Bloody Tears

After the issue with the Phantom Assailants, Ben was able to go back to his dorm and take a long rest. He probably had the best sleep in a while since he wasn't injured anymore. Within his dream scape he was approached by Dreamqueen, but not for usual things. No, he just wanted to talk. Of course she still needed vitality so to give that sense of fulfillment Dreamqueen and Ben sat in a room, similar to his dorm room, and played different video games. "This is ridiculous," Dreamqueen stated, "I mean, what woman's breasts bounce this much! If a real set of boobs were to bounce that much they'd either break their shoulders or slap themselves in the face!" she was referring to Ben and her playing Dead or Alive 5.

"It isn't real." Ben laughed, "Besides, have you seen Kurumu? I'm actually shocked this doesn't happen to her." he grunted in annoyance as Dreamqueen countered his attack and chained that into a multi-hit combo. "So anyways...how am I doing?" Ben asked while wiggling his eyebrows.

Dreamqueen responded with a snort, "You are by far, the WORST man alive who has ever tried to pick up chicks. You talk big game and you flirt from time to time, but you can't pull the trigger to save your life!" she taunted, "Did you even say anything to the girl?"

"Uhh...I made a JoJo joke. Then the Ghost Rider healed me. Then I--"

"So no?" Dreamqueen asked.

"Uh...yeah, no." Ben hung his head in shame as he lost the match, "Son of a bitch."

The succubus laughed, "So what now? You're all healed up, are you going to have more confidence now or something?"

Ben selected a different character and sighed, "I wouldn't hold my breath. The only thing I have more of now is strength. Well, I'm mentally better than I have been but that's for other things. Anyways, that isn't the point! The only thing I want to do now is show her the fruit of my efforts." he smiled, "I want her to acknowledge me and the progress I've made. And I can only do that one way..." his face became that of determination as he sent a massive combo to Dreamqueen's character in game.

"You're going to fight her?" she asked and he nodded. Dreamqueen let out an exasperated breath, unsure if that was the right call. "Well," she started, "Knowing her it seems to be a way you two connect. I'm sure everything will work out fine if you fight it out." she laughed, "Hell, you might pop a boner in the middle of a grapple!" Dreamqueen was able win the round as Ben's character didn't move. Confused, Dreamqueen looked at Ben who now had a thousand yard and a massive blush.

Quickly Ben turned his head to Dreamqueen, scaring her half to death, "Why would you say something like that? Now I'm gonna be super self conscious about it! Do you have any idea how embarrassing that'd be? I may actually die!" Geez, he really is a child.

"That...aside." she said, trying to change the subject, "Just be honest with yourself and I'm sure she'll accept your feelings." Or shoot you down in a blaze of fire. I mean, it's been six months. Ben saw the smile on Dreamqueen's face and nodded. The two continued to play games until a loud thump was heard, "What the hell? What was that?"

"Don't know." Ben said, "Could be anything." the thump was heard again and Ben was forced awake.

Ben opened his eyes and looked in front of him to see Inner Moka sitting in a chair near his bed, "Jesus Christ!" Ben yelled out. Moka quickly had placed her hands over his mouth to keep him quiet.

"Are you trying to get us found out?" Moka whisper yelled in english. Ben cocked an eyebrow and said something under her hands, but it was muffled. "What?" again, Ben muffled. Moka rolled her eyes and moved her hands away, "What?"

"Phrasing." Ben said trying not to smirk. Moka frowned and covered Ben's face with a pillow causing him to struggle until she eventually gave up. Ben finally sat up right and Moka turned her head so she wouldn't face him. "That's harsh," Ben chuckled, "What? Did I make you mad?"

"You're naked." she replied still not looking at him.

"HA!" Ben looked under his sheets to make sure, but no he wasn't naked, just shirtless. "Are you getting bashful over this? You've seen me like this before. Hell, I've seen you without your shirt on so it really shouldn't--" Ben stopped when Moka threatened to throw the chair at him.

