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 141

Tsukune was looking forward to the end of his extended shift with the police. Monday had gone well enough, but Tuesday evening the weather had cooled remarkably. The barrier around the area usually helped to even out the weather, but it seemed to be having trouble with the winter cold. As far south as the the school was, the weather was more likely to be cold and wet, instead of freezing. Remembering the heatwave from his second year, Tsukune wondered if the barrier was in need of some adjusting.

Tsukune was alone in the koban at the moment. After dinner together, Inari had gone out for a patrol of the area while Tsukune cleaned up. As Tsukune kept himself busy, he considered the nature of the barrier over the area. It didn't move the school anywhere, or put it in a separate time-space. It had two functions that Tsukune could identify. The barrier created a mostly controlled environment that was comfortable for youkai who were weak, or even in danger from things like sunlight or rain. The barrier also worked as a perception filter, keeping people from noticing the area, and even turning them away from it. Between idle speculation and school work, Tsukune passed his time in the koban quietly.

The first warning of trouble, and of Inari's return, was a sense of her youki. Tsukune felt her approaching and quickly prepared for trouble. He pushed his things into his bag and stood up, reaching for his youki. He was almost to the door when Inari came into sight. She was a mess as she approached from out in the night. Tsukune opened the door for her.

"What happened?" Tsukune asked.

Inari did not answer right away. She was too busy swearing. She was wet and dirty, and very angry.

"Inari?" Tsukune asked again. "Are you alright? What happened to you?"

"No! I'm not alright," Inari snapped and growled as she started to pull at parts of her wet uniform. "I try to stop a pair of drunks from shouting at each other. They weren't big or strong, just loud. They're in the street in front of this little dive where they had been drinking, shouting back and forth about I don't know what." She started to peal off her wet jacket. "When this old woman from the dive tries to get them to leave by throwing water at them. Of course she misses them." Inari made broad gestures with her arms as she talked, starting to make a mess in the koban. "So I got hit with the biggest bucket of dishwater I've ever seen." She continued to struggle with her jacket, the garment was clinging to her because of the moisture and mud.

"So I got all wet," Inari growled. "The drunks start laughing, loudly. I was about to smack some sense into them, but they took off running. I was going to chase them down, but was hit by a second bucket of water. The old lady must have been blind, because she threw everything in the mop bucket at me Including the mop! By the time I got back on my feet, she's taken the mop and buckets, closed the door, and left me alone in the street." Inari flapped her arms in the jacket she had only managed to halfway remove.

"Get this off of me!" Inari barked.

"Just a moment," Tsukune moved to help her. "Hold still." He reached to take hold of the offending garment as Inari still moved around, unaware that she was making things worse. Tsukune was slapped across the face by a wet sleeve. "Stop it!" Tsukune snapped, his face stinging from where brass buttons had struck him.

Inari gave a jump. Tsukune's voice had been sharp and commanding. His youki, while not raging, was still up from the initial surprise of her own radiating in frustration and anger. That note that touched her so effectively, cut though her thoughts and made her aware of him.

"Let me help you," Tsukune growled. He managed to get a hold of her jacket, to peel it off of her arms. "Better?"

"Thank you," Inari grumbled as she rubbed down her arms

Tsukune was quick to notice that Inari was looking a little blue in the lips. It was the coldest night under the barrier that Tsukune had ever known, and Inari was soaked to the skin. Even in her youkai form, he thought that she would have been miserably cold under those conditions.

"Inari," Tsukune suggested. "Go take a shower." He handed her back her jacket, their hands touching. "I'll clean this up." Tsukune gestured to the mud she had tracked in.

"I'll clean it up," Inari said with a sigh. "I'm sorry I..."

"Take a shower," Tsukune growled at her. "Now. You're cold and wet, and I don't want you getting sick." He looked her in the eyes.

"But..." Inari looked back. The stand-off lasted only a few seconds before Inari looked away. "Excuse me." She took her jacket, and her hand, away from his and turned to the small locker room.

Tsukune went to find a mop. Sometimes he worried about Inari. She tended to be a little wild at times, as if her youkai nature was fighting to come out. It wasn't a bad thing most of the time, and he respected her ability to do so much, but once in a while he worried that she would push herself too far. Tsukune dismissed his worries for the time being as he cleaned up the koban.

