This should be rather be called Rosario + Yuki-Onna. Since Mizore always steals the scene.
Also for ANN
Watch the anime if you want fanservice. Jeezz...
I was surprised when I read the manga after watching the anime. I half expected to see Moka's under garments every time she kicked the bad guy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cio
Why did everyone bother with other review? The review is about to influence people to watch or not to watch the anime/read the manga... If you have watch or read the manga, you should rate it yourself. If you want, you could make your review base on your rate LOL...
And about Gonzo, i personally have a feeling they still want to continue Rosario + Vampire, even if the name need to be change.
If they do continue it won't follow the manga. At least not how we would want it to follow.
Mizore still hasn't conquered me... Moka is still numero uno, then Ruby, and Kurumu
and as for GONZO passing it on... even if they do, the name "Rosario to Vampire" can't be used again, and I highly doubt that changing the 'to' to the proper '+' is going to work
lol dont worry, mizore will break down your defence in time. i'll still watch a possible remake even if they have to change the title of the anime. if it ever happens then i'll just ignore the new title and pretend i saw rosario+vampire.
also wonder why ANN put in Mizore's manga cover instead of the main girl Moka.
Told ya she always steals the scene.
Also for the panty shots on Inner Moka on the manga...I thought Yukari said it that Inner Moka's defenses are always up and there are less fanservice you'll see from her in the manga. Oh well...
All they need to do is release an OVA format, then they can keep the same name for it. They did it with I don't know how many series so it's not like the option is not viable.
Outer Moka's had her clothing ripped on several occasions so it's not like we haven't seen Moka's skin. Even Inner Moka has no problem with showing off her legs...heck, showing Tsukune (and us) how she so creatively wrapped the Belmont whip around her thigh.......*ahem*
The fanservice in the manga is not as OVERWHELMING like the anime version. It's like 2 sides of a coin, one lacks fanservice the other lacks manga plot story which everyone wants to be animated.
The manga has the perfect mix of fansrvice and plot, which is what makes it so good, though this last chapter was filler-ish, even if it did give a bit more development to Kurumu
still, enjoy the sweet stuff while you can. I suspect shit is going to hit the fan in a few chapters
She definately deserves a chapter since Ruby, Inner Moks and Mizore had theirs now it's her time. Also one thing I like about chapter 17 is that here you also see Kokoa's development being a bit closer to Kurumu-chan working together like that.
Well I guess we'll have another filler chapter since Yukari-chan hasn't had a chapter yet of her own and Kokoa needs a chapter herself, or probably her chapter will bring forth the plot in the later chapters.
Here's my Prediction. Kokoa is going to somehow end up being cornered by some really strong enemy and Tsukune with all his GAR glory and new found kung-fu comes in and saves the day with some "Hey baby, love me" speech, and she becomes the Tsundere of the Harem. XD
... okay, after a few months during which Tempest was restraining himself to edit the story without changing the storyline, and after I finally got around to editing it... for those who are interested, as well as add a little spice in here, I present ch.4 of A Water Bride and a Vampire!
WARNING: Due to what this story is meant to accomplish, this chapter is not going to be pretty. But it is necessary. Keep in mind that this is also set before the Ice Village Arc and all chapters afterwords, and is also based off the original crappy translations we had of the early chapters of SII. But on with the chapter.
Spoiler for length:
Ch. 4- Lorelei's Other Side
With the Kokoa situation resolved and the fact that the free period was approaching its end, the group made their way back to class. The girls were quite elated. Not only was the nuisance of Kokoa gone, but Lorelei was also nowhere in immediate sight. Tsukune carried the exhausted Moka bridal style as Kurumu walked very close behind on one side and Mizore was on the other, each girl shooting the other the occasional glare at each other and at an unconscious Moka. Yukari had somehow managed to get in front of Tsukune, and like the others, was very close to Tsukune.
But Tsukune took no notice of them. His thoughts were on Moka-san’s words or rather the words of the Inner Moka. She was obviously just as wary of Lorelei as the rest and Tsukune was close mentally banging his head against the wall with all the distrust the girls had of Lorelei. The difference this time was Tsukune knew better than to go against the words of the silver-haired Moka:
“Listen to me, Tsukune. That Mizusei Lorelei is bad news. I don’t know what she is, but I can sense she’s more than just what she appears to be. In any case, you would do well do use extreme caution around her, or better still,” she grabbed the rosary from his unresisting hand,” stay away from her completely, for your own sake.”
What was he missing that Moka-san and the girls were picking up on? This had to be than just a ‘girl thing’. He was drawn out of his musing by Moka stirring in his arms. “Moka-san, are you alright?”
“Tsukune,” Moka gave a tired smile. Having her powerful vampire blood released and sealed within minutes was very draining on her body and mind – it was very different than having just a ‘human disguise’ as some other of the students had. “I’m okay now, you can put me down.”
“Are you sure?” The concern was evident in his voice and she felt her heart skip a beat upon hearing its sweet tone.
“Yes I’m sure,” she whispered back, as she tried to hide the blush on her cheeks.
As Tsukune gently placed her down, Kurumu almost immediately jumped onto his back, her legs quickly wrapping around his hips. “Yay, it’s my turn Tsukune, carry me!”
“Ku-Kurumu-chan!? Don’t do that!” She was rather light but the sensory overload of her breasts pressing firmly against his back caused him to stumble forward a few steps. “You got wings!”
“Aww~ C’mon Tsukune, carry me around like you did Moka - bridal style!” She squeezed her thighs around his hips a bit tighter and she flicked her tongue sensually around his ear. “I’d prefer to be carried to a bed but I can’t be picky – a desk will do.” Tsukune lost a few tablespoons of blood through his nose at this declaration. So did Kurumu as more than one of Mizore’s icy daggers embedded themselves in her forehead.
“How dare you even suggest something like that to poor innocent Tsukune,” Mizore fumed as she took his hand, yanking him free from Kurumu as she fell, twitching. “He is not your personal sex toy!”
“Oh please, don’t you start on me,” Kurumu yanked out the daggers, her skin rapidly healing over the cuts. “You’re the one who’s openly admitted to wanting to drag Tsukune away to make babies!”
Mizore didn’t bat an eye at her succubus rival/friend. “It’s better than being a sex toy for you.”
“What’s the difference between the two!?”
Tsukune by this time had walked ahead quickly, his hand still over his nose, leaving Kurumu and Mizore to themselves along with Yukari, who was muttering something about ‘flying cows’ under her breath. Moka also walked along with Tsukune but something made her turn around and look over her shoulder towards the top of one of the nearby buildings. Was someone watching them? Moka turned back around and followed Tsukune inside the classroom building, already knowing why she was feeling this particular anxiety.
~*~
Tsukune was still absently weighing the entire situation in his mind as the rest of the students were piling back into the class room. He sighed as he flipped open his notebook to yesterday’s notes in preparation for the coming lesson. He suddenly shivered for no apparent reason and he blinked, bewildered.
Lorelei entered the room soon after, appearing with a slightly somber expression on her face. She turned her eyes to where Tsukune and Moka were sitting and the expression never wavered, in fact, she seemed almost…resigned? The rest of the girls were immediately suspicious as the object of their mutual mistrust made her way over towards the object of their mutual affection. Smiling, she said, “Tsukune-kun, Moka-san, can I possibly talk to you two in private after school today?”
Many would say that Tsukune was ‘dense’ but that was not entirely true, for as Lorelei spoke to him, Tsukune could tell that something was different about her. This time, her normally dazzling smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Um, sure, Lorelei-chan.” If the rest of the girls had been suspicious before, this now turned them on high alert. Having Tsukune alone was something that they didn’t like but could predict; now she wanted Moka as well? Just what the heck was going on here? “What do you want to talk about?”
