Know Your Place

By Arakan7

"Know Your Place!" she declared as her most recent foe was catapulted through the air to join a pile of his fellows in the distance, courtesy of one of her powerful kicks. With her silver hair falling slowly back into place, Akashiya Moka placed her foot back on the ground and turned her back even as her short-lived opponent crashed into the pile of bodies some twenty feet away from her. This time, it was just her and Tsukune to confront this 'threat' alone - a rare feat by itself, considering that the other girls rarely let each other out of their sight.

"Hmph," the silver-haired vampire gave a toss of her long hair, "They were barely worth the effort of even unsealing me, Tsukune." Moka sighed as she made her way over to where he stood at a 'safe' distance. It wasn't that she wasn't ungrateful for the chance to have control over her body, but she hated to be called out for mundane things like this. Hearing him sigh, she waited patiently for him to re-attach the sealing cross. But when he showed no sign of moving, Moka reached up and flicked Tsukune's nose with a slender finger. "Oi, Sleepy Head, wake up." making him blink his eyes in confusion before they re-focused back towards her. She couldn't resist a small smile from appearing on her face at his reaction – god it was so cute.

Even when he acts like this, I can't help but find it endearing…

"What's wrong, Tsukune," she asked with a playful lift in her normally cold tone, lowering her hand back down to rest on her hip. "You're not going to re-seal me this time?" As of late, she found that she was spending more and more time 'out' as of late. Whether by chance or design, she really didn't care.

Tsukune shook his head, feeling abashed at her form of admonishment. Ever since she flicked him upon the roof that one day, she obviously found it amusing to do it to him every so often. "No, that's not it Moka-san," he murmured, still showing no signs of re-attaching the silver cross to its place around her neck.

Moka, however, narrowed her eyes slightly as she could plainly see that something was troubling him. She shifted her weight onto her back leg and crossed her arms beneath her chest. "Then, what is it, Tsukune?"

The young human in question was silent for a moment, a bit surprised that Ura Moka was actually willing to hear him out. "You keep saying, 'know your place', all the time – to me and to whoever you fight. I understand that you come from a powerful race and family but..." He raised his eyes and looked back at her. "Just where is - what is my 'place', Moka-san?"

His place? Where did this come from all of a sudden? Doesn't he know that simple fact already?

The young vampire regarded the young human boy in front of her – bright, crimson eyes focusing on his dark brown ones. After few moments, she gently placed her hand over his, the one holding her rosary cross, and pulled it closer to herself. "You silly boy," she murmured, gently pulling the silver free from his unresisting fingers and used the cool metal to trace the line of his cheek. "Don't you know your place by now?"

He averted his eyes away from her. It felt strange having this Moka so close to him, so willing to touch him. "I'm…not really sure. I feel as though it changes depending on your mood. I just…" He blinked when he felt her push the cross against his face, forcing him to face her as she lightly trailed the edge of the cool metal against his warm skin. He was not afraid of her in the slightest. She had taken many blows for him and he knew that the last thing she wanted was to see him hurt but something was different today. Her aura, normally flaring around her like a fire seemed to encircle around him in a gentle, mesmerizing dance. Even the deep, gentle rhythm of her breathing seemed to captivate him though he firmly kept his eyes on hers alone and away from the distracting rise and fall of her chest.

Moka tilted her head slightly in the other direction with a bemused expression on her face. "Why would my thoughts about you change, Tsukune? You haven't done something to displease me, have you?"

"N-no, I …"He was at a loss for words with her steady gaze upon him - a raging fire barely concealed behind those slit irises. "…it's because," his voice felt dry and his usual strength leaving his legs with her looking at him like that. "…I'm just a 'trivial' human to you." He swallowed hard, trying to ease the dryness of his throat. "Aren't I?"

There was silence … which was soon broken by chuckles as her long silver tresses swayed back and forth in her mirth. "If you were 'just a trivial human' as you say, I would have drained you of your blood a long time ago Tsukune." She pressed her long sharp fingernails into the hollow of his neck, causing him to wince. Smiling, she replaced her fingernails with her tongue as she gently lapped at the crescent-shaped cuts on his neck, barely tasting his sweet blood on his skin. "Have I, a proud and noble vampire, done all I have for you and the others for just your blood?"

Tsukune spoke in a low voice, an unusual expression on his face as Moka walked around behind him, running her hand along his shoulder as she did so, "Well... you are a vampire after all, Moka-san."

Something about his voice touched a trigger deep within her and it rose up in kind. She leaned her head close, a hand scratching up along his torso, causing him to jump. "And you do know what a human's place to a vampire is, right," she spoke heatedly, her warm breath on his neck causing his eyes to flutter momentarily.

