Hinata stared at his brother on the other side of the field. He wanted to run towards him immediately, but the tension in the air was impossible to ignore.
"Hinata?" Akashi called out, immediately locking eyes with him. His voice was soft but clear and a bit broken. The tension was shattered, and Hinata give a sigh of relief that his brother was OK. This was good. They wouldn't have to fight full scale battle they had expecting. It was then Akashi turned his attention to the vampires in the clearing, glaring slightly at Kageyama.
Suddenly, a realization hit Hinata full force. These guys were still on opposite sides. They were all part of a conflict that had started years ago, and it was still raging. Would they fight here? They were both traveling with some incredibly powerful vampires, but then again the vampire hunters had really been damaging Oikawa's faction, and it had been harder for them to continue the war effort. With the strength of the vampires gathered, it would be a tremendous loss for either side of they fought and lost. If a battle broke out, it might decide the winning side of the long vampire war once and for all.
"Vampires," Akashi stated, "If you would allow me to have my brother back, I would be happy to stop the bloodshed before it starts. I'm here for one thing and one thing only, and I'd have no qualms about leaving you in peace." The vampires on his side were intimidating, but it was obvious that they had lost a great deal of their numbers since there really was only a handful of them left. He desperately hoped that that they wouldn't call his bluff and see that his group couldn't afford the losses that a fight would bring, regardless of whether they won.
Kageyama stayed quiet for a while, not sure if he should accept or not. They were in a similar position; he didn't want to lose anyone on their side either. Hinata could feel the tension rising again. The ball was in their court, and they couldn't afford to make the wrong move. Kageyama held onto the hilt of his sword.
"He can go, if you will take his place," He finally replied.
Capturing Akashi was their original goal after all, but that goal was much more dangerous now that Akashi had finally awoken his power. That's why Kageyama had a plan, though Hinata didn't know it.
"Heeh? OK, I'll play your game, vampire. But I can't promise I'll behave," Akashi smirked. Hinata felt Kageyama tense for a fight again. Akashi walked forward and held his hands in the air next to his head, but Kageyama and the other vampires in the clearing knew that it didn't mean much. After all, the cross now laced around his neck was an obvious sign that he wasn't really surrendering anything. Hinata recognized the smile on Akashi's lips and could tell that he was planning something. Something that would not end well for his boyfriend if his brother went through with it.
"Wh-what if I do-don't want to go?" Hinata managed to stutter out before Akashi could make it half way across the clearing. Akashi looked at him slightly confused and at the same time slightly annoyed. He had worked his ass off to get this far, only to have Hinata throw a wrench in his plans. Not to mention he'd originally thought that Hinata had been being abused by these vampires and would gladly leave them. He usually wasn't wrong about a lot of things. Akashi give him a look that threatened to give way to his persona with the yellow eye. The hint of bloodlust that Hinata got from his brother steeled his resolve to end Akashi's plans before they started.
"Akashi, I don't want anyone to get hurt, including these vampires," he said with a glare of his own. His large eyes became serious and unyielding, and anyone who looked at him got a slight chill. Hinata was rarely ever pushed so close to the edge.
Akashi backed down immediately. "Hinata, how could you possibly want to stay with these creatures?"
Hinata was slightly taken aback. "Well what about the people standing behind you?" He asked pointing at the vampires around Akashi who looked slightly offended at the comment.
"Hinata, I am here for you, not them. They could die if it allowed you to live, not like they care about me either. They're all incapable of love, outside of their love for blood," Akashi stated. "I've lived with them for weeks, and all they've done is fight. Even if they want to love they can't show it!" He eyed Kise and Aomine, knowing that two were often separated. "Even my best friend lied to me and then ran away by hiding behind work! Vampire don't really care for humans."
"That's not true! Kageyama, this vampire here," Hinata pointed at Kageyama," loves me, and I love him. Vampires are capable of loving more than blood!"
Akashi looked surprised at this. He really hadn't expected that. "Does he drink your blood?"
"W-well yeah..."
"See, it's just blood. You're being tricked!" Akashi retorted, "You can't see it, so I guess I'll just have to force you to!"