She replied, still smiling, “Don’t worry, you’ll find out when you get there. Please meet me at the school gates.” With that, she walked back over and took her seat gracefully, the simple act garnering the attention of the rest of the males before the teacher came into the room. As class went on, the girls became very confused as not once did Lorelei look Tsukune’s way, nor do anything to try to win his approval. Instead, it was as if she were just another student – though an attractive one at that – paying attention to the teacher. The only thing that remained was the irritating little smile on her face, according to Kurumu. It was as if the Lorelei they knew had been replaced by some other, more normal Lorelei Mizusei.
Tsukune didn’t mind it one bit. For one of the few times that he had been at Youkai Academy, everything was peaceful as it should be, if one would call the unusual girls competing amongst each other as ‘normal’. Not only the class but the rest of the school day passed by without any incident from Lorelei, allowing Tsukune and co. to be left to their own devices.
Once classes let out for the day and the students began to fill the doorway to leave, Tsukune told the group that he was going to see what Lorelei had wanted. “Sorry about this, but Lorelei-chan said she wanted Moka-san and me to talk to her in private. So, we’ll see you guys at the club in a little bit, okay?”
“But Tsukune, what if-“ Kurumu began taking a step towards him but Tsukune cut her off by raising his hand.
“Don’t worry, Kurumu-chan. I’m sure Lorelei just wants to completely clear up this misunderstanding.” If not, well he certainly was going to clear it up. He had his hands full enough already.
“She should’ve invited us all then, Tsukune,” Mizore said, having somehow gotten behind him yet again.
“Well, you guys are more likely to attack than Moka-san or myself, so maybe that’s why,” Tsukune replied without much conviction. He didn’t know what sort of youkai Lorelei was but he figured that any fight involving female youkai was bound to be bad.
“Besides, even if Lorelei-san does try anything, it’s still two against one, right?” Moka, surprisingly, was trying to defend this meeting. “I guess we should go, Tsukune.”
With that, the two left for the school entrance, with the other girls still worried for their safety, Kurumu’s jaw actually hanging down, not believing that Moka of all people, actually agreed to this meeting. Well, if anything actually happened, Tsukune will unseal Moka and that will be the end of that, she reasoned. Still she took a breath and hollered after them, “Moka! You better not let anything happen to Tsukune!” Moka turned around and met Kurumu’s pleading gaze with a confident yet calm look in her eyes. I promise, Moka seemed to speak to them as she turned back around to continue walking. They all watched as both Moka and Tsukune went around the corner and out of sight before the three of them began to head back to the club room.
~*~
Meanwhile, Tsukune and Moka had reached the front gates where they saw Lorelei waiting for them, her smile still on. Upon their arrival, she said, “Follow me… it’s a little crowded around here”, referring to the fact that with class being let out, all the students at Youkai Academy were now out and moving around.
Lorelei led them to a quiet section of the woods, and stopped them in a clearing, a small pond nearby. With her back turned to them, she asked, “Tell me, what plans did you two have for this afternoon and evening?”
Moka was the one who answered. “Other than a little more studying, we were supposed to go and distribute fliers for an upcoming school event, one which the Newspaper Club is involved with. Why did you ask, Lorelei-san?”
“The Newspaper Club? The one which you wouldn’t let me join? I’ll bet that’s just an excuse to keep Tsukune way from me.” She whirled around, and now they could see that anger was distorting her usually pretty face. Anger and…sadness? “I’ll bet that’s what it really is. Am I right, Akashiya-san?!”
Tsukune spoke up. “Lorelei-chan, what are you talking about? We really do have fliers to distribute for the Newspaper Club!”
Lorelei wasn’t listening. The convoluted emotions in her face vanished to be replaced by an expression full of longing as she looked at Tsukune. “I’m sorry Tsukune-kun, I am truly sorry but this… this is the only recourse left to me!” As she spoke, her pendant glowed, and her blonde curls faded into a light blue mist that formed around her. Tsukune cried out, “Lorelei-chan, what’s going-“ but was cut off as part of the mist around Lorelei seemed to reach out and touch the surface of the pond water. It solidified into a tendril of water that shot out and enveloped him, yanking him over to Lorelei. Even as he struggled against the bond the water held him in place. “Moka-san!”
“Tsukune!”
~*~
When they were almost to the club room, footsteps behind them made the three girls turn and saw Ruby running towards them with a panicked look on her face. This in itself was not unusual with Ruby so the girls weren’t overly concerned with it. When she reached them, she doubled over, panting out of breath from the running she’d done. “What’s wrong, Ruby-san,” Yukari asked out of concern for her friend and fellow witch.
“Do you guys know where that Mizusei Lorelei is?” Ruby managed to recover her breath somewhat.
“Tsukune and Moka-san went down to meet her at the front gates,” Kurumu answered in a huff. “Why do you want to know?”
If it was possible, Ruby’s expression grew even more fearful than before. “Oh no.”
“What do you mean, ‘oh no’,” Kurumu’s voice raised an octave, a pit forming in her stomach.
“I did some research into Lorelei’s background, since we know almost nothing about her. I have to do some urgent work for the Headmaster, so I can only count on you girls. You need to get them away from her as fast as possible.”
“I knew she was bad news!” Kurumu exclaimed, glad that their suspicions had been correct. Ruby, however, was shaking her head.
“You don’t even know the half of it. Quick, follow me, so that you can understand what you’re up against!” With that, Ruby took off towards the direction of the gates with the other girls following closely behind.
~*~
Tsukune found himself staring right at Lorelei. She gave him that same sad smile that Tsukune had noted never reached her eyes as she beheld him, struggling in front of her. She reached out and gently caressed Tsukune’s cheek in an effort to calm him. “It’s okay Tsukune… now that I have you,” she blinked as Tsukune could see the emotion welling up in her eyes. “Now that I finally have you, nothing will stop me.” The tendril of water became tighter as Lorelei added more water to it, effectively locking Tsukune within it as Lorelei walked over to Moka slowly, the mist following around her as if a living entity.
“Lorelei-san,” Moka took a fearful step back. This was the worst possible scenario she could have imagined. Not only was she still sealed, but Tsukune was trapped as well with Lorelei between them.
“Every single time I could’ve been with Tsukune, you always ended up interfering. I thought I could get over it once I got time with Tsukune, but you made sure that never happened, didn’t you.” With that, Lorelei reached out and grabbed onto Moka’s wrist before she could pull away and the mist flowed over Moka. Though it was very light, due to being water vapor, Moka still cried out in pain as electricity-like sparks shot across her body. There was no emotion on Lorelei’s face as she did this. “This is my warning to you, Akashiya Moka. Stay out of my way.”
“MOKA-SAN!” Tsukune yelled out, his voice thick with worry. No matter what he did to try to break free, he could only watch as Lorelei continued to shock Moka.
“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, YOU BITCH!” A new voice called out. All three of them looked towards where they heard the voice come from, and saw Kurumu flying towards them, carrying both Yukari and Mizore. Once they saw the scene, Kurumu let go of her two passengers, and as they descended to the ground, Mizore let loose a hail of ice shards towards Lorelei. This caused her to temporarily forget about Moka as she jumped away, and Kurumu used the distraction to use her claws and cut through the water tendril, freeing Tsukune.
Lorelei cursed as this happened. She had been so close! “Damn you… damn you all!”
Tsukune was confused with all this. First, Lorelei had taken him hostage, and then the girls came attacking, even more furiously than usual. “What’s going on here?”
Kurumu glared at Lorelei. “That girl there… according to Ruby, she’s a power spirit type of monster, but far worse is that she’s a man-stealing whore and an old hag as well.”
Yukari whispered, “Look who’s talking,” which earned her a fist to the head from Kurumu. Despite this, Kurumu continued her tirade.
“Tsukune, you and Moka have to get out of her as fast as possible. Ruby did some research, and Lorelei is incredibly dangerous to both of you.”
Lorelei’s eyebrow was twitching in anger. “You speak above yourself, succubus!”
With that, three more tendrils of water shot out from the mist surrounding Lorelei. The girls were ready to block, but found there was incredible force behind those tendrils. They were so strong, in fact, that all three were slammed backwards into the surrounding trees, even leaving a dent or two.
