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 43

"Moka..." Mizore said in gasp.

Even at a distance, the Snow Maiden could clearly read the Vampire's body language. With the seal in place and pink hair flowing in the gentle morning breeze, Moka appeared stern and threatening. Mizore swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. She closed her door behind her then walked to meet Moka on the street.

"Good morning, Moka," Mizore said politly. "I hope that you slept well."

"So how was it?" Moka asked in a cold voice.

"What?" Mizore questioned. Off balance all morning, Moka was making her feel lost.

"Tsukune told me," Moka said. "He keeps nothing from me."

"Moka... What..."

"You kissed him," Moka glared. "You lured him into your room after he had drained himself helping to put out that fire, and then you kissed him."

"I..." Mizore's eyes went wide and she touched her fingers to her lips. "I..." her voice was hardly more then a whisper. "I thought that it was just a dream..."

Mizore suddenly felt sick to her stomach. Had she really kissed Tsukune? She remembered dreaming of kissing him. She had dreamed of it for more then a year. Had she been so tired that she had confused the real thing with just another dream? Mizore felt her heart clench. Had she possibly kissed her most precious person and not remembered it?

"I don't remember," Mizore whispered with tears in her eyes.

Moka saw how Mizore was acting and heard her shaken voice and felt her stomach sink. She had been ready to face her rival for Tsukune and make sure that the snow maiden would know her place, but the morning had taken an unexpected turn. Moka no longer saw her rival in front of her. The Mizore she faced was her friend, and she felt nothing but sympathy for the other girl.

It was easy for Moka to feel sympathy for her friend. Moka felt a thrill every time she kissed her Tsukune. The idea of not being able to remember kissing Tsukune horrified Moka. She saw her friend sinking into a panic and looked around for a way to help her. Any minute now Tsukune would come and see Moka standing in front of a shaken and tormented Mizore. Moka had to do something before Tsukune...

"Tsukune..." Moka gasped, her face brightening with inspiration.

Mizore heard Moka say Tsukune's name and felt her knees go weak. She wanted to disappear.

"Come on," Moka grabbed Mizore's sleeve and pulled her along. "Hurry."

Mizore was confused. She kept her eyes down as she tried to figure out what she could do; what she should do. She stumbled along where Moka pulled her. She heard someone pounding on a door. Mizore's emotions were getting the better of her. She covered her face with her hands. She just wanted to melt into the ground.

"What happened?" Tsukune's voice made Mizore tremble. Someone pushed her forward and she stumbled until somebody supported her. She was crying freely now.

"Moka?" Tsukune questioned. He had been happy to see Moka when he answered his door, but Tsukune had quickly been confused by what he saw. Mizore was upset and looked on the edge of panic. Before he could find out what had happened, he had found the shaken and trembling snow maiden depending on him for support. Now he looked over the head of the young woman in his arms at the concerned face of the one he love.

"She needs you," Moka managed to say in a low voice.

Tsukune could not understand what Moka was saying. He could tell she was upset as well, if not as badly as Mizore. He needed to talk to Moka, get her to explain what was going on. He looked about and saw Ruby watching from the hall.

"Ruby," Tsukune called to her. "Help me." When the witch approached, Tsukune gently passed Mizore into her care. As soon as his hands were free, he reached for Moka.

"Come with me," Tsukune drew Moka with him as he went into the kitchen. "Please tell me what is going on," Tsukune pleaded.

Moka explained what had happened. Tsukune felt like the but of a joke of some kind. The woman he loved, who love him in return, was upset because the friend that kissed him could not remember doing it. It made no sense to him. Tsukune knew Moka was unhappy about Mizore kissing him, but had accepted it when he had told her about it. He would have thought that Moka would have been happier at the idea of Mizore not remembering it.

After talking with Moka, Tsukune understood that Mizore needed to be comforted. He did not understand Moka's view of the situation, but decided that understanding could wait. His friend needed him now. He returned to the front room and found Ruby still holding on to a crying Mizore.

"Master?" Ruby questioned softly.

