forgot that he wasn't the only predator that could be nocturnal, nor had he taken into consideration that his radar worked best when the youki in question was agitated. It probably should have been noticed that he didn't give off the same feeling of power as he did when he was unsealed, so technically he was nothing but a walking meal to those others that could sense youki. He also never once thought that years of surviving had given some monsters the insight to hide their presence until the last available moment. He should have.
The attack came from nowhere, with even less warning than the kamaitachi strike of the day before. How such a large creature had managed to sneak up on him he would never know, but the fist that smashed into his side was nearly as big as his torso. Sent flying away and rolling painfully to a stop, he launched himself back to his feet in a show of acrobatic prowess Moka would have been proud of. Though his lungs burned with every breath he took he couldn't afford to not be ready for any ensuing strikes, plus he needed to see what it was that attacked him. He gulped when he saw the massive creature lurk towards him, almost deathly silent through the foliage. One hundred beady eyes looked back at him, each focused with perfect clarity on him from every imaginable part of its body. Gender was impossible to discern but that didn't matter, it likely didn't even have one. This was a monster made for the night, and for some reason or another it had chosen to attack hm. He had taken worse hits before, but only from some of the highest class monsters he knew. This thing's strength was not to be trifled with.
He hadn't expected Rei to be by his side in an instant, snarling in a most inhuman way despite her appearance. "Rei-chan!"
She didn't look away from the monster still staring at them with its centennial stare, halted momentarily by the new presence. "I apologize, Tsukki. I realize I had given my word not to interfere unless I deemed it necessary, consider this one such situation. If I had realized we were venturing into the grounds of the hyakume I would have changed our course long ago."
"I thought you said this was your domain!" he whispered back.
"Do not question that!" she snarled. "Were I to assume my true form 'twould be nothing before me! Even now I could rend it limb from limb should I wish! 'Twould also wake the whole of the forest and nullify what I am trying to teach you! I fear I may have little choice in the matter, 'tis all but impossible to escape its grasp once envisioned in its gaze…"
He knew what he needed to do.
"Rei-chan…step back." He could have sworn he saw her dark skin pale at the command, even in the dead of night.
"Tsukki, please, I implore you, there will be plenty of opportunity in the coming days to test your—!"
"Rei-chan," he interrupted authoritatively, now meeting every one of those eyes looking at him with a hard stare of his own.
She whined indecisively, torn in the decision, and eventually nodded her consent. "You are either a brave soul or a very stupid man, but I will support you. Make no mistake: should I believe your life in peril at any time I will not hesitate to intervene."
His honey-brown eyes twinkled dangerously, and for a moment she thought she saw red pass over his irises. "Just call me stupid then. Here I go!"
Breaking into a reckless charge, he felt it rising, just as it had been ever since he laid eyes on the beast…just as it had in every battle he had ever fought with vampire blood flowing through his veins. The urge to maim, to hurt, to kill any who dared oppose his might. He recognized Moka's pride as something born from both nature and nurture: her father's contempt and her blood's instinctual sense of superiority. A humble person in the core of his being, not even a super vampire's pride could destroy his sense of self, not unless it wasn't technically him anymore, like had been the case when the blood destroyed his once human body and consciousness. Since he only had one out of her two, he had never had much trouble blocking it out anyway. The Holy Lock had done it for the most part when he was still a ghoul, but with his power restrained only by the rosary around his neck he was left to deal with the full effects of what had become his nature.
He was a vampire, and he wasn't about to let a fantastical reject such as what was barreling down its fist at him defeat him, not when he had so many more challenges he needed to face, every one more difficult than this. Ready now, his keen eyesight was focused, the surrounding darkness nothing to his vampiric eyes. If he had been unencumbered by the rosary he would have been able to see even better, all of his senses would have been better for that matter. He would make do, he had to.
