Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait, but here's the next update! :)

We have officially hit over one thousand reads, which may not seem like much for some but to me (since this series hasn't generated as much as some of my others and isn't as popular) it's something to be happy about~ So to celebrate, I'm dedicating this chapter to all of you lovelies! I know that I don't get reviews on this and hear from you all, but to my readers that have followed and favorited this, I appreciate it! :)

NOTE: Since this is the arrival of the Canadian peeps, there's going to be English spoken in the first half! As I've said before, English is italicized~ :)

Other note: I skimmed through this and fixed a few minor things, but I will fully edit this when I have time! ;)

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An Interested Twist

CH X;;

- x -

The day that the Canadian vampires were due to arrive had finally landed. As promised, Aries had been alerted by some of Krul's personal guards to retrieve her so she could go and meet with them. She hadn't even bothered to hide how ecstatic she was when she watched the side door of the cargo plane open, revealing the familiar face of Aden Maxwell.

Ferid watched Aries leap over the railing to the upper level of the shipment dock they had been standing behind and grinned, "Excited?"

"Yes!" She called up to him before running towards the staircase that had unfolded from the door opening, "Aden!"

The tall male looked at her and grinned, "Well, well, well! Hello stranger!"

"How was the trip here?" Aries smiled brightly as she watched the others begin to walk off the plane.

"Could've been worse, I guess," He shrugged, "Where's your mate?"

Aries ignored the way he spat the term out and motioned behind them, "He promised to stay on the upper level with Queen Krul while I welcome you all to Japan."

"Uh huh," His brow rose, "What about Autumn?"

She frowned slightly, "Didn't Kari tell you?"

"She said you were pretty vague in the way you spoke of her going on some mission, so care to give me any other details?" Aden's brow rose.

Aries looked at him, "We'll talk some more about this another time. You have bigger things to worry about, like keeping up with the Japanese nobles and trying not to be a dick to the higher ups."

"That's going to be difficult for him, and you know that," Kari giggled as she rushed down the stairs with her arms open, slamming into the Fifth Progenitor, "We missed youuuu!"

Aries giggled and hugged her back, "I've missed you, too!" She looked up to see Annabelle walking down the stairs at a more casual pace, followed by the two Major Generals and the twins, "Good to see you all."

"Ma'am," They all stood in front of her and bowed politely.

Aden turned to them all, "I want you all to prepare for unloading, as well as gather the troupes so that we can meet with these stupid fuckers who can't do anything themsel—oww! What the hell, Kari?!"

"I thought Aries told you not to be a dick!" Kari glared, "And you promised to be respectful on the way here!"

The twins, Brian and Orion, both grinned and whispered to themselves while Nicholi shook his head, "How unbecoming of a Lieutenant General."

Aries smiled, "As an order from me, who will be leading you all in battle, I ask that you all speak Japanese. It would be rude if no one understood what the other was saying."

"Fine," Nicholi and Stephan, the two Major General's, nodded.

"Why do we have to speak Japanese when they should be speaking English? I mean, we flew all the way here to help them so it's the least they could do," Aden muttered angrily.

"Stop being such a baby and just do it," Annabelle glared.

Aries sighed, "Guys..."

"Aries!" June walked over with two clipboards in her arms and smiled, "We're ready to unload all of the cargo. The troupes are all ready to meet with the Queen and receive their orders."

"Good job," She smiled, "Alright, lets get you all introduced and I'll let you all ask whatever questions you need to. Well, all of you except for Aden."

"Why not me?!"

"You're just going to be rude," Kari smiled innocently, "So that means we have to start talking Japanese now, right?"

Aries nodded before turning to the spot where Krul and the other nobles stood, "Come on down and meet everyone!"

All eyes landed on the petite pinkette dressed in black that walked down the stairs to meet them with several nobles following closely behind her. Aries glanced at all of the Canadian vampires faces and had to fight the amused grin as she caught sight of Aden's sneer, his ruby eyes trained on the tall, silver haired noble that was her mate.

"Welcome to Japan. I'm Krul Tepes, Queen of the vampires and the Council," Krul grinned at all of the Canadian vampires, "My apologies for not having Autumn here to greet you, but as of right now, she's running a little errand for me."

