Surviving the first day at Yokai Academy, I trudged out of the hellhole that was the boy's dorm with a tired expression on my face since I had a lot of farming to do, mainly yokai roaches and rats from around the dorm while trying to avoid being spotted by any nocturnal high-threat Yokai student.
---[Core Stats]---
Strength: F (36/100)
Agility: F (38/100)
Vitality: E (36/100)
Intelligence: C (60/100)
The progress was evident, even if my strength and agility were at only F-tier, the incremental increase was the one I was noticing since Tsukune was no athlete, having a slim soyboy build, but apart from this I was satisfied with his handsome appearance.
The fact there was potential made my heart ache less.
Still, this new day was auspicious in the sense that I could remember the early plot of this Vampire anime, and with my route on the way to the Academy, I wondered if Moka had a long night just like myself.
My groggy introspection shattered as my eyes focused on a figure leaning casually against a gnarled tree by the path, like some B-movie delinquent.
"Yoo, wait up, ladykiller. You think I will let you off for making me look like a fool" he sneered, pushing off the tree which almost dropped to the ground "Waiting outside the school for our fight that never happened?"
Before I could react and get space between us, the monster did something smart and closed the distance and even grabbing me by the bowtie, raising me up effortlessly in the air, and for once I could feel gravity lose its effects on me, my toes barely scraping the dirt.
"Just who do you think you are," he growled, his foul pig breath washing over me, "to make the great Saizo Komiya-sama a fool? Ehhhh? Are you looking for death?" He shook me violently. "What's more, I heard you spent all your time together with Moka until the afternoon. Just who do you think you are to hang around such a hot babe?!"
"Do you think you're a big shot? What's your true nature, anyway?!"
He yanked me closer, his nose twitching as he sniffed the air near my color. His eyes narrowed with revulsion.
"You smell... off. Like those disgusting human males. Getting so close, I can almost taste the weakness."
"Heh, me a human? So stupid, just because I respect the rules of the academy and don't shapeshift into my true form you think you got an edge over me?"
"Then tell me, bastard, what type of yokai are you?"
"Why so curious?" I gritted out, meeting his glare. "Would it change anything for you?"
"Don't you fuck around with me, weakling." Saying that, Saizo threw a hand to my head full force, that I miraculously dodged, but Saizo revealed an interested expression.
"You... are a Vampire?"
I stayed silent, letting the accusation hang. It was a better shield than any denial I could muster.
"Don't you mess with me. A vampire is amongst the strongest yokais in the world. Rivaling the Devils of the Underworld, all of them are nobles. Don't make me laugh."
"And what if it is the truth? What are you going to do? Do you still want a fight?" I fired back, pouring every ounce of false confidence into it.
This made Saizo pause for a bit, but then, out of nowhere, as if he was a snake that picked up a target's scent, he looked down at me with disgust, as if I wasn't worth his time, and pushed me hard to the ground. Damn, it's still unreal how powerful a Yokai could be, like I'm being manhandled by a strongman champion or something.
"Hmph, it's a waste of time. You're such a weakling even as a Vampire. If I catch you near Moka again, or if you even speak to her, you're minced meat."
Hearing how this fucker didn't intend to end me on the spot, I could smell the bullshit in his threat. Let's see what he plans on doing.
Someone else had a similarly rough start to what should have been a bright new day.
Deep in the shadowed forest bordering the Academy, a beautiful pink-haired girl wandered aimlessly. Tears traced silent paths through the dust on her cheeks, her gem-like green eyes downcast and hollow.
"It can't be true," she whispered to the uncaring trees, her voice trembling. "A human? Here? The teachers... the Headmaster... they would know. They'd sense it."
She hugged herself, nails digging into her arms. "Why? Why would he say that? Why play with me like this, Tsukune?"
The dam broke. Sobs wracked her frame as she sank to her knees, the loneliness she thought she'd escaped crashing back with crippling force. "Even though I really hate humans after going to their school. After experiencing so much bullying there. After all the loneliness. I felt different from everyone, having to suppress my impulses of drinking blood. Like I shouldn't even be there."
"I finally managed to make a friend... I think it's the first real first I made in my entire life, and now..."
"For the first time in my life, I didn't feel all alone anymore. That I had someone behind me to talk with and just be for me."
