666A\N (5-27-13): I probably should have posted a notice a while ago, but I am still working on the Rosario Plus Gohan story. I'm doing a majority rewrite on much of the earlier chapters so that its much clearer, concise, and overall better in quality. These changes, however, will not be pushed until the newest chapter is posted. I will post updates here though with my progress for those who are curious to know.
Update (10/1/13): Still alive...still working (both on the story and life in general). I am not sure what else to say except that please continue to have patience. It is slowly but surely finishing up. I'd like to say that I will have everything finished with the latest chapter before the end of 2013, but I don't want to hold any promises. Good thing is that we're nearing the final arc for this fanfic. I have no doubt that many of you will be surprised (hopefully) as to what will be planned.
Update (10/17/13): In order to avoid any possible confusion from the last update with the remark about the final arc. There's obviously a whole lot more after Anti-Thesis so while it may be the final arc for THIS FANFIC, that doesn't mean the story will end. ;)
Update (12/20/13): Finals are over! I'll be pushing updates on the rewrite to a Trello board so I don't have to keep editing this chapter. It's much easier and more organized anyways. As an added bonus (and also because I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish everything during this month break), I've attached to each "Done Card" an excerpt from the chapter (except the prologue as I couldn't find a good portion of it to cut from). They're pretty short but think of it as a teaser.
trello dot com/b/Egr4ugfg
(I have the clickable link on the profile page if you are too lazy to edit it into a valid url)
Update (8/17/14): I didn't plan on doing another update until a REAL update (like, I don't know, a new chapter?), but letting you guys know (once again) that I am not dead, just busy with work, long-ass chapters, and plenty of breaks. If I was using every single hour I had available to write the story, I'd go crazy. It's the truth. These chapters that will replace almost half the fanfic are LONG and do take time to write. I have 8 out of 10 (1/2) chapters done. I decided to go ahead and update this chapter with the new prologue and first chapter. This should at least give you an idea of what to expect in terms of length. The total length of these two chapters are at least 19,000 words with the first chapter being about 17,500 words. The chapters are attached and sectioned at the bottom of this chapter. If you wish not to spoil yourself, then feel free to ignore it. (There's not much spoiling though. Maybe the prologue, but it's written intentional to be vague. The first chapter, of course, it the first meeting of friends...and Saizou's ass-handing as Rosario+Vampire tradition mandates).
Update (1/26/16): I removed the chapter previews at the bottom many months ago and I forgot to provide an update of why. Call it paranoia but the first chapter (not the rewritten and detailed version) was plagiarized some time ago (they removed the story) and I didn't want to risk someone plagiarizing the new rewritten chapter as their starting base. Anyways, I've found out I have a huge problem...I tend to write in past tense. While this is okay for flashbacks, I find that I should have written in present tense. I've even written in past tense for the rewritten chapters in waiting! So now I have to go back, but it's not like I'm done with the rewrites.
Here is the new issue though: Since now I have to rewrite all the chapters so far because of the tense, I'm probably going to end up changing the subplots because I do have some issues with them. At this point, the whole story will basically be unrecognizable! There are a few options to bring updates now so the chapters I do have rewritten (as in written from scratch) can be viewable to all. I need opinions on this, so I would appreciate any suggestions. The first is to start uploading the first chapters with a (Rewrite) tag and when all the chapters so far have been completed, I can delete the old chapters. This may piss some people off who only wants to read the latest instead of a new version, regardless of how much better it may be. The second option is to create a new story (Re: Rosario Plus Gohan), but that would essentially mean abandoning this one, and the third...to keep writing until I finish all the chapters needed to replace the old ones (Who knows how long that will take).
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z or Rosario+Vampire. All are written respectively by Akira Toriyama and Akihisa Ikeda.
A hard breeze could be heard in the vast and distant lands of the snow people. Many miles of flat land with the occasional high mountain was covered in a blanket of snow making the whole hidden land glisten under a slightly dimmed sun. Just moments before, the area had a powerful blizzard causing the residents of the only village inside to stay at home. Now that it had ceased, a calmness had returned to the distant people of the snow. In their ice-carved homes that stood below a high glowing castle, there was one that was beaming with activity.
"...and then he told me about how he fought these enormous dinosaurs with his sword!" a small, cute child exclaimed with beaming purple eyes and the most colorful purple hair anyone had in the village. She opened her arms up wide to emphasize the size of the monster's a boy named Gohan had told her.
Inside the ice-home, one would not expect to see such a lit home with plain wood for flooring, smoothed and polish granite for tables, and a mixture of natural elements for other assorted furniture. There was no electricity or appliance needed and the only energy used was the sun for lighting and fire for cooking.
An young looking woman smiled serenely at her daughter. Her hair, long but tied nicely behind her head had a tint of purple. Much like her daughter who inherited her eyes and face, she had the same purple, yet hazy eyes. She sat on a hand-made wooden chair and listened to her daughter's story.
"My Mizore...this sounds quite the mysterious boy you met. Why didn't you offer him to join us when I found you?" she asked.
The young girl, Mizore, stopped all of her movements and then gave an embarrassed smile.
"Eh...I forgot...sorry mama," she admitted with shame and turned slightly rosy in her cheeks. She remembered how she heard her mother within the blizzard and took off without even thinking of the boy that she was with. She hoped she would meet him again.
The mother, known as Tsurara Shirayuki, shook her head disappointedly and chuckled at the childish nature of her daughter. She wasn't sure whether to believe her daughter or not on this boy named Gohan as it was a little far fetched, but either way, she was happy that for the first time, she was mildly interested in a boy. It was indeed a proud moment.
"It sounds like you have a crush on this boy, Gohan...are you certain you met him?" she asked in a teasing voice.
This made the little girl widen her eyes and start to rise in temperature, showing signs of steam rising from her body. Instantly, she began to fumble while putting her hands close to her body and sway in confusion.
"A...a...a...c-crush?!" she stuttered in a question, more towards herself as she vigorously started to reorganize her mind. Quickly though, she put that away and focused her attention towards her mother on the second part. She furrowed her eyes and pouted.
"A-anyways...I...I did meet him! He was lost just like I was until you came for me!" she explained though her mother had a hard time taking her daughter seriously when she was acting mad.
Tsurara giggled at the innocence of her precious daughter and patted her head gently.
"Okay then...I'll believe you. He's probably left though dear now that the blizzard is gone. Maybe you'll meet him again, one day," she assured.
Mizore lowered her head and brought her lips down sadly. "Uuh...do you think so mama?"
Tsurara kept smiling and then gently bent down off the wooden chair to give her daughter a hug. She kept a cheerful voice but as she put her head behind her daughter, she couldn't help but express a sad smile as she thought about her own lover.
"Let's not be sad here. I'm sure you'll meet him again. If your father were still here, I'm sure he'd be proud that you've finally found someone as well. Just keep hope, okay?"
Mizore nodded as she brushed her cheek against her mother's shoulder with renewed happiness, unaware that her mother was sadly reminded of her father who passed away long ago...
Few months later...
"Mizore! Mizore!" Tsurara called, moving between the icy buildings and slippery roads that was filled with conversing friends and family. Shifting her eyes worriedly around the area, she could only wonder where her daughter had gone to. Usually, she didn't have to worry being that normally her daughter would tell her where she was going.
"Oh...Tsurara-san?" an older looking man with a small beard and a slightly wrinkled forehead, called quietly.
The mother quickly turned to the familiar voice to see one of the elders of the village. She looked at him with a worried expression.
"Elder! Have you seen my daughter?" she asked.
The elder frowned slightly and began brush his beard as he thought back. He hummed.
"Yes...I have. Last time I saw her, she was interested in one my stories. I told her of a nearby cave just outside of the aurora barrier where a dinosaur once lived. It was once dreaded by our ancestors. Of course, this is just a story meant to scare children. There is no such cave and certainly no dinosaurs within miles," he recalled.
