Chapter 14 – "I swear, Maiko-chan, that in the end we'll become friends!"

"Good morning, Youkai Academy! This is MC Koto of the Radio Club speaking! We are coming to you live from outside one of the boy's dorms, where the walls are entirely covered in graffiti! And I do mean all of them! Someone was busy last night... hold on let me see if I can get a better view... oh! It seems to say something... the writing's a bit sloppy, but... I recognize some of the names... particularly, almost the entire News Club is being called out!

"...

"...h-hold on...

"...a-am I reading this right? T-this has to be a joke, right? You seeing this too, Juri?

"...no, that is what it says after all! The graffiti was left by a group calling itself Anti-Thesis! And what they want... what they want is... they want the death of the human infiltrator Aono Tsukune! They also demand the death of his youkai collaborators Kurono Kurumu, Shuzen Moka, Sendo Yukari, and Shirayuki Mizore! Strangely, they only want a severe punishment for Morioka Ginei and some other students... but, more importantly, they've declared war on them and on Youkai Academy as a whole and will not stop until their demands are met! They say that they're 'punishing Youkai Academy for its sins'! This is... unreal! Is it true!? Is there really a human at Youkai Academy!?

"Outside the dorms, there's a huge crowd of youkai, trying to make sense of it all, just like us... if it's hard to hear me, that's because of all the shouting...

"Oh! In the air! That's Kurono Kurumu! She's flying right over to... yes, that is Aono Tsukune's dorm room! And they're flying off into the distance!

"...does that mean... it's true then? Wow...

"...h-hey, what are you-!? We have a permit to record here! Let go of... ah!?

"Juri, let's go! A riot's just started! If you can hear this, get to safety while you can!"


Maiko didn't get anywhere close to the riot that broke out that morning. She knew the truth, and wasn't mush surprised that Anti-Thesis leaked it either. Midou reached out to her again and made another effort to recruit her to their group, letting her know that this was coming and not to get too close to Kurumu, Tsukune, or the others. Not like she was going to do that anyway...

Well, while Midou was serious, Saizou was not, and categorically refused her conditions for joining. So, she remained on her own. She was on her own with a serious problem: her unwillingness to avenge her brother's death!

True, her time spent living peacefully amongst humans must have influenced her. But, surely, that by itself can't be stopping her! Supposedly peaceful humans took up the blade all the time! No, there has to be something else going on... she thought the succubus might have been Charming her, trying to put Maiko under her spell, but no, she hadn't even bothered...

That left only two possibilities in her mind. One – she was all talk, just a big softie, despite her fiery demeanor. Two – there was something particular about Kurumu herself that was stopping her from going through with it.

(She vividly remembered every expression on Kurumu's face as she was recounting her tale of life at Youkai Academy – soft happiness, deep sorrow, bright anger, and on. She had been captivated.)

But Kurumu made herself scarce the rest of the week after the riot, as did Tsukune, so Maiko could put that whole thing to the back of her mind for now. The two were evidently still on campus somewhere, as Moka and Mizore hadn't joined them, and took the initial brunt of the backlash from the other students of their class.

Well, calling it backlash was overstating things. They were more confused than anything else.

The other students, however, were furious with Moka, Mizore, Yukari, and the others. Moka's last name kept her and Yukari safe, while Mizore mostly avoided trouble with her ice clones. The three of them became outcasts. Only the Enforcers, the sympathetic few, and Maiko herself came to talk to them. Tsukune's departure seemed like an admission of wrongdoing, and one that they couldn't refute.

So, naturally, the first real surprise came when he and Kurumu returned to campus the next week.

Maiko learned of Tsukune's return first, since they were in the same class. She even had the luck to run into him bright and early on Monday morning, well before classes, while she was out for a jog (it helped clear her head from thoughts of... a certain succubus). He looked dirty and smelled worse... had he just been outside in the wilderness the whole time?

She glared at him. "Aono-kun, how are you supposed to represent us like that? Go shower! Now!"

With a laugh, he admitted that she had a point and left to do just that, accompanied by several suited bodyguards. Looked like the Chairman was taking this pretty seriously. And this certainly wasn't a move he would have made while her brother was still alive. Kuyou would have blocked at it once and gone for the kill even if the Chairman tried to force him to go along with it. She might have been surprised that no one else had tried to kill Tsukune... but he didn't really have any other enemies. And anyone who wanted to become his enemy now would be fighting both his powerful friends and the school itself.

She had to wonder a bit about the idea of a school for youkai defending a human so strongly, but it wasn't really her concern. Her brother was the human hater, not her. Besides, Fairy Tale already hated the Chairman, so it's not like that creepy man would gain many enemies from doing this. Why he had done this in the first place was the real question, but it's not like she'd get an answer from him anytime soon.

