MIKA'S POV

"We need to talk, Kureto."

Kureto lie beneath her, his sword firm in hand, and hers around his throat…

"Then remove your hand."

"Drop your sword."

Both held their positions, too headstrong to give in to the other's demands. They watched each other intently, weighing their options. He could easily activate his curse and turn her to dust… But she would have enough time to crush his windpipe before she completely perished… The results would be the same if she moved first. They were at a draw. However, it was Kureto who moved first, withdrawing his sword from her side. Mika tensed up feeling every inch of the blade pass through, soaking her uniform further with blood and watched as he let it drop to the floor. Gradually releasing her grip she sat up and pressed a palm to her wound to abate the bleeding. She still had no intention of freeing his legs, risking him reaching for his sword again.

"Well?" Kureto prompted.

"Stop your bombings in Kyoto."

Kureto quietly snickered at her demand as he ran his hand through his hair. Mika found herself wanting her hand around his throat again. "…aha is that all?" He mocked.

"No, stop sending your soldiers to hunt my family."

"Your family? I thought they were all dead. You said they were, all except Hyakuya according to your friend Guren…"

Smart-ass.

He pushed himself onto his elbows still amused by her words. "Forgive me, I see you are serious." He wore a slight smile as he watched Mika's face scowling back at him. It baffled her how this human was still so haughty considering his position. She didn't need a weapon to kill him, he knew it, and yet he still taunted her…

"I fail to see the humor in killing children… Stop the bombs Kureto."

"But keeping them as livestock is acceptable?"

"…that is not my decision."

"Yet you do nothing…"

Mika's animosity got the best of her and she slammed him into the bed pinning him firmly by the shoulders. She bent forward bringing her face inches from his.

"Why do you think I'm here?"

His smug expression changed, maybe now he understood that despite their physical appearances she was vastly stronger than he was. Now she felt amused that this man, who had belittled her so much, was now being subjected to her strength... He seemed to be deliberating with himself, or his demon. Mika wasn't sure. She didn't care, only needing him to comply with her orders. Without him, she wouldn't be able to successfully complete her own agenda. Not to its entirety anyway…

"Mikaela," He finally spoke. "…I am winning this war. Your numbers are declining, you are losing your hold on territories each day and your little Kingdom is crumbling further underground. So, I fail to see why I should do either of those things. Even if you kill me, it wouldn't change anything. Sanguinem will fall and any traitors will be executed. I will not yield to any threats so unless you have something to offer me, our discussion has ended."

Mika stared back him, fighting the urge lash out. Her teeth clenched so tight she felt a fang pierce her cheek and the bold taste of iron lightly touched her tongue. Like before, they both watched each other intently, only this time it was no longer a draw. She may be on top but it was he who had her pinned now…

"What… do you want?" Her voice quavered, not out for fear for what he might ask for. But that he will ask for nothing, leaving her in a position without hope. He let out a sigh with a hint of satisfaction in his eyes. He reached up and pulled out her hair-tie, letting her hair settle to one side of his face.

"I will make you a deal. Lets call it bartering. You do something for me, and I, in exchange will fulfill each of your demands upon completion."

She nodded slightly to show her agreement before he continued.

"I will withdrawal the orders to kill your family on sight…" Kureto began his offer. Mika listened… and watched, looking for any indication on his face as to what he was thinking. He was not the average human who wore their emotions out in the open. She could only rely on his words because reading him was next to impossible. Even his heart rate was calmly beating at a normal pace. The only other sounds were the soldiers outside starting to stir. Was it that early already?

"In return, I want you to kill our General, Tenri Hiragi."

Mika studied him, questioning if he was serious. He was. Hiragi, that would make him his father. Right?

"Why would you want your own General dead?"

"That is irrelevant to you, your concern should be how and when…"

"Deal." She agreed. That light smile of his danced on his lips again. She briefly wondered again why he would want their General, his father dead. More so then her family… Kureto brushed some of her hair from her eyes as he pulled her face down the remaining few inches from his, bringing his lips to hers. It caught her off guard and she froze.

"Good, I expect favorable results, and soon. The General's living quarters are near mine. Surely you remember where that is…" He said trailing his fingers down her cheek, stirring beneath her. "Now, I should be getting ready…"

"Ah… right, sorry…" Mika awkwardly said as she moved off of him. She mentally scolded herself for apologizing as if she had done something wrong. She waited in the main area of the tent as he dressed. Shortly he appeared in his uniform and sat down at one of the desks. He sifted through a file taking out forms and began writing on them. When he finished he spun the paper around on his desk.

"Here, look over it and confirm all the names."

She did so; all eleven names were there. She was pleased at the progress, be it only a small achievement, it was still an achievement. Soon she would not have to worry about the JIDA actively seeking to kill the people she cared about most.

