A Not So Shocking Fight And A Talk

"Tsukune!" Moka shouted as she rushed next to me. I was expecting her to tell me to stop but instead I saw her serious face as she regarded me, "Let me fight her," she said with a determined expression coming over her face.

"What? Moka, now isn't the time to be acting on your feelings--" I started but Moka rapidly shook her head at what I was saying.

She took a step forward and placed a hand on my forearm, "Tsukune...you can't fight all my battles for me. Just like I can't fight all of your battles for you," she gently smiled up at me, "So, please, take off my rosary and let me deal with this," I looked to her and stared into her eyes, checking for what she wanted from this.

But, in genuine Moka fashion, she seemed to just want to do the right thing while also knowing that I'd definitely go too far if I took care of Kurumu.

"Haah~" I let out a sigh before letting go of Kurumu's tail, who just scowled back at me, "I really need to learn to say no to you, Moka," I said before turning around and motioning for them to follow me, "Come on, we need to take this away from school otherwise the two of you will get in trouble over something stupid like this," I stated before walking off.

Moka quickly followed me and Kurumu, knowing she'd get a shot at Moka, didn't turn it down and just followed behind us with a very vicious aura around her.

Taking a few glances behind me and at her, I could tell that she was deeply hurt by me not picking her over Moka. But what did she expect? For me to pick someone just because they have big tits? Because they bat their thick eyelashes at me? I'm afraid that beyond whatever effect Moka has over me, I'm not that easy to control or seduce.

I guess you could say that I'm lucky Moka seems to be romantically inexperienced and wouldn't take the seduction route otherwise she'd have me wrapped around her little finger.

Though looking at Kurumu's anger expression I could tell that the pride she'd had in herself had been shattered by my words and even with her actions seeming over the top, she is a teenager. Teenagers overreact to the littlest things and it's not like she really hurt anyone by doing what she was doing.

Sighing to myself once again, I just focused on walking to the secluded location I took care of Saizou at. It was far enough away from the school that I knew even if people knew a fight was happening, we could get away before being caught.

It was a tense walk, with none of us saying anything and Kurumu glaring at Moka and me.

But soon enough, we made it to the place and I turned to Moka before grabbing her rosary, "Don't take it too far, Moka," I said before pulling the rosary off with an audible click.

What I just said caused a confused look to come over Moka's face but I wasn't speaking to her specifically. I was speaking to the other persona that lurked in her and came out whenever her rosary was taken off. If that Moka hurt Kurumu too badly, Moka would be distraught when she came back and saw it.

Like the time after I beat Saizou and accidentally took off the rosary, a burst of energy blasted out but this time I stood my ground as I saw Moka float off the ground a little as her body went through the same changes as last time.

Nails lengthened a little into claws, eyes turned red, hair turned silver, and her body got more mature-looking with bigger assets.

Looking at her now, this Moka was rather sexy compared to how the...god I need to come up with a way of differentiating between the two Mokas. Silver-haired Moka, because of her added maturity, looked like a classic big sister-type girl while pink-haired Moka was cute and cuddly, like a little-sister type girl.

Turning around, I walked off to the side as I gave the two girls some space.

Just as the transformation took place, Kurumu looked at Moka with an arrogant yet angry expression, as if she hadn't just seen the overwhelming aura Moka had just released, "Whoever wins this gets Tsukune, understand? That should show you who's the better out of the two of us," she said the last bit as she glanced to me.

Obviously my words had really struck a nerve and injured not just her pride but also her ego.

"Oh?" Moka said, her tone aloof and mocking, "Did you pick Tsukune as your destined one or something?" she asked and I wondered if 'destined one' meant what I thought it did.

"And so what if I did pick him?!" Kurumu shouted out with an indignant expression, "He's the only one worthy of it anyway! He might look a bit gloomy but he seems nice enough for me to fall for!" she continued shouting and I felt my eye twitch when she called me 'gloomy'.

...You're not winning me over with what you're saying, you know that, right, Kurumu?

But I felt a spike in Moka's energy as her sharp eyes narrowed even further, "Well," she started, her overall demeanor looking very confrontational, "That's too bad, Succubus. My other-self would be quite upset if you were to swoop in and take that person away from her, so I'm afraid I can't let that happen."

Upon hearing Moka, Kurumu seemed to ignore the monumental amount of energy swirling around Moka as she charged directly at her, her claws that looked like that could slice through rock just fine, shone as she flew swiftly at Moka.

I saw Moka move, speeding around behind the charging Kurumu who probably couldn't even see Moka move, before seeming to copy what I did earlier and grabbing Kurumu's tail, stopping her flight almost instantly.

"Slow," Moka mocked as she turned herself around and shoulder threw Kurumu toward the ground as she gave a cold smile, "How about I tear off this tail and those wings so you can never fly again?!"

Her aloof voice unsettled me slightly because I could tell she was being honest. Her threat to tear off Kurumu's body parts wasn't a bluff. She'd do it. Which left me wondering - why is this Moka so different to the usual cheery Moka? What happened to cause this?

As I thought this, Kurumu collided with the ground and her mouth opened as a scream of pain failed to get out of her mouth as all the air was knocked out of her lungs.

But from the crater that surrounded the point of impact, I could only guess how much that hurt her.