Then her attention turned back to Moka, and she also fired a fast burst of water at her. However, Lorelei had forgotten about Tsukune in her rage at the girls, and thus, as the water flew at Moka, Tsukune used his near super-human speed to run over to her. “Moka-san, watch out!”
With his left hand, he pushed her shoulder, causing the rest of her body to be pushed out of the way, as his right hand grabbed her Rosario and pulled it off.
The aura felt earlier in the day returned, as the day seemed to darken with the release of Moka’s vampire powers. Tsukune, in the meanwhile, had taken the full force of the attack, but managed to skid to a stop, leaving a trail in the ground.
Now that Moka was unsealed and her true self revealed, she regarded Lorelei with a frown on her face as she used one of her hands to brush a few stray strands of silver hair back. “I knew there was something immensely wrong about you, but I couldn’t place my finger on it. But now, I see you’ve shown your true colors, Mizusei Lorelei.”
Lorelei just stared at Moka, her own expression matching that of the young vampire. “So? What do you intend to do about it, vampire Akashiya Moka?”
Inner Moka uncrossed her arms down to her sides. “Since you know what I am, this should be simple. I intend to stop you and whatever designs you hold for Tsukune.”
“Is that so,” Lorelei hissed, her eyes shimmering in a bright blue light. “It doesn’t matter to me whether you’re a vampire. You stand in my way of getting Rhine-sama. The rules say we’re not supposed to show our true monster forms, but since all of you seem to disregard that rule, I think I will as well. And then maybe you’ll understand why you cannot hope to fight against me and win.” The mist suddenly gathered and condensed all around Lorelei’s body, her hair merging perfectly with the thick, heavy moisture all around her.
By father’s fangs, Inner Moka cursed inwardly as Lorelei hovered just above the ground, the mist swirling at her feet. “So, I see what you are. An elemental spirit, of the water variety.”
The rest of the gang looked at Inner Moka with worry, and she herself seemed to lose a little of her confidence, as they realized what they were up against. They were going against what was probably a very powerful enemy, who also put Moka at the biggest disadvantage possible for her. But one member of the group was more than happy to take up the challenge.
Mizore smiled. “Water? That’s my domain. I can take care of her.” With that, the yuki-onna stepped forward, waving everyone back. “I’ll make you regret ever laying a hand on Tsukune.” As she spoke, she removed the lollipop from her mouth and breathed out towards Lorelei but the latter just smiled.
“I hadn’t planned on your interference, but it doesn’t make a difference. I have just the perfect thing for you.” Her glowing pendant began to pulse as the mist wrapped itself around in front of her in a dense wall and she began a low chant in her native tongue.
Mizore smirked as she saw the mist began to crystallize quickly. “Too bad for you that you’re made of water. This fight was over before it began.”
“No, it hasn’t even begun,” Lorelei’s eyes flashed as she finished the chant, the wall of ice continuing to thicken in front of her. Three figures could be seen to materialize within the mist. An ominous clanking noise was heard as all three stepped out from within the mist and their forms became clear. The girls’ eyes went wide as they saw what she had summoned. Three knights that appeared like they were from Europe’s medieval times, something they’d only seen in books, standing before them. Unlike Lorelei, these three seemed to be completely solid, as if she’d summoned them separately from the mist. Though their armor was the grayish-silver color of steel, they had insignia and other adornments along their armor that was colored in reds, blues, and gold. Each of them also held a weapon; a spear, a sword, and a bow and arrow.
Once their forms had become solid, they turned to Lorelei. “Dame Lorelei, was ist dein Befehl?” (1)
Despite having been spoken to in German, Lorelei responded to them in Japanese, pointing to Kurumu, Mizore and Yukari. “Restrain those three girls. They’re nothing but hindrances to me.”
“Wie du befiehlst, Geliebte Lorele.i” (2) With that phrase, whatever it meant, the knights moved their weapons into hostile positions. This didn’t go unnoticed by the girls, who raised their own weapons.
“If it’s a fight you want, it’s a fight you’ll get,” Mizore said, her lollipop moving to the side of her mouth as she spoke. However, the knights were faster than they’d anticipated. Mizore was just barely able to raise her ice claws as the knight with the spear slammed into at her. The attacked blocked, she jumped back and fired her ice projectiles, but the knight merely swung his spear around, deflecting them. However, Mizore then caused ice to rise from the ground, and this managed to get the knight. Temporarily off-balance, the knight was now forced to defend as Mizore slashed at him, driving the knight back.
Kurumu, meanwhile, had to deal with the swordsman. As she slashed and flew around him, the knight was forced to parry all her attacks. Getting a little overconfident with her advantage, Kurumu flew in low, claws outset in front of her. However, this time, the swordsman was able to sidestep, and only a split-second roll at the very last instant kept Kurumu from taking more damage, as the blade still managed to graze the tips of her left wing. She rolled to the side, pain coursing through her body.
“Damn you…” she said, getting back up, ready to face the knight again. Yukari, in the meanwhile, had her hands more than full with the knight who wielded the bow and arrows. As he fired his shots, she was so far either managing to stop them before they hit her, or was able to reverse their direction. However, though she may have been considered a genius academically, still being only 11 years old meant she didn’t had the stamina and skill the rest of the girls had. Though she was managing to put up a fight, she didn’t know how much longer she could go for.
Tsukune, in the meanwhile, could only stand by as this happened. “Kurumu-chan! Mizore-chan! Yukari-chan!” he yelled. However, this did have one effect: it brought Lorelei’s attention back to him.
Smiling sweetly, she said, “That’s right; I almost forgot about you.” Tsukune’s eyes went wide with fear, not knowing what she would do. Another water tendril headed towards, though not exactly fast like the others had been hit with.
“Get out of the way!” Moka yelled as she dashed towards Tsukune, to get him out of whatever danger Lorelei would put him in. Unfortunately, this reminded Lorelei of her, and a water tendril shot at her. She was able to dodge as it was followed by more tendrils, but then felt pain zap through her entire body as one managed to hit her from behind. Not only that, but the mist was now getting thicker around her, draining her strength and causing her pain in slower, painful increments.
Thus, Tsukune was left unprotected when the mist that had been snaking towards him was able to wrap around him, and once more, for whatever reason, he couldn’t break free of the water. The tendril lifted him and placed him against a tree. Lorelei appeared out of the mist in front of him, tenderness on her face, despite the situation.
She placed a hand on his cheek and smiled gently. “You just stay here for a while. Soon, we’ll be able to be together again, forever this time.” With that, a band of water bound him to the tree, and he still couldn’t escape.
Thus Tsukune could only watch as the horror took place in front of his eyes. First and foremost, he could see Moka was having immense difficulty against Lorelei. She tried jumping up, away from the tendrils; but when she got out of their reach, the mist would build its way up, and she’d be electrocuted, causing her to fall back down, where the tendrils were. Despite all the water, she managed to dodge, and was keeping the mist at bay by merely using her powerful kick to blow it away. However, either due to Lorelei’s power, of the fact that there was a pond right next to them, every time the mist was blown away, it would just creep back in.
“Moka-san!” Tsukune yelled, and then saw the plight of the other three. Mizore had been having the upper hand, but at one point, the knight with the spear was able to sidestep her, and slammed the butt of his spear into her side. Mizore cried out in pain, and Tsukune yelled out for her as well. Then the spear came whirling around and she tried to dodge it; but the pain from the previous move slowed her down, and she was hit hard in her stomach, knocking her to her knees. She struggled to get back up, only to find the spear so close to her neck that it had drawn a slight trickle of blood. Needless to say, if she made a move, she’d be killed. Mizore cursed as she was forced to accept her defeat.
Kurumu, in the meanwhile, now found the situation reversed with her injury. Instead of the knight parrying her, she was forced to use her claws to parry him, and it was obvious he was skilled as the swings came from all over, seemingly harder each time. She tried to attack back, but doing so left her open, and it was only by sheer luck that she was managing to dodge in the nick of time to avoid any more injury.
