A/N: This chapter has been edited to be a tad more smooth. This is as of the 29th of June, 2017.

Once again, I'd like to thank you all for making this one of the highest rated fics in this fandom. ;)

Reviewed by: The Immortal Doctor Reid (Check his stuff out if you're a human being with feelings)

Ah yes, the break after finals.

A fun time for most, but for one Tsukune Aono, it could have been better. Tsukune was a young man of about sixteen years, who was about average in just about everything. Average height, athletic ability, intellectuality…

The list goes on. It wasn't anything to do with him, personally. Some said he had a heart of gold! But Tsukune was also a humble person, never accepting praise gracefully.

He had brown hair, brown eyes, and a decent and rather lean build. Most of his acquaintances hung out with him just due to his good nature and his banter! It's just that Tsukune was an average boy, who lived in an average town with average people. His parents were a little different from average, however. They were great people who helped and supported him in whatever hobby or endeavour he undertook.

And then there was his cousin, Kyouko.

They first met and became friends when Kyouko's parents died in a tragic car accident. She was only four years old, and they had a sibling-like relationship, often spending most of their time with one another (when the other wasn't studying). She was a year and a half older than Tsukune, and... Quite possibly his only true friend.

He shook his head from his thoughts yet again, as he lay on his bed, staring nigh blankly at the orphan blue ceiling. It was a pretty sad blue to his eyes, but Tsukune tried to get his thoughts back on track on what had just occurred in the past five or six hours. Taking a deep breath, he put his arms behind his head and sighed worriedly.

First things first – he failed his entry exam, for all the colleges he applied to. As in; did not get a passing grade. As in; no college would accept him in their ranks then.

And if that wasn't enough to grill both his parent's and his own nerves, the fact that his classmates rubbed in their various early acceptances only served to agitate him further. Going home, he couldn't help but grind his teeth on the long walk back home. He couldn't bear disappointing his parents, but here he had gone and done exactly that.

The fact that Kyouko wasn't there to get him out of his glum mood didn't help, either.

On his way home, Tsukune also noticed a drunk lass in bright white priestly robes, gallivanting about in the street. She wasn't causing a fuss, but she didn't seem in full control of her bearings, either. The boy trailed behind her only for a few minutes to ensure she was okay.

However, after losing sight of her for a second, she disappeared. After that, he continued his trek home, dreading the breaking of the news to his folks.

(Some time later...)

"We're not angry…"

"We're just… Disappointed. We know you could've done better, son."

God, those words hurt.

"I know, guys…"

It was a heavy and emotional few minutes after he arrived, but in the end his dad left the house to go get a beer at the local bar, and his mother retired to her room, armed with a few headache tablets and an ice-pack. Tsukune sighed in frustration and too, retired to his own room. He dressed out of his school wear and into his casual clothing, before taking a nap out of exhaustion.

Kyouko then arrived home, noticing the lack of humanity in the household, and went to check on her "little brother". She poked her head in his door to see him napping peacefully, his blanket strewn across himself lazily, without a care in the world.

She would inquire about what happened later, as she thought it best to let him rest at that present moment in time.

It wasn't until a half an hour later that Tsukune was woken up by joyous screaming. He heard his father cheering loudly as well, and was stirred from his sleep. He slowly slumped his way down the stairs of his home, wondering just what in the hell was going on in his house.

He was caught off guard when his dad bear-hugged him and guffawed, twirling his son around like a rag doll. Tsukune caught glimpses of both his mother dancing like a maniac and his dad holding a pamphlet and a letter in his hand. After an excruciating few minutes, Tsukune was finally able to breathe when his father let go of him. Like it was the passing of the torch, Koji Aono then handed his son the letter, tears of pride and joy threatening to trickle from his eyes.

"Dad… What is this?" Tsukune asked, regaining his breath and double checking to see if his ribs were broken. His father beamed at him and opened the pamphlet for him.

"This is your miracle from nowhere, Tsukune! I was walking around town for a while, before some woman happened to give me this... An acceptance letter!" His father declared jovially, hiding the fact that he had actually picked the bundle up from a particularly drunk woman who dropped it.

Tsukune looked to his father with a look of doubt. He couldn't believe the words coming out of his Koji's mouth, nor his mother's supportive cries of joy. So, to confirm his father's words, Tsukune looked down at the letter and read it. And just for safety, he read over it a few more times, inspected the seal, pouring over the letter, checking various authenticity checks. Apparently, this "Yokai Academy" accepted people more leniently than other schools. Oddly enough, there was indeed a pamphlet that went with the letter, but it didn't reveal much about the school.

Actually, the only thing it did reveal was where the bus would pick up any hopeful students, should they be accepted. Tsukune blanked for a moment, truly not knowing how to react to this situation. He promptly fainted, making his parents yelp in surprise and rush to keep him from falling.

