Another day later and none of them were all too sure about what they were going to do about the Blood Amulet. They knew they needed to find it, but even Kai didn't know where to start. Amaya was still haunted by Macha's chilling eyes and Moriko was struggling not to kill The GazettE clan on sight, as well as Shou.

Speaking of Shou, he had changed since he left that day. He wasn't his usual self, meaning that he was a lot more of an asshole. Moriko could hardly be in a room with him alone before he'd ignore her and walk out, which made it even worse when Moriko walked out towards the archery range only to see Shou already there.

She considered turning back into the house and reading a book, but she really needed the practice. She hadn't shot an arrow in a few hundred years; it was time she got back on the saddle.

"Hey…" She said as she walked up to the spot beside Shou as he loosed an arrow.

He cursed when he hit the third ring instead of the bullseye like he wanted.

"Damn it, Moriko." Shou grumbled. "You know better than to sneak up on me like that."

"Sorry, I figured it was the only way I could get a response from you." Moriko said snidely. "You know, since you've been ignoring me and all."

Shou sighed, rolling his eyes. "There you go again. Making a big deal out of everything."

"I am not!" Moriko squeaked, putting her hands on her hips. "I think I deserve a little bit more respect than your dishing out, I know that. Even if you do hate me as a friend, I am still your princess."

Shou scoffed. "Moriko, you lost your kingdom a long time ago."

Moriko was taken aback by that comment. Shou knew he shouldn't have said it just as soon as it passed his lips, and even more when her eyes started to get glassy. But she didn't show how much it hurt, just gritted her teeth and turned away.

Shou groaned, lowering his bow and looking at her. "I'm sorry, Mori-chan. I shouldn't of said that."

"No, no." Moriko shook her head, not bothering to look at him as she raised her own bow toward the target. "Don't bother. It's been said, now it's out in the open."

"I…" Shou tried, but couldn't finish.

He watched as she drew, executing perfect form before releasing her arrow to hit the center of the target without even blinking. He smiled to himself, knowing she was always beyond perfect when it came to her bow and arrow, especially after he'd coached her on the day they'd met. It only took a day for her to surpass him, and a day for him to fall head over heels in love with her.

"Things never change." Shou said, his voice a kinder tone than it had been before. "You're still a perfect shot."

Moriko grunted. "Better than you."

"You've always been better than me…" Shou sighed. "In a lot of ways."

Moriko shook her head, turning to glare at him. "You know what? Forget it. I don't even feel like shooting anymore."

He watched as the archer princess threw down her bow, turning on her heel and walked towards the door of the house. Almost like she was giving up, because (as he'd previously stated) she had no kingdom, no one to fight for. She was even beginning to feel as if she wouldn't even fight for Shou. Not if he was treating her this way.

"Wait."

Moriko froze, lifting her head and casting her eyes towards the tree line behind her. She didn't miss a beat, flashing back to her bow and staying in a low crouch as she listened intently.

Yes, she was sure of it. Someone was coming.

She lifted her fingers, whistling loud for the others. It took them all of two seconds to be out and ready, as well as armed.

"Well, well, well."

All thirteen of their heads jerked towards the boulder that the thin figure stood on. Moriko hissed at the sight of her, recognizing the very vampire that had killed her all those years ago.

"Yume." Amaya gathered balls of flame in her hands, ready for any oncoming attack.

"I do very much enjoy welcoming party's, but this one is much larger than I expected it to be." Yume giggled before she heaved a great sigh. "I see you've picked up our leftovers, sisters."

The GazettE clan said nothing, just glared up at their former leader.

"The Black King has a lot he wants to…speak with you guys about." Yume said with a cunning grin.

"Oh, I'm sure." Ruki laughed dryly.

"Well, if you want me to put in a good word and perhaps save your own heads, you could always offer up the princesses to me." Yume smiled, baring her fangs.

"I don't think so." Kai told her.

"Well, then I suppose I'll just have to take them by force." Yume shrugged. "Too bad, I suppose. I was hoping to do this peacefully."

"Yeah, bullshit." Tora grumbled.

"I don't know if you've noticed, Yume, but you're terribly outnumbered." Saga pointed out. "How do you plan on overpowering all of us?"

"No she's not." Moriko muttered.

"My spidey sense says she's got quite a few little ninjas hiding in the bushes." Amaya said.

Reita laughed, stretching out his arms and cracking his knuckles. "That's fine with me. I'm parched."

Yume sneered. "Dare to drink the blood of your former comrades? A shame, really. Oh well. Kill them."

The last statement set the battle in motion. Near a hundred Nigran assassins jumped out of the trees, attacking from every side. Moriko started picking them off one by one, Shou behind her doing the same. But when they started getting too close, she abandoned the bow and switched to hand-to-hand combat.

Amaya was hardly having to move as she threw her hands and set the vampires on fire from the inside out. In the back of her mind she wondered why her sister wasn't doing the same thing, but then again Moriko did always like to do things the hard way.

To her side Tora and Saga's thuggish ways involved slicing whole vampires in half, while Reita and Uruha didn't even bother with the swords. They just ripped them to pieces with their bare hands.

Yume watched from her perch on the rock, not willing to get her hands dirty until she had to. She saw her opportunity when Moriko was knocked off her feet by a lucky hit, jumping clear across the fight to grab Moriko from behind.

The dark headed girl struggled as Yume dragged her back, but Moriko didn't let her get the upper hand. She elbowed Yume in the gut before turning to give her a swift kick to the neck. Yume slid to the side, catching her balance and cutting her eyes at Moriko. The Nigran princess lept forward, aiming to swipe Moriko's kidney but missing when Moriko shot a ball of energy into her chest.

Yume fell back onto the ground, hand covering the huge burnt hole she now had in her chest. She coughed, blood coating her mouth and seeping past her lips. Moriko took her chance, dragging Yume off the ground and slamming her fist into the vampires face. Yume went flying back against a tree, the whole thing shaking before it gave way and fell into the forest.

Yume slipped onto the ground, breath heaving. Though Amaya had grown stronger and Moriko had maintained her strength, Yume had begun to get rusty after no practice. She realized that now.

She could hardly lift her head when she realized all her men were dead, and Moriko and Amaya were standing over her, their eyes anything but forgiving.

"Get her in the house, and tie her up." Amaya said to no one.

But apparently Tora heard because he was suddenly jerking Yume up and dragging her into the house. Yume screamed, wondering how the tables were turned so quickly.

Moriko looked over at Shou, wondering why he seemed to just stand there and stare as Tora took Yume away. She tilted her head until he looked over at her, eyes more angry than she thought they would be.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Why aren't we killing her?" Shou said through gritted teeth.

Moriko sighed. "We have to get some information first!"

Shou shook his head as everyone filed into the house. "No, no, no. She can't just kill you and not die herself."

"We will kill her, Shou." Moriko said, wondering if he honestly still cared.

Shou ran his hand through his hair and stepped up to her. He put his hand on the side of her face and looked her in the eye.

"I just… I want her to hurt as bad as I did." Shou mumbled. "When you were gone."

"I know." Moriko touched his hand and smiled. "Don't you think I want the same thing?"

Shou shrugged. "You know, I don't even know anymore."

She frowned as he turned away, walking into the house.