Kurumu and Tsukune's Romantic Adventure!

by Mystickenji

AU. Instead of only meeting Moka, Tsukune's first encounter with youkai includes Kurumu as well. After that incident and learning that he's a human, the duo take him under their wing. Meanwhile, Tsukune resolves to learn more about them and about the wider world of youkai, not only for survival, but also for friendship, and maybe more if a certain succubus has her way...

18. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 – "I want to understand why she's here with me."

Yoshii Kiria left the library with a bright smile on his face and a spring in his step. And how could he not? Even with Midou being... himself... things were going as he desired. He'd finally found someone interesting that he could get some amusement out of – Kurono Kurumu, the girl who defeated Aketenno Kuyou. A normal succubus shouldn't have had the ability to kill such a powerful kitsune... no, there had to be something sweetly special about her.

Kiria licked his lips. He was looking forward to dragging it out of her one day soon~!

He didn't have forever, of course. In a normal school year, he'd be graduating next spring, and that would be his last opportunity to enjoy her taste. Oh, but this won't be a normal school year, thanks to his darling dear Hokuto and all of their little helpers. Before the end of this year, Youkai Academy will be no more!

"Hehehe... I can't wait... finally, some quality entertainment~!" he whispered to himself, not caring about the other students possibly overhearing him. He'd already acquired a reputation as a strange man, and even a bit of a creep (at least, Kurumu had acted like he was one...). The other students tended to avoid him, even the other troublemakers... granted, those outlaws probably avoided him because they thought he'd gone legit. After all, he went ahead and joined the Student Council... oh, if only those fools knew the truth, hehehe... Hokuto and Kashi were two of the biggest outlaws of all. Unlike him, they cared about how other people saw them, and so they hid their true selves well.

Speaking of, he should probably go and meet them. He now had an idea for how to advance their plan while also giving himself some amusement~! Since they're still pretending to be squares, they ought to be in the Executive Office working on something or other for the School Festival... not that it truly mattered... the only important event was the Youkai Academy All-Martial Arts Tournament. Once that was over...

Hehehe... the real fun would begin~!

Sure enough, he found Hokuto and Kashi there, joined by none other than Kibato and Akeno, two members of the Enforcers... and also two of their allies. To his shock, they weren't discussing the boring festival proceedings at all. No, he'd spent so long in the library that Moka and Midou had finished their little spat and would now be spending the night in jail, along with their friends – including Kurumu, Maiko, and Mizore, who had been elsewhere at the time.

"Well, who won?" asked Kiria, barging into the room and the conversation with a smile.

"Shuzen-san, decisively. She wasn't even transformed when I got there," replied Kibato, the only witness to the battle. "But even so, the two have already made plans for a rematch." He shook his head. "They did it right in front me. It's like they have no respect for authority..."

"We could put them away for a long time with insubordinate attitude like that~!" declared Akeno, cheekily.

However, she was shot down by Hokuto, the man in charge, Kiria's man. "No. If we wanted Moka-chan gone, we could just ship her off to Fairy Tale like Gyokuro-san wants. As for Midou-kun... he's useful alive."

Kiria chuckled. "As a diversion."

Hokuto nodded. "It's just what you would have done. Speaking of, how was your trip to the library? Did you learn something useful, perhaps something about not creeping out your target?"

Kiria mock gasped, and then fell into his dear Hokuto's chest. "Oh! You wound me."

Hokuto rolled his eyes in response. "Hardly. Takes more than that to hurt you."

Kiria laughed loudly, leaning onto Hokuto's shoulder. "You got me there~!"

But before he could continue on and maybe actually explain himself Kashi cut him off with a loud sigh. "Creeping out Kurumu-chan... stalking Moka-chan and Tsukune-kun... you're lucky they're not that attentive. Otherwise, one of them might have figured you out. It'd be a disaster if someone like Moka-chan were to make a move against us. And will you take your own seat!?"