Their ruckus attracted Kyouko's attention, manifesting so as she bolted down the stairs with a horrified expression, thinking that she was hearing bloody murder being committed just a few metres away.

It was only after an hour that Tsukune awoke on his couch, his head in Kyouko's lap, and his parents looking on at him worriedly. He rubbed his head as he rose up and took a shallow breath. He assured his mother and father that he was indeed fine, and sighed, before looking at his family.

"So… Yokai Academy, huh? Should be fun…" He said flatly.

Tsukune felt as if it was going to change his, plain, average life. For the better or the worse – who could tell?

(The next week…)

He had one week until he was to go to the acclaimed "Yokai Academy" and he couldn't shake that sinking feeling in his stomach. It was neither a positive or negative feeling, really, just an indecisive one.

He did feel much different compared to his previous years, however. Over the week before he was to go away, Tsukune felt small amounts of energy come to him, and the incessant need to "work out" couldn't be shaken. Where he had previously allocated time to messing around on his computer, reading, or studying, was now dedicated to… moving, and exercising.

He still made time for his cousin, who too seemed to feel different. She couldn't explain it very well, but there were some differences to what he was feeling. From what he gathered, Kyouko had started feeling slightly warmer than usual, and felt the need to exercise and "move", in her words.

Then there were his parents. His mother and father had spent a few hours more sleeping in than usual, or even went to bed, an hour or four earlier. It truly confused him, but by the Friday he stopped paying much attention to it. Maybe the spark of their love had been re-lit for God knew what reason. He didn't want to think on it. He was just happy they'd stopped pestering him! ...And on a related note, he had yet to receive a uniform from the school, even though his admittance letter had been posted to the Academy the week before. Most other Japanese academies were ruthlessly efficient, according to what he'd heard from classmates.

Getting down from where he was doing chin-ups, using the door frame as a makeshift bar, Tsukune got a drink of water from the bottle that was situated on his desk. It had a bunch of papers strewn across, with pencils and erasers neatly placed to the table's left side. The papers themselves had a bunch of crude drawings on them, another thing Tsukune did now in his spare, spare time. His subjects ranged from reality to fantasy – things he saw in his home to mythical lands and creatures. There was one creature in particular he paid attention to on his desk.

A drawing of a child, that had glowing yellow eyes and bat-like wings protruding of its back. It also had a tail with a spear shaped tip. It hovered a few feet off the illustrated ground, smiling happily. It was the drawing that captivated him the most. He didn't know the name of the creature, which confused him. The thought of drawing it came into his head around Wednesday. He placed the drawing down and took another massive gulp of water. He shivered at the cool liquid sliding its way down his parched throat, and he sighed after finishing the bottle. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake the feeling of school-changing-jitters.

The usual thoughts ran through his head when someone was introduced to a new environment in which they had no previous encounters with.

'How will I fit in?'

'What will I do first?'

'What if there's something that's not right with the school?'

'Where's the campus going to be?'

'Will I make any friends?' Was perhaps the most important thought he had, in his opinion. He truly wanted a fresh start where he wouldn't be recognised just as "that guy, Tsukune". He wanted to be… more than average.

'More… More than average.' He smiled to himself at the thought, and excitement found its way into his hodgepodge of emotions.

With a rare smile, he resigned himself back to "preparing" for school, again. He began packing at the start of the week, but went through the process slowly as to sift out the clutter and to pack what he really needed to bring.

Truly, he wasn't lazy!

He saw the sizable bag and briefcase, which was adjacent to the bag and cleanly folded two more shirts and one more pair of warm black socks he could wear, before putting it neatly in his bag. He carefully placed a few sheets of drawing paper and some pencils in the briefcase, along with his old, small pencil case and many notebooks.

Along with the other items he packed, which included a few more sets of clothing and some memorabilia from way back when, he was just about ready to go.

Now he only needed to rest, before the bus driver would come early in the morning and take him away to Yokai Academy. To Tsukune, it certainly felt like it was going to be a welcome change. After finishing up his dinner, and saying his goodnights, he stripped down to his sleeping gear before crawling underneath the covers of his bed.

His dreams were vivid, yet vague all the same, but he got a good and plentiful nights rest.

(That Sunday…)

Tsukune woke up sharply at six in the morn. He reached out for his bedside table and clasped his water bottle, which he had refilled before dinner the previous night. He took a swig from the bottle and got out of bed to do his morning routine – which consisted of a little indoor exercise, a shower, teeth brushing, then breakfast.