Then the swordsman managed to sideswipe her feet, and she couldn’t catch herself in time as she hit the ground with an oomph. As she too tried to get back up, she found the tip of the sword inches away from her face. She made a face as she was now confronted with her own defeat.
Yukari was getting the worst of it. In a careless mistake, her cloak had been pinned to a tree; she’d just barely managed to get out of it in order to avoid taking an arrow in the chest herself. Of course, this resulted in the loss of her hat as well. Still, she had her wand, and that would be able to keep her battle going. She was being forced to use every inch of magic she knew in order to survive, though. She would take a page from Mizore and freeze the arrows, and other times summoned a basin, but to use as her shield. Still, she was wearing out. Her own defeat happened when she paused only a moment to try to catch her breath, but that moment was more than enough for the knight. She heard the woosh of an arrow, and suddenly felt her arm jerk to the side. Looking up, she saw that her arm had been pinned to a tree. Another woosh and a jerk of her arm, and she found both arms were now pinned firmed to a tree. Still she had her wand… until another arrow whizzed by and pinned that through the hoop to a different tree. The knight then nocked another arrow to his bow, this one aimed at Yukari.
All three girls waited for some sort of finishing blow, but it never came. Instead of simply killing them off, they’d done exactly as Lorelei had asked, and merely restrained the girls, in some very effective methods.
And if they were bad, Moka was even worse off. Though she’d been using her kicks to try to break through the mist, there was no end, and not only were the electricity-like zaps painful, she was also feeling her strength trickle away. The voice of Lorelei also taunted her as she battled.
“Give it up, Akashiya-san. There’s no way a vampire can beat me, and any help you might’ve had is out of commission.”
Moka was panting, and there were obvious signs of injury over her body. She’d failed to dodge a few of the water attacks, and thus had been battered. Panting hard, Moka answered, “You think I’ll… lose… to the… likes of you?”
Lorelei laughed, and then, what appeared to be her actual physical body appeared in front of Moka. “But something has been bothering me. Tell me, Akashiya-san… why are you fighting so hard for?” She tilted her head to look back at Tsukune, trapped against the tree then back at the still panting Moka. “This is too much for even one like you. What is Tsukune to you?”
Inner Moka gave a soft chuckle. “Who is Tsukune to me?” Time seemed to stand still as Moka lifted her head, her red eyes focusing on Lorelei’s blue ones. “What makes you think you can ask me such a thing?” She couldn’t allow this to distract her; especially when she had the perfect chance to dispose of Lorelei. She put as much power into her signature kick as she could muster, and slammed her leg into Lorelei’s side. “Know your place!”
That should’ve brought about Lorelei’s defeat… but the kick ended up simply slicing right through Lorelei, and thus that body vanished, only to reappear a few feet away in the mist. “I was simply curious, Akashiya-san. But it seems that you are not too fond of civility – or honesty.” Once again, Inner Moka was forced to jump around in order to dodge the tendrils that followed. Trees were dented as either Moka hit them, or Lorelei’s mist smashed into them. It was only a matter of time before she did end up getting slammed into a tree yet again.
This was too much for Tsukune to merely watch as Moka was toyed with. His eyes glanced to his locket as a determined look appeared on his face. Though nearly all the links were smashed, indicating that it was only a spell of Ruby and Yukari’s that was saving his life, he still would have to risk it in order to do something, even if it meant falling into the darkness of having the blood take over his body.
“Forgive me, Moka-san,” Tsukune said as he closed his eyes and focused to draw upon the vampire power that lay dormant within his blood…
“Don’t you dare try it, you fool!” Inner Moka must’ve seen this and guessed what he was going to do, as she yelled her warning to him. She didn’t need two deadly adversaries, especially in this condition.
This momentary distraction ended up being a big mistake. At that point, she saw a tendril flying at her from the mist, but due to the draining effect of the mist, as well as her injuries, this one caused her to go crashing into more trees, finally landing near the pond. However, it wasn’t done yet. It wrapped around her ankle and lifted her into the air, then slammed her into said pond, before dragging her across the surface and pulling her under as well.
Despite all her talk about nobility and pride, perhaps due to the pain and injuries she’d been experiencing this whole time, she finally screamed in pain as it became too much for even her to handle. She couldn’t hear Tsukune screaming her name over and over, she couldn’t see him struggling against the restraints with all his might, yet she knew. Tsukune…
Finally, the mist yanked her out and dropped her on the land in a soaked, shivering heap. Lorelei materialized from the mist, hovering over Moka with an unreadable expression.
“I would have rather stopped this a long time ago, but I suppose that your pride demanded no less,” Lorelei heaved a sigh, the surrounding mist beginning to thin away. “But do not worry; once Tsukune becomes my Rhine-sama, he will no longer be burdened by any of this. I feel that I owe you that much for the way you all struggled against me.” Moka just coughed up more water as her body trembled heavily from all the damage she had taken.
“Nooo!” Kurumu tried to struggle but her captor held the sword fast. “You can’t take Tsukune – you just can’t!” Tears were flowing down her face. Having Inner Moka being beaten like this made Lorelei’s threat of taking too much to bear. “I care for him – we all care for him! You don’t even know him and you’re taking him away from us, you selfish bitch!?”
Lorelei’s expression seemed pained as she regarded Kurumu. “It’s true. I do not know any of you. Even so, you know NOTHING of what I have been forced to go through – what I have been forced to endure all this time since Rhine-sama disappeared! If you were in my place, you would be doing what I have done to claim happiness once more.”
“Happiness? You say you’ve done all this for your personal ‘happiness’?” Mizore heaved out, trying to push herself up with her hands, the tip of the spear still near her throat. “Did you even ask Tsukune whether or not he’d be happy being taken away from this place – from us? You’ll never be truly happy like this.”
“Perhaps, perhaps not,” Lorelei spoke softly as she looked back at Tsukune. “But I am willing to take the risk.”
“I…won’t…allow it.”
Everyone was stunned to see Inner Moka struggling just to sit up. Her body was so weak but her eyes shone with unnatural light. “I won’t…allow you…to take Tsukune! You’ll have to … kill me first.”
Kurumu, Mizore, and Yukari all gasped at this declaration from a battered and beaten Inner Moka.
“I suppose I must,” she spoke softly as a pillar of mist condensed into a javelin-like shape in her hands. But it never came. Someone, presumably one of the knights, said something in what was probably German, and all noticed that the mist was fading, which allowed Tsukune to finally break free as he ran to Moka. The next thing noticed was that the other girls no longer had any weapons at their throats.
The answer lay in the fact that Lorelei was suddenly falling forward towards Moka, her eyes rolled up in her head. Now where Lorelei had been standing, the swordsman knight who had the point of his sword at Kurumu’s face only moment ago was sheathing his sword. “Mir, Geliebte Lorelei verzeihen…, aber er ist auch nicht der.” (3)
Tsukune by now had managed to run over to Moka, who was struggling to get up on her own, letting out a string of curses as she did so. However, Tsukune saw that she would probably end up falling back down, so before she did, he ran over and caught her, then put her arm over his shoulder to support her. Letting out another small curse, she was just barely able to give Tsukune a look that said, Let go, I can support myself. Her vampire abilities were slowly kicking in as she was healed; but Tsukune could see that they probably weren’t healing her at a fast pace. Her clothes were still wet, and he could see a few sparks jumping around as her body shook from all the abuse she’d taken.
Despite her condition, she still managed to utter very softly, “Are you… alright… Tsukune?”
“I’m alright Moka… don’t try to speak now. You’ll be just fine soon enough.” Or at least that was what he hoped. At that point, Tsukune suddenly felt much more weight on his shoulders and quite a bit of pressure on his chest, and found that Moka, who was clenching her teeth from the pain but keeping all signs of it hidden by having her hair cover her face, was now using Tsukune for all her support, whether she wanted to or not. In fact, it was almost as if she was clinging to him. However, his attention was diverted from this when the group heard a loud cough, coming from the swordsman.
