Swallowing hard, Outer Moka blinked, the internal world receding as the physical one came back into focus—the soft moss, the dappled morning light, and Tsukune's patient, smiling face looking at her with concern.
"Moka? You spaced out for a second. You okay?"
She took a deep breath, the echoes of the fierce internal debate still humming in her veins. The warmth of his friendship was now intertwined with a thrilling, terrifying new awareness: she was not the only one falling for him.
"Tsukune-san," she said, her voice softer than usual, laced with a new resolve. "She… she wants to see you. It's time." Her hand rose almost unconsciously to touch the rosary at her chest. "She wants you to remove the seal."
A playful glint entered Tsukune's eye. "Is that so? Then she can wait a bit more. No need to hurry, since I want you to feel comfortable with switching personalities. After all, it would be a disaster if both of you girls got into a conflict."
Her heart fluttered at his concern. "It's fine, Tsukune. Thank you, but I've gotten used to it. I don't get as drowsy or fall asleep right away anymore. I can stay… present, in a way."
He reached out and gently tucked a loose strand of pink hair behind her ear, his fingers barely brushing her skin. "Heh, that's great news for both of us. I remember the first few times, you'd sleep for hours after switching back." His touch sent a jolt through her.
"Cheer for me while you spectate, 'kay?"
Moka's breath hitched at the touch, and she nodded like a tiny chick pecking on a seed.
"I always cheer for you, Tsukune!" she declared, her earlier melancholy replaced by fierce loyalty. Then, her expression turned serious. "Make sure you don't get hurt by Inner. She might be… rougher today."
"Ohh," I said, feigning a dramatic wince. "I think I'd rather postpone getting beaten up."
We both chuckled, as I could find humor even in my own misfortune, and as for Moka, she could hear Inner complain about beating up Tsukune with extra 'care'.
Then, in a sudden, playful move, Moka grabbed my wrist. "No postponing!" she giggled, trying to guide my hand toward the rosary's clasp over her chest, as I pretended to resist, playing the part of a reluctant father going to buy milk, all pretense to escape responsibility.
"Come on! She's waiting!"
With a final, theatrical sigh of defeat, I let her guide my fingers, brushing past the silky fabric of her tracksuit, tracing her developed peaks, at the expense of Moka blushing. The cool, ornate metal of the clasp met my touch. With a soft, decisive click, it opened. I withdrew the cross, its weight familiar and heavy with implication, and tucked it safely into my trouser pocket.
The world shifted. Before me, the soft, green focus in Moka's eyes transformed into mesmerizing crimson gemstones.
Her posture, a moment ago awkward and loose, snapped into a line of regal, effortless poise. The pink tracksuit suddenly looked like it started to hug the curves of her body tighter than before.
However, as it was a habit I had built over this month, my gaze drifted to her body, admiring all that the creator had gifted, and still wondering how her assets increased. Must be some demonic juju.
Anyway, just as I took my time to admire perfection, I suddenly felt goosebumps all over my body as her pairs of crimson eyes glared at me. Was it that time of the month when she's on the cycle?
'Are Vampiresses even experiencing the natural cycle for human girls?'
'Urgh, now I kinda understand what Outer Moka implied.'
I saw the change instantly and took two automatic, sharp steps back, my entire body shifting from the casual ease I had with Outer Moka into a purely defensive stance. The morning air dropped several degrees just from her expression turning colder.
"Ahem," I began, forcing a casual tone that rang hollow. "Is something wrong, babe? You're glaring at me for no reason…"
Moka scoffed, a sound of pure aristocratic disdain. The annoyance of being exposed by her 'weaker' half still simmered within her, and now facing the same man who had stirred confusing, unwelcome questions in her own heart… it was intolerable. But she was the Heiress of the Shuzen house. She would not show such vulnerability.
"Your tedious 'bonding session' is over," Inner Moka stated, her voice a blade of chilled silk. "You have indulged the weakling long enough. Now, you will show me your progress. Immediately."
The weekly routine resumed.
This was their arrangement, in the way that Inner Moka would spar with Tsukune, assessing his grasp of the Vampiric Techniques she had begun to teach him, mainly the fundamentals of movement, leverage, and killing intent that even a human with sufficient speed and strength could theoretically employ.
It was less about teaching him her power, and more about leveraging his own strengths using the knowledge she had of Vampire Techniques.
'Here we go,' I thought, the last vestiges of ease evaporating.
