Strange Bedfellows, Stranger Allies

Enjoy:

"Oh, my dear, if you only knew how strange is the matter regarding which I am here, it is you who would laugh."

― Bram Stoker, Dracula

The crow soared through the skies, flapping its wings with the occasional contented and guttural caw bursting forth from his dark beck. It was traveling back peacefully, leaving behind the worries of a multitude of faces it watched with intent back in the human world: returning home was his favorite time of the day, save for the familiar tugging at its feathers, stretching the flesh and distorting its senses. Suddenly, there came the shock; light surged from the base of the barrier and shot straight up, rushing through the air to hit the intruder. The crow lost all feeling, a necessary evil when traveling to Yokai; leaving the confines never posed a problem, it was returning home that initiated the defenses. The limp body plunged downward, pulled by the inescapable pull of the gravity. It continued on like that for a minute… then two. By the third minute, the creature opened its eyes and watched the patch of trees grow closer and closer.

With a small twitch of its body, it prodding to see if he felt any residual pain. Sensing none, it knew it had passed the barrier. Now free of the foreign constraint, it stretched its wings back out and glided through the forest. It continued its descent, but it was a softer one this time; an acquired technique the animal had learned through years of experience: it was glad Ruby had taught him how to travel.

Then it saw the familiar outline of the friendly form. She waved at it, throwing up her hands and ordering the creature to land. Once atop a branch within a close enough proximity, it gave its report with gusto.

"Ruby!" It cawed with zeal. "Akua Shuzen spotted in human world, Ruby! Akua Shuzen met Tsukune Aono, Ruby! Came back as soon as possible, Ruby!"

The witch's lips curled up into a smile before she resolved to softly petting the bird on its head, "Is there anything else you found out?" She softly murmured into the animal's ear, she appeared afraid of speaking too loudly.

"Nothing else, Ruby! Everything that's known, Ruby!"

"That's good enough," she thought out loud after a moment of deliberation.

The crow felt a shift in the surrounding aura. The wise beast, realizing it's been duped, immediately took flight, only to be brought down by the monster that had masqueraded as its mistress. The pleasant form of the Knoll-raised witch had been discarded, substituted by a swirling mass of sharpened claws that prevented the bird from escaping. The shape shifter still wore Ruby's face as if to mock the poor crow.

"Where are you going?" The predator purred. The bird did its best to dodge the oncoming flurry, but it was no match for her speed.

The claws came down viciously, and tore its body asunder, ripping through flesh and bone like knife through butter. Leaving the broken creature to fall limply on the ground, dead before the shape-shifter had finished the blow. Her work down, the impersonator reverted to a more human-like appearance, quite happy with the discovery she made regarding the whereabouts of one of the most dangerous assassin's in the world. The monster speedily made her way away from Academy grounds. Her mission now complete, she could bear to return home and inform her superior of the recent commotion that spread through the staff of the still devastated school. Lady Gyokuro would be so pleased with her, she might even consider giving her a promotion. This assignment would be worth it if she got rotated out of field work once in a blue moon.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tsukune walked past the shops with a sigh. It was disheartening to see so many fun ways to spend his time pass him by. Yokai Academy might have been closed; conversely, that didn't mean he was given a free pass to lounge around the house all day. So, to keep his brain from rotting away, Kyoko decided cram school would be the best way to keep him stimulated while he was stuck at home. It was a sunny autumn morning: the birds were chirping, the chatter of friends resounded, and he was stuck marching on with nobody to talk to. All his friends were in the monster world. Well, all except for one very peculiar vampire who jumped from roof to roof, never letting the boy out of her sight.

She was disappointed. Here she was, all dressed up for what she considered a date, and her favorite ex-human was shanghaied into an institution directed by humans. The Chairman might not take too kindly to seeing her on campus, but at least there she knew that the facilities were friendly to their species. Past memories of the few humans she had to work with came to mind. Simply uttering the word monster got them on edge, she never understood why the Miao dealt with them at all. Having contacts was all well and good, but the more she saw how humans interacted with each other, the more she questioned Tsukune's undying allegiance to his former kind. They were shady at best and downright treacherous at their worst; monsters might be more brutal by nature, but most would air their grievances and fight rather than wait for someone's back to be turned. Was that how humans were taught to act in their schools?