"Once you have successfully completed your half of the deal, I will sign it."

"Nn." With that settled she walked beneath the opening in the tent, poised to sail through it again.

"No, what are you doing?" His cautionary tone stopped her from his desk.

"Leaving..." She said giving him an 'isn't it obvious' look. He stood up letting out a harsh sigh and approached her.

"I will escort you out, you won't make it far with everyone awake now."

"That isn't necessary." She waved him off dismissively looking up at the opening again but he ignored her. Placing his hand at the small of her back he urged her towards the main entrance of the tent. He pushed the flap open and what he said was true... There were humans everywhere, watchful and armed. They appeared to be organizing their squads, briefing each other on their missions and duties for the day. With another slight push from Kureto they exited the tent and walked amongst the combat ready humans.

Mika hung her head low, letting her bangs cover her eyes so as not to be spotted. Even still, the humans still watched them keenly. They bowed and saluted Kureto as he passed, greeting him. She felt on edge, ready to lunge into the air at any moment. Walking with him attracted too much attention and she wished she had just left her own way.

"You attract to much attention…" She whispered, not bothering to hide her annoyance with him.

"It isn't me they are watching so curiously…"

"What?" Her voice had a higher pitch. Had they realized whom, no, what she was. None of them made any attempt to attack her… Only stared as they passed even after acknowledging their commander.

"What did you expect them to do…" He said looking down at her. "A woman leaves my tent so early in the morning. Hair and clothes disheveled…"

Mika averted her eyes ahead hearing him chuckle again. She could feel her cheeks warm up as she instinctively smoothed down the front of her uniform. They made their way closer to the edge of camp and ducked into a building. She felt the tension in her body melt away now that she was out of sight of the main army. When they reached the other side of the building Kureto stepped in front of her making her stop.

"I'm curious, why didn't you put Guren on you list of those you want to protect? He did betray me by setting you free." He asked still holding onto her.

"I've already answered that question."

"Haha, I see. Even still, he is dear to the ones you care for…"

"I only need him to live long enough to fix all the messes he has made…"

Now it was he who watched her curiously. She wondered what was going on in that head of his. It frustrated her, not being able to discern his thoughts or intentions. She felt he was almost more vampire than she… He rested his hands on her shoulders.

"I will be sure to tell him you said so, Mikaela…"

His hands found their way into her hair again as he moved to kiss her once more. This time she didn't freeze, still peeved from earlier. She shoved him hard enough into the wall behind him to make him stagger but not fall.

"You are too brash for your own good, human…"

He laughed aloud at her rebuke before turning to leave.

"As are you vampire, as are you…"

Mika watched as he left before turning herself to leave. She stayed on the ground, wary of snipers before reaching vampire territory and took to the rooftops again. She returned to the place she had hid her Noble uniform and changed back into it before leaving to join the rest of the Nobles underground. She passed quickly by other vampires who were assigned to the daylight battles without a word. Surely by now Crowley would be wondering where she was and why she had not reported to him yet for her own debriefing. She quickly got her thoughts in order because she knew if she didn't believe her lie, neither would he… he was too old and too experienced to be made a fool of.

She slipped into the assembly hall and settled against the wall far in the back rather then sitting down to avoid being noticed. Assuming her typical boredom stance she listened as Ferid addressed the concerns of some of the vampires. She remembered when it was Krul who would provide them with reports from the Council and the human's recent activities or atrocities. It all seemed so long ago now… How things have changed in a matter of months… Ferid was going on about blood rations when Lacus and Rene stepped in, joining her against the wall.

"You're late." Lacus whispered nudging her with his elbow.

"So are you…"

"No, we've been here, just had to check on something… what is he talking about?" Rene said trying to catch up with what he missed.

"Nothing really, just to adhere to the blood rations."

"You would think we could get more with all the vampires that have been killed recently haha!" Lacus jested. Rene mumbled something under his breath as Ferid wrapped up the meeting, leaving the stage in a hurry. She hadn't spotted Crowley, Horn or Chess and thought it was odd. They're always present…

She exited the hall and weaved through the vampires till she arrived in her old room. Despite Chess' pleading with her to stay with her she chose to stay in her old home. It was the only time she could be alone in her thoughts. The stone walls held a few hairline fractures in them from the recent bombings. A few of the mounted shelves had also fallen, leaving books scattered across the floor. She had been meaning to clean them up but each morning when she returned she found all she wanted to do was bathe and wash the scent of blood from her hair.

