The days blurred into each other, a rush of review sessions and whispered prayers to exam gods who probably had better things to do.
A few afternoons later, the exam preparations continued in the Newspaper Club room. The long table was covered with textbooks, notebooks, and the scattered remains of Kurumu's latest baking experiment. The cookies had been good, I could attest to that myself, but the crumbs were everywhere. Maybe adding a bit more baking powder for the next batch would work wonders.
Outer had left to do her final preparations alone with Inner. Since Inner would be the one to take the exams in her place, that was how their schedule lined up, and they would not deviate from it. I did not envy the tension simmering between them; you could say one personality was preparing for a test she would not physically take, the other silently reviewing years of absorbed knowledge.
'They had made their choice, and I trusted them to handle it.'
I sat across from Kurumu, a stack of practice problems between us. Her amethyst eyes were glazed over, her head propped up by one hand. She stared at the equations like they were written in a foreign language. A bead of sweat traced a slow path down her temple, and her lower lip was caught between her teeth, a sure sign of frustration.
'She looks like she is about to cry. Or set the table on fire. Maybe both.'
I continued tutoring her on the subjects I excelled in: Mathematics, Chemistry, Geography, English, Biology. The list was respectable, but even I had limits. When it came to classical Japanese literature or the finer points of historical chronology, I was as lost as she was.
Well, not really. If you asked me anything about WWI and WWII, I could tell you anything you wanted, but this wasn't the point.
I knew a bit about the Japanese history that the Academy was focusing on, such as the Sengoku Period. Or I can tell you some of the highlights from China's Three Kingdoms Period. I wasn't some uncultured swine, but I majored in engineering; if I forgot something, it is just the passage of time doing its work on me.
But I digress. For now, we focused on what I could teach.
"Tsukune," she said, her voice flat. "I cannot do this. My brain is full. There is no more room. I have reached maximum capacity."
"You have been studying for thirty minutes."
"Exactly. Thirty minutes of torture. I deserve a break."
She slumped forward, her forehead hitting the table with a soft thunk. The papers scattered, and I reached over to gather them before they fell to the floor. Her pen rolled off the edge and landed with a quiet click. I did not bother to pick it up. She would only throw it again.
"You know, Kurumu‑chan," I said, leaning back in my chair, "you are beginning to resemble a gyaru too much. The only thing missing is the blond hair, the tanned skin, and the exaggerated make‑up. Apart from that, you have the fashion sense going for you. Is that the look you are going for?"
Kurumu's head snapped up. In an instant, the exhausted student was gone, replaced by the confident, flashing succubus. She beamed, flipping her blue hair over her shoulder and striking a pose. Her chest thrust forward, her eyes half‑lidded in what she probably thought was a smoldering gaze.
"Gyaru are hot, are they not?" Her voice dropped to a purr, low and teasing. "They have confidence, style, and they know how to get what they want." She winked, slow and deliberate. "And they are very popular with boys. Do you want me to become your gyaru, Tsukune‑kun?"
'Aren't you already?'
I raised an eyebrow and I could not help the smirk that tugged at my lips. "Sure thing. But I cannot help but say that gyaru might have a hot style. I will give you that." I paused, letting the silence stretch, watching her lean in with anticipation. "But you know what I find more attractive?"
Her eyes widened. "What?"
"A beautiful girl who is also smart." I held her gaze. "That is the complete package. A diamond that shines from the inside out. Not just a pretty face with empty space behind it."
Kurumu's pose faltered. Her cheeks flushed, pink spreading from her jaw to the tips of her ears, and she looked away, suddenly shy. Her fingers twisted together in her lap, and I saw her tail twitch beneath the table, hidden from anyone who might walk in.
'Got her.'
"You are just saying that because you want me to study more," she muttered, not meeting my eyes.
"Maybe." I shrugged, keeping my voice light. "Or maybe I am telling the truth. You will never know unless you trust me."
She was quiet for a moment, her fingers tracing patterns on the table, loops and spirals that had no meaning. Then she looked up at me, her amethyst eyes soft, vulnerable in a way she rarely allowed herself to be.
"You really think I am beautiful?"
"I think you are one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen." I did not look away. "But you already knew that. You have always known that."