Tsurara seemed to be a bit shocked. She bit her lips and felt like somehow this was her fault for not being aware more of her daughter's whereabouts. Nonetheless, she could only search outside of the barrier now. She knew it wasn't the elder's fault as he couldn't know about her daughter's new curiosity of dinosaurs. Ever since meeting boy named Gohan, she had gotten more adventurous and daring. It didn't worry her that much until now.
She bowed.
"Arigato, I think I know where to start looking," she thanked and then quickly ran in the opposite direction of the standing old man. He quirked an eyebrow and then shook his head chuckling.
"Heh...first time mothers..."
OOOOOOO
"Hmm...Ojiisan said that there were caves somewhere around here...but I don't see any," Mizore remarked, walking around stone elevations just outside the city and turning her head both ways to make sure she wasn't missing anything. She frowned, getting impatient. Before, she was so excited at the prospect of seeing a dinosaur. If Gohan was able to survive one, certainly a snow girl could as well, but it didn't seem she would ever get the chance if she couldn't find that one cave the elder had told her about.
"Aw," she groaned, "...and I've been really practicing my controlling of ice..."
She illustrated this to herself and manage to grow a 'sword' which shifted out of her hands. This sword though was far from perfect. In fact, it was more like a stick of rigid ice than a sharp ice sword.
...Of course, Mizore was far too young to understand the difference...
"Hya!" she yelled and swished her sword over her head. Her grasp on the 'sword' hadn't been tight though and it ended up slipping out of her hands, twirling into the ground. The ice stick dug into the ground at an angle causing one snow girl to turn red in her own embarrassment.
'...Thank goodness nobody was watching...' she thought as she looked around her.
Only a couple feet away from a stone mountainous wall, she walked towards it and tried to pluck it out of the ground; however, the stick had been lodged quite deep from the momentum of the throw. She tried to pull harder and grunted as she began turning her head, clenching her teeth as she struggled.
"Grr!" she growled as she struggled.
Finally, she was able to pluck it out and quickly fell out of balance, landing firmly on her bottom. She gave a gasp when she hit the icy floor but other than that, she remained resolute.
CRACK!
"E-eh?" Mizore sounded worriedly as she heard the large breaking of ice breaking unusually close. She quickly got up, rubbing her bottom and scanned the area.
CRICK!
The young girl looked down at her feet next to where she plucked her 'sword' out was located. The hole had gotten larger than she remembered since she had plucked-
CRASH!
Mizore realized too late as the apparent ice surface beneath her failed and she fell into a deep sliding tunnel below.
"Ah!" she screamed as she quickly covered her eyes and dropped the 'sword' she had with her. Swiveling in all sorts of angles for several seconds, it wasn't long until the break in the surface led to a small icy cavity beneath the surface. Elevated only a feet at the end of the tunnel, she landed firmly on her bottom with a thud.
"Ow!" she cried again causing her to shut tight her eyes and then immediately moving to stand up from her fall. She rubbed her bottom a bit as she felt the effects of the drop. It certainly wasn't going to make her cry though and she ignored the stinging. She knew it would go away soon.
She took the time to scan her surroundings. She could tell that she was beneath the surface which worried her a bit. She had to find a way back. She looked behind her where she slid down and put a finger to her lips.
"Hmm," she sounded as she began to think.
With a gasp of ingenuity, she attempted to get back at the point she dropped and then stood on her knees facing the upward slope she fell through. She knew that there would be a problem with sliding down but not if she was able to stick to the surface.
She furrowed her eyebrows and focused intently on her hands, causing them to grow colder than the rest of her body. Ice began to form at the tip of her hands though she showed no indication of discomfort what would normally be frostbite to any non-snow person.
She then slowly stuck her hands on the increasing slope of the tunnel and began crawling upwards, using the coldness of her hands to better stick to the surface without worrying about falling because of a slip.
What she didn't take into account was the amount of force she would have to exert in lifting herself from the increasing slope. Only a few feet in from slowing crawling up, she began to feel the amount of exertion required. Sweat began to slowly form from her head and then her hands as she began focusing less on controlling the ice and more on pulling herself.
Then she fell down again, sliding on her stomach and shooting out of the mouth of the tunnel with another scream. This time, it was a little more painful as she fell onto her side and began rolling away. She finally stopped when a wall stopped her momentum causing the wall to rumble a bit and a certain snow girl to groan.
CRICK!
A sound that she was all too familiar with now occurred behind her where the wall laid. With another painful groan, she stood up and looked behind her...
...then she widened her eyes...
What became apparently visible behind the wall of ice she was close to was a large brownish figure. Looking at it closely, it had a large head with a mouth that protruded out, showing big, sharp teeth.
It was a dinosaur...a large one at that...
"Wh-wha?"
CRACK!
...and the ice containing it was starting to break.
Mizore didn't know what, but something was overcoming her when she saw the huge being. Normally, she thought she would be excited for discovering a real dinosaur but instead, her heart was beating fast and telling her to run. She was scared.
She began moving backward as the ice began to crack more. She gasped when suddenly, what appeared to be an eye, finally snapped open and aimed at her. In one motion, the ice cracked and a loud roar shook the ice cavity, causing her icicles at the top of the cavern to split and fall. The snow girl pupils began to shrink and her eyes opened fiercely as she began to avoid the falling icicles and dinosaur in great fear.
"No...no...no..." she began running back holding her breath as she tried to make way through the tunnel. It was futile though, there was no way to go out. Her mind was in overdrive, however, and didn't care for details.
Another roar escaped from the long, frozen dinosaur who had awakened with a great need of hunger. The scent of the snow girl drove it crazy as it aimed it's head low from the ice ceiling and focused on the running girl.
It roared again and slowly began to move towards the girl, still weak from being imprisoned in ice. The girl turned her head toward the monster and clenched her teeth in fear.
"No...no! Stay away! STAY AWAY!" she screamed, losing all sanity in place of fear.
"MIZORE!"
In seconds, the ceiling above the dinosaur collapsed, effectively burying the monster in an instant and crushing its weak body like paper. From the top, light poured through the opening, lighting up particles of snow that filled the air from the collapse.
Tsurara, hearing screams and a great roar beneath the surface as she was looking for her daughter, didn't take a moment of hesitation to recognize that she was in danger. The young mother quickly dropped from the opening on top of the pile that flattened the dinosaur. Its remains barely visible under the amount of ice and snow that flattened it.
She saw her daughter quivering just slightly within a small tunnel. Tsurara saw the apparent fear in her daughter's eyes and slowly moved forward.
"Mizore?" she called.
"S-STAY AWAY!" her daughter screamed, pushing out her hand.
Tsurara eyes widened and she quickly sidestepped away as a large icy spike rose from beneath the ground to pierce her. She glanced back after the unexpected spike and was shocked at how her daughter was able to create one instantly. Looking back, she realized that Mizore was in a state of panic.
"Mizore, calm down...it's okay...you're all right...mama's here, okay?" she spoke softly in order to reassure her troubled daughter.
"No...no, I don't want to die!" Mizore screamed, shutting her eyes tightly and looking away, inadvertently causing more piercing icicles to sprout from the ground.
Tsurara quickly reacted and dodged the spikes; however, the last one that had been sprouted was tilted at a large angle towards her back. The snow woman recognized that she wouldn't be able to dodged this one completely and so, she gritted her teeth as the sharp edge of ice cut through the back of her robes and cut against her skin while moving away.
"Grk!" she sounded beneath her teeth. She didn't want to alert her daughter with loud noises as right now, the only thing she could do is stay calm herself in order to calm her daughter. Ignoring the sharp pain against her back, she remained composed.
"You're not going to die, Mizore-chan...Open your eyes...breath..." Tsurara spoke softly and quietly in hopes to ease her though some pain was apparent in her voice.