For his first day at Yokai Academy, he dressed himself in a pair of jeans, a plain black t-shirt and a pair of white sneakers, topped off with a wristwatch on his left wrist and a black jacket over his shirt. A simple look that would hopefully not draw too much attention. Although he did want to be noticed in the school, breaking out of the dress code just wasn't his means of getting a response.

As he collected his things, Tsukune hugged his mother, father and Kyouko in a teary farewell, before he waved goodbye to them and headed for the bus stop.

Halfway through his trek, he noticed a yellow bus pull up next to where he was walking, beside the pathway. He looked around, before going to the front door of the large bus and peeking in.

The sight that met him was a woman in her mid-thirties, who had most of her face hidden by the shadow, cast by her blue hat. She wore a blue uniform, both in a colour and a design that Tsukune hadn't seen before in his life. She examined him, her eyes roaming up and down him once, before smirking evilly.

She was Japanese, as far as he could tell. Not one of his regular neighbourhood drivers, either.

Tsukune was a little uncomfortable, but he was pretty sure that he could overpower her if she attempted to try anything. Her grin faded into an amused one, however, as a small sigh escaped her lips. She lifted the tip of her hat up and looked at the young man. He smiled back, politely.

"En route to Yokai Academy, yes?" She asked, being sure to confirm before she greeted the boy. Tsukune nodded as an answer and she motioned for him to sit down. He looked at the rest of the bus and saw that no-one else was there. He attributed it to the fact that his stop might've been the first on the bus driver's run.

He took a seat in the middle of the bus, his bag in his lap and his briefcase down at his feet. He looked to the bus driver.

"My name is Tsukune Aono, it's nice to meet you…" He greeted, awaiting her name as an answer. He saw her smile darkly once more in the reflection of the drivers mirror and for a split second, he swore her eyes glowed yellow.

"That's a nice name. I think you'll do just fine in Yokai Academy." She replied. Tsukune was a little worried that he might've just been abducted by this lady, but she sounded like she knew about the school.

She might've been his only other source of information, besides the non-informative pamphlet his dad had given him.

"Oh? What do you know about Yokai Academy?" Tsukune asked tentatively. The bus driver met his gaze through the rear view mirror and her expression turned serious.

"I know a lot. What do you want to know, specifically?" She asked back, making Tsukune contemplate momentarily before formulating his questions.

"How is the school? How big is it? Anything… out of the ordinary about it, that I should know?" Tsukune asked. The bus driver seemed to mull it over, and Tsukune saw that they were heading into a dark looking tunnel. She sighed and straightened herself in the driver's seat. He noticed that she wasn't stopping anywhere else along their journey, and had not picked up anyone else on the run.

"It's a fine school, lots of students, roughly I'd say anywhere from fifteen hundred to two thousand people there, including staff – and myself. And, yes, it's a fairly ordinary school. Campus is on the school grounds, so you don't have to worry about anything like that. Like I said, Aono, you'll do just fine…" She reassured him. Tsukune absorbed the new info like a sponge absorbs water and thanked the bus driver.

It was then he realised they had gotten out of the long tunnel, and had come out to the other side. The road ended abruptly, but overlooked a blood red sea. He was shocked to see the red tide, and observed that the sky was slightly off-hue, as well. He was definitely frightened.

The bus pulled to a sudden stop, and the bus driver pulled a lever at the front, opening the front doors. She looked back to him and smirked evilly again.

"This is your stop, Aono. Yokai Academy is in the distance over there." She said pointing past the suspicious and scary looking forest, and to the massive construct that lay in the horizon, above the trees. Tsukune cursed himself for his bad luck.

'Well, at least I've got my cellphone. Worse comes to worst, I'll just give dad a ring.' He thought to himself. He curtly thanked the bus driver and exited the vehicle, making sure to grab his things. He stepped out right in front of a dastardly scarecrow, which pointed in the direction of Yokai Academy.

'It even has a sign.' He thought again. He tightened his grip on his briefcase and bag, before taking a deep breath and heading to the shady looking establishment. He took a step past the border which separated him from the exit to the forest, and forwarded on. There were various arrows which pointed him in the right direction. After a minute or two of walking, he found himself in a clearing that didn't seem too notable.

Rather, it was the nearing whirring and pedalling sound which attracted his attention. He whipped his head behind himself and gently lowered his belongings to the ground, ready to react without a moment's notice. A worried looking girl with bubble-gum pink hair was riding her bike shakily, carrying a bag of her own on her back. Her eyes widened when she saw Tsukune, and swerved to get out of the way of crashing into him.

She reacted too lately, however, and she and her bike were on a dead collision with the poor young man. Tsukune widened his eyes too, but side stepped the bike just before impact and lifted the girl off the bike gently, all in a matter of mere milliseconds. The nice looking girl was shocked beyond belief, and regained her steady breathing within a few seconds of being caught. Tsukune himself was stunned, as well, yet remained calm.

