Time Skip! Return to Monster High!

Six months later...

Ben sat at his computer early one Saturday morning and opened up a few windows. One was his , he took his hobby for drawing and placed a couple drawings on Deviant Art, next thing he knew he was being asked for commissions. Now he has a Duel : 1) Spider-Man to make some cash for food while he fights crime; and to keep it legitimate, reason 2) Commissions for artwork by the Scarlet Spider. He found this to be quite an easy way to make about 50$ per standard commission while others who wanted to help Spider-Man you know, live, paid to keep their city safe. Was it wrong? Maybe...he had been accused of essentially charging people a new tax, but he had things to pay for. Wade's money has practically run dry and Ben has been using that, plus money from his PLUS working full time at The Daily Grind (a small mom and pop coffee shop in Midtown) to pay for Wade's rent and help Aunt May, as well as give him some spare cash. In the end he gets to keep maybe 200$ per paycheck. Which isn't bad, he just has to NOT spend it in case of an emergency. It's not completely terrible though, after some...bonding, Kaine was able to pitch in to help Aunt May, and, shockingly, Carol convinced Tony to help Ben as well. So as of right now, while not essentially loaded like the year before, Ben was pretty comfortable with his situation.

Once he saw that his was in fact, steadily rising, he decided to check his Twitter feed. Spider-Man, was in fact, trending...for negative reasons by the Daily Bugle...again. Ben read through the headline that JJJ had put up for his latest 'Crime Spree'. "Spider-Man Shocks Nobody, Helps Shocker Destroy Bank." he read, "HA!" he clapped his hand and almost had a laughing fit, "Jeez, at least the headlines are clever. BUT YOU AIN'T GETTING UNDER MY SKIN THAT EASILY JJ!" he pressed his face against the screen of his monitor, "Because I know that deep down inside...you NEED me to sell your papers! You're obsessed!" he laughed. "Okay...enough of that shit." he sighed. He opened up his Steam account and saw that Tsukune was online and immediately hit him up for a chat.

"Ben! What's up? Tired? it's gotta be like 7 am right?" Tsukune asked.

"I'm feeling it dude, trust me." Ben rubbed his eyes and both chuckled, "So what's new?"

"Well...I was wondering if I was gonna see you at school?" Tsukune asked.

"School? What do you mean?" Ben asked, "Do you mean Yokai?"

"Yeah, I just got a letter from Moka the other day." the name made Ben's heart sink a little bit, he left everything on the table the last time he saw Moka's inner self but...well, he of course received no answer from the vampire. For all he knew she didn't feel the same way and he tried to let her go but...well, he quickly learned he only had feelings for her. "School is supposed to start Monday. So...are you coming?" Ben leaned back in his chair, Should I go? I should go right? But I can't go, I have to help take care of Aunt May, Kaine isn't here enough to support her. Even if I did go, wouldn't that be awkward? I haven't seen her in so long, I feel like it would all just be a waste of time. I could just hang out with Tsukune the whole time but... "Hey! You still there?"

"Yeah, sorry...I don't know man," It's for the best. "I don't think it's a good idea for me to go back. I mean, I've got stuff here that I do and...you know."

"Will that really work though? I don't know exactly how things work over there, but I'm pretty sure being a high school dropout doesn't give you many options for work."

Ben scoffed, "I can get around that. I can easily get a GED, got to Manhattan State. I'll be fine...I'm sure. Maybe I'll be a Doctor or something." he mumbled.

Tsukune sighed from the other side, "Okay...if that's really what you want." Of course it isn't. Ben thought, I want to see my friends, but I have a responsibility here. Tsukune could be heard tapping at his keyboard from the other side, "Look, why don't you just...think about it. You can sleep on it and come to school...maybe a little late Monday."

"Yeah..."

"Well, I gotta get off, I need to start packing."

"Don't forget Holy Water, and garlic." Ben joked.

"Geez, it isn't THAT dangerous. See you Ben."

"Laters my dude." Tsukune logged off and Ben sat there on the Steam page unsure what to do. I can't go. I really have to do things here. Leaving Aunt May would be irresponsible. Ben got out of his chair and stretched. He removed his shirt and began to feel his new set of wounds from his last couple outings: A large black and blue spot along the left side of his rib cage, a couple bruises along his chest, and..."AH!" he yelped in pain. He grabbed his right butt cheek to see the hole that was left by a stray bullet, "Goddamn Taskmaster." he mumbled as he put some antiseptic on it. Looking past his wounds he could actually admire his body, his muscles are much more defined than they were a year ago he has become, by definition, jacked. Not only did he look stronger, but he felt stronger too. He noticed he actually had to start holding back more than usual with the typical mook. I wonder if I'm close to Kaine's strength these days?

