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Long December	By : DrunkenScotsman Category: +M to R > Rosario Vampire Views: 6725 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I make no money from the writing of this story. All characters and locations of Rosario+Vampire belong to Ikeda Akihisa.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
Chapter 12: We Belong Together

Breakfast the next morning proved a simple affair: toast and tomato juice, served in limitless quantities by the cheerful, mysterious butler. Tsukune found the prospect of dining with the man who just yesterday had tried to kill him exceptionally strange, but he tried to shrug off that feeling. Neither Moka nor Kokoa seemed the least bit perturbed, so the young human assumed that such occurrences were commonplace in the vampire world – perfectly natural, even.
Lord Shuzen finished his glass of tomato juice and flicked his crimson gaze to his youngest daughter. “It seems I underestimated you, daughter,” he praised her faintly. “You may yet prove worthy of the Shuzen name.”
Kokoa preened. It was, she knew, the closest thing to approval her father was likely to give her, but it was also far closer than anything she’d ever received from him before. Kou on her shoulder fluttered his wings, proud to have helped his mistress succeed and grateful for the way she’d chosen to “reward” him for his service, particularly once she’d permitted him to take his humanoid form. Picking up her familiar’s thoughts, the vampire growled softly at him to remind him of his place.
“I admit I underestimated you as well, Mr. Aono,” the vampire lord acknowledged, now staring at his human guest. “I have never before seen such inspired fighting from my daughters, and most humans would have fled at once after I offered them a chance to leave.”
Tsukune chuckled and scratched his head. “Thank you, sir. I’m not good for much, but I’ll gladly face death for the woman I love.” At the vampire lord’s – and his silver-haired daughter’s – raised eyebrow, the young man amended, “Women.”
“I told you love could become a strength, Father,” Moka reminded him, piling on while she had the opportunity.
To the teens’ collective surprise, Lord Shuzen steepled his fingers and appeared deep in thought. “Indeed you did, daughter. Your and your sister’s victory yesterday has given me much to ponder,” he conceded.
“Might you say we showed you your place?” Moka needled further.
“Hardly,” replied her father with a marginal smirk. “You might, however, say you both showed me your places as adults. As I understand it, acknowledging one’s children are now independent is one of the most difficult trials a human parent faces. How accurate is that, Mr. Aono?”
Tsukune blinked, surprised the vampire lord would actually ask his opinion. “I know my parents have had a hard time adjusting, sir,” he finally answered. “If I may… it could be that vampires and humans aren’t so different after all.”
Lord Shuzen emitted one of his signature short, sharp laughs. “I shall choose not to take that as an insult, young man.” The vampire lord returned his attention to his beloved daughter. “To your point, Moka: When I lost your mother, I lost my already-minute faith in love, and it became to me a weakness to be purged. More to the point, I could not bear to look at your sealed form, the very image of what I had lost, especially coupled with your imprisonment.” His gaze grew distant. “At a stroke, Gyokuro stole my two most precious people from me, so I vowed never to leave myself that vulnerable again.”
Moka’s eyes misted over. “That’s why you sent me away,” she acknowledged softly.
“I also hoped you would be safer there,” he added, nodding to Tsukune. “Mr. Aono is no threat, but I doubted even the cruelest human could hurt you or that phantasm as badly as your stepmother might.” Father and daughter both snorted at the irony – the sweet outer Moka had ultimately enrolled at Yokai Academy after enduring years of bullying at human hands.
The vampire lord rose to his feet and fixed them with a penetrating stare. “Daughters, I have always sought what I thought best for you both,” he informed them with a mien his daughters could only call penitent. “If I have erred, perhaps it is better that you now control your own fates.”
Moka stood and bowed, and Kokoa followed suit. Tsukune stood as well out of respect, and Lord Shuzen repaid that respect with a nod. “As I told you yesterday, Mr. Aono, your courage and fortitude are admirable, a credit to your race. May Fate deal you a kinder hand regarding your love than it dealt me,” he bade them, “and may none of you ever endure that sort of pain or grief.”
Moka wrapped her fingers around Tsukune’s. “My, but you’re full of surprises,” she murmured to him. “Besides winning my heart, you’ve earned the grudging respect of my sister” – here Kokoa humphed and folded her arms – “and even the best wishes of my father, the vampire lord.”
Tsukune smirked wryly. “Not a bad weekend’s work, huh?”
Laughter took the teens one by one, while Lord Shuzen took his leave. Moments later, the butler escorted them to their rooms to gather their already-packed belongings. From there, he conducted them to the courtyard where the bus sat idling.
