Meeting A Pink-Haired Vampire

Walking off the bus, I was met by a desert wasteland-like area. Raising an eyebrow, I looked to a nearby scarecrow that had 'Youkai Private Academy' written on a board that was hung around it's neck.

Taking a deep breath, I smelt...monsters. A lot of them.

I suddenly felt naked without a weapon. Like a defenseless little lamb. Though, and I really don't know why, I felt like I could handle a monster with just my body alone right now.

Turning around, I smelt the same smell coming from the bus driver, "Hey, old man," I spoke out before he closed the door. He turned to me and motioned with his head, obviously wanting me to spit out what I wanted to say, so I did, "You're a monster, right?" I asked, an unfounded confidence coming from my chest as I looked at the creepy middle-aged man who drove me here.

Hearing my question, his smile got even wider as he took a puff of his cigar before speaking with a twisted tone, "Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. You'll find out one day, Hunter boy," he said before the doors slammed shut and the bus sped away leaving a trail of dust.

I was just left there, standing like a guy who'd been showed up on a date.

"...He's probably a monster," I mused before turning away, a serious look coming over my face, "He knew I was a Hunter. He might have been the one to bring me here. Might even be the monster who killed me in the building..." I let out a sigh as I dragged a hand over my face, "God this is all so bloody confusing," I said before resting my bag on my back before walking forward, looking around the creepy forest.

And it really was creepy. The trees had bark that was twisted into many different faces an their branches were free of all leaves, leaving them pointed and more-like spears than tree branches. The bark itself was a dry brown, bordering on grey while the ground was sandy and barely looked like a path. But a path it was, so I followed it.

Just as I was walking and 'admiring' the scenario, I heard a scream behind me before a warning came soon after it, "Watch out!" was all the girl got out before her bike was about to collide with me.

I felt like battering my own head to get it back into order - how come I hadn't heard the bike coming? No wonder that monster could kill me so easily.

Putting a hand out, I stopped the bike in it's tracks without even budging slightly which even surprised me. But the girl on top of the bike? Well, momentum's a bitch, I guess. She flew over the handle bars she was holding onto and into my torso with a soft (and cute) 'Oof' as the air was knocked out of her chest.

Again, I didn't move, despite something clashing into me. I only looked at the girl.

She had pink hair that smelled like lavender. It was lovely and calming. I felt my nerves that had unknowingly wound up quickly unravel themselves. Then she looked up and I felt like I'd been slapped by a Troll.

Curious green eyes looked up at me. I felt my hearts quicken. Her lips parted and her beautiful face just looked up at me as a blush slowly crept over her face, the cause probably being how I was holding her up with my hands touching her. But I didn't want to let go. It was like she was magnetic and my hands were made of iron.

"Are...are you okay?" I managed to get out as I looked down at her. Not from teenager jitters or anything like that but because I found myself holding myself back from doing anything - I was a man even if I was in a teenagers body.

...Even if this girl was unnaturally beautiful.

"Y-yeah," she nodded cutely, averting her gaze but it did dart to my face and neck every now and then, "I...I got a bit dizzy because of my anemia--Are you okay?" she instantly met my eyes with her own as her embarrassment melted away and was replaced by worry for me.

"Yeah," I answered almost immediately, "I guess I was just lucky, huh?" I joked back, smiling, being used to covering up my physical strength throughout my life.

"Mhm," the girl nodded, almost as if this was normal for her to see, which...unsettled me, "That's good. Erm," she started, looking up at me with a worried look, "Your...your heart is beating really fast, are you sure you're okay?" when she said the word heart, I heard a tremor in her voice as her glances to my neck increased in frequency.

I was just about to answer when I heard her whispering, "Heart...pumping blood...delicious blood," she sounded almost like a...vampire.

I took in another breath and ignored the soothing lavender...and soon found the smell of a monster.

But just as I was about to put her down, she spoke up again, "I'm sorry for this but it's only because I'm a vampire," she admitted which I found odd but then I realized what she was about to do. Though by that point she'd already nuzzled into my neck and with a sharp pinch, I felt her fangs go into my throat.

Shit.

Just as she sucked a few times and I was about to break her jaw before she ripped my throat out, like Vampires were known to do back in my world...she stopped and let out a refreshed, "Ahh~!" before she put her feet on the ground and stood, looking up at me, "Your blood is really delicious!" she sincerely said and despite the oddness of the sentence, it sounded so innocent. So without ulterior motives that I felt like my past life had been a lie.

Vampire rip out throats and drink every drop of blood? They're sadistic and torture their victims? Says who? Your ass?

I was extensively trained to analyze things. Some monsters can hide among humans, after all. So I could tell when someone was lying or when someone had ulterior motives. I could also sense if something was inherently evil. They give off a glow in my eyes, if I really concentrate on them, and right now, as I concentrated on this girl...all I saw was a soothing halo of pink light surrounding her, covering another ring of silver. She looked so beautiful in this light that I nearly forgot that I'd never seen anything like this.

Two colors in an aura? I'd seen fluctuating colors but two different colors? Not once.

Realizing I still had my hands on her, I released her and backed up a little before putting out my hand, "Tsukune Aono, nice to meet you," I said before carrying on, "I've never seen a Vampire before but you're much better than the rumors," I joked before waiting for her reply.

