A/N: Welcome to the story and thank you for being curious enough to click into it! I won't say much but as of chapter 13, I am co-writing this story with Phoenix Helix! Hope you enjoy the story!
A lone bus rolled down an empty street with beautiful blooming sakura trees lining either side of the asphalt lane. Petals laid beneath the trees, others drifting through the spring breeze. Fifteen year old Tsukune Aono starred out the window.
"Well, who would've thought I would end up flunking the high school entrance exams?" he thought glumly.
He reached into his book bag and pulled out the school pamphlet. He looked at the school's name. Youkai Academy, a school in the middle of nowhere. He sighed and put the pamphlet back into his bag.
"How did I get here again? Oh yeah…" he reminisced.
Flashback Begins
"Tsukune! Tsukune! Come here!"
"Coming mom!"
Tsukune entered the living area to find his mom starry eyed, pamphlet in hand and his dad swelled with pride.
"Mom? Dad? What's this about?" Tsukune asked, confusion evident in his voice. "What's going on?"
"Oh we got great news!" his mom swooned.
"Huh?"
"While your old man was out, he happened to run into someone it was a lucky find!" his dad recounted.
"Best dad ever!"
"I know honey."
"Wait up, what is this?" Tsukune asked, taking the pamphlet from his mom as she leaped into his father's arms.
"Thanks to me, you actually can go to high school now!" his father answered.
"Wait! You got this from the street?!" Tsukune exclaimed, but ultimately was ignored.
"Oh thank goodness! Now we don't have to wait another year for you to try again!" his mom remarked dreamily.
Flashback Ends
"Hey kid. Are you the new student attending Youkai Academy?" the bus driver asked, jolting Tsukune back to reality.
"Huh? Yeah, why?" Tsukune replied.
"In that case, I recommend you prepare yourself. That's one hell of a scary school you're attending," The bus driver replied ominously.
"What do you mean?"
Tsukune never got a reply as his phone began to ring. He sighed and retrieved it from his pocket, looking at the caller.
"Cousin Kyoko?" He flips open the phone and takes the call. "Hey Kyoko, what's up?"
"Hey Tsukune. Listen cous, I was just talking to your mom and she said you were attending some school called Youkai Academy."
"Yeah, that's right. Why ask?"
"Cause since my little cousin is going there, I took it upon myself to do some research on the school and I-"
"Huh? Kyoko? You there?" Tsukune asked as the bus entered the tunnel. "Huh, that's strange."
As the bus approached the exit, the light became brighter and brighter until they finally reached the other side. The bus slowed to a stop and the doors opened with a hiss.
"This is your stop, kid."
"Oh, thanks."
Tsukune grabbed his bags and a got out of his seat. As he passed the driver on his way out, the driver had one last thing to say.
"Hey kid, I'd watch my back if I were you," he advised before closing the door and driving away back through the tunnel.
"It's like a completely different world over here on the other side. And is that the school over there?" he observed. "I should call Kyoko again."
He takes out his flip phone and dials his cousin's number. He holds it to his ear but to his surprise, all he hears are beeps.
"That's strange. I swore I had a signal before entering the tunnel. I should get going," he sighed as he trudged towards the dark woods separating him from the school.
Tree branches cracked beneath his feet as he entered the forest. Crows sat on the branches, their red eyes seemingly leering at him. The gravestones scattered around the path added on to the spooky feeling as he walked down the path.
"Why do I feel like something's following me?" he wondered stopping in his tracks.
As he did, the squeaking noise stopped as well. After listening for a couple of seconds, he continued at a faster pace this time.
"It's getting closer!" Tsukune internally freaked, sweat dripping from his face. He turned suddenly to see a bat following behind him.
"Nope, it's only me, a bat! Weee!" the bat exclaimed before flying away.
"Oh! It was only a bat -ARGH!"
Out of nowhere, a pink bike crashed right into his back, sending him crashing into the ground. The owner of the bike and Tsukune tumbled a few feet as the bike crashed on in front of them.
"Ow! The heck? That hurt," Tsukune groaned as he rubbed his head and pushed himself up on something soft.
A small gasp alerted him to the person next to him.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I don't know what happened! I suddenly got so dizzy," the girl moaned as she brushed the hair out of her face.
