It was deathly quiet inside of the inn. Tsukune, Akuha, Kokoa, Mizore and Kurumu were still in bed recovering from their blood loss. Rubi and Kahlua were still recovering from their battle yesterday. Ura was still in a deep sleep, with no signs of waking up any time soon. Omote couldn't help but feel partially responsible for all of it. The entire day she went back and forth checking on her sisters and friends. Akasha, Sun and Marin helped out, also keeping an eye on Omote. With everyone out of commission, Gin was left to keep an eye on the barrier in case the enemy came back.
[~][~][~]
Tsukune was the first one to recover. He sat up just as Omote walked into the room.
"Tsukune! Your awake!" she yelled and rushed to his side.
"Moka" Tsukune said as Moka squeezed the renewed life out of him.
"I was so worried and it's all my fault!" she said almost crying.
"I'm fine, everything is okay" he said trying to calm her down.
"But it's not okay! Everyone got hurt because of me!" she said.
"Did something happen?" Tsukune asked seriously.
"After I drank your blood we were attacked. Then me and Ura needed more blood and now Ura…she's not waking up!" Omote told him bursting into tears.
Tsukune sat there completely shocked. He quickly say up and rushed to Ura's room, with Omote right behind him. Akasha was in the room keeping an eye on Ura. Tsukune immediately went to her side. He grabbed her hand feeling how cold it was.
"What happened?" Tsukune asked Akasha.
"I had to put her in a deep sleep to keep her alive" Akasha told him honestly.
"When will she wake up?" he asked her.
"I don't know" Akasha said sadly, Tsukune squeezed her hand harder.
"What about the others?" Tsukune asked.
"Oh we're fine" Kurumu said entering the room.
"Kurumu, you shouldn't be up and moving!" Omote said giving her friend support before she fell over.
"It's Rubi that got the worst of it, but you know her…" Kurumu said grinning slightly.
"Tsukune, when you are ready I need to talk to you" Akasha said suddenly before leaving.
"What was that about?" Kurumu asked before she started to fall over.
"Kurumu you are still too weak" Omote said catching her.
"That's ok, just set me down next to sleeping beauty" Kurumu joked.
Tsukune stayed awhile with Ura and the others. He couldn't believe that he wasn't there when all of this happened. He clenched his fists in anger. Why did this world have to be this way? Everyone out there is living in fear and even this place they call home isn't even safe. Tsukune knew what he had to do to make it safe.
"I'm going t check on Rubi and the others" Tsukune said before leaving them with Ura.
Tsukune made his way to Rubi's room and knocked on her door. He heard some noises behind the door and some frantic movement.
"Oh, uh…come in!" Rubi called out.
Rubi was sitting in her bed, papers and books everywhere. Tsukune couldn't help but feel sad seeing her wrapped up in bandages.
"Oh it's you Tsukune!" Rubi said frantically trying to pick up her mess.
"What's all this?" Tsukune asked helping her pick up all of the papers.
"It's nothing, I mean it's something but…I didn't expect you to drop by so suddenly" Rubi said flustered and blushing.
"Thirteen different ways to make a guy…" Tsukune started to read before Rubi ripped the papers out of his hands.
"You don't need to worry about that! It's just boring research stuff I'm working on" Rubi said stacking all of the papers and putting them in the night stand next to her.
"So, what brings you here?" Rubi asked trying to regain her composure.
"I heard that you were hurt, so I just came by to check up on you" Tsukune said making Rubi fidget.
"I'm fine, you don't have to worry about me" Rubi said blushing.
"Hey Rubi it's time to change your bandages" Marin said walking in with a handful of clean badges.
"Oh Tsukune, you here. Why don't you help me" Marin said.
"Uh sure" Tsukune mumbled.
"T-that's okay! I can manage by myself" Rubi said suddenly feeling vulnerable.
"Nonsense, now take off your shirt" Marin said sternly.
Rubi slowly started taking off her shirt. Even though she was covered in bandages she felt self-conscious about letting Tsukune see her so beat up. She didn't want Tsukune to think of all the cuts and bruises whenever he looked at her. Marin started undoing the bandages and Rubi started to tense up.
"I can't believe how fast you guys heal" Marin commented looking over Rubi's wounds.
"Well I wasn't hurt that badly" Rubi said laughing nervously.
Marin took off all of the old bandages and started cleaning the wound. Rubi didn't even wince as they wiped the wounds. Pain like this wasn't anything compared to what she had felt before. Even Tsukune had hurt her more when she once tried to kill him.
"Tsukune, you think you can wrap her up? I got to go check on the other patients. Akuha is being particularly stubborn, passed out three times today" Marin said shaking her head.
"U-uh, sure" Tsukune said taking the clean bandages and moving behind Rubi.
"Oh and Rubi, try not to be to frisky, he's recovering too you know" Marin said making Rubi blush deep red.
Tsukune started to put his arms around Rubi to wrap the bandages around her. She held her hair out of the way while he worked. She could feel his warm breath against her skin and every time his hands brushed against her skin it sent tingles down her spine. Before she knew it he was done.
