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, then you should not read this.

Chapter 321

Kasumi felt that she handled the situation with exemplary composure and rationality. She deliberately thought back through the everything she had been told that evening, paying special attention to every time violence was mentioned. She considered the transformation she had just seen with her own eyes. Kasumi carefully, and with clear focus, lifted her glass of wine and drank it down in one pull.

"A vampire?" Kasumi, using the utmost of her self control and determination to appear calm, spoke in a voice that came out as a harsh squeak.

"Yes," Moka, in her full Inner Moka personality and appearance nodded. For those that did not know Inner Moka, she appeared calm. For Tsukune and Ruby, it was clear that the vampire was nervous and maybe even a little afraid.

"And you want to marry Tsukune?" Kasumi asked, trying to get her voice and her nerves back to something close to normal.

"More than anything," Moka agreed. "I was slow in admitting my love for Tsukune. At first I ignored it. When it grew stronger, I was afraid of it. For a time I was afraid that my love for him meant I was weak. Before I knew it, I was more afraid of losing Tsukune than I could imagine."

"Mrs. Aono," Moka fell back on formality to help cover her nervousness. "Tsukune entered my world to save me. My world is a dark and violent place, but Tsukune chose to be by my side regardless. For that alone I could love him. But Tsukune did more than that. When he came into my world he brought the light of his own with him."

"Tsukune brought me joy, friendship, and a chance to know so many wonderful things," Inner Moka said with her eyes brimming. "I can no longer stand the idea of living a life without him, Mrs. Aono. That is why I hope you can accept me for what I am."

"Stop being so foolish," Kasumi complained even as she held back emotional tears. "I've told you before to call me mother."

"Then, it is alright that I am a vampire... Mother?" Moka questioned.

"I don't know about the vampire part," Kasumi said a little shaken by the revelation. "But I trust Tsukune, and I've come to count you as a member of the family. If there's any problems, we will just have to try to work them out as they come along. Because that is what families do."

Kasumi was trying to remain calm and composed. Honestly, she was feeling confused about the whole vampire thing. It seemed impossible, but then again, everything she had been told that evening had sounded incredible. As outlandish as the stories about Moka and Ruby had sounded, nobody had called them false.

Kasumi decided that the best thing she could do in her current situation was pretend everything was fine and just go along with it all. The idea that Moka was a vampire, and Tsukune was in some way her hero, was like the plot of a delicious drama. In fact, she and her husband had seen a movie about a vampire in love with a human just recently. Of course the idea that her informally adopted daughter, Ruby, was her son's slave girl just complicated everything. The drama of the situation was exciting and and more than a little frightening at the same time.

Kasumi had tried to give a calm response so she could have time to really think things through. Her true intention was to stall for time with as much dignity as possible. Whatever her reasoning was however, she knew she must have said the right thing, because Moka, with happy tears in her eyes, got up and moved over to hug her.

"Thank you, Mother," Moka said in a voice cracking with emotions. "Thank you for everything."

XxxxX

Kasumi went home that night with her head spinning. Some of it was from the wine, but the majority was from the things revealed to her. A part of her was upset about what her son had gone through. On the other hand, she felt a warm glow of pride over what he had been able to survive. She felt bad that she had sent her son and only child into danger so carelessly, but she was gratified that he had thrived, and had returned with so many young women that she could love as if they were her own daughters.

"Koji," Kasumi asked as he drove them home. "You are incredibly calm. What do you think about what they told us tonight?"

"What do you mean?" Tsukune's father evaded.

"You're not upset that our son could have died because we sent him to that school?" Kasumi challenged.

"I was at first," Koji admitted. "But the way he's grown into a good man because of it made me feel better."

"And he brought us the girls," Kasumi reminded her husband. "They are all so delightful."

"And there is that," Koji nodded.

Kasumi brooded in silence for a while. In her mind she was going over what she had been told, picking at the details. One of the things that stood out was the part about Moka wanting to kill Ruby.

If Moka was a vampire, Kasumi reasoned, then Tsukune must have meant it in the most literal sense. Moka had been angry enough, jealous enough, that she was really going to murder Ruby. The idea that Moka loved Tsukune so much that she would have killed another woman was very romantic. That one sweet girl would kill another sweet girl, on the other hand, made it a little frightening.

Another detail that worried at Kasumi's mind was from the story of Tsukue's first day with Moka. Tsukune had called her attacker an ogre. He had not said the other person was "like and ogre,' or as strong or as big as an ogre. If Moka was really a vampire, which Kasumi still thought was a little silly of her to be believing, then why can't an ogre be real as well?

Tsukune's mother thought back to the vacation when Tsukune had killed a bear. It had come out during that trip that her son had become strong enough that killing a bear with his bare hands had been a simple task. She couldn't remember which of her girls had said it, but they had all seemed to be in agreement, that Tsukune had not been in any danger, because 'it was just a bear.' Kasumi could not help but wonder how a bear compared to the strength of an ogre... Or a vampire.

It had been Mizore that had explained that Tsukune had grown strong because he and his friends had been in danger so many times. Kasumi still had a hard time with that thought. But if Moka was a vampire that could fight an ogre, what kind of danger could there have been, over and over again at that, that Tsukune was forced to become so powerful that he could kill a bear without any weapons?

Kasumi's thoughts kept running in circles. Circles, spirals, and the occasional total u-turns. At times she felt dizzy from trying to put it all together. When they finally reached home, Kasumi got out of the car, and then froze.

"No..." She gave a moan of frustration. "No. No. No!"