"Oh, but I have a seat~!" and then Kiria adjusted himself so that he was sitting in his boyfriend's lap. "It's a quite comfortable one~! Oh, but you wouldn't know anything about that, now would you~?"

Kashi growled at him, wooden face slightly flushed, but Hokuto interjected before she could yell at him again. "Kiria, please. You'll have to contain yourself if you want to have your fun during the festival."

Kiria sighed at that. "Oh, not you too~!" he grumbled. "Where did your rebellious streak go~?"

Hokuto adjusted his glasses, relaxing into his seat, smirking. "I'm biding my time. Only when it's time to strike will I reveal my true colors. And by then... it'll be too late, especially for that damned Chairman and this accursed school. But we'll get to that in a second. Kiria, I asked you a question earlier. The library?"

Kiria nodded. "Ah yes, yes... oh, will the rest of you be staying?"

Akeno stopped pouting and took a seat. "You bet~! I'd love to see that little succubus get taken down a peg, hahaha~!"

Kibato and Kashi weren't as enthusiastic about it, but were similarly curious, and so stuck around. With his audience ready, Kiria leaned over and sprawled himself atop the round table. Waving his hands around, he transformed them into a grotesque mockery of hand puppets – the left one resembling Kurumu and the right one resembling Kuyou. Kuyou notably had a hole roughly where his heart would be. "Alright, then let's start at the beginning – the moment that little Kurumu-chan caught my interest – the moment she killed our old friend Kuyou."

Kashi, disgusted by Kiria's performance, interjected. "I don't see what the big deal is. Succubi can cast illusions on other youkai, even powerful ones like a four-tailed youko."

"Ah, of course, of course~. So, I suppose you also have an explanation for how an otherwise ordinary succubus is able to keep him in the illusion long enough to even injure him, let alone rip out his heart? Oh, don't forget that he's in his Battle Form, meaning that he's cloaked in fires that should be too hot for her to touch."

"..." Kashi glared at him, and then sighed. "...go on."

Kiria chuckled. "Hehehe~. According to Shuzen Moka's report, Kurumu-chan's eyes were gleaming red with malice. It's something that's happened before as well... remember the slug? ...oh, I'm surprised you all do, he's rather boring and forgettable. He's only important in that he was also a target – and for the same reason: he provided a deadly threat to her beloved human."

Kashi frowned. "So, that's it? You're just going to keep sending in students to harass the two of them until she snaps again?"

Kibato grunted. "Kiria-san, the prohibition against fighting the succubus applies to you and your outcast allies too. Unless you'd like to try and force me to reconsider? I've already had to knock some sense into Keito-san and Deshiko-san."

"Ha... don't tempt me, Kibato-kun~! And no, Kashi-chan, I don't expect her to snap just yet. I'll be the one who does that. I want to see what she can really do, so I need to gauge her strength... and potentially draw more of it out, bit by bit. Of course, those pesky friends of hers might get in the way... but when the time comes, they won't be able to deny me my fun~!"

"But Kiria, what is this strength?" asked Hokuto, focused on his boyfriend's words. "And, more importantly, can it interfere with my plan? We can't afford any setbacks when we move to acquire Lilith's Mirror and break open the barrier between Youkai Academy and the human world."

"We won't have any if you let me handle her~! For you see... I have a plan for dealing with her devilish death delusions~! All I have to do is slice my way through them, forcing her into a desperate battle against my superior scythe. And with careful observation of her power, I may even find a way to use it myself or turn it against her... Of course, to draw that power out of her, I'll need to have her lover and friends as my captive dolls, so you won't have to worry about that super-vampire or crafty little witch getting in the way."

Hokuto nodded. "Good. Oh, but remember to leave that witch for Kashi-san."

Kiria shrugged. "Eh, sure. I don't need her for anything."

