(Disclaimer: I do not own Rosario+Vampire or Kamen Rider. They both belong to their respective owners. I just own this idea, which might become a story, and my OC's)


Rider X Vampire: The Third Guardian

Cross 1: Unknown Meets Vampire


If one were to take one look at the area, one would have thought they had walked into some kind of horror film. The land was desolate and barren with the only kind of vegetation being scraggly trees with leaves haven all fallen some time ago. As if to add to this scene, the sky was murky and foreboding and an obscene amount of tombstones littered the grounds. Truly, it was like a horror scene come to life.

"Ah! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" And as if to completely contrast the scenery, a bicycle raced down an autumn leave-covered path as the rider hastily finished the jam-covered toast in her mouth, crying out in a distressed voice.

The said rider was in fact a tall, young, fair-skinned teenage girl with knee-length pink hair with the bangs swept to the right side, green eyes, full pink lips, and a cute girl-next-door face. She wore what seemed to be a uniform consisting of a green blazer worn over a white button-up shirt and a yellow plaid skirt. The uniform also comes with a red tie, but the girl did not have hers on not because she forgot it, but because she was making room for an interesting item on her that being a silver rosary hanging from a black choker around her neck.

"Oh, I knew I shouldn't have stayed up so late to finish that book!" The girl said to herself as she pedaled harder, going at a speed that could match an athletic pro cyclist. If one were to ask why the girl was in such a rush, the answer to that would be that today was the first day of school and she was running late for the opening ceremony.

"I'm not gonna make it at this rate," The girl said, taking a quick look at her wristwatch before quickly deciding to take a path that looked to be a shortcut to the academy. She guessed correctly as she could make out in the distance the school she would be attending for the next few years through the many branches that covered the skies above her.

So focused on looking over the horizon, the girl didn't notice someone walking into her path until it was too late.

"Look out!" She cried out in vain until she crashed wheel first into the person which resulted in her being thrown off her seat and crashing onto the ground. The girl rolled in order to break her fall, but it did little to elevate the pain from the rough landing.

"Ow..." She groaned, picking herself up and shaking her head to get rid of the dizziness. Once she did, she then remembered the person she had crashed into.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! Are you—?" Getting up on her feet, the girl turned to whoever she crashed into but stopped for two reasons.

1. The person she had crashed into looked to be unconscious, probably having been knocked out from the crash.

2. Said person looked to be a boy around the girl's age.

The boy had peach skin and somewhat spiky black hair that matched the shade of a crow's feathers. He also seemed to be fairly tall standing around 5'7 compared to the girl's 5'4. If the girl were to be honest with herself, she found the boy to be quite handsome but was distracted by the state of his attire which consisted of a black biker jacket worn over a blue shirt, a pair of jeans, and brown mid-cut shoes. What was strange about the boy's attire was that his clothes were ripped all over as if he had just escaped from an intense fight. Not only that but the boy was drenched which at least told the girl that he must have come from the cliffside.

'What was he doing in the water?' The girl thought to herself, but her worry for the boy's state took over any suspicion she may have had for him.

"Hey! Wake up! Get a hold of yourself!" The girl, after making sure the water wasn't going to shock her, touched and shook the boy hoping to rouse him. After a few more shakes and calling out to wake up, the young man finally stirred much to the girl's relief.

"Oh, thank goodness you're all right. You had me worried there," The girl said as the boy slowly sat up, still looking a bit dazed. "I'm sorry for crashing into you like that. I wasn't looking where I was going. You're not hurt too badly, are you?"

Still dazed, the boy blinked his eyes a few times before finally registering both the girl and his surroundings.

"Where...?" Blinking a few more times, the boy took in his surroundings before his eyes landed on the girl...and he quickly jumped back. "Whoa!"

"Kya!" The girl jumped back as well, surprised by the boy's sudden cry. Quickly calming down, the girl looked back at the boy who was looking at her and the area both in confusion.

"Wh-Where am I? Who are you?"

"P-Please calm down, I'm not going to hurt you," The girl said, holding up her hands to try and look as unthreatening as possible which was easy due to how innocent she looked (not that she knew this of course). Waiting a few seconds for the boy to calm down, the girl spoke up.

"I'm sorry if I scared you just now. I'm Moka Akashiya and to answer your question, you're on the campus grounds of Youkai Academy."

"Youkai...Academy?"

"That building over there," Moka said, standing up before pointing over to the academy building in the distance. "I'm actually a student there if my uniform didn't already give that away."

The boy didn't respond back like Moka had thought he would. He just continued to sit there and stare between her and the academy located past the woods they were in, blinking here and there in confusion. The lack of response from the boy made Moka nervous, not helped by the fact that her social skills weren't exactly the best due to not having any friends let alone any that were boys. So in a fit of panic, she spoke up again.

"S-So, what's your name? You don't look like a student here, though maybe you just forgot your uniform? Hehe..."

"My name?" The boy said, raising an eyebrow at that before he opened his mouth to respond...but no words came out. Confusion soon appeared on the boy's face as he slowly raised a hand to his head and said in a confused tone, "My name is...I...I don't know."

Moka blinked in confusion at that. "You don't know?"

"No...I don't..." The boy said, his confused face soon morphing into one of horror. "Who...am I?"

'He doesn't know his own name?' Moka thought in both confusion and shock. A part of her thought that the boy must have been faking it, but one look at the boy's expression told her that the boy truly did not know his own name.

'Could this be...amnesia? Wait, was it because I crashed into him!?' Moka thought in a panic until she remembered the state of the boy's clothes.

'Could he have gotten into a fight? It would explain his ruined clothes, but he doesn't even look injured himself. So maybe it was because of the crash—?'

*gong-gong-gong-gong!*

The sounds of a distant bell broke Moka from her thoughts as she turned in horror to see the source of the noise belonging to the academy bell.

"Oh no! I missed the ceremony!" Moka cried out as shame and regret soon washed over her, saddened that she had missed the opening ceremony.

"Um...sorry," Moka blinked before turning to see the boy looking apologetic. "You probably wouldn't have been late if it weren't for me."

'This guy...he doesn't even know his own name yet he's worried about me,' Moka thought, touched by the boy's thoughtfulness.

"...Here," Coming to a decision, Moka offered the boy her hand which she took and helped him up to his feet.

'I can't leave him here like this,' Moka thought to herself before speaking. "I'm not sure if I can help with your...situation, but maybe the Headmaster could do something."

"The Headmaster?"

"Yeah. He's the one in charge of the academy so maybe he knows who you are if you're actually a student here like me."

"You really think he'll know?"

"Maybe, it doesn't hurt to check. Plus..." At this, Moka grew bashful. "I still need to apologize for crashing into you earlier. I'm not sure if hitting you with my bike was what caused you to lose your memories, but this is the least I can do to help."

"Moka..." The boy looked at the girl in amazement before he wrapped his hands around Moka's and a smile formed on his face so bright and pure that Moka thought she was looking directly at the sun for a second. "Thank you!"

"D-Don't mention it," Moka said, blinking her eyes a few times as she took her hand back from the boy before going over and picking up her bike. "Come on! I'm late enough as it is."