By the time she got to class, the news had already spread and everyone was talking about it. Moka and Mizore were being questioned. Mizore was hiding behind her friend, while Moka was taking charge and addressing people's concerns. ...or, not addressing them, as she knew nothing either.

"No, I don't know why they ran off either... just because I'm their friend doesn't mean that I know everything about them... look, they needed their own space for a while, you understand that, right?"

She went on and on like that until the boy himself showed up. Aono Tsukune, in the flesh.

"...h-hello, everyone..."

He was as unimposing as ever. How anyone could confuse him for a threat was beyond Maiko's reckoning. But some students did, as they backed away from him in a blind panic. Someone walked up to Tsukune and dragged him into the classroom, slamming the door behind him.

"Aono-kun, I want you to be honest with me," demanded the same student, ignoring glares from Moka and Mizore. "Are you a human?"

Tsukune looked around at the class and took a deep breath before answering in the affirmative.

"Then... why are you here?" asked another one of the students. Maiko had to admit that she was curious too, and so listened in as Tsukune explained how he managed to fail to get into any human high school, and so his parents sent him here, thinking it was a normal school. He had been just as confused and concerned back then are they were at that moment, but with Kurumu and Moka by his side, he decided to try and stick it out, hoping that things would be fine.

In some ways, that was what happened. In other ways, he had been so wrong...

"...okay, but why did the Chairman even accept you in the first place?" asked a different student. "He knew that you were a human."

"Yeah, that's really weird!" chimed in another, and others agreed with the two of them. With the heat off of him for now, Tsukune gave the class what little explanation the Chairman had offered him. Namely, that the Chairman was in the habit of secretly recruiting humans to attend Youkai Academy, in the hopes that some would survive and become allies to youkai in the future.

Maiko thought this was absolute nonsense, but apparently it had worked enough times that he kept doing it over and over again, leading to Tsukune getting involved.

"I'm sorry for hiding this, but I hope you'll understand. I was too terrified to speak up."

"...well, you were right to be," admitted one student. "By all rights, we should throw you out of here ourselves!" Some others agreed with them, as did Maiko, and she couldn't help but notice Moka and Mizore tense up, like they were expecting a fight.

But there was no need. Tsukune defused the situation on his own. He admitted that said student had a point, and would go along with whatever they decided. He was the guest here, after all.

"...well... It's not like you're hurting us... I guess you can stay. You still have to be the class rep, though."

Despite his status as a human, Tsukune couldn't convince the class to release him from his position, as none of them wanted it. They also blocked letting Moka or Mizore have it, so regarding him and his classmates, nothing had changed. For better or for worse, his classmates had accepted him.

The same could not be said for the rest of the students.

Maiko trailed along with Moka, Mizore, and Tsukune was they went to lunch, despite Moka's and Mizore's antipathy towards her. If Tsukune was going to be stuck as her superior, she was going to keep an eye on him! So, she had a front row seat for a swarm of fellow youkai crowding them all, demanding to know what made Tsukune think he had the right to be here, to be with them, to date someone like Kurumu, and so on. As long as only voices were raised, the crowd was ignored, but once someone threw a punch at Tsukune, Moka and Mizore at once went on the attack, leaving Maiko to watch over Tsukune.

Tsukune was, of course, concerned about his girlfriend far more than he was about himself, so she led him over towards her classroom... and directly towards another big crowd! But instead of anger, she heard more eagerness to either defeat the famed youko-slayer (much to Maiko's annoyance) or take the succubus away from some pitiful human (much to Tsukune's annoyance). The only reason a fight hadn't already broken out was because Deshiko (energized) and Keito (enraged) were already on the scene, keeping the crowd at bay.

The instant Kurumu noticed Tsukune, she dashed over into his embrace.

Only moments later, she noticed Maiko. Blinking in confusion, she asked, "Maiko-chan? What are you doing here?" She then gasped. "Were you looking over my dear Tsukune for me? That's so sweet of you~!"

With a faint blush, Maiko said that she was just making sure that her class rep remained unharmed. "Your friends Shuzen-san and Shirayuki are keeping another hostile crowd at bay. You really should be thanking them, not me."

And the duo would appear just as Maiko said that, being pushed into view by said crowd. They merely took notice of the unharmed Kurumu and Tsukune before getting back into a fighting stance, Moka silver-haired and Mizore bearing ice claws. Deshiko and Keito did the same, having already knocked out a few fools and waiting to see if anyone else was brave enough to risk the same fate.

However, it was not to be. The fight was interrupted by an announcement.