She remembered the simple, easy way he'd talked to her. The lack of fear or revulsion. A fresh wave of agony hit her. "And now... I'll be all alone again."
She said that while wrapping her arms around herself in a pitiful state, even dropping to her knees while crying like a lost little girl whose heart was heartbroken.
"Heh? And what brings a delicate flower like you out here... all alone?"
The voice, oily and familiar, sliced through her misery. Her head snapped up, tears freezing on her lashes. "S-Saizo?!"
The blonde bully stepped from behind a thick tree trunk, a leer twisting his features. "If you're lonely, I can take care of that." His tongue darted out, wetting his lips, and she saw his boar-like lower fangs begin to protrude.
Before she could scramble back, his hand shot out, wrapping around her wrist in an iron grip. "Aaahhh!" With a cruel laugh, he yanked her to her feet and then shoved her back down, sending her sprawling.
"Heh, I'm serious," he said, his voice thickening. "Your beauty is on a whole different level from the human girls I've played with!" Driven by a sick excitement, he ripped off his vest and tore the buttons from his white shirt. "I want you to be my girl, Akashiya Moka!"
"S-Saizo?" Moka was still affected by her heartache, but got stunned by the blonde guy transforming into his true form.
"Whoops," Saizo chuckled, his body beginning to swell and darken. "When I get excited, I can't stay in this form. Gotta release all this... pent-up desire."
His transformation erupted, his muscles bulging, skin toughening to a grey hide, tusks curving from his jaw. He stood before her as a full Japanese Orc, the expression of a deranged, perverted rapist freshly brought from a netorare doujin.
"Your hot body is meant to be mine."
"N-No... Stay away from me!" Moka scrabbled backward on her hands. "Someone! HELP!"
Moka never experienced such an incident in her sheltered life, and could feel the danger in her body, as this guy wasn't just the bully type he experienced in the human world that just mocked her appearance, her meek and bland personality.
"Hahaha, it's kinda breaking the school rules," he mused, stepping closer, his shadow engulfing her. "But I will make sure you'll not tell anyone after I take some photos of your state once I have my fun with you. So, what do you want to start with? Ahh, yeah, let's begin with some foreplay. Wanna make out? I'm quite good at French." He loomed over her, a long, grotesque tongue unfurling.
Moka trembled, frozen on the ground, and while weakly mumbling under her breath for help, she could only think of one single person, as the image of that black-haired youngster standing before her while confronting the same monster was fresh.
As Saizo reached for her, she squeezed her eyes shut and poured every ounce of her desperation into a single scream:
"Noo! Stay away from me!!! TSUKUNEEE!! HELP ME!!"
"Hehehe, don't be afraid. I know you'll enjoy—GYAAAGH!"
A sharp THWACK cut him off. Saizo reeled back, clutching his right eye where a rock, thrown with surprising force, had struck true. A line of thick, dark blood seeped between his fingers.
"I knew you were up to something, you fucking swine," a calm, cold voice stated from the tree line. "Can't help that little-dick energy when you see a girl alone, can you?"
Moka's eyes flew open. Tsukune! She stumbled away from the stunned orc, falling once more.
Warm, steadying hands caught her this time, pulling her close, wrapping a protective arm around her shoulders. She looked up into his calm face, his even breath, but set with a fierce determination.
"Tsukune!! Why?!" she cried, confusion combined with overwhelming relief. "Why did you come to help me?! I thought… thought you were only playing with me. I thought you left!"
He gave her a look that was almost... exasperated? "Why would I leave? This place is a prime grinding spot."
"But... why?" Her voice dropped to a pained whisper. "You're a... You wouldn't want to help a monster like me. How could you want to be friends with the likes of me?"
Hearing the self-loathing in her voice, a surge of protective anger washed over him. He shook his head and gently flicked her porcelain forehead. "Silly girl. When did I say I didn't want to be friends? Besides," he said, his gaze shifting to the recovering Saizo, his voice hardening, "what kind of man…what kind of friend would I be if I didn't come when you called?"
"NO, Tsukune! RUN!" she pleaded, clutching his sleeve. "You can't face Saizo in his true form! You're too weak!"
"Hey, that's hurtful," he said, a ghost of a smirk on his lips. He reached into his green vest. "I even came prepared."