I didn't answer. When she got into the 'Moka-sensei~' mindset, and I was trying to tease and rizz her, it would just result in my bones broken. Ask me why, just do it you bastards, see me how I am about to punch you into oblivion.
Mental punch
'Don't hold me back, bro. I can see those smirking bastards!'
'Sigh, thanks to my supernatural human body, I could now be fine without gritting my teeth in pain from broken ribs.'
Looking at how the yoki around her started to flash with her ominous crimson energy, I took two more deliberate steps back, widening my stance, which was a modified boxer's stance.
"Already decided to start running from me?" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcastic amusement. "That is rather hurtful, Tsukune. And here I thought you were making strides in courage."
"I'm not running," I countered, my eyes locked on hers, a small, defiant smirk playing on my lips. "I'm just setting up my trap card. You taught me that creating space is a form of control, right?"
She arched a perfect eyebrow. "A 'trap card'? How… dull. Your human games will not save you from a fundamental lack of speed." Her smirk was colder, sharper than mine. "But by all means, set your trap. Let us see if you can spring it before you are flat on your back."
She didn't give me a signal. One moment she was standing there, a statue of disdainful beauty. The next, she was simply gone from my frontal vision.
'Man, I still can't see her movements when she goes full-throttle.'
'Left.'
My instincts screamed as I felt the subtle touch of wind on my skin, instincts honed by a month of getting my ass kicked. I pivoted on my right foot, bringing my left forearm up in a frantic, high guard.
THWACK.
Her fist—open-palmed, she was being 'gentle'—connected with my forearm. The impact vibrated up the bone, rattling my teeth, and if this was my first spar it might end up with a broken forearm. Sometimes I just felt like quitting the spar and just ran in circles, but this wouldn't be me, even against an S-tier Super Yokai I would still give my best.
I knew half of the reason she was going hard on me, because she wasn't the single S-tier Yokai of this Academy, and if by my already established terrible luck I get on the nerves of say, a Nazi Kyubi because I smell tantalizingly human, I have to know how to defend myself, escape this monster infested place and regroup myself for the future.
The world was big, so why settle only in this small place called Yokai Academy.
I didn't try to absorb the impact, since it would be a noobs mistake which once again leads to broken bones, instead I redirected, letting the force spin me a quarter-turn, using the momentum to lash out with a right-handed backfist toward where her ribs should be.
'Finally my patience proves dividends. Take this, you bat!'
'Or… where is she?'
'Chikushou!'
They weren't there. She'd flowed around the strike like water, appearing on my now-exposed right side. Her monstrous speed was cheating in itself, and my ribs wanted to write an official protest, but as things were in life, nothing was fair.
Her sharp, precise jab landed on my floating ribs, even if she didn't go ham with her 100% strength. I could tell that it was her usual 25%~50% range, as she specified that going full power would be akin to bullying him.
A whizzing gasp escaped me. Not enough to crack anything—but enough to light a fire of pain in my side and steal my breath.
'Keep moving.'
'Don't be a stationary target, she'll take advantage of this.'
I pushed off, creating distance, my eyes never leaving her. She didn't chase. She just tilted her head, a silent, bored 'Is that all?'
'Abominable bat, I am just starting.'
'It seems you want to dance with me.'
'Heh, let's make Madara proud of me.'
In general this was the dance. We'll go through all the motions she taught me to practice in my spare time, which was plenty of hours of misfortune. They were fundamentals she learned when she was younger and usually all of the Vampires of the Shuzen House would learn, including the servants, such as a unique footwork, style of guarding, pain tolerance and above all else their situational awareness.
If you think outside the box, I could be viewed like a rat not knowing that I was endlessly going in circles in a maze, and she was the cat lazily swiping through the walls to scare the shit out of me.
She came again, a blur of pink and white, from the pink tracksuit and silver ponytail. This time, a low kick aimed at my lead leg. I checked it with my shin, the thud echoing dully, and I could count the small fissures going in the bone.
'Damn it, I have to counter fast!'
My mind screamed. As her leg retracted, I shot forward, leading with a left jab to her face, more to disrupt than damage.
She leaned back, the punch missing by a millimeter. My right followed, a cross aimed at her chin. She caught it. Not blocked—caught. It was to be expected; her perception was greater than mine. To her, my moves felt like going in slow-motion, but again, can't you limit yourself to my level?
Her hand closed around my fist, stopping it dead. Her crimson eyes held a glint of… amusement?
With effortless, terrifying strength, she used my own forward momentum to pull me off-balance, yanking me toward her while her other hand came up in a palm strike aimed at my solar plexus.