"Right!" The boy said as he and Moka took off in the direction of the academy, neither of them noticing just how easily the boy was keeping up with Moka despite being on a bike.


(Later, Youkai Academy)

Tenmei Mikogami, Headmaster of Youkai Academy and one of the Three Dark Lords had experienced a lot in his life of 200+ years. As a Kishin, not many expected him to build an academy much less become its director. Truly, he would have never thought to be in this position when he was much younger, but life works in mysterious ways even for beings like him.

Dressed in the clothes that gave him the name, 'The Exorcist,' Mikogami sat at his desk as he waited for the arrival of the unknown that had stepped onto his academy.

'What are you?' He thought to himself as he extended his senses out. He had first noticed this unknown when they had stepped through the barrier surrounding the academy building. Mikogami could tell right away that whoever this person was, they were not a monster due to the lack of Yoki (Spirit Energy) which all monsters were known to have. The only beings in this world that lacked Yoki were humans, yet the headmaster did not think this unknown to be human for instead of spiritual energy, he felt something else. He would have missed it entirely had he not been focusing, but there was this strange aura around the unknown that felt like it was distorting space itself. Whatever this strange aura was, it seemed to be harmless to others. In fact, taking a closer look, it was more like this distorting aura was protecting the unknown.

'Interesting. Very interesting...' Mikogami thought to himself before he heard knocking on the door. "Come in."

"Excuse me," Opening the door, a woman dressed in a white blouse, orange skirt, and low heel sandals stepped into the room. With glasses hanging right over the woman's closed eyes one could have mistaken her for a normal human had it not been for the cat ears and tail sticking from her head and rear respectively.

Accompanying the cat-eared woman was the boy Moka had met in the woods who could not take his eyes off the woman's ears and tail.

"I'm sorry for intruding during such a busy time, but..."

"It's about this boy, isn't it?" Mikogami said, interrupting the teacher as he got up from his chair and walked over. "I know the gist of it. Return to your class, Nekonome-san. I'll take it from here."

Nodding her head, Shizuka Nekonome turned around and left the room, leaving the boy with the former Dark Lord. All was quiet as the boy looked at the door the teacher had left through and the exorcist-dressed monster smiled in amusement at this.

"Is something the matter, shonen (boy)?"

"...That woman had cat ears and a tail," The boy said, getting a chuckle from Mikogami.

"Well, she is a Nekomusume (cat girl). It would be strange for her not to have them."

"A Nekomusume?" The boy repeated, finally turning to face the headmaster only to flinch at his appearance.

'Must be the eyes,' Mikogami thought, mentally chucking as he knew full well how intimidating he looked.

"Yes. She is but one of many monsters working at this academy."

"...I'm sorry, but did you just say monster?" The boy asked, looking confused.

"Indeed I did," Mikogami said, smirking. "As the name suggests, Youkai Academy is a school for monsters."

"A school...for monsters..." The boy said, trying to wrap his head around that. The fact that he had no idea about the academy reinforced the idea that he wasn't a monster himself. "Guess that explains why I saw a guy with only one eye and another with a really long neck."

"Yes. And I am its headmaster, Tenmei Mikogami. And you are...?"

"Actually, that's the reason why I wanted to meet you. I...actually don't know who I am."

"Oh?"

From there, the boy explained to the Exorcist how he found himself washed up by the cliffside, how he wandered into the woods where he later met Moka, and how he had no recollection of his past.

"Hmm, I see. And I'm guessing that Akashiya-san was the one who suggested you come to see me."

"Yes. She said that if I was a student here then you may have info on me."

"Hmm. I can see how she came to that conclusion since you look to be around the age of the students here."

"Then—"

"Unfortunately, I do not believe I have the information that you seek."

"What!?"

"Allow me to explain. As Headmaster, it is my job to know every staff and student here at this academy. I have memorized the names and faces of every monster attending this year which is why I know that you are not a student here, much less a transfer, and thus the information that you seek is not in my possession."

"No way..." The boy lowered his head, dejected.

"I'm sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear, but I may have an alternative solution for you," Mikogami said, getting the boy to look up at him.

"Really?"

The kishin nodded. "I have some connections that may be able to dig something up. The world is a big place after all, so I'm sure there's bound to be something."

"Oh, thank you, sir! I don't know how I can repay you."

"Well, I'm not doing this out of the goodness of my heart. I will have you pay me back," Mikogami said, smirking to himself. "But in the meantime, I have another offer for you."

"Another offer?"

"That's right. Since it will no doubt take some time for any info to arrive, that leaves you with nothing to do. So until my contacts can get back to me, why not spend that time as a student here?"

"You want me to attend here?" The boy said, blinking in surprise and confusion.

"That's right. As you've literally appeared out of nowhere, I can't ask one of the staff to shelter you on such short notice. By becoming a student, I can at least give you a place to stay in the dorms."

"Okay..." The boy said, seeing the Kishin's logic. However... "Why do so much for me?" Between gathering info and providing him shelter, the headmaster was being quite generous to the boy, a complete stranger.

Mikogami chuckled to himself, which honestly creeped the boy out, before speaking.

"Let's call it...an experiment."

"An experiment?"

"Yes. This is how you'll repay me. In exchange for my help, I want you to attend as a student here to help me conduct an experiment I had given up on years ago."

"So basically you want to use me as a guinea pig," The boy summarized while slightly glaring at Mikogami.

"Essentially," The kishin admitted. "But compared to adventuring out into the world with nothing but the clothes on you and whatever you might have in your pockets, it's not a bad deal."

The boy raised no argument against that. Without even so much as a name to identify himself, not to mention he didn't have a single yen on him, the boy had no way to survive out in the world. By accepting the headmaster's proposal, he'll at least have a roof over his head. But to hear that him attending as a student was all part of an experiment Mikogami wanted to conduct was off-putting.

"I see you're having difficulty coming to a decision," Mikogami said, dragging the boy out of his thoughts. "Well, I won't force you to choose. Why don't you think it over while exploring the campus? Perhaps then you'll come to a decision after seeing what my academy has to offer?"

"...I think I'll do that," The boy said as he turned to leave. "I'll come back once I've made my decision."

"I look forward to it. In the meantime, I'll have a room ready for you at the dorms where you can stay for the night. Should you end up accepting my offer, that'll be your room until you graduate. I'll send a teacher for you once it's ready."

The boy nodded before closing the door behind him, leaving the Kishin alone in his office.

"...He actually debated on whether he should stay here or not," Mikogami said to himself as he walked back to his desk and stared out the window, looking over towards the one exit in the far distance that leads to the human world. The fact that the boy was indecisive in his decision whereas others would have instantly accepted his offer told the Exorcist one thing about the amnesiac.

He did not know the current state of the Human World outside.

"Truly, you are an enigma, boy. Yes...quite the aberrant."


"Whoa! Beautiful!"

"I've never seen such a hottie!"

"Even if it's just a transformation, there isn't anyone else who could transform into such a beauty!"

"I...I want to date her!"

