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, then you should not read this.

Chapter 124

Nagi and Kota shared conspiratory looks as they entered the festival. As long term friends it was easy for them to partner up in spite of their different uniforms. Nagi was tall and lean, dressed in a dark gray. Kota's square build was clad in blue. The pair were friends, but that didn't stop them from seeing the festival as an opportunity for some competition. Games of skill were their goal. As they explored the festival.

Aiko, Rina, and Iris saw the festival as an opportunity as well. Nobody knew them there. There was no expectation from family or school faculty to live up to every minute of the day. As long as they shared in the guilty pleasure of it, there was no reason not to enjoy the festival. There were games to play, junk food to eat, and to a limited extent, some shopping to do. Their friends back at school would be disappointed if they returned without souvenirs and stories to share after all.

Moka, Kurumu, Mizore, and even Kiyo joined in with the human girls in enjoying the festival. There was excited shouts and happy laughter everywhere. In spite of the alien uniforms, the guests fit right in.

Tsukune tried to share in the fun atmosphere as best as he could. He kept his awareness open to his surroundings, alert for any trouble. He also had to take the time to talk with student's and their parents. The Student Police were present all around, but at a comfortable distance. Tsukune hoped that the festival would go smoothly.

XXXX

Aiko was excited about attending the festival. It was a chance for her to have fun, but also to see more of how people were then just the way her family looked at things. The lively atmosphere was contagious, especially when students of the school kept wanting to have their picture taken with her. Mostly it was girls who complemented her uniform or her hair. She found it kind of strange when younger girls kept asking her if they looked alright. One young man, looking far more serious then she would expect for his age had welcomed her politely before talking to Tsukune. She didn't hear what was said, but the body language shouted urgency. After a brief conference, the boy hurried off, still looking serious, but calmer. After that, Aiko became more aware of Tsukune.

Aiko let herself enjoy the festival, but watched kept part of her attention on Tsukune. People kept coming up to him. Students introduced their parents to him. He was addressed as Captain, senpai, and sometimes even as Sensei, by the students and adults. She saw a police man, in full uniform, eating a snack and waking with a young child, stop and greet Tsukune. He also called him Captain. It was strange how so many people seemed to look up to him, when he was the same age as she was.

XxXxX

Rina was so caught up in the spirit of the festival that she forgot her nervousness. Every so often she would see something that would make her remember what Tsukune had said about youkai attending the school, but she couldn't be sure about it. She saw a boy with dog ears on his head, as black as his hair. Even as she started to feel apprehensive, the boy had bent down to look at something and the ears had fallen over. That was when she saw the string holding them in place. A booth selling masks gave Rina pause. She remembered that the youkai at this school were supposed to be learning to fit in with humans. That meant that they were learning to hide among them. She looked around at all the people enjoying the festival and realized that any of them could be a youkai. It was a sobering thought.

"Missy look out! Come back here" A voice cut through the air.

Rina was knocked sideways, barely keeping on her feet, when someone small ran into her. She turned in time to see a small girl of about ten years old running off.

"Missy," The voice called out again.

Tsukune caught the running girl and hefted her her up, making her giggle.

"Missy!" The voice, now sounding alarmed came from a worried and tired looking woman that was hurrying to reach the child. "Please. She didn't mean to cause trouble. I promise I'll take her home right away." The woman looked on the edge of panic for some reason.

"Aunty! Missy," A girl from the Student Police suddenly hurried forward.

"Tama," The woman gasped. "Oh no..."

"Aunty," Tama protested, looking embarrassed.

"Tama?" Tsukune asked, still holding the giggling girl.

"Captain," Tama turned to him and gave him a small bow. "This is my aunt, Tora, who graduated five years ago. And my little sister, Missy."

"Hello," Missy giggled.

"Please don't hurt her," Tora said.

"Aunty," Tama protested. "I told you, the Student Police are not the Public Safety gang you remember."

"I see," Tsukune said. He set Missy down but didn't let go of her right away. "Miss Tora, I am sure Missy was just having fun, but she nearly knocked my friend over." Tsukune crouched down to be at eye level with the girl. "Don't you think you should apologize if you run into someone?" He turned her towards Rina and let her go.

