"There it is."

The forest path ended in a large clearing of flowers and grass. At the far edge where the foliage ended stood a tall, twisted tree. Beyond this was only the sea and sky, stretching out to the line of the horizon.

"I'm not sure we should do this."

Kurumu grinned, tugging on the reluctant girl's wrist. Despite her protests, Tora was dressed in a peach halter top to church, much similar to the canary yellow one Kurumu wore. The loose fabric hung over the hem of Tora's black denim capris which clung tightly to her curves. In the mood, Kurumu had worn her denim shorts with the cutout, allowing her tail freedom.

Further down the trail behind them, Moka and Tsukune walked slowly. Moka was in that black blouse with the pleated sleeves she had worn that first Sunday. The faded black skirt fell past her knees to her calves which were sheathed in tan hose. Tsukune had settled on a pair of khakis and a faded green tee.

"It will be fun."

"Are you sure we won't get in trouble?"

"I heard this was a place for couples. How many couples are going to be out here before the lunch hour on a Sunday?"

There did not look to be anybody out in the clearing. Kurumu stepped free of the forest, feeling the warmth of the sun beating down on her. She closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of the wildflowers. She let go of Tora's hand, stretching her arms up and out.

He was looking at her again. Last night's image of her naked body in his arms had strengthened his desires for her. As much as he tried to distract himself with Moka, he was paying more attention to her. Smiling, she turned a bit on her side so that he could see her profile better. She placed her hands behind her head beneath her ponytail, deliberately pushing her chest out more.

"You should have worn a bra, Kurumu."

"You're lucky you can find strapless bras in your size. I wish I could."

"It's indecent."

Kurumu shrugged, regarding the slow moving couple. Tsukune had not met up with them until after the service, so he was catching up with Moka. She imagined it was mostly the same stuff Moka had told them at breakfast concerning her family. Apparently her little sister's birthday was only three days after hers.

Despite the stern encounter, Moka was happy about being able to introduce Yukari and the two of them to her family. After playing with Kokoa for about a half hour, she had needed the rest of that hour to recover. She had spent the remainder of the day in Mononoke with Yukari and her sister while her mother went to Yokai for an appointment. Her mother had returned around six to collect Kokoa, share a meal and bid their farewells. For the first time, she had been offered to stay with her family over summer break.

Curious about Mrs. Shuzen's motives, Kurumu had pressed for as much as she could about yesterday. Moka did not know much, but Kokoa had claimed her seal was no longer needed and that Mother was disappointed with her other self for endangering Tsukune. Moka had no idea how Mrs. Shuzen had known about Tsukune, but it was clear that she knew Tsukune could remove the seal.

Kurumu had kicked around a few ideas upon learning Mrs. Shuzen was the current head of Fairy Tale. She let the two know about her meeting with Ms. Nekonome a couple weeks back, and that the Headmaster had been involved in Tsukune coming to the school. It was possible that Mrs. Shuzen had some relationship with the Headmaster. Ms. Sasayaki had claimed that the Headmaster was personally overseeing Tsukune's situation in the hospital. Within a couple days, Mrs. Shuzen shows up. That was not coincidence.

Everything fell in line with something Kurumu had been wondering for weeks now. Tsukune had not ended up in Yokai by mistake. He had been brought here for Moka's sake. And to deflate the way Moka had glowed with that conclusion, Kurumu had quickly clarified it was for the sake of removing Moka's seal.

Moka had asked if they should let Tsukune know about her giving him blood. Tora felt it was not necessary to worry Tsukune, having learned yesterday how potentially dangerous the Rite could be. Kurumu discouraged it because she had no idea how Tsukune would feel about it. With how adamant he had spoken against becoming a vampire, he could be angry at Moka and she did not want that. He might even be angry at her when he found out she knew.

Kurumu had encouraged Moka to let Tsukune know about her theory. It was not that she wanted Moka to do it. She would rather avoid giving him Moka related news that would make him think less of her.

After they finished goofing off here, they were going to go back to the dorms to fetch Zukkutani for lunch. Then they would head over to Yukari's place, bringing a change of clothes for tomorrow with the hope that Yukari would be fine with another sleepover.

"There's someone here."

Kurumu glanced over to where Tora was facing. There was a figure sitting on the far side of the tree. She quickly recognized the striped stockings that were pulled all the way up to the girl's thighs. She could not imagine there being another girl with that sense of fashion.

"It's just Shirayuki. Come on. Let's say hello."

She started across the field of yellow and red tulips, relaxing her shoulders. There was a slight breeze sweeping in from the sea. She smiled, easing her wings out so that she could feel the wind and warmth upon them.

"What are you doing?"

She wagged a hand dismissively at Tora's distress. The girl was nervously walking a couple steps behind her, looking back to the others for support. Surprisingly her hair was not up in its usual braid.

"Shirayuki has seen my wings before."

"We can't do this here. What if she tells a teacher?"

Kurumu rolled her eyes, thinking Tora was floundering for any reason to not go through with this.

"Shirayuki is the last person I would expect to worry about school rules."

Kurumu turned, to backpedal a couple steps. She gestured to Moka and Tsukune whom had just stepped out into the flower field.

"Kurumu…"

"Do you remember Shirayuki's name?"

"No. Don't you have her in your home ec class?"

"Yea, and you're her science lab partner."