Leaning against the vehicle that might as well have been his familiar, the driver chuckled upon seeing the three teens approach. Cigar smoke curled and twisted around the eyes that glowed beneath the bill of his cap, lending his grinning visage a hellish cast. “I’ll be damned,” he punned, “everyone survived this trip.”
Anticipating Moka’s request (or demand), he put out his cigar and ushered the trio aboard. Once they’d claimed their usual seats, the driver craned his head around. “No PDA on the bus,” he warned the two lovers. “I gotta say, though, I was rooting for you two.”
“Thanks,” replied Tsukune. “I kept getting the feeling you’ve been trying to help me in little ways all along.”
“Call it an underdog complex,” answered the bus driver with a shrug as he shifted the bus into gear. “Speaking of which, your other lady friends're waiting back at school for you, so I’m gonna step on it!”

~~~~~

True to his word, the bus driver pushed his vehicle far harder than his passengers knew it could withstand, possibly breaking the laws of relativistic physics in the process. They made record time, while the bus’s occupants gripped the seats with white-knuckled hands. Even the vampires seemed to suffer a case of jelly-legs as they disembarked, though both would sooner die than admit it.
Gallant as always, Tsukune volunteered to carry the girls’ luggage in addition to his own, though he thanked any deities listening that both had packed lightly. Fortunately, the girls’ dorm isn’t far either, he told himself. As the now-familiar building drew near, the young man noted with a twinge of pride that his breathing had barely quickened, despite the lingering winter chill in the air.
Returning the sisters’ belongings to them at the front entrance, Tsukune smiled warmly at both young women, a lightness suffusing his whole being. Maybe it came from finally knowing how Moka truly felt about him; maybe it came from returning those feelings; maybe it came from Kokoa’s seeming acceptance of their relationship, or from her father’s. Whatever had triggered the change, Tsukune hadn’t felt this good in weeks. Even the buildings seemed less foreboding.
The young man grinned. All felt right with the world again, like waking up from a long nightmare. I guess I needed this trip in a lot of different ways, he mused.
Moka’s voice called her boyfriend from his reverie. “It’s good to see you smile like that again, Tsukune,” she told him with a smirk of her own. “I missed it rather badly.”
“You’re not as lame when you’re not mopey,” agreed Kokoa.
Tsukune laughed, a hearty laugh the likes of which he started to wonder if he’d forgotten. “Thanks, both of you,” he responded between spasms of the diaphragm. “For everything.”
Moka kissed him chastely on the cheek. “Anything for the man I love,” she promised, her voice skirting flirtation.
Kokoa made an exaggerated gagging noise and headed inside to indulge her semi-secret desires for her older sister’s boyfriend.
The aforementioned sister and boyfriend chuckled at her departure, though Moka now knew that her sister’s reaction merely covered her jealousy. To Tsukune, she warned, “Don’t thank me just yet, though. We have much to discuss with Kurumu, Mizore, and Yukari.”
The young man sighed, not liking the sound of his girlfriend’s tone in the slightest. “We’ll meet in the infirmary in half an hour, then? That should give us enough time to unpack,” he suggested.
The vampire nodded. “Unless I find them already recovered and here in the dorm, in which case I’ll gather them in my room, where you can see from yours,” she ribbed him, literally with her elbow as well as figuratively.
On the way back to his room, the sense of liberation Tsukune so recently felt evaporated.

~~~~~

At the appointed hour, Tsukune approached the school infirmary, where he’d last seen Kurumu, Mizore, Ruby, and Yukari. Moka stood outside the door already, waiting with hand on hip and an air of regal impatience. The young man caught himself staring at her ensemble: long-sleeved burgundy V-neck showing just a hint of cleavage; black knee-length pencil skirt, more modest than the uniform skirt yet somehow more alluring; and those same red peep-toe pumps she’d worn on their first date. Tsukune felt like a schlub in his uniform, even with the blazer and tie.
Moka smirked at her boyfriend’s awed expression. “I got tired of the school uniform,” she explained. “So sue me.”
“You look amazing, as always,” Tsukune replied as he took her hand.
The vampire reached up and flicked the human’s forehead playfully. “You’ve already won my heart, Tsukune,” she teased, “so there’s no need to keep saying smooth lines shamelessly.”
Their laughter lasted for a good few moments, until the door slid open from within, revealing a snow-woman clad in a black undershirt and short purple shorts, her sleepwear. Mizore’s normal deadpan expression remained the same as always, but her eyes noticeably lit up when she saw Tsukune. “I thought I heard voices,” she noted with the barest hint of excitement in her voice. “Perfect timing – everyone’s just waking up from our impromptu sleepover.”
