Chapter 89: The Blackmail (2/3)
It was quiet in the Newspaper Club as night approached, the earlier bustle softening into a quiet, comfortable rhythm as the evening wore on. Tsukune leaned back in his chair, his eyes scanning the final layout of the Gazette's special edition. The pages were nearly complete, the articles polished, the photos selected, the illustrations rendered with care by Yukari's steady hand and magic.
It was work that would turn heads. The kind of work that would make the Academy sit up and take notice, that was exactly what he wanted as an outcome.
He glanced around the room, taking in the familiar sight of his club members winding down after a long day of labor. Outer Moka was packing her bag, her gentle smile playing at her lips as she chatted with Yukari about some scholarly things that he didn't bother registering much of. Mizore was gathering her notes, her movements slow and deliberate, her winter-sky eyes soft with contentment, finally having someone beside in her life that she could interact with. Gin was shutting down his computer, no marks of a lecherous grin plastered on his face as he was surrounded by beautiful girls, replaced by something almost professional.
Nonetheless, to Tsukune, something felt amiss.
He looked again, scanning the room more carefully. The pile of fashion magazines on the corner of a desk where an obnoxiously loud and yet cute girl kept on working. Shifting his eyes at the empty cup of coffee that he had devoured this afternoon, it made him worried.
Kurumu was gone for too long for his liking.
Tsukune's eyes narrowed. He reached out with his Vampire Senses as they spread on the whole floor of the building, feeling the familiar pulse of Yoki that marked each of his club members. Outer's was warm and gentle, like sunlight through a window. Mizore's was cool and serene, like the first frost of winter. Gin's was... still slightly greasy, like a wet dog that had been rolling in garbage.
But when he thought he would find Kurumu at the toilet, doing whatever (he wouldn't breach their intimacy just for his curiosity), she wasn't there.
For a moment without any of the girls noticing, and not caring about Gin if he picked on, his eyes flashed for a second to crimson as the vampiric slits intensified, from all over the building wing where the Newspaper Club was situated, a bunch of bats began stirring.
It was until he engaged the scouting ability of his Vampire Familiars that he placed strategically all over the Yokai Academy that he sensed Kurumu's presence. It was faint, as she was heading toward the main schoolyard.
He rose from his chair, his movements fluid and unhurried. "Since we're done for today, I will be going ahead. I still have some things to sort regarding the next release that needs verifying." his voice was casual. "Don't wait up."
Outer looked up, her forehead creasing with concern. "Is everything alright, Tsukune-kun? I thought… We could go to the dorm together."
"I'm sorry, Moka-chan, but not tonight. You still have Yukari and Mizore to keep you company. So be good." He offered her a reassuring smile, one that disarmed, that made people forget he was becoming more of a monster. "See you tomorrow morning, girls… and Gin." Flat and indifferent when he said the Werewolf's name.
"Wait! Tsukune-kun!" Outer called out, but he didn't pause for her worried voice.
He stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Immediately after Tsukune stepped out, Yukari's brow furrowed as she watched the door swing shut. She reached into her bag and pulled out a small crystal ball, its surface gleaming with a faint, ethereal light. Her Divination Crystal, a gift from her mother to keep her protected in case bad energies were targeting her.
She whispered a few words under her breath, and the crystal began to glow, and only she could tell what the significance of the lights given off by the Crystal meant. Outer and Mizore were standing behind the small witch as she contemplated on the 'Divination' Spell she casted.
She exhaled, relieved. "There's no bad energy surrounding Tsukune-san," she announced, tucking the crystal back into her bag.
Meanwhile, Gin let out a long breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. His shoulders sagged, and for a moment, he looked almost human. "What a relief that guy left early without putting me through another 'rehabilitation session'."
This time all girls turned to give him a nasty look, even gentle Outer Moka since she was worrying about Tsukune's solo departure.
He straightened his collar, clearly used to the looks, but he still attempted to project an air of gentlemanly confidence. "Well, ladies, since Tsukune-kun is occupied, perhaps I could escort you back to the—"
He paused mid-sentence.
His eyes had drifted to the corner of the room, where a small, crimson bat was perched on the edge of a bookshelf. It was tiny, barely larger than his palm, but its eyes were fixed on him with an intensity that made his blood run cold.
'Bloody hell. I almost forgot that he's got surveillance on me 24/7 with those bloody flying rats watching me.'
The bat chirped softly, almost mockingly, and Gin felt a chill crawl down his spine.
He cleared his throat, his gentlemanly demeanor crumbling. "On second thought, I just remembered I have some… urgent business to attend to. Important Werewolf matters. You understand."
