"I know there's something more you're not telling me. Kiara, she—"

His exhaustion was not enough to hide the tension. "It doesn't concern you. Yui. Please—"

"I'm not as naive as you want me to be, Shu. Can't you trust me? You even chose Reiji over—"

"It's not about trust! Sometimes things need to be kept between two people and two people alone—"

"To the point where you'll lie to your wife?"

"If it must be so then yes."

She shook her head. "You say you don't want to be like him. But sometimes I wonder if you're more like your father than you realize."

He tensed, feeling his anger begin to overturn his tiredness. "You don't know anything about my father. Don't talk like you know what he did—"

"I know enough." She spit it out with uncharacteristic coldness, which was enough for him to snap, grabbing her with his good arm, pulling her to him with his fangs bared.

She stood unfazed, the eyes that scanned his face shining with tears, pink lips pulled flat into a thin line. "Will you bite me? Like you did back then?"

He clenched his jaw, squeezing his grip before he let her go, bringing his hand up to rub his face. He exhaled shakily, shaking his head.

"Sit down." He ordered. "This will take a bit to explain."

…

"Oh." Reina cleared her throat upon entering her room. "I didn't think you'd be here."

Reiji closed his book, putting it back on the shelf, "I was searching for something." He said easily.

She cocked her head. "It's not like you to forget a title."

"Indeed," he breathed, "It's not."

Reina swallowed uncomfortably, inhaling deeply. "Well. In any case I have something you might need to hear."

"As do I," Reiji said, reaching for another book, and flipping it over in his hands. "I believe I owe you an explanation."

Reina's eyes widened, excited breaths filling her breast, "I had assumed as much."

"You're aware of Shu's obsession to outdo our father, yes?" He said flippantly, scanning the pages of his book.

Reina chewed the inside of her lips, "He's trying his best. I don't think wanting to be better than Karlheinz is such a bad thing—"

"It's irrelevant, in any case. Always wanting to right the wrongs of another person. Rather than a waste of time it only creates more problems—"

"Reiji."

He exhaled. "He wanted to send a formal apology to the Tsukinamis, to make amends, you understand. An appeasement of sorts between our two kingdoms."

"I don't see much wrong with that." Reina commented quietly. Reiji nodded. "An offer was put in place."

Reina sat on the bed, staring at him intently. "…What sort of offer?"

"In exchange for their cooperation in the ruling of the demon world, we would provide them with information collected on Endzeit."

Reina lowered her gaze. "I take it that didn't go very well."

"He was insulted naturally. To assume so boldly that a Founder would simply—"

"But surely he was expecting such a result! For Shu to—"

"Mattaku. Are you still surprised at his arrogance?"

Reina bit her tongue. "When was this?"

"Long before the children were born."

Reina sat quietly, thoughts whirring in her head as she tried to piece the information together. "Then?" She asked, "What did he do?"

"As you can imagine it did not go smoothly," Reiji pushed up his glasses, "Rather than a treaty we were met with a declaration of war. I assumed as much would happen. But Shu didn't feel the need to take precautions. Thus it stood to reason I should take a few of my own."

Reina stiffened, "Reiji, please, just tell me already."

Reiji sat down by her, offering her the book. "It's no secret that demon blood will cure any ailment, with the proper sort of purification. I am almost certain the Tsukinamis hold that very copy in their own library."

Reina nodded, motioning for him to go on. Reiji adjusted his glasses once more. "However with the lack of a demon, options are limited. There are ways to contain Endzeit of course, to lessen the pain, without use of the supernatural. But they were jailed for so long they're inevitably ignorant to these methods, so Carla is forced to lessen his burden with magic. Naturally that sort of thing is only as powerful as his current condition. I can only assume that he has indeed reached the point of desperation where he can no longer endure it."

Reiji watched his wife's eyes fill up with tears, which she did not bother to stop, a small hiccup parting her lips while she sniffled, quickly wiping them away. "That's why you…"

"With Kiara's current knowledge she'll successfully be able to buy herself some time, even if they do discover that she is not Eloise. Though it's unlikely that they'll remain ignorant for much longer."

"But then," Reina said, regaining her composure, "Why Yuma?"

"I have no doubt he will do something brash." Reiji said calmly.

Her eyes widened with irritation, "That'll only—"

"He will draw attention upon himself. And Kiara will use the distraction to escape."

Reina shook her head, "She won't leave him behind."

"She does not return his feelings." Reiji said easily, "It should not—"

"However true that might be," Reina insisted, "She wouldn't leave him."

Reiji's expression flattened. "It is in her best interest that she does."

Reina exhaled, a small, sad sort of smile tugging at the edge of her lips, before she placed a kiss on her husband's cheek. "Yes, darling."

"However?" Reiji finished for her, hearing it's silent echo at the end of her sentence.

Reina glanced at him, "I suppose it's my turn give you information."

"What is it?" Reiji said with narrowed eyes.