Moka cleared her throat, "Well you see..." she gestured to his desk with stacks of pornographic images and a modeling figure, "I didn't want something to happen since you have...all of this."

"Oh. That's reference material." Ben said matter-of-factly, "Because I draw porn to make money. Does that make me like a...synthetic prostitute? You know, since people pay me to get their jimmies off, but what I give them isn't the real thing only like...like a simulation I suppose?"

Moka folded her arms and shifted her body almost in disgust, "I don't know. Why would you do this anyway?"

Her body language didn't go unnoticed by Ben and he sighed in response, "You know, it's not like I wanted to do this." Moka cocked an eyebrow in intrigue. Ben stood up and Moka about turned away had he not been wearing shorts. Ben stretched and from what little light shone in the room Moka could make out the scars on his body. The ones she recognized the most were the ones that she saw him get during school the year before...some left worse memories than others. Her eyes gazed up to Ben's head when he ran his hands through his hair and she saw parts of his scar from when he...fell, is the agreed upon term, off the school rooftop. "6:50!" Ben shouted as he looked at his alarm clock, "You couldn't have waited until like...Nine?" Moka squinted her eyes in response causing Ben to sigh, "Whatever. You want some coffee?" Moka followed Ben into the Kitchenette where he pulled out a tea pot and a French Press. "As I was saying," he started as he turned on the stove to heat the water, "I didn't want to be a porn artist. I actually wanted to make comics. But I kept getting turned down. I can't even get a job for inking, line art or even coloring!" Ben slammed his fist against his cabinet, "So...I started drawing fan art of characters, hoping I'd land a job doing something. Then one day someone asked if I did NSFW drawings. I was apprehensive at first, but man, they were offering to pay for a commission. Soon word spread and I started doing a little raunchier drawings. Pin-ups really. More people asked for the nude images and honestly it started becoming a decent point of income. The amount of commissions I get in a month is equivalent to that of a part time job at least. Unless they send their friends your way, then you may get more." the tea pot started to steam and Ben poured the boiling water into the French Press with coffee grounds, "Now with my donation page open I make a couple thousand a month."

Ben poured two cups of coffee and grabbed some cream from his fridge. Ben shook it so Moka could see, "Yes, please." Ben then took the cream and poured it into the coffee and made leaf designs, dumbfounding Moka in the process.

Ben handed the coffee to Moka with an almost bored expression on his face before quickly switching to a smile, "Thank you for your service! Do come again!" Ben then stared blankly at Moka, not even sure what happened. He tapped his head and frowned, "I think 'Service with a smile' has been hard wired since I started working." Moka had to stop herself from taking a drink of coffee to quickly cough into her fist. That was close, I almost actually laughed at that stupid joke. she thought. After that the two shared a long, almost awkward drink together.

What do I talk about? Ben thought. I don't want to bore her with just my life story, there is a time and place for that and I feel like this isn't that. Ben's eyes darted all around his dorm hoping to find something he could talk about. Art? No, just did that. Games? Don't be stupid! Movies? Um...definite maybe. Finally his gaze landed on her and her elegant form of drinking coffee. Ben gulped, "So uh...what about you?" Ben asked suddenly. The question almost made Moka spit out her drink, "Like, what have you been up to? How did you spend your six months?"

"Sleeping." she stated bluntly.

"Smartass." Ben replied with a chuckle.

Moka took another sip from her coffee and thought about what she would say, "Well...I suppose before I finally sealed myself away again I was...shocked to say the least."

"Why's that? Upset you couldn't stay in the human world?" Ben asked, completely oblivious to what Moka meant.

"No...some annoying foreigner confessed to me. Then just left, not knowing if we'd ever see each other again." Moka stated as she gave a look to Ben that told him not to mess up whatever words he spoke next.

Oh shit. That isn't a good tone. "Oh, uh, really?" Ben chuckled nervously while he downed the rest of his coffee, "That guy sounds like an asshole. But, I'm sure he built up a lot of courage to say something like that"

"Hm, why didn't he say it sooner I wonder? Is he just a coward?"

