The Harbinger's Lament
A Capu 5M Omake
For those of you whom are readers of keithallen's Capu series, this is a oneshot piece devoted specfically to the character that i personally created, developed and eventually offered to his series as I had once upon a time to ACookieZ for her story "Angel Vs Devil". Our personal views of the character and his influences have conflicted over the span of the series; Apollo has been patered as a tyrannical figure when that is not how i created him at all and much of his character has been left unexplained.
However as i often hand out my creations to many authors, I do understand that personal artistic approach does come into consideration and as such, this Omake is based on keithallen's variant of my creation; the Harbinger, Apollo.
I am the creator of both Apollo, and the Harbingers species; that is the only claim i will make. The Capu series i do not own, neither do i own the Rosario+Vampire franchise.
Kahlua finished preparing as best a meal she could, then looked outside the window and sighed at the same sight that presented itself. It had been several days since Apollo had finished building the small yet sturdy and comfortable home on the hill where they had reunited. The Vampiress shook her head as she beheld the Harbinger, labouring away at several large stone collums with his bare hands, claws exposed.
"Apollo, when will you talk again?" Kahlua whimpered to herself, before walking out into the sloping garden where her husband, or Crown, as he referred to himself. 'Too bad i can't cook...not like Kurumu. I bet he would love something she makes. Maybe i should try and learn?' she thought to herself as she approached him.
The Harbinger; hard at work and wearing nothing then the tunic that he wore typically under his toga-like robes, closed his eyes as he sensed Kahlua come near with the same sweet, innocent smile as she approached. His wife, or Queen as he called her; gave him a sense of calm and comfort whenever she approached. It was the same feeling he had always felt, when in the presence of his Queens over his entire lifetime.
Since his exile at the hands of Lucy with Tsukune's approval; that presence Kahlua gave him, was at best, bittersweet. He finally had a love who would remain with him for eternity, at the price of her own freedom and the failure of his bi-epoch long ambtion. He had not spoken about it to her; indeed he had spoken little, after building the home out of the only things that his Queen had brought with her.
"Apollo? I... made you something to eat!" Kahlua declared proudly as she placed the plate piled with tuna and mayonaise sandwiches on one of the boulders before standing expectantly. The Harbinger smiled inwardly at the guesture before retracting his claws, dusting his hands and approached her.
"Thank you, my dearest." Apollo responded sincerely as he wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her softly on her perfect cheek. Kahlua returned in kind before allowing him to begin eating. She was not disappointed; it seemed as if she had done well as Apollo appeared to enjoy his meal. Even if it was the same thing he had eaten since they had arrived.
"I was thinking of building a pond..." Apollo mused as he finished off the first sandwich. "Just something pleasurable to look at while I prepare some of the land."
"Sounds amazing!" Kahlua beamed "I bet Moka and everyone would..." she paused as Apollo's face turned from positive to all but completely blank as he simply sighed and took another sandwich in hand. Kahlua covered both her hands in worry.
"Oh! I didnt mean to upset you darling! I just...I just..." Kahlua began to fret as tears almost began to pool, but found her lip being pressed by Apollo's fingertip.
"Hush, my love." Apollo gently spoke, his face still expressionless. "You have not upset me... I just... just..."
"Please, talk to me." Kahlua whined as she kissed his fingertip. "I've never known you like this; even when i was little. Where's that confidence you're known for?"
Apollo looked at Kahlua, almost with shame before looking down. "I do not think I am ready to talk about most of it. Right now all i can say is that there is no confidence in myself. I can accept the family rejecting me; as one who has seen both sides of their perception, i pretty much anticipated it being simply a matter of time before my reasoning collided with their obstinance..." The Harbinger then cupped Kahlua's cheek softly "But my exile has cost you your own freedom; I truly treasure you, my love, but knowing you are paying because of me... it is... just disheartening."
Kahlua gave a sad smile as she placed her hand atop of Apollo's.
"Why then? Why fight everyone?"
"Because I am right, Kahlua. May the divine know, that I wish I was otherwise." Apollo replied sadly. "Young Aono may have commendable devotion, but to me he is still just a boy. A naieve boy who has yet to truly learn that actions have their consequences. He has thrown away his heritage; his being human, he has made humanity aware of ayashi, before they were even ready and he has been even placing his own children into harm's way!"
"You mean Akemi and Kumiko?" Kahlua asked, uncertain. "But they're strong enough to fend off countless more..."
"They are still CHILDREN. They should be trained for self defence, not for waging war like I have." Apollo retorted in frustration before taking a heated bite of a tuna sandwich.
