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 148

Tsukune's call had been all the warning Ruby needed. While the party had slowly started already, things would get really busy when Tsukune and the others arrived. Ruby made sure that the food was all ready and arranged for the guests. Kasumi was enthroned in the living room. The other mothers were seated around her. It was almost like a parody of a noble's court. The younger guests stood together, talking idly about school life, while a radio played music in the background. When the doorbell rang, Ruby was there to open the door.

Tsukune's arrival was the signal to start the party in full. He introduced his companions as they entered while Ruby saw to their comforts, collecting bags and coats, and making sure eerybody had a drink and a plate. Kurumu embraced Tsukune tightly, but settled for giving him a kiss on the cheek to avoid giving his mother a bad impression, instead of trying to inhale the breath from his lungs. Moka paid her respects to Kasumi and introduced Kokoa to her. Kasumi greeted them both warmly, tickled at the idea of maybe some day taking the sisters out shopping. Kokoa was polite, if a little distant, unused to such a friendly and warm gathering. Emmy and Kota embraced in greeting, before Emmy greeted Kota's mother. Sato Mai greeted the young woman with a bright smile and a hug. Kiyo was trying to read the room, to know what she should do, when Nagi came up to her. He took her by the hands and gave her a comforting smile.

"I am glad to see you," Nagi said. "Thank you for coming."

"I'm happy to see you too," Kiyo said, lowering her eyes slightly, feeling her heart beating hard.

"Come," Nagi said. "Let me introduce you to my mother.

Kiyo's mind went blank with a nervousness that bordered on panic. Nagi was the first boyfriend she ever had. She had never even had a serious crush on a boy before. Growing up as an outsider, she had not put any thought into meeting a boyfriends mother... Nagi's mother! It was a serious and special moment that she was not ready for. While she would later remember that she had met Nagi's mother, and had exchanged words with the woman, Kiyo could never recall what was said.

Inari had been filled with doubt from the moment she had left Tsukune's side that morning. She questioned the wisdom of her plan to go to Tsukune's party, but knew that if she didn't take the chance, she would regret it. When she had met up with the others at the bus stop, Inari realized that she had practically declared war against the women of Tsukune's inner circle. She was trying to invade their territory, or at least force them to recognize her feelings as real. Moka and Mizore had subjected her to a polite interrogation from the moment they greeted her at the bus stop. When Inari looked to Tsukune for support, she found none. Inari realized something then. Tsukune was not just smart enough to stay out of a conversation between women, but that he was sensitive to the feelings of those closest to him. By not being involved, he was showing his faith to the women he was close to. Because Tsukune was not showing any overt support to Moka or Mizore, it actually gave Inari a boost in confidence.

Once she had arrived at Tsukune's home, Inari's nervousness doubled. Without once going out on a date with her captain, she was suddenly meeting his mother. Her mouth felt dry as she exchanged greetings with the woman. It did not help Inari's feelings of nervousness that Tsukune's mother had such an amused and predatory smile.

Hana was glad to see Tsukune. She got along alright with Kota, Nagi, and Rin for the most part, but Rin acted like she was still in middle school, and the other two kept smirking as if they shared a secret. It only made things more awkward that Rin was frustrated about whatever Nagi and Kota were smirking about. Hana was glad to see Tsukune because it meant she might get to have a real, and interesting conversation. She really wanted a chance to talk more about his school.

When she saw all the girls that came with Tsukune, Hana almost wanted to wilt away. Having that really busty girl around had been intimidating, especially when it came out that she was some kind of rising celebrity. Hana had questioned if maybe she should have worn a dress after all. When Grace, Poise, Serenity, Confidence, Cuteness, and Charming had all walked into the room, Hana could feel her mother's criticism of her starting to build.

Nagi and Kota had lit up when they saw their respective girlfriends enter. The two boys quickly but politely abandoned Hana to Rin's company. Rin took the change in social dynamics poorly. Hana could see that Rin's interest in talking with her was non-existent as he focused his attention on Tsukune's companions. While Rin was almost drooling to get to know the girls that had just arrived, Hana could tell that it would have been pointless for him to try, because they all seemed to have eyes for someone, mostly Tsukune.

After all the introductions the house became filled with conversations. Human or youkai, the students could relate on topics of school assignments and seemingly unreasonable teachers. While equipped with plates of food, simple greetings evolved into full conversations. Rin tried not to scowl at Tsukune as some of the best looking girls he had ever seen danced attendance around him. When he had been introduced to Tsukune's companions, Rin had tried to smile invitingly, but the girls had not been swayed.

