"It's a difference in scents."

"But surely—"

"You were not conditioned to it. It would be impossible to have noticed otherwise."

"Reina," Yui reached over, placing her hand on Reina's knee, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Reina hesitated, before exhaling softly. "It was not my place, Your Highness."

"You mean," Yui squeezed, so that Reina would look at her, "He didn't let you."

"I say," the door opened so suddenly that both women jumped in their seats, "We blame it on the Megane." He tugged at the flourishes on his neck, before ripping them off and shrugging his jacket off his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor in a wrinkled lump. "Fuck I hate that shit."

"Ayato-kun!"

"Ehh?" He flashed his fangs, suddenly right by Yui, leaning in so close to her face that she was forced to crane her neck away. "And who said you could add a kun to my name, Your High~ness~"

"Ayato." Reina scolded.

"Tch," he backed away, sitting next to Reina with exaggerated movements. "Where is he by the way?"

"Reiji is—"

"Oh, let me guess, let me guess! In his lab, trying to cure Endzeit. Yeah? How'd I do, Onee-san?"

Reina said nothing, turning to Yui with a calm expression, "In any case, I called you here because I have not been completely honest."

Yui trembled. "Yes, what is it?"

"It's Edgar. He's—"

"Run off with Yuma? Were you gonna tell her Eloise ran away too? With that Vibora, the fuck was his name…you know who I mean," Ayato waved his hand at the Queen, "Creepy green eyes."

"Ayato—" Reina began, but immediately stopped, the moment she saw Yui's expression. Because it was the sort of look only a mother with a lost child could have. No tears. Simply…emptiness.

"I…" she began shakily, "I beg your pardon?"

"Ayato," Reina jumped in again, "Eloise is being protected by Shiroyama. They're currently—"

"Check again, Onee-san," he said, crossing his arms and slumping into the couch, "They were leaving when I was on my way in here."

"Then we can still catch—"

"No…" It was now Reina's voice that trembled.

Ayato grinned, leaning forward, "You really don't know much, do you, Your Majesty?"

Yui ignored him, turning to Reina for answers.

She inhaled, her chest feeling heavy. "Shiroyama Koichi is a royal guard. Therefore he knows passages that even we are unaware of. This was done for our own safety, a long time ago—"

"No one cares about the specifics," Ayato growled, "The point is, all three of those little shits are gonna get eaten by the goddamn Tsukinamis if we don't do something—"

"And what can we do!" Yui's voice was loud, but it trembled just the same, "They have Kiara captive! If we make any sort of—"

"Send your daughter as replacement." Ayato said coldly.

"Ayato—"

"It's not Kiara they want. That's obvious. They need Eloise's blood. Better yet, why don't you go? You've got demon blood too. You realize that much at least, don't you? With that fucking woman's heart in your goddamn body—"

"Ayato—"

"Yeah, come to think of it. It's not Megane-kun's fault. It's yours."

He was smacked. Harshly, with her nails claiming his skin.

Yui shook, tears falling silently from her eyes.

"Please leave, Ayato." Reina sighed, his blood dripping from her fingertips.

He held back a growl, "Stop acting like this has some sort of reasonable solution! They attacked us—"

"I will not be so naive as to pretend that we will come to an amicable solution. But assigning blame amongst ourselves is perhaps the most naive of all. It's as you said. They attacked. The only blame is on Carla himself."

Yui hadn't stopped crying, her sobs muffled by the palm of her own hand. Reina went over to sit by her, resting her hands on her shoulders, squeezing them encouragingly.

"If we begin to argue amongst ourselves we will come to nothing. A-"

"House divided shall not stand, isn't that the phrase?"

Everyone turned to look at Shu, his arm bandaged and placed closely at his side, but looking incredibly regal nonetheless.

"Shu!" Yui exclaimed, "You're still not well," She moved to get up, but Shu held up his good hand, stopping her. "I am fine. You, however, seem tired, my Queen. Your fault, I presume." He glanced at Ayato.

"Don't give me that shit. The entire demon world's gonna fall apart cuz you guys didn't know how to raise your goddamn kids."

"Would you be missed, I wonder, if you suddenly disappeared—"

"Shu." Reina and Yui spoke at the same time.

The King sighed, rubbing his temple before looking at Reina. "Where's Reiji?"

"In his lab." She answered.