"Woah! She's really pretty!" Tsukune thought as he looked at the girl's face. In his shock, his hand slipped and landed in between the girl's thighs.
"Agh! I'm sorry! I didn't… It's not like that!" Tsukune panicked as he scooted away from the girl, worried that she might get the wrong idea. As he stopped, blood began to drip from his nose.
"You're bleeding!" the girl exclaimed, before taking out a tissue from her pocket. She reached forward to help wipe the blood away but paused.
"The smell, I can't…but I shouldn't" she began to mutter, looking downwards.
"Huh? What smell? I mean, her hair does smell nice," Tsukune thought.
"Sorry but I can't help it," she cried as she grabbed his face. "I'm a vampire!"
Before Tsukune to react to such an absurd statement, the girl leaned forward, biting his neck and began sucking his blood. After a few seconds, the girl jerked back in a panic.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do it!" she apologized profusely.
"You bit me!"
"Wait a minute," Tsukune thought as he pulled the collar of his uniform back to inspect the bite. "It's not that bad."
"Are you going to Youkai as well?" the girl asked as she picked up the pamphlet which had fallen out of his bag.
"Uhh, yeah! It's going to be my first year," Tsukune answered as he recovered.
"That's great. This is also going to be my first year too!" the girl exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Well what do you know," Tsukune replied.
"Umm, I have to ask, what do you think of vampires?" the girl asked nervously.
"Oh come on! This is a joke, it has to be," Tsukune thought. "They're fine by me. I don't have a problem with them in the slightest. If you want to call yourself a vampire, then more power to you!"
"Thank you!" the girl exclaimed happily, hugging Tsukune but in the process knocking him down again. "In that case, maybe we could be friends, what do you think?"
"Uhh sure, why not?" Tsukune replied.
"That's great! I was nervous because I didn't have any friends here yet. Oh, I'm Moka Akashiya by the way."
"Tsukune Aono."
"Man, I didn't expect to go to school with this cute girl. This is my lucky day," he thought.
"Welcome class to the first day of school! My name is Shizuka Nekonome and I'm your homeroom teacher!"
"I can't believe we're in the same class!" Moka whispered to Tsukune, the boy nodding back silently with a smile.
"I'm sure you all already know this fact, but Youkai is a school for monsters, by monsters. Currently, the world is run by human so to survive, the only option we have is to learn to coexist with them and that brings us to our first rule!" Ms. Nekonome said.
"Sure! Monsters! Hah-Hgh!" Tsukune thought.
"And that brings us to our first rule class. All students must remain in their human forms at school except for special circumstances. Got that?"
"Wait! What?! Teacher?!" Tsukune thought as his hand shook as he slowly raised it.
"Okay! Second rule, never reveal your monster form to another student. I'm sure you can figure out why! Everyone will follow these rules, right?"
"Huh, a bunch of crap. If we happen to spot human, why not just eat em?" the boy in front of Tsukune asked.
"He's got to be joking!" Tsukune panicked, shaking in fear.
"Hmm, Saizou Komiya was it? Well now, that would be impossible because this school is protected by a magic barrier and any human that gets in will be killed instantly!" answered.
"I still say we eat em and I swear, I've been smelling a human this whole time," Saizou replied.
The door to the classroom suddenly started to slide open slowly and a boy in a black trench coat walked in. The temperature immediately dropped to what would seem to be nearly sub-zero. Everyone watched as the boy walked in.
"Hmm, you were the one the headmaster told me would be late!" Ms. Nekonome said. "Well introduce yourself and then take a seat."
"Drayce Tatsugami," he simply stated and began to walk towards an empty seat. As he passed by, the edges of the desks began to freeze over.
"What's wrong with him? Look at his face."
Whispers began to circulate as the boy walked by. Tsukune looked up to get a good look. Drayce had shaggy black hair, his eye color was a mixture of blue, flowing and eventually turning into red. Well one eye was at least. The left side was iced over, blocking it from view.
"Man, what did I get myself into?" Tsukune internally sighed.
After classes, Moka was constantly attached t Tsukune's side, making other boys extremely jealous. Even with a beautiful girl at his side, Tsukune could barely get over his crazy experience.
"No way! This school is filled with monsters?! This has to be a dream! Yeah, it's just a dream!" Tsukune thought as Moka dragged him outside to the vending machine. Deciding to be a gentleman, Tsukune paid for the drinks. Moka's choice was tomato juice and Tsukune had a coffee. The two then sat together on the nearby bench sipping their drinks.