Mizore this time heard her voice and opened her eyes, revealing streams of tears traveling from her eyes down her cheeks. Her pupils were still small but as she began hesitantly breathing, her pupils started to expand, looking towards her mother.
"M-mama..." she whimpered, finally coming to her senses and realizing who was with her now.
Tsurara continued to ignore the sharp feeling of pain on her back and rushed towards her daughter, pulling her into a deep hug. This time, she allowed her own tears to fall as she could only blame herself for what happened.
"Oh kami...Mizore, I'm... so...so sorry. You're okay now...you're okay..." she whispered, holding her tightly as both of them then cried in silence.
…
'I've lost her father already...I can't lose her', Tsurara thought.
…
...I can't lose her...
Mizore looked on at the boy named Tsukune in front of her. Those eyes...they brought a feeling of familiarity...and regret to the snow girl. It was likely that his mind was also clouded right now just like she was back then.
Kiria...no, Anti-Thesis...what could they have done to bring Tsukune to such a mental level? Where was he getting this large amount of youki? Was he even human like others had told her?
She would get her answers soon. Right now though, she had to ensure that he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone...like she had. Thinking back to her mother, she felt ashamed to have not been calmer.
"..."
The snow woman was planning to put as much youki as she could into the surrounding environment to better her chances of defending, but it was currently too hot for her at the moment with the heat of the library touching her. She was practically having difficulty remaining calm with fires so near. Perhaps she didn't have to fight if she could calm him down.
"Tsukune...I'm not quite sure if you're even human but...everything is o-WHOA!"
The human boy, with his tattered clothes and black smoked body didn't seem to take heed as he glared back at the snow woman in front of him with panicked eyes and began to rush forward, ready to take a swing at her.
Mizore quickly brushed her hand to the back, creating a sheet of ice behind her. She fell back onto the sheet of ice making a slick dodge from a possibly fatal swing by the adrenaline-taken friend.
Taking advantage of the momentum, she quickly swung around, creating more ice for her feet to slide. She looked at the burning library and frowned as she glided past the blazing heat.
'That's really bothering me...' she internally commented.
Looking back at Tsukune who was further panicking at the swift movements of the snow woman, she decided it was futile and best to go ahead and put the fires out first. For all she knew, Tsukune was in worse shape and mentality than she was. Speaking of mentality, she wanted to make sure the succubus was fully aware and outside the parameters of the library.
"Kurumu, snap out of it!" Mizore called with a small amount of urgency in her voice. She glided towards her, so far creating a circle around the burning remains of the library.
The succubus seemed to pick this up and raised her head, tears were flowing down her cheeks as she began to pick up on the situation that had arose so quickly. First the explosion of the abandoned, old library and then this frightening demeanor that Tsukune emanated.
"Mizore-chan...what's happening with Tsukune?" she asked in a painful voice.
"Your guess is as good as m-look out!"
Tsukune had changed targets and was swiftly charging at her as if she was a threat to be dealt with. Kurumu was quick to fall back first without taking a moment of hesitation and use her wings to further her jump out of the way. She elevated herself a few feet where nobody could touch her and glanced at her destined one, sadly.
He was in such a panic...it was like he was running off of pure survival. Who could've done such a thing to him to bring him to such a state. More importantly...where was he getting this unnatural state. It almost felt as if he was...
"Kurumu..."
The succubus blinked, tears fluttering off her eyes as she focused her gaze at the snow woman who was now keeping a good distance away from the 'human' as well. She gazed back at her with serious eyes.
"...you have to try to calm him down. He's your boyfriend, after all...I'll try to put out the fires..."
Mizore's words were sound and the succubus knew that as well. She nodded somberly and lowered herself slowly, keeping a few feet of distance from him.
"T-tsukune?" Kurumu croaked, feeling certain fault for what was happening and fear for what was going on with her destined one.
"No...I can't die...I won't DIE!"the boy whispered, his eyes seemingly getting worse as his pupils wavered. It was apparent he was in some form of hysteria or panic. For Kurumu, it was scaring her.
"Tsukune...please...it's...it's alright now. Nobody is going to hurt you..." she spoke softly, hoping that her words would get through to her destined one.
TSSSSS!
Many flames being extinguished sounded loudly as Mizore was carefully spreading out layers of ice over the library. The flames quickly melted the ice causing it to further extinguish more flames. Stream rose from the library up and soon began to humidify the air.
"NO! It's...burning me...NO!" Tsukune shrieked. An unnatural amount of youki flared from his body, surprising both of the girls. He began charging towards Kurumu with even more panic. Somehow, the extinguishing of the fire was probably not in good taste because of the sound.
The succubus quickly elevated but was surprised when he decidedly jumped up and was floating increasingly towards her. Her eyes widened and her breath stopped as she saw his incoming fist. What was that he was seeing right now? Who exactly was he fighting?
"No...Tsukune..." she whispered, awaiting for the inevitable blow.
"Hra!"
A blur flew past Kurumu's view as a something crashed into her destined one from the side and swung the boy away from her. He instantly dropped to the ground with a bit of a drag and his back facing them. The object that had hit him promptly broke into shards and scattered around him. It was obvious that it was ice which could only mean...
Kurumu widened her eyes in surprise and glanced toward the snow girl who had was standing with one of her arms up and her hands loose. She lowered herself and gaped at the snow woman incredulously who looked equally surprised.
"M-mizore! We don't want to hurt him!" the succubus exclaimed.
Mizore frowned, a bit irritated that the succubus had ignored the fact that this 'boyfriend' was almost ready to send her to oblivion.
"He was about to harm you. I had no option but to attack," she argued.
Kurumu eyes furrowed as she sighed. "Just what did you throw at him? I may never be able to calm him down now."
Mizore curled her lips to the side. "I threw an ice hammer at him..."
"Ugh..."
Both Mizore and Kurumu stopped to hear a groan coming from Tsukune. This time though, it sounded...different. Mizore narrowed her eyes at the boy that laid yards away after her hammer throw. She knew that there was no way the boy could've been knocked down that easily, especially with the amount of youki they both felt earlier. What happened?
Kurumu could sense this as well. No longer did she feel the suppressive youki that emanated from her destined one. Without anymore words, she slowly moved forward to the boy on the ground with a fear rising in her throat.
"Ts-tsukune...are you alright?" she asked, worriedly.
"Ugh..."
Kurumu was already standing next to her destined one and so far, she had only received groans. Perhaps...Tsukune had actually been knocked into some sense. If that was the case...
She lowered herself to her knees and slowly began moving her hand to Tsukune's back full of smog. Mizore watched the interaction intensely in case the succubus remained in danger.
SNATCH!
Kurumu gasped as Tsukune's hand shot up and grabbed her arm which was about to connect. Mizore didn't hesitate as she created several ice kunai between her fingers to throw.
"Wait Mizore!"
Kurumu was quick to call out to Mizore as she felt a gentleness in his grip which gave off no sense of threat. It was too late however as a three ice kunai had already left Mizore's hands before the succubus' words reached her.
In response, Kurumu quickly reacted and put herself first over Tsukune, not wanting him to get hurt. It was not the best idea the blue-haired girl had in awhile, but she didn't have time to think. Fortunately for her, Gohan had dropped to the scene almost like a bullet and just in time too.
"Hey gu-whoa!"
The half-saiyan, within inches from the kunai, reacted quickly and caught two by the tips of his fingers and one that had glided past his face with his teeth. The movements happened like steps, one after another.
Mizore looked on with astonishment in her eyes. She quickly forgot her mistake and was blushing. This small save only increased her admiration of Gohan. However, the half-saiyan didn't quite feel the same way.
Gohan dropped the two ice kunai held sideways in between his fingers and promptly spit out the third one in his mouth. He then glanced disbelieving in the snow woman's direction.