Aden bit back a scoff and nodded, "It's alright. As long as we have Aries with us, we will not lose to the humans."

"Boldly spoken," Aden's eyes met Ferid's as the Seventh Progenitor smirked, "Pardon my lack of manners. I'm Ferid Bathory, Seventh Progenitor and Aries mate. A pleasure to meet you all."

Kari and Annabelle exchanged looks while Aden held Ferid's stare, "Likewise."

"So," Aries cut them off before Aden could cause a fuss, "Are you going to personally split them up and pair them with a noble, or are you leaving that to me?"

Krul shook her head, "Both you and I will talk and decide since you know your troupes well and I can tell you how the humans will fight, but we'll discuss that later. I assume like you'd mentioned before that they all speak fluent Japanese?"

"We do," Annabelle nodded as she stepped in front of Aden, "Colonel Annabelle Maxwell, it's a pleasure to meet you Queen Krul. I apologize for my brothers obnoxious behavior."

Krul grinned, "I was forewarned, so no hard feelings," She looked all of the Canadians over before turning to Aries and Aden, "I'll leave things up to you to get them settled. Tomorrow my nobles and your commanding officers will meet and discuss strategy."

Aries nodded and watched as she turned on her heel to leave them, smiling to herself at the fact that the Queen wasn't being overbearing even with the new faces in Japan. She also noticed that as each of the nobles turned to walk off, only four remained, aside from Ferid.

She couldn't help but grin as she caught the way Annabelle was eyeing the Fifteenth Progenitor, Lucal Wesker, who had been standing off to the side taking in all of the foreign vampires with crucial eyes. Choosing to keep the comment she so dearly wanted to make for a later date, Aries shifted and nudged the tall auburn haired woman with her knuckles.

"I should introduce you all to someone important," Aries motioned for one of the four who had remained to walk over, "Everyone, this is Autumn's mate and the one who will be leading all of the advance team in the front, Thirteenth Progenitor Crowley Eusford."

Aden eyed the tall, muscular progenitor with a careful eye before sighing, and extended his hand (albeit reluctantly), "Aden Maxwell, Autumn's right-hand man."

"Or so you like to think," Aries added in a hushed tone with a sly grin on her face, making Kari and Annabelle snicker at the way his face dropped.

Crowley grinned and accepted his hand, "A pleasure to meet you all. These are my two aides, Chess Bell and Horn Skuld."

The two nodded politely to the three standing beside Aries while both Kari and Annabelle eyed them carefully.

Aries had a feeling things were about to go south, when Kari suddenly grinned brightly and unexpectedly reached for Chess, "She's adorable!"

Annabelle deadpanned while Aden fought to keep from chuckling at her behavior, "Kari, let her go. She's a noble, so we have to treat them with respect."

Kari ignored him, for Chess didn't seem to mind at all and was returning her hug with her own tight embrace, "Lord Crowley, can we keep them with us at the mansion?"

"If Aries says that it's okay, then I suppose that wouldn't be a problem," Crowley smiled at her before turning to Aries, "Although, Ferid told me that you two were going to be hosting them at his mansion."

Ferid nodded with a grin, "That's right. I want to get to know each and every one of Aries and Autumn's comrades, so it would be difficult if one of them went among the missing."

Chess frowned, "Oh, alright."

"Tomorrow after that stupid meeting is done, we can hang out and you can show me around your territory?" Kari offered with a bright smile, to which Chess nodded happily.

Horn watched the two and smiled, wondering if Autumn would be happy that they were getting along so well.

Aries smiled at the two before turning to Crowley and giving him a pointed look, "You and I need to have a little chat at some point."

"Oh?" His grin spread, "About Autumn?"

She nodded, "Yeah," She looked at Ferid, "All three of us."

Ferid tilted his head to the side, "Why, whatever could it be, I wonder?"

"Aries," Aden tapped her on the shoulder with a frown, "Your mate is giving me the creeps."

Annabelle nodded, "I don't usually agree with my brother, but he's right."

"Just give him a few days and you'll get used to him," Aries smiled back at them, deciding not to tell them about Autumn's own concerns regarding the Seventh Progenitor, "Let's go get you guys all settled in."