Shirayuki had taken note of them, her face turned with a white crystal that sparkled in the sunlight resting on her pale cheek. She had her usual book in her lap while the other held a mechanical pencil. She lifted her hand up to her cheek, touching the end of the white stick tucked in her lips.

"Hey, Shirayuki! What are you doing out here?"

The girl looked back out over the cliff, picking the notebook up. She slowly got up to her feet as they closed the rest of the distance.

"I was starting to wonder if you ever left your room."

The girl slipped the notebook and pen inside the two sided pocket stitched to the front of her blouse. She brushed the dirt off the back of her plaid skirt and turned to face them.

"Ms. Kurono. Ms. Nazahashi."

Shirayuki made a slight bow of her head. She started off.

"Hey, you don't have to leave."

Kurumu impulsively lunged for the girl's arm when she passed. Shirayuki turned sharply away, hopping back a step. A wall of ice a meter high instantly appeared between them, as if pulled from the air itself. Kurumu snatched back her hand, afraid the wall might rise even higher. The temperature of the air about her had fallen so quickly she could see the white clouds of her breath. Her skin prickled up with rows of tiny bumps.

Shirayuki brought her hand to her chest, glancing aside.

"I'm sorry."

Moka and Tsukune were hurrying across the field to them, although it did not take Tsukune long to notice the cold had affected other parts of Kurumu's body. Considering Tora's were standing proud, she doubted a bra would have helped. She pushed away his lustful thoughts to smile for Shirayuki.

"It's okay. Um… do you come here often?"

Why did that sound like a cheesy pick up line? Of course Shirayuki would look at her oddly.

"I come here when I need to clear my head and to be alone."

She moved a hand to brush the crystal off her cheek. It fell upon the frosted flowers at her feet.

"As I can't do either, I shall leave."

"Hold up, Shirayuki. If you need someone to talk to, you could…"

What? Her offer died on her lips as she realized this was a girl whose name she could not even remember. She was only going to say it because in that moment something tugged on her heart. It had nothing to do with Shirayuki.

"You should talk with your classmates more. Make some friends."

Shirayuki turned her head as Moka and Tsukune joined them. The girl glanced over the two. Without a word, she turned away and resumed walking back to the path that emptied into the clearing.

It did not feel right to call out again. She managed a smile as Tsukune came over to gently touch her shoulder.

"What was that all about?"

"Maybe she got dumped."

"I wasn't aware Ms. Shirayuki was dating someone."

It was the best guess she had and it was not like anyone else would know. She had this feeling that she was the only person Shirayuki had told about it. She recalled her thoughts earlier this week how Shirayuki was always alone.

"Do you still think it was best to leave her out, Tsukune?"

Tsukune withdrew his hand, slowly balling it into a fist. Decisively he took a step back to the path, lifting his hands up to his mouth.

"Shirayuki! I'm Aono Tsukune!"

Shirayuki paused.

"You can join us for lunch whenever you want!"

The girl did not look back. She walked away, disappearing down the trail into the forest.

"I don't think I'm in the mood to fly today."

Kurumu snorted, turning on the skittish brunette. She held her hands out to the girl, gesturing for Tora to come closer.

"You weren't in the mood to start with. Have you ever tried flying before?"

"No! I've already told you that."

"I can't believe you haven't tried."

Tora rolled her eyes.

"I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've had my wings out in the past six years."

Kurumu gestured again.

"Hands. It will help."

Tora timidly placed her hands in hers. The girl glanced over at the others.

"How will this help? I've never seen birds fly while holding… whatever."

"If you want I can fly you up to the top of a tree and push you out."

"Kurumu."

She stuck her tongue out at Moka.

"Is it really necessary that I learn how to fly?"

"I'm sure flying is easier than your barrier thing."

"I've had years of practicing my barrier."

"And you need to start practicing flying. Let those wings out already."

Tora glanced down at their hands.

"Do I really need to?"

"Yea… wings kind of help."

"Go on, Tora. I want to see your wings."

"Are you sure I need them? Can't I just focus my energy or something?"

"You mean fly without wings? I don't think that's possible."

"Well it's not like your flying is normal, Kurumu. The few times you've carried me, it felt more like gliding. Your wings don't move that much."

She grinned.

"I still need my wings out for that. I'm sure she needs hers out too."

"It doesn't look right."

"What?"

"Tsukune. Do you like Kurumu with or without her wings?"

"I think her wings suit her."

"That's not what I asked."

Thinking how cumbersome her wings could be in close quarters, Kurumu smiled.

"I'm sure he prefers me without them."

"Then can't we try to fly without them?"

"Are you that worried about the rules?"

"I just want to stay normal, Kurumu."

Kurumu's heart twisted at the memory of when her wings had first surfaced. How terrifying to have her body suddenly cease being normal. She had cried, begging for her mother to fix it.

Kurumu stepped in, letting go of Tora's hands to hug the timid girl close.

"It's okay. You came all the way here, dressed for your wings. Ease them out slowly. Yours were a lot thicker than mine."

"Are you sure we can't do this without them?"

"If you can, you need to teach me. These things are horrible with bras."

Tora laughed. Her body relaxed as she let out a long breath. Her tan skin pushed back at the edge of her shoulder blades. Black tips pushed out and the appendage steadily became thicker. The base of the protrusion widened as more emerged, pushing the peach fabric down. There was the slight snap sound which caused Tora to sigh.