"Greeting, fellow students of Youkai Academy. This is your Student Council Presient, Kaneshiro Hokuto speaking."

Keito scoffed. "About time that man got off his ass and did something!"

"I would like to address all of you directly, regarding the recent rumors. As you all must know by now, one of the boy's dorms was covered with graffiti made by the illegal and terroristic group known as Anti-Thesis."

Most of the students gave each other confused looks after that statement. Illegal? Terroristic? What could Hokuto mean by that?

"Anti-Thesis is now targeting several students at the school directly. You know their names, so I won't repeat them. What I will do is confirm that the one who was declared to be a human is in fact a human."

Tsukune immediately tensed up, and Kurumu pulled him in closer, glaring at anyone who dared to look at him funny.

"What Anti-Thesis has not told you is that said student is not an infiltrator, but was in fact chosen to attend Youkai Academy by the Chairman himself. This was done on account of his good character, and the actions of this student help to demonstrate his case. So, no student is to attempt to remove him to the premises of Youkai Academy. Attempts to do so will be punished heavily by the Public Safety Commission."

That statement was followed up by a growled agreement from none other than Kerubos Kibato, who also gently reminded everyone that no one was to attempt to fight Kuroko Kurumu before the Youkai Academy All-Martial Arts Tournament. While the crowd of fighter youkai was disappointed, Kurumu, Tsukune, Moka, and Mizore gave off a big cheer.

"As for the students being targeted by Anti-Thesis, know that we in the Student Council are standing by your side, as are the students of Youkai Academy. We will deal with this threat together and root out Anti-Thesis for good. To that end, I will be in contact with you shortly."

The announcement then ended with Hokuto wishing everyone a good rest of the day, and the crowd subsequently dispersed. Keito, still angry, told Kurumu not to go looking for trouble, and then stomped off, Deshiko trailing behind.

And now that all was well, the group of Kurumu, Tsukune, Moka, Mizore, and Maiko went on to get lunch!

Of course, Maiko's continued presence was not at all welcomed by Moka and Mizore, and also not by Yukari, who found them now too long later. The good mood they'd gained from getting the support of the Student Council President and the Enforcers was now gone. Instead, there was tense silence, and radiated hostility from Moka and Mizore towards Maiko (as well as the other way around). It was bad enough that Kurumu just had to speak up!

"Moka-chan... Mizore-chan... I know it's selfish of me, but could you please treat Maiko-chan just like she was any other person? And Maiko-chan, could you please try not to antagonize my friends? I'm sure you would get along with them fine if you just gave them a chance!"

Moka, apologetic, relented.

Mizore didn't apologize, but also relaxed.

As for Maiko...

"...hmph. Fine!"

...she, unable to look into Kurumu's earnest eyes, agreed.

"But don't forget... In the end, I'm your enemy," added Maiko, before taking a bite of her sandwich. "Your friends understand that, so you should too~!"

But at that declaration, Kurumu, with a serious expression of her face, made a declaration of her own! "I swear, Maiko-chan, that in the end we'll become friends! Count on it!"

Tsukune, of course, sided with his girlfriend. "I would also like it if you became our friend, Maiko-chan," he admitted.

"It'd sure be easier on my poor heart if you were our friend..." added Yukari.

Moka and Mizore didn't say that they agreed with their friends, but didn't try to push back against their sincere desires either.

In the face of this friendliness, Maiko grumbled under her breath, but didn't try to counter Kurumu.

Instead, she let Yukari change the subject to the surprise announcement from the Student Council President, and fell silent, lost in a whirl of her own confused thoughts regarding a certain succubus.


The rest of yet another ordinary school day helped to ease Maiko's mind, and she hoped that spending time with Keito and Akeno afterwards would help even more. But she'd have to wait for it. First, she had to do her actual duty and help prepare their class's chosen activity for the school festival. Lots of ideas for what to do had been thrown out – a maid café, a food stall, a skit, a dance, and so on. The main choice was between using Tsukune's humanity as a selling point for their class or not leaning into that at all and treating him just like any other student.

Tsukune, of course, was in favor of being treated like any other student, and based on that the class decided to do a food stall. The students had even tossed out plenty of suggestions for what to cook, and there were even a few volunteer chefs from among them. All things considered, preparing and managing the stall was looking to be a simple and easy task. Frankly, the hardest part was probably going to be getting Moka and Mizore to work together with Maiko (and vice versa). But today, that would not be a problem, as the mood was tense but peaceful. Looks like they were all really sticking to Kurumu's suggestion!

And Tsukune couldn't be any more thankful for that. This paperwork would be so obnoxious to do on his own! But working together, it wasn't a problem at all! At this rate, he'd have plenty of time to head to the library afterwards and start doing some investigating...

