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 251

The sleepy little village had no idea what had brought on the change to their lives. It had started with what had seemed to be small things. The government seemed to finally be remembering them and had sent people to repair the buildings and restaff the local police office. About the same time, strangers started passing through the village, going up a dirt road that nobody could remember as being anything but a pointless foot path. Suddenly there was an old fashion ryokan hidden in a forest clearing, staffed by shy women that nobody had ever seen before. As Summer passed into Autumn, a trickle of tourists passed through the village.

Not a lot changed for the villagers. The visitors were quiet and polite enough when the stopped at the little store to shop. Fishing supplies were in higher demand than before. Sales of daily items and food went up, but not in any shocking way. One thing that did stand out was the number of beautiful young women that appeared passing through the village. The seemed to come from the inn, pass down to the riverfront, and then return. They were always very quiet, and extremely shy.

What the villagers didn't know was that there secret neighbors, the snow fairies, were using their secluded region as a training ground of sorts. The bravest of the young women worked at the inn. The younger, or more timid, were being sent on walks through the village to get them used to being seen, and even talking to strangers. Mizore's success with Tsukune was a strong motivator. Yuki's success with Jessie was also encouraging.

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Jessie had been captivated by the pretty snow maiden. He had even accepted her attentions when she had singled him out. By the end of that first weekend, they had shared some kissing and petting. By the middle of Autumn, Jessie had found a job just a few hours away from the mountain village in an auto mechanic's shop. The old mechanic had been happy to have a serious young man come work for him, especially when he came with a letter of reference from the lending company that had bought his mortgage from the bank.

Jessie lived and worked close enough to visit Yuki on the weekends. When he did visit, he was welcomed as a guest at the inn, and was never charged for his stay. His relationship with Yuki was encouraging to some of the young snow maidens that had thought that they would have to wait for an arranged marriage.

Of course his father wanted to know why Jessie was interested in moving. Ross quickly put the pieces together and made a call to Tsukune. After a polite yet frustrating conversation, because Ross had a hard time believing that anybody could be as open and honest about the things Tsukune talked about, he decided to investigate things for himself. His wife was surprised by the sudden trip to a mountain inn, but was not going to complain about it. She loved the way the quiet young women saw to her every comfort, as if they truly respected her, and not just because it was their job.

As housewives do, Ross' wife spoke with the wives of other members of his group. The out of the way inn became a popular little destination. Old Yara took his wife, at her insistence, up to the inn. When word got around that she had delivered eight children, Old Yara's wife was treated like royalty by the snow maidens.

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Tsukune was kept informed about how the inn was doing. Tsurara wanted Tsukune to know that the old manor was being well looked after, and that he could move in and take charge of it at any time. Tsukune was perfectly content to let Tsurara manage the manor turned inn. When he went to visit Mizore, he stayed at her house, seldom visiting the old manor and its shrine in the mountain grotto.

The end of Summer meant the start of college. Equipped with books and assorted tools of learning, it was time for Tsukune to go back to school. Moka, Kurumu, and Inari were all campus bound as well. For each of them, returning to school meant something important. They were all thinking about the future they were aiming for.

Moka was determined to build her career as an attorney. She would work hard, build a business, where she establish her own reputation. As an attorney, she would make a name for herself that she could be proud of, and that even her own father would respect. It would be as an accomplished, professional, and capable woman that Moka would stand beside Tsukune as his wife.

She prepared for her first day of university with her mind on the future she wanted. She had all the books required for her classes, as well as the ones recommended by her course councilor. Her school bag was made of polished black leather, and would fit in equally well in a class room or a court room. She dressed professionally for her first day, as if she were going in to work at a prestigious law office. Moka was determined to reach her goal, and every day of class was going to be every bit as important as any future day working as an attorney.

Xx

For Kurumu, the first day at her new school was a special kind of challenge. She had her books in a backpack, along with other school supplies and her cell phones, all set to vibrate just to be safe. She wasn't wearing any makeup, and had dressed for comfort rather than appearance. She was going to school to learn what she needed for her career, not to be recognized as the Sweetheart Chef.