The girl hurried over to Rina and looked up at her for a moment.

"I'm sorry," She said with a little bow. "I will be more careful."

"It's alright," Rina answered. "I understand."

Missy hurried back over to Tama and gave her big sister a hug. Tora, still looking nervous caught Missy up and held on to her, but managed to give Tsukune a small smile.

"I truly am sorry about the trouble," Tora said.

"It's fine," Tsukune said with a small wave. "It's good to play once in a while." He turned to Tama. "Would you like to spend some time with your family?"

"But I'm on duty," Tama protested.

"Take a break," Tsukune said firmly. "Report back after lunch."

"Thank you, Captain," Tama said with a little bow. She turned away from him with a smile. "Come on, Aunty. I'll show you where they have goldfish scooping."

Rina watched the young girl and her family depart. It was strange associating Tsukune, who was her own age, with so much authority and confidence, when she was used to thinking of him as kind and friendly. She gave the departing trio a final look, and for the first time realized that Missy had cat ears on her head, and a tail poking out from under her dress.

XxXxX

Nagi was smiling so much his face was starting to ache. He was spending a day surrounded by good looking girls while having fun at a festival with friends. Kota was beating him at the few games that depended on logic, but Nagi was ahead when it came to physical skills. Because he was shooting for the executive path, Nagi had joined his school's Kendo Club, to help him learn discipline and control. He also figured that if he could handle a sword, he should be able to handle a golf club later on. While not muscular, he was quick and had developed good hand-eye coordination. Kota could solve puzzles quickly, but Nagi could throw darts, rings, or balls better. Some of the prizes he won went into his pockets, cheep trinkets he could share around at school as souvenirs of his trip. When he won a three and half merer long, twelve centimeter thick plushy cobra, he was monumentally at a loss for what to do with it. He tried hanging it around his neck, but it started to make him sweat. He shifted it around a few times as he considered the problem.

XxxxxX

Kiyo was enjoying her day at the festival more then she had expected. Her plan for the weekend had been to get her share of work out of the way, and then relax. She would spend some time at the festival and the retreat back to her room and enjoy the peace and quiet while she studied. Somehow, because of her sister's letter, she had been invited to spend time with Aono Tsukune and his friends. Even if it was just casually hanging out, spending time around Tsukune would make other girls in school envious of her.

Of course Kiyo was mindful of the rumors surrounding Aono senpai. He had a way of bringing people together. He had matched up some of his Student Police officers. The Love Letter Club was formed by a couple he had introduced to each other. Rumor gave Tsukune credit for another dozen couples around school as well. Kiyo was confident that even if Aono senpai was out of her reach, just being close to him could help her find someone. There was that boy from the Festival Committee from a while ago to consider. He was of some importance to Tsukune at the moment.

Absentmindedly, Kiyo tested the air. She was standing close to the guests as her tongue flicked past her parted lips. There was definitely something in the air that she found stimulating. She could detect Tsukune clearly, as well as his harem, because she knew them well enough, but there was something more as well.

XxXxX

It was getting close to lunch time, and Nagi was getting tired to wrestling with his plushy cobra. He was holding it by its ends while thinking about finding a convenient place to just abandon it when he heard shouting voices getting closer. He turned to see what looked like a failed fireworks running loose. A trio of burning wheels, with a woman somehow balanced on top of the largest one, were rolling down the isle between the booths, headed in his direction. He was safely to the side, but saw that one of Tsukune's friends was right in the way of the on coming disaster. He wasn't going to rush out into the way of the flaming wheels, but he couldn't just do nothing and just let a girl get hurt ether. Thinking fast, and moving faster, Nagi leaned forward a whipped the plushy cobra in an arc. As soon as the body of the snake was around the girl, he pulled hard and leaned back.

The young woman gave a small cry of alarm as she was pulled from her feet. She crashed into Nagi and they staggered back against a booth. Nagi gave a satisfied smile knowing he had kept her from harm.