'Uwah...' Moka thought to herself as she tried her best to ignore the gazes directed at her. As it was the first day, classes had ended early to allow newer students to explore and familiarize themselves with the campus which was what Moka was doing right now. But much like how it was when she arrived late to her class, she was drawing stares from males who all kept throwing embarrassing comments toward her. She even spotted a few girls giving her side glances while blushing.

'Surely I can't be that pretty like everyone is saying,' Moka thought to herself. Compared to her older sisters, she was pretty mediocre.

"Hey, babe," Blinking in confusion, Moka suddenly found someone standing in front of her. Going by appearances, it was a tall male with slicked-back brown hair and piercings on both his ears and lip.

"Moka Ayakashi, right? I'm Saizou Komiya. I'm in your class, remember?"

"Oh...um...Nice to meet you?" Moka nervously responded while taking a step back only for Saizou to take a step forward in response which only made her more nervous.

"Nice to meet you too. But man, you are quite the cutie. Hard to believe this is all a disguise."

"Um...thank you?" Moka, again, nervously responded as the people around started talking.

"Hey, isn't that Saizou Komiya?"

"I heard he's a real piece of work from all the women he's molested."

"Apparently, he caused so much trouble that they sent him here—kinda like reform school."

'Welp, that settles it. I do not want to associate with this person,' Moka decided in her head as she tried to move away from Saizou but the delinquent would not let her escape.

"Whoa now, what's the rush? Why don't the two of us go off somewhere to have some fun?" Saizou said as he leaned over the pink-haired girl, further making her uncomfortable. "Well? What do you say?"

"Um...well...that sounds...nice, but I..." Stumbling over her words at this point, Moka looked around hoping to find anything that could help her in this situation. And as luck would have it, she did find something as it appeared from around the corner. Or rather, someone...

"S-Seth!" Moka cried out as she quickly escaped Saizou and ran over to...

"Whoa!" The amnesiac boy cried out in surprise when Moka suddenly ran up and grabbed his hand, surprising everyone watching.

"Hey! Who the hell is that guy!?"

"I've never seen him before."

"What's wrong with his clothes?"

"Who cares! Look at how close he is to her!"

"He's dead meat!"

"M-Moka?" Completely oblivious to the growing bloodlust coming from the male students (and a few of the females) around him, the young man looked at the pinkette in surprise.

"I've been looking all over for you! Are you done talking with the Headmaster?"

"H-Huh? Uh, yeah?"

"Great! Then let's go!" Moka said as she quickly dragged the boy away while shouting over to Saizou. "Sorry, but I'm hanging out with my friend now! Maybe next time(read: never)!"

Saizou watched as the two teens made their quick getaway from him. While slightly annoyed, the delinquent smirked to himself as he flexed his fingers, causing an audible crack to be heard.

"Hmph! Run all you like, but I never let a nice woman like you escape from me..."


Huffing with exhaustion, Moka finally stopped dragging the amnesiac around, having hidden under a flight of stairs as she took a moment to catch her breath.

"Are you alright?" The boy asked, not looking exhausted like Moka was.

"I'm fine, just a little scared is all," Moka said, taking another moment to calm down before she smiled apologetically at the amnesiac. "Sorry about dragging you around like that."

"It's fine. It looked like you were really trying to get away from that guy," The boy said, having quickly figured out why the girl dragged him away.

"So...Seth?"

"Huh?"

"That's what you called me earlier," The boy said, bringing up the name Moka had suddenly called him earlier.

"Oh, that! Well, since I didn't know your name I just thought of the first thing that came to mind. I'm sorry," Moka explained, quickly apologizing.

"Oh, it's fine," The now named Seth said, waving his hands in front of him. "I mean, so long as I'm here, I might as well have something to address by."

"Huh? You still don't know your name?" Moka asked. "But I thought you talked with the headmaster?"

"I did, but it turns out I'm not a student here so he didn't have any information on me."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Moka said, feeling guilty for having given the amnesiac false hope.

"It's fine. You were just trying to help," Seth said, waving his hands again. "But the headmaster did say he would have some friends of his look into me. So it's something."

"Really? That's great!"

"I guess. But until something pops up I'm basically stuck here."

"What are you going to do then?" Moka asked, seeing the dilemma Seth was in.

"Well, the headmaster also offered me to become a student here."

"Really!?"

"Yeah, but I couldn't decide right away, so I'm walking around the campus to see if I should—"

"You should!" Moka suddenly shouted, getting close to Seth and grabbing his hands, surprising the amnesiac as he could practically see sparkles in the girl's eyes. "You should become a student here! I'm sure it'll be fun!"

"Whoa, Moka! Calm down!"

"Ah! Sorry!" Apologizing for the third time in a row, Moka quickly separated from Seth, blushing in embarrassment.

"It's fine," Seth insisted, rubbing his hands due to how strong the girl gripped them. "But do you really want me to become a student here?"

"Well..." At this did Moka become bashful, nervously pushing her fingers together. "It'd be really nice if you attended the academy. To tell you the truth, I don't have any friends."

"You don't?" Seth said, raising an eyebrow in surprise. Considering Moka's personality, the boy thought she would have tons of friends. But contrary to his thoughts, the pinkette shook her head.

"I've been homeschooled for a long time so I never had a chance to make friends. Coming to this academy is actually the first time I've been anywhere outside my house."

"And the reason you want me to attend is..."

"I was...hoping we could become friends?" Moka's face was completely beat red with embarrassment. She had just laid herself bare to a person she just met today; a total stranger. The silence that followed didn't help matters either. Was it always this nerve-wracking trying to make friends?

"...Are you sure?"

"...Huh?" Blinking in confusion, Moka looked at Seth who now was the one looking bashful.

"I mean, we just met today, not to mention I have amnesia and stuff so I don't know what makes a good friend..."

"...Neither do I," Moka said as she slowly smiled, realizing something. Why should she be embarrassed about laying herself bare when Seth here was amnesic and thus had nothing to hide or judge Moka on? If anything, he was just as naked as she was being right now.

Which is why she wasn't nervous when asking this. "But I'm sure we can learn together!"

"Really?" Seth said, still unsure. "Are you really fine with a complete stranger like me?"

"I don't think we're strangers," Moka said, crossing her arms behind her as she gave Seth her most friendly-looking smile. "After all, we've known each other since this morning."

Seth couldn't help but blink at that. But as if Moka's smile was contagious, Seth began smiling himself before he held out a hand to the pinkette.

"Well, in that case...sure! Let's be friends."

"Yes, let's!" Moka's smile seemed to glow as she grabbed Seth's hand and shook it. As she did, a huge surge of joy spread throughout her entire body as a mental chibi image of herself was jumping around for joy at having made her first-ever friend.

"So, what exactly do friends do?" Seth asked, seemingly new to this which was logical due to his amnesia.

"Well, for starters, why don't we take up the headmaster's offer and check out the school?" Moka suggested as she began dragging Seth around who didn't seem to mind all that much as he kept pace with the excited girl and the two took their time checking out the academy.


(Later)

"These must be the dorms."