'Where did these reflexes come from?'

Her bike cascaded into the forest before finally coming into contact with a tree. Tsukune let go of the girl once he was sure she could stand on her own. He put his right hand on her left shoulder and used his most soothing tone of voice.

"Are you alright?" He asked, gaining a shaken nod as an answer. She bowed in thanks and smiled at him. He blushed at the gesture and felt something stir inside of him. She too, blushed when she caught his scent.

'Oh my… he smells so… good…'

"I'm Tsukune Aono, it's nice to meet you." He greeted with a bright smile. The girl visibly blushed at his greeting, yet steeled on.

"It's nice to meet you too, Tsukune. A-And thank you for saving me! Uh… My name is Moka Akashiya." She thanked, making Tsukune chuckle humorously. He rubbed the back of his head with his hand before picking up his bag and briefcase once more.

"You're welcome, Moka. Would you like to walk with me to school? It's my first day here and I'm kind of nervous…" He asked. He noticed that she was wearing what oddly looked like a green uniform with a skirt. He silently cursed himself for not having a uniform of his own. The girl's stare widened noticeably but she ended up smiling at him brighter and nodded.

"I'd like that." She said, with Tsukune smiling back and walking towards the Academy at a slower pace than before. It was a nice walk, and they made simple conversation, yet Tsukune could tell there was something nagging Moka. Every time they got a little closer, Moka fidgeted more and became more uncomfortable, until they came to a complete stop.

"Tsukune… You smell so good… I'm sorry, I can't help myself!" She exclaimed, launching herself at him. Tsukune was just about to ask why, until a small stinging sensation ran through his neck, followed by an intense bout of pure pleasure, coursing through his veins. His body shivered, and he realised that his blood was being sucked by Moka, who had a firm grip on him – too firm for a dainty woman like her.

Her teeth were sunken into the nape of his neck, and she was even moaning minutely at the taste of his blood.

'This is unlike anything I've ever tasted! It's so delicious!' She thought to herself, as she retreated her fangs and licked the tiny wound clean for any trace of Tsukune's delectable blood. She pulled away from his neck, missing his warmth and licking her lips dreamily. Tsukune was shocked and a little light headed at the sensation, both due to the blood loss and blood relocation.

He calmed down and looked to Moka curiously, who looked at him guiltily, before staring at her feet and blushing.

"I'm so sorry, Tsukune… I understand if you don't want to talk to me, now. It's just that your blood smelled so good." Moka admitted before she headed off and walked away from him lowly, looking glum as anything.

'My first chance to make a friend and I blow it jumping him!' Moka thought to herself sadly. That was, until she felt Tsukune's steady grip on her shoulder. He turned her around to face him and smiled at her.

"I'm not angry at you, Moka, I'm just a little confused, is all." Tsukune said, opening up his sentence for an answer from the girl. She looked at him with widened eyes and gasped quietly. She then cleared her throat.

"You see, I'm a Vampire, and I… haven't fed this morning. I was kinda woozy during the bike ride, a-and that's why I almost hit you. A-and when I got close to you, I could smell your blood. It truly is unlike anything else I've ever tasted… So exotic…" Moka explained, slowly getting quieter until she was muttering to herself at the end. Tsukune looked at her to see if she was joking, and observed that her expression remained calm and neutral.

'Did I just hear her say that she's a Vampire?' He thought to himself. He decided to neither completely believe nor disprove her claim, given that she did just actually, factually drink his blood. But everything else about the cute girl seemed normal – she didn't have any visible fangs, she was out in the sun, not burning up, and she wasn't sickly pale looking.

"Ah, that makes perfect sense!" He chuckled.

'If she's crazy, I'll indulge her until someone else can help me…' He thought, defensively.

"Its fine, Moka, you can drink my blood whenever you want. Just please ask me first, next time." Tsukune assured her, with an ever present smile. Moka blushed and gasped at his proclamation. She then hugged him tightly, catching Tsukune off-guard a little.

"Thank you, so much, Tsukune! You don't know how much this means to me!" Moka exclaimed. Tsukune hugged her back, although a little hesitantly.

Yet, both of them felt they had just made their first friend at Yokai Academy. Tsukune let go of Moka and edged towards the looming grounds of the Academy. Moka followed shortly, walking in step with him and edging closer than she was before. He enjoyed the silence between them before what she said sunk into his mind.

'I don't know how much it means to her?' He turned to Moka and slowed down to a stop in his step.

"Hey Moka, what did you mean? Uh, when you said that-"

"You didn't know how much that what you did meant to me? Um… Well, back in my old school, I was the outcast, and… I never had a single friend. They'd all pick on me because I was, well, different… And when I did what I did to you, I-I thought you'd shun me like the rest of the students at my old school." Moka explained, her chipper mood faltering. Tsukune listened intently, absorbed the information – and sympathised with her. He too, was bullied for a bit in primary school.