“I believe… you are owed… an explanation,” he said. Astonishingly enough, he was able to speak Japanese, though he had a heavy German accent. His mouth fumbled with the words, as if trying to speak them properly. “I understand… you have animosity towards Herr Lorelei… but please, hear… us out.”
The other three girls had managed to drag their beaten bodies over to where Tsukune and Moka were, and Kurumu gave them a very dirty glare. “Why should we, especially after what you did to us?”
“Because Herr Lorelei has been hurt,” he was getting accustomed to speaking the words, “as much as, if not worse than, all of you.”
German Translations (or at least what they were intended to be):
(1) Lady Lorelei, what is your command?
(2) As you command, Mistress Lorelei
(3) Forgive me, Mistress Lorelei… but he too is not the one
This is going to be on FF.net in a few minutes... and hopefully it won't take quite as long to get ch. 5 out (unfortunately I can't guarantee it though). Also, because Tempest came up with some interesting ideas that don't fit the storyline but I like anyways, I'm going to include them as Omakes at the end of the next few chapters.
They changed Moka's entire tone of voice during the ghoul incident...seems weird but it can still work for those who have not read the scanlations already...She reads more like anime Inner Moka to me...
... okay, after a few months during which Tempest was restraining himself to edit the story without changing the storyline, and after I finally got around to editing it... for those who are interested, as well as add a little spice in here, I present ch.4 of A Water Bride and a Vampire!
WARNING: Due to what this story is meant to accomplish, this chapter is not going to be pretty. But it is necessary. Keep in mind that this is also set before the Ice Village Arc and all chapters afterwords, and is also based off the original crappy translations we had of the early chapters of SII. But on with the chapter.
Spoiler for length:
Ch. 4- Lorelei's Other Side
With the Kokoa situation resolved and the fact that the free period was approaching its end, the group made their way back to class. The girls were quite elated. Not only was the nuisance of Kokoa gone, but Lorelei was also nowhere in immediate sight. Tsukune carried the exhausted Moka bridal style as Kurumu walked very close behind on one side and Mizore was on the other, each girl shooting the other the occasional glare at each other and at an unconscious Moka. Yukari had somehow managed to get in front of Tsukune, and like the others, was very close to Tsukune.
But Tsukune took no notice of them. His thoughts were on Moka-san’s words or rather the words of the Inner Moka. She was obviously just as wary of Lorelei as the rest and Tsukune was close mentally banging his head against the wall with all the distrust the girls had of Lorelei. The difference this time was Tsukune knew better than to go against the words of the silver-haired Moka:
“Listen to me, Tsukune. That Mizusei Lorelei is bad news. I don’t know what she is, but I can sense she’s more than just what she appears to be. In any case, you would do well do use extreme caution around her, or better still,” she grabbed the rosary from his unresisting hand,” stay away from her completely, for your own sake.”
What was he missing that Moka-san and the girls were picking up on? This had to be than just a ‘girl thing’. He was drawn out of his musing by Moka stirring in his arms. “Moka-san, are you alright?”
“Tsukune,” Moka gave a tired smile. Having her powerful vampire blood released and sealed within minutes was very draining on her body and mind – it was very different than having just a ‘human disguise’ as some other of the students had. “I’m okay now, you can put me down.”
“Are you sure?” The concern was evident in his voice and she felt her heart skip a beat upon hearing its sweet tone.
“Yes I’m sure,” she whispered back, as she tried to hide the blush on her cheeks.
As Tsukune gently placed her down, Kurumu almost immediately jumped onto his back, her legs quickly wrapping around his hips. “Yay, it’s my turn Tsukune, carry me!”
“Ku-Kurumu-chan!? Don’t do that!” She was rather light but the sensory overload of her breasts pressing firmly against his back caused him to stumble forward a few steps. “You got wings!”
“Aww~ C’mon Tsukune, carry me around like you did Moka - bridal style!” She squeezed her thighs around his hips a bit tighter and she flicked her tongue sensually around his ear. “I’d prefer to be carried to a bed but I can’t be picky – a desk will do.” Tsukune lost a few tablespoons of blood through his nose at this declaration. So did Kurumu as more than one of Mizore’s icy daggers embedded themselves in her forehead.
“How dare you even suggest something like that to poor innocent Tsukune,” Mizore fumed as she took his hand, yanking him free from Kurumu as she fell, twitching. “He is not your personal sex toy!”
“Oh please, don’t you start on me,” Kurumu yanked out the daggers, her skin rapidly healing over the cuts. “You’re the one who’s openly admitted to wanting to drag Tsukune away to make babies!”
Mizore didn’t bat an eye at her succubus rival/friend. “It’s better than being a sex toy for you.”
“What’s the difference between the two!?”
Tsukune by this time had walked ahead quickly, his hand still over his nose, leaving Kurumu and Mizore to themselves along with Yukari, who was muttering something about ‘flying cows’ under her breath. Moka also walked along with Tsukune but something made her turn around and look over her shoulder towards the top of one of the nearby buildings. Was someone watching them? Moka turned back around and followed Tsukune inside the classroom building, already knowing why she was feeling this particular anxiety.
~*~
Tsukune was still absently weighing the entire situation in his mind as the rest of the students were piling back into the class room. He sighed as he flipped open his notebook to yesterday’s notes in preparation for the coming lesson. He suddenly shivered for no apparent reason and he blinked, bewildered.
Lorelei entered the room soon after, appearing with a slightly somber expression on her face. She turned her eyes to where Tsukune and Moka were sitting and the expression never wavered, in fact, she seemed almost…resigned? The rest of the girls were immediately suspicious as the object of their mutual mistrust made her way over towards the object of their mutual affection. Smiling, she said, “Tsukune-kun, Moka-san, can I possibly talk to you two in private after school today?”
Many would say that Tsukune was ‘dense’ but that was not entirely true, for as Lorelei spoke to him, Tsukune could tell that something was different about her. This time, her normally dazzling smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Um, sure, Lorelei-chan.” If the rest of the girls had been suspicious before, this now turned them on high alert. Having Tsukune alone was something that they didn’t like but could predict; now she wanted Moka as well? Just what the heck was going on here? “What do you want to talk about?”
She replied, still smiling, “Don’t worry, you’ll find out when you get there. Please meet me at the school gates.” With that, she walked back over and took her seat gracefully, the simple act garnering the attention of the rest of the males before the teacher came into the room. As class went on, the girls became very confused as not once did Lorelei look Tsukune’s way, nor do anything to try to win his approval. Instead, it was as if she were just another student – though an attractive one at that – paying attention to the teacher. The only thing that remained was the irritating little smile on her face, according to Kurumu. It was as if the Lorelei they knew had been replaced by some other, more normal Lorelei Mizusei.
Tsukune didn’t mind it one bit. For one of the few times that he had been at Youkai Academy, everything was peaceful as it should be, if one would call the unusual girls competing amongst each other as ‘normal’. Not only the class but the rest of the school day passed by without any incident from Lorelei, allowing Tsukune and co. to be left to their own devices.
Once classes let out for the day and the students began to fill the doorway to leave, Tsukune told the group that he was going to see what Lorelei had wanted. “Sorry about this, but Lorelei-chan said she wanted Moka-san and me to talk to her in private. So, we’ll see you guys at the club in a little bit, okay?”
“But Tsukune, what if-“ Kurumu began taking a step towards him but Tsukune cut her off by raising his hand.
“Don’t worry, Kurumu-chan. I’m sure Lorelei just wants to completely clear up this misunderstanding.” If not, well he certainly was going to clear it up. He had his hands full enough already.
“She should’ve invited us all then, Tsukune,” Mizore said, having somehow gotten behind him yet again.
“Well, you guys are more likely to attack than Moka-san or myself, so maybe that’s why,” Tsukune replied without much conviction. He didn’t know what sort of youkai Lorelei was but he figured that any fight involving female youkai was bound to be bad.
“Besides, even if Lorelei-san does try anything, it’s still two against one, right?” Moka, surprisingly, was trying to defend this meeting. “I guess we should go, Tsukune.”
