CH 1
Tsukune stumbled along looking at the ground. He didn't feel the pains or sores from battling Alucard and Fairytale. He never stopped to hear the cheering of the victors, nor the moans of the wounded. The blood he was leaking from various wounds didn't matter either. He didn't care if they healed or not. All he could see was Moka's face as he knelt holding her head and shoulders.
"Did we get him?" Moka asked weakly as she lay on the ground, struggling for a breath.
"We did," he assured her with a sniffle. "I'm going to take you to get some help," he told her. Moka needed help, she was bleeding out from several places. He went to pick her up. She clasped her arm on his.
"No." she said in a bare whisper as she gazed into his eyes. "Tsukune … You have to go on without me."
"No!" Tsukune said forcefully in his fear. "Moka, you've got to hang on! I NEED you!"
"Gomenesai, Tsukune. Thank … you … for …. loving …... me..."
At her last word, Moka's eyes drifted shut. She went limp.
"HELP!" Tsukune cried and lifted her body. Seeing Ruby, he ran over to her."Ruby, Moka needs help now!"
Ruby who also sported bruises and torn clothes ran over to help. "Put her down," she commanded.
Tsukune did, lying Moka flat. He watched as Ruby bent over Moka to work some healing magic. She then stopped and clapped a hand to her mouth. She looked up at Tsukune with a stricken face. Tears formed in her eyes.
Beside himself at seeing Ruby just kneeling there, Tsukune flailed his arms and ranted, "Well, DO something!"
With a hitch in her breath, Ruby said two words that came down upon Tsukune like a ton of brick.
"She's dead."
Those two words rung in Tsukune's head and caused his world to come crashing to an end. Part of him didn't believe it. After all, this was Moka, a Shinso vampire. Moka was the strongest person he'd ever met. She had the ability to heal herself. Moka never lost. How could this happen? Even though he'd seen it for himself, he didn't believe Moka could die. This wasn't some weak monster, this was Moka! He was expecting Moka to get up and chastise him on being weak then haul him off to go practice even while he was wounded.
Was he wounded? Tsukune noted most of his shirt was gone and a new scar was healing over. What was one more? In his state of shock, it didn't matter. Moka wasn't really dead, was she? He looked up to see he was nearing the dorms. He walked on in a daze. It hurt to think, so he stopped trying. Maybe if he just went in and laid down for a while, all this would go away. It had to be a nightmare. Moka couldn't be dead.
"Tsukune … Tsukune!"
Tsukune turned his blank gaze to see a battered Kurumu on his arm. "Tsukune, I'm so sorry," she said, teary eyed.
"Moka's not dead. She can't be," he replied tonelessly and walked on.
He heard Kurumu talking to others, but their words were lost to him. Kurumu kept on his arm, steering him where he had to go. Soon, Mizore was on his other side, claiming his other arm. In what had to be an insane thought, he wondered when Moka would appear and drive the girls off, or Yukari came to start dropping pans on them.
Moka didn't come. Neither did Yukari.
Kurumu and Mizore got him to his room. Mizore started his shower while Kurumu coaxed him to undress. All the while, Tsukune stared at nothing as he remembered the last words Moka spoke to him.
"Thank … you … for …. loving …. me..."
Her words, her pleading eyes. Moka going limp in his grasp. Why wouldn't Ruby help her?
She's dead.
Tsukune wasn't even able to voice any resistance as Kurumu stripped down with him and led him into the shower. She and Mizore got him washed. Watching the water run down off him, he wondered why it didn't burn. Right, he wasn't quite a vampire, and he wasn't quite a ghoul. He was something else. He didn't know what he was. Moka would tell him once she recovered.
She HAD to recover.
Dried off and out, the girls found pajamas for him. Tsukune followed under their guide as they got him dressed and into his bed. He didn't have the presence of mind to put up a fight about Kurumu getting a frilly nightgown on and climbing in with him to hug him to her breast. His only thought was to wonder why Kurumu was crying. What did Kurumu have to cry about?
She's dead.
It wasn't until later long after the sun went down, with Mizore behind him and his head buried in Kurumu's cleavage that it hit Tsukune hard. Moka was dead. She wasn't coming back, she was gone forever. His love had bled to death while he held her. Bursting out in a wail of agony, Tsukune cried until morning. Kurumu holding him tight to her.
