Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rosario Vampire. I am merely twisting the creators vision into my own dream. If the supernatural, sexuality, or violence is offensive to you, then you should not read this.

Chapter 34

As the students emptied out of their classes for the day the school was filled with happy voices and good humor. Winter break had just begun and, with a few exceptions, everybody was looking forward to a break from assignments and studying. Tsukune sat at his desk for a few minutes to let the crush of bodies in the halls thin out. While he would have liked to go home for the break, he understood why the school was so restrictive about it. Fortunately, because of his poor academic record in the past, his parents believed him about why he wasn't visiting.

He was lucky to get into any high school. By building on the idea that the academy was mostly hard luck and troubled students, Tsukune had made his parents believe that seasonal breaks were filled with supplementary lessons, and things like school trips were for the truly exceptional students. What he didn't dare tell them was that during breaks it was not unheard of for families to visit. Or that if he talked his club advisor into it he could make a visit home a part of a club trip to the human world, all that would take would be an offer from Tsukune's mother for a fish dinner.

Tsukune already had an idea how he would be spending his winter break. He had scheduled training with Inner Moka and had promised both Mokas some quieter dates as well. While classes were out, Tsukune knew he had enough extra curricular duties to keep him from getting bored. Still, it would have been nice to take some time off from everything and go home for a visit.

Kurumu waited for Tsukune to gather himself together. She felt like escaping the school as quickly as possible, but wanted to walk with Tsukune more. She understood what he was waiting for, and didn't mind. The crowded halls could be frustrating, and she had been groped among the throng before. Still, she wished Tsukune would hurry a little. Crowded halls made a good excuse to hold his hand to avoid being separated.

Tsukune gave a sigh as he stood up from his desk. He had a shift at the student Police headquarters in two hours. He collected his book bag and smiled at his friends as they all started for the door.

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It was the kind of thoughtless moments teachers and parents area always trying to warn children to avoid. A moment where a bad idea is allowed to be put into action without a thought for the possible consequences. A pair of second year boys, formerly class mates of Kurumu, caught sight of their idol as she once again offered up her ample breasts to Tsukune, the luckiest boy in school. There was a moment of irrational jealousy, a soccer ball in hand, and an urge. The ball was dropped and a foot lashed out and connected with it. Badly aimed, the ball was launched forward.

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It was the briefest flash of killing intent that alerted Tsukune. A sudden itch between his shoulders that made him pause at the top of the stairs and turn his head. The black and white orb rushing forward almost didn't register in his mind as it sailed towards the back of Yukari's head.

Tsukune had only a heartbeat to react. He overbalanced himself to give the little witch a push. Yukari saw Tsukune reach out towards her and felt his hand push against her chest. She wanted to cheer and shout in surprise at the same time, but found herself tilting backwards to her right from the force of the contact. A soccer ball sped through the space that Yukari's head had occupied only a moment before.

Moka saw Tsukune pause then turn awkwardly and shove Yukari. The little witch fell back into Moka as a ball flew by. Moka caught her young friend out of reflex, but her eyes were on Tsukune.

Mizore and Kurumu were just a step too far away to do anything but watch. Tsukune shoved Yukari out of the way of a flying object that would have likely knocked her down the stairs, but at a cost to himself. He started to fall backwards. For an instant he leaned hard against the railing and started to slide sideways, but then his feet lost traction and he overbalanced. All four girls screamed in horror and fear as Tsukune tipped over the railing and fell to the floor eight meters below.

Tsukune's mind went blank as he felt himself start to fall. He couldn't think of any way to save himself. The world tilted upside down and wind rushed past his ears. He was dimly aware of a strange crunching sound as light and pain exploded through him and sent him into darkness.

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Two second year boys were admitted to the hospital annex for a dramatic list of injuries. Blunt force trauma was the least of their problems. They also suffered from massive blood loss secondary to multiple severe lacerations, and would probably have bleed to death if they had not been encased in ice. That explained the frostbite of over eighty percent of their bodies. The doctor tended to the pair with calm detachment. The nurse however, took an unprofessional amount of satisfaction from their screams as she scrubbed out their injuries. Her little sister was a first year student at Youkai Academy, and was rather found of that Aono boy.

Tsukune lay on a hospital bed with his eyes closed and his face deathly white and waxy looking. Moka, Kokoa, and Yukari sat on the bed to Tsukune's right. Mizore, Kurumu, and Ruby were to his left. Sheezu Aimi had a tray table and a chair by the door where she accepted all get-well cards and kept a record of well wishers that were not allowed to linger. Matsumoto Akira stood beside her, while a pair of Student Police stood in the hall.

