Hey, guys! This is me, editing Freshman at Yokai yet again, and this time it will hopefully be for the final time. My writing style has changed again, and I feel the need to write in a certain way, but I don't want to make my stories confusing my constantly changing writing styles, so now I'm going back and editing again!

Here's the changes: It'll be in the first person from Ambrose's point of view, but will switch to third person when focusing on other characters (such as Tsukune and Riku).

That's basically it for changes, so I hope you enjoy this revamped Freshman at Yokai!

An Eventful Start to the Year

I, Ambrose Holt, sat at the back of the bus to Yokai Academy, gazing silently at the surroundings out the window. I could see my piercing blue eyes reflected back at me, along with my thin but strong face, Caucasian skin, and raven black, buzz-cut hair. My expression was bland and serious. I hadn't had many reasons to smile recently. I was wearing the green blazer and trousers of the Yokai Academy boys' uniform. I wasn't thinking about anything in particular, just taking in the scenery.

Then the bus pulled to a stop, and I pulled my eyes to the front of the bus to see someone else getting on.

He was a boy of about my age – fifteen – with dark brown hair that only the keenest of eyes could distinguish from black. His eyes were brown, too, though they were a much lighter shade, and his skin was a slightly tanned shade of Caucasian. He looked nervous and slightly sceptical about something. My nose caught a whiff of something and, I took an involuntary sniff.

This guy's scent … It was wrong, somehow … almost human …

But that can't be right, I reasoned with myself as he sat down a little way down the bus from me, which I didn't mind because I liked my solitude when it came to travelling. How in the hell could a human be entered into a school for Monsters?

I decided that my nose had to be wrong. Which was strange, because the nose of a Wendigo was one of our best features.

Whatever it was that was wrong, I was glad for the distraction. It almost took my mind off the fact that my entire family had been slaughtered barely two or so months beforehand.

"So … entering Yokai Academy, eh, kids?" asked the bus driver, a man whose dark blue cap shadowed his facial features, and who constantly seemed to be smoking a cigarette.

"Uh … yeah," said the guy who had just gotten on the bus. His voice was shaky, nervous.

"Did the fact that we're on the Yokai Academy school bus give that away, by any chance?" I said. My voice came out in a deadpan. I hadn't truly emoted since the incident, not even to cry, though tears had felt close to bursting forth numerous times.

"I hope you said all your goodbyes," said the bus driver. "Because as soon as we come out of this long, long tunnel … you'll see the academy. And perhaps – never see anything again!"

I could practically hear the stereotypical dun dun duuuun! sound effect playing in the background. "Quaking in my non-existent boots," I said. I didn't much care for the bus driver's dramatics. I could see that my fellow student didn't, either, for he looked quite exasperated.

We soon entered a tunnel, and while the other student didn't seem to notice, I saw that the blackness of the tunnel was replaced by a mass of different colours as we entered. I felt a tenseness that I hadn't even realised I held leave my body. Any chance of somebody finding me out here was zero.

The tunnel regained its natural black shadows, and the bus soon exited back into the world – a world, at least – and pulled to a stop. I stood up and shoved my hands in my pockets, then exited the bus, following after my fellow student. I saw that we had parked by a forest, a forest of dead or dying trees. I peered past the bus and saw that there was an ocean which held a strange red gleam to it. There were no other landmarks in sight other than the bus stop, which was in itself rather odd. It was an old scarecrow; a rather stereotypical one, too. It was built out of a pair of sticks that were draped in old clothes, with a scary-faced pumpkin for a head. A sign reading BUS STOP was nailed to its front.

"Welcome to your new school, kids," said the bus driver. "You take care now." He tossed us a wave, then closed the doors of the bus and drove back into the tunnel, where the bus vanished into the darkness barely a second after entering.

My fellow student and I stood in an admittedly awkward silence. A clap of thunder accompanied a bolt of lightning striking in the distance, making me jump a little. My fellow student's reaction was quite similar to my own.

"What kinda school is this to be near a place like this?" said my fellow student.

"I don't know," I said, shrugging. I didn't know if he was expecting an answer, but I felt the need to give one anyway. I wasn't lying, ether, not entirely. I had never been to a school before – having been home-schooled by my mother before the incident – so I genuinely had no idea what to expect. "But it'll certainly be interesting finding out."

"Yeah, I guess," he said. Then he stuck his hand toward me. "My name's Tsukune. Tsukune Aono."

I blinked for a moment in surprise, then considered. After some thought, I took his hand in my own and shook it. "Ambrose Holt," I said. "Here to learn and hopefully not die in the process."

That was one thing to be said about me. At least, despite everything, I hadn't lost my sense of humour.

Tsukune chuckled. "Yeah, me, too," he said. He looked around, spending a little more time looking at the trees – which had crows sitting in them, looking like we were about to become dinner – before saying: "Sure is creepy, though. It's like that tunnel lead to a different world."

"… Yeah," I said. I began to wonder if Tsukune was even aware of where we were. "I get that feeling, as well."