.
Not sleeping all night, Tsukune was awake when a knock came at the door. Carefully wrestling himself out from under Kurumu and Mizore's embrace, he shuffled over and opened the door enough to look out.
Kokoa was in front of his door, looking sadly at the floor. "Father wants to see you in the Director's office," she said then turned and walked away.
"Fine," he said to no one.
Kurumu and Mizore were sacked out, sleeping on his bed. To be courteous to them, he kept quiet changing clothes and left locking the door behind him. He went to go see Issa Shuzen.
.
To his surprise, Ruby was not in the outer office. He opened the door to the inner office. "You wanted to see me?"he asked tonelessly.
The silver haired vampire in the long cape who was looking out the window turned and raised an eyebrow at him. "You feel no need to show proper respect?" Issa asked with a warning in his voice.
Tsukune dropped his head and shook it. "Noting matters now. Moka is dead," he said to himself.
"It sure as hell does matter!" Issa boomed. Striding towards Tsukune, Issa growled, "Do you not think I feel the pain of what happened to Moka? Yes, it is not easy to deal with, but it MUST be dealt with. Will it matter if I tear your heart out?"
Tsukune looked at the enraged vampire and frowned. "No. At least then I can go wherever Moka went," he said honestly.
Issa studied him for a moment, then in a clipped voice said, "I was concerned about this. As you are now, I doubt you can even show proper respect if faced with Moka's casket. You need to learn control, boy." Walking back to the desk, Issa picked up an envelope, came back and stuffed it in Tsukune's shirt.
With a glare, Issa said, "I am sending you away. Not home, and you can't stay here. You will go and not return until I decide you can be of use to me … or anyone. There is money and a hotel reservation in that envelope. Use it wisely." Issa then opened a portal grabbed Tsukune and flung him through it.
.
All Tsukune saw was a concrete wall speeding at him. He managed to get his hands up and slap the wall and flip to take it on his back. Landing against the wall upside down, he fell to the sidewalk in a heap.
Tsukune got to his feet. He had no idea what Issa's scheme was and didn't care. Seeing onlookers gaping at him, he dusted the pieces of wall off him and looked for a direction to go in. He was in a city, but he had no idea which one it was.
"Are you all right?" a curious woman asked as she eyed him, then the cracks he left in the wall upon his impact.
"Yeah, fine," he replied in a dull tone. He walked away from the people staring at him. Yeah, stare at the one who wasn't strong enough to save the woman he loved, he thought. Stare at the failure. Moka had spent all that time training him, making sure he knew how to fight. What happened when his skills were put to the test? He failed her. Maybe that's why Issa put him here, to show him what a failure he truly was.
.
On a nearby rooftop, scanning the area for any Sekerie to have some fun with, Sekerie number four, the Black Sekerie, Karasuba heard the impact. Looking that way, she saw a human get up to the shock of the crowd. No, she could feel he wasn't a normal human. He wasn't a Sekerie either. He was a curiosity. Maybe she could amuse herself with him for a while.
.
Trudging down the street, Tsukune realized Issa Shuzen had thrown him off with nothing but this stupid envelope. Punishment for failing Moka? Probably. He did deserve it. Reaching into his shirt, he opened it up and found the hotel ticket and a large pack of money. The stay was for two months. He let out a snort. What was he suppose to do for the next two months? At least Kurumu and Mizore were not hanging onto him. Although he knew they had done it for him, he didn't really want to face either of them for a while. Let them go fined someone who had been strong enough when it counted. Someone who wouldn't fail them.
He noted the address of the hotel, then looked for a street sign. He had no idea where he was in the city. Feeling an odd presence, he turned to see a gray haired woman in a long light gray cloak striding towards him. Her youthful face and the toned look of her body belied the color of her hair. He also noticed she had a longsword tied to her hip. He didn't know what she was, but she wasn't human. Seeing no one else was paying attention to him, he held up the address and asked in a dull tone, "Excuse me, do you know where this hotel is?"
The woman grew a smirk. "You dare ask me a question, you worthless human?"
"Right. Forget it," Tsukune grumbled. He wasn't about to stick around just to hear her hatred. Maybe Issa has sent her to harass him. He turned to go ask someone on the street corner and put the envelope away.