She kept up a steady pace, expertly trailing him like a predator on the prowl. He looked lonely, perhaps she should go down there and keep him company until he reached his destination. It seemed like a sound idea, hiding out of view was getting boring. Without a moment's hesitation, she walked off the ledge and landed on the ground level with feline grace. No one had seen here fall into the alley, and from the darkened corridor, she emerged into the morning light and stepped into the growing mass of people. Ahead, she saw the boy stop, which drew a smile to her lips; she hadn't broadcasted her movements at all this time, his detection skills were being refined with diligent practice.

He turned to her with a smile of his own. Her heart skipped a beat as she waved at him, the two fell in step and walked at a brisk speed, intermingling with the crowd of humans as would any other average duo in the city, be they monsters in disguise or unsuspecting humans.

"You were trailing me for a long time," Tsukune noted.

"You noticed?" She offhandedly asked with feigned disinterest, he'd picked her up much faster than he should have, or so her pride whispered in her ear; she was supposed to be one of the greatest assassins alive for crying out, being made so quickly was more than a little vexing. Noticing her a bit earlier than expected meant he was training himself; detecting her presence the very minute she started leaping from building to building meant she was sloppy.

"Barely," he admitted with a small smile, "I wasn't sure until I turned around and your aura flared up for some reason. What was that about?"

"I was trying to get your attention," she lied, blushing at the thought that her emotions got the best of her. So much for her vaunted cold professionalism, she inwardly said with a great deal of disappointment in her own abilities. Wait… this wasn't a job! Surely she could be a little more lenient when it came to her own time. In fact, if memory served, she'd just taken her sabbatical; why should she be so hard on herself? To think that this came after years of swearing to be more open when it came to matters of the heart.

"Ah," he awkwardly retorted. It seemed like such a simple conclusion, he admonished himself internally for not catching on right away. A slight bout of embarrassed laughter followed before he continued, "I can't hang out with you today."

"Why!?" She turned around with the usual furrowed brow and vacant stare she always adopted when things didn't go her way, "is there someone else you're meeting?"

"No. Nothing like that," he replied tranquilly, oblivious to the possessiveness she displayed, "I have to go to cram school to catch up on the curriculum. We didn't have time to cover it all before the school was… Um, shut down."

"Cram school?" She repeated with a sour look.

'Yeah, never heard of it?"

"I was homeschooled when I was younger," said Akua as mulled the word around in her brain. She thought she could imagine what this entailed, and she did not abide the existence of anything that shortened her time with her beloved.

"Not much to say about it, to tell ya the truth. It does just what it says: it's a school where you cram," he tried his best to joke. She could tell he was about as happy at the prospect of going there as she was. He hunched forward, almost subdued by the idea of studying in what he assumed would be his break.

She sympathized and, should he only say the words, she would burn down the school for him. "You should've told me earlier."

'It was sorta last minute," Tsukune dejectedly admitted. His cousin had insisted quite a bit on making sure he received a well-rounded education, no matter the cost. She was right, he knew it. That alone did not necessarily have to imply he was okay with her decision, though.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him to a halt in the middle of his stride. The mild smile faded, replaced by a serious look that bordered on pleading. "You don't have to go," she noted. The two of them could skip out and head somewhere else. In fact, if he was so hell-bent on learning, she'd be overjoyed to show him a few tricks she picked in the couple of years they've been apart. Honing your body was as important as honing your mind, Moka always said. "We could go train."

He laughed and patted her head, ruffling her black hair with a goofy smirk. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up but I gotta do this. Be safe and behave," he playfully advised as he left, letting Akua recover from the daze the sudden contact had thrown her into.

"Damn," she muttered under her breath when she came to. There was no sign of him and she very well couldn't comb the entire city in search of the boy.

Disappointed the exchange did not go as she hoped, she turned around and reluctantly made her way back to her hideout in the less reputable part of the city. All plans for the day marred, she contemplated her options as she marched on, subconsciously and deftly avoiding the slightest contact with the human crowd that surrounded her.

Old habits die hard.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Now, now. Why would Akua not tell me about her new beau?"