Mizore ushered Tsukune and Moka inside, where they noted the tableau in the infirmary room. On one bed, Ruby and Yukari were discussing some of the more esoteric points of magical theory; the older witch wore her usual pink bodice and charcoal skirt, while the younger wore her usual attire – sans hat and cape, which sat on a nearby table. Kurumu, clad in a surprisingly demure pastel-blue pajama set, reclined on the other bed, paging through a fashion magazine.
Yukari noticed the newcomers first. “Tsukune! Moka! You’re back!” she chirped as she bolted from her spot to hug them both around the waist.
“You don’t look much different,” Moka noted dryly, patting the diminutive witch atop the head.
“Even if the ritual worked, it’s only designed to jump-start Yukari’s natural growth spurt. We won’t really know until her body has had a chance to process the succubus energy from Kurumu,” explained Ruby, who blushed and waved when she made eye contact with Tsukune. The young man reddened as well; both were remembering the night Ruby had offered herself to him by flashing her panty-less groin. Unfortunately for her, he’d turned her down, citing a lack of the proper feelings for her and not wanting to use her for a one-night stand.
By this point, Kurumu had leapt from the bed and practically tackled Tsukune to the floor. “Yahoo! I missed you sooooo much, my Destined One!” she gushed. “Don’t worry – I’m still just as sexy, and just as insatiable, as before!” she added, pressing herself flush against the young man. Tsukune hugged the succubus back, his erection against her groin serving as a silent “thank you” for her enthusiasm and lack of bra.
“Cool it, Boob-zilla,” joked Mizore as she nudged her buxom friend aside for her own embrace of the man she loved. “We’ve been worried since yesterday,” the snow-woman admitted sheepishly. “Kurumu said she could feel you were in pain.”
“I think it has something to do with our Bond of Destiny,” added the succubus.
Almost imperceptibly, Moka winced. “My father used Tsukune as a punching bag to goad me into a fight,” the vampire explained tersely. “Apparently, much as I made Tsukune earn the right to date my other persona, I had to earn the right to date whom I choose.”
“Karma moves in mysterious ways,” quipped Ruby, earning a glare from Moka.
“We wanted to come to your aid,” Mizore confessed, “but we didn’t know how to get there in time to make a difference. I was… terrified, honestly. Losing you would be bad enough, but to lose you while we couldn’t even try to protect you…” The snow-woman shivered.
Kurumu ran a hand along Tsukune’s and Mizore’s cheeks in turn, concern lingering on her stunning succubus features. “What matters is that you’re okay, Tsukune, and that Moka brought you back to us,” she soothed. With a glance at the vampire, she nodded her subtle thanks.
With a deep breath, Moka stared at the floor, pensive. “I couldn’t have done it without Kokoa’s help,” the proud vampire admitted, “so make sure you thank her too.”
The others could only stare in disbelief, until Mizore blurted, “Bullshit.”
Tsukune scratched the back of his head and laughed at their understandable reactions. “It’s true,” he confirmed. “I think she’s decided to accept me, or at least accept my place in Moka’s life.”
“Tsukune learned his place this weekend,” quipped the vampire in an unsuccessful effort to distract from her furious blush, “and I learned mine.”
Yukari’s eyes glittered. “You… you finally confessed to each other? That’s wonderful!” she crowed. “Does this mean I can finally realize my dream of a steamy night of passion with both of you?”
“No,” answered Moka flatly.
“Not even after I’m all grown up and smoking hot again?”
“No.”
“Pleeeeeaaase?”
“No!” Moka answered more forcefully, flaring her aura a bit to underscore her seriousness and deliver an implicit threat to teach the little witch her place.
Yukari sighed and shrugged. “Oh well. Even if you won’t let me join you, I’m still thrilled to know the people I love most finally confessed their love for each other!”
“Where does that leave us?” asked Kurumu warily as she fought down a wave of panic that her Destined Mate was about to be taken cruelly away from her after she’d finally tasted Tsukune’s love. A glance at Mizore confirmed that, despite the ice-demon’s frosty exterior, she feared the same outcome. Over the past few weeks, they’d grown close enough that Kurumu could read those strange ice-blue eyes for the subtlest shifts.
Moka led Tsukune to some chairs and gestured for the others to sit as well. “On our first date, when Tsukune and I… became one,” she began with another furious blush, “I bit him. You’ve all seen the mark.” The others nodded, and the vampire explained further: “Kokoa called them ‘the vampire’s love-bite,’ a means to mark one’s mate to warn away other vampires.”