The hulking behemoth of eyes and muscle was no match for his preternatural reflexes. He was already moving by the time he had the trajectory of the incoming movements in mind. While faster than a human, the giant's body betrayed everything in its motions, leaving Tsukune's trained mind ample time to plot a course of action. He was faster than it; he could see it moving as if in slow motion. Pushing his momentum, he dove under the approaching fist, rolling up into a launch position with both feet set and springing his entire weight and speed into the monster a good three feet taller than him. The hyakume—though nearly three times as wide as him as well—was no match for the combination and was sent tumbling to the ground with the sealed vampire on top. The squelch of eye tissue giving way with the muscle of its chest as he crashed into it turned his stomach, and he suspected had the beast had a mouth it would have cried out in pain. It made its discomfort plenty obvious in other ways, flailing its limbs manically in an effort to remove the source of its hurt and displaying more than a pinch of the hysterical rage the pain had brought on. Tsukune was sent flying when one arm finally connected, smashing him violently against one of the trees behind him and garnering a hoarse cough as he heard a restrained growl from off to the side. She stayed back however, just as he had requested.
Thank you, Rei-chan, he thought seriously as he wiped the spittle from his mouth. With a growl of his own he threw himself back into the fray, agilely dodging every one of the mammoth blows sent his way and returning them with force. More eyes swelled closed under his assault, collateral damage to the true target areas of the body they wouldn't have been at on most any other monster. The hyakume's muscles bulged and trembled in rage with every new hit, more than adequately expressing its fury and pain at the same time despite its lack of a mouth. Tsukune was winning just on the fact that the creature had so many more weak spots than he did, but he wouldn't want the thing to get a grip on him any time soon. If that were to happen he would be nothing but ground beef. Unsealed he would be able to break every one of the fiend's fingers with a pass of his hand, sealed he was a casserole waiting to happen.
It was a good thing he wasn't as restrained as Moka when it came to their abilities. Moving past another hasty attack, he bounced back in an effort to make distance. He was strong sealed, but not strong enough to make such a giant feel the effect unless it was in an already weakened zone. There were plenty of those available but it was becoming harder and harder to stay within range with the creature as infuriated as it already was. It didn't need to be accurate—though its remaining eyes kept it amazingly adept at that—it just needed to hit him, and its wild, swinging strikes that never let up for a second greatly increased the chances of that.
Sweat was pouring from his body now, his shirt nothing but a hindrance to his range of motion, so, sensing an opportunity, Tsukune shucked the wet cloth. Ducking under another punch set to decapitate him, he threw the discarded garment at his foe, temporarily distracting the focus of all those eyes. When one of its hands moved to defend and slap away the shirt, Tsukune was able to gain the speed he needed, jumping into a full drop-kick right to what resembled a torso. On any other thing that would have resulted in a bout of coughing and retching, for the hyakume not a sound was made but for Tsukune's heavy breathing and the impact of its giant body falling to the ground.
The former human picked himself up while dusting off the various dirt and foliage that clung to his damp skin, smirking victoriously. From his familiar's hackles-raised presentation the second the creature was in sight, he had expected something a bit…more.
"Tsukki!"
That warning was all he had the time to hear before a huge hand enclosed on his arm. Adrenaline burst through him, aided by panic as he tried to pull free, but the grip squeezed and left him with nothing to do but grit his teeth and try to stem the scream as he felt the bones in his forearm snap. The rage came back, stronger than ever, infuriated over this new complication, and it rose to heights higher than even that when he suddenly began to feel…weaker. The vaguely humanoid monster was returning to its feet, steadier than it should have been, and Tsukune himself felt one with the rage when he realized what was happening, what the hyakume was capable of.
It's…it's draining my strength!
As he was, he let that rage fill him, grant him the extra power he needed. If his opponent was nothing but a predator focused on his destruction, he would fight fire with fire. A snarl worthy of a vampire broke from between lips baring fully extended fangs, and the entire area was abruptly covered in frost as the moisture in the air reacted and solidified. Spines of ice shot from the ground and stabbed into the offending appendage holding him in place, instantly freeing him, and Tsukune whirled himself around, training his good arm with deadly accuracy at his foe's gut. Caught between the reactions of guarding its newly-acquired wounds and defending itself, it gave no resistance in time for the blow. The echo of the collision exploded through the silent forest, rustling animals from their slumber and sending birds screeching into the air.
Far from done but still handicapped, the sealed vampire put the kicking techniques his silver-haired lover had taught him to good use, slamming blow after blow into the eyes he could see, intent on delivering as much pain as he could. He was a being possessed, but with full awareness of everything he was doing. He wanted to do it. The monster could only fall back under his assault and try desperately to protect itself, doing so with attacks of its own that were easily hampered and then aborted completely by rods of ice forming without warning in their path. A lucky break caught by the creature found Tsukune once again in its hold, this time encompassed totally in its large hand, and he coughed blood when the creature squeezed, taking more of his energy and leaving him in more pain than he had been before while it was able to recover.