"Hey! Don't you dare turn your back to me!" the woman snapped. "Don't you know who I am?"
Tsukune turned back to say, "No, and I really don't care."
Enraged, Karasuba lunged at him pulling her Nodichi long sword. Tsukune's instincts took over. His yokai flared in an instant. She pointed the sword menacingly at his throat. A hand under at the end of the blade and one over mid blade, he came down hard in a scissor action and broke her blade in half.
Karasuba had never seen anyone do that before. As she watched the foot log tip of her blade spin into the air, a hard kick smashed into her side, catapulting her to crash onto a bench.
He'd just fought Alucard and he'd just lost Moka. Full of rage,Tsukune snapped and let loose with everything he had on her before she could recover. He pounded her mercilessly as fast and hard as possibly, holding nothing back. A smash to her cheek, another to her upper ribs, another to her cheek. Each blow to her head made her recoil to crack the pavement. After the first few hard punches, Tsukune held his fist cocked back at the prone woman, and it dawned on him he was holding a limp form by her collar.
What am I doing!
Holding her by her collar, frozen in place by what he'd just done, Tsukune suddenly felt terrible. He was beating on an unconscious woman. Her left eye, her nose and mouth were all leaking blood. Her cheek was indented, the bone broken. Great, first he failed Moka, now he was beating the hell out of a woman. Gee, wasn't he just a hero? He quickly laid her down and listened to her heart. It was still beating, but she was barely breathing. He had smashed her face in.
One of the things Moka had showed him was how to use blood to save someone. OK, this woman wasn't very nice, but she didn't deserved to be killed, either. Turning her head, Tsukune sunk his fangs in her neck. He blood was tasty, though not quite like any other he'd tasted. He then put a bit of blood in her, then licked her neck to seal the wound. He hoped it would be enough.
Hearing a helicopter coming, Tsukune was sure it was a police helicopter. He glanced up and saw a flashing blue light on it. He ran.
Five blocks and two turns later, Tsukune slowed down. No one was chasing him. He'd ran out of embarrassment more than fear. Maybe police should throw him in jail for a while. Someone had to have seen what happened. When they caught him, he'd go quietly. He stopped to ask a street merchant where the hotel was. It wasn't close, he had a long way to trudge along through the city.
.
Takami Sachashi sat in a chair by Karasuba's bed, waiting for the gray haired Sekerie to wake up. When she'd gotten the news that the Black Sekerie, the strongest of all of them, was found badly beaten on the sidewalk, she had to find out who did it. From the few witnesses it was a young nondescript male who'd broken her sword and thrashed her. It didn't seem possible. Even if it was another Sekerie, there should have been a grand battle, not a simple beating.
Moaning came from the bed. Karasuba sat up in her hospital gown and held her head.
Takami eyed the Sekerie as she took stock of her surroundings. Seeing Karasuba look at her, she said, "Broken ribs and cheek. Your broken sword was also brought in. What happened?"
Karasuba blinked. The first thing she knew was that she felt different. She felt her cheek healing. The bone taking it's proper place. She felt powerful and had a sense of well being. She also felt like she wasn't completely here. A small piece of her was out in the city someplace. It hit her. "I've been winged," she said vacantly.
"You have. Who was it?" Takami asked.
Karasbua shook her head. Speaking as she remembered, she said, "I saw a young man, a boy really. He ignored me, so I drew my sword to give him some encouragement to pay attention to me … that's the thing last I remember."
Takami frowned at her. "You don't know who winged you? You did see him, didn't you?" Seeing Karasuba's nod, Takami said, "Then you'll have to go through the archives and find him. He left you lying knocked out on the street and helpless."
"He wasn't a Sekerie."
"That's apparent," Takami stated, sounding unhappy. "I suggest you find him rapidly. We need to know who can do this to our Sekerie."
.
All day, Tsukune searched for this hotel. The sun was setting by the time Tsukune was at least on the right street the hotel was on. He still had many more blocks to walk to get to it. Seeing a convenience store, he stopped in to get some tomato juice and a snack. Not that he was really hungry, but that bit of blood he took from that woman was making him thirsty. He found the tomato juice and got a six-pack, grabbed some chips and headed for the counter.
"Tsukune?"
Tsukune turned to see his cousin, Minato. "Hey, Minato," Tsukune said, doing his best to sound friendly, and bowed to him. "How have you been?"