Tsukune tried to think through the situation carefully. Mizore was upset. Moka was upset because Mizore was upset. Mizore was upset because she was too tired from putting out the fire to remember kissing Tsukune. Something started to click in to place in his mind.

Tsukune had asked Mizore to help with the fire. Mizore had given her help to the point of exhausting herself. Ruby had explained it to Tsukune that rewarding someone for their efforts was a good and sometimes important thing to do. Tsukune also remembered how lonely, even desperate Mizore had been in the past for affection and acceptance.

"Mizore," Tsukune said in as confident and warm voice as he could manage. He crossed the room to where Mizore stood and gently put his hands on her shoulder. "I want to thank you for your help last night."

Mizore looked up at Tsukune as he turned her to face him. As she did she felt some of the fear leave her. She remembered how she had hurt her relationship with Tsukune before by pressuring him too much, and had been afraid that the kiss she couldn't remember might have done the same. The fact that Tsukune was talking to her helped, but his tone was almost formal, which was worring.

"Tsukune, I..." Mizore tried to speak.

"Shhhh," Tsukune interrupted her. "Let me finish. I just wanted to tell you that I am very glad that you were able to help with the fire, and that you are all right. I was worried you might have over over worked yourself."

"I am all right," Mizore said softly.

"I'm glad to hear it," Tsukune gave her a warm smile.

Mizore looked up into Tsukune's face and saw his smile. She blushed a little and felt her heart flutter. Right then, Tsukune was the whole world to her.

"Tsukune..."

"Mizore..."

"Tsukune..."

"Mizore," Tsukune lowered his face to hers. "Let me thank you for helping me last night."

It was a gentle kiss. Tsukune lightly brushed his lips against Mizore's. There was none of the passion that he shared with Moka. It was not like a kiss he shared with Ruby. It was gentle and chaste, a very simple and innocent kiss that lasted only a few seconds.

When Mizore's mind cleared she realized that she was leaning against Tsukune, breathing hard. He had kissed her. Tsukune had kissed her without any pressure, of his own free choice. The joy Mizore felt brought happy tears to her eyes. That one kiss, as pure and gentle as new fallen snow, had sent a spark through Mizore from her lips down to her toes. She felt alive, and in love with Tsukune all over again.

"We should get going," Tsukune said. He felt like he was blushing like the sun. He looked to Moka, hoping she would not hate him for what he had done, and was momentarily alarmed when he saw tears in her eyes.

"Moka?" Tsukune questioned. When she didn't answer, he looked to Ruby. The witch's eyes were also shining with tears un-shed. Then Tsukune noticed the small smiles. He looked down at Mizore and saw her on the edge of crying even as she smiled happily. Tsukune was confused.

Tsukune carefully let go of Mizore and stepped away from her, while watching all of the girls in the room. It was, Tsukune decided, very creepy. The strange moment only lasted a few seconds.

"That was so sweet," Ruby sniffed.

Ruby's voice broke what ever spell that had gripped the other girls. Moka suddenly rushed to embrace Mizore while making a happy cheer. Mizore hugged Moka in return. Both young women looked caught between laughing and crying. Tsukune, in a moment of clear brilliance, left the room He decided to let the girls have their space while he finished getting ready for school.

XXXXXXXXXX

Yukari was confused. When she saw Tsukune coming out of his house, the little witch was ready to give him a warm hug, and had started towards him. Then Moka and Mizore followed him out. The pair immediately caught up with Tsukune and each one hugged one of his arms to her chest. Both of the older girls looked very happy as they clung to Tsukune, frequently smiling up at him, but also sharing small looks with each other.

Yukari needed to find out what was going on. A small voice in the little witch filled her with doubts. Was Mizore going to become the third member of Moka and Tsukune's relationship instead of Yukari? It was clear that something had happened with her most important people. Moka and Tsukune knew of her love for them, so they should be telling her everything, shouldn't they? Yukari hurried to meet them. She would have to find out what had happened or they could never be happy together the way she knew they were meant to be.