"I knew this was a bad idea."

The wings were fully out, the fabric of her halter top pressed far down in the back. The base of those black wings was huge compared to Kurumu's. The wingtips nearly touched the ground.

"It's going to fall out."

"What?"

"My bra. I must have popped the clip on that last push."

Kurumu chuckled.

"Moka! We need your assistance."

"What's the problem?"

The vampire came up to them, smiling. She reached over and brushed her hand against Tora's black feathers. Her other hand touched Kurumu's shoulder.

"They're pretty. Like a raven's."

"Could you hold something for us?"

"She doesn't have any pockets."

"We can't just leave it on the ground."

Tora shifted, slipping her left hand between them.

"I can probably stuff it into mine. Just stand closer."

"What are you talking-"

The vampire noted the slight squirm as Tora fished her busted bra from beneath her top. Moka promptly stepped in closer.

"Tsukune, look away."

Kurumu smirked, realizing that would only draw his interest.

"I don't think her wings look bad."

Flush, Tora quickly tucked the white fabric into her tight left pocket. She pushed more and more in with her two fingers, causing a slight bulge. If the bra had not been ruined by the clips breaking, it certainly was now.

"You're not going to be able to wear that later."

"I can get a new one."

Moka smiled, moving her fingers through Tora's wings. She plucked a small, faded gray feather, letting it fall to the ground. Tora made a slight sound.

"Did that hurt?"

Tora shook her head and touched Moka's arm. Kurumu grinned.

"She has feathers like the Tengu. Once or twice a year they have to shed their feathers for new ones."

She smiled, recalling the time she had groomed Takada.

"I grew up in a Tengu community, so I picked up a few things. I was told it was sort of like scratching their back."

"It's once a year and its called molting. It's annoying and messy."

"I recall that being a week long process if not more. That has to be more than five fingers worth in six years."

"I was thinking of times when I didn't need to have them out."

Kurumu smiled, plucking a dull gray feather free from her left wing. There were quite a few of these things. She did not recall seeing them two weeks ago, though she had not been taking the time to admire Tora's feathers.

"So will this be happening soon?"

"A week or two before the rainy season."

Kurumu nodded. The rainy season usually started in the last week of May, though it might be later for here since they were further east.

"So how do your wings work?"

Kurumu frowned at Tsukune's inquiry. She flexed her wings.

"Like wings."

He laughed.

"I meant, well… I've seen you move your shoulders and wings independently. How does that work?"

"They're not connected. Not quite."

"It's a different muscle near the center of the back."

Tora stretched her wings out.

"They're like another set of arms."

Kurumu laughed, feeling that was a decent explanation.

"Though without hands. That's one of the major differences between a harpy and Tengu. Their wings are their arms."

"I wish I had wings."

Tora shook her head at Moka.

"You don't. Too much hassle and no benefits."

"But you can fly."

Tora frowned, taking Kurumu's hand. She wagged her wings behind her, a couple dingy feathers falling behind her.

"How exactly do we do this?"

Kurumu smiled, thinking back to how she had learned from Takada. She flexed her wings, pushing down to lift her feet a half meter off the ground. She grinned at Tora's confused look as she settled back down.

"How did you do that? There's no strong wind here."

"I felt a breeze."

"That's because she moved her wings."

"You have to do it with a lot of force."

Tora regarded her dubiously.

"You hovered for a couple seconds with one thrust."

"And?"

"That's not physically possible."

She had forgotten a slight step that she did unconsciously.

"You have to make yourself lighter."

"What?"

"You know how you think yourself human for your form to be human. It's the same concept."

Tora scowled.

"Then shouldn't I be able to fly without my wings if I make myself light enough?"

"I don't think so. I guess it's more like shifting your weight about to make going up easiest?"

"That's not very helpful."

"With a couple strong pushes, you can get yourself up high enough to glide. Then you just do it again whenever you feel like you're getting too close to the ground."

Tora looked up, batting her wings twice but not budging from the ground. Kurumu smiled, recalling how long it had taken her to get the hang of it.

"That's not strong enough. You need to do it harder."

Tora closed her eyes, clutching Kurumu's hands tightly. She beat her wings faster, causing a slight breeze.

"I said harder, not faster."

Tora whimpered, slowing the movements of her wings. The deliberate thrusts were not that much stronger than her frantic ones. Her wings were not strong enough for this. She thrust her wings a couple more times, but it looked like she was already tiring out.

"You're not moving the wind at all. And aim down. Lean forward and poke that butt out if it helps."

"It hurts. Should it hurt?"

Kurumu nodded, recalling how sore her wings had been on her first attempt.

"The first time normally does."

Tsukune snickered. Ignoring Tsukune's lewd thoughts, Kurumu pumped her wings twice to yank the struggling girl off the ground. Tora cried out, her legs flailing as her wings fluttered uselessly.

"Easy, Tora. I'm just going to take you up so you can practice gliding."

"Wait! I'm not ready!"

"I'm not going to let you go. Calm down and think about where your weight needs to be. You'll never be able to fly if you put too much in your legs."

Tora clutched even tighter to her hands, but the girl closed her eyes. Her body relaxed, becoming much easier to manage.

"Use your wings. Try to lift yourself up to me."