"I'd say yes and no. Yes he's a coward for saying it so late, but also no because...better late than never?"

Moka gave a look that showed she wasn't buying it, "Hmm. Sounds like something a coward would say." Ben flinched a little from her response, "But...I suppose we ended up seeing each other again. Albeit under strange circumstances. Can't say I expected to see him inside a plant."

"Well I'm sure it was weird for me...uh...him to..." Ben sighed, "Okay, I'ma drop the act we both know it's me." Moka smirked, "Yeah, it was weird but somewhat fitting. I've been saved by you more often than I have anyone else I know. Sounds like you may be my hero." Ben smiled. The sentiment from Ben made Moka's heart skip a beat, but she still kept her composure. "You know..." This is it, Ben thought, Just go for it! Can't make an omelette without breaking eggs. The omelette of course would be me getting with Moka...the eggs would be me potentially getting shot down, I think. "I uh...never got a response."

Moka had to stop drinking her coffee so she didn't choke. Where the hell did that come from? She thought, When the hell did he become so forward? Perhaps he's really been waiting for a response. the 'Outer' Moka replied with a chuckle. "A response...What do you mean?"

"Well...usually when people say something like that they want some closure. Whether you feel the same way or not?" Ben explained.

Moka hummed and tapped her chin, "I wonder...Okay. I'll tell you. But you have to do something first." Ben cocked an eyebrow in confusion to which Moka smirked, "You have to fight me first! The last time we fought both of us were under poor conditions. I saw how strong you can be and now that you're at 100% I want to see that strength for myself!" Moka hadn't realized it but she had moved close enough to Ben to where she was pressing against his chest.

I...I guess Dreamqueen was right. "Yeah, okay." was all Ben could say. She didn't show it, but somehow Ben could tell Moka was cheering. Heh, now I can show her how strong I've gotten! Ben regained his composure and smirked, "I hope you're ready, because I won't hold back!"

Moka stood out in a clearing in the forest waiting for Ben to show up. While he wasn't there she was pacing back and forth, What do I do? she thought, I challenged him to a fight but how do I go about this? He's strong but he is still human. He's weaker than many of the monsters here. You could try holding back. Her 'Outer' self told her. Holding back? More than usual? Well, what else would we do!? If you're so worried about not accidentally...you know, BREAKING HIM, then holding back is the only choice we have. "Hm." Moka cupped her chin in thought. Well. I suppose he won't realize the difference. Right? Right? Give him a good fight and let your feelings known! Yes, let my feelings-- "WHAT!?" she shouted in surprise, That wasn't the plan! Oh? Could've fooled me. I was sure that the reason you were fighting was just to be close to him. Whatever! Hold back. Don't break him. Give him a response--NOT necessarily saying I like him. Which you do. Shut up!

"Uh...you okay?" Moka snapped to attention when she heard Ben approach her, "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. It's just me." Ben held up his hands defensively. Moka looked at Ben as he wore his suit, surprisingly with no holes anywhere.

Moka frowned while looking at his suit, "Wait...I thought--"

"I have extras, Moka." Ben answered. He began to stretch his arms and got a good look at his surroundings. "Pretty ballsy to choose an area where I have the obvious advantage." Ben smirked.

"What, you think your webs are going to be enough to beat me?" she scoffed giving an almost disgusted looking facial expression, "It seems you haven't learned anything from the last time we fought!"

"Right, you mean when I beat your ass." Ben taunted as he started getting in his ready position.

"HA! Is that so? I seem to recall me dislocating your arm!" Moka was quik to respond as she got into her own fighting stance, "Also I had to deal with Tsukune. So I was preoccupied." Ben shot forward with a jab and Moka deflected it, but was caught off guard when Ben used the close distance to pull Moka into a hold.

"Funny, you and I...have a different...MEMORY!" Ben had jumped on Moka and wrapped his legs around her torso, then, he used his momentum to spin around Moka's body so that he was behind her. Bending back, Ben stuck his hands to the ground and used his lower body strength to lift Moka up and slam her into the ground. "I recall ME fending off Tsukune and knocking some sense into YOU." Moka rubbed her neck as she got off the ground, Damn. she thought, Kinda forgot how agile he was.