"You forgot one simple factor."

Reiji smirked, somewhat amused, convinced that anything his wife said he'd be able to counter. "And that might be?"

"Edgar." Reina said simply, watching her husband's face pale as she said so. "He's gone."

…

"Yuma!" Edgar panted, "You're going too! Too fast!"

"Deal with it," he grunted, "If you can't hold out this much then you're not a man."

"But I—"

Yuma stopped abruptly, turning around so sharply that Edgar ran right into him, slamming his nose against the half-blood's chest.

"Ow—"

"If we go any slower who knows what'll happen. We gotta get there, get Kiara, and get the fuck back because you know what's gonna happen next, kid? War. This ain't a fucking game."

Edgar rubbed his nose, somewhat frustrated at the fact that after all these years Yuma was still calling him a kid, "I'm sure we'll be able to reach some sort of amicable—"

"You're too fucking naive."

"Things can be solved diplomatically!" Edgar snapped, "Not everything is guns and fists the way you want!"

"It's not what I want I'm just being realistic. Your ideal—"

"It's not an ideal. It's perfectly reasonable—"

"Kiara's probably in a fucking dungeon right now and you're seriously gonna say that?"

"It's not—"

"Fuck I'm glad you're not King."

Edgar stopped. Bit the inside of his cheeks to keep from doing something he might regret later. Because as much as he...Yuma just never seemed to... "Well maybe—maybe I never wanted to be King! Did you think of that you big, stupid—"

"Watch your mouth—"

"No! I won't! You're always making fun of me!"

"Alright calm down," Yuma groaned, "Don't start crying on me."

"I'm not crying! I know I'm not what you think a man should be but I have my pride you know! And you not thinking of me as a man doesn't make me any less—"

"Alright alright I get it! Just shut up!" Yuma roared, grabbing Edgar by the collar, and dragging him behind him to speed the young prince up.

The inside of Yuma's head was screaming. It always did, whenever he was near Edgar. At least, ever since his memories had begun to come back. Only, this was worse. Because taking care of a spoiled royal in the middle of the woods, this weird feeling tightening in his chest…

It was something he would have preferred to forget.

…

"That's so romantic!"

"You can't tell anyone," he said gravely, "But I knew you'd understand."

"No of course not!" Eloise said eagerly, "I have no prejudice for these things."

"I knew you wouldn't." Shiroyama smiled tenderly at her. "But this is why—"

"Go to him," she said, taking his hands in hers, "Whenever you need. I won't be the one to come between you."

"I am forever indebted to you, my lady."

She giggled, shaking her head and squeezing his hands, "Eloise works just fine."

"I'm afraid I must take advantage of your kindness once more."

"Say the word and it's yours!" Eloise giggled, "I'm the Queen-to-be, after all. Anything I can do for you and Edgar will be with the utmost pleasure, you can be sure of that."

Koichi kissed he hands humbly, before looking at her with sharp green eyes. "That's just it," he began tragically, "Edgar. He's left."

Eloise's eyes widened, "Left? Left where?"

"I can always sense him," he explained in a bit of a panic, "But I know for sure he's no longer in the castle. My only guess is that—"

Eloise gasped, putting her hand over her mouth, "Oh no. Kiara."

Koichi nodded once, not once breaking his gaze from Eloise's. "Kiara."

"We'll go after them!"

"No," Koichi shook his head, "I could never ask that of you. I simply and humbly beg for your forgiveness, because I must assure his safety."

Eloise waved her hand at him, "Don't be so dramatic. If it's for my brother, then you have to go. And I want to too."

"My lady, it could be dangerous."

"Hey," she smiled, "Those two aren't the only ones with a few tricks up their sleeves. I know this castle like the back of my hand."

Shiroyama smiled with eyes that shined like stolen emeralds, ceding to the princess's wishes. "Then, my lady," he bowed humbly, offering her his submission, "Shall we prepare for our journey?"

…

She had lost.

Which should've been a given. It was the heels that did it though, breaking at the last second like that. Part of her wondered if maybe he'd done something to them before their duel, which was just about as likely as it was unlikely.

In any case, if she wanted to fly, it meant licking his boots.

Which she sure as hell was not going to do.

"Go on. Stick out your tongue."

"Fuck you."

He smirked triumphantly. "Not without foreplay."

For a moment, Kiara laughed at that, but then quickly stopped herself, only further enraged by the fact that she'd let her guard down. But, there was certainly room for bargaining here. Because something told her he wanted to be outside just as much as she did.

Just as she was about to say something though, he caught her cheeks in an iron grip, pressing them together tightly. "Come on, stick out your tongue."

"Du fufck—"

"Aaaaaah," He opened his own mouth, as if to show her, "Hurry up, Toy. This is getting boring."

She bit his hand, which he quickly pulled away, with a chuckle of his own. "Trying to take my blood? That's cheating you know~"

She rolled her eyes, scoffing. "Like I need to be stronger—" Kiara stopped herself, her eyes widening with an idea. He'd do anything to show off how superior he was. "Hey," she said casually, "What if we race?"