In one fluid motion, he drew two heavy kitchen knives and hurled one at the orc with a grunt of effort. It wasn't graceful, but it was direct. The blade sank into the meat of Saizo's midsection with a sickening thunk.
"URGHH! You fucking 'Vampire'!" Saizo roared, more in anger than agony. He ripped the knife free, dark blood welling from the wound. He examined it, then let out a derisive laugh. "Hehehe! Is this how the mighty Vampire race fights? So weak! You didn't even hit anything vital!" He tossed the bloody knife aside. "You're trash. Even an Orc like me outpowers you."
The insulting laughter drew a dark, chilling chuckle from Tsukune. Gripping his remaining knife, he watched the Orc's muscles twitch. "Moka, MOVE!"
He shoved her clear just as Saizo charged, a living battering ram of rage and horny impulse. Tsukune threw himself into a desperate dive-roll, the orc's tusk grazing his side and tearing his jacket. He came up panting, the world narrowed to the beast before him.
"NOO!! Tsukune, you have to run! It's impossible!" Moka screamed from the sidelines.
"I'm good," he huffed, breath coming in ragged gasps, his body screaming from the impact and the close call. He never took his eyes off Saizo, who was turning for another charge. "Think about how to save yourself, Moka-chan. This might get messy."
'This is what I wanted, so I don't want to hear myself bitching.'
'This is just an C-tier Threat, not like the A-tier or higher ranked monsters that I can't even think on how to defeat as I am right now.'
My world shrank to the hulking form of Saizo. The Orc's charge sent a tremor through the earth, and when his momentum got unstoppable I threw myself sideways, not so graceful as I did a desperate roll.
Saizo's tusk ripped through the air at the spot where my head had been before, tearing a long gash in a tree trunk instead.
'Phew, that was close. My human size and agility are barely enough to not get killed.'
I scrambled to my feet, and prepared for another attack from the Orc.
Saizo turned not with speed, but with an inevitable attack. He swiped a tree-trunk arm that I ducked under. My heartbeat increased to an alarming rate as I saw death before me with the wind of the blow ruffling my hair.
Yet, in perilous moments, there was always a window of action. Tightening my grip on the knife, I lunged forward, driving the weapon with all my might into the Orc's thigh, aiming to cut a sensitive nerve, the peroneal nerve, that could give me an advantage.
The blade bit into his flesh—good—but as I pushed with all my body, its cold blade stopped. It felt like I was stabbing a truck tire filled with concrete. Saizo barely flinched.
A meaty hand closed around my wrist, a big mistake of mine since I didn't abandon my weapon and tried to push my luck.
Bone ground against bone. A sickening crack echoed.
"URGHHHH! MOTHERFUCKING SWINE!"
The white-hot agony laced my arm, and I could even see my right arm's bone from the opened wound.
"Is that all? Pathetic," Saizo grunted, and with a contemptuous flick, sent me flying, crashing into the base of a pine tree.
The impact drove the breath out of my lungs with a pained wheeze. Stars exploded in my vision as I slid down, tasting copper in my mouth.
'Fucking hell, this difference between strength is enormous.'
'I think I broke my ribs apart from my wrist. My back is also bruised.'
"Tsukune!!" Moka's scream was filled with terror seeing my current state.
Looking up, I could see Saizo looming over me. The Orc's eyes held no cunning, only simple raw power.
"I thought about letting you live and have you watch me deflower this Goddess. But, who knows what other tricks you might have, so I'll send you off. So much for a proud, immortal vampire."
'So this is how it ends? The initial success in grinding roaches and yokai rats was just an illusion of success, now it all ends, stomped by a horny pig.'
'Come on, Big G, awaken the Sacred Gear, and I'll skewer this pig in an instant.'
The raised foot of the large Orc, aimed to stomp at my chest, and no miracle was triggered from my body, just a large, foolish miscalculation on arrogance on my side.
"STOP!"
Moka threw herself between them, her arms spread wide, shielding Tsukune with her own body. She was trembling, tears streaming down her face, but her voice held a desperation that forced her to defend her only friend, even if he was a human.
"Don't touch him! Please, Saizo, just stop!"
The Orc paused, his lust momentarily overriden by annoyance. "Get out of the way, girl. Your turn is next."