After spending most of their evening together walking around the academy and checking out its many facilities, a teacher came by to give Seth his temporary dorm key for his assigned room. After checking the time, Moka decided it was finally time to head to the dorms due to how late it was getting. Raising no objections, Seth followed Moka through the forest that practically surrounded the academy and down the path that Moka said would lead them to the dorms. And she was right as after a few minutes of walking they had arrived at their destination.

The student dorms of Youkai Academy seemed fairly normal for the most part, looking like a completely regular dorm building...if one ignored the rows of crows squawking up on the roofs, the same scraggly trees that were common around here, and the graves littering the ground near the front entrance. There was even an honest-to-gods skeleton lying half-buried at one of the graves with a snake seemingly having made a home inside the skull.

"So cool," Moka said, sighing in appreciation as if she were looking at a masterwork of art. "Such a building, full of dignity and character..."

"Is it?" Seth asked, tilting his head a little in confusion.

"Yes, but I guess this must look weird to you," Moka said, knowing that with Seth's condition, he might feel differently from Moka about the dorm.

"Not really, the building's appearance doesn't bother me that much," Seth said, finding no problems with the dorm itself. "I mean, it's kind of intimidating looking what with all the graves here, but the academy was the same so I guess this is just the norm here."

"Glad to know that you don't hate it," Moka said, breathing a small sigh of relief. "After all, the dorms were made to accommodate us monsters."

"Right, almost forgot about that," Seth said, having nearly forgotten that this place was a school for monsters. He was still trying to wrap his head around that.

That's when a thought appeared in his head.

"Hey, Moka, I've been meaning to ask but what kind of monster are you?"

"Eh?" Moka couldn't help but blink at that sudden question.

"Sorry if I'm prying, but I was just curious. Besides a few oddities, all the people here look like regular humans to me," Seth said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

"That's because we're all wearing disguises," Moka said. "I guess you wouldn't know since you're not a student yet—"

'She said "yet",' Seth couldn't help but mentally point out that word. Moka really wanted him to become a student here.

"—but students are all required to take a human form. And it's a rule that no one is supposed to know your true form."

"Oh, okay. If that's the rule then I guess I'll drop it," Seth said, only for Moka to shake her head.

"It's fine. Besides, you're not a student yet so I'm sure it's okay to tell you."

"You sure? I don't want to force you."

"It's fine, really. Plus, friends aren't supposed to keep secrets from one another, or so I've read," Moka said, brushing her hair behind her ear before standing in front of Seth so he could get a full view of her. "Now don't be surprised, but to answer your question, I am...a vampire."

"A vampire?" Seth said, blinking in surprise. "As in, the bloodsucker?"

Moka nodded. "That's right. See?" Pulling up on her mouth, Moka showed Seth that she had a set of sharp teeth; fangs.

"Huh..." Seth stood there, blinking at Moka as he tried to process that this sweet-looking girl in front of him was in fact a blood-sucking vampire.

"Surprised?"

"A little. You don't really seem like the kind of person who would attack someone for their blood."

"Well, I may look pretty human, but that's all thanks to this thing here," Moka said as she gestured to the silver rosary hanging from her neck.

"Your rosary?" Seth said as he leaned in closer to get a better look.

"Yep. This thing here seals my real powers away. If I were to take it off, I'd become the real thing; an evil and scary vampire feared by many," Moka said, waving her hands around as if they were claws to try and appear scary, though to Seth it just made her look cute.

"Hoh? That's...kinda interesting," Seth said, curious as to how much of Moka's powers were being sealed. "Have you ever tried taking it off?"

"When I was little, but I can't remove it myself. No one I know so far has been able to take it off," Moka explained. "...You want to try taking it off?"

"Huh?" Seth looked up at Moka in surprise. "Are you sure?"

"I mean, you're staring at it so intently," Moka said, blushing a little. She wasn't used to being this close to the opposite sex. "Maybe you can do what no one else has been able to."

"Well, if you're offering..." Seth said as he reached and grabbed the rosary, carefully holding it as if it were made of glass instead of silver.

*ba-dump* *ba-dump* *ba-dump*

For reasons they couldn't explain, both teens became nervous as they could hear their own hearts beat against their chests in anticipation. Maybe it was the thought of what may happen if the rosary actually came off. What would happen to Moka? How would she change? This of course was assuming Seth was able to take the rosary off of the pinkette so making sure he had a good grip on the silver cross, he gave it a good tug and...

...

...

...

Nothing. The rosary stayed connected to the chain it was connected to. Trying again, Seth gave it another tug but still, the chain would not break. Trying one last time, Seth placed a hand on Moka's shoulder and pulled a bit harder this time.

*spark!*

"Whoa!" Seth cried out, letting go of the silver cross as a brief spark from the rosary nearly shocked him.

"Sorry about that! It does that when you try to force it," Moka said, apologizing while readjusting her choker.

"It's fine. My curiosity just got the best of me," Seth said, assuring the vampire that he was fine as he shook his hand, no worse for wear. "Still, that thing is on tight. How long have you had it?"

"For as long as I can remember," Moka said, looking down and touching it. "It doesn't really bother me that much since I don't like causing trouble. I'm also still pretty strong despite the seal."

To demonstrate, Moka grabbed one of the nearby tombstones and with a slight grunt, pried it off the ground.

"Wow," Seth said, impressed with the girl's strength. "...That's not school property, is it?"

"..." Without a word, Moka quickly planted the tombstone back into the ground, telling Seth all he needed to know.

"So does the rosary just seal your powers?"

"I think so, I've never really thought about it that much," Moka said, dusting off her hands. "Even with the rosary, I still crave blood, though I try to stave off the hunger with tomato juice. Even then, I can get anemic from time to time."

"That sounds kinda bad," Seth said, looking worried at that last bit of info.

"It's not as bad as it sounds. Plus, I heard the school provides blood packs for students like me, so I should be fine," Moka said, assuring him she would be fine. "By the way, my favorite type of blood is Type O."

"I...didn't really ask," Seth said. Had this been an anime, he would have had a big sweatdrop falling from him.

"Just thought I should let you know since we're friends," Moka said, laughing at both the face Seth was making and bringing up the fact that they were friends. The knowledge alone filled the vampire's heart with joy, so much so that she hated what she was about to say next.

"Well, this is where we part ways. Gotta go find my room and turn in early," Moka said, saddened that she had to separate from her first (and only) friend. She wished they could talk more, but boys and girls were separated for obvious reasons.

"Same," Seth said before taking out the key he had been given. "Says here it's [3-35]."

"The first number is supposed to represent a floor of the building," Moka informed, taking out her own key and checking the number. "Looks like my room's also on the third floor."

"Guess that means we're going up together."

"Looks like it." Moka couldn't help but smile at that. Perhaps it was childish of her to think this but she wanted to spend just a bit more time with her friend before the day was over. It's what led her to suggest they take the stairs up instead of the elevator.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Moka said once they made it to their assigned floor.

"Yeah," Seth nodded as the two stood respectively on the paths that would take them to their rooms. "Have a good night, Moka."