For Kurumu, school was just another piece of the foundation for her career. School would give her credibility. It would give her a measure of legitimacy in the eyes of the food industry. These were things she would use to build a career she could enjoy, and Tsukune would be proud of her for accomplishing. She would make a name for herself that would last beyond the short fame of being an idol. When the time came, she would have the means to support herself and her children with Tsukune, without having to worry how her followers might react to her expanding waistline.

Xx

Inari saw attending university as an opportunity. She and Tsukune had nearly identical class schedules. This made it difficult for them to have different work schedules. Most of the time they would even be commuting to and from school or work together. While she was going to be learning the skills that would be best able to support the man she loved, she would be getting to spend most of her waking hours with him. Should his bad luck strike and he was forced to miss any classes, she would be there to take notes for him. Notes that she would share with him for favor points.

In addition to her own goals, Inari had an important task while attending university with Tsukune. With Moka's blessings, Inari was to be openly close and friendly with Tsukune, whenever it did not cause conflict with his studying, training, or work, when he was away from home. Inari's mission was to keep any other women from trying to win Tsukune's attention. The good news was that most of the students in their classes were men. Additional good news was that the women in the classes were focused on their careers and not much interested in finding a boyfriend. Of course Inari was smart enough not to trust things to go easy when Tsukune was involved.

Xx

Tsukune was looking forward to starting his university classes. While he would not be spending as much time in a class room as he had during high school, he was sure he would make up for it with many more hours of studying. When the first day for classes arrived, in spite of it being a Monday, he met it with a smile. Of course it was hard not to smile when Moka was beside him in the bed. Moka made the morning special just by being there. Ruby had a good breakfast ready for them both, and three obentos made up as well. After breakfast, Moka set to the task of dressing for class.

Tsukune had decided the night before to dress for practical comfort. He did not have to be in any kind of uniform. He was not interested in making an impression on anybody. His goal was to do well in his classes, because university was going to help him build the life that he wanted. He had enough already going for him that he could be counted as successful, especially at only nineteen years of age. Tsukune did not feel any pressure to try to measure up to the standards of some professor or unknown peers he had yet to meet. Tsukune was going to university so he could build the kind of life that he could use to support himself, Moka, Mizore and Kurumu, his household, and even his children.

After Moka headed off to class in her roadster, Tukune and Inari set off in the minivan. Ruby had followed him down to the garage, and had handed an obento to Inari. Ruby even offered to drive them to their campus. Tsukune assured her that he would be coming home to her in a few hours and gave her a kiss before leaving. It was time for him to start the next part of his journey towards his goal.

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By the end of the week day of classes, Inari knew she had her work cut out for her. She had forgotten an important detail when considering her task of guarding Tsukune from strange women. Yes they were both police science majors, which was dominated by men, but a degree from a university requires a lot of general education classes. Those classes were needed for lots of majors. Which meant that some classes were going to have more women in them than others.

Tsukune was not helping matters any. His first day on campus he had been well dressed in a casual way, looking calm and confident. Even some of the faculty had a hard time looking as self composed as the young man that had fought monsters and faced death for the past three years. Walking into a lecture hall for a math class, Tsukune scanned the room out of reflex before choosing his seat. He had picked one with good visibility, so he could watch his surroundings, not concerned about how visible he was. As a police officer, and as a leader, being visible was often desired.

The lecture hall had only been about a quarter full at the time. Most of the people in the room had been female. And then Tsukune had walked in, unaware that he was being a pure alpha male out of reflex. Short of sitting on his lap and kissing him, something she was sure he would not allow, Inari was at a loss of how she was going to discourage the women that were now aware of Tsukune's presence on campus.

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Moka felt that her first week of life as a university student had gone well, mostly. Some of her professors clearly did not think very highly of the students. On even said point blank that he only expected one out of five to make it to graduation, and only about half of those that did would pass the bar exam. Moka had to agree with him when she heard some of her classmates talking. It seemed that some of the young women studying law were looking no higher than to be a legal assistant while looking for a successful attorney to marry.

Stuffy instructors did not bother Moka. She would show her worth with the work she turned in and the scores she earned on her exams. Chatty classmates could be ignored. A quick flash of her engagement ring did wonders to ward off most young men that appeared interested in talking with her. She missed having Tsukune with her in class, but at she took comfort from the fact that she would see him frequently at home.