"What are you doing? Are you trying to kill them?!" the half-saiyan shouted, facing the snow girl, comically.
Mizore narrowed her eyebrows, slightly offended that her future husband would think such of thing. She quickly shook her head and placed her usual cold, stoic expression on her face.
"No..."
"..."
Gohan decided to leave it at that. Somehow, with the expression of the snow girl was giving, he felt that perhaps he was misunderstanding something or maybe something else...either way, he couldn't argue with a person who gave such a...blank outlook.
He then turned towards Kurumu and Tsukune with concern evident. The succubus, likewise, breathed a sigh of relief to see the half-saiyan. She assumed it meant that Midou was down which in turn had to mean Ruby and Yukari had remarkably negated all the rituals.
It wasn't complete relief however as there was still the problem with Tsukune. As she felt her destined one begin to stir, she saw his head lift up which was equally filled with smog and now some dirt.
His eyes opened slowly at Kurumu and it relieved her to no end to see that his pupils were no longer small and petrified. The human bow likewise saw only happy yet sad velvet eyes staring at him.
It was only a moment before he completely opened his eyes as he finally processed that it was Kurumu who was staring at him with concern. More importantly, he was surprised that he was alive. He quickly sat up and faced the succubus with confusion.
"K-kurumu? W-what happened...where-"
He turned his head and around and halted in his moment of confusion as he saw what was unmistakably the abandoned library, now in ruins. Some fires were present but most of them were extinguished with blocks of melting ice that were spread out randomly. His eyes scanned the area where he recognized Gohan and Mizore with him.
Moka then appeared, having jumped from away and landing gracefully next to the half-saiyan. Her eyes equally scanned the area and stopped when her eyes now pointed at him. They narrowed giving the human boy chills. He turned to Kurumu, now becoming a bit panicked as to the situation that he found himself in.
"Kurumu what's goi-"
"Tsukune..."
The human boy stopped as Kurumu interrupted him with his name. She gave a sad smile as she placed her hands on her destined ones cheeks, allowing him to gaze into her eyes.
"K-kurumu-mmph!"
"!"
Besides Moka and Mizore who did not react at all, Gohan couldn't help but sputter, surprised at the very deep kiss that the succubus had brought the boy into. It wasn't because they were kissing but rather at the moment which was in question.
The succubus broke away with a exhale and continued to smile sadly. "You don't need to worry about this right now, Tsukune..."
At that moment, Tsukune's former shock at the abrupt kiss ended as he felt mind slowly drifting off. Before he knew it, the succubus had charmed the human boy into sleep. Gohan, now realizing the motive of the kiss, felt like slapping himself. He shook his previous thoughts and curled his lips in uncertainty.
"Is it right to put him to sleep?" Gohan asked, regaining his composure.
Kurumu looked at Gohan and surprised him as tears flew down her cheek which were well saved up until now. She slowly nodded and began holding her destined one close to her.
"I...I didn't want him to worry right now," she squeaked, apparently at the edge of sobbing.
Moka frowned as she rescanned the area. She glanced towards the snow girl and narrowed her eyes. She had quite a lot of questions and knowing that the succubus was probably no help in her state, she had to ask of her known rival who she knew would be of no challenge between her and Gohan.
"You there...snow girl. Tell us what happened," she demanded with authority in her voice.
Mizore equally narrowed her eyes and frowned. She knew better than to argue with an S-class vampire. This did not mean though that she would have her way with Gohan. No...she would do what's necessary to let the half-saiyan know that she was the best one for him. Instead of facing her, she faced Gohan and began to explain.
"Tsukune was trapped within this abandoned library which had caught fire..."
"Ugh..."
A certain young, but smart witch groaned as uncertain time with darkness finally ended and light began to fill her vision. It made her squint before the whiteness faded with another dark figure blurred in front of her. Soon, voices began to enter though they were muffled.
"Yu...ari..."
"Eh...?"
"Yukari! Wake up!"
The young girl's vision and hearing improved enough to recognized Ruby standing over her with a bit of disappointment present on her face.
"Huh? Ruby-san?" she mumbled.
The older witch sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Jeez, I didn't think you'd faint on me! You were supposed to help us remove all the barriers!"
Yukari blinked and then stood up, taking in the scene. The whole area looked to be normal. No fog, same leafless trees, yellow ground. Where she was a bit surprised at was that there was little blood spilled. A few spots were noticeable where blood was dropped, but other spots were miniscule making it difficult to see without getting close.
"Wh-what about the blood contest?!" Yukari asked, slightly bewildered.
Ruby rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh. "I was only joking. I'm not that stupid..."
"..."
"...although I'd certainly win," Ruby added low with a smirk.
Yukari turned red in her own embarrassment and then looked around to get her mind off of fainting. She felt a bit useless when the whole reason to come with Ruby was to help her. In the end, she let a little blood get to her.
She lowered her head and dropped her face. "Gomen Ruby-san...in the end, I was nothing but hassle. I wasn't aware that we had to use our own blood to negate the rituals," she explained.
Ruby couldn't help but smile. How could she get mad at her fellow witch. She was still too young but hopefully with time, she would gain experience.
"It's alright, Yukari-chan. Next time though, don't let the thought of blood scare you. I know you've fought monsters that are far more scary than just blood, right?" she asked, giving her a uplifting wink.
Yukari looked up to her older sister and then nodded with a small smile. Ruby gave a small pat on her shoulder and chuckled.
"Where did plant man sama go?" Yukari asked, realizing that the green namekian was nowhere near them.
Ruby closed her eyes and shrugged, not really interested in the business concerning the namekian.
"There was no reason for him to stay after we removed the last ritual," she commented.
Yukari frowned, upset. "Aw...I really wanted to find out more about his biology. I've never seen someone so green in my life!"
Ruby shook her head. "He's not a plant man, Yukari. He's a namekian. He doesn't seem to appreciate the fact that the whole school calls him the plant man," she explained.
Yukari hummed and narrowed her eyes in thought. "He may not be a plant man but he may be close to one! Yes, that has to be it! I bet the reason he is so green is because all of his cells contain chloroplast...or at least something similar..."
"Yukari..."
"...you know, I bet he can even regenerate himself and grow to different sizes! He may not even be a 'he' considering plants can be asex-"
"Yukari!"
The young witch winced as her name was finally outburst from her witchly sister. She finally stopped her mental theories and stored them for later. Perhaps with time, she would be able to uncover the truth...or find someone who did. This Piccolo had piqued her interest.
Ruby pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. She then relaxed and furrowed her eyebrows. "While I'm happy that you're excited. We need to get going. While you were out, there had been some strange activity going on near where the others are. It seems to have died down, but we should meet up with them in any case," she explained.
"Oh..." Yukari sounded in acknowledgement. Without another word, she brought out her trusted wooden broom with her wand. Ruby, likewise, brought out her usual crow wings using partial transformation.
They both elevated into the air; however, just several feet in and above the former ritual area, Ruby stopped and then gripped her staff horizontally with both hands. An purple aura surrounded her as she closed her eyes and began concentrating. Yukari looked on with confusion.
"Ruby-san?"
"Just a sec, Yukari-chan. I just realized that I should probably clean up this area less Kiria gets ahold of our blood," she explained.
The thought of the rituals brought shivers to the young witch. It was horrifying and downright wrong. Spells or rituals performed that gave benefit to one while taking away from the other were called parasitic spells and they were, in general, forbidden. Amongst the witch community, those who continually use such spells were shunned.
"Done," Ruby commented as she finished the preparatory chanting and charge. She opened her eyes and looked to the ground below. She raised her arms up, lifting the staff over her head before taking a deep breath.
