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 5: Wherever You Will Go
Later that evening, Moka strode down the corridor of the girls’ dorm as if she owned the building. Even clad in the comfortable pastel-pink pajamas and fluffy white slippers favored by her pink-haired counterpart, the vampire cut an awe-inspiring figure. Girls going about their nightly business ducked back into their rooms or flattened themselves against the wall to let her pass. None dared to meet her intense gaze, lest doing so be interpreted as a challenge; they all knew that to contend with Moka Akashiya is to lose.
Upon reaching her destination, Moka delivered three sharp knocks to the door. A few moments later, the door slid aside to reveal a snarling Kokoa clad in an oversized sweatshirt, her long red hair cascading down her shoulders in crimson waves reaching halfway down her back. The younger vampire’s aggressive expression melted almost immediately when she saw her beloved older sister.
Before the older vampire could speak, she found herself nearly tackled from the force of the younger girl’s embrace. Gingerly Moka patted Kokoa’s shoulders, and she tried not to feel embarrassed at the open display of affection. Finally, she was forced to draw the line when Kokoa began nuzzling her bosom; so Moka pushed her sister out to arm’s length.
“Big Sis!” Kokoa cried in her excitement. “You came to see me! If only I hadn’t just finished bathing, we could spar!” Her green eyes sparkled as she contemplated challenging her sister to a few matches anyway.
“We need to talk,” replied Moka, shooting down her sister’s ideas before they were fully-formed.
“As long as it’s not about your loser boyfriend,” grumbled Kokoa.
“Only indirectly,” Moka assured her sister. “It’s about the rosary and that other girl, the one you hated.”
Kokoa sighed and waved her sister inside. “Only because it’s important to you, and you’re important to me,” she muttered.
The sisters sat, Kokoa on her bed and Moka in the chair beside the desk. Kou, Kokoa’s bat familiar, dangled from the perch in his cage, watching his mistress with inscrutable beady eyes. Moka glanced around at the mess of her sister’s room – a still-damp towel on the floor, soiled socks dangling from the lip of her hamper, a bra hanging out of the bureau drawer – but stifled her dismay for the moment to focus on the topic at hand.
“What do you know about the rosary, Kokoa?” asked Moka evenly.
“Just that it turned you into that wimpy pink-haired girl,” Kokoa answered with a shrug and sour tone. “I guess it was brave of her to use the rosary to save the school, though,” admitted the young vampire in a softer tone. “I still can’t believe my plan with Lilith’s Mirror was ruined by that dumb human bitch!”
Moka merely raised an eyebrow and waited for her sister to continue.
“I had no idea the Mirror would end up causing that much havoc, I swear!” protested the younger girl.
“Fine, fine,” the elder sister replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I believe you.”
“I just… I just wanted my Big Sis back, y’know?” Kokoa added defensively. “Permanently, not just one week each month, which I have to share with your stupid boyfriend anyway,” she griped.
“Tsukune is a very important person to me, and I think he’ll remain so for quite some time,” Moka replied firmly, her scarlet eyes flashing in warning.
“Am I, your little sister, not important to you too?” cried Kokoa.
“Of course you are,” insisted the older sister, “just not in the same way. You should come to terms with his place in my life – in both our lives – sooner rather than later.”
“What about my place?” muttered the younger girl.
With a wicked smirk, Moka answered, “I could show you your place.”
Kokoa rolled her eyes. “Very funny.”
Moka decided to press on with her questions. “Do you know why I was given the rosary?”
Kokoa shook her head sadly. “Sorry, Big Sis – I was still kinda little when that happened. You know how much adults don’t tell their kids, especially in our family.”
Moka ground her teeth in frustration. “That’s just it, though. My memories of life before the rosary are mere fragments. That other me knew more, but I could only share that knowledge while she was active. Now that she’s gone, you’re my only source of information about these things.”
The younger vampire’s emerald eyes shone, glassy with unshed tears. “Big Sis… I’m sorry; I didn’t know…” she sniffled. “I wish I could help you, honest!”
Moka sighed and shook her head. “It’s not your fault, Kokoa. I just… I just don’t know what to do anymore.”
“Maybe… Maybe you should talk to Father about this stuff,” suggested Kokoa timidly. “One of the other reasons I don’t know anything is because… because… well, because I’m the worthless daughter.”
Moka stared, too stunned to dispute Kokoa’s assertion. The younger vampire plowed ahead: “It’s true; Father hates me. But he loves you; you’re the favorite. He might actually explain things to you.”
The older vampire swallowed as the implications of Kokoa’s claim became clear. “All this time… your obsession with beating me… you thought Father would love you if you were the strongest?”
