A/N: Hello everyone and welcome to the story! This is my first attempt at Fanfiction and I do hope that you readers enjoy and help me to better my craft. With that being said welcome to Seraph of the End: Shadows of the Earth. This story begins right at the end of Episode 12 of the anime just so we are clear.

Disclaimer: I do not own Seraph of the End

"Speech"

"Thoughts"

Chapter One: Sweet Dreams

"Just one more day and I'm officially out of this place!" thought a green-eyed boy in his late teens. He gazed outside the window of his small hospital room into a once great nation that was now nothing more than a bunch of old ruins. The sight before him was sad, but also equally beautiful. He didn't know why, but something about the ruins of Japan called out to him. They had something that he wanted, something he'd thought he lost a long time ago. "Mikaela." The boy said aloud.

"Still thinking about him Yu?" came a feminine voice. Yuichiro turned to face the girl before he replied:

"Oh hey Shinoa. I didn't notice you come in." Yu rubbed the back of his head while Shinoa entered the room and plopped herself down on the couch next to his bed. "And yeah, I have been thinking about him a lot lately. I just can't believe he is still alive but more importantly alive as a vampire." The last of his words seemed to cause him a certain degree of pain. Although she didn't show it, Shinoa was worried about the troubled boy in front of her. Yu moved away from the window and seated himself next to the orchid-haired girl.

"What's this? Oh I know! Little old Yu can't resist sitting next to the cutest girl in the world!" Shinoa teased.

"Please. You? Cute?" he answered.

"You disagree? Oh Yu, you're breaking my heart." She said sarcastically while playfully acting sad.

"You know Shinoa, you are a terrible actor." Yuichiro couldn't help but smile as she pouted.

"Oh whatever. I got you to smile didn't I?" Shinoa pointed out, earning a small laugh out of Yuichiro.

"Yeah. I guess you did. Thank you Shinoa." Yuichiro flashed a genuine smile at the girl sitting next to him. If he were paying closer attention he would have noticed the blush that adorned her cheeks, but fortunately for Shinoa the rest of the squad showed up. Yoichi was the first to speak up:

"Hey guys! Hope you are hungry because we brought food!" the frail looking boy handed Shinoa and Yu a tray with white rice and beans. Kimizuki threw himself unceremoniously on top of Yu's bed, effectively irritating the green-eyed boy.

"I just fixed those sheets. Could you not make more of a mess Kimizuki? Oh wait, that seems to be what you are good at!"

"You're such a damn crybaby. Why don't you just shut your mouth for once?" the orange haired boy said.

"Why don't you make me?" Yu challenged.

"Sounds like fun. I've always wanted to beat the shit out of ya!" he replied as he rose from the bed.

"The only one who's going to get beat here is you four eyes!"

"That's it you little shit!"

"Guys, take it easy. We don't wa-" Yoichi began.

"SHUT IT YOICHI" both boys shouted in unison.

"You're going down!" Yu shouted as he charged forward.

"Bring it on." Kimizuki said with a smirk.

"BOTH OF YOU KNOCK IT OFF!" Mitsuba yelled as she knocked both boys down with a single swing of her axe. In that moment, the loudest room in the hospital became the quietest, at least until Mitsuba yelled at Shinoa. "What the hell were you thinking? Why didn't you stop them!?" Mitsuba placed her hands on her hips and waited impatiently for Shinoa to answer.

"I was enjoying the show." Shinoa simply replied. She smiled to herself knowing she had completely pissed Mitsuba off.

"Why you-" Mitsuba was about to take a slash at the girl that irritated her so much but stopped when she suddenly rose.

"Alright, well I've had my fun. I should get going. I've got important things to take care of. You know being the squad leader and all." Shinoa made sure to emphasize the 'squad leader' part just to get under Mitsuba's skin. She smiled even more when she saw that it had the desired effect. Mitsuba was about as red as a tomato. "Later guys!" Shinoa called out as she left the room.

"One of these days, Shinoa." Mitsuba muttered as she dispersed her cursed gear. She turned her attention to Yoichi who was desperately trying to wake Yu and Shiho. "Hmm. I might have overdone it this time. Oh well. At least those two clowns learned their lesson." She was about to leave the room when Yoichi called out to her:

"Hey—uh—where are you going? Shouldn't you at least try and wake them up? It's the least you could do after knocking them out you know."

"If you ask me, it's better this way. Much more peaceful wouldn't you agree? Besides, those two will be just fine. Trust me, our two best vampire slayers won't be taken down by a hit like that. (even though they were) What do you say we get out of here and leave them be? I wouldn't want to be around those two when they wake up." Mitsuba proposed.

"But we can't just-" Yoichi was interrupted as Mitsuba dragged him away.

"They'll be fine! You worry too much Yoichi." The blonde haired girl pointed out as she brought poor Yoichi along with her.