'Kuso.'
I couldn't stop the pull. So I went with it, adding my own jump to close the distance faster than she expected. Her palm strike landed, but not squarely. I'd turned my body at the last second, taking it on the meat of my pectoral muscle instead of the nerve center. It still hurt like hell, a deep, bruising ache, but I was inside her guard.
My free left hand shot up, grabbing the wrist of the hand holding my right. I dropped my weight, pulling down and twisting, and in that moment I thought of myself as a Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt. It was a basic standing arm-drag I'd learned in my brief MMA stint. Against a human, it might have worked.
Against Moka, it was like trying to drag down a marble column. She didn't budge.
"Would it wound your pride so deeply," I gritted out, straining against her immovable grip, "to come down and dance in the mud with me for real?"
But she did let go of my fist, a flash of genuine surprise in her eyes at the unfamiliar, grappling-style move. "I do not know where you learned that… thing," she said, her voice laced with disdainful curiosity. "It was… ingenious, but you are still too slow and weak to think you can take me down."
I disengaged, skipping back, breathing heavily. My side throbbed, my chest ached, but a fierce grin pulled at my lips. I'd gotten in close. I'd made her release me. Tiny victories.
"Far better than before," she conceded, her voice cutting through the sound of my panting. She stood perfectly poised, not a hair out of place, not a single breath labored. "I grant you a passing grade on the fundamentals." She halted her advance, her gaze becoming lecturing.
"However, theory without its base perfected is usually for those fools who only know how to boast about their so-called might."
"If you got that, then let us move to the core. Demonstrate the Shuken no Ippatsu(Crimson Fang Fist). Show me you have not wasted my time, Tsukune."
Her command cut through the ache in my ribs. Right. So, she's satisfied with my dancing skills. Great, it's time I give her the performance of a lifetime and also give her a surprise.
'Since the System has confirmed the Crimson Fang Fist as one of my skills, even if it has an insane mana cost for current me, it should be easier than my previous attempts.'
"Alright," I said, my voice steadier than I felt. I rolled my shoulders, ignoring the protests from my body. "Whenever you're ready, Moka-san."
She didn't move, but her aura seemed to sharpen, the air growing heavier. "Hmph. Do not keep me waiting for an eternity."
I nodded, the world narrowing to the space between us.
'I'll for sure break that little smirk on your pretty face.'
My breath steadied, turning shallow and controlled. I sank into the stance, but this time, I focused inward—not just on muscle memory, but on the strange new heat that had been simmering in my core since I almost got eaten up by the demonic sword.
By what wicked magic the System contained, I could assimilate a small portion of Demonic Energy, thus awakening a new stat point for my Supernatural parameters. This demonic energy, while I haven't explored too much its effects, I could feel it becoming part of my flesh and blood.
However, compared to the Mana of the Human Body where I had no resource material to study in the general access area of the Library, nor could I ask the students and teachers for direct assistance, because yeah, remember the rules of the Academy?
Yet, there were plenty of material related to Yoki study in the Library. Ohh the irony.
'If I'm found guilty of being human, all monsters would have the warrant to pull murder on me.'
'Of course, I'm a scared pussy when it comes to that.'
'But if I get to S-tier I wouldn't have to worry about this stupid rule. Why not just have a Battle Royal and I put in place all those lowly monsters, teach them about the supremacy of the Human Path?'
Shifting back my focus on the technique Moka taught me, I began the activation chain. Right foot grounding, leg coiling. Hips torquing, spine twisting like a steel spring. Shoulders aligning. As the power traveled up my body, I reached for that pool of Mana and Yoki.
[You have activated the Skill (Crimson Fang Fist - LV.1) consuming 300 MP of your pool (50/350)]
A faint, crimson aura, like heat haze off asphalt, began to shimmer around my form, and while I couldn't tell, my eyes turned into the crimson predatory slits of a Vampire. As for the energy, I could feel it running amok in my body, but all this violent energy was still channeled without hiccups.
The air grew heavy with the new changes around my body.
It was a violent, reactive bleed-off with my right arm being engulfed by this crimson aura that was more like blood. Thin, jagged lines of darker red energy, like cracks in glass or exposed capillaries, traced from my wrist to my fingertips. It hurt—a searing, bone-deep ache—as if my own flesh was protesting, but it will heal up before I settle down.
My fist was the fang, and the raging, spiraling energy around it was the beast's maw, wide open and hungry to devour.
'Now. It's fully charged like back then.'