There was an air of anger around everybody close to Tsukune. He had been in fights that would have been the death of many student. He had thrown himself into danger to protect his friends no mater how out-matched he had been. And now, because of a stupid act, he had been hospitalized.

The fall had been a bad one. If he had landed squarely on his head, Tsukune would have died instantly, the doctor had said. While he had split his scalp at the back of his head, making for an impressive amount of blood on the floor where he landed, it was not the head injury that had the doctors worried. Nor was it the broken bones of his right shoulder blade and upper arm. What was the most serious were the broken bones of his spine.

The force of the landing had broken Tsukune's spine in two places. The first, and the worst were the last two cervical vertebrae at the base of his neck. The second location had been in his lower back. If Tsukune lived, the doctor had said, he might have some form of permanent injury, or even paralysis.

The room was filled with emotion. Kokoa was the least effected by what had happened. She was there to support her sister; she was willing to admit. She would not admit to having a measure of respect for Tsukune, but she had found it within herself anyway. Ruby, Mizore, Moka, and Kurumu all had levels of anxiousness, fear, and anger running through them. It was Yukari that was in the worst emotional shape. Tsukune was laying on a bed, nearly lifeless, because he had saved her. Like the others, she was caught up in her own feelings, but while she blamed herself, she was also afraid that the others would blame her as well.

Ruby and Moka shared worried looks with each other. The both shared deeper connections with Tsukune then the others. Fear gripped their hearts, not because they thought Tsukune might die, but because they were worried what would happen when he regained consciousness. That night in Ruby's room had been terrifying for both of them. Usually when Tukune was badly injured it had been during a fight. He would have a target for his aggression when his youki flared, a reason to focus. Without that, there was no telling what might happen if he woke up in pain. With head injuries doctors refused to give strong pain medications.

Moka was fearful of what might happen when Tsukune woke up. He could be his normal self, or the ghoul could be the driving force. As she looked on, feeling helpless and fighting to hold back her tears, Moka knew she was not alone in her concern. Inner Moka had no reason to hold back. Her emotions were unrestricted in her anger and fear. She wanted to go back and kill the fools that had done this to her Tsukune. She wanted to throw herself upon Tsukune's silent form and cry against his chest. Even if she had been unsealed, there was nothing she cold do, and that feeling of powerlessness was the worst part of watching Tsukune laying on the bed.

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The Board Chairman sat in his office with the report about Tsukune's health on his desk. The man knew that the boy should recover from his injuries, but he was worried about his youkai nature. Tsukune had never, to the best of the Board Chairman's knowledge, actively fed his supernatural side. While his human and youkai aspects were coming together nicely, there is always the possibility that the balance could be lost because of this accident. The thought troubled the man. Tsukune had performed far better then any of the other experiments the Dark Lords had gambled on, and they had high hopes for him. So many things depended upon Tsukune's success at the academy that years of work would be lost if the boy didn't recover whole and hale.

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Tsukune felt miserable. He had awoken in the dimly lit hospital room feeling sore and confined. I kindly nurse was tending to him in a way that would have been humiliating if she had not been so professional.

"Shhhhh," The nurse said in the barest of whispers. "Your friends are sleeping."

Tsukune tried to look for his friends but couldn't move his head.

"Do not try to move," The nurse warned, talking as she worked. "You were badly hurt and you have to take the time to heal."

Tsukune tried to nod, but even that motion was nearly impossible for him.

"Try to rest," The nurse said as she replaced the bedding. She left Tsukune's field of vision.

Tsukune heard the nurse moving around the room for a few moments before she left. Tsukune lay in bed, looking up at the ceiling, feeling pain in his back, shoulders, and neck. He tried to remember what had happened, but all he could remember was a flash of a soccer ball, Yukari's confused face, and the world spinning. Tsukune closed his eyes.

He was in pain and he could not move his body. Tsukune felt trapped and did not like it. He couldn't get out of bed, but he figured there was one way he could escape. He took a deep breath and then blew it out slowly, escaping the pain by retreating into his own mind. He turned his attention inward as he started to meditate.

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Moka came awake with a start. She had fallen asleep in a chair beside Tsukune's bed. She opened her eyes and looked around. Kokoa and Yukari were asleep on the bed. On the other side of Tsukune, Ruby, Kurumu, and Mizore were asleep in a pile. Moka looked towards Tsukune. Almost at once she understood what had awakened her.

