AN: Wrote this about ten months ago.
Pale moonlight illuminated the garden as the delicate petals of the cherry blossoms floated down in the soft breeze. The rhythmic tok of the bamboo fountains spread throughout could be heard over the soft buzz of nighttime insects. In the middle of the Japanese garden was a circle, the perimeter marked by dark, blood red gems inlaid in the stone.
Within the circle, trapped in a bubble of light pink aura, stood the demon. His dark hair pulled back samurai style, and the blacker than sin kimono complementing his ruddy complexion. Outside the circle, a few feet away, a young woman stood with her hands clasped in front of her, head bowed. Her white silk kimono embroidered with cherry blossoms almost glowed in the moonlight, with the black sash around her waist like the darkest shadows. Her long black hair covered her face from the demon, and the comb decorated with a jeweled cherry blossom glittered with the reflected light of the full moon.
"Algaliarept-senpai," she said quietly, lifting her head.
The demon blinked and tilted his head, trying to place the woman. "Sakura-chan?" he asked, his exotic lilt giving the perfectly pronounced Japanese syllables a seductive tone. "Or would it be Sakura-sama, now?"
Pale red colored her ivory skin as she blushed. "Sakura-chan is fine. Everyone else calls me Sakura-sama."
"Well then, my little blossom, to what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected summons?"
The Asian elf cast her light brown eyes to the side trying to hide the flash of uncertainty before she answered. Her ruby red lips parted and she took in a breath, but the light pink of the circle flickered before dropping completely, and Algaliarept hissed more in surprise than pain as an arrow grazed his shoulder. Sakura, however, gasped in pain as the arrow embedded itself in her chest. The demon caught her before she hit the ground, his red goat eyes staring at the red blossoming around the arrow's shaft. He growled as the girl's father came into view.
"You are a fool, Nakamura. Why did you kill her?"
Her father sent the angry demon a wary glance before looking at his dying daughter. "She brought dishonor on her house. I had forbidden her to summon you, and she deliberately disobeyed me."
"If you didn't want her, you could have given her to me!" Algaliarept yelled. He looked down at the girl in his arms, her blood spreading through the silk fabric. She grasped his arm across her waist, her hold on him weak, as her heart struggled to pump blood that wasn't there through her veins. It seemed to last both an eternity and only a moment until her light brown eyes lost their light. The demon glared at the male elf. "I could have sold her. She had only basic training, but she was young and beautiful. Both would have sold for a fair amount. Idiot! You simply can't throw things away!" Abruptly, the demon stood, leaving the dead girl on the ground. "Now she's of no use to either of us. I should kill you for your stupidity. In fact, I think I will."
xxx
Even though two lives have ended, cherry blossoms still fell in the breeze, their shadows cast by the pale moonlight.