Wordplay

Cuts deeper than a knife.

A game of words.

Kouji didn't know what to feel about the situation. Kiiru, the vampire hunter that his family was housing, was currently bounded by her arms and feet at the back of Takano's car. To any normal person this looked like a kidnapping, but he knew that it was for the best. The moment she awakes, which could be anytime, Kouji was sure to be tackled down immediately. Everyone in the car knew that she was in fact the Vampire King's adopted daughter, above her job as a mercenary. And by assisting her, he had helped Karlheinz forward his plans, an outright crime for the son of a vampire hunter.

"What you did was right, Kouji-kun." Takano patted his head as he kept his other hand on the steering wheel. "It's a step to the truth you've been looking for."

"What truth?" Kouji nervously pressed his fingers on his bangles.

"Everything related to the death of Sasaki Koujirou." The boy's breath stopped. The car came to a halt as they reached a traffic light, now on the outskirts of the city. "You saw didn't you? She was where his corpse was at. You have that rosario with you even now."

"...are you saying she didn't kill him?"

"I don't know, but I know for sure it's related to what she's doing now." The green-haired man had a wide grin on his face. It made Kouji slightly uncomfortable, but he set the feeling aside. As they silently continued their ride, Takano's phone started vibrating. Ruki's name appeared on the screen. "Hello Ruki-kun! I'm sure you guys will be fine with the blood bags for now?"

"Yes." Ruki curtly replied. "...there's someone else with you now."

"Wow, how intuitive! You're right. Kouji-kun's with me." Kouji flinched as Ruki fell into silence for a while. "How's Fuyu-nee?"

"She's had some medicine and is resting with Kou at the moment. The Demon King has requested her audience next month."

"Burai-sama? That's rare."

"Her contract with her Demon Weapon is almost complete. He wants her to be prepared for the final soul merging with the soul that resides within it."

"Oh... that's important. But we've got a problem at hand, Ruki-kun."

"What is it?"

"You see, I've kinda kidnapped Sonoda-chan and stole her info. Maeno Takagi and Valios Carpentier are already on their merry way here. Unless we can get someone to bomb their plane and kill everyone else in it, it's big trouble." Kouj's head started to drip cold sweat as the driver spoke nonchalantly. "Ooo Valios is a crazy man. I am not excited to seeing him."

"Me neither. From their current movements I suspect that Kiiru has told them about us capturing Yui. Please keep her and think of something to delay them. I am sure Takagi would try to retrieve her first for information and assistance. Remove any kind of document that relates to the Adam and Eve project that is in her possession. And that includes those in the Rito household. Understood, Rito?"

"Y-Yes." It was as if strands of his straight navy hair had been electrocuted and stood on its ends. As much as he hated being commanded by this arrogant vampire, he was already an accomplice. Following what he said would be the best course of action. "What about those my parents have gotten hold of?"

"Leave it be. They must have already read and spread it, so disposal would be of no significance. Takano, I leave all this to you. Send Kouhime my regards."

"Sure thing!" And with that the call ended. Takano continued driving, humming a familiar tune.

"I recognise this song, but I forgot what it was called." Kouji mumbled, frowning as he tried to recall.

"As expected of a music enthusiast like you. Shall I sing you the song?"

"Go ahead."

"Nee samete, samete, akumu yo. Iki ga dekinai, kono sekai de. Nee douka, douka, samasete~"

"Hikari yo...?"

"Yeap! I just remembered it was Fuyu-nee's recent favourite, guess she told you too huh?"

"..."

"What exactly is this 'Demon Weapon' talk, Ruki-kun~" Kou sauntered over to him curiously as he sat on his grandiose chair. "Who have you been talking to?"

"Takano."

"Oh, Takano-kun!" Kou tapped his chin. "So don't mind a short explanation?"

"Demon Weapons are basically one of the strongest weapons to exist, and have souls that reside within them. They can contract with their owners according to the residing soul's compatibility with the person in general. Once a contract is made, their souls begin to 'bond'- basically merge for awhile- in order to transfer and adapt to each others power levels. This connection also makes it so that the owner can literally access all functions of the weapon." Ruki paused to take a sip of tea. "As you can see, Fuyuki is close to completing her contract, which is why she has the ability to call her weapon upon will. It's construct has etched within her mind. Of course, she has been experiencing...problems. The final stages involve separating the souls once again, and also the awakening of the residing soul- which caused an abnormal boost in mana as he is beginning to form mana on his own. These contracts last for varied periods of time... Fuyuki's lasts for a decade. So that is the summary of it...understand?"

"...That was long, but okay! I understand." The blond smiled, albeit tiredly. "Due to the abnormal mana charge, she needs the suppression pills... so this is why she's only been sent to negotiations recently huh? Not including her involvement in the Adam and Eve plan."

"Yes. As we all know she is a mercenary. It would not make sense for her to be uninvolved in fights." Ruki finished his tea and picked up his tome. "Have you checked on Eve yet? What is her status?"

"Yuma-kun's doing a fine job guarding her room~ Still... I'm not very fond of the fact Maeki left a bible in there. That thing only brings false hope."