Xxx^.^xxX

Inari was trembling as she entered the locker room, and from more than just the cold. Her captain had a way of getting to her. She stripped out of her wet clothes, looking forward to a feeling warm again. Inari thought about her captain as she got ready for her shower. She remembered during her first year how she had never heard of Tsukune until the Public Safety Commission targeted him. At first he was just some faceless name who was a part of the Newspaper Club that seemed to get into fights. Inari had not paid any attention to him back then. Going into the second year, it was more of the same. Tsukune was a person that her friends and others would gossip about, frequently because of his popularity with some of the cutest girls in school.

Inari remembered when her perceptions about Tsukune started to change. She recalled that time while she stepped into the shower. The warm water fell upon her as she remembered watching a team from the Public Safety Commmission trying to confront Tsukune in front of the dorms. She had not heard what Tsukune had said, but she had heard the group leader from the PFC insulting Tsukune's friends. The raw power of Tsukune's emotions when he struck had been like an explosion. Inari shivered as she remembered the excitement of that moment. Looking back, it was at that moment that she first truly saw Tsukune. He had seemed to come to life when his friends' integrity had been questioned. That fierce loyalty had made Inari's heart race. Tsukune had not backed down from the PCS after that. He had shut them down and became the leader of the students.

Inari smiled under the spray of hot water as she thought about her captain. He could have become the king of the school. When he organized the student elections, Tsukune could have labeled the roles however he wanted. If he had run for president, or even king, at that time he would have won by a landslide. Instead, he had done his best to have an honest election, ruling the school from the sidelines. Even after the election, he could have chosen the direction for the school, because people were ready to listen to him. His calm authority and fierce loyalty was what had inspired Inari to join the Student Police. While serving under him, she had learned that his loyalty was matched by his compassion. Her attraction and admiration for him had started to grow.

Inari sighed as she cleaned away the dirt and anger of the day, relaxing under the hot shower as she though about her captain. He had a way of making her feel special, of making her feel desired. He had just done it again, just moments ago. He had shown his compassion and concern for her. Remembering his voice and that fierce look in his eyes when he told her to take a shower sent a shiver through her body. Even as she finished rinsing off, Inari couldn't stop thinking about her captain. Her hands caressed her body under the hot water. Her captain was only a few meters away and was looking out for her. Inari felt a sense of comfort from knowing Tsukune was there for her. Tsukune, her captain, was just meters away as she washed her naked body. It was an exciting and sobering thought at the same time. She could feel her arousal building, but she didn't want to give in to it. Her captain was cleaning up the mess that she had made, so Inari felt that she shouldn't slack off under the shower. With a sigh she shut off the water and reached for her towel.

The air was cooling off quickly now that Inari was out of the shower. She dried off and headed for her locker, taking a moment to wrap her hair in her towel. The hot water, and heated thoughts, conspired with the cool air against her. She bent over to pull on her fresh underwear and stood up again, a little too quickly, eager to get dressed before she grew cold again. The small locker room seemed to spin around her. She tried to brace herself, but only managed to slam her locker closed without finding a handhold. The world shifted under her feet and the room tilted.

"Aaeeiii," Inari gave a startled cry.

Inari's head hit something hard enough to leave her stunned. Her vision was filled with bright spots and the ceiling warped and wavered. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on her breathing even as her stomach threatened to rebel. Her hearing was filled with a rushing sound, like a waterfall was calling her name. Inari opened her eyes as her body started to feel warm, and saw her captain's face looking down at her. She closed her eyes again to fight of a wave of dizziness as the world started to move again.

X 0.o X

It was the silence that Inari became aware of first. Everything was quiet. Other sensations started to trickle into her awareness after that. Her body was warm. Her head felt heavy. Everything was dark. She opened her eyes, blinking a few times as they focused. The first thing she saw was the springs of the top bunk. Inar'is mind recognized that she was lying in the bottom bed of the koban's bunk room. The room was only illuminated by the light coming in around the closed door. Inari sat up slowly. As she moved, the bedding over her body shifted. Inari took a moment to examine her situation. Her head felt heavy. Reaching up she found her damp hair was still partially wrapped in a towel. Lifting her arm had moved the bedding enough to reveal a towel that had been around her body. She pushed back the bedding some more and discovered that, except for her panties, she was naked.

Inari's eyes went wide as everything suddenly fell into place. She had collapsed in the locker room. She remembered seeing Tsukune's face and realized that he must have heard her fall. It would have been him who wrapped a towel around her and carried her to bed. His loyalty and compassion had been there for here again. Inari climbed out of bed and turned on the light. At the foot of the bed, disturbed by her movement, was a folded track suit. Inari picked up the first piece of clothing and discovered that it was too large for her. Inari smiled. Tsukune, too much of a gentleman to go through her locker, had left her his own track suit so that she could dress herself.