Tora's expression contorted as she flapped her wings. Much too weak as Kurumu could still feel most of Tora's weight. At least Tora had centered her weight properly, making it much easier to carry her.

"I'm going to let you go."

"Oh God! Please don't!"

"We're pretty high up. I could catch you before you hit the ground."

"Kurumu! Please don't!"

"Just angle yourself and hold your wings out. You should be able to glide."

"I can't get myself upright."

"Center your weight higher. Closer to the base of your wings."

She could not let go. The girl's grip on her was much too tight. She wanted the girl to try gliding, but she could not adjust things well enough to get Tora properly angled.

"Does that feel better?"

"A little."

"I think we might need a few more helping hands."

Tora nervously laughed, glancing about with concern. They were much higher than the trees.

"You're realizing this now?"

Kurumu smiled, aware that Uchiyama from the film club had mentioned a couple harpies. She could check with him or his sister to see if they knew any girls that might be willing to help a first time flier. She needed at least one person to lift Tora's butt up.

"I had no idea you'd be this weak."

"I told you that I don't ever use them."

"Shall we go down then?"

"Yes, please."

Kurumu grinned.

"So how fast do you want to go?"

Kurumu rested her head on Moka's shoulder. She regarded the old issue of Hana Yori Dango the vampire was reading, having heard of the title back when she had been in human schools. Upon learning that neither of them had read any of the volumes, Zukkutani had brought several from her collection.

It was about half past seven, but they had all dressed down for bed. Moka was wearing the silky slip she had recently bought. With her seated on the floor, back pressed to the edge of the bed, the fabric held itself up more by Moka's breasts than those thin straps.

Kurumu had changed into this powder blue, corduroy tank top. It was a hand down from mother, though it was not like she would ever grow into this. It felt nice to wear, despite the frequent slip outs. On a whim, she had decided to wear the black thong.

She liked this song. Lifting her head up, she pulled the tiny speaker out of her ear and pressed it to Moka's. Her other hand pressed the replay on Tsukune's thin Sony player he had left with her. She bobbed her head as Ishindenshin started over. She had not heard of Orange Range, but she liked this song. It was not a band Tsukune followed, but his cousin had picked him up this album as a New Year's gift. He liked some of the songs.

He had left a few other discs with them from bands he liked. Three Dragon Ash albums including that Viva La Revolution she had listened to earlier. A couple albums from L'Arc en Ciel whom she might have heard of, and two others from Spitz.

Tsukune had stuck around with them until after dinner. Despite the many offers to help, Yukari was a kitchen tyrant. She had made the dinner and did the dishes by herself. In that time frame they had settled for playing cards and chatting about nothing and everything.

Before dinner Zukkutani had set up the laptop and they had watched Spirited Away. It was a decent movie, though she felt like the spirits had been strangely drawn. Humans had such weird concepts.

While discussing the odd art choices and if Yukari should invest in a LCD television, Tsukune had apparently forgotten Zukkutani's ignorance of his humanity. It had only been an offhand remark, but their blonde illustrator had picked up on it and asked him directly.

Tsukune had started to regurgitate the vampire story, but Zukkutani already had her doubts as she had been there when Ginei had reluctantly created that story. She had quickly assured him that it was no big deal and that she knew a lot of humans, having been raised in a human community. Monsters often mixed in human schools, so she thought it was a neat idea for a human to be in a monster school. They had left it at that.

Zukkutani, whom was presently wearing a white shirt with red short sleeves, had confessed to being a dryad. She was sprawled on her belly, regarding her laptop as she wielded her black stylus upon the drawing tablet. She was drawing some panels for her next comic idea, which was blatantly stolen from their story this morning. Apparently her male Tengu character was now fiercely afraid of heights and would not fly. Her legs would kick up on her knees now and then as she moved about with interest in her work. A dark green pair of cotton briefs covered her narrow bottom.

Yukari was seated in Tora's lap, holding volume twelve of Nana, some series Tora was following but had not gotten her hands on the latest issue. The little girl was dressed in a white and black tee with matching sleep pants and black kitten slippers. She turned the pages with mild interest as Tora meticulously braided the witch's hair.

"Can you bring the rest of these?"

Zukkutani did not react, having her own earpieces hooked to her laptop. She was listening to some songs she had downloaded. It was mostly anime related stuff, though that Driver's High was done by L'Arc en Ciel.

"Hey! Blondie!"

Zukkutani glanced up from her pad. Yukari held out the comic.

"Do you have more of these? I get bored at night."

"Sure, I'll bring a couple volumes to school tomorrow."

Kurumu smiled, putting the earpiece back in. She was not paying that much attention to Moka's comic. After changing, she had deliberately snuggled up with Moka to discourage Yukari. Finished with the Nana volume, Tora had called Yukari over to braid her hair. Nobody was interested in another night of Yukari's debauchery.

Several of these songs were forgettable. It was not bad music, but she would not remember how half of these went tomorrow. She skipped to the next song if it did not catch her interest in the first twenty or so seconds.

"You don't mind if I set up my barrier?"

"Go right ahead."

Tora hopped up, leaving Yukari to the comic. Tora had a pink and white striped spaghetti string top that was open in the back. Her loose, gray shorts were pulled tight at the waist with black strings that had been tied in a large bow knot. The brunette wandered off to the entryway where they had left all their school things after helping Kurumu with her homework.

