Rosario + Vampire: Magic Encounters

Volume Thirteen: Her Ladyship

Ruby...

"Look! The city of humans!" A young witch girl excitedly points to everything around her. "The lights are so twinkly... Just like stars!"

"Hahaha..." A father chuckles at his daughter's wonder. "You really like them, don't you, Ruby?"

"Mhm!"

"Ruby..." A mother softly says. "Someday... I hope a day will come when everyone, humans, wizards, sorcerers, and even monsters...can come together and understand each other."

The young girl happily nods. "Me too, Mama!"

SKRIIIII!

"LOOK OUT!"

Ruby's eyes jolt awake after having...the same nightmare. Her vision is slowly met with the presence of the same people she was trying to... Wait, the boy is still alive? "Wh-Where am I?!" Ruby feels a tinge of pain after suddenly sitting upright on the floor.

"She's awake!"

"You okay, Ruby?"

"..." Ruby didn't answer at first, she could only look at them in confusion at their...concerned expressions. Is this a dream? No, I tried to kill them...then that boy...

"How dare you?!"

"Guys, no!"

"..." Why did he...? Ruby shakes off this temporary question and demands to know the answer to her original one. "Where am I? Who are you?" She asks this new question mainly for the boy she thought she killed.

"I'm Tsukune Aono." He says with a smile. "You're back at our camp, this is where we're staying on our summer trip."

"..." This boy, he smells exactly like a human. But the others, they're monsters, while Yukari and...wait... "That boy..."

"Oh, you mean Elijah?" Yukari asks.

"Tch." Hearing the name of her best friend causes Kurumu to click her tongue. "Still don't know why he did that."

"You just feel bad after hurting him on accident."

"You hurt him too!" Kurumu shouts at Mizore.

"The three of us did," Moka corrects them. "But he'll be fine."

"...Where is he?" Now noticing along with how much of a cramped space it is in this tent, she also notices the absence of... "That boy..."

"Over here..."

A pained groan is heard from behind the group, causing everyone to look at the source. Elijah is lying flat on his back, his torso covered in bandages. Seeing him in such a state only confuses Ruby even further. Why would he protect her after she tried killing them? Surely this must be a trick.

"You really are a dummy, you know?" The Succubus crawls over to the injured boy. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that we could find a resolution that didn't end in someone else being beaten to a pulp."

"Well, now you're the one that's been beaten to a pulp, you dummy!"

"I'll be fine, Kuru."

"If not," The Snow fairy comes along to the boy's aid. "Then you're little Snow Bunny will take care of that witch who caused this.

"Please don't, and why did you call yourself-"

"Impossible..." Everyone's attention is brought back to the new witch. "Coexistence is impossible! How are you..." Wait... Elijah got hurt...protecting me? I can sense his injuries, not only does he have a bruised torso, but many of his ribs have been broken. But now most of them have been healed thanks to a healing spell, but he's still in pain... "Why... Why did you try to protect me? And why are you helping me? I tried to kill your friends. Especially that one."