Moka's eyes widened a fraction. This was new.
'Yoki? But how come? He's still a human afterall, right? Could it be because of that Blessing he said he received?'
'Well, as long it's not hurting him, it could be called a blessing in disguise for him to have access to Yoki. Since I don't know how to help him activate his Mana.'
'Ignoring all of that, his stance does seem correct. He did not disappoint me and practiced in his spare time.'
I exhaled, and the world erupted into motion as I launched myself forward. A shockwave of crimson energy blasted out from my feet, tearing up a circle of moss and dirt.
A vortex of crimson energy spiraled around my arm, funneling everything toward my glowing fist. It looked less like a punch and more like I was thrusting a claw made of concentrated mana and blood.
'No way! This threat is akin to an A-tier Yokai's finishing ability.'
Moka's dignified composure finally broke. Her crimson eyes flashed from surprise to intense focus, as she brought both forearms up in a defensive X-cross before her chest, while her own crimson aura flared to life in response to the actual threat.
The impact was devastating.
KRA-BOOOOOM!
The sound was akin to a thunderclap, while a blinding flash of crimson light exploded at the point of contact, drowning out the forest for an instant. The shockwave that followed was physical, whipping Moka's silver hair back and shaking the branches of nearby trees.
For a timeless moment, our energies warred—her solid crimson aura formed itself around her in the form of an Aegis. The ground beneath her feet didn't just scrape back; it cratered, erupting in a shower of soil and shattered roots. Her body was driven back not in steps, but in a skid, her heels plowing twin trenches through the earth for a full three meters before she rooted herself, halting the relentless push of the technique.
The light died. The maddening vortex of Yoki and Mana dissipated with a pained hiss, leaving only the swirling dust and the deep, angry crimson glow slowly fading from my aching fist. Smoke, smelling of ozone and burnt earth, curled from the point of impact on her crossed arms, no, it was coming from the red Aegis.
I stood panting, my arm hanging numb and throbbing at my side while my knuckles were split open, welling blood that mixed with the fading crimson energy.
"Huh… Huh… You even… took that head-on?" I managed to rasp between gulps of air. "Well… what can I expect… from my badass mommy."
Moka slowly lowered her arms. Where my fist had met her guard, the sleeves of her tracksuit were scorched and torn, revealing pale, unmarked skin beneath. She stared at the damage on her clothes, then at the trenches her feet had carved, and finally at me.
Her expression was utterly unreadable. The cold disdain was gone. In its place was something far more dangerous, her intense, undivided attention. Her eyes once again shifted from that cold dismissive look to that of adoration.
The silence stretched, thick with the scent of ozone and crushed greenery.
"Mommy?" she finally repeated, the word flat on her tongue. A slow, deliberate blink. "I know your mind doesn't work normally, even by Yokai standards, but… you seem to have a death wish, don't you?"
"But," she continued, tilting her head as if considering a curious specimen, "if I ended you here, I would lose my precious bloodbank. So I will let your… peculiar fantasy pass. This time." She gave a slight, dismissive wave of her hand, but her eyes never left mine.
'Good, I didn't fluster and sounded pathetic. Tsk, this idiot with his strange kinks. I'm only 16 years old… but he views me like a mature woman.'
'Hmph, not that I care. But… I wouldn't mind teasing him with this 'fantasy' of his. Watching him squirm could be amusing.'
She straightened her posture, pulling her regal composure around her like a cloak, ensuring no hint of that internal flutter showed. It was like she was suspicious that Tsukune would smell this weakness, as if he was some psychic shark or something.
That's right, babe, I don't know what's going inside your gorgeous head, but I wish I could read your mind.
Then, out of nowhere, she moved, her speed was upped a notch as she appeared before me striking with a devastating kick that was not telegraphed, but blurred before my eyes. It happened so quickly that I barely processed the pain.
Her kick landed on the back of my knee (I never saw it coming). A chop to the neck (my vision whited out). A sweep that lifted me off my feet (the world spun). I hit the ground hard, all the air blasted from my lungs.
'Just go on, finish your Fatality.'
'No? Too bad. I kinda was curious about what was next.'
Before the dust could settle, she was on me. A knee pressed into my chest which didn't contain even a portion of her insane strength; in fact it was more of a playful one, as she took pleasure in dominating me.
Her silver hair fell around us like a victory banner. Her fist was poised a millimeter from my face.
'I think I like this posture. Far better than when Kurumu-chan mounted me or bubbly Moka.'
