Dark eyes, pale skin, full red lips, long raven black hair, and an hourglass figure that her tight fitting dress only accentuated. Around her neck was a rosario with a blue sapphire as its center piece. Under the pale moon light she looked almost radiant as thought standing in the darkness were her natural element. She came to a stop five feet in front of him and folded her hands neatly in front of herself.

"Hello brother dear."

"Hello Ria."

She looked at him with obvious interest. "I was quite surprised to hear from you. We have not seen each other since the wedding, what, four years ago now?"

He nodded.

"Are we alone?" She made a point of looking about the empty park. "Is my dear sister not here as well?

"No she's not."

The tone more than his words brought her focus back to him. Such bitterness and anger! "Oh me oh my, don't tell me there are problems in paradise? You two seemed such a perfect couple."

"We're not a couple anymore," Tsukune said. It hurt to admit that out loud. It didn't seem right. They truly loved each other. They were supposed to be together forever. It didn't seem natural to have it all end like this. It didn't seem possible.

But it was over.

Moka had done something that was unforgivable. She had not only betrayed him but done it in a way that was deliberately meant to hurt him. He had warned her what would happen if she carried out her threat and she had still gone ahead with it. She had made her choice and broken her vows. He would not go back to her.

He thought he might forgive her one day, but he would never again be her husband or mate.

Ria could practically taste his sorrow and pain. She took half a step closer and leaned forward a bit. "Do tell?"

He did.

He told her about the argument he and Moka had been having and about what had just happened. He left out the details and did his best to just relate the facts.

Ria hung on every word, clearly delighting in the sordid mess her sister had created for herself. When he finished she decided to sum up the situation to make certain she had it correct.

"So my sweet sister thought to compel you to obedience and when that failed she felt the need to carry out her threat and at this very moment she and Gin are in your marriage bed rutting like a couple of pigs in heat."

"I am so glad you find all this so amusing."

"Oh brother dear please don't be that way," she said doing her best to sound sympathetic. "What she did was simply awful."

"You've done much worse."

"True."

Her easy agreement did nothing to make him feel any better. "Why did I call you?"

"Actually I am rather curious about that myself brother dear. Why did you call me? While we have known each other quite well in certain aspects we are not close and have not spoken in some time. Truthfully I thought you despised me."

"I do," he readily admitted. "And I know you hate me and Moka, but in a weird way that makes you the 'safest' person for me to talk to right now. None of my family or human friends know the truth about me. I've lost touch with my old friends from Youkai and any way I don't really want to tell any of them about this just yet. I don't care what you think of me so in a way I can be more honest with you than I can with anyone else right now."

With an amused grin she bowed her head. "Well I am honored to be your confidante. By all means tell me how I can be of service."

"I want to end things with Moka," he told her flatly.

"Just like that?" Ria asked trying to disguise her excitement. "Don't you want to at least sleep on it Tsukune? Give it some thought? This is Moka after all, your one true love. I know! Let's go back to your apartment. Once they've gotten done screwing and taken a shower to clean off all the bodily fluids we can all sit down like adults and talk about this. She can cry and tell you how sorry she is and you can forgive her. Then in nine months you can help her raise Gin's litter."

"You're really torn up about this aren't you?" Tsukune spat.

"Oh come now, you know my true feelings. If I made the pretense of being sorry we would both know it was a lie. Why bother?" Her eyes took on a sharper interest and she drifted just a little closer. "You know I do like you Tsukune."

He took a couple steps back. "That's just one more lie. The things we did meant nothing, you forced me into that just to hurt Moka."

Ria slowly nodded. "At the very beginning yes, it was all to hurt her and to punish you for rejecting me. As things progressed though my motivations began to change."

"Is this where you tell me you started to really care about me?" He asked coldly.

"If I did would you believe it?"

"No."

"Then there is not much point is there?"

He shook his head wearily. "You're nothing but a liar Ria. I can never tell what is real or fake about you."