That rage condensed, forged itself into something Tsukune was unfamiliar with. Hatred. Still coughing blood, weak, and riddled by pain, he stared down the many eyes looking back at him with an unbreakable, unrelenting determination. "This power isn't originally mine," he began lowly, his words spat with malice, "but I made it mine. I promised I would use it to protect the ones I love, my humanity be damned to the lowest level of hell. It's mine to give away, my blood to my mate, my energy to another, and anyone else I see fit. If I could share it with all of them I would, they have that right. I will not allow you to take what isn't yours. It was given to me; one of the most precious gifts I've ever been offered. It—is—not—yours."
All the pain he had ever gone through, every slice of morphed limb into his flesh, blunt fists, hard feet, bullets, fangs, and even the abyssal torment of Moka's initial rejection, he focused all of that in his mind and set it loose upon the one creature with no chance in the world of escaping its penetrating enchantment. He had done it once before, knew he was capable of it again. At the shopping arcade he had glared at the monster and shown him what he would do to him had he touched Kurumu again, and he had fainted instantly because of it. The hyakume had no mouth with which to sound its pain, but the expression in every one of its eyes did more than that ever could. Blood fell like tears as the eyes fluttered and convulsed erratically, its muscles following suit, before ultimately it collapsed to the ground in a heap, motionless.
Tsukune breathed a sigh of relief and spit another globule of blood from his mouth. "I didn't kill you. I know you're only doing what you know you need to to survive, so I would never hold it against you. You did pick the wrong prey this time though…and I'm going to take back what you stole."
Baring his fangs, he did just that, replenishing his supply and sating his thirst in unison. The beast was large enough that it would still be strong enough to recover, but it wouldn't have the taste of his energy. The blood did little to quell the pain burning from his broken arm but at least it would aid in the healing. He had effectively screwed any chance of physical confrontation for the next few days with that injury, and his ribs protested every breath he took. He would have fallen over had he not known how much that would hurt his aching body, so he slumped against a tree, smiling when he saw Rei walk into his vision, restrained tears in her eyes.
"You are a fool. A magnificent, impressive fool, but a fool nonetheless," she stated factually, and he barked a laugh as his smile grew.
"You aren't the first one to say that," he replied with a grunt as he pushed himself into a more comfortable position with his good arm, its broken counterpart resting gingerly on his stomach. His familiar eyed the injuries he had incurred with distaste, though at whom he wasn't sure. If she was anything like him, which he knew she was, she probably hated herself more than anything for letting him get the wounds than she did him for getting them. Determined to bite that before it became an obstacle to their relationship, he spoke before she could. "I knew the risks, Rei-chan. I needed to do that without you."
"But why?" she questioned immediately, sorrow full in her steel irises, beautifully reflecting any light they captured.
He sighed softly and motioned for her to sit next to him. She did so heedless to the frost-covered surroundings and her sparse apparel, where she leaned against him comfortingly. "I was trying to fool myself, Rei-chan." Her eyebrows rose up in confusion, but he simply smiled his carefree smile at her and looked up to the cloudy night sky. "I said I didn't know much about being a vampire, the truth is I was just scared to face that part of myself again. When I became a ghoul the thirst for flesh and blood terrified me. The thought that there was something in me…the thought that I…wanted to drink Moka's blood, it honestly scared me. When I fought I had power, but with that power came this…this desire to end everything. I said I didn't understand my vampire nature, but really I probably understand it more than Moka does.
"If vampires are naturally violent, a ghoul is all their madness, their hate, and their basic urges for blood and…death…" It was whispered, so quiet she almost didn't hear it, but she understood what it meant, "…given a body. I still don't remember half the things I did when I was completely taken over, but as I grew into the Lock I began to realize those…desires…had become mine. It was my blood, and I started to know that giving in without control meant I would do those things, even if I was able to aim it. I had a choice to make every time I used my blood, to drown out the evil and protect life instead of destroying it. At the beginning, and even at the start of Second Year here, the Holy Lock did most of it, but that meant when I changed I didn't care, and usually ended up taken over by my instincts.