XXXXXX

Kurumu was feeling frustrated. She had caught up to Tsukune and the others on the way to school, pouncing on his strong back with a happy cry. With her arms and legs around Tsukune, she had her breasts pressed against him. Tsukune had flashed her a warm, genuine smile, but had not blushed. It was as if he had become immune to her feminine charms. Nether Moka or Mizore had done more then give weak protests to Kurumu's physical closeness to Tsukune. It was enough to make a girl feel self conscious, as if she wasn't really worth noticing.

The only member of the group that was showing Kurumu anything like the usual amount of attention was Yukari. The little witch was, if anything, even more touchy about the succubus being close to Tsukune. As Yukari and Kurumu traded insults, Mizore and Moka ignored them. Kurumu caught Tsukune smiling at her during an exchange comparative anatomical observation, the kind that usually made him blush.

"What is with you?" Kurumu demanded. "Why are you just smiling at me like that?"

"Because I am glad that you are just being yourself," Tsukune had said, thinking about his strange start to the day with Moka and Mizore.

Kurumu was surprised by Tsukune's words and it took her a moment to process what he had said. The others continued on into the classroom as the succubus paused to think. Tsukune was glad that she was being herself... Tsukune liked her for herself... Kurumu felt a silly grin spread across her face.

"Yoo Hoo!" Kurumu gave a cheer as she hurried to class. Tsukune had said he liked her.

XxxXXXXXXX

Tsukune decided that Monday's were going to be the same no mater what year the calender said it was. He had a strange encounter with Moka and Mizore to start off his day. Somehow he had said something to Kurumu that had the succubus practically glowing all day. With a happy Kurumu, and Mizore and Moka trading secretive smiles, Yukari was acting like she had a sour taste in her mouth all day. With his friends acting differently then was their practice, spectators had noticed. Before lunch was over Tsukune and his friends were getting strange looks.

A Newspaper Club meeting had been interrupted by Gin making a rare appearance. He announced that the next issue of the paper would do an article on modern fashion with photographs. He wanted the females of the Newspaper Club to model for him. While the idea for a fashion article was popular with the females, Gin's attempt to get them to model was doomed from the start. He left before violence could befall him.

Once back at the village, Moka invited Tsukune to her house for tea. He accepted knowing that tea was not what Moka wanted to drink. The had just sat down together in the front room of her house when the cute vampire got that look in her eyes.

"Tsukune..." Moka's eyes were wide with anticipation.

"Moka..." Tsukune smiled, glad to see her acting more like what he was used to. He started to gather his youki.

"Tsu-ku-ne..." Moka leaned in close.

"Moka..." Tsukune said softly, reaching to touch her cheek.

"Tsu-ku-ne..."

"Ow," Tsukune sighed as Moka bit him.

"Ahhh!" A short scream filled the room.

Moka and Tsukune were both startled, moving suddenly in different directions.

"Arrgh!" Tsukune gave a cry of pain as Moka's fangs tore at the side of his neck as he moved in one direction and she in another. He brought his hand up in reflex to the new pain.

"Oh!" Moka gasped in surprise from Tsukune's cry and sudden movement.

The pair were a tangle of bodies for a brief moment. Tsukune managed to turn enough to see where the first scream had come from. Standing in the doorway, looking like she had just come out of the bath, was Moka's house mate.

"Kiyo..." Tsukune said as he felt a spike of youki beside him.

"Oh my god," The half dressed serpent girl said in shock. "It is true..."

"What?" Tsukune asked. "What is it?" he noticed how the girl looked alarmed.

"She does feed on you," Kiyo said in a shocked voice. "She's... She's..."

"Of course I do," The unsealed Moka said. "I am a Vampire. Why do you find it so shocking?" She moved in close beside Tsukune as she spoke.

"But... But, I thought you were just friends," Kiyo protested.

"We are..." Tsukune started to say.

"Friends?" Moka scoffed. "Tsukune is for more then just a friend. I want far more from him then just his friendship." She leaned in towards Tsukune and licked at the blood that came from the healing wound on the side of his neck. "And Tsukune has promised to give me everything I want."

"But... But..." Kiyo tried to protest. "That's not fair to Tsukune. What about what he wants?"

"I am what Tsukune wants," Moka said in a flat voice.