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Kurumu was starting to wish she had followed Mizore's example. She had been recognized enough at school as the Sweetheart Chef for some of her teachers to single her out. Some of her classmates kept wanting to know if she could help them become famous. There was a trio in one of her classes that wanted to engage her in gossip about her "sweetheart." She was reasonably sure that the attention would die down as her classmates got used to her. As for the teachers, she would just have to be polite to them, and keep repeating that she really did want learn from them.

Understanding what was going on did not change the fact that she was frustrated by it all. Mizore seemed to have the right idea. Kurumu's friend was living at home, growing more pregnant by the day with Tsukune's baby. Kurumu was looking forward to someday having Tsukune's children, but first she wanted to make sure she had a career to support them with. She was not going to be a burden on Tsukune. Kurumu was going to be his mistress and concubine, and even be wet nurse for his children with Moka if given the chance, but she was never going to give him a reason to question her fitness to be in his life.

Kurumu was not just going to school to learn about cooking new recipes. Kurumu was majoring in journalism and had nutrition as a minor. Her goal was to get a degree in each so that her professional credentials would show her worth on paper, because she had no desire to stay in the public's view all her life. Of course all that studying made it hard to have any free time, and she still had work to do. She had to make some appearances, otherwise her marketability would suffer.

Kurumu's determination to build her career was threatened the most by one key fact. The harder she worked, the less time she was available to be with Tsukune. By late September, Tsukune had visited her twice, since the start of classes, and one of those times had turned into a study date.

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XxxX

Kokoa and the rest of the Newspaper Club were ready to celebrate. Their October issue had sold out quickly. So far the club was having the best year ever. Kokoa and Hana were the only third year students, but the club had three second year members, and five from first year. They had two good photographers, and one sketch artist. With a larger club than in the past, it was easier to cover the news on and around campus, and they were doing it with lost of pictures.

As Editor and senior member of the Newspaper Club, Kokoa was happy to take the credit for the club's growth and success. Their first issue had been short on diversity, having to use some advertisements from other clubs to fill in space, but had featured the a story about the Masquerade and the fighting that had happened. Between the romantic idea of the ball, and the excitement of the battle, the Newspaper had to be reprinted just to meet demands for copies. That had also been the major force in recruiting new members.

For their Summer trip, the club visited a small town near the coast, where the local temple was supposed to host an annual festival. It turned out that preparations for the festival were incomplete because everybody was afraid of some legendary curse that had awakened. Once they heard the story, the Newspaper Club couldn't wait to investigate.

Everybody did their part. The first year members were sent out to interview residents, especially the elderly, about all the local legends and history. The second year students were responsible for interviewing the police and researching any reports related to the temple. Hana went with the second years while Kokoa went with the first years. Everybody had to stay in teams of two.

Five teams spent two days discovering the town. Even though they were conducting an investigation, they were still students on break from school. They discovered some opportunities to do a little shopping, and for enjoying the view of the sea. After the second day of investigations, everybody shared notes over supper. Later, while Nekonome Sensei was sleeping off a large fish dinner, the club slipped out of the hotel to investigate the temple grounds.

In a hillside at the back of the temple grounds, the Newspaper Club cracked the case. A band of youkai bikers had set up their base in an abandoned bunker left over form the war. The curse that had frightened the locals was really some of the bikers sneaking around to take food and supplies. They had used their youkai forms to scare off anybody from coming after them. The bikers, on the run after the debacle at the masquerade, had not wanted to let the Newspaper Club expose them.

The fight was not completely one-sided. Ten students versus six older, and somewhat desperate adults had the potential to be a very costly battle. When it was over, and the bikers were left broken and bound. While Bus Driver-san arranged to have the bikers picked up, the Newspaper Club to the time to recover a little from their own injuries.

The idea of a gang hiding out and causing problems the locals could accept. No mention of youkai or terrorists were made. The teens from out of town were the heroes of the festival and made guests of honor. When the trip was over, the Newspaper Club had the material for another sell-out edition.

Now that September was over, the Newspaper Club, like everybody else at school, was looking forward to the annual festival. The after school celebration of the success of the latest edition was also a brainstorming session for the next issue. Kokoa, like her club mates, was in high spirits as she though about what lay ahead.