XxxxX

Kiyo had let her mind wonder as she tasted the air and thought of romance. She had been slow to realize that people were shouting out of alarm instead of excitement. Just as she was turning to see what was going on there was a blur of motion, and then it felt like a soft but strong arm was pulling her sideways. She saw something burning headed towards her for an instant as the world suddenly shifted. Before she could recover her balance, Kiyo found herself pressed against something firm and warm. With a small turn of her head she saw the face of one of Tsukune's friends smiling at her. With her mouth open, she caught his scent clearly. It reminded her of paper and wood. Warm smells that belonged to a quiet place, like a library.

"Are you all right,?" Nagi asked her.

"Yes," Kiyo nodded without taking her eyes off of his. "Thank you."

Nagi helped her find her balance, draping the plushy cobra around her neck. They stood together for a moment, making sure the excitement, and pending danger, was past. Nagi tried to take a step but winced at the pain in his hip from where he had hit it against a booth.

"Are you alright?" Kiyo asked nervously. She hated to think what would happen if she had hurt on of the special guests.

"Yes," Nagi insisted. "I just bumped my hip harder then I thought." He tried another step. "I'll be fine in a moment."

"Are you sure?" Kiyo asked, holding on to his arm gently.

"Yes," Nagi said. "I just need to walk it off."

"Nagi," Tsukune said as he returned from chasing down the katawa guruma and her children. "Are you hurt?"

"It's nothing," Nagi waved away any concern with his free hand. "It's like what we were talking about during break, remember?" Nagi gave a little laugh. "It's worth taking a little damage if it protects a friend."

"Yes," Tsukune agreed with a nod. He slapped Nagi on the shoulder.

XXX XXX

Tsukune took the group over to the cafeteria for lunch. He was aware that the student police were still keeping watch around them, even if some problems had gotten by them. Everybody was sitting down with their meal trays when Ken and Emmy found them. It was natural for Emmy to go to Kota, and Iris was happy to sit with Ken.

"Are you having a good time?" Moka said as she sat down beside Aiko.

"Yes," Aiko nodded. "Thank you."

"Tsukune asked that we help look after you during your visit," Moka informed her. "So if there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask."

"I won't," Aiko gave her a nod.

XxxX

"Are your festivals always like this?" Rina asked Kurumu as they sat down together.

"We're having a good year," Kurumu gave a little shake of her head. "A lot of people are going all out this year."

"What was it like last year?" Rina asked.

"It was good," Kurumu admitted. "Until someone tried to crash the festival. We told you about it over the Summer, remember?"

"Oh..." Rina thought for a moment. "You were talking about signals, because Tsukune had warned you about the boys that were trying to peek in on the girls' bath."

"That's right," Kurumu nodded with a smile.

"I still don't understand that part," Rina frowned with concentration. "I don't remember any signals. I didn't hear any whistles or anything like that."

"It wasn't like that," Kurumu shook her head. "I'll try to explain... Ummm... Do you understand the idea of an aura, or personal energy?"

"You mean like chi?" Rina nodded. "Yes."

"What Tsukune did was focus his 'energy' as if he was about to fight someone," Kurumu explained. "Because of all that he has gone through, and all of the training he has done, Tsukune has a lot of energy. When he focused it, we were able to feel it. And if he is focusing his energy, there is usually a very real reason for it, so we expected trouble. That was how we knew something was going to happen."

"But how did you know those boys were there?" Rina asked. "I only saw you pointing once, and then someone threw wash pans over the fence and hit them."

"Those boys were giving off energy also," Kurumu gave Rina a smirk. "They were so focused on seeing us naked that their lust was impossible to miss."

"So it is like what they teach in self defense classes," Rina questioned. "Where you can read somebody's intent."

"Something like that," Kurumu said.

"But all of the girls in your group seemed to be aware of it," Rina pointed out. "Do all the girls here get training?"

"No," Kurumu shook her head again. "Tsukune has been training his ability since his first year here. For us it is a natural ability. Especially when Tsukune's energy is so strong."

"What do you mean?" Rina was confused.

"Do you remember what happened on out second night during the trip?" Kurumu said, lowering her voice. "After you tried to badmouth Tsukune."

"I'm sorry about that," Rina lowered her eyes. "I was wrong, and I should have behaved better."