"I'm sorry, I should have been there" Tsukune said suddenly.
"It's not your fault" Rubi said.
"But I could have done something" Tsukune said.
"You are doing plenty enough right now" Rubi said leaning back into his arms.
Tsukune wrapped his arms around her and they stayed like that for a while. Rubi was so happy and content that he was holding her. She almost wished they could stay like that forever. It was little things like this that made her happy. They reminded her that she was still Tsukune's girl and that there was a place for her in his heart.
"I'd hate to interrupt, but…" Mizore said suddenly appearing out of nowhere.
"M-Mizore! H-how long have you been their!?" Rubi asked completely surprised.
"The entire time" Mizore said simply.
"By the way, number seven seems pretty fun, do you mind if…" Mizore said holding the papers Rubi put away earlier.
"You're not supposed to read that!" Rubi said taking the papers away and putting them back where she got them.
"Mizore, you seems okay" Tsukune said happily.
"Just a little weak, not as bad as the others" Mizore said twirling her hair.
"Anyway, Akasha needs to talk to you. We can let Rubi get back to her 'research'" Mizore said making Rubi blush again.
"Oh, right" Tsukune said before leaving to find Akasha.
Gin, Sun an Kahlua were sitting at the bar, Akasha and Marin were standing behind the bar. Tsukune went up and sat next to Gin.
"Yesterday we were attacked by three very skilled and powerful ayashi. Even after we fortified the barrier they were still able to break through. This is our home and we can't let anyone take it away from us" Akasha said seriously.
"So, we are finally going to get to take out the trash?" Gin asked seriously.
"But I did that this morning" Kahlua said confused.
"No dear, he means we are going to eliminate those who attacked us. You, Tsukune and Gin will do it" Akasha explained to her silly yet deadly daughter.
"They know where we live but we have no idea where they came from" Tsukune pointed out.
"Don't worry I can track them" Gin said confidently.
"Now, we don't know how many there are or what their plans are, so Kahlua will be in charge. She has more experience with these kind of things" Akasha said simply.
"You mean assassinations?" Sun wrote down on her pad.
"Don't worry! We are going to have lots of fun!" Kahlua said grabbing both Tsukune and Gin.
"If you guys are not back in three days, I'll send Akuha and Rubi after you. They should be better by then" Aakasha told them.
"Don't worry we'll be back before you know it!" Gin said grinding broadly.
"You better be!" Sun said worryingly.
[~][~][~]
Tsukune, Gin and Kahlua were ready to set off. Gin was already outside of the barrier trying to pick up their sent. Tsukune and Kahlua joined him shortly after. Gin was leaning against the remains of a burned car.
"Did you find the trail?" Tsukune asked.
"Of course! It's weird though, you think that big guy would leave massive footprints but there isn't any" Gin said.
"It was pretty good at concealing itself" Tsukune told him.
"They won't be able to hide from my nose though" Gin said.
"Let's go!" Kahlua said enthusiastically.
"You guys just try and keep up" Gin said before they took off with their monstrous speed.
[~][~][~]
"Well, they're off" Marin said as she watched them leave.
"Ya…" Akasha said almost reluctantly.
"Don't worry they will be fine" Marin said comforting her.
"I know it's just, something doesn't feel right" Akasha said uneasy.
"Why don't we go in and have a drink" Marin suggested.
Marin drug her friend back inside and sat her down at the bar. She grabbed a couple of glasses and a bottle of liquor. She then poured them both a glass.
"How come the only thing we don't run out of here is liquor?" Akasha asked skeptically.
"Don't worry about the little things, let's drink!" Marin said as she clicked their glasses together.
Marin took a big swig while Akasha sipped her drink modestly. Although, in no time at all both of them began to get more than a little tipsy.
"You're such a good friend Marin" Akasha said leaning into Marin to keep herself from falling off the stool.
"Akasha you're so adorable!" Marin said laughing.
[~][~][~]
Omote, Kurumu and Mizore were sitting in Ura's room. She was still not showing any signs of waking up. They were all worried, wondering if there was anything they could do to wake her up.
"Well it looks like we were left behind again" Kurumu said.
"We couldn't help it. Nobody else is strong enough to fight at the moment" Omote said.
"Tsukune's body must be used to getting its blood drained all the time if he recovered that quickly" Mizore said glaring at Omote who only fidgeted.
"It sounds like Akasha and Marin are having fun" Kurumu said as they hear some loud girlish laughing coming from down the hallway.
"Ya, I'm glad she has a friend" Omote said.
[~][~][~]
Tsukune, Kahlua and Gin had been following the enemies trail for most of the day. It was almost too easy, as if they never expected anyone to follow them. The trail lead straight out of the city and through the hills. Gin suddenly stopped in the middle of two intersecting roads. Gin looked around sniffing the air like a dog.
"What is it" Tsukune asked.
"There are several more scents around here" he said crouching down to look at some new tracks.
"Can you still follow the scent?" Tsukune asked.
"Ya, and they are all going the same way" Gin said pointing down the road.