"What's wrong?" Koji asked, worried that his wife was going to have a delayed reaction meltdown after all.

"Tsukune didn't tell me about the others!" Kasumi turned to her husband with a look of near panic. "He didn't finish telling me everything. Honey, we need to go back."

"No," Koji said firmly. "You've had enough excitement for one night." He locked up the car and started for the house.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kasumi demanded. "Koji..." She followed him into the house, intent on getting her way, or an explanation on why she couldn't.

"Honey," Koji answered her once they reached the bedroom and he could start undressing for bed. "It is late already. How much later would it be if Tsukune had tried to tall you about the rest of those girls?"

"I don't care," Kasumi said with a pout. She stomped her foot. "I want him to tell me everything."

"Well I am sure Tsukune cares about how late it is," Koji argued. "And I am guessing that he is trying to be fair to everyone."

"What do you mean by that?" Kasumi frowned at her husband.

"Think about how much he told you tonight," Koji suggested. "He was telling you some big secrets about the women in his life." He gave his wife a level look. "Don't you think it is only fair that when he tells you about one of his girlfriends, that the girlfriend should have a chance to be there as well?"

"Well..." Kasumi deflated a little in the face of her husband's logic.

"Besides," Koji went on. "Look what you got out of it tonight."

"What are you talking about?" Kasumi questioned him.

"You just had a night out," Koji explained. "With a good meal and some revealing conversations. It was like a chance to live a part of one of those silly shows you like so much. If you just take a little at a time, you can do it over and over again."

Kasumi paused to let that thought process. Her husband was right. If she let Tsukune reveal information at a steady pace, it would mean more exciting evenings. Except when she had been recovering from a broken bone, Kasumi had never enjoyed watching an entire drama series in one sitting. She liked having some mystery and excitement to look forward to.

Of course one of the reasons she liked watching her dramas one episode at a time was because she liked the opportunity to speculate about what would happen next. She and her friends would spend more time talking about the dramas than watching them. Watching dramas had become a part of her social rituals that she shared with other women in the neighborhood.

A wave of depression crashed over Kasumi. Watching and talking about dramas were the most common ways she got through her days, and what she had most in common with her friends. Now she was on the edge of a fantastic drama in real life. It was the kind of story she and her friends loved, and she couldn't share it with any of them.

"Damn it," Kasumi growled in frustration.

XxxxxX

Tsukune and Moka cuddled in bead together. The kissed and touched, but there was no real heat to their passion that night. The truth was easy to understand. They were both emotionally out of energy.

Moka had known that Tsukune's parents, especially his mother, had always been a possible complication in their relationship. She loved the woman herself, and it would have hurt her badly if Tsukune's mother had rejected her when she learned the truth. Moka hated to think what it would put Tsukune through if he had to choose between her and his parents.

Moka had no doubt at all that Tsukune would choose her over anyone else, including his parents. She loved him dearly, and for that alone would want to be close to him. But Moka knew that being forced to make that choice would tear him up inside. She knew that she could never make that same kind of sacrifice. She could never let go of her own selfishness that way. With the Rosario no longer restraining her... Even long before she had removed the seal herself, Moka knew she could not even hide her feelings from Tsukune. The fact that his mother had not rejected her on the spot was a huge relief to Moka.

If Kasumi had rejected Moka for being a vampire, or for harming Tsukune, it could have poisoned their future marriage. Tsukune would choose to stay with Moka, but he would be hurting inside. Moka would be happy that Tsukune was with her, but would feel hurt over being rejected, and guilty that Tsukune was suffering because of her. The more Moka thought about it, the more she realized that the only thing she could do if rejected by Tsukune's mother would be to simply kill herself.

Moka cuddled beside Tsukune, relieve that his mother had not rejected her. There was still a strong hope that she would have her happy, long life with Tsukune as her husband. She lay beside him in the bed, holding on to him, glad that she was still able to do so.

Tsukune was feeling almost rung out by the dinner with his parents. Talking about his... unusual relationship with Ruby had been harder than telling his parents that Moka was a vampire. He was counting his blessings that his mother had reached her situational limit before things got really hard to talk about. He knew he would only have two days, at the most, before his mother would be demanding to know more. He was still unsure of how to explain the building and the Me sisters.

If his mother had not reached her limit, she would have started asking questions Tsukune had not been ready to answer. He knew his mother could be distracted by some things, and that if too much was given to her at a time her mind could shut down, or she could go into hysterics. But if his mother really got her mind set on anything, she could run people into the ground with questions. The first time Tsukune had gotten hurt in school, when he had been seven, it had been an accident with a ball to the face. His mother had not believed him, and had gone to talk to each teacher in the school, and every parent of his class. It had taken Tsukune years to live that down.

Tsukune had a plan for telling his mother everything. That plan was in stages, so he could, hopefully, control how much his mother had to accept at any one time. The first stage had gone well. He had told his mother some of the truth about Ruby, and then threw her a curve with Moka's secret. The next step was going to be to tell his mother more about Ruby and Moka, and when Kasumi looked like she was close to her limit again, he would throw out something new.

The trick would be to give her time to build up an understanding. First he had to give her some of the pieces and show them where the first few went. He would add more pieces to the puzzle and let her set them into place. But before she had all the pieces for the first layer put together, Tsukune would start with the second layer. If all went well, the finished product would be a solid foundation, and not a wall that would be between them for the rest of their lives.

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(a/n) sorry for the slow updates.. I am starting a new project and want to have something to offer you all by the time this one ends.

As Always, thank you for reading and reviewing. Your feedback is helping me to be a better writer.