"Woah, woah, woah... So you mean, Moka really was going to kill me?"

Thankfully, it didn't take as long for Tsukune to understand everything that happened to him, the hardest part was explaining my situation. I think above all else he's just glad to be alive, I don't blame him. Hearing that some monster gang has tormented them confused the heck out of me, but what worried me more was that some Warlock hurt Ruby and Yukari because he was hunting...me. Kurumu told me about that Wendigo guy...and that made my blood boil. If he wants me, he'll get me soon enough. I think after this I'm gonna have a talk with this 'Mido' guy.

"All because I was turning into some sort of...Ghoul?"

I nod. "Yeah, it was pretty messed up."

"It was awful!" Kurumu exclaimed, waving her arms. "She wasn't pulling her punches at all! And you were hardly any better! Like some sort of psycho killer!"

"W-What?" Tsukune could hardly believe what he was hearing from the Succubus.

"I saw it myself," I add. Although, I'm still not entirely sure how I did. Foresight is not something even my kind fully understands.

"Please tell me you guys are joking."

"Look at your right hand, Tsukune," The Headmaster commanded. Wrapped around Tsukune's wrist was some sort of chain link with a lock, each metal link had a small crucifix.

"Is that...?"

"A Holy Lock," Headmaster answers my inquiry. I've only heard about such a device through studies but have never seen one myself. "It works on the same principle as Moka's seal. It locks down the Vampire blood in your body. It's the only thing preventing you from turning into a Ghoul. If it ever comes off...you're doomed."

Tsukune looks up to the Headmaster with a grateful smile. "Thank you, seriously, but... Why did you save me?"

"Just doing a favor...for some old friends."

"A friend?" The human tilted his head.

"Yes..." The Headmaster points to the opposite side of the room, our eyes meet with a familiar dressed man...with his signature cigar.

"The bus driver?" I ask.

"He came to us," Ruby answered. "saying you were in terrible danger."

How does he know these things?

"Anyways," The Headmaster starts to leave and the Bus Driver soon follows after. "I'd be careful if I were you, Tsukune Aono. You too, Elijah Everett."

After they leave us, Tsukune and I share a glance. What is that supposed to mean? After everything we've gone through, I don't think there's much that would shock us at this point. My injured friend looks down at his new permanent addition to his arm, he flips it around, and the lock clinks against the chain links. I can't begin to imagine how he's feeling but I know I should at least provide some comfort.

"Looks like we both have a burden to bear." I roll up my left sleeve until it reaches my shoulder, showing the very mark that separates me from the average Wizard.

Tsukune lets out an exhausted chuckle. "Yeah, it's...still crazy to think that all of this is happening."

"You're telling me."

"I'm just glad that it's finally over," Kurumu added stepping beside me. "and that you're back here with us."

I return her rising smile. I was about to express how I missed them all, but Tsukune broke the silence. "Wait, where's Moka?" he asked. The girls and I look at each other with worried expressions. The fact that she still hasn't shown up yet is making me worry. Don't tell me that she blames herself for this...

"She's...not here." Kurumu is the first to answer. "Since she was the one who hurt you...she just can't face you."

Moka...outside the room...

The young Vampire stands merely a few feet from the door, she can hear the faint voices of her friends inside...including the boy she hurt. Moka wants more than anything to go inside, to be with him, to make sure he's okay, to apologize for everything that happened.

"Hey," But that little voice in her rosary stopped her. "How long are you gonna stand out here? We have to go. I almost turned Tsukune into a Ghoul. And...I almost killed him. If we stay here with him, it's bound to happen again. He got lucky, but next time...that may not be the case."

"But...he said he loves us."

"..."

"...I...I love you too much for that to be true. You, not just the Outer Moka."

Those words have been ringing in her head ever since the end of that battle.

"...We never should have gotten close to him." Moka turns away from the door and walks away with her head hanging low. But she stops in her path when she hears the clicking of the door to the very room she was walking away from.

"And where do you think you're going?" A familiar voice asked her, but it did not belong to Tsukune. When the Vampire turned around, she was met with the face of Elijah as he closed the door behind him.

"How...how did you know I was here?"

The young Wizard shrugged. "Intuition. But that's not the important thing to ask. Why are you out here? Come inside, you know he's waiting for you."

"..." Moka just shakes her head in response.

"What?"