With that, the two left for the school entrance, with the other girls still worried for their safety, Kurumu’s jaw actually hanging down, not believing that Moka of all people, actually agreed to this meeting. Well, if anything actually happened, Tsukune will unseal Moka and that will be the end of that, she reasoned. Still she took a breath and hollered after them, “Moka! You better not let anything happen to Tsukune!” Moka turned around and met Kurumu’s pleading gaze with a confident yet calm look in her eyes. I promise, Moka seemed to speak to them as she turned back around to continue walking. They all watched as both Moka and Tsukune went around the corner and out of sight before the three of them began to head back to the club room.
~*~
Meanwhile, Tsukune and Moka had reached the front gates where they saw Lorelei waiting for them, her smile still on. Upon their arrival, she said, “Follow me… it’s a little crowded around here”, referring to the fact that with class being let out, all the students at Youkai Academy were now out and moving around.
Lorelei led them to a quiet section of the woods, and stopped them in a clearing, a small pond nearby. With her back turned to them, she asked, “Tell me, what plans did you two have for this afternoon and evening?”
Moka was the one who answered. “Other than a little more studying, we were supposed to go and distribute fliers for an upcoming school event, one which the Newspaper Club is involved with. Why did you ask, Lorelei-san?”
“The Newspaper Club? The one which you wouldn’t let me join? I’ll bet that’s just an excuse to keep Tsukune way from me.” She whirled around, and now they could see that anger was distorting her usually pretty face. Anger and…sadness? “I’ll bet that’s what it really is. Am I right, Akashiya-san?!”
Tsukune spoke up. “Lorelei-chan, what are you talking about? We really do have fliers to distribute for the Newspaper Club!”
Lorelei wasn’t listening. The convoluted emotions in her face vanished to be replaced by an expression full of longing as she looked at Tsukune. “I’m sorry Tsukune-kun, I am truly sorry but this… this is the only recourse left to me!” As she spoke, her pendant glowed, and her blonde curls faded into a light blue mist that formed around her. Tsukune cried out, “Lorelei-chan, what’s going-“ but was cut off as part of the mist around Lorelei seemed to reach out and touch the surface of the pond water. It solidified into a tendril of water that shot out and enveloped him, yanking him over to Lorelei. Even as he struggled against the bond the water held him in place. “Moka-san!”
“Tsukune!”
~*~
When they were almost to the club room, footsteps behind them made the three girls turn and saw Ruby running towards them with a panicked look on her face. This in itself was not unusual with Ruby so the girls weren’t overly concerned with it. When she reached them, she doubled over, panting out of breath from the running she’d done. “What’s wrong, Ruby-san,” Yukari asked out of concern for her friend and fellow witch.
“Do you guys know where that Mizusei Lorelei is?” Ruby managed to recover her breath somewhat.
“Tsukune and Moka-san went down to meet her at the front gates,” Kurumu answered in a huff. “Why do you want to know?”
If it was possible, Ruby’s expression grew even more fearful than before. “Oh no.”
“What do you mean, ‘oh no’,” Kurumu’s voice raised an octave, a pit forming in her stomach.
“I did some research into Lorelei’s background, since we know almost nothing about her. I have to do some urgent work for the Headmaster, so I can only count on you girls. You need to get them away from her as fast as possible.”
“I knew she was bad news!” Kurumu exclaimed, glad that their suspicions had been correct. Ruby, however, was shaking her head.
“You don’t even know the half of it. Quick, follow me, so that you can understand what you’re up against!” With that, Ruby took off towards the direction of the gates with the other girls following closely behind.
~*~
Tsukune found himself staring right at Lorelei. She gave him that same sad smile that Tsukune had noted never reached her eyes as she beheld him, struggling in front of her. She reached out and gently caressed Tsukune’s cheek in an effort to calm him. “It’s okay Tsukune… now that I have you,” she blinked as Tsukune could see the emotion welling up in her eyes. “Now that I finally have you, nothing will stop me.” The tendril of water became tighter as Lorelei added more water to it, effectively locking Tsukune within it as Lorelei walked over to Moka slowly, the mist following around her as if a living entity.
“Lorelei-san,” Moka took a fearful step back. This was the worst possible scenario she could have imagined. Not only was she still sealed, but Tsukune was trapped as well with Lorelei between them.
“Every single time I could’ve been with Tsukune, you always ended up interfering. I thought I could get over it once I got time with Tsukune, but you made sure that never happened, didn’t you.” With that, Lorelei reached out and grabbed onto Moka’s wrist before she could pull away and the mist flowed over Moka. Though it was very light, due to being water vapor, Moka still cried out in pain as electricity-like sparks shot across her body. There was no emotion on Lorelei’s face as she did this. “This is my warning to you, Akashiya Moka. Stay out of my way.”
“MOKA-SAN!” Tsukune yelled out, his voice thick with worry. No matter what he did to try to break free, he could only watch as Lorelei continued to shock Moka.
“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, YOU BITCH!” A new voice called out. All three of them looked towards where they heard the voice come from, and saw Kurumu flying towards them, carrying both Yukari and Mizore. Once they saw the scene, Kurumu let go of her two passengers, and as they descended to the ground, Mizore let loose a hail of ice shards towards Lorelei. This caused her to temporarily forget about Moka as she jumped away, and Kurumu used the distraction to use her claws and cut through the water tendril, freeing Tsukune.
Lorelei cursed as this happened. She had been so close! “Damn you… damn you all!”
Tsukune was confused with all this. First, Lorelei had taken him hostage, and then the girls came attacking, even more furiously than usual. “What’s going on here?”
Kurumu glared at Lorelei. “That girl there… according to Ruby, she’s a power spirit type of monster, but far worse is that she’s a man-stealing whore and an old hag as well.”
Yukari whispered, “Look who’s talking,” which earned her a fist to the head from Kurumu. Despite this, Kurumu continued her tirade.
“Tsukune, you and Moka have to get out of her as fast as possible. Ruby did some research, and Lorelei is incredibly dangerous to both of you.”
Lorelei’s eyebrow was twitching in anger. “You speak above yourself, succubus!”
With that, three more tendrils of water shot out from the mist surrounding Lorelei. The girls were ready to block, but found there was incredible force behind those tendrils. They were so strong, in fact, that all three were slammed backwards into the surrounding trees, even leaving a dent or two.
Then her attention turned back to Moka, and she also fired a fast burst of water at her. However, Lorelei had forgotten about Tsukune in her rage at the girls, and thus, as the water flew at Moka, Tsukune used his near super-human speed to run over to her. “Moka-san, watch out!”
With his left hand, he pushed her shoulder, causing the rest of her body to be pushed out of the way, as his right hand grabbed her Rosario and pulled it off.
The aura felt earlier in the day returned, as the day seemed to darken with the release of Moka’s vampire powers. Tsukune, in the meanwhile, had taken the full force of the attack, but managed to skid to a stop, leaving a trail in the ground.
Now that Moka was unsealed and her true self revealed, she regarded Lorelei with a frown on her face as she used one of her hands to brush a few stray strands of silver hair back. “I knew there was something immensely wrong about you, but I couldn’t place my finger on it. But now, I see you’ve shown your true colors, Mizusei Lorelei.”
Lorelei just stared at Moka, her own expression matching that of the young vampire. “So? What do you intend to do about it, vampire Akashiya Moka?”
Inner Moka uncrossed her arms down to her sides. “Since you know what I am, this should be simple. I intend to stop you and whatever designs you hold for Tsukune.”
“Is that so,” Lorelei hissed, her eyes shimmering in a bright blue light. “It doesn’t matter to me whether you’re a vampire. You stand in my way of getting Rhine-sama. The rules say we’re not supposed to show our true monster forms, but since all of you seem to disregard that rule, I think I will as well. And then maybe you’ll understand why you cannot hope to fight against me and win.” The mist suddenly gathered and condensed all around Lorelei’s body, her hair merging perfectly with the thick, heavy moisture all around her.
By father’s fangs, Inner Moka cursed inwardly as Lorelei hovered just above the ground, the mist swirling at her feet. “So, I see what you are. An elemental spirit, of the water variety.”