Lightning struck again, and it startled us both again. "Okay, this is pretty scary," said Tsukune, his voice dripping with optimism. "But Yokai itself can't possibly be that …" His gaze fell on something that made his expression fall. I looked, too, and saw a rather creepy-looking building in the distance with gargoyles and other horror movie set-pieces covering it. "That's the school, isn't it?"

"Afraid so," I said, nodding. I had seen photos of the building while signing up.

"Well … shit," Tsukune said in a deadpan, though he looked incredibly nervous. "That looks more like a haunted house than a school!"

"I suppose we'll just have to put up with it for a year." I shrugged.

"Yeah." Tsukune sighed. He looked at me. "We should probably get going."

I nodded, and the two of us started walking together. The forest was much more disturbing on the inside, and I found that I had almost no urge to say anything. Tsukune didn't seem to, either, but he did keep darting his head around at every little noise. The atmosphere was a little creepy, I guess. It actually gave me the chills somewhat, too. Those chills vanished and a sense of utter alertness overtook me as a sound hit my sensitive ears. Something was rustling through the leaves at a fast pace … and then there was the ring of a bell …

"LOOK OUT!" came the loud screech of a distinctly female voice. I was too late to react, but luckily the bike this speaker was riding bypassed me completely. Tsukune, however, wasn't so lucky; the bike collided with him directly, and Tsukune, the rider, and the bike were sprawled across the floor.

"Well, that was unexpected," I said, my eyes widening slightly as I took in the display in front of me. And quite painful-looking … I added in my mind. I hoped they were all right.

Tsukune groaned. He struggled to get back to his feet, and in doing so reached his arm out in an attempt to support himself. What his hand landed on was most certainly not the floor, and I had to resist the urge to sigh as I saw the situation he now found himself in. His hand was on the bare thigh of an incredibly attractive girl of about our age. Tsukune looked at his hand, and, seeming to realise what had happened, squeezed in shock.

The bike rider herself was, as I've said, incredibly beautiful. Her skin was pale and alluring. Her flowing hair was bubblegum pink and reached to slightly past her waist. Her emerald green eyes sparkled in the light, despite the slightly pained look currently on her face. She wore the girls' uniform for Yokai Academy, which consisted of a green blazer, white dress shirt, and a skirt so short it didn't even come close to reaching her knees.

"Oh, I'm sorry …" said the girl. Her voice was soft. "I'm anaemic … I get a little dizzy sometimes …"

I had seen the look that plastered Tsukune's face before, on a few people I'd met throughout my life. He was smitten. He looked like he had never seen a more beautiful girl in all his life.

Neither – and I admit this freely – had I. If I had been less in control of myself than I was, I might have even reacted to her in a similar manner to Tsukune. But I didn't really care about that sort of thing. As far as I was concerned, if a relationship happened to form while I was at this school, then it would just happen, but I wasn't planning on going looking for a girlfriend. That wasn't on my list of priorities.

Then I noticed that Tsukune's nose was leaking a small trickle of blood. I thought that only happened in animé and stuff, I thought curiously. I took a look at the girl to see if she had noticed, and to my immense surprise, where most girls would have been disgusted by this, she looked almost entranced by it. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was open slightly.

"Oh! Blood …!" she said, gasping. She took a handkerchief out of her pocket, and began to wipe the blood from Tsukune's nose with it. Her face got close to his face, and I heard her sniffing, and then she stiffened up, like she was in shock or something. "Your blood … I can … smell it …" She shook herself, and collapsed, grabbing onto Tsukune's shoulders for support. "Oh n-no … it's happening again …"

Tsukune was helping to hold her up, and he was sweating, fidgeting uncomfortably. The girl then looked up at him, he stiffened, and she got closer to his face.

"I'm sorry …" the girl said quietly. "But … you see … I'm a Vampire." She then brought her head to Tsukune's neck, and sank her teeth into it.

Something clicked in my mind, and the reason she had been so entranced by Tsukune's blood became blatantly obvious. I mentally smacked myself. I was attending a school for Monsters, but apparently it never occurred to me that the girl who seemed hypnotised by blood might be a member of the race most famous for drinking it.

Tsukune suddenly ripped himself away from the Vampire girl, and began running around the area in apparent panic. I couldn't help but watch him do so in confusion. I had heard that having a Vampire drink from you is a surreal and strange experience, but I had never heard of somebody reacting like this. Maybe Tsukune had even less experience with the outside world than I did …? Yeah, that must be it, I thought, shrugging. Still, running into an S-Class Monster this early is rather interesting. I wonder what else will happen today.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" said the Vampire girl. "My name's Moka! I'd never dream of something like that … if I weren't …"

"A Vampire!?" Tsukune said suddenly. "Like, afraid of crosses and garlic!? That kind of Vampire!?"

"Uh-huh." Moka nodded shyly. Then she smiled. "And I have to say, you have really delicious blood!" Her face became vacant, like she was daydreaming.

I checked the watch I was wearing, and looked at the other two. "As pleasant as this is," I said, "I don't think the school's going to wait for us to arrive."

