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

Chapter 120

Tsukune woke up Wednesday to see Ruby dressed in her new maid uniform. The blouse was sleeveless, but she had the front buttoned all the way up to the wide collar. The skirt had been hemmed up to show her black stockinged legs up to her knees. Her apron, Tsukune had to admit, was a feat of creativity and engineering. Ruby had added sculpted cups and boning to the top part of the apron, making like a corset, while the now lace trimmed lower half covered the front of her skirt. Tsukune wondered how much sleep she had given up to make put the uniform together. He considered her appearance carefully. With a hand gesture, he directed Ruby to turn about so that he could see the back of the outfit., She had not, Tsukune was pleased to see, made it a backless outfit. It was creative without being immodest.

"I like it," Tsukune said with a nod and a smile.

Thank you, master," Ruby said, almost melting with relief.

As Tsukune got ready for school, he wondered how Ruby found time to do everything that she did for him, and for the board chairman. The talked a little as he ate breakfasts, about the house, the looming festival, and the potential disaster of hosting the Board Chairman's guests. Tsukune asked Ruby questions about the house, what she was going to have to do during the weekend of the festival. When he expressed his concerns about her working alone and doing so much, he never suspected the seeds he planted in Ruby's mind. Just before heading out the door to meet his friends, Tsukune had an idea that he shared with Ruby.

"I'll take care of everything, Master," Ruby gave him a smoky look.

\/vvvv\/

The atmosphere of the school was charged with anticipation. It was the last day of class before the school festival and everybody was having trouble keeping their minds on learning. The young women of the Newspaper Club were excited because Tsukune had invited them to dinner at the manor house. Other clubs were more focused on their booths or other festival activities. Tsukune was feeling a little anxious about the coming festival, and all that was going to be happening, but was also looking forward to dinner with his friends. He had proposed it as a practice run for hosting the Board Chairman's guests. His friends would be spending the night, and then they would have breakfast together. Tsukune hoped it would work out, not knowing what steps Ruby was willing to go to in order to make her master happy.

O0o0oo0o0o0

Ruby hated to admit it, but Tsukune had been right to worry about her ability to handle everything herself. She was dedicated to taking care of Tsukune, but had forgotten to consider the bigger picture. Fortunately, there were resources that she could tap for support. And if it was for supportin Tsukune, Ruby was not afraid to take advantage of her position with the school.

Xx xx +.+ xx xX

Botan was surprised with she was called out of class shortly before lunch. She wasn't worried about missing anything because the teacher had given up on getting the students to learn anything and had simply told everybody to read something and keep quiet. Botan knew that the woman who had called her out of class was the Board Chairman's assistant. She also knew that Ruby was a part of Aono Sama's inner circle. Once out in the hall, Boton received her second surprise of the day. Already in the hall was her friend Chiho.

Both girls were in the same club. Officially they were members of the Ghost Club. Of course a club centered around ghost stories was ridiculous at a school full of youkai, but that was the point. Club participation was mandatory at the Youkai Academy, so the unpopular and almost unheard of Ghost Club was cover story for the Going Home Club. Botan and Chiho used the Ghost Club to cover for being Maidens for the Aono Shrine.

The fact that a member of Aono Sama's inner circle had called the two girls out of class made Chiho and Botan nervous and excted at the same time. They followed Ruby down the hall to an empty classroom.

"Let me start by telling you I know the truth about your club activities," Ruby said when she had the two girls safely alone. "I also know that you are both in the same 'underground' club."

Botan and Chiho looked at each other, worry showing in their eyes. While they knew who Ruby was, she had never, to their knowledge, visited the shrine under the girls' dorm. There had always been the fear that the school would someday close down the shrine, and the two girls were wondering if that day was finally at hand.

"My master," Ruby said in a level voice. "Has been given a large responsibility by the Board Chairman. He has been appointed to represent this school and to host some special guests during the festival, and I intend to do everything I can to support him. I came to you first because I know how dedicated you are to my master. I want to ask you two to help me."

Chiho and Botan exchanged another look. The nervousness was gone. Both girls were filled with excitement. The looked to Ruby with determined faces and nodded.

"Good," Ruby said with a hint of a sigh. "Here is what I want you to do..."

X xxxxxxxx X

Tsukune was glad when the school day finally let out. He took the time to check in with his assistants before heading back to the village. Moka and the others had gone on ahead to refresh themselves and to get together whatever they would need to spend the night in the manor. Tsukune was looking forward to his evening with his friends as he approached the front door of the manor. He was only a little surprised when the door opened in front of him. Tsukune entered the manor with a smile.

