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 178

Lieutenant Tanaka scanned the area and crowd out of habit. The last time he had visited his daughter's school had been frustrating, and even embarrassing. Dressed in slacks and a polo shirt, while walking with his wife, he didn't think many people would connect him with his previous visits to the campus. His wife and daughter had both come down on him over the winter break for how all of that had turned out. When Iris had invited her boyfriend over for supper once during the break, the boy had charmed Mrs. Tanaka with his manners and shyness. The lieutenant scanned the festival wondering if that boy was going to make an appearance.

Iris had been excited to inform her father that Aono Tsukune was going to be at the festival. Lieutenant Tanaka had mixed feelings about that young man being at his daughter's school. While Aono Tsukune had so far appeared serious and capable, the lieutenant was not pleased to think that somebody that had enemies was out in public around a crowd of potentially innocent bystanders, mostly young women, who could get hurt.

"Ito," Lily Tanaka said with a small elbow jab at her husband. "Quit frowning so much, or you'll frighten Iris.

"I'm not frowning," The lieutenant said with a frown. "I'm just looking for our daughter."

"You mean you're looking to see if Iris is with her boyfriend," Lily chided gently. "Relax. He is a sweet boy."

"If you say so," Ito grumbled, still scanning the area. He mentally noted down the location of a little ramen booth as a candidate for lunch later.

"It's a school festival," Lily gave her husband a smile. "What could really go wrong?"

XxxxxxxxxxX

Ijimi Ichi was feeling confident, almost cocky. He had been given an easy job and told that it was an important one. All he had to do was put on his disguise, pull his long knife, and make a scene of grabbing a hostage and dragging her into a building. He was to be seen in his disguise, hopefully having pictures and videos taken as he pulled his hostage out of sight. Once out of sight, he was free to do what he wanted, so long as he was careful to escape without his face being seen.

Ijimi Ichi had already planned out his actions. There was a ground floor classroom that had been made into a small art gallery where visitors were taking pictures and talking in quiet voices. As he waited for the preset time to count down, Ijimi Ichi picked out his target. She was a plump little thing that was manning the donations and sales table. He would pull his knife, grab her up by the hair, and then the yelling and screaming would start. He would drag her down the hall to the girls toilet, past enough people and windows that they were sure to be seen. As the clock ticked away, Ijimi Ichi moved behind a divider screen and pulled out his long scarf to get ready.

XxxxxxxxxxX

Ijimi Ni was feeling a rush of excitement. He was going to make his bosses proud, and have wild fun doing it. His plan was simple, direct, and was going to be the stuff of horror movies. He had identified the entrances to the girls' dorm. He was going to rush in, grab the first girl that came in reach, and threaten her with his knife until she started screaming. Then he would stand at the entrance for everybody to see as he teased and poked her a little. After he had everybody's attention, he would drag her into the building and really make her scream. When he was finished with her, he would set the building on fire and escape in the confusion.

Ijimi Ni just needed to make sure his scarf and knife were will displayed, his boss had told him. By borrowing the icons of terrorists, the attack would cause even more fear with a minimum of effort. Ijimi Ni liked that idea. He thought he might even make sure his victim would be found after he was done with her. A few scars on her naked body would really make an impression. He was almost drooling as he reached into his pocket for his scarf.

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

Nanashi Gonbee had it all planned out. He was going to grab his sacrificial victim and drag her to the front entrance to the main school building. She would cry and scream, getting everybody's attention, even if he had to cut her up to get her to do it. Once he was in place and had his audience, Gonbee would shout out the crazy little speech he had memorized for the occasion. He would then kill his victim on the front steps of the school, before running into the building. Once out of sight, he would pull a quick change and escape out another way.

Nanashi Gonbee smiled as he thought about the fear and suffering he was going to cause. The spoiled children of Japan were in for a shock. With three attacks happening at the same time, it would seem like the 'terrorists' were everywhere. It would drive home the idea that everybody was vulnerable. He wanted the parents of Japan to feel fear and despair. He checked his watch with a smile. Soon...