Both of them looked at me, Moka looking like she was only just noticing me.

"Yeah, you're right," said Tsukune. "We should get going. Come on," he added to Moka, who picked up her bike and began to walk beside us as we made our way through the dead forest.

"So … um …" said Moka. She was biting her lip nervously, and her gaze kept darting toward Tsukune, while only occasionally landing on me. "Do you not like Vampires?"

"Me? Not like Vampires? Don't be ridiculous! I love Vampires!" Tsukune said, a little too quickly in my opinion.

"Can't say I've ever met one," I said. "But as long as you don't sparkle, you're fine by me." I had been forced to read those books by my mother, and while I wasn't one to judge what other people enjoyed reading, I myself wasn't a fan of the Twilight series. In fact I found them to be overly dramatic, nonsensical, and stupid.

"Oh, I'm so glad!" said Moka. Once again, she was talking more to Tsukune than to me. In her eyes I could see the beginnings of the look I had seen on Tsukune's face when he had first looked at her. "Then we can all be friends. I was worried because I'm new here."

Moka smiled happily, and the smitten look on Tsukune's face returned.

"Uh, my name's Tsukune Aono," Tsukune said to Moka.

"And I'm Ambrose Holt," I said.

"Nice to meet you both," Moka said, smiling. "Let's talk after the commencement ceremony!"

I looked around the crowded classroom, and observed my classmates. A lot of them looked like people you'd be likely to find in a stereotypical movie high school. There were the sporty students, the nerdy students, the pretty students, the ugly students, and so on and so forth. There was one girl who stood out at the back of the class, but that was only because of her bright blue hair and strange choice of uniform. I was in the same homeroom as Tsukune, though, so at least there was an upside.

"Welcome, everyone, to Yokai Academy!" our teacher said enthusiastically. She was a woman who looked to be in her mid- to late twenties with sandy blonde hair fashioned in an attempt to hide a pair of cat ears – it was failing. She wore glasses, and her eyes, strangely, seemed to be permanently closed. "I'll be your homeroom teacher, Ms Shizuka Nekonome. As I'm sure you all know, Yokai is a school for Monsters!"

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Tsukune stiffen up slightly.

"Now!" Ms Nekonome continued. "Like it or not, human beings run the world! For us Monsters to survive, we must learn to coexist peacefully with them! And that's the mission of this academy! Living peacefully in a human world!"

Tsukune turned his head and began dragging his eyes over the rest of the class. His gaze was scrutinising, and he looked tense and worried. Was something wrong?

"Which brings us to rule number one! You will retain your human appearance! Does everyone understand? The first key to surviving among humans is being able to disguise yourself as one of them!"

Tsukune's movements were becoming downright frantic, and I picked up the faint smell of him perspiring. I once again tried to ignore just how very human he smelt. I hope nothing is wrong, I thought as I observed his movements. In the short amount of time since we had gotten off the bus together, I had found that I quite liked Tsukune. He was a really nice guy, and I would have hated to think he was having problems on the first day of school.

"To practice the art of disguise, please don't reveal your true nature – even to fellow students!"

"But ma'am," said a muscular, brown-haired boy whose eyes practically screamed psychopath. His voice was rough and full of confidence. "Can't we just eat all the humans? I could start with all the cute girls." He chuckled.

Sick fucking pervert. I narrowed my eyes at the boy, who was sitting right next to Tsukune and just in front of me, and decided I would keep an eye on him from this day forward. I hated people like him, and if I could stop his perverted endeavours, then I was damn well going to do it.

"You don't have to worry about running into any humans here!" Ms Nekonome said to the perverted boy. "All the faculty and staff are Monsters just like you! And since this academy is located in the secret 'Borderlands,' no human has ever seen it. At least – not seen it and lived!" This prompted everybody in the class to explode in roars of laughter, and I began to feel disgusted with the lot of them. Except for Tsukune, that is – he wasn't laughing. He looked quite freaked out, as a matter of fact.

That's just an excessive use of force, I thought. There are ways to wipe memories. You could just do that and send them on their way, but don't fucking kill them!

Tsukune was gripping the side of his desk, and the smell of his sweat strengthened. I think he was taking this even more seriously than I was.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Moka, panting from exhaustion, barged into the room. "Oh! I'm sorry!" she said through her breaths. "I got lost in the halls after the ceremony, and … Sorry I'm late!"

"That's all right," said Ms Nekonome, smiling brightly at Moka. "Just take any empty seat."

"Thanks!" said Moka. It was then that Tsukune looked up, saw her, and that smitten look appeared on his face again.

As Moka began to walk around the room, my sensitive ears picked up the hushed voices of the other boys in the room.

"Wh-who is that …?"

"That silky hair …! Those huge eyes …!"

"It can't be a disguise … she's just too … too …"

"Beautiful …" all of them said together.

"Moka …" I heard Tsukune mutter as she walked by him. I found a smirk tugging at my lips. He had it bad.

Moka's head turned in his direction, indicating that she had heard him, and her face broke out in a huge smile. "Tsukune!" she said. She wrapped him in a massive hug. "I'm so happy we're in the same class!"