Outer blinked, confused by his sudden change in demeanor. "Are you alright, Gin-san?"
"Perfectly fine! Never better! I'll see you all tomorrow!" He practically fled the room, his footsteps echoing in the corridor as he disappeared from sight.
Mizore tilted her head, "What was that about?"
Yukari shrugged, her expression thoughtful. "Maybe he saw something that spooked him. Gin-senpai has always been jumpy around Tsukune-san." She paused, then added, "I wonder what Tsukune-san is really doing out there."
Outer was quiet for a moment, her hand resting on the Rosario Cross at her chest. A faint warmth pulsed through the gem, and she felt a flicker of reassurance from within.
She thought of Tsukune, of the way he had changed over the past two months. When she had first met him, he had been a frightened human, stumbling through a world of monsters, barely able to defend himself. Now he was something else entirely, no longer the confused and scared human trying to mingle along with Yokai.
"Let's head back," she said, gathering her things. "We shouldn't trouble Tsukune all the time."
After stepping out of the Club House, Tsukune followed in the footsteps taken by Kurumu while being guided by his Vampiric Senses, or most fondly his 'natural' GPS system. He walked for a few moments, then stopped, his expression shifting from casual indifference to something colder.
'I think something went off with Kurumu after she got that envelope from Shizuka-sensei. She's been quiet most of the afternoon, and it's not normal for her. She wasn't herself, the Kurumu I know.'
'She usually can't go five minutes without saying something to grab my attention and have me spoil her. Or trying to start a competition with Moka.'
He closed his eyes, focusing on her Yoki signature and while ahead of his current location, he activated one of the Vampire Familiars that were shadowing Kurumu from a 'safe' zone. The Vampire Familiars were smartly distributed around the girls, heck he had one follow Gin too in case the idiot got ambushed by Kuyo or the Student Council.
Once activated fully with an injection of his mana, the bat shadowing Kurumu had its crimson eyes flash with red yoki, as it fluttered silently without her noticing.
She was heading toward the Monster Tree at the edge of the schoolyard, all alone while her bearing was that of being ready to fight.
'Has she been targeted by someone?'
'Ahhhhh… I remember what was supposed to happen with Kurumu, I just couldn't quite put the pen on the exact time-frame of when those bunch of rats would start showing up.'
Something shifted in his mind and dark emotions wrapped around his body. It wasn't quite anger from the realization that Kurumu was blackmailed in such a foolish manner, more like a cold certainty that someone was about to make a very bad decision they wouldn't be able to track back, only in the afterlife.
'Fine. Let her try to handle this herself. She's proud enough to want to solve her own problems.'
'But she should know by now that I don't let my girls face any dangers. Not today and not in the future. Even if the characters might have some redeemable qualities, I will not show mercy that would be seen as foolishness, that would later come back to bite me and those dear to me.'
Linking his intent to the Vampire Bat, while his pace slowed down, he gave a short command to the Sacred Gear summon.
'Follow her and keep the channel open so I can spectate.'
The Familiar squeaked softly, then disappeared into the darkness. Tsukune waited for a moment, his senses tracking its progress as it flew through the night. Then he began to move, his footsteps silent against the stone, his form dissolving into blood mist as he followed the path his Familiar had taken.
For now, he was keen on watching Kurumu face this adversity herself, to see if she could handle the pressure and above all else, he wanted to see her growth both mentally and physically.
He would simply observe, a silent guardian angel watching from the shadows
But if she couldn't...
Unfortunately, she would need a more hands on approach from him, and finally guiding them into gaining power even if this means using his Annihilation Maker and even his Necrosword to empower them with the Symbiote just like he empowered himself.
'Tsk. Someone's going to have a very bad night. I've already got my hands full dealing with the Gorgon Incident aftermath.'
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The Monster Tree loomed at the edge of the schoolyard, its gnarled branches reaching toward the darkening sky like grasping fingers, its bark thick and twisted, its roots burrowing deep into the earth.
Kurumu stood before it, her arms wrapped around herself, her breath misting in the cool evening air. The letter was clutched in her hand, the photographs tucked safely in her bag. She had come alone, as instructed, without telling anyone or asking for help. Her mood was terrible, a toxic cocktail of fear and self-loathing that churned in her stomach like acid.
She was supposed to be the one in control. If it was her past version, the one who would manipulate all those simps with her Succubi powers, such an incident would have never reached her attention. She would have charmed the blackmailer, made him forget his obsession then following up by discarding him like all the others from the past.
She was supposed to be the one who used others, not the one who was used.