Popping his neck he walked out in the hallway and into the bathroom to take a shower.

Downstairs, Kaine Parker, was awoken by the sound of the shower turning on from the upstairs, as well as food cooking in the kitchen, "Ugggghhh..." he groaned. He turned on the tv to the local news channel and jumped off the couch when he saw what time it was, "7:15?" he asked, "Why didn't he wake me up?" Kaine rubbed his eyes and quickly began grabbing his things, coat, pants. "A system, there is supposed to be a system!" he complained. He went and grabbed the mail, it looks like it hadn't been grabbed in a few days, "Christ, Ben." he groaned. Flipping through the junk mail, various 'Digest' magazines, and the occasional bill, Kaine came across a piece of mail for Ben. "Yokai?" he asked, "That's that school right? Looks like he got this a couple days ago." he came inside and threw away the unnecessary mail and placed the bill's and Ben's schoop letter on the counter. "I'm heading out, May." Kaine announced as he grabbed some toast, "Ben has a letter from school, he may want to see it." Kaine quickly shoved the toast in his mouth and ran out the front door, he had an important job to do. He took the morning shift...sort of, he would stop the occasional thief or something minuscule, but when it came to something big like say a super villain or a robbery, or, God forbid, an armed militia, he expected to be paid by a nice little group he was in called "Heroes for Hire." The mayor has a bit of an agreement that if the Heroes for Hire get involved, their actions will be compensated, and since Scarlet Spider (Kaine) was the only Hero for Hire the last few months, he's been getting a nice paycheck.

May stopped cooking breakfast and looked at the mail. She nearly collapsed when she saw that the school was more than willing to take Ben back as a student. She decided that she'd discuss what he wants whenever he decided to leave Peter's room. IF he left the room.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Annnnnnnnd. Done!" Ben announced to himself as he finished a commission. "Payday seems pretty nice, maybe I can treat myself to an ice cream or something." his stomach began to rumble and he laughed, "Or food downstairs sounds good too." Ben walked down the steps and checked the time, "11:30? Damn, I have to get going soon."

"Language, Ben." May warned. Ben gave a nervous smile and apologized. As he shoveled food into his mouth, May walked into the kitchen and placed the letter in front of him.

"Wastch jissh?" he asked with his mouth full and May smacked the top of his head, "Sorry." he apologized.

"It's a letter dear." May explained with a smile, "You have been asked to return to that school. Doesn't that sound nice?"

Ben gulped, "Yeah...sounds...sounds great." Great, now May knows. "C-Can we talk about this later?" he asked, "I mean, there's just a lot on my plate." he gestured to his food, "And I kinda need to clear it before I get going."

May smiled and kissed his forehead, "Of course."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Ben swung through the city at high speeds, usually he likes to start his patrol early, but that's only because he likes to assess the situation in Queens before heading to his usual spots in Midtown. Back to Yokai, huh? Nah. I think I should sit this one out. Those guys are good enough to where they could handle problems on their own. While in midtown, Ben decided to make a quick pit stop at the Daily Bugle. It wasn't for any particular reason, but he found making Jameson blow his top by simply being separated by a sheet of glass was hilarious. Afterwards he'd swing on down to Chinatown and grab some food, it wasn't anything major, but he found an odd restaurant that was a Mexican-Asian blend of food and it surprisingly tasted good. Eventually he made his way towards Hell's Kitchen, gave a wave to Daredevil and continued on his way. He went to the cemetary where he placed down flowers for Ben Parker as well as for Gwen and George Stacy. Fuck, this is heartbreaking. Ben began his swing back to Midtown and thought about calling it a night (It was about 1 am at this point) when he spotted Kaine, of all people, just sitting on top of one of the many skyscrapers. Ben shot a Web Line in his direction and decided to see what's up, "Yo, Kaine!" he called out.

"Oh, you're here. You about to call it a night?" Kaine responded.

"Yeah...why are you here though? Shouldn't you be at home sleeping?" Ben cocked a lens in confusion.

Kaine chuckled, "Yeah, but I need to practice for when you go back to school."

"What are you talking about? I'm staying here."

Kaine sighed and stood up, "I figured you'd say that. Listen, Ben," his tone, though always serious, changed enough to where Ben had noticed he was being extra serious, "that school...whatever it did to you it made you find something. It made you find yourself, your purpose. Before you had no idea who you were or what you were going to be, after you returned from that school you had this aura about you. You were certain in yourself." Kaine sighed, "And, as much as I hate to admit it, it probably has something to do with that girl...even though she is a vampire."

"Well...I don't think that-"

"Shut up. You know you still have feelings for her, so now that you have a chance to see her again you suddenly don't want to. Why? It's because your scared. Scared that now your relationship will be weird, but it doesn't have to. You could stay here and avoid her like a little bitch, but you won't. You know why?"