"Good to see I'm so well remembered," I said. I was trying not to let the smirk on my face take over completely. These two are going to be together by the end of the year, I thought fondly. I could see it coming a mile off. Even if I personally wasn't looking for a relationship, it didn't mean I couldn't be happy for my new friends – for that was what they were – if they happened to get into a relationship. I would be quite happy if they did, in fact; the two were clearly quite taken with each other, and the sooner they both realised it the better.

"Oh, it's good to see you, too, Ambrose," Moka said, still smiling. She took the empty seat behind Tsukune.

The comments being whispered by the male denizens of the classroom were louder now, and they were more angry than admiring. They were no longer aimed at Moka – now they were aimed at Tsukune.

"Hey! Who's he!?"

"How does he know her!?"

"How does he rate!?"

I couldn't help but grin as these comments reached my ears. They were all getting so angry about the friendship between two people none of them had met. It was actually quite hilarious.

But I couldn't stop my eyes from wandering to the perverted boy in front of me. I got a bad feeling about him …

Tsukune, Moka, and I were walking through the crowded hallways of Yokai Academy after class had ended. Moka had wrapped her arms around Tsukune's own, and she was practically dragging him through the halls as I did my best to keep up, which wasn't as hard as one might think. I had a small, barely noticeable smile on my face as I observed the two of them. It was always good to see people enjoying themselves.

All of the male students we passed in the halls looked at Moka and Tsukune with wide eyes. They were all having muttered conversations with each other.

"Whoa! Did you just see that girl!?"

"H-h-hot!"

"I've never seen a girl so hot!"

Those were the comments they made upon seeing Moka. Upon seeing Tsukune, however, their conversations took a noticeably dark turn.

"What's up with him!?"

"Who cares!?"

"Yeah! If he gets in my way, he's dinner!"

I noticed that Tsukune was tensing up as these comments continued, and I realised that they were now speaking loud enough for anyone with normal hearing to hear them just fine. I felt a certain protectiveness over Tsukune that I had only ever really felt around friends, and I found myself turning to face the whisperers with the disguise around my teeth dropped, revealing my rather large fangs to them. They quickly shut up.

"They're right, you know," said an unpleasantly familiar voice. It was the perverted boy from class. He was looking at Moka like she was a piece of meat, and I didn't like that look. I'm sure Tsukune didn't, either. "You are cute. Moka, isn't it? My name's Saizo Komiya, remember it."

"We'll be sure to note that down somewhere," I said. I wanted to divert his attention from Moka. I failed.

Rather than responding, he grasped both me and Tsukune by the front of our shirts, and hoisted us into the air. "What I want to know is, what's a girl like you doing with a couple of shits like these?" he said.

"Saizo Komiya!" I heard one of the other students say nearby. "I've heard of him! They say he's a real Monster Masher. He's always chasing girls – human girls. He caused so much trouble in the human world, they sent him out here – kinda like reform school!"

"Oh, that's real comforting," I muttered to myself sarcastically. Having had enough of Saizo's shit, I transformed my fingernails into their claw form, grabbed Saizo's wrist roughly, digging my claws into the skin, and twisted, tearing the skin open and breaking his wrist. He dropped Tsukune and I with a yell of pain, clutching his injured wrist in his hand, and then turned a glare toward me. "Do you want this to turn nasty, Saizo? I don't particularly want to fight you, I can't be bothered, but if this happens again, I won't be the one responsible for what happens. Remember that. And maybe remember your own name while you're at it, because I'll forget it almost immediately."

He glared at me for a few more moments, then turned his gaze back to Moka. "Come on, baby," he said through gritted teeth. "You need to experience something better than these tools – like me …" He struggled to speak through the pain of his hand. "… When should I pick you up?" He did his best to grin, but it came across as more of a grimace.

Moka slowly grabbed Tsukune's hand and began to walk away. "Sorry," she said, looking at Saizo wearily. "I'm hanging with these guys now." She began to walk off, astoundingly quickly, with Tsukune in tow.

"Oh, she does remember me," I mused to myself. I looked at Saizo, who was looking back at me with a glare that could kill a small army. "You might want to get that hand checked out at the nurse's office. Do try and behave yourself, won't you?" I gave him a sarcastic, cheery smile, and walked off after Tsukune and Moka.

"Fuck you …" I heard Saizo growl from behind me as I walked off. I also heard the sound of something scratching across the ground …

Tsukune, Moka, and I were resting in the staircase from the confrontation with Saizo. Both of them were rather shaken up about the whole thing, which probably explains why we were way further away from the place the confrontation had taken place than we had to be.

"Whoa! That was kinda scary, huh?" said Moka once she'd gotten her breath back. She looked at Tsukune, who was still regaining his breath from the quick getaway. "Are you all right, Tsukune?"