Aden nodded slowly before turning to the troupes, "Alright everyone, we'll leave the rest of the cargo on the planes and continue to unload it all tomorrow once we've gotten some rest. Stephan, Nicholi, Richard, Brian, Orion and June, you're all welcome to join us or stay with the others. As for all of you troupes, it's a shared request from both Aries and the Queen that you spend the evening in the barracks to better acquaint yourselves with the Japanese guards."

All the troupes gave an affirmative vocalization while all of the generals and upper commanders walked forward to meet with them. It was decided that Nicholi, the twins Brian and Orion, as well as Richard would remain with the troupes in the barracks while the others would follow Aries and Ferid back to his mansion.

Before Aries could follow alone with Ferid while he spoke to Aden and forced him into conversation, Crowley put his hand on her shoulder to stop her and leaned in close so he could speak to her quietly enough so the others wouldn't hear him.

"How hard would it be to convince a few of your men to follow me and go look for Autumn?"

. . .

"Man, we've been walking for hours! Can't we stop and take a break already?!" Yuu complained loudly for what seemed like the fifteenth time in less than an hour.

Autumn looked over her shoulder and flashed him a grin, "Sorry, but we just took a break not even forty-five minutes ago. Besides, we're almost there anyways, so you can make it. I have faith in you."

Yuu groaned while Mika, Shinoa and Mitsuba all shared a small chuckle.

From beside her, Shinya looked at Autumn and noticed the relaxed posture she had, "I take it that there are no enemies within a decent radius of us?"

"Nope, and there hasn't been for a while now," Autumn looked up at him and smiled, "I don't think there's anyone in Fukushima, so we should be good to camp there for a few days to let you all rest up and get your strength back."

"There are a few villages there that may allow us to stay if we offer them our protection," Shinoa added, "Although, it may take some convincing with you and Mika being there."

Mika nodded in understanding while Autumn shrugged, "If he and I prove that we're not a threat, I can't see the humans having a problem with us being around. As for feeding, Mika and I have enough blood bags to last us a while so that will take care of the worries about one of us getting too thirsty."

"May I ask you something?" Shinya eyed the Second Progenitor for a moment, only continuing when she nodded towards him, "Is there a reason for you to carry two swords?"

"My expertise is duel combat," She winked, despite feeling like she was explaining this aloud for the millionth time, "Although, I mostly fight with my left hand. I'm pretty lousy with handling a sword in my right hand, unless of course I'm using both swords. Funny, isn't it?"

Shinya chuckled, "Not at all. Perhaps we'll get to see you fight when we run into some Horsemen."

"Like I said to the kids before we left, I'm more than happy to spar with any of them when we're all settled and relaxed. However, I'll only need one weapon for them," Autumn grinned.

"So why carry two if you're confident that you won't need both of them?" Kimizuki asked, letting his eyes wander to the sheathes on her hips.

Autumn looked back at him, "I like to air of the side of caution. If we happen to run into any nobles, I won't give them the chance to get the upper hand and go at them with full force. Since I'm already technically a betrayer to the Council, it wouldn't hurt my case more by killing off a few of my kind."

"'Betrayer'?" Narumi's brow rose, "So then, you've lost your position as a vampire in their ranks?"

"If the Council knows I'm with you all protecting you, yes," Autumn nodded, "If not, then I'll be able to retain all of my authority when we get back. Krul assured me that no one would find out, but if Ferid suspects anything he could use that as leverage against her and force her to tell the Progenitor's Council."

Mika frowned, "If that happens, we could all be hunted down."

"Yep," Autumn sighed, "And with the Council's twisted way of thinking, they'd most likely send Aries with Crowley and his aides to come after us. I trained Aries so I know how she fights, but Crowley is another story."

"Do you think he would be able to defeat you?" Shinya asked, noticing the grim expression on Autumn's face.

She shook her head, "No, but I think if he and I were to really fight, he'd probably be able to hold his own even without drinking my blood. When Aries and I first arrived, I engaged him in a little play fight and I could tell that even without him trying that he was very strong. I can only imagine what his swordsmanship skills are like."