"No!" Moka cried, her mind racing. She couldn't fight him. She was too weak, too scared. But there was another her. The one locked away by the Rosary. The one her mother had sealed to give her a peaceful life amongst humans. It was that dark power that even scared her that she wanted to wield.
She turned, falling to her knees beside Tsukune. His vision was blurry from the pain, but he could see her face, streaked with dirt and tears.
"Tsukune... stay with me." she pleaded, her voice frantic. "You have to... you have to take the rosary off my chest!"
She grabbed his uninjured hand, pressing it around the cold, ornate metal of the rosary cross sealed over her heart. The touch sent a jolt through him; it was a warm but cold pulse that contradicted itself.
"This... this seal... it holds my other self back. When I take off this Rosary, I get really scary." Her words tumbled out in a desperate rush and as tears streamed from her eyes, she also apologized.
"I'm sorry Tsukune. I didn't realize that by being friends with you, I would put you in danger."
"It's okay. It's not your fault." I managed to grit out, blood bubbling on my lips.
"Please... you have to try! Pull it! Or he'll kill you! He'll... He'll..."
"Tsk, enough with all of this drama!" Saizo snapped as he roared, reaching for her shoulder to fling her aside.
'Would it even work? While it is true I like Moka, it's not to the extent of the previous guy. I'm different from the wimp, my mind is different. What I like and enjoy is different. My kinks are way different.'
'I'm not letting this happen. So many hot galls waiting for me. If I die, at least I die trying.'
"Moka, get closer." I gritted out, blood on my teeth.
She obeyed without hesitation, leaning in. Her tear-filled eyes were inches from mine, her cleavage exposed as she presented the rosary, and with my fingers curling around the cross, I pulled it.
For a heart-stopping second, nothing happened. Then a faint, crimson light glowed from beneath my fingers.
The Rosario came away in my hand, and with a relieved expression I closed my eyes as a sudden shockwave of crimson energy erupted from Moka, blowing my hair back and making Saizo stagger.
Moka's head bowed; her pink hair began to lighten at the roots, shifting to a silvery-white as the aura of crimson energy snapped around her. Her body also became more voluptuous, curves becoming more pronounced, and the charm she was exuding was soul-stealing, but at this point, it was irrelevant.
She looked down at me, her initial expression one of mild surprise that quickly melted into an icy indifference. Her new eyes, a blazing, mesmerizing crimson, held no trace of the girl I knew.
"You," she stated, her voice a cold melody that resonated in my bones. "You foolish, reckless idiot. You dared to fight a monster in my place? With this?" Her gaze flicked to my ruined arm with a disdain that was somehow more painful than the injury itself. "You have caused her… me… a great deal of distress."
But then, as she took in my battered, defiant expression, the frost in her eyes softened, just a fraction. She knelt, her movements fluid and predatory. A cold, delicate hand reached out and stroked my bloodied cheek, the touch paradoxically gentle.
"However," she murmured, her voice softening to a whisper only I could hear, "you stood when you could have fled. You bled for her. For us." A hint of something like wonder touched her lips. "Her first true friend… and perhaps, mine as well. Do not worry, Tsukune. I will… protect what is mine."
The shift was absolute. Where the pink-haired Moka had been a trembling mess, this silver-haired Moka stood as a Vampire Queen, domineering and full of confidence. Her silvery-white hair lifted as if caught in a silent wind.
She then turned her blazing eyes on Saizo, who took an unconscious step back, his brutish face slack with dread when he felt the immense amount of Demonic Energy.
"And you, you dared to lay a hand on what is mine? Learn your place, trash."
Saizo's bravado evaporated, replaced by the gut-deep instinct of prey recognizing an apex predator. "W-What is this? What did you do, you little..."
He didn't get to finish as Moka appeared in a flash before him. One moment she was ten feet away the next she was an inch from his snout, her movements leaving afterimages of rose-colored light. Her hand, delicate and pale, shot out and closed around his thick throat.
The gurgle of his threat cut off mid-sentence, as she lifted such monster effortlessly.
"You," she began, her voice a chilling melody. "You even thought of tainting me? Trash like you doesn't even deserve to dream of licking my boots, and yet here you are, standing before me."
Her crimson eyes flashed. "Learn. Your. Place. Scum."