"Gee, thanks," commented Kashi. "I'm telling you, she has serious potential. You'll see it once I get my hands on her! ...and... ...to be frank, they all do. It'd be a shame to kill them all... is there nothing else we can do with them? I don't think we should be so eager to throw them away..."

Kiria, not caring about the others, fixed up his hands and then took an actual seat next to Hokuto, offering up the floor. Hokuto immediately took him up the offer. "I understand your point of view, Kashi-san. Each of them – except the human, of course – could be valuable members of Anti-Thesis or Fairy Tale. However, none of them would ever willingly join us. Don't look at me like that, you know it's true. That one time you helped them out won't be enough to convince them."

"Even so, I'd like to try..."

"And you may, with the witch girl, as long as you keep certain secrets. But don't expect too much, okay?"

"And can you hold back a bit next time you have to pretend to fight us?" asked Akeno, glaring daggers at Kashi. "Those vines seriously hurt, you know!"

"Sorry, but I needed to be convincing..."

"Yeah, I bet you did, you little..." and then Akeno started grumbling under her breath indistinctly, next to a chuckling Kibato. Kashi apologized again, but Akeno just ignored her, turning her head away with a 'Hmph!'.

Hokuto coughed. "Let's put the past behind us for now. Kiria and Kashi-san have their assignments. Akeno-san, Kibato-san, what about the two of you?"

Kibato adjusted his glasses. "I have my hands full running the PSC and maintaining order. That'll be about all I can do until the day of."

"Meanwhile, I'll do some spying. Someone needs to keep an eye on that damn succubus and her friends. Speaking of, should I expect any attacks on them any time soon?"

Kiria leaned back in his seat, thinking it over, before answering Akeno's question. "Hmmm... maybe Moroha-kun would be a good test match for her? Yeah, that'll do~!"

"I'll pretend I never heard that," replied Kibato, much to Kiria's delight.

"Hehehe... excellent. Then I'll send him a message. Ta-ta~!"

And then Kiria promptly walked out of the meeting before Hokuto had a chance to adjourn it. Not that he would. The rest of them had actual School Festival matters to discuss. Looks like the students wanted to put on the liveliest festival this school had seen in years.

How appropriate... for if Hokuto had his way, it will be the last festival this school ever sees!

---

Tsukune and his friends were released from jail the day after their two separate incidents, as were Midou and his gang. Midou, in a good mood despite his loss, took his people and left amicably, dragging Saizou away before he could say something stupid and get knocked out by Moka again.

Maiko was the next to leave, not being as grumpy as Tsukune remembered, promising to hang out with the group more often... and on peaceful terms. Kurumu eagerly accepted this offer, of course, but he was shocked when Mizore agreed as well (albeit with some hesitation). Whatever happened between the three of them, it looked like Kurumu's plan to defuse Maiko was working.

So, how could he deny her?

Yukari followed up with her own agreement, as did Moka. And with that matter settled, Maiko left... followed by all the other girls, since they all lived in the same building. And with that, Maiko's typical grumpiness returned at once, as she complained about being followed home by this bunch of weirdoes, prompting Mizore to comment that Maiko had no right to call them weird since she proposed this in the first place, and then the two of them started arguing...

Oh dear... well, hopefully they'd start getting along eventually. For now, Tsukune was left alone to walk over to the boy's dorms. It was still pretty early so he could maybe get a run in with Kusashi-san and the other guys before classes started and ...

"Oh, hold on. Tsukune~!"

"Hm?"

He turned around and saw that Kurumu had come back for him.

"What's up, Kurumu? Did you want to walk me to the boy's dorms?"

Kurumu giggled at that, her face lightly blushing. "Oh no, nothing like that. Ummm... can we go on a date after class today? I know we're supposed to go to the News Club, but I asked Moka-chan and the others to cover for us! We'll have to make it up for them another day, of course!"

Tsukune wasn't sure what the rush was, but he wouldn't say no to a date with his girlfriend. "Of course! What do you have in mind?"

