Chapter 1: An Undecided Fate.
Yawn. Tsukune stretched, scratching his head restlessly.
He'd been driving for roughly 32 hours, without a break, well maybe a few quick pit stops here and there but other than that nothing else. Only miles and miles of road.
His cellphone rang, vibrating on his lap. With one hand on the steering wheel, he reached down and picked it up. He brought the screen up to his face and saw that it was a text message. The vampire bluntly, stared at the notification on the screen. Tsukune had texted Gin earlier, and now, he had responded to his previous text.
So they finally gave you a big break, huh? The text message read.
Tsukune swallowed allowing his dry mouth to moisten up again. He'd been sent to one last mission by his father before he could finally stop doing activities for the vampire society. Even though he knew that could be impossible. Tsukune needed to get to his destination, no matter what. It was required.
He was already imagining Gin, laughing in a very cocky manner. Probably even bragging about how much of a better soldier he was than him, since he was sent away. Competition like it always was, knowing Gin's perverse nature, he would use it to pick up the female employees.
Tsukune's car went to a leisure halt as the light turned red on the road in front of him. And in just couple miles in front of him, was the infamous tunnel to different dimensions. It was a tunnel with overgrown weeds hanging on the sides. It looked mystical, and the effects of total darkness, didn't help that.
He took the chance and replied back to Gin before the light had the chance to change back to green.
Have you gathered any information about this mission? Tsukune had replied back to Gin, in hopes of getting any information that he didn't have.
Ever since he got this mission he couldn't help but feel annoyed, as if there were something wrong. There was something eerie about a vampire lord requesting his presence in the middle of operations. But whatever the lord says, goes. Even if it meant halting whatever you're doing to be summoned to his highness.
Tsukune just wanted to hear the details about what he was going to do, so that he could just get over with it and go home. He was very tired, and who could blame him for being grumpy?
His father was never the best guy to fill him in on missions, he just told him what to do and he would do it. Even if it meant killing innocent people in the process. It was the cruelty that came along with being part of a family that had strong ties with Fairy Tale, not only that, but also being a type of vampiric blue blood.
None of that was truly important to him.
The stoplight changed to green, and he shifted the gear to drive, and warily stepped on the pedal. Soon enough, he was inside the tunnel, there was a variety of shining lights on the walls that later, blurred into a streak the faster he drove. The speed and the sounds that were blocked away from the black jeep he was driving, made it seem as if the vehicle were in some sort of protective bubble.
He felt the need to puke all over the car right then and there, but, he held it in knowing that if he did one small thing wrong, he would end up somewhere else. Somewhere much more dangerous than where he was ever going. And he was not in the mood to drive more hours into the night, just to reach a city. He rested his right hand on his stomach and drove with his left. He wasn't all that sure he would reach the end of the tunnel with all of the force and power that surged through, without throwing up. All the different flashing colors that kept appearing at once, made him dizzy.
If Tsukune had known all of this was the effect of him not sleeping throughout the drive, he would have taken more breaks, just to rest in case of something like this.
He had felt his stomach drop cold and it didn't stop, until he reached the end of the tunnel. Its piercing white light hit his face making him squint, and relax enough that he was able to push down the feeling of throwing up all over his seat. The vampire shook his head, trying his best not to think much about the drive. He hadn't noticed the cold sweat running down his face until a drop fell onto the seat, soaking the velvety material. Tsukune watched with the corner of his eye as the droplet disappeared in the seat. He took his hand off his stomach and wiped the rest of his forehead to prevent the remainder of his sweat from dripping down on to the seat, then he rested his hand back down across his stomach.
His phone rang again, another text. And since there was nothing but a straight road with grassy fields accompanied with an astonishing amount of trees, he picked it up.
Sorry, can't tell ya, man! Y'know I love ya and all, but I was ordered to keep it quiet by the big guy. Count Shuzen will explain everything once you're there. Gin had sympathetically sent an apologizing emoticon. See ya! He said, quickly ending the message.
Tsukune could only scoff in discontent, he quickly shrugged it off and continued driving in the empty road with the slowly darkening sky, that seemed to carry rainclouds.
If not even Gin could say anything then it must be an important task. He wasn't sure what to expect when he got there but, as any operative he would have to be on his best behavior, do what he was expected to do, but most of all… keep his mouth shut.
If all went well this day would be short. If not it would be painfully long.
The young vampire felt as if the road was never going to end, he had already been inside the dimension for about 5 minutes, but it had felt like he'd been there for hours.
The Shuzen Manor was not only miles deep into the dimension, but also miles long, it had been a house for all vampires for as long as Tsukune could remember.
He had never seen a castle larger than this one, of course he'd been in more than a few castles in his lifetime due to his family connections and missions. But this one, was by far, the largest, and fanciest of them all.
The Shuzen castle seemed to blow every other castle away. It was like a heavily armored fortress except, instead of weapons, it was full of blood-thirsty vampires.
To describe just the Shuzen name would be just like playing a deadly game of chess. This family would brutally knock out every single piece in its way until... Checkmate, and the battle was won. And there was blood, but with vampires there's always blood. It always flowed like a stream would in a river, endlessly.
It would be suicide for someone to even become a threat to such a powerful household. The Shuzen family had ties to all types of places in the world, from the most commonly known, to even the least known ones, nothing could escape Lord Shuzen and his army.
But it wasn't just the monsters, hiding about, and being controlled by Lord Shuzen.
