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 269

Ruby decided that the party was a success. She had made the costumes a year before and had been waiting for a chance to use them. Everybody had been happy with what she had made, and had looked good in them. For most people, the way everybody had enjoyed the theme of the dinner party would have been the way they knew that it had been a job well done. In truth, Ruby had used the same standard to feel she had a reason to feel proud of her efforts.

But two days later Tsukune had caught up to her in the kitchen that morning and shared his approval of the party with Ruby. Tsukune had started by simply telling her that he appreciated her effort. He had even gone so far as the pull her hair and give her a kiss. But then Ruby had teased him with a little wiggle of her backside at him. It turned out that he had already been in the mood to express his appreciation of her efforts in depth. When he finally left for class, Ruby was still laying on the kitchen floor looking and feeling thoroughly ravished.

XxxX

"Good morning, Captain," Inari said as she met Tsukune on the stairs down to the parking garage.

"Yes," Tsukune said in answer.

"Wha..." Inari blinked.

It was a strange day for Inari. Tsukune was clearly in a good mood, and was having no trouble showing it. When they reached their campus, while walking to class, Tsukune took her hand. Normally it was her reaching for his.

"Hey Aono..." One of their classmates called out. "It's been a while." The classmate was also a working member of the police; a patrolman working to advance his career.

"Yes it has," Tsukune replied. "Investigation work has been keeping me busy."

"I'll bet," The classmate nodded with a grin. He was hoping to make it into investigations some day. "Did you at least get to enjoy Valentine's Day?"

"Oh yes," Tsukune said. He let go of Inari's hand then to put his arm around her and pull her closer. "Inari helped to make it a special night."

"Is that so..." The classmate gave them a suggestive smile.

"But I..." Inari wanted to protest that she had not done anything special.

"She looked sexy in the yukata she wore for me," Tsukune went on.

"A yukata in this weather?" One of the women in their class had heard the exchange and couldn't help herself.

"We didn't go outside," Inari defended.

"Ooooooo..." The woman gave Inari a smile and a wink.

The rest of the day Inari was getting encouraging smiles from her female classmates. It was an awkward situation for her. While she was Tsukune's lover, they were not frequent lovers. The way Tsukune had talked about Valentine's Day made it sound like they had spent the night together. The few times they had made love, she and Tsukune had been discrete about it. So Inari was feeling conflicted because she was being recognized as Tsukune's lover, which she was, but on an occasion when she had not been.

"Tsukune..." Inari said as she pulled of her helmet. She had waited until she knew they would have privacy before questioning him about the way he was acting. She wanted to protect the image that they were a couple, and questioning him about their supposed Valentine's date in front of others did not seem like a good idea. Waiting for the right time, as it turned out, meant waiting until they were almost home from classes. They had just dismounted in the parking garage of Tsukune's building. While Hiru and Furyu were slipping off to their corner/den, Inari knew she had to speak up before anything else could get in the way of the conversation she wanted. "Can I talk to you?"

"Of course," Tsukune said with a warm smile.

"It's about the way you were talking about me this morning," Inari began as they walked towards the elevator. "You made it sound like you and I spent Valentine's day as lovers..."

"But we are lovers," Tsukune said as he slipped an arm around her shoulders.

"But we didn't do anything that night," Inari protested.

"That's not true," Tsukune argued.

"What did we do then?" Inair challenged.

"Well," Tsukune said as he lead her into the elevator. "We had a nice dinner party with our friends."

"But that wasn't anything special," Inari argued.

"Yes it was," Tsukune insisted. "I don't get enough time to spend with the people I love. That night, my most important people were able to join me for dinner, and we were even able to make it memorable with the theme that Ruby put together for us all. I would say it was very special."

"But I didn't do anything," Inari insisted.

"Inari," Tsukune said with a stern note in his voice. "You were there with me. You are one of the people I care about. You are one of the women I love." In the close space of the elevator he was looming almost threateningly over her.

Inari didn't think it was fair that Tsukune was able to be so dominant and intimidating at the same time that he was making her feel so important and special. It made her heart race and her knees feel weak. In the close space of the elevator, with his scent, with the pressure of his presence, Inari realized that she was getting aroused.

"And don't forget," Tsukune went on with a crooked smile. "That outfit you wore for me made you look very sexy."

"Really?" Inari breathed.

"Really," Tsukune said as the elevator door opened on the second floor.

"I'm glad you liked it," Inari said. She was looking down to hide her blush as she left the elevator.

"You and Ruby both looked good," Tsukune said as he followed her. "This morning I took the time to tell her so, and to thank her for her efforts. In fact, that is why I said what I did today."

"What do you mean?" Inari asked as she started to unlock her apartment door.

"I wanted to let you know that I appreciate what you did," Tsukune explained. "I know that you have made sure that you and I are seen as a couple at school. I also know why. Today I decided that I would let others know how much I think of you."

"Tsukune, I..." Inari was not sure what she wanted to say to that.

"So," Tsukune put his arms around her. "Thank you."

Inari stood there, in the hallway, looking into her open apartment, as Tsukune hugged her from behind. It felt good to have him so close, and she wanted him to be close to her. She looked into her apartment and a smile touched her lips.

"Tsukune..." Inari said slowly. "Would you like to come in side?"

"Yes I would," Tsukune answered.