Akashi pulled his cross over his head while simultaneously placing his finger on its small blade. His blood made it grow to its full size. He then took one large step forward and rushed towards Kageyama, who had just enough time to pull his sword out of his sheath to block the blow. Akashi was strong, but Kageyama was one of the top vampires in his faction. He pushed back against Akashi, who jumped back through the air and landed on to the ground with his cross across his shoulder.
"Akashi, what are you doing?! Stop!" Hinata yelled at him, but it was ineffective. His yellow eye glowed menacingly, giving Hinata the chills and causing any other words to die in his throat. His brother's golden iris appeared to be shining brighter than Hinata had ever seen it before.
"It looks like we ended up fighting anyway in the end, huh?" Kuroo commented, pulling his swords out. Both sides of followed suit and the battle began. Hinata yelped as Kageyama moved him away from the battle while being pursued by Akashi. Noya tried to slow Akashi down but was failing miserably. His bat was ineffective against the strong cross, so perhaps it was lucky that Noya wasn't his target, or he would have been fighting a much worse battle.
Suga went after Murasakibara with his sniper, but the large giant just kept moving out of the way quickly. He couldn't do much more than distract him, but at least this way the giant couldn't help any of his teammates. Aomine was fighting Kuroo in a fight to determine the better ass-hole sword wielder. They were both extremely skilled, and a number of lower ranking vampires caught in the middle of their clash were killed. Their swings were quick and they matched each other blow for blow with neither yielding to the other.
Not too far away, Kise was spraying bullets at Daiichi, who wasn't as fast as other vampires, but was smart. He twirled his staff so quickly that the bullets were deflected and Kise's attack was rendered useless. Still, with how fast he was spinning, he had to concentrate hard, meaning he could only walk forward slowly to avoid losing focus. With every step he took forward though, Kise took a step back.
Nijimura looked like he really didn't want to fight this battle, in fact he looked depressed after what Akashi had said earlier, but he was still looking out for him and needed to protect him. He was fighting against Kenma, but really they were simply keeping each other occupied as they both had their minds on their respective Akashi brothers. They fought with the same claws, which made Hinata stare for a while because he remembered hearing it was supposed to be a rare ability.
Midorima was up against Tanaka, it seemed that Tanaka was winning the battle, but Midorima was just a little too skilled at using the trees and the terrain to his advantage to let Tanaka beat him so easily.
They were caught up in their individual fights until a loud sound resounded over the battlefield. It was clapping. Everyone immediately stopped at turned towards to the source. Even Akashi stopped, but he didn't dare then turn his back on his enemy.
A man with graying brown hair walked into the field, still applauding slowly. He was followed by ten or so vampire hunters. Even though Hinata had never met the man he immediately recognized him.
Masaomi Akashi. His and Akashi's father.
With a sadistic half smile, the man surveyed his surroundings with an air of amusement. "A large number of hunters died on their way here, but then you filthy creatures were doing such a good job of taking care of yourselves, that I suppose it wasn't so much of a major loss after all." As the man spoke, Kageyama saw Akashi lower his head until shadows covered his eyes.
"Seijuurou, I was informed that you were here by the hunters you killed earlier. Now that you have awaken your power, it is finally time to take your rightful place at my side." Masaomi offered. Well that explained the hunters from earlier and their walkie talkies.
Akashi suddenly came at him, swinging his cross with all his strength and an uncharacteristic lack of control. Masaomi easily dodged the sloppy movement. The attack prompted everyone to spring into action. The hunters launched themselves at the vampires, but facing off the strongest vampires from both the Kuroko and Oikawa factions was easier said than done. The vampires went into battle once more, only this time they were united. All of them worked together to make quick kills of their opponents, and both sides felt a kind of relief at the fact that they weren't fighting each other. As humans and vampires battled around them, Akashi's father spoke to him again.
"Seijuurou, I see that you have grown to hate vampires as much as I have. Join me! I have been trying to get you back to me since the day you left, and now it the time to turn to me before it is too late! We can stop this war, and end vampires," Masaomi said elated at the sight of his son.
"Akashi don't! The reason you left was for me right? I still need you! If it's true that we can end the war, then help me end it peacefully! I won't forgive you if you let these people die!" Hinata screamed out at his brother.