Moka took a deep breath and jolted her body into a fighting stance, the resulting movement caused all of the dust to fly off her. Okay, that was cool. Ben thought. Moka's eyes narrowed as she shot forward with a hand cocked back ready to jab Ben. What? Ben thought, Hand combat? She uses her legs though. Moka's arm shot forward and Ben simply redirected the attack. What was that? Ben thought, It was so easy. So slow, so...so weak! Why? This is ridiculous! Moka continued to send a barrage of her attacks while Ben deflected them. Finally seeing an opening, Ben sent a headbutt and staggered Moka backwards.

Ben began to circle around Moka before jumping into the trees behind her. Moka looked around as all she heard were the rustling of trees. Finally Ben slammed down to the ground and Moka narrowly avoided him. Ben then launched forward with a flurry of attacks all of which Moka would block, however there were a few that actually landed. Moka jumped back to regain her footing and took a deep breath. Okay, what the fuck!? That was too easy! Ben frowned, This isn't right. Is she holding back against me? What the fuck!?! Moka launched forward and again was sending a flurry of jabs. Ben, wanting to test his theory, got in a relaxed stance and started to block all of Moka's attacks like he was Dante from Devil May Cry using Royal Guard. And sure enough, Ben was blocking all her attacks.

You don't think he's realized we're holding back do you? Moka thought, What? No. No, no, nonononono. It's...it's fine. Ben then grabbed Moka's wrist on her last attack and stared at her with a frown. Shit. I think he realized. "Hey," Ben started, "Remember how you wanted us to fight? You know. I thought maybe you would take something like this seriously, but you holding back like you are...is really pissing me off." He knows we can't just go full force against him, right? "Now come on! Take this seriously! I've waited for this as much as you have!" Ben smiled, "I want to show you just how strong I've become! But I can't do that if you don't come at me with everything you've got! So c'mon!"

Within the trees Kokoa watched as Ben tried to provoke her sister. "This is crazy...the thought of him actually fighting against big sis." Kokoa watched as both Ben and Moka took their stances again, "Anything can happen." suddenly she gasped in realization, "Wait, but if anything happens to him that means I can't fight him! Agh! Dammit, I should just jump down there and stop the fight myself. No fair for big sis to hog him. I have a score to settle, dammit!"

Back down below, Ben and Moka got in their stances again. Just as Moka had gotten into her stance Ben had already launched himself forward. "CRAWLER AAAASAULT!" Moka had to quickly block his attacks best she could. Remember his pattern. Moka thought, Up, Up, Up, Left, Right, Up, Right, Left, Le-- her train of thought was stopped when Ben used his webs to slide between her legs and flank her, DAMN! Just as Moka turned around she was met with a gut punch and a head butt. So...he added on? He probably figured I'd remember. Ben then fired a barrage of web balls at Moka which started to envelope her body in a cocoon. Then Ben web zipped to gain momentum so he could bull rush Moka. Not happening! Moka used her strength to tear from the web prison and as Ben jumped up for a drop kick, Moka sent her own monstrous kick to his gut sending him flying into a tree.

"Oh my god!" Moka gasped. What have I done? I used to much of my power. What if I killed him!? Ben got up slower than usual and puked out the contents of his stomach, mostly just fluids. Ben wiped his mouth and smiled slightly before jumping forward again. "Damn, seriously?" Moka tried to get Ben to back off by sending a flurry of kicks like Chun-Li, all of which Ben dodged. He seems to be not as reactive as usual. More than enough reason to keep holding back. His worse reactions and that strike. It's too much for a human to bear.