Kurumu clapped her hands. "Yay yay, thanks~! Oh, as for that... you'll see, heheheh~!"

She then dashed over to him and they kissed. "See you after class~!"

Thoughts started buzzing through his mind the instant she departed. A date in a special, secret location? Where could they possibly be going? The two of them had spent the summer going around to all of the popular date spots on campus... well, he'd thought that they had. Was there one that they'd missed? And besides that, what was the occasion? Their lives had gotten exciting again now that Anti-Thesis was after them, but was Kurumu actually using that as an excuse for a date? Was there some youkai holiday or event that he didn't know about that happened to be today? Or was he just overthinking this and Kurumu just wanted to spend some alone time with him after what had happened yesterday?

...It was probably that last one...

Ah, but he wasn't sure, and knew that he wouldn't be able to focus in class if he kept thinking about it. So, he dashed away to get changed and then go for a run, making it to the track just in time. Tsukune was never much of a fan of physical activity before coming to Youkai Academy, but he found these morning runs relaxing. Afterwards, with a clear head, he made it to class just in time and the rest of the day went by in peace. He wouldn't think again about the mystery date until class got out and he went to go find Kurumu.

"Yahoo~! This way, Tsukune~!"

She found him first and started dragging him away, arm in arm, to... the Library!?

The reason why she might want to go to that place hit Tsukune almost immediately, and his face went bright red. Kurumu couldn't help but notice the change, and asked him if something was the matter.

"A-ah... w-well, no, but... you see... ummm..."

Kurumu chuckled at his flustered lack of a response. "Tsukune, it's okay~! Yukari-chan told me about it while we were locked up!"

Tsukune nodded. Right, she was in favor of Kurumu tapping into her violent side. But why should she even bring it up? When he asked that, he received a long explanation as to what had happened with his girlfriend while he, Moka, and Yukari were occupied with Midou's gang.

By the time the two of them got to the Library and started wandering down its dreary halls, he had been completely filled in... and also completely bewildered by his girlfriend's actions. How could she have thought that her séance would work, that Death would come to talk with her? Last time when they met her, she had summoned them to her world, not the other way around. But when he said as much to Kurumu, she pouted at him and grumbled about how she just wanted to help Maiko... and surely the Death Goddess wouldn't mind doing them another favor, right?

"But she didn't do us a favor out of the kindness of her heart, if she even has one. She's making us work for her," noted Tsukune. "Maiko-chan isn't a part of that."

Kurumu sighed. "Oh, you're right..." She then slumped into his side, weary. "...I'm just glad that Maiko-chan is so willing to cooperate with me now..."

"Seeing your other self must have really spooked her... speaking of, we're almost to the books on succubi. This is where you wanted to go, right?"

Kurumu nodded. "I want to understand why she's here with me. Maybe we can work together. She was also willing to cooperate when Maiko-chan backed down and agreed to be friends."

Tsukune decided not to point out that Maiko never actually agreed to be friends with Kurumu, instead gesturing towards the shelves and helping her pick out books. None of the ones he had looked at resulted in any leads when he last checked yesterday, but there were still plenty to go through. Between the two of them, they were able to grab several, find a table all for themselves, and get to reading. The two started off on opposite ends of the table, but as time passed Kurumu pulled her seat closer... and closer... and so close that she could lean on his shoulder as they each read their own books.

"...I'm not bothering you, am I?" she had asked not long after doing that.

Tsukune shook his head, and so she remained.

But he wasn't sure why she was worried. Besides the fact that she was his girlfriend, she was soft to the touch and laid ever so gently on him. He'd hardly noticed besides the additional warmth. She was almost entirely silent too, completely focused on her reading, only occasionally stopping to mutter to herself under her breath. This side of her was cute too... He'd seen a lot of it over the summer 'break', but not much since then. He wished he'd get to see it more often and...

...

...judging by the way that Kurumu's face was glowing bright red just now...