"I'm a vampire, of course I will," Moka joked a little, causing the both of them to laugh. "Have a good night too, Seth. Maybe some memories will return to you after a good night's sleep."

"One can only hope," Seth said as he turned to leave.

"Seth?"

"Yeah?" The amnesiac stopped and turned back to the pink-haired vampire who was once again looking bashful. He was starting to wonder if that was her default emotion or something.

"Um, I just wanted to say...see you in class!" All but shouting out that last sentence, Moka ran off down the hall, leaving a bewildered Seth alone.

Blinking a few times, Seth laughed to himself as he made his way to his room.

'She's already gone and decided that I'll become a student here. Can't blame her considering everything she told me.'

Reaching his room, and double-checking to make sure he got the right one, Seth entered to find a barren bedroom. To the right of him situated close to the entrance was a bathroom complete with a tub and everything. To the left right across from the bathroom was a closet to store any coats and other related items inside. A separate drawer was situated near a queen-sized bed. Across from the bed was a study desk with a reading lamp on it. Finally, right across from Seth was a single window.

Taking a look around, Seth didn't find anything unusual. Looking inside the bathroom, it was just as barren as the rest of the room save for bottles of shampoo and conditioning sitting inside the tub. Both the closet and the drawer were equally as empty which was expected. Enrolling students would usually have luggage on them to fill them in. And Seth wasn't a student unless he decided otherwise.

"Hm?" Walking over to the bed, Seth found two pairs of clothes. One consisted of a blue button-up shirt, a white T-shirt, and brown cargo pants. There was even a belt to go along with it. The second pair was revealed to be the male uniform for the academy: a light-to-medium green blazer, a white button-up shirt, a red necktie, tan khaki-looking trousers, and sitting on the floor below were a pair of brown loafers which Seth figured were the school shoes for the academy.

In between both pairs was a paper note which Seth picked up and read.

Dear Mr. Aberrant,

Considering your sudden arrival, I've taken the liberty of buying you some extra clothes. Should you need anything else, I'm afraid you'll have to earn it yourself. Regarding our talk from earlier, if you've decided to attend the academy, please come to my office tomorrow wearing the provided uniform and we can make the final arrangements regarding your stay. If not, then come wearing the other pair and we can discuss what to do moving forward. I do hope you'll choose wisely.

From, the Headmaster

P.S.: Until the situation regarding your memories changes, you shall be using 'Aberrant' as a surname going forward. I do hope you don't mind the name I've chosen for you.

"Aberrant..." Seth muttered his newly given surname, testing it to see how it felt to him. Combing it with the name Moka gave him, Seth found he liked how his new name sounded.

"Seth Aberrant...not bad. Now then..." Throwing away the note in his hand, Seth looked down at the clothes representing his final choice. Logically, the choice to become a student was the safest option for him right now considering his amnesia, but a part of Seth still hesitated, most in part due to how attending was part of an 'experiment' the Headmaster was conducting. Something told Seth, his instincts perhaps, that he shouldn't play into the exorcist-dressed man's hands.

'But...'

"It'd be really nice if you attended the academy. To tell you the truth, I don't have any friends."

Moka's words from earlier today echoed in his head. With a resigned sigh, Seth reached down and made his decision.


(The Next Day)

When her alarm clock rang at the exact moment it turned 7 o'clock, Moka practically shot herself out of bed and prepared herself for the day in record time. While usually not a morning person, the pink-haired vampire was bursting with energy as she gathered her things, fixed her uniform, and raced out the door. By the time other students were rising from their slumber, Moka was already at the entrance of the dorms, slightly out of breath due to how fast she moved. Again, she was usually not this excited in the mornings, but she had a reason to get up as early as she did.

'I hope Seth had a good night's sleep,' Moka thought to herself, fixing her hair to make sure nothing was sticking out as she eyed the dorm building's doors. Gripping her school bag, Moka waited patiently for her friend so as to walk to school together.

'Maybe I shouldn't have woken up so early,' Moka thought to herself, suppressing a yawn as her fellow students started coming out one by one. Instantly, the vampire caught the eyes of the male half who wasted no time throwing her compliments, some more inappropriate than others. Doing her best to ignore such comments thrown towards her, Moka kept her eyes peeled for any signs of her friend. It shouldn't be too hard considering his clothes would make him stand out amongst the sea of uniformed students.

"Morning, Moka."

"Huh?" Hearing a familiar voice call out her name, the pinkette turned to her left and found Seth standing right next to her...wearing the academy uniform.

"Seth? That uniform..."

"Yeah. I thought about it, and since I got nowhere else to go, I decided to enroll in Yokai Academy. I need to stop by the Headmaster's office first to make things official, but, well...I guess I'll see you in class."

"..."

"Moka?" Seth raised an eyebrow at the quiet vampire, wondering if he had done something wrong.

"Seth!"

"Whoa!" Taken aback, Seth nearly fell when Moka suddenly went and threw herself at the amnesic, wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

"This is great! Absolutely wonderful! Now we can do all the things I've read about involving friends like sleepovers, shopping trips, sharing secrets, and—!"

"Whoa, whoa, hey, Moka, calm down!" Seth said, wiggling out of the hug even if it felt nice. "Like I said, it's still not official yet. Given my...condition it's probably gonna take a while to get everything set up. And I know what I said, but there's a chance we won't be in the same class so..."

*...tears*

"Ah! Ah, ah, wait, Moka, don't cry! I take back what I said! Of course we'll be in the same class! I'll talk to the Headmaster about it!"

As Seth frantically tried to get Moka to stop crying, neither teens were aware of the presence stalking them, eying the two with obvious malicious intent.


(Headmaster's Office)

"Here you are. Your new school ID."

Taking the offered item, Seth analyzed the hard plastic card in his hand displaying the picture of him that was taken minutes ago, his new full name, and a set of random numbers signifying his ID number.

"That didn't take long," Seth commented, storing his new ID in his breast pocket.

"Oh, this is just the bare minimum," Mikogami said, opening a drawer and pulling out an envelope and a slip of paper that he soon handed to Seth. "Take these. There's a shopping district a couple of miles from here. You can get there by taking the bus. Go to the stores I've listed and present the envelope to the people there. They'll hand you school supplies that I've already paid for. Once that's done, you'll officially be a student of Youkai Academy starting tomorrow."

"You sure are generous to a complete stranger like me," Seth commented, taking a moment to read the list of stores before pocketing both items away.

"As I said yesterday, this is all simply part of an experiment I'm conducting."

"And just what is this so-called 'experiment?'"

"That's for me to know only. Now run along, I still have other duties I need to take care of," Mikogami said, waving Seth off as if shooing away a fly. The amnesic choose not to make any further comments as he gave the headmaster a bow before turning to leave.

"Oh, and one more thing."

Halfway through the door, Seth turned back to the exorcist-dressed kishin who ominously smiled at him.

"Allow me to be the first to welcome you to Youkai Academy, Seth Aberrant."

Seth didn't respond back as he chose to nod and leave. Now alone, Mikogami turned on his chair and looked out the window of his office, his eyes wandering toward the entrance that lead to the outside world.

