Disclaimer: I do not own Seraph of the End or any of its characters

"Speech"

"Thoughts"

Chapter 4: The Edge of Darkness

2 weeks after the Nagoya mission…

"Her cursed gear? Hmph. I take it that disgrace must have died in the battlefield then. Good, the Hiragi name could be rid of that mistake forever." Tenri said harshly. The tall eyepatch wearing man prepared to leave the room when Kureto stopped him.

"Wait. Something isn't right. This key-thing. It is cold." He said as he investigated the key. He turned it over a couple of times and studied the small object like it held the secrets of the world. He stopped and spoke up again when he saw his father's confused expression. "It's like whatever demon she had made a contract with has disappeared completely. This is practically useless. Either Shinoa was overtaken by the demon or it was released when she died."

"So? What's the damn problem then? Either way that thing is dead." Tenri replied.

"I guess you have a point. Well this definitely proves that things did in fact go south for the Moon Demon Company, but it doesn't necessarily explain their disappearance. Either way, it would seem that Guren and his pathetic army can no longer be a thorn in our side. We can finally put our plans of world domination in motion. Come father, I have something to show you." Kureto said as he rubbed his hands together.

"What is it that you have to show me?" Tenri asked.

"Something that'll guarantee that the Hiragi's will endure until the end of time."

2 weeks prior…

"Well I don't give a damn whether you know him or not! That son of a bitch just killed my comrade and I'm going to make him pay!" Taro yelled as he charged forward. Yuichiro and Kimizuki moved to stop him, but were too slow. All that anyone could do for him now was watch as he ran straight towards his own death. "You bastard! I'll kill you! Die—ugh!" Crowley moved so fast that no one even saw him draw his sword. Everyone looked on in horror as Taro was impaled and casually tossed aside like a doll.

"Is that all that you humans are capable of? Throwing away your lives needlessly? Why don't you all just drop your weapons and I'll make sure that your deaths will be swift. Come on! It's really hopeless you know. You lowlifes don't stand a—" It was Crowley's turn to be surprised as he barely had enough time to catch Yoichi's arrow. Everyone was in shock. He'd just caught a shot from a black demon series and threw it aside like it was nothing. "Wow! You almost got me there! Now it's my turn!" Crowley said as he vanished into the shadows. Everyone was on high alert and searched for any sign of their dangerous opponent. No one had any luck locating the noble, but he soon made his presence known again when he appeared behind a certain purple haired girl. "You know, your blood was absolutely delicious. I think I'll save you for last." He whispered into her ear. Shinoa swung around frantically behind her but was surprised to find herself swinging at nothing. The group didn't have to wait longer for him to appear once more as he closed in on the still grieving Makoto.

"It's all my fault. I wasn't strong enough… I couldn't save them." He mumbled to himself.

"Makoto! Look out!" Yuichiro called out. His warning came too late however, as the sergeant received a large cut across his chest. If it weren't for Rika's last second intervention the mission leader would have surely been killed. Irritated that he was robbed of a kill, Crowley focused all of his attention on Rika. The poor girl could barely keep up with the Noble's powerful attacks and was relieved when Mitsuba jumped into the fray with an overhead swing of her axe.

"Get away from her!" She shouted. For the second time, Crowley amazed everyone by grabbing hold of Mitsuba's axe mid-attack, and swung the unfortunate blondie over to his right and down into the ground. "No way! Are all nobles this powerful!?" Mitsuba thought from her position on the floor. Kimizuki approached from the rear and attempted to catch his opponent by surprise, only to cross swords with the powerful vampire. Yuichiro joined in on the action with an aggressive push on the right. Together the duo managed to back Crowley up, but neither had been able to land a single hit on him. Nonetheless, the two of them kept up their onslaught and waited for the perfect moment to unleash their plan. Getting tired of being on the defensive, the Progenitor made quick work of Kimizuki by kicking him away, but failed to do so with Yuichiro. The katana wielder proved to be much harder to get rid of. Irritated that a human was giving him so much trouble, Crowley unleashed a powerful overhead strike that brought Yuichiro down to his knees. It took all of his strength to prevent Crowley from crushing him where he stood. Yu couldn't hold out forever as his sword began to tremble as Crowley applied more force into his attack.

"Damn it Yoichi! Hurry up!" Although he couldn't hear his thoughts, Yoichi got the message. He readied his bow and prepared to fire the special technique he had been working on. He held his breath and waited for the perfect moment to shoot.