"I said that all out loud, huh?" he asked, his own slightly flushed with red.

She was only able to nod in response.

Well, all he could do now was double down!

"W-well, it's true! The focused and studious Kurumu is also cute!" he uttered with pure confidence.

"G-guh!? Tsukune! I... Oh, but I hate studying..."

Tsukune nodded. He knew that, of course. "I know, I know... but it's true! I'll just have to appreciate rare moments like this while I can~!"

Kurumu pouted. "Awww, quit teasing me! I'm supposed to be teasing you~!" She then stuck her tongue out at him.

Tsukune got a laugh out of that, and so did Kurumu soon enough... which prompted Gakutorou to pop in and ask them to quiet down for the other patrons. With some focus restored, the two of them got back to reading... and Kurumu was able to find something useful! From a book collection of psychological studies of various youkai, one of them had a large section on succubi. And inside that section was an account of a succubi named 'Yuno', who had fallen for a human man named 'Yuki'.

"Tsukune! Take a look at this~! I think it's what we're looking for..."

Tsukune looked over Kurumu's shoulder as she read bits and pieces of the text aloud, eyes jumping around here and there...

"Let's see, let's see... looks like Yuno-san and Yuki-san were deeply in love. She even proclaimed him to be his Destined One! But ever since meeting him, something about her... changed? She became more hostile to the other women in his life... even in their families... and she also became more secluded from the world, drawing him in with her. He convinced her to see a therapist, and that woman is the one who wrote these logs. But even with that, Yuno kept getting worse and... and..."

Kurumu stopped reading out loud. Tsukune could feel the tension running through her from their close contact. He glanced down at the page...

...just in time for Kurumu to slam the book shut.

She giggled, nervous. "Ehehehehe... there's no need to worry about something like that happening... let's move on to some other book, shall we Tsukune?"

Tsukune frowned. "Kurumu, we should investigate every lead we can. If you don't want to read it, then let me..."

He stopped, as what he saw stunned him. Kurumu's eyes had turned fully red, filled with fear and panic. She screamed at him. "No!"

He flinched and fell backwards, out of his chair and onto the floor. "Agh!?"

She gasped and leapt out of her seat. "Tsukune!? Are you...!?"

She reached out to him, but then stopped. "I... you... I..."

Her eyes were wide, and she was looking at her hands... but he was completely fine, just a bit shaken. What was... wait, was she remembering something? She was breathing shallowly and erratically, and started slowly backing away from him.

"Kurumu!" he shouted at her. "I'm here!"

But it was for nothing. She heard his shout and looked at him, tears in her eyes.

"Tsukune! I... I..."

She then ran away, loudly weeping.

Loudly enough that Gakutorou returned once more. That said, he held in his reproach once he realized that something was wrong. "Oh dear~! Tsukune-kun, what is the matter here~?"

He sighed. "Sensei, Kurumu and I were looking for books that would help her, but... I wonder if I made things worse instead. I just wanted to help..." He then got back and made his way to the book Kurumu had slammed shut. "It was a passage from this book in particular that spooked her. Someone who, ah... had issues like her is mentioned here. I wonder what it said..."

Gakutorou floated over as Tsukune flipped open the book to where Kurumu had been reading.

When he read the whole thing, he realized why she freaked out: Yuno and Yuki's relationship ended with the two of them all alone in a double death!

He slammed the book shut and roared out a declaration: "I won't let that happen!"

"Tsukune-kun, please keep quiet~..."

"Ah! Sorry, sensei. I just... Kurumu must think that we're doomed. But she's wrong! She's not alone. We're not alone. As long as all of us stick together, we don't have to let a tragedy like that happen again. ...she needs to hear that from me. Sensei, do you mind...?"

He chuckled. "Oh no, I can take care of these books~. You go be with her now~."

Tsukune then dashed off, leaving the librarian with a simple and heartfelt thanks.