"Uh … yeah," said Tsukune. "I'm fine! But … why are you being so friendly to me, Moka? I mean … I'm just an average guy …"

"What's wrong with average?" I asked. I knew he was talking to Moka, but I just couldn't let that last comment slide. "Average means you have family, friends, people who care about you. Average people get to have all those small moments that are so easy to take for granted. Dinner with your parents, chatting with your friends. Those small, average moments are what make life worth living. Never assume you're not special, Tsukune, because the most average person can change the world given the right circumstances." It was something my mother had taught me: that normal people lead much fuller lives than special people. And I believed it. My current situation could very well be considered "special," but I certainly didn't feel all that good about it. I would have much preferred to be normal.

"Yeah," said Moka. "And you're hardly average to me, Tsukune!"

"Huh?" said Tsukune. He was looking between Moka and I with a look of confusion plastered on his face.

"Besides," Moka said, beginning to blush, "you … already let me suck your blood! You should be proud! Your blood is awesome! Way more delicious than any I've drunk from transfusion bags! The flavour, the balance, the aroma, the body …"

"This got strange all of a sudden …" I said. I suddenly felt very strange about being present; this was starting to seem like something I should really leave these two alone for.

"Tell me about it," I heard Tsukune mutter under his breath.

"Well … to tell the truth …" said Moka, blushing an even deeper red than before. "Tsukune … y-you were my first … The first person I really sucked blood from! And a girl never forgets her first time!" A huge but cute smile broke out on her face, and she gazed at Tsukune.

"I think I preferred this conversation when it was just weird," I said, shuffling uncomfortably on the balls of my feet. "Now it's just dirty."

"M … Moka …" said Tsukune, his breaths shaky.

"Oh, stop!" said Moka bashfully. She lightly shoved Tsukune away … and he went flying backwards and was embedded in the wall. "I'm embarrassed! Let's go explore the school, guys!"

"O-okay," Tsukune said, groaning in pain.

I shook my head in amusement, and had to fight down a chuckle as I made my way over to him. "Need a hand?" I said, extending a hand toward him.

"No," he said, sarcasm evident in his voice as well as pain. "Getting stuck in the wall is a hobby of mine!"

A grin worked its way onto my face. "You're learning," I said. I took him by the arm and, with minimal effort, pulled him out of the hole in the wall. "Being able to respond instantly with sarcasm is a sign of a healthy mind, my friend. I do it whenever I can." We walked in the direction Moka had walked off in, and we caught up with her fairly quickly.

From that point on, we looked around at the different areas of the school. When compared to the outside, the inside was quite normal. It looked like the hallways and classrooms of any ordinary, human school. The outside looked much like a haunted mansion, complete with gargoyles decorating the steps to the entrance. We then made our way to take a look at the dorms we would be staying in.

"It says this is the dorm we'll be living in," said Moka.

Tsukune and I looked up at the building in front of us, and it wasn't exactly a conventional looking dorm. It was surrounded by gravestones and dead trees. The building itself looked run-down, with boarded up windows and cracks in the wall, and it was surrounded by ravens, crows, and bats. All in all, it didn't look like a very comfortable place to live long-term.

"They can't really make us spend three years in that, can they?" said Tsukune. Sweat was pouring from his face as he gazed up at the structure, shaking.

"It could be worse," I said, trying to lighten things up. And honestly, I had slept in worse places. "There could be a man with a machete and a hockey mask waiting for us inside." I shrugged.

"It's heaven," Moka said happily. "Have you ever seen a building with such personality?"

"The architects certainly had some interesting ideas, I'll give them that," I said.

"What!?" said Tsukune. "Are we looking at the same dump!?"

"Huh?" Moka looked at him, confused. "But this place is a Monster's dream! By the way, what type of Monsters are you two?"

"Wendigo," I said without hesitating. I didn't expect many people would follow that rule, anyway. "And let me tell you, my true form is an ugly fucker."

Tsukune began perspiring again. "Uh … well … um …"

"Oh, that's right!" Moka said suddenly. "It's against the rules to tell, huh? Sorry, forget I asked."

"Sure, sure!" Tsukune said, a little too quickly in my opinion. "But I gotta say, Moka, you totally look human from every angle! And so do you, Ambrose!"

"That would be the shapeshifting that I'm rather sure you're doing, as well," I said, raising an eyebrow at him. I wasn't exactly well informed on how the world worked, but Tsukune seemed to be downright ignorant when it came to Monster society. Just where had this guy been living …?

"I may look human now," Moka said to Tsukune, "but when I take off this Rosario," she gestured to the silver cross with a red, lizard eye-like bead at the centre, "I get really scary."

"Rosario?" said Tsukune.

"It's a crucifix with a Rosary Bead in the middle," said Moka. "It locks up Vampiric powers. I don't like causing trouble anyway, so I'm happy to wear the Rosario and keep my powers in check!"

Moka began edging closer to Tsukune, who now seemed to be lost in thought, which I could tell from the slightly glazed look in his eyes.

"Of course, even with her powers locked up, a girl needs blood," said Moka. Then she sank her teeth into Tsukune's neck for the second time that day.

Tsukune's yells of surprise echoed through the area, and I could not contain the chuckles that burst forth from my mouth as I watched on from the sidelines.