Tsukune was still in the same position in the bed as she had last seen him. He was breathing slow and even, and his face as lined with pain, but his color was better. She leaned in close to confirm her suspicion. She felt it, Tsukune's youki was stirring within him.

xxxxxxxxxx.

Tsukune had reached a new level of awareness of himself. He was somewhere between conscious meditation and dreaming sleep. He floated in a dusky void of washed out colors and vague shapes, but he was not alone. In front of him was another Tsukune. The other Tsukune was equally real, but looked unaware. His red eyes were only half open and his body was relaxed. Tsukune looked at his other self and took in the details. Lines like black, thorny vines, or lines of flames decorated the other Tsukune. The black lines radiated from the center of his chest out to his shoulders, and up the sides of his neck almost to his eyes. Silver hair adorned the other Tsukune's head, a mach for Inner Moka's own locks. Around the figure floating before Tsukune there was a smoky aura.

Tsukune instantly understood that he was seeing the other side of himself. It was the side of himself that granted him his superhuman strength and power. It was the same power that could heal Tsukune's body and he wanted it. He reached out to touch his other self. As he made contact the smoky aura rushed to surround Tsukune, making him feel a burning cold all around him. The other Tsukune opened its red, slit pupil eyes. The two Tsukune looked each other in the eyes and an understanding passed between them.

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Moka waited anxiously as Tsukune's youki flowed and ebbed. He was nearly motionless, only breathing slowly and deeply. She could feel his energy in him, and hoped that it was healing him and not doing anything that would hurt him in any way. Moka wasn't aware of the hour, she only knew it was late because it was dark outside. When Tsukune's youki finally settled down, become only a whisper within him, the sky outside was starting to brighten.

Once, just before his Youki ebbed, Tsukune eyes opened and Moka's breath caught in her throat. His face was calm, his usual open self, but his eyes were bright, blood red. Tsukune turned his head the small fraction allowed by his neck brace to look at Moka. He gave her a warm smile before relaxing and closing his eyes with a tired sigh.

Relief washed over Moka, making her feel exhausted. Before she knew it, tears were flowing down her cheeks. Tsukune would live. He would live and he would be alright.

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When Tsukune next woke up the room was bright and his body felt stiff, but was pain free. He was aware of hushed voices talking around him but nobody was in his field of view.

"Excuse me," Tsukune tried to say. His throat was so dry that it came out as a croak.

Everybody in the room reacted to the sound. Tsukune felt the bed shake as six female faces crowded into his view. They were all smiling, at the same time there eyes were shining with unshed tears.

"Tsukune…" Kurumu dove at Tsukune with a happy cry.

She was restrained in mid air by Moka, Ruby, and Mizore. Kurumu protested being kept from Tsukune, but the others didn't listen to her, they just pushed her back and she landed on the floor by the foot of Tsukune's bed.

"Tsukune," Moka asked. "How are you feeling?"

"Thursty," Tsukune managed to say.

There was a brief scramble for a cup of water, which was almost spilled all over Tsukune. Yukari hurried off to find the doctor. Kokoa sat back with a shrug and tried not to let her emotions show. Moka held the cup and straw while Mizore held a pitcher that grew frost in her hands, ready to refill the cup.

Tsukune greedily drank three cups full of water before giving a contented sigh. Moka watched his chocolate-brown eyes for any sign of pain as she held the cup for him. When he finished drinking, he gave her a small nod and a smile.

"Thank you," Tsukune said softly to Moka first. "Thank you," He said more firmly to his friends in general. He tried to reach for the brace around his neck, only to have his friends restrain his arms.

"Well, well, well," The doctor said as he entered the room. "Please forgive the intrusion." He moved to the bedside with a nurse following him. "How are you feeling today, Mr Aono?"

"I'm alright doctor," Tsukune said. "Thank you for your care."

"It's no problem. Do you hurt anywhere?" The doctor started asking questions while he checked Tsukune's neurological functions.

Tsukune answered questions clearly. He wiggled his toes on command and touched his nose with his fingertips. He was nearly ecstatic when the doctor let him sit up and remove the neck brace.

"We'll keep you here for a few days of observation," The doctor declared when his examination was completed. "But I think you are going to be perfectly fine."

"But?" Tsukune wanted to protest.

"You can go to the toilet," The doctor said firmly. "But except for that, you are to stay in bed and rest."

"We'll make sure of it," Moka said with determination.

The doctor saw the stubborn light in her eyes, and saw that the other girls were in agreement.

"I will leave him to you then," The doctor said as he turned to leave. He hoped the boy would survive his volunteer nurses' care.