"Welcome home master," A chorus of voices sounded.

Tskune was surprised to see Ruby in her maid uniform in front of two other girls in similar uniforms. All three 'maids' bowed to Tsukune. Tsukune did a quick look around to see if there were any more surprises waiting for him before he said anything.

"Ruby," Tsukune questioned. "What is going on?"

"Master," Ruby answer. "This morning you expressed concern that alone I may not be capable to meet the demands of the coming weekend, so I decided I should ask for help."

Tsukune didn't say anything right away. He looked at the other two maids carefully while he considered his options. The new maids had on the same colors as Ruby, but their uniforms were different. Their uniforms included slightly longer skirts, short sleeved blouses, and normal aprons. Both of the girls also had on white caps, while ruby only had on a ruffled head band.

"Allow me to introduce them to you," Ruby said, seeing Tsukune looking the new maids over. She gestured with her right hand. "This is Botan." The girl with short, dusty-blonde hair bobbed in a curtsy. "She is in her third year and has an interest in traditional Shinto practices." Ruby gestured with her left, indicating the maid with long blond hair pulled back in a braid, who also gave a small curtsy. "This is Chiho. She is also in her third year. She likes sewing and cooking."

Tsukune considered the two girls carefully. Ruby was probably right to recruit assistance for the festival weekend. Both girls were blushing and had trouble meeting his eyes, but he guessed that they were feeling intimidated, and maybe a little embarrassed by their outfits. Tsukune decided he should give Ruby's idea a proper chance.

"Alright," Tsukune said. "Ruby, you are in charge of the staff. We will be having five guests for supper, and they will be staying for breakfast. We'll use this as a test."

"Yes master," Ruby bowed.

"Good. Now," Tsukune instructed. "I want to clean up before my guests arrive. Please lay out my black school uniform. If anything goes wrong tonight, I won't be upset if that uniform is damaged, because I have no intention of wearing it out of this house."

"Yes master," Ruby bowed again. "Botan will assist you for now. Chiho and I need to work in the kitchen."

"That's fine," Tsukue said.

0.0

Botan could hardly contain herself. In one day she had been asked to help support Aono Sama as he worked hard to protect the image and reputation on the school, only to find herself working as a maid in his house. As she followed him up the stairs her heart was beating so fast that she thought that it would burst out of her chest. Ruby had given her a tour of the house, so Botan knew she was following Aono Sama to his bedroom, and that made her all the more excited.

Botan was determined to fulfill the responsibilities that she had accepted. Once they reached his bedroom, Tsukune collected some things and excused himself to the bathroom. Botan went to his closet to pull out the black uniform he had mentioned. As soon as she saw it, she understood why Aono Sama would not want to wear it out of the house. It clearly resembled the uniform of the old Public Safety Commission. She stood holding the black uniform for a moment. She pictured Aono Sama wearing it, and the image bothered her. She wanted to take the uniform and burn it, just on principle.

"That's the one," Tsukune said from behind Botan.

The maid froze. Botan had been instructed to lay out the uniform, and she had not, failing to follow Aono Sama's orders. Now he was standing behind her. He had gone in to his bathroom to clean up, her mind processed the situation. Now he was behind her, while she held the set of clothes that he intended to wear. Boton imagined a near naked Aono Sama standing in the room with her, and her knees started to shake.

"Ep..." Botan only managed a small squeak, she was so frozen with fear and embarrassment.

Aono Sama's hand came into her field of view. His bare arm reached over her shoulder. Botan could feel Aono Sama's presence, his body heat, as he reached for the uniform, because he was so close behind her. He took the uniform, hanger and all from her hands. Once her hands were free, Botan clasped them together to try to control their shaking.

"Ah-ah-ah..." Botan's voice was stuck in her throat.

"Here," Tsukune said, tossing the black blazer onto the floor in front of the paralyzed maid. "Take that to Ruby. See if she can save the braid and arm band, and anything else she things might be useful. The rest she can use to make cleaning rags or something."

"Ye...ye... yes Aono Sama," Botan finally managed to say. She bent down to retrieve the offending blazer and then hurried out of the room.

Tsukune watcher her go with a relieved sigh. He had thought to wear the back uniform hoping to look nice until whatever chaos that was likely to happen destroyed it, but he just couldn't go through with it. As he held the uniform, remembering all the problems the Public Safety Commission had caused, it had made him uncomfortable. Just wearing it would be like he was endorsing the now defunct commission in some way. Tsukune wanted nothing to do with the commission, and didn't want anybody connecting that gang of bullies to the Student Police. Tsukune hung the shirt back up in the closet. It was white and would go with the regular uniforms, so it was worth keeping. The black neck tie and trousers were perfectly good, so there was no reason to throw them out.