"Shift!" She outcried and brought down her staff straight, horizontally. The whole staff glowed before outputting a visible air of streaming youki down at the ground. As soon as the wave touched the ground, the dirt began to ripple. The ground shifted before them as if something was traveling underneath a rug. The trees bent to the direction of the ripples before coming into place again. It would continue shifting the dirt and resurfacing until the amount of youki Ruby put into the spell exhausted.
Yukari looked on with amazement at the results before turning back to her fellow witch. As expected of an experienced witch.
"Ruby-san! You have to let me study under you!" Yukari pleaded.
Ruby gave an apologetic smile. "I wouldn't mind Yukari-chan but...I'm not sure if I'll have the time. The headmaster has already seemed to give me quite a big job..."
"Eh? Are you serious?!"
Ruby nodded quite sadly and sighed. "Yep. This whole anti-thesis ordeal it seems..."
"This...this is quite disturbing," Moka concluded looking away from Gohan and Mizore as she processed the information. There was a moment of silent contemplation by her and everyone.
"Your other said that the injection you gave him should have left him," Gohan added, breaking the silence.
Moka nodded. "That's right. Normally that's what has occurred...or at least within the history of my people..."
It seemed that even Moka couldn't seem to wrap this information around her mind. It was impossible to say the least. After such a period without having been injected, there was no way her energy could've had anything to do with the unnatural force.
Yet...it was dreadfully familiar...more so than she wanted to admit.
Kurumu finally spoke up, regaining some form of strength in her voice as she allowed herself to cool off during Mizore's explanation. She heard of something...uneventful before. She had to confirm it or else she knew it would be bugging her for days.
"Is...is there a possibility that Tsukune-kun is turning into a ghoul?" the blue haired girl asked.
This question surprised Mizore and Moka; however, this only confused the half-saiyan.
"Ghoul?" he questioned.
"Ghouls are a form of undead which are incredibly dangerous and dark. They feed on human flesh. The difference between other forms of undead monsters is that they can be intelligent and act autonomously. They're wicked creatures that have been put down by vampires for centuries," Moka explained, grimacing.
Gohan eyes widened. "So you think that there is a chance that he may be turning into a ghoul?"
Moka shook her head though her face showed some uncertainty. "Impossible. While it is true that too many vampire injections can result in the creation of ghouls, I only gave the boy some of my energy to save him once."
Mizore thought back to herself when she was little. The similarities she felt and the behavior she saw in Tsukune before was all too nostalgic. If what she was hearing was true, then Tsukune had temporarily been given the ability to control youki. Perhaps...
"...what if there's a part that doesn't leave?" Mizore asked.
It took a while before the vampire realized she was talking about the energy she gave him. She scoffed, disbelieving of such a ridiculous possibility.
"I would know my own race and our effects on others, snow girl. What you say is preposterous," she replied.
Mizore frowned but didn't say anything. It was true that she couldn't assume a lot from vampires but there wasn't much to conclude of anything. The snow girl knew that things didn't happen randomly, they happened for a reason.
The white haired vampire harrumphed and cross her arms. "I see that I am wasting my time here. If you don't believe me, then my other can gladly arrange a call to my father for his inquiry. Until then, I won't waste my time with this human."
This immediately created great irritation from the succubus but she was already emotionally distressed and creating fuel was not something she intended on doing. She ignored the comment for now and faced Gohan.
"If you don't mind. I'm going to take him to my dorm. He's not really injured, but he does need to be cleaned," Kurumu requested.
Gohan knew that Tsukune would be in good hands with the succubus. He could sense the great amount of concern that Kurumu had for Tsukune. In addition, he could sense Tsukune's life energy was stable at best. He nodded.
Without another word, Kurumu lifted her destined one and his arm around her shoulders. She slowly began walking with Tsukune away from the ruined library. At first, Gohan wondered if he should've offered them a quick transport to the girls' dorm, but then realized that the girls' dorm was actually a lot closer to their vicinity than the boys' which was located at the opposite side. There didn't seem any harm in taking it slow. As far as he could sense, it looked like everything was settling down.
Gohan then remembered Gin and how Mizore explained him being thrown to the side like a ragdoll. Naturally, he was their senpai and the half-saiyan had to admire the werewolf's courage to take the first blow in order to save Kurumu.
"Mizore, can you check up on Gin? Make sure he's alright..."
The snow girl frowned but did as she was told. Magically, she pulled out a lollipop from within her sweater, unraveling it and then plopping it into her mouth. It would seem her usual cool demeanor had returned.
Gohan faced Moka who was surprisingly deep in thought. Despite her external uninterest with Tsukune, it did seem that the whole situation puzzled her greatly. While figuring out what was happening would be a priority for him and his friends, he knew that there was another personal issue that he had to clear up before the white vampire left.
"Uh...Moka-san..."
The white haired vampire blinked and then stared back at half-saiyan with half-lazy eyes.
"Yes, what is it?"
Gohan hesitated but he knew that with the frequency of the true nature appearing, he may never get the answer he wants. He sighed, furrowed his eyebrows and looked straight into the vampire's eyes.
"Why are you so interested in me?"
Moka raised her eyebrow and revealed a small smirk. "Oh? Is it obvious?"
He knew that she was teasing him. She had been very forward in kissing him but he didn't need a kiss though, he wanted to sort things out. It was becoming increasingly worrisome by the day because at times, he didn't know what the vampire's intentions were.
Moka walked forward, getting in close to the half-saiyan's comfort zone. Gohan remained stern, not allowing himself show any discomfort though his back was already visibly sweating.
The vampire placed her hands onto his chest and continued to grin . "The day you fought me when that annoying succubus charmed you...was the day I realized I was outmatched."
Gohan stepped away a little, not wanting to allow the vampire to do anything forward. The vampire continued to smirk in amusement.
"Wh-what does that have to do with anything? At that time, I was caught off guard, that's all..." the half-saiyan argued.
"Let me explain then, Gohan," she addressed slowly, "For us vampires, we wait for the day to find our mate. I knew it as soon as I fought you that you were the one...you are my mate, Gohan...I don't think I need to explain anymore as it is quite simple. I've been forward so far unlike my pathetic other who is too naive and shy to express our desire..."
"I'm...I'm not sure how to react to this..." Gohan replied, failing at keeping a serious face. He had known the possible attraction for the longest of time but hearing it up front and being confirmed was actually creating more confusion for him than before!
"Oh? I'm sure that you'll react to me better than anyone. You'll find that I am the most superior as opposed to my apparent pathetic rivals," she offered herself strongly.
Gohan furrowed his eyebrows, unsure of how to respond to such a statement. She was stronger? That was given but...something just didn't feel right.
The half-saiyan backed away again feeling the nervousness getting to him. He thought by now, he would be able to handle this kind of pressure. Then again, he never had to worry about this kind of stuff as all he had to focus on was fighting and studying.
"A-again, I'm not so sure about this. I-"
"Don't let her get to you, Gohan!"
Both Moka and Gohan halted to see Ruby up in the air along with her Yukari. The vampire after recognizing the annoying witch, scowled. Gohan, at the same time, was happy to see that both of the witches were safe. Something swelled in the pit of his stomach though.
Both witches lowered themselves to the ground with a tap and Yukari got off her broom, allowing it to disappear in a poof of smoke. Ruby, however, didn't relieve herself of her sharp crow wings. She retracted them behind her and narrowed her eyes at the vampire.
"I honestly don't care if you are a vampire, you most certainly can't win Gohan with that superior attitude," she concluded, lowering her lips as the vampire glared back at her with a tick mark on her forehead.
The vampire seemed to control herself though despite the agitation she now felt with this pest. Her face glowered and it was enough to make the witch slightly sweat.
"How dare you. You're either foolish or brave to talk to me that way, witch..." she spoke harshly.
Ruby faced Gohan with a serious determination filling her. Seeing the true nature of the vampire a second time since Broly, she knew she was doing the right thing by competing for Gohan. The half-saiyan couldn't have deserve someone as arrogant as her.