"Elijah, I...I remember everything that happened when Tsukune took off my Rosary. I can't forget when I..." Moka looked down at her hand as it began shaking. "...when I was trying to kill him. I can't forget what I felt. His bones snapping...the sounds of his screams... I'll never be able to forget that! The memory and feeling are forever stored in my body!" The young woman grips her head and shakes it. "And I think if I stay with him, I'll end up doing it again! I can't bear that!"

"...Moka."

"That's why," The Vampire wipes some of her tears away. "That's why I can't be with him anymore. I'm sorry, Elijah." She turns away to run from the problem, but a firm grip on her wrist stops her.

"...You two can really infuriate me sometimes."

"What are you-"

Before Moka could make any form of a sentence, Elijah brings her into...a hug. This warm gesture was not foreign to her, but it wasn't often she received one from him. Moka wants to fight free, but his grip is like a vice.

"You really think that leaving is gonna make things easier, that you two can simply run away from the problem? That's bullshit, Moka and you two know it," Elijah pulls away. "I may not know the full story of what happened in the past month I've been gone, but I know that if you leave, it'll break his heart. And you really think you'd be okay with that?"

"..."

"..."

"If you two just need some time for yourself, that's fine. Just make sure that you get back to us as soon as possible. Preferably much faster than I did."

Elijah turned heel and walked away from the young Vampire, but he didn't go back into Tsukune's room. Huh? Where is he going?

"Tch! Who does he think he is..."

"Stop it, Inner me...he has a point. The thought of Tsukune being sad because of us...hurts way more than what we did."

"If we stay here-"

"We'll find a way!" Her voice echoed through the hallway. "We don't have to face him now, but we will eventually."

Moka, now with a newfound reason, leaves. She still isn't entirely sure of what will happen if she stays by Tsukune's side but for now, she just needs time to think.

Elijah

Alright, I hope I at least talked some sense into Moka. The Inner her is bound to get an earful from me after trying to kill my friend, but I need to get over that. Besides...there's something I need to take care of before things can go back to normal, more specifically, someone.

Part of me is glad that Tsukune didn't kill that asshole, Mido, but the thought that he's still here in the school is just unacceptable, getting the same treatment as my friend... Fuck. That. There's been no word about that Wendigo guy either, but I know that when I see him... How dare he touch my Kurumu? What? Where the hell did that even come from? And since when is she mine? I need to keep my anger in check if I want to go about this the right way.

I eventually find his room wide open, he sits up on his bed completely bandaged, looking out the window. Perhaps he's reflecting on the complete ass-whooping he got, or maybe he's contemplating his next move. I really don't care what it is. I have an idea of what I could do to him...but I'll need a guinea pig. And who better than someone who tried killing my friends?

I lean against the door frame and cross my arms. "So, you're Mido."

"..." He turned his head at the sound of my voice, but he didn't turn his full attention to me.

"Gotta say, you went through a lot of trouble trying to hurt my friends. I must say, a determination like yours is admirable in a sense, it's too bad you used it for a meaningless purpose. A person with such fortitude could do much greater good for the world, and yet you continue to throw it away to pointless petty squabbles."

"...Elijah Everett," Mido finally turns to me, a smirk forms at the corner of his lips behind his bandaged face. "I was hoping I could meet that cowardly face of yours. You finally decide to show yourself after I'm down."

"Sorry to disappoint your child-like fantasies, I found myself preoccupied with a purpose even a flea like you couldn't even begin to understand. Besides," I chuckle a little, wanting to savor this before I begin my...testing. "Even if I was here, I wouldn't need my magic to beat you."

"...Mother fucker," Mido sneers as he tries to stand. "I'll kill you with my bare hands. Then, once I'm done with you, I'll kill Tsukune Aono for crossing with the Monstrels, then...I'll kill every single one of those bitches you two associate yourselves with. Starting with that Succubus!"

"...No," I take a step forward, raising my right hand. "You don't even know who you're talking about." A bright pink glow comes from my palm, lighting up the dark room. "...Dedisco."

Mido fell back onto the bed and groaned in pain. After a few seconds he sits up in bed and looks around...now confused. "...Where am I?"

"You're in the nurse's pavilion," I answer. "You had an accident and were brought here."

"Really? Ow!" Mido winced and brought a hand to his head. "Who...Who are you?"

Alright, time to see if this worked how I imagined. "I'm Elijah, I'm the one who brought you here."

"...Really?" He tilted his head. "Well, thanks, I guess."