"We fought him when we were given orders to defend Shinjuku, and then when we were sent on a mission to infiltrate Nagoya," Yuu frowned, "That guy... He's insanely powerful."

Kimizuki nodded, "Not even our team and Guren's combined could hold him off. There were over a hundred of us in Nagoya and he easily took out a whole squadron of the army's men without even breaking sweat."

Autumn grinned brightly, "No offense to any of you with what I'm about to say, but I'm extremely pleased to hear all of this. After Aries and I were told about our mates, I hoped that mine wasn't a pushover. It's nice to hear that he's an extremely formidable opponent and will make for an entertaining past time when I get back."

Shinya chuckled at her while Shinoa and Mitsuba shared a knowing glance.

"So," Yoichi looked at her, "Do all vampires have mates?"

"Yes, all vampires do have mates," Autumn looked at him and smiled, "Each and everyone person, animal or other being on this planet has an other half, it's just finding that other half in your lifetime."

"Would you have had a human for a mate if you weren't a vampire?" He asked curiously.

Autumn shrugged, "Dunno, but I know that there's a possibility that there is a human out there that has the potential to be mine. It works differently for vampires than it does for humans. If our intended is a human, we just change them to set the balance."

"So that means that you could have your pick of two men?" Shinoa smiled slyly, "Well, where's the fairness in that?"

Several of them began to laugh while Autumn smiled back at the tiny girl, "It's just how it is. Although, if I hadn't of already accepted being with Crowley, I'd of probably picked Shinya."

Shinya blinked while the others suddenly went wide eyed, "Huh?!"

"Why not?" She grinned and shot the tall blond a wink, "He's handsome, easy to talk to, very loyal and has a sense of humor that I'm impatiently waiting to see in full tilt. He also has the most beautiful blue eyes that I've ever seen in my life, so that counts for something as well."

Shinoa grinned at the look on the former Major General's face, "Shinya, I don't think I've ever seen you go red in the face before."

Shinya took a moment to regain his composure and chuckled, "I'm flattered, Autumn."

"No problem," She winked, "Besides, these kids need to start considering the possibilities of having intimate relationships."

"I don't think sixteen year old's need to worry about sex at the moment," Shinya chuckled.

"They do," Autumn looked at him, "Think about it, Shinya. This world changed so drastically when the virus struck, that the chance of a normal childhood leading into their teenage years was robbed from them. They didn't get the chance to explore curiosity, nor did they really get the chance to plan out their lives and have high expectations for themselves before they really figured things out. I'm not saying all children their age would have been excited to explore intimacies, but they don't have the choice now. It's a world where they have to learn to fight, or they die."

Shinya blinked and gave what she'd said a good, long thought before smiling, "I suppose you do have a point."

"She is right," Shinoa grinned, "We were just normal kids until the virus hit. We were worried about school and boys, or what we wanted to plan for the weekend."

Autumn looked at Shinya, "See!"

"I'm glad you're so interested in the endeavors of a human teenager, Autumn," Shinya chuckled and shook his head.

"I have to be, considering back home there's over three-hundred children under the age of ten now," Autumn smiled, "They're all like my children, since I'm a vampire and can't have any myself."

"If you were human, would you have wanted to have some?" Mitsuba asked.

Autumn nodded, "Yeah, I would have wanted to have a huge family. I really enjoy being around children."

"Are there any other vampires back in Canada that like being around the kids, too?" Yuu asked curiously, his wide, emerald eyes shining.

She turned and looked at him with a grin, "Aries, of course. There's also Kari, who usually spends time with the little kids and plays with them."

"Sorry, but I can't really picture you as a mother," Kimizuki grinned slightly.

Autumn fake-scowled, "Why the hell not?!"

"Well, considering who your mate is, I can't really picture you and that freakishly strong progenitor raising children," His eyes narrowed in an almost playful manner, "It'd be like two mercenaries raising babies to become war-loving spawns of the bloodsuckers."

Autumn pretended to look offended and sighed dramatically, "Oh, Kimizuki, you wound me! Besides, Crowley would make an excellent parent. The man has the patience of a damn saint and can tolerate those who would annoy the average person. I mean, have you ever seen Chess on a good day? Not saying she's annoying all the time, but she has her moments."