"W-Why?"

"Because you aren't Peter, you are Ben-fucking-Reilly. You have seen hell and you defied some strong as all hell monsters. You even did the impossible and BEFRIENDED a vampire. That is something even I wouldn't do, and I'm partners with Blade from time to time. Now you are going to rest and you are going to go to that school or soul help me god I will drag you there myself!"

"Why do you want me to go?" Ben asked.

"I don't. I'd rather you stay here and help out, but you have done a lot and have given us enough allies to where it practically doesn't matter at this point." Kaine explained.

"Aunt May set you up to this, huh?"

"That obvious? I thought I was doing a pretty decent job at convincing you otherwise."

Ben chuckled and patted Kaine's shoulder, "Thanks Kaine. I'll think about it."

He didn't think about. In fact, he fully planned on not attending again. Better to have love and lost than never have loved at all. He even snuck out of the house early Sunday morning and spent his day with at The Daily Grind talking with his boss, a beautiful brunette who is the daughter of the owners. When Ben finally returned home Monday afternoon he thought May would be out; however, Aunt May was already waiting for him, as well as Kaine who looked EXTREMELY tired.

"Ben." Aunt May said with a frown as she stirred her tea, "Home late aren't you." Ben opened his mouth to respond, but May stopped him, "You are going to that school Ben. I will not have one of my nephews be a dropout."

"Ugh! Double standard!" Ben complained as he pointed to Kaine.

"I already have my GED." he replied.

"Enough." May interrupted, "Ben, you will go to school and when you do you need to let everything be known. Don't have any regrets," she pinched Ben's cheek, "Wear your emotions on your sleeve. Don't be afraid to show them who you are." Ben sighed and then smiled before nodding, "Oh and Ben," May called as Ben went upstairs, "Your clothes are already packed. So if there is anything else you better pack it." Ben gave a thumbs up and closed the door to his room.

Well Aunt May is getting upset, so I guess I have to go. He thought. Well then...I will definitely let it be known that I meant what I said. With newfound determination, Ben began to pack his bag. Okay, I'll be a day late, head out tomorrow. Kaine then burst in the room and nearly gave Ben a heart attack, "By the way, in case you forgot, Japan is 13 hours ahead of us so if you want to only be a day late you'll have to leave later tonight."

"Ugggghhhhh." Ben groaned.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

At about 7 pm, Kaine had driven Ben to the warp tunnel in Jersey. "So, you gonna drive me through?" Ben asked. His response was Kaine snorting, "So...I'll take that as a 'no' then." Ben got out of the van and waved to Kaine as he just left him at the warp. Ben then called the school for a ride. Dammit. About an hour and a half later, a bus came through the tunnel with The Bus Driver, same as always.

"Took you long enough." the Bus Driver said with a smile, "I was wondering if you would show up this year. Gotta say, your friend looked really disappointed you didn't show for the first day."

"Oh, Tsukune?" Ben asked.

"Well...he wasn't the only one." the Bus Driver replied as he drove through the tunnel. Before he knew it, Ben was looking at the blood red sea that splashed against the school, on the other side was the ever expansive forest. "You know the drill, this is your last chance to give up. Once off this bus, your scariest fears will be unleashed."

"I survived a suicide attempt when my body was being controlled by a crazy demon dude. I think I have this year handled." Ben smirked as he stepped off the bus.

"Heh heh. Well, have this." the Bus Driver handed him some sort of schedule, "Because you're a day late you can walk to your dorm, and then to your next class. It's a free study period that will be held in the forest." the Bus Driver smiled before driving off.

"Well...fuck." Ben mumbled. Ben walked down the spooky pathway, reminiscing about his first time through here, "Creepy pathway? Check. Have a pretty good idea on what the year will be like? Check. Reestablished peroxide in hair?" Ben pulled out his phone to look at his hair and saw it was brown, "No...shit, I must have forgot all about it when I got my haircut." Ben put his phone away and looked onward to the refurbished school. He sighed and laughed, "This school is a creature of chaos. It takes on many forms." As Ben walked up to the school towards he was soon accompanied by a bat flying by. The bat didn't fly past him, nor did it stop on a tree, instead it followed him. "Well, hey there little guy." Ben greeted with a smile, "I don't think you and I have met before. Well...should I introduce myself." the bat made a squeaking sound, "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

Ben cleared his throat and began, "Alright, listen up, because I'm only gonna go over this once. My name...is Ben Reilly. And for the last six months I have been the one and only Sensational Spider-Man. See my life all started when I was cloned from the original Spider-Man, and was told I was the real deal, so Spider-Man and I ended up battling each other. I later found out that, SURPRISE! I'm not the original, but the clone. Once I figured that out I became the Scarlet Spider and was soon tasked with an important job to investigate this school.