Xxxxxxxxx

The school's clock tower chimed the hour.

Ijimi Ichi had his scarf in place and his knife in hand. He came out from behind the screen and his eyes fell on his intended target. She was cute and unaware of what was bout to happen to her. He closed in on her, hardly noticing the twins it floral print dresses that had just entered the room.

Xxx

The school's clock tower chimed the hour.

Ijimi Ni came out of the bushes. His face was hidden. His knife was held high. He rushed towards a small girl who looked like she was just enjoying some fresh air on the dorm steps. He gave a loud, warbling war cry.

Xxx

The school's clock tower chimed the hour.

Nanashi Gonbee only needed an instant to set his headscarf in place. He knew that it would be the scarf that people would see. Where a moment before he was all but invisible, as he drew out his long, curved knife, Gonbee knew he had transformed into something nobody would be able to ignore. He saw bright and smiling girl talking with what must be her parents, and in an instant he knew he had found his perfect sacrifice.

He didn't yell. He kept his knife held low. It was a quiet rush at a target that wouldn't even see him coming. Gonbee knew if he killed one of the parents he would get the girl to scream. He aimed for the man's flank. A quick upward stab would his his liver, making for a bloody death. Blood was good for causing Terror.

Gonbee smiled behind his scarf. The girl was starting to turn a little to the side. She might see him, but not in time to save her father.

CRACK

A sound split the air like a gun shot. Gonbee felt a cool touch at his throat. Suddenly everything went wrong.

XxxxxxxX

Tsukune knew something was about to happen. He couldn't say how he knew, but there was no denying that trouble was coming. With cell phones, hand signals, and quick words in passing, the Student Police were warned to be on the lookout for danger. Each member of the team became like hunters. They tried to be inconspicuous as the watched for their target.

Tsukune tried to think of what he could do. He didn't want to cause a panic with a general alarm signal. He needed to be ready to respond in any direction. He decided the best place to post himself would be near the main school building. He would be central to most of the campus and easy to find.

Tsukune tried to focus his thoughts. There was a danger at hand, but it was his duty to protect the peace and safety of everybody. He could feel energy filling him. It was more than just his usual nervous energy and youki. Tsukune felt like he would start glowing if he didn't keep his concentration. He forced himself to remain calm as he looked around, wishing he had the rest of his Student Police available.

Then came the flash of 'Intent.' For less than a heartbeat, Tsukune felt the presence of a killing aura. A quick look was all it took to find the danger. A man with his head wrapped in a scarf and holding a knife had appeared. He was facing away from Tsukune, intent on his target. The man's killing aura was focused in a single direction to the exclusion of all else.

Tsukune reached for his left wrist.

"Testsu Odari," Tsukune said with an icy voice. "Wake. Dance."

The iron braclet became like a living thing in Tsukune's hand. It transformed into long, supple coils. Tsukune sent his arm back and then forward. The length of Tetsu Odari moved. At the end of the first motion the end of the whip was already traveling at super sonic speeds, making it crack. And then it rushed forward to coil around the target's neck.

Tsukune didn't jerk back with his weapon. He simply planted his feet and held his ground. The man had not noticed his danger until his own momentum carried him a step too far.

XxxX

Gonbee knew he was in trouble when he felt the vice constricting around his neck. He almost went over backwards as his feet tried to out-run his upper body. Instead he used the sudden halt to stumble into a turn so he could face his attacker. With inhuman speed and strength, he lashed out with his knife to slice the whip that had caught him. He heard the ring of metal on metal as his strike did nothing more than to blunt the knife's cutting edge.

Tsukune saw the man turn and lash out and knew he was dealing wit an experienced fighter as well as a youkai. He had to end the fight before anybody got hurt. He jerked back with his right hand, pulling himself forward while keeping the whip tight, so he could grab Tyetsu Odari with his left hand. The man had leaned back to resist the pull, and that had been his mistake. As the man readied himself to strike forward, mistaking Tsukune's setup for an actual attack, Tsukune made his move.