"It's no problem," I turn to leave, feeling proud that my spell actually worked. He's completely forgotten who I am, and he shouldn't even know who Tsukuen and the others are. I know this may be cruel in the eyes of a few people, but people like him don't change their nature, so I did it for him.

"Hey, one thing before you go."

"Yeah?"

"...Do you know my name?"

"..." Oh, shit... Guess I still need some practice. Oh, well, at least he definitely won't be a problem now.

The next morning...

Settling back into my dorm room wasn't too bad, I'm just glad that my bed was still made just like I left it. Some of the snacks in my mini fridge expired but it wasn't a big deal, at least I still have my clothes. That reminds me, I wonder if Kurumu still has my old hoodie I gave her. I should ask her sometime.

I honestly felt like this was the first time I had a proper sleep in over a month, I guess that comes with the comfort that I feel...home. I hope things can go back on track sooner rather than later, Moka won't leave, I know that for a fact.

I wait outside the dorms for my friend, he should still be a little sore but healed up enough to where he can attend classes again. I'm actually looking forward to being back in Ms. Nekonome's class again. Now that I know that Mom and her were best friends back in the day, she's become someone else I want to look out for. I'll say this though, I kind of missed the uniform.

The front doors of the boy's dorms open, revealing my best friend's tired expression that slowly turned into a slightly shocked smile. "What's with that look?" I say with a smirk tugging at the corner of my mouth.

He chuckled. "I've gotten so used to walking to school alone, well, Moka shows up at the entrance, but..." Tsukune's nervous chuckle as he scratched the back of his head brings me a sense of comfort. "Well, I think you know what I'm trying to say."

"Haha. Yeah, I do. I missed you too," I offered a light punch to his shoulder and he returned it, making the Holy Lock around his wrist clink. Tsukune looks down at the trinket and lets out a long exasperated sigh. "Still don't believe it's happened to you, huh?"

"Yeah," He nodded. "I just... I still can't believe Moka tried to kill me."

"Well, you had turned into a Ghoul," I point out. "A monster that had only been a myth for over a century."

"What do you mean?" Tsukuen asked as we began our walk to the main building.

"Do you know what the concept of a ghoul is, Tsukuen?"

"...Well," A thought appeared in his head. "I know that in general media, they're monsters that eat human flesh, but that's all I know."

"Well, you're not wrong. Ghouls are those unfortunate enough to have too much monster blood injected into their bodies forcefully, only to be able to contain it and transform into a mindless killing machine."

"Jesus..."

"Yeah," I share my friend's worry. "Some have theorized that Ghouls are actually corpses that have been taken over by an evil spirit but no one has ever seen a Ghoul be awoken by this. So many have come to speculate that Ghouls are actually of Vampiric descent."

"So, if the Headmaster hadn't come along..."

I nod. "You would be roaming the earth as a mindless monster, forced to feed on innocent humans until someone came along to put you down."

"..."

Tsukune takes a moment to stop and take in everything I had to say. I know that it's a lot...I still can't even believe it myself, that, and the fact that I was this close to fighting Moka without a second thought. Do I really have a death wish?

"Honestly," Tsukune says bringing me out of my thoughts. "I'm a little grateful for Moka."

I tilted my head in confusion. "Why?"

"She didn't want me to suffer, or to hurt anyone," My friend smiles sadly. "Surely Moka cared enough for me to put me out of that kind of misery, right?"

"..." That's what he got from that? "Dude, she tried to kill you."

"I know, but..." He sighed. "I wouldn't want any of you to suffer like I would've. In a way, I'm grateful for her trying to end my misery."

"Come on, man," I say with concern. "don't just say that like your life is worth throwing away. I'm not saying I don't understand what you're saying, but I don't want you talking like you had no value to begin with."

"...Thanks, Elijah."

"It's no trouble, we are brothers, after all." I hold out my fist to him.

"..." Tsukune chuckled as he collided his knuckles into a fist bump. "Hell yeah, we are." We share a laugh as we continue down the dirt path. "...Hey, Elijah?"

"What's up?"

"I...said something really stupid during that fight with Mido, to Moka."

"What was it?"

"...Promise you won't say anything?"

"You have to ask?"

"Haha, fair enough..." Tsukuen scratched the back of his head. "Well, before Moka injected her blood into me, you're gonna laugh at me for this, but...I may or may not have said that I...loved her."