The endless forest around the castle was a labyrinth filled with life-threatening booby traps, killer mutant trees, and famished hell-hounds, legends say that nobody has come out of the forest alive nor have they ever tried to step a foot in, because they either get lost or they are killed and never found again.
It was a theory he had wanted to test since he was a boy, but never got to find out.
He glanced at the castle from the distance, it seemed tiny now. The memories of the place were so fuzzy to him. Exactly, what was the reason for his nervousness? He knew he had been there before as a small child, he remembered only that. There was something inside him, that was eating him away, gnawing at his insides, but he couldn't tell what it was.
He approached a pair of black, iron gates, they were almost too overwhelming in size and to add on, there were black arrowed spikes on the top, to protect from any intruders that would dare climb or fly over. Tsukune immediately noticed small sentences on the iron bars of the fence, there were red runes encrypted all over the metal, and fortified in an ancient tongue he didn't know. But, what he did know was that it knew who to let in because the dark gates were now opening.
X
"He has arrived, m'lord." Said a deep voice that hummed as it spoke words.
"Wonderful." Issa replied in a cold tone. The sound of his voice would send shivers through thousands of people. And Issa Shuzen's crooked smile was all it took to let everyone know that there was something eventful bound to happen at any time.
A smile was rare enough.
"Welcome him, as he is like a son to me."
Everyone nodded as the count took a stand from his throne. All eyes were set on him as they followed every step he took down the aisle, as if he were a god. A dark god from a much darker heaven.
And in that house, that was exactly what he was to all of them, he was their commander and they were his subjects. If the count desired something, it would be given to him, just so that he would be pleased. They knew that he wouldn't accept no as an answer. He would take what he wanted, he would destroy what he didn't. Issa Shuzen was not a humble person. But, he was strong and to be feared.
Issa was nothing but a raging storm, his empty thirst never to be quenched.
It wasn't until Akasha came along and grabbed Issa by the collar, leading him into her world. Which made him change entirely, nobody would believe it, but, their kings, ice heart melted away only by an ancient vampire that was rescued from inside of Alucards slumbering corpse. Was it possible?
It was crazy, but it had happened, and everything turned out well, for them and their leader, everything was good… for now.
Everyone rejoiced, and when Issa announced that they were having a baby, nothing could make them happier, than the fact that their love had blossomed into a child.
They called it the prodigy child, Akashiya Moka, that was her name and she was the pride of the entire family, she was the family's greatest treasure and she would grow up to be just like Akasha.
A shinso, only two of their kind.
X
Everybody was in high spirits, except for the counts wife, Gyokuro Shuzen.
Issa's infidelity triggered something inside of her that she had tried to hold in for centuries. All of her life, she had tried everything to gain his attention, and nothing worked.
As they say, a woman's heart can change in three seconds.
And after endless years of trying to gain his love, she locked herself inside her lab, studying and testing anything, that would help create plans to control him, and all of his love.
That was all she had ever asked for, love.
She secluded herself from the family, her children, and her husband.
Every second that passed, her anger towards Akasha grew stronger, and she intended to do whatever it took to destroy Issa's and Akasha's love towards each other, and that bastard daughter she conceived with her mate.
It wasn't even that long ago that she had finally shown herself. And the reaction she had gotten from everyone was just what she wanted, awe, and an understanding of a queens power. And now, she trailed behind Issa Shuzen's steps. She was the wife of an all powerful vampire lord, and Akasha, the mistress of the great lord, she would destroy.
Gyokuro Shuzen's face seemed permanently carved with a sadistic smirk, and her taunting ruby eyes reflected the same emotions on her lips. They flickered with pride and excitement, like a child, eagerly awaiting to get her hands on a toy.
With an iron hand on her hip, she swayed with every clicking step her black silhouettes made up against the ancient walls of the castle. Being a countess was a waltz she learned how to dance when she had secluded herself from life.
Gyokuro had worn a black, skin tight, leather dress. It outlined her curves only to show a figure so perfect, that it would put most women to shame. She wasn't afraid to show what she was proud of; the gold trims around the dress only enhanced her radiating queen-of-the-pride demeanor. She played her part perfectly, nobody could tell her otherwise. Topping everything off, she wore a heavy military-like jacket over her shoulders. Everything, about Gyokuro Shuzen was menacing and vicious. She wore her image freely, like a cape which was flaunted about her, and it had shown what she had become. A strong queen fitting to the side of the king. She enjoyed playing the part of the empress she was born to be.
X
The large doors had opened for them, leading them to a long hall that revealed many portraits of deceased ancestors that had brought light to the family name. They all resembled people with elegance, grace, and each picture showed the destruction of the vampires, but that wasn't the only thing they showed, it was a reminder of the true nature of the world they lived in. The same world they lived now, was the same that those people in the portraits lived once in their lifetime.
They resembled the monstrosity of both humans and monsters.
They resembled the history of many stories throughout the centuries since the beginning of time.
They were pieces of life that were drawn to capture every moment.
But though all these portraits had voided eyes, they continued to stroll to the entrance without second thoughts, instead they kept in mind the future that was to come.
For one, was a future of good.
For the other, was a future of evil.
History would always repeat itself once more, as it always did.
The question was: In whose favor would history be this time?
Authors Note:
I'm sorry for being on hiatus for years. I have had writers block. ;_;
Also, I will go back and edit this if needed.
More updates will be coming.
Lots of credit to my wonderful friend Layla (Descendant-of-Blue-Blood) for helping me get through my awful writers block, and editing my story.
Hope you enjoyed.
See you soon.
- Queen of Cellos