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 322

Kasumi woke up feeling groggy. She had not fallen asleep until very late, and then her dreams had been very... She was not sure of the right way to describe them. She did remember having a dream where her son was made up of little doors and secret compartments. As she rolled over in bed, she tried to clear the fog from her thoughts.

She realized that the reason for her dreams were the strange things Tsukune had told her the night before. Ruby had tried to kill him, stolen his first kiss, and then was made to be his slave as punishment; and was happy about it! Moka was a monster that preyed on humans, but was in love with Tsukune, had nearly killed Ruby for kissing him, but had been the one to tell her to be his slave. It was all very, very strange. Kasumi knew she would have to ask for more of an explanation from her son.

That last thought quickly burned away the sleepy fog in her head. It was a new day, and she wanted more information before she lost any more time. She got up and headed for the phone.

"Don't go calling Tsukune," Koji said from the other side of the bed.

Kasumi stopped short in surprise. She turned to see her husband who was standing on the other side of the bed. He was mostly dressed and giving her a level look.

"What do you mean?" Kasumi said with a smile after only a short pause.

"Tsukune wants to tell you about his life now," Koji explained. "But it will take a lot of effort to come clean to you. Let our son have some rest, and a little time to gather himself before you start asking him a hundred questions a minute."

"But he left so much out," Kasumi protested as she stomped her foot. "You know there has to be more going on than he told us about last night, I want to know what."

"I've seen you wait months for a series cliff hanger be answered at the start of the next season," Koji said sternly. "Give Tsukune some time, and have a little faith in him."

"Fine..." Kasumi pouted for all of five seconds, then she turned a stern eye towards her husband, who was dressing to go play golf of all things.

"And just why the hell are you taking all of this so calmly?" Kasumi demanded.

"It's a man thing," Koji said with a lift of his chin. "You wouldn't understand."

"What did you say?" Kasumi stalked around the bed with a raised fist.

"Honey, you know it's true," Koji said as calmly as possible as his wife threatened him.

"You better explain yourself, Koji," Kasumi growled. "Or you're going to be eating your own cooking tonight."

"Remember when our son killed a bear to protect you, to protect us?" Koji answered. He barely got a nod from his wife before continuing on. "I have never been able to stop thinking about that." He flashed his wife a huge, proud smile. "My son can kill a bear... My son can attack a bear to protect his family without any hesitation! Honey, I couldn't be more proud of our son if he got an Imperial appointment!"

"Now he is telling us about his girlfriend, and how she is a member of one of the most powerful people in legends," Koji's voice rose in happy excitement as he talked to his wife. "Think how strong he has to be, strong in spirit and mind, if he was able to get her to notice him."

"All he had to do to get noticed was stand where he could get hit by a girl on a bicycle," Kasumi argued.

"That was all it took for her to be aware of him," Koji countered. "She took notice of him because he stood by her side. When things were at their worst, Tsukune was able to show what he was made of, deep inside, and look at the daughter in law we are getting because of it."

"Kasi..." Koji used his pet name for his wife as he reached out and took hold of her shoulders. He looked her right in the eye, still smiling, and went on. "The only thing I have to be unhappy about is I cannot tell anybody the truth about how great my son is."

"Well I guess that makes some sense," Kasumi said with a small frown of concentration.

"So give him some credit," Koji said. "And let him have some time before you start trying to pump him for information." He pulled his wife in for brief hug and gave her a peck on the forehead.

"And I will see you this afternoon," Koji said as he let go of Kasumi and headed for the bedroom door.

"Huh?" Kasumi blinked at the conversational whiplash. She turned and watched her husband leaving, still tucking in his shirt. She remembered that we was going to go out an play golf... and she was going to be alone with nobody to talk to about the most exciting thing she had ever heard.

"You rat!" Kasumi yelled out as she started to chase after her husband.

XxxX

Tsukune was enjoying a slow afternoon, working from his home office, when his mother called. He was a little surprised that she had waited as long as she had, because he knew she would be on edge. He had seen her scream at the television when one of her dramas ended an episode with a cliff-hanger. When one show was forced to go on hiatus because of some legal issue, Tsukune's mother had spent over a month in wild speculation with her friends about how the relationships could change in that time, ignoring that the actors had filmed the episodes in advance.

"Hello Mother," Tsukune answered his phone.

"Tsukune," Kasumi nearly cried. "You need to tell me.."

"I'm taking care of some work right now," Tsukune cut his mother off. "Sorry, but if you are going to be free tomorrow afternoon we can talk."

"What?" Kasumi was forced to do a double take.