He nodded, turning as if to make his way there.

"Shu!" Yui stood up suddenly, catching up to her husband. "Both of them, our children—"

He kissed her, rather boldly, without an ounce of shame, Reina shifting in her seat uncomfortably, and Ayato sticking out his tongue in disgust. He whispered something in Yui's ear, and she nodded, backing away, before Shu raised his head again, calling out to Ayato.

"What."

Shu motioned for him to follow, shutting the door behind him, and leaving the women alone.

They walked in silence for a few moments, Ayato begrudgingly following the King.

"How many do we have on hand?"

"Oh?" He grinned, "So suddenly I'm useful—"

"It seems as though your mouth has already caused you some scars. I won't ask again."

Ayato's hand went up to his cheek, muttering to himself. "Fifty-thousand."

"Including familiars?"

Ayato grinned again, "Only familiars."

Shu stopped walking. Turned to look at him. "Are they in any position to—"

"Just who do you think I am? I know what I'm doing. If it's a war you want they'll be a nice buffer. But we'll need soldiers from the actual clans soon. The Tsukinamis have always had followers—"

"I don't intend to fight," Shu said calmly, "But I have no trouble losing familiars to create a distraction."

"Like he'll let something like that go."

"By that time, he'll be dead."

"What if he's not?"

"Then I will kill him myself."

Ayato cackled. "You an idiot? You forget one drop of his blood could—"

"You are not the only one trained to use a sword, Ayato."

The redhead rolled his eyes. "Right right. Excuse me, Mr. Firt-Born—"

"Gather them. If my children do not return in two weeks time, send them off."

"You gonna tell Megane about this?"

"He doesn't need to know."

Ayato's face dropped. "This place is gonna fall to shit."

"Your opinion's irrelevant."

"Sure. But you're gonna be hated. How the fuck are you gonna gain loyalty?"

"I don't need it." He replied calmly, starting down the steps towards Reiji's lab.

"Oy," Ayato shouted after him, "The hell is that supposed to mean? You can't go into battle—"

"The only thing I need from them," Shu said, dismissing Ayato with his hand, "Is their fear."

…

Eloise Sakamaki had been raised on fairytales. On princes and dragons and impenetrable towers, happy endings and true love's first kiss.

So listening to Shiroyama talk about his relationship with Edgar…it was like a dream come true.

"…which is why I will protect you with my everything. Both you and Kiara mean most dearly to Edgar."

Eloise couldn't help the smile that spread her lips. "You really do care for him."

"He's my life."

It took all Eloise had to not swoon. This was everything she'd ever wanted. And her brother had found it.

"I'm sure he'll scold us for following."

Koichi smiled, "Yes. He's always been very protective of you."

"And of you as well naturally! I'm sure he didn't tell you because—"

"He knew I would follow." Shiroyama smiled again, emerald eyes gleaming, "He has such a tendency to worry…"

"I bet you're glad Yuma's with him." Eloise chirped, skipping down the beaten path, her white shoes kicking up dirt.

Koichi continued to smile, his lips spread long and thin across his face. "Why, no. Not at all, Your Highness."

Eloise stopped. "Hmm? How come? He's always taken very good care of us—"

"With all due respect, Your Highness," Shiroyama placed his hand over his chest, his black hair made darker by the shade, "He is nothing but a simple gardener."

Eloise waved her hand, "Oh that's got nothing to do with it. He's very capable—"

"Your Highness," Koichi continued kindly, "As I'm sure you know, Edgar has been trained to a certain level of combat. If it were to come down to it, the one seeking protection would be Yuma, and not the other way around. I'm sure he has become quite a hindrance to His Highness."

Eloise cocked her head, wondering if that was true. Hadn't Yuma been a soldier of some sort? Well, it was different with vampires, but basic instinct was there, wasn't it? Surely, they'd protect each other. Yes, that was it.

"I suppose we'll know once we've caught up to them. It will be a relief to see him again. I'm sure you're both missing each other."

"Most heavily." Koichi replied.

Eloise smiled, offering her hand, "Don't worry. No matter what, I'll make sure you two get together again."

Koichi nodded respectfully, bowing his head before the future Queen. "I am humbled by your kindness, Your Majesty."

Eloise pulled her hand away, giggling to herself. "You're a bit of a sweet talker, Shiroyama. I hope you don't talk to Edgar that way, his face gets bright red at the smallest of compliments."