"I…don't know," his breathless answer came to her ears.

"Then, allow me to show you."

With a throaty growl, she pressed her fangs against the left side of his neck, her free arm wrapped around his waist tightly to prevent him from escaping her grasp. Her other hand cradled his face, stroking his cheek in a deceptively gentle and calming manner. She felt his body stiffen instinctively from her 'attack', his heart rate quickening from sudden nervousness. Her red eyes closed as did her lips on his skin and sucked forcefully, enticing a faint moan from her 'victim'. Moka found herself relishing in this moment – in this fulfillment of the siren-like call of her nature. She was to dominate him, to take him and not ask for what was already and rightfully hers. The other girls can be damned as far as she was concerned.

"This will be the first time I've taken your blood like this, Tsukune," she cooed against his warm flesh, his delectable scent and taste threatening to overpower her but she pushed her rising desire back down enough to continue in her teasing of him. "Are you scared…?" Her sharp teeth clamped over his earlobe and she applied a little pressure to it.

"No, I'm not," came his hushed reply as she made her way back in front of him yet again, her arms encircling round his neck. "I trust you, Moka-san." A dark smile appeared on her face as she had wanted to tease him in this manner for a long time.

"I think I shall taste for myself," she sank her fangs partway into his yielding flesh with a sigh. Many times, she had denied herself of him in the past, but now, she could not – no, she would not hold back the powerful surge of her instincts and desires that swelled within her breast. No one could understand what she felt when she tasted this young man's blood on her tongue with its sweet, enticing flavor. Her other, more naïve and innocent nature couldn't pick up on such minute details, but she could, despite the barrier of being sealed away. With the time they spent together daily and the trials that they each faced because of and on behalf of each other and their friends, her desire for him and the delectable flavor of his blood had only increased. His growing affections for not only her sealed self, but for her as she truly was – her vampire self - also fueled the yearning within her to taste him directly.

More, I've always wanted more…

An agitated growl escaped her lips as she felt him finally begin to struggle against her unnatural strength. How dare he try and resist her now? Moka purred as she adjusted her head so she could break deeper into his tender skin with more force as his sweet blood seeped into her mouth, the delicate coppery flavor changing slightly as she sensed her 'prey's underlying enjoyment of this moment.

Yes...I've always wanted more of what makes you 'you'… Taking your blood nearly every day is a convenient excuse for me…

"...M-Moka-san..." His voice quivered - how cute. How deliciously cute. Pressing herself against his chest, she sensually slid her free hand across his back as the dark anticipation of taking her fill of him began to cloud her mind. Her fingers gently scraped against his skin through the fabric of the shirt, a sensation that caused him to tremble slightly in her arms. Oh if he only knew how much she delighted in having him like this. She murmured his name softly as the intensity of her suckling increased...

I can never have enough of you, Tsukune… Even if I was to drain you completely, it wouldn't be enough…

He wanted to be hers…mind, body, and soul. She could taste it on his blood as it flowed down her seemingly parched throat. She could feel it through his body as she roughly delved a hand beneath his school shirt, her fingernails leaving shallow trails of blood upon his chest. Even as his knees began to tremble, he reached up and drove his fingers through her silky hair, an act that she wholeheartedly approved of and rewarded him by biting into the other side of his neck. With a heated whisper of his name, she continued to drink deeply of him in wanton abandon as her long hidden instincts were given a chance to come to the fore.

Even with as much as I take, it's never enough… I want more… Give me more, Tsukune…!

Her eyes sprang open as she realized that she was now standing over him, her embrace the only thing keeping him from falling backward. His shirt now bore several tears and likewise his body displayed the marked attentions of her fingernails. Her expression became slightly pained as she saw the state she had put him in.

"Wha-What happened…" Tsukune asked rather weakly, his breathing shallow and labored. "You took," he gasped, putting a hand over the wounds on the left side of his neck, "you took…so much…" He didn't finish speaking but the shocked expression on his face spoke louder to her than anything that he could have said: You really do see me as your food, don't you?

"T-Tsukune…I…" She held him upright, not willing to release her grip on him for fear of him falling to the ground – for fear of him running away from her even though he was so weakened. "I'm…sorry." This was not what she had in mind when she began her teasing of him. How could she, a noble vampire, come so close to losing control like this! She began to pull away from him, her long bangs covering her eyes as she resolved to seal herself and to remain so for a long time to come, lest something like this happen and endanger his life. His grip on her wrist only tightened as she began to struggle feebly, her own shame and self-loathing prevented her from utilizing her real strength – prevented her from looking back down at his accusatory eyes. "Tsukune, release me!"

