The report on his desk, detailing the findings and observations of various humans, was only one of the hundreds compiled in the last few years.

Building the school had been an achievement all on its own, erecting the barrier in secret had been a miracle. At the time, the world had been so close to the brink of war.

But that final war had been avoided, if only barely and temporarily. The three of them…well, two now, knew that. The limitations of what they'd done so long ago had slowly become known.

It was this knowledge, that had accelerated his project. There was a war on two fronts, somewhere over the horizon. The monsters who wanted payback for being forced into shadows, humans who wanted to maintain the image that they ruled the planet, and the mix of those seeking peace.

To avoid what would most assuredly be the end of the modern world, coexistence needed to happen. The sooner that happened, the better.

Glancing back down to the report, he felt there were a few candidates that could help bring its start. They would need to be monitored for some years still, but the signs were there, each presented in different ways.

One was showing a level of intelligence and charisma that was rare. Another had been saved by a young mermaid, and had since been looking at the world with new and curious eyes.

The last one though, was a wild card. He could hold the most potential, if properly guided. The family was loving and compassionate, open-minded and had a loyalty that astounded even him.

It was this wild-card of a candidate that had the headmaster of Youkai Academy, and one of the Three Dark Lords staring out of his office window in contemplation.

"There will come a day Miki," He could remember her voice, as clear as day even after all these years. The use of the nickname given to him no longer made him scowl, but instead give a smile that was just as frightening.

"That you'll see it my way. Respect doesn't always come from being feared. Sometimes, a helping hand will bring you a far greater return, and be the foundation of something amazing."

He had respected her for the power she wielded, but hid so well. For how she could take control of a situation. But they had always disagreed on how to secure peace with humans.

Fear had been his way, manipulation was how Touhou wanted to do it. But Akasha, she wanted to go down the long road, of building an understanding between them, to gain their trust.

The three of them were long lived, and had seen the human wars come and go. It confused him and Touhou, that she could still think that, after all they'd seen.

"But then again… you were right about him." Among so many other things he'd never thought would come to pass.

And it was because of what she'd done, that they had just a little bit more time to pave that path. Tenmei Mikogami, Headmaster of Youkai Academy and Dark Lord, would see to it that her sacrifice was not in vain.

"I shall place my faith in you once more Akasha… By your blood, the boy shall live." By doing so, he would have to change his priorities a bit. Tsukune Aono would be the prime candidate once this little expedition was done.

But before he could set out to the human world, a few preparations were needed. Familiars would have to constantly shadow the boy in the coming years, and a device would be needed, to safely and slowly handle the changes he would undergo.

By his estimation, there was just enough time to craft a seal that would allow him to stay human until his time with the academy, and maintain a normal human life.

It was time for the famed exorcist, renowned for his crafting of rosaries and seals, to make an appearance.

-LineBreak-

It was the kind of thing that a mother has nightmares about, and even the absolute fear and panic that those dreams produced, paled in comparison to the real deal.

Kasumi Aono sat at the bedside of her only son, watching his face twitch as he slept. She wondered if he was feeling any pain, or if those movements were just from a dream he might be having.

"My dear sweet boy… Please, please wake up." She placed a light kiss on his forehead, not caring of how sweaty he was.

Her family didn't deserve this. They had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time, and now her son was barely clinging to life. His shaggy brown hair was matted down on the right side, still stained with blood, the rest of his injuries having already been cleaned.

No matter how many times her husband Koji said otherwise, she knew that this was her fault. If she had been paying closer attention, Kyoko wouldn't have bumped into that…. That low-life, and they would have continued on with no trouble.

That desire, to check the window of the store they were walking by, for a pair of shoes of all things, had been enough time to make her world turn on its head.

Her niece had always been blunt with her opinions, and when she was displeased with someone. The man that day, just so happened to be within arms reach of a plank of wood to use as a weapon.

The fact that a grown man would even consider striking down a 13 year old girl, when all she really did was tell him to watch where he was walking, was absurd.

When he had readied his make shift weapon, her son had pushed his cousin out of the way, taking the blow to the side of his head. If Tsukune hadn't been so injured, she would be feeling so proud of him right now, for protecting his family.

But as it was, he had taken several strikes to the head. Traumatic Encephalopathy was the official diagnosis, but overhearing a nurse when in the bathroom had given her the truth.

Her sons brain was swelling, and there was so much damage to the blood vessels, that they didn't want to risk surgery to repair them or drain the fluid.