Minato shrugged. "Just going to school … and failing. I'm going to try prep school again next year. What about you? Last I heard you were at this super-private school."
For some reason, the picture of Moka's dying face came to Tsukune. He still smelled her blood all over him and the ground. "Yeah," he said, feeling deflated. "Things got kinda … out of hand. I got sent here to … not sure to do what."
Minato watched Tsukune a little closer. "Something bad happen?" he asked.
"Yeah, bad all right. It's been good seeing you, Minato," he said and headed for the counter.
Minato didn't let Tsukune get away. Clasping his arm, Minato moved up beside him. He asked, "Where are you staying?"
Tsukune pulled out the ticket. "This hotel. Not sure how long."
Minato looked at it, then his eyes widened. "Wow! This place is expensive. Tsukune, this is only a reservation. You still have to pay for it."
Tsukune let out a snort and grumbled, "Why am I not surprised?"
"Why not come stay with us?" Minato said cheerfully. "The land lady is strict, but the place is nice and as long as you don't get her angry she is pleasant. It's much cheaper also."
Tsukune smiled at his cousin for the thoughtful suggestion. He then dimmed again. "I might not be the best company to be around," he warned.
"Then you need some of Miya's good home cooking," Minato stated. "Come on, we have much catching up to do, it's much better there than in some hotel room by yourself," he coaxed.
Tsukune paused. It was nice seeing his cousin. What the hell, this trip was good for something. Any other time, he would have been happy to see his cousin. Even under the circumstances it was nice to see a normal, friendly face.
On the way, Tsukune learned that in Minato's trials at trying to get into college, he had picked up a girlfriend. Aunt Takami was an important person at a pharmaceutical company. Although Minato shared his life freely with Tsukune, Tsukune wasn't feeling as open.
"So, what's this high school you went you?" Minato asked with a nudge.
Tsukune shrugged and said, "Nothing you'd want to hear about. I left before graduation. Maybe I can graduate … maybe not."
"You didn't stay to graduate?" Minato asked, surprised to heard this.
"Moka died," Tsukune blurted out. He didn't mean to. It just came out.
"You're girlfriend?" Minato asked, watching him closely.
"She wasn't suppose to die!" Tsukune barked, making Minato step back. "Moka was the strongest … best person I ever knew!" Balling his fists, Tukune ranted on. "She protected me, she refused to let me give up. Moka is the reason I stayed in that... terrifying place to begin with!" Closing his eyes against the grief, Tsukune stopped walking. His anger and yokai rose. "Moka was everything to me! All those we fought, we saved each other's lives, we saved each other's loneliness!" Dropping to his knees, Tsukune shook as he wailed out in a powerful voice, "I HATE THEM! I HATE every ONE of them!"
Minato stepped back farther. Tsukune was becoming scary. Downright frightening in fact. Although Tsukune was crying, Minato felt like Tsukune just might rip into him. " Tsukune..." he whispered. Obviously, his cousin was grief ridden. Minato didn't know what to say or do for him. He watched Tsukune cry for a moment. When it looked like Tsukune wasn't going to tear into whatever came close to him, Minato asked, "Ahh, Tsukune? What can I do?"
Tsukune calmed down. His cousin didn't deserve this. In a hollow tone, Tsukune stared at the sidewalk and said, "Nothing. Nothing can be done. She's gone. I wasn't strong enough to save her. I wasn't … fast enough to save her. My faults led to her death. She died bleeding in my arms because of me," he said with a sob.
"Whoa, no, Tsukune, I don't think that's true," Minato said quickly. "I'm sure you did everything you could. That's all any of us can do."
Tsukune blinked. Yeah that was all he did. Only want he could do. "Good excuse, for not being good enough," he agreed bitterly. Knowing Moka's death had been his fault, his forced his yokai down.
Minato stared at his cousin. What kind of school was it where people got killed? Was it some inner city school with a bad gang problem? By what Tsukune said, Minato got the idea fighting was a common occurrence there. "What is this school?" he asked.
"Some place you never want to go," Tsukune said in a hollow tone and got up. Seeing Minato's face set in shock, Tsukune offered, "Sorry. I shouldn't have laid that on you."
"Ahh no, that's fine. I think you needed to get that out of your system," Minato said quickly.