And yet here she was, trembling in the dark, waiting for a stranger to dictate her fate.
"Show yourself," she called out, her voice steady even as her heart hammered against her ribs. "I know you're there."
The shadows beneath the Monster Tree shifted. A figure emerged from the darkness, his movements slow and deliberate, his form taking shape as he stepped into the fading light.
He was humanoid in shape, but his features screamed "otaku" with a capital O. Thick, Coke-bottle glasses sat on his nose, magnifying his beady eyes into something almost comical if it weren't for the predatory gleam within them.
His hair was a sickly shade of green, greasy and unkempt, plastered against his skull like seaweed washed ashore. His skin was pale, almost translucent, with a faint sheen of moisture that made him look perpetually damp.
His clothes were rumpled, his shirt unbuttoned at the collar, revealing a patch of greenish skin that seemed to ripple with a life of its own. He was the physical embodiment of every creepy fan who had ever made a woman's skin crawl.
"I was wondering if you'd show up, Kurumu-chan," he said, his voice carrying a wet, gurgling quality that gave her the weird goosebumps. A creep for sure. "I was starting to think you'd abandoned me."
She stared at him, her thoughts tumbling through the faces of the men she'd encountered over the past month. She had seen too many of them for their faces to ingrain in her memory. She would use her Succubus powers on masses of guys whenever she wanted some attention, then discard them when they became annoying and too clingy.
Normally, she didn't remember this Nagare guy either. In fact, she tried her best to distance herself from her past. In her heart, only one man had a place in it—her charming Vampire Prince, Tsukune.
This guy before her, like many from her troubled past, was insignificant. Too forgettable. She couldn't feel a strong Yoki signature from him. Barely at C-tier. A piece of trash that dared to blackmail her and ruin her life and future with Tsukune, unforgivable.
"Do I know you?" she asked, her voice devoid of emotion in that moment.
His grin widened, stretching his face into something grotesque. "You don't remember me, do you? Of course you don't. Why would you remember someone like me when you had so many others to choose from?"
He stepped closer, revealing a deranged expression as he stared at the gorgeous Succubus. His eyes roamed over her body with a hunger that made her want to shower.
"But I remember you, Kurumu-chan. I've been watching you since the day you abandoned us, your Fan Club. Since then, I knew that I had to have you."
Nausea clawed at her. "You're not my fans. Just a mistake I made in the past."
"I'm your biggest fan!" he exclaimed, his voice rising with an almost religious fervor. "I've been watching you constantly since you drifted away from us, your True Fans, Kurumu-chan. I saw you with that Vampire bastard, Aono. I saw you laughing with those other girls. I saw you forget about us."
He took another step closer, his grin stretching wider. His body began to shift, his human features melting away as his Yokai form started to emerge. His skin turned green and slimy, his body expanding into a mass of viscous sludge that barely held a shape.
He was a Swamp Slime, one of the lowest forms of Yokai, but the obsession in his eyes made him seem monstrous.
"But I never forgot about you. You are my first love, Kurumu-chan. My only one. It wasn't because of your Succubus powers, no, your beauty and your smile, I could tell they were genuine to me. And I'm not going to let you slip away into becoming another meal to that bloodsucker."
"Me genuine with you? Pfff, you're insane. I just liked the attention you were giving me, you bunch of pigs. This doesn't mean anything to a Succubus." She snapped back, her voice dripping with contempt.
"No, I'm in love. There's a difference." His eyes gleamed with a fervent light. "You promised me, Kurumu-chan. You said I could be yours if I accepted your beauty. You said that to me, and I believed you! For months, I've been waiting, watching, hoping you'd come back to me. But you never did."
His form swelled, becoming more monstrous.
"And yet! You just kept taking and taking, using us all up and throwing us away when we weren't useful anymore."
A chill seized her heart.
"Wait, what nonsense are you talking about? I have never said those words to you. I used my Succubus powers to make you fall for me. I didn't mean any of it. It was just part of my game."
He paused, his grin fading for just a moment. "A game? Is that what this is to you?"
Kurumu's throat tightened. She had used her powers on countless men, charming them into adoring her. She had never thought about what happened to them afterward. They were just tools, stepping stones on her path to finding someone worthy of her affection.
She had been so busy trying to find her "Destined One" that she'd never stopped to consider the wreckage she left behind, but then again, everyone could be selfish in life.
Why was she even wasting her breath explaining herself to a bastard who had the gall to blackmail her with indecent, nude pics of hers.
"Wait, why am I so stupid to explain myself to you? I'll just kill you and get rid of you for blackmailing me."
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