"Gohan-kun," she addressed, slowly softening her gaze, "I've said this before...and I'll say it again, I like you. I...I don't know if-wah!"
The witch quickly sidestepped, narrowly dodging what appeared to be an ice kunai that was flung at her. After dodging, she immediately faced in the opposite direction of the projection and glared angrily at a certain lollipop snow girl who equally seemed peeved. It was uncertain whether she was peeved because she missed or because of the interaction that she found after checking on Gin. Probably both.
"Kami-sama, I swear I will melt you like the icicle you are!" the witch snapped with a vein visibly pumping on her forehead. It was apparent she was on edge now with all that had occurred. Yukari quickly tried to calm her fellow sister down but had little effect.
Mizore kept silent and ignored the witch and vampire. She closed in on the half-saiyan and then removed her lollipop. Her hazy purple eyes gazed at Gohan in astonishment though the half-saiyan had a hard time reading the snow girl's expression. It kinda worried him.
"I want your babies..." she then stated as forwardly as possible.
...
...babies...
...babies...
At that moment, Gohan felt his head spinning. Everything had escalated so quickly that he was absolutely flabbergasted. He stepped back as all three of the girls looked to him in different ways but with entirely the same intentions.
"L-look guys...I...uh..." he began, but couldn't seem to spill the words out. The truth is, he didn't have a clue as to what to do. He regretted even confirming with Moka about her obvious intentions with him.
The vampire crossed her arms and shook her head seeing that the half-saiyan was still too uncertain. "Typical. Your hesitation had prolonged this, Gohan. I will gladly show these two girls their true place..."
Ruby gritted her teeth and glared daggers towards the vampire. "Don't get cocky vampire. I assure you that I'm not going to lose to you or this snow girl," Ruby announced, pulling her staff close to her.
"As will I..." Mizore agreed, creating three ice kunais between her fingers.
All three girls to the horror of Gohan, and rightly so, began to emit their own youki aura as they glared fiercely at each other. They...they were truly going to fight.
Yukari turned to Gohan with concern. "Ne, Gohan? You're not going to let them go through with this are you? I...I don't want to see Ruby-san get hurt..."
Gohan was already comically thinking of escaping but he knew very well that the little witch was right. He couldn't let this escalate, especially over him. He let a nervous drop of sweat crawl down his face before he stepped forward and gulped.
"G-guys, please stop this," he ordered trying to sound authoritative though it was proving difficult.
Ruby frowned, not taking her eyes away from the vampire or the snow girl. "I wouldn't want this to escalate either, but nothing ever seems easy..." Ruby commented.
"L-look...I...we shouldn't be dealing with this now! There's more important things to be working on!" Gohan shouted for fiercely this time. Yukari tugged to Gohan's leg and nodded in furious agreement as well.
Finally, it seemed that Gohan had convinced them to settle down as their auras dissipated revealing only three heated girls with no intentions of losing. They growled at each other one last time before their eyes looked away.
Moka closed her eyes and harrumphed. "Fine. This isn't over though. I promise the next time, I will prove that only I am suited for Gohan. I will show you both your places," she warned, her voice growing darker as she moved her eyes back to the two and glared daggers.
Ruby and Mizore had flinched a little, but remained strong. Most people would cower under a vampire's presence; however, Gohan was more than worth the the future trouble. They weren't going to back down just because a vampire seemingly 'claimed' him.
"Rosario..." the vampire requested as she brought out her hand towards Gohan.
Without any hesitation, the half-saiyan pulled out the rosario that he kept for a while in his pant's pocket. The vampire didn't seem to wait either as she quickly snatched it away from the half-saiyan in apparent irritation. Somehow, he had to worry for the others...and himself.
With a click, the rosario was connected once again and the white haired moka glared at Ruby and Mizore but especially the witch one last time before she faded out and a certain pink haired girl faded in.
The pink haired vampire quickly fell out of balance as she entered the realm again. Her head swaying as dizziness began to overcome her. The half-saiyan quickly grabbed the girl with one arm over her back lest she fell to the ground.
The vampire leaned on backward with half-opened eyes. It was only momentarily though until her eyes snapped open and she gasped. Quickly, she pulled herself away from the half-saiyan's hold and stepped back from everyone looking quite...distressed?
Gohan could indeed sense distress from the pink haired girl as she cupped her hands over her mouth. Ruby and Mizore took notice of this unexpected behavior with confusion. Gohan wondered what was going on as he took a smalls step forward towards the vampire with his hand slightly raised.
"Moka?"
"N-no...I...I...that's...not..."
The newly entered vampire couldn't seem to find the right words and so, she closed her eyes tightly and ran away from the three, swiftly legging it into woods and the direction of the girls' dorm.
"Wait, Moka!" Gohan called, not quite understanding why she was acting differently but was quickly stopped as he felt a hand tug his tattered uniform.
He turned to Ruby who had stopped him. She looked at him sadly and shook her head.
"It's best if you leave her be right now," the witch suggested earning a puzzled look from the half-saiyan. He turned to Mizore who was cooly nodding, equally understanding of what was going on.
"...but-"
"Trust me on this, Gohan. I'll...speak with her later," Ruby assured, hesitating a little. It appeared that she wasn't quite fond of the idea but she knew that the outer moka wasn't bad. In fact, she knew well that about the rosario seal and the causal split personality after doing some research on her own. It had to make things more difficult than normally.
Gohan couldn't help but wonder what he was missing. It appeared these two girls understood something that he didn't. For now, Gohan could only nod and trust their judgement though he couldn't help but feel concerned.
How the hell did this come to happen?
He drew in a deep breath and eyed the two girls, apologetically. It had been pretty much given that they were both interested in him as well. He knew that quite well even though he wanted to ignore it. For right now, he didn't want to have the pressure build on him. He had to let them know.
"I...I can't respond to you all, right now. Gomenasai," he apologized.
In response, Ruby closed her eyes happily and hummed, nodding her head while Mizore looked on with a light blush.
"I understand Gohan...I don't expect an answer right now," she explained before turning to the snow woman and grimacing, "...but in the meantime, I won't lose to my opponents..."
Mizore stared at the witch with a slight smirk.
'Tell that to your own age group, you old hag,' the purple-haired girl thought back, deciding not to voice it out. The witch though was bashing the snow girl inwardly as well.
'This icy bitch will only make Gohan sick,' Ruby thought back harshly.
While Gohan couldn't hear anything from the two as they were bashing each other mentally, he did feel the hostility. Ruby's reassurances didn't help him feel better either. Why were things so complicated now?
Was it because of him?
He had to admit that Moka was right. He couldn't help but hesitate because he had no clue as to these sorts of things. When he first joined this academy, he never was thinking about love. He was thinking to more of a degree of meeting his peers and enjoying high school...
...well...a normal highschool at least...
Yes, life was indeed complicated for the half-saiyan.
Suddenly remembering Gin again, he turned to Mizore wondering how Gin was doing.
"Ah Mizore, what happened to Gin?" he asked.
Mizore dropped out of the internal battle that was going on with Ruby and faced future husband with her lips curled to the side, making the lollipop in her mouth point upward.
"Ah well-"
"I wouldn't worried about the injured now, Gohan," a deep and familiar dark voice sounded, interrupting the snow girl.
Everyone turned to the source of the voice where surprisingly the headmaster appeared, making his way towards the four.
"Headmaster!" Ruby exclaimed, quickly shifting into a more professional stance.
Gohan stared at the man with curiosity. He hasn't seen him a lot of times but of everyone else, he was the most mysterious of them all. The half-saiyan wasn't sure whether to be wary of him or amiable with him. From what he knew from Piccolo, this man irritated him to no end.
"What do you mean?" Gohan asked wanting clarification.
The headmaster chuckled. "Your sempai and all the men your group totaled were sent to a large infirmary. You needn't be worried about them anymore," he explained, his eyes shining within his hooded robe.