Kimizuki awoke first. Seeing his rival sprawled on the ground he smiled to himself. "Guess I win then." He was about to leave the room when he decided to lift the unconscious Yu onto his bed. "Won't do as any good if someone finds you like this." Yu's rival left the room quietly but not without ensuring that the 'brother he never wanted' was okay. "Great. One more day and he'll be on my ass once again. Oh well, at least he can help me get back at Mitsuba. That girl has got another thing coming!" Kimizuki smiled as he began to formulate a devious little plan to get back at a certain blondie.

Hours Later…

Yuichiro was in absolute agony. He could feel himself slipping away. The power that ran through his veins was maddening. He fought with all his might, but his body was not his own. He watched in horror as his legs forcefully brought him towards the frightened Shinoa. Knowing full well that whatever possessed him was hell bent on slaughtering anything in its path, he yelled desperately for her to run. As his luck would have it, she couldn't hear him. No one could. All he could do is watch in utter misery as the monster closed in on its prey. He felt the monster raise his sword to cut Shinoa down. "No!" he yelled. The beast inside of him only laughed. Yuichiro was powerless. His possessed body slashed at the downed girl once, earning a sharp cry of pain from her. Yuichiro couldn't stop the tears that fell from his eyes as he watched Shinoa try to crawl away with her wound. "This can't be happening! What's wrong with me!? Is this what I really am!? A monster!?" Yu was brought out of his thoughts once more as the being that possessed him raised his sword once more.

"Yuichiro why? Why would you kill all of us?" Shinoa asked with tears in her eyes. "How could you hurt your family?"

"No—Shinoa—I wouldn't—I never—" Yu struggled to find the words. Even though he knew she couldn't hear him, he wanted nothing more than to correct her at that very moment. To tell her that he would never hurt her or anyone close to him. Suddenly without warning, the monster slashed downward to end the life of Yu's squad leader. "SHINOA NO!" Yu screamed as he awoke from his nightmare. He was covered in sweat and breathing heavily. "What was that? That was worse than reliving my past." He looked around the room and was surprised to find himself in his bed. He was even more surprised to see the sleeping form of Shinoa in a chair with her head resting peacefully on the bed. "Hmm. Glad I didn't wake her. What's she doing here anyways?" Despite his initial shock of seeing the usual emotionless girl, Yuichiro was actually relieved to see her next to him. It made him feel more at ease, not that he would ever tell her that. He shifted nervously when he noticed her stir uncomfortably.

"Yuichiro—" the sleeping girl moved closer to the startled boy, as if she knew his state of discomfort. Somehow her hand ended up in one of his, causing the green-eyed katana wielder to blush furiously.

"Is she dreaming about me?" the thought alone was enough to make him blush even more. (If that were even possible) He looked her over one more time and was caught off guard by the worried expression on her face. Despite her current look, Yuichiro couldn't help noticing just how cute Shinoa actually was. He was about to go back to sleep when Shinoa suddenly woke up. "Oh crap. I really hope she doesn't notice that I'm holding her hand. I mean technically she's holding my hand but I'd never hear the end of it!" It was too late for him to try and pretend to be asleep. She had already seen him sitting up. "Crap." He thought.

"Hey Yu." She said softly. The girl yawned very deeply and stretched her arms out. The sudden loss of Shinoa's hand troubled Yuichiro, but he quickly hid his discomfort. "Did I wake you? I'm sorry."

"No. I woke up on my own. No need to apologize." He quickly answered. She tilted her head slightly at him, like she was amused by his answer. "Great! She saw that I was holding her hand and now she is going to tease me for the rest of my life!" he wept in his head.

"Oh." She giggled. "Well that's good." She smiled and looked outside at the full moon. In the moonlight, the ruins of Japan maintained an eerie sense of beauty. Amid the shadows of humanity's playground arose creatures of unimaginable horror. Yet the moon's glorious light brought out the beauty of the night. Even after the demise of most of the human race, life still surfaced. An ironic, yet beautiful sentiment. "You know, I thought that we had really lost you back there. I have never been so scared in my life. At that very moment I thought it was over. I felt like a complete failure." She said from the windowsill.

"Shinoa, I—"

"I couldn't do anything. I was completely powerless. It's the worst feeling in the world." Shinoa continued. Tears had freely began to fall from the girls face. At the moment, the group leader had become even frailer than Yoichi used to be. Yu almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

"Yeah. I know the feeling." Yu spoke up. "To watch in horror as the people you care for the most are taken away from you."