"You mean the little purple haired one?" Shinoa asked, to which Autumn nodded in response.

"She's a handful, but she's the cutest little vampiress I've ever seen," Autumn smiled, "Although, she no worse than a little kid, which brings me back to my opinion about Crowley having the potential to be a good parent."

Shinya grinned, "Handling one bubbly, energetic vampire isn't enough to call himself a father."

"Come on, Shinya! You're supposed to be helping me!" Autumn groaned, "I mean, you and I have already established that there would have been potential if things were different, so just play along would ya?!"

Shinoa and Mitsuba laughed while the tall blond grinned sheepishly, "Alright then, but you have to do something for me in return."

"Oh?" The Second Progenitor blinked, "Like what?"

"I'll tell you after," He winked.

"Oooouuuu!" Several voices whispered, but were silenced by Mika's narrowed eyes.

"She's with another progenitor, so all of you get your minds out of the gutter," Mika sighed, earning a grin from Autumn, "What?"

"Look at you, being the guardian to protect my virtue!"

Mika felt his cheeks heat up slightly, "Well, I wouldn't be able to look lord Crowley in the eyes if I didn't say anything."

"Oh, we're just having a bit of fun," Autumn turned to look at him, "Besides, Shinya's a little too young to tango with me."

Shinya chuckled while Mika smiled small, "I see."

Yuu watched the two and smirked, "It would be interesting if you had of picked a human to be with. Imagine the look on the other vampire's faces!"

"No kidding," Narumi chuckled, "Then again, that's probably what the others think happened with Autumn and Mika."

Autumn stopped dead in her tracks to look at Narumi, "Does you joining our conversation and actually joking around with us mean I finally have your trust?"

"Well..." Narumi watched the teasing smirk stretch her lips and frowned slightly, "I'm still skeptical, but I guess you and Mika are alright. You haven't given us any real reason not to trust you."

"Good," She said happily, "About damn time, too! Even Kimizuki buckled before you did!"

Kimizuki motioned to Narumi, "I may have dropped the distrust, but I'm still not going to believe you one-hundred percent."

"I didn't imagine either of you would," Autumn said honestly, "Anyways, setting all of that aside now that we're all friends, we've finally arrived to the check point! Feel free to set up camp and relax while I go and patrol the area to make sure things are all good."

All of the ex-Moon Demon Army soldiers looked around and blinked. None of them had noticed where they were once they all got talking, so it surprised them to see that Autumn was right and that they were finally in Fukushima. It was at that moment that they realized just how long they'd been traveling.

"Wait up," Shinya walked over to Autumn after discarding his bag with the others when they'd begun to set up the camp, "I'll come with you."

Autumn looked at him and grinned, "You know, I'm flattered that you want to hold my hand and make sure I don't get into trouble, but it's not necessary. I'm a big girl."

"Damn, and here I thought I was being a gentleman," Shinya chuckled with a slight grin, "In all seriousness though, I'd like to come with you."

She gave him a thoughtful look for a moment, "Sure. Mika is there so I think they'll be alright if anything gets close to them."

Motioning for him to follow, Autumn turned and began to walk away from the group with Shinya in toe. They reached the path that the entire group had just come from and veered off to start patrolling the perimeter that the progenitor wanted around them. She explained to the human teenagers at some point during their journey that if another vampire caught her scent but didn't recognize it, they would instantly be deterred since all lower ranking vampires could distinguish nobles from the others. She also wanted to air on the more cautious side and give them all a wider birth than needed, making sure that her and Mika would be able to detect any enemies within a wider span instead of remaining in close-quarters.

"So, what is it that you wanted to ask me when we were alone?" Autumn asked after several minutes of comfortable silence.

Shinya looked at her and smiled, "It wasn't anything bad, I promise. I just wanted to get them all riled up is all."

"You're a naughty one, aren't you?" Autumn grinned.

"I try," He chuckled, "There is one thing I've been meaning to ask."

"Well, ask away~"

Shinya smiled, "I was just curious to know the significance of your swords is all. I get that you're a duel wielder, but those don't look like ordinary scabbards."

