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 177

It was only Ten O'clock in the morning and the festival was in full swing. While the food booths were starting out slow, the game booths were doing quick business. Alumni had been sent invitations by mail about the festival, as a way to encourage popular support for the event, and to bring in some additional business. The Headmistress knew that a well run cultural festival could help keep the school competitive. The daughters of good families were more inclined to go to a school where they thought they might have some fun, and good families were more likely to send their daughters to a school that could demonstrate well behaved students capable of managing the kinds of small businesses that were a part of a good festival.

When word of the festival had spread to the surrounding area, a number of businesses had applied to have their own booths on campus. A nursing school was operating a First-Aid booth, and was offering free blood pressure checks, all as part of an enrollment drive. A local photography studio had a purikura machine beside their booth, where they were set up to take photographs with an assortment of back grounds and some quick-change costumes that were perfect in the front but split open in the back. Customers would be able to order prints or, hopefully, make an appointment to visit the studio for more portrate choices.

The headmistress watched the festival from her office window. While it appeared to be a lot of confusion and noise to her, she was proud of how popular the festival was proving to be. She was hoping that when it was all over that she wouldn't regret the decision to hold a festival. She hoped that the students wouldn't regret it ether. As she looked out her window, the Headmistress tried to watch for Aono Tsukune. That young man had brought more excitement, indirectly, to the school than it had seen in years.

XxxXxxX

Aiko could not believe how stressful a day she was having. It seemed like everything should be running smoothly, but people kept searching her out with one small detail after another. It was as if everybody thought they needed her input on everything, and were afraid to think for themselves. Often times whomever was talking to her already knew what to do, but they wanted her approval before they did it. Even with a copy of the festival schedule in their hand when they approached her, no less than five people had asked her how late the festival would be open that evening.

When the school's public address system chimed and the closing of the festival sounded, Aiko nearly sagged with relief. As it was she received a strange surprise. When the announcement had been broadcast, Aiko had been in sight of a pair of Tsukune's companions. If it had not been for their uniforms, they would not have stood out at all among the crowd. But once the end of the festival day had been broadcast, the pair changed. Aiko could not say how the pair had changed exactly. The sun had already set and paper lanterns glowed warmly over the festival goers. The patrol pair had just been walking along, quietly keeping watch one moment, and then they had become different people. Their posture changed in small ways, as did their facial expressions. Suddenly the unobtrusive pair stood out, and there was something intimidating about them. Festival guests moved away from the patrol pair out of reflex.

Aiko watched the crowd thin out. The visitors left the campus. The cries and calls of booth staffer died off. In less than an hour all that remained on campus were staff and students. A loose line of Student Police, in uniform and in normal cloths, and in one case a yukata, had effortlessly herded out the guests. Every one of them being polite and somehow intimidating at the same time.

Once the festival was officially closed, and the guests were all gone, the Student Police assembled in front of the dorm building they were staying in. Aiko drifted over, watching them curiously. Tsukune was standing in front of his assembled team, Yoshie still beside him.

"Thank you everybody for your hard work today," Tsukune said to his companions. "Make sure you get your rest tonight. Tomorrow will be a busy day as well. Dismissed."

As the Student Police members broke formation and started to relax, Tsukune turned towards Aiko. She noticed that he was calm. Yoshie, on the other hand, was looking haggard, and more than a little shaken.

"How did it go today?" Aiko asked in a friendly way as she approached.

"It went well," Tsukune said. "A few excited people running where they shouldn't, but nothing serious yet."

"That's goo.. yet?" Aiko questioned a little slow on the uptake.

"Today was just opening day," Tsukune said with a kind of grim smile. "Tomorrow will be Saturday. More people will have the day off, and more people will have heard about your festival and how an all girls school is open to the public."

"Make sure that anybody in uniform has bloomers on under their skirts," Inari said as she moved in beside Tsukune.