Gohan slightly furrowed his eyebrows, a bit unbelieving of how everyone was sent to the infirmary in such a short time. Feeling out the area though, he could only feel surprised that indeed, Midou and his men were no longer near the broken warehouse.
"How-"
"That's not important right now, Gohan. What's important is that you've impressed me. No lives were lost in your battle despite the urgency of the situation," the headmaster commended, grinning widely, "...at least, from our first scan. Whether some of Midou's men pull through is another question. A lot of them were weak and almost depleted of their life..."
Gohan frowned but said nothing. He couldn't deny what the headmaster was saying, but at the very least they had a shot at surviving. That was the important part. If the transfer had gone any longer, there would be no doubt that most of the men wouldn't even be breathing.
The headmaster turned to Ruby and his grin faded into the darkness of his hood. "Was there anything you found out, Ruby?"
Ruby eyes lowered as she thought back to Kiria. She clenched her hands in frustration. He hadn't changed one bit...that was the biggest problem.
"My...non-blood related brother is part of anti-thesis," she stated though she knew the headmaster somehow already knew that.
The headmaster hummed. "...and nothing else?"
Ruby shook her sadly. "I wasn't able to extract anything. I'm deeply sorry," she apologized.
The headmaster slightly nodded his head and gazed at everyone in front of him. "...I had a feeling that nothing would've been accomplished; however, at the very least, you all know what you're dealing with..."
Gohan hardened his gaze and nodded firmly. From what he has seen, they were a group to be stopped just like the student police...possibly even worse. He wasn't going to let their leader get away with this.
The headmaster, feeling most pleased, turned towards the old library that was burnt down. It didn't seem like he thought anything of it. Most likely, it was being planned to taken down anyways.
"I typically wouldn't have asked the newspaper club but as of right now, you are the most capable group out of everyone in this school," the headmaster explained looking beyond the library, "...however, there wouldn't have been much of a choice considering I have belief that they have their eyes set on you all..."
The robed man faced the half-saiyan and aimed his eyes on the half-saiyan in his entirety. "...especially you Gohan..."
Gohan didn't say anything as he took in the headmaster's words. It was apparent because they saw him as a hinderance to their plans to destroy the school. They were right to believe that since the half-saiyan had no intentions of letting them fulfill their goal.
After a moment of silence, the headmaster said nothing more as he walked into the depths of the woods and faded away leaving some form of anxiety or worry in the group. Gohan was more focused on finding out who this leader was. For all he knew, Kiria could be lying and everything that was set in motion was by him...it really felt like that so far.
Ruby frowned, not facing Gohan as she stared into the direction the headmaster left. "Gomenesai...I can't believe my brother caused all of this," she apologized.
Gohan turned his head to the witch and felt sorrow within the woman. He couldn't blame her as it wasn't her fault. The actions of Kiria was of his own and from what Ruby had told them, he would've left sooner or later.
"It's not your fault, Ruby. We'll stop them, I promise," Gohan assured causing the witch to looked to Gohan.
She nodded with a sad smile. "Yeah...I know..."
"Why...why did you have to say something like that!" a certain pink vampire shouted in the recluse of her dorm room, uncaring if other girls were to hear her. Most of them should be in the academy anyways.
I am quite surprised that you were aware during that time. You should know that your hesitancy also prolonged this...Gohan should know fully of our intentions now... her other spoke through the rosario.
"Yes...but...the way you said it...I...I..."
The way I said what? I said what was true...we are superior to all of the rest of the pathetic girls who want him. There is no comparison between us and them. Even if you are just a shell of myself, you are still a vampire...take pride in yourself!
"I...I understand that...but...is it true that you're only interested in him because he beated you?"
There was a moment of silence until finally her other replied.
As a vampire, we have to choose our mate carefully. The strength of our future race depends on who we pick. What are you insisting?
Moka took a look into a nearby mirror in her room. For a second, she saw her other glare at her from the reflection but then after a careful look, she only saw herself. Was she being delusional?
"I thought...we were interested in him for the same reasons..."
You thought differently huh? Not surprising...and what could be your reasons?
Moka faced away from the mirror less she sees her other's expression again. She bit her lips and remained strong. She couldn't allow tears to hinder her voice.
"I...While it's true that he's strong, I liked him also because he is...kind...kinder than anyone we've met before. In fact, I've never been more happier in my life since I met Gohan..."
You're spouting nonsense girl. How naive can you be? Do you really believe that you would've been happy if Gohan hadn't been able to save you when you were endangered with kindness?
Moka widened her eyes. She clenched his hands as she tried to fight back.
"No, but I-"
He is kind...too kind and merciful for my liking even. I won't deny that; however, you are living in a fantasy world if you actually believe that you would've liked Gohan if he wasn't strong enough.
"Th-that's not true!" the pink haired-vampire argued back even though it was futile.
I won't argue with myself like this! Do or believe what you want. In the end, it won't matter as the results are the same whether I or you finally convince him. If you love him because of that, fine...just know that in our world, we didn't become the strongest of youkai because of 'kindness'
The cross around her neck finally stopped glowing as her other disappeared into the subconscious leaving Moka with things to think about.
Gohan had more than once saved her when she was unable to do anything. It was sometimes frustrating to be unable to fend off stronger monsters without relying on him or her stronger self. But it was other times too when they were out of battles, Gohan gave that...reassurance. It was likely that everyone felt it too. Everything about him...his smiles...his determination...and his care for all of his friends.
Moka bit her lips. She wanted to be that special person in Gohan's heart. It felt just so natural to be around him and she wanted to so...so much get closer to him. It was difficult though...she couldn't be so forward as her other was. Maybe it was time to change.
KNOCK KNOCK!
Moka gasped a little, not really expecting anyone to come. She passed by Kurumu and Tsukune on her dash to the dorm. She felt a little bad for not taking the time to help the succubus with her boyfriend and to check on him but she was too heavy in the head at the time. She wondered if it was the succubus or maybe even...Gohan.
"Who is it?" she asked, wiping her eyes for any tears that were there.
A moment of silence occurred until a hesitant voice replied back. It was far from the person she expected to be.
"It's me..." the voice most appropriated to Ruby answered.
Moka was unsure of what to do. Here, her rival for Gohan came to her. She half-expected her other to respond but nothing came of it. Personally, she didn't think the witch was a bad person and would've loved to become friends with her...under different circumstances at least.
"Look, I just want to talk...clear some things up..." she explained.
Moka heaved a sigh before slowly moving to the door and opening it to see the witch standing with a sympathetic expression. What was she here for?
"I hope you're not thinking of killing me too, right? Ha?" the witch attempted to joke though it sounded as if she was unsure herself.
Moka raised her eyebrows in surprise and then lowered her head in shame as she remembered her stronger self's attitude towards the witch and snow girl. She never liked conflicts and so being aware of her other during that time was painful.
"G-gomen..." she apologized.
Ruby smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, it wasn't your fault, at least figuratively," she waved off.
Moka raised her head and narrowed her eyes in puzzlement. "Why are you here?"
Ruby stood firmly as if she was waiting for that specific question. She stared at Moka with a serious outlook in her eyes.
"What are you towards Gohan?" she asked.
"Wha-"
The vampire's eyes widened as she couldn't finish her sentence. She began thinking. What was she to Gohan? Her other had already expressed long ago that she wanted to be with the half-saiyan. She wanted as well, but...
"Hmm...maybe I should say it this way. Do you love Gohan?" Ruby asked differently.
Moka frowned. "You already know that answer..." she answered solemnly.
"That was your other though, wasn't it?" Ruby questioned. This didn't help the vampire answer as it was the question she had been constantly asking herself. Did it really matter if it was her or the other? Wasn't the results the same?
"I...I do," she decided to answer simply, ignoring the details for now.