"Then let us set my character aside for now and concentrate on you. I am quite happy to be at your service brother dear. I only wish to make sure this is what you truly desire. It would not reflect well on me were you to change your mind in a week or a month and suddenly have Moka crying to Lord Akashiya that all this was my doing. So I ask you again; are you sure you want to end things with my sister?"

"Yeah I am," he said. "She made her choice."

"Divorcing her is simple enough. I'll put you in touch with Fairy Tale's legal department and being the paper work. The process should be completed within six months. That is the easy part. As you know we vampires give no credence to human ceremonies. So far as Lord Akashiya was concerned your wedding was no more than some silly human ritual. The blood rites you performed when you made Moka your mate and entered the family are another matter."

"It figures that vampires don't really believe in divorce lawyers," Tsukune muttered. "Can I stop being her mate?"

"It is possible," Ria told him. "The term is to renounce. You wish to renounce her as your mate. The problem is that unlike with human marriages a vampire mating involves more than just the two individuals; it is also seen as a union of two vampire clans. Now since you are a second born vampire you obviously have no family of your own which makes things a bit simpler. However you will need to receive permission from Moka's family."

"I have to get Lord Akashiya to agree to me leaving Moka?" He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"You see the difficulty?"

"Yeah."

He and Lord Akashiya had a rather complicated relationship. When Moka had first introduced them her father had politely threatened to dismember him. Lord Akashiya absolutely adored his third daughter and did not feel that any second born vampire could possibly be worthy of her.

Tsukune had also had his issues. In his eyes Moka's father represented the worst of vampire kind. He was proud, sensual, arrogant, and cruel. He was a firm believer in the theory that 'might made right.' The strong were entitled to whatever they could take and the weak had no rights at all. Violence and bloodshed were natural and his daughters were all brought up in the midst of fierce competition. They were taught that weakness was the only unforgivable sin and that if they were not strong they would be allowed to perish. Lord Akashiya was the unseen owner of Fairy Tale, a vast corporation dedicated to not only making profits but also to extending his control into both the human and monster realms. Ria had introduced him to some of the company's secret activities and they had reminded him of what the yakuza might have been like.

Since then Tsukune had been forced to admit the man did have some virtues as well. He was a man of his word and had a sort of old fashioned honor. If you could earn his respect you could depend on him no matter what. He was a terrible enemy but a stout friend.

Tsukune had managed to earn his respect and even his liking, but Moka was still his most beloved daughter. He was not at all sure how Lord Akashiya would react to his request. Especially as he might not consider her actions all that objectionable. Moka had often reminded him that vampires had a 'different moral code' than humans. One of those differences was that sex was not viewed in the same light. It was just a form of pleasure, nothing more.

Until tonight he and Moka had always been faithful to each other. Other vampires however (Akashiya, Ria, Kahlua) simply did not believe in monogamy. Pleasure was to be taken however they pleased and did not hesitate to have multiple lovers at any given time. Lord Akashiya was actually mated to Moka's absent mother and had a harem to satisfy his voracious appetites. The blood rites demanded loyalty and devotion; they did not mention fidelity. Even Moka admitted that this was considered normal for her kind and it was her attitude that was the exception.

How would Lord Akashiya react when he told the man he wanted nothing more to do with his daughter?

"This isn't going to go easy is it?" Tsukune asked.

"No it will not," Ria replied. "Does that dissuade you?"

"No, I've made my decision. Easy or hard I'm not backing down."

She came to his side and lightly placed one gloved hand on his arm. "That is something I have always like about you Tsukune. You have courage no matter the situation." She smiled. "You don't always show good judgment but no one can fault your resolve."

He looked at her sideways. "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"You may take it as one if you wish."

He just shook his head.

"Don't worry too much brother dear, the situation is difficult but far from impossible. Especially with me at your side."

"So what, we're supposed to be friends now?"

She tapped one finger to her lips. "I believe the humans have a saying that covers this situation. 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend.'"

He began to laugh. "So Moka is my enemy and you're my friend? My life has just gotten completely fucked up hasn't it?"

She smiled and patted his arm comfortingly. She did not tell him he was wrong.