"I just need to take care of some things," Tsukune said. "But tomorrow afternoon I will be available."

"No..." Kasumi protested the delay. "Oh... Fine then. What time?"

"I will pick you up at four in the afternoon," Tsukune told her. "You might want to dress up a bit."

"But what about your father?" Kasumi argued. "He has work tomorrow, and I have to cook dinner for him."

"I'll let Ruby take care of it for you," Tsukune said calmly.

"You can't just dump things on that girl like this," Kasumi protested.

"Actually, I can," Tsukune grinned. "It is a part of her swearing to serve me. She likes it when I ask her to do things, because it shows that I trust her and respect her abilities. Besides, you and father are almost like parents to her as well. She would love to lend you a hand so we can go out tomorrow."

Kasumi was left speechless. The casual way Tsukune had mentioned Ruby being his servant had been kind of off-putting. But then he had said that Ruby saw her like a mother. Kasumi just didn't have it in her to argue.

"I will see you tomorrow at four," Tsukune said into the silence. "I love you Mother. Good bye." Tsukune ended the call with a wicked smile.

"Ruby," Tsukune called out, hardly raising his voice at all. "I have a job for you." He could hear her coming almost instantly.

"Master?" Ruby appeared in the office doorway seconds later.

"Tomorrow at four in the afternoon, I will be taking my mother out," Tsukune explained. "So at two in the afternoon, I want you to be at my parent's house. You will help mother with anything she needs to get done, and help her to get ready to go out, and then you will be making dinner for father and keeping him company until I bring mother home again."

"Yes, Master," Ruby gave a small bow and a big smile. She was happy that her master was giving her work to do. More than just being seen as useful and being able to serve her master, Ruby was happy that she was going to be spending time with his parents while obeying him. She was being trusted with his family, whom she had come to love as her own.

"For tomorrow," Tsukune went on, well aware of how happy Ruby was at the moment but doing her the service of pretending not to notice. "I will want a comfortable suit ready. A middle gray should do, and a red shirt with a black tie." He gave a small flick of his hand. "That's all for now."

"Yes, Master," Ruby smiled as she bobbed a curtsy before she left.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

"Oh... don't you look nice," Kasumi gushed as she let Ruby into the house the next day.

"Thank you, Mother," Ruby said as she entered. She was wearing a pearly gray blouse and skirt with a red lace trim and a black waste cinching belt. "How are you feeling today?"

"I am doing well," Kasumi replied as her endurance wore thin. "But Ruby, now that you are here, maybe you could answer some questions for me."

"Of course," Ruby said with a happy smile. "We can talk while we get you ready to go out."

"When you first met Tsukune," Kasumi began. "Were he and Moka already close?" She figured she would start with an easy question.

"The Newspaper Club were all close to one another," Ruby nodded. "I don't think Tsukune had realized how much he had fallen for Moka yet, or how much she and Kurumu had fallen for him." She gave a small sigh. "That was when I first met someone so kind and understanding."

"At the time I just thought that it was strange," Ruby went on. "Here was this human, something I had been raised to see as dangerous and deceitful, that was showing concern for me after he had beaten me."

"Beaten you?" Kasumi gasped.

"Mother," Ruby reminded the older woman. "I had been raised to see humans as monsters, and there was Tsukune, a human, with one of my own kind and two other girls. I thought he was either controlling her, or setting her up to take advantage of her. I attacked him. Tsukune was forced to defend himself and his friends. When it was all over, he was willing to forgive me right away."

"Tsukune's always been kind..." Kasumi gave a small nod of understanding.

"I am thankful that he is," Ruby told his mother. "I could not imagine any kind of life without him."

"Oh..." Kasumi was touched by the younger woman's words.

"But you don't want to hear me ramble on like this," Ruby shifted gears and started towards the stairs. "We need to get you ready to go out. Tsukune will be here in only two hours. I know you want to get ready. He must have something special planned."

"Special?" Kasumi questioned.

"He had me lay out a suit for him," Ruby nodded.

"And that told you he had something special planned?" Kasumi asked.

"Yes," Ruby answered "Normally he just puts on whatever I have ready for him. I know when he plans to work, so I will know when to have a uniform ready. On his days off, I set out comfortable, casual clothes. When Tsukune tells me what clothes to prepare, then I know he is doing something outside of his normal routine."

As she talked, Ruby lead the way up into the master bedroom. She knew that Kasumi was going to follow along, hanging on her every word. Tsukune had explained the plan to Ruby just that morning.

"Most of the time, Tsukune will just put on what I have ready because he trusts my judgment," Ruby explained. "But when he has a special evening planned with Moka, for example, he will tell me what he wants to wear."