It had been a strange, yet oddly charming, first day. I looked forward to the next one.

Morning the next day, Tsukune finds himself walking to school alone, having woken up before both Moka and Ambrose. He is carrying a withdrawal letter that he plans on giving to the principal, but he simply can't bring himself to deliver it. Ambrose is a good friend, of course, but he has plenty of good friends back home. The real reason he doesn't want to leave is Moka. He doesn't want to be separated from her, but at the same time this whole thing is just too messed up. Why does the best thing that ever happened to him have to be in a place like this?

"Yo, wait up, lady killer," says an unpleasantly familiar voice. A large hand grabs Tsukune's shoulder and roughly forces him to turn around. Saizo grabs the front of Tsukune's shirt and holds him in place.

"S-Saizo!" Tsukune says in shock upon seeing who it is. Saizo smirks at him, and, just like the day before, lifts him into the air by the front of his shirt. His hand looks like it has healed.

"I hear you, Moka, and that other annoying little freak spent a lot of time together yesterday," says Saizo. "Just who do you think you are!? What's your true nature, anyway!?" His hatred-filled eyes turn to pure contempt. "What's that other bastard's true nature!? What are you two little fucks hiding under that human form!?"

Shit! Tsukune thinks in terror. He is sweating bullets. If he finds out I'm human, I'll die! And then he'll go after Moka and Ambrose! "N-nature?" he manages to say, trying to think of something. "I-I'm a … a … Vampire or something."

Saizo's eyes narrow, and he shoves Tsukune up against a wall, punching into the brick next to him and leaving a large indent there.

"A Vampire!?" Saizo says, even angrier now. "The Vampire is an immortal! Said to be the most powerful Monster of them all! You, a Vampire! Don't make me laugh. What next, are you going to tell me the bastard who busted my wrist yesterday is a Werewolf of something!?" He barks out mocking laughter. His hand becomes grotesque and his fingers grow claws, and he hovers the hand over a terrified Tsukune's head. Tsukune is very close to passing out from fear when Saizo drops him on his ass and starts to walk away. "Don't let me catch you near Moka again. If you even speak to her, you're dust. And your other friend better watch his back, 'cause after what he did to my wrist I'm not in a very good mood with him."

He just leaves Tsukune there, sitting on the ground near a small pile of broken bricks.

After waking up that morning, I met up with Moka outside, and the two of us stood together waiting for Tsukune. It felt a lot less awkward than I thought it would, being alone with Moka. I had expected the silence, sure, but I had thought it would be the uncomfortable kind. That wasn't the case at all. We stood in a rather comfortable silence, occasionally making idle conversation as we waited for Tsukune to show himself. It was actually quite pleasant.

"There he is," I said, pointing him out when I saw him. To my confusion, however, he seemed to be carrying his luggage with him. Moka and I approached him, Moka going a lot faster than myself.

Moka got to him and hugged onto him. "Hey, Tsukune!" she said happily. "We better hurry up or we'll be late!"

"Another day of human-hating awaits," I said humorously. "Should be great."

"Guys …" Tsukune said quietly. His eyes kept drifting downwards. I had seen that look on people before – he was feeling depressed about something.

"Tsukune," said Moka. She was looking at the suitcase Tsukune was carrying. "What's wrong? You're carrying your luggage."

"I don't know what to do, guys," said Tsukune. "This school is too scary! I want to go to a human school!"

"To a …" Moka seemed to be struggling to find words. There was shock written all over her face. Hell, I was pretty surprised, too. "No! You can't go to a human school! I hate humans!"

"I wouldn't go as far as to say I hate humans," I said. It was strange, really; of all Monsters, I had a very valid excuse for hating humans, but for some reason I just didn't. General discomfort, yes, but not hatred. "But going to human school after one bad day seems like an unorthodox decision."

"I … I went to middle school with humans," said Moka. Surprisingly, she now seemed to be speaking to both of us. "And I was so lonely! They all said, 'Monsters don't exist, except in stories!' I felt like a freak! I started to think it might be better … if I really didn't exist … I thought it would never be any different …" Then she looked at Tsukune; her eyes were sparkling. "That is, until you told me you love Vampires. For the first time, I know I'm not really alone! You can't go, Tsukune! We'll get through this together!"

"You're our friend, Tsukune," I said, and the word "friend" came much more naturally than I thought it would. "We'll help you out however we can."

Tsukune was quiet for a few moments. "What if …" he said, hesitating. "What if I were one of those humans you hate? Would you still stop me?"

I tensed up when I heard that. I remembered the first time I had seen Tsukune, on the bus … he had smelt so very human, but I had thought my nose was playing tricks on me. But then there was his strange ignorance of the Monster world, that constant fear he had displayed whenever Monsters in general were mentioned … it all made sense now, and not in a good way. I didn't hate humans, but Tsukune being here was very, very bad.

"What?" said Moka, her eyes wide.

"I get the feeling this is going to be a very unpleasant conversation …" I said. I had a bad feeling about this whole thing.