Tsukune then put his hand on her shoulder and smiled at her warmly, making her look up into his eyes. His gaze seemed to pierce through her, and whether he meant it or not, it seemed as if his next words spoke to more than just her.

"Well, I'm glad I could be your first friend, Moka. Come on; let's get to school, huh?" Tsukune asked, pointing to the Academy with his thumb. Moka nodded with a bright smile of her own, which made the boy blush.

'She really is pretty…'

"Let's. I hope we're in the same classes, Tsukune." Moka said hopefully. Tsukune made a hum in agreement and led her to the school. A question ran through Moka's mind, however.

'Wait… didn't the brochure say that this was a girl's only school?' She thought, reaching her inner personalities own psyche, as well.

'Something isn't right here.' Moka's inner self thought. Her thoughts didn't reach her outer's, however. Nevertheless, she too, couldn't deny the exuberant taste of Tsukune's blood.

Their minds became focussed, and their thoughts became clearer – much faster than if they were to drink donated blood.

(A few minutes later…)

Tsukune walked with Moka for a while before noticing something odd with the school – namely, the students. He had yet to see a single male pupil in the entire area since he and Moka arrived and passed through the gates of the establishment.

Not even a male faculty member – which scared him a little. A few women were giving him odd looks, and others - looks of an utterly different nature. All the attention made Tsukune a little uncomfortable.

He heard a tone, and traced the source back to the schools public announcement system, which had speakers set out through the entire campus. There was then a voice – female still – which told him and his newly made friend to separate, and arrive at different areas of the school, to be sorted into home rooms. He turned to Moka and smiled sadly.

"Well, I guess I'll see you around soon, Moka. We should meet up and talk at lunch today, how does that sound?" Tsukune asked. Moka smiled at him softly and nodded.

"That sounds nice; I'll see you soon, Tsukune." Moka said, farewelling Tsukune and finally parting ways. Tsukune turned and headed to his designated meeting place, taking a deep breath to steel himself. He noticed that some of the girls around him looked odd in miniscule ways. He wasn't one to judge by appearance – quite the opposite, in fact. As he slowly trailed his glance around, he couldn't shake the feeling of butterflies fluttering in the pit of his stomach.

It didn't help the fact that he blushed every time a girl looked at him.

He saw some girls with small horns poking out of their heads, mostly hidden by hair and revealed by small parts, some girls with tails here and there, and some girls with two sets of eyelids if he were to look closely. It dawned on him then and there, amidst the numerous numbers of monster girls.

'Vampire. She said she was a vampire. Those horns aren't cosplay or anything. And that chick definitely blinked… Sideways.'

'There's not another guy in sight. Anywhere.'

'I am truly in a school full of monsters. A girls school full of monsters. Forget about fitting in – how will I survive here?' Tsukune thought to himself, looking around at the massive quad area and admiring the size of the shade that had been set up in the centre.

Even if it was a school full of monster women, it still looked extremely nice. The towering, gothic architecture, the pristine stone walls, and individually crafted gargoyles, staring over the student body protectively. Each little nook and cranny of the Academy had been hand crafted and made through blood, sweat, and tears.

'I've never been one to miss an opportunity, though…' Tsukune thought with an audible sigh. Maybe he could enjoy his brief time with his new friend before they threw him out on his backside and sent him back home.

That thought made him fearful, though. What if they found out he was human? Would they eat him, kill him? Who knew? And even if he survived the assault, who's to say his parents would want him back after being disappointed like that?

The fear of disappointing mom & dad vastly outweighed the fear of being eaten alive; that was for sure. So instead of him "wasting" his fear upon some silly appearance-biases, why not relish in what little time he had?

He was drawn out of his thought when he caught sight of a meeting hall, laid in between another building and some open space. He poked his head out the left side of the building and saw a soccer field. He saw the multitude of students pouring in the double doors, and tried his best to blend in as he entered the hall as well. He estimated around one hundred and fifty women; including staff were in the small hall.

Although, being one in a crowd of many who were almost all wearing the same uniform didn't make blending in that easy. But for the first twenty minutes of orientation, no-one seemed to notice him – or rather, no-one made note of him out loud. Several women around the area took notice, but kept quiet.

'Meow?' Thought the cat-morph Shizuka Nekonome, teacher for one of the many classes of freshmen, as she peered at the young man. She looked on at Tsukune with a perplexed look from a fair distance, of which he didn't notice.