"Yoichi! What are you doing? Yu's going to be crushed if you don't shoot! What are you waiting for!?" Shinoa exclaimed.

"Hold on! Not yet!" Yoichi replied. After a few seconds, Yoichi got the chance he was waiting for when Yu successfully managed to deflect Crowley's attack. His sword came crashing down, giving Yu the small opening he needed to stun the vampire. He kicked at the bloodsuckers' knee, then ran up the downed noble's chest and flip kicked him straight in the head. With Yu in the air and Crowley reeling from the attack Yoichi fired the bow. Again, Crowley intercepted the arrow and without even looking.

"You dumbass brats! The same trick won't work—" Crowley couldn't get out of the way of the second arrow in time and received a nasty cut as it sliced through his right shoulder. "Gah! Son of a bitch that stings! That damn kid fired two arrows, one in the shadow of the other. Clever boy." The vampire thought as he leapt back towards the shadows. The noble took shelter in one of the abandoned buildings and carefully watched his opponents from the doorway leading outside. "That was a close call. If that shot had hit its mark I'd be nothing but a pile of ash right now. I have to take care of that kid." After recovering, Crowley made to move again but was seized by Shusaka's chains. "What the?"

"I got him! Now!" Shusaku called. Shinoa, Rika, and Kimizuki all sprung to action to bring down the Thirteenth Progenitor. Crowley had other plans however, as he seized the chain and yanked on it with all of his might. Shusaku came flying straight into Kimizuki's back whom was pushed straight into Crowley's fist. Leaping away, Crowley managed to avoid the rest of the attack. He wasn't out of the woods yet however, as he had to dodge a barrage of arrows. After the rain of arrows, Mitsuba came in with a sweep of her axe but only managed to kick up rainwater.

"Damn it! He's too fast! Nothing we are doing is working!" Mitsuba thought in frustration. She took her position with the rest of the group, many of whom were too battered to continue fighting. Sadly, their chances of survival were looking slim at best.

"Guys, it is no use. You should all get out of here while you still can. I can hold him off. No point in all of us dying here." Yuichiro said as he pulled out the small pack filled with the potent power amplifying drugs. Shinoa stepped forward immediately and tried to take the pack from the katana wielder.

"Like hell you will! You've already had two today, one more and you'll die for sure! I can't let you do that. I won't! That's an order Yu!" she said with tears in her eyes. Shinoa couldn't take it. She had already seen enough death for the day, and she sure as hell didn't want to watch as the boy she loved threw his life away. She was powerless however, as Yu downed his third pill and collapsed to the floor. "Yu! No no no no! Yu! Answer me!" she screamed as she cradled his lifeless form.

"The damned idiot…" Kimizuki said in disbelief.

"No…" Mitsuba couldn't stop the tears that fell from her cheeks.

"Yu…why?" Yoichi questioned. Crowley watched the whole ordeal with a smile on his face. He didn't even have to take out the Seraph, for he did it himself. Now that they were completely unfocused on the battle at hand, Crowley seized the opportunity and knocked everyone away without mercy save for a distraught Shinoa. Although he didn't kill anyone, Crowley ensured that no one would be able to interfere as he slaughtered Shinoa before all of their eyes. They all tried to move, to yell at Shinoa to run, but the girl wouldn't leave Yu's side. She was completely focused on him and totally oblivious of the vampire that was about to kill her.

"Any last words? Of course not. You pathetic livestock are all the same." He said as he ripped Yuichiro away and flung his body into an abandoned building with such force that the whole thing caved in on itself. Shinoa was horrified. Crowley picked her small form up off the floor where he held her by the neck. He ran the edge of his sword along the edge of her stomach and licked his lips. "Mmm how should I do this? Spilling your entrails all over the floor sounds like a good place to start!" he said as he drove his sword into Shinoa's abdomen. Everyone watching turned away in horror. They couldn't bring themselves to watch their friend die. However, if they paid closer attention then they would see that Crowley's attack never reached her abdomen. Shinoa was holding the sword just inches away from her own stomach, despite being choked. Crowley was in complete shock. He couldn't finish her. He looked down to see her bloodied hand holding his weapon with relative ease. The worst part was that she didn't even look like she was in any pain and a thick black aura started to surround the small girl.

"Yui…chi…ro" she managed to say just before her eyes rolled back and turned completely black.

"What the hell!? What are you!?" Crowley's confusion was enough to gather everyone's attention back to the scene.

