A Chat and An Incoming Fight

Taking the offered Juice from Moka, I opened the can before taking a few sips, wincing a little at the taste - it wasn't made for Human consumption. It didn't seem lethal but it definitely didn't taste like normal orange juice.

Hoping my extra kidney and ultra-efficient liver could filter the liquid properly. It should work. Maybe.

I'd been walking around the academy with Moka. It'd been fun and her enthusiasm was contagious, making me feel interested in the place just as much as she was. Of course I noted down any places of importance in my head. Even found a few good hiding places. Though I've got to say that the statues placed around the school are a bit creepy, even by my standards. I'm pretty sure I saw a few of them move as well.

Just as I took another sip of the 'orange' flavored drink, I saw Moka stop before turning and looking at some place.

Turning my head to follow her gaze, I saw what she was looking at. Looked like a dorm building.

If, you know, the dorm building was a haunted house that inhabited demons or something. That's what I got from it's dark, gloomy aura, anyway. Though looking to the gravestones that surrounded the area and the snakes that seemed to slither in between each gravestone...I had to admit that the dorm fit the area at least.

"Wow," Moka got out before looking to me with her mouth in the shape of a small 'o', "This is the dorm we'll be living in for the next three years! Doesn't it look cool?!" she said with her usual passion and for once I felt that I couldn't agree with her.

"...Yeah. Cool is the word I'd use," I awkwardly got out as I looked back at the building in front of us.

I'd seen friendlier looking places while cleaning out a den of Zombies.

"Hm? Don't you like it, Tsukune?" Moka looked at me with a questioning gaze as she heard my answer. Seeing my unease, Moka brought a finger to her cheek as she wondered aloud, "You don't like it? I heard that they specifically made this place to make monsters feel at home," she said innocently making my lips twitch.

But, Moka, I'm not a monster. I'm human. This place sets off so many primal instincts of mine.

"Ah!" Moka let out an exclamation as she refocused her gaze back on me, "By the way, what kind of monster are you, Tsukune?" she asked with a gaze that was slightly too curious for my well-being.

Thinking quickly I just smiled as I gave a nonchalant and vague answer, "Well, sensei said that we shouldn't tell others what kind of monster we are - so we can act like normal humans or whatever," I acted out, trying to seem like a teenager who just wanted to stay out of trouble with his teacher. Luckily it seemed to work.

"Oh, that's right!" Moka said before pouting sulkily, "Though you know what I am, Tsukune, so it's a bit unfair, you know?" she said as she looked over at me with puppy eyes, begging for me to tell her.

In reply I just smiled smugly at her, "Guess you'll have to find out on your own," I retorted before something came to mind, "Moka?" I asked seriously, bringing her out of her pouting as she looked attentively at me, "Are you, you know, really a Vampire? You're a bit different than what I know," I said, still not being able to connect this pink-haired cinnamon bun to a blood-sucking monster.

Even if she had already sucked my blood once today it was nothing like the throat ripping I'd been told as I was trained as a Hunter.

"What were you expecting Tsukune? Bat wings? A long dark cape?" she giggled before looking seriously at me. Her eyes...her eyes looked so sad as she continued, "...Yep, I'm a Vampire, Tsukune. If you take this Rosary off," she motioned to the rosary that she had attached to a choker on her neck, "I'll become the real thing; an evil and totally scary vampire!" she winked at me and the sadness in her eyes vanished.

As I saw that, I, well, I wanted to make her sadness go away. It was a weird thought to have about a girl you'd only known a day. Even weirder when you take in the fact that I'm a monster Hunter and she's a monster.

But here I was, having that thought.

Thinking this, my gaze landed on the rosary on her choker, and seeing my gaze, Moka smile before explaining, thinking that I was just curious about how it had anything to do with her vampire nature. While, in fact, I was just wondering if that rosary was what was causing her sadness.

"Rosaries have the effect of sealing a vampire's powers," she said, holding up a finger like a heavenly sage but as she continued a pained and awkward expression came over her face, "Since my original form only caused conflict and hate, I decided to seal it away along with my vampire powers with this rosary," she said, her pained expression making me feel uncomfortable.

By some unknown means, my body moved forward and I placed a hand on Moka's head, giving it a rub and a pat, "Well, I don't see how a cute girl like you could cause any kind of hate," my mouth said on it's own but even then, I found myself agreeing 100% with what I said.

Moka blushed a little and averted her eyes before shyly adding, "But even if our power's sealed, we do still end up craving the one thing we need," she said as she pulled me down to her eye line. Of course I knew what was about to happen but well, I didn't wanna stop her. Plus, it's only a few sips of blood. I'd survived with a lot more being taken from me, so I'd survive now.

"Chu~" she made an audible kissing and biting sound as she bit into my neck. It was slightly uncomfortable but I didn't lose anything and only gained the friendship of a cute girl.

Even if she was a vampire.

...Haah~ What the hell is wrong with me?

. . .

After that, nothing else happened. Moka and I went back to lessons before going back to the dorms. I did a more in-depth review on my body's changes and found my strength and speed to be of the charts before going to bed and having a nice rest.

But most of all, I found my stamina and body's durability were unnaturally high. I punched my steel bed frame with enough force that it would hurt, or at least I tried to. My fist crumble the bed frame and there was not even a single scratch on my knuckles or even the slightest bruising. Not even slightly red skin. In fact, I barely felt the impact.