"It is related to his plans. After all, Adam and Eve are derived from the bible." Fuyuki's voice echoed from the kitchen. Kou gave a wry smile. "You are free to interpret it however you want..."

"Yes, Pastor~" He turned back to Ruki and spoke in a whisper. "She's still so into that 'the Bible is subjective' thing."

"Don't forget she was part of a religious family, the leaders of a church even. If not for the death of her human parents she could've easily taken over." Ruki watched his brother put on a disinterested face, resting his chin on his hand. "She is not a very strong believer now, naturally. Also, I agree with her. Let's conclude this topic with that. Kou, please call Eve and Yuma down for dinner."

"Fine." Azusa and Fuyuki appeared to set down the food after Kou left, the latter forming a soft sigh.

"So I assume Kouji is safe." She eyed him carefully.

"Yes he is." Ruki replied, walking over to them. "About him... are you planning to solve that misunderstanding soon?"

"I will. Now is not the right time."

"For him no time will be right. Technically speaking, he would be a useful ally. Connections and underground information about vampire hunters because of his family, ability to create boundaries and effects with talismans, truthful and loyal... he is a rare one. Or are you planning to exploit his conflicted emotions to achieve some sort of goal?"

"It should be clear by now that I would not kill a regular customer of mine." Ruki nodded. She continued. "Sasaki Koujirou... you could say, even I don't know the mastermind behind his death."

"But there is an exception isn't it?" A long pause. "In this country now, there is only one person who can use a specter."

"Kouhime Sayuri, leader of the Kouhime Gardens."

Set on the table were an array of foods Yui did not expect to see. There was a pot of beef stew, a plate of asparagus, cabbage rolls and a free flow of spaghetti. On the side there was what seemed like chocolate layered cake for desert. She expected them to be similar to the Sakamaki's and have more 'posh' looking meals- not that this was bad. It seemed more filling than extravagant, at least. Looking around the table, not everyone appeared pleased about the lineup.

"Maekiiiiii, where's my Vongole Bianco?" Kou whined. "At least cook up some Italian cuisine for once! Please? Can you make me a plate now?"

"We had that yesterday already!" Yuma complained. "I'm not going to eat that much of it again!"

"Pichelsteiner, Spargel, Kohlroulade and Spätzle isn't that appetizing either! I'll eat the Prinzregententorte though." Yui felt a drop of sweat fall off her face as Kou cleanly recited the names of the dishes on the table. She never had much of German food before.

"Germany and Italy were part of the Axis Powers during World War II. Close enough." Fuyuki deadpanned. "Just eat it."

"It doesn't work that way~ Why do you like making German food anyway?"

"Because I'm German?"

"I'll have to agree the Vongole Bianco does look more appealing." Ruki sighed. "This is good as well, though. Fuyuki, please put that beer away. You are still recuperating."

"It's just Weizenbier."

"Don't." To his dismay she had already whisked down a mug of beer before he could take it away from her, but he managed to steal the bottle from her hands and set it aside. "...let's have a proper meal before you indulge yourself in that unpleasant drink."

"Pff, unpleasant drink." Fuyuki snickered before turning silent at noticing Yui's wide-eyed look of confusion. She passed her a bowl of stew. "Eat well. You don't want to be anemic if one of them decides you'd be better off as dinner than my food."

"Y-Yes..." The human mumbled hesitantly. Yuma still seemed to glare at her as she quickly took the bowl. To her right, she was rather grateful that it was Azusa than Kou. The feelings of betrayal, especially with him, still lingered. She'd never spoken much to Azusa, nor did he seem as harmful as the rest. "Um... this portion is rather huge..."

"Give some to me. " Yuma stretched out his hand towards her from the opposite side of the table. She hid the sigh of relief of this normalcy and did as told. Right now the family seemed exactly like they had presented themselves in the beginning, eccentric yet connected. Not that she was letting her guard down, though. "You look pale. Not surprised with all those fang marks all over your body."

"It is to be expected, puting Ayato's blood thirsting condition into account." Ruki rationalised. "We can discuss this later. Come, let us eat."

"Maeki-chan, could you pass me some Spargel?" Azusa asked softly.

"Maeki! I want some too!" Yuma chipped in.

"Take the whole plate, Azusa."

"What's with the sudden bias?" He frowned.

"He'll pass the plate on to you."

"..." Azusa stared at his plate of spaghetti. "I'll...take it all."

"Azusa...?"

"Heh."

"Maeki! He took everything! Well, at least he's finally eating something..."

"Too bad for you." She mumbled as the mountains of food disappeared from her plate. Yui could have sworn she ate half of that tall pot stew by herself. "Hm... I don't have a good feeling..."

"About what?" Yuma nonchalantly asked before his expression turned serious at seeing his sister deep in thought. "Do you sense something?"

"Vallios Carpentier and Maeno Takagi are arriving soon. I can't help but think this is such an inconvenient timing." She finally stopped eating and placed her hands on the table. "If Kouhime Sayuri is indeed the person who murdered Sasaki Koujirou- assuming that it was a separate deal from the one with Karlheinz- we cannot fully trust that Kouhime Gardens will delay their encounter with us. Of course I'd rather not doubt a friend and ally, but the demon within Sayuri's weapon isn't much of a reassurance either."