'Hmm? Is that a new guy the Headmistress hired? I wasn't aware we were getting new staff.' Thought the Physical Education teacher, Okuto Kotsubo, before she silenced the murmuring and chattering student body with a loud whistle, drawing almost everybody's attention.

'A new faculty member, it seems. I certainly hope he survives longer than the last…' The resident freshman math teacher - Kagome Ririko - thought, sneakily adjusting her bra and leather corset underneath her less-than-appropriate teaching wear.

Currently, the only human in the room blushed a bright red and still couldn't shake the feeling of butterflies fluttering in his stomach whenever he met another girl's gaze. His musings were cut short by the PE teacher announcing some things he really should've been paying attention to.

"…You should have your Home Room group number in one of your pockets…" She said, Tsukune's attention being drawn to those words for a moment, before he patted himself down for anything in his pockets. He rifled through his pants and found nothing, and checked the pocket inside of his jacket.

'No… why would it be in there?' He asked himself. Yet he still pushed his hand in and felt a piece of folded card. He withdrew it and unfolded it, seeing his name, Home Room group number, and several other important dates and times, such as the timetable for how general classes worked, and which periods in which he could select three of his elective classes. The card also had his dorm and locker number written down on it.

He was in group number three, but that wasn't his most pertinent thought.

'What the hell? When did this get here? The only person who has been that close to me all day is Moka, and how could she have had it beforehand?' He reasoned, denoting no possible explanation for the paper's sudden and almost magical appearance. He swallowed a lump in his throat in slight fear, but kept his calm on the outside.

Once more, his thoughts were halted by the sound of the PE teacher's autocratic voice. She was calling out the Home Room teachers.

"…And group three, you'll be with Miss Nekonome, the woman on my far right…" She said, pointing to said cat-woman, who smiled at her hopefuls and led them out of the assembly area. Tsukune looked at his card once more, and double checked the number. Confirmed, he went with Miss Nekonome to their new home room. The sign on the front of the door said "Room 17".

It was a medium sized room with windows on one side, and exits to a main hall on the other. At the front of the room were a black board and the teacher's desk. The teacher ushered her students in the room and directed them to sit wherever they liked. Tsukune chose a seat near the far left corner of the room, right next to a window.

And immediately after he sat down, several girls took seats behind him, to his front, and even tried to fight for the seat to his immediate right. He pretended not to notice for the moment, and the teacher reprimanded the girls for their violent behaviour.

'This has certainly never happened before – just what is going on here?' He was both intrigued and confused by the change from his previous school. He sent sneaky and investigating glances to his right, and saw some pretty beautiful women.

Once again, he felt the flutter of butterflies in his stomach as he caught himself staring at the girls.

"If you can't pick who can sit in that seat, then no-one can have it!" Miss Nekonome said all-too-cheerily, making the girls cease their squabble disdainfully and sit down in other seats.

The cat woman also seemingly ignored that Tsukune was a male. Yet somehow, her lack of acknowledgement only served to worry Tsukune.

The teacher drew some papers from the top drawer of her desk and flipped through them for a bit, skimming over what she had to tell the students.

After a few seconds, she smiled at her class and threw the papers away.

"Alright, good morning class. My name is Miss Nekonome, and I will be your home room teacher for your time at Yokai Academy." She began, stopping non-abruptly when she heard the loud shuffle of rushed footsteps, coming towards her room.

"Meow?"

In a violent push, the door was flung open and almost torn off its hinges, revealing a beautiful and flushed looking girl panting heavily.

"Hah… Sorry… I'm late… Couldn't… Hah… find… room!" She managed to speak through heavy breathing, looking at the teacher hopefully. Nekonome smiled sweetly, her cat tail waving to and fro behind her.

"It's fine for now, don't worry. Just don't make it a habit, alright?" Miss Nekonome asked, gaining a skittish nod as an answer, along with a relieved smile. Moka stepped into view of the whole classroom, shocking Tsukune a little.

'Oh? Awesome!' He thought, genuinely excited to see at least one person he knew. This wasn't to say that he wasn't going to make other friends, however. Just the thought of someone familiar in his class made him more comfortable.

Moka didn't know where to sit, and thus didn't move from her spot, but turned her head around to look at the teacher fervently. And, as if answering the unsaid question, Nekonome smiled at Moka once more.

"Why don't you take that seat, there, Miss…" Nekonome began, pointing to the seat next to Tsukune's, yet awaiting for Moka's name.

"My name is Moka Akashiya." Moka answered, with a curt bow, before she walked up and sat in the seat next to Tsukune. After sitting down, she immediately smiled to Tsukune, who smiled back. The two of them made no move for a conversation beyond a greeting, however, as to keep their attention on the teacher.

She no doubt had some important information to share with the class, after all.