'If he is what I think he is, then let's see if my old dream is still possible...or forever doomed to fantasy.'


(Later)

"You didn't really have to come with me, Moka. I can take care of this myself."

"Oh no, I insist. Students like me all had to go to the shopping district to pick up our materials, plus I bought some clothes and books for myself so I know the place pretty well. I can show you where to go no problem."

"Well, I guess I can use the help. Thanks."

"Like I said, it's no problem. Friends are supposed to help one another, after all."

As per Mikogami's instructions, Seth was making his way to the bus stop in order to head to the shopping district. Once lunch period had begun, Seth reunited with Moka to tell her his plans when the vampire insisted she tag along with him, worried that he might get lost since he didn't know the area. And so, after a few minutes of walking with Moka leading the way, here the two were, waiting for the aforementioned vehicle while they stood by a scarecrow-dressed sign with a carved-out pumpkin acting as a head.

"Hm, says here the bus won't be here for another few minutes," Seth said, reading off a schedule displayed on the sign. "You sure you still want to stick around? Don't you have lunch?"

"I told you, I'm fine. It's not like missing lunch will kill me. Plus, I was able to grab this along the way." Reaching into her pocket, Moka pulled out a juice box only the display on it told Seth it was tomato juice. "It may not be blood, but this is an okay enough substitute."

"Well, if you say so." So long as the vampire girl was fine, there was nothing else for Seth to worry about.

"It still kinda sucks that I have to wait until tomorrow to see you in class," Moka said, poking a straw into her juice box before sipping it.

"It can't be helped. I did sort of just show up out of nowhere," Seth said, hands in his pockets while he leaned against the sign. "I'm just lucky enough I have someplace to stay while the headmaster looks into me."

"It sure is nice of him to do all this for you, Seth. I know he may look scary, but he's actually a really nice guy."

"You talk as if you know him personally."

"Uh, kind of. He's sort of a family friend and I sometimes saw him visit a few times to talk with my father. I thought he was kinda scary back then, and he still kinda is now, but he always treated my sisters and me respectably."

"Huh, is that so?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, I was only really able to come to this academy thanks to his recommendation. I told you before how I've been homeschooled for most of my life, yeah?"

"You mentioned that yesterday, yes."

"Well, it wasn't an exaggeration when I said being here is my first time being out of the house. My father can be pretty overprotective of me so I've been cooped up in my family's mansion for as long as I could remember. I know that he cares about me and he does what he does out of love, but I couldn't help but feel like my own home was a cage trapping me in. I think the Headmaster saw that and offered me a chance to attend his academy. Of course, he first had to persuade my father, but as you can see, he was able to convince him to let me come here. And I'm glad I did."

"Because you're free now?"

"Well, yeah, that's part of it. But the main reason why I took his offer was...so I could make friends."

"Moka..." Seth found himself stunned at the vampire's confession. The amnesic found himself stunned further when the pinkette flashed him a sun-blinding smile which was ironic considering she was a creature of the night.

"I know our first meeting was rough, but I'm really looking forward to spending the coming school year with you, Seth."

As if it was contagious, Seth smiled back and responded, "Yeah, me too."

'I'm still suspicious of what the Headmaster's planning, but if playing whatever game he wants means hanging out with Moka like this...then I guess my decision to stay wasn't wrong.'

Here the two stand, one an amnesic and the other a vampire lost in their own little world. Whatever forces brought these two unlikely friends together, they couldn't help but feel thankful as the fear the boy felt of not knowing who he was and the loneliness the girl felt due to years of isolation lessened thanks to their shared presence.

Too bad good things never last forever.

"Aww, aren't you two a couple of sweethearts? I'm gagging over the amount of sugar I'm eating over here."

A voice belonging to neither of them alerted Seth and Moka as they both turned to see none other than Saizou emerging from the shadow of the trees, smirking arrogantly as always.

"Saizou!?" Moka exclaimed in surprise, confused as to why the delinquent was here all of a sudden.

"You remember my name? I'm so flattered," Saizou said, eyeing Moka in a way that made the girl take a step back in fear.

"You know this guy?" Seth asked, more confused than wary about Saizou's sudden appearance. It was obvious he had completely forgotten about the delinquent, something Saizou clearly wasn't happy about.

"You interrupted my talk with Moka yesterday, shorty. So why don't you do me a favor a beat it?" Saizou rudely said, motioning with his head for Seth to get out of his way.

"Oh, you're that guy from yesterday," Seth said, finally remembering the taller-than-average teen. "I'm pretty sure Moka ran away from you that time."

It was clear for anyone to see that Seth wasn't taking Saizou all that seriously. Whether it be because he truly didn't feel threatened or he just didn't know any better, both versions still pissed off the delinquent, but miraculously, he held in his anger, growling out his new words as he started walking over toward the two.

"Look, you don't seem to be the brightest tool in the shed, so I'll make this simple for you: scram. I'm feeling pretty generous today so why don't you beat it while you have the chance? My only business here is with Moka."

"Yeah...I don't think that's happening," Seth said, noticing how Moka was hiding behind his back. Slow as he was, even he could see his friend didn't want anything to do with the Saizou. "Look, Moka and I have plans today so why don't you come back later(read: never) when we're not—"

"I wasn't asking."

*POW!*

Faster than either of them could react, Saizou swung his left arm and punched Seth hard across the face, sending the amnesic flying off his feet and crashing into a pile of tombstones on the side of the road.

"Seth!" Moka cried out, her feet already moving as she tried to run to Seth's side only for Saizou to grab her wrist.

"Where do you think you're going, beautiful? We still haven't finished our talk from yesterday," Saizou said, smiling perversely as he pulled Moka close to him.

"Let me go!" Moka demanded, trying to pull away from the delinquent. But despite her supernatural strength, Saizou was just as strong if not more, plus he had a good grip on her.

"Hey now, there's no need to rush. The fun's just getting started," Saizou said, licking his lips sleazily as he went to grab one of Moka's breasts with his free hand.

*SLAP!*

Only to get slapped across the face by Moka's free hand, hitting him with just enough force to get him to loosen his grip on her, allowing the vampire to escape his grip and back away.

Saizou looked momentarily shocked before his lips formed a perverse smile. Holding the spot where he got slapped, Saizou stared hungrily at Moka which made the pinkette step away from him further.

"Hehe, well aren't you a feisty one? I like that. Makes it better for me when I eventually break you!"

With the sudden distortion of his voice, Saizou suddenly started transforming before Moka's eyes. His shirt and blazer expanded before ripping apart, leaving Saizou's upper body completely bare and wearing only his pants. The rest of his body soon started to hulk out as the delinquent grew in size, growing a couple of feet taller. Thick veins and bumps soon formed from his skin as his nails sharpened into claws. Opening his mouth, his teeth had turned razor sharp and his tongue had extended out, growing longer until the length was just unnatural. With his transformation complete, Saizou let out a roar, revealing to all the monster he truly was.

"Ah, that's much better. I never liked that human disguise anyway." Saizou said, flexing his arms and fingers.

"You're an Orc!" Moka exclaimed, quickly identifying Saizou's true form.

