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 274

"I hope you understand why I did not mention this two days ago," Tsukune said as he sat down on the couch. He was meeting with Tanaka and Ross at the private club Ross' group managed. "I wanted to, but a wedding just did not feel like the right place for it."

"I fully understand," Tanaka nodded slowly. "If I had tried to talk about work there, my Lily would have stripped the skin from my back."

"But you would have had lots of pretty nurses to help you recover," Ross said with a chuckle.

"No way," Tanaka shook his head sharply. "Then I would have really been in trouble. Lily is more than enough for me, and I am luck to have her."

"Bahhh," Ross flapped his hand dismissively in the air. "You are just too stiff." He shot a grin at Tsukune. "You, on the other hand, know how to enjoy life. How many of those ladies hanging around you were there?"

"Five or six," Tsukune replied. "Depending on how you count them, and not counting my daughters." He gave a shrug. "And I have nearly died enough times to want to enjoy life when I can."

"What happened to you belonging to a jealous vampire?" Jenna asked from Ross's lap, giving Tsukune a hurt look for the way he had blown her off at the party a few days ago.

"She was there," Tsukune answered. "She is my finance."

"What about the others..." Ross began, but then he turned to study Jenna. "How did you know about a vampire?"

"I... Uhhh..." Jenna realized she messed up.

On the edge of panic she shot Tsukune a pleading look. Tsukune was tempted to keep his mouth shut. Jenna had never admitted to being a youkai, and he didn't even know what kind she was. If she was exposed it could go badly for her. On the other hand, Ross could possible end up with the youkai agent he had been wanting. In the end his softhearted nature won out.

"She was talking to me at your son's bachelor party," Tsukune spoke up. "She had been drinking and was being a little too friendly. Well she's been here for how many conversations about youkai? So I just told her I belonged to a jealous vampire that wouldn't like it if I accepted her invitation."

"Really?" Ross questioned. "While I was there?"

"Yes," Jenna agreed with relief in her eyes. "I didn't want to take your time away from celebrating with your son."

"Oh..." Ross thought for a moment. "I guess that's alright then."

Jenna relaxed a little now that the danger had passed. Tsukune had saved her, protecting her from her own mistake. Of course there were some very old and firm traditions about debts and obligations that said she now owed him some kind of service, but considering all she knew about him, doing something to repay Tsukune would probably be kind of fun.

"So you were saying..." Tanaka spoke up, drawing the others back to the reason for the meeting.

"Yes," Tsukune said as he reached into his jacket pocket. One of the new girls in the club had offered to take his jacket, as had one now hovering over Tanaka Ito, but both men had declined the offer. "Tate no Kai has gone from just smashing places up to charging for protection." He pulled out copies of the picture he had taken and printed out. He passed one to each of his partners in the investigation. "I found this little door decoration when a friend called me the other day."

"If Tate no Kai is able to collect protection money, then they can spend it to support themselves," Tanaka observed grimly. "That is going to make things more difficult."

"I included the address of the club," Tsukune indicated the pages he had provided.

"Hmmmmm," Ross considered the paper he was holding with a frown. "I will have to see who's territory this is in." He looked up to his companions. "This is going to piss some people off."

"What do we do now?" Tsukune asked.

"I will see about getting some men to discreetly look for more of these," Tanaka indicated the picture in his hand. "I want to see if we can figure out how much territory Tate no Kai is operating in. Maybe we can spot one of their people making a collection and we can track him back to the boss."

"I'd like to just catch their men and give them a lesson about poaching," Russ grumbled.

"We don't want to give away that we are on to them," Tanaka said. "At least, not yet. Let's collect some information first and see what it leads to."

"That sounds alright," Ross frowned. "But if anybody on my side catches them in the act... well, I can't promise anything."

"I don't think you should," Tsukune said thoughtfully.

"What's that?" Ross questioned.

"Well..." Tsukune said carefully. "We are looking at this from two different sides. The police are investigating crimes. If they see something and report it, but don't visible chase after anybody, then Tate no Kai will think they are getting away with their plan. Remember, they are saying that the government, and that means the police also, is too corrupt to do its job right. They think they can get away with it, so it will just make them sloppy with false confidence if the police don't do anything right away."

"On the other side of it all," Tsukune continued. "Ross, if your associates are careful not to expose how much we know, if some Tate no Kai end up getting caught in the act and are 'given a lesson about poaching,' then that also works in our favor."

"Yeah..." Ross smiled darkly. "We're supposed to be the bad guys. If we catch a few and teach them a lesson, those guys will just keep thinking of us as bad guys. And who would ever suspect we're working together?"

The three men shared a dark chuckle. In truth, Tanaka Ito was never happy about his informal partnership with Ross. They had come together out of luck; out of necessity. The problem was that they really were from opposite sides of the law. Tsukune, also a member of the police, had less of a problem with the situation. In part it was because he was much newer to the police than Tanaka. He was also used to thinking in shades of gray when it came to looking for solutions to problems.

One thing all three of them had in common, all differences or personal feelings they had were less important than looking out for the greater good. Of course they did have a slightly different idea of what counted as the greater good. Tanaka wanted to support order. Tsukune was interested in keeping the peace. Ross just wanted a Japan that was good for business.

"You know..." Ross said to Tsukune. "I like how you think. I know you're busy with things right now, but don't forget, if you ever want to come work on my side of the street, you've got some open invitations."

"That's alright," Tsukune said with a little shake of his head. "I have plans for what I will be doing after the police. Besides, I don't want to always be obligated to somebody else."

"I can respect that," Ross said.

"I have some bad news for you then," Ito smirked. "Once you get married..."

"With all do respect," Tsukune replied. "I am already under a lifetime's obligation to each and every one of them."