"When I truly made the blood mine was when I realized I had to stay who I am, no matter what my new blood made me feel. When I became a vampire, I had gotten so used to suppressing those urges I really did just about not know what to do. I let it happen once, just once after I transformed, and I almost killed Mizore because of it. When Kurumu snapped me out of it and I saw her on the ground—God, she was so pale—I was still just floored by how much stronger my senses were, and each one was focused on her. I heard every weak beat of her heart, the short, uneven breaths she took; I could see almost every one of her veins against her skin I had taken so much of her blood. When I heard about some of the stuff I had done as a ghoul, most of them were still to the people who had tried to hurt us. When I saw what I had done just because I couldn't control myself and she was the nearest available source…I wanted to throw up. I almost killed one of my best friends, someone I loved, because of my damned instincts."
Rei swallowed heavily, a lump of emotion thick in her throat as she watched the glitter of tears shine from the side of his face in the light of the moons breaking through the clouds. He swiped at his eyes and nose as his expression hardened, his teeth grit and jaw locked.
"When I was fighting that vampire that came for Moka, I had every intention of killing him. I had never been so angry in my life, not even when Moka almost killed me. I was outclassed in nearly every way and fighting for my life, but now I'm glad my rosary didn't come off. If it had come off and I was allowed to do what I wanted to to him, I think I might have given Moka's beating a run for its money, and that's only if I didn't actually kill him straight out. The thought that I'm capable of that scares me, but it's that instinct that's kept me alive at the same time. I came here because I needed something the girls couldn't give me: another life-or-death scenario.
"I needed to know I could make that choice again, Rei-chan. I have the same bloodlust every other vampire has, and if it'll help me, I'm going to use it. I will not lose myself to it, and I will never endanger my family again. My choice has been made; I just needed to be sure I could stick to it."
She smiled, pride radiating from her being. "'Twould seem my objectives were misplaced. You are a harder taskmaster than I could ever fathom or hope to be. If ever again you wonder why a dragon would choose to partner itself with you, remember those words. I for one shall never forget them. A true hunter will kill to survive, never because he can."
He returned the gesture gratefully, though it was tainted with a glint of sadness she easily picked up on. "There's only one thing in this world that could make me kill, and I hope and pray every day that it never happens."
"Just one reason?" she asked with a raised brow.
"No, one thing," he responded tenderly, gracing her with that amazing smile of his again as he squeezed her hand. "Six reasons."
Clarity dawned, and dark cheeks brightened under the moonlight. "I…am considered one of your treasures?"
He nodded. "Since the moment you came into my life. If anything happened to Moka, Kurumu, Mizore, Yukari, Ruby, or you, I would turn heaven and earth to make the person who did it pay. I'm getting stronger so I won't ever have to do that."
Looking around the scene of destruction, her grin widened. "I believe you are well on your way to accomplishing that. You did disobey my restriction, yet with what you have achieved I find myself hard-pressed to discipline you." Biting into her wrist with her sharp teeth, she held the wound under his nose before it began closing. "My regeneration capabilities are far from yours, but as you know with your powers this will do much to aid it. Drink; it pains me to see your arm in such a state."
"I can guarantee it pains me more," he joked back. She would have hit him if she wasn't trying to heal the injuries he already had, not make more. He smirked under her glare and acquiesced, not about to anger her further. When he was done he did feel much better but he wasn't going to push his luck; the next day at the very least was going to be used doing the homework assigned over summer.
"I believe tonight has proven a success. We should return."
He agreed wholeheartedly.
V^^^V
The next two weeks passed by in a haze of barely cognizant shifts of night and day. He had no set schedule, and thus never knew whether he would be too awake to sleep when he knew he should, or too tired to be awake when he would have to regularly. His regimen was also never the same, well, all but the sparring and flying he and Rei did together to familiarize themselves with their partner. One day he was playing 'tag' with the kamaitachi, the next he was forced to make illusionary trees subdue his next meal without him once physically touching the animal. Rei's mind and imagination were something he was quickly learning to be afraid—very afraid—of.
His arm healed in only a couple of days with Rei's steady offering of her blood, which gave him more than enough time to breeze through most of the worksheets he had to do. It was almost disconcerting how easily some of his classes had started coming to him after his transformation. Were vampires really that smart when they were born? He suddenly felt bad for the humans he had once been a part of.