"Yuichiro, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to remind you of your past. I just—I should go." Shinoa started to walk toward the door when she was stopped by Yuichiro's firm grip on her wrist. She turned to face him to see his hair obscuring his eyes. Clear as day to her, however were the stream of tears that slid down his face. "Yuichiro—"

"But running away from it isn't going to solve anything. You've got to accept that it wasn't your fault and use that experience to get stronger. For the people you love to be safe, that's all you can really do. I lost one family before and I am not about to lose another one. That I promise you Shinoa. So stop beating yourself up. You're a great leader and an even better friend." Yuichiro finally faced her. Emerald green eyes met rose ones. "So don't cry anymore, okay?" Yuichiro's words did a great deal in washing away Shinoa's troubles. She was so happy that she leapt into Yu's arms without thinking and ended up sitting on top of him. The katana wielder couldn't conceal the large blush on his face. Shinoa only giggled before returning to her old sarcastic self.

"I bet you are loving this, eh lover boy? Oh who am I kidding? Who wouldn't love this?" she laughed as she brought her face closer to his. "So now that you've got me where you want me Yu, what now?" she asked seductively.

"This is more like the Shinoa I know." Yu nervously thought. "Umm?" was his only response. He really had no idea how to respond in his current situation. Usually he'd have a million things to say but this time, Shinoa had really figured out a way to shut him up. The girl laughed and rolled over so that she was lying next to him.

"Well it's your loss. Not many get that chance you just had." She puffed.

"I'm pretty sure no one wants that chance anyway." Yuichiro jokingly remarked. He received a powerful flick to his forehead for his little jab. "Ow! Hey I was only joking! Jeez how do you flick so hard?" a question he soon regretted asking as the girl proceeded to flick him again. "OW!"

"What? You mean like that?" she giggled.

"Yes! Like that. Shouldn't you be in YOUR room anyway?"

"Well I thought I'd check up on you. Make sure that you didn't fall into another coma while no one was watching." Shinoa replied.

"I'm pretty sure that people just don't go into a coma like that Shinoa."

"I don't know Yu. You seem to be a special case. With you it's impossible to know for sure." She shot back.

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Shinoa!"

"Yes?" she answered so sweetly that Yuichiro forgot what it was that he was going to say.

"I'm going to go to bed." He finally settled.

"Oh. Alright then. Well I guess I'll head back to my room then." Shinoa said knowing that her fun was over. She sat up on the bed when Yu spoke up again.

"Hey—it's pretty late for you to be walking around by yourself, you know? If you want, you could—you know—stay here. If you aren't uncomfortable or anything of course." He stammered. Seeing how hard it was for him to get the sentence out, Shinoa decided against tormenting the already embarrassed Yuichiro.

"Okay." Was all that she had to say. Even though she maintained her usual emotion free expression, on the inside she was jumping for joy. Yu sat up and slid off the bed.

"Well you can sleep here and I'll take the couch." He said quickly but, was stopped when he felt Shinoa's small hand wrap around his wrist.

"Nonsense. This bed is big enough for the two of us don't you think?" she said innocently. Yu could tell that she wasn't being sarcastic or seductive in anyway so he nodded his head in agreement. He took his place next to the petite girl and did his best to fight the small blush that was fighting to make itself known. If he would have looked to his right, he would have seen that Shinoa was having a similar issue.

"Well—umm—goodnight." He said uneasily.

"Yeah—goodnight." She responded in the same manner. "Hey Yu?" she called softly.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"Next time you want to hold my hand, all you have to do is ask. I know how irresistible I can be." She smirked as she waited for a response.

"Shinoa it was—" he didn't finish his sentence as Shinoa wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest.

"Goodnight Yuichiro and thanks-you know- for the pep talk." She said. The green eyed boy didn't mind allowing the blush to slip through this time and smiled before he too, embraced the small girl in his arms.

"Anytime. Goodnight Shinoa." It wasn't too long before the duo drifted off to sleep, both getting the best sleep either of them have had in a long time.

Elsewhere…

A blonde haired boy in his late teens stood at the edge of a long forgotten building and gazed up towards the moon. "Why Yuichiro? Why would you let them use you?" Mikaela slammed his fist down on the edge of the roof sending countless forms of debris down into the street below.

"Now Mikaela, that is certainly no way to behave." The Seventh Progenitor Ferid Bathory called from the shadows.

"Shut up." Mikaela grunted. Not wanting to deal with Ferid's antics, Mikaela began to leave when he was stopped by the very person he was trying to get away from. "Get out of my way."

"Feisty today aren't we? Hmm, if I had to guess I would say that those greedy little livestock have gone and upset you because of what they've done to your little friend."

"Shut up." Mikaela repeated as he maneuvered around Ferid and into the shadows.

"So what are you going to do when you run into them again? I doubt those greedy humans will part from him so easy you know." Ferid called. Although he couldn't see him, Ferid knew well enough that Mikaela had heard him. After several moments, the Seventh Progenitor received the reply he desired so greatly.

"I'll kill them all."

A/N: And so it begins! I don't know how regularly I am going to update here, I guess it just depends on my schedule. Well you Seraphans I hope you enjoyed! Until next time! Frosty out!