'Urgh, I'm such a degenerate.'
I lay in the crater of my own ambition while my whole body was cursing me, looking up at my soon-to-be beautiful vampire girlfriend that I couldn't help but give her a stupid, bloody grin.
"Adequate?" I said, a bit tired and pained from the drop.
She stared down, her crimson eyes glowing in the shadow of her hair as she lowered herself to my face. The flicker in them wasn't pride anymore, there were more complex emotions I couldn't pinpoint, except one, she was hungry.
"Tsukune, you could turn into a Circus Master with how strangely your mind works," she said, her lips were almost brushing my ear, her voice a low hum.
Then with a quick lick of her thumb, covering it with saliva, she lightly touched the raw, split skin on my knuckles, where blood and residual crimson energy still smoldered, as the wound began to recover thanks to whatever healing properties her Vampire saliva had. "And wasteful. You bleed like a stuck pig. What's more, you are lucky you did not shatter your arm."
'Man, I have this stupid thought in my brain.'
'I wonder if her spit could work for internal wounds.'
She leaned even closer, her breath cool against my overheated skin. "But… it's undeniable, your fang would've killed. For a human to use a Vampire's Technique with such mastery, I think you're the only one."
"However," she continued, the familiar arrogance returning like a shield, "you are still a reckless idiot." She brought her other hand up and flicked my forehead with a sharp tok. "My reckless idiot."
"Can you… not?" I grumbled, trying and failing to summon any dignity from my position pinned beneath her.
"What?"
"Call me an idiot. I'm, in fact, smarter than your average human. I got IQ tested. It's quite high, about 163." The protest sounded pathetic even to my own ears.
Moka's lips curved into a slow, devastatingly sarcastic smile. She leaned in again, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Tsukune, have you ever wondered? What if the test was botched?"
"Did the humans also include a test for 'Survival Instincts When Provoking a Scary Vampire'? Because, my clever Tsukune, you scored a rather definitive zero."
I tried to summon a retort, a smirk, anything to fight back against the teasing, but I was utterly disarmed. At most I could mutter a low 'I'll have my revenge' which of course she heard, resulting in another flick of hers that made my eyes water a bit.
'Damn it, this is so humiliating.'
Exhaustion and the sheer unexpectedness of the gesture made a hot flush creep up my neck. She saw it, and a genuine, triumphant smile—small and fierce—touched her lips. She took palpable pride in seeing me blush.
Then, as if remembering herself, she shifted back to her own grievance.
"Do not let pushing me back go to your head," she said, and man, how arrogant could this Ojou-sama be? If I was at B-tier or A-tier it would be a completely different story.
'It would be me on top!'
Thankfully, she couldn't read minds, and finally removed her knee from my chest, looking down at me with interest. "I was using one arm. A fraction of my speed. And you used everything you had for a single punch. A real opponent, one not… indulging you… would have killed you in the aftermath, while you stood there glowing and numb."
"Hey I have my own limits to stupidity. You fully know I'm not that reckless to get into a fight with deadly monsters and commit seppuku."
As she began to rise, a final, reckless impulse seized me. I moved my good arm, not to push her away, but to hook my hand weakly around her wrist, pulling her back down. The action stunned her—the sheer audacity of it—and she allowed herself to be drawn back, her eyes wide with surprise.
"What?" she breathed, her composure cracking for a second time.
I tilted my head, baring the column of my neck where her other self so often fed. The gesture was one of utter vulnerability and stark invitation. "What's wrong?" I managed, my voice a rough whisper. "Does the lesson end without… payment for the tutor? I'm feeling generous. Consider it a bonus for not shattering my 'pathetic ego' too badly."
"Baka." The insult was almost fond. "I am beginning to suspect you enjoy this. First the weakling, now me… What are you? A closet masochist?"
"Hmph," I grunted, playing at offense but holding my position. "If you're not drinking, fine. I was feeling generous. But for an Ojou-sama like yourself, I guess it's beneath you to drink from a sweaty, dirty… what did you call me? Idiot, would-be hero."
"Pfff. When have I ever called you a Hero? You must be dreaming awake." She leaned in, her cool breath ghosting over the offered skin. One hand came up to cradle the side of my face, her thumb stroking my cheek in a caress that was both tender and possessive. "I think being a villain suits you far better, Tsukune."
And then she lowered her head, her lips brushed against my neck first—a soft, cool kiss that sent a shiver down my spine. Then, with a sharp, precise pressure her fangs sank in.