"It is exactly for that reason, Your Highness," Koichi explained, "That I speak to him in such a way."

Eloise couldn't help but laugh, shaking her head and bringing her fingers to her lips. "We'll have our family back together soon."

Koichi nodded, leading the way once more. "Indeed."

…

"Achoo!"

"What the hell?"

Edgar rubbed his nose, crinkling his features. "Ah, how strange. Someone must be talking about me. Or is that when your ears ring? Which one is the omen and which one is—"

Yuma stood right before him, leaning his face in close. "You're not sick, are you?"

Edgar pushed him away, "What sort of vampire would I be, getting sick—"

"Are you drinking enough blood?"

"Yes—"

"Even though it's bitter?"

"Yes—"

"You're not spitting it out after, are ya?"

"Yuma!" Edgar stomped his foot, "I am not a child."

Yuma chuckled. "I know, I know. Don't get your royal panties in a twist."

Edgar clenched his fists, but then released them, sighing to himself. He skipped in his step a few times, trying to catch up to the gardener.

"…Yuma?"

"Mm."

"About yesterday…I'm sorry…"

"It's in the past. Just forget about it already."

"But I—"

He stopped, Yuma clicking his tongue in annoyance. "Sorry."

"Bothers me…" the gardener muttered, starting to walk again.

"Huh?" Edgar struggled to catch up once more.

Yuma turned around, stopping again. "How much alike we are."

Edgar blinked. "How do you mean?"

Yuma leaned in close, far too close, and for a moment Edgar thought he was actually going to bite, but that'd be impossible, because for him to bite would mean—

He screamed, naturally. What else could he do?"

Yuma chuckled again, wiping the blood with the back of his hand, "Heh," he smacked his lips in satisfaction, "Sweet."

Edgar's face was all but burning, "H-How! How dare you! To take blood from a prince—we—we're both men! A-And—"

"Did it hurt?"

"That's not the problem here!" He screeched, trying to cover up his neck, to make the heat in his cheeks go down, to stop the burning of the bite that had come from Yuma's fangs. "Y-You should know! Biting a prince is punishable by de—"

"You gonna tell on me?"

Edgar looked at him, hardly managing to stand on weakened legs, his trembling hand covering the bite. Could Yuma tell he was shaking?

"I…"

"So bite me, and we'll call it even."

Edgar pushed him out of the way, continuing forward, "I have no interest in biting a dirty old man like you."

"Is that what you told Shiroyama?" Yuma called after him.

Edgar felt his chest clench. No. No, no, that was impossible. They had been careful. Incredibly careful. There was no way Yuma could know…

"What are you trying to say?" He sneered.

"I told you didn't I?" Yuma stood casually, adjusting his bag over his shoulder, "It bothers me."

"What bothers you?" Edgar eyed him suspiciously.

"How much alike we are."

"We're complete opposites, I have no idea what you're even—"

Edgar couldn't breathe, his heart stopping and beating furiously against his chest all at the same time, his heart caught in his throat and his cold blood rushing hot in his ears.

His lips burned, they burned, and yet it was a feeling he didn't want to let go of, couldn't hold on to nonetheless, because Yuma was pulling away, was pulling away and Edgar knew he'd never be able to reach—

He pushed him away, creating a distance, Edgar stumbling back from his own efforts. "D-Don't! Don't touch me!"

Yuma smiled, "Was it that bad?"

Edgar was shaking, his hand over his mouth as if he were about to throw up. Not like this. Not with Yuma smirking at him like that. He didn't…he had only thought…

The tears fell on their own, the forest blurring before his eyes, Edgar not even fully realizing that he had started to run.

A/N: Hello, do you have a moment to talk about our little angel, Edgar Sakamaki? Thanks for reading. As always comments are much appreciated ^^ They really do push me to write. Honestly idk how I feel about this chapter, have been going through a bit of a block. The rest will be better. Hopefully.

Guest: Well I must high five you on the Reiji fangirling lol XD It is an intriguing idea for sure, and it'd probably work out too. We'll see how things develop ;D And yes the Kiara/Shin dynamic is also pretty interesting, there will be more insight to that as well in the next few chaps ^^ ty for taking the time to review!

Guest: Eeeep thank you! I know I can't help myself with the fluff sometimes hehe.