Her blush deepened. "Flatterer."
"Just stating facts."
She swatted my arm half‑heartedly, but there was no force behind it. Her smile was small, fragile. I caught a glimpse of the girl beneath the confident succubus exterior, the one who was afraid of being left behind, of not being enough.
'I should redirect this before she gets too emotional and I have to fight off a making-out session with her.'
"Kurumu, the exams are in two days. You cannot afford to take a break every ten minutes."
"Watch me."
She did not move. Her breathing evened out, and for a moment, I thought she had actually fallen asleep. Her head was still on the table, cheek pressed against a stray worksheet, eyes closed. But then one eye peeked open, just a slit, and she looked up at me with a mischievous glint.
"Carry me to the infirmary," she said, muffled by the paper. "Tell Chisato‑sensei I have a terminal case of academic exhaustion. The only cure is a handsome boy's lap pillow, a back and a foot massage from my darling Tsukune."
"You are impossible."
"And yet, you are still here." She sat up, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands. "That says more about you than it does about me."
I could not argue with that.
I leaned forward, lowering my voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Listen, Kurumu‑chan. If you do well on the exams, if you actually pass and make it to the next grade with the rest of us, I will give you a reward. Something you will like."
Her eyes snapped open, wide and alert. "A reward? What kind of reward?"
"That would ruin the surprise."
"Tsukune!" She grabbed my arm, shaking it. "You cannot just say that and not explain! That is cruel! That is torment! That is—"
"That is motivation."
She stopped. Her mind was already racing. I could see it in the way her eyes unfocused, the way her lips parted slightly, the way her breathing quickened. Her imagination had taken the bait and run with it.
'What is she thinking about?'
[Kurumu's Fantasy]
The study table dissolved around her. She was in his dorm room now, the one she had slept in weeks ago, after Gin had attacked her. The curtains were drawn, the only light a soft glow from the moon filtering through the gaps.
Tsukune was there, standing by the window, his back to her. He turned slowly, and his eyes were not their usual brown. They were crimson, the same predatory red that made Vampires so attractive in her eyes. It was a look he got when he stopped holding back from revealing his true form.
'Oh gods.'
Kurumu had always known he was handsome. Even when he was just a scrawny, unremarkable human who could barely pass his PE classes, there had been something about him.
But now, after weeks of training and the slow infusion of Shinso blood, he had become something else entirely. His jaw had sharpened, his shoulders had broadened, and the lean muscles beneath his skin moved with a fluid, predatory grace. He was not just attractive anymore. He was mesmerizing. The kind of beautiful that made your breath catch and your heart stutter.
He walked toward her, each step deliberate, unhurried. His shirt was unbuttoned, revealing the pale skin of his chest, the lean muscles she had felt beneath her fingers a hundred times but never seen in this light.
His fangs caught the moonlight, and she could not help but stare. He was, without question, one of the hottest guys in the Yokai Academy now, and he was walking toward her like she was the only girl in the room.
"You did well," he said, his voice low, rougher than usual. A smirk tugged at his lips. That stupid, infuriating, gorgeous smirk. "My little succubus. Though I am still not sure how you passed the math exam."
My. The word sent a thrill down her spine, even with the teasing.
He reached her, and his hands found her waist, pulling her against him. The heat of his body seeped through her clothes, and she could feel his heartbeat, steady and strong. Her succubus instincts did not urge her to charm or control him; they simply amplified every sensation she was receiving.
And what she felt from him was want, bare and unguarded and entirely for her. No hypnosis. No tricks. Just him, stripped of all his sarcastic defenses, wanting her with an intensity that made her knees weak.
He tilted her chin up with one finger, forcing her to meet his crimson gaze.
"Time for your reward," he murmured. "Unless you would rather go back to studying quadratic equations?"
She grabbed his shirt and pulled him the rest of the way. "Shut up with your studying, and kiss me."
His lips crashed against hers. It was not the soft, teasing kisses she imagined him giving her in the classroom. It was hungry, demanding, and she melted into it, her fingers running through his hair. He walked her backward until her legs hit the bed, and they fell together onto the mattress, a tangle of limbs and desperate sounds.