The rest of the gang looked at Inner Moka with worry, and she herself seemed to lose a little of her confidence, as they realized what they were up against. They were going against what was probably a very powerful enemy, who also put Moka at the biggest disadvantage possible for her. But one member of the group was more than happy to take up the challenge.
Mizore smiled. “Water? That’s my domain. I can take care of her.” With that, the yuki-onna stepped forward, waving everyone back. “I’ll make you regret ever laying a hand on Tsukune.” As she spoke, she removed the lollipop from her mouth and breathed out towards Lorelei but the latter just smiled.
“I hadn’t planned on your interference, but it doesn’t make a difference. I have just the perfect thing for you.” Her glowing pendant began to pulse as the mist wrapped itself around in front of her in a dense wall and she began a low chant in her native tongue.
Mizore smirked as she saw the mist began to crystallize quickly. “Too bad for you that you’re made of water. This fight was over before it began.”
“No, it hasn’t even begun,” Lorelei’s eyes flashed as she finished the chant, the wall of ice continuing to thicken in front of her. Three figures could be seen to materialize within the mist. An ominous clanking noise was heard as all three stepped out from within the mist and their forms became clear. The girls’ eyes went wide as they saw what she had summoned. Three knights that appeared like they were from Europe’s medieval times, something they’d only seen in books, standing before them. Unlike Lorelei, these three seemed to be completely solid, as if she’d summoned them separately from the mist. Though their armor was the grayish-silver color of steel, they had insignia and other adornments along their armor that was colored in reds, blues, and gold. Each of them also held a weapon; a spear, a sword, and a bow and arrow.
Once their forms had become solid, they turned to Lorelei. “Dame Lorelei, was ist dein Befehl?” (1)
Despite having been spoken to in German, Lorelei responded to them in Japanese, pointing to Kurumu, Mizore and Yukari. “Restrain those three girls. They’re nothing but hindrances to me.”
“Wie du befiehlst, Geliebte Lorele.i” (2) With that phrase, whatever it meant, the knights moved their weapons into hostile positions. This didn’t go unnoticed by the girls, who raised their own weapons.
“If it’s a fight you want, it’s a fight you’ll get,” Mizore said, her lollipop moving to the side of her mouth as she spoke. However, the knights were faster than they’d anticipated. Mizore was just barely able to raise her ice claws as the knight with the spear slammed into at her. The attacked blocked, she jumped back and fired her ice projectiles, but the knight merely swung his spear around, deflecting them. However, Mizore then caused ice to rise from the ground, and this managed to get the knight. Temporarily off-balance, the knight was now forced to defend as Mizore slashed at him, driving the knight back.
Kurumu, meanwhile, had to deal with the swordsman. As she slashed and flew around him, the knight was forced to parry all her attacks. Getting a little overconfident with her advantage, Kurumu flew in low, claws outset in front of her. However, this time, the swordsman was able to sidestep, and only a split-second roll at the very last instant kept Kurumu from taking more damage, as the blade still managed to graze the tips of her left wing. She rolled to the side, pain coursing through her body.
“Damn you…” she said, getting back up, ready to face the knight again. Yukari, in the meanwhile, had her hands more than full with the knight who wielded the bow and arrows. As he fired his shots, she was so far either managing to stop them before they hit her, or was able to reverse their direction. However, though she may have been considered a genius academically, still being only 11 years old meant she didn’t had the stamina and skill the rest of the girls had. Though she was managing to put up a fight, she didn’t know how much longer she could go for.
Tsukune, in the meanwhile, could only stand by as this happened. “Kurumu-chan! Mizore-chan! Yukari-chan!” he yelled. However, this did have one effect: it brought Lorelei’s attention back to him.
Smiling sweetly, she said, “That’s right; I almost forgot about you.” Tsukune’s eyes went wide with fear, not knowing what she would do. Another water tendril headed towards, though not exactly fast like the others had been hit with.
“Get out of the way!” Moka yelled as she dashed towards Tsukune, to get him out of whatever danger Lorelei would put him in. Unfortunately, this reminded Lorelei of her, and a water tendril shot at her. She was able to dodge as it was followed by more tendrils, but then felt pain zap through her entire body as one managed to hit her from behind. Not only that, but the mist was now getting thicker around her, draining her strength and causing her pain in slower, painful increments.
Thus, Tsukune was left unprotected when the mist that had been snaking towards him was able to wrap around him, and once more, for whatever reason, he couldn’t break free of the water. The tendril lifted him and placed him against a tree. Lorelei appeared out of the mist in front of him, tenderness on her face, despite the situation.
She placed a hand on his cheek and smiled gently. “You just stay here for a while. Soon, we’ll be able to be together again, forever this time.” With that, a band of water bound him to the tree, and he still couldn’t escape.
Thus Tsukune could only watch as the horror took place in front of his eyes. First and foremost, he could see Moka was having immense difficulty against Lorelei. She tried jumping up, away from the tendrils; but when she got out of their reach, the mist would build its way up, and she’d be electrocuted, causing her to fall back down, where the tendrils were. Despite all the water, she managed to dodge, and was keeping the mist at bay by merely using her powerful kick to blow it away. However, either due to Lorelei’s power, of the fact that there was a pond right next to them, every time the mist was blown away, it would just creep back in.
“Moka-san!” Tsukune yelled, and then saw the plight of the other three. Mizore had been having the upper hand, but at one point, the knight with the spear was able to sidestep her, and slammed the butt of his spear into her side. Mizore cried out in pain, and Tsukune yelled out for her as well. Then the spear came whirling around and she tried to dodge it; but the pain from the previous move slowed her down, and she was hit hard in her stomach, knocking her to her knees. She struggled to get back up, only to find the spear so close to her neck that it had drawn a slight trickle of blood. Needless to say, if she made a move, she’d be killed. Mizore cursed as she was forced to accept her defeat.
Kurumu, in the meanwhile, now found the situation reversed with her injury. Instead of the knight parrying her, she was forced to use her claws to parry him, and it was obvious he was skilled as the swings came from all over, seemingly harder each time. She tried to attack back, but doing so left her open, and it was only by sheer luck that she was managing to dodge in the nick of time to avoid any more injury.
Then the swordsman managed to sideswipe her feet, and she couldn’t catch herself in time as she hit the ground with an oomph. As she too tried to get back up, she found the tip of the sword inches away from her face. She made a face as she was now confronted with her own defeat.
Yukari was getting the worst of it. In a careless mistake, her cloak had been pinned to a tree; she’d just barely managed to get out of it in order to avoid taking an arrow in the chest herself. Of course, this resulted in the loss of her hat as well. Still, she had her wand, and that would be able to keep her battle going. She was being forced to use every inch of magic she knew in order to survive, though. She would take a page from Mizore and freeze the arrows, and other times summoned a basin, but to use as her shield. Still, she was wearing out. Her own defeat happened when she paused only a moment to try to catch her breath, but that moment was more than enough for the knight. She heard the woosh of an arrow, and suddenly felt her arm jerk to the side. Looking up, she saw that her arm had been pinned to a tree. Another woosh and a jerk of her arm, and she found both arms were now pinned firmed to a tree. Still she had her wand… until another arrow whizzed by and pinned that through the hoop to a different tree. The knight then nocked another arrow to his bow, this one aimed at Yukari.
All three girls waited for some sort of finishing blow, but it never came. Instead of simply killing them off, they’d done exactly as Lorelei had asked, and merely restrained the girls, in some very effective methods.
And if they were bad, Moka was even worse off. Though she’d been using her kicks to try to break through the mist, there was no end, and not only were the electricity-like zaps painful, she was also feeling her strength trickle away. The voice of Lorelei also taunted her as she battled.
“Give it up, Akashiya-san. There’s no way a vampire can beat me, and any help you might’ve had is out of commission.”
Moka was panting, and there were obvious signs of injury over her body. She’d failed to dodge a few of the water attacks, and thus had been battered. Panting hard, Moka answered, “You think I’ll… lose… to the… likes of you?”