"Well to keep it pretty short, I stopped some evil enforcers, beat some teachers, fought a witch in the human world, almost died...a few times, defeated my inner demons to find my purpose, fell in love, and helped stop a group of asshole students from destroying the school from the inside out.

"Afterwards, after realizing the death of my brother, I took over the name, confessed my feelings to the person I love, went back home and formed a relationship with my Aunt, saved the day, saved it some more, became friends with one of my brother's worst enemies, became a barista and now I draw porn to make money." the bat squeaked and Ben laughed, "Yes, I said I draw porn to make money. After my artwork got popular on the internet and began getting shared all over the place I was asked if commissioned lewd images. And surprisingly...sex sells." As Ben approached the dorms the bat began to fly away, "Oh, okay. Nice talking to you!" Ben rubbed his temples as he reached the door to his dorm, Christ, Ben. You were just talking to a fucking bat, man. You need some rest. Ben opened the door and threw his stuff in the room followed by some stretching and yawning.

"Can't believe I'm actually back." Ben took a quick look around at the dorm and nodded, "Yeah, I'll set up shop when I get back." he set up an alarm clock and walked out the front door. "So next class...he said it was free-study, but where at?" he looked at the paper where there was a crudely drawn map by the Bus Driver that included a cigar, which Ben assumed was meant to be the Bus Driver, a cat and an 'X'. "X marks the spot...I guess. But that's way out in the forest!" he complained, "I suppose I deserve this for being late."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Ben had made it to the middle of a clearing in the forest, "Okay...it looks like this is where they'll be, but..." he looked around and noticed a distinct absence of students, "Nobody's here. Well...I guess I could...lay around, catch up on some sleep." he yawned, "Note to self, 5 hours of sleep in three days is a no-no." he lied down and crossed his legs and folded his arms to get comfortable. His eyes began to drift in and out of conciousness until he finally closed his eyes. This is nice. He was comfortable, he felt a nice breeze blow across him. SPIDER SENSE! Ben got up to move, but before he knew it his body was attached to vines and a giant mouth came from the dirt and began to close on him, "NO!" Ben shouted. He tried to break free, but it was too late. Whatever it was, it closed it's mouth around Ben and dug back into the ground. Now all he could feel was slimy, mucus-like substance in this dark and moist prison. He tried to punch his way out, but with the combination of the thing stealing his energy and the creature being underground, his whole effort seemed fruitless. "I come back, and on the first day I'm going to die. GOD DAMNED PARKER LUCK!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Tsukune

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Tsukune sat at his desk during his math class. Apparently he had Ririko again this year, as did all his friends, it seems the Headmaster wants to keep all the people that know his identity in one class. It was only the second day of classes for him, but he felt this intense disappointment that Ben decided not to attend this year. But I have to respect his wishes. Tsukune thought, Ben has his reasons. He has his aunt to take care of, he works...I thought if I asked him then maybe he'e come back but...he sighed as he was left in his thoughts. His eyes drifted all over the room, already he managed to stop paying attention to Ririko in class. I will really have to rely on my friends for help if this keeps up. If Ben were here he could just help me with that but..."Kurumu." Ririko called, causing Tsukune to snap back at attention, "Kurumu?" Ririko called again. Kurumu, who sits in front of Tsukune, was fast asleep at her desk, some mumbling was heard and it was obvious she had some dream involving the human. Ririko smiled and pushed up her glasses before she threw a triangle shaped straight edge at Kurumu's head to wake her up, Oh my God! It's stuck in her head! Tsukune felt as if his soul about left his body. "Morning Kurumu," Ririko greeted with an irritated smile, "having a pleasant dream?" the class laughed at Kurumu's expense causing her to get flustered and hide her face. "Now then, Akashiya, can you solve this?"

Moka stood up from her seat and went through the whole problem as well as gave an answer, and she did so with such elegance and confidence. She was too good for Tsukune, he knew that, but still...She's wonderful. he thought. Her other side too, she's wonderful in a different way. She truly does care, even in secret. But it seems when I...accidentally let her out yesterday, she seemed displeased. Not just because of me! But like...well, like she was really hoping to see someone else. "Tsukune! Quit day dreaming!" Ririko demanded causing Tsukune to nearly jump out of his seat from the sudden call out, "Listen, you're sophomores now. You've been out of school for nearly six months, so please try to focus. Oh, and Kurumu," the bell began to ring and the students were getting up to leave, "please follow Moka's example." That request made Kurumu grit her teeth in anger.

"Follow Moka's example!" Yukari imitated, "Yeah, as if! He stupidity is monumental!" Yukari laughed while pounding her desk.