She had imagined this a hundred times. But her imagination had never done justice to the weight of him on top of her, the way his hands roamed her body, tracing every curve, every dip. He knew exactly where to touch, where to kiss, where to bite.
When his mouth left hers and trailed down her neck, she gasped. His fangs scraped against her skin, not breaking it, just teasing. Her succubus instincts flared, demanding more.
"Tsukune…"
He looked up at her, and his crimson eyes blazed. "I want all of you, Kurumu. Not just that flirty, dramatic version of you. I want the girl who is afraid of being left behind. The one who studies until her head hurts because she does not want to lose anyone." He paused, then added with a crooked smile, "Which is terrifying, by the way. You are a lot."
Her throat tightened. Even in her fantasy, he saw through her.
[Omitted R18 Scene. Read on the next release of Chapter 47.5]
The fantasy swelled, heat and pleasure and the promise of forever, until—
[Snap back to reality]
'Stop. Stop. STOP!'
Kurumu blinked, shaking her head violently. The study table snapped back into focus. Tsukune was still sitting across from her, still wearing his stupidly handsome smirk, completely unaware that she had just mentally undressed him and experienced her first imaginary orgasm and also lost her virginity to him.
Her face was on fire. Her tail, hidden beneath the table, was wagging so hard she was afraid it would knock something over.
'Exams first. Eternal bonding later.' (The Kiss of Death could wait.)
She cleared her throat, forcing herself to look at the practice problems instead of at his lips. Her heart was still racing. Her thighs pressed together under the table, and she cursed her own imagination.
In the future, never imagine Tsukune whispering "Relax, I will be gentle" while he is sitting right across from her. Impossible to study.
Her pen slipped from her fingers and rolled across the table. She lunged for it, knocking over her water bottle in the process. Tsukune raised an eyebrow.
"You okay there?"
"Fine!" Her voice was an octave too high. "Totally fine. Just… clumsy. All this studying. Very clumsy."
He did not look convinced. But he let it slide.
"Fine," she said, her voice a little too high, a little too breathy. "Give me another problem. But make it an easy one."
She would never tell him about the fantasy. Never. Ever.
But later, alone in her room, she might revisit it. Just for research purposes.
[> ^ <][> ^ <][> ^ <]
I watched her fumble with her pen, her cheeks still flushed, her breathing still uneven. My Vampire senses were sharp enough to pick up on the subtle changes in her pulse, the way it had spiked a moment ago and was only now slowly returning to normal.
There was something else too, a faint, musky scent that my enhanced nose could not ignore. It was not unpleasant, but it was unmistakable.
'Do I really have such a charm on Kurumu? It is not like I am trying to get under her pants.'
'I am confused. Really. She is turned on. Completely a soaked mess, and I hope I do not get lost in temptation and throw away all the lessons with her.'
'At least dealing with Kurumu's antics is less stressful than my visit to the Student Council yesterday. Those bastards tried to crush me with their Yoki pressure. Hokuto acted polite, but his eyes were measuring me like a specimen.'
Usually, I would have said something teasing, but this moment did not call for it. I could have said something. But what good would that do? If I brought it up, I would ruin whatever was happening inside her head. Curiosity might be a curse, but sometimes the better part of wisdom was knowing when to stay quiet.
So I let it slide.
I leaned back in my chair, folding my arms across my chest, and watched her compose herself. Her hand trembled slightly as she straightened her notebook. She tucked a strand of blue hair behind her ear, trying to look busy, trying to pretend that nothing had happened.
'Nothing good would come from being too curious. Let her have her privacy.'
'The most I can say is some encouragement.'
"Alright," I said, keeping my voice light. "That is my girl."
The words slipped out as usual, natural, and I did not mean for them to be anything deeper, just a casual bit of encouragement. But her reaction was immediate. Her shoulders stiffened, and I heard the faintest sound from beneath the table, a soft, wet noise that I had no business identifying. But because I had supernatural, Vampire senses, I could not help myself.
'Did she just squirt? She did, right? Tsk, tsk, Kurumu, what a hopeless pervert.'
'And screw my Vampire senses. Ignorance is bliss.'