This doesn't make any sense. Ben thought as he dodged another kick from Moka, Her kicks have gotten slower. The only real attack was that one that caught me in the air. It's almost like she's taking pity on me. Ben saw Moka sending another kick at him. Instead or blocking or dodging he decided to see how hard she was actually trying. The kick came and eventually collided with his side but felt...rather low tier, even to his standards. Felt more like he wss hit with a bat than a kick from Moka. Ben could only look down in disappointment, "Stop..." he said softly causing Moka to gasp, "I told you to go all out and you're treating me like I'm some sort of fragile figure!" Ben shouted. Moka gasped in surprise, "The whole point was to show you my strength to prove I can stand toe-to-toe with any monster here!"

"Tch. You don't understand." Moka explained, "You're--"

"What, only human? Was that what you were going to say?"

"No!"

"Because I'm a lot tougher than I look! I'm not some glass canon like Tsukune, so don't treat me like one!" Tears began to well up in Ben's eyes as he spoke, "You want to know something? I wanted to fight you because I knew it would make me stronger. Because when I'm around you my Spider Sense doesn't go off." Moka stared in surprise. His Spider Sense? she thought. "If you recall, my Spider Sense alerts me to danger. However, it won't work against somebody that I greatly trust. I trusted you wouldn't kill me already, I told you I'd be fine! That attack that connected, that was my own mistake, let me learn from them! You're my best opponent because fighting you would force me to be tactical. I can become a smarter fighter and an overall better fighter if I'm against you!

"I may be an asshole to who ever I fight, but what you did...that holding back bullshit...that's the most disrespectful and insulting gesture I've ever seen. You essentially told me I wasn't worth your time, you disrespected me as an opponent, and you spit in my face. I'm not one of these monster of the week assholes, I stood toe-to-toe with a Yoko dammit! I've proven myself time and again. And that was last year, this year I'm stronger than I've ever been, physically and mentally. So why? Why would you do treat me like a child!?"

Moka could only stare in shock. I don't think I've heard Ben sound so hurt. We totally offended him...didn't we. "Ben...After what happened last year I just didn't want to--"

"Coward." Ben interrupted causing Moka to widen her eyes in surprise, "It was different then, both of us were injured injured severely, and even then we still gave it our all. I didn't mind, it was fine afterward. You trying to use that one time as a basis is a coward's excuse!" Ben scoffed in frustration and began walking back to his dorm, "Whatever, fuck this. If you won't take this seriously I'll go back to my dorm."

"What!? No, I wanted to--What about my answer?" Moka called out.

"Save it. I don't want to hear it. Not until you respect me enough to actually fight me." with that Ben didn't say anything else, he just waved and left leaving a speechless Moka.

"I...but..." No way. Did I actually...shatter his pride. What the hell is wrong with me?

Kokoa stared in surprise, "No way! He called it? He's just leaving?" she scratched her head trying to understand what happened. "HEY! This means he's leaving with barely a scratch which means," she clutch her fist in anticipation, "I get to squash this bug!" she smiled.

Jumping down from the trees Kokoa followed Ben back to his dorm before coming out of nowhere and blocking his entrance, "Ben Reilly!" she shouted out, "As you recall you said you'd fight me anytime anywhere. So I challenge you to a battle here and now!"

Ben stared at Kokoa with an annoyed look on his face, "I'm not in the mood. Step aside." Ben tried to move Kokoa when she grabbed his wrist.

"I don't think so!" she smiled, "My pride as a vampire is on the line, and you promised, arachnid!" Kokoa poked Ben in the chest to get her point across, "And I hope you're ready, because I don't plan on holding back against you."

Ben's eyes widened slightly when she said that and a slight smile came across his face, "You know...I was pretty pissed off for some reason, so I was gonna say now is a bad time. But you have convinced me that I need to blow off some steam. I'll fight you, under our previous conditions as well that you take any pointers I give you seriously."

Kokoa smirked, "I must admit, for a human you have some advanced techniques and I want to use them all. So let's fight!"

Moka paced back and forth in the forest going over what happened, "Was I really holding back that much?" You must have if Ben could take a kick to his side like that, or even block without wincing in pain. "Well what about him? He holds back his power all the time, why is that any different!?" Well...Ben holds himself back so he doesn't kill his opponent. Which is what we do already, you are holding back even more than that. Moka face palmed to herself, "God, I really am awful. Ben probably thought I was toying with him." Worse, I think he believes you didn't see him as a real fight. Moka groaned, "What do I do?" Easy, apologize. He may not forgive you right away, but you heard him next time we need to be serious. "Right. An apology. Got it."