"Uh...Yukari, don't you think that's taking things too far?" Tsukune, of course, didn't want a fight to break out amongst his friends on the second day of school, so he tried to calm the situation, "I mean, Ririko was only talking about Math in particular, right?"

Mizore, always being the one to pop out of nowhere, popped next to Tsukune's desk, "Yeah but...Math is Kurumu's BEST subject."

"Oh shut up, ice bitch!" Kurumu shouted. She stood up and walked to Moka with a haughty aura around her, "Who cares if I'm not good in school? Everyone knows that I will always be better than Moka when it comes to hotness." to prove her point, Kurumu pressed her boobs against Moka's.

"OH! This is getting bad, HEY! Let's check out the next class." Tsukune suggested as he led the others to what should have been Nekonome's class, but instead they were greeted to a poster on the chalkboard. 'Self Study: Periods 3-4. Meet at Bus stop in front of school.' it read. "Self study?" Tsukune asked, "What does that mean?"

After a quick bus ride to the middle of the forest, or rather, a clearing within the forest, the students got off the bus and were greeted by Nekonome. Tsukune's jaw dropped when he saw that behind Nekonome was an ungodly amount of fruit. "HELLO!" Nekonome greeted in her usual cheerful tone, "Welcome students, to a special self-study project...the Spring Fruit Hunt!"

Fruit hunt? This already did not sound like a good idea to Tsukune, "Um, Ms. Nekonome, why are we hunting fruit?" he asked.

Nekonome tilted her head and laughed as if it was obvious, "Well...because there are a lot of fruit that are in season!"

"That's the reason!?"

Nekonome clasped her hands together and continued, "The forest is full of wild strawberries, grapes, birds (and giant carnivorous plants that feed off the birds) so we must take advantage of natures bounty!" Nekonome cheered and perhaps subconsciously struck a cat-like pose.

"Don't just gloss over the fact you said that there was something scary in there!" Tsukune complained.

Nekonome smiled and removed a small tarp she had set up on the table with fruit to reveal a prickly fruit with what looked to be teeth and tendrils. "And this is the prize of the hunt! The Monster Durian! It's rare and difficult to harvest," she grabbed a butchers knife and began hacking at the fruit, "but has a distinctive aroma, beautiful flaming red flesh. It truly is one of nature's genuine treasure!"

Tsukune pointed to the fruit and chuckled, "Someone would actually want to eat that? You're crazy. Right Moka?" when Tsukune turned his head he saw all his friends drooling over the fruit saying how yummy it looked, "Crazy, all of you!" I mean, forget the fact it looks gross, but who decided that Tentacle Porn x Petey Piranha was a good idea here?!

Kurumu shook her head and a smile creeped along her face, "Moka, I think I know how to handle our little competition for Tsukune."

Moka nodded, "First to find the durian first wins."

"And whomever finds it gets to eat it alone with Tsukune." Kurumu finished.

Tsukune's eyes widened in shock, "Hell no, I'm not eating that!"

"I'm game." Mizore added.

"Same here!" Yukari announced.

Before the students left, Nekonome gave them one more crucial piece of advice, "Oh and, PLEASE stay in groups of at least four. The forest is a dangerous place. Also remember to not stray too far away. Alright...have fun!"

Tsukune and the girls quickly made their way into the forest stumbling across all sorts of plants and creatures. AH! Those mushrooms have faces! AH! Those berries are covered in centipedes! Tsukune sighed, "You know, I'm starting to think the fruit itself may be the worst thing out here." Tsukune looked at his friends all independently searching for the fruit instead of sticking together as a team like he hoped, "Ah, c'mon guys, let's stick together. If we search together we can accomplish anything."

The girls all turned to him with frowns, "No way," Kurumu scoffed, "if we work together then how can I win?"

"That wasn't the point!" Tsukune scolded. Tsukune wiped his face with his hands and groaned, "Look, why can't we have a regular old fruit hunt? Look! There's a bunch of grapes right there!" he pointed to some grape vines.

"Don't want grapes. Want durian." Kurumu replied in the most caveman-esque way possible.

"Why the hell do you want to eat that nasty thing?!" Tsukune laughed, "Besides, what's the likelihood of us finding one? Nekonome said it herself, durians are really rare, and we don't have the foggiest idea of where to-" Tsukune stopped as he noticed Kurumu was staring just behind him below his feet. He had hear a weird, kinda moist, noise and looked behind him to see the durian. The amount of shock he had was uncanny. You've gotta be fucking kidding me.

Moka, being the first to react, picked up the durian and waved it around like a trophy, "I got it! I got it! It was destiny!" the tendrils on the fruit began to grow and stretch as it began to wrap around Moka, "EEK! The vines are going around me and-" her eyes widened when one of the tendrils slipped itself underneath her bra, "UNDER MY CLOTHES!" she was able to knock it off, however she also felt like she lost a bunch of energy.