"..." He was right, I'm laughing at this. "Oh, wow. I never knew you were such a romantic!"

"Shut up, man! I'm serious!"

I take a second to catch my breath. "Okay, okay, I'm done, no more," I clear my throat, I need to be serious about this. "So, you finally said it, huh?"

Tsukune's cheeks flush with red. "Yes."

"I'm proud of you, dude," I punch him in the shoulder. "At least you actually said it. Sure, it wasn't the best time, but she's gotta know how you feel now, right?"

"..."

I sigh. I need to reassure my friend in this time of uncertainty. "Look, the truth is out there, all you can see is how the feeling grows between you, right?"

"...I guess."

"...If it's any consolation," If it's anyone I can trust with this, why not Tsukune? "I still don't know what I'm gonna do about my situation."

"Yeah, I don't know what I would do if I was told I was some sort of 'chosen one'."

"No, that's not what I meant," I sigh as I kick a pebble into a nearby tree. "not entirely anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"Alright, there's two things. First, you know that guy, Mido?" Tsukune nodded. "Well, he definitely isn't going to be a problem for us anymore."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well..." I scratch the back of my head as my voice pitches just a little higher. "let's just say that I...and you're gonna think this is hilarious, but I may have accidentally...wiped his entire memory."

"You what?!"

I expected that reaction. "Look, I didn't mean to! I was trying to make him forget his hatred for us so maybe the Monstrels would finally get off our backs!"

"But he doesn't even know who he is anymore?!"

"Look, man, magic is not exactly rocket science!"

Tsukune pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well, I'm not exactly happy with what happened, but...I guess it's nice to know he won't be a problem anymore. But, Elijah, try not to overdo it, alright? It's good to have you back and all, but we don't need you running off and getting yourself into trouble for our sakes."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry," I smile at my friend. "Thank you."

"Why are you thanking me?"

"For looking after the others while I was...well, you know. If there's anyone I trust to keep them all safe, it's you."

"Thanks, man, but I didn't really do much."

"Don't start that song again. You need to give yourself more credit, man. I honestly don't know what I would do if you weren't here to watch over them all," I'm reminded of the next thing I wanted to talk to him about. "Speaking of not knowing what to do..."

"What's wrong?"

"...Alright, there's no sugarcoating this so I'm just gonna come out and say it. I'm falling in love with Kurumu."

Tsukune's mouth slightly drops and his eyes widen. "For real?" His agape quickly turned into a smirk. "Who's the lover boy now?"

"Shut up, dude." I groan.

"I know, I'm just messing with you. But why are you so worried about that?"

"Because she has her eyes on you!" I say that more harshly than I intended. "I'm sorry," I think for a second about how to put my thoughts into words, I've been thinking about this ever since I woke up in Hong Kong.

"You know...she has her whole Destined One BS thing for you or she doesn't, I don't even know anymore. I started feeling this way before she even knew you were a human, or even when I first met her, I don't know. But I know that...I want her to look at me the way she does for you. I want to be the reason she smiles, I want to be the reason she gets out of bed in the morning, I want to be the light of her life, and I want her to be by my side when peace finally comes between the humans and monsters. I want...I want to be her Destined One."

"...Dude."

"And I can't do that if she's all over you. I know that you and Moka have each other but that didn't stop Kurumu from supposedly falling in love with you. Hell, even Yukari had a puppy crush on you, not to mention that Mizore has a thing for both of us. I still don't even know how that's even possible."

"Yeah, me neither. But...I wouldn't stress about it too much, man," Tsukune gives me a reassuring smile and places a supportive hand on my shoulder. "You have no idea how much your absence affected her, Kurumu missed you more than you could imagine. She even eased up a lot more on her affection towards me. Although, she still looks out for me like nothing's changed."

"I know you wouldn't do anything because you already have Moka, and I don't know what the hell we're gonna do about Mizore. Is this what it was like for you when you first met Moka, your brain just turns to mush and you can't even complete a coherent sentence?"

My lighthearted insult brings out a laugh from Tsukune. "Yeah, that's basically the long and short of it. I'm sure you'll figure it out, we both will."

I sigh. "I hope you're right."

"Hey, guys..."

Both of us turn around to the voice of our dear Vampire friend. I have a knowing smile on my face as Tsukune practically beamed. "Moka! Where have you been?! I was so worried!"

"...Tsukune," Moka lifted her head to meet his gaze, small tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Can I...stay? With you?"