"...And about humans knowing about us?" Kahlua asked curiously. She knew that any of Apollo's anger was not directed at her now; she had hoped to get his resolve to drop so that he would let himself finally vent.
"Mankind is not even able to accept the differences in it's cultures, let alone those of Ayashi" Apollo responded as he swallowed. "Barely a century ago, the whole human world had been engulfed in not one, but two wars! Over what; Land? Self-Righteousness? If man was ready to accept itself after just a hundred years following such destruction, i would have achieved this ambition of mine, countless lifetimes ago."
"So you want what everyone else wants." Kahlua confirmed, unsure as Apollo tried taking a deep breath.
"Yes, Kahlua. It has been the only ideal that has kept me sane over this eternity alive... Nothing would make me prouder then to see man and ayashi co-exist in true acceptance." Apollo replied as he continued breathing deeply. "I want the same thing as the rest of the family, but they simply will not listen to reason. I have seen the world fall apart; not once, but twice and i do not want them repeating my mistakes."
The Harbinger noticed the confusion on his lover's face and so resolved to explain. "Ten thousand years ago, humanity knew of the existance of Ayashi; they saw them simply as a plague, a pestilence to be rid of. They went to war, a most bloody war that resulted in the progress of man being wiped and having to start over. It was then i knew that man needed time to understand itself... then i made the critical error of believing them ready five hundred years ago. The consequence; the witchhunts and monster killings."
Apollo's glance turned to the clear blue skies. "It is time that will see both sides able to accept themselves...but Aono, my own daughter...our family, just do NOT see that. They want it done NOW. A selfishness that they do not see for they believe me to be naught more then paranoid. They have that luxury, they have the fortune of not knowing that which i am forced to constantly remember...and it has made them arrogant.
"My love... as much as i love and respect you... aren't you the same?" Kahlua offered, causing the Harbinger to look at her. "Suppose even if both sides...'understand themselves' as you keep saying. What if even then both worlds can't get along?"
"I cannot allow myself to think that way, Kahlua." Apollo responded gently but resolvingly. "Mankind has so much potential in itself, as do the races of ayashi that managed to survive that war. Time HAS to let them go beyond it, i just know it to be true. But that progress is being hindered to satisfy the blind ambition of a boy with too much power."
"Tsukune? But he's doing so much..." Kahlua suggested urgently.
"He's trying, i know that, my dearest. But he is so intoxicated by his own power, he does not see what he is doing. He is leading the world into another war and does not have the foresight to see it happening." Apollo gave a humorless laugh "It is ironic; here i am, more powerful and wise then he can even process or realize and yet i am at the mercy of that very same boy; influenced by a bratty child who calls me a bully, yet mercilessly kills, even those who could not even harm her."
"Lucy." Kahlua muttered knowingly.
"The day will come, when she is long gone. And with that, so will Tsukune's borrowed powers" Apollo followed up with a desparing look on his face. "And when that days comes, the world will see him as nothing more then a Vampire. Older he might be, but he has become too dependant on Lucy, lending him that power. He has not trained a single day seriously and as such, there will be countless of hidden enemies just waiting to take the chance to put him down."
"But Moka...everyone will..." Kahlua tried to argue, but saw the serious glance on Apollo's face.
"Can they face up to the entire Yokai world?" Apollo challenged "Even if they do, mankind will see it. Young Aono has made sure of that. And when the humans see the truth of Ayashi's own way of living, that is when the trouble begins." The Harbinger softens his expression as Kahlua looks at him troubled.
"My love, my throne was not just 'handed' to me. I have had to earn it. With my own capability, but it has never been about ruling over all; it has been about maintaining peace. It has been my place, to not only prevent pointless bloodshed but also to give both sides hope."
"And Mother Akasha?" Kahlua offered, and noticed Apollo sigh.
"My beloved daughter... I truly do believe that she has found herself falling into the same trap as Tsukune, because he is in the same position as she once was. A human, turned Vampire with the ideal of a brighter tomorrow. Blissfully unaware of the true nature of the world. So much so, she even turned on me...the one person I once thought would never do so." Apollo took another bite of one of the tuna sandwiches.
"But you won't just allow it to happen, will you?" Kahlua asked, her eyes widening as Apollo stood up.
"Tell me, my dearest; how do you help those, who are not even prepared to accept the help that they need, over the help that they want?" Apollo asked almost cryptically.
"I dont understand." Kahlua asked honestly, Apollo smiling softly in response.