As she sat there, the rest of the hospital forgotten and ignored in favor of taking in her sons dreaming face, Kasumi could only pray that he would come back from this. The only thing they could do, was wait for him to wake up…or die.

And poor Kyoko, the girl had completely broken down once she heard her cousin was in a coma because he wanted to help her. Never had she, Koji or her sister-in-law ever seen Kyoko cry like that.

"TSUKI! Wake up! I promise i'll be nicer, and I won't boss you around anymore! C'mon this isn't funny…. Just… Wake up." Even some of the nurses walking by had gotten teary eyed, after hearing the girl plead, tears soaking the gown they placed Tsukune in.

Kasumi snapped her eyes over to the door, when she heard the two knocks, followed by the creaking of it opening.

"Aono-san?" The nurse stood in the doorway, holding a basin of cleaning materials. They were letting the cut on his temple stay, in the hopes that any excess fluid would drain from there. They were coming to clean it ever few hours to get an idea of how much was coming out.

"I have to recheck your sons wounds now." Kasumi just nodded, wiping at her eyes.

The nurse moved slowly, likely feeling the tension in the mother, and didn't want to seem to cheerful in what was a traumatic event for her family.

With gloves on, a small penlight and some gauze soaked in disinfectant, she set to cleaning the 10 year old boys head.

"What are the chances that he'll wake up? No one has told me that." Kasumi asked, after the nurse had finished cleaning, and was inspecting the gash.

"Aono-san, i'm not really qualified to answer that-"

"Please!" Kasumi begged through a sob, unable to keep the tears from falling again. "I've asked each of the three doctors that have come in. They've all just dodged the question!"

The mother bent down, head on where she was holding her sons hand, just as much giving a bow as she was seeking Tsukune out for comfort.

The nurse looked around the room, towards the door and who might be just outside of it. After a moment, she decided to be honest with the woman, seeing the distress she was in from not knowing anything.

"Aono-san… I have been a trauma nurse for 10 years." The middle aged woman cleared her throat, trying to look and sound as soothing as possible, because what she knew from experience, would be hard to hear.

"Children are resilient in many ways, but… The swelling, risk of infection, and internal bleeding… If he wakes, he'll likely never be the same." The nurse could see the light of hope fading from the womans eyes, and had to call on all the professional callousness she had built up. But it was still a hard thing, seeing such a young boy who only wanted to protect, meet such an unfortunate end.

"No words can properly convey how much I wish there was something more we could do. Nothing short of a miracle will bring him back to the boy you know, and I hope whatever powers above deliver it, because he deserves nothing less."

The nurse stood and started to leave, when she was surprised by Kasumi speaking again.

"Th-thank you, for your honesty."

The nurse tried to smile, but it came out crooked and halfhearted when the emotional pain and suffering was so potent in the air.

"I'm sorry Aono-san. There are people here, to help you with this difficult time, you only need to reach out."

-LineBreak-

With how easily he was able to slip through the hospital, the exorcist had to wonder why youkai were on the decline. But that thought only lasted a moment, because the illusion he had cast, would only be reasonable for total concealment, to be looked over as wholly unimportant.

It also would only be feasible for monsters of A-class or higher that were magically capable, and those species were in the furthest decline. D and C class were the most common.

As he walked through the hospital, the humans not completely fooled by his illusion, would only see a man in church robes.

They would assume that he was off to either the chapel of the hospital, or to comfort a grieving family for their loss.

By his estimation, only 4 people had given him more than the briefest of glances. His billowing sleeves hid the objects he was carrying, which was good because the Yoki in the bag of blood he had with him would have set their nerves twitching in fear. The enchantments in his robes were an investment that had paid off.

Taking the stairs to the 8th floor was just an excuse to stretch his legs a little more than normal. But it also gave him a chance to re-examine the bracelet he had crafted. Each section of gold, had a spell for absorbing and redistributing the energy the boy would come to produce on his own. Where the sections of chain came together, was something that from a distance appeared to be a padlock of pure gold. There was a silver-white cross, where one would expect a keyhole to be, with designs and etchings in the metal that were from languages long forgotten.

'If the boy should fail, I may have just doomed us all…' The risk that he was taking was great.

They, the Three Dark Lords, knew that Alucard had managed to split off a portion of himself. Where that piece was, and the alias taken was unknown. The appearance of his original couldn't be counted on, as that was too easily changed, especially with the talents he had at his disposal.