She undressed, putting her uniform neatly away before sinking into the bathtub and wading towards the window. There were many vampires still out moving through the city in every direction. Some leaving, some returning… She thought about last night and her deal with Kureto. Why would he want his father dead anyways? To have full control of the military perhaps? It seemed he was anyways from her perspective. Nevertheless, she accepted the request and needed to form a plan. The General would located be in Shibuya. A large part of their military was no longer within the city but they certainly wouldn't leave him unprotected. She would not only have to slip away from her comrades without them noticing her absence but also sneak into the human city and sneak back out. It wasn't much of a plan but neither was her little venture to see Yuu-chan… She submerged herself completely under the warm water.

You must be pretty angry with me right now, huh… Yuu-chan…

The day had turned to dusk and Mika finished the last of her blood ration before fastening her weapon around her waist. With her orders in hand she left her room shutting the heavy door behind her and followed the steady stream of vampires leaving the city. She made the decision to fulfill her end of the deal tonight. The sooner the threat towards her family was gone the better. Then she could focus on other duties… She emerged above ground joined by her subordinates and once again moved towards the territory under her control.

"Mika." Crowley appeared head of her. She motioned for her subordinates to continue ahead without her. He folded his arms as she trotted up to him. She was glad to see he was perfectly fine, but also knew she was about to be berated…

"Why were you late for report?"

"It is my duty to make sure my subordinates complete their tasks and so I did… I also had a few snipers to handle along the way."

"Alone? The rest of the vampires serving under you managed to return on time."

"Because I released them. There was no need for all of us to stay for a simple routine task."

His eyes squinted subtly at her without responding to her excuse. She knew his body language well enough now to know he just called her a liar in his head.

"I don't understand why you are irritated with me now Crowley, you wanted the old Mikaela back. Here she is."

Again he said nothing. He just studied her, the same way Kureto did the night before as he broke apart her words and actions. However, Crowley knew her better than any other vampire, even Krul.

"You've spent to much time with Ferid…"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. You have your orders now go. We are being watched." With that he took off back towards Sanguinem. Mika felt a low growl in her throat at his jab; she had hardly seen Ferid outside of anything having to do with the war efforts. If anyone was spending too much time with him it was he… She shrugged off his snide remark and left to accompany the rest of the vampires as the sun finished setting.

The night had been relatively slow. They eliminated three JIDA squads who had moved in to attack them. No vampires were killed despite the human's efforts, proving she was still a capable leader. Maybe that will quiet Crowley and his lack of trust in her recently…

"My Lady, our surveillance shows that there is a meager number of JIDA troops through here." Mika watched as the female vampire ran a gloved finger along the map forming a path. "Did we receive additional orders to move closer to Shibuya?"

"No. I will be observing some of their operations for the next few hours. If I am not back before daybreak, return to Sanguinem without me. That is an order."

"Y-yes My Lady." The vampire gave her a slight bow before returning to her post. Mika wasted no time changing into the JIDA uniform and swiftly left. She had quite a ways to go to reach the human's city.

She passed through mostly broken windows throughout the midsection of each building to avoid humans that could be on the ground or scouting from above. It was as she was told; there were not many humans in this area. She quickly dispatched the night watch atop the wall overlooking the city. She only had a few hours of darkness left before the humans in Shibuya woke.

It took little effort to move through the city unnoticed. As expected, the amount of humans patrolling was minimal compared to what it was when she was here last. They did have the most sophisticated security but with patience she made it through and now stalked through the halls of the large building in the heart of the city. During her previous visit she was blindfolded, now she was able to take in her surroundings… curious if these were the same halls she had walked through then… They all looked somewhat the same. She found the Officer's living quarters and scanned the nametags as she walked by. Kureto's familiar double doors came into view followed by a similar set of doors. There was no nametag posted outside of the door. She wondered, placing her hand on the door handle, if this could be his…

Shinya… No, don't think of him now Mika. Don't go in there…

She hesitantly released the handle and continued down to the end of the hall. An even more elaborate set of double doors awaited her. She glanced at the nametag.

Here you are…

She quietly picked the lock and entered the room. It was just as meticulous as Kureto's, if not more… A massive desk anchored itself in the center of the room with regal chairs facing it for its guests to sit in. Degrees, medals and other documents decorated the walls. There were a variety of weapons displayed around the room as well as many books lining the entire wall to her right. She trailed his scent to his bedroom and snaked through the partially opened door. Her target lie in bed breathing deeply. She unsheathed her sword as she stepped closer to the bed. Just as she raised her weapon his eyes flew wide open. Before he could scream for help Mika jumped onto the bed, silencing him with her boot to his throat.

"Ev-en if… you kill… me… my so-son will slau-gh-ter… all of… you… disgust-ing vampires…" He chocked out as he tried to pry away her boot.