"What did Tsukune say he wanted to wear tonight?" Kasumi asked with a small frown.

"He will be wearing a gray wool suit," Ruby answered. "Along with a red shirt and a black tie, both made of silk." She paused to give the other woman a calculating look.

"What?" Kasumi asked.

"Tsukune has a habit of dressing conservatively," Ruby said.

"A red silk shirt is conservative?" Kasumi challenged.

"But I think you would look better in some more lively colors," Ruby went on. "And we don't want Tsukune to out dress you, do we mother?"

"Of course not," Kasumi agreed.

"Well let's see what we can do for you," Ruby turned her attention to the closet. As she set to work she let herself keep talking, seemingly to prattle. "At least Tsukune's tastes are easy to match. Whenever the school had a dance or festival, the girls in the Newspaper Club knew what to expect and how to dress to match him as a couple."

"Oh?" Kasumi perked up, eager to hear a little more.

"Yes," Ruby nodded. "It was as if he only ever wore black, white, or red. Mizore favored white. Kurumu went with the black and red often enough. Moka, for her it was the red and white, well pink actually. But for her it could depend on which side of her was out."

"Excuse me?" Kasumi blinked at that.

"Do you remember the way Moka's hair changed?" Ruby asked. "How it went from pink to silver?"

"I remember," Kasumi gave a nod, but she felt confused at the way the conversation was wandering.

"Moka has two sides," Ruby explained. "Two very distinct and real personalities live inside of her. The one you know best has pink hair. She is sweet and kind, and a very good match for Tsukune."

"I always thought so," Kasumi nodded.

"The other side of her is the Moka with the silver hair," Ruby continued.

"The part that is a vampire, right?" Kasumi guessed.

"It is not like that," Ruby gave a small shake of her head. "Moka is a Vampire. It is like if someone is born into an important family. It will always be a part of who she is, no matter what she does with her life. The side of Moka you know best, the Outer Moka, is the side she used for her daily life before meeting Tsukune. Most of the time it would just be Outer Moka we would see, but because she is a vampire, she is very strong, and had trouble making friends. Tsukune really helped her be happy."

"The other side of Moka," Ruby went on. "Is the side of Moka that comes out when she stops hiding her true power. It is Inner Moka that has the silver hair. Inner Moka is the stronger of the two, and has never been afraid to use her power. The night I kissed Tsukune, it was Inner Moka that had been ready to kill me."

"But you don't mean that literally," Kasumi tried to dismiss the idea.

"Yes I do," Ruby insisted. "One of the things that connected Moka and Tsukune was that, since their first day together, he has been able to unlock her power, and her inner personality."

"They really did make a perfect couple in high school," Ruby told the other woman while she continued to go through the closet. "Tsukune was kind and friendly. Outer Moka was gentle and cute, but lonely because of what she is. Tsukune accepted her even though he was frightened of youkai, and was always there for her. When things around them went wrong, when things got out of hand, it was Tsukune that would unseal Moka's inner personality. Inner Moka is powerful, but could be harsh. Tsukune was willing to stand up to her, even though he could never stop her physically, to help keep her from hurting the wrong person."

"Aw..." Kasumi gave a little sigh as she listened.

"It has never really mattered which side of Moka it was," Ruby said with a proud smile. "Tsukune is the perfect person to be with her."

"They were very luck to find each other," Kasumi said a little wistfully, with a far away look in her eyes.

"Of course it is just too bad that everything just kept happening to them," Ruby said. "Oh, I think this dress will do nicely for a start."

It was a total change of topics that threw Kasumi for a loop. Ruby had pulled out a cocktail dress that Kasumi had not worn in years and years. It was Robin Egg Blue. The dress covered from the shoulders down to the knees with a look like it was wrapped on like a sleeveless robe that tied closed on the left hip.

"That?" Kasumi questioned.

"Now that we know what we're starting with, we can build on the rest of the look," Ruby gave a firm nod. "So let's get you ready for when Tsukune gets here."

Ruby was in a happy mood. Not only was she visiting with one of her favorite people, but she was doing so in service to her master. As an added treat, she was going to get to put together a look, using Tsukune's mother as a personal dress-up doll. It was going to be so much fun.

...

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(a/n) I am not dead yet. Much going on right now, including a job hunt ((grumblegrumbledamnobamacaregrumble)) Thank you to all my loyal readers for sticking it out with me.

While I am dealing with the mundane world, I am also trying to get something new going... I hope I will be able to continue to keep your interests with my next project. Watch this spot for coming information.