Kurumu blinked and smiled, "It's mine!" she shouted as she went after the fruit. Before she could come close to touching it dozens of sharp ice objects came flying past her courtesy of Mizore.

Mizore walked to the fruit, that she was able to trap, and picked it up with her ice claws. "Moka was a fool to let her prey get away like that, but I guess the win's--GUAH!" Mizore dropped the fruit as Kurumu slammed her head with a fan.

"You hit me too you bitch!" Kurumu looked up to see the durian moving away from their sights, "Agh! It's trying to get away, c'mon Tsukune!"

"What about them?" Tsukune asked as Mizore lied on the ground and Yukari was helping Moka. The two continued to chase after the fruit and the feeling Tsukune had about this being a bad idea got worse and worse. "Hey, don't you think the way this thing is moving is weird?"

"What do you mean?" Kurumu asked as she huffed while running.

"It's just that, it's clearly pretty far ahead of us...but it isn't leaving our eyesight. It's almost as if it's leading us somewhere." Tsukune gulped. The two were finally able to make it out of the tree dense forest and into the clearing where the fruit was just waiting for them. "It's just sitting there..." Tsukune mumbled, he quickly grabbed Kurumu's wrist, "Maybe we should wait for the others here." he suggested.

Kurumu quickly pulled her arm out of Tsukune's grasp, "Are you nuts? Wait for them? When victory is practically in my grasp?"

"I just have a bad feeling about this. This isn't a time for in-fighting."

Kurumu looked to Tsukune with sad eyes and a pouty face, "But...don't you want to eat the durian with me?"

Tsukune tried avoiding eye contact on the question, I don't really want to eat that fruit with anyone! But I can't tell her that..."That...isn't my point." he replied.

Kurumu huffed in annoyance and quickly rushed to the durian to grab it. She picked up the fruit and waved it around, "See? I can nab it all by myself." she held the fruit close and her smile turned into a frown, "If I wait for that stupid vampire...you'll never be mine...You'll just keep slipping away from me. I'm going to eat this with you Tsukune...and nobody else."

"Oh, Kurumu." I don't want to lose you either, you're my friend.

Before Kurumu knew it she was shoved to the ground by Moka, "Kurumu, look out!" Kurumu slid along the ground while the fruit dropped out of her hands and landed next to Moka. Moka squatted down and picked up the fruit herself.

"What the hell?" Kurumu asked in shock, "Hey! Give that back!" Kurumu took two steps forward and suddenly giant teeth like structures came from the dirt and engulfed Moka. The being rose from the ground and showed itself to be a giant plant monster. "What the hell?"

"Oh no!" Yukari yelled as she and Mizore came running up to Tsukune and Kurumu, "This is a durian's true form. It's a carnivorous plant! The fruits they produce are used to lure in their prey like an Angler Fish...or a pedophile."

Kurumu stood in shock, "Moka was...eaten? She...She saved me?" the giant plant roared and the teens jumped back and got ready for a fight. No! Tsukune thought, No, I can't let them get hurt...and I have to save Moka. Tsukune looked at his wrist at his Holy Lock, I have no choice. He began to run forward, but stopped when the monster began to gurgle, like it was going to puke.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Out in the distance, by a large lake, the Bus Driver and Ms. Nekonome sat fishing. A howl in the wind blew and the Bus Driver chuckled, "Hm...Sounds like somebody got trapped by that pesky fruit again. She should we...send the calvary?" he asked, but no response, "Ms. Nekonome?"

Nekonome whistled happily as she watched her bobber in the water for if something happened, "Oh...we shouldn't coddle them. After all, they'll learn a great deal more if the do it themselves." she felt a tug at her line and smiled, "After all," she grunted as she pulled the fish in, "this is a self-study class."

The Bus Driver took a puff on his cigar, "Yeah, that was the plan. When they added self-study to the curriculum, the idea was to help the kids survive in a harsh environment." he chuckled, "If I know one thing...whomever is in trouble in there...they are certain to get assistance from a certain someone..."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Moka had just been devoured by the carnivorous plant, before she knew it she was sliding down the monsters slimy...throat...towards its innards. Not exactly ideal. her 'Inner' self complained, I mean, how the hell do you expect us to get out of this?

Music Cue: Give it Away--Red Hot Chilli Peppers

"Is that...music?" Moka asked. Before she knew it she had landed on something that grunted in pain.

"Ugh! Oh man...that hurt." the voice said. It was speaking english, which Moka found to be really strange. "Who landed on me?" the person, definitely a man, reached their hand up and grabbed Moka's chest.

"EEP!"

