Chapter 2: A Long Walk

The sun inched closer to noon as the two young men walked along the path that led towards Youkai Academy. The path wove through a deep forest, but was close enough to the edge that Tsukune could see the grassy fields and the ocean. Ravens cawed in the distance, and the forest was quiet, lacking a peaceful twitter of any other bird. The Academy was not much further, he thought, as they passed the spot where Tsukune had first met a fellow student.

Tsukune was surprised to enter such a crowded bus. Nobody had ever taken the same route as him on his usual ride to the Academy. It was a sudden deviation from the ordinary, and Tsukune did his best to run with it. He attempted to start a conversation with Calt, the man who sat closest to him, but he just dozed off to sleep. When he did wake up, Tsukune tried leave a good impression, but the new arrival seemed detached and even reluctant to be in the conversation. Strangely, Calt had kept Tsukune company up to this point, and Tsukune decided his sullen companion wasn't all bad. After all, everyone has their quirks.

Walking with Calt to the school, and Tsukune paused to observe his new acquaintance another time. Tsukune wasn't joking about the size when he mentioned how tall Calt was. Calt was way too big to be a first year. He was easily 6 feet tall, with brown hair and dark, brown eyes. He had a hardened look, muscles that seemed squeezed and compressed into his frame. Tsukune noticed that Calt had a slight slouch, and that every movement he made seemed slow and methodical, like he was scared that the next step he took would send him crashing down.

"Possibly a troll" Tsukune thought to himself. But trolls were practically bulging with muscles, and walked with extreme arrogance and self-importance. Calt walked like a person shouldering something heavy on their backs, and was no body builder, slim even in human standards.

Tsukune waived the trivial thoughts from his mind. He was back. He couldn't wait to sit down and chat with his friends again. Who knew what sorts of experiences they've had, or how they've grown. His mind danced as he thought of the things he would do this year. Taking part in the athletics carnival, visiting Sun at the beach, the usual strolls to school with Moka...

"So." Calt muttered, awkwardly trying to start a conversation. "What sort of monster are you?"

Tsukune snapped out of his day dreams and realized he nearly walked off the path. "Well, the rules say that we can't tell each other our true forms." He answered cautiously.

As much as he enjoyed Calt's company, he couldn't get rid of the unease that he felt when trying to answer that question. He was human, certainly, but it hanged delicately in a balance, with a ghoul savagery that was repressed by the holy lock he wore on his arm. And both classifications where horrible and where essentially death sentences if other monsters learned about it. Tsukune thought about lying and pretend that he was a vampire, but that could backfire as well. Vampires did not have many friends in the monster community, thanks to their elitist tendencies. Saying he was a vampire could cause conflict as well.

"Come on," Calt pressed. "At least tell me something your race can do."

"No. I can't break the rules" Tsukune said squarely.

"Can you fly?"

"No."

"Can you breath fire?"

"No."

"Can you...breath underwater?"

"Can you Summon?"

"*sighs* No."

"At least tell me something about your race." Calt insisted in desperation.

Tsukune opened his mouth, trying to find an excuse, but was stopped by a sudden rustling in the forest. Tsukune and Calt turned around in surprise.

A familiar figure came crashing through the foliage, carried aloft by an enormous panda. The man with the long pony-tail and traditional Chinese garb jumped down on the path and whirled around to greet them, while the panda sat down and started munching on some bamboo.

"Tsukune!" Fong-Fong exclaimed, grabbing his hand and shaking it furiously. "Its great to have you back! How was your summer? Mine was great! I helped organize my parents Mafia! I did my summer reading for my english class! Boy, The Stranger was a piece of work! Not as depressing as The Metamorphosis, but still! At least some guys in my family could help me with it! I'm so happy we're back! Finally I can hang with you guys again! What did you do this summer?"

Tsukune winced at Fong-Fong's loud and rapid-fire greeting. Just when Calt seemed to loosen up and calm down, Fong-Fong had to barge in and raise the tension level up a few levels.

"Hey Fong-Fong! I'm glad things have been going well for you!" Tsukune said. "Why do you always walk in the forest? Its not a good idea to come rushing out like that."

"Well, he doesn't really like walking out in trails and such", Fong-Fong said as he motioned to the Panda. "He prefers the forest."