XxXxX

Kasumi watched the assorted teens as they mingled with a smile of satisfaction. Her friends were having almost as much fun as she was as they watched the interaction between the students. The mothers talked, using the titles, characters, plots, and story lines from dramas as there code, about the way the young men and women mixed and mingled. That new girl, Inari, had been a surprise. Moka's little sister, Kokoa, was an unknown factor. Rin was another random value in the equation. He supposedly had a girlfriend back at school, but his interest in the young women at the party was blatant. Kasumi and her friends talked about the younger party attendants, and speculated about their relationships. When it came to Tsukune, the mothers were almost ready to start making bets.

XxxxX

"Hey Tsukune," Kota said with a smile that was a mix of happiness and mischievousness. "Are any of your teachers real monsters?"

Emmy gasped. Nagi snickered. Tsukune smothered a cough behind a fist to hide his smile.

"You know it's true," Tsukune said with an exaggerated casualness. "There is a coach that's like an octopus. The female students have learned to watch out for him."

"That's no good," Nagi observed.

"There are always men like him," Kurumu shrugged. "Kagome Sensei is worse. She abuses her position to take advantage of the boys."

"What?" Rin questioned.

"Kagome Sensei isn't that bad," Yukari put in. "Kurumu's just jealous because our math teacher has a bigger chest than she does."

Kota and Nagi grinned as they watched Rin's reaction. Rin's mouth worked but no words came out. It was hard not to laugh

"You know," Nagi said with an eyebrow wiggle to Kota. "If we really get into it now, there would be no denying the truth."

"I don't think that's necessary," Tsukune said with a small shake of his head. "Besides, Rin already has a girlfriend. He doesn't need to go exploring the impossible."

"Impossible?" Hana perked up.

"Nagi and Kota," Tsukune explained to her. "Along with some others, were sent as representatives of their schools to our annual festival. So they got to see some of the impossible things there."

"Like how Tsukune here became popular," Rin grumbled.

"I always thought that was strange," Kokoa nodded

"Yes," Tsukune nodded with a grin. "I have no idea how that happened. I'm nobody special."

"Tsukune," Moka protested with a frown.

"You're special to me," Kurumu pouted.

"Everybody looks up to you, Captain," Inari said firmly.

"Thank you," Tsukune said dryly to nobody specific.

"I should punch you just on principle," Rin said with a weak smile.

"No," Mizore said.

"I'm joking," Rin said, rolling his eyes. The quiet girl's seriousness was a little unsettling.

Tsukune chuckled warmly. The exchange was very like what he and his friends had shared back in middle school. The fact that his closest friends from both sides of his life could banter back and forth was something Tsukune liked the idea of. However, Nagi and Kota had brought up a good point, and Tsukune had not missed Hana's reaction when he had thrown out the word 'impossible.'

"How about throwing some snowballs?" Tsukune suggested to Rin. "You're in the tennis club, so you should have some good arm strength."

"The streets are a slush and ice," Rin dismissed the idea. "The weather's been kind of mild so far, so the snow hasn't had a chance to really build up."

"Let's try the back yard," Tsukune said. "Even if there isn't much snow, I bet we can make at least a few snow men."

"We could do that," Rin shrugged.

"Just wait," Tsukune said with a smile. "Mizore can make a snowman better than anybody you've ever met."

"Tsukune?" Mizore questioned.

"I will be alright," Tsukune assured her.

The group migrated to the back yard, pausing to deposit empty dishes and to collect jackets. Most of the young women were only following along to give moral support to their young men. It turned out that there were a few good sized piles of snow in the yard to use for building material.

"Let's make it fun," Kota said, trying to find some advantage. He knew that at least Rin would make it into a competition, and he didn't have much confidence in making a snowman that would be interesting. "Just snowmen are boring. Let's make it a sculpture building contest."

"Sounds good," Nagi nodded.

"You're on," Rin said. He attacked the nearest pile of snow with determination.

The four boys set to work in the yard. It wasn't clear if they all had a plan when they started, but they all had to collect snow into a pile before they could do anything else. Tsukune decided to keep his sculpture on the small side, because he would need to spend less time gathering snow, and it would keep him from stressing over every detail, he hoped. Kota built up a large ball of snow, about the size of a beach ball, and then added a slightly smaller ball on top of it, before he started trimming his collected snow into shape. Rin was still working on a third snow ball, obviously going for the tallest sculpture, while Nagi was on his tenth, significantly smaller snow ball.

Rin worked on his snowman focused on the idea of out doing his friends. Building something almost life size was the first part of his strategy. The second part was to use up more of the snow so that his competition would have less to work with. Once he had a nice tower built up, he started to shape it.

