There was a low murmur, Suzuna had been stopped listening hours ago. She still couldn't figure out why she was here; her mission was a success, she'd been sent to a nearby village to terminate a Duras. She'd done just that. But still, here she knelt waiting for the Elders of the Clan to hurry up with their incessant chattering and let her go back to her small home.
"Suzuna-san!" Someone called making her lift her golden gaze, to meet the eyes of Takashiro.
"Can I go?" She asked, arching a brow.
"Yes," Suzuna starting to rise to her feet. "Rui will show you to the gate."
"Gate? Are you sending me back out so quickly, Shiro?" A feral smile curls her lips, the thought of hunting down ore Duras making her heart pound with adrenaline.
"No, if you had been paying attention," Takashiro gave her a pointed look. "then you would know that we have decided that you're banished from the Giou Clan!"
"Banished?! What the fuck for?! I did what was asked of me; I killed the Duras!" Suzuna argued.
"You also killed half the people living in that village!" An elder to the left shouted.
Suzuna threw her hand up in exasperation. "What's your point?! I got the job done. So what if a few humans got in my way?"
"Part of that job is also to protect the humans," Takashiro reminded her. "I'm sorry Suzuna-chan, but we have decided you are a danger to the Clan and therefore are no longer a part of it. You may go and live amongst the humans, and when you die, you won't have to fight anymore."
Suzuna stared at the men around her, each wore the same stony expression as they watched her, she could feel her blood burn at the injustice, her temper was rising ready to explode and take out every person here. Instead what she said was, "Fine, but you will regret this Takashiro! I don't need you to bring me back! I don't need any of you!"
Storming out of the building she saw the other Zweilt standing close by, they had been waiting to see what had come of her too. She glared at each of them; they had all hoped for this she could see it. "Guess you won't have to deal with me anymore."
The relief from her so-called friends was palpable, and with a snarl, she took a horse and left the Zweilt.
Araya woke up late for school. Again. It wasn't that irregular of a thing; she knew all the material. How could she not after being reborn and going through school countless times? The first time she came back had been a huge triumph for her; it proved to herself and Takashiro if they ever met again, that she didn't need him, she could learn the spells all on her own.
It was a natural choice not to go to school. Instead, Araya took a long, hot bath, read a few chapters in a new book she had bought the day before. It was around four in the afternoon when a soft knock came upon her door. Peeking through the peephole, she saw it was a girl from her class and opened the door for her. "You came a long way."
"Teacher asked for me to bring you your homework," The girl explained.
Araya took the small stack and casually dropped it on the counter. "Did he ask you to bring it back tomorrow too?"
"Yes. Why don't you just come to school? You have the highest marks the school has seen in twenty years, but that won't mean anything if your attendance is crap."
"I don't need to show up to prove I'm smarter than everyone," Araya stated, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall of her apartment.
The other girl scoffed at the remark but didn't dispute the truth of what Araya said. "I'll be back in the morning, just leave your work outside your door." Araya waved as the door shut and sighed, flipping through the papers she got to work and was done less than an hour later. The rest of the day was as uneventful as the morning had been, Araya read, watched some TV and went to bed.
Takashiro was sitting at his desk in the Twilight Mansion, in front of him was a picture of a young girl that he knew all too well; with gold eyes the color of honey, long chocolate hair with wild curls and a scowl that promised death awaited anyone who displeased her. It had been half a millennia since Suzuna had been exiled, and she'd been right in that she didn't need him to reincarnate her. That didn't sit well with Takashiro. What else did she know? Who had she learned it from? It was doubtful that Reiga was involved, Suzuna had always been too smart for her own good.
He sighed and leaned back as far as the chair would go, he had hired a private investigator two years ago to find Suzuna, he hadn't expected the investigation to actually be fruitful, but there she was. Now came for the tough part, how did he proceed. She was a wild card, unlike the other Zweilt, Suzuna never seemed to care for the Light of God, her powers were unmatched, and with a touch that could be lethal, she wasn't someone you wanted to mess with. He supposed he could beg her to come back; she'd love that. He could kidnap her and force her to bend to his will, but that would get him nothing other than a pile of bodies. No matter what the Zweilt needed all the help they could get, even with Reiga defeated, for now, there were still countless Duras roaming the area, Opasts among them.