"We will stop here for the time being" Kahlua said suddenly.
"What? The sun doesn't set for another hour" Gin said.
"We are in enemy territory now. It will be best to move the rest of the way during the night" Kahlua told them and led them away from the main road.
They found a small shed to sleep in.
"We will stay here for a few hours after the sun sets. You two should get some sleep and I'll keep watch!" Kahlua said cheerily.
"What about you? Don't you need sleep?" Tsukune asked her.
"I was trained to stay up for days without decreasing performance" Kahlua said simply.
"So the master assassin is going to watch over us in our sleep, that's comforting" Gin said sarcastically.
"People are most vulnerable against the people they trust" Kahlua said smiling.
"Great…how am I supposed to sleep now?" Gin mumbled.
[~][~][~]
"I think you've had to much" Marin said holding up Akasha.
"I think I should be telling you that" Akasha said and they both started laughing again.
Together they helped each other down the hallway. At the end of the hallway they finally reached their rooms. Marin help Akasha into her room.
"Oops!" Akasha said as she tripped and both of them fell onto the bed.
Akasha was giggling from the alcohol, Marin was laying on top of her. Then without warning Akasha was being kissed by her best friend. She held her breath as her whole body went stiff in surprise. Her mind went blank and her face started to heat up. When Marin broke the kiss Akasha took in a deep breath. Marin didn't stop there as she started kissing Akasha down the side of the neck.
"M-Marin, s-stop you're drunk" Akasha barely managed to say.
"We both know we're not that drunk" Marin said pausing for a long moment.
"I've been lonely for so long and, I don't want to be lonely anymore" Marin finally admitted.
"M-Marin I…" Akasha mumbled.
"You're the same as me right? I e seen that distant look in your eyes to many times" Marin told her.
Akasha was surprised that Marin knew that about her. She'd hate to admit it but she was envious of the relationships around her, but she did her best not to let it show. Then Marin sat up, still on top of Akasha and started taking off her shirt.
"I know you vampires like fresh blood, why don't you try some of mine" Marin said starting to blush herself, but she would blame that on the alcohol.
Akasha hadn't been offered someone's own blood in a long time. She almost didn't know what to think. Marin pulled her hair out of the way and exposed her neck. Akasha could almost taste the rich blood in her veins. In that moment, Akasha decided she no longer wanted to be lonely and the blood splashed across her lips.
[~][~][~]
Tsukune was woken up buy Kahlua. It was pitch black out but vampires and werewolves had no problem seeing in the dark. Kahlua went over to Gin and nudged him. When he didn't wake up she smacked him hard across the face.
"GWAHH!" jolting up out of his sleep.
"Phew I'm not dead, must have been a nightmare" Gin signed after he check himself.
"Good you're awake. Let's get going then" Kahlua said smiling.
"Dam, why does my face hurt?" Gin grumbled.
"Aright, time to go" Kahlua told them.
Together they set out on the same path that they had been following. Kahlua took point and they moved through the burnt down buildings and destroyed vehicles. They were moving slower than before so they could stay more alert. Gin noticed that the closer they got the more scents he was able to pick up.
"There is way too many scents now to pick up the trail, but they all seem to be going the same way" Gin said as they followed the same path.
"How many of them are there?" Tsukune asked.
"I can't tell, more than a few dozen" Gin told him.
"It doesn't matter how many of them there are, we only need to take out three of them" Kahlua said seriously.
"You know, you can be a little too scary sometimes" Gin told Kahlua.
"Well, she is Moka's older sister" Tsukune laughed nervously.
All Tsukune was thinking about was Ura, Omote and the others. He was going to make sure that the others would be safe. It was the only thing you could do in a world torn apart by senseless violence.
They kept on running through the night. It was only a couple more hours until the sun would start to rise. Gin suddenly signaled everybody to stop. The scents he was smelling suddenly became stronger.
"We are close" Gin told them.
The sun was starting to come up now. Kahlua started climbing a large hill and the others followed her. In the valley down below they found something completely unexpected. There was an entire city down there filled with campfires and a few of the street lights were still working. They could see a few moving shadows, but there was no way that they could tell how many people were down there.
"What the?" Gin muttered as they looked down on the city.
"That would explain all of the different scents you were picking up" Tsukune commented.
"So what is the plan now?" Gin asked them.
"The plan never changed" Kahlua said.
"What!?" we can't just bust in guns blazing!" Gin said.
"What part of 'master assassin' don't you understand?" Kahlua said simply.
"Either way, we don't want any innocent people to get hurt" Tsukune told them.
"We will go in after the sun rises. We will need to try and blend in until we can find our targets" Kahlua told them.
There, I did it. I decided Marin was too lonely and paired her up with Akasha. I might do something with that later, but right now I think it is good where it is at.
I hope you guys liked this chapter. I had to figure out a couple key plot points before I wrote this chapter, but I think it came out good. The city in the wasteland is an idea I've had for a while now and I got some big plans for it.
Thanks for reading and please leave a review! I always appreciate what you guys think of my stories.