I looked at her face. Her lips were pressed together, her teeth biting down on her lower one. Her cheeks were flushed a deep pink, almost crimson, and her eyes were glassy, unfocused. She looked like she was somewhere else entirely, even though she was sitting right in front of me.
"Are you really okay, Kurumu-chan?" I asked, keeping my voice neutral.
She blinked, her focus snapping back to me. For a moment, I thought she might confess everything. Her lips parted, and I could see her throat working, the words forming somewhere behind her tongue.
"Yeah." Her voice came out breathy, but she forced it steadier. "Everything is okay, Tsukune-kun. Maybe I am a bit tired from shoving so much material into my brain." She laughed, a weak, self-conscious sound. "And you know how I am. All anemic and stuff. I might faint."
'Anemic. Right. Lacking Vitamin D type anemic…'
I did not call her out. I just nodded, letting the moment pass.
We sat in awkward silence for a while. I pretended to study my own notes, and she pretended to study hers. The only sounds were the soft rustle of pages and the distant hum of the ventilation system. Her pulse gradually slowed, returning to something closer to normal. The flush on her cheeks faded, though a faint pink remained at the tips of her ears.
After what felt like an eternity, she let out a long, slow breath.
"Better now?" I asked.
"I think so." She rolled her shoulders, stretching her arms above her head. "Sorry about that. I just… got lost in thought for a second."
"No need to apologize. It happens to the best of us."
I slid a quadratic equation toward her. "Alright, let us start small. Here is your problem. Read it carefully, and try solving for x."
Finally, after some minutes, the agonizing part of her flusteredness died down, but now came another suffering under the terror of the numbers. Surprisingly, she kept herself on track, trying to solve the problem by herself. Yet all that computation and straining of her brain gave her a blank expression, as if something had fried inside her head.
She stared at the equation. The numbers blurred in front of her eyes, and the letters seemed to dance on the page, mocking her. Her eye twitched.
"Tsukune, this is not easy." Her voice rose, incredulous. "This is cruel and unusual punishment. I am going to write a letter to the Headmaster. I will report you for mistreating me. Student‑on‑student harassment. Academic abuse."
"I bet the Headmaster does not care about your report and will not even read it."
"He should." She crossed her arms, pouting. "Math is the enemy of joy."
Then, more quietly, almost to herself: "And so is being the dumb one in a room full of geniuses."
The words hung in the air, heavy and raw.
She was not looking at me anymore. Her eyes were fixed on the equation she could not solve, but she was not seeing it. She was seeing something else, a future where she was left behind while the rest of us moved on. Where I was with Moka and Inner, and she was alone, watching from the outside.
'Damn.'
I wanted to say something reassuring, something that would make it better. But there are no magic words for that kind of fear. So I just sat there, letting the silence breathe. The seconds stretched, marked only by the soft rustle of papers and the distant chirp of a bird outside the window.
When she finally looked up, her eyes were bright, but she was not crying. She was close, though. I could see it in the way her throat moved when she swallowed, the way her fingers trembled against the table.
"I do not want to be left behind," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "I know I am not as smart as you or Moka or Inner. But I want to stay. With you. With everyone."
I reached across the table and took her hand. Her fingers were cold, trembling. "You will not be left behind, Kurumu. I will make sure of it."
She squeezed my fingers once, hard, and then let go. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, smearing the last trace of vulnerability away.
"Okay," she said. "One more problem."
She picked up her pen.
"I will try," she said. "But no promises."
"That is all I ask. Here, I will give you one of the easiest ones."
She stared at the equation again. Her brow furrowed, her tongue poking out in concentration. She began to scribble notes in the margins, messy, almost illegible, but she was trying.
'So cute that it makes me want to eat her. It is clear she isn't dumb. I wonder, maybe she is inclined toward the artistic side?'
'She is trying, that is undeniable. It is just that she is not fit for this style of academic learning… She is a Succubus; she would not even need advanced mathematics or all the nonsense from school. Sigh, that is the best she can do.'
'It is time to change plans.'
"You know," I said, leaning back, "since actually learning for the exam does not seem to be working, we shall go for the other strategy."
Kurumu's head snapped up. Her eyes were wide, and a slow grin spread across her face. She remembered our earlier conversation, the one about creative problem solving, about using her succubus abilities to get what she wanted. The implication was clear.