Kahlua pondered her mother's question for a few moments but found no answer that she could foresee convincing the head of Fairy Tale that their premiere assassin was still loyal to the organization above all else.

"I'm not sure," Kahlua confessed.

She could comprehend her sister not informing the liaison of the intimate details; some affairs are, after all, too private to be discussed with colleagues. What was really disconcerting were the lengths the eldest Shuzen went to drop below the family radar. What was so secretive that she couldn't confide in her own family? At this rate, they would never be the close-knit family she dreamed of having.

The live feed of their meeting in the sprawling human urban center faded, replaced with a copy of Tsukune Aono's newly created dossier. At first glance, he appeared so painfully average he could be mistaken as a human; then came Kuyo's testimony after being inducted into the group. He wasn't some run of the mill monster either, but a fully-fledged vampire to boot. A bona fide killing machine simply begging to be recruited. Or so that was the case until a significant discrepancy came up: all of his relatives were human.

Gyokuro's contempt for the boy was growing the disproportionate heights. Not only was he a ghoul – it was the only possible way to account for the strange string of circumstances that surrounded him – he was also friends with her brat of a daughter-in-law. Even unaware of her heritage, that little bitch proved to be a consistent thorn in her side. Plucking and tearing her asunder was going to be rewarding beyond measure.

"Maybe she wasn't ready to formally bring him into our fold yet," the matron joked. Her motherly tone and disposition never seemed out of place. That was one of her horrifying qualities. Much like her own daughter, that thin layer of innocence was neigh impossible to see through if you'd never dealt with her prior.

Kahlua remained silent as a compilation of pictures of the target and his immediate family replaced the documentation the screen displayed. She grasped her mother's intent quite quickly which was not surprising in the least, their two minds were quasi in synch after all these years. Nonetheless, she humored her mother and asked the question with a bout of fake naivety. Part of her wished she was wrong about her mother's plans. Alas, not so.

"What should we do?"

"I think it's time I introduced myself as any proper mother would."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The sun was lose to setting when classes let out. It was the first day back to the basis of human academics and, much like the curriculum taught at Yokai, Tsukune was given the opportunity to learn to hate it all over again. It was an art really, any average student was capable of admitting that much; the dullness of the affair made staring out the window and sighing at the soap opera in one's head a feasible goal for any teenager. Add to that thrill of reliving what you've already been forced to cram into your head once.

The human-turned-vampire couldn't get away from that place fast enough. A light jog and a few blocks later, the joy of life returned to him, albeit slowly. He clutched the bag with one hand while the other slipped into his pocket; his mind was far too busy searching for his resident vampire stalker to let another micro-second drift by dedicated to algebraic equations.

Sure enough, he picked up her trail. Jumping and running, running and jumping, who knew Humanity had unwittingly created an obstacle course able to keep a monster entertained on their own rooftops? He glanced up, flashed a grin, and then went on his merry way, leaving Akua to follow the trail of dormant energy he left in his wake like a metaphorical breadcrumb trail.

Unbeknownst to either of them, a third figure was watching from the sidelines. It did its best to avoid any contact with the locals with admirable results. This figure, however, never was granted the luxury of approaching either vampires; a tranquil bus driver sitting on one of the benches spotted Gyokuro Shuzen before she could slip past him. The glowing eyes and shit-eating grin were an unwelcome sight for the blonde vampire.

"Don't tell me you're trying to avoid me?" The Bus Driver laughed as he pulled out a fresh cigar from his front pocket.

He lightened, drew a puff and pointed at the seat next to him. Ever the compliant and dignified noblewoman –or so she acted as to prevent a lengthy and quite possibly lethal battle with her old friend- , she accepted the nonverbal invitation with gusto. "Perish the thought," the matron responded amicably as she sat. Her demeanor was gentle but the stiffness in her muscles were visible proof of her displeasure at the unexpected company.

"It's been a while, Gyokuro. How's Issa doing? Locked up in one of your dungeons yet?"

"Playing the comedian was never your forte, Nurari," said Gyokuro in the sweetest tone she could marshal up under present circumstances.

"Comedian?" The Bus Driver huffed. "I was only trying to make small talk. But since that isn't going to happen, I'll get straight down to business: the boy is off limits."

"Really? You do understand that I can't stop meddling just because you asked nicely, right? What would people think?" She mocked with feigned mortification.