"Oh shit! Uh...sorry?" Wait...that voice..."Hold on, it's dark in here, let me grab a light." the person turned on his phone and soon Moka was face to face with someone she never expected to see again, "OH. MY. GOD!" he cheered. It was Ben.

"B-Ben?"

"YEEEEEESSSS!" Ben reached his hand over Moka's chest and grabbed her rosary, "Am I still worthy?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Tsukune stopped ad he thought the monster was going to throw up. Instead of that though, he heard a voice. "Heh, seriously Kurumu..." The other Moka? But how?! "Did you honestly think a little sprout like this could take me? I'm not fertilizer you know."

"Yeah, I've heard of being a piece of shit, but this is ridiculous--OW!" another voice was inside with Moka.

"Shut up, idiot!" before the teens knew it, a giant hole wss blasted through the monsters stomach with Moka coming through it, as well as what looked to he a student in her arms. Moka landed and threw the student to the ground who hacked and wheezed.

"Oh god!" he dry heeved, "That thing was so gross. It smells like a hoarders living room." the man stood up and began dusting off his blazer.

"Wait...is that..?" Yukari asked.

"Ben?" Tsukune said with complete surprise.

"Why isn't his hair blond?" Mizore asked.

"Agh! SO GROSS!" Ben shouted, "You see vegans, this is what happens!" he pointed to the plant, "You eat ONLY plants, and they start eating back. UGHH...and it's so slimy, and gross...I feel like a bukkake pornstar." Yukari had to hold back a snort. Ben grabbed what was once a tendril attacked to his neck and ripped it out, "Fuck this thing hurts." Ben looked at Moka and gave her a finger gun, "Thanks."

Moka turned her head away, "Hmph."

"Ouch." Ben mumbled.

Kurumu walked up to Moka and gave her a hug, "I'm sorry." she saw that Moka wasn't even attempting to pay any attention to Ben, "Hey...what are you doing? Isn't this what you wanted?" she whispered.

"I...don't know what you're talking about." Moka replied with a slight blush.

"Ben, are you okay?" Tsukune asked. He went to hug Ben but stopped when he noticed all the slime on him.

"I understand." Ben smiled.

"You're not hurt are you?"

Ben laughed, "That thing? Nah! I mean, it could always be worse." Ben's smile slowly turned into a frown, then a look of disappointment, finally a look of terror with him pulling his hair and crouching. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Ben cried as he slammed his fist against the ground.

"What's wrong with you?" Moka asked.

Ben slowly stood up with his head down. He slowly pointed behind him, past Moka, "They're right behind us...aren't they?"

Moka cocked an eyebrow and looked behind her, she had to quickly do a double take as she saw two more of those same carnivorous plants, "What the--? How the hell did you know that?"

"Damn you Parker Luck!" Ben shouted to the heavens. Ben chuckled and began removing his tie and blazer, "Okay...time to be a little serious." he was quick to toss his clothes to the side to reveal his Spider-Man outfit underneath. He cracked his neck and out on his mask. "So, you uh...gonna help or, like...are you pissed?" Moka simply glared at Ben and he clapped his hands together, "Right." he nodded. "I'm getting a weird sense of déjà vu right now." he mumbled. Ben ran up to the first plant and began to dodge it's large tendrils.

"Hey?" Kurumu whispered to Moka, "What's with you? I know you want to help him out. And you said yesterday that you were hoping he'd be here...so why are you pushing him away." Moka just frowned and watched Ben fight against the plant.

Ben used his webbing to tie up several tendrils together. When the plant tried to use it's several tied tendril as one large tendril to slam against Ben, he dodged and ran along the plant until he got around the mouth area, "Now I wait." he said. The other plant began using it's tendrils to try to slam Ben, but instead hurt its own brethren. Ben jumped to the other plant and the first plant he was on cocked back it's super tendril he created and jabbed forward and pierced through it's brethren. The plant screeched in pain and collapsed to the ground with a gaping hole in it's chest. "Oh no...did I make you kill your brother? Yeah, welcome to the club. You get used to it." Ben taunted. He dodged another attack and slid back towards his friends. "Oh!" he shouted in surprise as the mega tendril came crashing down on him. He caught the massive vine, but cried out in pain, "AHHHH, HUAGH! Ohhhh...those are broken ribs." he groaned. Ben, using both hands, gripped the massive tendril, "Alright you bastard! Up! And! Over!" Ben, anticipating to just rip the tendrils off, or even just trip the monster, widened his lenses in surprise when he saw that he had actually thrown the massive plant a solid seventy meters. "Holy shit."

"Holy shit." Tsukune mumbled, "He's stronger."

"WOO!" Ben cheered, "Did you fucking see that? My, oh, my! That was amazing!" Ben punched the air with a cheer.