Another sigh left Takashiro; the Zweilt had been at peace without Suzuna, there hadn't been as much fighting in the ranks and less clean up after battles, where anyone involved either got out of her way or lost their lives. Picking up a small file he read through it, her name wasn't Suzuna anymore, but Araya. He jotted down her address, and stood from his chair, calling his secretary, Ibuki, he gave her the address and told her to have the car ready in an hour.
The next time she woke up it was to some idiot with a death wish knocking on her door. Rolling over to glare at her clock it was three in the goddamn fucking morning; yep, someone was about to die. Scooting out of bed, Araya pulled on an oversized shirt to cover her nakedness. Stomping to the door, she throws it open and sees a face she never thought she'd have to look at ever again: fucking Takashiro. Without a second thought, her fist flies forward and connects with his nose, sending him back a step and allowing her to slam her door in his stupid face.
What the hell was he doing here?! How did he even find her? After her exile, she hadn't had any contact with him or any of the Zweilt. Apparently, her message hadn't gotten across for a minute later there was another soft knock. "Suz- Araya, I'm not going anywhere until you talk to me," with that said the knocking started up again, every few minutes a few light taps would sound.
Araya went to her room and shut the door to keep as much of the sound out, but being a very light sleeper anytime she started to drift she was roused in a moment. Two hours of knocking and Araya was ready to snap his neck, not to kill him since it would take far more than that for her to be rid of the cockroach, but just to paralyze him for a while so she could sleep.
Going to the door Araya opened it, Takashiro had learned and was a step farther back then he had been earlier, "Ready to talk?" He asked with a smirk.
The need to strike him again was strong, but she bit her tongue, clenched her fist and stepped aside to let Takashiro in. "The fuck are you doing here?"
"I see your sharp tongue hasn't dulled," Was the only response she got as Takashiro looked around the small apartment. "Let's get to the heart of why I'm here, shall we? I want you to come to the Twilight Mansion with me."
"No," the word was out as soon as Takashiro finished speaking, "You can leave now."
Takashiro took a seat as if he didn't have a care in the world, his legs crossed and his fingers intertwined. "Won't you at least hear me out?"
"Look, Shiro, it's been a while since we last talked and as I remember the conversation didn't exactly go well, so you can take whatever apology you've been formulating and shove it up your ass. The Zweilt are behind me."
"I know you've been out of the loop for a while now, but our numbers are dwindling with each passing year, we need everyone from the Giou Clan as we can get," Takashiro tried to reason.
"So, the only reason you're here is to tell me I need to get married and have babies for the next time you need to reincarnate the Zweilt?"
Takashiro rubbed the back of his neck and looked quite uncomfortable. "Always looking at the glass half empty."
"Well, no matter how you look at the glass, I'm not going to help you with this Takashiro. You had me on your side all those years ago, and you cast me aside for people who you could control. Now you can get out of my house on your own, or I can make you," Araya threatened, the room suddenly seemed to darken along with her mood and Takashiro stood quickly and went to the door, Araya followed, ready to shove him into the hall if he opened his mouth and tried to talk her into going with him.
Hand on the knob Takashiro cracked the door open and turned to her, "You're sure there is nothing I can do to change your mind?"
"I'm positive," Araya snapped ready for this conversation to be over and for her to go back to pretending that the Giou Clan didn't exist.
"Then I am sorry about this. Luka!" Takashiro flung the door open and stepped to the side. A man who completely dwarfed her took two long strides, and he was through the door and in her home, reaching out and grabbing the back of her neck before she could even process what the hell was going on a bolt of electricity went through her body, and she slumped into the man's arms completely unconscious.
"You are sure this is the best way to handle her Takashiro?" Luka asked scooping the unconscious girl into his arms. He has sensed her power even as he stood out in the hall and the unnatural darkness that had surrounded her before he knocked her out had been startling, to say the least.
"She's always been stubborn, if talking won't work, we'll have to make her see reason in other ways," Takashiro explained. "Now let's go before someone sees us."
Luka nodded and followed Takashiro to the car were Ibuki was waiting for them, her eyes widened when she was the barely dressed girl in Luka's arms, but she didn't say anything, only got into the driver's seat and started the car.
For a human, this time of year was considered to be cold, and Luka shrugged out of his coat and wrapped the sleeping girl up in it before her buckled her seat belt and sat in the seat next to her. Putting an arm around her, he pulled her close so that her head was on his shoulder. Takashiro met his eye in the mirror and arched a blond brow, but Luka didn't offer an explanation for his actions.
For no one could know, that he and this girl had met once before.