"Moka, Ambrose … I am," Tsukune said, confirming the thoughts that were running through my mind. "I'm a human. I got into this school by mistake! I'm different from both of you!"

"But that's impossible!" said Moka. "No human could possibly …!"

"Nothing is impossible," I said. I swallowed a lump in my throat as the gravity of the situation hit me. "Just highly unlikely."

Moka looked at Tsukune, and the look on her face can only be described as horrified.

Tsukune looked at the face Moka was making, and bowed his head. "So, now that you know I'm human, that's how you look at me," he said. It came out as a mutter, and his tone was permeated with sadness. "I was right, this place isn't for me." He turned around and started walking away.

I walked a little behind him. "Tsukune, please think about this," I said pleadingly, more for Moka's sake than my own. I saw how these two were with each other, and they needed each other, whether either of them knew it at the moment or not. I wasn't important – I was just sort of there. "We had a good thing going yesterday. I'm sure we can just keep this whole thing a secret."

"Tsukune, is it really true?" said Moka, interrupting any of my further attempts to persuade him. She walked up behind him and grabbed onto his shoulder, but he swung around to face her, hurt anger covering his face.

"You hate humans – remember!?" he yelled in her face. "Well, maybe I don't like Monsters, either!" He took off running through the forest, in the direction of the bus stop.

"Tsukune!" Moka yelled, and started running after him. I ran, too, and passed by Moka after barely a moment due to my superior speed as a Wendigo, which we needed in order to effectively hunt our food.

I ran after Tsukune, having more trouble catching up than I normally would due to Tsukune's head start, but I was gaining fast. I caught up with Tsukune just before he reached the bus stop, and with a clumsy leap, I tackled him to the ground, and held him down by the arms.

"Get off me!" he said, glaring up at me. "I need to get out of here, it's too much!"

"You think this is too much?" I asked him, glaring right back. My tone remained blank, but my facial expression spoke volumes about the mood I was in. "It could be so much worse than this, Tsukune. As it is, you, me, and Moka are the only ones who know you're human. I like you, you're a nice guy and you're easy to make friends with. I don't want you to leave. And I'm damn sure Moka doesn't, either, no matter what she may have said just now. You two get along so well, please don't ruin that by leaving." I didn't want to lose a friend this soon after gaining one, because it would be too much for me. I hadn't gotten close to anyone since the incident, and losing someone else would probably break me at this point …

"You heard what she said," said Tsukune. The anger was gone, replaced by hurt resignation. "She hates humans, I am a human. How the hell are we gonna stay friends?"

"That's entirely up to you," I said. "I don't know how it'll turn out, but you'll have to try before we find out."

Tsukune went quiet. His eyes glazed over in that I'm thinking look that people got when they were contemplating something. I knew he wasn't going to run away from me, so I released his arms.

And that's when the high-pitched scream of pure terror tore and echoed through the forest.

Tsukune and I looked at each other, and it was like something clicked between us. "Moka!" we both said, and took off running back through the forest.

It didn't take us long to get where we were needed. Moka was there, on her knees, looking quite distressed. In front of her was a large, grotesque Monster – a Monstrel – with its long, pointed tongue poking out of its mouth. It had huge, course muscles, pulsing with thick veins, one human eye and one black eye with a glowing white pupil. Its claws were massive, and it licked Moka up and down with its disgusting tongue.

"MOKA!" Tsukune shouted at the top of his lungs as we came upon the scene.

"Tsukune!" Moka yelled in surprise. "But why!? Why did you come back!?"

"Ambrose opened my eyes," said Tsukune. "But, Moka, there's something I want to tell you!"

"Then say it, boy," growled the Monstrel. Its voice was distorted, but I could tell that it was Saizo. "Then you and your friend can prepare to die!" Saizo started looking at Tsukune and I like we were dinner.

"You are one ugly motherfucker," I said. "A Monstrel, huh? So, tell me, which one of your parents beat the shit out of you when you were a baby?" His glare turned to me and I could practically feel it burning holes in my skin. Okay, so I got his attention.

"Run, Tsukune!" Moka yelled. "That's Saizo's true form!"

Saizo swung a massive hand at the both of us. I threw myself in front of Tsukune because I knew that the naturally fast healing Monsters have would make it hurt less. Tsukune, being a human, wouldn't have been quite so lucky. The two of us went flying backwards into the trees. I began to have my doubts about this. Wendigos are known as hunters, but only our speed, hearing, and smell were already enhanced when we were this age; it wasn't until the age of twenty-two that we went through a sort of "second puberty" and gained all of our abilities – from that point on, we were basically S-Class Monsters.

Saizo laughed sadistically, looking down at Tsukune. "What's the matter, little 'Vampire'?" he said mockingly. "I've always wanted to test my strength against one of you! Too bad you're just trash!"

He didn't tell him he was a Vampire, did he? I asked in my mind. As much as Vampires promoted fear in most of the Monster community, more often than not they encouraged power hungry challengers like this bastard to do something stupid. Telling Saizo he was a Vampire was a pretty big mistake on Tsukune's part.