With a contemptuous flick of her wrist, she threw him. Not aside, but up. Saizo shot skyward like a fleshy rocket, and then she also jumped, delivering a powerful kick that almost removed all the life from his large body, sending him flying, crashing through branches with a series of cracks, before plummeting back to earth.
Tsukune watched, propped against the tree, pain momentarily forgotten and even the scolding he received.
[Name: Akashiya Moka]
[Threat Level: S (Shinso Vampire)]
'Holy hell. I think… I'm more attracted to this side of her. This is bad. This is very, very bad for my health.'
Inner Moka was already standing over the crater, where Saizo lay, groaning. She placed a single, delicate foot on his chest.
"You will leave us alone." she started with a cold tone, ignoring any of his groans, putting more weight on her foot. "You will never look in my direction, not even speak of my name. If you do, I will kill you for good."
A rib audibly creaked from the pressure she applied. Saizo wheezed, his eyes rolling back from the pain, but he still managed a jerky nod.
"Good."
With a final, disdainful look, she stepped off him and turned away, as if he were already forgotten litter. Her crimson gaze found Tsukune who she couldn't help but notice hisb new look, not of terror, fear, or disgust, no, it was an emotion she never experienced, was it fascination? Bewitchment?
A faint, almost imperceptible smirk touched her lips. It pleased her.
"Hey, babe," I grunted, forcing the words through the pain. "Could you… hnngh… help me up? Bring me over to him."
She arched a perfect eyebrow. "Heh. What for, you insufferable fool? You are in no state for vengeance." The edge in her voice had softened, replaced by a thread of genuine curiosity.
"No need… to know. Just help… your friend in need." I met her crimson stare, a flicker of my own stubbornness cutting through the haze of pain. "Unless you plan… on turning me into a vampire right now… this is the only help I want."
She sighed but didn't decline my request. In a flash, she was beside me, her movements so fast they seemed to disregard space. Gently, far more gently than her demeanour suggested, she slid an arm under my shoulders and lifted me as if I weighed nothing. The scent of roses from her drifting silver hair filled my senses.
She carried me to the edge of the crater where Saizo lay.
I slumped against her for support, my legs useless. With my good left hand, I reached down, my fingers fumbling until they closed around the hilt of my knife still embedded in the orc's thigh.
When I pulled it up, Saizo's bloodshot eyes rolled toward me, filled with dawning horror.
"P-P… Please…"
"I… was wrong…" he forced out, each syllable a agony. "Stupid… I was stupid! You… you're strong! You're the strong one! She's yours! She's all yours!"
A desperate, wheezing attempt at a placating grin twisted his ruined face into a grotesque mask. "J-Just… let me crawl away. I'll disappear. You'll never see me again. I swear on my clan's name!"
His eyes darted frantically between my face and Moka's impassive one, searching for any hint of clemency. "I… I have money! Women! Cars! Things! In the human world! I can get you anything! Just… please…"
I met his panicked, bloodshot gaze. All the pain in my body, the frustration of my weakness culminating in this final act.
"You know what, pig?" By this point, my voice turned hoarse from all the blood I had coughed up. "I only know one type of good orc." I met his gaze, pouring all my pain, my frustration, and all my craziness and detachment from this world.
"That one is a dead one."
With that escaping my lips, I drove the blade under his jaw, slashing his throat.
Losing my balance, I slipped and dropped pitifully to the ground, covering myself in dirt and blood.
'Ahh, all this drama, I can't say I hate it or enjoy it. Being weak sucks absolute ass. It's the same flavor of miserable as being dirt poor.'
If you told Moka I intended to do that, she would never believe you. She granted the orc a sliver of mercy, not feeling like dirtying her hands over an pig dreaming of eating swan meat. She did enough damage to break Saizo from inside out. This was the method of a prideful noble Vampire.
'But me? I am human. A frail mannequin with broken pieces of flesh clinging to it.'
It conflicted with everything she knew about humans. They were weak. Pathetically so. Cowardly. Greedy. Their hearts were small, capable of immense pettiness and breathtaking cruelty. And this boy… he had seemed the epitome of that normalcy. Common. Unremarkable.
Until now.
Until she felt the last of Saizo's lifeline being cut and he took his last breath, and she saw Tsukune's body recover all of a sudden, with a large influx of Demonic Energy and Mana washing over him.