"Hmph, who do you think sent me?" Mika snickered before she drove her sword through his heart, leaving his face etched with betrayal. Blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth and his heart quieted its rhythms. She snatched the eye patch from his nightstand as proof before leaving.

Pushing open the French doors leading out to the General's private balcony she vaulted off the railing to the ground below. The handful of soldiers patrolling nearby was easily bypassed using the shadows. She crossed the wall again, noticing the soldiers she had killed earlier were still there. Other soldiers checking in or making rounds had still not spotted their corpses yet. She mused on her accomplishment while she breezed back towards the main military's command post again. The sun would rise soon and she wanted to deliver the proof as soon as possible.

The human camp was still dark but already soft rays of sunlight split between the buildings when she entered the tent. She walked quickly to the bed a nudged the form beneath the covers with her boot, his back was facing her.

"Get up."

He rolled over, eyeing her for a moment as though his mind were still trudging through sleep. She found his wasn't as lively as he was last night. He finally sat up, swinging his legs off the bed onto the floor. Mika tossed the eye patch in his lap. He picked it up letting the straps dangled.

"Sign it Kureto, now."

His eyes shifted back to her as he left the bed, pushing the eye patch back into her hands.

"Keep it." He said leaving the makeshift bedroom. "I can't have something like that here…"

She accompanied him in the main room of the tent while he once again sifted through documents and pulled out the papers he had partially completed the night before. Seeing him signing them brought her such relief. He flipped through each page signing then pressing in his seal. As she waited she couldn't help but notice he was only wearing sweatpants; like the ones she had worn. They must be issued by the military she speculated... He looked statuesque as he stood there searching through his desk drawers. It was no wonder the female soldiers would blush when he was around. If they only knew his personality…

"It is done, I'll have them issued out later today. Before you complain there are currently no units in that region with orders to find them. Unless your little family initiates a fight they won't have any trouble from us."

"Good, now stop the bombings…"

"I've decided not to stop them completely, I can however make them less frequent."

The statement surprised her. It wasn't what she had planned for and it instantly got her agitated. "There are children down there. Those bombings have caused-…" She caught herself, about to reveal what progress the humans had made.

"They've killed children who were above ground…" She told a weak lie as her thoughts scattered. In reality some of the floors had collapsed, killing many of the children and trapping vampires. It caused a lot of problems with their movements underground by forcing them to use undesirable passages and openings. But he shouldn't know that…

"Then don't allow them above ground…"

"…They need to stop. Don't just change the deal when it's not ideal for you..."

He lifted off the table he had been resting against and approached her. She felt the urge to back up but remembered this wasn't like last time. She wasn't a prisoner… beaten and starved. There was no collar or magic binding her strength. And he didn't have a his sword…

"Mikaela, did you forget our conversation last night?"

He loomed over her now, making her tilt her head up to meet his eyes. She had not forgotten. He was perfectly clear that he didn't need her help in meeting his goals. That he was essentially helping her more or less with a minor favor in return. She certainly had no qualms with killing the military's General… but she had no intention of backing down or letting him think he had full control in their situation.

"No, I did not forget. But those are humans you are killing. Shouldn't their safety be something worthy of your concern? Since you're so confident you're going to win this war, they will need you and your military to free them and give them a new life. A better life than just being livestock… Without the vampires, those children will be lost underground with no means to care for themselves. Honestly, I don't understand you. You want to kill all the vampires and then what? Go back to your secure little city and find someone else to pick a fight with? Shouldn't your priority be securing a future for all the humans in Japan and not just those already behind your walls? If it isn't that, what are you fighting for, Kureto?"

He listened quietly to her prudent speech with little expression. His demeanor had remained impassive the entire time she spoke. Mika began to feel a little diffident afterwards. She wondered if lecturing the man she needed to help her was the best choice of action. But her own emotions spilled out, having been one of those children herself not long ago…

"Given we will need to increase our population after the war, we don't accept people from outside our walls… So, what you are asking me for now is to stop the bombings in Kyoto and arrange for refuge for however many children? Provide them with food, clothing and an education? Essentially raising them…" He said as he circled her.

"Yes… I am…" She heard him pause behind her, his breath touching her ear as he shadowed her.

"Who is changing the deal now?"

He withdrew and continued his movement, passing in front of her again. She had the impulse to just leave, to move. Dawn was approaching and she needed to return. Yet she remained firm in her stance not allowing his gaze to intimidate her. He was only a human…

"This changes things, Mikaela. I will need time to consider it. You are asking a lot from me and the resources we have… So…" He sighed as she felt his hand sweep her hair to one side, pausing behind her again. "Until then…"

She felt the cold metal snap around her neck. By the time she brought her hand to her neck to identify the object it was too late to react. She spun around to face him. His ever-present complacent smile grew.

"Caught you…"