Kokoa nodded, not making eye contact with her elder sister. “I wanted your place, but you kept showing me where my real place was each time you trounced me,” she explained in a quiet voice.
The redhead vampire glared. “I wanted to hate you, but you always encouraged me to get better at fighting. You made me believe…” Her gaze softened, and silent tears trickled down her cheeks. “You made me believe I mattered.” Her addendum, “but now I’m not so sure,” remained unspoken but understood.
“You do matter to me, Kokoa,” insisted Moka. “You matter just as much as Tsukune does, if differently.” She met her sister’s gaze with one of her own, less cold or aloof than usual while remaining firm. “That’s why I need you to accept how I feel about him.”
Kokoa snorted. “That’s rich – you yourself barely accept your feelings. You can do better than that loser, and you know it!”
Crimson eyes flashed threateningly, and Moka ground her teeth together fighting the urge to kick her sister into orbit. “I’ve warned you about insulting my choice of boyfriend,” she growled. When Kokoa turned away, unwilling to escalate things to blows, the older sister conceded, “You’re right, though, that I’ve struggled to accept Tsukune’s feelings myself. If you had those kinds of feelings for someone, I think you would too, given how we were both raised.”
Kokoa couldn’t help but blush as her own complicated feelings for Tsukune bubbled to the surface. “I can’t imagine ever having those kinds of feelings for anyone,” she lied, rolling her eyes to emphasize her disdainful mien. “That lovey-dovey crap all seems kinda stupid to me. What’s the fucking point?” she ranted.
A small smirk tugged at Moka’s lips as she recognized an attitude in her sister not too different from the one she had when Tsukune Aono first entered her life. “One day, I hope you’ll see the point for yourself, sis.”
Kokoa smiled at the term of affection from her beloved Big Sis. After a brief, warm silence, she wiped at her cheeks with her sleeve. “Ugh, why am I so weak?” she self-castigated.
Moka rested her chin on her knee, which she’d raised for just such purpose. “Love makes us weak,” she murmured with a wry smile, “but I’m starting to wonder if it doesn’t make us strong too, just in a different way.”
“Whaddaya mean?” grunted the younger vampire.
The older sister didn’t answer right away. Her gaze grew distant, and she seemed lost in thought. Before Kokoa could repeat the question or ask if Moka was okay, the silver-haired vampire shot to her feet. A determined light smoldered in her crimson eyes as she announced, “I have a phone call to make.”
At first, Kokoa stared, confused. Realization dawned and widened her eyes. “Big Sis? Are you really considering…?”
Moka nodded once in firm resolve. “I’d say it’s time,” she answered. The proud vampire strode to the door with purpose and exited her sister’s room. She paused just long enough to tell Kokoa, “Thank you for your hospitality,” over her shoulder.
Scrambling to the doorway, Kokoa called down the hall, “I’m glad you stopped by, Big Sis! Please visit again soon!”
~~~~~
Lunch the next day proceeded much like the previous two: both teens ate their meals quickly and quietly. Tsukune sipped from his juice box, and Moka drank from her can of tomato juice. Silence settled over them like a warm blanket on a cold winter’s day – which, in fact, it was.
As she had the previous two days, Moka broke that silence with a clear voice. “Tsukune, I have something to tell you,” she announced, pausing for effect, “about the rosary.”
Tsukune’s heart leapt into his throat. “Wh-What do you mean?” he sputtered.
Moka smirked faintly at his reaction. “I’ve arranged to visit my father, so I’ll be going home this weekend,” she replied matter-of-factly. “I have questions to which only he has answers.”
“Moka,” Tsukune began, softly due to the lingering shock of his girlfriend’s declaration.
Deciding to tease him, the vampire interjected, “I’m sure you were anticipating a weekend slaking your wanton desires, but I’m afraid such debauchery must wait until my next turn as your girlfriend.” She ran her fingertips along the back of his hand playfully. “If it’s any consolation, I’ll miss it too.”
Flushing at his girlfriend’s insinuation, Tsukune shook his head. “No, I wasn’t thinking about that,” he protested. “I was… just surprised by the way you said that. It sounded like you’re planning to go alone.”
Moka took a deep breath, steeling herself for the coming exchange. “That’s right, Tsukune,” she responded simply.
Tsukune blinked, hurt. “But, Moka…”
“Father’s always been overprotective of his daughters, particularly me,” Moka cut him off. “If he were to divine the nature of our relationship, Tsukune…” She looked into the distance, an unfamiliar expression on her face: fear.
Tsukune swallowed. “You don’t know if you can protect me.”
Moka nodded solemnly. “Father taught me everything I know about fighting, but not everything he knows. Understand?”
The young man’s usual nervous tic, scratching the back of his head, asserted itself. “Actually, it’s kinda hard to wrap my head around someone who could outclass you,” he admitted.