"Okay...but it's coming back." Moka said, pointing at the monster. Ben stood up straight and placed his hand to his chin in thought, he then snapped his fingers. Ben pulled out his phone and began scrolling.

Music Cue: Devils Never Cry--Devil May Cry 3 OST

"Okay, I got this." Ben held up his right hand and began shooting Web Balls at rapid speed at the plant's chest area forming a heart. He then used his left hand and shot a Web Line all around the monsters body but didn't tie it up. He laughed as he in what could be a flamenco dance pose and clapped his hands together twice. The Web Balls he shot suddenly turned to ice and soon there was a giant frozen ice heart on the plant's chest. Ben then spun around and finished with a Micheal Jackson pose, pointing at the plant. The Web Line's then spontaneously ignited in flame. The plant cried out in pain. Finally, Ben shot a Web Line to the center of the heart on the plant's chest and yanked as hard as he could. The end result was a heart shaped hole in the plant's chest and the fruit rolling towards the group.

"Um..." was all Kurumu could say.

"What was that?!" Yukari asked with wide eyes.

"Been playing a lot of Devil May Cry lately?" Tsukune asked.

"Pyro Webs, and Freeze Webs. With a little bit of science, like mixing together specific chemicals into my standard fluid, I can make my webs either combust or freeze depending on the cartridge with a very specific sound frequency that I have built into my Web Shooters." Ben clapped his hands together, "Oh, and, yeah. I'm on a Dante Must Die playthrough of DMC5 right now."

"Amazing!" Yukari was drooling, she always was fond of Ben's smarts.

"Figured." Tsukune nodded.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Okay, but seriously, I understand wanting fruit, but why did it have to be the one that looks like Tentacle Porn mixed with Petey Piranha?" Ben asked. He was now, regrettably, back in his regular clothes.

"THANK YOU!" Tsukune shouted. The girls though, didn't care, they happily ate their fruit in peace...except Moka who strangely didn't revert back to her normal form.

"Perhaps she has something to say." Yukari whispered to Kurumu who nodded in agreement.

"Hey Ben," Tsukune asked, "How come you didn't want to show up?"

"Well, I thought only you cared." Ben mentioned causing the girls to stop and stare at him with questioning glances.

"What are you talking about?" Kurumu asked?

"Well, I didn't talk to you guys in the six months, except Tsukune. I don't have your guys's information." Ben explained.

"Well...Ben." Mizore started.

"We can't read and write english." Kurumu said with a laugh, "And you can't read Japanese, weirdo."

Ben held his head in shock, "Oh my god. I'm such an idiot!" Ben said as he slammed his head on the table laughing, "It wasn't you guys didn't want to talk to me, but that there was a language barrier."

"Duh!" Kurumu smiled, "We're your friends Ben, school life wouldn't be the same without you." Ben laughed in response and even decided to try the durian...instantly regretting it in seconds.

It looked like Moka was going to say something, but was interrupted by Ben, "Okay, we'll have to catch up like...tomorrow because I'm running on 5 hours of sleep in the last three days. So..." Ben lied his head on the table and almost instantly he was asleep.

"We...still have to carry him back." Tsukune groaned. Tsukune tried to lift up Ben on his own, but noticed something, "Oh geez, he's heavier!"

"I'll take him." Moka offered, surprising the human. After they had taken the bus back to the front of the school, Moka carried Ben all the way back to his dorm (she found out because he still had his letter in his pocket, albeit very wet). When she stepped up to his door she looked to her right to see Tsukune was entering his dorm...right next door.

"Oh..." Tsukune said with a nervous chuckle, "Um...I could-"

"It's fine. I'm already here." she groaned as she opened Ben's door, "Well, at least I didn't have to break it this time." she mumbled. She removed Ben's clothes so that he was in his suit...which was surprisingly dry, and threw him on his bed. Moka went to leave bit stopped. Come on...Her outer self said, This is what you wanted right? To see him? Though she couldn't see it, Moka could practically FEEL her outer personality grinning. Moka sighed and closed the door to Ben's room to make sure nobody heard what she would say. She walked over to Ben's bed and sat down and stroked his hair, "I...I'm not angry. I'm not upset in any way." she said in english, "It's just...what you said back then...it was so sudden, and felt like we truly would never see each other again. But this feeling in my head kept telling me I'd see you again. When I didn't see you yesterday, I was disappointed, but seeing you now is...nice. What I'm trying to say is, I don't know if you truly meant what you said before...but if you did, it is quite flattering." she chuckled, "It's too bad that...my other cares for someone else." she leaned over and kissed Ben's forehead before she left.

When the door shut, Ben opened his eyes and a large grin was plastered across his face. He jumped out of his bed and silently cheered. "I guess that means you kinda like me, huh? Wonder what happens if I take May's advice and wear my emotions on my sleeve?"