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 229
Tsukune slowly became aware of his own thoughts. He was someplace. He was alive, or at least he felt alive. He was someplace where there seemed to be light, but nothing to see. Or he was someplace completely dark. This reminded him of something, of some place and some one. A thread of memory tickled his mind. This grew into a thought of a woman.
The thought became something else again. Where Tsukune was, or was not, changed, or he did. Suddenly he was aware of more than just himself. In that place, Tsukune found himself in the middle of it. His awareness was focused in two directions, as if he was looking into light and darkness at the same time. In that light, he thought he saw someone he recognized.
"Mother?" Tsukune asked, or was it thought. Just being aware of her, whoever she was, filled Tsukune with feelings, both physical and emotional, both good and bad.
"You have done well my son," The woman said. "I am pleased to have chosen so well my champion."
"Thank you, Mother," Tsukune replied.
"I approve of him as well," Another presence spoke from out of the darkness.
Tsukune became aware of the second presence. With that awareness came a lazy sense of peace. That presence pushed away his pain and fear and all other feelings.
"Then we are in agreement," The woman said. "He shall keep what he as earned, and what was forced upon him."
"We are in agreement," The other voice said. "We will use him and take from him and demand more from him."
"I do not understand," Tsukune said.
"You will serve," Both voices said as one. "You will be our agent, our hand, our tool. You will protect our children, even from themselves."
Tsukune wanted to argue. He wanted to demand an answer he could understand. He tried to focus his attention on the two that were talking to him, but somehow there was just one presence. His heart burned with something, as did his mind, as if he was on the edge of understanding something impossibly large. The more he tried to understand, the more he hurt
But then something else intruded on his awareness. Tsukune felt another presence close to him, and then many. The non-place he was in was suddenly filled with countless sparks of life, some bright, some dim. Each one was unique, and some even called out to him.
One was larger than the rest. Its presence subdued the ones around it. It was right there in front of him, so bright and so dark at the same time. He tore his awareness from the voices that were ordering him, supporting him, demanding his attention; filling his mind with thoughts and compulsions. Tsukune embraced the pain that he felt in his heart and used it to help clear his thoughts. There was something left to do...
XxxxxXxxxxXxx
Moka watched as Tsukune's... attack subsided. The energy around him seemed to fade and his own youki started to settle, or at lest become more ordered and contained. Tsukune continued to breath in ragged pants, but even that slowed down and became more regular as he stood straight again. The red eyes and the black lines were still there, but the anger and hate were diminished. His face appeared pained, but disciplined towards a mask of calm.
"Moka?" Tsukune blinked, his voice holding a harsh edge.
"Tsukune?" Moka's voice quavered.
Tsukune looked at himself, then he looked back at Moka. He gave her a small nod and the smallest hint of a smile. It was enough.
"Tsukune..." Moka threw herself against Tsukune and hugged him.
Slowly, Tsukune folded his arms and wings around her. He held her gently as his mind cleared. His body was still filled with burning power. It was causing him pain, like a tooth ache in every bone and a cramp in every muscle. But pain was something only the living could feel. Pain was proof of life. He was alive and Moka was in his arms. Tsukune concentrated on such things, concentrated on his awareness of Kurumu, and on all the other things he could only see and hear and feel if he was alive.
"Moka," Tsukune said in a voice made harsh by the power he was holding within. "Are you alright?" He unfolded his wings and looked down at the beautiful woman in his arms.
"I am now," Moka looked up at him. Tears still fell from her green eyes while her smiling face was framed by silver hair.
Tsukune took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He reached for all the control he had ever learned and pushed his youki inward. With each calming breath, Tsukune looked around to try to understand what had happened.
Shuzen Issa watched in amazement as he climbed back to his feet. He watched the one who had beaten him. The young man that his daughter was holding on to was reigning in his power. The level of his power had been incredible to begin with. When Tsukune had grabbed his wrist it had almost felt like being struck by lightning. When he had held him by his hair, Issa had at first been angry, and then had felt the first stirrings of fear that he had not known for a very long time. What power he had radiated was only a part of what he held within. Now he was able to rationally control his own youki. As he reigned in his power, the young man became more human in appearance.