"Ashikabi!" came a call. Musubi came bounded out of the darkness. Running up to Minato, she asked frantically, "I felt you were upset, are you all right? Do I need to fight someone?"
"I'm fine Musubi," Minato assured her. Waving a hand at Tsukune, he said, "This is my cousin, Aono Tsukune. He's … visiting."
Musubi turned in a bounce, which made her enormous breasts bounced in place. "Hi Tsukune! Do you like to fight?" she asked, beaming a smile at him.
"No, and you shouldn't either," Tsukune grumbled at her.
Happy and bouncy Musubi took up the conversation, telling Minato all about her day, letting Tsukune stay wrapped in his thoughts as they walked along. Minato noted that although every other male who saw Musubi immediately locked their eyes on her enormous breasts, Tsukune didn't even look at her. His cousin walked along looking like he'd lost his best friend. By what Minato heard, he probably did, and Minato had no idea what he could do for him.
.
Anger and hatred, a profound sense of loss. That was what Karasuba felt from her Ashikabi.
But where was he?
Karasuba knew he was strong and fast. If it had been a Sekerie that beat her so quickly, she deserved to die from the shame. Her Ashikabi wasn't a Sekerie, or a human. He was something else. Something powerful. She felt that from him also. He also wasn't in the inner city. Karasuba spent hours trying to find him. Although she could feel him, the feeling wasn't directional. It was a feeling in her heart that for once, there was something more important than battle to her. She still wanted to fight, of course, but she wanted her Ashikabi to see her fight so she could show him she held power also. So he would be proud of his Sekerie. Together, they would destroy anyone who dared face them!
For all her trying, the only thing Karasuba knew, was if she was getting closer or farther away. For all her bouncing over rooftops, she had yet to feel either. Not wanting to find her Ashikabi and have a broken sword, she stopped for the night to go find another Nodachi longsword. Then they would take on anyone, and she would cure that deep sense of loss her Ashikabi felt.
.
Minato was correct. Miya was a fine hostess and an an elegant lady in the classical sense. Her poise, her kimono and manner all held a refined bearing. She showed Tsukune to his room, which was a standard bedroom, and the bath.
"Where are you from, Aono Tsukune?" she asked as they walked back to his room.
Tsukune didn't want to bother her with his problems, so he said, "I've been sent to learn what 'the real' world is like, as his Father used to say. I suppose he'll let me know when he thinks I've had enough."
"Fu fu fu," she chuckled from behind her hand. "Are you prone to getting into trouble?" she asked with a grin.
"Trouble finds me," Tsukune replied. "I don't ask for it. I'd rather be left alone."
"Perhaps here you may find some peace?" she asked in a light tone.
"That would be good," he agreed.
Tsukune went to his room and laid on his futon, letting his mind go blank. It felt good not to think.
.
Staring down on a broken and bleeding Moka, Tsukune saw her looking up into his eyes.
"Please, Tsukune, save me," she whimpered.
"I … I can't! Moka you have to hang on, you have to stay with me!" he pleaded.
"Tsukune, I'm dying, you have to save me," Moka pleaded. Her eyes lost focus and she went limp.
"Moka!"
.
Tsukune sat up on his futon, breathing heavily. Moka wasn't in his arms, he was alone in a strange room, it wasn't his dorm room. Then he remembered yesterday. Right, this was the room Miya had given him.
Not wanting to try and go back to sleep, Tsukune rubbed his face and got up. What he was going to do, he had no idea. Maybe a walk to clear his head. Miya had wondered if he was going to find some peace here. Right. The peace of knowing he had let the love of his life die because he wasn't good enough.
Slipping out the door, Tsukune walked along, hands in his pockets. When he closed his eyes he saw his love's face clear as day. He still felt her in his arms. The more he thought about Moka, the more he thought it should have been him that died. After all, who was he? Just a regular human who managed to survive a school full of monsters only because Moka stood right beside him. Yes, he had power now, and it was Moka who'd given him that power. Moka had trained him to use it so he was able to defend himself. He lived for Moka. She had been his everything. Now, Moka was gone.
It should have been him.
A wailing sound burst through the night. Feeling something, Tsukune ran to the sound of a girls' cry of pain. Coming to an alley, he looked in to see a boy against a wall holding up a bleeding girl. Facing then was another girl who was wrapped on floating strips of white cloth.