"Perceptive, aren't you? They're not straight-cut swords like most would use, but a rather vague description of them is that they're both shaped like a jagged fang with an upward tip," She grinned at him once again before sighing, "Hmm, where to begin... First off, I should tell you that I have the capabilities of using cursed gear, albeit for a limited amount of time."

"Oh?" Shinya looked at her with a somewhat surprised expression, "Why is that?"

"Long story short, I came dangerously close to becoming a demon myself, so I figure that's why I can handle it," She continued walking forward and smiled, "As for the two swords, like I said earlier I'm really shitty handling a blade with my right hand if I'm not using both weapons, so I mainly just use my left. I probably screwed myself over by favoring one side, but it is what it is."

Shinya smiled, "Nothing to be ashamed of."

"I know," She giggled, "Although it looks rather funny to some opponents when I whip out my sword in what they feel in the wrong hand, so I suppose seeing the expressions on other people's faces is worth it."

"Going back to your swords, are they regular blades or are they actually cursed?" Shinya eyed her, watching a look of surprise flicker over her face.

Autumn smirked, "My, my, so you figured it out without even looking at them," Shinya chuckled and winked before she continued, "Yes, they're cursed. There are two demons, being one per sword. The three of us have been companions for a very long time, so there's a mutual understanding. I also wear special gloves to help keep the balance of power in check, that way I can't become possessed or killed by my own weapon just by touching it."

"Damn," Shinya blinked, "Are you the only one who can handle cursed gear?"

She shook her head, "No, I'm not. Apparently the First Progenitor and a few others that followed their footsteps could handle cursed weapons, but like me it was only for a certain amount of time. Not many vampires have the power to control a demon, even though they were once vampires themselves."

Shinya nodded, "The Moon Demon Army actually has a facility for creating cursed gear."

"Oh, I'm aware of that," Autumn sighed, "Actually, I think a former vampire I never met but knew of is one of the demons used in their experiments."

This surprised him, "One of your own vampires?"

Autumn shook her head, "No not one of mine, but one of the vampire Queens. I won't say who it is because I'd have to see him with my own eyes to believe it, but all I know is that he would have made an extremely powerful demon."

"How do you know all of this?" Shinya's brow rose.

"I'm extremely good at hacking," Autumn smirked, "Self taught and very proud of my skills. I can find anything if I have a couple of computers at my disposal."

Shinya chuckled at her and sighed, "I should have known."

"You guys knew about me, didn't you?" She stopped walking and looked at him, "I overheard you speaking to Narumi about you and your comrades that were left behind doing some research on me. Knowing that there's not much to go by, I'm just curious to know what it is you found."

Shinya smiled, "Well, like I said to Narumi, there wasn't much to go by. When you told us all about how you treat your humans in Canada, that's what Goshi and I had found. There were no personal documents or anything pertaining to where you were originally from or even that you were a high-ranking progenitor. We knew you were a noble, but not the Second Progenitor. Only after we found a missing piece to another document did we discover your rank."

"I remained invisible for almost my entire life, so that doesn't surprise me," Autumn shrugged and motioned for him to follow as they continued their search around the perimeter, "I'm actually a little surprised that there was anything on me to begin with. Did you find anything on any of my other vampires?"

"Well, we have a little information on Aries Marlo, but it's nothing different than what came up for you other than the fact that she is the Fifth Progenitor," Shinya followed closely with Byakkomaru in his hands, "Are you two really the only nobles in Canada?"

Autumn shrugged her shoulders again, "Probably not. According to my darling Crowley, when a progenitor turns a human they almost always claim noble status. If that's true, then there's more than ten nobles in Canada, not including Aries or myself. Seventeen, to be exact."

"You didn't know that?" He chuckled and flashed her a teasing grin, "Even I knew that."

"Yeah, yeah!" She huffed and waved him off, "You forget that in Canada, we were segregated from the other nobles and the Progenitor Council. I didn't want anything to do with the other vampires because from what I've seen throughout my hundreds of years, they're all in a war against one another for more territory. I didn't want to put my humans or my vampires in danger if one of the other progenitors decided to challenge me."

Shinya watched her and smiled, "You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were against your own kind."