Tsukune selected a plain white shirt to wear with the trousers and tie. It was the kind of clothes he could wear out to dinner, or to a business meeting. He would look nice for dinner with his friends, Tsukune decided as he checked his reflection in a standing mirror.

Tsukune received his guests as they arrived. Because Chiho was helping cook, he had taken Botan as his attendant. As his friends arrived, Tsukune had the maid show them to a room. Moka, Kurumu, and Mizore were assigned rooms up stairs, while Yukari and Kokoa were assigned the guest room on the ground floor. Once everybody had a chance to see their rooms, they gathered in the sitting room. Botan and Ruby served tea for everyone while they waited for dinner.

OO -.- OO

Mizore sat calmly sipping her tea. She knew that Tsukune had invited her to dinner as a friend, but that didn't bother her. She would be sleeping in the same house as Tsukune, and that was something to be happy about. She was aware of how Kokoa kept smiling and frowning as if unaware of how much her feelings showed on her face. Mizore was glad that the younger vampire was present, because it meant that Moka would have to be careful of what she said or did around her sister. Moka would not be sneaking into Tsukune's room if her little sister was around. Ruby was busy being the dutiful maid, so she wasn't going to be in the way ether. Tsukune had told Mizore that he had finally rejected Yukari's interest in becoming his lover. The snow maiden considered all these things as she sipped her tea. Her only competition at the moment was Kurumu. While she was willing to admit that the succubus held an advantage, Mizore liked her odds.

DD—DD-DD

Kurumu kept looking at Tsukune and smiling. If his shirt had been red, Kurumu recalled, then his outfit would be the same as when her mother had taken them out to lunch to celebrate his confession. As it was, Kurumu thought that Tsukune looked handsome in his sharp clothes.

Kurumu knew the official purpose of the dinner party was to give Tsukune and Ruby a chance to practice playing host. Unofficially, she and the others were there to celebrate Tsukune's promotion and move to the manor. They were also there to keep an eye on Tsukune to make sure he wasn't overworking himself. Kurumu was glad to see that Tsukune was actually looking more rested then he had just a few days ago.

Kurumu looked at the others sitting around the room and considered the situation carefully. Yukari and Kokoa were sharing a room. Kurumu wasn't sure which of the younger girls she should feel sorry for with that arrangement. They were more likely to interfere with each other then to work together for any mischief. Moka was happy to be sitting close to Tsukune, but she was forced to hold herself back because Kokoa was present. She didn't want to do anything that her little sister might report back to their father. Mizore was sitting quietly, watching Tsukune and the others with a small smile. Kurumu didn't know what the snow maiden was thinking, making her the unknown in the equation.

Kurumu shuddered as she realized she was thinking in math terms. All the time spent studying was getting to her. She turned her attention back to the situation at hand.

Kurumu wanted to spend the night with Tsukune. She remembered the layout of the house from when she had explored it before, and had managed a peek of the master suite when she was putting her bag in her room earlier. That four-poster bed made gave her some very romantic notions. The only thing that made Kurumu hesitate was knowing how much strain Tsukune was under. He needed his test run night to go well to help him keep his confidence up. Since Kurumu doubted that any guests of the Board Chairman were likely to be trying to sneak into Tsukune's bed, and even if they did, he had shown how he could resist even her own mother, so Kurumu didn't feel worried about it. She considered Tsukune carefully. She knew that he had a modest personality, and preferred it when Kurumu used a little restraint. If she slipped into his bed, he was likely to give in to her wishes, but she had to wonder if he would be bothered by it later. The question was frustrating to Kurumu, and she was still anguishing over it when it was time for dinner.

VvvvvV

Moka suspected that Ruby had arranged the seating at the formal dining table. The table could seat a dozen people, but with just six there was room to spare, so they were spread out. Tsukune was at the had of the table, as was proper, while Moka was seated at the other end, the traditional place of the wife or second in command. Kurumu was actually seated closest to to Tsukune, at his right hand, showing that she had his favor, but was less important then Moka. Every time Kurumu touched Tsukune's hand and smirked at Moka, the vampire just smiled back with serene confidence. On the opposite side of the table from Kurumu, with an empty seat between her and Tskune, was Mizore. The snow maiden had flashed a small frown as she was seated, letting Moka know that she was aware of formal seating traditons, or was at least disappointed to not be sitting closer to Tsukune. The middle two seats of the table were empty. To Moka's left, and one seat further down the table, was Yukari. While sitting at Moka's right hand was Kokoa. The young vampire was happy to be close to her sister, but grumbled out of habit about which Moka she was next to.