"That's right, babe. Now then, I'm going to enjoy this little violation of the school rules, HAHAHAHAHA!"

Laughing maniacally, Saizou advanced on Moka, extending his tongue out to the pinkette who reeled back in disgust. The obvious thing to do in this situation would be to fight back, but as most of Moka's powers were sealed away by the rosary plus the fact that she was somewhat of a pacifist compared to the rest of her family, all the vampire could do was freeze up and cower. As she could feel the Orc's breath breathing down on her, Moka's thoughts turned to the first thing that popped into her head.

'Someone, help...Seth!'

*CRASH!*

"Gyah!" Saizou let out a pained cry when a tombstone suddenly struck his head with a force that completely destroyed the thrown object. Bleeding from his head now, the orc turned around to see who had struck him.

"Get away from Moka, you freak!" With his uniform dirty but no worse for wear, Seth, back up on his feet, glared right at Saizou who returned it back with equal force.

"Seth!" Moka exclaimed, surprised and relieved to see her friend was all right.

"Tch! You should have stayed down, idiot," Saizou said, wiping off the blood on him.

"Be careful, Seth! This is Saizou's true form!" Moka cried out, worried that her friend would get further hurt.

"So this is what he really looks like," Seth said, taking in Saizou's form. Any doubt that the campus was a place for monsters had been swept away as Seth found himself slightly intimidated by the delinquent's appearance. However, seeing the shaking figure of his friend, the amnesic steeled his nerves and brought his hands up, balling them into fists. "So what? You don't scare me!"

"Ha! You think yourself a tough guy? Get real! I'm stronger now that I'm like this. One hit is all I need to send your ass flying," Saizou arrogantly said, flexing his fingers before leaping toward Seth, swinging his hand to smack Seth's shorter figure. "Like so!"

However, to both Saizou and Moka's surprise, Seth dodged the blow by quickly ducking under the swing. The amnesic then leaped forward, rolling under Saizou's legs and skidding to a stop behind him. By the time the orc turned around, Seth was already back up on his feet, standing protectively in front of Moka.

"Run, Moka!" Seth exclaimed, urging the vampire to run while never taking his eyes off the orc.

"I can't just leave you here!" Moka said, refusing to leave behind her friend.

"Don't worry about me! He's clearly after you. Run back to the school and get a teacher. I'll try and hold Saizou here for as long as I can."

"You think you can match me? Don't make me laugh!" Saizou said, looking ready to charge. "I'm an Orc! Nothing short of an A-class monster's gonna stop me. I don't know what kind of monster you are, but you're clearly someone beneath me. So why don't you do me a favor and die, scum!"

Whether it was to be intimidating or through his natural instincts as a monster, Saizou let out a bestial roar as he charged at Seth, throwing a punch toward him. From Seth's point of view, it was like a truck was coming at him with the intention to run him down. His legs moved to dodge, but he remembered that Moka was behind him and so stopped himself from jumping away. With nothing else to do but fight back, Seth let out a yell in defiance as he threw his own punch, hoping that it would at least do something. As for Moka behind him, the girl instinctively closed her eyes, not wanting to see her friend get hurt because of her.

*POW!*

The sound of flesh striking flesh was heard followed by a small gust of wind blowing Moka's hair. The vampire still had her eyes shut closed, afraid to open them. But fearing for her friend even more, she forced them to open...and was met with an unbelievable sight.

There they were, both Seth and Saizou, their right and left arms respectively extending out as their punches met one another. At first, except for the fact that Seth had not been knocked away, everything else seemed fine. But as Moka looked closer, she saw that was not the case.

With Saizou's true form released, just one of his enlarged fingers was comparable to the size of Seth's entire arm. Yet the middle finger of Saizou's fist was being dug into by Seth's own fist, effectively breaking it. And soon enough, the pain came flooding in.

"G-GAH! My finger!" Saizou cried out in pain, stepping back and holding his left hand as his broken middle finger bent awkwardly.

"E-Eh?" Moka couldn't help but stare in confusion, blinking her eyes to make sure what she was seeing wasn't a dream. But no matter how many times she blinked, there the orc stood, cradling his hand.

Moka wasn't the only one who was surprised and confused. Despiting having surprisingly won the confrontation, Seth stood there dumbly, equally as confused as his friend. Pulling back his fist, he stared at it like he was only now seeing it for the first time.

"I...won?" Seth said to himself, having not expected to win the clash.

"You motherfucker!" Finally getting over his injury, or perhaps the pain was fueling his rage, Saizou roared as he threw another punch at Seth using his still-good right hand.

Snapping out of his stupor, Seth reacted and brought up his left hand. Once again, it was clear to see just how big Saizou was in comparison to Seth and Moka. Logically, monster or not, Saizou's size would indicate that his punch should send the smaller Seth flying even if he tried to block it.

That is not what happened.

*SLAM!*

Saizou's punch met Seth's open palm. The ground beneath the amnesic cracked as his shoes dug into the ground. But even then, Seth did not budge one bit as he had completely stopped the orc's punch.

"What!?" Saizou cried out in disbelief. None of this made sense to him. Orcs like him may be considered B-class monsters, but their strength was well-known, even giving some A-class monsters some trouble in a fight. Yet not only had the smaller Seth completely stopped his attack...

*Grip!*

He was now gripping the orc's fist, digging his fingers into the Orc's knuckles. Despite the monster's sturdy skin, Saizou could feel the bones of his knuckles slowly starting to crack under Seth's grip, much to his discomfort.

'W-What the hell is with this guy's grip!? I can't pull away from him!' Saizou thought to himself, sweating as he tried and failed to pull back his arm.

"D-Dammit! Let go!" Saizou demanded as he swung his other arm at Seth so as to force the amnesic to release him. But to his disbelief again, Seth held out his free hand and caught the Orc's attack. Saizou tried to quickly pull away, but Seth's grip would not let him escape. Unable to move back, Saizou changed his approach and moved forward, trying to overpower Seth. But to his shock, Seth still did not budge as the Orc's feet dug into the ground trying to push forward.

'T-This is bullshit! How is this guy so strong!?' Saizou cried out in his head, unable to understand how someone smaller than him was equaling him in a match of strength.

'No, it's not equal,' Moka noted, having been watching from the side and taking notice of one thing that Saizou himself soon found out. 'Seth...he's overpowering him!'

True to Moka's thoughts, Seth was indeed beginning to overpower the Orc. Slowly, Seth forced Saizou's arms to turn over, making the underside face up. Then, with a small grunt and a push forward...

*SNAP!*

Seth forced Saizou's arm to bend backward, causing the bones within to snap like twigs and poke through the skin, causing blood to spurt from the now broken arms.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Saizou naturally let out an ear-splitting scream, stumbling back and falling to his knees as Seth finally released his hold on him. "M-MY ARMS! MY FUCKING ARMS!"

Moka found herself completely speechless. She had been unprepared for such a bloody retaliation. Despite his obvious malicious intentions towards her, Moka couldn't help but feel sorry for Orc now. But those thoughts came secondary to her primary concern.