"This is fun!" Moka said, taking another drink from her juice.
"Yeah, I guess," Tsukune replied.
"Hey beautiful," Saizou said, walking up o the pair on the bench. "You said your name was Moka Akashiya?"
Saizo grabbed Tsukune by the tie and began to lift him up. Moka immediately leaped up, spilling her drink.
"No! Stop it, let him go!" she shouted.
"What is a pretty thing like you doing with a half assed guy like him? Like come on."
With one swift movement, Saizo threw Tsukune into the vending machine. The force of impact was enough to dent the machine.
"Come on, hang out with me," Saizou offered, grabbing Moka's arm.
"Hey, lay off her."
Saizo turned to see Drayce walking towards them.
"Who are you? Stay outta this!" Saizo snarled.
"I said, lay off!" Drayce growled.
Seeing as Saizou had no intent of doing as he had asked, Drayce put a hand on Saizou's shoulder and yanked him back. A hiss of pain came from the monster as he let go of Moka instinctively to move it to his shoulder.
"Damn! Why is his hand so cold?" Saizou thought as he inspected the steaming shoulder from the cold. The uniform edges had frozen over, just like the desks from the classroom. Giving a nasty stare, Saizou turned and left.
"Tsukune!" Moka cried as she helped up her friend.
"Agh, I'm fine. Hey, thanks for your help," Tsukune thanked.
"Oh, no problem. I hate jerks," Drayce said, extending a hand. "Let me properly introduce myself. Drayce Tatsugami."
"Tsukune Aono. She's Moka Akashiya as you may have heard several times around the school," Tsukune replied, shaking his classmate's hand although it wasn't cold anymore, actually quite normal.
"Are you always that cold? I mean your abilities!" Moka asked quickly, afraid of offending a new potential friend.
"No, nah. It's just that the jerk couldn't take a hint. Don't worry, I have a sense of humor as well if you're wondering," Drayce laughed. "Anyways, I gotta go. I'll be seeing you guys around?"
"Yeah!" Moka replied happily.
Ten minutes later Tsukune and Moka decided to move somewhere safer. They settled for the top of the school.
"That was kind of scary back there," Moka commented. "Are you sure you're fine after that?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that he was really strong," Tsukune replied. "So that's monster power. Crazy stuff."
"Oh Tsukune, you're funny. Back there you acted like you've never seen a monster before. So what monster are you? Oh wait yeah, we're not supposed to reveal that are we?" Moka replied. 'I'm sorry, you don't have to answer."
"But I already know that you're a vampire, Moka," Tsukune replied.
"I know, but I had no idea that was a rule back when I told you," Moka replied embarrassed.
"You don't look like one though," Tsukune observed.
"Not right now I don't. Look, the rosary I wear seals away my power. If someone were to remove it, I would turn into a powerful and scary vampire. Even I can't take it off," she explained.
"No, that's okay. Even if you get scary sometimes, I'm sure you're the same Moka," Tsukune reassured.
"I'd knew you'd understand!" Moka said happily. "You're my first friend here! And also, you're also my first for something else. Up until then, I hadn't sucked anyone's blood before. It tasted so good…"
Suddenly, something strange happened. As Moka reached to get another taste, Tsukune saw something, a vision. It was Moka, except her eyes were red, and her hair silvery white instead of the pink hue. In shock, he pushed her back.
"Ahh, I have to go, see ya later," Tsukune apologized nervously.
He ran from the roof back down the stairs until he reached the bottom floor. He pushed open the door and ran through the hallway.
"This can't be real! How can she be a vampire? Does that mean everyone here is also a monster?! I can't stay here!" Tsukune thought. "I don't think this school is for me."
He grabbed his bags and walked towards the school gates. As he was about to step through, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around to see Drayce and Moka run towards him.
"Hey Tsukune, the heck happened? Moka told me you were acting- Why do you have your stuff?" Drayce asked.
"Look guys, I don't think I can stay here. I'm going to attend a human school," Tsukune sighed.
"But you can't! You can't go to a human school!" Moka shouted as she tried to pull Tsukune back.
"Moka!"