"Well, I won't lie and say that I don't feel ashamed of being a vampire at times," Autumn revealed with a sad smile, "All of the years I've been alive have been a real eye-opener. I've spent my fair share of years playing both sides, being that it took me a long time to appreciate human life when I'd found Aries and was pulling myself up from a very dark place. I could have easily been like one of the nobles here with no regards to their humans and chose to hunt you all down rather than help you all."

Reaching out, Shinya placed a hand on her shoulder gently and caught her eyes when she turned to face him, "We all know that, but we're grateful to you for your help. Really, we are. It would have been near impossible even with Mika's help if you weren't with us."

"Don't give me all the credit, Shinya," Autumn smiled at him, "You're all very unique humans that have so much potential. I don't think I've ever seen such a tight-knit group even with all of my own, so I will do anything to make sure nothing breaks that bond. Mika is no exception."

"You said you wanted to bring us back to Canada with you," Shinya grinned slightly, "Could it be that we've all grown on you?"

"Pretty much," She winked at him, "That, and I can protect you all from the other nobles and the humans when this war is over."

"Did you ever consider going back to fight with them?" Shinya suddenly asked.

Autumn looked at him for a moment before inhaling a deep breath, "Yes, I did. I wanted to be there to greet my family when they arrived and introduce them Crowley and his two aides... More than that, I wanted to be there to fight at the front lines so Aries wouldn't have to lead them and fight in my place."

"You could still go?" He offered with a small smile, "I'm sure Mika and the others would understand."

Autumn shook her head and put on the best smile she could at that moment, "Nah, you guys are stuck with me until the coast is clear."

"Stuck with you? What makes you think we'd just sit back and relax here," He suddenly grinned, "We'd go back with you and help you fight."

The progenitor came to an abrupt halt as she whipped around to look at him, "You can't be serious."

"Oh, but I am," Shinya said innocently, "It may take some convincing as far as Mika goes, but I'm sure if we put the bug in Yuu's ear, he would be more than happy to oblige. Besides, with you and Mika with all of us backing you up, we'll make a super team."

Autumn considered his words for a moment before slowly grinning, "I'll think about it."

"What about your orders from the vampire Queen?" Shinya's grin grew wider.

"Well," The girl in front of him smirked as she looked off to the side, "I never did think of her as my Queen, anyways."

. . .

Kureto sat in his office as he looked through the recent papers from the seraph experiments while Aoi stood off to the side and waited patiently for him to finish. His eyes scanned over the words quickly and the smirk on his lips grew wider and wider.

"Good. She will be ready for when we attack the underground city," Kureto tossed the papers onto his desk before standing up, "What news of Shinya and his group of misfits that escaped our territory? Do we know who is their current party?"

Aoi watched him but maintained the neutral expression on her face, "All of those who were listed under Guren's squad, being Shinoa Hiragi, Mitsuba Sangu, Yoichi Saotame, Kimizuki Shiho and Yuichiro Hyakuya. Narumi Makoto is also missing, sir."

Kureto chuckled to himself, "Poor, misguided souls. It's such a pity that your little sister and my own flesh and blood will be unnecessarily sacrificed."

"It will be for the greater good, sir," Aoi said, watching as he rounded the desk towards the window.

"Exactly," Kureto nodded, "Although, I don't exactly enjoy the idea of a few Black Demon kids getting out from under my grasp."

Both looked over as the door opened abruptly to reveal Guren, who sauntered in with his hands in his pockets and a lazy grin on his face.

"Did she tell you about the little problem we've got?" Guren sat down on the sofa to the right of the room and looked at Kureto, "Our watchers found out who was on those cargo planes that flew into Kyoto."

"Who was it?" Kureto turned to him with narrowed eyes.

Guren looked at him, "Apparently the vampires had reinforcements inbound, because the planes that landed were full of them. The closest our troupes could get to their territory and still remain in the safe zone was just outside of the city where the outside loading docks are. That's where they saw what looked like over one-hundred vampires and heavy weaponry being offloaded."

Kureto's eyes narrowed and his lips pulled into a thin line, "Is that so? Well, try as they may, we have a seraph that is prepared for battle. We will not lose this time."