Kurumu picked up the CD case as a song caught her attention. This Beat Ball track was not too bad. Not must share with Moka level, but good enough to play through entirely. She noted Tora was spraying the corners with that bottle of hers again.

"What is that stuff anyways?"

"Musk."

Kurumu felt like she should know what that was. Her thoughts were mixed with things she still had yet to share.

"Like her spit?"

Yukari shrugged as Tora was making her rounds in the closet and bathroom.

"How do you make your musk, Tora? Is it a gland in your mouth or near your genitals?"

Tora snorted as she sprayed once in the bathroom.

"I wish it was from my mouth."

Oh, this one was nice too. Michishirube. It felt a little similar to that Grateful Days song from Dragon Ash she had liked. She plucked the earpiece and pressed it to Moka. Moka frowned pulling away.

"It's a good one."

"Fine, but just this song. I'm trying to read."

Kurumu smiled, shifting off Moka and resting her left hand on Moka's shoulder after putting in the earpiece. Yukari got up, her hair tightly braided to the sides of her head above her ears. The witch wandered over to plop her tiny butt between them, causing Moka some distress.

"The bed would be more comfortable."

"We don't need Moka falling asleep early."

Yukari shrugged, lifting the comic up and leaning her head against Moka's side. With one hand holding the book and the other turning the pages, Moka was spared for the moment.

Tora finished her rounds with a last puff of spray at the corner the bed was tucked up in. She crawled off the bed, closing her eyes to set her barrier. Once that was finished, and realizing realizing her quarry had escaped, Tora settled in on Kurumu's right side. She put her spray bottle aside and held her hand brush out for Kurumu.

"I'm fine."

"I could do yours."

"You can brush, but don't braid."

This next song, Hana, was also good. Scooting from Yukari, she reached over to take the earpiece from Moka. She let it hang on her shoulder as she turned her back to Tora. She bobbed her head softly, closing her eyes as she felt the brush start to pull through her hair.

It felt good. When was the last time she had someone else brush her hair? Was it seriously that many years ago when her mother used to do it? She reached over to Yukari, tugging on the girl's shirt to be closer. The witch smirked as she pointedly leaned against Moka.

She took in a deep breath as she enjoyed the attention while the song played. She moved her head gently, enjoying the soft touch of the bristles against her scalp. It felt like she could drift to sleep like this.

Next song cut in loud, ruining the mood. Sighing, she skipped it and the next one which started weird. The third one was okay. Not as hyped and energetic as the other two. She wondered how long Tora would brush her hair. She could do this for hours. Her eyes opened as she picked up the CD case, noting the song's name as Papa.

To her pleasant surprise, Tora stopped to drape her arm over Kurumu's shoulder. The girl leaned in while pulling Kurumu back, resting her cheek on top of Kurumu's head. Her other hand joined the first in a loose grip. Kurumu lifted her free left hand, rubbing the girl's forearms.

"Now who's being clingy?"

"You've been this way all week. In places where it's embarrassing to be given such affection."

Kurumu smiled, noting that Yukari had placed her comic in Moka's lap and was now caressing Moka's right breast. The blushing vampire was trying hard to keep focused on her manga.

"I'm nothing like Yukari."

She felt that odd sensation again, though this time it was from Tora. The girl breathed in deep, her motions suggesting she had kissed the top of Kurumu's head. It was so strange.

"I know that."

Moka had given her this feeling multiple times. Yukari had done it once. She wondered what this was.

"I just want to be closer."

That way bad things will never happen to me again.

"I really have never been close with any girls before. I never was able to."

"Is that why you've been trying hard to make Ms. Genzouyaki and Ms. Meirowasa your friends?"

Kurumu chuckled. There was no way she could talk dirty around Moka. At least not seriously. It would also be beyond rude to fish for suggestions on things she should do with Tsukune. These were also topics she felt were too indecent for Tora's proper opinion. Yukari might be cool with it, but what sort of advice could she expect from an eleven year old?

"They're both good girls. I'm just greedy. Now that I have a few friends, I want more and more."

Tora laughed.

"Well… don't spread yourself too thin."

She had no intentions to. This morning encounter with Shirayuki had helped her realize that. She could not be there for everyone.

Thinking about skipping this next song, Kurumu decided to turn the player off. She had avoided the issue while Tsukune was around, mostly because she did not want him involved in their reactions.

"I did get those results back from Ms. Sasayaki, Yukari."

The girl perked up, ceasing her efforts to make Moka's nipple harden through the slip. Interesting enough, the ignored one had.

"It turns out Moka was right. I can't kiss Tsukune."

"I half expected that to be a magical contract. I'm intrigued to know there is a scientific explanation for it."

"I'm sorry, Kurumu. When did you find out?"

Kurumu smiled, wondering how clueless Moka could be. Then again, she had mentioned tests as her excuse not to accompany them with Ginei after the hospital visit.

"It's not just Tsukune. It's anyone. I have traces of an addictive drug in my spit. In a sense, it makes people into slaves, wanting to kiss me more."

"How addictive are we talking about here?"

"She likened it to heroin."

Yukari nodded, lifting her free hand to cup her chin.

"I wonder if a person could overdose while kissing you."

"Yukari!"

Yukari shrugged at Moka's response.