Tsukune was feeling a sense of control, even as he felt nervous. His power was still more than he wanted to face, and he was unsure of his own ability to stay focused. He turned his attention to the man in front of him.
"Sir," Tsukune said as calmly as he could. "It is an honor to meet you at last." He managed only a small bow with Moka holding on to him as she was. "I am Aono Tsukune. I am in love with your daughter. I know that I am not worthy of her, but please allow us to be together anyway."
"Tsukune..." Moka felt her heart tremble with happiness. She hadn't lost him. He had not lost his love for her.
"You struck me," Issa said in a firm, near angry tone. Issa was still angry. Angry at being opposed. Angry at being beaten. "You dared to lay a hand upon me."
"Yes sir, and I apologize," Tsukune nodded. "But I did not know who you were, and I thought you were trying to take Moka away from me."
"And I still may," Issa said.
"No you will not," Tsukune growled. His voice grew louder as his his control slipped and his power started rising again. The message was clear.
"Tsukune..." Moka worried.
"Tsu-Ku-neee..." Kurumu cried out as she rushed up to him. She wrapped her arms around him as best she could. She was glad that we was alright.
Behind her, with a little more dignity but equal relief and worry, came Mizore. As soon as she touched him she understood the fight he was waging within. She knew what needed to be done.
"Moka, Kurumu," Mizore ignored the elder vampire that was glaring in confusion at the scene. "We need to help him." She opened herself up to his Warmth and started to draw it in.
"Yes," Was all that Moka said. She pulled herself a little closer and brought her mouth to the side of his neck She drank in the intoxicating mix of his power and blood.
Kurumu understood what was happening, but couldn't help. Her ability to take energy from a man was too specialized. She may not have been able to help him the same way the others did, but she could be there for him.
"Tsukune, we were so worried for you," Kurumu said. "We love you. Please, everything will be alright now. We will all be together and everything will work out." Kurumu used her Charm ability, not to arouse Tsukune, but to try to sooth him.
Moka's father watched the whole scene. He saw how the young man his daughter loved held her close as she drank from his neck, and could feel the raw power that she took with it. What the other two young women were doing was not missed ether. Issa could see the loyalty and affection they held for Tsukune, but it was Moka that the powerful young man held closest.
It gave Issa a lot to think about. The fight had not been a formal challenge, so he was not obligated to admit that Tsukune had won. If his own daughters had not interfered with the fight when Tsukune had held the advantage... It was a chilling thought.
"Awwwww," a voice drew Issa's attention away from where Moka and the others stood. He saw the pair of witches and their human companion, and the kitsune watching what was happening on the littered and bloodstained dance floor. It was the human that spoke. "It's just not fair."
"You desire him as well?" Issa questioned with a raised eyebrow. He was too politically savvy to not take any opportunity that came along to help understand a potential rival.
"Not like they do," Aiko said with a small sigh. "I just wish I could find somebody like him."
"Like Aono?" Issa questioned.
"I know it's silly," Aiko nodded. "But I would like a boyfriend that would be willing to take on the whole world for my sake."
"Hmmmm," Shuzen Issa mused.
He looked around and saw that the kitsune and the elder witch were leaning against each other a little as they watched the others on the dance floor. Another human approached, armed and bloodstained, but stopped beside Kokoa. The human fumbled for a moment to secure her trophy/weapons in her sash and then pulled out her cellphone. She started taking pictures of Tsukune and the others.
Moka's father was amazed that the humans were taking the scene of recent chaos and death so well. Scanning the room, seeking some distraction from his own defeat, taking in the destruction he started to sense what was happening. There was an energy in the air, a kind of barrier. Curious, Issa let his awareness open a little more and tried to study and track what he was feeling. He found what he was looking for on one of the bodies near by, and then on another.
