Rosario + Vampire: Magic Encounters

Volume Eighteen: Corrosion

Tsukune

...Ow...ow...OW! OW! OW!

My eyes jolt awake and I sit up from my bed. I feel a bead of cold sweat roll down my face, my breath feels ragged, and my neck is throbbing like hell. I look at the time, seeing that it's just after midnight. I place my fingers where it hurts the most on my neck...exactly where Moka bit me when I had to take down that Warlock guy.

"Man, it still hurts. It's been an entire day and it hasn't healed? It's never even hurt like this before when Moka bit me." I wince as I feel my neck throb again. "Did the punctures get infected or something? Well, I'm sure it's nothing major." I think it's best if I try to get to sleep.

Lucky for me, I was able to get some proper shut-eye. However, I still woke up with a slight tinge in my neck. Should I see the nurse about this? No! I don't the school would like to know that Moka has been sucking my blood. So should I go to Moka? I don't want her to worry about me either. I don't want anyone to worry. But...what if this is the first stage of becoming a vampire or something? I know the Inner Moka told me otherwise of how it works but I can't help but shake this uneasy feeling in my stomach about this whole thing. What if...she's been giving her blood to me too many times? I take a deep breath to try and calm myself down. Alright, Tsukune, just relax.

"Tsukune!"

Well, speak of the devil and he shall arrive. Well, in this case, it would be a Vampire with the face of an angel. Wow, that was corny even for me.

I greeted Moka with a smile as she skipped her way toward me. "Morning, Moka."

"Morning, Tsukune!" She smiled back.

"You're up earlier than usual."

"Well, yeah! Don't you remember what Ms. Nekonome told us yesterday?" I tilt my head, saying that my dumb self does in fact not remember. "Today's the day we'll elect a class president!"

"Huh? Even though we're already past our summer break?"

Moka giggles. "Yeah. It turns out that Ms. Nekonome completely forgot during the first month of school and decided to do it now. I love her as a teacher but she can be a little clueless sometimes."

I chuckle. "Yeah, well, you're not wrong."

"Still," She continues. "We need to at least be prompt for her today! She is trying after all." I nod in response. Moka squints her eyes at me, looking concerned. "Are you okay, Tsukune? You look a little pale."

Oh boy... "I'm alright, Moka..." So I say, but that doesn't stop her from getting a closer look at my neck. It's a little too close, not that I'm complaining or anything.

"Are those..." Moka gasped. "Those are...they can't be... Are those marks from my fangs?!" She retakes a step closer to me and starts tracing her fingers around the bite marks. My bites always heal without a trace...don't they?

"..." This wouldn't be so bad...but then again, my heart feels like it's going to burst from my chest. I increase the distance between me and Moka, chuckling nervously as I do so. "I'm alright, Moka, really. But my heart gets all giddy and jumpy whenever you're close to me like that." Wow, her hair smells even more nicer today.

"Oh..." Moka looks away with a hint of red rising to her cheeks. Realizing what I just said to her, I internally facepalm. Nice going, you idiot! Please don't take it the wrong way- "Tsukune," She looks back at me, her smile never faded. "I feel the same way..."

"..." What did she just say? There's...there's no way she just... Even if she did there's no way she meant it that way, right? She just meant that I make her heart feel that way whenever I'm around, right? But that doesn't make it any better! What do I do from here?!