She took my hand and lightly shook it, a smile brightly shining across her face and nearly dazzling me for a second as she replied, "Moka Akashiya, it's great to meet someone with such delicious blood--I mean, such a good person!" she quickly covered up her vocal blunder but I still felt my lip twitch.

"...You just said my only good quality is my blood, Moka," I said with a deadpan look and as she blushed and got flustered, I felt like teasing this girl would be fun.

"N-no! No, I said it's good to meet such a good person!" she pouted as she finished, making me feel an urge to pinch her cheek but remembering what she was, I refrained.

I don't have anything against all monsters but I've been around enough of them to realize one thing...they can kill humans as easily as breathing. It doesn't matter if they don't want to kill humans, the fact is, that they can. That ability is always present. Monsters are a human's natural predators, after all.

Seeing me smiling and not answering, Moka just huffed before picking up her bike and walking a few steps. Just as I sighed and thought I'd annoyed her too much, she turned to me and looked at me with a confused look, "Aren't you coming, Tsukune?"

...I knew I shouldn't get involved with this Vampire. My instincts gave me the all clear...but they hadn't been reliable as of late. Even then, I felt like if I stuck next to this pink-haired girl, I would have a fun time in...wherever this is. A different world, limbo, purgatory. Whatever it is, I felt like living life in this new world.

I was made to hunt monsters for the government but that wasn't what I WANTED to do. It was NEEDED of me. I wanted to find what I wanted to do.

Even if my time on this plane of existence is limited, no, especially if my time is limited here, I want to live my life however I want. I don't want to be held down by my old life.

Though I won't just blindly trust a monster. Not yet, anyway.

. . .

After splitting from Moka who went to the bike shed to store her bike, I walked to my own classroom after finding out where I was needed. Though Moka did make me pinky promise that I would be her friend and speak to her every chance I got.

I reluctantly agree, feeling it was too hard to say no to the cute pink-haired girl. Especially when she gave me the puppy eyes with those big green orbs of hers.

What the hell is going on with me? Puberty, I guess? Though I does seem like something more.

...Weird.

Sitting in class, I looked around and smelt the pure stench of monster, thanks to my special olfactory sensors. Tuned and trained to smell out monsters. Though they can be fooled it takes a lot of work and preparation so most monsters who can hide among humans are found out by a Hunters nose.

It also proved a hypothesis of mine - this was a school for monsters. I hadn't seen or smelt another human on my way to the classroom, and the name of the academy was 'Youkai'. Like Yokai, a Japanese monster/spirit/demon. And seeing as I was in Japan, I took a guess and it seems to right. This is a school for monsters.

As I was thinking this, a woman with blonde hair walked into the room. Her eyes were basically closed and I wondered if she saw with something other than traditional eyes. Her blonde hair was kind of shaped like a pair of droopy cat ears and I wondered, with a smile on my face, if she was an elusive cat-girl. Or a Feline Therianthrope as they were known in my past life. She was wearing something I didn't expect a teacher to wear as she was wearing a white blouse, orange skirt, and low heel sandals. It seemed incredibly informal.

"Hello everyone and welcome to Youkai Academy!" she started enthusiastically, and with quite a lot of passion despite her lazy expression, "I'm your homeroom teacher Shizuka Nekonome! You may call me Nekonome-sensei!" she swung what looked like a...horse whip(?) around before resting it on her shoulder, "You all probably all know this, but Youkai Academy is a school built with the sake of monsters to attend!"

...Fucking called it.

Smiling, I leaned back into my chair as she started going on about how humans control the world, so monsters have to learn how to coexist and fit in with the human world. She continued to speak about how other monsters aren't allowed to use their true form or show it to another person, which quirked my interest.

As far as I knew, monsters couldn't look like humans unless they had that specific ability to manipulate their appearance. Incubi, Succubi, Nightmares, etc, etc, all had the ability to manipulate their appearance because they relied on coming into contact with humans for sustenance.

But in this world, or wherever this is, monsters seemed to be able to disguise themselves.

Though I already did guess this because everyone does look completely human despite stinking of monster.

Nekonome-sensei continued speaking until a guy sitting in the row behind me spoke up. I turned my head to look back at him as what he was saying was...exactly what I expected a monster to say. He was a brown-haired guy, though it looked like it was dyed, not natural. His black eyes were full of sadism and hedonism. He was kind of tall, though shorter than me, with an athletic build. Though he looked a bit skinny, honestly. He was covered in piercings as well.

"Hey, sensei, would it not be better for us to eat up those puny humans? And in case of the beautiful girls, better to molest them?" he chuckled darkly as his lust wasn't hidden to anyone. Either his bloodlust or just straight up sexual lust.

...What an unadjusted monster. Would've been hunted down within a week in my old world. At least this further proves I'm not in my old world.

Just as this was all said, the door opened as a familiar voice spoke up, "S'cuse me!" and then in walked Moka.

Seeing her again, I felt all three of my hearts skip a beat at the same time. Is that even fucking possible? Then again, that's said by the human with three hearts and multiple back-up organs.

"After the entrance ceremony, I sort of got lost...Teehee~!" she let out a cute giggle as she mockingly knocked herself on the side of the head as a self-admonishment, "Sorry I'm late, sensei..." she let out a guilty voice as she rushed into the classroom. Just as the teacher was about to reply, Moka saw me and her emerald green eyes lit up.

Ah. This is gonna cause problems, isn't it?