---

Kurumu, meanwhile, was hiding inside the nearby woods, not wanting her boyfriend to see her. Not now, not like this. The ever-present cool fog blanketed her, almost bringing comfort from the day's warmth. She was curled up into a ball beneath one of the trees, allowing herself to cry.

How could things have gone so terribly wrong with Yuno and Yuki? Wasn't finding a Destined One supposed to mean that a succubus and her partner would live happily ever after? That was what she had heard all her life, and it's what she believed. Everything she'd done in her search for love, she had done under one fundamental assumption – once she finds her Destined One, all will be well. Nothing could go wrong.

But... that wasn't the case at all! A succubus in the thrall of destiny had killed herself and her true love!

She pulled out her hands and stared at them, perceiving them as covered with ashes and blood.

Tsukune's ashes.

It had already happened once before.

Kuyou's blood.

She had already killed once before.

These things could happen again, all too easily.

All because of her and her selfish desires.

"Stop."

All because she believed in a fate that was more like a doom.

"Stop."

All because-

"STOP."

Suddenly, another pair of hands were clasping hers, hands that looked just like... her own!?

Kurumu looked up, and looked into her own eyes, painted red.

"A-ah!? W-what are you- how is this- huh!?"

She was too confused to finish a thought, so her counterpart chose this moment to speak up.

"I'm here because of you. Did you think that you couldn't cast an illusion on yourself? Well, think again! And for that matter, you can drop that train of thought entirely, since I'm not letting Tsukune go, and you're not either. You know that you wouldn't."

"I..."

The original Kurumu sighed, her hands dropping to the ground, eyes downcast and soaked.

"...oh, you're right! I don't want to let my Tsukune go! But... I don't want him to die again! And I especially don't want to be the one who kills him!"

The red Kurumu growled at her counterpart. "I won't!"

"That's what she thought too!"

"I'm not like her! Sure, I did try to drag Tsukune away from the world, but only because he was in danger!" yelled the Red in the Purple's face, leaning in above her.

"He'll always be in danger as long as he stays here with us!"

"No, he won't! Not as long as I get rid of any threat that comes his way!"

"But then... my hands will become more and more stained with blood... and I won't be able to hold his hands in mine any more..."

The Red Kurumu scoffed at her Purple counterpart, leaning back. "Are you already giving up? He's held your blood-stained hands before; what makes you think he'll stop now? Besides, there's another important difference between us and Yuno-san. Or do you really think that Moka-chan, Mizore-chan, and Yukari-chan would let you end up like her!? Even Gin-kun and Maiko-chan wouldn't like that at all!"

Kurumu sniffed, looking up at another side of herself. "...you're right. And neither would Tsukune! Oh, I... I'm just so scared... but... I can't run away from this either. I have to...!?"

She looked up and away. So did her red self, shortly before she fading away back into her.

Another youkai was near, perhaps even two. An aura was being flared nearby... and Kurumu was alone... this was the perfect opportunity for someone to ambush her!

Her eyes widened as two chuckling voices sounded out nearby, heading her way.

"Sure is lucky we found this dumb human running around, ain't it, Moroha-kun?"

Kurumu gasped. A human!? Then, Tsukune was...!

"Hehehe... you bet~! He's the perfect bait to draw out his dumb gal pal. I can't wait~!"

She tensed up, feeling her aura rampaging around her. Bait!? Her Tsukune was...!?

The duo must have noticed her at once, as they laughed with cheer and loudly stomped their way towards her, despite Tsukune's warnings. "I'm telling you, you need to stop! Kurumu is...!"

Tsukune cut himself short once he saw her and she saw his kidnappers. They were two other students, two guys as far as she could tell. The guy lugging around Tsukune was a non-descript man in blue jeans and a black shirt with a black beanie covering his head down to his eyes. The other guy, meanwhile was in a T-shirt and khaki shorts, with his spiky mop of brown hair covering his right eye. As for Tsukune, he was unharmed... oh, thank goodness...!