"Oh no." Yoichi and Kimizuki both said from their positions next to each other. Even though they couldn't move they tried with all of their might to get back to their feet. Seeing her friends fighting the current pain they were in, Mitsuba called to them.

"Guys! What's going on?" she crawled all the way to the now kneeling forms of her remaining teammates.

"Shinoa has been possessed." Kimizuki told the blonde girl.

"Possessed? You mean by her cursed gear!? But how? It isn't nearly as powerful as a black demon series spirit and Shinoa is known to be able to resist that kind of thing. I mean she resisted Guren's didn't she? I don't—I don't understand." Mitsuba struggled to understand the situation. First Yu and now Shinoa. It was like reliving her past all over again. She broke down and began crying. Kimizuki did his best to comfort the girl while Yoichi began speaking.

"Kimizuki the same exact thing happened to me. Maybe we could, you know save her?" Yoichi proposed.

"Not yet." Came the surprising response from the orange haired teen. Both Yoichi and Mitsuba were about to give him a piece of their minds when he spoke up again. "Look. If we stop her now, we are all good as dead. We are just going to have to wait and see." Everyone focused their attention on the battle that was unfolding before them. Shinoa was wiping the floor with Crowley. He didn't even have enough time to block some of her attacks. Possessed Shinoa was absolutely relentless in her assault. Crowley tried to decapitate the crazed girl, but found that his swing only left him wide open. Shinoa came forth with a powerful slap that sent Crowley barreling through several buildings. A flash of lightning revealed to the spectators that Crowley was still on his feet after the attack but just barely. Seeing that her target was still standing, Shinoa's possessed form charged forward to put an end to the Thirteenth Progenitor once and her for all. Scythe at the ready, Shinoa prepared to deliver the final blow but was surprised to find it blocked by an all too familiar blonde vampire.

"Chess! Horn! Get him to Ferid! I'll deal with this." Mika ordered. The two female vampires nodded their heads and removed the battered Crowley Eusford from the battlefield. Once he was sure that they were gone, Mikaela turned his full attention to the twisted girl in front of him. "Damn humans! Always playing with things that they cannot control." He said as he struggled to gain the upper hand in their current stalemate. He decided to let her attack through with full force as he swiftly stepped out of the way. Defenseless and wide open, Shinoa couldn't block the savage kick that Mika unleashed on her. She tumbled through the air before crashing into one of the iron beams that supported the railway up above. Mitsuba, Yoichi, and Kimizuki barely had enough time to get out of the way of the collapsing structure. The trio didn't find any safety away from the rubble however, as Mikaela was soon upon them. "Before I kill you, tell me where I can find Yuichiro." He said simply.

"Like we'd ever tell you! Family of his or not, a vampire like you has no business with him!" Yoichi defiantly shouted.

"Fine. You'll be the first to die then." Mikaela raised his sword to put an end to Yoichi. Kimizuki raised his cursed gear in attempt to block, but he was still too weak from Crowley's attack that he was only knocked aside.

"Yoichi! No!" Mitsuba yelled. Yoichi closed his eyes and waited for the slash that would end his life. It never came however, as when the boy opened his eyes he was just as surprised as his other teammates to see Yuichiro standing in front of him, holding Mikaela's sword in the same manner that Shinoa was holding Crowley's earlier.

"I'm sorry Mikaela, but I can't let you do that."

Yuichiro's subconscious… 10 minutes earlier…

"Well you've really gone and done it now." Asuramaru said from his position on top of the katana.

"What are you talking about? What have I done?" Yuichiro asked in confusion.

"You mean to tell me that you've forgotten already? Jeez, humans really are stupid. You ate the third pill—and your organs exploded. So you're dead, at least you should be." Asuramaru explained.

"So am I dead or not?"

"Weren't you listening before bonehead!? You SHOULD be dead but you aren't. Don't look at me either. I know I'm powerful and all, but trying to put the pieces of your exploded organs together just isn't my forte. It's those damned Angels!I hate those things. So you aren't dead because of them. I wouldn't thank them though. In return they just stole more of your humanity. Sure you are more powerful now, but it came at a cost. Not surprising to say the least."

"Can I save my friends? With this new power?" Yuichiro asked.

"Yeah, you could. That is if you don't kill them first. Or if Crowley does—"

"Whoa whoa whoa! What do you mean if 'I don't kill them first'?"