"Do not mistaken me; In spite of my deeds, of my words and my views; i love each and every one of them. They are my kin" The Harbinger spoke gently before looking down "It will be heartbreaking to see them all hunted to their deaths...How can i help them Kahlua? I have done everything to warn them, everything to try and get them to see the truth...but the more I press this issue; the tighter their grip and the more they resist. Look at what they have done to me, for simply concerning over the safety of my great grandchildren."
"It didn't help the fact you hit Kurumu pretty hard." Kahlua objected.
"Better they hate me and live, then to love me as i just sit back and let their wasted drama unfold. If I am able to have them out of harms way, at the cost of their 'liking' me, it is a price I am willing to pay." Apollo retorted then swallowed hard "And yet, i have failed either way; they all despise me and will meet their fate in due time at the hands of those they were hoping to see join arms. And i am powerless to stop it; all because a spiteful...forgive the term; little bitch, calls me that which she is guilty of herself."
"Lucy supports everyone else though." Kahlua offered.
"She has also killed those who only attacked because they fear what they do not understand. The only two i have killed...regretfully so, was so i could illustrate a point; their deaths were unintentional and yet here I am; our family rejects someone who aspires to the same goal, yet willingly welcomes a cold blooded murderer with open arms." Apollo harshly shakes his head "Tragic irony, or poetic justice?"
"You mean that rabbit boy?" Kahlua asked curiously "I heard that Tsukune's cousin didn't take well to that."
"I did not go to Witch Hill that day to commit murder; and that is something that seems to place me in negative light in our family's eyes...to that the folly falls on my hands and the poor boy's blood is forever on my guilty hand" Apollo replied sorrowfully before resolving himself. "But surely they must know, deep down, I am not without my mind. I bluffed to illustrate the point, young Aono and everyone called my 'threat' as it were, so I was left with little option but to cease my illustration once he confronted me. If it was death I sort to sow, there would be no Witch Hill today."
"You mean when Tsukune faced you?" Kahlua quickly questioned, keen on her lover's response.
"His death would have done nothing, save place me in even more scorn with our family. Aono would have died a martyred saint while I the heartless assassin would become the author of the very bloodshed I have sort to avoid and the likes of Dracula would have profited from it all." Apollo then noticed Kahlua's puzzled look and so put his response more plainly. "Had I killed Aono, I would have basically become the cause of the same war I yearn to prevent. Aono has been viewed to have bested me and the likes of young Lucy has this notion that she has the means to prevent my rejuvenation if she were to slice me to pieces." Apollo snorted ironically "Of course, I am not that fragile."
"So in other words... Tsukune and Lucy aren't as powerful as you, like everyone thinks?" Kahlua asked; now curious to know the truth.
"Of course not." Apollo replied neutrally. "That power Lucy possesses; that she can lend others, is indeed a useful instrument, but not one that concerns me. Young Aono has placed too much reliance on the ability; believing it to be the trump card, that bests me." The Harbinger looks at his hand and flexes his fingers "An amateur's error; I do not unintentionally fall for the same trick twice and once Lucy has passed on, he will have to learn just how vulnerable he really is. Not by my hand, but by those who rise up and revolt; which they will in time. This is the consequence and the price of relying on borrowed power and allowing complacency to rise from a mistaken victory. If our family has succeeded in anything, it is only for ruining any hope for that what we both seek... and that hurts me more then anything else."
Kahlua simply looked down as she tried to take everything that Apollo had explained, most of it she could not understand but she had come to the realisation that the one she loved with all her heart was suffering; not from physical pain, but from a broken heart and the guilt of her own volunteering to spend her time in exile with him. The Vampiress walked over and wrapped her arms around the Harbinger from behind. Apollo smiled at the guesture before turning to nuzzle and kiss her neck.
"Thank you, my dearest. Not just for the food, but for listening to my lament" Apollo offered with a smile then blinked as Kahlua pressed her finger against his nose.
"You're my darling! I have to do this!" The Vampiress giggled before pecking his lips then heading back toward the house with an innocent skip. Apollo simply chuckled at the guesture before slipping his hand into his tunic pocket.
"One thing is for sure though..." Apollo muttered to himself as he pulled out an ornate looking stone that seemed to radiate in his grasp. "Young Aono will bring naught but death and he is being loved for it. My family will fall because of their unwillingness to listen; to realize that the world does not just belong to them, but to those yet to be. The suffering innocent of both worlds will be the penalty for such." Apollo's glance at the stone intensified. "Make no mistake; I WILL fufill my duty and see both worlds co-existing one day. I will be making my return to the throne for the sake of resettling order towards that ambition, that one would not have to 'rule'...
...Just as I vowed to, those many years ago."