It was while they were filling out a bunch of the required forms that the Student Council President himself showed up.

"Ah, excuse me, do you four have a moment?"

The first thing that was obvious about Kaneshiro Hokuto was that he was tall. Taller than Gin, taller than Kuyou, taller than Kibato, and much taller than any of them sitting in the room. Combine that with his obvious (yet still lean) musculature, and he had quite the imposing presence. He also entered the room without waiting for a reply, as if he had every right to be there, and was completely relaxed while appearing to take up more space than he truly did.

The second thing that was obvious about Kaneshiro Hokuto was that he was handsome, with his dazzling smile and sharp glasses. He wore the same outfit as Tsukune, but it seemed brighter and fancier on him, as if his wearing this outfit was gracing it with a greater beauty. Combine that with his lightly-tussled brown hair and warm brown eyes, and he certainly would not have been out of place on the cover of a popular magazine.

These two things completely stunned the group of Tsukune, Moka, Mizore, and Maiko.

Maiko recovered first. "Y-yeah, what do you want, Mr. Prez?"

He chuckled, much to her annoyance. "Nothing too much. You all heard my announcement, right?"

That prompted Tsukune, Moka, and Mizore to recover from their temporary stupor.

"A-ah, right!" exclaimed Tsukune. "You did say you wanted to talk with us... it's about Anti-Thesis, right?"

Hokuto nodded. "I've also asked Vice-President Kiria and Treasurer Kashi-san to talk to Kurono-san and Sendo-san, respectively. They are also involved in their classes' preparation for the School Festival, and... is something the matter? Why are you three looking at me like that?"

The three in question were Tsukune, Moka, and Mizore who had been under the impression that Kashi was simply a member of the Gardening Club, and Moka even said as much. Hokuto, still confused, confirmed that she was, and that a student could be on both the Student Council and in a club, though they couldn't hold Executive positions in both.

"Anyway..." Hokuto continued, "regarding Anti-Thesis. You four are in one class together, so you're safe during the school day. But there's the matter of your after-school activities and the night itself... though, I suppose you all will be sticking together in the News Club and the four of you here as well."

"That just leaves the time between clubs and classes. Night-time..." noted Moka. "...and that's time when Tsukune-kun is by himself."

"I'm not totally alone," Tsukune countered. "I'll have Kusashi-san and Monokuro-kun helping me out. Some of the other guys in my dorm seemed sympathetic as well."

Hokuto nodded. "Still, that creates an opportunity for Anti-Thesis to strike at you. I'll make a note of it. Of course, I assume the Chairman is also providing protection for you?"

Tsukune nodded.

"Excellent. Well then, I won't keep you any longer. Enjoy the rest of your day."

...and Hokuto walked out before any of them could ask what he knew about Anti-Thesis. But they figured they could always ask another time, and so got back to finishing up their portions of the paperwork. With it done, they brought it over to Nekonome-sensei in the teacher's offices and made dealing with the rest of it her problem.

Gin had come to them earlier in the day and told the News Club members that they had today off. (Naturally, he expected them back tomorrow.) So, that left Tsukune with a rare free afternoon, one where he wasn't automatically by his girlfriend's side. It was a perfect opportunity to go and check out the school's library!

"Moka-chan, Mizore-chan, would one of you mind checking up on Kurumu?" he asked.

The two of them gave him odd looks as they walked through the hallways of Youkai Academy aimlessly, Maiko having already split off after leaving the teacher's offices.

"Sure, Tsukune-kun," said Moka, "but wouldn't you want to come with me?"

"I'm the one who should go," countered Mizore, "since we also need someone to be with Yukari-chan."

Moka nodded. "Yeah, that's right... but... Tsukune-kun, is something the matter?"

Tsukune grimaced. "Yeah, somethings been bothering me... I'll tell you on the way. I just need to go to the library for a bit."

Mizore was confused, but Moka understood it at once. "Ah, right. Yukari-chan and I should go with you then! Maybe we can help you find what you're looking for... Mizore-chan, you don't mind keeping Kurumu-chan company by yourself today, do you?"

Mizore was glad her mom trained her in properly concealing her emotions, as she gave a simple flat yes and split off from Tsukune and Moka.

...that said, she found this whole thing quite suspicious. What information could Tsukune and Moka be looking for, and why wouldn't they want Kurumu to be there? It can't be related to Anti-Thesis. If it was, it wouldn't matter of she was there or not. Is it related to Kurumu herself then? But she didn't know what about her they could be researching, or why they wouldn't just ask her about it...