The spiky-haired guy laughed. "Hahaha... don't look too happy to see us! We only left your human boy-toy here alone because we want something from you. And if you don't give it to us..."

He transformed his right hand, fingers extending and fusing into a single sharp blade. He then raised said blade-hand to Tsukune's neck, gently stroking it. Tsukune twitched. Kurumu gasped.

"...well, you can guess what'll happen."

Kurumu growled at him, her aura flickering around with bits of red. "You... let him go, now!"

The dude chuckled. "Wow, I can actually feel that~! Maybe this won't be a waste of time, after all, hehehe... if you want him back, then come and take him."

Kurumu's aura only intensified further, while Tsukune shouted at the guy to stop. Her boyfriend was warning him that he was making a mistake... and you'd make sure he won't live to regret it-!

Ah, no!

Kurumu clutched at her head. None of that! No killing!

Her deadly aura retreated, and while Tsukune relaxed a bit, the two dudes looked annoyed. "Boooo!" declared the spiky-haired guy. "Bring out your hidden power... if you can, you fraud!"

Kurumu blinked, and then stared at the blade-handed man. "I... what? I'm sorry, who are you and what are you talking about...?"

The guy scoffed. "Heh... Name's Moroha. And there's no way some random succubus like you actually killed a super-powerful youkai like Kuyou! I bet Shuzen's the one who really did it... she must be letting you take credit for it. You'd need a deadly reputation to keep people away from you and your human boyfriend. But I see through you! You're nothing!"

Moroha then transformed both of his hands into bony blades and launched himself at Kurumu!

"Hehehe... you're all mine!" he shouted at Kurumu, poised to strike her down in her surprise!

But her surprise only lasted a moment. In the moments between him launching herself at her and him slashing into her, she backed away, partially transforming. He followed up his first attack with another swing, but this time she blocked him instead of retreating, nails against skin. She then deflected him to the side and dashed towards her precious Tsukune...

"Not so fast!"

...only for Moroha to butt in and nearly slice one of her wings off. She only evaded due to noticing him out of the corner of her eyes. And the instant he placed himself in front of her, she left her rancid and hateful aura boil out of her once more. "Get out of the way, now!"

Moroha laughed at her. He laughed at Tsukune too, ignoring his requests to stop this.

Oh, dear... she'd have to make this quick.

"I told you, I want to see your hidden power, so you're not getting that human back unless you bring it out, you dumb bi-!?"

He was cut off by a sudden set of vines around his neck, emerging from seemingly nowhere.

Kurumu's eyes, shimmering red, were focused on him and his friend. His friend also found himself accosted by vines suddenly, and was forced to let Tsukune go. And Tsukune, apparently eager to contribute to the fight despite the fact that she could clearly handle this by herself...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHH!?"

...kicked that man in the crotch, hard. Kurumu swore she heard something break.

Unfortunately, something else broke too – namely, her concentration. That didn't matter for the guy that Tsukune downed. Moroha, however, saw his friend down for the count and saw red himself. "That's it; the human dies!"

He then barreled straight for Tsukune!

"No!"

Kurumu spread her wings and flew as fast as she could, but it wouldn't be enough! There was no way she could catch up!

But...

...did she need to?

Not when she could be in two places at once!

"W-what the-!?"

"Kurumu!"

A second Kurumu suddenly appeared in front of Tsukune and parried the fatal blow, tossing Moroha's sword hand to the side and aiming her own nails straight for his n-!?

"S-stop!"

The second Kurumu stopped just before she could drive her nails through Moroha's neck. The man paralyzed by fear, didn't budge... which gave the original Kurumu the perfect opening to kick him in the back of the head, knocking him down and out!

As the original Kurumu approached the scene, the second Kurumu turned to face Tsukune, nails prominent. Was she going to...? There's no way, right...!? She needed to...!