Akashi stood there, his eye flickering between red and yellow. He said nothing for a while, mulling over his choices, but in the end, he really couldn't have Hinata hate him. He was a cinnamon roll of a brother, and no one could deny that. Akashi put his cross down at stared at his father.
"Father, if I didn't want to join you then, what makes you think I will now?"
"Hah, is this just you being rebellious? I thought you were over that. It doesn't matter though; you've already inherited the soul of the Akashi vampire hunters. If I stay out of your life, THAT will drive you to kill them all. Only then there would be no one there for you like there was for me! Your brother that you held so dear is siding with the vampires, and everyone else you care about is one of those bloodsucking abominations! You can't hold out forever."
"Leave father, or I will just turn it onto you now, while I still have the strongest vampires on my side."
"Hah, they'll all be dead soon enough, if they continue to be around you," He said smugly before he jumping back into the trees and out of sight. Akashi debated whether or not he should chase him down after all, but the other vampires were all too tired to face the strongest hunter.
"Akashi, what was he talking about?" Hinata asked, breathing a sigh of relief that his brother had taken to his side.
"I had a nagging feeling, but I didn't think that it could get any worse," Akashi whispered. "Hinata, the Akashi line is cursed. It's the reason our family's so good at vampire hunting. Apparently the curse places a hatred for vampires that develops separately from the host but gives the host incredible power... and the more this power is used, the stronger it gets. It's like it is replacing me. He's right, I won't last long like this. I'll help you Hinata, as the last thing I will ever be able to do for you, but if we really want vampire peace, then we have to stop father."
Hinata simply nodded. Quietly he hoped he never unlocked some overpowered ability that would later backfire on him. He then helped his brother up to walk over to the group of vampires. Nijimura tried to take Akashi from Hinata, but Akashi glared at him. "I don't need to be any closer to vampires then I already am."
It was then Kageyama had the camp packed up and came over to the two humans.
"So this is your boyfriend, huh? Sorry, but I wasn't myself earlier. I can't judge you two…." In his mind the sentence ended with, "because I'm in a similar place." Kageyama just nodded, a little uneasy around the human.
"I guess the best place would be to go to Oikawa's palace, but I doubt we would be able to do anything without Kuroko here to represent his faction officially," Kageyama huffed.
"That won't be a problem. I've noticed that Kuroko has been trying to connect the two of us for a while now. He probably thought I wouldn't notice, but he underestimates me."
Kageyama and Hinata then exchanged glances.
"Have you had any problems with it...?" Hinata asked, worrying that his brother might be in the same situation as him.
"No, any problems went away when were had our regular meetings. Specifically, when he drank my blood," Akashi answered.
Kenma, who had apparently overheard, then asked, "How long have these, ah, meetings, been going on?"
"Ever since I met him, really, so maybe a month or so? It's kind of hard to keep track of time in a vampire castle..." Akashi started thinking. It was odd that he didn't know the exact time, but then again he had also been fighting with himself the past week or so.
Kenma's eyes widened a bit, "You must be really strong blood mates then."
Akashi turned his attention to the vampire, "I believe you are right, I can feel him watching me right now. It's as if we're connected by a thin link..." Akashi then closed his eyes for a bit. In a confident, commanding voice, he said one word.
"Kuroko."
All of the sudden a small vampire with blue hair stepped out of Akashi's shadow. If Hinata hadn't heard a thousand times that Kuroko was the vampire king, he would have thought surly thought he was a lowly servant. He was even shorter and thinner than Akashi.
"Akashi, it appears that you've realized that we are connected," Kuroko said in his usual monotone voice. Hinata was still getting over his appearance. He really didn't look like someone who would be a ruler. No wonder Oikawa and a bunch of other strong vampires were against him.
"Yes, I've noticed for a while now. A vampire here told that we have become blood mates," Akashi replied. They both were so formal but familiar at the same time.
"Yes, that is what the bond is officially called. I am rather surprised that one of Oikawa's vampires knew this though, they usually don't care about humans enough to ever form a bond."
"What is this 'bond' anyway?"
"We are connected through blood. Depending on the feelings involved, it can either be similar to marriage, or it can be ended without anyone feeling a thing," Kuroko explained.