Tsukune used all of his body weight and strength to jerk hard on Testu Odari with his left hand. At the same time he pivoted the right side of his body forward. Caught trying to bring his own attack forward, Gonbee was pulled forward, off balance, and into range. With all of his strength and momentum behind it, Tsukune sent his right fist, clutching the iron butt of Tetsu Odari, into the side of his opponent's head. Only the whip around his neck kept the limp body of the man from being sent flying.

XxxxxxxX

Ijimi Ni cried quietly on the ground. The small girl he had rushed towards had surprised him by simply leaning her upper body back out oh his reach while lashing out with one foot. The toe of her shoe had connected with his groin and that had been the end of the fight. Ijimi Ne couldn't even stand up. The force of the girl's kick had broken him. His manhood was crushed, and every time he moved a leg he could feel the stabbing agony of the broken bones of his groin grinding together. A cold sweat gripped him and his body became weak. All he could do was pant quietly on the ground.

XxxxxxX

Ijimi Ichi had realized too late that everything had gone wrong with his plan. His right forearm was broken, bending sharply where it shouldn't. Both shoulders were burning with pain from being dislocated. He had not recognized the twins as youkai when he had tried to attack the human girl, and they had rushed to her defense. He groaned in pain knowing that it was all over.

Try as he might, Ijimi Ichi couldn't think of a way to escape. The twins had hurried him out of the room and out of the building, and he had been powerless to resist. If they turned him over to the police, Fairy Tail would make sure he died. He needed a way to escape before he could be arrested, and then he would have to escape before Fairy Tail found out that he had failed.

XxxxxxX

Lieutenant Tanaka looked at the three 'terrorists' with a sick feeling in his stomach. Aono Tsukune had described the people looking for him as terrorists, but the lieutenant had not believed him. He tried to imagine the kind of anger, the kind of hate a person had to have in order to try to attack a school festival.

Lieutenant Ito Tanaka had been standing with his family, talking about nothing more important than their next snack, when he had heard the loud crack of a whip. He had turned enough to see a man coming at his back with a knife suddenly forced to change directions. After watching Aono Tsukune take the attacker down, Lieutenant Tanaka knew why the young man could be so confident.

After the attack, Lieutenant Tanaka had tried to call for support, only to be told by his captain that support was already on the way. The order had come from the Imperial Astrologer's office. The van that had arrived to pick up the 'terrorists' had arrived a short time later. The assistant to the Imperial Astrologist had been one of the people to arrive with the van. The assistant bound the groaning, broken man with silk cords before he was not too carefully put in the van. The other two men were tossed in the van like so much garbage. One had died of internal bleeding and shock. The one that had tried to stab the lieutenant gave him the shivers to look at. Not only was the man's neck broken, but his head was turned about in an unnatural way, while the rest of his body showed no sign of harm.

"You handled this well," Lieutenant Tanaka said to Aono Tsukune was the van left the campus.

"I'll go throw up when nobody is watching," Tsukune said with a grim smile. While he had suspected that he had killed the sorcerer that had tortured Kurumu, Tsukune had been left with enough doubt to keep it from bothering him. When he and Inari had fought Fairy Tail recently, Tsukune had been told that he had killed, but in the middle of that desperate brawl, he had not noticed. This time was different. It was one-on-one and when he had landed his killing blow he had felt the vibrations of the man's neck snapping through his hold on Tetsu Odari. It had been a deliberate strike. Tsukune felt like his stomach was filled with boiling sewage.

The only positive thing that Tsukune could see was that he and his fellow Student Police had protected the festival. The only people to get hurt were the criminals. But two of the criminals were dead. One was in police custody, but they were human, so it was likely to become a problem. Tsukune had tried to call his school's bus driver, but Lieutenant Tanaka had beaten him to the punch. While the the festival goers were all safe, the 'terrorists' had been seen and had nearly started a panic.

It wasn't long before Tsukune was in the Headmistress' office to give a report. Lieutenant Tanak was also with him, to add his supporting statement. Inari had caught up to her captain on his way to give his report and had decided to stick with him.