As for Rei, her budding love of puzzles and the written word made her the perfect study companion—when she wasn't trying to beat the ever-loving crap out of him anyway. She picked up on things he had struggled with his whole life in the matter of minutes, at most hours if they were both truly stumped on the subject. Combine growing intelligence with her naturally wise demeanor and she was starting to seem older than him, though that was the farthest thing from the truth. Speaking of older, her body was changing as well, faster than he could have ever expected. When he woke up one night—or was that morning?—and Rei had suddenly gained a couple of inches on him, he was almost too shocked to speak. She looked easily older than Yukari, and the worst part of it was her body was actually developing likewise! It was nothing substantial; suffice it to say the shirt she regularly wore as a robe was losing ground. He had given her a spare pair of his boxers just in case. They fought often, and he didn't want to get a flash of something he shouldn't see when she pulled off one of her Moka-like kicks.
On the subject of clothes, he had simply forgone wearing shirts after most of what he had brought was shredded in his constant fights. His pants and shorts now all sported ragged edges from his many runs through the dense forest, and his shoes had suffered a rather unfortunate fate that left him to go barefoot. He couldn't complain actually, his feet were toughening under the strain, not counting a vampire's natural resistances. The fact that the hyakume was even able to break one of his bones showed its power. That, and how weak the rosary made him.
Staying clean however, that was another story altogether.
V^^^V
Four days in and Tsukune was really starting to get annoyed at the itch of his skin. Even raised in modern times, naturally any boy had gone without cleaning themselves for a while at a time. He on the other hand was used to being around many females on a regular basis, and his cleanliness routine had always been a bit more regular than others. It was really starting to bug him that he couldn't wash himself, or even try to get half the crud on his clothes off of them!
He had finally had enough; he couldn't take it anymore! He looked over his shoulder to where his familiar was raptly reading his book from behind him, and in her full dragon form, it was quite a sight to see. "Rei-chan, do you know of any small bodies of water nearby? A small lake or something maybe? It needs to be able to hold my herbal tablets without being washed away by a current."
The wind came to life around him as her scaled mouth pursed thoughtfully. 'You wish to bathe then? Hmm, this was one matter not considered at length when your stay here was decided. You have the proper devices to ensure your safety?'
"Yeah, I didn't want to come here without any of them. Just because I drink blood doesn't mean I don't know how much I use water regularly," he responded with a grin, and her earthquake-like chuckle rumbled the area.
'Sadly, I know not of any isolated pools that would fit your needs. As you have stated, the herbal additive would merely be diluted through the mass. Your tablets would be used for naught.'
"Great, just freaking great." Eyeing the large expanse of her cave, large even by Youkai Academy's style of grandeur, and the hard granite floor, a smile stretched over his face.
'That expression perturbs me,' Rei joked uneasily. 'What is going through that mind of yours?'
"Have you ever thought about adding a pool?"
Realizing what he was getting at, her eyes widened. Normally the extra space in a dragon's cave was meant to hold the riches they acquire over their long lifespan, but then again she wasn't exactly the most normal dragon there had ever been. Besides, she could think of much worse things to do than go swimming with her partner. It would be a nice change. 'Where do you propose we acquire the water necessary for such a thing? Surely you are speaking of a larger basin and not merely a bath.'
He just kept smiling at her. "You leave the water up to me. Digging a pool in a floor of solid rock is more what I'm worried about."
'A test of control then. 'Tis about time I focused you on the mastery the icy maiden preferred to teach than the brute force required for incapacitation. 'Twill serve you well in the…how you say…long run.'
Tsukune almost groaned. Leave it to her to think up another challenge for him off the top of her head. "What do you have in mind?"
'Listen to the mountain, Tsukki, 'tis not as solid as it appears. Fissures ran rampant in parts; small, but there all the same. Find the space with what you need and command your ice to do the rest. Not all destruction need be done from the outside in.'
Again he was floored by how much she knew. His sense of nature had expanded greatly with the continued intake of her blood, so when he let that awareness envelope him he saw the mountain through a new set of eyes. He ran his hand along the wall as he walked, feeling his sense expand beyond himself and into the makeup of the rock around him. It would be best to make the hole away from where they usually slept and exercised, so that gave him specific areas he had to choose from, and not all of them fit the bill. He stopped short when he felt what he was looking for, amazed that he could do it as easily as Rei suggested. If he simply let himself listen, it was astounding what he could hear.