"Well, maybe you could just walk on your own two feet," Tsukune said, ignoring Fong-Fong's huff of embarrassment. "Have you seen the others? How did you find me?"

"I just got here. I sensed you as I was heading to the academy." Fong-Fong said. "I have yet to meet your Hare-"

"That can wait, Fong-Fong." Tsukune cut in with a fake grin, putting his arm around Fong-Fong, "I'd like you to meet a friend that I met on the bus. His name's Calt."

"H- Hey, Calt!" Fong-Fong stuttered, nervous by the pressure Tsukune was putting on his neck. Obviously saying the world "harem" wasn't appreciated by Tsukune, especially in front of strangers, he reminded himself. "My name's Fong-Fong. I'm a second year, and I hope to have a great year with you!" He said, sticking out his right arm for a handshake while the left tried to get his head out of the headlock.

"Hey" Calt said as he shook his hand, dumbfounded by the sudden whirlwind of activity that had happened in front of him, trying to make sense of the situation. "Did you say 'Mafia'?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. " Fong-Fong grinned sheepishly as he squirmed out of Tsukune's grasp, and composed himself. "My family works in the underworld. Ever heard of the Huang clan?"

"Nope." Calt said.

"What, really?" Fong-Fong said in surprise, "I've never met a monster who hasn't heard of my family's organization."

"Uuuh." Calt murmured, examining Fong-Fong from head to toe, "Now that I think about it... You guys are based in China, right?"

"There we go!" Fong-Fong exclaimed, oblivious that Calt had merely guessed, thanks to some pretty obvious hints.

Tsukune sighed and released Fong-Fong, "Hey, how about you show him around the school?" He said with a grin.

"Why not?" Fong-Fong said, turning to Calt "Let me show you the campus. We've got some great sights for you too see, since you're going to be here for a while, might as well enjoy the Academy to the fullest."

"No thanks," Calt replied, "I have to report to the headmaster, and turn in my finalized documents of admission into Youkai Academy."

"Really? Well, its quicker to get to the main office going that direction," Tsukune said, gesturing down to a split in the road, to a path that continued to run parallel with the forest. "We'll take the right path, which takes us to the normal entrance." He continued, motioning to the path on their right that passed through a grove of autumn-colored trees, before exiting the forest path completely.

"Thanks." Calt said, and without another word, started down the path.

Tsukune and Fong-Fong watched him go. "Quiet guy." Fong-Fong said, a bit surprised at Calt's attitude.

"You could learn from him a bit..." Tsukune sighed.

"I'm sorry, okay? Anyhow, why do you have to be so defensive about your Harem?" Fong-Fong retorted, "There's nothing wrong with having such a wonderful selection."

"Can we please change the subject?" Tsukune moaned as they started to walk down the path through the canopy of orange trees, which would lead them to the Academy, where everyone else would be waiting. Neither student said it, but they couldn't be more excited.

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Authors Note:

Okay folks, I'm a busy guy, with busy things to do (seriously), so my series will probably update like Rosario Vampire Season II. Monthly. Give or take a day...

...Nobody is perfect. I apologize.

However, I do have intentions of seeing this through, don't doubt it. I have a substantial amount of ideas, and I'd love to hammer them out and see if I can make it legible. Chapters may come in twos and threes, even, depending on how well my thoughts roll out.

For those who want to know about the pairings sponsored in this story (obviously), I'm not going to advocate one specific pairing. If you want my personal opinion, I enjoy Moka and Tsukune. But I pretty much love all of the girls, so you're going to see more of a harem dynamic, where each gal gets the attention she deserves. However, since my personal bias will be alive and kicking, you can expect a tad bit more Moka/Tsukune action. Just a tad, mind you.

I also enjoy Yukari/Fong-Fong, but I'm going to keep that out of my series to make it more parallel with the manga. You will see some interaction, but nothing serious, just a close friendship, at most.

As for the rating, as I said, I'm just being very, very careful. Obviously will be some fighting, some blood, and some fan-service, but I'm also thinking about including some darker scenarios. It may take a while for these things to spring up, though. Patience is a virtue. I'm going to try and be as realistic I can with how I write, so I'll keep the Mature rating just to be safe.

Finally, reviews are appreciated. I'd love some constructive criticism to help me stay on my A-game. Just sending a smiley face as a review would make my day (But try to do more than just a smiley face).