"As you all know, Yokai Academy is an institution for monster-women. More specifically, the curriculum is designed to integrate the monster world into human society peacefully. To do this, I must first lay out some ground rules…" Nekonome began academically, before staring at a student who looked like they had something to say. The student in question was a rough-looking woman who wore pants with her uniform instead of a skirt. She had a lazy, predatory smirk and had her arms crossed over her… Large chest. Tsukune looked down, thinking hard and trying to ignore the gaze which was boring into the back of his head.

He pinched his arm covertly, once.

Twice.

And a third time.

'Oh no.'

'Please, God.'

'I'm truly stuck in a school full of monster-girls... Well, if I die here, at least I would've made one friend in my time in this place.' Tsukune thought bitterly, looking to Moka once more.

"Excuse me, Miss Nekonome, but why should we even bother with assimilation, anyway? Why don't we try and overpower the humans?" She asked, gaining only a few murmurs and whispers of agreement from some of her classmates. Nekonome looked to the student with a look of slight disappointment.

"Well, Miss Komiya, humans outnumber us monsters greatly. Everyone knows that only females of a monster species can use yokai energy, and that men only carry the genes recessively. This is why it'd be futile to attack the humans. And it is also why we must integrate ourselves with human society – to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, and to attain peace in the world." Nekonome explained half-sagely, smiling all the while. Seeing that Saizo was alright with the explanation she gave, Shizuka continued, sifting through her papers once more.

Komiya sent a voracious smirk to both Tsukune and Moka, making Tsukune widen his eyes in alert.

"…Ah yes, the rules. If there is one rule you follow during your tenure at Yokai Academy, let it be this: You are not allowed to reveal your monster form to anyone. Oh! And you aren't allowed to kill anyone. Breaking these rules will result in either expulsion, or death. I can't remember which is the punishment for which, so be extra careful in dealing with other students, alright?" Shizuka recalled, her notes not telling her anything useful, and forgetting a lot of what the Headmistress had told her. She inwardly sighed at the notes she had made during the lecture.

'Fish, fish, fish… DAMN IT THAT'S ANOTHER FISH DRAWING! Why did I have to screw myself over like this?' She scorned herself, mentally. Her students looked at one another, waiting for her to continue on. She gulped nervously and shifted uncomfortably, her tail twitching behind her restlessly as she tried to find some semblance of recall in her notes.

A student put their hand up shyly, noticing the teacher's monster features showing, clearly.

"Ah, yes, any q-questions?" Nekonome asked hurriedly, looking at the young woman who had her hand up nervously. The girl gulped and pointed to Shizuka's cat ears and cat tail.

"Uh, Miss, your tail…" She pointed out. Nekonome meowed confusedly, before noticing the features herself. They quickly receded into her body and she regained some inkling of what she had to tell the students. She got out a ream of office paper from the middle drawer in her desk and began handing them out to her class.

"These are your student calendars and timetables for the first week. As you can see, today is orientation; tomorrow is compulsory class introductions, and the day after that – Wednesday, I believe – is when you get to choose elective classes. The following day is when you get to choose what clubs you want to be in, and Friday is the club orientation day. " Shizuka explained thoroughly, the memories of what her boss said coming back to her.

"Ooh! Yokai Academies' Clubs are awesome, by the way! Any one student can join more than a few of them for extracurricular fun – though the best is the Newspaper Club!" She announced proudly. Her enthusiasm was met by an impolite scoff from the Komiya girl.

"I'll leave you all to have a look your timetables individually. You can all talk now, but please keep the noise to a minimum, alright?" Miss Nekonome asked rhetorically, before she pulled out some more notes she took during the Headmistress's lecture, and began studying them.

After she sat down and buried her head in her papers, the students started to converse with one another.

Moka and Tsukune began looking over the timetable and calendar. Tsukune looked at them and analysed where he had to go to acquire his dorm and locker keys. Moka noted where she had to go for information requiring her blood packs.

After all, she couldn't always be hungry around Tsukune…

'I think he'd notice after a while… But blood packs just wouldn't taste the same anymore…' She thought dreamily, thinking back to his blood – and his compassionate personality. She truly felt comfortable around him, as she hoped he did around her. She looked to him as he concentrated hard and perused the timetable diligently – all the while thinking of how handsome he looked.

'No matter what "personality" this Aono has, he still reeks of human weaknesses.' Moka's inner, vampire persona thought judgingly of her Outer persona's musings and infatuation with the young Aono. She noticed that a young beauty down front with teal-blue hair was staring at Tsukune intently.

Tsukune noticed this too, having finished reading up on his calendar. He met the young woman's gaze and felt a little odd. It was a different feeling than the butterflies in his stomach before, more akin to a small headache. He broke their eye contact swiftly and rubbed his temples soothingly, already feeling the pain go away.