Kiyo just stood, gaping at what she saw. Tsukune, the most popular boy in school did not appear bothered that he was bleeding, or that a vampire was drinking his blood. Her house mate, the popular Moka, was radiating confidence and youki in equal, abundant measure.

"Moka," Tsukune said gently. He would not defy her in front of a witness, but he wanted to protect Kiyo and Moka both from the vampire's pride and temper.

"Tsukune," Moka gave him a crooked smile. She recognized what he was trying to do, with that worried look wrinkling his forhead. "Would you do me a little favor?"

"Yes," Tsukune agreed. He knew it was better to be embarrassed himself then to have the unsealed Moka upset.

"This girl," Moka gestured to Kiyo, "Has a poster..."

"No!" Kiyo protested, suddenly looking scared and embarrassed.

"You can see it plainly from the hall when she has her door open," Moka continued.

"Please," Kiyo pleaded. "No..."

Moka turned her full attention on the young serpent woman. She stood calmly as she looked the other student in the eyes. Her smile turned hard.

"Bring the poster in here," Moka commanded. "Now."

Kiyo felt the vampire's youki pressing against her. There was no doubt in the girl's mind that the vampire could break her in half. She hurried to obey even as she felt tears coming to her eyes. She hurried to her room and carefully took down the poster of Aono Tsukune. It was a treasured belonging, and she would hate to lose it, but Kiyo did not dare defy Moka.

With a sense of dread and impending loss, Kiyo carred the poster back to the front room. When she turned the corner she saw Tsukune, on his knees in front of Moka, kissing Moka's thigh. The vampire had a satisfied smile on her lips. Hesitantly, Kiyo offered her prized poster as sacrifice to the vampire's pride.

"Tsukune," Moka almost purred. "Kiyo has something to show you."

Tsukune stood up and turned to face the other resident of the house. He saw the poster, saw his own image, and suddenly didn't feel very well. Somehow, Tsukune knew, that poster was going to haunt him.

"Tsukune," Moka said in a seductive voice. "Kiyo is a fan of yours."

"Ahhh," Tsukune was at a loss for words.

"Kiyo," Moka said to her house mate. "I understand why you like 'My Tsukune.' He is capable, and dependable."

Kiyo could only nod in agreement. She admired how strong and dependable Tsukune had show himself to be. He was also cute in his own way. The flavor of him was different from all the other boys in the school, and Kiyo could taste his scent whenever he was close. Something about Tsukune made him delicious.

"Tsukune," Moka instructed. "I want you to sign Kiyo's poster."

"What?" Kiyo and Tsukune both responded in surprise.

"But... but..." Tsukune stammered. "But why?"

"Yes," Kiyo responded. "Why?

"Don't you want him to?" Moka asked.

"I do," Kiyo said, her voice shaky.

"Tsukune, will you do what I ask?"

"Yes, Moka," Tsukune said, trying to sound calm.

"Thank you," Moka nodded.

Tsukune found a pen and signed the poster. He saw that Kiyo's eyes were shining as he added his name to the poster. Impulsively, Tsukune added the short note, 'For Kiyo,' under his signature. He carefully handed the poster back to its owner.

"Thank you very much, Aono-san," Kiyo said formally as she bowed to him. She quickly excused herself to return the poster to her bedroom wall.

"Thank you," Moka said to Tsukune.

Tsukune turned to face her and saw the crooked smile that said she was satisfied with something. Tsukune loved Moka, all of her, but that satisfied smile of her bothered him deeply sometimes. Tsukune offered her a small bow.

"I am eternally at your service, Moka," Tsukune said.

Moka watched Tsukune leave, holding the cross of her seal in her hand. She wanted to talk to Kiyo alone before replacing the seal. Thanks to Tsukune's popularity, Moka was able to put the serpent woman in her debt. It was a small thing, but it did elevate Moka over the other student just a little.