The young woman shot a skeptical glance at her boyfriend. “You’re sweet,” she stated flatly. “Dense, but sweet.” She thought about telling him, If something happened to you, like with Kuyo – or worse – I don’t know if I could live with myself; but she held back for now.
Tsukune took Moka’s hand in his. Their eyes met, and Moka saw a familiar steely resolve in her boyfriend’s expression. “I don’t want you to go alone,” he insisted. “I think I should go with you.”
“Tsukune, I don’t want you to get hurt again,” Moka protested, “especially not because I failed to protect you.”
The young man squeezed his girlfriend’s hand to reassure her. “If I don’t go with you, I’ll feel like I’m letting you and the other Moka down,” he explained, “like I didn’t do my part and left everything to you instead. I’d feel kinda worthless.”
The proud vampire smirked, touched. “My, my, Tsukune, what determination! You’re not budging on this, are you?” When Tsukune shook his head in response, Moka felt a thrill of arousal climb her spine – Tsukune standing his ground never failed to turn her on. “In that case, I’ll let Father know I’m bringing friends with me.”
The young man frowned at her word choice. “Should I… prepare myself as if meeting… my girlfriend’s father, or just a friend’s?” he wondered.
“Prepare yourself as if you’re meeting royalty, Tsukune,” Moka instructed him in a strict tone, “for that’s exactly what Father is.”
The human boy swallowed, but he held firm in his decision and nodded. “I understand,” he replied, “and I won’t embarrass you. You have my word.”
Moka leaned over to kiss Tsukune’s cheek. “You have my word that I’ll protect you, or die trying,” she assured him. “For now, though, we should probably begin ‘this and that’ if we’re going to do so,” she added with a teasing drag of her finger nail along her boyfriend’s jaw. “We won’t be able to do so much as kiss during our visit.”
Both teens blushed at the idea of having another tryst on the school’s rooftop, since yesterday’s had gone so well. Before Tsukune could respond, though, the bell tolled, calling them back to class. Moka snorted, “Right on cue. We’ll just leave it there for now, and resume later in my room for some real ‘quality time’.” She leaned in to briefly kiss Tsukune’s lips, adding a playful nip of the lower one for good measure to hint at the exact quality of the “quality time” she’d promised.
~~~~~
Fortunately for Tsukune, his arousal had subsided by the time he and Moka returned to their classroom. Fortunately for both of them, the bell to begin sixth period had not yet rung. Unfortunately for Moka, their absence the previous day had not gone unnoticed.
“Look who decided not to skip class for hanky-panky today,” Kurumu teased the vampire under her breath, leaning over to further reduce the chance of a classmate overhearing.
Moka’s face lit up like a beacon, and she shot a glance full of daggers at the succubus. Rather than rise to the bait, however, the silver-haired beauty withdrew one of her fighting magazines from her desk and practically planted her nose in it. You just wish you’d thought of it first, succubus, she growled to herself.
Kurumu frowned at her failure to elicit a response, so she upped the ante. “That’s really the sort of thing I might do,” the succubus needled. “I’m impressed.”
Without looking up, Moka replied, “Your approval fills me with shame, I assure you.”
The vampire’s droll tone triggered a giggle from the buxom blue-nette. Before Kurumu could nettle her friend any further, though, the teacher entered the classroom simultaneously with the ringing of the bell. As usual, this teacher – widely rumored to be a fire-breathing dragon – began lecturing immediately and drawing complex molecules and reaction formulae on the board.
Suddenly, the teacher paused. “Miss Akashiya, Mr. Aono, welcome back to class,” he greeted them without turning towards them from the chalkboard. “To atone for your absence yesterday, you both shall write a four-page essay this weekend, on the hormone oxytocin.” Never turning to face the class, he drew the formula for the molecule on the board.
Yukari blushed and stifled a giggle; she knew, having already worked ahead, exactly what that particular chemical dealt with.
“Miss Sendo,” barked the teacher in his gravelly voice, “do you also desire additional work for this class?”
“N-No s-sir!” yelped the witch.
“I thought not.” The teacher stroked his gray beard and returned to his original lecture as if nothing unusual had occurred.
All the students – Moka, Tsukune, and Yukari especially – got the message: when class is in session, Mr. Ryunishi meant business.
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A/N: Another chapter in the books! If you're enjoying this story - or if you're not - please leave me some feedback via review or PM on the forums.
A note on continuity: The first six chapters of this story overlap with the latter third of "Such a Long Story," the previous installment in the series. A previous AN claimed otherwise and will be altered accordingly.
Also, I've added the "Complete" marker to the story, since I've finished writing it; obviously, it ain't over yet! The story will continue to update weekly until all chapters have been uploaded.
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