She would remain puzzled with Tsukune's actions by the time she ran into Kurumu in the hallway. The two of them would head to the girl's dorms to work on homework together, Kurumu complaining along the way about the creepy Student Council Vice President Kiria that had just visited her class. Mizore let herself be drawn into the conversation with her friend, deciding not to worry too much about Tsukune and Moka.

After all, the ice clone she was having tail them would let her know if danger came.


Said ice clone, however, needed to keep hidden and at a distance from Tsukune, Moka, and later Yukari as they approached and entered the school library. As such, it didn't catch a word of Tsukune explaining his conversation with Kurumu's mom to the two of them, and of the concerns that the two of them shared. Concerns that were definitely shared with Moka... Yukari, however, provided a different perspective.

"Wouldn't it be a good thing if she could tap into that power on purpose?" asked the young witch. "After all, as long as Tsukune-kun's around, it's not like she'll kill anyone else."

Tsukune and Moka both grimaced. She might have a point but... neither of them wanted Kurumu to become a killer, and they doubted that she did either. No, it was best they figure out how to keep this power at bay. Yukari went along with this, figuring that they were right... but... just in case, she'd also get around to making some more potions. She had to have at least one or two recipes that could help out her succubus friend!

Once they entered the library, none other than Gakutorou materialized in front of them at once, asking if they were okay, as he'd also heard the big announcement. But they weren't here for that, as they trusted the student council to help keep them safe. What they were actually after was information on succubi.

"Oh dear~. Is something the matter with Kurono-san~?" he asked while leading down the dim halls. "Hmmm~ ... the books you're interested in should be this way~."

"Sorry, but it's personal," Tsukune said. "I can't tell you too much about it."

"Well, I hope these can help~" was the ghostly reply, as the trio were directed to shelves upon shelves of books related to succubi: their biology, their abilities, their folklore, and on and on... frankly, it was far too much! But they had to do this for Kurumu, and so they thanked him and started going through the books, one by one...

...they kept at this for some time, with no leads just yet, when quite the unwelcome presence presented himself, joined by one other.

"I can think of better places for you to spend a lovely night like this, Shuzen Moka~."

"I told you we'd be meeting again, Shuzen. I hope you're ready."

Saizou and Midou, yet again.

Yukari, in a panic, summoned her wand and pointed it at Midou. "H-hold it!"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Hm? I'm not interested in you, little Witch."

Saizou then laughed at her. "Yeah, you better know your place, little girl. Otherwise, guys like me will have to put you there~!"

Moka flared her up her youkai aura. "Do not talk to my friends like that, Komiya."

He chuckled, pretending to be unfazed, as other students immediately chose to flee the scene. "O-oh? W-well, why don't you try and stop me, hehe...he..."

She then stood up, shoving her chair out from behind her. "Maybe I should. I've had about enough of you," she added with a glare, channeling her inner self's annoyance as well.

Saizou fell silent, and backed up behind an unfazed Midou. As for Midou, he simply returned Moka's glare, flaring up his own youkai aura and pointing it at Moka, Tsukune, and Yukari. "Do not talk to my companions like that, Shuzen," he said, mimicking her tone.

Yukari and Tsukune at once sheltered themselves behind Moka, who looked about ready to let her inner self take over. She might have even done and started a fight right then and there if none other than Gakutorou hadn't showed up and demanded they stop disturbing the other students.

With a sigh, Moka relaxed, and Midou followed suit. "Midou, what do you want from me?" she then asked. "...You're in Anti-Thesis, right? So, you've come to try and kill us?"

He nodded, and turned around. "That's right. This Midou will be your reckoning. And once I'm done with you, I won't have any problems dealing with the rest of your friends. Now follow me."

He then started walking away, not bothering to see if Moka was following him. Saizou kept him company.

So, naturally, Tsukune thought that they were just going to ignore him and get back to researching. After all, it's not like he was making Moka fight him – he simply made an offer to settle things now as opposed to some other time. Tsukune was thus quite surprised when Moka started following them out.

"M-moka-san!?" he blurted out, as did Yukari.

"Sorry, but... I have to take care of this. Sendo-san, do you mind keeping Aono-kun company?"

Yukari looked at Tsukune. Tsukune looked at Yukari.

The two of them at once came to the same decision – they were going with Moka!

She protested, naturally, claiming that she could handle things on her own. And, she was probably right that she could. But there was no way that Tsukune and Yukari were going to leave their friend alone to rush into danger, so they went with her, leaving the books behind.

Books that one Student Council Vice President Yoshii Kiria started flipping through after they three of them had left, looking inspiration as to how to best... stimulate Kurumu into becoming a killer once more.