"I see. Well it was useful this time, as were your shadow powers," Akashi replied as he processed how this would affect his plans. Hinata had to laugh a little. The two were so cute! Both obviously were close with each other, judging by how openly they were talking, but they were too professional for their own good. "Hinata," he suddenly addressed his brother. "How did you come to learn about blood mating?"
"Haha, um, yeah... I've formed one too. With Kageyama, actually. That's how we realized our feelings..." Hinata looked down a bit and scratched his neck, embarrassed to admit that was really the reason and how unromantic it was.
"I see... and knowing you, it probably affects you more than most people. You're too friendly and open for your own good." Akashi stated very matter-of-factly. Hinata blushed, was he really that easy to read?
"Well now, Kuroko, shall we go see Oikawa?"
Kuroko looked around at his and Oikawa's tired vampires. He saw Hinata and shrugged, "I don't see why not. They won't hurt you, not anymore, and it looks like they've even taken to a human themselves." Akashi raised an eyebrow at his words.
"I didn't really want the throne anyways, just you," Kuroko whispered so only Akashi could hear. He walked on as if he hadn't said anything at all, and Kuroko's vampires all bowed to him before falling to formation around their king, still unsure of what they were to do.
"Don't, there's no point going if you all look ready to kill anyone who gets too close to me. It's time to finish this once and for all." Kuroko sighed, he couldn't help but feel that things were moving a little too fast.
They then walked to the castle in slightly awkward silence, with the exception of Akashi and Hinata, who were happily catching up while constantly being watched by both Kageyama and Kuroko.
"They didn't harm you, did they?" Akashi asked, concerned. "You're not losing too much blood now, are you?"
Hinata immediately remembered how when he was first brought to the castle. It seemed like a lifetime ago that he was dragged in, chased, beaten, and forced to live in a dungeon with barely any light and raw food. Hinata figured he shouldn't tell Akashi, as he didn't want anyone dead, and the last thing Akashi needed now was to pick yet another fight.
"No, they treated me fine." He saw Kenma scoff and Kageyama blush, and Akashi's eyes narrowed. " U-um, well ,Kageyama never takes too much blood. He's too scared that if he takes almost any at all then I'll faint, but I'm not that weak." Hinata huffed and pouted, hoping to discourage Akashi from asking more questions on the subject. Akashi got the message and didn't press Hinata. He wasn't completely convinced, but his brother definitely did seem fine now and would never lie to Akashi. At least not to his face.
"You're right, an Akashi is certainly that not that weak. Nevertheless, your boyfriend has my thanks for keeping you are safe," Akashi replied.
"Soo~ what have you been up to on Kuroko's side? And when did Nijimura become a vampire?" Hinata asked curiously. Akashi smirked at little at Hinata being his usual bubbly self.
"Really all I've done up until now has been trying to look for you. It's been quite the struggle, though really I've only taken this long because I've been sitting around, waiting for Kuroko's permission. And Apparently Nijimura has been a vampire this whole time," He said, ending it on a slightly bitter note.
"He has the same claws as Kenma! Is he a descendent of the last vampire king too?" Hinata asked. Akashi just looked at him and blinked a little.
"Don't tell me I know something you didn't? Is this what you feel all the time? It makes me feel so smart." Hinata started to beam.
"Well it did cross my mind, but I was too focused on finding you to ask about it." Akashi admitted.
"Apparently before Kuroko's family line became King, there was another really strong line! It was one of their signature traits to have claws growing from their hands that kind of glow and stuff! Anyway, it's really hard for vampires to heal from wounds made by those claws, and apparently it's a really rare ability that only a few vampires have," Hinata explained. Akashi nodded.
"So this family used to be in power? Do you know how their rule went?" Akashi asked.
"Apparently they were so well respected that every vampire pledged allegiance to them, even if they didn't agree with how certain things were done," Hinata replied. That gave Akashi an idea.
The two then continued around talking about simpler things, like how living with vampires was. The two found that the two groups were actually quite similar, though the vampires immediately disagreed. Akashi asked them a few questions and it was plain to see that all that was really different about them was the side they were on (and their policy of humans, but that appeared to have changed dramatically in the last month).
Hinata then asked, "So how did you awaken your powers?" He was curious about how his brother suddenly became a giant cross welding warrior.