All the wounds, including broken bones, started to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye, which was unnatural for a simple human like Tsukune.
She watched everything quietly, not judging this darker side of the kind human that even bled for her safety. But once more in a single day, she was left shocked. The first time was when Tsukune managed to remove her Rosary, which even she couldn't force off without risking losing her other personality, while the second shock was taking place right in front of her.
Tsukune pushed himself up from the bloody dirt, moving with a fluid ease that belonged to a different person. He rolled his shoulders, flexed his hands, and let out a long, satisfied breath.
"This feeling is otherworldly," he murmured, his voice clear and strong. "My body feels lighter. I think I could punch a hole in a tree."
[You have slain a Butato, gaining a part of its essence.]
---[Core Stats]---
Strength: E (36/100)
Agility: E (38/100)
Vitality: D (36/100)
Intelligence: C (60/100)
---[Supernatural Stats]---
Mana: C (50/100)
'Sigh, the first tutorial Boss has been cleared. For now, I'll have to resume my grind. At least, with this increase in power, I can better fake it as a monster myself without revealing any 'True Face'.'
'Man, this sensation is completely different from being on drugs. The dopamine dump is beyond words.'
Standing there before the dead body of the Orc, which suddenly shifted to ash, similar to the pest yokai I hunted while in the dormitory.
Inner Moka finally spoke, her voice a low, intrigued hum in the quiet forest. "I have never seen such a thing in my life. Nor have I heard of such cases. You are a human, right? So, I can only assume… that is the power of a Sacred Gear?"
"Hmmm? Not entirely, but you can say it's related to the blessing of a God." I glanced at her, giving her a cryptic smile.
"Interesting. It's been years since I woke up from my sleep, and I don't feel bad one bit."
Moka got closer to me and watched my face with that type of predatory curiosity. She bared her fangs almost threateningly while asking me, "Aren't you afraid of me...?"
I didn't flinch, just met her gaze head-on in a calm manner. "...Afraid? Not really. But honest?" I let the pause hang, a smirk of my own forming. "I think I like this you better than the bubbly one."
"... Is that so?"
"Yeah. Don't get me wrong, I like the whole package. But you…" I gestured vaguely at her. "You have the edge."
"Ohh?" A dark, amused chuckle escaped her. "Are you trying to charm me? You should stop trying, I'm not the naive type like that weakling who only knows how to cry."
"Worth a try," I shrugged, the motion casual. "But I'm serious. I might have a crush on you."
"If so," she countered, leaning in until our faces were inches apart, "aren't I supposed to get a reward? I did pull the heavy weight for you. I won your fight, after all."
"That's a bit unfair." I protested, but there was no heat in it. "I told you that if you get all close with me, others will react like rabid dogs. I expected this to happen, but I just awakened my powers so I'm relatively weak."
"Excuses, Tsukune," she whispered, her breath cool against my skin. "I do not care what you told that weakling. This is something you owe me."
I held her gaze for a long moment. Then, with a resigned sigh that wasn't really resigned at all, I tilted my head, exposing the column of my neck, where some punctures from yesterday were already faint silver scars.
"... Fine." I closed my eyes inviting the hot babe at a feast "It's all yours."
"Atta boy," she murmured, satisfaction dripping from every syllable. "I cannot let that weakling be ahead of me when it comes to what is mine."
"... I heard that."
"Ouch. Easy, I'm not going anywhere."
Inner Moka sank her fangs, and her bite actually stang a bit unlike the pink-haired Moka, but it wasn't to the point of crying about.
She embraced me tightly as she drank, one arm wrapped firmly around my back, holding me close. After a long, quiet moment, she withdrew her fangs with a soft, sighing sound. A single drop of crimson welled up, which she caught with her thumb before it could trail down my neck.
She looked up at me, a mesmerizing, truly satisfied smile on her perfect face. "Thank you for the meal." She licked her lips slowly. "You are really sweet and tasty, Tsukune."
Suddenly, she let out a delicate, unconcealed yawn, her formidable aura dimming slightly. "Sorry. It has been a while since I was awakened… I am still drowsy." She plucked the rosary from my vest pocket, the rosary gleaming in her pale fingers.
She held it up, ready to place the lock back over her heart.