Inari continued to smile as she dressed. She would borrow Tsukune's track suit until she was able to dress in her own cloths. Before looking for something that would fit her better, Inari had something to do.

X=^.^=X

Tsukune was sitting at the desk, reading Lord Brone Gray's book, as he listened for any trouble. When the door to the bunk room opened he turned to look, wanting to be sure Inari would be alright. He saw her coming out of the bunk room, in his track suit, looking a little shaken.

"Inari," Tsukune questioned in a gentle voice. "How are you feeling?"

"I..." Inari answered. "I'm not hurt anywhere."

"That's good," Tsukune said. "I was worried. You hit your head pretty hard." He turned his attention back to his book, or at least made a show of doing so.

"Captain," Inari said "Thank you."

"I'm just glad you're alright," Tsukune said. He turned to face her once more. "Please don't let what happened bother you, Inari. I know that things can be embarrassing, but sometimes we can't help what happens."

"Yes sir," Inari said, not sure how to take his words. "Excuse me."

XxxX

Inari had trouble falling asleep. After she had changed into a clean uniform, she had relieved Tsukune and taken over the desk. Officially, someone had to be available at all times, but that did not mean they had to be awake and in uniform. Who ever was on duty could lock the front door, turn on the intercom, and go in the back to eat or sleep. If somebody needed the police, the intercom would buzz loudly everywhere in the koban until it was answered. It was two o'clock in the morning when Inari finally put out the lights and locked the door, something that was usually done at ten on a weeknight. She slipped into the bunk room quietly, aware of the presence of her sleeping captain. With a firm nod, Inari committed herself to a specific goal. She was going to make herself, if not a part of his harem and inner circle, than a place in his life however she could. With only dim light from the main area of the koban to see by, or be seen by, Inari undressed for bed. She stood close enough to the bunk that her captain, sleeping on top, would only be able to see her if he looked over the side. She chose the spot so she could appear modest while being shameless. She stripped down to just her panties and socks before putting on her own tracksuit jersey. Deciding to go without the pants, Inari climbed into bed. Once she was under the blankets, Inari found that sleep was going to be slow in coming. As she waited for sleep's embrace, Inari was aware of her captain, aware of Tsukune. His warm presence was almost close enough to touch. She could hear him breathing slow and steady. She couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to be even closer to him. Inari turned about restlessly, trying to find a comfortable position even as she daydreamed about sleeping beside Tsukune in a proper bed.

Xx VvvvvV xX

Moka went to bed Tuesday night with a headache. Thanks to the time difference between her holdings, the Argent Carin, in American and the Youkai Academy in Japan, Moka had been able to spend two full days so far listening to the gnomes as each side petitioned their case. It turned out that the little people were big on tradition and ceremony. Anything longer than a bathroom break required a formal announcement. Any time one of the gnomes wished to speak, and it seemed that every single one of them wanted a turn, his name and linage had to be recited for the record. All the formality was bad enough, and alone would have been enough to put Moka in a sour mood. That she was being kept away from Tsukune for the sake of formalities would have been aggravating at any time, but the argument that made her presence necessary was so ridiculous that it made her want to scream.

The gnomes of the Argent Cairn had a long tradition of mining silver. From the first day the clan had moved into the hill, they had been mining silver. Each and every man of the clan learned silver mining and silver smithing, and worked where their aptitudes were the strongest. As an aside to mining silver they also learned stone cutting and masonry. Everything was fine and orderly within the clan, until they found a vein of gold.

It was like someone had kicked an anthill. The clan was suddenly divided. Gold, the more valuable metal, was waiting to be mined, but the clan had always mined silver. While it was agreed that the gold was a boon, it went against tradition for he clan to mine it. At first the gnomes had simply mined around the gold, avoiding it on principle, but as they continued to dig away rock, more and more gold was being uncovered. Finally, Moka had been summoned by the Gnomes to help them settle the problem.

For two solid days, Moka was forced to listen to long winded arguments over what to do about the gold. Should it be mined and worked as they had silver? Could it be cut away like so much rock and just set aside without considering it mining? The constant arguments, no mater how formal they were, had stepped on Moka's nerves, and then started stomping on them. Moka was trapped by the formalities of the tradition bound gnomes, and it was giving her headaches.