"Easy, you humans often play with things you cannot control. Just the thought of power alone makes you all crazy. I don't understand it myself, but—"

"How can I control it?" Yuichiro interrupted.

"CAN YOU STOP INTERRUPTING ME!?" Asuramaru roared.

"Look I just want to protect my friends. I can't do that in my current state. I need your help Asuramaru. I need your power."

"And just how do you know that my power will help you to control that 'part' of you that you yourself can't control."

"I don't."

"Then why the hell risk it?"

"Because… I have things that I need to protect. That's why." Yuichiro stated firmly. Asuramaru didn't reply right away and instead approached the master that he recognized just two weeks ago.

"So you are willing to throw away your ownhumanity to protect the things that you love?"

"Whatever it takes." Yuichiro remained firm on his point.

"Humans can be so foolish. Love is so—disgusting. It makes you act so stupidly."

"Think that if you want. I don't care. I just need your power." Yuichiro said a bit harshly.

"Calm down. I already have given you all of my power. For the next ten minutes, you'll be able to utilize the full power of a demon. Before you go however, there is something that I'd like to discuss with you." Asuramaru said.

"What is it?" Yuichiro asked.

"Not now. There isn't enough time. I'll just tell you this, the next time you find yourself awake, come and find me. I have an offerfor you." Asuramaru took his position once more atop of the sword.

"Asuramaru!" Yuichiro called.

"What are you still doing wasting time here? You only have ten minutes you know!" Asuramaru said somewhat annoyed. He could never bring himself to understand humans. They were just so weird.

"I know. I just wanted to thank you, for helping me in my time of need. For a demon, you aren't so bad." He said as he began to fade away. Asuramaru was left speechless. Never in all of his years as a demon or a vampire, was he ever thanked by a human being. He didn't know how to respond. All he knew was that his normal blood lust feeling was replaced with something warmer, a happier feeling.

"Damned humans." He said as he closed his eyes.

Back at the battlefield…

"Yuichiro?" his squad mates all said in pure disbelief. They all thought they were seeing a ghost. He was covered in a thick black aura like Shinoa was, but his eyes hadn't turned black. The lone wing on his back wasn't present like the last time, so they were wondering how their seemingly dead teammate had been recalled to life.

"In the flesh!" he responded whilst maintaining his grip on Mikaela's sword. The blade was beginning to get slippery however, from all of the blood that spilled from his hand.

"Damn it, Yuichiro! Let go! They are just using you! They aren't your family! I am your family, remember? Come with me instead." Mika started.

"What are you talking about? No one is using me." Yuichiro said, somewhat confused.

"Yes they are! Don't you see they—" Shinoa's sudden outburst from the rubble put whatever Mika was about to say on hold. With blinding speed she appeared behind Mitsuba with her scythe and nearly cleaved the girl in two. Luckily, Yuichiro scooped Mitsuba up and got her away from her crazed teammate but not before yanking Mikaela's sword away and tossing it off into the rubble.

"What the hell is wrong with Shinoa!?" Yu asked.

"Well while you were—um—gone she kinda lost it and was possessed." Mitsuba informed him. Kimizuki and Yoichi soon appeared next to him, apparently in better condition than before.

"See Yuichiro, this demon is much weaker than the one that possessed Yoichi." Kimizuki said.

"It sure as hell doesn't look that way to me." Yuichiro replied.

"That's the thing that I don't understand either. She shouldn't be this powerful, so that must mean that Shinoa isn't entirely what she seems. Whether she knows it or not, I think she's got that same weird condition that you do or something similar. So that means we can definitely stop her but—"

"But what?" Yuichiro said.

"Your friend over there isn't just going to let that happen. I know that we can move and everything, but we are in no shape to fight a vampire. You on the other hand should have no problem keeping him off of our backs as we deal with Shinoa." Kimizuki looked straight at Yuichiro.

"Are you sure about this? If you can't fight a vampire what makes you think that you can fight Shinoa? She seems to be giving Mikaela a good thrashing over there."

"Because she's our friend. She wouldn't hurt us." Mitsuba spoke up.

"Yeah. Family protects family right?" Yoichi said with a smile.

"So, idiot are you in or not?" Kimizuki smirked and waited for his rival's answer.

"Of course. Whatever it takes to save Shinoa. Just one little thing… I um—only have so long until my body gives out from all of this power. You guys have six minutes at best. Think you can manage?"

"I see and then it's back to another coma for you. Well at least we will have some peace and quiet again." Kimizuki said with a small smile.