"I'm not asking you to back away pro bono; I have something that's more than worth the price."

"Oh? Don't leave me in suspense."

"It's information-"

"About the pompous little fop that's been going behind my back and trying to wrestle control from underneath my feet," she interjected before the Bus Driver had a chance to finish his own sentence.

The Bus Driver's features softened as he cackled. Gyokuro must be concerned by the new upstart if she kept such close tabs on her own people; she must've been nervous about not knowing his name. He responded with a barely noticeable nod and took another puff from his freshly lit cigar; he could see the Shuzen matron's want for the information he possessed. This was too good for him to ignore.

"I'll throw in a bonus. That kid you've been hunting down is the one who'll put our mutual friend in the ground, if you play your cards right, that is."

"Such a generous proposition," Gyokuro idly commented as a stray blossom caught her gaze. It captivated her to see it dance and glide simultaneously even as it plunged to its withering death, "what are you hiding?"

"The guy you've been hunting is bad news. Very bad news. If you want to live long enough to see your youngest graduate, you'll stop poking while you still have all your fingers."

"Is that a threat?"

It sounded like a veiled challenge and the Bus Driver was well-aware that a vampire's wounded pride would never let them back down after having the gauntlet tossed at their feet.

"No, a warning from one friend to another. You're out of your depth."

As much as her blood boiled in her veins, as demanded as was her pride to prove the inferior monster wrong, she kept her candid composure and continued with her line of questioning. Though, in all fairness, the words did start to sting. "And that boy –Tsukune Aono, was it- isn't?"

"Yup," the ominous figure answered nonchalantly.

The matron sighed. A name would have been pleasing; but if this rat was half as powerful as Nurari inferred, she would be more than happy to let the Academy deal with it themselves. After all, what was the point of exerting effort if others willingly flung themselves in danger's way first? Yokai would have a hard time recovering, the mole would be purged and her own position wouldn't be weakened in the slightest. A win on all counts, by her estimates.

Their tense conversation concluded. The head of Fairy Tale wasted no time before leaving this wretched town. The more time she spent around humans, the more she was reminded of Akasha and her unbearable penchant for taking what was not hers. She vaguely wondered if this new beau of Akua's colluded with that bitch's daughter. It was more than likely; the human-turned-vampire background, the subservient attitude of assimilating into human society, it all screamed of one more project Akasha would have loved to have been involved in. Even the aura he sensed slumbering within that seemingly frail body reeked of her.

He would leave Tsukune Aono be for now. However, the minute he stops being of use to her will be the minute she forcefully conscripts him into using his abilities to do something a little more worthwhile than providing that sad excuse for a school one more body to use as cannon fodder in their idiotic pursuit.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tsukune grew worried. Looking up at the row of suburban houses that lined up on either side of the street in an identical fashion, he couldn't pinpoint any spot where the elusive assassin was likely to hide. Her energy had evaporated at some point during the playful game of cat and mouse; what could have spooked her so?

As he came into view of his home and looked up at the second-floor window that gave into his window, he could see a few locks of pink hair and the edge of the emblazoned school uniform spill out into view from the corner: Moka was in his house, in his room, and he'd completely forgotten about the impromptu visit his friends had all scheduled today.

He rushed in and found his bewildered mother brewing tea with a shaky hand. Realizing her son had come home, she pealed herself away from the pots and welcome him home with an equally shaky tone. "There's a very pretty girl who said she knew you?" It was half disbelief, half accusation that he perceived in his mother's tone.

"Yeah, she's a friend from school, Mom."

'Tsukune, you didn't..."

"No, I swear! It's nothing like that!"

With Kasumi's worries soothed somewhat. He took the tray in his own hands and made his way upstairs. He groaned; how was he going to explain this to Akua? He could picture the assassin practicing her knife-hand technique as she waited for her beloved sister to leave his home. He would have to play out the exact same events as last time with the added benefit of looking forward to talking his way out of his execution at the hand of the Fairy Tale agent. It was not going to be a pretty sight.

He grasped the handled to his door and exhaled. One more round of encouragement and he was past the threshold, greeted by the smiling face of the pink haired vampire just as the succubus hiding in his bed roused herself from her nap.