Shin scoffed, "Race?"

"First one to the lake. If I win I get to fly."

He smirked, licking his lips, "What's in it for me?"

She hesitated, not having thought that far ahead. But with a quick look at his eyes she already knew what he was expecting her to say. Clearing her throat, she glanced in the opposite direction, not really wanting to see his face. "If you win…I guess…I'll lick..." Her features cringed up all on their own, "I'll lick your fucking boots."

"Now we have a game!" He cackled excitedly, grabbing her by the wrist and dragging her towards the door.

"Wait, not in this dress—"

"Ha! You can't just start making up rules now, Toy!"

With a sudden panic, she struggled to kick off her shoes, because running with a broken heel would not be conducive to winning—

He threw her onto the rubble, and by the time she got up, she realized she was looking at a wolf.

Her eyes filled in outrage, "You can't—"

"You never said I couldn't," she swore he was smirking at her, running his tongue over his fangs, "A wolf versus a vampire. Won't that be interesting?"

She glared at him, putting one foot behind her so that she could push off properly. "Fine," she spat confidently, hiking up her skirt, "You'll lose either way."

He pawed at the ground with serious excitement. "On three."

But they both took off right then, Kiara calling him a cheating bastard and Shin shouting at her to tell that to the fucking mirror.

She didn't think much on that, though. Because it felt so damn good to move like this again. The crisp air in her face, her hair whipping behind her, the sting of her throat against the speed. She was behind him, but right now that didn't matter. She'd beat him in the end. For now it just felt amazing to feel the dirt between her toes.

Although, with him in front of her…it was something to see. Graceful, almost, though Kiara would never call it that, the way he glided through the woods, dodging all obstacles and doing it so quickly, with so much precision that there was hardly a print left on the ground.

In fact, it almost looked like he was flying.

And so Kiara thought it wouldn't do any harm, if her feet happened to just barely graze the ground as well.

Which would have been fine, except that he stopped abruptly. So much so that she didn't see it coming, and by the time she did—

"Shin—!"

She ran right into him in the most literal of ways, the two of them tumbling and rolling down the large hill that encompasses the lake.

"Cheating bitch!"

"You're one—" They bumped against the ground, "To—talk!"

They struggled against each other as they went down, grass and leaves catching in their hair, scratches marking their bodies. Shin's pained grunts in her ear and her own pained squeals heightening with each time they turned over.

When they finally tumbled down to the bottom they were separated, Shin flying in one direction and Kiara bundling down so far that the edge of her skirt sank into the lake water.

For a moment she stood perfectly still, having the wind knocked out of her and breathing heavily all at the same time; staring up at the dizzying night sky, wondering if all of that had actually really happened.

And she laughed, covering her eyes with her arm because the stars made her feel like the world was still spinning, or maybe it was just the twirling of her stomach, she didn't know. "That was fucking ridiculous." She said out loud, gasping for breath.

"You're fault...for fucking…flying…" Shin panting, trying to catch his own breath, chest rising and falling rapidly.

"Your fault for turning into a wolf all of a sudden." She exhaled, before inhaling sharply and then laughing again, shaking her head. "Fuck."

She let her arm drop, but kept her eyes closed, thinking the water felt sort of nice around her legs right now. And she wondered what Shin might say if she suggested they go swimming. Although that wet dog smell must be absolutely killer so she figured it'd be best if she kept her mouth—

The sudden heat was overwhelming. For a moment she thought he'd climbed on top of her to bite her. But his breath wasn't on her neck, which she found strange. In fact, it was just...

Warm.

That was all she could think. That this was beautifully, wonderfully, deliciously warm. And so she pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around his neck, digging her fingers into his soft curls. And she laughed some more, though it was muffled by his own lips, and Kiara thought she had to be drunk, because this was addicting. This growing heat that could come only from a wolf.

Shin pulled away with a disdained tch, glaring down at her. "Cold ass vampire."

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Well what'd you expect."

He licked his lips in reply, a smirk lining his own lips. "Not fucking much."

She bit her lip to hold back her smile, resulting in another half-smirk. "I won, you know," she informed him, tugging at his hair, "My legs touched the lake first."

His fangs grazed her neck, his voice in her ear deeper than she'd ever heard it, "I'm giving you your prize, Toy. Make sure to thank me properly."

"Wasn't the deal that you'd let me fly?" She sassed, expecting him to return it.

Only, he looked at her with such a serious expression, that part of her almost flinched, like prey beneath a wolf's gaze. His lips broke into the grin she was familiar with, his fangs bared and ready.

"Let's see if you know how to beg for mercy."

A/N: I'm so excited.

Gemma: Thank you as always! It really means more than you know :)

Guest: Yeah I'm fine? Lol it had only been like 3 days when I got your review. I usually try to update once a week.