"I guess that means no seven minutes of heaven with Kurumu."

Kurumu smirked.

"We weren't ever going to play that game. But yea. In case anyone here was thinking of play kissing me at some point, best not. I guess I got lucky with my first boyfriend, though all we did was press lips on occasion."

"Is it just your saliva? I can think of a lot of issues if this stuff is also in your sweat. Inhaling something like heroin-"

"It's not in my sweat. This has no ties to my allure, so it's safe for me to stand next to you guys on a hot summer day."

Yukari's eyes flickered down.

"What about other fluids?"

"Much worse than my spit."

"Are you two talking about… that?"

Kurumu giggled, thinking the timid Tora had an idea of the subject.

"Yes, I can't have anyone licking that either. Not that I'd want anyone other than Tsukune down there."

Moka blushed, having set aside her comic.

"That's not right. Only married couples should be thinking things like that."

"Kurumu… did you do anything with Tsukune?"

Tora still had her arms about Kurumu's shoulders. Kurumu tilted her head back, looking up at the concerned girl.

"No. I'm being an angel."

"An angel that borrowed a razor for shaving her private?"

Yukari laughed.

"You shaved it?! That makes you the real baby here."

Kurumu stuck her tongue out at the girl, figuring Yukari was only a sentence away from telling everyone about the two hairs on her coochie.

"Why would you do that?"

Kurumu managed a smile.

"It felt like the right thing to do after last weekend."

The mischief fled Yukari's eyes. The girl returned the smile, nodding.

"Should we mention this to Kana?"

Kurumu glanced over to the blonde, whom was still drawing. She was bobbing her head to some tune, her ankles crossed in the air.

"I don't care if you let her know. I was not trying to keep this a secret. I just wanted to let Tsukune know about it first, before telling anyone else."

"What is it you guys see in Tsukune anyways?"

Moka grinned.

"He's nice."

Tora snorted.

"Nice? Most of the boys in class are nice."

Kurumu chuckled.

"I guess you could say Tsukune is more polite than the others. Ushio and Kamitsuku are nice guys but I don't feel the same way about either of them."

"That borders on what Ginei said about him being so meek. Tsukune stirs my interest as well, because I feel this urge to protect him."

Yukari giggled, shaking her head.

"As a man, Tsukune would prefer to be the one protecting his lover. This sounds more like how you would treat a child."

"Tsukune is the most accepting person I have met. He is the first person outside of my family that accepted me as a vampire. Even though he is only human and has every right to be scared of everyone around him, he's taken it all in and wants to be here. He's made friends with us and the other boys on his floor. He's made this work, despite the odds. That's what makes Tsukune special. He may not be physically strong, but his spirit is pure."

Kurumu smiled, thinking she might have a couple detrimental things to say about the purity of Tsukune's spirit, but agreeing with most of that. She shrugged, figuring she may as well add her two cents.

"It helps that he's cute."

Tora snorted again.

"He is cute, and I do see your points, Moka. I'm worried about the two of you. I like everyone being friends like this, but I've read enough comics to know things could get really bad between you two."

"You're using comics as a reference?"

"It's not like I have personal experience."

"Well… if Tsukune survives the Rite of Ascension and becomes a vampire, he could marry both. That's within acceptable vampire practices."

"Tsukune doesn't want to become a vampire. Besides, I'm not interested in sharing my boyfriend."

"But you said you can't kiss him."

Kurumu smirked at Moka.

"I can do everything else that matters."

Moka blushed, glancing aside.

"I love Tsukune. I've never felt this way towards any boy before. Even my body reacts to him in ways I've never felt before."

Yukari perked up.

"Do you think that could be a biological response?"

"What?"

"Have you ever been around other humans? And I mean after puberty."

Kurumu shook her head.

"Then we can't assume your body's reaction to him is special. It might react that way towards any human."

Kurumu scowled at that conclusion. Sure, her body had reacted to Tsukune before they had become a couple. Back then she had even considered the possibility that his true form had been to blame. But the idea that her body would behave like this around any human male was preposterous.

"There's millions of human males. Why would my body react this way to a population that large?"

"Ms. Sasayaki mentioned your kind had a very low population across Japan. That seems strange for a species designed to attract male attention."

"It's a low population because my fluids down there contain some stuff that make it hard for me to have babies. She made it sound like it was a miracle for me to even be here."

"That only makes it more reasonable to assume your body would more actively pursue procreation with human males."

"She said I was compatible with other monster species. I don't feel this way when I'm around them."

"Your body might recognize the human male as having the most potential to succeed in mating."

"Can you acknowledge this to be an instance of love at first sight?"

Tora settled back down, letting her hands slip up to caress Kurumu's cheeks.

"What she says is not unreasonable. You can always test out her theory during summer break."

Kurumu had no idea what she would be doing summer break. There was more chance she would spend the whole month holed up in Kengamine.

"I'm not waiting for summer break to confirm my relationship with Tsukune is special. I know it is."

"Yes, but wouldn't you feel better if you knew that your body did not react this way to other humans?"

"Nobody here is telling Moka to run around sucking other people's blood so she can change her mind about Tsukune's blood being the best."

"Well… I'd believe it if Moka told me she was being an angel with Tsukune."

"That's not very nice."

"Have you written your mother yet?"

Kurumu grimaced.