If the enemy managed to recruit the boy once he gained his full power, very few would be able to stop him.

The 8th floor was nearly vacant, something that played in his favor. With the flu season having ended, the pediatric ICU had been cleared for all but the most serious cases and injuries. But even from the opposite end of the ward, the wailing cry of young girl could be heard.

It appeared that the family had found out, that the boy was almost assured to die. At most he would last another 3 days without supernatural intervention.

Following the ear piercing noise, the headmaster found a dark haired woman holding a girl that he knew to be the cousin that had been the cause of the boys condition, if indirectly.

The woman was kneeling, as her daughter sagged to the floor. His monster nature bubbled up, taking pleasure in the chaos these peoples lives were in.

It was quickly pushed down, which was as easy as breathing through the many years of practice. Chaos in moderation was all well and good, but complete chaos would lead to the death of too many.

"Stay right here Kyoko, i'll go bring you something to eat." The mother whispered, rubbing the girls back before standing and making her way to do just that.

The exorcist walked by her, thinking he had gone unnoticed, as she sat with her face against her pulled up knees.

The chemical smell that lingered was stronger here than in any other part of the hospital he'd walked through, but given the waste bin filled with fluid soaked gauze, that wasn't surprising.

The mother and father were both fast asleep on the couch near the window. The boy he was here to see, laid motionless on the nondescript bed, a towel at his temple to collect any blood or fluid.

"If the first attempt fails, I may not be able to make it back here. This will be our back-up plan. I know you and Touhou will find a way to succeed." The memory of the last time they spoke came unbidden, as he took out the bag of blood.

"And if you succeed, what should happen with this?" She had given him that same easy going and trusting smile she always had.

"I trust you to make good use of it, to help our dream become a reality." Akasha shuddered, as she added one single condition.

"But don't let Tofu have it! He'd somehow find a way to make a physical clone, just to get Issa angry."

What didn't need to be said, was what their fellow Dark Lord would do with said clone in private.

"Heh, I might be able to get a few extra favors from him."

He hadn't needed to use that back-up plan, thankfully. Akasha was not one to fail often, and now the gift she left with him would hopefully help with finding peace.

The bag was placed on the IV pole, unused for the moment, as his attention moved to the boys right wrist. The holy lock needed to be placed first, to maintain the human appearance during the infusion.

It was also dealt with first, because the entire bag of blood would have to be injected into him. That amount of power being placed in a human child would either kill him, or turn him into a ghoul. Once the bag was punctured, the wards on it would vanish, starting the clock on how long the power would remain in the blood.

The chain was long to wrap around the boys wrist 4 times, and still have nearly enough room to slide off. It could be removed physically for now, but the charms placed in it would keep anyone from doing so, even the boy himself.

With the clasp in place, the infusion needed to start, and quickly. The spike from the saline bag was being wasted anyway, since the bag only had a few drops left. Once placed into the blood bag, the exorcist put a pressure bag around it, to speed up the process. The line was opened up, and a steady stream was flowing down the clear tubing.

It would only take a few minutes, and then his task would be complete. He had a cycle of familiars ready to watch the boy more closely, one of which was discreetly already in place. A small translucent spider that would go unnoticed.

"I thought the church people only came when someone died?" Tenmei hid his surprise well, calmly turning towards the door, where Kyoko stood, eyeing him with a cautious and curious expression.

His hood kept all but his glowing eyes from being seen. Therefore the smirk at seeing the girl become uneasy when looking at him was unnoticed.

"I came to offer prayers for the boy, nothing more. It helps me, when I see them. I want the powers above to see the face of the one I pray for."

Kyoko looked from him, and towards her cousin, not noticing the blood bag or the gold on her cousins wrist.

"I hope all that stuff is real then, cause Tsuki deserves to live. He shouldn't be punished for my mistake." Her eyes and tone sliding back towards pain and sadness once more, as she moved towards Tsukune.

"That he does child." The exorcist said, ignoring the portion of what she said. From what he knew of the situation, the man would've likely attacked both of them and more, if he hadn't been run off by two young men and rather muscular woman.

"After the boy wakes, he will need you. No matter how much he says otherwise, everyone needs a helping hand." And because he will eventually need a base of humans that won't turn him away on principle. The parents would do well enough for a time, but the independence from them that will inevitably come during adolescence, will leave a gap. And his cousin was a perfect fit to fulfill the role.

When Kyoko turned to speak to the strange priest, she saw nothing but an empty place where he'd been only seconds before.