"A terrorist attack..." The headmistress frowned from behind her desk. "To think that Japan would have to suffer such things." She looked to Lieutenant Tanaka. "And you are telling me this has been going on for more than a year?"

"I am not free to give out information," Lieutenant Tanaka said. "But I have been investigating this group for a while. It is a part of the reason I was so interested in locating Mister Aono here. I have learned that this organization has encountered him before."

"Aono," The headmistress turned to him. "What can you tell me about these people?"

"I am a member of my school's Newspaper Club," Tsukune explained with a story he had planed for the next time a somebody came asking him questions. "During our club trips we sometimes ask questions or investigate mysteries. We helped solve the disappearances involved with the Witches Ranch development two years ago."

"I remember hearing about that," The headmistress nodded slowly.

"We went to visit a sea-side town the year after that," Tsukune went on. "Where we got caught up in a plot to take over the hotel we were staying at. The group wanted to push out the owners so they could take the place over and use to to raise money to fund their organization."

"This organization has been trying to establish itself in Japan for several years now," Lieutenant Tanaka spoke up. "While all information suggest that they are... not inhibited by boarders, they do not have much in the way coordination. With this attack blunted, from the way they have acted in the past, it should be a while before they are willing to commit any resources to anything but trying to cover their trail."

"But why here?" The headmistress wanted to know. "Why my school?"

"Fear," Tsukune said. "With the status of the families of your students, their attack could have touched off a wave of fear all across Japan."

"What about your school?" The headmistress demanded at Tsukune. "You've said yourself that your school has students from some of the oldest and most powerful families there are. Why isn't your school being bothered by these people?"

"Because we have our Student Police," Inari spoke up.

"Excuse me?" The headmistress turned to her.

"We are trained to keep a watch out for each other and the school," Inari explained.

"They depend on fear and secrecy," Tsukune took over. "If even a rumor of problem is heard by a member of the Student Police, it is taken seriously. Just a few weeks ago, Sansai Inari and I found some of them trying to sneak in close to the school by pretending to be contractors for the phone company."

"How did you discover them" The headmistress asked.

"There had been a sudden change in the service of our cell phones," Tsukune answered. "And I had been informed by Lieutenant Tanaka that my name had been heard in connection to some stolen telecommunication equipment."

"Lieutenant?" The headmistress looked to him.

"That's right," The lieutenant nodded.

"I see..." The headmistress leaned back in her chair as her mind processed what she had just learned.

It all made sense in a dark way. Her charges were the daughters of rich and elite families. A kidnapping for ransom was always a possibility. Likewise actions intended for revenge against their parents, or the companies they worked for or controlled. She remembered Aono's claim of being a nobody. The disposable nobody that could be sacrificed for the good of his school and the safety of his school mates. The headmistress considered the events of the day in conjunction to what she had known or suspected from before.

"Lieutenant Tanaka," The headmistress said at last as she leaned forward with a warm smile. "I would like to thank you for your assistance today." She looked to Tsukune. "And Mister Aono, you and your team of Student Police have exceeded my every expectation."

"I am glad I could help," The lieutenant said.

"We were just fulfilling our duty," Tsukune replied.

"Be that as it may," The headmistress said. "My students and our school were fortunate that you were hear today, and you have our thanks."

XxxxX

"Before I go and find my family," Lieutenant Tanaka said to Tsukune as they headed for the main entrance of the school building. "I just wanted to say thank you. I saw what you did for me."

"I was just doing my duty," Tsukune said. "I am hear to protect the peace and safety of everybody at the festival."

"I still don't like it that you are withholding information from me," Ito Tanaka said with a small frown. "But I can respect your dedication."

"Thank you sir," Tsukune replied.

"I understand that you are working towards a career with the police," Ito said.

"Yes," Tsukune said. "I have already applied to universities with police training programs."

"I am glad to hear it. If you need a letter of recommendation," Ito said. "Please do not hesitate to ask. I would be proud to help you."

"Thank you," Tsukune said.

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

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