"Yeah. We'll be fine. Trust us." Yoichi added.

"Just don't go dying on us again, okay? We need you… Shinoa… needs you." Mitsuba said. The last part of her sentence put a small blush on Yu's face.

"You guys are right. Thank you but, I believe that we've wasted enough time on the sideline. Let's go save our friend." The Shinoa squad cheered and dispersed. Mitsuba, Yoichi, and Kimizuki did whatever they could to get Shinoa's attention giving Yuichiro the space he needed to confront Mika.

"She really did a number on you there didn't she? Don't worry she's actually pretty cool, you know when she isn't possessed." Yuichiro said nervously. The blue eyed vampire just sat slumped against the wall and glared at his former brother.

"How could you?"

"How could I what?" Yu tensed up for whatever Mika was about to say next. He was sure that he was going to bring up how he abandoned him in the past. This time however, it wouldn't just be some nightmare or the work of a demon. This time it would be the real thing.

"Let them use you like that!" Mika said angrily. "They aren't your family! They're just waiting for the right moment to stab you in the back. You are nothing more than a puppet in their schemes. They deserve to die." The last remark brought out a change in Yuichiro, one that Mika himself had never seen. Yu picked the beaten vampire off the floor and slammed him into the wall.

"Who the hell are you!? The real Mika would never say things like that! The Mika I knew was a loving and caring person! What did the vampires do to you!? Why did you change!?" Yuichiro yelled.

"Nothing! They made me see the truth! They showed me how ugly humans really are. They are worse than the vampi—" Mika's words were lost as Yu shoved him through the wall.

"How dare you!" Yu yelled once more as he swung at the person he thought was his brother. Mikaela intercepted the punch however and landed a hit of his own, freeing himself in the process.

"Fine! If you won't see reason, I'll take you by force. Then I'll kill them so that they can't play with your mind anymore!" Mikaela lurched forward and took Yu to the floor. Mika punched twice at Yu before receiving a nasty hook himself. Dazed from the last hit, he was unable to stop Yu from kicking him off and maneuvering to even the odds. Both brothers yelled and charged forward, each of their fists colliding with the other's face. Mikaela backed into what used to be a bar area and Yuichiro collapsed on one of the tables. He rose quickly to his feet and utilized his military training to land several good strikes to Mikaela. The vampire had learned a few things of his own and demonstrated them with a vicious roundhouse kick that knocked Yu to the floor. "You done yet? There's plenty more where that came from!" Mikaela said to the downed Yu.

"Hardly!" Yuichiro replied as he rolled away from a kick that would've definitely broken a rib or two. He leapt up and connected another right hook on Mikaela and followed up by smashing his head into the nearby wall. Mika reeled from the attack and didn't have the senses to dodge the kick that Yuichiro sent to his stomach. The former human crashed onto a table, shattering it. "You may have kicked my ass all those years ago, but not this time. I have too many things to protect." Yu said as Mika slowly rose to his feet. Yuichiro stepped forward, albeit too soon as Mika punched him in the stomach and got him in a chokehold.

"Seems that I still have the upper hand." Mika said confidently. He spoke to soon however, as Yu elbowed him and judo slammed him onto another table. Mikaela then showcased the flexibility of the vampires by managing to land a kick to Yu's head from his downed position. Stunned by the powerful kick, Mika followed up with a punch to the stomach and two more to Yu's face. The last attack Yu successfully blocked, leaving the blue-eyed teen open for a counter-attack. The human seraph landed two solid strikes on the vampire and dodged two fight-ending attacks himself. He closed in again and pinned Mika into a corner. He pummeled the poor vampire with strike after strike, so much so that Mika caught onto his attack pattern and executed a well-timed head butt. With both brothers at a complete stalemate and slowly losing all of their energy, their all-out brawl turned into a slugfest. One after the other, demon and vampire took turns exchanging violent blows to each other's skulls.

"I won't lose!" Yuichiro roared as he came in with his final right hook.

"Give up!" Mika said as he came in with his left. Both attacks found their mark and sent both boys backpedaling. "Impossible!" Mika thought as he felt his legs give way and he collapsed in a heap on the bar floor. Yu managed to regain his composure as he struggled to make his way to his downed brother.