Moka made her way to Ben's dorm to apologize, but got sidetracked when she heard loud noises out by the cemetery area. Once there, Moka hid herself behind a tree as to not be seen. What she saw shocked her beyond belief. Ben covered with bruises and bleeding from his mouth, but he was smiling. His opponent to Moka's surprise was Kokoa who seemed to be enjoying herself more than Ben. The weirdest part was that Kokoa was fighting in hand-to-hand. What the hell? Moka thought, Since when did Kokoa fight without using Kou? She continued to watch as the two clashed again, a frown came across Moka's face as she began to experience an emotion she thought trivial: Jealousy. She left without making herself known. She ended up not apologizing.

To be continued...

~Omake~

"What?" Kurumu asked as she, Ben and Yukari sat in the clubroom together waiting for the others, "You want to put porn in the newspaper?"

"Not porn," Ben clarified, "But more like an ad...so that I can get more money (potentially)." Ben had an idea to get more people to buy art from him while he was at school. His strange plan was to place pictures in the paper to try and promote his artwork.

"You really want to make an enemy out of every woman in school, don't you." Yukari replied with a sigh.

"Pfft, I only care about who my potential customers would be. Besides...don't you think word of mouth from the male customers would skyrocket?" Ben stated.

"We already have two reasons why guys get the papers." Yukari retorted.

"Four, if you count Moka." Kurumu said with a sly grin and a wiggle of her eyebrows. "Besides, even if it did work, what would you put in there?"

Ben scratched his head in thought, "Ruby's over 18 right?"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Yukari stated, crossing her arms to form an 'X'. "You will not use her for your degenerate profession."

"What about teachers?" Mizore suggested, scaring the other three in the room.

"Where did you come from!?" Ben shouted out as he clutched his chest trying to calm his beating heart.

Mizore tilted her head to the said in confusion, "I've been here the whole time."

Yukari slammed her hand against the table, "Again, no! We can't just use the teachers like that. Also, kinda creepy."

"What if it was Moka?" Kurumu suggested with a blank face.

Yukari seemed to have almost lost consciousness as the idea of Moka in lingerie spread in a double full was in their paper, "That would be okay, heh heh." her voice of reason was gone as blood practically drained from her nose and she gave a thumbs up.

"Yeah, no." Ben replied. He sat at the table and rubbed his face in frustration trying to figure out what to do. "Oh," he said in realization as he looked up to Kurumu, "Kurumu, your mom's a prostitute right?"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" she shouted while hitting Ben repeatedly, "SHE MAY BE A SUCCUBUS BUT SHE ISN'T A SEX WORKER ASSHOLE! AND EVEN IF SHE WAS I WOULD NEVER LET MY MOM BE IN THIS PAPER!"

"What about Morrigan?" Yukair mentioned.

"Morrigan?" The others asked, "Wait...you mean from Darkstalkers?" Ben mentioned.

"Yeah. She's popular, above age, was practically every young boy's fantasy in the 90s, I think with your aesthetic it would make perfect sense."

"I guess...Capcom isn't really using her anyways." Ben mentioned.

"Must be tough, being a near forgotten character." Mizore nodded.

Ben smiled and cheered, "Alright! Morrigan it is!"

A/N: Alright, another quick chapter out. What does this mean going forward? Was progress made or have they taken several steps back? Who is Moka more jealous of, Kokoa or Ben? Will they ever figure things out? Will the stigma of being an NSFW artist ever leave? (Probably not, but one can hope!)

All these questions probably won't be answered at once and may even take time, because that's descent story telling. But not to worry an answer will be given!

In all seriousness, this is a little bit of a different chapter trying out some different things. I hope you enjoy, remember to Favorite, Follow, and leave me some sweet reviews.

Okay, Laters.