"I'm sorry, it's just that I don't like human very much. They can be cruel and I know because I attended human schools up until junior high. I was always alone because human didn't believe in monsters. I was an outcast but when I met you, you said you didn't mind me being a vampire. For the first time in forever, I didn't feel lonely," Moka confessed.
"But still, what if I turned out to be one of those humans you hate so much? I'm a human."
As the news sank in, Moka slowly let go and began to back up.
"The only reason I'm here is because of a big misunderstanding. I should've known you both would look at me like that," Tsukune said. "I don't need monsters for friends!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he looked like he regretted them, but nevertheless, turned and ran away. Drayce and Moka stared at his retreating form before Drayce turned to walk away.
"He didn't mean what he said," Drayce said. "I lived with humans long enough to know. If you want him to stay, go after him. Give him a reason."
Moka nodded and began to chase after Tsukune as her friend raced towards the bus stop. After a few minutes of running, she was stopped by someone she never expected to see. Saizou popped out from behind a tree and blocked her path.
"Going somewhere?"
"I'm busy," Moka replied defetly.
"Well you should get busy with my true form, I'm an orc!" Saizou roared.
His tongue flicked out, wrapping around Moka's leg before swinging her into a tree. Her scream reverberated through the forest, enough to catch the attention of Tsukune. Upon hearing her scream, he turned around and began to run back.
"Not that jerk again," he muttered as he came upon the scene. "Get the hell away from her now!"
"Beat it!" Saizou roared in response, whacking Tsukune aside, causing him to roll down a hill in a very uncomfortable manner.
"Tsukune!" Moka shouted as she jumped down after the boy.
"Hah, so here's the bus station," Tsukune muttered as he looked at the familiar pumpkin headed scarecrow.
"I'm sorry, please forgive me!" Moka wept. "I guess humans and monsters really aren't meant to get along. Look at me. I'm a vampire who sucks people's blood while hurting them in the process. To be honest, all I wanted was a friend, human or monster, I didn't care! But now I'm starting to think it isn't possible."
"What's with this sick love shit?" Saizou growled as he landed at the foot of the hill.
"Moka, get out of here. I may be weak and a piece of garbage to you but I still want to be your friend, human or monster," Tsukune as he leaned on the scarecrow for support just as Saizou's attack connected, breaking the dummy and sending Tsukune flying in which Moka immediately ran to his side.
"And even if you are a vampire," Tsukune said, putting a hand on Moka's shoulder. "I still want to be your friend."
As his energy drained, his hand slipped and caught on the rosary, pulling it of with a clang. A wash of light washed over Moka as her transformation began. Bats swarmed her as her eyes changed to blood red, hair into silvery white, just like in Tsukune's vision. Atop the hill, Drayce observed the transition.
"Well this got a whole lot more interesting," he muttered to himself. "A true vampire. Saizou would be stupid to attack."
He watches the scene go on. Like the idiot he was, Drayce watched as Saizou slashed at Moka with his sharp fingers. Tracking her movements carefully, he watched as Moka dodged the strike and sent a kick of her own. The attack connected and sent Saizou flying into the hill side.
"Well, that's that," Drayce laughed.
He jumps from his spot and walks up to Moka.
"Nice kick."
"Drayce Tatsugami. It's been a while." she says. "Anyways, take care of Tsukune and the other me will you?"
"Sure."
She reattaches the rosary and her hair fades back to pink. Drayce catches Moka before she falls and lays her next to Tsukune. He leans against the post stump and waits. After a few minutes, Moka was the first to recover. Drayce gestures to Tsukune next to her and she nods. She moves his head to her lap and the two wait.
By the time Tsukune came around, night had fallen.
"Huh?"
He looks up to see Moka's face and he smiles.
"Awake huh?" Drayce asks from behind them. "You should really check the schedule for the bus before leaving."
"Huh?" Tsukune wonders before sitting up and taking the schedule from Drayce. "WAIT?! It only comes once a month?"
"Yep."
"You're bleeding," Moka noticed. "The smell…"
"Oh shit, Moka no!" Drayce exclaims as he tries to pry the two apart.
Tsukune simply just sighs as he lets the bit happen. He looks into the night sky and smiles.
"Well, I guess I'll be staying."
A/N: Confused yet? More will be revealed soon. Mizore is going to be in the next chapter and things are going to get dicey.