Her crimson eyes met mines one last time, the warmth gone, replaced by a stern, almost protective warning. "Be careful. If I find you doing something this reckless again, you will be in a world of pain."
"Me? I'm the opposite of the word recklessness. Next time I will plan my hunts better."
"You had better," she said, her voice growing softer, more distant. The silvery glow around her began to fade. "I would be… angry… to see you hurt again. Just keep babysitting that weakling, 'kay?" Her form began to blur at the edges. "Until we meet again… my destined one."
"Sweet dreams, my Countess," I whispered, still trying to rizz her up.
A final, breathy laugh escaped her as she dissolved into a shimmer of pink light. "Pffff. Silly man. I am not a Countess… I am a Duchess."
"Yes, yes, bye babe."
The ethereal light coalesced, condensed, and settled like falling cherry blossoms. Before me, the pink-haired beauty materialized, her knees buckling instantly. I caught her effortlessly.
"Sigh, how can one sleep so peacefully with everything happening?" I adjusted my hold, one arm under her knees, the other supporting her back. She was lighter than I expected.
The idea of carrying her straight to class flitted through my mind, but it was immediately dismissed. After the morning's fiasco, the thought of sitting through lectures on Yokai-Human Relations while covered in dried blood held zero appeal.
A mental health day was in order.
I found a relatively clean patch of grass under a large, gnarled tree at the clearing's edge and carefully sat down, leaning back against the trunk. I settled Moka beside me, her head naturally lolling to rest on my shoulder. In the dappled sunlight, she looked utterly at peace, the worry lines from her tears completely smoothed away.
Looking down at her serene face, a strange tenderness washed over me. Gently, I reached out and brushed a few stray strands of pink hair from her forehead, tucking them neatly behind her delicate ear. Her skin was cool, like porcelain.
"I'll let today slide," I said softly, more to myself than to her sleeping form. My gaze drifted to the Rosary now securely locked over her heart. "Since the annoyance has been taken care of. Permanently." My voice hardened, losing all its softness, becoming cold.
"And that's how you handle certain enemies. You offer second chances only to those who show a shred of redeemability. A pig like that, who's forced himself on who knows how many girls…" I shook my head, the memory of Saizo's leering face crystal clear. "Creatures like that don't deserve mercy. They only understand one language."
"Violence."
For the next half hour, the clearing was silent save for the rustle of leaves and Moka's steady breathing. I busied myself reexploring the System Interface and Status Window, theorizing in my head if I would unlock any new abilities or if it was just a Mana increase.
Throughout it all, Moka slept soundly, using my shoulder as her personal pillow, seemingly comforted by the solid presence beside her.
Sniff… Sniff… A small, sleepy sound escaped her. "Mmm… smells so good…"
Her eyelashes fluttered. She blinked owlishly, her wide, gem-like green eyes swimming with soft confusion as she took in her surroundings… the tree, the clearing, and most importantly, our compromising position.
A vibrant blush instantly painted her cheeks as she realized her head was nestled against my neck. She swayed slightly as she tried to sit up straight, utterly flustered.
"T-Tsukune-san?"
She looked at me, then around the peaceful clearing, the memory of the violent confrontation clearly missing. "What… what happened? Did my… my scary side… take care of Saizo?" Her eyes then scanned me with urgent worry, looking for injuries that were no longer there. "Are you… okay?"
I stood up smoothly, then struck a playful "look-at-me" pose with my arms, and remarked with a smirk, "See for yourself. Not a scratch."
I let the pose drop and offered her a hand up. "Everything's okay now. Better than okay, actually." I pulled her gently to her feet. "So, here's the important question: Do you still feel like going to class, or do you want to play hooky with me today?"
"Skip classes?" she gasped, the very concept seeming to scandalize her diligent nature. "Tsukune-san, that's… that's bad!"
I couldn't help but chuckle at her horrified expression. "Alright, alright. How about a compromise? The library. We can say we're doing… independent research. How does that sound?"
The tension melted from her shoulders. A shy, relieved smile touched her lips, and she gave a small, decisive nod. Her fingers, almost unconsciously, found the sleeve of my jacket and gave it a tiny tug.
"...If it's with you, Tsukune," she said softly, her gaze warm, "then I'll tag along."