'That was odd. Did she just try and… Mind control me? What the hell kind of monster could do that?' He asked himself mentally, rubbing his chin in thought of the pretty girl. The thought was quickly discarded in favour of a more pressing issue.

He ruminated about his current situation. He figured it would be best to call his dad as soon as possible and explain things to him as rationally as he could. Whilst the entire situation sounded mind bogglingly ridiculous, he knew his dad believed that he wouldn't tell lies.

Tsukune and Moka's separate thoughts were interrupted by the piercing tone of the bell ringing through their ears. Nekonome cheered for her luck and stood up cheerily, happy to get rid of her students for the moment. Her hands planted firmly on her desk, and her tail flicking joyously, she grinned at her students.

"Ah! And that, students, is the lunch bell! Lunch goes for one hour, from one 'o' clock, to two 'o' clock. After lunch is done, come back to this room, and I'll inform you about… uh…" She began proudly, not knowing what to say next, as she hadn't planned her lesson this far ahead. She looked at the students, who looked back to her expectantly, eagerly awating to get out of the classroom.

"Class dismissed! Goodbye, children!" She shouted, shooing her students out of the room. As soon as they were out, she sighed and closed the door behind them. She slumped down in her chair and looked over papers. The last few piles she pulled out were even worse than her first – the latter having scratch marks and chew marks over them, making whatever they said unreadable.

However, her attention was now drawn to briefly thinking about the young boy that was in her class. Sure, he was a looker, but something else about him made her crave her hourly helping of fish that much more. She smiled to herself as she pulled out a lunchbox from the bottom drawer of her desk and opened it.

"Ah well, I'm sure the Headmistress has plans for him I don't need to concern myself with. Fishy fish, here I come!" She mumbled to no-one in particular, before digging in to the delicacy.

(With Tsukune and Moka…)

As soon as he exited the classroom, he was bombarded with requests of "lunch dates" with some of the other students. He and Moka managed to chat their lunch away with some new friends, up until a certain woman approached their new group.

Saizo Komiya.

The look she gave him spelt one thing, and one thing only.

'Oh... Shit. I am going to die.' He thought, feeling the choking presence of the brash female in front of him. He stood and matched her predatory gaze, as she darted a lustful gaze to Moka.

"Hey Akashiya, why are you hanging out with a wimp like him, when you could be "hanging out" with me?" She asked the beautiful vampire girl, who backed up behind Tsukune defensively, not liking the vibe the rapacious woman was giving. Tsukune was wondering just why this girl was doing what she was doing, but the muscle tone on her scared him into thinking other thoughts – mainly regarding his survival and Moka's safety.

"I'm quite fine here, with Tsukune." Moka said politely. Some of the other women backed up behind Tsukune as well, and he swallowed another lump in his throat. The Komiya female snarled at Moka's response and stood a few metres back from Tsukune and the girls behind him. Taking a breath in the slight reprieve, Tsukune noticed that… pure energy was amassing around the girl at an impressive rate, and soon, her skin started to morph.

'Oh no. Oh shit. Oh fuuuuuuuuuuuck.'

"After I crush that little wimp, I'll show you what a real woman can do, Moka!" The young Orc stated, before she morphed into her "true", monster form. She grew to eight feet tall, with rippling muscles and spikes dotted over her body.

A challenger had presented herself in the most over-the-top fashion the boy had ever seen, and instead of cowering in fear and running for his life, like he'd normally do, something else happened.

A pang of energy coursed through him. Just enough to quell his fear, and to keep his mind calm.

Moka was quivering behind Tsukune, hoping that he wouldn't get badly hurt. She was ashamed that she couldn't do anything to help, due to the rosary around her neck sealing away her vampiric powers and strength.

'Even if I'm not a fighter, there has to be some way of helping him! I'm not going to let my first friend die!' She thought to herself valiantly, ready to step in at a moment's notice.

'Maybe I should talk her down? Was I really ever any good at talking? Ah shit… First day here, and I'm already dead meat…' Tsukune thought bitterly, limbering up while he could still move. He estimated the giant Orc's weaknesses, and determined that not much damage could be done to the monster-girl's torso, arms, or legs. His best bet was to aim for her head or her joints, where her natural armour might not be as thick.

"Well, what are you going to do about it?" She asked Tsukune as she flared her monster energy towards the young Aono, with the intent of scaring him.

Instead, it made him stand up straighter, and puff his chest out more. He felt his muscles ripple and tear within milliseconds, before repairing themselves immediately. He inwardly snarled at the pain, even though it lasted for only a few seconds.

It was as if something inside him reacted with her energy.

"Well, one thing's for sure – I'm not going to stand by and let you hurt Moka." He said triumphantly.

A/N: Skronkus