Kneeling down and putting his hands on the floor, combining his two senses proved more difficult. He needed to feel every crack and expand his ice into them, aggravate an already destabilized area. It would hold, no doubt about that, but he didn't want it to. Pushing his ability down, the floor frosted over as the water inside started freezing and pushing outwards. The ground trembled as he forced the ice to grow and restrict it to a certain space simultaneously, and ultimately it buckled and shattered, leaving nothing but large chunks of stone in an otherwise large hole.
Flopping to his butt, Tsukune panted and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I can't believe I just did that."
'You did very well. The snow priestess would be pleased,' Rei complimented instead as she looked over his handiwork. With a few swipes of her giant paws the stone was cleared, and a jagged, uneven floor came into view.
The former human looked over the large opening's base and winced. "Ouch, that looks like it could hurt."
Rei grunted in amusement. 'We are not yet finished. The stone needs to be sealed, does it not? I shall take care of both. I would recommend you stand back.'
It only took her intake of air to know what she was about to do. Jumping back as fast as he could, he watched as his familiar's magical fire poured into the slightly deformed hole, stopping only to take the occasional breath and turning the innards to malleable magma and the surrounding stone red hot. When she was satisfied, she straightened smugly. 'There, 'tis done.'
Since he couldn't get close enough to see otherwise the hot stone would make short work of his skin, he decided to voice his opinions from afar. "Can you get it slanted up a bit to one side so it's shallower than the other? We'll make it like a real pool!"
Shrugging, he could feel the dragon's influence in the atmosphere around him as she directed the rock. She made dominance over nature look simple. ''Tis finished, Tsukki. All that remains is for you to cool down the rock.'
Knowing instantly freezing it could result in many more cracks, he sent an extended burst of snowy air in front of him. He could practically hear it harden in place, and when he was able to look over the new pool they had made, he whistled. "We should go into the landscaping business."
The silvery dragon chortled beside him.
The water was easy enough to get. He just froze the entire inside of the space and let his partner melt it, which also took care of the heating problem. With a drop of the required tablets, he could hardly contain himself. Running up with untold glee, he jumped with a cry of, "Cannonball!"
He had never known how much he missed swimming until he hit the overgrown bathtub, pants and all. Splashing around happily, he knew he had found the perfect way to relax after a long day. Hell, if he had Rei turn up the heat they could turn the entire thing into a hot tub instead of a pool!
"Rei-chan, you have to try this!"
The dark shadow that cast over him made him pale as he saw the large reptilian form jump above, and he scrambled for safety as she too cried, 'Cannonball!'
A small splash greeted him on her entrance, and he looked back cautiously just in case she had accidentally killed him and he was in the afterlife already. A dark-skinned girl looked back at him, her white hair pasted to her head and her gray eyes gleaming with delight as she laughed. "You should have seen the look on your face! Priceless, truly priceless!"
He had to wonder where she got her sense of humor.
He didn't need to wonder what she was wearing, because he quickly ran out to get her something. The water had obscured her image, but only because her skin tone blended in so well with the surrounding stone.
That would be just wrong, at least for now.
V^^^V
Tsukune chuckled as he thought of the memory, coincidentally floating around in the pool they had made that day. His body hurt something fierce and this was the best way to ease the pain. Rei was paddling around as carefree as ever in her makeshift swimsuit, which consisted of the pair of boxers she had been given and a darker shirt, though she looked significantly different than she had back then.
"I wonder what the girls are up to right now?" he speculated aloud.
Rei looked over at the mouth of the cave, where the darkness of night blanketed the realm beyond. The effect the water had on the roof of her home as it glittered and waved in the meager light the torches they had made provided them with was beautiful, and she resumed following the unknowable patterns with her eyes. "'Tis night, so I would assume they sleep."
He laughed again. "Yeah. Just because it's night doesn't mean we're asleep though, huh? I'm going to be so screwed up when school starts again."
"But you will be stronger," his familiar insisted proudly, and he clenched his fist above his head tightly.
"You're right about that."
V^^^V
Far away in another realm, a lithe figure set down in front of an imposing door with wings that vanished upon landing. A staff set with a stone was waved in front of the door and it glimmered before cracking open.
Ruby Toujou smiled as she stepped into Paradise.
She did have something to give her Tsukune, and she would not be denied.
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