"That's not related to this."

"Oh? I think that shows a clear difference between you and Moka."

"You still haven't written your mother, Kurumu?"

"I call my parents twice a week."

"Call? They don't have phone services here."

"We witches have our ways."

They all laughed. Tora stood up first, tugging on the wide strap of Kurumu's corduroy tank top.

"Come on. Let's make you write that letter before you mother dies of worry."

May 15th

This is the first time I've written a letter to anyone. If anything sounds weird, it's because I have two girls hovering over my shoulder coaching me through this.

I'm sorry. I should have written something a couple weeks ago. I did not read any of your letters till this weekend, and I still have not read the last one you sent. I know you will probably send another letter before you receive this one, because the mail here sucks. I could drop this letter in the post tomorrow and it would not leave here till Friday.

That said, please do not bombard me with letters before hearing a response from me. I know that will make things every other week, but Tora says this would work out much better if we pace these exchanges out.

You should be getting a copy of the paper with this letter. I joined the Newspaper club, which Ms. Nekonome is the advisor for. She also happens to be my homeroom teacher. I'm assuming this is the old friend you mentioned in your first letter, and I'm sure she would not mind you writing her.

As you suspected, things were very busy for me the first couple weeks. I had to join a club, prepare for assessments and find someone to take care of my other needs. It was a rough couple weeks and I ruined a couple uniforms. Sorry about that. I don't like wasting your money.

I failed a couple subjects so I'm spending my Saturday mornings catching up to where I should be if I ever want to succeed in the human world. I was told I should mention that so you would worry less about what I'm doing with my spare time. These two are also dragging me to church every Sunday morning, so I feel like I have no time to goof off, especially with my nightly tutor sessions with our math teacher.

I feel bad, but I will need to pick up a few more uniforms. I'm sure you noticed the first one I bought to replace what got damaged the first week, but I should have a couple spares for the weekends. I don't wear my casual clothes much at all, so you don't have to worry about me asking for the few things I left behind. Some of the clothes that I brought I still haven't worn this past month.

Since I don't care to talk about school, I will talk about the club. The newspaper club only had one member in it, whom by default is our club president. His name is Morioka Ginei. At first I thought he was nothing but a troublemaker and it certainly felt like he was trying all he could to make us quit the club. While I don't know his actual reasons for being such a pain, it did bring the rest of us closer together. I greatly appreciate this, and he has shown us moments of genuine care for the club and for us. I'm sure over time we'll forget about all the trouble he put us through and we can become as close of friends as I feel with the rest of the group.

I should also mention our newest club member, whom joined late due to personal reasons. Her name is Zukkutani Kana. She's an artist with a love for manga and anime. We've only known her for a little more than a week, but she seems nice enough. If you don't understand the humor in her short comic strip featured in the paper, don't worry. We don't understand what is going on in that empty head of hers.

The girl that puts everything together for us and keeps Morioka focused on his club duties is Nazohashi Tora. This girl was reluctant to join our club but has been a lifesaver. While the rest of us were dealing with crazy school things, she helped Morioka handle the sponsors and acted as our liaison with the student council and the disciplinary committee. I think things would have been much worse for us without her. There's no way we could have put out this paper as quickly if things had been left in Morioka's charge.

Tora also happens to be our class rep. She likes to do everything proper and by the rules, which often annoys me. She's a complete coward when it comes to conflict, but pulls through for us if someone gives her a push. Ms. Nekonome told her on the first day to keep me out of trouble, so I'm doing my best to drag Tora into as much trouble as I can find.

The other one pestering me on my word choice is Akashiya Moka. She's a sweetheart. She's from my class and has a crush on my boyfriend. She's mad that I wrote that, but it's true. I try to be extra nice with her, waking her up most mornings and keeping her company at lunch. She's such a sleepyhead. She goes to bed early and is slow to get up. She joined the club with us because she doesn't know anybody else in this school.

Despite how smart she is, Moka is an airhead. She seems to be completely unaware how gorgeous she is, which I guess makes her a bit unapproachable. She's also shy, but very accepting. For instance, Moka is terrible at meeting new people on her own, but she is quick to become friendly with them. She's already on a first name basis with Zukkutani.

Another issue with Moka is that she is a vampire and has hidden this fact poorly. Not that I have done a good job at hiding my true form. We kind of had a fight that first week over my boyfriend which got the rumors spreading about the school fast. So a lot of boys don't approach either of us. Since I have my boyfriend, this is not an issue for me, but it does leave Moka out.

At first I was being nice for his sake. He felt bad for picking me over her, and she has nobody else. But I feel like I have done more with Moka than him. I could say that I love her more… as a friend. If I had not started feeling this way with Moka, I doubt I would have ever tried to put forth the effort to be a friend with these other girls.

The last little lady in our club is the genius granddaughter of Lord Sendou. I believe he was a teacher when you attended school here. Right now our eleven year old Yukari is reading a manga for high school girls. According to Tora, it's a mature comic that might be inappropriate for a normal eleven year old girl.

As her name precedes her, Yukari has taken the odd approach of flaunting her status as a witch. This caused a bit of trouble with her class which we ended up helping her with due to her fixation on Moka. In gratitude, she joined our club, though I'm sure she was thinking about it beforehand since it meant more time with her Moka.