Yoshie and Aiko both jumped a little in surprise. Even though she was surprised by the other girl's sudden appearance, Aiko did not miss what happened after she did. Inari slipped her arm loosely around Tsukune's while carefully not looking at him. Tsukune gave only a quick glance in his lieutenant's direction but otherwise did not react. Yoshie had flinched at the surprise arrival and had checked quickly to make sure that Tsukune was between herself and the older girl.

"What do you mean?" Aiko asked Inari.

"With school out," Inari explained. "You are going to have a lot of teen age boys coming for a look." She gave a smile that was all teeth. "We will be on the look out for them, especially any that try anything inappropriate."

"I had not thought about that," Aiko frowned, feeling a little alarmed.

"That is why you asked us to come," Tsukune pointed out.

"Yes," Aiko agreed. "And thank you for being here."

"Yoshie here was a big help today as well," Tsukune said, resting his free hand on the younger girl's shoulder lightly.

"Thank you, Aono-San," Yoshie said giving him a warm smile.

"Thank you," Tsukune said to her. "I will see you in the morning."

"Alright," Youshie gave a quick bow. "Good night."

Aiko watched the girl hurry off with a mix of excitement and relief on her face. When she turned back to Tsukune she saw that he was also watching the girl, and he had a look of serious concentration on his face.

"Is there something wrong?" Aiko asked in a low voice.

"No," Tsukune said with a small shake of his head, turning his attention to her. "Just trying to get her measure."

"Wha...?" Aiko blinked.

"Not important," Tsukune waived her question away. "She is the only student I found that could have gone to my school."

"Are you sure?" Aiko questioned. "I mean she's always been just a normal student."

"Tsukune's right about this," Inari spoke up. "The girls in the dorms all have a..."

"Remember the Summer trip?" Tsukune asked.

"Yes," Aiko nodded.

"There was a time when some boys were talking about trying to peek in at the girls' baths," Tsukune said.

"I remember," Aiko nodded. "All the girls in your group all froze in the middle of what they were doing, and then that one woman, Ruby, she hurried everybody under cover. Some of the girls said you made a signal."

"It's kind of like that," Tsukune explained.

"Imagine if you carried a bell everywhere you went," Inari put in. "As a symbol of your status, and so you could use it when you needed attention. Most people would never notice that you had the bell as long as you didn't take it out and start ringing it. But because you have that bell in your pocket all the time, you are aware of it, of the small sounds it makes as you move around normally. Because you have that bell and you are aware of it, you are able to notice the small sounds from others that are also carrying around the same kind of bell. Everybody at our school has some kind of bell."

"A bell..." Aiko nodded slowly with understanding.

"I heard the 'bell' Yoshie carries," Tsukune said. "But she never guessed so many others also had bells of their own. She told me that she had been raised to keep her bell hidden. But now that she knows how many people carry bells..."

"Now that I know," Aiko said. "About her bell that is, I am looking forward to talking with her. I want to get to know her better."

"That would be nice," Tsukune said.

"Well I will let you get your rest," Aiko said with a small bow. "Tomorrow will probably be very busy for all of us."

"Good night, Aiko," Tsukune offered.

"Good night," Aiko said. She turned to walk away. She had felt a yawn building and didn't want to let it out in front of Tsukune.

XxxX

"Inari," Tsukune said, turning to her after Aiko had departed.

"Yes?" She smiled at him.

"Please let go of my arm," Tsukune said with a polite smile and a firm voice.

"Oh," Inari gave a small pout as she withdrew her arm from his.

"We are on duty," Tsukune reminded her. "Until we are safely back at school, you need to keep things professional."

"I'm sorry," Inari felt herself growing warm with embarrassment.

"I am glad you are here with me," Inari said as he turned towards the dorm building. "I really appreciate your support, but in public, especially in front of someone who might be thought of as a client, we have to look as professional as possible."

"You're right," Inari said. "Thank you, Captain. I will remember what you said carefully."