Tanaka shook his head slowly, but with a smile. If the young man could somehow make his relationships work out, then good for him. If not, then at least he would have had a chance at something so impossible that others could only dream of it. Either way, Ito saw the whole thing as a crazy mess.

"That reminds me..." Ross said. "The first night you were here, with that lieutenant of yours, You said you had never kissed a regular girl. That meant all of those women with you..."

"I love them all very much," Tsukune cut in. "Some in different ways than the others, but that doesn't change the fact that they are all special and important to me. And before you ask, all of them are more than just human, and no, I won't tell you what they are."

That's fine," Ross gave a dismissive gesture with his drink, his other hand was on Jenna's hip. "But what I was thinking was that you must be wondering what it would be like to kiss a normal girl."

"No," Tsukune gave a shake of his head. "You've seen Inari here, and all of them at the wedding. They all looked perfectly normal didn't they? Well they can be as 'normal' as any other woman, whether we are talking, shopping, kissing, dancing, or anything else."

"You're ruining it for me!" Ross complained with a groan.

"Ruining what?" Ito questioned.

"I want to ask what the difference is between kissing a normal girl and monster girl," Ross explained. "It's got to be strange or exciting in some way."

"It depends on what kind of youkai you kiss," Tsukune said. "And when you kiss her."

"Now we're getting somewhere," Ross sat up a little as his interest sharpened.

"You don't get it," Tsukune gave a small shake of his head. "All it would take would be for me to make a few calls, and I could introduce you to the most beautiful and sexy woman you have ever, ever, imagined. Her every look and move would make your blood boil. Her touch would make your body twitch and shake with excitement."

"Yeah? Yeah?" Ross' eyes were wide as his imagination painted wild pictures in his mind.

"And then she would kiss you," Tsukune said in a low voice. "Your entire body would burn with pleasure and every thought would be wiped from you mind."

"Oh yeah..." Ross grinned. "And then what?"

"Nothing," Tsukune replied in a flat voice. "If you lived, you would be as weak as a hundred year old man. If your mind wasn't reduced to mush, you would still be left drooling in a stupor for hours as you tried to recover."

"What?" Ross blinked, caught off balance by the sudden shift in the way things were described.

"Some youkai use sex and lust to feed," Tsukune pointed out. "I told you before, getting to know a youkai requires trust. If she doesn't trust you, she might just take what she wants from you, then either erase your memories of her, or just kill you."

"Well that takes the fun out of it," Ross said as he slumped in his seat.

"I am just helping you know what you are asking for," Tsukune explained. "Remember that Youkai are more than human for a reason, but it comes at a price. It's just like the people you work for."

"I don't follow you," Ross blinked.

"I do," Tanaka spoke up. "Ross, what would you say if I wanted to buy my wife some jewelry, but I wanted it at a low price?"

"I know somebody that can help you out," Ross answered.

"But there would be a catch, wouldn't there?" Ito challenged.

"A small one," Ross shrugged.

"How about if I needed a lot of cash in a hurry?" Ito went on.

"How much?" Ross shot back.

"And it would cost me how much to get it?" Ito asked.

"Minimum thirty percent interest," Ross answered. "With big penalties for any late payments. You may have to do some favors if you have trouble paying, or you might have to give up your house, and you would still owe money after that."

"Nothing is free," Ito nodded.

"But I'm not talking about business," Ross argued.

"No," Tsukune agreed. "But it is still true. Even Jenna's care and attention is costing something. She is getting paid to be here."

"Yeah..." Ross sighed. He looked at the woman he was holding. "But I still say that's different."

"If you are just talking business, you can find someone that will do things for money," Tsukune said. "Even youaki. But for some, money is not the most important thing."

"What's more important than money?" Ross argued, feeling cranky that his fantasies were being picked apart.

"Survival," Tsukune answered. "What would you do if you found that youkai adviser you want, but you found out he had to eat a kitten every week to be able to use his powers, or even just to survive?"

"I'd get him his kittens," Ross answered. "If nothing else I could have him eat them in front of people that owed money just to scare them into paying up."

"What if that youkai woman you want to kiss needs something special as well?" Tsukune continued. "It might be a special diet, or she could only live in specific places. If you met a mermaid, would you be willing to buy a boat just so you two could have a private place to meet? And remember, one of her people might find out about you and get jealous. You would be lucky if just your boat got destroyed."

"You can stop now," Ross grumbled.

Ito and Tsukune shared small grins over Ross's defeat.

"Tsukune-kun," Jenna said with mild reproach in her voice. "You are being awfully open about what is supposed to be a secret."

"That's because he knows his secrets are safe here," Ross said gruffly. "That's why the organization pays for this place. We control it, and we know who to blame if anything ever got spread around, so we would also know who to punish."

"I was surprised you let Onna go so easily," Jenna said in a carefully casual voice.

"Meh," Ross shrugged. "I trust Ito, and Onna has a secret to protect too, so I don't think she is going to start blabbing." He paused to take a drink from his glass. "But man was I surprised to find out she wasn't human." He shot a look at Tsukune. "That's why you gotta find me one of these youkai that will work for us. He can help us know who's what."

"But then what would you do?" Tsukune challenged.

"Huh?" Ross blinked. "Do about what?"

"What would you do if your found out someone was a youkai?" Jenna asked in a neutral voice as she refilled his drink.

"That depends," Ross answered. "I mean if the guy eats rats we can set him up in business as an exterminator and use him to launder money. If we've been paying a guy to do debt collections but found out he can turn into bat or something, maybe we could use him as a lookout." He gave Tsukune and Tanaka a hard look. "I like you guys and all, but business is business. We still have our crap to take care of."

"I understand completely," Tanaka said with a nod of his head. "And the next time I need to do a warehouse raid, I will watch out for bats."

"Whatever..." Ross shook his head with a sigh.