Moka ran over to where Tsukune had landed – a little bit away from me, but I was able to hear due to my sensitive ears – and knelt down beside him. "N-no! This is awful!" she said. "I'm so sorry … I used to … used to want to believe … that I could really have a human friend, but … I'm a Vampire. I suck the blood of humans. I hurt them. I wanted to think that the right person and I … could overcome that … But I guess it's impossible. I'd only end up hurting you, too, Tsukune." Tears were flowing down her cheeks the entire time she spoke.

I got to my feet and turned my nails into claws. I then ran toward Saizo, who raised an arm and brought it down on me. It hit me, but I dug my claws into it, so while I was knocked away, I took a large chunk of his arm off. I grinned to myself in satisfaction even as I hit a tree and felt one of my arms snap.

"It's … true …" Tsukune said to Moka. His voice was croaky due to pain. It was actually kind of adorable, that those two were so focused on each other that they didn't even notice my little scuffle with Saizo. "I'm … weak … and ordinary … But … I realised … I can't just run away like this … and leave you. Moka … I want to be your friend. Yes, you're a Vampire. But I really like you!"

"Are you deaf!?" Saizo said to them, having turned back to them after dealing with me. His left arm was slacking from where I had clawed it. "I told you – STAY AWAY FROM HER!" He brutally kicked Tsukune, sending him flying directly into Moka. The collision caused Tsukune's hand to wrap around Moka's Rosario, and with what looked like no effort he ripped it from her neck.

A strange, blinding white glow enveloped Moka's body.

"HEY!" Saizo shouted. "What in the—!?"

Either Saizo's fucked … or we're all fucked, I thought. I stared in interest and slight fear at the spectacle of Moka's Vampire powers awakening from within her. The light was oddly beautiful.

Moka's hair turned turned a shining silver, almost white, and her eyes turned blood red, with thin black pupils much like a lizard's – they heavily resembled the bead on the Rosario, now that I think about it. The teeth in her mouth sharpened into fangs, four significantly longer than the others, and the transformation was completed by the significant enlargement of the breast and ass areas. If I'm being completely honest with myself, this new Moka was kind of sexy, but I did my best to wipe that thought from my mind.

"Wh-what is this …?" Saizo said, his eyes wide and his body shaking. "That radiating power! It's not her any more! It's something else!"

The glow that came with the transformation disappeared, and the new Moka stood with a large grin and a violent glint in her eyes.

"Red eyes … and unearthly power!" Saizo continued. "So the legends are true! The most fearsome of Monsters – THE VAMPIRE!"

"Inner" Moka stood and stared at Saizo with contempt clear in her face. "What's the matter, little boy?" she asked him in a mocking tone. "I thought you wanted to snuggle. So why not show us how strong you are and give me a hug?" She opened her arms wide invitingly, but the grin on her face told a story I'm not sure Saizo wanted to hear the end of.

But it would appear that Saizo was incredibly stupid, as he charged forward with a loud yell, and swung his right arm down at her.

"Moka! No!" shouted Moka.

"Don't worry," I said, crawling over with my unbroken arm. "She'll be fine. I don't know if you've noticed from the way Saizo has been acting, but Vampires aren't exactly known for being weak."

As Saizo was about to crush Inner Moka, she caught his massive tree-sized appendage with one of her hands! "Really!" she said. "Is that all you've got!?" She moved his arm so that she was looking him in the face. "Learn … your … PLACE!" She used his own arm as leverage to swing around and plant a kick directly in Saizo's face. The force of the kick sent him flying through the woods, demolishing trees as he went. I didn't see where he stopped.

"Typical Monster," Inner Moka scoffed. "All size. I said, learn your place." She turned toward Tsukune and I, and began to walk toward us.

Tsukune began to tremble as she got closer.

"What?" she asked him when she reached us. "Are you afraid of me …?" She chuckled lightly, and reached down to pluck the Rosario from Tsukune's hand. "Don't be so jittery. It's been a while since I've been awakened … I'm still drowsy. I won't hurt you, 'cause your blood tastes too good to me … even when the real me is asleep." She rubbed Tsukune's chin, but it didn't appear to be comforting him in any way.

"Scaring the poor guy isn't going to do much more than make him want to run from you," I said. "Do you really want your blood supply to run away?"

"The chase would be fun." Inner Moka chuckled. "Till we meet again. You two just keep babysitting Moka, 'kay?" She returned the Rosario to its spot on her necklace, and she quickly returned to being the pink-haired "Outer" Moka we had come to know over the last day. She immediately passed out and fell into Tsukune's arms.

"Well, you two really are meant for each other," I said, grinning at Tsukune.

Tsukune's face lit up red as a tomato. "D-don't say stuff like that!" he said.

I laughed. "I don't know about you," I said, "but I hope to God that the rest of the year isn't like this."

"Me, too, dude," said Tsukune. "Me, too."

I hope you guys enjoyed this edited version of Freshman at Yokai, because this is going to be the final version! I promise, I'm going to leave it alone from now on, other than new chapters of course. I'll be editing up the other chapters soon enough, so just sit tight and enjoy.