Tsukune gave Inari a questioning look, but only got a sly smile in return. Tsukune realized right away that he had just made a mistake, but couldn't think of what it was. He just hoped that when it came back to bite him, that it would not involve too many sharp teeth.

XxxxxxxxxxxxZx

Nanashi Gonbee smiled as he approached the campus of the all girls school Saturday morning. He had sent a few of his kohai to check out the school the day before. They had reported that there had been some security, students in different uniforms, but otherwise the school was an easy target. Gonbee thought that it was an absolutely delicious that his opportunity to gain recognition and advance in the organization was to pull off a single act of terrorism at a school full of girls from weak, stuck-up human families.

It was going to be a simple operation to inspire fear and insecurity. Random violence would not be good enough, because most people would feel confident that it could never happen to them. Gonbee had a better imagination than that. He and his kohai had simple disguises in their pockets, long strips of cloth that they would use to wrap their heads, hiding everything except their eyes. Their weapons were long, curved knives. They would wait and until the festival was in full swing for the day before taking action. Gonbee had a cell phone reprogrammed with the phone numbers for the local media. By staging an attack to look like some kind of terrorist cult, Gonbee was going to maximize the fear he created. That fear would go out of control once the killing started. With a little luck it would leave everybody in Japan feeling shaken and on edge. When he and his kohai escaped, because there was no way human police would be able to catch them, everybody in the local area would be living in fear. If the media did their part, that same fear could possibly spread to all of Japan. Even families living nowhere near the area of the killings would worry about the safety of their children.

Gonbee was smiling as he entered the campus. He was thinking of the delicious fear and pain he was going to bring. He was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he missed the small warning from his instincts when he crossed the line.

XxxxxxxX

Tsukune was having a long morning. There was one small difficulty he had failed to anticipate as he had planned out the weekend. Tsukune had not thought about protective parents. He wasn't sure when or why, but somehow any number of girls had made mention of him in letters home. For a few it had been while talking about their Summer trip. For others, Tsukune had been a topic to share when Lieutenant Tanaka had been stirring up problems. Tsukune, in his uniform, was a presence that stood out, which was intentional. Now that parents were visiting the school festival in quantity, some were seeking him out for a little interrogation.

"Captain Aono-San," Yet another nervous young woman approached with parents in tow. "Good morning," She gave a quick bow. "I would like to introduce my parents..."

Tsukune smiled and exchanged polite greetings with another pair of parents he doubted he would ever remember. It was only a few words back and forth, but it was enough to reassure the parents that he was there just for the weekend, for the single purpose of protecting the peace. After that most parents were content to leave well enough alone. If that was all he had to put up with it would have been have just made his day a modest trial.

"Tsukune..." Shinchu Rina called out in a cheerful voice as she headed his way. She was dressed in a white blouse and a gray skirt that would have been modest if they weren't a size too small and artfully arranged. "I've been looking for you." She hugged him quickly, not giving him a chance to refuse or reject her. She let go of him just as quickly.

"I want to introduce you to my parents," She smiled and turned to direct his attention to the mature couple that was following her at a calm walk.

Tsukune studied Rina's parents carefully in the moment he had before talking with them. Her father was a little taller than average with broad shoulders and a shiny forehead that chased his receding hair line up to the crown of his head. His face had that tight look of somebody that didn't smile often. The man was dressed in a shirt, tie, and slacks in basic black and white. Rina's mother was a small woman, only as tall as Kurumu Tsukune estimated, but without his girlfriend's impressive figure. Rina's mother wore a dress that was in greens and blues that was suggestive of a kimono but fare less formal. While her face was calm and smooth, there was a sparkle in her eyes that hinted at mischievous sense of humor.

Rina took hold of Tsukune's arm and tried to pull him towards her parents. He simply stood his ground, to her frustration. With a thought of all he had dealt with when facing Kurumu's and Mizore's mothers, Tsukune had no problem keeping his calm as Rina's parents approached. Instead of looking nervous, he simple smiled politely as he scanned the area, keeping a watch for any problems, or some other excuse to be somewhere else.