"Seth...?" Moka nervously called out to Seth, but he didn't respond back. His eyes, once filled with emotion and a bit of innocence, were now dead and cold. Even his previous anger was nowhere to be seen. The way he stared over at Saizou unnerved the pinkette as it was like the amnesic didn't even see the in-pain orc. Rather, it was like he was looking at an object that had the misfortune of getting in his way.

'What's wrong with Seth?' Moka thought, both equally scared and worried for her friend's current state. She was so concerned that she had honestly forgotten about Saizou right then and there until the Orc finally stopped screaming and stood back up, glaring right over at Seth with bloodshot eyes.

"Y-Y-You...! FUCKING DIE!" Yelling at the top of his lungs, Saizou practically flung his entire body at Seth, mouth wide to chomp down on Seth with his razor teeth. It was obvious to anyone watching that this was a last-ditch move from the Orc.

"Seth!" Moka cried out to her friend, worried since it was clear to her that the Orc had gone crazy from the pain. But her worries, while heartfelt, were unneeded.

*KICK!*

With flexibility that would have impressed a professional gymnast, Seth swung up his right leg and kicked Saizou from right under his jaw, Not only did this kick break the Orc's teeth, even knocking out some, but it also left him with a severe bleeding tongue as his mouth had been forcibly closed thus biting down on the extended muscle. The pain caused by these two things had completely knocked Saizou out right before his body flew back and landed on the ground, unmoving. And just like that, all was quiet.

"He...He won..." Moka said, blinking a few times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. But no matter how many times she closed and opened her eyes, Saizou still remained on the ground while Seth stood over him, victorious. She should have felt happy, but the cold look on Seth still remained. Something was clearly not right.

"Seth?" Moka called out to the amnesic but he did not respond back as his eyes remained on the downed Orc as if contemplating what to do next. Swallowing down some saliva, the vampire gathered her courage and approached the stoic teen, reaching to touch his shoulder.

*tap-tap*

"Seth?"

"...huh?" Blinking his eyes, the coldness within them was instantly replaced with life. Relief flooded Moka's body and she couldn't help but throw her arms around her friend.

"Seth!"

"Whoa! Moka?"

"Oh, Seth! I was so scared!"

"Moka..." Seth stared at Moka, blinking in surprise at the tears that were starting to form in her eyes. She had really been worried about him.

"...Sorry for worrying you."

"I-It's okay. I'm just glad you're all right," Moka said, sniffing a little before wiping away the tears in her eyes. "Still, that was amazing, Seth! I can't believe how strong you are even in your disguise."

"Huh?" Seth looked confused at Moka's words until he saw Saizou on the ground and stared in shock at the Orc's injured state. He was especially shocked at the deliquinent's broken arms.

"Did...Did I do this?"

"Huh? You don't remember?" Moka asked, but one look at her friend's confused eyes told her that he was telling the truth.

"I...I think I blacked out when I went to stop Saizou's punch. Everything's kinda fuzzy after that," Seth said, rubbing his head in an attempt to remember what had transpired moments ago.

'He really doesn't remember,' Moka thought. 'The way he was acting earlier...could it be related to his amnesia?'

"Is...Is he...?" Seth looked worriedly over at Saizou, too afraid to finish his sentence.

Moka, clearly seeing his worries, informed him, "It's okay. It looks like he's still breathing."

"Oh thank goodness," Seth said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"I'm surprised you're worried about him," Moka said, a bit surprised that her friend was genuinely worried about the Orc considering what he had tried to do to her.

"I mean, yeah he's a jerk, but that doesn't mean I want him dead," Seth said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"...You're a good guy, Seth," Moka suddenly said, catching the amnesic off guard.

"You think so?" Seth asked, confused by the sudden compliment. "I'm kinda surprised you're not freaking out over this. I mean, his arms..."

"This isn't the first time I've seen blood. Vampire, remember?" Moka said, reminding her friend of what she is.

'Plus, this isn't the first time I've seen broken limbs,' Moka privately thought to herself, thinking back to her older sisters.

"Oh, right." Seth lightly smacked himself for forgetting such an important fact. But really, it was just hard to see the kind Moka as an actual vampire, even when the facts had come straight from her mouth.

"We should probably take Saizou back to the campus," Moka said, looking over at the still-unconscious Orc. "I don't know if the school nurse can help him, but at the very least they can make a call to take him to the nearest hospital."

"Good idea," Seth said, agreeing with Moka's suggestion before a thought came to him. "You don't think they'll punish me for this, will they?"

"Well, I mean, you're technically still not a student here yet, so I don't think they can punish you," Moka said, unsure. "Then again, they could probably retract your enrollment."

"Now that would suck," Seth said. And after he had made his decision to stay here and everything.

"But, uh, I'm sure it'll be fine!" Moka said quickly so as to cheer up the amnesic. "After all, this was all in self-defense! As long as we tell them what happened, they'll probably let you off lightly."

"Here's hoping," Seth said, not as confident as the pinkette.

"It'll be fine!" Moka insisted, trying to appear confident so as to lift up her friend's spirits. And it seemed to have worked as a small smile soon wormed its way up to Seth's face.

"All right. I'll trust you," Seth said as he made his way over to the Orc's downed body. If the fight before was any indication, the parts that he could remember at least, then he should be at least strong enough to pick up the deliquinent's big body.

"Oh! Seth, one more thing."

"Yeah?" Seth turned around and was greeted by a smiling Moka whose hair blew with the, believe it or not, Spring wind. The amnesic once again found himself in disbelief that the girl in front of him was an actual vampire.

"I just wanted to say...thank you, for protecting me."

"...Of course," Seth found that his response came out very smoothly. "We're friends."

Seth didn't know how, but Moka's smile seemed to glow brighter at his words. Vampire or not, Seth decided then and there that he liked the way his friend smiled and that he would do anything to protect it from people like Saizou.

And so, the curtain opened on Seth Aberrant's bizarre academy life. Make no mistake, despite his victory today, the boy was still very much anxious. What with his lack of proper memories and the fact that everyone in the school were literal monsters, there was much for him to be worried about. But...

"Let's go, Seth!"

"...Yeah!"

...at the very least, he wasn't alone. Even with his doubts, Seth would brave through this new life, taking on whatever may come his way.


And...done! Well, this took longer than I expected, but at least it's finally done. To those of you who have been with me since my early days as a writer, you might recognize this as my KR Sangou x Rosario Vampire idea, one of my earliest story ideas. I've been going through some of my old stuff, cringing all the while, and decided to just make a full-length chapter preview. Why did I do this? Well, besides the common reason of, 'I just felt like it,' I may or may not decide to post this story idea soon. Surprised? Me too, but nothing's set in stone just yet. Really, the main reason why I might start production on this idea is mostly because I kinda miss my character, Seth. He's my OG OC. He's the guy who kickstarted my time as a writer here along with Haru and I felt like he should get more love considering his 'brother' stares in more stories than him. Plus, with my RWBY story technically on hiatus, I feel like Seth should be doing something. So our resident shinigami may soon return as a Rider himself. But until then, this has been Ashbel Longhart here, signing out.