"Augh! Easy—! What are you, a cat?" I gasped, more from the sudden intensity of sensation than pure pain. "Easy… It's not like I can run away." I swallowed, my voice dropping to a whisper as the familiar, dizzying euphoria began to seep into my veins, warmer and more potent than ever before. "Not that I… want to…"
I couldn't stop the grin then, even as my vision softened at the edges. The euphoria hit me like one of the strongest deliric drugs.
[Status Window]
[Name: Aono Tsukune]
[Race: Human (Infected - Shinso Vampire)]
---[Supernatural Stats]---
Mana: C (88/100)
Demonic Energy: E (15/100)
Bloodline Purity: 25.44% (Unstable)
Bloodline Control: E (26/100)
Sacred Gear: 'Annihilation Maker' - Dormant
Threat Level: D (Human)
As the world came back into focus, I found her watching me, a drop of crimson clinging to the corner of her perfect mouth. Acting on an impulse when I noticed those peachy lips now dyed red from my blood, I reached up with my thumb and gently wiped it away.
'Man, how I would devour this mouth of hers.'
My finger lingered for a heartbeat against her lower lip. The air between us crackled, charged and still. My gaze dropped to her lips, and for a wild, unguarded moment, the distance between us felt like it was collapsing on its own.
I stopped. No. Not like this. If I actually went overboard and breached her safety, she would just get volatile. One wrong move could undo everything I worked so hard to build.
What I didn't know was that in that suspended second, a mirror impulse had shot through her. A sudden, fierce urge to close the gap, to grab my head and crush her lips to mine in a kiss that would be anything but gentle.
'Hah, calm down girl. It's beneath you to make the first move. Abstain yourself from kissing him first. He'll think I am an easy girl that falls for a pretty face.'
'But his lips are so close, and he smells so sweet.'
After another silence between us, I finally gathered my resolve to change the topic, returning back to something she was comfortable talking about.
"You win this round too, Moka-san," I remarked, a wry smile touching my lips. "Man, I really have no chance, even with the Fang Fist."
"Hmph," she said, puffing out a breath as if to dispel the tension, regaining her haughty composure. "You will not be able to beat me, Tsukune. Not in a thousand years."
"We'll see about that," I replied, pushing myself fully upright. "By the way, why do you hit so hard? Especially targeting my face? I don't remember upsetting you yesterday or saying anything stupid this morning."
"Ehh?" She blinked, her expression morphing into one of perfect, wide-eyed innocence. It was a transformation so complete it was almost convincing. "I don't know what you're talking about." For a second, I was facing Outer Moka—all naive sweetness who wouldn't harm a fly.
We fell into easy banter after that, the strange intensity of the moment receding like a tide.
Finally, she took the rosary cross from my vest pocket and while playing with the cross in her hands, she told me.
"Don't get complacent, Tsukune. Our next sparring session, I want to see more from you. If you don't surprise me with something it will just be dull."
"So, until then, do your best to grow powerful and catch up to myself."
'Once you catch up to my level, I am sure that father will have no objections to me dating you.'
"I'm already training like I am possessed by some old ghost trying to get revenge. But for you my little Duchess, I am willing to go beyond my limits."
"I'll remember that… Take care of yourself, Tsukune."
"I still got bubbles to watch over my back. Bye, babe."
The silver of the cross glinted in the light as she pressed it back over her chest, the click of the lock echoing softly in the clearing while under a crimson aura veil she turned back into the pink-haired Outer Moka.
I stepped forward, catching Outer Moka as she slumped, her legs giving out. She leaned heavily against me, but her expression was troubled.
This wasn't the usual disorientation. Her green eyes were downcast, her lips pressed into a thin, unhappy line.
Tsukune, oblivious to the silent war raging in the pink-haired girl in his arms, saw only her sadness. He gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze. "Hey," he said, his voice soft. "Cheer up. Something interesting is happening at school today."
"Huh?" she mumbled, not looking up.
"The Club Invitation Festival. Shizuka-sensei told me first-years have to join a club. It's supposed to help us… integrate in the human world. Pfff…." He grinned while suppressing a laugh. "Might be fun. We can check them out together and maybe join the same club?."
The words were a spark to tinder. Her head snapped up, the melancholy in her eyes instantly replaced by a bright, shimmering hope. "R-Really? Together?" The prospect of a normal, shared school activity with him—something her other self wouldn't intrude upon—was like sunlight breaking through clouds.
"Yeah," he said, smiling at her renewed spirit. "Together."