Her eyes went dazed from the sudden acceleration and deceleration and I knew the fight was over. Though thinking Moka knew the same thing proved to be wrong as she took a step toward the downed Kurumu with violent intentions, "Am I too difficult for you?" Moka said with disdain practically dripping from her voice, "You act like a big-time devil but you're actually just a naive little girl!" Moka's smile widened to an unnerving degree as she continued, "Nevermind, I'll just make it so you can never stand up to me again--!" she was cut off as I walked in between her and Kurumu.

I'd seen enough and unlike when I was blinded by emotion against Saizou, I knew this fight was over.

"Moka, you've won, now stop," I said as I stared her down, my grey eyes clashing with her red ones. But she didn't stop moving. As she tried to get past, I put a hand on her shoulder and stopped her dead in her tracks which seemed to surprise her, "Stop. Now," I said through partially gritted teeth.

Just holding her back was...well, it required a little effort on my part, let's just say that. She was unnaturally strong and without access to my full strength through my Adrenal Mode, I wasn't her match in physical strength.*

(*A/N - This isn't permanent, so don't go all rant on me, okay? He'll grow to be more than a match for Moka. Especially when he finally unlocks the mysteries of his new biology. Maybe that new heart is more than just a simple heart *cough* Saber *cough*)

But I did prove strong enough to stop her and she looked up at me with a scathing look, "Was she not the girl who tried to charm and enslave you? She even tried to attack the sentimental Me, and yet you're protecting her? Why?" she took a step back and placed her hands on her hips as her cold red eyes looked me down.

"Because she's already been beaten, Moka," I said, shrugging, "And because I also play a part to blame in this. I could've phrased my own words better so as to not hurt her feelings. She's just hurt, Moka, and because of that she's acting out. She's not some evil person who wants to enslave the school to do her bidding," I said as a matter of fact, "She's probably just trying to prove herself or she's doing it because she feels like she needs to prove herself," I spoke with certainty before turning back to a scared-looking Kurumu, "Which you don't have to do, Kurumu. You don't have to prove anything to anyone, okay?"

Seeing her look away from me, I just sighed before turning back to Moka, "I'm taking her to the infirmary, so stay here," I said before squatting down and picking up Kurumu who quickly exited her true form so her wings didn't get in the way.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Moka asked with a reprimanding tone, and turning back to look at her revealed that she was holding out her hand as if waiting for something to be returned to her.

Knowing she wanted the rosary, I shook my head, "No, I'm not. I need to talk to you when I get back," and with that said, I picked up into a jog and carried Kurumu away. The girl in question just curled up in my arms, her small height and size really making itself apparent in the current situation.

. . .

"I bet you're disgusted with me, aren't you...?" Kurumu suddenly said as I placed her down on the bed. Her tone was...well, self-deprecating to say the least. "No wonder you wouldn't pick me over Miss Perfect," she weakly chuckled at her own expense and I sighed as I sat down on the side of the bed.

"I'm not disgusted with you or at you, Kurumu," I said and Kurumu looked up at me with eyes that screamed 'Lies!' but before Kurumu could refute me, I carried on, "I guess you could say that I'm just a little disappointed with how you tried to 'get' me, so to speak," I said as I looked out of the window of the infirmary, "All you had to do was try and get to know me like a normal person, Kurumu, and you'd have had a much superior chance to what you got by trying to charm me."

Hearing my words, I saw from the corner of my eyes that Kurumu seemed to crumple in on herself in shame and guilt, so I just smiled put a hand on her head, slowly rubbing it, "Don't worry, I'll give you another chance if you really want it. But beware, it'll be your last one," I joked with a chuckle and Kurumu's teary purple eyes shot up to meet mine with disbelief apparent in them.

"B-but how can you t-trust me after what I did?" she asked, stuttering as her eyes got more and more red as if dependent on the disbelief in her eyes.

Letting out a breath of air, I looked away from Kurumu again before speaking, "It's called a leap of faith, Kurumu, and sometimes you have to take them," I started, before a nostalgic smile came over my face, "I've made more than a few of them...though they were in the context of a fight. Make a certain attack, dodge in a certain way...but one thing is consistent no matter the context: You move forward. It might not be good for you but it's better than staying stagnant and getting hurt," I turned to look back at her, "So that's what I'm doing. I'm taking a leap of faith for you, Kurumu," I smiled and her teary eyes finally let go of the tears as they trailed down her face, "And I'll put my trust in you," I said as I shuffled next to her and leaned next to her ear, "I'll tell you a secret, Kurumu," I whispered and she shivered at the feeling of the hot air passing by her ear, "I'm a human, not a Vampire or a Dhampir."

I back away and Kurumu's hands came to her mouth in shock, "Y-you're a...?!"

"Yeah," I brought a finger to my lips in a gesture for her to keep quite, "Just don't go shouting it from the rooftops, please. I'd get in a lot of trouble," I scratched the back of my head before standing up and walking to the door. But as I stood next to the door, I turned back and regarded Kurumu for the last time in the conversation, "So don't betray my trust, Kurumu. If I get kicked out of school and a monster hit squad after me, I'll know it was you," I said before opening the door and leaving.

Not before I saw an expression on Kurumu's face which showed she was determined to keep my secret and not betray my trust, which made me smile, as I wasn't wrong about her character.

Her aura was a nice and light ocean blue. It felt innocent and soft as I spoke to her earlier.

She was a good girl at heart. The seductive Succubus who wanted to enslave the school was just a mask to hide her true self, I'm guessing. Probably trying to impress her Succubus mom or something.

Though I'll still be keeping an eye on her for the next few days, just in case.

Wiping my smile from my face, I walked back to where I left Moka. I had some things I needed to ask her, after all.