Nagi tried to approach the challenge with some planning. A lot of small snow balls would be easier to move around than a few big ones. Also, he could reposition them a few times as he worked on the idea for his sculpture. It took him a little time to come up with an idea he liked, that he thought Kiyo would understand, and his friends would appreciate. Once he settled on a target design, he set to the task with determination.

Kota stepped back from his finished sculpture and smiled. While it wasn't impressive in terms of size or creativity, he was satisfied with his work. He rubbed his hands together and blew on them to warm them up as he turned to Emmy. He saw her looking at him with a rosy cheeked smile.

"And done," Rin said, stepping back from his sculpture. He had to admit that it was a little on the thin side, and the overall proportions were a little off, but he was confident that he had a winner. His snowman was a life-sized Kamen Rider style character. Rin turned to see how the others were doing. He saw that Kota was finished with what looked like a small temple on a hill. Nagi and Tsukune were still working on their sculptures, so Rin turned to Kota.

"Is that a temple?" Rin asked.

"Close," Kota said. "It is a shrine to honor mountain spirits." He shrugged his shoulders. "I decided I am going to major in engineering with a focus on conservation."

"Ahhhh," Rin nodded.

"Nice action hero," Kota observed. "Kamen rider?"

"That's what I was going for," Rin admitted. "But I don't think I had enough snow."

"Ahhhh," Kota nodded.

"There," Nagi said, standing up from his crouch. "That looks good." He stepped away from his sculpture so that the others, especially Kiyo, could see it.

Nagi had started by building a wall of packed snow. From there he worked out the basic shape to stand out in relief, so that the sculpture would be supported. While it was lacking in fine detail, Nagi was pleased with his work. He had shaped a katana resting upright in a stand.

"Nice," Rin admitted.

"Good job," Kota smirked, catching the meaning of his friend's art work.

"Thank you," Nagi said.

"Hey, Tsukune," Rin called to his friend. "We're waiting on you."

"Almost finished," Tsukune said.

He was squatting low to work on a sculpture that would only come up to about his mid thigh when he stood. He muttered to himself a few times before letting out a sigh. Finally, Tsukune stood up and turned to face the others as he stepped away from his work.

Tsukune felt a little frustrated with his creation. He knew in the logical part of his mind that he had done a good job, especially on the spur of the moment and with nothing resembling practice, but he still wished he could have done a better job. His sculpture looked kind of like a blocky doll. The 'face' was mostly flat with only a suggestion of detail. The hair was almost helmet like with lines traced into points along the edge. The body of the sculpture had two arms straight down the sides on ether side of an almost hourglass torso. There was just enough definition to make it clear that the sculpture was wearing a short robe or yukata. The legs were almost just a single block of snow, with a groove down the middle of it, that ended in a lump where feet should have been.

"Not bad," Rin smirked, looking at the shaped pile of packed snow. "A snow woman, right?"

"Close," Tsukune said. "It's a Snow Maiden." Tsukune looked to Mizore and gave her a wide smile. "It is my Yuki Onna. I hope it's..."

"Tsukune," Mizore cried out as she launched herself at him.

Mizore shed tears of happiness as she hugged Tsukune tightly. She thought that it was the most beautiful snow sculpture she had ever seen. It could have been a shapeless lump and she would have still been excited, because it was the thought, the meaning of it. Tsukune had made a sculpture of her. It was a declaration of his love for her, in the tradition of her own people.

Rin realized that he was standing along in the snow. Kota and Nagi had their girlfriends beside them. Along with Tsukune, Rin's friends had made something that meant something to their girlfriends. Rin didn't know how he should feel right then.

"Mizore," Tsukune said softly. "Maybe you could make a sculpture now."

"What?" Mizore questioned.

"You are far better than any of us when it comes to sculpting," Tsukune kissed her nose. "You should get to show off a little when you're with friends."

"Are you sure?" Mizore asked.

"Well," Tsukune gestured to his snow maiden. "She looks a little lonely."

Mizore smiled as she looked down at the sculpture Tsukune had made. For her it was almost nothing to concentrate her will on the snow on the ground. She made a show of crouching down and reaching for the snow, but it was all her own power at work. When she stood up again. A perfectly formed miniature snow Tsukune stood beside the packed snow Mizore.

"How'd she do that so fast?" Rin demanded.

"I told you she was good." Tsukune gave Rin a wide smile. He looked towards Hana. "It was like magic, wasn't it?"

"Oh," Hana's eyes sparkled with excitement.