"Tsukune~! You're okay~!"

Her train of thought was completely derailed by her counterpart releasing her partial transformation and tackle hugging Tsukune... her precious Tsukune...

...hey, wait a second!

"No fair, I want to hug him too!"

Kurumu dashed over to where her red self was holding onto Tsukune tightly, his face smushed against her chest as usual. She was supposed to be the one doing that! ...well, from a certain point of view, she was, but... ah, that was too confusing! Instead, she demanded that he other self turn Tsukune over to her.

"Hehehe... well, I guess I can hand him over. You are me, after all~!"

So, after giving him a big kiss, the red Kurumu vanished, leaving Tsukune alone with her.

At which point...

"Tsukune~! You're okay~!"

...Kurumu did almost the exact same thing as her red counterpart. Only this time, she started with the kiss and then moved into the chest hug.

"Hehehe... yeah, I'm okay... it's good to see you too, Kurumu. And I need to tell you something."

She flinched, freezing still. This couldn't be...

...no. She needed to trust him. There's no way he would abandon her!

"I... need to tell you something too. But you first, please."

He nodded, and then adjusted himself so he was looking her in the eyes. "Okay. Kurumu, we're not doomed. Not as long as we stick together. And I don't mean just the two of us. With Moka-san, Mizore-chan, Yukari-chan, and everyone else by your side, you won't fall. And..."

He circled his arms around her, returning the hug properly. "...I'll be by your side too, for what it's worth."

She smiled brightly at him. "Oh Tsukune, You're worth everything. And so are our friends. ...say, let's go find them. I want to tell them everything. I'd like them to meet her too if she's willing to come out."

He nodded as she let him go, taking her side.

"Yay~! Then let's g-!?"

But before the two of them could walk away, the air suddenly grew cold. With no seeming source, Kurumu drew Tsukune in close again, frantically looking around for what could be causing this. Was it another youkai!? With a rancid aura like this, it had to be! But where was it... this aura felt like it was coming from all around them!

"Hehehe... hello there, Kurumu-chan, Tsukune-kun... nice to meet you both..."

The voice that called to them was distorted and came from seemingly everywhere.

"W-who are you!?" demanded Kurumu, starting to transform. "And come out so I can see you!"

"I think you're in no position to be demanding things from me. Not even after how easily you dispatched my minions. Ah, why did we let such weaklings into Anti-Thesis...?"

Kurumu let her aura boil around her again, knowing that her eyes had gone red once more. "You're with Anti-Thesis!? You people... you tried to drive Tsukune away and kill Moka-chan... Come out here now so I can tear you apart!"

The voice laughed loudly, and Kurumu tried looking everywhere for a source, as was a quite panicked Tsukune. ...wait, what was she doing!? She needed to get him out of here if she was going to fight! "On second thought... take your minions and go. I'll deal with you later."

The voice laughed again. "Hehehe... how cute. You think you can order me around?"

And suddenly the source of the voice was directly in front of her and Tsukune!

"Gah!? "Ahhhh!"

They both fell over, with her hitting the ground first and him on top of her.

She looked up at the newcomer, a masked youkai in a heavy black cloak. She couldn't tell anything about him other than his unfamiliar aura. Only the realization that Tsukune was between her and this person snapped her out of her stupor. With one arm, she moved Tsukune to the side while she grew nails out of her other one. "I-I t-told you t-to-."

"Luckily for you, I want you alive," the masked youkai stated, cutting her off, not caring about her branished nails. "You, Kurumu-chan, will entertain me, fighting first through my minions... and then you will face me. Our battle will be glorious... you'd better look forward to it. But for now... farewell."

With that, the masked youkai grabbed his two downed minions and vanished as mysteriously as he emerged, leaving Kurumu and Tsukune behind. And the two of them, filled with terror, ran out of the woods and towards their friends, hoping to find a safe harbor from the storm to come.