"I told you that I would win. I'd never lose to a vampire. You seem to have forgotten who you once were. I don't know what they did to you, but you aren't the Mika I used to know. If I am being used or not doesn't matter to me because one way or the other at least I know that I am. I can't say the same for you however. How do you know that the vampires just aren't using you? You know, every night in my dreams for the longest time, I would relive the moment you all died. It was torture. Then I met all of them and everything changed. Thanks to them I was able to move on. So you see Mika, I can't let you kill them because they are my family. Lay one finger on them, brother or not, I swear that I will kill you." He said to the remnant of his past. It took everything that Yu had to avoid breaking down at that very moment. After all of these years apart, the two brothers emerged as enemies. The victor hobbled out of the building. Ironically, his fight with Mikaela felt more like a defeat than it did a triumph. Mika said nothing and stared blankly up at the forgotten roof of a renowned social venue. As soon as he was sure that Yu was gone, he let himself cry.

"Is that what I've become? Am I—just a monster?" Mika rolled up into a ball and let his feelings flow. He would sit that way for a long time, until finally resigning to his fate and leaving to rejoin Ferid and the others. "No, I'm not the monster here. It was them. They did this to you. They made you think that I was the enemy… One day Yuichiro. I'll make you understand. They aren't your friends. Even if I have to take them from you, whatever it takes—to save you." He silently promised himself. Vampire or not, Mika was not going to give up on his brother so easily.

Meanwhile…

Yuichiro called out to his squad mates. When he received no reply he started to worry. "I hope they are alright…" he thought. He would never forgive himself if something happened to them. The worst part was that Yuichiro was starting to feel his strength fade away. Truth be told, his demon power ran out in the middle of his fight with Mikaela. It was a miracle that he was even standing, but he couldn't collapse now. The will to find his friends was the only thing that kept him going.

The sun pierced the gray clouds to reveal a bright new day had come. The members of Shinoa squad and the remaining few from the Narumi squad all sat in silence in the middle of a forgotten park. Mitsuba sat with the unconscious form of Shinoa just underneath a tree. Everyone had heard Yuichiro's call, but unfortunately none of them had the strength to call back. Their battle with Shinoa was definitely no walk in the park, (no pun intended) if the many fallen trees and battle scarred earth were any indication. Their Jida uniforms were almost completely torn to shreds. Kimizuki didn't have anything to cover his bare torso and Mitsuba barely had enough of her outfit left to cover her 'assets'. Again they all heard another one of Yuichiro's calls, this time however he sounded close. If they didn't do something and quick then he might just miss them. "Yo…Yoichi…" Mitsuba said hoarsely. When the bow user managed to finally look her way, she gestured for him to do something to get Yu's attention. Nodding his head in reply, Yoichi set out to accomplish his last and most important mission of the day. Using his bow to rise to his knee, he fired one last shot into the air. He prayed that Yu would see it, as that was all the power that he had left. No one would witness Yu's arrival as they all succumbed to their fatigue and passed out.

When Yoichi's arrow pierced the sky Yu's worries were all washed away. "They did it." He thought proudly. Once he arrived, the katana wielder was surprised to see everyone out of commission. It was when he finally caught sight of the non-possessed Shinoa that he was filled with joy. "She's okay after all." He limped over to the sleeping forms of the two girls when he saw how uncomfortable they both looked. At the tree, he fixed both girls into more comfortable positions before placing his jacket over the two of them. He smiled when he saw that even in sleep, the two girls fought over the warmth of his jacket. With one final task in mind, Yuichiro forced himself to walk to a small hill in the middle of the park. Once there he reached into his back pocket to pull out the flare gun that Guren had given him for emergencies. He aimed it toward the sky and shot off the green-colored ball of flame. His final task complete, Yuichiro smiled before allowing himself to also slip into darkness.

A/N: And that ends Nagoya! Man, fight scenes are a real doozy. They are really hard to write. Originally, I was going to write in the battle between Shinoa and the members of her squad but, it ultimately proved to be way too much. As you may have noticed, the chapters are getting longer and the reason for that is: the original content is all starting to roll out! Woohoo! Here and there I may follow an arc or two if it fits in with the story, but other than that this bad boy is walking its own path. Now some of you may be wondering what happened to Shinoa's cursed gear and to you I say, WAIT! Answers will come soon enough. So with that being said, I'd like to personally thank Harukamiori for leaving me my first review as well as those of you who have favorited and or are following this story! It really does motivate me to keep writing and I hope that many more will continue to enjoy reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it. As always feel free to leave a review or PM me if you have any comments, questions, suggestions, and/or concerns. So until next time Seraphans, Frosty out!