"She is a necromancer after all. I hope it goes well." Ruki sipped on his wine gracefully. "Yes, Yui? Do you want to have some wine as well?"

"No thank you, I can't take alcohol very well." She rejected politely. "... Maeno-san. Thank you for leaving the bible in the room and brewing tea for me."

"Its fine. Your well-being is important to me."

"I heard that you haven't been feeling well. Are you okay?"

"Better than you are after the medicine."

"I see, that's good!"

"You sure are optimistic after being kidnapped."

"...that's because... I have no choice but to trust you. If I keep doubting everything that's happening the only thing I will feel is nervousness."

"I suppose that is right." Fuyuki let out a hint of a smile. "Great. Since you're done with your food, I suggest you take a plate of desert back to your room to enjoy. We need to discuss something...unpleasant. Is that okay with you?"

"Um, yes! I'll be taking my leave now!" With that, Yui hurriedly grabbed the tray of desert and tea, quickly walking away from the living room. The siblings watched her look back worriedly for a second before leaving completely. "...are they really okay though?"

"...So who the hell is this Sayuri woman you've been talking about for awhile?" Yuma stared at Ruki and Fuyuki, who looked at him at the same time. "You guys are always full of new information. Why don't you explain them properly already?"

"Yeah, he's right! Spit it out~" Kou echoed.

"Basically she's Takano's boss. They're all part of Kouhime Garden's a group of mercenary vampire hunters with religious motives. This group was started from Kouhime family's private security force against the supernatural. Sayuri is the leader because she's a Kouhime." Fuyuki explained. "Although almost impossible for a human to wield a Demon Weapon, or least be a Necromancer, the soul that resides within her weapon is extremely special. It has a contract time of only 2 years, heavily relies on user compatibility, and has massive mana storage. What's more is that its attribute isn't even Necromancy. It's Elemental. Personality-wise, she's the nice rich lady type I suppose...and not very nice when working. That's the gist of her."

"So you don't know how in the world she got her hands of the weapon, or learnt Necromancy whatsoever?" Kou asked.

"No. Naturally they will cover up such traces the best they can."

"They don't seem to have done any action related to the revival or usage of corpses and spirits, nor do they have a history of being Undertakers. I am still curious to why it turned out that way." Ruki put a hand on his chin, thinking deeply. "That man definitely know the answer to this..."

"Maybe." Fuyuki replied curtly. Ruki gave her a glare. "Hey. I respect him, and he is my boss...but he is no god to me. If he were, there would be no need for the Adam and Eve plan. And no need for us."

"...You have a point. I suppose we answered most of your questions, the three of you?"

"So about the plan- we can't suck her blood?" Kou titled his head to the side. "It smells really nice~"

"I suppose... we can. After all he has not made any comment about it." Ruki cleared his throat, snapping Kou back into attention. "Do you...intend to be Adam instead of Ayato?"

"Hm... I wonder? It sounds a bit troublesome, but if I can help him, I don't mind at all~"

"...but Ayato was chosen...will we be better than him?" Azusa silenced the table for a second.

"Well if the plan doesn't go well we can replace him. He is a douchebag after all!" Yuma's proud exclamation only had him receive an awkward side glance from his sister.

"Let's stop it here." Fuyuki clapped her hands together. "Just remember to be careful of Vallios and Takagi. You know half-bloods are weak to vampire hunting weapons."

With that, the siblings retired to their own rooms. Yuma stared at the window whilst laying on his bed, tired from the endless amounts of crap that the two eldest had spewed earlier at dinner. A foreboding sense of danger overcame him. Other than the increase of vampire hunters in the vicinity, it was something else. His head throbbed. Who was that child with blond hair?

Authors Note: OH HI GUYS I AM ALIVE AND WELL. I am so sorry for going on hiatus, but I have been working on alot of details. In fact, please do read everything again because I bet this chapter was the biggest info dump ever. By now I am also pretty sure that my first few chapters don't match up to my current information. Also, it is highly likely that I discontinue the original series because I have bigger plans for it, and plan to revamp it someday. If you have been with me for a while, you probably noticed the shift and improvement in my writing over the years. I started the original on a whim, obviously enough with the terrible quality, and looking back at it makes me feel that it has a very shallow plot line. If you did enjoy it, thank you and look forward to its renewal!

Over in this chapter we have slightly more information about the new characters, and certain Sakamaki's will have more screentime than others in this arc (sorry not sorry lol). Do not fret, for everyone will get their chance! PS. Have you guys seen the character designs for the next DL game? And am I the only one not really liking it (dude look at that huge ass ribbon Kou got and Shin's villager shirt)? Looking forward to Kino though, who looks like Azusa's and Reiji's lovechild lolz

The song Takano sung was Hikari yo by Kikuo ft. Hatsune Miku.

Thank you for reading! R&R soooOOOO appreciated! IHAVEPLANS4THISSERIESMATE