It was all odd. My unreal stamina was found out when I wasn't even slightly winded despite having worked myself to the bone with every workout I could imagine.

It only piled onto the mysteries I was currently dealing with.

But as I walked to school from the dorm in a fresh uniform I found in the wardrobe, I realized that those questions would slowly be figured out by time rather than me obsessing on them right now. They weren't things I could find out through brute forcing it. I had to wait and see. Experiment, so to speak.

As I was walking, I looked to the side and saw someone I could definitely use as stimuli for an experiment, and just as he saw me, I smiled 'politely' at him though he did beat me to speaking, "Hey there, lover boy," he said, a smirk across his face that screamed 'mocking' but from his tone I could tell he was furious about being showed up yesterday.

"Saizou Komiya, right? How you doing? Hopefully our play fighting yesterday didn't leave any injuries," I pointed to the small bandage he had across the bridge of his nose, playing the worried classmate role to a tee.

Just as I expected, he grabbed my tie with the opposite hand to what he grabbed my collar with yesterday, and slammed me into the nearby wall, a menacing scowl on his face instead of his usual smirk, "You had a good time with Moka yesterday, huh? I heard some people talking about it and it pissed me off so much I had to come and see you!" he roared at my face but all he got from me was a smirk, "Wipe that goddamn smirk off your face! You think you're better than me?!" he yelled again, before sending a wild haymaker right at my face.

I snorted before lifting up a hand. This was the test. If I caught his fist that seemed like it could take down a thick concrete wall, I'd know for sure that my strength and durability have increased by a lot.

*BANG!"

A dull thud rang out as I felt a faint tingle from my palm but other than that...my arm didn't even budge from the guy's attack.

"Yeah, I actually think I am better than you," I remarked with a chuckled before I wrestled his other hand off of my tie. Walking past the stunned stupid Saizou, I redid my tie while standing a few feet from him, "Stay away from Moka," I said, my tone authoritarian, "If you turn your lustful fucking eyes toward her, I'll rip them out," I said as I finished doing my tie, picking up my bags and got on my way to where I said I'd meet Moka yesterday.

. . .

"Tsukune!" Moka gave out a cheerful yelp as she hugged my arm, "Mornin'~! If we don't hurry, we're gonna be late!" she giggled with excitement as she dragged me by the arm.

"Moka?" I asked, bringing her attention to me, "Have you ever met a human before?" I asked, not knowing exactly why I asked what I did but sticking to the question anyway. I guess it would help to know her stance on humans if I'm gonna be friends with her or whatever.

She looked shocked and perturbed by the sudden question but in the end she just nodded as she looked away from me, "Mhm...I've met humans before. I, well, I went to a human school up until Middle School. They...weren't the nicest," she weakly smiled as she glanced over to me before carrying on after averting her gaze again, "They didn't know about monsters, so I felt alone and isolated. I couldn't connect to any of them and I felt pretty bad about my situation...but!" she suddenly quirked up and hugged my arm, "After meeting you, I realized for the first time in my life, I wasn't feeling lonely!"

I felt warm at her admittance that she enjoyed and liked my company but...I felt a nagging sensation that forced me to dig deeper. To ask more. Like some kind of idiot.

"If I was a, you know, human, what would you do, Moka?" I asked, innocently enough, but Moka looked up at me as if I'd just said some outrageous.

She stopped and tugged at my arm, "That's...that's not funny, Tsukune! I don't like humans, so don't bring them up, okay?" she practically pleaded and any other day, I would've just nodded. But right now, her saying that...well, it hurt. Not too much, really, but it stung like someone had run a nettle bush across my chest.

"...It was just a question, Moka. I was just wondering how you'd react is all," I said neutrally, smiling to disarm her.

I guess that even if I accept her, even if she's a monster, a vampire could never actually want to be friends with a human. Good. It'll stop me from making an idiot out of myself like I have been for the last few days.

But even as I thought this, I still felt that sting and as I heard a twig snap behind us, I turned to see Saizou and I felt a limit in my brain getting close to snapping entirely.

Everything I'd bottled up over the last few days. Everything I'd bottled up over my entire life.

"Don't do this here and now, Saizou. I'm really not in the fucking mood," I got out, a scowl coming over my face as I felt my true emotions leaking out. The person in question came onto the scene, coming from behind the tree he was hiding behind as he swiped his hand through his brown hair. His beady eyes looked to me mockingly before going over Moka with the same lust I'd warned him against.

Moka herself noticed my change in attitude as she backed away, a confused look on her face as she looked to me.

Saizou ignored what I said and motioned between me and Moka, "An early lover's dispute? How lucky I am! Well, how about we have a round two here and now? This place is far enough away that we won't be caught for using our true forms, so let's go at it, yeah? Whoever loses stays away from Moka!" he said as he began to transform, getting bigger and ripping out of his school uniform.

But I didn't care. I really, really didn't care right now. I felt that limit inside me snapping and activated something Hunters only did as a last resort.

I felt adrenaline flooding through me and I felt my hearts as they started to pick up in speed, pumping my blood around my body quicker and quicker like the valves of an especially powerful engine. Each one pushing the blood with more intensity and pressure, one after another. I stretched my joints a little as I got ready to do my job.

What job? I was gonna take this monster apart and scar him for life, of course.