Together they entered her apartment. As she closed the door Inari had a smile on her lips and a shameless intention on her mind. Idly she wondered if she would have time to put on the yukata that Ruby had given her.

XxxxxxxX

Ageha sometimes disliked her work. She was good at separating men from their money, but that didn't mean she was without morals. She tried to make sure that her clients did not destroy themselves over her. More than a few times she had returned gifts to men that had realized, too late, that they could not afford them. While she was sure that she had lead many a married man astray, she knew that she had saved some marriages as well. She tried to impart some morals to the younger women that she saw entering the business, but had only limited success.

Many hostesses, Ageha knew, were just looking for work and were in need of money. While a pretty face could be helpful, a woman needed more than a pretty face to succeed in the cruel world. In the water trade however, a pretty face was more important than a good education. Girls that never made it beyond high school, or, as in Ageha's case, never went to high school at all, could make a good living in the water trade if they were good looking enough. Ageha had even seen some women, who had stunning looks but the worst kind of personality, build a steady client base and make a tidy sum of money.

The water trade however was not some magical haven for girls in need of work. Far too many young women found that the demands of the work were more than they could handle. The smart ones would get out, returning home and begging for another chance from their families if they had to. Some who did not have the strength needed for the work entered the water trade and were drowned by it. Ageha did her best for the girls she worked with, because it was sometimes like a sisterhood after all. It tore her up when she saw some girl as young as Kurumu already loosing herself to drinking or drugs as they tried to keep working instead of getting out.

As she got ready for work that afternoon, Ageha thought about calling out. Valentine's day had just been a week prior. She had been doing a lot of business with clients feeling let down by the lack of attention from women at school or work. Ageha knew how the men felt, because she also did not have anybody special to spend the holiday with. Kurumu had gone to see Tsukune for Valentine's day. While the older succubus did not know what had happened, she guessed that her daughter had found a way to celebrate, because she had not come home until late on the fifteenth, and she had been smiling. The door man had told Ageha as much. Kurumu's mother had gotten home late and slept in, missing any chance to talk to her before their different schedules took them in different directions the next day.

Thinking of her daughter made Ageha think of Tsukune. She loved that young man every bit as much as Kurumu did, if in different ways. Tsukune had done so much for Kurumu, and by extension for Ageha as well. Because of Tsukune, Ageha had managed to make friends with his mother. She met with Kasumi about every other month for lunch and shopping now. Sometimes Moka or Ruby would be with them. Once, the two mothers had spent an entire afternoon with Kurumu, Moka, and Ruby. Everybody had so much fun shopping and talking, mostly about Tsukune and his life of course.

Not for the first time since meeting Tsukune, Ageha thought that maybe it was time for her to retire from being a hostess. If she decided to have a more stable career on the business side of the water trade, or maybe owning a love hotel, she might have more time to spend doing family kind of things. She smiled at the thought of being able to babysit for Tsukune and Kurumu's children. She remembered her visit with Mizore's daughters fondly.

Ageha could not help but think how lucky her daughter was. She thought about how different her own life would be if she had ever found someone like Tsukune, a true Mate of Fate. As she continued getting ready for work, a part of her wished that she had gone to high school where she might have found herself such a perfect catch. The life of a housewife would have been nice to play at, but it did not have the same attraction to her as it did to Kurumu.

Once she was finally ready for work, Ageha paused in front of her mirrors to check her appearance. What she saw made her smile and give a merry laugh.

"I was thinking too much about Tsukune," Ageha said aloud in her bedroom. She posed in front of her mirrors and ran her hands over her figure. She felt a little silly with the look she had created for herself. She tried a few different poses and facial expressions. Finally she decided that being a little silly would not hurt her one bit. Besides, she thought as she headed for the door, some men liked the schoolgirl look.

XxxxxxX

It is said that an office reflects the personality of the person it belongs to. The office where the man glared at a evening news report was mostly unlit. The glow of the television was enough to see the painted over window, which kept natural light out during the day and kept the outside world from knowing when lights were on inside at night. The desk was a folding table against one wall. It supported the television and stacked trays of assorted papers and folders. The walls were covered with new articles and maps of Japan.

The man felt disgusted with what he saw on the news. Japan was turning into a pit of chaos and was in need of someone to restore peace and order. It had taken him years to find his way to Tate no Kai. It had been languishing in obscurity, impotent for decades. When he found it, when he found his way inside, the man had felt a renewed sense of purpose. He knew that Tate no Kai was his ticket back on top. He would rebuild it, and he would use it to enforce his sense of justice on a Japan he saw sinking in corruption.

He had rebuilt Tate no Kai from a handful of old men, but that had just been a beginning. He had tried to move to take more power, but he realized that he had moved too soon. He needed more members loyal to the cause, loyal to him. He needed to get the people of Japan to see that they needed him.

The news was filled with reports of what was wrong with Japan. The man could see nothing but failure if he did not take a hand. As he watched the news reports, he looked for hints of where he should send his soldiers next. He was eager to find a target to strike that would give him the kind of publicity Tate no Kai needed, but without costing him followers that would take too long to replace and train.

It would take time, the man knew. It would take time to build his strength and to find the right targets. It would take time, but he would see Japan put back on the proper path. He would make it happen he promised himself. He would make it happen...