Akashi sighed, "I believe it was when I came into contact with the cross you saw me using, father had sent it, so it was a part of his plot to get me back. It must be something in the metal used to kill vampires that triggered my reactions."
"Well, you have always had that second personality," Hinata said quietly to himself. He didn't notice, but Akashi's hand clenched a little. How long had he been struggling against this without even realizing? It was too late to try to fix it now.
The group walked all the way back to the castle. The vampires were getting along much better now that they'd fought together against a common enemy, and they didn't seem like adversaries any more.
When they reached the castle, Iwaizumi was standing outside.
"Why did you bring Kuroko and his lackeys here?! If you lost the battle, the you shouldn't have let them follow you back here," He said sternly.
Oikawa's vampires looked down, knowing that they had done wrong. Kise was about to say something, probably something along the lines of, "That's rude, we came here to help you!" but before he could, Kuroko stepped out in front of him.
"We come in peace. Bring Oikawa out. Tell him it's the command of the vampire King," He said professionally. He wasn't serious though, it was really just to rile Oikawa up. Apparently it worked because Oikawa heard this and came thundering out.
"Who do you think you are!? Kuroko, you can't demand anything from me, you weakling!" Oikawa thundered out.
Even Iwaizumi had realized what Kuroko was trying to do and sighed when Oikawa strutting over to the other vampires. "Thank you for returning my men, but if you don't mind, all I want to see of you is your head on a platter. And you talk of making peace..."
Kuroko simply continued staring, unfazed by Oikawa's chidish display. "Hello Oikawa. I'm here to give up my crown in exchange for help in bringing down Masaomi. "
"Masaomi AKASHI? NO wAY!" His voiced cracked. "Everyone will die! It won't matter if you leave your crown, there'll be no one left to oppose you!"
"Which is why I propose an alliance. The vampires here have already agreed."
"Is this true, Kageyama?" Oikawa questioned, and Kageyama nodded as he looked at his leader straight in the eye to show his resolve. Oikawa clicked his tongue but turned and motioned for the group to follow. The vampires walked into the gaudy, gothic style castle. Immediately after entered, the mood of the castle became tense, and all the vampires inside were staring in confusion. Why was Kuroko, their sworn enemy, just walking through their home? Kuroko ignored them and walked straight to planning room.
"First things first. Noya, go tell all vampires to stand down. We are no longer at war. Kuroko, do the same," Kageyama ordered. Kuroko pulled out a random cell phone and called Momoi, relaying the command. Once that was done, they began to discuss their plan regarding Masaomi and the other vampire hunters under him.
"We need the strongest vampires from both sides if we want to win this battle. We are going after the strongest vampire hunter in the world, so we'll need all the extra muscle we can get. Unfortunately, the majority of our men are still scattered around on vampire hunter patrol. It'll take some time to gather all of our troops from both sides," Kageyama commented.
"Oh, don't worry, I will can have them here in a moment," Kuroko stated and then pushed his hand into a shadow in the wall and yanked a surprised soldier from the darkness. "Whoa, my liege, you really have to warn me-!" The poor soldier didn't even get to finish his sentence before being pushed back into the shadow and being returned to where he came from.
Oikawa whistled, "I see being the vampire king has its perks. That is quite the power you've got there."
"Don't you have some kind of ability as well?" Kuroko questioned.
"Oh, nothing in comparison to Kageyama, but I'm one of the best strategists around. I use everyone to their fullest potential. How do you think I've been able to keep up with you despite having less support?" Oikawa stuck his tongue out condescendingly. Kuroko nodded, not really caring for Oikawa's behavior.
"Well now that we have the strongest vampires between us, shall we actually formulate the plan?" Nijimura asked.
The rest of that night was spent planning on an attack. Eventually they went with a plan formulated by Oikawa and Kageyama, which involved using Akashi minimally. They had even teleported in Kagami to help command the front of Kuroko's armies. He was extremely surprised that he was in Oikawa's castle and that no one was attacking him even though he knew they were at peace because Momoi had told him.
The next morning, they were well rested and prepared for a full scale battle. One that would be fought by both sides. They were off to go to face Masaomi, whatever the outcome may be.