"You mean…" She leaned forward, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I have the green light? I can use my… talents?"
I nodded, keeping my expression neutral. "Let us call it a tactical adjustment. You are not going to absorb a semester's worth of material in two days. But there are other ways to pass an exam besides knowing the answers."
"You can use your Charm, Hypnosis and Mind Manipulation spells on the smart ones you are seated next to."
"Actually, scratch that. You can even try to use it on a proctor if you are confident enough not to be caught."
Her grin widened. Her tail, hidden beneath the table, began to wag. She was already rolling the wheels of her schemes, already imagining all the ways she could use her charm to turn the exam to her advantage.
And yet, beneath the excitement, I saw a flicker of hesitation. The old Kurumu would have jumped at this without a second thought. But she had changed. She had promised not to use her powers that way, to turn all the guys who started simping for her into her slaves.
'Good. That means her growth was real.'
"Tsukune‑kun," she said, her voice dripping with honey, "you are a genius."
"If you say so."
She laughed, bright and unrestrained. For a moment, the weight of the exams lifted.
"Hehehe, I do not have to repeat the year. I will always be by Tsukune‑kun's side."
Before either of us could say another word, the door to the Newspaper Club room slid open. Shizuka‑sensei stepped inside, her cat ears perked forward, her golden Nekomata eyes as usual when she didn't want to tear you apart and was in fact relaxes, were closed.
She carried a small tray with three cups of tea, the steam curling up from the surface in lazy spirals. A plate of cookies sat beside them, arranged in a neat circle.
"Good evening, you two," she said, her voice soft but cheerful. "I hope I am not interrupting."
Kurumu straightened in her seat, her tail immediately going still beneath the table. She smoothed her expression into something more composed, though the lingering flush on her cheeks gave her away.
"Not at all, Sensei," Kurumu said, her voice carefully neutral.
Shizuka set the tray down on the edge of the table and took a seat beside me. She studied the scattered papers, the open notebooks, the furrowed brows, and smiled.
"You have been studying hard. I am proud of you both."
Kurumu's expression flickered, something between guilt and gratitude. "I am trying. Not that it is helping much."
"Trying is the important part." Shizuka reached over and patted Kurumu's hand. "You are not alone in this. Everyone struggles sometimes. Even geniuses have subjects that make them want to tear their hair out."
I grabbed one of the tea cups and took a sip. The warmth spread through my chest, pleasant and grounding. "Thanks, Sensei. We needed this."
Shizuka's ears twitched. She turned to me, her expression shifting from cheerful to something more serious.
"Speaking of things you need, have you encountered any problems with the registration of your paperwork for the Student Council? I know the bureaucracy there can be… intimidating."
I set the cup down and leaned back in my chair. "None, actually. The Council President was a rather welcoming and helpful guy. I was worrying for nothing."
Of course, that is what I told Shizuka. But deep down, I knew what had gone down when I visited the Student Council.
Those guys had tried to use their Yoki pressure to humiliate me, to make me bow down. Joke was on them. Even that Hokuto Kaneshiro, a former human, now an S‑tier Chimera transformed by his right‑hand man, Kiria Yoshii, a creation of Alucard who carried his DNA along with other monster samples. They thought they could intimidate me.
It was a unique experience to see so many high‑level mobs gathered in a single place. It filled me with expectations for the future. My experience points were waiting for me to claim them. But that would come later, when I was ready for that fight.
Shizuka nodded, satisfied. "Good. I am glad it went smoothly. The Student Council can be… difficult, especially for first‑years."
Kurumu snorted. "Difficult is an understatement. I heard they made a third‑year cry last week. Something about improper club conduct and bringing shame to the Academy."
Shizuka's ears drooped. "Yes, well. They take their duties very seriously."
We drank our tea in companionable silence. The tension that had gripped the room earlier slowly dissolved, replaced by something warmer, more peaceful. Kurumu's shoulders relaxed. Her tail stopped twitching. She even managed to solve one of the practice problems without complaining.
Maybe she was doing well under duress? At this point, I could no longer tell what was wrong with Kurumu‑chan.
After the late studying session, the night deepened, and one by one, the days until the exams disappeared.