Of course she would look after him! Not only was she his cousin, but also the only real friend he had. The other kids were mere acquaintances at best, and were just as likely to stab him in the back as they were to hang out with him.

There was no point in giving her heated response to no one, so she turned her attention back to Tsukune, grabbing his gold covered hand with both of hers.

"I promise Tsuki, i'll be there whenever you need me, no matter what." She would hold herself to that, with everything she had.

-LineBreak-

There was a dull ache and throb he could feel in his head, even in his dreams. But if he was aware of it, was he really dreaming? Ugh…thinking of things like this was just going to make his head hurt worse.

Tsukune knew he wasn't that smart, his classmates and teacher said so all the time.

It really stunk, that he'd gotten hurt trying to save Kyo. But as long as she hadn't gotten hurt, then it was okay. She was the only real friend he had, even though he always told her and his family that he had a few other friends at school.

That wasn't true, when they laughed with him around, it was almost always at him.

Young he may be, but even he knew that friends and family were important, and should be protected.

That was why, even though he was really really scared, he'd moved Kyoko out of the way. When he woke up, Tsukune was going to thank Kyoko for being his friend, even though she didn't have to.

With his mind wandering, he hadn't noticed that the dreams had disappeared. Before it was just an endless loop of him, his mother and Kyoto walking down the street peacefully, enjoying the sunny day together.

Now it was just black, with nothing to see or hear. Even though he was 10 now, he hadn't been able to get rid of his fear of the dark. What he 'saw' right now was the darkest thing he'd ever witnessed.

He couldn't tell if he was moving, or even if he had a body in this dream, and his fear was starting to swell. He didn't like it, those stories about monsters lurking there and waiting to grab people, came to mind. After the ghost stories from that one sleepover, he'd never gone to another.

Like a tingle down his back, Tsukune felt the need to shiver. The dark was scary, and bad things happened there, everyone knew that! He wanted to get away from it, but no matter how much he tried to move…nothing happened.

His head was starting to feel weird, like he did that time he jumped off the swings in the park with Kyoko. It was a light feeling, like he was hanging in the air right before he fell back to the ground.

The feeling was starting to go away, only to come back in other parts of his body. It almost felt like when he had hot chocolate. When you take that drink, and can feel the warmth moving from your mouth all the way down to your stomach.

Only this wasn't that feeling. It was more like it was inside him, everywhere. His arms, chest, legs, feet and toes all started to feel that way. It was starting to make him really dizzy, because then his right wrist would feel cold yet hot.

The dizziness started to fade, but would come back a little bit every minute or so. Tsukune could think of it as him getting a bad cold. If that was the case, then maybe that man who tried to hurt Kyoko was just a bad dream made up from him being sick. That would be nice, because Kyoko got scary when things didn't go according to her plan.

That was when things started to weirder and scarier, making him certain that this was a dream.

It started with a sound, like something dragging across the ground just in front of him. Tsukune still couldn't see anything, but there was no doubt that something was there in this dream with him.

His pulse and breathing started to pick back up. Nothing good could come from hearing something being dragged in complete darkness.

The sound was getting closer and louder the more he tried to think of getting away from it. It was just like those nightmares he heard about, when you tried running away from something and no matter how hard you tried, they were still right behind you the whole time.

The sound stopped suddenly, and Tsukune gave a breath of relief. That breath was followed with a sharp intake and a renewed desire to run, when a low rumble, almost a growl reached his ears.

He tried with everything his young body had, to thrash and get away, but he still couldn't feel anything.

That was the moment that the darkness before him started to shift. It was just a small amount, but what Tsukune thought he could see, looked like a really big snake, the way it swayed back and forth, slithering over the ground.

But then there was another, and another, and it seemed that a source of light was coming from somewhere. As the light slowly became more apparent, there were no words that he had to describe what he was seeing.

The sound he first heard, was most definitely from the snake-like things on the ground. A newfound level of fear found him, when Tsukune saw that they were attached to something.

It was all black; pulsing, writhing, breathing. At some points it looked like there were massive blisters on it.

The monster in front of him was enormous, and he couldn't see the top of it. Between all the jaws and claws starting to open and close, faster and faster, Tsukune thought he saw ribs poking out from its sides.

When he started to feel even more dizzy then before, all those sharp points started to point themselves at him. They moved together, slowly and all in his direction. It made his heart feel like it was about to burst from how scared he was.