"Takashi, run! She'll kill you if you don't!" the bleeding girl cried.
"I'm not leaving you," the boy insisted. "Didn't we say it's us together, no matter what?"
Looking up at him, her face softened. "Do you know how much I love you right now?" she asked weakly.
"Fine, die together!" the woman in white strips of cloth declared. For some reason, Tsukune thought about Moka lying helpless and bleeding.
Seeing this, Tsukune's yokai flared. In a flash he stood before the couple. "NOT. HAPPENING!" he announced with a sneer.
"Who are you!" the white wrapped woman demanded.
Tsukune turned to the boy. "Get her out of here. GO!" he snapped and returned his attention to the threat.
The boy scooped up his girl in his arms and fled.
"You just made a fatal mistake, whoever you are." the woman growled at him.
"Oh, so you're going to kill me?" Tsukune asked as his anger blazed. Spreading his arms, he walked towards her. "So, do it!"
She shot her cloths out at him. Tsukune dodged most of them, a few sliced his skin. He barely noticed, He charged in fast and slapped a hard palm against her chest knocking her back to fly into a car. Her body punched the passenger door in. The woman worked herself out of the wreck.
"Come on, what are you waiting for?" he asked loudly as he walked towards her. "Are you going to kill me or not?"
Enraged, the woman came flying at him, cloths swinging as she let out an angered scream.
Tsukune let his yokai run wild. He took the hits then kicked her hard into the side of a building. She had time to recover and ducked his punch that sent his fist through the brick wall. She didn't fully duck the other one. He caught her shoulder, making her spin and fall.
"Come on, GET UP AND KILL ME!" Tsukune roared.
.
Uzume felt her shoulder explode into pain. Her arm wouldn't move. She shot up, or tried to. Before she could get up, the boy grabbed her ankle and spun her to slam her into the side of the building. Not dropping her, he flung her around into the building again, face first. Before she could recover and attack, she was flung into the building again, and again. The world spun as she flew across the alley and slammed into the wall on her back, which took her breath away.
Lying beside the building and gasping for breath, she saw the red eyed boy glaring at her. Bearing a red glow that was as frightening as Miya's mask, Uzume was sure this was the end for her. Her attacks hadn't even affected him.
"What are you waiting for!" the boy yelled in a powerful voice that went right through her. "Kill me already!"
He grabbed her and pulled her up and rammed her against the wall. This close, she could see his fangs as he ranted on.
"Are you too weak? Is that it? Come on, show me some of that killing intent and stop gaping at me like a fish!" he ranted. He then slammed her against the building again as he yelled, "Do I have to do it for you?"
Dizzy from the pounding she'd taken, all Uzume could do was stare at him. Her shoulder where he'd hit her was broken. For some reason, the power he was radiating made her blush. Her heart was pounding in her chest. This was him, her Ashikabi. With her good arm, she grabbed his shoulder. This close she saw the pain in his eyes. Not a physical pain. Something much deeper. She pulled herself up and kissed him. The alley flared briefly with the light from her wings.
Seeing the shock on his face, she said, "I'll never hurt you, My Ashikabi."
His face contorted. "YOU SHOULD HAVE KILLED ME!" he roared. With a hard fist, Uzume saw stars and the world went black.
.
Panting and staring down on another unconscious woman, Tsukune realized he'd gone into a rage again. With the hope that this woman would indeed kill him, he'd become very angry that instead of fighting him, she'd kissed him. He'd seen her back glow, then the glow faded away.
Had he killed her?
Getting a hold of himself, Tsukune looked around. They were in an alley alone. No one had seen. Checking her pulse, she still had a heart beat. He was not going to leave her here in an alley with the trash. He scooped her up into a bride's carry and took her to a hospital. He went in the emergency room and explained he'd found her lying in an alley. He slipped away as doctors attended to her.
.
Waking up in the MBI hospital, Uzume groaned her way up to see Takami eyeing her.
"Who winged you?" Takami asked.
"I … don't know," Uzume said. "I never saw him before." Thinking about her Ashikabi, she said, "He's not like anyone I've ever seen. He... is unstoppable. I hit him and I don't think he even felt it."
Takami let out a huff and grumbled, "Another one."