Lorelei laughed, and then, what appeared to be her actual physical body appeared in front of Moka. “But something has been bothering me. Tell me, Akashiya-san… why are you fighting so hard for?” She tilted her head to look back at Tsukune, trapped against the tree then back at the still panting Moka. “This is too much for even one like you. What is Tsukune to you?”
Inner Moka gave a soft chuckle. “Who is Tsukune to me?” Time seemed to stand still as Moka lifted her head, her red eyes focusing on Lorelei’s blue ones. “What makes you think you can ask me such a thing?” She couldn’t allow this to distract her; especially when she had the perfect chance to dispose of Lorelei. She put as much power into her signature kick as she could muster, and slammed her leg into Lorelei’s side. “Know your place!”
That should’ve brought about Lorelei’s defeat… but the kick ended up simply slicing right through Lorelei, and thus that body vanished, only to reappear a few feet away in the mist. “I was simply curious, Akashiya-san. But it seems that you are not too fond of civility – or honesty.” Once again, Inner Moka was forced to jump around in order to dodge the tendrils that followed. Trees were dented as either Moka hit them, or Lorelei’s mist smashed into them. It was only a matter of time before she did end up getting slammed into a tree yet again.
This was too much for Tsukune to merely watch as Moka was toyed with. His eyes glanced to his locket as a determined look appeared on his face. Though nearly all the links were smashed, indicating that it was only a spell of Ruby and Yukari’s that was saving his life, he still would have to risk it in order to do something, even if it meant falling into the darkness of having the blood take over his body.
“Forgive me, Moka-san,” Tsukune said as he closed his eyes and focused to draw upon the vampire power that lay dormant within his blood…
“Don’t you dare try it, you fool!” Inner Moka must’ve seen this and guessed what he was going to do, as she yelled her warning to him. She didn’t need two deadly adversaries, especially in this condition.
This momentary distraction ended up being a big mistake. At that point, she saw a tendril flying at her from the mist, but due to the draining effect of the mist, as well as her injuries, this one caused her to go crashing into more trees, finally landing near the pond. However, it wasn’t done yet. It wrapped around her ankle and lifted her into the air, then slammed her into said pond, before dragging her across the surface and pulling her under as well.
Despite all her talk about nobility and pride, perhaps due to the pain and injuries she’d been experiencing this whole time, she finally screamed in pain as it became too much for even her to handle. She couldn’t hear Tsukune screaming her name over and over, she couldn’t see him struggling against the restraints with all his might, yet she knew. Tsukune…
Finally, the mist yanked her out and dropped her on the land in a soaked, shivering heap. Lorelei materialized from the mist, hovering over Moka with an unreadable expression.
“I would have rather stopped this a long time ago, but I suppose that your pride demanded no less,” Lorelei heaved a sigh, the surrounding mist beginning to thin away. “But do not worry; once Tsukune becomes my Rhine-sama, he will no longer be burdened by any of this. I feel that I owe you that much for the way you all struggled against me.” Moka just coughed up more water as her body trembled heavily from all the damage she had taken.
“Nooo!” Kurumu tried to struggle but her captor held the sword fast. “You can’t take Tsukune – you just can’t!” Tears were flowing down her face. Having Inner Moka being beaten like this made Lorelei’s threat of taking too much to bear. “I care for him – we all care for him! You don’t even know him and you’re taking him away from us, you selfish bitch!?”
Lorelei’s expression seemed pained as she regarded Kurumu. “It’s true. I do not know any of you. Even so, you know NOTHING of what I have been forced to go through – what I have been forced to endure all this time since Rhine-sama disappeared! If you were in my place, you would be doing what I have done to claim happiness once more.”
“Happiness? You say you’ve done all this for your personal ‘happiness’?” Mizore heaved out, trying to push herself up with her hands, the tip of the spear still near her throat. “Did you even ask Tsukune whether or not he’d be happy being taken away from this place – from us? You’ll never be truly happy like this.”
“Perhaps, perhaps not,” Lorelei spoke softly as she looked back at Tsukune. “But I am willing to take the risk.”
“I…won’t…allow it.”
Everyone was stunned to see Inner Moka struggling just to sit up. Her body was so weak but her eyes shone with unnatural light. “I won’t…allow you…to take Tsukune! You’ll have to … kill me first.”
Kurumu, Mizore, and Yukari all gasped at this declaration from a battered and beaten Inner Moka.
“I suppose I must,” she spoke softly as a pillar of mist condensed into a javelin-like shape in her hands. But it never came. Someone, presumably one of the knights, said something in what was probably German, and all noticed that the mist was fading, which allowed Tsukune to finally break free as he ran to Moka. The next thing noticed was that the other girls no longer had any weapons at their throats.
The answer lay in the fact that Lorelei was suddenly falling forward towards Moka, her eyes rolled up in her head. Now where Lorelei had been standing, the swordsman knight who had the point of his sword at Kurumu’s face only moment ago was sheathing his sword. “Mir, Geliebte Lorelei verzeihen…, aber er ist auch nicht der.” (3)
Tsukune by now had managed to run over to Moka, who was struggling to get up on her own, letting out a string of curses as she did so. However, Tsukune saw that she would probably end up falling back down, so before she did, he ran over and caught her, then put her arm over his shoulder to support her. Letting out another small curse, she was just barely able to give Tsukune a look that said, Let go, I can support myself. Her vampire abilities were slowly kicking in as she was healed; but Tsukune could see that they probably weren’t healing her at a fast pace. Her clothes were still wet, and he could see a few sparks jumping around as her body shook from all the abuse she’d taken.
Despite her condition, she still managed to utter very softly, “Are you… alright… Tsukune?”
“I’m alright Moka… don’t try to speak now. You’ll be just fine soon enough.” Or at least that was what he hoped. At that point, Tsukune suddenly felt much more weight on his shoulders and quite a bit of pressure on his chest, and found that Moka, who was clenching her teeth from the pain but keeping all signs of it hidden by having her hair cover her face, was now using Tsukune for all her support, whether she wanted to or not. In fact, it was almost as if she was clinging to him. However, his attention was diverted from this when the group heard a loud cough, coming from the swordsman.
“I believe… you are owed… an explanation,” he said. Astonishingly enough, he was able to speak Japanese, though he had a heavy German accent. His mouth fumbled with the words, as if trying to speak them properly. “I understand… you have animosity towards Herr Lorelei… but please, hear… us out.”
The other three girls had managed to drag their beaten bodies over to where Tsukune and Moka were, and Kurumu gave them a very dirty glare. “Why should we, especially after what you did to us?”
“Because Herr Lorelei has been hurt,” he was getting accustomed to speaking the words, “as much as, if not worse than, all of you.”
German Translations (or at least what they were intended to be):
(1) Lady Lorelei, what is your command?
(2) As you command, Mistress Lorelei
(3) Forgive me, Mistress Lorelei… but he too is not the one
This is going to be on FF.net in a few minutes... and hopefully it won't take quite as long to get ch. 5 out (unfortunately I can't guarantee it though). Also, because Tempest came up with some interesting ideas that don't fit the storyline but I like anyways, I'm going to include them as Omakes at the end of the next few chapters.
btw, will you be letting my OC in ur Fic? I just want a yes or no.
btw, will you be letting my OC in ur Fic? I just want a yes or no.
Yes... but you won't see that till the end
as for Ikeda... he's not entirely bias, or did you forget that Moka still took a beating against Karua (okay, they're vampire sisters... but that's not my point)
... besides, due to next chapter, I needed Moka to lose. My fanfic, my plot.
as for Ikeda... he's not entirely bias, or did you forget that Moka still took a beating against Karua (okay, they're vampire sisters... but that's not my point)
... besides, due to next chapter, I needed Moka to lose. My fanfic, my plot.
ok awesome, so he'll be a tough one seein that its at the end lol.
2009-03-19, 07:10
Author
....*ahem*
"Focus entirely on me, you ordinary soldier."