“Mate? So this whole time…” blurted Kurumu, her heart jumping into her throat. This can’t be happening! she protested inwardly. This can’t be happening! If I lose Tsukune now that I know for sure he’s my Destined Mate… I’ll… I’ll die!
Moka nodded solemnly. “By rights, Tsukune is mine, and mine alone,” she declared. Mizore’s eyes filled with tears. Yukari covered her mouth, while Ruby put a comforting arm around her. Kurumu sat still as a stone, ashen-faced.
Tsukune looked around in a panic, the other girls’ agony piercing heart in a devastating combined attack. The young man turned his pleading eyes to the cruel vampire beside him. “They’re not vampires either,” he whispered. “Moka, please don’t do this to them… don’t do this to me.”
Moka swallowed; the stricken look on Tsukune’s face nearly tore her heart out. “I don’t want to share you,” she replied, “but I know what they mean to you. I couldn’t bear to see you as hurt as you have been since the other Moka left. I… I won’t take them away from you, or you from them,” she managed with a small smile to each of the other girls in turn. It’s where I was going anyway, she scolded them silently, if you’d just had a little more patience.
Quiet, so heavy as to feel oppressive, settled over the room as Moka spoke and the ramifications of her words sunk in. Tsukune’s face slowly lit into a grin. With a whoop, he leapt up and kissed Moka square on the mouth; he then wrapped Yukari into a big hug. Mizore pulled the lollipop from her mouth in anticipation of kissing her beloved Tsukune, but she missed and landed his cheek in their mutual excitement. Kurumu didn’t react at first when she received a kiss on the forehead.
The succubus fixed Moka with a watery glare, tears streaming down her cheeks. “You’re the worst, you know that?” she sniffled. “I thought you were gonna… gonna take him away from me… my Destined Mate…” Kurumu began sobbing, and Moka felt guilty enough to stare at the floor.
Tsukune wrapped his arms around the distraught young woman, who buried her face into his shoulder. “At least these’re tears of joy, right?” he asked. Cerulean hair bobbed an affirmation.
Moka looked up at the others and smiled apologetically. “If it helps, I didn’t mean to upset you,” she offered her friend. “I do have one condition for sharing,” the vampire continued, and the others braced themselves. “When the time comes, I get to become… Mrs. Aono,” she declared with an incandescent blush, one soon matched by the young Mr. Aono in the room.
“We still get to be his mistresses, right?” asked Mizore.
Moka chuckled. “That’s the idea. After all, you need babies, right?” she reminded her icy friend, who smiled around her lollipop.
“Thank you, Moka, for not making me choose between you and the others,” Tsukune told her with a smile so bright it made her heart ache. Yukari clapped with glee.
The vampire scooted over to the young man and murmured into his ear, “You can thank me later tonight – dinner in your room. I intend to savor the last night of my week as your girlfriend.”
Kurumu heard her and glanced over. “Don’t wear him out too badly,” the succubus teased. “Our dear Tsukune will have his hands full next week.” She rubbed her bosom against him to suggest what, exactly, would be occupying his hands whenever possible.
As if on cue, Mizore sauntered over and sat in Tsukune’s lap. “I look forward to quite a show between now and my week,” she cooed. “Just save a little baby batter for me, okay?”
Yukari folded her arms. “Ruby, I hope your spell kicks in soon,” she huffed. “I need to get back into the rotation!”
Ruby looked sadly down at her folded hands. “It’s up to you to represent the race of witches, Yukari,” she replied glumly.
The younger witch patted her shoulder sympathetically. “You never know, Ruby. Tsukune took over a year to confess to us, and we spend most of the day with him!” she reassured her counterpart who’d become like an older sister.
The older witch looked up, her coral eyes gleaming with renewed hope. “You’re right! With a little patience, and spending more time around Tsukune, I’ve still got a chance.”
Moka shook her head, a wry smirk on her face. “I swear, Tsukune, the things I put up with for you,” she remarked dryly as she leaned in to kiss him.
Yukari canted her head to one side as something occurred to her. The young genius asked the one question guaranteed to dampen the mood: “Were you able to find out anything about the rosary or outer Moka?”
Moka and Tsukune exchanged a pained look. With a deep breath to steel herself, the vampire took the initiative to answer: “Forgive me, Ruby, but it’s a long story…”
________________________________________________________
A/N: Moka's finally made her choice, and the harem is now official! Don't wander off, though; there are still a few more threads to tie up before this story concludes.
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Long December