"Moka-san…I'm okay, really. I was just…surprised. You've never taken that much before," he tried to reassure her but still she did not move. "I'm not upset at you Moka-san. Please, look at me." He gingerly lifted a hand to her chin to turn her face back towards him with a smile on his face. "Moka-san…" Even with her face turned to him, she refused to look him in the eye at first until he laced his fingers through with hers. Her eyes widened at the intimate contact, idly noticing that Tsukune's hand was still big and warm and enfolded hers with his usual gentleness. After a moment, she pulled her hand from his grasp and stood up, facing away from him.

"I almost forgot myself Tsukune," she spoke softly. "I never intended to carry it this far." She had no words to justify what she had just done to him. Here he was, already worried that she thought of him as nothing more than her own personal blood bank and she had just demonstrated to him as such. She had wanted to just tease him, to make him uncomfortable and to also get a small rise out of him, but not to do this to him. "Forgive me."

He froze in the middle of getting to his feet, blinking at her. "Are you…apologizing to me?" He was more dumbfounded than anything. Of course his statement brought an indignant blush to her cheeks.

"You idiot!" She hissed at him as he put his hands up in a plaintive manner as if to ward off her ire. "I am apologizing and you're making light of it! This is why I said that you don't belong here. Your place is not with ... monsters." She averted her eyes, well aware of the implications of her words. She was indeed a monster, a solitary existance made all the more apparent by the vaulted strength of her particular heritage.

He looked at her with an unreadable expression for a moment before he smiled. "That is true, my place is not with a monster." Moka blinked, a bit stunned at his easy omission. Just like that he was admitting it? For some reason, his easy words only served to cut her deeper. "But Moka-san," he continued, "I don't consider you a monster at all. And my place, is right here, – beside you." The combination of his smile and words caused her heart to flutter in a manner she was thoroughly unused to, effectively causing her sudden temper to disappear completely. Even more important, the awful feeling she had recieved at his first words had lifted, as if a small bit of the emptiness of her heart had been filled.

"You know that is the most dangerous thing you could ask for," she looked into his eyes searchingly. His hands grasped her hers gently and she allowed it, her own fingers closing over his. "I am from a place filled with darkness and blood. A human can never survive with me there."

"I'm not a perfect human any longer, Moka-san," he reminded her gently, to which she couldn't help but wince at this either but he continued to speak, "And despite what happened, I am grateful forr you and what you have done for me. I will go with you, no matter where you go, Moka-san. If ever you think you'll become lost in the darkness, I'll be there to pull you back to the light – you are too important to me to leave in the darkness." As he spoke, he pulled her into a hug that crushed the last bit of doubt from her heart.

Is this what I wanted…? Is this what I've actually longed for? My pride would never allow me to see it before. It's not just your blood or even your body that I want…

Moka could not find enough words to articulate what she felt in that exact moment. So surprised was she at his show of affection that even the scent of his blood did nothing to shake her free of her shock. After a few moments, she gingerly returned his warm embrace, drinking in the new sensations of being both vunerable and protected within his strong arms.

I've wanted… I've wanted what I cannot touch…what I cannot take from you. I want your smile…I want your laughter…I want those silly looks you give me when you think that I'm not looking. I want your caring nature and gentle heart. I want your thoughts to be filled of nothing but me. I want *you* Tsukune...

She finally pushed him away from her; the sudden absence of his warm body left a void she had only recently come to acknowledge. "Do as you wish, Tsukune," she murmured as she quickly hooked the sealing cross back into place round her neck. "I will not stop you as long as you wish to do this. As long as you are strong enough," she added. The holy relic began to work its sealing power on her body and mind, changing her into the other bubble-headed, ever-smiling girl that was also 'Moka Akashiya'.

"Yes, Moka-san."

Time seemed to slow to allow the image of him smiling with his hand bashfully holding the back of his head, an expression so completely trusting in their relationship, despite the dangers, to be forever burned into her memory. As the haze of the rosary-induced sleep overtook her, Moka fell into his arms, thinking the words that she herself would not utter out loud for some time to come, and yet, if she knew him, there might not be a need to say it at all…

Tsukune… Your place is already in my heart, for all my eternity."

Author's Notes: Looks familiar? Yeah, I took down my previous work. I had to re-write it – even with all those previous re-writes, I didn't like how the story turned out. Anyway, I'd like to thank everyone who read all my previous versions of this story and left reviews on it - seriously, thank you. :)