"I know," Kurumu said. "I have done worse, but I was talking about after that. When you went to sleep, you had nightmares. Nightmares about being alone, about being hunted."

"How do you know?" Rina asked, her voice low but with a nervous edge.

"When Tsukune came to this school," Kurumu said. "He was alone. He was in danger of being hunted down and killed by the youkai here, but he won our love and respect. We were not going to let you get away with trying to put him down."

Rina took a moment to process what she had heard. Understanding blossomed in her mind and her eyes went wide. Nervously she looked around.

"You... You're..." Rina started to speak, her voice shaking.

"Oh do calm down," Kurumu cut her off. "That's all in the past. You learned from what happened, and from talking to Tsukune. He even counts you as one of his friends, so everything is fine now."

"But I thought you were human," Rina said in little more then a whisper.

"Thank you," Kurumu said with a cute smile and a wink.

"Does Tsukune know?" Rina wondered.

"Sweetheart," Kurumu chuckled. "Tsukune knows everything there is to know about me. He knows, but he still respects me and cares about me. He's even risked his life for me. Why do you think I love him so much?"

"Oh," Rina was stunned.

XxXxX

Aiko took a moment to inspect her reflection in the mirror. A trip to the restroom had been in order after eating, not only to answer the needs of nature, but to give the young women a chance to compose themselves. The morning had been fun and exciting, if more then a little scary.

She didn't know if her other friends realized it, but that woman that had been balanced on a burning wheel had not been a performer, but an actual youkai. Aiko had seen pictures, classical art that had showed such creatures, but she didn't know anything about them. It had been strange to see Tsukune chase after them. At first she though he was going to try and knock over the burning wheels to keep them from hurting anybody. She had held her breath when Tsukune had stood in their path. But then the wheels had come to a stop all on their own. Aiko though her heart would stop when the burning wheels had disappeared, and in their place was a woman with two children. After a few words, the strange family had walked on while Tsukune had returned to the group.

Aiko had been shaken by the scene. Not just by the wild display, but by the way the woman and her children, the youkai had transformed into normal looking people. Aiko had been expecting to see youkai that looked almost human, maybe with tails, or extra eyes, or even horns or strange skin colors. She expected to see creatures that could pass for human if they were careful to hide what wasn't normal. The idea that such totally inhuman like things could make themselves look totally normal gave her the chills. During lunch Aiko had worked up the courage to ask Moka about it.

Moka had listened to Aiko politely, giving her a chance to make her thoughts clear. Moka then explained to her about how many youkai were descended from humans, and that there had been some special circumstance that had changed them into something other than human. The idea that even the most normal looking people could be youkai was something Aiko had not considered.

Aiko stood in front of the mirror, makeup in hand, and paused. She considered the others in the restroom with her, washing their hands, touching up their own makeup, and found herself wondering if if any of them might be something other than human. She realized that Rina was looking at her.

"You're wondering the same thing, aren't you?" Rina asked.

"What do you mean?" Aiko tried to be calm as she touched up her face.

"You're wondering which ones might be..." Rina looked around discreetly. "You're wondering if any of them are human."

"I... Don't..." Aiko took a calming breath. "Yes."

"You know," Kurumu intruded on the exchange. "It's perfectly normal for us to gossip and trade secrets in here." She stood next to Aiko and made a show of checking her makeup. "If you need to take a break, just say so. We can take you back to the village and you can relax for a while."

"Kurumu's right," Moka said as she washed and dried her hands. "Nobody would blame you. You've been given a lot to deal with in short amount of time."

"I'm sorry," Aiko said with a sigh. "I guess I'm not taking this very well."

"Aiko," Moka said gently. "You are doing wonderfully. You have had your entire world view challenged. I don't know what would happen if I was put in the same situation."

"I know," Aiko nodded. "I just wish there was some way tell..."

"It's the not knowing that's hard," Rina said.

"Try to think about something else," Inari said from the doorway. "You were doing fine this morning as long as you were distracted."

"But what should I think about?" Aiko questioned.

"The same thing you were thinking about this morning," Inari said with a grin. "The festival. There is still lots left to see, and tonight there's a dance."