Moka knew she would have to talk to Tsukune at a later date. She had hurt him. The way he had spoken to her and stung, and as gentle as Tsukune was, he had to have been very upset to have used such a distant tone with her. But that would be for later. For now, Moka intended to use her little bit of leverage with Kiyo to make sure the girl never interrupted her time with Tsukune again. That brief taste of Tsukune's blood only left her hungry for more.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tsukune let himself fall face down on his bed Friday evening. The week had been exhausting for him. He had been forced to conduct evening patrols of the village to keep the resident students in line. While the students had a lot of freedom in the village, many didn't know how to handle it. Evening patrols had meant late night studying to keep up with his class work. If extra school related responsibilities were all he had to worry about, Tsukune would have been fine.

His time with Moka had been less then satisfying all week. She had clung tighter then usual to him, frequently while frowning at anybody else that came close. Mizore, with her usual stealth, kept surprising Tsukune. She timed her attacks for when Moka was not at his side, so that the snow maiden could wrap her arms around him. Mizore's embraces felt like being caught in a breeze; Light and sudden, and over almost before Tsukune was aware of her presence. She had managed to steal a kiss every day as well. Light kisses, just brushing her lips upon his for a heartbeat. Tsukune was not bothered by the contact in the same ways he would have been if Kurumu had done the same things.

Ruby, Tsukune had observed, did not seem at all bothered by his kissing Mizore. He had thought about asking her about it, but decided to let sleeping dragons be. Both Moka and Ruby had seemed very accepting of the kiss in question. Tsukune even found Mizore's recent physical contact acceptable. As Tsukune drifted off to sleep he couldn't help but wonder if he should be bothered by how 'acceptable' everything was.

Xxxxx Xxx.

Kurumu paced back and forth in her bedroom muttering obscenities under her breath. She was feeling left behind by Tsukune and the others. Mizore had been glowing all week. Moka had been acting strange. Tsukune had an almost constant crease between his eyebrows as he stressed over something.

Something else was bothering Kurumu as well. Something had changed with her house mate. Enya had been kind of like the kid sister Kurumu never wanted when she first moved in. The smoke spirit had black hair and dark skin, with almost black lips. She was a few centimeters taller then Kurumu, but had a slender figure. Enya had just enough curves of bust and hips to keep from being mistaken for a boy, unless she wore baggy clothes. It wasn't the girl's appearance that had changed, but her behavior.

Kurumu did not know what had triggered the change in Enya. Each night of the past week, while shut away in her room, she would give off a rush of energy that the succubus would feel; raw lust. It was free energy for Kurumu to gather in, but it was a sudden change from the week prior. Additionally, the smoke spirit had given up tobacco smoking, and had started using very sweet smelling incense, the fragrance of which seamed to cling to her. Kurumu also noticed that Enya had made a lot of small changes in the past week.

The succubus realized that her house mate was, if not in love, was at least infatuated with someone. This would not bother Kurumu except for one other thing she had noticed. When ever Kurumu and her friends were together out side of class, Enya was never far away. Kurumu would cut off her own tail before she let some outsider got close to Tsukune.

XXXXX XXX X

Yukari was having mixed feelings regarding her house mate. On one hand, the little witch had found success in communicating with the other student and getting her interested in the modern human world. It had started with Yukari leaving one of her Manga out. Now the two could sit and read mangas together and talk about them. Youkari's housemate, Kuna, had started asking about other things as she found hints of them in the light novels. It didn't take long for Yukari to get Kuna interested in amusement parks, shopping districts, concerts, movies, and other pass times common to the human world.

On the other hand, Yukari was worried she was having too much success in too narrow of an area. Kuna was happy to read any manga that was available, but she kept coming back to her core interest of romance stories. Often favoring stores of very pretty boys being affectionate with each other. Yukari was afraid she had created an otaku.

XXXXXXXXXX

Mizore could not stop smiling all week. Tsukune had kissed her. All week long that one thought kept rising above all others in her mind. It had been a perfect kiss. Tsukune had shaped the moment, touching her shoulders and drawing her in gently, and using his words to prepare her. Like innocent hands taking new fallen snow to make a snowball. Then his lips had touched hers in a light caress, like the Sun on a winter's day, she could feel it without it being forceful, damaging. The only way the kiss could have been more perfect was if it had been her first kiss.