Ruby gave a surprising grin.
"You shouldn't be so down then," she explained, "...as far as I can see, you and your other see things differently. I'd rather be a rival to Gohan with you than your stronger self."
"H-huh?!"
Ruby looked away slightly and gave a small smile as she remembered meeting Gohan for the first time...actually, that was when she got pummelled for hurting Tsukune. Okay, so when she got to speak with him for the first time.
"When I first got to speak with him, I was honestly surprised at how friendly he was. He was apologizing for hurting me when clearly I was the one at fault. I couldn't believe how kind he was especially since I was clearly the enemy," she gave a short laugh and shook her head, "...you already know this but...I wouldn't have met you guys and fell in love with him if it had been any different."
Moka couldn't help but feel something grab her chest. She moved one arm close to her chest as she looked to Ruby with pain. It was the same...
"I..."
Ruby was shaken out of her thoughts and turned back to the vampire with a quizzical eye.
"I...It's the same...It's the same reason I love him as well," Moka finally answered firmly, unwilling to be the one without a reason.
Ruby said nothing for a moment and then gave a reassuring smile with her eyes closed. "That's good to know at least. Personally, I wouldn't want to fight my rival for someone without a reason," she replied with a hint of tease.
Moka widened her eyes and couldn't help but smile genuinely now. This was strange though. Why was she doing this to someone she knew she was battling against?
"Why are you doing this?" Moka asked, confused as she cocked her head.
Ruby sighed and put her hands forward as she shook her head. "Ha! That's a good question. I really shouldn't be encouraging you, but..."
She turned her body away, ready to leave but kept her head facing the vampire. She winked. "...it's part of my job to reassure the students, after all"
Moka blinked as Ruby began walking away, feeling satisfied. The vampire couldn't help but smile with a newfound respect for the older witch. Yes, she wasn't going to lose. She would first tell Gohan her feelings. The last thing she wanted was for Gohan to think that she felt the same as her other. Convinced herself, she was going to prove her worth.
Ruby, as she moved to exit the dorm building, couldn't help but worry as she thought of the true nature of Moka. It was typically dangerous to be dealing with a vampire and for the most part, meant certain death. This didn't mean though that witches were beneath vampires...oh that would be an understatement. Witches were versatile and they usually couldn't be ranked as it all depended on the individual witch. Ruby didn't want to fight Moka on a physical level but there was something that told her the next time she met her...
'I suppose I should learn some anti-vampiric spells...just in case,' she thought.
Underneath the youkai academy school building laid a large underground infirmary. For the most part, it had been unused and collecting dust but today was different as about a hundred monstrels laid in beds in various states, groaning or shivering. Some of them were in critical conditions while most of them simply needed to rest for a few days. Of the men who were in critical condition laid one wrapped in bandages with an oxygen mask attached to his face. He was none other than Midou.
Saline in a bag hanged from a metal stand as it slowly distributed in tubes to various parts of his body to flush out any wounds. Despite being labeled into critical condition, his breathing was finer than most.
"My...you're looking quite well for someone who got beat up badly..." a sweet female voice commented. Coming from the side, a nurse with wavy, hazel colored hair entered into the gang leader's bedside.
A small smirk to the side revealed all there was to the intention of the nurse, Mako Yakumaru, as her index finger extended and transformed into a disfigured branch-like bone.
"...it's a shame I have to put you into permanent sleep," the nurse said, moving in closer to Midou's head.
Just as she was about to inject her special fluid from her veins into the gang leader's arteries, his eyes suddenly snapped open causing the nurse to gasp in surprise.
The moment of hesitation was all Midou needed to take in the situation and realize that this woman dressed as a nurse was actually an assassin meant to "clean" up.
...no fucking way...
...as if he'd let that happen...
Mako didn't have time to react as Midou pulled himself together and grabbed her arm, pushing it away from his neck. He threw the "nurse" into the IV set, prompting the needles inside him to exit, spilling the saline liquid everywhere.
Mako, now realizing the turn of events, gritted her teeth and pushed away from the medical equipment, speedily charging with her disfigured finger pointed at the gang leader. Her eyes were wide and a bit hysterical as if her life depended on killing this one man.
Midou becoming more aware of his whereabouts, couldn't help but grin cockily at the nurse as he felt...weirdly refreshed. He wasn't sure why but he wasn't going to worry about it now.
Raising his more powerful arm, he punched forward at the incoming nurse and surprised her by immediately transforming his arm into his true monstrel formation. It expanded and grew quicker to surprise the assassin.
Unable to stop herself, Mako's body collided against the huge arm and claws. The claws secured itself over the nurse's main body and trapped her attacking arm underneath. The assassin screamed as she was then lifted up a foot from the floor and smashed into the wall his bed resided against.
A small quake shook the ground underneath Midou's feet and the underground ceiling. A dent formed as Mako's back had crashed against the wall and under the gang leader's youki pressure.
"Ugh," Mako groaned as she felt the force of the gang leader shake her very being. Held up against the wall, she slowly moved her head to her target who had somehow managed to get ahead of her.
"You've got some nerve if you think you can just finish me off," Midou snarled.
"H-have...m-mercy..." Mako whimpered, truly fearing for her life as she was at the end of the cliff of life.
Midou couldn't help but grin widely and chuckle. "I think you shouldn't forget about your earlier action, you bitch..."
Mako didn't have any time to convince the gang leader as she saw the man's huge arm steam and growing hotter. She couldn't help but wince as the heat was felt against her body like a frying pan.
"Die..."
"UWAA!" Mako let out a horrified scream as the wall behind her finally cracked while Midou sent out a deadly dose of pressure against the monstrel. A small crater on the wall formed as the screams of the "nurse" finally ended. Mako's eyes were completely void of any life as her body flexed forward on Midou's arm.
Satisfied, Midou removed his arm against the wall, allowing the Mako's corpse to fall to the ground with a small slap. Midou's arm once again steamed as it regressed into a more human shaped arm. Midou grunted flexing his hands in and out to remove any stiffness he was feeling.
Looking at himself, he could only snort as he saw the amount of damage Gohan had dealt to him. He'd be able to recover, but he wouldn't be able to fight largely for some time.
His memory was hazy. He remembered something happening after he dealt a blow to the half-saiyan's back. It was all clouded though and his mind wouldn't give him the answers he wanted. He growled distastefully and looked around him where all his men laid in beds.
How disgraceful...
The gang leader knew under his circumstance that it would be best to leave the academy. No doubt, Kiria had sent him this assassinating present...that little bastard. Plus, the gang leader knew that he was in no condition to plan vengeance on Gohan or Anti-Thesis. For now, all he could do his build up his strength.
Annoyed, he look for any signs of his jacket and was less annoyed to see it next to his bed on the opposite side of him and the corpse. Without another word, he slowly walked to it and put it over his shoulders carefully, lest he cringe in pain. It was slightly uncomfortable to be standing or walking, but it wasn't like he had a choice to stay in bed.
Looking towards the exit, he grimaced.
"I will not let this stand, Gohan. We'll meet again, I swear it," he seethed, furrowing his eyebrows as he left his men and the infirmary in a quick pace.
A\N:
Another 10k word chapter...holy crap...well, I'm glad this part of the story is over with. I'm pretty happy with the major changes I set in, especially with the whole kidnapping of Tsukune and the blood rituals. Don't worry about Midou, we won't see him for quite a long time.
You might think Ruby shouldn't have been encouraging Moka but the way I see it, the witch takes her role seriously and she's more mature than most of the girls (in some aspects at least). This kind of characteristic may appeal to Gohan so it could be in the best interest of the witch. I wouldn't expect the same encouragement towards Mizore. She gave Ruby quite a nasty cold...
BA DAM TS!
Oh shit, the pun police is here. Until next time I suppose...and happy Thanksgiving to those who live in the U.S!