I think Moka represents everything Yukari wants to be. They're both smart. Even Tora is smart. Kind of makes me sad being the only idiot in the group. But I did say Moka is gorgeous and I meant that. She's easily the second best looking girl in my class, maybe even the entire grade. That's something that Yukari envies. I suspect if I had been smarter, like top ten percent, then I would have been the one idolized.

Okay, Tora reminded me that I'm short and Moka is quite a bit taller. So there's that too. Yukari really hates being treated like a child, so I guess I would still fail to meet her height expectations.

I'm writing this letter in Yukari's private suite. As a special child, she is living apart from the rest of the freshmen. Yukari doesn't try to get along with most people. She adores Moka and tolerates the rest of the club. Still I feel like she cares a lot about me and my boyfriend. She pushes me more than anyone else to figure out what it means to be a succubus and how everything works. You know, the things I would ask you about and you rarely answered. I get some of that now. Knowing doesn't necessarily make things better.

I love that little brat. I appreciate the things she has done for me, and how much she has helped me through difficult times. She's done things that I don't think Moka would have the heart to do. Maybe that's what I see in Moka. I see you.

Now I'm sure you've been on the edge of your seat, wondering about this boyfriend I have been writing about. I'm sorry, Mom. It's not a teacher. Maybe if I had been desperate to find someone, anyone, and a teacher had approached me… maybe I would have gone that route. But I found someone better. Someone that I hope will stay with me for the rest of my life.

This would be the last member of the club, Aono Tsukune, whom is also in our class. I don't have a picture of him to send you, and it seems we forgot to add our photos to our first paper. That's an oops that we plan to fix in our next edition, which I will send you.

You might be wondering what sort of boy would a vampire and a succubus fight over. Moka has not had a good track record with people whom she has told her true form to. Most would not be her friend, whereas Tsukune was thrilled with the prospect of being friends with a gorgeous, young woman. You see, Tsukune is not a powerful monster, so his ego was not threatened while standing in the face of one of the most powerful creatures in the spiritual realm.

I did not realize how weak Tsukune was. Again, Moka is terrible at hiding her true form, so I was concerned she might kill him. Before I knew it, I was willing to do anything for him. So I put him on the spot and he agreed to be my boyfriend. It's been awkward at times, but it's much different than when I was dating Takada. I'm not using my charm.

I know you're not thrilled with the idea of me choosing a guy that can't protect me. You're probably wondering what kind of monster he is. I'm going to leave that fact out, because it doesn't matter. I will be fine. I can take care of myself. And I will be extra cautious, knowing I don't want any harm to befall Tsukune.

I would write more about Tsukune but I have a jealous vampire standing over my shoulder. She seems to disagree with my statements about Tsukune, but I'm being realistic. Tsukune is a healthy young man and Moka is gorgeous. Even if she's a vampire, I'm surprised she doesn't have more outspoken admirers. I know Morioka was quite taken with her.

I do have a couple more friends outside of the club. There's another girl from our class, Genzouyaki Nerume, whom I talk with time to time. She's another idiot that bombed the assessments, so it's nice to have someone else on my academic level. She's often with her friend, Unari Satsuki, whom is from Yukari's class. We spend our Saturday mornings together.

There's another girl, Meirowasa Tokori, whom I share home economics with. She's a local and I just have this feeling of wanting to know more about her. It can't really hurt. There's also Shindou Asuka and Taijin Yuu, whom are her station partners. It was Shindou's pushing that had me write that track article, since both her and Taijin are on the team. We also have a silly drunk girl, Sakamori Hinoko, whom tries her hardest to make every home ec project we do a challenge.

I probably don't even sound like the girl you lived with the past three years. I was never friends with the girls and now that's all I'm talking about. Since when does a succubus need girls as friends?

I do know a couple guys from our class. There's Burumoto Ushio, whom helped me out of a bad situation in the first week. We don't talk much these days, but he's still nice. He's convinced me to do an article on his soccer team next and he's obsessed with seeing me as a cheerleader. Then there's Yamabato Kamitsuku, whom is part of the film club that helped with all the photos for my article. He lives on the same floor as Tsukune and keeps an eye on him for me. I know a couple other boys on Tsukune's floor, but not by first name.

I guess that's it. I don't really know anyone else on a first name basis. There is Kakeru Chisa and her friend Goto Tama, but I know them through Nerume. They're more like acquaintances.

There's one last person from our class that I feel I should mention. Ms. Nekonome said this girl was the daughter of a friend of yours. I don't recall her first name, but perhaps you would remember a Shirayuki. I guess it depends on if her name changed when she remarried. If you don't remember, it's no big deal. I think you should write to Ms. Nekonome about it. I don't really know if you would feel good about me pursuing a friendship with this girl. If I had less friends, I wouldn't bother asking and you would have to deal with my decision. But I do have my hands and heart full right now, so I'm not going to chase this one if you feel I shouldn't.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for sending me here. I know that sounds late from an ungrateful daughter, but if I had written to you two or three weeks ago, I would have still been too angry to appreciate this gift you have given me. I feel like I can finally put the past behind me and move forward.

So thank you. I love you.

Don't expect another long letter from me next time. I only have this much content because I've been saving up a month's worth of stuff. And don't doodle on your letters that you send to me. You're my mother, not my little sister. How can I show these things to my friends? It's weird.

Take care of yourself.