"Mother, Father," Rina said, trying to hide her frustration at Tsukune's failure to play along with her. "I would like to introduce you to my friend, Aono Tsukune. Tsukune, these are my parents."

"Good morning," Tsukune offered with a small bow, little more than a bow of his head. "I hope you enjoy your visit to the festival."

"Hrmph," Mr. Shinchu gave a noncommittal grunt a small nod of his head.

"So unfriendly," Mrs. Shinchu said with a hint of a frown. "There is no reason to be so shy."

"Ma'am," Tsukune said. "Your daughter is a friend of mine, and I would not mind talking with you, but I am on duty right now."

"Tsukune," Rina protested, pulling at his arm in a futile attempt to shake him.

"Now dear," Rina's mother chided her. "There are worse things than a young man who takes his responsibilities seriously."

"Tsukune you weren't so stiff when I visited your school," Rina complained.

"When you visited my school," Tsukune answered. "My job was to be your host, to keep you safe and to show you and the others a good time."

"What is your job now?" Mr. Shinchu asked.

"It is my duty to protect the peace of the festival," Tsukune said. "And to protect everybody here to the best of my ability."

"Will you be available to talk with us after your work is finished?" Mrs. Shinchu questioned.

"I'm sorry," Tsukune said to the woman. "When I am finished here I have to return to my own school."

"Oh," Rina's mother started to smile. "But I am sure you will have a little free time enjoy the festival."

"No," Tsukune said. "I am here because it is my duty to protect others."

Tsukune wasn't sure why, but he felt good saying that. It gave him a sense of strength and purpose. Almost absentmindedly he brought his hand up and pressed his fingers against the curved jade bead that was hidden under his shirt and tie. It felt warm against his chest. The image of a woman in a long flowing kimono and sparkling hair ornaments rose up in Tsukune's mind as he remembered the strange day he had been given the magatama. Yes, Tsukune thought to himself, he would do all he could to protect the peace and safety of those that depended on him.

"Heh," Mr. Shinchu gave a tiny smirk. "Yes," The man said. "I approve."

"I'm not sure," Mrs Shinchu said. "If you are going to be so serious all the time you are going to lose your girlfriend to somebody that will give her more attention."

"If I can't take my responsibilities seriously," Tsukune countered. "I don't deserve to have a girlfriend."

"Tsukune..." Rina protested.

"And as soon as I return to my school," Tsukune went on. "I will go and see my girlfriends and thank them for being understanding when my responsibilities kept me away from them all weekend."

"Ach..." Mrs. Shinchu choked, her eyes going wide.

"Rina?" Her father gave her a questioning look.

"Tsukune is very popular back at his own school," Rina said innocently. "It is his loyalty to his friends, and their loyalty to him that impressed me."

"Even so..." The man started to say.

"That is why I wanted you to meet Tsukune," Rina went on. "So the next time somebody wants to arrange an interview, you and mother will know what I will be looking for."

Rina's mother sputtered. Her father slowly started to turn red. Rina smiled impishly. Mrs Shinchu lost her composure and gave forth a torrent of merry laughter. Rina burst into giggles.

"Oh my baby," The woman reached out and embraced Rina, pulling her daughter away from Tsukune. "You are so precious."

"Phaaaw..." Mr. Shinchu shook his head. He looked Tsukune in the eye. "And for a moment I thought I was going to be able to marry one of them off..."

Whatever else Mr Shinchu had to say was lost. Tsukune was filled with a sense of alarm as urgent as if he had heard somebody crying out for help. Tsukune tensed and turned. He realized that he was suddenly facing the entrance to the school grounds. Danger had just arrived on campus.

(A/N: Thank you all for your reviews. Just a reminder, if you sign in to post a review I can reply.)