"Moka..."

"Tsukune..."

"Hahahaha!" My laughing captured the lovebirds' attention. "Now there's something I did not expect to miss so much. Whoo! It's good to be back!" I wrap my arms around their necks in a tight hug. "Come on, you two."

We finally reached the front gates, immediately greeted with the familiar smiles from Mizore, Yukari, and Kurumu. Man, I missed that smile. Yukari is the first to react and she sprints right into Moka, hugging her tightly around her abdomen.

"Moka! You're back!"

"Hmm," Mizore hummed. "And here I thought you'd be gone for good."

"So you finally made up your mind, huh?" Kurumu questioned before she leaped onto Tsukune and me and hugged us both. "Well, it doesn't matter, I'm just happy to see my boys back together!"

"Yeah, it's good to have things back to the way they were, right, Elijah?"

I nod after being released from Kurumu's vice-like hug. "Hell yeah, it's good to be back home."

Hoo! Hoo!

"Huh?"

The sound of what only could be an owl gained my attention before I could start walking with the others. I looked around to try and find where it came from, but I only found the same dead trees and dying bushes around me. It's strange because we don't commonly see owls roam Yokai Academy, only bats, and the occasional rat or two.

Hoo! Hoo!

I hear it again, this time it's much closer than before. I look around again, only to- Oh, there you are! Above me, sitting on a tree branch stood a light-brown Ferruginous Pygmy Owl. "Huh, what's a creature like you doing out here?"

"What are you talking about?" I hear Kurumu ask me.

"There's an owl up there," I point out. "You don't see many of those around here."

"What's taking you two so long?!" Yukari joins us, and the others soon follow her. "At least tell me that..." She looked up at what caught our attention. "An owl? Why would an owl come here?"

Hoo! Hoo!

"Well, don't all of you keep staring at me at once!"

"..."

"Did that owl just...talk?"

The owl swooped down and hovered in front of us all. "Certainly a great deal better than you do!"

We're all taken aback by the owl's sassiness. "Hey, was that really necessary?" I ask.

The owl...rolled his eyes at me. "And here I was beginning to wonder if the Blessed Child would be madder than Merlin himself! And here he is cavorting with a Witch, a Vampire, a Snow Maiden, and a sex demon!"

"Hey!" Kurumu didn't like the owl's description of her. "Who are you calling a 'sex demon', you stupid bird?!"

"Who do you think you are?" Moka demanded.

The owl puffed out its chest before he landed on my shoulder. "I am Archimedes! A highly educated owl entrusted with looking after the Blessed Child. Although," He looked down at me and his beak smirked. "you don't look much like a Wizard, boy."

"...You know who I am?" I ignored his insult.

"Why, yes, I do! It took me longer to find you than expected, I went all the way to Hong Kong before I sensed you were here at this...'Academy'. I'll tell you, I don't know how you learn much from a place like this."

"You've been looking for me?"

"Yes, boy! Did you not hear me the first time?!" He pecked my forehead. "I'd like to know why you were in Hong Kong of all places in the world before you decided to tread back here to this...this...school!"

"Someone's sensitive," I hear Mizore whisper.

"Sensitive? Sensitive?! Who! Who?! What, what?!"

"Alright," I try to calm things down. "Archimedes, you said that you were assigned to 'look after me', but by who?"

"Why, but none other than Merlin himself!"

"Really?"

"Yes, even I thought he was mad when he told me. But I've seen his silly old glimpses into the future unfold before my very eyes. He once told me that man would fly one day, 'like a rock' I retorted." Archimedes laughed.

"I'm surprised he didn't have you stuffed!"

"Woah, Kurumu! Take it easy," I try to calm her down before I look back at Archimedes. "We all got off on the wrong foot, so how about we all just start over?"

The pygmy owl puffed out his feathers. "Very well, boy. Forgive my earlier intrusions, Succubus."

"...Whatever."

"Come one, you guys. We can talk about this bird later," Moka argued. "We're gonna be late!"

The others hurried themselves off to the school building, Kurumu looked at me and smiled before she joined them.

"I'll see you inside, okay?" She skipped away...and I couldn't be any happier knowing that I can make her smile.

"If you stare at that demon any longer, boy, you might fall under her spell."

I sigh blissfully as I watched Kurumu go on ahead, her sky-blue hair waved so elegantly in the morning breeze.

Who says I already haven't?