Fairy Tail had tried to be careful in their planning and execution of their attack. Issa found suppression charms on the bodies. The little strips of paper written with arcane symbols and glyphs had probably been intended to help hide the youki, the dark and dangerous auras of the soldiers. The nature of the charms would have been amplified if any of dying had been thinking about wanting to escape or hide as their life ended. Unintentional but powerful blood magic.
Shuzen Issa looked around the ballroom and allowed himself a dark chuckle. In the end Fairy Tail was their own worst enemy. Their hunger for power had always exceeded their grasp, which was a sure formula for failure. They had been a pack of scavengers trying to be predators. Gathering them together was a recipe disaster. Doomed to self destruction from the beginning because, collectively, they did not have the foresight nor the wisdom to understand the value of being patient. The suppression charms had probably been the thing that had prevented the humans from stampeding in blind panic at the very beginning. Now that the danger was over, the death empowered charms were keeping the humans calm.
Shuzen Issa wordlessly handed one of the charms to the elder witch and saw that she recognized it for what it was. The witch took the charm and approached Aono Tsukune with it. Issa watched to see what the young man would do next.
XxxxxXxxxxX
Tanaka Ito waded through the strange crowd of young adults. Some were crying and holding on to each other for support. Some, mostly young men, were talking excitedly about what had just happened and what they had done. The behavior was not too strange to see. He had seen the same after some police operations or the occasional bad situation. Japanese were a disciplined people and not overly given to panicking. What the police lieutenant was having a hard time understanding were the strange creatures he kept seeing. Some were on the floor, broken and bleeding, or dead. Others were talking and walking and mingling with the other party goers.
"Father," Ito heard Iris call out. He turned and saw his daughter elevated above the crowd.
"Iris," He called back, relieved that his daughter was alright.
He moved towards her, expecting to find her standing on a table, or perched on one of the decorative trees. As he got closer his mind put what he was seeing together and he almost stopped breathing out of shock. He remembered when Iris was a little girl, his little girl, and he would hold her in the crook of his arm, carrying her with her head on level with his own. What he saw now was a strange reflection of the same scene. Iris was being held by a large... beast... the way her father once had. And just like those times years ago, she had her arms around the neck of the one holding her.
"Iris?" Tanaka asked with his voice little more than a strained wheeze.
"Father," Iris said. "It's alright. This is Ken." She gave her huge companion a nod and was lowered to the floor. "He protected me," Iris explained. "He is a really nice boy, Father. He really cares about me."
"Hello again Mr. Tanaka," Ken said in a low, rumbling voice as he offered a polite bow. "Please do not be alarmed by my appearance." He snatched a tablecloth from a near by broken table. As he proceeded to wrap it around himself like a toga he shifted into his smaller human form. "I am sure you have a lot of questions, but please believe me, I would never do anything to hurt Iris."
Stunned into silence, Tanaka Ito scrubbed at his face with one hand. He was aware that the few drinks he had enjoyed not long ago, and realized that they had been too few and too long ago. Finally he gave his head a shake to clear it and found his voice.
"Thank you for looking after my daughter, Ken," Ito said, falling back on courtesy to help him get his mind working right. He turned his attention to Iris. "And you knew...?"
"I didn't know when I first met Ken," Iris explained, standing close to her boyfriend and reaching for his hand. "I learned about it when I visited his school in the Fall."
"And you never..." Ito choked off his own words. He realized that he had too much to think about at the moment as it was. He turned his attention back to Ken. "You... You will be coming over for supper some time soon, and then you and I are going to have a very long talk."
"Yes sir," Ken said carefully.
"This is insane," Tanaka sighed. "Where's Aono? I know he is here somewhere."
"He is over there," Ken pointed towards the dance floor. "I can feel him. He doesn't seem to be angry anymore, but he is probably still..." His voice trailed of. It was clear from the pained look his girlfriend's father was giving him that he was saying too much. "He should be over by the dance floor."
"Thank you," Ito said. "You should probably try to get people to leave before this gets too much more complicated." He turned to find the dance floor and Aono Tsukune. He was hoping to find some answers.