She enjoyed the formal dinner with her friends, and a small part of her hoped that Kokoa would write home about it. Moka would then be able to explain to her father how Tsukune was able to hold a formal dinner, while still in school, and do a good job of it. There was a sense of pride in Tsukune's ability to look calm and mature while hosting his friends that made Moka want to just hug and kiss him. When the dinner was over, they would all sit together for a time before retiring for the night. That was where Moka's thought took on a darker form. With Kokoa in the same house, there was no way she could visit Tsukune's bedroom, nor could she let him visit hers. Unfortunately, she was the only one laboring with such a burden. Kurumu was free to move about as she wanted, because the succubus didn't have to worry about appearing proper noble.

Kurumu and Moka had a truce of sorts. They were refraining, mostly, from arguing in front of Tsukune, so they would not add to his worries and stress. Moka wondered if distracting Kurumu in some way to keep her from tying to visit Tsukune's bed counted against the arrangement the had. To distract her from worrying about it too much, Moka considered Tsukune's maids.

^^o^^ ^^o^^

Ruby was happy with how the evening was going. Tsukune's guests had been surprised by the presence of the maids she had recruited. Botan and Chiho had both turned out to be capable maids so far, helping to make the evening a success. Poor Botan had almost had a heart attack when she had been alone with Tsukune. Ruby could have recruited maids from the tea ceremony club, or just about anywhere else under the barrier, but had chosen the shrine maidens for a specific reason. Ruby knew that the shrine maidens would be near fanatical in making sure Tsukune was happy.

Ruby suppressed a smirk. If Tsukune was allowed to live in the manor until graduation, she would keep the maids around, give herself a chance to show off to Tsukune about how capable she was when it came to managing a household. Of course if any female stayed around Tsukune for too long they would end up falling for him. While Ruby did not need any more competition for Tsukune's affections, it would be nice to have someone who understood her situation and could share her loneliness with when Tsukune was with another woman.

XX xx xx xx XX

Tsukune went to bed with a satisfied sigh. The evening had gone well. His friends had been satisfied with the dinner, and he had managed to keep them entertained until bed time. As an added bonus, with his friends playing the role of honored guests, Ruby was forced to play the part of a proper maid, so that Tsukune was free to enjoy his bath without any teasing or pressure. The maids had worked out as well. Tsukune was confident in Ruby's ability to look after the house and himself, but he didn't know ho well she could look after guests and all of their needs as well. It would bother her greatly if she let something escape her that made her master look bad in any way. Tsukune would have to reward her for her good thinking and planing. He would also have to make a quick trip from under the barrier to the closest ATM, so that he could pay the maids. Tsukune was sure that Ruby had talked the girls into working for the honor of the school, or for the pleasure of service being its own reward, or some such nonsense, but Tsukune felt that he should offer the girls something, and cash would be the safest.

As Tsukune settled into his pillows he felt a change in the air. It was a small thing, a shift in the pressure and a hint of a breeze. It was enough to tell Tsukune that he wasn't alone. Instantly alert, Tsukune did not detect any malice, or anything else out of place ether. A slow smile spread across his lips as he sat up and pulled the bedding aside.

"Hello Mizore," Tsukune said softly.

"Hello," Mizore answered, coming in to view as she stopped trying to conceal her presence.

"What are you doing here?" Tsukune asked calmly.

"I wanted to be with you," Mizore answered honestly.

"You should go back to your room," Tsukune said.

"Is that what you would tell a guest?" Mizore challenged as she moved next tot the bed.

"Yes," Tsukune said honestly. "And you know I would."

"How would I know that?" Mizore questioned.

"Because I said it to you," Tsukune countered. "And you are somebody I like to be with."

"I..." Mizore felt a moment of flustered emotions for Tsukune's words. "If I am your guest, then shouldn't my happiness and comfort be important to you?"

"If I were to visit your home," Tsukune asked. "And I tried to visit your bedroom, would you let me?"

"Of course I would," Mizore answered.

"Because I would be your guest?" Tsukune pressed.

"Because I love you," Mizore insisted. "And I have already promised that I would do anything for you. I will share everything I am with you."

"Well," Tsukune said. "As my guest, you should have the manners to return to your room."

"But..." Mizore tried to argue.

"But I love you too," Tsukune said. "So your happiness is important to me." He scooted over a little and held up the blankets.

Mizore was in bed with him in a flash. She smoothed her light nightgown down as she settled in beside Tsukune. He covered them both with the blanket and gave her a soft kiss.

"Good night, Mizore."

"Good night, Tsukune."