When the first two snake-things got close enough, they lunged. Teeth with razor sharp points sped towards him like a bullet. They almost had what he figured was his head in their jaws, when a bright pink light came from behind him.

It was blinding, even though he wasn't facing it, and it forced the scary things to back away into the complete black.

The pink light pulsed like a heart beat, receding enough for him to open his eyes. It never went away, or was dull enough to easily see through.

"You're safe now, I promise." The voice of a woman came from where the light originated. The surprise and relief swept over him like a tidal wave, and he tried to turn around. His nightmare still had a firm hold on him though, and he wasn't able to move a muscle.

"Oh sweet child, you're shaking." He was? Tsukune couldn't feel anything, and seemed equally unable to speak. He wouldn't be surprised if he'd lost control and peed himself, with how scared the past few moments had been.

That pink light was coming closer, around the corner of his vision slowly. While the darkness had brought him fear, this light was warm. It reminded him of the time he and Kyoko had gotten lost in the woods, and his mother had smothered him with hugs when they finally got back home.

The first thing he saw, was the long red skirt and black jacket. They looked heavy, but the woman moved with ease. The soles of her shoes made no sound as they met the floor of darkness. The cuffs at her wrist, and the collar of her jacket had white ruffles on them, something Tsukune had never seen on someone before. They looked kinda weird.

That sense of warmth and safety magnified when he finally saw her face. Her hair was the color of pink cotton candy, it was straight and long even with the ribbon holding it up. Her face was soft and gentle, her green eyes radiated compassion.

For a moment, Tsukune wondered if an angel had come to help him. But…angels didn't pupils like that, did they? In the center of those green eyes, were long vertical slits, just like a cat or snake.

So she wasn't an angel, but she was just as comforting as one.

The woman smiled, and he felt like that pink light took over everything the darkness had previously covered.

"Hello, my name is-" He couldn't tell if the darkness was returning, or if he was losing consciousness, but sound had faded for a few moments.

The beautiful, angel-like woman pouted, crossing her arms and stomping her foot.

"Oh shoot, I was hoping we could talk for a while more." He wanted to laugh, because right then she didn't seem like an adult, but a kid who just wanted time with a friend.

His vision started to fade along with the sounds this time. It was gradual but quick, like a slow strobe light. His vision got smaller and smaller, and Tsukune saw the woman place a hand on his cheek, and he could only see the smile on her lips.

"Be strong, be safe."

The woman was gone, fading into the pink glow that seemed to come from her. That was when the darkness was replaced by a bright white light filling his vision all at once.

This time he could feel his body. Everything but his head seemed to be feeling okay. His headache seemed to be coming from all the noise in the room.

"Tsuki wake up!" His cousin yelled, and it felt like she had a megaphone right against his ear.

After blinking a few times, that bright white light was shown to be the ceiling light from wherever he was at the moment. To his right, there was a pole with some strange bags and box looking thing with a tube. It kept beeping, making his inner ear throb each time.

"Ugh….too loud." He groaned.

"Wha? Tsuki?" He couldn't see her, but he knew his cousin was close by.

"AUNTY! HE'S AWAKE!" Now it felt like she was taking a hammer to his head. He felt something move around him, before the weight covered his whole body.

He could feel more then see, Kyoto launch herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and start crying into his shoulder.

His sense of smell was the next to come back, or at least be registered outside of the extreme levels his sight and hearing were being battered with. His small arms came to hold onto her lightly, as the scent of lime drifted towards him.

It was a fading scent, but it seemed so like his cousin. Personally, he liked them, but it wasn't for everyone, just like her.

He heard his mom gasp from somewhere out of sight, as he noticed something on his wrist. Looking at the gold chain and lock, he couldn't recognize it. But for some reason, he felt like it had always been there.

"Tsukune!" His mother yelled out, renewing his headache.

It was nice to feel so loved, but he really wish they could be a little quieter. He let out a yawn, as his mother came around to the other side of the bed.

Neither of them noticed the receding canines in his mouth, or the crimson bleeding out of his iris.

The spider on the wall saw it all, sending word that the lock was performing perfectly at the moment.

END!

So this has been sitting around for months!

I almost lost the doc last week. So here ya go, just to make sure that doesn't happen again.

Not sure when I'll do chp2 to be honest.

I just want you guys to know that this one exists.

I've also got a GoT and a Sekirei fic just sitting around…maybe I'll post those too.

Anyway here's the deal.

Tsukune x Harem. I want his cousin to have a bigger role in his life, as well as Ruby.