"You may want to reconsider your strategy," Guren smirked as he pulled out a folded piece of paper from his breast pocket, "They also discovered something very interesting while they were gathering intelligence."

Aoi walked over and took the paper from Guren before handing it to Kureto, who quickly unfolded it and scanned its contents with his eyes narrowing even more.

"So they've got several nobles with them," Kureto said in an almost ignorant way, "What's your worry?"

"A few weeks ago a helicopter coming from Canada arrived and landed just outside of the vampire city, Sanguinem," Guren stood up and pocketed his hands, "Apparently there were two progenitors that were in the vehicle, and we believe one of them to be the Second Progenitor, Autumn Winters. Imagine if we could get our hands on one of those blood-sucking bastards as old as her to experiment on."

Aoi looked at Kureto, who had a pleased look on his face as he listened to Guren's words, "Hmm, you're right. It would make for an extremely profitable strain of experiments if we could get our hands on her. What of the other progenitor?"

"She's been identified as the Fifth Progenitor Aries Marlo, who is rumored to have been turned by the Second Progenitor herself," Guren walked towards the door, "One could only imagine how powerful a Black Demon weapon would be with one of those two."

"Is there any information available at this time in regards to any of the other Canadian nobles?" Aoi asked with her brow raising, not entirely enjoying Guren's leisurely posture slouched forward as he walked that was very unfitting to his rank.

Guren shrugged, "Not that I could find. One of the researchers and myself tried to find anything we could on either one of them, but the most we could gather was their titles and rank, and also that they're the only two listed as nobles. Another thing we found out is that they're uncharacteristically kind to humans, but that could have been false information."

Kureto watched Guren and nodded, "I see you're finally making yourself useful, Guren. I'll be sure to properly thank you with a well-deserved rank once this war is said and done."

"How thoughtful," Guren said in an amused tone before walking out of the office.

Aoi watched Guren leave before turning to Kureto, noticing he was looking at the paper that had been handed to him once again, "Sir, would you like me to update our men with the new mission?"

"That won't be necessary. I have a feeling that we will see those two nobles at some point, so there's no need to rush into trying to capture one," He explained, "Our goal will not only be the destruction of their Capitol, but to also capture not only those two female progenitors, but the others as well."

"Understood, sir," Aoi nodded and bowed slightly before pivoting on her heel and walking to the door.

Kureto watched her before returning to the window and grinned to himself, piecing together how things were sure to go once they finally attacked the vampires. They would invade Sanguinem and flush the immortal resistance from their hole and once they were exposed, they would unleash the seraph and completely annihilate the resistance.

"We're so close to victory, I can almost taste it."

I probably don't do "The Brows" any justice, but I find it's hard to type a character when you don't really like them in the series to begin with. Although don't get me wrong, I think Kureto's position as an antagonist is well-suited. I can't picture him as one of the good guys, even if he were to miraculously become one.

As for Guren, I know we only saw a snippet of him in this one, but I have plans for him. I haven't decided what his fate will be (no, I'm NOT killing him off), but we'll see once we get to the real action scenes. And yes, the action will be happening very shortly.

In regards to Autumn's group, what do you guys think will happen? With Shinya's suggestion floating in her mind right now alongside the extremely tempting thoughts of going back to Aries and Crowley, do you guys think she'll be up for actually disobeying Krul and suddenly appear on the battlefield? What of Mika? We know Mika's number one objective is to protect Yuu at all costs, but with Yuu's "hero" personality and the fact Guren will be there, will he be able to stop his friend from choosing to go straight into the fire? Important questions! :)

There is also the tidbit I put in here about Autumn's weapons being cursed. Now, I kinda rolled the dice with this one but because we've already learned that she can handle cursed gear for a short period of time, I decided to go with this path and see where it would lead to. As she said while explaining to Shinya, she wears special gloves to help keep her in control and make it as though she's wielding regular swords, so just bear with me on that one and go with it... Kay? :D

Also, before I post the next chapter, I'll be doing a bit of a sweep through all of the chapters to make any changes or fix things up. I noticed I've misspelled names a few times and that pieces I may have overlooked when I was editing before posting have come up, so I'll be changing things around a bit. Nothing major, just a bit of editing and clean-up. ;)

~ Kayori, out!